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Techradar |
- Apple's Tim Cook: Android tablets are 'scaled up smartphones'
- Jeremy Hunt set to reveal new national TV channel plans
- Apple posts best financial figures in its history
- Angry Birds floored by free Bubble Ball game
- iPlayer chief Erik Huggers leaves the BBC to join Intel
- Review: Updated: Motorola Flipout
- iPad and Kindle outright tablet and e-reader kings
- British Segway user fined for driving on pavement
- Imminent Windows Phone 7 update features revealed
- Interview: Beyond Kinect: Microsoft's vision for next-gen interfaces
- Self-driving car tech trialled in Sweden
- Packard Bell Ixtreme desktop refresh revealed
- Updated: Top 12 best tablet PC iPad alternatives
- Updated: Top 12 best tablet PC iPad alternatives
- 10% of mobile users to suck up 90% of data
- Lenovo creates dedicated tablet division
- Banksy's identity for sale on eBay
- Banksy's identity for sale on eBay
- Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc camera improvements detailed
- Kiefer Sutherland and John Hurt sign up to web TV series
- Review: Sapphire Pure Black X58
- Sky makes key changes to HD EPG
- Sky makes key changes to HD EPG
- ARM and IBM set sights on low-power smartphone processors
- BBC iPlayer a record breaker again, PS3 views on the up
| Apple's Tim Cook: Android tablets are 'scaled up smartphones' Posted: 19 Jan 2011 01:15 AM PST  Apple released its 'phenomenal' financial results this week and with Steve Jobs out of action, COO Tim Cook was given the thankless task of speaking to the press about the company's 2010 success story – the Apple iPad. When grilled about the state of the tablet market, Cook was quick to put the boot in to any iPad rival explaining that, at the moment, Apple has "no worry" when it comes to tablet dominance. Android is bizarre Cook on the Apple earnings call said about tablets: "There's not much out there as you know. There are two kinds of groups today [in the market] – the ones using a Windows-based operating system. They're big, heavy and expensive. Weak battery life. Need keyboard or stylus. From our point of view, customers aren't interested in that. "Then you have the Android tablets. The variety shipping today, the OS wasn't designed for a tablet – but Google said this. "So you wind up having the size of a tablet that's less than reasonable. Or one that's not even a real tablet experience. It's a "scaled-up smartphone" – that's a bizarre product in our view. "If you do a side-by-side with an iPad, some enormous percentage are going to pick the iPad. We have no concern there." When it comes to the future of the market, it seems that the iPad's reliance on iTunes and the app store will win through, with Cook saying: "We have a huge first-mover advantage. And a huge user advantage from iTunes to the App Store. Huge number of apps and an ecosystem. We're very confident entering into a fight with anyone." Currently, the Apple iPad has a massive 87.4 per cent share of the tablet market, which puts it in good stead for 2011. 
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| Jeremy Hunt set to reveal new national TV channel plans Posted: 19 Jan 2011 12:39 AM PST  Culture secretary Jeremy Hunt has fleshed out his plans for a new UK national television station, which will focus on local news content. The sixth UK digital terrestrial channel will house national content but this will be peppered with shows focusing on local topics. Hunt is set to unveil his plans at the Oxford Media Convention today and said the new channel would be "dedicated to the provision of local news and content. "One that will sit alongside other public service broadcasters, offering a new voice for local communities, with local perspectives that are directly relevant to them." Sixth sense If the idea is successful, then Hunt is hoping that he will be able to roll the channel out to BSkyB and Virgin Media, as well as having it as a staple on Freeview. It's not clear if the channel will be able to nab the heralded sixth spot on the Freeview EPG, but Hunt has said in his plan: "The government wants to see a market-based solution emerge and is prepared to exercise its available powers and facilitate the right conditions to incentivise the market. "The government is also considering whether new primary legislation is needed to secure incentives such as a prominent EPG position for local services." It is thought that the TV channel could be up and running as soon as 2012 and will be filled with content from as many as 10 different local TV services. As well as using digital TV, Hunt is hoping that services like YouView will be a lifeline for localy produced content in the future. 
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| Apple posts best financial figures in its history Posted: 18 Jan 2011 04:36 PM PST  Apple bounced back from Steve Jobs' latest health-related lay-off to post the best first quarter results in the company's history, this evening. The Cupertino-based giant reported profits of $6 billion and a massive revenue of $26.4 billion, which is 71 per cent up on the same period one year ago. Industry analysts had predicted revenues of $24.38 billion meaning the company has sailed past expectations yet again, posting earnings-per-share numbers of $6.43 over the touted figure of $5.38. iPad boost Christmas sales of the iPad are bound to have contributed to the impressive increase in revenue as it was not part of the Apple range this time last year. It sold an astounding 7.33 million during the period, Apple claimed today. CEO Steve Jobs, who will now take a leave of absence to take care of his health, said it was strong sales across the board that pushed the numbers into company record territory. "We had a phenomenal holiday quarter with record Mac, iPhone and iPad sales," Jobs said. "We are firing on all cylinders and we've got some exciting things in the pipeline for this year including iPhone 4 on Verizon which customers can't wait to get their hands on." Strong Mac sales Apple were also celebrating improved Mac sales with the 4.33 million shifted beating last year's Q1 total by 23 per cent. It also shifted 16.24 million iPhones which is an astonishing 86 per cent better than last year's first quarter. Only iPod sales suffered a slight loss of 7 per cent, but that's still close to twenty million sales. Jobs withdrawal from active duty was perfectly timed by Apple, which took a trading hit on Tuesday morning. Shares bounced back to rise by two per cent by the end of the day. 
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| Angry Birds floored by free Bubble Ball game Posted: 18 Jan 2011 01:15 PM PST  Angry Birds' reign at the top of the App Store free downloads chart has finally been curtailed by a simple physics game designed by a 14-year-old American schoolboy. Bubble Ball, designed and built by Robert Nay from Utah, presents handheld gamers with the challenge of getting the bubble past the finishing line by using ramps and bouncing it off wooden and metal blocks. The app has been a sensation since it was launched on December 29th, with over two million downloads on the App Store and the Android Market Off its perch Nay built the app from the ground up, writing over 4,000 lines of code. He taught himself how to use an SDK and became a dab-hand at mobile software programming after researching at his local library. With a little help from his dear mother, he uploaded the app to iTunes and after Ansca (the maker of the SDK he used) made it its app of the week, Bubble Ball began its ascent to the top. "There were some times when I felt like, 'Can people seriously do this?' It seemed impossible," he says. "But then there were times when things just worked and I would be like: 'Maybe I can actually do this'. The game finally knocks the mighty Angry Birds down from its lofty perch after over a year at the helm of the free dowloads chart on Apple's App Store. Not to be disparaging towards the young man's fantastic efforts, but it kinda reminds us of that time Whitney Houston's I Will Always Love You was finally knocked from atop of the UK singles chart by No Limits by 2 Unlimited. 
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| iPlayer chief Erik Huggers leaves the BBC to join Intel Posted: 18 Jan 2011 09:47 AM PST  The BBC has announced that Erik Huggers is to leave his Director of Future Media & Technology post to become Corporate Vice President and General Manager of Intel's Digital Home Group. Huggers will be a massive loss to the BBC, as he was the man who was in charge of pivotal digital operations for the broadcaster, including the iPlayer after he took over from Ashley Highfield, and was a massive component in restructuring the online arm of the BBC. In a memo to BBC staff, which was procured by PaidContent, BBC director general Mark Thompson said about Huggers: "Erik is the key architect for a radical refocusing of BBC Online as part of our proposals for Delivering Quality First, which we will be announcing in due course. "He also presided over significant technology projects such as W1, BBC North and Fabric and has chaired the YouView consortia to the point where it was incorporated as a joint venture. "He has been a dynamic and inspiring colleague and I wish him all the best with his new role at Intel." Split the difference Thompson has already decided on Hugger's successor, revealing that the job has been split. Chief Technology Officer (CTO), John Linwood will head up a new Technology division which will be responsible for delivering the BBC's digital needs in terms of production, broadcast, connectivity and enterprise support. Ralph Rivera has been appointed as director of future media, a division which will focus on developing and delivering digital products and services. Both of these appointments will take place in March. Huggers is no stranger to the computing side of the tech world. Before joining the BBC in 2008 he was at Microsoft, in charge of running the European arm of Windows Media. 
