One of the more common issues you will find with android is to do with the market. Google have not quite got the market to the top of it’s game just yet (but it is getting better for sure), and one of the occasional complaints is to do with market apps just not downloading. You can search, read comments and screenshots, but the damn thing just sits there initialising the download, sometimes (eventually) giving you a download unsuccessful message.

Sometimes this error is on googles side, and there is little you can do to fix it yourself except waiting it out, howeve there are some things you can do that in most cases will fix the issue straight away!

They are finally here! After the great success of my previous icon set, TallMin, which was downloaded over 12,000 times from my servers, the second in the series aSmoothStar icons are now here to download! The aSmoothStar icon set complements the TallMin icon set now giving you the choice for a 1 line or two line icons. aSmoothStar is bigger and better, with 173 icons in 12 awesome colours for you.

Hope you guys enjoy these! As ever, feel free to give a donation as thanks (it really helps me keeping this site up too), the donation link is on the right hand site of the site and really any small amount would be greatly appreciated!

Following on from my successful TallMin Icon set, I’m about to release the successor aSmoothStar! As a single line of text, they will be both larger and smoother than the TallMin set. Perfect for the icon dock, or as a folder icon.

As these icons are created for the community, and for free (although I wouldn’t complain if you put a couple of Quid in the donation pot!) I thought it would be nice to get your input before I went ahead and released them. I’m looking for specific colours and text that you would like to see in this release. Ok, so take the jump for a sneak preview, and please do leave your colour and text requests in the comments!

There are many ways to make your android phone look unique, and just the way you want it. One of the easiest of these is by changing icons. Android is extremely customisable, it lets you change app icons, shortcut icons, folder icons and dock icons. In fact pretty much anything that has an icon included in it, you can change.

Task killer, one of the most prominent words within the android world. One that causes many arguments and confusion, well today lets see if we can put it all to rest.

I am constantly surprised when talking to new android owners that come to me with questions about their “faulty” phone and “poor-performing” battery, to discover that one of the first apps they installed was a task killer. Even more surprised when I dig deeper and ask why, with one of the top responses being because their “techy” friend said its a vital app. First things first, anything vital will be a core part of the the operating system. If google required that a task killer be a core part of their os, they would have included an easy way to kill apps, end of. Also, if your “techy” friend told you to download an task killer, please, ignore any advice from them in the future, you will regret it if you don’t.

So lets get on with this, following the jump I will be doing my best to describe why a task killer is not only not necessary, but BAD for your phone and your experience with the phone. I will also discuss the very few cases where one may be appropriate, and explain best practice in those situations.

If someone asks me if they should root, I always give them the same answer. It doesn’t matter how long you’ve had your phone, how many apps you may install or how “PC Literate” you are. My answer is always a resounding YES! Why you may ask? Well, there is simply no better way to ensure you have a clean and optimised android phone, than when you are rooted. I have compiled a small list of must have apps to help you achieve these results.

A lot of people get confused by rooting, and it can be daunting at first, especially when any call for help is usually met by a flurry of terms you have probably never heard before, at least not in an android context anyway. This glossary is an attempt to help out those new to rooting, or those who just wish to understand a bit about the whole process. Read on after the jump!

A GoldCard is a special SD card that allows you to flash your phone with a new ROM. This is required as part of the process of rooting your HTC Desire amongst other devices. If you need a new sdcard for your goldcard you can pick up a really cheap 2GB one for less than £5 in supermarkets such as Tesco!

The barcodes you may see when browsing this site are very useful tools. Typically they are used to provide a direct link to an app in the android market. We must make clear though, that these barcodes are actually called QR Codes. The QR standing for Quick Reponse, which they certainly are when you want to get straight to a specific application. They are very easy to use too, just follow this simple guide and you’re on your way: