No thanks to AT&T, owners of the carrier-branded HTC One X can now unlock their phone’s bootloader on the HTCdev website. The process works by altering the handset’s identifier, which causes the One X to appear as a Rogers unit on HTC’s servers. While the instructions should be quite simple for those with the proper knowhow, they require knowledge and proper configuration of ADB, use of a hex editor and a rooted handset. Many users have already reported success with this method, but keep in mind that AT&T might not smile on the trickery if you ever need to seek warranty repair. Naturally, all of this frustration could’ve been easily avoided had Ma Bell simply considered the needs of power users in the first place, but until the day comes when the carrier rights its ways, just know that eager hackers have a tendency to come out on top.

SOURCE via xda-developers

Google has been publishing what it’s dubbed Transparency Reports for some time now — detailing things like government requests to remove content from search results or requests for users’ information — and it’s now added another big chunk of data to them in the interest of full disclosure. Starting today, you can see the number of removal requests it receives from companies over copyright and piracy concerns. As you can imagine, there’s a lot — over 1.2 million in the past month alone, a number that Google notes is increasing at a substantial rate. Among those asking for takedowns, Microsoft is by far the leader, filing well over half a million requests all by itself in the past month (the film and music industries are also, of course, well represented). You can pour through all the results yourself at the source link below.

SOURCE via Google

Back when it was unveiled at IFA 2011, Sammy’s famed phablet was more of an attractive oddity than sure hit. Skip to now, and that 5.3-incher’s not only taken the European continent by storm, it’s also made inroads onto these American shores via AT&T. In keeping with the open source embrace begun last October, the OEM’s once again offering up the device’s kernel code, this time for the skinned ICS OS unlocked versions currently run. Devs and the amateur hackers that love them should make haste and hit up the source below to get cracking on this latest software nut.

SOURCE via Samsung

Have we finally found a tablet match for the 5.3-inch Galaxy Note? ViewSonic sent around a teaser for its “Touch and Connect” series prototypes, including a 22-inch “smart business tablet monitor,” powered by what appears to be Ice Cream Sandwich. The giant touch-enabled device will be joined by a Windows 8 multi-touch display, new cloud computing solutions, high-end laser projectors and some interactive electronic billboards — all set to make their debut on June 5th at Computex. More details will no-doubt be forthcoming in Taipei, so do stay tuned. And you may want to hold off on those giant tablet acquisitions in the meantime — we have less than two weeks to wait for what could just be the largest mainstream tablet to date.

Did you see the Google+ 2.0 update for iPhone and wonder if Google’s attention had drifted away from its own baby? Don’t fret, as the Android app has just been given similarly loving treatment. The interface shares the reworked stream look that we saw on iOS while keeping the swipe-to-switch category filters that Google+ has used from the start. There’s even small rewards for having to watch your iPhone friends go first: you can now start a Hangout video chat from the main menu, get ringing Hangout notifications, download photos directly from conversations and edit your posts after the fact. The new look has already proved polarizing, but if you’re the sort who revels in the purity of a Google social network running on a Google platform, you can now try the overhaul for yourself.

SOURCE via Google

Android developers are all too familiar with not-so-hot emulator performance, so it’s a relief that there’s now an system image in a native x86 for testing. While you’ll still likely want to test on ARM, the x86 image will both help ferret out bugs specific to Intel’s architecture as well as provide a much faster experience debugging apps now that the ARM-to-Intel translation isn’t needed on top of running a whole second operating system. It’s not perfectly up to date, running on Android 4.0.3, but it’s close enough that the environment will mimic much of what users see — and a big help if you’re jumping into writing specifically for Intel devices. If speed is of the essence, or you’re not keen on importing a Lava Xolo X900, you just need to update the SDK Manager to start testing with an Intel-flavored green robot.

SOURCE via Android Central

The last time we heard from SDG Systems, it was shilling its Trimble Nomad with Android 1.5. The company’s new device, the RAMPAGE 6 (confusingly, it’s also known as the Mesa Rugged Notepad), thankfully includes a less prehistoric build of the OS. The notepad runs a customized version of Android 2.3 on a 5.7-inch display, and it lives up to the “rugged” in its name with IP67 protection ratings for water and dust. Other specs, however, are less heavy-duty: the RAMPAGE 6 packs an 806MHz processor, 256MB of RAM and 4GB of Flash memory. An SD card slot, USB host and client ports, a headphone jack and a 9-pin connector are also on board. The standard model will offer Bluetooth and WiFi, while a Geo configuration adds in GPS and a 3.2MP camera. When the devices launch later this year, SDG will also sell a Geo 3G version, which includes that third connectivity option. Considering that the Trimble Nomad went for a steep $1,200 — and that SDG’s devices are targeted more toward developers than consumers — it’s safe to assume that the RAMPAGE 6 won’t be the slate you take along on your morning commute (unless that commute involves crossing the desert on camel).

