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Google Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0): a hands-on screenshot gallery
Hello there, Ice Cream Sandwich! Google and Samsung just took the wraps off of the former's newest mobile operating system here in Hong Kong, and boy -- she's a beauty. Of course, we've known about ICS for months now, but outside of a few sneak peeks courtesy of Mr. Blurrycam, we didn't know precisely what to expect. Strangely, Motorola's recent introduction of the Droid RAZR only delivered the freshest offering of Gingerbread, but the Galaxy Nexus is oh-ficially the first smartphone in the world to launch with Android 4.0. Our test unit was actually running 4.0.1 for reasons unknown, but as we mentioned in our Galaxy Nexus hands-on, it was as smooth as ever. Without question, this is easily the slickest, most polished version of Android yet, and we invite you to take a tour yourself via the hands-on gallery below. Apologies for the quantity, but we wanted to explore every nook and cranny while we had the chance. %Gallery-136944%
Native screencaps coming to CyanogenMod 7.1
Taking screenshots on Android devices is by and large a sore spot for pretty much anyone whose needed to perform the deed. Unless your phone is one of the few that supports the functionality, you must first root your handset and install third-party software -- or grab the Android SDK and access your device in USB-debugging mode from ddms. Regardless of how you get there, neither option is ideal. Now, the creators of CyanogenMod think they can do better. While rooting your phone is still a prerequisite, the operating system will bring native support for screen captures via a long-press on the power button. You can expect to receive this delightful new feature in the upcoming CyanogenMod 7.1, which is currently in Release Candidate status -- or, just check the nightly repository -- if you dare!
First Core Hound Pup adoption campaign winners announced
Blizzard's Core Hound Pup Adoption Campaign is giving players the chance to win an iPad as well as boost their own account security. In an effort to get more authenticators attached to accounts, Blizzard ponied up some iPads to get the job done. Each month, a screenshot entry is chosen to win one of 12 iPads. Just take a screenshot of you and your security pup companion doing something crazy, out of the ordinary, or just plain awesome, hit up the contest rules page, and you've got a shot at winning. The first four winners have just been announced and their screenshots released. %Gallery-122048%
New official MeeGo screenshots show promise, influence
MeeGo's official user interface guidelines could easily end up determining whether the platform sinks or swims -- no one wants a phone whose UI looks like junk, after all. The minions at Nokia and Intel's little pet project have posted new OS shots as examples of how to properly implement the interface in third-party apps, and we've got to admit -- things are looking a lot cleaner, prettier, and generally more modern than the first round of pictures we saw back in June, thanks in part to a demonstration of the platform's comprehensive theming capability that can totally revamp how UI elements look. We're definitely seeing shades of webOS in the task switcher (pictured above), but then again, Nokia's no stranger to borrowing ideas it likes. That's all well and good as long as it makes for a great platform... and obviously, we'd need some hardware to do that. O N9, where art thou?
Developers now can use private API for screen capture on iPhone, says Apple
As Apple seems to be lightening up and accepting more applications using private APIs (including Ustream and others that stream video from the iPhone 3G), word comes that the review team is now officially allowing the UIGetScreenImage() function to be used in applications distributed in the App Store. An Apple forum moderator stated in the developer forums: "After carefully considering the issue, Apple is now allowing applications to use the function UIGetScreenImage() to programmatically capture the current screen contents." The function prototype is as follows: CGImageRef UIGetScreenImage(); Apple also states "that a future release of iPhone OS may provide a public API equivalent of this functionality." It's also noted that "At such time, all applications using UIGetScreenImage() will be required to adopt the public API." This function, which is a part of the Core Graphics framework, allows an application access to what's being currently being displayed on the screen. It's useful for things like capturing a screen shot, as our own Erica Sadun's BETAkit does to allow developers to send screen shots to a developer. It also allows streaming video from the iPhone camera, as an application like this captures what's being displayed on the screen from the camera, and records it or sends it somewhere. What other features devs are hoping to see opened up? There's things like general calendar access, Core Surface, and XMPP and app-settable timers that developers would like to take advantage of in their SDK apps. I hope this is a sign of what's to come for the iPhone SDK, and that we'll see more things like this opened up soon for App Store distribution. [via the Apple Developer Forums, dev membership required]
Around Azeroth: Big Bada Boom!
