Saturday, December 31, 2011

“Official” Siri For Android App removed from Android Market


Most Android owners don’t seem to suffer from Siri-envy, but try telling that to copycat developers. Ever since the popular fruit phone landed on the Now Network with its chatty digital assistant, the Android Market has been flooded with more than a fair share of generic doppelgangers. Sadly some people go farther than others.
Perhaps a sarcastic spoof of the iPhone 4S’ exclusive software, “Siri for Android” uses Apple’s official Siri icon to launch Android’s pre-existing voice control software. This “app” doesn’t do anything that your phone can’t already do. However, if you feel like having a laugh or two, you can hit the Android Market and install “Siri” on your EVO 3D or PHOTON. We suggest that you act fast, as we suspect the folks from Cupertino’s legal team won’t be taking too kindly to this new addition to the Android Market.
Update: Siri for Android has already been removed from the Android App Market.

Nexus S 4G Gets a treat with Ice Cream Sandwich ROMs


If you’re the proud owner of a Nexus S 4G and you’re craving a taste of Ice Cream Sandwich, then tonight you just may very well get your just desserts!  Just in time for the new year, some crafty developers have compiled a pair of working Ice Cream Sandwich ROMs for Sprint’s lone purebred Google phone.
Offering a near-stock Android 4.0 experience, AOSP 4.0.3 brings face lock, beam and every other ICS feature to your Nexus S 4G. If you’re looking for something different, there’s also a port of the latest MIUI ROM that plays nice with the Nexus S 4G. Everything appears to be working fine with this ROM with the exception of WiMAX, which doesn’t matter to a fair share of you anyway.
If you’re rooted and up to the challenge, you can grab download mirrors and install details via the links below. As always with any new ROM or software update, if you take the plunge, let us know how things work out.

Verizon listening, kills off planned $2 convenience fee


Verizon Wireless Store
And just like that, Verizon has killed off their proposed $2 convenience fee. Verizon said it "made the decision in response to customer feedback about the plan, which was designed to improve the efficiency of those transactions."
“At Verizon, we take great care to listen to our customers. Based on their input, we believe the best path forward is to encourage customers to take advantage of the best and most efficient options, eliminating the need to institute the fee at this time,” said Dan Mead, president and chief executive officer of Verizon Wireless.

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Next-gen iPad may feature double the battery capacity


Apple will launch a new high-end iPad model in early 2012 featuring a battery that includes more than twice the capacity of the current iPad 2 battery. Citing anonymous sources from within Apple’s supply chain, DigiTimesrecently reported that Apple’s upcoming next-generation flagship iPad will feature a new 14,000 mAh battery, as will a new mid-range iPad model. The new power pack will feature more than twice the capacity of the 6,500 mAh battery currently used in Apple’s iPad 2. DigiTimes also reported late Wednesday that Apple’s 2012 iPad lineup will include three models: a low-end iPad 2, likely available at a discount compared to current pricing, a mid-range next-generation iPad and a high-end model. The new mid-range and high-end models will also reportedly feature an upgraded 2,048 x 1,536-pixel displays with dual-LED backlighting.

HTC bootloader unlock for anything released after September


Unlock BootloaderWell, it’s about time. HTC has decided to unlock the bootloaders on every phone launched since September 2011. The announcement came quietly in the sidebar on HTC’s Developer site, and in addition to the newer phones the company is also working to expand unlocking to older phones as well:
"All HTC Android devices launched after September 2011 are unlockable. The website will be updated accordingly to reflect this in the coming weeks. We continue to work on models launched prior to September 2011, please check back often for the status of older devices."
Unfortunately, the current listing on HTC’s website doesn’t include every phone, the HTC Vivid and Rezound aren’t listed. There’s no doubt the Taiwanese manufacturer is trying to get back into the good graces with Android hackers and fans of custom ROMs. This process may be a little confusing, but HTC deserves credit for getting it done and finding a way to make sure that carriers didn’t block it.
Honestly, more manufacturers should follow suit because most people like when companies cater to its customers and not resort to hoodwink, or just flat-out ignoring them. Props to HTC for coming through on its promise.

