Sony surprised many by saying it would back Mozilla’s HTML5-powered Firefox OS, but just two days later, the company is already giving device owners the opportunity play with the software after it released an experimental Firefox OS ROM for the Xperia E.

The company says it is ready to share its “initial experiments on Firefox OS with the tech community,”  using it as an opportunity to get feedback and allow developers and early adopters to get on board and start testing and creating apps and services for the platform.

For now, the only device that will support the Firefox OS ROM is the Xperia E. However, it appears Sony is willing to expand it to other Xperia smartphones over time. To flash the ROM, you’ll need to have an unlocked Xperia E. If that requirement has been fulfilled, then you can utilise Sony’s flash tool to transfer Firefox OS onto your device.

Sony is committed (with the help of Telefonica) to releasing a Firefox OS handset in 2014, joining ZTE, Alcatel, Huawei and LG.

Almost nine months after it brought Cloud Player to the iPhone, Amazon has announced that it has overhauled its iOS app and it now optimized for iPad and iPad mini, allowing users to access their music from their tablet device.

The iPad-optimized app provides the same features as it iPhone counterpart, but has been designed to take advantage f the iPad’s real estate, displaying tracks, albums and lists in a more visual manner. Like all of its mobile Cloud Player apps, users can store all of their Amazon music purchases and import up to 250 songs for free.

After that, Amazon requires users to sign up to one of its paid plans, offering storage for 250,000 tracks from $24.99 a year.

The update comes shortly after the online retailer announced it had struck a deal with Ford to offer owners of SYNC AppLink-enabled cars to interact with the Cloud Player app using voice commands.

➤  Amazon Cloud Player – iOS

Disclosure: This article contains an affiliate link. While we only ever write about products we think deserve to be on the pages of our site, The Next Web may earn a small commission if you click through and buy the product in question. For more information, please see our Terms of Service.

Update: A new version of the Kindle app has been released. Given the timing of the update, TNW presumes that it solves the below issue. Tread lightly, but Kindle for iOS should be safe again to update.

–

Amazon has warned users of its Kindle app for iOS to refrain from updating to the latest version after acknowledging that a “known issue” with its latest submission to the App Store.

According to TUAW, which was the first to spot the update on Amazon’s Kindle App Store page, the new update is affecting users’ Kindle book libraries, in some cases removing a user’s entire collection of books.

On the App Store, Amazon has updated the release notes to read:

Note: There is a known issue with this update. If you are an existing Kindle for iOS user, we recommend you do not install this update at this time.

Amazon had pushed a fix yesterday to remedy registration issues, but it seems it the new update affects user libraries instead.

Earlier this month, Amazon updated its Kindle iOS app with the ability to add multi-colored highlights to a book, instead of the default yellow (or blue if in night mode), sharing on Twitter and Facebook when users you finish a book (something that Kindle Fire owners have had for a while).  The company also included a prompt that asks users to review their books after they have finished reading them.

Amazon recently updated Kindle for iOS to support X-Ray for books, something that it had previously kept for its own devices. This habit illustrates Amazon’s desire to be the broker of its content on any platform that’s available, tying them into its ecosystem.

We have contacted Amazon for more information on the issue, we will update when we receive a response.

Update: Amazon has provided a statement to AllThingsD, noting that it has submitted a fix and is now waiting for Apple to approve it:

“We have identified an issue with the app update that may cause your app to become deregistered.

To register, enter your Amazon account e-mail address and password and all your Amazon content will be available in the cloud. We have submitted an update fix for this issue and are working with Apple to release.”

After more than 20 months without access to paid apps on Google Play, Taiwanese Android devices users will finally be able to download their favourite premium titles, after Google ended its dispute with the Taipei City Government over longer app trials.

Ealier today, Google told Focus Taiwan that it was “pleased to announce that Taiwan users can once again find and purchase apps on Google Play,” allowing Android device owners to not only see the Top Paid apps, but be able to purchase and download them to their smartphone or tablet.

