Nexus S overclocked to 1.2GHz, runs too damn fast for its Bluetooth to work
Even at its default 1GHz speed, Samsung’s Hummingbird is one of the finest mobile processor around, but are you really going to complain about getting the option to crank an extra 200 milion clock cycles out of it? Morfic over on the xda-developers forums has delivered a kernel permitting Nexus S owners to achieve just that, although he still has to fix an issue that disables the phone’s Bluetooth capabilities.Still, if you value ludicrous speed over wireless peripherals, the source link is your friend.
Google Confirms Gingerbread for Nexus One in “Coming Weeks”
Google’s official twitter account for their Nexus series of phones confirmed what we had already heard a few weeks back. Android 2.3 will hit the Nexus One in the “coming weeks” in the form of an over-the-air update. We had heard unofficially from members of the Android team, but this is the first from Google directly. As we’re advised by the tweet, we need to hang tight. So hang tight.
Google Voice app now supports iPad and iPod touch, brings Click2Call
So, how exactly does a voice app work on devices without any cellular ties? Glad you asked! Google has just updated the iOS Google Voice app to include support for the iPod touch and iPad, but neither of them can make cellular calls directly. Instead, you can use the app to initiate GVoice calls with a nearby phone. The process is known as Click2Call — users simply click any ‘Call’ button within the app and then choose which of their phones they want to ring. It’s probably more time consuming than just grabbing your phone from the start, but hey, there it is. In other news, the app now disables text forwarding when you enable Push Notifications (to avoid double alerts), and there’s a new Do Not Disturb option in the Settings tab for those who’d prefer to disconnect. Hit the iTunes link below to get your download on, and let us know how things shake out in comments.
Google Latitude available now for iPhone
Google has gone all official with its Latitude app for the iPhone although the app did appear, albeit briefly, in the App Store last week.
It seems that we’re supposed to actually be seeing it now though, with a Google blog post being published to mark the release.
Google Latitude has been available to Android, BlackBerry, Symbian and Windows Mobile users for a while now, but this is the first time that Apple-phone owners have been able to opt in to the location-based platform.
“Since launching last year, Latitude’s focus has always been on one goal: make it simple to stay in touch with friends and family by sharing where you are with each other,” said Chris Lambert, software engineer on the Google Latitude Team.
“Simple setup. Simple sharing without fumbling for your phone. Now, you can use Latitude on your iPhone just like the more than 9 million people actively using it.”
With Google Latitude on your iPhone you’ll be able to see where you Latitude opted-in buddies are, show off where you are and contact your pals from within the app.
The app supports multi-tasking too, so you’ll be able to leave it running in the background (even in standby mode) and your location will still be available for others to see.
Google unveils Cr-48, the first Chrome OS laptop
We’ve had plenty of pre-knowledge on this, but surprisingly this is our first actual glimpse of Google’s new unbranded “Cr-48,” the very first Chrome OS laptop. Google will distribute the laptop through its Chrome OS Pilot Program, in a sort of public beta. You actually have to apply to join the program, and there are going to be a limited number of the laptops available — retail Chrome OS models from Acer and Samsung will be available in the middle of 2011 for the masses. Google’s doing a number of little promotions to give away the devices to interested users and businesses which will provide feedback, and it looks like there’s no way to actually pay money for one right now. Now, for the specs:
- 12.1-inch screen.
- Full size keyboard.
- Oversized clickpad.
- Qualcomm Gobi 3G chip for Verizon data in the US, your carrier of choice internationally.
- 802.11n dual-band WiFi.
- 8+ hours of active use.
- 8+ days of standby.
- Webcam.
- Flash storage.
The keyboard is the one we uncovered last week, with no function keys, but a full row of Apple Keyboard-style actions. The caps lock key has been replaced with a search button, which will enrage internet trolls and screenwriters alike. Branding-wise… there is none. The “Cr-48” refers to an isotope of the material chromium, there’s no logo and no design frills on the laptop itself, and it only comes in black. It seems Google is going out of its way to make it clear that this isn’t a mass market device, with Chrome OS still in the beta stage, and no apparent intentions to compete with third parties in the hardware space. Still, we gotta say: we wish more manufacturers would take a page out of this no-frills book. The murdered out Cr-48 looks like pure sex to us.
