Windows Phone 8 is still a fledgling mobile ecosystem, and Microsoft has been working hard to try and establish a solid underpinning of apps for users to download. The number of basic apps missing, such as Instagram and banking utilities, is certainly a cause for alarm, but at least the native Twitter app is starting finally to look the part. When I had my first interaction WP8 via the Nokia Lumia 820, I found the native Twitter simply paled in comparison to its iOS and Android counterparts, but today, the social network has released a significant update. More details after the break.
The mobile experience offered by Safari on iOS is reasonable, without perhaps being considered inspiring, but tweak after tweak from the Cydia Store over the past few years has ensured the app is as functional as possible. Joining the ranks of SafariDM, Tab+ and others comes SafariSwipez, which purports to offer a tab-closing experience "the way Apple should have implemented".
Remember what iOS was like before the days of folders? Page after page of assorted icons, and not only was it impractical, but an eyesore. Since iOS 4, things have been much easier to manage, but customization of said folders has been typically lacking from Apple. Despite boasting a dual-core A6 processor, not even the latest iPhone 5 can handle more than a few icons in one folder, and as for the folder icons themselves cannot be altered to look less cluttered. As jailbreakers will know, there are plenty of tweaks - namely chpwn's InfiniFolders and ashikase's revered FolderEnhancer - to allow for more icons in one folder, and if you've been looking for a way to change the folder icons from 3x3 to an altogether less-cluttered 2x2, you now can thanks to 2x2 Folder Icons.
Visa's very own NFC software is about to hit the mobile market, and with Visa being a well-established, world-recognized brand, it's no surprise to see the company has found a mutually beneficial deal with Samsung to implement the software into a fleet of Samsung smartphones. First up for some Visa NFC treatment will be the eagerly-anticipated Galaxy S IV, which is set for announcement in New York next month, on March 14th.
Thus far, it has been a pretty winning formula. Devices created by Samsung, but running Google's Android software, account for 40% of total Android smartphone sales, and have helped Android become the number one ecosystem in terms of reach. With this in mind, you may think Google would be happy that its key manufacturing ally is doing so well, but while the search giant is grateful its partner is shifting such vast quantities, the Mountain View-based outfit is also a little worried the Korean company's dominance is getting a little too big, and wants other vendors to step up their games and offer some competition.
Facebook has evolved into something much, much more than what it was when the social networking platform entered the arena. The service has today become the most popular, almost viral social network, and no matter what they say or do, and no matter how many controversies they face, Facebook’s user base continues to grow. On their own part, the Palo Alto company continues to improve the feature set that the web app has to offer. That includes their mobile applications for Android and iOS as well, which are a large means to access the platform for a majority of users.
The iPod touch is seen as the "iPhone without the phone part" by many, and while this is true to a degree (and Apple would love for you to think this), the truth is, the iPod touch falls short in every department against its cellular rival. It's not just every piece of hardware that is inferior to the iPhone, many software elements - besides those used for calling and tethering - have been skipped with the iPod touch for no good reason. The iPhone 5, for example, offers a nifty feature which allows you to capture still images from video while you are recording, and although it's only a minor feature, Apple felt it best only to offer it exclusively to iPhone 5 owners. Thankfully, the jailbreak scene is on hand to nullify this decision, and Still Capture Enabler delivers exactly what it purports to do.
Many of you will probably not use Siri often enough to have realized, but when the voice-recognition software is in action, banner notifications are disabled by default. Clearly intended to free up as much of the interface as possible for the information yielded by Siri, it's perhaps counter-intuitive to enjoy one feature whilst forgoing another, and thus, jailbreak developer Sirifl0w has created a tweak to enable the notifications when consulting Siri.
If you have been following the recent announcements on Sony’s new console, the PlayStation 4, you are likely aware of how much emphasis the Korean company is placing on game titles downloaded over the “cloud”. If there were any more doubts to be had about Sony’s intentions for the new console, one important figure within the company has confirmed that all games for the upcoming PlayStation 4 console will indeed be available in digital form.
Even with a fleet of enhancements and improvements with iOS 6 - including support for the iPad - Siri is still lacking in many departments. Apple has stipulated in the past that the voice assistant is currently still in beta stage, but after some eighteen months with the end user, the vast majority of folks rarely - or never - call upon the services offered by Siri. For those jailbroken however, the Cydia Store has come up with a variety of ways one maximize the potential of Siri, and AssistantEnhancer is perhaps one of the best we've seen to date. Created by Zaid Elkurdi, it unlocks a whole new world of possibilities while also making better what Siri is already capable of.
