What’s in a name?
A lot, if you’re Google picking out just the right dessert name to follow KitKat.
KitKat was a “sweet” surprise (pun intended!) that took the tech world by storm. Everyone was expecting “Key Lime Pie,” but Google had a secret surprise ready.
As for this year’s Android L update? We don’t know.
A look at the Android L developer preview, however, provides what many believe could be the clue as to what Google looks to name as the next Android update.
The evidence comes from the Android Developer blog, where the site provides information regarding the Android L developer look into what aesthetic changes can be expected in the new update. Among them, is a Google Hangouts notification with the timestamp of 5:30PM and the text from a guy named Daniel that says, “I’m bringing my homemade lemon cake.”
It’s been said in the past that, whenever Google intends to provide a clue as to the new OS update name, it drops hints and traces within developer previews. In the following Nexus 5 image, for example, Google took the picture with a time of 4:40 at the top right of the Nexus 5 screen. When Google announced the Nexus 5 last October, the Android OS update was called "Android 4.4 KitKat."
Android 5.0 is Lemon Cake What Do You Think?
Cellphones actually reflect the personal microbial world of their owners and may be used as bacterial and environmental sensors, scientists say.
Researchers from the University of Oregon focused on the personal microbiome - the collection of microorganisms on items regularly worn or carried by a person.
Researchers sequenced microbes from the dominant-hand index fingers and thumbs of 17 subjects and from the touchscreens of their smartphones.
The study found smartphones closely resembled the microbiome sampled from their owner's finger, with 82 percent of the most common bacteria on participants' fingers also found on their phones.
Women were found to be more closely connected, microbiologically speaking, to their phones than were men, researchers said.
Although men and women were both statistically similar to their own phones, the relationship was stronger for women than for men.
The most commonly found bacteria were from three genera that are ubiquitous on and in humans: Streptococcus, which is commonly found in the mouth, and Staphylococcus and Corynebacterium, both common skin residents.
The analyses focused on categorising whole microbial communities rather than identifying pathogens.
The findings emerged from sequences representing more than 7,000 different types of bacteria found in the 51 samples taken from fingers and phones.
"This project was a proof-of-concept to see if our favourite and most closely held possessions microbially resemble us," said lead author James F Meadow, a postdoctoral researcher in the Biology and the Built Environment Center at the University of Oregon.
"We are ultimately interested in the possibility of using personal effects as a non-invasive way to monitor our health and our contact with the surrounding environment," he said.
Future uses could include real-time sequencing technology to screen the smartphones of health-care workers and hospital visitors, rather than the people themselves, for possible exposure to pathogens that could be carried into or out of a medical facility.
Also, phones are ubiquitous and come into direct contact with so much of a person's environment that they might also be valuable for analysing exposure to "biological threats or unusual sources of environmental microbes that don't necessarily end up integrated into our human microbiome," researchers said.
The findings also present opportunities for future scientific use, as phones could be used for easy and non-invasive sampling in large-scale microbial studies, they said.
Researchers from the University of Oregon focused on the personal microbiome - the collection of microorganisms on items regularly worn or carried by a person.
Researchers sequenced microbes from the dominant-hand index fingers and thumbs of 17 subjects and from the touchscreens of their smartphones.
The study found smartphones closely resembled the microbiome sampled from their owner's finger, with 82 percent of the most common bacteria on participants' fingers also found on their phones.
Although men and women were both statistically similar to their own phones, the relationship was stronger for women than for men.
The most commonly found bacteria were from three genera that are ubiquitous on and in humans: Streptococcus, which is commonly found in the mouth, and Staphylococcus and Corynebacterium, both common skin residents.
The analyses focused on categorising whole microbial communities rather than identifying pathogens.
The findings emerged from sequences representing more than 7,000 different types of bacteria found in the 51 samples taken from fingers and phones.
"This project was a proof-of-concept to see if our favourite and most closely held possessions microbially resemble us," said lead author James F Meadow, a postdoctoral researcher in the Biology and the Built Environment Center at the University of Oregon.
"We are ultimately interested in the possibility of using personal effects as a non-invasive way to monitor our health and our contact with the surrounding environment," he said.
Future uses could include real-time sequencing technology to screen the smartphones of health-care workers and hospital visitors, rather than the people themselves, for possible exposure to pathogens that could be carried into or out of a medical facility.
Also, phones are ubiquitous and come into direct contact with so much of a person's environment that they might also be valuable for analysing exposure to "biological threats or unusual sources of environmental microbes that don't necessarily end up integrated into our human microbiome," researchers said.
The findings also present opportunities for future scientific use, as phones could be used for easy and non-invasive sampling in large-scale microbial studies, they said.
Cellphones a Bacterial and Environmental Sensors?
Android phones that everyone would want to own this year. They come in a variety of sizes, shapes and specifications. Companies like Samsung, Sony, LG and Motorola are constantly creating new phones almost every year. Some of the phone makers released new phones this year at different technology functions across the country. Below are some of the best Android phones of 2014:
The Samsung Galaxy S5 is one of the best smartphones this year. It has a big 5.1 inch display, a high performing 16 megapixel camera and a fast and efficient Snapdragon processor. The phone also has a finger scanner and water and dust proof chassis. However, some tech enthusiasts feel that the heart rate monitor is unnecessary and the finger print scanner is difficult to use. They also claim that the plastic body of the phone makes it feel like a toy.
Many people who have tried it say that the phone is solidly built and offers value for money. The HTC One M8 is actually not that different from its previous model. However, it looks great, has a microSD card and a fairly good camera. The phone has a sleek metal design and quality speakers that are louder than those on some low-end laptops. It has two cameras at the back and can shoot photos with and without the flash. Technology lovers who have tried the camera say that the images they took with it are clear and sharp.
The LG G2 Android phone has an impressive design and a powerful processor, which is basically what everyone wants in a phone. It is the first U.S. device to have a Qualcomm superfast Snapdragon 800 processor. Apart from this, it has a decent camera that has the optical image stabilization feature. Images taken using the camera are clear and crisp. However, there are those who feel that LG messed up by placing the power button on the back of the phone. The phone’s speakers are also not as good as those of the HTC equivalent. People who have tried them out claim the speakers sound toneless and are not clear.
Though not as good as the Samsung Galaxy S5, this phone still has a lot to offer. For instance, it has Adroid 4.4 KitKat and has become more affordable since the Galaxy S5 debuted. It also has a powerful processor and a decent camera. However, its build quality is closer to that of a low-end phone.
Moto G has a 4.5-inch, a 720p display and a powerful quad-core processor. It has the Android 4.3 Jelly Bean but will soon be upgraded to 4.4 KitKat. However, it does not have a microSD slot, removable battery and NFC.
Generally, all these phones have their strengths and weaknesses. So it is the buyers who have to decide whether they will pick the Android phones everyone wants or one that they find satisfactory to them.
Sony Xperia Z2
The design of Sony Xperia z2 Phone is not that impressive but still gives out that premium quality look anyone can expect from a high-end phone. It has front-facing speakers and a clear screen that has good color reproduction. Though the phone is well rounded in terms of its specifications, it still feels a little bulky and does not have some of the specifications that one would expect to be included in a high-end phone.Samsung Galaxy S5
The Samsung Galaxy S5 is one of the best smartphones this year. It has a big 5.1 inch display, a high performing 16 megapixel camera and a fast and efficient Snapdragon processor. The phone also has a finger scanner and water and dust proof chassis. However, some tech enthusiasts feel that the heart rate monitor is unnecessary and the finger print scanner is difficult to use. They also claim that the plastic body of the phone makes it feel like a toy.
HTC One M8
Many people who have tried it say that the phone is solidly built and offers value for money. The HTC One M8 is actually not that different from its previous model. However, it looks great, has a microSD card and a fairly good camera. The phone has a sleek metal design and quality speakers that are louder than those on some low-end laptops. It has two cameras at the back and can shoot photos with and without the flash. Technology lovers who have tried the camera say that the images they took with it are clear and sharp.
