'Tis the season to be jolly, as the saying goes; but within some of the biggest technology companies, it's more like the time to be leaving. After Scott Forstall's departure from Apple at the end of last month following decades of service to the Cupertino company, Microsoft's Steven Sinofsky also decided it was time to call it a day at Microsoft, having helped bring the Surface and Windows 8 to market. Now Damien Dinning, head of Nokia's imaging department, has opted to leave the Finnish company, just weeks after the release of the flagship Lumia 920 on Windows Phone 8.
The trouble with releasing a device with a different resolution or aspect ratio than currently available, is that all apps created up until that point need to be updated to support the new display. The MacBook Pro with Retina display arrived in the summer, and the 13-inch edition joined last month, and while plenty of apps have been adjusted to look good on the super-sharp display, many are still awaiting an update. Among them is the official Twitter app for Mac, but for those that do not wish to wait any longer, one third-party developer has taken it upon himself to make some adjustments.
Apple and Samsung's bitter war takes on new dimensions today, with the report from China Business News that Apple has switched battery suppliers of its iPad and MacBook ranges. Hitherto, Samsung SDI, the battery-making subsidiary of the South Korean outfit, has been providing the batteries for some of the Cupertino's most celebrated products, but now Apple is thought to have replaced the Galaxy maker with two Chinese companies, Amperex Technology Limited and Tianjin Lishen Battery.
It features an all new design, has a 4-inch gorgeous Retina display, the new powerful Apple A6 processor, is billed as being the best thing to happen to the iPhone since the iPhone, and now thanks to AT&T in the United States, the eight week old iPhone 5 is available for consumers to obtain through as a refurbished device with a severely reduced price-tag. Because the sixth-generation iPhone is relatively new into the world we haven't yet seen Apple offering any refurbished models of the device through their usual channels so it's great news for consumers that AT&T are stepping up with this offer.
Although Cydia plays home to a large number of powerful, in-depth and awfully creative system based packages, the fact still remains that a lot of iOS device owners choose to go through the process of jailbreaking purely for the ability to modify and customize their iPhone, iPad or iPod touch to suit their own tastes and styles. Theming the device is extremely popular through WinterBoard activated interface assets, but it is also highly likely that the new Go Desk desktop rendering package will convince many users to also add some live home screen animations to their devices.
With Thanksgiving day, followed by Black Friday, and inevitably, Christmas, the consumer electronics market will be abuzz with savings, as each vendor and retailer looks to attract additional custom at this most lucrative time of year.
As smartphone cameras have continued to improve, software developers have worked tirelessly in researching ways to make usability just that little bit easier. We've all been there - the photo opportunity comes along, and in the moment, we lose our bearings and forget exactly where our camera app is situated. That, or it takes a while to navigate, takes ages to load, and by the time we're done, we've missed that all-important Kodak Moment. AN.droid.KIT, the guys behind QuickShot HD Camera for Android, believe they've finally solved this issue, and have offered an interesting workaround for that common problem of firing the snapper up exactly when required.
Using an Android phone is no east feat, I tell you. Apart from the fact that if you’re a fond of playing around with the intricate workings of your operating system, and consequently flash a new ROM every week (can be even day, in extreme cases), one major annoyance that you’ll feel is the battery, which essentially drains faster than any other smartphone OS that I’ve played around with. It’s not really necessarily the device’s fault – a simple code inspection actually establishes that it’s how the AOSP is built which causes the battery to drain faster, and perhaps it’s Google’s acknowledgement of this fact that they’ve decided to take up Project Roadrunner after the successful implementation of Project Butter with Jelly Bean.
A week ago, we heard the news that Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak would be starring alongside Danny Trejo in an 8-bit epic for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. On paper, games simply don't get any more awesome, and if you've been anxious to see one of the world's most celebrated techies swap the automatic updates for the automatic rifle, today's your lucky day.
For the majority of the world, the Black Friday sales have yet to commence, but thanks to the varying time zones, some countries have already begun to see one-off discounts on a range of products. Naturally, we're focusing on the savings in the technology field, and although the sales have yet to begin in the USA and other nations, those in Australia and New Zealand are already capitalizing on Apple's Black Friday offers.
