6 Advantages of Android KitKat 4.4 that You Should Know

Android 4.4 has been released, is the latest version of Android that has a lot of advantages dar previous versions of Android, Here are some points that you must know about what is going to exist in android KitKat, taken from various sources.

More Attractive User Interface

As usual, every time there is definitely an update android in terms of interface improvements. It is said to Andoid 4.4 KitKat is also the case. Android 4.4 will use the new color scheme, the new notification system and a lot of minor updates to the UI.

Cloud Integration Support

Cloud storage has a major role today. Backup photos, videos, data sharing and many more things can be done with cloud storage. Given the importance of this, Google will begin integrating it to Android 4.4

Support for Older Device 

As the most widely used OS, Android has many variations on hardware capabilities. This is the most troublesome for google for what became the standard device will not apply to all. Well supposedly is going to android 4.4 KitKat friendly specs, that can be installed on the android device not that good. And even some Air gingerbeard 2.3 devices will be able to directly update to 4.4.

Smoother and Faster Screen Orientation

Sophisticated Smartphone User Experience should be supported equally adequate. KitKat in android 4.4 Screen Orientation is said to have a fast, smooth and intuitive tentusaja. In addition to the functional is also very convenient.

Better Battery Life

Smartphone battery was not a very smart-smart, Even though Android. In android 4.4 battery KitKat become one of the priorities, with minimum specs are not too high to make the CPU work not too diforsir and other effects lead to more efficient batteries

Better Security

Updates are usually for the patch Bug, android 4.4 Kitkat-even so. Besides Google also plans to add the app to report dangerous applications containing malware instance.

Android Custom ROM

Time and time again when people ask me why I prefer Android to iOS, my number one answer is, “freedom.” The freedom to customize the homescreen as you see fit, not just moving icons around, the freedom to use custom launchers, and the freedom to install apps that are not on the Play Store. And because Android has such an active developer community, that freedom increases a hundred fold when you root your device. Once you do that, you have the ability to install custom ROMs, or builds of the Android OS. That’s when things get really fun.

Two Types of ROMS

The first thing you should know is that there are two types of ROMs out there: OEM and AOSP.

OEM — which stands for Original Equipment Manufacturer — ROMs are those that are re-releases of ROMs for specific devices. For example, you can get a modified OEM ROM for the Galaxy S3 — like FoxHound. It will be the same ROM that comes stock on the S3 with some custom modifications. While these ROMs tend to be more stable/bug-free, they are for a limited audience; that is, only those people who have the specific device the ROM was made for can use it.

The other type of ROM is AOSP — Android Open Source Project. These ROMs were created by developers using the stock Android ROM that anyone can download from the official website. These are much more popular because they aren’t tied to a specific device, but they can be less stable/more buggy with your specific hardware. In many cases, the ROM will also need to be available for your device. We’ll talk more about that in the next section.

It’s likely that most of the time, when looking for custom ROMs, you’ll be looking at AOSP ones to get rid of TouchWiz, Sense or other skins, and benefit from the stock look and fluidity that comes with AOSP. Speaking of, let’s take a look at some places we can find ROMs.

Finding ROMs

A ROM is basically just a bunch of files zipped up and sent to an installer on your Android device, so theoretically we should be able to find ROMs anywhere. Of course, there are some methods that make the overall process easier. In particular, I have two apps in mind: ROM Manager and Goomanager.

1. ROM Manager

This app was my first foray into the wonderful world of custom ROMs. It comes with its own bootloader/installer called Clockwork Recovery that allows you to install new ROMs from an SD card, reinstall a backup ROM, take backups, and more. As for the app itself, there are a lot of nice features that make finding/installing custom ROMs a lot easier.

 

The app will let you search for ROMs from a bunch of different developers in a handy directory with ratings and comments. It will also download the ROM and take all of the necessary steps in booting it — namely wiping cache, removing data, creating backup, and soon.

Depending on the ROM you get, you will need to wipe all data and start from scratch. If you’re moving to a new version of the same ROM, say CyanogenMod 10 to CyanogenMod 10.1, you don’t need to. If you move from CyanogenMod to ParanoidAndroid, you need to wipe everything or nothing will work properly. In this case, use Titanium Backup to backup all you apps beforehand then restore them after you flash the ROM.

2. Goomanager

My friend recently showed me Goomanager as an alternative to ROM Manager and it’s the one that I prefer. First of all, the app is completely free. It offers all of the things that ROM Manager offers, but at no cost. It’s also a very clean app. Where ROM Manager bugs you to install a bunch of other apps (even if you pay), Goomanager simply looks for and notifies you of new ROMs.

