T-Mobile Galaxy S3 Android 4.1.2 Update Release

The T-Mobile Galaxy S3 Android 4.1.2 update is now in the process of being rolled out to customers. The update brings Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean as well as a host of TouchWiz features. This update will be available for download over-the-air, which will be available until June 16th, and through Samsung Kies as well. Your device should notify you that an OTA update for it is available.  Back in January T-Mobile rolled out an over-the-air build T999UVDLJC update for Galaxy S3 which featured minor improvements and enhancements. The device needs to be running this build before it can be upgraded to the latest Android 4.1.2 firmware.

Apart from the Android OS update, features such as Multi-Window, Samsung Gallery, Easy Mode, Blocking Mode, Auto-pairing with NFC, Paper Artist and Sound Balance are on-board. It also brings enhanced Camera options for taking better photos and videos. To install this latest software update, make sure that your device is not rooted, it has battery over 50%, has a decent data connection as file size is 186MB and that you have the latest version of Kies installed, if manual update is your cup of tea.

iPhone-Operated Digital Lock Makes House Keys a Thing of the Past

Kevo lets you unlock the door with your iPhone in your pocket. Image: Kwikset

Kwikset’s new Kevo door lock turns your iPhone into the simplest of digital keys. Just have your phone in your pocket or purse, tap the Kevo lock, and you’re in.

We first saw the Kevo on ABC’s Shark Tank when UniKey CEO Phil Dumas pitched the idea to the program’s investors. He convinced Mark Cuban and Kevin O’Leary to hand over $500,000, then parlayed his 15 minutes of reality TV fame to raise another truckload of cash. Dumas eventually caught the attention of Kwikset, which partnered with him to make his dream a reality.

This thing is incredibly cool. The Kevo looks like an ordinary lock, but the halo of light surrounding the keyhole gives it a vaguely futuristic look. An app links your iPhone (sorry – no Android) to the lock using Bluetooth and the miracle of location services, eliminating the need to fumble through your pockets or purse for your keys. Just tap the lock with your finger and the halo flashes green, letting you know the door is unlocked. You don’t even need to take your iPhone out of your pocket.

Those of you with families or roommates will, of course, need more than one iPhone key, so the Kevo app lets you create electronic keys for other people. (Just remember they’ll need iPhones too.) It’s also a handy feature for giving, say, dog sitters or contractors access. As soon as they’re done with their work, just delete their key.

The Kevo knows when you’re inside, too. That way, some random creep walking down the street can’t simply tap the lock and wander in while you’re in the shower. This being 2013, the lock has various levels of encryption, making it difficult (though not impossible) to hack. Using Bluetooth and location services will probably suck your battery down with some haste, but Kwikset swears it won’t be a drastic drain. The Kevo lock runs on two AA batteries good for about a year, according to the company.

If you’re among the millions who haven’t drunk the iPhone Kool-Aid, don’t worry. You can still use the Kevo lock with the Kevo Fob. It does basically the same thing as the iPhone and app, but you only get one fob per lock. If you live with multiple people, you’ll need to shell out extra cash for more fobs. The lock is expected to come out this summer.

Tesla offers loaner cars

In a burst of service-related announcements today, Tesla says it will build a fleet of loaner cars for when owners have their cars in service, and says its battery warranty covers everything except collisions and intentional damage.

(Credit: Wayne Cunningham/CNET)

Tesla announced today that it would offer its high-end Model S Performance edition, with an 85 kilowatt-hour battery pack, and the Roadster as loaner cars for when owners' cars are being serviced. As Tesla sells cars directly to owners, the company, rather than a dealer, handles all service and loaner-car issues.

No matter what Model S version is in for service, owners will have their choice of the Model S Performance edition, which retails for $87,400, or one of the older Roadster models as a loaner car. Further, Tesla said it will let owners who would like to upgrade purchase the loaner car, with a depreciation rate of 1 percent per month of age and $1 dollar per mile on the odometer.

Tesla will deliver the loaner car to the owner's home, and pick up the car to be serviced.

In another announcement concerning the battery pack, Tesla says it will honor the eight-year warranty, replacing the battery pack, for any reason other than collision damage, intentional damage, or the pack being opened by non-Tesla personnel.

Tesla says it will also honor the warranty even if an owner does not schedule annual maintenance.

Apple’s WWDC starts June 10, will showcase new versions of iOS, OS X

Apple’s annual developers 

conference is set, and there will definitely be new software products on tap. On Wednesday morning the company said that its Worldwide Developers Conference will take place in San Francisco between June 10 and June 14. The main focus will be for developers learning about “the future of iOS and OS X,” according to the company’s press release.

“Our developers have had the most prolific and profitable year ever, and we’re excited to show them the latest advances in software technologies and developer tools to help them create innovative new apps,” SVP of Worldwide Marketing Phil Schiller is quoted saying in the release. “We can’t wait to get new versions of iOS and OS X into their hands at WWDC.”

