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Motorola Droid 4 and RAZR Get Unofficial Lollipop Builds

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Android 5.0 Lollipop has been hailed by many as one of the most refined versions of Google’s OS. The OS revision started rolling out to devices last month, with the Nexus family having already been updated and Motorola and Samsung giving indications of a potential Android 5.0 update to select devices as well. Not only this, but unofficial builds have also been popping up everywhere, such as on Android One devices and on the HTC Explorer. And the ball isn’t even close to stopping here as two more devices, the Motorola Droid 4 and RAZR, have also received unofficial Android 5.0 builds as well.


This comes in the form of unofficial builds of CM12, originally developed just for the Droid 4 by XDA Senior Member stargo. The list of working functions includes phone calls, mobile data, WiFi and WiFi tethering, and GPS. As this is still a pre-alpha test build however, pretty much everything else remains not working, including the camera app, reboot to recovery, data encryption and more.


Courtsey of XDA Senior Member ktimque, this build can now also run on the Droid RAZR. However, as it uses the builds developed by stargo, Droid RAZR owners must make sure to flash the appropriate files for the Droid RAZR and not for the Droid 4. Additionally, XDA Recognized Developer dhacker29 provides the Gapps for these builds which are available for download as well.


If you would like to check these builds out, make your way over to the Unofficial CM12 thread for the Droid 4 and the Droid RAZR.


The post Motorola Droid 4 and RAZR Get Unofficial Lollipop Builds appeared first on xda-developers.


Twitter rolls out better picture filters for mobile app

Photo-sharing on social network sites have had to compete with mainly-photo apps like Instagram, Snapchat, etc who had a wider range of options when it comes to editing and adding filters to your precious mobile pics. And with the demise of Twitpic (whose domain and archives were bought by Twitter), sharing pictures on Twitter became a bit more simple but boring. Until now, that is, as the micro-blogging site introduces much better pic filters that of course looks a lot like Instagram.



Back in 2012, Twitter actually introduced filters for pictures, but it left much to be desired since the choices were limited and viewing the pic when the filter was applied wasn't that pleasant, some users complained. This time around, they claim to have improved much on both the choices and the process as well.


When you add a picture to your Tweet, click on the photo and it will show you the filter options in a swipeable line. You have Radian, Positive, Warm, Breeze, Glow, Golden, Fame, and Stark options. Once you've chosen your filter, just double tap it and it will give you an adjustable slider so you can fix the density of the filter you've chosen.


If you don't see this update yet on Twitter, don't panic just yet. The changes will be rolling out starting today so it might take a bit of time to reach everyone. In the meantime, you can still do your filters on the hundreds of other picture sharing apps out there, with just the added step on posting it on Twitter through the app. If you want to do this on Twitter directly, you can still use the old method or wait for the new (and hopefully) better one.


SOURCE: Twitter


VIA: ReadWrite


Sony Xperia Z Ultra GPE gets Lollipop straight from Google

The Google Play Edition of the Sony Xperia Z Ultra is now getting the promised bump to Android 5.0 straight from Google, instead of the usual way which is via OTA from Sony. The Japanese manufacturer had promised that its full line of phones under the Xperia branding will get Lollipop, and this is evidence of Sony making good on the promise.



The Sony Xperia Z Ultra is already more than a year old and probably ancient to some – think about it, Sony just launched the Xperia Z3 in September and is already planning to launch the Xperia Z4 in February, which is three generations of technology in the span of a little more than a year (wow). But since Sony is committed to higher-end specs compared to other manufacturers, this means that the Xperia Z Ultra is still very much usable even today. Add to it a little Lollipop flavor and it should feel like a totally new phone for its users.


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The update is pegged at around 400MB, so don’t try to download it off 3G data – make sure you’re doing that over a WiFi connection. The notification also says that you need to have at least 400MB free on your device so the update to Android 5.0 can be applied.


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The notification for the update should already be rolling out, but if you still don’t have it – check out the source link below for the manual download. Enjoy the update guys and gals!


VIA: Xperia Blog





The YotaPhone 2 gives you two working touchscreens, front and back

If we had written this piece say in 2013, you could be forgiven for thinking that the makers of the YotaPhone had just complete lost all sanity. That is, of course, until the advent of Samsung’s Galaxy Note Edge, which had manufacturers thinking out-of-the-box on what they can do with another touchscreen surface. Granted, what the YotaPhone has is completely unexpected and unorthodox – but you can’t say it isn’t worth a look in these modern times.



