Google I/O is like Christmas for Android enthusiasts. Every year, this conference showcases new and upcoming features for the world's leading mobile operating system, and this year's was no different. Shortly after announcing Android M, Google released a preview version of the upcoming firmware for Nexus devices.
Not every mod you add to your Android will revolutionize the way you use it, but many of them can make things a little more simple and convenient for you on a regular basis, like sliding across the status bar to adjust brightness or swiping the screen to put your display to sleep.
The new preview build of Android is out, and it looks good. But if you're not quite ready to install Android L on your phone, there's still another way to enjoy some of these new visual elements on your Nexus device.
When theming Android, it's the little touches that complete the look, making your device yours. If you're rooted, you probably know by now that there's virtually nothing you can't change the look of on Android.
If you've been keeping up with anything Android these days, you've no doubt heard about a little dandy called Xposed Framework kicking around. Xposed, by XDA developer rovo89, is a framework for Android devices that lets you easily modify your stock or custom ROM.
Android's stock appearance is easy on the eyes, but after a while, it's outright boring to look at. Unlike other tablets from some manufacturers, the Nexus 7 runs stock Android and is free from any special UI tweaks or customizations. Sure, you can download themes for a third-party launcher, but themes are launcher specific. They will not work for launchers they weren't designed for.
Remember that PSP you had? I pretty much dropped mine when smartphones became more prevalent in the mobile gaming scene. Why would I want to carry around a huge PlayStation Portable when I've already got an Android in my pocket?
Learn how to install a custom ROM on a rooted Moto XT701. Whether you want to learn how load a custom ROM on your own Motorola XT701 or just want to see how it's done, you're sure to be well-served by this seven-minute hacker's how-to. For detailed, step-by-step instructions, take a look.
Learn how to flash a custom recovery image and load a custom ROM onto a rooted Droid Eris Google Android smartphone! Custom ROMs help you to unlock your phone's hidden potential and allow you to, among other things, turn your mobile phone into a 3G wireless modem with free WiFi tethering. For all of the details, and to get started running custom ROMs on your own rooted HTC Droid Eris, watch this three-minute hacker's how-to.
In this clip, you'll see what it takes to use the recovery boot menu on a Moto Droid Google Android mobile phone when rooting. Whether you're interested in rooting your own Motorola Droid smartphone or just want to learn more about the process, you're sure to be well served by this video guide. For more information and detailed step-by-step instructions, watch this phone hacker's how-to.
In this clip, you'll see what it takes to wipe and install a custom ROM on a Moto Droid Google Android mobile phone. Whether you're interested in rooting your own Motorola Droid smartphone or just want to learn more about the process, you're sure to be well served by this video guide. For more information and detailed step-by-step instructions, watch this phone hacker's how-to.
In this clip, you'll see what it takes to use RSD Lite 4.6 to flash your Moto Droid Google Android mobile phone. Whether you're interested in rooting your own Motorola Droid smartphone or just want to learn more about the process, you're sure to be well served by this video guide. For more information and detailed step-by-step instructions, watch this phone hacker's how-to.
In this clip, you'll see what it takes to install RSD Lite 4.6 to flash your Moto Droid Google Android mobile phone. Whether you're interested in rooting your own Motorola Droid smartphone or just want to learn more about the process, you're sure to be well served by this video guide. For more information and detailed step-by-step instructions, watch this phone hacker's how-to.
Learn how to manage custom ROMs on a rooted Moto Droid Google Android smartphone with a ROM manager app. Whether you've rooted your own Motorola Droid smartphone or just want to learn more about the process, you're sure to be well served by this video guide. For more information and detailed step-by-step instructions, watch this phone hacker's how-to.
One of the biggest features to come out with Android O was the addition of a new System UI Tuner submenu that lets you customize the navigation bar at the bottom of your phone's screen. But as it turns out, this same feature can be enabled on devices running Android Nougat, even without root access.
Google's own devices have always been the first to get new Android features — but unlike the Nexus series, last year's Pixel phones have a handful of exclusive tweaks that were never intended to trickle down to other devices once the newer Android version rolled out to them. These Pixel exclusives included the Pixel launcher and a unique set of on-screen navigation buttons.
Starting in October, many Nexus 6P users have been experiencing a bug that causes their phone to completely shut down, even though there was 20% or more battery life remaining. At first, it was thought to be a direct result of the recent Android Nougat update, but a combination of factors indicate that this isn't necessarily the case—or, at least, it's not the only problem.
By default, Android limits your call history to the last 500 incoming, outgoing, or missed calls. When you reach this limit, older entries get trimmed off the bottom of the list and deleted forever. This isn't an issue with storage space, because even the biggest call logs only occupy mere kilobytes, so it's really just an artificial limit.
