Techradar

LG sold 6.6 million flat panel TVs this quarter
Nvidia claims to power 'world's fastest computer'
Google says UK internet economy worth £100bn
LG admits 32% drop in smartphone sales
Nokia's Symbian gets a native Opera Mini browser
HP Envy 17 3D laptop arrives
RIM unveils new BlackBerry Bold 9780
Opinion: PSP Phone could be an iPhone killer
Virgin Media uses supercar taxis to promote 100MB/s
Virgin Media uses supercar taxis to promote 100MB/s
Are we running out of touchscreens?
Are we running out of touchscreens?
Updated: Android 3.0 rumours: what you need to know
Updated: Top 90 best Android apps
Updated: Top 90 best Android apps
Acer launching Tablet PC range next month
In Depth: Windows 7 email: 5 best free clients
Opinion: The PSP Phone: it's just another N-Gage
Partnership is big win for Orange and T-Mobile users
PSP Phone rumours: what you need to know
PSP Phone rumours: what you need to know
Google investing $5m to encourage journalism innovation
God of War developer slams PSP piracy
Gary Marshall: Come in Microsoft, the PC's time is up
Updated: 30 best free Android games

LG sold 6.6 million flat panel TVs this quarter

Posted: 28 Oct 2010 01:20 AM PDT

LG shipped more flat panel TVs in the last three months than any time in its history, according to the Korean giants' latest financial results.

Although the company was held back by a major blip in phone sales, LG's home appliances and a big hike in televisions helped them out.

"LG Home Entertainment Company shipped more flat panel TVs in the third quarter – 6.6 million units – than at any time in its history, a 37 percent increase from the same period the previous year," said LG

Growth

"Home Entertainment revenues grew 9 percent in Korean Won (KRW) from the year earlier due to improved LCD TV sales, especially in emerging markets," it added.

"Sales were KRW 5.4 trillion (£3 billion) and operating profit was KRW 123 billion (£69.2 million)."

The company is fully focused on its Nano FULL LED technology as something that will continue to drive its sales in the coming months, and the traditionally strong Christmas period is approaching fast.

"…Nano FULL LED technology and consumer-friendly energy efficient products, combined with anticipated strong sales during the holiday season, are expected to contribute to the company's overall performance in the future," added the Korean company's statement.

Nvidia claims to power 'world's fastest computer'

Posted: 28 Oct 2010 01:09 AM PDT

Gaming graphics chip specialists Nvidia has claimed that its technology powers the world's fastest computer in China.

SAN FRANCISCONvidia has provided over 7,000 top-end GPUs – each worth around $2,500 - to power the new Chinese supercomputer, called Tianhe-1A.

The Tianhe-1A also uses over 14,000 Intel CPUs.

The power of 175,000 laptops

The computer has been constructed by China's National University of Defense Technology at the National Supercomputing Center in Tianjin.

It has the power of around 175,000 laptop computers, according to Nvidia. (A nice PR line, though exactly which 175,000 laptops it is as powerful as was not made clear!).

The Chinese supercomputer has a sustained performance of around 2.5 Petaflops, which makes the machine 30 per cent faster than the world's second most powerful supercomputer based at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee.

The Nvidia-powered supercomputer will be used to run simulations in astrophysics, as well as maths-intensive projects in medical imaging, oil exploration and weather forecasting.

"If we wanted to grow beyond our traditional gaming market we needed to expand our product portfolio and that's why we made a decision a couple of years ago to invest in making the GPU more programmable," said Ujesh Desai, Nvidia's vice president of product marketing.

Google says UK internet economy worth £100bn

Posted: 28 Oct 2010 12:48 AM PDT

According to new research commissioned by Google the internet contributes £100 billion a year to the UK economy.

Google's research, carried out by Boston Consulting Group (BCG), claims that the internet accounts for 7.2 per cent of the UK's gross domestic product (GDP).

The figures show the UK's internet economy to be Britain's fifth largest economic sector, bigger than the transport industry and the construction industry.

Online shopping boosts economy

60 per cent of the £100bn a year is made up from online shopping and internet-related consumption, which related to the amount of money we spend on our ISPs, as well as our computers and smartphones we use to access the web.

You can see the report online at The Connected Kingdom: How the internet is transforming the UK, which outlines that the sector is set to grow around 10 per cent each year, hitting 10 per cent of the UK's overall GDP by 2015.

"The internet is pervasive in the UK economy today, more so than in most advanced countries," said Paul Zwillenberg, partner with BCG.

"Whether they are driving international expansion, improving their interactions with customers or the efficiency of their supply chains, U.K. companies are increasingly embracing the Internet's potential. Several industries—including media, travel, insurance, and fashion—are being transformed by it."

Google UK boss Matt Brittin, added: "We all know how the Internet has changed the way people access information and communicate. Now for the first time we can see how its adoption by British business has become a major contributor to the U.K.'s GDP, and that the Internet is a central pillar of the U.K.'s economy.

"The internet is a central pillar of the UK's economy," adds the Google UK boss. "The sector has come of age, and with great prospects for further growth the UK internet economy will be vital to the UK's future prosperity."

LG admits 32% drop in smartphone sales

Posted: 28 Oct 2010 12:43 AM PDT

LG has seen a 32 percent decline in its mobile phone business in the past three months, but is pinning its hopes on the LG Optimus One and new Windows 7 handsets to turn things around.

LG's latest quarterly financial figures showed a big increase in the number of televisions sold, but a significant downturn in the company's mobile phone revenues.

The Korean giant's third quarter financial results revealed that the company's sales figures of 28.4 million handsets represented a 32 per cent decline.

Positive response

"The global introduction of the Optimus One smartphone and new Windows Phone 7 models are expected to generate a positive response from consumers in the coming months," stated the company.

The LG Optimus One is clearly a key launch for LG, but it will also be interesting to see if the LG Optimus 7 – with Windows Phone 7 – can help the company bounce back.

"Stronger competitiveness in global smartphones, Nano FULL LED technology and consumer-friendly energy efficient products, combined with anticipated strong sales during the holiday season, are expected to contribute to the company's overall performance in the future," concluded LG.

Nokia's Symbian gets a native Opera Mini browser

Posted: 28 Oct 2010 12:30 AM PDT

Opera has announced the launch of Opera Mini 5.1 beta made specifically for Nokia's Symbian platform.

The popular mobile browser apparently offers improved fonts, significantly faster start up time and improved page load performance.

"The world's most popular mobile browser is now optimized for the world's most popular smartphone platform," states Opera.

"The native version of Opera Mini for Symbian features all the innovations Opera Mini is known for, such as Speed Dial for the users' favourite websites, tabbed browsing and an attractive user interface."

