To me, it seems strange that one would spend vast amounts of money on a premium product like an Apple iPad, but not pony up the money for a decent, official spare charger. Counterfeit charging accessories make big bucks for those behind them, but as a side-by-side tear-down of real vs. bootleg demonstrates, the malpractices involved can lead to fires, minor explosions, and general damage to your prized Apple slate.
Apple's reported acquisition of Beats Electronics for the tidy sum of $3.2 billion mightn't have been officially confirmed as yet, but if new information out of Japan is to be considered, it looks very much as though Apple does indeed want to increase its interest in the audio market. Apparently, the Cupertino company is looking to bake high definition (HD) audio playback into its upcoming iOS 8 software, which would also see the company introduce a higher fidelity, "HD-ready" Lightning connector and improved in-ear headphones to match.
Whatever eventually happens with regards to the iPhone 6, the so-called "iWatch" and the many other Apple products that are supposedly going to appear later on in the year, the new iOS 8 software will no doubt prove integral. So far, we've heard that it will pack Healthbook, an iTunes Radio app, and several other new features as well as improvements to pre-existing services like Maps. If any enhancements are in the offing for Control Center -- which, itself, only arrived with September's iOS 7 -- then we certainly hope that they'll take at least some cues from this concept below.
By now, we've established a reasonably solid idea of what to expect from the iPhone 6, and having seen a myriad of mockups over the last couple of weeks, some high-quality comparison videos have just emerged that note of the similarities and differences between it and the current iPhone 5s. Given that the upcoming device will, from what we gather, be largely remnant of the iPod touch, one of the clips also looks at how the iPhone 6 holds up against the forgotten member of the iOS device line.
For most Android owners, transferring data the old-fashioned way is fairly easy. The majority of devices are equipped with microSD card slots, and data can easily be moved to and from a smartphone or tablet. iPhone users don't have this luxury, but we have, in recent times, seen a marked increase in the number of removable storage peripherals available from third parties. Now Hyper - a revered maker of iAccessories - has come through with the iStick, a MFi (Made for iPhone) gadget that features in-built USB and Lightning connectors.
The introduction of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One late last year may have offered significant improvements in terms of graphics and general performance, but some are already looking ahead to what the future holds for the video gaming industry. A new hack for Crysis 3, which allows the resolution to be bumped to 8K, offers a vicarious look at the level of gaming we may be enjoying in years to come, and if you happen to be a big gamer, prepare to have your mind blown.
What the tech world has suspected for quite some time and what appears to have been in the works for past few months is finally here - Valve, the infamous genius behind Half-Life 2 & Portal - two of the most coveted games in the history of PC gaming, has finally brought both the titles to Android, albeit with a catch.
Google's Gmail has, in its decade-long tenure, established itself as one of, if not the foremost service for managing virtual mail. The Gmail team has worked to ensure that users have a robust and secure platform from which to keep track of the continual cycle of digital correspondence, and according to some newly-leaked info, the Web app is set for a significant overhaul that will incorporate a totally new design. Screenshots, as well as further details, can be seen below.
When it comes to implementing new and emerging technologies, Apple is notorious for dragging its heels. It wasn't until the iPhone 5, which arrived in late 2012, that the Cupertino's smartphone finally saw 4G LTE, and while there has been talk in the past of the iPhone getting Near Field Communication tech, otherwise known as NFC, this has also yet to materialize. Perhaps it should be seen as something of a formality, then, that new reports indicate that the iPhone 6 will offer NFC as standard, with a deal also apparently having been struck between Apple and China UnionPay.
Various companies have already shown their willingness to invest heavily in wrist based technology in an attempt to conquer the market that hasn't yet fully emerged. South Korean based LG is the latest company to throw its hat into the ring with the announcement of the LG G Watch, and although the device isn't slated for release until later this month, a new promotional video manages to tease us into guessing some of the features it will ship with.
