The native ability of most mobile devices to take screenshots can be incredibly useful, particularly if, like us, you're in the business of reviewing apps and games. As you may have noticed from some of our jailbreak posts, adding a device-like frame can turn a boring old capture into a beautiful, lifelike impression of a device in action, and although Photoshop skills tend to be required for these kinds of edits to be made, you can now add such frames natively on both iOS and Android. We've found two of the best apps in Screenshot - Frame Maker for iOS and Device Frame Generator for Android, and if you'd like to visually enhance some of your screen captures, check out the lowdown on each after the break!
Apple’s iPhone has one of the best audio engines in it, both in terms of hardware and the driver components. It isn’t really that surprising, considering that it was the Cupertino company that made the iPod genre of portable music players popular, and they’ve always delivered stellar quality. While the hardware that the device packs under its hood is really solid, the accompanying earphones (other than the new ear pods) and the stock iOS Music app are an entirely different story. The earphones are barely passable for very casual listening experience, and the app itself is pretty bland, to say the least. On these accounts, most people end up using third-party solutions both in terms of earphones and the music player.
Angry Birds started out as a simple, physics-based title for the iPhone, but in just a few short years, has evolved into one of the biggest mobile franchises the world has ever seen. With the original, and the numerous subsequent titles now available on just about any platform with a user base higher than 10, it's basically impossible to avoid those volatile avian creatures, and if you're on Facebook, you might have caught wind of Angry Birds Friends. Recently released by Rovio Entertainment, the title plays on Facebook's rather well-established social credentials, and with 60 million installs already, users of the world's foremost social network seem to be taking the bait. Following its success on Facebook, Angry Birds Friends will soon be making its way to iOS, allowing iPhone, iPad and iPod touch users to join in the socially-charged bird-slinging madness.
More so in 2013 than ever before, the rumor mill has been abuzz with the idea of Apple introducing a low-cost iPhone to capture a greater share of developing markets, such as India and China. As the notion continues to gain traction, designers and fanboys have been creating concept images and videos offering ideas of what form such a device may eventually take, but Matteo Gianni's iMac G3-inspired effort is by far our favorite so far. It plays on the idea of a translucent back cover revealing the handsets various innards, and would be available in a multitude of colors.
There's nothing like the re-release of a classic retro title to prompt a rush of nostalgia, and for those old enough to remember, it has been almost two decades since Duke Nukem 2 first released on MS-DOS. Just before the turn of the millennium, it made its second appearance on Nintendo's GameBoy Color, and with December marking the iconic title's twentieth anniversary, another remake has just been released for iOS before being teased back in March. Mode details and download link after the break.
One of the perceived downsides of the smartphone industry is the monopolization of devices through carrier locking. At point of sale and when you sign up to a contract with a carrier, it's understandable, but thereafter, getting a handset unlocked can be a trying, if not impossible process. If you want to check whether your device is unlocked for use on any network, a nifty online service completely has your back, and not only is the website incredibly easy to use, but if you're on Android, there's also an app available to download over at the Google Play Store. More details after the break.
Following the news that Apple had plugged the Evasi0n untethered jailbreak for A5+ powered iPhone 5, iPad and other new devices with the release of iOS 6.1.3, it was a case of being back to square one for those purchasing these new devices. Anybody running iOS 6.1.2 or earlier can jailbreak across the board, but if iOS 6.1.3 taught us anything, it's that the cat is never too far behind the mouse, and will eventually get clawed. Usually, this is a demoralizing period of time, yet although there is of course no untethered jailbreak just yet for the very latest firmware, we have already seen plenty of very encouraging signs for future firmware releases.
The wait may soon be over for those wishing to buy an iPhone on T-Mobile in the United States, but what about those already using their iPhones on the big purple carrier? While they’re happily using their devices currently, sans 3G, what about T-Mobile’s fancy new 4G LTE network?
The jury may still be out on whether 3D viewing is to be a significant part of the technology industry moving forward, or whether in fact it's just a novelty feature to be enjoyed from time to time. If you're of the opinion that yes, 3D viewing is a key part of digital viewing in future, then you may be interested by the creation of a Singapore-based bunch of researchers, who've developed a special type of film that can help mobile displays output in three dimensions.
Over the last few years, we have seen a number of companies release accessories for the iPhone that have the sole aim of providing a better sound output experience. Be it listening to music on the phone, watching movies downloaded from iTunes or just flicking through what's available on YouTube, the outputted sound quality and volume is one of the most important parts of the device's media capabilities. We've seen large dock based devices, smaller portable accessories and plug-in headphone attachments, and now thanks to Kickstarter, we are seeing what could possibly be the smallest amplification device in the form of the iPlifier. And to be quite honest, the accessory is not exactly rocket science either. More details after the break.