I'd Java be more specific

Opera's last offering for Symbian was only a restricted Java version, and the company is hoping that a native version will make a big difference.

"It is Opera's objective to provide its users with the best possible web-surfing experience on any device," said Christen Krogh, Chief Development Officer, Opera Software.

"Porting Opera Mini to the Symbian programming language provides the largest user base in the smartphone world with the best mobile browsing experience."

The free browser is available for download at m.opera.com

This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

HP Envy 17 3D laptop arrives

Posted: 27 Oct 2010 01:48 PM PDT

HP has launched its 17-inch 3D Envy laptop this week in the US, with HP's UK office promising us that Brits will be able to pick up the machine 'in time for Xmas' in UK.

It is the latest of the first few 3D laptops to hit the market over the last year, following earlier releases from the likes of Acer, Asus and Toshiba.

Packs AMD's 3D tech

The HP Envy 17 3D laptop features a nice and wide 17.3-inch 3D Ultra BrightView display and, unlike most of its competitors (which make use of Nvidia 3D Vision tech) this one uses AMD's 3D tech, coming bundled with the requisite pair of active shutter glasses.

"With advanced 3D technology as well as Beats Audio and an HP Triple Bass Reflex subwoofer, this latest HP ENVY17 now also has the power and performance to deliver an unparalleled entertainment experience – just like in movie theatres," reads HP's marketing blurb.

"Offering the best stereoscopic 3D visual experience without compromising 2D content, the 17.3-inch HP 3D Ultra BrightView Display provides crisp, 1,080p full HD viewing and an ideal visual experience for 3-D Blu-ray content.

"HP 3D Active Shutter Glasses provide a seamless viewing experience by wirelessly synchronizing each frame of the 3D content between the display and the glasses."

3D Envy, at a price

Specs wise, you can choose from a variety of options of Intel Core i7 processors, ATI Mobility Radeon graphics and a wide range of hard drive sizes and Windows 7 operating systems

It all depends what your budget is, really. But it better be a healthy one, even if you are opting for the lowest specced 3D Envy from HP, because pricing starts at £1559 in the UK, and $1599 in the US.

We knew the exchange rate was bad, but we didn't realise it was that bad! Now we will almost definitely have to make that Xmas shopping trip to NYC…

The HP ENVY17 3D is expected to be available from end of October in the UK. Additional information is available at www.hp.com/go/ENVY.

RIM unveils new BlackBerry Bold 9780

Posted: 27 Oct 2010 09:03 AM PDT

Another member of the BlackBerry Bold family has surfaced: the BlackBerry Bold 9780.

Very similar in size and shape to the BlackBerry Bold 9700, this version comes with BlackBerry OS 6 and a slightly different finish to the chassis.

It also has an upgraded 5MP camera with flash and 2x digital zoom, making it the joint-best BlackBerry camera phone alongside the Torch.

Memory, all alone in the moonlight

It's got 512MB of ROM, compared to the 256 of the last Bold, and also comes with a 2GB microSD card.

Other specs include Bluetooth 2.1 and Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g and a 1500mAh battery, good for 22 days' standby or 36 hours of music playback.

With BlackBerry 6 OS, users get an improved WebKit browser (although still not in the iPhone or Android league) and a more fluid home screen with RSS feeds and social networking.

RIM has stated the BlackBerry Bold 9780 'will be available from various carriers around the world beginning in November,' which we assume means the UK given that we're one of the biggest markets for the firm.

We'll be bringing you our BlackBerry Bold 9780 review as soon as we can get our hands on one, and with a UK release date not too far away we reckon that will be sooner rather than later.

Opinion: PSP Phone could be an iPhone killer

Posted: 27 Oct 2010 08:03 AM PDT

When, exactly, did iPhone missionaries get quite so uppity about gaming?

Breathe deep, those who dream of Angry Birds: gaming was an afterthought for Jobs.

Moreover, if gaming's the thing you bought Apple's pocket wonder for – and these poor, confused souls multiply with each passing day - you're an afterthought.

Steve Jobs' pavement acolytes have every right to brag about touch-screen functionality, the birth of the App - and the best, most accessible music system since the CD player. Apple's competitors are consistently struggling – and failing – to emulate all three.

Not a clue

But let's not kid ourselves. Apple didn't have a clue about handheld gaming when it launched the iPhone in 2007.

However, in a sudden adjustment that suggests Apple's advisors are every bit as alive to 'trends' as its stupidly-coiffed core adopters, this blind foolishness didn't last long.

Apple spotted that Nintendo was changing the gaming landscape by courting a 'mainstream' audience of mums and grans; people who previously saw video games as 'those nasty things, with guns and green blood everywhere'. It also spotted that the Japanese giant was making some serious coin.

Market research

No doubt, Apple's sharp-as-a-tack market research told it that it had on its hands an open-platform games console enjoying mass adoption on a scale never seen before.

By mid-2008, Apple was courting games developers and major publishers, and by 2009, gaming was the centrepiece of Apple's conferences - and the firm's suits were declaring that the age of the PSP and DS was over.

I'll say it again: Afterthought.

PSP Phone

What exactly does all this have to do with the new PlayStation Phone? It's those darn 'trends' again.

Apple has placed video games in the hands – and the affections – of people who previously saw them as kids' stuff, but now those adopters are starting to ask: "Isn't there anything better than this?"

And, just like it was watched by other gaming brands, Apple is watching Sony answer the call.

Nintendo is in the painful position of witnessing the gamers it created with Wii and DS migrate to PS3 – many tempted by Sony's super-accurate Move peripheral and HD graphics. (You can always spot them in Curry's. They're the ones saying: "It's just so realistic!")

These people used to look down their noses at gaming, but now they love it - and unlike the jaded, cynical hardcore types, they don't give a stuff what CTF, quickscoping or 'noobs' are – they just want to gobble up as much of it as they can.

Apple's iPhone audience is moving in the same direction. Out of nowhere, gaming has become a priority for them, especially on the way to work. Apple created that fact.

Sony might be about to reap all the benefits – especially, I'll stick my neck out and estimate, when it comes to men who've rediscovered the joys of socially-acceptable video gaming for the first time since they were a teen.

Seriously impressive gaming

Sure, Cut The Rope is a lot of fun - but it's not Wipeout. Flick Kick is ace - but it's not FIFA 11. Wolfenstein 3D is a classic - but it's not Killzone.

If the specs of the alleged PlayStation Phone in today's Engadget report are true, it boasts a 1GHz Qualcomm processor, 512MB of RAM, 1GB of ROM, and a screen between 3.7 and 4.1 inches. You could create some seriously impressive video games with that tech, and it promises to deliver a real blow to the Apple phenomenon.

