Instant messaging and communication apps are experiencing something of a boom right now, and it's no coincidence that since the announcement of Facebook's $16 billion takeover of WhatsApp, developers have been plotting various ways to tap into this clearly lucrative market.
The fact that Dropbox forked out a cool $100 million to acquire Mailbox last year is a testament to how highly regarded the app is, but while it's now seen as the go-to email solution for those rocking an iOS device, the fact that it's only available on the iTunes App Store is very limiting. But when a company pays such vast sums of money to acquire something, expansion is generally forthcoming, and as such, it shouldn't come as a surprise that Dropbox has released the Mailbox app for Android, as well as announcing a desktop version.
It's fair to say that the mobile industry gets a little bit carried away with raw specs than is actually necessary. After all, the fact that vendors keep chucking in new, improved processors of multiple cores doesn't necessarily equate to significantly better performance, particularly if the software isn't optimized to make the most of the power at its disposal.
Even though Apple doesn't tend to announce new iPhones until the fall of each year, we've already heard a lot of information with regards to the so-called iPhone 6. Notably, the consensus seems to be that the Cupertino will deliver two variants of the forthcoming handset - one packing a 4.7-inch display, and a further model boasting a panel in excess of 5.5 inches. We've also heard, however, that the larger of these two releases will be delayed until next year, and a new report out of Taiwan also appears to suggest that only one will be available in time for the purported September release bracket.
If you're an Internet junkie then the chances are high that you've come across the Heartbleed OpenSSL bug that rose to prominence on Monday. A number of extremely popular and frequently visited websites such as Pinterest, NASA, StackOverflow, OKCupid and Airbnb have the OpenSSL cryptographic library embedded into their architecture, and therefore have become immediately susceptible to the bug. Heartbleed was initially discovered by a Google security engineer in conjunction with Codenomicon, but what does it mean for you and your Internet usage?
Towards the end of March, a few schematic leaks emerged detailing 4.7-inch and 5.7-inch iPhone models. At the time, it was reckoned that said documents outlined supposed lower-end, 'iPhone 6c' devices, but now, one designer has put together some renders of what these handsets might look like if treated to the premium, flagship design language.
The Samsung Galaxy S5 is just a few days from releasing, but some lucky individuals have managed to get their hands on the device earlier than billed. But while many of those with early access have given us a run-through of the numerous features that Samsung has bundled into the new handset - something we are certainly grateful for - others have used their privileged access to the new hardware to satisfy an appetite for destruction. It's certainly arguable that the videos that invent elaborate ways to destroy gleaming new devices are the most enjoyable of all, and a couple of new clips showing a hammer and a boiling water tests only further emphasize this point.
When it comes to the promotion of a new product, manufacturers seem obsessed by the idea of paid celebrity endorsements, but while this has proven problematic on many occasions, HTC has once again drafted in actor Robert Downey Jr. to help with the promotion push of its new One M8 smartphone. The rather humorous ad spot sees Downey talk briefly about how great the device is, before strongly advising - in a little bit of Old English - that you should go out and grab your very own as soon as possible.
Samsung is not a company that you'd say is unfamiliar with litigation, but while the Korean outfit tends to find itself in court accused by Apple of patent infringement, the Galaxy S5 maker has reportedly sued a newspaper of its native tongue for posting some unflattering coverage of its upcoming flagship. Given that the Galaxy S4 didn't sell as well as the company had hoped, there's added pressure on its successor to make amends, but while negative reviews certainly don't help matters, Samsung's decision to respond by means of a lawsuit does seem a tad extreme.
After well over a decade of service, Microsoft has officially ended support for Windows XP, meaning that no further updates will be released from here on in.
