LUSARAP

Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 is probably the most gigantic smartphone in the market right now and it might soon be getting a dual SIM version. The image of the Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 Duos has been leaked and bar the pattern at the back, the design of the upcoming smartphone is identical to that of the international version.


The Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 Duos is reported to have SCH-P729 as its model number. It is said to match the Galaxy Mega 6.3 6.3-inch LCD display with a resolution of 720 pixels and will feature a 1.7 GHz dual-core Exynos processor along with 1 GB of RAM, 8 megapixel rear camera, 2 megapixel front camera, microSD card slot and will run on Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean.

The Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 Duos is said to have already cleared Bluetooth certification, but there is no word on the launch date and the pricing of the smartphone at the moment.

The iPhone 6 could come with a larger 5.5-inch display and be unveiled alongside a 1.3-inch Apple iWatch later this year.

LG surprised us all with last years LG G2. It combined top flight specs with innovative features and alongside the Nexus 4 and Nexus 5 it really put LG back on the mobile map.


But the company faces a bigger challenge now as its got to keep that momentum going with an even more impressive successor - the LG G3.

Little is known about that successor yet, though a number of rumors are starting to bubble up. Weve scoured the web for all the juicy gossip and put it in one place to start to paint a picture of the LG G3.

First of all, to get the completely unsurprising bit out of the way, it looks like the handset will indeed be called the LG G3, as LG has applied to trademark G3. With that said, lets get down to business.

LG G3 release date and price

One release date doing the rounds is 17th May, a date which comes from Korean site asiae.co.kr, which in turn heard it from "industry sources."

The LG G2 didnt arrive until September, so a launch as early as May seems a little unlikely, but reportedly its being done to allow the G3 to better compete with the Samsung Galaxy S5, Sony Xperia Z2 and new HTC One.

For what its worth the same source claimed the LG G Pro 2 would be launched in February, which it was right about, so there could be something to its LG G3 claims.

On the other hand German site Giga Android is claiming a "source close to the matter" has quoted a June launch, while an anonymous user of the ortud.com forum claimed the device will probably launch in July. Whatever the case it looks like it might arrive earlier in the year than the LG G2 did.

Theres no word on what it might sell for yet, but this is a flagship phone were talking about, so it will cost a lot. However LGs flagships have tended to slightly undercut Samsung and HTC rivals, so keep your fingers crossed.

LG G3 display

The LG G3 will apparently have a 1440 x 2560 QHD display, according to the same "industry source" as the May release date rumors. Apparently it will be 5.5 inches, which if true would amount to 534 pixels per inch.

Were somewhat skeptical about that though, it feels more like wishful thinking than anything grounded in reality.

1080 x 1920 seems to be the current go-to resolution for flagship phones if the Samsung Galaxy S5 and Sony Xperia Z2 are anything to go by. Then again, if the LG G3 intends to stand out from the crowd a QHD screen could certainly do that.

LG G3 processor and RAM

The LG G2 has a 2.26GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor, which is still pretty impressive, but LG is said to be improving its in-house Odin processor and an octa-core version of it is tipped for the LG G3.
The latest octa-core version of the processor will apparently have four cores clocked at 2.2GHz and the other four clocked at 1.7GHz, which should give it a sizable boost over the LG G2.

Its worth noting that most new flagships get tipped for octa-core processors at the moment and it doesnt always pan out, while it could equally be that only certain variants of the handset will get octa-core power, as weve seen in the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S4.

If this does turn out to be true though it would mean a move from the Snapdragon chipset in the LG G2 to LGs own chipset.

Theres no word yet on how much RAM the LG G3 might have. The G2 has 2GB, but the LG G Pro 2 upped it to 3GB, so heres hoping for the same in the G3.

LG G3 operating system

A benchmark for a mystery Android handset believed to be the LG G3 due to its model number of LG-D830 (which is similar to the G2s D802 model number) showed that it ran Android 4.4 KitKat. No surprise there, this is a flagship after all.

Unfortunately thats all we really know about the OS so far, but it seems a safe bet that it will use LGs Optimus UI and include recent LG innovations like Knock Code, which takes KnockOn to the next level by allowing users to tap a pattern on the screen when its off, to both turn it on and unlock it.

LG G3 camera

Initial rumors coming out of ZDNet Korea pointed towards a 16MP sensor, but more recent leaks suggest a 13MP one.
 
What will probably be the first of many photos supposedly taken on the handset appeared the other day. The picture was an impressively detailed image of a cat and had a resolution of 4260 x 2342 according to the EXIF data.

That equates to 9.6MP at a 16:9 aspect ratio, which would mean the camera should be capable of taking 13MP photos at a 4:3 ratio.

The photo was posted on the ortud.com forum by someone going by the name Geek. The poster claimed their friend was testing the phone and that it had a 13MP camera with optical image stabilization plus (OIS+) and that its very similar to the snapper in the LG G Pro 2.

The posters megapixel claims match those revealed by the EXIF data, but thats something thats very easy to fake. Not to mention the fact that the device is listed as an LG-D972, which isnt a model number that weve ever come across.

If it does turn out to be real then it will have the same number of megapixels as the LG G2, but given the quality of the leaked image it looks like it could still be capable of taking significantly better photos.

Phone Arena also received a User Agent profile from an anonymous source which showed a device going by the name LG D830 (the same device as appeared in benchmarks) as having a 13MP camera along with support for 4K video playback and 120fps slow motion video.

LG G3 chassis

The actual design of the LG G3 is one thing which LG has managed to keep very quiet. Wed take an educated guess and say that it will probably keep the buttons on the back, as love it or loathe it its a design decision which helped the G2 stand out. Beyond that you know as much as we do.

