64-bit Android smartphone might not come until later this year or in early 2015

Apple might have surprised its rivals by stuffing a 64-bit A7 chip into the Apple iPhone 5s. Right away, there was talk that next-gen Android models would also use a 64-bit architecture. But despite those lofty expectations, the word is that Samsung and other Android manufacturers have pulled back on the idea of a 64-bit mobile CPU powering Google's open source OS. According to media reports out of Korea, one problem is that Android does not fully support the 64-bit silicon, although Google is said to be working on resolving some of the problems.

The other problem revolves around the D-RAM market. Costs of producing mobile D-RAM memory has been on the rise and the Korean media is reporting that to produce the kind of D-RAM memory required to support a 64-bit mobile CPU, chip makers would be forced to revamp production lines. This would lead to delays and low yields (initially, at least). Prices would rise even further.

According to industry insiders, we could be looking at later this year or some time in 2015 before a 64-bit Android model is available.

Thanks for the tip!

source: ETNews (translated) via GforGames
Share: Discuss45 Tweet

View the Original article

Starbucks app to let you pre-order your coffee later this year

It sucks when you go to Starbucks for a pick-me-up and some guy's holding up the line with an overly complicated request. Thankfully, the Seattle company's testing a mobile ordering service in an effort to speed things up. To be clear, when it debuts later this year, you still won't be able to get coffee delivered, but Bloomberg reports that the service will at least let you order through the Starbucks app before you get to the store. That's all we know about the upcoming feature, though, as the coffee empire's keeping mum about its finer details. We still don't know if the service will take custom requests, but if it does, we hope you tip generously for that fancy $50 Mocha frapp.

0 Comments Share

Source: Bloomberg

Tags: app, coffee, mobilepostcross, starbucks Next: 'Acoustic cloak' could shield submarines with a cone of silence .fyre .fyre-comment-divider

View the Original article

Roku player software cracked open temporarily, root now to run XBMC later

Roku's line of set-top boxes have been popular thanks to their simple controls, large set of available apps (recently expanded to include YouTube for the new Roku 3) and hardware ranging in price from inexpensive to downright cheap. Still, despite an active and encouraged developer community with custom channels and well-supported media player apps like Plex, the hardware has remained largely on lockdown -- until now. The GTVHacker team that previously unlocked Google TV and Chromecast has found a way to run its commands as root on any Roku 2 or Roku 3 using the most recent software version (unfortunately, that does not at this time include Sky TV's cheap Now TV player, which runs on older software). While the player overall is credited as "considerably more secure than others in the entertainment field" (Samsung comes to mind but it's from from the only one) a development password field provided a way in.

Currently they've only achieved persistence on the Roku 2, which in this case means they can maintain control even after the box reboots by breaking the secure boot process and modifying the initial boot loader. Since Roku 2 runs on the same Broadcom chip used by the popular Raspberry Pi, team member CJ Heres expects to see ports for third-party home theater PC software like XBMC very quickly. The Roku 3 will be a bit trickier since it runs on different hardware, and right now it needs to have the command entered each time the box starts.

Those well-versed in using the command line should find the process simple. A WGET command entered via the development password field pulls down a script -- available from the GTVHacker team -- that makes sure you have the right box and does all the dirty work before rebooting, leaving you with a rooted box, as seen above. Hardware level access on mobile platforms has lead to a number of custom software projects and we'll have to see if the same path is followed here, but if all this does is create a simple $40 XBMC box, it's probably still worth looking into -- and quickly, the team expects this security hole will be patched soon.

View the Original article