[TOOL] Online .apk installer (for the real newbie's)

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htc-hd2

Senior Member
Oct 29, 2009
325
33
Almere
Today a friend of mine wanted to install a .apk file on his Android phone and he did not have a clue on how to do this.
So.. After some hours PHP coding here I created an online tool for him (and other newbies).

Basically the users selects the .apk he wants to install, and points his Android camera to the given QR code.

Please have a look at http://bit.ly/e4mLXu , and let me know what you think.
Some things like About and FAQ are still missing, but will be added later this week.

Thank you.
 

armoguy94

Senior Member
May 25, 2009
124
12
It's a good concept but the site layout is so unnecessary, you don't need all those unneeded images and links in the website that has nothing to do with its function.
 
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htc-hd2

Senior Member
Oct 29, 2009
325
33
Almere
It's a good concept but the site layout is so unnecessary, you don't need all those unneeded images and links in the website that has nothing to do with its function.

Thank you for your input.. I guess that I did go over the top a bit on the design.... But I was really in my zone when doing the page layout :)

I'm re-doing it at the moment, and I will try to keep it as KISS as possible.

Once again thank you for your input.
 

blackroseMD1

Senior Member
Jul 12, 2010
2,148
507
44
San Diego, CA
www.standupforkids.org
Awesome idea. A friend of mine just got her first Android phone, and is pretty clueless about installing APKs, even though I rooted her phone and walked her through it with Root Explorer. This will make it much simpler for her.
 

TheATHEiST

Senior Member
Sep 29, 2008
4,327
965
Hull
Samsung Galaxy S9+
Samsung Galaxy S21
Sorry but have I missed something here??

Why on earth would ANYBODY really actually need to use this? (no offence) Has your friend lost the plot?

Why would you go through all this instead of simply installing a file manager liek ASTRO via the market?

a) Copy apk to sd card/phone
b) install ASTRO File Manager from market.
c) Install apk

How difficult is that?

If I have missed something here please explain because I cant think of any scenario where this would be an advantage.
 

alphadeeto

Senior Member
May 20, 2009
132
2
36
Bandung - Jakarta
Sorry but have I missed something here??

Why on earth would ANYBODY really actually need to use this? (no offence) Has your friend lost the plot?

Why would you go through all this instead of simply installing a file manager liek ASTRO via the market?

a) Copy apk to sd card/phone
b) install ASTRO File Manager from market.
c) Install apk

How difficult is that?

If I have missed something here please explain because I cant think of any scenario where this would be an advantage.

unless that not everyone knows those steps.
 

Dblfstr

Senior Member
Mar 25, 2010
2,211
745
42
Sorry but have I missed something here??

Why on earth would ANYBODY really actually need to use this? (no offence) Has your friend lost the plot?

Why would you go through all this instead of simply installing a file manager liek ASTRO via the market?

a) Copy apk to sd card/phone
b) install ASTRO File Manager from market.
c) Install apk

How difficult is that?

If I have missed something here please explain because I cant think of any scenario where this would be an advantage.

I have not looked at it yet, but this allows you to do it without connecting the phone to the pc right?



Logical order for your instructions :D

a) Install ASTRO File Manager from market.
b) Copy apk to sd card/phone
c) Install apk

repeat steps b and c for other .apks
 

deolarte

Senior Member
Nov 4, 2007
591
62
technewsbydj.blogspot.com
i think its great especially when you forget your usb cable, i never leave home with out but i forgot it, surfing thru xda and didnt feel like opening xda app on phone just download upload install, also, when paw server is down i guess, nice work.
 

htc-hd2

Senior Member
Oct 29, 2009
325
33
Almere
Oops... The site is getting a lot of attention at the moment as it made the XDA's frontpage!

I guess that it's time to start putting together a FAQ for the site.

Things like:
Q: Sorry but have I missed something here??
Why on earth would ANYBODY really actually need to use this? (no offence) Has your friend lost the plot?
A: I have not looked at it yet, but this allows you to do it without connecting the phone to the pc
and
its great especially when you forget your usb cable.
will be in it :)

Thank you all for the input.
 

TheATHEiST

Senior Member
Sep 29, 2008
4,327
965
Hull
Samsung Galaxy S9+
Samsung Galaxy S21
I have not looked at it yet, but this allows you to do it without connecting the phone to the pc right?



Logical order for your instructions :D

a) Install ASTRO File Manager from market.
b) Copy apk to sd card/phone
c) Install apk

repeat steps b and c for other .apks

Err how is that any more "logical" then what I said?

