AndroidGuys

Easily keep your contact list updated with Veecards (App Review)

App & Game Reviews

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December 21, 2015

It’s a pain to try and keep track of all of your friends and their contact info. It’s even more of a pain to keep track of business associates that you come across while traveling for work. Veecards is here to help with those pains, and alleviate some of the headache attached with keeping your contact list clean and updated.

Veecards aims to re-invent the wheel for your contact list through a couple of ways. First and foremost, forget the days of needing to manually enter your friends information yourself, or remembering their new phone number if they’ve switched providers. Veecards does all that for you, with a catch that we’ll touch on a bit later.

Diving right into the interface of Veecards, you are presented with a beautiful UI, and easy to navigate controls, making it as easy as possible to get started and get your friends on board. The Overflow menu button on the right hand side, opens a few different options for you to toggle through and explore.

The Home page, is where you can find all of your primary Veecard contacts. If you want to get your friends in on the fun, or if you’re meeting a contact for the first time, you can send them an invite directly from the side-menu bar. The Wallet section allows for you to create NFC cards that can easily be shared between contacts while you’re on the go. You can learn more about the NFC cards here at the Veecards website.

The Activity Log shows when you shared or received various contacts information, allowing for you to easily track when you sent that information over. Tutorials allows for you to have easy access on how to use Veecards, and to create a veecard for yourself. This will also help if you need to assist others with getting started with Veecards.

Finally, the settings panel shows your basic account information, as well as the synchronization information for your account. If you want to delete all local data, and start fresh from what’s saved on the server, there’s an easy button to use that for as well. You can also enable all of the NFC technology capabilities from the Settings panel, which would be necessary if you want to easily share contact information via Veecards.

Now all this talk about Veecards, but how do you actually create one. You could head over to the Veecards site and check out the tutorial, and that’s probably you’re best bet. However, the process is pretty straight-forward and self-explanatory, meaning that it is incredibly easy to get your Veecards created and ready to be shared with the necessary people.

You can create as many Veecards as you need to, and there are all different pieces of information that can be added to your individual Veecards. For example, I’ve taken a screenshot of what my AndroidGuys Veecard looks like, and you can see all the different pieces of information that I have added to this specific Veecard. However, there’s also another Veecard that I’ve created which is my personal Veecard, but for obvious reasons, I won’t be sharing that information.

Each Veecard is completely customizable from top to bottom, and everywhere in between. When creating a Veecard, you start out by choosing the style and label for the veecard. As stated above, you can create as many Veecards as you need to, so feel free to get a little wild and try out the various options that can be found within the set up process.

Within each Veecard, you can add the following information to be shared with your various contacts:

Email
Event
Instant Messaging
Nickname
Note
Organization
Phone
Postal
Social
Website

You can add multiples of each field, and there are also multiple “types” that each piece of information can be categorized. For example, when adding an Email, you can choose between “Personal”, “Work”, “Education”, or “Other”. Once you’ve filled in the fields depending upon which Type you used, that information will populate in a subcategory within your Veecard.

After you’ve gone through and tweaked your Veecard to your liking, then your information is ready to be shared with whomever is asking for it.

What we like…

Easy to create Veecards
Simple interface
Beautiful UI
Good to use if you meet a lot of contacts

And not so much…

Getting everyone on board with Veecards can be difficult

Overall, I see where Veecards can be useful, especially when you’re going to business meeting or an event like CES. Transferring contact information via NFC is a great concept that has been made possible in the past few years, and there are a lot of benefits to taking advantage of this technology.

Google Play Store: Veecards

Sennheiser Momentum In-Ear headphones review: Drop your stock earphones, now

Josh Noriega

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December 21, 2015

2

Chances are that if you know a thing or two about audio gear, you’ve heard of Sennheiser. The German company began all the way back in 1945 and has created headphone legends throughout its lengthy lifetime. However, Sennheiser’s audience has traditionally been audiophiles. Despite its successful history, it still isn’t a brand that most people recognize. Part of that reason is because the mainstream market has never cared about audio quality (and the cost associated with getting top-notch tunes).

That is, until now. We’re now beginning to see consumers pay up for better quality headphones. And Sennheiser hasn’t sat back and ignored that fact. Therefore, it has recently freshened up its low and mid-range lineups with both style and what it does best – exquisite audio reproduction.

