Whether you avoid Windows Phone or if Microsoft is not quite your cup of tea, you might have felt at least some interest whenever you see your friends walking in with a new Windows Phone device. Maybe you’re quite a fan of Windows 8 and are looking for a way to bring the same look-and-feel to your Android phone. Tile Launcher Beta might just be the perfect solution to let you do that.
With this year’s CES just around the corner, the world wide web is rife with speculation surrounding the possibilities of what we will see during the event. Various arms of Samsung Electronics are already confirmed to be exhibiting their works at CES, with a number of teasing videos whetting our appetites for a potentially big announcement during the trade-show, but could this leaked image show us exactly what to expect from the Samsung Galaxy SIV ahead of any possible announcement during CES?
Facebook's Messenger started out as an MSN-like instant-messaging service, but has since evolved into an all-singing, all-dancing service complete with its very own app. When it broke away from the official Facebook mobile app, some questioned the necessity of two separate entities, but as Zuck and his merry men have continued to pile on the features, it has become very clear that Messenger is worthy of its lone identity. Today, the popular app for iOS and Android have been updated with even more goodies, such as thee ability to send out voice messages, as well as call friends free of charge.
Thanks to the thriving nature of the Android community, most issues pertaining Google's mobile OS take very little time to be fixed. The likes of XDA-Developers are key hubs in ensuring Droidsters can enjoy the smoothest possible experience, on any given device, and Senior Member lambgx02 has come through with the Seeder Entropy Generator to prevent persistent gaming lag on a deluge of Android devices, notably the Nexus 7. Details after the break.
The success of a smartphone these days depends on a lot of factors, and for that reason, it’s hard to single out devices that have been successful with all sorts of crowds. For Apple, success comes mainly from the immense ease of use that their phones and tablets deliver, and from the fact that the company sells on its brand name, too. When it comes to Android. a lot of other factions come into play. For instance, the device’s hardware specifications, the Android version that it’s running, and equally importantly, how much customization friendly it is. On the last front, advanced users are more concerned with how much hackable the device is. Recently, Samsung’s high-to-middle range phones have been on a roll, not just receiving rooting methods, but also, a lot of community support.
Android is a lot about control. Most of the smartphone platforms are, to be honest. For instance, Apple is also about control, but the Cupertino company prefers to keep that control in its own hands. What the users installs on their device, how they can use their phones, what apps are even allowed to run on the said platform. Google’s Android, however, puts most of that control in the users’ hand, staying true to its open source nature. Of course, manufacturers choose to restrict certain areas, but that’s only for stability and prevention of user accidents. Overall, a user has much more control over almost all areas of the smartphone when it’s running Android, which is further enhanced by a very active developer community.
Hewlett-Packard disappointed many with its impromptu decision to ditch webOS, but as many others who got the opportunity to use it will vouch, it's a very useful operating system. It's clean, functions nicely, and as such, it should come as no surprise that some folks are trying to resuscitate it with the Open webOS project. Having already made its way to the Google-branded Samsung Galaxy Nexus, the webOS team has now managed to port it to the Nexus 7 tablet, and although it's not as smooth as one may have hoped, there are a lot of positives - notably the full functionality of the Wi-Fi and browser.
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 have ever used a smartphone, a tablet, or a branded PC, you must be familiar with the term “bloatware”. Essentially, the term is used to denote those software and applications that the manufacturer of your hardware has deemed necessary to include with the native operating system, often packaged as free versions of various apps. Some people really find this helpful, as they get out-of-box solutions for a lot of scenarios, but most of the advanced users would advise you against that, because truth be told, these “free” apps are usually promotion-ware that the manufacturer has only included to market the work of its partners, thereby making money off of them. Why bloatware is specifically bad is that it slows your computer or phone down considerably, and in other instances, may take up valuable storage space (which is a real concern for most smartphones).
Instant messaging has been one of the most revolutionary developments when it comes to written communication. While SMS came into existence long before IM did, the concept caught on so well with users that today, even SMS conversations got arranged into “threads”, to give an experience closer to how you’d expect an instant messaging client to behave. Popular IM clients like Yahoo Messenger, MSN (now Windows Live) Messenger, ICQ etc, have seen their days of glory, and still have a pretty loyal user base. Then, there were mobile specific clients, like Nimbuzz, Jabber, IM+, even mig33, that became a true hit with the on-the-move community. The trend carries on even today.
