Unofficial Swype port makes its way to iOS, slides in via Jailbreak radar

Swype Did you finally use JailbreakMe to free your iPhone? Well, if you’re also sick of pecking at its virtual keyboard, then Andrew Liu’s new Swype iOS port may pique your interest. Although the app’s still in the earliest of stages — version 0.1.0, to be exact — we can confirm it works, but it did take us two downloads via a repo with Cydia and functionality proved limited. We were able to swipe words in pre-loaded apps like Messaging, Mail and Search, but had no luck with Safari or others we’ve downloaded. Furthermore, Swype’s all-important blue trace-line is absent, and our words didn’t always come out as expected. Liu stated on Twitter that the current release is still a beta and that he’ll be sprucing it up soon; in the meantime, let us know how your swipe-typing goes in the comments if you choose to install it.

Update: Looks like the newest beta includes the aforesaid blue line, and accuracy is said to be improved by some degree.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Unofficial Swype port makes its way to iOS, slides in via Jailbreak radar originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 08 Jul 2011 17:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Verizon: unlimited 3G customers can upgrade to 4G, keep data pack and grab $30 tethering

Good Great news for those who managed to snag one of Verizon Wireless’ unlimited data plans before they took off into the night earlier this week: if you’re rocking a 3G smartphone, you can eventually upgrade to an LTE handset, keep the unlimited plan, and have access to a $30 / month 4G tethering plan. That’s according to VZW’s official Support account on Twitter, and it’s decidedly lovely news for those who were concerned that they’d be locked into EV-DO forever. So, anyone had any luck taking Big Red up on its offer?

Verizon: unlimited 3G customers can upgrade to 4G, keep data pack and grab $30 tethering originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 08 Jul 2011 16:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BlackBerry PlayBook gets arrested, finds itself toggling light bars in a police car (video)

Look, there’s no question that Canada looks out for its own, but if you reckoned that it also let everything slide… well, think again. One D&R Electronics has apparently thrown a BlackBerry PlayBook into a Canadian Dodge Charger, signified by a red maple leaf and the oh-so-distinct use of the word “ayeouuut.” Put simply, the 7-inch slate has been coded up to flip on the overhead / side lights, search police databases for names and faces, accept commands wirelessly from an in-car keyboard, and even be fully detachable for those times with mobility is of the utmost importance. You know, like playing Angry Birds while waiting in line to cross the border. Head on past the break to have a look, won’t you?

[Thanks, Dan]

Continue reading BlackBerry PlayBook gets arrested, finds itself toggling light bars in a police car (video)

BlackBerry PlayBook gets arrested, finds itself toggling light bars in a police car (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 08 Jul 2011 16:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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How America’s First Reusable Space Shuttle Got Off the Ground

With the launch of STS-135 today, the US Space Shuttle program will end with a whimper. To celebrate the shuttles’ service to both our nation and the sciences, the NASA Space Shuttle Manual by David Baker discusses the launch of the very first, Columbia. More »

Here comes the bride, all dressed in–toilet paper?

In an ode to flushable fashion, winners of the 2011 Toilet Paper Wedding Dress Contest weave two-ply magic. Just don’t squeeze the Charmin.

Unlocked Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc now on sale, but do we care?

Six months after its debut, the Sony Ericsson handset comes to the United States. Does it matter any longer to U.S. consumers? More importantly, does Sony Ericsson mind?

Originally posted at Android Atlas

Skateboarders paint with remote-control spray cans

Remote-control spray cans mounted on the bottom of skateboards make for a one-of-a-kind art project by street artist D*Face. His canvas: a Southern California pool.

T-Mobile’s myTouch 4G Slide shows off its camera chops (video)

We’ve known since its recent announcement that T-Mobile’s myTouch 4G Slide will be a mobile photographer’s delight and now we get to see the camera UI in action on video. As a quick reminder, the carrier’s upcoming Gingerbread smartphone is made by HTC and features Sense 3.0, a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, a dual-core 1.2GHz Snapdragon processor, a 3.7-inch WVGA Super LCD display, HSPA+ connectivity on the AWS spectrum, and a trick 8 megapixel shooter. The f2.2 wide-angle lens is combined with a low-light capable sensor and a dual-LED flash, but it’s the camera software that really shines. Like on the Sensation, you’ll find support for 1080p HD video recording, but the myTouch 4G Slide adds multiple scenes, zero shutter lag technology, continuous autofocus, HDR stills capture, plus panorama and burst modes, along with a dedicated two-stage shutter key. While we doubt it will dethrone Nokia’s N8 in term of raw picture quality, we’re looking forward to putting HTC’s latest feature-packed shooter through its paces when the handset debuts this month for $199 on contract.

