Android 4.4 KitKat Update: First Update Confirmed

Google hasn’t announced the Android 4.4 KitKat update release date or features just yet but that hasn’t stopped one manufacturer from confirming Android KitKat for arrival at some point in the future, something that makes it the first confirmed Android 4.4 update.

Earlier this month, just ahead of the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 launch date, Google confirmed a new version of Android, Android 4.4 KitKat, that will be out sometime in the future. The company launched a splash page for the update, announcing a content with Nestle, but it did not detail an Android 4.4 release date or Android 4.4 KitKat features.

Android 4.4 KitKat is expected to touchdown with a new Nexus 5.

Rumors suggest that those details will arrive in October, possibly on October 14th, wherein Google may announce the new Nexus 5, a device that almost certainly will be coming with Android 4.4 KitKat.

Ahead of the Android 4.4 KitKat launch date though, we’ve seen one company apparently confirm the Android 4.4 KitKat update for arrival. Android manufacturer Pantech took to Twitter to confirm an Android 4.4 KitKat update for its Vega Iron smartphone, a device that was released earlier this year.

The tweet, first discovered by Blog of Mobile, did not specify when the update would be touching down for Vega Iron owners only that they could expect the Android 4.4 KitKat update to touch down in the future. The tweet comes from Pantech’s official Twitter account so it appears that this is the real deal.

This makes the Pantech Vega Iron the first device confirmed to be getting the Android 4.4 KitKat update and it will likely be one of the only ones that sees this confirmation ahead of the Android 4.4 launch.

Other companies typically remain mum on the subject ahead until long after the initial announcement as they work to determine which devices will be getting the update and when.

Many devices, including the Galaxy Note 2 and Galaxy S3, will be getting upgraded to Android 4.3 Jelly Bean first before they are upgraded to Android 4.4 KitKat. Those devices are thought to be getting Android 4.3 in October.

Other devices, like the HTC One X and HTC One X+, are rumored to not be getting Android 4.4 KitKat at all though HTC itself has yet to confirm the bad news.

Android 4.4 KitKat is rumored to include updates for older devices, fragmentation changes including screen resizing, Miracast updates, color changes and new notification widgets.

Typically, Nexus devices are the first to Android updates so the Pantech Vega Iron will likely be far behind the Nexus 4, Nexus 10 and Nexus 7 when it comes to an Android 4.4 KitKat release date.

Google Acquires Wireless Data-Sharing App Bump

Bump, the popular wireless file-sharing app for smartphones, has been acquired by Google. The startup company announced the buyout on their blog, saying that it “couldn’t be more thrilled to join Google.” Both Bump and Flock will continue to work as usual, according to the company, but it seems they may undergo some changes at some point, with the mention of “future updates” in the works.

If you’re not familiar with Bump, it’s an app for both iOS and Android that allows two smartphone users to “bump” their phones together in order to send files from one phone to another. NFC devices can already do this, but Bump doesn’t use NFC, making it a more-viable option for more device owners, since NFC isn’t widely adopted yet. Instead, Bump can use any other form of wireless communication.

Furthermore, the app actually uses the various motion sensors in the phones to feel the bump. That info is sent to Bump’s servers and it matches up bumps based on the time of the bumps and the intensity of the bumps. From that info, Bump can determine the two people trying to send files to one another, all of which happens in a matter of a few seconds.

While is Bump is a fairly popular app (seeing downloads into the tens of millions), the company has never made much of a profit, raising just nearly $20 million in total. The company released its newer Flock app last year, which is aimed that sharing photos with friends and family in a similar style that Bump does, but the app never really took off, still leaving Bump as the company’s flagship product.

Not a lot of information was disclosed about the acquisition, like the cost of buyout, future plans, etc., but it’s more than likely that Google will implement Bump’s features into Android, including the app’s wireless data transfer technology and group photo-sharing abilities, thus rendering Bump a useless app on Android once that rolls around, but we’re not sure when that will be.

