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Latest Gear Live Videos
iOS 5.0.1 untethered jailbreak has been released
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Handhelds, Mods / Hacks, Software,
If you're running iOS 5.0.1 and have been waiting for the ability to jailbreak your device without being tethered to a computer, today is your lucky day (as long as you aren't hoping to jailbreak the iPhone 4S or iPad 2!) The Chronic Dev Team and iPhone Dev Team have jointly released a new version of redsn0w that will jailbreak the iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, and third- and fourth-generation iPod touch running iOS 5.0.1. Users who are already running the tethered version of the jailbreak can download Corona from Cydia to get in on the untethered action. An untethered jailbreak for the iPad 2 and iPhone 4S is still being worked on, with no set timetable for arrival.
In other iOS 5 jailbreak news, a new "Spire" hack now allows you to install Siri on jailbroken iOS devices as well!
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Amazon Kindle Fire 6.2.1 update review
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Handhelds, Product Reviews, Software,
Amazon has released its newest update for the Kindle Fire and it has some tweaks many users will find welcome, and one tweak power users will hate.
I've been using my Kindle Fire since it came out, and while I'm still waiting for CyanogenMod9 to come out and let me actually put Ice Cream Sandwich on my Kindle Fire, I've been relatively happy with the performance.
The main interface tweak added to the Kindle Fire is the ability to remove items from the carousel on the home page. This is a small but useful way to keep your most commonly used apps organized and, if necessary, make sure other users don't see whatever naughty things you might have been perusing.
That's the only change to the main screen; you still can't organize your apps into categories or customize your menu beyond adding and removing items from favorites and the carousel. I use my Kindle Fire for several different things, and it would be great to organize my apps by categories like Online Content, Books, Network Tools, and Games. The Fire still has Amazon's default seven tabs and single app list organized alphabetically or by date.
Click to continue reading Amazon Kindle Fire 6.2.1 update review
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Google releases Android 4.0.3 ‘Ice Cream Sandwich’ partner update
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Google, Software,
Google formally announced Android 4.0.3 on Friday, the base version of its "Ice Cream Sandwich" operating system that will be provided to partners.
Although Google described the new version as a mix of optimizations and bug fixes, the real significance is that the new OS will be the baseline version that will be rolled out to partners interested in developing phones and tablets around the new OS. It also appears to possibly include Facebook Ticker-like functionality.
"Going forward, we'll be focusing our partners on Android 4.0.3 as the base version of Ice Cream Sandwich," Xavier Ducrohet, the Android SDK Tech Lead, said in announcing the new version. "The new platform will be rolling out to production phones and tablets in the weeks ahead, so we strongly encourage you to test your applications on Android 4.0.3 as soon as possible."
In addition to incremental improvements in graphics, databases, spell-checking, Bluetooth, and other features, the new OS includes a new social stream API.
Click to continue reading Google releases Android 4.0.3 ‘Ice Cream Sandwich’ partner update
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Hack your Galaxy Nexus to run Google Wallet
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Google, Mods / Hacks, Software,
Be it Verizon's fault or Google's, owners of the recently released Galaxy Nexus smartphone can't tap into the device's built-in Near Field Communication feature for use with Google Wallet. It's just not going to happen.
Not going to happen, that is, unless you perform a few lengthy customizations on your smartphone. A crafty workaround has been found that allows Galaxy Nexus owners to use Google Wallet just like all of their friends that own Sprint's Nexus S 4G smartphones. But the hack comes with a few catches: Namely, you're going to hack off both Verizon and Google if you try it.
How's that? Well, the process for enabling Google Wallet on your Galaxy Nexus demands that you unlock the device's bootloader and root the smartphone. And once you've done that, there goes your warranty through Verizon should your smartphone encounter any errors (or catastrophic free-falls) in your future.
And that's just the first half. Google's own terms of service prohibit using Google Wallet, "on a mobile device or Android operating system that has been modified or customized in any way." There's no indication as to what could happen to you or your account should you proceed with the hack for your Galaxy Nexus.
Click to continue reading Hack your Galaxy Nexus to run Google Wallet
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Adobe Flash Player 11.1 released, Ice Cream Sandwich now supported
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Google, Software,
Adobe on Friday released Flash Player 11.1 for Android devices. The update includes support for Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich but is the last major version of Adobe's mobile browser plugin.
An Adobe AIR 3.1 update will ship next week.
In late November, Adobe announced that it would no longer develop Flash Player for the mobile Web after its next release. "Our future work with Flash on mobile devices will be focused on enabling Flash developers to package native apps with Adobe AIR for all the major app stores," the company said at the time.
In a Friday blog post, Adobe reiterated that stance, arguing that apps are the wave of the future.
Click to continue reading Adobe Flash Player 11.1 released, Ice Cream Sandwich now supported
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Senator Al Franken ‘Troubled’ by Carrier IQ investigation results
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Corporate News, Software,
Sen. Al Franken this week said he is still "very troubled" by the technology deployed by Carrier IQ despite the fact that the company—as well as AT&T, Sprint, Samsung, and HTC—released details about how they use Carrier IQ software.