T-Mobile’s myTouch 4G Slide shows off its camera chops (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 08 Jul 2011 15:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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U.S. anti-streaming bill could be major blow for gamers

  Electronic Consumers Association head Hal Halpin has spoken out on Bill S.978, the so-called “Anti-Streaming Bill” introduced in the U.S. Senate during the current session, saying “it’s very concerning.” Additionally, Minecraft creator Markus “Notch” Persson has chimed in with a developer’s response to the controversy. The problem, Halpin claims, is that the legislation currently […]

Motorola’s Latest Phone Comes as No Friend to Hackers

Motorola’s Droid 3 debuted on Thursday, though phone modification enthusiasts aren’t happy with its locked-down software. (Photo courtesy Motorola)

For phone modification junkies, the Android software platform comes with a host of mod-friendly features. It’s too bad, then, that Motorola’s latest Android phone lacks all of them.

Motorola’s Droid 3 features a locked boot loader, which is a program that loads the operating system software on every smartphone when it’s turned on. The company said it planned to change the policy this year.

The news first came from a Motorola support forums representative.

“As we’ve communicated, we plan to enable the unlockable-relockable boot loader in future software releases, starting in late 2011, where channel and operator partners will allow it,” said a Motorola spokesperson in a statement provided to Wired.com. “Droid 3 is not built on a software version that includes this feature.”

Locking down the boot loader is a big pain for those who want to modify their Android phone operating systems. Essentially, it drastically limits the extent of modification and customization you can accomplish on your phone. If you wanted to install a particularly popular piece of modding software like, say, CyanogenMod — a very popular custom Android build that optimizes a phone’s hardware performance and adds a number of nifty flourishes — with a locked boot loader, you’re out of luck.

In today’s smartphone landscape, handset manufacturers face pressure from wireless carriers like Verizon and AT&T to lock down phone boot loaders. This is done especially to prohibit the potential installation of software used to do things that carriers don’t want you doing, like, say, capture licensed streaming content. There’s also software available that lets you tether your phone to your computer — providing it with an internet connection for free — a feature for which wireless companies normally charge users. Bypassing that charge means cutting into a carrier’s bottom line.

Motorola doesn’t want to deal with the tech support nightmare that widespread phone hacks entail. “If you brick your phone messing with it” — which basically means rendering the device useless, like an electronic “brick,” as it were — “we don’t want to have to fix it under warranty,” a Motorola representative wrote in a message board post.

Because of all this, hacker-unfriendly phones aren’t uncommon. Motorola’s Atrix debuted with a locked boot loader, as have many of the company’s phones since the release of the Droid 2. Motorola’s upcoming Photon 4G smartphone will also be locked down.

Android modification junkies aren’t happy about Motorola’s decisions. In March, one Motorola smartphone owner started an online petition, asking others who don’t agree with the company’s locked boot loader decisions to sign and bring up the issue on Moto’s Facebook page. As of this post’s publishing time, the petition has over 10,000 signatures.

Given the hardware specs on the Droid 3, it’s especially disappointing for hackers to see the phone debut as mod-unfriendly. The Droid 3 has a beefy dual-core 1GHz processor under the hood, which, when used in conjunction with modding software, can be overclocked to faster speeds.

The future isn’t entirely grim for phone hackers. Motorola continually promises a change in locked boot loader policy come late 2011, and other companies like Sony Ericsson have even begun to court the modding community, providing a detailed list of instructions on how to unlock the company’s phones.

It seems as if the predominant feeling is “we’ll believe it when we see it.”

“There’s not a single reason to believe that Motorola has truly changed their views,” wrote an angry Motorola message board user in a post. “We’re not saying you have to unlock all our devices now, but a little sign of good faith would be much appreciated.”