The App Store is great and all, and while we're happy to pay for good apps, you just can't beat the excellent price of FREE. That's why many developers take their paid-for apps and drop their price to absolutely nothing for a short time - it creates buzz and with a bit of luck, gets them to the top of the App Store charts. Then they just need that popularity to carry over once the price returns to normal. Sounds easy, doesn't it?
When Apple announced iOS 8 at WWDC, it covered some of the software's most impressive features when showing people why it's the perfect companion for the Mac's upcoming OS X 10.10 Yosemite release. One feature that didn't get a mention is actually more of a tool for developers than a customer-facing addition, but that doesn't mean they won't get the benefit of it.
Apple's iOS 8 was announced a couple of weeks ago at the WWDC keynote event at the Moscone Center, but while, we were taken aback by how many features the company had packed into what was initially touted as a rudimentary update, we've been continually surprised by further clues on features as discovered through the subsequent iOS 8 betas. Earlier on this week, Apple rolled out iOS 8 beta 2 to developers, and having done some digging, one developer has manage to find and partially unlock the "City Tours" feature that Apple quietly alluded to before.
Android's long and storied malware history is almost a thing of folklore at this point. Google's open approach to the way Android is distributed as well as the ability to side-load apps has left its platform wide open for all kinds of mischievous shenanigans, and even though security updates keep rolling out of Google, the issue of device security isn't going to go away overnight.
Smartphones, tablets and mobile gadgets in general are regularly targeted by unwanted individuals, and devices bearing the famous Apple logo tend at higher risk than those created by other manufacturers. The iPhone, in particular, has been a hot item given its strong resale value, and as such, Apple has felt compelled - obliged even - to take action. The Activation Lock system introduced alongside iOS 7 has, according to a new report, notably reduced iPhone theft across three of the world's major cities, with London, New York and San Francisco all having noticed less activity involving theft of Apple's most prized of assets.
With Microsoft's BUILD and Apple's WWDC now done and dusted, Google will be the last of the Big Three to run its annual developer event when I/O kicks off in San Francisco next week, and following on from the recent announcement of its smartwatch-flavored Android Wear software, the search giant's emphasis on the emerging wearables market will likely be atop the agenda. In advance of arguably the biggest date in the company's calendar for this year, an introduction clip of Android Wear has just been released, offering even more of an insight into what smartwatch owners can expect from this extension of the company's traditional mobile software.
There's nothing worse than being out and about and finding out that your smartphone or tablet has suffered from total battery drain and will no longer function. A lack of battery power means that access to text messages, emails, navigation apps and even Facebook is no longer possible when on the move, and for a lot of you guys out there that will almost feel like life as you know it, has ended. Thankfully, Microsoft and British designer Adrien Sauvage can sympathize with that pain and have teamed up to create a pair of innovative wireless charging trousers that will ensure compatible mobile devices remain powered up.
Since Apple first brought forth official support for third-party gaming controllers along with iOS 7, peripheral makers have continually offered their takes on what a modern-day joypad should look and function like. But although the announcement of Made for iPhone accessories was lauded by certain sections of the mobile gaming world, things haven't quite taken off as Apple might have anticipated, and Wikipad's new Gamevice effort for the iPad mini will seek to finally give this market the boost it appears to require.
This past Monday, the Unicode Consortium had announced an update to the Unicode Standard, bringing the version up to 7.0 and introduced support for 2,834 new characters, especially those for new currencies, historic scripts, written languages for various regions etc., as well as 250 new emoji. It was the last bit that got the Internet most excited, particularly since the new characters included the likes of the infamous middle finger. Today, the Consortium has finally made available a full chart of all the new Emojis that have been added for our perusal.
In the world of iOS, paid apps routinely go free from time to time, one way or the other. We’ve recently been keeping you abreast of notable paid apps gone free, and what we have today is no exception. Our feature today is an app that usually costs a solid $100 in the iTunes App Store, and for a limited time, you can get it for free!
