How to configure Dodo Mobile Broadband

This is actually for a Motorola Xoom tablet but some people out there may have the same issues with the Nexus 7 sim tablet. There's a cheap internet provider here in Australia called Dodo but their service is terrible. I just spend six hours trying to configure their mobile broadband. I'm not sure if this will help someone out there but I wanted somewhere on the internet to feature what Dodo should have had on their website.

First of all, you will need to speak to a real person if you want to activate their sim card. Don't think that the sim card will be activated by their automated process on the phone. Call them up and speak to someone.

Secondly, when you go to Dodo's website, eventually you find their Mobile Broadband settings listed as below.

Setting	Value
APN Name	dodolns1
APN Type	Static
Access Number	*99#
Authentication Protocol	CHAP
SP Code	335D1

However, all you really need to do is in the APN settings of your tablet or mobile, just add in dodolns1 (that's lowercase of DODOLNS1). You may need to add dodolns1 to APN Name as well. I made the mistake of thinking the l was actually I. Don't worry about anything else in the APN settings. Definitely don't worry about the Authentication protocol, Access Number or the silly SP code. Androids don't have these fields.

The mobile internet should then work. So did this help you? let me know.

Why Use a Tablet?

I am not sure what your experience is but since I bought a laptop with a SSD hard disk and I use a Galaxy Nexus mobile phone, I found that the Nexus 7 became quite neglected. What do you use your Nexus 7 for?

What's coming on Android 4.3

Today we’re releasing Android 4.3 — an upgrade to Jelly Bean that introduces a number of new features, including restricted profiles. Android 4.3 also adds Bluetooth Smart support (a.k.a Bluetooth Low-Energy); the latest in 3D graphics through OpenGL ES 3.0; and more.

Restricted profiles for tablets
Lightweight and portable, tablets are perfect for sharing with others. Last October we added support for multiple users. Each person has a separate space and can freely customize the tablet experience, from lockscreen to wallpaper, apps and folders.

In Android 4.3, we're introducing restricted profiles, which let you manage per-user access to apps and content. Restricted profiles can be used in any number of situations. For example, restricted profiles enable parental controls, so certain family members are prevented from accessing mature content. Alternately, retail stores can use tablets as kiosks that show product information, or shops can use tablets as point of sale systems, all while limiting access to apps.

To set up restricted profiles on your tablet, go to the Users section under Settings.Learn more.

Bluetooth Smart support (a.k.a. Bluetooth Low-Energy)
Fitness sensors and other devices that use Bluetooth Smart technology open the door for a whole new class of mobile applications. Bluetooth Smart minimizes power usage while measuring and transmitting data, making both sensors and the phones or tablets connected to them more battery-efficient.

With Android 4.3, Nexus 4 can now connect to Bluetooth Smart sensors. Runtastic and many other developers are making Android apps compatible with these sensors.

Accelerated 3D graphics with OpenGL ES 3.0
Devices like the new Nexus 7 support OpenGL ES 3.0, the latest industry standard for accelerated 3D graphics. This brings photorealism to a whole new level in the games you're playing: blades of grass on the soccer field come alive, asphalt on the street looks real as you screech by, stubble on a villains' face almost pokes out of the screen. And with sophisticated effects like self-shadows, that villain looks even more menacing, casting a shadow on himself.

Dial pad autocomplete
With Android 4.3 we’ve introduced a new autocomplete feature in the dial pad. Just start touching numbers or letters and the dial pad will suggest phone numbers or names. To turn on this feature, open your phone app settings and enable “Dial pad autocomplete”.

Solution: Google Play Error [RPC:S-5:AEC-0]

I noticed that Google Drive was not working properly and found out that I needed to install a new version. However when I went into Google Play, it gave me the error above. This is how you fix it.



However some people prefer not to delete the account. Here is another way.

- Create a new Google account with any name you choose. It's temporary, so pick anything
- Clear data & cache for the Google Play Store
- Uninstall updates for Google Play Store, taking it back to the factory installed version (don't worry - you'll get the updates back)
- Start Google Play
- Select accounts and choose the new one you've just created
- Go to My Apps and pick (a free) one to update and update it. That should be successful
- Come out of Google Play
- Go into settings and delete the temporary Google account you just created
- Go back to Google Play and make sure that the account is set to your primary one
- Complete all updates

All should be well. But - it may be very different for you than it was for me. Anyway - this is all non-destructive, so it's easy and painless to try.

