Install Android 4.3 on your Galaxy S4 (GT-I9505)

Install Android 4.3 on your Galaxy S4 (GT-I9505)

admin   6:06 PM   Comment  

We have obtained the first Android 4.3 test build firmware for the Google Play Edition Galaxy S4 (GT-I9505G). We wanted to test out Android 4.3 but didn’t had the Google variant of the Galaxy S4 with us, so we ported it to our standard Snapdragon-powered Galaxy S4 (GT-I9505) and got some outstanding results.

Android 4.3 port from the Google Play Edition Galaxy S4 isfully functional on the standard Snapdragon-powered Galaxy S4 (GT-I9505), there is not even a single thing which isn’t working. We haven’t made any changes to the port, so it’s 100% original with zero changes.

Note:
- This is not flashable through Odin.
- This will void your warranty.
- Don’t attempt this if you don’t have the skills to flash a custom ROM
- You are doing this on your own risk

System details:
Android version: 4.3
Build ID: JWR66N
PDA: I9505GUEUBMFP
CSC: I9505GXARBMFP
Build Date: 26 June 2013
Changelist: 968842

Requirements:
- Samsung Galaxy S4 (GT-I9505)
- Custom Recovery

Instructions:
- Copy Google Play Edition ROM to your internal SD Card
- Enter Recovery (Power + Volume Up + Home)
- Do a Wipe/Factory Reset (Necessary due to new Android version)
- Flash Google Play Edition ROM
- Reboot your device!

Download: (Choose either one)
- Android-4.3-I9505GUEUBMFP-Odexed-I9505.zip
MD5: 363ED9CC32A841A512E72372A19C7D05

- Android-4.3-I9505GUEUBMFP-Deodexed-I9505.zip
MD5: 74D241B64266220161018EB98A19F279

Google hasn’t made Android 4.3 public yet, but it’s good to know that OEMs already have access to the source code. Early access will result in quick software updates and less Android fragmentation. Keep in mind, Android 4.3 is still in development phases and does not have all the features which are yet to be implemented.

Screenshots:

Best Lock Screen Widgets For Android 4.2 Devices

Tips

Best Lock Screen Widgets For Android 4.2 Devices

admin   4:42 PM   Comment  

Android 4.2 Jelly Bean did not bring any new major feature, but it did bring some usability enhancements like a gesture typing keyboard and lock screen widgets. The current implementation of lock screen widgets in Android 4.2 is pretty poor, though, with the restriction of only one widget and no permanent maximised mode.

However, the ability to keep multiple lock screens with a widget should be a decent workaround for the majority of people out there.

Lock screen widgets will provide access to all your important updates or notifications from your favorite apps or services in just a single glance, without requiring you to unlock your phone every single time. They are especially handy if you use a pattern or numeric lock on your smartphone, since you can view all your important notifications without the need to unlock your phone.

Here are our favorite lock screen widgets for Android.

DashClock Widget – Free

DashClock is an alternative lock screen widget from one of Google’s own developers, Roman Nurik. DashClock, via extensions, allows you to have multiple widgets on a single lock screen. With the help of third-party extensions, you can have all your important information and notifications via DashClock at a glance on your lock screen including your missed calls, SMSs, emails, alarm, battery status, short cuts to your frequently used apps and much more.

In fact, DashClock makes Google’s own lock screen implementation look terribly limited. There is no death of third-party extensions for DashClock as well, with every major app already having released a DashClock extension. If you hated the lock screen implementation in Android 4.2, chances are DashClock will fix it.

Beautiful Widgets/HD Widgets

The Play Store is filled with thousands of weather widgets and apps. Most of them look beautiful in their own right, and do their job of adding the wow effect to your home screen. After all — let’s accept it — how many people actually use a weather widget to actually know the current weather?

HD Widgets/Beautiful Widgets are among the most popular weather apps available on the Play Store, and both feature a lock screen widget that shows the full weather detail when maximised, and only the current weather when minimized. If you are looking to just add a wow factor to your lock screen, you cannot go wrong with either of them.

