App Review: BetterCut

Bettercut (there is a free version with less features) I've used this to apply custom icons and text to the icons on the desktop (not widgets, just the icons) so you can use icons from free icon packs for ahome (or others) or save some png's to your sd card and use those. I like making my phone more 'mine', still using bettercut.

App Review: Autolock

AutoLock. The pattern-lock thingy is nice and (implies?) security but it's a pain in the bum if you put your phone down for 10 seconds and then remember you have to do something else, even though I lock the buttons when I put the phone down, AutoLock doesn't engage the pattern lock for another, however long you want, 15 minutes in my case. handy. Still Using Autolock

App Review: Locale

Locale is a great app, I loved it but for one thing, it really chewed up my resources, both the battery (noticibly) and slowed the phone down, the former isn't for long an issue, the latter certainly is, it's a great app which allows you to alter an array of ystem settings based on phone-state and/or location, f example I had it only activating wifi when I was at home and turning off the sound in the evenings and overnight when at home. A great app especially for free but I couldn't stomach the drag. no longer using Locale.

App Review: Twidgit Lite

Twidgit Lite, Is there a better, full non-'lite' version? I don't know, I'll check it out if I find one. twidgit lite sits on the desktop as a widget and shows the last twitter post, tap it and it shows the last few and allows you to post an update. you can set it's update frequency, I set mine to 15 minutes, and it sits there quite happily doing it's thing not noticeable using up your sys resources.
However in an effort so speed-up my phone I stopped using some widgets and switched to a twitter app that doesn't use any resources at all (unless you're actively using it). No longer using twidgit lite.

App Review: NetCounter

NetCounter, one of the first apps I downloaded, on day 1, it records my data use via the network and via wifi (separately) and I've set an additional record my monthly data use from the date of my account with my network with an alarm set at my limit of 1Gb, so it'll let me know, accurately within my account period if I go over my allowance (and thus risk a hefty bill). so far I'm not even close as I download most apps etc when sitting at home and thus via my wifi, but it's nice to have it there in the background, it doesn't reset on a reboot (as some do) and you can add and change the measuring periods as much as you like and it'll always be correct as it's not resetting anything, just reading the data form it's database. for anyone with any limit on their data usage it's very highly recommended. After using it for a couple of months I'm happy that I'm within my data allowance with my usage pattery - No Longer using NetCounter.

App Review: Lock 2.0

Lock 2.0, I loved the idea of this, a nice unlock screen which can have various skins appended to it and I can even make my own, or show the battery level on the unlock screen (as well as on the unlock screen when charging as standard) as a reminder of how much juice is left every time I pick up the phone to use it. a great idea, I bought the donate version, but it turned out it was the app responsible for making my phone a bit sluggish and I actually prefer the (implied?) security of the 9-dot pattern lock. no longer using Lock 2.0

Back In Black

I've liked simple black themes on phones for a while, I made my own themes for my Nokia E51 with CarbideUI before I got my G1, one of the first things I did when I got the G1 was add one of my photos to it....This is one of my photos of model Roswell Ivory (see more of my photography on my website www.MarkVarleyPhoto.co.uk it's my work).

Now I've completed the black look with the help of: BetterCut (for changing icons), Glasklart Icon Pack (most of the icons you see) with the addition of an icon I customised with red trim for Gmail:

And Weather Widget, which uses a flip-clock with a built-in weather display on your main screen
I'm using some custom weather icons which are a mixture of 'Klear' and 'GlossyBlack' (probably breaking several rules by doing so....)
Click on the icon to download the zip file, save it to your sd card and then open it from within the Weather Widget control panel

Another addition to my phone is the Matt anti-glare screen protector, I was using a mirror screen protector and although it was cool it was impossible to use in bright sunlight. I bought an InvisibleShield kit from Zagg but decided to omit the shiny screen protector. After much waiting the Boxwave Cleartouch Anti-Glare arrived (slow shipping form USA), it's a simple single piece screen that fits in seconds (as opposed to minutes for the stick-on Zagg kit), and it works, no greasy fingermarks (I hate that), massively reduced glare (you can still 'see' the reflection of light sources such as the sky when walking around but the phone is definitely usable, as opposed to barely usable without and definitely not usable with the mirror screen protector).

All apps are available in the Android Market, just search for the names as written here.

A walk around my phone

Updates time, and some photos this time!

Here is my G1 with the Zagg invisible shield on the body (not on the screen, I'm
waiting for an anti-glare screen), you can see how it makes the body shiny in a
similar way to the body around the keypad.

A crop here of the fit and below...

You can see the fit is pretty good, accurate to a millimetre or so.

Above the phone as a whole, you can see the mess I made blanking out the 'T-Mobile' logo at the top, I was hoping that it'd be alot less visible than that!

Above is the rear of the phone with the zagg invisible shield, normally very matt it's glossy with the shield added, which I actually really like.

