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Oct

How To: Manually Update Your Nexus 7 To Android 4.1.2 (JZO54K) With Stock Or Custom Recovery

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Jelly Bean 4.1, News, Nexus 7, Tips & Tutorials

Last Updated: November 13th, 2012

If you want to update your Nexus 7 to official Android 4.1.2 that started rolling out earlier today but your turn hasn't come yet, you have two options: wait (possibly for a while) or flash it manually. The latter is absolutely safe and lets you bypass the line without any risk whatsoever. Even better - you don't even need to be rooted or running a custom recovery - updating with Jelly Bean and full stock recovery is easier than ever before.

Let's get to it.

Prerequisite: Your Nexus 7 should be running Android 4.1.1 build JRO03D.

Step 1.

Download the JZO54K Android 4.1.2 update zip from Google's servers (32,862,193 bytes, MD5: 1a68f499129ae2ee373806a9cad13174).

Sep

[Updated] Reddit User Crafts A Beautifully Integrated Sci-Fi-esque Homescreen Using Apex Launcher And A Custom Wallpaper

Posted by Cameron Summerson in News

If you've ever cruised through r/AndroidThemes, then you've probably seen some pretty impressive homescreens floating around. Some are ultra-minimal. Others are highly functional while still retaining an appealing look. Then, there are those that just stand out from the crowd because of a well thought-out layout.

The Sci-Fi Interface Theme by Reddit user Futant55 is a shining example of the latter. It has the look of something very difficult to create, but is actually just a few widgets precisely placed to fit in perfectly with the custom wallpaper. Have a look:

^{Left: Homescreen; Right: Lock screen}

Fortunately, Futant55 provided all the necessary files to recreate this look for yourself.

May

Chameleon: The New Kickstarter Project That Could Revolutionize Tablet Homescreens

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Applications, Apps/Games, News

It's not every day that I get excited when I look at a UI demo, largely because they tend to end up being vaporware. But it's hard to ignore a revolutionary UI when one comes along - and that's exactly what Chameleon is:

Still not sold? Check out this demo video from 2 months ago, when Chameleon was first announced:

It's certainly a stunning UI, and one that manages the rare feat of being equal parts beautiful and functional. But there's a catch: the company initially intended to sell Chameleon to OEMs, but it seems they couldn't find a buyer - so they're taking to Kickstarter.

Mar

GO Launcher HD Hits The Play Store, Bringing GO Goodness To Tablets Running 3.0 And Above

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Applications, News

The team behind the awesome GO suite of apps have brought the functionality and style of GO Launcher to Android-powered tablets everywhere today (as long as they're running 3.0+), bringing GO Launcher HD out of beta. You may remember our beta coverage earlier this month, in which we got a sneak peak at GO's tablet launcher, and it looks like little has changed. For a launcher that aims to be minimally intrusive yet offer a ton of functionality, however, that isn't necessarily a bad thing.

With GO Launcher HD, users can utilize the dock bar characteristic of ICS' phone interface, adding and rearranging up to 10 shortcuts.

Mar

[Update: Live!] Poweramp Has A Good Year, Goes $1.99 For 48 Hours To Celebrate

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Applications, Deals, News

The official press release said "This sale will begin Friday at 12PM EST," but they actually meant 12 PM CST.

To say that Poweramp is a major fan favorite music player is to put it mildly; the app has over 10 million downloads, and with over 146,500 ratings, checks in at an impressive 4.5 stars (out of 5). That's probably thanks in part to an impressive feature list:

Key Features:
- plays mp3, mp4/m4a (including alac), ogg, wma*, flac, wav, ape, wv, tta, mpc, aiff (* some wma pro files may require NEON support)
- 10 band optimized graphical equalizer for all supported formats, presets, custom presets
- separate Bass and Treble adjustment
- stereo eXpansion, mono mixing, balance
- crossfade
- gapless
- replay gain
- plays songs from folders and from own library
- dynamic queue
- lyrics support, including lyrics search via musiXmatch plugin
- embed and standalone .cue files support
- support for m3u, m3u8, pls, wpl playlists
- OpenGL based cover art animation
- downloads missing album art
- 4 configurable widget types
- configurable lock screen with optional Direct Unlock
- headset support, automatic Resume on headset and/or BT connection (can be disabled in settings)
- scrobbling
- tag editor
- visual themes, including support for external/3rd party skins
- fast library scan
- high level of customization via settings

