Although picking and choosing a smartphone from the hundreds available on the market can be a tricky task indeed, finding an adequate protective shell once you've unboxed your prized gadget can often be an equally tedious task. The case makers are vast, with each and every one looking to grab your attention, and although most fail with generic, unremarkable products, occasionally one does come along with that 'wow' factor.
As avid followers of the mobile industry here at Redmond Pie, we've grown used to seeing how casually Apple dishes out lawsuits to competitors, berating patent infringement here and there, and our favorite: blatant plagiarism. Of course, it's not all one way traffic, and the likes of Samsung and HTC have dealt with their fair share of suits from Cupertino, California; but these seem more in retaliation than anything, and it does appear Apple's rivals will do anything to avoid the fruit company's wrath.
Assassin's Creed is one of the most popular gaming series around, and the action-adventure stealth title has millions of fans worldwide. To supplement the series, gamers will be pleased to learn that Ubisoft have laid on a series of iPad-exclusive comics named Assassin's Creed The Fall.
Android is, by a long shot, the most customizable of the three major mobile operating systems. With most modders and developers congregated over at XDA Developers and RootzWiki, it's one of the most thriving communities of all, allowing Android users to customize and enhance their device's software to the nth degree.
Grand Theft Auto has to go down as one of the most popular titles in gaming history. Often the center of controversy and slander thanks to its seemingly mindless levels of violence, it has, on many occasions, been blamed for invoking violent behavior from those who play it. That said, it's one of the longest-running series of all time, and as such, the anticipation for Grand Theft Auto V is extremely high.
The rampant "iPad Mini" rumors have taken a slight recess in the past couple of days, making way for more talk of the next iPhone, which is expected to ship within the next few months. The rumor mill has been indicating a longer form factor, larger screen, smaller dock connector, modified speaker grills, and a repositioned headphone jack, and the so-called "exclusive" leak by KitGuru appears to suggest those changes will be implemented.
The Nexus line of Android smartphones is known for the pure Android experience that they offer, their direct support from Google and, more importantly for flashaholics, unbridled support from the Android developed community. These devices often get rooted and have a custom ROM ready before their public release. The latest example of this is the Nexus 7 tablet that has its bootloader easily unlocked, root access easily gained and custom recovery easily flashed.
Apple and Google follow very different principles with their mobile platforms. Apple maintains a tightly closed system where they put their software on their own hardware whereas Google has a much more open policy. Google licenses Android to companies like Samsung, HTC and Motorola which manufacture their own hardware and run it on customized versions of Android. While Apple’s way has plenty of advantages there is one area where it lags behind Google: sheer units sold and total market share. Android smartphones as a whole have been dominating the iPhone in USA for quite some time now. In a latest report, its dominance has been reaffirmed. Check out the details after the jump.
Google Chrome has been available for iOS devices for just over a week and has already managed to steamroll its way to the top of the free download charts in the App Store. That fact alone should prove to doubters that Chrome definitely has a home on Apple's mobile platform, but as is always the case with a lot of high profile applications, they can and are always made a tad bit better with the help of the jailbreak community.
The iOS vs. Android battle is one of the most fiercely debated within the tech industry, and although most people tend to lean towards one or the other, both have their own strengths and unique quirks. One of the great things about using an Android is the ability to add home screen replacements, otherwise referred to as custom launchers. In this category, iOS is a little one-dimensional, but on Google's mobile OS, things can get very interesting, and there are many, many fantastic custom launchers out to offer a vastly improved mobile experience.
