Fruit Ninja - Amazon Free app of the day

Grab a sword and start slicing and dicing! Download it free today.

Soundhound - Free App of the Day

I actually prefer this over Encore but it does the same thing. Hear a song, click listen, it tells you what it is and where to find it or buy it.

• Blazing fast music recognition: name tunes playing from a speaker in as little as 4 seconds
• The world's only viable singing and humming recognition
• Voice recognition music search: just speak a title or band name to check it out
• Lookup song lyrics
• Song previews allow you to listen and sample tops hits and new discoveries
• Buy link for instant music downloads, including Amazon MP3
• Song mapping allows you to see where you discovered your songs on a map, and can be viewed later in your History
• Social sharing: it's fast and easy to share your song IDs via Facebook, Twitter, SMS, and e-mail
• Optimized for both phones and tablets, including Motorola Xoom and Samsung Galaxy Tab

Download it for free today on Amazon

Free App of the Day - Angry Birds Seasons

That is right! Everyones favorite time waster, Angry Birds, has a version for the various holidays though out the year called Seasons. Download it free today.

Download Google Voice for the Xoom

We are all patiently awaiting Google Voice for our Xooms. There is a hacked version of Google Voice out here and if you are interested you can download it here. Like the SD card functionality I am sure it will be here soon enough but if you are impatient, like myself, you can get it now enjoy!

Moving the apps blog today

I would like to make an intelligent post, but the fact is I have to move the application blog for the Xoom and Twitterfeed is lame. If there was another service I would use it. Sorry for the re-posts on twitter... weak sauce.

Swiftkey Tablet Keyboard baby

O.K. I am not one to tell you what to do... usually.... but, today? Download this app for FREE. Just DO IT! Swiftkey is awesome and the new Swiftkey Tablet beta has a lot of potential. What does that mean for you the Xoom user? Download this free apps and in a few weeks you will have an awesome keyboard optimized for the Xoom.
Trust me on this. Again, “today” it may not work too well on your Xoom but... it will!

Shazam is free today

The free app of the day is Shazam Encore. Usually $5 but free at Amazon for 24 hours. This app listens to music at the touch of a button then finds other copies of the same song on Youtube, Amazon MP3, etc. About as good as Soundhound but since it is free... better!

Free Android apps daily @Amazon

For those totally not sold on the Amazon App Store yet, here is another incentive. Amazon gives away one application that you usually would have to pay for FREE everyday. Since the price is right you may want to swing over everyday and check to see what it is.

FireFox 4.0 for Android

In addition to the Opera browser, Fire Fox 4.0 was released today and it runs well on the Xoom. Unfortunately, like Opera, I cannot seem to enable Flash. If anyone could clue me in I would appreciate it. It looks like it does have the option to Sync with your Desktop just like Chrome.

Angry Birds Rio - FREE today

In an effort to push Amazons new App Store they are giving away the new Angry Birds Rio. Simply go to Amazon, select the App, put in your e-mail address, and a link to the apps store will be sent. Once the app store is installed you can download Rio for Free!

Opera Browser for Xoom

Looks like an optimized version of the Opera browser was released for the Xoom. Much more configurable than the default browser and not force closing on me like the Dolphin Browser would. This browser also seems to render pages a LOT faster than the default browser. Unfortunately I cannot find a way to make Flash work nor a setting to switch the UA sting to “Desktop” instead of “Mobile”. Opera looks like it has lots of potential and is polished, very promising. You may want to check it out for yourself.

New Busy Box released - Ti Backup working

A new Busy Box was released on the Market. Now if you are asking yourself, “What the heck is busy box?” I can understand that. Basically busy box is a set of Unix commands other programs can call to do whatever it is they need to do. (See Wiki on Busy Box) Many root type applications will need a copy of busybox to run correctly. One such program that relies heavily on busy box is Titanium Backup. Up until today Ti backup was a bit “crippled” because you could not backup, freeze, and restore system level applications. The new BusyBox fixes this.



If you do not see an information screen in Titanium Backup (like the one above) that points to the new (BusyBox 1.18.x from system), then you may have to go to Applications > Manage Applications > Titanium Backup > Force Stop the app. Then remove the cache and data for the app.

Why is it so important to have Titanium Backup or other such program running correctly? Because once we start seeing a lot of new custom builds for the Xoom you will take a full backup of all your USER apps, install the new ROM, then batch restore all your applications with all your personal settings back to your tablet. Once you get good at the whole process it will not take you more than 15-20 minutes to backup all your data, wipe your Xoom, install the new OS, then have all your applications running again. In addtion, if you do not like any of your SYSTEM applications you can back them up and remove them or “freeze” them. Then when an OS upgrade comes around you can restore or “defrost” them all and take the upgrade. GOOD STUFF!

Notice now on my Xoom I can see both system and user apps from within Ti BU:


And if you have never seen the batch menu in Ti Backup it looks like this:

Once we get a working SD card I am sure we will see a torrent of new OS mods and custom upgrades. Stay tuned.

SwiftKey Tablet Keyboard

For those looking for an alternate keyboard solution on their Xoom you will be pleased to know one is “in the pipe”. SwiftKey.

