OG Transformer already has a rooted ICS ROM

The Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich update for the Asus Eee Pad Transformer just started rolling out yesterday, but the mod community doesn't need a lot of time these days, which means that there is already a rooted stock ICS ROM for the tablet. Yesterday, Asus began the rollout for Taiwan versions of the Transformer, and today started the rollout for the worldwide and US versions. 

Android bug can lead hackers to grab total control of your phone

Clicking on a link in an email that appears to be from a trusted source could lead hackers to take control of your Android handset. A flaw in a component of the open source OS is at fault according to cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike.  Once the link is pressed, the virus takes over the phone allowing the hacker to listen in on phone calls and monitor the location of the phone. It is at this point that the hacker has complete control of the phone.

3 Google reference devices get CyanogenMod 9 nightlies

If you've been waiting for some custom Ice Cream Sandwich goodies from the good fellows of Team Douche, your wait may be over, depending on what device you have. The first official nightlies for CyanogenMod 9 have been released, and if you're the lucky owner of a Google reference device, you're one of the first in on the fun. 

Samsung Galaxy Nexus pogo dock goes on sale, sort of

We're pretty sure that Samsung is stretching a bit on this one. The company has finally released a dock for the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, which will allow users to charge the device using the three-dot pogo pin connector. The dock also includes a 3.5mm audio port for listening to music (although it looks as though you'd need to bring your own speakers). The thing is that Samsung is charging $89.99 for the dock, which seems pretty crazy to us. 

iPhone user wins $850 judgment in throttling case

A source of a lot of contention from consumers these days is the practice of throttling, or slowing down data speeds after a certain data cap has been met, especially if the consumer is paying for an unlimited plan.

The Onion releases hilarious video entitled “Brain-Dead Teen, Only Capable Of Rolling Eyes And Texting, To Be Euthanized”

Ahh texting, an invention in mobile communication that has made quick exchanges of information both fast and convenient. While texting has become one of the most welcome advances in technology, it has also made already despondent teenagers that much more consumed with their electronics.

Sprint board rejects $8b MetroPCS merger

CNBC has reported that even though Sprint CEO Dan Hesse had endorsed a proposed merger between the carrier and MetroPCS, the Sprint board has rejected the deal just hours before it was supposed to be announced. The deal was expected to be valued at $8 billion and had been in the works for months according to CNBC's Dan Faber. 

There is no word yet on why the board rejected the deal, or whether the deal is now completely dead. Not surprisingly, Sprint has no comment on the rumors. We'll update this as we learn more. 

source: Dan Faber via The Verge

Protesters gather at Apple HQ to demand "ethical iPhone"

The groundswell behind news reports and protests against the treatment of workers in Apple's supply chain has been growing recently, spurred by reports from the New York Times as well as ABC, and now the protest has come to Apple's front door. Early in the month, we reported on the petition going around asking Apple to make an "ethical iPhone". At the time, the petition had 40,000 signatures and as of this writing, that number has grown to just over 125,000 (according to the website, though other reports have the number at over 300,000, which may include non-digital signatures). 

Nokia’s “Coffee Bar Takeover” in Cape Town

Nokia has released the second episode in its South Africa series. The ads are composed of videos from events Nokia has hosted “to make everyday more amazing.”

Rovio finally moving beyond Angry Birds

Angry Birds has become a world-wide cultural phenomenon in a way that we haven't seen with a video game since the days of Tetris, Pac-Man, or Mario (and we mean OG NES Mario that went on to spawn a cartoon and for some silly reason, a live-action movie). The developer, Rovio, has been quick to make sure that it can cash out in every way possible, including putting out the game on every platform from PC to mobile to graphing calculators (you know it's coming), and expanding into merchandising (to an absurd degree) and even cartoons. 

iOS users can commit Tweeticide for the low price of $0.99

Ever take a look back at your past tweets and say, “What was I thinking?” Sometimes it really is amazing how much stupidity can come from 140 characters, but before you begin the arduous process of deleting them one by one, there is an app for iOS devices that will take care of the whole kit and caboodle.

