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Google Music Store Screen Shots Surface Ahead of November 16 Announcement [Rumors]

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 01:18:30 +0000

Rumors that Google may be unveiling its new music service on Wednesday gained a bit of credibility today when Technodroidve reporter Ricardo Romero (somehow) discovered the Music Store on his HTC Inspire 4G. While purchases and downloads weren’t activated, these screeners show that the service may include artist recommendations and a Free Song of the Day. Check out more shots at Technodroidve . [ Android Police ] More »

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Google Music Store Screen Shots Surface Ahead of November 16 Announcement [Rumors]

How to Keep Woodland Creatures Out of Your Home for Good [Homemod]

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 01:00:52 +0000

When it’s cold outside, you retreat to the warm comfiness of your home. Unfortunately, so do any critters that reside near your house. Besides filling your home’s nooks and crannies with poop, animals can also create potential safety hazards. Let’s stop them before they take over the guest bedroom. More »

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How to Keep Woodland Creatures Out of Your Home for Good [Homemod]

Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich source code now available

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 23:26:20 +0000

We still don’t have an official release date for the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, the first Ice Cream Sandwich phone, in the US but rumors about the operating system’s source code arriving this week have already started surfacing. Well, it looks like those rumors are true because it has arrived ahead of the rumored November 17 th release date. Juean-Baptiste Queru, a software engineer working on the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) has just confirmed that the source code for Android 4.0.1 is now available . While this won’t mean much to most of the public (at least for now), it is of significance to manufacturers and the developer community who can start work on creating Ice Cream Sandwich updates for handsets already available on the market. Can anyone say CyanogenMod? Expect various ICS custom ROMs to start popping up left and right in the coming weeks and official updates from manufacturers in the coming months (though it would be a nice change to see manufacturers beat the community to the punch for once). Who’s excited now? Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich source code now available , By Ubergizmo . Top Stories : iPhone 4S Review ,

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Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich source code now available

Siri Cracked Open, Theoretically Opening It Up To Other Devices (Or Even Android!)

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 23:11:54 +0000

Serving as a stark reminder that there are people on the Internet who are way, way too damned clever, the guys over at the iPhone design/development house Applidium claim to have cracked open Siri to take an unsanctioned look at its ( her? his? ) inner workings. In a rare (but quite welcome. I mean, by us. Probably not by Apple) move, they’ve gone on to do a rather detailed debriefing of how they got through. So, what does this mean to you? Theoretically , it means that support for Apple’s voice-powered portable assistant could be hacked not only onto devices like the iPhone 4, but to anything from laptops to Android phones as well. As the italics on “theoretically” imply, though, there’s a bit of a catch. The catch: in the end, anything attempting to communicate with Siri’s backend needs to have a valid iPhone 4S identification string, unique to each 4S. In one-off experiments like this one, spoofing that string with one pulled from an actual 4S is somewhat simple — Apple wouldn’t (/couldn’t) ever really notice. If someone were to hack together an Android app and distribute it, though, the massive influx of requests all originating from the same unique ID would almost certainly trigger a blacklisting. Unless the app had a massive pool of authentic unique IDs to rotate through, the fishy activity would be pretty easy to discern. I’d highly recommend reading Applidium’s full rundown of the process, but here’s the tl;dr breakdown: By connecting Siri to a local router and then dumping data as it came through, they realized that Siri was sending all of its data to a server that we’ll refer to as “Guzzoni”. All trafic sent to Guzzoni was sent through the HTTPS protocol. With the “S” in HTTPS standing for “Secure”, this traffic wasn’t subject to simple packet sniffing. So they had a new idea: make a fake Guzzoni server, and see what came through on the other end. After a good bit of ridiculously clever SSL certificate trickery, they got Siri sending commands to their fake server. With each command comes the “X-Ace-Host” string, which appears to be unique to each iPhone 4S. After figuring out how Apple was compressing (read: not encrypting) the data, Applidium was able to decompress it and parse out a rough sketch of exactly what was being sent (including which audio codec Apple was using), and what Siri expected in return. With that process done, Applidium attempted to talk to Siri without any iPhone 4S in the equation. Their first challenge? Speech-to-text from a laptop running a custom script. Sure enough: it worked. Siri chewed through the sound file (a recording of them saying “autonomous demo of Siri”), didn’t bat an eye (as their tool was using their iPhone 4S’ actual unique ID), and returned a mountain of data detailing what Siri heard and how sure it was about each word. Incredible. The Applidium guys have provided a few tools for others to recreate their steps — but, as it currently stands, there’s not much that can be done to take this beyond a rather cool proof-of-concept.

