XDA Member kerimka‘s Better StartMenu app for Windows 10 lets you create custom tiles. As a bonus, you can even use transparent backgrounds, leaving you enough room to cover your desktop with icons and still enjoy your wallpaper. Head on over the thread to find out more!
Jacob Klinker has updated his EvolveSMS application to include support for Android 6.0 Marshmallow, Fingerprint Authentication, Android Wear, Android’s Nearby feature and launcher unread badges. The update even includes some changes to the introduction screen and the settings UI. Jacob says the update has been pushed to Google Play and that users should see their apps updated when Google rolls it out.
Popular HTC leaker LlabTooFeR has revealed that the upcoming smartphone from HTC will launch with Android 6.0 Marshmallow pre-installed on it. We are also told that it will have Sense 7 on it and that it should be ready around October or November of this year.
XDA forum member ShaunWinSC has discovered that 2015 Moto X Pure users can get free WiFi tethering on Verizon Wireless, even if you have a grandfathered unlimited data plan with the company. So, since there isn’t any subscription check out of the box, all you have to do is insert your SIM card and you get free WiFi hotspot service without paying $30/month.
XDA Forums are now live for the Teclast X98 Air 3G tablet. The tablet is a sub-$200 device that can dual boot Android and Windows 8.1 on Intel’s Atom Bay Trail processor.
Moto Body was an application that was built into the Moto 360 and this was the only place you could access it. That is, until now. Motorola has now released the application into the Google Play Store and it is compatible with various Android devices (not just Motorola smartphones) running Android 4.3 and up. You will need a Moto 360 though as it needs the data from it.
Hundreds of smartphones are released every year, of varying size, expense and quality, but only very few manage to gain appeal across a wide audience, and even the most successful handsets have flaws. Some of us are lucky enough to have used models from differing manufacturers but for others, brand loyalty is very much a factor when purchasing. So with that in mind, here’s a brief rundown of what a few of the largest companies do best, and why others should be learning from them.
HTC are an odd company, having once been the most successful Android manufacturer, consistently at the peak of their game and standing as an example to their competitors. Nowadays the story couldn’t be more different; the Taiwanese company seems to repeatedly report losses in earnings year-on-year, and despite some compelling smartphones, now seem to be playing catch-up and fading into obscurity. There are still some die-hard fans of their handsets however, and there are good reasons for this.
In short, the design and build quality of HTC’s efforts should stand as the benchmark for every other manufacturer around. Even their earlier models, dating back to the metal-clad Sensation and Desire S proved that they couldn’t be beaten on aesthetics even when competing in the mid-range market. The One X series are still some of the most attractive phones ever in this writer’s humble opinion, and the One series that followed improved upon that. Two of those handsets (M7 & M8) won numerous design awards after being released, and were even praised for being respective phones of the year by some, due in no small part to the attention to detail clearly evident in the physical design. The M8 and M9 have continued in that tradition, while even including useful additions like Micro SD slots in their unibody designs, putting other manufacturer’s ‘premium’ builds to shame.
Samsung are the biggest name in Android, bar none, and have proved this 6 times over, with their flagship Galaxy S and Note ranges. Despite some reports of falling sales, Samsung still dominate this arena, not least because they’re a large company who create consumer electronics in every field and therefore have the budget to spend on research and development, and marketing. This means that the technology that go into their smartphones is some of the most advanced in the world, and that’s a highlight that others should be paying attention to.
For Samsung, it’s not just about the headline features that adorn the first few slides in the press conference, but for the many smaller pieces of hardware that go into making the experience better once you start to live with the phone. Each new high-end device is packed full of sensors that competitors seem to forget, assisting with health-focussed apps that can measure and process all sorts of data to enable more accurate results. The AMOLED screens that the Korean company popularised, win display contests year upon year, demonstrating more powerful colors and deeper contrast than any other. Even the RAM (TouchWiz aside) and storage used in recent models is quicker than rivals’, and when packaged with their in-house Exynos processors, you get intelligent design choices that benefit the user long after the gimmicks wear thin.
Motorola invented the mobile phone. That might need some time to sink in considering their current position in the market, where their acquisition by Lenovo has left a number of analysts worried about their future. They also helped Android itself become recognised in the first place, having the good sense to jump on the bandwagon with the original Droid back in 2009 instead of attempting to design their own OS. And that’s what others should take from Motorola – its attitude towards software.