Above you can see that on some of the corners the fit is off just enough to
leave little folds like this, a minor issue and not as obvious as this close-up
implies.
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Now a walk around my phones three screens and some apps and widgets I'm currently using..

This is my home screen, the background wallpaper is one of my photos, not available to the masses, sorry.

Right at the top of the screen on the notification bar is 3G watchdog,
which does a similar job to Netcounter, which I'm no longer using (nothing wrong
with it, I just now prefer 3G Watchdogs way of working). It sits in the
notification bar with a simple Icon and bar which changes form green to amber to
red depending on the data you have pushed through your 3G and EDGE, if you don't
have an unlimited data plan then you need something like this to help avoid
extra fees. The thing I like about this is it's information, you can set your
maximum data allowance, cycle (monthly etc), start date, and it monitors it
warning via an icon if you are using alot, tap the icon and you can find out how
much you have used (in % and MB), and it tells you how much you will have used
by your set date if you continue at the current useage rate, so you can see if
you're overdoing it as you go along. It's also free, I like it, I'm keeping it.

Next is a huge widget that takes up 4 by 2 spaces, Weather Widget by
Android Apps, there is a free version, I have the donate version as it allows
skinning of both the clock and the weather icons. I like it due to the
information on it, a nice big clock, the date and weather current and forecast
(tap it for the next few days forecast) and you can either set it's location or
have it check via GPS every x hours. I like it alot.

Below that, standard Gmail Icon, SMS Unread Count (please can we have
some different skins?) which shows a red dot with the number of unread SMS
messages (I also have Handcent for reading sms messages, very
configurable, like it alot.), standard email icon, standard dialler & contacts
buttons. Then Quick Calendar which I needed due to the standard android
calendar widget needing 2 by 4 spaces, seems to work just fine but it's new to
me.

On my left screen I have at the top, standard google search bar, Twidget
Light twitter client (great), Sticky Memo Widget great for me always
needing notes and lists, Money Tracker widget, a handy way of keeping
track of your money, adjust the amount when you have money come in and deduct
when you buy something (with notes so you can remember what you bought) and your
disposable income is right there (again great for me with a rubbish memory).

On the far right screen is a load of shortcuts as well as the standard android
calendar widget (which I'm leaving there while testing the one on my main
screen).

Links to: Tube Status, handy for Londoners who travel alot.

Live UK Train Times, Handy for me planning my travel out of London, I know which
platform I need to use before I even get to the station, saves me a few minutes
(though I hate the new Icon, the old one was better, I might have to replace it with bettercut).

PureRSS I am using until something better comes along,
it's ok but I'd prefer something in the background.

Toggle Settings is a quicker way to change common settings.

Knot Guide is a nice app teaching you how to tie knots, with new ones being added regularly, it's not free but all updates are and the maker is very helpful, if knots form any part of your world then this is one for you.

Bubble a spirit level device, works well, used it a few times, great little app.

Market shortcut, needs no introduction.

London Weather Widget mostly redundant now and will be dropping it to
make room for the battery widget again, but nothing wrong with it, very very
good widget and recommended for Londoners who want a small weather widget.

Calculator, Camera and Google Maps. I'm using Camera Pro as a camera
interface, like it alot.

Other apps I have installed that are used less often:

mAnalytics - google analytics piped into your phone, handy.

Flashlight - one of those apps that makes your screen go white with full brightness, I've had to fumble in the dark with a phone screen as the only source of light before, this means I can maximise that with one move.

Sunrise Sunset - very handy for me as a photographer knowing when the sun is doing it's thing :-)
Bettercut - for making shortcuts and changing icons, nice way to skin your phones interface.

London Tube and GetMeHome - handy for london travellers.

others mentioned on previous blog posts still apply.

Protection!

I got sick of the mirror screen protector, it looks good and it mostly works but in bright light, such as outside, it's just too hard to see the screen, so I decided to try another...

InvisibleShield by Zagg was worth a look...
I got the full kit as shown here and it covers pretty much every millimetre of your phones exposed surface, taking the time to fit it carefully means it's a really remarkable fit and the website makes claims of it being megatough, which is nice...

However,
It's shiny gloss finish means that I didn't use the screen protector sheet, after having reflection issues with the mirror screen I've ordered a matt screen protector, which is taking a long time to get here and I'll grumble about that when I post about it when it does arrive.
Also it makes the matt rear-cover of the phone shiny, flip up your screen, you see the black keyboard plate? thats the finish you'll have everywhere after fitting this kit. I wasn't sure about it at first but I really like it.
The only problem is that the phone isn't quite so easy to slide in and out of my leather belt pouch which looks as if it may, in time, cause one of the edges/corners of the protector to peel. time will tell on that.

I also noticed today that there is a warning on the Zagg website that 'removal of the invisibleSHIELD from painted surfaces can lead to the paint peeling.' and the G1 is a white case painted black, or so it seemed when I saw an autopsy of a G1 online.