However, if Google decides to implement these features into Android and then shut the app down, that could wreak havoc on iOS users, who will no longer have access to Bump. Then again, we’re guessing worthy alternatives will come around if that happens, as the “bumping” file transfer platform has been becoming a growing trend recently.

9 iOS 7 Release Date Predictions

The iOS 7 release date was confirmed last week for Wednesday, September 18th. Ahead of the iOS 7 release for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, it’s time to make some bold predictions in regard to what will take place the day that iOS changes forever.

In June, Apple took the stage in San Francisco at its annual WWDC conference for developers. As expected, the company detailed not one, but two new software updates for its users. The first, OS X Mavericks, a new operating system for users of its Mac line of products, and an update that will be bringing a number of big time features to users sometime in the future, possibly in October.

The other piece of software was the iOS 7 update for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, an update that looked and still looks drastically different than its iOS predecessors.

iOS 7 is an update that Apple is calling the biggest update to iOS since the introduction of the first iPhone. With Scott Forstall out and iPhone designer Jony Ive and his team in, iOS 7 ushers in a new, flatter operating system that not only features some new additions to the iOS feature set but also brings a new look to many of the staples of iOS including the camera application, multitasking, Control Center and more. Those who haven’t caught a glimpse of the changes can see them detailed in the video below..

Apple announced that the big changes would be arriving sometime in the fall and just a few short days ago, Apple confirmed the iOS 7 release date for September 18th.

At the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C launch event, Apple went back over the features of iOS 7 but also delivered an iOS release date for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, one that will be taking place in just two days.

Ahead of the iOS 7 release date, we want to make some bold predictions in regard to how September 18th will place out. Here now are nine iOS 7 release date predictions.

iOS 7 Release Time

One of the biggest mysteries leading up to the iOS 7 release date will be the iOS 7 release time. Apple doesn’t announce when it will be releasing iOS software only that it will be releasing it sometime that day. Fortunately for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch owners, there is a long history of iOS updates to draw from.

iOS updates typically roll out in the morning.

History suggests that Apple will release its iOS 7 update in the morning for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch owners on the United States’ west coast, with an early afternoon release on the east coast. This has been the timing for many of Apple’s past iOS updates and we would be absolutely shocked if it didn’t do the same thing with iOS 7.

We expect the software to roll out sometime in between 9:30 and 10:30 PST. When the update does become available, users will be prompted within the Settings at which point it can be downloaded and installed Over-the-Air or through iTunes.

Tons of Complaining

Expect Apple’s support forums, Twitter, Facebook, just about any social network or forum where iPhone, iPad and iPod touch owners can go to be rife with complaints. There will be people that will say that this is the end of Apple, those that can’t understand why Apple made these drastic changes, want to go back to iOS 6 immediately after installing, those that have issues, and those that simply cannot figure out the new operating system on day one.

This is the biggest change to iOS since iOS was introduced all those years ago so this is expected. Those who haven’t been following along with Apple’s announcements and those who haven’t delved in a little deep with iOS 7 are likely going to be blindsided by these changes. iOS 7 looks and feels a lot different than iOS 6.

After a few days, maybe even a few weeks, we should see complaints simmer down and bit as users adjust to the massive changes coming with the new version of iOS. However, on day one, expect tons and tons of complaining from iPhone, iPad and iPod touch owners that install Apple’s iOS 7.

Fairly Seamless iOS 7 Installation

When iOS 5 arrived, it brought tons of installation issues to iPhone, iPad and iPod touch owners, so many issues that many owners had to wait a day or so before installing the new software. Apple never gave an official reason for the errors but it was clear that its servers were under duress thanks to the millions of people trying to download and install at the same time.

We shouldn’t see the same release date chaos that we’ve seen in years past.

