Category: iOS

Blackberry pauses BBM Android and iOS rollout following Leaked apps

Blackberry has stopped seeding the Blackberry messenger for iOS and Android apps following a leaked Android app that caused server and stability issues with the Blackberry messaging network.There were too many simultaneous users, the company says; with over 1.1 million active clients in the first eight hours of the initial seed.

BlackBerry says that it has tried to address the problems caused by the leaked app throughout the day, but to no avail, requiring it to halt its launch plans. The company says that those that have already downloaded the iOS version of the app will still be able to use it, but it will not be releasing it to any new markets at this time. The leaked version of the Android app will be disabled.

Blackberry now plans a “staggered country roll-out” for Android and will soon restart the rollout for iOS. The company was hesitant in giving a timelinefor this new rollout, only saying

our teams continue to work around the clock to bring BBM to Android and iPhone, but only when it’s ready and we know it will live up to your expectations of BBM.”

The company’s official statement is below:

Prior to launching BBM for Android, an unreleased version of the BBM for Android app was posted online. The interest and enthusiasm we have seen already – more than 1.1 million active users in the first 8 hours without even launching the official Android app – is incredible. Consequently, this unreleased version caused issues, which we have attempted to address throughout the day.

Our teams continue to work around the clock to bring BBM to Android and iPhone, but only when it’s ready and we know it will live up to your expectations of BBM. We are pausing the global roll-out of BBM for Android and iPhone. Customers who have already downloaded BBM for iPhone will be able to continue to use BBM. The unreleased Android app will be disabled, and customers who downloaded it should visit www.BBM.com to register for updates on official BBM for Android availability.

As soon as we are able, we will begin a staggered country roll-out of BBM for Android and continue the roll-out of BBM for iPhone. Please follow @BBM on Twitter for the latest updates and go to www.BBM.com to sign-up for updates about BBM for Android and iPhone. These issues have not impacted BBM service for BlackBerry.

September 22, 2013
BlackBerry BBM For Android, iPhone Released

Most users now will be able to install BlackBerry’s iconic BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) app on their Android devices and iOS devices starting today.

It’s been a long wait for the BlackBerry Messenger service to go cross platform, but after months of anticipation BBM for Android and iPhone apps will go live today.

“BBM for Android will be available at 12 pm on Saturday 21,” an official statement from the company confirmed in the run up to the launch. The BBM Android app will be available as a free download and allow users to chat for free with follow BBM users across all platforms. The first time BBM will have been made available to none BlackBerry handset users, the BBM Android app will precede the BBM iOS app by a matter of hours, with the iPhone bound iteration to be rolled out just after midnight.

It’s features include everything you’ve come to expect from the program: traditional instant messaging, group chat for up to 30 people, and user profiles.

In order to use the app, you will need to signup for a BlackBerry ID, which will only take a few minutes. Signup is done through the app once its installed. For those concerned about privacy, you’ll be happy to hear that BlackBerry will assign you a PIN and you will not need to disclose your phone number or email to anyone in order to begin messaging.

For millions, the app will be a matter of nostalgia. There are a large number of Android and iPhone users who have owned a BlackBerry at one time or another.

If you can’t see the app on your App Stores yet, wait for a few hours!

Note : As many of our followers have notified us, there are a lot of fake apks floating around, so be careful while installing the app. BBM for iOS has already been put up on the Australian App Store, so we expect other stores to follow suit soon!

September 21, 2013
Google ‘Freeing Quickoffice for Everyone’, With 10 GB Google Drive Storage

Google is adding 10 GB of free storage to your Google Drive account when you log into your Google account with the new Google Quickoffice before September 26, 2013.

As per Google blog, you can get the new, free Quickoffice app for Android and iOS phones and tablets on Google Play and in the App Store. Simply sign in with your Google Account to start editing Microsoft Office documents, spreadsheets and presentations on mobile. You will also notice a number of new features, including a refreshed icon, the ability to create .ZIP folders, and view charts in Excel and PowerPoint files.

As per the blog by Alan Warren(Engineering VP, Google), the free 10 GB will be available for two years and Google has discontinued previous versions of Quickoffice apps from play store as well as app store.

