Hasta La Gadget!

In a press release on October 2, HTC stated that the HTC One X and HTC One S would begin receiving a Jelly Bean update sometime this month. It seems the process has begun for the HTC One X, with users in Taiwan and Singapore reporting on the XDA Developers forum that they have successfully updated to Android 4.1.1 with HTC Sense 4+. According to one user, as well as the screenshot below, it’s version 3.14.709.16, and is 353.87MB in size.

Jelly Bean brings users a faster and more fluid user interface, with snappier orientation changes and responses when toggling between apps. The system offers more consistent rendering, and reactive touch responses that help conserve battery life. Other features include the ability to designate certain WiFI SSIDs as mobile hotspots, more accurate Face Unlock, and the ability to swipe from the camera viewfinder to review photos.

As far as the HTC One X, it brings with it a light weight of 130g and a 4.7-inch 1280×720 display. There’s a 1.3-megapixel front camera for video conferencing, and an 8-megapixel rear camera with autofocus, an LED flash, and support for recording videos in up to 1080p HD. Inside you’ll find an NVIDIA 1.5GHz quad-core Tegra 3 chipset, 1GB of RAM, and 32GB of storage space.

HTC Sense 4+ is HTC’s custom overlay, and includes one-touch access to the camera, bypassing the lock screen, as well as two new gallery views, Tap and Go, and Self Portrait mode, which detects faces and applies minor enhancements to the subject’s eyes and skin. There’s no word on when the HTC One S will see some Jelly Bean action, but assuming HTC stays in its October timeline, it is reasonable to assume that users will see the update pop up in the next couple days. You can check out our review of the HTC One S here.

[via Gotta Be Mobile]

HTC One X Jelly Bean update starts in Taiwan and Singapore is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

The Sony Reader Store has announced the Sony Readers Book Club, a virtual book club for those who prefer to give their literary analysis online rather than in the coffee shop. Once a month, the Sony Reader Store will select one lucky book for the new club. Users can engage with each other via a monthly hosted meeting, which will include an interview with the book’s author.

The author Q&A will take place on the Sony Reader Facebook and Twitter accounts, where users can also interact with each other and discuss the book of the month. The Reader Book Club will bring with it special offers, discounts, and downloads (for U.S. customers). The Reader Store supports Sony’s Reader device, as well as Android, PC, and Mac.

In addition, customers can participate in a drawing on the Sony Electronics Blog for one of 25 VIP membership slots in the Reader Book Club. The selected 25 VIPs will get a free Sony Reader with cover and the first four book-of-the-month ebooks. Later on in February, the 25 VIP members can then attend an in-person book club in LA with author Michael Connelly (all expenses paid).

Said Natascha Helbig, Director of Sony Reader Store, “We’re excited that together with Hachette Book Group and HarperCollins Publishers we are able to bring these esteemed authors to our readership. The Sony Readers Book Club will not only offer book lovers unique access to a diverse set of some of our most popular authors but also a community where they can share their passion for books with other avid readers.” The first four book-of-the-month picks are Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor (November), Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver (December/January), The Black Box by Michael Connelly (February), and When it Happens To You by Molly Ringwald (March).

[via Sony]

Sony Reader Store announces Readers Book Club is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

The U.S. government has launched a preliminary safety investigation against the Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable due to reports of sticking throttles. Thus far, there have been no reports of crashes due to the issue. Fifty reports, however, have surfaced from drivers who say their 2000 through 2003 Taurus and Sable models have experienced stuck throttles.

The probe is being carried out by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which posted a document of driver complaints regarding the issue on its website. Specifically, the investigation is looking into the issue of “a cruise-control cable collar [that] can fracture at a mounting bracket and cause the throttles to stick open.” A recall would affect approximately 310,000 vehicles.

Ford spokesperson Marcy Zwiebel said, “Ford is aware of NHTSA’s preliminary investigation on 2000 to 2003 Taurus and Sable models and will cooperate fully with the investigation as we conduct our analysis. We have just begun our analysis and we have very limited information at this time. Until we are able to gather more information and complete our own investigation, we cannot speculate as to what actually occurred during the reported incidents.”

This comes after the NHTSA’s investigation back in March regarding sticky throttles in 2001 through 2006 Taurus and Sable models. That issue was closed by the government agency without a recall and was replaced by this new preliminary probe. The last investigation concerned a different cruise control element.

[via The Droid Guy]

Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable under investigation due to sticky throttles is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

The new MIO Active Connect Fitness Weigh Loss Watch is designed to accurately measure and records heart rate and motion (steps, speed,distance). This wearable gadget provides a complete record of the calories you burn all day, not just during exercise. You can also plug it into your PC to upload your personal stats or sync with Facebook, Twitter or MyFitnessPal. The MIO Active Connect Fitness Weigh Loss Watch retails for $129.99 each. [Product Page]

On October 10, the Secret Service notified South Carolina state officials that an international hacker had gained access to approximately 3.6 million state tax returns, as well as 387,000 credit and debit card numbers. The breach happened when the hacker infiltrated the South Carolina Department of Revenue’s computer system, where state returns from 1998 to present resided containing unencrypted social security numbers and 16,000 unencrypted credit and debit card numbers. According to the Secret Service, it’s possible the hacker got into the system as early as the end of August.

Said South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, “In the past two weeks, state and federal law enforcement along with the Department of Revenue have come together and done everything they need to make sure those [security] holes have been plugged and we no longer have any holes we are aware of at this point.” The security breach was “completely closed” by October 20. State officials stated that it did not appear much damage had occurred between the discovery on October 10 and the repaired system ten days later.

The hacker failed to access all of the tax information on the system. State officials revealed that the hacks originated from an international IP address, but did not specify the country. In addition to the involvement of the fed, Mandiant, a private information security company, has been brought in to investigate the matter.

When questioned about why residents weren’t notified of the security breach earlier, Gov. Haley responded with, “This is the difference between finding the person and how they did it. We need to find the person.” Anyone who has filed taxes in South Carolina from 1998 to present, whether via paper or online, has been asked to call 1-866-578-5422.

[via Myrtle Beach Online]

Hacker accesses 3.6 million South Carolina tax returns is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.