I can't update Android apps installed on the sd card anymore

Connect your device to your PC (you may need to have the USB drivers that came with your phone installed)I've recently started having a problem with updating my Android apps.

If they were located on the SD card then the update would fail after it was downloaded.

After searching around for quite a bit, the following did the trick:

• Connect your phone to your PC
• When the connection is detected by the phone, it may ask you if you wish to switch to USB storage. Say yes.
• From your PC, go to the phone's drive (that should have just appeared in Explorer) and navigate to /sdcard/.android_secure/. 
• Find the file called smdl2tmp1.asec and delete it
• Disconnect the phone
• Done!!

[UPDATE 1dec2014]
A number of people have commented that they can no longer find the file smdl2tmp1.asec.
I have been told by others (but have not tested myself, as I don't have the problem) that another option is to connect the phone to a PC and use Windows Explorer to look at the SD card and try to find that file.

I am afraid I don't have any other suggestions :-(




[Blatant plug! See my article about my album on Google Play.]


 ps: Comments and/or links to this article are most welcome!

NeoniQ/Geniatech/Asiapads ATV1000 firmware updates etc

I bought one of the above Android-based media players and had a hard time getting it to play movies properly. The interface wasn't exactly the easiest to live with.

I have since found a newer version of the firmware (09Sep2011) *and* a version of the Android Market!!!

Download the above and then do the following:

1) copy the new firmware onto an SD card (not a USB disk!!!),

2) rename it to update.zip

3) On the media player, press F2 to go to the home screen, the F1 to bring up the options at the bottom of the screen. Select Settings, Privacy, Update firmware. It will reboot and install the new firmare.

Repeat this process for the market zip too.

Note: There have been a few updates since the above was written.

The first one is update_eng_0916 and the second one is update_Australia_0927

Update_eng_0916 is very similar to the original 09Sep2011 one, with a few more apps in it, as well as Flash player v10.2

The 'australian' one comes with Flash player v10.3

I am using the 'eng' version and, apart for the extra junk apps, it works very well.

The above updates do not include the HDMI switcher that came with the original firmware.

To get it back, do the following:

• press and hold left mouse button
• when the menu pops up, select Shortcuts, Settings, Display settings.
• Done!

Enjoy!

ps: Comments and/or links to this article are most welcome!

Stop using Android task killers

This is a brief extract from this article, explaining why we should no longer use Task Killers.

Hello, friends. This is an Android Public Service Announcement regarding the overuse of “task killer” apps in the Android community. Almost everyone has experimented or used one of these apps at one point in their Android life. I wont judge you. In some cases, these apps might have been installed even without your knowledge. I know for a fact that reps at carrier retail stores will download and install these upon buying any of their Android phones. But why? It’s largely in part because of this HUGE misconception that Android needs these apps in order to run properly. But this couldn’t be further from the truth.

Seeeduino ADK lets you build Android accessories on the cheap

For those of you who are also into hardware, here is a bit of good news.

You can start developing Android Open Accessories on the cheap, as in for about $80, as opposed to the $400 or so you'd need for the Google recommended dev kit.

Seeeduino ADK lets you build Android accessories on the cheap -- Engadget

ps: Comments and/or links to this article are most welcome!