HTC Desire gets Android 2.2 Froyo Unofficially

July 10, 2010 by Leave a Comment

The HTC Desire Android 2.2 update is a few months away yet. However, if you are willing to root your HTC Desire now, you can grab the unofficial update that has just been launched.

The good news with the HTC Desire Android 2.2 update is that it works very well according to those at XDA Developers with only a small amount of bugs. These bugs include no wallpapers, geolocalization not always working well and sometimes a reboot for unknown reasons. Although the last could be a problem, it seems like it isn’t that often to cause worry and it would get you Android 2.2 on your Desire now.

Details of the Desire Android update include…

* Android 2.2 Froyo (FRF-85B)
* Kernel 2.6.32.15
* New Radio 32.41.00.32U_5.08.00.04
* New Base v2.04
* 720p Video recorder
* Native APP2SD
* App Sharing
* Car Panel
* Plurk
* Torcia
* Wi-Fi Hotspot
* ..and much more!

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Cell Phones

iPhone 4 Jailbreak Teased by Geohot

July 10, 2010 by 1 Comment

Another iPhone 4 jailbreak is being teased. This time it’s done by Geohot who has provided jailbreaks in the past.

The downside right now is that the iPhone 4 jailbreak probably wont come from Geohot for some reason that we are not sure of.

The picture above simply had an opening line of text saying… “Got one of these in the mail today and figured I’d give it a shot.” [Read more…]

Filed Under: Cell Phones

Android Gaining Popularity

July 9, 2010 by Leave a Comment

The OS from Google [GOOG] called Android is making quite an impact in the smartphone arena.

Numbers indicated that the Android platform grew 44 percent between February and May. The three months prior to that saw Android taking about 9 percent share of the US smartphone market. With the Android OS growing 44 percent the three months after that, the market share jumped up to 13 percent.

Thirteen percent isn’t a huge number, but at the same time the four percent increase over a quarter shows the rate at which Android is moving. If the growth rate keeps up, which it can due to the sheer number of high end handsets being launched, then this time next year will show Android with a larger market share. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Cell Phones

Barnes & Noble iPad App Update Brings Brightness Controls

July 9, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Barnes & Noble has updated it’s iPad app to now include brightness controls. It’s not the most exciting of updates to hit an iPad app, but it’s certainly a handy feature to be able quickly lower the screen brightness within the app rather than closing it out and going to the Settings menu to make the change.

A few other features have been added to the B&N iPad reader app which include…

* Option to permanently delete samples from within the app
* Two page view
* Speed improvements when synchronizing your purchases, bookmarks, highlights and notes
* Improved periodical support
* Minor bug fixes

[Read more…]

Filed Under: iPad

Google China License Renewed

July 9, 2010 by 1 Comment

Google [GOOG] has announce that the Chinese government has renewed the ICP license which will allow Google to continue operating in the country. By approving the license it allows Google.cn to continue operating which brings search results to a good number of users in the country.

Getting the country to renew the license was a bit worrying for Google as it needs to abide by local laws to do so. When they stopped censoring results in China back in January it caused a bit of friction which caused users going to google.cn to be redirected to google.com.hk to avoid problems with the government.

From the original post 28 June…

We currently automatically redirect everyone using Google.cn to Google.com.hk, our Hong Kong search engine. This redirect, which offers unfiltered search in simplified Chinese, has been working well for our users and for Google. However, it’s clear from conversations we have had with Chinese government officials that they find the redirect unacceptable”and that if we continue redirecting users our Internet Content Provider license will not be renewed (it’s up for renewal on June 30). Without an ICP license, we can’t operate a commercial website like Google.cn”so Google would effectively go dark in China.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Tech News

iPhone 4 Jailbreak Could be Causing iOS 4.0.1 Delays

July 9, 2010 by Leave a Comment

The new iOS 4.0.1 (or whatever it’s called) could be delayed due to the iOS 4 jailbreak that is pending release.

