With the iPad mini, and more recently, the iPad mini with Retina display now taking pride of place alongside the tactically rebranded iPad Air, Apple's tablet range is as diverse as it has ever been. But with many other companies going larger than the 9.7-inch diameter of the full-size device's screen, there have been numerous suggestions that Apple will come through with a model packing a 12.9-inch Retina panel. Apparently, manufacturers have been given the green light to go ahead and produce this very display for the so-called "iPad Pro," which will, according to reports, release during the first part of 2014.
As regular readers may know I installed each and every iOS 7 beta on my iPhone. As if that wasn't stressful enough, I also posted my thoughts on each new beta here at Redmond Pie and while the iOS 7 betas have obviously come to a close, that doesn't mean that our beta adventure is over. Earlier today Apple made iOS 7.1 beta 1 available to testers. As a tester of various beta releases of apps, that includes me.
Consumers living in all initial release countries have been frantically descending on Apple Retail Stores to get their hands on the iPad mini 2 with Retina display. The smaller form-factor tablet has proven to be extremely popular in the time that has followed its first-generation launch with the recent introduction of the Retina display and A7 processor only extending that popularity. The limited inventory in online and physical retail outlets show just how popular the new iPad mini has become, but those owners who also have the larger iPad Air may just find themselves comparing color output on the Retina display and finding themselves a little confused.
A very handy tip on how you can charge your iPhone, Android or iPad's battery up to 50% faster than usual to fix a problem that we've all been sufferers of when in hurry or travelling.
Android versus iOS is a discussion that people never get tired of. It seems that within every comment board, social network or forum on the internet, there's a good chance you'll come across an iOS user trying to convince an Android user to use their platform, or vice versa. It's clear that users are extremely passionate about their operating system of choice (some more so than others), but for that reason it's important to show how the latest additions to each platforms stack up against each other. In this case, we're talking about the new iPad mini 2 with Retina Display, which was rather sneakingly released by Apple this past week.
Apple's iOS is certainly not short of success stories when it comes to turning little known developers into household names. We perhaps wouldn't put ZeptoLab into the same bracket as the likes of ngmoco, but it certainly knows how to make a good iPhone and iPad game. With Cut the Rope, ZeptoLab showed that big games can come from arguably small premises.
The Zelda-like genre of game has been immensely popular since the days of the Nintendo 64, a widely celebrated console that spelled the end of the old blow-the-cartridge-and-insert routine. Since then, the mobile industry has rigorously sought to emulate what was a truly engrossing game in its era by releasing a series of similar adventures.
In May, Google revealed that its “All Access” music app would be hitting iOS, and since the search giant also noted that it was just a few weeks away, we expected to be grooving to some of our favorite songs through the service by summertime. Although it did seem as though the Android maker had completely forgotten about those on Apple's mobile OS, we now know this not to be the case, as the Google Play Music app has just hit the iOS App Store. Full details, as well as that download link, can be seen after the fold.
BBM for iOS has just received an update over at the App Store, bringing with it support for the iPod touch and the Wi-Fi only iPad. More details as well as direct download link can be found right here.
Apple's well-documented redesign of its mobile OS with iOS 7 seems to have gone down rather well with iDevice users, and although most of the Cupertino company's apps were updated shortly following its September release, today, iBooks and iTunes U have been added to the list. Complete with the flatter graphics throughout, both of the apps now looks as though they belong, and although there aren't really any other alterations to report besides, it's good to see that Apple is continuing its strive for uniformity.
