Android Kit Kat vs. iOS 7

With tech giants Apple and Google squaring off this year with the release of their new operating systems, we take a look at both and discuss some of the key features and benefits. 

iOS 7 
Always keen to stay one step ahead of the competition, and eager to make up for some issues with iOS 6, such as the ineffectual Maps app, Apple’s new iOS 7 will be available for the iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, the iPad 2, iPad third and fourth generation, the iPad mini and the iPod touch fifth generation.

The new feature and update list is lengthy to say the least, but here we take a look at some of the most important innovations that we think will make iOS 7 the most intuitive operating system that Apple has produced to date.

Putting you in control
The new control centre, accessed by swiping upwards on any screen, is a handy little feature that allows you to access an inbuilt torch, control your Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, switch to Airplane mode, adjust the brightness of your screen and play music. In addition, you can also switch your phone’s Do Not Disturb function on or off, which is really useful when you find yourself in the cinema or in a quiet area.

Account logins
This is one of the features we are most excited about for iOS 7. The new operating system allows you to store passwords, account names and credit card details in the iCloud, with the details being automatically filled in when you sign into a website or online shop that you’ve previously visited.

Smartphone users have been waiting for this feature for a long time and, with Apple’s guarantee that details will be securely encrypted, it’s certainly going to be a real time-saver for Apple’s customers.   

Fingerprint ID
This is only going to available to users who purchase a new iPhone, but, long term, it’s got the potential to transform the way in which users access downloads, as well as all other kinds of data, by replacing the need to remember hundreds of different usernames and logins. 

Android KitKat
While Apple has a reputation for keeping their cards close to their chest, it seems that Google have become pretty adept at that particular feat themselves. In contrast to the iOS 7, we know very little about the Android KitKat, apart from information gleaned from the online rumour mill.

It’s strongly speculated that the Android KitKat will launch in October or November 2013 and all that Google are publicly saying at this point is that they are committed to making “an amazing Android experience available for everybody."

With this in mind, we fully expect the KitKat OS to be made available to older phones, as well as the new, long-awaited, Nexus 5.

In terms of specific features, sources indicated that the Android KitKat will include tweaks to gallery visualisation, new animation APIs and new notification widgets. At this point that’s all we know, but the suspense is killing us and, if the rumours are anything to go by, the KitKat should make the wide array of Android OS pay monthly phones available on the market that little more exciting.

The debate
It’s difficult to come to a conclusion on which operating system is going to be the most exciting and functional, largely because we know so little about the Android KitKat. So, if you’re in the market for a new phone this year, we think that patience is certainly a virtue you should covet, at least until we have a little more information at our disposal.

Article Credit: Ben Williams

HP introduces four new Android tablets, including a new 8-incher

HP has never had a lot of luck in the tablet world, and that’s why it really came as no surprise that their first Android tablet – the HP Slate 7 – ended up as nothing too impressive or ground-breaking. We have to give HP credit though, as they certainly don’t give up easily.

Since the Slate 7, the company has released two other unique Android devices, the Slate X2 laptop/tablet hybrid and the HP Slate 21 all-in-one PC. Their Android efforts don’t end there either, as the company has now announced four new Android tablets...

Read the full story here... Source: Android Authority

Amazon cuts Kindle Fire price by £30, new models incoming

Amazon has dropped the price of its cheapest tablet by £30. The Kindle Firewill now set you back just £99, the company has said in an email to customers.

You know what this means: there's new models a-coming. We've already seen leaked snaps of the next Kindle Fire HD, so Amazon could well be trying to clear stock ahead of the launch, which is expected before the end of this month.

The next 7-inch Amazon Kindle Fire HD leaked this week, and apparently there's an 8.9-inch version in the pipeline, too. The new models will look alike, with a new angular design. The 7-incher should have a resolution of 1,920x1,200 pixels -- that's the same as the new Nexus 7 -- while the 8.9-incher should have 2,560x1,600 pixels...

Read the full story here... Source: CNET

Amazon Kindle Fire HD 2 leaked pics hint at new design

What looks to be Amazon's next 7-inch tablet has been glimpsed, in a series of leaked snaps.

The pictures, which hint at a major redesign for the Kindle Fire HD tablet, appeared at BGR, and clearly show a more angular, Batmobile-esque look, complete with new buttons.

An 8.9-inch sequel is also in the works, and will look 'almost identical' to the 7-inch version, the report says, also mentioning that we'll likely see the mythical device revealed before the end of this month, according to 'trusted sources'...

Read the full story here... Source: CNET

U.S. Cellular confirms it will carry the Note 3, no word on pricing and or exact release date

The Galaxy Note 3 is here, and over the course of the last two days, we’ve already seen all four major U.S. carriers confirm their plans to carry Samsung’s latest flagship. With the exception of Sprint, all these carriers have even stepped forward with their pricing and release details.

But what about U.S. Cellular? At their Unpacked Event, Samsung confirmed that U.S. Cellular would be among the device’s U.S. launch partners, but the regional carrier has yet to say word one about it – until today...

Read the full story here... Source: Android Authority

Samsung shows off tablet-optimized Twitter app at its unpacked event

Samsung had a lot of the world’s attention yesterday when they unveiled the Galaxy Gear and Galaxy Note 3 devices. Both here highly anticipated announcements that have gotten people excited all over again for Samsung products. However, it appears as though Samsung unintentionally announced someone else’s product. We’re talking, of course, about a tablet-optimized official Twitter app...

Read the full story here... Source: Android Authority

Asus announces the Asus Fonepad Note 6E

In a burst of announcements Asus has announced the Fonepad Note 6, a direct competitor to the Samsung Galaxy Note smartphone line, with some great specs.

The Fonepad Note 6 features a 6-inch Full HD Super IPS+ display, a stylus which can be docked in the actual device like the Galaxy Note range, and dual front facing speakers with ASUS SonicMaster audio technology...

Read the full story here... Source: Android Authority

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 all but confirmed in IFA invitation

KOREAN PHONE MAKER Samsung has sent out its IFA invitations, and they all but confirm that the Galaxy Note 3 will appear at this year's German technology show.

Samsung's IFA invitation pictured above arrived in our inbox on Monday afternoon, telling us to "Note the date" of Samsung's 4 September press conference alongside a trio of Samsung Unpacked images. This is our biggest clue yet that Samsung will announce its next generation Galaxy Note smartphone, the Galaxy Note 3 at the Berlin technology show, just as speculation had suggested...

To read the full story... Source: The Inquirer

iOS 7 Beta Suggests Non-Retina A6-Powered iPad Mini in Development

According to the iOS 7 beta, Apple is testing a new iPad mini model that includes an A6 chip -- the same as the current iPhone 5 -- and a non-retina display, reports 9to5Mac.

The information was sent to the site by developer Nick Frey, who found the details inside a file that lists all the iOS devices that support iOS 7. The A6 processor would be a logical upgrade for the iPad mini, advancing its main processing chip to the next generation.

 According to the provided information, Apple is considering three new iPad mini models: iPad “2,8,” iPad “2,9,” and iPad “2,10.” The respective code names for the devices are J75, J76, and J77. This points to one WiFi-only model and two cellular-compatible models (just like the current iPad minis).

As for what these new iPad minis will feature, the references state that the devices include the “s5l8950x” processor. This is the same A6 system-on-a-chip inside of Apple’s iPhone 5, and this would offer significant speed improvements for the iPad mini compared to the current A5-based model.

Current iPad mini models are nicknamed '2,5'; '2,6'; and '2,7'. 9to5Mac also notes that the models don't include references to '@2x' code that relates to Retina-display supported artwork -- that code is included in the iPhone 5 and the fourth-generation iPad, leading the site to conclude that the new mini will not include a Retina display.

KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has vacillated in recent months over Apple's plans for the iPad mini, most recently saying that a Retina-equipped device would launch sometime in March or April of 2014, with Apple not planning to upgrade the device at all until that time.

It's possible that this non-retina iPad mini is merely a device in testing, but while Kuo has a strong track record, it's always possible that Apple could change product release plans at the last minute.

Source: Mac Rumours

Where are Samsung’s high resolution tablets?

Most people would agree that behind battery life and performance, the display is the most important component in a mobile device. Even more so in a tablet, where the display is especially crucial. A screen resolution which looks great on a 4.5-inch smartphone won’t pull off the same effect on a 10-inch tablet. The main reason for that is something called pixels per-inch (PPI). 

The iPad 3’s Retina Display set a bar for other tablets to reach with a pixel density of 264 PPI, but then the Nexus 10 surpassed it with its 300 PPI display. On Thursday, the new Nexus 7 beat them all into a submission with its 323 PPI screen, so we are left a little perplexed by the lack of a high-resolution tablet from Samsung, the biggest Android OEM.

Sure the Nexus 10 is technically made by Samsung, but Samsung has yet to grace its Galaxy Tab range or even its Galaxy Note 10.1 with the same high-resolution display...

Read the full story here. Source: Android Authority

Apple Wins 'Brand of the Year' Awards in Smartphone, Tablet, and Computer Categories

Marketing research firm Harris Interactive has awarded Apple the title of “Brand of the Year” in the categories of smartphones, tablets, and computers, as first reported byVentureBeat. The distinction comes after a poll asking 38,500+ Americans about the perceptions of their favorite brands, in which Apple was placed above other competitors such as Hewlett-Packard, Amazon, Samsung, and HTC. 

 "Americans continue to give Apple brands strong ratings," says Manny Flores, Senior Vice President at Harris Interactive. "And while their Consumer Connection scores are strong within their respective categories, what really stands out is that in all three of the categories Apple brands are measured - Computer, Tablet and Mobile Phone - its Brand Momentum scores are in the top 30 of all 1,500 brands evaluated in the study, showing that consumers see this as a brand of the future.

These awards come after BBC reported about a survey done by marketing group Added Value (AV), who claimed that Apple’s brand has become “less inspiring” among consumers.

Source: Mac Rumours

Rumor: Android 4.3 coming to Galaxy S3 and Galaxy Note 2, not Android 4.2.2

A new report says that Samsung is already working on the Android 4.3 Jelly Bean update for some of its top devices, with the Galaxy S3 and Galaxy Note 2 said to make the jump directly to Android 4.3 and skip Android 4.2.2.

We will remind you that this is just a rumor at this point, so don’t get too excited about it at this time, as we can’t confirm the news just yet. Temefy has it from sources close to Samsung India that the company is working on Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean update for the Galaxy S3 and Galaxy Note, but also on the Android 4.3 update for the same devices.

Android 4.2.2 was already leaked for the Galaxy S3, but so was an Android 4.3 build for the Galaxy S4 Google Play edition.

Since Google is expected to launch Android 4.3 in the near future, it would make sense to see some devices skip a Jelly Bean version in order to run the latest Android OS available. But that doesn’t mean that Samsung will necessarily choose this route.

The report also says that an Android 4.2.2 for the Galaxy S3 and Note 2 would arrive in November instead of July, as initially expected. If true, that would be another reason to have the handsets move directly to Android 4.3 instead.

Finally, the publication says that the Galaxy S4, Galaxy S3, Galaxy Note 3 and Galaxy Note 2 will all be further upgradeable to the next major Android version – supposedly Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie – but not all of them will receive it at the same time.

We’ll be back with more details about software updates for these particular handsets once we have them.

Source: Android Authority