Turns out it's an established expert in video games- not iPhone 4 - that looks most likely to 'change everything, again'.

Tim Ingham is the editor of CVG.com.

Virgin Media uses supercar taxis to promote 100MB/s

Posted: 27 Oct 2010 07:23 AM PDT

Virgin Media is celebrating the announcement of its 100Mb/s broadband by offering a fleet of ultrafast taxis – giving Londoners the chance to hitch a ride in a Ferrari, Porsche or Aston Martin.

Gimmick it may be, but Virgin Media's decision to pimp out three supercars as Hackney Carriages will give the public the chance to ride in style on Thursday – free of charge.

Jon James, executive director of Broadband at Virgin Media said, "With today's announcement of our new 100Mb service, we wanted to do something fun and iconic to celebrate.

"Our fleet of Ultrafast Taxis rolling out in London tomorrow will provide commuters a bit of excitement to liven up their day and the opportunity to get a taste of life in the fast lane courtesy of Virgin Media."

Traffic management

Of course, the more cynical may suggest that by stretching the metaphor, Virgin Media is opening itself up for jokes about traffic management.

And we're hoping that the 100Mb/s experience is a little smoother (and faster) than central London's road system.

Still, if you fancy a ride in a Porsche 997 Turbo Gen 1, Ferrari 430 F1 Coupe or an Aston Martin DBS, then keep your eyes peeled between 10am and 4pm.

Virgin Media uses supercar taxis to promote 100MB/s

Posted: 27 Oct 2010 07:23 AM PDT

Virgin Media is celebrating the announcement of its 100Mb/s broadband by offering a fleet of ultrafast taxis – giving Londoners the chance to hitch a ride in a Ferrari, Porsche or Aston Martin.

Gimmick it may be, but Virgin Media's decision to pimp out three supercars as Hackney Carriages will give the public the chance to ride in style on Thursday – free of charge.

Jon James, executive director of Broadband at Virgin Media said, "With today's announcement of our new 100Mb service, we wanted to do something fun and iconic to celebrate.

Traffic management

Of course, the more cynical may suggest that by stretching the metaphor, Virgin Media is opening itself up for jokes about traffic management.

And we're hoping that the 100Mb/s experience is a little smoother (and faster) than central London's road system.

Still, if you fancy a ride in a Porsche 997 Turbo Gen 1, Ferrari 430 F1 Coupe or an Aston Martin DBS, then keep your eyes peeled between 10am and 4pm.

Are we running out of touchscreens?

Posted: 27 Oct 2010 06:59 AM PDT

Just as we are all getting used to being surrounded by touchscreen gadgets in our daily lives, it looks like we could be heading towards a serious manufacturing problem within the next few years, according to New Scientist.

Indium tin oxide is one of the key raw materials used to make touchscreens for our tablet PCs, smartphones and gadgets, yet the latest warnings are that supplies may well run out in the next decade.

Indium is an expensive by-product of lead and zinc mining. Indium tin oxide has a rare ability to be able to conduct an electrical current while also being optically transparent like glass – hence that cool touch-control on your iPhone.

Smartphone touchscreens are now based on the concept of touch-control by the finger, which is conductive, and allows us to do away with those old-fashioned and unwieldy styluses.

However, Yale University's Thomas Graedel warns that stocks of indium are running low and are likely to be exhausted by 2020.

Carbon nanomaterials

So what is the computing and mobile phone industry to do?

Northwestern University's Mark Hersam suggests to the New Scientist this month that the future is in carbon nanomaterials. Specifically, scientists point towards a material called Graphene - sheets of graphite that are a single atom thick.

Hersam also suggests that carbon nanotubes - graphene sheets rolled up into cylinders - might also be a good option to develop for flexible displays, as they can be flexed "with little to no degradation in their performance," says the scientist.

Other materials scientists looking for materials that can mimic ITO's combination of transparency and conductivity are taking a different tack, developing silver nanowires, which are far more conductive electrically, but (as you would expect) also far more expensive to manufacture.

Hopefully somebody in a lab somewhere soon will crack the problem. Otherwise, what will do if we run out of the key raw material for all of our wonderful new touchscreen computers and phones and TVs and gadgets? Learn handwriting all over again?

Are we running out of touchscreens?

Posted: 27 Oct 2010 06:59 AM PDT

Indium tin oxide is one of the key raw materials used to make touchscreens for our tablet PCs, smartphones and gadgets, yet the latest warnings are that supplies may well run out in the next decade.

Smartphone touchscreens are now based on the concept of touch-control by the finger, which is conductive, and allows us to do away with those old-fashioned and unwieldy styluses.

However, Yale University's Thomas Graedel warns that stocks of indium are running low and are likely to be exhausted by 2020.

Carbon nanomaterials

So what is the computing and mobile phone industry to do?

Updated: Android 3.0 rumours: what you need to know

Posted: 27 Oct 2010 06:26 AM PDT

Details about the next version – Android 3.0, or Gingerbread – are starting to emerge.

UPDATE: On 20 October, we reported that Android 3.0 tablets are rumoured to be heading out to engineers in time for Christmas. If true, this means that we'll see a whole bunch of tablets running Android 3.0 at CES 2011.

UPDATE: On 19 October, Android site Phandroid bagged new details on Android 3.0, saying that Android had gone through a graphical change and that carrier branding was "more prominent".

Phandroid also found Android 3.0 to have new icon animations, a YouTube makeover, and better Google Voice and Google Talk integration.

Android 3.0 release date

~~Android 3.0 release date is looking like Q4 of this year, possibly around October.~~

Android 3.0 release date is looking like early 2011.

Gingerbread is already in some testers' hands - Phandroid has shown an unverified photo of a test build of Android 3.0 running in the wild, while the TweetDeck blog shows Android 3.0 as one of the versions of Android using Android TweetDeck Beta.

Android 3.0 features

As we reported earlier in July, a Russian podcast details how Android 3.0 will be restricted to high-end handsets (and tablets). The podcast explained that Android 3.0 phones will require at least a 1GHz processor, 512MB of RAM and 3.5-inch or larger displays.

Confirmed Android 3.0 features include improved copy and paste and support for WebM video playback. The WebM Project confirmed that "WebM support in Android is expected in the Gingerbread release". WebM files are compressed with the VP8 video codec, which Google purchased and open-sourced earlier this year.

It's also rumoured that Android 3.0 will feature a new user interface. TechCrunch reported that "Google is focusing the bulk of its efforts on the user experience for the upcoming Gingerbread release."

This, Google apparently hopes, will deter handset manufacturers from adding in their own Android 3.0 customizations (such as HTC's Sense).