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Siri Cracked Open, Theoretically Opening It Up To Other Devices (Or Even Android!)

Bag Week Review: The Incase Alloy Series Compact Backpack

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 23:01:52 +0000

What is it? Happy Bag Week everyone, and please kindly meet the Incase Alloy Series Compact Backpack. I’ve been reviewing this bag for a while now, and I have to say I much prefer it to anything I actually own. I’ll be sad to see it go. However, it happens to look like some sort of space pack you’d see in Battlestar Galactica with its metallic finish, so it’s definitely a love-it-or-hate-it design. Aside from the silver metallic finish (that you can’t help but notice), the backpack itself is pretty plain with no extra bells or whistles. Size-wise it was everything I could ask for. Compact enough to be comfortable and look like it actually fits my body, but big enough to fit most everything I’d need for a day on the job or at play. It fits up to a 15″ MacBook Pro, and still leaves plenty of extra space for an iPad, camera, change of clothes, or whatever else it is you tote around day to day. Made of nylon, the Compact Backpack (it doesn’t have a cool name like the Yalta ) is super light, which made it that much easier to pack it full of gadgets. Thanks to breathable mesh padding along the shoulder straps, back, and top-loading handle, this Alloy series pack was super comfortable for all-day use. The Incase Alloy Series Compact Backpack Type: Backpack Dimensions: External – 18.5″ x 11.75″ x 4.3″ / Laptop compartment size – 14.8″ x 10″ x 1.8″ Pockets: Laptop sleeve, secondary sleeve, internal pouch, front pocket, wallet-sized “hip” pocket Features: Dedicated faux-fur lined iPod pocket, nylon construction, metallic lining MSRP: $99.95 Product Page Accessibility, on the other hand, wasn’t such a breeze. To start, the Compact Backpack has more than enough pockets, one of which is severely misplaced. Incase included a dedicated iPhone/iPod pocket square in the middle of the top of the backpack. The problem is that an iPod or iPhone is something you get out and use frequently in your travels, but you literally have to take the backpack off and hold it in front of you to effectively get anything out of that pocket. Another case of the bright idea gone awry. A bevy of other pockets await you with the Alloy Compact Backpack, including a faux fur-lined laptop sleeve, a secondary iPad/journal sleeve, that dedicated (poorly placed) iPod pocket, a wallet-sized pocket on the lower portion of the left strap, a small pocket on the front, and an internal pouch for pens and such. In fact, only one pocket is missing, though it may not be missed by everyone. I tend to walk or take the train everywhere (which means no cup holders), which means I really appreciate a water bottle pocket. Granted, adding one would probably invalidate the whole “Compact” bit, but it was still dearly missed. Who is it for? Anyone who wishes they were in any syfy series set in space. Anyone looking for a light, spacious primary bag that doesn’t necessarily go with everything (but you can’t see it when you’re wearing it so who cares, right?). Anyone who puts comfort and durability before style, or conversely anyone who has very, um, unique style. Do I want it? The tell-tale question, no doubt, and one which I don’t have a very clear answer to. The truth is I use this bag a lot , and get compliments on it all the time. It does what I need it to (save for store my bottled water), and is pretty comfortable, too. But that one pocket up top (for your never-to-be-accessed iPod) really irks me. I’d say 85 percent of me wants it, and the other 15 percent thinks I can do better. Click to view slideshow.

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Bag Week Review: The Incase Alloy Series Compact Backpack

Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich Source Code Is Out Now [Android]

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 22:49:58 +0000

Ice Cream Sandwich is on its way with the Galaxy Nexus, but now Google’s released its source code through the Android Open Source Project, meaning everyone can dig in and start working on their ports (and bastardizations) for other devices. More »

