The last few revision of iOS have seen many big features arrive to the scene, but one of the quieter entries, if you'll forgive the pun, is the Do Not Disturb utility with iOS 6. Now, something similar has arrived over at the Windows Phone Store in the form of an app called Quiet Hours, allowing you to readily prevent your device from bothering you when you're asleep, in a meeting, or other formal or informal event where discretion is paramount.
On a Monday morning, trying to get to work and stuck in seemingly endless traffic, the thought of simply driving through everyone and everything in our way becomes rather appealing, if a little impractical and infinitely dangerous. Luckily, we've outlets like the popular game Carmageddon, allowing us to control that pent up anger and road-rage in a safe, digital manner. An enthralling title from the get-go, it has just gone free for Android users over at the Play Store, so if you like the idea of a game that rewards running over pedestrians and moped riders, this one's certainly for you!
The lock screen is the first port of call on almost any mobile device, and since iOS users don't really get to change much other than the wallpaper at stock level, it's no wonder that the recent jailbreak has seen Cydia inundated with lock screen-based mods for eager iPhone, iPad and iPod touch users to enjoy. With the all-in-one Springtomize 3 for iOS 7 on its way for those looking to tweak their home screens, SubtleLock (iOS 7) offers something similar for the lock screen. Although it's not quite as extensive, it allows you to downscale and recolor certain aspects for a truly minimalistic approach, and if you prefer the understated look, this one's definitely for you.
Keeping abreast of your contacts can be a tedious and ongoing task, particularly when you've accumulated more than you care to maintain, but it doesn't have to be such a nightmare. A tweak by the name of QuickContacts, created by developer DarkMalloc, enables you to access your favorite contacts right from your home screen by making a simple swiping gesture, so if you just want to make a quick call to a close friend or relative, you needn't have to go through the tiresome rigmarole of scanning and searching your digital phone book.
The magic of the famed SwiftKey Keyboard could be about to make its way to Apple's iOS via a standalone note-taking app, if a leak via the Twitter handle Evleaks is to be believed. Renowned on Android for its speedy, intuitive nature and, in particular, its "Flow" feature, it's something that iOS users haven't been able to enjoy thanks to the Cupertino's stingy rules on accessing core features, but with a standalone app, at least those on iOS could get a taster of SwiftKey's advanced set of tools.
We've been hearing a lot of rumor and speculation regarding Nokia's supposed effort to bring its first smartphone running on Android to market, and while it has been suggested on numerous occasions that next month's Mobile World Congress (MWC) could be the venue for the grand unveiling, Nokia has now all-but confirmed this to be the case by sending out invitations to a special press event kicking off on 24th at 8.30AM. The invitation doesn't, of course, specify what will be on show, but with everything seeming to point towards the mid-range handset - codenamed 'Normandy,' we could be just one month away from seeing it in the flesh.
With every new report on Apple's future smartphone movements, the likelihood that we'll be seeing at least one handset with a considerably larger display than the iPhone 5s's 4-inch effort has seemed stronger. Some reputable publications have even suggested that the fruit company may be planning two, and now, The Wall Street Journal has waded in to corroborate this notion. One of the devices will apparently offer a display in excess of the 4.5-inch mark, while the second handset will exceed the 5-inch mark, equating to a significant leap from the current flagship.
iOS may pack a decent amount of emoticons by default, but online, you might have caught wind of the latest craze in self-expression - unicode faces. Using all manner of strange characters, people have been coming up with some pretty humorous faces, and if this kind of thing floats your boat, then the fact that you can add them to your iOS keyboard (provided that you're jailbroken) should put a smile, or rather, a (◕ ◡ ◕) on your face. Check out the new UniFaces jailbreak tweak, which lets you do exactly this, after the leap!
Depending on who you speak to, push notifications can either be a life-saver or work of pure evil. There is an extremely large mobile device user base that simply can’t live without notifications no matter how hard they try. Conversely, there is also a set of users who receive so many text messages, emails and social network alerts that it becomes a full-time job to keep up with the incoming notifications that are generated on a per app basis. The Notification Privacy tweak that has recently landed on Cydia offers jailbroken users the opportunity to take control of those push notifications by devising a setup that suits the individual.
Some tweaks are practical, meant to enhance the functionality of iOS in part or as a whole. Others, meanwhile, are designed for aesthetic flair, but while some try and fail at being both at the same time, a new, free-of-charge tweak manages to hit that cross-section between usefulness and eye-candy. It's called SimplePasscodeButtons, and, as the name concedes simplifies your passcode's keypad by removing the numbers from the keys.