LG G2
The LG G2 Android phone has an impressive design and a powerful processor, which is basically what everyone wants in a phone. It is the first U.S. device to have a Qualcomm superfast Snapdragon 800 processor. Apart from this, it has a decent camera that has the optical image stabilization feature. Images taken using the camera are clear and crisp. However, there are those who feel that LG messed up by placing the power button on the back of the phone. The phone’s speakers are also not as good as those of the HTC equivalent. People who have tried them out claim the speakers sound toneless and are not clear.
Samsung Galaxy S4
Though not as good as the Samsung Galaxy S5, this phone still has a lot to offer. For instance, it has Adroid 4.4 KitKat and has become more affordable since the Galaxy S5 debuted. It also has a powerful processor and a decent camera. However, its build quality is closer to that of a low-end phone.
Motorola Moto G
Moto G has a 4.5-inch, a 720p display and a powerful quad-core processor. It has the Android 4.3 Jelly Bean but will soon be upgraded to 4.4 KitKat. However, it does not have a microSD slot, removable battery and NFC.
Generally, all these phones have their strengths and weaknesses. So it is the buyers who have to decide whether they will pick the Android phones everyone wants or one that they find satisfactory to them.
Top 6 Best Android Phones That Everyone Wants June 2014
This week we’re bringing you some Android video games that will require you to pay for them in order to get them installed on your smartphone or tablet.
There are tons of Android games out there that are free to play, but only a few are coming 100% free since the release of the ‘in-app purchasing’ system. Some games that are free will sometime take too long to complete all their levels without paying for any extra weapons, power-ups or for any other game elements. So, we’ve decided to bring you a list of four paid games and a single free title for you to choose from and possibly install on your Android device.
A new popular game that was first launched on iOS has finally made way to Android. At first the Boom Beach game has been available for selected countries, but now it can be installed freely all over the world.
Boom Beach has been designed by those that have created Clash of Clans, the Supercell developers team. The action in Boom Beach takes place some time during World War II and you will need to hop from beach to beach in order to defeat the Blackguard. There are tons of beautiful islands that require your help in order to get rid of those enemy forces and save all the captured islanders.
Boom Beach is mainly designed as a multiplayer titles, but you can also find some single-player elements in it.
You can play it for free, but if you’re planning on getting better resources then you can choose to pay real money for them.
Boom Beach can be installed on all Android 4.0.3 and later devices and it holds a 4.4 rating from over 50,000 votes.
Get it from Google Play Store.
The game is set on the Mithra planet and it is filled with orcs that you need to defeat using your own team of brave space marines. Use all the in-game elements that Warhammer 40,000 Carnage has to offer in order to complete the game story successfully.
The game is somewhat expensive to install, but you have thousands of war elements to choose from and for every mission completed you will be waraded gold that you can use to purchase better weapons, machines and other things for you to use in order to make your life easier.
Warhammer 40,000 Carnage works with all Android 4.1 and later devices.
Note that this game offers in-app purchases, but you shouldn’t need to use them considering the $6.99 price tag its developers have set for it. However, if you want to gain access to better arsenal faster, then you can dig deep in your pockets and throw money at Roadhouse Games in order to unlock new game elements that will help you complete the whole story much easier than doing it the standard way.
Get the game from Google Play Store
One of the most popular world-building games released on iOS has finally made way to Google’s Play Store. This game allows you to become the deity that you’ve never thought that you could become
Topia World Build on Android allows to create rivers, valleys, mountains, oceans and then watch as your planet starts to give birth to animals, plants and other life forms. The game can be easily controlled by swiping the screen and the world will be literally at your fingers. Create different world and see how life unfolds in front of your eyes.
This game be played in both portrait and landscape mode and you have no final objective as you will simply have to control and model a world by your own standards
Get Topia World Build for Android 2.3.3 and later from Google Play Store
Disney developers have released the Castle of Illusion 2 platforming adventure game to Android video game. You will play as Mickey Mouse that is currently looking to find a way to rescue Minnie from the evil witch.
This game was one of the most popular console video games that’s entirely set in 2D graphics. Explore the Castle of Illusions, build up the courage to defeat all the levels thrown at you by the evil witch and go through an endless number of enchanted forests in order to rescue Mickey Mouse’s girlfriend.
Castle of Illusion works with all Android 4.0 and later versions.
Install if for $9.99 from Google Play Store.
This game was launched only a month ago for PC and now it has made its way to Android. It is a chariot management simulation that will require you to create a team and set strategies in order to defeat all your rivals.
In Qvadriga universe you are able to place bets on your own team hoping to make extra profit while also winning the race. A great feature of this game is that you can try and defeat opponents during the race so that they won’t even be able to cross the finish line.
There are more than forty course that you need to set strategies for in order to win as well as being careful that your chariot won’t be destroyed by your opponent’s spiked wheels. Get the game installed on all Android 2.3 and later.
Install Qvadriga from Google Play Store for $9.99.
There are tons of Android games out there that are free to play, but only a few are coming 100% free since the release of the ‘in-app purchasing’ system. Some games that are free will sometime take too long to complete all their levels without paying for any extra weapons, power-ups or for any other game elements. So, we’ve decided to bring you a list of four paid games and a single free title for you to choose from and possibly install on your Android device.
Boom Beach – FREE
A new popular game that was first launched on iOS has finally made way to Android. At first the Boom Beach game has been available for selected countries, but now it can be installed freely all over the world.
Boom Beach has been designed by those that have created Clash of Clans, the Supercell developers team. The action in Boom Beach takes place some time during World War II and you will need to hop from beach to beach in order to defeat the Blackguard. There are tons of beautiful islands that require your help in order to get rid of those enemy forces and save all the captured islanders.
Boom Beach is mainly designed as a multiplayer titles, but you can also find some single-player elements in it.
You can play it for free, but if you’re planning on getting better resources then you can choose to pay real money for them.
Boom Beach can be installed on all Android 4.0.3 and later devices and it holds a 4.4 rating from over 50,000 votes.
Get it from Google Play Store.
Warhammer 40,000: Carnage – $6.99:
The game is set on the Mithra planet and it is filled with orcs that you need to defeat using your own team of brave space marines. Use all the in-game elements that Warhammer 40,000 Carnage has to offer in order to complete the game story successfully.
The game is somewhat expensive to install, but you have thousands of war elements to choose from and for every mission completed you will be waraded gold that you can use to purchase better weapons, machines and other things for you to use in order to make your life easier.
Warhammer 40,000 Carnage works with all Android 4.1 and later devices.
Note that this game offers in-app purchases, but you shouldn’t need to use them considering the $6.99 price tag its developers have set for it. However, if you want to gain access to better arsenal faster, then you can dig deep in your pockets and throw money at Roadhouse Games in order to unlock new game elements that will help you complete the whole story much easier than doing it the standard way.
Get the game from Google Play Store
Topia World Builder – $1.99:
One of the most popular world-building games released on iOS has finally made way to Google’s Play Store. This game allows you to become the deity that you’ve never thought that you could become
Topia World Build on Android allows to create rivers, valleys, mountains, oceans and then watch as your planet starts to give birth to animals, plants and other life forms. The game can be easily controlled by swiping the screen and the world will be literally at your fingers. Create different world and see how life unfolds in front of your eyes.
This game be played in both portrait and landscape mode and you have no final objective as you will simply have to control and model a world by your own standards
Get Topia World Build for Android 2.3.3 and later from Google Play Store
Castle of Illusion – $9.99:
Disney developers have released the Castle of Illusion 2 platforming adventure game to Android video game. You will play as Mickey Mouse that is currently looking to find a way to rescue Minnie from the evil witch.
This game was one of the most popular console video games that’s entirely set in 2D graphics. Explore the Castle of Illusions, build up the courage to defeat all the levels thrown at you by the evil witch and go through an endless number of enchanted forests in order to rescue Mickey Mouse’s girlfriend.
Castle of Illusion works with all Android 4.0 and later versions.
Install if for $9.99 from Google Play Store.
Qvadriga – $9.99
This game was launched only a month ago for PC and now it has made its way to Android. It is a chariot management simulation that will require you to create a team and set strategies in order to defeat all your rivals.
In Qvadriga universe you are able to place bets on your own team hoping to make extra profit while also winning the race. A great feature of this game is that you can try and defeat opponents during the race so that they won’t even be able to cross the finish line.