Target's upcoming promo can get customers a free iPhone 4S by trading in a working iPhone 4

Have you been holding dearly to an iPhone 4 for some time now? And are you dreaming about upgrading to a snazzy iPhone 4S instead? Well, you’re in luck because Target has one juicy upcoming promotion that will get you into an Apple iPhone 4S for absolutely no cost to you – yes folks, it’s free as long as you sign a 2-year contract of course.

New picture of HTC One X confirms capactive Android buttons

Just yesterday we showed you an image of the HTC One X, the NVIDIA Tegra 3 packin' smartphone expected to be introduced the day before MWC opens on Monday. Some were surprised by the capacitive Android buttons on the bottom of the device since it is expected to launch with Android 4.0. Pictures of the device snagged by IT Pro Portal seem to confirm that the buttons are there. The photos show a sleek design for the quad-core powered phone and the HTC One X is expected to have a micro SD slot under the battery cover.

Oscars apps for the iPhone, iPad and Android

 The bankrupt Kodak wiggled out of its $4 million annual fee to have its name on Hollywood Theatre, but that doesn't mean this will be the only drama at this year's Oscars edition.

Chrome for Android updated, now loads lickity split

The Google Chrome team has been hard at work, releasing an update to Chrome for Android a scant two weeks after the app was first released to the teaming masses of Android fans. Sadly, the developers failed to include a changelog with the update (seriously, you’d think Google employees would remember to use this popular feature in the market, wouldn’t you??), but on a Galaxy Nexus the updated version of Chrome sees significant speed and smoothness gains. Sundar Pichai wasn't kidding when he said Chrome for Android would get updated frequently!

Microsoft Office 15 to include “Touch Mode” toggle

We already knew that Microsoft Office 15 is bringing its popular productivity apps to Windows 8 tablets, but the questions is, how does Microsoft intend to package an interface that is optimized for both a traditional mouse-and-keyboard and touch input?

Qualcomm became King of smartphone processor vendors in 2011, ending TI's reign

The King is dead. Long live the King. Texas Instruments, after a multi-year run as the leading vendor of smartphone processors has been replaced. Qualcomm is now on top, based on 2011 figures. The report, from Strategy Analytics, says that the total smartphone processor market grew 70% in 2011 in terms of revenue. Last year $7.9 billion work of product was shipped, half of which was a Qualcomm smartphone processor. This might not seem a surprise to our loyal readers, who might remember that back in July we told you that data from Strategy Analtyics revealed that Qualcomm had taken over the lead in smartphone processor market share from the fourth quarter of 2010.

Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode II gameplay trailer released

Who doesn’t get a little excited when they hear the old familiar “Seeeegggaaaa” sound clip? Sega is getting ready to release Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode II on multiple platforms and has giving the Internet a little taste of what’s to come. Let us say, it looks good.

iPhone takes top 3 spots of 2011’s best-selling smartphones in the US

The annual “Mobile Future in Focus” report was released yesterday and it comes as no surprised, Apple’s iPhone dominated the charts. The report shows both sales in both the US and EU5, which includes France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the U.K, from January 2011 through December 2011. The iPhone remained prominent on both charts.

Samsung and Visa making NFC payments an Olympic event with payWave

Those that are headed to the London Olympics this summer may be able to stock up on all the merch and snacks they can handle without taking their wallets out. Introducing the official mobile payment app of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London – payWave.

BlackBerry PlayBook LTE coming in April?

About this time last year RIM promised an LTE and HSPA+ version of their forthcoming PlayBook tablet, slated to be released in the second half of 2011.  Well that time frame came and went as the PlayBook struggled to sell.  In December we reported that the PlayBook OS 2.0 software files still pointed towards an LTE version, and new information today says that we could see it soon.  MobileSyrup appears to have gotten their hands on a BlackBerry roadmap that shows the PlayBook 4G LTE tablet is slated for a release in April, likely on Bell, TELUS and Roger's LTE networks.  No word on if the tablet will make its out of its home country, but we'd imagine that's a safe bet.

