Try CyanogenMod 9′s custom launcher, 4.0.3 and root required

Are you a super modder who imported the Galaxy Nexus on day one, then rooted it and installed your own custom version of Plan 9? Well then, this mod is probably a little bit beneath you. But if you’re slightly less crazy, you’ll definitely want to try out the custom Trebuchet launcher, CyanogenMod’s tweaked version of the Ice Cream Sandwich home screen application. It brings a suite of new options to Ice Cream Sandwich’s standard launcher, the likes of which will delight those addicted to home screen customization for sure. Check out this XDA thread to get started.

Now for the bad news: you need to be running the latest Android Ice Cream Sandwich build in order for it to function, version 4.0.3. Only a few Nexus S phones currently run that, since Google suspended the update, though there’s plenty of custom ROMs built from AOSP code that have the latest version. You also need to be rooted, and install the app to the /system folder via either ADB or something like Root Explorer. If all that seems a little much, just wait for the first beta builds of CyanogenMod 9 – odds are that if you’re reading this, you’ve got a phone that’s on their official list.
For Galaxy Nexus and other ICS users who want a little less extreme customization, check out Nova Launcher. It’s also a modified version of Ice Cream Sandwich’s smartphone homescreen, but it’s a lot more friendly as far as versions go. You can install it as a regular non-Market app, or push it to your /system folder for a few more bells and whistles. It even works on tablet ROMs, or at least on the one I’ve tried so far.
[via Phandroid]

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Due to Christmas Smartphones Activations Up By 353% from December Norm

This Christmas the smartphone was the must-have gift and Flurry has the analytics data to back it up. According to their research, an average 1.5 million Android and iOS devices were activated daily between December 1st and 20th. For December 25th the number rose to an estimated 6.8 million, a 353 percent increase. The number is more than double the 2.8 million devices activated on Christmas in 2010.
After all of those Android and iOS devices were activated their new owners got to downloading apps right away with a record number 242 million apps downloaded between the two operating systems. The figure equates to a 125 percent increase from the December norm and eclipses last Christmas’ 150 million app downloads. Flurry didn’t provide data on the split between the two platforms for either activations or app downloads.
[via TechCrunch]

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Alpha ICS Source Provided By Notion Ink For Its Consumers [Video]

The folks at Notion Ink are keeping to their promise of bringing Ice Cream Sandwich to the Adam tablet and they want to show you just how far they’ve come. They’ve made a video showing their progress off but they’re giving the fearless a chance to build and flash the ROM and take a look for themselves.

I should note that this is an alpha build so everything will not be as it should. Sound, camera, 3G, bluetooth and more are not working. In fact, here’s a list of what is working and you can just use the process of elimination to figure out the rest:

As of now we have accelerated graphics, GPS, Wi-Fi, Accelerometer, SD Card and ADB working.

With that, I’ll direct you to their site for the download but if you’re uncomfortable with flashing an alpha ROM we advise you to stay away and wait for the OTA. We’re not exactly sure what Notion Ink is doing as far as helping users revert but we imagine an image backup is also in order.
They are also announcing a last gasp sale for the device. They kept a stock of tablets tucked away for release once Ice Cream Sandwich hits. You’ll even be able to get them at a discounted price as they are celebrating the New Year.
We’re not sure what’s next for Notion Ink (rumors say another tablet is on its way, of course) but if you have gone this far without getting the device and you somehow still want it, this is your best window to grab one.

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Airtight App Brings Apple’s Airplay to Google TV

Even at a site full of die-hard Android users, we’re big enough to admit when a competing platform has a cool feature, and Airplay certainly falls in to that category. The feature allows iPhones and iPads to instantly stream video and audio to compatible devices, sort of like DLNA. Now that functionality has been extended to Google TV, by way of a GTV app known as Airtight. It’s currently priced at 99 cents in the Android Market, though naturally you’ll need Google TV hardware to see it.