There are more than forty course that you need to set strategies for in order to win as well as being careful that your chariot won’t be destroyed by your opponent’s spiked wheels. Get the game installed on all Android 2.3 and later.
Install Qvadriga from Google Play Store for $9.99.
Top 5 Best Android Games June 2014
Jack Wallen examines a new deal between BlackBerry and Amazon. Will this one final push help save BlackBerry?
In a very strange move, Amazon recently opened up their entire Android app catalog for BlackBerry users. That's right! In a new licensing deal, Amazon will allow the BlackBerry 10.3 (due out this fall... yes, BlackBerry is still releasing devices) access to over 250,000 apps. This major move does two things:
To me, there's a slight disconnect here. Are there casual BlackBerry users? My guess is no. BlackBerry only continues on because of business users who frequently travel overseas and holdovers who fear change (or there's that one app they can't do without). BlackBerry is set to release a new piece of hardware, but isn't it a little too late?
Three years ago, this would have been a completely different, and possibly game-changing, headline. Now? Not so much. The idea here is that BlackBerry isn't failing -- it's failed. The company is holding onto the hopes that adding the Amazon Android catalog will not only help to retain their current miniscule user base, but attract new users who left because of what can only be seen as "app drought." Sure, BlackBerry had solid business tools, but beyond that... there isn't much else. When you add to this some fairly unimpressive hardware, then you have the recipe for what ailed the company.
What can the addition of the Amazon Android catalog do? Clearly, BlackBerry Enterprise is going under the assumption that 250,000 apps (a majority of which will not appeal to BlackBerry users) will bring relevance back to the device. There's a slight problem with that logic. In today's mobile market, there are two incredibly massive players: Android and iOS. They are the de facto standards by which all mobile devices are compared. Any other platform with hopes and aspirations of making any noise in the mobile market is facing some nearly insurmountable odds. Look at WebOS and the maybe-soon-to-be-possibly released Ubuntu Phone. Both platforms are staring down the barrel of major barriers to entry -- just to get noticed. BlackBerry has been assumed dead for a long time now ("long time" being relative, of course). A resurrection in this fickle market is often more challenging than a new release. When the PC, IT, and mobile communities assume you are no longer relevant, you may as well be dead and buried.
And yet, here we have the little train that could doing everything it can to remain on the tracks. I have to say, the efforts of BlackBerry are commendable. Most other companies would have given up the ghost long ago. But BlackBerry Enterprise keeps on chugging along, hoping that one day it'll make the right move to bring it back to relevance.
Is the Amazon Appstore for Android the move to resurrect what was once jokingly called Crackberry? My best guess is that it'll give it the tiniest boost of life and then, slowly, the company will drift off into the Big Nap for good.
What do you think? Is it time for BlackBerry to give up the ghost? Or will the Amazon Appstore for Android save the little company that could? Share your thoughts in the discussion thread below.
In a very strange move, Amazon recently opened up their entire Android app catalog for BlackBerry users. That's right! In a new licensing deal, Amazon will allow the BlackBerry 10.3 (due out this fall... yes, BlackBerry is still releasing devices) access to over 250,000 apps. This major move does two things:
- Frees up BlackBerry to focus on business-centric apps
- Gets the non-business BlackBerry users access to casual apps
To me, there's a slight disconnect here. Are there casual BlackBerry users? My guess is no. BlackBerry only continues on because of business users who frequently travel overseas and holdovers who fear change (or there's that one app they can't do without). BlackBerry is set to release a new piece of hardware, but isn't it a little too late?
Three years ago, this would have been a completely different, and possibly game-changing, headline. Now? Not so much. The idea here is that BlackBerry isn't failing -- it's failed. The company is holding onto the hopes that adding the Amazon Android catalog will not only help to retain their current miniscule user base, but attract new users who left because of what can only be seen as "app drought." Sure, BlackBerry had solid business tools, but beyond that... there isn't much else. When you add to this some fairly unimpressive hardware, then you have the recipe for what ailed the company.
What can the addition of the Amazon Android catalog do? Clearly, BlackBerry Enterprise is going under the assumption that 250,000 apps (a majority of which will not appeal to BlackBerry users) will bring relevance back to the device. There's a slight problem with that logic. In today's mobile market, there are two incredibly massive players: Android and iOS. They are the de facto standards by which all mobile devices are compared. Any other platform with hopes and aspirations of making any noise in the mobile market is facing some nearly insurmountable odds. Look at WebOS and the maybe-soon-to-be-possibly released Ubuntu Phone. Both platforms are staring down the barrel of major barriers to entry -- just to get noticed. BlackBerry has been assumed dead for a long time now ("long time" being relative, of course). A resurrection in this fickle market is often more challenging than a new release. When the PC, IT, and mobile communities assume you are no longer relevant, you may as well be dead and buried.
And yet, here we have the little train that could doing everything it can to remain on the tracks. I have to say, the efforts of BlackBerry are commendable. Most other companies would have given up the ghost long ago. But BlackBerry Enterprise keeps on chugging along, hoping that one day it'll make the right move to bring it back to relevance.
Is the Amazon Appstore for Android the move to resurrect what was once jokingly called Crackberry? My best guess is that it'll give it the tiniest boost of life and then, slowly, the company will drift off into the Big Nap for good.
What do you think? Is it time for BlackBerry to give up the ghost? Or will the Amazon Appstore for Android save the little company that could? Share your thoughts in the discussion thread below.
Amazon's Appstore for Android can save BlackBerry?
Yes, you read that right: Microsoft has just made a new Android-based handset.
It’s also still using the Nokia name at this point, despite previously saying it didn’t plan to trade on that name for long. (Evidently Microsoft’s marketing minions are still working on cooking up that “go forward” smartphone brand.)
The Nokia X2 is not the first Android device Microsoft owns, being as Redmond took over Nokia’s mobile making division in April – a move which brought the original Nokia X device under its wing. But some doubted whether Microsoft approved of Nokia’s Android experiment — and speculated that the line would be quickly culled by Redmond.
Nokia forked Android back in February to create a new smartphone platform, which it called the Nokia X Software Platform to slot in between — pricing-wise — its Series 40 based low cost Asha devices and its Windows Phone powered Lumia smartphones.
At the time Nokia described the fork as a Lumia “feeder” — with then CEO Stephen Elop saying Nokia X devices would be a Trojan horse within Google’s ecosystem by introducing first time smartphone owners to Microsoft’s services rather than Mountain View’s.
Evidently Microsoft approves of this strategy after all — since it’s now building on that experiment with a follow up device. Or at least it’s willing to give the fork a chance.
The Nokia X2 is priced at €99 before taxes and subsidies (a little up on the original Nokia X’s €89 price-tag), and has a slightly larger screen (4.3 inches vs 4 inches), along with a beefier processor (1.2GHz dual-core Snapdragon processor vs 1GHz dual-core in the original device).
Otherwise it’s much the same fare, with the handset coming in a range of eye-popping colours and featuring Nokia’s blend of UI experiences — with a Windows Phone-esque tiles-based homescreen, combined with Nokia’s Fast Lane notifications screen, plus plentiful Microsoft (and Nokia) services preloaded, including Skype, Outlook, OneDrive, Mix Radio, Here Maps; and — of course — access to Android apps.
The X2 also supports dual-SIM — a popular feature in emerging markets where Microsoft will be hoping the Nokia X platform can better compete with other Android rivals than Windows Phone has been able to, thanks to those plentiful Android apps — and by reaching a lower price tag than entry level Lumias can.
The Nokia X2 extends the original trio of devices on the platform which were the Nokia X, X+ and XL.
Below is a Microsoft demo video of the X2:
Wondering what Nokia has been up to since handing off its mobile-making division to Microsoft? It’s also been dabbling with Android — releasing an alternative homescreen for Google’s software platform called Z Launcher just last week.
In mobile, (almost) all roads now lead to Mountain View. So finding ways to build atop Android is the order of the day for mobile players of all stripes.