Plam Pre 2 webOS 2.2.4 OTA is now available

30selv6



Recently, a few lucky Palm Pre 2 owners got an OTA update to webOS 2.2.4, and then we got the webOS doctor link from WebOS-Internals emerged a few days ago. While all this has been going on, we have been wondering, “Where is the OTA update for all the other users?”
Today, not only did the webOS 2.2.4 update go live for the HP Pre3, but it also went live for the Palm Pre2.

Apple Applies For “Face Unlock” Patent


I don’t want to anyone to dismiss this post as simple Apple bashing troll post but this is getting a bit ridiculous. Apple has recently applied to the USPTO for yet another patent on a technology not only currently in use today — but a main feature in Android 4.0; Face Unlock. Apple’s application describes the patent as a brand new technology that allows a user to unlock a device by using the features of their face. It’s not so much that I hate Apple and there’s no question Android is their single largest competitor (something the late Steve Jobs was hellbent on destroying). But when they’re blatantly applying for patents on key features found in Android, you really have to wonder if their intentions are simply to defend their own “innovations” — or simply steal the ideas of others and use them for ammunition in future lawsuits. Now, this doesn’t mean Apple will actually be awarded with this patent or that they will integrate into iOS but you have to wonder… where exactly Google is in all of this and why we don’t have websites dedicated specifically to their patent applications.

Samsung hits milestone with Galaxy Note


Samsung Galaxy Note
Samsung announced today that it has reached a respectable milestone with its Galaxy Note tablet/smartphone hybrid, citing one million units shipped globally to date.What makes the figure even more impressive is that the Note isn't officially available yet in one of Samsung's largest markets-- the United States. The Galaxy Note is currently gaining in popularity in France, Germany, Hong Kong and Taiwan, Samsung says, and will hit American shores "next year." Hit the source link for Samsung's full statement, via its Flickr account.

Should Microsoft try harder to buy RIM?



Is RIM for sale? No, not really. And it sounds like the executives at the Waterloo-based company don’t really want to be “for sale,” either. Which is fine, since there are options out there; and there are people who want those options to work out. But, while options are great, there needs to be something actually done about it. Just talking, or saying how you want to do it all on your own can only get you so far. Especially when you’re doing it on your own and nothing seems to be working out. So, what needs to change? A change of management? Maybe. (Probably.) But, maybe it’s something bigger. Maybe Nokia and Microsoft should try a bit harder to buy the BlackBerry manufacturer.
If you’ll recall, a report came out that Microsoft and Nokia had jointly considered buying Research In Motion sometime over the summer of this year. While it would seem logical for Microsoft/Nokia to buy RIM, it apparently didn’t work out. There are probably plenty of reasons out there, but the most talked-about one is how RIM just decided that they weren’t for sale, and wouldn’t be for sale. Fantastic news, as long as we go with the idea that RIM has a trick up their sleeve, which they will unveil with a burst of energy next year. Early next year, that is. Anything later, like near the “late 2012” launch of the first BB10 devices and it’s too late.
And maybe that’s why the purchase by Microsoft is actually really, really important. We’ll get to the details here in a moment, but let’s take a swing at the bigger picture first. RIM isn’t Microsoft. And how I mean that is that time isn’t on RIM’s side. At all. People have a different outlook on the future of Research In Motion, and it’s not this “slow and steady wins the race” approach at all. People are talking about RIM’s downfall, and it’s apparently imminent.
So, those details I mentioned above. Truthfully, I think Tim Bajarin put it pretty clearly at Techpinions: RIM still has assets that the corporate world wants, like security. Research In Motion still has BlackBerry Messenger, which is still the staple of that instant messenger-like texting service. Sure, there are alternatives, but BBM is still the most talked-about. It’s still the most trusted within the corporate world, and it’s something that RIM truly does have up their sleeve. It’s this service, connected with the security that RIM offers, that the corporate world still craves, and that the BlackBerry name still offers.
But obviously Apple and even Microsoft are encroaching on that territory, and fiercely. So how does RIM get it back? Honestly, there might not be any coming back for RIM. Not on their own. The company has tried so hard to find this sweet spot between the corporate world and the general consumer that they’ve lost their footing altogether. That’s why a “bail-out” of sorts, specifically from Microsoft seems almost essential. Microsoft’s presence in the market, and with Windows Phone stepping towards the corporate market on its own time, could give RIM the boost of life-fluid that they need.
RIM wants to still be around and there’s nothing wrong with that. Obviously, like we said above, there are still options. Those options exist because people want RIM to succeed. But, while RIM wants to do this on their own, they might need a little help. But, the biggest thing is that RIM needs to be able to accept that help is essential, even if it’s not the “do it yourself” option.