LG G3 fingerprint or eye scanner

Back in January we heard from South Korean site ETNews that the LG G3 might have a fingerprint scanner.
It would make sense, as the iPhone 5S, HTC One Max and Samsung Galaxy S5 all sport one and youd think LG would want to be part of the club.

Still, wed take the rumor with a pinch of salt as the same report claimed that the LG G Pro 2 was likely to feature a fingerprint scanner and it didnt.

But the rumors dont end there. More recently ZDNet Korea reported that LG was considering biometric authentication (specifically either fingerprint or iris scanners) in its future products.

Expressing interest in something is hardly a confirmation that its happening, but that hasnt stopped certain corners of the internet from concluding that it will be a feature of the LG G3.

5 things we want to see

Thats all weve heard so far, but while we wait for more rumors to emerge here are five things that LG really should include in the G3:

1. A metal chassis

There was a time when it was only Apple making truly stunning smartphones, but now HTC and Sony have got in on the act too.

Samsung might be stubbornly sticking to plastic but then its got enough market share that it can pretty much do whatever it wants. LG doesnt have that luxury and if it wants to turn heads an all-metal LG G3 would be a good start.

2. An iris scanner

Theres the ghost of a whisper that this might happen, but were far from convinced. It should though.

If done well it could be an even slicker alternative to the fingerprint scanners that manufacturers are currently going mad for and it would put LG ahead of the game, rather than playing catch-up.

3. A beastly battery

The LG G2 has pretty great battery life as it is, so were hopeful that the LG G3 will follow suit. Battery life is one of the last remaining hurdles manufacturers need to overcome, but its a big one.

Wed take a battery which can last several days between charges over increased power or screen size in a heartbeat.

4. A 64-bit processor

There was talk that Samsung might include a 64-bit processor in the Galaxy S5, but that didnt happen, which now gives LG the chance to beat Samsung to the punch.

Its debatable how useful a 64-bit processor would even be right now, but it would help to future proof it at least.

5. Bulked up storage

Were not too sold on microSD cards, but we are fans of plenty of storage space, so a bigger hard drive would be great. The iPad Air comes with up to 128GB, as does a phone in China, so why not the LG G3?

Your smartphone and tablet may look clean, but recent research found thousands of germs living on touchscreens that are capable of spreading sickness bugs and diarrhoea.

Huawei has released an official MWC 2014 teaser trailer that uses Siri to preview its new products.


It looks like Huawei is using MWC next week to launch a new smartphone and a duo of new tablets, according to this rather bizarre teaser trailer.

The MWC trailer features a smartphone that looks strikingly similar to the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S as well as a Siri voice assistant style UI to announce the three new products Huawei will launch at the Barcelona-based event.

Firstly, Huawei reveals that it will launch a “slim” tablet, which is potentially the Huawei MediaPad X1 7.0.

“There’s a new tablet with a beautiful slim design. You’ll need to enlarge the screen to see it. And its huge battery gives you days of use”, explains Huawei’s version of Siri.

Previous rumours have tipped the tablet to have a full 1,920 x 1,200p resolution display, 3G connectivity and run on a 1.6GHz quad-core Huawei Hisilicon 910 Kirin processor with 2GB of RAM.

Huawei also reveals it plans to launch a new smartphone that will caters to the selfie lovers of the mobile consumer world.

“Here’s a smartphone with an amazing front camera.”

This may well be the Huawei Ascend P7, which is tipped to feature a 5-inch screen, 8-megapixel camera and run on a 1.6Ghz processor also with 2GB of RAM.

Finally, Huawei’s oh so helpful voice assistant states there will be a second tablet from Huawei at MWC. This “multimedia” tablet is compatible with the “next-generation” of 4G, despite the fact it hasn’t yet arrived.

“There’s also a new multimedia tablet that gives the ultimate entertainment experience. One more thing, this amazing device can even support the next generation LTE network.”

Huawei’s teaser trailer finishes with a reminder that this isn’t in fact an Apple (despite the iPhone) or Samsung presentation.

“Wow! What are they? Fruit or Some Song?”, asks the excited iPhone owner.

“No. They are Huawei. It looks like Huawei is ready to amaze the world again.”

Huawei has its MWC press conference on Sunday Feburary 23 and TrustedReviews will be attending to bring you all the news.

Printed books are loosing popularity as electronics readers gaining popularity. People now love to read on their smartphones and Tablet as they can take their favorite books on the go. Specially tablet devices offers a great experience for reading books as they are light-weight, very compact and capable of storing thousands of books.


Our goal is to find Some of the BEST ANDROID apps for reading ebooks which you can download for free! Let’s have a look at the list of Best free android reading apps.

By the way, there are many of us who loves to Download Ebooks, ePub books and PDF books over the internet and certainly look for some great apps to put them on to read on our Android. First we will discuss about the best Android reading apps with content support and great user experience.

Google’s own Play Books app is the most fancy and best ebook reader android app. As you can guess from the title, google has to offer a wide range of books from its own play store where you can download free ebooks and purchase the premium books. Over 3 million titles available on google’s library for you to browse and download. On the feature side, the app comes with all the functions you would expect from a good android reader app. Another great thing is that it sync across all your devices means you can start reading a books on your tablets then resume reading where you left from your phone or in the computer. It supports the most popular  ebook formats.


Most of us know how popular Amazon Kindle fire tablet among the readers for its content and great reading experience. Well, you can get the same experience on your phone or tablet with their Kindle app for Android. Similar to play books, users can download and Read Free Books—Choose from thousands of free ebooks and Easily shop for ebooks, including new releases and New York Times Best Sellers. Consider Kindle app as the one of the best ebook reader for android.


Following Amazon’s move on Android App, Barnes and Noble also brings their  NOOK for Android app. The company is already famous for its Nook Tablet and a wide range content on their online store allowing users to get access of million of books and magazine. The app allows you to subscribe a great list of magazine such as US Weekly, National Geographic, and The Oprah Magazine — starting with free for a 14-day trial period.

