1. Introduction I was thinking for a while to make the transition to 3D, but I...
iOS 4.3.4 out, nothing useful but closes the PDF jailbreakme 3.0 hole
With no other purpose other than to close the recently discovered and hugely popular security hole used in the recently released jailbreakme.com 3.0 jailbreak, Apple just launched iOD 4.3.4. Unless you have some self esteem issues if you do not have the latest update, my advice is to stay away, even if you don’t intend to jailbreak right now. Also, always behind version wise, Verizon’s iPhones get version 4.2.9 with the same fix.
So again, the only purpose of Apple’s new iOS versions is to close the existing security hole that allows the current jailbreak. You have been warned!
In case you were living under a rock, the new Jailbreakme 3.0 is a userland jailbreaking method that for the first time worked on the iPad 2 devices (and everything else) running iOS 4.3.3.
Hulu Plus officially adds support for four more Android smartphones
And I said officially because at this point, if you have the skills you can have Hulu Plus on pretty much any Android device you want, including Nook Color. The new smartphones to officially get Hulu Plus are Sprint Evo 4G, T-Mobile G2, T-Mobile myTouch 4G, Verizon Thunderbolt making a total of 10. You can download the Hulu Plus apk straight from the Android Market if you are officially supported or from here and side load it to your device. Either way, you’ll need the standard $7.99 / month to use it although a free 2 weeks preview is available.
As a side question, now that Netflix raised prices, do you still prefer it over Hulu? I do, because the streaming plans are priced the same and Hulu Plus sucks with all those ads. We still need it for those pesky TV shows though…Nothing beats Hose / Bones, at least if you ask my significant other.
Android Market 3.0.26 launched, adds movie rentals, competes with Netflix, works on Nook Color
Very soon after Netflix made news inflating their monthly subscription prices, Google released a new version of their Android Market version 3.0.26 that beside selling apps, now sells books and rents movies. The new Android Market apk is compatible with Android 2.2+ devices, more visually appealing than the previous version and supports multiple accounts as well. I uploaded the apk com.android.vending-1.apk it here so you can download it immediately and I am happy to report that it works well with my CyanogenMod 7 Nook Color. The only problem is that on a rooted device, you cannot rent movies, but everything else works well.
Talking about how the new Android Market looks, is it just me or the tiles design resembles WP7 interface?
Check after the break for a YouTube video and photo gallery demo-ing the new market app and features.
Amazon’s Kindle 3G+WiFi with Special Offers price drops to $139 due to AT&T sponsorship
Considering how much competition Kindle got lately from both Nook Color and the new touch eReaders launched in the last several months, Amazon needed something to bring some enthusiasm to their Kindle eReaders. One of the most appreciated measures is cutting the price and this is what they did – thanks to a deal with AT&T, you can now buy the Amazon Kindle 3G + WiFi version with Special Offers for a very low $139 that includes free 3G for life from AT&T (and also works globally). It works well, you can also access e-mails, tweets and Facebook for free together with Wikipedia and the latest news.
Special Offers is a program created by Amazon to bring ads to their eReaders, and it proved to be successful so far. The launch offers were actually quite good, the ads never interfere with your reading, only showing as screensavers, but, based on the latest numbers, the customers just appreciate more universal tablets instead of dedicated eReaders with Barnes & Noble Nook Color becoming the best seller eReader in the first quarter of this year. Amazon will also launch two Android tablets in the fall, including an industry first, a quad core device.
Sony S2 Android 3.0 Tablet to sell exclusively in US via AT&T
AT&T just announced that they’ll be the exclusive seller for the Sony dual screen folding tablet in the US. Uncovered in April, the new tablet contains two 5.5 inches capacitive LCD screens with a resolution of 1024 x 480 each, a powerful Nvidia Tegra 2 chipset and will run Android OS 3.0, with an update to 3.1 expected soon. Since the tablet will sell through AT&T ,expect HSPA+ support through AT&T’s 4G network.
There is no price announced yet but since we are talking about a Sony product, expect it will be high. Our bet, around $700 high. An interesting feature that will help differentiate from the competition is the support for Sony’s PlayStation Network with all the goodies that come out of that including games, movies, Qriocity, etc.
Shipping wise, expect it sometime in the Fall, maybe around the time Amazon’s own Android tablet will ship. This is an interesting year.
