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.
If you're accustomed to the tiled interface of Windows Phone 8, you'll be aware of how easy it is to change the color of the theme / accent to whatever you want. Well, almost anything; for while one can accent the user-interface with a bunch of exotic colors ranging from cobalt to crimson, there's no immediately apparent black option. If you've spent some time rootling around your device's settings, you may already have discovered how to inject the jet-black finish upon the UI, but if you haven't and would like to know how, below you'll find a little tutorial covering the steps.
Having been purchased by Google three years ago before being recently offloaded to Lenovo for almost $10 billion less, you might have forgiven Motorola for losing a little of its get-up-and-go, but today's announcement of the Moto 360 - the first confirmed smartwatch to be running on its former overlord's Android Wear software - indicates that Motorola is far from beleaguered by the unsettling corporate movements, and still has a great deal to offer the mobile market. The device itself, which looks a digitized version of a traditional wristwatch, will be available at some point in the summer, with Motorola - like Google - currently focusing its efforts in developing the ecosystem.
With Samsung having already announced the Gear 2 and Gear Fit smartwatches at Mobile World Congress, it was only going to be a matter of time before the other big names in tech joined the fray, and amid ongoing rumors that Apple will drop its elusive 'iWatch' product later this year, Google has gone ahead and released the Developer Preview of its 'Android Wear' SDK. As the name implies, this particular flavor of the search giant's open-source platform is designed specifically for wearables, and the Big G also took the opportunity to reel off a bunch of manufacturers, including Motorola and HTC, that will begin releasing wearable products using the software later on this year.
Microsoft's Xbox One, which released late last year in the UK and US before trickling out to several other regions, will have its reach greatly expanded by September, with the company's own Major Nelson having revealed its plans to release the console to 26 new markets in that month.
The Samsung Galaxy S5 may have been announced some three weeks ago, but its Korean maker has been rather tight-lipped regarding pricing and availability. We now know that the forthcoming flagship will begin retailing in early April, with pre-orders beginning later on this month, and now, UK network operator Three has divulged its pricing details of the sought-after handset.
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.