It doesn't make a difference which way around you do a&b so one order isnt any more or less logical then the other.

Your logic fails :p


i think its great especially when you forget your usb cable, i never leave home with out but i forgot it, surfing thru xda and didnt feel like opening xda app on phone just download upload install, also, when paw server is down i guess, nice work.


Ok so if you where not at home and didnt have a USB cable, you could simply email the apk to yourself or use your friends card reader/card slot/dongle etc. There are a million different ways that are much quicker then this. Not trying to dis OP/site etc just suprised that this has been made front page news?
 
Last edited:
I love how quickly people try to smash an idea just cause it's not their way...what if the user doesn't have a file manager installed? Left their USB cable? Doesn't want to login to a webmail account for security reasons? There are tons of reasons to use this...I say scale it up, and somehow work out longer time periods for the QR codes (Maybe only for registered users?)...besides, it's always nice to have some functional PHP code that could be used in other projects.
 

xavier7

Senior Member
Feb 24, 2010
142
6
not everybody gets the idea of Astro/File manager.
this is just another way to get to the goal.
sometimes, even if you try to show them a better way of doing things, they still prefer another way which may seem not logical/takes a longer time.

This is a neat idea. it might not appeal to everybody, but it may help somebody.
 

cdtan99

Member
Mar 14, 2010
27
1
I don't get this either. I email the apk to my gmail and there's an option in Gmail on your phone for you to install the app.
 

wajanus

Member
Jan 4, 2011
24
1
Houston
about.me
Hey, i found great use for this. I downloaded a couple of APKs and needed to quickly dl them, and install them. Too lazy to connect to my computer or email it. So much faster.

One cosmetic issue: when I upload an apk the name changes to a crazy long string. Any way to shorten that? I realize you can't keep the original apk name but a simple numbering system (each new upload +1 id kind of a thing) or whatever else might work better. It's not required, but just my input :) love it!
 

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  • 16
    Today a friend of mine wanted to install a .apk file on his Android phone and he did not have a clue on how to do this.
    So.. After some hours PHP coding here I created an online tool for him (and other newbies).

    Basically the users selects the .apk he wants to install, and points his Android camera to the given QR code.

    Please have a look at http://bit.ly/e4mLXu , and let me know what you think.
    Some things like About and FAQ are still missing, but will be added later this week.

    Thank you.
    1
    It's a good concept but the site layout is so unnecessary, you don't need all those unneeded images and links in the website that has nothing to do with its function.
    1
    file manager, astro..

    this is for first class rookies :D
    1
    It is not working for me now. Yesterday was everything fine, but today after i upload .apk file, QR code doesnt appear.
    EDIT: it works in Internet Explorer for me :) .... only Firefox and Chrome have this problem.
    1
    Wow, what's with all the hate?
    I personally won't be using this tool, but not going to bash it like everyone is.

    Also, personally, I would think it is quicker than:
    1. Find your USB cable.
    2. Plug it in.
    3. Wait for phone to notify you that USB cable was plugged in.
    4. Press the "mount USB Storage" button on the phone.
    5. Wait for PC to detect the Mass Storage Device. I've used multiple pcs, multiple androids, took anywhere from 5 seconds to 15 seconds.
    6. Drag/Drop/Copy/Paste whatever the file to the Mass Storage Device.
    7. Safely unmount the Mass Storage Device.
    8. Wait for the phone to re-read your phone's SD device/"internal sd" or whatever (and if you have your file manager app stored on your SD device, you'll have to wait for the phone to reread your SD device and have the file manager appear in the list of apps)
    9. Launch your file manager app, browse to the SD device, scroll down or find the folder you copied it to, then launch the apk.
    10. Install.

    Now, with this site:
    1. Launch browser.
    2. Go to http://www.apkinstall.com/
    3. Click Browse File, select the apk and it uploads.
    4. Launch Barcode Scanner.
    5. Scan barcode.
    6. Tap the link, it downloads
    7. Drag down notification bar, tap the file.
    8. Install.

    See 2 steps shorter and WAY faster too!

    Personally I use aFile (pay version), the phone runs a wifi server, I connect to it and it's a full blown web interface file manager and I can upload multiple files.

    If I'm not home and need to install an APK from a PC, I'll use this site.

    Suggestions: Yeah the site is pretty busy. No need for the slideshow, and the site is rather "large" if you have a small window/monitor.