How GTA 5's developers se iPhone,Android and Windows phone

While it’s true that the iPhone release that we recently endured is perhaps the biggest thing to happen in technology in the month of September, gamers would no doubt offer a dissenting word on the subject.
Released a few days before the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c, Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto 5 has taken the gaming world by storm, racking up top notch reviews and record sales left and right. In fact, GTA 5 managed to rake in a cool $1 billion in during its first three days of release alone, which is huge if you’re asking us. Impressive stuff indeed.

Players of GTA 5 will perhaps have noticed that the game’s developers have managed to take one or two swipes at large technology companies like Apple, Google and Facebook, but most will have missed one or two more subtle digs at the smartphone market in particular.
In order to make sure that everyone can bask in the in-game jokes that the Rockstar developers have worked so hard to create, one Reddit user has taken some screenshots to show how Grand Theft Auto 5 tries to depict iPhone, Android and Windows Phone users. In short, it’s stereotype-tastic.
Take the screenshot showing a character with an iPhone, or as the game calls it, an iFruit. The guy in the screenshot’s wearing a suit and wouldn’t look out of place on Wall Street. The implication, obviously enough, is that anyone with an iPhone has more money than sense. Some of us own iPhones here at Redmond Pie, and we certainly wish we had more money than sense but alas, we won’t be buying that private jet just yet.



Still, it could be worse. We could be like the guy using a Windows Phone. That poor guy’s your stereotypical maniac, complete with all the trappings that go with it.
We doubt the folks over at Microsoft find that quite as amusing.
But still, we managed to get a few laughs out of it, considering we’ve been covering tech long enough to know how users of particular smartphone platforms take swipes at their adversaries.
What do you think about the portrayal? Is it just wrong, or did Rockstar did a marvelous job at it? You know where to drop your thoughts and opinions!

Battery saving tips for iOS 7

Location Services

Location Services in iOS 7, or any iteration of iOS for that matter, is a real battery hog. If your main apps don’t make use of this feature, you can turn it off. Head over toSettings > General > Privacy and turn off Location Services altogether, or set individual setting for each app.
Also, under the Location Services pane, scroll down toSystem Services and turn off Diagnostics & Usage,Location-Based iAds, Popular Near Me, Setting Time Zone,Traffic and Frequent Locations.
Disable Siri

Siri is a core part of iOS and runs in the background all the time. If you’re not using it then it’s best to turn it off. Head over to Settings > General > Siri and turn it off.
Turn off Bluetooth Or Wi-Fi

Disable Bluetooth when not in use, it will save you loads of precious juice. You can disable it by heading over toSettings > Bluetooth.
Wi-Fi is a blessing, but at times we forget to turn it off when we’re not near a Wi-Fi hotspot. Turn it off by heading over to Settings > Wi-Fi when not in use.
Use 2G Whenever Possible

Using iPhone on 3G or 4G LTE network drains battery like anything. Those mind blowing cellular speeds are great for pretty much everything that requires cellular data, but idle usage gives a big hit to battery. Head over to Settings > Cellular and set Enable 3G/4G to off.
Disable Some Settings In Notification Center

Every time you pull down that shiny new Notification Center in iOS 7, it uses cellular data to keep you up to date on latest weather, stocks and your daily summary. Head over to Settings > Notification Center and switch off the settings which seem irrelevant to you.
Turn Off Background App Refresh

This is a killer new feature in iOS 7, but devastates battery life on the device like anything. Navigate to Settings > General > Background App Refresh and disable it. You also have the option to update your favorite apps’ content in the background individually, therefore disable or enable the feature for each app wisely. It’s good practice to keep as minimum apps as possible on auto refresh.
Turn Off Parallax

Parallax effect on the home screen or lock screen constantly keeps the motion sensors up and running on the device, which ultimately results in battery drainage. Head over to Settings > General > Accessibility > Reduce Motion and set it to on.
Set Automatic Date / Time Update To Off

This uses the device’s location services from time to time to adjust the device’s date and time. To disable it, head over to Settings > General > Data & Time and turn off Set Automatically.
Disable Push Mail / Push Notifications

Push notifications are great and all, but they take toll on battery life. Head over to Settings > Notification Centerand remove all unnecessary apps which send you push notifications. Only leave those in Notification Center which are most important to you.
Push mail is also a big culprit here, if you don’t have enough incoming mails then it’s best to turn push notifications for email(s) to off. Head on over to Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars > Fetch New Data and turn Pushoff. You can set it to manually retrieve mail, or set to check mail at fixed intervals. The larger the interval, the better the battery life you’ll get out from your device.
Turn Off iCloud Features

iCloud features gives the luxury of keeping things in sync across multiple devices, but comes at a small cost of power. Head over to Settings > iCloud and turn off the features which you don’t use.
Make Use Of Auto-Brightness

Instead of setting the screen brightness to high manually, set the device’s auto-brightness to on. You can do so by heading over to Settings > Wallpapers & Brightness and turn Auto-Brightness to on. Note: fifth-generation iPod touch does not come with the auto-brightness feature, therefore you have to adjust brightness manually. It’s best to do so from Control Center, which can be accessed by swiping up from the bottom of the device’s display.
Kill Background Apps

iOS is really smart on its own when it comes to adjusting power, but there are some apps that when running in the background execute processes that use up cellular data to take up a fair share of battery juice. Double tap the Home button to bring up the multitasking menu and close all the apps which you don’t use.
Disable Advertising Tracking

