Hasta La Gadget!

Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it’s easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don’t escape without notice, we’ve gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!

Continue reading Refresh Roundup: week of June 25th, 2012

Refresh Roundup: week of June 25th, 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 01 Jul 2012 21:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Not all mobile news is destined for the front page, but if you’re like us and really want to know what’s going on, then you’ve come to the right place. This past week, Samsung introduced its first Windows Phone for China and both HTC and Samsung each chimed in about Android 4.1 — the sweet treat better known as Jelly Bean. These stories and more await after the break. So buy the ticket and take the ride as we explore the “best of the rest” for this week of June 25th, 2012.

Continue reading Mobile Miscellany: week of June 25th, 2012

Mobile Miscellany: week of June 25th, 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 30 Jun 2012 21:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It hasn’t been Samsung’s best week. Just days after Judge Lucy Koh granted a preliminary ban on sales of the Galaxy Tab 10.1, she’s following it up with a similar granted request on the Galaxy Nexus. Judge Koh had already signaled that she thought Apple’s lawsuit over four patents might have merit, but it’s only now that she’s deciding the potential damage is worth halting sales of the phone until there’s a final trial verdict. Samsung will no doubt try to appeal the dispute, which centers on Android 4.0’s slide-to-unlock mechanism (among other elements), but there’s a lot more urgency here than with the outgoing Tab 10.1: the Galaxy Nexus is still a current-generation device, and just became Google’s Android 4.1 phone flagship. Samsung’s odds aren’t great given that Apple has already used one of the patents to give HTC grief with its imports.

Update: As patent lawsuit guru Florian Mueller found, the clincher for the ban was the patent on unified search that’s linked to Siri. Although Judge Koh is inclined to believe Apple’s view regarding all four patents, that search patent is the one whose violation would reportedly merit more than a slap on the wrist. She’s similarly convinced that Apple’s patents are legitimate and likely won’t be dismissed anytime soon.

Apple lands preliminary ban against Samsung Galaxy Nexus in the US (update: search patent the key) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Jun 2012 18:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HTC had broadcast its intentions to bring the One V to the US this summer, and that’s exactly what it’s doing, even if it’s keeping the formalities to a minimum. Virgin Mobile has started selling the entry Android 4.0 phone without fanfare at a very tempting $200 contract-free — certainly the lowest American price we’ve seen so far for joining the Sense 4.0 party. The hardware still won’t floor anyone, but Virgin Mobile Live is tossed in to perk up the experience. Should Google’s platform just not be your bag, you’ll also be glad to know that Virgin has recently started taking online orders for its prepaid iPhones, which officially hit the shops on Friday. With their $550 and $650 no-contract prices, though, some may question just how Retina their displays really need to be.

[Thanks, Marcus]

HTC One V quietly pops up at Virgin Mobile USA for $200, iPhone tags along for online orders originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Jun 2012 11:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google’s next iteration of Android wasn’t quite the full-point release jump that many of you were perhaps anticipating. Rather than using Google I/O 2012 as the launching pad for Android 5.0, we’re being formally introduced to v4.1 — a mere 0.1 ahead of where Ice Cream Sandwich placed us around six months ago. Aside from grabbing a name change, the minor numerical bump also provides Jelly Bean the opportunity to usher in a few new features for Nexus owners to enjoy.

If you missed yesterday’s keynote, Google revealed that Android 4.1 would arrive on Nexus devices in “mid-July,” but there’s no clear word on when partner companies will begin pushing it to their products. Moreover, pundits are quick to point out the legions of Android products that still haven’t made the leap to 4.0, leaving us to wonder if those Froyo and Gingerbread laggards will simply take the fast track to 4.1 now that it’s (almost) available. Care to see if the latest and greatest will live up to your expectations once it lands in a few weeks? Head on past the break as we discuss some of the larger changes that Jelly Bean has to offer.

Continue reading Android 4.1 Jelly Bean review: a look at what’s changed in Google’s mobile OS

Android 4.1 Jelly Bean review: a look at what’s changed in Google’s mobile OS originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Jun 2012 10:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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