AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

Microsoft Wednesday added Android to the list of mobile operating systems now supported by Office Mobile. But Office Mobile for Android only covers phones, not tablets, limiting its utility.

The Android version, Office Mobile for Android, is also arguably the weakest of the bunch, in terms of compatibility with Microsoft Office. Microsoft is still tacitly encouraging users to buy Windows Phones, which come preloaded and activated with Windows Mobile and don’t require an Office 365 subscription to use. The problem is, within the Android world, there are a number of other office solutions that provide very good direct competition to Microsoft’s offering.

Nevertheless, Office Mobile for Android is free and downloadable from the Google Play Store. The only requirement is that your phone must contain Android 4.0 or higher, and you must already have purchased Office 365.

In a break with Office Mobile for iPhone, Microsoft doesn’t even offer the option to purchase Office 365 from within the app; instead, users must sign up outside the application itself. And without Office 365, Office Mobile for Android is virtually useless.

“The release of this app shows that we’re committed to keep providing additional value for Office 365 subscribers,” said Guy Gilbert, a senior product manager of the Office apps for Microsoft, in a blog post.

Qualifying Office 365 plans include Office 365 Home Premium, Office 365 Small Business Premium, Office 365 Midsize Business, Office 365 Enterprise E3 and E4, Office 365 Education A3 and A4, Office 365 ProPlus, and Office 365 University.

There are also Office 365 government plans that include Office Mobile. Users can also visit Office.com and sign up for a free 30-day trial, Microsoft said.

While Microsoft eventually intends to make Office Mobile for Android available across 33 languages and in 117 markets, it’s only currently available for the United States. That will change over the next few weeks, Microsoft said.

Like Office Mobile for iPhone, the Android version comes with mobile versions of Excel, PowerPoint, and Word; Office Mobile for Windows Phone adds OneNote as well. So far, Android users don’t have access to the Outlook Web App app that Microsoft recently released for the iPhone, either.

Users can create new documents, edit those that they’ve already created, and save, load, or edit files saved to Microsoft’s SkyDrive or SkyDrive Pro—which on Tuesday received a few upgrades, as well.

But the ability to create files only applies to Word and Excel; for now, you can review your PowerPoint slides and edit them, but not create a presentation from scratch.

Users can also open a document via email. Office Mobile includes a couple of handy features designed for the phone;

The software knows what documents you’ve recently accessed on your PC, and those are the first options presented when you choose to open a saved file.

A feature that Microsoft calls Rapid Resume also works like Amazon’s Kindle, ‘fast-forwarding” you to the portion of the document last viewed on your PC.

An “outline view” in Excel and Word allow you to quickly navigate through the document, and both apps allow annotations as well.

Within the three supported apps, Microsoft has made efforts to make editing a snap; in Word (shown at top of story), for example, tapping the pencil brings up the most common editing functions. Excel allows you to filter and sort data and create charts, using the local processor to calculate data.

Within PowerPoint, users can review slides and edit speaker notes, move and hide slides, and make text edits directly from the phone. Holding the phone in a portrait orientation allows edits to be made and includes a quick navigation bar; a landscape orientation serves as presentation mode.

In general, Office Mobile for Android and Office Mobile for iPhone should function quite similarly, with two exceptions: Android users can not sign up for Office 365 within the app itself, and Android users may need to fully qualify documents that are accessed via an on-premise SharePoint server.

To date, however, Microsoft has been keenly cognizant that productivity apps are the foundation of the Windows platform, and users who purchase a Windows Phone will have these benefits:

Office 365 includes a license of up to five mobile devices—but Windows Phones don’t count against that limit.

The biggest annoyance, however, is that—like the iPad—tablets aren’t supported in either Office Mobile for the iPhone or the Android version, either. Those trying to hunt and peck at keys in the back of a jouncing taxi are likely to grit their teeth and muddle through; by doing so, however, Microsoft is tacitly encouraging customers in the direction of a Surface tablet—now at a new low, low, price—or even a full-fledged Windows 8 PC. (“Phablets” like the Samsung Galaxy Note II should still be supported, however.)

