GeekBench

So so so so so so Sorry!

2014-09-22T09:08:00.003-07:00

Hi all

Due to personal reasons, I had to hon back on the posting...

Thankfully I am fighting fit and ready to battle on!

Change of plan though...I've a new found love of gaming.

While I was ill, someone got me an Xbox One as a gift...BIG MISTAKE!

Granted my kids love it but my wife - lets just say she's more like a gaming widow than anything else.

I plan to post reviews, news and gamer vids.

Anything you want to see, let me know in an email and.

Thanks a million to everyone over the past year that has helped me get better

Peace and Love!

Eric

iOS 7 Battery Issues??

2013-09-20T07:41:00.005-07:00

Are you doing this every couple of hours?

Pain in the arse, I know!!

Here are a few small tips on what to do to reserve battery life. (Be warned, you may not like some of them)

From the kind people at TUAW.COM

iOS 7 lets certain apps refresh even when you're not using them, which is both super convenient and a big problem for users who want the most out of their batteries. Disabling Background Refresh entirely would be your best bet, but even disabling the feature on just a few apps should help your device remain lively for a bit longer.

Alter your location services

It seems like just about every app wants to track your location these days. For some apps, like Maps, this makes a lot of sense, but if you've authorized other apps (Twitter, Facebook) to track your location without actually using the in-app features that go along with it, you should turn it off. In addition to apps, iOS 7 has a whole host of system-level options for location tracking, including local advertising and even the compass. If you don't use the apps to begin with, turning off the GPS tracking won't do much, but if you can disable tracking for a few of your most-used apps, you could see a decent boost in battery life.

Not using AirDrop? Kill it

iOS 7 introduces AirDrop to the iPhone for the first time, but even if you find yourself using the handy Dropbox-style feature from time to time, you should be turning it off when you don't need it. This is made easy by the new Control Center in iOS 7, which can be brought up by swiping upwards on the home screen. From here, it's just two taps to either enable or disable AirDrop, and while you're here, you can also disable Bluetooth and/or WiFi to help save additional battery life when you're not using them.Note: AirDrop is not available on the iPhone 4 or 4S.

3D goes bye-bye

OK, this one is going to hurt: You know that fancy 3D parallax wallpaper effect that iOS 7 introduces? Unfortunately for users who want the most out of their battery, it's a luxury that does nothing but burn power to make your home screen look cool. You can disable this feature by toggling on the "Reduce Motion" option in the Accessibility menu.

The same goes for the new dynamic wallpapers. Yes, a moving background image is a pleasant bit of eye candy, but it serves no functional purpose other than shortening your time between charges. Kick these features to the curb and your battery will thank you.

Latest Apple Keynote

2013-09-04T02:17:00.001-07:00

Apple Event penciled in for Sept. 10th

Hi all,

Just a quick note to let you all know Apple have set the date as Sept 10th for their next keynote. It is expected that this is where we'll get the final look at iOS 7 before it is released to the public.

It is also expected the the new iPhone 5s will be announced here.

Some people have suggested that a cheaper, plastic back iPhone will be shown too as a cheaper alternative to the iPhone 5s. They are calling it the iPhone 5c

Personally I'm not too fond of the idea but stranger things have happened.

Expects also predict an updated Apple TV will be announced but again I feel less likely that Apple will released an actual TV form factor and will continue with the small table table HDMI tv accompaniment with boasts everything from Disney to Netflix, MLB, NHL, NBA and Sky News.

The iWatch talk has also thankfully cooled down for the moment so it is highly unlikely that we are going to be getting an iWatch or iClock of iFace or whatever these so-called 'experts' are calling it lately.

As I've shown previously, iCloud has also been under beta test by myself lately with the inclusion of Pages, Numbers and Keynote(Apple's equivalent to Microsoft's Word, Excel and Powerpoint) via web browser and apart from a few minor bugs, looks set to be released to the public too.

More info including the thought behind the Apple 'circles' keynote poster will be announced closer to the time, as well as a time the keynote will be kicking off at.

Keep your eyes peeled here for an update, coming soon!

iTunes Festival set for Sept 2013

2013-05-30T07:20:00.001-07:00

Apple announced yesterday 29th May 2013 that it will once again hold its iTunes Festival in London and once again it will be in September and yes, once again there will be Live Acts over the 30 nights

Woo Hoo!!

The full lineup is yet to be announced but acts will include Justin Timberlake, Jessie J & Jack Johnson.

“This year’s iTunes Festival is the best ever with an incredible lineup of global superstars and stellar emerging artists,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. “Music fans around the world are going to love watching this incredible month of music, whether in London at the Roundhouse or on their iOS device. We’re honored so many renowned artists are part of this year’s lineup.”

Free tickets for the concerts will be released on iTunes via a lottery system with media partners from major cities also releasing tickets. The concert will be broadcast via an iOS app, iTunes via PC and/or your Apple TV

Apple will also release EP's at a later date of the performances

$1 billion investment for XBOX One

2013-05-30T00:50:00.000-07:00

As reported by JoyStik

Xbox One is planned to have 15 exclusives from Microsoft in its first year at retail, including eight new intellectual properties - the product of two years that has seen the formation of new studios in London, Washington and Victoria, British Columbia. Phil Harrison, former Sony exec, was brought on to oversee internal projects; Lionhead's new boss is John Needham, a guy with a heavy MMO background.

Microsoft is investing $1 billion into games on the Xbox One, financing not only new studios but also securing exclusives for Microsoft's next-generation console. This is an unprecedented investment for Microsoft, much more than its most expensive game yet,Halo 4.

Microsoft Studios boss Phil Spencer told OXM Rare is returning to one of its older franchises (Killer Instinct, anyone?) and Black Tusk Studios is hard at work on Microsoft's next big franchise. Lift London is working on smaller cloud-based games, while Microsoft Studios Osaka has a project under way - something Don Mattrick says will illustrate how Microsoft is "committed" to Japan. Finally, Press Play and Twisted Pixel are in Microsoft's bullpen, working on "weird, unique" games for Xbox Live.

And that's not counting the continuing Call of Duty exclusivity deal and games Microsoftdid talk about during its Xbox reveal event: Turn 10's Forza Motorsport 5; Remedy Entertainment's Quantum Break; and four games from EA Sports in UFC, Madden 25, FIFA 14 and NBA Live 14. Later, Crytek confirmed its Kinect-powered brawler Ryse is coming to Xbox One.

Xbox One is due later this year, with more to be shown at E3 between June 9 and June 11 in Los Angeles, California.

Spotify launches Discover

2013-05-29T07:32:00.000-07:00

Nearly six months ago, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek took the stage and admitted that the service's discovery features were lacking. He outlined a plan to add new features like Follow, which lets you see what artists and friends are listening to, and Discover, a news feed of recommendations, playlists, and songs friends have posted. Today, his plan finally comes to fruition with the roll out of Discover on Spotify's web client, and over time, its desktop and mobile apps.

Spotify has always been great at finding specific tracks, but never took advantage of its now over 24 million monthly users to surface any recommendations, aside from the company's Radio feature. Discover aims to change that, focusing entirely on providing new stuff to listen to, powered by the algorithms it built for Radio. Like Pandora, Spotify evaluates a variety of factors, from what's inside your playlists to friends you've followed and songs you've listened to. Discover populates artists you might like, playlists they've created, songs friends have posted, new releases, and content from partners like Songkick (for concerts you might want to check out), Pitchfork (for album reviews), and Tunigo, a music recommendations company Spotify recently acquired.

What's on my iPhone Vol. I

2013-05-29T07:09:00.001-07:00

Page One

No point in going through the Apple stock apps. ie Messages, Calender, Photos Camera, Videos, Passbook, Notes, Reminders, Clock, Stocks, Newsstand, iTunes, App Store, Game Centre, Settings, Phone, Mail and Music are out!