T-Mobile should be part of Google Music event

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 22:19:58 +0000

T-Mobile and Google sent us an invite to an afterparty for the night of Wednesday’s rumored Google Music event but you have to wonder what role T-Mobile is going to play in that announcement. Leaked screenshots suggest Google will begin selling tracks and albums as part of Google Music but the company has also promised a bit of a social twist with it. Some are speculating that you’ll be able to use Google+ to share tracks or at least, one playing of the track. Being able to offer this service in the Android Market or somewhere in Android would help Google remain as competitive as possible with Apple’s iOS, which boats the iTunes juggernaut underneath it. Still, there’s nothing we’ve heard from the coming Google Music service which desperately calls out for a mobile partner and that’s why it’s intriguing that T-Mobile is sponsoring the afterparty. Perhaps there could be a mobile-specific aspect of the music service that T-Mobile will have exclusive rights to at first. It’s also been about a month since we’ve seen the Galaxy Nexus announced and the device will be coming in an HSPA+ version, so T-Mobile could theoretically support it and it does have a good history with the Nexus lineup. Will this rocking event be the product’s first unveiling in the United States? We’re only a few short days from finding out, friends. T-Mobile should be part of Google Music event originally appeared on IntoMobile.com on 2011-11-14T22:19:58Z. FV1gMYsz9b5j

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T-Mobile should be part of Google Music event

AT&T To Launch The 4G Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 (And Six New LTE Markets) On Nov. 20th

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 20:21:33 +0000

I don’t know many people who are chompin’ at the bits for the launch date info on yet another Galaxy Tab, but I know you’re out there somewhere . For you, kind soul: AT&T has just announced that the LTE/4G-compatible version of the 8.9″ Samsung Galaxy Tab will be launching on November 20th. What’s that, you say? AT&T hardly has any LTE coverage for such a device to ride on? Correct! With that said, they’ll be launching it in six new markets (bringing the total up to 15) on the same day: Charlotte, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Oklahoma City, and San Juan, Puerto Rico. It’s still a drop in the bucket — but hey, you’ve gotta start somewhere. The Specs on the Gal Tab 8.9: · 4G LTE backed by 4G HSPA+ · Android 3.2 (Honeycomb) · 15.9 ounces light, 8.6mm thin · Brilliant 8.9” HD widescreen · 3.2 megapixel rear facing camera with LED flash, 2 megapixel front facing camera · Tabbed browsing, Adobe Flash and HTML support · Snapdragon 1.5 GHz dual core processor · 16 GB internal memory and expandable up to 32 GB via accessory option · 1 GB RAM · TouchWiz® UX · Dimensions: 230.9 x 157.8 x 8.6 mm The Galaxy Tab 8.9 will set you back $479.99 on a two-year soul sign.

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AT&T To Launch The 4G Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 (And Six New LTE Markets) On Nov. 20th

Is Lenovo About to Release a Quad-Core Android Tablet? [PICS]

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 19:57:18 +0000

Tablet backside Click here to view this gallery. Asus isn’t the only tablet maker working on a quad-core Android tablet — Lenovo appears to have one in the works as well. Engadget has gotten its hands on what appear to be “leaked” photographs of a 10.1-inch tablet Lenovo is allegedly planning to release by the end of the year. Like Asus’s next-generation Transformer Prime device, the tablet is powered by NVIDIA’s Tegra 3 T33 processor and Android 4.0 ( Ice Cream Sandwich ). It also sports a back-facing camera, 2GB of 1.6GHz of RAM and a “fingerprint scanner” that also functions as an optical joystick on the backside. (If you’re wondering what an optical joystick is, read this .) Lenovo declined to comment on the veracity of the report. But if it’s true, is this something you would like to get your hands on? Let us know in the comments. More About: android tablet , lenovo

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Is Lenovo About to Release a Quad-Core Android Tablet? [PICS]