Battery Draining Mercilessly Stays Unresolved

If you are a once proud owner of the Nexus 7 with a battery draining problem, you are certainly not alone. Many people all over the internet have been lamenting Google's firmware update of Jelly Bean to 4.2.1, blaming it for the reduced battery life of the Nexus 7. What used to be a workhorse that put the competitors to shame has recently been reduced to a limping mare with the stamina of a sloth. 

A thorough search of forums all over the internet seems to have the same conclusion - there is no fix available as of yet. Some suggestions that seem to help people with their battery drain include: 

1. Turning off your wifi connection 

2. Turning off Google location services

3. Checking what apps are running the most in the Battery Settings page

How did you go? if you find a solution that works or perhaps a firmware is released, leave a comment below.

What's Causing the Lagging on my Nexus 7?

Another issue that comes up with the Nexus 7 is sometimes it no longer shows the awesome responsiveness that made you so excited when you first bought the tablet. The problem may only be as simple as one naughty application - Google Current the magazine viewer. It has a feature that synchronizes various magazines etc in the background on the off chance that you may be using Google Current today. To be honest, it was just one of those free Google apps that I just downloaded and hardly noticed after that.. until the lag!! This is how to fix it.

1. Open Google Current
2. Tap on the three dots in the top right corner then go to Settings
3. Unselect Sync in the Background option
4. Exit settings

There could be other such applications that are running operations that is slowing down your tablet but it seems according to the internet community, Google Current is particularly evil when it comes to slowing your tablet down to a halt. If you have found some other problem applications, please leave a comment to help a friend in need who may be reading this now.

Its Not Charging - is it Dead?

I was using the Nexus 7 until the battery completely died, so I plugged the charge in and the screen fizzled for a bit and then went dead. I unplugged the charger and plugged it back in. This time, the sides of the screen partially illuminated in white and pulsed. What is going on? I thought my Nexus 7 was completely gone. 

Then I found out that this is one of the problems with the Nexus 7 when it is upgraded to 4.2.1 Jelly Bean. When the Nexus 7 battery runs completely out, it sometimes refuses to charge at all. What you are seeing is the device chucking a tantrum. The device is in sleep mode and you need to get it completely off in order for the device to charge. Without these tips, I am sure you would never have figured it out, so this is what you do;  

1. Unplug the charger. Hold down the POWER and VOLUME DOWN keys simultaneously and with the other hand somehow plug in the charger. If this works, there will be a large boot screen that will appear. 

2. Press the Volume Up button until you see the option POWER OFF DEVICE

3. Press the POWER Button to select this option. The device should now switch off.

4. Unplug the charger and then plug it back into the Nexus 7. The battery charging icon should appear if you were successful.

Dropped my Nexus 7.. twice!

Without intending to, I have tested the Nexus 7 with the 'drop test' and the saddest part is that I have done it twice! In both instances, it was a carpark with no soft landing than pure unyielding bitumen! Both times, the device was in the Poetic case that I was posting about a few weeks ago and I think if it wasn't for that case, I probably won't be keeping this blog any more!

This is when you can be happy that the Nexus7 doesn't start its active screen so close to the edge. As you can see, there is a pretty clear hairline fracture on the bottom right corner of the device. I didn't see this until I took off the Poetic case. So the question is, how is the device now? Everything seems to be working fine. There doesn't seem to be any effect on the device. However, my habits of bringing this along with me to shops to do research will now be revised. Both times, I was heading into a shopping centre when such damage was sustained.

Have you dropped your Nexus 7? Leave a comment below and perhaps a link to images of the damage sustained.The photos were taken by my Galaxy Nexus 

Controlling with a Bluetooth Keyboard

Controlling your NNexus using a bluetooth keyboard is just one of those little hacks we all enjoy having a go at even if it is just for the fun of it. Here are some shortcut keys you can remember when using your Nexus 7 with a bluetooth keyboard.

