MOTOACTV - my first sports watch

I was thinking for while about buying GPS-enabled cycling computer and Garmin Enge 500 was my favorite. I wanted to try my routes and connect other sensors via ANT+. Obviously Garmin device provides all these features. I can connect cadence and heart rate sensors. I can even upload it to my Bodymedia Activity Manager via Garmin Connect. Then few weeks ago Motorola revealed MOTOACTV device, Android based sports watch with music player. Moreover it has ANT+ and Bluetooth LE so potentially I can use more accessories than with Edge 500. It also has WiFi and FM Radio. Apparently you can also root the device and install some other Android apps. I guess these two devices are hard to compare. Edge is truly cycling computer while Motoactv is a hybrid. I decided to get Motoactv cause it can be used for other activities beside cycling and in theory I can expand it by installing additional apps in future.

I got it yesterday and it was pretty easy to setup. If you want to use WiFi you have to install desktop software in order to add networks (you cannot type passwords on this device). I tried desktop software on Windows and OS X and functionality is similar. I charged it for couple hours as directed before I tried it outside. I must say that GPS lock is instant in comparison to my Palm Pre+ which quite often cannot sync at all. I guess it is what you get when you got GPS integrated with a phone receiver. What I liked Motoactv is auto start/stop workout feature. It automatically sense that device is not moving and suspends logging data until you start moving again. I was not always sure about my average speed provided by SmartRunner app on my phone cause it kept logging even if I stopped. I hope it will be possible to install Android version of this app on Motoactv some day to compare. After you are done with you workout you may upload data to tracking website. You might do it wirelessly with WiFi or connect to the desktop with USB. Wireless option is great when you do not have your computer with you but still want to upload and see results. I would probably need ANT+ USB stick if I chose Garmin. I am still waiting for delivery of heart rate monitor to see how ANT+ integration works.

Finally I got Android Market on Kindle Fire

Finally, after couple unsuccessful attempts of installing Android Market without rooting my device, I decided to root it. Thanks to The Unofficial Kindle Fire Blog article I was convinced that I can unroot it later.

[caption id="attachment_914" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Android SDK Manager"][/caption]

I already got few first steps covered cause I got Java Development Kit, Microsoft .NET Framework and Android SDK installed. I had to download SuperOneClick. Since I haven't done any development on Android besides trying to setup some samples to run on emulator my KIndle Fire was not detected. Amazon Appstore Developer FAQ got precise description (PDF) how to make it happen. The missing step was to update USB driver in Windows Device Manager with the one that Google provides with Android SDK. Unfortunately reboot is required on Windows. After that I could follow steps, run SuperOneClick and reboot Kindle Fire.

[caption id="attachment_915" align="aligncenter" width="175" caption="Android Market"][/caption]

Installing Android Market was actually a little bit complicated. Again I got few steps covered by my previous attempts. I already tried to sideload some apps and this option is enabled on my device. In addition it is possible to install GoogleServicesFramework.apk without rooting device so I did it when I was loading some other Google apps. I only needed actual Market app (Vending.apk)and something given in this recipe: MarketOpener.apk. Up to this point it was going according to the plan. Then next step filed. I do not know what is wrong with current version of File Expert available on Amazon Appstore but it does not properly copy files to /system/app directory. Be aware that version 4.0.3 is not working with his recipe. I was trying to copy or cut Vending.apk from my Download directory and paste it to /system/app but it did not happen. I found Root Exploder on this blog. It was able to complete what File Expert could not do. I was able to change permissions of Vending.apk and install MarketOpener.apk. After rebooting I connected my device to my desktop machine and run SuperOneClick to unroot it. Now Androit Makert is functional. Of course it can only allow to install applications that Google marks as compatible with Kindle Fire (sometimes Amazon marks app compatible while Google claims is not).

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First real problems with Kindle Fire

I must admit I has been trying different apps like crazy, downloading games for my daughter, trying to side load Google Apps, trying if "officially" unsupported apps really cannot run, etc. So far it was pretty nice experience. If something does not work I simply removed it from device.

