Pressy Adds A Physical Multi-Function Button To Android Devices [VIDEO]

Kickstarter often throws up some intriguing products, particularly of the tech variety, but seldom do we see the kind of buzz and excitement around a start-up project than with Pressy,an Android-targeting peripheral recently launched on the site. With the initial goal already met five times over in the first two days alone, it’s fair to say that this tiny device has the potential to become something huge, and if you read on, you’ll find out just why.

Kickstarter serves the tech community well. The go-to hub for start-ups looking for investment, we’ve seen swathes of great tech products manifest from the site, including the immensely popular Pebble Smartwatch. Like Pebble, which attracted tens of thousands of the Kickstarter community’s geek-minded individuals, Pressy has exceeded even the wildest expectations of those behind it.

So, what’s it all about? Well, in our constant quest to cut as many digital corners as possible, the idea stems from a small device plugged into the headphone jack of an Android smartphone, leaving a small button atop. This button is no ordinary button, for the Pressy companion app can then be tweaked to perform certain actions, depending on the sequence of button presses. So, for example, if you wanted to take a photo, you could set the Pressy app to take a snap with two short presses – you wouldn’t even need to activate your device in any way.

The idea is incredibly simple, but also genius, and with so many different actions performable and varying combinations of short and long presses, it’s no wonder its inventors have already raised nearly one quarter of a million dollars with 45 days still to go.

The device is so small that it is barely noticeable when clipped into a holder, which can, in turn, be readily attached to a keyring.

But the bit we love most about Pressy, is that when the headphone jack is not vacant – i.e., you need to use it to listen to music – you can use the button of the remote to continue using Pressy with minimal fuss!

Of all the Kickstarter projects we’ve covered here at Redmond Pie, Pressy is easily one of the most intuitive, and if you still remain unconvinced, check out the video below.

The great thing about Pressy is that it is extremely inexpensive, so if you want to get involved and own the product yourself when it ships early next year, be sure to check it out by heading on down to the Kickstarter page here.

Three UK Removes International Roaming Charges In 7 Countries

Three UK has announced a new initiative to offer customers the same mobile service when travelling abroad to a number of countries, meaning those venturing out to Australia, Austria, Denmark, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy or Sweden can continue using their data, call and SMS allowances as if they were back in Britain. With roaming charges often bordering extortionate, this is definitely a win for the consumer, and hopefully, those days of unexpectedly high bills – often well into the hundreds after a short break away – will be no more.

Yesterday, Three UK announced plans to offer its customers the same great packages as currently available when it begins rolling out its 4G network later on this year. With so many companies trying to use LTE as a reason to charge consumers considerably more, the movement was seen as a breath of fresh air, and the separate announcement earlier today regarding usage abroad brings even more good news.

For too long, providers have been charging substantially high prices for even minimal data usage abroad, and often, vacations have been ruined by the bill awaiting them back at home.

Three has, for quite a while, been very liberal when it comes to data allowances, and is one of a dying breed of providers offering truly unlimited data. But with the news of 4G simply being “switched on” to those with compliant devices at no extra cost as of December, this effort to end those data roaming charges is likely to yield the company many more fans.

As a Three customer myself, I was just coming to terms with the fact that joining the 4G parade wouldn’t mean selling my car, but this news, particularly for those planning to travel soon, is every bit as good.

There are one or two, shall we say, terms attached, but nothing that really sours the deal. For example, calls to non-UK numbers will still incur roaming fees, but then, they do anyway, right? Also, tethering is off the agenda completely, which is a bit of a shame; but hey, you can’t haveeverything!

So, if you don’t want to spend half of your holiday / business trip traipsing around looking for Wi-Fi hotspots, Three has you covered, and hopefully (not that we’re trying to push our luck or anything), more countries will be added in the future.

New Shots Of iPhone 5C Packaging Surface Online

The iPhone 5C, Apple’s first attempt at offering a budget device, is expected to be unveiled alongside the new flagship iPhone 5S at a special event to be held on September 10th, and we’ve seen many leaks and sightings of the polycarbonate-enclosed handset already. But today, via French blog Nowhererlse, an image has emerged of what is claimed to be the device packaged in its retail casing ahead of shipment.

Of course, this cannot be verified in any way, but Nowhereelse does have a pretty strong track record when it comes to accurate leaks. Moreover, if the device is, as expected, to be launched on September 10th with release shortly thereafter, Apple will already have prepared many batches of units ready for distribution, so the timing in particular gives a little legitimacy to this leak.

Then again, it does make us suspicious that the standard of camera used is below even what a mid-range smartphone is capable of churning out, and one would expect anybody with such an exclusive shot to share with the world could get a hold of a decent snapper. Also, with the same image leaking all over the Interwebs showing different colored devices, we’re inclined to think this one’s a fake, and in all honesty, not a very good one, just like the previous iPhone 5C packaging one.

Still, the iPhone 5C looks all set to take the industry by storm, and as well as being built for the purpose of helping Apple capitalize on the lucrative markets in developing nations like India and China, the device will also see the Cupertino’s brand of smartphone appeal to a wider audience in the likes of the US, UK and much of Europe.

September 10th is the unofficially confirmed date of the announcement, and with less than two weeks to go, it won’t be too long before we can put the rumors to bed and finally get down to checking out the new models. The iPhone 5C is expected to offer five different colors, while the iPhone 5S, successor to the iPhone 5, gets the most attention, with a reported 12-megapixel camera, 128GB storage option, and the confirmed addition of the champagne gold color configuration.

We’ll keep you posted on any new developments, so stay tuned!

(Source: Nowhereelse.fr [Google Translate])

You may also like to check out:

• iPhone 5S And iPhone 5C Release Date Set For September 10th Announcement

PlayStation 4 Features Cooler Smartphone Integration Than We Originally Thought

The PlayStation 4 is one of the most sought-after gadgets of the year. In fact, alongside the Xbox One, it’s one of the most eagerly anticipated machines to have released in the past five years, and while we already knew a great deal about the console thanks to numerous insights from Sony, we’re still now only learning about some of the new features.

We already know of the PS4′s smartphone integration, but we certainly yet fully versed with the ins and outs of how everything will work upon release. This was confirmed earlier on today on Twitter by a rather nonchalant reply to a gaming fan from Sony’s President of Worldwide Studios Shuhei Yoshida, which revealed that when a game is downloaded via a user’s handset, the PlayStation 4 will automatically fire itself up, download the game, and drift back off to sleep again. Awesome? We certainly think so.

Microsoft has its own integration with SmartGlass, but of what we’ve seen and heard about so far, this feature from Sony has to be one of the best and most useful features as our consoles join forces with what has become – more so than since the last round of console releases – our most treasured gadget.

If, for example, you’re on a train, half an hour away from home, and happen to read of a new game’s release online, you could start the download there and then. By the time you get home, the game would be ready to play even if your console was asleep when you left initially.

As we draw ever closer to November 15th, the PS4 release date, I’m sure we’ll continue to learn new and exciting tidbits about the PlayStation 4. There’s still no precise word on when its fiercest rival, the Xbox One, will rear its head, but as both Sony and Microsoft continue the battle of oneupmanship, one wouldn’t be too shocked or surprised if the Redmond company tried to outfox its competitor by dropping in marginally earlier. In fact, my money’s on Microsoft doing what it did last time around with the 360, and hitting the market first.

Whatever the case may be, you’ll catch all of the best console news and info right here atRedmond Pie, so stay tuned!

(Source: Twitter [Shuhei Yoshida])

You may also like to check out:

• PS4 Release Date For North America And Europe Announced

This App Lets You Push Files Between Your Mac And iPhone In A Breeze

iOS and OS X are becoming more and more similar with every new version. OS X received a generous dose of “iOS-ification” last year with Mountain Lion, which saw a plethora of mobile features, such as Reminders, iMessage and Notification Center, make their way to the desktop. And seeing as iOS is still very much OS X’s apprentice, apps like Safari are modeled on the main versions built for the Mac range. But while these two ecosystems are slowly becoming as one, communication between the two is still very much a strained affair. However, DeskConnect, a new app for iOS, helps make the sharing of information between the two as effortless as possible, and if you’re looking for something to draw your two favorite gadgets even closer together, it’s well worth a look.
The app lets you easily move your favorite documents, images, Web pages, and other such content from one to the other, and once you’ve gone through the set-up process, both your iPhone and Mac will operate almost like extensions of one another.

The app, from the OS X side, is little more than a menu bar on your desktop, and with a simple click (or by setting a keyboard shortcut), you can send information right to your device. Unlike many file transfer apps, which offer you bog-standard drag-and-drop, DeskConnect seems to have a basic grasp of why you’re transferring something, and acts accordingly. If, for example, you send a website over to your iPhone, it will automatically open a webpage, and if you’re not a fan of the default Safari (a dying breed, it has to be said), then you can readily use DeskConnect to initiate Chrome, Dolphin, or whichever other browsers you care to use.

The theme of not forcing the user to roll with stock apps works for sending files to the Mac as well. If you wish to transfer a video from your iPhone to your MacBook, for example, you can do so from any app you have on your home screen, not just the native Photos and Videos apps.

