Google+ app update brings photo filters and updated UI
March 26th, 2013, 08:38	 by Prasad 22 comments
Google has updated the mobile app for Android and iOS and introduced some new UI changes along with added features. One of the first major updates is the introduction of new image filters. Yes, Google+ now joins the ranks of countless social networking apps that let you add gaudy filters to your images before posting them.
The image filter option is thanks to the recent acquisition of photo editing application Snapseed. Although the editing options in the Google+ aren't as comprehensive as in the Snapseed app there are a ton of filters for you to choose from. Interestingly, the photo filters are only available in the iOS version of the Google+ app. Read more »
Windows Blue early build leaks, shows us some of the new features
March 24th, 2013, 19:12	 by Prasad 161 comments
A new build of the next update to Windows 8, codenamed Windows Blue, has been leaked on the internet. Build 9364 introduces quite a few changes and improvements to the existing Windows 8 and would make living with Microsoft's newest operating system that much more easier.
One of the changes in Blue is addition of two new sizes for the live tiles. You can now have tiny, icon sized tiles, similar to the ones introduced in Windows Phone 8, as well as a giant new square tile that is twice the size of the previous largest tile. The theme settings have also been updated, with finer control over the color of the desktop background. Read more »
Security hole spotted in Apple's iForgot page, gets promptly fixed
March 23rd, 2013, 14:24	 by Prasad 132 comments
Yesterday, we reported that Apple had implemented a two-step verification process for Apple IDs to add another layer of protection against unauthorized access to your account.
Shortly after that, however, a major security hole was discovered on the iForgot website (which allows users to reset their password) where you could reset the password for any Apple ID even if you have just the email and date of birth. This left anyone who hadn't enabled the two-step verification vulnerable. Read more »
Apple introduces two-step verification for Apple ID
March 22nd, 2013, 09:10	 by Prasad 32 comments
Apple has introduced a new two-step verification process for accounts that use the Apple ID. This will help protect your account from being accessed from a new device by an unauthorized person.
What this does is whenever you or someone else tries to access your Apple ID from a new device, along with the usual username and password, the device will also ask for a verification key. This verification key will be sent to one of the devices that you have registered. You will then have to enter the verification key into the new device to complete the log in process. This way, if someone gets access to your Apple ID, they won't be able to log in until they also get access to the verification key. Read more »
Apple updates iOS Podcasts app
With the launch of iOS 6, the podcast feature in the music player app was dropped in favor of a standalone app that had to be downloaded separately from the App Store. As is the trend with recent Apple apps, the Podcasts app made heavy use of skeuomorphism for the UI, with a very realistic looking tape deck UI that had moving elements that kept track with the playback of the podcast.
Unfortunately, all that is gone now with the latest update. The new v1.2 brings with it quite a few new features but gets rid of the tape deck UI for a more conventional playback screen that looks like any other music player. Read more »
Canon announces EOS 100D, world's smallest and lightest DSLR camera and the EOS 700D
March 21st, 2013, 09:32	 by Prasad 55 comments
Canon has announced the new EOS 100D, also known as the Rebel SL1 in North America, which is the world's smallest and lightest DSLR camera yet. The 100D is based on the recently launched EOS M compact mirrorless camera and borrows many of the specifications from it.
For starters, it uses the same 18 megapixel CMOS APS-C sensor capable of shooting from ISO100-12800 (expandable to ISO25600) and up to ISO6400 for video (expandable up to ISO12800). It uses Canon's DIGIC 5 processors that lets it shoot up to 4 fps in burst mode. There is also a nine-point auto-focus system with a new Hybrid CMOS AF-II sensor. Read more »
Google launches Google Keep, a new cloud-based note taking app for Android
A few days ago, Google prematurely released the Google Keep service, only to pull it back down on the same day. For those who missed that, Google Keep is a note taking application for Android that syncs with your Google Drive account.
Now, the service has been officially announced in the form of the Google Keep app on the Play Store. It is a very basic note taking app meant for quickly jotting down your thoughts without any unnecessary frills. Read more »
NVIDIA reveals their Tegra roadmap
At their GPU Technology Conference in San Jose, NVIDIA revealed the roadmap for future Tegra-series processors, among other things. The roadmap highlights NVIDIA's plans for 2013 and 2014 with two future processors, Logan and its successor, Parker, which continue NVIDIA's tradition of naming them after the real last names of superheroes.
Logan will be the successor to Wayne, more commonly known as the Tegra 4 chipset, and will be appearing in devices in early 2014. Read more »
Creators of Bastion reveal their next game: Transistor
Gamers in here may already be well acquainted with Bastion, one of the best RPG to have come out in recent times. It was recently ported over to iOS, which we reviewed a while back and found it to be just as good as it was on the PC or the consoles.
Now the developers of Bastion — Supergiant Games – have revealed their upcoming game called Transistor, set to launch in 2014. Read more »
Gmail for Android update brings notification screen shortcuts
Google has updated the Android version of the Gmail app and has added a very useful new feature for Jelly Bean users. As you may know, Jelly Bean features expanded notifications, which allows applications to integrate additional functionality within the notification screen, a feature the Gmail app now takes advantage of.
If you have a device running Jelly Bean, you will notice Gmail notifications now have a reply and archive button within the notification screen itself. This way, you don't have to launch the app to reply, for instance, and can do it from the notification screen directly. Read more »
Google releases new ad for the Nexus 10
Google has been releasing some amazing ads lately, especially for their Nexus devices. And the latest ad for the Nexus 10 takes things up a notch.
The ad shows a couple about to have a baby. The focus of the ad is on the 'shareability' of the Nexus 10, and how you can have multiple user accounts on the tablet, use it for reading, watching movies, social networking, video calling and how two can people do all this from a single device. Read more »
Dell makes 18-inch Windows 8 tablet, throws logic out of an equally large window
We are no strangers to ridiculously large tablets. We saw a few at CES, including a particularly enormous 20-inch Panasonic tablet. Although one would assume this is just some quirky thing that would go away if you don't pay attention to it, it seems OEMs aren't quite willing to let go of it.
Dell is the latest to join the ranks of these comically large tablets (at this point they are more tables than tablets). Unlike others, however, Dell has made slightly more effort to justify the size of this device, by making it turn into an All-in-One at a pinch. Read more »
Google Now for iOS discovered in a leaked video
In the recent past, Google has been showing a lot of love for Apple's iOS platform. It makes sense really, considering Google is in the business of advertising and collating user information, so supporting one of the biggest platforms out there is a no-brainer.
Few months back, Google added the voice search functionality to the Google Search app for iOS. Although quite useful, it's not quite on par with the excellent Google Now feature currently found only on Android Jelly Bean devices. But it looks like that's about to change shortly. Read more »
Apple releases two new iPhone ads, Discover and Brilliant
Apple has released two new TV ads for the iPhone, called Discover and Brilliant. Both the ads follow the same theme as the iPad ads that we saw a few weeks ago.
The ads concentrate on the wide variety of apps that you can get on the App Store, from education apps, to entertainment apps, utility apps and games. Read more »
Updated Apple TV brings an even smaller die-shrunk A5 processor
Earlier this year, we learnt that Apple has been quietly working on an updated version of the Apple TV. The difference? The processor got bumped from the A5 in the third generation mode to an A5X. Or at least, that's what everyone thought.
Turns out, however, that is not the case. Mac Rumors got their hands on a production device of this new tweaked Apple TV that has just hit the retail stores and decided to take it apart. And much to their surprise, it is still running an A5 chip, albeit a much smaller one. Read more »