Absinthe’s “so-easy-your-grandma-could-do-it” jailbreak tool just got an update to version 2.0, enabling support for a handful of Apple portables running iOS 5.1.1. Absinthe 2.0, which was developed by the “Jailbreak Dream Team” (Chronic-Dev and iPhone Dev) joins Redsn0w’s tool, and will support all iPhone and iPad versions, with the exception of iPad2,4 — the most recent iPad 2 variant, shipping with a 32nm A5 chip. The jailbreak tool can also be installed on iPod3,1 and 4,1 models. Assuming your iOS device is up and running with firmware 5.1.1, you can hit up the source link after the break to get your download on. AppleTV (second gen) users can get in on the fun too, with the latest version of Seas0npass for 5.0.1.

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We’ve been jonesing for a more international look at smartphone market share for the start of 2012, and IDC is now more than willing to oblige. In case you’d thought Android’s relentless march upwards was just an American fling, Google’s OS has jumped from 36.1 percent of the world’s share a year ago to exactly 59 percent in the first quarter of this year. That’s nearly two thirds of all smartphones, folks. As we’ve seen in the past, Android is siphoning off legacy users looking for something fresher: Symbian and the BlackBerry have both lost more than half of their share in one year’s time, while Linux (led mostly by Bada) and Windows Mobile / Phone together lost small pieces of the pie despite raw shipment numbers going up. As for Apple? Even with all the heat in the kitchen, the iPhone’s share grew to 23 percent, leading to a staggering 82 percent of smartphone buyers siding with either the Cupertino or Mountain View camps.

SOURCE via IDC

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

Smartphones have revolutionized how we communicate and the way we create, share and consume content. Yet there’s one aspect of using these devices that remains stuck in the last millennium, and that’s the calling experience — yes, apparently some people still make phone calls. Sure, there are plenty of VoIP and video calling apps out there, but few are simple and beautiful.

Enter Sidecar, a free app which aims to reinvent the way we make phone calls by adding messaging as well as real-time video, photo, location and contact sharing to that antiquated calling experience. It achieves this through an intuitive and polished user interface plus a handful of standards such as SIP and XMPP. Phone calls between Sidecar users are free anywhere in the world — the app even supports free WiFi calling to any number in the US or Canada.

While Sidecar’s been available in beta on Android for several weeks, it’s launching on iOS today with support for the iPhone and iPod touch.

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It’s been a long, long time since Apple undertook a significant redesign of the iPod touch, which hasn’t been looked at since 2010 and received just a splash of white last year. A possible front panel part leak we’ve just seen could overturn all that — and hint at the 2012 iPhone’s direction in the process. If we go by the claims of MacRumors’ supplier friends, the media player would be growing up, but not out, with a taller 4.1-inch screen. We’re skeptical, as the white part (black on the inside) seems almost too good to be true — we haven’t seen anything similar elsewhere in the unofficial parts market. Still, having heard murmurs of larger iPhone screens and knowing Apple’s own tendency to base the iPod touch on whatever iPhone flavor is new this year, we could be looking at iPhones and iPods growing for the first time since 2007. There’s also some as yet unconfirmed next-gen iPhone parts included by the source, although we’d hesitate to call them smoking guns unless they’re put together in Apple-like form later in the year.

SOURCE via MacRumors

Android and PlayStation Vita owners have felt the Music Unlimited love on their respective devices for quite some time now, but the Spotify / MOG / Rdio competitor has finally made its way to the App Store, bringing with it yet another option for streaming music on iOS. The free app appears to be optimized for iPhone and iPod touch (though it’s also compatible with iPad), and will enable on-the-go jammin’ with a $4-per-month Basic subscription over 3G, 4G or WiFi connections. You can pull in tunes from the millions of tracks in Sony’s collection, or access songs on your PC using the Music Sync service. The app is currently only available in the New Zealand App Store, but it’s expected to hit other Music Unlimited countries soon. For now, you can hit up the source link for the Kiwi App Store preview, or head over to the Music Unlimited site to sign up.

SOURCE via 9to5mac

Kodak hasn’t caught a break lately, and that trend isn’t easing up any time soon with a second rejection arriving in its main International Trade Commission (ITC) patent dispute with Apple and RIM. Despite having had its case remanded after a loss last year, Kodak is once more being told that BlackBerrys and iPhones don’t violate a patent on previewing photos. The one violation was rendered moot through “obviousness,” according to administrative law judge Thomas Pender. It’s still an initial ruling, and Kodak is trying to put a positive light on the situation — it’s “pleased” there’s still an infringement, even if the patent claim is invalid — but the patent wars aren’t looking good for a photography company that has already had to give up cameras to have a chance of staying afloat. Most of Kodak’s hope, then, will be pinned on a second wave of ITC disputes that might stand a better chance of putting at least Apple’s feet to the fire.

SOURCE via CNET

The at times very heated legal battle between Apple and Samsung might be softening just a bit ahead of truce talks on May 21st. Samsung’s mobile head JK Shin just left Seoul for the mediated discussions saying there were still “several negotiation options” on tap, including the possibility of cross-licensing patents. He warned that there was still a “big gap” between the two sides, and we’d tend to agree — neither Apple nor Samsung is exactly backing off just yet. However, it’s a definite shift in language from March, when Shin was vowing “no compromise,” and it parallels Apple CEO Tim Cook’s own disdain for lawsuits. We just wouldn’t bet money on the two singing “Kumbaya” this week.

In same breath, Shin added that an ongoing 4G chipset shortage wasn’t letting up: he didn’t see things getting better until the start of the fourth quarter, or October for us common folk. That’s a problem for Samsung’s phones and tablets most of all, of course, and in a dire case could see LTE-packing American Galaxy S III variants rely on other vendors’ chips to stay on the 4G bandwagon. There’s also a chance of a ripple effect on other companies that want Samsung’s parts, but short of getting a peek at Samsung’s inner workings, we won’t know the full impact for a while yet.

SOURCE via Reuters

What does one do after generating billions from an initial public stock offering? Go shopping, of course. After falling short of expectations following its somewhat helter-skelter IPO debut, Facebook simply shook off the whole thing and acquired itself some good Karma. No, we’re not talking about that Karma. Instead, Facebook purchased the startup responsible for the Karma social gifting app. The move was apparently made to bolster Facebook’s mobile chops — an area the company considers ripe for opportunity. Just recently, Facebook also acquired mobile stalwart Instagram and the Lightbox team, for example. As for its newest purchase, Karma will be allowed to “continue to operate in full force” despite its recent status change, according to a blog post by co-founders Lee Linden and Ben Lewis. Details weren’t disclosed about how much the deal was worth but judging from celebratory nature of their post, it doesn’t look like Linden and Lewis will “Unlike” the agreement any time soon.

SOURCE via Karma

Gallic storage outfit LaCie is nonchalantly unveiling its 2big double-bay NAS that’s purportedly capable of pumping data around your network at 100MB/s. Designed for small businesses, it’ll remind any passers-by of HAL or GLaDOS, depending on their age. Sporting a 2GHz processor and the company’s NAS OS2, it’ll also happily interact with Windows 7 Backup or Time Machine and you can access your files on the go with the company’s iOS app. It’s available from today, prices starting from $299 (£187 in the UK) with a three year warranty.

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