Showing posts with label Misc. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Misc. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Google I/O 2014 Expectations

All Android fanboys will be eagerly watching the I/O this year, hoping for a new Android version, including me! There are a lots of leaks going on this year about Motorola devices and Android TV, a new Android version and lot's more, let's get started!

Android TV



This was probably the earliest leak for Google this year, by The Verge in April, showing us a new device called Android TV. The leaks showed a very beautiful UI and hopefully it gets announced at I/O and includes all the features of Chromecast. If somehow, Google manages to price this under 100$, I think it's going to get Apple TV, Roku etc. out of business!

New Motorola devices

+TK TECH NEWS is on a roll and constantly leaking new Motorola devices including the new Moto X+1 and possibly a new tablet similar to the Moto Xoom. You can watch the videos on his YouTube channel here. 

Android Wear and more

Though Android Wear was already announced earlier this year, Google I/O is the perfect venue to see a more finished product and maybe even some hardware. The original release dates for the LG G Watch and Moto 360 were targeted for this summer, so it makes good sense that they could show up here as well. Google often gives away a bunch of free devices to the attendees, so what better way to get developers programming for Android Wear than give several thousand of them free devices and then have them sit through hours of how-to talks?

There are also speculations that the Moto 360 will feature a wireless charger and will be announced this I/O.

Google Stars

Google seems to have accidentally posted their long-rumored Google Stars extension to the Chrome Web Store for just a few minutes, which was long enough for someone to grab it, upload it to the web, and allow the tech blogosphere to run rampant with it. It is easy to overstate what Google Stars is – it is basically a feature-rich bookmarks/favorites extension, unless there is much more to it that we have yet to see. We have so far just seen a version that is an available extension for the Chrome browser, which would also potentially limit its appeal.

Nonetheless, it appears to be a true added value to the normal bookmarking feature. It takes the tagging features that Firefox users are probably used to and packages them in a more appealing interface that should make adoption easier. Google has also made sharing a part of the extension, perhaps with a vision for making Stars a link-sharing platform that doesn’t have the same time sensitivity that Google Plus, Facebook, and Twitter have.


New Android version (Technical stuff)

(Hopefully it's 5.0 :P) There were tons of leaks and some were teases from Google like on the I/O website and a screenshot with clock at 5:00. 

Leaks are leaks but here are some facts about changes that happened in Android in the last week:
  • Removal of Dalvik from AOSP source code.
  • Tentatively rename 64-bit API level to non-numeric: 'L'.
The build numbers usually start from the first letter of the version name. For e.g.: 4.4.4 is KTU84P, 4.3 is JWR66V. This means that it is almost 100% confirmed that the next version will start from "L".

Google knows that most of it's users have a habit of digging around the source code and find easter eggs so this is probably a tease by Google. After all, Google manages the internet :P

New Android version (Visual stuff)


Leaked Gmail interface

New contacts                      Old contacts

Project Hera and Quantum Paper are two leaked projects from Google that look forward to revamp the visuals of Android. The above contacts screenshot was provided by Google itself in a tweet for support while the gmail screenshot is a leak. As you can see in the new contacts screenshot, the Wifi icon looks a little different. Continuing this pattern, Google again teased new statusbar icons on the I/O site as shown below.

New icons teased in I/O and current icons

EDIT: Just after publishing this article, new leaks came from a Chromium Issue Tracker showcasing a new icon in the status bar which looks like Mr. Jingles but the more exciting thing for me was to see Chrome open in floating window! Google FTW if they implement floating window!! \m/


Most noticable things are the statusbar and the fact that Chrome is open in a window

 These screenshots are taken from a Nexus 4 so, if you are a Nexus 4 user, it's almost guaranteed that you will get 5.0!!

Nexus 9 (HTC Volantis)



First things first, this is likely the tablet we previously referred to as the Nexus 8 — everything lines up with rumors of that device (it’s made by HTC, and runs on an NVIDIA chip). Without further ado, let’s get right down to the specs of Volantis, the codename for the tablet.

The display is expected to have an 8.9-inch size with a resolution of 2048×1440, bringing the pixels-per-inch count to 281. This apparently has an aspect ratio of 4:3, but the resolution and ratio don’t line up here. It’s possible that the software navigation buttons are being included, which could possibly account for the difference.

The processor is a 64-bit NVIDIA Logan, which is better known as the Tegra K1. We do not yet know the clock speed of the K1 on this alleged Nexus 9. The rear-facing camera is an 8MP shooter with optical image stabilization, and it’s backed up by a 3MP front-firing unit. 2GB of RAM and a choice of 16 or 32GB of internal storage make up the rest of the leaked specs.

Let’s talk design for a second. The dimensions of the Nexus 9 are expected to be 8.91 inches by 5.98 inches by 0.31 inches. It’ll weigh 418g assuming you pick up the WiFi-only model, but the LTE-supporting equipment will tally to 427g. It also apparently has an “aluminum zero-gap construction with tapered-sides,” but the render shown in the alleged leaked Android Police source image doesn’t exactly line up with that (the image above is a render of the render to better show details), rather showing more of a cross between last year’s Nexus 7 and the Nexus 5. The stereo front-facing speakers are also absent from the render, but this is HTC we are talking about — it wouldn’t be surprising to us to see these design elements on a device from it.

