So we have listed some of what we want from Apple’s new flagship handset:

• The new model phone will be running ios9 – the latest operating system.
• Major upgrades to Siri’s ability to recognize your habits, and battery life to be improved.
• Sapphire glass would be a major step forward for the user who no longer has to worry about putting their keys and phone in the same pocket. This would also mean an end to air bubbles on your screen protector!
• We are expecting Apple to introduce ‘Force Touch’. This will detect how hard a user is pressing just like the new MacBook – interpreting touch into action.
• Improved Camera, a rival to DSLR, has been suggested, but most analysts are expecting a 12mp camera with 4k video. It will need plenty of memory for the footage.
• Other rumors include the movement of the touch id from the home button to the whole screen using several fingerprints at once.

Accessory manufacturers are not expecting many aesthetic changes and most iPhone 6 accessories should work.

If Apple do these I’ll trade to upgrade from my current phone – but we really need a bigger leap don’t we? Let us know what you think.

Images: 9TO5 Mac

Chances are, if you’re wearing a smartwatch by the end of this year, it’s going to be made by Apple care of its Apple Watch or powered by Google’s Android Wear platform.

There’s also a very good chance you know which one is right for you based on the phone you already own. Apple Watch works with iOS 8 and Android Wear works with, you guessed it, Android.
Apple Watch or Android wear?

1. Carplay is coming to more cars

Apple announced that every major car manufacturer has committed to launching Carplay in the future and there will be 40 cars shipping with it this year alone. With major updates expected and fierce competition from manufacturers and Android Auto, it’ll be an interesting race.

2. Your iPhone and Apple Watch is going to help a lot of people.

Apple is opening up it’s phones and watches to help move medical research forward. You’ll be able to share your activity with universities and researchers via apps and HealthKit. The data stays with them, not Apple and 5 apps have launched today. ResearchKit goes open source next month too.

3. We now have 12″ Gold Macbooks

Apple launches a redesigned 12″ Macbook today. With a smaller unibody design, processor, more storage and faster processor it’s a great upgrade. It will set you back around €1,499 though.

4. Say goodbye to regular USB ports

Apple are using USB Type-C for the Macbook. This port & cable delivers video, data and power all through one wire. Headphone jacks are thankfully still a thing however.

5. Say hello to USB extension ports & cables

If you’re planning on plugging anything into your Macbook, you’ll need an adaptor. A single USB adaptor will set you back around €20, if you want video/Thunderbolt at the same time, it’ll cost you an eyewatering estimated €79.

6. The Apple Watch was shown off again

With no new functionality announced bar being able to customise each watch-face and make calls from your wrist, the Apple Watch will still track your activity, give you glancable information and will try to reduce your reliance on your iPhone. It’ll also feature Apple Pay (yet to launch in Ireland).

7. We saw some of the apps you’ll be able to use

You’ll be able to grab an uber, view your Instagram feed, open your hotel door and more with an Apple Watch.

8. You can get your wrists on it from April 24th from around €349-399

The Apple Watch starts from $349 meaning we’ll see a €349-399 price in Ireland. If you’re looking for a 42mm watch, add an extra €50 to that. If you want to splurge, you’ll be able to pick up a gold Apple Watch Edition for a record breaking $17,000. Irish pricing and availability still hasn’t been announced.

9. You’ll be charging it every day

With an 18 hour battery life quoted by Apple, it’s betting on you getting 8 hours sleep a night. Apple promises “All Day Battery Life” which we’re looking forward to seeing in action. The Apple Watch charges via wireless charging, which magnetically attaches to the watch.

10. Apple TV got a price cut.

Arguably the best news from the event was that the Apple TV got a price cut. You’ll be able to pick one up from around €79.

Article supplied by independent reviewers at: theeffect.net

A wide range of iconic locations can now be accessed right from your phone, tablet or computer including Christchurch Cathedral, Dublin’s oldest medieval cathedral; Co. Clare’s Ennis Friary founded by the Franciscans in the 13th Century and Leitrim’s Parke’s Castle built in the 17th Century on the shores of Lough Gill.

The megalithic burial grounds of Loughcrew and the beautiful National Botanic Gardens in Kilmacurragh as well as many of Dublin’s well known parks (St. Patrick’s Park, Herbert Park, Bushy Park and St. Anne’s Park in Raheny) have also been added to the Street View collection.

Rugby enthusiasts from home and abroad will also be able to tour the Aviva Stadium on Street View ahead of the upcoming 6 nations tournament.

The images were taken in the summer of 2014 using the Google Trekker – a four-foot, 40lbs backpack, fitted with a 15-angle lens camera, taking 360 degree pictures every 2.5 seconds – which is designed to capture imagery in locations that the Street View car can’t typically reach.

Google Street View can be accessed on desktop and on the Google Maps app for iOS and Android.

