iOS 8 - What's Changed?

Apple have been dominating the headlines over the last fortnight and this week has witnessed the new iOS 8 update, just days before the new iPhone 6 and 6 Plus are to be launched. 

If you have an iPhone 4S, iPad 2, iPad Mini or iPod touch 5th generation or newer, you can download it today if you don’t already have it. If you have an iPhone 4 or older generation iPads or iPods, you will have to get an upgrade as it is not accessible for you - sorry. 

So, what’s new?

With news of Apple Pay surfacing during the WWDC last week, the new iOS 8 software has changed to allow app developers to get access to the five-digit login tool which could mean we will be saying ‘goodbye’ to pesky passcodes and accessing all sorts of apps with our fingerprints. 

As the iPhone still stands at the most used camera in the world, it’s no surprise that the camera app has improved allowing you to capture extended moments and be able to speed up video with the ‘time-lapse camera mode’.

Text messages and calls will be able to be answered and replied to on Macs and iPads and are not just restricted to the iPhones. iMessage was a great cross-compatible tool for chatting across iOS devices and Macs but now the experience has just got a whole lot more convenient. 

Interactive notifications are another convenience too and will mean users can respond to texts and calendar reminders from the lock screen.  There is no need to unlock your phone to reply to a friend and lie that you’re ‘on your way’ because now you can do it with just a few clicks. 

The keyboard has had an upgrade to, and Apple claim their new iOS 8 keyboard is the ‘smartest ever’. The Quicktype feature adds a highly-requested predictive texting capability and will automatically offer you choices based on the conversation. Simple ‘yes’ and ‘no’ options can appear when a friend asks you a question. 

As well as these useful features, there are a whole host of new apps to make your iPhone, iPad or iPod turn into a usability genius too - too many to mention in fact. But, Apple is confident that this is the best update they have had, so let’s hope they’re right!

What Will 2014 Bring to the Tech World

So, 2014 is finally here and we can reflect on a year that was full of gadgets that hit the tech world by storm. But, without reflecting too much on last year’s technology, can we begin to look forward to an even better year?

We will have a look at some of this year’s possibilities and pieces of tech that will light up the industry (literally).

Technology never stops moving and this is what we can expect in 2014:

1. Our Tablets Will Get Bigger

The likes of the iPad Mini and the small-screen Nexus 7, were just a little phase. Samsung looks to be bringing out a massive 12-inch Galaxy Note. If that isn’t big enough, Panasonic looks to introduce a 20-inch ToughPad with 4K resolution – perfect for photographers, architects and well, anybody. As tablets look to replace many laptops and computers it will mean we will spend less time squinting and more time surfing.

2. 3D Printing Will Kickstart A New Era

In 2014 alone, shipments around the world of 3D printers is predicted to grow by 75%, which is then likely to double again in 2015. 3D printing could prove to be a game changer in the design world and has rapidly collected a highly anticipated reputation; one that makes us very excited. Printing black text on to white paper is such a thing of the past.

3. Smartphones Could Get A Backbone

Our favourite smartphones could gain the ability to bend, improving their claim to be ‘unbreakable’. We have already seen examples of this type of screen and the smart watches released last year gave us a little glimpse of what’s to come, but 2014 could see the real growth of ‘bendy’ screens.

4. Video Looks To Dominate The Web

Like the bendy screens, we have already seen plenty of examples that video is taking over the web and more specifically, social media. With the introduction of 4K TVs and video support, viewing your favourite funny compilations on your favourite devices could become even more high definition. With everyone looking to stream video content at home, at work or out and about, our networks are likely to improve too.

5. Smartphones Will Remain Top Of The Tree

Regardless of the publicity surrounding the likes of Google Glass, Galaxy Gear and other wearables, smartphones will look to remain the cream of the crop and will dominate the consumer markets. With new features in their plenty and ease of access, smartphones look to grow stronger in 2014 and the race for the top manufacture should really hot up this year. We can’t wait.

Apple Are Producing Air

No, we don’t mean those clever guys at Apple are actually producing oxygen, instead we are talking about their newly released tablet; the iPad Air.

The Apple iPad Air is due to make an appearance on the shelves today in fact, and has been eagerly awaited by many lovers of all things techy. Apple introduced the iPad Air at a special event in San Francisco on October 22 and it is now available for you and me to buy, right now!

The Air is aiming to be the new champion of the large tablet market and it could quite well be the game changer. With its 9.7-inch retina display and lightweight design, it’s definitely one to give people food for thought when it comes to buying the next hottest tablet.

