Database Develop

aTrackDog questions

First, yes I read the FAQ's before posting. There are several apps that aTD says have updates available, but the Market does not list the newer versions. I know the FAQ says to e-mail the developer, but I guess my question is why are updates available that are not published in the Market? It's not that the app is not in the Market at all...it's there and has had updates in the past. Only now apparently a new version is available that is not listed in the Market. I've e-mailed several app developers and will post here if I get an explanation.
Also, one of the apps aTD says needs to be updated is the Market itself. I have version 1.66, and it says 1.71 is the latest version. Can I download that from Google somehow, or is the Market version a built-in part of the ROM?

atrackdog relies on updates from phones with atrackdog installed. Say I'm developing a cool, new app. I release version 1.0 on the market for everyone to use. I'm testing version 1.1 on my phone and have given the apk file to a few friends to test for me as well before I release it to the market in general (I don't want a thousand e-mails from people saying my app is br0x0rz, so I have a small test group locally.) If one of my testers has atrackdog installed, it will faithfully upload the new version information to atrackdog's servers, telling all other atrackdog users that my app has an update available...whether it's in the market or not.

Thanks for the detailed explanation! Now why the aTrackDog website couldn't explain it that concisely, I don't know.
Does that same scenario also apply to the Market? It seems less likely to me that a Google app would be on tester's phones that also have aTD installed.

beartard said:
atrackdog relies on updates from phones with atrackdog installed. Say I'm developing a cool, new app. I release version 1.0 on the market for everyone to use. I'm testing version 1.1 on my phone and have given the apk file to a few friends to test for me as well before I release it to the market in general (I don't want a thousand e-mails from people saying my app is br0x0rz, so I have a small test group locally.) If one of my testers has atrackdog installed, it will faithfully upload the new version information to atrackdog's servers, telling all other atrackdog users that my app has an update available...whether it's in the market or not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah, ok. That makes perfect sense then. Thanks for the explanation.

About the market itself, I'm going to guess that different Android devices might have different versions of the market on board. If Google tweaked the market to be Moto-droid-worthy, they might have used a different number and atrackdog will show it. I'm sure about my answer in the above post. I'm just guessing on this one.

beartard said:
About the market itself, I'm going to guess that different Android devices might have different versions of the market on board. If Google tweaked the market to be Moto-droid-worthy, they might have used a different number and atrackdog will show it. I'm sure about my answer in the above post. I'm just guessing on this one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That also makes sense. I suppose the Nexus (for example) would likely have a newer version of Market and that would be why aTD picks up on it.
After using it for a few days, I don't really see the usefulness of aTD from a practicality standpoint. Every app on my phone that aTD says has an update available, isn't really available on my device (except for SlideME, which is unimportant to me). It would be more useful if the app detected the user's device, and only showed updates applicable to that particular phone.

That's true. When atrackdog was released, the market app didn't give notifications when updates were available. Also, at the time, there wasn't much on the market itself, several 3rd party markets (like slideme) were also out there, and people outside the US didn't have market access anyway. It filled a gap that's largely not there anymore (for US users). I know several countries still either don't have market access or no access to paid apps from the market, so it may be very useful to them.

It's useful for a few apps which post their betas on google code, etc, such as Wireless Tether...

[Q] Motonav

When I first began my researches for new smartphone, I think I read MS2 came with a Motonav Demo. I've just got mine but cant find it. Can't find on Android Market either and Motorola Shop don't even show any app (is there something wrong or they haven't launched it on Brazil yet?)
I saw some posts in other forums showing the path (containing a download link) to install it but not sure if I can trust and if it will work on froyo. Anybody?

MotoNav was included in Milestone 1. Milestone 2 has google navigation by default.

kalbit said:
MotoNav was included in Milestone 1. Milestone 2 has google navigation by default.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Understand. The big difference is that Google Navigation doesn't have offline maps. Or is there anyway to get offlines maps for it?
Sent from my A953 using XDA App

Yes, google nav is far from perfect I'm not sure if motonav is available for standalone purchase, but there are few others offline nav apps for android. ATM I can remember copilot and navigon. Copilot looks and works nice, but I've heared people complaining about maps being a bit outdated and not precise in some areas. At least in Poland, other countries may have better support. I can't say anything useful about navigon: I looked it up and I didn't like it's interface and graphics, so I've chosen copilot.

Find out that Google Maps 5.0 can work offline using its cache. Just need to navigate trough the map within certain zoom while you still have a connection (such as Wifi).
Some other interesting improvents, too.
Sent from my A953 using XDA App

cadu.c.moraes said:
Understand. The big difference is that Google Navigation doesn't have offline maps. Or is there anyway to get offlines maps for it?
Sent from my A953 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
for offline navigation try use IGO, is a good gps navigator
you can find it at 'black market' or buy it on IGO SHOP for android
i recomend

Google's navigation caches routes before you take them (in the previous version there was a setting to allow it to do this on 3G, but I'm not sure if it's still there). It also stashes away all the stuff it's downloaded before in case you need to go there again. It uses vector graphics rather than tile based stuff too, which means you get a certain amount of available zoom without downloading any more data...works pretty well.
That said, if you need completely offline navigation, there are several programs from GPS vendors available...