The Momentums became the face of this initiative, debuted as either over-ear or on-ear offerings. Following the success, Sennheiser eventually completed the lineup with an in-ear variant – which we have to review for you today.

The Momentum In-Ear was launched in a black/red color scheme, but a black/chrome version later surfaced (which we were given). These little guys come with a bold claim – true Momentum levels of performance at only a $99 price tag. Let’s have a look and find out if they succeed.

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Design

There’s a lot to say about the design of the Momentum In-Ear. A play between metal and glossy plastic produces a striking presentation. My appreciation of a thoughtful styling is extended when considering the price tag. It’s safe to say that the look is like no other.

I love how the sleek, tapered shape is supplemented by a traditional Momentum design feature – the flat, metal cap on the ends of the earphones.

It’s hard to get cohesion between over-ears and in-ears; Sennheiser nailed the translation in my opinion. And the same sense of style that the Momentum line prides itself with is maintained.

With that said, it isn’t hard to detect the compromise in build of the Momentum In-Ear. The plastic chassis of the earpieces doesn’t necessarily feel expensive in-hand, unlike its big brother. But Sennheiser did such a good job with the aesthetics to hide that fact.

Firstly, the entire earpiece shines magnificently. The body has glossy finish with two-tone colors – black and chrome. I’ve played with the initial red/black version and find this color scheme just as special (it’d be really hard to choose if I had to).

The metallic cap is another piece of eye-candy that adds to the presentation. The metal is etched with a subtly ridged Sennheiser logo. It shimmers fantastically and the placement really makes it stand out. I also really appreciate how it reflects the Momentum’s signature look.

Cleverly, Sennheiser made the end cap functional in the design. It serves as support to counter strain on the cable’s attachment to the earpiece (a typical vulnerability with earphones). The cable rests on a notch on the bottom of the cap. It isn’t the most refined-looking cable support, but we should be able to overlook it considering the benefit.

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Removing the eartips reveals a metal stem with a slim nozzle. The eartips are easy to don/remove. The machined notch on the stem ensures a snug fit.

Sennheiser generously threw in a quality zipper case that I think looks great. It’s soft to the touch but feels sturdy. It is a bit large for the size of the earphones, but this is good if you carry other accessories.

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Functionality

The most common concern with in-ear headphones are fit. It’s difficult to address that in a review, because everybody’s ear canal has a different shape. However, Sennheiser did a couple things with the Momentum In-Ear to help that fact. Ergonomics was thought of in the design. At a top view of the earphones, you’ll notice they’re angled.

In my experience, this tremendously helps with both insertion and fit. When you consider the angle of your ear canal in reference to your ears, it just makes sense. There’s no squirming to get the earpieces in the correct orientation, they just slip with an ease that feels natural.

Sennheiser generously included four sizes of eartips, which I think is a sufficient variety to cover most users. Some manufacturers skimp on this, and if you can’t get a good seal then the purpose of the product is defeated. Personally, I have large ear canals, so it’s a pain-point for me when manufacturers don’t include a large enough eartip. To my satisfaction, Sennheiser’s largest eartip packaged with the Momentum In-Ear worked perfectly.

One thing to mention about the fit is that the Momentum In-Ear aren’t the smallest earpieces out there. They do stick out of the ear somewhat, especially with that considerably sized cap at the ends of the earpiece. But I only see this mattering if you often sleep with earphones on; laying on these would not be pleasurable.

The headphone cord is also often a frustration for users, either in regard to skimped length or microphonics (noise that you can hear from the cord when it rubs against you). I’m happy to report that Sennheiser nailed it on both fronts. The cord is a generous 55″ (14″ from earpiece to y-splitter, and then 41″ to headphone jack). The cord has this smooth, rubbery finish that minimizes cord noise from ruining the audio experience. Great job here.

Above the y-splitter, there’s also a square-shaped chin slider with a Sennheiser logo.

As far as features, there’s a remote located down a few inches from the right earpiece. It thankfully is not heavy; you don’t notice that it’s there. Functions on the remote are a standard affair – volume up/down and play/pause button. There’s also a microphone on the back to do calls. Be aware that the Momentum In-Ear comes in either Android or iOS versions. My review unit is the Apple version, which means that only the play/pause buttons works.

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The cool design continues even down to the headphone jack. It small, right-angled 3.5mm connector, with both a glossy and rubbery plastic divided by a strip of chrome.

