Rumor: Apple Music App Headed To Android

According to Tim Cook, Apple Music is starting off very well, with 15 million subscribers already. Now that there's an Android version coming out, a lot about it seems to be coming to the surface.

MobileGeeks (via SlashGear), the german-language tech site, posted screenshots that show an Android version of Apple Music. The screenshots show different sections of the app, like the New and For You screens. It also has Beats One streaming radio. The app looks just like the iOS version, but it also has some Android design touches, Like the Hamburger menu in the upper right corner.

Apple recently announced that Android would be getting Apple music "this fall." MobileGeeks has been very reliable in knowing what's coming with Android. This isn't the first time rumors passed around about an Android version of Apple Music. TechAeris reported last month that some people were given invites to join a limited beta of an Apple Music app for Android. Although TechAeris's rumor-mill track record isn't fully known. There are some things that seem odd with Apple performing a beta test this way, but that doesn't necessarily mean that it couldn't be done.

Those of you that have Android, like me, may appreciate this music app. Sometimes only using Pandora for music just isn't enough.

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Google Looking To Make Mobile Web Faster

Google has created a way to make the mobile web faster. The company announced a technical preview for a system called Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP). It is designed to fight many of the factors slowing down your mobile web pages. Google has teamed up with a bunch of publishers for the system, such as The Washington Post, Vox Media (The Verge's parent company), The Guardian, and Buzzfeed.

The system is available on a public GitHub repository, having a more commonly held code and smarter caching system. If the system is working, you should have lighter, faster loading mobile pages on things like smartphones and tablets. Google's head of News, Richard Gingras said, "We're here because we love the web and we feel the web can be better than it is. We can make the web great again."

Although the system is still in technical preview, the announcement comes with a ton of major programs for offsite content hosting. In May, Facebook released Instant Articles that allowed publishers to push content directly to Facebook with the results of faster loading times and simpler advertising. Apple has done something similar with Apple News, which they announced at WWDC in June. With this new availability of ad-blocking applications in iOS 9 has allowed you to bypass a lot of tracking systems that slow down your internet completely. This is making publishers look for a way to shrink mobile pages.

With all these systems out, it's putting a lot of pressure on Google, which relies tremendously on web advertising and is being threatened by the migration to closed systems. Gingras spoke about the power of the web but never said that Google's future depends on an open internet.

Google's Accelerated Mobile Pages system is more open than the systems from Apple and Facebook. The core of the system is an open-source GitHub repository, which allows companies to adapt or change when needed. Individual libraries or systems can also adapt individually, becoming more of a toolkit than a self-contained portal.

Google and its partners will still use non-trivial power in its advertising and tracking within the system. The system still allows for third-party caching, Google's hosting network means most of AMP content will likely be hosted on the company's servers. The system is likely to restore concern on the increasing balkanization of internet platforms. Google will represent an open, web-integrated alternative for more controlled platforms within Facebook and Apple.

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iPhone 6 Powered By Hydrogen Lasts One Week on One Charge

There had been rumors that a British company was working very closely with Apple to develop a hydrogen fuel cell for the iPhone 6, which would allow the device to run for an entire week without recharging.

Intelligent Energy, according to reports, has reportedly created a working iPhone 6 prototype that looks identical to every single other iPhone 6 you've seen with one small change. There are now tiny vents on the rear of the device that allow imperceptible amounts of water vapor to escape from the smartphone. In addition to that, the iPhone 6 prototype also has a rechargeable battery along with its very own hydrogen fuel cell, the Telegraph reports.

Hydrogen fuel cells are capable of generating energy by combining hydrogen and oxygen with the only emission from the process being water. Fuel cells supply hydrogen to a negative anode which releases electrons. These electrons then flow to a positive cathode in order to generate electricity. What's more is that upon releasing the electrons, the hydrogen becomes a hydrogen ion moving to a positive cathode and then bonds with oxygen in the air, forming water. Yeah, science.

When it comes to our wonderful periodic table, hydrogen is the simplest and most common molecule that exists. Because of this, hydrogen is a part of pretty much every single substance known to man, including water and hydrocarbons. In addition to that, hydrogen is also found in biomass, which includes every single plant and animal on this fascinating planet.

Intelligent Energy has produced over 2,000 patents related to fuel cells, patents which it has used to create things like car batteries and a portable charger known as the Upp. The Upp is a mini-hydrogen fuel cell that charges any USB-compatible mobile device, like smartphones, tablets, handheld gaming consoles and cameras.

Like any other fuel cell, the one in this prototype iPhone 6 requires charging with hydrogen gas. Intelligent Energy has stated that this process could be completed via an adapted headphone socket. The company is working on a commercial version of this smartphone fuel cell, which would be in the form of a small cartridge that would fit into the bottom of a smartphone. The cartridge would supply power for up to a week and could be discarded after use.

Finance Chief for Intelligent Energy Mark Lawson-Statham was reported saying that this type of smartphone fuel cell technology is still a few years out from commercial use. While this technology is cool, I wonder what it would cost to buy these cartridges every single week. If that turns out to be expensive then this will be nothing more than a neat concept.

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Say Hello To M, Facebook's New Personal Assistant

It seems that every piece of technology needs an "assistant" these days. I mean Apple has Siri, Windows 10 has Cortana, even Google has Now. And now, it seems, that Facebook is jumping on this bandwagon. There have been rumors that Facebook was working on an assistant within the Messenger app, but details have finally surfaced that bring it all together. This means that Apple, Microsoft, and Google will have yet another company to compete with.