Android 3.0 phones

One of the first Android 3.0 phones could be the Samsung Galaxy S2 if another rumour is to be believed. The leaked details of the Galaxy S I9200 claim a 4.3-inch screen with a resolution of 1280x720.

On 27 October 2010, reports appeared that Google is to release an Android 3.0 powered Nexus Two with Carphone Warehouse, although we think it's unlikely that Google will bring out another handset now that so many manufacturers are producing them.

It's also likely that the PSP Phone will be running Android 3.0.

We'll bring you more Android 3.0 details as they emerge.

Updated: Top 90 best Android apps

Posted: 27 Oct 2010 06:12 AM PDT

While Android doesn't feature the same volume of apps in its Marketplace as iPhone users are used to, there are still loads of great apps to download.

Whether you're after the best free Android apps or the best paid ones, we've compiled our favourites on the pages below.

30 best free Android apps

Most of the good stuff on Android is free, thanks to the work of developers who do it for love alone. These 30 free Android apps should be any Android owner's Day One installs...

Read 30 best free Android apps

30 best free Android games

We've worked our way through a whole load of Android games to reveal the ones you should download to your phone.

free android games

Read 30 best free Android games

10 best Android apps worth paying for

don't panic because we're mentioning money here - the average cost of this little lot is around two dollars a pop. In return, you're able to tether, customise, share data and more, all in incredible style, thanks to the work of Team Android's finest people.

Spotify for android

Read 10 best Android apps worth paying for

Top 10 best Android paid-for games

Android's a world of bargains - most of the finest examples of paid-for Android games come in around the psychologically negligible 'micro-transaction' cost level, with the majority of developers selling their works for a couple of dollars, tops. So, now you've been gently acclimatised to the possibility of having to pay for something, pay for these things - the 10 best paid-for games on Android today.

best paid android games

Read Top 10 best Android paid-for games

10 best alternative Android apps

Even if you're using a phone layered down with a custom user interface like Sense or TouchWiz, there are many alternatives to your pre-installed tools and settings. These are our 10 favourite alternate Android apps.

Read 10 best alternative Android apps

Related Links

Want to get rid of your old mobile? Compare and get the best price

Updated: Top 90 best Android apps

Posted: 27 Oct 2010 06:12 AM PDT

While Android doesn't feature the same volume of apps in its Marketplace as iPhone users are used to, there are still loads of great apps to download.

Whether you're after the best free Android apps or the best paid ones, we've compiled our favourites on the pages below.

30 best free Android apps

Most of the good stuff on Android is free, thanks to the work of developers who do it for love alone. These 30 free Android apps should be any Android owner's Day One installs...

Read 30 best free Android apps

30 best free Android games

We've worked our way through a whole load of Android games to reveal the ones you should download to your phone.

free android games

Read 30 best free Android games

10 best Android apps worth paying for

Spotify for android

Read 10 best Android apps worth paying for

Top 10 best Android paid-for games

best paid android games

Read Top 10 best Android paid-for games

10 best alternative Android apps

Read 10 best alternative Android apps

Related Links

Want to get rid of your old mobile? Compare and get the best price

Acer launching Tablet PC range next month

Posted: 27 Oct 2010 06:04 AM PDT

Acer is set to unveil its new range of tablet PCs next month, according to latest reports.

The Wall Street Journal notes that Acer is planning a press event to unveil the new range of touchscreen slate computers on November 23.

TechRadar will be bringing you all the news on Acer's new tablet PCs as soon as we get it.

Which OS?

"No details of the product has been released yet," an Acer UK PR rep informed us earlier today, while confirming that we should hear a lot more from the November 23 event.

Acer CEO Gianfranco Lanci told Dow Jones Newswire that the new range of tablet PCs will be shown in New York City on November 23rd, with prices ranging from $299 to $699 each.

Nothing was said about which operating systems the machines will use, what size screens they will be or whether or not there are plans to partner with mobile operators on 3G contracts.

Expect all of those details and more on November 23.

In Depth: Windows 7 email: 5 best free clients

Posted: 27 Oct 2010 05:00 AM PDT

There's a lot to like about Windows 7, but unfortunately email doesn't rank high on the list.

Microsoft ditched Windows Mail along with several other Vista mistakes, and so if you want an email client then you'll now have to uncover one for yourself.

That doesn't have to be a major problem, though. There are now plenty of free clients around, most with lengthy feature lists and wide support for all the key email standards.

And to give you a head start, we've identified our favourite five email programs for Windows 7 - all you have to do is choose the one that best suits your needs.

1. Mozilla ThunderbirdBest all-rounder; best for extensions

Mozilla's Thunderbird stands out from the crowd right away, as you begin to set up your email accounts. It uses its own database to figure out the appropriate incoming and outgoing server names, the ports to use, authentication settings and more, which greatly cuts down on the configuration hassles.

If you're trying to set up the program to work with your Gmail account, say, then all you have to enter is your Gmail address and password. Thunderbird will set all the other details on your behalf. (Though if you've some odd requirements of your own, don't worry, that's not a problem - just click the Manual Setup button and you'll get full control over exactly how your account will work.)

Thunderbird then makes it reasonably easy to import your existing mail, contacts or settings from Outlook, Outlook Express or Windows Mail.

Thunderbird

Once everything is working you'll find the program has plenty of features: decent junk mail tools and phishing protection; plenty of search and filtering options; tabs that allow you to have multiple messages open simultaneously; an easy-to-use address book, newsgroup and RSS readers, even an attachment reminder that looks for words like "attachment" in the email and reminds you to attach something before clicking "Send".

And Thunderbird's familiar interface means you'll feel immediately at home, very quickly exploring everything the program has to offer.

Thunderbird's real advantage, though, comes in its free add-ons. These add features like calendar management, message encryption, integration with social networks, interface tweaks and more, and with more than 1,000 add-ons on offer there's sure to be plenty that will work for you.

2. Windows Live MailBest for Microsoft/ Windows Live fans

Having dropped Outlook Express and its Windows Mail successor, Microsoft's current free email client is Windows Live Mail, a part of Windows Live Essentials.

The program takes a little more work to set up than Thunderbird. You'll need to enter all your account server names, ports and authentication details manually, for instance, and it's not quite as easy to import emails and account details from other packages (although you do get direct support to import messages from Outlook Express, Windows Mail, or other instances or Windows Live Mail).

Once it's configured, though, Live Mail quickly proves to be a lightweight and likeable program.

There's POP3 and IMAP support, the junk mail filters do a good job of keeping spam away from your Inbox, and the clean interface makes it generally easy to find the messages you need.

Live mail

You get plenty of other features to explore, including an excellent calendar, a newsgroup reader and support for RSS feeds.