Google Maps - Free
The first of 3rd Party app I have installed instead of the stock Maps app created by Apple. I find Google Maps more user friendly, easy interface to navigate around as well as having the correct locations where they should be.

Yahoo Weather - Free
Yet another 3rd Party app in place of the standard app. Yahoo Weather has a beautiful display for the majority of towns and countries around the world eg. Pictures of Statue of Liberty, Empire State and the Brown Stones of NYC when looking for Manhattan weather or the Trevi Fountain or The Vatican City for Rome. It also has a detailed next to accurate reading from temperature to wind pressure and when the Sun rises and sets. A beautiful app and a definite MUST HAVE!

Flashlight - Free
There are an abundance of Flashlight apps on the App Store so there isnt much to say about this. Its my personal favorite because it comes with no ads so you won't be clicking them by mistake when you have your hand on the 'switch'

Spotify - Free
Free to download for the basic package on Spotify but for €9.99 a month you have millions of tracks waiting for you to listen to, non stop and ad free. Probably one of my most used apps, both on my mobile devices and my desktop in work and at home.

Google - Free
Another app from Google downloaded from the App Store in place of an Apple app. This time it is Safari. I have never been a fan of Safari and ultimately tend to stick with Google when it comes to Web Browsers. I even use Chrome on my iMac.

Check back for the next page of Apps on my iPhone and feel free to suggest Apps that I should try.

Have you replaced your Apple stock apps with 3rd Party apps? What ones?

Til next time!

Analog Camera; the newest, fun and fast camera app

2013-05-29T06:44:00.002-07:00

Analog Camera, the newest, fun and fast camera app. Difference is...this has a personality

Created by the same company that brought you Clear. RealMac have gone all out in developing the almost complete Camera app that features eight different photo filters and all the social network sharing you could ever need.

Analog Camera’s easy sharing features allow you to open photos you shoot or edit within the app in other apps including Instagram. This feature is especially cool if you’re feeling spunky and want to experiment with double filters or blurring features offered with Instagram.

Analog Camera will be released tomorrow to the Irish App Store having been released on Monday in the States.

Samsung plans ‘Premiere 2013’ event, will more than likely show off a new Galaxy and ATIV devices

2013-05-28T01:15:00.006-07:00

The unveiling will take place on June 20 at Earls Court 2, London and be livestreamed over on its corresponding YouTube channel from 6pm BST/ 1pm ET/ 10am PT.

The teaser poster (below) includes three snapshot images that could give readers a tantalizing glimpse at what the new devices will look like.

Rumors of a smaller Galaxy S4, appropriately named the Galaxy S4 Mini, have been circulating for some time now, although the moniker is so strong – and synonymous with Android – that it’s also possible we could see multiple devices being announced simultaneously.

The ATIV range, meanwhile, is Samsung’s ongoing foray into the Windows Phone mobile operating system. The company is yet to make much of a dent; the ATIV S, released last year, was met with some pretty middling reviews.

Nokia still dominates what small market share Windows Phone has accumulated in recent years – new data suggests it has just overtaken BlackBerry – so it should come as no surprise that Samsung wants to strengthen its position in this space too.

The Next Web will be covering the launch as and when it happens, so be sure to check-in with our site both during and after the event.

Is iMessage for Android here??

2013-04-25T02:48:00.001-07:00

Today, our lives are spread across a growing array of digital devices, from smartphones and laptops to tablets and connected TVs. While each device tends to perform certain tasks better than others, as we use tablets to read books and shop, laptops for work-related tasks and smartphones to check the weather, stocks and email, increasingly, our devices are working together in concert and becoming interchangeable by keeping us connected to the cloudy Web. Yet, in spite of the fact that we live in an increasingly connected and multi-platform world, when it comes to texting, we find ourselves locked in to our phones.

As former Googlers, Maneesh Arora and Amit Sangani set out to develop a solution for those who find themselves sending and receiving text messages and phone calls all the live-long day, while, in turn, giving Android users an open, cross-device equivalent to Apple’s iMessage. In 2011, the two co-founded and launched MightyText, a cross-platform app that today works natively on Android tablets and phones (and as an extension for Firefox and Chrome), and allows Android-ers to view and reply to texts regardless of what device they happen to be using.

Given our growing reliance on our digital gadgets, by offering a tool that allows users to send SMS, MMS and make calls from your PC, Mac, Kindle, Galaxy S III and even your iPad, MightyText has been quick to find an audience and has grown steadily since launching officially in July of last year.

In November, MightyText launched its first tablet app and, since then, Arora tells us that MightyText has seen over two million installs, tripling its user base over the past five months to three million users in all. As of today, he adds, MightyText is on pace to hit six billion messages per year.

But, today, MightyText is looking to take the first step in a strategy that the founders hope will take the startup beyond texting and, rather than simply being an alternative to iMessage will begin to put it head-to-head with iCloud. “There are a lot of other things that people want to sync between their devices besides texts,” Arora tells us. So, this morning the startup is officially expanding to support photo and video sync, a new addition to its platform launching in beta that allows users to sync their photos and videos between their phone and computers instantly and securely — and soon to their tablets.

Since MightyText already syncs texts, calls and contacts between users’ phones and their other devices, adding photo and video sync capabilities requires no work from MightyText users, Arora says. Once users activate the photo service, as they capture photos and videos on their Android phones, that media will show up in realtime on their computer.

While Arora admits that MightyText is hardly the only company looking to provide simple, cross-device sync and backup — Dropbox being the foremost example — he thinks that the “daily productivity piece” is still missing from current options. While Dropbox does sync and backup well, people don’t have a reason to “check Dropbox” daily, he says. Meanwhile, people are sending and receiving texts every day en masse. So, for those already using MightyText on their computer, tablet and phones, the service now gives them a photo and video experience that’s tied into their daily SMS habit.

“We think the photo syncing and sharing solutions out there aren’t working at full capacity just yet,” Arora continues. “You don’t hear too many people raving about the iCloud user experience.” Photos and videos become far more useful and relevant if they are part of your daily activity stream. “Imagine if every photo you take on your phone were to show up on the left side of Gmail for easy consumption and sharing,” he says. This would make consuming and sharing media among your devices — and your friends — more frictionless, and that Gmail integration is something the founders hope to add going forward.

After all, sharing photos and videos on your phone tends to be a multi-step process — six steps are required to share a single photo on Facebook, for example. Sharing, syncing and storing content across your devices should be as easy as using an email client, but, while the phone is great at capturing photos and quick videos while you’re on the go, it’s not quite as adept at publishing and sharing. With the rise of the “Instagrams of video,” particularly Vine, people are increasingly beginning to share video from their phone.

But, traditionally, mobile video has been hamstrung by tedious uploading thanks to slow data networks, poorly compressed video files, along with the multi-step process of sharing. While Vine and others remove some of this friction and allow you to share videos on social networks and access the app on multiple devices, it’s still its own network.

MightyText wants to make uploading, sharing and viewing video that you captured on your phone happen in a couple of clicks — and enable you to access videos instantly on any device. That makes a lot of sense, and if the startup is able to follow through, removes a lot of friction from the process.

Lastly, MightyText’s new photo sync service displays your phone’s battery status on your computer or your tablet and will warn you when it’s getting low. The more nifty features like this it can add, the more stickiness MightyText’s service will create.

For more, check it out at home here.

New iPads in April and iPhone 5S with better camera, faster chip in August?

2013-03-05T02:41:00.001-08:00

iMore‘s Rene Ritchie claims that Apple plans to release its next-generation iPhone, the “iPhone 5S,” in August. An August release would be a few weeks earlier than 2012′s mid-September iPhone 5 launch. In line with Apple’s previous “S” generations of the iPhone, the next iPhone is expected to retain the design of the iPhone 5 but add improved camera and processor systems. Earlier today, an analyst claimed that the “iPhone 5S” will arrive in July with a faster chip, improved camera system, and a fingerprint sensor under the home button.