Microsoft Has Just Launched Nokia X2 Its First Android Smartphone
Android 4.2 Jelly Bean
4.5 Inch IPS Display @ 540 x 960 Pixel Resolution
Dragontrail Glass for Scratch Protection
5 Point Multi-touch Support
8 MP Main Camera with LED Flash
2 MP Front Camera
1 GB RAM
4 GB Internal Memory
Expandable up to 32 GB via microSD
Single Sim (Micro)
WiFi and WiFi Hotspot
4G(H )?, 3G (HSDPA), EDGE, GPRS, GSM
Bluetooth, GPS, FM Radio
1700 mAh Li-ion Battery (Non-removable)
Cherry Mobile Razor
1.2GHz quad-core processor, MediaTek MT658 chipset allows seamless multi-tasking on your phone. It has better and faster performance especially in running heavy and multiple applications at once.
5" qHD Scratch Resistant Screen Enjoy watching videos, playing games and using applications on your Android phone on a 5-inch display.
Android 4.2 Jelly Bean is Android's lasted operating system. With better performance and a cleaner look, Jelly Bean feels faster, smoother, and more fluid.
Dual SIM/Dual Standby. Break inter-network barriers and do multiple transactions over two networks with this convenient dual SIM and dual standby phone.
Cherry Mobile Omega HD 2.0
Even a few years ago, tablet devices were not the most regular thing among users since most of them were not even aware about the existence of such a technology. However, with more and more big names such as Apple and Samsung finally coming to the front, tablets have started flowing in with more and more people adopting the same.
As of now, while the Apple-made iPads are the most popular of all, providing the best app selection, there are still plenty of great Android alternatives that effectively look to bump up the competition.
But then, making a choice is one of the most difficult things ever to do, and especially when you are spoilt for choices in the smartphone market. Do you join the rest of the world and get yourself a new Apple iPad? Or do you jump on the Android bandwagon where the choice diversifies even more?
We take a look at the top 5 tablet devices that you could look to invest on this year.
Apple iPad Mini Retina
As expected, Apple will surely be a highlight of this list for its iPad range of tablets that have been subjected to so much popularity all over the planet in the past few years.
The iPad Mini Retina could be considered one of the best tablets to buy for anyone looking for a compact and a lighter version of the iPad Air without taking away much from the screen quality, performance and battery-life.
Google Nexus 7 (Second Generation)
The new Nexus 7 tablet takes command over the the original 7-inch offering from Google back in 2012. The device comes packing a 1.5Ghz quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM and comes with either 16GB or 32GB of storage.
The 2nd gen Nexus 7 is easily one of the best choices if you are looking to buy a great 7-inch Android tablet in India. The pure Android the device runs offers a smooth UI, alongside a high resolution screen that offers a great experience for browsing and gaming alike.
Amazon Kindle Fire HDX 7
Amazon may have entered the tablet race much later compared to its more illustrious rivals, but that doesn't take away anything from the fact that the company makes few of the amazing pieces of tablet hardware that currently graces the planet.
While we are guessing that a regular Amazon-made tablet will not catch that much attention among fans, especially with the likes of Apple and Samsung around. But if you are all too interested in Amazon's ecosystem, the Kindle Fire HDX 7 is a great purchase.
Sony Xperia Tablet Z
Speaking about good looking devices that not only offer a great experience, but also are objects of beauty, the Sony Xperia Tablet Z is a perfect example from Sony as to what happens when you combine the phone with a tablet.
The Sony Xperia Tablet Z is one of the best built Android tablets to be around in India. The device is quite slim, although powerful and even weatherproof. The device also offers crisp, high-resolution display.
Apple iPad Air
There's hardly any surprise that two of Apple's tablet offerings have made it to the list. While the previously discussed iPad Mini with Retina is already a great purchase, the more celebrated iPad Air, for many, is the kind of stuff dreams are all about.
The iPad Air, which Could be easily tagged as one of the best tablet offerings to be available in India, arrives with a host of improvements made to almost everything that's inside the tablet device.
As of now, while the Apple-made iPads are the most popular of all, providing the best app selection, there are still plenty of great Android alternatives that effectively look to bump up the competition.
But then, making a choice is one of the most difficult things ever to do, and especially when you are spoilt for choices in the smartphone market. Do you join the rest of the world and get yourself a new Apple iPad? Or do you jump on the Android bandwagon where the choice diversifies even more?
We take a look at the top 5 tablet devices that you could look to invest on this year.
Apple iPad Mini Retina
As expected, Apple will surely be a highlight of this list for its iPad range of tablets that have been subjected to so much popularity all over the planet in the past few years.
The iPad Mini Retina could be considered one of the best tablets to buy for anyone looking for a compact and a lighter version of the iPad Air without taking away much from the screen quality, performance and battery-life.
Google Nexus 7 (Second Generation)
The new Nexus 7 tablet takes command over the the original 7-inch offering from Google back in 2012. The device comes packing a 1.5Ghz quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM and comes with either 16GB or 32GB of storage.
The 2nd gen Nexus 7 is easily one of the best choices if you are looking to buy a great 7-inch Android tablet in India. The pure Android the device runs offers a smooth UI, alongside a high resolution screen that offers a great experience for browsing and gaming alike.
Amazon Kindle Fire HDX 7
Amazon may have entered the tablet race much later compared to its more illustrious rivals, but that doesn't take away anything from the fact that the company makes few of the amazing pieces of tablet hardware that currently graces the planet.
While we are guessing that a regular Amazon-made tablet will not catch that much attention among fans, especially with the likes of Apple and Samsung around. But if you are all too interested in Amazon's ecosystem, the Kindle Fire HDX 7 is a great purchase.
Sony Xperia Tablet Z
Speaking about good looking devices that not only offer a great experience, but also are objects of beauty, the Sony Xperia Tablet Z is a perfect example from Sony as to what happens when you combine the phone with a tablet.
The Sony Xperia Tablet Z is one of the best built Android tablets to be around in India. The device is quite slim, although powerful and even weatherproof. The device also offers crisp, high-resolution display.
Apple iPad Air
There's hardly any surprise that two of Apple's tablet offerings have made it to the list. While the previously discussed iPad Mini with Retina is already a great purchase, the more celebrated iPad Air, for many, is the kind of stuff dreams are all about.
The iPad Air, which Could be easily tagged as one of the best tablet offerings to be available in India, arrives with a host of improvements made to almost everything that's inside the tablet device.
Best 5 Android, iOS Tablets To Buy in India in 2014
Apple's first major keynote of the year is just over a week away, and it's all but certain to give us our first official look at the next versions of OS X and iOS. We've already outlined some changes we'd like to see in Apple's desktop operating system, but the new version of iOS is going to affect far more people.
All of the major mobile operating systems borrow heavily from each other these days, so we looked at our Android and Windows phones to find features that we hope will "inspire" Apple's software designers. We'd honestly be surprised to see Apple implement all of these—the company takes a very careful approach to new features, and it tends not to add new features for the sake of adding new features. In any case, this is a list of the things we miss most when we jump back to iOS after spending time with Android or Windows Phone 8.1, and we think Apple would be able to find a way to implement them without making iOS needlessly confusing or complex for users.
Customizable quick settings (Windows Phone 8.1)
Control Center is one of our favorite additions to iOS 7. It gives you instant access to a handful of hardware and playback settings, and even if it didn't change at all in iOS 8 it would still do most of what you'd need it to do.
There's always room for improvement. Take Windows Phone 8.1's new "Quick Actions" feature, which puts a row of quick settings across the top of the screen when you pull down the Notification Center shade. Windows Phone actually fits fewer shortcuts than iOS does—four, instead of the 13 or so things you'll find on Apple's version—but those four shortcuts are fully customizable by the user. iOS' defaults are going to be perfectly fine for most people, but being able to tweak those settings to incorporate the ones you use the most often will make it even more useful.
Intents (Android)
One of iOS' longstanding limitations is that third-party applications can only interact with one another in limited ways. Certain services that have been blessed by Apple (Facebook, Twitter) can do a little more now that they're integrated into the operating system. Most applications still live in their own little sandboxes.
Android's "intents" system seems like an elegant way to solve this problem without introducing too much extra insecurity or complexity. In case you're not familiar: in Android, third-party applications can tell the OS that they're capable of certain things—uploading an image, for example, or opening a webpage. When you tap the "share" button on an image or click a link, the operating system can then present you with a full list of all first- and third-party applications that are capable of doing what you want.
iOS currently offers a very limited version of this for certain files via the "Open In" menu—I can take a document from Dropbox and open it in Office Mobile or Pages. But I can't then send that file back to Dropbox. It either needs to live in Microsoft's or Apple's cloud until I can get back to a computer with more robust file management capabilities.