This is the Google Chrome OS netbook keyboard
It’s just a Chrome OS sorta day, isn’t it? To catch you up here, we told you earlier that Google is planning to announce its own Chrome OS netbook this coming Tuesday, and well, now we’re peering at a supposed picture of that very machine’s keyboard. We don’t know all that much about the rest of the netbook — we’ve heard from multiple sources that it’s powered by an Intel Atom processor — but the image above was taken from an Inventec (as in, the ODM making the netbook) presentation. We’ll call a spade a spade here and say it looks like your average chiclet keyboard, but there are obviously some interesting differences. Over on the left side of the panel you’ll see a “search” key subbing for a Caps Lock key, and up above, the function row has forward / back keys as well as Window, full screen, and “configuration” keys.
Wait, but couldn’t this be any old netbook keyboard? Sure it could, we’ve got an exclusive photo of Acer’s Chrome netbook (that “ZGA” model) which happens to have the same exact keyboard layout. You can check out the picture of that one after the break, and you’ll see it looks extremely similar to this shot. We should also mention that the tipster that sent the above photo in claims the Google-branded Chrome OS netbook will be announced next Tuesday, but won’t be on sale until December 14. Looks like it’s going to be a very interesting Tuesday morning!
Google Docs now supports mobile editing
While Android and iOS aren’t short on productivity applications for cobbling together a .doc and sending it on its way, we’ve been really hankering for native Google Docs support since pretty much day one. Google is finally ready to deliver, and it looks like they’ve actually put some thought into the UI, particularly on the phone end of things. Edits show up in near realtime across platforms, and you can even edit tables embedded in documents — though don’t try to get too fancy, the tools still look pretty basic. Android also allows you to insert text using voice recognition. Currently Google Docs will be supporting Android devices with Froyo and iOS devices with 3.0 or newer (including the iPad), with the functionality rolling out over the next few days. There’s a video after the break demonstrating the new features.
Official Google Voice app for iPhone hits the App Store
A few weeks after third-party apps started filtering in, Google’s launched its own Google Voice app for the iPhone, and it looks to have all the most important features: call and text support, push notifications, and voicemail access (including transcriptions). It’s available right now — US only at the moment — on iPhones with iOS 3.1 or higher as long as you’ve got a valid Google Voice account set up… so get to it.
Is this the Nexus S?
Woah, what do we have here? A new “In Store” web-based flier from Best Buy Mobile has this little nugget on its front page: a previously unseen Galaxy S, running stock Android (possibly 2.3, based on the green icons and black notifications bar) and harboring what looks to be a front facing camera. Sounds like a Nexus S to us! Paired with this morning’s little Nexus S slip-of-the-tongue from Best Buy, we’re starting to get our hopes up. Don’t let us down, Google / T-Mobile / Samsung / Best Buy / planet earth!
First official HTML5 tests topped by…Microsoft
The Worldwide Web Consortium has released the results of its first HTML5 conformance tests, and according to this initial rundown, the browser that most closely adheres to the latest set of web standards is…Microsoft Internet Explorer 9.
Yes, the HTML5 spec has yet to be finalised. And yes, these tests cover only a portion of the spec. But we can still marvel at just how much Microsoft’s browser philosophy has changed in recent months.
The W3C tests — available here — put IE9 beta release 6 at the top of the HTML5 conformance table, followed by the Firefox 4 beta 6, Google Chrome 7, Opera 10.6, and Safari 5.0. The tests cover seven aspects of the spec: “attributes”, “audio”, “video”, “canvas”, “getElementsByClassName”, “foreigncontent,” and “xhtml5”:
The tests do not yet cover web workers, the file API, local storage, or other aspects of the spec.
Not do they cover CSS or other standards that have nothing to do with HTML5 but are somehow lumped under HTML5 by the likes of Apple, Google, and Microsoft. As Mozilla man Asa Dotzler pointed out, when Microsoft released its IE9 platform preview 6, it said that its “HTML5 features include CSS3 2D Transforms.”
“WTF, Microsoft? Are you trying to add more confusion to the conversation?” Dotzler wrote.
“HTML5 features include CSS3? That’s seriously confused. Please stop this. HTML5 is HTML. CSS3 is CSS. The two are not the same thing.”
