Android Phone Fans |
- Android L’s ‘Heads up’ notifications now available for any Android 4.3+ device [DOWNLOAD]
- Android Wallpaper: Vintage Style
- Android L’s Material keyboard now available on Google Play [DOWNLOAD]
- Reflecting on Google I/O 2014: From our Android community to Android everywhere
| Android L’s ‘Heads up’ notifications now available for any Android 4.3+ device [DOWNLOAD] Posted: 28 Jun 2014 10:25 AM PDT Hey, all you non-Nexus elite. If the Android L Developer Preview (which arrived exclusively for the Nexus 5 and Nexus 7) got you feeling down in the dumps with all its glitz and glamor, don’t worry. It appears that many Android devs are working ’round the clock to bring some of those flashy features introduced in Android L — like the all new Heads Up notifications — to our “filthy casual” Android devices. Fresh out the Google Play Store is “Heads Up! notifications” by Woodblock Without Co.. The developer announced the availability of the app over on XDA (where it can be previewed/downloaded for free) and as the name suggests, Heads Up! brings Android L type Heads Up notifications to any device running Android 4.3+ — Android L not required. This app is not only great for themers who like to hide the notification/status bar using 3rd party launchers, but also for times when your phone goes into full screen media mode (like watching a movie or playing a game). In fact, the best part about the app is all the many filtering options it provides. You can whitelist only specific apps, or filter out “silent” heads-up notifications and/or ongoing ones. There’s even an option to only display heads-up notifications while in fullscreen mode. Heads Up! is only a buck on Google Play, but if you’d like to try before you buy, you can always download straight from the developer via XDA here. |
| Android Wallpaper: Vintage Style Posted: 28 Jun 2014 09:00 AM PDT See past editions of Android Wallpaper Hey man, it’s time to get your groove on with some fab vintage wallpapers. Can you dig it? Everything comes back in style eventually. What used to be considered tacky wallpaper patterns are now showing up again as “retro” or “vintage.” Well, we’re also victims of the vintage fad. These old patterns just make great wallpaper on phones, tablets, and PCs. We can’t help it. We have selected five bodacious HD wallpapers that should look great on any device you own. To get one of these on your device simply tap or click the download link underneath each image. On the next page you can right-click or long-press to save the image to your device. We hope you enjoy these wallpapers as much as we do. It’s the next best thing to hopping in a time machine. Enjoy! Push new Android Wallpaper to your Android device with this IFTTT recipe. Cool BlueRetro MusicPlaid GreyscaleFaded BlueToy Clouds
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| Android L’s Material keyboard now available on Google Play [DOWNLOAD] Posted: 27 Jun 2014 08:20 PM PDT Google’s early Android L Developer Preview is nowhere near daily driving status (broken apps… broken apps everywhere), but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t a few goodies to be found inside. Earlier today, we posted a veritable smorgasbord of L goodies, including Google’s all new Material redesigned keyboard. Given it’s one of the few apps in Android L rocking Google’s new Material design, it’s probably the most lusted over by Android users not willing (or able to) flash the experimental release. The apk extracted from the Android L system dump was made available on XDA, but there a few hoops Android users had to jump through to get it up and running. One of those was uninstallation of the regular Google Keyboard (if installed). If sideloading isn’t your cup of tea, some new folks are making the app available via the Google Play Store where it is now available for free as “Android L Keyboard.” But just like the XDA supplied apk, this too will require users to jump into the keyboard’s settings, selecting the “Advanced settings” option, then choosing “Material” under “Color scheme.” After that, you should be up and running with the cleanest keyboard this side of Fleksy, and 1 step closer to getting a true Material experience on your Android. |
| Reflecting on Google I/O 2014: From our Android community to Android everywhere Posted: 27 Jun 2014 07:49 PM PDT Being what some would call a bit of a fanboy, making the pilgrimage to Google's annual developer conference was nothing short of a dream come true. I sit here in the cabin of this airplane, unable to relax and unable to close my eyes like unlike many other passengers during our journey across the country. The truth is, even though Google I/O 2014 has come and gone, the best is yet to come. And that's what's truly exciting. Before we talk about the future, let's revisit and reflect on not only the events, but the experiences over the past few days. Google provides live streaming for countless sessions as well as their highly anticipated keynote presentation for all to watch and listen to from anywhere in the world. Yes, the keynote is where we learn all of the juicy details about Google's upcoming products and services, but as I mentioned, you can get that at home. For me, the true experience of Google I/O comes from the relationships built and social aspect of the conference. Attending Google I/O allowed me to meet some truly amazing people from the Android community that I've wanted to meet for years. From big bad famous Googlers, to ex-Googlers, to Android bloggers, and all sorts of friends from far and wide that I've only known on Google+ for the past 3 years. Being able to finally meet and hang out with so many of these amazing people made the past few days just truly awesome (Queue everything is awesome music.) After parties and social aside, Google taught us this year that Android is everywhere and it's going to get even better as time goes on. Android One is going to provide low cost phones to remote places of the world where having a capable smartphone is sometimes out of the question. Google has well over a billion Android devices out there right now. The next billion consumers are ready to join the Android ecosystem. With Android Auto, Google will ultimately make the roads safer by removing some of our technological distractions while we're on the road. Google's success with the smartphone market is now being applied to the automobile industry. The connected car is here, now let's unify the experience. As for Android TV, Google is really putting the brand into the product this time around. Android TV will provide a rich and unified entertainment experience for the living room. Chromecast is here to stay if you're interested in streaming content, however if you're into gaming and apps, you'll want something a bit more powerful. Android TV is the answer. Android Wear aims to show the ever expanding wearables space just exactly how Google plans to shape the wearable computer industry. Being able to seamlessly integrate your wearable device into your current platform and ecosystem is very rewarding. In fact, in just two days time I've come to love my LG G Watch more than Google Glass, which I've had for a year. This could also be the fact that my Glass only lasts 1-2 hours before dying, but that's a story for another time. The Android L preview is not only gorgeous (sorry, fanboy remember?), but it brings about many changes to Android that makes the experience easier for consumers. However, the real point here is that Google took a pointer from Apple and released a developer preview months in advance, giving developers time to ready their applications and services. This will result in a more stable final release as well as (fingers crossed) more applications using the new design language, resulting in apps not looking out of place when it comes to matching the new style. The future of Android and Google's new plans to unify all of their platforms in design as well as integration show us that the future is going to provide stellar user experiences when Android reaches it's final form. We'll no longer think of Android Auto, Android TV, Android Wear, or any other facet of Android. We'll just think of Android as one large platform spanning across various devices and gadgets. A platform to unify all of the things. Lastly, I'd like to thank our Rob and Steve for making Google I/O so enjoyable and an experience I'll never forget. Here's to the future of Android with Phandroid and Google I/O 2015.
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