Waiting patiently for the official release of the latest version of Android has never been an easy thing to do. Even when the switch is flipped and the latest variant of Google's mobile operating system goes live, it still inevitably takes an eternity for it to filter through the approval process of various manufacturers and networks and make it onto existing devices. That is one of the reasons why we often see individual elements ripped right out of new Android versions and packaged up for existing users to flash onto their current installations, which is something that has happened with the core Google apps from Android 4.2 Jelly Bean.
It should be common news by now that Apple has taken the decision to have an executive shake-up in Cupertino, with a number of notable faces set to leave the company in 2013. One of the most well-known casualties of the internal restructure is Scott Forstall who has held the role of Senior Vice President of iOS over the last few years. Forstall has been in charge of developing and handling the direction of iOS and has reportedly been shown the door due to his inability to play nice with other executives, as well as the publicly perceived shortcomings in the new Apple mapping system and the Siri digital assistant.
If you have the opinion that there aren’t enough monthly subscription based media streaming services available, then Amazon has listened to those concerns in an attempt to compete with other services on the market by making their Amazon Prime service available on a subscription basis. Amazon had previously offered the Prime service at a $79 per year price point, but are in the early stages of testing out a more relaxed monthly offering that comes in line with the likes of Hulu and Netflix.
Facebook have tonight taken the opportunity to push out an update to their universal iPhone, iPod touch and iPad mobile app, taking it to the version 5.1. The world's biggest social network have been on a relatively well-received mobile push recently with significant updates to their iOS and Android apps. This latest update on Apple's iOS platform brings some notable enhancements and serves to make the software a lot more social thanks to more powerful chatting and photo sharing features.
Microsoft's Surface RT tablet has not been on the market long, and reviews of the machine have been somewhat hit and miss to say the least, but the current product is only part of the overall equation. There's the Surface Pro, for example, and that's arguably the one most will want to pick up.
The Samsung Galaxy S III is currently one of the most successful smartphones available on the market, and one of the prime reasons why Samsung has recently announced record breaking profits. With the Galaxy S III still standing on top of the Android powered community, it should come as good news to United Kingdom based consumers that the 64GB variant in black is now available for pre-order, and that as a SIM free option.
Apple's recently released iPad mini is already reported to be a good seller for the company, with three million units of the iPad mini and iPad 4 claimed to have been shipped in just three days of sales. Despite so-called experts deriding the lack of a Retina display, we didn't really expect anything different, did we?
The general interest in photography has increased phenomenally as the cameras of smartphones have improved, yet while the latest high-end handsets can take a mean shot, they're still streets behind your professional DSLRs. Samsung has attempted to bridge the gap between the professional shooters of Nikon and Canon and the point-and-shoot culture our mobile devices are immersed in, by offering up the Samsung Galaxy Camera, and having announced the device some months ago, it looks as though it'll begin retailing in the United Kingdom later this week.
The general availability of the iPhone 5 is the United States has certainly improved over the past couple of weeks. The initial rush saw the Cupertino company's flagship device sell out rather quickly, but the waiting period of the much-sought device seems to be lessening as time has gone on. The on-contract iPhone 5 has sold in the tens of millions already, but those who've wanted the freedom of a factory-unlocked device have had to wait it out. However, a report over at AppleInsider suggests that wait might soon be over, and a search carried out this weekend for "iPhone 5 factory unlocked" on the US Apple site revealed the prices for the different configurations.
With Windows 8 now out and selling in volume, Microsoft has somewhat turned its attentions to other important software implementations. As well as beginning to sell prepaid Skype credit in outlets across Mexico and the United Kingdom, it looks as though Skype will become the Redmond outfit's primary instant messaging service, retiring the long-standing Windows Live Messenger.
