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Nexus One Android 2.3.3 update arrives OTA, breaks Google Voice for some
We're guessing that most of our readers pounced on the official Android 2.3.3 update just as soon as the links lit up last week. But if you did dawdle, don't dally... the latest Gingerbread update is now rolling out over-the-air. Unfortunately, the update also broke Google Voice on our N1 -- something that we fixed by downloading and installing an old GV.apk and then updating to the latest version in Market per instructions found in Google's support forum left by others suffering from the same issue. Hit up the More Coverage link for details. [Thanks, Tony]
Nexus S 2.3.3 update adjusts screen's color temperature, we go eyes-on
We've been hearing reports about Nexus S' Android 2.3.3 update adding a yellow tint to the screen and even washing out its colors, but according to Google's Ry Guy, said patch is indeed intended to tweak the display's color temperature. Here's the full quote from Google's support forum: "With your new OTA complete, you may notice a slight difference in the way colors are displayed on your Nexus S. For Nexus S, we have adjusted the color temperature settings to more accurately reflect darker colors at all brightness levels. The Gingerbread UI being darker, we found that the colors were not as accurate when the device was being used at lower brightness levels. For example, some users reported that the initial color temperature was too high leading to some darker greys having a reddish tone; with the new color temperature this is no longer the case." So while this display tweak is well-intentioned, it looks like many commenters on both the forum and XDA-Developers aren't too happy with this. Being curious geeks that we are, we went ahead and manually updated our own Nexus S (and by the way, be sure to match your build number with the appropriate patch). As you can see in our comparison photos (shot with the same manual camera settings and medium screen brightness), the new overall color temperature is no doubt subtly warmer, although the dimmer brightness settings no longer suffer from the aforementioned red tone. Interestingly, we actually approve this change, and the Super AMOLED display certainly doesn't look washed out to us, nor do we see any noisy dithering that some have reported. Surely we can't be alone. Well, there's only one way to help solve this mystery: if you happen to be a fellow Nexus S owner who's applied this update, why not chime in below? [Thanks to everyone who sent this in] %Gallery-117684% %Poll-60799%
Netflix on the Boxee Box is a much better Valentine's Day gift than what you had planned
These days, a media streamer isn't really in the game unless it has Netflix streaming and thankfully, the Boxee Box has finally corrected its most glaring content hole -- sorry Hulu Plus. According to a blog post by CEO Avner Ronen, the oft-delayed addition has been the most common request by users so far but obviously they've cleared all remaining DRM hurdles, so once the latest software update is downloaded, either automatically or by manually checking, owners can enjoy everything the latest Netflix interface has to offer, whether they're in the US or Canada. Of course, that's not all there is to this update, with support for Dolby Digital TrueHD bitstreaming, high resolution SRT subtitles and updated support for IR remotes. All the details are in the changelog, although we figure most of you will just get straight to watching The Human Centipede or something similar. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Kindle gets software update 3.1 with real page numbers, public notes
It'll still be at least a few more days before it's automatically pushed out to Kindles around the world, but those looking to get a jump on things can now download an "early preview" of software update version 3.1 for the latest generation Kindle. That update adds a new public notes feature that lets you share your notes with others and view the notes of those you follow, as well as real page numbers that match the page numbers in the print version of a book -- those have already been added to "tens of thousands of Kindle books," and will also be hitting the various Kindle apps in the "coming months." You'll also get a new layout for magazines and newspapers that gives you a quick snapshot of the latest edition, and a new "before you go" feature that lets you rate a book as soon as you've finished it and share a brief note about it on your social networks. Hit up the link below to download the update and try it out for yourself.
Another firmware update grants Roku owners USB channel, MKV containers come along
If you have a Roku player with a USB port, like the XDS above, you've been able to play media directly from USB storage for some time now using third-party channels. For whatever reason it's taken Roku this long to get an official USB playback channel on there, allowed in the latest firmware (2.9 build 1529) and finally available for download in the Channel Store. We're told that MKV playback has also been added, which might make watching those downloaded Top Gear episodes a little easier. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Next PS3 update rumored to add 'Online Saving' for PlayStation Plus users
Say it with us, finally a PS3 firmware update that actually does something useful! We've grown so accustomed to Sony refreshing the software on its console just to spite jailbreakers that we almost started to believe that's all the word "update" entailed. But, here comes Kotaku with word that v3.6 of the PS3's firmware will come with a neat little addition: saving games to the cloud. This seems a very logical step toward delivering Sony's overall goal of giving users a holistic, integrated experience. Indeed, during the NGP presentation, guest speaker Hideo Kojima specifically referred to saving your PS3 game on the console and resuming it on the Next Generation Portable. "Online Saving," as Sony's reputed to be calling it, would be the conduit through which that can be realized, though it doesn't appear like it'll come for free. Kotaku's sources indicate it'll be part of the PlayStation Plus subscription, at least initially. Still, we like cloud storage, and if it means never having to see another hard drive again, we're all for it.