September 20, 2013
Now Get Handwriting Support in Google Translate for iOS devices

Google Translate app for iOS has got a slow but useful update today, which added a new look and gave handwriting support. This feature was already available on the Android app two years ago, and also to its web app earlier this year, but after this update your iOS device will also be able to recognize what you have written on the screen.

The user interface and icons have been changed and now fit in with the newly available iOS 7’s landscape and now the app supports more than 70 languages, which includes seven new languages.(including Marathi)

Google says handwriting is now supported in 49 languages, which should be a boon for the world’s travelers, and at the low price of free is worth throwing on your phone on the off chance you’ll need it. It’s available to download now on iPhones and iPads running iOS 5.1 or later, or if you’re running iOS 7, you can just lie back and let the background update do its thing.

September 20, 2013
Apple iOS 7 : The Good And The Bad

While developers around the world have been running iOS 7 on their iDevices for quite some time now, commoners began receiving the much hyped and much awaited update last night.

We take a look at the good and the bad things that Apple has introduced in the new OS.

The Good

1. Multi-Tasking

In iOS 7, Apple has completely retooled the way multitasking (or switching between apps if we want to be a tad more precise) works. While beckoning the app switcher in iOS 7 remains the same — a quick double tap on the home button — the entire implementation has been completely retooled.

Apps can now take advantage of full background multitasking but as always, you don’t have to close apps for battery saving reasons. Apple does a great job of freezing them in place so they don’t suck up your battery life.

2. Control Center And Notification Center

The first thing each iDevice owner did after jailbreaking his/her device was to add shortcut toggles for simple utilities like turning WiFi on and off, Airplane mode, BlueTooth etc. Finally, Apple decided to incorporate this feature into the OS itself, with iOS featuring a brand new Control Center.

By flicking upwards from the bottom of the screen, you can enable or disable Airplane Mode, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Do Not Disturb; adjust the volume and brightness; pause or play music; enable AirDrop and AirPlay; and quickly access your camera’s LED light (for use as a flashlight), timer, calculator, and camera.

The Notifications panel also undergoes a makeover with it being divided into 3 categories.

3. AirDrop

In iOS 7, not only can you quickly send photos, videos, and contacts using AirDrop, but just about anything from any app that has the share button (with the exception of music). The only problem is that it only works on iPhone 5 or later because of the chip architecture in the iPhone 4S.

4. Email Management

Swiping right on an email in iOS 7 lets you delete the message, as always. But now it also reveals a “More” icon that you can tap to see more options, including the ability to move the email into a folder, mark it as unread or mark it as “junk.” With so many third-party apps vying to be your go-to iOS mail app, Apple seriously needed to beef up Mail—and it did, with this and other enhancements.

The Bad

1. Icons

When Apple gave the world its first glimpse of iOS 7 in June, professional designers and ordinary iPhone users alike were struck by the radical visual changes that the company had made to its signature mobile operating system. While Apple touted the brighter, flatter, and simpler design as the “biggest change to iOS since the introduction of the iPhone,” members of the design community denounced the new interface as “ugly,” “childish,” and “inconsistent.”

At the center of the criticism were iOS 7’s new home screen application icons, whose lush, metaphorical designs were replaced by colorful, geometric abstractions. Safe to say they aren’t pleasing everyone.

2. Rough Installation

After downloading iOS 7, it took us six tries to actually install it. Granted, we attempted to install the OS the day of its release, late in the night—which was probably peak time for Apple’s servers. But we still think Apple should have been able to predict the demand and been better prepared.

3. Siri

Siri continues to get better, it’s still nowhere near being a feature that won’t frustrate you more than help you.

Many times, it won’t be able to connect or won’t have an answer, and anytime it can’t help you quickly, it ends up taking up much more of your time as you dig through the phone to find an app you realize you should have opened in the first place.

4. Awkward Contrasts

When Apple showed off iOS 7 in June, it was pretty proud of how the new icons seemed to float above the background wallpaper to create an almost 3-D effect. In real life, the interaction between iOS 7 and the screen background is challenging at best. Because groups of apps stored together no longer are set off with a black background and white border, they adapt to the wallpaper colors behind them.