In a post on Facebook (of course), Facebook Messenger Lead David Marcus wrote, "Today we're beginning to test a new service called M. M is a personal digital assistant inside of Messenger that completes tasks and finds information on your behalf. It's powered by artificial intelligence that's trained and supervised by people."

Marcus went on to say, "Unlike other AI-based services in the market, M can actually complete tasks on your behalf. It can purchase items, get gifts delivered to your loved ones, book restaurants, travel arrangements, appointments, and way more. This is early in the journey to build M into an at-scale service. But it's an exciting step towards enabling people on Messenger to get things done across a variety of things, so they can get more time to focus on what's important in their lives."

Ever since Marcus joined with Facebook the Messenger product has been churning like crazy in terms of development. Regardless if it's payments or a standalone site, the product seems like it is getting a lot more attention than it ever has before.

Siri, Now, and Cortana, and M are now one big happy family! Basically what these companies are doing is they are taking the data that you've put into the service and are using it to help you out or suggest different things based off of what it knows about you. Putting M inside of Messenger is a quite a brilliant move due to the fact that people are used to tapping out messages to people as opposed to speaking out commands like other assistants sometimes require.

Facebook acquiring Wit.ai back in January provided the human side of the project, meaning the "trained and supervised by people" part that Marcus mentioned. Google and Apple have focused primarily on the science of Artificial Intelligence whereas Facebook has decided to power through the development of a personal assistant with more human hands.

This means that it won't be cheap for Facebook. Should the project scale out it will have to wait until the humans teach its AI to handle most requests automatically or it will have to spend a ton of money hiring a ton of people to assist the assistant. In addition to that, the launch of this tech will be very, very slow but as soon as it is released you can check back here for more information!

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New Liquidmetal Android Smartphone May Or May Not Be A Terminator

Apple's past has shown no sign of an upcoming Liquidmetal iPhone since they can only manage to use the strong material for small iPhone components. Alas in just a few weeks, Android is going to outshine Apple! An Android handset called the Turing Phone is actually set to launch the first smartphone ever to have a liquid metal case.

Venturebeat was told by Turing CEO S.Y.L. Chao that his company is the first company able to manufacture Liquidmorphium components, measuring more than 10 millimeters. The new liquid metal smartphone is finally beating Apple's iPhones tiny SIM card tray, that is the largest liquid metal smartphone part.

The lucky company to finally release the first "Liquidmorphium" phone in the world is Turing Robotics Industries. Since the handset's housing is far stronger than steel, aluminum AND titanium, you won't have to worry about the phone bending, even in the slightest. The front of the new smartphone has an appealing chrome look, but the back isn't as fortunate in the design. Also, the Turing Phone is coated inside and out with a nanoparticle treatment, to make it waterproof. Not even getting water INSIDE the phone and covering all the circuits will phase it.

The smartphone will include a 5.5-inch full HD display, 3GB of RAM, a fingerprint scanner, a 2.5GHz quad-core processor, a 3,000 mAh battery, 64/128GB of storage, a 13-megapixel dual flash camera and Android 5.1. The Turing Phone will be available in the U.S. and China, for preorder on July 31st, starting at $740.

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New iPhone Rumors Could Upset New Users

There are some new leaked images of the iPhone 6s that should be coming out this September. If the leaked photos are real, then everyone is about to be really mad. Apparently, the new 6s is going to start with only 16GB of storage.

This is an outrage, mainly because that is what the iPhone 5 started at... and when it came time to update the operating system, no one had enough room, and it was a huge deal. Apple then decided to make the iPhone 6 and 6 plus start with 32GB of storage, and there wasn't any bump in price from the previous generation of entry-level iPhones. So... now, for the same price you would have paid for 32GB last year, you can get 16GB and run out of space when you take too many pictures or download too many apps. Or, God forbid, you want to download the next operating system that comes out for it.

Text messages also take up a lot of space. So that is something to think about. Users with 32GB phones really don't have to worry about anything. It seems however that 16GB is just enough to make you wish you had more. I know this from experience.

Pretty much every other company in the world starts out at 32GB of onboard storage and also lets you add more with the use of SD cards. Apple, for some reason, refuses to make life that simple. Instead, they have given developers a tool called "App thinning" that lets them make apps take up less space. They also believe that because of iCloud, that onboard storage isn't important. Never mind the fact that iCloud is not free, and developers shouldn't have to do extra work. Instead of figuring out ways to release the exact same product every single year and charge more money for it, maybe they should revisit the technology of the late 90's and throw in an SD card slot. It can't be that hard.

To touch on the iCloud thing a little more, I exaggerated a little bit, it doesn't always cost money. You get 5GB free. The problem with this is that is barely enough to back up your phone with absolutely nothing on it. And you have to back up your phone on it. So if you want to store anything on the iCloud, you have to pay. Now, what happens when you have multiple devices linked to the same account?? You get where I'm going with this.

The simple fact is that Apple has made the choice to make more money off of their loyal customers rather than give them the product they deserve. They literally took a step backward just to make more money. Now, you can either pay more for iCould, or shell out a few hundred more dollars to get the iPhone with more storage. It's absolutely ridiculous that to get more storage you have to buy a more expensive model anyway. Apple is literally the only smartphone company that does this.

I can't wait for the day when people realize that Apple puts out phones using technology that is about 10 years behind, and they could have a Samsung Galaxy with brand new cutting edge features, and as much storage as they could ever want without any hassle... or paying more money. Micro SD cards are pretty cheap these days.

