Formerly known as SocialEyes back in February 2011, the founders then have placed emphasis on making nine people engage themselves in a video chat which was available free on Facebook. When SocialEyes shut down during the summer, it has paved the way for the birth of Sidecar wherein a new emphasis was placed on mobile handsets instead.

Users are faced with several options in calling their contacts. They can choose from methods such as using the standard dialer, tapping either a contact’s name or a recently dialed number, or sorting out names which are organized into Sidecar friends and other phone contacts.

Calls are absolutely free to anyone who also has the Sidecar app or to anyone coming from the US and Canada with or without the app through Wi-Fi connectivity. When you do call your friends who don’t have the app on their mobile phone, what they’ll get is a text invitation to download the app. Likewise, when Wi-Fi access is not possible, standard 3G or 4G calling rates from your mobile carrier will be applied.

Despite the fact that its roots originated from SocialEyes’ video-chat, the live-streamed video made during Sidecar calls is unidirectional. Either you can see what the person on the other line is seeing or he can see what you are seeing. It’s absolutely done in a non-simultaneous fashion. Video swapping is made possible through the phone’s front and rear cameras which is very different from the two-way video call you make through Apple’s FaceTime, Tango or Skype. Sidecar is not designed to copy video calling. It is aimed to add more services that go hand in hand with a regular phone call. Indeed, there are many occasions wherein you may want to show what’s going on around you without having to talk to someone face to face.

Sidecar is now available in beta on Android and in iOS with support for the iPod touch and iPhone. Since it’s still in its infancy, users ought not to be surprised when the app seems a little buggy or the call quality shows signs of mediocrity.

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According to Lex Machina, there has been an increase in the number of handset patent infringement cases filed in the US courts. From 24 cases filed in 2006, it has increased to 84 cases in 2010. Such growth in the numbers can be blamed at the speed where the industry evolves. The patent system in the US allows inventors a monopoly on their new ideas in a limited time frame of only twenty years from the day they were filed. This is in striking contrast with the way mobile phone consumers expect huge steps in progress in just a short period of time.

When devices evolve into cameras, internet browsers, and music players, it means an increase in the amount of its intellectual property would naturally follow. With this rate, it’s hard to believe that a single smartphone can possibly have more than 250,000 active patents. When a company frowns at the idea of sharing their advances or being paid for the use of their patents, that’s when the lawyers step in.

Apple has filed design-related rights and patent cases to halt Samsung Electronics in selling the Galaxy Tab 10.1 to Australia and Germany. Samsung responded by banning the sale of iPhones in Japan and Australia. Other big companies have also been active in court litigations such as Nokia, Kodak, Ericsson, Sony, and LG.

Though it would involve spending a huge amount of money, many experts are saying that acquisitions which encourage cross-licensing deals would prove to be more cost-effective. Under this deal, both companies would swap permission in using each other’s unique inventions.

Being involved in 20 other legal fights in at least ten countries, Samsung and Apple seem to feel weary and exhausted as the consumers follow their story. If Samsung is serious about its offer for a cross licensing deal with Apple, it may somehow reduce the friction between the two giant companies and may somehow allow them more freedom to design new products under each other’s patents without instigating a lawsuit on patent infringement.

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However, one developer seems to have been very much taken with RIM’s virtual keyboard that he made a jailbreak tweak similar to it for iOS devices. Mario Hros has released a teaser revealing his latest jailbreak tweak, the Octopus Keyboard, which brings BlackBerry 10′s new gesture-based keyboard concept to iOS devices.

The Octopus Keyboard can do certain functions such as automatically learning new words as you type them. It also has a custom completion engine which works for any key input language. As you begin typing, the Octopus Keyboard will suggest words you can use which appear on top of letters in the keyboard. You can then add the word if you wish by simply holding the letter with the word displayed on top then swiping up to add the word.

What’s remarkable about this tweak is its ability to learn and determine what words the user usually uses. The downside to that, however, is its vulnerability to learn mistakes which is being remedied by Hros.