A great alternative ebook reader and one of the best Pdf book read for Android. The app lets you buy ebooks at lowest price. EPUB or Adobe PDF books can be easily imported from your SD card and you can even also download directly ebook of your choice on Android device without using a computer to transfer files.


Yet another great android app for reading books. Thousand of ebooks are free to download through online libraries. Comes with a nice day & night reading options for great reading experience without hurting your eyes. Real page turning effect seems very cool. The app also got gesture based controls to do many things such as zooming, lock the page, adjust brightness level and many more. Download an ebook or pdf book on your device and instantly find it on Moon Reader library.


Recently released on google play store Mantano Ebook Reader is a great choice. Read, annotate to any EPUB or PDF ebook with the most powerful Android ebook reader compatible with the Adobe DRM.  With its advanced UI the app let’s you organized books in collection. Allows to  create annotations, highlights and bookmarks and Quickly access them. The integrated file explorer allows to browse through SD card and import books manually.

Sony has confirmed the Sony Xperia Z1 will be getting an Android 4.4 KitKat update, along with a host of other handsets.

Android 4.4 KitKat Features

On comparing iPad apps with iPhone equivalents, one thing rapidly becomes clear: apps for Apples tablet are pricier.

Many of the best free iPhone apps cost 59p or more in their iPad incarnations, and the quality level of whats still free is often ropey. But among the dross lie rare gems – iPad apps that are so good you cant believe theyre still free.


Of those we unearthed, here is our pick of the best free iPad apps. Note that apps marked universal will run on your iPad and iPhone, optimising themselves accordingly.

1. AccuWeather for iPad

Annoyingly, some free iPad weather apps refuse to believe that the UK has any weather (or that the country exists), so AccuWeather gets props for merely working. Happily, AccuWeather also proves to be a decent – if quirky – weather app. The interface is odd (but fun) and theres a lifestyle page that determines how your current local conditions might affect over 20 activities, including dog-walking and stargazing.

2. Facebook (universal) 

The social networking giant has gone back-and-forth with its mobile apps, finally settling on this smart, native implementation. Much like the slightly simpler iPhone equivalent, Facebook on iPad is such that you wont want to use the comparatively clunky website again for seeing which of your friends really shouldnt have internet access after midnight.

3. Air Video Free (universal)

Despite naysayers whining about the iPad screens 4:3 aspect ratio, its a decent device for watching video, although it lacks storage for housing large video collections. Air Video enables you to stream video (converting it on-the-fly, if necessary) from your Mac or PC. The main limitation of the free version is that it only shows a few items (randomly selected) from each folder or playlist.

4. Beatwave (universal)

 

Beatwave is a simplified Tenori-On-style synth which enables you to rapidly build pleasing melodies by prodding a grid. Multiple layers and various instruments provide scope for complex compositions, and you can save sessions or, handily, store and share compositions via email. You can also buy more instruments via in-app purchases.

5. Bloomberg for iPad

 

It used to boast an eye-searing white-and-orange-on-black colour scheme that was a little like being repeatedly punched in the eyes, but now Bloomberg has grown up, discovered a palette (a subtler, serious things on black, for the most part), and has subsequently become a much more usable business news and stocks app.

6. Comics (universal)

 

On the iPhone, Comics is innovative, but zooming each panel and constantly rotating your device gets old fast. By contrast, the iPads screen is big enough to display an entire page without the need to zoom or scroll. And with dozens of free comics available via the bundled store, comic book fans should lap this app up.

7. Dictionary.com - Dictionary & Thesaurus - For iPad

 

We approached Dictionary with scepticism, since most free dictionary apps are sluggish interfaces to websites. Thats certainly what this looks like, but it works offline, providing speedy access to over two million words and definitions. The apps search is also reassuringly fast.

8. Dropbox (universal)

 

Dropbox is a great service for syncing documents across multiple devices. The iPad client works like the iPhone one (hardly surprising, since this is a universal app), enabling you to preview many file types and store those marked as favourites locally.

9. Evernote (universal)

 

Like Dropbox, Evernote (a free online service for saving ideas – text documents, images and web clips – that you can then access from multiple devices) works the same way on the iPad as it does on the iPhone. It benefits from the iPads larger screen, which enables you to see and navigate your stored snippets more easily.

10. YouTube (universal)

 

When the YouTube app presumably became a victim of the ongoing and increasingly tedious Apple/Google spat, there were concerns Google wouldnt respond. Those turned out to be unfounded, because heres yet another bespoke, nicely designed Google-created app for iOS. The interface is specifically tuned for the iPad, and AirPlay enables you to fire videos at an Apple TV.

11. The Guardian Eyewitness

 

A showcase for engaging photography, The Guardian Eyewitness provides a daily, visual reflection of global events. You get access to the most recent 100 photos, which can be viewed full-screen or with a caption and pro tip. You can also save photos to your iPad or share them via email.

12. iBooks (universal)

 

Going head-to-head with Kindle, iBooks is a decent ebook reader, backed by the iBookstore. As youd expect from Apple, the interface is polished and usable, with handy cross-device bookmark syncing, highlighting, and various display options. Its also a capable PDF reader, for your digital magazine collection.

13. IM+ (universal)

 

Although the iPad enables a certain amount of basic multi-tasking, anyone who constantly juggles a number of instant messaging services will soon be tired of leaping between apps. IM+ is a good solution, enabling you to run a number of IM services in a single app, and theres also a built-in web browser for checking out links.

14. Kindle (universal)

 

Amazons Kindle iPad app for reading myriad books available at the Kindle Store is a little workmanlike, and doesnt match the coherence of iBooks (you buy titles in Safari and sync purchases via Kindle). However, Kindles fine for reading, and you get options to optimise your experience (including the ability to kill the naff page-turn animation and amend the page background to a pleasant sepia tone).

