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Qualcomm SafeSwitch hardware kill will land next year

When it comes to stopping smartphone thieves from being able to use your stolen device, lock codes help to some extent to protect your data. While that might protect the data you have stored on your device, the thief could still wipe the phone and sell it online. Qualcomm has unveiled a hardware kill switch that will render stolen or lost devices unusable.



The hardware kill switch is in part Qualcomm's effort to meet the California mandate that all smartphones sold in the state have a hardware kill switch as of July 2015. Qualcomm has announced that all Snapdragon processors can include a hardware component that could be disabled by the kill switch and give advantages over a software only approach to kill switches.


The tech is Qualcomm SafeSwitch and it will allow the owner of the smartphone to unlock it if they recover the device. The kill switch is verified by the processor to reduce the risk of malicious locking or unlocking of devices. Qualcomm says that with the kill switch engaged, thieves won't be able to flash new software to the smartphone.


Qualcomm SafeSwitch will show up in new smartphones that land next year. The kill switch might also be available for older phones as well, it's unclear which Qualcomm processors support the kill switch as of now.


SOURCE: Android Headlines





‘Unstable’ version of MIUI 6 released for Xiaomi Mi 2, 2S

Sometimes I don’t get Xiaomi and their approach with MIUI, but that’s just me – a lot of people will come on here and testify to great experiences with the Chinese manufacturer’s brand of user interface over the Android foundation. After an official debate of sorts that Xiaomi officially started on the merits of Android KitKat for their Mi 2 and Mi 2S devices, they are finally releasing MIUI 6 for the said devices, but not without caveats.



The Xiaomi Mi 2 is a capable device, if we look at it from a hardware perspective. Powered by a Snapdragon S4 Pro 1.5Ghz quad-core processor with 2GB of RAM and an Adreno 320 GPU – it should point to a more than tolerable Android 4.4 experience. The Mi 2 came out with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean out of the box.


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After the official debate, it seems that Xiaomi has found it worth its while to give Mi 2 users a taste of KitKat via the MIUI 6. Installation is pretty straightforward – and by “straightforward” I mean that if you have installed MIUI before, you probably know what to expect. Check out the source thread for the very specific instructions – AND do not ever forget to backup all your data to off-device storage. Xiaomi’s installation procedures for ROMs typically wipe-out the internal storage area of the device.


Now, all of this should have been well and good, if not for some warnings that Xiaomi itself posted about the MIUI 6 for the Mi 2 device. Firstly, it claims that this release is “an UNSTABLE ROM”. Why oh why would you put a lot of your users to grief by putting out an unstable ROM for your own devices? That warning was repeated twice, in that this is apparently not even a “dev” version like the version released for the Mi 3 and Mi 4 recently. I don’t get that, but it might just be me. Then again, if you want to get Android 4.4 on your Mi 2, this seems to be what the official choice you would have. Enjoy.


SOURCE: Xiaomi's MIUI forums





Noyze app works as panel replacement for defective volume buttons on Android devices

Admit it or not, your smartphone doesn’t always play audio at high volume. Sometimes, playing a media file would require the user to adjust volume manually to achieve optimum speaker performance. But as people would always say, “There’s an app for that.”



The noyze free app allows an Android owner to control audio completely right on the app. The app comes preloaded with various settings like themes, long press actions, and master volume. It doesn’t require the Android to run a custom ROM, Xposed framework, an unlocked boot loader, or root access.


Activating noyze in an Android phone is easy. Simply access Settings then choose the Accessibility option to adjust noyze preferences. The app can do many things including disable broken volume buttons on a device. Noyze will then automatically enable the device’s internal volume to be controlled, acting as a volume control replacement.


Android lets noyze control the device’s master volume but there are still limitations on the functions. For example, the app may interfere with taking screenshots and affect long press actions. The latter only works while the screen is on. Main reason is because apps cannot interact with the device’s power button.


For setting the volume, the app cannot set volume above the “safe limit” so user may need to adjust volume when using headphones. The app acts more like a customizable volume panel replacement for Android phones and tablets especially when physical volume buttons or keys are defective already.


Some of noyze app's themes include the Status Bar (minimal theme that covers the status bar), Heads Up (notification style), Windows Phone 8 (music controls and easy access), Paranoid Android, BlackBerry, Apple iOS (fake iPhone style), Volume Bar, Extended Controls (like CyanogenMod Extended Controls with Oppo theme), MIUI V5 (centered and circle theme), and Invisible.


Noyze Volume Panel app is now ready for download at the Google Play Store.





Any.do now lets you attach files to your to-do lists

There was a time when all you needed to make a to-do list was a piece of paper and a pen. But ever since the advent of apps and smartphones, developers have been trying to come up with all sorts of bells and whistles for users while trying to keep the app as simple and minimalist as possible for those who are not too adaptable to complicated to-do lists. One of the most popular out there is any.do, and their newest update will definitely please current users and might convince new ones to make it their productivity app du jour.



Any.do has been hugely popular with productivity junkies because it's not just a to-do list app, but can be seamlessly integrated with its calendar app, which is one of the prettiest out there for Android devices. It also serves as a pretty decent note-taking app, to rival that of Evernote or Simple Note. The new update now allows users to attach files to items in their to-do lists. So for example, in your grocery list, you added that you need to buy a certain brand of condiment but you want to be sure you buy the exact kind and color, then you just need to attach the picture to your list.


