Missing even one bill payment can have serious repercussions for your credit. Not only does doing so ding your score, it can also invoke penalty and overdraft fees, as well as boost the interest rates on your account. In fact, Americans on the whole...
These days, a mobile OS is only as good as its ecosystem, and no company knows this fact more than Microsoft. Its smartphone platform known as Windows Phone has had plenty of growing pains during the first three years of existence, which is mainly related to a limited number of big apps and game titles. Despite these struggles, Microsoft has slowly but surely been able to court heavy-hitting developers -- even if only one or two at a time. Today, however, a gaping hole in the Windows Phone Store will be plugged, as Instagram will be available as a free download beginning today around 2pm ET.
The Instagram app, which will be available only for Windows Phone 8 (sorry, legacy users), will offer Live Tiles that refresh with new data on the Start screen, and will also come with support for fast-resume; sadly, there are quite a few features that won't be available right away, such as video capture and uploading, photo tagging, viewing geotaxis and -- arguably the most important -- in-app image capture. Instagram explains that it wanted to get the app out to users as quickly as possible, so a few features had to be left out of the first version (which Instagram is calling a beta), but it assures us that future updates will come with plenty more functionality (as updates are often wont to do). Still, the addition of official support by Instagram is a good indicator of health for Windows Phone.
Update: Despite Microsoft's and Instagram's repeated assurance that in-app image capture would not be available, it appears that it's actually included in the official app after all. Pressing the camera button takes you into the camera roll by default, but choosing the camera icon allows you to take a pic. Once you take the image, it auto-selects that shot and lets you upload it through Instagram.
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Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, Microsoft
Even if you don't feel like coughing up the cash for either the iPhone 5c or iPhone 5s, those eligible for an update (that's if you own an iPhone 4 or up, or an iPad 2 onward) can at least console themselves with iOS 7, which debuts today. Gone is the skeuomorphic design of the Forstall era, and in its place is a flatter interface that promises an entirely new experience for iOS devotees. As such, developers everywhere have been scrambling to get their apps redesigned to match the new mobile OS out of Cupertino. While we can't possibly cover every update, we've compiled a quick list after the break of the more substantial app revamps that have come our way.
Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile, Apple
Source: Evernote, Flipboard, Foursquare, Shazam, Vimeo, Mailbox, Twitter, OpenTable, Simplenote, about.me
Wondering what would become of the plucky Mint 'bot after iRobot swept up its creator, Evolution Robotics? The company clearly thought it was time for a name change -- it's the iRobot Braava from here on out. The cleaner has inherited its older sibling's good looks, from the square build to the little diamond up top. Like the Mint, the Braava line pushes a cloth around your floor to pick up dirt instead of relying upon suction. It's got two modes: dry or damp, and in both cases is designed for a light cleaning in one go, rather than the Roomba or Scooba's multi-pass technique. There are two models, the 320 and the higher end 380t, which features some nice amenities like a faster charging battery and liquid dispensing. The Braavas are available now, starting at $199 at the source link below.
Source: iRobot