When Android 4.1.2 hit the airwaves for upgrades, it was limited to a very exclusive club of Nexus 7 owners. Google has widened the gates considerably as of today: we’re receiving multiple reports of GSM-based Galaxy Nexus and Nexus S owners getting the new Jelly Bean build through official, over-the-air channels. Upgrades here aren’t as noticeable as they are on the reference Android tablet; besides fixes, we’ve mostly heard that it’s now possible to expand a notification with a single finger. Those with CDMA-based phones are left out so far, but if you discover any surprise extras before 4.1.2 hits our own devices, be sure to leave us a tip.
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!
We’ve been seeing a mysterious Android 4.1.2 update mentioned in conjunction with a few unreleaseddevices in the past few hours, so it’s only fitting that we’re seeing the official release today. Google’s Android Open Source Project lead Jean-Baptiste Queru has posted word that the 4.1.2 release should be available on Tuesday for at least those relying on pure AOSP builds of the mobile OS. While we haven’t seen the update reach our own devices yet, some Nexus 7 owners already report getting 4.1.2 on their tablets with a pleasant surprise in store: in addition to the expected bug fixes and performance boosts, the software lets the home screen rotate to landscape mode on the smaller Jelly Bean slate. We’re keeping an eye out for when other hardware gets the patch, although it’s expected that the Galaxy Nexus, Nexus S and Xoom will follow quickly enough.
Mobile security company Intrepidus Group presented evidence during the EUSecWest security conference potentially identifying a major flaw in at least two US transit systems. Creating an Android app named “UltraReset” and using it in tandem with an NFC-enabled Android phone (a Nexus S, in this case), security researchers Corey Benninger and Max Sobell were able to reset and reuse — free of charge — transit access cards in both San Francisco’s MUNI system and New Jersey’s PATH system. Before you go getting any bad ideas, know that Benninger and Sobell haven’t released the app for public use, and warned both transit systems in late 2011 (though neither region has fixed the exploit, the duo claim). PATH and MUNI share a common chip access card — the Mifare Ultralight — which can apparently be reset for 10 extra rides (as demonstrated on video below) via Android phones with NFC, an OS newer than 2.3.3 (Gingerbread). Starting to sound familiar?
Intrepidus is, however, releasing a modified version of the app, named “UltraCardTester.” The modified app functions just like its nefarious progenitor, except it can’t add time to cards (see it in action below). The app can tell you how many rides you have left, and if a system is open to exploit, but it won’t assist you in the act of exploiting. We reached out to both New Jersey’s PATH and San Francisco MUNI on the issue, but have yet to hear back as of publishing.
It’s been nearly two months since Google quietly posted that initial batch of Jelly Bean images for its ever-growing family of Nexus handsets. And while today a few members of the pack are being left out, those with a Nexus S (save for the Korean version) or its 4G flavor can now grab the refreshed Android 4.1.1 images (JRO03L, JRO03R) straight from Mountain View’s developer site. You’ll find all the necessary download links at the source below, and you can be sure we’ll let you know as soon as the rest become available.
Earlier this morning, we took a look at how Samsung rolled out the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean source code for international versions of the Samsung Galaxy S3, and folks who are rocking to powerful but yet not the latest Android smartphones, there is hope for you yet. Especially so if you are rocking to the Samsung Nexus S or the Nexus S 4G. In fact, Google has just rolled out factory images of Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean for both the Nexus S and Nexus S 4G today, where these images can be flashed onto your respective smartphone so that it can return to the original factory firmware just in case Murphy decides to strike and your handset ends up bricked.
Needless to say, it would be prudent to stash away the factory image in a safe place, as you can never quite tell just when you need it. Like most of the other things in life, you cannot quite find them when you need it the most, so being prepared is always a good mantra to live up to. The Google Developers page has more information on the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean factory image if you are interested to know more.
