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!

Official Android updates

• Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE: A minor update is available for Sprint’s QWERTY slider that’s said to improve overall device stability. [Android Police]
• Samsung Galaxy Rugby Pro: This rugged smartphone for AT&T is now eligible for an upgrade to Android 4.1.1 (Jelly Bean). Users will also find the additions of Swype and Music Hub in this build. [Phandroid]
• LG Lucid: Verizon has announced an update for this smartphone that brings improved quality of voice calls and installs Flash Player. The newly updated file manager app now brings the ability to manage files in the cloud, and the software also installs Verizon Remote Diagnostics for troubleshooting purposes. [Droid Life]
• Galaxy Nexus: Google has published the Android 4.2.1 update for the Sprint variant of the Galaxy Nexus to its servers. [Android Police]
• Samsung Galaxy S III: Owners of unsubsidized Galaxy S III handsets throughout Australia are reporting than an update to Android 4.1.2 — complete with Multi-Window enhancements — is now available for download and installation via Samsung Kies. [Android Central]
• ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T: An update is now available for the Transformer Pad Infinity that brings greater compatibility with microSD cards and decreases lag when playing music in the background. The software also fixes bugs in the camera and Movie Studio apps. [Android Police]
• Samsung Galaxy Note II: Verizon has pushed out a fix to this smartphone that’s designed to resolve Exynos security vulnerabilities. [SlashGear]
• Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7: Verizon has announced an update for this tablet that decreases electrical consumption while charging the device in a “power off” state. [Android Police]
• Sprint Flash: Sprint has released an update for this ZTE-manufactured smartphone that brings improvements to the camera, adds timing preferences for the LED notification and resolves issues related to Swype. [Android Police]
• Samsung Epic 4G Touch: An update is now available for Sprint’s version of the Galaxy S II that brings security fixes along with the Sprint Connections Optimizer. [Android Police]
• Rogers: The Canadian carrier has announced that its Jelly Bean updates for the Galaxy S II LTE, Galaxy Note, RAZR HD and Xperia T have been pushed to February. [MobileSyrup]

Unofficial Android updates, custom ROMs and misc. hackery

• Motorola Droid RAZR / RAZR Maxx: A root exploit has been published for the official Jelly Bean OTA software build, meant for these two non-HD smartphones for Verizon. [Talk Android]
• Motorola Atrix 4G: Motorola is requesting soak test participants for a pending update to this AT&T smartphone. [Android Central]
• Sony Xperia Z: Sony has announced that it’ll release an Android 4.2 update to the Xperia Z shortly after the smartphone’s arrival. [Android Central]
• Motorola Atrix 2: A pre-release Jelly Bean update has worked its way into the wild for this smartphone on AT&T. Curiously, Motorola has previously stated that the Atrix 2 would never see an update past Ice Cream Sandwich. [Android Community]

Other platforms

• HTC 8X: AT&T has released its first update for this Windows Phone handset. Known informally as the Portico release, it features an option to keep WiFi connections alive and allows users to reject phone calls while responding with a text message. [WinSource]
• Nokia Lumia 810: An OTA update is now available for this Windows Phone on T-Mobile that brings fixes to Bluetooth functionality and is said to improve overall device stability. [T-Mobile]

Refreshes we covered this week

• Nexus Q scores CyanogenMod 10.1 nightlies, reminds you of its existence
• Samsung posts Jelly Bean update for Galaxy Note 10.1 and Galaxy Tab 2 in the US
• Samsung now pushing out more updates to address Exynos security vulnerability
• AT&T to begin pushing OTA Jelly Bean update to Galaxy S III users today
• Rough hack converts an Optimus G to a Nexus 4, minus the constant sellouts
• Android 4.2.2 potentially spied lurking in a Czech overview (video)

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Software, Mobile

Comments

ASUS apparently revealed this adorable wireless router in the middle of CES, but it’s understandable, given the size of the thing, how it might have got lost in the cracks. Thankfully, the WL-330NUL USB pocket router has now resurfaced at Expansys and while it doesn’t have a price, you can now register your preorder for the first batch. The router houses a single ethernet port and support for both USB 3.0 and 2.0. Powered by the aforementioned port, the router supports 802.11 b/g/n 2.4 GHz WiFi and measures a meager 65mm in length. The release date is pegged for February 14th, just in time for that special someone — and their unforgivingly snug laptop bag.

