Samsung Kies Alternative: MyPhoneExplorer

After many hours of trying to figure out how to connect a colleague's Samsung Nexus S phone (GT-i9023) to its own-made sync software called Kies, I finally gave up. I have followed so many methods that some claim worked for them but just didn't for me and I was close at considering rooting this device that I don't even own. Samsung support sites were no use at all. It turns out that this phone has been racking up frustrations among those who bought it when they find the need to sync the phone to their PC for contacts, calendars, backup, firmware update etc. Don't get me wrong though, Samsung Nexus S is awesome in its own right, needless to say, being an Android phone with 2.3.3 Gingerbread on stock. It's just really the connectivity problem on Kies.

So I gave it another shot by installing Android SDK but still, to no avail. Then an old-school "ting!" finally hit me and why it took me that long I didn't know. I said to myself, "why not look for an alternative to Kies?" and once again, I found myself on google-mode.

And lo and behold... I found MyPhoneExplorer!

This software supports Sony Ericsson (SE) and Android devices and just right when I needed because I had to transfer contacts from an SE P1i phone to the Nexus S, which I already did.

MyPhoneExplorer is also capable of wifi and bluetooth connection that added flexibility and convenience for me. There are also cool extras like the ability to show the phone screen display over my PC/laptop and control the icons via mouse from there instead of tap/swipe. Text input was also made possible from my PC/laptop keyboard direct to the tablet... wireless!

There are certainly some areas for improvement like some quirks I encountered during sync process. I get disconnected occasionally on WiFi mode. The developer may also perhaps look into synching speed between outlook and phone.

Other than those, the tool is awesome. I just made it my main sync software now in lieu of Samsung Kies. So that's another reputation point stripped-off of Samsung's over the past year I've engaged their brand. They should seriously look into those issues on technical details (i.e. VPN functionality problem on GT-P1010 and firmware upgrade option to Gingerbread 2.3 to fix it) from their products and follow the much sought reputation of Apple in terms of quality and customer satisfaction.

Kies problem on Samsung Nexus S apparently is isolated on Kies itself because I'm able to make the phone work using MyPhoneExplorer. It shouldn't take that long to fix and it's been a year now since the phone's release, wth!?

Gladly, there are brilliant minds out there such as those from FJ Software Dev Team. 'Hats-off to them. ^_^

My Top Android Apps

Six months of using Android on my tablet and smartphone exposed me to quite a number of useful apps. That short span of venturing through the marketplace and 3rd-party source of apk's made me witness a fast-paced apps development in the android ecosystem. But first the stats, Android Market has about 350k active apps available for download and compared to hitting 1 billion downloads between 2008 and 2010, it has reached 10 billion milestone by Dec 2011.

Btw, Apple's iTunes/appstore has 400k+ active apps and 15B downloads in latest stats while BlackBerry RIM has approximately 50k apps.

But even with these large number of apps to choose from, selection of top-rated (free/paid) app is not that difficult to do because we're guided by user ratings (5-star rating system) and editor's pick. User reviews are also there for the final kick before one is convinced to buy or download one.


Now as for own top choices, I've chosen not more than 3 from selected categories (not necessarily in order):




Business & Productivity
- ColorNote / Evernote
- QuickOffice Pro

- Goodle Docs

Communication
- Skype



Entertainment
- MoboPlayer
- Speaktoit Assistant

Books and Reference 
- Moon Reader
- ColorDict
- Appy Geek

Tools and Utilities
- AndSMB
- 2X Client
- Traffic Statistics

Games
- Cut the Rope
- Defender
- Medieval Defense

Android OS: First encounter

My first encounter with an Android operated device was back in June this year. It was a Samsung smartphone (forgot the exact model). I didn't own it but I had the chance tinkering it for a while and just like that, it made a lasting impression on me. An excerpt from Samsung website about their lines of smart phones describes Android subtlety yet concisely by my own comprehension (only the last statement though):

"...is an open-source OS based on a modified Linux kernel. It employs Java and Google-based Java libraries in running its applications. It has large community of developers writing applications (“Apps”) which makes it one of the more compelling platforms to date."

Who started it? Google? Not exactly. I will leave Wikipedia to delve into that detail and most of the rest. But one interesting fact that amused me in a bit is the version flavor of the OS; it follows an alphabetic and peculiar code-naming convention. The earliest version I actually know of in phone models that exist to date is Cupcake (v1.5) and Eclair (v2.1) (e.g. Samsung i5700). Followed by the widely-popular Froyo (2.2) version at its boom months ago. Next is Gingerbread (2.3) -- currently my phone version (LG P500). Then came Honeycomb (3.0) -- I haven't seen one. And the latest, Ice Cream Sandwitch (4.0).

Reminiscent of the experience when I first got hold of that Android powered Samsung phone was the feel and excitement while I was exploring it, which specifically led me to a number of game titles developed for it. One of which was "Medieval Castle Defense".

Now lame as it might seem, what has this game got anything to do with the Android topic?

Android, ergo, this game is:
1. easy to play/use but sophisticated
2. enormously fun (just tweaking the phone settings is quite a past-time, lol)
3. portable (e.g. Android being open-source is not exclusive to a particular phone brand).
4. free (same as #3)

But wait a sec, I'm not trying to compare this with iPhone's IOS.... yet. So that's gotta be in another topic. For now I'd just say, Android makes my life easier and happier (in a dif'rent way).

More on Android later.