Android Custom ROMs; What They Are, Their Advantages, Disadvantages and Where One Can Find Good Ones

Android is undeniably the most used mobile operating system in the world and also the most customizable OS as well. OEMs (particularly Samsung) don't like rolling out updates - they want you to change device every year unless you're a Nexus user. This is the main cause of the rise of customized ROMs by third parties - to give users who don't want to buy a new device but want the latest version of Android to install it without much hustle. In this post, I will take you through What custom ROMs are, their advantages, disadvantages and where one can get them.

What are custom ROMs?

Custom ROMs are developed by individuals or companies (Oxygen OS, Cyanogen OS) independent of the official device manufacturers (though they sometimes customize the OS for OEMs like One Plus) (third parties). Since Android is highly customizable, it makes it easier for anyone to customize the OS and make it run on supported Android devices.

What are the advantages of custom ROMs?

Flashing customs ROMs have numerous advantages that come with it. Let me take you through some of them.

• Update to a newer version of Android that OEMs may not offer.
• Get a faster device since custom ROMs are lighter than stock ROMs.
• Improve battery life
• Get rid of annoying bloatware forever.

What are the disadvantages of custom ROMs?

Every good thing has its own downside and custom ROMs are no different. Though customs ROMs do help a lot, there are prices that one is likely to pay especially if they are not from good sources or the process goes wrong.

• You may end up bricking your device if you don't go about the flashing process correctly.
• Lack of hardware support; camera, microphone and some other things MAY not work.
• Your warranty will be invalidated.
• You may experience battery drain if there are some few problems with hardware support.

Where Can You Get One For Your Device?

There are many places that you can get custom ROMs for your device. They are not something that you'll need to search for your whole life. The first place I recommend you check is Cyanogenmod - they've been in the business for quite long and you'll be able to get very stable ROMs from there. In case you don't find one for your phone, you can head over to XDA developers forum and get the latest AOSP-Based ROMs which are well tweaked for devices. Other places you can  check are MIUI (pronounced mee-yoo-eye). Slim ROM and many others.

Hope this post has enlightened you on Custom ROMs? If you have any problem, please drop it in the comment box. Don't forget to subscribe for free updates.

Windows 10 Touchpad Gestures

Windows 10 was released by Microsoft on July 29th, 2015 with the aim of giving people the best experience on Windows. Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella said, "we are moving from the era of people using Windows to the era of people choosing and loving Windows". True to his words, Windows 10 comes as something "cool". Today, I will be taking you through one of the "cool" features; the Windows 10 Touchpad gestures.

Not all existing laptops that have been updated to Windows 10 will be able to use these gestures. More modern Windows 10 devices should be capable of doing so. For one to be able to use these gestures, one requires a “Precision Touchpad” (Some PCs don't meet the Microsoft precision touchpad but their manufacturers have installed drivers to activate this feature.) You can check if your PC has a precision touchpad by opening the Settings app, selecting Devices, and selecting Mouse & touchpad. You’ll see the line Your PC has a precision touchpad under the Touchpad heading here if it does.

When done checking and your PC has Precision Touchpad, try the following gestures.

• Launch Cortana: Tap the Touchpad with three fingers to launch Cortana.
  

  

• Show Desktop: Swipe three fingers down to show the desktop.

• Open Task View: Swipe three fingers up to open task view and see all your open apps.
  

• View and Select Opened apps: Swipe three fingers either left or right to switch between your open apps. Slide your fingers slowly across the touchpad to flip through them all.
  

• Zoom: To zoom in and out, place two fingers on the touchpad and pinch them together or stretch them apart — just like you’d zoom in or out on a touchscreen.
• Scroll: To scroll around in a document, web page, or anywhere else you might use a scroll wheel, place two fingers on the touchpad and move them either horizontally or vertically.
• Right-Click: Tap the touchpad with two fingers.

How To Configure Windows 10 Touchpad Gestures

Windows 10 comes with new features some being Cortana, Microsoft Edge, touchpad gesture support and more. In this post, I will take you through how to enable touchpad gestures on your device.