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iOS 9 Finally Delivers a Lowercase Keyboard

So... when you are typing on your iPhone and pretending that you are way cooler than every Android user ever... how mad do you secretly get when you accidentally type with uppercase letters when you shouldn't? Or when you don't realize you did something like that until it's too late and look like an idiot? Yeah, I know. All the time.

Well, now it seems that Apple has fixed this little "design flaw" after approximately 5 thousand years of everyone wondering why they haven't done it yet. One of the most welcomed changed that will come along with iOS 9 is that the keyboard will show lowercase letters when typing in lower case. And, as it should, it will show uppercase letters when typing in upper case.

Until this change, we have all had to deal with only seeing uppercase letters when we type anything at all. You only see the difference when the words appear as you type them. Maybe it was to mimic the design of the MacBook keyboard where all of the letters are uppercase. Either way, no matter what they were doing, it was wrong. Android keyboards have displayed uppercase and lowercase letters since the beginning of time. I'm pretty sure there was a T-Rex somewhere who had an easier time texting his buddies while having a great time knowing which set of letters he was using without remembering if the shift button needed to be white or grey.

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Before iOS 7 came out, the shift key was highlighted in blue when you had it engaged. This let you see pretty easily, as long as you weren't texting at all and your thumbs weren't blocking it... which was always. And then they changed it to a monochromatic highlight, which personally confuses me to this day a little bit more. Either way, now it's not an issue anymore!

I'd also like to point out that I am in fact an iPhone user. I've had almost all the iPhone's. So, I'm not hating on them in any way... But come on, even as an avid iPhone user, there are certain things you just have to scratch your head over! At least we can all have a good sense of humor about it while we shell out money for every new model.

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The Best Keyboards for Apple Smartphones

I'm sure everyone is enjoying their new iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus. The size of their screens are great for quickly checking your Facebook or Instagram, watching YouTube or Netflix, or even crushing all that candy. The only noticeable issue with having such a large phone is trying to type on it with one hand. iOS 8, which was released last fall, does give you the option of choosing from multiple different keyboards by downloading them from the Apple App Store and enabling them in the iPhone's Settings app.

The best keyboard for your iPhone would most likely be the SwiftKey. It has the best word prediction you could possibly get, it's fast when responding to the traditional tap-typing, and has a tracing feature you can use with just one thumb. In addition to that, the word prediction generally knows what you are trying to type or are about to type next. It also taps into you social media accounts, as well as your contacts list to help better personalize it's predictions based off of how you type everything else out.

SwiftKey also has some themes you can pick from such as light, dark, or the occasional holiday theme. It also has the standard auto-correct, double taping the space bar for a period, and auto-capitalizing that you're used to. The downside to using SwiftKey is the way iOS handles third-party keyboards. These keyboards tend to crash in the Messages app or when using Spotlight. You can't talk to your iPhone and have it input passwords or reply to your texts when you are on the lock screen either. It's nothing that you can't look past, but it can get irritating sometimes.

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If you are more of a simple person and don't want to bother installing a new keyboard, your iPhone has it's own built-in iOS keyboard. It's the most reliable keyboard for your iPhone and it's already on your phone. It works great with voice dictation anywhere you can type on your iPhone, even in the lock screen or for inputting texts. It's great with word prediction based on context and tap-typing and the keyboard will suggest different words depending on if you're just texting a friend or writing an email to your boss. The few downsides to this standard keyboard is that it doesn't have tracing or themes to customize.

Some other keyboards you can choose from include Swype ($0.99), which is the original tracing keyboard. It also has word prediction, auto-correct, and themes. Another one is Adaptext (free), which has the majority of the features you want in a keyboard: auto-correct, tracing features, emojis, and themes. TouchPal (free) is a good keyboard if you're really into stickers. It has tracing, themes, emojis, and auto-correct as well. Fleksy ($0.99) is said to have the best auto-correct engine you can get. It has word deletion and themes but the only downside with this one is that it doesn't have tracing. Minuum ($3.99) relies mostly on word predictions and auto-correct for the most accurate words you're trying to type. The thing that is most unappealing about this is that all your letters are in one straight line and it pretty much just guesses on what letter you're attempting at typing. All of these keyboards are not as smart with word predictions as the SwiftKey and are not as reliable as Apple's keyboard.

The best bet for a smartphone keyboard all around would be Swiftkey, but the safest and easier keyboards would be to just stick with your already built-in iOS Apple keyboard. Not an iPhone user? Check out our post about The Best Keyboards for Android Smartphones!

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Samsung's Galaxy S6 Has The World's Best Smartphone Camera

Well it seems that the accolades for the soon-to-be-released Samsung Galaxy S6 just keep rolling in. We recently published an article where the Samsung Galaxy S6 was awarded the world's best smartphone display and now it has another "World Best" award to add to its repertoire. According to some reports, the Samsung Galaxy S6 has the World's Best Smartphone Camera.

Photo Credit: Lisa Eadicicco

The other real competitor to the Galaxy S6 is, obviously, the iPhone 6 but a lot of reports are saying that the Galaxy S6 has a slightly better camera, albeit with some nuances and small details. Other smartphones, like the new HTC One M9, don't even compare to the S6 or the iPhone 6, which is good  news for Samsung as the HTC One M9 will probably be the only real competitor on the Android front to the S6.

When it comes to smartphone cameras most people only tend to focus on the megapixels, which refer to the size of the image. However, the megapixels are only a part of the equation that makes up a good smartphone camera. Smartphone cameras typically don't need more than an 8 MP camera. What's more important is how well the cameras take images in different situations, like low light, how well they reproduce color and how much detail they can capture.