Filed under: Networking, Internet, ASUS

Comments

Via: SlashGear

Source: Expansys

Want to get all touchy-feely with the missus because you are feeling a bit frisky, but she is not quite up to your romantic advances? Well, good thing consumer electronics devices these days tend to come with touchscreen displays so that you can channel your frustrations over to them. Windows 8 is an operating system that supports a touchscreen user interface where possible, and the Asus VivoBook S400 has certainly been designed to live up to such a task.

Basically, the Asus VivoBook S400 is not a powerhouse notebook, but it does pack enough punch for those who want a touchscreen-enabled Windows 8 device without breaking the bank. Heck, the VivoBook S400 will not even break your back either, as it comes in a thin and lightweight configuration, where $699 or so will net you an Intel Core i3 1.8GHz dual-core processor, 4GB RAM, a 500GB SATA hard drive, a 3-cell battery, HD webcam, Bluetooth 4.0, an SD memory card reader, WiFi and HDMI connectivity, USB 3.0 support, and other relevant connectivity ports. Not too shabby at all, Asus.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: More Facebook Results Appear On Bing Sidebar, Lenovo ThinkPad X131e Chromebook Goes To The Schools,

One of the products that showed up at CES 2013 that might not have caught your eye was from Asus. The product is called the WL-330NUL and is billed as the world’s smallest full wireless network sharing router. The little device looks a lot like a flash drive in weighs only 25 g.

Asus briefly mentioned the device in one of its CES press releases, but the details were exceptionally scarce. All Asus let us know was that the device supported 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi connectivity, supports various security protocols, and was designed to connect to computers via a USB connection. Asus also noted that the device is capable of receiving Wi-Fi and sharing wireless hotspots with other users via the integrated Ethernet port.

Asus was mum on pricing and availability for the little pocket router. However, the device has now turned up on the Expansys website for pre-order. The Expansys page lists the same specifications that Asus tipped in its CES press release.

The pre-order page also lists the release date as February 14 and while you can pre-order, the price is unknown. Rather than a real pre-order, this is more like reserving the product since we don’t know how much it will cost and no charges are made to your credit card. Expansys says you can cancel at any time with no cancellation charges.

[via Expansys]

Asus offers world’s smallest router called WL-330NUL is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Asus is a major global computer manufacturer based in Taiwan. We know the company from its computers and tablets more than anything else. However, Asus has attempted to enter the smartphone market on a couple of occasions with devices like the Padfone and Padfone 2.

So far, Asus has failed to make any significant inroads in the smartphone market. According to the Wall Street Journal, Asus is in talks to offer Windows Phone 8 smartphones. It’s no surprise to see Asus trying to enter the smartphone market in force. While computer shipments are declining globally, shipments of smartphones and tablets continue to increase.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Asus is considering the production of a Windows Phone 8 version of the Padfone. If you’re unfamiliar with the Padfone or Padfone 2, both devices are smartphones that slip into a larger dock that turns them into a tablet. The tip comes from Asus corporate vice president of mobile communications Benson Lin.

Lin also noted that Asus is talking with US mobile carriers right now in an attempt to launch its smartphones in the US by next year. In the past Asus has failed to grab any United States-based carrier interest in its mobile devices. Considering that Asus has had little success in the smartphone market so far, tying up with an operating system that’s also had less success than its peers doesn’t sound like a successful product in the making.

[via Wall Street Journal]

Asus considering Windows 8 smartphones is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.