Source: MobileSyrup

Galaxy Nexus controlled with a projector and a Kinect

There is no question, if you give smart, creative people low-level access to their favorite gadgets; you’re going to see some cool things. This demo is no different.

Sea Stars hands-on

First it was the birds and their mayhem, then not too long ago we checked out a goldfish getting its way back to its fishbowl, and now it’s time for us to check out yet another simple and straightforward game starring none other than a dolphin. Well folks, we’ve been checking out this addictive game called Sea Stars, which actually has been made available for some time now for iPhone/iPad users, but most recently, it has made its way over to the Android Market. Thankfully, it’s sporting a price of free for both platforms – so yeah, no cost to you whatsoever to check it out.

No Surprise: Nokia is Largest Windows Phone Manufacturer

Given Nokia's special relationship with Microsoft it was inevitable that the Finnish handset maker would reign supreme on the Windows Phone platform, but it is impressive that it took just one quarter to do so.  In a study released by Strategy Analytics, Nokia came out on top of Windows Phone makers in the final quarter of 2011.  Windows Phone overall saw a 36% growth in units shipped.  While this may sound like great news for both Nokia and Microsoft, keep in mind that Nokia only shipped 900,000 phones during this time frame and that Windows Phone's overall market share dropped to 1.9%, down from 3.4% a year ago.  For reference, Apple shipped 37 million iPhones during the same time frame and Android's market share jumped from 30.5% to 50.9%.  While this achievement is certainty something for Nokia to hang its hat on, it also shows that there is a long road ahead for the two giants.

Source: Strategy Analytics via Electronista

BlackBerry Gets an Unofficial Google+ App

Google may not be giving any love the the BlackBerry platform, but the folks at Smarter Apps have ported a Google+ app for the die-hards.  The app is still in beta, but it brings much of the design and functionality of the Android App to BlackBerry devices.  Users have the ability to create and edit their circles as well as view their stream and photos.  Instant Upload, one of the more popular features of Google+, is included and will automatically upload all of your phone's photos to Google+.  Messenger is not included in this version, but developer plans to add it soon.  Head over to the source link to download the app and let us know how it works for you!

Source: Smarter Apps via BlackBerry Cool.  Image courtesy of Tech Spere

Amazon AppStore Gaining Traction

According to a report by Distimo the Amazon AppStore is gaining ground on the Android Market and proving to be more profitable for developers.  The Android Market still has around 14 times as many apps as the AppStore, but the report found that in December and January new apps in the Market were only 5 times greater than new apps in the AppStore.  It also found that the Amazon AppStore grew by a factor of 14 between October and December of last year, no doubt thanks to it being the exclusive app avenue for the Kindle Fire.  If growth continues at this pace the AppStore could be close to the Market numbers in just a short year.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 LTE coming to Verizon next week

Last month at CES 2012 we got a hands-on look at the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 LTE that would be headed to Verizon. Now according to our tipster and leaked image, the newest 4G LTE tablet will be released by Verizon on March 1st.

Mozilla teams up with LG for a mysterious device, aims to rival Apple and Google

Mozilla has teamed up with none other than LG for the release of its first mobile device at MWC 2012, a “source close to the matter” confirmed for ExtremeTech. What’s more - Mozilla CTO and creator of JavaScript Brendan Eich said there will be multiple partners, not just one partnership announced at the show.

Sprint's Epic 4G Touch Gets a Taste of CyanogenMod 9

Thanks to a recent leaked Sprint ICS update for the Samsung Epic 4G Touch, the development community has made big strides in the past week towards custom ICS ROMs for Sprint's Galaxy S II device.  The latest, and likely to garner the most attention, is CyanogenMod 9.  CyanogenMod has been the ROM for Android enthusiasts for the past several years thanks to its clean ASOP base and user-friendly customizations.  We've seen CM 9 make it to Nexus devices like the Galaxy Nexus and Nexus S, but independent developers have taken it on themselves to bring early builds to other devices like the HTC Sensation and EVO 3D, and of course the Epic 4G Touch.  This latest build, dubbed Alpha 3.1, has a few known issues such as USB mounting, inaccurate signal bars and no YouTube, but gives the user plenty of functionality including 4G, camera and Bluetooth.  We don't suggest flashing this unless you're familiar with the development community, but for you early adapters out there give it a go and let us know how it works in the comments!