Live Mail's big selling point comes in its integration with other Microsoft programs and services, though. So for instance the program works well with Live Hotmail and Live Messenger, syncs with Live Contacts, and it connects to Live Calendar so you can update your schedule from anywhere, and others can keep up-to-date with that you're doing. If you can make use of these features then installing Live Mail makes a lot of sense: it's the glue that holds everything else together.

3. Postbox ExpressBest for ex-Thunderbird fans looking for something a little better

Thunderbird's a good email client, but it's not perfect. If you've fallen out of love with Mozilla's finest recently, but can't get enthusiastic about any the competition, then Postbox Express could be the perfect candidate.

Why? It's based on Thunderbird code, so looks very similar. It can now use some of the same extensions, such as Lightning or Enigmail. And migration is hassle-free, because the setup process will detect your Thunderbird installation and offer to import its accounts, settings and emails.

But if you don't have Thunderbird installed, that's no problem either. Postbox Express is just as easy to set up with new accounts, and includes a Quickstart Guide on one of its tabs that explains how to, say, migrate account settings from Outlook.

Once it's configured, you'll find Postbox Express has powerful Outlook-like searches. You can use terms like "subject: accounts", "from:Carly", and even some natural language searches "before: last month" to track down the messages you need. And the search results aren't just some static list. You can then archive, tab, copy, move or delete any or all of your located messages in a couple of clicks.

Postbox express

You may not have to search as much as normal, though, because Postbox Express also supports email threading (or "conversation views" as the program calls them). In a click this summarises a long exchange of emails so you can quickly see who said what, and when.

There's also easy email tagging, which helps you search for and filter your messages later. And if your email client is always running in the background, then you'll appreciate Postbox Express's ability to publish your current status to Facebook, Twitter or FriendFeed via a handy Post button.

4. eM ClientBest for features

If other email clients never quite seem to have the power or all the features you need, then eM Client may be for you. The free version is more restrictive than the others here - it's free for personal use only, and limited to a maximum of two account - but otherwise you get full access to a very extensive feature list.

The program can import messages and data from a lengthy list of other clients, for instance: Thunderbird, Outlook, Outlook Express, Windows Mail, Windows Live Mail, and The Bat!. It can also import contacts from csv or vCard files, Facebook or Google. And there's support for importing events from iCalendar format (ics) files, and it can even import messages from raw .eml files.

There's support for all the usual email standards, of course: SMTP, IMAP, POP3, SSL/ TLS, S/MIME. You get an excellent WYSIWYG editor, inline spellchecking, address autocompletion, signatures, templates and more.

An excellent built-in calendar supports the CalDAV standard, which means it works with any CalDAV compliant server, including Apple's iCal, Kerio, Yahoo! and more.

eM client

There's also a powerful and highly customisable contacts database. Instant messaging integration that includes full XMPP (Jabber) support, and works with Facebook and Yahoo! chat, ICQ, MSN, AOL and so on. Plus there's Skype integration, Google maps support for finding addresses, and widgets to extend the program, for example displaying your choice of web pages or RSS feeds.

If there's an issue here, it may be reliability - there were one or two times when the program didn't work as we expected. But if you need plenty of raw power then eM Client has more than enough to spare.

5. Opera MailBest for simplicity

You don't need calendars, instant messaging integration, or the ability to handle an Inbox with 30,000 emails? If your needs are simple then maybe you can do without a dedicated email client at all. Opera Mail is built in to the Opera browser, and it could provide everything you require.

Import options aren't quite up to the standard of some of the competition. It's possible to import your messages from Thunderbird, Outlook Express, Eudora, Netscape Mail, and anything that uses the mbox format, but that's about it.

There's support for IMAP or POP accounts, though, so you'll quickly have the program set up to read your ISP's account, as well as web services like Gmail, AOL or Yahoo.

Opera mail

The spam filter then does a good job of blocking junk mail, and this improves even further as you train it. Opera's views automatically filter your emails into particular categories, like unread messages, emails with attachments, or anything on a mailing list. And if that's not enough, speedy search options track down whatever you might need.

Opera Mail is a very capable package, then, that also includes an RSS and newsgroup reader. If you'll also make use of the Opera browser then it could be the ideal email client for you.

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Opinion: The PSP Phone: it's just another N-Gage

Posted: 27 Oct 2010 04:45 AM PDT

Now pictures of a (supposed) Sony Ericsson PSP phone have emerged, the idea that we'll be seeing a 'proper' gaming mobile feels a lot more concrete.

Yes, the theory makes sense: Sony Ericsson is ailing in the phone market, so it leverages a core brand from its parent company to pull punters back in again.

And on-the-go library of games, downloadable from wherever would mimic the relative success of the Kindle, where a 3G connection provides pretty much any book you could want in 30 seconds.

History repeating itself

But this isn't the first time a company has looked at the popularity of mobile gaming and tried to make a phone based around that principle - who remembers the Nokia N-Gage from 2003 and 2004?

Nokia n-gage

Back then attempts to make a Gameboy rival with phone bits included failed spectacularly - not helped by a weird screen and having to take out the battery to play games.

And now Sony Ericsson wants to repeat the trick? Surely someone has realised that gaming on a mobile is a casual thing, not the primary function. That's always going to be calling or internet browsing.

Gamers might flock to the brand as they think 'Wow, I can finally do away with having a PSP AND a phone in my pocket - score!'

But then they'll suddenly find themselves a little embarrassed in a meeting when they pull out a phone that's primarily a games console - you might as well walk in wearing an 'I'm 10 years old TODAY' badge.

Phone for the gamers

Phones now have powerful graphics processors and CPUs, loads of memory and large screens; but just because a gaming phone is possible, doesn't mean Sony Ericsson should make it.

Gaming on mobiles has also never been bigger, thanks to the likes of Apple, but the extra heft of a slide out keypad and shoulder buttons is still a bridge too far, no matter how hard the shiny Android-toting touchscreen tries to hide it.

The rise of casual gaming is just that: casual. People want to throw birds at pigs, slice fruit in half with their finger or hack bits of rope to feed a monster for ten minutes. They don't want to have to spend an hour immersed in an RPG when they've only got a few stops on the Tube.

Now, a Sony-branded gaming portal offering oodles of PSP-style gaming content instantly downloadable to any (decent) Android phone, well, now that's something we would REALLY love to see happening - just not Sony Ericsson's attempt to convince people that the N-Gage was secretly a brilliant idea.

Partnership is big win for Orange and T-Mobile users

Posted: 27 Oct 2010 04:05 AM PDT

Orange and T-Mobile customers have been able to make an extra 5 million calls and 20 million texts since both networks were opened out as part of the Everything Everywhere amalgamation.

