android

For the HTC One, HTC designed a news feed widget called BlinkFeed that pulls in top stories from around the Web, as well as social feeds, such as Twitter and Facebook. It's a good-looking piece of software, and for better or worse, HTC makes it your default home screen on the HTC One.

But if you're less than thrilled by BlinkFeed, I'll show you how to better customize the stories that it pulls in, or even remove it from your home screen.

First off, tap the home button to make sure you're at the top of … Read more

Is your Android phone looking a little stale? Fortunately, there are dozens of great customization tools and launchers available for Android to give your handset a fresh new coat of paint. Download these top free launchers and give your Android device an almost unrecognizable makeover with minimal work involved.

GO Launcher EX

GO Launcher has been around since the Froyo days and has its fair share of features that still keep it an old favorite among Android users. It's a robust launcher that transforms your Android experience, allowing you to customize your icons, grid, and dock dimensions; transition animations; … Read more

If you live in Kansas City, have Google Fiber, and also own an iPad -- you're in luck. As of Tuesday, the Google Fiber TV app for iPad is available in Apple's iTunes store.

Just what does this app do?

Well, besides doubling as a TV remote control, it also lets users search for programming, browse listings, access on-demand content, and pick shows or recordings to watch. The app also lets users watch any of these shows or movies directly on their iPad.

The Google Fiber TV app has been available to Android owners for about a month … Read more

Verizon announced on Tuesday the Pantech Perception, an entry-level Android with a wallet-friendly price tag.

The Pantech Perception is an Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich handset with yesterday's top hardware. Specifications include a 4.8-inch HD (720p) Super AMOLED display, 16GB internal storage, an 8-megapixel rear camera, and a front-facing 2-megapixel camera.

In addition, the Perception also boasts "global ready" capabilities and 4G LTE connectivity. The hardware details dovetail with early rumors and suggest this is, in fact, a Verizon-branded take on the Pantech Discover.

In terms of software, the smartphone features a modified UI with … Read more

From the moment I first looked at the Pebble Watch, it was clear that this was a device designed to be purely about apps. Unfortunately, none were really available until a week ago, when Pebble at last released an SDK, and along with it, updated firmware for the Pebble watch and a revised smartphone app.

Now, the number of user-made indie Pebble apps is steadily growing, and there are even places to go to browse them: Pebble's own watch face community message boards, and sites like My Pebble Faces.… Read more

Is iOS starting to feel a bit stale for your taste? It's something I'm hearing more and more as I talk to iOS users, or former iOS users. With some amazing Android phones hitting the market, it's tough not to get caught checking out the competition -- or even feeling a bit compelled to make the jump to Android.

But before you make the change, there are some kinks that need to be worked out to make the process go as smoothly as possible. You likely have contacts, a calendar, photos, and music that you'll want … Read more

Huawei has announced (translate) a midrange Android smartphone for China and emerging markets in the form of the 5-inch A199.

Powered by Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, the Huawei A199 also features Huawei's custom Emotion 1.5 UI. On hardware, the handset falls in the mid-to-high end of the spectrum with its quad-core 1.5GHz processor, 2GB RAM, 8GB internal storage, and 8.0-megapixel rear camera.

Whereas most 5-inch smartphones tend to offer a 1080p HD display, the Huawei A199 comes with a still respectable 720p resolution screen. Additional hardware includes a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera, a 2,150mAh … Read more

Smartphone buyers willing to shell out some cash to grab an unlocked version of the HTC One now have their chance.

HTC is selling an unlocked edition of its new flagship phone for $574. The unlocked flavor comes with 32GB of on-board storage and sports the same features found in the carrier-based version.

The unlocked phone comes on the heels of the debut of the HTC One Developers Edition earlier this month. That model costs $649 but comes with 64GB of storage and includes an unlocked bootloader for people who want to root and modify the phone with custom ROMs.… Read more

Those users who have a messenger account on their computers may need an application for their smartphones. Yahoo Messenger for Android, while simple and with limited functions, is a well-thought-out chat manager.

Available as a free application, no payments are required to use the application, but users must have or be willing to sign up for a Yahoo account. Download completed quickly, as did installation. Technical support was available for reporting bugs. At startup, the application prompts the user to sign in to their Yahoo account, which synced quickly during testing. Users can also link to Facebook accounts to add … Read more