Every once in a while we come across something that blows our minds a little bit more than they already were. Often it's some fancy new technology or computer, and we'd use the recently released Mac Pro from Apple as a prime example. Thankfully the thing we're about to tell you about won't cost as much as a small car, but it's just as cool.
Being able to take a smartphone and then tinker with it to the nth degree is part of the charm of the Android community. Being able to be the best looking, highest spec device on the planet and then put your own, heavily customized or completely stock version of Android onto it is the reason many people swear by Android over its iOS and Windows Phone competition. We've flashed more than our fair share of Android ROMs in our time, and we know both how much fun, and how frustrating an enterprise it can be.
Many Android phone makers have been accused of using less than stellar industrial design. Samsung in particular is famously fond of using flimsy plastic shells for its smartphones, including the high-end premium devices like the Galaxy S4. It's a decision that flies in the face of what Apple does with its iPhones, or even what Nokia believes is the best way to make its Lumia handsets. While Samsung doesn't look likely to change its grand philosophy any time soon, there may be another solution.
Oppo's N1 is already a pretty interesting device, and not just because it's not made by one of the big manufacturers that most people will be used to seeing on the release schedule. With the likes of LG, Sony, HTC and Samsung usually dominating the landscape, it's always good to see a different name crop up every now and again.
One of the great things about the release of the Walter Isaacson biography detailing the life and times of Steve Jobs, was that we learned much more of events and instances that we'd only previously gathered the crux of. We hear names, we see keynotes, we enjoy products; but the ins and outs of what exactly goes on tend to remain obscured from the public eye - at least until another extensive book hits the market. Fred Vogelstein’s Dogfight: How Apple and Google Went to War and Started a Revolution, is a self-explanatory tale of two modern-day tech titans, and The Atlantic has posted an interesting piece dissecting a particular chapter about the release of the iPhone and notably, Google's reaction.
Google's Glass is the poster child of the smart glass boom, and as seen in the latest XE12 software update, things seem to be progressing exceptionally quickly. Although the extent to which we, the consumer, will take to the product is currently unknown, the snippet's we've seen so far of Glass in action across different fields has certainly helped to ramp up interest. In the latest, we're treated to a vicarious look at an MMA fight from the eyes of a referee, and whether or not this sport takes your fancy, the perspective from Glass is rather incredible.
If you're packing one of the most popular Android phones on the planet and want to at least try to keep it in top condition, whether that be for resale value or just because you like to keep your gadgets looking good, then the chances are you're on the lookout for a nice looking, sturdy and protective case. If you're the owner of an LG Nexus 5, then you might want to keep reading.
Screen protectors make a whole lot of sense. You buy a shiny new smartphone, unbox it, and already, the value is slowly creeping down. You buy a decent case to protect it from the daily wear-and-tear that digital hardware seems so attracted to, and the screen protector, you hope and pray, will stop the display from getting scratched or worn. But putting a screen protector on throws up all sorts of caveats. Dust seems to begin appearing just as soon as you slide away the cellophane, hitting both your device's just-polished display and the screen protector itself. If you've found yourself frustrated by the incessant bobbles of a failed screen protector application session, help is, thankfully, at hand.
Pebble App Store Releasing In Coming Months; A One-Stop Hub For All Your Smartwatch Related Goodness
Pebble's smartwatch, which made a name for itself after becoming one of the most successful Kickstarter projects of all time, has certainly started something significant in the digital world. Its introduction and apparent popularity has since prompted other companies, like Samsung with the Galaxy Gear, to try their own hand at building and releasing a smartwatch, but like the very few owners of the Gear, Pebble users have found it rather difficult to keep their wrist-worn gizmo fresh with content. Sure, it's out there, but not in much of an organized manner, and as such, it looks like a proper, concise app store - or appstore as they’re calling it - will be hitting the scene for Pebble owners in the near future.
Samsung's Galaxy S series remains, in spite of the successes of the Galaxy Note in recent years, the company's flagship range, and although the likes of the HTC One have shown a great deal of promise this year, it is still comfortably the boss of the high-end Android market. Now, we're hearing reports of what some are already touting to be the Galaxy S5 specs, and it's fair to say, if the revelations carry any weight, that the next big thing out of South Korea will be the beastliest yet.
