Map Android Phone In Windows To Access Files Over WiFi Using SwiFTP

If you are a gadget geek at heart and love to do anything that encompasses remotely accessing your device from anywhere, give SwiFTP FTP Server a shot. It is a free open source Android app that lets you remotely connect to your phone over WiFi / 3G to upload and download content. This Android application converts your phone into an FTP server which is accessible by a unique FTP IP generated by the app.We tested this app on HTC Desire And HTC Dream G1 and it works perfectly on both.

Download And Install SwiFTP

First download SwiFTP on your Android phone via Market. You can search for “swiFTP” in the market to get the app.

Once launched, give it any username or password, select the port (default is 2121), and select other settings before clicking Save.

Now click Start to begin the server.

Note down the FTP address (see Wifi URL in the screenshot below) generated by the app and use it to connect via any desktop FTP client. You can also map the network location for quick access in Windows Explorer.

Access Android Phone Files By Mapping Network Path In Windows

To map the device as network path, in Windows Explorer, under Network Location section, right-click to select Add network Location from context menu.

This will bring up Add Network Location wizard. In first step, enter FTP address of internal IP (WiFi URL) followed by port number (2121) as shown in the screenshot below. Click Next to continue.

Now enter an appropriate user name (the same which you used in the first step) to connect with FTP server and click Next to proceed further.

In the last step, give an appropriate name of network location and click Next.

In  informational dialog of wizard, you can enable Open this network location when I click Finish option to immediately view & manage your Android handset’s content. Once done, click Finish.

You will be prompted to enter the password, after which, it will immediately open network location, allowing easy access to your Android handset’s files & folders.

The advantage of mapping is that you can choose to save the password and access the folder quickly from My Computer without having to enter the credentials over and over again.

If you are facing some file accessing speed issues, you can try out dedicated FTP client application like FileZilla.

We tested it on Android 2.1 running on rooted G1 and non-rooted HTC Desire. With rooted Android phone, you get the full root access. Testing was done on Windows 7 32-bit OS.

Download SwiFTP (download from project page or you can simply install it from the Android market)

How to Backup Firmware from Kies Upgrade Process

I have read lots of queries from users in many forums asking how can they extract firmware files from kies while kies is upgrading their phones. In all, I found no answers but questions. I thus decided to provide a simple answer to this long asked question.
I first downgraded my phone by flashing it with S8500XXJF4_Full firmware so that kies will detect an upgrade for me. Yes, when I connected the phone kies detected a firmware upgrade to S8500XXJL2.

Now read on to see how to save the firmware files during kies upgrade process.

1. On your pc, windows explorer, check the option "Show hidden files, folders, and drivers".

2. Now connect your phone to pc via kies to begin the firmware upgrade.

3. Kies will begin to download the firmware files...
a. The files will be saved under a tmp file called "tmp****.tmp"

(NB: **** can be any letters or numbers, e.g. In my two times of upgrade via kies, 
first timethe tmp files was "tmpA4CE.tmp", and on the second it was "tmpD900.tmp"

b. In Windows 7, this tmp file is located at, C:\Users\*\AppData\Local\Temp

(NB: * is the pc user session name, e.g. C:\Users\Spacks\AppData\Local\Temp)

4. When download is complete, kies decompresses this tmp file into a folder called 

"tmp****.tmp.zipfolder" and begins the firmware upgrading process.

a. The folder has same name as the tmp file but now with an extention of .zipfolder. 

(So scroll through the folders in the same directory to locate it).


b. When kies begins the upgrade process starting from 1% until it reaches 100%,

quickly copy the "tmp****.tmp.zipfolder" to your desktop.

You have about 2 to 3 minutes to do this. Kies will delete the folder once upgrade is 100% (completed).


5. The "tmp****.tmp.zipfolder" contains all the firmware files kies has used to upgrade your phone.

Now you have a backup of official firmware from kies. This is also useful in case kies fails to complete the upgrade process. 
Just use the saved files and manually flash your phone using multiloader.

Finally, I attach some screenshots for further assistance.

