Cook cops an earful as man sues Apple over iOS 7 auto-downloads

Tim Cook labelled a 'corporate thug' by claimant

Apple CEO Tim Cook is being sued by a California man annoyed about the automatic downloads of the iOS 7 software to his family's iPhones and iPads.

Mark Menacher wants a mere $50 (About £31, AU$52) from Apple, plus a way to get rid of the iOS 7 install file on his devices so he can use the space for other apps and content, CNET reports.

Regardless of whether iOS device owners wish to install the new operating system, the large install file downloads by itself and requests users install each time they restart their device.

However, those, like Mr Menacher, who don't wish to upgrade to the colourful new OS, are lumbered with the sizeable file, rending the once-available storage space unavailable.

Apple's policy is partly why there's always such a speedy adoption of its annual software tweak, with iOS 7 usage reportedly up to 72 per cent at the time of writing.

Corporate thuggery

In his submission to the Superior Court of California, the claimant reserved some choice words for Apple's boss when it comes to customer service.

He wrote: "Apple's disregard for customer preferences in relation to iOS7 is corporate thuggery. Steve Jobs was reportedly rough on company employees in pursuit of happy customers, but Tim Cook apparently cultivates a culture of contempt for customer satisfaction in pursuit of corporate profits. It is a policy that will eventually fail."

According to the report Mr Menacher is considering taking the case to a higher court as well as establishing whether there are grounds for a class action suit.

• Are you still struggling to jump about the iOS 7 bandwagon? Here are 21 useful tips and tricks to get you going.

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/computing/apple/cook-cops-an-earful-as-man-sues-apple-over-ios-7-auto-downloads-1191198

Read More

Google Hangouts for iOS approaches potential with major new update

Google Hangouts has folded in Google Voice in the US

The Google Hangouts app for iOS just got a lot better, especially for those in the US who can now make free phone calls with the all-encompassing, multi-platform messaging and video chat application.

A new update arrived on Friday, essentially folding in Google Voice functionality and thus allowing users to make free calls to anyone in the US and Canada, and cheap calls internationally.

Outgoing calls will come from the user's Google Voice number and incoming calls will be received through the Hangouts app. That feature isn't even available within the Android version of the app yet.

Unfortunately for Brits Google Voice has never made its way across the pond, but fear not there are a few other improvements for users to enjoy.

Musical relief

Namely, Hangouts will no longer halt music when incoming messages are received, which had proved a serious annoyance for some users.

"Incoming messages will no longer stop your music. Instead of interrupting your groove, Google+ Hangouts will now temporarily duck your music, then crank the volume back up," wrote Kate Cushing on her Google+ page.

The app update also sees the return of the green and orange circles next to contacts who indicate who's available and who is idle or offline.

And, perhaps most importantly, animated .gif files will now play in-line within conversations. Thank heavens for that.

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/software/applications/google-hangouts-for-ios-approaches-potential-with-major-new-update-1191180

Read More

First true octa-core smartphone unveiled

MediaTek was the first to announce a chipset with a true octa-core processor back in June and now the first phone utilizing it has gone official. The UMI X2S broke cover at the Autumn Edition of Hong Kong Electronics Fair.

All of UMI’s phones are intended for the Chinese market and that’s why you’ve probably never heard of the brand. The UMI latest X2S smartphone is powered by MT6592 chipset with an octa-core Cortex-A7 1.5GHz processor and 2GB of RAM. There is no word on the GPU, but when the MT6592 got benchmarked it was rocking a Mali-450, so that's probably it.

The rest of the UMI X2S specs include a 5” 1080p display, 32GB internal storage, a 13MP camera with Sony lens, and NFC connectivity. Since MG6592 is LTE-capable, we guess the X2S should be LTE-enabled as well.

There is no info on the pricing and availability yet, but the gadget is supposed to be very affordable, despite its fancy CPU.

MediaTek was indeed the first one to design and release a true octa-core chip and will probably remain the only one for a while as early hopes of Samsung enabling 8-core processing on its Exynos 5 Octa via a firmware update were squashed. And the revised Exynos 5 is unlikely to make it in actual hardware before the Galaxy S5 comes around next year.

Source | Via

Source : http://www.gsmarena.com/umi_x2s_is_first_to_use_true_octacore_chipset_by_mediatek-news-7011.php

Read More