The work of a non-profit advocacy group is never done. It seems like just yesterday that the Electronic Frontier Foundation was waging a battle to put jailbreaking rights into the hands of consumers, much to the chagrin of manufacturers intent on maintaining control over their devices after they leave store shelves. With the looming expiration of an exemption to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act that has made such hacks legal, the organization is once again taking up the cause. And this time, it's added tablets and gaming consoles to its proposal. We sat down with EFF staff attorney Mitch Stoltz to discuss the state of the law and how users can help in the fight.
Continue reading The Engadget Interview: the EFF's Mitch Stoltz talks the legality of jailbreaking
The Engadget Interview: the EFF's Mitch Stoltz talks the legality of jailbreaking originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 04 Feb 2012 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink
Sure, you can draw whatever the heck you want on the front of your Galaxy Note, but what about that blank blue or white canvas 'round back? With north of a million 5.3-inch pocketable slates in circulation around the world, you'll need to get a bit more creative to truly make it yours -- and Samsung is willing to help. If a trip to South Korea is on the books between now and March 31st, you can now deck out your Note with custom messaging on the back, with the company letting customers "engrave wished letters on the backside of their own device with laser beams." And we can all agree that laser beams boost the appeal of any device -- even the Note. So what would you tattoo on your Note's backside? We'll share a few staff picks just below, but let us know your plans in the comments. "Large is just a matter of perspective" "Yes, I can make phone calls" "It's not a STYLUS" "Size DOES matter" "More to Love" "Wide Load"
Samsung added a new star to its Galaxy universe today, with the release of the Galaxy Advance S. Powered by a 1GHz dual-core CPU, this handset boasts a four-inch, 480 x 800 Super AMOLED display, and packs up to 16GB of memory, along with 768MB of RAM. The device also supports HSPA connections at speeds of up to 14.4Mbps, and boasts a five megapixel rear-facing camera, along with a 1.3 megapixel shooter, up front. As far as software goes, the Advance S will ship with Android 2.3 Gingerbread, plus a full suite of Samsung's apps, available via its Hubs and ChatON services. No word yet on pricing, but the Korean manufacturer plans to roll out its latest smartphone on a gradual basis, beginning with Russia next month, followed by Europe, Africa, Middle East, Southeast and Southwest Asia, Latin America and China. Notably absent from that list, of course, is the US. Find more details in the full press release after the break, as well as the gallery of press shots, below. 
If you ever thought remembering HTC's titanic product line was like trying to recall the Greek alphabet, then it seems you're not alone. Phil Roberson, head of the firm's UK operations apparently thinks the display cabinet is getting a little crowded, too, telling Mobile Magazine "We have to get back to focusing on what made us great - amazing hardware." No surprises that there's been a tightening of focus after filing disappointing results just earlier this month. There's already been the odd whisper of new directions for HTC, and this year's phone roll-out is already under way, but with Roberson suggesting tablets aren't high on its list of priorities this year, we're banking on further details of 2012's product plans at next month's MWC.
Twitter recently revamped its web interface, and now Google has decided to do the same for the Google+ web app, bringing two new features that should be a boon for the Big G's thriving social network. You can now see who's been rolling out +1's to your latest Hello Kitty pics with a simple click of the +1 count near the button. There's also a "What's Hot" stream, a section focused on the most interesting shared content that's accessed by flicking your thumb right on the main Circles timeline. The only casualty from this update was the Incoming feed page, which was replaced due to lack of use according to its creator. The iOS and Android applications are expected to make the jump soon, but in the meantime, the web app should satisfy the need to indulge.
Last week, rumors began circulating around Samsung's Bada OS, with Forbes reporting that the platform would soon be merged with Intel's Tizen project. If finalized, the move would reportedly allow Bada apps to run on Tizen, though it remains unclear whether or not a decision has been made yet. On Monday, a company spokesman apparently confirmed these rumors to Reuters, though Samsung later denied these claims, in a statement provided to All Things D: Samsung and other members of Tizen Association have not made a firm decision regarding the merge of bada and Tizen. We are carefully looking at it as an option to make the platforms serve better for customers. As Samsung's essential part of multi-platform portfolio, bada will continue to play an important role in democratizing smartphone experience in all markets. Samsung will also support open source based development and continue to work together with other industry stakeholders.So, um, is it happening? We'll let you know.
Tango Networks is aiming to assuage the pain of US mobile users attempting to manage two phone numbers using a single device. Dubbed the Abrazo Multi-line Service, the cloud-based product aims to bring Google Voice integration to "all mobile phones" and allow wireless users to manage multiple numbers without the hassle of additional software -- meaning your RAZR 2 can join the fun. Calls placed to handsets utilizing Abrazo will ring all phones in your Google Voice roster and users can choose which caller ID number to display for outgoing calls. The service will also offer a single Message Waiting Indicator light and leverage GV's low-cost international calling rates. Abrazo Multi-line Service is currently in the trial phase with North American mobile operators. The full press release from Tango is after the break.
Music aficionados will recognize the term "fortissimo." It's used to signify belting out the tunes as loud as humanly possible, which is exactly what Clarity is hoping to achieve with its speakerphone that uses the name. The Clarity Fortissimo is geared toward those who are mobility-challenged, offering a massively loud 95dB speaker, huge buttons, voice activation, Bluetooth and DECT connectivity, and a large touchscreen display. The Fortissimo offers Plantronics' Vocalyst technology, which has the ability to push emails, messages and even social network updates. It also has a dedicated button that automatically dials Clarity's support center, where a rep can then program the phone remotely for you. Expect to see the Fortissimo available this spring -- we were quoted April / May -- and will retail for $500. We have images and video after the break.
Another phone-related product coming out of Oregon Scientific this year is the Remote Weather Access Platform. As the name suggests, this little box acts as a LAN bridge between Oregon Scientific home weather station sensors (via RF) and the web, thus allowing users to monitor home microclimate from a personal website or an app on their smartphones (Android or iOS). Yep, that's pretty much it, and the hub will cost you a dear $149 when it eventually hits the market.
