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You may already have heard of the Android-X86 Project, which aims to port the Android Open Source Project to the x86 platform. Although it's already possible to run Android apps on a PC via BlueStacks or use an emulator such as Jar Of Beans, the x86 project would allow you to install Android on your PC as a fully fledged OS and dual boot alongside Windows, Linux or both.
Those of you who have been reading Portal for a while (and have a darn good memory) might remember reading about Samba Server For Android, a well received application that allowed you to access files stored on your Android device using an SMB server. SMB is a common transfer protocol, as it's built into Windows, and the open source tool Samba grants compatibility in Linux. The app was discontinued a while back, and various users were left hoping that someone would pick up where the original developer left off. This is now the case.
If you spend a lot of time taking apart APK files, you're probably already intimately acquainted with APK Tool. For the unaware, it's the go-to tool for decompiling, recompiling, and generally tinkering with APK in any way you want. Despite it's incredible functionality, some people still prefer to use a nice simple GUI when performing basic tasks, as opposed to the menu driven interface of APK tool. It's for this very reason that XDA Senior Member elesbb has put together a couple of simple little applications to allow basic APK editing from a GUI.
There's no disputing the fact that the Samsung Galaxy Note II is a beast. This thing is gigantic in every respect. Whether it's screen size, internal storage, or RAM; there isn't another device out there that measures up. That also appears to extend to its official firmwares, which weigh in at a whopping 1043 MB. How do I know this? Well because XDA Recognized Developer Faryaab was kind enough to very recently update his official firmware thread for the Note II with a link to the European 4.1.1-based ROM.
The Sony Ericsson X10 Mini Pro is a device so tiny that those accustomed to many of today's gargantuan devices might think it was designed for a chihuahua. That however would just be silly due to their lack of opposable digits. It was in fact designed to be used by humans, and many humans use one. Despite being an older device, it's running Android 4.1 and still has a loyal following---just as devices with hardware keyboards tend to , just look at the Desire Z for another example.
The vast majority of us have probably, at some point, backed up the data on our devices---whether it's in the form of a Nandroid backup or just using Titanium Backup (other backup apps are available) to preserve your applications and their relevant data. There are many reasons why you might want to do this, whether its for restoration after flashing a new ROM or just for posterity in case of disaster while tinkering around.
Linux---I'm sure most of you are familiar with it. In case you aren't, here's a quick visual guide. Due to the close ties between the Android OS and Linux, there are several different ways in which you can run a Linux-based OS on your Android device. However, the one I want to talk about here is one of the simplest, and aims to make Linux accessible to as many devices as possible.
Sony's Xperia devices are hugely popular and have a pretty substantial amount of developer support here on XDA. Of course if you intend to start flashing any of the available custom ROMs and kernels, you will need a custom recovery.
Many of you are most likely familiar with Total Commander. For those who aren't, it's an alternative to Windows Explorer. I can't possibly imagine why anyone would ever want to replace Explorer, but apparently many people do (tongue-in-cheek).Perhaps it has something to do with a whole bunch of features that Explorer lacks, such as side-by-side file browsing, enhanced searching, and plug-ins.
If you use Pastebin---whether as a collaborative tool, a quick and easy way to share text, or simply to have a look at what others are pasting---read on because this application may be of interest to you. XDA member H3R3T1C has created DroidPaste, a feature rich app that allows you to access your Pastebin account from your Android device.
If your device runs a stock ROM, whether that might be a leaked version of the latest impending update or simply a rooted version of the devices current official firmware, chances are it's going to include a certain amount of "bloat." You know, those apps and widgets that OEMs feel are oh-so-important to the overall user experience. The fact is though that most of us disagree, and could quite happily live without most of them. There are many different ways to remove them, but if you find yourself regularly repeating that same process everytime you update your device, this might be of interest to you.
You may remember we recently brought you news of an application to allow you to remove the unwanted and superfluous camera and messenger icons forced upon Facebook users in a recent update. You may also remember that even more recently we brought you news that Facebook realized the problem and undid their fail, which obviously left that particular app redundant. Well, that's not entirely true.
The Amazin Kindle Fire has proven itself to be a very popular and capable device. There is certainly no shortage of development for the device, much of which is listed in a very helpful thread posted by XDA Senior Member stiffmast3r.
If you ever use QR codes, even if only occasionally, you probably a have a QR code scanner installed on your device. A lot of these apps are jam packed with various extra features and options, which is great. However, if all you want to do is simply scan a code now and again, you may find yourself taking unnecessary steps to do just that.
There are plenty of options available to us when it comes to altering the sound quality of our devices. Some are overkill and will bombard you with options and settings that are generally superfluous as far as a mobile device is concerned, others (in my humble opinion) are single function gimmicks devised with the sole intention of making a product desirable to tweens. Thankfully, somewhere in the middle lies the good old fashioned Graphic Equalizer---a simple, yet effective tool that will allow you to tweak the sound of your device with ease.
If you're running a custom recovery, it's very likely that aside from flashing ROMs, you also use it to create and restore backups. In case you're not aware of this marvellous function, a Nandroid backup is essentially a complete snapshot of your phones operating system---application data, and all---that be restored via recovery. It's always a good idea to keep a backup of a nice stable setup just in case of emergency, but it can be a pain to restore it just to do something simple like grab a few specific files. Thankfully XDA Senior Member Goddchen has come up with a solution for that problem.
Here at XDA, we are always pleased to bring you news of a new multi purpose utility or automated way of rooting your device via your computer. The majority of these though are for PCs running either Windows or a Linux based OS. Very seldom do we see a tool for Android devices specifically developed for Mac users but we have one for you today.
If you frequently use logcats---either for development or reporting bugs---you are already familiar with how troublesome they are to retrieve. We previously covered an innovative and tablet-optimized method of viewing logs locally. Now, XDA Senior Member _miha_ has developed an app to make the process even easier by allowing logs to be viewed via web browser.
XDA forum member Ddeleted has developed a simple, yet useful app that allows you to control your device's display using its proximity sensor. While some devices have this capability out of the box, many do not. This app aims to fix that.