Recent photo images show that the Galaxy S6 camera allows you to see a lot more detail and the color reproduction is also a lot better than the iPhone 6. When you take pictures in low light the differences are a little less visible. But even though the two phones are similar in the low light category the S6 does have one other advantage.

If you double tap the home button on the S6 you can automatically launch your camera app. In addition to that, the camera sensor is always on too. This allows you to start shooting right away without having to wait a few seconds for the image to appear on screen. The iPhone 6 camera has to boot up for a second before you can start taking pictures, which could be annoying if you need to capture a picture on the fly.

The Samsung Galaxy S Series is the undoubted leader of the Android smartphone market and is the only (in my opinion) real Android competitor to the iPhone from Apple. With each new version of the Galaxy S Series the smartphones keep getting better and better and the Galaxy S6 is pulling out all the stops in its attempt to be the number one smartphone in the world. Content originally published here

Microsoft Making a Reputable Successor to the Surface

When it came out back in 2013, the Surface Pro 2 was a huge improvement from the original Surface RT. It also came with options. You could either get the Surface Pro 2 or just the Surface RT which gave consumers the choice between Windows 8.1 or Windows RT. Right now, it is still the latest addition to the line of Windows RT tablets.

What is Microsoft Planning?

Because of it's success with two different versions, it was odd that when they announced the Surface Pro 3, there was no mention of a regular Surface 3. They did plan to launch a Surface mini, but that got canceled right before they were about to officially announce it. Now, there really isn't any chance for a Surface 3 at all.

Reports say that Microsoft is getting ready to put out a new tablet that is supposed to be the big brother to the Surface 2 pretty soon, but it isn't going to be an RT device. It is going to have a fanless design and have either an Intel ATOM or an Intel Core M based processor. It will run the full version of Windows, which is a first for a non-pro tablet from the company.

With BUILD coming up, it is expected than Microsoft will announce the tablet around that time and probably launch it soon after. It will obviously come loaded with Windows 8.1 but will be upgradable to Windows 10 whenever it comes out. This comes as a bit of a pleasant surprise considering that Microsoft said none of the non-pro devices would be upgradeable to Windows 10. It does make sense because it will be launching so close to the time of the new operating system, but I don't think anyone was really expecting it.

What Does This Mean for Apple?

The new tablet is said to be a low-end tablet that will be a direct successor to the Surface 2, which has since been discontinued. In addition to that, it is also said that this new tablet will complete more directly against Apple's iPad. Apple has long since been the leader when it comes to tablets, probably because Apple was the first company to come out with a tablet, essentially setting the industry standard for the technology.

Big Fixes Coming!

The one thing that this tablet is doing right is that it is fixing arguably the biggest problem with previous Surface tablets, the fact that they didn't run Windows. This new tablet will run the full version of Microsoft's latest operating system, Windows 10. This means that it will be able to run any Windows software that runs on Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 10 according to reports from WinBeta.

The lack of software with the Surface 2 and Surface RT was a huge problem for these devices. In fact, the problem was so sever that Microsoft ended up writing down over $900 million in unsold inventory thanks to poor sales of the original Surface RT. In turn, Microsoft stopped selling the low end tablets and stating that existing Surface Pro 2 tablets would not be upgradeable to Windows 10.

What Does This Mean for the Future?

Microsoft unveiled last month a version of Windows that was designed for the tiny $35 Raspberry Pi PC. This version of Windows 10 could, hypothetically, be used to run on other small devices, giving Windows a new foothold in the Internet of Things (IoT) market. The IoT market is, essentially, the market where everyday things are given sensors, chips and apps, allowing them to join the internet.

This is important because Microsoft has promised that Windows 10 will work like a single operating system across multiple devices. What this means is that no matter what you are using Windows 10 on, whether it be a desktop, laptop, tablet or smartphone, it will run and feel the same on each device. As Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella puts it, this is a major part of the company's strategy to make everyone "love Windows 10".

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The 5 Best Apps You Don't Know About!

There are literally millions of apps on the market, and new ones come out every day. At this point, there are way too many to just gamble on them until you find the right ones for you. Hopefully, this list can help you find some super productive apps that will help you out in your everyday life!

Nintype: A super fast keyboard app

Nintype is an app that lets you type super fast by combining swiping motions and double tapping for double letters. It also has shortcuts for saved texts, emojis, hashtags, and any other shortcuts you set up. With this keyboard app, you can type more than 100 words per minute!

Cloe: Siri's smarter sister

Cloe is kind of like Siri. You can use it when you need to find an answer to just about any question. The main difference is that Cloe is actually powered by actual people. Sometimes Siri can steer you a little wrong, or give you something that isn't exactly what you were looking for. By interacting with a real human, the chances of that are slim. Also, you don't even need an app. It's not an app at all! You just have to sign up, and then you can text Cloe any time you'd like.

Workflow: Keeping  you from wasting time

Basically, Workflow is an app that can customize your phone to be more productive, in general. You can use it to completely skip tasks that waste time. You can tell your phone exactly what to do when it notices a certain action. You can schedule certain pictures to upload to social media, automatically call in to conference calls at the exact time they are scheduled, and pretty much anything else you can think of that will keep you productive.

Evernote Scannable: Grow your LinkedIn profile by scanning business cards

Basically, this app makes digital copies of business cards, receipts, and anything else. It pulls the information from these documents, finds the person on LinkedIn, and saves them to your contact list. Brilliant.