Sound

*For my sound trials, I used the LG V10 (HiFi SABRE 9018 DAC setting) and Tidal HiFi music samples.

Now we arrive to the meat of the discussion – the sound quality of the Momentum In-Ear. I must first say that at a $99 target, Sennheiser gave themselves quite a challenge. While the asking price might be expensive for a lot of people, it’s not for the level of performance that the Momentum In-Ear must live up to. The sound out of the full-fledged Momentum headphones (which push $300) is exquisite.

Fortunately, what I noticed right off the bat with the Momentum In-Ear is the tonal balance. The sound signature is mostly neutral, not placing too much emphases on a particular frequency range. This is something that I loved from the original Momentums that definitely got transferred to the In-Ear. Sennheiser always aims towards perfection and that is clearly evident here.

However, I do stress that you make sure that’s what you want. A flat sound signature can come off dull to some people, especially after listening to headphones that boost bass and treble. The ear-candy is nice sometimes, but the Momentum In-Ear can surface more overall detail when you want to seriously listen to your music.

Another big positive of the Momentum In-Ear’s general sound is clarity. This was another aspect of the Momentum line that was reproduced in the in-ear variant. Sennheiser always does so well making different elements in a meshed sound distinguishable. You won’t get muddy-ing of sounds that many headphones fail to watch for. The clarity is most noticeable in rock music, which touches on practically all frequencies at the same time. Cymbals don’t get lost in the mix, vocals are front and center, and the bass is bold.

There’s a sense of finesse behind Sennheiser’s reproduction which signifies that it knows what it’s doing, and the Momentum In-Ear is no exception. The soundstage (spatial extension of elements in the sound) is pleasantly wide, especially for a $99 earphone. Even audiophiles with high-end earphones should be satisfied.

But it wouldn’t be right to call the Momentum In-Ear perfect. There are nuances that I can nitpick out (this is a review after-all). I find the bass region to be a little boomy. This can be a good thing if you really like mid-bass, but out of place when you look at the big picture. The surrounding frequencies (sub-bass and mids) can be overshadowed. Fortunately, Sennheiser does articulation so well that the affect is minimal (I have seen it pretty bad from other headphone manufacturers).

I have enjoyed the natural tone from the mids in the Momentum In-Ear, they’re excellent. I could use more airy-ness in general (spacial/open sound), but that’s tougher for in-ears to accomplish. Also, you will find more detail (i.e. high-pitch sparkle or bass depth/definition) in higher-priced headphones. But with that said, you must remember that Sennheiser couldn’t do it all with this earphone. In my opinion, what it delivered significantly pushed the limit of how well a $99 headphone can perform. I agree with the compromises made, the Momentum In-Ear is fantastically well-rounded.

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Final Thoughts

I won’t be shy to proclaim that you should drop those earphones that were packaged together with your smartphone and pick up the Momentum In-Ear. Plain and simple, if you’re curious about what all these audiophiles are talking about and don’t want to spend a fortune, the Momentum In-Ear is the perfect set.

I believe Sennheiser completely delivered what it set out for the Momentum In-Ear: to honor the Momentum line and produce a strong offering for the mainstream market. This is quite frankly as good as I gets for $99.

Product page

Satechi’s Aluminum Power Strip charges up to 8 devices simultaneously [Review]

Justin Marden

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December 21, 2015

1

As we see more and more USB charging hubs released on the market, Satechi looks to stand out by offering a product that kills two birds with one stone. The Satechi Aluminum Power Strip features four standard AC outlets and four USB ports, to tackle all your charging needs.

Design

Satechi clearly put time and effort into the design of this power strip. As the name suggests, it is crafted from aluminum and just looks and feels premium. The four additional USB ports are set on the end of the power strip, which is a nice change from other such products that lead to USB cords sticking straight up when plugged into the face of the strip.

The simple design aesthetic is maintained throughout the power strip, as the light gray aluminum stops only to make way for the plastic faceplate that houses the four AC outlets. A standard on/off switch can be found at the end of the power strip, next to the main power cable. Around the back of the power strip are two mounting holes, just in case you feel like mounting it onto a wall.

Overall, I was very impressed with Satechi’s design choices here. Given that this particular product serves only to charge devices and power whatever is plugged into it, I was glad to see that the team at Satechi kept the design minimal. In some cases, too many bells and whistles can be overwhelming, and Satechi definitely took that to heart with this power strip.

