Know Your Mobile Operating Systems

Not sure what a smartphone mobile phone operating system is, or why you might need one? Unclear on what mobile operating systems are available and which one is most suitable for you? Read our guide below to find out.

What is a mobile phone operating system?

Long gone are the days when mobile phones were just a device to make phone calls and occasional texts. Now they are handheld computers, where we can send emails, play games, watch the news and make video calls to loved ones. More commonly, these are known as 'smartphones'.
We have operating systems to run our desktop computers and laptops, and smartphones use them too, to introduce advanced functions to a mobile phone that were only available on our computers before.
Functionality is a big selling point for the smartphone - there were more than 400 million smartphone worldwide and it's their operating systems that define what functions they can carry out and how the phone manages its memory.
It is also a platform so developers can create applications or 'apps' (software programs developed for smartphones that can carry out specific functions).
There are hundreds of thousands of apps available and they are constantly being developed - each with their own purpose. For instance, you may download a weather app that tells you the current temperature or chances of rain in your city, a news app or widget that sends the latest headlines straight to your device's homescreen, or a game to simply pass the time.

How do I know what operating system my mobile phone has?

Because operating systems are so integrated with the look, feel and function of a mobile phone, many people base their choice of device around which operating system it uses.
If you have already bought your smartphone, the name and version of its software should be detailed in the settings menu. However, if you are buying a new phone, the operating system can be found the handset's specifications information.

What different kinds of smartphone operating systems are there?

Some are open source software, which means there are no restrictions on what you can download on it, or who can develop its software (there are often a 'community' of developers) - it is entirely customisable, whilst others are restricted in the types of software permitted to run on the device.
Some of the best-known mobile operating systems include:

iOS

The Apple iOS multi-touch, multi-tasking operating system is what runs the Apple's iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch.
It responds to the user's touch - allowing you to tap on the screen to open a program, pinch your fingers together to minimise or enlarge an image, or swipe your finger across the screen to change pages.
The Apple iOS is not allowed to be used in third party systems, so you will only be able to use it on products made by Apple. It comes with the Safari web browser for internet use, an iPod application for playing music and Apple's Mail for managing your missives.
You can download more than 500,000 applications currently available on the App Store directly to any device running iOS, be it an iPhone or an iPad. These encompass everything from accessing recipes to playing the guitar or working on your documents on the move.

Android

Android OS is owned by Google and powered by the Linux kernel, which can be found on a wide range of devices.
Android is an open source operating system which allows developers to access unlocked hardware and develop new programs as they wish.
This means unlimited access to any anyone who wants to develop apps for the phone and places very little restriction on its licensing, so users benefit from a tonne of free content.
Android is currently the fastest growing smartphone operating system in the market and is expected to become the dominant platform in a few years due to its tremendous traction with a wide spectrum of users.
Some of the best features of Android include the ability to customise multiple homescreens with useful widgets and apps that give you quicker, easier access to the content and functions you most care about. It also has an excellent capacity for multitasking - with the ability to close programs simply swiping them away.
Last but not least, the Android Market, which is the Android equivalent of the Apple App Store is home to more than 370,000 apps, many of which are completely free.

Windows Phone

Microsoft released its latest version of the Windows platform for mobiles in late 2010, which has been redesigned and rebuilt from the ground up with a greater emphasis on the user experience. It is recognisable by its tile-based interface - dubbed Metro - which features removable and interchangeable squares sections on the home screen, each with its own purpose and function.
It also has aggregators called 'hubs', that group together all photos from all applications, or all music into one library, meaning your Facebook photos can be found with your camera photos and your documents from different sources grouped together in one, easy to access location.
Windows Phone comes with a mobile-optimised version of the Internet Explorer for accessing the web, and Exchange, which supports secure corporate e-mail accounts with push support.

Symbian

Symbian is Nokia's own operating system and is now mainly used on mid to low-end handsets since Nokia announced it would be migrating its flagship efforts to Microsoft's Windows Phone operating system.
Symbian's strength is in bringing smartphone functionality - including e-mail, apps and multitasking - to handsets at the lower end of the market and in emerging markets.
Like most smartphone operating systems, you can download apps on a Symbian device and customise it to your liking with widgets and shortcuts. You can also get free maps and turn by turn navigation from Nokia and other useful tools installed out of the box, such as a document viewing and editing suite.

The Best Antivirus For Android Smartphone

7

Reddit

Print

If you're not running some kind of anti-malware app on your Android smartphone or tablet, then you're putting yourself at risk of infection from corrupted apps and other kinds of malware.
The good news is that your options are far from limited. The best mobile antivirus apps offer not only top-notch malware detection and prevention, but also a range of privacy and anti-theft features, such as the ability to back up your contacts and other data, track your phone or tablet using its internal GPS chip, or even snap a picture of a phone thief with the device's camera.
Most mobile security apps have both free and paid versions, but not all freemium antivirus products are created equal. We rounded up apps from the biggest names in mobile antivirus protection — Avast, Kaspersky, Lookout, McAfee and Norton  — and rated their apps based on setup, interface, usability, extra features and, of course, their anti-malware chops.
To gauge security protection, we used data from AV-Test, which rates most major security apps based on their ability to detect zero-day malware and other recent threats. We also loaded a Galaxy S4 with the EICAR test virus to test each app's anti-malware detection. Last but not least, we used the Geekbench 3 app to measure the impact these security apps have on overall performance.
Which Android antivirus app came out on top? Check out our in-depth reviews.

