Database Info

To you, what is the one most important feature of a smart-phone

Okay, let's gather some data. I want to know what the majority at XDA find that they rely on the most on a smart-phone?
Take the poll and look at the results.
To those of you who aren't sure what they find the most important feature for them, here is a short criteria list:
Personal Information Management
Calendar
Contacts
Notes
Tasks
To-do
Finances
Passwords
Reminders
Communication
Call Quality & Clearness
QWERTY Keyboard
Phone Log
Email and Messaging Compatibility
Travel and Assistant
Dictionary
Calculator
Unit Converter
Bar-code Scanner
GPS
Alarm Clock
Encyclopedia via Web
Multimedia
Music
Video
Picture
Entertainment via Web
Games
File management
Speaker Quality and Loudness
Camera & Audio Recorder
Sound Recordings
Captured Pictures
Recorded Videos
Productivity
Word documents
Spreadsheets
Presentations
Other Documents
Audio Editor
Video Editor
Image Editor
Computer Programming
I am also working on a personal project and I need help from anyone who is willing to participate. I would like to organize a list for smart phone criteria. I want to correctly categorize each feature and sub-feature to the correct and most APPROPRIATE parent category. I will take the suggestions of each new post. And I do hope that at least a few of you participate in the poll and also give me other features to add to the list and give me category advice.

If I had to pick just one then I suppose I'd say communication; but I think this poll kind of misses the point, to be honest: the reason I want a smartphone is precisely the fact that it is NOT limited to just one set of functions. If it only did one of those six things then I wouldn't buy it regardless of which of the six it is. The fact that it does all six is what's important.

Shasarak said:
If I had to pick just one then I suppose I'd say communication; but I think this poll kind of misses the point, to be honest: the reason I want a smartphone is precisely the fact that it is NOT limited to just one set of functions. If it only did one of those six things then I wouldn't buy it regardless of which of the six it is. The fact that it does all six is what's important.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The point of this thread is to see what users like the most, so people (the ones who make your phone) can decide what is trendy right now. If they know what is trendy, they can spend a bit more time on improving something that is currently in demand, and less time on the less desirable features. They can also look at the smallest probabilities and see why people do not like that feature. Maybe then, they would understand why people don't use the feature. Then they can make decisions on not what is most beneficial to improve, but on what NEEDS improvement. Keep in mind that time is always moving forward so distributing equal attention and work on all features is probably uneconomical. Of course, this is only a personal experiment. Sorry, people.
I didn't ask what makes a smart phone essential (as in necessary). I asked, what is the feature that is most essential (ahem... useful and most addicting) to you.
Ya know, I am fairly certain that I use PIM more than Communication. If a smart-phone specializes in every feature such as awesome communication capabilities, awesome recording capabilities, and awesome multimedia capability, but fails to implement useful PIM management buttons/software/capabilities, then I would look for another phone. But if it only had an awesome PIM implementation than I wouldn't buy it because a smart-phone is an all-in-one device. So your point is invalid to me, and would make sense on a topic talking about how useless every other feature--except communication--is.
Please, reconsider the fact that I said smart-phone. I said nothing about travel phones, basic phones, business phones, or multimedia/music phones, or camera phones. I mean okay, maybe there is a phone that you like and think that is a perfect 10 for each category. But considering that all features are really good, I WILL still ask you what do you like the most about it? It's so simple, that I am don't know why you have to deviate from the purpose of this poll.
Otherwise, you are saying that your preference on a phone is perfectly and equally distributed. That would mean you love PIM 16%, Communication 16%, Travel and Assistant 16%, Multimedia 16%, Camera & Recorder 16%, and Productivity 16%. This is impossible in the real world.
So my topic absolutely makes sense. I think YOU are missing the point.
Please vote people. Thanks.

Phone Call Recorder

I need to record phone calls. My boss screams at me like a demon monster, and I'd like to preserve this fresh Hell for posterity... maybe make it my ringtone. (Yes, I have a right to in my state, as I am a party to the call)
Searching on AppBrain for 'phone call recorder' gives 13,997 results.
Ideally I'd like it to automatically start when I get a call from a certain number, and otherwise have a push-button start/stop while calls are in progress, and any other time.
Can anyone advise?

