Apple's iPhone 5s launched back in late September alongside the so-called budget iPhone 5c, and although, as we know, first weekend sales figures were record-breaking, the trend largely continued throughout the month of October. According to a report by Counterpoint, the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5 both outsold the Samsung Galaxy S4 in the month of October, with Samsung's flagship sitting in third spot, while the iPhone 5c took fourth place in the worldwide sales race.
Facebook has just announced Instagram Direct, a new feature to the photo-sharing social that will allow users to send and receive direct messages from other users. The new service, something that is totally brand new to Instagram users, allows us to send short video clips and photos to your Instagram buddies. The rest of the details can be found after the break!
Facebook for iOS has been updated, and although it's not what we would consider to be a particularly significant change from the previous iteration, it does bring one noticeable new feature. Videos in your News Feed automatically start playing as you scroll through, and although this will be useful to some, it will no doubt be of major annoyance to others. On the bright side, it doesn't automatically play sound - unless you tap on the playing video of course - which kind of begs the question as to why the feature is beset upon users in the first place.
Spotify has emerged during the last few years as one of the leading music streaming services around, and although it operates a subscription model, those simply registering an account have been able to listen to tracks on some devices, albeit supported by ads. Now, Spotify has decided to change the way in which free listening works, and if you happen to be an iPad or an Android tablet owner, it's a change for the better.
The introduction and rise to prominence of the cloud in recent years has made the rigmarole of file sharing a whole lot less cumbersome. Moreover, mobile devices needn't be packed to the gills with storage space, for the cloud can hoard stuff we don't immediately need in a secure unit. This, of course, is a pretty idealistic view, since a lot of folks still like to retain files on a device for convenience or offline viewing, and if you've ever wished you could share said files without having to find some kind of Web-based middleman, PhotoFast's i-FlashDrive has your back.
The Angry Birds franchise continues to march on, and following a plethora of titles so far, Angry Birds Go has just hit the App Store, Google Play, BlackBerry World and, yes, even the Windows Phone Store. It's rare to see an app or game of any description release simultaneously for these three major ecosystems, but whatever your poison, you can now enjoy some enthralling go-kart action from the loveable characters of Angry Birds Go!
Family Guy, despite its longevity, remains one of the most popular shows on television, and the long-running animated series is finally going to be getting an official mobile game. FOX has joined forces with developer TinyCo to bring the Family Guy iOS / Android title, which has not yet been given an official name, to the App Store and Play Store at some point in 2014, so if you're a fan of the show, it shouldn't be too long before the first official Family Guy game reaches your iOS or Android device.
The act of Skyping may have become synonymous with the act of VoIP communication, but it's by no means the only service available to those looking to make cross-platform calls spanning continents. Viber has carved itself out a substantial portion of the market, and today, has launched Viber Out, which brings cheap outgoing calls to landline and mobile numbers across the world.
There was a time when BlackBerry dominated the smartphone market with an iron fist, physical keyboard, and promise of an exclusive, secure app that we still refer to as BBM. The BlackBerry days are well and truly over now, with the Canadian company's well-documented fall from grace seeming only to speed up in the previous few months, but despite this, we all know those BB owners who remain defiant that they won't cave in to the glamour of an iPhone or Android smartphone.
It's fair to say, with Google Glass on the horizon and the likes of the Pebble and Galaxy Gear already on the market, that we're currently in the middle of a wearable tech boom. From the Nike FuelBand to the so-called iWatch, many companies are getting in on the act, and with something a little different to bring to the table comes Smarty Ring, a digital device that wraps around your finger. With notifications, access to two different clocks, social updates, smartphone tracking capabilities and Bluetooth, as well as a 24-hour battery life, it does a great deal more than your average band, and for a fraction of the price.