It appears that Apple [AAPL] need a little more time to figure out the security hole to prevent the jailbreak from working. The information doesn’t come from an official source though and instead comes from a tweet of someone who spoke to an Apple [AAPL] store worker…

Guy in Apple Lakeside seems 2 think 4.0.1 is delayed as they r doing a fix 2 stop jailbreak that they have found. Dunno if true?

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Cell Phones

Apple TV Could offer 99 cents Show Rentals

July 9, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Apple [AAPL] is rumoured to be moving a few key people around to work on Apple TV. It seems like the project is getting a big push from the company to make it more main-stream than previous attempts.

We have heard previously that iOS might be running on the Apple TV which could indicate an app store could be involved as well as an easy to use iTunes service. Mix that in with iTunes Cloud and potentially the Apple TV will be able to receive streaming content for the TV.

A rumour is also saying that Apple are in talks with bringing TV show rentals to Apple TV which could see a 99 cents cost for a 24 hour rental with a 30 day expiry date. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Cool Gadgets

Samsung Vibrant (Galaxy S) Could Launch July 15 on T-Mobile

July 9, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Earlier today we mentioned that the Samsung Captivate was landing on AT&T [T] in the US on July 18. The Captivate is a Galaxy S phone re-branded for the AT&T network. Likewise, the Samsung Vibrant is also a Galaxy S phone but T-Mobile branded. However, the T-Mobile version seems to be launching a few days earlier on July 15.

The original date for T-Mobile was July 21, which means the new release date is almost a week earlier than originally planned.

If the change of launch date does happen, it will land on the same day as the Motorola DROID X which indicates that Samsung / T-Mobile are trying to put an alternative option in the way of potential DROID X buyers. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Cell Phones

iPhone 4 International Release Coming Soon

July 9, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Apple [AAPL] launched the iPhone 4 just a few weeks ago in five countries with promise of more countries getting it in the near future. It seems that the next list of countries is getting closer as Movistar in Spain has indicated that the iPhone 4 will be available on it’s network on Wednesday July 28.

The information comes from a series of tweets sent out from the official Movistar twitter account.

It isn’t 100% certain that the release date is set in stone as Apple are the ones who will make the official announcement. But we suspect by this time next week, if the tweets are true, that those in Spain will be able to pre-order the iPhone 4. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Cell Phones

iPhone 4 Catches on Fire

July 9, 2010 by Leave a Comment

One user unluckily had their iPhone 4 set on fire when trying to connect the docking cable. The image here shows the damage what was done to the cable and the iPhone 4.

It appears that the issue was caused due to a problem with the USB port rather than a user error which is a little worrying. Hopefully this is just a one off incident as the user who’s iPhone 4 went up in flames around the port also had his hand burned.

When the user took the phone back to AT&T [T] to replace, it was out of stock so it is believed the customer will have to wait a little while to get a new handset replacement. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Cell Phones

iRiver eBook Reader gets WiFi

July 9, 2010 by Leave a Comment

The iRiver Story eBook reader when launched lacked the connectivity it needed for those who wanted to grab books whilst on the move. iRiver has included an update on the latest model which sees the eBook reader now get a WiFi connection built in.

As well as gaining WiFi, the Story eBook reader also connects up to the WH Smiths online ebook store allowing users to grab books wherever they are.

The wireless addition is the only addition to the latest version whos other specs have remained identical. It’s still a nice upgrade though for those who wanted the iRiver Story but held back due to the lack of connectivity. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Tablets

Google Street View Gets Moving Again

July 9, 2010 by 3 Comments

Google [GOOG] recently grounded all it’s street view cars globally due to the company capturing WiFi data whilst driving about the globe. Changes have been made by Google which see’s the WiFi scanning equipment removed from cars as well as the software used to capture the data.

The WiFi data collection equipment has been removed from our cars in each country and the independent security experts Stroz Friedberg have approved a protocol to ensure any WiFi-related software is also removed from the cars before they start driving again.

What this means is that with new protocols in place, the company is now about to re-send out cars in various countries. The roll out of Google Street View cars will start next week in Ireland, Norway, South Africa and Sweden. These countries will be followed by other countries in the weeks to come. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Camera Gadgets