Hasta La Gadget!

TecTile updated to version 3.0 today, and it brings a lot of new features and includes various enhancements that allow for better customization that NFC junkies will love. If you’re not familiar with Samsung‘s TecTile app, it’s a proprietary application for Samsung devices that lets users write and re-write different activities to NFC tags.

Users can now add different profiles to TecTile, meaning that you can allow custom settings for various situations like work, home, night, etc., and each of which can be activated (and deactivated) using NFC. As an example, if you want your phone to be on different settings when you’re at work, you can assign it to a “work” profile, and then write it to an NFC tag. As soon as you tap the tag, the profile is activated.

The update also includes assigning multiple actions to a single tag, which compliments the aforementioned profiles feature. With a single tag, you can trigger things like silent mode, full brightness, and disable WiFi all at once. This is probably the most convenient feature included in the update, since a lot of users end up wanting to change multiple settings all the time.

Aside from those features, the update also brings stored tag history (for reference on older tags that you made in the past), support for private tags (so that only your phone can read them), and the ability to unlock a previously locked TecTile tag. TecTile 3.0 is a free download and the update is available now in the Google Play store.

Samsung TecTile 3.0 update offers even more NFC capabilities is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

We’ve reached this strange moment in time when updates are released for our cars in the same manner they’re released for our gadgets. Thus is the case with the 2013 Chevy Volt, which GM has pushed a software update out for after reports of shutdowns. The manufacturer is not issuing a recall, however.

The problem cropped up on the GM-Volt forum, where users were reporting that the Volt would randomly shut down. According to the users, the powertrain would shutdown, but the brakes and steering would continue to work. It would take several minutes of sitting before the car restarted properly.

In response, GM has issued an update for the car’s software that should solve the problem. Owners who want the update will need to head over to their local dealer, which will update the vehicle’s software. The process is said to take about an hour. Thus far, no reports of accidents caused by this issue have been reported.

The Chevy Volt is an extended-range hybrid vehicle that’s currently enjoying high sales, which jumped twice in August and September. The Volt features a lithium-ion battery and the Voltec electric drive system with a 1.4L gasoline powered range extender. The MSRP is $39,145.

[via Auto Blog]

2013 Chevy Volt receives update after reports of shutdowns is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

One of Amazon’s subtler but potentially valuable promises for the Kindle Fire HD was its Kindle FreeTime mode — a fenced-off world that would give kids a simple place to play and their parents the confidence to step away for a few precious minutes. It wasn’t part of the initial launch, but a new update to the 7-inch model is rolling FreeTime into Amazon’s latest tablet. The upgrade gives as much flexibility as Amazon promised, letting adults introduce filters as well as cap the time their children spend with different kinds of content. Most of the remaining updates pertain to general fixes; that said, we imagine that most parents won’t mind the narrow focus once they know Junior can’t watch Kill Bill.

Filed under: Tablets, Amazon

Amazon Kindle Fire HD update brings Kindle FreeTime to tablet-craving tykes originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Oct 2012 01:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft vowed that its Touch Mouse would get Windows 8 support in time for the software’s big release day, and it’s being very true to its word by posting the relevant update with less than a week to go. Mouse and Keyboard Center 2.0 saves time for those not graced with a touchscreen by introducing multi-touch swipes that bring up Windows 8’s Charm bar, switch between active apps and invoke Semantic Zoom. Will the Touch Mouse update trick you into thinking you have a Surface? No, but it’s certainly much easier on the wallet.

Filed under: Peripherals, Software, Microsoft

Microsoft Touch Mouse gets promised Windows 8 support, works like a Charm originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 21 Oct 2012 06:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung has already started on the Jelly Bean upgrade path for the Galaxy S III, but that hasn’t meant much so far unless you live in Samsung’s homeland. The update’s global relevance is expanding in grand fashion now that the company has confirmed the software is rolling out to Galaxy S III units across the UK. Variants on the smartphone for British carriers should get their taste of Android 4.1 over the course of a multi-week update process that brings everyone to the new version. Different carrier testing methods prevent Samsung from being any more specific; it’s reasonable to say, though, that most owners living in Old Blighty should be running Jelly Bean before the holiday season kicks into overdrive.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Samsung

Samsung begins delivering Jelly Bean to UK-based Galaxy S III owners originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 19 Oct 2012 10:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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