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Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Download: xRec for iPhone to Record iPhone Screen Video [No Jailbreak Required]


Every once in a while a new app pops up in the App Store that piques our interest, which is no mean feat considering the number of apps we see. The latest app to get our juices flowing is xRec, and at less than two dollars we're going to go ahead and recommend everyone gets it downloaded now – before Apple pulls it.

See, xRec does something that we've all lusted after at least once, especially those of us in the technology writing game. With xRec, believe it or not, anyone can record what is being displayed on their iPhone's screen in real-time. Want to upload a video of your battles with the aliens in XCOM, or perhaps show off your city in Clash of Clans? With xRec you need rely on screenshots no more.

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Now we know you're probably saying that this is nothing new, and that screen recorders have been around for ages now. And you'd be right, but all the screen recorders we've heard of need the iDevice to be jailbroken in order for them to work. Where xRec differs, if it's not obvious enough at this point, is that it doesn't need a jailbroken device in order to function. Anyone running iOS 6 and an iPhone 3GS or above is good to go, which is pretty darned awesome in our book.

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Now earlier on we suggested that everyone download this before Apple pulls it, and potentially with good reason. We're not sure Apple wants people to record their iPhone screens, else they'd have made it easier to do and we'd have had apps like this long before now. It wouldn't be the first time an app has hit the App Store without Apple realizing what it does – the plethora of apps that allowed tethering are testament to that. If Apple does decide to pull xRec, we'd rather have it on our iPhones first!

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(Download: xRec for iPhone from App Store)


Post from my iPhone 5

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Whatsapp for iOS got updated

When it comes to cross-platform instant messaging, there are few able to compete with WhatsApp Messenger. Covering all of the major mobile operating systems, the only thing really missing from the repertoire is a Web app, but until that implementation arrives if ever, versions for iOS, Android, BlackBerry and others will do just nicely. Today, the iOS app has been given a reasonable update featuring iCloud chat history backup as well as support for sending multiple photos in a thread. Details after the jump.

As a long-time user of iOS and having, as such, become accustomed to iMessage, my switch to Android as a daily driver required a decent messenger as a matter of priority. Facebook Messenger and Chat Heads, which incorporates the native messaging app, has stood me in good stead, but without WhatsApp as a kicker, I wouldn't have been able to keep in touch with half of my contacts.

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The app does have its inherent flaws, such as lack of any kind of ability to send full, high quality images, but I would think this has much to do with users unwittingly running up humungous carrier bills as anything else. Minor gripes aside, WhatsApp is a stellar service, and it's little wonder consumers from all platforms swear by it.

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The latest update, which is only specific to those on iOS, brings in iCloud support for the backing up of conversations – pretty handy if you use iCloud for everything else. The feature has been a long time coming, and now, those looking to store conversations can do so indefinitely thanks to the power of Apple's ridiculously efficient cloud service.

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Allied to iCloud support, there's also now the ability to send multiple photos to a contact at any one time, so if you're busily pushing through a whole album of last night's antics, you can spend less time selecting then sending, and more time nursing that mysterious headache.

WhatsApp is, completely free of charge from this update onwards, and you can grab it via the link below or apply the update through App Store on your iPhone.

Here's to hoping that an iPad or iPod touch client makes its way to the App Store in the near future!

(Download: WhatsApp for iPhone on the App Store)


Sent from my iPhone

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Geohot Rooted Samsung Galaxy S4 Active

It may have been a while since we have heard anything new related to George Hotz, aka Geohot, but it seems like he can never keep his name out of the cyber headlines for long. Fans of Apple's iPhone – and more specifically those involved in the jailbreak community – will know Geohot from his days involved in the cat and mouse game with Apple. In more recent times he has also gained infamy thanks to his well-publicized legal wrangle with Sony after publishing information online on how to "jailbreak" the company's PS3 console. It seems that no-one is safe from his liberation abilities with the Samsung Galaxy S4 Activebeing the latest device to fall prey to his skills.

The Galaxy S4 Active, or SGH-1537 as it's known on inventory systems, has only been publicly available for two weeks but has already generated significant interest from the Android modification community. Users on the thriving XDA forum were quick to discuss how keen they were for someone to achieve root status on the S4 Active and even went as far as putting together a bounty of more than $450 to be awarded to the person who could successfully root the device in the first instance and provide details online about the process. We certainly don't think Geohot was relying on the $455 but it does look like he was the first to get root.

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Geohot doesn't exactly appear to be a regular contributor to the XDA Android forums. He is classified as a "Junior Member" of the site with only 17 posts to his name in the two and a half years that his account has been active. Still, achieving root status on a popular device like the Galaxy S4 Active only two weeks after launch is likely to get him some kudos with the community. What makes the achievement even more impressive is that he had only picked up the device from the AT&T store that afternoon, apparently on his way back from the beach.

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Anyone familiar with the work of Geohot should also know that he doesn't like to take the traditional root on things. It seems that he feels passive methods of achieving root are "so last summer", so to combat that has updated his own personal website with an automated root procedure. The process involves visiting his website on a Samsung Galaxy S4 Active smartphone:

geohot.com/activeroot/

clicking the lamba symbol to install the necessary APK and then running the activeroot executable. It doesn't look like Hotz has claimed the $455 bounty yet, but it's great to welcome back to the community and even better to see him sharing his exploits again.

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Sent from my iPhone