Duet: Use your iPad as a 2nd display for your Mac

If you have an extra iPad laying around, you can actually use it to be way more productive than you might have thought. Duet lets you connect your iPad to your Mac with the charging cable and actually use it as a second screen. This is especially awesome when you are doing photo editing, video editing, or music production. Nothing is cooler than having one screen dedicated to editing audio and another screen dedicated to an on-screen mixing board.

Small Screen Tablets Might Have To Succumb To The Almighty Phablet

Today, when you think about mobile technology, you more than likely think about tablets and smartphones. Gone are the days that you attribute laptops to the term "mobile technology". Tablets have been at the forefront of mobile devices now, for quite some time it feels. The companies that design these tablets have become smarter and done their best to make sure that they deliver products that we want. Because of that, we now have devices that come with all sorts of new features. Our tablets come in different colors, contain different processors, and can be used for just about anything that we need. Then again, our smartphones can do just about the same thing now. Tablets are getting smaller and thinner, and our smartphones are getting smarter and bigger. The line between the two has almost gotten to the point that it's become blurred.

The Small Screen Issue
When the iPad first came out, it literally changed everything about how we look at and operate mobile technology. Fast forward a bit to the iPad Mini. This is where things got a bit redundant to some users. "It's just a smaller iPad and a bigger iPod Touch." Oddly enough, many people took to this smaller screen as it made the device more "mobile". On top of that, it helped Apple figure out what people wanted in terms of size and mobility along with their functionality. Naturally many of the competitor companies saw this a chance to jump into the small screen tablet market after seeing the success of the mini. Now fast forward again to today, where the iPad Mini 3 just came out and left a lot of people wanting a bit more. There was no updated processor. The only real update was the camera and the screen resolution. Not only has that hurt the small screen tablets, but the larger smartphones are what's really pushing this category out of the market.

What's a Phablet?
The phablets are here, and it looks like they might be taking over the small screen tablets spot. What even is a phablet though? It's essentially a large screened smartphone that ranges around 5 to 6 inches in screen size. It's like a fun-sized tablet, because again, our smartphones basically do everything that our tablets do. Apple's iPhone 6 has completely overshadowed the release of the new iPad Mini 3. The small screen tablets are being overtaken by the new phablets, and the iPhone 6 isn't the one to start it. Look at the Galaxy Note 3 from Samsung. This too was a phablet and they know that were doing something that was eventually going to change the way that we use our devices. You're performing all of the same features and functions of your tablet on your smartphone, and you have a stylus for extra precision. Many people took to using their phones to perform their mobile technology needs, instead of the tablet.

Is There A Shift Happening?
I, for one, personally feel that we are indeed seeing a shift in what the next big thing in mobile technology will be. Small screen tablets are going to fall too short since phablets are becoming more and more relevant. Now that Apple has stepped into this market, everyone else will start to follow suit if they haven't already. Why? Simple really. Since Apple still remains on top of the the consumer electronics market, they're allowed to make the rules of the game essentially. Should someone else step up and overthrow them, then they'd be able to "make the rules so to speak". That being said, Apple kind of stuck their metaphorical foot into their own mouths with the creation of their phablet, as now their Mini sales have started to dwindle. If this isn't a sign of a shift, I don't know what is.

I love Apple. I love Samsung. I generally love mobile technology. The fact that small screen tablets were even an idea in the first place seem so redundant and unnecessary now that phablets have become a thing. I still feel that large screen tablets such as the Google Nexus series and the iPad Air series will remain going strong. The smaller screen tablets will soon see their downfall though. Remember you read it here first. It was a good run small screen tablets, but it's time to step down.

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Apple Has Ramped Up YOUR Cloud's Security!

Security is a very big thing these days. We all want to make sure that our loved ones and belongings are always safe and secure. People may not realize it, but these days physical belongings are exactly the top priority of thieves now. Now don't get me wrong. I'm not saying to not keep an eye on your purse or wallet. There are some other things that people could take from you without you even knowing. Your virtual information. Your personal documents. Your passwords. Even the smaller, less important things such as your music. It's all been susceptible to virtual theft. It's a scary thought to know that someone can come in and steal your personal information like that. For those of you out there who work with the iCloud, you are normally pretty safe. Even still, you may be a bit nervous. Don't worry, Apple has gone ahead and made a small upgrade for your security.

Are you unfamiliar with Cloud technology? Well here's the crash course. The "Cloud" is a way to store information and have it sync up with multiple devices, ultimately making it easier for you to access respective account information from different devices. Apple's iCloud has done a pretty remarkable job of not only performing its basic functions, but also remaining a relevant service in Apple's market. Their iCloud.com website has done something a bit more to increase the security of your iCloud though, and with good reason it seems. A reporter for Wired had all of his information hacked and wiped on all of his Apple devices. The hacker was able to weasel his way past the Apple security questions and access all of the reporters information from his iCloud. Needless to say, the people who found out about this weren't too excited to hear about how easy it was for the hacker to get the information he needed. This is where Apple decided to come up with their plan.

Now, Apple has a two-step verification process to ensure that you are, in fact, who you say you are when accessing your iCloud account information. So what exactly does the two-step process involve and how will it help ensure better security for iCloud users?

Any type of web app that you access from iCloud.com, including Notes, Contacts, and even Mail, will now be met with a 4 digit code via text message. You'll then be prompted to enter the code via the iCloud website before you are able to access any of the web apps. So now, any users that have already enabled the two-step verification process will now have this extra step to go through before they are fully identified as who they are. As long as you are constantly attached to your phone (and lets face facts, 99% of us are) there should be no worry of someone accessing your account from a different location.

