This past year, Facebook spent $19 billion purchasing the popular messaging app WhatsApp, and for good reason. Mark Zuckerberg isn't going to spend that type of money on just any application. WhatsApp is widely popular and frequently used by more than 500 million users worldwide, which is almost twenty percent of the Earth's population.
When it comes to passwords, the longer and more complex they are, the better the security. Even professional hackers say so. But if you've ever tried to type in such a password, you've surely noticed that it can be a bit of a pain. Mistype one character, and you're probably going to have to clear the field and start all over again.
If you've done any root-level hacking or modding on any of your previous Android devices, you're probably well familiar with Rovo89's famous Xposed Framework.
Honestly, Android's stock alarm icon is completely useless. It doesn't relay any information other than the fact that, at some point in the future, you have an alarm coming up. Considering how pointless it is, I normally install GravityBox or other similar mods just to get rid of it.
Even with display sizes increasing by the year, smartphone screen real estate is still at a premium. We want the content we're viewing to take center stage, and this leaves little room for functionality beyond the focused app.
There will always be a time when you're not entirely sure what you're doing with a certain subject. But the days of weighing the pros and cons yourself are coming to an end. Whether it's a common quandary like "Where should we eat?", or a more specific question along the lines of "Should I buy this shirt or not?", you can now simply AskInternets.
Think of all the times you've ever copied and pasted a string of text on your device. At least once, I bet you've wanted to see your copy history.
I love finding new artists on SoundCloud and listening to the tracks they put up. While some artists allow fans to download their tracks, others don't, leaving you to constantly load up their webpage to have a listen.
Included among the many new features in Android L is the new "Heads Up" notification system, showing notifications as interactive floating windows anywhere on your device. Floating windows are nothing new, though, as we've already showed you how to get floating widgets, floating application shortcuts, and even floating notifications.
With Google's latest version of their mobile OS, Android L, the most notable aesthetic difference is the newly introduced Material Design concept that will soon be ever-present through the interface. The objective of this bold design is to create "hierarchy, meaning, and focus," as described by Google, and the deliberate choices of color and white space "to create immersion and clarity."
Clash of Clans is one of the most successful games ever to come out for Android and iOS. It has been downloaded over 50 million times from Google Play alone, and shows no signs of decline.
Google I/O 2014 is currently going on in San Francisco, but as the conference rolls on, the Android Gear smartwatches continue to be one of the hotter topics.
When Yahoo! purchased the home screen replacement app Aviate back in January, many were wondering if the internet giant intended to continue development of the launcher or if the transaction was just another acqui-hire.
A recent security risk exposed by software engineer Szymon Sidor has raised a few eyebrows amongst the Android community.
Update: June 19, 2014 Android 4.4.4 has been released, fixing a small security bug in 4.4.3. The factory images have already been made available to all current-generation Nexus devices, and I've linked them out below. This does not affect the process depicted, you can still use these same steps to bring your device up to date with this latest release.
Twitter found a sweet spot with its 160-character limit, but Snapchat sports a social media low of 31 characters, forcing us to condense our ideas into a few short words when typing in picture captions because of their ephemeral nature. While this severely limited amount of words is Snapchat etiquette, I've got so much more to say than 31 characters!
Keeping track of your phone's battery life can quickly become a chore. Since no one wants to get stuck without a charge, we constantly find ourselves checking to see exactly what percentage remains.
There's a lot of personal information residing on your phone, possibly even more than on your computer, so it's only a matter of time before someone tries to access it.
Over the years, we've probably all complained at some point about Android's lack of an "Undo" feature. When you're typing something out, there are times when you might want to go back a step.
The Android 4.4.2 KitKat update is available via firmware upgrade for the international GT-N7100 variant of the Samsung Galaxy Note 2, about a month after we saw its first leak. The update is available via Kies in France, with and OTA update soon to follow. Details courtesy of SamMobile are as follows:
Earlier this morning, Twitter announced (through a tweet, naturally) that it has acquired Cover, roughly a minute after Cover made the same announcement. Cover Lock Screen, a lockscreen replacement app, has been vastly popular during its first year. The app places relevant shortcuts on your lockscreen that adapt to your habits, so whether you're at home, work, or in the car, you'll find the apps you use the most in these situations readily available for you. For more information on Cover, inc...
Third-party ROMs like CyanogenMod are the ultimate form of customization for softModders. Hard-working developers offer us alternate Android experiences to replace our often bloatware-riddled stock ROMs.