BlackBerry Torch 10000 Hinted by Asurion



BlackBerry-Torch-10000-SS

























It has been rumored many times if we’d see RIM break into the 5 digit range. According to the cellphone insurer, Asurion, we may see a BlackBerry Torch 10000, at least that’s what shows on their help site.
Asurion is pretty buddy buddy with the carriers. It wouldn’t surprise us if they had special access to upcoming carrier roadmaps. The BlackBerry Torch 10000 is shown to be available from AT&T in an advanced search dropdown menu.

So far, we’ve seen real live image of what is codenamed the BlackBerry London. This slate device looks to have a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, LTE, 8MP camera, and of course BlackBerry 10. Although, it is unclear if the ‘London’ will be labeled as the first 10000 BlackBerry.
What do you think is the BlackBerry 10000? A screw up by an Asurion employee? The iPhone 5 is also listed. Sound off in the comment section!

US HTC Flyer officially discontinued, will the HTC EVO View 4G?


Htc-flyer-bb-cancelled

It's official: The US WiFi-only version of the HTC Flyer is no longer being sold by Best Buy, which was the only official retailer of the 7-inch tablet stateside. Since the HTC EVO View 4G is basically just a WiMAX variant of the Flyer - identical to the Flyer in almost every other way - the question remains: what are Sprint's ultimate plans for the EVO View? Leave your comments.

Apple said to be launching two new iPad models in 2012


Apple reportedly has plans to launch two new iPad models next year according to a recent report. Set to be unveiled at a press conference in January, the two new iPads will join Apple’s iPad 2 to create an iPhone like tablet lineup. The iPad 2 will remain available at an entry-level price point, DigiTimes claimed citing unnamed industry sources, while new mid-range and high-end iPad models will launch early in 2012. Both new iPads will feature dual-LED backlit 9.7-inch displays with a resolution of 2,048 x 1,536 pixels. It is unclear what features might distinguish the new mid-range iPad from the high-end model. The report also claims that Apple’s rumored 7.85-inch iPad will not be among the models to launch early next year. Wedge Partners analyst Brian Blair recently said in a note to investors that Apple would continue to sell the iPad 2 at a lower price point following the launch of its next-generation tablet model.

HP reportedly tried selling Palm assets for $1.2 billion


Hewlett-Packard has made some wild decisions regarding Palm and webOS following the acquisition in 2010. HP bought Palm for $1.2 billion in April of last year, killed webOS hardware, and then reportedly tried to sell Palm and the dead operating system for $1.2 billion, VentureBeat said Wednesday. Among the companies approached by HP? Facebook. According to the report, HP tried to offload webOS to the social network but the company was “practically laughed out of the room” by Facebook executives. HP eventually cut its losses and announced that it would contribute webOS to the open source community. Then, earlier this month, HP stunned the industry again when it said new webOS hardware, including a possible new tablet, is in development.

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Amazon Kindle Fire gets unofficial Android 4.0


Amazon’s popular Kindle Fire tablet now has access to an unofficial Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich update. Members of the xda-developers forum recently managed to get a “pre-alpha” version of Android 4.0 running on Amazon’s new slate. The installation is based on the popular CyanogenMod 9 and while the ROM is working well in this early stage, there are still a number of bugs that need to be ironed out. It should also be clarified that this custom Ice Cream Sandwich ROM will remove all of Amazon’s customization features from the tablet, such as its user interface and deep integration with Amazon services. Hit the break for a video of Android 4.0 in action on the Kindle Fire and provided you understand the risks involved, follow the read link for all the tools you’ll need to install Android 4.0 on your Kindle Fire.

