6 benefits of rooting your Android phone or tablet

Most of you are probably familiar with the concept of rooting, the process of allowing Android smartphone and tablet owners to attain privileged control over the operating system. If not, you should definitely check out our beginners guide to rooting for some background information and tips of getting started with rooting. But even if you’re in the knowledge, the reasons to root may seem few and far between at first, and the tradeoff with voiding your warranty is a legitimate concern. Nevertheless, here are my top reasons to root your device, all of which can drastically improve your Android experience.

1- Put your handset on a diet

The first benefit of accessing administrator privileges over Android is full control over the applications installed on your handset. No longer do you have to suffer from the cluttered app drawers and reduced memory space taken up by pre-installed carrier and manufacturer applications, you can instantly cut the bloatware and keep only the apps that you really want.

Even if you’re up to date with Android 4.1 or above, which grants users the ability to disable these pre-installed apps if you don’t want to see or use them, you can’t permanently remove them, they’re still there eating up your memory space. Rooting is the only way to permanently get rid of these pesky apps, but please don’t uninstall something crucial or your handset may stop working properly. Apps like Titanium Backup are particularly helpful for organising and culling this bloatware.

2- Better backups

This brings me nicely on to the next major benefit of Android, improved backup and restore options. As already mentioned, Titanium Backup is one of the most popular backup apps used by rooters, and this, or a similar app, is essential if you’re going to start tinkering around with Android software. But as well as acting as a safety net in case you uninstall something important, Titanium Backup can also be used to backup your user data, from SMS messages to browser bookmarks.

ClockworkMod Recovery offers superior protection against faulty updates and bricking your handset.

Even better still, once rooted you can create complete backups of your entire handset using the ClockworkMod Recovery option, providing you with extra protecting in case of a major malfunction. Recovery can only be accessed before booting into Android, but it provides additional backup options in case, for whatever reason, Android fails to boot properly or experiences a crippling error. This makes ClockworkMod Recovery an essential tool for those looking to install custom versions of Android.

3- Keep up to date with the latest version of Android

Once you’re fully backed up you’re ready to move up to one of the other major perks of rooting, installing different versions of Android.

We all know that manufacturers are often pretty slow at delivering the latest Android offerings even to their flagship handsets, let alone aging devices. So if you’re not a Nexus or Play Edition device owner, rooting opens the door to much faster Android updates, thanks to the developers who put time into porting the latest updates to various handsets.

Pretty much every semi-popular handset has a decent following of developers working on porting the latest versions of Android to their handsets, most of which can be found over on the XDA Forum. The only sacrifice here is that you won’t receive official manufacturer versions of Android, so no updated Touchwizz or Sense5 features, but if we were really too worried about that we probably wouldn’t be rooting  in the first place.

4- Custom ROMs galore

If stock Android isn’t your thing, there are also tons of other customized ROMs offering unique features and improvements to the default Android experience.

AOSP has given us so many custom ROM’s, and has extended the lifespan of many an Android handset.

I’m sure you’ve all heard of the biggest names, CyanogenMod, Paranoid Android, MIUI to name just a few of the most popular ones. Many custom ROMs are actually at the forefront of innovation on Android, offering several features that aren’t available anywhere else. Paranoid Android’s Halo feature or OmniROM’s multi-workspace mode are just a couple of examples.

But as well as these big third party developments, you’ll also find a lot of smaller developers tweaking away at the core Android experience, offering ROMs with vastly superior battery life or overclocked processor speeds. Not to mention that most custom ROMs are updated to the latest version of Android very quickly too, bringing you the best of both worlds.

5- Administrator privileged apps

As rooting opens up administrator type privileges on your handset you’ll instantly have access to all the core files on your handset. File browser apps can take full advantage of this, allowing you to move stuff around on your internal memory if so require.

App wise, we’ve already touched on Titanium Backup, but there are far more apps that can make use of root permissions, and simply aren’t available with a non-rooted device. The speed junkies among you could take advantage of overclocking software to boost performance or save on battery life, providing that your Kernel supports overclocking. Alternatively, fans of custom ROMs can use a ROM manager to install and update their operating system without the need to flash zip files from Recovery.

