March 22, 2013 By: Samantha

The one great thing about Sony’s Small Apps feature found on their Xperia devices is not the multitasking that they grant users, but that developers are allowed and encouraged to develop their own Xperia Small Apps to their hearts’ content with the Sony Add-on SDK. Well, XDA Senior Member soumya_digi came out with not one, but two Small Apps called Media Controls and Let Me Google That For You (LMGTFY).
The Media Controls Small App is a much welcomed and needed Small App for Xperia users. It is not unlike the previously featured Floating Music Controls in function, with the standard next and previous controls, and pausing and playing songs. This means starting music playback without having to exit the foreground app and opening the music player or swiping to that conveniently placed music widget.
The LMGTFY Small App is also pretty simple and self-explanatory, allowing users to generate a LMGTFY link, and packed in a Small App means generating a link without even existing the currently open application. Soumya_digi also included a nifty feature for shortening the LMGTFY link.
Built upon the Xperia Z or T Small Apps framework, it is a requirement for users to have the Xperia Z/T Small Apps framework to have these up and running properly. So if you have the Small Apps feature on your Xperia device and would like to check out these Small Apps, make sure to head over here for the Media Controls and here for LMGTFY.
March 3, 2013 By: Samantha

Installing multiple essential mods on a device that’s been constantly reflashed with a fresh new ROM can be cumbersome and tedious. You run the risk of finding yourself with the dreaded bootloop if you forgot one simple step in the installation process. On top of this, the whole process is extremely time consuming, on many occasions taking up hours of your time. To help alleviate this, XDA Recognized Contributor Pandemic presents ST Octane Settings for the Xperia P, U, Go and Sola.
ST Octane Settings is a collection of useful mods for the Xperia P, U, Go and Sola, all packaged into one simple and flashable zip file. The pack includes mods such as Jelly Bean switches, Quick panel, On Screen Buttons as well as settings to turn them on and off, CPU Control, and location-based WiFi. Installation is relatively straightforward, requiring the user to flash the provided zip file through ClockworkMod recovery, however Small Apps must be installed prior to the installation of ST Octane Settings. Pandemic also has a mod pack for the Xperia S and Ion under the same name, and Xperia Arc, Arc S and Neo called Xperia Go Settings offering similar modifications, all wrapped up and presented in the same, singular zip file.
If you’re running stock Ice Cream Sandwich and you’re interested, make sure to check out the original thread for the Xperia P, U, Go and Sola, here for the Xperia S and Ion, or here if you have the Arc and Arc S, or here if you have the Neo.
November 20, 2012 By: Conan Troutman

You may remember reading or watching our review of the Meizu MX, a well spec’d device that shipped with a heavily themed and modified version of Android 4.0.4 known as Flyme OS. You may also remember seeing that this new flavor of OEM specific Android was ported to the AT&T Galaxy SII. It seems that Flyme OS is proving quite popular, and has now also been ported to the Xperia Neo L & V, with a version for the Xperia Arc also on the way thanks to XDA Senior Member emwno.
Now when I said that Flyme OS is heavily themed and modified I wasn’t joking. It seems as if Meizu tried to completely cover any trace of the stock Android experience, so Flyme may not be for everyone. However, that might just be why some people seem to love it.
This particular port is still something of a work-in-progress, and as you’d expect, there are bugs. Most of the main functionality is there, but the one thing that may put you off is the lack of 3G data. 2G, however, is working. It might not be usable as a daily driver just yet, but if you’re the curious type, this certainly looks like it could be worth a shot. Head on over to the development thread for more info.