Simple Dialer Widget – Free

If you are among the minority that still use their smartphone for its primary purpose i.e. to make calls, Simple Dialer Widget is for you. The widget basically places a dialer right on your lock screen, so you can directly dial a number without needing to unlock your phone every single time. The widget also allows access to your call log and contact list to make your life easier.

CLock – Free

The CyanogenMod team includes a very hand cLock lock screen widget with CyanogenMod 10.1. The widget provides you with weather updates, and also displays your calendar entries right on the lock screen, making it perfect for people who like simplicity.

You can manually install the cLock widget on your Android 4.2+ device by downloading the APK from here.

Any.Do/Tasks - Free

After Weather apps, the Play Store is filled with a plethora of To-Do apps. While most of them are of high quality, two apps which standout from the rest are Tasks and Any.Do. The former has a very simple Holo based theme, while the latter has a gorgeous UI that is inspired from Metro. However, both the apps share one common objective of allowing the user to focus solely on his pending tasks, and not spend time on organising them in various folders or categories.

Both the apps are among the most popular To-Do apps in the Android community, and feature a very useful lock screen widget that solely focuses on displaying all your pending tasks and nothing else.

Android Pro Widgets - Free

Android Pro Widgets is a collection of multiple, Sense UI inspired, widgets. It contains multiple widgets for different purposes including a widget for Bookmarks, Facebook, Twitter, Messaging, and Calendar. If you are looking for a beautiful Twitter or Facebook widget or a widget for quick access to your bookmarks from your lock screen, Android Pro widgets will definitely get the job done.

The paid version of Android Pro Widgets also includes a Google Reader widget, which should help in satisfying your news hunger right from your lock screen.

The 5 Best Android Launchers

The 5 Best Android Launchers

admin   8:26 PM   Comment  

 If you are bored of your usual home screen or you’re looking for a new and different way to get along with your Android device, you could find a good number of Android launchers that come in Google Play. Some of them are much better than the manufacturer made launchers and some of them come with most friendly user interface that even beatify your phone for an attractive look.

Here are top five Android launchers you should try for the ultimate user experience as compiled by Android Authority.

-5   91 Launcher

91 Launcher is the most popular Android home replacement application offering users a very smooth experience. It is very simple in nature and if you get into deep customization with it, it sticks to offer the basics such as good widgets, wallpapers and attractive themes. You can personalize and enhance your Android device at your best with its speedy operation.

The app supports Android 2.2 and higher versions. It adds features of latest versions to older phones as well, including resizable widgets and app folders. Power management, weather, system settings and other status widgets also come in hand on the notifications bar.

So if you have thought about it then there’s no looking back because 91 Launcher is worth checking out always.

-4   Apex Launcher

This one comes as a powerful, fast and highly customizable home replacement for Android 4.0 and higher versions. The launcher is so fully filled with features and customized options and has garnered wide attention for its friendly user interaction.

A lot of customization can be done with this app, such as app drawer, home screens, themes, icon packs and cool transition effects. The launcher offers more gesture options and additional transition effects that make it not too difficult.

App launcher also has tablet support and its overall positive experience can give you a slick performance.  But the only drawback is that all the cool features come in paid versions, which would actually not be a surprise.

-3   GO Launcher

 GO Launcher is the most downloadable and popular Android home launcher replacement app. Its free offering packs itself with a lot of customization options and endless supply of add ons.

The apps performance is also said to be very good and can be completely appreciated if set up entirely. With a plethora of themes filled in these apps and a bundle of features and customizations that go on and on, setting up this app entirely may get long hours.

However, for those who always wish to jiggle around with so many options, GO Launcher is just the apt one to proceed with. But this would also be a little more chaotic than other launchers as it crowds itself with many choices.

-2   NOVA Launcher Prime

This performance driven app is considered to be the most dependable and well received launcher as of others. It holds unlimited custom tabs and folders in App Drawer and flaunts an innumerable series of features, themes and customizations, even if it does not overtake the previous one. For eye candy lovers, NOVA Launcher has a good amount of it.