"People have a fundamental right to control their private information," Franken, a Minnesota Democrat, said in a statement. "After reading the companies' responses, I'm still concerned that this right is not being respected."
Of particular concern was the fact that Carrier IQ was receiving the contents of users' text messages after say it did not, as well as the software's ability to collect online search data.
"There are still many questions to be answered here and things that need to be fixed," Franken said.
"We appreciate Subcommittee Chairman Franken's continued interest in protecting consumer privacy and look forward to our ongoing dialogue with the Senator to answer his additional questions," Carrier IQ said in a statement.
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Google’s Android Update Alliance not living up to expectations
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Google, Software,
At the Google I/O conference in May, many Android phone vendors and U.S. wireless carriers made a long-awaited promise: From then on, any new Android phone would receive timely OS updates for at least 18 months following launch, as part of the then newly christened Google Update Alliance.
The back story: If you own an Android phone, you may have watched with frustration as a new version of the OS hit the market. It's almost never clear if your phone will ever get that upgrade—unlike with iOS or Windows Phones, which always get all upgrades (providing they meet the right hardware requirements). With Android, it seems to depend on the phone vendor, the specific model, the wireless carrier, the Android version itself, and whether Google sent the carrier an inflatable plastic food product as a token of its appreciation that week. Worse—and much to our chagrin—sometimes vendors make promises to customers before the sale that they don't keep once you own the phone.
Many factors contribute to this. But custom versions of Android are the key culprit, either thanks to vendor-specific enhancements (like HTC Sense, Motorola MotoBlur, and Samsung's TouchWiz, though LG, Pantech, Casio, and other vendors do it too), or carrier-specific enhancements of a more dubious nature (such as unnecessary preloaded bloatware and changes to default apps). These changes require many programming hours not just to make in the first place, but to also support and upgrade down the road—resources the carrier would rather throw at making new phones to sell you.
So the Google Update Alliance was a breath of fresh air. It sounded like everyone would finally come together, streamline their OS update timelines, and stop jerking around their customers. The thing is, while the Google Update Alliance ended up being one of the biggest stories to come out of Google I/O, we've heard almost nothing about it since then. You can bet we weren't just going to forget about it and pretend it never happened—especially after the release of Google Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich), which is a huge leap in UI design and overall performance.
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TeleNav shows off HTML5-powered GPS app
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: GPS, Internet, Software,
TeleNav, the GPS software company, has unveiled a browser-based HTML5 app that will deliver voice-enabled, turn-by-turn GPS navigation on almost any mobile device—and that other sites can call up with a single line of code.
The concept behind the app is similar to that of Amazon Kindle Cloud Reader: You input the URL and then run TeleNav from within a browser, without installing a native app first. An added benefit: TeleNav can continuously update the service over time whenever it wants, without inconveniencing consumers with periodic software updates.
In an e-mail to us, Mary Beth Lowell, TeleNav's associate director of public relations, confirmed that the HTML5-based app will tap into each device's GPS chip. The combination puts it several leagues ahead of Google Maps, which provides directions without voice prompts, meaning you can also use it in a car while behind the wheel, since you don't have to look at the screen for the next step.
"For example, if I'm in a travel app and I'm looking at my hotel address, I could click on the address and get full voice-guided TBT [turn-by-turn] directions to the hotel," Lowell said. "I wouldn't need to be a TeleNav customer or even download an app."
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Nook Color update brings Netflix streaming, Nook Comics
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Handhelds, Software,
Barnes & Noble on Monday rolled out what it said was the biggest software update yet for its Nook Color e-reader, including the addition of Netflix streaming, Nook Comics, and more customized reading options.
The retailer has added 100 new features to the Nook Color, including access to movies and TV shows via Netflix and Flixster apps. Thanks to the Ultraviolet standard, which provides users with a digital copy of physical media, Flixster will allow movie access on-the-go.
On the comics front, Nook Color customers will now have access to high-resolution comics, graphic novels, and kids' comics. Barnes & Noble promised the "largest digital collection of Marvel's graphic novels available through a third party – including Halo Uprising and other Marvel greats like Ultimate Spider-Man, The Astonishing X-Men, and Hulk: Planet Hulk, among others."
A new feature known as PagePerfect looks to preserve the look and feel of image-heavy books like cookbooks, craft, and art books, and allows users to zoom in and fluidly scroll through a book's pages.
Click to continue reading Nook Color update brings Netflix streaming, Nook Comics
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Download iOS 5.1 beta 2 9B5127c now!
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Handhelds, Software,
Apple has been busy updating their Dev Center with another iOS 5 beta update, and today developers can go and grab iOS 5.1 beta 2. If you are already running iOS 5.1 beta, you can just do an OTA update and be done with it. If not, you'll need to download the update and connect to iTunes to install the beta. You can now grab iOS 5.1 beta 9B5127c for iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch, alongside Xcode 4.3 Developer Preview 7 for Lion (4E57a)