The interface, while not overwhelming, is neat, tidy and minimalistic, so if you’re looking for a simple, seamless way to send files between iPhone and Mac, it’s worth checking out. Point your browser to: deskconnect.com for more information.
Oh, and it’s free of charge!
(Download: DeskConnect for iPhone on the App Store)
Be sure to check out our iPhone Apps Gallery and iPad Apps Gallery to explore more apps for your iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.

iOS 7 Beta Has Apparently Been Jailbroken [IMAGE]

The Evad3rs team brought some respite late last year with the release of the Evasi0n jailbreak tool, and now a screenshot posted by seasoned developer Ryan Petrich suggests the road to a jailbreak on iOS 7 may not be so treacherous. No details were associated with his screen cap posted on Twitter yesterday of jailbroken iOS 7 beta running on iPod touch 5, but even at this very early stage, things do look very promising indeed.

With each new version of iOS, the road to a jailbreak has been testing at times, and the days of untethered breaks being ready and waiting by the time the official release came around seeming long gone.

Since the release of the initial iOS 7 beta, most of the focus has been on the changes Apple has gone ahead and made. The whole user interface has been completely revamped, and while this has appeased those who were becoming disillusioned with the monotony, there has been a tidal wave of a backlash from those who’ve felt the significant alteration was less than necessary.

Amid the hype, the word jailbreak has scarcely been mentioned, but with Petrich having now set the ball rolling, it will be very interesting to see if and when the end user release of iOS 7 gets a jailbreak. Although Petrich himself is better known for tweaking rather than hacking, having developed popular tweaks such as Activator, we certainly wouldn’t put it past him to take part in early testing of next jailbreak.

So, while information is at a premium at the moment, the take-home from this is that iOS 7 is jailbreakable, at least in its current form. With Apple set to reel off several betas between now and the Fall release of iOS 7, this could well change, but provided Petrich and those with access to this jailbreak keep things under wraps for now, it would seem unlikely that Apple would be able to source and subsequently patch the exploits used.

Cydia tweak Activator running on jailbroken iPod touch 5 running iOS 7 Beta.

With Apple having essentially nullified some of the major tweaks with new implementations to iOS 7, one has to wonder whether the demand for a jailbreak will be as high as before. But whatever the case may be, we’ll have all your iOS 7 jailbreak news right here at Redmond Pie, so stay tuned!

(source: Twitter)

Untethered iOS 6.1.3 Jailbreak Found, Needs Some Work

Back when the Evad3rs team came through with the untethered jailbreak for iOS devices up to and including iOS 6.1.x, it was later stated by those behind it that a jailbreak for iOS 6.1.3 would not be pursued because exploits would instead be saved for the more pressing issue of iOS 7. This hasn’t stopped other well-known developers from trying to find a solution, and developer Winocm has just thrown out a tweet suggesting he is getting there.

In a move that will certainly get the hopes up of Cydia worshippers stuck on unjailbreakable firmware, he noted that he has a binary that untethers 6.1.3, but added that it "needs some more work."

At this point, it would seem this jailbreak is only applicable to the A4 powered devices but for those who had all-but lost hope of a untethered jailbreak on iOS 6.1.3, this could offer light at the end of the tunnel.

@Winocm: (Before you all go out and think I’m magically supporting all devices, the iPhone 4 GSM version barely works. And it’s the only one I made.)

It is also important to note that it is not applicable to iOS 7 betas:

@Winocm: It’s not useful on iOS 7. I don’t care about iOS 7. Other people are taking care of iOS 7.

With newer models famously tougher to crack as Apple continues to step up its fight against the exploits, those wielding devices on A5+ processors will probably have to sit this one out. We’re saying probably, because details are scarce at this moment in time.

There already happens to be a tethered jailbreak iOS 6.1.3, but since it’s limited to A4 devices and, more importantly, a tethered release requiring reconnection to a computer every time the device is rebooted or switched off, it’s not ideal.

Of course, with iOS 7 now looming, much of the jailbreak community is turning its attention towards the new firmware, and whether it will be hackable to the same extent as previously seen with Evasi0n et al. One hopes, given the snippets we’ve already seen of a flattened Cydia interface concept, that we’ll get the chance to experience the real thing, and although Apple has, to its credit, offered much more functionality to the table with Control Center and an extension of the Folders system with iOS 7, jailbreakers will always seek that added freedom of running unsolicited content.

In the meantime, we’ll be sure to keep you guys updated on any information pertaining theiOS 6.1.3 jailbreak, even if it is only specific to older models. It is quite late in the day given the aforementioned introduction of iOS 7, but if an untethered break can be achieved, it’ll certainly be no less welcome.

*Jailbreak iOS 7 Beta On iPod touch 5 Apparently Achieved [IMAGE]
*Jailbreak iOS 6 Untethered With Evasi0n [Windows / Mac / Linux]