Hasta La Gadget!

Adobe was last seen burying mobile Flash and moving on with its life. Like the stars of George Romero movies, however, Flash is back to walk amongst the living — if just temporarily. The developer tells the BBC that Flash for Android is back in the UK’s Google Play Store for a short while after “strategic partners” pushed it into action, including the British broadcaster. While the link isn’t explicitly confirmed, it’s strongly implied that the BBC and others want a little more time to wean Android apps like iPlayer off of their Flash dependency and toward web technologies like HTML5. Adobe is quashing any hopes of a permanent revival with a disclaimer that there’s no support for the download; any bugs will remain there forever. Those attached to their dearly departed plugin may still appreciate one last look before the code is once more put six feet under.

[Thanks, Kevin]

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Software

Flash for Android briefly returns to Google Play Store in UK, zombie-style originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Aug 2012 02:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Barnes & Noble has continued its quest to stock the shelves of United Kingdom bookstores with Nooks, by adding Argos, Blackwell’s and Foyles to the list of where you can get one. Those retailers will join John Lewis in carrying the Nook Simple Touch and its Glow Light-toting cousin, giving UK’ers nearly a thousand bricks and mortar sites to get one — including bookstores at 55 colleges and universities. Those locations will join Barnes & Nobles recently launched online website in selling the e-readers — but if you like to Touch before buying, the PR is after the break.

Continue reading Barnes & Noble continues British invasion, forges pacts with Argos, Blackwell’s and Foyles

Barnes & Noble continues British invasion, forges pacts with Argos, Blackwell’s and Foyles originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Aug 2012 08:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google’s cycling directions have been slowly expanding their reach to the mobile world and other countries, but the only option for navigation so far has been to memorize the route. As of today, you won’t have to stop every five minutes to get your bearings. Google Maps for Android has received a low-key update that adds spoken, turn-by-turn Google Maps Navigation for riders in every country where biking directions exist — if you can clamp your phone to your handlebars, you can find your way. Many more riders are just seeing mobile support of any kind in the process. Both navigation and regular directions should now be live in the Android app for 10 more countries, including Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK. Cyclists just need to swing by Google Play to keep their two-wheeled adventures on track.

Filed under: Cellphones, GPS, Transportation, Mobile

Google Maps for Android adds turn-by-turn biking navigation, helps pedal-pushers in 10 more countries originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Aug 2012 21:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MasterCard has switched up its NFC and Mobile Payments deal with T-Mobile and Orange to include corporate parent / sibling Everything Everywhere. The pairing will leverage the existing Orange Cash standard to get users onto the service, building out a person-to-person payment system similar to Pingit as they go. It’s reportedly angered rival networks Vodafone and O2, still smarting from last week’s 4G news, who were co-operating on a unified mobile payments service called “Project Oscar” that would have standardized the system nationwide. Given that Vodafone has partnered with Visa and O2 is trying things out on its own, perhaps the next time you choose a phone, you’ll have to side with your card-provider of choice, too.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

Everything Everywhere signs 5-year deal with MasterCard for mobile payments originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 28 Aug 2012 04:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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And I thought that John’s Phone was as dumb as dumbphones get. But now, a UK-based company has created OwnFone, a phone that doesn’t even have a number pad, just speed dials people that you set when you order the phone. If this isn’t idiot proof then I don’t know what is.

Users can choose to have 2, 4, 8 or 12 contacts on their OwnFone. Aside from the numbers, users can further customize their OwnFone by adding colors and style. You can leave the phone as it is, add a pattern or upload an image to be used as its background. Right now customers can only use alphanumeric characters to label the contact buttons, but in the future it will be possible to use Braille or even images as labels to make the phone even more accessible.

The phone is only about 0.28″ thick and weighs just 40g (about 0.09 lbs). It’s also rechargeable and can last up to a year in “Shutdown” mode. I’m not sure if the last feature is merely a sleep mode or a literal shutdown state.

Want your own OwnFone phone? Better move to the UK as it’s currently exclusive to the state. If you’ve got that taken care off, head to the OwnFone website and be ready to fork over £55 (~$87 USD) for the device itself. You’ll also have to sign up for a monthly plan that costs between £7.50-£15 (~$12-$24 USD).

[via The Verge]