Source: XDA-developers

Sony Dot Switch Android app hints at March 6 "Make TV" event on uniform sharing across its gadgets

Sony outed its Dot Switch website the other day, just as promised, and the app is live on Android Market, hinting at more to come March 6. Dot Switch seems to be the commercial name of its "four-screen" strategy that aims for  "effortless sharing of content with easy connectivity across multiple screens within the world of Sony"

Midway Arcade brings the best of old-school arcade to iPhone, iPad

Midway Arcade is a dream come true for some good ol’ arcade action. The application takes you to a 3D reenactment of an old school two-storey arcade game room with billiards, air hockey tables, arcade baskaetball, everything that smells like the 80s/90s. 

Acer CloudMobile Gets an Early Hands-on

Acer may have just taken the wraps off of the Liquid Glow, but Cellulare Magazine got their hands on the recently-outed CloudMobile at Milan's Fashion Week.  We told you last week that the CloudMobile is said to be deeply tied to Acer's cloud service, but if the specs reported today are true the phone has some pretty impressive hardware to back it up.  Running on Android 4.1, the CloudMobile is said to feature a 1.5GHz dual-core processor with a 4.3" HD 1280x720 display, NFC support, an 8 megapixel camera and Dolby Mobile Audio.  The CloudMobile looks to be the big brother to the Liquid Glow, sharing design cues but improving on the specifications.  The device is slated for a Q3 launch, and as it stands is just a prototype so keep in mind that specs and design may change over the next few months.  Check out the video below, even if you don't speak Italian you can appreciate how fluid the CloudMobile appears to be running!

Source: Cellular Magazine via Android and Me, image courtesy of tech2

Acer CloudMobile Preliminary Specifications

The Book of Jobs: a non-hagiographic biography of Apple's biggest man

We don’t usually base our stories on opinions in other publications, but this one is an exception. Maureen Tkacik, formerly of the WSJ and Jezebel, has penned a deep look at Steve Jobs without venerating him and it’s the best tech writing we’ve seen in a while. 

Mercedes-Benz integrating Siri in its A-Class, coming to B, C, E series this Fall

Mercedes-Benz has announced that it will integrate Apple’s intelligent voice assistant Siri in its A-Class vehicles. Natural language voice commands will be in the very core of the German maker’s A series infotainment system.

Huawei MediaPad 10 to be lurking in the MWC shadows with slim body and 8MP rear camera

It's not only phone news, the MWC will see its fair share of tablets, too. After the 7" Huawei MediaPad, which even made way to US carriers, the company is said to unveil a MediaPad 10 slate, and even a few pictures of its body emerged.

Google is selling its stake in ClearWire

Google is selling its 6.5% stake in ClearWire for well below market value, thus turning its back on the WiMAX provider. A SEC filing today confirmed the sale. Google will be selling the shares for $1.60 apiece, much less than the current trading price of $2.27. The search behemoth bought its ClearWire stake for nearly $500 million back four years ago in 2008, and now it’s selling them for around $47 million.

Android apps too expensive, cost more than double those on iOS

Android apps are too expensive, a study by Canalys concluded. The researcher looked at apps on the Android Market and found that in general they cost 2.5 times those on the more mature iOS where fierce competition drives prices down.

Dropbox for Android will automatically sync up to 3GB of your gallery now, feature coming soon to iOS devices

The battle of the cloud services can only bring good things for us consumers, and the latest Dropbox and Box updates are the proof. After Box giving away 50GB for free to any Android user, Dropbox now strikes back with a cool photo and video syncing service.