Usage & Performance

Using the aluminum power strip is inherently easy, as is expected. The four AC outlets work as well as you could imagine, powering whatever standard device you feel like plugging into them. I found myself using only two of the outlets, one for a lamp and the other for a laptop charger. Of course, the AC outlets are surge protected, so all your electronics will be safe.

The four USB ports along the side are where it gets interesting. Satechi’s branding and product page suggest that the ports are pf the “smart super charger” variety, although in my testing I found that the ports charge at a standard rate. While there is no mention of Qualcomm Quick Charging, it’s interesting that the “super charger” ports don’t seem to provide any more power than a standard charger.

Satechi did build in smart IC technology, so the power strip allocates power as needed, giving each device just the right amount of charge and maximizing charging speeds. The strip provides up to 6A of power to the USB ports, which is just enough to properly charge four devices overnight.

Summary

Satechi did a great job with this power strip. It is designed very well, and it quite simply does what it was made to do. For $27.99 on Amazon, it may be a little pricey for a power strip, but I would say the convenience makes up for the price tag. It eliminates the need for an extra USB hub, and it provides four extra AC ports for non-USB devices as well.

Newegg’s best-selling unlocked Android phones (December 21)

News

AndroidGuys

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December 21, 2015

0

[df-subtitle]Plenty of Samsung to choose from, but Asus hold key spots[/df-subtitle]

Not many people know this, but Newegg is a pretty solid destination for finding discounts and deals on unlocked smartphones. Yep, you can shop from a number of models that you might not see from another retailer or carrier. For instance, you can purchase a couple of Asus and ZTE devices that’s offered elsewhere.

Interestingly enough, the top selling unlocked Android smartphone right now is the Sony Xperia Z1, and older phone from a few generations back. Moreover, the Galaxy Note 3, from two years ago, is in the top ten, too.

asus_zenfone2 The benefit of an unlocked smartphone, for those who aren’t aware, is that it can be used on a variety of wireless service providers. Moreover, going this route ensures you don’t have to worry about contracts or long-term obligations. Want to hop from T-Mobile to AT&T or vice-versa? That’s no problem when you’re using an unlocked GSM phone.

We’ve gathered up the 10 best-selling unlocked Android smartphones from Newegg so you can get a sense for what’s available. Indeed, you’ll see a nice mix of big-name vendors and devices from other, scrappy players. Note that we’ve omitted color variations; you might find other colors available. Yes, you’ll also find some iPhones in the mix, too, but that’s not our bag.

So, the next time you need to replace your existing phone, consider scooping up one of these. It’s often a heck of a lot cheaper than going through your carrier in the long run.

[Deal] You don’t want to miss this deal for the Nexus 6

News

Andrew Myrick

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December 21, 2015

0

Early on Black Friday, Motorola surprised everyone with an incredible sale where you get the 32GB Nexus 6 for only $250. Well that deal is back on and you can head over to Amazon and grab the 32GB Nexus 6 in either Cloud White or Midnight Blue.

The Nexus 6 has seen quite a fluctuation in pricing even before the release of this years Nexus devices, the Huawei Nexus 6P and the LG Nexus 5X. However, at $250 for a brand new device, this is by far the best deal we’ve seen for the Nexus 6.

You’ll want to act fast because at the time of this writing the 64GB variants have already sold out, but both the Cloud White and Midnight Blue are still available in 32GB. If you want a device to test drive Marshmallow and all the new features coming out for Android, but you don’t want to break the bank, then this is a deal you simply cannot pass up on.

With its 6″ display, huge 3220mAh battery, and timely updates, the Nexus 6 is still the perfect device for that Android lover that you know. We can also count on the Nexus 6 having continued support from the rooting community, even after the updates from Google stop rolling in.

It’s also worth noting that this deal is for the Unlocked variant of the Nexus 6, meaning that it will work on any GSM carrier, and will even work with those on Verizon. Additionally, this deal comes with a one year warranty directly from Motorola, so you’ll have some help if you have any issues with your device.

[graphiq id=”hQ1r20qLPBX” title=”Motorola Nexus 6″ width=”600″ height=”400″ url=”https://w.graphiq.com/w/hQ1r20qLPBX” link=”http://smartphones.specout.com/l/2210/Motorola-Nexus-6″ link_text=”Motorola Nexus 6 | SpecOut”]

Drop us a line and let us know whether you were able to jump on this great deal, or if you were able to grab one during the last round of price cuts.

