Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Samsung Galaxy Note 4 Android 5.0 Lollipop Software Update Release Coming Soon as New Images Leak

2:23 PM Posted by Ariana No comments

Samsung Galaxy Note 4 Android 5.0 Lollipop Lockscreen Notifications

New images of the Android 5.0 Lollipop software update for the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 have leaked. We get a great look at how Samsung plans to mix Android 5.0 and its TouchWiz UI on the phablet.

(Photo : AndroidGalaxys.net)

Samsung Galaxy Note 4 owners are in for a sweet treat just in time for the holidays. The flagship phablet's Android 5.0 Lollipop update just leaked in the form of images of the handset running the new OS.

Many Android smartphone and tablet owners are waiting to hear if their current devices will receive an update to Google's latest and greatest Android OS, Android 5.0 Lollipop. The OS is a very significant update in terms of new features and a revamped and elegant UI known as Material Design.

We've been reporting on when and what current Android smartphones can expect to receive an OTA (over the air) update Android 5.0 Lollipop. Motorola officially announced its Android 5.0 Lollipop intentions and has already begun sending the update out to its smartphones. HTC confirmed that it would release an update to Android 5.0 Lollipop to the HTC One M8 and One M7 within 90 days and after delaying the update for its Google Play Edition variants, images leaked which showed how Android 5.0 and HTC's Sense Android skin would look like on the HTC One M8.

The biggest Android smartphone maker is also preparing to update several of its smartphones and tablets to Android 5.0 Lollipop in the very near future. The Samsung Galaxy S5 Android 5.0 Lollipop software update appeared in a leaked video and showed how Samsung was going to incorporate its TouchWiz UI with Android 5.0.

In mid-November, a video also surfaced showing just how far Samsung had come with its yet-to-be released Android 5.0 Lollipop software update and this time that device was the Galaxy Note 3. Samsung Galaxy Note 4 owners are one step closer to the rumored December Lollipop release, as new images leaked showing the 5.7-inch phablet running Samsung's TouchWiz UI on top of Android 5.0 Lollipop.

AndroidGalaxys.net posted images of an internal build of Samsung's Android 5.0 Lollipop software update for its flagship Galaxy Note 4 phablet. The images show how Android 5.0 Lollipop's updated Notification features will look and work on the smartphone. Another image provides a glance at the drop-down menu, which gives Note 4 users fast access to popular settings, features, and notifications.

Once we hear any new details on when you can expect to receive the sweet update to Android 5.0 Lollipop on your particular smartphone or tablet, we'll be sure to keep you posted.

5 upcoming Android phones that are worth waiting for

2:04 PM Posted by Ariana Android No comments

The last of 2014’s big Android phone reveals are done, so now it’s time to look forward to 2015. All the top OEMs are cooking up new devices, and we’ll be seeing a few of them sooner than you think. If you can resist those holiday deals, big things await you next year, but who has time to keep up on the rumors? We can clarify things a bit.

Not only are there updated versions of some top phones on the way, but a completely new kind of phone is on the horizon too. Here’s everything you need to know about.

Samsung Galaxy S6

Samsung didn’t see the kind of response it wanted from the Galaxy S5. In fact, some reports claim its sales were 40% below expectations. The Korean company knows it needs to win back the fickle consumer, and that should make for a very interesting Galaxy S6 announcement this spring.

There have been a few leaks of supposed specs for this device, but the most plausible relate to a Samsung device with the model number SM-G925F. According to benchmarks for this device, the Galaxy S6 will have Android 5.0, a 5.5-inch 2560×1440 AMOLED screen, a 64-bit octa-core Exynos ARM chip, 3GB of RAM, 20MP camera, and 32GB of storage. The Exynos chip will probably be replaced with a Snapdragon in US markets, though.

The true test of Samsung’s resolve will come in the build quality, which was one of the knocks on the Galaxy S5. It’s not that it was a fragile phone, but the fully plastic frame didn’t feel very premium. The Note 4 and Galaxy Alpha (seen above) were steps in the right direction, but the GS6 can take Samsung the rest of the way there.

