Aug 11

Android Ice Cream Sandwich pictures leak, leave us slightly cold

Posted in: Android, gingerbread, Gmail, Google, honeycomb, leak, nexus s, NexusS, samsung, Today's Chili, ui
Well what do we have here? It looks like Ice Cream Sandwich might have escaped from Google’s freezer a little early. Let’s be clear here — we’re not 100 percent sure this is the next major version of Android, but the evidence is somewhat convincing. Both Android Police and RootzWiki posted screenshots of a Nexus S running a blue-ish themed skin which appears similar to the Gingerbread UI, but with a revised dock containing four icons instead of the usual three. Most of the changes are mild, but introduce functionality that already exist in Honeycomb. The camera app is said to gain a panorama mode, and the Gmail app is supposed to match the design of the new OS. Follow the links below for more details, and jump past the break for an additional picture.

Continue reading Android Ice Cream Sandwich pictures leak, leave us slightly cold

Android Ice Cream Sandwich pictures leak, leave us slightly cold originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Aug 2011 19:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceAndroid Police, RootzWiki  | Email this | Comments

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Aug 03

Hands-on with TouchWiz UX for the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1

Posted in: Android, galaxy, hands-on, samsung, Today's Chili, ui, video

Today’s Samsung event in New York City was a strange scene — the company collected Galaxy Tabs from the journalists in attendance and handed back coat check receipts, promising to give the devices back after the press conference ended. One Samsung executive acknowledged the unusual nature of the event, explaining that, “this is the first time we’ve held a news conference for a software update, and it probably won’t be the last.”

The event marked the pre-launch of a major software update for Samsung’s slate — one that is set to get wide release on August 5th. Members of the press, however, were given a side-loaded preview of the tablet UI — as were New York City Galaxy Tab 10.1 owners who showed up to the Samsung store with tablet in-hand. We’ve been playing around with the update for a bit and have a full hands-on preview for you after the break.

Gallery: Samsung Galaxy 10.1 TouchWiz UX hands-on

Continue reading Hands-on with TouchWiz UX for the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1

Hands-on with TouchWiz UX for the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Aug 2011 17:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jul 31

Best Buy launches Insignia connected TVs with DVR-less TiVo

Posted in: BestBuy, hdtv, netflix, Television, tivo, Today's Chili, TV, ui, video, YouTube

Right on schedule, Best Buy’s announced it’s good and ready to ship two Insignia-branded connected televisions with TiVo’s UI — minus the whole DVR thing, that is. The two 1080p sets, available in 32- and 42-inch flavors, are landing months after the retailer said it was buddying up with TiVo to borrow its user interface — and only that, there’s no indication these will play nicely with Premiere DVRs and their multiroom streaming at launch — for searching content and also just getting up and running easily. As you’d expect, folks perusing these sets can watch movies from Netflix, CinemaNow, and YouTube, as well as stream from Pandora and Napster. Rounding out the list of apps are Facebook, Twitter, Photobucket, and Chumby, with more to come, Best Buy tells us. In addition to the easy access to content, the story here is that the UI plays nice with existing cable boxes, making the installation easy even if the person holding the remote doesn’t happen to have a lengthy serial number on hand. Look for the 32-inch number for $499, with the 42-incher fetching $699. Find the full PR and some b-roll video after the break, along with a smattering of hands-on shots of what should be an all-too-familiar interface.

Gallery: Insignia TVs with TiVo’s UI

Continue reading Best Buy launches Insignia connected TVs with DVR-less TiVo

Best Buy launches Insignia connected TVs with DVR-less TiVo originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Aug 2011 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jul 29

Google refines search experience for big-fingered tablet owners

Posted in: apple ipad, AppleIpad, Google, GoogleAndroid, honeycomb, ipad, slate, tablet, tablets, Today's Chili, ui

Having trouble selecting those tiny links with your big, ol’ digits on that swanked-out slab? Don’t you worry, Google’s just made some slate-friendly improvements to its bread and butter search site, and it’s available for iPad and Honeycomb 3.1+ users. On deck for this UI refresh: a much simplified search results page, larger-sized buttons and text, and a quick access button located below the search box that skips you off to “Images, Videos, Places, Shopping and more.” There’s also been some visual tweaks made to its image search results, with enlarged previews, faster thumbnail loading and continuous scrolling. If you’re not seeing this overhauled layout just yet, sit tight — the update’s expected to roll out in the next few days.

Google refines search experience for big-fingered tablet owners originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Jul 2011 22:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceGoogle Mobile Blog  | Email this | Comments

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Jul 19

Facebook, Why Did You Screw Your Chat System?

Posted in: Today's Chili, top, ui

By now you’re probably one of the 500 million people who have noticed the new Facebook chat. Which means that one or more of these three words may be in your mind: Sucks. Stupid. Facebookassclowns. Here’s the lightning review: More »

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Jul 15

Automated shoulder surfing makes it easier to steal passwords, isn’t very tubular, brah (video)

Posted in: Android, BlackBerry, camera, interface, ios, research, security, smartphone, Software, Today's Chili, touchscreen, ui, video
Here’s something mildly terrifying to chew on: researchers in Italy have developed a way to automatically harvest anything you type on your smartphone’s touchscreen, using only a camera placed over your shoulder. The software, created by Federico Maggi and his team from the Politecnico di Milano, takes advantage of the magnified touchscreen keys you’ll find on most iOS, Android and BlackBerry devices. Because these magnifications often pop up in predictable positions, the spying system can recognize and record them with relative ease, with the help of a camera aimed at a targeted display. And it’s not like bobbing and weaving around will help evade its watchful eye, since the apparatus can instantly detect sudden movements and adjust its gaze accordingly. Researchers say their tool is capable of accurately recognizing up to 97 percent of all keystrokes and is fast enough to transmit copied passwords in “quasi real-time,” which must be music to a lazy criminal’s ears. Tiptoe past the break to see the beast in action and spend the rest of your life in an everlasting state of fear.