Amazon: Motorola Nexus 6

Denarri aims to take the noise out of online shopping (App review)

App & Game Reviews

Matt Adams

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December 21, 2015

5

I do most of my shopping online. For most of the things I buy I hop on Amazon, make sure the price is something I’m willing to pay, and 2 days later it shows up, all with free shipping. For bigger items constantly watching prices and looking for deals can become a chore. A chore I don’t have time for.

Ebay has some tools to help you stay on top of items you’re searching for, but they can be frustrating and spammy. There are very specific forums like the buildapcsales subreddit on Reddit for deals on computer parts, but for bigger items I need something to keep an eye on prices, and do it in a straightforward fashion.

This is where Denarri comes in. Denarri is beautiful in its simplicity. You tell it what you want, give it a price range, and a new listing is made. It keeps an eye on all the listings on eBay to give you the best prices. You can tell the app if you want new or gently used when you set up the search, and then you just browse. There are no ads. There are distractions, just prices, pictures and conditions.

[blockquote author=”Andrew Ghobrial, Denarri”]My vision is a marketplace that learns your preferences as you use it, so each shopping session is faster than the last. One where you’re notified when new items are found according to how important they are to you, so you never miss out on a deal but don’t get buried in notifications if you’re not in a rush.[/blockquote]

When you find a price you like, you click on the listing and you’re immediately taken to the eBay page. From there, your experience continues on like a normal eBay purchase. You buy, pay and wait for your purchase to show up.

If you’re no longer interested in seeing results for your previous search, it’s simple to delete it. If you leave it alone, it’ll continue to rack up results, looking for the best price until you get rid of it. I had a saved search for a processor that I forgot about and it still had the 10 best results, up to date, with the lowest price on the site displayed for me a month later.

This app is really great for those of us that are willing to wait for a great price to buy something. I’ve payed plenty of early adopter’s tax in my life, but as I’m transitioning to a more conservative financial future due to having a family, it makes sense for me to wait on things like computer parts, Blu Rays, phones, and tablets until they can reach a price that I’m willing to pay. Denarri makes keeping track of those items as easy as can be.

I’d love to see more integration with other online sellers like the Amazons, New Eggs and Wal-Marts of the world in the future. I think the developer knows what they’re doing by perfecting the app’s function right now, but hopefully they continue on and expand the reach.

Play Store Link: Denarri

What is root?

Tips & Tools

AndroidGuys

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December 20, 2015

1

If you’re new to Android, have nerdy Android-obsessed friends, or you’re a recovering iPhone Jailbreaker you may have heard the term “root” before, but you might not know what it is. Root is actually a rather complicated subject, so we’re lucky this is a 300-level class and we can talk about it fairly in-depth.

Origins

No great super~~hero~~ user comes without his origins story and root is no exception. As you may or may not know, Android is actually based on the open-source project, Linux, which is a desktop operating system that runs on millions of devices around the world (even if you aren’t aware). In Linux there is a user built into the system called root. The root user has access to every file on the system, can modify those files, and change permissions on those files. In many cases the root user has a higher level of permission than the machine’s administrator (though he/she can be granted root user powers on a temporary basis).

How is it different on Android?

The main difference on Android is that phone OEMs already have all of the necessary permissions in place when they ship the phone (so there’s no need to change them) and they essentially strip the root user from the system. This prevents certain levels of tampering on the system and in many ways it is important for security.

Most Linux-based systems that ship to the general public come with the root user disabled. This essentially is protecting the end-user from themselves. Most people don’t know what it means to have root access and if they read that they can remove system apps from their phone, they might try to do it to save space (which it won’t anyway) and end up deleting system files that are important for the system to run.

When you remove the root user, though, you open yourself up to a new security hole. If someone is able to find a bug that will let them re-add the root user then there is nothing to stop them from taking advantage of its permissions without limitation and if that someone is also the author of a malicious data-stealing app then (Houston,) we have a problem. That’s why the legacy of Android has been a constant tug-of-war between the OEMs and Google, who have been trying to plug up any potential holes that would allow for root and the rooting community, who, judging by their name might like to have root on their devices.

Why would I care about root?

