Google I/O 2012 has so far exceeded all expectations I had from the event. The number and variety of announcements is enough to rival Apple’s at WWDC. So far, we’ve seen an updated version of Android (4.1 Jelly Bean), a Nexus tablet, a show-stopping Google Glasses demo and, the news we will be discussing in this post, new Google+ apps and features. Check it out after the jump.
If you’re an iPhone owner since 2007, the introduction of iOS 6 may represent what seems like the passing of an old friend as Apple cast out the old and brought in the new with the replacement of Google Maps with their own mapping system. A large group of users are willing to embrace change and really have no opinion on the situation, but with Google providing a tried and tested comprehensive mapping experience, some are understandably skeptical about the whole affair.
A few days back we reported that Apple might give Podcasts a brand new home in iOS 6 with a dedicated app on its own. In a rather interesting move, Apple has pushed out the said app for iPhone and iPad users and it does exactly what it says on the tin, brings all your podcasts in one place for you to consume/enjoy on your device.
Apple has invested a lot of time and money into their mobile devices and the advanced iOS software that powers them. Hardware such as the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad are some of the most powerful examples of mobile consumer tech on the market today, with Apple's mobile operating system being the perfect companion, thanks to its advanced features and elegant aesthetics.
The second beta version of iOS 6 - currently only available to registered developers - has just landed, and thanks to Dev Team’s Redsn0w, it can be jailbroken already on A4 devices like the iPhone 4, iPod touch 4G, iPhone 3GS. Of course, the jailbreak is tethered, which means you will need to connect your device to a computer with Redsn0w installed each time your device is turned off or rebooted, but you knew that already.
The development team over at Google have today pushed the button on the 1.2.7812 update for their iOS Gmail application and with it comes a number of improvements, feature upgrades and user-interface changes that have been specifically requested by Gmail users. The official iOS Gmail client has come in for quite a bit of criticism since its launch due to the fact that some feel it is little more than a wrapper for the web service and does not offer a true native experience, something Google hopes the update will help with.
Anyone who has been in the jailbreaking game for any significant length of time will more than likely have a set of favored packages which always get installed to the device after a fresh jailbreak. As new packages and enhancements become available, that list may become a lengthy one, but the underlying core set of extensions is usually set in stone for a lot of people. Although a relatively new package, the Deck home screen action bar for iPhone and iPod touch managed to quickly make its way to the top of a lot of users charts due its unique implementation and functionality.
There's no doubting the massive increase in Apple since the introduction of the iPhone back in 2007, but even if you've been an avid follower since the early days, a relatively new App Store app aims to test even the most knowledgeable Cupertino enthusiast.
I would feel quite confident in going out on a limb and guessing that most owners of the iPad use the device in some form to scroll through albums of images and photographs. The large and engaging display, especially the Retina screen on the new iPad, is perfect for reliving the memories that photographs portray with the iPad also offering excellent multitouch and zooming features for viewing photo details.
Thanks to a marked increase in cloud-computing options, the days of connecting a physical cable in order to transfer files to and from a mobile device look to be behind us. Dropbox has been the omni-present offering, although with Apple, Google, and Microsoft all joining the fray with their respective services, competition for supremacy is certainly driving up the standards.
