It may just be something that is unique to me, but I always seem to get a little excited about mobile apps and Cydia-based tweaks that offer some kind of audible feedback to the user. I love Siri and App Store apps like Evi because they talk back to me, and I love tweaks like iCallAnnounce because they react to an event on the device and provide feedback to me through voice.
I love Apple's iOS, I really do, but while I do see the value and benefits in other mobile operating systems like Android and Windows Phone, they just don't provide the full mobile experience for me, at least. With that said, Apple definitely has some work to do to make iOS all that it can be and that includes addressing the blatant issues that the multitasking app switcher has had since its introduction in iOS 4.0.
All the talk may currently be surrounding the unannounced iPhone 5, but there is still plenty of life in the two models that are currently on the market. Apple's iPhone 4S is arguably the best smartphone out there right now, especially if you don't want to go the Android route, and the iPhone 4 is becoming a killer budget smartphone in its own right.
Nokia was once the untouchably dominant force within the mobile industry, but its Symbian OS was gradually eclipsed by iOS and Android, leaving the Finnish outfit with no choice but to hop on the back of Redmond-based Microsoft and its fledgling Windows Phone OS. In all fairness to Nokia, it has gone pretty gung-ho hitherto, putting much effort into the flagship Lumia series which has in turn yielded an army of fans – most notably Apple’s co-founder Steve Wozniak.
In the Google Play store, there are numerous utilities/apps that you can download to help optimize and improve your experience when using an Android phone. But there's one tool in particular that combined the functionality that's usually spread across multiple of these utilities into one. It's called Cosmos, and it offers the ability to monitor the sneaky privacy settings of the apps you have installed, moderate your battery usage, and delete useless junk files off of your device. It also features a pretty straightforward and easy to use - but not as easy on the eyes, unfortunately - user interface.
With all eyes set towards WWDC next month for any news pertaining to the next version of Apple's iOS, it is easy to put out of our minds the persistent rumor about Apple releasing a miniature version of the iPad. However, that rumor is indeed still persisting, and the latest information to come from Taiwan seems to suggest that the rumor could soon become a mini reality.
Facebook has today begun rolling out a new iPhone app, with the latest designed to make managing Facebook Pages as easy as possible for those in charge of a business presence on the social network.
Given its position as the most widely-used mobile software within the smartphone market, it’s only natural that Android yields a significant amount of blog space, but while the tech community offers much praise for Google’s OS, Android also generates its fair share of negative press – notably with regards to outbreaks of malware.
Flash games are a great way to kill time, and social network Facebook – along with various dedicated sites – offer thousands upon thousands of them. From Disc Pool to Words With Friends, if you’re feeling like procrastinating, said sites are more than accommodating.
Whether you love or loathe Google’s Android mobile operating system, its meteoric rise to become the most widely-used of the big ecosystems in just a couple of years is something which must be applauded.
