Mihăiță Bamburic

Smartphones and tablets can take on many roles, like delivering recipes in the kitchen to beginner chefs or entertaining owners with kitten videos during their commute. However, the very same devices can also be used to control PCs through an Android app like WiFi Mouse.

As the name might suggest, the app allows green droid smartphones and tablets to operate as wireless mice, that can be connected to a Mac OS X or Windows PC. The interface is fairly simple to use as it employs a classical three-button layout, with a scroll wheel in the middle, and touchpad-like surface. Even though modern mobile devices come with motion sensors, WiFi Mouse still sticks to the tried-and-true touchscreen interface, which is more accurate, to move the cursor around.

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When Motorola introduced the Droid Razr HD and Droid Razr Maxx HD for Verizon Wireless there was one major feature missing from the spec sheet -- Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. Three months later, the big red finally announced that the two smartphones will be upgraded to the first Jelly Bean iteration starting this week.

The software update for the Droid Razr HD and Droid Razr Maxx HD comes in at a fairly significant 276MB in size and it bears the "9.1.41.XT926.Verizon.en.US" moniker. Users should expect a customized Android 4.1 Jelly Bean experience with the typical Motorola add-ons and Verizon-branded apps. Some of the most significant changes introduced by the upgrade include better voice search capability through Google Now, expandable notifications, revised keyboard and an overall improved responsiveness due to Project Butter.

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Well that was fast. Little more than two months after Apple launched the iPhone 5 in nine countries, the Cupertino, Calif.-based software corporation offers its latest smartphone free of any carrier obligations. Pricing starts at $649 for the 16GB model and tops $849 for the 64GB version.

The models that Apple offers are actually unlocked GSM units, meaning that using either of the three available versions on a CDMA network such as Verizon Wireless is not possible. For the advantage of owning a carrier-free iPhone 5 prospective buyers have to shell out an additional $450 for the equivalent version available at major US carriers such as AT&T, Sprint or Verizon.

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Just three days ago Google released the Android 4.2.1 Jelly Bean update which now recognizes that December and Santa Claus do exist. Today the Mountain View, Calif.-based corporation updated the factory images for the Nexus 4, 7, 10 and HSPA+ Galaxy Nexus with the latest version of the green droid operating system.

Using the factory images the four Nexus devices can be directly upgraded to Android 4.2.1 Jelly Bean, build number JOP40D, without waiting to receive the over-the-air update. In similar fashion, green droid modders can take advantage of the factory images to restore the devices to stock after previously using a custom distribution such as AOKP Jelly Bean Milestone 1 or CyanogenMod 10.

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Yesterday Microsoft officially unveiled the price of Surface with Windows 8 Pro. Shortly after the Redmond, Wash.-based corporation revealed another bit of key information which was previously missing from the spec sheet -- battery life.

Unlike it's Windows RT sibling, which actually manages to deliver relatively decent battery life, Surface with Windows 8 Pro only lasts roughly half as much according to Microsoft. Prospective buyers can expect between four to five hours of cordless operation if the former's results are of any indication. The reason for the unimpressive performance is undoubtedly the Intel Core i5 processor and high-definition 1080p display.

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Google announced a major update to cloud storage app Drive, which can now be used to manage spreadsheets straight from mobile devices. The search giant first touted the update on the Android Blog, but the new feature made its way to iOS as well.

With the latest Google Drive version, the Mountain View, Calif.-based corporation brings its mobile cloud storage app closer to the web version. Users can now create, perform alternations and even collaborate on spreadsheets. On the Android front the updated app comes with the ability to edit contents of tables and single tap to edit in the Docs editor, better formatting, shortcuts to files and folders on the homescreen. The revised Send Link can now be used to copy to clipboard.

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A little more than four months ago, part of the interestingly named "Project Sputnik", Dell announced the XPS 13 Developer Edition which ran popular open source operating system Ubuntu 12.04 LTS. After a long wait, the new laptop is available for purchase today for a not-so-cheap $1,549.

The Dell XPS 13 Developer Edition ships with a 13.3-inch 720p HD display. Processing power is provided by a third generation Intel Core i7 3517U processor that tops out at 3 GHz, an HD 4000 video card, and 8GB of DDRIII RAM. It also comes with a 256GB solid state drive, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/g/n and Bluetooth 3.0. To keep the laptop running off the grid, there is a 47WHr battery which Dell says can deliver up to 6 hours and 13 minutes of unplugged operation.