The developer still has a number of other things he wishes to add to the software such as autocapitalization of words in sentences, better handling of longer words, and compatibility to other tweaks such as SwipeSelection. And with less than a week before its scheduled release, he just might be able to include them all.

It might take some time for users to get used to the tweak but compared to the keyboard and predictive text input offered by iOS devices, many seem to think it’s worth it. With better keyboard size and placement, those who have tested the tweak have discovered that they made considerably less mistakes with the Octopus Keyboard as compared to the current iOS keyboard.

Of course, it’s still premature to make a complete review on the Octopus Keyboard while it’s still not fully complete as the developer still has a few bugs to take care of until its May 20th launch on Cydia. See demo below.

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Although Apple released its iOS 5.1.1, jailbreak development teams have found a way of overcoming it and it is using tethered jailbreaking through RedSn0w. This can be done in the following steps: a) user downloads the latest version of the iPhone Development Team’s RedSn0w tool for the OS; b) do a content backup by using iTunes or iCloud; c) upgrade the device’s firmware to iOS 5.1.1; d) download the iOS 5.1 IPSW file which corresponds to the specific device being used; e) find the Redsnow download folder (from step a), unzip its contents and run the exec file to make Redsnow launch; f) Select Extras on Redsnow and choose Select IPSW option; g) select IPSW file (from step d) when prompted; h) select jailbreak on the Redsnow main home screen and user needs to be sure to select Install Cydia prior to going through; i) on screen prompts will walk through user to putting the device on DFU mode, just follow steps; and j) once in DFU mode, Redsnow will automatically automate the process.

Once complete, user needs to boot device in tethered boot mode on every restart. More details to see here. Good luck!

While the software is still unavailable for public download, the consensus is that the wait can’t be much longer now. iPhone 4s users, however, may need to wait longer for an untethered jailbreak to come their way as the device uses the much faster A5 processor which requires a different approach from the hackers.

For those who want to understand more about jailbreaking, here’s a few info. First of all, jailbreaking is a process that removes limitations placed on a device such as carrier exclusivity as well as being able to install apps that aren’t necessarily approved by Apple.

One of the advantages of jailbreaking your device is that it gives you freedom to personalize without any restrictions from Apple (you can even make it look like it has a Windows OS if you like). Another is that jailbreaking will install Cydia in your device which allows you access to thousands of mobile apps not found on the App store. Also, jailbreaking your device means it’s no longer locked to a certain carrier, which is good if you want to switch to a different carrier. And lastly, jailbreak is completely legal so no problems with the law there.

However, jailbreaking does pose a few disadvantages. Too many jailbreak apps tend to drain your battery faster, for one. Also, it is important that you know what you’re doing before jailbreaking your device because it can totally screw up your device.

A poll was conducted on pod2g’s blog to see if the hackers should release the 5.1 jailbreak or wait for the iOS 6 beta which is expected this summer. The majority, of course, voted that they want the 5.1 jailbreak released ASAP. So jailbreakers, let’s cross our fingers and hope that pod2g and the rest of the Chronic Dev team will allow us to download the iOS 5.1 jailbreak soon.

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Corona Jailbreak is a method that makes the process of jailbreaking your device easier by providing a simple GUI with two button layout. It automatically detects the device. All you have to do is simply click jailbreak button once the device is detected, wait for a few minutes, the device will restart and you now have a jailbroken device.

The new update, dubbed RedSnow 0.9.10b7, also includes extra features and support for your device. With this new jailbreak method, you can add A5 Corona untethered jailbreak on any iPhone 4s and iPad 2 running on iOS 5.0 to 5.0.1, reinstall the untethered jailbreak if accidentally erased or uninstalled, use SHSH blobs, and restore your device without using iTunes, among others.