Modern smartphones can easily handle anything you throw at them, but it's always good to keep a tight grasp of what your phone is actually doing and how well it's doing it. System information can be viewed by looking through your Application Manager, but this process makes it difficult to keep an eye on usage in real time.
Improved S Pen functionality materialized in the form of Air Command controls on the Samsung Galaxy Note 3, allowing users to access shortcuts for their stylus features from anywhere on the screen. While the pie-interface controls are extremely useful, the only way to access them is when the S Pen is removed—making it impossible to use otherwise.
While some Android applications have built-in gestures that allow you to perform certain actions, it's not a feature that's been comprehensively, let alone consistently implemented. If you're on Twitter or Facebook and you want to go back, the only global way is by tapping on the capacitive back button at the bottom of your device. Thanks to XDA dev PeterCxy, you can now enable a global swipe back gesture on your Android smartphone or tablet, making it easier than ever to backtrack within apps.
If you're really popular, like myself, then you're constantly receiving a steady flow of notifications on your Android device. This is either a nuisance, or a reassurance of your popularity. Sometimes you get too many notifications at one time to view, or you accidentally swipe an important alert away, rendering it lost forever.
As a preventative measure against exploitation, certain Android applications won't work if your device is rooted. Opening one of these apps that detects root will typically end up with a warning and an inability to access its features, like in the picture below. AS IF!
We have shown you how to get CyanogenMod on your HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S3 in only a matter of minutes. But when modding your phone by installing custom ROMs, you'll often lose your access to Google Apps. Since Google's Apps are very useful (Gmail, Chrome, and Maps to name a few) most people will prefer to have these apps on their custom ROMs. While you can scour the internet searching for individual .APKs, it's hard to find the correct versions to work with your particular system (and do...
Most people were skeptical when Google replaced Google Talk with Hangouts, but to my surprise, it was an easy and pleasant transition. It has basically consolidated my conversations into one location. I can see all SMS, MMS, and Google Talk conversations in one place.
Like insurance, it's always better to have a computer mouse and not need it than to need it and not have it. Honestly, I don't want to carry around a clunky mouse with my laptop, so I don't. I do something else, something more convenient. I use my Nexus 7. If you want to give it a try, I'll show you how it's done right now. All you need to is a Wi-Fi network and a specific Android app to control your computer with your Android tablet.
For now, the redesigned and fresh-faced Android 4.4 KitKat is exclusive to the new Nexus 5, though it will be rolling out to other Google (Nexus 4, Nexus 7, Nexus 10) and Google Play Editions (Samsung Galaxy S4, HTC One) devices in the next week or two.
For most of us regular folk, the only opportunity to relish in the conveniences of a maid is during hotel stays. Personally, I would love to have a maid around to help fold my clothes and sweep up those crumbs that accumulate in the corners of my kitchen, but sadly, I currently live in reality and can't afford that luxury just yet. In real life, I'm on my own.
While making the transition from Apple to Android may not be hard for some, there are others that miss the small features that Apple offers on the iPad and iPhone. If you just got a Samsung Galaxy Note 2 or other Android device and want a familiar piece of Apple on your device, check out Hi Dev Studio's new Hi Notes application, which gives you iOS-styled notes.
Android gets a lot of love for its immeasurable amount of customization, and for the most part, you don't even have to do any heinous hacking to swag out your Samsung Galaxy S3 or other Android device.
I know what you're thinking. Why spend time talking about another flashlight application when there are literally thousands of them scattered throughout Google Play? As it turns out, there is a void in the realm of flashlight Android apps. Flashing lights, strobe lights, cop lights, warning lights—they're all available, but the one feature that's missing is adjustable brightness.
"What's the point of having a Nexus 7 for drawing if all of the drawing apps suck?" That's what my girlfriend said after buying her new Nexus 7 tablet. She draws a lot and was hoping to hone her doodling skills on it, but she's right—most of the drawing apps available on Google Play aren't that great.
We use ADB and Fastboot for so many things in our softModder tutorials, and to get them, you normally have to download the entire Android SDK and install them. But not anymore.
Running multiple applications at the same time is one of the Samsung Galaxy S3's and S4's biggest advantages over Apple devices, and it's a fact that Samsung certainly harps on constantly in their well-targeted commercials.
If you want the latest in breaking news, a heavy dose of humor, and all things kittens, look no further than reddit. But no matter how great the content and community is, reddit has yet to fully catch up to the mobile world.
If smartphone video games have a weakness, it's probably their inability to emulate the riveting and immersive experience that consoles offer.