The iPhone 5c has been cited by many as a failure, but while the device is assumed not to have sold in as high a number as Apple might have liked, recent predictions from analysts based upon official financial info made available by the Cupertino suggests that the device has actually fared rather well. Even though Apple hasn't offered a breakdown of iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c sales, preferring to release figures under the general, 'iPhone' umbrella, analysts have done their homework and found that over the holiday period of 2013, the iPhone 5c outsold many of the market's flagship handsets.
One of the most exciting features Apple added with the iPhone 5s was the Touch ID fingerprint sensor, and despite a few teething issues, it seems to have gone down rather well with the iPhone-using faithful. Now a jailbreak tweak has emerged that brings a virtual fingerprint sensor to the lock screen, so if you don't happen to own an iPhone 5s but would like a similarly cool feature, then Bio is definitely a Cydia export that you'll want to check out.
iOS 7 has brought quite a few obvious new features, designed to have an instant impact on the functionality and usability of Apple's mobile OS. Yet, as is the case with CarPlay, for example, not everything that the Cupertino has thrown into its latest software is for its immediate benefit, and even though you probably haven't heard about it, Apple added a little something called Multipeer Connectivity Framework into the fold. The intriguing technology allows multiple devices - which needn't be connected to the Internet - to interact in a manner known as mesh networking, and by utilizing connectivity in the form of Wi-Fi networks, peer-to-peer Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, users can connect in a daisy chain-like manner, to various ends.
As Google's Chromecast continues its expansion to other countries around the world, the company appears to have begun to refocus its energies into the little HDMI dongle. Offering buyers a way to get video and audio onto a television via both Android and iOS devices, Chromecast is almost an alternative to an Apple TV for those that don't need the kinds of features that particular product offers.
Even though, at stock level, the general appearance of iOS isn't all that customizable, Apple's mobile operating system has long since supported personalized backgrounds. But while the introduction of dynamic wallpapers have added an extra dimension to proceedings, a new tweak in Cydia called springPage takes things a step further. As its name vaguely implies, springPage allows you to set your wallpaper on a per-page basis, so while the rigmarole of scrolling through pages of icons and folders can often be a tedious one, this tweak will let you inject a little variety.
iOS 7.1, which Apple finally released to iPhone, iPad and iPod touch users earlier on the month, brought with it a plethora of changes and enhancements including improvements to Siri, iTunes Radio and the introduction of CarPlay. But where iOS 7.1 giveth, iOS 7.1 also taketh away, and as well as plugging the Evasi0n jailbreak, the latest firmware also appeared to prevent a mistake of a feature that allowed for nested folders on the home screen. Now, though, there's a handy little workaround, and although it does require a little bit of extra effort, still does the same job.
Apple’s recent introduction of iOS 7.1 plugged jailbreak exploits that made the previous Evasi0n untethered jailbreak possible, and as such, jailbreakers have had to either stick with a preceding iOS 7.0.x release, or upgrade and forgo their access to Cydia. However, even though the pre-iOS 7.1 efforts by the Evad3rs team were commendable, it doesn’t mean that the hard work has ceased, and seasoned hacker Winocm has just posted a video of iOS 7.1 booting untethered.
Apple has always been extremely keen to show the world some of the amazing and innovative ways how an iPhone or iPad can be used. The Cupertino based company is rightly proud of the fact that the iPad is used extensively in the education sector by teachers and students. Tim Cook and his marketing team are also willing to wax lyrical about the fact that the likes of NASA and multiple airlines across the world have found a great way to introduce the award-winning tablet into their daily routines. A group of researchers at Stanford University have now created a simple iPhone accessory that thrusts Apple's smartphone into the medical world by allowing almost anyone to get a greater insight into the human eye.
Back in January, an interesting infographic emerged comparing the actual amount of storage space our smartphones offer versus the quoted capacity, and it showed that Samsung's Galaxy S4 was the biggest culprit for filling devices up with bloatware. Conversely, the iPhone 5c offered the most storage for a 16GB device, and the release just yesterday of a new 8GB iPhone 5c has thrown up the fascinating statistic that in terms of actual storage, the 16GB Galaxy S4 is a mere 3.7GB ahead of Apple's new 8GB iPhone 5c.
As a user of all three of the major mobile platforms in almost equal measure, one element of Google's Android that I particularly enjoy is the fact that widgets are abundant. Neither Windows Phone nor iOS support custom widgets natively, but thanks to the jailbreak community, those on iPhone, iPad and iPod touch have been able to indulge in recent times. A very promising new tweak on the scene by the name of ProWidgets allows iOS device users to enrich the experience of using Apple's mobile OS with a bunch of great widgets, and not only are they functionally sound and infinitely useful, but also aesthetically in-keeping with the look and feel of iOS 7.
