For a large portion of this year, it was widely thought that Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie would be the next significant release from Google, so the impromptu announcement of Android 4.3 Jelly Bean a couple of months ago was certainly a bit of a shock. With the Big G having diverted attention from 5.0 momentarily, we were then almost certain that the search giant had no further tricks up its sleeve. How wrong we were; Android 4.4 KitKat was announced last month, and although we don't have much of an idea of what it will include as yet, a new leak purports to offer a sneak preview of the new user interface.
Video of iPhone 5s vs Galaxy S4 vs HTC One head-to-head hardware comparison between these flagships from Apple, Samsung and HTC respectively.
Google's purchase of Quickoffice back in June last year raised more than a few eyebrows, but while the search giant has been somewhat busy with other projects over the past twelve or so months, today's announcement that Quickoffice will be free for both iOS and Android users will be music to ears of those looking to be productive on-the-fly. In a year that has seen Microsoft expand its own Office suite to iOS and Android, the Big G has now offering the Quickoffice service completely free, meaning consumers can actually edit Microsoft Office documents without having to pony up any money.
After purchasing the products and services division of Nokia - a move on the cards for a number of years now - Microsoft has put even more pressure on itself to make good of its mobile endeavors. It's a task that the Redmond outfit has struggled with in recent years in the wake of iOS and Android's respective growth, and to aid the unenviable job of trying to bridge the gap between itself and the Big Two, the software maker has started a program offering up to $350 for your unwanted iOS and Android devices.
The name Cyanogen is synonymous with the Android homebrew community, and many would argue that CyanogenMod is the best version of Android available. Featuring all kinds of additional features as well as removing much of the cruft that none of us really want in our daily dose of Android, CyanogenMod is great if you want a near-stock version of Android on your non-Nexus device.
There have been rumors around for a long time that the infamous BlackBerry Messenger, better known as BBM, would be going cross platform and becoming available for iPhone and Android. While it was almost entirely certain, now we even have a date to look forward to. Dedicated BBM apps for iOS and Android would be making way to their respective app stores starting September 21, according the official BlackBerry blog.
Whether it's going to be called the Nexus 5 or some other Nexus-related designation, at this point there is little doubt that LG is indeed going to be behind Google's next Nexus device. With Apple releasing its iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c in a few short days, the latest Nexus leak comes at just the right time for Google, with the more cynical amongst us wondering whether it's one of those leaks that isn't entirely accidental.
BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) is coming to Android and iOS really soon. The faltering company announced back in May of this year that they were in the process of porting their once popular messaging platform to multiple platforms, but it looks like the Android version has managed to make an appearance a little prematurely. That's right folks, BlackBerry Messenger for Android has somehow managed to leak out to the public, but executives don’t need to worry just yet, as it's entirely unusable without prior permission being granted.
Although many Android users stand partisan against iOS, there are still plenty who can appreciate certain aspects of Apple's mobile OS. With this in mind, developers often come through with apps offering tidbits of the iPhone or iPad experience on Android smartphones and tablets, and Espier Studio has made its name through allowing Droidsters to dress their devices up in the iOS interface. The new Espier Launcher iOS 7, as you might imagine, allows you to make your device look as though it's running Apple's latest and greatest, and with iOS 7 not actually releasing to the public until 18th September, you can actually beat your iPhone-loving buddies to the punch.
A new entry to Google's Nexus range always seems to make an impression in tech circles, and with the Nexus 4 smartphone cutting a rather antiquated figure, Android fans are anxiously awaiting its successor. The device set to take its place is the Nexus 5, and according to a new report, the handset could be announced next month, on October 14th.