Gestures won't work on all existing PCs but will work near perfect (if not perfect) on devices with precision touchpad. Some PCs may not have precision touchpad but its manufacturer could have installed some drivers that will make gestures work.

To enable or disable gestures, go to Settings > Mouse & touchpad. Here you can switch on the gestures that you want and off the gestures you don't want. You can also select what a three finger tap does (on default it opens Cortana) and also what a three finger drag should do (on default, you can switch between apps).

If your PC doesn't have precision touchpad but gestures do work, then you will be able to do your set up somewhere in touchpad utility settings on your PC.

In order to enjoy the usage of gestures on your PC, check if your PC has precision touchpad before you purchase.

Microsoft Microsoft Surface Hub's Price has Sky-rocketed As Release Date nears

In August, Microsoft announced that their mega sized Surface Hub, a successor to it's large-screen Perceptive Pixel display will cost $6,999 for the 55-inch model and $19,999 for the 84-inch model but on Tuesday, Microsoft, via e-mail, announced changes in prices of the two devices stating $8,999 and $21,999 as prices for the 55-inch and 84-inch models respectively.

The Microsoft Surface Hub, a Video Conferencing system running a custom version of Windows 10, are preassembled , customized multi-touch, digital-link-enabled displays. This mega sized devices include custom-designed versions of OneNote, Skype for Business and Microsoft office apps. Both models will be able to run Universal Windows apps available from the unified Windows store. Two styluses and a wireless keyboard come with both models.

Both devices were expected to be available on September 1st, 2015 but Microsoft said, "We are still on track to ship the first Surface Hub devices to customers earlier next year" and according to a company representative, the devices will begin shipping in the first quarter.

The company is "finalizing our manufacturing plan with a view towards delivering the best product experience" and "After evaluating the market opportunity and considering the unique collaboration scenarios Surface Hub offers, we believe these are the right prices to drive the business and the category forward." are statements made by the company in Justification of the increase in prices.

Microsoft Lumia 650 Images Leak

Microsoft has had years of struggle in the mobile devices market but it seems giving up is not something we'll be seeing from the Redmond company. After months of releasing its flagships - the Lumia 950 and 950XL along with other phones such Lumia 640 XL LTE Dual Sim and the Lumia 550, recent pictures released from Windows Central shows a new device alleged to be the Lumia 650 and in addition, at a recent Windows Weekly podcast, while replying to a question from ZDNet’s Mary Jo Foley on the Lumia 650's release, the executive said, “they had not announced a release date yet,” suggesting that the device indeed exists.

According to Windows Central, this Windows 10 powered 5-inch AMOLED 720p device would to  packed with Snapdrogon 212 processor running on a 1GB RAM and with 8GB of storage with expandable micro SD slot. It is also alleged to be released with an 8MP rear and a 5MP front-facing cameras with LED flash.

As of now, there is no information on when this device will be launched but rumors have it that Microsoft will unveil this device at either the Consumer Electronics Show or at the Mobile World Congress. This mid-tier device is expect to give people more choice when choosing a Windows 10 device.

What do you think of the device; would you like to own one should it be released?

HTC X9 Now Official

After many leaks and even most recently a hands-on video and TENNA listing, the HTC One X9 has been finally made official in China. This 5.5-inch device is housed in a premium all-metal body build making it one of the few metal mid-tier devices just like the HTC A9. The device will cost around $370. The device only available in China at the moment but there isn't much information when it will be released into the international market.

Other key specs include;

5.5-inch full HD display

Front facing stereo BoomSound speakers

64-bit MediaTek octa-core Helio X10 processor

3GB RAM

32GB storage (expandable to 2TB via MicroSD)

13MP rear camera with OIS

5MP front camera

3000mAh battery

Bluetooth 4.1

Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac

Dimensions: 153.9 x 75.9 x 7.99 mm

Weight: 170 grams (approximate)

Though there are other equally very good mid-tier device manufacturers such as Huawei, Xiaomi and BLU, HTC seems to be hitting it harder on the mid-tier market this time around.

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