Google makes it easier for Android users to view custom maps
A custom map you’ve created for a trip is only useful if you can access it when you need it. Thankfully, Google’s bringing back My Maps integration with Android, so it’s now easier to view your personalized files on mobile. As you might know, you can use My Maps to plan for hiking, canoeing or even for commuting or daily walks, as it lets you place markers on locations and draw lines or shapes to indicate routes. It also allows you to create layers for different kinds of content and even import geographic data, such as a place’s name and coordinates. To view your creations — or others who have shared theirs with you — just launch Google Maps on Android. The update has begun rolling out today, so keep an eye out if you’re planning for a road trip.
Tip: Clear your phone’s cache for more speed and storage
Something every Android owner should do that not everyone knows about is clearing your apps’ cache in your phone’s settings. An app’s cache is basically a temporary storage area for an application while it’s running. It can store things like temporary images downloaded from the internet. Clearing the cache can solve problems you may be experiencing with an app, or simply improve the speed and efficiency of it. Not to mention how much space you’ll be freeing on your phone, as Google+, Facebook and other big apps can store over 1GB of cache over time if not cleared occasionally.
First, go to your phone’ settings, then tap ‘Apps’
You will then be shown a list of your downloaded apps. Tap any one of these apps.
You will see ‘App info’ at the top. Scroll down a bit and you will see the cache section which shows how much temporary files have been stored on your phone.
Tap ‘Clear Cache’
And there you go! You can do this will all the apps on your phone, and you will clear up a lot of space depending on how much you use the app.
The post Tip: Clear your phone’s cache for more speed and storage appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Here’s how to get Android 5.1 on your AT&T Nexus 6
I recently wrote a post on my AT&T Nexus 6 getting Android Lollipop 5.1. There was some confusion on my part on how to exactly get it right, but after experimenting and having others users confirm this method I can now give clear instructions on how to get the latest update, and let me tell you, the update is worth getting if you are tired of your phone rebooting, having poor battery life, or experiencing other random bugs.
1. Backup your phone – go to “settings” and then go to “backup & reset.” This will allow you to reset your phone to the exact way it was before the restore. Select an account to backup your phone, and then click to back it up.
2. Take out your Sim card. You can do this with a Sim ejector tool or something small like a bent paperclip. if you leave your Sim card in you will not be prompted to get the update. You MUST remove it.
3. Restore your phone – go to “settings” and then go to “backup & reset” and hit “factory reset data.”
4. When you are restoring your phone, you can restore from the latest backup. Once you do these steps you will be prompted to update your phone to Android 5.1. This update is not due out until June, so if you are tired of the bugs, I highly suggest you get this update.
The post Here’s how to get Android 5.1 on your AT&T Nexus 6 appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Prestigio MultiPhone 5550 DUO review
Budget phones are a brilliant way to break into the market, but it often means compromising on certain features in order to hit that price point. Prestigio have released their MultiPhone 5550 DUO and we took a look to see just how it stacks up.
Sporting a 5.5-inch IPS display at 1280×720, the 5550 DUO has a vibrant screen and great colours, even if the resolution is on the lower side. It is built using Gorilla Glass 3 so is very strong and resists some of the lighter scratches.
Under the hood is a 1.3GHz Quad-Core MediaTek MTK6582 CPU with 1GB of RAM and a MALI-400MP GPU. The performance of the device was good and I didn’t notice any stutters when multitasking or photo editing. The device did begin to struggle under graphically demanding games but for the most part it ran everything without too much issue.
It comes with 8GB of internal memory, although only around 4GB of this was usable so an expandable memory card will be essential.
The Prestigio MultiPhone 5550 DUO comes with a 13-Megapixel camera with a Sony IMX179 sensor which yields suitably satisfying photos. It’s not going to replace your DSLR, but for a budget device it certainly does the job.
The big feature here is the dual-SIM slot that is offered by the 5550 DUO which is brilliant if you need to run two plans, for work and personal for example. The supported bands are GSM 850, GSM 900, GSM 1800, GSM 1900, WCDMA 900, WCDMA 2100.
The 5550 DUO runs Android 4.4 KitKat and comes with a number of pre-installed applications from Prestigio themselves. Think of it as Samsung but without the TouchWiz – their applications are actually really useful and contain some nice content.
The Prestigio 5550 DUO comes in navy blue, gunmetal, and graphite black and is available for £119 (around $170) from Prestigio.
The post Prestigio MultiPhone 5550 DUO review appeared first on AndroidGuys.
HTC’s beefier M9 for China leaks with sharper screen and fingerprint reader
Rumor of a beefier HTC One M9 variant — aka “M9+” — had been floating around for some time, but we’ve remained skeptical until we came across the latest batch of leaks. Better yet, some of these are backed up by an official (poorly made but actually legit) Beijing launch invitation sent out earlier today; see for yourself after the break. What we’re seeing is that the Duo Camera feature on the M8 is here to stay, and there’s also the previously rumored front-side fingerprint reader which, sadly, reminds us of the home buttons on earlier Samsung devices.
