Apple is largely expected to release a Retina-displaying version of its iPad mini this year, along with an incrementally-improved iPhone dubbed the "iPhone 5S". According to a research note from Ming-chi Kuo of KGI Securities, both have hit delays, and with the iPhone 5S release date initially being touted for announcement in June in preparation for a July release, it now appears as though neither will be hitting the market anytime soon.
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Like every software vendor, Apple likes to impress users of iOS with one or a number of so-called "killer" apps, and while some have gone down particularly well in recent years, others, like iOS 6's Apple Maps, have fared decidedly worse. With iOS 7 now in the works for release later this year, we're expecting some significant changes to the look and feel of the Cupertino's mobile OS in general, but aside from a lot of blogosphere-fuelled bluster, we've heard precious few details with regards to what exactly we should be expecting. Morgan Stanley's Katy Huberty has sought to shed some light on the matter by revealing that she expects the Tim Cook-led outfit to unveil a “killer app” in the form of a mobile wallet. More details can be found right after the jump.
The existence of an entry-level iPhone, at least in concept, has been a matter of fierce debate over the past couple of months. It is widely thought Apple could use such a device as bait in a push to increase its presence in developing markets, but with the Cupertino company ever reluctant to sell less-capable devices to meet that low price point, there have been quite a few naysayers. Today, however, the guys over at Japanese blog Macotakara have gotten their hands on a previously-unseen dual-head vibration motor, which, due to its low-end nature, is not the kind of thing you'd expect Apple to be packing into the eventual successor to the iPhone 5.
It's no secret that Samsung likes to entertain the idea of increasingly larger displays, and with the company's Galaxy Note II already being one of the largest-screened smartphones currently available on the market, previous reports have shed light on a couple of colossal 'Galaxy Mega' handsets, which would both offer considerably more real-estate than the flagship phablet. Today, it has emerged that both of these Mega handsets could be releasing contemporaneously next month in Europe, with a 5.8-inch and 6.3-inch model further distorting the line between smartphone and slab.
The ability to record voice calls would seem a basic feature in comparison to the many options we have as smartphone users nowadays, but it's not an avenue Apple has hitherto explored, so once again, it's down to the jailbreak scene to try and help users work around this limitation. Audio Recorder, a new tweak offered at the ModMyi repo, is the very first tweak to allow the recording of voice calls natively, and if you're the kind of person that likes to keep a record of important business correspondence, Audio Recorder will help you keep them safely stored for your records.
The Facebook social network ensures that, whether you haven't seen a person within the last ten years or ten minutes, everybody can remain connected. Billions of messages are shared through Facebook on any given day, but while we are often only directing our correspondence with one or a small group of people, it's often the case that everybody can read it. In these instances, a private inbox message may be necessary, but if you want to have some fun with it, you could try a new Chrome extension allowing you to secretly hide messages within images. While perhaps not an immediately reassuring mode of obscuring a message from prying eyes of others, the extension, developed by a computer science student at Oxford University, does have an element of mischievousness to it, and will have your Facebook friends scratching their heads as to why you're consistently posting plain images of your food. (Oh, wait..)
The Samsung Galaxy S4 is due to hit the market later on this month, but already, iOS developers have begun the task of offering Apple device users some alternatives to the new, S4-specific features. Earlier on this week we featured DuoCam app which introduces the Dual Shot feature for iPhone, an app which seeks to replicate one of Galaxy S4's most applauded features, and today, an iPhone-made take on the Smart Pause feature has just emerged over at the App Store. With so many different applications making up Sammy's "Smart" range, it's difficult to keep track of them all, but Smart Pause, which automatically pauses media when a user looks away from their device, has somewhat manifested itself on iOS in the form of LookAway Player.
The SimCity beta for PC first released back in January, and although it generated much hype and anticipation for the March 5th launch, the release was, to put it mildly, a catastrophe. EA decided, against the wishes of gamers, to opt for a type of DRM protection requiring an always-on Internet connection, which left many unable to login and enjoy a title they'd been waiting on for a great length of time. Still, EA offered a free game to try and soften the blow, and with the dust settled, perhaps we can allow ourselves a wry smile at the prospect of the corresponding OS X version.
Samsung is just a couple of weeks away from releasing its flagship Galaxy S4 to the public, and although things have been a little quiet on the ad front since the announcement on the 14th of last month, the Korean company is back with quite a few clips reminding us why the handset is anticipated by so many. The YouTube videos, which were brought to our attention, comprise of very short commercials highlighting some of the marquee features of the upcoming device, including Sound Shot, Group Play, and S Translator. Check them out right after the break!
Smartphones and tablets, while often lambasted for their lack of durability in dealing with those everyday mishaps, certainly appear to be getting stronger as we saunter on through the generations. But perhaps some of today's revered gadgets are, in fact, a lot more robust than we'd give them credit for, and in the case of one Apple iPad that inadvertently found itself in a head-on collision with an automobile, the device actually seemed to come off better than the car itself. The owner of the iPad in question accidentally drove off while leaving the Apple slate atop the roof of their car, but as it flew off and towards the vehicle behind, the impact left the device embedded within the bumper.