Availability has also tentatively leaked. Assuming things don’t change before HTC and Google are ready to take the wraps off of the tablet, the WiFi-only model will likely cost $399. The 32GB model would add an extra $100 to do this, making the total price $499. LTE support adds even more, and Android Police speculates that this could push the price into the $600+ range. This is a wild departure from the Nexus 7 of yesteryear (and the year before), and quite frankly we’re displeased at this point — it is a Nexus, after all.

Nexus 9 is apparently the tentative launch name, but Android Police hasn’t confirmed that as the official launch name quite yet. Also, with all the turmoil going around in Nexus world, this may not even come to fruition — although we certainly hope it does.

This tablet will allegedly launch alongside the Android L-release in Q4 of 2014. Mark your calendars, folks, this will be big.

Home automation

There’s also the Android@Home group, focused on home automation. The initiative has pretty much been missing in action of late, though perhaps we might see some new announcements. Google’s brand-new Nest division just went out and acquired Dropcam, but don’t assume that means we’ll see movement here. It’s much too early for any deep integration and Nest still operates like an independent entity within Google, but it's clear that this space matters a great deal to Google and it's willing to put its money where its mouth is.

Those are a LOT OF LEAKS!! This is probably the longest article I have ever written. You can find out by reading all the other ones ;) Follow me on Google+ or +1 this article/blog if you liked it. Keep reading! :D


Sunday, June 22, 2014

Hidden Feature Found in AOSP; Called "Heads Up" and Tutorial to Install it!

Google have a history of implementing changes that custom ROM developers have invented and implemented into the AOSP. Nothing wrong with that. The AOSP is there for a reason. One of its purposes is for developers to try out new things and feed the changes they make upstream and back into AOSP. Google also keep an eye on the custom ROM community and their customization and if they see something they like, they will implement it with their own spin on it.


Heads Up is a new notification mode that was buried in the AOSP source code and should probably be implemented in the next major Android version! The Cyanogenmod team have already started giving that option to users in the nightlies and hopefully, it will come in the next Monthly build.


Heads Up allows for a floating notification to display on top of your current activity, with the full access (eg. Expand, Reply, Interact, etc) that you would expect from a standard notification. This allows for a quick and easy way to read incoming notifications while in otherwise full-screen applications (ie Games). Obviously, no one likes being nagged in the middle of their favorite Youtube video of cats – so, the Cyanogenmod team have introduced a ‘Do not disturb’ filter to this functionality. You can select which apps the new Heads Up functionality should not interrupt.


According to me, this feature looks very similar to Hover by +Paranoid Android. Ofcourse, because it is in the AOSP, it has less features as compared to Hover. For e.g.: Hover opens apps in floating mode when clicked directly. It also has a blacklist feature that allows Hover to ignore notifications for certain apps.


GravityBox is easily one of my favorite Xposed modules and the creator has already implemented Heads Up in the module! The GravityBox implementation allows for deciding which notifications will appear as Heads Up windows and which will be ignored, and users can expand notifications (if supported) with a two-finger swipe. Other nifty additions to the tool set include better options for the "quiet hours" function, an expanded battery tile in the quick settings menu, user-definable actions for plugging in or unplugging headphones, and a lot of bug fixes and language translations. Check out the update post for a full list.

In order to run GravityBox, you'll need a rooted Android device running 4.1 or higher, and preferably a Nexus/Google Play Edition one, since it's designed for AOSP hardware and ROMs. Then you'll need to install and configure the popular Xposed Framework. Finally, grab GravityBox from its home on the original XDA thread. As always when tinkering with root-enabled software, it's probably a good idea to make a backup before you go digging into the various settings. NOTE: For UNC, you need to donate to GravityBox.

EDIT: There is another module on Xposed framework exclusively for Heads up. Get it here!

So guys, that's all about Head Up! Let me know any suggestions in the comments section below. If you liked this article, you can read similar ones by using the labels on the right hand side. Follow me on Google+ to be one of the first people to know when we post more awesome content! Keep reading! :D

Friday, June 20, 2014

Android week! 4.4.4, Amazon fire phone and customization goodness!

This week was very exciting for Android enthusiasts like me with the announcement of 4.4.4,  3 new launchers, Google's announcement of the death of Dalvik (long live dalvik) and a new theme by +Arz Bhatia !

Kitkat 4.4.4



Google is certainly on a roll with just a week of gap in between 4.4.3 and 4.4.4. I think it's just time for 4.5 / 5.0! ;) There are no major changes in this new build but Sprint says it includes security fixes. Custom ROMs like +CyanogenMod and +Paranoid Android are already testing 4.4.4 and will be included in their next build(s).

Dalvik is dead, long live Dalvik!



Ever since we first saw ART appear alongside the release of Android 4.4 Kitkat, we all knew that it would eventually replace the aging and relatively inefficient Dalvik runtime compiler. Well folks, the time is now upon us, as commits made late last night to the AOSP master branch show Dalvik getting the axe and ART being set as the default.

Amazon fire phone announced


Amazon on Wednesday officially introduced its own smartphone, as expected, and it offers several unique features that may help it stand out in the crowded smartphone market. The device is called the Fire Phone and it sports a 4.7-inch IPS LCD HD display with Gorilla Glass 3 for extra strength, a rubber frame, aluminum buttons and injection-molded steel connectors that Amazon says “ensures a tight and precise fit,” which the device is charging.

