Google UK boss offers 'unreserved apology' for delayed Nexus 4 orders

Dan Cobley says pre-Christmas deliveries on track for this week, offers shipping refund for late orders

As we've reported in great detail over the past month, customers hoping to pick up the Nexus 4directly from the Google Play Store haven't had the easiest time ordering the device. Even after dealing with a tumultuous ordering process, some in the UK have found that their orders had missed the shipping window they'd been given by Google Play.

As a result, some disgruntled customers decided to go straight to the top to get answers, reaching out to Google UK & Ireland Managing Director Dan Cobley on his Google+ page. Today Cobley has responded with an update on the situation, an apology to those affected, and a shipping refund for those whose orders had missed the quoted 3-5 day window. The bottom line is that orders with pre-Christmas shipping estimates should be processed in the coming week.

[Source: Android Central]

Carphone Warehouse offering pre-Christmas deals on Kindle Fire and Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1

If you're in the market for an inexpensive tablet this Christmas time, be it for yourself or a loved one, Carphone Warehouse in the UK has just made the choice a little wider. Many -- including the Android Central staff -- would automatically recommend the Google Nexus 7. But, it's not for everyone. 

If you're more interested in a 10-inch tablet, the UK retailer has dropped the price of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 to just £195 for the 16GB model. Better still, the tablet is still eligible for £50 cashback from Samsung too, making the net price just £145. At that price it's a potentially compelling purchase, and add to that the recent Jelly Bean rollout that started here in the UK, and it could make a great gift. It's by no means perfect, but it's cheaper than even the Nexus 7. It's limited to 2 per customer and it looks like stock is selling fast. It's currently out of stock online but we found a couple of our local stores with stock left.

The Tab 2 isn't alone in the deals section either, as the 2nd Generation Amazon Kindle Fire has been reduced to just £98. As a content consuming device the Kindle Fire is a good choice, with built in LOVEFiLM streaming as well as Amazon's extensive content ecosystem. No Google Apps might be a deal-breaker for some, but at under £100 the Kindle Fire is a bonafide bargain.

[Source: Android Central]

iPhone 5 Launches in 33 New Countries Including China

Unlike the chaos that reigned at the iPhone 4S launch earlier this year, The Wall Street Journal reports that the iPhone 5 appears to have been quite subdued. It is unclear, however, how much of the change may be due to lack of interest and how much may have been related to snowy weather and changes in Apple's sales policies designed to reduce scalping and other factors that have led to problems at previous launches.

Friday’s iPhone 5 launch was notable for a different kind of white: a rare accumulation of fresh snow that blanketed the nearly empty plaza outside the Sanlitun store. 

At 8 am on Friday, when the store opened to hurrahs from employees, only two consumers stood inside a cordon set up by Apple, though they were joined by a desultory snow man someone had made on a bench near the entrance.

Apple's new sales policies require customers to enter a lottery for the right to purchase an iPhone in the store, with winners being given specific windows of time in which to pick up their devices.

[Source: Engadget]

Apple's New Causeway Bay Retail Store in Hong Kong Unveiled

Earlier this week, we noted that this weekend's group of Apple retail store grand openings would be headlined by the company's Causeway Bay flagship location in Hong Kong. The store features three levels, with a 30-foot tall glass curtain wall making a significant impact on the shopping center. 

With the store set to open to the public tomorrow, Apple has been putting the finishing touches on it and has unveiled the store for passersby to see. ifoAppleStore's Gary Allen pointed to an image posted to Flickr showing showing the full scale of the store's glass facade.

[Source: MacRumors]

Redesigned and Expanded Third Street Promenade Apple Store Opens in Santa Monica, CA

Apple's old Third Street Promenade location was one of the early Apple Stores and was an extremely popular location that was almost always crowded to capacity. The new store should allow considerably more foot traffic.

Apple proposed the new store to the Santa Monica planning commission more than a year ago, with the new building gaining approval without so much as a discussion.

[Source: MacRumors]

Security exploit opens Samsung Galaxy S III, Note II to attack, could let apps from Google Play write to Kernel

Amid the XDA community's ongoing quest to root every Android handset it comes across, one forum user appears to have found a serious exploit that affects certain Exynos devices. While fiddling with his Galaxy S III, XDA user Alephzain discovered a way to obtain root without flashing with Odin. The Samsung kernel apparently allows read / write access to all physical memory on the device, including the kernel itself. This makes for an easy root, Alephzain writes, but leaves devices open to attack -- allowing Kernel code injections and RAM dumps from malware-laden apps from the Google Play store.

It isn't the only avenue for attack on an Android handset, but it is an exceedingly easy attack. Luckily, a community fostered fix seems pretty simple too -- XDA user RyanZA has already created a patch to modify write permissions on affected devices -- though Galaxy S III users are reporting that the fix cripples the phone's camera app. So far, Alephzain has confirmed that the Galaxy S II, III, Note II and the Meizu MX are at risk, but notes that the exploit might work on any device running a Exynos 4210 or 4412 processor. Samsung has not yet made a comment about the vulnerability, but forum members say that the issue has been reported. As for the exploit's lasting implications? Head on over to the XDA forums to join the discussion.

