Hasta La Gadget!

If you decided to change your NFC Phone‘s OS over to CyanogenMod 9 to avoid all the skinning and restricting, now you have a mobile payment option called SimplyTapp. Produced by the modding group and two of its members, the app requires free or paid NFC cards from CyanogenMod or retailers like McDonald’s and Whole Foods. Card user info is guarded in the cloud, which “allows separation of the card credential from the vulnerable handset,” for increased security, according to CM and SimplyTapp. CyanogenMod also announced a new version of its ICS-based CM9 OS, version 9.1, which will fix bugs and add new devices. A stable release will be coming soon, but meanwhile, why not head over to Mickey D’s and freak them out by paying with your modded Galaxy Nexus?

Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile

CyanogenMod releases SimplyTapp NFC payment app for CM9, launches CM9.1 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Aug 2012 06:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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And you thought your future brown Galaxy S III would be special. We’re just learning the full story of how avid fan Shane Bennett got what may be the rarest version of Samsung’s flagship phone through an unusual chain of events. After half-jokingly asking Samsung Canada for a free phone with the drawing of a dragon as a token gift, Shane was given a kangaroo drawing as a response; the overwhelming reaction to his posting that story on Reddit led to not just a thank-you trip to a Galaxy S III launch party but a custom phone designed around his off-hand doodle. We’re not kidding when we mean custom, either. Along with the distinctive front and back, his phone came with matching on-screen wallpaper and even a specially wrapped box. The likelihood of anyone else receiving a similar gesture is slim — who’d want to spoil the originality? — but credit has to go to community manager Drew Bomhof for going the extra distance and acknowledging that even a giant phone maker is only as strong as its individual customers.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

Samsung sends Canadian a truly unique Galaxy S III, guarantees a loyal customer originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Aug 2012 03:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ardent followers of the Apple v. Samsung hearing in California have another date to circle in their calendars: December 6th. AllThingsD and Reuters report Judge Lucy Koh has put that down as the day the two companies can make their cases over two key steps in the process since the verdict (check out our breakdown of the decision and what its $1.05 billion damage award means here) was handed down Friday evening. Apple is requesting an injunction to block the sale of Samsung phones that were found to infringe upon its patents, while Samsung wants to have the jury’s verdict set aside. This changes the plans for the previously scheduled September 20th hearing, which will focus on Samsung’s effort to get the injunction lifted on its Galaxy Tab 10.1 that was found not to infringe upon Apple’s design patent. Whether you’ll be tuned in to Twitter for each line by line update or avoiding the internet altogether, at least now you know which day to plan for.

Filed under: Mobile

Apple, Samsung to argue potential bans on infringing phones December 6th in US District Court originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 28 Aug 2012 21:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Good news for Nokia owners, as the company has begun the phased rollout of Symbian Belle Refresh. First and foremost, the OS update brings a new web browser with support for HTML5 web apps. Users will also discover new home screen widgets, and for those who’ve yet to snag ’em, Microsoft Office and Nokia Maps Suite 2.0 are also made part of the update. Symbian Belle Refresh is supported by the Nokia N8, E7, C7, C6-01, X7 and Oro, and will also include new imaging apps that are specific to the N8. The vanilla version of the software is now available, and Nokia expects that operator and country specific updates will be up for grabs in the coming weeks.

Filed under: Software, Mobile

Nokia rolling out Symbian Belle Refresh with new web browser, home screen widgets originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 28 Aug 2012 16:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Until self-driving cars become mainstream, it’s best to keep eyes on roads and hands off phones. With this in mind, Samsung’s debuting Drive Link, an app that balances in-car essentials with driver safety, complete with approval from the no-nonsense Japanese Automotive Manufacturers Association. It’s all about the bare essentials — navigation, hands-free calling and audiotainment from your phone-based files or TuneIn. Destinations can be pulled from S Calendar appointments or texts without trouble, and the text-to-speech feature means you won’t miss a message, email or social media update. The best bit is that via MirrorLink, all these goodies can be fed through compatible dash screens and speaker systems. Drive Link is available now through Sammy’s app store for Europeans sporting an international Galaxy S III, and will be coming to other ICS handsets “in the near future.”

Filed under: Cellphones, GPS, Transportation, Mobile

Samsung announces Drive Link, a car-friendly app with MirrorLink integration originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 28 Aug 2012 05:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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