Last year’s iOS 6 release went a lot smoother. Yes, there were people that ran into issues on day one, but for the most part, iPhone, iPad and iPod touch owners that wanted to install on day one were able to install on day one.

iOS 7 is a bit of a wildcard given that it brings a new look and tons of new features but we still think that Apple’s server issues are behind it. We expect there to be issues, but we don’t expect there to be widespread installation issues on Wednesday when the iOS 7 update arrives. Apple should be ready, just like it was for the many iOS 6 updates.

Hefty, “Time Consuming” Installation

While we think that the iOS 7 installation process should be seamless for most iPhone, iPad and iPod touch owners, we also think that the update process could be a little more time consuming than usual and that owners may want to stash away a few extra minutes of free time to get their devices updated.

Make a back up before installing iOS 7.

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The last iOS 6 update, iOS 6.1.4, was a 990MB download. The iOS 7 GM is about 1.2GB in size and we expect the public release to be around the same size. That said, we think that the iOS 7 update will likely some extra time to download and install due to its size. How much longer, we can’t say, but we could see it taking some extra time to complete, particularly on older devices like the iPhone 4 and iPad 2.

Of course, in the land of iOS updates, nothing is really time consuming. In the past, updates have taken anywhere between 15 to 30 minutes to complete which isn’t that long in the scheme of things. We just wouldn’t be shocked if iOS 7 was just a little longer than previous updates.

There Will Be Issues

iOS updates typically cause issues for iPhone and iPad owners.

There will be bugs that plague iPhone, iPad and iPod touch owners on release day. While we can’t say exactly what issues will crop up, we do know that there are many owners that are still dealing with random reboots, even in the iOS 7 GM.

We’ve heard several complaints from iOS 7 GM users, particularly those that are on the iPad, complaining about their device randomly rebooting to the boot screen. This is an issue that we countered within iOS 6 as well where the iPhone 5, for no clear reason, would cycle to the boot screen and then load up the lock screen within a few seconds.

This is an issue that we could see emerge with iOS 7 alongside several others. No iOS update is ever safe from bugs, even with a beta testing period, and we will likely see a host of them emerge on Wednesday.

As far as performance issues go, we expect iPhone 4 owners to get the brunt of it given that their device is the elder statesman and we saw iPhone 3GS owners dealing with a myriad of issues when iOS 6 arrived back in September of last year.

iOS 7 Battery life Issues

The biggest complaint that we expect from iOS 7 users, bug-wise, will be battery life complaints. Year-after-year, update-after-update, we see the same thing. iPhone, iPad and iPod touch owners take to forums, Twitter and more to complain about their battery life after a recent iOS update.

iOS 7 users will complain about battery life.

iOS 7 will likely be no different and we should see this be one of, if not the top issue on Wednesday. Problem is, it’s kind of a boy who cried wolf situation at this point. Because we see it so often, it’s hard to discern whether it’s a major issue, affecting tons of different owners. There have been iOS updates in the past, iOS 6.1 is a recent example, that actually did cause widespread battery issues thanks to an Exchange bug.

So while it’s impossible to say whether the iOS 7 battery life issues will be widespread and caused by Apple, there will be complaints asserting as much come Wednesday.

No Big iOS 7 Jailbreak News

Over the weekend, we finally saw some movement in regards to an iOS 7 jailbreak. Noted iOS security researcher pod2g and iOS hacker and security expert Nikias Bassen shared a conversation on Twitter in which he shared his confidence about an iOS 7 jailbreak. He used a disclaimer, saying that his confidence did not mean a jailbreak would be coming soon.

We don’t expect game-changing iOS 7 jailbreak news.

We don’t think one will be coming soon either and furthermore, we don’t expect there to be any credible iOS 7 jailbreak release news on iOS 7 release day. What we mean is that we don’t think will we see an iOS 7 jailbreak release date announced, likely won’t see hackers exclaim any more success than they already have, and we surely won’t see an iOS 7 jailbreak released on day one.

There should be some chatter, no doubt, but don’t expect any of the big dominoes to fall on day one.

iOS 7 Jailbreak Scams

What we should see are a number of iOS 7 jailbreak scams take precedent on release day. Already, we’ve seen some scams pop up asking for donations, donations that gullible iPhone, iPad and iPod touch owners have likely made.

