Android : 2012

Tuesday, 18 September 2012

HTC ONE X PLUS specifications And Release

For the second time, we're seeing specs leak out from what would no doubt be HTC's flagship phone, the One X+, but this time there's a lot more detail. An anonymous XDA developer called @Football4PDA, who has shown reliable form in the past by outing the HTC Accord Windows Phone, has tweeted the impressive specs for the possible HTC One X successor. He claims that the phone will be about 134 x 70 x 9.3 mm in size, weight in at 129 grams and pack the new Tegra 3+ AP37 1.6GHz quad-core / 1.7GHz single-core processor with 1GB of RAM and a 32GB ROM. The tipster also said it'll be skinned with HTC Sense 4.5 on top of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, while still sporting the rather anemic One X 1800mAH battery. Naturally, a tweet out of the blue accompanied by no other proof shouldn't be taken as gospel, but it does reinforce another recent leak regarding the high-end device. Either way, we'll probably find out at HTC's big event on September 19th.

Sunday, 9 September 2012

Top Mobile Companies

Why Android Desperately Needs The Next iPhone

In just 5 days, the eyes of the tech world will be glued to an event that will surely send shockwaves around the globe: Apple’s unveiling of the next iPhone. Lately, there have been unusually high amounts of tension between Android and iPhone users, as Apple’s shocking “win” over Samsung has raised concerns over the current state of the US patent system, Apple’s attitude towards competitors, Samsung’s ability to innovate, and Android’s originality. With all that being said, and with all the mixed feelings towards Apple within the Android community, one fact remains that most Android fans fail to consider: The iPhone 5 will play a critical role in Android’s growth. To put it simply, Android needs the next iPhone a lot more than you might think. But why?Dominant market share vs popularityIt’s no secret that sales, activations, and overall popularity of Android is at an all time high. Just yesterday, we learned that the Galaxy S3 surpassed the iPhone 4S as best selling US smartphone, and that Android activations have grown to 1.3 million activations per day. In the last quarter, Android worldwide market share surged to a staggering 68%, which is significantly more than the less than 20% worldwide share that Apple currently holds.While Android’s numbers/marketshare certainly are impressive, the fact of the matter is that the iPhone is still without a doubt the worlds most popular smartphone. But this year, Android may actually have a chance to slowly curve the attitudes of consumers slowly away from the iPhone 5. Why this year? For two reasons:1: The iPhone finally has a true competitor in the Galaxy S3, and 2: Because consumers (many of them being IOS users) are beginning to feel that the iPhone’s design and software are beginning to feel a bit outdated.Apple’s guard has never been weakerApple has never been in a position where they were forced to be seriously concerned about one specific Android device. Up until now, Android has gained traction with sheer numbers, not with a dominant flagship device. Samsung however, has now leveled the playing field. The Galaxy S2 demonstrated that Android could successfully have a “flagship device” that consumers would also notice before purchasing an iPhone. The Galaxy S3 demonstrated that Android could deliver a flagship that consumers could actually prefer over the iPhone.Sheer number of Android devices + two successful flagships + one record smashing Android device (GS3) = a tricky situation for Apple. Not only is Apple currently being outpaced in regards to market share, they now have a competitor that is gaining something with consumers that Apple is very uncomfortable with: popularity.So why exactly does Android need the iPhone so badly?The shiftWhen the iPhone 5 (aka next/new iPhone) arrives next week, many speculate that it might not be enough step up from the iPhone 4S to keep all of Apple’s customers loyal to the brand. Sure it will undoubtedly sell like hotcakes, but it is in desperate need of a design/software overhaul. If the next iPhone closely resembles the iPhone 4S in the way that the iPhone 4 resembled the 4S, consumers will most likely take notice that the iPhone hasn’t evolved that much in the past 3 years (as shown in the picture above). As the years go by, iPhone users will want something truly different, either in terms of design and/or software. What they won’t want is a phone that has generally worn the same outfit for the past 3 years. It needs to evolve.The evolution that many iPhone fans are hoping for is currently taking place within the Android ecosystem, and it’s happening a lot faster than Apple anticipated. Consumers are intrigued by the larger screens of Android devices, from the customization options, from the hardware, and by the constant improvements to the UI. If you compare Android phones from 3 years with an Android device that's currently running ICS or JB, it’s very easy to see how much it has changed in terms of software, hardware, and design. Android has a chance here to initiate a shift within the industry. It has a chance to demonstrate that Android is more focused on improvement, design, variety of choice (screen size, price, UI, ect) than Apple currently is, and has the flagship device in its arsenal to accomplish that shift.In other words, if the next iPhone looks/feels in any way too similar to the iPhone 4 or 4S, even its most loyal consumers will start having a look at that big bright Galaxy S3 display that accomplished the impossible (dethroning the iPhone4S). In previous years, Apple could get away with this strategy, as there wasn’t one specific Android phone that was getting so much consumer attention.Unfortunately for Apple, things have changed.ConclusionAndroid needs the iPhone 5. They need for it to have a slightly bigger screen, slightly improved hardware, and slightly improved features. They need it to demonstrate that “slightly improved” is not what Android is all about. They need it to prove that if you want a bigger screen, bigger hardware, more customization options, and something truly different every year, that you can now find it in an Android device that has quickly gained a reputation as being a legitimate competitor to the iPhone. They need it to demonstrate that Android devices, unlike the iPhone, greatly evolve at an amazing pace, and that when you purchase a new Android flagship device, you aren’t simply purchasing an upgraded version of the device you bought last year.Once consumers realize and see that (assuming the iPhone isn’t something completely different than its previous model), then and only then can the shift towards popularity slowly begin to shift away from Apple and towards Android. In order for that to happen, the iPhone must exist and do what it always does. Android will naturally continue to grow, but in order to reach it’s next evolution, consumers need to see that the next iPhone is simply a lot more of the same old thing.

