The Daily Roundup for 03.04.2013

DNP The Daily RoundUp

You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours — all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.

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Galaxy Note II vulnerability lets attackers (briefly) access home screen apps (video)

Galaxy Note II vulnerability lets attackers briefly access home screen apps video

A security flaw discovered by Terence Eden on the Galaxy Note II with Android 4.1.2 may make that device less secure than you think when it’s locked by a code or other method. He discovered that the homescreen can be accessed, albeit it just for a split second, by pressing the “Emergency Call” icon, then the ICE button and finally pressing the physical home key for several seconds. While brief, it’s still enough time to click on any of your homescreen apps, which normally wouldn’t present a problem since access goes away when the home page disappears again. However, if one of your apps is a “direct dial” widget, for instance, a call can actually be placed by a hacker, and many other programs that perform an action at launch could also leave the device vulnerable. We’ve confirmed the flaw on our own handsets and the individual who discovered it says that after reporting it five days ago, Samsung has yet to respond. We’ve reached out to the Korean company ourselves and will let you know about any further developments.

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Via: @Whatleydude (Twitter)

Source: Terence Eden (blog)

Refresh Roundup: week of February 25th, 2013

Refresh Roundup week of February 25th, 2013

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!

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IRL: ColcaSac Jack Bauer shoulder bag, Mitsubishi WD-82740 3D TV and the Galaxy Note II

Welcome to IRL, an ongoing feature where we talk about the gadgets, apps and toys we’re using in real life and take a second look at products that already got the formal review treatment.

Hey, we never said our favorite things were practical. This week, Darren tells us why his $125 shoulder bag was worth it, while Jason defends his decision to purchase an 82-inch 3DTV at 2AM (no he wasn’t drunk — we don’t think, anyway). Rounding things out, Jon doesn’t generally like super-sized phones, but he can’t help but enjoy the Galaxy Note II. Read on to find out why.

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Refresh Roundup: week of February 11th, 2013

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!

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Fitbit updates Android app with wireless syncing over Bluetooth 4.0

Fitbit updates Android app with wireless syncing over Bluetooth 40

Fitbit promised wireless syncing and, as of today, it’s finally delivered. An Android-only app update, currently live in Google Play, will now allow Galaxy S III and Galaxy Note II users to transfer data wirelessly from their Zip or One Activity Trackers to the Fitbit application. The new feature, which works over Bluetooth 4.0, was previously announced at this past CES alongside news of the Flex band, and initially targeted for an end-of-January release. But that’s not all this update heralds — it also packs the ability to manage silent alarms, adds push notifications, a distance tile and additional tap-to-pair NFC functionality for use with the Flex. Unfortunately, you’ll still have to wait a bit for that lifestyle band to launch, as Fitbit’s only committed to a vague spring launch. For now, though, a small segment of existing users can enjoy this enhanced feature set.

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Via: The Verge

Source: Google Play

Samsung Galaxy Note II gets pretty in pink, makes Hello Kitty proud

Samsung Galaxy Note II gets pretty in pink, makes Hello Kitty proud

To say that we’ve covered many, many rosey devices around here still wouldn’t do the statement justice, so don’t mind our slight excitement after seeing the Galaxy Note II show up wearing a very pink outfit on Samsung’s Taiwanese site. Clearly, the phone tablet slab looks to follow in the footsteps of its other galactic siblings, the OG Note and GS3, and, in the process, looks to give an extra hue option to those who prefer something a little different than the more traditional colors, or even the newer amber brown and ruby wine. Since Samsung hasn’t made an official announcement yet, however, availability details are still relatively unknown, so we’ll have to wait to see whether or not this light pink Galaxy Note II ever makes it past the Taiwan page and onto others. In the meantime, perhaps you’d like to mosey past the break, where a rather glamorous press shot gallery awaits.

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Via: UnwiredView

Source: Samsung (Taiwan)

Refresh Roundup: week of January 28th, 2013

Refresh Roundup week of January 28th, 2013

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!

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Which T-Mobile smartphones will support LTE?

Which T-Mobile smartphones will support LTE?

It’s no secret that T-Mobile is on the cusp of lighting up its first LTE network in Las Vegas, but with Kansas City soon to follow — and ambitions of extending LTE coverage to 100 million Americans by mid-year — it’s time to start factoring this consideration into your next smartphone purchase. While the carrier’s HSPA+ 42 network is certainly speedy, there’s no point in saddling yourself with a device that’s rooted in the past. Want to make sure you’re ready for what comes next? Read on for everything you need to know.

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Refresh Roundup: week of January 14th, 2013

Refresh Roundup week of January 14th, 2013

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

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