Hasta La Gadget!

Samsung and Mozilla announced today that they’re partnering up to build a “next generation” and an “advanced technology” web browser engine, which they’re calling Servo. Mozilla said in a blog post announcing the news that the two companies will build a new engine from the ground up, but “rethinking old assumptions along the way.”

Essentially, Mozilla and Samsung want to bring this new web browser engine to Android devices running ARM, and in order to make a secure, yet fully open experience, Servo is written in Rust, which is a new programming language developed by Mozilla. You can actually download the code on Github and play around with it, but Mozilla notes that it’s in its very early stages.

Details are pretty scarce at this point in the development process, and we’re not quite sure yet what exactly this next-generation web browser engine will be capable of, but we’re guessing it’ll be pretty revolutionary if Mozilla and Samsung put their heart into it. Rust has been in development for a couple years now, actually, and they expect have the first major revision done sometime this year.

However, the partnership seems to be a perfect fit for the two companies. Mozilla is providing the Rust programming language, as well as Servo, while Samsung’s experience with ARM will no doubt be of tremendous help for Mozilla in bringing the technology to Android devices in the future.

Samsung and Mozilla working on new web browser engine for Android is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Apple released iOS 6.1 just early last week, and now the company has already seeded the first beta for iOS 6.1.1 to developers. It doesn’t seem like a huge update at first glance, but there are some key improvements that are worth noting. Most importantly, Apple has worked on some major enhancements to its Maps app for Japanese users.

Included with the list of improvements to Maps in Japan include improved pronunciation of roads, optimized directions, added labels for intersections, interchanges, etc., updated icons for public buildings like fire stations and hospitals, more 3D buildings around Tokyo, and a few color tweaks within the app.

So, it looks like most the major improvements in the update are only applicable to Japanese users, with possibly some very minor bugfixes that could benefit all iOS users. Plus, the update could include a security block for the recent Evasi0n jailbreak, but that is yet to be discovered in this first beta.

Of course, Evad3rs team member MuscleNerd urges users who used the iOS 6.1 jailbreak to stay away from iOS 6.1.1 for the time being, even though it’s not known whether or not the update patches the Evasi0n exploit. It’s better to be safe than sorry at this point. Other than, it doesn’t seem like a big update, and it’s probably one that many iOS users won’t notice in the long run.

[via 9to5Mac]

iOS 6.1.1 beta released to developers is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Ever since the announcement of Windows Phone 8, eager app developers have been keeping an eye on the release of Microsoft‘s SDK for Windows Phone 8. Of course, they were waiting a while because Microsoft just launched it today — the day after the mobile operating system officially released.

In any case, it’s ready to be downloaded, and all developers can finally get their grubby app-making hands on the new SDK. However, before you even think about diving deep into the world of Windows Phone 8 app development, Microsoft wants you running a 64-bit copy of Windows 8 and nothing less.

So, while Microsoft is banning luddites from using its Windows Phone 8 SDK, we’re guessing that most developers who are serious about any kind of app development will most likely take the plunge to Windows 8 anyway, so Microsoft probably doesn’t have anything to worry about as far as that goes.

Now that the Windows Phone 8 SDK is out in full swing, we’re now waiting patiently and anticipating for the platform’s app ecosystem to start growing. Aside from the typical big apps like Facebook, Twitter, Pandora, etc., let’s hope we see some awesome indie developers work their magic on Microsoft’s newest mobile operating system.

Microsoft launches Windows Phone 8 SDK is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

With the release of Google‘s first tablet, the Nexus 7, earlier this year, we’ve been wondering when the search giant was going to up its game with tablet-optimized Android apps. Today, the company published a “tablet app quality checklist” on its Android Developers Blog that urges developers to build more tablet-optimized apps.

Tablet-specific Android apps are hard to come by currently. However, Google’s new initiative should pave the way for better apps on larger displays. In order to ring in the holiday season on a good note, Google revealed an exhaustive set of guidelines for Android app developers to follow when developing tablet versions of their apps.

This isn’t the first time that Google is releasing guidelines for Android app development, though. When Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich released, Google decided that it was about time to give some uniformity to all of the Android apps that were floating around, and they released a style guide for developers to follow to add a little bit of consistency throughout the Android platform.

Then again, is it a little disappointing that Google has to push developers into optimizing and creating apps for Android tablets? It’s already been nearly two years since Samsung introduced the Galaxy Tab, which was one of the first serious Android tablets to hit the market. For some reason it seems most developers aren’t interested in creating such apps for larger screens yet.

Google calling for more tablet-optimized Android apps is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Microsoft has gone to great lengths to make Windows Phone as appealing as possible, adding new features and functionality that will make an appearance in Windows Phone 8 come October. Apps are what really drives a mobile ecosystem at the end of the day, so Microsoft’s new Windows Phone Dev Center should help developers keep on top of app development and management going forward. The company has given the Dev Center an all new layout, along with new options and support for PayPal payments.

Developers gain access to some more specialized tools along with the redesign. They’ll be able to add in-app purchasing options to their apps directly from the Dev Center, although users will only be able to take advantage of that functionality in Windows Phone 8: Windows Phone 7.8 won’t be able to get in on the action. Developers can also submit multiple apps that target the new resolutions that Windows Phone 8 supports, and pricing can be customized on a country by country basis.

Microsoft is also expanding the number of regions where developers can register their apps and where they can get paid. Over 178 markets will soon be available to access the Windows Phone Marketplace, with developers able to be paid in 115 of those markets. Speaking of payment, Microsoft will allow devs to link pubCenter accounts so that apps can be funded by advertisements, and PayPal will be added as a payment option in certain markets.

The ability to beta test apps has been expanded, with developers able to share their apps with thousands rather than hundreds of users, and better analytic tools have been added to the Dev Center to give a better understanding of how well apps perform. It all sounds like a step in the right direction for Microsoft, but we’ll have to wait and see if this translates into better adoption for the platform and more marketshare as a result.

[via The Next Web]

Microsoft revamps Windows Phone Dev Center is written by Ben Kersey & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.