We had heard rumors that the Windows 8.1 update would be arriving some time in October this year but now we finally have the proper release date.

According to a blog post on Microsoft’s Windows blog, the Windows 8.1 update would be released to the general public on October 18 at 12:00 a.m New Zealand time. The Windows 8.1 would also be available at retail outlets and pre-installed on new devices on the same date. Read more »

One of the most popular games of all times recently announced a sequel after coming into existence nearly four years ago. Plants vs. Zombies 2 is supposed to be everything we loved about the original game made even better. The game has finally been released on iOS and is available for download on your iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.

Plants vs. Zombies 2 is essentially similar to the original game in terms of gameplay. This is still a tower defense game where you plant various plants with different attack and defense abilities to protect your territory from a zombie attack. Plants vs. Zombies 2 improves upon its predecessors by introducing new areas, new plants and new zombies. Read more »

You may remember Microsoft recently updated the YouTube app for Windows Phone 8 and made it into a proper app and not just a bookmark for launching the mobile version before. Then Google got upset because the app didn’t include ads and asked Microsoft to remove the app, which the latter complied with.

Well luckily, the app is now back on the Windows Phone Store. It seems Microsoft and Google have resolved their issues over the matter and the updated version of the app (it had previously rolled back to the bookmark version) is now available for download. Read more »

In the long list of policy changes made to the Xbox One since its announcement comes another one. Microsoft has now confirmed that the Kinect sense, which was previously mandatory and always needed to be connected to the console, will no longer be required unless a game needs it specifically.

To be clear, Microsoft will still ship the Xbox One with the Kinect sensor, so don’t expect a Kinect-less version for a lower price, although the rate at which Microsoft is going, that option might be coming shortly. Read more »

After recently having being diagnosed with GPS connectivity issues, owners of the new Nexus 7 tablet are now complaining about the erratic performance of multi-touch functionality on the display.

According to reports, the display often registers phantom touches on the screen when you try to use more than one finger. This is most easily observed while typing as the device presses wrong keys on the keyboard. Read more »

We have seen short teasers of HTC’s new ad campaign ‘Here’s To Change’ before. Now HTC, has released the third video in the series and the mysterious man in the first two ads is revealed to be none other than Robert Downey Jr.

We had heard rumors of RDJ being hired by HTC to promote its brand and this is the first in what is clearly a series of videos that will star the Iron Man himself. Read more »

Being an early adopter is not all fun and games. Although you get to use the latest and greatest technology before everybody else, you are also often the first one to face issues that someone who may buy later won’t have to deal with.

A similar situation has arisen for the owners of the new Nexus 7 tablet, which despite its excellent specs and price, isn’t free from glitches. According to the users, the tablet is facing GPS connectivity issues, where often loses connection to the satellite after a few minutes and fails to get a lock on afterwards. Read more »

Pivvot is a brand new game for iOS from developer Whitaker Trebella. The game focuses on minimal interaction with dead simple controls and delivers the complications through some seriously challenging gameplay. Add to that minimal visuals and a funky soundtrack and we may have a recipe for success. Let’s see how the game is in practice.

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ASUS has announced that the European version of the second generation Nexus 7 tablet will go on sale in the UK on August 28. Although the tablet was announced couple of weeks ago and went on sale in the US last week, the European launch dates weren’t revealed until now.

In terms of pricing, the 16GB Wi-Fi-only model will cost £199.99 and the 32GB variant will be priced at £239.99 and will be available through multiple retailers along with the Play Store. Read more »

LG’s latest flagship smartphone – the G2 – wowed us with its unique design and more importantly, the fantastic set of specifications. Naturally, then, it was bound to be put through its paces sooner or later and so it has.

Droid-Life managed to get their hands on a device and run two of the most popular benchmarks on it – AnTuTu and Quadrant. While the jury is out on the reliability of these benchmarks, especially considering how they can easily be gamed, you can still derive some idea about the device’s performance. Read more »

Google has finally launched the web interface to their promised new service for Android users called Android Device Manager. The unimaginatively named service works similar to Apple’s Find My iPhone, Samsung’s Find My Mobile or HTC’s HTCSense.com and helps you track down your (lost) Android device.

To use the service you will have to head over to the Android Device Manager website. From there you can select your device from the list of recent devices you used with your account and the site will then try to locate your device (you will see the GPS activate on your device briefly as it reports its location). Once the site gets a lock on the device it will show it on the map in the background with the proper address on the side. Read more »

Instagram has started rolling out the 4.1 update for its popular social networking app for iOS and Android. One of the key new features in this update is the ability to import videos from your library. 4.0 brought the ability to post videos but the videos had to be shot on the spot before uploading. This new feature lets you import and edit any previously shot video from your phone’s gallery.

Another addition is automatic straightening of shots. What this feature does is analyzes your images and automatically straightens them if it detects a tilt in the horizon. It also lets you manually adjust the image till you think it is perfectly level. This is an excellent tool to level your images after shooting if you think they are slightly tilted. As of now, this feature is only available on iOS. Read more »

Twitter has updated their iOS and Android apps with a new form of two-step authentication. For those not aware, two-step authentication is where other than just using your password you have to approve a login request from another device before someone can log in to your account.

Twitter introduced two-step authentication a few months back for the web service but it is now available on the mobile apps as well. In this method, you no longer have to provide your mobile number for authorizing access to your account but the service instead sends push messages and in-app approval to authenticate a log in. Read more »

WhatsApp has started rolling out a new update across the various platforms that prioritizes the voice messaging feature of the service. This move probably comes after other messaging services have started incorporating and promoting their voice messaging feature.

To be clear, this is not a new feature even for WhatsApp as the functionality was always available. The only difference is that now it is prominently placed in the UI with the latest update. Now, you’ll see a microphone button instead of the Send button when no message is being typed in the message field. Press and hold this button and your message starts getting recorded. Slide left any time to cancel the recording. Read more »

Nokia has released a new commercial for the Lumia 925 that showcases the camera capability of the device and pits it against the iPhone 5.

The video is directed in the same way as the recent iPhone commercial, showing people using the Lumia 925 in almost near identical situations, obviously intended more as a mockery of Apple’s commercial rather than flattery. Nokia shows side by side comparisons of low light shots taken through the Lumia 925 and the iPhone 5 and the former obviously has an edge over the latter due to the presence of optical image stabilization that enables the use of a longer shutter speed. Read more »