Android OS

Feb

LG Spectrum Gets Root Access Thanks To Dan Rosenberg

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Android OS, Mods, News, Spectrum

Dan Rosenberg, a security researcher and rooting mastermind, has done it again, this time making quick work of the LG Spectrum. In a post to his blog just moments ago, Rosenberg simply states "Yawn. LG loses, users win," and gives instructions on downloading the scripts he provides for Windows, Linux, and OSX.

Considering all that Rosenberg has done (and continues to do) for the community, I'd highly recommend supporting him by hitting the donate button below. Having already taken that possibility into consideration, Rosenberg has the following to say on the subject of supporting his efforts with money:

I encourage anyone thinking of donating in thanks to direct your donation to the American Red Cross or another reputable charitable organization.

Feb

The CyanogenMod Team Needs New Servers - Here's How You Can Help [Update: The Goal Has Been Met]

Posted by Nate Kimmey in Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, Mods, News

With over a million unique users, there's a good chance that some of you are running CyanogenMod right now. And if you've been running experimental nightly builds, you may have noticed that they've been getting updated more and more sporadically. According to a post at the CyanogenMod blog today, the problem will only get worse as CM9 and CM7.2 get closer to an official release.

The post explains that in order to get nightly builds released more frequently, the CyanogenMod team needs to purchase new servers, which aren't cheap. That's why they are asking the community for support. You can donate through PayPal at the bottom of the page here, and follow the CyanogenMod blog for further updates.

Feb

In-Depth Analysis: Android's Notification Bar Patent (And How Apple May Or May Not Infringe It)

Posted by David Ruddock in Android OS, Editorials, Legal, News

There has been a lot of interest of late in a patent filed (by Google) back in 2009 for what is obviously a rendition of Android's notification bar system. There are a number of pretty (well, as pretty as black and white gets) figures in the patent showing the notification bar we all know and love, and lots of language about notification systems and the like.

As many of the Android-faithful know, Apple recently implemented as part of iOS 5 the "Notification Center," and it looks an awful lot like Android's in some respects. This immediately drew criticism from the Android community, with many claiming that Apple had essentially "ripped off" Google's implementation, and has been a sore subject ever since.

Feb

Sony Wraps Up Sony Ericsson Buyout, Launches Sony Mobile Communications

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Android OS, News, Sony Ericsson

Sony completed its $1.47 billion acquisition of Sony Ericsson today, launching an aptly-named venture, Sony Mobile Communications. The Japanese conglomerate stated the official goal of Sony Mobile Communications in a statement announcing the transaction back in October:

The transaction gives Sony an opportunity to rapidly integrate smartphones into its broad array of network-connected consumer electronics devices - including tablets, televisions and personal computers - for the benefit of consumers and the growth of its business. The transaction also provides Sony with a broad intellectual property (IP) cross-licensing agreement covering all products and services of Sony as well as ownership of five essential patent families relating to wireless handset technology.

Feb

HTC Staying The Distance, Opens Bootloader Unlock To Hero, Legend, Droid Eris, myTouch 3G and 4G

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Android OS, Dev, HTC, News

HTC has added added a handful of devices to the list of those supported by the Taiwanese manufacturer's bootloader unlock tool. The newly-added devices include the Hero, Legend, both the myTouch 3G and 4G, and the aged Droid Eris. The announcement came via Twitter earlier today:

Some of the newly added unlock bootloader supported devices are the HTC Hero, Legend, Droid Eris, myTouch 3G, and myTouch 4G!
— HTCdev (@htcdev) February 15, 2012

As always, HTC warns that unlocking a bootloader is not for the faint of heart, and may preclude users from warranty coverage. If you've been waiting to unlock your bootloader, head over to HTC's bootloader unlock page.

Feb

Double Fine Adventure's Next "Classic Point-And-Click Adventure" Game Is Headed For Android

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Android OS, Games, News

You may remember that a few days ago, Double Fine Adventure (the studio behind Psychonauts and Day of the Tentacle) did the impossible, far exceeding their project's $400,000 goal on Kickstarter in just over eight hours (the project has raised over $1 Million with 26 days to go). Initially, Double Fine planned to invest extra proceeds in developing the studio's latest game for other platforms, with iOS and Mac being priorities.

Tim Schafer, Double Fine's founder and an industry veteran, posted an update to the Kickstarter page today, announcing that the game will have support not only for Android, but for Windows, Mac, Linux, and iOS.

Feb

Motorola Atrix OTA Update Available, Brings Build Number Up To 4.5.141, Offers Security, Stability, Other Enhancements

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Android OS, Atrix 4G (Olympus), News

Motorola Atrix users should be expecting an OTA update this evening (or at least sometime soon), according to Motorola's Global Portal (corroborated by reports from Atrixforums.com). The update evidently includes a handful of improvements, from the "latest Google Android security fixes," to stability improvements, as well as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Messaging, and Contacts enhancements. Here's the full list of highlights from Motorola's site:

For those who are curious, this update will break root access. If your device hasn't received the OTA just yet, you can hit Settings > About Phone > System Updates, then download, install, and enjoy!

Via Atrixforums.com

Feb

[Updated] Leak: Official Sprint Nexus S 4G Ice Cream Sandwich Update Could Start Rolling Out Tomorrow, February 16th

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, News, Nexus S 4G (Crespo4g), Rumors, Sprint

Last Updated: February 17th, 2012

At the end of January, a leaked Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0.4 build IMM26 for the Sprint Nexus S 4G ended up online, indicating that a possible official release wasn't too far off. We heard this leak caused quite a bit of commotion within the companies involved, which may have had something to do with the XDA post getting wiped clean shortly after (although the poster did state he would only keep it going for a few days).

Two weeks passed without any news, but the situation changed just a few minutes ago when we received a screenshot of one of Sprint's internal systems which clearly shows that this highly desired upgrade should finally be available February 16th.

Feb

ASUS Singapore Indicates Delay For Ice Cream Sandwich Update On The Transformer, Again - Now Pushed Back To As Late As March

Posted by David Ruddock in ASUS, Eee Pad Transformer, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, News

ASUS Transformer owners will be forced to wait even longer for a promised update to Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0), the company revealed on its Singapore Facebook page late last night. Here's the statement:

ASUS Singapore
Dear fellow Asus members, we would like to say that we appreciate all the support we see in our Asus Facebook page every day. It makes our contributions worthwhile and fulfilling.
We are informed that the ICS upgrade for TF101 will be ready within the Feb/March 2012 period. You will be able to receive the upgrade notification via FOTA once we have a confirmation date.

Feb

[Updated: Prepaid Cards Are Back] Google Puts Prepaid Card Provisioning On Pause Following Wallet Security Scare

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Android OS, Applications, News

Following the discovery of two security exploits within Google Wallet, the Vice President of Google Wallet and Payments, Osama Bedier, released a statement reassuring readers that Google takes "concrete actions" to protect its users. The statement further indicated that, in response to Wallet's security scare, Google has put prepaid card provisioning on hold, at least until a permanent fix is issued (which should happen "soon").

Update 2/14/12: Prepaid card provisioning has been restored:

Yesterday afternoon, we restored the ability to issue new prepaid cards to the Wallet. In addition, we issued a fix that prevents an existing prepaid card from being re-provisioned to another user.