Latest Gear Live Videos
Windows Phone 8 users will get 1 year of commercial-free Pandora One
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Microsoft, Music,
Microsoft is touting a bunch of the new apps that will be coming to Windows Phone 8, and one it's really excited about is Pandora. You're in for a little bit of a wait for the app, as it won't appear for Windows Phone 8 users until early 2013, but when it does, it will offer ad-free listening for the first year. That's basically free 12-month subscription to Pandora One from Microsoft for users of its new smartphones. Pretty nice.
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Video: Thief Swiping a Commuter’s Smartphone
Posted by Jason Diaz Categories: Smartphones, Videos,
Theft of smartphones are on the rise, especially iPhones, and this latest crime was all caught on video. The YouTube video catches a dude eyeing a woman's smartphone. Then, as the train makes its stop, the thief waits a few seconds and, just as the train is about to leave, takes off with the victim's mobile device, leaving her high and dry as the train door rapidly closes. Even before the video went viral, the Hungary police identified the 28 year old thief and was arrested at his girlfriends apartment; and get this, it's not his first time. As a public reminder, we at Gear Live want to remind our readers to be hyper-aware of their surroundings. Shake up travel habits and practice the "out of sight, out of mind" method. Keep those expensive gadgets hidden. Oh, and those white cabled Apple headphones are a dead giveaway.
Click to continue reading Video: Thief Swiping a Commuter’s Smartphone
Jailbreaking your iPad and unlocking your iPhone ruled illegal by Library of Congress
Posted by Jason Diaz Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Corporate News, Software,
Somber news for the jailbreaking and unlocking community. Per rule of the Library of Congress, it will be illegal to unlock any smartphone (including iPhone) or jailbreak any tablet (including iPad) purchased after January 1, 2013. The only exception is jailbreaking or rooting a smartphone, which is covered by the DMCA for the next three years.
B. Wireless telephone handsets – software interoperability
Computer programs that enable wireless telephone handsets to execute lawfully obtained software applications, where circumvention is accomplished for the sole purpose of enabling interoperability of such applications with computer programs on the telephone handset.
C. Wireless telephone handsets – interoperability with alternative networks
Computer programs, in the form of firmware or software, that enable a wireless telephone handset originally acquired from the operator of a wireless telecommunications network or retailer no later than ninety days after the effective date of this exemption to connect to a different wireless telecommunications network, if the operator of the wireless communications network to which the handset is locked has failed to unlock it within a reasonable period of time following a request by the owner of the wireless telephone handset, and when circumvention is initiated by the owner, an individual consumer, who is also the owner of the copy of the computer program in such wireless telephone handset, solely in order to connect to a different wireless telecommunications network, and such access to the network is authorized by the operator of the network.This exemption is a modification of the proponents’ proposal. It permits the circumvention of computer programs on mobile phones to enable such mobile phones to connect to alternative networks (often referred to as “unlocking”), but with limited applicability. In order to align the exemption to current market realities, it applies only to mobile phones acquired prior to the effective date of the exemption or within 90 days thereafter. - US Library of Congress.
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| Library of Congress
Apple working on iOS 6.0.1 bug fix update
Posted by Jason Diaz Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Handhelds, Rumors, Software,
BGR reported this morning that their sources have indicated that Apple is internally testing iOS 6.0.1 with numerous carriers, and this one looks to be focused on fixing a few nagging issues. There have been complaints of the camera flash not firing when expected, bad Wi-Fi connections, and horizontal lines appearing on the display, and iOS 6.0.1 should address these concerns, and more. In addition, there is an Exchange Invite bug that deletes the entire calendar event if any invited party declines. Furthermore, a Passbook update will prevent all the details from your cards from being accessed from the lock screen without your PIN code.
It's also reported that Apple is working on iOS 6.1, which should bring with it a new feature or two, within the confines of its Cupertino labs, but that isn't expected until after the 2012 holiday season. BGR has been somewhat hit or miss with Apple predictions as of late, so this can all be taken with a grain of salt. That said, it would be hard to imagine that Apple didn't have both iOS 6.0.1 and iOS 6.1 in the pipeline.
Read More | BGR
Google sets the table for an October 29th Android Event
Posted by Jason Diaz Categories: Smartphones, Corporate News, Google, Rumors, Software,
The rumor of the Google Nexus event on October 29th is all but confirmed. The search giant has sent out invitations to the press for the event being held in New York City. The invite details are limited to time, date, and place but there's some additional written text in the search field. Could it mean an open API for Google Now?
