Editorial

Editorial Category

EDITORIAL

Jul 22, 2014

“Mini” phones aren’t supposed to be a smaller version of the exact same phone

Rita El Khoury

I get the confusion. Every time a company releases a device under the monicker "mini", be it the Galaxy S4 Mini, the HTC One Mini (and Mini 2), the LG G2 Mini, and so on,

ANDROID WEAR

Jul 20, 2014

The best and worst features of the LG G Watch

Rita El Khoury

While I have only had the LG G Watch for less than a week, I have been completely immersed in the experience, wearing it all day, trying different apps, using it to handle my notifications,

ANDROID WEAR

Jul 17, 2014

Smartwatches may be superfluous to you, but not to everyone

Rita El Khoury

Every time I write or read an article about smartwatches, there's a legion of commenters that always discredits the need and usefulness of such gadgets. "Another screen on your wrist? Because you can't

CUSTOM ROMS

Jul 1, 2014

Cyanogen Nightlies – living on the cutting edge

Steve Litchfield

There's one aspect of the Android world which is pretty unique - invest some time getting a popular custom firmware like Cyanogen installed on your device (usual caveats about warranty apply!) and a whole new

ANDROID LOLLIPOP

Jun 27, 2014

Google I/O 2014 recap: Android this, Android that

Rita El Khoury

Google's annual developer conference is just over for 2014, and at Android Beat, we've brought you all the most interesting coverage of the event. Now, it's time to sit down and try

ANDROID ONE

Jun 26, 2014

Android One will disrupt the budget smartphone market

Abhijeet Mishra

At Google I/O 2014, Google made a bevy of announcements, including a new version of Android, Android for TVs and cars, and for wearables. It was rather exciting (and excruciatingly long, especially for those

ANDROID 4.3

Jun 26, 2014

Pichai vs Cook: Google flips the software update argument (and gets caught in it)

Rita El Khoury

One argument that keeps coming up when comparing Android and iOS is the update cycle and the many delays in getting new software versions from the various manufacturers. Even Google is responsible for perpetuating this

ANDROID LOLLIPOP

Jun 25, 2014

Android, not Chrome, at the heart of Google’s future strategy

Rita El Khoury

Ever since Sundar Pichai started overseeing Android in March 2013, in addition to his Chrome responsibility, speculations have been rampant about the importance both platforms will hold in Google's future. Today's Google I/

ANDROID LOLLIPOP

Jun 25, 2014

Google I/O 2014: Let’s Android All The Things!

Rita El Khoury

The main Google I/O 2014 keynote is just over, and we're still trying to wrap our heads around everything that was announced today. If you're a developer involved in the Android ecosystem —

EDITORIAL

Jun 3, 2014

iOS 8: How Apple is reducing and broadening the gap with Android simultaneously

Rita El Khoury

At WWDC yesterday, Apple announced the eighth iteration of its mobile operating system, iOS 8, which was covered on our sister site iPhoneHacks — check the announcement, the top features, and the additional goodies. Being an

EDITORIAL

Jun 2, 2014

Samsung’s first Tizen phone is here: A side strategy or complete takeover?

Rita El Khoury

Earlier today, Samsung launched its first Tizen smartphone, the Samsung Z (notice the lack of "Galaxy" in its title). Tizen, the in-house operating system developed by Samsung and Intel, has been long coming to

ANDROID PHONES

May 28, 2014

5 Features that would have made the LG G3 even more awesome

Rita El Khoury

Earlier today, I shared with you the 5 features that I really love in LG's new flagship G3 device and that give it the upper hand over its competitors and its G2 predecessor. But

ANDROID PHONES

May 28, 2014

The best 5 features of the new LG G3

Rita El Khoury

It is no secret to anyone that I am a bit of an LG fangirl. After all, I like their Android UI skin, their buttons on the back design, and I have been using an

EDITORIAL

May 22, 2014

No, Samsung, LG and Sony, I don’t want a metal smartphone

Rita El Khoury

HTC seems to have started a trend last year (but in fact it originated a long time ago) of building smartphones out of metal to make them look and feel premium. The company built an

EDITORIAL

Apr 9, 2014

Are Sony and LG now more “Quietly Brilliant” than HTC?

Rita El Khoury

Every year, like clockwork, Samsung and HTC seem to battle it out in March/April for the heart of the world's smartphone geeks. "The S4 has a bigger screen!" "Yeah but the HTC One

ANDROID TV

Apr 7, 2014

Android TV is slightly disappointing and very confusing

Rita El Khoury

This weekend, Google's Android TV was leaked online thanks to documents and screenshots obtained by The Verge. While we still don't know whether this project will see the light of day as a

EDITORIAL

Apr 3, 2014

Why Android users should care about Windows Phone 8.1

Rita El Khoury

Microsoft announced Windows 8.1 along with Windows Phone 8.1 yesterday at their Build Developer conference and for a Windows skeptic like me, there were many pleasant surprises along the way that had me

EDITORIAL

Mar 28, 2014

“Powered by Android” may come to all our boot screens, but does it matter?

Rita El Khoury

Geek.com reported yesterday that "Powered by Android", the sentence we have seen on the boot screen of both the Samsung Galaxy S5 and the new HTC One (M8), is a mandated change by google