“If you have an iPad or Android tablet, we recommend using the Office Web Apps, which provide the best Office experience on a tablet,” a spokeswoman for Microsoft said via email. “We have made lots of enhancements to Office Web Apps including a touch experience for tablet users.”

Microsoft also has native apps for OneNote, Lync, and SharePoint, in addition to supporting Exchange Active Sync for email, calendar and contacts, she said.

”I’m not sure how many people are going to want to do a lot of Office work on a phone,” Michael Silver, an analyst at Gartner, said recently. “A tablet’s going to be a lot more important.”

Of course, there’s no reason that users have to live in the world that Microsoft has created. Plenty of Android office apps allow document creation or editing, both on a phone or tablet: Google Drive, of course, allows for Google’s own documents to be created; and Google’s own QuickOffice, Documents to Go, and OfficeSuite Pro 7 are all arguably as good or better choices than Microsoft’s offerings.

In one way, editing or creating an Office document on a mobile phone is counter-intuitive; too many people still append some sort of signature file on a mobile phone to explain away any typos or shorthand.

Within a business document, however, typos simply shouldn’t appear. Office Mobile can certainly stand in to enable last-minute changes while on the go, but they shouldn’t be considered as serious tools for document creation. And that’s exactly how Microsoft appears to want it.

View the original article here

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

Password-protecting your smartphone makes sense, as it prevents unauthorized users from accessing your data.

But it can also work against you. Suppose, for example, your phone gets lost. If a Good Samaritan finds it and wants to return it, he or she won't be able to do the necessary detective work. (And it's not like you'd want them poking around your data anyway.)

Fortunately, Android 4.0 offers a solution in the form of lock-screen contact information, which will display the message of your choosing even on a passcode-protected device. Here's how to set this up:

1. On your Android phone, head to Settings, then look for an entry called Lock Screen. (I found this under the Personal section on my Samsung Galaxy S3; on your phone it might be under Security or somewhere similar.)

2. Tap Lock Screen, Owner Information.

3. In the field provided, enter whatever message you think might help someone return the phone to you--your e-mail address or office phone number, for example. You could even set up a Google Voice number solely as an "emergency recovery" number, just in case you don't want your personal number readily visible on your lock screen.

4. Make sure Show owner info on lock screen is checked, then tap OK.

And that's all there is to it. Now, if someone finds your phone, they still won't be able to bypass your security, but they will have the info they need to get in touch with you.

Now there's just the simple matter of what kind of reward befits the return of a lost phone. My feeling: $20. Your thoughts?

While you're mulling that over, be sure to outfit your phone with some kind of tracking app so you're not relying solely on the kindness of strangers. You can't go wrong with Where's My Droid, but it's just one option of many.

Want to learn more? Check out TechHive's recent roundup of Android security apps.

Contributing Editor Rick Broida writes about business and consumer technology. Ask for help with your PC hassles at hasslefree@pcworld.com, or try the treasure trove of helpful folks in the PCWorld Forums. Sign up to have the Hassle-Free PC newsletter e-mailed to you each week.

For more than 20 years, Rick Broida has written about all manner of technology, from Amigas to business servers to PalmPilots. His credits include dozens of books, blogs, and magazines. He sleeps with an iPad under his pillow.
More by Rick Broida

View the original article here

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

Tethering: It's one of the most convenient features your smartphone has, yet carriers insist on restricting it.

Tethering most often refers to using your smartphone as a mobile hotspot. In other words, it lets you connect to the Internet on your laptop, tablet, or Wi-Fi enabled device, using your phone's data connection. Tethering is very useful if you happen to be in an area that has no free Wi-Fi and you need to do your computing on a device other than your phone.

[Related: How to tether your iPhone]

Carriers don't really want you to use this oh-so-convenient option, because users who tether are more likely to use a lot of data. After all, it's much easier to use data when you're browsing on a laptop or a tablet, than when you're limited to your smartphone's tiny screen. You might argue that, since most mobile plans feature limited data anyway, it shouldn't matter how you happen to use that data. But some carriers disagree, and will typically charge an extra $20 to $50 per month for tethering plans.

