Do you have a Samsung Galaxy S4 or Galaxy S3? How old is your battery? If it’s more than a year old, you may have noticed that you get less battery life than you used to. This is normal for an aging battery, but can also be a sign of dangerous swelling. Here’s what you […]
How to Guides
Mobile phones are getting smarter and more complicated all the time. User Manuals can sometimes be difficult to understand and often rely on you knowing lots about mobile phones. To try and help you make the most of your phone, and get to grips with some of the more advanced features of your phone, we’ve put together the following “How To” guides.
How to customise the Android 4.4 KitKat launcher with Xposed GEL Settings
The Google Experience Launcher (GEL) introduced with the Nexus 5 and KitKat is a big step up from previous stock launchers on Android. The big selling point is easy access to Google Now as the left-most screen, but the larger-than-normal icons and use of transparency work well too. The only real downside to the new […]
Upgrade your HTC One M8 with Harman Kardon ‘conversion kit’
The One M8 is a brilliant smartphone, with the best sound on the market. HTC even worked with Harman Kardon to develop a custom audio signal processor for the device, but that extra functionality only shipped on the Verizon version of the phone in America. This week, XDA Developers member baadnewz has created a conversion […]
Android 4.4 SMS text messaging app alternatives (and how to set them)
Android 4.4 introduced official support for changing your default SMS app, replacing the hacked together implementations that have been relied upon in the past. It’s definitely a change for the better, but Google’s new default SMS app in Android 4.4 – Hangouts – isn’t always ideal. Probably the biggest issue with Hangouts is that it’s […]
Nexus 7 (2013) Root, Unlock & Recovery Guide
Today we’ll be using the Nexus Root Toolkit (NRT) to root, unlock the bootloader and install a custom recovery on a Nexus 7 (2013) tablet. Root access lets you remove pre-installed apps, make full backups, and install root-only apps which block ads, mount USB storage and take control of your device in other interesting ways. You […]