Quantumstate said:
I need to record phone calls. My boss screams at me like a demon monster, and I'd like to preserve this fresh Hell for posterity... maybe make it my ringtone. (Yes, I have a right to in my state, as I am a party to the call)
Searching on AppBrain for 'phone call recorder' gives 13,997 results.
Ideally I'd like it to automatically start when I get a call from a certain number, and otherwise have a push-button start/stop while calls are in progress, and any other time.
Can anyone advise?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think Google Voice has this feature, but it lets the other party know via an in-call announcement.

esone1ll said:
I think Google Voice has this feature, but it lets the other party know via an in-call announcement.
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Click to collapse
Thanks, but no Google apps please. Don't trust them. Open-source is best.

Quantumstate said:
Thanks, but no Google apps please. Don't trust them. Open-source is best.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting choice of phone platforms given that you don't trust Google.
By the way, much of Google's software is open source with that source code freely available, including Android.
Though I've only looked for this in Nexus One forums, it seems that no one can figure out how to get an application (at least not involving GV) to capture audio on both sides of the conversation, unless it's on speaker or maybe a headset. Might vary by device though if it's a hardware thing.

d0ugie said:
Interesting choice of phone platforms given that you don't trust Google.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Long story. Sure you want to know?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=730544
Yes N1 is the phone of concern. Odd that it's difficult to capture both sides. Shouldn't be difficult to emulate GV by looking at the source.

I was going to suggest Google Voice also. When you hit the number 2 or 4 (can't remember which), it will notify you and the other caller that the session is being recorded (which might shut your boss up for good!). You can even download the conversation into an mp3 format. It records both sides of the conversation, not just yours or his.
Now, why would Google give a crap what your boss is yelling about? My point exactly ... this isn't Big Brother ... yet.

Read that other thread to find out, if you're actually curious.
I notice that comments in many of the call recording apps say 'doesn't work', with one phone or another, usually newer phones. And I am gathering that G**gle Voice is closed-source, as are apparently many of their other apps, so reading source for tips on how to get both sides is not an option.
I wouldn't use G**gle apps in any case, but to notify my boss I am recording would probably get me fired today. I'm just wanting to collect his fiery, abusive calls just in case...

Apparently most apps are unable to record the other party's side of the conversation.
Does anyone know why this would be? What would it take to record both sides. I'm sure there are hooks in Android to get this.

All right, after considerable research it seems I am the best-informed around here.
It is now clear that there is no way a third-party app can record the orther end of the conversation, except in speakerphone mode. (MIC ONLY). Only Google Voice can do this, and it insists on using 'The Cloud' so they have control over all your conversations.
There is confusion over whether this is an API problem, or a driver problem, but if it's a driver problem both HTC and Motorola suffer from it.
So, this is a deal-breaker. No Android phone for me. I'm lucky I'm not already stuck with one.
Winduhs Mobile phones can record with third-party apps, as can the Symbian-based Nokia N8 when it comes out next month. So that's where I'm going.
Good bye Android

Hate to tell you this but you are butting you head up against a long time limitation of the "Smartphone" platform. It isn't limited to Android devices either. WinMo has the same limitations and it has to do with the OS not having access to the incoming audio stream.

Not true. Google Voice can do it, built-in, but I'm not sending all recordings to them, no sir.
This proves that the mechanisms are in place but that either the API is rigged, the drivers are, or documentation is lying. Everything records as documented in the emulated SDK, but not on the phone itself.
Phones that actually can record both sides are Nokia S60 & Maemo phones, including N900 & N8 (Recaller, Voxtrack Personal- beepless), Rseven on Symbian & WM, Mvoice & CallRec on Palm, Vito-Audionotes on HTC TouchPro2, Sony Ericsson c905 has the record option.
Right now I'm looking for a Linux port to any of the newer smartphones, as Linux can record and has nav apps, my two vital functions.

Quantumstate said:
Not true. Google Voice can do it, built-in, but I'm not sending all recordings to them, no sir.
This proves that the mechanisms are in place but that either the API is rigged, the drivers are, or documentation is lying. Everything records as documented in the emulated SDK, but not on the phone itself.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That doesn't prove anything. Google Voice calls go through their servers. I can record calls between two landlines, if the call is made through GVoice. Does this mean that my 1970s-era, rotary-dial phone has the SDK to record calls?

It proves that I can't use Android.
I am not going to bicker with you.

