As everyone probably knows at this point, each time an Android app is installed it has to tell the user what it will want access to. Be it location, SMS or general internet access, it’s all laid bare for us to see. It means that we can ask questions when an app asks for far too many permissions for what it’s supposed to do, for example. The problem is, not everyone pays attention.

Although many key details pertaining to Apple’s forthcoming iOS 7 remain under wraps, one seemingly certain alteration will be the removal of the skeuomorphic elements that have been a hallmark of the fruit company’s mobile operating system from the get-go. Jony Ive is said to be heavily involved in revamping the look and feel of iOS this time around, and with former iOS Senior Vice President Scott Forstall now out of the picture, the Cupertino’s lead hardware designer now has free reign on the software side of things, too. In addition to the deluge of reports we’ve seen and heard recently regarding the supposed flatness of iOS 7, sources in the know have informed 9to5Mac that iOS 7 will be, and I quote, “black, white, and flat all over.”

Widgets make the world a better place, and luckily for those on Android, the Play Store is awash with them. Depending on which apps and features of a device you use most commonly, tailoring one or a number of home screens to your exact requirements is very easy thanks to the multitude of accompanying widgets available.

Microsoft only recently announced its Xbox One game console, and while we still don’t actually know when exactly is the machine actually going to be available for purchase, we do now know what its games will look like. Or more accurately, we know what the boxes belonging to those games will look like.

Now that Xbox One has been announced, and naturally, immediate comparisons are already being drawn between it and the PlayStation 4 of Sony. Since we’re still a long way from seeing either of these two titans hit the market, it’s impossible to begin to compare the two up against each other in terms of performance, but taking into consideration the hardware specs of each, we can at least gauge a rough idea of how these two significant machines stand up to one another. Here, we’re going to use what information we already know to compare the hardware and features of each, and although this won’t be indicative of anything beyond mere reference, it does set the ball rolling.

At last week’s I/O dev conference, Google made a whole host of announcements, among them a potentially Spotify-killing update to its Music service. Named “Google Play Music All Access,” the new streamer boasts an impressive catalog of tunes right off the bat, but as is typically the case for fledgling Google products, it remains available only to Android users at this moment in time. But, as is often the case in these circumstances, a workaround has been created for those on Apple’s iOS, so if you’re rocking an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch and were looking for a peek at All Access Music, a recent update to the popular gMusic app will enable you to realize your dreams.

It may have taken twelve months from announcement to reality, but Microsoft’s Surface Pro has finally gone on sale in the UK today. Microsoft announced a few weeks ago that a collection of countries would see the Surface Pro arrive by the end of May. Today, it was the UK’s turn and Microsoft is celebrating by devoting the company’s UK website’s home page to the new tablet.

Step by step guide on how to setup two-step login verification for your Twitter account. Having such an extra layer of security is always a good thing, more and more online presences, not just social networks, are taking two-step verification very seriously, and Twitter has finally joined the crowd.

Historically, PC gamers have lauded it over their console playing counterparts, claiming that their hugely expensive graphics cards are light-years ahead of the latest and greatest console hardware. It’s the way it’s always been, and it’s made it possible for some truly impressive PC gaming graphics.

Microsoft has really been on the offensive over the past few weeks in the tablet world, having taken a series of swipes at Apple’s iPad in an attempt to rejuvenate the Surface’s flagging start in the Cupertino-dominated market. With the company chairman, co-founder and former CEO Bill Gates having already stepped out recently to note of the iPad’s frustrating interface, the Redmond company is currently running an ad campaign in an attempt to point out the exact reasons why consumers should choose Windows 8 tablets over iPad. Just a short while ago, we saw the Windows maker use Apple’s Siri voice recognition software to poke fun at the market leader, and following on from that is another ad showing just how much more productive one can be when using Windows.

Need for Speed, love it or loathe it, is one of the biggest racing franchises currently in circulation. It always sells well, regardless of platform and largely, regardless of reviews. In fact, the franchise is so popular it’s even spawned its own movie tie-in, dubbed Need for Speed Movie, hoping to steal some of the limelight from the Fast & Furious movies.

Keeping our smartphones charged up for when we need them most is something we’re always considering, subconsciously or otherwise. As such, the third-party accessory market makes an absolute killing in flogging docks, retractable cables, charging mats, juice packs, and other such products. Considering there are so many different types of charging accessories available, you might have thought the scope for innovation in this field was somewhat limited, but iLoveHandles’ “Trunk” Lightning cable for the iPhone 5 proves this not to be the case.

Whenever a landmark title emerges after a lengthy wait, those responsible for developing and publishing the game in question often extend their efforts for those die-hard fans whose lives have been on hold in the weeks, months and years prior to the release. Avid fans have had a bit of a turbulent experience all told, with a bunch of awe-inspiring teaser clips and images leading to the disappointment of GTA 5 release date getting a Spring-to-September push-back. Still, undeterred, GTA 5 evangelists only have a couple of months left before the game is released for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, and in advance of this, Rockstar Games has revealed some interesting details pertaining to the Special Edition and Collectors Edition packages.

Early sales figures of the two biggest flagship Android smartphones thus far this year have shown once again that when it comes to overall consumer appeal, the Samsung Galaxy S series is still head and shoulders above the rest. The 10 million handsets shifted in first month of the latest and greatest Galaxy S4 is double the unofficial 5 million quoted sales of the HTC One in the same timeframe, but with the Taiwanese company still managing to flog the unibody device at a quicker rate than it can make them, its own sales figures are certainly not to be baulked at.

Microsoft has set about spending its huge advertising budget by launching a new TV ad that uses Apple’s Siri to compare Windows 8 on tablets with Apple’s iOS on an iPad. The ad, which also feels oddly like one of Apple’s own, even features the Siri voice we’ve all come to know over the last couple of years.

It’s quickly becoming a case of another day, another iOS 7 concept, and aside from the supposed flatness, improvements to Maps and recently revealed integration with social hunts such as Vimeo and Flickr, precious little is known of Apple’s forthcoming edition of its famed mobile operating system. All will of course be revealed at next month’s WWDC 2013, but until the calendar finally crosses the line for June 10th, all we can do is hope, predict and anticipate.

When it comes to keyboards, there’s plenty to choose from if you want to connect one to an iPad or an iPhone. In fact, there doesn’t seem to be a week go by where our inbox isn’t host to at least one email extolling the virtues of yet another Bluetooth keyboard that’s been designed for use with the iPad.

The battle between Sony’s PlayStation 4 and Microsoft’s Xbox One is already heating up nicely and we don’t even have proper release dates for either of them yet! One area that it appeared that Sony’s new machine may have the edge was support for the next standard in HD – Ultra HD. With Sony confirming that the PS4 will indeed support 4K Ultra HD for video only (no gaming!), all eyes were on Microsoft during its big Xbox One reveal, only for 4K to be conspicuous by its absence.

Samsung’s ads have been known to be a little weird in the past, and its press events can be just as bad. Lest we forget the infamous Gangnam Style moment that led to a Bollywood actor prancing around on stage like Psy. For a company so large, you’d think it could afford one or two advertising specialists wouldn’t you?

Google Glass is not expected to make consumer release until early on next year, but in the meantime, we’ve a rather tantalizing situation whereby developers and creative individuals granted early access are talking, tweeting, and sharing images detailing just how cool and exciting this technology really is. Still, while it may be a little much for the general geek to bear, at least the devs are making the most of their privileged early access, and perhaps none more so than prolific developer Adam Bell, who has just figured out a way to route iOS notifications through Glass.