T-Mobile G1 users can access the Android Market to download additional applications for their cell phone. One of the interesting applications is the PC remote access software Android Remote which makes it possible to access and control music and videos on the Android phone from any computer system running the server application. To achieve this the Android Remote software has to be installed on the Android cell phone and the Gmote Server application on the PC that the user wants to access remotely.

The Gmote software can be downloaded directly from Android Market to the cell phone. Users can perform a search to find the application which is located in the Multimedia category. The second required step is to download and install the remote server application (from here) to the computer system that should be accessed by the Android phone. The remote server application is available for Windows, Macintosh and Linux operating systems.

A window will show up after execution of the server application asking for a password that is used to protect the contents from third parties. The very same password has to be entered on the Android phone on first usage.

The user can then add files and folders to the server so that they can be accessed and controlled from the Android phone.

The Gmote application can establish a connection over a wireless network or cellular network’s data connection.

Music can be streamed from the computer system to the Android phone. Everything else, e.g. playing movies, controlling PDF or PowerPoint presentations, is happening on the server system while being controlled from the Android phone. The Gmote application on cell phone can be used as a wireless touchpad and keyboard which extends its functionality further. All in all a very interesting application that might come in handy in many different situations.

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The QR Code Generator allows anyone to create QR Codes easily. QR Jumps (via Make Use Of) is the name of the website that is offering this functionality. Only registered users are allowed to create new QR Codes. Registration is done in a few seconds and no verification email is send. The site distinguishes between basic and advanced QR Code generation. The basic form contains fewer options. It is possible to use the basic QR Code form to create url, sms, phone number or text resources.

The user selects the content type at the top and enters the information below. Creating a QR Code for an url would mean to enter an url in the form. The generator will then create the QR Code image which can be created in various sizes and the two image formats jpg or png.

The QR Code above will open the Ghacks website in the associated web browser. The next contains a secret message that can only be revealed by scanning the image with your camera.

The advanced QR Code generator offers additional options like creating multiple links at once or setting an expiration date for the code.

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The requirement is a rooted or developer phone. Rooting an Android phone is not a difficulty process so it basically means anyone with an Android phone can do this. It is possible to download all applications from Android Market for free because of the inefficient application protection and the return policy. A user downloads an application from Android Market. He might need to purchase it first but should not worry about that as he will get a refund if he returns the app in the next 24 hours after download.

The only protection that the Google Android team has implemented is the location of the Android apps. Users without root cannot access this location on their Android cell phone. But everyone with root can. There is no other protection in place which means that it is possible to copy the Android application to another location, return the application and install it again from the new source.

All protected Android apps are located in the folder /data/app-private/ which can be accessed on rooted Android phones. It is therefor theoretically possible to purchase, install, copy, return all Android applications to get them all for free. It should also be noted that the copied versions of those protected Android applications can be installed on all Android phones, even non rooted ones. Will probably not be long before the first Android app packs hit the dark side of the Internet.

The only difficulty that arises is that the applications will not be updated automatically as Android Market does not recognize them. Be sure to check out Androideka if you are interested in Google Android news.

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Connect Bot is probably the number one must have application for webmasters who operate their own servers. It can be used to log into the server using the phone. For those who do not know what SSH is, it basically allows a user to exchange data using a secure channel between two network devices.

Some examples where this could come in handy would be to restart the web server, configure services or monitor the connections, processes and resource usage while on the road.

The application can be installed right from the Android Market. Must have for any webmaster and admin with their own servers.

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The Android application store got some great feedback last year when the application competition ended which produced more than 1000 different applications for the Android phone. It is usually not possible to see what the Android application store has to offer unless you already have an Android phone. Not very practicable for evaluation.

That’s why the guys over at Cyrket have implemented the Android application store on their website.

The Android store mirror divides all Google Android applications into categories. The main page is divided into games, applications and newest contents. A click on games or applications will load a new directory level displaying subcategories. For Android applications those are Communication, Finance or Travel among others. A click on any subcategory will display a file browser (like in the image above) that will list ten Android applications per page. Applications can be sorted by popularity or date. The ratings, names, developers and versions of the Android applications are displayed in each line.

A click on a line will open a detailed view that contains a short description of the application, user comments and additional information about the selected Android appl.

Impatient users can use the search on top to see if the Android application store contains an application or game with the functionality that they need. The Cyrket website provides a great overview over all Android applications for non-Android users.

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Then there was the news that Adobe issued a security patch for both Adobe Reader and Adobe Acrobat that fixed several security issues which would allow attackers to remotely execute code on the target machine. The patch can be downloaded from the official Adobe website and should be applied by users who work with Adobe Reader or Adobe Acrobat.

