Motorola Milestone gets 2.1 firmware upgrade in Hong Kong, Europe to follow by ‘end of March’

Look away now, Droid owners, as Motorola’s finally uploaded the Milestone‘s Android 2.1 firmware update to its servers. It’s only officially sanctioned for users in Hong Kong and Macau for now, but judging by the inclusion of a Dutch language pack in the new firmware, it looks like it’s the same stuff that will shortly be rolling out all across Europe as well. In addition to the funky live wallpapers, users will also get a new feature called Motorola Car Home — a special interface for in-car usage — along with some speed improvements. Now, we’re not exactly sure what the rollout plan is for each nation, but Moto’s Facebook page tells us we’ll see an end to the Milestone’s upgrade saga before March is through. The source contains a direct link to the fresh firmware file, and you can find a straightforward upgrade how-to at Android World below. We’ll be right here for your upgrade stories.

[Thanks, Peter]

Motorola Milestone gets 2.1 firmware upgrade in Hong Kong, Europe to follow by ‘end of March’ originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Mar 2010 19:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Android World  |  sourceMotorola (Hong Kong), (Android 2.1 firmware)  | Email this | Comments

Sprint to release Android 2.1 update for Hero and Moment ‘over the coming weeks’

If you recall, about a month ago Sprint tweeted that it was working on delivering Android 2.1 upgrade for its HTC Hero and Samsung Moment in early Q2 this year. An optimistic guess would be April, right? Funnily enough, Techie Buzz has heard that two eager customers managed to squeeze a more precise date out of Sprint over a phone call — end of March or even March 26th. Don’t go reaching for that champagne just yet, though — a self-proclaimed Sprint employee shared a recent internal memo on XDA-Developers forum, revealing that it’s “actively working on having the Android 2.1 platform available to our Hero and Moment customers over the coming weeks,” and that “more information coming in April.” Oh Sprint, you do love playing with our little minds, don’t you?

Sprint to release Android 2.1 update for Hero and Moment ‘over the coming weeks’ originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Sat, 20 Mar 2010 13:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Android and Me, Techie Buzz  |  sourceXDA-Developers  | Email this | Comments

Canon EOS 5D Mark II 2.0.3 firmware yanked due to audio issues, fix is on the way

It’s not déjà vu, it’s just all happening again. Just over a year after Canon had to bow its head in shame due to a black dot / banding issue that plagued the EOS 5D Mark II, along comes yet another heartache surrounding one of the company’s finest DSLRs. The v2.0.3 firmware update that was issued earlier in the week is apparently causing audio problems for some users, with the actual quirk going a little something like this:

“Recently we have discovered a malfunction that occurs with Firmware Version 2.0.3, in which the manual recording levels for C1/C2/C3 are changed and the camera becomes unable to record audio if the power is turned off (or if Auto power off takes effect) after registering “Sound Recording: Manual” in the camera user settings. We apologize very sincerely for the inconvenience, but we are going to stop making this firmware available for download. For customers who have already updated to the new firmware, when using the camera with the mode dial set to C1/C2/C3, please either set the sound recording settings to Auto.”

In the meanwhile, Canon has pulled the update from its support site while it works on a new firmware version to patch things up, but aside from a promise of “soon,” there’s no way to tell when exactly the new file will hit the pipes.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Canon EOS 5D Mark II 2.0.3 firmware yanked due to audio issues, fix is on the way originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Mar 2010 15:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink cinema5D News  |  sourceCanon  | Email this | Comments

Canon EOS 5D Mark II firmware 2.0.3 arrives at last to free us from frame rate hell

It’s been obvious from day one that it was possible, but after a couple of years of oh-so-painful 30 FPS recording on the EOS 5D Mark II, Canon is finally coming through with its long-promised 2.0.3 update that brings 29.97 FPS and 24 FPS (23.976, to be precise) 1080p recording at last. Even the VGA mode has been swapped to a 29.97 actual rate, and PAL mode has a flat 25 FPS and 23.976 FPS as well. Additional tweaks include a manual volume adjustment (as opposed to the automatic gain the cameras usually employ), a brightness or RGB histogram display (this function, like some of these other features, has been available for a while as a hack), shutter and aperture priority modes have been added for movie shooting, and the audio sampling ramp has been bumped from 44.1KHz to 48KHz. The bad news: now you don’t have any excuses for not shooting that heartwrenching mumblecore masterpiece you’ve been telling everyone you’re working on. Hit up the source link for the download instructions.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Canon EOS 5D Mark II firmware 2.0.3 arrives at last to free us from frame rate hell originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Mar 2010 23:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sprint: Android 2.1 update for Hero, Moment coming in early Q2

And there you have it, folks — word straight from Sprint that the much-anticipated Android 2.1 update will be coming to the HTC Hero and Samsung Moment “early” in the second quarter of this year. As you may recall, Sprint has actually been talking about this update since December, but “early 2Q10” is at least slightly better news than the previous “1H2010” estimate the carrier’s been dishing out.