ATTACHMENTS

Contents of the tmp_tmpzipfolder

Folder to be copied to desktop

Summary

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How to Update HTC Desire to Gingerbread 2.3 Firmware

Upcoming Smartphones WOW Just take a look

Nokia N9
One of the first of the all new MeeGo line of devices and from what we hear the last for Nokia as well, is the Nokia N9. This rectangular colorful block of a handset is equipped with all kinds of goodies from a Gorilla Glass display that’s also coated with an anti-glare polarizer (very handy for out door viewing I imagine) to a 1GHz Cortex A8 CPU for speed, NFC (Near Field Communication) support with Angry Birds Magic thrown in plus the Dolby Mobile sound engine. Although the handset will be available in 16GB and 32GB models, like the Nexus S, it will not have support for external memory which might be a bit of downer for some. The Nokia N9 will also be available in a variety of funky colors.
The MeeGo toting smartphone features -

• a 3.9-inch AMOLED capacitive touchscreen with a 480 x 854 pixel resolution and 16 million colors
• 3G, Wi-Fi with hotspot capabilities, EDGE/GPRS,
• Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP, USB 2.0
• GPS with A-GPS support for Ovi Maps, Geotagging
• 8 megapixel autofocus camera with dual LED flash, 720p video recording
• Secondary camera for video calling
• 16GB internal memory
• 3.5mm handsfree socket for TV Out as well
• Dolby Digital Plus

MILESTONE XT883
It was disappointing to realize that the Motorola MILESTONE 2 never did make it to India so my hopes are high for the XR883 making it here. This next-gen MILESTONE will feature a Dual-core 1GHz TI OMAP4 processor running Android Gingerbread and of course the customary MILESTONE slide out QWERTY keypad. Although it hasn’t been officially confirmed, it's quite unlikely that Motorola would not include it on this model when its predecessor the XT720 was equipped with a port. The onboard 8MP camera will be capable of full HD video recording and so naturally full HD video playback as well. The high-res mobile display should put it in the league of the or Samsung Galaxy SII although it falls just a little bit short of “Retina” quality resolution.
Motorola’s MILESTONE XT883 will also come with -

• a 4-inch capacitive touchscreen with a 540 x 960 pixel resolution and 16 million colors
• 3G, Wi-Fi with hotspot capabilities, EDGE/GPRS,
• Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP, USB 2.0
• GPS with A-GPS support, Geotagging
• 8 megapixel autofocus camera with LED flash, 1080p video recording
• Secondary VGA camera for video calling
• 16GB internal memory
• 3.5mm handsfree socket
• microSD card support up to 32GB

Xperia Pro
Sony’s Xperia range of Android enabled smartphones have been enjoying their spotlight for a while now and the Xperia Pro with its slide out full QWERTY keypad with individually spaced keys is due to hit the shelves soon. The Xperia Pro is also said to have a scratch resistant display. This funky looking smartphone will be out with Android Gingerbread running on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 1 GHz processor and Sony’s Mobile Bravia Engine to help enhance the device's visual capabilities. With DLNA as well as HDMI media streaming will be a breeze. The onboard 8 Megapixel camera will have features that include Geotagging, face/smile detection and Touchfocus.
The Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro will be equipped with -

• a 3.7-inch LED-backlit LCD touchscreen with a 480 x 854 pixel resolution and 16 million colors
• 3G, Wi-Fi with hotspot capabilities and DLNA compatibility, EDGE/GPRS,
• Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP, USB 2.0
• GPS with A-GPS support, Geotagging
• 8 megapixel autofocus camera with LED flash, 720p video recording
• Secondary VGA camera for video calling
• 1GB internal memory
• 3.5mm handsfree socket for TV Out as well
• FM radio
• HDMI Out
• microSD card support up to 32GB

Android Basics

1) Android Basics

Introduction:

Android is a software stack for mobile devices that includes an operating system, middleware and key applications. Google Inc. purchased the initial developer of the software, Android Inc., in 2005. Android's mobile operating system is based on the Linux kernel. Google and other members of the Open Handset Alliance collaborated on Android's development and release. TheAndroid Open Source Project (AOSP) is tasked with the maintenance and further development of Android. The Android operating system is currently the world's best-selling Smartphone platform.