Since it was bought by Google, Motorola have chosen to leave the Android experience on all of their phones very vanilla. This means that instead of touting a myriad of software features that provide questionable worth to the user and clog up the system, they choose to provide a few additions, and leave the rest as Google intended. This approach makes for fast, smooth smartphones that feel clean and ordered, with no doubled-up apps or bundled bloatware (ignoring carrier versions…), and makes other flagship smartphones look obese and sluggish in comparison. The few apps that are included tend to be minimal and genuinely useful; Motorola Assist attempts to recognize when you’re driving, or sleeping, and alters the device’s behaviour to suit. Moto Voice on the other hand, ensures that your phone is always listening to you, so that you can ask it to perform tasks without ever touching the display. This delicate approach is what helps Motorola stand out, and wider adoption would help competing phones to feel a little more nimble.
A bad word in most Android circles, but you cannot deny what Apple has done for the smartphone industry, or how it has changed due to their presence. Each year, thousands gather to try to be the first to get their hands on the new iPhone, and this cult status takes a lot of work to create and then sustain. One thing that strikes me about its approach which I believe goes a long way towards explaining its success is that it’s a very patient one, which is extremely rare in a company of its size.
“…great artists steal…”
Yes, if more Android manufacturers demonstrated the kind of restraint that Apple do each year, I believe that there’s a good chance that fewer handsets (and companies) would fail due to rushed or incomplete concepts. Apple are renowned by this point for tending to copy ideas, improve or refine them, describe them as ground-breaking and then use them as some of the most visible marketing thrusts of each new device. However, it’s exactly this approach that others should be echoing, by opting to spend more time ensuring that their new feature is necessary or actually works every time instead of simply trying to rush it market and boast that they had it first. Initiatives like Apple Pay, or ideas like the Apple Pencil are not new, and, in fact, can be very derivative conceptually, but they do well (or will do well) because they tend to be some of the best examples of their type, or because they’re specifically tuned to what a specific type of user will appreciate, usually based on industry. Of course, you can’t lead a market by copying, so this attitude can’t be used constantly, but if more OEMs took more time over their creations and directed them at targeted demographics, I can’t help but image that the results could be far better.
LG are another huge brand when it comes to consumer electronics, successful and well known around the globe, and whose mobile phones have been used by millions. Again, this gives them a considerable advantage when it comes to manufacturing parts and researching new concepts, and it shows, with their G-range of flagships being highly anticipated every year. Going toe-to-toe with Samsung is not an easy task but LG have repeatedly managed it to relative success, creating some of the most impressive pieces of kit in the meantime. One thing that sets the Korean manufacturer apart is its propensity for iterative upgrades whilst maintaining a sense of balance overall.
This might seem like an unimportant detail when looking for a new smartphone, but the fact that so few of LG’s handsets have critical failings is huge. LG design some of the best all-rounders, where regardless of whether the best features stand out amongst the crowd, or whether they’re the most powerful examples of technology available, the lack of significant drawbacks mean that they remain distinctly appealing. This year’s G4 for example, has one of the best cameras on the market, but also includes a great display, quick processor, ample RAM, satisfying build quality, and a few extra features like a Micro-SD slot, wireless charging support (through additional backs), and a long-lasting, removable battery. It doesn’t excel in many of these areas, but it impresses nonetheless, and this lack of compromise means that LG phones can continue to be great to use, long after competitors begin to develop niggling weak spots.
It’s clear that no one manufacturer is perfect, even when you look at some of the most popular examples mentioned above. In something that can be as personal as a smartphone, ‘perfect’ isn’t going to be a word that means the same to everyone, so having a multitude of different options is an inherently positive thing. Differentiation and competition are key in this game, and although each company strives to stand apart from the others and be considered in their own right, looking at where others succeed and fail is extremely important. Doing proper research is key, and I really do believe that there’s still room for a new kid on the block, as long as they can manage to properly identify the reasons why each manufacturer succeeds in their own area and find a way to integrate them all together. It’s a tough task, but it isn’t impossible, and it’s about time someone shook things up a bit.
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