The results are mixed. Sometimes, you get offsetting contrast, sometimes you don’t. Worse still, the white text is often not so easy to read against the background, because the new font is thinner. You may find yourself experimenting with wallpapers to get it right.

What do you think? Which features impressed you the most and which made you flinch? Let us know in the comments section below!

September 20, 2013
Dead Trigger 2 Coming up in October, with Enhanced Graphic Effects

Dead Trigger was launched last year and now Madfinger Games is all set to launch there latest game, the Dead Trigger 2. The game will be available starting 23rd of October 2013.

Dead Trigger 2 is based on an unreal world of Zombies, there will be lots of zombie shooting, but Dead Trigger 2 will be taking place in an expansive multiplayer world that develops in real time.

This real time and never-ending story will be affected by the behavior of every single player” said s Marek Rabas, CEO at Madfinger Games

Dead Trigger 2 will be released in Free-to-play format for both iOS and Android devices, as well as on Steam, Mac and Facebook. This game might not be the best available game, but you cannot complain for anything that comes for free. You can view some gameplay snapshots below:

Watch the teaser video here.

[toggle title=”Press Release “]Tokyo, Japan – September 18, 2013 – Madfinger Games, creators of the blockbuster mobile games, Shadowgun and Dead Trigger, have revealed today that their anxiously awaited game, Dead Trigger 2 will be released on the 23rd of October 2013.
On the eve of Tokyo Game Show 2013, together with the announcement of the official October 23rd release date for Dead Trigger 2, Madfinger Games has unleashed the very first intro video of the game.
Dead Trigger 2 is a first person zombie shooter arcade game that delivers players to a parallel world, where humanity is engaged in a battle against zombies for control of the Earth. The reality of this worldwide apocalyptic conflict is underlined by the fact that the game is played out in real time. “This real time and never-ending story will be affected by the behavior of every single player,” explains Marek Rabas, CEO at Madfinger Games. With each following update, the action will shift to varying locations and continents with the concrete development influenced directly by the participation of players. The action will be global, players will fight against local zombies in Shanghai, London or in the middle of the desert far away in Africa.
Dead Trigger 2 will be released in Free-to-play format for both iOS and Android devices, as well as on Steam, Mac and Facebook.
Players can once again expect above-standard graphics, which remain as a given at Madfinger Games. The developers of Dead Trigger 2 have introduced enhanced graphic effects which will again push forward the boundaries of graphics on mobile devices. “You’ll be amazed at the Realistic Water Reflections, Dynamic Shadows, Dynamic Light Projectors and Dynamic Grass,“ promises Pavel Cizek, Project Leader and Graphic Artist at Madfinger Games. Dead Trigger 2 graphics also include Per-pixel Lighting and Advanced Ragdoll Physics.
The first game in the Dead Trigger series was released in summer 2012. It has since become a massive favorite within the gaming community, with more than 22M downloads on both App Store and Google Play. It has been met with significant acclaim, among other awards, it was selected for inclusion in the App Store Best of 2012, featured in the Apple “Hall Of Fame“ and won Best Technical Achievement and Community Choice at the Unite 2012: Unity Awards.[/toggle]

September 19, 2013
iOS 7 Download is Live, Get Links here !
Apple iOS 7 download is now live for a vast variety of iDevices including iPad’s, iPhone’s and iPod’s . As always, the new iOS is available as an over-the-air update (go to the Settings menu on your iPhone (4, 4S, 5), iPad (iPad 2 and newer), and iPod touch (fifth-generation only) and navigate to General > Software Update) or a direct download from iTunes.

Also since the whole world is probably busy updating their devices, the links below may help those who are unable to download directly from Apple.
[youtube id=”S5-KmW1QhcE” width=”100%” height=”300px”]
September 19, 2013
Apple Offering “Last Compatible Version” Of iOS Apps

A new feature has been spotted that has been rolled out by Apple that provides a little love for the older germination hardware and iOS applications now that Apple iOS 7 will be launching tomorrow, together with the new Apple iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C smartphones launching on Friday September 20th.

