It has been a long time coming, but a version of Microsoft Office for iOS and Android is real, and while currently in the works, will be arriving early next year. As is frequently the case, the iOS version for iPhone and iPad will drop first, with an Android edition landing over at the Google Play Store at some point thereafter.
The iPhone is more than capable of taking high-quality, crisp images with the embedded camera and stock Camera app, but we have already seen that some of the most popular apps on the App Store live in the Photography section. Image manipulation apps of all types exist on the store, with the most recent one being the Alt Photo creation that lets users manually edit the image to recapture the look and feel of old film.
The king of the electronic reading gadgets is arguably the Amazon Kindle. The device is perfectly sized and has the gorgeous E Ink display that makes reading a pleasure in all conditions. However, if iOS is your platform of choice for reading through your electronic library, then we can now add an additional reading option to the list thanks to the release of the Reader app from Sony.
Regardless of whether you are a fan of Apple's Siri or prefer to use Google's Voice Search on your device, it looks like giving audible commands to a smartphone or tablet is definitely here to stay and will play an increasingly important role in how we interact with our devices. We have recently seen a video comparison showing Siri and Google Voice Search going head-to-head and now we are seeing the release of the NowNow jailbreak tweak that is designed specifically for those who want to quickly invoke Google's Voice Search on their iOS device.
It should be common news by now that Apple has taken the decision to have an executive shake-up in Cupertino, with a number of notable faces set to leave the company in 2013. One of the most well-known casualties of the internal restructure is Scott Forstall who has held the role of Senior Vice President of iOS over the last few years. Forstall has been in charge of developing and handling the direction of iOS and has reportedly been shown the door due to his inability to play nice with other executives, as well as the publicly perceived shortcomings in the new Apple mapping system and the Siri digital assistant.
Facebook have tonight taken the opportunity to push out an update to their universal iPhone, iPod touch and iPad mobile app, taking it to the version 5.1. The world's biggest social network have been on a relatively well-received mobile push recently with significant updates to their iOS and Android apps. This latest update on Apple's iOS platform brings some notable enhancements and serves to make the software a lot more social thanks to more powerful chatting and photo sharing features.
The Lightning dock has been on the market for six weeks now, with the iPad mini and iPad 4 joining the iPhone 5 as the first devices with the new proprietary connector. As is always the case with new Apple gadgets, sites like eBay are awash with thousands of Lightning connector accessories, and while some are more reputable than others, none have yet been released by any of Apple's official accessory partners. Belkin does fall under that umbrella though, and in showcasing a series of accessories for the aforementioned devices, is the first company to officially announce Cupertino-authorized Lightning goods.
The general availability of the iPhone 5 is the United States has certainly improved over the past couple of weeks. The initial rush saw the Cupertino company's flagship device sell out rather quickly, but the waiting period of the much-sought device seems to be lessening as time has gone on. The on-contract iPhone 5 has sold in the tens of millions already, but those who've wanted the freedom of a factory-unlocked device have had to wait it out. However, a report over at AppleInsider suggests that wait might soon be over, and a search carried out this weekend for "iPhone 5 factory unlocked" on the US Apple site revealed the prices for the different configurations.
Ultrasn0w fixer has been updated for support on those running the marginally-tweaked iOS 6.0.1, released by Apple a few days ago. So those of you looking to maintain the carrier unlock you've treasured for so long can now do so on the very latest firmware.
Apple's range of mobile devices have always been popular with music lovers who like to have all of their audio based media with them wherever they go, and that experience is generally made better when third-party developers build their own creations to compliment the native Apple music offerings. The Band Of The Day app that is compatible with the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad has been in existence for a year, but has recently had a huge makeover to offer additional features and interface amendments.