In line with spring releases for the first three generations of the iPad, Apple’s successors to the fourth-generation iPad and first-generation iPad mini are reportedly being considered for an April release. With the launch of the fourth-generation iPad coming seven months after the third-generation model, an April launch for the next iPad would seem to further solidify an Apple move from a yearly to bi-annual iPad release cycle.
According to iMore, it is unclear if the April iPad mini update will gain a Retina display, but previous reports claimed such as device could arrive as soon as October. If Apple truly does stick to a bi-annual iPad release cycle, it is plausible that we could see both new non-Retina and Retina iPad minis this calendar year.
We previously posted images of the back plate for the next-generation full-sized iPad that points to the device gaining an iPad mini-like design.

The next XBOX

2013-02-12T01:31:00.000-08:00

The Next Xbox Has Mandatory Kinect, Game-Swapping and New Controllers, According To Leaked Info

Stephen Totilo and Luke Plunkett

The next-generation Xbox—the one that will follow the still-popular Xbox 360—will run multiple games at once, require game installations, and will only work when a much-improved version of the popular but divisive Kinect sensor array is plugged in, according to a source who says he has access to development hardware.

Those are a just a few details about the new console, codenamed Durango, that were shared with us by a person with access to next-gen information. Our source also claims to have a pair of Durango development kits.

We've also heard more about how the system apparently works and what it will be like to control it and play games on it, though we've not seen the unit ourselves. Our source even claims to have played some Durango games, describing the graphical leap from current-gen console gaming like going from playing Halo 2 on an original Xbox to playing Crysis on a powerful PC.

Our source for this new info goes by the name SuperDaE. He first came to the attention of lots of people last year, when he tried to sell a Durango development kit on eBay (he says the sale was blocked by Microsoft over a copyright issue; we've asked them to confirm and will let you know what they say, if anything). He's an unusual but surprisingly well-informed source. More recently, SuperDaE contacted Kotaku with information about the next-generation PlayStation, all gleaned from more than 90 pages of Sony development kit documentation. He had a trove of new details, tied to what appears to be hundreds of pages of Microsoft documentation, to share about the next Xbox as well.

Like Sony, Microsoft refuses to acknowledge that their next-gen system is in the works and that people are making games for it. They're focused on selling current consoles, not giving people reasons to hold out for the future, no matter how near that future may be. As a result, Kotakusources who have told us about things such as the codenames of the new Wiis, Xboxes and PlayStations of the world have done so from the shadows of an industry still not able to beam brightly about the next generation of console hardware. Sources can be mistaken. They can mislead. And specs can change. Nevertheless, what SuperDaE told us synched with other reports, and some details—such as the Durango's support for Blu-Ray discs—lined up with rock-solid reports we've gotten from our own proven sources.

None of the details that follow have been confirmed by Microsoft. When contacted about some of the specifics of the story late last month, a rep cited Microsoft's policy not to comment on rumors and speculation. We've asked them again about both the Durango and about SuperDaE's claims that his eBay sale was stopped by Microsoft (though it's unclear how effective that was—he's put a "Durango PC" back on sale on eBay again). Should they comment, we'll let you know.

***

SuperDaE's information comes from what appears to be more than 20 white papers—overview documents—crafted to prepare game makers for the next generation. Much of what we learned from them presents the notion of the Durango as being an exceedingly capable console that merges the traits of a powerful game console with the expectations of multi-tasking users of smartphones and tablets. Peripherals such as hard drives and the Kinect sensor that were optional in the last generation are mandatory in Microsoft's next go-'round, according to SuperDaE's information.

Here's what we learned from our source, with the understanding that, while what follows is fresh info relevant up through the state of Durango development in January 2013, specs and plans can change. The likelihood of further changes does diminish as the console's expected late-2013 release gets closer. An important note: many of the specs we were made privy to were said to be set not just for development kits but for the final retail consoles as well.

Kinect

As we reported a year ago, the new version of the Kinect motion-control sensor array will be included with every Durango sold. The unit seems far superior to the one currently found for the Xbox 360 (or the PC, for that matter).

Perhaps most importantly, this isn't an optional accessory. It's mandatory. Not only does a Kinect ship with every console, but it must be plugged in and calibrated for the console to even function.

This requirement is due to the way Kinect has been integrated with the Durango; because every console can be guaranteed of having the camera, developers can now program every game with the peripheral in mind.

It's also because the Kinect will always be watching you. The new version of the camera is able to track up to six individual "skeletons" in the same room at all times. This has clear gameplay implications, such as allowing a game to instantly identify a person, but could also be related to a recently-patented Microsoft system for monitoring and maybe even charging users based on who is watching what. SuperDae's Kinect documentation also makes mention of automatic player identification becoming part of a gameplay experience.

The camera has also been improved upon the models currently available, with the Durango's version capable of independently tracking your thumbs, determining whether your hand is open or closed, and even, it's claimed, reading your facial expression and seeing whether you're angry, sad or excited. The improved viewing angle is so wide that the new Kinect doesn't even need to nod to find the best viewing angle.

For more detail on the ways in which Kinect has been improved since the device's first release in 2010, take a look at the diagrams below.

Full size

Storage & Installs

A point of confusion during the lifetime of the Xbox 360, and one of consternation for developers, was the way in which Microsoft split the install base of the machine, selling some consoles with a hard drive and others without. This meant games could not be programmed to specifically take advantage of a hard drive installation.

That divide is gone this time around, with all Durango retail consoles shipping with an HDD. That drive is 500GB in size, which should be enough for your media storage needs, but it'll mostly be used for games, which must now be installed immediately upon first insertion of the game disc.

What's more, this installation can take place automatically, while you're playing the game. Durango titles can be designed in "sections," so that you can pop your disc in, start playing and, in the background, the rest of the game will install. Installing games should bring performance improvements, we think, but doing so in the background should also get rid of pre-game install waits, one of the more annoying hold-ups of the current generation of consoles.

Durango game installations will also be mandatory, as games can't directly access data from the disc.

Game-Juggling

The Durango will be able to run more than one game or app at once, according to the information shared with us. If you're, say, a computer or smartphone user, this is not exactly sending-a-man-to-the-moon level of innovation. But game consoles have long been stuck just running the system-level functions (cross-game voice-chat, Achievement alerts, etc) while a single game runs. On an Xbox 360, even an app as simple as Twitter could only be used if whatever game the user was playing was shut down first. Durango, thankfully, gets past that.

The Durango is said to also allow games to be put into "suspend" and "constrained" states, which seemingly allow users to pause a game, switch to a second game, then return to the first game without losing their place, provided game developers follow some Microsoft protocols. Again, this is no revolution for users of computers, phones, or even Nintendo and Sony handheld gaming machines, but it is one giant leap for consoles.

Controller

The Durango's control pad will be a "natural evolution" of the Xbox 360's pad, according to SuperDaE's info. While this suggests a near-identical layout—not necessarily a problem considering the cross-platform popularity of the layout with the PC—Xbox 360 controllers won't work with the Durango, as they use what Microsoft is calling a "new wireless technology."

Companion App

Perhaps to complement the lack of direct advances to the 360's controller itself, Microsoft is looking to bolster support for its Xbox Companion App.

Some of the possibilities we've learned of are far more dramatic than those originally intended for the current version of the app, taking advantage of both a phone/tablet's motion sensing capabilities and Kinect to execute actions more like those you'd expect from Nintendo's Wii U controller.

Microsoft says, "There is no limit on the imaginative possibilities with this input medium and its screen real estate." The only question is if developers have the manpower (or willpower) to make the most of it.