Android has a large community of developers writing applications ("apps") that extend the functionality of the devices. There are currently over 200,000 apps available for Android. Android Market is the online app store run by Google, though apps can also be downloaded from third-party sites. Developers write primarily in the Java language, controlling the device via Google-developed Java libraries.

The unveiling of the Android distribution on 5 November 2007 was announced with the founding of the Open Handset Alliance, a consortium of 80 hardware, software, and telecom companies devoted to advancing open standards for mobile devices. Google released most of the Android code under the Apache License, a free software and open source license.

The Android open-source software stack consists of Java applications running on a Java-based, object-oriented application framework on top of Java core libraries running on a Dalvik virtual machine featuring JIT compilation. Libraries written in C include the surface manager, OpenCore media framework, SQLite relational database management system, OpenGL ES 2.0 3D graphics API, WebKit layout engine, SGL graphics engine, SSL, and Bionic libc. The Android operating system, including the Linux kernel, consists of roughly 12 million lines of code including 3 million lines of XML, 2.8 million lines of C, 2.1 million lines of Java, and 1.75 million lines of C++.

Version history

2.1 Eclair

Changelog:

• Sync: Expanded Account sync. Multiple accounts can be added to a device for email and contact synchronization
• Email: Exchange support, Combined inbox to browse email from multiple accounts in one page.
• Bluetooth: 2.1 support
• Contacts: Tap a contact photo and select to call, SMS, or email the person.
• Messaging: Search all saved SMS and MMS messages. Auto delete oldest messages in a conversation when a defined limit is reached.
• Camera: Flash support, Digital zoom, Scene mode, White balance, Color effect, Macro focus
• Virtual keyboard: Improved typing speed, smarter dictionary learns from word usage and includes contact names as suggestions.
• Browser: Refreshed UI, Bookmark thumbnails, Double-tap zoom, Support for HTML5
• Calendar: Agenda view enhanced, Attending status for each invitee, Invite new guests to events.
• System: Optimized hardware speed, Revamped UI
• Display: Support for more screen sizes and resolutions, Better contrast ratio
• Maps: Improved Google Maps 3.1.2
• MotionEvent class enhanced to track multi-touch events
• Live Wallpapers: Home screen background images can be animated to show movement

2.2 Froyo

Changelog:

• System: Speed, memory, and performance optimizations
• Additional application speed improvements courtesy of JIT implementation
• Integration of Chrome's V8 JavaScript engine into the Browser application
• Improved Microsoft Exchange support (security policies, auto-discovery, GAL look-up, calendar synchronization, remote wipe)
• Improved application launcher with shortcuts to Phone and Browser applications
• USB tethering and Wi-Fi hotspot functionality
• Added an option to disable data access over mobile network
• Updated Market application with batch and automatic update features
• Quick switching between multiple keyboard languages and their dictionaries
• Voice dialing and contact sharing over Bluetooth
• Support for numeric and alphanumeric passwords
• Support for file upload fields in the Browser application
• Support for installing applications to the expandable memory
• Adobe Flash support
• Support for extra high DPI screens (320 dpi), such as 4" 720p

2.3 Gingerbread

Changelog:

• System: Updated user interface design for simplicity and speed
• Display: Support for extra-large screen sizes and resolutions (WXGA and higher)
• Internet calling: Native support for SIP VoIP telephony
• Virtual Keyboard: Faster, more intuitive text input, improved accuracy, better suggested text. Voice input mode
• Copy/Paste: Enhanced. Select a word by press-hold, copy, and paste.
• Near Field Communication lets the user read an NFC tag embedded in a poster, sticker, or advertisement.
• New audio effects such as reverb, equalization, headphone virtualization, and bass boost
• System: Improved power management with a more active role in managing apps that are keeping the device awake for too long.
• Download Manager gives the user easy access to any file downloaded from the browser, email, or another application.
• Camera: Access multiple cameras on the device, including a front-facing camera, if available.
• Media: Support for WebM/VP8 video playback, and AAC audio encoding
• System: Enhanced support for native code development
• Audio, graphical, and input enhancements for game developers
• Concurrent garbage collection for increased performance
• Native support for more sensors (such as gyroscopes and barometers)
• Switched from YAFFS to ext4 on newer devices

Android Architecture

FEATURES OF ANDROID

• Handset layouts The platform is adaptable to larger, VGA, 2D graphics library, 3D graphics library based on OpenGL ES 2.0 specifications, and traditional smartphone layouts.
  
