There have been rumors for over a year that Facebook is trying to make its own smartphone to compete with the iPhone and Samsung Galaxy S3, but we haven’t had much reason to believe in them until now.
Facebook sent out invitations last night to an event on April 4th at its headquarters, where the company will allegedly unveil its own smartphone that was built in partnership with HTC.
Hold the phone! Or, rather — don’t. Martian Watch models see much of its promised potential unlocked With the launch today of iOS and Android apps, just ahead of their estimated ship date(s).
The app finally adds two major features to the watches — remote camera control and social media updates — along with a few smaller ones.
Glympse is a clever — and potentially lifesaving — feature that we’d love to see in more smartphone-connected cars.
It started out as a free app that can broadcast the user’s location to selected contacts, Facebook friends or Twitter followers. But it’s become a valuable tool for drivers of smartphone-connected Fords and Merecedes-Benzes, allowing them to broadcast their location without taking their hands off the steering wheel.
Now BMW and Mini have partnered with Glympse, raising the marque total to four.
Gameloft has secured itself yet another movie tie-in, this time for the upcoming Iron Man 3 movie. The official game is coming to Android and iOS on April 25, and Gameloft has provided us with its first trailer to get us all excited. Check it out below.
While Google’s Android platform may be the biggest rival to iOS, the search giant is happy to support users who choose Apple’s device. In fact, thanks to apps like YouTube and Google Maps, Google is the App Store’s top publisher, beating Apple on its own turf.
Apple has reportedly cut its iPad mini orders for the second quarter of 2013 by as much as 20% in preparation for the next-generation device. Shipments of the current iPad mini could be as low as 10 million units during the quarter, according to “multiple sources who provide various components” for the device.
As someone who travels quite a bit for work, I make sure to pack a set of headphones with me wherever I go. But when I’m sitting on a patio or in my hotel room writing away, sometimes I want to untether my ears and let the music fly. This Cult of Mac Deals offer will help you do the same – thanks to BOOMBOT2.
The BOOMBOT2 is available to Cult of Mac Deals customers for just $49 for a limited time – a great deal for a versatile speaker.
Last year it seemed as though everyone was certain Amazon would follow up the success of the Kindle Fire with an Amazon branded smartphone to take on the iPhone. Instead, Jeff Bezos unleashed the Kindle Fire HD on the world.
The rumor mill is back with more Amazon smartphone rumors, as a new report claims Amazon is getting close to finishing its smartphone that will launch later this year.
Given the success of the original Plants vs. Zombies game, which first landed on iOS almost three years ago, I’m surprised we don’t already have a sequel. But there is one on the way. PopCap has announced that Plants vs. Zombies 2 will be launching early this summer.
Apple is beginning to close the gap on Samsung over shipments of smart connected devices, which includes computers, smartphones, and tablets. The Cupertino company grabbed 20.3% of the market by the end of 2012, according to IDC, while Samsung just about had the edge with a 21.2% share.
Looking for a new tablet that’s lightweight, portable, and perfect for life on the go? The Skytex Imagine 7 HD is exactly that. Powered by Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, this device provides you with all the power you need to run the latest Android apps and games on a gorgeous HD display, but it’s still small enough to slip into your bag. What’s more, it comes with a free case, free shipping, and it costs just $159.
The Google+ apps for Android and iOS have today been updated with a number of new features and improvements. Both apps get user interface tweaks and the ability to re-share posts to communities, while iOS users will also see a number of Snapseed filters that will allow them to enhance their photos before they post them.
LG will compete with Apple, Google, and Samsung with a smartwatch of its own that is expected to run Google’s Android operating system. The company is also said to be working on another wearable computing device that will reportedly rival Google Glass.
Apparently, the folks who star in HBO’s hit drama, Game of Thrones, are pretty smart, as five of the six castmembers interviewed before the premiere of the first episode of the upcoming third season admit to using an iPhone over an Android. Of course, Rose Leslie, who plays the part of savage wildling beyond the wall, Ygritte, uses an Android device. Figures.
Martin Hajek — a designer who specializes these days in mocking up rumored Apple products with a greater or lesser degree of accuracy — has turned his talents to a new arena: mocking up how the newly announced Samsung Galaxy S4 measures up, size-wize, to the iPhone 5.
Samsung’s Android smartphones have this nifty feature that lets you quickly make calls from within contact cards and messages simply by raising the device to your ear. And thanks to a new tweak called RaiseToCall, you can now get the same feature on your jailbroken iPhone.
Demiurge Studios (Borderlands, Mass Effect) teamed up with Owlchemy Labs (Snuggle Truck, Jack Lumber) to announce that the Android version of Shoot Many Robots is now available for free on Google Play. Originally released in March 2012 for Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA) and the PlayStation Network (PSN), Shoot Many Robots came out a month later on PC, via Steam, and should be released on iOS soon.
Ex-Apple evangelist, Guy Kawasaki, hasn’t been working at Motorola for even a month yet, but he’s already dropping hints on what Motorola’s next flagship smartphone might be like.
Earlier this week, Guy Kawasaki hinted on his Google+ page that Motorola’s next phone will have customizable hardware options.
Adobe CTO Kevin Lynch is leaving the company to become Vice President of Technology at Apple, but Tim Cook may have to keep a close eye on him around the iPhones. Back in 2009, Lynch smashed up a whole bunch of them in a bid to get them to run Flash Player. See his destructive side for yourself in the video below.
It’s taken well over a year, but the Jawbone UP finally has an official companion app in Google Play. The device has only been compatible with iOS devices since it launched in November 2011, but now you can track your sleep and physical activity on Android-powered smartphones, too.
Furthermore, starting today, UP will be available in Apple stores across Europe.
File under the ever-growing list of “things Android does better than iOS.” Today it’s Gmail, which now lets you reply to, archive or delete your messages right there in the notification. Meanwhile, us schmucks with iPhones and iPads are stuck digging into preferences just to toggle Bluetooth on and off, and waving a freshly-slaughtered chicken over our heads as we try to make Photo Stream work again.
One of the biggest complaints about Android, is that Google will announce a new version of Android, but then it takes over six months for that software to actually get on your phone. What gives?
The guys over at Gizmodo decided to talk to both manufacturers and wireless carriers to find out what’s the hold up. It seems like a software update would be a pretty straightforward process, but what they found was a myriad of problems that can take months to answer before your Android phone gets an update.
WhatsApp, the hugely popular cross-platform messaging service, is bringing its paid subscription model to iOS. The company hasn’t yet confirmed when the move take place, but it will “definitely” happen during 2013. When that time comes, you’ll need to pay $0.99 a year to use the service.
In response to Samsung’s Galaxy S4 announcement last Thursday, Apple has updated the iPhone 5 pages of its website to remind visitors why people love the iPhone. “Loving it is easy. That’s why so many people do,” the landing page reads, before going on to list all the reasons why the Cupertino company’s smartphone is so popular.
The weekends are for movies, right? Personally, I’m going to flock to Oz The Great and Powerful at an IMAX theater this weekend, along with a billion other people, no doubt. Fandango wants to be a part of that weekend rush, and possibly get your $2 per ticket convenience fee, with it’s new mobile and online movie preview show, Weekend Ticket, available now on iOS and Android mobile devices, and the Fandango.com website.