We’ll probably see the reveal of this device in early Spring at a Samsung Unpacked event. However, it’s also possible Samsung will try to get the jump on competitors by showing it off at Mobile World Congress in February.

HTC One M9

The HTC One M8 was a great phone, save for a few irksome choices, like the mediocre Ultrapixel camera. The HTC One M9 (code named Hima) is supposed to offer a nice upgrade over the M8. According to the latest batch of rumors, HTC is going to stick with a 5-inch 1080p LCD instead of going to QHD. The upshot of this being that battery life will be vastly improved. The device will again have a sealed-in battery rated at 2,840mAh.

It should also be running an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 (64-bit), 3GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, and maybe most importantly, a 20.7MP camera. The Ultrapixel used for the last two years has been questionable at best, and the Duo Cam was little more than a gimmick. HTC has great image processing software, though. Seeing it paired with a solid sensor is going to be exciting.

HTC has been impressing with its build quality as of late, so the M9 is sure to blow us away once again in this department, and Sense 7 with Android 5.0 should be a nice update with HTC’s slick aesthetic.

LG G Pro 3

LG has been on a roll lately. After the moderately successful LG G2 in 2013, the company was poised to finally offer a challenge to hometown rival Samsung after the so-so launch of the Galaxy S5. The LG G3 has won praise for its large screen and super-fast camera, but the software experience has also been cleaned up considerably. The company is expected to continue hitting Samsung with the LG G Pro 3, which will essentially be a larger version of the G3.

You can expect a refined software experience on the G Pro 3 as this is usually the part of its product cycle LG uses to trial new ideas. For example, the G Pro 2 saw the debut of the Knock Code security feature, which is featured prominently in the G3.

This device is probably a little further off than most upcoming phones of note, but it’s going to be one of the better phablets you can buy. In addition to a larger screen (probably somewhere north of 6-inches), the G Pro 3 will probably have an updated ARM chip –possibly a Snapdragon 805 or 64-bit Snapdragon 810. We’re looking at late this year or early 2015 for the G Pro 3, so Android Lollipop with its enhanced 64-bit support will be the default version.

Google Project Ara

Yes, Project Ara seemed like an elaborate joke when it was first announced. Was it April 1st? No? Huh. The Ara modular phone was inherited by Google when it took over Motorola’s ATAP group before selling the rest of the company off to Lenovo, and it’s not hard to see why it held onto this division. Ara is one of those moonshot things Google loves so much, but they have recently said Ara will be a real product in the first quarter of 2015. In just a few months, a modular smartphone will be a reality.

The core of Ara will have a screen attached to a frame which accommodates a variety of hardware modules for RAM, storage, batteries, cameras, and more. Even wacky niche stuff like projectors could be attached. You will be able to build the phone you want, and upgrade it as new modules come out. To make this work, Google is developing a special branch of Android 5.0 that will support hot-swapping most of these components.

Project Ara will come in several sizes, including small form factors that could cost as little as $15 (before modules). This could be the next big thing.

OnePlus Two

The CyanogenMod-powered OnePlus One was a very good phone. It had solid hardware and excellent software without all the carrier and OEM bloat. The only problem is that you still can’t just buy it. Okay, that’s actually a big problem. The invite system has been annoying at best and pre-orders have yet to materialize. Still, the company could make everyone happy by getting the distribution right when the OnePlus Two happens next year.

In a recent AMA on Reddit, a OnePlus rep said the sequel is happening, and it’s currently targeted for Q2-Q3 next year. That’s about a year after the first one came out, so no surprise there. There aren’t any details on what sort of hardware the next OnePlus device will have, but you can expect something suspiciously similar to what fellow Chinese firm Oppo is making (the two have some very close ties). The CyanogenMod deal is probably coming to an end, but OnePlus is planning on building its own AOSP ROM for upcoming phones, and I suspect it will contain a lot of CyanogenMod open source code.

