My Colorscreen: Sunrise

For those of you who are Android freaks and geeks you probably know about the website mycolorscreen.com. And if not, you really need to check this out. On this site I have seen some of the most incredible Android home screens, especially those in which the individual has used PhotoShop to make custom wallpapers and icons. I just shake my head and say "Wow!"

Anyhow, pictured here is my home screen on my Google Nexus 7, which I have titled "Sunrise."

Now for the details, which will undoubtedly bore you unless Android is your OS of choice.

My Nexus 7 runs stock Android Jelly Bean 4.3, Nova Launcher Prime, and the DCikonZ ADW Apex Nova Go Theme for all app icons. Both Nova Launcher Prime and DCikonZ are available in the Google Play Store. The DCikonZ icon pack now contains more than 3,200 icons, and the developer is constantly adding new ones. Many are rather obscure that he has added specifically because of user requests.

1. Battery widget: I created this using the Minimalistic Text app (Google Play Store). However, I didn't use the default battery widget that comes with this app; I created my own, using a custom battery font with no numbers for the "Non-Accented" and "Normal" parts of the battery bar.

2. The Time, Day, and Date widget, also known as a "skin," was added using the Ultimate Custom Widget app, or UCCW (Google Play Store). In the Play Store you'll find the Elegante UCCW Skin, which includes just the Time and Day. I used the Elegante-Plus UCCW Skin, which also includes the Date, available only from the XDA developer's website.

3. Weather skin: I created this minimal weather skin myself using UCCW once again. I replaced the default weather condition icons with Metrowhite weather icons, courtesy of "Marco" on the MyColorscreen YouTube channel.

4. The custom "APPS" icon in the bottom left of the screen is for the Circle Launcher, full version (Google Play Store), which launches eleven of my most used apps -- other than the six media apps appearing in the dock -- in a vertical bar, as pictured in this second screen shot.

As simple as this screen may appear to be, I spent quite a bit of time learning the use of the Minimalistic Text and UCCW apps. There are numerous YouTube videos, some in multiple parts, that provide excellent tutorials for using these apps. The only problem I found is that the apps are constantly updated and the various options, settings, etc. in the vids no longer match those in the current apps. However, the vids will provide the basics, and then it's just some trial and error after that to get the options and settings just right. Just remember to save your work, as you would on any computer.

One final note: Not visible on either of these screen shots is the notification bar. I use another app called Quickly Notification Shortcuts (Google Play Store) that allows me to place up to nine apps on the notification bar pull-down. I have only six of the shortcuts being used, and included among these apps are my Flashlight, tablet Settings, Google Keep, and WiFi Connection manager.

Here's the link to my colorscreen on mycolorscreen.com.

CrossMe Color app for Android Redux

As I've mentioned in two previous blog posts (here and here), I have a rather strong addiction to an Android game called CrossMe Color. It's sort of like Suduku, but with numbers and colors.

I have now completed all the puzzles through level 8, which is the "Shogun" or "Expert" level. The game has a level 9, but all the puzzles are random. By that I mean the puzzles are simply random patterns, squares, and colors. Once a puzzle is completed, a return to the main menu will automatically clear the puzzle and randomize the patterns, squares, and colors again. When I get desperate enough for a CrossMe Color fix, I will work a random puzzle, but I'm not particularly fond of them: I prefer a puzzle of an actual picture/object, which is saved when the puzzle is completed.

Of course, I can always delete any puzzle solution and re-solve the puzzle, but for now I want to retain the completed puzzles. I'm hoping that the CrossMe Color developers will have an update soon that adds a few new puzzles to the existing levels.

In the meantime, I wanted to share with you a few of the level 7 (Sensei/Advanced) and the level 8 puzzles and solutions; I enjoy discovering what those rows and columns of colored, numbered squares will form when I complete a puzzle.

