Temporary Root guide for G2
So you want to attempt rooting your new G2 huh? As much as it’ll give you street cred, we have an obligation to warn you of the possible side effects of a bad root job, as it may brick your Android.
That said, it looks like xda-developers have been putting together a “temporary” G2 Rooting guide for those willing to attempt it.
You can click here to follow the instructions.
Napster is now available on the Android App Market
Like most music services now, you’ll pay a subscription fee, but you’ll get a free month to try it out first, and gain access to over 11 million songs in their catelog. Not bad.
So if you feel like legitimately using Napster to listen to music, go ahead, and don’t worry about bands suing them this time around. It’s legit, 2 legit 2 quit!
Would you go back to Napster or stay with Last.fm or Pandora? Let us know which you like the best.
Sharp Launches 5.5″ and 10.8″ Galapagos E-Reading Tablets
Sharp Corporation announced that they will release a media service business, named GALAPOS, specially created to provide users a new network service and device specifically designed for the Japanese market.
Find out that two compatible tablets have been created as e-book readers and will be introduced in the same time. The great news is that the new e-bookstore will feature an ‘Automatic Scheduled Delivery Service’ for periodical publications. E-book users may read the most recent editions of newspapers and magazines, which they have been subscribed.
Sharp has built two models of the e-book readers: a mobile version featuring a 5.5-inch LCD screen that reads like a paperback book, and a home version featuring a 10.8-inch high-resolution HD LCD, allowing users to read from a two-page spread.
The great news is that Sharp will continue to provide updates through the service, and by increasing the functions of compatible terminal devices.
Sharp IS03 Android phone
Apple’s Retina Display for the iPhone 4 and latest iPod touch may have been leaving WVGA Android smartphones in the shade, but it was only a matter of time before the open-souce alternatives caught up. Sharp has just announced the IS03, headed to Japanese carrier KDDI in November, with a 3.5-inch 960 x 640 capacitive touchscreen, 1GHz Snapdragon processor and 9.6-megapixel camera with flash.
As we’ve grown to expect from Japanese smartphonse, the KDDI IS03 is bursting with functionality. In addition to EVDO Rev.A, WiFi b/g and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR there’s infrared, GPS, 1-Seg mobile digital TV and an FM transmitter, as well as compatibility with KDDI’s mobile wallet electronic payments system.
There’s also 512MB of RAM and a 2GB microSD card preloaded (up to 32GB supported), and the whole thing weighs in at 138g and will be available in white, black or orange. Interestingly, the display has a dual-power mode which can show battery status, signal, missed calls and other reminders without the backlight being active, and it seems to beat the Continuum to the post with a second touchscreen panel for the Android controls. No word on whether Sharp are going to develop a version of the IS03 for the US or Europe, sadly.
Fujitsu dual-touchscreen concept phone hands-on
Back at Mobile World Congress in February, the mobile UI gurus at TAT showed off their interpretation of a dual-screen phone interface using TI’s powerhouse OMAP4 testbed. Seemed a little pie-in-the-sky at the time, but frankly, the concept device being shown off by Fujtisu at CEATEC this week — created with TAT’s involvement, it turns out — seems virtually ready for production. Or the hardware did, anyway; the software was spartan by comparison, obviously designed to call out a few key use cases where having two giant, glorious 960 x 480 displays right next to each other might come in handy. We were shown browser and email list scrolling across both displays — boring, if not obvious — but what really piqued our interest was a cool photo sharing feature whereby you fling photos you want to share from a gallery on the bottom display to a list of contacts on the top one — very TAT, if we do say so ourselves. Both displays can be rotated between portrait and landscape, creating either a nicely-sized clamshell or a gigantic flip, not an uncommon shape among Japanese phones. Indeed, given the form factor, the entirely-Japanese interface, and Fujitsu’s history, we’re sure this was designed entirely with the Japanese domestic market in mind — and we wouldn’t be at all surprised to see it show up in a retail capacity there within a year or so.
