Members of the SoCal dev team posted an Android 4.1 Jelly Bean port for the mother of all Android devices, the HTC G1. Yes, the device that started it all is now rocking the latest Android OS. While it will never officially be loaded on the device, it is still fun to mess around with the project. This project is not for the feint-of-heart, though, as your device can easily be bricked. However, the SoCal team posted a guide to get going if you are up to it. Sadly, cell/data and screen rotation are not working on the device, but Wi-Fi, touchscreen, apps, and partially Google Now are all working. If you have a HTC G1 that it is just laying around on a desk shelf somewhere, why not try it? You can check out a video demo below: [XDA Developers, (2)]

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We always had a deep interest in Google’s self-driving car project. It develops technology to make driverless cars, and Google engineer Sebastian Thrun leads the charge. The Google team has operated the driverless cars daily on the roadway with as many as 12 cars going at any time. In an announcement made today, Google said its self-driving cars logged a whopping 300,000 miles accident free (but there was one time when it was the drivers fault). The company added that while a ton of progress has been made, the self-driving project still has a long way to go. For example, the cars still need to master snowy conditions.

Google also revealed that it added the Lexus RX450h to its fleet of self-driving vehicles to “fine our systems in different environments and on different terrain.” How stylish.

The self-driving project has come a long way over the past year. In June 2011, Nevada passed a law concerning self-driving cars on the roadway and granted the first license for a driverless car in May 2012. With over 300,000 miles logged, next comes self-driving cars used for the daily commute.

“As a next step, members of the self-driving car team will soon start using the cars solo (rather than in pairs), for things like commuting to work,” said Google in a blog post. “This is an important milestone, as it brings this technology one step closer to every commuter.” [Google]

Now wondering… will self-driving cars pick up hitchhikers?Is there an algorithm for that?

— Steven Levy (@StevenLevy) August 7, 2012

Self-driving Google cars go 300K w/out accident — can you?But hasn’t mastered snow.(Like most west-coasters.) googleblog.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-se…

— Steven Levy (@StevenLevy) August 7, 2012

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Google’s Chrome has been on quite the tear lately after it took over as the world’s top browser for a short bit in May and all of June. Well it looks like Chrome has hit another noteworthy accomplishment, according to StatCounter. The browser out of Mountain View now holds one-third of the entire browser market—certainly something to be proud of. The accomplishment was hit in June, when Chrome took 33.8-percent share, including a 10.7-percent year-over-year growth. To compare, Internet Explorer sat at a competitive 32 percent share and Firefox sat at 23.7-percent during the same month. Surprisingly, Apple’s Safari only had a measly market share of 7.1-percent. [StatCounter via The Next Web]

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NASA achieved a huge milestone very early this morning, as it landed the first rover on Mars after years of failed attempts. It was an awesome moment fueled by months of hard work and dedication. NASA posted the landing on YouTube. It showed engineers gleefully cheering and celebrating years of hard work. Of course, NASA wanted to share the event on YouTube in a 13-minute excerpt of the livestream that could have been viewed on Ustream, but not to be stopped by a fictitious copyright claim.

An unknown network (in my eyes), Scripps Local News filed for a DMCA takedown. No one is exactly sure why the claim was filed or on what ground it would have the right to earn a takedown. The video uploaded was NASA’s content by all means, and even NASA does not copyright most of its content.

It was definitely a weird situation, but the video has thankfully been re-uploaded for your viewing pleasure. We reached out to Scripps Local News in an attempt to learn more about the situation. Oh, and you can check out the Mars landing video below. It is now 9 minutes rather than the original 13 minutes: [Motherboard.tv via Gizmodo]

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The time has come that Samsung has made its Galaxy Note 10.1 official. It announced in a press release this morning that its 10.1-inch tablet will ship to the masses worldwide later this month. The tablet will be equipped with Samsung’s infamous S-Pen that allows users to take notes and easily make drawings through Samsung’s custom TouchWiz UI that also appeared on the Samsung Galaxy S III and other devices. Samsung will ship the Galaxy Note 10.1 in two variants —a Wi-Fi and a 3G model— with an LTE version shipping later this year. As for specs of the tablet, it includes a speedy 1.4GHz quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM, 5-megapixel rear-facing camera, 1.9-megapixel front-camera for video chatting, Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, and a 10.1-inch (180-by-800) WXGA display. There are 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB storage options.

The Galaxy Note 10.1 definitely rocks some better specs than Samsung’s other 10-inch tablets. It also compliments Samsung’s 5.3-inch Galaxy Note very well, and it offers an aggressive attack for a new Note line. In other Galaxy Note news, a 5.5-inch smartphone is expected to be announced by the company later this month in Barcelona. We will be live to cover the event. No pricing has been announced for the Note 10.1, but maybe we will hear more at this month’s launch event. In the mean time, Samsung posted the following video showing off the Galaxy Tab 10.1:

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A study found that Google’s latest Nexus 7 ad, which aired during the Olympics is the most effective in the last 90 days. The ad, seen below, depicts a father and his son using a Nexus 7 while camping, as they take advantage of its compass, gaming, and reading capabilities. The survey, conducted by ad research firm Ace Metrix, asked a total of 500 consumers if they would watch the ad again and how persuasive it seemed. Out of a 950-point chart, Google’s “Camping” advertisement scored 662 points.