Although the Orange and T-Mobile brands have carried on, the two providers are now joined up as Everything Everywhere – the UK's biggest mobile communications company.

One of the benefits for customers of both networks has been that they can use not only their own network but also the other if their signal drops.

To do this, customer must sign up at either www.orange.co.uk/share or www.t-mobile.co.uk/share to receive an update to their SIM card,

Significant increase

Everything Everywhere claims that this new system has seen a significant increase – with 1.35 million customers benefiting from the change.

"This is just the beginning of our hugely ambitious network plans and I'm delighted that we've enabled so many of our customers to make calls and send texts in more places by signing up to take advantage of our unique offer – two networks for the price of one," said Tom Alexander, CEO of Everything Everywhere.

"And we're not stopping there. The next benefit, due in spring next year, will enable our customers to experience enhanced data and internet coverage, as well as the ability to make calls and send texts in more places.

"We'll also be enhancing our services so that customers can automatically switch to whichever network has the strongest signal while they're mid-call, keeping them close to the people, places and things that matter to them, wherever they are."

PSP Phone rumours: what you need to know

Posted: 27 Oct 2010 03:48 AM PDT

It's been rumoured for some time - Sony was blabbing on about a "seductive" PSP/Phone hybrid back in 2007 - but it's no longer a rumour: Sony has indeed locked a PSP Go and a smartphone in a dark room full of aphrodisiacs and Barry White CDs.

The result is the Sony PlayStation Phone, or PSP Phone, an Android-powered device that's half PlayStation and half phone. So what do we know about it?

The PSP Phone runs Android

The Sony PlayStation Phone OS will be Android, most likely the Android 3.0 "Gingerbread" release.

The PSP Phone specifications are pretty impressive

According to Engadget, the PlayStation phone specifications include a 1GHz Qualcomm CPU, a 5 megapixel camera, 512MB of RAM and a 3.7" or 4.1" display with WVGA resolution or better.

Rather than a QWERTY keyboard the PSP Phone slider reveals the familiar D-pad and buttons from the PSP Go together with a wide touch pad in the middle that supports multi-touch gestures. Unusually for a Sony device it's expandable via MicroSD cards rather than Sony's own Memory Sticks.

The PSP Phone images may be fake

Engadget is confident that the images it's published are the real thing - albeit images of a pre-production prototype - but Sony Europe is calling shenanigans.

The PSP Phone interface hasn't been leaked yet

Engadget's prototype is "still in prototyping mode", which means Sony hasn't yet applied its own skin to the Android operating system. It "is said to be rather buggy" too.

The PSP Phone release date probably won't be in 2010

A 2010 release date has been rumoured since we first heard that Sony might make a PlayStation phone, but given that we're already in October - and that Android 3.0 hasn't shipped yet - that's looking pretty unlikely. A 2011 release date is much more realistic. We'd have had it earlier if it weren't for a bad case of office politics, it seems.

PSP Phone games might be cheaper

The rise of the iPhone and Android app stores mean phone users are used to paying pennies for games. Will Sony slash the price of its portable games, or will it try and persude punters to keep paying thirty quid for blockbuster titles? As Screen Digest's Ed Barton told us in August, "the average sales price of iPhone and other mobile games is much lower… does Sony want [the PlayStation brand] to rush headlong into a development environment where the consumer expects games priced at 59p to £5.99?"

PSP Phone games will look like PSP and PSX games

Engadget reports that Sony PlayStation phone "games will be graphically in the range of PSX or PSP games, meaning true 3D gaming is heading to Android." Such games will be in a PSP Phone-specific bit of the Android Market, although it's possible that the games might be made available for other Android devices in the future.

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PSP Phone rumours: what you need to know

Posted: 27 Oct 2010 03:48 AM PDT

The result is the Sony PlayStation Phone, or PSP Phone, an Android-powered device that's half PlayStation and half phone. So what do we know about it?

The PSP Phone runs Android

The Sony PlayStation Phone OS will be Android, most likely the 3.0 "Gingerbread" release.

The PSP Phone specifications are pretty impressive

According to Engadget, the PlayStation phone specifications include a 1GHz Qualcomm CPU, a 5 megapixel camera, 512MB of RAM and a 3.7" or 4.1" display with WVGA resolution or better.

The PSP Phone images may be fake

Engadget is confident that the images it's published are the real thing - albeit images of a pre-production prototype - but Sony Europe is calling shenanigans.

The PSP Phone interface hasn't been leaked yet

Engadget's prototype is "still in prototyping mode", which means Sony hasn't yet applied its own skin to the Android operating system. It "is said to be rather buggy" too.

The PSP Phone release date probably won't be in 2010

PSP Phone games might be cheaper

PSP Phone games will look like PSP and PSX games

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Google investing $5m to encourage journalism innovation

Posted: 27 Oct 2010 03:46 AM PDT

Google has invested $5 million (£3.15 million) to encourage innovation in digital journalism.

The search giant is keen to help fuel the changes in how we access news online, and to that end has committed money in grants to non-profit organisations that are "developing new approaches to journalism in the digital age".

Although $2 million has been handed to the Knight Foundation in the US, Google's corporate communications and public affairs manager Clare Armand-Delille told TechRadar that a similar partnership in the UK is feasible.

"The Knight News Challenge is open to applications from anyone, anywhere in the world, including the UK," she said

Eager to do more

"But we're eager to do even more internationally, so we will be investing $3 million in journalism projects in other countries through a partnership similar to the one with Knight Foundation," she added.

"Stay tuned for more details in the coming months."

Google believes that the development of journalism is a critical tool for the internet and society.

"Journalism is fundamental to a functioning democracy," explained Google's Nikesh Arora.

"So as media organizations globally continue to broaden their presence online, we're eager to play our part on the technology side—experimenting with new ways of presenting news online; providing tools like Google Maps and YouTube Direct to make websites more engaging for readers; and investing heavily in our digital platforms to enable publishers to generate more revenue."

God of War developer slams PSP piracy

Posted: 27 Oct 2010 03:19 AM PDT

The highly-anticipated new God of War game for PSP is out early next month, although the developer - of what is one of the biggest handheld games for Sony – thinks that rampant piracy is killing the platform.

Ready at Dawn's Ru Weerasuriya told VG247 that he felt it was reaching the point where it just wasn't worth any developer making PSP games anymore.

Doesn't make sense to make games

Ready at Dawn has previously developed two triple-A PSP titles: Daxter and God of War: Chains of Olympus

The game designer said: "It's getting to the point where it doesn't make sense to make games on it."

Piracy is a major problem for handheld developers and games publishers – both on Sony PSP and on the Nintendo DS – yet few developers will ever speak out publicly about the problem, because they don't wish to compromise publisher relations or upset their PRs.

