Instant picture messaging app Snapchat has risen to prominence over the past couple of years, establishing a niche for users who wish to share photos and short (albeit terrible quality) clips that self-destruct after a set period of time. The authors of Snapchat have come under fierce scrutiny on more than one occasion already over user privacy, and with a cache of around 13GB of snaps having leaked online, the company is pointing the finger at "illegal" third-party clients.
When Apple announced that custom keyboards were coming to the iPhone and iPad with iOS 8, everyone's attentions immediately turned to keyboards like Swype and Swiftkey. It's easy to see why, too. Being able to swipe instead of type is the exact kind of thing Apple no doubt had in mind when it decided to allow third-party apps to be installed on its precious hardware. It did not, we suspect, expect to see they keyboard we just came across.
Remotely closing Safari tabs in iOS 8 and Yosemite can be more useful than you think, and it's dead easy to do, too.
Since Apple allowed developers some jurisdiction over the keyboard element of iOS, many have obliged in releasing third-party alternatives to the stock offering. Many of these have sought to offer enhanced functionality in helping users to type more quickly, while others have brought a welcome element of fun with GIFs and emojis galore, and today's featured keyboard seems a perfect combination of the two.
Recognizing that its once-popular check-in app was hitting something of a lull, Foursquare devised a separate app in the form of Swarm. The idea was that Swarm would work as a kicker to Foursquare, but focus more on finding friends within your locale and subsequently, find things to do. It still includes its very own check-in feature, though, and thanks to iOS 8's widget support, the Swarm app for iOS has just been updated to include a useful button for checking in with a single tap.
As geeks, we love seeing improbable stuff happen in the world of tech, and in a seemingly unlikely turn of events, one tenacious developer has begun work on a project to bring a Kinect motion viewer to Apple's iOS. Costing 99 cents, it's already available to download over at the App Store, and although it's not particularly useful at its current duration, it's one of the coolest apps we've seen here in a very long time.
As well as the selfie-focused Desire EYE, HTC has also launched an intriguing, GoPro-like contraption designed to aid those wishing to capture point-of-view videos. The 16-megapixel sensor can also take pictures, and although the device doesn't include any kind of viewfinder, HTC asserts that this only adds to the RE Camera's simplicity.
As well as continually peddling apps and services for the consumer, Google also focuses its attention on business and enterprise, and in what appears to be a concerted push to broaden its library of apps on Apple's iOS, has just released Primer for iPhone.
The Microsoft OneDrive App for iOS has just been updated, featuring, among a small number of other changes and enhancements, pin code and Touch ID support. The software maker’s cloud storage service, formerly known as SkyDrive until Sky owner BSkyB chimed in and a subsequent lawsuit happened, is vying for a portion of a lucrative, but crowded market right now, and with Apple's very own iCloud having garnered attention for the wrong reasons lately, it seems a fairly opportune moment for rivals to strike the proverbial iron while it's hot and beef up the features offered on their respective iOS apps.
Regardless of whether you have positive or negative connotations regarding Apple as a company, it's very difficult to argue with the level of masterfulness that goes into designing and crafting each and every Apple device. In today's market it's rare to find another company that goes into the same level of design detail that seems to be applied to each and every Apple device, and even rarer to find the same level of expertise applied to third-party accessories, which is why the Spira immediately stands out as an innovative accessory worthy of applaud.
















