As we approach the final quarter of the year and get ever closer to the holiday shopping season, we are bracing ourselves for the release of some hardware from Apple and although most of the speculation has been lavished onto what the Cupertino giants will bring with their new iPhone, it's worth remembering that not every Apple device fan immediately goes out to grab the latest smartphone model with some preferring to let the fruit company handle their personal music needs instead.
It happens every year whenever we get to the point in the iPhone release cycle where Apple is set to announce the next-generation version of the device. Every year, the new iPhone is introduced and it is claimed to be the "best iPhone yet" with a whole host of new features that make the all singing all dancing device which is little bit better than the competition. I'm willing to bet my mortgage that Tim Cook will once again take to the stage next month to introduce the new iPhone in the same way.
The Apple iPhone 4S and the Samsung Galaxy S III are the current kings of the smartphone industry with lovers of iOS and Android both running out of superlatives to say about the two devices. Although the two companies find themselves in the unfortunate position of being locked in a court room in California attempting to come to some kind of resolution relating to their patent disputes, they can take some comfort in the fact that the rest of the big players in the industry have some serious catching up to do before they are on the same level.
The countdown to the speculated Apple media event on September 12th has well and truly begun, but unlike in years gone by when we have been waiting patiently in the hope of even getting an early glimpse of what the new iPhone will offer us, the run up to this release has brought multiple sightings of internal and external components as well as a whole host of extremely professional looking device renders based on the leaked parts. We can be pretty confident that apart from a new internal and technical unknowns that we are pretty clued up on what Apple will be showing us when the time eventually comes.
We all love or gadgets and consumer technology items and although they can't really be classed as essential life items, things like the iPhone and iPad and other smartphones or tablets have grown to become essential luxuries for a lot of us. As we become more connected but also more mobile, these electronic devices have been integral to staying in touch with family and friends and have become an extension of our everyday lives. The problem with that is that it isn't exactly cheap to go out and grab the latest Apple hardware or the current must have Android tablet.
I have to be open and honest and say that I truly love iOS. I have Android devices, Windows Phone devices and even the odd BlackBerry lying around, all of which have their benefits but iOS wins hands down. With that said, one thing that I find rather mundane about a stock installation of iOS is the lack of shortcut abilities to get to certain system settings that are repetitively used. I'm all about productivity and getting things done in the shortest amount of time with maximum efficiency, which is one of the reasons why I love jailbreaking. The IconToggles tweak that has just landed in the Cydia store is certainly one that would appeal to others who are like me and hate things being hidden away two or three menus deep.
Mobile devices like smartphones and tablets mean big business across the world, which in turn means that apps which are developed and submitted to marketplaces like the iOS App Store and Google's Play Store for Android are also capable of turning up large amounts of money for the developer as well as the operating system owner. We already know that Apple turns over a substantial amount of money from their 30% cut of App Store sales, which is enough for them to break even and provide an app economy that effectively doesn't cost them a dime to run.
Being able to have a plethora of powerful features while also having quick and efficient access to music playback is one of the great benefits of smartphone ownership. Once upon a time, mobile phones would have only come with certain limited features meaning you would be lucky if you got the ability to playback MP3s, never mind listening to those songs on the fly while using other apps. Having said that, listening to music can sometimes be intrusive and can detract from the main usage of the phone.
Samsung’s Galaxy Tab series of Android based tablets isn’t the most sold or most critically acclaimed, but they do get the job done and that too for a reasonable price. They are available in all sorts of sizes, from 7-inch to an upcoming tablet with an 11.8-inch display.
Apart from letting you take total control of the device, jailbreaking is becoming increasingly successful due to the fact that it allows great customization and enhancement of what is already an extremely powerful mobile operating system from the engineers over at Apple. No one is denying the fact that iOS is a phenomenal creation and certainly ticks most of the boxes which most users would need in an OS, but it never hurts if you get the chance to extend that functionality.
