While we still wait for the official release of the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich ROM for Samsung Galaxy SII, there are some pre-release versions of the firmware floating around the net. In the past we reported and presented a guide for one such leaked version of the Android 4.0.3 for the SGSII. In the past weeks there have been a number of such releases. And now the latest leak is a beta version of the Android 4.0.3 ICS ROM for Galaxy SII with the build no. I9100XXLPB. Based on the reports many of the bugs that were apparent in the earlier leaks have been fixed in this latest beta and is more or less ready for the daily usage.

Here are some user notes:

Interface: Kind of 3D effect when scrolling.
Battery: Lots better than early ones.
Faster: Feels the same as LP6
Touch: Same as LP6.
Overall: Better score in our eyes than LP6 .
Facelock: Same as LP6 working fine.
Task: Same as version LP6.

However, keep in mind that this is still a beta software and NOT comes through the official Samsung channels so use it with caution!

Note: Rooting, Jailbreaking or customizing your device can be risky, and you may end-up bricking your device! Follow the instructions posted here at your own responsibility as Inspired Geek will not be responsible for any damage to your device.

So after the usual word of caution lets get started on how to install this latest leaked firmware on Samsung Galaxy S2 device.

Required Downloads

- Download the ODIN file and then extract the .zip file.

- Download Android 4.0.3 ICS Beta Build I9100XXLPB and extract the contents/files of Android 4.0.3 ICS to the desktop.

– Correct KIES USB drivers must be installed, so that programs can communicate with the device. Reboot computer after driver installation if required.

- If KIES is running in the background then turn it off as it may interfere with the ODIN.

Procedure – Flash Android 4.0.3 On Samsung Galaxy SII

Step 1: Make sure that your device is in USB debugging mode: Settings -> Applications -> Development -> USB debugging.
Step 2:  Reboot your device into download mode. To do so: Turn the device off, then power it on again by pressing and holding Volume Down + Home + Power simultaneously.

Step 3: Start ODIN.

Step 4: Connect the device to your computer via USB.
Step 5: Wait a few seconds, the ODIN screen will show that a device is now connected
- Make sure that in ODIN nothing is checked, except the "Auto reboot" and "F. Reset Time" checkboxes.
- Press the "PDA" button, and select the the extracted tar file I9100_CODE_I9100XXLPB_CL99600_REV02_user_low_ship.tar (from extracted Download above that you placed on desktop) to flash the firmware.

- Press the "Phone" button, and select the the extracted tar file MODEM_I9100XXLPB_REV_02_CL1101286.tar (from extracted Download above that you placed on desktop) to flash the modem.

- Press the "CSC" button, and select the the extracted tar file GT-I9100-MULTI-CSC-OXXLP5_RST.tar (from Required Downloads above) to flash the CSC.

- Press "Start".

- ODIN will now flash the above components.

- Device should reboot after flashing the Android 4.0.3 firmware components on your Samsung Galaxy SII device.

Step 6: After the device reboots you will have Ice Cream Sandwich based on Android 4.0.3 leaked beta version on your Samsung Galaxy S2 (SII)!

You might also be interested to have a look at the Samsung Galaxy S II section on our website where we have covered a large collection of tweaks, tips&tricks and rooting and custom ROM installation guides for the Samsung Galaxy S2 (SII).

[source]

Download and Install Stock Android 4.0.3 ICS ROM On Samsung Galaxy S2 (SII) [Beta Build I9100XXLPB]

A report from Daiwa Securities mentions that the highly anticipated “true” next-gen iPhone 5 will be released by Apple in June this year (2012) at WWDC (Worldwide Developers Conference). The same event at which Apple released the earlier iPhones except for the iPhone 4S for which it deviated from the tradition and was released few months later (Oct 2011) in the last year. Actually this rumor aligns well with some earlier reports/rumors were also pointing in the direction of summer release of the iPhone 5. If these rumors hold true than it implies a much shorter life-span for the iPhone 4S as the “flagship iPhone device” from Apple as compared to the earlier iPhone 4. There are also reports that iPhone 5 will deploy glass-to-glass technology benefiting TPK Holding and Wintek. This is again seems related to yet another rumor that was circulating around the web that iPhone will support a larger 4-inch display to cope with an array of Android devices bursting to the scene with the large HD displays making current Apple iPhone seem a much tiny device. I would say that I will love Apple to go this route as this is one of the most wanted feature in the new iPhone 5 in my book and hopefully also high on many peoples wish list for the new flagship from the mobile industry giant.