Puzzle 7.10 - Young Homer

Puzzle 7-23 - Bird

Puzzle 8-3 - Dog

Puzzle 8.4 - Giraffe

Puzzle 8.7 - Cat

Puzzle 8.14 - Parrot

Puzzle 8.16 - East

Puzzle 8.20 - Turtle

A few of the "expert" puzzles presented some difficulty, and I had to snag a few hints from the CrossMe Color Solutions Blog. But what I've pictured above are some of the puzzles that I solved completely on my own, and were personal favorites.

The CrossMe Color Premium app is $4.95 on both Google Play and the Amazon Appstore: a small amount for the hours (and hours) you'll find yourself engrossed in these puzzles.

A Day in the Life with Android (Part 6): CrossMe Color and Other Games

This is Part 6 (of what I originally thought would be only three parts) in my continuing series on how I use my Google/ASUS Nexus 7 tablet on a day-to-day basis. Part 1 covers my hardware accessories and business apps; Part 2 focuses on a variety of utilities; Part 3 deals with social media and related apps as well as ebook readers; in Part 4 I present additional utilities, news apps, and apps that didn't fit in the previous three posts, and Part 5 deals with media and radio apps, along with a few other odds 'n' ends. And here, in Part 6, I will cover a few Android games.

There are literally thousands (tens of thousands?) of Android games available. Who hasn't heard of Angry Birds. But did you know there are Angry Birds Seasons, Angry Birds Rio, Angry Birds Space, and, most recently, Angry Birds Star Wars? And should you purchase these or other games/apps, be sure to check first for an "HD" or "THD" version: this version will be optimized for the Android tablet (as opposed to a phone-sized screen). Unfortunately, these optimized versions usually cost a bit more.

Adventure games, puzzle games, physics games, single-person shooter games, construction games, defense games, sports games, word games, space shooter games. You name it, and there's a game or ten (or more) for it. If you are new to Android gaming, be aware that many paid apps have a free version of the game available for users to try before buying; these "lite" versions are typically limited in scope, but offer you the opportunity to try them out first.

Personally, I'm partial to puzzle games, especially those that have no time clock associated with the game play. Which is why, as I stated in a previous blog post, I am addicted to the game entitled CrossMe Color Premium. There's a free version of the game (CrossMe), but the squares are in black and gray, and the levels are limited. But if you are a puzzle freak, then pay the $4.95 and get the full-color premium version; you won't be disappointed.

CrossMe Color is a kind of Suvudu puzzle, but with colored squares; you have to match the color and number of squares both vertically and horizontally. Some of these puzzles have been very difficult and have taken probably hours (spaced out over time) to solve. There are no time limits on any puzzle, you can undo/redo squares whenever necessary, and -- check this -- the puzzle automatically saves your every move!

Here are a select few CrossMe Color before and after screen shots:

Puzzle 5.26 Chinese Wall

Puzzle 6.24 Cathedral

Puzzle 7.4 Halloween

Puzzle 7.8 Junk

Three of the CrossMe Color puzzles (3.13, 3.27, and 7.3) were so difficult that I couldn't find a starting point on the primary color. After hours -- and hours -- of frustrating attempts, I sought out the CrossMe Color Solutions Blog. Trust me, I didn't really want to snag a few starting lines from these puzzle solutions, and yet I didn't want to leave these three puzzles incomplete any longer. There were much harder puzzles that I have completed on my own, so why these three gave me such difficulty, I cannot say.

A Day in the Life with Android (Part 5)

This is Part 5 (albeit published much later than I had originally anticipated) in my continuing series in which I share how I use my Google/ASUS Nexus 7 tablet on a day-to-day basis. Part 1 covers my hardware accessories and business apps; Part 2 focuses on a variety of utilities; Part 3 deals with social media and related apps as well as ebook readers; and in Part 4 I review most of what is left -- a combination of utilities, news apps, and apps that didn't fit in the previous three posts, excluding audio-video and related apps, which I have reserved for this post.

