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February 19, 2012 By: PoorCollegeGuy
NFC tagging is a relatively new feature on Android phones. Granted they’ve been around for awhile, but they’re just now finding their niche in the smartphone world. This, of course, means anyone who can modify the feature to make it better is going to at least try, and that can lead to some exciting results.
XDA Member ascsa has posted about an application that will allow users to re-use and recycle tags previously purchased NFC tags that were write protected.
The application is pretty cool and while it is posted in the Galaxy Nexus forums, it should be compatible with most devices that carry an NFC chip.
The feature list is pretty impressive and includes:
* Toggle Bluetooth without Pop-up
* Mute ‘Tag detected’ Pop-up via preferences
* Calendar entry: Open new calendar entry. Starting time: now; Duration: 1h -> Title will be set according to parameter
* Timestamp: Adds a calendar timestamp in the calendar (ID 1) -> Title will be set according to parameter
* Mediabutton: Simulates media buttons (Parameter: Toggle Play, Play, Pause, Stop, Next, Previous, Fast Forward, Rewind)
* Show homescreen: Jump to the homescreen. No Parameter
* Wait: Add a wait period. Parameter: milliseconds (2500 = 2,5 seconds)
* Show Pop-up: Shows a custom pop-up. Parameter = Pop-up text.
* Improved UI and some other minor tweaks
And that’s just updating from version 1.0 to 1.2. There are a plethora of other features available as well.
If this looks like something you’d like to try out, you can check out the XDA Thread for instructions on use, change logs and download links or you can just grab the application off the Android Market.
February 16, 2012 By: ElCondor
It was just a matter of time before Google would come up with their mobile version of Chrome. The desktop version has been a great success, even though it was pretty isolated from any other Google service. With the coming of Chrome Beta for Android (we’ll be calling it Chrome Beta in the rest of this article), Google developers hope to create a connection between Android smartphones and desktops. We’ll not work with cliffhangers this time and just admit it already: they truly did an awesome job at doing just that. They made Google Beta and Google desktop work together extremely well.
So why did Google come up with a mobile browser, while there is a pretty good Android browser already? After you’ve read the review, you’ll probably have found the answer. We can already tell you that this is a pretty big step forward for the Android user experience, not only because of its integration with Chrome desktop, but also because of its renewing design and animations.
The application comes in a ~50 Mb package, but takes up about 55 Mb on your memory, depending on the amount of cache memory that’s being used. After starting the app, we’re instantly faced with a sign-in page, which enables the app to connect with Chrome Desktop. Skipping this step is possible, but then you’ll miss the whole point of Chrome Beta. After signing in, we’re being introduced into the various functions of the app.
The interface is pretty straight-forward. At the bottom, there are three main ‘sources’ of websites: most visited, favorites and open tabs. The most visited section shows us, how surprising, our most visited websites, along with recently closed websites. It looks quite similar to Chrome Desktop’s interface when you open a new tab: the websites are actually displayed as miniatures, allowing us to locate the site at a glance. The favorites section is divided in three parts: desktop bookmarks, mobile bookmarks and other bookmarks. It is very convenient that these bookmarks are being separated from each other – though it is possible to create a desktop bookmark on your phone. The open tabs section is probably the most interesting one. All websites (tabs) that we currently have open on our desktop, are also being listed on our phone. Say you’re browsing the web with Chrome Desktop and you found a website containing an address you want to send to a friend by sending a text message; the only thing you have to do is clicking the link on your phone and letting it load the webpage, copy and paste the text and you’re done. It’s that easy.
Another important aspect of Chrome Beta is the Tabs function. All tabs are basically stapled together like a WebOS-esque stack of cards. Browsing through this stack can be done by swiping up and down, while swiping a card to the right will close it. At the top there’s an unmistakable New tab button, which opens up a new card and brings us to the aforementioned most visited, favorites or open tabs sections.
The menu shows a quick favorite button, next and previous buttons, and functions such as New tab, New Incognito tab, bookmarks and share. Yeah that’s right, Chrome’s beloved Incognito mode is now available on your mobile phone too. It is based on the card system too, and the stack is displayed right next to the normal stack.
So far, we’re really impressed not only by the features, but also the looks and animations of Chrome Beta. Animations are buttery smooth, scrolling through the card system works great and there’s no lag at all. Its looks are consistent with the Ice Cream Sandwich design – which is by definition just beautiful. The incognito tabs show up in a darker color scheme, reflecting what everyone probably associates with anonymous browsing activities.
All in all, we can’t say much negative about Chrome Beta. Well actually, nothing negative at all. It just feels consistent throughout all functions, and it is a major step forward in mobile browsing experience. We think Google’s strategy on Chrome is to create a cross-platform ecosystem in which the website browsing experience is shared along all devices. For now, that strategy seems to work.
February 9, 2012 By: Ian Stacy
Google Wallet is all over the headlines lately, first with its release on the Verizon network with the Galaxy Nexus and then with its release on the AT&T network with the Samsung Galaxy S II. Sprint and T-Mobile users have even been able to sideload the Google Wallet app on their respective variants of the Nexus S.