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| Review: Updated: Motorola Flipout Posted: 18 Jan 2011 09:47 AM PST  UPDATE: The Motorola Flipout has had another price drop, this time to less than £150 (with a £10 top up on Orange). Motorola has also recently refused to comment on a possible FroYo (Android 2.2 update) for the budget handset, so we're assuming that it's going to be stuck on Eclair for the rest of its natural life. After some time in the doldrums Motorola appears to be resurrecting its reputation. Motoblur, the social networking user interface is helping, as is some nifty device design to present it in, such as the recently reviewed Motorola Defy. Things don't always go Moto's way, though. The Milestone was a bit of a mixed bag, with its keyboard-located navipad not receiving a warm reception in all quarters. Moto has a reputation for going off piste when it comes to handset design. Remember the Aura, anyone? Sadly, the Android-toting Flipout is not Motorola's greatest moment, design wise. We understand what Moto is trying to achieve: nifty, different design that appeals to a younger market interested in text creation. The price is certainly aimed at that market, with a £181 SIM-free price online at launch.
But the execution is flawed, and that's in no small part due to trying to cram a pint into a half pint glass – Android and Motoblur just don't fit into a small screen.
There's a keyboard hidden away underneath the screen, and you flick the upper section around a hinge located in the bottom-right corner of the chassis to reveal it. This works well if you're right handed, not so well if you're a lefty, and is easiest if you use both hands.
The plasticky materials one our review unit weren't that great, though the hinge feels solid enough. The Motorola Flipout is square – it measures 67mm square to be precise, and 17mm thick. Even the huge HTC Desire HD is only 1mm wider and that, plus the thickness, makes the Flipout bulky for the hand. Younger people, who form much of the target for this phone, might have trouble reaching across the screen for one-handed use.
There are three touch buttons under the screen for Home, Back and Menu functions. If you want Android search you'll need to, er, flip out the keyboard and use the dedicated button there. Three of the sides have a connector or input on offer. The left edge is blank, but on the bottom is the micro-USB slot, the right side houses the power/screen lock button and headset connector and the volume rocker is on top.
Android fans might prefer version 2.2 to the 2.1 provided, but there's plenty of other plus points. HSDPA 3G mobile broadband is here, as well as Wi-Fi with 802.11n support, GPS and Bluetooth. There's 2GB of built-in storage and a microSD card slot under the backplate. All very similar to the Motorola Defy, in fact.
Motorola seems quite keen on Android 2.1 having opted for that with the Defy as well as the Flipout. Really, we think Moto should bite the bullet and get with version 2.2 - but sadly it now looks like that won't happen. In fact the Defy and the Flipout share a lot in terms of user interface look and feel, it's just that the Flipout screen measures a squished 2.8 inches and offers 320 x 240 pixels while the Defy is a more conventional 3.7 inches and 480 x 854 pixels. What a difference the size variation makes. Motorola's Android's skin has been tweaked a little to fit the screen size. For example each of the seven Home screens has its Menu, Call and Contacts buttons on the right edge instead of along the bottom.
And when it comes to the dialler the call, recent calls and add contact buttons are on the left of the number pad.
But you can still populate the seven Home screens with widgets. The smaller screen space means you can't get as many as you might like on a single screen, and those that take up a full screen can feel squished. Take the AccuWeather weather widget for example.
Where you notice the screen squeeze the most, though, is in lists and suchlike. The menu screen shows a smaller array than usual of apps, and menus show fewer choices than usual. All this means you need to do more scrolling.
Making a call is a bit of a strain because you can't do so with the handset closed. This seems odd to us. You can access the dialpad and tap in the number you want, and even hit the Call button. But the call isn't initiated until you open the flip. You can end a call by closing the phone.
We had a bit of an issue with calls themselves, too. People we spoke to said we sounded clear, but they often sounded a bit far away and tinny. Holding the opened Flipout to our ear was a strange experience. It just feels really chunky. Just like in the Motorola Defy, Motoblur takes centre stage. You can enter accounts details at a central screen.
Then you can use the Happenings widget to pick up Twitter and Facebook updates. You'll need to have a Motoblur account to take advantage of this, and you can set one up on the phone itself. If you're really interested in social networking, though, you'll probably want to use a phone with a bigger screen because everything is pretty cramped visually here.
Not only is the small screen a turn off when using Motoblur on the Motorola Flipout, the screen responsiveness and general handset speed are both poor, too. The capacitive touchscreen is one of the least responsive we've used, so that scrolling through lists and even moving through the seven home screens can be irritating. A light touch does work, but we found that you need to be prepared to re-sweep every now and again, and to wait a millisecond for the processor to do your bidding. When you want to flick around reading Facebook messages, this is a bit annoying. What we do like, though, is the way contacts are brought in from your social networks. You can choose whether to use Twitter or Facebook avatars, and can make links so that Facebook and Twitter data is brought together. You can also see recent communications with a contact and their recent Twitter and Facebook activity too from their phone profile. It's great - just all too fiddly on the small screen. Fiddly is the word that springs to mind with messaging on the Motorola Flipout, sadly. The screen does a reasonable job of showing SMS conversations, though the lack of size is an issue, as ever.
There is a relatively large amount of space allocated to the keyboard, and while it's taller than usual, the width available is on a par with bigger smartphones. So in theory, there's no reason the keyboard shouldn't give the best of its rivals a run for their money. And, in practice, it isn't bad. The keys are individually raised, so they're relatively easy to find with a fingertip, and the number row is as large as the rest of the keys. There are Alt-key combinations for a lot of commonly used symbols, too.
There's even a little navigation pad, which you can use to move around within longer texts in order to target an editing point. But the keys aren't as responsive as we'd like, and our movement around them was slower than it should have been. Not perfect, by any means, but not too bad, then. You don't have to use the physical keyboard, incidentally. If you don't want to flip it out, just tap a text entry box and you get an on-screen alternative.
This is pretty small, and probably kiddy-sized hands will do better with it than we did. However, we still managed to tap away at a speed very similar to that we got with the physical keyboard after a fair bit of practising. The small screen is not designed to do the internet any favours, and its TFT technology means web pages don't really shine out. The low resolution of 320 x 240 pixels means fullscreen views of web pages are pretty much useless.
The capacitive screen supports pinch to zoom, but we found this quite hit and miss. Zooming was jerky, and the text reflowing is more or less non-existent.
There's an accelerometer in the Motorola Flipout, and you can use this to switch to a slightly taller screen mode if you like when web browsing, though it probably won't do you much good. You're still going to have to do a lot of panning around to read most web pages.
Adobe Flash Lite 3 gives some chance of viewing embedded video, but there will be plenty that you won't be able to see, and the Flash abilities compromise the viewing experience too. A dedicated YouTube client provides some respite, and over Wi-Fi we found video was quite smooth. As ever, though, the low resolution and small screen mean viewing isn't the pleasure it could be.
With just a three-megapixel camera and no flash on offer, things don't bode especially well for the Motorola Flipout in photographic terms. The main problem we encountered, though, was one of ergonomics. To get the viewfinder to work using the full screen rather than a central column of it you have to flip out the keyboard. That's irritating, but even more annoying is that we found when we did this it was easy to put a finger over the lens. That's because with the Motorola Flipout opened, the camera lens sits about halfway up the handset at the top of the sticking-out keyboard section – just where you want to put a finger for a solid no-drop hold.
Click here for full-res version OUTDOORS: There's a certain blurred quality to this image, which we got in quite a lot of our shots. No, we weren't shaking the phone at the time, and we don't really know what was going on, but photos were pretty unsatisfactory as a result
Click here for full-res version CONTRAST: Here's the blur again. And can you see how badly out of focus the bottom right section of the photo is?