As I mentioned in the previous entry in this series: "...what would an Android device be without at least a few games, some tunes, and a movie or two."

In Part 2 I talked about "cloud storage" services -- necessary because the Nexus 7's storage capacity is limited and the device has no card slot. [Note: If you read Part 2 previously, please read the update I posted on 02/26/2013 regarding a strong warning about Bitcasa cloud storage; and in place of Bitcasa, I have recommended Box cloud storage.]

But what do you do when you have no wireless access to those cloud storage services, and yet you need access to your documents and spreadsheets, as well as books, music, and movies, say, for that long plane ride, or the hotel stay where there is no free wireless?

You use the Nexus Media Importer app and a micro USB On-the-Go (OTG) cable. The Nexus Media Importer uses the N7's micro USB port, the same port used for charging the device. Just as the app says, this is for importing (and streaming) to the N7 only. You cannot move/save files from the N7 to the USB device.

The cable needed must be described as a "Micro USB OTG to USB 2.0 Adapter." The one I use (pictured here) is the T & S Electronics Micro USB OTG Cable, which cost $10.00 on Amazon. An online search, even on Amazon, will find cheaper cables, but I went with this one because of its design, the lifetime warranty, and because the company is located in the US (Los Angeles).

As with the Google Chrome browser, or all Google apps for that matter, Google Calendar syncs across all devices. If I set up a calendar appointment on my PC, it shows up on the N7, and vice versa. When I schedule an appointment, I always set up reminders to be sent to me via email and the Android notification bar.

If you keep up on tech news then you may have heard about the iPhone fiasco when Apple decided to do away with Google Maps and go with their own map app. (The fiasco cost a couple execs their jobs at Apple!) I recall reading an alert put out by the Australian travel bureau, I believe it was, warning tourists that an iPhone map error could be detrimental to travelers. With Google Maps, I can map out my destination, including driving directions, and then do a screenshot¹ of each so that I have access to the information on the N7 when there is no wifi available, like in the car.

ESPN's ScoreCenter for Android is ideal for tracking favorite sports and teams. I'm not much for sports, but I do follow a few college football teams, and local NFL and MLB teams. With ScoreCenter, you can track a multitude of sports, from Autoracing to MMA, and even Cricket! The app's "holo" design has recently been updated for the Nexus 7 and looks great. You can set up to receive notifications after each inning or quarter, for example, and receive news notifications for breaking sports stories.

A Day in the Life with Android (Part 4)

This is Part 4 in my continuing series in which I share how I use my Google/ASUS Nexus 7 tablet on a day-to-day basis. Part 1 covers my hardware accessories and business apps; Part 2 focuses on a variety of utilities; and Part 3 deals with social media and related apps as well as ebook readers.

This time around I will be covering most of the apps that are left -- a combination of utilities, news apps, and apps that didn't fit in the previous three posts, excluding games and audio-video apps. I'll delve into a few of the games I have, as well as my audio-video apps in Part 5, the last (hopefully) of this series. Really, though, what would an Android device be without at least a few games, some tunes, and a movie or two.

But before proceeding forward I need to go back a step, or two.

To quickly recap something from Part 1: I stated that I was using the Swype beta keyboard, which I was quite fond of. Then, Swype released a revision to the keyboard, and in the process broke a number of the keyboard's key (no pun intended) features. So, I switched to a competitor's keyboard, SwiftKey beta keyboard. Well, as is typical with Android apps, Swype released yet another revision to their keyboard that fixed all the issues and, in addition, included some new features. As of this writing, I have now switched back to the preferred Swype beta keyboard and, so far, all is well.

And in Part 2, I mentioned the four "cloud" services I am using. As of today, I can now add a fifth cloud service to the list: MediaFire. I learned about this service just this morning, but unfortunately the app was not compatible with the Nexus 7. Someone posted in an Android forum that they contacted the developer about this incompatibility, and a few hours later the problem was resolved. That's the kind of action Android users like to see from a developer (and it's a free app as well). MediaFire provides 50GB of free storage at signup; additional storage is available for a fee. I didn't mention this previously, but when using cloud services always be aware of their file size limitation on file transfers; typically it's between 100MB and 250MB per file, depending on the service, which means no movie streaming.

