Google not only vends the Android operating system, but also a lot of quality apps for smartphones and tablets running the said OS. Time to time, Google keeps bringing a much-anticipated and completely radical update to one of its apps that usually prove to be a game changer in most cases. This time around, the app to receive such an update is the famous Google Maps, pushing the version number to 7.0 and gradually rolling out globally for Android (iOS update still to follow).
Dual booting operating systems on mobile devices can be an exciting experience, and although Windows 8 usually restricted to tablets vetted officially by Microsoft, it doesn't always have to be this way. The folks of XDA-Developers have found a way to dual boot Android and Windows 8 on the Acer Iconia W700, and although it's by no means a seamless experience, it does offer a little variation to those of a very tech-orientated nature.
It's a phenomenon that few had dare to predict, though certainly one that we all hoped for. The best Android smartphones on the planet getting special Google editions, free of carrier and manufacturer bloatware? It's like the Holy Grail of mobile technology, and this week it became reality as both the HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S4 made the transition from unique-selling-point-filled behemoths to sleek, Google-powered monsters.
Switching from one smartphone to another is not really an easy feat, and even more so if the platform is different from the one that you’re currently using. Just recently, I decided to make the switch from iPhone to Android as my primary business phone, mainly because my work relies heavily on Google Apps and Android binds relatively better with those (and because my company promotes Android over iPhone). Nevertheless, while the rest of it was pretty smooth, one area that took some thought was getting my text messages from the iPhone to the new Xperia Android phone. Thankfully, there is a solution, even though it takes some time, we’ll show you how to go about it.
One of the widespread, long-standing features our mobile devices seem not to have latched onto yet is multi-user support. Whereas an overwhelming number of software interfaces allow for more than one person to log in, store their own data, tweak their settings and preferences and whatnot, the vast majority of smartphones and tablets haven't followed the script. As well as the Windows-based Surface slate, which naturally brought this feature as standard, Android Jelly Bean 4.2 also presented consumers with multi-user support, but if you were frustrated at the fact that Google has deemed it suitable only to the tablet for the time being, you'll be pleased to learn that the MoDaCo Toolkit will help your smartphone achieve this same functionality.
First day of Google I/O is officially over and a lot of great announcements were made, and some of those announcements were strictly focused towards Android developers.
A couple of days back, we learned that nightly builds of CyanogenMod 10.1 for Galaxy S4 had become available to those owning the aforementioned mighty device. Such has been the work ethic of the CyanogenMod team, that today, CM10.1 has gotten release candidate for select devices. As long-time users will know, the release candidate is the version dropped prior to the final release, and so provided no major issues are found here, it's fair to presume that an official, final release of CM10.1 may not be too far off.
Facebook's first foray into the Android modding world, Facebook Home for Android, has caused something of a stir in the smartphone world. It has led some people to rave about an otherwise mediocre handset in the HTC First, and it has even caused one jailbreak tweak to be launched that brings Home-liked Chat Heads to iOS.
If you found the Samsung Unpacked launch event of the Galaxy S4 to be somewhat cheesy, what you witnessed was actually theatrical mastery compared with what the poor folks of India have been burdened with from the Korean company. Now granted, the company is feeling a bit patriotic having seen compatriot PSY's 'Gangnam Style' become the most-watched, most-liked video in the history of YouTube and indeed, t'internet, but the smartphone vendor really shouldn't have gone as far as to bring it's own, ahem, 'Samsung Style' adaptation for the Indian launch of the new flagship. But regrettably, it did.
Microsoft may be languishing behind Apple and Google in the mobile operating system stakes, but that hasn't stopped the Redmond outfit from coning out on the offensive with its latest Windows Phone ad. You can check it out after the jump.