With how much information we send and save via email, its a very import thing that personal web apps like these remain private. Any hacker that is able to get a hold of emails and contacts, can immediately ruin your life. Credit card numbers, business associates, family members, and medical records could all be accessed through some or all of these apps. The fact that they can be synced up with all of our devices is a nice touch, but it can also be a very dangerous feature if the wrong person is able to access your account information.

Apple's new two-step verification process is definitely a huge help now, and I recommend that anyone who uses iCloud take the time to set this feature up. It's always much better to be safe than sorry. Protect your assets. Protect your information.

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Apple Acquires Beats Music, Plans On Continued Support And Development For Android And Windows Phone Devices

So some big news recently was the fact that Apple was acquiring Beats Music, which left many Android and Windows Phone users scared that Apple would have exclusive rights to anything and everything Beats related, leaving anyone else out in the cold. Well according to recent word from Apple, the Cupertino company plans to continue to offer Beats Music apps for both Android and Windows Phone after it finalizes the deal which also includes Beats Electronics.

Apple Executive Eddie Cue was at Code/Conference recently and was caught stating that the apps would continue to be developed and supported for devices other than Apple's. Code/Conference is a conference headed up by Re/Code, the website that was founded by the folks who previously hosted All Things Digital for the Wall Street Journal.

The Beats Music apps were recently updated on May 22 for the Windows Phone and on May 28 for Android. The updates for iOS and Android that followed the next day extended the previous 7-day free trial to 14 days and reduced the annual subscription fee from $119.99 to $99.99, a 17% reduction. Beats Music launched in the United States at the end of January and is a music streaming service similar to Spotify in that it offers users access to millions or songs and albums while also letting customers play an unlimited amount of music.

Cue, who is the head of Apple's Internet Software and Service group, will take up leadership for Beats Music. The two co-founders of Beats Electronics, renowned record executive and producer Jimmy Iovine and rapper/entrepreneur Dr. Dre, will join Apple as employees and report directly to Cue.  The deal itself, which totals $3 billion, should close later this year, according to Apple, and is said to be primarily cash with some stock to invest over time.

Beats Music attempts to differentiate itself from rival offerings like Spotify and Rhapsody, among others, with its music curation. Apple CEO Tim Cook, who did multiple interviews with different publications, cited the curation of Beats Music as a reason why Apple wanted the service in the first place. According to Cook, "We've got a streaming service that we believe is the first to get it right. They had the insight that human curation was very important. We think they've done an A+ job."

The most interesting thing about this whole deal is the fact that Apple has decided to continue supporting Android and Windows Phone, which goes against the entire business model of the company. Traditionally when Apple acquires the rights to cross-platform technologies it closes support to anything that isn't Apple. The main beef of Apple's revenue comes from hardware sales with the main focus of the company being the sale of more iPhones, iPads and Mac computers.

However, Beats Music is still young. At Code/Conference Iovine stated that the service has 250,000 paying subscribers, which is less than 3% of Spotify's 10 million. If Apple wants Beats to grow its paying accounts then that means support for the service on devices outside of Apple, like Android and Windows Phone, is necessary, especially when you realize that Android is the dominant mobile operating system in the world. According to Ben Bajarin, an analyst at Creative Strategies, this is as much an opportunity for Apple as it is a reversal of past practice.

According to Bajarin, "What makes this interesting is, for Android in particular, that service could serve as the first experience with an Apple product for hundreds of millions and soon to be billions of potential customers. I would argue that Apple paves the way for their future success in iPhone and iPad by bringing iTunes to Windows. It helped get iPods in the hands of millions of people who never owned an Apple product. Much great research exists that point out that once a customer tries one of your products they strongly consider more in the future."

Apple is undoubtedly hoping that the success of iTunes on Windows resonates the same way with Beats Music on Android and Windows Phone. And who knows, maybe this will be the first seed planted into something that grows into an Apple/Android/Windows Phone merger that completely takes over the world! (But let's hope not because world domination never works out).

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Lenovo Has A New Tablet Coming Soon That Aims To Keep You As Productive As Possible

I feel as if it's way too easy to get distracted nowadays, isn't it? I know I can tend to have a slightly lacking attention span every now and again. With all of the new technology that we have constantly coming out, and all of the social media that we use today, it can be hard to stay on track when business needs to be taken care of. 9 times out of 10, you more than likely use your tablet for entertainment and web browsing. There have been some tablets to emerge with the prospect of productivity in mind. Normally, these types of "productive" tablets have come with an attachable keyboard dock to make it more of a laptop. The keyboard would naturally add a sense of increased productivity. Lenovo plans on adding another to the "productive" tablet roster.

The new Lenovo ThinkPad 10, dropping in June, will offer some competition to the normal sized tablet market. The ThinkPad 10 is also aimed to be a more business oriented tablet.

The ThinkPad 8 launched back in January as a way to compete with Apple's iPad Mini. The new ThinkPad 10 is a 10 inch tablet that will be going head to head with the reigning champ; the 9.7 Apple iPad. Yes, most people who get tablets just find it to be a more mobile laptop, and they are quickly becoming more of the main computing device. It should come as no surprise that many consumers use it as such; Facebook, web browsing, eBooks, game apps, etc. That being said, Apple does have its own share of people who view the iPad as a business tool. It's this business crowd that Lenovo's new ThinkPad 10 is targeting. But to say that they will be able to go up against the tech giant has yet to be determined.

