Android Market has just received a new e-book portal has gone live. The app for selling the e-books is now live.  In the interim Google is buttering the music companies to get them for the streaming idea.

Jump to the e-book URL and enjoy the app. 

The Motorola Xoom in now available in store. After buying your much awaited Xoom tablet some of you will be interested in rooting the it. Peter Alfonso has the how to ready for you. To root your Xoom, follow the steps below:

1. Download xoomroot.zip and unzip it
2. Place the files in your SDK tools folder
3. adb reboot bootloader
4. fastboot oem unlock (be sure fastboot binary is in your path)
5. Accept the legal notice then wait for reboot
6. adb reboot bootloader
7. fastboot flash boot rootboot.img
8. fastboot reboot (wait for reboot)
9. adb remount
10. adb push su /system/bin
11. adb shell ln –s /system/bin/su /system/xbin/su
12. adb shell chmod 4755 /system/bin/su
13. Download Superuser app from Market

Thats it, your device is now rooted!

Note: If you do not understand parts of this guide or feel that you need further instructions, it is safe to assume you should not try this.

We are all looking around for free Wifi-hotspot, but we often forget the security risk involve in using free Wifi, check out CNET’S 6 ways to use public Wi-Fi hotspots safely.

Places like Starbucks, neighborhood cafes, Barnes & Noble, and universities are all jumping on the “free Wi-Fi” bandwagon–hey, it’s trendy. As a result, more of us are connecting to these networks without realizing the security risks.

But did you read the fine print? Wi-Fi hot spots are unsecured networks that hackers like to take advantage of. Everything–including your data, account information and passwords, Google searches, and finances–can become available to the hacker who wants it badly enough.

So before you pay your bills or write your genius business plan at the local cafe, get to know these six useful practices:

1. Be aware that you’re never secure. Wi-Fi hot spots are always unsecured connections, so you and potential hackers are hanging out in the same network bubble. It’s not difficult for one to tap into your activity and sniff out your personal information. So, even if a hot spot requires a password or guides you through a log-in screen, you’re still at risk.

2. Harness built-in security tools. Mac OS X and Windows have built-in security features that you should take advantage of. Enable your firewall (through security settings), and check off “Block all incoming traffic.” This setting will keep most of the bad guys out. Disabling file sharing (shown in the how-to video above) is also an important security measure.

3. Protect your passwords. Hackers can retrieve saved passwords from your registry or install keyloggers, which make your keyboard activity available to them (including passwords you type in). Install something like LastPass, a browser add-on that stores your passwords in the cloud–you’ll never have to type a thing and passwords won’t be saved on your computer.

4. Look for the padlock. Web sites that use HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) encrypt your activity, so anything you do on that site is confidential. Look for a padlock in the address bar, or simply check the URL for “https://…” Not all Web sites do this, but you can download HTTPS Everywhere, an add-on that will force an encrypted connection on many popular sites.

5. Check the network name. In an attempt to lure you in, hackers might set up fake networks like “FREE Public Wi-Fi”, or “Starbucks FREE.” Check with the venue’s employees to confirm the name of their network.

6. Use common sense. You should treat all open networks as a security risk. Don’t do any banking, online shopping, or other activities that would expose your private information. If you wouldn’t be willing to share it with the public, it can wait until you get home.

Do you have best practices for using Wi-Fi hot spots? Advise us in the comments below!

The Motorola Xoom tablet is easily the best competition Apple’s iPad has ever seen. Sporting a 10.1-inch screen, front and rear cameras, HDMI output, a dual-core processor, and Google’s tablet-optimized version of Android, the Xoom is entering the tablet wars with guns blazing.

Priced at $800 off-contract or $600 with a two-year commitment from Verizon, the Xoom isn’t out to win frugal customers. Instead, Motorola is taking the approach used with its successful line of Droid smartphones–emphasizing the device’s horsepower and the many capabilities not found on its Apple counterpart.

To this end, the Xoom’s spec sheet is an all-star cast of dual-core processors, multimegapixel cameras, expansion slots, and maxed-out RAM. Combine the hardware with Motorola’s exclusive access to Google’s long-awaited Android Honeycomb operating system, and you have one of the most talked-about tablets of 2011.

Does the reality of the Xoom match up with the hype? Let’s dive in and see what’s working and what could be better.

Read more

The good news has finally arrived!  The Samsung Captivate from AT&T is getting an update tomorrow. AT&T has officially announced the update via Facebook. This means starting tomorrow, the device will receive Android 2.2 aka Froyo update.

Since several devices have received the Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) update and Samsung is still lagging behind, many Samsung Captivate have begun to complain and get impatient. AT&T acted upon this disdain by using an explanatory video and Facebook message to bring forth all the details on why it took them quite sometimes to update their handsets.  AT&T also promised an update for the Aria very soon.

Let us know how well the update works. 

FCC shows the green flag to Chinese OEM Huawei.  The device, called Huawei U8500 is running Android 2.2 aka Froyo. The U8500 is heading to T-Mobile and supported 3G/4G network.

Huawei U8500 is loaded with Bluetooth, quad-band GSM/EDGE and 1700MHz AWS WCDMA spectrum. There’s also a camera, 3.5mm headset jack, and microUSB port. No further details on the price.

Stay tuned for more!