Jake Smith

Hackers uncovered an issue this week with Google Wallet on routed phones. The hackers found that pin numbers for Google Wallet on rooted phones can be cracked with simple software. Google quickly released a statement and said it is working on a fix. Meanwhile, a hack also released for non-rooted devices, which is a huge safety concern. Late last night, Google released a post on its Commerce Blog giving a little more of its view on the matter.

Google announced that it would disable provisioning of prepaid cards. This will help if you ever lose a phone and someone wants to use your prepaid card to make purchases. This is a temporary solution, but Google is still looking for a permanent fix.

Google also reminded us that it offers a toll-free line if users ever have a concern or question about Google Wallet accounts. The support line is open 24/7.

Google also said that Google Wallet is safer than plastic cards and folded wallets. The company even talked about the security concerns’ rooting an Android device creates:

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The war between Samsung and Apple continues as Apple requests a United States Preliminary Injunction on Samsung’s Galaxy Nexus. The request was filed in a U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on Thursday, and the documents were released Friday. FOSS Patents discovered that Apple is basing its request for an injunction on four recently granted patents:

1. The “data tapping” patent that the ITC ordered an import ban against HTC.
2. A patent related to Siri and unified search that must be a huge concern to Google with a view to its core business.
3. A new slide-to-unlock patent that even had the head of the Taiwanese government profoundly worried.
4. A word completion patent that provides major speed improvements for touchscreen text entry.

The second patent (seen above) concerns Apple’s Siri technology. Google has similar a voice technology, and Apple wants to slash the accurate but not as robust feature out of the picture. The third slide-to-unlock patent is something that Apple has been after for a while, based on earlier patents. Apple also recently sued Samsung in a separate lawsuit over the fourth autocorrect patent.

Will the injunction be granted? Probably not, but it is interesting to see Apple keep trying. A judge will make a ruling in the coming months.

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A new device called the “HTC Edge” leaked. It was the world’s first rumored quad-core handset. Fast forward to last month, and PocketNow reported that HTC renamed the HTC Edge to the “HTC Endeavor.”

A new report from MoDaCo, said HTC is announcing the HTC Endeavor at Mobile World Conference in Barcelona in less than three weeks. If you are not familiar, MWC is the CES for phones and tablets.

MoDaCo’s sources confirmed that the HTC Endeavor will ship with a 1.5GHz Tegra 3 based Quad-Core processor, 4.7-inch 720P HD screen, 8-megapixel camera, 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera, 1GB of RAM, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 4.0. The handset will also feature Beats audio experience onboard, as well as Sense 4.0…

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With no information regarding sources, Eldar Murtazin took to Twitter to claim Ice Cream Sandwich will roll out to Samsung’s Galaxy S II on March 1. While he has made many predictions lately, it is not clear exactly how accurate he is. Time will only tell. At any rate, ICS should hit the Galaxy S II relatively soon. He also said ICS will roll out for the Galaxy Note and other Samsung devices from March to May, depending on model and carrier. We shall see!

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Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif., is moving from VM Ware’s Zimbra to Google Apps for its entire staff and student-body, according to The Stanford Daily. Stanford has given Google Apps a trial for the past year and is finally ready to open it up campus-wide. Stanford will roll out Google Apps this spring with undergraduate students able to move to Gmail when they choose. Google Docs will then roll out in the summer. The full roll out of Google Apps across the campus cannot happen until Google enters into a Business Associate Agreement with the university.

Stanford is making the switch to Google Apps from Zimbra, an open source email software made available from VM Ware. Stanford’s Matthew Ricks said, “In delivering Google Apps to Stanford, we’re responding to the desires of the majority of our community,” which indicated Zimbra was not meeting the campus’ needs.

Google Apps will offer Stanford document creation from Google Docs through Gmail, management through Google Calendar, and more. Many other schools and organizations have also made the move to Google Apps while citing it to be the most affective. Thanks for spotting the title error, Dane!

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A rumor debuted yesterday that claimed Google is currently developing and testing a streaming home-entertainment system in many of its employee’s homes. Today, a new temporary Federal Communications Commission license awarded to Google revealed that the company is testing a “next generation personal communication device,” whether it is connected to the home-entertainment system or not. A total 102 units of this prototype are in employee’s homes across Mountain View, Los Angeles, New York, and Massachusetts’ areas. The request is specifically for the use of Bluetooth and Wi-Fi in the prototype. (via The Verge)

This prototype could also certainly be Google’s new personal HUD glasses that we told you about earlier this week. Our sources said the Google X crew is developing them, and they could ship in a beta like Chromebook did. We also told you that the glasses will sport Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, so today’s FCC request could certainly be the glasses.

