2012 was quite a huge year for Android. We saw the jump from Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, and then to version 4.2. Ice Cream Sandwich was a solid operating system, but Jelly Bean made it even better, adding new features like Google Now, better notifications, and even Photo Sphere. However, the software was merely just a vehicle for the hardware to ride on — the devices themselves were what really shined this year.
The strength of Samsung‘s 2012 depends on whether you’re in the South Korean company’s product team or its legal team. Seldom does a single firm see such a mixture of fate in the same product segment: huge success – both in sales and user reaction – to the Galaxy S III and the Galaxy Note II, versus a billion-dollar judgement against Samsung at the hands of arch-rival (and key components customer) Apple. All in a year’s work for a company described as both an “arch copyist” and a capable innovator.
A lot of companies had a big year – Apple released the highly anticipated iPad mini and iPhone 5, Samsung found a smashing success in the Galaxy S III, Nintendo launched the Wii U, while Google delivered Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and released a number of impressive Nexus devices. Despite all of that, Microsoft arguably had a bigger year than all of them. 2012 was huge with Microsoft, with the release of Windows 8, Microsoft Surface, and Windows Phone 8 all happening in a high-energy span of just a few weeks. It wasn’t so much that these new operating systems and products were released this year either, but rather the fact that Microsoft was taking so many risks with the launch of each and every one.
This year SlashGear had 292 product reviews over the 12 months that began with January 2012 with subject matter ranging from smartphones to automobiles, with accessories, computers, and some lovely stand-out apps sprinkled in-between. We’d like to express our extreme gratitude to the PR groups, manufacturers, developers, and every other individual responsible for helping us work with the products and services we need to show you, the readers. Have a peek at what we’ve explored in detail this year!
Apple CEO Tim Cook promised a 2012 to remember, and with sweeping changes across the iOS and Mac ranges, new software and services, and more than a few courtroom battles, the Cupertino firm delivered. The new fourth-gen iPad with Retina display and its iPad mini sibling, along with the iPhone 5, cemented Apple‘s position as the benchmark against which new tablets and phones are measured. Yet it wasn’t all smooth sailing, and the past twelve months saw Apple forced to wake up to a new position in the consumer electronics marketplace.
As it has been for many moons with the Tegra-enhanced Android universe, so too does Windows RT get the NVIDIA TegraZone treatment: a listing of games made great for your Tegra processor-toting tablet! This listing of games opens in an extremely simplified display with touch-friendly pushing and pulling in mind. What you’re getting here is a guide to games that will work fabulously on your device that’s working with both Windows RT (that Windows 8 operating system made for your tablet specifically) and an NVIDIA Tegra 3 processor under the hood – like the Microsoft Surface with Windows RT, for example – hot stuff!
2012 ended with quite a bang, and while the world didn’t end as we expected, we got to see so many awesome iOS apps come to fruition this year. It was a big year for Google, and a lot of independent developers stepped up to make not only good apps, but great apps. We decided to gather up all of the iOS apps that released throughout the past 12 months and provide you with 10 of our favorites. It wasn’t an easy task to narrow it down to just 10, though — there were a lot of amazing apps that just barely missed the cut, but we think we have a solid list here. So, without further adieu, here are our choices for the best iOS apps of 2012.
In the shockwave that is the Facebook-added Terms of Use for Instagram here as 2012 ends and 2013 begins comes the resurgence of the app called EyeEm – a photo snapping, filtering, and sharing app that you’ve likely never heard of before today. Though EyeEm has been around for many moons now – over a year on some platforms – it’s just this month seeing one whole heck of a lot of renewed interest as a massive exodus from Instagram occurs: and as EyeEm is already established not only on the web, iPhone, and Android, but on Windows Phone 8 as well, it’s high time this ecosystem got some traffic.
When you pick up an iPhone for the first time after having used an Android device for several years, it’s difficult to get used to the one-handed intended nature of the device – RockMelt for iPhone (released today) embraces that culture. With this update we’re seeing this social-based web browser come at last to the iPhone specifically, having been active on desktop computers and the iPad previously. This update brings a tiny version to the already forward-leaning web browser that you simply must have a peek at.
Today several Nokia Lumia devices will be receiving a significant software upgrade that will have each of the devices gaining enhancements to features as well as fixing a collection of bugs you probably never encountered in the first place. This update is the one you’ve been waiting for in the photography department – that perhaps most important of all as the camera on the Nokia Lumia 920 is one of the most unique features on the handset. This update will be coming to your device over-the-air starting today!
As the Nintendo Wii U gets wrapped up for presents for the holidays and is getting pumped up in hardcore fun-loving gamer abodes across the planet here at the end of 2012, so too is one of the most value-added features ready to create an impact with its television-enhancing abilities. What we’re having a look at today is the Nintendo TVii, a software experience inside your Wii U that works with both the main screen on your television and the miniature touch-friendly display on your Wii U GamePad. With Nintendo TVii you’ll be taking control of your television and interacting with a collection of media in ways you’ve never before experienced.
It’s time to get real about jumping out of the Instagram boat now that several striking new rules have been added to their Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. You’ll want to have a peek at the post SlashGear 101: Does Instagram own my photos? and carry on accordingly. If you want to keep sharing fun-looking photos with filters galore and you want to get away from Instagram, by all means, have a peek at the short list we’ve got here.
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