As promised, Canonical has delivered its Ubuntu Touch Developer Preview to a bunch of Nexus smartphones and tablets. In the same week that also saw the announcement of a version tailored specifically for tablets, Canonical really seems intent on driving its easy-to-use Linux flavor to both of the mobile realms, and if you've a spare Galaxy Nexus, Nexus 4, Nexus 7 or Nexus 10 lying around (plus, a little know-how), then you can now get started with the Ubuntu Touch Developer Preview.
As smartphones have gotten better and more powerful, this has naturally had a knock-on effect with regards to battery life. The designers of the high-end handsets have had to think long and hard about how to keep the increasingly demanding feature set as juiced-up as possible, and although there have been some improvements from the early days of iOS and Android, devices seldom hold up beyond a day of moderate to high use. Chip maker Qualcomm, which develops processors for a fleet of Android and Windows Phone devices, has developed an app by the name of BatteryGuru which, it claims, will extend battery performance. As well as better battery retention, the app, which is still in beta, also purports to "improve overall user experience by intelligently making changes that optimize Snapdragon device functionality."
Today, I headed over to the official launch of the HTC One down in London's Oxford Street, and got a hands-on look at the Taiwanese company's latest and greatest smartphone device. There's no debating that, on paper, the device is a monster, but what's it like to hold? Is the build quality up to scratch? And does the "Boom" factor in the speaker or the "UltraPixel" element of the camera make any notable difference, or is it marketing jargon? I'll be answering all of these questions, and offering my initial reaction to the device after the break.
For HTC and Android enthusiasts everywhere, the HTC One, previously known as the HTC M7, has been a great source of excitement over the last few months as more information leaked onto the Web almost on a weekly basis. At last, the new phone was announced at two simultaneous events in both London and New York, confirming many of the previous leaks and rumors.
The rumors and speculation pertaining to the Samsung Galaxy S IV has been almost non-stop during the opening six weeks of 2013, and murmurings originating from the Twitter account of Eldar Murtazin, founder of Russian blog Mobile-Review, indicates the highly-anticipated device will be unveiled on March 14th in New York. Of course, it should be taken with a pinch of salt at this point in time, although with a March / April having looked a probable release frame for a while now, it's certainly not beyond the realms of possibility that the handset could be just one month away.
Wallpapers and themes are a great expression of your tastes, preferences and overall personality, be it on whatever platform that you apply them to. From desktop computers to feature phones to Androids and iPhones, background images have said more than perhaps any other thing that might be counted as a personalization feature on your device. I personally feel they add a certain touch to my phone that nothing else can provide, and for that reason, I am really choosy about what image ordains the screen of my Sony Xperia S.
Linux enthusiasts rejoiced at the news that Canonical would be bringing Ubuntu to the mobile realm, and although it was promised a developer preview would be available for the Galaxy Nexus at some point early this year, it now looks as though the Nexus 4 will be joining it. From 21st of February, anybody in ownership of either device will be able to get a first look at the OS, which is set to release at some point in October, and although developers may not be leaping out their seats in excitement, it's hard not to take at least a fleeting interest in its progress.
If you have been a loyal user of Skype, you have likely run into the hurdle of reaching a user when they are offline. While sending SMS messages often does the trick, sometimes a video message is just more convenient. The good news is that Skype has begun rolling out this feature in the form of an update for its Mac, iPhone and Android client, with support for other platforms such as Windows coming very soon.
Bump, the sharing app for Android and iOS, has been updated on each platform, with the takeaway feature being the ability to 'bump' files to a computer. It is often the case with the more popular apps that both the Android and iOS versions are given updates at around the same time, and while the iteration for Google's platform now stands at 3.4.9, the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch incarnation of the app has been, erm.. bumped to version 3.5.6.
For avid smartphone users, these aren’t just devices for fun and entertainment. While smartphones are great at serving multiple purposes for making our lives generally easier, a lot of users opt for productivity apps designed for specific purposes. One of the most popular category in this genre are note-taking apps. Since all of use continuously have so much to remember – when to make a call, sending out that high-priority email, shopping lists, daily tasks and so much more – notes are a great way to keep track of what you’ve done, and what remains to be tended to.
