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Prepare Your Nokia X2 for Battle with Nokia X2 Tools

NokiaX2Tools

Unveiled in June this year, the Nokia X2 is the Finnish company’s second crack at an Android-powered device. With a 4.3 inch IPS display, a dual core processor, 1GB of RAM, and a price tag under $200, the X2 is a device unique for its dual Windows-Android experience, with Nokia replacing any indication of Android OS with Nokia and Microsoft counterparts. Perhaps not for the wider mainstream market, the Nokia X2 is an interesting device that will definitely perk the interests of some folks. If you happen to be one of these people or have already bought one, you might want to check out Nokia X2 Tools.


Developed by XDA Forum Member Mplus, Nokia X2 Tools is a program which does two of the most important things you can do with your X2 – root it, and install the Google Play store and Google services. After you’ve connected your phone to your PC, run the program and you’ll be prompted with numerous options you can select including:



  • Install Nokia X2 drivers

  • Install/uninstall Google Play store and Google services

  • Root/unroot

  • Boot into recovery


If you would like to check this out yourself, head over to the Nokia X2 Tools thread for more information.


The post Prepare Your Nokia X2 for Battle with Nokia X2 Tools appeared first on xda-developers.


Moto 360 update brings drastic improvement on battery life

Just last week, we mention a Moto 360 firmware update rolling out and we’re quick to note how it improved battery life among owners of the smartwatch. Over at an Android Wear Reddit page, Moto 360 users are reporting drastic improvements on battery life.



One user said he wore the Mote 360 for 14 hours and it still had 70 percent when he was about to charge it. Another one reported watch still had 53 percent left after 30 hours. People are commenting how battery is “much more efficient” and how battery life is “insane”, thanks to the new Android Wear software update. Some lags have also been fixed according to some Reddit members.


This is good news for Moto 360 users who’ve been clamoring for longer battery life but unfortunately, there’s no mention whether the screen burn-in issue has been fixed. Motorola and Google could still be working on it. Once the issue is screen issue is fixed, we’re guessing more people will consider buying the Android Wear-powered smartwatch.


As we earlier mentioned, the update is expected to also improve on Bluetooth connectivity between the Android device and the smartwatch. Hopefully, those momentary disconnects will be lessened, if not completely eliminated. A message to confirm that the smartwatch is charging will also be added.


I think we can all agree that the round smartwatch is beautiful and elegant. It looks like any ordinary wrist watch but Android Wear makes it hi-tech. Smartwatch was first shown off last June but it was only officially released last month. It's been getting good reviews from early adapters except some are seeing burn-ins on their screens and Bluetooth connectivity getting disconnected at times.


SOURCE: Reddit





Increase the Speaker Volume of Your Samsung Gear 2 with Tool and Tutorial

Samsung Gear2

I think it’s pretty safe to say that any sound coming out of a wristwatch isn’t exactly going to be audiophile-grade. But then again, smartwatches aren’t meant to serve as standalone music players (for now at least), with their speakers acting as the outlet for notifications you may receive on your watch. However, if you own a Samsung Gear 2 and find yourself needing a bit of musical accompaniment from your watch as you quietly working at the table, you may want to boost its sound with XDA Forum Member tonydav’s tool.


The tool is a .bat file, which when executed on your PC, will automatically boost the sound volume of your Gear 2 within an indicated minimum and maximum range. XDA Senior Member gav83collins has also written a more detailed tutorial teaching you how to use the tool with accompanying screenshots to help you out. Additionally, the tool has an extra function of installing and deleting ringtones on and off your Gear 2. It should be noted that for this to work, your Gear 2 must be rooted.


If you would like to give this a whirl, check out the Sound Boost tool thread for more information.


The post Increase the Speaker Volume of Your Samsung Gear 2 with Tool and Tutorial appeared first on xda-developers.


First working Project Ara prototype in December with Android L

You remember Phonebloks, right? Of course you do. Most of you tech savvy people will have heard of the move towards modular elements for a smartphone. Google has retained lead on the project when Motorola was sold to Lenovo. Paul Emerenko announced some news regarding the modular project speaking at Linaro Connect USA 2014 in California, mainly that there should be a working prototype soon.



That time frame is in December, in the second Ara Developer Conference. Emerenko spoke of the project’s progress, saying that it is moving in a good pace with help from project partners’ Quanta, Toshiba, Rockchip, and Foxconn among others.


Emerenko also revealed that the prototype – and probably all of the unites coming out of Project Ara in the near future – will use a modified version of Android L, Google’s yet unreleased, unlaunched, shiny new version of the mobile operating system developed hand-in-hand with Linaro. The version will allow for hot swapping of elements except the CPU module and the display module.


