Samsung’s Galaxy Camera is a truly remarkable device. To begin with, it’s the first of its kind, offering a truly powerful and capable camera running Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. The connectivity options on board are truly a tech-enthusiast’s dream come true. Then, you can do a lot more on the device than you’d be able to on any traditional point and shoot camera. Despite being priced rather steep, there’s a lot of love that the unorthodox Android device has received. You have root access on the Galaxy Camera whilst running Android Jelly Bean, and then there’s an unlocked boot loader, too. Is there more to wish for? Yes, you certainly can, because XDA member Adam Outler has discovered some neat Samsung internal codes that can be executed even on the Galaxy Camera to gain access to hidden menus and secret areas.
We have all been there: relaxing at home, perhaps about to complete a level of your favorite videogame, when your manager rings you up asking for a report that was due the day before. Instead of interrupting the game, or take the call and give a half-apology, wouldn’t it be great if certain places were off-limits for calls by selected groups of people? Call Bliss is an app for iOS 6 that makes this a reality.
Samsung’s Galaxy Note and Galaxy Note II were two devices that redefined how the world viewed smartphones. The Dell Streak had been perhaps one of the original phablets (phone + tablet), but the Note lineup’s revolutionary design, hardware specifications, and the exclusive S Pen stylus made it something much more than any of its predecessors. Add to the fact that the device was produced by the famous Korean manufacturer that had already made for itself a towering reputation with droids, didn’t hurt the device’s success in any way. If you think about it, the Galaxy Note is a complete winner in almost all aspects, except for the large size (which is completely a matter of preference and opinion, by the way).
While most people would argue that tablets are actually an entirely different breed of portable, mobile personal computers (PCs), even the smartphones of today are not merely communication devices anymore. They’re much more than that; combining features from an internet device, a portable media player, a handheld gaming console, a personal information manager (PIM), to a lot more other features. I remember when Steve Jobs introduced the original iPhone back in 2007, saying that Apple was releasing three devices, all combined into one. This holds true today for any smartphone, whether it be on iOS, Android, webOS, Windows Phone, or any other operating system. For this very reason, you cannot treat any area of the device as less important than others, and among the top critical features is connectivity.
Considering how much an impact the internet has on our lives and how many hours the majority of us spent browsing through our favorite sites and social networks, it makes perfect sense that we would benefit from a great lightweight mobile browser that packs a punch not only through the deliverance of great online content, but also through our favorite social channels. Thankfully, it would seem that Rockmelt could be that browser for those who have an iOS powered device, with the app promising to allow its users to explore the best of the web from the palm of their hands.
Windows has evolved into a pretty stable operating system with time, especially when Windows 7 had entered the arena. Then, even with Windows 8, although I did run into a lot of issues with the release and consumer previews, I haven’t regretted making the switch once I installed the retail version. It was pretty necessary, too, that Microsoft made Windows stable the way it has become now, considering that the operating system is the most used in the world for desktop computers and notebook PCs.
One of the biggest reasons I, and a lot of other Android users, would want to root their smartphones and tablets, and install a custom recovery, is the ability to take nandroid backups. The stock Android recovery console allows you to only either wipe data/factory reset, or to install legitimate, signed ZIP updates for the Android operating system. Custom recoveries offer you so much more, one of which is the ability to back up all the partitions – system, data, cache et al – which lets you restore the device to the state it was originally in.
Like so many other companies, Apple relies on the festive season to be one of their most lucrative financial periods during the year, and the chances are high that people all over the world will be waking up to an iPad, iPhone, Apple TV or some other fantastic Apple gift. If the magic of the present isn't enough, iSimon - the digital sleight-of-hand magician - is back to bring some festive trickery into our lives.
If you’ve ever wanted to modify your Android device, or actually done any changes, including rooting, for most part, you’d have come across the recovery. For those who are not really aware of what it means, in Android Open Source Project (AOSP), “recovery” refers to the isolated, boot-supporting partition that contains the system recovery console, and which can be invoked to perform system-level modifications without booting the Android GUI. Recovery console is usually invoked using a certain combination of key presses on the device itself, or through the Android Debug Bridge (ADB) via a computer. The stock recovery console of almost all Android devices is rather similar, containing a matching set of options which is rather restricted in its nature. Thankfully, owing to the open source nature of Android, there’s loads of room for customization and enhancement in this partition, and that’s where custom recoveries come in to fill the void.
Ever since the introduction of iPad to the market, tablets have become something really mainstream. It’s not like the world was devoid of this genre of gadget earlier, but the Cupertino giant’s rendition of the device made it a worldwide phenomenon, making it lucrative to even those people who’d have otherwise not found any use for a tablet PC. Jumping onto the bandwagon, Android entered the arena too, and today, there are more Android tablets available on the market than you’d care to count. BlackBerry also tried its hand at this category in the form of PlayBook, but that failed rather miserably. The last to enter the tablet PC market was Microsoft with its Surface tablet, a device truly remarkable in its elegance, beauty and hardware. Now, Nokia is aiming to dethrone Surface as the top Windows RT tablet, coming up with its own Windows-based tablet that comes with a battery powered keyboard cover.