iPhone 5 in addition to the above is also expected to come packed with the radically different new more “curved” design, an Apple A6 quad-core based chip right at the heart of the new device, more RAM, more integrated memory, possible NFC implementation, a new more refined iOS 5 version to support the new (yet unknown probably exclusive) features of the iPhone 5. Its also expected by many analysts that new Apple mobile device will be a world phone including support for true 4G technologies. Personally, I also expect that iPhone 5 will likely come with a much refined version of the Siri that will be even more impressive than what we have seen on iPhone 4S.

Considering the quantity and quality of new features that are being expected from the upcoming iPhone 5 we just can’t do anything else but keep our fingers crossed in anticipation! Dates for the planned WWDC event haven’t been announced yet but its likely to be in June 11-15th time-frame if the earlier leaks are any indication. You can follow all iPhone 5 release and features related rumors in the relevant iPhone 5 section on our website.

[via]

iPhone 5 to be Released in June at WWDC 2012 [Report]

Samsung Galaxy SII has enjoyed immense success in the Android mobile market even more so than the original Galaxy S which started all the craze. This is partly because of the rave reviews it received from around the globe from many industry experts. Now year 2012 has started and it means that everyone is waiting for the successor to the highly successful Samsung flagship product to be released in a couple of months namely Samsung Galaxy SIII (S3). It was generally believed by most industry insiders that Samsung will announce its new Samsung Galaxy SIII (S3) on the Mobile World Congress (MWC) which is now just a couple of weeks away. Well, it has been confirmed by Samsung now that Samsung Galaxy SIII (S3) will NOT be announced at the MWC although for sure some other exciting mobile products might be unveiled by company but users waiting for the Galaxy S3  announcement will have to wait a bit longer!

"Samsung is looking forward to introducing and demonstrating exciting new mobile products at Mobile World Congress 2012.

"The successor to the Galaxy S2 smartphone will be unveiled at a separate Samsung-hosted event in the first half of the year, closer to commercial availability of the product.

"Samsung stays committed to providing the best possible mobile experiences for customers around the world."

According to the Samsung announcement Samsung Galaxy SIII (S3) will be released in the first half of this year in a separate/dedicated event most likely close to the release of the actual product. This will likely align the Samsung Galaxy SIII (S3) official announcement with the release and eventual availability of the next-gen iPhone 5 in July this year (provided if Apple does release the iPhone 5 in July). This decision by Samsung to delay the announcement and release of the Samsung Galaxy SIII (S3) might be related to some technical issues faced by the company as its expected that nextgen Android phone by Samsung will support a number of cutting edge technologies such as a quad-core chip, 720p HD Super-AMOLED variety display, a 12 megapixel camera and number of other innovations and rounding out the deal with the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich OS. However, delay of the Samsung Galaxy SIII (S3) might also be related to a decision taken by Samsung to better align the release schedule of their flagship Android device with the Apple iPhone release schedule. But nothing can be said for sure about this decision at this time.

We have covered a lot of rumors and leaks about the Samsung Galaxy SIII (S3) in the past. In particular you will not like to miss the following relevant articles:

• Samsung Galaxy S III (S3) to Use Quad-core Exynos 4412 Processor & 5X Bump in GPU Performance ?
• Samsung Galaxy S3 (SIII): More Features Leak in an Internal Presentation! [Rumors]

You might also be interested to have a look at the Samsung Galaxy S II section on our website where we have covered a large collection of tweaks, tips&tricks and rooting and custom ROM installation guides for the Samsung Galaxy S2 (SII).

[via]

Confirmed: Samsung Galaxy SIII (S3) to be Released in First Half of 2012!

