A week ago, app developer Steven Troughton-Smith revealed some interesting screenshots regarding the forthcoming iOS in the Car feature from Apple. Although it is unknown when exactly the grand roll out will commence, Troughton-Smith's findings manifested through a beta build of iOS 7.1, and as such, we anticipate that the final version may well include the new automobile-friendly implementation. Since last week, the well-known dev has been digging into iOS 7.0.3 and discovered that certain features of iOS in the Car are already present (albeit hidden) deep within this release, and using the iOS Simulator, has posted a clip onto YouTube, offering - for the first time - a brief glimpse of the dash-tailored system in operation.
The LaCie Fuel storage device, which is as compact as it is stylish, allows you to store up to 1TB of data, which can in turn be wirelessly beamed to your Apple devices such as your Mac, iPhone, iPad or iPod touch. Not only can you store a whole bunch of media, but with AirPlay support, you can actually stream your favorite movies and TV shows to your Apple TV, or hook up to your AirPlay-ready speakers for a music-listening session.
Although certain areas of the tech world seem drunk with excitement about Google's Glass project, there remain plenty of questions regarding the device's viability as a consumer product. Price, for example, is one area that could make-or-break this emerging technology once it enters the end-user later this year, but cost alone is not the only hurdle. Those accustomed to wearing normal, prescription lenses cannot comfortably utilize Glass due to its lack of support for those in need of visual aids, but today, those in ownership of the beta Explorer Edition (v2 only) can select from one of four different styles of prescription lens made available by Google for an additional $225.
Ever since the Evasi0n7 jailbreak recently came about courtesy of the Evad3rs team, we've seen swathes of great tweaks and apps emerge from the Cydia Store. Many of them have offered ways to truly manipulate the functionality of iOS in a number of ways, while others, like today's tweak, are a lot more aesthetically-focused. Eclipse, a new tweak by developer Guillermo Morán brings a "night mode" to the interface, so all of the bright, white color effects become a mixture of dark grays and blacks, nicely accented by an optional orange tint.
Jailbreaking iOS devices has many different benefits, but possibly the one that causes most to go through the process is the added ability to customize just about everything. In our experience we've found that people will customize just about every aspect of iOS, often in ways that we would never have imagined being useful. Useful or not, it seems people like to tweak things, especially when it comes to visual elements.
Apple's earnings call conferences tend to be of general interest to the wider on-looking tech community, particularly Q1, which covers the lucrative October-to-December holiday sales period. With the iPhone 5s having sold in unprecedented numbers for a new Apple smartphone (or any smartphone, for that matter), and the likes of the Retina iPad mini and iPad Air having debuted, this Q1 earnings call was always going to be impressive, and in actual fact, it was record-busting.
Well, we didn't see that one coming! A report from industry sleuth Eldar Murtazin suggests that Google may cease its popular Nexus line of smartphone and tablet from next year. Instead, Murtazin says, the Big G will focus instead on re-releasing pre-existing devices as Google Play Edition models, running on stock Android and without any OEM bloatware.
When Google refreshed Android to bring in version 4.4, KitKat, it added some new features to the mix while also redesigning some of the platform’s existing ones. Music playback was one example of something that got a lick of paint in KitKat, with a new lock screen widget being at the center of it all.
As of today, Microsoft's cloud service SkyDrive will be known as 'OneDrive,' a move that no doubt strengthens connections with the all-new Xbox One console. The decision is not entirely voluntary, with the name change very much the result of a trademark case involving the Sky Broadcasting Group (BSkyB), but it does, in a sense, afford Redmond company's product range an improved degree of uniformity.
The world may still be getting used to the idea of having high-speed 4G wireless data at its collective fingertips, and many are still stuck with good-ol' 3G, but that doesn't mean that companies and governments the world over aren't clamoring to try and get ahead of the game. 5G is where it's going to be at in the next five or so years, and South Korea hopes to lead the way.
