There has been a noticeable increase in the number of apps, devices and peripherals catering to the health and fitness-conscious of late, but a new product by the name of ToneFone, created by British company DesirableBody, has taken things to the next level. Playing on the idea that we spend far too much of our time with our devices in hand, the ToneFone essentially weighs down your iPhone, doubling it up as a dumbbell, and we can't for the life us, decide whether it's about the craziest idea for a phone case we've ever seen, or a mere stroke of genius.
In the run-up to the release of any high-end device, there's always a certain level of excitement and anticipation, and with speculation having suggested that the iPhone 6 will be notably larger than any previous Apple smartphone, it's no wonder that analysts are already projecting a spike in upgrades and Android switchers. The iPhone 6 concepts have been arriving thick and fast, but today's effort from the folks of ConceptsiPhone has simply blown us away, packing a 5.5-inch edge-to-edge display into an undeniably beautiful form factor.
Amid a swirl of rumors over the past couple of days suggesting that Apple would be adding a cheaper, 8GB variant of the iPhone 5c to its smartphone roster, the company has now confirmed this to be the case, with the handset launching today in select markets.
Apple and Game Center has long since facilitated multiplayer gaming for those running iOS devices, and thanks to a recent update, Google Play Game Services will offer something similar to those rocking iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. What's more, as well as allowing gamers to compete against each other on iOS, developers integrating Google Play Game Services into their titles will enable players to compete cross-platform with users on Android, outlining the search giant's intention to expand and improve the online capabilities of the Play Store.
It's not uncommon, as has been the case over the past couple of months, for talk of the next iPhone to begin swiftly following the release of the current model. But while we've only seen tentative upgrades in terms of the Apple smartphone's form factor since the original handset arrived in 2007, the talk of two new devices - the larger of which may pack a display in excess of 5.5 inches - has raised more than a few eyebrows. With this in mind, ISI analyst Brian Marshall not only believes that we'll see unprecedented numbers of consumers upgrading to the new, larger model, but he also foresees scores of Android users jumping ship as Apple finally decides to go big.
A security researcher has discovered major a flaw in the iOS 7 security system, apparently brought about by a botched attempt by Apple to patch an issue specific to iOS 6. The kernel exploit, if anything, has only been aggravated by the Cupertino's intervention, and as such, Azimuth Security researcher Tarjei Mandt believes that iOS 7 is "much worse" than its predecessor with regards security.
Apple's iPhone 6 is highly expected to be an embodiment of the company's future direction, both in form and function. A number of early rumors have already alluded to the fact that the Cupertino company is intending to step away from the 4-inch form factor that has served the iPhone 5, 5s and 5c so well in favor of something a little larger. In addition to that change of physical size, one well-placed analyst is predicting that the iPhone 6 will introduce a number of new internal sensors that could open up the device to a whole host of new possibilities.
The first big Xbox One system update, which arrived earlier this month, was released in order to prepare gamers for the release of Titanfall, but there were other key implementations besides. Twitch, the streaming service that allows gamers to capture and share their progress with the rest of the world, also rolled out onto the latest and greatest Microsoft console, and with the Game Developers Conference having just kicked off in San Francisco, Twitch has outlined its plans to hit the mobile gaming world - beginning with Asphalt 8 on iOS.
As well as offering some big improvements upon existing features, iOS 8 is expected to deliver some significant new implementations of its own, and with fitness and tracking-related devices and applications currently in vogue, it is thought that Apple will hop aboard the bandwagon with a new, native app called Healthbook. As the name implies, the app will be to fitness and wellbeing what Passbook is to vouchers and tickets, presenting the health-conscious with an all-in-one hub for tracking key aspects such as exercise, diet and activity. 9to5Mac first shed light on Healthbook a while back, and is now back with some more in-depth tidbits regarding the forthcoming app.
Love them or hate them, rumors will never cease. With the next big thing just around the corner and everyone doing their best to second guess what the big thing to come out of the likes of Apple and Samsung will be, speculation and conjecture will always be on the tip of the internet’s collective tongue. Unfortunately it doesn’t always get it right.
