While there are many fairly specialized mobile apps out there, Yo, which was just launched by Life Before Us, takes the cake for being the narrowest-focused messaging service available on Android and iOS now.

Why? Because Yo can only be used to say "Yo" to your contacts. As you can imagine, it does not even trigger a keyboard when you want to hit a friend with a message, as a touch of a button will do the trick (Life Before Us touts this as a feature, in case you are wondering why the heck I am mentioning it).

Continue reading →

Samsung's Galaxy Tab Pro comes with an 8.4-inch, 10.1-inch and 12.2-inch screen. I reviewed the pen-friendly foil to the largest Tab Pro, the Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 earlier this year, and we've also already looked at the Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4.

What you have in the Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 12.2 is quite an interesting concept. A giant sized screen, in tablet format, that at £480 for the 32GB version easily costs as much as a good laptop but which lacks a lot of laptop features. There's no capacious hard drive, no physical keyboard, no support for the huge range of apps you might want to run on Windows or OS X.

Continue reading →

Microsoft has figured out a way of making wireless charging readily available wherever you go. While that may sound futuristic, it actually is far from it in fact. All you need is the right pair of pants.

Microsoft has teamed up with British designer A. Sauvage to bring the convenience of wireless charging in the "Modern Man" trousers, which are part of "London Collections". The technology bit is achieved by making (clever) use of the Nokia DC-50 wireless charging plate, which is based on the popular Qi standard.

Continue reading →

Wouldn't it be useful to know there is someone at the door when you're out in the garden or even when you're away from home completely?

The people behind the i-Bell, which launches its crowd funding campaign this month, obviously had the same thought. A Wi-Fi enabled doorbell, it lets you use your smartphone to see and even communicate with whoever is at your door. You can tell the delivery man to hang on a second or leave the package in a safe place for example.

Continue reading →

Evernote Corporation has released Evernote 5.4 for Windows Desktop, a minor update to its popular cloud-based, cross-platform note-taking and organizational tool.

Version 5.4 introduces two new features based on user feedback: the ability to request additional permissions when accessing shared notebooks, and the ability to view shortcuts horizontally on their own dedicated toolbar.

Continue reading →

Microsoft has unveiled Internet Explorer Developer Channel, a special preview version of the browser which includes upcoming developer-oriented features and extended standards support.

One major highlight of this release is that it’s packaged as an App-V application, which means it runs in a virtualized environment and won’t affect your existing Windows or Internet Explorer setup at all. There are none of the usual dangers of installing an unfinished IE build. You can run Internet Explorer Developer Channel alongside IE11 without any conflicts, and uninstall it cleanly at any time.

Continue reading →

You might recall that we recently reviewed the ChargeKey and ChargeCard USB charging gadgets. These are now being relaunched with an updated design using more durable materials and have had a name change to NomadKey and NomadCard -- though we’re guessing they won't recharge your camel.

There's also an extra product, the carabiner-style NomadClip that you can fit on your key chain, belt or anywhere else to ensure you’re never without a charger. It’s non-load bearing but with a steel frame and polycarbonate outer shell it should be tough enough to survive life's day-to-day knocks.

Continue reading →

Do you enjoy listening to a bit of Radiohead on YouTube -- well, perhaps "enjoy" might be the wrong word for Thom Yorke's compositions -- but anyway, if you do, you might find that your viewing pleasure is disrupted when the band's music videos are stripped from Google's service.

This could happen pretty soon, according to reports, because of a dispute between the video streaming giant and the independent labels which look after the likes of Radiohead and the Arctic Monkeys.

Continue reading →

Emsisoft has released Emsisoft Anti-Malware 9.0, a brand new version of its dual-engine anti-malware tool for Windows users. Version 9.0 sports a major facelift, improved performance and "hundreds of detail improvements" for better usability.

To celebrate the release, users have a nine-day window in which to purchase 12 month’s protection for the special introductory price of just $9.99, a saving of 75 percent on the usual MSRP.

Continue reading →

I was quite a fan of the Huawei Ascend P7 when I reviewed it last month, noting that it was a worthy flagship phone. At the high-end of the market, Huawei's problem is less what it does with its handsets, and more the profile it gets as a company in competition with the likes of Sony, Samsung and HTC.

The Ascend G6 is not a flagship handset. It is currently available for around £225 SIM-free as a 4G handset, and an otherwise identical 3G version will be around £185. It is a good comparator for the new £235 HTC Desire 610.

Continue reading →

Toronto security firm AgileBits has completed its round of major updates to its secure password storage service with the release of 1Password for Windows 4.0. With version 4, AgileBits has revamped the Windows build, significantly closing the feature-set gap between it and the more fully developed Mac version.

Highlights of this release include tighter security, a number of significant new features and the promise of vastly improved performance, and follow on from the recent Android update.

Continue reading →

Linux users are not the most sociable bunch. Sure, I am generalizing, but I speak from experience. Not only do I know many socially awkward and inept Linux nerds, but I am one myself. While I do not use operating systems based on the kernel exclusively, I use them often, and understand preferring the company of a computer to other humans.

Still, every once in a while, a Linux nerd must communicate with family or friends and what better way to do that than video chat? Skype is one of the best options, although some Linux users refuse to use it since Microsoft acquired it. Me? I could care less who owns it as long as it functions as I expect. Today, Microsoft reaffirms its commitment to Linux with a new version of Skype.

Continue reading →

Greece is a beautiful place, but sadly, I've never seen it in person. No, much like other Americans, I rarely travel. Today's economy is too unforgiving towards wasteful spending. I've seen Greece on TV, in movies and on the internet, so I get the basic idea. Still, it would be nice to visit a country so full of history -- maybe one day.

Today however, Google makes it possible for people to experience Greece without leaving their home. Yes, the popular Google Maps Street View comes to Greece, allowing a more realistic view of the country. This the 56th country to be represented by Street View, thus far.

Continue reading →

Amazon today unveiled the latest entrant to the smartphone race -- the Fire phone. The handset continues the Fire name that is more readily associated with Amazon's range of Android tablets, and it has a few tricks up its sleeve to make it stand out from the competition. A press event in Seattle brought to an end weeks of rumor and speculation as the phone, which features Dynamic Perspective that allows for maps and other images to be displayed in three dimensions, was revealed.

Run by four ultra-low power specialized cameras and four infrared LEDs, Dynamic Perspective has numerous uses. One application makes it possible for users to gain a different perspective on an image or object on screen by moving their heads. In games, a move of the head can be used to switch views, and there is scope for unique navigation options within apps. Some applications are slightly simpler, and mimic those found in other handsets such as Samsung's Galaxy range. For example, auto-scroll allows for easy reading of lengthy documents and web pages without the need for swiping.

Continue reading →

Changing screen resolution on a PC is normally done via the Display applet. In Windows 8, say, you’d right-click the desktop, select Screen Resolution, choose your preferred resolution, click OK and confirm the results.

While this isn’t difficult, it does take a few clicks. If you’re adjusting your resolution on a regular basis then you might like to try HotKey Resolution Changer, which allows you to tweak your settings with a keypress, or from the command line -- no other steps required.

Continue reading →