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Pebble blue Samsung Galaxy S III reportedly delayed due to manufacturing issue, shipments to resume in mid-June

Daniel Bader — Fri, 25 May 2012 21:21:20 +0000

There are independent reports from multiple sources today that the Galaxy S III will only launch in marble white on May 29th, as the pebble blue model has been suffering from an unspecified manufacturing issue.

According to several Samsung representatives who don’t want to be named, the company has destroyed upwards of 600,000 pebble blue backplates due to colour inconsistencies and other malformations. Ironically the white version is not affected; Apple had problems with their white iPhone 4 for several months after the initial launch, despite promising to ship with both in June 2010.

Many international retailers are reporting that the white version will be the only one available to them until at least mid-June, when Samsung is expected to reach production parity again with the white version. Samsung Sweden have confirmed the delay, but claim the delay will “only be a matter of days,” disputing earlier claims.

The evidence came to light last week when the Galaxy S III went on sale early in Dubai, but retailers were tight-lipped as to why only the white version was available. Hopefully Samsung gets everything in order for the Canadian launch.

Source: AndroidNZ
Via: Slashgear

Details leak of Nexus tablet: quad-core Tegra 3 for under $200, launching at Google I/O, on sale in July

Daniel Bader — Fri, 25 May 2012 20:01:03 +0000

Some interesting rumours of the Nexus tablet have come to light after TechnoBuffalo received word from a trusted source that the slate will launch during Google I/O next month. The information seems to confirm that the tablet will be manufactured by Asus and will sport a quad-core Tegra 3 chip and a 7-inch screen of unknown resolution.

As we’ve said before, this will be the first time a quad-core tablet will be available for under $300, and if Google can manage to outfit the hardware with a comparably good software package, it will likely sell quite well. The rumour extends to the tablet running Android 5.0 Jellybean, though we are sceptical of that happening. Ice Cream Sandwich is running on fewer than 5% of the total Android population, and it would make more sense to launch the device with a stock “Nexus” build of Android 4.0.4, showing off what Google’s latest OS can do on inexpensive hardware. Sure, there might be some new features added to the mix, maybe even a bump to 4.0.5, but it’s unlikely that Jellybean will be launched only eight months after its predecessor.

In all likelihood, the Nexus tablet will be largely based on Asus’ launched-but-buried MeMo 370t, which debuted at CES with the same rumoured specs but a price point of $249. Since then Google has managed to secure enough component inventory at a good price to bring down the cost to $199. The launch will also confirm Nvidia’s commitment to bringing sub-$200 Tegra 3 tablets to market using an updated manufacturing process and cheaper DDR3 RAM.

Other rumours for Google I/O include an announcement of multiple Nexus smartphone manufacturing partners including Motorola, LG, Sony, Samsung and HTC.

At this point the only concrete things we know are that Nvidia is bringing cheap Tegra 3 tablets to market, likely with the help of Google and Asus. We’d love to see Jellybean but are not going to hold our breath. In the meantime, let us know: would you buy a stock ICS version of an Android tablet if it was under $200?

Source: TechnoBuffalo
Via: PhoneArena

Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 goes up for pre-order, Canadian release expected June 22nd

Ian Hardy — Fri, 25 May 2012 19:07:13 +0000

Samsung, according to Future Shop, will bring another Samsung tablet to the Canadian market. This time around it’s the continuation of the Tab family with the Android OS 4.0 powered Galaxy Tab 2. A pre-order page just went live and gives an “Estimated release date” of June 22nd. The price is respectively set at $349.99 and this Wi-Fi only tablet comes with Samsung’s TouchWiz UI, a 10.1-inch display (1280 x 800), 1Ghz dual-core processor, 1GB RAM, 3MP camera, VGA front camera. In addition, the Tab 2 has a 7000 mAh battery.

More here at Future Shop

Apple begins “App of the Week” promotion, Cut the Rope: Experiments is up first

Daniel Bader — Fri, 25 May 2012 18:23:52 +0000

Apple is not known for giving things away for free, but there have been glimpses over the years of its kinder, consumer-friendly side. In the past they’ve handed out promo cards for free apps at participating Starbucks locations, and have made available free songs from popular artists. Now they are now doing an “App of the Week,” the first time they’ve made paid apps available for free on the App Store (at least from their own side; developers have long discounted paid apps as a way to promote other properties in their catalogues).

The initial recipient of App of the Week is the popular Cut the Rope: Experiments, the sequel to the original game that pairs you with OmNom, the cute and hungry alien just looking for some food. The physics puzzler has kept millions of people entertained at the top of the App Store charts, and was recently ported to Android. Cut the Rope: Experiments normally runs for 99c.

If you’re into cute aliens, physics puzzlers or free stuff, check out Cut the Rope: Experiments on the iTunes App Store.

Source: iTunes
Via: Pocketnow

Rogers Blackberry Curve 9360 update to v7.1.0.391 now available

Ian Hardy — Fri, 25 May 2012 17:58:58 +0000

Rogers has finally updated the BlackBerry Curve 9360 to OS version 7.1.0.391. This brings brings BlackBerry Tags and mobile hotspot features to the entry-level QWERTY. You can go forth and update it via OTA or the desktop manager, but again, make sure you back up the device before doing so.

Grab it here from RIM

Sony confirms Xperia Play will not receive Android 4.0 upgrade

Ian Hardy — Fri, 25 May 2012 16:32:39 +0000

Sony has done a good job at keeping users informed of where and when their upgrade to the latest Android OS will arrive. Yesterday they published a list of various handsets that included the Xperia ray, arc, arc s, pro, mini, mini pro, neo, neo v. However, one major flagship device was missing from the list, the Xperia Play. This once sought after gaming device received an early ICS beta firmware, but today Sony went on record and confirmed that “a consistent and stable experience, particularly with gaming, cannot be guaranteed,” thus they will not be making 4.0 officially available.