Another leak shows that this “M9pt” device — the “t” means this is for China Mobile — packs a QHD (2,560 x 1,440) display, a MediaTek MT6795T 64-bit octa-core chipset (with PowerVR G6200 GPU), about 3GB of RAM and the same 20-megapixel camera as the M9 — albeit in a prettier circular shape instead of a squircle.
Little else is known about this M9+, but given the April 8th launch event in China, it won’t be long before we find out more. We must say, though, that HTC China really needs to hire better graphic designers.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, HTC
Via: Nowhereelse
Source: Sina Weibo (1), (2)
Pay with OpenTable Now Available for Android
OpenTable is a utility whereby participating restaurants allow bookings to be made using the companion app, and now it has come to Android and more than 32,000 restaurants with it.
Simply add a credit card in the OpenTable Android app and not only can you book a table at a restaurant but can also pay your bill.
To pay with OpenTable, diners who book at participating restaurants simply add a credit card in the OpenTable Android app before they dine and can then view and pay their check with a few taps. There’s no separate app to download; no codes to enter; and no scanning or barcodes involved. Diners who pay with OpenTable simply get up and go whenever they’re ready.
You can visit http://pay.opentable.com/ to view the current list of participating restaurants and grab the app using the link below.
The post Pay with OpenTable Now Available for Android appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Oppo’s next phone has a crazy slim screen bezel
The folks over at Oppo sure know how to tease. Well, that’s my guess, anyway, based on the fact that several Chinese tech writers received the above photos from “anonymous” sources yesterday. This mysterious smartphone — running on Oppo’s ColorOS Android ROM — features an almost edge-to-edge screen that’s similar to what we’ve seen on the Sharp AQUOS Crystal series, except for the earpiece that Oppo decided to keep. This is backed up by an Oppo patent (dug up by GSM Arena) which shows the use of light refraction to give the illusion of a bezel-free screen. Yes, it’s very much the same method as Sharp’s. For those who are still skeptical, there’s now a short video showing the same device in action, and you can check it out after the break. As for the price and availability, we’re just as eager as you are to find out.
http://static.video.qq.com/TPout.swf?vid=q01493wzc6a&auto=0
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile
Via: Engadget Chinese
Source: Sina Weibo, QQ Video, GSM Arena
The Galaxy S6 lets you remove most apps (including Samsung’s)
It’s no secret that Samsung scaled back on bloatware with the Galaxy S6, reducing the clutter and hopefully giving you a leaner, meaner smartphone. However, there’s one more treat in store: you can cull many of the apps that are included, too. XDA forum member Jeshter2000 has noticed that a pre-release Galaxy S6 edge lets him disable or uninstall many of the preloaded programs, including some of those from Google and Samsung. If you’d rather ditch S Voice entirely and rely solely on Google’s (frankly superior) native voice commands, you can. So long as this carries through to the GS6 you buy in stores, it’ll represent a big change of heart for Samsung — the company is notorious for bundling redundant, non-removable apps, but it’s now determined to give you much more control.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Samsung
Via: Android Beat, TechnoBuffalo
Source: XDA-Developers
BBM Protected users can chat securely with friends on Android and iOS
While BBM Protected has been keeping enterprise users’ chats secure since last year, it only used to work if it’s installed on both parties’ phones. Now, though, the feature can keep convos secure even if only one of the chatters has it. In fact, the other person doesn’t even have to be a BlackBerry user: Protected now works even on iOS and Android devices. Considering you can’t exactly force, say, clients to ditch their iPhones, Samsungs and HTCs, among other brands that carry Android, this is definitely good news. Those who absolutely have to chat through secure methods only need to start a Protected convo, and the message above will appear so long as the other person has the BBM app. Hopefully, company execs can stop worrying about employees unknowingly leaking sensitive info by using unprotected apps. Unless, of course, they’re the ones being reckless.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Blackberry
Source: BlackBerry
Developing Android Wear watch faces is now easier than ever!
If you’re a Developer, you may want to listen up as Hoi Lam, a Wearables Developer Advocate at Google, has just announced that with Android Studio 1.1 you’ll be able to open a pre-made blank watch face template.
In order to access this new functionality, you will need to make sure that the latest version of the Android Support Repository is installed on your computer. You can do this by opening the Android SDK Manager and selecting “Check for Updates.”
Once installed, you’ll need to follow these steps:
- Start a new project or open your existing project
- If your project does not already have an Android Wear module, create one!
- Select File > New Module…. In the wizard, select Android Wear as the module type and then select No Activity.
- Right-click on the module name on the left hand side. Select New > Wear > Watch Face.
- Select whether you want an analog or a digital watch face.
- Done!
You should now see a skeleton watch face, which will take care of the basic background coding, like automatically adjusting for time zone changes and prompting notifications efficiently — so all you have to do is design the overall skin for the face.
Source: Google+
Come comment on this article: Developing Android Wear watch faces is now easier than ever!
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