 Under the hood, the Fire Phone is powered by a 2.2GHz quad-core processor with Adreno 330 graphics and 2GB of RAM. It also has a 13-megapixel camera with optical image stabilization, a feature that has helped phones like the original HTC One, the Nexus 5 and LG G3 capture amazing images. Also, another feature we love, the device has a dedicated camera button and will offer unlimited photo storage on Amazon Cloud Drive.

The phone is heading to AT&T with 32GB of storage for $199.99 with a new two-year contract, or for $299.99 with a new two-year contract with 64GB of storage. Pre-orders begin now and the device launches July 25.

The top 5 features of this phone include:
  • 4 front cameras which provide a "Dynamic Perspective Display"
  • 13 MP camera with OIS
  • Firefly: A software which enables you to point your camera at anything and get information about it
  • Mayday: Video chat with a tech support representative 24x7 and connect within 15 seconds
  • 1 year of Amazon Prime free worth 99$
OEM launcher goodness

If you are not familiar with the awesomeness of Android launchers, I recommend you read this article, which I wrote a long time ago, first!


Nokia announced Launcher Z for Android which has pretty good reviews so far. Z launcher is currently in limited pre-beta release, and anyone can sign up through Google+. As of now, the download is available for Android users running 4.1 and up, and has been specifically optimized to work with the Galaxy S5, S4, S3 and Nexus 5.


Nokia’s not the only player in town with Android launcher news today, and while its new Z Launcher may be grabbing all the headlines, we’ve also just picked up on word of another new launcher, nearly ready to head out. And like Nokia, with its Symbian roots and move to Windows Phone, we’re looking at a release from another company more traditionally associated with a platform other than Android: Jolla. While work on Sailfish OS continues, Jolla’s releasing what it calls its Jolla Launcher in an effort to give Android users a preview of how Sailfish looks and feels.

Alpha testing of the Jolla Launcher begins next week, with signups open now. In general, phones running Android 4.3 or better will be supported, but Jolla’s primary focus is on the Nexus 4 and Nexus 5. Users interested in bring part of this test group can find registration instructions through the source link; just please be ready and willing to provide Jolla feedback on your experience with the launcher – this is an alpha test, after all.


Terrain is a Samsung funded launcher that is gesture based and aims at simplifying user experience. It's fast, it's light, and it's driven by intuitive gestures that makes the best of your touchscreen's swiping ability.
KEY FEATURES:
* A Bird's Eye View with Smart Sidebar — curate all your favorite content (apps, tools, contacts, news, social) to view at a glance or dive in for a deeper look. The sidebar is easy to personalize; just pick the content you want from our free cards library and arrange your cards however you like.
* Find Things Fast with Local Phone Search — quickly find any contact or app on your phone with just a swipe
* Stay Organized with Apps Drawer — we’ve cleaned up the Apps screen so it’s easier to find the app you’re looking for
* Navigate Quickly with Swipe Gestures — swipe right for Sidebar, up for Search, and left for Apps
* No Battery Impact — unlike other smart launchers, Terrain is optimized for efficiency and will not kill your battery
* Change Homescreen Icon Grid Size — adjust how many icons can fit on your homescreen
* 100% Android -- everything you love about Android (widgets, homescreens, adjustable grid size)Links: Launcher Z, Jolla(alpha) and Terrain.

Theming awesomeness for power Android users!



People who are into custom ROMs and theming their phone probably know Arz Bhatia and his awesome new Fi theme. Yesterday, he launched his new theme called Nue. It is neon green/black color based and you can get it here. Ofcourse, it requires a rooted device along with a custom ROM like PA or CM that supports theming. 

That's all for today's Android goodness! I hoped you liked this article and if you did, please check out our other articles listed on the right hand side and you can use the labels to find articles that might interest you! You can also follow me on Google+, using the widget, so that you will be one of the first people to know when I write a new article! Keep being awesome! :D

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Tech roundup: Android 4.4.3, iOS 8, Mac OS X and more!

Today was a very busy day! First of, this is a new style of writing I am trying and I don't think this will be done frequently. That said, you can tell me about anything you want to know on Google+ or in the articles and I will try my best to explain in an article!

Android 4.4.3!


Google didn't quite announce the 4.4.3 update but instead, they started rolling out OTA updates to Nexus devices which you can download here, unlike some companies who tend to announce their NEW and INNOVATIVE OS months before the actual release and give their customers buggy betas ;)

The update squashes a few bugs in 4.4.2 related to the CPU usage and the Nexus 5 camera along with a newer Phone app with Card UI for Speed Dial. Further, Google is said to bring few more fixes with its new Android 4.4.3 update which include fixes for data connection loss, random reboots, missed calls and various camera bugs.

iOS 8.0 and Mac OS X 10.10 "Yosemite" :



Before starting, please excuse me for a moment for being satirical. I think Apple just waits for Android features to be a success and then implements it in iOS, giving the feature it's own UI touch and then talks to the world as if they invented it and nobody else has done it before. As an example, Tim was saying in the Keynote how Android is behind time and a few moments later, he started explaining the "new" features in iOS 8 that have been in Android since GB or ICS days. Also, does EVERY new Apple product has to be the "biggest change to the iOS/iPhone/iPad yet"? In fact, there is an whole article showing how most of the new features in iOS are already on Android. You can read it here.

iOS 8 allows all your iOS devices to sync photos. The messages app allows you to send audio and video, shortcuts in notifications and recent apps, a new keyboard that has swype typing and some more things. You can read about them all in detail over here.

