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Google Nexus 5 and 7 are Your Top Smartphone and Tablet Picks for 2013

Google Nexus 5 and 7 are Your Top Smartphone and Tablet Picks for 2013

December 31, 2013
Back when we launched our Best of 2013 Holiday Gift Guide, we asked you to cast your vote and pick the best smartphones and tablets of 2013. Well folks, the votes are in, and you've made your voices clear! Starting off with your top tablet picks, the winner by a mile was the Google Nexus 7...
Top 5 Technology Trends of 2013 – XDA Developer TV

Top 5 Technology Trends of 2013 – XDA Developer TV

December 31, 2013
The end of 2013 is here, and it has been an exciting year in the mobile device world. XDA Developer TV Producer Jordan combed through all the headlines, hardware releases, and device developments that happened this year and identified the Top Five Technology Trends for 2013. Everything from expanded mobile OS offerings to great independant mobile...
Make Your Gingerbread ROM Look Like KitKat

Make Your Gingerbread ROM Look Like KitKat

December 31, 2013
Android 4.4 KitKat was released two months ago, and it brought a lot interesting changes like a transparent status bar. But not many of you know that you can get a very similar effect on any ROM, even Gingerbread, and all you need to do is to visit the thread we're going to describe below. With...
Loopr Changes the Way You Access Your Running Apps

Loopr Changes the Way You Access Your Running Apps

December 30, 2013
Modern Android devices have quite a bit of RAM, and they allow you to install quite a few applications. It's not anything special to run 10+ applications at the same time, and switching between them is as easy as pressing the recent apps button. This has some disadvantages, though, as you need to find your...
Hangouts Widget Completes Android’s Most Popular Messenger App

Hangouts Widget Completes Android’s Most Popular Messenger App

December 29, 2013
Hangouts is a first-party Google application designed to handle various types of messaging such as Google Talk, and more recently SMS and MMS. Hangouts is the successor the previously popular Google Talk, which it replaced back in August 2013. And right now, it's probably the most popular messenger on Android. Despite being such popular application, Hangouts lacks...
Communicate with Your Android Device without Cables with PushBullet

Communicate with Your Android Device without Cables with PushBullet

December 29, 2013
Smartphones have essentially become substitutes for full PCs in many situations. We use them to watch movies, listen to music, and even play games. Nevertheless, traditional computers are still very important, as browsing the Internet on the big screen with full Flash and Java support is still more convenient. What to do when you find a...
Backup and Restore EFS, MODEM, and TA Partitions with Just a Root App

Backup and Restore EFS, MODEM, and TA Partitions with Just a Root App

December 29, 2013
New Android devices have some crucial data stored on normally inaccessible partitions. Samsung users certainly know about EFS and its importance, and Sony users value their TA partitions instead. Much important data is stored in these places, and accidentally wiping these partitions can lead to many problems like loss of network connectivity or disable things...
Android 4.4 Available for Samsung Galaxy Ace, Fit, Mini, Gio

Android 4.4 Available for Samsung Galaxy Ace, Fit, Mini, Gio

December 28, 2013
It's been quite some time since Google launched Android 4.4 KitKat, alongside its Nexus 5. Google has even released two point revisions to the OS. And despite lacking official support, the Sony Xperia Tipo and Google Nexus Onehave already gotten unofficial ports of this OS. The number of older devices running KitKat gets bigger and bigger...
Speed Up Your Nexus Device with Qualcomm-Optimized KitKat Dalvik and Bionic Libraries

Speed Up Your Nexus Device with Qualcomm-Optimized KitKat Dalvik and Bionic Libraries

December 27, 2013
Ever wonder how despite its less than jaw dropping specifications, the Moto X still manages to score quite well in many benchmarks? Unlike some of the other major OEMs out there, Motorola doesn't rely on benchmark-specific application detection and questionable "optimizations." Rather, they actually employ genuine speed tweaks, in the form of optimized Bionic and...
Easy Add a Rating Popup to Your Application

Easy Add a Rating Popup to Your Application

December 27, 2013
Every app and game developer undoubtedly knows about importance of having a good Google Play Store rating. These little stars very often determine whether app is commercially successful. Without ratings, many great apps will remain buried in the 20th page of your search results. Many applications display nag screens, prompting users to leave ratings in the...
Disable the Critical Battery Shutdown with Xposed Module

Disable the Critical Battery Shutdown with Xposed Module

December 27, 2013
Android-based devices are often quite different in how they handle a critically low battery compared to non-smartphone devices. When the battery is somewhere in the vicinity of 1%, the device turns off itself. Naturally, this does not mean that the battery is totally empty, and accurately judging battery reserve capacity requires calibration. Well calibrated batteries...
Ubuntu/Android Dual Boot on 4.2+ AOSP, Oppo N1 CyanogenMod Edition Released, Source Available! – XDA Developer TV

Ubuntu/Android Dual Boot on 4.2+ AOSP, Oppo N1 CyanogenMod Edition Released, Source Available! – XDA Developer TV

December 27, 2013
You can dual boot Ubuntu and Android on your device with a developer preview release! That and much more news is covered by Jordan, as he reviews all the important stories from this week. Included in this week's news is the announcement that the official CyanogenMod for the Oppo N1 is available, as are the...