Update: Sprint has posted a follow-up tweet saying that OTA vs. PC-based or in-store upgrades are “still TBD upgrade options.”

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Sprint: Android 2.1 update for Hero, Moment coming in early Q2 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Feb 2010 12:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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PS3 3D video output turns up in 3.20 debug firmware

We’d already heard that the PS3 wouldn’t need anything more than a simple firmware update to make the jump to 3D, and it looks like we now have the first evidence of that very firmware update. It’s obviously not ready for public consumption just yet, but a debug build of the 3.20 firmware is apparently now making the rounds among developers, and it quite clearly includes a “3D Video Output” option in the settings — as evidenced by this image courtesy of VG247. Still no word of an exact release date for the firmware, unfortunately, although it should be out sometime this summer.

[Thanks, Richard]

PS3 3D video output turns up in 3.20 debug firmware originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 14 Feb 2010 20:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceVG247  | Email this | Comments

Nook firmware 1.2 ready for download now (Update: video!)

Keeping up a fine tradition, Barnes & Noble has today let slip an internal memo that discusses a forthcoming version 1.2 firmware update for the Nook. There’s not much in the way of info on fresh new features or optimizations, but we do know that B&N retail locations will be getting the update “this week” alongside new units shipping with v1.2 preloaded onto them. We’re also told that the update would be an effortless side-loading affair via USB, but the bit about “prior to the software being released to customers” suggests that perhaps we won’t all be riding the latest software by this weekend. Let’s just be patient and do what we usually do: fantasize about what the future may hold.

Update: Turns out B&N will be rolling out an OTA update to customers in a few days, but the manual download is all ready for collection from right here. You’ll find the full list of changes after the break

Update 2: Now with video, after the break.

[Thanks, Doug].

Continue reading Nook firmware 1.2 ready for download now (Update: video!)

Nook firmware 1.2 ready for download now (Update: video!) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 03:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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27-inch iMac gets another display firmware update, everyone else gets minor iTunes update

Still plagued by the annoying screen flicker on your precious 27-inch iMac, even after the previous update? Try this second attempt by Apple. While you’re at it, there’s also a minor update for iTunes which makes sure it actually “remember[s] password for purchases,” as well as fixing a few sync and performance issues. Good luck with both and let us know if your iMac nightmare is finally over.

27-inch iMac gets another display firmware update, everyone else gets minor iTunes update originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Feb 2010 21:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceApple (iMac), (iTunes)  | Email this | Comments

Recent PS3 updates prompt more complaints of console failures

Well, we heard a raft of complaints of Blu-ray drive failures and other issues when Sony rolled out the 3.0 and 3.1 firmware updates for the PlayStation 3, and it looks like things may have taken another turn for the worse with the recent 3.10 and 3.15 updates. While it’s a bit early to call things widespread, some forums are once again starting to heat up with reports of various problems that mostly seem to have occurred after the 3.15 update rolled out last month — although some folks also seem to have had trouble with the earlier 3.10 update. As with last time, the issues being reported vary a bit, but the 60GB PS3 seems like it may be the most affected, with one completely unscientific poll on the official PlayStation forums finding that 27 users of the 60GB model had no issues after the 3.15 update, while 35 users had either some “bad” issues or a complete system failure (‘course those with no problems aren’t that likely to be seeking out threads about problems). So, anyone notice that their PS3 isn’t behaving like it should? Let us know in comments.

Recent PS3 updates prompt more complaints of console failures originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Jan 2010 17:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourcePlayStation Forums, Eurogamer  | Email this | Comments

Zune HD getting Xvid, Smart DJ, ever more appealing

Zune HD getting Xvid, Smart DJ, ever more appealing

We know you were put off by the whole Twitter censorship debacle last month, but Microsoft and the Zune HD have moved past that (honest) and they want you to come along as well. They’re enticing everyone to forget about that bone-headed move by, well, throwing everyone a bone and adding in Xvid support, part of full compatablity with MPEG-4 part 2 Advanced Simple Profile. DivX will not be coming out to play, but Smart DJ will be, a feature that isn’t so much new but is newly portable, providing a counterpoint to the iPod’s Genius and, since you can use it to stream content from the Zune Marketplace (when connected via WiFi) it begins to approach the functionality of apps like Pandora or Slacker Radio. Tasty, indeed, though at this point we’re not sure when Microsoft will be throwing us this juicy firmware update.

Zune HD getting Xvid, Smart DJ, ever more appealing originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 Jan 2010 09:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink SlashGear  |  sourceCNET  | Email this | Comments