Windows Phone is Microsoft’s fledgling response to the overshadowing forces of iOS and Android in the smartphone industry, and having partnered up with Nokia to bring a very slick user experience on WP7.x, the two companies are a collaborative force once more, and at the forefront of the big Windows Phone 8 push.
Before Apple introduced the world to the iPad as a mainstream, usable-for-everyone gadget, no one really believed that tablet computers would every become a mass usage item for a majority of technophiles the world over. Slate-based PCs existed long before that, but neither they were as powerful in their specifications, nor did they have an ecosystem as strong as iOS to back them up with a plethora or apps. Then, they were really overpriced, too, making it harder for average Joe to consider buying one.
With the exponential growth of smartphones in recent years, their excellent picture and video shooting capabilities have made them into very good contenders for replacing the traditional point-and-shoot camera for many users. This trend has led to the growth of mobile video editing software. Directr, which gives the task an interesting new spin, and is a new contender to this market.
It would appear as though the modding community of everything Windows would have something to cheer about this week. That is because security researcher clrokr looks to have discovered a way to get desktop apps up and running on Microsoft's ARM-based OS. Within Windows RT's code, there's a particular setting which prevents ARM-based desktop apps besides the Redmond company's stock offerings, but clrokr has snuffed it out, and has, in short, paved the way for the running of unsigned desktop apps.
Apps that fall into the Health and Fitness, Medical or Lifestyle categories are always going to be some of the most popular options available on the App Store at the turn of the year. The beginning of January always seems to mark the time when people want to get their mind and body in shape and start the new year with a push towards physical fitness and improving their overall health. The runtastic Heart Rate PRO app may not offer any insight into healthy living or provide any insightful diet tips, but it does allow users to accurately measure their current resting and working rates simply by covering the rear camera lens with their finger.
It's that time of year again when technology fanatics and enthusiasts all turn their attention to CES to see what the biggest players in the game are going to introduce to the market. Companies are already starting to descend on Las Vegas in preparation of presenting their wares and we are seeing official press releases relating to new products starting to fly around. Griffin has acted quickly to take advantage of the hype with the announcement of their space-saving PowerDock 5 hardware that should revolutionize the way users charge multiple iOS devices.
The iPad is arguably one of the most popular, capable and successful portable media devices on the market at the moment. Although competing companies are starting to up their game with the release of new tablet devices, the iPad is still hanging in there at the top of that sector. To compliment the device and make the most effective use of the powerful media capabilities; Belkin has today introduced a premium speaker dock for the iPad known as the Thunderstorm Handheld Home Theater.
OS X Mountain Lion may have only been publicly available for the last five months or so, but according to statistics and analytics; it has quickly managed to claw itself to the top to become the most popular Mac operating system which Apple has ever released. Mountain Lion was released in July of 2012 with the philosophies of being a fully functional desktop operating system that took more than a little inspiration from iOS running on an iPad. The intention seemed to be to usher in the beginning of a new era that would see OS X and iOS become increasingly more converged over time.
The technology industry seems to be overflowing at the moment with discussions related to whether or not smart watches are a particularly good idea and feasible piece of consumer tech that will stand the test of time. The Pebble E-Paper watch managed to raise a staggering $10 million through its Kickstarter funding, a total that all but confirms consumers are ready for an intelligent watch that can adapt and change depending on the owner and the devices that they own. Although we have subsequently seen a number of smart watches appearing in recent months, we now have a Google inspired concept design coming from design Adrian Maciburko.
For a long time, Facebook was always thought of as a web-based company that didn't put a lot of importance on users who prefer to access their services through mobile devices. The official Facebook app was built around cross-platform technologies making it notoriously slow, unpredictable and unstable, and their mobile website didn't really make things much better. That focus started to shift with the acquisition of Instagram, followed by the updating of their mobile apps into native languages as well as the release of standalone apps such as Messenger and Camera. For the first time, we can now actually get an insight into Facebook's mobile users and devices and firmware that they actually use, thanks to some meticulous data collection from Benedict Evans of Enders Analysis.