Click here for full-res version TOO DARK: Our main photography day was a bright crisp one, but the Motorola Flipout wasn't always keen on letting enough light in to take a decent photo
Click here for full-res version COLOUR: When we got close to a subject, the results were reasonable in terms of colour – though again the focusing is dodgy
Click here for full-res version NO LIGHT: In this dull, snowbound morning shot looking out from the warmth of indoors, you can see how little light the Motorola Flipout let in
Click here for full-res version PANORAMA: The Motorola Flipout is capable of a six-shot panorama, automatically taking photos as you move the camera around. The final resolution is very, very thin and wide (9742 x 1014 pixels), and the stitching is pretty good. We had to wait ages for the processing to be completed, though, and on the phone the panorama looks like a thin strip of nothing. This is one photo you will have to take out of the handset to get a good look at Video is poorly focused and rather jerky. It looked fine when played back on the phone, but not when taken off it and onto a PC. The maximum resolution is 352 x 288 – hardly anything to write home about. < class="pageBreak">Motorola Flipout review: Media</> By now you might be starting to think the Motorola Flipout has very little going for it. But there are a couple of nice surprises when it comes to media. First off there's DLNA. You can use the Media Share app to send media files (photos, video and music) to any compliant device. That means certain TVs and a Windows 7 computer, for example. Then there's the Connected Music Player. We really loved this when we saw it in the Motorola Defy and it has lost none of its charm here. We love the way Shoutcast online radio sits alongside the built-in FM radio for music listening. But the real winner for us is the way the music player pops online and finds lyrics of whatever tune you're playing, and drops them onto the screen. It's seamless, and it means that even odd tunes that you've not ported across with album art suddenly get pictures attached to them. We've already noted that there's a YouTube player on-board, but when you're listening to music, tap the Menu button and you can quickly search for related music videos. The other side of the media equation, video playback, is less wonderful. The TFT screen isn't great at colour rendition, the small screen is a hampering factor, and only MP4 video played, anyway. You can edit videos a little, cutting out the bad beginning or end of videos you've shot, or taking out sound, which might come in handy - but that's not enough to save the overall video experience. The 1130mAh battery was not the great powerhouse it might have been considering the small screen it has to power. It did keep our Flipout going for a day between charges, but our usage pattern was quite light. If you're hot on using the Connected Music Player features – which will mean 3G data or Wi-Fi, or want to try the Motorola Flipout for GPS-assisted navigation, you may find juice running low by mid-afternoon. With GPS on-board and the obligatory Google Maps sitting on the Motorola Flipout too, you might be tempted to do a bit of sat-nav tomfoolery. The small screen is again a let down, though in this case we found the TFT technology worked well enough for showing maps. Should you want to use the Motorola Flipout for mobile email attachment editing, then you might find the copy of QuickOffice that's on board handy, but really, if document editing is your bag we suggest you look for a more appropriate device with a bigger screen and better text entry capabilities. Possibly the most obvious handset to compare the Motorola Flipout to is Motorola's own Defy. The Motoblur social networking facilities and connected music player are on both, and if you want these, in usability terms the Defy is a much better, if considerably more expensive, option. If you can live without those two features but want Android, then we have to go where we so often turn at the budget Android end of things at the moment, to the Orange San Francisco. For £99, you get Android 2.1 and a larger screen on pay as you go - and it's even on the same network as the Flipout. Oh, and one final point – there is a reason people shy away from making handsets that have peculiar shapes. For the most part, they aren't ergonomic - and people love ergonomics. We liked There's a certain satisfaction about flipping the keyboard in and out, which we got to rather like. The Flipout also fits neatly into a pocket. The connected media player is a super little piece of tune- and video-playing cleverness. Motoblur is impressive, though the small screen of the Motorola Flipout doesn't do justice to its ability to unite Twitter and Facebook feeds. Motorola really knows how to bring Facebook and Twitter data into contacts well, and within minutes you can have a fully populated, interconnected contact book - although this is across most of its range, so you'd be better served looking at a more powerful device, like the Motorola Atrix. We disliked The small screen leaves us wanting more at almost every turn simply because of its inability to display enough information. The web browser in particular struggles with the amount of screen available to it, and pinch to zoom was a stuttering experience, too. Motorola needs to get to grips with Android 2.2 (unless it plans to skip it entirely go straight to Android 2.3) - although sadly that now looks like it won't be the case. The physical keyboard is good – but not great. If you're going to buck the trend and do something out of the ordinary with a handset design, it has to be great to pass muster – not merely adequate. Verdict Motorola has followed up an improving range of Android devices with the lacklustre Motorola Flipout. While the Flipout carries many of the same software facets as the Defy – Motoblur, DLNA, connected media player, they're cramped into a small screen that makes it difficult to get the most from them. We aren't convinced that the quirky physical design has a lot of traction, and the so-so quality of the physical keyboard doesn't help in that respect – nor does the build quality, which feels too plasticky to us. With battery life coming in at about a day, we can't even give additional points for longevity. It's not a terrible phone, and the ever-more budget price tag is certainly going to appeal to some, as is the fact it has a physical keyboard - something a lot of people really miss. We just feel like the overall Motorola Flipout package could be a lot better - perhaps the Motorola Flipout 2 (if it ever appears) will manage to iron out some of the kinks. | ||
| iPad and Kindle outright tablet and e-reader kings Posted: 18 Jan 2011 09:27 AM PST  In news that will shock no one, the Apple iPad and Amazon Kindle 3 were the dominant products in their respective fields in the latter half of 2010, grabbing a massive amount of the tablet and e-reader market. According to IDC, the iPad managed to bag 87.4 per cent of the tablet market in the third quarter of 2010, a domination which is set to continue into 2011 with the eventual launch of the iPad 2. The release of a gazillian Android tablets, however, will no doubt chip away at that percentage. Good growth When it came to e-reader sales Amazon were the leaders with a significant 41.5 per cent share of the market. Amazon's nearest competitor was Pandigital (who make the US-only coloured-screen Novel) with 16.1 per cent sales. 2011 is set to be a significant year in terms of tablet sales. IDC, who data-mined all of the above figures, believe that 44.6 million tablets will ship in 2011, compared to 17 million in 2010. When it comes to e-readers, there will be growth but it will be significantly slower. IDC expects 14.7 million e-readers will be sold, compared to 10.8 million in 2010. 
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| British Segway user fined for driving on pavement Posted: 18 Jan 2011 08:59 AM PST  A British Judge has fined a Yorkshire man for riding his Segway on a pavement, in a landmark trial that could well set a precedent for use of personal transportation vehicles in the UK. Unemployed 51-year-old factory worker Phillip Coates' prosecution has attracted interest from celebrity Segway users, including ex-Lib Dem MP Lembit Opik, who turned up at the court to offer his support. Segway or the highway? Coates was seen using his Segway on a pavement in Pontefract Road, Barnsley, earlier last year by a civilian police inquiry officer and subsequently hauled up in front of the local magistrates' court. The Segway users has been prosecuted under Section 72 of the Highways Act 1835 and fined £75, plus £250 costs and a £15 victim surcharge. Judge Rosenberg said that Coates "wilfully rode a motor vehicle, namely a Segway, upon a footpath or causeway by the side of the road, made or set apart for the use or accommodation of foot passengers." The district judge added: "If I am satisfied, from all the evidence presented, that a reasonable person was to say 'Yes, the Segway might well be used on a road', then, applying the test, the vehicle is intended or adapted for such use. "In my judgement, the conclusion must be that general use on the roads is to be contemplated. Although this is by no means an easy matter to determine, I am inexorably driven to the conclusion that I am satisfied to the required standard that the Segway is a motor vehicle and the allegation is therefore proved." Coates is currently considering an appeal. TechRadar has contacted Segway's UK distributors for further comment on this story. 