The app itself relies on the devices NFC chip to communicate with non-contact payment stations, like Mastercard’s PayPass. Google Wallet stores your credit card information allowing you to make in-store purchases with a swipe of your phone. Since the information on the chip can be accessed without direct contact several security measures were put in place to protect users. A four digit PIN is required to make purchases with the app, adding an additional layer of security. XDA Member and zvelo employee miasma discovered a flaw in the PIN system, allowing retrieval of credit card information. viaForensics, a company specializing in proactive forensic security (software hacking with the goal of reporting flaws and protecting users), also helped to demonstrate the exploit, proving that the process could be repeated on other devices.
Multiple problem areas were identified but the biggest was in the encryption of the PIN. Using SHA256 hex encoding, the PIN is secured in the app data. Knowing the PIN is 4 digits, viaForensics’ calculations show a brute-force would take, at-most, calculating 10,000 SHA256 hashes. This takes little effort and both miasma and Google have been able to compromise the PIN security in private tests.
Rooted users take note; the security flaw can only be exploited on phones with root privileges. Google has acknowledged the flaw and they are working on a fix. In order to preform this attack a hacker would have to have physical access to your phone, so until a fix is published users can assure their safety by keeping their device within reach. As always, for the security of your phone, stay up to date with the latest software. Don’t forget to keep your phone secure with a lockscreen pattern, PIN or password (or face unlock if your device supports it).
To see the exploit in action, check out the video here. The original thread announcing the vulnerabilities can be found here. Google is working with the banks and card companies involved to make Google Wallet more secure and to patch this security flaw, so hopefully we’ll see some updates soon. Until then, keep those NFC enabled phones within reach at all times!
January 9, 2012 By: liwen
If you’ve been following the LTE-wars, you know that Sprint has decided to diversify beyond WiMax by building a LTE network. Today, Sprint has announced its first two LTE devices, both of which run Android. The first ought to be familiar: the Samsung Galaxy Nexus. It’ll be the same Galaxy Nexus that we already know (with a 1.2GHz TI OMAP CPU, 1GB of RAM, and a 720p S-AMOLED HD display), except that it’ll come pre-loaded with Google Wallet. Then we have the new LG Viper, which will also ship with a 1.2GHz CPU and 1GB of RAM, but a lower-resolution 4″ WVGA Nova display. It also has Google Wallet pre-installed, and thus a NFC chip. The Viper is made from eco-friendly materials, like recycled plastic.
Source: Sprint
January 3, 2012 By: PoorCollegeGuy
One of the biggest pains of playing video games on a non-console platform is configuring your controller to work properly. Making sure everything works in every environment, testing and re-testing until everything seems right.
Well, if you’re a Sixaxis controller user and you play GTA III, then this is a pain you won’t need pills to fix. XDA Senior Member Jameslepable has taken the trouble to figure out the most optimal button configuration and has created a tutorial to help those who are having trouble doing it.
The instructions for use are relatively simple and noob friendly, so it doesn’t take a great deal of knowledge to get his configuration to work. His instructions:
1)Download sixaxis and GTA3 from market place (obviously)
2)Download profile from bottom of post.
3) From GTA3 menu go to options>controls>adjust on foot controls/adjust driving controls and make them look like the screenshot.
4)Then go to sixaxis controller settings>edit touch profiles>Load Profile>gta3 vx.x and ensure that they match the screenshots.
The file he mentions can be found, along with the screenshots needed, further instructions and the button mapping list in the original thread. So far, it’s confirmed working on the Samsung Galaxy Nexus since that’s where it’s posted, but the directions seem pretty universal and could possibly be used on other devices as well if they’re compatible with GTA III and Sixaxis.
Now, as Jameslepable puts it,
Go shoot some hookers!
December 24, 2011 By: Jase Glenn
The title says it all! The Samsung Galaxy Nexus, Google’s latest flagship, has gotten a taste of MIUI goodness, and it’s all thanks to DroidVicious.
The build is still an Alpha, but so far it has working:
Calls
Call audio in and out
Data works confirmed 3G and 4G work and are being displayed and registered properly!!
SMS messages work!!
MMS works when receiving an MMS but you can’t send an MMS yet from internal storage cuz it can’t find it yet.. I’m fixing this now also
ADB works, ADB remount is in the next update that I should have up in a few hours..
So there you have it folks, custom goodness for your Galaxy Nexus. Stop in here for CDMA and here for GSM.
December 20, 2011 By: liwen
Some owners of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus over at the RootzWiki forums are reporting (via Engadget) a small issue with multitouch sensitivity: After playing some games in landscape orientation, touching the lower left and lower right corner simultaneously may lead to the touch on the lower right corner not being registered correctly. Since this is easily fixed by turning the screen off and back on again, this is likely a software issue, so we’re hoping for an update that elimininates this admittedly minor but still annoying glitch, especially for folks that like to play games like Shadowgun or PewPew.
There are also videos demonstrating this issue on the LTE and GSM version, respectively. Sound off in the comments whether you’re able to replicate it.
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