This video tutorial is about Android, and no it's not a robotic creature, it's a software platform and operating system form mobile phones and PDAs. The Android system is based on Linux and was developed by Google and the Open Handset Alliance. Code is managed in the Java language, but can be written in C also, although C is not officially supported. A lot of the new cell phone and other mobile devices will be running off of Android, so know how to use it.
It's a sad day for one of the most beloved series of Android phones. For the first time since 2009, there's a new version of Android, but it's not being made available to Google's own Nexus devices.
The fourth and final beta version of Android O just made its debut, and the biggest change is what appears to be a new code name. When you access Android 8.0's version number Easter egg, you'll be greeted by ... a cartoon octopus.
Google has done it again—they've pushed another broken OTA update for the Nexus 6. Except this time, it almost completely softbricks your Nexus 6 instead of just screwing up Android Pay and SafetyNet. Apps are force-stopping left and right, making the phone practically unusable.
There's a new operating system on the horizon, and this one's so big that it may actually live up to its galactic moniker. Andromeda, a merging of Android and Chrome OS, has the potential to bring Google to the ubiquitous status that Microsoft's Windows enjoyed in the '80s and '90s.
Android M, the successor to Lollipop, is almost here. If you have a Nexus, you can install a preview of Android M using either the Fastboot method or Nexus Root Toolkit. For those of you without a Nexus, you can still get a piece of M on your device right now by installing the new app drawer.
Google I/O, the national developer conference for the Mountain View giant, has come and gone. We saw the preview for Android L (which you can get right now on your Nexus 5 or Nexus 7), Android Wear, and Android Car and TV.
Fresh off the heels of their latest agreement, Google and Samsung may soon be further aligned in their mobile technology outlook. The two tech giants signed a cross-licensing patent agreement, but that doesn't mean that Samsung was just going to start putting out stock Android devices. Quite the opposite really, as we saw from leaks of its new Magazine UX. The new user interface was shown during Samsung's presentation of it's latest Galaxy tablet at this years CES, and as reported to Re/code,...
Tired of waiting for Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) to come to your HTC Evo 4G Google Android smartphone? Speed the process along by installing the Kings Gingerbread ROM! It's easy and this video presents a complete, step-by-step overview of the process.
Looking to make your Google Nexus One or HTC Evo smartphone even better? Unlock your phone's full computational potential while following in a tried-and-true geek tradition: Install Linux on it! This video guide presents a complete, step-by-step walkthrough of the process. For more information, and to get started installing the Ubuntu Linux distribution on your own Android smart phone (without blowing out your phone's Android installation), take a look!
Get the most out of your T-Mobie myTouch 4G! This guide offers a software tour of the myTouch 4G Google Android smartphone. Android novice? Not a problem. This exhaustive, eleven-minute guide will teach you everything you need to know. Become an Android pro with this video guide.
Learn how to install Android 2.2 ("Froyo") on your HTC Hero Google Android smartphone! This hacker's how-to presents a thorough, step-by-step overview on installing Froyo on an HTC Hero smartphone. For detailed instructions, and to get started running Android 2.2 on your own phone, watch this free video tutorial.
The front camera on the Droid Bionic from Motorola is a perfect match for the Google Talk application provided with the Android smartphone. Using the Verizon Wireless 4G connection, you can stream video and voice to friends and family members on the go. This guide by Motorola demonstrates how to video chat on the Bionic.
Google's ARCore team is staying busy, as evidenced by yet another update of its augmented reality toolkit.
If you want to play a game in the Play Store before committing to actually downloading and installing it, you can do that with Google's Android Instant Apps technology. However, if you don't see a "Try Now" button on the app's Play Store page, you'll need to check your Android device's settings to make sure you can play games instantly.
Ever since Google CEO Sundar Pichai took the helms of the world's most valuable brand, he has made it his mission to bring smartphones to lower-income communities. Born in India, Mr. Pichai has created several programs to address the needs of the Indian market, particularly the lower income families.
The first developer preview build of Android P (Android 9.0) is right around the corner, but less than 1% of Android phones are running Oreo. The fragmentation on Android (the number of devices on different versions of the operating system) is staggering, and a problem that has plagued the operating system since it first debuted in 2008 — despite Google's best efforts to fix it.
Android Oreo may not be the flashiest release, but it's got tons of under-the-hood changes. We recently discovered documentation in the AOSP source code that outlines one of these understated features, which has been dubbed "Rescue Party."
Chrysaor, a zero-day spyware believed to have been created by the Israeli "cyber war" group NSO, is an even greater threat to Android phones than it ever was to iOS.
Google's new Pixel phones will ship with Android 7.1 Nougat pre-installed, but early reports stated that Nexus devices wouldn't be getting the new version until "end of year" 2016. For people that purchased a Nexus 5X or 6P under the assumption that Nexus devices get Android updates first, the fact that the Pixels could be getting 7.1 a full two months ahead of them felt like a slap in the face.
Android device manufacturers may see the new Pixel "Phone By Google" devices as just another competitor, one that likely won't upset their entry-level margins. But that would be a mistake. Pixel is Google's call to action. With Google now offering as near to perfect an Android experience as we've had so far, OEMs that want to keep selling smartphones in a world flooded with them will need to start working for the privilege.
