XBMC is the most popular open-source media center app known to man. It's the reason many seek to jailbreak their Apple TVs, for example, but since one has to jailbreak any Apple device in order to use such software, support for Android has been much more progressive. XBMC 12, otherwise known as 'Frodo', has just been released officially, and among a slew of features and improvements such as Live TV and PVR support, offers what's being described as "initial" Android support.
Seeing as how Android is fast becoming one of the fastest growing smartphone and tablet platforms out there, it’s surprising to note how little clear information is available for the uninitiated towards the platform that would actually explain what certain terms – those that experienced users are so familiar with that it seems second nature to them – mean.
One of the key reasons of doing anything in life is the sense of achievement that it brings, from education to work and pretty much anything else you do. Sure, money, fulfillment and career count, but the fact remains that if you feel you’ve accomplished something, you’re more likely to be happy than with anything else. Studies have shown that even in workplace, those employees are usually happier who get recognition of their work in addition to compensation, as opposed to those who continue to perform their duties without their superiors acknowledging their efforts. As Homosapiens, we are programmed genetically to pursue this sense of achievement, and this fact adheres to basic human psychology.
It is no secret that iOS and Android devices are the leaders on the smartphone market, with outputs that greatly outweigh the other players. The latest data published on Monday shows that their lead has edged, having taken over 92.1% of smartphone shipments in the last three months of last year.
If you are a Galaxy Note II and had it unlocked, you might have been disappointed when Verizon sneaked a new bootloader last week and re-locked it. Thankfully, a new solution is available now through a new exploit and a slight update for the user-friendly CASUAL tool.
Samsung pushes out a quite phenomenal number of handsets during the course of a year, and adding to its mammoth collection is the robust Xcover 2, built purposely for those who may regularly encounter the brunt of the varying terrain in the great outdoors. Unveiled today, it runs on Android Jelly Bean (4.1), boasts a 5-megapixel camera, and offers a 4-inch display. More details after the break.
If you were one of the Android users who found themselves a little disgruntled when Temple Run 2 managed to land on the iOS App Store more than a week ago then worry no more. The official second version of the Temple Run franchise from Imangi Studios is now available as a free-of-charge download from the Play Store, and as you might expect it offers all of the thrills and spills of its iOS flavored brother perfectly tailored for the Android OS.
The ability to run custom launchers on Android devices is something that, to many, gives the Google platform the edge on its competitors. We feature plenty of launchers here at Redmond Pie, each of which tends to offer its own unique quirk, and and today's offering is no different. Named SF Launcher, it is currently in early alpha stage, but already bears the hallmarks of a very promising home screen alternative.
In 2013, most users think of Siri as an Apple-developed feature that is now embedded on every new iOS device. However, Siri was once an independent company that was an inch away from becoming an exclusive feature on Verzion smartphones running Android, until Apple finally bought the company in 2010.
One of the great things about Android, and ultimately one of the reasons why a lot of users prefer it over the alternatives, is the ability to customize certain aspects of it. Developers are also able to produce software that essentially acts as a replacement for the native way of doing things. One of the more popular examples of this is rolling out of an entirely new launcher that brings additional features over the stock implementation. HomeFlip for Ice Cream Sandwich and above is one of the latest examples of an app built around the launcher concept.