That is a good indication that iOS 7 and OS X 10.9 will be introduced. What’s not as good a bet is that we’ll see new hardware introduced at the show: on Wednesday during Apple’s quarterly earnings call CEO Tim Cook referenced the company’s future products coming “this fall and throughout 2014.”

Tickets go on sale Thursday at 10 a.m. PT for $1,599.

Apple said its developers have created 850,000 apps for its iOS App Store and have been paid $9 billion since the App Store opened in 2008.

New design for the $100 bill

 Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesThe new design for the $100 bill, as provided by the Treasury Department.

It is one of our largest exports, a product made in America from start to finish and craved by businesses and consumers around the world. And the latest edition will be released in October. We speak, of course, about the $100 bill.

The Federal Reserve said Wednesday that it is finally ready to introduce a new design after nearly three years of delays because of printing problems and other issues.

It may seem odd that the world continues to crave paper. Americans are using fewer bills of all denominations. “For two decades, since the fall of the Soviet Union, demand has exploded for the $100 bill, which is hoarded like gold in unstable places. Last year Treasury printed more $100 bills than dollar bills for the first time. There are now more than seven billion pictures of Benjamin Franklin in circulation — and the Federal Reserve’s best guess is that two-thirds are held by foreigners. American soldiers searching one of Saddam Hussein’s palaces in 2003 found about $650 million in fresh $100 bills.”

And the product cannot be made more cheaply in China, or anywhere else.

There is, however, a lively market in knock-offs.

Facebook Home delivered to Google Play – available for Android now

If you've got one of the few smartphones compatible with Facebook Home (the app) here at the launch, you’re in luck! It’s out now, available for download from the Google Play app store and it’s completely free. Devices that can download and use Facebook Home right this minute include the Samsung Galaxy S III, Samsung Galaxy Note II, HTC One X, and HTC One X+ (everyone else is currently out of luck.)

What you’ll be doing to grab Facebook Home is heading to the Google Play app store and searching just that: “Facebook Home.” If you have one of the compatible phones listed above, you’ll see the app immediately and will be able to download and install with ease. When you first head back to your home screen after installing, you’ll be met by a pop-up that asks which launcher you’d like to use.

UPDATE: Facebook Home appears to be temporarily (hopefully) unavailable in the Google Play app store once again – check back soon!

If you choose Facebook Home, you’ll be brought into a brand new Facebook-centric universe, yours for the tapping. You’ll also want to make sure you've updated Facebook Messenger and your normal Facebook for Android app too – they all exist together in harmony. Have a peek at today’s “Chat Heads” update for more information on what Messenger brings to the table.

Above: Facebook’s newest advertisement for the Facebook Home experience released today.

Porsche’s First Plug-In Hybrid Is a 416-hp Super Sedan

We’re just five months away from the release of the 918 Spyder plug-in hybrid supercar. But before Porsche unleashes that beast onto the world, we’re getting a taste of all-electric performance Porsche-style in the form of the Panamera S E-Hybrid.

Based on the oh-so-subtly redesigned 2014 Panamera sedan, the S E-Hybrid takes the lessons learned from it first gas-electric model — the Panamera S Hybrid — and ups the ante with better batteries, more power and the ability to drive over 20 miles on electric power alone.

To start, the supercharged 3.0-liter V6 from the previous Panamera Hybrid remains, and when mated to a completely redesigned electric motor, offers up 416 horsepower and 435 pound-feet of torque in total. That combined output comes courtesy of a 95-hp electric motor — a substantial boost over the original Panamera Hybrid’s 47-hp electric mill.

Porsche has ditched the 7-speed PDK for an 8-speed gearbox. | Photo: Porsche

More importantly, Porsche has ditched the old-school nickel-metal hydride battery pack, which was only good for 1.7 kWh of juice, and swapped it for a 9.4 kWh lithium-ion pack that’s more modern, more energy dense and lighter. That pack allows around 20 miles of all-electric motoring and can be fully charged in about two and a half hours on a 240-volt outlet.

As for the rest of the stats, the S E-Hybrid is good for a 0-60 mph run of 5.2 seconds (that’s faster than the Boxster), a top speed of 167 mph and can run all the way up to 84 mph without every ticking over the gasoline-powered V6. Porsche is also touting the plug-in hybrid’s electric boost mode, that provides an electrically-assist shove when you mash the gas, as well as a coasting setting at higher speeds that shuts down the engine and relies solely on electric power to maintain momentum.

While the Porsche purists will surely cry foul at this latest perceived dilution of the brand, when the Stuttgart brain-trust puts their collective engineering minds to something, they make magic. How else do you explain an SUV that’s equally at home on the autobahn as the Baja and a hybrid sedan that was both Eco-friendly and driver-focused? Now we have a plug-in hybrid sedan, and the doubters are running out of reasons to kvetch.

Porsche hasn't released EPA mileage figures yet, but it has released a price: $99,000 when the Panamera S E-Hybrid goes on sale later this year.