How to enable NFC on Samsung Galaxy S2

If you have a Samsung Galaxy S II phone that is running a custom Jelly Bean ROM, you have probably noticed that you do not have NFC capabilities on your device. If you would like to restore that functionality, we have good news.This will only work on phones that had the necessary NFC hardware built into the phone. The other requirement is that the phone is running Jelly Bean. Thus far users have confirmed success on i777 and M250k/M250s devices. The hack should work on:

i9100 = NO

i9100P = YES (it’s an i9100 exactly, but with NFC. ROMs for i9100 will work, but need to be modified to show NFC settings, otherwise no NFC options will show)

i9100G = NO, it’s completely different from the i9100 hardware (TI-OMAP instead of Exynos). ROMs from i9100/P don’t work.

T989 (T-Mobile GS2) = YES, but it’s completely different from the i9100 hardware (Snapdragon S3 instead of Exynos). ROMs from i9100/P don’t work.

i777 (AT&T GS2) = YES, AOSP based roms have it but i9100 hellraised roms are missing it(due to NFC not being a feature of the i9100)

D710 (Sprint GS2) = NO

If you are interested in trying this hack out on your NFC equipped Galaxy S II, you just need to download the file from the XDA forum thread (use source link below) and then flash it onto your device from recovery mode.

Get more info visit : NFC

Friday, 7 September 2012

Asphalt 7: Heat coming to Android

Gameloft have unveiled Asphalt 7: Heat, a new installment in their mobile racing title. With the first several games being a mainstay on many-a user’s phone, this installment should bring us exhilarating racing action with great graphics. There are 60 cars (some console games don’t even have that many), 15 licensed tracks, and a lot more.

You can also Download it from: Asphalt 7 heat

Thursday, 6 September 2012

Top 10 Tips And Tricks For Samsung Galaxy s3

When the Galaxy S3 was first announced, we were quick to heap praise on its slim profile, stunning display and fast processor. We even talked about a few of its features, like Pop-Up Play, which seemed fairly innovative. But there were a whole lot of awesome features that somehow got lost in the press blitz. Here are a few great Galaxy S3 features you may or may not know about.

Get a Daily Briefing

If you're a news junkie like me, maybe you wish you could know the day's top stories even before you make it out of bed. With this feature, your phone will read to you the day's main headlines, the weather, weather forecast and any appointments you may have lined up. Just go to "Alarm types," then change it to "briefings."

Lock Your Video

By now, you probably know about the Galaxy S3's Pop-Up Play feature, which allows you to drag the video your watching over any other app and multitask like a fiend. But you probably didn't know that the Galaxy S3 also has a video screen locking feature which allows you to lock a video so that it's impossible to stop the video when you accidentally touch the screen. You can lock the video simply by pressing the power button once it's begun playing.

Use Your Ears

If you've ever wished taking a call could be a bit simpler, you should check out this feature. Using Motion Control, you can place or answer a call simply by moving your phone to your ear. You can also reject calls by swiping your hand above the phone's screen.

Silence Music with Your Palm

Alternately, you can pause a track simply by covering the Galaxy S3 with the palm of your hand. This can be switched on or off in the Motion section of the Settings menu.

Control Your Camera with Your Voice

Taking a group photo is inherently frustrating. The camera's countdown clock is always too fast or too slow and you miss out on capturing the perfect moment. But with the Galaxy S3, all you have to do is shout "shoot" at your phone and it'll take the photo. Sure you'll look a bit unhinged, but it's better than taking a blurry, dull photo.

Set Custom Vibrations

Custom ringtones are great when you want to know who's calling, but what about when you need your phone to stay silent? Luckily, the Galaxy S3 allows you to set custom vibrations for different people, so that you can still tell who's calling even when your phone is in silent mode.

Save Your Screen

Lots of phones make it easy to take a screenshot but the Galaxy S3 is arguably the easiest. All you need to do is swipe the screen with your palm. That's it.

Call Everyone You Know

Give the Galaxy S3 a double tap on the top, next to the headphone socket, with your finger to scroll to the top of your contact list, email list or email messages. Tap to top can be switched on and off in the Motion section of the settings menu.

Boost the Volume

If you can't hear someone over the phone, the Galaxy S3 has a clever way of helping you out. If you've maxed out on your phone's volume, you can add extra volume via a button that appears on your screen, next to the contact phone.

Optimize Call Quality

This is one of the most interesting features of the Galaxy S3; the phone offers a personalized call-equalization setting which tests each of your ears with a range of tones and frequencies to see how well you hear them. It then created a customized EQ curve for each ear, allowing you to hear your calls as clearly as possible. You can improve the Galaxy S3's call quality by going to settings –> call sound EQ settings –> personalized EQ.