Article supplied by independent reviewers at: theeffect.net

OS X Yosemite: Price

Following in the footsteps of OS X 10.9 Mavericks, Apple have confirmed that Yosemite will also be completely free to download.

OS X Yosemite: Design

When Yosemite arrives on your Mac later this year, you’re going to notice a lot of interesting changes, including a brand-new look. This new look, which may remind you of iOS 7, will add a sleek, cool, and translucent look to your beloved Mac. Everything from the ‘Finder’ to the ‘Trash’ has been revamped, here we have picked out 3 app icons to compare.

Mavericks vs Yosemite: Finder

The happy little Finder icon just got a whole lot brighter, and ever smilier in OS X Yosemite.

Mavericks vs Yosemite: Trash

The Trash can has had a translucent make-over, doing away with the dull wire in favour of a white bin with a bit of colour inside.

Mavericks vs Yosemite: Preview

The ‘Preview’ icon has been simplified. Gone is the boy, replaced by a sea scene and a pebble beach. The magnifier also looks a bit more modern and detailed than it’s predecessor.

OS X Yosemite: Features

One of the most exciting developments in OS X Yosemite, is it’s seemingly flawless integration with Apple’s iOS 8, which will be available this Autumn on iPhone, iPad and even iPod Touch. Apple have made various references to ‘Continuity’, in many ways your Mac will become an extension of you iPhone. You will even be able to take calls on it.

Improvements in ‘Messages’ on Mac means you can now send and receive SMS messages, allowing you to keep on top of all of your conversations synced across your Apple devices. There are also improvements coming for ‘Notification Centre’, most importantly a ‘Today’ view. ‘Today’ is designed to give you a summary of the day’s upcoming events, reminders, and even birthdays.

Sneak-peek at Yosemites Notification Centre.

iCloud Drive is Apple’s answer to DropBox and SkyDrive. iCloud lives in your Finder and means that the documents you create on your Mac and iOS devices will be easily accessed on all of your devices.

iCloud Drive will integrate your devices on a whole new level.

‘Spotlight’ search has also been vastly improved, it now behaves more like a search engine by grabbing information from Wikipedia, Maps, movies, news, and more.The new ‘Spotlight’ even has currency and unit conversion tools, allowing users to make instant conversions like euros to pounds and feet to meters.

Because you can never know too much about potatoes!

And finally, you will be now be able to ‘AirDrop’ between your Mac and iOS!

OS X Yosemite: Missing Features

Although there are a whole bunch of new features to enjoy, there are some features that we would have loved to see from 10.10. Many of us expected to see ‘Siri’ for the Mac, Apple’s handy helper has made it’s way to iPad, but is yet to make it’s way onto the Mac. ‘Control Centre’ a feature that will remain exclusive to iOS 7, makes ‘System Preferences’ much more accessible even for a less experienced user, and would be a welcome addition to the new OS.

OS X Yosemite: Conclusion

Yosemite impressed us very much. With a funky new look and much better integration it is hard to fault this innovative new OS. Having devices that run both Yosemite and iOS 8 will be a must if you want to get the most from OS X 10.10.

Call in to your local smartspot to find out more about Yosemite, iOS 8, and upgrading your device.

OS X Yosemite: Requirements

MacBook Air (late 2008 or later)

MacBook (late 2008 aluminum or later)

MacBook Pro (mid 2007 or later)

iMac (mid 2007 or later)

Mac mini (early 2009 or later)

Mac Pro 9 (early 2008 or later)

iOS 8 Requirements

iPhone 4S

iPhone 5

iPhone 5C

iPhone 5S

iPod Touch 5th generation

iPad 2

iPad with Retina Display

iPad Air

iPad Mini

iPad Mini with Retina Display

Called the HTC One M8 for Windows, on the outside, it’s identical to the HTC One M8 that we all know and love, with the same design and dimensions and it even works with the HTC One Dot Case.

The HTC One M8 for Windows

Inside is where it changes, as it runs Windows Phone 8.1 (with Update 1) instead of Android and brings over HTC staple Blinkfeed but here it’s an app rather than a baked-in launcher. The same ‘Ultrapixel’ Duo Camera is here too, along with the two front facing ‘Boomsound’ speakers and a 5MP front facing camera.

Specs-wise, you’ll find all of the flagship specs that the Android version has, including a 2.3 GHz quad-core processor, 5 inch, 1080p HD screen, 2GB of RAM and 32GB of storage with MicroSD card support up to 128GB.

Considering that the last HTC Windows Phone devices were launched almost two years ago and the market has been dominated by Nokia, more choice is better for consumers. What do you think, will the great HTC One M8 hardware convince you to switch to Windows Phone?

The full spec list is below.