Verizon

You may or may not have heard the news: Verizon recently announced that, thanks to an FCC investigation, it will stop blocking its Android users from downloading and using third-party tethering apps. This means that Verizon's Android users on usage-based plans can avoid the $20 tethering fee by using a third-party app instead of their phone's built-in tethering option (called Mobile Broadband Connect).

This doesn't mean that all tethering on Verizon is free, though?it's not. Here's the breakdown:

AT&T

AT&T was not part of the FCC investigation that forced Verizon to allow third-party tethering apps on Android phones, so AT&T still charges for all tethering. Unlike Verizon, AT&T never blocked third-party tethering apps from its phones?rather, it monitors its users' data habits, and sends them text messages and emails telling them that if they do not stop tethering for free they will be automatically signed up for an AT&T tethering plan.

Here's how much it costs to tether on AT&T:

If you have a grandfathered-in unlimited data plan, tethering is not an option?you'll have to upgrade to a (limited) tethered plan, or AT&T will upgrade you automatically if it suspects you're tethering.

Sprint

Sprint is the only carrier that still has unlimited phone data plans. However, Sprint does not allow you to tether on your unlimited data plan. Instead, you're required to purchase a tethering option, which gives you a couple of gigabytes for tethering (though your phone will still have unlimited data).

Here are your options (or lack thereof) on Sprint:

T-Mobile

T-Mobile will be introducing a new unlimited data plan in September. However, this unlimited plan will not support tethering. Instead, customers who want to tether their phones will have to use one of T-Mobile's existing value or classic plans.

Here's the breakdown of T-Mobile's tethering costs:

There are two ways to tether on your Android phone?you can use your phone's built-in hotspot feature, which may or may not incur charges from your carrier. Or you can use a third-party tethering app.

While most carriers (AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile) do not technically allow the use of third-party tethering apps, many third-party tethering apps are still available and will work on phones on those networks. Whether you use a third-party app for tethering is at your discretion, since networks will often charge you if they discover you're using tethering data and not paying for it.

Remember, if you do choose to use a third-party app for tethering, it's a good idea to be conservative about how much data you use. If you only tether your laptop to your phone's data connection to check email on the fly, your carrier probably won't notice. But if you're constantly streaming Netflix videos on your tablet using your phone's data connection, your carrier will probably get suspicious?especially if you have an unlimited data plan.

Numerous third-party tethering apps are available today, including apps for rooted and nonrooted phones. Here are a few of the better options:

Tethering apps for nonrooted phones

PdaNet: PdaNet is a free download on Google Play, but this only gets you a 14-day trial. After 14 days, the app will block access to secure websites (websites that require a login) unless you purchase the full edition for $15.95. PdaNet allows you to tether your phone's data connection to your laptop using a USB cable or Bluetooth dial-up networking, or to turn your phone into a Wi-Fi hotspot (though the Wi-Fi hotspot mode does not work on all phones).

EasyTether: EasyTether is a USB tethering app, which means it lets you share your phone's data connection with your laptop via a USB cable. It also lets you tether your game console (PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, or Xbox) using PC Internet Connection Sharing (you need to go through a computer first to tether your console). EasyTether has two versions: a free Lite version and a paid $9.99 version. The Lite version blocks secure websites, instant messengers, and game console tethering. The app supports Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. As of this article's writing, EasyTether was still blocked on Verizon devices.

Wifi Hotspot & USB Tether Pro: Wifi Hotspot & USB Tether is primarily for turning your phone into a Wi-Fi hotspot (complete with password), but it also allows you to tether your phone's data connection to your computer via USB. This is yet another app with a free version (so you can see if it works on your phone) and a paid version that costs $14.99. The Lite version gives you a two-day, five-minutes-per-day trial.

Reverse tethering lets you tether your computer's Internet connection to your phone so that your phone connects to the Web using your laptop?s connection. This is a much less common scenario, since it's rare that you'll find yourself in a place where your computer has an Internet connection but your phone does not. If you do find yourself in this situation, however, you can use the Reverse Tether app to share your computer's Internet connection with your phone.

Reverse Tether is a $4.99 download in the Android Market, and requires a rooted Android device. To tether your computer's Internet connection to your phone, all you need to do is download the app, make sure your device's drivers are installed on your computer, and connect your computer to your phone using a USB cable.