In celebration of their success, the developers are dropping the price for 48 hours (from Friday at 12PM CST to Sunday at 12PM CST), from $4.99 to $2.49 - and they "might drop that to $1.99 if [they] get enough people excited for this sale." What are you waiting for?

Mar

HTC Says Sense Got Too Bloated (And So Did Their Product Line), But They're Going Back To Simple

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in HTC, News

Back in the early days of Android, HTC's Sense UI really stood out as a much-needed step up in the UI department, compared both to stock Android and to competitors custom UIs. Like a hard-partying rock star, though, it just didn't age well; it went from sleek, helpful, and attractive, to bloated and borderline obtrusive. Sense 4.0 - which we spotted slapped atop of Ice Cream Sandwich - was definitely a step against that direction in some ways, but still offended some people - Cameron included.

Earlier today, Kouji Kodera, HTC's chief product officer, addressed these concerns in an interview with Pocket Lint at MWC.

Feb

[Weekend Poll] Are You Using A Custom Launcher?

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Applications, Polls

This is the latest in our Weekend Poll series. For last week's, see Do You Use Live Wallpapers?

We've said it many times before, and I'll say it again: one of the best things about Android is how customizable the entire experience is. One of the easiest and most comprehensive ways to customize your device - aside from rooting and ROMing, that is - is to use a custom launcher such as ADWLauncher EX, GO Launcher EX, and Launcher Pro. Even stock, these apps can revamp your device's appearance and basic behavior, and coupled with the bevy of themes that can be found on the Market, the possibilities are nearly endless.

Jan

Lenovo Thinkpad Tablet Finally Rooted - Here's How To Do It, And Install ClockworkMod Recovery

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Development, Lenovo, News, ThinkPad Tablet

Owners of the Lenovo Thinkpad tablet have long been waiting for a way to root their devices... in fact, the situation is so dire that there is a $785 bounty for root. Or was, anyway: Dan Rosenberg has figured out a way to root the device, and Justin Case and utkanos have managed to get ClockworkMod Recovery (CWM) up and running without a hitch. Luckily, both rooting and installing CWM are quite simple (though you do need an SD card to install CWM).

This article deals with a couple of advanced topics. If you’re unfamiliar with some of the terms, hit up our primers here:

Jan

CyanogenMod 9 Music App Officially Released For Download, Coming To Market Soon

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Applications, Development, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, News

All-around awesome guy Andrew Neal has released the result of his project in recent months: a new music app that will be coming soon to CyanogenMod 9. The good news is that you can download it now, before it's merged, and install it on your device. The (pretty major) bad news: it's only available for phones running Ice Cream Sandwich. So unless you've got a Galaxy Nexus, ICS-running Nexus S, or any phone rocking CM9, you're pretty much S.O.L. on this beauty.

What's so great about the new music app? In a nutshell: custom themes (and even the default theme is much more of a head-turner than the stock Android music app), gesture/motion controls, custom notifications, custom lockscreens, and more widgets.

Jan

[Monthly Home Screen Challenge, January 2012] Post Your Android Home Screen, Win An Android Police Shirt

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Development, Home Screen Challenge

Creating an aesthetically pleasing home screen for your phone or tablet has become an art in itself, and an entire ecosystem packed with widgets, themes, wallpapers, launchers, and custom ROMs has built up to support it. Sometimes, it can be tough to find a winning combination of elements to create a beautiful and enduring home screen that provides both form and function.

For this reason, we have decided to open up a monthly call for gorgeous, well-decorated home screens of all shapes and sizes. Each month we will select the very best home screen configurations and completely break them down into their component parts, providing you with all the necessary information to create your own awesome home screen.