App Review - twicca

twicca is a fantastic and fully featured Twitter client for Android. With lots of customisation options and a fantastic widget, its easy to see why its one of the most popular tweeting tools available.


I've been using twicca now for the last 7 months and have found it to be easily the best Twitter client on the platform. Like most people I've dabbled in the other Twitter apps available, mostly when recommended by friends, but despite often being impressed with the latest 'bells and whistles' they offer, I always end up coming back to twicca.

Taking Screenshots on the Samsung Galaxy S without Root

Try this nice and simple way to take screenshots with your Samsung Galaxy S I9000

About a week after buying my Samsung Galaxy S (I9000) i noticed some odd pictures showing up in my gallery of what appeared to be screenshots of my home screen. After a little searching, I found out that within this particular handset, Samsung have built in the ability to take screens of your device without the need for rooting.

'home' and 'back' buttons

To create a screenshot, simply press and hold the 'back' key and then press the 'home' key. You'll receive a notification on the handset confirming a screenshot has been saved, along with a shutter sound. The screenshot will save to your phone memory in /sdcard/ScreenCapture.

home screen capture

dreams of electric sheep

Yes I know, probably the most over used [pseudo] quote for anyone who has ever written a blog about the Android platform, so i thought i'd get it out of the way early! I am of course referring to the novel by Philip K. Dick 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep' - which was the basis for excellent Blade Runner movie.

So what is Personal Android? Well, the truth is I don't know exactly, not yet. I'm just a regular guy from a little town called Larne, in Northern Ireland who is a big fan of Android. I've joined the platform a little late, being that I bought my first android device in January this year in the form of the Samsung Galaxy S I9000, but in this short period I've churned through many many apps. Sometimes they dont live up to the expectations from their market rank and rating, sometimes I get bored and fancy a change, but its always fun to find a gem amongst the thousands of apps available.

The plan is for me to share my opinions and views of both popular and 'not so well known' apps that I've come across, maybe a screenshot or two and provide links to download and try for yourslves. I'll also be sharing some of the useful options within my version of Android (2.3.3) and some features of my particular handset. From time to time I may borrow my wifes LG Optimus One to compare the usefulness of apps on a different device.

Alfroid the Personal Android

I'd love for this to be a two way medium, feedback, emails etc. all welcome - let me know if you have a different opinion, an app you'd like me to write up or a recommendation for me to check out. I'm aiming to post at least once a week, but as a working family man, this might not always be the case. I'm also interesting in hearing about other Android blogs worth checking out, often i find the personal view throws up those gems I mentioned, more so than the larger 'business' type blogs that have good relationships (and marketing strategies!) with some of the more popular applications out there.

Phew, well that's a load off, my first ever blog post - look forward to sharing my experiences in the near future.

Kyle Boyd