The luxury house of the X Factor's Savan Kotecha illustrated just how much of the world we now have at our fingertips. A music producer for the hit TV talent show, he's really kitted his pad out, and a large portion of his gadgets - including electric blinds, cameras and door locks - are all controlled from the comfort of his iPad. Although he spent a fair wad, these kinds of technologies are becoming more and more available to the average consumer, and as Samsung is now demonstrating with its Smart Air Conditioning systems, if it's electronic, it can be controlled by a mobile device.
Android users can boast something over all other smartphone platforms – the ultimate choice of keyboards. As the mobile operating system from Google has matured over the years, the stock input method that is a part of the AOSP has also gained more and more capabilities, becoming handsome enough to become the daily driver for many users. With Android 4.2, the Swype-like gesture typing has indeed taken things to a whole new level, putting to shame the offerings of its competitors like iOS and Windows Phone, for instance. However, nothing is ever perfect – not so much in the ever-evolving world of technology anyway – and this is precisely why the Google Play Store is riddled with alternative keyboard and voice input methods, each with its unique set of features.
As well as creating exciting new titles for gaming fans on smartphones and tablets to enjoy, developers and publishers are seeing more and more value in simply porting old classics through to mobile devices. Not only does a re-release / port press on the nostalgic buttons of those who previously enjoyed said title, but it also forges an all-new army of fans, and the news of Final Fantasy IV arriving soon on iOS and Android will do exactly that once more.
New and exclusive features are aplenty in the swiftly-evolving world of Android, but thankfully for those don't have the latest device and / or firmware version, the modding community is on hand to deliver those new niceties to those rocking an older device or software. For example, the Galaxy Note II has brought with it a very exciting, infinitely useful multi-window feature, but unless you happen to be in ownership of the phablet sequel (or an S III running the currently OTA-ing Android Jelly Bean 4.1.2), there's no way for you to enjoy this multitasking marvel; or at least there wasn't until today.
Everyone loves a good update to an app that is regularly used and highly thought of, and that is exactly what has happened with Google Now for compatible devices running Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and up. The official Android blog took great delight in introducing the latest update to the intelligent personal assistant software that was first introduced to the Android world with the release of Jelly Bean back in July of this year and should be an extremely welcome update for those travel conscious Android owners out there.
It may not have happened to you personally, but everybody has seen the what happens when a mobile device meets gravity. Such is the toughness of displays today, that many survive an accidental drop without so much as a crack, but when they do succumb and shatter, they become a hazard unto their owner, with shards and slivers aplenty. Recognizing this, rumor has it that Samsung is planning to release an "unbreakable" screen with the upcoming Galaxy S III smartphone.
Snapseed has been a revelation in the increasingly-popular image editing game, but since Google acquired Nik Software - the firm behind the iconic app - last September, there have been few recent murmurings touting the demise of Snapseed. Those have been well and truly put to rest today, though, with the release of Snapseed for Android; and in more good news, it's also absolutely free of charge.
One of the biggest hindrances with buying a top-of-the-line smartphone, is the premium price that you have to pay for it. There are usually two ways of how high-end phones are sold; either you pay the full price to the manufacturer and get an unlocked device, whereby getting the freedom to go with whatever network fancies you. Or, you may opt to buy the phone through a wireless carrier, where you pay a much subsidized rate for a big trade-off: getting stuck with that carrier for the term of your contract. In the latter case, the carrier pays the full price to the manufacturer but sells you the device at a much lower rate, and in turn, locks down the smartphone to their network, so you cannot use a SIM card from another network just like that. That’s a generally agreeable rule for most users.
Rockstar Games promised, and has finally delivered a mobile version of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. To commemorate ten years of the legendary title, a touch-friendly version has been created, and for those running on iOS, it is now available at the App Store for download.
The Apple iPad is so popular right now, that the word "iPad" is often used synonymously with the word "tablet." Although tablets already existed in various forms prior to the 2010 release of the first-generation iPad, Apple really forged a competitive market, and nearly three years and four generations later, the iPad is still by far the most popular slate of them all.