Spec wise, this tablet is pretty darn solid. Working with 4GB of RAM and an Intel quad-core processor means that you'll be able to take care of basically any business task. The new tablet comes stock with 128 GBs of storage space, as well as an 8 megapixel rear-facing camera and a 2 megapixel front-facing camera.  It will be offered in 4G LTE and 3G services. It also comes with a nice 10 hour battery life. The screen resolution sits at 1,920 x 1,200 pixels. While it may not be quite as good as the retina display models from Apple, it definitely isn't lacking in image quality.

Even with their upgraded displays, the new ThinkPad has something that Apple doesn't: the ThinkPad Tablet Dock. This nifty little dock basically turns your tablet into another desktop, should you need it. When docked, it offers the use of an external keyboard and mouse. Then, there is also always the option of using it as another monitor to help make things less cluttered on your normal screen. This type of docking station definitely adds a bit more of a "business-y" feel to the new ThinkPad.

Retail will be sitting at $599, so be ready to shell out a bit of cash if you choose to buy it. If you're still on the fence, you can rent the ThinkPad 8 and get an idea of what the new ThinkPad 10 will be like. It can only be expected that the new ThinkPad 10 will be directly modeled after the ThinkPad 8, so renting the 8 might not be a bad choice. At least then you can get a feel for what the 10 will be like!

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Huawei Pokes Fun At Samsung And Apple, Promises Big Things For Mobile World Congress 2014

So apparently the cool thing to do in the mobile world these days is to compare yourself to Apple while simultaneously mocking the company and berating its products. Samsung has been doing it for years (with actual success) and, to be completely honest, I have dipped my toe in the Apple mockery pool once or twice so I'm no different. But while it is expected for big name companies like Samsung or little bloggers like myself to mock Apple, it is a little less acceptable for smaller tech companies to take a jab at arguably the biggest tech company in the world.

Well, that's exactly what Huawei decided to do, though the Chinese company took it a step farther by throwing Samsung into the mix as well. Huawei recently posted a video to its YouTube channel letting people know that it plans on creating "revelatory excitement" in Barcelona at the upcoming Mobile World Congress.

The video, which can be seen below, features an ambient voice similar to that of Apple's Siri explaining that Huawei will debut a beautiful, slim tablet at the congress. In addition to that, the voice also foretells of a smartphone with an "amazing" front camera and a multimedia tablet that is perfect for entertainment use.

The video is where the jabs at Apple and Samsung can be found. A male voice is asking the Huawei device all these questions about Mobile World Congress and after the voice tells of the new tech, the male voice asks, "What are they? Fruit or Somesong?" Obvious jabs at Apple and Samsung here, but you didn't need me to tell you that. The voice replies to the inquiry saying, "No. They are Huawei. It looks like Huawei is ready to amaze the world again."

While Huawei may have the technology to stand toe-to-toe with Apple and Samsung (emphasis on the may), the bigger question is whether or not the company has the brand following necessary to throw jokes like this around. If there is one thing techies know, it's that a product is only as good as the followers it has. That is why companies can make a totally crap device and people will still buy it, because they are buying the name, not the product.

Huawei is definitely not a well-known brand here in the states, especially not like Apple or Samsung. However, there is a much bigger variety on names in foreign markets, especially in Huawei's native China. While I don't see many US consumers scoffing at Apple and Samsung and jumping on the Huawei train anytime soon (even with the witty commercial), I do believe that the company will find bigger success in foreign markets. I guess we can only wait until Mobile World Congress to truly see what Huawei has to offer.

iOS7's White Screen Of Death?

Everyone knows that a tech product is only as good as how it operates. That means that it needs a good operating system and the inner workings to back it up when the time comes to get work done. A product's OS is a bigger deal than most people think. It is what controls everything in the device. When iOS7 dropped, it was met with mixed reviews. For the most part, it was met with mostly positive reaction but there were obviously flaws that people were able to pick out. Any OS is going to have bugs when it first releases. Now a certain issue has gotten so serious that Apple is finally going to address a problem that some have been having since September.

Enter the notorious "White screen of death".

We are all familiar with the infamous "blue screen of death". Whether you have been a victim of it yourself or if you have seen it through memos, the "blue screen of death" is very well known. Should it pop up on your screen, 9 times out of 10, you are going to need a new computer. The "white screen of death" is essentially the same thing, but for Apple users on iOS7. Reports have shown that the "color" of the screen depends on the actual color face of your phone. If your iPhone has a black face, it is a black screen of death, and likewise it will be white if your iPhone has a white face.

So what does the bug actually do? It essentially causes your iPhone to have a "soft reboot". A "soft reboot" is an action that causes a software on the OS to trigger a restart without removing any of the power from the actual device. It is not necessarily a TERRIBLE thing, but it is annoying none the less. This issue is only following those who currently run iOS7 on their iPhones. Some users are even claiming that when their phones drop below 30% power, that is when their "white/black screen of death" takes place.

Apple has made a plan to fix this issue, though. The plans for the iOS 7.1 update not only include slight design and UI changes, but also a fix to this bug. There is no release date as of yet for the new update, but developers have the new update in its 4th beta so it should be soon.

Apple has already had a lot of backlash from a lot of people with its release of iOS7 at the start. This paired with its other mishaps, such as the fingerprint scanner, does not put forward a good look for the company. Just know that if you are suffering from this bug on your iPhone, help is coming soon. We just have to be a bit more patient.

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Jobs Didn't Like the Name Siri

A recent report released by Network World revealed that Apple’s founder Steve Jobs was not particularly fond of calling the iPhone 4S voice assistant app by the name of Siri.