Mac OS X 10.10 has a few visual changes regarding translucent bars and connectivity with iOS. Apple users can now accept calls and read/respond to text messages on their iPad or OS X machine.

As every year, Apple has announced betas for both the OSs and will be finally rolling out in September.

New Chromecast capabilites:

Google announced today that the subscribers of ESPN on their TV and having the WatchESPN app on the Android phone will now be able to cast ESPN videos onto their Chromecast.

Starting today, you can now also cast photos and videos from your Google+ page using the Photos app on your Android device, iPhone and iPad or on the computer by clicking on the "Cast" button while on Google+.

Moto Stream announced:

The Moto Stream is Motorola's attempt to fix the Nexus Q. If you don't know what the Nexus Q is, I don't blame you :P


The Moto Stream is a icosahedron shaped device which is aimed to make ANY speaker bluetooth enabled. It's as simple as that. It has Bluetooth 3.0 capabilities with upto 300 feet of connectivity. It is NFC enabled so you can just tap your phone/tablet and connect.

A maximum of 5 Bluetooth devices can be connected at one time and there is a queuing facility available. The Moto Stream is available for 50$ from today on the Motorola website and in RadioShack from 6th June.


That's all for today's tech round up! If you liked this article, please +1 and follow us on Google+, the link is on the right side. And also, all our other articles are listed on the right side. Keep reading! :D



Saturday, May 24, 2014

Why Android and Windows Phone Devices DO Need More RAM!

I'm pretty sure this conversation will be familiar to most of you.
You: "My new XYZ phone/tablet has 2 gigs of RAM. How much does your iPhone/iPad have?"
Random friend: "What are you going to do with 2 gigs of RAM on your mobile device?"
And then, no matter how much you try to explain them, they just sit there, understanding nothing, like typical Apple users.

Well, now you have an answer.

Most of the Android and Windows Phone devices come with 1080p (1920x1080) displays and 2 GB RAM nowadays. But, some phones like Vivo Xplay 3S, LG G3 and Oppo Find 7 come with 2K (2560x1440) displays. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to make this deduction that all phones with 2K displays come with 3 GB RAM. Do you see where I'm going with this?



More pixels means more RAM required by the GPU. The Nexus 10 was announced in 2012 and was pretty much the first mobile device to feature a resolution of 2560x1440. I remember being disappointed that the Google event was cancelled due to Hurricane Sandy but just watching the specs of the Nexus 10 more than made up for it! It boasted of a Cortex-A15 dual core processor, 2 GB RAM and a 2K display. Those specs rock even today!

When I first booted my Nexus 10, I was surprised that it showed a total of only 1.5 GB RAM. After the 4.2.2 OTA update, it went down to 1.1 GB! I was mad. But, then I read somewhere on XDA that the GPU requires DEDICATED 900 MB of RAM for the enormous resolution.

The iPhone 5S has a resolution of 1136x640 and 1 GB DDR2 RAM. Less pixels on iPhone means less RAM required. It also has a little to do with the manufacturer bloat of Android devices but I am considering only stock Android/Google Play Edition devices here.

And this is the exact same reason why the Moto G and Moto E can run smoothly with 1 GB RAM. I hope now you understand why Android phones need more RAM and can shut your iCrap friends as well! :P

That's it guys. I hope you liked this short article. You can read our other write-ups which are listed on the right hand side. Please follow us on Google+ from the right side of this blog to be one of the first ones to know whenever we write a new article!

Monday, May 5, 2014

Have we reached tech saturation or are we expecting too much?

Everytime, the same thing happens. A manufacturer announces it's newest flagship and the tech world goes gaga for that particular device, until, it is slowly forgotten and thrown into the tech oblivion.

HTC announced it's new flaship, the HTC One M8 in March and to be honest, I was yawning during the keynote. I mean, if I can get the old HTC One for even 3/4th the price of the new one, I would not think for even one second. I think that HTC hyped the phone too much on YouTube and Twitter and raised people's expectations far from what the M8 could actually deliver. You can read my overview of the HTC One M8 here.

HTC's newest flagship. the One M8, compared to it's predecessor

The case is similar even with the Samsung Galaxy S5, Sony Xperia Z2 and many more flagships of leading manufacturers who seem to just refine their last year's phone with a newer processor, a higher quality camera and in a little bigger chassis.

Samsung Galaxy S5 and S4

Don't get me wrong, I think they are all great phones but as compared to one year old models, they are only a fraction better. According to me, Nexus 6(?) > Sony Xperia Z2 > Oppo Find 7 > Samsung Galaxy S5  > Oneplus One > HTC M8 >>> iPhone 6(:P).

The beauties of the Android world: Sony Xperia Z1 and Z2

These facts make us wonder whether we have reached saturation or our limit of innovation. The fact is that, as we are going forward in time the changes in phones become more and more subtle. You could easily tell between a Samsung Galaxy S3 and a S4 but the Galaxy S5 and Galaxy S4 look almost identical. Also, I think that the fact that the HTC One M8 and the Samsung Galaxy S5 have lesser pixel density than last year's models support my point.