Although this new tablet looks very similar to the iPad mini, its shed much more weight and size in comparison and is even easier to carry around (if that was even possible). This new tablet is much more comfortable to hold than its chunkier siblings and the retina display is real winner. All of these features and the battery life isn’t sacrificed which is always a bonus. Ten hours of continuous usage and it still keeps on top of its tasks too.

The Air might be lightweight but it is definitely heavyweight in performance. Its camera gets an update, it has an improved sound quality, it’s faster, and it’s more responsive, it’s just so much better than anything before it.

The iPad Air has shown it’s a forward thinking device and is more than likely going to fly off the shelves in its first week or so. With a lot of stiff opposition including many from the Samsung range and the recently launched Microsoft Surface 2 (which we reviewed a couple of weeks back) to name a few, the iPad Air will have to prove its worth.

The new iPad Air will just have to sit tight and see how successful it is over the coming weeks in order to see if it will be the new champion of the tablets, all we know is it stands a pretty good chance.

The NHS now has an App Store

The NHS has recently released their own App store of apps that are safe and trusted which aim to help people with any problems they have.

http://apps.nhs.uk/

The purpose of this App store is to make it more convenient for the general public to find health and care apps that will answer any questions they may have. The apps in this store aims to cover certain criteria in order to cater for the public and their problems.

This criteria of apps includes:

Informational – This is an app that will provide any general information about a particular topic. This will not be a personalised description though.

Monitoring – This type of app collects any information that is related to the health and care of the individual. These include things like weight, exercise and any data collected by near-patient devices.

Decision Support – This app provides personal information and guidance that has been accumulated by any data entered by the individual. This app will then create an automatic calculation or decision on what data has been entered to inform you of any problems.

Transactional – This type of app includes things like booking an appointment or requesting a prescription.

Appware are also proud to announce that the NHS has included an app created by ourselves in this store. This app is one of the first apps within the store and has been created to make the mundane task of cleaning teeth a lot more entertaining.

www.brushdj.com

The main feature of this app, named Brush DJ, has an inbuilt timer that will play two minutes of music, randomly selected from the user’s device, throughout the duration of you brushing your teeth. Not only does this make brushing teeth much more fun but it also makes sure that you brush your teeth for the correct amount of time.

Other features include a reminder that can be set to make sure that the user brushes their teeth at least two times a day, how often to change their toothbrush and when to visit the dentist.

If you think that you could do with an app similar to this then you can go and check the NHS App store and download any app that you feel can benefit you and your health.

Angry Birds For Free

One of the most profitable games in the world has become free for its users.

The original version, which was created four years ago, has just released 15 new levels, all of which are free for iOS devices. The game has been part of the top 80 highest grossing apps but has recently fallen out of this, which is the first time in three years.

The game originally cost downloaders $0.99 for the iPhone version and $2.99 for the iPad version. The previous free downloads of this game only included a few levels which you could complete before you were prompted to buy the full version. These free versions have since been removed from the app store all together.

Many people had spent hours playing this clever strategy game, but may have neglected it after completing it. Now is time to rekindle that flame and download the game again with 15 new adventures all at your fingertips.

Angry Birds was first released to iPhone and four years down the line has been downloaded around 500 million times. Being downloaded half a billion times most people will know this game well, for those that don’t the game involves using wingless birds and a slingshot in an attempt to destroy pigs and any structures to gain points per level.

The Angry Birds game was the leader of apps and began the revolution to all of the millions of apps available to us today. Although this game began life as an app it has now become a brand with merchandise being available to buy as well as a movie being released.

Rovio, the creators of this addictive app, have not officially come out and said that the app will be free for a certain amount of time, but my suggestion would be that if you haven’t already downloaded it, then get downloading it now whilst its free.

If the user base is boosted whilst the game is free then it is more than likely that the creators will put back up the paywall.

Have we all become App addicts?

A recent survey carried out on mobile App behaviour of members of the public showed that 82% of App users could not go without their Apps for a day.

You may be sitting there thinking, “wow, that’s a high percentage” but there are a such a large number of Apps that are available to us, that we rely on them. One of those Apps is an alarm clock. Every time we get woken up by our clever phone, we are using an App.

Emails and social networking are also common Apps that many of us use on a daily basis. Even one browse of your news feed and you have used your app for that day. Still not convinced that 82% of us use an app on a day-to-day basis? Well, here are some statistics that might change your mind:

• 53% of drivers that took part in the survey admitted to browsing an app whilst behind the wheel of their vehicle.
• 20% of people said they would not be able to find their way into work without the use of an app.
• 23% of those surveyed said they wouldn’t be able to feel happy unless they had used Apps for a day.
• 19% said that they would not even be able to maintain a relationship if it were not for their Apps.

