Gadget Reviews

While we were busy looking into external speaker problems on the Droid, it would seem Moto was itself hard at work remedying a separate issue with the device. A number of users on support forums have complained of the Droid’s camera failing to focus and giving them “red corners” when attempting to take pictures, but now — suddenly and without warning — their ailment has gone away as if touched by the hand of an omnipotent being (or, alternatively, a silent firmware update). This particular autofocus issue was mentioned in Verizon’s 5-page treatise on known issues with the Droid, though the planned resolution was an official update by December 11. The fix seems to have been delivered early, as green corners are sprouting up all around, but this silent update conduit sounds a bit nefarious, no?

Update: Sure enough, we can confirm from testing one of our own Droids that the issue has been resolved. The endless quest for the green focus box is over, and you can now finally begin scanning all your discount cards into Key Ring.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Read – Android Forums
Read – Howard Forums

Filed under: Cellphones

Motorola Droid camera autofocus fixed in secrecy? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 07:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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webOS 1.3.1 was always destined to come right around the launch of the Pixi, but it’s surprised us by showing its face early. No app catalog bombshells here, but there are a slew of more minor fixes and updates that should make users experience a great deal smoother. Is this the update that finally unlocks access to the GPU and provides the speed boost Pre owners are waiting for / advances the iTunes chess match another step? We’ll let you know once our unit reboots, for now here are a few highlights from Palm’s list of changes:

Update: Downloaded, applied and rebooted. iTunes still isn’t spotting our Pre as a device to sync with, and at least for the moment there’s no great speed increases to speak of, but we have noticed a few more key tweaks that owners are sure to like — setting a specific ringtone for text messages is exactly what we’ve been looking for.

• Yahoo! now appears as a Calendar/Contacts/instant messaging synchronization account.
• You can forward a text or multimedia message by tapping the message > Forward.
• A new option is available for restarting the phone: press and hold power > Power > Restart. The prior restart method (Device Info > Reset Options > Restart) is still available.
• Widescreen videos (including YouTube) now display in widescreen mode on the phone by default, instead of being cropped.
• If you tap to play a YouTube video embedded on a web page, the YouTube application launches and the video plays in the app.
• You can select a unique ringtone for new message alerts: Open Messaging > application menu > Preferences & Accounts > Sound > Ringtone.
• While listening to a song with album art displayed, you can tap the screen below the art to display a playback slider. Dragging the slider jumps forward or backward in the song.

Filed under: Cellphones

Palm Pre WebOS 1.3.1 update available now originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Yar, that was fast. Less than a day after Microsoft updated its Windows Marketplace for Mobile with new advanced anti-piracy measure, some apt xda-developers community member has managed to crack the new code — in under two hours, according to Chainfire’s posting. The hack itself won’t be posted, but we’re sure other astute programmers, many of more nefarious intention, will be able to have their way with it just as easy. Sad for developers who’ve been wanting something more secure — better luck next update.

[Via WMPoweruser]

Filed under: Cellphones

Windows Marketplace’s newest anti-piracy measures already thwarted originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 Nov 2009 20:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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TomTom’s probably still dizzy from the hit that Google laid on it just a few days ago, but it has somehow managed to get its bearings long enough to announce that a slew of gratis updates are incoming for its highly-hyped iPhone navigation app. Following in Navigon’s footsteps, the outfit has today stated that a free update has been submitted to Apple for approval, and when (er, if) it clears Cupertino’s ambiguous review process, it’ll deliver advanced lane guidance, text-to-speech, “Help Me,” updated map / safety cameras (in select European nations) databases, customizable audio warnings and iPod player control. Not a bad list of additions for the grand total of $0.00, but we wouldn’t expect anything less given the lofty admission price.

Continue reading TomTom to bring free lane guidance, text-to-speech, iPod control to iPhone GPS app

Filed under: Cellphones, GPS, Storage

TomTom to bring free lane guidance, text-to-speech, iPod control to iPhone GPS app originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 Nov 2009 12:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Windows Mobile 6.5 users rejoice, you now have a better marketplace experience your way. Microsoft’s added a couple updates to its mobile app store. On the developers’ side of things there’s a new portal for submission, and “more advanced anti-piracy protection” — no clue if it solves those DRM issues we heard about before, but sounds at least like a step in the right direction. For the consumers, there’s now an online store that you can use from your certainly superior desktop / laptop browser. In the vein of Xbox Live Marketplace’s online portal at Xbox.com, purchased apps from the browser will be sent to the connected phone next time you open up the Windows Marketplace client… what’s that? You want support for Windows Mobile 6.0 and 6.1? Microsoft reassures us it’s coming later this month, so hang tight, okay?

