To say that CyanogenMod has made some waves this past year would be an understatement. The team started as a community of hackers that provided fast and more feature-packed custom ROMs, which retained the stock Android look free of-charge. Now, after being asked by Oppo to release a special edition of their mods for their newest phone, Cyanogen is fast becoming a recognizable power in the Android world, and the first video on their official Youtube page shows off their very own edition of the Oppo N1.

The video showcases all of the features that set apart Cyanogen’s build of Android from other versions. Advanced camera options, a better privacy guard, the option to control CPU behavior, added themes, and other features are all laid out in the video. There is no out of the box root access, which is understandable as the phone will not pass the Android Compatibility Test suite, but don’t be surprised if Cyanogen creates a one-click app for the device that will be readily available. Read more »

So you’re a Windows Phone user and have been itching to deck your device with some cool Gameloft games, but you don’t want to pay full price? Well you’re in luck, as the mobile game manufacturing giant has slashed the prices of some of their most popular titles just in time for the Holiday season.

You can pick up The Dark Knight Rises, Order & Chaos, N.O.V.A 3, Modern Combat 4, and the Amazing Spider-Man for $2.99, and Assassin’s Creed – Altair’s Chronicles, Brain Challenge HD, Uno, and Let’s Golf 2 for $1.99. Read more »

Google has released an update to the recently launched Google Play Music app on iOS. The latest update brings minor UI changes to keep it in sync with iOS 7 design guidelines.

Other than the refreshed UI, the update also features the I Am Feeling Lucky radio function, which produces an auto playlist based on the music you listen on your phone. Read more »

Google has released the MyGlass app on iOS. This app, which was previously exclusively available on Android, is designed to work with you Google Glass.

Now with this app, you will be able to use Google Glass even with an iOS device. The app lets you screencast your Google Glass screen on to your iOS device, use turn-by-turn navigation and access your contacts and Glassware. Read more »

This year at IFA Sony unveiled the unique QX line of lens-style cameras and they’re getting their first update. As you may remember they had some issues – for one they could shoot video at 1,440 x 1,080 but not widescreen. The firmware update fixes that and adds proper 1,920 x 1,080p video recording mode.

The update also adds more manual controls and boosts the ISO range. Read more »

BlackBerry’s popular BBM instant messaging app will come preinstalled on LG smartphones. The Canadian company announced a bundling agreement with LG which will include standard and virtual preloading of the app.

The LG G Pro Lite will be the first smartphone to have BBM out of the box. Read more »

Opera is working in a new service called Opera Max that will help you save data on all your apps, not just the browser. It compresses data for every image, video and text file downloaded to your device regardless of the application downloading it.

It works by installing the Opera Max application on your Android device. The app configures a VPN server on your device and routs all your data through it. The server will compress all data before sending it to your device, thus saving your data and time. This works for all apps except those that use https, so any secure content such as online payments and mail services won’t be compressed. Read more »

The continued efforts from Microsoft is paying off as the Windows Phone Store hit 200,000 apps just a few days ago. From modest beginnings in 2010, to 100,000 apps in June last year to double that just in time for the holidays this year.

Microsoft will be releasing $100 million worth of gift cards to 100 retailers across 41 markets to make it easier for users to buy apps (i.e. receive a gift card for the holidays). Read more »

The Nokia Camera app unified the creative features of Smart Camera and the manual controls of Pro Camera. It was made available for high-end Nokia Lumia phones a couple of months ago, but now the app is available in Beta for the low- and mid-range Lumias too.

This means support for the following phones: Lumia 520, Lumia 521, Lumia 620, Lumia 625, Lumia 720, Lumia 810, Lumia 820, and Lumia 822. Note that you need at least Nokia Amber installed, preferably Nokia Black. Read more »

The popular Pebble smartwatch received Windows Phone support via a third-party solution called Pebble Watch Pro. Created by Bad Planet Software, the application is geared towards Windows Phone 8 devices.

Despite not offering the full experience, the unofficial WP app allows users to receive a number of useful alerts from their device to a Pebble smartwatch. Read more »

Netflix users have been enjoying multiple user profiles for quite some time now, after the streaming media giant realized that the important people in your life may have different cinematic tastes than you. The feature has also made its way to Android devices with the latest update to the Netflix app.

The latest version 3.1.0 allows users to filter out queues and suggestions from other account members. Read more »

We already know that Cut the Rope 2 will debut on December 19 as an iOS exclusive with an Android version following suit early next year.

But now Zeptolab has launched a trailer for the upcoming title which shows some new characters, gameplay and is quite entertaining to watch. We can’t wait for the game to hit – it will cost $0.99 for iPhone and we’re guessing will be either free with ads or the same price on Android smartphones when it drops. Read more »

Google has updated the keyboard application for its mobile operating system in an attempt to match the industry’s latest trends.

Google’s Android keyboard, which makes text input very easy with its gesture typing, now has an advanced option to switch the keyboard color scheme. Read more »

Google+ for Android has been updated and the new version of the social networking app comes with a host of new features along with search and notification enhancements.

The version 4.2.4 now allows you to search across more stuff from a single box, which means that you can now explore posts, people, photos, communities and everything else that’s on Google+. Read more »

Sony maintains AOSP releases – that’s clean, unmodified Android – for a number of its devices. The latest addition is the Xperia L, a mid-range phone, which is getting Android 4.4.1 KitKat.

Interestingly, the Sony Xperia Z Ultra, which recently gained a spot among the Google Play Edition devices, is not included yet. Read more »