ESC = BACK
ALT+TAB+TAB = Switch between open programs like in PC
ALT+SHIFT+TAB = Go back switching between programs
Mail Button = Starts program launcher for Email
ALT+ESC = Switch to home screen

In Chrome
CTRL+F = Find
And all the other shortcuts for Chrome in your usual browser

Feel free to post more that you discover and find useful.

How to get Jelly Bean 4.2 NOW (it works!)

Many of you especially here in Australia would have heard that the 4.2.0 update for the Nexus 7 is out but could not get the update. There is a little trick that will have you downloading the update over the air in two minutes. Just follow these instructions now! 

1. Go to Settings -> Apps -> All

2. Find Google Services Framework.

3. Tap on Force Stop.

4. Select Clear Data.

5. Head back to the Nexus 7′s Settings, go to About, and check for a System Update.

EDIT: Just installed the new update. When you reset your you may be concerned with the scren going blank. The first thing you need to do is go to Settings and change the Display, "Sleep" settings. You will notice that nothing is selected for the timeout for the screen. Choose a delay and if in doubt, I prefer to have the timeout at 1 minute. 

The keyboard now has swipe as we mentioned earlier. Does it mean faster typing. It sure does! 

The Google Now now has the automatic sensing of hotel and flight bookings however it picked up an email from the Mantra Hotels group advertising some specials and assumed that I was going to stay at the Cavill Mantra Hotel in Surfers Paradise. 

Swiping down from the top right corner where the notification bar is will give you a shortcut to do a few useful things

• Adjust brightness
• Go to Settings
• Turn on / off Auto-rorate
• Go straight to the Battery settings.
• Turn on Aeroplane mode

Photo Spheres does not work on the Nexus7. Why would you anyway?

What have you noticed?

MORE Google Now Cards!

I am not sure whether you noticed but Google has been hard at work making the Google Now feature on your Nexus 7 even more interesting. Here are a few Google Now cards that are already available

• Birthday Card - On your birthday, it shows you interesting facts about your birthday. 
• Nearby Restaurants / Concerts - If something is going down nearby you will be told
• Upcoming Flights searched - if you happened to google a flight, it will appear as a card in Google Now. This will allow you to see which terminal the flight is arriving and whether the flight is delayed. This seems to also read your emails to find confirmation numbers for hotels and flights. 
• Packages arriving - if you receieved a notification in your email about a package on its way, Google now brings this information to your screen straight away.

• Statistics on your movements! This is somewhat scary. Google will track down where you have been and tell you how far you have traveled and even by what mode of transport it thinks you did this by. 
• Updates on news articles you read - Google detects that you were reading the news on the US elections. Is there a result? It will show you a card. 
• Stocks you watch - if you are using Google Finance, stocks that you have been monitoring will also show up on your home screen here. 
• Whilst traveling - Google now will give you cards about what the time is at home. It will also show you the currency conversion rate for where you are at compared to your home country. It may also show you public alerts but this is something still rolling out and probably only available in the USA.

So.. are you having fun yet??

Landscape Home Screen After 4.1.2 Jelly Bean Update

Yesterday, I received one of those pop up screens that you always love seeing. It was a notification that there was a new system update available but my battery was too low to install it. I plugged in the charger and the option to update now appeared.

The upgrade was from Jelly Bean 4.1.1 to the new Android OS 4.1.2 which gives very slight new features but the most obvious one is a landscape home screen similar to the one above. You are also now able to interact with notifications from the slide-down menu which allows you to see more details such as expanding the notification of "4 new emails". When you hold down on the notification and drag down you will be able to see the subjects of each of the emails.

Also there have been some other performance and stability improvements and nicer widgets to use on the home screen. Viewing images and deleting them is now also much easier. More details to follow but please leave a comment if you have noticed other changes resulting from the new 4.1.2 update.

Pros and Cons of Poetic Case

There are not many Nexus 7 cases available for purchase in Australia. JB Hifi has a really official and equally pathetic case put out by ASUS which costs $25 off the shelf. I had one look and left the store. 

After some extensive research on forums, I decided to make one of my rare purchases on Ebay for a Nexus 7 case. I noticed that there was a particular brand called Poetic with quite a few variants of cases and seemed to be making cases for ipads as well as Nexus 7. After some consideration and mental pacing up and down, I went for the one below which was retailing at $12.95 USD + $6.95 shipping to Australia. 