This thread is comedy gold. There are several reasons why access the audio stream is restricted. Phones from many platforms cannot record both sides of the conversation, and I am surprised to hear that 3rd party apps can do this on WinMo. I would hazzard a guess that this requires more than just a regular run of the mill type install.
You seem to hate Android, and Google in particular. I have read your posts. I thank you for your lack of contribution to the forum. A good chuckle doesn't really count.
Your fear mongering and paranoia regarding big business and biased news is typical of someone living behind a computer for 52 years. Oh yes, that's you too. If you wish to spread your opinion, I would suggest you start a blog, rather than fill a forum with posts like these.
Take care.

Voice recorder app on win mobile
Until about 10 days ago when I bought my first android phone, a samsung vibrant which i am loving it, I was a windows mobile user for many years and it's true that there is an free app called PMrecoder, that records phone conversation (both sides) and saves it in a folder on the SD card. I still have the app on my Tmobile wing. This app works great and records all coversations automatically. I wish there was an app like that for android also. I am sure someone will come up with a similar app for android soon.

You have nothing but insults "SpeeDemon". {snicker}
Means nothing.
But thanks mayart, for another app that works.

total recall (paid app, about 10 dollards) tryes to do the job.
I've buy it, but...nobody never calls me.
Seriously: i come from an excellent nokia E65. It knew how to record some in's and out's very efficiently.

Doesn't work on Nexus One...

You should send a mail to the developers (company).
I think they want now to be efficient on Android phones, as they are for ages
on symbian (Nokia) ones.

Ah, never mind, I've found an app that does it.
However because of the abuse I was given in this thread I am not sharing it with this forum.
Have a nice day.

So How Easy Is It to Develop an App?

With the NHL season coming up, as well as Mango, I was wondering how easy would it be to develop an app?
Would like to do something simple (in theory) with schedule, favourite team: live score/stats. Score Push/Toast/Tile notification. Maybe team news, or league news.
Heres is the stupid part, I have no experience ever developing an app, nor have any programming knowledge.
Thanks in advance for any help.

I assume you will need Visual Studio 2010 and will have to know .Net 4 and use VB or C# as a choice of language.
Not really sure about anything else past that.

there are plenty of tutorials around which will help you with that. the designing bit is not difficult at all: it's very intuitive in fact. you'll need to go through some basics of coding though. I recommend the dev education resources in the app hub (create.msdn.com). Best of luck with the app!

Thanks for the replies. I look around and yes as mentioned the designing process is a pretty intuitive and the coding seems like something I can probably find help with.
Question that I have now, is how would be able to get the actual data? Are there services to which I can connect to have live scores, stats, news, etc?
I know these are newbie questions, and I know I can probably just find the info on various websites, but I am the type that like to get a conversation going and perhaps find someone that can help out..... in return I promise to make an awesome app!

N0MN0M said:
Question that I have now, is how would be able to get the actual data? Are there services to which I can connect to have live scores, stats, news, etc?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's the hard part. I considered doing something similar previously but there don't appear to be any free services for sports scores. I remember stumbling upon FanFeedr but didn't really look to deep into it.
I kind of figured ESPN would just update SportsCenter with Mango features that add everything I had in mind eventually.

Best of luck with your NHL app! I can help if you have any questions I’ve already written a multi-league football app that does the things you mention (and a few things you didn’t )
Probably the best way to start is to try and write some code that reads RSS feeds; that way you’ll be writing your team and league news functionality which will immediately make the app useful. You could then e.g. have a page that displays news for each NHL team such as using the following RSS feeds:
http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/rss
(note the terms and conditions on the Yahoo one say not for commercial use; but if you’re looking to make it a paid app there will still be plenty of sites that let you use their RSS feeds for free).
To start coding it there’s a tutorial video on how to write a simple RSS reader using visual studio and expression blend here:
http://www.windowsphonegeek.com/videos/creating-an-rss-reader-for-windows-phone-7-in-5-minutes
For getting the live scores data (e.g. as an xml feed) you’re most likely going to have to pay for it (and people who provide it charge wildly different prices so have a good shop around). E.g. these people seem to be popular and do NHL (although they’re not the company I use so can’t comment on what they are like – mine only do football)
http://www.xmlteam.com
http://showcase.xmlteam.com/index.php/samples/showfixtures/8/l.nhl.com
Also note that getting access to data from a provider is only the first step – you’ll also need to write some code on a web server somewhere that transmits the scores and other data out to users of your app. Most sports data providers will not want each individual app user to download from them; so they’ll expect just you to download from them, and your users to download from you (i.e. for that you need to write a ‘web service’ on your web server/hosting company, probably attached to a database).
If that all sounds too scary, and/or you’re not looking to spend any money yet (which is probably wise) why not make the main focus something other than the live scores? e.g. perhaps you could make the news reporting better than other apps out there - e.g. lots of different news feeds for each team - really in-depth background on each team, perhaps a way for fans to talk to each other, ability to post things on Facebook about their team, tv schedules, toast messages for news headlines as they come out, player profiles, pictures… etc. etc. You could even type the scores in yourself if you still want them or just provide links to websites from within the app. Have a hunt around though as you sometimes find fan sites that put live scores and stats into free RSS’s.
You asked how easy it is; mine took about 3 months (and I’m a developer with 14 years’ experience of Microsoft technologies) but it all depends how many features you’re trying to write, and how professionally (I wanted to write the best). There’s so many great forums and examples of code out there you’ll be up and running in no time.
Hope that helps,
Ian