Specs

While various outlets, including Kotaku, have shared information on the technical specifications of Durango development kits, the specs you're about to see here are those for the final retail units that consumers will be getting their hands on.

The next Xbox will run on custom hardware that includes an 8-core, 64-bit CPU running at 1.6ghz, an 800mhz DirectX 11.x graphics processor units and, alongside them, various "custom hardware blocks" that are able to handle certain individual tasks, taking the strain off the main CPU.

According to sketches from information shared by SuperDae, there's 8GB of DDR3 memory, along with a small amount of flash memory for system tasks. The Durango's optical disc drive is 50GB in size, while, as mentioned, there's a 500GB hard drive, with read speeds of up to 50 MB/sec.

If you've got a 3D TV set, the Durango is capable—if developers want to support it—of delivering stereo 3D content in 1080p.

Those reliant on wi-fi, and who were forced to pay for Microsoft's costly external adapter with the original Xbox 360, will be happy to know that the Durango ships with built-in wi-fi (though there's still an ethernet port for wired connections).

In terms of audio, the retail Durango will output via either HDMI or S/PDIF (optical) connections, and can support up to 7.1 channels.

***

There is always a high level of interest in a new generation of video game consoles, and things get particularly wild during the months before console-makers issue their official announcements. So much information flies around: some of it made up, some of it from sources we know, and some of it from sources we don't, characters who come knocking with extraordinary tales to tell.

No one seems to know everything about the new machines. SuperDaE, for example, offered nothing about the machine's name nor the look of the console or controller. He said nothing about the idea of the new Xbox requiring a constant online connection, something most recently reported by the respected Edge magazine. (One reliable Kotaku source has told us it's true, though, again, plans can change and the strictness of that online requirement—would it tolerate a spotty signal?—remains unclear.)

Soon, the leaks will be replaced by official statements and dazzling announcement events. It is nearly guaranteed that Sony will reveal its next PlayStation to the world at a major February 20 event in New York City. It's possible that Microsoft might try to spoil that event with a pre-show tease, or hold out as long as they can wait to announce—maybe until E3 in June.

For now, those who want to plan their console gaming future are left with whispers, rumors and leaks.

Our best sources continue to assume that the next Xbox will be out by the end of the year. With Xbox 360 sales remaining high, Microsoft doesn't have to put out a new machine, but with development so far underway and with hardcore gamers' apathy for circa-2005 console tech increasing, the time is increasingly right for a new gaming console.

What should Apple bring to iOS 7?

2013-02-08T08:13:00.001-08:00

iOS 6 was sort of a mixed bag from Apple. While it included many appreciated under-the-hood improvements, additional iCloud features and Facebook integration, Maps came under public scrutiny (and has been deemed a failure by most tech writers) and Passbook hasn’t quite taken off yet. Since its release, Scott Forstall has left the company and Jony Ive, Apple’s industrial designer behind the aluminum of the MacBook lineup and the simplicity of the iPhone and iPad designs, has taken over as the leader of the company’s development of user interfaces. Put simply, this means big change is coming in the design of Apple’s software. We’re hoping iOS 7 has Jony Ive’s fingers all over it: powerful and easy-to-use software with great design at its core, like the iPhone’s beautiful exterior. Here are ten things we’d like to see in iOS 7.

1. A Facelift
Apple caught some flack with iOS 6 for introducing apps like Passbook with skeuomorphism. Skeuomorphism is a design technique that embraces real-world analogues in digital mediums; for example; the built-in Calendar app on iPhone and iPad looks like a real-world calendar with leather stitching. When you delete a card in Passbook, you may have noticed it gets put through a digital shredder. These kinds of gimmicks aren’t necessary and are simply that: gimmicks. Some skeuomorphism is good (like the page flips in iBooks), but some aren’t needed (like the grey stitching present throughout iOS) or are often related to out-of-date real-world items young people using iPhones don’t even recognize (like the tape deck in Apple’s Podcast app). Hopefully Jony Ive can make these apps’ designs a little more tasteful.

2. The Ability to Change Apple’s Default Apps
Since the iPhone’s introduction, Apple has made it impossible to change any of the defaults that it ships with. If you want to open a link in an email, it will open in mobile Safari. Tapping an address will always open Apple Maps, and tapping on a time will always open Calendar. We think it might be time to let this go. There are no real benefits to Apple locking people into their first-party apps, and opening up the doors to third-party developers encourages friendly competition. It would also allow us to finally set Google Maps as our default backseat driver and fully relegate Apple Maps to that “Useless Apps” folder we all keep on our last homepage. With that in mind, we’d also like to see…

3. The Ability to Hide Apple Apps
It’s not that all the apps the iPhone and iPad ship with are useless, but not all of us are wilderness explorers who need Compass on a daily basis. Contacts is built right into the Phone app (and maybe some of us don’t even us the Phone app for voice calling). Some people hate Newsstand, others will never try Reminders and instead opt for a third-party solution like Omnifocus or Things, and still some people just want to kill off the Stocks app or Apple Maps. If they’re going to let us change the default apps, they should really let us remove them too.

4. Mail Improvements
After all these years, enterprise users are still looking for a better email app for iOS. To be fair to them, not only does it not really exist, but there aren’t any third-party apps that really do what they’re looking for. For some people, Mail needs to make important email even more accessible and easier to reply to. Real multitasking would help with the situation, but the bottom line is that enterprise owners need faster and easier pop-ups for calendars and better ways to use Mail to invite people to meetings and coordinate people. If Apple wants to capture what’s left of the Blackberry crowd, enterprise solutions and better Outlook support is where they should move next.

5. Increase the 50mb Download Limit Over LTE
When the iPhone 5 finally got LTE, many people were so thrilled that some of them likely would have paraded in the streets. But LTE means nothing if you get hit with an annoying pop-up notification that tells you the app you want to download is too large (over 50mb). It can be really frustrating to have to download an app you need over WiFi when it could have made your life a whole lot easier when you were out and about. With today’s Retina screens, apps keep getting larger and larger. Apple needs to increase the download limit to make using the App Store more convenient on the road for iPhone users and people with LTE-connected iPads.

6. Allow Multiple Apple ID’s on One Device
My parents each have their own iTunes account. Right now, that means they each have to have their own devices if they want to listen to music they download from iTunes. It’s not such a huge problem for them each to have their own iPod, but if they were to ever purchase an iPad, they would never be able to decide whose account gets synced up to it and who’s really in charge of the device. If Apple were to allow one iPad to have multiple users, not unlike OS X or Android, this wouldn’t be a problem. The only trick for Apple is to make logging in and out of an iPad as easy as possible. We think they’re up for that challenge.

7. Passbook Improvements (calendar sync and working with Siri)
Passbook holds so much promise. It caused a lot of stir when it was released in iOS 6 last year as Apple’s take on the digital wallet. Even without NFC capabilities, Passbook can still be a powerful tool. It’s just a shame right now that it feels under-utilized in iOS. Siri can’t cooperate with it, and Passbook doesn’t play nice with Calendar. If I purchase a movie ticket, it would be nice if the digital ticket in Passbook created a correlated event in Calendar, complete with an optional alarm to remind me to head out. And wouldn’t it be fantastic if Siri could tell us what Fandango tickets were sitting in our digital wallets?

8. Better App Management
iOS is starting to mature and just needs a little push to truly start becoming as powerful as our desktop computers. One easy way to get iOS where it needs to be is to make app organization more powerful. Allow us to sort them alphabetically (a basic feature in Android) or to place them wherever we like on our home screen, just like we can on a desktop. And wouldn’t it be fantastic if we could put more than a dozen apps in a single folder? Allow folders-within-folders for the overly-organized or simply provide folders with never-ending scroll functionality.

9. Better File Management
When it works (which is most of the time), iCloud is great. Reliable cloud-based storage that just works is a necessity if you’re working with multiple computers, tablets, and phones every day. But Apple’s file management system in iCloud is a little bizarre. Instead of allowing users to choose what app to open a file with, users are left to choose an app to associate a file with. If I write something in iA Writer, I can’t open it in Pages despite the fact that they both use the same file architecture. It’s a bizarre way to sort files, and it would be nice iCloud behaved a little more similarly to Dropbox and allowed you to open files with whatever app you wanted instead of whatever app you created them with.

10. Improved Multi-tasking
Multi-tasking has never been Apple’s strongest playing card on the iPhone, but it’s also not as terrible as some people make it out to be. What it’s really missing are power-user features. Some people have proposed that the multi-tasking tray should include more information than it already does, but the problem is simply that it simply does not show enough recent apps. Instead of one row of four apps, Apple should allow users to see two at the very minimum—especially on the 4" screen on the iPhone 5. And how come we still can’t multitask in landscape mode? We don’t think little refinements like that are too much to ask, especially since multi-tasking has been left untouched since its introduction in iOS 4.

FIFA TOURNAMENT 2013

2013-02-08T05:58:00.003-08:00

Starting tomorrow 9th February!!!

As some of you may be aware...Every year Virgin Gaming and EA Sports have a live tournament in Las Vegas were 1 lucky winner takes home a cool $140,000 for playing FIFA!!

...Catch all the action here...

Players from around the globe would have originally entered an online gaming tournament via virgingaming.com where they would pip their skills against other gamers.

Well the winners from each region if successful would then get a chance to go to Vegas to compete for such a massive first place prize.

2012 Champion Adam Winter will more than likely be in attendance and will possibly crown the 2013 champion.

Who will it be...Keep an eye out here. I'll be blogging all the action.

As for who I am cheering for...well there is a youtuber who goes by the name of KSIOlajidebt. I'm putting my pennies and pounds on him to do the deed!

Remember, get back here from the 9th of Feb (tomorrow) to catch all the action!

!!!Don't miss out!!!

Lumia 920 Review

2013-02-07T06:57:00.001-08:00

Enter the Nokia Lumia 920. It’s round two for Nokia to try and prove itself to its fans as being a company that’s still quite relevant in the smartphone game. The Lumia 920 is its latest flagship device for Microsoft’s Windows Phone 8 platform.

Form factor

Our first impression is that the Lumia 920 is a good looking handset, but it’s large and rather bulky as well. Take into account the fact that HTC has a super slick looking WP8 device and the 920 comes off in quite a bad light. It does, however, feel very sturdy just like the Lumia 800 and 900. Unfortunately, like both its predecessors, this one too is quite heavy at 185 g. There also seems to be an offset of balance as the upper portion of the handset seems to be slightly heavier. The 920 also features a unibody design form, which means no access to the battery and no support for additional memory over and above the 32GB of onboard storage.

All buttons are placed on the right

All buttons are concentrated on the right side of the handset starting with the volume rocker, power/screen lock and the camera’s activation/shutter release button. A MicroUSB port is located at the bottom while a 3.5 mm handsfree socket is placed at the top near the SIM card (micro) tray. The now famous PureView camera (8 megapixel) with Carl Zeiss optics is just slightly off centre on the rear panel with dual LEDs for the flash. There’s also a 1.3MP front facing camera placed right next to the earpiece.

Lastly, Nokia Lumia 920 has one of the most impressive displays yet. With a 768 x 1280 pixel resolution spread across the 4.5-inch display and 332ppi, the screen is crisp at all times and easily legible with colours that really pop. Nokia has included what it terms a PureMotion HD+ display and coupled it with its ClearBlack technology to make it more appealing to your eyes. Being an IPS LCD panel also ensures that your visual experience is as good as possible. The display is also sheltered by Corning Gorilla Glass 2, which we noticed was quite handy in keeping scratches at bay.

The rear panel is host to the advanced PureView camera

The Lumia 920’s glossy shells are colorful and very chic, but a matt or rubberised option would have made the handset easier to grip.

Features and performance

Interface

The Lumia 920 comes running Microsoft’s Windows Mobile 8 on a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor of the 1.5GHz dual core variety (Krait with 1GB RAM). The OS on its own is smooth and quite fluid and there’s a slight (only a slight) improvement in motion blur reduction while scrolling thanks to the PureMotion HD+ display. The Windows phone 8 platform offers quite a bit in terms of it being a very user friendly, clutter free setup. Where it sorely lacks is in the application department. The lack of popular application support for this OS will be a make or break type situation for a handset this highly priced.

The Lumia 920 with Windows Phone 8's new Start screen

The new Windows Phone 8 homescreen with the options to resize tiles comes in very handy as you can fit so much more on the page and still keep it neat and tidy. Pop-up messages that show up on the upper part of the display can easily be accessed with a simple tap. The keypad is still just as good as it was in the older devices. It’s large and well spaced out, but should have had tap-and-hold characters. Transitions and animations are smooth with no lag.

Media

Thanks to the USB mass storage accessibility and non requirement of the Zune software for media transfer, it’s a simple drag and drop option now for movies and music alike. The music player’s interface is very well set up, but the biggest issue is that one has to go to the settings menu in order to adjust the EQ or to switch the Dolby enhancement on or off. This should have been made accessible right from the player interface. Tone quality is quite above average. With the help of Dolby and the 7 band customisable graphic EQ option, or the many presets, the audio proved to be really good.

Great audio that gets better thanks to Dolby and the presets

You can access your music via the dedicated music app or via the Nokia Music app that also gives you access to a lot of online content for streaming audio. The same service also lets you download music for free onto your device. For some reason, we were unable to do so as we kept getting a “Network problem” error. Mix Radio is an ad hoc streaming service for online music. You can choose from multiple languages as well as genres etc. A Podcast option is also available.

The new Windows Phone 8 comes preloaded with quite a few video codecs that support MP4, WMV and a few AVI formats as well. Full HD videos in the supported formats play without a hitch and thanks to the vibrant display, they look really good while doing it. Another plus point for the WP8 system.

Connectivity

To start with, the Lumia 920 features an LTE (FDD) that isn’t supported in India, so you’ll have to stick to 3G or EDGE. Wi-Fi (dual band) support is also provisioned and so is NFC and Bluetooth (with A2DP and EDR) for data transfer. With an Internet sharing option thrown in, you can set your phone up to be a Wi-Fi hotspot whenever you need it. The Wi-Fi also comes in handy for DLNA.

WP8’s IE browser with full support for HTML5 is as swift and easy to use as they come. There are a couple of alternatives available on the Market as well, including US Browser. It’s not too hard to set up your email, Outlook or social networking accounts, but we did have issues with syncing some accounts including our Microsoft Hotmail account. In some case, it would only sync our email or contacts and sometimes it would sync the rest but not contacts. “800xxx” errors seem to be a plague on Windows Mobile device. The Contacts or People tab syncs with your FB account and it’s well integrated with the social network.

4,300 new jobs on cards as Intel gets planning permission to build US$4bn 14nm chip plant in Ireland

2013-01-25T02:31:00.002-08:00

Ireland’s lead planning agency An Bord Pleanála has given chip giant Intel the go-ahead it needs to construct a massive US$4bn chip plant that will produce the next generation of 14 nanometer (nm) microprocessors. The two year-project, if it gets the final go-ahead from Intel's board, has the potential to generate 3,500 construction and 800 full-time technology jobs.

In early 2011, Intel revealed plans to begin a substantial new US$500m construction project at is Leixlip campus in Co Kildare, where it already employs around 4,000 people. The new build, a redevelopment of the former Fab 14 operation at Leixlip, is to develop the next-generation facilities to handle future products.

At the time, Intel said the project would create 200 high-level technology jobs, as well as 850 construction jobs.