The study also showed that Spain were the highest ranked country who were the most reliant on their Apps with a huge 93% of people saying they could not go a complete 24 hours without using one.

Convinced yet? These statistics show just how reliant we have become on our smartphone and more importantly our Apps. So, we have been woken up in the morning, set the route to work on our phone and have checked our Facebook timeline whilst driving all before 9 o’clock, which means we have already become a part of three of the previous statistics.

It is so easy to become a member of the 82% that used Apps every day without even realising. So my question to you is … Do you have an app addiction?

Using Apps To Market Your Business

There are many ways to market your business but have you ever thought of promoting it through an app?

We live in a very technology-savvy society so marketing through an app seems like a no brainer. Here are some reasons why:

• They can make your job easier. By being conveniently located on your phone or the mobile device of a customer, you or they can access the app whenever and wherever they want.
• Word of mouth spreads. If you create an app that people enjoy, word will get out and more and more people will download your app. With the more people using the app, browsers will turn into buyers.
• Be creative. The app can be completely different to your website but still possess the same useful information, making it a better way of engaging customers. This can be a useful way of improving your audience or a way to target a new demographic completely.
• Credibility. When users or customers see that you have an app with positive reviews and a large number of people downloading it, you and your business gain credibility.
• Keep on top of statistics. When someone downloads an app, you know about it. When they give it a review, you know about it. This is a great way to know exactly how many people are interacting with your app and how well the marketing is doing.

Apps are everywhere. They are no longer restricted to just an iPhone and are easily accessible on Android, other mobile devices and tablets. There is such a large market to target, so promoting your business or product through an app is both innovative and beneficial.

There are more to apps than just flicking some birds into some pigs and with the right idea and some creativity, you’ll be onto a winner.

What does "Second Screen" mean?

Imagine your regular night in front of the TV, your wife wants to catch up on the soaps but you want to know what’s going on in the football as you placed a bet on the score, you’re not a big fan and you don’t need to watch every second of the match but it would be good to know, as the match takes place, just how much you are in with a chance of winning. Your wife has kindly allowed you to channel hop during the breaks of her soap, but this is not a guarantee you will see the goals as (oddly enough) the footballers don’t wait until soap advert breaks to score, so you may or may not see the up to date scores.

This is where a second screen could help – you can fire up your iPad, iPhone or any other tablet or smartphone (or even laptop). You can then use dedicated sites or apps that will show lists of football matches with up to date results and scores and chances for you to see re-runs of the goals that may have won you lots of money with your bet!

The real power of second screens is to allow you to be interactive with the TV Program you are watching, there are very few programs that do not have their Twitter name or hashtag showing during the opening credits. This means that you, as a viewer, can discuss what is going on in the show, if you agree with something, if you are shocked by something or if you have something to share with other viewers of this program.

You will also find with some programs that you can go to their website and learn more about the characters in the program or more about the topic they have touched on, this can all be done on your second screen without you having to miss out on the program itself.

Basically a second screen is any device you can use to complement rather than replace your viewing – so pretty much any smartphone, laptop or tablet. A second screen not only allows you to interact with the TV programs you love, but it allows you to engage with this TV program and personalise your entire experience.

iTunes 11: What’s New?

iTunes 11 arrived recently, but what makes it different from the previous iTunes? You don’t have to have an iPhone5 and can download iTunes 11 onto your Mac or Windows machine.

No longer does iTunes look clunky, it is now smooth, sleeker, smarter and more modern with the menu removed from the left side (you can re-enable it if you wish though) and the top bar now shrunk to make everything look so much better, slicker and a lot less fussy.

There is now an "expanded view" and this is said to be the most interesting of changes. You are able to click on a track or song and information will open up showing you the tracks that you can buy individually or as part of an album.

The store itself has grown and there are now lots more ways you can part with your hard earned cash, as more options open up with other songs you may like to purchase.

There is also an "Up Next" feature on iTunes 11, this makes it a lot easier to add tracks and click to see which song is coming up next. If you don’t like the next song then you can swap it around, add others in between or delete them off completely. The choice is yours.

iTunes 11 has also given the Mini Player a much required facelift, which is of much better styling then ever before. It gives you the search function to choose what songs you want to listen to and in which order.

You are also able to see your preview history; this means you can listen to a load of songs then you can backup and purchase them if you choose to. You can link back to them with ease. Preview history can work with films and TV as well as music.

iCloud has also been used with iTunes 11, allowing you to have any songs, film or TV you buy from the iTunes Store available on your Mac,PC, or iOS devices instantly!

Why Is 4G for Me?