Nintendo continues to fight the piracy problem presented by R4DS carts, attempting to shut down renegade retailers that are caught selling the tech to games pirates.

Back to the PSP, Weerasuriya also added: "It's a tough call right now to say what's going to happen to it and where it's going to go, but it definitely hurts a lot of developers out there who are trying to make great games."

God of War: Ghost of Sparta is out in November.

Gary Marshall: Come in Microsoft, the PC's time is up

Posted: 27 Oct 2010 02:41 AM PDT

It's easy to lampoon Ray Ozzie's farewell memo to Microsoft - Dan Lyons summarised it as "We suck. I quit. Goodbye." - but the departing Chief Software Architect has made some serious points. Tech is changing, and Microsoft isn't changing fast enough.

It's not the easiest memo to read, because Ozzie never uses one word when he can use 80 - so we stuck it through Microsoft Word's AutoSummarize feature to find the important bits*.

It turns out there are four key points in Ozzie's memo.

First up: "Certain of our competitors' products and their rapid advancement & refinement of new usage scenarios have been quite noteworthy. Our early and clear vision notwithstanding, their execution has surpassed our own in mobile experiences, in the seamless fusion of hardware & software & services, and in social networking & myriad new forms of internet-centric social interaction."

AutoSummarized: Google, Apple and Facebook have kicked our arse.

Second: "Complexity kills. Complexity sucks the life out of users, developers and IT. Complexity makes products difficult to plan, build, test and use. Complexity introduces security challenges. Complexity causes administrator frustration."

AutoSummarized: Windows, eh! What a bloater! (Incidentally, Ozzie said much the same thing ["Complexity kills. It sucks the life out of developers, it makes products difficult to plan… it causes end-user and administrator frustration"] in his Big Exciting Memo of 2005.)

Third: "For each of us who can clearly envision the end-game, the opportunity is to recognize both the inevitability and value inherent in the big shift ahead, and to do what it takes to lead our customers into this new world."

AutoSummarized: Ballmer! Ballmer! Wake up, Ballmer! BALLMER!

And fourth: "Tomorrow's devices [are] relatively simple and fundamentally appliance-like by design, from birth. They're instantly usable, interchangeable, and trivially replaceable without loss. But being appliance-like doesn't mean that they're not also quite capable in terms of storage; rather, it just means that storage has shifted to being more cloud-centric than device-centric. A world of content – both personal and published – is streamed, cached or synchronized with a world of cloud-based continuous services."

AutoSummarized: The PC is yesterday's device.

It's not all negative - far from it - but Ozzie is clearly frustrated: why else would he be quoting his own 2005 call to arms, putting it in italics as if to say "I told you so!"?

For all his praise of Microsoft's talents, there's a message here: Microsoft is too reliant on the old way of doing things, and its rivals are doing to it what MS-DOS did to the mini and mainframe.

When Ozzie says that Microsoft should "once again fearlessly [embrace] that which is technologically inevitable" he's not saying that Microsoft is doing that. He's saying that it must.

* No we didn't.

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Updated: 30 best free Android games

Posted: 27 Oct 2010 02:19 AM PDT

As Android phones have increased in popularity the number of apps available for the platform has rocketed.

And that means more free Android games. There's a lot of junk out there, but fortunately, there are gems within the junk.

We've worked our way through a whole load of Android games to reveal the ones you should download to your phone.

If we've missed your favourite free Android game, let us know in the comments.

1. Angry Birds

The amazingly popular iOS game moved to Android recently, earning over two million downloads during its first weekend of availability.

The Android version is free, unlike the Apple release, with maker Rovio opting to stick a few adverts on it rather than charge an upfront fee. The result is a massive and very challenging physics puzzler that's incredibly polished and professional. For free. It defies all the laws of modern retail.

Angry Birds for Android is available to download now from app store GetJar.

Because it's not on the Android Market, you'll need to head to Settings, Applications then make sure the box 'Unknown Sources: Allow install of non-market applications' is checked on your Android phone before you download.

Angry birds

2. Bebbled

Your standard gem-shuffling thing, only presented in a professional style you wouldn't be surprised to see running on something featuring a Nintendo badge with an asking price of £19.99.

You only drop gems on other gems to nuke larger groups of the same colour, but with ever-tightening demands for score combos and scenes that require you to rotate your phone to flip the play field on its head, Bebbled soon morphs into an incredibly complex challenge.

Bebbled

3. The Red Stone

There's an awful lot of square-shuffling games on Android and Red Stone is one of the best. And one of the hardest. You start off with a big fat 'King' square that's four times of the normal 'pawn' squares, then set about shuffling things so the fat King can get through to an exit at the top of the screen.

It's hard to accurately describe a puzzle game in the written word, but seriously, it's a good game.

Red stone

4. Newton

Released a few months back in beta form, Newton is a maths/physics challenge that has you lining up shots at a target - but having to contend with the laws of nature, in the form of pushers, pullers, benders (no laughing), mirrors and traps, all deflecting your shot from its target.

The developer is still adding levels to it at the moment, so one day Newton might be finished and might cost money. But for now it's free and a great indie creation.

Newton

5. Sketch Online

Surprisingly free of crude representations of the male genitalia, Sketch Online is a sociable guessing game where users do little drawings then battle to correctly guess what's being drawn first. It's like Mavis Beacon for the Bebo generation. The version labelled "Beta" is free, and if you like it there's the option to pay for an ad-free copy. But Google can't make you. Yet.

Sketch online

6. Drop

Some might call Drop a game, others might classify it as a tech demo that illustrates the accuracy of the Android platform's accelerometer, thanks to how playing it simply involves tilting your phone while making a little bouncy ball falls between gaps in the platforms. Either way it'll amuse you for a while and inform you of the accuracy of your accelerometer - a win-win situation.

Drop

7. Frozen Bubble

Another key theme of the independent Android gaming scene is (ports of) clones of popular titles. Like Frozen Bubble, which is based around the ancient and many-times-copied concept of firing gems up a screen to make little groups of similarly coloured clusters. That's what you do. You've probably done it a million times before, so if it's your thing get this downloaded.

Frozen bubble

8. Replica Island

An extremely polished platform game that pulls off the shock result of being very playable on an Android trackball. The heavy momentum of the character means you're only switching direction with the ball or d-pad, letting you whizz about the levels with ease. Then there's jumping, bottom-bouncing, collecting and all the other usual platform formalities.

Replica island

9. Gem Miner

You are a sort of mole character that likes to dig things out of the ground. But that's not important. The game itself has you micro-managing the raw materials you find, upgrading your digging powers and buying bigger and better tools and maps. Looks great, plays well on Android's limited button array. Go on, suck the very life out of the planet.

