Paranoid Android ROM to feature floating bubble notification system similar to Chat Heads

tagged Paranoid Android, ROM

One of the greatest features that Facebook has introduced recently has been the floating Chat Heads found in their messenger app. It’s a fantastic notification/multitasking system for chatting and messaging with friends on top of other applications. The developers of Paranoid Android ROM have decided to take that amazing feature and apply it to notifications across the board, whether that’s a text message, email, or any other notification. Instead of having to switch back and forth between apps, PA’s “chat heads” will let you truly multitask regardless of what you’re doing on your phone.

For the Android OS as a whole, this feature is a gigantic step forward. Multitasking has always been a strong suit for Android, but this builds on the multitasking framework in a major way. Hopefully we’ll see this feature hit more devices in the near future.

source: Phandroid

NEC Terrain leaks, headed to AT&T with Android and QWERTY keyboard

tagged AT&T, nec, Terrain

Smartphones with physical QWERTY keyboards are a dying breed, especially the ones with portrait keyboards. Despite that, AT&T appears to be planning on releasing the NEC Terrain to the masses, which is a candy bar style phone, complete with an unspecified Android version and a physical keyboard. It’s not exactly a visually appealing device, and there’s no official specs for it, but I could definitely see it as a cheap gateway phone for old Blackberry holdouts. (Believe it or not, they still exist)

We’ll just have to wait for NEC or AT&T to make this device official.

source: evleaks

Steve Kondik of Cyanogenmod confirms AT&T Galaxy S 4 ships with a locked bootloader

tagged AT&T, CyanogenMod, galaxy s 4, Samsung, Steve Kondik

If you’re the tinkering type and you’ve been eyeing the Galaxy S 4 on AT&T, you may want to rethink your options. According to Cyanogenmod founder Steve Kondik, AT&T’s S 4 does indeed have a locked bootloader out of the box. While the locked bootloader doesn’t necessarily mean custom ROMs and kernels won’t come eventually, it’s going to take a little longer than usual. Of course, with the inevitable popularity of the S 4, there’s likely going to be a crazy amount of dev work being done on the device right out of the gate, so an unlocking method will likely come along sooner or later.

I don’t expect this to make a huge impact on S 4 sales on AT&T, but for the modding community, it’s a bit of a let down.

source: Google Plus

Best Android camera apps [April 2013]

tagged camera, camera JB, Camera Zoom FX, photography, pudding camera, retro camera

The best camera is the one you have with you and we pretty much always have our smartphones with us. With many Android phones, the camera alone will sell the device for some customers. Needless to say, there are plenty of apps in the Play Store that cater to all kinds of shutterbugs and their smartphone cameras for when the built-in camera application on your phone just doesn’t cut it. So, in this guide, we’re going to go over the best camera apps for your device.

» Read the rest

Sony to release two flagship devices later this year, Honami and Togari

tagged Honami, sony, Togari, xperia

Sony has two flagship models slated for release later in 2013, and we’re finally hearing some details about the pair of devices. According to a device tester, the Togari device will sport a 6.44 inch, 1080p screen with a similar body style to the glass Xperia Z, as well as a white option, similar to the Z. The phablet could possibly be released in July in Japan, although there’s no word on when or if it would make it’s way to other markets. » Read the rest

Huawei Ascend P6 shows up in Chinese certification with a 6.2mm body

tagged Ascend P6, huawei

Huawei announced a P series of smartphones at MWC, and we’re starting to see some of those models show up across the globe. The latest model, code named the P6-U06, has recently been certified in China, and the profile shots show an extremely thin device, coming in at just 6.2mm. Aside from dimensions, we know it’s packing a quad-core processor, 2 GB of RAM, an 8 megapixel rear camera and a strange 5 megapixel front-facing camera. It also has GSM/WCDMA radios, so it’s definitely going to launch in Asian markets, but there’s no word on if it’ll come to other shores.

source: NowhereElse

via: Engadget

Two new Kyocera phones leaked, Elite for Verizon and XTRM for US Cellular

tagged Elite, kyocera, us cellular, Verizon, XTRM

Two new Kyocera phones have popped up, courtesy of evleaks on Twitter. The top phone is the Kyocera Elite, an Android powered smartphone packing LTE bands for Verizon. This is Verizon’s first ever Kyocera smartphone, and their first Kyocera phone since 2006. No word on specs, but I have a feeling it’s not going to compete with the Galaxy S 4.

Also leaked is the Kyocera XTRM that’s heading to US Cellular. From the name, we can tell that it’s going to be a sturdy, rugged phone. No word on specs there, either, but as with most other rugged Android phones, they’re usually pretty modest devices. We should be hearing a bit more about both of these devices in the coming weeks, and we’ll be sure to let you know as soon as anything comes up.

source: evleaks

HP’s Slate 7 now available online for $169

tagged HP, Slate 7, tablet

HP has finally released their slightly underwhelming tablet through their website, modestly priced at $169. For that price, you get a dual-core processor, Beats Audio, and a 1024 x 600 resolution 7-inch screen. At that price, I think it’s competing a little too closely with the $199 Nexus 7, but it does offer what appears to be vanilla Android 4.1 and a nice design, so if you’re trying to stick to a very specific budget, the Slate 7 might be your device.

Anybody planning on picking one of these up?

source: HP

Snapdragon-powered Galaxy S 4 rooted on launch day

tagged galaxy s 4, qualcomm, Root, Samsung, Snapdragon 600, XDA

Not too long ago, an unlock tool was released for some Motorola devices that used Qualcomm processors. Well, it turns out that unlocking hack still works on newer Qualcomm devices, including the variant of the Galaxy S 4 with the Snapdragon 600 chip. So if you’re planning on picking up a new Galaxy S 4 this weekend, you won’t have to wait for a root method.

The downside is that there are no stock images or custom recoveries available for the device yet, so if you brick the device in the root process, you’re completely out of luck. OTA updates will also likely mess up root. Fortunately, it’s a pretty safe bet that this is going to be a popular device, so it shouldn’t take long before some recoveries and ROMs start popping up. Until then, though, root at your own risk. » Read the rest

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About Jared Peters

Born in southern Alabama, Jared spends his working time selling phones and his spare time writing about them. The Android enthusiasm started with the original Motorola Droid and an unhealthy obsession with fixing things that aren't broken. This accidentally led to being the go-to guy for anything more complicated than a toaster, which he considers more of a curse than a blessing. Jared is enrolled in online classes at the University of Phoenix, and spends his spare time on video games and listening to music.