The new Apple iOS feature offers the “Last Compatible Version” to older Apple hardware running older versions of Apples iOS mobile operating system.

Image Via Reddit

The feature appears when a person attempts to download an app with a new version that’s not compatible with the flavor of iOS that they’re running. A pop-up will appear to explain that the requested app requires a newer version of iOS, but that the user can download the last compatible version that was made available.

This new feature should make it pretty simple for folks trucking along with old iOS hardware to continue to use their favorite apps, even if they require a newer version of Apple’s software than the device is capable of running. It’s certainly a nice little surprise for those users, especially on the eve of iOS 7’s arrival.

It’s a smart move, as older iPhones are resold around the world and often stay in use years after Apple stopped selling the device. This allows those owners to have access to apps that run efficiently on those devices, which helps with the overall user experience and Apple’s ecosystem.

If you’re rocking an older piece of iOS hardware, such as aniPhone 3G or first-generation iPod touch, you can try it out yourself by hitting up the App Store.

September 17, 2013
Burberry Uses iPhone 5s to Capture Spring/Summer 2014 Runway Show

Apple and Burberry today announced that iPhone 5s is being used to capture and share beautiful photos and videos before, during and after the Burberry runway show in London on Monday, September 16. It will use the the all-new iSight camera on iPhone 5s, Burberry is shooting high quality photos and video for runway and beauty looks, product details, and backstage moments.

“iPhone 5s makes it even easier to take great photos with the world’s most popular camera,” said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s vice president of iPhone & iOS Product Marketing. “We’re thrilled to see the amazing photos and HD video Burberry has captured with the incredible all-new iSight camera.”

“This collaboration celebrates our relationship and shared foundation in design and craftsmanship. We have a mutual passion for creating beautiful products and unlocking emotive experiences through technology, which has made it intensely exciting to explore the capabilities of iPhone 5s,” said Christopher Bailey, Burberry Chief Creative Officer. “We’re inspired by what this could mean for the future as we continue to explore the merging of physical and digital experiences.”

Through photos and video shot exclusively on iPhone 5s, consumers globally can share in the anticipation of the show build up, as well as the excitement of the day itself, across Burberry social media channels and on www.burberry.com starting today. In addition, customers can watch the show live on Monday, September 16, at 2:30 p.m. GMT+1 at www.burberry.com.

This can be a good advert for Apple if the videos taken come up crisp and clear.

September 13, 2013
Chrome 29 for iOS Brings Voice Search With Pronoun Support
Google just updated Chrome for iPhone and iPad, this new update Chrome 29.0.1547.11 contains some new features which include:
- Geting back to your Search Results faster
  - Do a search and click a result. Not what you wanted? Now when you hit back, your search results will instantly appear, ready for you to choose the next one.
- Data cost savings enhancements
  - View your data savings in Bandwidth Management Settings.
  - Please Note: This feature is being rolled out incrementally and will be available to all users over time.
- Voice search pronoun support
  - Try queries like: “Who is the president of the United States?” followed by “Who is his wife?”
- Improvements to Single Sign On with other Google Apps
- Stability / security improvements and bug fixes
Which means, the browser’s voice search now supports contextual pronouns like “her” or “them;” ask a question and you can run a follow-up search without mentioning the subject by name. The update also lets you quickly jump back to search results if you visit the wrong result, and it’s now easier to view bandwidth savings.

All this will come in the new update available at the app store, as shown on the Google blog by Karen Grünberg who is a Technical Project Manager for Google Chrome.
September 13, 2013
3DMark Comes To iOS. Enables Benchmarks Across Platforms

Popular PC benchmarking suite and former Android convert, 3DMark, has come to iOS.

The company promises to make 3D gaming benchmarks accurate and truthful between platforms and chipsets, doing away with the notion that an app on Android can’t run the same way as one on iOS.

The benchmark comes with three tests: Ice Storm, Ice Storm Extreme, and Ice Storm Unlimited. The first delivers mid-range testing with OpenGL 2.0, perfect for older devices and aging GPUs. Extreme ups the ante, “raising the offscreen resolution to 1080p” to ensure that Android and iOS devices crunch the same polygons and make the same calculations without using screen resolution as a base.

