Some More Updates on Technology Bytes…
It’s that time of year again where I take a look at some of my old articles and provide some updates on exciting new things that have taken place or are soon to come.
The first in this round of updates reaches way back to last month when I wrote about Mailbox, the app that helps you to achieve “inbox zero”. The big news is that Mailbox no longer has a wait. After their first ten weeks of ramping up their operations, their solution has scaled to the point where the wait is no longer needed and their infrastructure can handle over 100 million messages per day. The other big news from this great app developer is an iPad and Android app in current development. Stay tuned for more great things from this Dropbox acquisition.
Each year, we are treated to a round of Apple updates to their fleet of products and everyone is eagerly anticipating the next iteration. The word on the street is that we’ll be seeing a new iPhone sometime this fall. This is rumored to feature a longer battery life, a faster processor, a better camera, and maybe a fingerprint sensor for security purposes. Another rumor consists of a cheaper iPhone that will feature a plastic housing, something we haven’t seen since the 3Gs. The iPad should see a fresh new form factor akin to that featured in the iPad mini, with a smaller bezel allowing for more room for screen size. The iPad mini itself should finally realize a Retina display, one of the biggest complaints from people when it was first released. All of these devices will be running iOS 7, which is seeing big spikes in usage from beta testers on Apple’s campus. This is purported to bring us a “flatter” interface, much like the recent look and feel that Facebook pushed out on their mobile devices. I would reckon that September will be a big month for Apple and a costly month for Apple addicts.
A few of my favorite games saw some new features as of late, with Angry Birds Star Wars getting a big update in the form of Cloud City. 20 new levels are now available and this brings us the premiere of the Boba Fett pig. My love for Star Wars is also sated with a new pinball game recently released: Star Wars Pinball. The app sells for $1.99 in the App Store and comes with one table; two others are available as in-app purchases for $1.99 each. I’m a huge pinball fan and a gigantic Star Wars geek, so the marriage of the two was an instant sell for me. My other pinball indulgence, Pinball Arcade, has seen quite a few new tables added to their pantheon of classic tables brought to life on the iPhone and iPad. Each table pack adds a couple of new offerings as in-app purchases and I’ve purchased them all thus far. You might not be as big a pinball fan as I, but the 99¢ you spend on the app will allow you to play whatever sample table is featured, which is assuredly a good deal.
As always, if you’d like for me to kick the tires on any type of app, software, or anything else tech related, feel free to shoot me an email. I’m always open to suggestions and eager to see what exciting technology still awaits!
