HTC Zeta details leak, featuring 720p HD display and 2.5GHz quad-core processor

Graham Smith

Engadget has leaked the specs of a new handset from HTC called the Zeta (rendered above). The HTC Zeta is rumored to pack a 2.5GHz quad-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 720p 4.5-inch display, 8-megapixel rear camera (1080p HD), and 1.3-megapixel front camera. With specifications optimized for power, the HTC Zeta makes itself favorable over its previously leaked brethren the HTC Edge.

The 2.5 GHz S4 processor will be manufactured by Qualcomm, a competitor to Nvidia’s Tegra 3 that is finding its way into devices by next year. This device is sure to be a speed demon.

Engadget doesn’t say which version of Android the Zeta will run, but with the Ice Cream Sandwich source code released yesterday, we’re hoping the device will see ICS on launch day if not shortly after. HTC’s custom Sense UI will also most likely earn a spot on the Zeta. There is no word on pricing or availability, but Q1 or early Q2 of 2012 sounds about right.

Google launches Google+ API for select third-party apps

Jordan Kahn

Google announced in a post today on the AdWords blog that a new API for third-party apps will allow businesses to manage their branded Google+ pages through social media management services like HootSuite.

Initially the API will only be open to six partners including Buddy Media, Involver, Context Optional, Hearsay Social, Vitrue, and HootSuite. Starting with selects users, these services will allow businesses to manage their circles, make posts to their Google+ page, and monitor activity and analytics. On the Hootsuite website, for instance, features listed include the ability to manage circles, as well as “monitor, search, share, and post” right within the app’s interface.

The API will inevitably be opened up to more third-party apps after the initial experiment, and social media management companies can already click here to sign up. Below is an image showing Google+ integration in the updated HootSuite dashboard, which is probably the most in-depth solution, and it looks like just about every aspect of a Google+ page has been included.
Read more

Kindle Fire torndown by iFixit, reveals huge battery

Jake Smith

The fine folks over at iFixit have done their honorary teardown of the Kindle Fire, which just became available today. The teardown revealed the device is much easier to open than Apple’s iPad and iPod. Other things to note are its huge battery and shiny metal plates on the back case that help provide protection for the internal components, as well as heat sinking and EMI shielding. Head on over to iFixit for all of the technical details.

Interested in our first thoughts on the $199 Fire? Check them out here. A few more teardown photos after the break:

Read more

Google Voice for Android now features group texting and offline voicemail

Jake Smith

Google has updated Google Voice for Android to version 0.4.2 — a small update — but the app now features group texting, offline voicemail, and improved text message notifications.

Offline voicemail is definitely the big feature here, letting users listen to voicemail in spotty coverage areas. Now if there could be some improvements to the iOS app and MMS available on all carriers. Download it now!

What’s in this version:

  1. Prefetch voicemails so they can be listened to even when there is no data coverage
  2. Allow sending text messages to multiple recipients
  3. Improved text message notification
Read more

Bank of America Google+ page gets hijacked: “Sit down and shut up, or we will foreclose on you”

Jordan Kahn

It has been just over a week since Google opened up branded pages for businesses on Google+, and according to a report from TPM, a page for Bank of America has already been vandalized with satirical messages mocking the company’s business practices. Here’s an example of one of the posts made to the page:

“We are committed to making as much money as possible from usury, coercion, bribery, insider trading, extortion, and debit card fees as possible.”

You can see the “We took your bailout money and your mortgage rates are going up” tagline in the screenshot of the page above, which was snapped before the page was not so promptly taken down a week after it was created. You will also notice the candid photos of former CEO Kenneth Lewis along the top. Other posts were of the same entertaining caliber:

“Starting tomorrow, all Occupy Wall Street protestors with Bank of America accounts around the country will have their assets seized as part of BofA’s new Counter-Financial-Terrorism policy…You will sit down and shut up, or we will foreclose on you.”

It should be noted the page wasn’t exactly hijacked, rather created, as one currently only has to link a page to an official website and provide an address and phone number. While Google hasn’t officially commented on the Bank of America page, they did have this to say to TPM regarding the situtation:
Read more

Google captures 360-degree Street View of Central Park for Maps

Jordan Kahn

Google’s pedicab trike is once again out and about capturing 360-degree Street View shots of its surroundings, this time NY Times found a team of Google cyclists capturing 58 miles of pathways in New York’s Central Park. Earlier this month Google started adding local parks to the Street View feature in Google Maps, some of which include High Line Park in New York City, Kensington Gardens in London, and the Knuthenborg Safari Park in Denmark.

So far Google has traveled to 20+ countries across the globe to capture panoramic views of areas inaccessible by their Street View cars, so expect many more parks, paths, and other outdoor spaces coming to Maps in the near future. They even recently attached the trike to the front of a train to capture 122km of the Albula-Bernina railway line in the Swizz Alps.

No word on when exactly you’ll see Central Park added to Maps, but it typically takes a few months from the time the trike is deployed. You can check out some of the parks already available in Google Maps here.
Read more