So, wireless charging. Plenty of smartphone makers have taken a stab at killing off the charging cable over the years, with Nokia in particular doing its best to make wireless charging into something that's less of a novelty and more of a real feature. While the likes of Apple have so far refused to bring wireless charging to iPhones and iPads, there's no doubt that there's something inherently cool about charging something just by putting it onto a plate.
Apple's iOS is commonly referred to as a "walled garden," a label used to described the subtle limitations attached to a closed source piece of software. But every now and then, we're reminded that Apple's mobile operating system isn't a completely fusty old stick-in-the-mud, and that actually, there are means of customizing the experience without having to resort to a jailbreak. AnyFont, an app that lets you install custom TrueType and OpenType fonts, is a prime example, and for $1.99 over at the App Store, is well worth checking out.
We've had some pretty decent insight into iOS 8 of late, and with this year’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC 2014) kicking off in early June, it has also been reported that internal testing is being ramped up in anticipation for the beta roll-out. Now, images of an iPhone 5s supposedly running the forthcoming software have leaked into the wild, and although there's no way of telling whether or not we're looking at the real deal or a nifty bit of fakery, the pixelated nature of the snaps suggest the latter.
The Samsung Galaxy S5 has been on sale for exactly one week, and the Korean company's famed advertising machine has, for the duration, been in full flow. In a move to help owners accustom themselves to the Galaxy S5 - as well as to try and convince fence-sitters that its latest and greatest handset is the one for them - Samsung has detailed a list of ten 'hidden' features of its latest and greatest smartphone.
Facebook has just released version 1.1 of its Paper app for iPhone. The magazine-style alternative to the official Facebook app brings many traditional features to the table, including the ability to check birthdays and events, post photos as comments, view group updates and follow the latest coverage from the 9 new article covers.
Along with Project Ara, Project Glass, and all of the other exciting innovations that Google has going right now, the company's Advanced Technologies and Projects (ATAP) team also took the wraps off Project Tango back in February. The aim of Project Tango's mapping technology is to allow common devices such as smartphones to perceive space, objects and movements in the manner that humans do, and in order to really test the resolve of its emerging invention, the Mountain View-based company has teamed up with NASA for some zero-gravity testing.
One of the great things about the Google-branded Nexus range - besides the fact that users can enjoy untouched Android and swift, timely updates - is that the devices themselves are considerably cheaper than comparable products. But while the likes of the Nexus 7 tablet and Nexus 5 smartphone continue to offer a fairly high-end experience on a budget, the search giant could take things a step further with a sub-$100 handset.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 movie is about to launch next month, and as anticipated, the accompanying title is now also available to download for both Android and iOS.
Facebook has continued the recent trend of improving its mobile app by releasing version 9.0 of its native iOS app. Updates for the official primary Facebook app and secondary Messenger chat app have been coming thick and fast in recent weeks as the world's largest social network puts in place plans to transition chat and messaging functionality away from the main app.
What with Facebook being a public company these days, making money just so happens to be one of its primary objectives, but while we're more than used to seeing ads every time we log into the social network, the new auto-playing video ads feel just a little obtrusive. If you're irritated by these recently-introduced advertisements, then you'll be pleased to know that, for the time being, at least, there's a way out. Below, we take you through the steps on how to deactivate them, regardless of whether you're on Android, iOS or the Web.