The purpoted flagship-killer of the newly found Chinese manufacturer, Oneplus

So... What does this conclude? We do have great new and innovative technology like Phoneblocks, Moto 360, Google Glass and many more devices. But, the problem is that we really have achieved too much in the recent years and that's why we don't get surprised by anything nowadays. The HTC One M8 and the Oneplus One are the perfect examples for hyping a device out of it's abilities. No doubt that they are both beatiful phones but they just couldn't live up to the hype. But we can still count on Google and the next Nexus manufacturer that we will again be awed by the it's brilliance. A few months ago, I told my co-writer, +Jay Shah, that the perfect phone for me would be built by HTC, have the software of Google and hand-picked features from Samsung and Motorola!

With all this, there is one thing we know that Android power users like me can always count on ROM makers like +CyanogenMod  and +Paranoid Android that they will come up with something awesome!

Other articles:
Oneplus One overview here
Samsung Galaxy S5 overview here
Oppo Find 7 articles here and here
Oppo Find 7 vs Sony Xperia Z2 here
HTC One M8 overview here

All our other articles are listed at the right hand side. Add us to your Google+ circles to be one of the first to know whenever we write new articles!
google.com/+ultrafiniteblogspot

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Best Online April Fool's Jokes!

When it's April 1st, you kind of know not to believe everything you see online. Nowadays, tech companies have a lot of fun besides innovating awesome new technology. And this year, mostly all major companies are involved from a legacy I believe was created by Google. Google has always been an awesome company which can be dubbed as a "Community of Geeks" (if it isn't offensive :P) But this year was really special because even sites like The Pirate Bay were involved. Anyways, here is a list of all pranks that I found. Btw, I will keep updating this list whenever I find new ones.

Google Maps: Google release an update to Google Maps yesterday in which when you update the app, open it, press on the search bar and press start, it takes you to a virtual world in which Pokemons are hidden everywhere and the first person to collect them all wins! They also released a pretty hilarious video.


Samsung Fingers: Samsung was the first one to mock wearable devices this year and this was probably the most detailed prank in the history of April Fool's day including specifications and everything. See whole article here.


HTC Gluuve: HTC was quick to follow in the footsteps of Samsung (didn't see that coming XP)  and mocked a wearable HTC M8 lookalike with BoomSound and a camera. Read the full article here.


PA Hover: Perhaps this April Fool's joke hurt me the most. Paranoid Android, a custom ROM maker, were teasing Hover, a remake of Halo(floating window feature) and I was super happy to know they finally announced it. But it was just another prank :( The Google+ post is here.


Youtube Trends: Almost every department of Google have their own prank so who can stop YouTube? In  a released video, YouTube "revealed" every viral video ever was meticulously crafted by the YouTube staff and they even predicted the future viral videos of 2014.
Extra tip: If you search "clocking" on YouTube, you will see a stick figure clock! (See the video below if you don't know what clocking means)


XDA Boots: XDA is another geek community who always have fun while making awesome new ROMs. Today, XDA announced "Boot" which allows any user to request to 'boot' their account which basically means they won't be able to access it for the specified duration of time. Full article here.


Nokia 3310: The Nokia 3310 is one of the most famous "non-smart" phones ever. It is speculated that Chuck Norris once dropped his Nokia 3310 and it caused an earthquake in Haiti :P Anyways, the only thing that held back the 3310 was it's camera. But this is no longer. Nokia officially announced that they will be re-releasing the 3310 with a 41 MP pureview camera!! Read full article here.


Google Chrome emoji: The Chrome department of Google release an update to the Play Store and Apple App Store with a simple slogan, "Emojify the Web". After installing the update, you can see in the menu, an option to "Translate to Emojis", clicking which, will try to translate the text into Emojis! If you are reading this on Chrome browser on you iPhone or Android device, tell me what things in this article are Emojified in the comments section! Watch the full video here.

Oppo O lenses: Oppo is desperately trying to join the "Elite" smartphone manufacturers of the world and in my opinion, it is succeeding! When the engineers at Oppo aren't designing a next-gen 2K display, they design O-lenses! O-lenses are smart contact lenses that everybody dreams of! Read full article here.


Sony power food: This prank is pretty simple. The people at Sony have discovered a new enzyme called Voltaic enzyme. This enzyme can convert food fats directly to power and you can be saved at crucial times!


Google Magic Hand: This prank comes from the Japan division of Google. The Google Japanese input keyboard has a swipe to type feature and this "magic hand" is basically a joystick which can make it easier for touch controls. The video also contains other little jokes like wearing your magic hand as a tie!
Note: Turn on the Closed Captioning in English as the video is in Japanese.


Motorola Boot animation: The work environment at Motorola has become very similar to Google after it's acquisition and take over by Lenovo. A few days ago, it was confirmed that Google had started asking manufacturers to brand boot animations with a specific "Powered by Android" lockup as part of Google's Mobile Services license. Samsung's Galaxy S5 and HTC's new One M8 both carry the branding, and today Motorola's Moto X and Moto G have joined the party, but Motorola has something else in store as well - a new boot animation just in time for April Fools Day. The animation features a UFO, bigfoot, and the Loch Ness Monster, all exposed by Motorola's spotlight. Check out the full sequence below.


The Pirate Bay: The Torrent search giant announced that they deleted all torrents and now we can see, feel and hear Pirate Bay. Read full article here.

Virgin Mobile Canada: Smart Shoes were the only thing left and Virgin Mobile Canada has made it a reality in the form of a April fool's prank. There are two versions of this "smartshoe": Smartsneak and Smartletto. Read full article here.



