Hasta La Gadget!

Back in April, when we put the PlayBook through its paces, we were disappointed to find it lacked the previously promised, and eventually teased, Android Player. Well, the time has finally come — at least for those of you, who don’t mind getting your hands, and tablet, dirty with leaked software. The folks over at n4bb snatched up a beta version of the program, which brings nearly 250,000 little-green-monster apps to the BB slab, but point out that it’s got its drawbacks. Aside from altogether lacking a back button, this build apparently has some lagging issues. If you’re the adventurous type, however, you can download and sideload the appropriate file by clicking on the source link below. But if your PlayBook gets covered in all sorts of leaky beta goo, don’t come running to us — it is unofficial after all.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Android App Player leaks out on to BlackBerry PlayBook originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Jul 2011 09:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink SlashGear  |  n4bb  | Email this | Comments

Who needs sleep, right? Rather than putting in the tried-and-true “eight hours” that your mum still insists that you get, you’re going to be doing something a bit more adventurous this evening. Something involving a “jailbreak” of your recently updated iPod touch, iPhone or iPad. Just hours after Apple pushed out iOS 5 beta 3 to its developers, a Sn0wbreeze update has been confirmed to support jailbreaking on that very build. Sadly, it’s still tethered for the time being, and the iPad 2 remains unsupported, but those with nerves of steel (and gobs of vacation days) can hit the source links to get started. Furthermore, we’re just starting to see what kind of wacky tricks beta 3 has up its sleeve — things like custom alerts for text messages and what appears to be a shattering of the app grid on the iPad. For more on that, hop on past the break; for more on the jailbreak, we’d encourage you to talk amongst yourselves in comments below.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading iOS 5 beta 3 already jailbroken, new features come to light

iOS 5 beta 3 already jailbroken, new features come to light originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 Jul 2011 00:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Redmond Pie (1), (2)  | Email this | Comments

Earlier this afternoon, Google pushed Maps v5.7 to the Android Market. The app’s Transit Navigation (beta) feature brings GPS stop-by-stop nav to public transit systems in over 400 cities around the world, helping you find the subway or bus stop, then letting you know exactly when to get off as you ride. There are obvious benefits to using this in a foreign city, where alert-enabled (English!) directions could potentially save you hours of frustration. We left our office to brave the daylight in NYC, walking a block to the nearest subway station en-route to Times Square. The app worked well up until we reached the bottom of the first staircase, where it lost cell reception and its GPS fix. Jump past the break to see how it fared above ground, and check out our hands-on video for a Google Maps-led adventure through New York City’s public transit system.

Continue reading Google Maps Transit Navigation beta for Android hands-on (video)

Google Maps Transit Navigation beta for Android hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Jul 2011 17:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  The Official Google Blog, Android Market, Google Transit  | Email this | Comments

Good news, jetsetters — those of you relying on Google Maps Navigation will now find it even harder to wean yourself off of it. Not like we’d ever recommend that, though. The navigators in Mountain View have just updated Google Maps for Android to v5.7, and while it’s just a point update in terms of numbers, there’s a healthy chunk of new material here. For starters, there’s the addition of added Transit Navigation (Beta), which brings GPS turn-by-turn (or in this case, stop-by-stop) navigation to public transit systems in 400+ cities worldwide. It’ll tap into your GPS module to determine your current location, and then alert you when it’s time to get off or make a transfer — downright invaluable in a place where you don’t speak the language. After starting your trip with Transit Navigation, you can switch to another app or holster your mobile altogether, as an alert will still pop up in the notification bar (as well as a vibration) when the next stop is coming up. Google doesn’t say specifically, but it sure sounds as if it caches things before you head into the tunnel, nixing that whole “underground service” problem.

Moving right along, users will also find improved directional services for driving / walking as well as a streamlined direction acquisition system within a Place page. There’s also a couple of new improvements in search suggestions, with the addition of category icons and auto-insertion of places you got directions to into Places. Finally, the addition of the Photo viewer for Place pages should help you better visualize what you’re about to walk (or drive, we guess) into. Head on down to the Market link below if you’re down to try something fresh, but make sure you’re rocking an Android 2.1+ device. Wouldn’t want to crush your dreams, G1 owners.

Update: Android Central spotted a huge, huge inclusion to this build: the ability to download maps for offline usage. Check out a video just after the break.

Continue reading Google Maps 5.7 for Android brings Transit Navigation beta, updated access to directions

Google Maps 5.7 for Android brings Transit Navigation beta, updated access to directions originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Jul 2011 13:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  The Official Google Blog, Google Transit, Android Market  | Email this | Comments

Sure it already posed for the FCC’s unflattering cameras, but now we can observe the Roku 2 HD — with packed in MicroSD card and lightly refreshed remote — in its natural habitat. Our tipster didn’t indicate the provenance of this particular package but we’d previously heard they would start shipping to beta testers last week with an updated UI and this likely represents one of the lucky few delivered so far. The polished state of the hardware and packaging suggests the testing period is to work out any software kinks and (more likely) get in a few rounds of Angry Birds; until we hear something about more specific you can check out a few more of shots in the gallery.

Update: Another anonymous tipster has just sent over this picture of one of the new units next to a Roku XD that gives a good impression of how tiny the new units really are, and another showing the surround sound option. They also noted the new hardware shows improved picture quality, however at this stage the UI isn’t different and there aren’t any new games available yet.

[Thanks, Geraldine]

Roku 2 HD struts its stuff in the wild along with a new remote (Update: new comparison pics) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Jun 2011 07:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments