Category: iOS

Instagram offer a clarification, I offer an apology

Yesterday I wrote a piece about how Instagram was planning to sell off your wonderful photos to advertisers, paying you nothing in compensation. You can read that by going here. I’d like to issue a bit of an apology and tell you what has really happened. I wrote …

Apple releases 6.0.2

Apple this evening has flicked the switch to release iOS 6.0.2 update to its mobile OS. The release is aimed at iPhone 5 and iPad Mini. Fixes a bug that could impact Wi-Fi. Applying the update to your device is easy. Settings > General > Software Update > …

Instagram want to sell your photos, but you wont get a cut

The popular photo sharing app Instagram has updated it’s Terms of Use to include a few lines that are rubbing quite a lot of it’s users the wrong way. To help us deliver interesting paid or sponsored content or promotions, you agree that a business may pay us …

Google Maps for iOS – 10 million downloads in 48 hours!

Wowzers trousers. Google Maps has reportedly been downloaded for iOS more than 10 million times in 48 hours.That’s 5% of iOS 6 devices in under two days. Most impressive. Jamie and myself discussed the app briefly in this week’s podcast. In short, it’s great. It looks terrific and performs …

Magnetic Smart Cover and Stand Case for iPhone 5 – Review

Apple’s smart cover case for it’s iPad lineup is one of the best pieces of accessory design in recent memory. But does a similar paradigm transfer over to the considerably smaller iPhone? Guoer have given it a try and here’s what I think Let’s jump straight into one …

Apple brings back gifting to iTunes

Apple has brought back Gifting to iTunes. This feature was removed with the release of iOS 6 and now, in time for Christmas they have brought it back. You can now buy that special someone the app they have been waiting for. You can gift it to more …

Apple update their service status page

Apple have today made a few changes to their service status page on their website – Apple Status Page. Now it’s looking a more swish and provides information for its separate services in more detail. It’s nice to know when things go wrong, like the iMessage outage some …

What would you name gadget of the year?

Is it a surprise that Times has named the iPhone 5 Gadget of the year 2012? To me, yes. I was expecting the Samsung Galaxy S III or Note II to bare this title personally. I like Apple products, I currently have a number of them. I have …

iPad Mini lands on Vodafone UK

As of today you will be able to pick up a nice shiny new iPad Mini on the Vodafone network here in the UK if you sign up to a monthly contract.  There are two types of contract, a 24 month commitment with a much lower price for …

Eric Schmidt says “Google is the new Microsoft”

Google Chairman Eric Schmidt has given an interview with Bloomberg in which he talks about how Google is “Winning war” between Apple and Google in the smartphone market. The problem with the comments Schmidt makes in this article is that he’s comparing Apple as one manufacturer against Androids veritable …

Twitter app updated. Now includes photo filters. Bye bye Instagram

Update your official Twitter app today and you’ll find a host of new filters to make your photographs look a little less rubbish. After updating, just create a new tweet and insert and image. You then get the chance to crop, fix or add a filter. There’s nine …

Google Wallet coming to the UK? [UPDATE]

One of our eagle-eyed readers (thanks, Daniel!) has spotted a signup page for Google Wallet – on Google UK, no less. The signup page, located at www.google.co.uk/wallet/, promises that the next version of Google Wallet is “coming soon”, presumably with UK support. This signup page is nothing new – the …

Tim Cook hints at future of Apple TV

  Tim Cook was interviewed this week by NBC Rock Center and had some interesting things to say. H announced that some Mac manufacturing would be moving back to the US but the most interesting comment came when he was asked about Apple TV, a product Apple has …

Three offer up the iPad mini today too

Just how can we make this paricular story more than one paragraph in length? Should I mention our festive Coolsmartphone logo? Or the fact that my wife just filled my diesel car up with petrol? No… That wouldn’t work, surely. Three, hot on the heals of EE, have …

iPad mini available today from EE

Interested in getting the iPad mini on EE? Well, we’ve already mentioned that the New iPad and the iPad mini were about to arrive on the network, but today the iPad mini is appearing in stores. Pippa Dunn, Chief Marketing Officer at EE stated… To celebrate the launch …

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City – iOS

Games publisher Rockstar games this morning made available Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. If you are in to the Grand Theft Auto titles you won’t be let down by this one, bringing one of the most popular to iOS is a good move you can even play it …

Update: iPad mini stock could be sparse till the new year

It’s now known that the new 7.9″ screen that Apple are using in the iPad Mini could be in short supply until the new year. Reports from Digitimes make it clear that Apple are struggling to keep up with demand of the iPad Mini. The manufacturers of the …

Spigen SGP Illuzion for iPhone 5 – Review

Another day, another case review and this time its something a little different. The Spigen SGP Illuzion case is folio style case with slots for credit cards in the front flap. The case I have is black and orange, although a range of colours are available. The case …

YouTube for iOS updated, iPhone 5, iPad and Airplay added

  Hot on the heels of the Gmail app being updated for iOS this afternoon, Google has also finally seen fit to update the YouTube app for the iPhone 5. They have also added iPad support and Airplay streaming which were 2 major features missing from the version …

