Microsoft is expected to drop the eagerly-awaited Windows Phone 8.1 update in the near future, and with several features already having been revealed, it looks as though the Redmond giant is making great strides to improve the keyboard typing experience. According to a report over at The Verge, which cites "sources familiar with Microsoft’s plans," the company is in the process of developing a greatly-enhanced keyboard which will offer a broader feature set similar to that of the popular Swype Android touch-type pad.
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Flappy Bird may have been shot down by its own developer a couple of weekends ago, but its legacy continues to live on. As well as the tens of millions of casual gamers that managed to get in before the proverbial lock, the game has continued to spawn various clones, mock-ups, and rather entertaining video clips. If you've been frustrated by the title, and intrigued to know what happens when level 999 is reached, then you'll be pleased to learn that it has been achieved, and you can watch the grand finale after the break!
iOS 7.1 is on its way, with the current consensus suggesting that the first major update to Apple's latest and greatest will be ready for prime time on 15th of March for public consumption. With regards to the features therein, we know that iOS in the Car will be the major addition, alongside some minor aesthetic tweaks and general performance enhancements, but while we've been told that there'll be little else of note, the rumor mill has thrown up an interesting new theory. Apparently, Apple is to make significant alterations to the Mobile Device Management mass deployment system, with a supplementary "Volume Services" Web client also set to launch alongside iOS 7.1.
Even though our smartphones and tablets continue to offer higher-spec cameras, more processing cores, increased RAM and displays that go way beyond the realms of high-definition, battery life improvements aren't nearly as impressive. The introduction of Intel Haswell's energy efficient tech has worked wonders for the MacBook range, and although battery retention on iOS is among the best in the mobile industry, you can still take steps to ensure you get the very most usage before the reserves dry up.
If, like me, you're constantly altering particular elements of your iOS device in order to keep things fresh, then I'm sure you'll be familiar with the rigmarole of applying a custom parallax wallpaper. Sometimes, it can be difficult to manipulate an image to fit or sit in the manner we'd like it to, and often, we've to make do with an out-of-position or otherwise distorted and unsightly backdrop. For better or for worse, though, we live in a culture whereby an app can solve almost any issue or ailment, and if you find the process of changing your iOS wallpaper to be a little more tedious than it perhaps should, then, well.. there's an app for that!
A little light-hearted mocking of rivaling companies and their products never hurt anybody in the tech industry, and as we've seen through numerous ad campaigns over the years, they're all at it. With MWC not too far away, Huawei has caricatured Apple's Siri voice assistant to rib both the Cupertino company and rival Samsung, while also promoting its new, to-be-announced smartphone and tablet. Check out the humorous clip right after the break!
Samsung is one of the most prolific carriers of Google's Android. Save a couple of half-hearted Windows Phone efforts over the past couple of years, the Korean company has consistently churned out swathes of smartphones running the ubiquitous software, and considering how many hundreds of millions of handsets out there are on Android, the $50 million Google paid to acquire Android nearly a decade ago looks a shrewd bit of business. But it has now emerged that in actual fact, Andy Rubin, one of the founding members of the Android team, actually pitched the product to the Galaxy maker out in Seoul, a proposition that Samsung unequivocally - and perhaps, regrettably - baulked at.
Limited editions of consoles often prove a real money-spinner. Not only does the vendor benefit, but the developer of the games to which the promotional bundles are usually attached often pocket a tidy sum, while the consumer also benefits from something quirky and unique. With the PS4 just about to launch in Japan, Sony has teamed up with Kojima Productions, the crew behind the also-upcoming Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes, to deliver a special Fox Edition of the fourth PlayStation console, but unfortunately, it's not all that special.
Flappy Bird was recently pulled from the App Store and Google Play Store at the height of its popularity by developer Dong Nguyen, and although his reasons for removing the app appear to have been well-intended, folks have sought to cash in on the title's fame in a variety of ways.
When downloading apps on iOS, the only information you get to see on the home screen is a miserly little progress bar, which doesn't really tell you much at all. Sure, the system for downloading and installing apps and games is both seamless and efficient, so one cannot complain from that aspect, but a little more by way of information certainly wouldn't go amiss. AppETA not only delivers a bunch of useful info ranging from an app's publisher, to download speed, to percentage complete, but offers a broad range of great customization options. Check it out after the break!