The app also makes it a lot clearer that you’re viewing ROMs compatible with your device. Finally, its own bootloader is a lot more feature rich, user friendly, and supports touch.

XDA-Developers

There is one website I’d like to mention, and that’s XDA. XDA is widely considered the de-facto source for lots of custom Android apps and ROMs. If you have some knowhow and are looking for new ROMs, Beta ROMs, unofficial add-ons, and more, XDA is the place for you.

Choosing a ROM

Alright! We now know what kind of ROMs there are and where to find them. Now onto the hardest part: choosing a ROM.

There are dozens, even hundreds, of ROM builds to choose from. Different versions for different devices are out there and new ones show up everyday. I’m going to tell you about a few that I’ve used, as well as some popular ones.

1. CyanogenMod

CyanogenMod (or CM for short) is one of the most popular ROMs out there, and for good reason. The latest stable version is 10.0, which is built on Android 4.1. The huge team behind it releases regular builds and is constantly updating them.

 You can also get CM 10.1, which is built on Android 4.2, but beware, it was incredibly buggy and unstable on my Galaxy Nexus.

CM has a lot of great features added on top of stock Android, like the ability to add 4 apps to the swipe wheel on the lockscreen for faster access. There are also lockscreen gestures, themes, hardware profiles to help boost performance, and a feature called “Phone Goggles,” which will filter communications based on user-defined criteria.

I was using CM10 for a while but noticed that it degraded my battery life quite a bit even after changing some of the hardware profiles. Once I upgraded to CM 10.1 the phone became unusable and I decided to switch ROMs. What I’m currently using is.

2. ParanoidAndroid

This is a super clean, really fast ROM that I’m incredibly happy with. Currently on version 3.10, ParanoidAndroid boasts Android 4.2.2 and a lot of added great features. The most notable is their Hybrid Mode, which allows you to run UI elements and even certain apps as if your device were a tablet, a phone, or a combination of both. You can also set custom colors for apps so that the notification and menu bars match the colors of the app you’re in.

Like I said before, this is my current ROM and I would strongly recommend it. I’ve seen a pretty decent improvement in my battery as compared to CM10 and perhaps the best part is that there are no added apps. Where CM10 comes with it’s own ‘bloatware’, ParanoidAndroid has none of that.

3. MIUI

MIUI is a beautiful custom ROM that focuses a lot on design and UI. There are custom icon sets, improved call and SMS screens, and a very nice, feature-rich dropdown toggle menu with 19 functions you can turn on or off.

There are also over 200 added features including flashlight, a notes app, weather, and a lot of fantastic security apps and features. I used it with my HTC Incredible and was very happy with it. It’s currently using version 4.1 of Android.

4. AOKP/SuperNexus

Here are two pretty popular ROMs that I haven’t used. The first one, AOKP looks really nice, and is using Android 4.2.2. Some of the features it boasts are the ability to customize the LED notifications, navigation bars, and performance, changing the CPU speeds and voltages used.

SuperNexus is a ROM designed to bring stock Android to other devices. While it has a few custom features, you’re getting the standard Android experience here. The only drawback is that it only supports a few devices. It is using 4.2.1.

No matter what ROM you install, keep in mind that the AOSP ones likely will not come with Google Apps (GMail, Calendar, Play, etc). While most installers make that clear and even give you the option to download in separately, make sure you know ahead of time because a lot of the functionality in Android relies on those apps!

Android Version

Marked the first commercial release of Android. At this time it was not widely available but had many new features that were important and still used today. These included

• Android Market for application upates and for new Applications
• Web Browser for full XTML/HTML web browsing.
• Google Apps full set of app by Google(Mail,SMS,Maps etc.)

Android V1.1

This was a update to 1.0 that had many bug fixes and added a few features such as a Maps update. It was only available for ther T-Mobile G1.

Cupcake V1.5

Was realesed in April 2009. It had several new approvments. Among the new features were

• Widgets for embeded small apps
• Contacts improvements invluding the pictures added to ever contact
• Animations for smooth scrolling and screen changes
• Blutooth support update for audio pairing and sharing  

Donut V1.6

Was realesed in Septemeber of 2009 and had many improvements

• Voice and Text Improvements
• Touch Screen improvments
• Multi select for photos
• Camara access improvments and faster access
• Search Option for faster access

Eclair V2.0/2.0.1/2.1

Was released in Oct 2009 and had several improvments and looks remarkably simular to todays Android versions.