Mycolorscreen's MyColorLife: Mycolorscreen is the best Android homescreen theming sites and today they released a video stating that from now on, they will also help in "theming" your home, choosing wallpapers, locks etc. If you own an Android device, I personally recommend you to go to Mycolorscreen for theming your device!


Chromecast for squirrels: Squirrels need entertainment as well, don't they? That's why Google decided to make chromecast in a way that is very easy for squirrels to watch shows like "Squirrels got Talent" on their TV from the internet!


Google+ Auto Awesome David Hasselhoff: Google+'s Auto Awesome feature is really awesome and for today, the Baywatch star can photobomb into any of your photos!


Franco Kernel updater: Okay, this is another one of those Android power user kind of things. The Franco Kernel is a kernel for Nexus devices that makes your device feel super fast and smooth. There is also an app on the Play Store called the Franco Kernel Updater which helps you to easily update your kernel whenever a new version is available and the money can also help +Francisco Franco to develop. Franco posted on Google+ today that the app is free from today. But after checking the Play Store, I got sad. Well played Franco, well played. :P

Swiftkey Flow Hard: This is the only April Fool's prank that is quite awesome and actually works! Swiftkey is a very famous aftermarket Android keyboard and I think it recently made an appearance in iOS as well. Swiftkey Flow Hard allows you to swype with your physical keyboard and it worked almost 6/10 times for me in the test space thay have provided. Read the full article and try swiping here!


CyanogenMod: If Paranoid Android was involved into April fool's day, what can stop Cyanogenmod? In yesterday's nightly, Cyanogenmod turned all ringtones into voices of sheep!



Samsung Galaxy Spoon: Our friends at Samsung Austria seem to understand our passion for food and taking pictures of food. The Samsung Galaxy Spoon allows you to eat and share picture of the food that you are putting in your mouth in real-time. There is also a feature where you can receive a warning message when you have eaten too many calories or when the food is still too hot for your mouth. Now all wehave to wait for is the Samsung Galaxy Dinner table set.


Samsung Fli-Fy: Samsung Mobile UK has unveiled Samsung Fli-Fy pilot scheme in London. Fli-Fy, a micro-router, delivers free Wi-Fi and is able to connect thousands of devices with superfast download speed by enabling Micro-routers on pigeons. Pigeons have hollow legs, which allow for an electric charge to flow up into the micro-router; pigeons can keep the network powered by simply standing on power lines. So no worries about the power supply. This innovative pilot scheme can potentially support up to 20G network, which is super innovative super-fast. If this pilot scheme is successful, Samsung will roll out the network across the entire UK. This will also include the release of the free Samsung Fli-Fy app – available on Samsung Apps – which will allows users to check the strength of their local network. So next time you see pigeons, feel free to feed them and keep your wi-fi karma going strong.


Samsung Puppy Fit: To have a healthy relationship with your puppy, it is not only important for you to stay healthy, but it is also important for your puppy to stay fit as well. A relationship is a two way street and both parties need to put effort into it. Samsung Puppy Fit will help your dog get in shape with its various innovative features. We have no idea how many colors Samsung Puppy Fit comes in, but so far the dog communities seem to show their enthusiasm with their tails.


Woah! Those are a lot of merry pranksters on the internet! So... That's it guys, hope to see you soon. If you liked this article, please also read our other articles which are listed on the right and share it with your friends who love Android too! Also, if you want to make sure you are one of the first persons to get notified when we write more awesome stuff like this, add me in your circles, +1 or follow the blog via e-mail!

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

It's Time ... !!

I'm Back !! 

Heyy guys .. "It's Time" since i've written an article.For people who don't know me, it is perectly all right as i showed up only once in the G Flex review. Well, now that high school exams come to an end, "It's Time" to informate all of my viewers with COOL information every week !! You guys can follow me on google plus and message me on Facebook .. in case you want reviews on tech stuff and you can let me know in the comments below.

P.S. "It's Time, but i will take time to follow my resolution about writing stuff on OUR blog and yeah i hope, i present what u want ...." .... and "It's time" is just not something i am madly talking ... but it's a fantastic watch from motorola known as the moto 360 and i just can't resist "not staring" at the beautiful timepiece.
"It's Time" to go !! :P

STAY COOL !!

Friday, March 14, 2014

10000 page views!

As you can see on the right hand side, this blog reached 10000 views!! 5 digit numbers feel good!  I just wanted to say that my exams are going on and as soon as they get over, I will be back on track for your Android quota! Btw, I still cannot believe that only my second article, Google Chromecast Review, has the highest pageviews out of all of them! You can follow this blog via E-mail on the right hand side or in your RSS feed as well.

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Welcome to our new blog!

We moved here from ultimateandroidtricks.blogspot.com because the URL was too long to remember and type. Let me give you the brief meaning why we chose this name. Me and my co-writer +Jay Shah were discussing the new name of our blog since a very long time(about 1 month) due to reasons given above. We came up with other awesome names as well if you want to use them:

  • Androphile (this was an awesome name because it meant "Android loving" to me but I was shocked when I saw the actual meaning)
  • Technoholic (nice but the current one is better)
  • Androholic
  • Technophile
  • Eagle
  • Ultratech
  • much more, don't remember...
But our current name, "Ultrafinite" means the mathematical concept that infininty doesn't exist. We liked the name and the meaning we saw on Wikipedia encouraged us to use that. You can read the wiki article here.

