Samsung confirms new wearables coming in 2014

You have to admire Samsung's persistence. Unfazed by lukewarm reception from fans and critics alike who aren't rushing out to buy its Galaxy Gear smartwatch in droves, the undeterred South Korean conglomerate is planning to release new wearable gadgets for the upcoming launch of the next Galaxy S smartphone in May and a Galaxy Note successor in Fall.

Dennis Miloseski, head of studio for Samsung Design America, told Re/code that 2014 is going to be “a really big year” for Samsung wearables, hinting at “some products around the launch of our flagship devices”...

CES 2014: Flir One case brings true thermal imaging to your iPhone 5/5s

Avid iPhone photography fans are always on the lookout for new ways of improving their snaps and photography skills to give their work an added edge.

Pitched as the world's first private thermal imager, the Flir One case slides right onto your iPhone 5 and lets you "see the heat wherever you go".

It slides onto your iPhone like an ordinary protective case and displays the infrared world on its screen.

We're talking true thermal imaging here, not the kinds of fake infrared effects you see in many photography apps on the App Store...

Asphalt 8 updated with LaFerrari and other cars, new Daily Bonuses and Win Streak rewards

Gameloft's free-to-play Asphalt 8: Airborne has seen one major update since its App Store debut last August, adding new cars, boosters, limited-time cups and other goodies. And now the time has come for another content expansion enriching your experience with additional features, game modes and cars.

The new update, now available in the App Store, brings a bunch of glamorous new sports cars, including the LaFerrari (also known as the F150), a limited production hybrid sports vehicle, along with new Daily Bonuses and Win Streak rewards...

BiteSMS 8.0 beta 7 is out with support for iPhone 5s

Great news for biteSMS fans with late-model iPhones this morning. BiteSMS 8.0 beta 7 has been released to the public, and in addition to a handful of bug fixes and user interface improvements, the update brings about support for the iPhone 5s.

The beta has actually been out for almost two weeks now, but due to complications with the 64-bit A7 processor, it has thus far been limited to older devices. That changes today though, and now 5s users can finally enjoy the biteSMS app on iOS 7...

Apple opens official store on major Chinese e-commerce site Tmall

According to a new report this morning, Apple has opened an official store on popular Chinese e-commerce site Tmall. The move serves as the company's latest play in an ongoing effort to boost its device sales and overall presence in the country.

For those unfamiliar with Tmall, it's a major online marketplace run by the Alibaba Group. It's sort of like an online mall, with high profile brands like Nike and Levi's paying the required deposit to create a digital forefront and peddle their wares...

OtterBox shows off new Symmetry Series case for iPhone 5, 5s and 5c

Yesterday afternoon, OtterBox showed off a brand new series of iPhone cases it's calling 'Symmetry.' The new cases are surprisingly minimal, compared to the accessory-maker's other offerings, and consists of just one solid piece.

OtterBox says that the new case is the culmination of over a year of design, testing and innovation. It's one of the slimmest, most protective cases in its class, and will be available in a number of different colors and graphic designs...

Free iPhone and iPad streaming goes live for everyone in latest Spotify update

Spotify, the popular Swedish startup, has upped the ante in the music space when it said recently it would enable free streaming on smartphones and tablets.

Desktop users have been able to stream ad-supported music free of charge since Spotify's inception, but mobile streaming has always required a $9.99 Spotify Premium subscription. This ad-supported free desktop tier has now migrated to mobile.

Now available on the App Store, the new Spotify version 0.9.2 fixes many bugs and flips the switch on free mobile streaming for everyone (they've been rolling this out gradually), here are your caveats...

Apple’s iWatch project reportedly plagued by screen, battery problems

A new report is out this afternoon claiming that Apple is experiencing multiple problems with its long-rumored 'iWatch' project. The company is said to be troubled by challenges related to the device's screen technology, battery life, and manufacturing.

The device, believed to be a smartwatch of sorts, is expected to be Apple's first big entry into the budding wearables space. It's said to feature a display of up to 2-inches, and run a version of iOS capable of communicating with both iPhones and iPads...

YouTube for iOS finally gains iOS 7 keyboard support, improved search and more

Google's YouTube app for the iPhone and iPad has been lacking in many requests and could definitely use a little help from the user interface design standpoint.

For instance, why do I have to tap the magnifier icon in order to search whereas there should be a tappable search bar instead, which is more or less the norm in iOS app design these days?

A new update, now available in the App Store, leaves those questions unanswered.

On the other hand, the release improves upon other lacking areas. For starters, it's finally gained the stock iOS 7 keyboard (what took so long?), immediately bringing YouTube more up to date with iOS 7 aesthetics. Search capabilities have been improved upon and there are also other improvements concerning captions and subtitles...

Unofficial modified version of Evasi0n7 can jailbreak iOS 7.1 beta 3

A modified version of the Evasi0n7 jailbreak tool began making its rounds around the internet this afternoon. This unofficial version of Evasi0n7 was created in order to jailbreak the just released iOS 7.1 beta 3.

One of the first things I tried when iOS 7.1 beta 3 dropped was run the latest official version of Evasi0n7. I was quickly (and unsurprisingly I might add) met with an error message stating: Sorry, the version of iOS (11D5127c) of the attached device is not supported.

You can probably tell where this post is going. Indeed, I decided to take the plunge and see if the "unofficial" version of Evasi0n7 could legitimately jailbreak iOS 7.1 beta 3. After about 15 minutes of testing, I can state that the answer to that question is yes.

Although we definitely can't, and frankly don't recommend that anyone use an unofficial version of the Evasi0n jailbreak tool, we aren't naive, and we know that many are going to simply do it anyway. For that reason, we felt it might be beneficial to verify whether or not the tool works. Have a look inside for the proof.

CES 2014: Signal unveils ‘RP One’ wireless gaming controller for iOS 7

We were hoping that this year's CES would see the introduction of new iOS 7 gaming controllers, given how dismal the options are right now, and so far it hasn't disappointed. Yesterday, SteelSeries introduced its new Stratus controller, and today we're adding another option to the list.

What you see above is the 'RP One,' a Bluetooth gamepad with a traditional console-style layout made by Signal. As you can see, the controller is wireless—meaning you'll be able to use it with your iPad and any other compatible iOS devices—and it looks a lot like the popular Xbox controller...

Yahoo launches News Digest iOS app, new Food and Tech website hubs for normals

Today at its CES 2014 keynote in Las Vegas, the Internet giant Yahoo announced new Tech and Food hubs and introduced a new iOS application, News Digest. The free iPhone and iPad download utilizes a technology from Yahoo's March 2013 acquisition of mobile news startup Summly that distills information down to small gists.

The company has since rolled out Summly to some of its existing iOS apps, but this is the first time Yahoo's iPhone app tapped the summarization tech to the full extent to "get you in the know in no time".

It's quite ingenious - all of the hallmarks of great iOS 7 design are present: it's clean, elegant, self explanatory and updates you cleverly on the biggest news stories twice a day, once in the morning at 8am and once in the evening at 6pm EST.

Does the world need another news app? Existing App Store offerings more often than not overwhelm with information you may not necessarily care about. If all you need are key headlines of the day and quick gists presented in a finite and visual manner, then by all means give News Digest a whirl, you won't regret it...