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Saturday, March 15, 2014

9 rad circle icon packs to make your Android device yours

One of the things that makes Android a truly beautiful platform is customization. I’m not talking about custom ROMs or root mods; I’m talking about how no other major mobile platform out there lets you customize your device the way Android does. There may be some caveats, but you have the ability to make your Android device completely unique. My wife hates using my Nexus 5 because it’s so different than her Galaxy S4. Maybe that’s a bad thing, I’m not sure. But what I do know is that I have my Nexus 5 set up exactly the way I want it and I love it. My home screen looks awesome, and not only is it super functional, it’s also fun to use. The beauty is that I can change it tomorrow if I get a new idea. My home screen isn’t going to look like everyone else’s iPhone (although I could make it look like iOS if I wanted) or Windows Phone; my device looks like no one else’s because it’s Android.

This is the fifth post of a recurring series about making your Android device yours (I apologize for the several week hiatus). Today we’re back on a huge obsession of mine, custom icon packs. My goal here is to offer customization ideas that will work for all Android devices, whether you’re still running Gingerbread or you’re on the latest version of Android, Kit Kat. You don’t need to be rooted. You don’t need to be running a custom ROM. All you need is a little bit of time and an itch to change things. If that sounds like you, read on my friend. We’re going to have fun diving into the world of customization and making your device truly unique.

To take advantage of these fantastic icon packs, you will probably need to be running a custom launcher, such as one of the ones we talked about in this post. If you pick up these icon pack themes from the Google Play store, most of them help you out with applying them. Or, inside the custom launcher, you should be able to find the option to apply a theme. It should be pretty straight forward. Each launcher is a little different, so I won’t give specific instructions on how to apply the icon theme. Most apps will be automatically themed on your homescreen when applied. Then, if you want to further theme your apps you can generally long press an app on the homescreen and change the icon from there. Be sure to ask the community any questions you have regarding applying a theme.

Free

I’m a bit of a cheapskate, so it’s always awesome to find free icon packs. Here are a few circular icon packs that I think are pretty rad AND free:

OffCorner Round is under development and I wouldn’t call it a complete set yet. However, the demo pack has most of the common apps and you could at least have a rad OffCorner Round themed homescreen if you like the look. Be on the lookout for a paid non-demo version in the future.

EDIT: The OffCorner dev just let me know that a paid beta with 400+ themed icons is available for OffCorner Round that can be found via his Q&A website.

Paid

I mentioned I’m a bit of a cheapskate, but if there was a krytonite for my cheapskateness it would be icon packs. They’re never more than a couple of bucks. Well worth it to make your home screen look awesome. If you can’t tell from this list, I’m a huge fan of flat icons. Here are a few of my favorites:

If flat doesn’t float your boat, here are a couple other popular styles that might fit your fancy. I’m slowly dreaming up a way to incorporate some glow style icons into my homescreen in the future.

So, do you love round icon packs? Which pack is your favorite? Or which ones are you sporting on your device? There are probably many others that are great, as well. If I’ve left out a circle icon pack that you feel is worth mentioning, please comment below and let us know what you’re using and why you think it’s awesome. You can also use the HTML <img> tag and show us your homescreen. We’ll continue to share other icon packs in the future. Thanks for reading, and don’t forget let us know what topic you’d like to see covered in an upcoming edition of Make your Android device yours.

Nexus 4 setup: Lightning Launcher, Offcorner Round Icon Pack and wallpaper,FlatSearch Zooper widget. See the OffCorner G+ community post here.

Galaxy S4 setup: Nova Launcher, Click UI icons (top), Glo icons (bottom), Time & Date widget is Minimalistic Text Widget,wallpaper. Thanks Rob!

Gadget Rewind 2004: Motorola RAZR V3

Motorola had been slinging its "hellomoto" campaign for several years by the time the RAZR V3 hit the scene in 2004. It's likely that you'll remember the iconic design of this handset, either as your communicator of choice or with a faint twinge of envy at never having scored one yourself. This ultra-slim flip phone had a backlit keypad that screamed Tron and its magnesium and aluminum outer shell gave it a lightweight, yet solid build. Motorola made the right move by providing an array of colors to choose from -- not quite the rainbow of flavors that today's Moto X offers, but it was enough to satisfy those with funkier tastes. As its name implied, the RAZR V3 was the switchblade of cellphones and cut a strikingly sharp figure, especially when flipped open. A minor downside to the design was its width; at just over 2-inches it was an exception at the time, although still a few notches below what most of us are pocketing today.The RAZR V3 was up against some serious competition from Nokia and Samsung, but Motorola was on to something and by July 2006, the handset had sold 50 million units. Not only was it becoming one of the most ubiquitous handsets around, but it had a good amount of staying power. According to the analysts at NPD, the RAZR V3 was the top-selling handset of 2008 in the US -- still trumping the competition almost four years after its release. Its recognizable success was so rampant that the RAZR name was resurrected in 2011 to enhance the credibility (and likely sales) for Motorola's Droid line. Although, with tough competition and the "samey" nature of smartphone designs, future iteratio

Sony Xperia Z2 stock could be hit by rumoured component shortage

Sony's upcoming Xperia Z2 smartphone is rumoured to be launching in extremely limited quantities, with mass availability being pushed back due to an unspecified issue at a component supplier.Designed to replace Sony's Xperia Z and Xperia Z1 as the flagship handset in the line-up, the Xperia Z2 improves on its predecessor with slimmer display bezels, a lighter and thinner chassis with water- and dust-proofing, and a larger 5.2in display. To further reinforce the handset's premium appeal, Sony is also planning to bundle a set of in-ear active noise-cancellation headphones with every handset.Unfortunately these handsets could be in short supply. According to a post on theEsato forum, a site suggested by Ubergizmo to have been a reliable source of insider information in the past, Sony is having difficulties with one of its component suppliers. Although the supplier is not named, it is said that the issue could to lead to a world-wide delay in the Xperia Z2's mass availability, with only extremely limited stock available at launch.The rumour comes on the back of similar news regarding Sony's various rivals in the market, most notably with Samsung encountering sensor yield issues which could limit stock of its Galaxy S5 handset at launch.

Apple iPhone 6 could recieve substantial price hike

Apple's next-generation iPhone 6 smartphone could come with a substantial price hike, according to an industry analyst who predicts that the US subsidised price of the handset will be around $100 higher than its predecessor.When Apple launches a replacement for theiPhone 5S, its current flagship device, it will likely do so under the name iPhone 6 - following its trend of alternating between incrementing the version number and adding a suffix with each launch. While many of the changes expected in the iPhone 6, in particular a more powerful processor than its predecessor, will be welcomed, one analyst is suggesting Apple is planning something that will prove a little less popular: a price hike."Apple customers are relatively insensitive to price, so a higher price is not likely to dissuade potential iPhone 6 consumers who are attracted to the device’s features," Pacific Crest analyst Andy Hargreaves told the New York Post. The result: the "potential for a higher-priced iPhone 6" that would see the subsidised price of the flagship handset when purchased with a contract rise from the iPhone 5S's current $199 to $299.It's not clear yet whether Apple would move to increase the cost of purchasing a SIM-free device outright at a similar level, but if it wants to keep its network partners happy such a move would seem likely if only to keep the relative cost of buying a handset on contract to buying it new at a similar level.For those dismayed by the news, which Apple has naturally neither confirmed nor denied, there is a glimmer of hope: even if Hargreaves' prediction comes true, rumours suggest Apple is planning to dual-launch a 4.7in smartphone and its first 5.7in phablet, suggesting it's possible that only the larger of the two devices would receive the price increase.

Samsung Galaxy S4 Black Edition now available from Phones4U the UK

Samsung has officially brought its Galaxy S4 Black Edition handset to the UK in an exclusive deal with Phones 4U, asking £499.89 for the handset and its eye-catching faux leather design similar to that of the Galaxy Note 3.Although the Galaxy S4 Black Edition, announced by the Korean company back in January, has a new look, its internals match those of the standard Galaxy S4: a 5in 1920x1080 Full HD AMOLED display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage, expandable with micro-SD memory cards. Where the Galaxy S4 is available from a variety of retailers, however, the Galaxy S4 Black Edition is a Phones 4U exclusive - and buyers will be literally paying the price if they want the new design.Phones 4U has priced the Galaxy S4 Black Edition at £499.89 SIM-free and unlocked, which is actually slightly cheaper than the standard Galaxy S4 at £499.95. Phones 4U's SIM-free pricing is not the lowest: the Galaxy S4 can be purchased for as little as £300 from the company's rivals as a SIM-free handset. With an exclusivity deal with Samsung, however, the Galaxy S4 Black Edition won't be available on the general market - except, possibly, as a grey import which will bring with it difficulties when claiming for faults under warranty.The Galaxy S4 Black Edition is unlikely to stay at its premium price for long, thanks to the impending launch of the Galaxy S5. Rumours of low launch stock due to component shortages, however, suggest that it could be a while after launch before its predecessor, especially the exclusive Black Edition, sees a substantial discount over its current price.