Rumors indicate that something not unlike Intents is coming to iOS 8, and we'd be glad to see it. It's a logical extension of the existing Share menu that would make iPhones and iPads more flexible.
A more useful Home screen (Android and Windows Phone 8.1)
iOS 7 was a big design overhaul, but one thing hasn't changed at all: the Home screen is still a static grid of icons. It's a hub you use to jump from app to app, but aside from those little red notification badges it doesn't really do much by itself. This is in contrast to both Android and Windows Phone, which use widgets and Live Tiles (respectively) to offer up snippets of information at a glance. Apple's line has always been that putting any kind of widget or Live Tile equivalent on iOS would be too much of a drain on the battery, and while we think this argument is a little facile, the company hasn't budged on the issue in seven years.
That doesn't mean we're going to stop asking, though. Microsoft's Live Tile model could be adopted without drastically disrupting iOS' icons-on-a-grid design approach. We even know that icons can be designed to be more dynamic—Apple's Calendar and Clock icons always show the current date and time, respectively. Let third parties get in on the fun.
iOS 7 did introduce the "Today" view in the notification center, which offers some information at-a-glance—the weather, some data on how long it would take you to get home from where you are, the day's appointments and reminders, and information about your stocks if you have them. Like so many other things about iOS, the Today view is made less useful than it could be by its inability to incorporate information from apps other than Apple's.
Gesture typing (Android and Windows Phone 8.1)
It may have started life as a niche feature, but Swype-style gesture typing has invaded the default keyboards for both Android and Windows phones. On Android it's been a part of Google's stock keyboard since version 4.2 and it's a default feature in most OEM handsets, and Microsoft introduces the feature to its stock Windows Phone keyboard in the 8.1 update. It takes some getting used to, but gesture typing is quite a bit faster than the traditional two-thumbed tapping that iOS has always used and continues to use.
iOS' keyboard in general is an area where Apple is lagging behind Google and Microsoft (though the company would probably argue that it's opting to keep things simple, not lagging behind), and the list of inadequacies is getting pretty long. It lacks good predictive typing, gesture typing, and even an unambiguous Shift key. Apple may have contributed a lot to the modern software keyboard, but it's starting to feel a little behind the times.
A more capable Siri (Android and Windows Phone 8.1)
Here's another area where Apple sparked interest in a feature but then fell behind its competitors. Using Siri today is basically the same as using Siri in iOS 5 three years ago. Press the Home button, talk to your phone, and your phone will do what you want.
Both Google Now and Microsoft's Cortana outdo Siri by trying to give you information before you ask for it. You can tell Cortana all kinds of things about yourself that helps hone its recommendations. Google Now looks at your e-mails and seamlessly delivers information about flights, packages, movies, and directions. Siri isn't bad when I know what I want, but I'd like a personal assistant that can tell me what I want before I even have to ask.
All of the major mobile operating systems borrow heavily from each other these days, so we looked at our Android and Windows phones to find features that we hope will "inspire" Apple's software designers. We'd honestly be surprised to see Apple implement all of these—the company takes a very careful approach to new features, and it tends not to add new features for the sake of adding new features. In any case, this is a list of the things we miss most when we jump back to iOS after spending time with Android or Windows Phone 8.1, and we think Apple would be able to find a way to implement them without making iOS needlessly confusing or complex for users.
Customizable quick settings (Windows Phone 8.1)
Control Center is one of our favorite additions to iOS 7. It gives you instant access to a handful of hardware and playback settings, and even if it didn't change at all in iOS 8 it would still do most of what you'd need it to do.
There's always room for improvement. Take Windows Phone 8.1's new "Quick Actions" feature, which puts a row of quick settings across the top of the screen when you pull down the Notification Center shade. Windows Phone actually fits fewer shortcuts than iOS does—four, instead of the 13 or so things you'll find on Apple's version—but those four shortcuts are fully customizable by the user. iOS' defaults are going to be perfectly fine for most people, but being able to tweak those settings to incorporate the ones you use the most often will make it even more useful.
Intents (Android)
One of iOS' longstanding limitations is that third-party applications can only interact with one another in limited ways. Certain services that have been blessed by Apple (Facebook, Twitter) can do a little more now that they're integrated into the operating system. Most applications still live in their own little sandboxes.
Android's "intents" system seems like an elegant way to solve this problem without introducing too much extra insecurity or complexity. In case you're not familiar: in Android, third-party applications can tell the OS that they're capable of certain things—uploading an image, for example, or opening a webpage. When you tap the "share" button on an image or click a link, the operating system can then present you with a full list of all first- and third-party applications that are capable of doing what you want.
iOS currently offers a very limited version of this for certain files via the "Open In" menu—I can take a document from Dropbox and open it in Office Mobile or Pages. But I can't then send that file back to Dropbox. It either needs to live in Microsoft's or Apple's cloud until I can get back to a computer with more robust file management capabilities.
Rumors indicate that something not unlike Intents is coming to iOS 8, and we'd be glad to see it. It's a logical extension of the existing Share menu that would make iPhones and iPads more flexible.
A more useful Home screen (Android and Windows Phone 8.1)
iOS 7 was a big design overhaul, but one thing hasn't changed at all: the Home screen is still a static grid of icons. It's a hub you use to jump from app to app, but aside from those little red notification badges it doesn't really do much by itself. This is in contrast to both Android and Windows Phone, which use widgets and Live Tiles (respectively) to offer up snippets of information at a glance. Apple's line has always been that putting any kind of widget or Live Tile equivalent on iOS would be too much of a drain on the battery, and while we think this argument is a little facile, the company hasn't budged on the issue in seven years.
That doesn't mean we're going to stop asking, though. Microsoft's Live Tile model could be adopted without drastically disrupting iOS' icons-on-a-grid design approach. We even know that icons can be designed to be more dynamic—Apple's Calendar and Clock icons always show the current date and time, respectively. Let third parties get in on the fun.
iOS 7 did introduce the "Today" view in the notification center, which offers some information at-a-glance—the weather, some data on how long it would take you to get home from where you are, the day's appointments and reminders, and information about your stocks if you have them. Like so many other things about iOS, the Today view is made less useful than it could be by its inability to incorporate information from apps other than Apple's.
Gesture typing (Android and Windows Phone 8.1)
It may have started life as a niche feature, but Swype-style gesture typing has invaded the default keyboards for both Android and Windows phones. On Android it's been a part of Google's stock keyboard since version 4.2 and it's a default feature in most OEM handsets, and Microsoft introduces the feature to its stock Windows Phone keyboard in the 8.1 update. It takes some getting used to, but gesture typing is quite a bit faster than the traditional two-thumbed tapping that iOS has always used and continues to use.
iOS' keyboard in general is an area where Apple is lagging behind Google and Microsoft (though the company would probably argue that it's opting to keep things simple, not lagging behind), and the list of inadequacies is getting pretty long. It lacks good predictive typing, gesture typing, and even an unambiguous Shift key. Apple may have contributed a lot to the modern software keyboard, but it's starting to feel a little behind the times.
A more capable Siri (Android and Windows Phone 8.1)
Here's another area where Apple sparked interest in a feature but then fell behind its competitors. Using Siri today is basically the same as using Siri in iOS 5 three years ago. Press the Home button, talk to your phone, and your phone will do what you want.
Both Google Now and Microsoft's Cortana outdo Siri by trying to give you information before you ask for it. You can tell Cortana all kinds of things about yourself that helps hone its recommendations. Google Now looks at your e-mails and seamlessly delivers information about flights, packages, movies, and directions. Siri isn't bad when I know what I want, but I'd like a personal assistant that can tell me what I want before I even have to ask.
We hope Apple “borrows” features of Android and Windows for iOS 8
The official iOS 7 jailbreak has been available for a while now, and we’ve been taking some time to play around with a lot of jailbreak tweaks (old and new) for iOS 7 and seeing which ones are worth your time.