4G is out and we want to tell you why 4G may be the thing for you! Currently 4G is only available through Orange network (well, rebranded as EE) and isn't that cheap but it is said 4G will expand to other networks soon. Once that happens then expect prices to come down and the number of different deals to go up. You also need to have a phone capable of handling this speed and modern handsets like the iPhone5 and Samsung Galaxy S3 support it.

4G is five times quicker than 3G (the current fastest way to get data and browse the web across the mobile phone network) which makes it a superfast tool to have, it covers 11 cities so far with plans to have 16 cities 4G'd up by the end of the year.

4G allows you to check emails, download massive documents and complete video calling, all on the go, all unbelievably quickly. Along with downloading, with 4G you can also upload massive files to a website and complete video conferencing wherever you are.

If you are into multiplayer games and you can’t wait to get home in the evening to beat your friends then 4G can help you with brilliant live multiplayer games that you can play with anyone and everyone across the world.

To sum up, 4G can do everything that 3G does but it can do it a better quality and a lot faster! Anything 3G can do, 4G can do better!

iPad Mini - What Is So Cool About Small?

Apple has launched the new iPad Mini today, claiming that it is the whole package but in a smaller package. It’s looking pretty cool with a beautiful and clear display, powerful A5 chip, a HD Camera for FaceTime, an iSight camera with 1080p HD video recording, extra fast wireless internet access and it has access to over 275,000 apps ready and waiting to be downloaded. But what is the difference between the iPad and iPad mini? It’s smaller of course!

The screen is just 7.9 inches and has an LED backlit display meaning it looks just beautiful. You can scan through your pictures, search through websites and watch videos easily. It’s perfect size means that you can work with the hundreds of apps that are made for the iPad not just scaled up iPhone Apps.

At 7.2mm in depth it is 23% thinner than the iPad and weighing just 308g means it is over half (53%) lighter than the iPad. The iPad mini is pencil thin and light as a feather meaning that it can be held easily in the palm of your hand.

There are some brilliant apps available on the iPad mini including iPhoto which makes it easy for the user to view, edit and share their photos with the simplicity of Multi-Touch.

iMovie is an excellent app too making it possible for you to shoot 1080dp HD movies, turning the footage into Hollywood style trailers or mini feature films.

Then there’s the GarageBand app which allows you to play instruments on the iPad mini and they sound as good as if they were the real thing.

The Pages app is a superb addition to your iPad mini collection; this app allows you to use the pre-designed (by Apple) templates to create your own professional letters, flyers, invitations and more. However, if numbers are your things then the Numbers app is the app for you allowing you to make flexible tables and 3d charts.

With help from the Numbers App, the Keynote App available on iPad mini means that presentations never be boring again. This app can be used to create elegant presentations with themes and styles on offer.

The apps already built in to the iPad mini include Siri which allows you to find out what is going on where and the best place to go, use the maps to find your treasure, FaceTime to keep in touch with your nearest and dearest, read magazines or your favourite book, watch a film, check your emails or send a message.

The powerful A5 chip means that the iPad mini is fast and fluid in its performance allowing you to switch from page to page, app to app in a smooth and natural way.

The iPad also offers a battery life that is not to be laughed at – up to ten hours of usage without charge is really pretty impressive for such a small thing that can do so much.

FaceTime got more fun with the iPad mini, you can chat to your friends using the front facing camera, or show them what you can see using the iSight camera on the back, wherever you are your friends and family can feel close to you.

Being able to record in HD Video in full 1080p is a huge bonus for this mighty but small machine, meaning wherever you are, however unexpected the event, you can still capture it for a lifetime using your iPad mini.

The 5 megapixel iSight camera means that all your photos will come out great whether in low lighting or sat out in the sun, there is also a huge display meaning that you can compose your shot until it’s just right.

The iPad mini also has built in advanced wi-fi technology meaning that the wi-fi is at least twice as fast as any earlier iPad, download speeds can reach a whopping 150Mbps.

The iPad mini has iCloud built in so just turn it on and you have access to whatever document you require, whether it is on your iPad, iPhone, Mac or PC, you can locate and lock whatever you require, wherever you require.

Using AirPlay means that you can stream all your music, photos and videos to your HDTV and speakers with just the tap of a button, wirelessly. In the same way you can use AirPrint to print whatever you require, wirelessly, at just the touch of a button.

The iPad mini cover is a must have if you have decided that you want the iPad mini, with its magnetic technology the smart cover snaps into place perfectly to protect your screen, but then fold it over and you have a stand – all with no extra bulk, keeping the iPad mini small, slim and as sleek as ever.

As you can tell, we're big fans and managed to get one sent to the office today. If you'd like to have a play with one in the flash then get in touch and we'd be happy to let you.