The HTC One M8 for Windows

General

• Size: 146.36 x 70.6 x 9.35 mm
• Weight: 160 grams
• Display: 5.0 inch, Full HD 1080p

CPU Speed

• Qualcomm Snapdragon 801, 2.3 GHz quad-core CPU

Platform

• Windows Phone 8.1.1 with Cortana
• HTC BlinkFeed

Memory

• 2GB of RAM
• 32 GB of onboard storage
• Expansion card slot support for microSD cars up to 128 GB

Network

LTE

• 700 MHz / AWS (B13 / B4)

CDMA:

• 1x/DO 800/1900 MHz
• Quad UMTS/HSPA/HSPA+ (850/900/1900/2100)
• Quad GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850/900/1800/1900)

SIM

• Nano SIM

Sensors

• Accelerometer
• Proximity sensor
• Ambient light sensor
• Gyro sensor
• Barometer sensor

Connectivity

• 3.5 mm stereo audio jack
• NFC
• Bluetooth 4.0 with aptX enabled
• Wi-Fi: IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4 & 5 GHz)
• DLNA for wirelessly streaming media from the phone to a compatible TV or computer
• Micro-USB 2.0
• Microsoft Project My Screen
• Miracast
• Support consumer infrared remote control

Sound

• HTC BoomSound
• Dual frontal stereo speakers with built-in amplifiers

Camera

Duo Camera

• Primary camera: HTC UltraPixel camera, BSI sensor, pixel size 0.2 µm, sensor size 1/3″, f/2.0, 28 mm lens
• HTC ImageChip 2
• 1080p Full HD video recording with HDR video
• Secondary camera: Capture depth information

Front camera

• 5 MP, f/2.0, BSI sensor, wide angle lens, with HDR capability, 1080p Full HD video recording
• Gallery with UFocus, Dimension Plus, Foregrounder

Multimedia

Audio support formats:

• Playback: .aac, .amr, .ogg, .m4a, .mid, .mp3, .wav, .wma
• Recording: .acc

Video supported formats:

• Playback: .3gp, .3g2, .mp4, .wmv, .avi (MP4 ASP and MP3), h.263, h.264
• Recording: .mp4

Location

• Internal GPS antenna + GLONASS
• Digitalis compass

Battery

• Capacity: 2600 mAh
• Embedded rechargeable Li-polymer battery
• Talk time: Up to 24 hours
• Standby time: Up to 387 hours

Article supplied by independent reviewers at: theeffect.net

At the event the company confirmed, what we all guessed, that voice commands are integral to Android Wear. A simple “OK, Google” will initiate a variety of actions such as “Call me a car” or “Order a pizza.” Similar to the voice commands, devices powered by Android Wear can talk back to the user when certain alerts from the phone and contextual information from the smartwatch are needed.

As some of you may know, Google I/O is a developer driven conference and as such the company is pushing developers to design using the Wear SDK, which will soon be made available on the official Android Wear website. Google went on to show off a few of Android Wear’s functions including voice notes made to a device that immediately sync to a paired Android phone (unfortunately the on-stage demonstration was less than successful). But the wearables won’t just be fancy note takers, users will also be able to do other things via compatible apps including call a car with a simple voice command that relays your address based on your current location or using the watch as a cooking companion with easy-to-use recipe scrolling.

Of course, these new features are just the extra icing on the very delicious cake as all the usual features we expect from wearables will be present on the platform, including contextual travel information (included weather reports, restaurant or hotel reservations), fitness apps, a pedometer, and a heart rate monitor.

Now to the devices… Both Samsung and LG are launching their Android Wear devices today. The LG G Watch and Samsung’s Gear Live will both be available to order on Google Play starting today in selected countries. As of writing, we can assume that these countries don’t include Ireland but we may be surprised. Unfortunately for many Motorola’s beautiful circular Moto 360 smartwatch will launch sometime later this summer but no exact date has been announced.

Article supplied by independent reviewers at: theeffect.net

The experiment consists of four HD cameras mounted outside the station and while the cameras are temperature controlled, they are still exposed to solar radiation so that astronauts can understand what effect the radiation has on the cameras.

The cameras show amazing views of earth, although the feed will be grey during bad connectivity or black when the ISS is on the dark side of the planet.

You can watch the feed directly below or watch it here while looking at a live map of where the station is currently flying over, via the European Space Agency.

There’s no sound either, so pick a suitably epic soundtrack yourself and enjoy.

Live streaming video by Ustream

Article supplied by independent reviewers at: theeffect.net

The guys over at Snapchat have been very busy creating the new features for the updated Snapchat app which has gone live today.

The app now has an added chat feature built in which allows you to talk to all of your friends but still keeping the Snapchat mantra of ‘once it’s gone, it’s gone’ by deleting your messages once you leave the conversation. You are allowed to save important messages though which is handy.

You can also quickly initiate video calls with your friends from within the conversation and switch between your front and back cameras with a simply swipe up and down. We’re really enjoying playing with this latest update here in the office and are glad to see Snapchat getting better functionality. Make sure you go into either the App Store on your iPhone or Google Play on your android phone to update the app. What do you guys think? Let us know in the comments below:

Article supplied by independent reviewers at: theeffect.net