Hasta La Gadget!

It’s not exactly what we’d call a easy jailbreak, seeing as how it requires a soldering iron, a NAND format procedure, and a Logitech Revue that’s never even been powered on, but it looks like it is possible to root a Google TV box after all. GTVHacker has a thirteen-step walkthrough to cracking the Logitech Revue — and physically crack the case you must — after which point custom firmware can let it download, install and run apps from Android Market and bypass pesky television network blockages. Risky? Definitely. Worth it? Depends on how patient you are.

[Thanks, Jason W.]

Continue reading Logitech Revue hack brings Android Market, requires brute force

Logitech Revue hack brings Android Market, requires brute force originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 08 Jan 2011 12:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We Americans may not see it until summer, but Samsung’s 3.2-inch Galaxy Player is about to call Europe home, as following French presales the PMP has now appeared at Amazon UK. There, it’s sporting a tentative January 7th release date and a pair of capacities and prices, with a modest £150 (about $234) nabbing you 8GB of storage and £180 (roughly $280) fully doubling that capacity to 16GB. Apple’s iPod touch is the obvious comparison here, and it’s shaping up to be a valid one — while there’s no Retina Display to be had here, it’s hard to sneeze at the real Android Market and some decent codec (OGG / FLAC / XviD / DivX) support. Unless you’ve got a cold or something.

[Thanks, Paul]

Samsung Galaxy Player up for pre-order at Amazon UK, £150 buys 8GB worth of Android Market apps originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 02 Jan 2011 20:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve seen our fair share of budget tablets from the Augens, Cobys, and Viewsonics of the world over the last six months, but let’s not forget that before everyone and their mother jumped into the cheap-o Android tablet pool, Archos was already in the shallow end with its own sub-$200 tablets. But, while the company was first to market, products like the Archos 5 and 7 Home Tablet certainly weren’t anything to wait in line for — they both packed slow processors, resistive displays, and ran outdated versions of Google’s mobile OS. Whether it was the mediocre reviews or the competition coming up behind them, the French company knew it was time to step it up, and its Archos 70 and 101 attempt to right all those wrongs. The 7- and 10-inch tablet both have Android 2.2, 1GHz ARM Cortex A8 processors, and capacitive screens. Oh, and don’t forget the front-facing VGA cameras. With each ringing up at $299, has Archos finally mastered the art of the cheap tablet? Find out in our full review!

Continue reading Archos 70 and 101 Internet Tablet review

Archos 70 and 101 Internet Tablet review originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Dec 2010 12:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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• EX-01 Homme ($15) Entering the boardroom at 8:30 AM – everyone awaits a decision. Mentally going over the broader picture. Calmly sitting down at the end of the table. Placing the phone quietly on its black glass surface. Time: 8:31. Let the meeting begin.
• F-01 M’elle ($7) Strolling down Rue Saint-Florentin. New dress: Check. Artichokes: Check. Hometown Crémant: Check. All is ready. Thinking about his smile on the last date. Loving the scent of vanilla from the bakery across the road. 7:10 PM. Incoming text message: “Chéri – Can’t wait to see you tonight.”
• M-01 Jaune ($3) Finally got around to reading Fritz Neumeyer’s essay on Mies Van Der Rohe. 3:05 PM, Sunday afternoon – Coldplay in the background. Sitting comfortably with a tall glass of Chablis. The patterns of rain on the terrace windows are simply amazing. Page 122.
• M-02 Verte (Coming soon!) 12:30 PM, Singapore. Lunch break at the School of Art & Design. On the rooftop enjoying a Katong Laksa. Green as far as the eye can see. Remembering a Murakami sentence. Watching a plane go by. How time flies. Have to return to the lecture. Guess that’s ok.

At this point you’re probably asking yourself if this is all a joke, or if these guys are serious — and to be honest, we can’t tell either. But we do know this: $15 is quite a lot to spend on a watch app, even if it does display hours, minutes, and seconds. PR after the break.

Continue reading Moine-Garde offers finely rendered watch apps for indiscriminate Android owners

Moine-Garde offers finely rendered watch apps for indiscriminate Android owners originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Dec 2010 13:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We were expecting to see a slew of new Google TV-powered displays and boxes at CES in a couple of weeks, but now The New York Times is reporting the list of new product partners at the show may be much shorter than expected. The cause is reported to be Google’s last minute decision to ask for more time to work on its software first, resulting in no new hardware from LG, Sharp and Toshiba at the show, leaving only Samsung and VIZIO to show off their products. The always popular unnamed sources now peg timing for the next full fledged assault of Google TV hardware as after the company completes updates including the addition of the Android Market some time next year. Of course, Chrome OS and Honeycomb already provide plenty of examples of a disconnect between the good folks at Mountain View and their hardware partners, but with some already casting doubt on the platform’s potential, and the company’s ability to work out licensing deals with Hollywood, it’d be good to see more than last week’s partial facelift as a sign of what is to come.

NYT: Next batch of Google TV devices delayed, pending software updates originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 19 Dec 2010 22:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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