Lastly PC World published an article claiming that WPA Wi-FI encryption was cracked. (Thanks to Lee Mathews for sending this in via email). Security researcher Erik Tews is said to demonstrate how he was able to crack any WPA encryption in around 15 minutes at the PacSec conference in Tokyo next week.

To do this, Tews and his co-researcher Martin Beck found a way to break the Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP) key, used by WPA, in a relatively short amount of time: 12 to 15 minutes, according to Dragos Ruiu, the PacSec conference’s organizer.

Users who use wireless connections should make sure that they are using WPA2 encryption. If their router is not supporting that kind of encryption it could mean to check the Internet for firmware updates that add that possibility or to purchase a new wireless router that supports it.

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Taking those limitations aside the Android phone emulator does provide a good overview of some of the functions that the Android phone will offer. It is possible to get a first impression of the Google browser, Google maps and other functions like receiving calls, sms or mms. There is no real interaction with the emulator though. It is for instance not possible to use it to open any websites or actually call someone.

The flash based website about the Android phone contains two additional sections that are important if you want to get an impression of the phone’s dimensions because they seem to display the phone in the correct size.

The above screenshot has been taken from the Android phone emulator while the screenshot below was taken from the 360 view option. The screenshot from the Android phone emulator had to be reduced in size to fit on the screen while the screenshot below depicts the actual size of the original screenshot.

It would have been better if T-Mobile would have used the correct Android phone dimensions for the emulator as well so that potential buyers and interested users would get a real feeling for the phone’s dimensions which is especially important for tasks like web surfing, emails and the phone’s qwerty keyboard.

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Users should be aware that the Android Marketplace will host free and commercial applications just like the Apple iPhone App Store. Most of the applications listed below have been taken part in the first ever Android Developer Challenge.

This Challenge pushed the development of many Android applications and was an important step for the plattform.

Compare Everywhere: Compare Everywhere, formerly known as Android Scan, could be the killer application for Android. It uses the digital camera of the mobile phone to scan the barcodes of products to identify them. It offers then options to compare prices online, read product reviews and even sample music or video content. An alternative seems to be GoCart which basically does the same.

Cooking Capsules: The idea behind Cooking Capsules is simply. Let the user watch a short cooking video, show him the locations of the next grocery stores to shop for the items and give him a step by step instruction on how to cook the meal once he’s back home.

My Closet: The dream application for women. Take pictures of your clothing and the application keeps track and suggests outfits based on weather information and items chosen in the past.

Share Your Board: Jigsaw is an Android application to share, process and capture data on a whiteboard.

Wertago: An interesting application for nightlifer enthusiasts that makes use of Google Maps to show the hottest locations in town and provides means to coordinate with friends.

Got any other applications not in the list? Let me know about them. I did not include applications that would track friends and family members. This had various reasons, one being that every family member would need an Android phone for this feature to work.

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British citizens will most likely be able to lay their hands on the phone in November while the rest of Europe will have to wait until 2009 to do the same.

The G1 phone has some strong arguments on its side. The phone uses an Open Source operating system which will win the Linux crowd over in no time. The QWERTY keyboard comes in handy for everyone who uses his phone regularly for writing.

T-Mobile G1 Specs:

• Processor: Qualcomm MSM7201A, 528 MHz
• Operating System: Android
• Memory: ROM: 256 MB, RAM: 192 MB
• Dimensions (LxWxT): 117.7 mm x 55.7 mm x 17.1 mm (4.60 in x 2.16 in x 0.62 in)
• Weight: 158 grams (5.57 ounces) with battery
• Display: 3.2-inch TFT-LCD flat touch-sensitive screen with 320 x 480 (HVGA) resolution
• Network: HSDPA/WCDMA: Europe: 2100 MHz US:1700/2100 MHz Up to 7.2 Mbps down-link (HSDPA) and 2 Mbps up-link (HSUPA) speeds. Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
• Keyboard: Slide-out 5-row QWERTY keyboard
• GPS: GPS navigation capability with built-in GPS receiver and map software
• Connectivity: Bluetooth 2.0 with Enhanced Data Rate, Wi-Fi: IEEE 802.11b/g, HTC ExtUSB (11-pin mini-USB 2.0 and audio jack in one)
• Camera: 3.2 megapixel color camera with fixed focus
• Audio: AAC, AAC+, AMR-NB, MIDI, MP3, WMA, WMV
• Battery: 1150 mAh
• Special Features: Digital Compass, Motion Sensor

Not everything is that shiny however. One of the main disadvantages of the G1 phone is the missing headphone socket. The only way to connect headphones to the G1 is by using an USB adapter.

The T-Mobile G1 does a few things better than Apple’s iPhone namely the full QWERTY keyboard and the Open Source operating system. It’s not an iPhone killer but a worthy contender. One of the main selling points will be the applications which can be downloaded from the application shop.

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