MasHD Blog

A few hours ago , Google announced its new developer preview of Android M - A system that is said to bring refinement to the already gorgeous material design . Unveiled at Google IO 2015 in San Francisco , the entire show as usual was broadcasted live via youtube , although i was never able to attend any of the Google IO events , i managed to secure a seat at our national GDG Sri Lanka Google IO Extended event held in Colombo where i was able to use the slow and crowded Wifi connection to type this blog entry .  Contents  *Android M  *Google Photos  *Android wear  *Chromecast *Android TV *Android auto *Google cardboard  *JUMP (with GoPro) *Project Brillo and WEAVE Android in numbers  Did you know that 8/10 smartphones shipped last year were Android devices ? and did you know that there are over 4000 specific Android devices launched at date ..well these were some of the specs Google put out last night , and here is the remainder *6...

After Cyanogenmod's OnePlus betrayal , the small startup company decided to go on its own path of releasing a custom ROM for the OnePlus One ,after many months of work , the company is finally announcing details about their upcoming Oxygen Os  . According to OnePlus , the Oxygen OS Rom is said to be unique to the OnePlus One , created by the newly announced OnePlus OxygenOSTeam  , the ROM is said to be based on Android 5.0.2 initially ,but a 5.1 based version is possibly down the pipe as well . The OS is said to be a download and flash ROM instead of a OTA update , the os will have a "closeness to stock(Android" and it is said to include Google's stock camera as the filter camera in the Cyanogenmod Rom is basically kicked out . Oneplus has not announced any launch dates for this new ROM  , but we can expect it to pop up anytime soon as the current OnePlus one is stated to get updated for another whole year ( until the middle of 2016 ),so if things go as planned , ...

Some gadgets just refuse to die , the HTC HD2 is one example of such a device . The phone , launched in the last half of 2009 has lived on as the undisputed champion that overcame planned obsolescence.The phone , which originally started life as a Microsoft Mobile 6.5 smartphone ,had a 1 Ghz single core Snapdragon processor and just 448 MB of Ram . The phone - which became popular developer platform started to get custom ROM's and different OS versions including  Windows Mobile v6.1 to 6.5.5 , Windows Phone 7 , 8 and Windows RT  and Playstation 1 Emulators as well as a copy of Linux , Firefox OS , Meeego  and of course Android .  The First version of Android to run on the HD2 was 2.2 Froyo and this later expanded all the way from 2.3 -4.0.4 , 4.1 , 4.2 ,4.3 ,4.4 and today we have news that some guys at XDA successfully ported Android 5.0 .The developer however has only managed to get the touch screen and audio to work at the moment (Alpha build) bu...

Qualcomm is "Intel" of the the mobile chipset business , the company has seen rapid growth since 2013 after the introduction of the Snapdragon S4 series . The company since then has come a long way and it stepped into the 64 bit territory early this year with the Snapdragon 610 and Snapdragon 410 processors , although lesser processor models got the 64bit expreience , the flagship 800 series processors still rolled in 32 bit until the announcement of the Snapdragon 810 a few months ago . The 810 has a 4+4 "Octacore" Big.Little mobile chip architecture that allows 4 Cortex A57 cores to work with 4 A53 cores giving variable throttling when needed . The 64 bit jump also makes the processors acquire more  RAM , 4K support out of the box and higher quality GPU's like the Adreno 430 found in the 810 . To promote the chipset to developers and manufacturers , Qualcomm announced a new reference Smartphone and Tablet running the chipset and some insane specs with a indu...

Do you see something strange about the tablet in the picture? ..is this the Nexus 8/9?  (via -Brightsideofnews/GoogleIO2014) Although we didn't get to see a Nexus device at Google IO this year we are sure to see not one , but two during the next two months , the rumored Nexus 8 /Nexus 9 also known as the HTC Volantis tablet and the Nexus 6 are both set to be released during the end of October or November of this year .The HTC Volantis (Nexus 8/9) tablet is probably the most expected Nexus device this year as it is obviously going to be a killer device thanks to the rumored 64Bit Nvidia Tegra K1 chipset and HTC's build quality .Latest details about the tablet surfaced after its WIFI certification was leaked out .The device , which is said to have 16 /32GB of onboard storage will be available in WIFI only and LTE+wifi versions once it is announced .Although the wifi certification doesn't reveal much , so far rumors about the device point out that the device will almost ce...

Nokia released their Windows Phone 8.1 developer preview a few months ago and many users downloaded it merrily , and now it turns out that it is directly responsible for bricking many devices when users tried to download the Nokia Cyan update .  The Windows Phone 8.1 developer preview allowed some users to experience the next version of Windows phone while running half baked software , and users who installed it on their device and users who used BitLocker encryption are now unable to download the Cyan update which was released yesterday . Microsoft has suspended all updates for these devices until a solution is found . If your phone is Bricked , Microsoft explains that , by using the "Nokia Software Recovery tool"  the "Dead" handset can be unbricked and re-flashed to the earlier version - Windows Phone 8 which will allow you to get in line to receive the Cyan update just like a regular Lumia handset . Microsoft's official statement "We are c...

