Mihăiță Bamburic

HTC promised, and Samsung delivered.

After a number of leaked beta builds surfaced, the official Android 4.1 Jelly Bean update for the Samsung Galaxy S III is now available in select European countries.

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Apple's new iPhone 5 is now available, and I want nothing to do with it. Ever since the September 12 debut, I have wondered why anyone would want to buy the Apple smartphone, and quite frankly I could come up with only one reason -- because it's a new iPhone. For that privilege, on Friday, people queued up outside Apple Stores, from Australia to United States.

Some people started lining up days before miracle device that is known as the iPhone 5 went on sale, which makes no sense to me. I clearly expressed my disappointment a day after the announcement, and knowing what is in store (pun intended) I asked myself: "Why would I want to queue for it?"

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Surely Apple is furious as not even a day after the iPhone 5 launched the device is jailbroken.

On his Twitter account Grant Paul posted a photo of an iPhone 5 with Cydia trumping on the screen, indicating that the device is jailbroken. But hold your horses, as the details are scarce at the moment and no date has been provided by the developer as to when or if the jailbreak will be publicly available.

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The Samsung Galaxy S III for Verizon Wireless comes with a locked bootloader, which is a no-go for installing custom ROMs. To aid modders the South Korean smartphone manufacturer released the Galaxy S III Developer Edition, which is still locked on the same United States carrier but has an unlocked bootloader.

The Galaxy S III Developer Edition for Verizon Wireless is available directly from Samsung for $599.99 or $649.99 in 16GB or 32GB capacities, respectively, in Pebble Blue; both sell for $400 more than the models Verizon currently lists and have 30-day parts & labor warranty. The only problem is that the bootloader of the Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III can already be unlocked without purchasing a new smartphone at a premium, that is still locked on Verizon Wireless.

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Microsoft is taking a considerable risk with the Windows 8 ecosystem and major push into the post-PC era. There is no room for error and to get it right all the parts must work in perfect harmony. Windows 8 faces stiff competition and must dismount all preconceptions it's a weak tablet operating system.

Microsoft enters the market fully prepared to take its opponents head-on. Instead of copying adversaries, the company takes the more mature approach of offering a different user experience. Every competitor should fear Windows 8 tablets, and I've got five reasons why.

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Almost two weeks after Amazon unveiled new tablets, the $199 7-inch Kindle Fire HD tablet gets "a new lease on life" through rooting.

Gaining elevated privileges (popularly known as "root") is facilitated by an exploit found in Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich that Amazon didn't fix before shipping the tablet. The fairly uncomplicated process gives the Kindle Fire HD a new trick up its sleeve -- using the Google Play Store, which provides access to all apps available there.

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In the world of Android distributions, one name stands above all -- CyanogenMod -- and praise doesn't come higher than that. Based on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, the popular CyanogenMod 10 should be a go-to for any modding enthusiast, be they a newcomer or aficionado looking for the custom ROM to unleash all the power without being too over-the-top.

As of late, CyanogenMod 10 offers increased flexibility by being available as a monthly release and nightly build, but what better way to experience the latest changes and the project evolution as a whole than running the latest cutting-edge nightly build?

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Motorola, which recently announced the Droid Razr HD smartphones as well as the Droid Razr HD Developer Edition, added a new smartphone to its line up -- the Razr i. In two color designs -- white and black, it bears an uncanny resemblance to the well-received Droid Razr M.

Unexpectedly, the star of the show is not the device itself, but rather Intel's Atom processor which makes it the first commercially available smartphone clocked at 2GHz. Just like the Droid Razr M, it comes with a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Advanced display and, according to Motorola, a battery that is 40 percent more powerful than the competition. By competition, Motorola is referring to the year-old Apple iPhone 4S. On the back, there is an 8MP camera with an illuminated sensor and HDR (High Dynamic Range) capability, that can load in less than a second and can take 10 pictures using multi-shot mode, again, in less than a second as long as the display is not off.

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There's an encore to Jelly Bean Build 1. Android Open Kang Project team has announced the availability of the second release named Jelly Bean Build 2 that should be even more impressive that the first.