Speaking of cloud services, I use Cloud Print, which allows me to print from my N7 to my (new) wireless printer. (During Christmas week I installed a new Epson WorkForce WF-3540 Wireless All-in-One Printer; it replaces my tired HP deskjet, a true workhorse that has served me well for more than 15 years.) To use Cloud Print you must first configure your PC and wireless printer to work with Google Cloud Print.

I also have a new addition to my social media apps listed in Part 3: Until just this past week, Facebook Pages Manager was only available in Europe (I believe), but the app has now been released in the States. This app will allow me to manage my Alien Contact Anthology page on Facebook via my N7.

And just when I thought I was caught up, I learned of a new utility app just last night while reading posts on one of the Android forums. History Eraser is a multi-faceted app for deleting the cache on the N7. Just doing a quick delete of the cache on my N7 gained me 0.50 (and change) gigs, which is equivalent to more than 500+ megs. For the sake of comparison, the size of the History Eraser app is just under 2.50 megs.

Whether you are new to Android and the N7 or an experienced Android user, I recommend that you join the Nexus 7 Forum, a community devoted to helping each other and providing information (reviews, announcements, etc.). I added the forum to my Feedly app so I can scan the posts without having to actually visit the forum site. Of course, I also read Android Central, Android Police, and Droid Life, to name three others sites/communities.

A Day in the Life with Android (Part 3)

[Updated: January 8, 2013; see the app gReader Pro below]

This blog post continues my efforts to present the Android apps I use -- and how I use them -- on my Google/ASUS Nexus 7 tablet. In Part 1 I covered hardware accessories and what I think of as business apps. Part 2 dealt with utility apps, including cloud services.

I assume that if you are still with me on this series of blog posts, then you currently own an Android device, or at least are thinking about purchasing an Android device. So, if you haven't noted this already, each app links directly to the Google Play store where you can read more about the app, including a lengthier description, a list of permissions, and user reviews; and if you are currently an Android user, you could also install the app at that time.

With this third blog post, I plan to cover all the social media and related apps that I use: Google+, Facebook, Twitter, and Google Reader; apps that support social media posts, like Skitch and Snapseed; and ebook readers: Kindle, Nook, Google Play Books, and support apps, like ED PDF Reader Pro and Calibre Library.

I realize these aren't the most exciting of blog posts, but I'm hopeful that Android users, or potential Android users, will find something of value here. These posts also allow me to indulge in my latest passion.

The official Twitter app has too many holes, so I initially used Tweetdeck Web, which I also use on my desktop and laptop. Unfortunately, it's not designed for mobile devices and was very difficult to use on the N7. And then I found Falcon Pro: a beautifully designed app that features the Google "holo" design. I've submitted a few suggestions for updates, which I hope will be addressed in the near future. If I want to view (and delete) one of my own tweets, or unfollow someone, I still have to use either Tweetdeck Web or Twitter itself.

The official Facebook app was virtually unusable until founder Mark Zuckerberg "encouraged" his employees to use the Facebook Android app -- and then multiple updates were forthcoming. Until those updates, however, I used FaceDroid, but this app would freeze quite often (and still does) so I welcomed the "new" Facebook app.

I don't use Google+, per se, but when I post to Facebook I also post to Google+. However, I do get Google+ notifications on the N7 (and Facebook and Falcon Pro notifications as well), which keeps me informed of incoming posts.