Lastly, “3DMark Ice Storm Unlimited [uses] chip-to-chip comparisons of the hardware inside your device without vertical sync, display resolution scaling and other operating system factors affecting the result. In Unlimited mode the rendering engine uses a fixed time step between frames and renders exactly the same frames in every run on every device. The frames are rendered in 720p resolution “offscreen” while the display is updated with small frame thumbnails every 100 frames to show progress.” This is the grunt test, as it’s not frame-limited, so it can push GPUs to their maximum potential. It also serves as a good torture test for system stability.

3DMark will run on any iOS device that can run iOS 6 or above — excluding the fourth-generation iPod touch. It requires 512 MB of RAM and 174 MB of free space. 3DMark is a free download.

September 11, 2013
Apple to launch the iPhone 5S and 5C in India by Oct 20th

Apple yesterday announced the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C, two new iPhones that are set to replace and enhance the experience you get from the current generation iPhone 5.

In the US and several other countries the Apple iPhone 5S and 5C will go on sale starting September 20th 2013, however no concrete information was available on their launch dates in India.

Apple sources close to iGyaan have let us know that Apple India is planning to bring the new iPhone 5C and the 5S to India as early as Oct 20th. The iPhone 5C which will be a replacement of the iPhone 5 will actually cost as much as the iPhone 5 does today, Rs. 44500 for 16GB. This is thanks to the inflated costs of Dollar vs Indian Rupee. The iPhone 5s however will launch for upwards of Rs. 50,000 for the 16GB variant making the 64 GB iPhone 5s the most expensive smartphone till date in India, since it will cross the Rs. 65,000 barrier.

Apple saw a 400% growth in the past year in India, and it thanks quick availability and easy payment schemes for it. Last year Apple was able to sell out its initial stock of 20,000 iPhone 5 units in one day, this year the company plans to bring in over 100,000 units at the time of launch, this number will include a variation of iPhone 5C and iPhone 5S in all colors.

India as a market has shown some real potential, and Apple wishes to remain at the forefront of technology. We have been planning the launch for over a month prior to the announcement yesterday, and it should happen in Oct, if the Cupertino office is in line with our Ideas.

Many claim that Apple may not have the same impact in the market with the iPhone 5C or iPhone 5S as they did with the iPhone 5, because of the lack of innovation in these new products.

Apple is hoping that the new Touch ID security features will enable a lot of business folks, who prefer Samsung phones/ Blackberry devices, to easily pick the iPhone 5S thanks to the rock solid security.

September 11, 2013
Here is a Roundup of Apple’s 10th September iPhone 5C and 5S Event

Despite many expectations, every bit of information from the past leaks came true as Apple took stage on Tuesday 10th September to launch two new iPhones the iPhone 5S and the iPhone 5C. One handset which is replaces the existing iPhone 5 and one which supersedes it.

The iPhone 5c which was expected to be a cheap iPhone, never really made it to that mark, basically its a complete change of play by Apple. It definitely looks cheap, thats thanks to the extended use of shiny/glossy plastic polycarbonate composite. But it also is a phone intended to replace the iPhone 5, a phone which was made out of premium aluminum and glass has been replaced by a phone made of plastic with the exact same specs and the exact same price. Sure it was intended to be cheap, a cheap move by Apple.

iPhone 5c

One thing it does do however, is play with the colors, opening the market to a frenzy of color options which have been limited to the two from the origin of the iPhone. The iPhone 5c retains the retina display and A6 chipset, along with the same 8 MP camera and lightning connector. It does add an upgraded FaceTime HD front camera for High definition FaceTime and VOIP calls.

The iPhone 5s however, is a whole new story. The existing shell of the iPhone 5 has been upgraded with a few new exciting enhancements in hardware, Apple calls the iPhone 5 “the most forward thinking phone ever”.

The iPhone 5s adds a new A7 architecture which adds new capabilities to the device. In retrospect, the iPhone 5 is half as fast and has half as powerful graphics in comparison to the new iPhone 5s. You also get a new camera system, that increases the size of pixels and has a new element lens, for brighter and more accurate images. The new iPhone 5s will also feature a champagne gold color, which seems to have created a buzz on the twitter feeds despite it leaking out almost 6 months ago. The new iPhone 5s also has the worlds first desktop level 64 bit architecture, making life for developers difficult initially, but opening them up to a whole new world or options for future apps.