New Android versions have always been released on a fairly regular schedule—in late Fall, Google debuts a new Nexus device, while simultaneously publishing the next iteration of the world's leading mobile operating system. But things are different this year, as we now have numerous indications that Android Nougat could be released as early as August or September.
For years, users have been clamoring for a "dark mode" theme in Android, but it has always seemed like Google is so committed to the white motif from their web services that such an option would never become a reality. But in a stunning turn of events, Google is finally embracing the idea with a night theme that will work in any app, and I'll cover all of the specifics below.
When the Galaxy S6 hype-train was building momentum ahead of the phone's release, many reports had Samsung cutting back on its much-maligned TouchWiz skin. In the end, these reports were either highly exaggerated or entirely fabricated, because while not as egregious as previous devices, Samsung's signature bloated UI and duplicate apps are definitely present on the Galaxy S6.
One of Android's biggest strengths relative to iOS was the ability to switch to a third-party keyboard. While Apple has finally included this feature in its latest OS and leveled the playing field a bit, the variety of options still pales in comparison to what's available on Android.
Like what iMessage is to iOS, Google Hangouts is to Android—allowing users to share messages instantly, as if quickly wasn't good enough. With Google Hangouts, you can share locations and send maps, receive and send SMS, share animated GIFs, make video calls, and chat not only with your phone's contacts, but also your Google+ and Gmail buddies.
Google's Goggles mobile app was a big hit on the Android market, and now they've given iPhone users the chance to enjoy the awesomeness of Google Goggles. This iPhone app only works on the Apple iPhone 4 or iPhone 3GS, and it's available in the App Store for download. Simply type in "Google" or "Google Mobile App" and you'll find the app with the Google Goggles feature built in.
The Android operating system for cell phones from Google lets you run multiple applications at the same time! By long pressing your home key (touching and holding) you can easily go back and forth between your most recently used apps. When you listen to music, you can easily switch to other apps while still enjoying your tunes! This video shows you the gist of it. Learn to run multiple apps on your Android-powered phone.
Looking for an easy way to manage passwords on a Google Android smartphone? This clip from the folks at Butterscotch presents one easy way—namely LastPass, an application which will securely store and recall all of your account information. For more information, including details on how to use LastPass yourself, watch this Android user's guide.
Take walks for exercise, to roam around your neighborhood, or just to get outside? Want to know how far you walked? Well, it's easy to do with MapMyWalks and Google Maps! One of the salient advantages of a Google Android smartphone over, say, an Apple iPhone, is the inherent extendibility of the open-source Android mobile OS. There are a seemingly infinite number of settings to tweak and advanced features to discover and use. This free video tutorial will show you how to map out your walks us...
Root your Sprint (CDMA) HTC Hero Android smartphone and run custom ROMs! This hacker's how-to presents a thorough, step-by-step overview on unlocking and rooting a Google Nexus One Android smartphone. For detailed instructions, and to get started rooting your own Nexus One smartphone, watch this free video tutorial.
In this video tutorial, we learn how to change the audio levels on a Motorola Droid Google Android cell phone. Whether you own a Google Android smartphone or are merely curious to see how they work, you're sure to enjoy this brief how-to. For detailed, step-by-step instructions, take a look.
Send text messages, conduct Google searches, play music, get directions and even send emails (complete with emoticons!) using the voice actions function available on your Android phone. This tutorial demonstrates this awesome new voice input functionality for your Google Phone.
Root your Sprint HTC EVO 4G Android smartphone and run custom ROMs! This hacker's how-to presents a thorough, step-by-step overview on unlocking and rooting a Google EVO 4G Android smartphone. For detailed instructions, and to get started rooting your own Google EVO 4G phone, watch this free video tutorial.
According to Google's new Android ecosystem transparency report, you're eleven times more likely to be infected by malware if you're running Android Lollipop (5.0) as opposed to Android Pie (9). The same report shows that if you sideload apps, you're almost seven times more likely to be infected than if you stick to Google Play as your app source. All of the data provided in the report is quite interesting, but there's a clear pattern among malware-infected users.
Being able to take screenshots on Android isn't something we were always able to do. It was added to stock Android in Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0 (Gingerbread 2.3, if you were a Samsung TouchWiz user) as a simple full screen screenshot, and that's the way it's remained ever since—until now.
The new Google Assistant is only officially available on three platforms—newer Android phones (Pixels and those running Marshmallow and Nougat), the Google Allo app, and Google Home. However, most of the Assistant's basic functionality is also bundled into the Google app for Android and iOS, which used to go by the name Google Now, but is now referred to only as Screen Search or your Google app's Feed.
For some strange reason, Google Now is unavailable in several countries across the globe. Users from Albania, China, Cyprus, Malta, Nepal, Puerto Rico, Tunisia, and many more big countries have reported for years that the service doesn't work in their area, mostly likely because Location Reporting is not available in their region. This is really a shame, because Google Now has some great features.
Google's got quite a few tricks up its sleeve with their Pixel and Pixel XL flagships, including functionality we've never seen before on Android. One awesome feature is called "App Shortcuts," and the basic premise is strikingly similar to Apple's 3D Touch—just long-press an app icon, then you'll get a pop-up that lets you perform quick actions.
The reviews for the Google Pixel phone have hit the web. There's a lot of praise, but not all are so positive. We've collected some of the best takes on the new devices from the top tech sites around.
