Android apps, as we know, tend to arrive after the iOS iteration, and with Rayman: Jungle Run having recently released for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, it was only a matter of time before Ubisoft's classic title made its way to Google's Play Store. That day has finally arrived, and for three dollars, you too can now enjoy a charming remake of the PlayStation and Atari favorite.
Google today launched its latest Android app that it is hoping will become an indispensable tool when we all go out and explore the big wide world. In a similar way to how Google Now is aimed at giving users as much information at their fingertips as possible, Google's new Field Trip app promises to keep people in the loop as they take themselves on a mini adventure. In fact, to some extent, Field Trip borrows from Google Now's feature-set, which makes sense when an upcoming iOS release is considered.
The guys over at Rovio have been hard at work producing something that they feel is up to the same standard as their Angry Birds phenomenon, and although we have known for quite some time that the game would give the gorgeous green piggies a chance to take the limelight, we are now seeing the official screenshots of the Bad Piggies game as it starts to hit supporting mobile app stores. It must be extremely difficult to produce a game that follows on from the phenomenal worldwide successes of the Angry Bird series, but Rovio is hoping that mobile gamers are ready to see some pigs fly.
App updates are consistently being talked about at the moment, more often than not in the context of developers pushing out updates on the iOS platform to support iOS 6 and the new iPhone 5 which Apple released last week. The official YouTube app have probably been cropping up in conversation more than Google would like, especially as users are wondering where the native iPad app is and when it will be launched, but that hasn't distracted them from pushing out a fairly sizeable update to the official Android YouTube app today.
iOS 6 has, among a slew of new features and enhancements, brought two significant new native apps to the table. The first was Apple's publicly-flogged in-house Maps app displacing the popular Google offering, while the second - which has been viewed much more favorably upon - was Passbook. Billed as the answer to general pocket clutter like tickets, vouchers and such, it provides an easy way for such passes and gift cards to be stored digitally, utilized with ease, and readily located when required. In essence, it's another example of Apple attempting to change everything, again.
Custom launchers, or home screen alternatives, are aplenty throughout the Google Play Store, and if ever you're weighing up the Google side of the ongoing Android vs. iOS debate, the launchers are certainly apart of what makes the Big G's mobile OS tick.
Aside from Facebook, which is fast-approaching the magical billion milestone of users, Twitter is the most popular way for people to express themselves, sharing their lives, images and whatever they please - provided words are kept to the strict <140 character limit.
We definitely live in a world where we all value the benefit of receiving something for nothing, which is why a lot of the most popular mobile apps are ones that are entirely free of charge to download and don't cost anything to use. Consumers may not immediately see the value in developers building software that isn't monetized, but a lot of times, the work is supported by investors or finances that come from advertisers meaning that savings can be passed onto the consumer. The AireTalk app is a great example of a free of charge piece of kit, but it also has a ton of functionality as well.
One of the great things about the smartphone industry is its diversity and contains a number of different mobile operating systems as well as a plethora of devices being pushed to the market by a variety of different manufacturers. There is no definition of a one-size-fits-all device with each new handset offering its own set of features and abilities that appeal to different user sets. One of the frustrating things from a consumer perspective is appreciating 95% of what a device offers, but wanting to make the additional 5% up with options from a different device.
Battery retention is a massive issue with our electronic devices, and the smaller, thinner, and lighter they've become, the harder vendors have had to strive to keep the battery retention at optimum level. The companies behind our notebooks, smartphones and tablets tend to quote a battery life seldom reachable for the majority, and more often than not, the onus is on the consumer to take battery-conserving steps in avoiding that fateful warning popup or dreaded low battery logo in the corner.
