Tag: android

Another one bites the dust – Catch.com

Catch.com was a really nice app for collecting various notes and related bits and pieces (e.g. photos, links etc.), like the Evernote way. I found out about Catch while searching for a simpler than Evernote Android app for my tablet and it seemed really nice. Below is the description of the app from Google Play:

Catch_description

I liked the idea behind Catch and I used it in some cases; however this app also came to an end, leaving a gap to its users, who will have to migrate to another app; it is a good thing that Catch sent a notification email about this situation, also providing a mean of exporting data.

 

catchdotcom

 

 

This reminded me of the Fotopic case, which also ceased operation in a similar way, some months ago, despite its relatively large user base.

Even though I was not a heavy or dedicated Catch user, I wasn’t glad to see it becoming history. Each app has its own space and fans and the more alternatives there are, the better for the users; however, it seems that market does not work like that,..

Lenovo Ideapad A1 – Incompatible apps

Incompatible1

(image taken from http://thesignalinthenoise.wordpress.com/2010/06/17/121)

A list of Android apps not compatible (for various reasons) with the Lenovo A1 tablet:

  1. Opera Mini Web Browser
  2. Posterous Spaces
  3. QRDroid
  4. FXCamera
  5. Google+
  6. ES File Explorer 1.6.1 update (1.6.0.4 is already installed!)
  7. Dolphin Browser HD (Mini is compatible)
  8. AirTickets.gr

It seems that other people started wondering about the same issue, but still I haven’t found any solid answer to the cause of this incompatibility.

A1-dolphinhd

Strange, huh? Can be installed in my cheap Android phone but not in A1… 

**EDIT – 06/02/2011**:  It seems that a large part of the incompatibility of A1 with Android apps was due to a strange combination of changed screen density to 200dpi (instead of the native 240dpi) and the new version of the Android Market. So, when I changed the screen density back to 240 dpi & uninstalled the Market update, I could install my long missed apps, like Opera Mini, Airtickets.gr, FXCamera, Google+ etc. The issue was solved by XDA user TippyTurtle, to whom I am grateful!

**EDIT – 21/02/2011**: I just installed Popsci and realized that it works both in 200 and in 240 dpi! Yay!

Apps still incompatible with Lenovo A1:

  1. Quill (Requires Android 3.1)
  2. Google Goggles
  3. Handy Scanner Free PDF Creator

List will be frequently updated; please make sure that you come back soon and contribute to this list with your own incompatible Android apps!

 

** Last Update: 21/02/2012 ** 

 

Sucker for tablet

I have to admit that I am a sucker for a tablet: During the last months I have been searching for information on specific models, reading reviews, checking prices… they’re still damn expensive! After evaluating two different iPads (9.7 inch screen), I think I will go for a 10-inch Android tablet, probably no 3G (to save money – it adds to the price) but with a dual-core CPU @ 1GHz (at least) and 8GBs or more of storage (apart from the SD card).

There are some rather cheap solutions out there (like the ZTE V9 and the Huawei S7 Ideos) but they feature a 7-inch screen, low resolution (480 x 800) and a rather slow processor. Since I haven’t seen any of these in action I am a little worried about their performance. On the other hand, these may be sufficient for my everyday use, therefore saving me a significant amount of money!

Huawei IDEOS S7 (photo taken from http://www.gsmarena.com)

It seems that I will have to wait for some months more… in some cases, these weak machines are even more expensive than a fully-featured laptop! I think that this will changed in the next months…