Now it appears that number of jobs could be quadrupled as Intel moves to the next generation of computing technology as it keeps pace with Moore's Law.

In May last year, Intel CEO Paul Otellini confirmed Intel Ireland’s Leixlip plant is one of three global sites that has been chosen to produce its next-generation 14nm chips. The two other sites that have been chosen are Intel’s Oregon and Arizona plants.

Intel is moving from a 22nm process to a 14nm process and aims to create 10nm, 7nm and 5nm chips beyond 2015.

The plans for Intel's new chip fabrication plant in Ireland

It is understood that Kildare County Council approved the plans in August 2012 but they were appealed to An Bord Pleanála.

The final go-ahead from An Bord Pleanala' was granted a week ago on Thursday, 17 January, with some revised conditions.

According to the inspector’s report, the development consists of a new semiconductor wafer fabrication facility with a total stated floor area of 244,819 sq metres within the existing Intel manufacturing complex which will operate alongside existing site infrastructure and buildings.

According to the plans, the facility will cost US$4bn to develop in full and will employ about 3,500 construction workers over the two-year build programme.

The project will provide for an estimated 800 full-time permanent jobs on site.

The new buildings will include a three-storey main fabrication facility (FAB) with a floor area of 101,000 sq metres and will comprise IC assembly equipment within an open clean room supported by two utility floors, an air conditioning mezzanine and utility trenches.

Other buildings include a process specific support system building to house liquid chemicals and collection of waste water, as well as a facility support building, a two-storey boiler/chiller facility, a water treatment building and emergency generation and electrical buildings with backup electrical capacity supplied by diesel turbines.

The plan also includes a multi-storey carpark extending over five levels, a new chemical storage building, as well as ancillary works and a new retention pond to catch additional surface water runoff.

Apple Press Release 1st Quarter Results of 2013

2013-01-24T02:30:00.003-08:00

Apple Reports Record Results

47.8 Million iPhones Sold; 22.9 Million iPads Sold

CUPERTINO, California—January 23, 2013—Apple® today announced financial results for its 13-week fiscal 2013 first quarter ended December 29, 2012. The Company posted record quarterly revenue of $54.5 billion and record quarterly net profit of $13.1 billion, or $13.81 per diluted share. These results compare to revenue of $46.3 billion and net profit of $13.1 billion, or $13.87 per diluted share, in the 14-week year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 38.6 percent compared to 44.7 percent in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 61 percent of the quarter’s revenue.

Average weekly revenue was $4.2 billion in the quarter compared to $3.3 billion in the year-ago quarter.

The Company sold a record 47.8 million iPhones in the quarter, compared to 37 million in the year-ago quarter. Apple also sold a record 22.9 million iPads during the quarter, compared to 15.4 million in the year-ago quarter. The Company sold 4.1 million Macs, compared to 5.2 million in the year-ago quarter. Apple sold 12.7 million iPods in the quarter, compared to 15.4 million in the year-ago quarter.

Apple’s Board of Directors has declared a cash dividend of $2.65 per share of the Company’s common stock. The dividend is payable on February 14, 2013, to shareholders of record as of the close of business on February 11, 2013.

“We’re thrilled with record revenue of over $54 billion and sales of over 75 million iOS devices in a single quarter,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “We’re very confident in our product pipeline as we continue to focus on innovation and making the best products in the world.”

“We’re pleased to have generated over $23 billion in cash flow from operations during the quarter,” said Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s CFO. “We established new all-time quarterly records for iPhone and iPad sales, significantly broadened our ecosystem, and generated Apple’s highest quarterly revenue ever.”

Apple is providing the following guidance for its fiscal 2013 second quarter:

• revenue between $41 billion and $43 billion
• gross margin between 37.5 percent and 38.5 percent
• operating expenses between $3.8 billion and $3.9 billion
• other income/(expense) of $350 million
• tax rate of 26%

Apple will provide live streaming of its Q1 2013 financial results conference call beginning at 2:00 p.m. PST on January 23, 2013 at www.apple.com/quicktime/qtv/earningsq113. This webcast will also be available for replay for approximately two weeks thereafter.

This press release contains forward-looking statements including without limitation those about the Company’s estimated revenue, gross margin, operating expenses, other income/(expense), and tax rate. These statements involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ. Risks and uncertainties include without limitation the effect of competitive and economic factors, and the Company’s reaction to those factors, on consumer and business buying decisions with respect to the Company’s products; continued competitive pressures in the marketplace; the ability of the Company to deliver to the marketplace and stimulate customer demand for new programs, products, and technological innovations on a timely basis; the effect that product introductions and transitions, changes in product pricing or mix, and/or increases in component costs could have on the Company’s gross margin; the inventory risk associated with the Company’s need to order or commit to order product components in advance of customer orders; the continued availability on acceptable terms, or at all, of certain components and services essential to the Company’s business currently obtained by the Company from sole or limited sources; the effect that the Company’s dependency on manufacturing and logistics services provided by third parties may have on the quality, quantity or cost of products manufactured or services rendered; risks associated with the Company’s international operations; the Company’s reliance on third-party intellectual property and digital content; the potential impact of a finding that the Company has infringed on the intellectual property rights of others; the Company’s dependency on the performance of distributors, carriers and other resellers of the Company’s products; the effect that product and service quality problems could have on the Company’s sales and operating profits; the continued service and availability of key executives and employees; war, terrorism, public health issues, natural disasters, and other circumstances that could disrupt supply, delivery, or demand of products; and unfavorable results of other legal proceedings. More information on potential factors that could affect the Company’s financial results is included from time to time in the “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” sections of the Company’s public reports filed with the SEC, including the Company’s Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 29, 2012, and its Form 10-Q for the quarter ended December 29, 2012 to be filed with the SEC. The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements or information, which speak as of their respective dates.

Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices with iPad.

Ashton Kutcher's 'jOBS' to Hit Theaters on Apple's 37th Anniversary

2013-01-24T02:29:00.001-08:00

The film makes its worldwide premiere at the Sundance Film Festival this week ahead of its April release in theaters.

The Steve Jobs biopic jOBS, starring Ashton Kutcher, will open in theaters April 19, the 37th anniversary of the founding of the Apple Computer.

From Open Road Films and Mark Hulme's Five Star Feature Films, jOBS makes its worldwide debut Jan. 25 as the closing-night film of the Sundance Film Festival in Park City.

The biopic, directed by Joshua Michael Stern and written byMatthew Whitely, chronicles Jobs' ascension from college dropout to one of the most revered entrepreneurs of the 20thcentury. Part of the film was shot in the historic garage where Jobs first set up shop at his family's home in Palo Alto, Calif.

jOBS also stars Dermot Mulroney, Josh Gad, Lukas Haas,J.K. Simmons and Matthew Modine.

CAA packaged jOBS, and Inferno Entertainment is handling international sales.

Sky Go Extra launches to let you download movies and shows for offline viewing in the UK and Ireland

2013-01-23T02:16:00.002-08:00

Sky has launched its latest subscription service for downloadable content that can be viewed offline in the UK and Ireland. Sky Go Extra provides content from channels including Sky 1, Sky Atlantic, partner channels including Nickelodeon and its range of movies so that users can watch on up to four different mobile devices.

The service is available to Sky TV customers for £5 (€6.00 ) per month and builds on the Sky Go product which allows users to watch live and on demand programmes. The ability to download content to more than one device reflects the rise in the number of mobile and Internet connected devices per household and provides a little more flexibility.

The broadcaster says that the original Sky Go attracts more than 3 million unique users per quarter, so it has a fair starting point to work with.

Spreading the subscription

Whether you can access Sky Movies as part of the offering depends on your existing home subscription. Films can be seen around six months after they leave the cinema and once downloaded, they can be stored for up to thirty days.

