RIM Releases Final Version of BlackBerry 10 Developer Toolkit

Today, Canadian mobile phone maker Research In Motion announced the availability of the final flavor of its BlackBerry 10 developer toolkit.

The gold version of the SDK was announced last month, and is now available for download with the final version of tools, components, and APIs that would allow developers to build applications for the BlackBerry 10 operating system. These tools are available for Native C/C++ and Qt developers, as well as for HTML5 developers, while also providing app creators with the possibility to build using Adobe AIR or port Android applications to BlackBerry 10. According to RIM, a wide range of app developers already committed to launching apps for the upcoming mobile operating system, which will become official on January 30. BlackBerry 10 will offer support for a great deal of software, including games, multimedia, business and productivity, published media and social networking.

"We are seeing continued excitement for the BlackBerry 10 platform from leading brands across the globe. Partners want the recognition and advantage of being first-to-market on this exciting new platform," said Martyn Mallick, vice president, Global Alliances and Business Development at Research In Motion. "Developers see that BlackBerry 10 is designed to make it very easy to create compelling customer experiences that can lead to high adoption and engagement." Recently, at the BlackBerry Jam Asia conference in Bangkok, RIM showcased some new applications for the OS, while partners also came up with their own software, such as Fox Sports, MTV India, Picstory, Viki Video, and Hot Remit.

App builders interested in learning some more details on what the new BlackBerry 10 platform has to offer to them should head over to RIM’s developer website for that. "We have been actively engaged with developers from around the world for many months and as we near the final weeks toward the launch of BlackBerry 10, the growing dedication and commitment we see from our developer community is truly outstanding," said Alec Saunders, vice president, Developer Relations and Ecosystems at Research In Motion.

BlackBerry logo
Image credits to RIM

Read more »

Nokia C6-01 Tastes Belle FP1 Design and Widgets via Custom Firmware

Ever since announcing its focus on the release of Windows Phone devices, Finnish mobile phone maker Nokia has left Symbian smartphones aside, and the newest platform releases did not arrive on all the latest such phones from the company.

Nokia C6-01 RM-718 & RM-601 is one of these smartphones, currently powered by Belle Refresh, though capable of supporting newer features that were delivered to users through Belle FP1. In fact, the handset has already managed to get a taste of these features, courtesy of a custom firmware that some enthusiasts came up with. The software is based on 808 PureView’s Belle FP1 OS and provides owners of the Nokia C6-01 with the UI and looks of the newer platform release. The update was found on dailymobile forums, where it emerged last week, and should be treated as unofficial software for the device.

The new Belle FP1 Task switcher has been included in the custom firmware, along with Dolby headphone support, and other enhancements as well. Users who choose to download and install it on their Belle Refresh-powered smartphones will also receive unlimited Homescreens (100), Nokia pure Harmattan‎ fonts, Theme Effects to E mod, Browser Cache to E, and the like. The release notes for this firmware also include:

• First home screen can be deleted
• Restart option added to the power button menu
• Custom Profiles mod to rename all profiles
• Tactile feedback while connecting,Disconnecting,Second incoming call
• Hacked with yinstallserver.exe
• RomPatcherPlus 3.1 with Auto start
• Added some important patches (Enable the Installserver and open4all patches after flashing)
• Enabled Rename & Move to folder in main menu
• Create sub Folders in main menu
• Disabled Active Diverts
• Kinetic Scrolling Fast
• File manager extender mod added
• Song Metadata Editing mod added

There are also a series of widgets and apps that have been added to the firmware, such as Comms launcher widget, Flip clock, ZDSync Time, Gallery widget, mem check, Kill me, Easy key lock, Notes FP2 widget, and Transparent notification widget. You can learn more info on the custom firmware via this thread on DailyMobile forum.

Belle FP1 features arrive on Nokia C6-01
Image credits to MyNokiaBlog

Read more »

Nokia Lumia 505 Confirmed for Telcel with Windows Phone 7.8

Finnish mobile phone maker Nokia is expected to launch a new affordable device in the near future, namely the previously leaked Lumia 505 handset at Mexico’s Telcel.

