Mihăiță Bamburic

Skitch, the sister product to the highly popular note-taking app Evernote, is now available in version 2.0 on Google Play. What does the annotation app have in store with the new version?

The most noticeable feature in Skitch 2.0 is an entirely overhauled interface. There is a new sync functionality that can be used by logging in using the Evernote account. If it's activated, sketches from the annotation app appear in the latter, and can also be pulled back into Skitch for further editing as. New tools such as Pixelate and Highlighter are added on top of the previously available options.

Continue reading →

Even after cancelling the October 29 event due to Hurricane Sandy, Google still announced its new Nexus lineup. UK carrier O2 has taken interest in the Nexus 4 and listed it as "coming soon" on its website. And so has Carphone Warehouse.

The Nexus-branded smartphone will be available starting November 13 on Google Play in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Spain, United Kingdom and United States. The UK carrier also lists November as the release date, but doesn't provided a specific day when customers will be able to purchase the smartphone. But if O2 is not your flavor, Carphone Warehouse also lists Nexus 4, but only on contract at the moment.

Continue reading →

Reporting rumors is a risky business, and this one is no different. Not too long ago, a device with the i9260 moniker was believed to be the next Google Nexus smartphone, and instead it's the Samsung Galaxy Premier (codename i9260).

On its Ukrainian website, the South Korean corporation announced the device, which comes with a 4.65-inch HD Super AMOLED display (indicative of a PenTile matrix) and a resolution of 1280 by 720. There is no word on the processor or amount of RAM, but it will be available with 8GB or 16GB of internal storage and a microSD card slot. Depending on the market, the Galaxy Premier will feature 4G LTE or HSPA+ cellular connectivity. The latter will allow downloads up to 21Mbps and upload speeds up to 5.76Mbps. The real kicker is the operating system -- Android 4.1 Jelly Bean.

Continue reading →

One year after launching Chrome Remote Desktop in beta form, Google today announced that the Chrome browser app is now available as a stable release. What features can users expect?

Using the "Remote Assistance" feature from Chrome Remote Desktop, users can connect to other computers to offer or receive assistance. The set up is fairly straightforward and it involves typing in a Chrome generated code to gain or provide access to one's computer. For those that want to access their own computer via remote control, "My Computers" let them do just that using solely a PIN number after activating the feature.

Continue reading →

Almost a month ago Everything Everywhere announced that it will deploy 4G LTE over its existing 1800MHz spectrum, starting October 30. Today, the United Kingdom-based carrier launched both faster data services and fiber for its local customers.

EE is the first UK carrier that is allowed to offer 4G LTE, after it previously received the license from local communications regulator Ofcom. It was initially announced that the fast data services will be deployed to 10 major cities across the United Kingdom, but today the carrier upped the number by one. Fiber broadband will also be available to 11 million premises, with touted speeds up to 76 Mbps. Also launched today are 700 EE-branded stores.

Continue reading →

Unlike Microsoft that showcased Surface on more than one occasion or Nokia that pitched the Lumia 920 against the iPhone 5, Samsung mostly kept quiet about its Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 lineup. Breaking the silence, the South Korean company introduced a video ad featuring ATIV devices today.

Portraying ATIV devices as crisis-solving solutions, the advertisement introduces the company's Windows Phone 8 smartphone, the ATIV S and ATIV Smart PC (Pro), Windows RT (8)-based tablet as devices suited for active businessmen such as Hunt. Using the latter device he's shown editing a PowerPoint presentation on the go, and also uses the S Pen stylus to add notes. Then the central role is taken by the former device, using the included Office suite allows a colleague to edit an Excel workbook.

Continue reading →

Microsoft publicly unveiled Windows Phone 8 yesterday. We know that. But it does not happen everyday for the company's CEO, Steve Ballmer, to star in an ad presenting the company's latest smartphone operating system.

Titled "Meet Steve. See his Windows Phone," the video ad takes the man behind one of the most important companies in tech through various Windows Phone 8 features. There is an emphasis on social networking towards the beginning, as is shown by Facebook tiles. It has to be noted that the latter can be integrated in one's Outlook account, which is a neat feature further presented through a continuously updating Messaging live tile. The Mail app also displays similar behavior when Ballmer mentions "So, so, so much advice." Then there's Bill Gates making a short appearance.

Continue reading →

Microsoft released Windows Phone 8 yesterday. It features a new version of Mobile Office, which the company highlighted shorty after the event.

