Use the Front Earpiece as a Second Speaker on the Note Edge

Speaking as an owner of a phone with a rear-facing speaker, I can tell you just how ridiculously small and weak any media playback sounds. Maybe it’s because we’ve all been conditioned to experience high quality sound playback in recent years with superb sound products and features *ahem* HTC One *ahem*, but hey, it’s 2014. So this is probably why it was a bit surprising that the Samsung Galaxy Note Edge, the new innovative phablet with its screen curved alongside the right edge, had its lone measly little speaker on the rear.

XDA Senior Member sshafranko however, was right on the case and developed a mod which activates the device’s front earpiece as a secondary speaker for media playback. The effect of this is not only increased volume and uninhibited speaker playback, but as sshafranko describes it, an “almost surround sound type of effect”. There are three variants available for download, being:

1. Surround sound effect with default volume level


2. Surround sound effect with medium volume level


3. Surround sound effect with high volume level

A flashable ZIP package reverting the effects of this mod has also been provided in case you don’t like the result or something goes wrong. It should be noted that this mod was developed to be compatible with the T-Mobile version of the Galaxy Note Edge, so it’s unknown whether this will work with other versions, although, it has been tested to work on the Sprint variant as well.

This is a much welcomed mod for a device with rear-facing speakers, so if you’ve been waiting for this, head over to the Galaxy Note Edge Surround Sound Mod thread to get started.

The post Use the Front Earpiece as a Second Speaker on the Note Edge appeared first on xda-developers.

Ski Challenge 15 game gets new race modes

Fans of skiing or racing games that want to hit the virtual slopes can download a game called Ski Challenge 15 that is on Google Play right now. The game is available at no cost and includes ten downhill courses that are designed to be just like actual downhill courses.

Available courses include Beaver Creek, Groden, Bormio, Wengen, Kitzbuhel, and Garmisch. 3D graphics and different weather conditions make the game more challenging to play. The game also has an online mode, ranking lists, and tournaments.

The tournaments allow you to play against players from around the world. Players can set up their racing skis and the game has lifelike physics. A helmet camera mode makes for realistic experience and there are different controls.

The updated game supports World Championship play, player versus player racing, and the ability to choose your gender. The top ten racers in the virtual world can be distinguished by their jerseys. The game is supported by in-game purchases.

SOURCE: Google Play

Opera for Android gets bookmark sharing

One of the best features for anyone who uses multiple computers is the ability to share your bookmarks on several devices. This is one of the best features of desktop browsers like Chrome and others. Android users have the ability to share bookmarks with a new version of Opera for Android.

The updated browser goes a step further than just letting you see your own bookmarks on multiple devices; it allows you to share them with friends as well. The updated Opera for Android allows you to share an individual bookmark or a folder of them with anyone.

Sharing is done by tapping the Bookmarks entry on speed dial, tapping manage and then selecting the bookmarks. A share button beside the trash icon allows you to share them with a name of your choosing.

Bookmarks can be shared via Android Beam and Bluetooth to social networks. The shared bookmarks are placed on a webpage that can be accessed by any browser out there. The updated browser also has a bunch of other fixes and tweaks thrown in as well. You can download the update right now.

DOWNLOAD: Play Store

KEMCO’s Revenant Saga classic style RPG now out on Android

A lot of RPG fans are getting more and more attracted to games that emulate the classic pixel art style of the old Final Fantasy and Legend of Zelda games that they used to play during their youth. Maybe that is why developers like KEMCO are putting out games like “Revenant Saga”, a new RPG game that tries to get the classic look while adding some new elements of their own.

The developers describe Revenant Saga as a game that blurs the lines between good and evil – which should mean that this will not be your straight up RPG trope of good guys fighting bad guys. The normal interface seems to be in the usual casual RPG style, until you see the game break out into some nice 3D visuals during combat.

The gameplay potential for this RPG is huge, what with KEMCO allowing your character 999 levels to climb – that’s some level up goal right there. There’s a new mechanic in combat where your character can transform into a more powerful form, but transforming habitually has its downside as well. Even the equipment and the loot – usually the biggest draw for an RPG player – has perks and disadvantages, so you will have to think your way through this.

The game is already available via the Google Play Store for a small-ish download price of USD$3.99. If this feels like something you want to sink your teeth into during your downtime, check out the download link below.

DOWNLOAD: Google Play Store

Story Timeline

• RPG standout The Witcher arrives on Android as board game


• The Shadow Sun is an epic RPG, now on Android


• Kabam, Marvel team up again for upcoming free-to-play RPG

Motorola Droid 4 and RAZR Get Unofficial Lollipop Builds

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.

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.

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

Story Timeline

• Sony Xperia Z Ultra now a Google Play Edition device, available now


• Sony Xperia Z Ultra gets a 4000 mAh battery case from Mugen


• Sony Xperia Z Ultra variant is more of a small tablet than a phablet