The mobile phone was spotted online not too long ago, and is now said to have been included in the carrier’s holiday catalog, with the Windows Phone 7.8 OS loaded on it. No specific info on when the device would land on shelves has been provided, but we do have an idea of what hardware specs it will pack inside when available.

The phone will feature a 3.7” Super AMOLED display with a 800x480 pixels resolution, 4GB of internal memory, and an 8-megapixel photo snapper on the back. Furthermore, it is expected to arrive on shelves in three color flavors, namely Black, Red and Magenta. No pricing has been unveiled either, but all should be made official soon.

Nokia Lumia 505
Image credits to WPCentral

Read more »

Intel Core i7 and i5 (Haswell) CPU Specs Leaked

Haswell is being looked upon as a sort of holy grail that could save the notebook market and catapult the ultrabook segment forward by a few thousand miles.

Whether or not any of this comes true will become clear next year, during the second quarter most likely (Q2 2013). That doesn't mean we have to stay in the dark until then though. In fact, VR-Zone somehow managed to get the information on the Core i5 and Core i7 Haswell processors. We'll let the photo up there do most of the work (click to enlarge), but we'll mention the highlights. There will be six standard models, with a TDP (thermal design power) of 84W, plus eight low-power chips of 35W, 45W and 65W.

All newcomers have DDR3-1600 memory controllers, 2-4 cores (with or without Hyper Threading), Intel HD 4600 graphics and 4, 6 or 8 MB of cache memory.

Intel Core i7 and Core i5 Haswell CPUs
Image credits to VR-Zone

Read more »

Root Your Samsung Galaxy S III Mini I8190

Samsung’s Galaxy S III Mini I8190 smartphone, released for those users who would rather purchase a smaller device than go for the flagship Galaxy S III handset, has been rooted too.

Although featuring the same name as the predecessor, the Galaxy S III Mini smartphone is a bit different from it, but the rooting process appears to be very simple. One XDA-Developers forum member managed to build a custom pre-rooted firmware for the device, and users interested in obtaining root access on the handset will simply have to flash that software. This can be done via Odin, it seems, given the fact that there is no custom recovery available for the Galaxy S III Mini for the time being. “This firmware base on the last build for I8190, is a full firmware exactly like the original, except the root. After flash you will see the SuperSU app in the app drawer,” said user explains in a forum post. He also explains that flashing this firmware will not wipe the data on the device, which means that users will have their files intact after the process has been completed.

However, it would still be a good idea to back up all files on the smartphone before proceeding, just to play it safe. To root the handset, simply head to this forum thread on XDA-Developers, download the needed file (in the form of a .tar file), open Odin 3 and put the .tar in pda. Then, enter download mode on the handset (press and hold Vol Down + Home + Power buttons, and then hit Vol Up), connect the device to the PC via USB, wait for Odin to detect it, and hit start. Apparently, the device cannot boot into recovery through a key combination, but users will be able to perform a factory reset via the Settings menu. “If you have a boot loop problem, flash the attached file WIPE_I8190.zip (the tar file inside zip) via Odin in pda, it will do wipe data automatically,” the aforementioned XDA-Developers user notes. Just keep in mind that rooting the device usually results in voided warranty, and that users will be the only ones held responsible should anything go wrong during the process and harm the handset.

Rooted Samsung Galaxy S III Mini I8190
Image credits to XDA-Developers

Read more »

This Nokia Engineer Publishes Tutorial on How to Crack Windows 8 Games

We’ve already told you that an illegal app allows users to quickly download the full version of a Windows 8 app without paying for it, but a Nokia engineer has now released detailed instructions on how to do it.

While this is clearly bad for Microsoft and its new operating system, it all comes down a fairly complex process that’s described in a long blog post by Nokia employee Justin Angel. What’s more, it appears that Angel has found a way to remove in-app ads and even to inject JavaScript code in some of the Windows Store apps to unlock unavailable features.

