Microsoft caused quite a stir last year when it announced the purchase of Skype for an eye-watering sum total of $8.5 billion. Some touted the sale price as grossly overvaluing of the company - one owned by eBay of course - but when one considers AOL paid 800 million bucks for Bebo, anything looks like a steal in comparison.
I’m quite certain HTC One X users might be able to recall the leaked Jelly Bean ROM which was doing it’s rounds around the internet quite some time ago. The HTC variant of the leak came during a time when we were seeing various versions of Jelly Bean being leaked for the Samsung Galaxy S III, but unfortunately, the fact that it was classified as being for developers only was enough to stop the majority from going down the route of flashing it to their own HTC devices.
If you have ever been sending a text or iMessage from your jailbroken iOS device and wondered how many messages you actually have sent then the SMS Stats tweak may just be what you have been looking for. The package is extremely simple to use and allows jailbroken users to track how many messages are being sent and received through a simple and native looking interface.
Some of the largest players in the game are all holding scheduled press events over the course of the next seven days in an attempt to get their products and services noticed by the tech hungry public. Apple will be taking to the stage first on October 23rd to introduce us to the new miniature iPad, followed closely by Microsoft on October 25th to refresh our memories on Windows 8 and the Surface tablet. To end the month, Google will be holding their own Android event in New York that looks likely to bring some very interesting announcements, on the same day, Microsoft is holding a Windows Phone 8 launch event too.
It isn't long now until the official Apple media event that we hope will eventually introduce us the new miniature iPad that we have been hearing so much about in recent months. It's extremely likely that the event this coming Wednesday will bring us more than just one product but so much attention and speculation has been lavished on the new iPad that it will be a relief to have some official information regarding it. With the announcement only days away, it seems like the Apple online store is already gearing up for customer searches by returning suggested "iPad mini" and "mini iPad" search strings.
Windows 8 is just five days away from being publicly released, but those of you with access to MSDN or TechNet, like me, are probably already running the final “RTM” build of the new OS from the Redmond-based software company.
If you love the power and portability of the iPod but sit firmly on the Android side of the fence when it comes to smartphone or tablet usage, then the price reduction that has been placed on the iSyncr app on the Amazon Appstore will definitely be of interest. Rather than having to carry multiple pieces of kit and switch between devices, iSyncr allows a library of music to be synced to an Android device over USB or Wi-Fi directly from iTunes.
The Nexus 7 has been fairly successful for Google and their manufacturing partners, with Android lovers and tablet aficionados loving the premium experience that the product provides with the budget price-tag which Google has slapped on it. The 8GB and 16GB variants have been in the marketplace since the original launch in June of this year, and although Google has obviously been trying to keep it under wraps, it looks like the 32GB Nexus 7 tablet will be available to purchase sooner rather than later.
Ever since rumors first sprang up with regards to the smaller iPad, or "iPad Mini," as it is being unofficially dubbed, one of the immediate questions springing to the minds of many has been "what about the iPod touch?" After all, the so-called "iPhone without the phone part" has been the only device offering the iOS experience minus the iOS price, but with the iPad Mini combining the lower-end cost with a larger screen and a set of features easily matching the iPod touch, is there really a place left in the market for it?
According to a report from the generally-reliable 9to5Mac, the entry-level model of the upcoming iPad Mini will cost $329. Given the purported specification of the device, the price point was always going to be dramatically lower than that of the main iPad, and although it's not as cheap as the Nexus 7, it's still, one suspects, cheap enough to potentially command huge sales.