This puts Sky in direct competition with services like iTunes which already provide a download service where content can be watched over several days. Whether the subscription format rather than pay on demand will be more lucrative, remains to be seen. But so far Netflix and LoveFilm are not quite as flexible.

Sky estimates that customers with a 64 GB iPad will be able to store in excess of 400 half-hour shows and more than 80 movies. The firm is advancing with the demand of its customers having already released an on-demand service and a suite of free apps including the Sky+ app which can be used as a remote control for the Sky+HD box.

To use Sky Go Exta, customers can visit the site to join or upgrade. From there, when they enter the Sky Go app, they should be able to download programmes and register other devices. The apps have been updated across platforms. The service can be cancelled at any time subject to 31 days notice and there is a two-month free trial running until the end of March.

App Store Tops 40 Billion Downloads with Almost Half in 2012

2013-01-07T06:27:00.000-08:00

Record-Breaking December with Over Two Billion Downloads

Apple® today announced that customers have downloaded over 40 billion apps*, with nearly 20 billion in 2012 alone. The App Store℠ has over 500 million active accounts and had a record-breaking December with over two billion downloads during the month. Apple’s incredible developer community has created over 775,000 apps for iPhone®, iPad® and iPod touch® users worldwide, and developers have been paid over seven billion dollars by Apple.

“It has been an incredible year for the iOS developer community,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. “Developers have made over seven billion dollars on the App Store, and we continue to invest in providing them with the best ecosystem so they can create the most innovative apps in the world.”

In 2012, the husband and wife team at Imangi Studios saw their game Temple Run downloaded more than 75 million times; Backflip Studios and Supercell, two emerging game development studios, brought in over $100 million combined for their leading freemium titles DragonVale and Clash of Clans; and emerging services including Uber, Flipboard, HotelTonight, and AirBnB attracted millions of users on iOS. Companies including Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, Autodesk, Marvel and Major League Baseball continued to expand their iOS offerings, while developers like JJ Abrams’ Bad Robot Interactive and Bottle Rocket Apps continued to push the boundaries of what iOS apps can do.

“The success of our game Temple Run in 2012 was nothing short of astonishing,” said Keith Shepherd, co-founder of Imangi Studios. “We were simply looking to create a game that was fun and easy to play, but once it hit the App Store, the game took off. This past year, we saw more than 75 million downloads of Temple Run on iOS.”

“Our success on iOS has been incredible,” said Samir Hanna, vice president of Consumer Products for Autodesk. “We set off with the modest goal of bringing SketchBook to iPhone users as a way of introducing them to Autodesk. Fast forward three years, we now offer 20 apps to iOS users that have achieved more than 50 million downloads, and we continue to roll out new creativity and design tools that appeal to both professionals and consumers.”

“The App Store provided us with opportunities beyond our wildest dreams,” said Bad Robot Interactive’s JJ Abrams. “Our app Action Movie FX was designed to bring Hollywood special effects to anyone’s self-made video, whether that be on an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch, and we’re just thrilled that millions of fans around the world were as excited as we were about the possibilities that this app brings.”

“Bottle Rocket Apps now employs over 100 full-time employees, dedicated to nothing but building great apps,” said Calvin Carter, president of Bottle Rocket Apps. “In my 20 plus years in technology, I have never seen such a vibrant marketplace for software like the App Store.”

Apple offers developers a wealth of resources and tools to help them make great apps, plus a robust ecosystem and marketplace which provide customers a safe and easy way to discover them. Apple also provides developers great ways to monetize apps including in-app purchase, subscriptions and advertising, and helps market and support developer efforts in the App Store and beyond.

The revolutionary App Store offers more than 775,000 apps to iPhone, iPad and iPod touch users in 155 countries around the world, with more than 300,000 native iPad apps available. App Store customers can choose from an incredible range of apps in 23 categories, including newspapers and magazines offered in Newsstand, games, business, news, sports, health & fitness and travel.

*40 billion unique downloads excluding re-downloads and updates.

MacBook Air with new processor and MacBook Pro to launch in June

2013-01-03T02:18:00.000-08:00

Apple is planning to unveil new MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models in June 2013, according to Digitimes.

The report cites sources in the supply chain who claim that Apple has issued requests for quotations to its suppliers for new models of its MacBook lineups, and that this news is causing concern among ultrabook vendors.

Digitimes says that the 2013 MacBook Air will have a new processor, but that the design of the laptop will remain the same.

According to the report, Apple could be planning to reduce the prices of its current MacBook Airs ahead of the launch of the updated models, which is the cause of concern for competitors who think a cheaper MacBook Air will take away the demand for their ultrabooks.

Apple last updated its MacBook Air lineup at WWDC in June 2012, improving the processors and speed of the laptop, adding new RAM and storage options, USB 3.0 and a FaceTime HD camera.

There's no mention of new features or expected changes in the MacBook Pro update, or whether the sources are referring to the MacBook Pro, the MacBook Pro with Retina display, or both models. It's possible that Apple will remove the optical drive from the MacBook Pro as it has done with its iMac and Retina MacBook Pros.

The report adds that the sources estimate a total MacBook shipments figure of 17 million units in 2013, but that sales figures may not reach that level. In 2011, Apple sold 12.88 million MacBooks, and in the first three quarters of 2012, Apple sold 9.78 million MacBooks.

Ubuntu phone OS announced, first devices shipping in early 2014

2013-01-03T01:51:00.003-08:00

Courtesy of Tech Crunch

Ubuntu isn’t exactly a stranger to the mobile space — it started showing off its Ubuntu for Android project in early 2012, but it wasn’t about to stop there. Not long after teasing the prospect of a touch-friendly future for its peculiarly-named OS, Canonical has officially pulled back the curtains on its Ubuntu phone OS and it looks, well, great.

That beauty comes from the fact that it doesn’t really look like any other mobile UI out there right now — it eschews the traditional app grid concept that pervades iOS and stock Android and instead relies on horizontal swipes to view oft-used applications and switch between currently running ones. In a way, it’s approach is more reminiscent of Windows Phone 8 and Windows RT than either of the two leading mobile OSes, though whether those UI decisions catch on is another story entirely. Still, the end result is an interface that feels more spacious and expansive than its potential rivals, a tricky proposition when hardware designers struggle to balance device screen size and portability.

Plenty of sweat has been poured into the crafting of Ubuntu’s search functionality as well, and it’s mildly reminiscent of Palm/HP’s webOS. A single search query will yield results from multiple sources, and Ubuntu is apparently clever enough to determine which of the results are most likely be what you’re looking for. Throw in support for robust voice commands and the ability to play nice with HTML5 apps as well as native ones and you’ve got yourself one intriguing little product.

Now, a new mobile OS is swell and all, but it’s nigh useless without some proper hardware to go with it. Unfortunately, that’s where the situation gets a little stickier — Ubuntu Mobile is designed to play nice with hardware of all stripes (it supports x86 processors in addition to more common ARM chips, and doesn’t lean on a Java Virtual Machine), but there hasn’t been any word yet on device partnerships. Instead, Canonical founder Mark Shuttleworth has pointed out that first Ubuntu-powered phones could see the light of day towards the end of this year or in early 2014.

Of course, Ubuntu’s latest mobile foray raises some weighty questions, not least of which is “who would buy an Ubuntu phone?” If Canonical CEO Jane Silber is to be believed, Ubuntu’s appeal isn’t just limited to Linux enthusiasts and enterprises. Instead, We also see an opportunity in basic smartphones that are used for the phone, SMS, web and email, where Ubuntu outperforms thanks to its native core apps and stylish presentation.” The ability for OEMs and carriers to easily modify and rebrand Ubuntu on mobile devices certainly doesn’t hurt — Firefox OS has taken a similar route with carrier partners like Telefonica.

