Articles about Android

If you are a CyanogenMod 10 nightly user, then CM10 Downloader is a must-have on your Android device.

The app is designed to download CM10 nightly builds for your Android smartphone without involving the use of other apps, and it provides the option to download the necessary Google Apps package. If you don't want to manually check for a new build, and if you're trying to avoid using cellular data, it also comes with a scheduler option that will automatically check for you, and download updates via Wi-Fi. Pretty nice, isn't it?

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Today, Android virtualization company BlueStacks announced it has optimized its Android App Player for all existent and upcoming AMD GPUs and APUs under the name "AMD AppZone." AMD AppZone includes a Web-based Android app store, and the AMD AppZone Player for Windows 7 and Windows 8. This announcement highlights AMD's rather precarious position ahead of the launch of Windows 8.

Earlier in September, Citigroup analyst Glen Yeung downgraded Intel, AMD, and Nvidia on the basis that the consumer PC market has fully matured, and is no longer the growth segment it used to be, and that the real growth is in the "post-PC" businesses of mobile devices and cloud-based services.

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The recently-revealed security exploit on Samsung Android phones running the TouchWiz interface appears to have already been fixed, Samsung said in a statement to the media Wednesday.

The exploit, which allowed maliciously-crafted sites to remotely wipe Android phones, was shown publicly at a conference in Buenos Aires, Argentina last week. Samsung on Wednesday said the software build which contained the exploitable loophole was an early production version, and the public should not be at a significant risk because it was already patched.

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Some companies really know how to maximize marketing, and drive up their share price in the process. In March, Apple used a countdown clock to boast about 25 billion App Store downloads. Google's mobile store reached the same number this week, announced with little fanfare today.

Apple shares traded for about $531 then, but rose sharply following the app milestone and thereafter fairly consistently in the wake of a series of well-marketing managed announcements or product releases, topping $700 this month. There are daily reports across the InterWebs about record share price. Meanwhile, more meager marketer Google, which share price also flies record high this month -- above Apple, at $764.89 peak -- is largely ignored. Perhaps pro-Apple bias contributes to the silence? Whatever, Google has big numbers of its own.

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Spring Design, the company that made headlines two years ago for its a dual-screen Android-powered e-reader, is keeping its dual-screen Android tradition alive with a new app that launched in public beta today called ScreenShare.

ScreenShare is an application that lets you connect your Android tablet with your Android-powered smartphone via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, so you can utilize the tablet's screen to access data on the smartphone. In a roundabout sort of way, it is a way to connect your Wi-Fi-only tablet such as the Nexus 7 to a mobile data connection.

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Great news for Verizon Wireless Samsung Galaxy Nexus owners -- Google posted the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean factory image for the "forgotten" users of the big red.

The LTE Galaxy Nexus can be updated to Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean, build number JRO03O using the factory image posted on Google Developers website. The recent development comes almost two months after the Mountain View, Calif.-based corporation released the factory images for the Samsung/Google Galaxy Nexus HSPA+ model, and represents a significant delay for the update to reach the LTE model.

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Dear Google, that's it! I've had enough! Enough of the random lockups and reboots. Enough of the buggy browser and convoluted multitasking. Enough of Android!

Google, I've given you a fair shot. I drank the Kool-Aid. I joined the Android Army. And I wore my green robot tattoo thingy with pride. However, I could never shake the feeling that I've been running with the wrong crowd.

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Great news for modding enthusiasts, the Android Open Kang Project team announced the availability of the new Jelly Bean build 3, one week after Jelly Bean build 2 was released.

The current iteration of the Android distribution is based on Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean, build number JRO03R and takes a focus on stability rather than on implementing numerous new features like with the previous build.

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In the land of the rising sun a new tablet --the Google Nexus 7-- is making its first appearance.

The popular 7-inch tablet sporting Android 4.1 Jelly Bean was launched by Google in Japan. Like with the European launch, the Nexus 7 only comes in one flavor -- the 16GB model and it is available for purchase directly from Google's local Play Store for a price of 19,800 Japanese Yen, which is roughly $255.

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Weather apps consistently rank behind games as the second most popular class of mobile applications (Source: Nielsen) but does your weather app tell you where you're most likely to be hit by a bolt of lightning?

WeatherBug Elite for Android, which received a major version update today, includes that very feature, called "Lightning Alerts."

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HTC promised, and Samsung delivered.

After a number of leaked beta builds surfaced, the official Android 4.1 Jelly Bean update for the Samsung Galaxy S III is now available in select European countries.

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Say, do you remember those phone hacks of the 1970s -- free calls using a whistle inside Capt'n Crunch cereal boxes? Or perhaps you recall the 1980's version, depicted in movie WarGames with a soda can pull top? Supposedly you can relive the underground hacking days, quite literally, using an Android app to get free subway rides.

My boss spotted a ZDNET story about this little, ah, gimmick from the Intrepidus Group. Due to a Near Field Communication-chip flaw, would-be digital turnstile jumpers can reset some transit cards to their original state using an Android app. That's another 10 free rides for you, bud.

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Microsoft is taking a considerable risk with the Windows 8 ecosystem and major push into the post-PC era. There is no room for error and to get it right all the parts must work in perfect harmony. Windows 8 faces stiff competition and must dismount all preconceptions it's a weak tablet operating system.

Microsoft enters the market fully prepared to take its opponents head-on. Instead of copying adversaries, the company takes the more mature approach of offering a different user experience. Every competitor should fear Windows 8 tablets, and I've got five reasons why.

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Almost two weeks after Amazon unveiled new tablets, the $199 7-inch Kindle Fire HD tablet gets "a new lease on life" through rooting.

Gaining elevated privileges (popularly known as "root") is facilitated by an exploit found in Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich that Amazon didn't fix before shipping the tablet. The fairly uncomplicated process gives the Kindle Fire HD a new trick up its sleeve -- using the Google Play Store, which provides access to all apps available there.

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In the world of Android distributions, one name stands above all -- CyanogenMod -- and praise doesn't come higher than that. Based on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, the popular CyanogenMod 10 should be a go-to for any modding enthusiast, be they a newcomer or aficionado looking for the custom ROM to unleash all the power without being too over-the-top.

As of late, CyanogenMod 10 offers increased flexibility by being available as a monthly release and nightly build, but what better way to experience the latest changes and the project evolution as a whole than running the latest cutting-edge nightly build?

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