Samsung’s smartphone-tablet hybrid, known as the Galaxy Note II, has managed to turn many heads since its announcement this last August. Should your bank balance be way too uncomfortable to get your hands on one, no worries: there’s a new knockoff in town that might actually be convincing enough to trick your less tech-savvy friends.
Notebook computers have been around in one form or another ever since the launch of the IBM 5100 back in 1975, and although the portable and compact machines that we have in modern times like the MacBook Air or ultrabook are far more advanced, light and mobile than that original IBM machine, the concept of a portable computer has been around for more than thirty-five years. Although laptop computers have developed significantly in the last three decades, we still have that need to protect and look after our large investment, which is where the designer of the VIVAX notebook case is hoping to become relevant through Kickstarter.
Syncing data is big business these days, and the major player in the space is Dropbox. With mobile apps across all major platforms and syncing that the likes of Apple could only dream about, Dropbox today gave iOS users an early Christmas present by updating the company's iOS app.
For those of you that like to be frugal and shop only when the deals are rolling in, the holiday season is as good a time as any to take advantage of the many price drops and savings available on the market. While many of you will undoubtedly be meeting up with friends and relatives during the course of the coming weeks, time, financial and practical constraints mean it is not always possible to arrange face-to-face meetings, but in these instances, we've long since leaned on Skype for a helping hand. Microsoft acquired the telecommunications company some time ago, and in an effort to turn occasional or would-be users into regular, paying customers, the Redmond company is running a great promotional deal.
Rovio Entertainment has seen one simple-yet-addictive title for iPhone turn into a billion-dollar industry, and with three years since the release of that original title also tying in with the holiday period and the announcement of the inevitable movie, the company has gotten the celebrations going by offering all of its iPad titles for just $0.99.
Google finally delivered the release everybody (on iOS 6) had been waiting for by unleashing its sorely-missed Maps app to the App Store, and having used it a little myself, it's as if the native offering never went away. For those jailbroken, a little tweak has been made to help truly brand that feeling of native-ness, by allowing you to open maps links automatically with the new app. Similar to the tweak that allows you to make Chrome for iOS your default browser, MapsOpener helps you truly do away with Apple's sketchy Maps app, by making the third-party download version the go-to for all map links.
A lot of companies dedicate their time and resources to protecting our treasured gadgets, and while there are countless different types available, Twelve South offer something quite unique. The company's BookBook cases not only protect your gadget from the everyday wear and tear, but also look distinctly like old books. Not only does this offer a vintage finesse rarely witnessed in this field, but it actually prevents would-be thieves from spotting your expensive device. Having released the BookBook for iPhone 5 a short while ago, Twelve South has come through with another for the iPad mini, and it looks just as good as the device itself!
The Nexus line up of devices has always received the prime cut of all that is Android, be it OTA updates, developer attention, mods and custom recoveries, root procedures and whatnot, and that, too, before the rest of the Android lot. This holds true not just for the smartphone showcase, but the tablets, too, since Google decided to enter that market itself. Generally, all the Nexus devices have been at the top of the Android food chain, as it was at the times of their respective releases. Their Achilles’ Heel, however, has always been their cameras, where the units mounted atop the Nexus devices were either inadequate or low performing, resulting in a loss of the battle in the mobile photography arena. Indeed, even mid-range droids had a better camera sensor as compared to the one built into, say, Galaxy Nexus.
There’s a pretty reasonable and easy to understand explanation for the popularity of AOSP-based Android ROMs like CyanogenMod or AOKP, or even MIUI – these firmware often give you a chance to try out a version of Android that’s either not yet available for your device, or that might not have been official supported by the manufacturer at all. I am rocking unofficial CM 10.1 on my Huawei U9200 just to get a taste of Android 4.2, and had I stuck with the stock operating system that came from the manufacturer, I’d still have been at 4.1 Jelly Bean. This is not just me – a lot of people go for unofficial builds so that they can try out new features and improvements without having to upgrade the device itself. Thus, it makes complete sense that a device like the international Galaxy S III I9300 would receive a CyanogenMod 10.1 build, even if its unofficial.
It may be one of Apple's newest product lines that has only been publicly available for a matter of weeks, but that hasn't stopped the rumors about the potential specifications of the second-generation iPad mini from circulating extremely early. Reports from hit-and-miss rumor site DigiTimes are suggesting that Apple already has one eye on the future of the new mini iPad and could potentially have plans to introduce a higher-resolution display to the mid-range tablet as well as making changes to the standard sized iPad to make it lighter.