Continue reading Automated shoulder surfing makes it easier to steal passwords, isn’t very tubular, brah (video)

Automated shoulder surfing makes it easier to steal passwords, isn’t very tubular, brah (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 15 Jul 2011 12:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Slashdot  |  sourcephretor (YouTube)  | Email this | Comments

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Jul 04

Windows Phone 7 Foursquare app re-released, tweet counts rise rapidly

Posted in: apps, Microsoft, mobile, mobile phone, MobilePhone, smartphone, Smartphones, Today's Chili, ui, windows phone, WindowsPhone, Wp7

Bummed about the myriad issues surrounding the original Foursquare app for Windows Phone 7? The troublesome program was pulled due to lacking features and a rather sub-par user experience, leaving mayors everywhere unable to verify their credentials for hard-earned discounts. Well fret no more, friends. A new version of the mobile check-in application has been released, showing off a retooled interface that takes full advantage of Microsoft’s panoramic UI. Among other features are live tile, tap-and-hold check-in, and a map that shows friends’ check-ins alongside nearby specials. Version 2.0, as it’s being called, is now available in the Windows Phone Marketplace — your Twitter followers have probably missed all of your Taco Bell Fourthmeal check-ins anyway.

Windows Phone 7 Foursquare app re-released, tweet counts rise rapidly originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Jul 2011 09:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Slash Gear, Mobile Burn  |  sourceFoursquare  | Email this | Comments

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Jun 29

Andy Hertzfeld, ‘former Macintosh wizard,’ designed the Google+ Project

Posted in: Apple, Google, Mac, os x, OsX, social networking, SocialNetworking, Software, Today's Chili, ui

Google+ looks… a little different. Almost as if it didn’t even come from Google. And those drag-and-drop circles? Luscious. Turns out, there’s a reason for everything, and he goes by Andy Hertzfeld. According to an investigative piece put up by Wired, Andy’s actually credited as being the “original Mac guy,” responsible for software and user interface design while working for Apple between 1979 and 1984. He picked up a new role at Goog in 2005, but according to the report, “he had previously felt constrained because its design standards didn’t allow for individual creativity.” That all changed with Emerald Sea, a diddy that would eventually become known as the search giant’s most ambitious foray yet into the wide world of social networking. It’s bruited that Andy was given the freedom to go wild whilst designing Google+, and it shows — the interface throughout is about as intuitive as one could ever hope. ‘Course, it takes more than good design to seal a project, but there’s no doubt that this is one heck of a start. The rest of the story? Tucked away in that source link, just south of here.

Andy Hertzfeld, ‘former Macintosh wizard,’ designed the Google+ Project originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Jun 2011 10:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink TUAW, Apple Insider  |  sourceWired  | Email this | Comments

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Jun 24

Telstra will scrap Sense UI to make room for Gingerbread on the HTC Desire

Posted in: Android, froyo, gingerbread, HTC, htc sense, HtcSense, ota, sense, Today's Chili, ui, update

What’s this we spy in the dusty depths of a Telstra software update page? A little sentence that displays some crowd-pleasing logic in bringing Android 2.3 to the hoary old Desire. HTC originally told us the handset had insufficient memory to run Gingerbread, and so would be excluded from the update. Then it did a 180-flip and said the Desire would be getting Gingerbread after all, but with the sacrifice of some memory-hogging apps. But now Aussie Telstra has opted for arguably the smartest alternative: prepare a special update that kicks HTC’s Sense UI out of the pub instead, freeing up plenty of room for Gingerbread while also pleasing punters who like to drink their Android neat. If it can work Down Under in August, other operators around the world ought to be able to make it work too. And if they don’t, there’s always the option of a spicy home-brewed beverage instead.

[Thanks, Alejandro]

Telstra will scrap Sense UI to make room for Gingerbread on the HTC Desire originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Jun 2011 07:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jun 21

Sliding Keyboard: it’s like Swype, but for Windows Phone 7

Posted in: Android, keyboard, phone, smartphone, Today's Chili, ui, Windows, windows phone 7, WindowsPhone7

In the Android realm, Swype has been life-changing for many; of course, reverting back to the messaging ways of old has been a must when jumping ship to WP7. Now, gesture tracing crosses the aisle, and it’s hopping over to Microsoft’s turf courtesy of Invoke IT’s Sliding Keyboard. With the look of the regular ol’ WP7 keyboard, this set of arm floaties records the user tracing out text, just like ex-Android fans are accustomed to. The company goes a bit further by offering a pair of goggles — in the form of Bing search, text messaging and email options along the bottom of the app. Sure, it’s seeing its fair share of first-revision bugs (word recognition seems a bit poor based on early reviews), but at a cool $1.29 (and a free trial preceding that), it’s a good bit cheaper than a therapy session. Right?

Sliding Keyboard: it’s like Swype, but for Windows Phone 7 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Jun 2011 07:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink WM Poweruser  |  sourceWindows Phone Applist, Zune Marketplace  | Email this | Comments

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