On a daily basis, I read a ton of blogs, forums, RSS feeds, etc., so I need an RSS reader that will sync across all devices; the obvious answer is Google Reader. But, GR on the web is nothing more than a list of feeds and the official GR app is just as dreadful (it hasn't been updated since the Nexus 7 was shipped in mid-July 2012). I use Feedly on the web, an excellent RSS reader, which integrates with Google Reader; but the Feedly Android app crashes on my N7 constantly, nearly every time I access a link within a feed. (To recover from the crash I have to either reboot the N7 or go into the app's settings and delete all data.) But then I read a lengthy, detailed review of the gReader Pro app on Android Police -- and gReader Pro has since become my preferred RSS reader on the N7. (It's optimized for use on tablets, too.)

[Update: Yesterday, the Feedly app had its first update since last July; the update includes some UI changes as well as bug fixes. I have used it now for about a half-hour, accessing various links, and not a single crash -- so far. The wonder (and frustration) of Android, as I previously mentioned, are the updates: sometimes one waits for six months for such an update, as with Feedly; other times an app can be updated daily, or even multiple times during the day: the app may have worked perfectly on your device to start with, but after an update, not so much anymore.

So I have set aside gReader Pro for now and returned to using Feedly, which had been my favorite RSS reader (crashes aside).]

When a photo needs an extra touch -- a border, annotation, essentially any kind of photo editing -- then Skitch or Snapseed will meet those needs. Skitch, from the makers of Evernote, has sketching capabilities as well as picture editing; and before being ported to Android, Snapseed was the 2011 iPad App of the Year. (Please forgive my indiscretion for mentioning the "i" device.) The photos from either app can then be shared with social media apps, Evernote, cloud services, etc.

A Day in the Life with Android (Part 2)

In Part 1 I reviewed the hardware accessories for my Nexus 7 tablet, as well as one set of apps that I use for work; let's call them my "business" apps for now. Though the dividing line as to whether an app is business or entertainment can be blurry at best, given the nature of some of these apps....

With this blog post I want to cover the utilities that I use on a day-to-day basis. Again, in most instances, they can be used for both business and entertainment.

As is the case with Chrome and Gmail, mentioned in Part 1, many of these apps can be installed in some fashion as both an Android and a Windows app, allowing them to be synced across all devices. In a lot of ways, it's like having my desktop and laptop at my fingertips wherever I'm at, as long as my Nexus 7 is in hand (and a wireless connection is available).

Pocket, formerly "Read It Later," is one of those essential apps that appears regularly on "best of" lists. Pocket allows you to save a website, or just the URL, or a tweet, or blog post, or -- pretty much anything -- with the ability to read it later, WiFi connected or not. I also have the Pocket Windows add-on installed on the Chrome browser on my desktop and laptop: I can save an online short story to Pocket on my desktop and read it later on the Nexus 7.

Evernote is like One Note in Windows 7, but far less complicated, and thus easier to use; and, unlike One Note, Evernote can be installed and synced across all devices. Any text and graphic can be saved to Evernote; it's for notetaking, lists, essays, drafts, whatever.

Clipper - Clipboard Manager stores my 20 most recent clips, or copies, so that nothing is lost from the clipboard. The clips can then be stored in lists with an unlimited number of clips; clippings can be searched; and, under Android Jelly Bean, the clipboard manager is accessible from the notification bar.

With the N7 I can make outgoing telephone calls and send SMS text message; however, since it is not a mobile phone, the N7 cannot receive calls. I use Talkatone free calls & texting. Talkatone also requires a free Google Voice account for incoming calls: if a voice call is sent to my N7, the call gets routed automatically to another number of my choice that is able to accept incoming calls (this number must be provided when the Google Voice acct is set up); if a text msg is sent to my N7, it is automatically routed to my Gmail account.

Battery Widget? Reborn! Pro and Easy Battery Saver: I use these two apps to manage my battery usage. The N7 battery, at least in my few months of experience, requires frequent battery charges, so I rely on Easy Battery Saver to monitor and control the battery usage, and the widget to keep me informed of same. The widget maintains a graph in the notification bar, showing usage and hours remaining or charging time.