I found this picture that reader Murkowsky sent in while browsing through the archives. It's of an honest attempt at a fireworks show, complete with many people setting off many different fireworks at the right time. All this happened on the realm Gnomeregan last July. I actually think I was around watching it too. Small world! The shot is nicely timed and the fireworks are nicely placed. Oohhh, ahhhh! That's amazing!Do you have any unusual, beautiful or interesting World of Warcraft images that are just collecting dust in your screenshots folder? We'd love to see them on Around Azeroth! Sharing your screenshot is as simple as e-mailing aroundazeroth@gmail.com with a copy of your shot and a brief explanation of the scene. You could be featured here next! Remember to include your player name, server and/or guild if you want it mentioned. Please include the word "Azeroth" in your post so it does not get swept into the spam bin. We strongly prefer full screen shots without the UI showing -- use alt-Z to remove it. Please, no more battleground scoreboards, gold seller ads with dead gnomes, or pictures of the Ninja Turtles in Dalaran.%Gallery-1816%
S60 Touch screen shots look like... S60 with touch
A heaping handful of fresh alleged screen shots of S60 Touch's user interface are floating around, apparently yoinked off the platform's PC-based theme editor -- not as cool as if they'd been lifted from a Tube, granted, but still good enough to give us some clutch insight into where Nokia's taking this thing. As revolutionary as the move to touch control might be for S60 as a platform, the UI looks shockingly evolutionary so far; in fact, to the untrained eye, there are portions that are virtually indistinguishable from S60 revs of yore. That's good news (we suppose) for S60 diehards who aren't interested in learning a new paradigm -- and we're all for the VGA support here -- but it's bad news for anyone who was planning on having their noodles positively baked by Espoo's engineering manpower and massive R&D budget. Let's all just hold off on the negativity until Nokia gives us something official to ogle; for the time being, though, our boring UI-dar is definitely on high alert.[Via Symbian Freak, thanks Misha]
3G iPhone screen shot faked, but don't worry, we think it's still coming
After some exhaustive research invested by one iSmashPhone, it seems like that now-infamous "Enable 3G" screen shot supposedly lifted from a recent iPhone firmware 2.0 beta was mocked up. The spirit of the shot mercifully lives on, though, seeing how the existence of the underlying preferences to support the enabling of 3G data has been independently verified in the code -- we just don't know exactly what form that preference is going to take in the user interface. Bottom line: fret not, there's still a 3G iPhone on the way, it's probably going to be here within mere weeks, and odds are you'll be able to control whether high speed is enabled, just like virtually every other 3G phone on the market. So if you're looking for a random reason to crack open a celebratory beer right now, well, there you have it. Drink responsibly.
HTC Diamond screen shots floating around?
As we hurl headlong toward HTC's May 6 date with destiny, the Diamond is looking more and more like the headlining act for the unveiling -- but what's it gonna look like when they turn it on? Screen shots of a purported Diamond have turned up on Chinese site PDAFans, and if they turn out to be legit, the answer is "pretty much like any other Windows Mobile 6.1 device." One of the Diamond's alleged claims to fame is a revamped TouchFLO interface, though we're not really seeing a heck of a lot of that here; just a whole lotta plain-vanilla WinMo that has us thinking that this is either fake or an early prototype with an particularly barren build loaded. Doesn't really matter how hot the hardware ends up being -- unless HTC manages to impress with the software visuals, we suspect there are going to be a lot of disappointed people when this one starts shipping.[Via PDAPhoneHome, thanks Joseph G.]
