Earlier on this month, we heard that Google would be releasing an imminent update to the Android Camera app, bringing it up to scratch with the offerings of both Samsung and HTC with their respective flagship releases. Today, the day has come, with version 2.1.037 of the native Camera bringing plenty features, including - as promised - a little fake bokeh.
Hyundai already confirmed its intention to begin rolling out CarPlay-enabled cars after striking a deal with Apple, and today, the Seoul, South Korea-based company has officially announced that the 2015 Sonata - releasing this summer - will be the very first beneficiary of Apple's in-car variant of iOS.
Historically, Samsung has been all too willing to slander Apple and its products with ads, but for a while a few years back, the Korean outfit took a back seat, preferring to let Google take control of the Apple-bashing. But while, as has been revealed during the unfolding of events in the current Apple vs. Samsung court case in California, the Galaxy maker did cease to attack Apple for a while, the company's marketing team saw the death former CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs as "the best opportunity" to re-ignite its smear campaign.
Google has several innovative projects on the go at any one time, and while the world continues to be fascinating by Project Glass, Project Ara - the company's endeavor to build a modular smartphone that allows specific hardware features to be swapped in and out at will - has gathered a significant amount of interest in recent weeks. It's a concept that, if the Big G manages to pull it off, could really change the face of the smartphone market, and with a couple of teasers already having been released by the Project Ara team, we're now hearing that the first modular handset will be available from January next year.
Google took a much needed step on Monday to update its terms of service that govern the use of its many products and offerings. As part of the update, and more than likely as part of a direct response to the numerous privacy lawsuits that are underway against the company, Google has provided some clarity on its automatic email scanning tools that form an integral part of its mail service, Gmail. Whether or not the new terms of service will be enough to appease those who have brought claims against the company via the legal system is still unknown.
Chinese case and accessory makers are always a mile ahead when it comes to making accessories for unannounced hardware, and like every year, things aren’t so different this time either, with an electronics fair being held in Hong Kong that showcases mockups of Apple’s next flagship smartphone along with its yet-to-be released accessories.
Google's Helpouts service, which allows users connect to experts for live video help on a range of different topics, has just been released for iPhone.
No sooner is a device released boasting new and exclusive software features, than is its carcass picked at by the ravenous Android community, and said treasures are subsequently ported to the scrambling masses. The HTC One M8, which, even in the fast-moving world of the smartphone, is still brand new, offers the nicely-revamped Sense 6 launcher, which, created by HTC, is supposed to serve only devices bearing the Taiwanese company's logo. However, "exclusivity" is simply not in the language of any respectably Android fan, and thus, it should come as little surprise that Sense 6 is well on its way to being ported to the Google-made Nexus 5.
With in-car sound specialist Alpine looking set to bring CarPlay support to existing automobiles following a report on Monday, it now appears as though rival Pioneer will also be offering something similar. In line with speculation that hit the blogosphere shortly after CarPlay was introduced alongside the iOS 7.1 software update, Pioneer will offer a CarPlay-facilitating update to a select group of its more recent in-car systems.
Google Glass is now on sale for 24 hours only, are you buying it? Take our poll at the bottom of this post and let us know. In order to be able to purchase a Glass headset, the consumer must be a resident of the United States and be legally classed as an adult. Oh, they must also be willing to part with $1,500 plus local sales tax. That bit’s important.
