Date With Techie

The priority concern of most Android users after putting hands on a new custom ROM is to fetch an appropriate GApps (Google Application) package. It always causes a problem for many users to find the correct GApps suitable for the installed version. The scene got a bit more worse when goo.im stopped hosting the updated GApps since the Android 4.4 Kitkat release.


Thanks to XDA senior member ebildude123 for introducing GApps Manager, a handy app which let you download the GApps package suitable for your Android version with ease. This app supports all the Android versions since Android 2.3.3 Gingerbread. It is even congenial with the new ART (Android Runtime) compiler which was introduced in Kitkat to replace the dalvik cache.

The GApps manager is available for download at the Google Play Store. The developer also attaches an APK file at the application thread for those who are running without GApps and thus the Play Store.

Happy Flashing!

You might have heard of the BootUnlocker app baked up by XDA Senior member segv11 which allowed the Android users to unlock and re-lock bootloader without wiping the data. This app supported all the Nexus devices except both the generations of Nexus 7. It seems that the developer doesn't want the Asus manufactured Qualcomm based Nexus 7 (2013) users to go unnoticed by his app. Here comes BootUnlocker v1.5.1 with its support extended to 2013 edition WiFi and LTE versions of Nexus 7. Sadly, the Tegra 3 chipset based Nexus 7 is still unsupported and the chances are minimum due to technical limitations.


Since the last OTA, Nexus 4 and Nexus 5 began setting the tamper flag when the bootloader is tampered or unlocked. This new version of BootUnlocker offers a solution with the ability to toggle the tamper flag on Nexus 4 (mako) and Nexus 5 (hammerhead).

Visit the Google play Store to download this app at free of cost.

We will be happy to know your opinions and experiences using this app. Let them appear as comments below. 

The developer previews of Ubuntu landed on the smartphone world earlier this year. And now moving towards the new year, the Canonical has introduced a new feature to it for the developers; dual booting with Android. Yes! now you can run Ubuntu on your smartphone along with Android.    

Getting the flavor of Ubuntu on your Android device is very simple and just involves a few steps. Once you have your device unlocked, then it's only the matter of  getting the device into USB debugging mode and loading the Ubuntu installer app into it. Once completed, you can choose between Android and Ubuntu by clicking on the Ubuntu Dual Boot app. The app works well with almost all the Android flavors including CyanogenMod.


Being a developer preview, trying this dual boot may not be a good idea for the beginners as it involves processes like unlocking the bootloader and rewriting the Android recovery partitions. Before starting over, make sure that you device is not just unlocked but also be running Android 4.2 or higher and has minimum 2.7 GB disk space. You'll also need ADB tools installed on your PC. For the easy ADB installation, read our post: How to install ADB in 15 seconds?

Visit the Ubuntu Developer blog for the download link and more features of this release.

Modifying the kernel of your ROM is very important to get it utilized to the maximum level. But something which is quite equally important is doing it in the most easy and convenient way as it is always a big headache for the beginners to work around with the ADB shell or terminal emulator.


Anyway Nexus 5 and Nexus 4 users can now thank XDA Senior Member xcesco89 for Kernel Tweaker Beta; a handy app which allows you to make necessary adjustments to your kernel values without any pain. This rooted app allows the users to easily perform a bunch of operations including: CPU tuning, GPU tuning, do backups, do recovery actions (supports just TWRP recovery) and a lot more. Need not get upset if your device is not supported currently, the developer will be extending the app for more devices in the near future.

The Kernel Tweaker Beta app is available for download at the Google play Store at free of cost. For more details regarding the app and it's features roll over to the development thread at XDA.

Let the world know your comments on the app, drop them down at the comment box.

It was just last month when Google brought the Motorola Moto X camera app into the Google Play Store. The app had a lot of goodies which made it stand out of the crowd. Now Motorola has come up with an update of the camera app for your Motorola device provided that it is updated to Android 4.4 Kitkat.


Currently the app can be used only on Moto X as well as on Moto G as they are the only Motorola devices to get the Android 4.4 update. The new features in the updated version includes: Manual focus and exposure control, extra language support and locked exposure during panorama.

The update rolls along with a lot of bug fixes and is available for download at the Google Play Store.