Apple : Apple Maps usage down to just 4 per cent? |
- Apple Maps usage down to just 4 per cent?
- Gmail app for iPhone 5 optimised for 4-inch display
- Review Roundup: This week's hottest reviews on TechRadar
- Apple v Samsung judge can decide fate of Galaxy Tab 10.1 sales ban
| Apple Maps usage down to just 4 per cent? Posted:  Only four per cent of iOS 6 users are making use of Apple's disastrous Maps app, according to new figures. Mobile data management company Snappli, which helps people stay within their limits by compressing data and video, pulled the numbers from its iOS 6-toting users in the United States and the UK. The company claims that 25 per cent of its users were using Google Maps on a daily basis before the switch to iOS 6. Shortly after installing the new update, 35 per cent of the 5,000 users with iOS 6 were giving Apple Maps a try each day. In the ensuing days, that number dropped to just four per cent, meaning only 1-in-25 iOS 6 users (that also use Snappli) are currently persevering with the service. Use still dropping offThat number, gleaned a couple of days ago, is still falling according to the company. On Friday Apple CEO Tim Cook issued a stunning apology for the malfunctioning Maps app, and openly suggested that iOS 6 users pin Nokia Maps or Google Maps to their homescreen while his troops fix the mess. If iPhone, iPad and iPod touch users heed his advice, the number of people still using Apple Maps may become negligible within the next few weeks. Of course, Snappli's data comes from only one source, so it's difficult to equate it with the entire iOS 6 community. However, it does offer an interesting look at the drop-off in users Maps has experienced in the last couple of weeks. |
| Gmail app for iPhone 5 optimised for 4-inch display Posted:  Google has issued an update for its Gmail application to ensure it fits beautifully on the iPhone 5's new 4-inch widescreen display. TheVerge reports that iPhone 5 owners will be able to see a couple more emails on-screen, while they will not have to exert as much energy thumb-scrolling to read messages. Every little helps. The Gmail update comes after Google released iPhone 5-friendly versions of Chrome and YouTube. The company will also roll out the changes for the popular Sparrow email client, which it acquired in June. Boxed outAt Apple's iPhone 5 launch event, the company made clear that it would be relying on the developer community to update its apps to fit the new screen size. Without these changes apps appear letterboxed on the new device. It seems, despite the ongoing squabbling between the two companies, that Google remains committed to providing the best services possible for Apple's range of iOS devices. The Gmail app for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch is a much different beast than the client which was pulled from the App Store after just one day in November last year. |
| Review Roundup: This week's hottest reviews on TechRadar Posted:  This week we've got plenty of new reviews for you. As well as Apple's new iPhone 5, there's the Galaxy Mini 2 at the following end of the price spectrum. Then there's Adobe's brand new version of Photoshop Elements, which is sure to be a big seller in the run-up to Christmas. We've also got a full review of Nikon's new D600, which will slot in nicely between the professional Nikon D800 and the enthusiast-level Nikon D7000. Check out everything we've reviewed this week below. The 105g Samsung Galaxy Mini 2 slides in at the lower end of Samsung's range and can be picked up for around £150 ($200) SIM-free. It's also available for free on contract starting at just £10.50 per month. The Galaxy Mini 2 isn't Samsung's entry level handset - that accolade goes to the Galaxy Y – which means it lines up against the likes of the Nokia Lumia 610, HTC Desire C and Sony Xperia U. Pick up the Galaxy Mini 2 and you're met with that undeniably plastic finish which graces Samsung's whole range of smartphones from the quad-core Galaxy S3 flagship, all the way down to the likes of the Galaxy Ace 2 and Galaxy Y. There's a 3.27-inch TFT display with a 320 x 480 resolution. It's a good looking, budget handset with a strong build quality and manageable size – and the bright colour option for the rear cover will probably resonate with fashion-conscious teens. Having developed its own passive Cinema 3D system and stuffed its TV ranges largely with Edge LED screens, you'd be forgiven for thinking that plasma tech is a low priority for LG. And you'd probably be right, but the 50-inch, Full HD and thoroughly feature-packed LG 50PM670T plasma TV represents - at least on paper - an increasingly tempting trend on the part of a handful of TV manufacturers of issuing low-key but huge plasma screens at startlingly low prices. Elsewhere, the LG 50PM670T is a typical example of an all-round living room TV, strapped with an extensive array of smart TV apps and LG's excellent new networking-friendly user interface called SmartShare, plus a Freeview HD tuner and