Whenever a company is looking to design and push out a new version or an entirely new model smartphone or tablet, it stands to reason that they are looking to implement the next big design feature or piece of functionality that will set their product apart from the competition. When Apple released the iPhone 4S at the back end of last year, they genuinely believed that the voice controlled Siri assistant would separate their product from the rest, a sentiment that Samsung and Google have subsequently bought into.
If you haven’t opened up the Cydia store recently then you might be taken aback with shock when you realize that Thor - a new package - has just been released. Unfortunately, we aren't seeing the Norse god of thunder and lightning taking up residency in the jailbreak world, but instead, a new tweak from ClausCartel brings some additional Wi-Fi related options to users.
Although we haven't heard about it as much as we have in recent times, the ongoing patents wars between the world's top technology companies is bubbling away in the background, with Apple and Samsung still managing to find themselves at the front of it all. Continuing with the legal battle we have become familiar with over the last twelve months, Apple have found themselves on the positive end of an initial ruling across the pond.
The good folks at Google surprised a few people yesterday when they announced the immediate release of Google Chrome for iOS during the second day of proceedings at the annual I/O conference. Google has obviously recognized that Apple's mobile operating system is in dire need of a worthy competitor, a sentiment that is shared by users as it quickly shot to the top of the download charts on release day.
Now that Google has unveiled its proper entry into the living room entertainment space, the Nexus Q, is it worth considering against the already established products in the market from Microsoft and Google? Short answer: Unless you want to pay more for less, no. Here's the longer answer.
It was in January 2007 when Steve Jobs, on stage at Macworld, proudly announced the original iPhone. It was, according to Jobs, a revolutionary three-in-one product: a widescreen iPod with touch controls, a revolutionary mobile phone and a breakthrough Internet communications device. It was released on June 29th the same year for $599 with a contract on AT&T. Now, if you notice the release date, that’s exactly five years from today.
It really isn’t a big secret that the smartphone and tablet industry is an extremely competitive marketplace to be in. The iOS and Android operating systems are undoubtedly the two major players in this space, with Apple having sold more than 250 million iPhones in the last five years following the original launch and Google currently activating 1 million Android devices every day. The competition between the two platforms has always been a fierce one, but with Apple announcing their own mapping system in iOS 6 to rival the tried and tested Google Maps, the competition has ramped up another notch.
It has taken a day or two, but now videos are beginning to crop up comparing Apple's Siri on the iPhone 4S to Google's new voice options in the just announced Android 4.1, Jelly Bean.
Google is on a roll at I/O, with the second day of proceedings again bringing in a number of notable announcements and releases that will certainly please iOS users. Day two of the event is well underway with delegates and attending developers being informed that Google's Chrome browser has been released for iPhone and iPad and is now available for download immediately.
If day two of the annual Google I/O conference has taught us anything, it is that Google clearly recognizes the need to offer native experiences of their services to the millions of iPhone, iPod touch and iPad owners around the world. Today, Google has announced the official Drive app for iOS along with an update to Docs which brings offline editing support to users.