A lot of time has passed since Google announced its next major iteration of the Android mobile OS in the form of Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) or Android 4.0 if you like to mention it in version numbering format. Afterwards since Google pushed the source code of the Android 4.0 out of the window developers from different Android handset vendors as well as members of the Android developer communities at the forums like XDA have been hard at work to port it to at least the most popular devices that are currently available. In Nov. last year we brought you a version of the Android 4.0 AOSP flavor to install on your Samsung Galaxy S which is still one of the most popular Android devices around despite its age. And it’s the one that started all the craze and is the predecessor of the insanely popular Samsung Galaxy SII that we all used to know and love. At that time the version of the Android 4.0 that we reported was still not stable and more importantly some features were missing namely – Bluetooth, GPS, camera and video recorder functionality. I recently noticed that Onecosmic’s ICS Port Android 4.0.3 RC3.1 for Samsung Galaxy is out. Since it a release code version, so its is extremely stable and feature complete version of the ICS ready to be deployed on your Samsung Galaxy S device!

One of of the best features is that its purely AOSP experience as Google implemented in Android – no layering of other branded TouchWiz and GUI elements on top. Here is a list of key features that have been reported to work fine in this build:

Hardware Acceleration
RIL(Radio Interface Link = Calls / Texts / Data)
Audio
Touch
Wi-Fi
Both SD Cards (Internal & External)
Android Market access
Contacts sync
Calendar sync
Camera(Video Recording & Pictures)
Panorama mode
Face Unlock
GPS
Bluetooth
Wired tethering
FM Radio(Download Spirit FM from Android Market)
Wireless tethering

As you can notice this is an almost final build and supports the Hardware acceleration on Samsung Galaxy S and other features such as Bluetooth, GPS and Camera are also working! You can download Android 4.0.3 port for Samsung Galaxy S from here. Flashing this firmware on your Samsung Galaxy S is very simple. Just boot in Recovery Mode and flash the attached firmware file linked above and then remember to wipe data / factory reset and Wipe cache and reboot the device to get it booted in the Android 4.0.3 ICS on your Galaxy S! If you are novice user and not sure about the CWM, recovery mode and flashing procedure on Android devices then please take a look at this excellent tutorial and everything will become very clear to you!

All credit goes to the talented developers at the XDA forums that made it possible. For more details, updates and user feedback please have a look at the original thread at XDA forums.

Here is a video showing Android 4.0.3 in action on a Samsung Galaxy S:

Install Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich AOSP on Samsung Galaxy S I9000 [Near Final Version]

Hulu is an online service that offers ad-supported on demand streaming services of movies, TV shows, trailer and movie clips etc. This service for the time being is only available to the users from United States and Japan, Hulu provides most of its contents in the flash format usually 288p, 360p, 480p and in some cases HD 720p. Hulu while currently available for Android but it doesn’t support all Android devices and even some well known devices are missing in support. An XDA-Developer blunttedsmurf has modified the Hulu apk file and provided it for all the Android users. In other words this modified apk file makes Hulu working on all Android phones! Best of all it doesn’t even requires the root access! It should be noted as made clear by the developer as well that this app will NOT enable you to access all the paid content on Hulu Plus. For viewing paid contents you still need to get paid subscription but only it makes it compatible with all Android phones out there.

As the title states, I have modded the huluplus.apk to work on any android device. It does not, I repeat does not require root!! YAY!!! No it does not give you free access to hulu plus, you still have to get a paid subscription to view the paid content. But if you don’t have paid subscription, you can still view the free gallery. Enough talking I hope you enjoy this.

And here are the download links:

• ModHuluplus.apk
• Landscape Mod Huluplus.apk

For more updates and user feedback please refer to the original thread at the XDA forums.

Download Modified Hulu Apk Working on All Android Devices [No Root Required]

There are so many advantages for which an iOS device user might want to jailbreak his/her device including custom theme installations, wi-fi tethering, more flexible app backups, modification or enhancements to core Apps such as notification system, spring-board, custom toggles, unlocking the device etc.. There are countless other benefits of course and considering this there is no wonder that there was so much excitement when the untethered jailbreak for the iOS 5.0.1 on newer A5 based devices was released a few days back. If you are willing to sacrifice some of the stability on your iDevice for a lot of extra functionality and tweaks and enhancements then jailbreaking your iDevice can be well worth it. Particularly these days most of the jailbreak tools available such as Redsn0w, Sn0wbreeze and the recent one GreenPois0n Absinthe are really very simple to operate even by a novice user. Once you jailbreak you device then there is vast collection of Cydia apps and tweaks that are awaiting for your attention in the Cydia store to be explored. While some of the more useful apps are available in paid versions only but most of the them are available for free, And even in case of paid Cydia apps usually there is a small amount of money that is charged by the developer to compensate for the amount of effort and time he put to bring some useful features to the table for the jailbroken iDevices.

