Hasta La Gadget!

Android 4.1 Jelly Bean devices will not get official Flash support, Adobe has confirmed, with the company pulling Flash from the Google Play store altogether after August 15. The decision, which follows Adobe’s move to adopt HTML5 for mobile platforms rather than Flash last year, also means that updates to Flash Mobile on Android devices will become more sporadic.

“Beginning August 15th we will use the configuration settings in the Google Play Store to limit continued access to Flash Player updates to only those devices that have Flash Player already installed” Adobe said in a statement. As for handsets like the Galaxy Nexus, which currently support Flash on Ice Cream Sandwich but which are expected to get a Jelly Bean upgrade in mid-July, Adobe warns that the change in OS might prompt instabilities.

“If a device is upgraded from Android 4.0 to Android 4.1, the current version of Flash Player may exhibit unpredictable behavior, as it is not certified for use with Android 4.1.  Future updates to Flash Player will not work” Adobe says. “We recommend uninstalling Flash Player on devices which have been upgraded to Android 4.1.”

Having long argued with mobile device manufacturers – particularly Apple – that Flash was relevant for smartphone and tablet users, Adobe conceded defeat in November last year. ““Our future work with Flash on mobile devices will be focused on enabling Flash developers to package native apps with Adobe AIR for all the major app stores” the company announced. “We will no longer adapt Flash Player for mobile devices to new browser, OS version or device configurations.”

Ice Cream Sandwich was the last Android OS version to receive a certified Flash Player installation, and as devices gradually migrate to Jelly Bean the framework will shrink in relevance.

Adobe: No Jelly Bean Flash, Flash Player pulled altogether August 15 is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

It turns out Foursquare’s massive 5.0 revamp was just the start of the changes, as the location sharing app unveiled a new twist with the launch its Connected Apps platform. Available as a developer preview, it lets the makers of apps like Untappd, Instagram or The Weather Channel connect directly with the Foursquare app. Many apps were already connected via the API, and once users upgrade to the latest version on Android or iOS their checkins pull information from those apps into Foursquare itself. That means they get things like the weather forecast on their first check in of the day from The Weather Channel, see what songs their friends have shared at a particular location via Soundtracking or beer recommendations from Untappd. Developers can get all the info on how it works at the overview, the rest of us can see the list of enabled apps on the official blog post.

Foursquare Connected App platform lets other apps interact with check ins originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Jun 2012 04:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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RIM‘s Q1 2013 results are out, and it’s dire reading for the BlackBerry maker: a net loss of $518m for the three month period, and the confession that BlackBerry 10 will miss its launch window. Instead, the first device running the new platform is now only expected in the first calendar quarter of 2013, rather than Q4 2012 as previously promised, though that will shrink the period between the initial all-touch handset arriving and a QWERTY device due to drop shortly after. Between then and now, though, there’ll be even more job losses.

Expectations for the financial performance of the beleaguered Canadian company had already been low, but RIM managed to underperform even pessimistic estimates. Revenue was down, compared to the prior quarter, by a third, with RIM pulling in $2.8bn in the quarter. Shipments of BlackBerry phones reached 7.8m, while RIM only shifted 260,000 PlayBook tablets.

“Our first quarter results reflect the market challenges I have outlined since my appointment as CEO at the end of January. I am not satisfied with these results and continue to work aggressively with all areas of the organization and the Board to implement meaningful changes to address the challenges, including a thoughtful realignment of resources and honing focus within the Company on areas that have the greatest opportunities,” RIM president and CEO Thorsten Heins said of the news. “Our top priority going forward is the successful launch of our first BlackBerry 10 device, which we now anticipate will occur in the first quarter of calendar 2013.”

Of RIM’s finances, 59-percent came from hardware sales, 36-percent from service, and 5-percent from software and other revenues. Year-on-year, though, RIM saw a drop of 43-percent in revenues, from $4.9bn in fiscal Q1 2012.

The company will now shed even more employees so as to attempt to claw back profitability. Approximately 5,000 jobs are expected to go, as RIM targets $1bn in cost savings.

As for BlackBerry 10, RIM blames underestimating the extent of the challenge preparing the new OS for its delay. “Over the past several weeks, RIM’s software development teams have made major progress in the development of key features for the BlackBerry 10 platform” the company said in a statement. “However, the integration of these features and the associated large volume of code into the platform has proven to be more time consuming than anticipated. As a result, the Company now expects to launch the first BlackBerry 10 smartphones in market in Q1 of calendar 2013.”

RIM reports dire Q1 2013: $518m loss and BlackBerry 10 delayed is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

If you wake up to find the Splashtop Streamer widget on your PC or Mac begging to be updated, then it’s probably worth it — especially if you have a new iPad lying around. Splashtop 2 has been optimized to work with the Retina display, which makes it a cinch to squeeze your entire Windows or OS X desktop onto the 10-inch screen without it looking terrible. The system has also been redesigned to avoid the need to enter IP addresses, passwords, port numbers or Google account details. Instead, you’ll create a new Splashtop 2 login that should work once across all your devices. The UI seems a lot friendlier, there’s a new in-app purchase to “supercharge” network performance (edit: also required for connections outside of the same WiFi network if you’re a new customer, see below), plus there’s improved support for fluid video streaming at up to 30fps. (Alas, there’s still no fullscreen support for Windows Media Center users though.) The new streamer and iPad app are available now, while the Android update should arrive soon. Want to see it in action? Head past the break for the promo video.

Update: We didn’t fully appreciate this at first, but cross-network remote desktopping is no longer free to new customers. If you’re coming to Splashtop for the first time, you have to make the in-app purchase ($1 per month or $10 per year) to enable “Anywhere Access.” That said, the Splashtop 2 app for iPad is currently selling for $2 — an 80 percent discount which largely compensates for the first year of charges.

Continue reading Splashtop for iPad gets major update: Retina support, easier remote desktopping (update: but at a price)

Splashtop for iPad gets major update: Retina support, easier remote desktopping (update: but at a price) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Jun 2012 03:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’re adding another Google Chrome-related story before you go to bed tonight. But this one’s unfortunately negative. If your MacBook has been crashing lately, Gizmodo thinks that Google’s Chrome browser is to blame. Apparently the publication has been pointing out the freezing and crashing issues on MacBook Air models used by their staff. When they switched to Apple’s very own Safari browser, strangely, the issues were nowhere to be found. (more…)

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Google Chrome for iOS is now the most downloaded free app in the App Store, Google introduces Chrome browser for the iPhone and iPad,