The fact that many Android smartphones and tablets offer expandable memory via the microSD slot means quite a few users need not worry about how much space they are using up as they accumulate new content. This cannot be said for all mobile devices though, and when a small amount of storage is coupled by the lack of cheap, expandable media support, one must be a little more economical with how much music, video, and images one retains. Image Optimizer, the brainchild of one XDA-Developers member, seeks to reduce the oft colossal file sizes yielded from taking high-res shots, but in turn keeping the quality loss of said images down to a minimal level.
Prepare yourself Microsoft software lovers, as it seems that potential changes are afoot over at the Redmond headquarters. It seems that well-placed sources are suggesting that Microsoft is taking a very serious look at introducing a fully functioning and official version of the Office productivity suite in 2014 for the Linux platform. We aren't suggesting that a release of Office for Linux would instantly make desktop Linux a more appealing proposition to every computer user in the world, but it would certainly act as encouragement for those who have been dicing with the idea of introducing Linux into their lives.
Google has hooked up with several reputable vendors in order to push its Chromebook brand of notebook, and although things have gotten off to a fairly good start, it has to be noted that the search company's laptops have yet to faze those on the hunt for a truly high-end notebook. A leaked video, which may or may not have originated from the Mountain View-based company, appears to indicate a new direction for the Chromebook. Dubbed the 'Chromebook Pixel', it'll supposedly take a swipe at the heart of the high-end market - currently dominated by Apple - in boasting a 2560 x 1700 resolution display.
Apple's iTunes Music Store has just passed a significant milestone, having sold its 25 billionth song, once again entrenching its reputation as the world's most frequented online music hub. As is always the case when Apple reaches a milestone, the downloader of track #25,000,000,000 - Phillip Lüpke from Germany - has received a very neat prize - in this case, a €10,000 iTunes Gift Card.
This year has been huge for the game console market, with Microsoft gearing up for a long-awaited release of a next-generation Xbox, known in the gaming community as the Xbox 720, which is meant to replace the Xbox 360. While details on the new console have been scarce, a new report suggests that Microsoft will be cracking down on the resale of used games, requiring game copies to be validated online every time that they are launched, in addition for an always-on connection for the console to function at all.
Unless you have been in a dark cave for the last few months, you are likely aware that Samsung is gearing up to release a massive upgrade to its flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S IV. While vague details have been making their way onto the Internet, we now have concrete information on when it might be announced and hit shelves.
Apple's range of iPhone, iPad and Mac hardware generates significant interest and revenue for the company, but there is also an extremely healthy interest in the software that leaves through the company's Cupertino doors and ends up on our digital shelves. The company's iOS firmware has been top of the discussion agenda over the last few weeks for various reasons, but we mustn't forget the recent speculation and interest surrounding the next-generation of Mac OS X. We are under no illusion that Apple will manage to blindside us with certain aspects of OS X 10.9, but it seems that the current recruitment drive for interface engineers is suggesting that Apple's next desktop OS could come bundled with the Siri digital assistant, as mentioned before as well.
We live in a world where things invariably go wrong from time-to-time, especially when injecting complicated jailbreaks onto our iOS hardware that is made up of various different exploits being forced to work together. Not everyone seems to be affected by the Weather app crashing on the iPhone after running the Evasi0n untethered jailbreak, but if you are one of the affected ones, then we have an interim fix for those who want it rectified before an official installation solution is offered through Cydia.
There have been signs over the past few months that an Instagram Web service was drawing ever closer to completion. For a while now, it has been possible for Instagrammers to check photos and view profiles through an ordinary browser, but as of today, the beloved Feed - which serves an almost identical purpose to the News Feed of Facebook, it's now-owner - has now also been unleashed online.
As the features of our mobile devices have continued to advance and improve over the past few years, the performance levels of the batteries therein have certainly dwindled. Gone are the times when one could use a phone for days on end without consulting a charging dock or cable, and although the ability to tweet, Instagram, e-mail and game on-the-fly is something we all enjoy to varying degrees, battery retention levels have forgone as a result. For those who cannot live with the ~24 hour battery life of the smartphone, help is at hand from a variety of sources, and one company - Mophie - has come through with a slick, light and elegant battery pack for the iPhone 5.