With a high degree of certainty, the event will centered around the LG Nexus 4. However, there might be additional hardware announcements, like the one that appeared on the photo sharing site, Picasa, of the Sony Nexus X smartphone, and possibly a revamped Nexus Q. Perhaps some chatter of Google TV; we doubt it though. Could Google be planning to release yet another version of Android? Key Lime Pie anyone? The event will be live streamed on Youtube.
Click to continue reading Google sets the table for an October 29th Android Event
Unboxing Live 098: iPhone 5 (white and black!)
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Cell Phones, Features, Handhelds, Videocasts,
We brought you our iPhone 5 white unboxing gallery and iPhone 5 black unboxing gallery a few weeks ago, but we know there are some out there who just prefer seeing it all unfold on video. It's a bit delayed, but in this episode we are on location for the launch of the new iPhone 5! This time, we come to you from the Northbrook Mall Apple Store in the Chicago area, and we've got a white & silver and black & slate iPhone to open up and show off in this episode. Did you get your iPhone 5 yet? Also, be sure to check out our comprehensive iPhone 5 review.
Big thank you to GoToMeeting for sponsoring the show - be sure to check them out! GoToMeeting with HDFaces provides rich, super-simple collaborative virtual meetings.
Mysterious images of Sony Nexus X smartphone pop up in Piscasa
Posted by Jason Diaz Categories: Smartphones, Google, Handhelds, Rumors,
Rumor has it that Google may release two new Nexus devices: one made by LG, and the other by Sony. Two photos have popped up on the Piscasa photo sharing site, and they seemingly reveal an angled image of a device with Sony and Google branding on the back. This could be a hoax, but from a competitive perspective, two Nexus devices are better than one. The idea could propel the Nexus brand from a niche market to the mainstream; much like what Samsung did with the Galaxy line. Also, the image details shows that it was taken with a Samsung Galaxy Nexus. We caught a screenshot of it before the author decided to remove that piece of important detail. More images after the break.
Click to continue reading Mysterious images of Sony Nexus X smartphone pop up in Piscasa
Read More | Mutul Yeter
LG Nexus 4 announcement coming October 29th?
Posted by Jason Diaz Categories: Smartphones, Google, Handhelds, Rumors,
It appears that the next Google Nexus smartphone iteration is set to be announced on October 29th, according to French newspaper Le Figaro. The Nexus 4 is being manufactured by LG, a switch from Samsung and HTC, which have built past Nexus devices for Google. A quick run down of the specs: the Nexus 4 sports a whopping 4.7-inch IPS720p display, 8GB or 16GB of storage space (What? No 32GB or 64GB version?), 2GB RAM, 8-megapixel rear camera, and NFC, all powered by a Snapdragon S4 quad-core processor. Since this a "pure Google experience" device, it will ship with the latest version of Android, Jelly Bean.
Read More | Le Figaro
The ever-shrinking SIM card
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Editorial, Features,
What you see in the image above is the evolution of mobile phone SIM card design over the past four years. The largest in the image, known as the mini-SIM, was used for quite a while as the standard in GSM cell phones. However, as smartphones began to rise in popularity, drop is cost, and brought increased functionality, it was determined that the mini-SIM just wasn't mini enough. It took up too much of the precious real estate that mobile phone manufacturers needed for other things. Thing like a GPS radio, Wi-Fi, larger batteries, dock connectors, graphics chips, and more. And so began the start of the shrinking SIM card.
Click to continue reading The ever-shrinking SIM card
Samsung announces Galaxy S III mini with 4-inch Super AMOLED display
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Google, Handhelds,
We knew that the Samsung Galaxy S III mini was coming, and now it's official. The 4-inch smartphone was announced earlier today in Frankfurt, Germany, sporting Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, 1GB RAM, and a 1GHz dual-core processor. Other specs include the ability to choose between an 8GB and 16GB model (both are expandable with an extra 32Gb microSD card,) 4-inch Super AMOLED display, 5-magapixel rear camera, VGA front camera, and a bunch of wireless support (802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, FM radio, and NFC. Aside from pricing and availability, which is nowhere to be found just yet, we're wondering--when did 4-inch smartphones became referred to as "mini"?
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