Like every software vendor, Apple likes to impress users of iOS with one or a number of so-called "killer" apps, and while some have gone down particularly well in recent years, others, like iOS 6's Apple Maps, have fared decidedly worse. With iOS 7 now in the works for release later this year, we're expecting some significant changes to the look and feel of the Cupertino's mobile OS in general, but aside from a lot of blogosphere-fuelled bluster, we've heard precious few details with regards to what exactly we should be expecting. Morgan Stanley's Katy Huberty has sought to shed some light on the matter by revealing that she expects the Tim Cook-led outfit to unveil a “killer app” in the form of a mobile wallet. More details can be found right after the jump.
Amsterdam's Hack in the Box security conference regularly offers us a fascinating insight into what can ensue when modern tech is pushed to the very limit, and today, seasoned security professional Hugo Teso has certainly done that. Drawing upon twelve years as an airline pilot before his transition to the bustling world of tech security, Teso demonstrated just how easy it could be to essentially take control of a plane remotely using little more than an Android smartphone. While infinitely cool, it's also worrying how unsecure some airline software systems currently are, and although Teso only used a virtual Boeing jet to demonstrate his achievements (hijacking planes is, after all, illegal), it's a pretty incredible bit of ingenuity.
Google has taken the opportunity to bring in a little goodness into the lives of Nexus 10 owners by introducing the first official accessory for the 10-inch tablet. To compliment the sleek design of the Nexus 10 the company has seen fit to hit the ground running with a dark grey book type cover that is now available for purchase through the Google Play Store. More details and the purchase link coming up right after the break.
It's no secret that Samsung likes to entertain the idea of increasingly larger displays, and with the company's Galaxy Note II already being one of the largest-screened smartphones currently available on the market, previous reports have shed light on a couple of colossal 'Galaxy Mega' handsets, which would both offer considerably more real-estate than the flagship phablet. Today, it has emerged that both of these Mega handsets could be releasing contemporaneously next month in Europe, with a 5.8-inch and 6.3-inch model further distorting the line between smartphone and slab.
We could be just a couple of months away from gaining an insight into what Apple plans to do with iOS 7, but as the Cupertino company's software development team continues to work in collaboration with lead hardware designer Jony Ive to create the next revision, many Apple fans have also been offering their own ideas on what could be done to improve the look of the famed mobile OS. We've seen quite a few concept designs hitherto, but a theme we recently discovered over at MacCiti rather delightfully combines elements of the current iOS interface with a tiled, Windows Phone-esque appearance which in turn borrows from the HTC One design. It's an interesting recipe for sure, but as I suspect you'll agree after seeing the screenshots below, it's one that works very well indeed.
Widgets are one of the features that have made Android the popular platform that it is today, and it is also evident by the fact that the Google Play Store – the official app repository for Android – contains an entirely separate category dedicated to widgets. Some of these useful utilities come packaged with certain OEM firmware, while others are created and sold independently. Even stock Android comes with a small collection of these of its own, irrespective of how useful they are or how much utility they provide. In fact, most of the third-party custom widgets that exist in the Play Store are to improve on the feature set of the stock offering.
The Facebook social network ensures that, whether you haven't seen a person within the last ten years or ten minutes, everybody can remain connected. Billions of messages are shared through Facebook on any given day, but while we are often only directing our correspondence with one or a small group of people, it's often the case that everybody can read it. In these instances, a private inbox message may be necessary, but if you want to have some fun with it, you could try a new Chrome extension allowing you to secretly hide messages within images. While perhaps not an immediately reassuring mode of obscuring a message from prying eyes of others, the extension, developed by a computer science student at Oxford University, does have an element of mischievousness to it, and will have your Facebook friends scratching their heads as to why you're consistently posting plain images of your food. (Oh, wait..)
Prepare to let me make you feel old: Gmail, Google's much-celebrated email service, is already in its tenth year, and although we did get ourselves in a bit of a tizzy when the Big G first launched Gmail on April 1st, 2004 as a beta-only service, it has continued to go from strength to strength ever since. Google has, quite naturally, done a little reflecting of its own as the 9-year mark passes, and couldn't resist a little self-congratulation to boot. Below, Gmail's biggest achievements and landmark occasions since April Fool's in 2004 are illustrated in a rather pretty infographic, but if you thought the search giant was about to rest on its laurels, you've another thing coming!
The SimCity beta for PC first released back in January, and although it generated much hype and anticipation for the March 5th launch, the release was, to put it mildly, a catastrophe. EA decided, against the wishes of gamers, to opt for a type of DRM protection requiring an always-on Internet connection, which left many unable to login and enjoy a title they'd been waiting on for a great length of time. Still, EA offered a free game to try and soften the blow, and with the dust settled, perhaps we can allow ourselves a wry smile at the prospect of the corresponding OS X version.
The iPad mini is largely considered to be the better looking of the two iPad variants currently on the market, and with the fourth-gen iPad appearing almost identical to the iPad 2 (only heavier and thicker), it is strongly suspected Apple will beautify its flagship tablet with a touch of the anodized aluminum. Whilst it's still unknown whether this will in fact be the case, a leaked image of a purported 'iPad 5' bezel seems to indicate that, at least from the front, the next iPad could borrow a few design points from its scaled-down counterpart.