Stumbling Towards The Future: The PC-ification of Android Tablets

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 19:05:38 +0000

Did you hear that Lenovo is releasing a 10.1-inch tablet powered by a quad-core Tegra 3 CPU ? Exciting news, I know: quad-core on a tablet is huge. But is it really? Do we really have to be doing this? Is this what the struggling tablet market needs: a spec war? But what’s a tablet maker to do? Much like Microsoft fifteen years ago Google has more control over tablets than the actual tablet-maker. The OEMs are just working within Android’s confines, try desperately to wring more performance and marketing credibility out of the platform by throwing hardware at the problem. Right now it’s the iPad versus the world. Consumers can either opt for the $500 iPad or pick from countless identical Android tablets. It’s a microcosm of the PC notebook market, really: You can either pick from two Apple models or hundreds of Windows notebooks, all the same. Either the buyer trusts Apple and opts for a notebook that’s nearly void of available options, or, as most consumers do, they choose a Windows notebook that better fits their use case and/or budget. The iPad is a large iPod touch and to say it’s anything else is disingenuous. It’s a multimedia device with some content creation capabilities. But much like its smaller brother, Apple has managed to sell millions of the iPads without talking that much about specs. Apple can market its products solely on their functions since the company controls the hardware and software development. Apple doesn’t have to compete against itself. Lenovo, however, has to compete against Motorola, LG, Samsung, and all the rest of the Android players. This infighting is slowing Android adoption. Tablets as a whole offer a new paradigm in computing. Mobile radios, thin form factors and finger-friendly touchscreens finally bring Stanley Kubrick’s vision demonstrated in 2001 to life. Tablets are teetering on the edge of finally offering fully-fledged computing on the go. But we’re not there yet. Right now, tablet OSes are not designed to fully replace the desktop experience (although Windows 8 seems like it might pull it off). So far Samsung has seemingly used the most effective marketing tactics. Even adverts for its first generation Galaxy Tab centering around use-cases rather than powerful hardware. That tablet didn’t kill off the iPad but Samsung gave it the ol’ college try by supplementing the Android 2.x operating system with a rich set of Samsung apps and a smaller form factor. Even today Samsung’s tablet strategy seems to be focused on choice rather than just cloning the iPad. The company offers more tablets than any other, with a line featuring a 5-inch, 7-inch, 8.9-inch and a 10.1-inch model. But even Samsung, maker of some of the best Android tabs, further fragments the Android market with this large lineup. They’re in a sense just casting as many lines as possible with the hope of catching something. Asus and Lenovo follow a keep-it-simple mantra and rely on a smaller lineup. Asus has just the constantly-delayed Slider and the Transformer tablet with the successor hitting later this year. For some reason Lenovo feels the need to have a consumer and prosumer lineup with the $349 IdeaPad K1 and the $499 ThinkPad Tablet — both are very similar although the ThinkPad is targeted to business users with a beefier security suite and digitizer pen. All the Android tablet makers are rushing to stake their claim. The iPad came out of nowhere and surprised them all. But as each maker outs a new model, the whole Android market gets a little more crowded, forcing consumers to look at specs to find the best product. I find this rather entertaining: Go into any Best Buy and hang around the tablets for a minute. You’ll hear the most depressing conversations between consumers and the hourly workers. Consumers often want to know the difference between all of the tablets. More times than not, I heard responses that while true, such as the Xoom has a faster processor, are a bit misleading. Processor speed doesn’t matter. Nor does the amount of RAM or the particular brand. Besides screen size, Android tablets are all the same to the average consumer right now. Even when comparing specs, a task that seems to be a pastime of my mother-in-law, the only real difference is storage capacity. And that doesn’t really matter either. Besides touting slightly different hardware specs, Android tablet makers have turned to the shady world of bloatware. Often listed as a feature, some of the bundled apps are unwanted resource hogs – just like their Windows counterparts. Some of the apps are legitimate deals, though. Lenovo loads their Android tabs with some of the best games and productivity apps but most others use deceptive trialwares and alternative services. It’s a sad fact that Android tablet makers are at the mercy of Google. There is nothing they can do but advertise the minor differences between their wares. In a perfect world, my mother should not be shopping for tablets based on the number of processing cores. But since Google controls the most important feature of a tablet, the operating system, makers have nothing else to brag than hardware specs and price point. Right now, in the last months of 2011, the iPad is leading Android tabs by a large margin. The gap doesn’t seem to be closing either. Consumers didn’t flock to Honeycomb and so developers didn’t either. The next Android tablet release is said to launch later this year and will, if the fanboys are to be believed, among other things, kill off the iPad and solve world hunger. But that’s what they always say. As more Android tablets hit the market at an increasingly desperate rate, the iPad trudges on. Maybe a few years from now, when there are more tablet computing platforms, hardware makers will be able to use sales tactics learned from years of personal computers. But until then, minor differences between tablets should be downplayed rather than featured and let the tab’s functions take top bill. It’s better to focus on how the tablet will change the person’s life rather than the clock speed of the CPU.

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Stumbling Towards The Future: The PC-ification of Android Tablets