Hasta La Gadget!

So, the big mobile operating system news yesterday did not have anything at all to do with a certain fruit, but it is no less sweet to one’s ears. I am talking about Google’s Android 4.1 Jelly Bean which was introduced to the masses at Google I/O Conference. Well, it seems that there is an Easter Egg hidden within Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, which is similar in the nature of access as with previous versions of Android.

Tapping repeatedly on the version number under Android’s “Settings” menu would see a game that nudges your finger to flick a jelly bean candy around a location which lacks one important physics law – gravity, and this is a perpetual situation. Just watch the video above to get a better idea on what I am talking about. After all, a picture speaks a thousand words – so imagine what a video would do with volumes and volumes of words. Which of the previous Android Easter Eggs are your favorite?

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Galaxy Nexus Android 4.1 Jelly Bean ROM leaked, Jelly Bean statue gets installed at Googleplex Lawn,

Less than 24 hours after Google wowed the world with the announcement of their Android 4.1 Jelly Bean operating system update, here we are with a leaked version of the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean ROM for the Galaxy Nexus already making its rounds online. This leaked ROM is meant for ‘takju’, which actually is the GSM-enabled version of the Galaxy Nexus that comes with Google Wallet compatibility, but it has been tested to run just fine ‘yakju’, the standard issue device which is also from the GSM Galaxy Nexus stable – and both devices will run the leaked ROM without any known issues.

If you happen to own either one of the two GSM Galaxy Nexus mentioned, then you might want to give this leaked ROM a go. Of course, if you are not too sure of what you are doing, then steer clear of it and wait for an official update release. That is normally the best way of doing things for those who always tread on the safe side.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Android 4.1 Jelly Bean Easter Egg found, Jelly Bean statue gets installed at Googleplex Lawn,

When it comes to solid state drives, there are some names that you can just trust outright, and I believe that ADATA is one of them. They have certainly come up with their fair share of winners in the past, and this time around, with the ADATA XPG SX910, the company has raised the bar when it comes to reliability in the realm of solid state drives. What makes the ADATA XPG SX910 so special? For starters, it has a 7% capacity increase over common SSDs which rely on a SandForce controller, making sure you have a combination of performance and capacity without missing a beat, backed by a five-year warranty to boot. (more…)

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: A-Data Nobility N004 Dual Interface SSD flows with new trend, Ghost Recon: Future Soldier Bundled with the Samsung 830 SSD,

The must-have smartphone accessory of tomorrow might just be an unbreakable touchscreen epaper tablet, saving your eyes from squinting at a mobile display. Plastic Logic revealed its work-in-progress slate to us today, as SlashGear browsed the goodies in the company’s UK R&D center, confirming that talks with several manufacturers and carriers are ongoing to bring the companion device to market. Potentially bundled with your next smartphone could be a 10.7-inch super-light touchscreen pane for easier viewing of webpages, documents and more.

The concept behind the idea is straightforward: smartphones are incredibly capable, powerful devices, but in being portable they also demand a huge compromise on screen size. Even the Galaxy Note, with its 5.3-inch display, is considerably smaller than the average tablet, and that can make reading news, ebooks, presentations and other content frustratingly uncomfortable.

Plastic Logic’s idea is an ultra-thin companion device using one of its plastic-transistor based displays, paired with a wireless technology such as WiFi or Bluetooth, a battery, touchscreen, and a smartphone app – currently a hastily-cobbled-together Android app – that exchanges data between the two devices. With that app, users could squirt over emailed documents or webpages to the epaper, paging through using the onscreen controls. Alternatively, you can do the same thing with photos taken with the phone, which could be useful for those with partial-sight wanting to enlarge pages.

Although Plastic Logic bills its displays as flexible, in this context the company says its potential carrier partners are more focused on a rugged device: something that can be dropped into a bag or briefcase without concerns that the screen might crack. Rather than the Heath Robinson prototype, the final design is envisaged as a slim frame with a carry-handle on the top that would contain the electronics, battery and other components.

Battery life could be a real advantage over existing tablets. Since the Plastic Logic display only uses power when it changes the on-screen image, it’s far more frugal than a traditional LCD or OLED. That could mean 2-4 weeks use on a single charge, potentially, though final runtimes haven’t been confirmed.

In practice, use is a simple affair. The rudimentary app allows you to pick a file and share it to the display – in this prototype’s case, using a WiFi connection – and, after a couple of seconds, it blinks into life. Photos are shown full-screen and, while it’s currently monochrome and obviously lower resolution than a new iPad, it’s still easier to look at than a compact phone screen. As for multi-page documents, like PDFs, they can be paged through with a few stabs at the on-screen buttons, though there’s the usual blink-refresh we’re familiar with from other e-paper products. That should change if Plastic Logic uses one of its video-capable panels, which has a higher refresh rate.

The deciding factor is likely to be price: Plastic Logic and its partners would need to bring this in significantly lower than regular tablets, which could be a challenge given the $199 Nexus 7 announced yesterday. The company wouldn’t give us an estimate – it depends on who supplies the rest of the components and builds the slate, as well as how carriers decide to market it – but the idea of it being supplied as a freebie with a new phone was vaunted.

Plastic Logic flexible smartphone epaper companion hands-on is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
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Venture Beat is reporting that there’s an extra Google+ feature that wasn’t announced at yesterday’s I/O, which sucks content from other sites for you. Sounds like it might be only way you’ll ever post anything to your profile. More »