What’s really got me scratching my head is how Ubuntu will stack up against its rivals (and there are plenty of them). I don’t need to tell you that Apple and Google are running the smartphone show with their respective mobile operating systems and the list of players extends much further than you may expect. Windows Phone 8 and BlackBerry 10 have probably raised the most eyebrows lately, but the teams behind Tizen, Firefox OS, and Sailfish are gunning to make their mark on the mobile space all the same.

When we asked Shuttleworth about the motivation for doing this, rather than throwing their weight behind existing efforts like Android or Tizen. “Our vision is deeper and broader than I’ve seen from other ecosystems,” he said. “We believe that one platform can stretch across multiple environments”: the developer desktop to the cloud server to the end user’s so-called “superphone.”

Shuttleworth was honest that the smartphone OS market is already a crowded space, but feels confident that the Ubuntu story will present a winning proposition. Canonical can’t compete with the millions of dollars spent by Microsoft and RIM, but can compete, according to Shuttleworth, on a classy interface across all segments of phones. Here’s hoping it works out — I can’t help but feel that the Ubuntu approach is too interesting for people to ignore completely.

Want to know more? Check out the video below;

Five Reasons the Apple iWatch Will Never Happen

2013-01-02T02:34:00.002-08:00

Over the weekend, numerous international media outlets carried reports that Apple was working on what is dubbed the iWatch - a tiny wearable device with a 1.5in screen which would work in conjunction with your iPhone and iPad.

While rumours about new Apple products is nothing new, it seems like end-of-year fatigue and a lack of other real news saw this story gain more prominence than it deserved.

The story eminates from a Chinese website which quoted sources within Apple's vast supply chain, and claimed the iWatch would be arriving in stores in the first half of 2013.

Rumours of a dedicated Apple watch have been around for some time, ever since Apple launched the square iPod nano back in 2010 - which could actually be worn as a watch using a strap accessory.

Most people enjoy reading about mythical Apple products - Apple's television set being the most recent example - but here are five reasons why Apple will not be launching an iWatch in 2013:

Intel

The story on the Chinese website says that Apple will not be designing the watch, but will be leaving that to Intel. Yes, you read that right, Intel. So according to the sources, Jony Ive will forego his normally obsessive control over every aspect of the design of Apple products and simply hand control to Intel. I don't think so.

Even if there was something lost in translation and Intel are simply involved in some way, it still doesn't make any sense. Intel produces x86 chips which are very power hungry, which would not be good for a watch which would need very long battery life.

Indeed because it is likely the low power Bluetooth 4.0 standard would be used, most of the serious processing could be done on the paired iPhone or iPad, meaning any Intel input would be pretty pointless.

Nano

The iPod nano range has a bit of a schizophrenic nature. Apple has changed its form factor on seven different occasions since first introducing it in 2005.

In 2010, the sixth generation iPod nano was revealed with a square form factor and no physical buttons. It featured 18 different clock-faces, and with the addition of a strap accessory, the nano could be worn as a watch.

However earlier this year Apple decided to ditch the square design and go back to a rectangular look for the nano.

Surely if Apple had been serious about producing an iWatch it would have modified the sixth generation nano's design, added Bluetooth 4.0 and re-branded it as the iWatch.

Ditching the watch-like design indicates that Apple won't be going down the iWatch route any time soon.

No market

Even if Apple did go ahead with the iWatch, who would use it? With a 1.5in OLED screen, as these rumours suggest the watch would have, it would be hard even for Apple to make anything which would be fashionable and attractive to wear.

Consider the breadth and range of watches people wear at the moment, it would be hard to conceive that everyone would be willing to change to a single design from Apple.

There would of course be a core customer base of Apple fans who would want to wear one, but this would not be enough for Apple to make any serious money from it.

It wouldn't be any good

An iWatch simply wouldn't be any good. With a 1.5in screen, all you're really going to be able to do is check the time and read messages and emails.

This may be convenient, but when you read a message you invariably reply to it, which would mean getting your phone out of your pocket anyway. A screen that size is not going to be able to produce a keyboard for you to type on.

You'll have a similar problem with other services you might want to use on-the-go, such as maps - where you'll end up scrolling for ages to find your destination.

For those hoping the iWatch would turn them into Dick Tracy and see them communicate with the world through their wrist, I'm afraid this is still a pipe dream.

Others have tried and failed

Smart watches are nothing new. Microsoft tried to make them work as far back as 2004. Remember the Paparazzi watch it launched in conjunction with Swatch? Of course you don't, no one bought one. The project was finally killed earlier this year.

More recently Sony launched SmartWatch to accompany its line-up of Xperia smartphones, but again no one bought them, as they offered limited features and cost a lot.

The other major player in this area is the Pebble smart watch, which gained fame through its Kickstarter crowd-funding campaign. The watch - which has yet to be launched commercially - features an e-ink screen, accelerometer and vibrating motor.

It will work with Android or iOS, and connect using Bluetooth, promising a seven-day battery life. It will come with a number of pre-installed apps - including a cycling app and a golf range-finder app - and more will be available to download.

But, once again, the question is, who is going to buy one. While seven day battery life sounds good, regular watches don't need to be charged at all and the limited additional features mean it will probably have limited appeal.

Developers begin seeing new Apple iPhone hardware and iOS 7 in usage logs

2013-01-02T01:50:00.000-08:00

Currently under development, traces of Apple’s new iPhone and iOS software have begun surfacing in app usage logs. Developers have contacted The Next Web to share references to a new iPhone identifier and the next big operating system update for the smartphone and tablet devices: iOS 7.

One developer showed us that Apple has been testing hardware relating to a new ‘iPhone6,1′ identifier, powered by a device running iOS 7, which is expected to be released by Apple in the middle part of this year.

Apple’s current flagship, the iPhone 5, bears the identifiers ‘iPhone5,1′ and ‘iPhone 5,2′ depending on the LTE model of the handset and the 4G bands on which it operates.

From the developer logs that we have seen, the app requests originate from an IP address on Apple’s Cupertino campus, suggesting that members of Apple’s software development and app teams are compatibility testing some of the more popular or well-known applications already on the App Store.

Although OS and device data can be faked, the unique IP footprint leading back to Apple’s Cupertino campus leads us to believe this is not one of those attempts.

No specifics on hardware or software features are shared in developer logs, but sources have indicated that Apple began working on the new version of iOS 7 towards the end of 2012 and is soon to finalise the features that will be included in its first public release.

In the past, Apple has released developer seeds of its major operating system updates at its annual WWDC event, which is typically held in San Francisco in June.

Back in May, 9to5mac reported seeing references to Apple’s new iOS 6 software ahead of its launch at WWDC 2012 a month later, software that included the new Apple Maps, and hundreds of additional new features.

Xbox introduces SportsPicks app, new SmartGlass experience for ESPN, NBA

2012-12-18T02:06:00.005-08:00

For sports fans, the Xbox was once just a device for scoring touchdowns on Madden or making birdies with Tiger Woods.

But as Microsoft continues to turn the Xbox into an entertainment hub, its sports content is following a similar path. We already wrote about Xbox’s new ESPN and NBA apps, and today Microsoft debuted a new app called SportsPicks that allows you to pick winners and compete with fellow Xbox Live users.

I played around with SportsPicks this morning and the concept is simple. You can scroll through the latest college football, NBA and UFC events and pick who you think will win. Your results are matched against a leaderboard, so you can see which of your friends has the best sports pick’em skills.

You can even Tweet out your choices here, like I did for my beloved Huskies (For some reason, only 18 percent picked the UW for Saturday’s Las Vegas Bowl)

Xbox also introduced all-new SmartGlass experiences for the ESPN and NBA Game Time apps. SmartGlass lets you use your iOS, Android or Windows smartphone or tablet as a remote for the Xbox and now you can browse through live events and highlights and send them to your Xbox easily with SmartGlass.