How to UnBrick the Transformer Prime with WSG UnBricker

Brandon Orndorff
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0
How to UnBrick the Transformer Prime with WSG UnBricker

Asus Transfomer Prime Unbrick

If you have soft bricked your Asus Transformer Prime there is good news thanks to XDA member “MasterZen88”. He has a fix for your bricked Tegra 3 Android tablet that will let you stop stressing the issue of an expensive paper weight. The tool he has created is called WSG UnBricker and is a helpful tool to unbrick and recover your Asus Transformer Prime from its unusable state.

WSG UnBricker is a Windows based batch file that allows you to easily unblock without much knowledge of the Android OS itself. Only use this if your Transformer Prime is bricked and you have no other options.

This is a Full Fastboot based solution that should allow you to flash any partition…

How to Fix your Bricked Asus Transformer Prime:

  1. Download and extract WSG Unbricker (Download Link)
  2. Keep the file structure of the unzipped files or it will not work
  3. First and most important read the included readme before starting
  4. Run WSGFlasher.bat by double clicking it
  5. Select the action you want to do and sit back
  6. Congrats your Asus Transformer Prime is now UnBricked!

Take your time as your soft brick could become a hard brick if you don’t take the time to understand what your doing. We are in no way responsible for the use of this utility although will help as best we can with any questions you have.

New Android SMS Malware Called UpdtBot

Brandon Orndorff
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0

Dr. Xuxian Jiang at North Carolina State University along with the NQ Mobile Security Research Center have began alerting Android users of the newest threat called UpdtBot. The new android malware passes itself off as a system update and spreads via SMS messages linking to the malware. Once UpdtBot is installed it registers a remote C&C (Command and Control) server. This C&C server will infect the Android device and start sending out SMS messages, make phone calls and download and install applications on your device.

From what NQ Mobile has estimated there are around 160,000 Android users already infected with this malicious software. If you want to be sure you don’t have it install some anti-virus software on your device and scan now. We recommend Lookout Mobile Security although there are many out there that will do the job.

If you are just against adding anti-virus apps to your Android device then at least be sure to only install apps from trusted sources like Google Play, Amazon App Store and GetJar. Also you can see permissions of apps when they are installing don’t just skip over them this can help you maintain a clean device.

APK: cn.smstelphoneapp Version: 1.0
Discovered: April 16, 2012
Updated: April 16, 2012 2:23:58 PM
Type: Trojan
Infection Length: 23,536 bytes
Android.Updtbot is a Trojan horse for Android devices that may arrive through SMS messages. It may then open a back door on the compromised device.

Fast Facebook For Android Is Quicker Than Facebook

Brandon Orndorff
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0
Fast Facebook For Android Is Quicker Than Facebook

Fast Facebook app for Android

With the Facebook app constantly releasing revisions, there are often bugs and lags when simply trying to use it. This is a big reason many Android users look for a good alternative app than the one offered by Facebook.

Fast Facebook is currently in its beta, but already shows promise of a cleaner, faster, and more streamlined experience for users. It was developed by team2soft and claims to use less battery  and memory than other alternatives. One reason for this is that it only runs when you want it to.

It does offer the main features users want such as comment, share, like, feeds in real-time, news, status, photos, etc. It does give you capability to change your background theme for a personal touch. You can select from provided themes or select an image from your Android device’s library.

Fast Facebook App Theme Fast Facebook app Gallery

Notifications aren’t available quite yet, but are definitely in the works.

Fast Facebook is highly secure and doesn’t store your login credentials.

Download Fast Facebook for Android

Motorola to Use Qualcomm SnapDragon S4 Processors

Brandon Orndorff
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0
Motorola to Use Qualcomm SnapDragon S4 Processors

Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 and Motorola

Motorola has suggested that they will use Qualcomm’s Snapdragon S4 SoC in a few of their new devices like the upcoming Droid RAZR HD and Atrix 3. Motorola in the past has used Texas Instruments and Nvidia they need to move forward with processors that can support integrated 4G LTE. Moving forward Motorola will be building a new SoC usage relationship with Qualcomm and hopefully move forward with the newest technologies.