We expect to see even more pop up on Wednesday to take advantage of the the high-profile debut of iOS 7. So be warned. Unless the donations or iOS 7 jailbreak are coming from the Evasi0n team or a site with a credible history, they should be avoided.

Followed Closely by iOS 7.0.1

We fully expect the iOS 7 release date to be followed closely by an iOS 7.0.1 release. At the most, we expect Apple to deliver a new iOS 7 update within the first few weeks of its arrival.

Analytics tools show Apple testing an iOS 7.1 update.

Already, rumors have suggested that the company is working on iOS 7.0.1 and iOS 7.1, a sign that it could push a new update live to tackle any known issues that surface once the software makes its arrival on Wednesday.

If there are catastrophic bugs on board, and at the moment there don’t seem to be any, look for Apple to hasten the iOS 7.0.1 update to accommodate iOS 7 users.

How Long the iOS 7 Update Will Take to Complete

After a much-anticipated wait the iOS 7 release nearly here. With iOS 7, iPhone and iPad users will have access to a totally revamped home screen, new features like control center, and a lot of other neat improvements. Besides the obvious new additions there are also a lot of under the hood security improvements that make upgrading a good idea.

If you have the iPhone 4 or newer or iPad 2 and up, your device is capable of running iOS 7. The upgrade process is a fairly simple one to complete but the amount of time that it takes depends on several things. One of the biggest factors is the internet connection you use to download iOS 7. If you have a good internet connection it will help the upgrade process go at least a bit easier.

One thing that will depend on the day itself is how Apple’s servers hold up as soon as the download goes live. In the past the upgrade has went well overall, but depending on how many people are trying to update at the same time this might vary. If you have issues while trying to download the update either try at a later time or wait a day or so for Apple to iron out some of the issues that occasionally happen with these upgrades.

Here’s how long you can expect the iOS 7 upgrade to take.

The iOS 7 update time is typically around 10AM Pacific or 1PM Eastern but this could change. Broken down below is an approximation as to how long the upgrade process will take for you to upgrade to iOS 7. Each step has a time allocation associated with it and is close to what will happen on upgrade day. As a side note it is best not to use the iPhone while upgrading so you do not lose any data that was not backed up in a previous step.

Sync and Backup: 1-60 Minutes (Optional)

Connect the iPhone to the computer that you sync iTunes with and make a backup of your iPhone. This backup is useful if anything goes wrong with the upgrade. Even if you typically use iCloud to back up the iPhone, it is still a good idea to have a backup in iTunes on your computer. Depending on how often you back up the iPhone will reflect the time that this step takes.

Backup and Transfer Purchases: 1-30 Minutes (Optional)

Once your initial sync completes, it is also a good idea to back up purchases made on the iPhone. To do this step choose File —> Transfer Purchases in iTunes.

iOS 7 Download: 20-30 Minutes

After fully backing up the iPhone start to download the iOS 7 software. This step will take up to a half an hour (maybe more) and is depending on your internet connection. If a lot of people are trying to download the software at the same time this could also decrease the speed of the download.

iOS 7 Update Time: 15-30 Minutes

After the iOS 7 software finishes downloading, it will begin to install on the device. This step should take about 15 minutes but could be a bit longer. After the firmware update completes iOS 7 will successfully be installed on the iPhone.

For users who are already backed up and don’t feel the need to plug into a computer, the process could be as fast as 30 minutes, but plan for longer.

How Long Does it Take to Upgrade to iOS 7?

Here is a chart that combines all the above steps for a minimum total time of 40 minutes but expect about an hour for full process completion.

Initial Sync	1-60 Min
Backup and Transfer of Purchases	1-30 Min (longer depending on last backup)
iOS 7 Download	20-30 Min
Device Firmware Update	15-30 Min
Total	40-135 Min

Check out this video for a walk through of the new features that iOS 7 will bring to the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.

