cyanogenmod
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Refresh Roundup: week of July 29th, 2013
Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it's easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don't escape without notice, we've gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!
Mobile Miscellany: week of July 22nd, 2013
If you didn't get enough mobile news during the week, not to worry, because we've opened the firehose for the truly hardcore. This week brought hints of a jumbo-sized Lumia smartphone, an early preview of an advanced camera app for CyanogenMod and the arrival of the Meizu MX2 in white. These stories and more await after the break. So buy the ticket and take the ride as we explore all that's happening in the mobile world for this week of July 22nd, 2013.
Refresh Roundup: week of July 8th, 2013
Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it's easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don't escape without notice, we've gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!
CyanogenMod tweak lets Google Voice SMS work through other apps
Many Android-based Google Voice users don't like having to use the official Google Voice app for text messaging, especially when its performance can be flaky. They now have some choice courtesy of experimental code from ClockworkMod's Koushik Dutta. His test release lets those running CyanogenMod nightlies send and receive Google Voice SMS through any suitable Android app as long as Google's software is present. The project should be helpful, although there's no question that there's some risk involved -- it's a beta that requires an unstable custom ROM, after all. If that's no deterrent, though, you can get Dutta's code and instructions from the source links.
CyanogenMod 10.1 goes stable, set for release tonight
Just over a month has passed since CyanogenMod 10.1 went into a release candidate phase, and now it's getting ready to emerge from its development cocoon as a stable release. The code isn't available for most gadgets just yet, but it's set to arrive on the project's servers sometime tonight. Support for all Tegra 2-infused hardware and some Samsung devices with Exynos chips has been left out of this distro, but a "status report" for those machines is due later in the week. Now that the the Cyanogen Mod team has reached the 10.1 milestone, it'll focus on monthly releases to bake in other features and functionality. Click the second source link to check if your device's build has gone stable.
Refresh Roundup: week of June 10th, 2013
Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it's easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don't escape without notice, we've gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!
Refresh Roundup: week of June 3rd, 2013
Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it's easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don't escape without notice, we've gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!
Refresh Roundup: week of May 27th, 2013
Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it's easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don't escape without notice, we've gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!
CyanogenMod 10.1 hits Release Candidate, nears a 'stable' future
If you're a fan of CyanogenMod, there's a good chance that flashing nightly builds of the 10.1 release is now damn near second nature. Fortunately, a more stable future is in store for you and your phone, as CyanogenMod has revealed that a final release is close at hand. As a buildup to that point, you'll find that Release Candidate builds are now available for installation. For the uninitiated, CyanogenMod 10.1 is based on Android 4.2.2, and along with many additional features, it serves as a great way to upgrade your device in the case that its manufacturer has given up. Hit the break for the complete list of devices to receive the Release Candidate treatment.
CyanogenMod 10.1 arrives for T-Mobile's Galaxy S 4, other variants promised to follow
Just over a month ago, CyanogenMod founder Steve Kondik left Samsung, with a parting elucidation about the Galaxy S 4. The very same phone was expected to not be supported by the CM crew, leaving prospective buyers and fans of the firmware to consider their loyalties. Hope was restored when Kondik teased an image via Google+ showing the about screen for CM10.1 on T-Mobile's version of the handset (SGH-M919). Now, he's confirmed it's here (and quickly done, too), with word that other variants (I9505 etc) will follow as and when hardware is sourced. Kondik claims that, while not quite perfect, that the port is complete enough to provide all core features, including, at some point, support for Android's hover events. The nightlies are available now, so if you've got the right mix of Magenta and Cyan, keep an eye on the usual sources for the goods.
CyanogenMod 10.1 nightlies reach Xperia Z and ZL, other recent Sony models
Sony has been friendlier than many of its mobile rivals toward outside code, backing AOSP efforts even when it has had to shoulder most of the responsibilities. It's only fitting, then, that five of its more recent smartphones just received their first nightly CyanogenMod 10.1 builds, all in one fell swoop. Support for the Xperia Z and ZL is no doubt the highlight, although experimenters who stand just short of the cutting edge can get CyanogenMod releases for the Xperia T, TX and V. As always, nightlies of custom OS code redefine risky -- but those who can't wait for Sony to push a safe Android 4.2 release can now do more than just twiddle their thumbs.
Refresh Roundup: week of April 8th, 2013
Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it's easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don't escape without notice, we've gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!