The new smartphone operating system places a great deal of importance on being connected, and the new office suite is no different. Windows Phone 8 allows access to Office content whether it's on SkyDrive or Office 365. Featuring Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint and Word, the Office Hub has a new design that touts fluidity and ease of use. It can also display attachments opened in Outlook Mobile and can use "Tap + Send" to share documents with NFC-capable and compatible devices.

Continue reading →

A week after the last build that introduced Kangerator, the Android Open Kang Project team announced Jelly Bean Milestone 1. It's a stepping stone for the custom Android distribution, and the last one users will see ahead of the version of Android.

Google released Android 4.2 Jelly Bean yesterday, and until it gets pushed to AOSP the team behind the popular project decided not to release further builds. The idea is to incorporate the latest version of the green robot into the AOKP source, which will bring the newly introduced features. Jelly Bean Milestone 1 touts a more bug-free operation, as every bug report received via RootzWiki and Twitter in the last weeks has been closed. As usual of late, a new build doesn't come without new features and changes in the list of supported devices, so let's get to it.

Continue reading →

Hours ahead of Windows Phone 8's big launch, Microsoft released an app to the Windows Store.

So what does it actually do? Like the name suggests Windows Phone is designed to sync music, photos, videos as well as other types of files between computers running Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 smartphones. Through the app users can also access programs available on the Windows Phone Store. But there's a problem, which has been signaled by a great number of users.

Continue reading →

Before the public unveiling of Windows Phone 8, Nokia on Monday introduced the Lumia 822 smartphone. Sporting the latest mobile operating system from Microsoft, the Lumia 822 will be exclusively available at Verizon Wireless.

The Nokia Lumia 822 will feature 4G LTE connectivity with up to 100Mbps download and 50Mbps upload speeds. It has a 4.3-inch display with an 800 by 480 resolution, and a dual-core 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor with 1GB of RAM. On top of the 16GB of internal storage, the Lumia 822 comes with a microSD card slot which can offer up to 64GB of extra storage. As it usually happens with high-end Nokia devices, a Carl Zeiss lens is onboard for the dual-LED 8 megapixel back-facing camera which is capable of 1080p video recording at 30 frames per second. On the front, there is a 1.2MP HD camera that can shoot 720p video.

Continue reading →

Without a shadow of a doubt Windows 8 is a game changer for Microsoft. It's the operating system designed to take the company into a new computing era where the personal computer is no longer the star of the show, but still plays an important role. Can the latest version of the popular operating system manage to shine against its predecessors on their home turf? And for that matter, should you upgrade?

Windows 8 is a mixed bag before its launch and generating quite strong impressions along the way since Microsoft released the final build to manufacturing. The main criticism: the new user interface formerly known as Metro and the steeper learning curve compared to Windows 8's predecessors; it's not as intuitive as well. That's what the critics say, but what's it like to actually live with Windows 8 for more than a brief period of time?

Continue reading →

Four weeks ago my colleague Joe Wilcox discussed a rumor pertaining a new Google Nexus device. Just days ahead of the October 29 event that the Mountain View, Calif.-based company will hold in New York, LG Australia lists the LGE960 as a Nexus device.

The South Korean manufacturer added a support page for the LGE960, but gives away just a small amount of details. It looks to confirm that the search giant will indeed release a Nexus device that will be available for purchase online straight from the Google Play Store. Another interesting detail is that Australian carriers will also offer the device, suggesting that it may happen in other markets as well.

Continue reading →

Windows 8 launches today across the globe, but still with a limited selection of programs compatible with the new user interface. Box is now among the first popular cloud storage services to offer an application through Windows Store, ahead of similar services like Dropbox or Google Drive.

The Box app is available as a free download and offers access to the cloud storage service straight from the new interface. Uploaded files can be accessed, viewed, edited and shared using the app and, just like signing up from the browser, offers 5GB of free storage. It takes advantage of the included "Share" function from the Charms menu to upload locally stored files or share the ones already in the cloud with other apps such as Mail or People.

Continue reading →

Back in July, UK Judge Colin Birss ruled that "Samsung isn't cool enough to copy Apple." As a result, after losing the appeal, the Cupertino, Calif.-based corporation issued a notice on its United Kingdom website, but it's not what you'd expect.

Apple was supposed to explain to the visitors of its website that Samsung did not copy iPad design with the Galaxy Tab. Instead, Apple carefully placed the UK-based court in a bad light in relation to other court rulings from Germany and the United States. In the latter, Apple was awarded $1 billion in damages, with Samsung losing on both occasions as the copycat. Apple played the notice to its advantage.

Continue reading →