ViewSonic borrows the iPhone Retina Display for an Android phone, to out five more devices

ViewPhone 4e

The ViewSonic ViewPhone 4s on the left will be an Android handset with... a 3.5 screen with 640x960 pixels of resolution. Sounds familiar? Lawsuit pending? What are they thinking? Strikes on all counts.

Google to deliver “an array of consumer devices,” to challenge Apple?

Google Music is not living up to expectations - that’s the quick summary derived from various Google managers talking to recording labels, CNET learned from inside sources. But that’s not what customers really care deeply about - with Rdio and other monthly subscription services, there are plenty of alternatives. What’s interesting, though, in CNET’s scoop is that Google is once again suggested to be working on hardware.

Google Nexus tablet may have a 7-inch display, $199 price tag, rumors reiterate

Wow, it has been a while since we last had a rumor about a Google branded tablet. Last time, which was about six weeks ago, it was claimed that a 7-inch slate priced at $199 was being readied for a late Q2 release. But although that information seemed a bit shaky for us at the time, the odds of it turning out to be accurate are raising as we now have another source providing similar claims.

Look, Ma, no bezel! Samsung working on a frameless Galaxy B Android handset for Q3

Now this is getting ridiculous - just when one decides to buy an awesome phone he read about yesterday, today comes a rumor about something awesome-er and knocks down yesterday's determination.

Apple iCloud and MobileMe push email nixed in Germany because of Motorola's patent ban

Apple has disabled its push email services for iCloud and MobileMe in Germany, as a compliance measure for the Motorola-induced injunction against it. Cupertino apparently didn't have time to employ the workarounds that switch to timed email check, but didn't want to get fined either, so it just axed the service while it appeals.

Quad-core Samsung Exynos 4412 demoed, might be what's inside the Galaxy S III

Samsung has demonstrated its first quad-core Exynos at a chip conference, and is very likely to bring the silicon to MWC as well. It let us get acquainted with the chip up close and personal at CES, an article on which you can find here, and now it has been announced for the whole wide world.

Best office apps for iPad and iPhone

Are you following the saga that kicked off when the first screenshots of Microsoft Office leaked out for the iPad? Microsoft’s Office suite is probably the single most solid pillar of Microsoft’s growth recently, but a growing number of iPad users realize that you can easily get work done with plenty of available office applications on the App Store. This could shake Microsoft's empire in its roots, and that's why we start our journey to find the best iPad document editor knowing this could change the industry.

Report says Android ended 2011 with 47% of ad impressions

Mobile ad firm Millennial Media said that as the ball dropped in Times Square to close out 2011, Android flavored devices had 47% of ad impressions. Apple finished second with a 33% share of ad impressions. That was a reversal from 2010 when Apple closed out the year with a 41% share of mobile ad impressions vs. 30% for Google.

2011 Mobile PC sales: Thanks to the iPad, Apple takes the top spot

When combining tablets into the mobile PC category, Apple managed to not only be the lead PC vendor for the fourth quarter of 2011, but the entire year. The Cupertino giant shipped more than 62.8 million MacBooks and iPads last year. Out of those units, the iPad accounted for a staggering 80%, or about 48.4 million.

LG’s Optimus lineup gets caught on video prior to MWC

Yesterday we all got a look at the LG Optimus Vu ahead of schedule. Today, Italian blog, Telefonino, posted 3 hand-on videos of the LG Optimus 4X HD, the LG Optimus 3D Max, and the LG Optimus Vu as well a several photographs of the LG Optimus L7.

If you haven’t brushed up on your Italian in a while, you may not understand a word of what’s being said, but you can see all three of these Android devices in action.

First up, we have the LG Optimus 4X HD:

Sony's TransferJet chip will make wireless syncing a breeze

We know that the title of this article may be a little bit boring, but trust us this is really cool technology. Of course, there has never been any guarantee that cool technology becomes the ubiquitous technology. TransferJet is a really cool technology, but one that hasn't really seen much adoption outside of Asia.