Apple iPod shuffle 4G review
Apple’s iPod Shuffle received another makeover when Apple launched its new iPod line up in September, but were they right to go back to one of the previous designs or has the re-inclusion of buttons spoilt it? While the iPod touch is the flagship and the iPod nano the bit of fun, the iPod shuffle, to many, is a strange device that doesn’t really serve much purpose. With no screen and a small storage (2GB) chances are your phone will offer you a more complete experience.
However with such a low price point (£39) and such a small design, the shuffle is perfect for runners who want music, but also want to keep things light. Measuring 29 x 31.6 x 8.7mm there is no denying that the iPod shuffle is small – heck we’ve seen postage stamps bigger. Read more 
Google TV Apps Video
It’s been almost five months since we introduced Google TV to the world at Google I/O, and today we’re happy to give you an update on our progress. For those who haven’t yet heard of it, Google TV is a new way to think about TV: it’s a platform that combines your current TV programming and the open web into a single, seamless entertainment experience.
One of our goals with Google TV is to finally open up the living room and enable new innovation from content creators, programmers, developers and advertisers. By bringing Google Chrome and access to the entire Internet, you can easily navigate to thousands of websites to watch your favorite web videos, play Flash games, view photos, read movie reviews or chat with friends—all on the big screen. Read more
Samsung Wave II S8530 with Super Clear LCD
Samsung has just announced its fifth Bada OS-based smartphone, the Wave II S8530 (not to be confounded with the Wave 2 S5250).
Coming to replace the Wave S8500, the Wave II looks almost the same, but it’s bigger and has a larger display (3.7 inches, WVGA).
Unlike the first Wave, which has a Super AMOLED screen, the new handset features a Super Clear LCD screen – which can only mean that Samsung does have AMOLED production problems, as rumored last week.
Apart from the bigger and different display, the Wave II S8530 features TouchWiz UI 3.0, HSDPA, Wi-Fi b/g/n, GPS, 3.5mm headset jack, Bluetooth 3.0, access to Samsung Apps (which currently hosts more than 1000 applications), TV-out, 5MP autofocus camera with flash, HD (720p) video recording, 1GHz processor, and MicroSD card support up to 32GB.
HTC Launch new colours for Desire and Legend
It’s almost a given that HTC may have a little announcement for us next Monday, but chances are you’d like to let Windows Phone 7 settle in for a bit while you cling on to your trusty green bot. Assuming neither the Desire HD nor the troublesome Desire Z / G2 tickled your fancy, you now have two more options for consideration: a “phantom black” Legend and a “brilliant white” Desire (as seen a few weeks ago). Patrons in Europe should be seeing these new handsets starting this month, but here’s a caveat: we’re told that rather than going 100 percent SLCD for the Desire, it’s actually a mix of both SLCD and AMOLED, so be sure to double-check with your store before handing over your hard-earned euros. Read more
Amazon Kindle 3 Review
We’ve been a huge fan of the Amazon Kindle since it first launched, although the Kindle DX with its 9.7-inch screen proved too bulky. With iBooks on the Apple iPad, Amazon’s own cross-platform Kindle app and the Sony Reader Touch Edition, is the third version of Amazon’s Kindle still the e-reader king?
Amazon’s introduced two versions. The 3G version we tested enables wireless transfers anywhere, but for £109, you can get a WiFi only version, which is perfect if you can time your downloads to being in the vicinity of a WiFi hot spot.
21% smaller than its predecessor, the Kindle is slimmer than a paperback book and at 247g, light enough to carry in a bag and hold in one hand. We’re a big far of the new charcoal (or graphite) exterior which seems more sophisticated.
The QWERTY keyboard is now over four lines, the keys are tiny, so typing isn’t comfortable for prolonged periods, but it’s fine for the off web address and book title.
The joystick (which we never really had an issue with) has been replaced with a more comfortable square four-way controller. Menu and Back buttons are integrated into the keyboard, instead of on the rim. Page forward and back buttons are slightly smaller, but still on either side to suit right and left-handed readers. Read more
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