Sony Ericsson LiveView update is here, promises improved connections and Bluetooth compatibility
Good news, fellow Bluetooth watch fanatics! Just as promised, Sony Ericsson's finally doled out a major update to cure the LiveView once and for all. With this patch, users should now be seeing much better stability and compatibility with non-SE phones, as well as being able to install up to 30 plug-ins. We had a quick go on our refreshed LiveWatch and noticed that it now auto reconnects much better as well, and hopefully the same applies to everyone else. To get the update, simply use the SE Update Service for Windows (sorry, no Mac support) and follow the instructions -- download link available below if you're new to this.
Barnes & Noble brings pinch-to-zoom browsing, improved WiFi connectivity in Nook Color update
Got yourself a Nook Color, did you? If you're not the type to wait for OTA updates to hit you upside the head, Barnes & Noble has just let loose a software update that's free to download. Version 1.1.0 promises to improve the Nook Color's WiFi connectivity, improve Home and Shop performance and to "enhance the reading experience for magazines and children's books." Frankly, the latter is quite a curious promise, but we suppose we'd rather have it than not. In other news, the update is adding pinch-to-zoom capabilities in the browser, and B&N also swears that other miscellaneous bugs were squashed in the making of v1.1.0. Hit the source link to get those bytes a-streaming, or just wait for it to be delivered over-the-air in the coming days. On second thought, just download it. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Pentax K-7 and K-x firmware upgrades pack SDXC compatibility
Last November Pentax's mid-range front runner, the K-5 DSLR, got an upgrade, now the K-7 and K-x are following suit. New firmware updates for both cameras tout SDXC card compatibility, increasing memory, but failing to follow through on speed -- Pentax notes transfer rates won't hit UHS. Despite the company's Japanese website listing the K-7 as a discontinued product, the camera also gets increased video editing functions in playback mode, as well as improved image sharpening settings. Now, follow the source links below, and let Pentax upgrade you.
Boxee Box firmware gets updated, pulled -- still no Netflix and Vudu
Ouch. Over the weekend, Boxee CEO Avner Ronen tweeted that a new firmware was imminent for the Boxee Box, and given that we'd all been led to believe that both Netflix and Vudu support were inbound shortly, the natural expectation was... well, natural. Late last night the company went live with a new build, but it was pulled from existence within a few hours. According to Boxee's blog post, the new update adds enhancements to control de-interlacing and video filters configuration, support for language selection in subtitle / audio, boosted browser performance and about 812 bug fixes. That's the good news. The bad news is two threefold: there's nary a mention of Netflix support, and while the team is just about there with Vudu, it's also remaining off of the list for this particular update. Moreover, the devs noticed such major issues that the software was yanked from the servers only hours after it was posted, and judging by official comments in the source link below, things still aren't totally ironed out. Translation? Hold tight for now, tough as it may be.
Toshiba Folio 100 Android tablet gains responsiveness, dignity via new firmware update
Hard to say if this injection of code will be enough to get Toshiba's Folio 100 back on PC World shelves, but for those who already snatched one off of there, it's bound to improve morale. Word on the street has it that Tosh has just issued a new firmware update (v2.2.5.0053) to the aforesaid device, and while it doesn't include Adobe's Flash Player 10.1, it does aim to improve the screen / touch responsiveness, issues with lag, pinch-to-zoom capabilities and audio / video processing. We're also getting the impression that the genuine Android Market is staying far, far away from this build, but we'd love to hear if your slate is acting any nicer post-update. Hit us up in comments below, won't you?
Nikon D7000 firmware update released, cools down 'hot pixels'
Hot on the heels of its P7000 firmware update, Nikon has just released one for its D7000 DSLR as well. The update was created for the sole purpose of fixing the hot pixel issue that pops up when taking videos in low light. While this doesn't completely eliminate the problem, the "bright spots" effect has been "reduced" according to Nikon USA. Unfortunately, this means you no longer have an excuse to not record your child's rendition of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. Hit up the source link for the download.
Nexus One will get Gingerbread OTA update 'in the coming weeks'
The original Google phone got us all excited a couple of weeks back when an OTA update was presumed to be the oven-hot Gingerbread upgrade, only to disappoint us. Now we've got the most lucid statement from the Android chefs yet on when the real Gingerbread Nexus One will stand up, which is placed in the relatively ill-defined window of "the coming weeks." Hey, better weeks than months, right?