The suspension came after Google and Apple were asked to set up a revised refund policy that would allow mobile users to claim money back on paid app downloads. Apple Asia responded before the deadline and amended its refund policy to comply with the request by extending its trial period from 15 minutes to a full seven days. Google did not reply.

Google faced TW$1,000,000 ($33,744) fines, receiving two in three weeks. Instead of complying, Google suspended downloads in the country.

While Google hasn’t stated why it has reopened downloads, but it suggests it has been able to come to an agreement with the Taipei City Government. We have contacted Google for clarification.

Regardless of where you sit in the Samsung copying Apple discussion, the Korean smartphone maker today announced its latest tool in the fight against its Cupertino rival: a Passbook-style ticket and coupon management app called Samsung Wallet.

Unveiling Wallet at its Developer Day at Mobile World Congress, Samsung explains that it has launched the tool with an open API, allowing users to save tickets, boarding passes, coupons and similar cards to the app and access them from a central hub.

At launch, the company has US partners onboard, including Walgreens, MLB, Expedia, Booking.com, Hotels.com and Lufthansa.

If you’re wondering if it has similarities to Apple’s Passbook, below is a shot of the UI:

The service has been rumored for some time, since Samsung filed a US trademark application on the term ‘Samsung Wallet’ back in March 2012. The app will not support payments but it does support NFC, but Samsung will likely lean on its partnership with VISA to offer NFC payments.

Like Apple’s Passbook, Samsung Wallet is able to deliver time and location based push notifications, notifying you when you are near a store or location that you can use a Wallet card. Always connected, membership cards and boarding passes can be updated in real-time.

For developers, the Samsung Wallet API is still in beta, but Samsung is allowing early sign-ups ahead of a March 7 launch. Applications are manually approved, but we imagine this will change when the service becomes more widely available.

Image Credit: @twandroid, @stroughtonsmith

With Ofcom’s 4G auction officially over and operators rush to prepare their own infrastructure, EE — the UK’s first 4G network — has today extended its 4G network even further, pushing LTE connectivity in nine new towns and cities.

The company says that mobile customers in Barnsley, Chorley, Coventry, Newport, Preston, Rotherham, Telford, Walsall and Watford will receive superfast mobile connections, taking the total tally up to 37, four months after EE switched on its first networks.

For EE, it’s another 9 of the 27 towns and cities that the company pledged to switch on at the beginning of the month. Following today’s announcement, the operator will cover roughly 45 percent of the UK, but hopes to cover 55 percent by the end of June.

By the end of Summer, EE hopes to be live in 72 towns and cities, just as Vodafone, O2 and Three all begin to launch their own services.

Last week, the UK’s 4G auction had concluded, with EE, Three, Niche Spectrum Ventures Ltd (part of BT), O2 and Vodafone raising £2.34 billion ($3.62 billion) to secure a total of 250 MHz of LTE spectrum. The five bidders each paid in the hundreds of millions of pounds to secure parts of the important 800 MHz and 2.6 GHz bands.

EE won two 5 MHz lots of 800 MHz and two 35 MHz lots of 2.6 GHz spectrum for a total of £588,876,000 ($909.5 million), Three secured two 5 MHz lots of 800 MHz for £225,000,000 ($347.5 million), as BT’s Niche Spectrum Ventures won two 15 MHz of 2.6 GHz and one 20 MHz lot of 2.6 GHz (unpaired) spectrum for £186,476,000 ($288 million).

Paying £550,000,000 ($852 million), Telefonica (O2) went on to win two 10 MHz lots of 800 MHz spectrum, which it will be obliged to provide to 98 percent of the UK.

Vodafone, perhaps the most vociferous of the operators following EE’s early launch of its 1800 MHz 4G networks last year, managed to get its hands on two 10 MHz lots of 800 MHz, two 20 MHz lots of 2.6 GHz and one 25 MHz lot of 2.6 GHz for a total of £790,761,000 ($1.22 billion).

Vodafone, O2 and Three hope to have their networks switched on by the end of spring, early summer. Then, we can expect price wars, speed claims and a whole lot of competition.

After teasing it for more than six months, Rovio is set to debut its new web-based cartoon series Angry Birds Toons on March 16, moving beyond gaming and into the world of programming.

The Finnish company says animiated series will “throw the doors to Piggy Island wide open,” offering Angry Birds fans the chance to learn more about the characters they have utilised in the mobile and Web apps. It may also answer some of the questions around why the birds and pigs actually began feuding.

Rovio’s “Mighty Eagle” Peter Vesterbacka told TNW in January that the series will build on the animated shorts the company has created for the franchise, particularly the Angry Birds Star Wars videos that helped build momentum for the new film partnership.

A new episode will be debuted every week from March 16, giving Rovio the opportunity to test the waters before it releases its first Angry Birds feature film in summer 2016.

Image Credit: lincolnblues/Flickr

Nintendo has confirmed that it will expand availability of the Wii Mini, putting the first-generation Wii console on sale in the UK on March 22.

Launching in Canada in December last year for $99, the Wii Mini doesn’t yet have a price in the UK, but we expect retailers to confirm whether they will be stocking the Mini and a dedicated price in the coming days.

At $99 (£65), you would hope that Nintendo will price the Mini to match the Canadian price. However, it remains to be seen what Nintendo has planned.

If Nintendo’s next-generation Wii U doesn’t impress and you are looking for something with a larger game catalog (and lower price), you do need to bear in mind that the console doesn’t have Wi-Fi or ethernet USB support, nor does it offer 480p component functionality. It will play all original games and support most accessories.

Nintendo has said that it will also add Mario Party 8, Wii Sports Resort, Mario Power Tennis and Super Paper Mario to its budget Nintendo Selects software collection to celebrate the launch.

Image Credit: popculturegeek/Flickr

Intel-owned Telmap is set to expand its navigation and location services after it announced a new deal with TomTom at MWC, with the Dutch mapping company powering Telmap mobile apps and services on major smartphone platforms.

Like Apple, Telmap will have access to TomTom’s POIs, 3D city maps and voice navigation services, providing app users with more contextual navigation and most importantly – highly accurate navigation and mapping data.

Acquired by Intel in September 2011, the Israeli company has traditionally provided white-label mapping and location-based services for apps (mainly in Europe).

At the end of 2012 it rolled out its own iOS and Android navigation app called M8 (pronounced ‘mate’) which offered turn-by-turn directions with local information, traffic updates and more.

The app originally launched in the UK and Spain, but following its deal with TomTom, we could see Telmap pushing its mobile-based apps more aggressively in the coming months.

It’s a big boost for TomTom, which found itself eclipsed by Google and Nokia in the race to dominate mapping solutions on mobile devices in previous years. The company has released its own apps — at a price — but has found more value providing its data and services to those looking to expand their own mapping platforms.

Oren Nissim, Telmap’s CEO, believes the TomTom partnership will help the company improve its search, mapping and navigation experiences, but will also pass that on to the app developers already invested in its ecosystem.

ZTE decided it would unveil a new range of Android smartphones before Mobile World Congress, but the company kept back some details on its new 5.7-inch ‘phablet’, the Grand Memo.

Bigger than Samsung’s Galaxy Note II, the ZTE Grand Memo is a huge handset. Taking up a large part of that is the 1280 x 720 display, but the device is powered by Qualcomm’s new quad-core SnapDragon 800 processor, has 1GB RAM, 16GB internal storage, a 13-megapixel rear-facing camera and 1-megapixel front-facing camera, LTE and a 3200mAh battery.

ZTE has opted for Android 4.1, which has been skinned using ZTE’s custom Android UI. This includes a custom launcher, an unlock pattern which involves holding a button with your finger for a few moments, and a lot of green.

We went hands-on with the device, you can check out gallery below:

ZTE says the Grand Memo will come to China in March, with a European markets following later in 2013.