CyanogenMod 11 has brought all sorts of new and exciting features to the world’s most popular ROM. The custom KitKat ROM has vastly improved the stability and speed of the ROM while also adding new features. Some of the features are based off Android 4.4, while others are the creation of the CM team – like immersive mode or the new and improved media player. Earlier today, the CyanogenMod team released another monthly update. The M4 update introduces the following…
It’s 2014 and human beings have been exposed to just about every marketing trick in the books. Lately, we’ve seen companies resorting to bizarre advertisements that virtually guarantee sharing across social media. Sometimes, these plans work. In other cases, they make the company look stupid. Samsung’s latest weird Galaxy Gear snowboard commercial, for example, was likely designed to be serious. But can you really say a commercial backfired if it gets talked about on social media…
Remote administration tools help tech support professionals solve problems from across the world. Unfortunately, not all remote administrators are good people. Such is the case with the new Remote Administration Tool (RAT) malware for Android. This recently discovered malware turns your Android phone or tablet into a “zombie”. It steals pictures, texts, audio and video files, as well as call information, email accounts, and Facebook data. If your phone has the RAT infection, then a…
For the past few years, Nokia has focused on building Windows phones like the Lumia. However, after recently being purchased by Microsoft, Nokia has done something surprising: released its first Android smartphone. That Android smartphone is not designed for developed markets: it was only just released in India and is expected to compete among the budget handset market in developing countries. The world’s first Android-powered Nokia smartphone is called the Nokia X. Within the next 2…
Some of the world’s worst Android viruses access your camera and microphone to secretly spy on you. Now it seems like one of the world’s most popular video chat services is doing the same thing. The latest update to the Android Skype app causes some weird problems. Users have been complaining about battery drain problems ever since Kit Kat was released. Google says that it’s not their fault and have now told users to try uninstalling Skype. What’s wrong with Skype? The latest…
Want to optimize your Android device? Performance benchmarking is a good place to start. Today, I’m going to tell you about TinyCore, a performance benchmarking app that lets you monitor system, CPU, and memory usage directly from your notifications bar. When this app called itself ‘Tiny’Core, it really means it. Here’s what this app adds to your Android notification bar: As you can see, TinyCore is simply a small bar which changes its size depending on your Android’s…
In the field of mobile malware, there’s really only one major player: Android. Android accounts for over 90% of mobile malware in virtually every security study ever performed. Some studies put that number as high as 95% or 99%. Android has dominated mobile malware statistics since it became mainstream back in 2010-2011. In 2012, Android malware accounted for 79% of all mobile malware. Today, according to security research form F-Secure, approximately 97% of all mobile malware is…
We’re 3 months into the year and it’s time to look at the latest Android market share numbers. The future is getting brighter and brighter for Android as market share continues to increase across the board. The latest official market share figures – posted by Google on its Developers website here – show that users have been slow to adopt Android KitKat while Jelly Bean usage has exploded over the past year. More importantly, the latest sales figures show that Android tablet sales…
Earlier this week, tech website Mashable published an article praising the Galaxy S5. That’s refreshing, because most major tech websites – I’m looking at you Gizmodo and CNet – are decidedly pro-Apple. However, even Android fans are agreeing that the latest Mashable article might have swung too far the other way. Mashable’s article was titled: That sounds awesome, right? The story was posted to r/Android under a different headline: Uh oh! The real truth lies somewhere…
Nobody likes a cheater. Samsung was a cheater for several generations of smartphones and tablets. It artificially inflated benchmark scores by silently running an overclocking program when benchmark apps were detected. Then, Samsung denied any involvement in the benchmark inflating scheme despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Although Samsung never officially admitted to cheating the system, it unofficially admitted that it made a mistake by removing the overclocking programs from…