Aside from pictures, you can also attach other documents as well. You'll see a paperclip icon now when you add something to your list. It will also indicate how many files are attached in your item, just in case you feel like you need to put a whole album of pictures to remind you what that item is all about.


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The update has rolled out for most users so better check your app if you haven't updated yet. In case you're not yet part of the any.do cult, you can download it for free from the Google Play Store.


Glympse Keyboard for Android now allows location-sharing

Location-sharing apps for mobile are nothing new. In fact, there are a lot of similar apps out there but only a few cater to the basic needs of the users. One of the more popular apps today is Glympse that lets the user control privacy by deciding which contacts can see his particular location.



The Glypmse app also shows a person’s movements to his contacts for a certain time and from point A to B. Such setting adjustments enable an Android user to control privacy and be safe from unwanted stalkers.


The Glympse Keyboard app works well with the original Glympse app. It allows the user to share location from whatever app is presently running on the phone. Once the app is installed, two keyboard input options will appear when needed. You can choose from either the standard Quick Send keyboard or the Full Keyboard option.


On Full Keyboard mode, the Glympse app automatically replaces device keyboard. The ‘G’ key becomes a Glympse icon that when pressed, creates a link to a map of one’s location. The copied link can then be used and inserted into any app as needed. On the other hand, the Quick Send keyboard mode, lets one use the current keyboard to get location link which can also be pasted on other apps.


With ‘Quick Send’, the user can set the duration for how long his location can be viewable, as well as, more information like his destination and a short message before sharing. Other people can also see your journey if set or if others have the Glympse app also installed on their devices. If no similar app is installed, only the route can be viewed on any mobile browser. (But seriously, do you really want the whole world to see where you are going?)


Glympse joins the band of similar keyboard apps like Fleksy, TouchPal, Swype, and SwiftKey. The app can be considered as just another keyboard app for Android but what makes this interesting is its Quick Send feature. Let’s see how the Glympse Keyboard will fare with other existing keyboard apps.


New Glympse Keyboard app now available for download at the Google Play Store.





Futu Hoki is Air Hockey on steroids

Air Hockey is probably one of those games that would always bring about an air of nostalgia for those who’ve lived in dorms or attended a frat party at least once in their life. But a new Android game is not the air hockey of your childhood. Well it could be, if your table was on steroids and your dorm had psychedelic decoration and if your opponents were wielding laser guns.



Futu Hoki (which of course, is a not-so-subtle way of saying Future Hockey) is an Android version of the beloved game, but this time, with multiple players and more varied ways of playing the game. Oh, and yes, laser guns. On the four corners of the board, you will see these glowing guns rolling out balls, and your duty is to defend your side. What makes it harder is that the other three sides, whether they’re being controlled by real humans or by AI are also defending their turf, and so it’s ricocheting balls all around. There are some power-ups that will appear every once in a while, like the ability to freeze your opponents or to get a wider hockey puck. You will also be able to upgrade your puck as you accumulate points.


There is still the classic air hockey version where you just go mano-a-mano with one opponent. Other modes include a 2-on-2 death match, where you team up with another player to defeat another pair, and a one-against-all mode where all 3 opponents are out to get you. There is also the breakout mode where you have to eliminate colorful cubes, just like another old-school arcade game, Arkanoid. You also can play it on Time attack mode, where endless balls just come at you.


Futu Hoki is available for free download on the Google Play Store. There are of course several in-app purchases, so just a reminder to disable this function if you’re letting kids or unauthorised adults use your device to play games.


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Enable call recording on Samsung Galaxy S5, other devices

Call recording is a nice feature to have on smartphone, especially if the user makes phone calls for work that are data and information intensive. A person’s memory can only hold on to reminders and information on voice calls for so long, and sometimes technology can help out those memory gaps. Fortunately, the good fellows at XDA has help for us.



We need to first say that the best and easiest route for users is to install an Xposed Framework module. The Xposed Framework is basically a tool to let you tweak apps and features on your phone “on the fly” – and one of those things can be the voice call recording. This is done by installing a module for it. Sady, there are also many reasons that people can’t or are not able to use an Xposed module. This is where XDA member “_alxandr” and his script comes in.


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For the Samsung Galaxy S5 – and some other branded carrier-locked phones – the feature is actually already in your device, although it doesn’t advertise itself via an app or an app button. This may be Samsung’s or your carrier’s decision in some ways – but the mod is achieved by tweaking an XML file deep inside the Galaxy S5’s /system partition. There are three was to “activate” this feature on your Galaxy S5 (or other device) – first is flashing the script through Odin, second is flashing the script through custom recovery, and lastly by locating said XML file and editing it manually.


All of the information you need is mentioned in the official XDA thread here. Be sure that you are confident enough to do these tweaks on your phone if you want this feature. As we have found out so painfully by experience, crap happens almost randomly when tweaking your devices – so always have a backup of your phone’s system and data that you can come back to should anything untoward happen. Enjoy!


SOURCE: XDA





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