Google demoed a developer preview of the upcoming Android "L" project aka Lollipop at Google IO  2014 . The update is the biggest change since the holo theme used since Android 4.0 ICS back in 2011 and it features major changes in the way the platform performs and scales to multiple devices which include Smartphones , Tablets ,Smartwatches ,In Car entertainment systems and Home Entertainment systems . First off , we have Android's new design language called "Material design" - this is Android's replacement to the Holo theme used from Android 4.0 to 4.1 . The new UI uses a card type Interface with flat surfaces with variable 3D shadow effects which are rendered real time . the theme is easily scalable for smartphones and tablets so developers can easily use the set designs to make quality apps for the platform . Android L says Bye bye to Dalvik officially , and is now replaced by ART which supports faster transitions at around 60fps . Android...

If you are a Android developer or a enthusiast , then the Google I/O event is not new . The annual event usually shows off the latest developer tools , new devices and services from Google and Android . The latest I/O event is scheduled to be held from the 25 -26th of June at the Moscone Center in San Francisco ,California .Reserving tickets for the event is set up as a lottery  and you can register for the lottery for free .Google will take applications for the lottery  during April 8th-10th and if the odds fall in your favor you can they pay through Google Wallet with standard tickets starting at $900 per head . The event will also have a academic discounted ticket for $300 and this is available for Students and professor attending highschool , college  , or a educational institute . The lottery system was implemented due to the sudden rush caused during the 2012/2013 I/O events where tickets were sold off in less than half an hour . The Google I/O event for 2014 i...

Mobile gaming has come a long way since the introduction of Angry Birds and Fruit ninja , The mobile game industry is now a million dollar industry where new games as well as old pc titles appear in touch screen format in all major platforms ,but even with all the new technology , Mobile devices have always been a few years behind their console counterparts .But as technology moves on , we see the gap getting smaller and smaller , and as mobile chipsets get more capable each year ,the need to show off their capabilities get even higher , and so the popular game development company Epic Games , unveiled a little teaser of their highly anticipated Unreal Engine 4 on a device with a slightly old processor . The device is none other than the Nexus 5,which when it was rolled out , was one of the fastest devices around , but in less than a year, Qualcomm announced the Snapdragon 801 which bests the Snapdragon 800 found on the Nexus 5 and many other phones of last year.Although it is no ...

Related - Motorola 360 smartwatch LG G Watch Google has gone official with their new project called Android Wear - the latest alliance brings Android to the still untapped market of smartwatches and wearable technology . Although many companies produced in house Android wearables , the platform was never official nor was it very effective because developer tools were virtually non existent and were proprietary . However with the launch of Android Wear , Google has teamed up with HTC , LG,ASUS ,Motorola and Samsung and some lesser known brands like Fossil to create a totally new platform from scratch .The project will also be supported by big microprocessor companies like Intel,Qualcomm,Broadcomm,Mediatek and imagination who will work to produce even smaller microprocessors for future devices. As for now , the project requires the smartwatch to basically sync notifications from any Android app installed on the paired smartphone . The Google smartwatches will also need to work...

There's no doubt that Google is becoming a full-fledged hardware company, but the latest Google X project is a lot different that tablets and smartphones — the company just announced that it's building a "smart contact lens." However, it's not meant to be a miniaturized version of Glass — it's meant to help diabetes patients keep track of their glucose levels. Inside the lens is a miniaturized wireless chip and glucose monitor that will measure the glucose levels of the wearer's tears. Google's hoping that it'll be a less painful and invasive way to monitor glucose levels than the typical method of pricking a finger and testing blood droplets multiple times a day. Ideally, the sensor would be able to generate a reading once per second, and Google wants it to act as an early warning device for when glucose levels start dropping — the company imagines putting a minuscule LED light in the lens that could indicate levels dropping above or below a s...

Nokia announced in October it will be ending all developer support for MeeGo and Symbian on January 1, 2014. Well, the deadline has passed and the Ovi Store won't accept any more apps. Nokia announced the end of the era via the official Symbian Team account on Twitter. n case you've missed the news, the dropped MeeGo/Symbian support and app publishing means developers will be no longer capable of pushing new apps or updates in the Ovi Store. They will continue to receive revenue from their apps, of course, and all currently available apps in the Store will remain available for download. So, if you are interested the Ovi Store is still open and your device isn't rendered worthless just yet. But maybe, just maybe, it's about time you jumped ship. GSMArena That was it; we are officially closed. Thank you all for the past years! — Symbian Signed Team (@SymbianSigned) January 2, 2014

Want to try that sweet-sounding Sailfish OS, but don’t want to fork out the €399 for the first Jolla handset? Fret not as the company will allow you to sideload its OS to any Android device that you might already have. The option isn’t yet available, but it’s currently being worked on as has been confirmed by the company’s CEO Tomi Pienimäki. In an interview with a Finnish website Mr. Pienimäki stated the following: ”That is the plan. We are on device business and OS business. It is fairly easy to install the OS on Android devices" ”There is no such culture in these parts of the world [Finland], but there are people that are installing new operating systems on their devices. In China it is mainstream. About half of the smartphone buyers are upgrading their older or cheaper devices with a better version of Android.” “For us it is a possibility to distribute our operating system especially in China. There are websites that already distribute [OS] software and the Chinese custome...

