I have a new party trick and you won't be surprised it involves my smartphone. And a kitchen knife. All of which has got me musing about the nature (and role) of touchscreens on handheld devices through the years. Expectations and roles sure have changed. Though it's tempting to say that there's nowhere else for the touchscreen to go. The rest is surely up to the programmers behind the glass?
Over the last few years, I've had a burning conviction that's been growing and growing as I watch the current craze for 'Apps' blossom. Now, I've nothing against genuine applications or games, but it has to be said that a large number of so-called 'Apps' are simply scraping or managing exactly the same data as you get right now, on any phone, for free. And my way there are no installations, no complications and no hassle. Apps? Pah - I've a new slogan to rival Apple's. "There's a Bookmark for that!"
Guest writer 'Snoyt' takes us expertly through the wonderful world of music compression, to explain how you can get thousands of music tracks on your smartphone, efficiently and in CD quality, using the eAAC+ codec rather than bog standard ol' MP3...
In a tutorial for beginners, Steve Litchfield looks at some practical photo-taking tips for your smartphone when conditions are less than perfect... and explains that adjusting the photo later in software is cheating - but often helps a lot.
Steve Litchfield argues that sometimes you just need to stop lusting, stop fiddling and simply enjoy.