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A month ago Microsoft released Windows Phone 8, with major improvements designed to give the company's smartphone operating system a better fighting chance against established market competitors such as Android and iOS. Current Windows Phone 7.5 users, however, will only get a limited number of the new features through Windows Phone 7.8, which the Redmond, Wash.-based corporation announced that it will ship in early 2013.

The launch date, however, does not coincide with the Windows Phone 7.8 ETA provided by Microsoft Italy on Facebook late last month. The update will be rolled-out to existing customers in "early 2013", rather than shortly after Windows Phone 8 is released as was previously suggested by Microsoft's European arm. The new smartphone operating system is still in the process of testing and approval, suggesting the reason why the upgrade is not yet deployed. Microsoft's reward to early Windows Phone adopters is nothing. Clearly the new thing, Windows Phone 8, is greater priority.

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I'm not wrong -- tablets are still incapable of replacing PCs, but I purchased one anyway. Local Black Friday sales got the best of me, and the end result is the iPad 2 that's laying on my couch right now. Before you start calling me names for buying an older product or "betraying the Android army", let me put it like this -- Apple's tablet was cheaper than a Google Nexus 7.

Price is a very strong incentive in any of my buying decisions. Because of it I couldn't even think about purchasing an iPad, as it normally runs for $550 in my area. But that changed when I read the price tag during the Black Friday sale -- it was roughly $285. Suddenly priorities changed and an older, otherwise overpriced, product made sense. I just had to get it, despite what logic may have tried to dictate at the time.

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Almost four months ago Microsoft relaunched Hotmail as Outlook, as the company's response to Google's Gmail. In the meantime the new service reached more than 25 million active users, a number which has steadily grown since its introduction. To expand reach into Android territory, Microsoft even launched a new app for green droid devices.

The Redmond, Wash.-based corporation says that because of conversation threading, keyboard shortcuts, quick access to search operators and tab/send the transition towards the new Outlook email service is easier. Taking the fight over to its main competitor, the company also "finds" that four out of five (that's 80 percent in pie chart talk) Gmail users would switch to Outlook after just five days of use. That's a rather bold claim, and it seems a bit far fetched. But why?

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Microsoft officially unveiled Windows 8 and its ARM counterpart little more than a month ago. But even today apps like Twitter are still missing from the official Store selection. However, third-party alternative, Tweetro+ should be available soon for die-hard users of the social network.

Previously available as a free app on Windows Store, Tweetro was pulled due to the 100,000 access token limit, imposed by the Twitter API. The developers announced that Tweetro+ will take its place, but as a paid app due to the associated costs. This appears to be the preferred solution instead of going the ad-supported route.

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If you're one of the lucky few Google Nexus 4 or Nexus 10 owners around the world that prefer a third-party ROM to Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, then you're in luck. Today the team behind the popular CyanogenMod custom distribution released an official CM10.1 build for the LG-made smartphone, with another on the way for its tablet sibling.

The CyanogenMod 10.1 build for the Nexus 4 comes in response to unofficial custom distributions, that recently surfaced, built using the former's source code. The first release available to the general public is based on Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, rather than the newest version issued yesterday. However a missing December in the People app is unlikely to hinder its success considering CyanogenMod's popularity among the modding community.

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Windows Phone is Microsoft's attempt to conquer the smartphone market, and judging by recent sales estimates, the company needs all the help it can get.

Windows Phone 8, the latest iteration of the mobile OS was launched not too long ago, and to build momentum for it, the "Meet Your Match" marketing campaign has once again come into the spotlight.

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Two weeks ago, Google launched Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, the latest treat in the candy jar. In addition to delivering a number of improvements, the new operating system also introduced some software issues. As a response to this, the Mountain View, Calif.-based corporation started rolling out the Android 4.2.1 update for the Nexus 4 and Nexus 10 on Tuesday.

The most notable mishap in Android 4.2 is the missing month of December in the People app. This bug caused quite a controversy around the interwebs, with plenty of sarcasm and humor directed towards Mountain View for dismissing Christmas. 

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With an increasing number of car manufacturers jumping on the efficiency bandwagon it's rather interesting that none touts a driving cost meter. Luckily Fuel Calculator keeps track of fuel bills and efficiency right on your Android device.

Fuel Calculator allows the driver to determine fuel costs over time, for more than one vehicle, through a detailed history based on each fill up. It also delivers a number of indicators such as average distance per unit currency (in KM per EUR for instance) or total amount of used fuel (in gallons or liters). In order to determine the cost the app requires the user to input distance between fills, quantity of fuel used as well as the price per unit, in the "Fill Up" tab.

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