12
May
nexusae0_thumb_thumb

Roundup: Our Top Eight Picks For Best New Game From April 2013

Posted by in Games, Roundups

Of course after our app roundup earlier today, we've got to have a roundup of the very best games from last month. This time we have a few more than usual, bumping the count to eight. While our shortlist isn't so short this time around, all the games discussed are well worth checking out. From racing to hidden object, April 2013 had something for just about every type of gamer.

CSR Racing

First up is CSR Racing. If you sense a lack of super-shiny racing games on Android, CSR Racing by NaturalMotionGames will fill the gap. Check out the promo video, which itself is as fast as the racing.

11
May
image

CyanogenMod 10.1 RC2 Making Steady March Across CM Roster

Posted by in Android OS, Development, Jelly Bean 4.2, News

Have you finished downloading CyanogenMod's 10.1 RC1 release for your device yet? If not, hit cancel and refresh your browser. Just three days after RC1 started rolling out, CM 10.1 RC2 has hit the download center, going up over night for forty seven devices at the time of writing, including devices from the Galaxy SIII to the Nexus Q.

cm

the list goes on

For those not sure why they should care about CM10.1 RC2, an RC or Release Candidate is basically a firmware release that the CyanogenMod team believes is up to snuff for a daily driver – a new-but-not-bleeding-edge release that's stable enough to rely on.

26
Jun
cmlogo1

[Updated] CyanogenMod 9 Release Candidates Are Available For Several Devices Right Now

Posted by in News

The wait has been a long one, but it's finally starting to come to a close. The CM team has officially released several RC-level builds of CyanogenMod 9 for many high-profile devices, including the Galaxy Nexus (GSM), several Galaxy S II variants, and the Nexus S and Nexus S 4G.

2012-06-26_11h43_16

For the complete list, head to the source link below. As always, make absolutely sure that you're downloading the correct ROM for your device, and if you have any reservations, ask in a forum before flashing, and always make a backup first. Otherwise, happy flashing!

Update: The folks over at the CyanogenMod blog have just officially announced what we already knew was available, and the total number of devices with an available RC1 is 37, so head over to the downloads page to see if you're on the list.

18
May
image

Total Commander For Android Graduates From Release Candidates To Final v1.0, Will No Longer Expire When You Need It Most

Posted by in Applications, News

Total Commander, my favorite go-to app for powerful dual-pane file management on both Windows and Android (see our overview for features and screenshots), reached v1.0 final today, dropping the incredibly annoying mandatory expiration which was present in the release candidates. One such expiration caught me on a plane with no Internet access and forced me to literally turn back time on my tablet just to get it to work again. Needless to say, I welcome the first version that will no longer refuse all functions after an arbitrary period of time.

While discussing Total Commander with its founder Christian Ghisler back in the day, I asked him whether we'd ever see an Android Market (now Play Store) release.

19
Sep
8qaTRl

Parrot AR.Drone + AR.FreeFlight Control App Review: One Major Flaw Leaves This Bird Grounded

Posted by in Android OS, App Reviews, Applications, Apps/Games, Other Reviews, Reviews

Let's be honest: the Parrot AR.Drone is awesome. It's an awesome idea, it's an awesome design, and we had super high hopes for it. Unfortunately, one huge, massive, undeniable flaw means this bird will spend most of its life on the ground: battery life. It's that bad.

But before I, admittedly sadly, twist that dagger into the heart of this toy, let's go over what it does well - and why we're optimistic about Parrot's future smartphone-controlled vehicles. (Hint: mostly because this thing is so. Much. Fun.)

The Idea

Parrot's AR.Drone is a product we've covered in the past, even before its app was available for Android.

22
Mar
firefox 4 logo

Firefox 4 RC For Android Comes To The Android Market

Posted by in Applications, News

Mozilla has announced a release candidate of Firefox 4 for Android and for Nokia Maemo.

firefox 4 image2 firefox 4 image

Firefox 4 RC for Android features several updates including faster scrolling, a better and more responsive version of Firefox Sync, and an overall improvement in the user experience. Other features include: text reformatting on zoom, a slimmed down on-screen form helper and find-in-page function, copy and paste in form fields, character encoding and other smaller improvements since Beta 3.

Codenamed Fennec, the first version of Firefox for Android appeared in August of last year.  Soon after a beta version of Firefox 4 for Android was launched in the Android Market.

07
Mar
CMlogo

CyanogenMod 7 RC2 Rolling Out Now, Packing Android 2.3.3, New Features, Bugfixes

Posted by in Android OS, Development, News

Cyanogen has just announced via the CM blog that CyanogenMod 7 Release Candidate 2 is rolling out now for supported devices. The team has managed to work in the changes found in Android 2.3.3, and this is the first RC to pack WiMAX for the EVO (previously it was only found in nightlies). CM7 has been feature-frozen with RC2 as well, meaning the team will focus on fixing bugs from this point on.

