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Apple Releases iOS 4.3, brings AirPlay for printers

Jakk — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 20:52:58 +0000

Apple has just released their brand spanking new iOS software update for the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch, bringing with it a number of bug fixes and new features to your beloved Apple logo encrusted device, the most exciting of which (for us, obviously) being a new Safari Javascript which boosts performance considerably and new AirPlay features so you can use your all in one printer from anywhere.

So what are the ‘hard’ features this update brings to the table? I’ve provided the exact ones below for you guys:

Personal Hotspot*
Share iPhone 4 cellular data connection with up to 5 devices (combination of up to 3 Wi-Fi, 3 Bluetooth, and 1 USB)

iTunes Home Sharing
Play music, movies and TV shows from a shared iTunes library on a Mac or PC (requires iTunes 10.2)

New AirPlay features**
Play videos from the Photos app including the Camera Roll album, iTunes previews, enabled third-party apps and websites on Apple TV
Play slideshows from Photos on Apple TV using transitions available on Apple TV

Faster Safari performance with Apple Nitro JavaScript engine

HD video out using the Apple Digital AV Adapter***
View 720p HD videos from Videos app, iPod app, Photos, YouTube, Safari, Keynote, and enabled third-party apps on an HDMI display

Ping features
Push notifications for comments and follow requests
Post and Like songs directly from the Now Playing screen
Parental controls

New Settings
Messages setting for number of times to repeat an alert
iPad side switch setting to lock screen rotation or mute audio notifications and sound effects
Single tap conference call dialing with a pause to send a passcode

Bug fixes

*Requires iPhone 4 with tethering data plan
**Requires Apple TV (2nd generation) running software version 4.2 or later
***iPhone 4, iPad, iPod touch (4th generation)

Let us know how your download goes on Twitter, and if you are loving the the new Personal Hot Spot features (Y).

Zune branding isn’t being fazed out, Canada gets official

Jakk — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 10:08:09 +0000

Well well well, it hasn’t been clear for over a year now whether or not Microsoft was going to stick to it’s Zune branding for it’s iPod Touch competitor, the Zune HD, but things have now become somewhat clearer, as an ‘Insider’ has claimed that “Zune is not dead,” and that Microsoft’s shot at the portable media market is set to get hotter.

This claim has sort of happened already too, because over in Canada you guys can now get your hands on a Zune HD without having to import it over from the USA. Of course, this isn’t really hot news because we aren’t talking about a new Zune right about now, but at least it is nice to know that ‘Zune’ as a brand name will be sticking around a little bit longer.

Windows Phone 7 getting copy & paste, multitasking, Twitter integration this year

Jakk — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 17:00:32 +0000

Here’s a nice treat for all current and prospective Windows Phone 7 owners, the most beautiful operating system on the market is not only getting it’s long promised copy and paste update, but also this year it’ll be getting a whole bunch of other goodies to enhance your mobile experience, chief among them is multitasking.

Multitasking works by holding the back button, which zooms out of the app you’re in to show a WebOS style card view for flipping between open applications, as well as giving way for background multitasking like Pandora radio or a sat nav application. It all looks pretty awesome. Also on the cards (ba dum tsh) is Twitter integration baked into to the People hub, support for CDMA networks and a massive upgrade to the web browser which should put it right at the top of the mobile browsing pile.

Copy and paste should be hitting in “early March” and everything else will be dropping this year at some point, meaning your WP7 can now do what it’s enemy’s in the marketplace can do too. Long live competition.

Symbian to get revamp 2011, is anybody interested?

Jakk — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 13:07:03 +0000

Nokia has made no secret lately of the fact that Symbian will be getting a major upgrade in 2011, with a string of software boosts already promised by the mobile manufacturer. But until now, detail of just what we can expect in the 2011 revamp has been sketchy at best.

Nokia / Espoo’s plans have now been leaked out after a presentation at Beijing’s International MIC (Mobile Internet Conference). Word is that an update in the first quarter of 2011 will bring a new browser with an easier to use interface, something Symbian and Nokia users have been crying out for for years.

Microsoft to update Windows 7 over piracy scams

Jakk — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 16:02:43 +0000

Microsoft is planning to unleash an antipiracy update for Windows 7 after thousands of computers are running the OS illegally.