Developers can never have too many options when it comes to ways to take your money. Google has opened the doors to In-app purchases, carrier billing and now, in-app subscriptions. Perhaps it wasn’t enough that game creators be able to lure you in with perks and content you could purchase for a one-time fee, now devs can choose to hit you with a monthly charge for the privilege of using their wares. Of course, it’s not all that bad. Subscription-based games aren’t the only potential uses here. Customers can now buy monthly or annual subscriptions to services or publications as well. There’s even a publisher API for extending the subscription beyond the walls of Google Play and your Android device. Glu Mobile will be first out the gate, turning on subscriptions in properties like Frontline Commando, but we’re sure plenty of others will follow. Soon enough you might be able to get your New York Times subscription or Spotify Premium account without ever leaving the comfort of the Android app. Any handset with Google Play 3.5 or higher installed should have access to subscriptions starting today.

SOURCE via Google

Not only will GameFly publish mobile games for iOS and Android, but launch its own game-specific Android app store later this year. GameFly, AKA the “Netflix for Games” giant, has been rather busy over the last several weeks. At the end of April, the company said it was partnering with mobile developers and publishers to promote a “Game of the Day” (GOTD) in GameFly’s mobile App.

Then just days later, the company said it teamed up with AMD to offer a free, 30-day GameFly membership when consumers purchase select AMD A-Series APUs, AMD Athlon II CPUs, AMD Phenom II CPUs or AMD FX Series CPUs in regions where GameFly is accessible.

Now GameFly reports that it not only plans to publish mobile games for iOS and Android platforms, but it will also launch a games-specific Android app store to rival Google Play and Amazon Appstore. GameFly said it has set aside a game development fund to work with mobile developers that are in the process of making a game, but need the extra resources to publish and promote their titles.

“GameFly will also expand its mission to be the top resource for all gaming needs, offering expertly curated Android games in the GameFly GameStore with thousands of the best games and daily deals,” GameFly said on Wednesday. “With its large social network for gamers, game discovery will also be made easier via friend recommendations, and ratings and reviews from fellow gamers.”

GameFly is currently accepting submissions from mobile game developers at this email address, and expects to publish its first title this summer. The GameFly GameStore will be available for Android phones and tablets by this holiday season.

“We plan to be a leading player in mobile games by launching our retail GameStore for Android and helping to fund mobile developers of all sizes to publish, promote and sell their smartphone and tablet games,” said Sean Spector, GameFly co-founder and SVP of Business Development and Content.

Rumor has it that Microsoft indeed plans to release the next full version of Office (15) on the iPad and Android tablets. Given that Microsoft will offer Office apps pre-installed on ARM-based Windows RT tablets anyway, this move makes perfect sense.

The news arrives by way of a “reliable source” who told BGR that Microsoft is targeting November for both launches. The source claims to have seen the software running on Apple’s iPad “first-hand” and that it’s almost identical to the previous leak seen a few months back.

There’s also indication that Microsoft’s Office suite will eventually land on the iPhone and iPod Touch. The source said the loading screen in the Office app clearly said “Office for iOS” instead of identifying the Apple tablet specifically.

News of Office for iOS originally appeared back in November 2011, claiming that Microsoft was actively working on adapting the suite for iOS. Reports also stated that Microsoft planned to release an updated version of Office for Mac on Apple’s digital distribution Mac App Store.

Then in February, Office for iOS appeared again in an exclusive hands-on by The Daily. The prototype featured an interface similar to the OneNote app, but with hints of Metro. Word, Excel and PowerPoint files could be created and edited both locally and online.

Microsoft eventually spoke up regarding the prototype and said the accompanying image was fake. The report itself was based on “inaccurate rumors and speculation,” the company said.

Currently Microsoft offers OneNote, Bing, SkyDrive, My Xbox Live, and the game Kinectimals for the iOS platform. OneNote, Bing, Kinect Star Wars, Halo Waypoint, Lync 2010 and Hotmail are available on Android.