Such is the case for the SessionFiend a recently released jailbreak tweak available through Cydia that makes Apple Safari on iOS much more useful. By default we all know that Safari the stock browser on iOS devices is quite limited. One of the key omissions that I am sure many users might have noticed is there is no function that allows to save the current tab session in the browser and restore it later for reading. This feature could come quite handy for many users. This is the exact feature that is added to Safari by the SessionFiend Cydia tweak! and it does this with a very native look&feel in the Safari browser. SessionFiend is basically a fully featured session manager for Safari that allows you to save, edit and restore a group of tabs with ease. It integrates flawlessly into Safari’s bookmark list for a native, built in feel.

You can download the SessionFiend for an introductory time-limited price of $1 from the Cydia. Note that while SessionFiend is compatible with both iPhone and iPad, it only works on iOS 5 based devices. Of course you will need to have a jailbroken iDevice on iOS 5! Please have a look in the jailbreak section on our website to get latest guides to jailbreak your iPhone, iPad on the iOS 5/5.0.1. Check out more awesome Cydia tweaks and apps in the Cydia section on our website!

Save Your Current Tabs Session to Restore Later in iOS 5 Safari For iPhone and iPad [Cydia Tweak]

Its just a couple of says ago that Greenpois0n Absinthe for Apple A5 chip based devices was released to get untethered jailbreak on iOS 5/5.0.1 based devices namely iPhone 4S and iPad 2. Users of the older A4 based iDevices have already been enjoying the untethered iOS 5.0.1 jailbreak since it was released a couple of weeks ago in the form of updated Redsn0w tool as well as later an updated version of the Sn0wbreeze for the Windows users who are interested in preserving the baseband of their device while jailbreaking. There was only one downside at the time Greenpois0n Absinthe was released (a big one!) that it was only available for the Mac at that time. That’s right most of the jailbreak users who wanted to get their hands on this iOS 5.0.1 jailbreak for their A5 devices were left in the cold at that time. Although shortly afterwards a CLI tool for Greenpois0n Absinthe was released that allowed the iPhone 4S and iPad2 jailbreak opportunity for the Windows users as well. Although that was a bit more advanced for the novice users. Now today the wait is finally over as we have the Greenpois0n Absinthe available for the Windows as well! No longer you need to mess with the CLI version of the tool to jailbreak your iPhone 4S/iPad 2.

Greenpois0n Absinthe for windows is exactly the same in terms of functionality as well as GUI as the Mac version. So you can follow the exact same guide that we brought you yesterday to jailbreak your iPhone 4S and iPad 2 on iOS 5.0.1 on Mac to do the same on a Windows machine.

[Download Greenpois0n Absinthe For Windows]

You might also be interested to have a look at the following guides:

• Jailbreak iPhone 4S, iPad 2 iOS 5.0.1 Untethered Using GreenPois0n Absinthe A5 [Guide](Mac)
• How To Jailbreak iPhone 4S, iPad 2 iOS 5.0.1 in Windows Using GreenPois0n Absinthe CLI [Guide] (Windows)

Download Greenpois0n Absinthe For Windows To Jailbreak iPhone 4S, iPad 2 on iOS 5.0.1 & iOS 5.0

Whited00r provides customized latest iOS firmware’s (i.e., iOS 5) that can’t be installed on older iDevices such as iPhone 2G, iPhone 3G and old iPod Touch devices on which Apple has already closed the doors in terms of latest iOS support. Latest version Whited00r 5.1 has been released recently that allows to get the iOS 5 features of the iPhone 4/3GS/4S etc. on your poor old above mentioned iDevices that have long been neglected by the latest iOS firmware updates. Most of the iOS 5 features are supported including the multitasking, reminders, Newsstand, ability to set custom wallpapers and many other features. However, iOS 5 notification center has been removed because of the extensive use of the memory particularly straining on the older gen iDevices. Furthermore, note that you won’t be able to use the Apple App store on the older iPhone 2G/3G and iPod Touch 1G/2G because of the support of these devices have been removed by Apple from the App store. You can get the Whited00r 5.1 ipsw for free for your specific device from the official website of the project.