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| Imminent Windows Phone 7 update features revealed Posted: 18 Jan 2011 08:58 AM PST  Microsoft has outlined the features we can expect to see in an imminent update to its Windows Phone 7 mobile OS. The company hinted that a big update would be coming to Windows Phone 7 in early 2011, bringing copy and paste functionality with it. It seems that using copy and paste on the touchscreen handsets will be a breeze, and very similar to the interfaces on iOS and Android handsets. Simply tapping a word then sliding you finger will highlight text, then it's as simple as hitting the copy icon, navigating to where you want to paste, then tapping 'Paste'. More than just copy and paste Although not as "massive" as we'd hoped, Microsoft does have a couple more things up its sleeve for the eagerly-awaited update. The company claims to have "whittled down" the time apps and games take to start and resume, although details on how they've done this are scarce. The Marketplace has also had a bit of work done, with the search function fine-tuned to show you results only from the section of the market you've searched from; so if you're in Music and hit search, it will only show you results from the music catalogue. The over the air update is scheduled for the frustratingly vague time of 'soon', although we wouldn't be entirely surprised if it happened to coincide with Mobile World Congress 2011 next month. 
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| Interview: Beyond Kinect: Microsoft's vision for next-gen interfaces Posted: 18 Jan 2011 08:48 AM PST  In terms of interaction with technology, we're just at the beginning. While touch technology is well advanced, Microsoft Kinect shows us that NUI (Natural User Interface) technology is rapidly advancing beyond touch and increasingly machine learning is being employed to make systems more reactive. We grabbed a few minutes with Professor Andrew Blake, managing director of Microsoft Research in Cambridge. He specialises in the areas of machine learning and computer vision and was part of the team that worked to develop the technology behind Microsoft Kinect. "From the Microsoft point of view there are great opportunities here in developing the ways people interact, not only with computers, but with devices that are not perceived as computers but that have embedded computing in them," says Blake. "You can think about the evolution of interaction with computers. We had line-by-line, then GUI, then touch and the next generation is no-touch… but you can still have a powerful interaction with [the computer]."
YOU ARE THE CONTROLLER: Kinect was developed using Research from Cambridge Machine learning is a keyarea for Microsoft Research, explains Blake: "All the [Microsoft] labs have machine learning competence because it's such a pervasive technology. Suppose you want to do object recognition. People have got burnt over many years… to describe what a cup is, for example. "You can come up with a set of rules telling you when you have a cup and when you don't, but it turns out it's far too hard to come up with human coded rules – you need to wheel out machine learning and train by example to make these kind of examples." Microsoft Research employs 1,000 scientists across the globe in the USA, UK and India among other labs. Blake believes that devices such as the iPhone and Kinect made people realise they could "see the potential to interact with a machine in a completely different way". "Even if Minority Report had never been made I think it would still be clear to people that this is a whole new class of capability.
NEW INTERACTION: Blake and his team worked on the development of Kinect "Nobody quite knows what creativity will come off the back of this. You already see some of that creativity in the gaming arena because what Microsoft has built on the Xbox is an enabling layer of, if you like, an agnostic technology that doesn't make any kind of strong steer about what games you should build. "We didn't know when we produced that layer what kind of technology would come out. We went to great pains to make it agnostic to enable the full power of the games industry and they've come out with all kinds of stuff we didn't anticipate." Gestures in the home Blake says the same gesture technology used in Kinect could have other uses within the home – but what about inputting large amounts of information? "That's not how I think of this revolution. You can input a lot of information with a keyboard, of course, and also with speech. I think in a new way it's not so much about a high level of information but about a light level of interaction – you're getting a lot of leverage from the intelligence inside the machine. "I'd actually like my DVD player to work in a NUI kind of way. The remote control doesn't work for me; I can't see it very well so I'd love it if I could just say 'console wake up' or something and a menu appears on the screen or something else I could gesture [at]. "In fact we can do a lot better than making a remote control appear on the screen. What would be much more fun would be to make intuitive signs such as one you'd use to stop traffic to stop the video and double finger pointing one way to go fast forward and things like that. What we don't know is how reliably we can make those gestures interpretable." Face recognition a key component Devices in the home need to be good at voice recognition, too. Blake says that recognition technology is in quite good shape. "Your machine learning, like in Kinect, has to adapt across the population, it's already got to encompass the range of people. The second thing is that, as already takes place with speech recognition, that there's some further fine tuning as you use the system." Blake adds that although they don't deal with end products, his researchers do think about real-world applications because it keeps them grounded: "One of the things we're excited about is in the medical area. Let's say you're in the operating theatre and you've got some complex 3D data you want to look at as part of the operation. "At the moment it's difficult for the surgeon to disengage and move over to a computer… for one thing if you started tapping on the keyboard you'd have to scrub up again. So it would be great to have some kind of a gesture and voice driven system to get this information up. "We're already talking to medics… it's not that we're about to produce a commercial system but that we need to understand in some depth how they would value the technology." The display is the limit Blake adds that display technology is a limitation, but it is something that's advancing. "We have a group here in the lab that particularly keeps its eye on that, such as Second Light. I think it's incredibly exciting and an interesting way to [explore] 3D data. "You can imagine taking the secondary display device and look through [the data] – you could take anatomical slices. It's very hard to explore 3D data – our eyes are not 3D, they see surfaces rather than volumes. Thinking of ways to interact with volumes is quite challenging." Blake is understandably wary of pinpointing definitive shifts trends in future technology. "It's always hard to know how users will react to the technology. [Over the] next 5-10 years, I expect we'll get some unexpected failures and some unexpected successes… some things might turn out to be a technologist's dream but it doesn't hack it with the general public." One of our scientists here is an anthropologist by training. He's very keen on the idea of starting from the user end if you like; running trials in people's home's of experimental technology and seeing how people interact with it. I think that's a great idea, as it allows you to fail early. Blake says there are so many concepts that have failed in the eyes of users that technologists would have chosen every time. "There are all kinds of stories, texting is a classic example of a technology… it was just put into mobile phones and yet it has become a pervasive technology." No wonder he'd rather not make too many predictions. 
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| Self-driving car tech trialled in Sweden Posted: 18 Jan 2011 08:24 AM PST  Volvo has been trialling the latest 'road train' tech in Sweden, which effectively allows cars to drive themselves. The Swedish car manufacturer's latest technology enables cars to follow a lead vehicle in a a 'semi-autonomous' convoy. Improved safety and efficiency Volvo's latest trials allow a car to be automatically driven behind a lorry as a 'slave' vehicle, with the company hoping that the tech can be developed in future to massively improve fuel efficiency and safety on the roads. With increased traffic clogging up our cities and motorways, the promise of new systems which could cut congestion is currently something that car manufacturers are keen to research and develop. Volvo's R&D team hopes to see the technology being used on Europe's road network within the next ten years. The latest semi-autonomous driving tech is part of a European Commission research project known as Sartre - Safe Road Trains for the Environment (and nothing to do with the French existentialist philosopher!). You can see Volvo's promotional video of the latest trial online, which shows how drivers might join a convoy and then take their hands off the wheel and let their car drive itself, while they kick back and read a book or do something less boring instead! 
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| Packard Bell Ixtreme desktop refresh revealed Posted: 18 Jan 2011 08:01 AM PST  Packard Bell has unveiled details of its latest desktop PC, a refresh of its Ixtreme model. Pushing the tower's "high-end glowing cuves", Packard Bell claims that the new Ixtreme makes "the overall computing experience more convenient and the most intuitive ever." Hefty claims from a company that's no stranger to making outlandish statements, we'll be interested to see the hardware back them up. And now, the actual features The desktop PC comes with the full version of Adobe Photoshop Elements 8 installed and has a handy "device deck" on top of the tower; handy as long as you weren't hoping to slot the hardware into a specific, low-ceilinged shelf-space. Ports include USB 2.0 (some models offer two USB 3.0 ports), 3.5mm headphone jack, microphone connector and a multi-in-one card reader. Processing-wise, we're looking at a second gen Intel Core affair, with Intel Turbo Boost 2.0 Technology and the latest processors from AMD to boot. Don't forget the 3D Of course, no product is complete without getting in on the 3D action, and the ixtreme is no exception, thanks to its NVIDIA GeForce GT400 series graphics card for out-of-screen 3D effects. There's also an HDMI port for linking the PC up to your bigger-screened TV. Other movie benefits include a DVD player/burner included and the option to upgrade to a Blu-ray drive too. If all this has piqued your interest, you'll be able to pick up a Packard Bell ixtreme after its UK release date of February 2011, with UK pricing set to be around £699. 