Android users have quite a few choices to pick from when it comes to flashing custom ROMs onto their phones. There’s the ever popular CyanogenMod and there’s also MIUI. If you’re a fan of the latter, you might be interested to learn that the team behind the ROM has updated its code base to Jelly Bean. Unfortunately it seems that the Jelly Bean-based ROM will not be available for all devices just yet and only the Nexus S and the Galaxy Nexus are the lucky ones who will be able to flash the ROM onto their phones. If you own either device, you can head on over to the MIUI forums to check out the changelog and to see what sort of features and changes you can expect, or you can head on to another part of the forum where you will be able to download the ROM for yourself. As usual, you should proceed with caution and remember to back up your device before making any changes!
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!
We’ve had our fair share of experience with Google Wallet since it launched several months ago, and now that it’s been updated to include all major credit and debit cards, it’s time to once again address the most important question of all: is it safe? As it turns out, Google Wallet is really, really safe. You’ve got several ways to lock down your account, and starting today, you’ve also got a remote shutdown option too. Additionally, just as it is with any other use of a credit card, each use of Google Wallet at “more than 200,000 retail locations” across the USA require that you show a picture ID to make it work.
Are my cards secure?
With Google Wallet you’re able (starting this week) to add your whole collection of credit and debit cards. Once your cards are in your account, you’ll be working with NFC to wirelessly charge money essentially the same as a credit card does. To enter a card into your Google Wallet account, you need to enter the number on the card into your mobile app, your online wallet, or into your Google Play account (which uses your same Google login) when making a purchase. Though you do not need to make a purchase to enter a card, it does make the whole process seem like less of a chore.
Once you’ve got your card or cards entered in to your account, your locked-down mobile app version of Google Wallet will have that card – or all your cards – on record and ready to use whenever you need them. Each time you use a card, you’ll see a transaction record on your phone or tablet instantly with the merchant name and the dollar amount listed clearly. This information is also emailed to you instantly if you wish, and all of your account history can be found in your online wallet.
All of your cards are stored on “highly secure” Google servers, as they make sure to make clear on all documents for the system. This is opposed to keeping all the cards on your phone locally where they can be hacked – because they’re in the cloud, they’re actually a bit more secure, in this case. The only way a person can gain access to your cards is with your wallet ID. Your wallet ID is a pin number you create yourself – this number is stored in the “secure storage” area of your phone or tablet.
Our original hands-on with Google Wallet can be seen here:
What if I lose my phone and someone had my pin number AND ID card?
If someone has your phone or tablet, your pin number, and looks similar enough to you that they’re able to pass off your driver’s license as you, you might be in trouble. If that extremely rare and near-impossible situation should arise, Google has another solution for you. Remote Disabling is a new feature of Google Wallet with the update that’s just been dropped this week. With it, you’re able to visit the Devices section of your online wallet, select the device you wish to disable, and poof! It will no longer be able to be used by the villain.
What this service actually does is to remotely reset your mobile wallet, this then making it impossible for the person whose stolen your device to use the wallet unless they go back and enter in all your account information manually once again. At that point it would be easier to kidnap you and steal your real wallet. But you don’t have a real wallet anymore – you’ve got Google Wallet!
So all is well and safe and secure – and you’re ready to go!
You can get Google Wallet on a select number of devices right this minute, including two of our favorites, the Nexus 7 and the Galaxy Nexus. You can check out our hands-on with Google Wallet from back when it was first released and you can check our our full review of the Galaxy Nexus as well as our full review of the Nexus 7 too – grab em!
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Earlier this morning, we took a look at how Samsung rolled out the 
Android users have quite a few choices to pick from when it comes to flashing custom ROMs onto their phones. There’s the ever popular CyanogenMod and there’s also MIUI. If you’re a fan of the latter, you might be interested to learn that the team behind the ROM has updated its code base to Jelly Bean. Unfortunately it seems that the Jelly Bean-based ROM will not be available for all devices just yet and only the Nexus S and the Galaxy Nexus are the lucky ones who will be able to flash the ROM onto their phones. If you own either device, you can head on over to the MIUI forums to check out the