Pros for the Poetic Case

So why did I decide to get this case? First of all the existence of the smart cover technology which Google does not talk about on the official Nexus 7 pamphlets and press releases. Apparently this has to do with the similarities to the Apple Ipad feature and the current legal environment in which we find ourselves in today.

This feature allows you to open your case and the Nexus 7 will turn on automatically. Conversely, closing the case will put the tablet to sleep. This feature had me hotly anticipating the delivery of my Poetic Nexus 7 case.

Another reason for this case is the ability for it to stand up on its own as a desk clock as demonstrated below.

The Nexus 7 fits perfectly in the case with a special flap going to the back to reduce the chance of the tablet slipping out of the case. The well thought out design ensures the volume and power buttons are not inhibited, neither is the mini USB port on the bottom nor is the speaker on the back. There are pockets to carry money and cards in the case as well as a pen holder.

The magnetic cover means that the flap will not open up randomly. The material is called PU leather and feels pretty comfortable and looks quite professional. The case feels solid enough to give the tablet a little more practical mobility and makes me feel like I don't need to (figuratively) "bubble wrap" the device every time I go out. For the price of $20 delivered, cheaper than JB Hifi's case, I am very happy with it.

Cons for the Poetic Case

As with all products, it is useful to know the downsides, for which I can think of two with the Poetic Nexus 7 case. The case's thickness takes away the form factor of the original device, so you will not be able to put the tablet in your pocket or even the inside pocket of most suits.

The other con I see is that the NFC beam does not seem to penetrate the hard case. So, hope this review has helped you make a decision. Hopefully, you won't need to spend as much time as I did looking at the pros and cons of this Nexus 7 case.

Nokia SU-8W Bluetooth Keyboard Works

I recently decided to pull out a bluetooth keyboard that I got about six years ago to see if it works ok with the Nexus 7. A quick pairing of the keyboard worked and in next to no time, I was typing into my Nexus 7 using a foldable SU-8W bluetooth keyboard that has outlasted four phones that I have had. Goes to show that some technologies have a greater longevity than others!

What Apps Do You Use?

I saw this post on Whirlpool forums which showed what apps that one guy uses on his Nexus 7. There are so many apps on the app market that it is impossible to list all the good ones but it is always helpful to hear from other people what apps they have installed, keeping in mind that every person is an individual and individual preferences will vary. I'll post my apps later.

On my existing Nexus, I have one of the home screens dedicated to utilities for managing the device (which is perhaps one of the downsides of Android that one feels the need for them). No storage required with those.

The next screen has stuff like Splashtop (so if need be I can access the PC(s) from anywhere in the house), remote control apps like Media Center Remote, and Unified Remote, UPNPlay, TuneIn Radio, TV guide, YouTube Remote, TinyCam Monitor (for checking on the cams around the house), Pandora, TinyShark, Rdio, iPlayer, and SketchBook. No storage required.

Then on the next screen there's infomation apps – BBC News, Guardian News, ABC, Australian Newspapers, Australian News, Engaget, News360, News Republic, Zite, Flipboard, Channels, TED Air, Weather Australia, Weatherzone, Wikipedia, Kindle, Play Books. Again, no storage required apart from a little for any books being currently read.

Next screen – administrative stuff and utilities, such as Calendar, Contacts, Gmail, Email, Talk, OfficeSuite, Catch, Notes, Calc, Clock, Stopwatch, PocketCloud, Pocket, ConvertPad, Translate, Do It Tomorrow, Chumby Lite (!), Downloads. No significant storage required.

Lastly comes mapping type apps on the final screen – Aus Map, Latitude, Vic Traffic, Maps, Navigation, Places. Little storage required apart from any cached maps.

What apps do YOU have on your Nexus 7? 

Don't Scroll Through Times in Google Calendar

<p dir=ltr>I was wondering the other day whether there was another faster way to type in rather than scroll through the minutes when setting the time or alarm. There is a way and it is as simple as just holding down on the time and the numerical keypad appears. Try it out now.