As with mostly everything else in the world, jailbreaking your device has its pros and cons. The most important thing you must be aware of before jailbreaking your device is that it will void its warranty, meaning that if your device crashes, Apple will not assist you nor fix your jailbroken device. Another important thing to remember is that jailbreaking could make your device more vulnerable to being hacked, so if you have important personal data in your device, best not jailbreak it.

If voided warranty and security breach is of little worry to you, then jailbreaking can prove beneficial as it gives you more freedom to your device. Some of the perks of jailbreaking your device are the ability to install apps not found in the App store, allow your phone to switch service providers, as well as customize the appearance and behavior of your device.

To jailbreak or not, however, ultimately depends on the user and how he weighs the pros and cons on whether to unlock his device.

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Rumors have it that the Cupertino tech giant has a special project on the works regarding a primary gaming support specifically for the company’s iOS devices. Apple is said to be running a special undertaking that would produce their own game controller that would improve the game performance of gadgets like iPad, iPhone, and other portable devices.

Of course, this still an unofficial report and if it will actually come to light is still not known. However, whether this project will come to pass, it is still an important and needed addition that mobile hardcore gamers will soon want to avail. This is especially true when one considers that tablets and Smartphones are already becoming at par with game consoles presently existing. In must also be noted that iOS gadgets as well as its Android equivalents are becoming the latest direction that game developers are looking at.

Also, it is a known fact that Apple has been quietly bringing together experienced gaming experts that would be able to help the company as it moves to take a good part of the gaming business. So, if this project comes to pass, next-gen iPad and iPhone – iPad 4 and iPhone 6, respectively – may be the gadgets that would benefit from it.

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Strategically located at 112-114 Oxford Street and occupying the whole second floor of the building, the store features the widest range of Samsung handsets displayed on dressed down tables without pricing or carrier information sprawled on the surface. Popular Samsung mobile products like the Galaxy Note, Galaxy Tab 10.1, and Galaxy S II are displayed in the forefront of the store.

Could it be a decoy to compete with Apple’s London store which is located just around the corner? Well, it doesn’t seem to look like a total face-off. For one thing, Apple’s retail store is a stand-alone store whereas Samsung’s is situated inside the Phone 4U’s outlet. What we should take note of however is their resemblance. Both Samsung and Apple appear to have the same kind of “clean” look in their stores. Nevertheless, Samsung wants to reach out to customers who go to Apple stores frequently and make them feel at home with its roaming passionate and trained staff.

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Since the first Apple II Prince of Persia’s source code is contained within a 3.5-inch ProDOS disk, this would be a great project, indeed! And would you believe that the creator, Jordan Mechner had only discovered this disk after his dad sent him a box full of his stuff back in the day only a few days ago?

Actually, Mechner has been looking for this source code for quite some time now even spanning to about 10 years already. He has been looking everywhere and from everyone. Who would have thought that he only misplaced it himself?

So, for all of you out there who are interested in acquiring the latest readable format of the very first version of the Prince of Persia game, you will have to wait a little bit longer for the completion of this interesting project. Although Mechner plans to deal with the task as soon as possible together with a colleague, he is doing other projects presently. Just make sure to check out the progress via his feeds on his Facebook and Twitter accounts.

No need to be nervous as these is only a spreading rumor. The truth of the matter is that Apple is only trying to add voice-over-IP (VoIP) feature in its iOS devices particularly the iPhone and iPad. This move is not a strategy to take down network carriers but rather an indication that Apple wants to work more closely with its carrier partners.

Based on the listing, what Apple is looking for are engineers who have experience on VoIP schemes. The skills indicated fits or complements what carriers are actually trying to do in their next generation voice services. Skills listed include IP multimedia subsystem (IMS), session initiation protocol (SIP) and real-time transport protocol (RTP).

Actually, IMS was of particular interest as most carriers are onto it. For example, Verizon Wireless and MetroPCS have started to utilize their LTE architectures in relation to IMS. On the other hand, AT&T and Sprint are employing IMS for their future voice and SMS services.

Probably in the future, Apple may be launching a voice service on its own. We never really know for now if it would really happen.