[pullquote_left]The Touch ID may as well be the new revolution for the mobile industry[/pullquote_left]

What is a mobile industry first is the new Touch ID sensor, a fingerprint sensor on a smartphone is a new one alright. It opens up a whole new array of possibilities, even though Apple has not yet opened it up to developers.

The Touch ID replaces the lock code requirements and also password requirements for you iPhone, hopefully you can also use it to access the iPhone keychain to auto-magically enter passwords.

Apple also announced that iOS 7 will be officially available post September 18th 2013 for all those supported devices.

The iPhone 5C will be available fro Pre Order on September 13th whereas the iPhone 5S will go on Preorder September 20th 2013. starting $549 and $649 for the 16 GB unlocked variants.

September 11, 2013

Apple iPhone 5s vs iPhone 5c

Apple just brought all the rumors to an end by launching two new iPhones, the iPhone 5s and the iPhone 5c. The iPhone 5c is a poly-carbonate build phone with various color options like white, pink, yellow, blue and green, the phone has all the same features as the previous iPhone 5 which has now been discontinued. On the other hand the iPhone 5s has a typical iPhone 5 build that uses aluminium and glass, the 5s is available in three colors: silver, space gray and gold, this phone comes up with some upgraded features.

So lets simply compare both the iPhones:


Specifications	iPhone 5s	iPhone 5c
Dimensions	123.8 x 58.6 x 7.6 mm	124.4 x 59.2 x 8.97 mm
Weight	112 grams	132 grams
Processors	A7 chip with 64 bit architecture and a M7 motion compressor	A6 chip
Display	4 inch retina display with a resolution of 1136 x 640 (326ppi)	4 inch retina display with a resolution of 1136 x 640 (326ppi)
Rear Camera	8 megapixels with 1.5µ pixels, f/2.2 aperture, Sapphire crystal lens cover, True tone flash, backside illumination sensor, five element lens and hybrid IR filter	8 megapixels with 1.5µ pixels, f/2.2 aperture, Sapphire crystal lens cover, LED flash, backside illumination sensor, five element lens and hybrid IR filter
Video Recording	Full HD @ 30fps, true tone flash, Slo – mo Video, improved video stabilization	Full HD @ 30fps, LED flash, video stabilization
Front Camera	1.2 MP, 720p video with a resolution of 1280 x 960	1.2 MP, 720p video with a resolution of 1280 x 960
Siri	Yes	Yes
Touch ID	Fingerprint Identity Sensor (Yes)	No
Colors	Silver, Space Gray & Gold	White, Pink, Yellow, Blue, Green
Price	16/32/64 GB – 649/749/849 USD	16/32 GB – 549/649 USD

The pricing and availability of these phones in Indian market is still not confirmed, we will have to wait and see as factors like prices are of great importance in the Indian market. Meanwhile, which phone would you like to go for, do let us know below.

September 11, 2013

iOs 7 To Be Released On September 18th

Apple has unveiled the release date of iOS 7, the company’s largest functional and aesthetic change to “the world’s most popular mobile operating system” since its inception in 2007.

While the flatter, cleaner lines are more fitting with the times, it’s the software’s improved developer tools, along with a number of new APIs for things like background updating, that make iOS 7 so interesting.

Features like Search and Siri have been overhauled — the Spotlight is now accessed by swiping down from anywhere on the home screen — with the automated helper now available in a male voice as well.

The company has also announced that the iWork suite, including iMovie, iPhoto, Keynote, Number and Pages will be a free download for iOS 7 users on both iPhone and iPad.

Apple will release the iOS 7 update for most existing iOS devices, including the iPhone 4, 4s, 5, iPod touch 4G and 5G, along with the iPad 2, 3 and 4 and mini, on September 18th. Looks like the iPhone and iPad are getting the update on the same day, contrary to earlier reports.

September 11, 2013

Category: iOS

The Good

The Bad