The official Twitter app has taken a fair bit of stick over the years, especially with the likes of Tweetbot hanging around, but it's fair to say that in recent times, things have improved dramatically. Today, Twitter for Android and iOS have both been given rudimentary updates, with the main alteration being that conversations between tweeters are now clearer, rather than showing up as individual tweets.
Although smartphones are getting progressively better in all departments including power, performance and battery life, one must still take care in order to maximize the lifespan and so general daily operations are carried out without hitch. After all, technology is still far from perfect at times, and if you're in ownership of a mobile device, you will have encountered dwindling battery life and performance at some point. But with an app like Super Optimize for Android, you can keep your device in good health for as long as possible, and if your device is currently struggling to cope with the daily grind, this one is for you.
Yesterday, BitTorrent announced that the release of BitTorrent Sync for iOS was imminent, and having passed Apple's moderation process (despite the negativity attached to being a founding father of a peer-to-peer file sharing protocol), it is now ready for prime time use. As you would perhaps expect, it is completely free to download, and you'll find all of the relevant details, as well as the all-conquering download link, right after the fold!
We first caught wind of Philips Hue last year, and at the time, we were rather impressed by a technology allowing us to control different colored light bulbs right from our iOS devices. Since March, the API and SDK for Hue light bulbs has allowed developers to take advantage of and manipulate the bright and colorful rays shot by Hue, but naturally, we've only seen mainly mobile apps hitherto. A new offering for Mac, which goes by the name of Hue Menu, offers a multitude of options in helping you find that perfect ambient glow.
Windows 8 may still be considerably bereft when it comes to popular apps, but in a fortnight that has seen a working Instagram app arrive on the mobile version of Microsoft's fledgling platform, Foursquare for Windows 8 has just made its long-awaited appearance over at the Windows Store. First unveiled at Microsoft's BUILD dev conference back in June, the turnaround has been fairly swift, and now fans of the social check-in service can collect their badges, make and view recommendations, and strive for mayorship using the new app.
Parallels has built its name up from a series of software allowing consumers to run Microsoft's Windows on a Mac. There are, of course, numerous apps offering a similar service, but with ease of use and generally smooth functionality, Parallels Desktop has become the go-to choice for many looking to enjoy the best of both worlds. Now, the company has come through with Parallels Access, an app for iPad that allows convenient remote control access to both Windows and OS X desktops and notebooks.
Recently, research firm Gartner brought us the news that we have all been expecting for quite some time - that smartphone sales are now exceeding the sales of standard so-called "feature" phones. The April-June period of this year represented the first time that this has been the case, and although it was something that was inevitably going to happen, it does go a long way to actually showing our increasing reliance on the smartphones that we all carry around with us. The I Forgot My Phone video - courtesy of Charlene deGuzman - also manages to paint a pretty powerful picture of how smartphone technology has managed to become infused in our everyday existence.
Apple's MacBook is an expensive commodity to say the least, and once we've forked out such hefty sums for the privilege of owning a shiny aluminum notebook, it stands to reason that we'll want to spend a little extra on making the experience of using it as joyous as possible. Thus, MacBook peripherals and accessories are in high demand, and few companies offer the kind of range and quality as Twelve South. The makers of the BookBook for iPhone 5 and others are back with another great product - GhostStand for MacBook.
The budget iPhone 5C is almost upon us, and as the experts, commentators and consumers continue to estimate the eventual retail price of the so-called low-cost device, it certainly won't be anywhere near as cheap as its Chinese clone. Yes, the knockoff-ers are back in force in time for the release of Apple's next range of handsets, and while the knockoff iPhone 5C won't run on iOS 7, it will only set you back a mere hundred bucks!
Late last week, we heard through the grapevine that Windows 8.1 RTM had been finalized, and today, the process has begun. New devices and machines bundled with Windows 8.1 will become available from October 18th, with manufacturers now being issued with licenses to pre-install the software, everything appears to be running tidily to schedule.