Avast! Mobile Security & Antivirus

$14.99On Avast.com

Ranked No. 1

Its anti-malware protection is excellent, but the breadth and scope of extra features in Avast! Mobile Security & Antivirus blew us away. Its free version alone is as comprehensive as some other security apps' paid versions, and Avast's premium version ($15 per year) has everything from a privacy adviser to a customizable blacklist, and even options for rooted phones. The app almost does too much, but the well-organized interface and support keep it user-friendly. Overall, Avast! Mobile Security & Antivirus is our favorite Android security app.
Read the Full Review >>>

Lookout Mobile Security

$29.99On Top Ten Reviews

Ranked No. 2

The sole company on this list that makes only mobile security products, Lookout's focus on smartphones and tablets clearly pays off in its products' excellent performance speed, beautiful interface design — both in its app and its Web portal — and wide range of anti-theft and privacy features. For $3 per month or $30 per year for the premium version, Lookout has everything most users need to feel secure and private on their mobile devices.
Read the Full Review >>>

McAfee Mobile Security for Android

$24.00On Amazon

Ranked No. 3

A well-known name in PC anti-virus, McAfee impressed us with its strong mobile-app offering, including exceptional malware detection and a wide range of features that balance functionality with ease of use. We especially like the Data Exposure feature, which helps you keep better tabs on your privacy. McAfee also boasts an excellent interface full of helpful notes that keeps even its more complex features simple and understandable. At $29.99 per year for the premium version, McAfee is easily one of the best mobile security apps for Android.
Read the Full Review >>>

Kaspersky Internet Security for Android

$15.06On Amazon

Ranked No. 4

A powerhouse in PC security, Kaspersky brings its excellent malware-detection engine to Android devices with Kaspersky Internet Security for Android, which costs $14.95 per year for the premium version. While we found the app interface somewhat lacking, Kaspersky recovered with a good range of anti-theft and privacy features.
Read the Full Review >>>

Norton Mobile Security

$28.24On Amazon

Ranked No. 5

Owned by anti-virus giant Symantec, Norton is another well-reputed PC anti-malware company that now also covers the mobile space. We can't argue with Norton's malware-detection abilities, but the mobile app's limited feature set hold it back. At $29.99 per year for the premium app, Norton gets the job done, but users may want to look elsewhere.
Read the Full Review >>>

Don’t be a victim:spot a fake Samsung Galaxy S4 (or any other name brand smartphone)

With Samsung still holding on to its place at the very top of the world smartphone market, there is no shortage of China-made clones of its most popular handsets — namely, the Galaxy s3 and its current flaship, the Galaxy s4 Unlike the imitation phones of many years ago, the ones that you can purchase now look very similar to the models that they are based on. And not only that, but in some cases, clone can surpass the original in terms of features (which is quite confusing).
And so we have a bit of a problem: how do you spot — and avoid — imitation, clone, or downright fake Android smartphones? What steps can you take to ensure that you don’t become just another victim of a sort of scam involving phones like the Galaxy S4, or rather, fake ones? Recently, users on reddit posted about their unfortunate experiences in buying fake Samsung handsets.
These were phones sold online (one was specified to be from eBay), and had the general appearance of the real thing. However, they were revealed to be mere clones upon closer inspection. Buying a so-called China phone is generaly not a bad idea But in cases like these where there’s deception involved, well, that’s a different issue entirely.
So with that in mind, we’ve put together a list of some things you need to watch out for when trying to figure out whether the phone you’re about to buy is authentic or not. Throughout this post, we’ll be using the Galaxy S4 as an example, but these signs could be used for just about any other name brand phone as well. We’re going to start with the obvious.

Physical differences

A Galaxy S4 clone may look similar to the real Galaxy S4, which it is based on, but it will hardly look identical. So if you are able to physically look at it (or even just see it through a photo), you should make it a point to study its physical attributes.
An authentic Galaxy S4 has a 5-inch touchscreen display that doesn’t have much of a bezel surrounding it. Clones (such as the one pictured here) often have larger spaces between the display and the actual edge of the phone, which is a sure sign that the display is either smaller than it’s supposed to be or the phone is not as compact as the designers intended.
Another thing to consider is the placement of hardware buttons, such as the prominent home button right below the screen. The real Galaxy S4 has a chrome-lined piece of plastic for its home button, and it is located right in the middle of the space below the display. Clone units have the home button placed a small distance lower, giving a slightly different appearance.
It has also been reported that clone units don’t have capacitive touch buttons flanking the home button. That’s pretty much a dead giveaway. In case you still need more pointers, also consider the appearance of the brand logo, the size and color of the built-in LED flash, the smoothness or overall feel of the phone’s surface, and the grippability along with the weight of the unit itself.
Once you’ve got all of the above things covered, your next move should be to examine the phone’s software.