I recommend google maps 5
does google maps 5 has been released?
I just downloaded "google map 5" apk but I'm not sure about it cuz the feature is not like whats described in the video.
In google maps 5 it's true that I can tilting and rotating with finger control, the maps loading time also fast but in my "google maps 5" the zoom level is not as big as in the video and there's no 3D building (I searched bryant park in google maps 5, I found it, but it was totally different with what it is look like between in my MS2 and the video trailer)
my question is: do I downloaded the right apk?

elhariz said:
I recommend google maps 5
does google maps 5 has been released?
I just downloaded "google map 5" apk but I'm not sure about it cuz the feature is not like whats described in the video.
In google maps 5 it's true that I can tilting and rotating with finger control, the maps loading time also fast but in my "google maps 5" the zoom level is not as big as in the video and there's no 3D building (I searched bryant park in google maps 5, I found it, but it was totally different with what it is look like between in my MS2 and the video trailer)
my question is: do I downloaded the right apk?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
your motorola should come standard with google maps 5. however, if it doesnt, you can get it from the marketplace for free. there is however a new version of google maps, which is 5.3. according to the post, it should be available from the market place. however if you cant locate it, there are links to download the apk and then install it.
http://www.xda-developers.com/android/google-maps-5-3-for-android-available-now/
since its new, i suggest you read the comments before downloading it.

agent008my said:
your motorola should come standard with google maps 5. however, if it doesnt, you can get it from the marketplace for free. there is however a new version of google maps, which is 5.3. according to the post, it should be available from the market place. however if you cant locate it, there are links to download the apk and then install it.
http://www.xda-developers.com/android/google-maps-5-3-for-android-available-now/
since its new, i suggest you read the comments before downloading it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
nice info
I've downloaded it and it's still the same.
I still can't see 3d building (in new york) and the zoom level of map terrain cannot reach the level I want.
I'm curious about why I cannot find this apps in android market..
is it because google maps 5 still in beta version or what?
at least, the satelite view is great

elhariz said:
nice info
I've downloaded it and it's still the same.
I still can't see 3d building (in new york) and the zoom level of map terrain cannot reach the level I want.
I'm curious about why I cannot find this apps in android market..
is it because google maps 5 still in beta version or what?
at least, the satelite view is great
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if you do have the latest version, im not quite sure why you cant see buildings in 3D. i dont seem to have a problem seeing buildings in 3d in new york.
however about you not being to search for google maps on the market place, i had the exact same problem. apparently the reason behind it is because google does not distribute applications in Malaysia and Indonesia and many other countries. therefore, the only other way to work around it will be to root your phone in order to obtain google maps and other such software. as soon as i locate the relevant link ill edit this post with it.
EDIT: here is the post i was looking for. its a similar question i asked some time back and this is the answer i got:
I also from M'sia, but i able to update it by doing some tricks.
U can't update directly if u are from Malaysia because currently M'sia still not in the Market List that fully distributing all applications. This link will provide you with that list:
http://www.google.com/support/androidmarket/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=138294
Solution: Go to Market & try to search "MarketEnabler" and u will know the trick.
U will be surprised by then.
Sorry, there is one more condition: Ur phone need to be Rooted!!
alternately you could view the thread
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=902151
Hope it helps

agent008my said:
if you do have the latest version, im not quite sure why you cant see buildings in 3D. i dont seem to have a problem seeing buildings in 3d in new york.
however about you not being to search for google maps on the market place, i had the exact same problem. apparently the reason behind it is because google does not distribute applications in Malaysia and Indonesia and many other countries. therefore, the only other way to work around it will be to root your phone in order to obtain google maps and other such software. as soon as i locate the relevant link ill edit this post with it.
EDIT: here is the post i was looking for. its a similar question i asked some time back and this is the answer i got:
I also from M'sia, but i able to update it by doing some tricks.
U can't update directly if u are from Malaysia because currently M'sia still not in the Market List that fully distributing all applications. This link will provide you with that list:
http://www.google.com/support/androidmarket/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=138294
Solution: Go to Market & try to search "MarketEnabler" and u will know the trick.
U will be surprised by then.
Sorry, there is one more condition: Ur phone need to be Rooted!!
alternately you could view the thread
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=902151
Hope it helps
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank God I've rooted my phone several days before.
so I installed market enabler and choose to fake my network as verizon.
and it's like magic..I searched "map" in android market then from out of nowhere suddenly google maps showed up at the first row (that's amazing)
then I choose google map and it says "open" rather than "update". It indicates that my maps is in the same version (5.3) with the one in android market.
Then I decide to uninstall update and reinstall it from android market.
It's work, now I can see 3D building on my maps (I like the moment when the buildings growing up from the ground, it's cool)
thank you agent008my now my maps become more colorful

elhariz said:
Thank God I've rooted my phone several days before.
so I installed market enabler and choose to fake my network as verizon.
and it's like magic..I searched "map" in android market then from out of nowhere suddenly google maps showed up at the first row (that's amazing)
then I choose google map and it says "open" rather than "update". It indicates that my maps is in the same version (5.3) with the one in android market.
Then I decide to uninstall update and reinstall it from android market.
It's work, now I can see 3D building on my maps (I like the moment when the buildings growing up from the ground, it's cool)
thank you agent008my now my maps become more colorful
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you're most welcome. glad to be of help enjoy ur maps in 3D