Why you don't need a 3G Nexus 7

There has been recent rumours floating around that the Nexus 7 is about to get a sim card slot to make it a 3G (or 4G) tablet. When I bought the Nexus, I didn't really see the lack of 3G much of an issue. This is because I always have my mobile phone with me and it can easily have mobile tethering turned on.

The other reason is that WIFI is everywhere you go. Cities have free wifi, airports have free wifi, McDonalds in Australia has free wifi, your workplace surely would have wifi and of course at home. Do you really need a 3G slot? I found that most likely, having a 3G slot would mean the unnecessary temptation to get another data plan just for the tablet and then what if I decide I want to use my laptop rather than the tablet? Yeah, first world problems but my point is, there is no real need to have a 3G tablet. Wouldn't the battery will drain faster as well? Not sure. What are your thoughts? Nexus 7 with a 3G option.. is it worth another $100?

Keyboard Unresponsive Problem

Occasionally I have found a particular problem with the Nexus 7. The keyboard would be very slow in responding to any taps on the keyboard. I am not sure why this is the problem but I did find out one way to solve or at least work around this problem. All you need to do is press the power button to put the tablet to sleep and immediately turn it back on. I can't say I know why this works but perhaps a quick refresh of the processes is enough to get things back on track.

Have you also experienced this problem? There have been some people complaining about build issues with the Nexus 7 and things like the screen lifting but this has not been my experience. So over to you, how long have you had your Nexus and how has it been going?

Screenshot Shortcut for Nexus 7

This may be obvious to some but if you would like to take a photo of the current screen on your Nexus 7, press the power button and the down volume button at the same time. When you press and hold the resulting screenshot, it will give you options to share this screenshot via email / social media etc.

7 Ways to Speak to Your Nexus 7

One of my favourite features of the Nexus 7 has to be the Google Now feature which makes the Nexus do many things at the command of your voice. I've listed a few ways you can integrate Google Now into your daily life.

1. Set my Alarm - To set your alarm, open up Google Now and press the microphone then say "set alarm for 8:30". The Nexus will then set the alarm for you.

2. Navigate to a Destination - When Google Now is told to "Navigate to Oxford University", Google Navigation will start up and start giving you directions how to get to Oxford University.

3. Play a Song - Google can also be told to "Listen to Pachobel's Canon" which will activate a search on Youtube for "Pachobel's Canon". That's pretty cool...

4. Leave Note to Self - You can also leave a note for yourself with the instruction "Note to Self" "Do not take West Ring Road" and Google will create a note on your screen for your reference later.

5. Send Text/Email - This is a little more tricky because Google can sometimes find it hard to understand names but you can actually tell Google to "Send text/sms/email to Ben" and it will look for Ben in your contacts list. Then it will wait for you to tell it what to say to Ben via email/text.

6. Go to a Website - You might wonder why someone would want to speak to Google to go to a website but for example, there are websites which tell you where the closest speed cameras are to your current location. In that situation, you may be in the car and you may tell Google to "Go to PerthSC.com" so that you can quickly glance at the screen to see where the speed cameras are... which you wouldn't do because it is illegal to operate a phone whilst driving!

7. And finally.. Search for Anything with your Voice 
Here's an extract from Google's own helpful hints and tips for searching stuff using voice commands.

What you want	What to type or say	Examples
Sports information	[team’s name]	San Francisco Giants
Pictures	Pictures of [topic] images of [topic]	Pictures of San Francisco Images of cats
Convert measurements	[original measurement] in [new measurement]	30 degrees Celsius in Fahrenheit
Movie showtimes	Movie Movie [location] [movie name]	Movie Movie Chicago The Horse’s Mouth
Word definition	Define [word]	Define campanile
Weather forecast	Weather Weather [location]	Weather Weather Detroit
Identify an area code	Area code [###]	Area code 215
Identify zip code	Zip code [#####]	Zip code 46202
Time	Time Time [location]	Time Time in London
Flight information	[Airline] [flight number]	American airlines flight 390
Translation	Translate to [language] [phrase]	Translate to Spanish, Where is the Palace Hotel?’
Calculator	[A math phrase]	75 divided by 6
Food	[Type of food] [Type of food] in [location]	Mexican food Mexican food in Urbana, Illinois