Google Instant Previews now on mobile

Mention the word Google and mobile and the first thing that comes to mind will be Android, but this time around the search giant has been really busy improving their web apps, especially the search. Back in November, Google launched Google Instant for mobile devices and now they are back with another new feature; Instant Previews.

You can now start using Google Instant previews, it’s available on mobile for Android (2.2+) and iOS (4.0+). It has the same functionalities as the desktop version allowing you to visually compare search results from webpage snapshots, giving you an idea of the content of the webpage before actually clicking it.

For example, if you’re looking for a webpage that has both photos and descriptions, you can use Instant Previews to quickly identify these pages by navigating across the visual search results with a few swipes of your finger. Or perhaps you’re looking for an article, a step-by-step instructions list, or a product comparison chart—with Instant Previews, you can easily spot pages with the right content without having to navigate back and forth between websites and search results. And when the mobile version of a website is available, it’ll show you a preview of the mobile page.

How to upgrade to iOS 4.3

Just a few days after Steve Jobs announced iPad 2 and the iOS 4.3 and it’s already out for download. Well it’s more for developers but if you can’t wait to get your hands on it or just want to toy around with it here’s how to get it install on your device; just gotta love the power of the internet 🙂

STEP 1: Download and install iTunes 10.2.

STEP 2: Now, you need to download the right gold master version for your device:

• iPhone 4, from here.
• iPhone 3GS, from here.
• iPod touch 4G, from here.
• iPod touch 3G, from here.
• iPad 3G and Wi-Fi, get this one.

STEP 3: Connect your iPhone into your computer via USB and iTunes hold Alt (Shift in Windows) and click on the ‘restore’ button then point it to one of the gold master files you download above. Wait for between 10 and 15 minutes for the new OS to be moved over.

Now you can have iOS 4.3 without a developer account. Just plug your phone back in and restore to iOS 4.2 once you’ve done mucking around or continue using it if you love it.

iPad 2 launched

The long anticipated replacement for the successful iPad has finally been anounced and many received it with mixed emotions. Apple fans can’t wait to get their hands on it while the rest just sit back and snigger knowing what the othe tablet manufacturers have up their sleeves.

Steve Jobs proudly announces that they have sold 15 million iPads since April for the year 2010. iPad app store stats; they’re now at 65,000 iPad specific app.

The Hardware

• A5 dual core processor; 2x faster with 9x faster graphics
• Front and rear cameras
• 8.8 mm; 1/3 thinner compared to iPad
• 1.3 lbs lighter by 0.2 lbs
• Same 10 hour battery life as iPad
• Same price as the iPad !!
• Ships 11th March 2011; March 25th for 26 more countries
• Comes in white from Day 1
• HDMI output supporting FullHD and only costs USD 39

Upgrade and jailbreak iOS 4.2.1

The iPod touch that I have came with 3.1.3 and when iOS 4 was announced I upgraded it to 4.1; that’s as far as I went . With the recent announcement of greenpoisOn’s untethered jailbreak for 4.2.1, I decided to upgrade the iPod.

 

Before upgrade

Backup via iTunes

1. As a rule of thumb always do a backup before messing around with the OS. Just connect the device to iTunes, right click on it and select “Back Up” and let iTunes do it’s magic.

If you have previously jailbreak your device and already have loads of apps installed via Cydia, make sure you backup that as well. There are several methods of doing so but the two easiest ones are via aptbackup or pkgbackup. Both can be downloaded via Cydia though please take note that pkgbackup is a paid app. Based on some of the forums I’ve been reading seems like pkgbackup is a more reliable solution though it’s still not a 100% guarantee.

New device or restore

2. After the backup, click on “Update” to download and install the new firmware.

3. Once the device is upgraded, iTunes will prompt to setup the device as new or restore from a backup, choose “Set Up A New ..” and continue, cancel the sync and eject the device.

4. Click here to download greenpois0n for MAC or WINDOWS.  Save the file to your computer desktop.

5. Locate the file and open the application. You may need to extract/unzip the file.

Finally Greenpois0n for iOS 4.2.1 on Windows

Greenpois0n

Recently an updated version of the the Greenpois0n tool became available for Mac users and allowed for untethered jailbreaking of iOS 4.2.1 devices. Now Windows users are finally able to get in on the fun as well.

As Engadget points out, the official Greenpois0n website is not able to keep up with the volume of happy Windows users at the moment, so here’s a download mirror link that’s a bit more likely to work right now. [via Engadget]