We’ve already discussed and featured a ton of iOS 7 Cydia tweaks in the past that dramatically improve the iOS 7 experience, but we’re back with even more. Since jailbreak developers are constantly updating and releasing new tweaks that are compatible with iOS 7, we figured it was time, once again, to tell you about some of the best iOS 7 Cydia tweaks that we’ve found.
This time around, however, we’re focusing on five jailbreak tweaks that are specifically aimed at iPhone users wanting some of the great features that Android devices are known for.
Just like with our past article on jailbreak tweaks for Google users, we’re guessing that there are a lot of iPhone users who also enjoy Google’s products, and we don’t blame them for wanting the best of both worlds when it comes to iOS and Android features. Here are five jailbreak tweaks that you should check out if you’re one of these users.
Gridlock 2.0
One nice thing about Android is that you can arrange app icons on the home screen any way you’d like, but on iOS, app icons are locked to a specific grid depending how many there are on the home screen.
It’s not too big of a deal, but sometimes you just want a bit of customization when it comes to arranging app icons. Luckily, there’s a jailbreak tweak called Gridlock 2.0 that lets you arrange app icons on the home screen anywhere in any configuration, much like on Android devices.
It’s a tweak that costs $4.99, which is a hefty price tag for a tweak that does something so basic, but it’s well worth it if you want to bring a bit of Android home screen customization to your iOS device.
HapticPro
Are you a fan of the vibration feedback when typing out text messages on the keyboard? It’s certainly a lot better than the annoying keyboard clicks on the iPhone. You can easily silence the clicks on iOS settings, but you still long for some kind of keyboard feedback with every key stroke.
This is where HapticPro comes in. This tweak gives you the same awesome vibration feedback when using the keyboard, but it also allows you to customize it greatly. You can choose how long each vibration with every key stroke lasts, and also when you want vibration feedback throughout iOS.
For example, you can enable HapticPro on just the keyboard, or you can enable on every single tap you make on the touch screen.
HapticPro is $2.99 in Cydia and it’s a worthy addition if you’re trying to Android-ify your jailbroken iPhone.
AndroidLock XT
This is perhaps my favorite jailbreak tweak out of the five listed here. I’m absolutely in love with the pattern lock capabilities on my Nexus 5 so I wanted to bring that same functionality to my jailbroken iPhone with AndroidLock XT.
This tweak gives you the same 3×3 pattern that’s available on Android devices and it allows you to unlock your phone by swiping in a pattern instead of typing an annoying passcode.
You can even get customizable themes to fit your style, and there are even options to have the pattern unlock disabled if you’re on WiFi or connected to a Bluetooth device. Plus, the tweak works with iCaughtU, so you can integrate AndroidLock XT in with your various security measures.
ShowCase
The one great thing about the Android keyboard is that it shows lowercase letters when typing in lowercase, and uppercase letters when typing in uppercase.
However, on iOS, the keyboard shows uppercase letters all the time. A simple jailbreak tweak called ShowCase solves this problem and shows lowercase letters when typing in lowercase, which quickly allows you to see which case you’re typing in without having to rely on the Shift key.
ShowCase is a fairly trivial jailbreak tweak, but it’s one that I don’t recommend taking for granted, as it makes your typing experience a lot quicker and easier.
iWidgets
Another big feature of Android is the ability to add widgets to your home screen, allowing you quick access to information like weather, calendar events, etc. On a jailbroken iPhone, you can get a jailbreak tweak called iWidgets to give you close to the same functionality.
All you do is tap and hold in an empty space on your home screen and then add a widget of your choice. The default widgets that come with iWidgets are rather limited, but numerous developers have made their own widgets that you can also download from Cydia.
iWidgets may or may not be included in the default list of sources in Cydia, depending on what repositories you already have installed, but if not, you’ll need to add a new repo to the list (http://repo.insanelyi.com). To do that, open up Cydia and tap on the Manage tab. Then navigate to Sources > Edit > Add and type in that repo web address. From there, just search for “iWidgets” and install it.
We’ve already discussed and featured a ton of iOS 7 Cydia tweaks in the past that dramatically improve the iOS 7 experience, but we’re back with even more. Since jailbreak developers are constantly updating and releasing new tweaks that are compatible with iOS 7, we figured it was time, once again, to tell you about some of the best iOS 7 Cydia tweaks that we’ve found.
This time around, however, we’re focusing on five jailbreak tweaks that are specifically aimed at iPhone users wanting some of the great features that Android devices are known for.
Just like with our past article on jailbreak tweaks for Google users, we’re guessing that there are a lot of iPhone users who also enjoy Google’s products, and we don’t blame them for wanting the best of both worlds when it comes to iOS and Android features. Here are five jailbreak tweaks that you should check out if you’re one of these users.
Gridlock 2.0
One nice thing about Android is that you can arrange app icons on the home screen any way you’d like, but on iOS, app icons are locked to a specific grid depending how many there are on the home screen.
It’s not too big of a deal, but sometimes you just want a bit of customization when it comes to arranging app icons. Luckily, there’s a jailbreak tweak called Gridlock 2.0 that lets you arrange app icons on the home screen anywhere in any configuration, much like on Android devices.
It’s a tweak that costs $4.99, which is a hefty price tag for a tweak that does something so basic, but it’s well worth it if you want to bring a bit of Android home screen customization to your iOS device.
HapticPro
Are you a fan of the vibration feedback when typing out text messages on the keyboard? It’s certainly a lot better than the annoying keyboard clicks on the iPhone. You can easily silence the clicks on iOS settings, but you still long for some kind of keyboard feedback with every key stroke.
This is where HapticPro comes in. This tweak gives you the same awesome vibration feedback when using the keyboard, but it also allows you to customize it greatly. You can choose how long each vibration with every key stroke lasts, and also when you want vibration feedback throughout iOS.
For example, you can enable HapticPro on just the keyboard, or you can enable on every single tap you make on the touch screen.
HapticPro is $2.99 in Cydia and it’s a worthy addition if you’re trying to Android-ify your jailbroken iPhone.
AndroidLock XT
This is perhaps my favorite jailbreak tweak out of the five listed here. I’m absolutely in love with the pattern lock capabilities on my Nexus 5 so I wanted to bring that same functionality to my jailbroken iPhone with AndroidLock XT.
This tweak gives you the same 3×3 pattern that’s available on Android devices and it allows you to unlock your phone by swiping in a pattern instead of typing an annoying passcode.
You can even get customizable themes to fit your style, and there are even options to have the pattern unlock disabled if you’re on WiFi or connected to a Bluetooth device. Plus, the tweak works with iCaughtU, so you can integrate AndroidLock XT in with your various security measures.
ShowCase
The one great thing about the Android keyboard is that it shows lowercase letters when typing in lowercase, and uppercase letters when typing in uppercase.
However, on iOS, the keyboard shows uppercase letters all the time. A simple jailbreak tweak called ShowCase solves this problem and shows lowercase letters when typing in lowercase, which quickly allows you to see which case you’re typing in without having to rely on the Shift key.
ShowCase is a fairly trivial jailbreak tweak, but it’s one that I don’t recommend taking for granted, as it makes your typing experience a lot quicker and easier.
iWidgets
Another big feature of Android is the ability to add widgets to your home screen, allowing you quick access to information like weather, calendar events, etc. On a jailbroken iPhone, you can get a jailbreak tweak called iWidgets to give you close to the same functionality.
All you do is tap and hold in an empty space on your home screen and then add a widget of your choice. The default widgets that come with iWidgets are rather limited, but numerous developers have made their own widgets that you can also download from Cydia.
iWidgets may or may not be included in the default list of sources in Cydia, depending on what repositories you already have installed, but if not, you’ll need to add a new repo to the list (http://repo.insanelyi.com). To do that, open up Cydia and tap on the Manage tab. Then navigate to Sources > Edit > Add and type in that repo web address. From there, just search for “iWidgets” and install it.
Five iOS 7 Cydia Tweaks That Bring Android Features to iPhone
Past winners have included Paper by FiftyThree, Evernote, Cut the Rope, and Infinity Blade. App developers compete for the increased exposure and a glowing Apple logo trophy, as well as a comprehensive Apple goodie bag.