Since Reverse Tether does not work with all Android devices, you can also download a trial version

for free to see if it works. The trial version lets you connect only during certain times, but it never expires.

Tethering doesn't apply only to your phone's (or computer's) data connection. The AirDroid app lets you wirelessly manage your phone from a browser window on your laptop. This can be useful if you're at your computer anyway, but you want to be able to do things like listen to music that's stored at your computer, write text messages, and organize your phone's contacts.

AirDroid is free on Google Play. To use the app, you need to download and install it on your phone, and then open up a browser window on your computer and navigate to http://web.airdroid.com. You can then scan a QR code on the website or enter a passcode from your device, and you're logged in.

From the AirDroid main screen, you can manage files, organize call logs, check and write text messages, look at photos, watch videos, play music, organize contacts, and install apps. Your device does not need to be rooted for AirDrive to run, but if it is rooted you'll have access to a couple more features, such as seeing your device's screen in real-time and taking screenshots.

View the original article here

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

Microsoft Wednesday added Android to the list of mobile operating systems now supported by Office Mobile. But Office Mobile for Android only covers phones, not tablets, limiting its utility.

The Android version, Office Mobile for Android, is also arguably the weakest of the bunch, in terms of compatibility with Microsoft Office. Microsoft is still tacitly encouraging users to buy Windows Phones, which come preloaded and activated with Windows Mobile and don’t require an Office 365 subscription to use. The problem is, within the Android world, there are a number of other office solutions that provide very good direct competition to Microsoft’s offering.

Nevertheless, Office Mobile for Android is free and downloadable from the Google Play Store. The only requirement is that your phone must contain Android 4.0 or higher, and you must already have purchased Office 365.

In a break with Office Mobile for iPhone, Microsoft doesn’t even offer the option to purchase Office 365 from within the app; instead, users must sign up outside the application itself. And without Office 365, Office Mobile for Android is virtually useless.

“The release of this app shows that we’re committed to keep providing additional value for Office 365 subscribers,” said Guy Gilbert, a senior product manager of the Office apps for Microsoft, in a blog post.

Qualifying Office 365 plans include Office 365 Home Premium, Office 365 Small Business Premium, Office 365 Midsize Business, Office 365 Enterprise E3 and E4, Office 365 Education A3 and A4, Office 365 ProPlus, and Office 365 University.

There are also Office 365 government plans that include Office Mobile. Users can also visit Office.com and sign up for a free 30-day trial, Microsoft said.

While Microsoft eventually intends to make Office Mobile for Android available across 33 languages and in 117 markets, it’s only currently available for the United States. That will change over the next few weeks, Microsoft said.

Like Office Mobile for iPhone, the Android version comes with mobile versions of Excel, PowerPoint, and Word; Office Mobile for Windows Phone adds OneNote as well. So far, Android users don’t have access to the Outlook Web App app that Microsoft recently released for the iPhone, either.

Users can create new documents, edit those that they’ve already created, and save, load, or edit files saved to Microsoft’s SkyDrive or SkyDrive Pro—which on Tuesday received a few upgrades, as well.

But the ability to create files only applies to Word and Excel; for now, you can review your PowerPoint slides and edit them, but not create a presentation from scratch.

Users can also open a document via email. Office Mobile includes a couple of handy features designed for the phone;

The software knows what documents you’ve recently accessed on your PC, and those are the first options presented when you choose to open a saved file.

A feature that Microsoft calls Rapid Resume also works like Amazon’s Kindle, ‘fast-forwarding” you to the portion of the document last viewed on your PC.

An “outline view” in Excel and Word allow you to quickly navigate through the document, and both apps allow annotations as well.

Within the three supported apps, Microsoft has made efforts to make editing a snap; in Word (shown at top of story), for example, tapping the pencil brings up the most common editing functions. Excel allows you to filter and sort data and create charts, using the local processor to calculate data.

Within PowerPoint, users can review slides and edit speaker notes, move and hide slides, and make text edits directly from the phone. Holding the phone in a portrait orientation allows edits to be made and includes a quick navigation bar; a landscape orientation serves as presentation mode.

