Android manufacturers aren’t the very best when it comes to supporting their smartphones after the initial point of sale. You get the occasional bug fixes, performance improvements and such, but upgrades to major new versions of Android come way too infrequently and very late. This is in contrast to Apple’s strong support for their devices: the iPhone 3GS is almost more than 3 years old now and is still slated to get iOS 6 later this year.
I used to be a big fan of professional wrestling back in the day. I used to spare fours hours a week, every week (no matter if I was having final exams) for SmackDown and RAW. That was until I realized how stupid the idea of men fighting each other in front of a large audience was. Why not fight elsewhere? Why create a fuss in front of the public? I still kept watching, though, because it was so gosh darn fun to see two muscly men beat the living life out of each other.
Before Wi-Fi and 3G became the norm, do you remember how much hassle it was updating your mobile device? There was none of this over-the-air (or OTA) business, and in order to get those essential new features, you had to connect your device to your computer, and often wait several hours for it to work its "magic."
With a slew of great new smartphones, tablets and even a new operating system in the form of Jelly Bean (4.1), Android has received plenty of good press over the past couple of months. In fact, there's been such a buzz about Google's mobile OS, that it's easy to forget just how many reported malware outbreaks threaten to jeopardize everything the Web company is attempting to build.
When the Samsung Galaxy Note first arrived last year, quite a few people didn't really know what to make of it. I mean, it looked a great deal like a smartphone, and operated as such, but the sheer size of the device categorized it as something different. The unofficially dubbed "phablet" device has, despite lacking conformity, been a rousing success, and consumers are now looking forward to its successor, set to be announced later this month at Samsung's IFA conference.
A new release of a mobile operating system is always met with a frenzy, and as well as giving the new firmware the once over, consumers are always anxious to learn whether their device will be getting an update, and when.
The introduction of app markets like the iOS App Store and Google's Play Store have undoubtedly been a fantastic addition to the mobile space and have allowed developers to have their software housed and showcased with minimal effort. One of the underlying issues of having so many apps in one place is the visibility, or lack of it, of certain products, meaning it can be extremely difficult for users to find what they are looking for in some cases even though the store is broken down into a set of categories.
If you happen to be one of those people who keep abreast with technology and open-source projects, or additionally just love movies and media in general, then the chances are; you will already be familiar with the extremely popular XBMC application. Over the last few years, XBMC has dramatically risen in popularity, with users loving the fact that it is not only free and open-source, but also cross-platform and extremely powerful. The project itself is supported by a host of volunteers from around the world, and although it is popular on things like the jailbroken Apple TV, it really comes into its own when installed and used on a high-end media PC.
Instagram has managed to make itself one of the most popular and well-known apps on the App Store and Google Play Store, notching up over 80 million registered members on its extremely eventful journey. The Instagram story hasn't been without its set backs, as you might expect from a team of developers venturing into the unknown on a relatively new platform, but with the membership-base growing everyday and the relatively recent acquisition by Facebook, Kevin Systrom and his twelve man team are now able to relax a little as they continue to build the app and grow the Instagram name.
Just a day after it was reported that Android 4.1 Jelly Bean would be coming to Galaxy S III by the end of the month, a completely legit leaked build has been released by the folks over at SamMobile who were, if you remember, responsible for the numerous Ice Cream Sandwich leaks back in the days of the Galaxy S II. For those of you who are willing to risk the safety of their device for the sake of trying out new features, we’ve prepared a guide for flashing the ROM after the jump.
