Apple's iOS 7 officially hits 90 percent adoption ahead of iOS 8 debut

Ahead of the forthcoming iOS 8 update, expected in the fall, Apple has told developers that iOS 7 is now running on 90 percent of iOS devices using the App Store, indicating a growth rate of about one percent per month. The penetration level of iOS 7 is consequently, like most other iOS versions before it, the most quickly-adopted operating system update ever, on any major platform. The result was garnered from visits to the App Store over a seven-day period that ended on July 13.

The company's previous update in April indicated 87 percent adoption, with 11 percent still on iOS 6. The latter figure has now dropped to nine percent with just two percent running an OS version below iOS 6. The ability of Apple to get users to adopt iOS updates in record numbers has strengthened the developer community, which can target future products to be exclusive to the latest OS at the expected time of launch without fear of wide compatibility issues. Ad marketing firm Chitika had previously posted that iPhones had achieved the 90 percent penetration at the end of May, but the average overall was brought down to 88 percent by the slightly-lower adoption rate of iPad users.

Most users update within the first few weeks of availability -- in December, iOS 7 had achieved 78 percent adoption within its first three months. The next update, iOS 8, will not only improve on existing features in iOS 7 (and share compatibility with most devices, except the iPhone 4), but add new features such as Handoff to OS X 10.10 Yosemite, smart home appliance support, the new Health app, better app integration with system services and much more.

Apple is expected to launch iOS 8 alongside the next generation of iPhone, presumably called the iPhone 6, which is expected to offer at least one model with a larger, 4.7-inch display. Currently, this is expected to happen sometime in September or October. There have been unconfirmed rumors of the company also developing a 5.5-inch model, but to date no solid evidence has been revealed that would indicate such a device is currently in or about to enter mass production.

Nokia Unveils 'Z Launcher' for Android 4.1 or Higher Devices

A Nokia division not owned by Microsoft on Thursday introduced a new Android launcher app called Z Launcher. The Z Launcher app is a limited pre-beta release right now, and is only available via the Z Launcher website, and not via Google Play.

The Nokia Z Launcher app is compatible with smartphones running Android 4.1 or higher, and is not optimised for Android tablets. At present, Nokia is testing the Z Launcher on the Google Nexus 5, Samsung Galaxy S III , Galaxy S4 , and Galaxy S5 . In order to download the launcher app, users will have to sign up with their Google account first. 

The Nokia Z Launcher is named after one of its key features that lets user write a letter in order to search for anything directly from the launcher screen. Nokia calls it 'Scribble', a feature that can search anything on the phone "in as little as one second." With Scribble, users just need to draw the first letter of the search and it finds the related app, contact or task.

When the Z Launcher will be installed, users will see the time, date and one upcoming calendar event at the top of the home screen. Just like other launchers, with a tap on time will open Android's clock app and tapping the calendar event will open the Calendar app. Other than that rest of the screen is acquired by few apps, contacts and web pages.

"We're releasing the first version of Z Launcher with a limited number of downloads initially, to see how it works and learn from your feedback. In the next few months we'll provide updates on new versions, features and availability", noted Brook Eaton, Lead Product Manager on Z Launcher's blog.

The Z Launcher app is an independent project by Nokia, free of Microsoft. The company is no longer a cellphone maker as it sold its devices and services business to Microsoft handset for EUR 5.44 billion.

Skype 5.1 For iPhoneAnnounced

Skype continues to improve on their iOS offerings by rolling out Skype 5.1 for iPhone (which is a 44MB download), where it will introduce a slew of new features and improvements, where among them include a new press and hold action so that users are able to do away with conversations from recent chats – pretty nifty for those “empty” chats, no? Apart from that, you are also able to perform an edit on a chat message. Sneaky! Apart from that, one is able to tap the “add favorites” link in order to easily fill up your favorites screen with those whom you happen come into contact the most. 

The People list is now capable of matching the desktop better, since there is a spanking new “Skype” filter, while the “online” filter will be able to include users set to online, away and do not disturb. 

These filter settings can be saved too, of course. Microsoft’s Skype intends to continue rolling out additional features to the app, and when the time comes, they will roll them out in order to deliver maximum benefit to the masses. 

Interestingly enough, it was just slightly more than last week that Skype introduced Skype 5.0 for iOS , so it is refreshing to see how fast the next update came about.

Researchers Developing a Neurotic Robot That Mimics Humans

Robots are good at computational tasks but fail miserably to walk, talk or recognise everyday objects. What if a robot could behave like a human?

Scientists at University of California are working on a "neurotic" robot that can copy human behaviour.

"We are trying to make the robot brain more like human brain," said lead researcher Jeff Krichmar, a professor of cognitive science at University of California, Irvine.

The key lies in "neurobiological robotics." Here, researchers are looking for unique human or animal abilities that can be copied, turned into software and replicated in order to make robots work better.

Krichmar is experimenting with building neurotic robots that show signs of obsessive-compulsive disorder, just like humans, or are afraid of open spaces.

The team is making a robot act like a mouse in a cage. Krichmar's team used a rodent model and varying levels of dopamine and serotonin the two brain hormones that control pleasure centres and well-being.

"The effects of the chemicals on the rodent are then replicated in the robot's software," Krichmar explained.

"We are doing mathematical models of brain or cognitive system, then putting that in software and it becomes the controller for the robot," Krichmar revealed.

The findings were shared at the "IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation" in Hong Kong recently.

Instagram adds Video Imports, Automatic Straightening

Instagram for iOS has been updated
with a pair of significant new
features. First, the app supports
importing videos from iOS's camera
roll. Previously users would need to
record a video to share with the
service, but now they'll be able to
choose any existing video in the
camera roll -- even if it was shot
using other apps.
This update also introduces an
Automatic Straightening tool. If your
photo is crooked on a horizontal line
simply tap the Automatic
Straightening tool button and the
photo will be straightened. Tapping
the tool also brings up the
straightening slider, which allows the
user to manually correct for a
desired level.
Interested users can read more about
the update on Instagram's blog.
Instagram for iOS is a free
download.

Welcome to SoftSheild

Hey,Welcome to SoftSheild here you can find all latest news and information about latest Gadgets & Software