Every time Apple releases a new smartphone, there's always that feature thrown in to get chins wagging and kick up a little frenzy otherwise known as Apple Fever. This time around, it was the bright colors of the iPhone 5c; the fingerprint sensor of the iPhone 5s. Last year, it was the larger display of the iPhone 5, which finally broke the mold, but before that, the iPhone 4S got Siri.
Next year should follow the usual prose when it comes to the technology industry, but one project that stands out as, quite literally, a potential eye-opener, is Google's Glass. Having first been teased last year, it has been developed and enhanced considerably during its tenure as the Big G's most exciting up-and-coming, and such is the level of work being put in behind the scenes, that it would seem as though the search giant is already working on a model beyond the inaugural Google Glass Explorer Edition.
CyanogenMod remains one of the most popular after market firmware for Android devices. Renowned for its seamless, refined operation and general functionality, it is a credit to the great Steve Kondik, the man behind CM and the newly-founded Cyanogen company. Some feared that Kondik's decision to make it official, as it were, would be to the detriment of CyanogenMod, but as we've seen over the past month, it's simply not his way. Kondik has just teased CyanogenMod running on the newly-released Galaxy Note 3, and although it's not quite ready for prime time, those in ownership of the Samsung phablet finally have some good news.
It seems like it was just five minutes ago when excitement levels were being raised in preparation for the iPhone 5s/5c event at Apple's Cupertino campus. With that event now under wraps and firmly in the past, the company has moved onto the next chapter by sending out media invites for the October 22nd event that we believe will see the introduction of the next-generation range of iPads.
Any Twitter user will be more than aware that the San Francisco based company isn’t shy when it comes to making changes. Historical amendments around their developer focused API caused more than its fair share of controversy when introduced earlier this year. The many millions of registered Twitter users have also been subjected to various changes over the company's lifespan with the introduction of sponsored tweets showing up in timelines. After a period of public inactivity, the changes are happening again, but this time involving a relatively minor tweak on how direct messages currently work.
It's been all change in the Apple boardroom over the last 24 months, and while some of it has obviously been unavoidable other moves have been entirely by the Cupertino firm's choosing. The latest high profile addition to the brain trust that roams Apple's corridors of power is the appointment of current Burberry CEO Angela Ahrendts.
Apple has, for a long time, intended to make a more substantial effort to capture the Chinese market, and with both the new iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s hitting China from the get-go, said this effort is most certainly in motion. To add to this, it would appear that the iPhone 5c and 5s have now passed the mandatory certification to carry radios compliant with China Mobile. Not only is it the largest carrier in China by a considerable distance, but it's actually the biggest network the world over, and the grand launch should be hitting its 750 million users at some point in the near future. More details can be found right here after the leap.
As far as social photograph apps go, Snapchat has proven more popular than most and has seen a take-up the likes of which most other app developers can only dream of. Based on being able to send photos to each other that time-out after a maximum time of 10-seconds, Snapchat's big appeal is that, theoretically at least, users should be safe in the knowledge that what they send won't be there forever.
The App Store is a goldmine of weird and wonderful creations, and although we see plenty of intuitive apps and wonderfully enticing games, sometimes an app comes along so novel that it just has to get a mention. If you've seen some of the official iPhone 5c cases, you'll know that there's one featuring quite a few circular holes on the back. In many ways, it could resemble a Connect 4 board, and thanks to the nous of one developer, the Hasbro classic has been remade to work in conjunction with the new case. Details after the break.
Apple's iPhone trade-in program has just hit the United Kingdom and Germany. First launched prior to the iPhone 5s / 5c's September announcement in the United States, it allows customers to gain some credit back for their current iPhone and trade said handset in for a shiny new one. Unfortunately, though, the return on any iPhone seems to be way below what most would perceive as a respectful amount, and thus, the trade-in program is probably just for those who find the business of private selling just way too intolerable.
