Android

Despite being denied by executives after rumors originally surfaced, the stock, Nexus Experience HTC One “Google Edition” is making headlines again today, after the source who originally leaked information on the Samsung Gala...
Despite being denied by executives after rumors originally surfaced, the stock, Nexus Experience HTC One “Google Edition” is making headlines again today, after the source who originally leaked information on the Samsung Galaxy S4 with stock Android is saying a “Senseless” One is on the way. Russell Holly of Geek.com is reporting that sources tell him the launch of a Senseless HTC One, complete with stock Android, is “imminent.” Apparently, the chatter that has been getting louder surrounding the announcement of the Samsung Galaxy S4 running stock Android was the final push needed to get HTC on board with the idea. HTC’s Senior Global Online Communications Manager, Jeff Gordon, reached out to Android and Me to say that, “HTC is not currently planning a ‘Nexus Edition’ of the HTC One,” shortly after the original rumor on the such a device was started on Twitter, but things can change. According to Holly, the stock HTC One could be announced as soon as the next two weeks. The device could see a summer release, right around the time production of the One is scheduled to double, and an update to Android 4.2.2 is delivered to the original handset. As for how this device would be sold and updated, that’s still a mystery. One of the big selling points of the Nexus Experience Galaxy S4 is that it will be sold unlocked through Google Play, and updated directly by Google. We’ll be keep our ears to ground for more information. In the meantime, which would you pick: a stock Galaxy S4, or a stock HTC One? Let us know in the comments.
33 minutes ago
We round up our favorite tech news and toys to come out of this week's all-mobile show. Originally posted at CTIA 2013
We round up our favorite tech news and toys to come out of this week's all-mobile show. Originally posted at CTIA 2013
about 1 hour ago
Those among the tech crowd love the stock Android experience and tend to shout belligerent remarks against anything that isn’t stock Android, such as Samsung’s TouchWiz interface and HTC’s Sense UI. While stock Android ...
Those among the tech crowd love the stock Android experience and tend to shout belligerent remarks against anything that isn’t stock Android, such as Samsung’s TouchWiz interface and HTC’s Sense UI. While stock Android offers an immaculate, unadulterated, and bloat-free Android experience, TouchWiz, Sense UI, and other OEM skins also have a very important part to play in the world of Android. A smartphone for everyone While there are many reasons why Android is a great operating system, there’s one in particular that sticks out to me: open source. The benefit to Android being open source is that a number of manufacturers can create their smartphones based off of Android while offering a different experience through the use of a custom skin, such as TouchWiz or Sense UI. Consumers who aren’t fond of stock Android still have other experiences they can try out while staying within the Android ecosystem. Let’s face it, not everyone is going to like a pure Android experience, and not everyone is going to like TouchWiz, Sense UI, Motoblur, or some other OEM skin. One of the reasons why many people use Android over iOS is the fact that Android has so many faces thanks to the variety of Android ROMs (stock and non-stock) that can be further customized by each user. Not including jailbreaks, there isn’t another iOS device in the world that offers a different UI experience while letting you stay in the iOS ecosystem. That’s where Android has the upper hand. While many see OEM skins as a plague to Android, they’re actually a benefit. In the end, there are more Android users than there would be if stock Android was the only experience available. After all, how many Android-powered Galaxy S4′s did Samsung sell this month? Stock Android, TouchWiz, Sense UI, Motoblur, and other OEM skins all are very beneficial to Android. This stock Android versus [insert OEM skin here] feud is pointless. In the end, Android, as an operating system, wins. The “bloat” problem As I mentioned earlier, folks, stock Android offers an immaculate, unadulterated, and bloat-free Android experience. On the other side of the spectrum, TouchWiz, Sense UI, Motoblur, and other OEM skins are loaded with unneeded bloatware. It’s the one downside to OEM skins, and there’s really no way to get rid of the bloatware, as it’s installed on a device’s /system partition. You could root your device to dispose of it, but that’s hardly a solution for the everyday consumer. Here’s the kicker though, the only people that really hate bloatware are among the tech crowd. I’m going out on a limb here, but I’d say bloatware is useful for the average Joe. Features like S Health, S Voice, ChatON, and dare I say Group Play, can be found useful among the everyday user. Sure, the tech crowd and some consumers know that there are better alternatives in the Play Store, but this isn’t the case for the large majority. With that said, bloatware isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Believe it or not, it can be beneficial to Android. When HTC announced the One, its flagship for 2013, people were very interested in features like HTC Zoe, BoomSound, and BlinkFeed. The hardware? Not so much. The large majority is more interested in features and software than hardware. Another example is Xiaomi’s Mi2S smartphone running MIUI atop of Android that are selling in droves. While they’re unfortunately not available on international markets, the smartphone is still extremely popular among Chinese buyers. Considering it’s wild success, you’d expect that the buyers really enjoy MIUI, which can also be flashed on supported devices. That said, the more appeal devices like the Galaxy S4, HTC One, or Mi2S have, the more people are going to buy them, thus benefiting Android even further. The Kindle Fire’s rise to popularity Let’s briefly look at the Kind
about 1 hour ago
With all the big storms in the news, you need an app that can help you track severe weather so you know when the storm is getting close. Originally posted at iPhone Atlas
With all the big storms in the news, you need an app that can help you track severe weather so you know when the storm is getting close. Originally posted at iPhone Atlas
about 2 hours ago
The HTC One is now the first smartphone in the US to gain HTCpro certification giving business professionals government-grade security in a sexy package.