Rooting is sometimes criticized for compromising handset security, but security apps, such as Cerberus, use root functions to bury themselves deep down into the operating system, making them hard for would be thieves to remove. These apps can also be granted permissions that aren’t available on unrooted devices, such as access to GPS data even when the device is locked.

There’s also additional gesture apps, data syncing software, and even theme managers to customize the look of your handset.

6- Dress to impress

My final reason for rooting your handset is the wider range of customization and theming options, after all who doesn’t want their desktop to look pretty.

Looking good there Android.

Although there are options to tweak themes and whatnot that don’t require rooting, usually through third part launchers such as ADW, rooting gives you access to the important files needed to make changes in folders that are usually hidden from users. Access to the /system/fonts folder allows users to install and replace custom fonts. You can also flash zip files from Recovery to install themes too. But if all that folder browsing isn’t for you, there are also a few root only theme applications to choose from.

One example is Theme Chooser, included by default as part of CyanogenMod, which has plenty of custom themes available, and even works with ADW themes too. Alternatively, the XThemeEngineworks with all rooted handsets, allowing you to pick between themes after installing them from traditional apk files, so there’s no need to flashing zip files or tinkering in system folders.

MediaTek MT6592 unveiled as "world's first true octa-core" mobile processor

MediaTek has launched the MT6592 chipset, which it has been claiming is the world's first true octa-core mobile processor. MediaTek expects the new chipset to be available in devices running Android Jelly Bean by the end of this year, while Android KitKat-based smartphones powered with MT6592 are likely to be released in early 2014.
As per the company, the MT6592 is a heterogeneous computing SOC which comes with scalable multi-core processing for advanced multi-tasking. The MT6592 chipset is built on the 28nm HPM (high-performance process) and includes eight CPU cores, each capable of clock speeds up to 2GHz. MediaTek says the MT6592 chipset can run both low-power consuming and more demanding tasks equally well, by attaching the full capabilities of all eight-cores in any combination. Further, the new chipset comes with an advanced scheduling algorithm that monitors the temperature and power consumption to ensure optimal performance of the smartphone at all times.
The MT6592 features an advanced video playback system supporting Ultra HD 4Kx2K H.264 video playback, and support for new video codecs such as H.265 and VP9. It also supports a 16-megapixel camera and a full-HD display. Some of the other new additions in the MT6592 include full connectivity capability for dual-band 801.11n Wi-Fi, Miracast screen-sharing as well as Bluetooth, GPS and an FM tuner.
In addition, Intex showcased its first true octa-core smartphone prototype at an event on Wednesday. The company announced that the still-to-be-named smartphone powered by the MT6592 chipset will be launched in January 2014 and can be expected to be priced around Rs. 20,000 in India.
Intex also revealed the specifications of the smartphone, which includes a octa-core MediaTek MT6592 processer clocked at 1.7GHz, coupled with 700 MHz Mali 450-MP4 GPU. Other specifications included a 6-inch HD IPS LCD display; 2GB of RAM; 16GB and 32GB inbuilt storage variants. The smartphone is likely to run Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean or 4.4 KitKat.

Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014 edition) review

Remember when people used personal computers - desktops and laptops - to check email, view video and keep tabs on Facebook? Back in that far-away era, I'd have several windows open for Web browsers, a word processor, a photo editor and sometimes a reader for PDF documents.
I miss that capability on mobile devices, particularly on full-size tablets with a decent amount of display space. With iPads and Android tablets, I'm typically limited to one window displayed at a time; other apps run in the background, out of sight. With Windows 8 tablets, I can run two windows side by side, but I'm constrained in what I can do with them. It gets better with the Windows 8.1 update due out next week, but it's still not the free-for-all I had with PCs.
So I marveled at a pair of multitasking features that come with Samsung's new tablet, formally called Galaxy Note 10.1 - 2014 Edition. Sporting a 10.1-inch display, measured diagonally, the Note tablet goes on sale in the U.S. on Thursday at a starting price of $550.
The first of the multitasking features, called Multi-Window, has been available in Samsung devices for about a year, but it works with many more apps now. You can run two apps side by side, such as Facebook on one side and YouTube video on the other.
Like Windows 8 tablets, you're limited to just two apps. You can change how much of the screen each one takes, a capability coming with Windows 8.1, but you can't choose to have a window take up just the top left corner, the way you can on PCs. In addition, Multi-Window isn't a universal feature. Apps for Netflix and Hulu won't work, for instance. You currently have about 18 apps to choose from, including Facebook and a variety of Google and Samsung apps.
With that limitation, it's nice that Samsung Electronics Co. is supplementing Multi-Window with a feature called Pen Window.
With it, simply draw a box on the screen with the included stylus, and choose one of seven apps to open in a new window. Do it again and again until you open all seven apps, if you wish. That's nine in all, counting the two with Multi-Window. Each Pen Window app appears in a window that floats over your main app (or two apps if you use Multi-Window). You can move that window around on your screen and resize it, just as you can on PCs. Need a break from it? Just minimize it into a small dot and move it out of the way.
Like Multi-Window, you're restricted in what apps you can use with Pen Window, though I expect more to get added over time. For now, Pen Window on the tablet works with YouTube, the calculator, the alarm clock, your contacts list, the Web browser and two chat apps - Samsung's ChatOn and Google's Hangouts. I like the fact that you can open all of them and keep them out of the way in a minimized state. That way, it's just one click when you need the calculator and one click when you're done.
The iPad doesn't do that. Amazon's Kindle Fire doesn't do that. Other Android tablets don't do that. Windows 8.1 won't do that - at least not in the tablet-style viewing mode that Microsoft prefers you stick with. You'll have to go to the classic, desktop mode to resize windows, which defeats the purpose of having Windows 8 or 8.1. Windows 8.1 will go further than Multi-Window in letting you run up to four apps side by side, but that works only on larger screens, not portable tablets.
Beyond multitasking, the new Note tablet offers a My Magazine mode giving you personalized highlights, such as news topics of interest, content from your social media feeds and suggestions on things to do and see, based on your current location. It's a good concept, though Facebook isn't available through it yet.
The new tablet also gives you quick access to the tools you can accomplish with its stylus. Pen Window is one. Another feature lets you add notes to a screenshot of what you see. Another lets you clip a section of a Web page and store it with a Web link.
Unfortunately, not everything worked. Text recognition was poor. I'm supposed to be able to jot down an email address or a phone number with the stylus and have that handwriting converted into a contacts entry. But the device constantly confuses the letters "o" and "l" with the numerals "0" and "1."
Pen Window also is more difficult than necessary to set up. You need to take out the stylus for an Air Command tool to appear on the screen. You choose Pen Window, then draw a box on your screen with your stylus. Then you choose the app you want to open. Do all of that again to get additional apps, after figuring out how to get Air Command again with your stylus already out. It would have been simpler to have a button on the home screen that you can tap with your finger or stylus.
In addition, Samsung could have done more with the apps in minimized state. Google's chat app is reduced to a circular icon. It could have flashed or changed colors to notify me of a new chat message, rather than make me open and close it regularly to check.
The tablet's back is still made of plastic, but it feels like leather - an improvement over previous Samsung devices. The tablet does feel heavy, at 1.2 pounds, but that's still lighter than the 1.4 pounds for the full-size iPad. If you want light, wait until early November for the large-size version of Amazon's Kindle Fire HDX. It weighs just 0.83 pound.
Samsung's tablet is also pricey - the $550 starting price tops the iPad's $499 and the Fire's $379. Of course, neither the iPad nor the Fire includes a stylus.
One more complaint: Although the tablet uses the latest version of Android, 4.3, it doesn't offer that system's feature of letting multiple people share a device with separate profiles.
With the Note, it's clear some of the functionality we've long associated with PCs is coming to devices we're just getting to know. There's more to be done, including support for multiple users, but I'm glad Samsung is leading us in that direction.

Smartphone LG G Flex with a flexible display & curved

The South Korean company LG Electronics officially unveiled the LG G Flex – a smartphone whose body profile “twisted” on the profile of the person, and has its own development of the design in the form of a curved screen and battery, and additional user interface features that take advantage of the curved design of the display. 

