Back in July, it was reported and later confirmed that the Verizon variant of the Galaxy S III would come with a locked bootloader due to the company’s concerns over it “preventing Verizon Wireless from providing the same level of customer experience and support” as they have apparently established before.
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.
There were plenty of question marks raised when Samsung first announced its eagerly-awaited Galaxy S III device, the most puzzling being the lack of a black version. Invariably, the black version of a smartphone is the standard, with colors like white and, as Samsung calls it, "pebble blue," being options for those looking for something a little edgier.
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.
There hasn’t been much news coming out of San Jose in the last few days, but that doesn't mean that the Apple vs. Samsung case isn't still bubbling away like a hot cauldron behind those large doors that stand so proudly in front of Judge Lucy Koh's courtroom. Apple has already had their turn in the legal spotlight with their appointed counsel presenting the fundamentals of their case to the judge and overseeing jury, and now it's time for Samsung's legal eagles to step into the limelight, it seems that they are taking a rather bizarre approach to defending themselves.
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.
Android introduced a very different kind of entry protection in 2008. Named Pattern Lock, it allowed users to swipe in a specific way across 9 dots to unlock their smartphone. It is arguably easier to input and technically much more secure than a 4 digit PIN code. But, as time goes by, people found ways to bypass it. The first method I’ve heard of is actually pretty simple: if your fingers are the least bit oily, they will be leave smudges in line with pattern you use to unlock. If an intruder, then, observes the smudges, they may be able to gain access to your phone. The second method is to just go by trial and error as, in my own personal experience, I’ve noticed a lot of people use letters of the alphabet (such as V, D, U, O, etc. alphabets that can be easily recreated in the pattern lock).
If you’re without a credit card and need to buy apps from Google Play, you’re pretty much out of luck. The lack of gift cards on Google Play forces many young teenagers to adopt alternative methods of getting their paid apps, if you know what I mean. It’s terrible for developers, especially when people want to pay for apps but just can’t.
As a person who has recently purchased his first ever Android device, one of the main issues I have experienced is finding the limitations of the native apps that ship with Android and then finding alternative solutions through the Play Store that combat those limitations. As an experienced iOS user, I know exactly what I need from my iPhone and iPad and can always pull the right apps from the App Store that perfectly compliment my usage patterns and plug the gaps which Apple have missed.
Let me get this out of the way first: the Nexus 7 is not a smartphone, nor is it a tablet designed for incoming / outgoing calls like the original Galaxy Tab from Samsung. The Nexus 7 is a very basic tablet that is meant for doing tasks like surfing the web, socializing on Facebook, Twitter, sending / receiving email, play games, video chat via Skype or Google Talk etc. i.e. nothing to do with phone calls.
