CyanogenMod had humble beginnings as an Android custom ROM. Over the past few months, however, CyanogenMod has attempted to become an innovative, profitable tech company. GalleryNext is one example of CyanogenMod’s innovation. GalleryNext is the much-anticipated new gallery app for the popular custom ROM. This past week, CyanogenMod released the GalleryNext beta, which means users can test it out for themselves. Koushik Dutta announced the news on Google+. Here’s what GalleryNext…
I like root-only apps, you like root-only apps. But do you know who doesn’t like root-only apps? Android 4.5. That’s right: the next Android update is actively in development and should be released within the first quarter or second quarter of 2014. Unfortunately for users of rooted Android devices, Android 4.5 could be a devastating update. Why? Well, according to a new report from ChainFire on Google+, Android 4.5 has some serious issues with the way it handles root-only…
Google Glass is a cool concept. Unfortunately, most people will never own Google Glass. Unless you live in San Francisco, walking around with a pair of Star Trek-like glasses on is a little bizarre. Meanwhile, some people don’t like having their phone’s information in their face all day. But a new project from Google could be the start of a revolution: wearable high-tech contact lenses. Google recently announced via a blog post that it was developing contact lenses that have special…
We’re going to be learning a lot more about the Galaxy S5 over the coming weeks. Samsung is gearing up for a March/April release of their next-generation phone and already, we’ve started to learn a bit more about the features we can expect. The latest news involves the way users will unlock their phones. Just like the iPhone 5S, the Galaxy S5 will have a fingerprint sensor. This information comes out in contrast to earlier reports which stated that the Galaxy S5 could have a…
Shutting down a PC can be annoying. You have to go to your office chair, leave over your keyboard, press the Windows Start button, click Shut Down, and then walk away. Life is tough. If your PC shutdown process is bringing you down, then you need an app called Droid Remote Lite. Droid Remote Lite is designed to shut down, restart, and hibernate your PC from your Android device. Here’s how it works: -Install the app on your Android -Install the executable file on your…
The default Android battery life indicator is boring. It’s just a green bar or a percentage meter. Nothing too special. If you want your battery life indicator to be a little more colorful, then I recommend installing Energy Bar, which edits your battery bar color to one of dozens of different colors. But the real magic starts to happen as your battery life drains. As it drains, the bar will pulse with every 1% reduction in battery life. The color also changes at every 20% battery…
Have you ever seen a random person the street and thought, “I’d really like to see where that person went on her last vacation”? Well, then you’ll like the new NameTag app, which scans peoples’ faces and searches for their facial information on dating sites and social media networks. Scary? Yes. Useful? Probably. Along with scanning through social media sites, the NameTag app looks through the National Sex Offender Registry. That’s useful if you frequently date people you…
Greenify is widely recognized as one of the best root-only apps in the Android community. At least, it USED to be recognized as one of the best root-only Android apps. A few days ago, the team behind Greenify updated the app to include non-rooted Android users. That’s right, you unrooted normal people: you too can join in on the fun of Greenify. For those who don’t know, Greenify is one of the most effective ways to save battery life. You can “Greenify” an app, which means you…
Take a quick look at the Google Play Store. Open up a random app. Now look at the star ratings. Are there a bunch of four and five star reviews and then a cluster of one star reviews? A lot of apps are developing this trend. And it’s not for the reasons you think. Usually, people give one star reviews to punish apps they don’t like. That’s the point of the five star review system. But someone took a closer look at some of the one star ratings that have been appearing on the…
Most people don’t reboot their phone very often. Personally, the only time my phone restarts is when it runs out of battery life away from the charger or when something catastrophic happens. Neither of those things happens very often. But should people like me and you reboot their Android devices more frequently? Or is it an absolutely pointless function that does nothing to help Android? Let’s find out! Reasons to restart: -Installing important Android updates (not just app…
