Swype dies unnoticed
Swype, for a long time my favourite keypad to use on Android phones which I first encountered on my Samsung Galaxy S back in 2011, has been killed off after years of slow development...
Category: Android
CyanogenMod knocked on head
Update 26th Dec: Cyanogen, Inc. turned off CyanogenMod’s web servers yesterday, likely in response to a final blog post from the team. The download site remains up until the end of the month. As...
A few weeks back on Android
Over the summer, my iPhone broke down. The charging point initially stopped charging when the Lightning plug was not plugged in at exactly the right angle, but one morning while I was out driving...
CyModding your LG G-Pad
So, last week I got my replacement for my iPad, which I was dissatisfied with because of the completely inadequate Apple keypad (see earlier entry). I looked for a similar size Android tablet, because...
iPad: First impressions
The other day I took delivery of my new tablet computer, an iPad mini with a Retina display, which cost £290 plus delivery charges on Amazon. It’s a wi-fi only model; I can’t afford...
Wanted: decent Android Twitter app
I’ve used Android since 2009, and I’m currently on my fourth phone and first tablet. I’ve used Twitter since about the same time, maybe a little bit more. Having a smartphone pretty much makes...
Don’t believe the “wearable tech” hype
SwiftKey: Top 10 tech predictions for the future Last week SwiftKey (or rather TouchType Ltd), the company behind a sophisticated predictive keypad for Android devices (which I used for several years before switching to...
CyanogenMod and ungrateful users
Recently, as I posted here last week, I upgraded my main phone (a Nexus 4) to run CyanogenMod 10.2 which is based on Android 4.3 — they are starting work on the next version...
Taking care of business
The last few weeks I’ve not been blogging as much as I used to, and there’s one important reason for this: I’ve been working on getting my HGV (truck) licence. You have to do...
CyanogenMod 10.2 and the Nexus 4
I bought a Nexus 4 a couple of months ago when it was reduced to clear, having previously been using a Galaxy Nexus which ran CyanogenMod 10.1, which was based on Android 4.2. This...
Apple needs more than a cheap phone to wipe out Android
iPhone 5C: if Apple produces a cheap phone, it could wipe out its rivals Mic Wright (@brokenbottleboy on Twitter) says that if Apple launches a cheap iPhone tonight (the rumoured iPhone 5C), it could...
SwiftKey’s bogus adventure (and not so bogus bugs)
Earlier this afternoon I saw an announcement on Twitter from SwiftKey, the people behind my favourite keyboard on Android: a new way of using their keypad that they called “SwiftKey Tilt”, which meant you...
Getting CyanogenMod on the Galaxy Nexus
A month or so ago I bought a second-hand Samsung Galaxy Nexus phone — I had intended to get a Nexus 4, but there were the usual supply problems at the time, and I...
Google versus Samsung Android
Battle of the Androids: Google Android vs. Samsung Android Yesterday I took delivery of a Samsung Galaxy Nexus, which was the previous incarnation of the “official” Google phone line (it’s now been replaced by...
Upgrading your Galaxy S: there’s no easy way
I spent the past two days upgrading my Android phone, a Samsung Galaxy S (model i9000) to the new version of Android. There have actually been several new versions since the last one Samsung...
Windows 8: tablet as desktop coming to a desk near you
I’ve been noticing various articles about the impending Windows 8 release on OSNews appear recently, and it doesn’t look good. I’ve been using Linux a lot since about 2002, and one of the worst...
What I really wanted from T-Mobile
The other day I finally got round to changing my T-Mobile tariff from a £25/mo tariff which covers the cost of a phone, to a £10/mo SIM-only tariff (which was reduced to half that...
Android apps that suck
Of late, I’ve noticed that the Android apps I’ve been using aren’t performing anything like as well as they should be. I got a Samsung Galaxy S phone in May, which I paid up-front...
New phone
I took delivery of a new phone yesterday — a Samsung Galaxy S. Not the dual-core S II, which was well beyond my price range, but the Galaxy S was pretty much the top...
Android: feeling at home, moving on
Last December I wrote about the year I’d had with my Android phone (an HTC Hero, branded a T-Mobile G2 Touch — not to be confused with the G2 that is sold in some...