• Storage SQLite, a lightweight relational database, is used for data storage purposes
  
• Connectivity Android supports connectivity technologies including GSM/EDGE, IDEN, CDMA, EV-DO, UMTS, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi (no connections through Proxy server and no Ad hoc wireless network), LTE, NFC and WiMAX.
  
• Messaging SMS and MMS are available forms of messaging, including threaded text messaging and now Android Cloud To Device Messaging Framework(C2DM) is also a part of Android Push Messaging service.
  
• Multiple Language Support Multiple languages are available on Android. The number of languages more than doubled for the platform 2.3 Gingerbread. Android lacks font rendering of several languages even after official announcements[citation needed] of added support (e.g. Hindi).
  
• Web browser The web browser available in Android is based on the open-source WebKit layout engine, coupled with Chrome's V8 JavaScript engine. The browser scores a 93/100 on the Acid3 Test.
  
• Java support While most Android applications are written in Java, there is no Java Virtual Machine in the platform and Java byte code is not executed. Java classes are compiled into Dalvik executables and run on the Dalvik virtual machine. Dalvik is a specialized virtual machine designed specifically for Android and optimized for battery-powered mobile devices with limited memory and CPU. J2ME support can be provided via third-party applications.
  
• Media support Android supports the following audio/video/still media formats: WebM, H.263, H.264 (in 3GP or MP4 container), MPEG-4 SP, AMR, AMR-WB (in 3GP container), AAC, HE-AAC (in MP4 or 3GP container), MP3, MIDI, Ogg Vorbis, FLAC, WAV, JPEG, PNG, GIF (though earlier versions do not support animated GIFs, BMP.
  
• Streaming media support RTP/RTSP streaming (3GPP PSS, ISMA), HTML progressive download (HTML5 <video> tag). Adobe Flash Streaming (RTMP) and HTTP Dynamic Streaming are supported by the Flash plugin. Apple HTTP Live Streaming is supported by RealPlayer for Mobile, and by the operating system in Android 3.0 (Honeycomb). Microsoft Smooth Streaming is planned to be supported through the awaited port of Silverlight plugin to Android.
  
• Additional hardware support Android can use video/still cameras, touchscreens, GPS, accelerometers, gyroscopes, magnetometers, dedicated gaming controls, proximity and pressure sensors, thermometers, accelerated 2D bit blits (with hardware orientation, scaling, pixel format conversion) and accelerated 3D graphics.
  
• Multi-touch Android has native support for multi-touch which was initially made available in handsets such as the HTC Hero. The feature was originally disabled at the kernel level (possibly to avoid infringing Apple's patents on touch-screen technology at the time). Google has since released an update for the Nexus One and the Motorola Droid which enables multi-touch natively.
  
• Bluetooth Supports A2DP, AVRCP, sending files (OPP), accessing the phone book (PBAP), voice dialing and sending contacts between phones. Keyboard, mouse and joystick (HID) support is available through manufacturer customizations and third-party applications. Full HID support is planned for Android 3.0 (Honeycomb).
  
• Video calling Android does not provide native video calling support, but some handsets have a customized version of the operating system that support it, either via the UMTS network (like the Samsung Galaxy S) or over IP. Video calling through Google Talk is available in Android 2.3.4 and later.
  
• Multitasking Multitasking of applications is available.
  
• Voice based features Google search through voice has been available since initial release. Voice actions for calling, texting, navigation, etc. are supported on Android 2.2 onwards.
  
• Tethering Android supports tethering, which allows a phone to be used as a wireless/wired hotspot. Prior to Android 2.2 this was supported by third-party applications or manufacturer customizations.
  
• Screen Capture Android does not currently support screenshot capture. This is supported by manufacturer and third-party customizations.