Apple Now Allowing Older App Downloads for Legacy iOS Versions

Apple is now allowing users with older iOS builds to download older versions of apps. Many apps are updated to only support the latest iOS version, which means users running older iOS builds weren’t able to download the app at all. However, Apple is now allowing these users to download the “last compatible version” of an app in order to use it.

For example, a user running iOS 5 can now download an app that otherwise only supports iOS 6 and later, but instead of downloading the latest version, they’ll get an older version that works with iOS 5. Of course, this isn’t a huge problem for Apple, as fragmentation isn’t as bad as Android, but it shows that Apple is willing to still support those running older iOS versions, especially those with older devices that can’t upgrade to the latest iOS build.

Apple announced back in June during WWDC 2013 that they had sold 600 million iOS devices, and over 90% of which have the iOS 6 running on them, which is an impressive number. However, this new feature that was quietly added goes to show that fragmentation is still a problem for Apple, but it’s willing to fix a few things to at least make it better.

Still though, Apple hasn’t been shy about how many users update to the latest version of iOS. The company revealed when they launched iOS 6 that 100 million iOS users updated to the latest version within the first week of its launch, and by the end of October that year, the number was doubled to 200 million.

However, older app versions have their downsides. They won’t come with all of the newer features of an app and they’ll still have all the bugs that have since been fixed with the newer version, but we suppose having access to the app at least is better than not having the app at all, especially when it’s an app you use almost everyday.

The good news is that developers can expand the reach of their apps, so they’ll be able to require the latest version of iOS, but they can still leave older versions available to users with older iOS devices, allowing more people to use their app than if older app versions weren’t available.

iTunes 11.1 Makes Arranging iPhone Apps Easier in OS X Mavericks

Apple released Apple OSX 10.9 Mavericks developer preview 8, a new beta that comes with iTunes 11.1. The new iTunes 11.1b110 (110)  includes a much-needed new feature in the iOS device app management screen. The new layout lets users more easily move app icons around their iPhone or iPad home screens.

iTunes 11.1 keeps the basic layout for iOS device management with one exception. Click on the Apps tab and users will notice that the old vertical alignment of iPhone and iPad screens gets replaced by a new horizontal alignment. Users will enjoy this new alignment because its easier to see their screens and app icons as they organize them.

Notice the new app management screen. Users can easily resize the home screen images with the slider above the screen previews. To the right notice the plus icon for adding a new iOS home screen to populate with apps.

Below the home screen images we see a folder management feature. Access other folders by scrolling down. The folders get listed in alphabetical order.

The plus icon adds a new page within a folder. Users can rearrange their folders of apps since folders can now hold more than one nine-app grid of icons with iOS 7.

Install or remove apps by clicking on the Install or Remove buttons in the list of apps along the left. Users can also drag apps to a particular screen or folder on the right to install them.

The new arrangement makes rearranging the app icons easier than the old iTunes app management screen.

We don’t see much else in iTunes or the OSX developer preview. The email that developers received discusses developer friendly features like…

• APIs for new energy-saving technologies
• AV Kit frameworks
• Sprite Kit
• Map Kit
• Many powerful additions to existing frameworks

Developers will see it in their Software Update feature in the Mac App Store. Regular users can get access it via the devloper program for a fee, which we highlighted recently.

The new version of iTunes 11.1 should come as a free update to users when the OS X Mavericks release date arrives, likely in late October.

Old Keyboard Will Stick Around Until iOS 7 App Updates Arrive

the iOS 7 update will bring a new look to the iPhone and iPad, but there is one part of iOS 6 that will stick around until developers update their apps for iOS 7.

Apple introduces a new keyboard and dictation look in iOS 7 which is built in to all of Apple’s default apps, but until IOS 7 app updates arrive in the app store users will continue to see parts of iOS 6 long after upgrading to iOS 7.

The main place that users will see this disconnect is while using the keyboard in apps that have not received an iOS 7 update. In a very un-Apple like look, even apps that use a standard keyboard and dictation will show the iOS 6 keyboard while running on iOS 7.