Here's a link to the original blog post by Justin Angel, provided solely for informative purposes, but keep in mind that the article is very likely be removed in a few hours. Microsoft is yet to issue a comment, but we’ll keep you updated on this subject.

Nokia engineer Justin Angel
Image credits ot Justin Angel

Read more »

The New XiaoMi Phone 3 (Mi3) Allegedly Leaks

Building on the success that XiaoMi Phone 2 reportedly registered in China, a successor might arrive on shelves soon, said to sport the name of XiaoMi Phone 3, or Mi3.

No official confirmation on the matter has emerged so far, but rumor has it that the device might arrive on shelves with an Nvidia Tegra 4 processor packed inside, clocked at either 1.8GHz or 2.0GHz. The handset is also said to sport a 4.5-inch or 5-inch touchscreen display, most probably of either 720p or 1080p HD resolution, and to arrive on shelves with support for China Mobile’s TD-LTE network.

No details on when the device might be up for grabs have been provided as of now but, with XiaoMi Phone 2 having been launched only about three months ago, we should expect this device to be made official towards mid- or late 2013.

New XiaoMi Phone 3 rumored for launch
Image credits to GSMInsider

Read more »

RIM Shows New Video Presentation of the BlackBerry 10 Hub

Research In Motion’s BlackBerry 10 operating system should arrive on shelves with a nice range of enhancements packed inside, including the already presented BlackBerry Hub, which got detailed once again.

The BlackBerry Hub was designed to provide users with fast access to all of their conversations, including BBM, email, phone calls and social networking. It can be accessed with a simple gesture from anywhere in BlackBerry 10, and will keep users conveniently connected with all of their conversations.

To provide users with a better understanding of what the feature is all about, RIM has put up a new video presentation for BlackBerry Hub, which can be seen embedded above. The video features Patrick Murtha, director, Portfolio Product Strategy at BlackBerry, who presents the main capabilities that make BlackBerry Hub in BlackBerry 10 stand out in the crowd.

BlackBerry Hub on the new BlackBerry 10 smartphones is a one-stop shop for managing all of your conversations from social media, texts, emails and calls. Donny from Inside BlackBerry blog sits down with RIM director Patrick Murtha to demonstrate how a single gesture allows you to quickly see all of your messaging. More on BlackBerry Hub: http://blogs.blackberry.com/2012/12/blackberry-10-hub-video/
Video Credits to BlackBerry

Read more »

RIM Teases BlackBerry 10 OS Launch Event with Image of Its First Smartphone

BlackBerry fans are certainly anxious to find out what Research In Motion (RIM) has in store for them next year.

The Canadian company has already confirmed it will launch its next generation BB10 smartphones, along with the new BlackBerry 10 OS on January 30, 2013. In order to keep the hype around its upcoming BB10 devices, RIM has just published an image that shows one of its first smartphones that should be officially unveiled next month.

Although the image only shows the back of the phone, the texture and the style suggests RIM has been listening its fans' requests and is trying to implement some of these, such as the leather-like texture. There is no specs sheet to go with the press render, but we expect more details will emerge closer to launch. Stay tuned for more updates on the matter.

BlackBerry 10 smartphone
Image credits to RIM

Read more »

Samsung Nexus S 4G Tastes Android 4.2.1 via CM10.1

Although less than two years old, the Nexus S by Samsung smartphone will not get a taste of the latest Android release out there, namely 4.2 Jelly Bean.

At least officially it won’t since enthusiasts have already started to work on building custom ROMs that will be delivering the new platform release to this handset. A new such ROM is available for the Nexus S 4G smartphone on Sprint’s network, based on the Android 4.2.1 Jelly Bean OS release and coming from the well-known CyanogenMod team.

“Crespo4G (Nexus S 4G) for CyanogenMod enjoying some CM 10.1 / 4.2.1 goodness. Also working on porting over the lock screen security features...stay tuned,” the team posted on Google+. For the time being, no specific info on when the first stable builds will be released for general use has been provided. Keep an eye on this space for updates.

Android 4.2.1 arrives on Nexus S 4G via CM10.1
Image credits to CyanogenMod

Read more »