Mihăiță Bamburic

Two weeks ago my colleague Alan Buckingham expressed his disappointment for the lack of software updates on the Verizon-branded Samsung Galaxy Nexus. Because of it, he even suggests that "Google should NEVER let Verizon sell another Nexus device". Is all hope lost?

On its Twitter account, replying to the post of a disgruntled user, the big red has confirmed that the Galaxy Nexus will receive a software update, presumably to Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean or newer. The carrier did not provide an exact release date and only suggested a rough estimate -- "soon".

Continue reading →

On Friday, Canadian mobile device manufacturer BlackBerry (the company formerly known as RIM) rolled out an update for the BlackBerry 10 operating system. The latest software iteration touts significant improvements across the board while also delivering a number of bug fixes.

The software update is a bit of a heavyweight, coming in at 150MB in size which is why BlackBerry recommends using a Wi-Fi connection for the download. The OTA (Over-The-Air) update is currently rolling out across the globe, but depending on the carrier it may take up to a couple of weeks to receive it on your Z10 smartphone. But let's see what's in store first.

Continue reading →

No matter what you think about it, Microsoft sure knows how to make a splash with "Meet Your Match". Just as the campaign was slowly fading away in our memories, Windows Phone evangelist Ben Rudolph brings it back to public attention by pitting the Nokia Lumia 920 against Android heavyweight Samsung Galaxy S III. Talk about being bold.

Unlike the previous challenges where Windows Phone 8 won against some older devices, this time around a handset running Microsoft's latest smartphone operating system -- the Lumia 920 -- finds itself in a pickle with the Galaxy S III. Trying to sway "real people" and "not actors" from their beloved green droids, Ben Rudolph proposes a challenge of finding "a good Mexican place". If he loses, he gives the folks $100.

Continue reading →

Forget about the boring Apple iPhone 5 and Samsung Galaxy S III for a moment, because while they may be impressive in their own right, both handsets now pale in comparison to the HTC-built Google Nexus One. The three year-old smartphone is the first to reach outer space and is circling around the Earth right now -- a feat that easily tops any other hardware or software feature.

HTC claims the Nexus One is the "world's first smartpho-naut" after the Android-powered device skyrocketed onto orbit from India, aboard the STRaND-1 nanosatellite. And that's not the best part. The STRaND-1 features WARP DRiVE (Water Alcohol Resistojet Propulsion Deorbit Re-entry Velocity Experiment) and electric PPTs (Pulsed Plasma Thrusters). How cool does that sound?

Continue reading →

On Wednesday, Microsoft announced a new update for Windows Azure, the company's cloud platform. Windows Azure Store now comes with expanded availability within 25 new locations across all major regions. This brings the tally up to 36 markets, a significant increase over the previous 11 from little over two months ago when the software giant announced a similar update.

The Windows Azure Store is designed to allow users to discover, purchase and manage services and data straight from the cloud platform's management portal. The feature was previously only available in Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Spain, United Kingdom and United States.

Continue reading →

Japanese device manufacturer Sony and global telecommunications company Telefonica have announced their support for Firefox OS, Mozilla's endeavor in the mobile market. To show its commitment for the operating system, Sony has also released an experimental build of Firefox OS for the Xperia E smartphone, that provides a glimpse into the future.

"At Sony Mobile, we continue to evaluate innovative technologies that can help deliver the premium user experiences that Sony’s consumers expect," Bob Ishida, Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Head of Products Business Group at Sony Mobile Communications says. "Our engineers are now working with Firefox OS Mobile and HTML5, evolving technologies which show great potential". Normally, the Xperia E is a low-end Android smartphone similar in specifications to Keon, the base development phone for Firefox OS made available by Geeksphone, but now it's been given a shot at worldwide recognition among enthusiasts.

Continue reading →

Finnish phone manufacturer Nokia has launched a new app called NFC Writer, for Lumia devices running Microsoft's new mobile operating system. The app is designed to take advantage of the built-in NFC (Near Field Communication) chip by automating various tasks through the use of tags.

Nokia yet again leaves other Windows Phone 8 devices -- such as my HTC Windows Phone 8X -- outside of the playing field as the Nokia NFC Writer comes as part of its exclusive Nokia Collection suite. The app is available for the Lumia 620, Lumia 720, Lumia 820 and Lumia 920 and nothing else. Which is a shame because there are some pretty nifty little features.

Continue reading →

Team Win Recovery Project, the group of developers behind the popular custom Android distribution TWRP, is at it again with a new version. The latest iteration sports a significant number of changes, bug fixes and improvements over the previous release.

TWRP 2.4.2.0 adds a screen timeout feature which will automatically turn off the display after 60 seconds of inactivity, in order to save precious battery life and prevent screen burn-in, the latter feature designed "especially" for AMOLED panels. The popular custom recovery also introduces a brightness setting, a feature available for specific setups and with support only for "some devices".