• Blutooth 2.1 support
• Hardware and U.I. improvments
• Calender improvements for date and not settings
• Account Sinc improvements allow user to sinc multiable account on one phone
• Multi Touch improvements to allow better multitouch support
• Screen size and contrast improvements. Include bigger screens and better contrast ratios

Frozen Yogurt (Froyo) V 2.2/2.2.1/2.2.2/2.2.3

Was released May of 2010 and improved on many features. There were many key features in this version of Android including

• Adobe Flash support for rich web content
• Speed and memory improvements
• Cloud messaging support
• USB tethering
• Multi Language support
• Bluetooth dock and car support
• WiFi hotspots support
• JIT Compilation for application speed improvements
•  

Gingerbread V 2.3/2.3./2.3.3./2.3.4

Was released in December of 2010 and as of the time of this writing has become the most widely used Android version. Some of the new features included

• U.I. or Interface improvements gave it a more simple but quicker interface
• Virtual Keyboard updated and improved for a better and faster layout.
• copy/paste enhancements where a user could just press and hold
• New Codec support for more audio/video formats
• Power Management enhancements
• gyroscope/barometers support
• input enhancements for game developers

Honeycomb V 3.0/3.1/3.2

Was released in Feb of 2011 and was a tablet(and later Google TV) only release. Some of its features included

• Holographic interface that was optimized for a tablet U.I.
• Improved keyboard support for larger screens
• Multi Core processor support
• Hardware acceleration for faster hardware
• view gallery in full screen interface
• System bar for better multitasking that allows you to switch from one app to another.
• Resizable homescreen widgets(3.1+)
• external keyboard/mouse support (3.1+)
• FLAC audio codec support (3.1+)
•  
•  

Ice Cream Sandwich V 4.0/4.01

Was first released in Oct 2011 and was a major improvment upon both 2.x and 3.x. It blended both interfaces and had full support for both phones and tablets. Some of the notable features included

• Folder system improvements making easier to create.
• Launcher improved to be customizable
• Tabbed Browsing improved to allow up to 16 tabs
• facial recognition support to locking/unlocking phone
• photo editor built in to Android 4.x
• Android Beam support to share contacts and files
• Crome Bookmark sync support
• WiFi direct support to connect with other users without access point
• User Interface hardware acceleration for faster access.

Jellybean V 4.1

Was full release in early 2012 and improved on Android 4.0 in many ways. It took the common features of Android 4.0 and made it more fluid.some features include:

• Browser has improved performance, CPU and memory efficiency
• Full HTML 5 support to bring Android up to new web standards
• Calendar is improved and has features blend with one another
• bidirectional text means more input languages to make the platform accessible to more people around the world.
• dictionaries are now more accurate and more relevant

A update to Android 4.1 is now available. It is still counted as Jellybean but updated to new features that include:

• Photo Sphere allows you to use take 360 degree pictures among other new camara features
• Gesture Typing let's you type much faster but takes some getting used to but can make typing much faster.
• Google Now updated with new features

KitKat V 4.4

KitKat has a name. Giving the name KitKat itself is quite surprising for a number of people, long before the article has been widely circulated rumors that the successor operating system has a name Jelly Bean, Key Lime Pie.

In addition to the name of a surprise, the operating system is also still using the 4.4 series is a continuation of Jelly Bean, instead of using the 5.0 series. The use of the name itself does not violate the rules KitKat made ​​this sort of Google for the name of the operating system proposes using the alphabetical order of the name of a dessert or dessert. In the previous series is Jelly Bean with prefix letters J and many people thought that the next name is Key Lime Pie that uses the prefix letter K.Giving the name itself is surprisingly KitKat, KitKat article is a product name is not the name of a common food used Google. But the reason I use this product name is KitKat chocolate bars are a favorite Google Android Head of Engineering Hiroshi Lockheimer, said Google spokesman.What's interesting about this is not the case the exchange of money in the Android naming KitKat conducted by Google and Nestle. 

However, important elements that occur in the administration of the product name is KitKat KitKat is the product of 50 million that is in 19 countries will have the Android branding and offering buyers a chance to win the Google Play Gift Cards and Nexus 7.Until now, Google itself has not announced any features in the Android 4.4 operating system KitKat. But the Google had said "Our goal using current KitKat Android is to make the Android experience were put to all people".