15. Movies by Flixter (universal)

 

One for film buffs, Movies figures out where you are and tells you whats showing in your local cinemas – or you can pick a film and itll tell you where and when its on. The app is functionally identical on iPad and iPhone, but again the extra screen space improves the experience.

16. PaperDesk Lite for iPad

 

Effectively a souped-up digital notepad, PaperDesk Lite for iPad enables you to combine typed words, scribbles and audio recordings in user-defined notebooks. Be mindful, though, that this free version restricts you to three notebooks, each of which can only have three pages, and there are no export options.

17. PCalc Lite (universal)

 

PCalc Lites existence means the lack of a built-in iPad calculator doesnt bother us (in fact, wed love to replace the iPhone Calculator app with PCalc Lite as well). This app is usable and feature-rich – and if you end up wanting more, in-app purchases enable you to bolt on extras from the full PCalc.

18. Reuters News Pro for iPad

 

Spurious anti-competition complaints meant the BBC News app took a while to come to the UK; in the meantime, Reuters offered the next best free news app for iPad with its Reuters News Pro for iPad. Its a little US-centric, but can be skewed towards UK coverage via the Settings app, and its worth downloading for a more international take on news coverage than BBC News provides.

19. Cooliris (universal)

 

Long ago, Cooliris lived within browsers, converting online galleries into 3D walls of thumbnails you could zoom along. On the iPad, the concept seems more at home. Its of course a gimmick, but its a great-looking and tactile one, and more fun than using the Photos app to rummage through your snaps.

20. Wikipanion for iPad

 

The Wikipedia website works fine in Safari for iPad, but dedicated apps make navigating the site simpler and faster. We went back and forth between Simplepedia and Wikipanion, eventually plumping for the latter, largely due to its efficient two-pane landscape view with excellent bookmarking and history access.

21. eBay for iPad

 

Use eBay for iPad and youll never touch eBay in a web browser again. Its fast and efficient, beautifully showcasing important details and images in its main results view. Gallery images can often be displayed almost at a full-screen size, which is particularly useful on an iPad with a Retina display. Speedy sorting options are also available.

22. Soundrop (universal)

 

Soundrop is a minimal generative sound toy that offers an endless stream of balls, which make noises when they collide with and bounce off user-drawn lines. The overall result is surprisingly fun and hypnotic. For more advanced features – save, multiple instruments and gravity adjustment – theres an in-app pro purchase option.

23. Granimator

 

Wallpaper apps litter the App Store, but are mostly dull, offering photos of brick walls or bored animals. Granimator is a bonkers art tool, enabling you to choose a background and spray all manner of shapes around. Compositions can be fine-tuned by dragging objects, and then shared to Flickr, Twitter or your devices Photos app.

24. Google Earth (universal)

 

Its not the smoothest app in the world, and it lacks some elements from the desktop, but Google Earth is nonetheless a joy on the iPad. Touch gestures are an intuitive means of swooping around the planet, and the optional layers enable you to display as much or as little ancillary information as you wish.

25. Explore Flickr (universal)

 

Explore Flickr provides an engaging way to discover new photography. On launch, your iPad screen fills with a grid of thumbnails, drawn from Flickr.coms top daily images. Tap one to view (and, if rights permit, download to your device), or just leave the app lazily updating (every now and again, a thumbnail spins to reveal a new image) while your iPad charges in its dock.

26. Rj Voyager

 

One for budding iPad DJs, Rj Voyager enables you to choose from a selection of bundled tracks, turn parts on and off and edit parameters in real-time via an intuitive, futuristic interface. Play through headphones or a decent sound system and the result is infectious.

27. BBC News (universal)

 

Although the BBC News website works nicely on the iPad, BBC News is still worth downloading. Rather than trying to provide all of the news, it instead concentrates on the latest stories, with inline video. Categories can be rearranged, stories can be shared and the apps layout adjusts to portrait and landscape orientations.

28. Epicurious (universal)

 

Tens of thousands of recipes at your fingertips (as long as you have a web connection) ensure Epicurious is worth a download for the culinary-inclined. The app even composes a shopping list for recipes; its just a pity it doesnt include measurements for those of us who use that new-fangled metric system.

29. WordPress (universal)

 

This official WordPress app has a reputation for being a bit clunky, but its fine for authoring the odd blog post on the go, along with making quick edits to existing content and managing comments. It also offers both text-based and visual approaches to crafting posts, so youre not stuck with HTML.

30. Speedtest X HD (universal)

 

Truth be told, were always a touch suspicious of apps that claim to test your connection speed, but Speedtest X HD seems to do a decent job. Its also handy to have installed for when your broadband goes all flaky and you need to record the figures for a subsequent moan at your ISP.

31. Adobe Photoshop Express (universal)

 

With people regularly moaning about bloat in Adobes desktop applications, its great to see the giant create something as focused and usable as Adobe Photoshop Express. Its toolset is strictly for basic edits (crop, straighten, rotate, flip, levels and lighting adjustments), and applying a few effects, but the app is fast, stable and extremely useable. Top marks.

32. App Shopper (universal)

 

Prices on the App Store go up and down like a yo-yo, and Apples own wish-list mechanics leave a lot to be desired. Youre better off using App Shopper, which lists bargain apps and also enables you to compile a wish-list and be notified when an item drops in price.

33. Find my iPhone (universal)

 

Find my iPhone would perhaps be better named Find my Apple stuff, because its not just for figuring out where a missing iPhone is—it can also track iPads, iPods and Macs. The app is simple, elegant and, generally speaking, provides an accurate location for devices. It also enables you to remote-lock or wipe a device.