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| Updated: Top 12 best tablet PC iPad alternatives Posted: 18 Jan 2011 07:58 AM PST  This year is going to be the year of the touchscreen tablet, of that there can be no doubt. While tablet PCs have been around for yonks, only now are they becoming the desirable, usable and functional devices that we've always wanted them to be – and it's about time too. The iPad is currently the most obvious example of how tablets are going mainstream, but that's not to say that all tablets released from now on are guaranteed to be super awesome. Indeed there are some real stinkers out there – remember the Toshiba Folio 100? So allow us to walk you through the best tablets currently on sale, along with the sexy tablets that are set to tickle your fingertips later in 2011.
Samsung Galaxy Tab GT-P1000UK release date: October 2010 What we think: While the Galaxy Tab promised the world, it didn't quite deliver the tablet experience we were hoping for. As the first big-name tablet to take on the iPad, it failed to live up to its billing. That said, user response has been positive, and despite a high asking price of over £500 SIM-free, this is about as good as it gets out of the current crop of Android 2.2 tablets. A Wi-Fi only model is imminent. Read more: Samsung Galaxy Tab review
Viewsonic ViewPad 7UK release date: October 2010 What we think: Not technically built by Viewsonic, this tablet is also available under various different titles. Essentially it's a Chinese-built OEM device, but you'd be wrong if you think that means it's not very good. It is. It's responsive, it's a nice size and it's usable. The problem is that it should cost £200, not £400. Read more: Viewsonic ViewPad 7 review
Advent VegaUK release date: November 2010 What we think: At £250, the Advent Vega comes in at a very attractive price - it's probably the best tablet for those on a very tight budget. And actually, it isn't half bad. It's responsive, it's not too heavy, it runs Android without breaking a sweat. The problem is that without 3G connectivity there's no Android Market access. There's also no Home button, and the other hardware buttons are fiddly as hell. Read more: Advent Vega review
ExoPC SlateUK release date: October 2010 What we think: While the list is dominated by Android tablets, let's not forget poor old Windows 7. It's in no way a touch-friendly operating system, but that doesn't mean there isn't some decent hardware out there doing its best. The ExoPC Slate is the best Windows tablets at present, and so if you MUST have Windows on your tablet, this is currently the one to get. Read more: ExoPC Slate review
BlackBerry PlaybookUK release date: Spring/Summer 2011 What we think: From the moment the good folks at RIM started talking about the Playbook, we knew it was going to be awesome. And by Jove it's one of the most impressive gadgets we've ever played with. Slick, seemless and sexy, the new BlackBerry OS is as impressive as the polished hardware. This one simply cannot be released soon enough. Read more: Hands on: BlackBerry Playbook review
Motorola XoomUK release date: Spring 2011 What we think: The Motorola Xoom is one of the second-generation Android tablets that the tech world is getting very excited about. Packing Nvidia's super-powerful Tegra 2 chip and running the tablet-friendly Android 3.0 OS, the Xoom is going to be big. Read more: Hands on: Motorola Xoom review
Notion Ink Adam TabletUK release date: Summer 2011 What we think: The Notion Ink Adam Tablet is maybe the most anticipated tablet of them all. While it runs on Android 2.3, the Bangalore-based company has built its own complex interface on top called Eden. The hardware specs are impressive on paper, and it looks like this could to be one of 2011's hottest products. Or, it could be an absolute disaster... we'll find out soon enough.
Asus Eee Pad MeMoUK release date: Summer 2011 What we think: We don't know much about the Asus Eee Pad yet. What we do know is that there are four models, of which the MeMo is at the bottom end. We also know that Asus is taking its time with these Eee Pads, so we can be fairly confident that when they finally go on sale, they'll be good. Read more: Asus Eee Pad – what you need to know
Asus Eee Pad SliderUK release date: Summer 2011 What we think: At 10.1-inches, the Eee Pad Slider is bigger than the MeMo, and Asus thinks it's big enough to warrant a slide-out keyboard. It's the netbook of the new generation, if you will. It's also the first Android tablet we've seen with a feature like this, though it's not a new concept. Typing on a touchscreen can be a pain, so including a proper keyboard is a nice idea – though how useful it ends up being remains to be seen. Read more: Asus Eee Pad – what you need to know
Asus Eee Pad TransformerUK release date: Summer 2011 What we think: Asus is keeping all its bases covered by offering a variety of different tablet options, and waiting to see what people buy. The Eee Pad Transformer is similar to the Slider, except there's no built-in keyboard. Instead, the tablet comes with an optional keyboard docking station (it'll cost considerably more with it) for you to keep on your desk. Read more: Asus Eee Pad – what you need to know
Viewsonic ViewPad 10sUK release date: Spring 2011 What we think: While the original ViewPad 10 was an absolute dog, the 10s looks a lot better simply because Android 2.2 replaces the dual-booting Windows 7 and Android 1.6. Already released as the Viewsonic G Tablet in the US, the 10s boasts decent hardware specs and a custom overlay on top of Android 2.2. Providing it's priced sensibly, this could be an attractive purchase when it goes on sale. Read more: Hands on: Viewsonic ViewPad 10s review
Dell Streak 7, Dell Streak 10UK release date: Summer 2011? What we think: Dell is expanding its range of Android products after it launched its 5-inch phone/tablet lovechild last year. On the way is the 7-inch Dell Streak 7 and the 10.1-inch Dell Streak 10 - and if the original is anything to go by, these tablets will be excellent.
More tablets on the horizon in 2011:HTC Tablet: An Android 3.0 tablet with impressive hardware specs and probably SenseUI. T-Mobile G Slate: Built by LG, is this another Android 3.0 tablet. It's currently unclear whether it will be joined by an LG-branded Optimus Pad. HP PalmPad: Running Palm's webOS (first seen on the Palm Pre), the PalmPad promises to be something a little bit different and a little bit special. Panasonic Viera Tablet: We had our first look at the three Panasonic Viera Android 2.2 tablets at CES this year. While the hardware is nothing special, what's interesting is the way they interact with Panasonic's Viera Connect Internet TV service. Acer Iconia Tab A500: Acer is using the name Iconia for its touchscreen offerings, and the Iconia Tab A500 should launch later in 2011 packing Android 3.0. Lenovo LePad: The LePad incorporates a 10.1-inch (1280×800) touch-screen, 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and runs a customised version of the Android 2.2 OS. To be available in 16GB and 32GB versions, it's 3G-only and includes a front-facing 2 Megapixel camera. Apple iPad 2: Hazzah! 
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| Updated: Top 12 best tablet PC iPad alternatives Posted: 18 Jan 2011 07:58 AM PST This year is going to be the year of the touchscreen tablet, of that there can be no doubt. While tablet PCs have been around for yonks, only now are they becoming the desirable, usable and functional devices that we've always wanted them to be – and it's about time too. The iPad is currently the most obvious example of how tablets are going mainstream, but that's not to say that all tablets released from now on are guaranteed to be super awesome. Indeed there are some real stinkers out there – remember the Toshiba Folio 100? So allow us to walk you through the best tablets currently on sale, along with the sexy tablets that are set to tickle your fingertips later in 2011.
