Have you ever really thought about customizing your Android device to its fullest? I know I have, and I also know that a lot of casual users at least think about it millions of times, even if they don’t really do it. Whether it’s the effort behind the whole deal or the attention to details that such a process demands, a thorough revamp of how your Android-based smartphone or tablet looks is definitely not a piece of cake. Then, there’s no standard element that you’d need; customization comes out of a combination of various tools and packages all working in tandem with each other. One necessary component of any such method is a full-screen launcher setup.
If you use your Android smartphone or tablet for even half the purposes that an average geek would put it to, chances are strong that you have pretty sensitive data stored in there that you’d definitely not want to get in the wrong hands. Truth be told, today’s smartphones are no long mere communication devices; they’re photo albums with all the pictures of our loved ones, they’re our personal information managers, holding all our contact lists, appointments, schedules etc., then these devices are also our internet hubs, storing all content ready for access by anyone who can get into your device. And these examples constitute only the tip of the iceberg; the rabbit hole goes far deeper.
Mobile devices ensure that catching up with the latest news and feeds is a doddle. Whether you're looking for a magazine, or just want an update from your favorite sources, there are more apps available than most people would care to count. Press, a Google Reader app for Android, is a prime example of such an app done properly, and not only it organizes your content in an easy-to-find interface, but is arguably the best looking application in its field.
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).
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.
Being able to use a keyboard of your choice, and not just by aesthetics, but a completely unique package with a distinct feature set of its own, is one of the biggest freedoms of owning and using an Android device. I have used both the iPhone and iPad as my daily drivers, and while iOS boasts one of the best touch-based character entry mechanisms in the market, there’s still a lot to wish for in the stock iOS keyboard. Even with a jailbroken device, you don’t get a really staggering number of choices, and definitely nothing close to what Google’s droid has to offer. Android simply leaves iOS biting the dust on this front.
Customization is definitely one of the main reasons why mobile smartphone users prefer to have their needs handled by the fantastic Android operating system. Most aspects of customization are extremely popular within the Android community, but being able to replace the home screen with an alternative launcher setup is growing in popularity, partly thanks to developers who produce work like the lightweight and open-sourced LauncherAdvanced app which provides a great set of highly-configurable options to tweak the device.
Ever since Temple Run took the casual gaming world by storm, there has been a marked spike in the number of similar, running-based titles. TheEndApp, Agent Dash, and PITFALL! are prime examples of titles which have enjoyed great success by adopting the tried-and-tested motif, the latter of which has finally debuted over at the Play Store. PITFALL!, as many veteran gamers will be more than aware, is a classic in its own right, and having left millions of iPhone, iPad and iPod touch users hooked on its challenging levels, those on Android can now lose themselves in the immersing world of PITFALL!
A MacBook Pro, Air or iMac may come pre-installed with the latest version of OS X, but it hasn't always been the case. Once upon a time, when buying a new Macintosh computer, users would have been opting to let their computing needs be handled by the old Macintosh operating system that may have served its purpose at the time and formed the foundation for what we have today. But it was in no way as functional or as aesthetically pleasing as OS X Lion or Mountain Lion. We have seen in the past that some people do love that nostalgic trip down memory lane and now that is possible with the Mini vMac emulator software for Android on the Play Store.
If you cast your minds back to the month of June, you may remember the news of Google's decision to acquire the powerful mobile productivity suite Quickoffice for an undisclosed fee. All told, things have been pretty quiet since then, but today, Google has made Quickoffice for iPad free to Apps for Business customers. In addition, the search giant also stated that free Android and iPhone versions would be coming soon, which although promising, all but wipes out any possibility of Quickoffice hitting the comparatively less-used BlackBerry and Windows Phone platforms.