34. Flipboard (universal)

 

Initially, Flipboard looked like a gimmick, trying desperately to make online content resemble a magazine. But now it can integrate Flickr and other networks, beautifully laying out their articles, Flipboards muscled into the essential category – and its still free.

35. Find My Friends (universal)

 

While perhaps less practical than on the iPhone, Find My Friends on the iPad nonetheless works well, enabling you to track any pals that are happy with you digitally stalking them. The iPads large display improves the apps usability, simultaneously displaying your friend list and a map.

36. IMDB (universal)

 

IMDB might be a wee bit US-focused at times (much like the movie industry), but the app is a great way to browse more movie-related info than you could ever hope to consume in a single lifetime. Settings enable you to define which sites IMDB and Amazon info is taken from, and the show times finder works pretty well.

37. Pocket (universal)

 

Pocket and Instapaper have long battled it out for article scraper king, but Pocket trumps its rival in appealing to iPad-owning cheapskates. Instapaper requires a purchase for iPad goodness, but Pocket is free. Its also very fast, offers tagging, includes a great original article/plain-text toggle, and has a vaguely Flipboard-like visual grid-based index.

38. TED (universal)

 

TED describes itself as "riveting talks by remarkable people, free to the world". The app pretty much does as youd expect – you get quick access to dozens of inspiring videos. However, it goes the extra mile in enabling you to save any talk for offline viewing, and also for providing hints on what to watch next if youve enjoyed a particular talk.

39. Twitter (universal)

 

This app used to showcase some breathtaking iPad UI innovation, but in its quest for cross-platform consistency, Twitter has refashioned its tablet offering as a blown-up version of the iPhone app. The result is a far less exciting experience, but one thats nonetheless very usable, and which unlike third-party apps rolls in the services Interactions and Discover tabs.

40. Virtuoso Piano Free 2 HD 

 

Theres not a great deal to piano app Virtuoso Piano Free 2 HD, but its not bad for a freebie. You get a dual-keyboard set-up, with optional key labels, and you can shift octaves and notes by prodding arrows. A really nice touch is the duette [sic] button, which creates a second, mirror image, keyboard, so that two people can play at once.

41. BBC iPlayer (universal)

 

BBC iPlayer is a must-have download for iPad users. The slick interface makes it easy to browse/watch recent shows and current broadcasts. You can also choose from two quality settings and toggle subtitles, and theres AirPlay support for an Apple TV. Recent updates also enable you to download shows to your iPad, so that you can watch them on the move.

42. Dolphin Browser 

 

Safari for iPad is a great mobile browser, but if you hanker for more features, Dolphin is a decent alternative. The browser has an Opera-like speed dial that provides one-touch access to favourites, and you can create personalised action gestures. Theres also a distraction-free full-screen mode for when you really want to get into a website.

43. Skyscanner (universal) 

 

Skyscanners website is pretty good, but the iPad apps another great example of how an apps focus can really help you speed through a task. You use the app to search over a thousand airlines, and it provides straightforward competitive journey lists and comparison graphs. If youre planning a flight, its an indispensable download.

44. Dragon Dictation (universal)

 

Theres always something slightly spooky about voice recognition software, as if Skynets listening in or something, but such tools had for years been out of most peoples reach. Now, Dragon Dictation is free for iOS.

Its eerily accurate, trainable and, despite the dev recommending you use an external microphone, the app works fine with the iPads built-in one. And unlike Siri, Dragon Dictation works on any iPad running iOS 4 or later, and it also has a bigger buffer than Apples service.

45. Remote (universal)

 

Although pretty basic on the iPhone, Remote on the iPad is akin to a stripped-down iTunes when it comes to accessing network libraries and playing music. Its also indispensable if you have an Apple TV and want to control it with something other than the hateful metal chewing-gum stick that ships with the device.

46. Pulse News Reader

 

When unveiled, RSS reader Pulse was divisive, with an unresponsive oddball interface. But its evolved to become free and fast, and is now a tactile, enjoyable way to catch up on news. The image-oriented interface, with slider-based RSS feeds (akin to those in the BBC News app) and configurable tab groups, makes it particularly suitable for anyone who subscribes to image-heavy sites.

47. Fotopedia Heritage (universal)

 

Rather like The Guardian Eyewitness, Fotopedia Heritage is perfect for anyone who enjoys awe-inspiring photography. The app enables you to browse tens of thousands of photos of beautiful locations worldwide. It also provides information about each location, and can be used for travel planning through favourites and links to TripAdvisor.

48. Yell Search

 

If youre in an unfamiliar place or travelling somewhere new, Yell Search is a great app for figuring out what amenities are available locally. The interface is responsive and efficient, and you can handily add any business you find as a favourite for easy access later on.

49. XE Currency for iPad (universal)

 

Its as ugly as they come, but XE Currency is the best free currency app youll find. You define which currencies you want to see, along with the number of decimals to show. Double-tap a currency and you can set it as the base currency by tapping 1.0 in the calculator, or do bespoke conversions by typing any other value.

50. Airport Utility (universal)

 

With apps like Airport Utility, its increasingly clear Apple now sees the iPad as an independent unit, not merely an accessory to a PC or Mac. The app provides an overview of your Wi-Fi network, and enables you to view and change settings, restore or restart a base station, and get terribly angry at a flashing orange light that denotes your ISPs gone belly up.

51. Skype for iPad

 

In theory, we should be cheerleading for FaceTime, what with it being built into iOS devices, but its still an Apple-only system. Skype, however, is enjoyed by myriad users who havent been bitten by the Apple bug, and it works very nicely on the iPad, including over 3G.

52. Skitch for iPad (universal)

 

Skitch is a screen-grab and annotation tool that was snapped up by Evernote. In its iPad incarnation, it enables you to scribble on grabs, photos, maps and web pages and then fling the result to Twitter, email or Evernote, or fire your work at an Apple TV.