This year's winners range from an experimental literary puzzle game all the way to editing software that lets you create living photographs.
Storehouse – Visual Storytelling: a beautiful iPad app that lets users create highly visual and customized stories to share with people through Dropbox or Instagram.
 |
| image credit : storehouse |
Threes: It's all about finding combinations and factors of three in this addictive app. Its tagline is "A tiny puzzle that grows on you."
 |
| image credit: Threes |
Leo's Fortune: In this platform adventure game, you are responsible for Leo as he bounces, slides and floats his way in search of his stolen hoard of gold.
 |
| image credit: Leo's Fortune |
Monument Valley: This picturesque adventure game thrusts you into a world of impossible architecture that feels like a living M.C. Escher painting.
 |
| image credit: Monument Valley |
PanoPerfect: One of the two student winners of the Apple Design Award, PanoPerfect gives users a place to easily share their iPhone panoramas.
 |
| image credit: PanoPerfect |
Device 6: This narrative experience combines puzzles, thrillers and literature to create one of the most experimental apps we've ever seen.
 |
| image credit: Device 6 |
Yahoo News Digest: Last year, Yahoo won an Apple Design Award for its beautiful Yahoo Weather app, and the company did it again this year with a polished news reader.
 |
| image credit: Yahoo News Digest |
Day One: This journal app encourages you to treat it like a diary, making it easy to chronicle everything from major life events to the briefest encounters.
 |
| image credit: Day One |
Blek: In this mesmerizing game, you gesture to create a line that worms its way along, repeating its motion gracefully. Aim for colored dots, avoid the black ones.
 |
| image credit: Blek |
Teachley: Addimals Adventure: The second student winner is an educational app from Teachley that teaches fundamental strategies for addition in a colorful way.
 |
| image credit: Teachley |
Sky Guide: View Stars Night or Day: Just point your iPhone and iPad to the sky at night, and Sky Guide does the rest, highlighting constellations for you to discover.
 |
| image credit: Sky Guide |
Top-Designed iPhone Apps In the World, According to Apple
For those without a technical background, Metal offers developers a set of functions that are “closer to the metal” than OpenGL, the application programming interface traditionally used on iOS (and Mac, Android, and game consoles not made by Microsoft). That means that they have more direct control over the graphics hardware, enabling faster performance because there’s less overhead for the system to deal with.
In practical terms, this won’t mean much for most developers — only those who really need to get into the guts of their code to boost graphics performance need be concerned. But there’s an entire industry built up around creating “game engines” for developers so that they don’t have to rebuild the wheel every time they start a new project. Getting those developers interested is how Apple gets Metal into most iOS games.
As it turns out, some of those teams have already started building Metal into their engines. Yesterday, Unity3D rendering guru Aras Pranckevičius tweeted that building Metal into the company’s engine was the “fastest port to brand new 3D API ever”:
Playing around with Apple #Metal was super fun btw. Fastest port to brand new 3D API ever. #unity3d
— Aras Pranckevičius (@aras_p) June 2, 2014On his blog, iOS developers and startup consultant Nat Brown points out that this won’t mean that games aren’t going to be built for Android just because developers can get better performance on iOS through Metal. Most won’t even touch it, because it’ll be baked into the tools they use to make their games.But gamers might start to notice when games built for the platform start to offer significantly better graphics:
That said, of the class of very advanced programmers who will jump on Metal are… the teams that maintain the game engines, frameworks, and toolchains used by 95% (perhaps 99%) of the games for mobile. Unity3D, Unreal Engine, and a few others simply dominate mobile gaming on both iOS and Android and have traditionally targeted a relatively common core of OpenGL ES for both platforms.While there are equivalents of the Metal framework available on other platforms — Mantle on AMD-made graphics chips, and DirectX 12 from Microsoft for Windows and the Xbox platform — neither company has complete control of the ecosystem for which they are building, which complicates things and limits the extent to which they can optimize for specific hardware.
Due to this I find it unlikely that the API itself will act to lock anybody into iOS from a classic API perspective – everybody is using an engine or framework and indeed tools much higher up the value chain. But… Metal could very well offer an iOS performance lock-in on mobile.
After all, AMD makes a wide variety of graphics cores that can be used in a nearly infinite range of PC hardware configurations, while DirectX has to work with the same range of CPU, RAM, etc., while also accounting for graphics chips from AMD, nVidia and Intel.
That means these frameworks simply can’t optimize for specific hardware in the same way that Apple can, as Anandtech’s Ryan Smith noted this morning:
Of the other low-level APIs we’ve seen so far – AMD’s Mantle and Microsoft’s DirectX 12 – the former is an API established by a hardware vendor who has to ride on top of other companies CPUs and OSes, and the latter is an OS vendor who has to ride on top of third party CPUs and GPUs. Apple on the other hand is in the enviable position of being as close as anyone can be to offering a fully vertical ecosystem. Apple designs their own CPUs, configures their own SoCs, and writes their own OS. The only portion of the chain that Apple doesn’t control is the GPU, and even then the company has exclusively used Imagination Technologies’ PowerVR GPUs for the last 7 years with no signs of this changing.With the iPhone 5s, iPad Air, and iPad mini all running on the same A7 system-on-a-chip — and this year’s models presumably sharing the A8 — Metal can be optimized specifically for one set of hardware and get the same gains across its range of mobile devices.
While the diversity of Android handsets comes with its own advantages, Google simply can’t create a Metal equivalent that optimizes for every device manufacturer’s hardware. As gamers’ expectations for what their phones are capable of evolve, it’ll be interesting to see how the introduction of Metal shapes the mobile gaming landscape.
Metal Framework Gives iOS A Lead In Gaming For Foreseeable Future
It seems things may change with iOS 8, which is expected to hit the devices this fall. According to a new report, the future ios 8 update could give users the ability to customize the control center.
This means users will be able to change the order in which the icons are displayed. Users will also be able to select which shortcuts are displayed in the Control Center.
There’s no word if Apple will introduce the customizable control center in the iOS 8 update, but Hamza Sood, a Twitter user posted some screenshots which shows a rearranged Control Center, as well as a settings screen which lets users add/remove a specific application from the Control Center.
Other improved features introduced in iOS 8 includes improved notification center, access to recent contacts in the multitasking screen, ability to read and respond to messages/calls from iPad or Mac, improved spotlight search and much more.
We’ll update you as soon as we get more information about the customizable Control Center and if it will make its way to iOS 8. Until then a grain of salt is required. If you’re an enrolled developer using iOS 8 beta 1, share with us using the comments below if you spotted a new feature.
iOS 8 Update in Future Could Allow Users To Customize Control Center
By all accounts, Windows tablets have yet to catch on in the mainstream market in the way the iPad or smaller Android tablets have, despite efforts from numerous manufacturers including Microsoft itself. But that isn't stopping tablet makers from pressing on, and today Toshiba released the Encore 2, its latest Windows 8 tablet effort. The Encore 2 comes in two sizes — 8-inch and 10-inch — and runs the full version of Windows 8.1, complete with support for legacy desktop apps. Toshiba is taking the same strategy that made customers first take notice of Android tablets: it's pricing the Encore 2 at $199 to start, a drop of $130 from last year's model and lower than similar efforts from Lenovo and Dell.
Android tablets didn't get much traction with customers until the Nexus 7 came along in 2012 at a starting price of $199. The Nexus 7 offered a "good enough" tablet experience at a price far enough below the iPad that it was able to easily become the most popular alternative to Apple's tablet. Similarly, Toshiba's Encore 2 promises to be a fast and responsive tablet that doesn't break the bank.
The base Encore 2 comes with an 8-inch, 1280 x 800 pixel display, quad-core Intel Atom processor, 1GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, and support for microSD cards. Toshiba says that its battery should last 8 to 10 hours before needing to be recharged, which is right in line with an iPad or Nexus 7. For $70 more, the larger, 10-inch model comes with the same 1280 x 800 pixel resolution and internal components as the 8-inch model. Toshiba will also sell options with more RAM and internal storage for $50 to $80 more than the base prices. All of the tablets come with one year of Office 365 personal for free and support Toshiba's Wireless Display technology for mirroring the tablet's display to a larger screen.