The bottom line is if you already don’t care then you can probably continuing not to care but you came here to learn things and I’m here to dispense information. The history of Android’s evolution has had a lot to do with the rooting community. Apps like Tasker, Root Explorer, and many others have been around since the beginning and their feature sets have helped to influence what now gets baked into Android by default and in a way has made many users (myself included) less tempted by the mistress root.

Features like granular permissions controls, which are now built into Android 6.0 and Google has been toying with for last last two years, were once only features that were available on custom ROMs (an extension of the rooting community and a topic for another day). If you search for “root” in the Google Play Store there are still plenty of apps that are very useful and require root access to do their job. This list has dwindled a lot over the years, though, as Google implemented the screenshot, torch/flashlight, and transparent status bars into AOSP, all which once required root.

How is it different than Jailbreak?

It used to be that Jailbreaking was significantly different from the process and outcome of rooting but these days they share a lot of similarities and ultimately both are achieving the same goal; to give the user root permissions. When you Jailbreak iOS, which is “Unix-like,” it is giving the user access to the root of the system and installing the alternative app store, Cydia, to the device. From there users can install mods and make other changes to the system that you would expect from a user with a rooted Android device.

The main technical difference is the amount of modification that has to be made to the operating system to get past security measures and achieve the end goal. It’s generally accepted that it is a far greater challenge to jailbreak an iPhone than to gain root on the average Android device, but that isn’t necessarily always true.

Modern Android

I mentioned before that I used to root all of my phones, but these days it doesn’t tempt me as much as it once did. Many applications that we use today also refuse to run if you have root on your device and in some cases that’s a deal-breaker. I don’t use Android Pay often, but when I do it’s sometimes because I forgot to bring my wallet and that McDonald’s breakfast isn’t going to buy itself! The fact of the matter, though, is that most of the things that I used to root my phone for are now built into Android and there’s no need for me to root anymore.

It looks like I’m out of time, but if you have any other questions you can ask them after class. Class dismissed!

Amazon’s best-selling unlocked Android phones (December 19)

News

AndroidGuys

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December 18, 2015

0

[df-subtitle]The recently discounted Moto X Pure is this week’s top seller[/df-subtitle]

moto_x_pure_810 Motorola’s unlocked flagship smartphone for 2015 has moved into the top spot for this week. The top ten shakes up a little bit, but it’s largely comprised of the same models as last week. Blu’s latest, the Life One X drops a few spots, but it’s still a bargain at $150. You’ll also notice the price dropped a little across some of the devices here – something we’re always fond of.

The benefit of an unlocked smartphone, for those who aren’t aware, is that it can be used on a variety of wireless service providers. Moreover, going this route ensures you don’t have to worry about contracts or long-term obligations. Want to hop from T-Mobile to AT&T or vice-versa? That’s no problem when you’re using an unlocked GSM phone.

We’ve gathered up the 10 best-selling unlocked Android smartphones from Amazon so you can get a sense for what’s available. Indeed, you’ll see a nice mix of big-name vendors and devices from other, scrappy players. Note that we’ve omitted color variations; you might find other colors available. Yes, you’ll also find some iPhones in the mix, too, but that’s not our bag.

So, the next time you need to replace your existing phone, consider scooping up one of these. It’s often a heck of a lot cheaper than going through your carrier in the long run.

Motorola 32GB Moto X Pure Edition – $450
Asus Zenfone 2 Laser – $200
Blu Advance 4.0 – $60
Blu Life One – $100
Motorola Nexus 6 – $350
Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime DUOS – $145
Motorola Moto G (3rd Gen) – $178
Blu Life One X – $150
Blu Energy X – $109
Samsung Galaxy S5 Unlocked – $322

What is the XPOSED Framework?

Tips & Tools

Jason Botha

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December 18, 2015

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Among the greatest achievements in the Android community, the XPOSED framework is almost certainly one of the most popular subjects. It’s likely you’ve heard of it before, some more than others. It’s also likely you’re not that well clued up on it. Worry not, for this post is here to set the parameters and explain what’s what.

What is XPOSED?

In a nutshell, the XPOSED Framework is an app that you use to mod your rooted phone. Think of it like Minecraft or GTA, where you can download additional things to add or adjust program features. XPOSED offers these “mods” to adjust the software on your phone. Such adjustments include

Custom ROMs like CynanogenMOD can also offer additional features and tweaks. However, XPOSED uses your existing software and adds to what is already there, instead of replacing your software entirely.