Software quirks

In case you still can’t spot a fake by examining a unit’s hardware, you still have a chance by looking at the pre-installed software. In the case of the Samsung Galaxy S4, the pre-loaded version of Android should be version 4.2.2. It should also have TouchWiz, which is Samsung’s very own custom-made UI or skin for Android. How do you find out whether or not a phone is running the version of Android that it’s supposed to? Why, head to the Settings screen, of course.
However, that isn’t always foolproof. Above, you can see photos of a phone which, according to its Settings screen, is running Android 4.2.2. But the software actually looks nothing like Jelly Bean (Android 4.2.2′s codename). And the truth is that it’s running Android 2.3 a.k.a. Gingerbread (as evidenced by the Build number specified in the same Settings screen).
This is not normal — for a phone to say it runs one version of Android and completely show that it actually runs another. You can easily look up screenshots of Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean to see it for yourself, and to make sure that the phone you’re buying has that exact same software pre-installed and running right out of the box.
And speaking of software that runs right out of the box, all units of the Samsung Galaxy S4 come with exclusive software features. These simply cannot be found anywhere else. For clone units, of course, these features are all off-limits. So if you ever get a fake phone, you’ll find that some features are missing. Like user mhoffma on reddit, you may find that things like Air Scrolling don’t work. That would certainly get in the way of watching Monster’s University like a wizard, just as the commercial shows

Final thoughts

Buying an Android smartphone such as the samsung galaxy s4 should be a fairly straightforward endeavor. You look for a phone, you see the phone, you pay for the phone, and you get the phone. But the fact that there are fake handsets floating around makes things slightly more difficult.
Will we ever get rid of these so-called clones and imitation units? It’s hard to say. The differences between real and fakes ones seem to be getting fewer and fewer with each generation. But it should always be possible to avoid buying fake units if you know what to look for.
Another tell to look for is whether the device you bought includes the warranty card and Galaxy s4 manual If it does not that is a good sign that you have purchased a fake.
As a final reminder, always be wary of a phone that’s being sold with a markedly lower price tag than its current market value. We’d like to think that clones and fakes will always be sold at much lower price points than the original models, because doing otherwise would be just plain evil.
Do you have any tips for spotting a fake Samsung (or any other brand) Android smartphone? What about tablets? Share these secrets in the comments....

Root Android Easy Way

Click Here to Root Android

As the world slowly awakens to the power of android devices, more users are looking for additional customization, and to exploit the true power of various Android operating systems. To gain this type of access, many users are learning to root android devices. While initially a daunting and somewhat risky proposition, we’re going to show you how to root android devices, quickly and easily.

Why would I need to learn how to root android devices?

Aside from gaining root level privileges to control every aspect of the phone’s operating system in much the same way an administrator can make changes to a window’s PC, rooting  android devices adds value to your android device  in the following ways:

• Customized appearance

After you’re done rooting your android phone you will be able to customize every aspect of your phone’s on-screen appearance, from colors which apps can be shown where, to changing themes, you will have complete control over the look and feel of your device’s screen.

• Save Apps to your SD card

Once rooted, you will have the ability to store and launch apps from your SD card. Doing so can greatly increase the speed and responsiveness of your android device. By moving infrequently used files to the SD card, you free up space in the system memory which allows the device to perform faster.

• Get apps from other android builds

When you root your android device, you essentially can load hybrid ROMs that facilitate the use of apps designed for more recent OS builds than ones your phone may support in its factory configuration. This can allow you to extend the useable life of your phone, saving you money!

• Wi-Fi and Bluetooth tethering

After you learn how to root android phones, you gain the ability to tether the device to other Bluetooth and Wi-Fi enabled devices. This means that you can use your phone as a hotspot or access point without paying for an additional data plan. This feature alone can save users hundreds of dollars per year!

How to root your device
There are multiple ways you can root your device, but they are basically broken down into two methods; do-it-yourself, or use a professionally created software package.

Method #1: DIY

The first method requires you to do a little research to ensure you get the correct rom build for your device. Once you have downloaded and uncompressed the ROM, you will need to install it onto your device. This is where things can get sticky as a botched install can “brick” your device rendering it inoperable. If this happens you will not be able to get assistance from the manufacturer or your carrier to restore the device. Because of the inherent risk of this method, it’s important to understand your alternatives

Method #2: Professional software solutions

Unlike the do-it-yourself method; this method uses professionally developed software selects the correct ROM and offers a 1-click installation. You remove much of the potential for operator error, thus greatly increasing the chances for a successful root of your android device.

The best way to root android devices

Our recommendation for how to root android devices is to use a professional software solution. We have had excellent success with a software package that is as easy as 1-2-3. Just download the software, connect your android device to your PC, and root your device. Backed with a satisfaction guarantee, we haven’t found a better way to root your android phone.

 

Click Here to Root Android