How to improve speed of Android Studio on a legacy computer

Android Studio is one of the best IDEs for Android apps development, but with legacy computers, it is very slow. To run it on a Dell Vostro 3546, here's what I had to do. Upgrade hardware Minimum RAM required is 8 gb. The laptop came with 4 gb DDR3 1600 Mhz RAM which was slow, … Continue reading How to improve speed of Android Studio on a legacy computer →

How to fix Samsung M51 microphone sound not audible to other party in the call on dialing

This is a peculiar problem with the Samsung M51. It appears to be a software issue related to some settings in the Phone app. When calling others using the handset, they cannot hear me the first time. I disconnect and call them up again, and they can hear me very well. Also, when they call … Continue reading How to fix Samsung M51 microphone sound not audible to other party in the call on dialing →

How to report Unsolicited Commercial Communication to TRAI (Unwanted SMS and Calls)

Many times, we receive unwanted SMS or voice calls from people who market services or offer goods when we are registered on the "Do Not Disturb (DND)" lists of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). These telemarketers do not validate your status on the Do No Disturb database and send you marketing messages or … Continue reading How to report Unsolicited Commercial Communication to TRAI (Unwanted SMS and Calls) →

Got an ANT VR head set, here is how to view movies on it

I bought an ANT VR headgear and on first use, found that the video I played was in landscape mode alright, but it was not viewable properly. I could see wrong image and distorted. Finally, I realized that we need an application to split the movie into 2 distinct images on the phone display for … Continue reading Got an ANT VR head set, here is how to view movies on it →

How to fix compile error in Android application where strings.xml contain invalid characters

I created an application with a string-array in the strings.xml file. Unfortunately, I left some apostrophe in one of the string values that was: D'Souza Obviously, at compile time, the Android Studio 2.2 IDE threw an error about invalid characters not preceded by a . I should have actually put the string as: D'Souza Now, … Continue reading How to fix compile error in Android application where strings.xml contain invalid characters →

How to set up Contact Groups in Android (Marshmallow / Lollipop)

In Android 5 (Lollipop), I had set up my contacts with groups that were easy to manage and follow. Eg: Friends, Family, etc. Did not understand how that categorization came about. After applying the Android 6 (Marshmallow) upgrade, I realized that I could not set up Contact Groups. By habit, I had disabled unwanted system … Continue reading How to set up Contact Groups in Android (Marshmallow / Lollipop) →

Error Unable to run mksdcard SDK tool in Android Studio in Linux

When installing the Android Studio in Ubuntu Linux, the error Unable to run mksdcard SDK tool appears. This can be fixed by opening a terminal window and entering the following command:$ sudo apt-get install lib32z1 lib32ncurses5 lib32stdc++6 <enter>

Xiaomi or Xperia type security issues and how to detect them on any Android device

Anything that is too good to be true and available at dirt-cheap prices like the Xiaomi phones sold in flash sales on http://www.flipkart.com, always has a catch. It is like the Trojan horse. The security issue with Xiaomi phones is that the phone allegedly transmits user sensitive data like IMEI, contacts, numbers etc to servers … Continue reading Xiaomi or Xperia type security issues and how to detect them on any Android device →

Noom Weightloss Coach for Android

Noom Weightloss Coach is a very good app weight watch, lifestyle improvement and track cardio training. The best feature of this app is the Cardio Trainer that allows the tracking of parameters like calories, number of steps, distance, speed and if hooked to a heart rate monitor, heart rate too.

How to set up Airtel Mobile Internet access manually on Android phone

Recently, it was very tough to get the mobile internet settings from India's largest cellular service provider. This link on their website to receive settings via SMS never worked despite several retries on different days. Finally, he called their helpline at 121 and got to the option where they ask all sorts of questions including … Continue reading How to set up Airtel Mobile Internet access manually on Android phone →