Google's stronghold in the digital music market may not be as strong as some of its competitors like Apple iTunes and Spotify, but the search giant continues to update and improve its Google Music service in order to compete with the big guns.
Those associated with Google's flagship mobile operating system will by now be very much aware that version 4.4, which has been given the name of the popular (and also very tasty) KitKat treat, will be arriving at some point in the near future. What remains rather less obvious, however, are the specific features Google will be packing therein, and although the rumor mill has suggested it could be released as early as this month alongside the very eagerly awaited Nexus 5, we've nothing concrete to go on. But as the mobile world gets itself in a tizzy regarding these rather significant releases, Gadget Helpline has snagged a rather dated build of Android 4.4, and having dissected it somewhat, has dug up some intriguing features.
So, the iPhone 5s is almost two weeks old, and if you're lucky enough to have gotten your hands on one already, you may be wondering how exactly to make the most of the new features at your disposal. Perhaps you aren't even aware of just how capable the new flagship device is. Whatever your personal circumstance may be, we've outline some quirky and interesting features that you'll definitely want to be familiarizing yourself with, and you can check them out after the break!
Every dev team worthy of their place in the Apple ecosystem has been frantically updating their available apps to include full compatibility with the polarizing new OS to come out of Cupertino - iOS 7 - and of course tweaking the look and feel of the app where applicable. The big players in the game are no different, with today being the turn of Netflix to push out version 5.0 of their universal iOS app that brings the obligatory iOS 7 support as well as a number of other notable improvements for users.
As with the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, there are plenty of hack-minded folks out there trying to push the boundaries of Apple TV, and although it's been a long time since we've seen a jailbreak for Apple TV, many modders and devs have been trying, often in vain, to find exploits with Apple's little black box. Yet while we cannot, unfortunately, report on a new jailbreak for Apple TV 3 just now, casual hacker David Schuetz has discovered a fairly cool "Add Site" feature, potentially enabling one to add custom sites to the home screen. Although it's by no means a refined, or even immediately accessible feature, it is fairly promising, and you can check out the details after the break.
With the iPhone 5s quickly becoming old news on the Internet, attention is now very much beginning to turn towards what Apple has hidden up its sleeve for both the iPad 5 and iPad mini 2. All the leaks and rumors that were reserved for the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c just a few weeks ago have now made way for rumors about tablets, though some of it does feel eerily familiar.
One of the major arguments against large-displaying "phablet" devices, which take the features of a smartphone and combine them with a slate-like form factor, is that they are incredibly hard to function with just one hand. The new Samsung Galaxy Note 3, which packs a mammoth 5.7-inch display, is one such handset, but for those struggling to use their shiny new Note 3 without using both hands or getting some kind of repetitive strain injury on one, Samsung has thrown in a neat little feature that scales down the display.
Just yesterday, a little digging by Ars Technica revealed that Samsung had rigged its Galaxy Note 3 device for benchmark tests in order to make it appear as though it performed at higher levels than it did. But while Samsung may have born the brunt of the criticism - not less since, this has happened before with the International Galaxy S4 - the problem doesn't begin and end with the South Korean company. Nope; as it transpires, many of the market's well-respected vendors like to, shall we say fine tune certain aspects of a device's make-up to reflect favorably when those benchmark apps are running, and the fully classified list, as collated by AnandTech, makes for very interesting reading.
With the iPhone release now out of the way and many consumers enjoying one of the two new handsets on offer, attention has swiftly turned to the changes expected of the iPad range. This month, Apple is thought to be upgrading the full-size iPad as well as the iPad mini, although according to sources of Reuters, the company is going to struggle with yield of the latter's Retina display.
Smartphones are more than just communication devices, and have been so for quite a while now. They have replaced personal information managers, multimedia players (famously known as MP3/MP4 players), portable gaming devices, and even photo albums. In fact, the massive internal storage spaces on Android based devices, alongside the ability to supplement it with microSD expansion cards, make perfect combination for keeping your precious memories - both photo and video - with you anywhere. That’s a convenience that we all enjoy, and have become completely accustomed to.
