iPhone, iPad and iPod touch users are just becoming acquainted with iOS 6, released by Apple last week, but for Android users, accessing a new firmware is a different ball game entirely. Android Jelly Bean (4.1) arrived some months ago, with the fledgling Google Nexus 7 among the first devices to ship with the new OS as standard, but thanks to the fragmented nature of Android, users of even the most powerful devices have been left waiting.
The smartphone industry is no stranger to legal wranglings, with Apple and Samsung duking it out in the courts in a very high-profile battle over certain patent infringements. Samsung has already been ordered to pay Apple more than $1 billion in damages after being found to infringe upon various Apple held patents, but that doesn't seem to be enough as Apple is seeking to extort an additional $707 million from the Korean electronics giants. If recent reports are true, then it looks like Nokia and HTC could be heading for their own legal battle.
Critics often berate Apple for retailing its smartphones, tablets and computers, at higher price brackets than some would estimate their worth to be, and although it's a topic of fierce debate, there's little denying that your average Cupertino product costs a considerable amount more than a similar alternative created by a rivaling company.
The iOS App Store is an extremely active place at the moment as the Apple review team struggle to fight their way through the barrage of apps that are being sent to them by developers with iPhone 5 and iOS 6 compatibility upgrades. We've already seen a number of notable and popular apps getting the support for the larger display of the new iPhone with Google now joining the party with a welcome update to their extremely popular Chrome for iOS web browser.
Having only released iOS 6.0 for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch users last week, Apple has now offered a healthy update to its little black box - the Apple TV - with build 10A406e also taking the version number up to 5.1.
It has long since been known that Google could be offering as many as five new devices to its Nexus range this Fall, and seeing as Google brands rather than builds hardware, it teams up with reputable manufacturers in order to bring such new and exciting products to market. The Galaxy Nexus, for example, was made by South Korean mobile device glutton Samsung, while the much-lauded Nexus 7 tablet was hooked up thanks to the engineering work of ASUS.
It wasn't that long ago when Samsung answered consumer calls to offer some additional color options for those who wanted to purchase their flagship Galaxy S III Android device. Samsung introduced some nice alternatives in the range with colors which they claim were inspired by "earth's richest materials". We aren't really sure why Samsung felt the need to include a backstory with each color choice rather than just pushing out the new handset to consumers and let them make them choice. Nevertheless, the Amber Brown, Garnet Red, Titanium Grey and Sapphire Black options all added a new dimension to the powerful handset.
The modern high-end smartphone is the ultimate example of the convergence of technology: besides being, you know, a phone, these devices are our music players, video players, alarm clocks, organizers, dictionaries, calculators, internet communications devices, full HD video recorders and go-to cameras.
Custom launchers, or home screen alternatives, are aplenty throughout the Google Play Store, and if ever you're weighing up the Google side of the ongoing Android vs. iOS debate, the launchers are certainly apart of what makes the Big G's mobile OS tick.
The iPhone 5 has been officially available through Apple and the carriers for two days now and although it has been heralded as a success, there are still a few issues that have some users expressing a little concern. One of the biggest talking points has been the removal of Google Maps in favor of Apple's own vector based mapping system, which in itself wouldn't be too much of an issue but Apple have gotten things drastically wrong in some users opinion.