NOVA Launcher Prime is also one of the best in terms of dealing with widgets.  As it supports, users can put one by one widget in the dock and even overlap their widgets to maintain the precious home screen space. There is also an option to create widget collages.

The app runs smoothly being an all rounder in all features.

-1   Smart Launcher Pro

This is an innovative launcher characterized by minimalistic design and low memory usage. The applications get its ways with a user-friendly experience of few taps on your screen.

What makes it different from other launchers mentioned in this list is that it doesn’t stick to general Android aesthetics that other apps follow. People have also liked it as it boasts to be a good one with what it wants to offer.

All you have to do is begin with a single home screen with shortcuts arranged in a circle. These shortcuts can be programmed to open whatever app you want, so that you can get into your frequently used apps faster and more efficiently. From there, you can access a modified app drawer for all your widget needs.

On the whole, this is a launcher that performs differently for those who want to give it a try.

Three fun ways to personalise your Android home screen

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Three fun ways to personalise your Android home screen

admin   3:46 PM   Comment  

One of Android's benefits (or weaknesses, depending on your perspective) is the ease with which you can tweak various aspects of the software, including apps, settings, widgets, home and lock screens and icons.

You can get under the hood of the operating system in a way that just isn't possible on Apple devices without resorting to jailbreaking, and with the right tools to hand, you can put together a home screen that looks completely different from anyone else's.

If you're eager to try your hand at transforming the appearance of your Android phone or tablet's home screens, we've pulled together everything you need to know - cut out the unnecessary clutter and focus on the apps, widgets and information that you really do want to see front and centre.

All of the customisations here can be made without rooting your phone or tablet, though even more tweaks are possible if you do. Here's our ultimate guide to customising your Android device's home screen.

1. Install a launcher

Installing a launcher is the first step in transforming the look of your home screen, and most come with tutorials.

These alternative tools jump into action whenever you hit the Home button, replacing the standard launcher with layouts of their own.

They can change icon sizes, screen layouts and app drawers, as well as show or hide elements like the Google search widget and the notification bar.

Whenever you install a new launcher from Google Play, you'll be given the option to use it as the default. Switch back to the original launcher and your customisations are undone in one fell swoop.

Apex Launcher and Nova Launcher are two of the most popular and most comprehensive launchers in town, and both apps have limited free versions available if you want to test them out before paying any money.

You'll need Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich or later to run either of these tools, but both apps are regularly updated and come with a dizzying array of features and options.

SSLauncher is another popular choice and eschews the grid-based layout favoured by Apex and Nova to give you full pixel-by-pixel control over your widgets and icons. It's compatible with Android 2.2 and above as well, so it's suitable for older handsets.

Other launchers worthy of your consideration include ADW.Launcher, Go Launcher EX andLightning Launcher. Which one will work best for you depends on your device and exactly what you want to achieve.

2. Build shortcuts and widgets

You can just use a launcher on its own to modify the look of your home screens, changing the size of icons and widgets and hiding any elements (such as the dock) that you don't want to see. If you're happy to go a few steps further, though, you can start building your own widgets and icons to your exact requirements, or load in packs and themes created by other users.

Ultimate Custom Widget (UCCW) is the go-to tool here, enabling you to combine images and text with hotspots that lead to an app or setting when tapped.

You can create a custom icon for Gmail, or set the entire home screen to launch Facebook. UCCW can take some getting used to, but play around with the interface and you'll soon get the hang of it. You can drop in the time and date, your current location, the battery status and more besides.

You'll find many themes on MyColorScreen and other sites that come with .uzip files that can be opened up and modified in UCCW, and you can transfer them over to your phone and tablet with an app such as Dropbox or via a good old-fashioned USB cable.

Other tools that will come in handy include Desktop VisualizeR, which gives you free reign to create shortcuts and icons of your own design, and WidgetLocker, which provides a stack of options for modifying the lock screen. Simple Text is one of several apps that can convert your app icons into text instead, while Missed It! is a great choice for customising notification alerts.

3. Put it all together

Use a launcher to change the settings and framework of your home screens, then a widget tool such as UCCW to create your own designs to put into this framework, and you're just about done. Whether you want to go ultra-minimal, or would like to cram as much as you can into one screen, these tools are flexible enough to adapt.