Anyways, that's it guys. Please read our articles which are listed on the right or the recent ones below this article. Also, if you want to make sure you are one of the first persons to get notified when we write more awesome stuff, add me in your circles, +1 or follow the blog via e-mail!

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Chromecast SDK opened for public!

I wrote the Google Chromecast review in October of last year when it was about 3-4 months old. I recommend you read that article here before reading this one.

When Google released the Chromecast in July alongwith the Nexus 7(2013), the tech media went crazy about how such a small device which is so cheap can have so much possibilities. At that time, you could cast local files from your PC or phone using services like Fling, Allcast etc. But, on August 24th, Google killed that feature to cast local content to your chromecast via a software update calling it as a "security risk". Again, the tech world went crazy but this time, in a bad way. Everybody started criticizing Google about how it doesn't support open source and all that..

Yesterday, on 3rd February 2014, Google announced that the Cast SDK is now open for developers who want to add chromecast functionality to their apps and also to end users as now, everybody can cast local files. So, what does this mean? Famous developer +Koushik Dutta had already created an app called Allcast that can cast local photo, audio or video files directly to your chromecast. You can see the app here. Not only this, many other famous apps can now also have built-in chromecast support. Kudos to Google (Although it took such a long time :P)!

So that's it guys, hope to see you soon. If you liked this article, please also read my other articles which are listed on the left and share it with your friends who love Android too! Also, if you want to make sure you are one of the first persons to get notified when we write more awesome stuff like this, add me in your circles, +1 or follow the blog via e-mail!


Tuesday, December 31, 2013

IR blasters in modern smartphones

Way before bluetooth or any other wireless form of transferring files between two devices were invented, you may recall that many of the Palm, Symbian, and Windows Mobile devices that once comprised the market were equipped with infrared transmitters and receivers for the purpose of transferring files. But, bluetooth had to be invented because of two reasons: infrared transfer only worked for very small distances(not greater than 15 cms) and they were EXTREMELY slow(in the order of 10-30 k Bps). 

Despite of it's disadvantages, smartphone manufacturers found another implementation of IR blasters: TV remotes. In my opinion, this is an ingeniously clever idea. I mean, think about it. If there are 4 people in your house and each person has his/her own smartphone then what is the use of 3-4 remotes  lying in the living room(TV, Set top box, Home theatre etc.) If you lose your remotes(everybody does) there is no guaranteed way of finding them but you can just call on your phone if it gets lost inside your own house. Heck, there are even apps on the Play Store that let you use these IR ports for your Air Conditioner! 


2 of the best Android phones of 2013: Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One sport IR blaster for this purpose. You can see the IR blaster, which is a black circle, on top edge of the Galaxy S4, right to the headphone jack (when looking in front of the screen) but you might be thinking "Where is it on the HTC One?". It is cleverly hidden beneath the power button by HTC (kudos!) Samsung even included IR blasters in it's tablets including the Note 10.1 and Note 8.0 

Looking at the rise of the IR Blaster (sounds like a villain, doesn't it? :P) Google decided to include an API for building an app that makes use of these IR blaster if it is present on the device. "Android 4.4 introduces platform support for built-in IR blasters, along with a new API and system service that let you create apps to take advantage them.Using the new API, you can build apps that let users remotely control nearby TVs, tuners, switches, and other electronic devices. The API lets your app check whether the phone or tablet has an infrared emitter, query it's carrier frequencies, and then send infrared signals.Because the API is standard across Android devices running Android 4.4 or higher, your app can support the broadest possible range of vendors without writing custom integration code." Quoted from here. Of course, this means that it only supports sending signals and not receiving them. 

So that's it guys, let me know in the comments section what you think about IR blasters coming again inn smartphones. Also, any suggestions are welcome. If you liked this article, please also read my other articles below and share it with your friends who love Android too! Also, if you want to make sure you are one of the first persons to get notified when we write more awesome stuff like this, add me in your circles, +1 or follow the blog via e-mail!


Wednesday, December 4, 2013

4000 views!

As you can see on the left side of the blog, we just reached 4000 views!!! We wan't to thank you all for the support and please keep supporting us in the future as well! Don't forget to +1 the blog, follow the blog via email or add me in your circles on Google+ to get notified whenever we post more awesome content!

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

6 advantages and disadvantages of rooting your Android device!

Hey guys! I am sorry, I haven't typed an article in about 5 days due to my exams... Anyways, tomorrow is Halloween! And as '666' is called the beasts's number, today, I give you 6 advantages and 6 disadvantages of rooting your Android device.


