It's that time of year again, and I presume many of you are already preparing yourselves for the annual consumer frenzy that is Black Friday. Companies in most product fields will be lowering their prices this weekend, but it's the tech we're most interested in, and Microsoft has today joined Apple and others in revealing some of the deals it'll be offering as of tomorrow.
We have seen instances in the past of resourceful developers throwing together various pieces of work and technologies to create clever ways of controlling lighting levels at home or office as well as creating make-shift home automation systems that may not have the same power as a premium system, but still gets the job done. The SiriProxy-Hue project is yet another example of how community driven projects can interact with Apple's own software and hardware to create a usable system for the average user.
The iPhone 5 and fifth-generation iPod touches have been with us for quite some time now and although they have proved to be extremely successful, consumers are still noticing that some of their favorite apps have yet to be updated with full user-interface support for the larger display that Apple bundled with the devices. After the initial influx of app updates around the release date of the hardware, things have substantially slowed down, but today has brought two notable and much welcomed iPhone 5 based updates, including one that some users never thought would actually come due to the recent Google acquisition.
It may have been relatively quiet on the patent front in comparison to the no-holds barred playground that we have been used to over the last twelve months, but Samsung is ensuring that the litigation surrounding alleged patent infringements will continue well into next year. We all remember the major Apple victory earlier this year in a San Jose courtroom, but it appears that Samsung is now going on the offensive side by ensuring that a number of Apple's recently released products are added through a court filing that should see the two technology powerhouses duking it out once again in another bitter legal battle.
Comic book-based titles have had a great year in both the gaming and motion picture industry, and if you're a fan of this particular genre, you may want to check out Avengers Initiative for Android. If your device doesn't run on a Tegra-3 processor, Avengers Initiative is unfortunately not supported, but if you have one of the growing list of Tegra-3 smartphones or tablets currently available - such as the Samsung HTC One X or the Google / ASUS Nexus 7 - then you'll be able to enjoy a title boasting some very cool visual effects.
We're just two days away from Black Friday, and as retailers prepare for a frenzy of shoppers this weekend, some of the deals on offer are just starting to be revealed. Many of those looking to grab one of the specials this weekend are in search of an Apple product. Aside from the general popularity of the iPads, iPods and Macs, it's one of the very few occasions where Apple's prices budge, and with the holiday season looming, it's the perfect opportunity for everybody to stock up on gifts for friends and loved ones.
Accompanying the talk and speculation of the next-gen, "Xbox 720" games console, the prospect of a separate, entertainment-focused entity has also stuck around. With the current Xbox 360 having morphed from an out-and-out gaming portal to an all-round device for music, movies and apps as well as your favorite games, it's looking increasingly as though Microsoft plans to make a more sustained assault on the television market in the near future. In fact, a report over at TheVerge states, in no uncertain terms, that Microsoft is building a set-top box, and it'll rival the likes of Apple TV when eventually unveiled next year.
Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto franchise is one of the most iconic on any gaming platform, and to commemorate the tenth anniversary since the release of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, a port for iOS and Android is set to arrive on December 6th. As we reported last month, Rockstar will be rolling back the years for the nostalgic GTA fans, and as well as confirming the release date in a press statement today, it also added the title will cost $5.
Siri has been around for longer than a year now, and while some consumers - particularly those residing in North America - have found the voice-recognition software to be of some use, many other nations and continents haven't had such enjoyable experiences. Here in the UK, I still have to "put-on" an American accent in order for Siri to understand me first time, every time, but considering how little support there is in other places across the world, I count myself among the lucky few that can still have a little fun with the relatively new implementation.
Advertising a product can be as important as the quality of the product itself, and in the run-up to the holiday season, every company wishing to capitalize on the frenzy of shoppers will need to deliver a bunch of enticing TV commercials. We already know that the kids of today have their eyes firmly on an Apple product this holiday, but despite what Santa might say, it's not all about them.
