Android

How to Enable the Hidden Autocorrect Bar in iOS 5

Another hidden feature has been uncovered in iOS 5. After we told you about the panorama mode in the Camera app, 9to5Mac uncovered an Android-like autocorrect keyboard bar that can be enabled without a jailbreak.

Instead of the classic method of offering corrections in iOS, this secret feature offers suggestions in a bar above the keyboard, much like the Android OS. This autocorrect bar is relatively easy to enable.

Android and iOS Gaming Now Worth More Than Sony and Nintendo’s Portable Divisions Combined

Just read that title again. Perhaps a third time. Ready? Let us continue.

According to new research by Flurry, a mobile analytics firm, both Sony and Nintendo's battle to own the portable gaming market may well be over sooner rather than later, and the winner might not be either of the two gaming behemoths.

See, Flurry believes that the combined pair will generate $1.4 billion in gaming revenue for the year 2011. While that's not a number to be sneezed at, it is considerably lower than the last two years. It's also lower than the revenue Flurry expects the real competition to generate, with iOS and Android gaming combined expected to rake in $1.9 billion...

Google: Android Doesn’t Copy the iPhone Because We Were First

And the plot thickens.

The battle between Android and the iPhone has raged for years, with it being unveiled in his recent biography that Steve Jobs was planning to wage "thermonuclear war" on Google and Android. The heat felt between the two companies stems from the fact that Apple confided in Google in the early years of the iPhone's development before Android was released. Steve Jobs felt that Google stole Apple's ideas, calling Android "grand theft."

According to Google CEO Eric Schmidt, Android doesn't copy the iPhone at all. Why? Because Android was started before the iPhone...

Consumer Reports Recommends the iPhone 4S, We Do Not Recommend Consumer Reports

Remember how Consumer Reports refused to recommend the iPhone 4 because of its infamous reception problems? Now, the influential magazine has given the iPhone 4S a different diagnosis, coming to a rather different conclusion.

Consumer Reports is being considerably nicer to Apple's latest iPhone, saying that it does not suffer from any of the antenna-related reception issues that plagued its predecessor.

As a result of the improved antenna found in the iPhone 4S, Consumer Reports is now willing to let bygones be bygones, and is happy to list the handset as a "recommended device." But that's not all...

‘AndroidLock XT’ Ice Cream Sandwich Theme Brings Android 4.0 Lock Screen to the iPhone

AndroidLock XT has been out for a very long time, but for some strange reason I never got around to trying it. Recently, an Ice Cream Sandwich aka Android 4.0 theme was released for AndroidLock XT, so I was compelled to give it a go.

Check inside for a hands-on demonstration of AndroidLock XT, along with the new theme that makes your iPhone's Lock screen look and feel like Ice Cream Sandwich...

Angry Birds Reaches 500 Million Downloads Worldwide

It seems we just can't get enough of those Angry Birds, with developer Rovio announcing that the game has been downloaded a whopping 500 million times worldwide.

The half a billion downloads are made up of the three Angry Birds games currently available: Angry Birds, Angry Birds Rio, and Angry Birds Seasons.

Key to the game's success is its cross-platform nature, with Angry Birds available to download on most platforms you could care to name, with iOS, Android, web, Mac, and Windows all present, and versions also set to come to the Nokia Asha 300 and 303 phones...

Android Phones Require More Repair Costs Than iPhones

Android phones have been proven to break, malfunction, and require more repair costs than iPhones and even Blackberries.

The cheapness of most Android handsets is costing the telecoms a staggering $2 billion per year, according to a report from wireless services firm WDS...

61% of Mobile Devices Accessing the Web Run iOS

When it comes to mobile platforms, there are tons of ways to measure success. Android leads in market share, iOS leads in customer satisfaction, and Windows Phone, well Windows Phone isn't posing any major threats yet, but it has potential.

Perhaps one of the most precise ways of measuring the real-world impact of a platform is to gauge how many users are actually using it. And what better way to do that than by tracking which mobile OS accesses the web the most?

Schools Expect to Use More iPads Than Computers Within Five Years

Apple's iPad is beginning to take over from computers as the key electronic learning device in schools, according to a new survey by Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster.

The survey of 25 schools and their technology directors found that all of them were making use of Apple's iPad while, just as interestingly, none of them were using an Android-powered tablet.

In fact, iPads are becoming so popular that many technology directors believe that there will soon be more iPads per student than computers...

Was Google’s Gamble on Android Really Worth It?

When the original iPhone launched in 2007, Google and Apple actually had a good relationship. Google was set to be the iPhone's default search engine, and Google was also going to power the handset's Maps application. Everything was wonderful. And then came Android.

The Android operating system was born in Palo Alto, California in 2003. Two years later, the company was acquired by—you guessed it—Google. The deal was worth an estimated $50 million, but the Android OS could end up costing Google much more than that...

The Difference Between “Shipped” and “Sold”

There's a headline bouncing around the tech blogs this morning that goes something like this: "Samsung Overtakes Apple to Become Top Smartphone Manufacturer." The news comes in wake of Samsung's earnings report it issued to investors this morning.

The Korean handset maker didn't offer any specific numbers, but it did tell shareholders its smartphone shipments were up 40% this quarter. Some analysts are estimating that the increase equals 28 million smartphones, which clearly beats Apple's 17 million, right?

Sprint: Android Phones Hog More Data Than the iPhone

Sprint CEO Dan Hesse recently made a few interesting comments about the iPhone on his network. Namely, Hesse noted that Android users put more of a strain on Sprint's network than new iPhone owners.

Android apps are "more chatty" with the network, and iPhone apps do a better job of handling data via W-Fi networks and offloading information.  Due to the iPhone's light footprint on Sprint's network, the carrier plans to continue offering an unlimited data plan for the indefinite future.