Please note that Whited00r 5.1 is available for free and don’t require your device to be jailbroken. You just need to download the custom iOS 5 ipsw file matching your device and restore it through iTunes on your device. Very clear installation instructions are provided here if you are not sure on how to use. Its preferred to use a clean installation to avoid any troubles. Finally here is (partial) changelog of the Whited00r 5.1:

- Cydia 1.1.3 Preinstalled (last stable release)
- YouTube certificates needed for hacktivated device
- PNGs optimization for native apps and global GUI
- Improved Brightness menu
- New Touch Menu for user with problems to touch screen
- Reset menu modded: reset a jailbroken device causes problems
- Custom whited00r Copyright page
- iOS5 animated Bootlogo ready for LogoMii (not installed by default)
- iOS5 shadows included in default wallpapers (good looking without slow down the device)
- Wallpaper on HomeScreen (thanks to Darlo770)
- iOS4 wallpapers set by default (ready at the first boot)
- iOS5.1 wallpapers included (ported from iPad firmware)

Whited00r 5.1 is available for the following devices:

- iPhone 2G
- iPhone 3G
- iPod Touch 1G
- iPod Touch 2G

Download & Install Custom iOS 5 IPSW Firmware To iPhone 2G/3G and iPod Touch 1G/2G via Whited00r 5.1

We already have updated version of Redsn0w released a couple of weeks ago that allows to get untethered jailbreak iOS 5.0.1 on iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPod Touch 4G and iPad. Latest versions of Redsn0w tool also allows to preserve the baseband of the iDevice to get unlock latter using Ultrasn0w if desired by the user. This is very important because its getting difficult to support the unlock on newer basebands. Baseband preservation mode is a features that has been traditionally associated with the windows tool called Sn0wbreeze. Which is functionally equals to the Mac exclusive PwnageTool which serves the same purpose. Now the developer iHacksn0w has updated the Sn0wbreeze in a major way and the latest version Sn0wbreeze 2.9.1 supports untethered iOS 5.0.1 jailbreak of Apple A4 based devices namely iPad 1, iPod Touch 4G, iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS. Procedure actually involves cooking a custom firmware using the tool and then restoring it using iTunes software on the iOS device. Sn0wbreeze is particularly appealing to the users of iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS that want to preserve the baseband of their device while restoring the iOS 5.0.1.

You can download the latest version Sn0wbreeze 2.9.1 for windows from here and then follow this guide to cook a custom iOS 5.0.1 firmware that can be restored on the iDevice using iTunes. All of these steps have been detailed in the above mentioned guide and procedure is exactly the same except of course you need to use the latest version of the Sn0wbreeze 2.9.1 and also the latest iOS 5.0.1 firmware with it.

If you want to jailbreak and then unlock your iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 on iOS 5.0.1 while preserving the baseband of your device using Redsn0w then follow our guides that we posted earlier:

• Preserve Baseband & Untethered Jailbreak iOS 5.0.1 On iPhone 4/3GS, iPhone 4 CDMA Using Redsn0w 0.9.10b1 [Windows/Mac Guide]
• Unlock iOS 5.0.1 Baseband On iPhone 4 / 3GS Using Ultrasn0w 1.2.5 [How to]

If you want to jailbreak iOS 5.0.1 on your iDevice but NOT concerned about preserving the baseband of your iDevice then please follow our guide:

• Untethered Jailbreak iOS 5.0.1 On iPhone 4/3GS, iPhone 4 CDMA, iPad1, iPod Touch Using Redsn0w 0.9.10b1 [Windows/Mac Guide]

To later unlock your iPhone 4 or iPhone 3GS follow this guide to do using Ultrasn0w:

• Unlock iOS 5.0.1 Baseband On iPhone 4 / 3GS Using Ultrasn0w 1.2.5 [How to]