Change_Log

CHANGELOG

7.0.0
  • Common: Android 2.3.3 (Gingerbread) - Google
  • Common: Fixes and changes from AOSP master - Various
  • Common: ClockworkMod Recovery 3.0: Koush, Cyanogen, Zinx
  • Common: Themes engine - T-Mobile
  • Common: Performance enhancements for Qualcomm hardware - Code Aurora
  • Common: New boot animation - 73v1n - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYXiKWwp0DQ
  • Common: Fix readahead values for NAND/MMC devices
  • Common: Revamped notification widget - cvpcs
  • Common: Updated various graphics for GB style - blunden
  • Common: DSPManager updated for 2.3 - alankila
  • Common: Restyled music app and forward-port of features - Jason Asher
  • Common: Rotary answer in Phone app - James Peterson
  • Common: BT VoiceDialer fixes - Matthew Sparby
  • Common: Calendar enhancements - James Peterson
  • Common: Stagefright fixes for 7x30, 8x50, and 7x27 - Zinx, arcee, Cyanogen
  • Common: Pacman package manager - Kmobs
  • Common: Workaround for unknown phone number - Jiri Tyr
  • Common: Trackball answer/hangup - Juan Rodriguez
  • Common: CMParts reorganization - Robert Burns
  • Common: Optional screen on/off animations - Diogo Ferreira
  • Common: New browser incognito mode - optedoblivion
  • Common: New trackball/trackpad wake - Zinx, Cyanogen
  • Common: Legacy sensor/GPS support - arcee
  • Common: Enabled v8 javascript engine on armv6 (msm7227/msm7225) - arcee
  • Common: Customizable overscroll - arcee
  • Common: Torch cleanup - defer
  • Common: 2D compositor backwards compatibility - arcee
  • Common: OpenGL backwards compatibility - Zinx, Cyanogen, Sileht, ezterry
  • Common: SMS templates using gestures - Riccardo Ciovati
  • Common: Phone Goggles - David Bidorff
  • Common: Option to always show battery percentage on lockscreen - Robert Burns
  • Common: CPU frequency/scaling control in CMParts - Robert Ramiega
  • Common: Option to pause/play music with camera button - cvpcs
  • Common: Allow SIP User-Agent configuration - arcee
  • Common (non-HTC): Fixed mobile connection suspension - arcee
  • Common: New music widgets - Jason Asher
  • Common: Updated FLAC support - cvpcs, Cyanogen, kroot
  • Common: Updated wallpapers - Fitsnugly, Prash
  • Common: Customizable search/long-press search - Sven Dawitz
  • Common: New lockscreen styles - Rotary Revamped (default) and Lense - Sven Dawitz, Stefano Pignataro
  • Common: Customizable app launcher on rotary lockscreen - Sven Dawitz
  • Common: Now playing and album art on lockscreen - kmobs
  • Common: GPS fixes - CodeAurora, arcee
  • Common: Breakfast/Brunch - arcee
  • Common: Statusbar battery percentage with mini icon - Sven Dawitz, design by Jazz Kalsi
  • Common: SMS split for braindead carriers - Mike Wielgosz
  • Common: CMParts cleanup - Sven Dawitz
  • Common: Notification profiles - Martin Long
  • Espresso/Legend: Enabled native WiFi tethering - Cyanogen, OMAPZoom.org
  • Z71: Enabled MPEG4/AAC video recording - arcee
  • Z71: Enabled native WiFi tethering - arcee
  • Passion/Bravo/BravoC/Supersonic/Inc: Kernel 2.6.37 - Google, Cyanogen, defer, Kali-, toastcfh, slayher
  • Vision/Glacier/Espresso: WiFi calling compatibility and optimization - Zinx
  • Vision/Glacier/Ace: Unified kernel - HTC, Cyanogen, Zinx, Kali-, defer
  • Vision/Glacier/Ace: Fix FM radio on 2.3 - Zinx
  • Vision: Only install WiFi calling on TMUS devices - attn1
  • Espresso/Legend/Liberty: Unified kernel - HTC, Cyanogen, attn1, jznomoney, Alex Hofbauer
  • Supersonic: WiMAX support - HTC, Shinzul, toastcfh, shift, #teamwin, Cyanogen
  • ONE: Enabled native WiFi tethering - arcee

For those who don't know, CyanogenMod is the largest and most popular custom ROM for Android.

16
Feb
4_ogo

[Updated] CyanogenMod 7 RC1 Now Available For 17 Android Devices

Posted by in Development, Gingerbread 2.3, News

Warning: This article contains information about flashing custom ROMs to your phone. If you're at all new to this, give our complete guide to custom ROM flashing a read.

Well folks, the day has finally come: the Gingerbread-based CyanogenMod 7 Release Candidates have landed for 17 Android devices. These "RCs" are suitable, generally speaking, for everyday use and have been road-tested enough that TeamDouche feels they're almost ready for prime time. Hit the links for the individual threads, which contain instructions and download mirrors:

Happy flashing, and be sure to read the instructions if this is your first go.

16
Feb
image

CyanogenMod 7 Brings Android Gingerbread Goodness To ZTE Blade/Orange San Francisco

Posted by in Blade, Development, News, Orange, ZTE

Having your phone model supported by CyanogenMod's community is quite an honor nowadays, and for many people it's a deciding factor when picking up a new phone. CM usually stays ahead of the curve and is likely to support your phone well after manufacturers and carriers stop showing any interest.

Therefore, ZTE Blade/Orange San Francisco owners should be feeling quite ecstatic right now, as the world's largest ROM community announced its official support of this device (see Cyanogen's commit here).

Check out our ZTE Blade review: ZTE Blade / Orange San Francisco Review: Two-Thirds Of A Nexus One For One-Third The Price

Download

There are no final builds just yet, but you are free to download and flash the CM7 Release Candidate from here.