Visualized: Facebook Home's assortment of abodes

<div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;" trbidi="on"><div class="image-container" dir="ltr" style="text-align: center;"> <img alt="Visualized Facebook Home's variety of abodes" data-src-height="304" data-src-width="619" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/04/fbhome2.jpg" /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"> As you may have heard, Facebook Home has finally made its way to a select number of devices from HTC and Samsung. While the initial rollout was a little shaky, we were able to grab the social network's latest mobile triumph on every device that officially supports it. What you see above is the full spread of devices that are listed as candidates for the downloadable APK's launch (the HTC First excepted, which we have unfortunately already shipped away): from left to right, you'll see the Samsung Galaxy Note II, Galaxy S III, HTC One X+, One X and the One. For folks who already have access to it, the One isn't officially supported yet, but it's been announced and it should be coming soon.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"> We've already gone into painstaking detail of Facebook Home in our review of the HTC First, so we won't dwell too much on the downloadable version. In short, as we expected, the interface seems quite a bit more quiet than our experience on the First simply because it doesn't offer the same system-level integration; in other words, the devices shown in the above image are only able to display notifications related to Facebook services. You can still access your usual suite of alerts through the status bar at the top of the screen, but just make sure to go into Home settings to enable this functionality. Aside from the difference in notifications, the downloadable APK differs from the First's pre-loaded version in that no Google search bar sits upon the top of Home's app menu. Other than that, you'll be hard-pressed to find any major variances in Cover Feed, chat heads or the app launcher. If you're curious to see exactly what it looks like on a Samsung Galaxy S III, check out our gallery of screenshots below.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"> Note: To ensure that everything works the way it should on your phone, make sure the official Facebook and Messenger apps are installed and completely up-to-date.</div></div>

Visualized: Facebook Home's assortment of abodes

As you may have heard, Facebook Home has finally made its way to a select number of devices from HTC and Samsung. While the initial roll...

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T-Mobile LTE speed tests on Note II, HTC One and iPhone 5

<div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;" trbidi="on"><div class="copy post-body" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"> <div class="image-container" style="text-align: center;"> <img alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/03/dsc06472.jpg" /></div>Wondering whether T-Mobile's LTE network has the chops to live up to the "smokin'" adjectives we had thrown our way throughout the event? We certainly were, so we headed right to the suite of devices and got our hands-on all the phones we could. Speeds are quite good in general -- but interestingly things did start slowing down as more and more folks fired up Ookla's SpeedTest app, doing all they could to test T-Mo's nascent network. Join us after the break for our findings.<br /> The Samsung Galaxy Note II was first up, and that delivered a very healthy average of 40Mbps down over three runs, with upload speeds hovering around 25Mbps. The HTC One came second (sadly, there's no GS 4 to test) and speeds there averaged 25Mbps down and about 12 up. Finally, we tested two separate iPhone 5s and, interestingly, saw different speeds. The first averaged 26Mbps down, the second 18 -- despite being tested at the same time. Download speeds hovered around 10Mbps and pings were always very good, typically under 50ms.<br /> So, as ever numbers vary widely from test to test, but the network can certainly deliver some impressive numbers on average. Of course, how it performs with the crush of thousands of subscribers remains to be seen. T-Mobile CEO John Legere told us the company has plenty of bandwidth and encouraged subscribers to "bring it." That they will, John.<br /> </div></div>

T-Mobile LTE speed tests on Note II, HTC One and iPhone 5

Wondering whether T-Mobile's LTE network has the chops to live up to the "smokin'" adjectives we had thrown our way thr...