53. Readability (universal)

 

The latest of the major read-it-later systems, Readability brings with it a clean interface and a lovely set of fonts. As with the likes of Instapaper, Readability strips junk from web pages, leaving only the content. As youd expect, you can also send on anything particularly interesting to Twitter and Facebook.

54. iTunes U (universal)

 

If youre still convinced the iPad is only a device for staring brain-dead at TV shows and not a practical tool for education, check out iTunes U. The app enables you to access many thousands of free lectures and courses taught by universities and colleges, thereby learning far more than what bizarre schemes current soap characters are hatching.

55. 4oD Catch Up (universal)

 

Despite what we said in the previous entry, the iPad is, of course, a great tool for TV. (After all, once youre done studying, you need some downtime, right?) Channel 4s 4oD app enables you to view a selection of recent shows, along with a handful of classic programmes.

56. Google Search (universal)

 

Google Search might seem redundant - after all, the iPads Safari app has a built-in Google search field. However, Googles own offering provides a superior search experience thats been specifically designed for iPad. Highlights include a tactile image carousel, visual search history and Google Goggles integration.

57. TuneIn Radio (universal)

 

Output your iPads audio to an amp or a set of portable speakers, fire up TuneIn Radio, select a station and youve a set-up to beat any DAB radio. Along with inevitable social sharing, the app also provides an alarm, AirPlay support, pause and rewind, and a shake to switch station feature - handy if the current DJs annoying and you feel the need to vent.

58. TVCatchup Live TV (universal)

 

More TV! This time, its the only partially inaccurately named TVCatchup Live TV; with it, you can watch TV for free, but its not so much catch-up as watch whats on now. You get access to over 50 channels, although were unsure about taking the developers advice that you can "even watch TV in the bath" - iPads dont float.

59. Netflix (universal)

 

Netflix has been described by some in the UK as the perfect way to experience everything a DVD bargain bin has to offer. We do agree theres a lack of content compared to the US library, but Netflix is cheap and fine for catching up on older shows. And the iPad app includes AirPlay support and a resume function, so you can pick up where you left off on another device.

60. SoundCloud (universal)

 

SoundCloud is a popular service for sharing sounds, and the iPad app enables you to search and play myriad snippets and music tracks hosted on SoundClouds servers. If youre a budding musician or oddball loudmouth, you can also record and upload sounds from your iPad, or record to upload later.

61. 30/30 (universal)

 

Its easy enough to ignore a to-do when its lurking somewhere in the background on your Mac or PC, but on an iPad, 30/30s crystal-clear events (including optional repeating loops for work/break cycles) cant be so easily dismissed. Fortunately, it looks great and the tactile interface makes creating and removing items a joy.

62. Paper By FiftyThree

 

Theres a certain train of thought that apps shouldnt ape real-world items, but we dismiss such talk. They just shouldnt ape real-world items badly! Paper by FiftyThree gets this right, with beautiful sketchbooks in which you can scribble, then share across the web. Books and the pen tool are free, and other tools are available via In-App Purchase.

63. Telegraph pictures for iPad

 

Rather like the Guardian Eyewitness app, Telegraph Pictures for iPad provides you with new imagery on a daily basis. In fact, The Telegraphs rather more generous than The Guardian, offering a dozen new photographs every 24 hours, and leaving a 14-day archive for you to explore at any time.

64. Sticky Notes for iPad

 

If youre a fan of sticky notes, but not the sticky nor the waste, Sticky Notes for iPad provides you with the means to bung colourful rectangular notes on your iPads screen, even dictating the text should you wish. Just dont have someone think they cant get the note off and then attack your device with a scourer.

65. Architizer

 

There are two levels to this beautifully designed app directed at architects and anyone else with an interest in buildings. On entry, you can select projects from a grid thats updated in real-time. Photography can then be explored full-screen. However, you can also dig deeper, finding out more about each project and who designed it.

66. Pinterest (universal)

 

Social network Pinterest is one of the very few to challenge the big guns in the industry. It provides a means to find and share inspiration, working as a place to collect and organise the things you love. The iPad app has an elegant interface that pushes inspirational imagery to the fore, just as it should.

67. Cards (universal)

 

Yes, the cards that you can send from Cards cost four quid each, but the app itself is free, providing the means to experiment in making cards for your loved ones, based on your own images. Without spending anything, its a fun toy; even when you send cards, it might work out cheaper than shop prices - and the images will be far more personal.

68. Quark DesignPad

 

One for the graphic designers out there, desktop publishing giant Quarks DesignPad is an astonishingly useful app for figuring out layouts on the move, or knocking about ideas in meetings. Plenty of ready-made documents can give you a head-start, and your finished work can be exported as a PNG or emailed for use in a QuarkXPress document.

69. Gmail (universal)

 

Because of its single-app nature and big screen, the iPads become a tool many people prefer to a PC or Mac for email. However, if youre reliant on Gmail, Apples own Mail is insufficient, not providing access to your entire archive nor Gmails features. Googles own app deals with such shortcomings and looks as good as Apples client.

70. Solar Walk: Saturn (universal)

 

Really, this is a promotional app for Solar Walk, but what a piece of promotion it is! Theres a ton of information and interactive components that concentrate on perhaps the most fascinating of planets in our solar system, and it looks particularly impressive on a Retina iPad.

71. Netbot for App.net

 

App.net is a bit like Twitter, only it eschews adverts, has a subscription fee, and is hugely keen to attract (rather than repel) developers. Netbot is one of the finest clients for the service (having been created by the team responsible for the excellent Tweetbot, which it mirrors), and its free.