a Full HD resolution. For a mid-range TV priced at £749.99 (around $1,214), that's not at all a bad haul of features. Adobe Photoshop Elements 11 review Adobe Photoshop CS6 may have gathered all the attention, but its baby brother Photoshop Elements has been quietly growing up. Now at version 11, it's a mature, sophisticated image-editing program that provides 90 per cent of the functionality of the full Photoshop, at a fraction of the cost. Pricing for new Photoshop Elements users is £79.10, or £119.14 for an Elements & Premiere Elements bundle. If you're upgrading from a previous copy of Photoshop Elements, it will cost £64.81, or £98.16 for the bundle. This time around, there are only a handful of new features - although these are very much worth having - since Adobe has concentrated on the look and feel of the program. Gone is the dark, grey-on-grey look of previous versions; in comes a bright, fresh livery with much more readable text, clear tool icons, and a far fresher and more appealing look overall. While every man and his dog is throwing SATA 6Gbps interfaced SSDs at us as if there's no tomorrow, where does that leave everyone that are still packing SATA 3Gbps systems? Surely they deserve some modern SSD love too? This is the premise behind Crucial's latest v4 family of drives: build a 3Gbps SSD at a good price so people with 3Gbps systems don't have to buy expensive 6Gbps models with features and performance they can't tap into. Seems vaguely sensible, right? While that would have been a sound idea when 6Gbps drives were relatively expensive, real life has dealt the Crucial v4 a kick where it hurts. The SSD market has become a little more cut throat sooner then most people expected and more than many ever thought possible. Nikon has been rather busy over the past year, having already released the D4 and D800 in quick succession. But the company isn't taking a break just yet. The Nikon D600 aims to fill the gap between the hugely capable and professional Nikon D800 and the enthusiast-level Nikon D7000. The D600 is Nikon's first 'accessible' full-frame DSLR. Its £1,955.99/$2,099.95 price tag comfortably undercuts the full price of the Nikon D800 or Canon EOS 5D Mark III, while the size and weight of the Nikon D600 are only a marginal increase over the cropped-sensor Nikon D7000. At the heart of the Nikon D600 is a new 24.3-million pixel, FX format CMOS sensor. It may seem quite a reduction from the 36.3MP chip in the Nikon D800, but it's still enough to outdo a Nikon D4 or Canon EOS 5D Mark III in terms of outright resolution. But has Nikon cut any corners to produce its smallest and least expensive full-frame offering? This week's other reviewsCameras Fujifilm FinePix F770 EXR review Games consoles Laptops Mobile phones Apple iPhone 5 (Verizon) review Apple iPhone 5 (Sprint) review Monitors Samsung Series 9 S27B970D review Projectors Storage |
| Apple v Samsung judge can decide fate of Galaxy Tab 10.1 sales ban Posted:  Samsung may finally get some good news in regards to the lengthy legal proceedings the company has been party to alongside Apple in a patent battle that's extending well beyond a jury's August decision. A United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Friday granted U.S. District judge Lucy Koh the power to rule on a sales ban she imposed on Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1. That means it's now up to her to decide whether the tab can go back on sale in the U.S., a ban that went into effect at the onset of the trial. Koh, who presided over the four-week courtroom tussle between the two tech giants, previously ruled she wouldn't lift the sales injunction on the slate, saying it fell out of her jurisdiction as the matter had gone to the federal appeals level. With Friday's ruling, the ball's back in her court. The battle continuesEven though Samsung lost the case to the tune of $1.05 billion (UK £665 million, AU $1.03 billion), the jury found the Galaxy Tab 10.1 didn't infringe on any patents, prompting Samsung to challenge Koh's pre-trial ban. Now that Koh has been granted the power to lift the sales ban, experts believe she'll do just that, bringing the Galaxy Tab 10.1 back on the U.S. market soon. Despite this new potential positive for Samsung, the company isn't quite done with Apple yet. On Tuesday, Samsung asked for a new trial against Apple, with claims "no reasonable jury" would have sided with Apple's infringement claims. For its part, Apple is also bringing another lawsuit against Samsung, claiming the South Korean company damaged the iPhone brand, and hoping to gain another $707 million (around UK £435, AU $676) from its chief rival. Both companies are set to appear before Koh again on Dec. 6 to discuss more post-trial motions, such as other possible bans on Samsung products found to be in violation of Apple's patents. TechRadar reached out to Samsung, and will update this story if and when the company responds to a request for comment. |
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