Gem miner

10. ConnecToo

Another coloured-square-based puzzle game, only this has you joining them up. Link red to red, then blue to blue - then see if you've left a pathway through to link yellow to yellow. You probably haven't, so delete it all and try again.

A brilliantly simple concept. ConnecToo used to be a paid-for game, but was recently switched to an ad-supported model - meaning it now costs you £0.00.

Connectoo

11. Titres

Once you're successfully rewired your brain's 25 years of playing Tetris in a certain way with certain buttons and got used to tapping the screen to rotate your blocks, it's... Tetris.

It hinges on how much you enjoy placing things with your phone's trackball or pad. If you're good at it, it's a superb Tetris clone. Let's hope it doesn't get sued out of existence.

Titres

12. Trap!

Not the best-looking game you'll ever play, with its shabby brown backgrounds and rudimentary text making it look like something you'd find running on a PC in the year 1985. But it's good.

You draw lines to box in moving spheres, gaining points for cordoning off chunks of the screen. That sounds rubbish, so please invest two minutes of your time having a go on it so you don't think we're talking nonsense.

Trap

13. Jewels

Coloured gems again, and this time your job is to switch pairs to make larger groups which then disappear. That might also sound quite familiar. The good thing about Jewels is its size and presentation, managing to look professional while packing in more levels than should really be given away for free.

Jewels

14. OpenSudoku

We had to put one Sudoku game in here, so we'll go with OpenSudoku - which lives up to its open tag thanks to letting users install packs of new puzzles generated by Sudoku makers. It's entirely possible you could use this to play new Sudoku puzzles for the rest of your life, if that's not too terrifying a thought.

OpenSuduko

15. Abduction!

A sweet little platform jumping game, presented in a similarly quirky and hand-drawn style as the super-fashionable Doodle Jump. You can't argue with cute cows and penguins with parachutes, or a game that's easy to play with one hand thanks to its super accessible accelerometer controls.

Abduction

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16. The Great Land Grab

A cross between a map tool and Foursquare, The Great Land Grab sorts your local area into small rectangular packets of land - which you take ownership of by travelling through them in real-time and buying them up.

Then someone else nicks them off you the next day, a bit like real-world Risk. A great idea, as long as you don't mind nuking your battery by leaving your phone sitting there on the train with its GPS radio on.

Great land grab

17. Brain Genius Deluxe

Our basic legal training tells us it's better to use the word "homage" than to label something a "rip-off", so we'll recommend this as a simple "homage" to the famed Nintendo Brain Training franchise.

Clearly it's not going to be as slick, but there's enough content in here to keep you "brain training" (yes, it even uses that phrase) until your battery dies. The presentation's painfully slow, but then again that might be the game teaching you patience.

Brain genius deluxe

18. Coloroid

Very, very simple and has the look of the aftermath of an explosion in a Tetris factory, but it works. All you do is expand coloured areas, trying to fill them in with colours in as few moves as possible - like using Photoshop's fill tool at a competitive level.

Coloroid

19. Cestos

Sort of a futuristic recreation of curling, where players chuck marbles at each other to try and smash everyone else's balls/gems down the drain and out of the zone. The best part is this all happens online against real humans, so as long as there's a few other bored people out there at the same time you'll have a real, devious, cheating, quitting person to play against. Great.

Cestos

20. Air Control

One of the other common themes on the Android gaming scene is clones of games based around pretending to be an air traffic controller, where you guide planes to landing strips with a swish of your finger. There are loads of them, all pretty much the same thing - we've chosen Air Control as it's an ad-supported release, so is technically free.

Air control

21. GalaxIR

A futuristic strategy game with an abstract look, where players micro-manage an attacking alien fleet. Pick a planet, pick an attack point, then hope your troops have the balls to carry it off. There's not much structure to the game as yet, but that's what you get when you're on the bleeding-edge of free, independent Android gaming development.

GalaxIR

22. Graviturn

An accelerometer based maze game, where the aim is to roll a red ball out of a maze by tilting your phone around. Seems embarrassingly easy at first, until increasing numbers of green balls appear on screen. If any green balls roll off the screen you die and have to try again. It's abstract. It's good.

Graviturn

23. Alchemy Classic

There are a few variants on Alchemy out there, each offering a similarly weird experience. You match up elements to create their (vaguely) scientific offspring, so dumping water onto earth makes a swamp, and so on. It's a brain teaser thing and best played by those who enjoy spending many hours in the company of the process of elimination.

Alchemy

24. Action Potato

You control three pots. Pressing on the pots makes them jump up into the air, where they harvest potatoes. See how many you can get in a row. That's the gist of it. And don't collect the rotten potatoes, else you die. That really is it. The Android Market stats say this is on well over 250,000 downloads, so it's doing something right.

Action potato

25. Scrambled Net

Based around the age-old concept of lining up pipes and tubes, but has been jazzed up with images of computer terminals, high score tracking and animations. Still looks like something you'd have played on a Nokia during the last decade, but it's free – and looking rubbish hardly stopped Snake from taking off, did it?

Scrambled net

26. Word Drop

Laid out like your standard Android block-based puzzle game, the difference here is we're not dealing with gems - you make blocks disappear by spelling out words from the jumbled heap of letters. There's not an enormous amount of point to it, but you can at least submit your scores and best words to the server, where an AI version of Susie Dent will pass her approval.

Word drop

27. Barrr

What you do here is man-manage a bar world, pointing men at the beers, games or tattoo parlour, then taking their money off them once they're drunk and happy like a good capitalist. And make sure they go to the toilet. Things, as things do in games, soon start speeding up and it gets rather insane and difficult.

Barr

28. Tetronimo

The name gives it away - this is a Tetris clone. Or rather it's a game that uses the same sort of block-shifting rules as Tetris, only with a very nice and user friendly touchscreen area beneath the block pit to make it easy to play. We're having trouble locating this on the Android Market at time of writing - either a glitch or the inevitable legal troubles.

Tetromono

29. Word Feud

A superb little clone of Scrabble, with a big, clear screen and online play options that actually work. The game's been offered for free with some hefty advertising over it thanks to the developer being based in Norway - which only received paid-for app sales support recently. A paid version may arrive soon, but Word Feud remains free right now.

Word feud

30. Friction Mobile

A very odd concept that makes no sense in still images. You fire a ball into the screen, then try to hit that ball with other balls until it explodes. The catch is you're not allowed to bounce balls backwards into your own face. Because then you die. Sounds rubbish, but works well. It's free, so give it a no-obligation, no-commitment whirl.

Friction mobile