The world of technology is in a state of shock with the impromptu release of several significant apps that claim to be from Apple on the Android Play Store. Without any prior warning, it would seem as though Apple had finally decided to drop the likes of GarageBand, iPhoto and Keynote for Android, but our better judgment leads us to suspect they are big, fat clones.
In the ongoing patent war between Apple and Samsung, it seems one cannot sneeze without the other taking a strong interest, and with Apple having reached a settlement with Taiwanese rival HTC earlier this week, Samsung is seeking a copy of it.
As is often the case with technology nowadays, those of you happily sitting on an older software version will soon be coerced into upgrading. The app updates cease supporting you, new software releases aren't compatible with you, or in the case of Apple's Messages beta, they stop working altogether. Prior to Mountain Lion, the Cupertino released a beta version of Messages for Lion, and since that has now evolved into Messages for the latest iteration for OS X, Apple has set a deadline on the demise of that preview.
The popularity of its product range, coupled with the colossal amounts of money exchanged in the purchase of said products, has made Apple a pretty strong target for fakery. China is one of the main sources of these bootleg products, and even though we're used to seeing copies of some of the higher-end Apple devices - iPads, iPhones and such, the latest product to be ripped from Apple's extensive roster is the Apple TV.
iOS users have been tripping over themselves to pour scorn on Apple's lackluster Maps offering, and even though Tim Cook released a public apology for the disastrous native app, consumers are still waiting to see most of the promised improvements bear fruit. Many have pined for Google to bring a app that at least gives the same functionality as the pre-iOS 6 version of iOS Maps to iOS 6, and although that may seem a simple enough concept, Google has been dragging its heels somewhat. Now though, it has emerged that a native Google Maps app could reach the App Store by the end of the year, and as the Wall Street Journal reports, the Mountain View-based search giant is applying the finishing touches before submitting.
The rumor and speculation with regards to the future direction of Apple TV has been somewhat quiet recently, but James Kisner, analyst at Jefferies & Co., has reignited the debate by suggesting the release of a new device is imminent. Citing "discussions with industry contacts," Kisner believes a new Apple TV is just around the corner, with “at least one major N. American MSO” currently trying to ascertain how much network space it would need to free up in order to accommodate the new product.
Although preceded by Windows Phone 7.x, the perception is that Windows Phone 8 is Microsoft's first real stab at today's mobile market. The experimental phase has now passed, and the Redmond company is all set to launch its assault on Android and iOS with its new improved ecosystem and to begin with, the Surface. Naturally, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has stepped out and criticized his two main rivals, and while he calls the Android ecosystem "wild" and "uncontrolled," he also states Apple's iOS is is as highly-priced as it is controlled.
Aside from the issue with Maps not quite living up to the high standards of consumers, the iOS 6 has been fairly incident-free thus far, but while it may have been adopted in record numbers, a major bug has been discovered with the new Apple mobile software. Although it is said to have been amended in iOS 6.0.1, those on 6.0 could be susceptible to a bug in the AV Framework which causes podcasts and audio streams to download more than once, potentially leading to significant data overages for those downloading over a cellular connection.
Apple and Samsung may require the help of a courtroom, judge and jury settle many of their differences, but when you consider what is at stake, perhaps the number of court cases and lawsuits isn't so disproportionately high after all. The two titans of the smartphone market now account for a whopping 46.5 percent of global smartphone sales according to a quarterly report by analytics firm Gartner, and in bad news for rivals, it doesn't look as though the dominance is about to plateau any time soon.
Although the fourth-gen iPad has been on sale for a couple of weeks now, the Wi-Fi + Cellular model has yet to surface. As is often the case, the fruit company has readied the Wi-Fi model and already sold countless units of the iPad 4, but the 3G / 4G LTE version has been slightly delayed. If you've been waiting on the cellular iteration, you'll be pleased to learn that some Apple Stores have just started stocking up, and although nothing has been officially uttered with regards to when they'll be available for purchase, they could feasibly go on sale at any point as of now.