[Q] Help me flesh out an idea for new functionality

tl;dr I'm new, I'm not a very knowledgeable developer, I have an idea that I want your opinion about.
Heyo Peoples,
I'm new and I like to think a lot about cool new stuff with mobile devices (web, software, hardware, etc). I've been thinking a lot recently about how people like to use mobile devices, and how we might use them in the near future--thinking past what's being done now, and into what comes next.
I've been wondering for a while why there isn't an existing piece of functionality on mobile devices that allows a user complete control of the device and every piece of information on it. Imagine a GUI except instead of graphics, it's like interacting with a person. (aside: first person to say Siri should be shunned like an Amish girl who went to a movie theater).
Is it outrageous to say that you should be able to pick up your phone and have it find anything, from anytime in the past that you have done with or on it? I know that would take mountains of data, but is it silly? In it's most basic form, this would just be a search feature. In it's most eloquent form it could be an operating system. Imagine being able to ask your phone what you did last Wednesday, or maybe where you were. What if it could recall emails or documents based on date, time, location where you were when you wrote it, keyword, or contact, based on verbal interaction? What if it tracked data usage by application, or allowed you to measure and optimize system performance with a verbal command (ex. "Shut down all apps except for Google Maps" or "How much data am I using per minute").
Is it too early to start wishing for an interface like that computer on Paycheck (horrible movie with Ben Afleck) or Cortana in Halo? Is this type of interface impractical or implausible?
If you were to make something like this, would it have to be a new operating system built from the ground up, or could you develop an app to do this, or could you hack Android to do it? I welcome all of your feedback.
Lots of questions, and I have very few answers.

Jujubes said:
tl;dr I'm new, I'm not a very knowledgeable developer, I have an idea that I want your opinion about.
Heyo Peoples,
I'm new and I like to think a lot about cool new stuff with mobile devices (web, software, hardware, etc). I've been thinking a lot recently about how people like to use mobile devices, and how we might use them in the near future--thinking past what's being done now, and into what comes next.
I've been wondering for a while why there isn't an existing piece of functionality on mobile devices that allows a user complete control of the device and every piece of information on it. Imagine a GUI except instead of graphics, it's like interacting with a person. (aside: first person to say Siri should be shunned like an Amish girl who went to a movie theater).
Is it outrageous to say that you should be able to pick up your phone and have it find anything, from anytime in the past that you have done with or on it? I know that would take mountains of data, but is it silly? In it's most basic form, this would just be a search feature. In it's most eloquent form it could be an operating system. Imagine being able to ask your phone what you did last Wednesday, or maybe where you were. What if it could recall emails or documents based on date, time, location where you were when you wrote it, keyword, or contact, based on verbal interaction? What if it tracked data usage by application, or allowed you to measure and optimize system performance with a verbal command (ex. "Shut down all apps except for Google Maps" or "How much data am I using per minute").
Is it too early to start wishing for an interface like that computer on Paycheck (horrible movie with Ben Afleck) or Cortana in Halo? Is this type of interface impractical or implausible?
If you were to make something like this, would it have to be a new operating system built from the ground up, or could you develop an app to do this, or could you hack Android to do it? I welcome all of your feedback.
Lots of questions, and I have very few answers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is probably not as far off as it seems. The developers of "Utter" have come along way in the right direction. You should maybe approach them with your ideas. Not all of them of course . Save some for yourself.