Continue reading →

Dell has rolled out a new, more secure iteration of the 10-inch, business-oriented Windows 8 tablet it originally launched five months ago.

The Latitude 10 in stock trim, retails from $449 as an "essentials" model, but the American computer manufacturer has government agencies, financial institutions and healthcare organizations in its sights with the more expensive Enhanced Security model, which is available for $779, a not so insignificant difference.

Continue reading →

The concept of Canonical taking a stab at the mobile market eludes me. Unless we want to split hairs, which I know will happen, Android already is the Linux ambassador across the globe, so why would the world need Ubuntu Touch? Furthermore, any new player starts out with a clean slate, which means many consumers will be skeptical at purchasing devices running the new operating system and therefore developer interest does not surpass a low threshold.

The PC market is not what it used to be a couple of years ago when people rushed out to buy new computers, rather than tablets or smartphones first. In some ways Canonical right now is Microsoft before Windows Phone and Windows 8 -- an important player further heading into obscurity down the road unless the boat steers in the right direction. Ubuntu Touch is supposed to give the world a breath of fresh air, the X factor that would sway enough people into switching from Android, iOS, Windows Phone or a feature phone, even.

Continue reading →

Today the festivities at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain kicked off. Nokia announced the new Lumia 520 and Lumia 720 Windows Phone 8 devices aimed at the entry-level and mid-range smartphone market and earlier ASUS unveiled two Android tablets dubbed Fonepad and PadFone Infinity.

The Fonepad is a 7-inch tablet that features built-in 3G support for cellular voice and data. The device sports a 7-inch 10-point multitouch IPS display with a resolution of 1280 by 800 and at a first glance it's quite similar to the Nexus 7, which is also manufactured by ASUS, bar the phone functionality.

Continue reading →

Nokia's augmented reality, map and navigation apps for Windows Phone just went through a name change, and now bear the HERE branding. As interesting as that may sound (which it doesn't, really) there is an even bigger announcement. HERE Drive Beta, HERE Maps and HERE Transit, which were formerly exclusive to Nokia devices, are now available for "any Windows Phone 8 smartphone".

Well, not for any Windows Phone 8 smartphone -- the three apps are only available for users in Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Spain, UK and US. That said, I have installed HERE Maps outside of a supported location and it works fine, without any apparent limitation. HERE Drive Beta and HERE Transit report an unsupported location and as a result neither works for me.

Continue reading →

On Monday, South Korean electronics manufacturer Samsung unveiled a new "end-to-end secure solution" aimed at boosting the company's BYOD (Bring Your own Device) credentials among businesses. Called Knox, the product beefs up the Samsung For Enterprise (also known as SAFE) program by adding improved security and increased manageability into the mix.

This time around Samsung forgoes the acronyms. Unlikely to be just a simple coincidence, Knox bears a military connotation as it hints at the iconic Fort Knox US Army post in Kentucky. Luckily, Samsung's Knox only deals with defense. The enterprise solution packs Security Enhanced (SE) Android, which is developed by the NSA (United States National Security Agency) to improve security within green droid land, and integrity management services that are implemented in the Android framework and the hardware alike.

Continue reading →

Call me crazy, but I love Mondays. Why? Because there is a new AOKP build coming just in time to kick off my week. The team behind the popular custom distribution Android Open Kang Project did not disappoint this time around either. Jelly Bean MR1 Build 4 made its way onto our modding hands with support for new devices and a much-awaited Android 4.2.2 base.

Jelly Bean MR1 Build 4 is the first release based on Android 4.2.2, the latter of which incorporates a number of new features including improved security as well as bug fixes for Bluetooth and other areas. The latest AOKP build touts minor changes, however, compared to its predecessor. The team behind the project says that the focus was on bugfixes, a "flawless AOSP merge" and the expansion of the lunch table (the lunch table is comprised of build configurations that can be compiled into per-device ROMs).

Continue reading →

Starting out as a rookie among veterans, in a matter of months Windows RT has transformed into an exciting and intriguing alternative to established tablet operating systems. The trigger for the frankly unexpected makeover is the jailbreak which allows enthusiasts to run unsigned apps on their Windows RT-based devices -- there's even an automated tool which makes modding a breeze. If you think that is not good enough and you still need or want your old apps, a developer has released a tool that allows legacy programs to run on Windows RT.

The tool, however, does not support every Windows-compatible legacy app known to mankind. It comes with some limitations as resource-hogging, complex, .NET-based, modern, 16-bit and 64-bit apps, among others, cannot run. The reasoning, judging by the developer's input on the matter, is to deliver a solid user experience across the board without major compromises when running legacy programs.

Continue reading →