HTC Evo View 4G and Mytouch 4G Slide, Officially Unlockable From HTC


Two new HTC devices have found themselves a part of the official bootloader unlocked family of devices by way of HTC’s developer site, HTCDev.com. The Evo View 4G (Sprint’s version of the Flyer) along with the T-Mobile MyTouch Slide 4G were the newest additions to the list. The Evo View 4G more specifically, has been making its way around the internet as the center of more than a few “fire sales” offering the device at a deeply discounted price.
If you’re unfamiliar with the term, having an unlocked bootloader means you can generally tinker around a little more with the software of your device, adding things like root access and/or installing custom ROMs. While, HTC provides the unlocking for specific devices, not everything will be covered under warranty, should something go awry. Of course, there are always the unofficial methods of unlocking a device but it’s nice to see HTC putting in the effort.

Samsung Evaluating Getting Android 4.0 on the Galaxy S and Galaxy Tab


  














The folks at Samsung first denied original Galaxy Tab and Galaxy S users a taste of Ice Cream Sandwich and, as you might imagine, it created quite the uproar. It couldn’t be a hardware performance issue due to the Nexus S getting Ice Cream Sandwich with near identical performance hardware. No, it was a space issue and you can probably guess the biggest culprit – TouchWiz.
Thankfully, there’s still a chance (albeit not a very favorable one) that the devices will still be able to get Ice Cream Sandwich. Samsung heard the complaints from users of their 2010 flagship devices and have gone back to say that they will continue to find solutions for getting Android 4.0 up on these devices.
Debloating or completely eliminating TouchWiz would be ideal for users, of course, but Samsung likely won’t or can’t do that. They have to commit to providing the same experience with 4.0 that they did out of the box.
Of course, they could go the HTC route and allow carriers to defer users to the market for specific TouchWiz apps. Fingers crossed.

Sunday, December 25, 2011

Google Schemer invite link





Ok guys this is a new program from Google called Schemer's. I have 20 invites, it's in beta and is kind of like the Google Plus beta where invites were turned on and off. So please hit the link and send other family members and friends invites. remember it's limited to 20 per link. 

Leave me a comment after you get invited so i know where were at as far as people accepted. 

http://schemer.com/invite/evov1lrtrkno0

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Cut The Rope Game Coming Soon to BlackBerry PlayBook

cut-the-rope


I’ve received word from one of our sources that the BlackBerry PlayBook will soon be be receiving a new popular title. That’s right, Chillingo Ltd will be releasing Cut The Rope, a hugely popular iPhone title, to the BlackBerry PlayBook.
At this point it could release any day. The preliminary field testing has been underway and nearly complete. If you’ve never played Cut The Rope, it is a puzzle game in similar fun fashion as AngryBirds. Although, you literally have to ‘Cut The Rope’ to get the candy ball to drop in the frogs mouth. Keep an eye out for this title coming soon!

Swype update for Android now live



Swype Beta for Android has received a major over-the-air update, and in the first real change since its acquisition by Nuance it ships with Dragon Dictate technology in place of Google's own voice recognition. We've given it a try, and it's got a fairly decent success rate — you're not forced to speak quite so slowly and deliberately as with other voice recognition software, though it occasionally throws an unexpected word back. Currently English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish are supported, but more languages are set to follow next year. Unfortunately, if you try to use a language that's currently unsupported, the service defaults to American English rather than falling back onto Android's built-in voice input.
The other improvements are also welcome. Swype's developers promise a honed advanced language modeling algorithm— a feature included in the last release to increase context awareness and improve prediction. The company suggests that it knows you're trying to type "mosh pit" rather than "mosh pot," but this wouldn't work for us, insisting that we meant "mosh put" instead. However, this language algorithm is said to improve over time by learning the way you phrase things and adjusting its predictions accordingly.
Finally, two more minor changes: languages can now be downloaded from the Keyboard preferences, rather than on installation, and the keyboard now follows the installer color scheme with an orange trace. The update can be installed from the Swype preferences pane now, and you can join the beta from Swype's website.
 

I think Best Buy made an error


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