[Q] the manual update to Android 2.3.3 broke Google Voice on the Nexus One

After manually updating to Android Gingerbread (2.3.3), I cannot access Google Voice. I can't uninstall it because it's not visible in the list of applications on my device but I can't install it from the market because the market says the application is already installed.
anyone ave the same issue?

Google has a forum
You can Google it and find the answer in different posts from different sites, like engadget, zdnet or other places

Google knows about it and is looking into the issues.

tomahok said:
After manually updating to Android Gingerbread (2.3.3), I cannot access Google Voice. I can't uninstall it because it's not visible in the list of applications on my device but I can't install it from the market because the market says the application is already installed.
anyone ave the same issue?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I had the same issue. Apparently Google blocked Google Voice for those of us outside of the U.S. The workaround is to sideload an older version of the GV app, like this one: https://www.dropbox.com/s/rvp60p7bbnk9nc1/com.google.android.apps.googlevoice-1.apk
It worked for me.
Not sure if it will stick through a reboot though. You may have to reinstall it after every boot, although you may not.
Source: http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/voice/thread?tid=36cc102179e74a3c&hl=en

seeking people with the android market license for Beejive

Long time ago the makers of beejive beta tested their product for android. Those of us lucky enough to get in were given free licenses for current and updated versions and all we had to do was go onto the web site and download the "trial" version, which when installed, would activate to the full version with this special license.
It seems that as of late, they now have 2 versions, the "LITE" version (as supported and allows only 3 services to be on at any given time) and the regular (4.99) and the trial version on their site is gone. I tried updating to 2.2 (I think is the most recent) from my 2.1.3 version using the lite copy, but the ads are still there. I have also emailed the company in regards to this question and have yet to recieve a reply. Has anyone else with the same license been able to update to the newest version since they went market only for downloads?

Living without PlayStore

So... I've searched for a similar thread, but I didn't found any so I decided to make a new one.
As I don't want to use any google services on my telephone I had to purge Play Store also. I've searched for alternatives. I came across Fdroid - actually the store I've searched for. The only problem I've faced is there are no proprietary apps. I try to reject using of proprietary software as much as possible, but many of my friends use proprietary chat apps like WhatsApp, Viber etc.
So I've searched a solution to get this proprietary apps without much tricks...just keep it simple. I came across Aptoid - another android store, but I didn't liked the idea behind very well - you can find lots cracked apps etc. and that is not what I am looking for. Second point is - all apps are outdated - so you are missing the new version of the apps and their security and performance fixes. It didn't suited my needs so I decided to purge Aptoide.
So... after a bit of research I founded another two solutions:
APKmirror - it is a website - there is no app for it. So If you want to use it you have to go to the website and download and install .apk manually (you also need to enable Untrusted Sources in your security settings). The website has very nice interface and it looks exactly as a normal appstore. I've bookmarked it and placed it on my homescreen - so it is usable - no pain in the *** at all. The packages seems to be "trusted" as the packet signature is checked with the one of the original developer. All apps are updated - you can even download beta versions (before they hit PlayStore) and if it goes wrong... you can easily downgrade to previous verions - very nice feature. This site is related to Android Police - as it is a good source in my opinion, I think the packages there are trust-able. Is there anyone who has additional info about APKmirror?
APKpure - the second solution I came across. I wasn't able to find any additional information about this source or any review so I really have no idea who is standing behind this project. Anyway... I downloaded several apps and I checked the app signature and it seems fine - every app I checked matched the original signature of the developer. There are also "Trusted" marks same as APKmirror. All of the apps are updated. It looks pretty much like APKmirror - there is no app, just website. You can easily update your applications too so it suit all my needs. Anyway... I would like to get some additional information about it... it seems to me like mirror of PlayStore but... anyone who knows more maybe?

Apkpure has a app that you can download. Just have to watch certain apps such as play games will update to the 038 version when I am completely updated to the 030 version in the play store. Apkmirror describes this on their website when you download certain apps. Just though you should know about the app.
One thing I miss Fromm the Google play store is Google games for backup of games data and achievements. When cyanogen finishes partnership with the social gaming network, play games or whatever it's called, I'll hopefully be able to get away from the Google play store. Course devs would have to enable those servers for achievements etc, which is a long shot. Till then helium is my best friend I guess.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk