The HALO feature for Paranoid Android ROM is now available in to owners of the Nexus 4 (mak0). This first build with HALO should be considered an “alpha” or really early build, but will at least give you a chance to play around with what should be considered one of the most groundbreaking ROM features we have seen in some time. 

For those who missed our coverage of HALO, think of it as the ultimate multi-tasking add-on, in that it takes notifications and apps, and allows you to access them via floating icon that can be moved to any location on your screen. In a way, it takes Facebook’s Chat Heads concept and pushes it to the limit.

The video below shows off its power.

Click here to view the embedded video.

We’ll see builds for the Nexus 7 next, followed by the Galaxy Nexus.

Download Links:  Nexus 4 ROM | Nexus 7 ROM | Google Apps

Update:  Nexus 7 ROM now available.

Via:  +Paranoid Android

Cheers Mitchell!

First Builds of Paranoid Android With Alpha HALO Feature Rolling Out (Updated) is a post from: Droid Life

The guys behind Paranoid Android ROM are in the process of finishing up their latest build, version 3.0. In a quick teaser to help get their base excited about the release, they published a video that highlights a their “Expanded Desktop Mode” and some of its new features. What is “Expanded Desktop Mode,” you ask? Only the coolest ROM feature I have seen in quite some time. 

The idea behind this feature is to do exactly as the name suggests – give you more desktop space to play with. With a phone like the Nexus 4 or Galaxy Nexus, you have on-screen navigation keys that take up screen real estate, so this idea makes perfect sense. The Paranoid team decided to hide the navigation keys from sight, but still make them accessible with a swipe up from the bottom edge of the screen. They also chose to hide the notification bar in this mode to give you even more display space.

What you get is a full-screen experience, but with quick access to all of your important functions with a single swipe and hold. As you’ll see in the video, Google Now is still easily accessible, as is multi-tasking, a battery meter, the clock, date, and even notifications. Oh, you can also control the color of the nav menu depending on the app you are in.

Go watch the video, then pick your jaw up, and think about flashing this ROM. From what I can tell, the first builds are rolling out today.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Via:  +Paranoid Android [2]

Cheers FrankN!

“Expanded Desktop Mode” in Paranoid Android ROM is the Coolest ROM Feature I’ve Seen in a Long Time is a post from: Droid Life

Late last night, the AOKP team finally dropped their first release as MR1 for Jelly Bean (Android 4.2.1). As you had probably hoped, it contains many of your favorite features from past builds.

You’ll find the custom boot animation, statusbar tweaks, power menu options, custom lockscreen options, a fully customizable navigation bar, more statusbar styles, LED control, sound settings, and more. And maybe more importantly, they fixed some of the bugs that came with stock Android 4.2.1. 

The Galaxy Nexus builds ship with LeanKernel 5.4.0. Builds for the Nexus 4 and 7 ship with the stock kernel from Google. And yes, as of now, AOKP MR1 is only available on the LTE and GSM G-Nex, Nexus 4 and Nexus 7. Galaxy S3 and Note 2 builds are expected to be included in the next release.

Update:  It looks like the Rezound has a new build today as well.

To flash, you definitely need to fully wipe beforehand.

You’ll find download links at the source link below, including one for the Google Apps package.

Via:  AOKP

Cheers Teng, Shaun and Eric!

AOKP Team Finally Releases Android 4.2.1 MR1 to the Galaxy Nexus and Others is a post from: Droid Life

Google began pushing an update to the Nexus 4 and Nexus 10 last night as Android build 4.2.1 (JOP40D). It’s a tiny file at 1.1MB. So far, the only real change that has been found is a fix to the People app, which means that December has returned after last week’s debacle. No word yet on a Nexus 7 update, but it can’t be far behind.

Download:  Nexus 4 (JOP40D) | Nexus 7 | Nexus 10

If you happen to have either device, you can install via custom recovery, adb sideload it, or try to stop and clear Google Services Framework.

To make your life easier, the Nexus 4 toolkit and the Nexus 10 toolkit may come in handy.

Via:  XDA

Cheers Tim!

Android 4.2.1 Update Rolling Out to Nexus 4 and Nexus 10 (Update: Nexus 7 Too) is a post from: Droid Life

One of the joys of owning a Nexus device is the freedom you have to unlock and root your device as you please. As one would guess, the newest Nexus 4 has gained plenty of developer support and there is already a fancy toolkit available through XDA that will help you fulfill all of your hacking and modding needs.

Available for Windows machines, once you download and install the software, all it takes is a few clicks of some buttons and you’re off to a wonderland of root and custom recovery goodness. It would take up about half of the page to show you what all this thing could do, so instead we’ll just point you to the toolkit’s home instead.

Have fun, Nexus owners!

Via: XDA

Nexus 4 Toolkit Released – Helps With Unlocking Bootloader, Rooting and Lots More is a post from: Droid Life