The iOS 6 keyboard shows up in third-party apps on iOS 7 until they are updated.

The image above shows the new iOS 7 keyboard next to the iOS 6 keyboard. While the iOS 7 keyboard does not add any new features like swiping to type, it does fit in better with the new iOS 7 design.

In addition to the keyboard, users will also see the old dictation screen from iOS 6 in these apps, instead of the new one with a wave animation that shows speech is detected. The image below shows two third-party iPhone apps, one of which is updated for iOS 7.

Conflicting looks in iOS 7 thanks to third-party apps.

It’s not clear why the old code shows up in apps that are not using an app specific keyboard, but hopefully we will see many apps gain the new iOS 7 keyboard and dictation look in the near future.

The good news for users who don’t want to see these old parts of iOS 6 is that many developers are planning iOS 7 app updates and Apple is pushing some of them live already this week. We expect to see many more when the iOS 7 release date arrives tomorrow, and in the days and weeks after.

A survey suggests that many popular apps will soon receive an iOS 7 update and that it could be an iOS 7 only update, meaning iPhone 3GS users and iOS 6 jailbreak users who don’t or cant’ update to iOS 7 will need to use an older version. Apple just changed the rules so that users can now download the older versions from the app store, up to the last compatible app.

The iOS 7 release is set for September 18th, as a free update for the iPhone 4 and newer, iPad 2 and newer and the iPod touch 5th generation. The update will arrive directly on the device or through an iTunes update.

NoteSuite for iOS and OSX is Better than Apple Notes or Evernote

Thanks to iCloud and the Notes app on both iOS and OSX users can type up quick notes, but NoteSuite does the same thing and adds features like folders, inking for scribbling notes with a stylus or finger and lets users easily share those notes using third-party services.

Many people will say that Evernote already syncs notes between multiple devices, but Evernote doesn’t offer inking features on the iPad and it’s not as elegant as NoteSuite. We must resort to third-party apps that work with Evernote. NoteSuite does this all right inside the iOS app and it exports to Dropbox too.

NoteSuite now sits on our main iPad home screen, replacing Notability as the best note-taking and inking app thanks to how well it syncs our notes with the OSX app and the beautiful pen options.

NoteSuite for OSX

Upon first installing the OSX version of NoteSuite the app gives users a helpful walk through to learn more about its features. Included we learn about clipping web pages using a Safari, Chrome or Firefox plugin or extension.

Install the web clipping tool and start clipping pages to notes for later use. Web designers could use it on the iPad to work on their website designs. Students can save info for research.

We clipped content from our home page. Notice how users can tag the clip or add to a to-do list in NoteSuite. It doesn’t work well with the beta version of Safari, but we hope they’ll get the kinks fixed before OSX Mavericks ships.

The NoteSuite To-Do list features won’t compare to more complicated task software, but for simple To-Do lists it works great. Users can tag them by subject and add a due date. Send it to other people for collaboration.

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NoteSuite for OSX helps users stay organized with folders and tags.

The built-in search tools make it easy to find even when we’re not as organized as we’d like.

A user can set the menu applet to load at start-up. This makes it quick and easy to create notes, to-do list items or open NoteSuite.

NoteSuite for iPad

The iPad version of NoteSuite replaced Notability as our go-to note taking app, because it syncs notes betwee the OSX version and the iPad version. It runs on all iPads except for the first one. Organize notes in folders and add tags, just like the OSX version.

We mostly like NoteSuite’s inking features. The zoom tool represented by the hand icon above opens a handwriting window. Users can write with large strokes and Notesuite shrinks the print and puts it in place. Users can add more text to a page this way and the print looks more like regular handwriting notes on a page.

The pen color and size options exceed other tools. They look nice and make the app easy to use.

We love NoteSuite and recommend that users get it now in the iTunes App Store for $1.99 and on the Mac App Store for $4.99.