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We heard about this before: AllThingsD’s John Paczkowski reported (via Pacific Crest analyst Chad Bartley) that Amazon will launch a 9-inch version of the Kindle Fire by mid year. Amazon will play off the wide success of its 7-inch version. With the introduction of a 9-inch Kindle Fire by mid year, analyst Bartley is raising his sales estimate f0r the Kindle Fire from 12.7 million to 14.9 million units shipped in 2012. Bartley reported:

We are raising our 2012 sales forecasts to 14.9 million from 12.7 million,” he wrote. “But we believe there is an upward bias, particularly from the new 7- and 9-inch models, which we expect to launch in mid-2012.”

We heard rumors in late 2011 that Amazon was to launch a 10.1-inch version to compete with the iPad. At any rate, we expect Amazon to announce a larger version at some point.

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While we already heard from the WSJ that United States regulators are going to approve Google’s acquisition of Motorola Mobility, Reuters is reporting today that European regulators are going to do the same. Getting an approval from both areas would be significant, and it would push the $12.5 billion buyout announced in August closer to sealing the deal.

After Europe and the U.S., Google will still have to get approval from China, Israel, and Taiwan. Chinese regulators have until March 20.

Google acquired Motorola Mobility for its large array of patents. There have also been reports that Google will use Motorola Mobility’s expertise in hardware to build its own Google hardware. WSJ reported yesterday that Google is developing a streaming home-entertainment system.

U.S. regulators will approve the acquisition next week. It is only a matter of time before the merger officially goes through.

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Verizon Wireless began to roll out updates today for a slew of its devices. Motorola’s Droid RAZR, RAZR Maxx, and XOOM LTE users are witnessing a mass update to version 6.12.73 that includes improved data stability on hotspot, V CAST app preloaded, and more. Both versions of Motorola’s XYBOARD tablet are also experiencing an update today. The update “1.6.0M_279” is almost the same, except for a stylus improvements that affect the 10.1 version. Like always, if you are not seeing the update, simply go to “Settings>About phone>System” to push them through.

Official release notes are available after the break (via Droid Life):

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Google rolled out its new black navigation bar in November 2011, and today it is seeing a small update. Google just detailed the change over on the Official Google Blog. The update includes links to top Google properties, a more unified look for the search box, and sharing to Google+, as detailed in the photo above.

The biggest change is that we’ve replaced the drop-down Google menu with a consistent and expanded set of links running across the top of the page. 

Google said users should see the change soon; it will roll out in the next few weeks.

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Rumors about Google Drive claim the product is Google’s new cloud file storage service. WSJ reported last night it is launching Google Drive in the coming weeks. Flickr user Sebastien Fuss (via GigaOm) discovered today that Google Docs is referencing the product through a code viewable in any browser, which reads: “Add to My Drive.” There is not any physical button in Google Docs, but the code reference is definitely interesting.

It should not be long before we see something out of Google. The Google Drive product will most likely integrate on Android and throughout its other services, like Google Docs and Google Plus.

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The white version of the GSM Galaxy Nexus will ship Feb. 13 from retailer Negri Electronics for $659, according to Android and Me. Specs for the white version remain the same. The front of the white Galaxy Nexus feature some black, as we showed you in January, which is depicted in the gallery below. Just as comparison: Amazon offers the black version for $629.99.

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Google Drive has been rumored to launch for quite awhile as a competitor to the popular Dropbox. Google Drive will be a file locker for users to store files accessible from anywhere. Think Google Docs, but for files. Tonight, Wall Street Journal said Google would be launching Google Drive in the coming weeks or months, citing people familiar with the matter.

Google will most likely also release a Google Drive Android app. Users will be able to quickly grab the files they upload through the web and grab them for use on their phones.

WSJ said Google Drive will run for free, but it will cost more money as more data is used like Google Docs. We will keep you updated as the launch draws closer.

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NVIDIA just sent out invites (via Android Central) to its press event at this year’s Mobile World Conference. MWC is a huge conference set in Barcelona on Feb. 27 to March 1 where we will see new devices from handset manufactures. NVIDIA’s press invite said the company would be focusing on quad-core devices, which should not come as a surprise to anyone.

NVIDIA already teased its quad-core devices, and it already confirmed quad-core devices are on the way for the beginning of 2012. Android Central noticed what looks to be a Droid Incredible 2 in the model’s hands on the press invite. Is NVIDIA teaming up with HTC to announce a quad-core device? We will keep you updated when MWC rolls around.