With a relatively low resolution display and basic specifications, the Encore 2 likely won't ever be a powerhouse tablet. But that doesn't seem to be the point — its hardware is good enough to make Windows 8 and most of the apps available run smoothly and the price is low enough to not be an instant deterrent to tablet shoppers. (For those that still find $199 too much to spend on a tablet, Toshiba has also announced the Excite Go, a 7-inch Android tablet priced at $109.)
Whether or not Toshiba will be successful in replicating the success of Android tablets with its low-cost Windows tablet remains to be seen, but buyers will be able to make their decisions this July, when the Encore 2 is available in stores.
The base Encore 2 comes with an 8-inch, 1280 x 800 pixel display, quad-core Intel Atom processor, 1GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, and support for microSD cards. Toshiba says that its battery should last 8 to 10 hours before needing to be recharged, which is right in line with an iPad or Nexus 7. For $70 more, the larger, 10-inch model comes with the same 1280 x 800 pixel resolution and internal components as the 8-inch model. Toshiba will also sell options with more RAM and internal storage for $50 to $80 more than the base prices. All of the tablets come with one year of Office 365 personal for free and support Toshiba's Wireless Display technology for mirroring the tablet's display to a larger screen.
With a relatively low resolution display and basic specifications, the Encore 2 likely won't ever be a powerhouse tablet. But that doesn't seem to be the point — its hardware is good enough to make Windows 8 and most of the apps available run smoothly and the price is low enough to not be an instant deterrent to tablet shoppers. (For those that still find $199 too much to spend on a tablet, Toshiba has also announced the Excite Go, a 7-inch Android tablet priced at $109.)
Whether or not Toshiba will be successful in replicating the success of Android tablets with its low-cost Windows tablet remains to be seen, but buyers will be able to make their decisions this July, when the Encore 2 is available in stores.
Low prices to sway buyers Toshiba's new Windows tablets bet
As noted in Microsoft Announces 9 New Windows Phone Hardware Partners, New OS Features back in February, Foxconn, Gionee, Lava (Xolo), Lenovo, LG, Longcheer, JSR, Karbonn and ZTE signed on to sell new Windows Phone handsets when Microsoft lowered licensing costs significantly. (Like to $0.)
At that time, I wrote that Lenovo and LG were arguably the two big names in the list from the perspective of the US and Western Europe. But oddly enough, the handsets Microsoft talked up at Computex—see Microsoft Touts New PCs, Windows Phones at Computex for an overview—are from some of the other, less well-known companies on that list.
We still don't have a ton of information about the new devices, but what we do know is promising, and it appears that each of these is unsubsidized. Here are the phones Microsoft showed off this week.
BLU 4-inch and 5-inch (Unnamed)
Markets: United States and Latin America
Timing: "Soon"
This was the vaguest of the announcements. According to Microsoft, BLU will launch two Windows Phone 8.1 handsets this year, one with a 4-inch screen and one with a 5-inch screen. The devices will be sold in a variety of vibrant colors, and the 5-inch version in particular looks very similar to the original HTC One, in my opinion.
4-inch:
5-inch:
Prestigio MultiPhone 8500 DUO and Prestigio MultiPhone 8400 DUO
Markets: Europe
Timing: July/August
Prestigio announced its first two Windows Phone 8.1 handsets at the show, the Prestigio MultiPhones 8400 DUO and 8500 DUO. Both devices feature quad core processors, 8 MP cameras, IPS displays, and dual SIMs.
The entry-level 8400 DUO has a 4-inch display running at 480 x 800, a 1.2 GHz processor, a .3 MP front-facing camera and will cost only $115 USD when it appears in August.
The mid-level 8500 DUO has a 5-inch display running at 720p (720 x 1280), a 1.2 GHz processor, 1 GB of RAM, and a 2 MP front-facing camera. It will ship in July and will cost $235 USD.
Yezz Billy 4.7 Windows Phone
Markets: Europe, Latin America, United States
Timing: August
The Yezz Billy 4.7 is named after Bill Gates—the firm's "Andy" phone is named after Android project lead Andy Rubin—and features a 4.7-inch IPS display, a 1.2 GHz processor, an 8 MP rear camera, and dual SIM capability. It will cost $250 and be available for purchase through Amazon.com, and will have interchangeable color covers in red, white, and blue.
A second, lower-end Yezz Windows Phone handset, the Billy 4.0, will ship later and feature a 4-inch OGS screen, an 8 MP rear camera, and a quad core processor. It will cost $140.
Note: There are obviously omissions in the specs. This is the information Microsoft and the partners have provided so far.
New Windows Phone 8.1 Handsets Preview
Windows users have several options when it comes to modifying the visual appeal of their system. From installing standard themes that do not require any system changes whatsoever but only change some visuals such as the background wallpaper to full themes and total conversions that change it dramatically.
Apple just announced the new version of Mac OS X called Yosemite which features better integration with iOS8 and several interface modifications such as new icons.
It did not take long for someone to create a total conversion package for Windows. Using it you can change the theme of Windows that you are currently running to Mac OS X Yosemite.
Note: It is highly recommended to back up the system before you apply the theme as it will make modifications to the system. If things go wrong, you can restore the backup. We did not notice any issues installing the theme on a Windows 8.1 Update 1 system but that does not mean that you won't So, better safe than sorry. At the very least, create a system restore point.
Installation of the package is actually pretty easy
You can configure various features on the page that will be applied during installation. Among them are the following options:
Once you have made your selection here -- and unchecked the homepage change -- you can hit install to apply the theme. The installation takes less than a minute to complete, a restart was not required on Windows 8. This is how it looks like if you install the Mac theme on Windows 8 using the default configuration.
We did not notice any issues using the theme. While some features lead to Windows programs instead of the ones mentioned by the theme -- a click on Safari for instance opens the default system browser instead -- it resembles the new Mac interface.
Verdict
If you like how Mac OS X Yosemite looks like and run Windows, you may want to give this a try. It may take a while to get accustomed to the new features though, especially if you have never worked on a Mac system before. (via Deskmodder)
Apple just announced the new version of Mac OS X called Yosemite which features better integration with iOS8 and several interface modifications such as new icons.
It did not take long for someone to create a total conversion package for Windows. Using it you can change the theme of Windows that you are currently running to Mac OS X Yosemite.
Note: It is highly recommended to back up the system before you apply the theme as it will make modifications to the system. If things go wrong, you can restore the backup. We did not notice any issues installing the theme on a Windows 8.1 Update 1 system but that does not mean that you won't So, better safe than sorry. At the very least, create a system restore point.
Installation of the package is actually pretty easy
- Download the right package for your system from the authors website. There is one universal version for Windows XP and newer, and one special edition that is only for Windows 7 and newer.
- Rename the .zip_ extension to .zip and extract the contents of the 50 Megabyte file on your system.
- Run the installer afterwards with elevated privileges. Right-click the file and select Run as administrator from the context menu.
- A configuration page is displayed. One thing that you may want to do here is to disable the "make WindowsxLive the homepage" option in the lower left corner.
You can configure various features on the page that will be applied during installation. Among them are the following options:
- Use the system font configuration or select three alternatives.
- Enable or disable the dock and auto-hide.
- Select which taskbar you want. You can select system default here if you want to use the Windows taskbar.
- Enable the Start Orb.
- Enable left side OS X caption button style.
- Enable OS X Yosemite frame UI (not compatible with AERO).
- Enable Spaces (Ctrl-Alt-Arrow).
- Dasboard (F12 to display or scroll to bottom left corner).
- Enable Launchpad.
- Activate hot screen corners for dashboard and launchpad.
Once you have made your selection here -- and unchecked the homepage change -- you can hit install to apply the theme. The installation takes less than a minute to complete, a restart was not required on Windows 8. This is how it looks like if you install the Mac theme on Windows 8 using the default configuration.
We did not notice any issues using the theme. While some features lead to Windows programs instead of the ones mentioned by the theme -- a click on Safari for instance opens the default system browser instead -- it resembles the new Mac interface.
Verdict
If you like how Mac OS X Yosemite looks like and run Windows, you may want to give this a try. It may take a while to get accustomed to the new features though, especially if you have never worked on a Mac system before. (via Deskmodder)
