There’s one very big difference between Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android: how the updates and fixes work. Of course, there are much more differences than merely that, but this one has its own significance. So, if Apple messes something up in one iOS update, users will have to wait for the company to release another before that issue can be fixed. Be it battery woes to some driver having one line of code messed up, you have to rely on, and wait for, Apple to fix it (unless you’re jailbroken, that is). With Android, however, that’s now how things work. If something’s wrong with even a newly released device, chances are high that someone from the massive developer community will come up with a generally-implementable fix.
There’s no shortage of unofficial CyanogenMod versions for various Android devices, and sometimes, those even get merged in the mainline, providing better, more official support. However, it’s almost always more exciting to find out that a device is getting official ROMs from the get go. In that regard, the Nexus line up of devices has always received special love from the original CM team. It makes sense, too, since these devices are Google’s flagships, and whenever a new Android version is out, they’re the first ones to official receive it, even before the source code goes live on AOSP. The best should get treated by the best, don’t you agree?
One of the biggest freedoms of wielding an Android device is the choice of ROMs that you get. Unlike almost all other smartphone and tablet platforms, having an Android means you do not have to always stick to whatever the manufacturer has packaged with your device in its factory state, and much like a computer, you can choose to have your own OS, some with their own specialties and enhancements, while others built from ground up based on the Android Open Source Project (AOSP). Power users always prefer AOSP ROMs over stock or stock-based offerings, because of the broader freedom of customization and tailoring that they entail. Among those, CyanogenMod needs least of an introduction – the first ever AOSP ROM to hit the Android world has now taken another hatchling under its wings – the mighty droid, Google Nexus 4.
Android 4.2.1 Update is barely out the door, bringing with it all the bug fixes and patches, along with the much-needed and missing “December” from the People app. A new version of Android always means one thing in particular – wait time for a new root method or package for the latest update. Well, thanks to the wonderful developer community that we have all come to trust and love, wait is over, or rather, got over long before you knew it, because Android 4.2.1 is also rootable on all the devices – Nexus 4, Nexus 7, Nexus 10 and Galaxy Nexus – just like its predecessor was. The method has no bells and whistles attached to it, either, and involves flashing a custom recovery and pushing the SU binaries to your device. We’ll guide you how just past the jump.
As with iOS and Windows Phone 8, quite a few Android devices have launched in quick succession over the past couple of weeks, and as such, the famously thriving Android community has been busier than the gadget retailers this holiday. Among the torrent of new Android smartphones and tablets arrived the Nexus 10 slate, and with a toolkit for the HTC One X+, HTC Droid DNA and its accomplice - the LG Nexus 4 - already released, it only seemed a matter of time before the all-in-one arrived for the Nexus 10 tablet. Today, that day has arrived, and if you want to get busy modding and playing around with your shiny new slate, the folk of XDA-Developers have just made things that little bit easier.
Apple's iPhone always manages to sell in high numbers when the holiday season approaches, and history has repeated itself once again this year. Thanks to strong sales of the brand new iPhone 5, iOS has peaked at the top of the smartphone market share in the United States, according to data collated by research outfit Kantar Worldpanel Comtech.
Thanksgiving weekend may have been enhanced by the Black Friday savings on offer, but as many of you will be aware, the deals have not yet ceased. After Black Friday comes Cyber Monday, and with so many big-money savings, it can be hard to keep track. Here, we run through some of the best offers from the companies you like to purchase from, so if you have any money left, check out the Cyber Monday options after the break.
When the Nexus 4 was announced as next Android flagship, there was no mention of any 4G/LTE support. Then, when the phone came out mid-November, there was, again, no LTE support again – not very surprisingly, though, since supporting 4G would have essentially meant manufacturing multiple versions of the device to make it agreeable for all the different 4G bands around the globe – an approach that Apple had to adopt with the iPhone 5. LG, however, decided to avoid going down that road, and hence, Nexus 4 stuck to the plain old 3G bands.
The Nexus 4 has, as with nearly all Nexus devices before it, delivered a host of great specs for a the price of a mid-range smartphone, and with most vendors offering at least a black and a white version of each handset, it looks as though LG will be doing the same with the Nexus 4.
Google has a knack for doing things other companies have already done, but doing them better, or cheaper, or in an easier manner to understand; or any number of the above. Android took the iOS format and made it accessible for everybody; Chrome delivered a faster and more efficient and dynamic browsing experience than most; the list is endless. Every company fears Google when it decides to sink its teeth into a new project, and in news that is sure to have the head honchos over at Apple on red alert, it looks as though the search giant may be about to implement its own AirPlay-esque local streaming service.