Smartisan OS unveiled in China, takes a fresh approach to Android UI design
Following the likes of Meizu and Xiaomi, another star is born in the Chinese smartphone market. In fact, some may already know the man behind this new Android-based Smartisan OS: Luo Yonghao, a self-taught ex-English teacher (and later becoming the principal of his own English school until last August), as well as the founder of influential blogging platform Bullog.cn (now Bullogger.com) and the chairman of Chinese font studio Redesign. Luo is also a relentless consumer advocate, with his most notable act being his fridge-smashing protest outside Siemens' Beijing headquarters in November 2011, in order to highlight the company's refusal to acknowledge their faulty fridge doors (all explained in the "More Coverage" link at the bottom). Already a bit of a legend in China, the 40-year-old serial entrepreneur announced last April that he had formed Smartisan Co., Ltd. to work on a smartphone OS, and that it would shame all manufacturers with its revolutionary user experience. Having missed the December target that he promised, Luo eventually stood in front of some 3,000 people -- many bought tickets -- in Beijing last week to spend well over three hours going through the thought process behind his Smartisan OS, so bear with us here. Update: Smartisan has now provided a subtitled video of the event. Check it out at the bottom of this article. %Gallery-184103%
CyanogenMod founder leaves Samsung, praises the Galaxy S 4 on his way out
Less than two years after the CyanogenMod founder was scooped up by Samsung to improve Android's veneer, Steve Kondik has decided to depart for greener pastures. In a Google Plus posting, the software engineer shared his mostly positive impressions for Samsung's Galaxy S 4, casually mentioning that he'd departed the Korean behemoth's embrace. The one thing that came in for a bashing was TouchWiz's updated UI, that he says "feels like it has been sent back a few years in time to the Froyo days." Responding to a comment, Mr. Kondik said that nothing in particular had prompted his departure beyond a desire to "do something new," but given the man's pedigree, we can only assume it'll be somehow related to the little green droid that could. [Image credit: Erica Joy]
Refresh Roundup: week of March 4th, 2013
Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it's easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don't escape without notice, we've gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!
Refresh Roundup: week of February 18th, 2013
Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it's easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don't escape without notice, we've gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!
CyanogenMod 10.1 stock camera app now sports HDR shooting
CyanogenMod 10.1-toting photography fans are in for a treat: the latest version of the modified Android OS now packs an HDR mode, which was in development for three months, within its stock camera app. When a user snaps a photo with the function, a total of three pictures (one at minimal, neutral and maximum exposures) are taken and combined into a single HDR image with the help of an algorithm. Differences in shutter speed, sensors and optics means quality will vary across smartphones, but the CyanogenMod team says that mid- to high-end devices outfitted with decent imaging hardware -- especially those with zero shutter lag -- should perform admirably. Of course, the group also recommends using a stand or tripod to thwart movement and vibration from fouling up photos. Android Central points out that a few handset builds haven't received the update, so a handful of CyanogenMod-wielding photogs will still have to get their HDR fix elsewhere.
CyanogenMod 10.1 Milestone 1 hits Nexus and Samsung devices
Despite all the nightly builds of CyanogenMod 10.1, there hasn't been much of anything definitive to hang our hats on. There's at last some sense of reliability now that Milestone 1 versions have hit the servers. Most Nexus devices, as well as swaths of Samsung's Galaxy S and Galaxy Tab 2 ranges, can get the unofficial Android 4.2 build for themselves. The M1 code is deemed "mostly stable" and good enough for daily use, although that's relative -- it's not yet to the level of a fully stable build, let alone factory firmware. If you only needed fewer risks than before, though, the downloads and details await at the source links. [Thanks, Rashid]
Nexus Q scores CyanogenMod 10.1 nightlies, reminds you of its existence
Sure, Google may have temporarily mothballed the Nexus Q, but some of the caked-on cobwebs are being wiped off thanks to the very first nightly release of CyanogenMod 10.1 for the device. Christened steelhead, the build outfits Mountain View's orb with Android 4.2.1 -- a welcome upgrade if you're still rocking CyanogenMod 9, or worse: its stock configuration. If you'd like to bring your media sphere up to speed with its Nexus-branded brethren, hit the source link for the download.
Mobile Miscellany: week of December 31st, 2012
If you didn't get enough mobile news during the week, not to worry, because we've opened the firehose for the truly hardcore. This week, two of the best cameraphones out there were pitted against one another in a shootout rematch and a very handy widget was added to the latest nightly builds of CyanogenMod. These stories and more await after the break. So buy the ticket and take the ride as we explore the "best of the rest" for this week of December 31st, 2012.
