Androidifying

Many of you that ordered your Nexus 5 on release day should be receiving it already or soon. Once you buy a new phone, you’re going to want to get some protection on it, like a case or a screen protector. So we’re beginning our top 10′s of different accessories for the Nexus 5. We’ll start out with the top 10 cases today. There’s plenty of ones available and even more coming. So we haven’t added every case into this list. 10. Maxboost Shell Holder Combo Maxboost has a nice holster for the Nexus 5. It covers the back and sides of the device and also has a nice kickstand on the back for you to watch your favorite movies and such. There’s also a belt clip, which is why it’s a holster. This one will be about $8 and will be in stock on November 15th. Maxboost Google Nexus 5 Case Shell Holster Combo (Black)- Premium Protective Kickstand Case Cover Fits All Versions of Google LG Nexus 5 including AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, T-mobile, and International Unlocked Carriers ( A.K.A Google Nexus 5

Since Galaxy Nexus, which already had more than good enough hardware to run KitKat, isn’t receiving an official upgrade from Google, you won’t be seeing one for Nexus S either. But that doesn’t mean the ROM community will just leave it behind. In fact there is already a KitKat ROM for it that’s said to be “running pretty fast”. The Nexus S could very well be the poster child for KitKat – it has only 512 MB of RAM (exactly how much Google is saying is required to run KitKat smootly), a 1 Ghz single core ARMv7-based Cortex A8 processor, and 16 GB of storage. So in theory, there’s nothing wrong with the device, and there’s no reason why it shouldn’t run KitKat well, if what Google said was true. XDA member  cn.fyodor  wanted to prove  that theory, and even though he’s only been working for a few days on a KitKat build for his Nexus S, the ROM seems to be working pretty well. The ROM is still alpha though, so some things like some Google Apps aren’t working properly, you’ll be able to ma

A rite of passage for any hot new device, iFixit’s teardowns give us insight into the hardware that makes the mobile magic happen: all the nitty-gritty components that we often talk about, but we rarely get to see. The newest device to visit iFixit’s teardown bench is the Nexus 5, the already popular pure Android smartphone that Google launched last week. So, when it comes to repairability, how good is the new LG-made Nexus? The device scored a very respectable 8 out of 10; the Nexus 5 is outranked only by two older devices from Motorola, the Droid Bionic and the Atrix 4G. iFixit found that the Nexus 5 is highly repairable thanks to its modular design, which makes it easy to replace just the faulty components, and repair-friendly assembly methods, including plastic clips, standard Phillips screws, and just a smidge of adhesive. Unfortunately, one of the most sensitive components of the phone is hard and expensive to replace: the display is glued to the cover glass, meaning that you wil

The Nexus 5 is supposed to be an open device that is designed for Google employees and developers to tinker with. It didn’t take long for the developer community to root the Nexus 5 either. If you’re interested in gaining root access to your new Nexus smartphone, just follow these steps and you’ll be up and running in no time. Keep in mind that rooting your Nexus 5 requires that you unlock the bootloader first. Unlocking it will wipe the internal storage of your phone, wiping out all of your data. That includes pictures, video, and media. Make sure to back up that information before you proceed. Let’s get started! Step 1:  The first thing you need to is to unlock the bootloader on your Nexus 5. You can follow  this step-by-step guide . It works on Windows, Mac, and Linux computers. Step 2:  Once you have unlocked the bootloader, reboot your phone normally. You can enter your Google credentials right away, or after you have rooted the device. Then download the SuperSu ZIP file from  h

What with HTC One users having to wait till January for KitKat and Galaxy Nexus users left out in the cold when it comes to Kitkat, LG G2 users will be curious to hear when they can get some KitKat of their own. Well, it seems that LG might be beating other OEMs to the party and releasing their KitKat update before the year is up. As  Android Community  is reporting that French Carrier, SFR, is listing the Android 4.4 update for some time in November or December. Of course, this is perhaps only talking about an update on the SFR network but, to see G2 moving forward like this is pretty nice. We’re certain that the US carriers will get in the way once again but, that’s always – and unfortunately – to be expected. Such a speedy turnaround could be a result of LG’s relationship with Google, which has now given birth to two Nexus smartphones but, we’re pretty sure Google is still treating all manufacturers the same. After all, HTC did say that the update to KitKat would bring some change

Here comes the Moto G. After Motorola’s website team spilled the beans on the low-cost device last week, the company is now officially teasing the Moto G for a November 13 debut. For now, the teaser page  Moto-g.com  doesn’t reveal much aside the aforementioned date, but the tiny planet theme and the fact that the November 13 date is displayed in multiple languages suggest that the Moto G will enjoy an international release, just like rumors predicted. Users can sign up for an online live announcement, so some kind of livestream launch event is possible. The Moto G leaked last week in a promo card from UK retailer Phones4U showing a 4.5-inch HD display, a quad-core Snapdragon processor clocked at 1.2 GHz, a 5MP camera, and Android 4.3 Jelly Bean. However, the Moto G’s most alluring feature will probably be its low cost – if the Phones4U leak is accurate, the device will sell for just £135 ($215) unlocked, turning it into a great proposition for anyone interested in a decent budget ph