The HTC One is now the first smartphone in the US to gain HTCpro certification giving business professionals government-grade security in a sexy package.
about 2 hours ago
Couple days ago, we reported that a certain HTC insider posted that a “Senseless” HTC One will be on its way. The community got charged up from the news, and most everyone agrees that this should happen even though HTC is pre...
Couple days ago, we reported that a certain HTC insider posted that a “Senseless” HTC One will be on its way. The community got charged up from the news, and most everyone agrees that this should happen even though HTC is pretty much copying Samsung’s move for a Google Edition of their flagship. Russell Holly, the man who accurately predicted the Google S4, has  now pretty much confirmed that the Senseless One is imminent. Let’s look at the good and the bad of this vanilla HTC One. First we have the good. HTC’s incredible hardware running Stock Android 4.2.2. I have had, (as well as others Androdians) wet dreams about this, and our prayers for an HTC Nexus will be answered.  HTC should also benefit from this decision  simply because they have put their fate into this phone. Taking a few hundred thousand handsets and throwing stock Android on them, should not hurt the company at all when you look at it from a selling point of view. Then we have the bad side to this Senseless HTC One. This is where some of the best features of the One get ripped away even though those features help the device stand out. The HTC proprietary firmware that is behind BoomSound and the camera, will most likely not be present, so then you will not get that awesome audio, nor will you have decent pictures. This will have to be something HTC has to think about, because if they remove their firmware and we find out it was not needed in the first place, then it will raise questions on just how good their firmware actually is. It is a double edged sword really. So in one hand, yes a stock HTC One will probably be a hit in the Android community, and those who want it will probably not even care about the proprietary firmware that it will be missing. I know I would not care, simply because I do not take that many pictures, nor do I need my phone to sound like a stereo system. Also, who’s to say some developers out there cannot get the firmware on the device through a crafty zip file that has been done in the past with Beats Audio. Now on the other hand, it makes HTC look weak, and it will raise questions on just how good their firmware actually is, causing future devices to suffer. Hopefully HTC has thought about all this, and aren’t diving head first into a frozen lake. Let us know what your thoughts are about this. Source: Geek.com
about 2 hours ago
Huawei is back chasing the world's thinnest smartphone crown with their newly leaked device the Huawei Ascend P6. Details and expected launch date after the break.
Huawei is back chasing the world's thinnest smartphone crown with their newly leaked device the Huawei Ascend P6. Details and expected launch date after the break.
about 3 hours ago
No beating around the bush, locked bootloaders are pure evil. We pay good money to our carriers in order to enjoy the latest smartphones, so shouldn’t we be able to do with them as we please (within reason)? That’s why it was...
No beating around the bush, locked bootloaders are pure evil. We pay good money to our carriers in order to enjoy the latest smartphones, so shouldn’t we be able to do with them as we please (within reason)? That’s why it was so frustrating when we found out that AT&T and Verizon were both locking down the Samsung Galaxy S4. The good news is that Samsung’s official online shop has now revealed that the Samsung Galaxy S4 Developer Edition will soon be coming to AT&T and Verizon, featuring an unlocked bootloader right out of the box, as well as 16GB storage. Keep in mind that this is NOT the same thing as the Samsung Galaxy S4 “Nexus” version. You won’t be getting faster updates or stock Android with this one. You might be thinking, “But why bother with this one considering the dev community has already found a way around the AT&T/Verizon bootloader?” For many of you, it probably won’t be worth getting. Still, there are some that would rather go the official route, so it’s nice to have the option. So how much will the GS4 Developer Edition set you back? No official pricing is currently mentioned, though we’d take a guess at around $650, and more than likely it won’t have a subsidized pricing option. For those on AT&T’s network, it probably makes more sense to go with the GS4 with stock Android over this, unless you really love TouchWiz. For those on Verizon, it’s good to see that Big Red wasn’t left out of this one like they were the Nexus edition of the GS4. What do you think, anyone interested in getting the Developer Edition of the GS4?
about 3 hours ago
Bootloaders in general had a tough day today – or should I say the security departments behind them. Dan Rosenberg went ahead and published “Loki,” his tool for helping developers flash custom kernels and recoveries on ...
Bootloaders in general had a tough day today – or should I say the security departments behind them. Dan Rosenberg went ahead and published “Loki,” his tool for helping developers flash custom kernels and recoveries on the Galaxy S4 variants of Verizon and AT&T. It’s not a full bootloader unlock tool (“bootloader itself is untouched”) [...] Bootloader... Click the post title to continue through and join the conversation!
about 3 hours ago
Movies with game tie-ins are pretty common now, and it’s not surprising to see Fast and Furious 6 keep up that tradition. The game features incredible graphics, tons of challenges, and quite a bit of in-depth car customization. Asi...
Movies with game tie-ins are pretty common now, and it’s not surprising to see Fast and Furious 6 keep up that tradition. The game features incredible graphics, tons of challenges, and quite a bit of in-depth car customization. Aside from that, it features many of the popular characters from the movies. If you’re into multiplayer, there are also competitive tournaments and leaderboards to challenge your friends. No word on if those use Google’s new multiplayer servers and leaderboards. In the app description, it isn’t listed as using Play Services, but some apps still don’t display those correctly. Either way, the game is free to try out. Hit the link below to give it a spin. Play Store Download Link Come comment on this article: Fast and Furious 6 game hits the Play Store Visit TalkAndroid for Android news, Android guides, and much more!
about 3 hours ago