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Nov

[Weekend Poll] Will/Do You Use The Multi-User Support In Android 4.2?

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Jelly Bean 4.2, Polls

This is the latest in our Weekend Poll series. For last week's, see HTC And Apple Have Called A Truce - Are The Patent Wars Winding Down?

Android 4.2 is here, and with it comes proper support for multiple users on tablets. According to Cam, it's easy to setup and intuitive to use, too. Unfortunately, it doesn't work on phones at this point (presumably because of a Nokia patent).

At this point, we do have to address the pink elephant in the room here: it's likely you don't have 4.2 yet. And if the Android Platform Distribution numbers are any indication, most devices probably won't get 4.2 until mid-2014.

Oct

Here Is Another Reason Google Continues To Shun SD Cards - Multiuser Support

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Google, News, Nexus 10, Nexus 4, Nexus 7

The lack of expandable storage in Nexus devices becomes one of the hottest and most controversial topics every time Google does a refresh and we find out that the next generation lacks SD cards entirely yet again. Couple that with the decision to limit onboard storage options to 16GB max, which is the case with the Nexus 4 at the moment and was the case with the Nexus 7 for a while, and you've got a full-blown revolt.

You may have read one explanation of Google's aversion to SD cards, which was brought up by Android engineer Dan Morrill last year: it's confusing to users to have multiple storage points, the insecure "free-for-all" area was not meant for private app data but rather for media, and essentially SD cards are the sources of all evil.

Sep

Google Wins Multi-User Face Unlock Patent, Further Teases Our Multi-User Dreams

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Android OS, Google, News

Today it was learned, through a US Patent and Trademark Office filing, that Google has been granted a patent concerning the logging in of multiple users by facial recognition.

Typically, the granting of yet another tech patent wouldn't be extraordinarily interesting news. But given the fact that Google's latest patent relates to multiple user support, and the fact that code meant for multiple user support has been sitting right under our noses in AOSP for some time now, patent number 8,261,090 is definitely worth discussing.

Without quoting the entire 17,000 word filing, patent '090 essentially covers methods that allow a "computing device" to recognize one or more users' identities based on facial recognition, and then give them access to resources specifically assigned to them.

Nov

[Update: Root No Longer Needed] Angry Aviary Lets You Share Multiple Angry Birds Profiles On The Same Device

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Applications, Games, News

Update: root is no longer required to use this app.

As an Angry Birds lover, I have always been slightly disappointed by the fact that when both me and my wife share the same phone to play the game, we never know who set the highest score in every level. Short of splurging the green for a new phone (she is still under contract with her crappy Pre), we now have another option - a small utility wittily called Angry Aviary.

Angry Aviary ~~utilizes its elevated privileges (your phone needs to be rooted)~~ to swap Angry Birds profiles around on the fly, thus letting multiple people go through the game at their own pace.

Sep

[App Of The Week] Multicon - Reclaim Your Home Screen Real Estate

Posted by Brad Ganley in Applications

Even though I have 7 home screens on my EVO 4G, I still sometimes find myself cramped for space. I have a whole bunch of apps and shortcuts that I would like to have instant access to. Enter Multicon.

The function of Multicon is to make widgets that pack in a number of downsized icons in the space that would normally be occupied by only single ones. This enables you to pack a large number of app shortcuts onto a home screen that only fits 16 by default (on most handsets).

Multicon is especially useful for devices with larger screens, such as the 4.3" EVO 4G, Droid X and the 5" Dell Streak because it's much easier to click on icons several times smaller in size on those devices than on ones with smaller screens.

Apr

Detailed Mega Review Of Android 2.1 On Our HTC Hero - Discover All The New Features (With Lots Of Screenshots)

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Applications, Development, Hero, Hero (Sprint, HeroC), HTC, Sprint

Last Updated: April 21st, 2010

Introduction

Us, Hero owners, have been waiting for an OS upgrade for a loooooong time, since the phone got released last October with Android 1.5.

At first, we were hoping for 1.6, then 2.0, and finally 2.1 was promised ("Totally for real this time, yo" - said Sprint and HTC but we saw nothing).

Other phones kept getting 2.1 upgrades but our favorite Hero saw only promises after promises with release dates pushed further and further back.

Android 2.1 On HTC Hero

Therefore, when a Hero Android 2.1 build got [inadvertently - oh, the drama with these leaks!] leaked online, and an Android ROM hacker by the name of damageless (hi damageless!) incorporated the code from the leak into his ROM, called DamageControl, we knew the finish line was near.