In regards to Xperia PLAY, after extensive in house testing with our developer teams and working with our partners, we have concluded that a consistent and stable experience, particularly with gaming, cannot be guaranteed for this smartphone on Ice Cream Sandwich – therefore, we will not make the Android 4.0 upgrade available for Xperia PLAY.

This decision was also verified when we received similar feedback from the developer community; both experienced developers and advanced users, along with game content providers following our ICS beta ROM for unlocked Xperia PLAY smartphones.

Certainly this is not the best news for Play users, considering the device was so heavily promoted. Sony reiterated that their priority is always on creating the best user experience. Perhaps they’ll come out with the Xperia Play 2 soon…

Source: Sony
Via: XperiaBlog

Facebook looking to purchase Opera Software and release its own branded browser?

Daniel Bader — Fri, 25 May 2012 16:01:37 +0000

According to sources at Pocket-lint, Facebook is looking to purchase Norwegian browser makers Opera Software for an undisclosed (but likely sizeable) sum. The appeal is obvious: as Facebook moves to expand its presence not just on its main site, but across the entire internet, Opera would be a relatively easy and powerful gateway to embedding more users into its growing ecosystem.

Not only has Facebook made itself essential and ubiquitous across other services — apps such as Spotify and Deezer require a Facebook login to sign up — but its influence is being felt by old-school news outlets who encourage readers to “like” articles and share on their Timelines. By purchasing Opera, it could integrate Facebook features into the most widely-used mobile browser on the market (Opera Mini), expand its smartphone browser penetration (Opera Mobile) and create a Facebook-branded version of the little-used desktop version. Opera already supports extensions and is considered one of the fastest desktop browsers on the market, though competitors like Chrome and Internet Explorer are far more popular.

Opera recently released versions of its browser for the iPad, iPhone and Android, and it is still very popular on Symbian. There are roughly 200 million people using Opera on a daily basis.

Source: Pocket-lint

Google snatches up core members of webOS framework team

Daniel Bader — Fri, 25 May 2012 14:59:12 +0000

It appears that a few important members of the now-open-source webOS team are moving over to Google from HP. Despite announcing in January that webOS would be open-sourced and bits of pieces of the Enyo framework would be released between then and a final September unveiling, the unnamed members of the team have likely decided greener pastures exist on Google’s shores. Most of the exiting party were responsible for the Enyo application framework, which debuted on the TouchPad and allowed developers to create beautiful apps within HTML5.

While HP released a statement saying this move will not affect the release date of open source webOS — “We’re pleased with the traction Enyo has gained to date and plan to continue its development along with the open source community. The Open webOS project is on schedule and we remain committed to the roadmap announced in January,” — there is no doubt that this is not a good thing for the webOS team.

What Google will do with the engineers is another story. Hopefully they will be integrated into the Android Open Source Project, improving the performance of next-generation versions of the operating system. Matias Duarte, the visionary creator of the design language in Ice Cream Sandwich, moved from Palm to Google before the company was purchased by HP.

Source: The Verge

SecureKey scores a $30 million investment from Rogers, TELUS, Visa and others

Ian Hardy — Fri, 25 May 2012 14:04:01 +0000

Toronto-based SecureKey has secured a $30 million injection of cash from seven investors, including Intel Capital, Visa, MasterCard, Discover, Rogers Venture Partners, Rogers Communications and TELUS. SecureKey provides chip-based identity and payment credentials for online and mobile transactions – perfect to make mobile payments in Canada more secure.

The new money will go towards deploying “innovative online and mobile authentication solutions” in laptops, tablets, and mobile devices that make users “tap/click to pay” and “tap/click to authenticate” capabilities. This process was one of the few that were listed in the official guidelines for mobile payments in Canada.

Greg Wolfond, CEO of SecureKey, stated that “We are thrilled to have attracted a team of world-class strategic investors who believe in our solutions and technology. SecureKey allows consumers and businesses to use real-world payment and identity credentials with their computers and mobile phones to enhance online security and payments in a simple and convenient manner. Our collaboration efforts are an important part of being able to expand into a wide variety of devices, applications, and markets.”

There’s no word on how much Rogers or TELUS invested, but confirms their commitment to make mobile payments come alive in Canada.

Source: SecureKey

Absinthe 2.0 untethered jailbreak now available for iOS 5.1.1

Daniel Bader — Fri, 25 May 2012 13:04:20 +0000

They promised it was coming and it’s here! The first untethered jailbreak for the new iPad, plus any other iOS device running 5.1.1, has been made available under the name Absinthe 2.0. It works very similar to the last one-click app, and is available for Windows, OS X and Linux.

pod2g, the main exploit finder behind Absinthe, suggests backing up your stuff and restoring to a fresh copy of 5.1.1 before you jailbreak, as it will make everything go much faster.

The supported devices are:

- iPhone 3Gs
- iPhone 4
- iPhone 4 CDMA
- iPhone 4S
- iPad 1
- iPad 2 Wifi
- iPad 2 GSM
- iPad 2 CDMA
- iPad 3 Wifi
- iPad 3 CDMA
- iPad 3 Global
- iPod 3G
- iPod 4G
- AppleTV 2

Download Absinthe 2.0 jailbreak and let us know how it works for you!

Source: greenp0ison