As the producer, such a curvature in the body design of its new products can not only increase the volume in the dynamics of the smartphone when talking by 3 dB, but also provides improved voice quality and sound. In addition to games, movies and videos in portrait orientation, LG G Flex provides IMAX-like experience with the most comfortable angle for viewing.
In addition to this, LG refused to use a G Flex side buttons, and move them to the rear panel to avoid accidental clicks adjust the volume or turn off the unit. Now, all control can be made forefinger, similar to how it is implemented in the LG G2.

New user interface features listed below:

•  QTheater : quick access to photos, videos and YouTube directly from the lock screen;
• Dual Window : shared a 6-inch display new items into two separate areas that can run two separate applications;
• Swing Lockscreen : access to events in the lock mode oscillation of the smartphone;
• Face Detection Indicator (LED Face Detection): The LED indicator on the rear control key, confirming the status of the mode switch and focusing;
• Camera Timer (Timer Camera) LED (back button) flashes when the timer turned on the camera;
• Urgent Call Alert (missed an important indicator of calls) on the back of the indicator flashes red when the number of consecutive calls from one person remained unanswered.

LG G Flex will be available Coming Soon in market. About the beginning of sales of new products in other markets will be announced later.

What Key Features LG G Flex has?

• Support communications standards: LTE-A / LTE / HSPA + / GSM
• Processor: 2.26 GHz, quad, Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 (MSM 8974)
• Display: 6-inch, curved P-OLED, resolution of 1280×720
• Main Camera: 13 MP
• Front camera: 2.1 MP
• Memory: 2 GB RAM (LP DDR3), 32GB of internal
• Communications: WiFi 802.11 a / b / g / n / ac, BLuetooth v4.0, USB 3.0, NFC
• Battery: 3500 mA / h
• Misc. Features: Digital TV Tuner (TDMB), support for playback of 24-bit/192kHz audio

Google will update the Nexus 7 and Nexus 10 to Android 4.4

Google has officially announced the deployment of updates to the operating system Android Tablet Nexus 7 (2012 and 2013) and Nexus 10 to version Android 4.4 KitKat

Also, as promised by the company, will soon upgrade to Android 4.4 KitKat will receive owners Nexus 4 and Nexus 7 with built-in 3G module.

Recall that on 31 October, the company Google unveiled a new version of its mobile operating system Android 4.4, which is already under way “bundled” with a new smartphone Nexus 5, while the company said that the Android update to version 4.4 (KitKat) on the device Galaxy Nexus is set will not .

Samsung Galaxy S5 rumoured for February after poor S4 sales

Samsung is set to launch the follow-up to the Galaxy S4 in just a few months' time, according to a report out of Korea, after the flagship phone has failed to top its spectacularly popular predecessors.
The Galaxy S5 will launch in February, Korean site ET News reports, quoting an unnamed Samsung official, alongside a refreshed Galaxy Gear 2 smart watch. That's three months earlier than usual for the S series, which is usually shipped in May.
This premature mobile will come in two editions, the report says, with a Galaxy Round-esque curved metal option alongside a cheaper version in the usual plastic. Both will have 3GB of RAM, a 16-megapixel camera, a huge 4,000mAh battery and run on Android 4.4 KitKat from the get-go.
Samsung did not have any comment on the rumour at time of publication.
Samsung may be keen to cut its losses on the S4, which has suffered along with other high-end smart phone makers as budget Androids have become better and better. Bringing out a new flagship phone in February would certainly make Mobile World Congress interesting, and dominate the show in the same way the Galaxy Note 3 and Galaxy Gear were by far the biggest deals at IFA back in September.
While the S4 is immensely powerful and has an incredibly good screen, it is superficially very similar to its predecessor, the S3. Android aficionados may have skipped it for the sleek metal of the HTC One, undoubtedly the most stylish phone of the year.
Are you perfectly happy with your S4, or peeved that it may be superseded so soon? What would you like to see in a future flagship from Samsung? Predict the future down in the comments, or over on our future-proof Facebook page.