14
May
CydiaSubstrate-Icon

[New App] Saurik's Cydia Substrate Allows Any App To Be Modded, Frees Rooted Users From Flashing ROMs

Posted by in Apps/Games, News

Cydia by developer Saurik has been around the block a few times, beginning in 2008 as a means of installing and modifying software on jailbroken iDevices. A diverse ecosystem has sprung up around the platform, expanding what iOS fans can do on their usually restricted devices. Saurik's Cydia Substrate, a platform for modifying devices without flashing new ROMs, has now made its way over to Android.

Cydia1 Cydia2

Cydia Substrate does not do anything interesting on its own, but developers can use the platform to distribute extensions that modify software without requiring access to source code. Rooted users are free to load these extensions to pimp out their phones without having to go through all the hassle of installing custom ROMs.

14
May
1

Modaco Toolkit Enables Easy Multi-User Support For Rooted Phones Running Android 4.2

Posted by in Android OS, Jelly Bean 4.2, News

Multi-user support is one of the most interesting additions in Jelly Bean 4.2, but you can only get it if you're using a tablet. It makes sense - phones are rarely shared between more than one person, while tablets are naturally shareable. Even so, it would be nice if Google gave users the option. But thanks to modder extraordinaire Paul "Modaco" O'Brien, there's a relatively easy way to enable multi-user mode on smartphones. It's detailed on the Modaco blog, but all you need to get started is a phone running Android 4.2 and root permissions.

n4-usersadd1 n4-usersadd2 n4-userswitchmenu

First, download and install the Xposed Framework, a Swiss army knife for modders and the basis of this modification.  Next, download the Modaco Toolkit, a module for the Xposed app.

05
May
1

Paranoid Android Halo Alpha Builds For The Nexus 4, Nexus 7/3G, Galaxy Nexus (GSM), And Oppo Find 5 Are Out For Testing

Posted by in Development, News

Paranoid Android made headlines last week when it announced a new take on mutitasking called Halo. While the feature wasn't available for user testing at the time, the team has now pushed out early alpha builds for the Nexus 4, Nexus 7, Nexus 7 3G, GSM Galaxy Nexus, and Oppo Find 5.

This is still a "very early build" of the ROM, so expect bugs, crashes, and other odd side-effects that come along with using alpha software; in other words, don't expect to use this as a daily driver.

Still, the PA team claims to be about halfway through its Halo implementation, as it has broken integration into three phases: rewriting the framework, getting Halo performing its basic functions, and allowing notification-switching directly through the Halo interface.

30
Apr
image

Paranoid Android Says Hello To Halo – 'This Is How You Do Multi Windowing On Android'

Posted by in Android OS, Development, News

After some teasing, Paranoid Android has unveiled (in a lovely promo image) their plan for multi-window functionality on Android, which they promise to "get right," – Halo.

The premise is simple, yet extremely ambitious in scope – allow apps to give you notifications right on top of your screen, which allow you to pop into that app without leaving the one you're in (no matter what it is), take care of business, and resume your experience uninterrupted. The general concept, which rejects the notion of a distracting notification shade, and shuns implementations like "whacky s-multiwindow,"  is no doubt inspired by Facebook's admittedly awesome Chat Heads functionality, perhaps the most compelling feature of its new Home app.

29
Apr
image

Paranoid Android Teases A Multi-Window-Like Feature, Not Yet Available For Use

Posted by in Development, News

Running multiple apps side-by-side is something that many users – especially those with tablets – have wanted on Android for a long time. And while we've seen a few implementations before (remember Cornerstone?), none have really taken off. Sure, Samsung has an option for multi-window on its more recent devices, but that's still a far-from-perfect solution, as it only allows certain apps to run together.

Given how oft-request/desired/lusted after this feature is, the devs behind the Paranoid Android ROM decided to try to bring it to life in a practical, usable way. However, it's probably not yet exactly what you're expecting, as it's little more than just pop-up windows with containerized apps held within.