Verizon Wireless executives recently cooked up a plan so devious that it could have only come from one of the four major US carriers. Apparently, they aren't satisfied with simply loading every Android device they sell with their own bloatware, so now they're reaching out to big brands to see who would be the highest bidder for a spot on your home screen.
The king of all Xposed modules is alive and kicking on Android Lollipop. GravityBox received an update over the weekend that will bring its bevy of UI tweaks to folks who have installed the framework on their Android 5.0+ devices.
No more carrying around heavy laptops and thousands of Linux Live CDs and USBs to always be ready for pentesting on the fly!
With the release of the ARChon Runtime, many Android apps can now be run within the Chrome web browser. Minor changes must be made to existing Android APK files before they can be installed on Chrome, so the process isn't exactly as easy as pasting an Android app into a folder on your computer.
Clash of Clans is one of the most successful games ever to come out for Android and iOS. It has been downloaded over 50 million times from Google Play alone, and shows no signs of decline.
No matter what device you have, Android lag will get you down. It's our little green robot's only major downside, and you've probably noticed it quite a bit on your Nexus 7 tablet. Apps open slowly, actions stutter or pause, and loading files takes forever.
In this clip, you'll learn how to set up and use free wireless tethering with a Motorola Droid 2 Google Android mobile phone. Whether you're the proud owner of a Moto Droid 2 Google Android smartphone or are merely considering picking one up, you're sure to be well served by this video tutorial. For more information, including a complete demonstration of the rooting process and detailed, step-by-step instructions, and to get started turning your own Droid 2 into a wireless hotspot, watch this...
For a newbie, getting around your Android cell phone could be a tad confusing, but with the help of Google and this video tip, you'll learn how to navigate your Android home screen like a pro. Learn how to take advantage of the home screen's features on your Android-powered phone.
Google's Android platform is one of the best things to hit cellular phones since Apple developed their first iPhone. Now everyone can enjoy an awesome operating system on their mobile devices, not just Apple addicts. If you've just gotten your first Android-powered cell phone, you may need a little help getting started. This video from Google shows you how to take advantage of the home screen's features on your Android-powered phone.
Check out this video to learn how you can play games on your Android Honeycomb device with an Xbox 360 controller. Looking for a better way to enjoy your tablet? This is it. This video will show you how to use an adapter to attach an Xbox 360 controller to your Android 3.1 device.
Want to know how to easily manage Bluetooth devices on your Android smartphone? 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 work with multiple Bluetooth devices on your Android smartphone.
With just a few taps, an Android phone can be weaponized into a covert hacking device capable of running tools such as Nmap, Nikto, and Netcat — all without rooting the device.
Google's Pixel phones claimed the top spot in our ranking of the best phones for rooting, but they do have one drawback from a modder's perspective: Because of their A/B partition layout for seamless updates, the devices don't have official support for Magisk. Thankfully, though, developer goodwin has stepped in with a fix, so we can now get Magisk working on the Pixel and Pixel XL.
Up until now, enabling full-time Immersive Mode on an Android device has been a tedious task which required you to run individual ADB commands each time you wanted to toggle it on or off. This was a shame, too, since Immersive Mode helps reclaim lots of screen real estate by auto-hiding your navigation and status bars.
The latest Google Play Services update has somehow broken major functionality in both Titanium Backup and Substratum. Titanium Backup has suddenly become stuck at zero percent while restoring, and Substratum simply fails to apply themes anymore. Both of these apps do require root, but they've slowly become essential to rooted users, especially since apps like these come into play when you're deciding what your next phone should be.
YouTube is a great place for all your mainstream audio and video needs. But you can't simply plug in your headphones, choose a playlist, and put your phone back in your pocket without subscribing to YouTube Red, which costs $9.99/month for ad-free and background playback. If you can't afford that for just background playback, there are other ways.
As if you needed another example of Android's open-source awesomeness, before the Pixel phones were even released, a flashable ZIP that will give you almost all of Google's Pixel-exclusive features on other devices appeared.
If you tend to go over your data allotment each month, or are constantly afraid you will, Verizon Wireless is giving you chance to relax a little bit with up to 2 GB free data for two months.
Apple just sent out a new update to their iPhones, and while that normally wouldn't have any impact on Android users, the fact that they included 184 new emojis means that the text messages you receive from friends and family members with iOS devices might come across with blank or missing characters.
Keeping your online data and identity private is an uphill battle, but with the anonymity network Tor, you have a pretty decent line of defense from prying eyes.
Android Debug Bridge, or ADB for short, is a very powerful utility that can remotely execute commands on your Android device. This remote terminal interface, however, is not very "remote" at all. You have to be tied down to your computer to use it, since a USB cable is normally required.
Update, November 12, 2014: Android 5.0 Lollipop is officially out now. If you haven't gotten the OTA yet, check out our new guide on installing the official Lollipop builds on any Nexus for download links and instructions, for Mac or Windows.