Samsung Galaxy Tab GT-P1000UK release date: October 2010 What we think: While the Galaxy Tab promised the world, it didn't quite deliver the tablet experience we were hoping for. As the first big-name tablet to take on the iPad, it failed to live up to its billing. That said, user response has been positive, and despite a high asking price of over £500 SIM-free, this is about as good as it gets out of the current crop of Android 2.2 tablets. A Wi-Fi only model is imminent. Read more: Samsung Galaxy Tab review
Viewsonic ViewPad 7UK release date: October 2010 What we think: Not technically built by Viewsonic, this tablet is also available under various different titles. Essentially it's a Chinese-built OEM device, but you'd be wrong if you think that means it's not very good. It is. It's responsive, it's a nice size and it's usable. The problem is that it should cost £200, not £400. Read more: Viewsonic ViewPad 7 review
Advent VegaUK release date: November 2010 What we think: At £250, the Advent Vega comes in at a very attractive price - it's probably the best tablet for those on a very tight budget. And actually, it isn't half bad. It's responsive, it's not too heavy, it runs Android without breaking a sweat. The problem is that without 3G connectivity there's no Android Market access. There's also no Home button, and the other hardware buttons are fiddly as hell. Read more: Advent Vega review
ExoPC SlateUK release date: October 2010 What we think: While the list is dominated by Android tablets, let's not forget poor old Windows 7. It's in no way a touch-friendly operating system, but that doesn't mean there isn't some decent hardware out there doing its best. The ExoPC Slate is the best Windows tablets at present, and so if you MUST have Windows on your tablet, this is currently the one to get. Read more: ExoPC Slate review
BlackBerry PlaybookUK release date: Spring/Summer 2011 What we think: From the moment the good folks at RIM started talking about the Playbook, we knew it was going to be awesome. And by Jove it's one of the most impressive gadgets we've ever played with. Slick, seemless and sexy, the new BlackBerry OS is as impressive as the polished hardware. This one simply cannot be released soon enough. Read more: Hands on: BlackBerry Playbook review
Motorola XoomUK release date: Spring 2011 What we think: The Motorola Xoom is one of the second-generation Android tablets that the tech world is getting very excited about. Packing Nvidia's super-powerful Tegra 2 chip and running the tablet-friendly Android 3.0 OS, the Xoom is going to be big. Read more: Hands on: Motorola Xoom review
Notion Ink Adam TabletUK release date: Summer 2011 What we think: The Notion Ink Adam Tablet is maybe the most anticipated tablet of them all. While it runs on Android 2.3, the Bangalore-based company has built its own complex interface on top called Eden. The hardware specs are impressive on paper, and it looks like this could to be one of 2011's hottest products. Or, it could be an absolute disaster... we'll find out soon enough.
Asus Eee Pad MeMoUK release date: Summer 2011 What we think: We don't know much about the Asus Eee Pad yet. What we do know is that there are four models, of which the MeMo is at the bottom end. We also know that Asus is taking its time with these Eee Pads, so we can be fairly confident that when they finally go on sale, they'll be good. Read more: Asus Eee Pad – what you need to know
Asus Eee Pad SliderUK release date: Summer 2011 What we think: At 10.1-inches, the Eee Pad Slider is bigger than the MeMo, and Asus thinks it's big enough to warrant a slide-out keyboard. It's the netbook of the new generation, if you will. It's also the first Android tablet we've seen with a feature like this, though it's not a new concept. Typing on a touchscreen can be a pain, so including a proper keyboard is a nice idea – though how useful it ends up being remains to be seen. Read more: Asus Eee Pad – what you need to know
Asus Eee Pad TransformerUK release date: Summer 2011 What we think: Asus is keeping all its bases covered by offering a variety of different tablet options, and waiting to see what people buy. The Eee Pad Transformer is similar to the Slider, except there's no built-in keyboard. Instead, the tablet comes with an optional keyboard docking station (it'll cost considerably more with it) for you to keep on your desk. Read more: Asus Eee Pad – what you need to know
Viewsonic ViewPad 10sUK release date: Spring 2011 What we think: While the original ViewPad 10 was an absolute dog, the 10s looks a lot better simply because Android 2.2 replaces the dual-booting Windows 7 and Android 1.6. Already released as the Viewsonic G Tablet in the US, the 10s boasts decent hardware specs and a custom overlay on top of Android 2.2. Providing it's priced sensibly, this could be an attractive purchase when it goes on sale. Read more: Hands on: Viewsonic ViewPad 10s review
Dell Streak 7, Dell Streak 10UK release date: Summer 2011? What we think: Dell is expanding its range of Android products after it launched its 5-inch phone/tablet lovechild last year. On the way is the 7-inch Dell Streak 7 and the 10.1-inch Dell Streak 10 - and if the original is anything to go by, these tablets will be excellent.
More tablets on the horizon in 2011:HTC Tablet: An Android 3.0 tablet with impressive hardware specs and probably SenseUI. T-Mobile G Slate: Built by LG, is this another Android 3.0 tablet. It's currently unclear whether it will be joined by an LG-branded Optimus Pad. HP PalmPad: Running Palm's webOS (first seen on the Palm Pre), the PalmPad promises to be something a little bit different and a little bit special. Panasonic Viera Tablet: We had our first look at the three Panasonic Viera Android 2.2 tablets at CES this year. While the hardware is nothing special, what's interesting is the way they interact with Panasonic's Viera Connect Internet TV service. Acer Iconia Tab A500: Acer is using the name Iconia for its touchscreen offerings, and the Iconia Tab A500 should launch later in 2011 packing Android 3.0. Lenovo LePad: The LePad incorporates a 10.1-inch (1280×800) touch-screen, 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and runs a customised version of the Android 2.2 OS. To be available in 16GB and 32GB versions, it's 3G-only and includes a front-facing 2 Megapixel camera. Apple iPad 2: Hazzah! 
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| 10% of mobile users to suck up 90% of data Posted: 18 Jan 2011 07:41 AM PST  One in ten smartphone users suck up over 90 per cent of mobile data, according to a new study. Research from video traffic management company Bytemobile also claims that 60 per cent of all mobile data traffic in 2011 will be video. Data caps for UK users Networks are moving to introduce mobile data caps and limits on data tariffs, with T-Mobile recently slashing its data tariffs to 500MB from up to 3GB per month. Comparison website Top10.com says that O2 and Vodafone are the UK networks that currently offer users the fastest 3G data speeds at 2.9Mb and 2.82Mb, respectively. Three is one of the only UK operators to have recently cut its data caps, in an attempt to appeal to those users that want unlimited data on their smartphones. 'Smart capacity' solutions Harry Jones, Director of Top10.com said: "3G speeds will become increasingly important and so the networks will need to be on top of their games if they want to retain and grow market share." Bytemobile says that "operators will add 'smart capacity' solutions this year in order to cope with increasing data demand from customers". TechRadar has contacted O2, Three, Vodafone and Bytemobile for further comment on this story, so stay tuned for updates. 
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| Lenovo creates dedicated tablet division Posted: 18 Jan 2011 07:02 AM PST  Lenovo has announced the creation of a special division for developing and manufacturing tablets. The new mobile internet and digital home division will be dealing in tablets, smartphones and web-connected TVs. It's a vote of confidence in the fledgling tablet market which is set to go stratospheric in 2011. Le Pad: that's French for 'the pad' Lenovo's first tablet effort is the LePad, which sounds suitably continental and offers Windows 7 and a keyboard dock to transform it into a laptop when required. Hopefully the new division will put a bit of fire in Lenovo's tablet belly, since the LePad was originally revealed way back at CES 2010 and is yet to hit the shelves. Lenovo's Peter Hortensius told Yahoo News, "This is definitely going to be a very important year in tablets." He expects there to be a "lot of winners and losers" - we wonder which Lenovo will turn out to be. 
