Article
by Phil Nickinson
Feb 09, 2012
Check out our Chrome for Android Walkthrough!
The race for the best mobile browser is just about dead even. Android's browser has certainly competed with its Webkit cousin in mobile Safari f...
Article
by Jerry Hildenbrand
Feb 08, 2012
Google Wallet's PIN security has been cracked, but there's a caveat -- this currently only is an issue if your phone is rooted. Not rooted? No worries. And with that said and done, here'...
Article
by Android Central
Feb 08, 2012
There hasn’t been much to cheer about on Wall Street lately when it comes to Android manufacturers' earnings. HTC and Motorola have both issued relatively disappointing quarterly result...
Article
by Jerry Hildenbrand
Feb 07, 2012
What is a widget? In Android, the word widget is a generic term for a bit of self-contained code that displays a program, or a piece of a program, that is also (usually) a shortcut to a larger...
Article
by Jerry Hildenbrand
Feb 06, 2012
What is USB? USB stands for Universal Serial Bus, and is a standard for connectors, cables and protocols used for data transfer and power between a computer and another electronic device. &nbs...
Article
by Phil Nickinson
Feb 05, 2012
It's time to take a little editorial privilege and start a new feature wherein you'll get a few thoughts, ramblings and humblebrags regarding the goings-on here at Android Central, and ...
Article
by Jerry Hildenbrand
Feb 03, 2012
What is tethering? Besides the grounds for a giant debate about ethics (the kind that you can only find on the Internet) tethering, in this case, means to share the Internet connection from yo...
Article
by Phil Nickinson
Feb 03, 2012
It's sounds like a gimmick, right? "Mobile Nations Fitness Month." Never mind that we picked the shortest month of the year to do it. Never mind that the last week of the month, we'...
Article
by Phil Nickinson
Feb 03, 2012
Thing 1: Google privacy policy still under fire
Google responds to Congress about its updated privacy policy
Full-page ads attack Google's privacy policy; el Goog responds
L...
Article
by Jerry Hildenbrand
Feb 02, 2012
What is sideloading? It's a term you see a lot thrown around while talking about Android applications, and it's simple to explain. It means installing applications without using ...
Article
by Android Central
Feb 01, 2012
Welcome to the best Android Phones as of Feb. 1, 2012. Or you can call them our favorite Android phones. Or the top Android phones. Really, call them whatever you want. Here's what you're ge...
Article
by Jerry Hildenbrand
Feb 01, 2012
What is recovery? In Android, recovery refers to the dedicated, bootable partition that has the recovery console installed. A combination of key presses (or instructions from a command l...
Article
by Phil Nickinson
Jan 31, 2012
What is a QR code? These things are everywhere nowadays. Little square barcode-looking things. They're on website, they're on pictures, they're on advertisements -- they're everywher...
Article
by Phil Nickinson
Jan 31, 2012
Behold, the HTC Ville, seen here with Android 4.0.1 Ice Cream Sandwich and HTC Sense Version 4.0.
The Ville (that's more than likely still a codename, which has been around since early N...
Article
by Jerry Hildenbrand
Jan 30, 2012
What is a PRL? PRL stands for Preferred Roaming List and is a database used in CDMA (think Sprint and Verizon here) phones. It's built and provided by your carrier, and used when you...
Article
by Jerry Hildenbrand
Jan 30, 2012
The cameras in our Android phones have certainly gotten better than most would have expected. The old standard of "it's a cell phone camera, it'll never be as good as a cheap poin...
Article
by Jerry Hildenbrand
Jan 28, 2012
The folks at Symantec have tipped everyone off about a new piece of Android Malware, calling Android.Counterclank "a bot-like threat that can receive commands to carry out certain actions, as w...
Article
by Jerry Hildenbrand
Jan 27, 2012
What is open source? Open-source software is software that makes the source code freely available, for anyone to see and use. There are different open-source licenses that have different use conditi...
Article
by Phil Nickinson
Jan 27, 2012
To say it's been an interesting year for Research in Motion and BlackBerry would certainly be an understatement. It was about 10 months ago that we first learned that RIM's tablet would be c...
Article
by Phil Nickinson
Jan 27, 2012
Thing 1: Two new Verizon devices in hand
The Droid RAZR MAXX
The LG Spectrum
Thing 2: Google privacy
Google is streamlining privacy policies, changes effective M...
Article
by Jerry Hildenbrand
Jan 26, 2012
What is NFC? NFC stands for Near-Field Communication and is a set of standards (established in 2004) for small, portable devices to establish radio communications with each other. Devices need...
Article
by Phil Nickinson
Jan 25, 2012
What is Mobile World Congress? The next big mobile trade show on our Android schedule is Mobile World Congress -- or MWC, for those in the know. It's in Barcelona, Spain, and has been since 2006...
Article
by Jerry Hildenbrand
Jan 25, 2012
The Samsung Galaxy S III (or lack of it) has the Internet ablaze once again, and this time it's based on some information industry insider Eldar Murtazin claims to know, and has hinted at in his...
Article
by Phil Nickinson
Jan 24, 2012
What is an Android launcher? Probably the most powerful feature of Android is its ability to be customized. And that starts with what's typically called the "launcher." The launcher us...
Article
by Phil Nickinson
Jan 24, 2012
We've talked before about what it takes for an app to truly be a competitor to Apple's Siri.
It needs to be easily accessible, and launch quickly. Very quickly.
It needs ...
Article
by Jerry Hildenbrand
Jan 23, 2012
What is a kernel? If you spend any time reading Android forums, blogs, how-to posts or online discussion you'll soon hear people talking about the kernel. A kernel isn't somethin...
Article
by Jerry Hildenbrand
Jan 20, 2012
What is the JIT? JIT stands for "Just In Time," and we use it to describe a Dalvik JIT compiler, which was added to Android with the 2.2 release. It compiles bytecode into nati...
Article
by Phil Nickinson
Jan 20, 2012
So a few quick thoughts on the Acer Iconia A200, now that's it's available in stores: Yeah, it's yet another dual-core 10.1-inch Android tablet. Yeah, there's a little more software ...
Article
by Phil Nickinson
Jan 20, 2012
Thing 1: CES recap
Android Central staff's best of CES picks
All of our CES coverage
Thing 2: 11 billion downloads, Google Wallet still alive
Google: Quarter-billion...
Article
by Phil Nickinson
Jan 19, 2012
What is an IPS display? IPS stands for In-Plane Switching. It's commonly found in high-end monitors -- gaining mainstream notoriety in Apple's displays -- and has also found its way into tab...