There was a new benchmark for the MB886 also named “Dinara” and “Qinara” posted yesterday showing the new specs. This device will be an AT&T phone and rumors say it will be named the Atrix 3 to continue the Atrix line of high end devices. The screen resolution is 1196 x 720 and there are talks of on screen buttons instead of the normal Atrix setup we know currently.

We have seen a steady stream of improved processors for Android devices as they have become more and more popular.  Many of the processor manufacturers are scrambling to have the next great thing for mobile devices since the best will likely be used in thousands of new devices.  In this case Qualcomm’s Snapdragon is among the best in the industry and Motorola is making a great move by using them (assuming this is going to be the case).

UPDATE: It seems that Motorola decided to go with TI’s ARM Cortex-A9 for its processor for the Droid Razr making this a bad piece of information.  Many of us got it wrong although we do still have to stand behind the power of the Qualcomm Snapdragon processors as some of the best in the industry.  We will likely see these chips in many high end devices even if they aren’t Motorola devices their in.

Let us know what you think of the Snapdragon processor assuming you either have a little knowledge about processors in general or happen to at some point own a device that has the processor in it.

Improve your Droid’s Battery Life with “Smart Actions”

Brandon Orndorff
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0

Blagica Bottigliero from Motorola Mobility shared some information about “Smart Actions” for Droid devices that helps you get the most out of your Motorola phone including increased battery life. Smart Actions is pre-installed on your Droid RAZR MAXX and helps you customize your Android device to fit the way you use it.

To use Smart Actions to increase battery life all you need to do is use the Battery Extender rule. It will find the times that your phone sits idle and make decisions like turning off your GPS, Wi-Fi and background data sync services to save battery life. While turning certain items off it will still allow texts and phone calls to go through.

Other “Smart Actions” to Note:

  • Rise and Shine Rule – You can have apps run when starting up your phone for the first time in the morning like having your news reader pop up first thing.
  • Family Time Rule – Set your ringer and other tones to silent when you have family time going on so that you don’t have to do it manually.
  • Nighttime Rule – You can set your phone to DIM and ringer to silent along with adding VIP contacts that come through while ignoring all others.

You can customize your rules to work for you and make your phone do everything you want it to when you want it to. Let us know if you have played with these Smart Actions” and what you think about it.

Self Repairing Protectors by Toray Advanced Film

Brandon Orndorff
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0
Self Repairing Protectors by Toray Advanced Film
Toray Self Repairing film
Self Repairing film after taking on 20,000 scratches. I know we need a video but we just don't have one.

Toray Advanced Film Co. LTD. announced that they have developed a “Self-cure Coat Film” that can repair small scratches within around 10 seconds. Till now Toray has only supplied a few applications like decorative films for laptops but plan to now hit the mobile device market. This means that your phone under normal use could resist scratched completely and look new forever. Toray Advanced Film had a few things to say about the innovative self repairing film.

“We aim to achieve sales of ¥2 billion (approx US$24.3 million) in 2014”

“Because the self-repairing layer has a high viscosity and elasticity as well as cushioning characteristics, it self-repairs minute scratches”

At room temperatures the scratches applied to the film vanish within a 10 second window and time increases at colder temperatures. The film is around 125um thick but can be thicker upon request. The film was tested with 20,000 scratches and repaired them all.

“We confirmed that there is no problem by testing it about 20,000 times in succession.”

The film is to be shown at the Technology Expo in Tokyo from April 11-13. If your anywhere around the Expo please shoot us a video or at least a link to one. This looks to be the next innovation in mobile technology from a “keep it looking new” standpoint.

Google to Sell Subsidized Nexus Android Tablets

Brandon Orndorff
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0

Google Nexus Tablet

Google seems to have been caught off guard with the insane sales of the Amazon Kindle Fire and have now decided it was time for them to follow suit. The Amazon Kindle Fire has sold more tablets that any other Android manufacturer to date and thus made incredible profits from its ability to only download apps from their Amazon Market (without rooting it). Google now with the mention of their Google Nexus tablet plan to do the same thing subsidizing profits from the tablets with the Google Play Market.

Google says that they should be able to sell their Google Nexus Tablets for around $200 helping to reposition the Android Market experience and putting the App sales back into their court. Google plans to debut tablets by Asus and maybe even Samsung and sell them under the Google or “Nexus” name for around that $200 price point.