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| Banksy's identity for sale on eBay Posted: 18 Jan 2011 05:56 AM PST  UPDATE: The eBay auction listing Banksy's real name for sale for $1,000,000 has now been removed. The real name of street artist Banksy is apparently being sold on eBay for a million dollars. The seller in the eBay auction, due in just over 24 hours time, claims that he has obtained Banksy's real-world identity from matching prices of his sold pieces to tax records. Banksy's identity on sale Leaving aside the fact that there are not many 'anonymous street artists' we know that happily declare the income on every sale of their work to HMRC, the seller adds: "I will reveal no more details… I give you 100% assurance that it is most certainly the full name of the street artist known as 'Banksy.'" Banksy's own website states: "Banksy neither produces or profits from the sale of greeting cards, mugs or photo canvases of his work," adding that, "He is not represented by any of the commercial galleries that sell his paintings secondhand." eBay hoax or identity sale? TechRadar has contacted the director of Bristol Museum, one of the last venues to host a major exhibition by Banksy in the UK, in addition to speaking with Venue magazine's Steve Wright – one of the leading authorities on the anonymous Bristolian street artist - requesting further comment on this story. eBay had previously terminated the auction because due to the fact that the seller was peddling an 'intagible good' – which the seller has now got around by simply writing down what he claims to be Banksy's real name on a piece of paper – and offering that for sale instead. Got a spare $1 million to be the first person in the world to find out what Banksy's name is? No? Neither have we. Exit Through The Gift Shop In other Banksy news, the artist's new film, Exit Through The Gift Shop, has been nominated for a BAFTA award reports BBC News. The story of a French filmmaker who follows graffiti artists and who meets up with Banksy is up against The Arbor, Chris Morris's Four Lions and Monster for a BAFTA. The 2011 BAFTA's take place at London's Royal Opera House on 13 February. 
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| Banksy's identity for sale on eBay Posted: 18 Jan 2011 05:56 AM PST UPDATE: The eBay auction listing Banksy's real name for sale for $1,000,000 has now been removed. The real name of street artist Banksy is apparently being sold on eBay for a million dollars. The seller in the eBay auction, due in just over 24 hours time, claims that he has obtained Banksy's real-world identity from matching prices of his sold pieces to tax records. Banksy's identity on sale Leaving aside the fact that there are not many 'anonymous street artists' we know that happily declare the income on every sale of their work to HMRC, the seller adds: "I will reveal no more details… I give you 100% assurance that it is most certainly the full name of the street artist known as 'Banksy.'" Banksy's own website states: "Banksy neither produces or profits from the sale of greeting cards, mugs or photo canvases of his work," adding that, "He is not represented by any of the commercial galleries that sell his paintings secondhand." eBay hoax or identity sale? TechRadar has contacted the director of Bristol Museum, one of the last venues to host a major exhibition by Banksy in the UK, in addition to speaking with Venue magazine's Steve Wright – one of the leading authorities on the anonymous Bristolian street artist - requesting further comment on this story. eBay had previously terminated the auction because due to the fact that the seller was peddling an 'intagible good' – which the seller has now got around by simply writing down what he claims to be Banksy's real name on a piece of paper – and offering that for sale instead. Got a spare $1 million to be the first person in the world to find out what Banksy's name is? No? Neither have we. Exit Through The Gift Shop In other Banksy news, the artist's new film, Exit Through The Gift Shop, has been nominated for a BAFTA award reports BBC News. The story of a French filmmaker who follows graffiti artists and who meets up with Banksy is up against The Arbor, Chris Morris's Four Lions and Monster for a BAFTA. The 2011 BAFTA's take place at London's Royal Opera House on 13 February. 
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| Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc camera improvements detailed Posted: 18 Jan 2011 05:09 AM PST  Sony Ericsson seems to have made a real effort to improve its camera technology on the upcoming Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc. A post on the company's official blog details some of the improvements made, including an upgraded light sensor, increased shutter speed and an updated UI. The main improvement is to the camera's sensor; the light sensors are now positioned at the front to capture the most possible light. Sounds like common sense, we know, but in previous iterations the actual sensors were hidden away behind other bits and pieces. Low light? No problem The new, larger f/2.4 aperture on the Arc also lets a greater amount of light in to hit the sensors, which should result in better low-light photography. The other benefit to the increased light sensitivity is that the shutter speed can be much quicker, so those photos that come out blurry even though you swear you didn't even breathe while taking them should become a thing of the past. As well as lightning-fast shutter speeds, the camera app has been sped up in general. One of the most frustrating things about phone cameras is that once you've taken a picture it's a long, slow wait for it to process before you can check it and get back to the camera to take another shot. The video below shows how much quicker Sony Ericsson has made this process with continual shooting an option, as well as showing off the Xperia Arc's HD video recording abilities. 
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| Kiefer Sutherland and John Hurt sign up to web TV series Posted: 18 Jan 2011 05:02 AM PST  Fresh from battling the world's terrorists without once needing to go to the toilet in 24, Kiefer Sutherland has announced that he has signed up to a new internet-only web series called The Confession. The series is a bite-sized look at the relationship between a hitman and a priest and will also star John Hurt. Although the 10 episodes are a mere seven minutes long – which is actually enough time to disarm a nuke, introduce a new shady character and say 'dammit' 12 times in 24 – its makers believe it will rival anything that has been made by the big, bad studios. Motion picture magnitude Chris Young, head of the Digital Broadcasting Group, who created the series, said: "The Confession sets a precedent for what is possible in original webisodic content. Never before has something of this magnitude and motion picture quality come to the third screen. "I'm thrilled to be working with such A-list talent and top-tier sponsors to finally capture and crystallise the seismic shift in how content of this caliber is released, distributed and enjoyed by an audience that will rival that of a hit television series." There's no word of a UK release for The Confession but it will be debuting Stateside on Hulu in March. 
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| Review: Sapphire Pure Black X58 Posted: 18 Jan 2011 04:24 AM PST  Seemingly from out of nowhere, here comes AMD heartthrob, Sapphire, with a top-end Intel motherboard, the Pure Black X58. Now, it's no stranger to motherboard manufacturing but due to its AMD leanings in the past, as its largest graphics board partner, the expectation was that Sapphire would remain loyal to the AMD mainboard market. That's not to say Sapphire is necessarily being dis-loyal with this release however, the X58 represents a chipset far beyond anything that AMD is able to produce at the moment. As the only triple-channel desktop chipset around, and with a general price-tag to match the sky-high performance, it's quite apart from the top end of AMD's offerings. And as the components market gets tougher more and more companies are having to diversify in order to compete, or sometimes just to stay afloat. There has been speculation at every trade show this millennium as to whether Sapphire was going to go all GPU agnostic and start creating NVIDIA graphics cards. That would've likely been a disastrous move though, destroying the good work it has done with ATI and AMD in the past. Producing Intel motherboards though is less likely to hurt that relationship and supporting the majority system platform can only be good sense. After all, Sapphire did not produce a huge amount of AMD's motherboards in the first place. But given its limited motherboard history can Sapphire create an Intel motherboard to match its rather lofty price tag?