Android History

Android, Inc. was founded in Palo Alto, California in October 2003 by Andy Rubin (co-founder of Danger), Rich Miner (co-founder of Wildfire Communications, Inc.), Nick Sears (once VP at T-Mobile), and Chris White (headed design and interface development at WebTV) to develop, in Rubin's words "smarter mobile devices that are more aware of its owner's location and preferences". The early intentions of the company were to develop an advanced operating system for digital cameras, when it was realised that the market for the devices was not large enough, and diverted their efforts to producing a smartphone operating system to rival those of Symbian and Windows Mobile (Apple's iPhone had not been released at the time). Despite the past accomplishments of the founders and early employees, Android Inc. operated secretly, revealing only that it was working on software for mobile phones. That same year, Rubin ran out of money. Steve Perlman, a close friend of Rubin, brought him $10,000 in cash in an envelope and refused a stake in the company.

 
Google acquired Android Inc. on August 17, 2005, making it a wholly owned subsidiary of Google. Key employees of Android Inc., including Rubin, Miner and White, stayed at the company after the acquisition. Not much was known about Android Inc. at the time, but many assumed that Google was planning to enter the mobile phone market with this move. At Google, the team led by Rubin developed a mobile device platform powered by the Linux kernel. Google marketed the platform to handset makers and carriers on the promise of providing a flexible, upgradable system. Google had lined up a series of hardware component and software partners and signaled to carriers that it was open to various degrees of cooperation on their part.

 
Speculation about Google's intention to enter the mobile communications market continued to build through December 2006. Reports from the BBC and the Wall Street Journal noted that Google wanted its search and applications on mobile phones and it was working hard to deliver that. Print and online media outlets soon reported rumors that Google was developing a Google-branded handset. Some speculated that as Google was defining technical specifications, it was showing prototypes to cell phone manufacturers and network operators. In September 2007, InformationWeek covered an Evalueserve study reporting that Google had filed several patent applications in the area of mobile telephony.

On November 5, 2007, the Open Handset Alliance, a consortium of technology companies including Google, device manufacturers such as HTC and Samsung, wireless carriers such as Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile, and chipset makers such as Qualcomm and Texas Instruments, unveiled itself, with a goal to develop open standards for mobile devices. That day, Android was unveiled as its first product, a mobile device platform built on the Linux kernel version 2.6. The first commercially available phone to run Android was the HTC Dream, released on October 22, 2008.

 
Since 2008, Android has seen numerous updates which have incrementally improved the operating system, adding new features and fixing bugs in previous releases. Each major release is named in alphabetical order after a dessert or sugary treat; for example, version 1.5 Cupcake was followed by 1.6 Donut. The latest release is 4.2 Jelly Bean. In 2010, Google launched its Nexus series of devices—a line of smartphones and tablets running the Android operating system, and built by a manufacturer partner. HTC collaborated with Google to release the first Nexus smartphone,the Nexus One. The series has since been updated with newer devices, such as the Nexus 4 phone and Nexus 10 tablet, made by LG and Samsung, respectively. Google releases the Nexus phones and tablets to act as their flagship Android devices, demonstrating Android's latest software and hardware features.

On 13 March 2013, it was announced by Larry Page in a blog post that Andy Rubin had moved from the Android division to take on new projects at Google. He was replaced by Sundar Pichai, who also continues his role as the head of Google's Chrome division, which develops Chrome OS.

Android Description

Android is a Linux based Operating System designed primarily for touchscreen mobile devices such as smartphones and tablet computers. Initially developed by Android, Inc., which Google backed financially and later bought in 2005, Android was unveiled in 2007 along with the founding of the Open Handset Alliance: a consortium of hardware, software, and telecommunication companies devoted to advancing open standards for mobile devices. The first Android-powered phone was sold in October 2008.

Android is open source and Google releases the code under the Apache License. This open source code and permissive licensing allows the software to be freely modified and distributed by device manufacturers, wireless carriers and enthusiast developers. Additionally, Android has a large community of developers writing applications ("apps") that extend the functionality of devices, written primarily in a customized version of the Java programming language. In October 2012, there were approximately 700,000 apps available for Android, and the estimated number of applications downloaded from Google Play, Android's primary app store, was 25 billion.

These factors have contributed towards making Android the world's most widely used smartphone platform, overtaking Symbian in the fourth quarter of 2010, and the software of choice for technology companies who require a low-cost, customizable, lightweight operating system for high tech devices without developing one from scratch. As a result, despite being primarily designed for phones and tablets, it has seen additional applications on televisions, games consoles, digital cameras and other electronics. Android's open nature has further encouraged a large community of developers and enthusiasts to use the open source code as a foundation for community-driven projects, which add new features for advanced users or bring Android to devices which were officially released running other operating systems.

Android had a worldwide smartphone market share of 75% during the third quarter of 2012, with 750 million devices activated in total and 1.5 million activations per day. The operating system's success has made it a target for patent litigation as part of the so-called "smartphone wars" between technology companies.