The optional update to Windows, which closes a number of hacks that counterfeiters have used to bypass the product activation technologies built into Windows 7, will try to restore Windows to its proper state, as well as marking tampered versions as ”non-genuine” copies of the operating system – in a bid to hash out counterfeiters.

According to Joe Williams, general manager at Microsoft’s Genuine Windows unit, who is responsible for anti-counterfeiting measures, said that this update will see up to ”70 loopholes’ being closed to people whom seek to actively use W7 without a proper license. In an interview, Joe Williams also made it quite clear that using non genuine versions of Windows, especially badly made copies, are incredibly vulnerable to hacks and also vulnerable to system information being taken, such as passwords and bank details, and that MS can not be held responsible for any theft that could take place.

As with all piracy, people whom copy software generally adapt to this kind of behaviour and just find new loopholes and ways to walk around the main codes which are implemeneted by corporations to stop this kind of copying to happen. The question really is, why have MS enabled W7 to be so unsecure to pirates? And furthermore, will regular consumers have to upgrade their licenses in the future?

Microsoft has declined to comment on whether Microsoft will close any of the activation hacks with the first service pack to Windows 7, and has made no announcement as of yet.

Google Tablet PC: What we know and what we want

Jakk — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 01:22:55 +0000

After Apples much hyped about January 27th event, where the iPad was revealed – the whole tablet market, for which has not been properly established yet, has had alot of criticism about how the world simply does not need the tablet PC. People have complained about how a laptop is more functional, a smart phone more portable and how something in between seems, well, like a little bit of a misfit – a rebel, an outcast and how the whole concept of ever owning a tablet is pretty pointless.

Blogged to death the iPad has been, in fact, for me, it has been killed. Wow, another article about the iPad!. . Boring. We’ve seen it, we’ve read about it and for the lucky people that have done, we have used it. Meh. Tablets – they kind of are all the same. And so here I am > writing about another tablet. Contradictory? sure. But Google sure know what they are wanting out of their tablet.

What we know

The Google Tablet will have a 7 – 10 inch display, that display with be a full capacitive touch screen, with the ability for multi-touch, the Google Tablet could run Google Chrome OS> an OS project running alongside Android which will be available on netbooks later this year, and the Google Tablet could have a variation of the iPads book store – as to also jump at the book reading perk that tablets come with.

What we want

We want the quality to be there – we want the build quality to be reminescent of the iPad which is sturdy, solid and sleek. We want it to multi task > none of this single app at a time crap. It is all good for a phone, but not for a tablet. We want the price to be affordable – cheaper than Apple’s offering, we want the Google Tablet to have 3G connectivity standard, we want bluetooth, Wifi as standard and we most definately need an OS which is seamless, open source and open to customisation < which Google Chrome OS is destined to be. We want flash support too, and a good media player.

Do people expect too much? No. I think Apple have really set a standard with the iPad, just like they do with all products. And so Google will no doubt improve the already existing iPad, both as a product and a direct alternative. I personally can not wait for it, if not to buy one then just to use one.

So where is everybody else in the Tablet mix? And why, after Google started competing against Apple in the smart phone market have they now started to do so in the tablet market? Clearly, the business development team down at both Google and Apple have a hunch that tablets could be the next big thing. Perhaps they will be, I mean, it only takes one great product to completely revolutionise an already existing market like the iPod did.

Apple’s iPhone market share takes a hit

Jakk — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 17:19:22 +0000

Apple’s iPhone market share has taken a recent hit in the smartphone world new data shows. Could it be the rise in Android powered handsets? Or is it because businesses took the iPhone on for a period of time, and then switched back to Blackberry?

The data recently compiled by ABI research, via the Wall Street Journal, clams that this quarter iPhone sales have been up just 16.6% < down from 18.1% since last quarter.

The overall smartphone market grew 26 per cent in the fourth quarter, according to ABI, with thanks to strong sales of Google’s Android mobile operating system with manufacturers adopting it and Nokia increasing sales by 4.6 million.

Nokia’s market share, of 37.7%, is slipping fast. And the new leader (if Nokia fails to come up with a good product) could be HTC, Apple, Samsung, Motorola or Palm. This market share is anyones for the taking.