Head over to Settings > Privacy > Advertising and turn onLimit Ad Tracking.
Turn Off Diagnostics & Usage Reporting

Turn this feature off, just do it. Head over to Settings > General > About > Diagnostics & Usage and select Don’t Send.
Make Use Of Control Center As Much As Possible

Control Center gives you a quick glance of the radios – or settings – that are enabled or disabled on the device. Simply swipe up from the bottom of the display from anywhere in iOS 7 to access Control Center and disable all the radios or features which are not in use at the given time.
Disable Device Orientation Settings

Constant use of the device’s accelerometer can put a small strain on battery life. Bring up Control Center, and turn onOrientation Lock, which is the icon on the far right in the top row, right next to Do Not Disturb.
Disable Recurring Message Notifications

By default, iOS will show you the same notification from the Messages app twice if you don’t respond to it the first time. Double notification alerts mean that your device’s display will turn on multiple times, which ultimately leads to battery drain. Head over to Settings > Notification Center, find Messages in the INCLUDE section, tap onMessages, scroll down and tap on Repeat Alerts and set it to Never.
Disable iMessage / FaceTime

If you don’t use iMessage or FaceTime at all, then it’s best to turn it off. Head on over to Settings > Messages and turn off iMessage, or Settings > FaceTime and disableFaceTime.
Make Good Use Of ‘Do Not Disturb’

Do Not Disturb in iOS disables all sorts of incoming notifications, and spares a precious amount of power to get you through the day. Make use of it when you’re at work, in a meeting, during sleep, gym etc.
Do Not Disturb can be accessed via Settings > Do Not Disturb, or via Control Center.
Turn Off Device Vibration

Keep your device’s vibration alerts off whenever possible, unless you’re in a noisy environment. Head over toSettings > Sounds and disable Vibrate on Ring and Vibrate on Silent both.
Turn Off Keyboard And Device Lock / Unlock Sounds

The monumental iOS keyboard click and device lock / unlock sounds drains the battery continuously. Turn them off by heading over to Settings > Sounds and turn off Lock Sounds and Keyboard Clicks located at the very bottom of the page.
Turn Off Automatic App Store Updates / Download Of Songs

Automatic App Store updates ship as part of iOS 7, and is a really handy feature, if you ignore the part that it constantly strains your device’s battery and cellular or Wi-Fi connection to actually go for the update itself. Disable this feature by heading over to Settings > iTunes & App Store and disable Music, Apps, Books and Updates under the AUTOMATIC DOWNLOADS section.
Also turn off Use Cellular Data to prevent the App Store and iTunes Store from doing its magic while you’re on a cellular network.
Disable AirDrop When Not In Use

Keeping things disabled when not in use is good practice, and the same goes for AirDrop. Swipe up to bring Control Center, tap on AirDrop and then tap Off.
Turn Off Music EQ Settings

EQ settings in the Music section of the Settings app is great for the ears if you’re into music, but bad for battery life for extended periods of usage. Turn it off.
Turn Off iTunes Match

Head over to Settings > iTunes & App Store and disableiTunes Match if you don’t make use of the service.
Disable Cellular Data Connection In Bad Coverage Areas

It’s always a good idea to disable the device’s cellular data connection in bad coverage areas where the cellular network is shady, especially inside skyscrapers or shopping malls. In fact, this tip will save you a ton of battery life if executed wisely and at the right time. Go to Settings > Cellular and disable Cellular Data. Keep in mind: when cellular data is disabled, you won’t have access to the Internet, which means you won’t get push notifications, emails, iMessages, FaceTime calls etc.
Use Airplane Mode Wisely

Proper usage of Airplane Mode will spare you up to a few hours of battery life, provided that you enable it or disable it at the right time. In a plane? Enable it. At home? Disable it. Bad coverage area? Enable it.
Turn Your Device Off If All Else Fails

End of the line? Seeing that 5% battery left mark on the top right hand corner? Well, if you’re in no emergency then it’s best you turn the device off until you find a power outlet.

Did we miss a tip? Share it with us below!

How to create parallax wallpaper in iOS 7 for iPhone,iPad and iPod

Apple wouldn’t be Apple if it wasn’t to try adding something cool and exciting to its new mobile operating system, and with iOS 7, the new animations – notably the parallax effect – have certainly added a new dimension to the very new-look user interface. It’s the kind of look jailbreakers have been shooting at for years with tweaks like 3D Board, and although it’s rather unnecessary up against the large collection of useful implementations, it does bring that nice touch of finesse. If you were wondering how you could get this rather neat look with your own wallpaper, well, read on, and we’ll outline the steps!
Using large, higher resolution images is advisable, since when the zoom effect kicks in, you won’t witness any sort of on-screen pixelation, which adds to the depth effect of the wallpaper itself.

