Ask NerdGirl: Toggle 3G / 2G, Only Google Voicemail, Audiophile Phone Headsets, Disappearing Ringtones,and Market Links!

by n3rdg1rl Aug 7, 2010 7:45 PM – 5 Comments

I bought a new headset just to listen to music on my phone and actually found a great solution for both music and call use! I covered it in today’s article and I hope people try out these headsets from Skullcandy.

Hi Nerdgirl,

I love your column and read it ALWAYS.

I have a question. How can I directly toggle between 3G/2G as most of the toggling widgets I found only have shortcuts to the system menu? I have a Motorola Milestone 2.1 with root access and looking for a widget that can do this.

Thanks.

If you are running CG6 from Cyanogen you can try an app by TheMasterBaron called Auto Toggle. That will put the phone in 2G mode when it’s sleeping to conserve battery. He says there are more features to come so this is something to keep an eye on.

Beyond that, the only toggles out there are like what you found. They take you straight to the settings menu. Google, for some reason I can’t find, has made it nearly impossible, even for developers of rooted apps, to make something that changes the setting directly.

Hey Nerdgirl,

I love the articles, keep up the good work! I have a small annoyance since I started using Google Voice on my Moto DROID. I switched my voicemail to Google voicemail and am able to access my messages perfectly through the app and dialing in to my voicemail number. The only annoying thing is the droid still shows an unread voicemail indicator in my status bar even when my Google voicemail box is empty. Is there a way to make this go away?

Thanks!

Dave

As long as you have the Google Voice app, this is an easy fix.

First, go into your regular voicemail and delete all of the voicemails that are in there. That’s probably where that icon is from.

Then, go into Menu >> Settings >> Call >> Voicemail Service and change it to Google Voice. Now when you go to check your voicemail it will go into Google Voice and no longer look for your providers service.

Hi!

Being a little bit of an audiophile, I didn’t like the stock headset that I got with my Nokia, and preferred to use my ordinary favorite headphones with it. I used it all day for listening to music and radio. When making voice calls, I used my headphones for listening, and held the phone in front of me, talking into the built in microphone of the Nokia.

I bought the Samsung Galaxy S expecting to use it the same way (I don’t like the headset – it’s uncomfortable too), but discovered that it simply cannot execute this simple task. Apple and Nokia have done it for years, but the Samsung forces me to either disconnect my headphones and hold the phone against my ear when answering calls, or use some Samsung headset (not an option). So, my question is: is there any app to help me get around this issue or am I going to have to find myself another phone? In that case, which phone should I choose? I want an Android phone, but this very function might force me to go for the Nokia N8. I’ll stay away from the iPhone, however.

Best regards,

Oskar

Sweden

I don’t have good news for you. Because of the way that the Android OS is set up it is not possible to use a non-microphoned headset to complete calls. I got this awesome set of earbuds from Skullcandy that I use for the radio and music things and it also has a mic built into my cord. I would look into these to solve your problem.

Hi,

I’m using the Samsung Galaxy S i9000.

I managed to set MP3 as ringtones using two different methods:

Via music player: long press and then “Set As”

Using applications called Shartones, Ringdroid, and another one called Ringtone

Immediately after I create/save the ringtone I can see it is the list and I can choose it.

I used the Ringdroid application, edited an MP3 20 sec, and saved as the ringtone. The ringtone was added to the list OK, the file WAS created in \sdcard\media\audio\ringtones\ and the file is still there after the restart, but doesn’t appear in the ringtones list anymore. When I add or move files into this directory it is useless and I can’t see them on the list. As if when I add a ringtone it is added to the database, but entries are deleted when the phone starts up again. After I turn off the phone and on again, all the new ringtones are gone and none are in the list. The ringtone which is set is a default one from the original ringtones.

Any idea or a solution to find what goes wrong?

Thanks,

Ofer

I have Ringdroid on my phone and haven’t seen this as an issue. I have some edited ringtones as well that I use. I would try saving them where they originally were and not moving them. That should stop the phone from losing them.

How can I craft a URL link to a specific app in the Market. I would like to have the links in both email and web pages.

On http://developer.android.com/guide/publishing/publishing.html/ I found the following:

http://market.android.com/details?id=<packagename>

or

market://details?id=<packagename>

But how do I determine the <packagename> for a specific app (that I did not develop)?

Thanks,

Rolf

The easiest thing to do would be to go to either one of our partner Android Market websites like AndroLib.com or AppBrain.com. Search the app in either site; AndroLib has the package name right in the app listing, while AppBrain has it in the URL.

Keep sending those questions to nerdgirl@androidtapp.com!

~n3rdg1rl

Tags: Android Advice, Android Package Name, Android Questions, Ask NerdGirl, Help with Android

Categorised in: Android Advice, Ask NerdGirl

5 Comments

By foebea on August 8, 2010 at 2:27 am:

I can’t speak to galaxy, but the issue with headphones is not an android issue. On droid and droid x i use traditional normal wired headphones for music. When a call comes in it pauses music and i hear the ringtone. On answering the call i talk towards the phone a few feet away and hear the caller via the headphones.

Reply
- By Landrash on August 8, 2010 at 4:09 am:
  
  Same thing here. Thats not a Android problem. I can use my headphones and the mic in the phone without any problem. Tried this on a HTC Hero, Desire and X10 mini.
  
  If anything this is a Samsung restriction.
  
  Reply
- By Michael on August 8, 2010 at 5:35 am:
  
  Yes, it’s the same with my HTC Hero: headphones without mic work, I can use the mic of the phone with them.
  
  Reply
- By Haus on August 18, 2010 at 10:39 am:
  
  I used to be able to take calls/hear the phone ring/hear notification sounds via my standard headphones as well on the Incredible. After I installed DoubleTwist, it stopped functioning that way and I can’t seem to get it back. Now only music goes through the headphone jack when they are plugged in. Even the text to speech from Navigation is directed through the speaker now. Unchecking the “Make DoubleTwist the default app for managing headphones” didn’t work; apparently the damage was already done.
  
  Reply
By sluzbenik on August 8, 2010 at 9:27 am:

In regard to Oskar’s question, that doesn’t seem to be a limitation of Android, but maybe his phone. I was listening to music on my Droid X and got a call and was able to speak into the phone mike just fine with a pair of earbuds and hear my caller through my earbuds!

So I guess the Droid X is the phone to rule them all!

Reply