The official CyanogenMod installer was pulled out of the Google Play Store. The app was voluntarily removed after the Google Play Support team contacted CyanogenMod that its creation was violating the store’s terms. The app specifically violated the Google Play Store Terms of Service by encouraging users to void the warranty of their devices, despite being harmless in its nature. As you probably know already, void warranty is one of the biggest downsides of rooting an Android device. Launched a couple of weeks back, the official CyanogenMod installer, in conjunction with a desktop companion, allowed you to flash the company’s custom Android ROMs to compatible devices. According to CyanogenMod, the app has seen hundreds of thousands of installs for the two weeks of its availability. Thankfully, removal from the Google Play Store does not mark the end of the road for the CyanogenMod installer. The app is available to download directly from the CyanogenMod website and can be sideload...

Developer Winocm has been busy on a special project of his, and today announced on his website that he recently achieved “one of the core milestones” of the mission: successfully porting the iOS core to a Nokia N900 smartphone, among other devices. He has a couple images to prove it, and goes on to detail the other hardware that can boot the system, giving developers some porting opportunities. As you might have guessed from the image, the port doesn’t include any of the user interface, and says the developer, he doesn’t have any plans right now to support for the UI, saying tongue-in-cheek that it is the Core that is most important. As mentioned, it runs on more than the Nokia, which is imaged above, among the other offerings: ARM RealView Emulation Baseboard (ARMPBA8_ALT) ARM RealView Platform Baseboard for Cortex-A8 (ARMPBA8) Texas Instruments OMAP3530 (BeagleBoard/BeagleBoard xM) (OMAP3530) Texas Instruments OMAP3430 (Nokia N900) (OMAP3430_RX51) Texas Instruments AM335x (Be...

Supposing you’re in a situation where you’d love to work with Apple’s OS X desktop operating system, but for whatever reason you’d rather not – or cannot – work with an Apple-made piece of hardware. If you’re the alternate-solutions type, there may be hope for you with the Linux Ubuntu-based system called Pear OS. The newest version of Pear OS – that’s Pear OS 8 – works with a look and feel that’s very much the most solidly cross-breed inspired iOS/OS X system out in the wild today – again, working with Unbuntu, but certainly appearing to bust out an alternate-universe Apple system by all looks and touches. With Pear OS 8, users are able to load up to a variety of machines. This operating system works on desktop computers, tablets, and – though the developers of the system have not quite commented on this specifically as yet – massive-screened smartphones as well. This system works in both 32- and 64-bit system iterations, and will eventually work with Microsoft’s Surface line of...

Google and Oracle have been tied up in a fight for a while over how Java works in the Android operating system. In 2012, Oracle specifically targeted the Dalvik virtual machine that runs on Android devices in its legal assault against Google, though Google eventually prevailed in that case. Google has been working toward replacing Dalvik in secret and users running Android 4.4 will be able to use Google’s new alternative. Android 4.4 will reportedly allow users to select which runtime they use. The available options will be Dalvik and Google’s new runtime called ART. Google has stated on its website for developers that ART is a work in progress and is considered experimental at this time. Users wanting to give it a try can enable the new runtime in Android 4.4 via the Settings, Developer Options menu. Indications are that users won’t notice much difference between the two available runtimes for now. ART is said to handle app execution in a fundamentally different way than Dalvik. W...

Facebook has apologized for a service disruption that briefly prevented users from posting to the social networking site Monday morning. A Facebook spokesperson told CTVNews.ca that the outage was short-lived. By late Monday morning the website was back up and running. "Earlier this morning, while performing some network maintenance, we experienced an issue that prevented some users from posting to Facebook for a brief period of time," the spokesperson said in a statement. "We resolved the issue quickly, and we are now back to 100 per cent. We're sorry for any inconvenience we may have caused." Users were able to log into the social networking site Monday morning, but could not post status updates, comments, photos or send messages. Instead users received an error message urging them to “try again in a few minutes.” As one of the most popular and recognizable websites on the Internet, Facebook attracts significant traffic. In June, the website boasted 69...

Well, it looks Samsung is following in HTC’s footsteps and finding ways to make it hard for users to root and flash custom software on its devices. According to well-known developer Chainfire, the Galaxy Note 3 comes with eFUSE technology for the KNOX security suite. What is eFUSE? Well, it’s a technology that allows reprogramming a read-only memory chip in real-time, even though such chips come with hard-coded code that cannot be generally changed after manufacturing. When flashing unofficial software on the device, the status of the system and KNOX is switched to CUSTOM while increasing a binary flash counter, which helps Samsung find out whether the device has been tampered with. However, while Chainfire’s TriangleAway app has let users switch the status back to official and reset the flash counter until now, the KNOX status is based on eFUSE – basically, once you flash custom kernels or root the Note 3, the KNOX code gets rewritten, and this constitutes hardware damage. Apparen...