What we can surmise about this device is that it will be inexpensive, fast, and probably in short supply. If you can wait it out, the next OnePlus could be a good option when it drops in six months or so.

iOS 8.1.2 is available now: How to download, and what’s new

2:03 PM Posted by Ariana No comments

Less than one month ago, Apple released iOS 8.1.1, cleaning up some bugs that it elected not to disclose to the unwitting updating masses, and increasing performance on the iPad 2 and iPhone 4S. It was a usability and stability update — nothing to write home about. Now, Apple has given iOS 8.1.2 the all-clear and made it available for all.

Like iOS 8.1.1 before it, this update is minimal, fixing some bugs, plugging some security holes, but mainly restoring ringtones purchased through iTunes that may have been erroneously removed. That’s about it. Unfortunately, the over-the-air update takes about as long as they always do — around 15 to 20 minutes, which is nothing over which to get worked up, but seems unnecessary for such a minute offering.

The update is available for all devices running iOS 8, which includes the iPhone 4S, 5, 5C, 5S, 6, and 6 Plus, the iPad 2, 3, 4, mini, mini 2, mini 3, Air, and Air 2, and the fifth-gen iPod touch. To get the update over the air, open the Settings app on your device, tap General, then Software Update, and hit download. Wait for a handful (or two) of minutes, and you’ll be living right back in the future with the rest of the early iOS 8.1.2 adopters, where our phones can now break us down to nothing but individual molecules, teleport each molecule to a specific location, then build us back up again. Sure, the process technically killed us, but we’ll be rebuilt with the same memories as our former selves, so same diff.

How To Get A Real-Time Estimate Of Remaining Battery Time On iOS 8

8:45 AM Posted by Ariana No comments

A new jailbreak tweak gives owners of iPod touches, iPhones and iPads a new and much improved idea of just how long they have before their batteries die as well as how long they will take to charge. What’s even better is the fact that it blends in well with iOS itself and can be activated via an Activator gesture.

The tweak we’re talking about is called Predix and while it’s not free, it isn’t likely to break the bank at $1.49. If we’re honest though, if you’re like us and have always wished for some way to at least have an idea when your battery will run out of juice then the entry price being asked here is trivial to say the least. We really don’t begrudge anyone getting paid for their work, especially when it’s awesome.

We’d have to put Predix in that category, because it’s the kind of thing that should be part of iOS as standard. The tweak itself supports iOS 8 and iOS 7 and is actually a simple canvas that appears over whatever’s on-screen when a simple Activator action is performed such as a swipe or particular button combination is pressed.

Whatever combination you choose, the resulting overlay will announce how long you have left before your iOS device runs out of power or, if it’s currently charging, how long it will be before that magic 100% goal is reached. If you’ve ever been sat waiting for an iPhone to charge before dashing out of the door then you’ll probably like the sound of that.

We know we do.

But wait, there’s more! Predix also has its own Settings entry in which you’ll find options for customizing how it presents its information. The app’s Cydia page claims a possible 24 different colors and styles to choose from, so you’re likely to find something to suit your particular mood or theme.

Predix can be downloaded from Cydia under BigBoss repo now.

Best Winterboard Themes Designed for iOS 8.x

8:43 AM Posted by Ariana No comments

It’s been a long time since jailbreak for iOS 8.x released but you may not be able to get passable themes for the Winterboard. We have found out some of the fresh Winterboard themes that have been updated in past days/weeks. The themes we have selected, offer you a large number of backgrounds, millions of icons and much more.

We already have covered iOS 7 Winterboard themes that compatible with iOS 8. Here we have short listed most of the themes that are freshly designed for iOS 8.x. Many of these themes are available in MacCiti repo. We hope these themes will add a feather to your device.

Roundup of Winterboard Themes Designed for iOS 8:

1. Simply ios8

Simpley is beautiful Winterboard theme. It gives round and squared corners to the apps on the screen. The combination of corners –round and square, makes your iPhone/ipad look cool.

Price: Free | Repo: MacCiti

2. 0xygen iOS8

0xygen iOS8 has just been updated for iOS 8. The theme adds more than 800 themed icons to the Winterboard. The melody color and rich themes are all for making your iPhone look beautiful. You can give a try.