Modern smartphone design conventions will say the screen goes on the front, the camera on the back. But what if you utilize both front AND back spaces as active touchscreens? There definitely would be more real estate now to do more – but do what? The YotaPhone, being manufactured by Yota Devices who are mostly based in Moscow, is a smartphone that has a secondary (or another primary, however you want to view it) screen on the back of the device where the camera is. That screen is a monochrome e-ink screen that functions pretty much like a normal touchscreen does, sans the color.


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The YotaPhone 2, which has turned quite a few heads at in the Mobile World Congress 2014 in Barcelona early this year, is scheduled to finally launch this month, so we’re quietly anticipating that. The specs are pretty decent – it sports a 5-inch 1080p AMOLED screen as the main display. The back display is called the “Always On” display and it is a 4.7-inch 960x540 E-ink grayscale screen with full capacitive touch functions.


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Under the hood, there’s a 2.2Ghz Snapdragon 800 quad-core processor backstopped by 2GB RAM and Adreno 330 graphics. The internal storage maxes out at 32GB and theres an 8MP/2.1MP camera combo with LED flash. Will this interest you? Tell us what you think in the comments section.


SIGN-UP: YotaPhone

VIA: Hi-tech@Mail.Ru





OnePlus One available today via Amazon India, launch event concluded

Today is the day that the elusive flagship phone – the OnePlus One – has finally been made available to the subcontinent of India. The OnePlus One is famous for its low price despite the high-end specs, but it is also famously difficult to get your hands on one. The Indian market is set to be the next step for OP, as it partners with Amazon India to distribute the device.



They’ve been teasing it for a while now, but OP has finally and officially landed in India. The OnePlus One smartphone can now be purchased through Amazon India, albeit the terribly annoying invite system that the company used is still present. Hopefully the partnership with Amazon will mean that it will get easier for OnePlus One fans in India to purchase the device rather than make it more difficult. Check out the Amazon page for the phone here.



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The OnePlus One 64GB model will be launching in India for INR 21,999, or a little over USD$350, which is roughly the same cost as it was sold before. The launch event was graced by Pete Lau, the founder and CEO of OnePlus, who sold the phone to an already adoring public. Also present was Amit Agarwal, Country Manager of Amazon India, and Vikas Agarwal, General Manager of OnePlus India.



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So the move to India is finally done for OnePlus. This is in the wake of its public breakup with OS provider CyanogenMod. The OnePlus One is still coming with CM’s tweaked Android OS out of the box, but we wonder how long that will last.


SOURCE: OnePlus





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Why would you want to write your own Android apps? Well, why not? Having one of the largest install bases in the world, Android is ripe for the picking when it comes to spreading your apps and maybe earning a bit on the side as well. But even if you're not looking towards monetization, you yourself can benefit from learning more about the OS running on your smartphone or tablet or even realizing that dream feature you've always wanted for an app, what programmers like to call "scratching your own itch."


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Motorola to roll out Lollipop soon for 1st Gen Moto G

Moto G (1st Gen) owners can be forgiven for thinking that Motorola has forgotten about them in all the hoopla about the flagship Moto X. But it looks like the OEM will be updating the device soon to the latest major Android version, Lollipop 5.0. The first step though is updating the Motorola Update Services app.



The changelog for the app simply states that it is necessary to update it in order to ensure the "future upgrade" of the Moto G (1st Gen) to Lollipop. It doesn't get simpler and more obvious than that. This is a good sign that the OEM has not neglected their older smartphones, as users are looking forward to experiencing the Lollipop-ization of their devices as well, which will make them feel like they have a new gadget as well.


Just a few weeks ago, Motorola started rolling out the updates for their Moto X (2nd Gen) owners under Verizon. This brought to them the much talked-about Material Design overhaul, with new app and system themes, widgets, colors and more fluid animation. Other major changes include notifications on lock screen, Downtime and Ambient Display settings, and changing the Recents section into Overview.


While the Motorola Update Services app update is now available, there is still no indication as to when they are rolling out Lollipop to your Moto G (1st Gen). And since the slightly older Moto G (1st Gen) will receive the major upgrade, owners of the Moto X (1st Gen) may very well receive an upgrade in the near future





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