Google keeps rolling out new and shiny things, but it also has this habit of only rolling it out slowly among its users. Some people get it early and others have to wait. That was the case with the new channel pages for YouTube, for example. If you’ve been itching for the new full-screen experience for Google Maps on the web, you don’t have to wait until you get that invite.

There is a clever little trick that’s actually really easy to implement, as well as really easy to revert if you decide you like the current Google Maps web interface better. The easiest way to do this is to use Google Chrome as your web browser. Then, head over to the Chrome Web Store and download a web cookie editor extension. Android Police recommends this one.

Then, head on over to maps.google.com in your web browser and let it load normally. You can ignore that “Get the new Google Maps” box in the left sidebar, because all that’s going to do is send you to a page where you can request an invite. You don’t need that. Instead, click the button for your cookie editing extension and look for the cookie labeled as “NID.” Select the contents of that cookie and replace it with this text:

67=MzRdy0T16I7lw9REhtIF5N5lkuoSy1s7cJGFa24wZ6pRK0kRpU9SqiTWy9r_DQ4UxdmHjSeMImvsqgrVUbC0T9FhuESvl__dlkZwRBTxkzxWcdq8vDcpuvnuve6yI78LeqFFK21yc0_6Bp3cHS4Z3a6nwwBQm_fW8DfHF7lv6OrkDosmMa-GaDOLVXR2ewK5-xAk

Click submit, refresh the page, and bathe in the glory of the new Google Maps web interface. If and when you want to revert, just clear out your cookies.

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Sony have recently rolled out an update to fix a problem with the Xperia Z which had the phone randomly dying and requiring a hard reboot. Now, that problem is fixed Sony’s programmers can now sit down and fix a new and rather serious security flaw.

A new vulnerability on the Sony Xperia Z allows anyone to get access to the home screen, apps, contacts and accounts by keying in the USSD code *#*#7378423#*#*. The hack can be seen in action in the video below and demonstrates just how serious this could be for anyone who leaves their phone unguarded in the presence of a tech savvy Android fan (not likely we know).

We’re waiting to hear what Sony plans to do, but expect another update (and possibly a new bug) for the flagship Xperia Z soon. Is this really a big deal? As long as you keep your phone by your side, probably not. That said, it certainly could be if your phone is lost or stolen.

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The post Sony Xperia Z Bug Makes it Easy to Get Past the Lock Screen appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

Privacy has been at the center of social networking over the past couple of years. In fact, Facebook dedicates a great amount of time and money to protecting their users. But after a major hack to Twitter 2 weeks ago and one close call for Facebook just a couple of days ago, what you are about to read might push you over the edge to deactivation.

A screencast released by The Guardian shows a principle investigator from Riot (rabid information overlay technology) demonstrating Raytheon’s cyber tracking software. The main idea of the software is to pull together data from multiple social networks to create the big picture, also known as your life. Take a look:

Throughout the video, Brian Urch shows us how easy it is to peruse the social data of others. At one point in the video, he states that ”if you ever did want to try to get hold of Nick, or maybe get hold of his laptop, you might want to visit the gym at 6am on a Monday”.

When you post something online, there’s no holding it back from the entire universe. However, if somebody can bypass your privacy settings this easy, just think about the rest of your personal data. Just make sure that you have no reason to be hunted down by a crazed computer hacker.

The release of this screencast is not the least bit earth-shattering. This kind of technology exists at a handful of other companies throughout the world. However, the fact that this video is from November of 2010 should creep you out a little bit. More specifically, it took over 2 years for this video to go public and Raytheon has had 2 years to improve or distribute this software.

How do you feel about sharing your life online? Did reading this article change your thoughts in any way? Let us know in the comments below.

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The post Raytheon Can Track You Via Your Social Media Accounts appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

Yesterday Apple released iOS 6.1 update to the masses.  iOS 6.1 is a pretty minor upgrade but does include support for LTE carriers around the world.  New LTEs in Denmark, Italy and many areas of the Middle East will now be supported, with Apple’s addition of 23 new iPad LTE and 36 new iPhone operators.  But the most exciting part of the release is 6.1s open door for hackers.

A group of iOS developers, evad3rs, are preparing a major hack for all recent iOS devices including the iPhone 5, iPad mini, iPad 4, and the iPod Touch 5G.We have been waiting patiently for the hack and it appears it may finally be upon us thanks to a vulnerability that exists in iOS 6.1.  The Apple developer Musclenerd hinted that this Sunday would be “fun day” for jailbreakers.

For those with newer iOS 6 devices  that have been impatiently waiting for a tetherless jailbreak, this is awesome news. For now though, don’t get too excited until we have firmer details regarding the jailbreak. Be sure to check back with us this weekend, when we will hopefully have news and instructions on how to jailbreak your iOS 6.1 device.

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The post Apple iOS 6.1 Jailbreak Right Around the Corner? appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

Thankfully for those of us who keep getting the “out of stock” sign in Google Play, a clever team of developers over at XDA-Developers have created a “rough hack” to convert your LG Optimus G in to a Nexus 4.

As the Optimus G and Nexus for are almost identical in hardware the developers decided it made sense for the phone to be able to run the Nexus 4 vanilla Android build, and it does. The process is reported as being “very dangerous” and not recommended for those with little to no knowledge of flashing Android devices, as there is the real risk of bricking your phone.

