Hasta La Gadget!

The Advent Vega was never the most polished Android tablet in the world — after all, we had to rely on a custom ROM just to get native Android Market access — but a reasonable price tag and NVIDIA’s Tegra 2 has still made it hard to resist. For those who’ve managed to snag one already, you may have noticed that the Flash playback isn’t exactly… awesome. That’s probably because the version loaded onto already-shipped versions isn’t certified by Adobe, and in order to fend off future complaints, the company’s yanking Flash Player entirely from newly-shipping models for the time being. The certification process is apparently underway, and the outfit expects Vega tablets shipped “in the early part of 2011” to have a green-lit build pre-installed; as for everyone else, they’ll be provided a gratis update as soon as it can be pushed out onto the interwebs. Head on past the break for the full statement.

Continue reading Advent Vega’s Flash Player yanked due to missing Adobe certification

Advent Vega’s Flash Player yanked due to missing Adobe certification originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Dec 2010 17:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You had to know the hacking community was going to have a field day with the Nook Color — a $249 Android Tablet hiding behind with a thin e-reader coating. Indeed it didn’t take long to get rooted nor for Android 2.2 to get installed on there, but that particular hack comes with an interesting potential side-effect: small-scale thermonuclear explosions. Enabling FroYo requires disabling the device’s battery monitoring process, the very one that would be responsible for shutting down the device before the cells start overheating and, ultimately, going critical. Yeah it’s unlikely, but it could happen. Meanwhile, another hack has enabled the Android Market, but those instructions begin with a very daunting warning: “Very smart people have failed at this. If the following instructions confuse you, you might want to wait until an easier method has been developed.”

And, thankfully, there might be a much easier way coming, with Barnes & Noble reportedly telling Smartphone Mag that Android 2.2 will be officially coming to the Nook Color in January. Yes, Android 2.3 is what’s happening, but this is still an exciting upgrade as it will finally also allow access to a traditional Android home screen and even enable the Android Market.

Update: Okay, cancel that order for an asbestos carrying case. One of the developers of the Nook Color root wrote in to let us know that there is a secondary temperature monitor which should keep things below the ignition point. Hack away — or just wait a month.

Update 2: Barnes & Noble PR just got back to us to reiterate that Nook Color’s own shop will begin adding apps in early 2011 and that there are currently no plans to enable Android Market. Move along, nothing to see here, folks.

[Thanks, Ryan]

Nook Color getting Android 2.2 and Market in January, current hacks could make it blow up? (update) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Dec 2010 10:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Do you “have enterprise sales experience and an existing knowledge of the mobile market and the technologies that support it?” Do you “have strong IT knowledge in the areas of enterprise messaging and collaboration, VPN, WiFi and enterprise security technologies?” And most importantly, do you “possess the ability to work without direct supervision or detailed direction?” If so, you might just be suitable for Apple’s latest and greatest job listing. The HR team in Cupertino is apparently looking for a Verizon iPad system engineer, primarily to work with Apple’s sales team and legions of business partners in order to “drive the adoption of iPad in enterprise accounts.” What’s interesting is the Verizon angle; if Apple simply wanted nondescript iPads in Corporate America, why hire someone familiar with Big Red? Moreover, this certainly says something about Apple’s relationship with Verizon — namely, that it’s growing, and we’re guessing that the pleasantries will eventually extend far beyond a tablet. So yeah, it’s no real shocker that Apple and Verizon are in cahoots on some level, but this kind of invitation usually comes with one or two undercover intentions. Any upstanding gentleman attached to his better half would understand.

Apple job listing calls for Verizon iPad engineer, hints at a lot more originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 13 Dec 2010 15:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oh, you too, T-Mobile? Without delving into details, T-Mobile USA has gone tit-for-tat with Sprint by dropping the knowledge that it’ll be adding tablets (other than the Tab, of course) to its product portfolio in 2011 — and as you might expect, they’ll be using the network T-Mobile has taken to calling “4G.” Though it doesn’t meet any technical definition of 4G, the company’s ever-expanding HSPA+ network is definitely hanging with the big boys running WiMAX and LTE right now, delivering downlink speeds of 10Mbps or more in some areas if you’re lucky — and that’s just the kind of special sauce you’re going to want when you’ve got a big touchscreen to consume content. No word on brand or platform, but we’ve no doubt some of that Honeycomb noise will be in the mix. Here’s the full statement:

“T-Mobile is working closely with the majority of our OEM partners to deliver 4G products by integrating HSPA+ into roadmaps in 2011 as the dominant global standard. Consumers will continue to see HSPA+ fuel future innovation in a variety of mobile consumer electronics from smartphones and tablets to emerging devices. T-Mobile will continue to be at the forefront of wireless innovation, delivering an aggressive 4G product lineup in 2011, including 4G tablets.”

T-Mobile says it’ll launch ‘4G’ tablets in 2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Dec 2010 16:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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