The launch of the Samsung Galaxy S4 is set to proceed from the end of this month, although specific details on when the handset would land on each carrier have remained largely undisclosed. Today, however, a leaked document originating from US retailer Staples appears to have revealed the exact release dates for the handset on three of the big four carriers, and although the dates are described as "tentative," they at least offer a ballpark timeframe for consumers to begin preparing to make the purchase.
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When any company launches a new product, an ad campaign is just part of the process, so it should come as no surprise to see Facebook showcasing its new Facebook Home APK for Android launcher in an ad for exclusive carrier partner AT&T. What is rather surprising, however, is that the star of the "Launch Day" ad is none other than the social network's CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who, in excitedly attempting to gee his employees up for the big launch, finds the workforce unresponsive, instead completely immersed in the experiences offered by Home. Check out the ad itself after the break.
For me, one of the greatest features of the smartphone is the ability to tether out a connection to a computer, laptop, tablet, or any other compatible Wi-Fi or Bluetooth-enabled device. When on-the-fly, it means I don't have to waste any time sourcing a decent hotspot, and can instead get on with the task in hand. While most smartphones offer this feature natively though, often it is hidden which means you can often browse the Web on your smartphone, but cannot replicate the experience on your external device. Hotspot Control from Chainfire is a nifty little app which will enable (or indeed disable) the hotspot feature of your Android, and so if you've been having trouble accessing your hotspot settings, you may want to give it a try.
With Google commanding such a huge presence in the productivity field nowadays, every new app the company drops is treated as the next big thing. This trend continued with the announcement of the Google Keep app, which integrated a simple, effective note-taking facility into the Google Apps infrastructure, and as well as popping up on Drive, the customary Android app was also released to the Play Store. The market for apps that let users quickly take down lists, thoughts and musings is extremely fierce though, and although Google Keep won't be struggling for competitors, another has just arrived in the form of a very nicely polished app called Got-It.
The ownership of a high-end smartphone comes at an equally high price, and I'm not just alluding to the dollars in your bank account. Thanks largely to all the of the great hardware packed into the modern handset, the battery is now more strained than it has ever been, and although the vast majority of devices can manage a day at the office without seizing up, it mightn't allow you to play any Infinity Blade on the train journey home. As such, many of us get out there and hunt for a decent battery case to provide that extra lifeline, and although there are some really solid efforts out there, the ZeroLemon pack for the Samsung Galaxy S III easily offers the very best value for money, and by best, we mean the very best. Learn more about this handy accessory right after the jump.
Yesterday saw the conclusion of the Hack In The Box conference over in Amsterdam, an annual event where some of the most talented hackers and security experts gather to share insights, knowledge, and discoveries. The event saw some very interesting talks, particularly one in which pilot-turned-security-guru Hugo Teso showed how he could commandeer a Boeing jet remotely using an Android smartphone, but one which will certainly pique the interests of some Redmond Pie readers was that of the Evad3rs jailbreak team.
Although using Facebook on-the-fly isn't as terrible as it was a couple of years ago, that's not to say the service is perfect, and recognizing that the mobile presence of his social network is still in need of some new features, Mark Zuckerberg announced the Facebook Home for Android at a special press event last Thursday. Built for the purpose of offering Facebook users on Android a more immersing social experience, Facebook Home is fairly well stocked with useful features including Chat Heads, a unified interface for both SMS and Facebook messages to reside. Although support is limited at this stage, Facebook Home has just been released to the U.S. Google Play Store, and you'll find all the information you need to know right after the break. Earlier this week, Facebook Home APK was leaked onto the web and it worked on most devices.
One of the most exciting features of Facebook Home, the social network's new Android launcher set to hit the Google Play Store later today, is the new 'Chat Heads' feature, which allows all SMS and Facebook messages to manifest themselves from within a single interface. The main idea behind it, of course, is to lessen the need for you to keep flitting between Facebook Messenger and your native SMS app, and although Home is itself limited currently in how many devices it will cater to, Chat Heads has just arrived to the standalone Facebook Messenger app by means of an update. Details next.
iOS 5 brought native Twitter integration to the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, and this was followed up nicely with a deal to bring a similar offering to iOS 6 with Facebook. But while this deep affiliation has done wonders for seamless sharing of various content, the Notes app is missing this ability to share a note via Facebook or The Twitters. Thanks to a nifty little tweak called ShareNotes, this restriction needn't stop you sharing your notes with your followers and friends, and although Twitter's 140 character restriction will also apply to your notes as well, at least you won't have to be cutting and pasting anymore.
Widgets may not be as commonplace on iOS as they are on Android, but the jailbreak scene has presented us with a great deal more in terms of options than we'd otherwise have at stock level. MusicWidget is a very simple, clean, and aesthetically in-keeping widget for music fans which presents you with album art, song title, and artist when you double-tap the Music app icon on your home screen. Said information reveals itself in the same way a folder does when opened, while the icon is in turn minimized to place further focus on the widget itself.