In case you are using the newer A5 based Apple devices namely iPhone 4S or iPad 2 then follow any of the below mentioned guides to get the untethered jailbreak:

• Jailbreak iPhone 4S, iPad 2 iOS 5.0.1 Untethered Using GreenPois0n Absinthe A5 [Guide] (Mac)
• How To Jailbreak iPhone 4S, iPad 2 iOS 5.0.1 in Windows Using GreenPois0n Absinthe CLI [Guide] (Windows)

Jailbreak iOS 5.0.1 Untethered On iPhone 4,3GS(Preserve Baseband), iPad 1, iPod Touch 4G Using Sn0wbreeze 2.9.1

We have already reported that a tool named GreenPois0n Absinthe has been released by the GreenPios0n team that allows to get untethered jailbreak on Apple A5 based devices namely iPhone 4S and iPad 2. Here is simple guide to use that tool. But unfortunately that tool is only available for Mac OSX. What about the Windows users? So they will have to wait may be few more days to get their hands on this Absinthe graphical tool port for Windows. If you are a Windows users and can’t wait to get a iOS 5.0.1 jailbreak on your iPhone 4S or iPad 2 then there is way! Luckily for most of us that are Windows users there is a CLI tool that has been made available for Windows and this tool can be used do the jailbreak process on Windows. Here is simple guide to use the GreenPois0n Absinthe CLI.

Note: Rooting, Jailbreaking or customizing your device can be risky, and you may end-up bricking your device! Follow the instructions posted here at your own responsibility as Inspired Geek will not be responsible for any damage to your device.

Downloads

• Download and install the latest iTunes software.
• Download GreenPois0n Absinthe CLI.
• iOS 5.0.1 stock firmware

Jailbreak iPhone 4S, iPad 2 on iOS 5.0.1 Procedure

1: Unzip the internal contents of the cinject_0.4.3.zip that you downloaded on folder placed on desktop.

2: Now go to the Start menu and click on the Run.

3: Type cmd.exe in there and hit Enter.

4: Now the command prompt terminal will appear.

5: You need to navigate to the folder where internal contents of the cinject_0.4.3.zip have been extracted in Step 1 (i.e., if on desktop then type ‘cd Desktop/cinject_0.4.3′ to navigate to that directory in the command terminal).

6: Type and Execute the command: cinject.exe -i payloads/jailbreak.mobileconfig 
7: Type and Execute the command: cinject.exe -j payloads 
8: Type and Execute the command: cinject.exe –w

9: Go to Setting applet and toggle the VPN switch on which will results in an error being generated that you should ignore and then device will reboot after few seconds.

10: Afterwards find and tap the “Absinthe” icon that has been placed on one of your iOS device home-screens which will result in jailbreak process to get complete and reboot the device.

11: Finally observe that “Absinthe” icon on the home-screen is replaced with the Cydia icon after the jailbreak process completes!

Enjoy the untethered jailbreak iOS 5/iOS 5.0.1 on your iPhone 4S or iPad 2 device using GreenPois0n Absinthe CLI tool! If you have a Mac then you might find this tutorial much simpler to follow:

• Jailbreak iPhone 4S, iPad 2 iOS 5.0.1 Untethered Using GreenPois0n Absinthe A5 [Guide]

If you want to jailbreak and then unlock your iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 on iOS 5.0.1 while preserving the baseband of your device then follow our guides that we posted earlier:

• Preserve Baseband & Untethered Jailbreak iOS 5.0.1 On iPhone 4/3GS, iPhone 4 CDMA Using Redsn0w 0.9.10b1 [Windows/Mac Guide]
• Unlock iOS 5.0.1 Baseband On iPhone 4 / 3GS Using Ultrasn0w 1.2.5 [How to]

If you want to jailbreak iOS 5.0.1 on your iDevice but NOT concerned about preserving the baseband of your iDevice then please follow our guide:

• Untethered Jailbreak iOS 5.0.1 On iPhone 4/3GS, iPhone 4 CDMA, iPad1, iPod Touch Using Redsn0w 0.9.10b1 [Windows/Mac Guide]

How To Jailbreak iPhone 4S, iPad 2 iOS 5.0.1 in Windows Using GreenPois0n Absinthe CLI [Guide]