72. Cloze (universal)

 

If you ever have one of those conversations where a friend swears blind they did reply, you say you didnt get the email, and they sheepishly mutter "on Facebook", Cloze is for you. It bungs all your social communications (email, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn) into a single inbox and also prioritises people who you most often deal with. Its a great time-saver.

73. Haiku Deck

 

If were honest, we rather liked the original version of Haiku Deck, which stripped back presentations, only enabling you to add to each slide a single image, a heading and a sub-heading. The minimalisms gone (Haiku Deck now includes charts, graphs, bulleted lists and other improvements), but its still fun and easy to use, which is the main thing.

74. Tumblr (universal)

 

Tumblr has a perfectly serviceable mobile presence, but the Tumblr iPad app gives you a more tablet-oriented interface for using the site. Its therefore a cinch to manage your blogs, post new entries and reply to messages on your iPad. Additionally, theres also offline support, enabling you to queue posts, likes, replies and reblogs without a web connection.

75. Homestyler

 

In the professional world, Autodesk is best known for high-end 3D products: Maya, 3ds Max, AutoCAD. On the iPad, the companys been using its 3D smarts to churn out interesting consumer-focussed 3D tools. Homestyler enables you to photograph a room, then paint colours on the walls and add furniture, light fittings and accessories.

76. Podcasts (universal)

 

Podcasts was once one of those Apple apps that people looked at in disbelief, wondering whether anyone at the company had ever really used it. Now, its a different beast: the interface is slick, and you can create custom stations that auto-update across iCloud, and on-the-go playlists with custom episode lists.

77. Calorie Counter HD

 

The iPhone version of Calorie Counter is a great way of ensuring youre not eating for several, but the HD iPad release takes things to a whole new level. The extra space enables the interface to breathe, providing plenty of room for charts, calorie breakdowns and interaction with fellow dieters.

78. Google Drive (universal)

 

Its curious to think how rapidly Microsoft made Office irrelevant to so many. Most people just want a simple app for documents and spreadsheets, and that (along with a storage repository) is precisely what Google Drive provides. Like Dropbox, its also possible to store documents locally, for when youve no web connection.

79. Fotopedia Wild Friends (universal)

 

iPad displays have always been a fantastic way to explore photography (especially the newer Retina models). Fotopedia Wild Friends is one for nature lovers, packed with thousands of stunning images taken during hundreds of missions in dozens of countries. Being a conservation initiative, the photographys also backed with interactive maps, stories and information.

80. PlainText (universal)

 

The iPhone incarnation of PlainText is good for the odd bit of note-taking, but on the iPad PlainText is transformed into a minimal but highly usable writing tool with Dropbox sync. The lack of clutter provides a real sense of focus - even the single iAd is hidden from view once the on-screen keyboard appears.

Mobile games dominated the handheld gaming market during 2013, accounting for the majority of sales.



















A new combined report from IDC and App Annie has discovered that mobile games accounted for 75 per cent of the handheld gaming market last year.

Despite significant growth for the Nintendo 3DS and a strong software line-up for the handheld, it was still totally outmatched by the spending on mobile platforms.

Overall, spending in the Android Google Play Store increased in Q4 2014 by four times when compared to the same period the year before.

iOS App Store spending also increased, doubling the figures achieved in Q4 2012 this year. In total, global revenue generated in the Apple App Store soared beyond $200 million (£119 million).

"While consumers have traditionally spent more on games versus other types of apps, more than 75 per cent of combined iOS & Google Play consumer app spending in 4Q13 came from games," said Bertrand Schmitt, CEO of App Annie. "This is a significant increase compared to Q4 2012 and a testament to the ever-growing popularity of games."

The Nintendo 3DS game sales rose by 10 million between 2012 and 2013, with a total sale number rising over 30 million.

Combined, game sales for the PS Vita and the PSP only amounted to 9 million during 9 million, although the report’s data didn’t take digital-only titles into consideration.

Between 2012 and 2013, sales of boxed and full-game digital handheld games for the Nintendo and PlayStation handheld range rose 9 per cent.

Of all the handheld titles released last year, Nintendo 3DS games topped the bestselling list. The top three were Pokemon X & Y, Animal Crossing: New Lead and Luigi’s Mansion 2: Dark Moon, despite the launch of the critically acclaimed Tearaway for PS Vita later on in the year.

The heavily rumoured Samsung Galaxy NotePRO has been officially unveiled at CES 2014, with the new stylus-hosting tablet packing a massive 12.2-inch display.

Samsung Galaxy NotePRO Features

Samsung Galaxy NotePRO Release Date and Price

Motorola has announced the Moto G is the company’s highest-selling smartphone ever.


The £129 smartphone was launched in November 2013 to the critical acclaim of both the media and consumers, so much so that Motorola has crowned the budget blower its best phone.

“The Moto G has been the most successful, highest-selling smartphone in Motorola’s history”, said Motorola Senior VP, Rick Osterloh, during Motorola’s MWC 2014 event.

Sadly, Motorola didn’t elaborate on this claim with any sales figures, which would have made the claim even more noteworthy.

Motorola even went on to say that despite the Moto Gs price, the company still makes a profit on every unit sold. This profit margin may even increased after the Lenovo acquisition of Motorola.

The Moto G was awarded for coming rammed with decent hardware and a near stock Android experience that practically gave you an affordable Nexus 5.

Motorola’s handset and the Nokia Lumia 520, which outsold all Android phones in the UK in December, prove that the combination of decent specs and the right price tag make a handset, even if it isn’t the flagship.

Moto G Features

The Moto G features a 4.5-inch 720p HD display running on a 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 400 processor and 1GB of RAM.

It comes with a minimum of 8GB of internal storage, but lacks microSD card storage.

The Moto G is also now equipped with Android 4.4 KitKat and features a UI very close to stock Android.

In the rear is an 5-megapixl camera with autofocus and LED flash, coupled with a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera.

