Links to Android APKs for side loading

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Pete
Posts: 660
Joined: Sun 02 Mar 2014, 18:36

Links to Android APKs for side loading

#1 Post by Pete »

Hi all

Just got my first Android tablet and must say not very impressed with Android and the Google store, maybe too spoilt by Linux :lol:

Anyways, the things I hate about the Google store are:

1) Having to create an account, bah!

2) Not being able to save the apk so if I need to install it again, another download, wasting data cap.

3) Google decides which version goes on their store or even at all.

4) Most of the apps on there are riddled with ads.

So for those that would prefer to sideload their apps and thus get to keep the apk and decide what to load, I thought it would be nice to have a thread where we can all share links to the apks directly.
The APK's acan then be transfered to the tablet/phone via ADB or even a SD card or USB stick.

To start off, here is the APK for the latest Firefox directly from Mozilla:

https://download.mozilla.org/?product=f ... lang=multi

Just tried it and installed and works perfectly.
Much better than the crappy default Android browser that came with the device.

Now to get a second tablet and put a proper OS on it, rooting to Linux here we come.....

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Pete
Posts: 660
Joined: Sun 02 Mar 2014, 18:36

#2 Post by Pete »

For VLC media player.
Just choose the right one for your device's CPU:

https://get.videolan.org/vlc-android/2.0.2/

learnhow2code

Re: Links to Android APKs for side loading

#3 Post by learnhow2code »

http://f-droid.org <- this is what youre looking for imo

not that youd want to (even i dont) but fig runs on android (at least older versions; would probably require adjustments to make it work in sl4a) using this: https://archive.is/Q93mv

i really dislike the android platform. yeah, its an alternative to apples platform, sort of. i dont like that one, either. app stores are designed to get in the way of people collaborating on software. even when theyre not proprietary, theyre an irritating step in that direction.

packages and apps are related, except that packages are designed to make things possible and apps stores are designed to create a barrier. (all for your convenience, of course!)

imo, .deb files sit on the line between the two. theyre mostly a good thing. if they were any more tedious or troublesome, they would be like apps-- of course this is a distinction built on practice; theoretically and fundamentally, apps and packages are the same thing.

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Pete
Posts: 660
Joined: Sun 02 Mar 2014, 18:36

Re: Links to Android APKs for side loading

#4 Post by Pete »

learnhow2code wrote:http://f-droid.org <- this is what youre looking for imo
....
Absolutely, thank you.
I really like that site.
There seems to be two ways to download APKs from there:

1) Download the browser f-droid, which I'm not too keen on

2) Click on Browse on the websites amin page, look through all the apps and simply download the ones you want.
My preferred choice.

Already found some nice ones:
DosBox
https://f-droid.org/repository/browse/? ... x&fdpage=2

VNC
https://f-droid.org/repository/browse/? ... C&fdpage=3

Print to your CUPS server
https://f-droid.org/repository/browse/? ... t&fdpage=3

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