Our friends over at  arstechnica.com  noticed  that Google’s  Android.com , promotional site, has just been revamped for the launch of their Nexus 5 device and have put up new pictures and wording…but it may be that in among those pictures, Google has possibly thrown us a new clue about a Nexus 8 tablet.  If you go to the Apps & Entertainment tab, you will see that the main picture (below) shows a little girl playing with the current Nexus 7 tablet.  But if scroll down a bit, there appears to be a woman holding a new Tablet that we have never seen before, and it appears to be about an 8-incher, and it is running Android 4.4 KitKat. You can tell it is running KitKat 4.4 from the status bar icons – it also has on-screen navigation buttons, which is common every Nexus since the Galaxy Nexus was released in late 2011.  Looking at the tablet, it is designed differently than the Nexus 7, with smaller bezels, giving it a nice compact look, possibly not much larger in size than the current

One of the coolest things about owning a Nexus device is Photospheres. It’s the camera mode that allows you to take 360 degrees panoramas just like Street View does which are really cool are incredibly fun to show to your friends. It’s all Google’s code and only Nexus and Google Play edition devices carry this mode which means it’s limited to the Galaxy Nexus, Nexus 4, 5, and 10, Samsung Galaxy S4 GPe and HTC One GPe. We’ve seen Google make adjustments to the way the rendering is done and it has improved a lot since it was first introduced with Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. The render is faster and the stitching is much, much better, you’ll get less broken lines and better color balance between shots, in most cases you can’t tell the original pictures used for the Photosphere. Android 4.4 KitKat brings even more improvements according to Evan Rapoport, product manager for Google Maps, Street View, Photospheres and other products. For starters, the rendering is much faster because now it’s us

When Google upgraded their operating system to Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, the Google+ area added many enhancements, mostly in the photo-sharing department, but they also threw in a great new “Location Widget.”  With this 4×2 widget you can actually track the location of family members, friends, or your entire circle of friends right on your Home screen or whatever screen you choose to place the widget.  It is very easy to do if you follow a few simple steps we will outline below.  Make sure you have the right G+ build This easy enough to verify that you are using the 4.2 build: Open your Google+ app Press the Menu key Press the Settings Press About Google+  - and if you see the screen above, then you can proceed. Next you want to select the screen you wish the widget to be placed – just make sure that there is room for a 4×2 widget to fit.  Press down on the screen and the above screen will pop up.  Select the Apps and Widgets line and it should bring up you list of Apps and Widgets – sel

Earlier this week we saw some sample images taken with the Nexus 5 pop up on Google+. But they were quickly taken down. Now that the Nexus 5 is official, and some reviewers have their hands on them, we are starting to see even more sample pictures taken with the phone. Just a reminder, the Nexus 5 is featuring a 8MP camera that does have Optical Image Stabilization, known as OIS. That feature is also part of the LG G2, which takes amazing pictures. According to the camera whizz, Brian Klug over at AnandTech, the Nexus 5 is using Sony’s IMX179 CMOS with a 1/3,2-inch sensor size. The individual pixels are 1.4um in size, which along with OIS should really work well in low-light situations, where the HTC One’s camera excels. So far reviews aren’t out for the Nexus 5 yet. Justsome hands on. We’ve got some samples from the camera throughout this post, which you can let us know how it looks to you in the comments below. As I’m not a pro-photographer, more of an amateur one. But to me these im

This kind of posts are always a combination of good news and bad news. People love to see their devices listed here but if it’s not, than sad faces appear everywhere. Here’s a compendium of the devices that have been announced to receive the newly announced Android 4.4 KitKat and the ETAs given by the manufacturers. If your device is not here it doesn’t mean it’s not going to get updated. I’ll even include the devices that have been confirmed NOT to get updated just to be sure. This list is going to be tricky, Android 4.4 has been  optimized  to work with less memory than before and Google is aiming at devices with just 512MB of RAM which means that some devices might get updated even if they’re not top of the line but are popular enough. So, let’s get things started, first up is the  Nexus  line of devices of course: Nexus 4 Nexus 7 2012 Nexus 7 2013 Nexus 10 All of these are getting 4.4 in the coming weeks. The 2-year old  Galaxy Nexus  is  not  getting updated, most likely due to

Although it has not been announced,  we  are very close to the next iteration of our favorite Google Sanctioned phone, the Nexus 5, it is not too early to start preparing if you plan on buying the phone. As with all Nexus releases, there is normally a mad rush by Android fans to be one of the first to purchase the phone. We have covered some of this in the past. Below are a few tips to help any future customer place a successful order for the phone. 1) Understand How Play Store Purchases Work Purchasing a phone from the Google Play Store is almost identical to the process you would use to purchase a video, application or tablet. All “Device” purchases must be paid with a valid credit card rather than with Google Play gift cards. If you can, it would not be a bad idea to attempt to purchase an application from the Google Play web store so that you understand the process. This can be accessed by going to  http://play.google.com You should understand that orders are normally shipped in

After weeks and months of rumors and leaks, LG and Google have finally released the Nexus 5. Google announced it officially. It’s available in the Play Store right now, but that may not be for long. Stock on these new Nexus devices usually sells out pretty quickly. Its predecessor, the Nexus 4, is still a good Android phone. Should you upgrade to the Nexus 5? If you’re a hardcore tech geek, the answer is probably yes. But you should still know what you are getting in to. Before you make a decision to purchase a Nexus 5, take a look at the comparison we have put together and see if the upgrade is worth it to you. Nexus 5 Nexus 4 Manufacturer LG LG Storage 16GB, 32GB 8GB, 16GB Price $349, $399 $299, $349 Display 4.95-inch, 1920×1080, 445ppi 4.7-inch, 1280×738, 320ppi Screen Corning Gorilla Glass 3 Corning Gorilla Glass 2 Processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro Memory 2GB RAM 2GB RAM Rear Camera 8MP OIS 8MP Front Camera 1.3MP 1.3MP Battery 2300 mAh 2100 mAh Bluetooth