In contrast, another ad has created a ton of buzz lately. Apple’s latest trio of Genius ads (also aired during the Olympics), depicts a young, eager, Apple Genius helping customers with their latest Mac purchases. The ads take place on an airplane, the street, and in his apartment. The ads garnered a mix reception. The “Street” ad scored on the bottom of the rankings, while the “Plane” advertisement scored on the upper-middle rankings, the analyst told AdAge. 

We will allow you to decide which you like better by viewing the ads below. Of course, they are different products in different categories, but you can judge by the overall feel. Let us know in the poll below:  [AdAge]

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A sequel to Samsung’s 5.3-inch Galaxy Note has been expected for quite sometime, but all of our speculation can finally end today. Samsung confirmed with Reuters late last night that the sequel to the original Galaxy Note will be announced at Samsung’s Mobile Unpacked event on August 29 in Berlin.

That is just two weeks before Apple announces its new iPhone, and many expect it to announce a slightly bigger 7.85-inch tablet.

A Samsung spokesperson stated: “We plan to unveil the next Galaxy Note at the Samsung Mobile Unpacked event in Berlin on August 29.” So, what can we expect? Samsung has not said anything official, but several reports indicated Samsung would include a larger 5.5-inch screen (0.2 inches larger than the original Note).

In May, Samsung unveiled its Galaxy S III that sold a whopping 10 million units in July alone. The new Galaxy Note should also be popular. It is assumed to hit European markets first and then the U.S. It is sad the original Galaxy Note is just landing on T-Mobile, especially when the sequel is just a month away from being introduced. Nonetheless, our very own Jordan Kahn will cover the event live from Berlin. Keep it locked to 9to5Google.

 [Reuters]

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After releasing its unaudited results just over a week ago, HTC is out this morning with audited Q2 2012 financial earnings. The Taiwan-based smartphone manufacturer posted a 58 percent year-over-year profit loss for the quarter at roughly $248 million USD, while revenues for the company amounted to roughly $3.04 billion USD. Furthermore, HTC posted its outlook for Q3. It said revenue would be 41- to 48 percent lower than the year-over-year quarter.

HTC has been in a fight with both Apple and Samsung for market share over the last few years. According to numbers released earlier this week by research firm ComScore, HTC is No. 5 in market share in the U.S.— behind Motorola. Despite the HTC One series being considered the best smartphones on the market at one point, sales do not look to be groundbreaking for the company.

Last month, HTC announced that it was selling its 50.1-percent stake in the company Beats. According to several reports, HTC was not meeting Beats’ financial obligations, despite the audio’s brand being embedded in numerous smartphones released (including the One series). This year looks to be a pretty rough for Peter Chou and his team.

 [AP]

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Verizon Wireless muddied the water earlier this year when it announced that it would not allow Galaxy Nexus users to access Google Wallet. Many began to theorize that Big Red’s move was a defense for its own ISIS mobile payment solution brewing, but a few crafty folks figured out a way to bypass Verizon’s restrictions.

Now, merely a day after the Federal Communications Commission slapped Verizon with a $1.25 million charge for not keeping the “open network” pledge it made when it bought a block of 700MHz spectrum, things have changed. As JR Rafael noted, why does the open network standard not apply to Google Wallet too?

Engadget reported this evening that Verizon Galaxy Nexus owners can now access Google Wallet without any workarounds. The news also comes just after Google Wallet was updated with remote wipe, a web app, and support for all major credit cards yesterday afternoon. Right now, Verizon Galaxy Nexus users do not appear to be able to search for Google Wallet on the Play store and download it; however, they can download Google Wallet with a direct link. Folks, give it a try. [Google Play via Engadget] 
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Google introduced a new feature last year for Google Apps for Business admins that allows them to manage a large set of mobile devices across all platforms. Admins can make settings, like allowing or blocking the phone’s camera, which then requires employees to set passwords on their devices, and making a way for administrators to set data encryption policies for users’ devices. It is an easy way to manage a ton of devices.

To hopefully make things a bit easier, Google unveiled a new feature for administrators today that gives users (employees) the ability to remotely wipe data off their phone from the moment it is lost or stolen. The feature is very similar to Apple’s Find My iPhone, which just today allowed New York Times reporter David Pogue to locate his iPhone. Users will be able to view their device from the “My Devices” page, where the PIN on the phone can be reset and the device can be locked, rung, or wiped. Non-work Android device users have had a similar feature for quite sometime. We all know it is a scary situation when a personal artifact is lost, so having the ability to somehow find it is always welcomed.

[Enterprise Blog]

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As first reported by Chrome Story, owners of newer Chromebooks and Chromeboxes might soon get their hands on more cloud storage…for free. According to references discovered in Chromium OS code, the storage increase will most likely come soon in the way of Google Drive Google currently makes 5 GB available free to users for storing files and documents.

According to the code reference “553 GDATA_WELCOME_TITLE_ALTERNATIVE: ‘Get 100 GB free with Google Drive’,” it sounds very likely that users will be able to receive 100 GB of cloud storage for free. That is definitely useful, especially considering most Chrome OS devices only have 16 GB of local storage. We will let you know when the 100 GB goes official.

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