Posted by Matthew Serre on October 13, 2012 at 10:08 am
The importance of applications to the success of a mobile operating system cannot be overstated: if users do not have access to a variety of applications, then why should they use a particular OS? But perhaps more important than the apps themselves is how well they function within the context of the OS in which users use them.
Consider Google Chrome, a quality browser application available for both Android and its rival iOS. A user has an iOS device, but happens to like the Google ecosystem, so he downloads and installs Chrome on his device. He opens it and recognizes its user interface and features. For a moment, he is happy!
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Posted by Matthew Serre on October 10, 2012 at 7:24 am
Last week, computer processor developer AMD announced its launch of AMD AppZone, a portion of its website from which Windows users may download Android applications for use on their PCs powered by AMD processing units. AppZone, which works in conjunction with Android emulation program BlueStacks, allows Windows 7 and future Windows 8 users to install a variety of Android apps, including games, photo and video tools, and productivity tools. The Windows 8 version is even supposed to function on touchscreen devices, like the upcoming Surface from Microsoft.
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Posted by Carlos S. on October 9, 2012 at 7:24 pm
You may have seen my previous post explaining what rooting and custom ROMs are, and wondered how to actually do it in your device. I don’t blame you, since doing it unlocks your device to it’s full potential and is one of the main advantages of Android to begin with. It allows you to have a open, updated device even long after your carrier or manufacturer stop supporting your phone, which is sort of important considering that most devices have capable hardware, but are abandoned all too soon. So, today I’ll tell you how to do it, using my Huawei U8800/Ideos X5 as an example, following this tutorial.
So, let me tell your right away, this is a process that is different for every device. Since Android has such a wide range of hardware configurations, manufacturers and internal firmwares, it’s rare to have a ultimate solution that works the same for everything. Fortunately, there are various communities that research and are dedicated to the purpose of liberating and opening pretty much every device out there. One of the largest is XDA, as their forums are extremely popular and most devices have a dedicated forum that probably has a tutorial on how to set up your device for rooting and replacing the stock ROM, with detailed and easy to understand instructions, and it’s the one I recommend. It’s unlikely you won’t find support for your device in there, but if that’s the case, you can give the MoDaCo or RootzWiki forums a try and see if you can find support in there. So, with these words of warning, here we go!
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Posted by Matthew Serre on October 6, 2012 at 12:08 pm
Twitter is one of the most popular social networks in the world. Users from across the globe use the service to broadcast brief messages to their followers, whether they sit in the same room next to them or in a room on the other side of the planet. Because of the speed and ubiquity of the service, Twitter, in comparison to other social networks like Facebook and Google+, benefits particularly well from a mobile version of its website as well as native applications for the most popular mobile operating systems, including Android. The widespread availability of a service like Twitter, to which users have constant access at the tips of their fingers, speaks to the importance of social networking and the impact it has had on human beings over the last decade.
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Posted by Syed H on October 6, 2012 at 11:54 am
Have you ever found yourself at your wireless carrier’s store, looking to buy a phone, but you simply can’t make up your mind? Choosing between smartphones can be confusing and even difficult. But if you answer these questions before you take a trip to your local Verizon/AT&T/Sprint/etc. store, your decision will be clearer.
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Posted by Syed H on October 3, 2012 at 8:47 pm
Android is notorious for their oft-delayed updates to all tiers of phones, regardless of who makes them. Sometimes manufacturers will promise an update ‘very soon’ only for it to be released 3-6 months later. Motorola recently told Atrix, Photon, and Electrify users they won’t be getting ICS even though they were PROMISED it. The bottom line is that absolutely nothing is guaranteed in the Android world. If you don’t own a Nexus or high-end device, good luck in getting a timely update, if you even get one. But fear not, there is a way to enjoy some Jellybean goodness if you’re stuck on Ice Cream Sandwich.
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Posted by Matthew Serre on October 2, 2012 at 6:06 pm
Pay or Pass is a feature in which we determine from time to time which apps are worth purchasing, and which apps you can just pass on.
While I did not purchase every app from the Google Play Store “Celebrating 25 Billion Downloads” sale over the past 5 days, I did buy quite a few; and for 25 cents a piece, my wallet thanks me. But not all apps are worth paying for, some of them not even a quarter. And for those of you who missed the sale, I would rather not see you waste the money paying full price for some of the previously discounted apps, especially the ones that I regret paying for at the low, low price of two bits. The following is a list of the apps that I purchased during the sale and my determinations about which ones you should actually buy, even once they return to their normal prices.
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