[Via Mobile Tech World]

Read – Announcing new features…
Read – Windows Marketplace for Mobile

Filed under: Cellphones

Windows Marketplace for Mobile updates tackle piracy, adds online store for non-mobile browsers originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Two years ago, the idea of a Garmin-developed smartphone running the latest Windows Mobile operating system was enough to generate spasms of anticipation across the internets. Oh how things have changed. Today the Garmin-ASUS team has announced a Windows Mobile 6.5 update for M20 owners currently stuck at 6.1. It’s also expanding the M20 theater of pain to Taiwan, Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, India, Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Czech, Turkey, and other markets by the end of 2009 — note the omission of North American and Western European countries. Fine by us, we’re perfectly happy to wait for the revamped Android handset running Google’s turn-by-turn Navigator… oh, wait.

Filed under: Cellphones, Software

Garmin-ASUS nuvifone M20 makes jump to Windows Mobile 6.5 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s been awhile, but we’ve got ourselves a brand spanking new OS X update in the mix, 10.6.2 for Snow Leopard. So far the biggest change here seems to be fixing that nagging guest account deletion bug — and thank goodness for that. As for whether or not it supports Intel Atom processors, last we heard this morning it wasn’t going to be there, but we’re gonna have wait and see now that it’s officially hit the nets. Leopard users who haven’t made the upgrade also get a gift today, in the form of a security update. 10.6.2 release notes after the break.

Update: We just installed it — it took forever and a day on one of our machines, and sped by reasonably quick on another. Everything seems okay otherwise, how about you?

Update 2: We’ve gotten enough reports to call it — Atom support is out. Sorry, hackintosh community.

[Via Mac Rumors, thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

Read – 10.6.2 notes
Read – Intel Atom still unsupported on Mac OS X 10.6.2 seeds

Continue reading Mac OS X 10.6.2 update out on the prowl (update: Atom support is gone)

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops, Software

Mac OS X 10.6.2 update out on the prowl (update: Atom support is gone) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 09 Nov 2009 20:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Who says Microsoft ain’t lookin’ out for those who selected its Zune HD over something Designed In Cupertino? Just days after countless owners went berserk over a playcount syncing issue, Microsoft has released a new firmware update that not only solves that very quandary but also adds a gaggle of fantastic new and / or improved features. The v4.3 update is available now by selecting “Player Update” from within the device itself, and with it will come “support for upcoming 3d games and applications, as well as an auto-suggest feature for better text input, and other minor improvements.” We’re hearing that those “minor improvements” include a snappier browser, so it’s pretty safe to say you’re only harming yourself if you don’t get this download going right now. (Psst… there’s a vid of the new software running after the break.)

[Via MobileTechWorld, thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading Zune HD v4.3 firmware out now: fixes playcount bug, adds lots of great things (video)

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

Zune HD v4.3 firmware out now: fixes playcount bug, adds lots of great things (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 07 Nov 2009 12:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Say what you will, but Canon’s customer service / engineering department definitely looks out for consumers willing to spend just under two large on a new body. Merely days after the outfit made public that a “residual image phenomenon” was negatively impacting EOS 7D images under certain conditions, it has now published a firmware update to wipe all of those woes away. Firmware v1.1.0 specifically “corrects a phenomenon that in images captured by continuous shooting, and under certain conditions, barely noticeable traces of the immediately preceding frame may be visible.” Hit the read link if you’re looking to put said phenomenon to bed. Or don’t. We don’t care.

[Via CNET]

Filed under: Digital Cameras

Canon EOS 7D firmware update cures ‘residual image’ phenomenon originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s October 27th which means Sonos is pushing the 3.1 system software out to its distributed home audio systems. With it comes a slightly tweaked, user interface (color icons! heh) for CR200 owners as well Twitter integration for whatever that’s worth to ya (don’t worry, it’s free). Still no sign of the iPod touch / iPhone app but it’s expected to pop on iTunes shortly.

Filed under: Portable Audio, Software

Sonos 3.1 software update out now, let the smug music tweeting begin originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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