In general, Office Mobile for Android and Office Mobile for iPhone should function quite similarly, with two exceptions: Android users can not sign up for Office 365 within the app itself, and Android users may need to fully qualify documents that are accessed via an on-premise SharePoint server.

To date, however, Microsoft has been keenly cognizant that productivity apps are the foundation of the Windows platform, and users who purchase a Windows Phone will have these benefits:

Office 365 includes a license of up to five mobile devices—but Windows Phones don’t count against that limit.

The biggest annoyance, however, is that—like the iPad—tablets aren’t supported in either Office Mobile for the iPhone or the Android version, either. Those trying to hunt and peck at keys in the back of a jouncing taxi are likely to grit their teeth and muddle through; by doing so, however, Microsoft is tacitly encouraging customers in the direction of a Surface tablet—now at a new low, low, price—or even a full-fledged Windows 8 PC. (“Phablets” like the Samsung Galaxy Note II should still be supported, however.)

“If you have an iPad or Android tablet, we recommend using the Office Web Apps, which provide the best Office experience on a tablet,” a spokeswoman for Microsoft said via email. “We have made lots of enhancements to Office Web Apps including a touch experience for tablet users.”

Microsoft also has native apps for OneNote, Lync, and SharePoint, in addition to supporting Exchange Active Sync for email, calendar and contacts, she said.

”I’m not sure how many people are going to want to do a lot of Office work on a phone,” Michael Silver, an analyst at Gartner, said recently. “A tablet’s going to be a lot more important.”

Of course, there’s no reason that users have to live in the world that Microsoft has created. Plenty of Android office apps allow document creation or editing, both on a phone or tablet: Google Drive, of course, allows for Google’s own documents to be created; and Google’s own QuickOffice, Documents to Go, and OfficeSuite Pro 7 are all arguably as good or better choices than Microsoft’s offerings.

In one way, editing or creating an Office document on a mobile phone is counter-intuitive; too many people still append some sort of signature file on a mobile phone to explain away any typos or shorthand.

Within a business document, however, typos simply shouldn’t appear. Office Mobile can certainly stand in to enable last-minute changes while on the go, but they shouldn’t be considered as serious tools for document creation. And that’s exactly how Microsoft appears to want it.

View the original article here

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

Tethering: It's one of the most convenient features your smartphone has, yet carriers insist on restricting it.

Tethering most often refers to using your smartphone as a mobile hotspot. In other words, it lets you connect to the Internet on your laptop, tablet, or Wi-Fi enabled device, using your phone's data connection. Tethering is very useful if you happen to be in an area that has no free Wi-Fi and you need to do your computing on a device other than your phone.

[Related: How to tether your iPhone]

Carriers don't really want you to use this oh-so-convenient option, because users who tether are more likely to use a lot of data. After all, it's much easier to use data when you're browsing on a laptop or a tablet, than when you're limited to your smartphone's tiny screen. You might argue that, since most mobile plans feature limited data anyway, it shouldn't matter how you happen to use that data. But some carriers disagree, and will typically charge an extra $20 to $50 per month for tethering plans.

Verizon

You may or may not have heard the news: Verizon recently announced that, thanks to an FCC investigation, it will stop blocking its Android users from downloading and using third-party tethering apps. This means that Verizon's Android users on usage-based plans can avoid the $20 tethering fee by using a third-party app instead of their phone's built-in tethering option (called Mobile Broadband Connect).

This doesn't mean that all tethering on Verizon is free, though?it's not. Here's the breakdown:

AT&T

AT&T was not part of the FCC investigation that forced Verizon to allow third-party tethering apps on Android phones, so AT&T still charges for all tethering. Unlike Verizon, AT&T never blocked third-party tethering apps from its phones?rather, it monitors its users' data habits, and sends them text messages and emails telling them that if they do not stop tethering for free they will be automatically signed up for an AT&T tethering plan.

Here's how much it costs to tether on AT&T:

If you have a grandfathered-in unlimited data plan, tethering is not an option?you'll have to upgrade to a (limited) tethered plan, or AT&T will upgrade you automatically if it suspects you're tethering.