Gmail for iOS has been updated and improved

Let me be blunt. The old GMail on iOS was horrid. It was slow, it only supported one account at a time and it wasn’t very pretty. Well Google has fixed all of those issues and many more with the 2.0 update released today. It’s still a web …

Choose when and where to send texts – ZMS

It’s 20 whole years since the first text message was sent and, despite data-enabled phones and always-on email, we’re still sending a huge amount of texts. Tech start-up “inZair” has just launched an app called ZMS. It’s completely free and available for both Android and iOS. The texting …

WordPress app update

If like me, you blog from your phone, updates to the apps you use are always welcome. WordPress have updated their iOS app. It’s gained a sound scheme and some bug fixes. My device is mainly on silent so the sounds aren’t really for me. The bug fixes …

Spigen SGP Neo Hybrid EX Metal iPhone 5 Case – Review

If you haven’t realised by now, I am somewhat of an accessory addict. I’m always buying accessories for my devices and the iPhone 5 has been no different. My current case du jour is a Neo Hybrid EX Metal from Spigen SGP. Is it any good? You’re about to …

New iPad with Retina Display now available at Vodafone UK

Want an iPad Retina? Don’t want to pay the one-off cost? Vodafone have 24-month plans with 2GB of data chucked in. They cost £27 per month and it’s just the cost of the iPad that varies. The up-front costs are… iPad 2 (16GB) – £69 New iPad(16GB) – …

iTunes 11 finally becomes available to download

The eagerly awaited update to iTunes 11 has gone live, I thought I would let the rush die down a little before I downloaded it. The update went live earlier this evening, 6PM. As with all Apple updates the servers get a huge amount of traffic when they …

Christmas Gift Guide Part 2

  Christmas is nearly upon us and sometimes it can be a struggle to find a present to give for that one particular person. As mentioned in our first Christmas Gift Guide, we have teamed up with some of the leading retailers in the industry to bring you …

Will.i.am iPhone camera add-on – more details revealed

If you happen to be drinking tea whilst you’re reading this.. I’d stop now. It may end up all over your monitor. As we reported a few days ago Will.i.am has shed some more light on the iPhone camera attachment. There are two models, a contemporary (named C.4) version …

Want an iPad but not quite got enough pennies?

Fancy getting yourself an Apple iPad but don’t quite have enough pennies in the bank? That doesn’t matter thanks to Expansys. You can now get an iPad on finance. Join the tablet world and spread the cost, head on over to Expansys and have a look at the …

Snap your receipts, make savings with Shopitize

Look around you. If you see precious antiques and have a swimming pool in your extension, then you can probably tune out now. The rest of us are after deals and bargains right now, and an app called Shopitize is here to give you deals on your shopping. …

Apple give Maps boss the boot

Early on September 19th we tried the new Apple Maps and found it to be pretty lacking. Apple later apologised and are now said to be booting out the manager responsible for the mapping mess. Richard Williamson is to be sacked and a new leadership team is to …

Apple vs Google – Let battle commence.

We all know that feeling.  The moment when your heart leaps out of your chest and thumps at a thousand miles per hour just as your phone hits the floor. I’m fairly certain that each and every one of us has dropped our handset at one time or …

Gear4 Flipcase for iPhone 5 – Review

I’ve been reviewing and using snap on style cases for the last few weeks and decided it was time for a change. So for the last little while I have been using the Gear4 Flipcase, a leather wallet style case for the iPhone 5. Lets start with how …

iPhone 5 now on Three PAYG

If you are an existing customer on Three here in the UK and have not been able to get your hands on an out of contract iPhone 5 yet due to Apple stock reservation system being ‘tricky’ at best, the great news is the official Three site has …

Will.i.am announces iPhone camera add-on

Yes, Will.i.am – famed for the Black Eyed Peas and persuading Mick Jagger to appear in that god awful song about getting hard and going home… or something. It seems the iPhone 4S and 5 having one of the better cameras in the smartphone world, is not enough. …

Google indoor maps now live for UK

If you’re a fan of Google Maps and use it for getting around, the great news is that Google have now turned on the new indoor mapping feature. There’s dozens of locations now indoor enabled here in the UK. The indoor mapping project is being updated all the …

Three now offering iPad with Retina Wifi + Cellular

Three have now started to offer the iPad with Retina WiFi + Cellular on their super fast 3G network. With prices starting at £25 per month, £159 upfront for 15GB of data the deals are a steal. Grab yourself one from the Three website and have a read …

Apples Black Friday deals.

Apple doesn’t often reduce prices of products or have sales but today is a rare exception. They have applied discounts to a few products that may be of interest to anyone who was in the market for them. You can save £31 on an iPad with Retina display, …

Orange provide HD-quality free calling via VoIP with Libon

Orange have launched an instant messaging / visual voicemail system called “Libon”. Not only that, but it’ll do HD-quality VoIP calls too. HA! That should put those pesky expensive mobile operators out of business….. ..oh, wait… Aside from converting audio voicemail into text, this is available to any …