Before we move on, let me give you a heads up on what a custom ROM is. Let’s say you own a Samsung with Samsung’s infamous Touchwiz. You don’t like the software that it came with it, so you download software from the internet to replace it. This software is known as a custom ROM.

Moving on, the two biggest mobile OS competitors are iOS and Android. Think of iOS as alternate software (our custom ROM). You are running Android, except that you also want a few fancy features from iOS. Before XPOSED, you would have to have to choose either Android or the custom ROM, and be unable to mix them into each other. XPOSED will allow you to take features from this custom ROM and put them inside Android without having to choose another software type entirely, allowing you to have only what you want.

Keep in mind that iOS actually has nothing to do with XPOSED.

The actual XPOSED Framework is something that modifies the internal system, allowing these ‘mods’ to be injected into the operating system.

What are the pro’s and con’s?

As you’re fiddling around with root and the internal workings of Android, there obviously are some cons. In rare cases (as I’ve personally experienced), installing a package from the repository may be incompatible with your phone model. Most of the time, nothing will happen, but I installed a tweak that modifies the booting up process, inevitably causing a bootloop (when I switch my phone on, all it did was repeat the start up animation infinitely). This was an easy fix for me, fortunately.

Your phone may slow down if it isn’t well endowed with specs and you use lots of tweaks.

It is highly implausible that you will brick your phone by all means.

On a more positive note, there are sufficiently more good things that come around, and even more that you may not expect. For example, say you’ve installed Greenify. Greenify allows you to save battery by cutting down on background activity. By using XPOSED, you’ve already managed to save a considerable amount of battery. And that is only one mod.

What are some examples of mods? What can I use it for?

Depending on your device, you may have access to a wide range of packages. There are 2 main types: visual tweaks and internal tweaks. Most of the visual tweaks are designed for stock Android, e.g. Nexus models and Google Play Editions, while some will work for all models.

These visual mods often adjust colors, layouts and themes. Take LG’s quick settings menu on the G3, for example.

Because the G3 is a relatively popular device, there is more support for it. Likewise, here’s a tweaked Sony quick settings tile layout on the Z2:

Internal tweaks, on the other hand, are also often device-specific, but they often offer more universal device support. A classic example of an internal tweak is SNAPPREFS. Used for Snapchat, this extension allows you to perform actions not typically supported by the app. You can take screenshots of received pictures without the other person knowing, and even automatically save them if you’re too lazy to press buttons.

Another example is RootCloak. This hides the fact that you have root if other apps check and they are blacklisted by you. Security sensitive applications like banking apps often block users with root, and RootCloak simply tells the app that you aren’t rooted, allowing you to use them normally.

While we’re at it, here’s a glimpse of the module library:

It becomes evident that XPOSED is a very powerful tool for even the average user.

Interested in how to install it? Head over to the official XPOSED Framework XDA thread if you are feeling adventuresome, or if you’re uneasy, keep tuned to AG for our next XPOSED post: How to install the framework and manage modules.

We at AndroidGuys.com accept no responsibility for any devices damaged in the process of using the XPOSED Framework.

You can toggle “Merge tabs and apps” on and off in Chrome

Jack McNenny

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December 17, 2015

3

An interesting feature introduced in Android Lollipop that was built into Chrome is merging the browser tabs into your phone’s multitasking menu. This eliminated the ability to see all your tabs within Chrome for a more minimal interface. The idea is nice in theory, but many users have preferred the old way of accessing the tabs within the Chrome app itself, as the new way creates a rather unorganized system of your tabs being spread all throughout your recent apps and the user not knowing how many tabs they have open.

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1. Tap the Chrome menu (three dots on the top right)

This will bring up a number of actions, one of which is the Settings button near the bottom.

2. Go to Settings

Once in the Settings menu, select Merge tabs and apps

Chrome settings

Here, you can toggle this feature on and off. Toggling this will restart Chrome to your desired choice and put all your tabs into Chrome’s tabs menu or in your phone’s multitasking.

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Google Play Store: Veecards

Design

Functionality

Sound

Final Thoughts

Design

Usage & Performance

Summary

Amazon: Motorola Nexus 6

Origins

How is it different on Android?

Why would I care about root?

How is it different than Jailbreak?

Modern Android

What is XPOSED?

What are the pro’s and con’s?

What are some examples of mods? What can I use it for?

1. Tap the Chrome menu (three dots on the top right)

2. Go to Settings