The beauty of Android is that it’s not just limited to one specific manufacturer or operating system variant, which gives it the real edge over Apple’s iOS. The iPhone in comparison has only one company behind it, and while their work so far has been nothing sort of stellar (I am talking the sales volumes here – no judgment), the open source nature of Android and the large manufacturer support behind it makes the platform far more diverse and unique, not to mention variable. The availability of multiple OEMs not only impacts the buyers’ choices and hardware diversification, but also impacts the software side of things. How? HTC has its Sense theme, Sony came up with Timescape. Samsung favors TouchWiz and Motorola cooked up MotoBlur, just to name a few Android skins.
One of the most distinguishing features of Android, among it being open source and much rapidly developing as compared to its major competitor, iOS, is the ability to use widgets. Not only they decorate the launcher’s home screen aesthetically, but also provide much needed functionality without the need to launch the applications that they cater to themselves.
The powerful and extremely well thought of XBMC software has often been thought of as a complete media center solution for the Windows, OS X and Linux platforms, but thanks to some incredibly hard work from the people over at XBMC, it looks like we can reliably add Android to that list of supported platforms. We've been hearing about Android pre-release and nightly builds of XBMC for quite some time, so we knew it was in the works, but the team has officially announced what they call the "first end-user friendly release of XBMC for Android".
Ever wanted a Galaxy Note tablet that's a little smaller than the 10.1 offering that's currently on sale? Want to take advantage of the S Pen but the Galaxy Note smartphone just a little too small? You may be in luck.
If you own an iOS or Android device and enjoy playing mobile games on your way to work or school, you have most likely stumbled across Temple Run at one point. This addictive touch-screen game is now getting its first major revamp since its 2011 release: Tempe Run 2, which will reach Google Play on January 24th, following the recent release of the iOS version.
Been put off using AirDroid thanks to the rather odd invite system the developer had going on? Now's your chance to see what all the fuss is about - the invite system is no more and a beta release of version 2 is at your fingertips.
It's not just Apple that garners some attention in the smartphone world these days. Samsung, Apple's arch nemesis also receives more than its fair share of enquiring eyes these days, with the flagship Galaxy S III and Galaxy Note II currently forming a formidable partnership in the high street. With that in mind, any new iteration of either phone is bound to receive plenty of attention.
I’ve lately been writing a lot about data backup solutions. Of course, they’re extremely important, since that’s necessary to protect your data and secure your personal information. No matter what platform or device you’re using, there are always backup applications and solutions available that would help you achieve the said purposes. Android, just like the rest, has no shortage of such apps, some of which are advanced enough to perform backups at the very basic level, copying complete partition images of your device to a safe location for future recoveries (nandroid backups, anyone?). Even just yesterday, we brought to you a backup solution that could save everything to a desktop PC – both Windows and Linux – without requiring root access, unlike the most famous backup tools.
The turn of the year always brings with it new found excitement about the potential hardware and software that we are likely see introduced from the likes of Apple, Samsung and Google. It also marks the start of the countdown to events like Apple's WWDC and Google's I/O conference, both of which take place in the Bay Area at the Moscone Center. We won't find out exactly what both companies have in store for us during their respective events, but early reports are suggesting Google could be planning on announcing information and technical specifications of two new Nexus branded devices.
One of the great advantages of using Android over, say iOS, is the ability to use home screen alternatives, otherwise known as custom launchers. They take all manner of forms, and offer a range of features, with some going for sheer features, while others seek to alter the general look and feel of an Android smartphone or tablet. In the case of the Bazooka Launcher, aesthetics are very much the order of the day.