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[youtube=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P655GXnE_ic&feature=player_embedded”]

If your Android device is rooted, and you use Google Wallet, beware. zVelo reported this evening that Google Wallet’s PIN verification system was cracked through brute force. If someone were to obtain your device and deploy this hack, the stranger would be able to access all of your financial information to make purchases. Yes, this crack was distributed online so it can get in the hands of hackers.

It is simple: If you use Google Wallet, do not root your device. Check it out in action in the video above.

Update: As noted by The Next Web, Google is already working on a fix for the bug.

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In a new report from the Wall Street Journal this evening, the publication said the Justice Department is set to approve Google’s acquisition of Motorola Mobility as early as next week. This approval will give Google a good size push in to completing the acquisition.

The U.S. Justice Department is poised to clear Google Inc.’s $12.5 billion acquisition of Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. as early as next week, according to people familiar with the matter, giving Google a powerful armory of technology patents to deploy in the smartphone wars.

However, antitrust enforcers in the U.S. and Europe remain concerned about Google’s commitment to license Motorola patents to competitors on fair terms, those people said, and will closely monitor Google’s use of the patents. The European Commission has set a Monday deadline to decide whether to approve the acquisition.

Google is set to acquire Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion, and it is doing so to primarily add Motorola’s large array of patents to its arsenal. Google is currently working to get approvals in Europe, too. A new report surfaced yesterday claiming that Google was going to send letters to European groups in order to smooth over the approval process. We will keep you updated.

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Google released its latest update for Google+ for Android, bringing an array of new improvements. The update brings an overall speed increase that will make for a much more enjoyable experience, and the Google+ team added a ‘What’s Hot’ section to the app to see the latest buzz from friends. In the app, users can also see who +1’d posts and more. The full changelog is below.

1. Massive performance improvements across the app
2. What’s Hot!
3. View who +1′d a post or comment
4. Stream posts shortened to fit more per scroll
5. Infinite photos feed in ‘From your circles’
6. Stream no longer jumps to the top for an automatic refresh

You can download the update on the Android Market.

Hoping to continue gaining the necessary approvals it needs to acquire Motorola Mobility, Google is reportedly planning to assure wireless standards companies that it will license Motorola’s patents fairly. Bloomberg reported that Google will send the letters within the next day, and it will be signed by a Google lawyer to different groups.

The letter, to be signed by a senior Google lawyer, is likely to be sent within the next 24 hours, according to the people, who asked not to be named because the decision isn’t yet public. The move would come after a deadline passed for Google to submit remedies to the European Commission, which is evaluating the plan to buy Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion.

Bloomberg said that one of the groups Google plans to send a letter to include the European Telecommunications Standards Institute. Google will make such moves to help smooth over the acquisition.

One of the reasons Google is thought to buy Motorola Mobility is mainly for its large array of patents, which it will most likely license out if the deal goes through to gain more revenue. Google hopes that the acquisition continues for obvious reasons.

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Remember when HP had that crazy TouchPad fire sale late last year and some users were lucky enough to get versions already running Android? It appears now that HP was actually testing its own custom builds of Gingerbread on the TouchPad, as indicated by a gesture today. RootzWiki reported that HP gave the CyanogenMod team some very useful information so they could continue work on building its CyanogenMod 9 port for the HP TouchPad. This will make the process much speedier for releasing a stable version of the port.

“HP supports the community and was kind enough to provide us with the Android kernel source and some other GPL components that they modified for the few Touchpads that were accidentally released running Android.”

The bundle of code that HP handed over sadly does not have Wi-Fi support for the tablet, but we are sure that it will not be long with some simple hacking. So, why would HP do such a thing? In related news, CyanogenMod 9 Alpha 0.5 was released yesterday for the HP TouchPad.

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As our hearts prepare for Valentine’s Day, T-Mobile announced today a new sale happening this Saturday, Feb. 11. T-Mobile will offer its entire 4G selection free on a two-year contract. T-Mobile’s Android offerings include the popular Samsung Galaxy S II, HTC Amaze 4G, HTC Wildfire 4G, Springboard tablet, HTC Sensation 4G, and more. (via TmoNews)

Will you be skipping down to the T-Mobile store—with the spirit of love in your heart– to purchase a device? You can read T-Mobile’s press release after the break.

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Microsoft announced today the launch of a new Android app: OneNote Mobile. OneNote Mobile allows users to create notes and keep them synced between devices, including their desktop, phone, and tablet. Created notes are instantly stored to Microsoft’s cloud service called “Sky Drive,” where users can then access the notes for editing. Microsoft gives users up to 500 free notes before requiring them to pay the one-time fee of $4.99 for unlimited use.

You can download OneNote Mobile on the Android Market.

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