Check after the break for the full Press Release Continue Reading →
Amazon’s e-Mail offers 50% off Prime for student members, includes Amazon Instant Videos
Depending of how you look at it, this offer might be amazing or the end of a freebie. For a couple of years already, Amazon had offered free Amazon Prime two days shipping for the students with a valid .edu address. Today, Amazon sent the following e-mail:
Dear Amazon Student member,
Your year of FREE Two-Day Shipping will end on 02/27/2012. As a valued Amazon Student member, we would like to offer you an Amazon Prime membership for only $39/year (normally $79/year).
You can wait until your year of FREE Two-Day Shipping benefits as an Amazon Student member has ended to take advantage of this offer or upgrade at any time to continue receiving unlimited FREE Two-Day Shipping, in addition to access to Prime instant videos–unlimited instant streaming of thousands of movies and TV shows.
This might indicate that Amazon prepares to end the free Amazon Program for students. However, if you are interested in Amazon Video on Demand for Prime members, the news could be an unique opportunity to get into the streaming membership for 50% off. What do you think? Is this a good thing or a bad move?
If interested, check out our Amazon Prime Streaming Review.
via Amazon
Google Webmaster tools gets confused about WordPress version 3.2
Everybody makes mistakes, but this is the first time I experienced this notification from Google Webmaster Tools:
Dear site owner or webmaster of http://reviewhorizon.com/,
Your site appears to be running an older version of WordPress. Google recommends that you update to the latest release. Older or unpatched software may be vulnerable to hacking or malware that can hurt your users. To download the latest release, visit the WordPress download page.
If you have any additional questions about why you are receiving this message, Google has provided more background information in a blog post about this subject.
Best wishes,
Google Search Quality Team
Now, this would make sense if I would use an old version, but I am always careful to run the latest and greatest, in this case the newly Continue Reading →
Netflix announces DVD only plan, stops providing both DVD and streaming plan
Netflix just announced a very important change in their plans. No longer you’ll be able to subscribe to both mailed DVD and streaming using their $8.99 plan, instead you’ll have to decide for either $7.99 streaming only plan, $7.99 1 DVD / $11.99 2 DVDs at a time plans or subscribe to both paying a minimum of $15.98 / month. The move comes as a result of Netflix being forced to cash more and more to acquire content for streaming and it was planned quite a while ago considering the recent interface changes that removed the ability to access your DVD queue from the streaming devices.
The new plans will be announced to existing subscribers over the next couple of days and apparently there is no option for the existing subscribers to keep their current plans. personally, the change doesn’t really affect me since I stopped mailing DVDs months ago, but that means I’ll have to find that last DVD I never mailed back to Netflix and send it to them.
Will Netflix move affect you or push you toward Hulu Plus?
Update: The Netflix website seems to be down for maintenance currently. No doubt to prepare it for the new subscription plans. Continue Reading →
Barnes & Noble’s NOOK Color jumps ahead Amazon’s Kindle as the best selling eReader
Based on the latest numbers churned by IDC, for the first time ever B&N’s sweet eReader / hacked Android tablet Nook Color took the lead in sales jumping ahead Amazon’s hugely successful Kindle eReader. We can’t say we are completely surprised by the news, especially since the Nook Color is our all time favorite device. The news is obviously a message from the readers that they want devices that will do more than just allowing them to read books, Internet browsing and gaming / movie watching being the obvious favorites. With Nook Color, you can do all of the above, especially if you root them and install CyanogenMod 7, a move that should give you full tablet functionality for less. If you are interested, check our series of articles in how to do it!
iPad 2 continues to dominate the tablets market but Nook Color remains on the second place, despite efforts from dedicated players like Samsung or Motorola. IDC doesn’t say though, and we would certainly like to know how many of the Nook Color buyers end up rooting / replacing their OS.
Check out IDC’s full Press Release after the break.
XBOX 360 to get its own music service – XBOX Music
This morning, Microsoft’s CEO Steve Ballmer during Microsoft Partner Conference mentioned a new music service scheduled to arrive on their very successful XBOX 360 console called XBOX Music. While he didn’t get into more details, the service will offer over 11 million songs and follow the same path as the other media applications including Netflix, ESPN and Hulu Plus, providing Kinect support for navigation, search and voice recognition. Beside the new music service, toward the end of the year XBOX will also add YouTube streaming, Bing voice search (although limited to media content, no browser for you) and maybe even live TV.
The new voice service is widely expected to be based on Microsoft’s Zune.
via Business Insider