Apple releases Time Capsule and AirPort Base Station firmware update to fix AirPlay issues
We've heard several reports of people having various problems trying to stream movies and music to their AppleTV via AirPlay using Time Capsules and AirPort Base Stations. Hopefully for those experiencing problems, your solution is just a download away. Apple has just released AirPort Base Station and Time Capsule Firmware Update 7.5.2. The update "fixes some issues with AirPlay streaming." Additionally it provides: General fixes to Wi-Fi base station stability General fixes with USB interoperability including connection to external storage devices Fixes some issues with NAT port mapping settings Disables TKIP security with 802.11n rates per the Wi-Fi Alliance specifications The firmare update is for all 802.11n capable AirPort base stations and Time Capsules and requires Mac OS X 10.5.7 or later, Windows XP SP3 or later, Windows Vista SP1 or later, or Windows 7.
Nikon Coolpix P7000 v1.1 firmware released, improves RAW processing and focusing reliability
Nikon's taken criticism of its enthusiast-friendly P7000 compact to heart and has today announced a fresh firmware for that shooter. Overall NRW (Nikon's own RAW format) processing times are said to have been reduced, while lens control has been optimized to reduce the occurrence of focusing errors. A couple of other tweaks have also been thrown in: one to overcome a rare issue that would block the zoom from operating, and another causing blown highlights on the camera's LCD when Active D-Lighting is enabled and the shutter is half-pressed. That's your lot; if you've got the camera already, it's a no-brainer, and if you don't, it might cast a happier new light on the P7000's earlier reviews.
Apple TV updated to 4.1.1, aims to fix resolution and download problems
See, sometimes dreams do come true. Just days after we asked how you'd tweak the second generation Apple TV, in flies an update that a good many TV owners have been anxiously awaiting. The 4.1.1 update purportedly solves "an issue that causes some high-definition TVs to incorrectly display at 480p," as well as an issue that "may cause a movie or TV show to be re-downloaded." It's pretty obvious that Apple's aiming to correct a nagging color / banding problem that has been plaguing some owners since day one, but according to users over at Apple Insider's forums, it's not a cure-all solution. A handful of members have stated that their sets -- typically using an HDMI-to-DVI adapter -- still display incorrect colors after the update. Flip on your own box and get the download started, and let us know if it's the fix you've been after down in comments below.
Latest Boxee Box update lets locally stored content shine, adds 3D compatible UI and more
Just a couple of weeks after its Thanksgiving Day refresh, the Boxee Box is getting another update that should hopefully appease users who prefer to stream their own content as opposed to media from internet sources. As seen above, one of the new additions is an option during the initial setup or in the options menu to indicate which source one prefers more. There's also genre filtering and an alphabetical scrollbar for local files as well as the option to hourly scan SMB/UPnP/USB sources, and a settings toggle to make the onscreen display and any subtitles compatible with side-by-side or top/bottom compressed 3D content. Check the blog post for all the details and a long list of bug fixes, according to CEO Avner Ronen we can expect another one before the year is out that will bring improvements to the browsers and new content/apps.
Roku drops new firmware in time for the holidays, XR gets 1080p, Hulu optimization for all
If you're an owner of one of the early Roku XR units and have been left on the 720p bench while the newer models step up to full HD, it's time to get in the game. Roku has released a firmware update (2.9-b1509) that unleashes the necessary pixels on the XR, also including some niceties for those models that can already do 1080p. The full list is at the source link, but look for improved performance for viewing Hulu along with a suite of bug fixes. Leave your box running and it'll update itself, or if you want it now you can grab it manually under "Settings," "Player Info," "Check for Updates." Yeah, you know you want to.
Apple announces firmware update to relieve those nagging MacBook Air display issues
Looks like relief is in sight for new school MacBook Air owners suffering from display issues: you know, with the faulty logic boards, and the flickerin' and the freezin', and so on and so forth. MacBook Air EFI firmware update 2.0 comes highly recommended by Apple itself for all 2010 MacBook Air owners, with the company saying it will "resolves a rare issue where MacBook Air boots or wakes to a black screen or becomes unresponsive." Sounds like a no-brainer to us! Hit up the source link to download this bad boy for yourself.
PS3 update v3.55 adds 'a security patch,' nothing else
Another day, another annoying distraction when you turn on your PlayStation 3. Prepare to be prompted to update your machine, version 3.55 hitting the internets and offering a single thing: "a security patch." No word on exactly which holes are being spackled over or how long it'll take for modders to drill them back out again, but be sure to pledge your allegiance and update today, so that you can be better prepared to update again tomorrow.
