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Dec

Angry Birds Update Coming, Bringing In-App Purchases, Ad-Free Version

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Games, News

Rovio has revealed some details on upcoming changes to Angry Birds, and it sounds like the insanely popular game is about to get even better. First and foremost, they'll be implementing an in-app payment system called "Bad Piggy Bank." From the sound of things, it will be quite the elegant system - any purchases will be billed straight to your carrier, rather than to your Google Checkout account or credit card.

Coming with in-app purchases: the ability to buy the Mighty Eagle, which wipes out an entire level. Purchasing the eagle unlocks it permanently, but they'll limit use to just once per 24 hours - presumably to prevent people from beating the game by using the eagle for every level.

Dec

[Updated Again: Rohan Responds] Notion Ink Pre-Order Page & Return Policy Are Arousing Suspicion, Anger

Posted by David Ruddock in Adam, Editorials, News, Notion Ink

Last Updated: December 11th, 2010

Note:

Let me direct you all to our most up-to-date post on this issue:

Our Response To Rohan's Blog Posting

Please leave comments there - this thread is getting a little unwieldy.

Thanks,

David

Update #4: If Notion Ink is planning to unveil Adam at CES, why are they not listed in the CES exhibitors list?

Update #3: Rohan Shravan has posted, in response to many users' concerns, some information on his blog regarding many of Notion Ink's policies, shipping costs, and warranty.

Rohan has also stated that on December 18th, a video demonstration of the Adam will be posted for all to see.

Dec

Viewsonic G Tablet Running Tegra 2 Benchmarked Against Competition, Comes Out Looking Good

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in gTablet (SMB-A1002), News, Viewsonic

Although we already knew it had some serious potential, AnandTech has pitted the Viewsonic G (running nVidia's hot Tegra 2 dual-core mobile CPU) against a bevy of other mobile CPUs. The competition: three devices utilizing the Snapdragon (Nexus One, G2, and EVO), the Hummingbird found in the Galaxy Tab, the TI OMAP found in the Droid 2, and the Apple A4 from the iPhone 4. The results: the Viewsonic G tablet and its Tegra 2 CPU pulled heavy wins in 4 out of the 6 tests.

The CPU benchmark results were quite impressive, with results ranging from 30-100% better than the competition in all but Linpack, where the tablet hit 37.324 MFLOPS versus the 38.122 of the Nexus One.

Dec

Google Starting Near Field Communication (NFC) Push In Portland, Oregon

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Gingerbread 2.3, News, Nexus S (Crespo/Soju)

Wondering how and when that newfangled Near Field Communication (NFC) techology in the Nexus S will be put to good use? Thanks to a new post on the Google Mobile Blog, we now know where the Goog is starting off: businesses. Specifically, they're looking to help businesses use the nifty tech to share some info about themselves to curious people passing by.

How does it work? Google is sending out kits, complete with window decals, to businesses around Portland. The businesses can set up the kit, set up an info page on Google Places, and slap the decal on the window; if somebody is walking by and is curious about a business, the idea is that they can just briefly hold their phone up to the decal and additional information about the establishment will be pulled up on the phone.

Dec

Notion Ink Adam Now Available To Pre-Order For The Rest Of Us

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Adam, News, Notion Ink

While loyal commenters on the Notion Ink blog got the chance to pre-order this morning, the rest of us have been deprived of the privilege until now. Well, you can stop holding your breath now, for the Indian company has just let the rest of the world in on its pre-order page for the 10-inch tablet. The prices have remained the same, but let's recap them anyways:

LCD Wi-Fi version: $375.33 (down from $399.99)
LCD Wi-Fi+3G version: $425.33 (down from $449.99)
Pixel Qi (transflective display) WiFi version: $499.45
Pixel Qi (transflective display) WiFi +3G version: $549.99

Unfortunately, all four models are said to be shipping in "6 to 8 weeks," and the fact that the shipping fee is a flat rate of $50, no matter where you ship it to, is starting to make us suspicious.

Dec

Gingerbread SDK Closes A TapJacking Vulnerability

Posted by Stephen Tenerowicz in Development, Gingerbread 2.3, News

With Android 2.3, users will have not only a slew of new features (I can't wait!), but also a fix to a security issue present in the previous versions of Android: TapJacking. TapJacking occurs when a malicious application displays a fake user interface that you can interact with, but actually secretly passes interaction events, such as finger taps, to a hidden user interface behind it. Using this technique, a devious developer could potentially trick a user into making purchases, clicking on ads, installing applications, or even wiping all of the data from the phone. All around, TapJacking is not good!

In previous versions of Android, an attacker was able to display the fake user interface by creating a customized notification (called a Toast) to obscure the real interface.

Dec

OneMoreFace Bringing Video-Calling To The Nexus One, In Concept Form At Least

Posted by Brian O'Toole in Development, News, Nexus One (Passion)

In the world of design mock-ups, where phones are seen with operating systems as-yet unavailable to them, the Nexus One can make video calls. Nope, this isn't an internal hardware hack like we saw on the Vibrant; it's a simple attachment in the form of an array of prisms and mirrors called OneMoreFace. We've already seen a few examples of this idea implemented for the older (pre-iPhone 4) iPhones, but this is probably the slickest design so far.

Right now it exists only in concept form, but the designer promises to add more info soon regarding availability for purchase. The piece looks small and sturdy enough to keep in your bag for whenever you feel an overwhelming urge to broadcast your mug to all and sundry.

Dec

Misunderstanding Over, LG Optimus One Line To Receive Gingerbread

Posted by Nate Kimmey in Gingerbread 2.3, LG, News

LG definitely struck a nerve In the Android community when they said that their LG Optimus One series would not be updated to Android 2.3 due to not meeting the hardware requirements, when it has already been stated that all phones running Froyo (such as the Optimus One) were capable of running Gingerbread. Well, LG have not only retracted that statement and offered an apology, they've delivered a great piece of news: every phone in the Optimus One line will get updated to Gingerbread!

LG will upgrade all Optimus One smartphones currently using the Froyo OS to the next version of the Android OS, Gingerbread.

Dec

Gmail App Gets Big Update: Quick Folder Switching, Priority Inbox, And A Lot More

Posted by David Ruddock in Applications, News

Update: This Gmail client update is only for devices with Android 2.2 or higher.

Gmail for Android received a substantial update from Google this afternoon - and the AndroidPolice team has agreed: some of the improvements are long overdue, while some of them are just plain cool.

The change blurb that you'll find on the Market page lists some of the biggies, but a major one (for us, at least) has been excluded: quick folder switching. In the top left corner of whichever folder you were in, there was a simple label indicating the name of the folder. This is now a button, similar to the account button at the top right.

Dec

Sprint Taken To Court Over $10 Monthly "Premium Data" Fee

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in News, Sprint

Looks like Sprint's $10 per month "premium data" fee (I like to call it the "4G tax") is coming back to bite them - a class action lawsuit was recently filed against the carrier.

Customers of the HTC EVO 4G as well as the Samsung Epic 4G may be "interested to know" that they can call the law offices of Scott A. Bursor at 646-504-7781 to confirm that they have indeed been charged the $10/month fee. His plaintiffs' argument is that Sprint's customers are already promised unlimited data within the $69.99 "Simply Everything" package.

Thing is, while the plaintiffs certainly do have the right to sue, I have my doubts about this here lawsuit making it anywhere.