Advantages:

  1. Customization: After you have rooted your phone, you can make your phone "different" from the usual. Looking at you, Apple ;) Just for naming a few, you can put a background in your notification drawer, make it transparent, customize your quick toggles screen and the tiles' behavior, change your boot animation, selecting from thousands of themes available in the Play Store, make your status bar/navigation bar transparent, etc.
  2. Added software features: If you are not new to rooting, you may have already heard of +Paranoid Android . If you have not, it is a custom ROM which is based on AOSP (Android Open Source Project) with tons of added features like halo(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5WljHcOyXs) and Pie controls(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1F7l4d3bjFM). There are many other ROMs with tons of other added features! 
  3. Overclocking: For improved battery life and stability, phone manufacturers generally underclock or keep the frequency of the processor significantly lower than the maximum capacity. Overclocking means to amp up your phone processor's frequency to help improve performance in games, other processor intensive apps or just for overall UI smoothness.
  4. Software updates: Android is infamous for software fragmentation and mostly in lower-mid end devices to delay the OTA updates to bump up the software version. And even if the manufacturers have the software update ready, many times the phone carriers have to add their 'bloatware'. A good example of this is the Samsung Galaxy S4 (international version) received the 4.3 version update just about a week ago but the US versions still don't have it yet. Another example is the HTC One. But, in this case, none of the versions has still received the 4.3 update. But, if you root your Android device, you no longer have to wait for the manufacturer to update your device via OTA.
  5. Bloatware/Manufacturer's skin: Samsung's Touchwiz and HTC's Sense are the most famous Android custom 'skins'. In the initial years of Android, it didn't have much polish and that 'polish' was provided to Android by HTC in the form of Sense. But after 2010, Android and it's developers have improved drastically and it no longer needs the much hyped polish as it already has it out of the box. On the contrary, sometimes these skins come in the way of our tasks and take up too much of RAM and storage. After having rooted your Android device, you no longer have to put up with these skins!
  6. Other improvements: After rooting, you don't only have advantage of software improvements but also hardware improvements. An ideal example of this is applications like DSP Manager and Viper4Andorid. Both these applications have the same basic concept, to improve the audio performance of your device byb adjusting the base, treble etc. as per your liking. Another example is for phones which have capacitive navigation buttons (like HTC phones) and it is called Swipe/Sweep2wake. Basically, you don't have to press the power button but just swipe across the capacitive keys of your phone.
Disadvantages:

  1. Void of warranty: If you have any problem in your phone that is covered in the warranty, you won't be able to claim it.
  2. Shortage of developers: If you have a famous high-end Android device then you don't have to read this but if you own a low-mid end device, the no. of developers can be quite limited. And this means that you may not have as many ROMs as other famous devices have.
  3. Bugs: No custom Android ROM is bug-free. Literally, there are NONE. It may have a very minor one, but it HAS to have one. Also, before ROMs are released to public, they generally go through minimum 2 phases(maybe more): Alpha and Beta. Alpha versions generally have very little things working but it is for the people who just want to experience something new. Beta builds are comparatively significantly more stable and has much less bugs.  
  4. Chances of bricking: If you are new to rooting Android, you might as well take help from a friend who is experienced in all this stuff or follow EXACTLY as the person who made the video explains STEP-BY-STEP. Bricking is generally caused by skipping a minor step that might not seem important to you but it might be the most crucial step of the rooting/modding process or by simple carelessness.
  5. No consumer support: If you have a problem, there is no"helpline" or "consumer support" to get help from. If you have a problem, search on the internet for it and ONLY if after finding for a long time, you don't get it, post the problem(in the appropriate category) in a community like XDA. And, if you are lucky, you have to wait for someone else to fix it for you if you don't know how to do it. Although, 90% of the times, people don't search in the proper places and post their problems, whose solution is already present on the internet.
  6. Time consuming: I remember, when I rooted my first Android device,the HTC Explorer, it took me about 2 hours. And this is mostly the case for non-geeks. Also, as I stated before, there is a chance of bricking your phone by not doing it properly.
Conclusion: If you are the kind of people that overlooks the cons of a thing(like me), I would recommend you to root your Android device. But, it takes patience and also, not all Android devices are easily rootable. Nexus devices are basically meant for rooting and that's why Google makes sure not to make the process of rooting one a pain in the ass. The decision is totally upto you! Let me know in the comments section if you are already rooted or you made your mind after reading this article. :) 
And if you want to be one of the first ones to know whenever we post more awesome stuff like this, make sure you +1 or subscribe by e-mail and don't forget to tell your friends if you like it!

Friday, October 25, 2013

1000 page views celebration!

Thank you guys! We have almost reached a 1000 pageviews and as a celebration of that, we are giving away 4 Aviate beta codes! Initially, we planned to also giveaway Themer codes as well but yesterday, Mycolorscreen(developer of Themer) decided to release the application as a open beta. You can download it from here. But, before you guys get rushing to try the beta code, I wanna warn you guys that these are on-time only codes and if anybody used them before you did, they WILL NOT WORK. 
Anyways, here are the codes, enjoy!
1) 3325F
2) E076E
3) 88142
4) A139H

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

How to create a music playlist in Google Play Music

If you are like me and listen to music on your android phone, you should know that Google Play Music is one of the best music players. Personally, when I had to create a new playlist except from the favorites, I got frustrated. I had to find a lot and when I finally found it, I thought it was kind of a stupid way..
Note: I have installed a CM12 theme so your Google Play Music may not look the same as mine!
So, lets begin:

1) Go to My Library



2) Go to "Songs".Next to the song you want to add, you will see a 'menu' button, press on that.

3) Select the option "Add to queue"



4) Do this for all the songs you want in your playlist.

5) Swipe up from the bottom.


6) Click on the music like icon(look in the screenshots)

7) Press the menu button and select "Save queue"



8) Select "New Playlist" and give your playlist a name.




Voila!
If this was a help to you, please comment below or follow me or our blog's official page on Google+ to be one of the first ones to know whenever we post more awesome content! :)