Few days ago we talked about the SwiftKey Note app for iOS, which was leaked on Twitter. Now the app has been officially unveiled and is available for download for free on the iPhone and iPad.

SwiftKey Note is a simple note-taking app for your iOS device. But where it differs from other note-taking app is that it has its own custom keyboard, that uses the same algorithm as the SwiftKey keyboard on Android. This means you will get the same telepathic level of prediction and almost always accurate auto-correct system at your fingertips. Read more »

Sony has released v2.0 firmware for the QX100/QX100 cameras. One of the key new feature in this update is the change in resolution for video recording. The maximum supported resolution now is 1920×1080, instead of the 1440×1080 in the previous firmware.

Other change is the presence of Shutter Speed Priority shooting mode for the more expensive QX100 to manually control the shutter speed. Both the cameras also get a boost in the maximum supported ISO, with the QX10 now supporting ISO 3200 from ISO 1600 and the QX100 going as high as ISO 12800 from ISO 3200. Read more »

Continuing its crusade of making a U-turn on pretty much every decision it made recently, Microsoft will now let boot directly to the desktop mode in Windows 8.1 bypassing the generally disliked Metro-style Start screen altogether. Although this feature was added in Windows 8.1, the next update to it will make it the default option.

Microsoft has apparently been taking user feedback into consideration that suggested majority of Windows 8.1 users are still on keyboard and mouse setup and prefer to go to the desktop mode directly instead of the Metro-style interface that is more optimized for touchscreen devices. Read more »

It seems Microsoft will be releasing two new variants of the Xbox One later this year. One of them will be a white variant of the current console, which is essentially the employee edition that was only given to, well, employees. The white console comes with a matching white controller. It is said to launch around October.

Another variant is a special edition Titanfall bundle, that comes with Titanfall theme decals on the body and controller along with a copy of the game. Read more »

It seems Samsung’s custom software enhancements have finally gotten Google’s attention. Enough for the Mountain View company to talk to Samsung and ask it to calm down a bit.

According to the sources at Re/code, the two companies are now in talks to bring Samsung’s vision of Android in line with Google’s. Google seems to be particularly taking offense at the presence of duplicate Samsung service that mimic ones by Google, such as the presence of a separate application store, music store, movie store and ebooks store. Since Samsung has to have Google’s services on board as well, it results in two of each on every device, which will likely confuse customers. Read more »

Nintendo has announced that they will be making an app for smartphones. Although far from releasing its games on the mobile platform like everyone wants, this app will at least let you access the Nintendo store from your mobile device.

The Nintendo smartphone app should be similar to the PlayStation and Steam mobile apps, where in it will let log into to your Nintendo Network ID (NNID) and let you purchase games and other content for your Nintendo consoles and access certain other features as well. Read more »

Olympus has announced three new and very different cameras. The first is the OM-D E-M10, the company’s newest micro four-thirds camera. The The E-M10 is a smaller version of the previously announced E-M5 and retains many of its predecessor’s features.

The E-M10 uses the same 16 megapixel Live MOS sensor as on the E-M1 and the E-M5 and a TruePic VII image processor. The E-M10 loses the 5-axis image stabilization on the E-M5 for a 3-axis system but gains a built-in flash instead. The E-M10 also has built-in Wi-Fi, 3.0-inch touchscreen, electronic viewfinder, 8fps burst mode and HD movie recording, all in a compact metal body. Read more »

It seems Samsung is ready to give up on Windows notebooks, if a report by Digitimes is to be believed. According to their sources at a Taiwan-based supply chain, Samsung will no longer release conventional Windows based notebooks from next year.

So will it be dropping out of the notebook business altogether? Not quite. The report also states that Samsung will switch to only making Chromebooks from 2015. Samsung already has one model on sale right now and many more will be coming in future. Read more »

Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor is an upcoming third person action adventure game by publisher Warner Bros. and developer Monolith Productions. The game is set in J. R. R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings universe and takes place between the Hobbit and the trilogy books.

In this gameplay walkthrough, we get a good look at what we can expect in terms of gameplay when the game is released later this year on the PC and consoles. You play as Talion, a ranger of Gondor and Guardian of the Black Gate who lost everyone who knew at the hands of Sauron and his minions. The game is a third person action adventure and borrows quite a bit from some other games such as the Assassin’s Creed series and the Batman Arkham series but with several new gameplay features as well. Read more »

Microsoft will be releasing an update to the current Windows 8.1 OS, tentatively called Windows 8.1 Update 1, on March 11, according to ZDNet. The update will brings several under the hood changes, as well as a bunch of user facing ones that will help bridge the gap between the desktop and ‘Metro’ modes.

One of the new changes said to be present in Update 1 is the ability to pin Metro-style apps to the taskbar in the desktop mode. This will allow you to launch those app quickly just as you would a standard desktop app. You can also hover over the icons of minimized apps to see a thumbnail preview. Lastly, Metro-style apps are also said to get a close button that will make it easier and more obvious on how to quit an app. Read more »

Viber has released a new update for the Android version of the app. v4.2 brings with it some useful new features, most importantly call blocking. You can now specify any number or contact you don’t wish to receive calls from and it will be blocked for you.

Other changes include ability to send up to 10 images at the same time, ability to customize your messages and call sounds, new media gallery within conversations and other improvements and bug fixes. Read more »

It seems popular keyboard maker for Android SwiftKey is working on an iOS version. But because of the way iOS works, you can’t have a universal custom keyboard outside of a particular app so now it seems we are getting SwiftKey Note.

SwiftKey Note seems like a note taking app along the lines of the Fleksy keyboard app. Basically, this app will let you type whatever you want using the custom SwiftKey keyboard and all the features its known for and then you can copy paste the text in any other app. This is an extremely roundabout way of doing things, which probably explains why keyboard apps haven’t taken off on iOS but it seems SwiftKey is trying to make do with what they have. Read more »

Sony recently announced a camera case for the Xperia Z Ultra that allows you to attach the Sony QX10 or QX100 cameras on the rather large body of the Z Ultra. Now Sony has announced a similar case for the new Xperia Z1 Compact, although the reason this time is not so clear.

As with the Z Ultra case, the case for the Z1 Compact (SPA-ACX4) snaps on to the back and has a provision where you can attach either of the two camera accessories without their snapping attachment. Read more »

Disney has made Where’s My Mickey? free on iOS for a limited time. The game has been free on Windows Phone along with a few other Disney games for a while now but this is the first time it has gone free on iOS.

Where’s My Mickey? is quite similar to Where’s My Water? and Where’s My Perry? but features Disney’s iconic character Mickey Mouse instead. There are also some amusing short animation clips between levels that set this game apart from the other two. We reviewed this game back when it was released and found it to be quite entertaining. Read more »

Capcom has released a remastered version of the popular Resident Evil 4 game for the PC. The new version features improved visuals with widescreen support and sharpened text and textures and runs at HD resolution at 60fps.

Resident Evil 4 first debuted on the GameCube back in 2005 and was later ported over to the PS2. Both version received a lot of praise from critics, making it one of the top rated games in history. The game was later ported over to the PC back in 2007 but poor visuals and terrible controls made the game nearly unplayable. Read more »