My first problem happen during when my Thanksgiving trip to Lake Tahoe in Sierra Nevada. Wi-Fi in hotel was slower than mobile connection. I got couple apps stuck in install in progress state. There is no way to stop it, uninstall them or re-download. When I returned home I tried to contact Amazon Customer Service but so far I could find a competent representative. Eventually they asked me to send logs from device. Guess what, their mailbox was overflown with emails and message was returned :-) As a bonus I learned that if you type ;dm in a search box it dumps logs to KindleLogs directory.

Another problem bricked my device for a while. I am using Kid Mode app which hijacks home button so kids cannot go out and do other things. It crashed and after rebooting I got blank white screen instead of Amazon Launcher. Again I had no lack with customer support call. They asked me to fully charge device, reboot and call them back in few hours. In meanwhile I figured out that if I kill Kid Mode app, release Home button from it I eventually got asked to choose default app to be associated with Home button. I chose Launcher and voila I am back. Good thing is that Kid Mode can reestablish child lock when I run it again so everything is back to normal.

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Google.ru celebrates 60th anniversary of Stanislaw Lem first book

The Astronauts (in Polish Astronauci) is the first science fiction novel by Polish writer Stanisław Lem published as a book, in 1951. Today Google.ru published a doodle to celebrate this date.

[caption id="attachment_907" align="aligncenter" width="411" caption="60th anniversary of Stanislaw Lem first book"][/caption]

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Screenshots on Kindle Fire with Dalvik Debug Monitor

Kindle Fire ships with a debugging tool called the Dalvik Debug Monitor Server (DDMS). When you connect device with USB cable you can use ddms utility from Android SDK to take screenshots of device screen without rooting it. If you already have debugging environment set up all you need is to run this utility and take screenshot any time you want. If you do not have it read this article from Pigs, Gourds and Wikis blog.



Hopefully soon we can hear that somebody discovers how to make it on device without debugging it :-)


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Google Apps on Kindle Fire

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="307" caption="xda-developers"][/caption]

Thanks to xda-developers forum I got most of Google Apps working on Kindle Fire without rooting a device. Article on the forum keeps changing so maybe later you can find more information.

1. I downloded GApps archive from link provided in the post.


2. Unpacked files and copied to connected Kindle Fire download folder.


3. Using ES File Explorer from installed from Amazon Appstore navigate to where I got .apk files


4. First installed GoogleServicesFramework.apk and restarted device.


5. Later I was trying different apps:
   Maps - worked
   Reader - worked
   Gmail - worked
   Youtube - worked
   Street View - installed but there is no app icon to click. Maybe I need to launch it from Maps?
   Books - worked
   Google+ - worked


6. I did not try Talk and Voice cause it makes no sense running it on device without camera and microphone.


7. I did not try Market cause I read reports that it would require rooting to make it work

I only briefly run all this apps so there is no guarantee that somewhere down the road some functionality is not working. I have seen few error messages on the way so maybe it's not as good as it seems :-)

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Kindle Fire Newsstand

I haven't had paper magazine subscription for couple years but now I got this new media consuming device so I wanted to try how it works in digital era. I subscribed to two trials of cooking magazines cause it seems like most practical things I might use.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="470" caption="Kindle Fire Newsstand"][/caption]

Selection was quite limited so my favorite Cuisine At Home was not available. I chose  Bon Apetit and Everyday Food. First impression is that they look quite like real versions. But there is a catch, all this pretty photos take a lot of space and on digital reader space is limited so I hope that there is a way to store everything in Amazon Cloud otherwise if I got couple subscriptions I will run out of space pretty soon. Second, I do like that half of the pages are ads. Did not I paid for subscription? Why I have to still download all this commercial payload? In traditional newspaper model for years people tolerated this double dipping model cause it did not cost them money. When you got newspaper which 20% is actual content you most likely discard unwanted ad pages. You cannot do that with digital file. First it is in one piece, second, it is DRM protected. In result you got crippled product and you have to pay for storage or bandwith. I think publishers need to change their distribution model if they want to be success in digital age. Right now they just repackage their current junk and hope people will buy it as they used to.

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