Apple has been busy over the last few weeks with the introduction of new iPods, launching the all-new iPhone 5 and the accompanying iOS 6 software. The hardware and software that has come out of Cupertino’s doors recently would normally be enough for any other company but it looks like Apple aren't finished yet with the introduction of a miniature iPad on the cards as well as the possible announcement surrounding a much welcome refresh to their iMac computers.
Now that the wait is finally over and Apple have officially started shipping out the iPod touch fifth-generation to consumers, we can truly get an insight into what the new portable media player is like from an aesthetic and technical aspect and how it actually stacks up against its predecessor as well as the sixth-generation iPhone.
iPhone Dev-Team have just updated Redsn0w, adding full support for final public release of iOS 6 on select devices with official version of Cydia, along with tons of new features which are detailed after the jump.
An understandably disillusioned Microsoft have confirmed that they are aware of the possible leak of the Halo 4 Xbox console game and are currently in the process of working in an attempt to get to the bottom of how the slip occurred. The latest iteration of the phenomenally popular Halo franchise is slated for a worldwide release during the first week of November but it seems that the Redmond based company couldn't keep a tight lock on the game any longer.
There have been a number of packages landing in the Cydia store that offer alternative ways to handle the banner notifications that were introduced by Apple as part of iOS 5. There was a definite need for the notifications system to be changed and the introduction of banner notifications is a step forward but some users feel they need to be made bigger to display the full text or have some additional customization options applied to them. If having the alert of the title read out to you in a Siri voice was on your wish list then the TitleSpeak package is probably right up your street.
We've seen plenty of photo based applications on the App Store as well as a boatload of social networking variants, some of which are worldwide successes like Instagram and Facebook while others are more niche and used by only a select few. The Blurtopia iPhone and iPod touch app that recently landed in the App Store seems to be an amalgamation of a few genres but prefers to differentiate itself by being the application that can help us answer life's questions with the help of an active and engaged community.
The official launch of Windows 8 may still be weeks away but that hasn't stopped developers from getting themselves and their apps ready in time for the big launch, with the fantastic MetroTwit Twitter app being the latest to get an update. A number of online and physical retailers are starting to offer pre-order discounts for those who get their Windows 8 upgrade orders in early as well as multiple hardware manufacturers starting to take initial orders for Windows 8-based PCs and notebooks.
Although there has been a great deal of speculation surrounding the specifications and possible launch date of the purported iPad Mini, we are still waiting on official confirmation from Apple itself related to the device. With that said, we are pretty sure that Apple will remain on track to officially introduce us to the new baby iPad this month, and it is being reported that the very media event that will be held for the iPad Mini could also focus heavily on the company's iBooks platform as part of the presentation.
Anyone who happens to own a Mac will more than likely be familiar with The Unarchiver application that seems to be the de facto standard for uncompressing zip and other archived files. Other apps obviously exist but The Unarchiver seems to be able to handle any type of file that is thrown at it with minimal fuss. The Archives iOS application for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad has been created based on that OS X application and offers the same functionality, power and handling capabilities of its Mac based sibling.
When it comes to mobile apps, we are used to large companies being way behind the game and playing by their own rules in terms of releasing updates and software to support new firmware, platforms and device specifications. You can forgive the lax attitude from indie developers who may not have as many resources to throw into development as large organizations have, but you would kind of expect the bigger companies to update their apps ahead of time. We definitely can't put Netflix in that bracket as they have already launched their Windows 8 compatible app ahead of time.
