Switching between running apps on a smartphone or tablet is something that users just expect to be possible. Computers have no problems running multiple programs within different windows, so why can't mobile devices do it efficiently, right? Well, there is a little more complexity to handling this type of expensive multitasking on a small portable device, but we do live in an age where our mobile phones and tablets can handle this pretty adequately. With that said, sometimes adequate just isn't good enough which is why Switchr for Android is getting so much praise.
The official combination of hardware and software feature sets that ship with most devices is usually enough, but in some cases it just makes sense for developers to push the boundaries a little and extend the published capabilities of a device.
Samsung, it would seem, simply cannot stop selling smartphones, and with the Galaxy Note having only been released a matter of weeks ago, rumor has it that the next flagship - the Galaxy S5 - could be set to arrive as soon as January. If true, it would be a real break away from the spring-summer launches we've witnessed these past couple of years, and would leave Galaxy S4 users feeling more short-changed than they perhaps already do.
We know what you Android users have been thinking: there is nothing worse in this world than thinking that you have root privileges on your favorite smartphone or tablet only to find out they have magically gone missing. Okay, so maybe the harsh reality of life does throw a few challenges at us that are significantly worse than that, but it can still be extremely confusing, annoyingly problematic when such a thing occurs without warning. If you've found yourself in this head-scratching situation then it's time to check out Simple Root Checker.
The rumor mill never ceases to be more and more interesting now, does it? According to the latest on the grapevine, Google’s Android 4.4 KitKat - the latest version of Android - running on the Google branded Nexus 5, might make an appearance as soon as Oct. 15, 2013. That puts the launch of the new device and the new Android version merely days away, not even a full week! Exciting, isn’t it?
The fierce competition in the mobile industry is a definite win for the consumer, however, it is particularly annoying that choice of product is almost always defined by the region in which one resides. Some nations seem to have all the luck at times (looks at the United States), but with the Asian OEMs continuing to command large chunks of the smartphone market, more and more devices are built with exclusivity for the likes of Japan, Korea and China. The Samsung Galaxy J, which has just made an appearance in Japan, is like the Galaxy S4, in that it has been given a spectacular spec upgrade on what was supposed to be, or at least what we all thought was the "new" flagship.
When it comes to RPGs, Final Fantasy may not be considered among the best like it once was, but the engrossing, almost iconic nature of the original Final Fantasy VII on the PlayStation continues to live on today. In what must go down as the most exciting news for FF fans in a good while now, Square Enix has announced that Final Fantasy VI will be heading to iOS and Android later this year. Perhaps not surprising, especially given that Final Fantasy IV and V took their respective mobile bows not so long ago, but if you enjoy playing games on your iOS or Android smartphones and tablets, then you won't have to wait too long for Final Fantasy VI to arrive.
A number of new research studies into the effectiveness, responsiveness and overall quality of smartphone and tablet touchscreens has found that Apple Inc. is still leading the pack. Mobile ad company Agawi has been putting a number of popular iOS and Android devices through their paces in an attempt to measure the performance of the touchscreen technology on the device, with the results putting the fruit company way ahead of the competition.
It's becoming a very common occurrence that prominent revealer of tech goodies Evleaks keeps coming up with legit shots of new devices before they're launched, and with the blogosphere abuzz pertaining Samsung's curved "Galaxy Round" device, that same Twitter handle has come through with the first renders of the elusive device. Set to become the first smartphone with a flexible panel, it will not only be more comfortable when held beside the face for calls, but gaming and watching video clips should also be enhanced. More details, as well as those renders, can be seen after the jump.
Google is as serious about its Android smartphone and tablet platform as it can be, and the latest “discovery” by François Beaufort is a definite testament to that. The Chromium expert noted a feature in the latest beta of Google Chrome for desktop that allows developers to control their Android devices directly from their desktop, thanks to an experimental screencast feature that Chrome beta carries.