Sprint

Sprint is the only carrier that still has unlimited phone data plans. However, Sprint does not allow you to tether on your unlimited data plan. Instead, you're required to purchase a tethering option, which gives you a couple of gigabytes for tethering (though your phone will still have unlimited data).

Here are your options (or lack thereof) on Sprint:

T-Mobile

T-Mobile will be introducing a new unlimited data plan in September. However, this unlimited plan will not support tethering. Instead, customers who want to tether their phones will have to use one of T-Mobile's existing value or classic plans.

Here's the breakdown of T-Mobile's tethering costs:

There are two ways to tether on your Android phone?you can use your phone's built-in hotspot feature, which may or may not incur charges from your carrier. Or you can use a third-party tethering app.

While most carriers (AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile) do not technically allow the use of third-party tethering apps, many third-party tethering apps are still available and will work on phones on those networks. Whether you use a third-party app for tethering is at your discretion, since networks will often charge you if they discover you're using tethering data and not paying for it.

Remember, if you do choose to use a third-party app for tethering, it's a good idea to be conservative about how much data you use. If you only tether your laptop to your phone's data connection to check email on the fly, your carrier probably won't notice. But if you're constantly streaming Netflix videos on your tablet using your phone's data connection, your carrier will probably get suspicious?especially if you have an unlimited data plan.

Numerous third-party tethering apps are available today, including apps for rooted and nonrooted phones. Here are a few of the better options:

Tethering apps for nonrooted phones

PdaNet: PdaNet is a free download on Google Play, but this only gets you a 14-day trial. After 14 days, the app will block access to secure websites (websites that require a login) unless you purchase the full edition for $15.95. PdaNet allows you to tether your phone's data connection to your laptop using a USB cable or Bluetooth dial-up networking, or to turn your phone into a Wi-Fi hotspot (though the Wi-Fi hotspot mode does not work on all phones).

EasyTether: EasyTether is a USB tethering app, which means it lets you share your phone's data connection with your laptop via a USB cable. It also lets you tether your game console (PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, or Xbox) using PC Internet Connection Sharing (you need to go through a computer first to tether your console). EasyTether has two versions: a free Lite version and a paid $9.99 version. The Lite version blocks secure websites, instant messengers, and game console tethering. The app supports Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. As of this article's writing, EasyTether was still blocked on Verizon devices.

Wifi Hotspot & USB Tether Pro: Wifi Hotspot & USB Tether is primarily for turning your phone into a Wi-Fi hotspot (complete with password), but it also allows you to tether your phone's data connection to your computer via USB. This is yet another app with a free version (so you can see if it works on your phone) and a paid version that costs $14.99. The Lite version gives you a two-day, five-minutes-per-day trial.

Reverse tethering lets you tether your computer's Internet connection to your phone so that your phone connects to the Web using your laptop?s connection. This is a much less common scenario, since it's rare that you'll find yourself in a place where your computer has an Internet connection but your phone does not. If you do find yourself in this situation, however, you can use the Reverse Tether app to share your computer's Internet connection with your phone.

Reverse Tether is a $4.99 download in the Android Market, and requires a rooted Android device. To tether your computer's Internet connection to your phone, all you need to do is download the app, make sure your device's drivers are installed on your computer, and connect your computer to your phone using a USB cable.

Since Reverse Tether does not work with all Android devices, you can also download a trial version

for free to see if it works. The trial version lets you connect only during certain times, but it never expires.

Tethering doesn't apply only to your phone's (or computer's) data connection. The AirDroid app lets you wirelessly manage your phone from a browser window on your laptop. This can be useful if you're at your computer anyway, but you want to be able to do things like listen to music that's stored at your computer, write text messages, and organize your phone's contacts.

AirDroid is free on Google Play. To use the app, you need to download and install it on your phone, and then open up a browser window on your computer and navigate to http://web.airdroid.com. You can then scan a QR code on the website or enter a passcode from your device, and you're logged in.

From the AirDroid main screen, you can manage files, organize call logs, check and write text messages, look at photos, watch videos, play music, organize contacts, and install apps. Your device does not need to be rooted for AirDrive to run, but if it is rooted you'll have access to a couple more features, such as seeing your device's screen in real-time and taking screenshots.

View the original article here