The all-plastic phone is available in a range of colours and is powered by a 2070mAh battery.

It comes with 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 and GPS connectivity, but misses out on 4G LTE.

As the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S5 grabs the limelight, Samsung has quietly launched its latest high-end tablet, with the 12.2-inch Samsung Galaxy NotePRO now available to purchase in the UK.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo has been spotted passing through the FCC, suggesting its launch is imminent.

The Nokia Normandy has been listed on a huge Vietnamese retail site, without the hot tipped Nokia X name.

It is looking increasingly likely the iPhone 6 screen will use next-generation quantum dot display technology.


Apple is strongly expected to launch the iPhone 6 in July, and according to a wealth of rumours and patents, it will use quantum dot screen technology.

Rumours also suggest the iPhone 6 will come with the largest display ever seen on an iPhone, so combined with the introduction of new technology, we could see a rather stunning iPhone 6 screen. 

Over the past few months, multiple sources have reported Apple will use quantum dot technology to enhance the display of its next-generation smartphone.

At least five Apple patents relating to the technology have been published so far, detailing how Apple would use quantum dot screen to improve the image quality of its iPhone displays – and potentially iPads as well.

The patents explain that Apple will improve colour reproduction in the Retina display by emitting the light through a thin film of quantum dots, while the technology would also allow a wider gamut of colours to be shown more accurately.

Of course, the quantum dot technology isn’t new and is already used in the Amazon Kindle Fire HDX tablets. The Fire HDX range offer hi-resolution displays of 1920 x 1200 on the Kindle Fire HDX and 2560 x 1600 with excellent colour reproduction, but do suffer from light-bleed issues.

However, Apple is on top of this already, outlining in one patent that it has seen similar problems in its Research and Development process and has already addressed them.

Jason Hartlove, CEO of Nanosys (a leading company in the development of quantum dot technology) also said that the first smartphone with a quantum dot display would launch by the middle of 2014, which would coincide with a July iPhone 6 launch.

Apple CEO Tim Cook himself also stressed the importance of the overall display experience, combining screen size and quality.

“We want to give our customers what’s right in all respects – not just the size but in the resolution, in the clarity, in the contrast, in the reliability”, said Cook during an interview earlier this year. “There are many different parameters to measure a display and we care about all those, because we know that’s the window to the software.”

Motorola has revealed that it plans to launch a £30 ($50) smartphone is a bid to offer better value devices to a wider audience.

New Samsung Galaxy S5 leaks have surfaced, with prematurely unveiled benchmarks suggesting the eagerly awaited handset will run a 16-megapixel camera and Snapdragon 800 processor.


With a 16-megapixel snapper having long been tipped to feature on the Samsung Galaxy S4 follow-on, latest leaks have suggested that the improved primary camera, which will boast a 5312 x 2988 pixel shooting resolution, will be paired with a secondary, 2.1-megapixel camera up front.

What’s more, although it had previously been mooted that the Samsung Galaxy S5 would become the first device to run Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 805 CPU, the newly leaked AnTuTu benchmark tests, reportedly taken from the S5, have instead hinted a 2.5GHz quad-core 800 chip is set to feature.

Last month, speaking with TrustedReviews, Qualcomm hinted that the Samsung Galaxy S5 would miss out on the 805 chipset which is destined for handsets later in the year.

With a Samsung Galaxy S5 release date widely expected to be held later this month, Tim McDonough, Qualcomm’s VP of Marketing told us the first Snapdragon 805 powered phones are not expected until “mid-year.”

As well as teasing camera and power credentials, the latest Samsung Galaxy S5 leaks have put the device in line to run Google’s latest Android 4.4.2 KitKat OS and a 1080p Full HD display, down on the 2K resolution panel that has been heavily rumoured.

Earlier this week Samsung hinted that the Samsung Galaxy S5 release date will be held on February 24, issuing invites to an MWC-based press conference that it has teasingly dubbed “Unpacked 5.”

Given Samsung has yet to offer any formal word on the S5’s specs sheet, we suggest that these slightly middling performance leaks be taken lightly, for now at least.

The latest iPhone 6 rumour reveals the 2014 flagship could come with a 10-megapixel rear camera featuring an improved filter.


According to a Chinese website, the iPhone 6 will feature a slight camera upgrade over the iPhone 5S, bumping the sensor to 10-megapixels.

The Taiwanese supply chain insider sources suggest the iPhone 6 will offer at least 10-megapixels with an f/1.8 aperture.

Apparently, this improved camera will also come with interchangeable resin lenses created by a Japanese company called JSR.

The company has developed a new resin called ARTON, which offers impressive qualities like high heat resistance and is already used in video and digital CMOS camera sensors. ARTON resins are also lighter and thinner than regular IR filters. 

The iPhone 6 could also use the ARTON resins’ ability to minimise the colour shift incurred by CMOS sensors.

Previous rumours suggested the iPhone 6 would retain the 8-megapixel sensor of the iPhone 5S and focus more heavily on other areas of improvements.

Apple’s next flagship is tipped to feature a 4.7-inch display and launch alongside the Apple iWatch later this year.

It should run iOS 8, which is rumoured to heavily focus on healthcare and fitness tracking to tie-in with the iWatch launch.

Earlier this month, “sources briefed on the plans” suggested iOS 8 will come with a new fitness and healthcare app called HealthBook.

HealthBook will reportedly be able to monitor and store fitness and health data like calories burnt, steps taken, miles walked, blood pressure, heart rate and medication alerts.

The iPhone 6 is also expected to build upon the Touch ID fingerprint sensor technology and potentially a sapphire glass display.

Having unveiled the Huawei Ascend Mate 2 at CES 2014, manufacturer Huawei has claimed that it originally struggled to make networks believe it could make decent smartphones.