Dag Kittlaus, one of the co-founders of Siri, was a keynote speaker at Technori Pitch, a monthly event hosted in Chicago. Kittlaus discussed entrepreneurship, start-up culture and the acceleration of technology advancement. He also talked about the history of Siri and Siri’s name.

Originally, Kittlaus had run Siri as an app until it was acquired by Apple. He said that Jobs saw plenty of promise in the Siri technology; however, he was not thrilled about the voice assistant’s name. During his presentation, Kittlaus offered some explanation as to why the technology was named Siri.

"Siri means in Norwegian 'beautiful woman who leads you to victory,'" he said. "I worked with a lady named Siri in Norway and wanted to name my daughter Siri and the domain was available. And also consumer companies need to focus on the fact that the name is easy to spell, is easy to say."

Kittlaus’s firt child was not a girl; therefore, he decided to name the voice assistant Siri instead. Although Jobs thought that they should choose a better name, somehow Siri stuck. This was not the only time that Jobs was skeptical of the names of new technology. Network World pointed out that he was also unsure about the names iMac and iPod; however, we all know how that worked out.

Siri has become quite popular, despite the fact that she might not be the most accurate voice assistant. She was mentioned in a new Flaming Lips song and appeared on an episode of The Big Bang Theory. Obviously, no one else has had a hangup about her name.

Sources: Network World - Steve Jobs wasn't a fan of the Siri name and PCMag - Report: Steve Jobs Didn't Like the Name 'Siri'

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Best Buy Sells Nearly As Many iPhones As Apple

In April 2008 Apple decided to partner with Best Buy to sell the iPhone, and according to data released by the Consumer Intelligence Research Partners, it seems as though Apple made a very smart decision. The data revealed that Best Buy sells nearly as many iPhones as Apple does itself.

Consumer Intelligence Research Partners surveyed iPhone buyers from December 2011 to February 2012. The firm asked consumers where they had purchased their iPhone, and the results showed that 15 percent of consumers bought their iPhones directly from Apple and 13 percent bought theirs from Best Buy. There is only a two percent difference between the sales at Apple and the sales at Best Buy.

The other 69 percent of sales belong to mobile carriers AT&T, Verizon and Sprint. AT&T sold 32 percent, Verizon sold 30 percent and Sprint only sold 7 percent. However, according to the research, Apple and Best Buy both sold more new models than any of the mobile carriers.

"Apple and Best Buy sold more high-end phones, with the iPhone 4S accounting for 87 percent and 82 percent of total iPhone sales, respectively, for those two outlets," Consumer Intelligence Research Partners wrote in its report. "In contrast, carriers sold relatively more lower-end phones, with iPhone 4S accounting for 57 percent to 66 percent of total iPhone sales at AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint."

“Apple Stores and the Apple Website are tremendously productive, but they are limited by their relatively small retail footprint,” said CIRP analyst Josh Lowitz. “There are four times as many Best Buy stores, and probably 20 times as many AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint stores, so aggressive distribution through all these channels is critical to Apple’s U.S. strategy.”

The survey also looked at more than just where consumers were buying their iPhones. The research showed that people prefer to buy their iPhone in the store instead of online. Seventy-six percent of iPhone sales were from retail stores, leaving only 24 percent to online sales. Those numbers did spike a bit when the iPhone 4S was first released however. Retails stores grabbed 67 percent, while online had 33 percent.

Sources: TechnoBuffalo - Best Buy Sells Almost As Many iPhones as Apple Does and PCMag - Best Buy Sells Nearly As Many iPhones as Apple

DVD Video Projectors are exactly what they sound like. A combination unit that combines a DVD media player with a video projector, cutting out the need for multiple pieces of electronics and wiring.

$10,000 iTunes Gift Card Goes to a Lucky Apple Customer

A lucky Apple user in Qingdao, China just received a $10,000 prize for downloading the 25 billionth Apple app from the App Store. In eastern China Chunli Fu unsuspectingly downloaded a free version of the Disney puzzle game, “Where’s My Water?” On Monday, March 5 Apple announced that Fu had won the $10,000 iTunes gift card.

"We'd like to thank our customers and developers for helping us achieve this historic milestone of 25 billion apps downloaded," said Eddy Cue, the senior vice president of Internet Software and Services at Apple, in a statement. "When we launched the App Store less than four years ago, we never imagined that mobile apps would become the phenomenon they have, or that developers would create such an incredible selection of apps for iOS users."

Over the weekend Apple announced that the 25 billionth app download milestone had been reached; however, it did not reveal who the winner was.

Instead, the App Store had an announcement posted on its website, “A billion thanks. 25 times over."

In January 2011 Apple gave a $10,000 iTunes gift card to Gail Davis, the 10 billionth customer at the Apple App Store, who was living in Orpington, Kent, U.K. Davis won the gift card downloading Paper Glider, a paper airplane flying game.

"Whilst app downloads of Paper Glider might not have experienced a huge shift after Apple's announcement, [Neon Play Managing Director Oli Christie] could not have imagined the response from the media and from potential clients," wrote The Next Web's Matt Brian. "Within two days of the announcement, Neon Play received numerous inquiries from digital marketing agencies and has already undertaken at least three projects as a result."

Apple launched the App Store in 2007. According to Apple, the app store now offers more than 550,000 apps for iPhones, iPads and iPod Touches. It also features more than 170,000 iPad apps as well.

Sources: Apple - Apple’s App Store Downloads Top 25 Billion and PCMag - Apple's 25 Billionth App Downloaded in China

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