editing

Google's next version of Android may have taken its latest bow courtesy of a batch of leaked screenshots.

Images obtained and posted by Sammobile purport to reveal an early Android 4.3 build running on the Google Play Edition Galaxy S4. The screenshots clearly display the Android version number as 4.3, while the model number of GT-i9505G refers to Google's new "pure" version of the Galaxy S4.

Another screenshot shows that Google is apparently sticking with the Jelly Bean moniker for Android 4.3.

This isn't the first time Android 4.3 has surfaced … Read more

There's something magical about owning a Nexus phone. It's akin to belonging to an elite inner circle or cabal, one that's privy to the most up-to-date software straight from Google's top-secret labs. The benefits of running on pure Android unfettered by carrier bloatware, shady third-party apps, and manufacturer skins go beyond feeling special, though. The biggest is that accessories and apps simply run properly when not tripped up by glitzy yet proprietary add-ons.

Unless you void your warranty and root your handset, then flash it with custom Android builds, however, phones with stock Android are hard … Read more

Editors' note: For this review, I focused on how the HTC One Google Play Edition differs from the carrier-branded versions of the handset. For my complete assessment of the HTC One's design, features, and performance, please see the full review.

Though the HTC One is a stellar phone just as it is, I know that many Android purists would prefer that it shipped with Google’s stock OS while forsaking all of the fancy tricks and glitzy software that HTC layered upon it. Fortunately, with the new $599 HTC One Google Play Edition, that day is here.

Using the … Read more

Editors' note: For this review, I focused on how the Samsung Galaxy S4 Play Edition differs from the carrier-branded version of the handset. For our complete assessment of the original Galaxy S4's design, features, and performance, please see our full review.

High-end, powerful, and completely Google-fied, the unlocked variant of the popular Samsung Galaxy S4 is now available from Google Play.

Announced during Google I/O in May and shipping out to customers beginning July 9, the Samsung Galaxy S4 Google Play Edition remains largely the same as the original S4. It still sports a quad-core processor and a … Read more

The past three weeks of Always On showcased the roles tech can play in your summer vacation. In some cases, we determined whether or not your tech can survive your summer vacation. Now this episode doesn't involve snapping photos of spinner dolphins, desert road tripping in a tricked-out RV, or fitness tracking through mud at an average of 8,150 feet of elevation. But just because we're finally back home in the Bay Area doesn't mean we took a break from turning our environment into a tech battleground.

We start things off with an unboxing of the … Read more

Verizon Wireless subscribers interested in the Galaxy S4 Developer Edition can now order one directly through Samsung.

Selling for $650, the unlocked developer edition offers all the features of the standard S4. But as per its name, it's geared toward developers and other people who want to tweak the phone without running into the obstacles posed by the locked version.

An unlocked boot-loader gives you the ability to reprogram the phone with custom ROMs that carry only the OS and basic apps. You can then install a variety of apps of your own choosing and make other changes.

The … Read more

One of the knocks against WebP, an image format Google and some allies hope will speed up graphics on the Web, is that the world's premier image-editing software can't read or write WebP files.

Adobe Systems isn't interested in supporting the format within Photoshop, at least not yet. But now there are two active open-source projects under way to build Photoshop plug-ins that handle the format.

The first WebP plug-in, by Toby Thain of Telegraphics, has been around since 2010 and has been updated with new features this month: ICC color profile support and lossless compression support. … Read more

TiltShift Video is an app that does a great job of giving your photos and videos that miniaturized effect, but it's missing a couple of basic features that would make it easier to use.

When you first launch the app, you can choose to start a video or photo project, but you can't use the app to shoot a new video or take a picture. That's a pretty big annoyance because you're going to need to shoot everything before even opening the app.

From there, the app lets you make a number of adjustments to give … Read more

In just two short months we've seen the debut of five Samsung Galaxy S4 phones: the Samsung Galaxy S4, the Galaxy S4 Active, the Galaxy S4 Google Edition, the Galaxy S4 Mini, and the Galaxy S4 Zoom. There are already rumors of a sixth, the 6.3-inch Galaxy S4 Mega.

Making matters more confusing is that the phone specs vary, and some Galaxy S4 phones may offer an experience that's quite different from the original top-rated S4's. From my perspective, Samsung is simply muddying its S4 brand name with too many Galaxy S4s.

When I think of … Read more