[Source: Engadget]

Twitter archive downloads start rolling out to select users, lets you relive 2006 tomfoolery

Remember how you used to rave about MySpace or how excited you were to snag a brown Microsoft Zune? Twitter remembers, and it's ready to let you relive the most awkward thoughts you ever deemed fit to publish on the internet. As promised by CEO Dick Costolo Twitter is letting users download a complete archive of their digital musings. The option hasn't hit the mainstream Twitterverse just yet, but select users are finding the option hidden in the web client's settings page under the heading "your Twitter archive." Compiled archives are pretty, too -- wrapped in HTML and organized by month. Ready to relive 2006, 140 characters at a time? Check out your own archive (if you're lucky enough to have the option) and share your favorite embarrassments with us in the comments after the break.

[SourceL Engadget]

MapsOpener jailbreak tweak sets Google Maps as default maps app

Some iPhone users who’ve tried the new Google Maps already will want to use the app instead of the often criticized Apple Maps. Sadly, Apple doesn’t yet offer a way to make Google Maps the default application, which would allow iOS users to choose which mapping app opens when mapping URLs are clicked or using Siri.

As expected the crafty folks in the jailbreak community have already cooked up a new tweak called MapsOpener that will make Google Maps the default. You can check out the tweak courtesy of Hashbang Productions and available via Cydia’s Big Boss repo.  As we told you earlier this week, jailbreak tweak FullForce will also make Google Maps scale to the iPad’s large screen. Check out MapsOpener demoed below.

 [Source: 9to5Mac]

Digitimes claims next iPad mini to have higher-res display, next 9.7-inch iPad to be lighter

According to Digitimes, Apple’s next-generation iPad mini’s enhancements will center around the device’s display resolution. Digitimes says its sources did not specify whether or not this new iPad mini would feature a Retina display, but knowing Apple’s want to ensure application compatibility, it is highly likely that if Apple goes higher-resolution on the iPad mini, they will be going to the third and fourth-generation 9.7-inch iPad’s resolution of 2048 x 1536 (something to note is that Digitimes says that the current 9.7-inch Retina Display iPad has a resolution of 2058 x 1536, which is incorrect.)

[Source: 9to5Mac - Click here to read more]

MediaPortal 1.3 hits beta, scores new Titan UI, preliminary Windows 8 support

After simmering in its second alpha stage for roughly two weeks, MediaPortal 1.3 has hit the beta phase with a trio of newly-minted looks. The Titan skin spruces up the open source media player's interface with fresh visuals designed for folks with 1080p 16:9 displays. If you're worried about the new look harshing your plugin mellow, the Titan Extended option already plays nice with a handful of add-ons: OnlineVideos, MovingPictures, MP-TvSeries, My Films, Fanart Handler, Latest Media Handler, Trakt, InfoService and the Extensions plugin. Those who'd rather not make the leap to the brand-spanking-new skin can take advantage of refreshed Default and DefaultWide themes instead. In addition to the new coat of paint, the Beta adds preliminary support for Windows 8, which is scheduled to mature in the final version. Thanks to Last.fm's about face on free API access, the music service's plugin has been nixed, but it might return for Last.fm subscribers. For the full changelog and instructions on migrating to the latest test release, hit the bordering source link.

[Source: Engadget]

Dropbox 2.0 launches for iOS with new Photos tab and a streamlined UI

Most of us would call the Dropbox mobile app very utilitarian, built for browsing files and not much else. It's becoming more of a media viewer in its own right with its just-arrived Dropbox 2.0 for iOS users. The cloud storage service gains a dedicated Photos tab that takes advantage of all those automatic uploads from the past few months: the panel organizes photos by the time taken and offers an unintrusive full-screen mode for reliving memories. Hitting the major milestone has also given Dropbox an incentive to rework the interface as a whole, simplifying uploads to specific folders alongside removing the visual clutter. The developer hasn't yet given Android the same treatment, although the company's tendency to keep its major apps on an equal footing suggests it won't be too long before everyone gets a clearer view of their images in the cloud.

[Source: Engadget]

Bing brings new social sidebar to the iPad, helps you see who's been looking for what

Bing's desktop version recently underwent a bit of a makeover and Microsoft has now added its search engine's new social sidebar for the iPad's Safari users. Upon performing a web search, folks will have access to a side pane displaying related results from the likes of Facebook, Foursquare, Klout and Twitter. Supporting both portrait and landscape formatting, the updated design is set to gradually roll out over the next few days. Just in time for you to check out who's going to see The Hobbit in 48fps this weekend when searching for showtimes and theaters.

[Source: Engadget]