29
Apr
nandroidman

[New App] Nandroid Manager Gives Rooted Users Full Control Of Their Nandroid Backups

Posted by in Applications, News

If you're the ROM flashin' type, there's a good chance you have quite a few Nandroid backups floating around on your SD card. While those are undoubtedly handy to have around, they're really only good for one thing: restoring. But what if you only need one specific thing from said backup – like one app, a text message, or your call log? Then the process becomes much more complicated – you have to create a backup of the current setup, restore the old one, backup the needed info, and restore the backup you just made. Annoying.

1 2 3

What if there were a way to pull specific info from a Nandroid, though?

27
Apr
wm_IMG_5262

CyanogenMod Developers Add Official Support For Oppo Find 5 As First CM10.1 Nightly Goes Live

Posted by in Development, Find 5, News, Oppo

Oppo Find 5 is one of the sexiest Android phones in recent history - just take a look at some of the photos in our review published earlier this year. At $499.99 ($569.99 for the 32GB variant), it's also cheaper than most unlocked high-end modern devices, yet it manages to pack a quad-core 1.5GHz Krait, Adreno 320, 2GB of RAM, a 1080P 5" display, a 13MP camera, NFC, and a 2500mAh battery.

find5[5] find5

One of David's main complaints in the review of Find 5 was the software. As of today, this bullet can be crossed off if you're the adventurous kind not afraid to dabble in flashing custom ROMs.

19
Mar
galaxysivtiny

CyanogenMod's Team Hacksung Expresses Frustration With Exynos But Neither Confirms Nor Denies Plans For CM On Galaxy S4

Posted by in Development, Galaxy S4, News
Last Updated: April 22nd, 2013

The rumor mill is hot today after a comment on XDA caused some to worry that CyanogenMod would not arrive for the new Galaxy S4. XpLoDWilD took to the forums to respond to questions about the difficulty of developing for the handset. The comment appeared to be speaking on behalf of TeamHacksung (the sub-group within CM that deals with devices like the SII, Note, SIII, Note II, etc.), other CM members were quick to point out that no one person has the authority to speak for the entire team.

Here's the initial comment:

Nobody at team hacksung (the team behind galaxy s2, note, s3, note2, gtabs...

27
Feb
firefox-icon

Sony Offers Xperia E Owners The Chance To Test Out Experimental Firefox OS Build

Posted by in Development, News, Sony

The Xperia E, Sony's low-end Jelly Bean-powered smartphone which was announced back in December may have another trick up its sleeve yet. The manufacturer is offering owners of the device the chance to test out Mozilla's fledgling Firefox OS on the device via a downloadable ROM. Meant for "advanced developers," the ROM comes with a few warnings from Sony, chiefly that you should know what you're doing before you get started.

The ROM is thus far labeled "experimental," and comes with its own set of limitations: for starters, there's no radio connectivity. This means no cellular, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth capability. Additionally, the SD card "might be unstable" and touch screen sensitivity is not fully calibrated.

13
Feb
unnamed (1)

[Update: TWRP Support Added] ROM Manager Adds Support For Delta Downloads

Posted by in Applications, Development, News

Update: Over the course of the evening, ROM Manager was updated yet again, to version 5.5.2.0 - this time adding support for the TWRP recovery, which is undoubtedly a feature many users have been wanting for some time. Just update ROM Manager in the Play Store and you'll have it.

ROM Manager, one of the most useful and versatile tools available for a consummate ROM-flasher, got an update today, bringing the app up to version 5.5.1.9. The update brings just two changes – a bug fix, and something much more significant: support for delta downloads.

For those who are unfamiliar with the term, "delta downloads" are like the Play Store's smart updates, CyanogenMod's built-in update system, or the files users can download with CyanDelta – bite-size update files that only pack the things that have changed since your ROM's last build.

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