Price: Free | Repo: MacCiti

3. 1ONE

1ONE is one of the good themes ever. It gives you a lot of options to customize the look of your iPhone/iPad. The theme enables you 200 icons in 7 different styles (round, squared framed, 3D), 7 iWidgets including RSS and Twitter widget in different size. For the better settings it has its own setting panel

Price: Free | Repo: Modmyi

4. Fusion by

Fusion by is one of good theme for Winterboard. You will love it if you are fond of shadows and colors. The themes bring a new look to your iPhone/iPad. It adorns the screen and apps with subtle shadows and muted colors. The theme has been updated with bugs free and some of the themes have been restyled. The theme is worth considering.

Price: Free | Repo: MacCiti

5. Andora Theme iOS8

Andora Theme is a very lovely theme that adds a feather to cap to your iPhone/iPad. The color scheme of the theme brings positive effect to your mood.
The theme has been updated and some of the features/icons have been redesigned. Every little detail and issues have taken care of while being designed.

Price: Free | Repo: MacCiti

6. Style HD

Syle HD is a ColorKeyboard theme that gives HD look to the Keyboard. You can design the keyboard of the iPhone/iPad different in color.
If you like having color and HD keyboard on your phone then the theme is good.

Price: Free | Repo: MacCiti

7. Flatish

Flatish is a new Winterboard theme that gives your iPhone/iPad muted colors. The dark and matte background provides spotless appearance to the apps.
A lot of new stuffs have been updated to the theme such as Zeppelin logos, wallpapers and two fonts. In short the theme is good for your device.

Price: Free | Repo: MacCiti

8. Lasso

Lasso is a beautiful Winterboard theme having more than 100 customized icons with friendly colors. The theme also provides 13 high resolution wallpapers with status bar icons. Moreover, you can style your iPhone/iPad Phone pad in 3 ways.

Feature:

Setting icons
2 Bytafonts
PSD files and much more

Price: Free | Repo: MacCiti

9. Fizz

Fizz is a good theme for Winterboard. It has been updated with new stuffs, removing previous fault such as broken mask files. The new original mask including requested icons has been added. The theme is soft and colorful. A large number of backgrounds and rounded edges are all set to give your iPhone/iPad a new look.

Price: $1.99 | Repo: MacCiti

10. Aelon iOS 8

If you are looking for a clean and transparency theme then the Aelon iOS 8 would be a good one for your iPhone/iPad. The theme provides you more than 170 icons. The theme gives your device a cool appearance with spotless and limpidity wallpapers. The only unfortunate with the theme is that it does not support iPhone 6+.

Price: $1.99 | Repo: MacCiti

15 New and Updated Cydia Tweaks for iOS 8/8.1.1 You Would Love to Checkout

8:43 AM Posted by Ariana No comments

Last weekend, TaiG released iOS 8.1.1 untethered jailbreak tool. It was an out of the blue belated thanksgiving gift for jailbreak community and for those who were looking to jailbreak their devices running on iOS 8.1.1.

The jailbreak tool is available for Windows only at this time and there are no words from the team about a Mac version. TaiG seems stable enough and MuscleNerd also confirmed it on Twitter. He also stated that TaiG is much more transparent than Pangu.

So if you have jailbroken your iPhone or iPad and looking for Cydia tweaks that are compatible with iOS 8 or later, we have already covered few best iOS 8 Cydia tweaks. It’s been awhile we have been looking for some fresh and updated Cydia tweaks that will help you customize your jailbroken iOS device at next level.

There are hundreds, if not thousands of Cydia tweaks out there and list out best of them is like find out a needle from heap of grass. Just to make your life easy, here we have handpicked some brand new and updated Cydia Tweaks for iOS 8.1.1 or earlier.

#1. AdvancedSettings8: By installing this tweak, you just need to tap and hold Settings app to bring advanced settings. You can enable or disable this tweak from the preference panel.

Price: Free | Repo: BigBoss

#2. Adaptive CC: It’s a brand new Cydia tweak that lets you resize Control Center on your iOS device to free up some space on your screen.