So what's new? AOKP Jelly Bean Build 2 is based on Android 4.1.1 , build number JRO03L and adds stability improvements, improved functionality and larger supported devices list, that now includes Samsung Galaxy Note and Galaxy S III for Verizon Wireless and even the venerable Samsung Galaxy S. As a nice bonus for Google Nexus 7 (grouper) owners, 720p video recording is enabled for the front-facing camera.

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Post-PC is a lifestyle I do not strive toward and I have very good reasons for that. Yet after buying my Galaxy Nexus, I started toying with the idea that maybe a tablet is not such a bad idea after all. I will not concede to the concept of a tablet being suited for all tasks, yet I can accept it for what it is -- a toy. I have not self-medicated, nor did I happen to change overnight, but there is a logic to my madness.

I am the type of person that gets easily bored by using the same thing over and over again, be it software or hardware, and it would only be a logical step to assume that a new device could put an end to my unconscious --or most likely conscious-- quest to find the perfect anti-boredom device. My needs are rather specific, and I struggle to find the reason why I would rationally want to make the switch to an all-purpose tablet, and there isn't one.

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Rumors of a $199 Microsoft Surface RT tablet popped up on the Web a month ago, feeding the idea of a cheap and even subsidized Microsoft tablet that would take the pricing war to any device from the Google Nexus 7 to Apple's new iPad. In an interview for The Seattle Times, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer mentioned a new price range for the the company's Windows 8 device, putting the previous rumors of a $199 Microsoft tablet to rest.

Even though Microsoft did not announce the pricing, when asked about Surface, Steve Ballmer said that it would go for "probably $300 to about $700 or $800," giving a rough estimate of what potential buyers should expect to pay for the much discussed tablet. The previous rumors might be dust in the wind after the latest "estimate," but at the same time it calls for speculation justified by the $500 difference which isn't unsubstantial to say the least.

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Who would have guessed after the less-than-mesmerizing announcement of the iPhone 5 that it would be the most popular smartphone from Apple yet?

Apple iPhone 5 pre-orders topped 2 million in a 24 hour period according to the Cupertino, Calif.-based corporation. Apple's latest smartphone is apparently twice as popular as its previous model, the iPhone 4S which managed one million pre-orders for the same period of time.

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Motorola recently introduced the new Droid Razr HD family of smartphones, and to top off the recent announcement the Droid Razr HD Developer Edition looks ready to join the group.

What you will get is exactly the same device as the more "common" Droid Razr HD with an unlocked bootloader thrown into the mix. The result? A modding-friendly Motorola smartphone, and if the older Motorola Droid Razr Developer Edition is of any indication there will be no warranty and a hefty price tag.

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A new iPhone is Apple's chance to drive competitors nuts, to take technological innovation to new heights and to leave the stage with a justified smug look, but as the dust settles from yesterday's launch event the new handset feels dated already. The Cupertino, Calif.-based corporation should smash the competition to bits but that hasn't happened, has it?

iPhone 5 is not the revolutionary product that could set the world on fire and just like my colleage Wayne Williams I wonder "Hey, Apple, where’s the innovation?" There is a saying that's perfect for landmark product releases: "Go big or go home" and Apple should have followed the former not the latter for what will most likely be flagship device over the next year. It's not enough to sway the current cutting-edge Android smartphones to the curb, so how can it when there will be fierce competition from Windows Phone 8 devices like the Nokia Lumia 920 or Samsung ATIV S?

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CyanogenMod 10 is one of the most popular Android 4.1 Jelly Bean custom distributions available today, but keeping up with all the nightly releases can be time consuming, which is why the team behind the project announced the rollout of the M-Series build -- releases of CyanogenMod 10 that will be available at the beginning of every month.

CyanogenMod team wants to offer more stable builds on a timely manner, that is a departure from the ever present CM10 nightly builds that can vary in quality from one release to another. A code freeze was announced, blocking new features and focusing instead on stability that is of utmost importance for a build designed to work for a month and be adequate for daily use. They will still be labeled as "experimental" considering that at their core they still come from nightly builds.

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