Friday, March 18, 2011

MobileCrunch

MobileCrunch

Link to MobileCrunch

T-Mobile Getting LG’s Optimus 2X And Optimus Pad April 20th?

Posted: 17 Mar 2011 02:09 PM PDT


Tmo-News has received word that the T-Mobile-branded Optimus 2X (known as the G2X) will be hitting the carrier on April 20th, along with the 3D-capable Android 3.0 Optimus Pad (to be marketed as the G-Slate). We’ve gone hands-on with both these charming little devices, and while I like the straightforward aesthetic of the powerhouse 2X, I’m skeptical that the Optimus Pad will be able to make much of a dent in the exploding tablet market. We’ll see, though.

[via Android Community and SlashGear]

Beta Time! Facebook v2.0 For BlackBerry Released

Posted: 17 Mar 2011 01:55 PM PDT

Hey, BlackBerry owners: Are you bummed about the whole Javascript exploit ordeal? RIM’s got something that might cheer you up. Maybe. If you’re really into Facebook. Or if you just like having things earlier than most people.

After releasing their first Facebook for BlackBerry app roughly three years ago, RIM’s Facebook App team is back with another swing, and it’s available in Beta form to anyone running BlackBerry OS 6.0. So, what’s new here?

The New Schtuffs:

  • Facebook Chat Support (Both within the App and within the Unified inbox)
  • Improved News Feed: Improved UI, Photo/status posting, Facebook Places check-ins
  • New Navigation: The navigation bar no longer camps out on screen at all times, taking up valuable real estate. It’s now a drop down menu, instead.
  • New Notifications Bar
  • New Profile UI: The new profile viewing UI provides much of what people would expect it to provide, but that 1.0 lacked. You can now view things like contact info, birthday, relationship status, etc. in addition to a friend’s Wall and Photos

Ready to get your feet wet? Don’t mind the occasional crash or two that come with adventure of roaming into Betaville? Look for the new app in the BlackBeta Zone. Though they promise support for BB OS 4.6+ in the coming weeks, this Beta is BlackBerry OS 6.0 only for now.

FACE BERRIES! Faceberries 3 Faceberries 4 Faceberries 5 faceberries2


PSA: Using BlackBerry OS 6.0? Disable Javascript

Posted: 17 Mar 2011 12:14 PM PDT

Gather ’round, friends — it’s time for another edition of Good News, Bad news. We’re going to mix things up a bit this time and start off with the bad news.

Bad News: A vulnerability has been discovered in the BlackBerry OS 6.0 browser that would allow remote hackers access to your device.

Good News: Actually, there are a few pieces of good news here:

  • A) Though the exploit is technically public as it was demonstrated at the Pwn2Own 2011 contest, there are no known cases of it actually happening in the wild.
  • B) If the hacker does get access to your device, they’re limited to perusing things stored in media storage (internal or external). That’s not good for people who store secret work documents or nudie pics on their handset, but it at least means they can’t access your e-mail, calendar, or contacts.
  • C) There’s a temporary workaround: disable Javascript in the browser. Here’s the run down on how to do that (expand “Workaround”.)

Now, what about a more permanent fix that doesn’t boil down to handicapping your handset? RIM says they’re currently “investigating the issue to determine the best resolution for protecting BlackBerry smartphone users” — in other words, they’re working on it.

Google Now Providing More Stats To Android Developers

Posted: 17 Mar 2011 11:30 AM PDT

“Man, do we really still need to support Android 1.0?”

Up until recently, that was a pretty hard question for Android Devs to answer. Unless they built in a bit of system profiling code and had it send that info over to their server, Android devs really just didn’t really have any idea who was running their apps. Supporting a platform is a bit harder when you think you need to test on 15+ different versions of it.

Fortunately, Google’s gone out of their way to shed a light on the unknown. How? With good ol’ fashion stats!

Google is no stranger to statistics; their Analytics product has helped web developers around the globe count every last page view and mouse click. Today, their introducing something along the lines of Analytics for Android developers: Application Statistics.

The new App Stats page in the Developer Console will brief devs on:

  • What language your users use
  • Which countries are downloading your app the most
  • Which devices are using it the most? Big ol’ powerful superphones, or dinky antiques? It’s important to know.
  • What build of Android are your users running? Do you even need to be testing on Android 1.0, or 1.5 anymore — or is 99% of your user base on 2.0?+

It’s all incredibly important information. Imagine finding out the 80% of your users have their handset set to Japanese, and you’ve only got it running in English. What if all it took to double your sales was to translate your app?
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)