One problem I see is semantics. "Shut down all apps except for Google Maps" sounds good - but do you really mean ALL apps ? The line that would be walked is one where the developer must train the program to not necessarily do what they ask, but do what they WANT. It gets trickier when you realise that some people who aren't your average users might want to test things and shut down an app (in this case) that an average user would never want shut, where they might mess up their phone beyond their ability to repair if they did.
I think speech is a great tool to interact, though I'm not going to be a person to use it. I don't think speech will ever become a default unless there are other technological advances that change how we interact with the world. It's annoying enough to hear someone gabbing loudly to another human on the phone, do we really want people gabbing AT their phones as a default interface ? I think privacy is a driving factor that will keep sound from being a major interface - perhaps it could work for in home applications, but out in public people may not want to announce to the world who they are calling, what they are looking for, or what site they're logging on to, et cetera. Until there's technology to make voice and sound less "public", I don't see this being the future of phones - it's more of a nice thing to have as an "extra" for when a person is comfortable using it.
But, hey, maybe we'll get used to wearing Google Glass and talking to ourselves all the time - or we'll get in-ear buds or implants where we can choose to hear the outside world or not. Just exploring the possibilities here.
I do think it's a big "outrageous" to have infinite backup. Just take a look at how much data companies like Amazon and Facebook acquire on a per-day basis. Think about how much data you use on a daily basis. I don't have the money or desire to be buying new HDDs every other week. Maybe in the future there will be a technological revolution that allows for mass amounts of data to be stored in even smaller spaces. But current technology in that regard is still very expensive and persnickety - read about high capacity SD cards and how fragile they can be and about data needing to be "refreshed" or they can become corrupt. There are lots of issues that make backing up everything you do impracticable.
And, again - privacy concerns. Do I really want my computer to know what I did last Wednesday and who I was with ? What if someone stole my computer or phone and had access to that information ? If we had the technology to do that, who's to say that current encryption would be "enough" - or that someone wouldn't go ahead and try to hack it anyway if they felt finding out basically everything about you was worth brute-forcing your phone or whatever they'd do in the future ? And have no password or a crappy one - even easier for them to know EVERYTHING about you, now.
Highly visual and talk-activated computers are absolutely great for games, movies, and TV. Why ? They function as narrative devices. They allow the actor to say or explain things they otherwise wouldn't have said out loud for personal, practical, or security reasons. They can become characters in their own right. People like those big screen computer displays where the characters are poking things all over and up and down - it looks cool. But not so cool is having your arms get tired from reaching up and around all the time. Not so cool is having to tell the computer out loud what kind of special images you want to search for when you have house-mates living in the next room over.
Just some thoughts. If you have other or counter ideas, go right on ahead.

I got fed up with annoying survey calls and shut them down

Hey folks,
I’ve been dealing with these survey calls from Dynata lately. I got called really often. And blocking caller numbers did nothing. So, I’ve spent a lot of time on searching how to end it, and wanted to share this with you guys.
Apparently it’s possible to opt out by calling Dynata up. Here are their contacts. First call did nothing, but after two more they listened. They won’t tell me where they got my number from. My guess is, from public records or bought it from data brokers. Actually, I found my entire profile on Whitepages. So, it’s available even for a ten year old. And there is nothing much to do to prevent it. Only requesting deletion on these sites one by one.
Getting big companies to do what I wanted was a hassle. No surprise there. They kept on writing back that “they will delete my info soon”. Apparently “soon” can be half a year.
So, here are some tools to save you some time, if you’ll decide to delete your info too:
Whitepages opt out form. Here you have to confirm your email and phone number. Which sounds sketchy as you are confirming and serving your info.
Use services that do official requests on behalf of you, like Incogni or PrivacyBee. It’s paid, but it has recurring scans, which is nice.
This one’s not necessary but I recommend it. Put your Google privacy settings on a higher level. Make it synchronize your data less with websites with Activity controls, clear your cookies and cache once in a while, disable your location when you’re not using navigation.
I’m just a noob in this. But I believe we can give those companies a taste of their own medicine. If you have more experience or tips, drop them in the comments.

How about suing them? I think pretty much every regulator in the world has laws for this.