Andromium wants to turn your smartphone into a desktop

You've got a mighty powerful computer right in your pocket. It may not match a desktop or even a laptop in sheer power, but it makes up for portability and convenience. But what if your smartphone can actually become your desktop? Not by simply mirroring the smartphone display to a larger screen. We already have lots of those going around. This Andromium Kickstarter wants to give you a real desktop experience, as much as you can squeeze inside your smartphone.

The Andromium promise comes in two pars, hardware ad software. The hardware part is probably less sensational and somewhat easier to pull off. It is basically a smartphone dock, one that has a dedicated HDMI port for connecting with an external display. There are three USB ports as well for connecting peripherals, like wireless keyboard and mouse combo, and maybe a game controller for some living room gaming. And maybe one more for extra storage. That part isn't exactly hard to accomplish with a few tricks and connectors, but the entire point of the Andromium hardware is convenience and portability.

But the real appeal of Andromium is in the "Andromium OS", practically an operating system that runs on top of Android. This particular OS is designed to mimic the features and user interface of a regular desktop OS, taking inspiration from the likes of Windows 7 (not 8!) and OS X. In practice, that means mouse and keyboard navigation, overlapping windows, and "true" multitasking. That said, you will still be able receive notifications, messages, and calls while using Andromium OS. You can even opt to take the call right then and there without lifting up your smartphone. The OS comes with a few key apps built-in, like an office suite, media players, a file manager, and a browser. The developers behind it, which include a former Google Senior Engineer, plan to release and SDK that will let developers create their own Andromium Apps.

The Andromium promise definitely has some appeal, as you can see from various and disparate attempts at running full blown operating systems, particularly Linux distributions, inside Android, or accessories that mirror a smartphone or tablet to bigger screen, to be controlled with a keyboard and a mouse. That said, Andromium might not be the perfect answer just yet, as there are still a few nitpicks that might prevent it from taking off full speed. For one, the dock is currently designed solely for Samsung's high-end line, in particular the Galaxy S III, the Galaxy S 4, the Galaxy Note II, the Galaxy Note 3, and the Galaxy Note 4. The micro USB flap cover on the Galaxy S5 unfortunately kept it from making the list. It's a bit understandable that the developers would want to focus their attention and resources on the top dog, but that still leaves out quite a lot of would be supporters willing to put money into the project.

Andromium (OS/Platform) from Andromium Inc. on Vimeo.

And yes, Andromium is, after all, a Kickstarter campaign, one that is looking for $100,000 to help develop the platform, particular improve the OS. They're not asking much for a single piece, $29 at the very least for early birds, but the campaign is yet to even reach a tenth of its goal. Still, there are 45 days left, so there might be some hope that this dream will come true.

SOURCE: Kickstarter

Muzei update brings design update, Android Wear watchface

Live wallpaper app Muzei has received a massive update, with version 2.0 receiving a design upgrade to look compatible with the Material Design of Android 5.0 Lollipop. It also now comes with a watch face for your wearable so that your smartwatches running on Android Wear will look just as artsy and creative as your smartphone.

If you're not familiar with Muzei yet, it curates artwork and photos from the Internet to make your smartphone look more beautiful. Version 2.0 brings a few changes in the user interface, including a revised launcher icon and the option to adjust the saturation of your wallpaper image but you can remove the effect you applied when you're in locked screen mode. If the artwork that Muzei gives you is something that you'd like to permanently save, you now have the option to add said images to the "my photos" category in the app, so you can go back to it eventually.

Another major change for the app is the improvement in Android Wear integration. It now has a watch face design, which was contributed by developer Ian Lake. It will also now give you better notification on your wearable when new art is available for the app. You can also now have a full-screen artwork detail view on the smartwatch, all the better to appreciate the beautiful wallpapers they curate for you.

Of course the update has some much needed bug fixes and for the widescreen artworks, a better panning view. You can now update to Muzei 2.0 from the Google Play Store.

SOURCE: +Roman Nurik

Cerberus 3.0 anti theft app updated with Material Design

Android users wanting an app to help them protect their device from theft have a newly updated option called Cerberus 3.0. Cerberus has been around for a while and is an app that helps you find your lost or stolen Android device. The app is available as a free trial for a week.

After that week is over, the app will cost you 4.99€ for a lifetime license. The one license fee will cover the use of the app on up to three devices. Three-way protection for the device is provided via remote control from the Cerberusapp.com website. The latest update adds some new features to the protection suite.

The app has been updated to Material Design and has a new block power menu option. The update also adds a protect device admin option. Users can also now set their own automatic alerts. Several new remote commands have been added.

One of those new commands is the ability to display a persistent message on the screen of your lost or stolen device. Other new commands include a get installed apps, change app settings, backup data, start shell, and a capture screen recording commands. The updated app can be downloaded from Google Play now.