The modules are set to be sold via an online retail platform much like the Google Play Store. The project is gaining momentum, it seems – starting from a viral video to a full blast project headed by one of, if not the biggest, tech company in the world. Exciting times for Project Ara.


VIA: Phonebloks





Developer offers Jams Music Player app for free, now an open source

Music player apps for Android are a dime a dozen. There are lot of paid ones too but one app called Jams is about be offered for free. Apparently, it’s developer, Psaravan on Github.com, is now making the app available for free. To formerly paid app on Google Play Store, it is also now an open source because the developer can no longer provide support for the paid users. He doesn’t want the app to just go offline so he’s releasing the app for free and open sourced it.



Other developers are free to use Jams Music Player app now for their own purposes and release it again to other users. Now that it’s open source, anyone can make their own version or even improve on it. The developer still promised to update the app occasionally if he has free time but will only be beta level.


The developer is encouraging other developers to work on the app and use the current codebase of Jams as long as he is notified. He’s even willing to feature the updated version on his GitHub page. The app has been available for almost a year. It has been getting good feedbacks from the users but the developer still needs to fix a lot of issues. He doesn’t have much time now because of his other personal projects but he’s willing to let Jams Music Player live in the hands of other developers like him.


VIA: Reddit





Galaxy Note 4’s battery benchmarked, good results

The Samsung Galaxy Note 4 already launched in its home market in Korea, so they are able to play around with the unit earlier than us. There are evidences that the new model will start hitting American shores by mid-October, so until then, we will have to be satisfied with benchmarks from Korea. This particular one is a battery test done with a Korean Galaxy Note 4 running an Exynos chipset.



Specifically this would be the Exynos 5433 octa-core chip, with a big.LITTLE architecture set of four 1.8Ghz Cortex A15 processors and four 1.4Ghz Cortex A7 processors. The battery tests had three iterations – first was a WiFi test with the phone’s stock browser being refreshed every 5 seconds. The second was a video playback test done by looping a 1080p .mkv on the Note 4’s default player. The last test was a graphics rendering test looping GLBenchmark 2.5’s Egypt HD C24Z16 test.


note4_batt_test_video note4_batt_test_wifi note4_batt_test_graphics


With all these tests, we could say that those planning to buy the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 with its monster 3,220mAh battery should be relatively pleased. The Note 4 lasted almost 12 hours on the video test at 100% brightness, a bit more when brightness was lowered to standard viewing settings. This places the new model in the top 5 devices with longest battery life in this test. The Note 4 also lasted 7 hours on the WiFi test at max brightness, and a full 1.5 hours longer on standard brightness – again placing the device in the top tier of devices that last longer on this test. On the graphics render loop, the Note 4 lasted 3 and a half hours – this drops the Note 4 to the middle of the pack or better, still a relatively good place for it to be.


We have to remember that the Note 4 has a gigantic screen, and with that it still performed really well. The Note 4 also has a higher max brightness level than the Note 3. The only other question would be if the quad-core Snapdragon 805 would perform just as great as the Exynos chipset seems to have done.


VIA: Reddit





Portal is a startup project device that’s flexible, waterproof

Had enough of #bendgate already? We’re pretty sure you are. So here’s a new one – a smartphone-slash-wearable device that is actually meant to bend and still be awesome (sorry Apple) called Portal. The device is in startup mode right now, crowdsourcing its capital – but the premise is kinda awesome. The device is targeted at athletes, sports pros, or on-the-go business and corporate people who want their technology bleeding edge and easily accessible through wireless.



Portal is actually designed to be strapped on, and you take it on a run like a smartwatch, only bigger and better – or on a swim, or commuting from your home to the office. The developers – an outfit called Arubixs – is saying that the device will come with 2GB of RAM, 64GB of internal storage, running on a modified version of Android. There is no mention of a specific chipset for the device yet, although there is a promise that the device will be at par with other top level devices at the time of launch.


portal5


What makes the Portal flexible? Well, it’s a combination of a 6-inch flexible OLED screen and a proprietary flexible battery. It’s not flexible all throughout – there are rigid elements, but the device is flexible where it matters. If a smartwatch like the Moto 360 just has too little screen real estate for you, then this might just be the alternative – a fitness tracker and smartphone rolled (literally) into one device.


portal1 portal2 portal3 portal4


The Portal is Kevlar-protected, and is designed to have 4 cameras to utterly document your active lifestyle. The company is looking for USD$300,000 in capital and if you cough up USD$349 or more, you can be sure to have one by this time next year. At the moment, they are nearing the USD$20,000 mark. There have been rumblings of flexible OLED projects all around, but Portal looks to be a very strong proposition. What do you guys think?


portal6




SOURCE: IndieGoGo





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