While we don’t have all of the details now the Wall Street Journal has confirmed that Google will be selling the “Nexus” tablet directly to consumers through an online web store. This should also keep costs down. As more information comes available we will be sure to let you know.

Amazon App Store v2.3.0 50MB Downloads and Notification bug Fix

Brandon Orndorff
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0

This month Amazon has updated their Android App Store to allow users to turn off notifications. Although we have all noticed that the update really didn’t work and notifications are still rolling in.  It seems the options were there but even when you told it not to send notifications they would completely ignore the setting and send them anyway. Amazon has now fixed the notification bug with version 2.3.0 along with increasing the download limit over network connections to 50MB.  For those of us that have daily use devices that have unlimited data its a nice feature to have.

Amazon App Store Version 2.3.0 New Features:

  • Option to increase download limit over 3G/4G to 50 megabytes. Default limit remains at 20 megabytes (easily changed in the apps settings.
  • Bug fix to notifications settings (for real this time). Disabling notifications now suppresses any non-essential notifications.
  • Minor bug fixes and stability enhancements.

Amazon App Store Version 2.3.0 Update

Most of you by now should have received the popup when opening the Amazon App Store to update to the new version. If for any reason you don’t receive the update when opening the app you can manually get it by opening the app, going to settings, version and update notes, check for updates.  Once you update you will have to go into the setting and re-disable notifications as well as changing the default 20 mb download over 3g/4g limit to the 50 mb download limit if you choose to do so.

If anyone notices any notifications after this update please let us know as we would like to know the device you are using and also make sure that you are using the updated Amazon App Store as well.  The last version did seem to work for some devices but this one promises to work on them all.

Find S-Pen Apps for the Galaxy Note on the Samsung App Store

Brandon Orndorff
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0
Find S-Pen Apps for the Galaxy Note on the Samsung App Store

Samsung Apps store Galaxy NoteThe Samsung Galaxy Note has proven to be a very popular device. With this popularity people wonder where to find apps compatible with the S-Pen that comes along with the Galaxy Note. Since this phone tablet hybrid device has sold over 2 million units Samsung’s best interest was to create an app store specifically for the S-Pen device.

While the Google Play Android App store has many apps that are compatible with the S-Pen it can be frusterating to find ones designed for it. Samsung has made the process of finding these apps much easier within their “Samsung Apps Store”. The Samsung store will allow you so navigate the apps for your Galaxy Note so that you can find what your looking for and then redirects you to the Google Play store to complete the download process.

The Samsung app store has a category specifically for the S-Pen and associated devices and then lets you grind down to productivity, kids apps, art, etc. The Samsung App store is already on your Galaxy Note so get to it and have a stress free app download process.

Fix Bricked Motorola Atrix after OTA Update

Brandon Orndorff
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9

If you have a Motorola Atrix 4G that is rooted and has an unlocked bootloader, updating the device via an OTA update will brick it. This being said you can recover from it by flashing the updated SBF via RSD Lite. Those of you that have bricked your Motorola Atrix this is how to recover after updating the device.

Currently the updated version of the Motorola Atrix 4G is software version 4.5.141 and as such the instructions will be for this update specifically. Future updates should be able to be fixed as well with the same method with the SBF for that version.

Fix Bricked Motorola Atrix after an OTA Update:

  1. Make sure your Atrix is fully charged before beginning
  2. Download the SBF where you can find it (Download Link)
  3. Download, Install and Run RSD Lite (Download Link)
  4. Remove your SIM and SD Card from the device and turn it on
  5. Press “…” button beside the Filename input and select the SBF
  6. When asked to Extract or cancel, select extract
  7. Plug your Atrix in via USB and wait for RSD Lite to detect it
  8. Press “Start” and wait for RSD Lite to say 100% complete
  9. Congrats you are unbricked and on 4.5.141 running Gingerbread 2.3.6

We aren’t responsible for the use of these instructions although they should fix your issue rather well. Also this is kind of a fix all for any other issues you have with your Atrix although it will completely wipe the device. Let us know if you have any questions or need any help.

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