SOURCE: Google Plus

Amazon releases e-card app Surprise! in time for Christmas

Do you miss the good 'ole days when you would receive special Hallmark greeting cards during your birthday or Christmas or even just a random, romantic card from your special someone? But of course as with almost everything else that was analog, there is now a digital equivalent. Amazon announced that they now have an e-card app called Surprise! to help you, well, surprise your loved ones with an old school expression of affection given a digital touch.

E-cards are actually nothing new, as they have been around since computers were invented (we assume). But the world's biggest online retailer getting in on the game is news of course. What's more, you even have the option to add an Amazon Gift Card so that the recipient will be able to purchase whatever they want on their site (we see what you did there Amazon), without using their own credit card. You can also digitally gift wrap your surprise so that the recipient will still get a sense of excitement out of "unwrapping" your e-card.

You can personalize your greeting on the e-card, adding photos or a video, and for an even more personal touch, you can record an audio greeting, have a handwritten signature or even just type out your message. But if you're in a hurry and cannot be bothered, you can just send a Simple Surprise without the personalization options. The app will also be able to add special occasions from Facebook or your device's calendar and contacts to build your Occasion Timeline so you won't ever forget a birthday or anniversary or Christmas.

The app will also be able to sync with Amazon's Friends and Family Gifting Program. And if you're too forgetful, you can actually schedule your e-card and gift cards in advance, up to a year in advance. To download the app, you can get it from the Google Play Store or go to amazon.com/surprise to get a link to the app itself. For now, Surprise! by Amazon is available for US residents only.

SOURCE: Amazon

Bring Back Jelly Bean Quick Toggles to Your KitKat Xperia ROM

Newer doesn’t always mean better. This fits the Android OS perfectly with regards to some solutions that are in fact less polished than their older counterparts. For many, the quick settings toggles used in stock Jelly Bean ROMs for Sony Xperia phones were ideal, since they were available right after pulling down the notification bar. In KitKat, these toggles were moved to the separate tab, making access a bit more cumbersome.

With some willingness and a bit of free time, you can easily bring back the Jelly Bean-style quick settings toggles to your KitKat Xperia ROM. XDA Senior Member anagramgenius wrote a guide in which the whole process is explained in detail. The method demonstrated by anagramgenius uses Apktool and any text editor. If you have them, you are good to go!

Right after decompiling the SystemUI of your ROM, you need to edit a few of XMLs and compile the file back. Not a single line in Smali is changed, so you don’t have to be afraid of those nasty build errors. The whole process should take no longer than 10 minutes and the result is spectacular. You will re-gain the quick access to your most favorite settings which will come back right where they belong.

Learn more about the modding by visiting the JB style quick settings for KitKat forum thread.

The post Bring Back Jelly Bean Quick Toggles to Your KitKat Xperia ROM appeared first on xda-developers.

India bans Xiaomi sales and imports for patent infringement

Xiaomi has been hit with a sales and import ban in India. A court in New Delhi has banned sales and imports due to copyright infringement. The case was brought against Xiaomi by Ericsson India and Ericsson says that it has tried to get Xiaomi to license the standard essential patents it is using in its devices.

Ericsson says that Xiaomi wouldn't come to the negotiating table and it field charges as a result. The judge overseeing the case in India passed an ex parte order that bans Xiaomi from importing, selling, and advertising its smartphones in India.

This is certainly a blow to Xiaomi; India was its second largest market in the world. The judge also ordered customs officials to stop imports under IPR Rules, 2007. Xiaomi isn’t the first smartphone maker operating in India to lose a patent case to Ericsson.

A judge in India previously ordered Micromax to pay Ericsson up to 1% of the sales price of each device it sold in royalties after Micromax lost a similar case. Xiaomi has only been selling in India since July 2014, and already the country has become a very important market for the company.

SOURCE: Times of India

Tap2Unlock Brings Security to Tap2Wake

Android OS offers many ways of unlocking your device. Among the most popular are entering a pattern or PIN and face unlock. Although patterns and PINs can be pretty secure, there are still ways to improve upon them.

The Android kernel offers many functions that can be used even when the screen is powered off. Double-tap-to-wake is a common feature that can be found on many custom ROMs here at XDA. XDA Senior Member goutamniwas created quite an interesting method for screen unlocking using the tap2wake technology.

With Tap2Unlock, you can unlock your screen by entering a PIN code while your screen is off. This module splits the screen into four squares. Pressing the wrong pattern will light up the screen but disable touch, so the person who enters will not be able to use the phone. Entering the correct pattern will fully unlock the device.

This kernel feature can work with most currently available kernels built from source. The developer was kind enough to provide necessary patches that need to be cherry picked in order to make it work.

If you are a kernel developer, you can consider adding this to your project. If you’re just a user, you can also request the feature to be implement by your favorite kernel developer. You can learn more by visiting the Tap2unlock – a new tap2wake feature with pattern forum thread.

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