Basically, the app fools any nearby Apple devices into thinking that the Google TV hardware is really an Apple TV. This allows any iPhone, iPad or iPod to stream video and audio directly to Google TV, though sadly DRM’d content (any video purchased from iTunes) won’t play. Mirroring, where the same video is played on the device and the TV, is also out for now. Naturally both devices must be connected to a local WiFi network for the transfer to function, and you’l need an update to Android 3.2 before you can use the Market on your Google TV device.
The app was only posted to the Android Market yesterday, so expect a few bugs at this point. For a start, music isn’t supported, though the developer says that he or she is working on it. A paid app that’s basically a public alpha might rub some the wrong way, but it is just a dollar – not much for an impressive technical feat. Other apps by “Yossie” come highly recommended, so expect some timely feature updates soon.
[via TechCrunch]

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Lastest Facebook app to hit the market

Wouldn't it be great if you ever met somebody while you were out at some place or function but you did not have the time to get her/him Facebook address? Well, you need not to worry about that anymore for these kind of situation. Add Friend (Facebook) app for Android is now available to help you make friends within few seconds. Using NFC (Near Filed Communication) technology Friend (Facebook) app allows to add new friends. Both party have to open the Friend (Facebook) app and just need to Touch the 2 mobiles back-to-back and it will open the his/her Facebook profile then just tap “Add”. Make a new friend no matter where your at......

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Recover Your Motorola DROID RAZR Via Clockwork Mod

The biggest thing holding the DROID RAZR development community back was the lack of a custom recovery for the device. Without a recovery, you can’t flash custom ROMs. Well, that’s no longer an issue as a recovery has been worked up for this specific phone. It applies to all versions of the RAZR currently available so those of you with the Motorola RAZR need not feel slighted this time. Head to the http://www.droidrzr.com/index.php/topic/66-recovery-droid-razr-bootstrap-recovery  thread for full instructions and download links.

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Quad Core Meizu MX (Exynos 4412?) Said to be Here May 2012

While many Android tablets are soon to be offered with quad-core configurations (including the already-available ASUS Transformer Prime), we’re still wondering if and when handsets will get over the dual-core hump. Meizu is the first to make public plans to release a quad-core device. It will be an upgraded version of their beautiful Meizu MX.

Other than its quad-core specification there’s not much know about the device at this time except a launch window – May 2012. That’s a decade from now in the world of technology but it’s a timeline we expected for the first quad-core enabled devices to, at the very least, be announced.
Chinese site Techorz speculates that it wouldn’t be foolish to expect Samsung’s quad-core Exynos 4412 inside considering their MX has the dual-core Exynos chipset, though we won’t put too much stock into that speculation.

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Springboard of T-Mobile spotted with Android 4.0.1 on board

For those who might have gotten their hands on the Huawei MediaPad, or the T-Mobile Springboard as it is better known in the states, it appears that thanks to a leaked screenshot, what we are looking at above is the tablet running on none other than Android 4.0.1 Ice Cream Sandwich.
The tablet was originally released with Android 3.2 Honeycomb on board and costs a relatively affordable $430 (this was before the Amazon Kindle Fire) with relatively decent hardware specifications to match. The update to Android 4.0.1 doesn’t really surprise us considering that a while back the company released a beta Android 4.0 update for the Honor handset.
No word when the update will arrive, but hopefully based on this screen shot the update should be closed to completion and should start making its way to owners of the Springboard/MediaPad soon.
[Image credit - CNMO]

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Weather Underground App for Android and iPhone Launched

If you are interested in the weather forecast beyond what you read in the papers or see on TV, you definitely know about Weather Underground, the first online weather service. Now Weather Underground has free applications for Android and iOS.

Following the appropriate market link below you will be able to download the new Weather Underground apps for your phone. We already looked at the iOS iteration in our latest iOS App Picks episode but for those who missed it, the application brings the "most reliable and in-depth weather data for locations across the world". Current conditions, forecasts, interactive maps, commentary, check them all out by downloading the app from the links below.

Source: Android Market, App Store
Via: PhoneArena

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