If you do manage to get it all working though, you will be able to enjoy Android the Nexus way, and will even be able to make use of Nexus only tweaks, and even official Nexus updates, unfortunately you will also loose LTE connectivity and your internal storage will be capped at 8GB. Hopefully in the not too distant future they will find some kind of mod around those limitations, though.

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The post Turn your Optimus G to a Nexus 4 with This Rough Hack appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

Apple might be a bit busy preparing for the official launch of their next generation iPad and iOS 5.1. But it appears like they will have to find more time to fix a new bug in iOS 5.0.1 which allows a person to get unauthorized access to the contacts and the calling features of an iPhone.

The details on the new issue comes courtesy of  iPhoneislam, who believe that it is a “major” flaw. But after watching the video, you will most probably agree with us on the fact that the passcode bypassing allowed by this bug is quite difficult to pull off.

The hack involves inserting and ejecting the iPhone’s SIM card, while you try to call the device. If you perform this for long enough, you will eventually get access to the phone app, and you will be able to make calls as well. But for the hack to work, it is required that you know the victim’s phone number (or have a spare SIM card) and a strong belief that it can be done.

It appears to be a very minor bug, but still, it won’t be very nice if someone who stole your iPhone gets free access to your contacts. Apple will most likely release a fix for it along with the upcoming iOS 5.1. In the meantime, you can check out the guy sweating it out in the video below.

The post This iOS 5.0.1 Security Bug Will Help Criminals With Tons Of Patience (Video) appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

From controlling a TV to helping us park our cars, smartphones these days are capable of doing a lot of things that make our lives a whole lot easier. And now you can add the Ikea SPOKA lamp to the list. The image above is not from the set of a new sci-fi movie, it’s a Spoka night lamp from Ikea being hacked  for Android automation.

The Spoka lamp includes an ATtiny2313 and an RS232 Bluetooth module, which will allow the lamp itself to be controlled with a standard Android-running smartphone.

What’s the big deal in coming up with such a hack, you ask? Well, the lamp originally features two modes which you can select with a switch at the top. Either you can select the slow change between blue, red and orange colors while dimming the intensity or you can keep the same colour and intensity. The hack will allow you to customize the patterns of light that the lamp can display. And later on you can also have it synchronize to music playback.

Maybe in the not too distant future, you can set your lamp to start flashing when someone pokes you on Facebook or have different colors indicate different things. Check out the video and you can leave your thoughts below.

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The post IKEA Spoka Lamp Controlled By Android Smartphone (Video) appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

You will probably kick yourself after reading this article wondering why you didn’t think about it earlier and enjoy yourself a few minutes of fame. Developer Yifan Lu has managed to jailbreak the Amazon Kindle Touch and he has done so in the simplest of ways, by playing an MP3 file.

As you might know, the Kindle Touch isn’t the best that is out there when it comes to specifications and hardware performance. But that does not mean developers will not be interested in the device.

Now, the developers have got a chance to start playing with the device all thanks to Lu who was able to root it with an MP3 file.

And the jailbreak was quite easy since the Touch’s OS uses a lot of easy-to-exploit HTML. The software is written mostly in HTML5 and JavaScript, not the Java on the other Kindles.

If you are planning to jailbreak it, you just have to download an MP3 file and play it on the Kindle Touch.

Lu assembled the special mp3 file which includes his hack buried in the ID3 tags. The ID3 tags execute commands on the Kindle Touch. The hack just installs a key to root the device, quite simple indeed.

But this has not brought any new features to the device. Still, it has definitely opened a door for all the developers out there. Now they can start working on a hack of their own and hopefully bring some awesome stuff.

Check out the video which is proof on the matter. Head here to download the zip file needed for the hack.

The post Amazon Kindle Touch Jailbreak Using An MP3 File [Video] appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

Some iPhone 4 owners have used the Apple logo on the back as a convenient “mirror” to make sure there’s no lipstick on their teeth or food particles left over from lunch. But forget all that, there is something you can do to give it a bit of edginess.

From the British iDevice repair service iPatch comes the new iPhone 4 mod, which lets your phone’s Apple logo glow whenever the screen lights up. This is very much similar to the MacBook logo which also lights up when opened.

According to the director of iPatch, Andy Smith, the new feature is a “complete secret” and “very tricky to replicate.” He also added that it is impossible to imitate at home unless you have special equipment. The process takes a few hours and it will use your iPhone’s original rear case. You can also select your preferred color of the glowing Apple logo and it can be done to white or black phones as well. Now, isn’t that lovely?

Smith added that the interest for the glowing iPhone mod has been increasing, with countless phone calls, e-mails and tweet requests abounding iPatch. The mod costs around $150 if you are in the U.S and £50 and £100 if you’re in the U.K.

The post iPhone 4 pimped with glowing Apple mod appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

The latest update comes by way of @p0sixninja on Twitter, telling us that the Chronic Dev Team is “still diligently working on both the iPad2 jailbreak & lots of other exciting projects.” He also thanks you for your patience, but considering that you don’t pay anything for these jailbreaks, you’re still getting your money’s worth, right?

Really, the news here is no news. The jailbreak for the iPad 2 isn’t ready yet, but Chronic Dev Team is working on it and they want to make sure it’s all good before going public. More testing awaits.

Photo: elevat0r.com

The post Chronic Dev Team: Still working on jailbreak for iPad 2 appeared first on Mobile Magazine.