This is one of my favorite keyboards to use on my Android phone. Now to the good part. A split keyboard option for thumb typing in landscape mode. The unique thing about the program is it it tries to learn and predict what you are going to type next. In my experience, after a short training period, it does a very good job at this and is a real timesaver on loooooong words. If you want to read more about these features check out their site. This keyboard is only available as beta and probably will not be on the market for a few weeks. However, you can go to their site and sign up for the beta. Use the link above > VIP section ;)

I have not used it enough yet to make an honest review quite yet but, I am digging it so far. Here are the 3 screen options:

Attaching in email

Can’t seem to figure out how to attach a non picture file. Gallery is the only option?

I guess I never thought about this. I do not use the default e-mail client, I use K9 for all my mail accounts (including gMail) all set for IMAP so my mail looks the same on my computers, phone and tablet. @dan_root on Twitter reminded me that the Exchange support on K9 can be a bit lacking so I understand some folks need to run the Xoom eMail client. But the client being used is not the problem here.

The problem is your Xoom does not come with a way to pick a file except though the gallery so you are kind of stuck. I always had various File Explorers loaded, day 1, so again I just never dawned on me.

So if you cannot find a way to chose an attachment using the default mail client you are NOT crazy. Just pick one of the many File Explorers out there, install it, then attach any file you want.

Xoom screenshot program

Fahrbot Mobile is happy to present their screen capture app for all rooted devices, including those running Android 3 Honeycomb! Their application employs a unique solution to allow capture on any device with superuser permissions, and is currently the only application capable of working on Honeycomb (AKA your Xoom).

That is right a working screenshot app! Woot! and yes you read that right you need ROOT. Since this is a new app for you, the user, I did run this though the Privacy Inspector and it got a 100% clean rating.


You can download the app here for free or support the developer and download the app on the market. I would prefer you support the developer as it is only $2.

Did you get your Flash?

For those folks chomping at the bit for Flash I am sure you got it already. Did the world change? No huh? ;)

Well for the rest of the folks out there that did not have a life dependent on having the actual released version of Flash and not the “spooky” leak the real version of Flash is out. You do not have to uninstall the leak but, if you are not prompted for an upgrade automatically got to the Flash link on the market and click upgrade.

Easy FTP and Bluetooth file copies

Yes, I know it is kind of PITA to connect via Bluetooth to copy files around on the Xoom. Guess what? The ES File Explorer makes it a no brainer. The primary function of this program is file management but it does Bluetooth and FTP. Just pair your devices and GO! It also will allow you to copy files via FTP if you have a system set up as an FTP server.

The best thing about this product is that it is FREE!

Quick Browser Controls

Here is a neat little add on built in to your Xoom browser. Are you using it too?

In your Browser go to Settings > Labs > Quick Controls



Then when you swipe left or right you will get this menu:

Got Flash now too many ads?

I have seen a few posts here and there about how to stop getting advertisements in your browser and in games.

Honestly, I did not know Angry Birds even had advertisements till I played it on someones Android Phone. ;)

Many solutions out there are rather complicated and it is not really that hard. While not "optimized" for a tablet AdFree for Root does indeed work. You will need root (hence the name) but all it does is download an updated hosts file and point known ad severs to a null IP 127.0.0.1 (the loopback address on your Xoom). It also has the option of pointing to another address although I am not really sure why you would want to. While this will not get them ALL you will notice a lot less. Anyway here you go.
AdFree on the Market

Malware and Viruses. So scary. NOT!

For those of you who are feeling a bit "concerned" due to recent viruses and malware in the Android market do you really think you need to run a full blown virus app? Some do. I don't. Why? I know what every single program on my tablet does, what permissions it has, and where it came from. I do not run AV software on my Macs and I am certainly not going to start running it on my phones or tablet unless it is 100% necessary. Right now, in my opinion - is it not (and this is 20 years of IT talking). In the "old days" you would have to go to the Market, read what the permissions the app was going to ask for, read the reviews, make sure it had be downloaded a few hundred times, etc. Well, this process just a whole bunch easier!

Privacy Inspector is the only app that can fully lookout for apps that steal your private information and may be harmful to your device. It is unlike any other app in that it can actually scan through other apps code to find privacy issues. No other app can do this on Android! This is what sets Privacy Inspector apart from other apps that claim protection.

He is also woking on the Privacy Blocker that will, after scanning for potential violations, can actually fix the problems that are in the application(s). After fixing you can install the secure app directly on your device without having to worry about it.

Just FYI: This is a VERY NEW application and it will occasionally FC (force close) but the developer is actively working on fixing the issues and only $2 for us early adopters. Here are a few screenshots:

Vendetta - Space Game

Vendetta Online is on the Market. Downloading now. For .99 cents what the hell. Be aware that the game is over 200 megs to download.

Quickoffice is on the way

Not really an application "review" but if you are looking for a great office solution, Quick Office is great. Sign up here to be notified when it comes out.

Weather Bug Beta

New Weather Bug beta. You may not be able to search for it in the market but here is a market link.

Google Body

Navigate and search an interactive 3D model of human anatomy.

Google Body is a detailed 3D model of the human body. You can view different anatomical layers, zoom in, and navigate to parts that interest you. Click to identify anatomy, or search for muscles, organs, bones and more. A male model is coming soon. Market link here.

Looking for the newest games for your Xoom?

Looking for the best games to run on your new Xoom? Well NIVIDA has launched the Terga Zone to help you find the best in games. Download from the Market here.

Thumb Keyboard

If you are like me then you hate the keyboard that came with your tablet. Enter the Thumb Keyboard. Easy to use and very configurable in both portrait and landscape mode. Under $2.