Plenty of pre-made icons and themes can be found on Google Play, as well as other sites such as MyColorScreen and DeviantArt.

To give you a few of examples to get started with, we'd recommend the cheap Minimal UI icon pack, which works with most launchers, the free Power Toggles pack to replace the standard widget set for options such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and Beautiful Widgets Free for some eye-catching clock and weather graphics.

Best Free Apps to Customize Android for Great Looking & Accessibility

Tips

Best Free Apps to Customize Android for Great Looking & Accessibility

admin   2:52 PM   Comment  

As soon as we get our hands on a new phone,  we all want to customize the phone so it resembled everyone’s personal preference. From lockscreen to home screen, app shortcuts, widgets and every little tweak of personalization make an android phone just look better and make it more quick accessible for a user.

Here we will focus on some of the android customization apps which will not only change the look of your android screen but also significantly improved user experience. And you may already realize that our site always look for the best free apps.

Customizing Android Lockscreen:

Personalizing your android device starts from setting up lockscreen. Stock android lockscreen is simple and great but if you want to make it more elegant and get access to  more item then try the following apps.

GO Locker : One of the best app to personalize android lockscreen with a huge collection of themes to match with your style. Allows to define shortcuts and various widgets.

 

GO Locker GO Launcher EX Free

Download

Holo Locker : Another Simple and fast lock screen replacement based on stock jelly bean OS. Add up to four shortcuts for apps. There is also a Holo Locker Plus version available.

Holo Locker Mobint Software Free

Download

Customizing Android HomeScreen:

This is the second part of customizing Android. As soon as you unlock the device it should impress with a great wallpaper and fresh app drawer to access apps quickly. We recommend the following apps.

Photosphere Live Wallpaper : As the name suggest this app allows to set up a Photosphere (360-degree panoramic photo) as your live wallpaper. Use your own images or download a gorgeous image from internet.

Photosphere Live Wallpaper Kittehface Software Free

Download

Apex Launcher : One the most popular Android launcher comes with a big list of features including customizable icon grids, scrollable dock, fancy transition effects, folder preview styles, multiple drawer styles, customizable icons for apps and folders, homescreen gestures and more.

Apex Launcher Android Does Free

Download

GO Launcher EX : The most simple and flexible Android launcher with great customization options and a huge number of themes to download. Customize your android home screen any way you can imagine. Latest version of Go Launcher also allows to add custom gesture.

GO Launcher EX GO Launcher Dev Team Free

Download

Customizing Notification & Widgetized:

The great notification system in Android is the real winner against other smartphone operating system. The notification bar and widgets in Android keep users up to date with everything. Let’s make it better.

Light Flow Lite – LED Control : Many android smartphone comes with a LED.  If you have one then Light Flow Lite can take control over the led and allows to assign different patterns for almost any notifications.

Light Flow Lite - LED Control Rage Consulting Free

Download

AppKicker : A simple Android widget which makes a list of your frequently used apps so you can access them quickly next time you want to open the app. The app also predict the app you may want to open next and put it in front of the list.

AppKicker maboe Free

Download

Beautiful Widgets Free : The huge successful android widget app has been a paid app and now we rejoice as the developer decided to make  a version available for free. There is no better android widget set than this.

Beautiful Widgets Free LevelUp Studio Free

Download

Custom ROM – Ultimate Solution:

The apps we listed above met the basic need to customize Android for anyone. But if you are an advanced user and had some knowledge to experiment with the system then there is a range of Custom ROM available with al sort of custom tweaks and modification for a better look and user experience. Among them the most popular are cyanogenmod known as CM, ASOP, AKOP and MIUI.

CM : This is the most popular and most downloaded after-market firmware for android based on stock android. It’s very sleek and all bloatware removed. Follow the link below to see which version of CM is available for your device.

Download CM ROM for Android

MIUI : The most simplest Android ROM you can get on your device. Very Light-weight and flat designed MIUI ROM is also another popular solution. Give it a try.

Download MIUI ROM for Android