If you’re rocking an iPad 2 or iPad mini, you’ll need to be cropping your desired image to the resolution of 1424 x 1424. Both of the iPad models with Retina display (3rd and 4th-gen) require an image of 2448 x 2448. An iPhone 4S wallpaper should be of 1360 x 1040, while a parallax wallpaper for the iPhone 5 will ideally be of 1536 x 1040. The iPhone 4, which is somewhat handicapped when it comes to running the latest and greatest firmware, unfortunately does not support 3D parallax wallpapers, so if you are so craving this effect, you’ll need to upgrade your hardware.
Below, we’ll be outlining the brief steps to creating your very own parallax wallpaper.
Step 1: Source your desired image. Although it’s not an absolute must, you’ll want to be working with an image larger than you actually need, so you can crop it down to size without degrading the quality. You can grab the image from anywhere – the Internet, or even your own photos – to find the perfect backdrop.
Step 2: If the aspect ratio happens to be correct for what you’re working with for your device, then resize, and if not, then select the appropriate area as per the aforementioned resolutions, and crop. There are a plethora of different apps you can use for Windows and Mac, including Photoshop, The Gimp, or if you’re feeling really adventurous, MS Paint.
Step 3: Next, you’ll need to save the image to your device.
Step 4: Finally, set the perfectly-sized image as your wallpaper, and simply enjoy the crisp, elegant effect.

Do you think the parallax effect greatly enhances iOS? Do share your thoughts below!

Make your iPhone 5 into iPhone 5s gold in just $2

The iPhone 5s, which Apple launched some ten days ago, has proved incredibly popular across many markets, and at this moment in time, the company is struggling to ship in the numbers demanded by the consumer. But while the handset itself is difficult enough to get hold of, the new Gold model is a particularly scarce commodity, and with eBay sellers offering the device at up to and in excess of double the retail price, some Chinese customers have taken less expensive measures to achieve that champagne finish in the form of sticker-based conversion kits.
As we saw last week with Mobile Fun’s so-called “upgrade kit” turning an iPhone 5 in White & Silver into a Gold iPhone 5s, these two-dollar conversion kits help those stuck on the now discontinued iPhone 5 feel like they’re rocking something a little more up-to-date.

At this point in time, the Gold iPhone 5s is essentially gold dust. The vast majority of Apple Retail Stores are sold out, and even those ordering online have only been offered a vague “October” shipping bracket. The fact that the Space Gray model (although significantly different to the old Black & Slate iPhone 5) doesn’t feel particularly new, allied to the Silver remaining largely unchanged from the White & Silver iPhone 5 has placed even more importance on the Gold model. Whether it’s the fact that it’s gold, the fact that it’s simply something new, or a combination of the two, the Gold iPhone has iPhone fans captivated, but if you do happen to have a white iPhone 5 and all you’re really looking for is a bit of goldness, grabbing some stickers would seem a much cheaper option.

Apparently, Apple has been ramping up production of the Gold iPhone 5s to meet the incredible demand, so with any luck, most consumers should be in possession of the device they so crave within the next few weeks – at least in those markets treated to the early stretch of the launch. China, for the first time, had been a part of that, and judging by how many of these conversion kits are selling, it’s fair to say that iPhone mania is taking just as much of a stronghold there as it does in the U.S., UK, and other parts of the world.

How to fix iMessage not working on iOS 7

iMessage has been, on the whole, a great implementation to the iOS fold, but it hasn’t been without its issues. We’ve seen numerous cases of spam attacks as well as the all-too frequent downtime periods, and since the release of iOS 7, some users have been noticing that messages are not sending or being received properly at all times. With the exception of those aforementioned instances, iMessage is normally firing on all cylinders, and if you’d like the smooth, regular service resumed on your device, there are a couple of fixes available.
The first potential solution is, quite literally, the old faithful. Although turning the device off and then back on again may sound a bit of an obvious step, some users have found that it does the trick, and thereafter, the normal, functioning iMessage returns. Thus, it goes without saying that before proceeding with the main solution, which involves resetting network settings, you should probably try a simple power down to see if iMessage can fix itself.

If that doesn’t work, check out the steps below:
Step 1: Deactivate iMessage. This can be achieved by heading over to the Settings app and navigating toMessages.

Step 2: Next, reset your device’s networking settings by browsing through Settings > General > Reset. Please note, this will reset your Wi-Fi hotspots, so you will have to go through the rather tedious process of re-entering your saved network keys.

Step 3: Finally, repeat Step 1 to re-activate iMessage and hopefully, with any luck, you shouldn’t have any more problems.
These kinds of issues are frequent in a new piece of software, and although it’s never ideal to be trawling the Internet for solutions and fixes, subsequent updates to iOS should restore the more stable general user experience we’ve come to expect over the last few years.

It is also being suggested by users that instead of reverting to standard SMS when iMessage isn’t working, the Messages app simply continues trying to send via iMessage, failing every time. Obviously, with quite a few people now complaining about these problems, we’d expect that Apple is on the case and working on a fix. Last week’s release of iOS 7.0.2, which brought a couple of security updates, seems to have only antagonized the issue according to some, so let’s hope the Cupertino company is quick with the remedy.