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Galaxy S III bug disables lock screen, grants full access, tests patience

<div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"> <img alt="Galaxy S III bug disables lock screen, grants full access, tests patience" data-src-height="410" data-src-width="619" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/03/dsc1521.jpg" /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;">Lock screens are around for a reason: to keep people from getting where they shouldn't. They aren't always infallible, though, and a few weeks ago, we saw a vulnerability in several builds of iOS 6 that granted access to the phone module without a passcode. Then, a couple of days ago, we reported on a Galaxy Note II bug that allows the quick-fingered to launch anything immediately behind the lock screen. Now, a similar flaw has been found on the Galaxy S III that breaks the lock screen altogether, permitting full use of the phone. To replicate the bug, you'll need to tap the "Emergency Call" button on the lock screen, then go into the ICE (emergency contacts) menu. From there, press the home button, followed quickly by the power button, and that's it. If successful, pressing the power button again will bring up the home screen straight away, and what's more, the lock screen won't return until the handset is restarted. Sounds worryingly simple, right? In our experience, not so much.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"> We first tried this method on an S III running Android 4.0.4 ICS, and a Note II for good measure, but to no avail. Then, we had a crack at an S III running 4.1.2 Jelly Bean, and were close to giving up trying to replicate it when <em>voilà</em>, it worked. We hoped to provide you with a video of the bug, but it must be camera shy. Despite literally hundreds of attempts in front of the lens and several more behind it, we've only managed it once -- we found it impossible to nail down the correct timing between the home and power button pushes. Samsung's likely aware of the bug already and when quizzed about the Note II vulnerability, said a fix for lock screen issues on affected "Galaxy devices" was in the works (read: they didn't say the Note II specifically). We've reached out for comment just to be sure, but until a patch is provided, keep your phone concealed from nosey types who read tech sites and have saint-like patience.</div></div>

Galaxy S III bug disables lock screen, grants full access, tests patience

  Lock screens are around for a reason: to keep people from getting where they shouldn't. They aren't always infallible, though, an...

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Which T-Mobile smartphones will support LTE?

<div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;" trbidi="on"><hr dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" /> <div class="copy post-body" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"> <div class="image-container" style="text-align: center;"> <img alt="Which T-Mobile smartphones will support LTE?" data-src-height="340" data-src-width="620" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/01/t-mobile-lte-1359591227.jpg" /></div>It's no secret that T-Mobile is on the cusp of lighting up its first LTE network in Las Vegas, but with Kansas City soon to follow -- and ambitions of extending LTE coverage to 100 million Americans by mid-year -- it's time to start factoring this consideration into your next smartphone purchase. While the carrier's HSPA+ 42 network is certainly speedy, there's no point in saddling yourself with a device that's rooted in the past. Want to make sure you're ready for what comes next? Read on for everything you need to know.<br /> As it stands, T-Mobile currently sells three smartphones that'll support its nascent LTE network. The first two are the Galaxy Note II and the Lumia 810 -- both of which must receive a software update to enable the functionality. We recently spoke with T-Mobile about the matter, and while representatives confirmed the pair would be updated, the company isn't ready to discuss a timeline. The third smartphone that's known to support LTE over Band 4 (1700MHz AWS) is the Nexus 4, and while it's completely possible to enable this dormant feature, the phone has yet to receive FCC certification for this purpose. We're cautiously hopeful that the Nexus 4 will be certified for LTE Band 4, but until this happens, operation in this mode is illegal and comes at your own risk.<br /> Beyond this trio, T-Mobile has revealed two forthcoming smartphones that'll support its flavor of LTE: the BlackBerry Z10 and a revised Galaxy S III. Both devices will offer LTE connectivity out of the box, but T-Mobile has yet to nail down a specific release date for either handset. In the case of the BlackBerry Z10, it won't hit store shelves until mid-March at the very earliest.<br /> All things told, the Galaxy Note II, Lumia 810 and Nexus 4 are each worthwhile purchases. If you're looking to buy a T-Mobile smartphone today, we recommend you choose among these three. If you're less than thrilled with the bunch (and you're willing to wait), the BlackBerry Z10 or the retooled Galaxy S III each merit consideration. Beyond that, we've no doubt that T-Mobile has many other juicy, LTE-enabled smartphones in the pipeline. Just remember to shop smart, folks.<br /> </div></div>

Which T-Mobile smartphones will support LTE?

It's no secret that T-Mobile is on the cusp of lighting up its first LTE network in Las Vegas, but...

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