If you own or have ever used an Android tablet, you know that the same app will run differently on the tablet than it will on the phone. This is because each app has its own DPI setting that dictates the app’s behavior. In a lot of cases, tablet apps are better: they often present split-screened views, more controls, and more customization potential. What if you could run tablet apps on your phone? Better yet, what if you could selectively choose which apps run in tablet mode, and which apps in phone mode? Then you could have your email be shown in a super-productive split-column [...]
Jelly Bean is increasingly becoming available for a wide range of Android phones. First we showed you the Galaxy S III, then the One X, and now the Galaxy Note with this early build of Android 4.1 via a preview of CyanogenMod 10. So far, we’ve found the CM10 previews to be exceptionally stable and (most importantly) fast. How about the Galaxy Note? Well, that might be the exception. While the CM10 preview works in terms of functionality, there are some performance issues that keep it from being as incredibly smooth as the other two aforementioned devices. There seems to be some [...]
At last, a preview of the Jelly Bean-based CyanogenMod 10 has been released for the HTC One X! This indeed fixes our number one problem with the One X cited in the review: lag. On the One X with stock software with Sense 4.0, we found lack around every corner, which was surprising for such a high-end phone. Jelly Bean on the One X is super duper fast, whether browsing the web, opening folders, or moving between apps. In fact, we’d say that it’s a pinch faster than the already-fast CyanogenMod 10 port to the Galaxy S III we recently showed you. That said, installing CM 10 on [...]
Google Now is an impressive part of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean (and it’s available for Ice Cream Sandwich devices). It can provide you with relevant information depending on where you are, what you’re doing, and what you’ve recently searched for. On the Galaxy Nexus, Google Now is accessible from both the lock screen and from doing a sliding gesture from the on-screen Home button. If you’re running a Jelly Bean port on any hardware that doesn’t have on-screen buttons, like the Galaxy S III, this gesture doesn’t work. You can still access Google Now from [...]
It didn’t take very long for the Galaxy S III to get Jelly Bean. The CyanogenMod 10 preview release, while not intended for daily use, is very much good enough to be used all day. Not only is it good enough, but it’s super fast, in fact, we’ve found it faster than a stable release of CyanogenMod 9, which is Ice Cream Sandwich-based (and soon to reach release candidate status). In the CyanogenMod 10 preview, all the Jelly Bean goodies are there: Google Now, Project Butter (hint: web browsing is insanely fluid), improved notifications, and the upgraded launcher. Of [...]