It may seem like a bit of a backward move for Sapphire to come out with an Intel chipset that's over two years old now as its first non-AMD mobo, but it needed to cut its teeth somewhere. It also wanted to announce something at CES and with its close partnership with AMD it could hardly talk about its Sandy Bridge selection with the buzz that needed to be generated around the upcoming AMD Fusion technology. There are Sapphire Sandy Bridge motherboards on their way soon though and we should be looking those in a couple weeks. For now though it's all about the X58 chipset, and despite all the noise about the Sandy Bridge setup it's still the most advanced chipset Intel has produced. Very closely based on its server tech the X58 chipset far exceeds anything your desktop machine can throw at it. The triple-channel memory and support for up to 24GB RAM gives enough bandwidth to drive a truck through. And there is still the fact that, for the time being, this is the only Intel platform that you can currently get a hexcore i7 CPU fitted in. That's six cores and thanks to Intel's HyperThreading tech a frankly huge 12 threads of processing power. Hexcore Sandy Bridge parts on the other hand are still a little way off. The Pure Black X58 also comes with the new generation of I/O interfaces, in the shape of twin SATA 6Gbps and USB 3.0 ports, as well as legacy support in the shape of the oft-missed IDE interface. Granted it aint the fastest, but there's still a lot of us out there with our grint stored on old PATA drives… In terms of graphics you're looking at a paucity of PCI-E lanes, with only a single x16 slot available, backed up by twin x8 slots and a single gen 1 slot. Thanks to the relationship with AMD you're also limited to CrossFire as your multi-GPU supplier. SLI certification on Sapphire boards is looking unlikely for the foreseeable. Sapphire is getting around this somewhat with it's upcoming P67 release by including the Lucid Hydra chip onboard to allow twin NVIDIA cards, but it's conspicuous by its absence on this Pure Black X58. The power scheme on this Sapphire board also looks to be a little lack-lustre, coming in as it does with an 8+2 phase power design. On a budget board that's a good place to help cut the price of your mobo, but on an X58 enthusiast-class board, coming in over the £200 mark, that's fairly weak. The stock performance of the Pure Black X58 is impressive when you put it up against a board from mainboard stalwarts Asus. It even manages a slight win in the gaming benchmark. Unfortunately it's when you start trying to push the board to its limits that Asus' greater experience in the industry shows. The overclocking performance of the Sapphire board lags a fair way behind the Asus P6X58D-E, itself a much cheaper board. The sad fact is though that if you're looking at the more budget end of the X58 chipset and CPU combo then you're going to get soundly beaten by an equivalently-priced Sandy Bridge rig. In its stock 3.5GHz state the i7 2600K with a P67 board outstrips the i7 920/X58 combo on all fronts. CPU rendering performance
Video encoding performance
Gaming performance
Overclocking performance
You could probably have guessed the end result of this first Intel effort from Sapphire without knowing anything about the actual board itself. Nice try, but must do better. Despite having a fair chunk of EVGA's old motherboard team on the Sapphire books this first release looks just a little naïve. The price itself is a massive sticking point. Coming in above the £200 mark for an X58 board is practically unforgivable right now, especially given that it really offers nothing new over the competition to differentiate itself. And especially given the price and performance of the Sandy Bridge setups. Realistically only the insanely pricey hexcore processors are capable of besting the new second generation of Intel's Core CPUs. And if you were going to pay over the odds for a CPU you'd pay over the odds for the motherboard too. But importantly you'd want that motherboard to offer you something special to go along with your special CPU. The Pure Black X58, unfortunately for Sapphire, simply doesn't. My first reaction to the board was that it would make a good £130-£150 budget X58. That's more or less borne out by the stock-clocked benchmark results where it stands toe-to-toe with Asus' P6X58D-E, a £150 motherboard itself. Unfortunately the very existence of that Asus board makes the Pure Black X58 an almost impossible sell. Granted Sapphire is fairly insistent that its board's price will drop once the volume increases in the stores, but even if it were comparable in price it still lacks the performance punch to justify itself. While at stock level the boards are level, once you try messing with the clockspeeds you can quickly tell which the more competent board is. The i7 920 we were playing with tapped out once we got it to the 3.6GHz mark, which isn't bad considering that's almost a 1GHz boost. The P6X58D-E though was happy to be stably pushed right up to 4GHz. Realistically this is likely all down to Asus' decision to include a 16+2 power phase design in its board against the Pure Black's 8+2 array. The extra stability that affords allows you to push the CPU far harder. While we understand why there's no SLI certification in the Sapphire board that doesn't change the fact as a consumer that's a feature with a strong draw right now. The performance of NVIDIA's cards is better than it's ever been and again the Asus board has the edge here too. But for a first Intel board it's not a bad effort. Trying to position it as an enthusiast-class board with a price-tag to match though isn't going to stick; the Sapphire Pure Black X58 just doesn't have the technological cojones for that. We likedThe variety of connections available on the board is impressive, and the addition of the legacy PATA socket is a welcome one. We dislikedDespite marketing to the contrary the Pure Black is not an overclocker's board, the budget power phase design makes sure of that. It's also a shame there isn't a second x16 PCI-E socket, and understanding though we are of the lack of SLI, it's a feature you can find in cheaper boards. Related Links
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| Sky makes key changes to HD EPG Posted: 18 Jan 2011 03:56 AM PST  Sky has made major changes to its channel order with HD channels swapping onto their SD slots for subscribers to the HD package and the eagerly anticipated Sky Atlantic given a high profile spot. The Sky EPG has been given a major overhaul, including an HD channel swap and moves for some of the most popular channels. The HD channel swap will mean that Sky+HD subscribers will see HD channels on the key early numbers rather than the SD versions. Easier to get to HD Sky is hoping that the changes will make it easier for its viewers to find programmes, and 'deliver benefits to customers and broadcasters alike'. So if you have Sky+HD, things like Sky 1 HD will be on 106 – and a rebranded Sky Living HD will be available on 107 (or SD versions). Sky Atlantic will launch on channel 108. "This change reflects the increasing demand from those customers to watch their favourite TV in HD," explains Sky. "Those customers not subscribing to Sky+HD will be unaffected by this change." Not the top five Interestingly, the traditional terrestrial broadcasters will not have the HD switch – so BBC1 will stay SD rather than move to the BBC One HD channel which is further down the EPG. ITV, Channel 4 and Five also remain unaffected. Other key changes see MTV (350 to 126), Comedy Central (126 to 112), Universal (130 to 113) and FX (164 to 124) all shoved higher up the guide, Rob Webster, Sky's Commercial Director, comments: "We want our customers to be able to discover and enjoy the content they are most passionate about. "That's why we've worked with a range of partner channels to ensure that customers can find their favourite pay TV channels and programming as easily as possible. "And with high definition viewing now demanded as standard, this has also meant swapping HD channels into the EPG numbers that our customers know best. "The combination of high quality content, an intuitive, easy-to-use EPG, and innovative services like Sky+HD and Sky Anytime+, means our customers benefit from real choice, control and flexibility of viewing, whether linear or on-demand." 
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| Sky makes key changes to HD EPG Posted: 18 Jan 2011 03:56 AM PST Sky has made major changes to its channel order with HD channels swapping onto their SD slots for subscribers to the HD package and the eagerly anticipated Sky Atlantic given a high profile spot. The Sky EPG has been given a major overhaul, including an HD channel swap and moves for some of the most popular channels. The HD channel swap will mean that Sky+HD subscribers will see HD channels on the key early numbers rather than the SD versions. Easier to get to HD Sky is hoping that the changes will make it easier for its viewers to find programmes, and 'deliver benefits to customers and broadcasters alike'. So if you have Sky+HD, things like Sky 1 HD will be on 106 – and a rebranded Sky Living HD will be available on 107 (or SD versions). Sky Atlantic will launch on channel 108. "This change reflects the increasing demand from those customers to watch their favourite TV in HD," explains Sky. "Those customers not subscribing to Sky+HD will be unaffected by this change." Not the top five Interestingly, the traditional terrestrial broadcasters will not have the HD switch – so BBC1 will stay SD rather than move to the BBC One HD channel which is further down the EPG. ITV, Channel 4 and Five also remain unaffected. Other key changes see MTV (350 to 126), Comedy Central (126 to 112), Universal (130 to 113) and FX (164 to 124) all shoved higher up the guide, Rob Webster, Sky's Commercial Director, comments: "We want our customers to be able to discover and enjoy the content they are most passionate about. "That's why we've worked with a range of partner channels to ensure that customers can find their favourite pay TV channels and programming as easily as possible. "And with high definition viewing now demanded as standard, this has also meant swapping HD channels into the EPG numbers that our customers know best. "The combination of high quality content, an intuitive, easy-to-use EPG, and innovative services like Sky+HD and Sky Anytime+, means our customers benefit from real choice, control and flexibility of viewing, whether linear or on-demand." 
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| ARM and IBM set sights on low-power smartphone processors Posted: 18 Jan 2011 03:48 AM PST  ARM has announced that it is to continue its partnership with computing giant IBM in order to work on tiny low-power processors for smartphones. The main aim of the collaboration is to create smaller, faster chip designs which won't eat through as much power. The two companies will cooperate on chip manufacturing and design processes from the earliest stages in order to achieve this dream. Who's who The partnership hopes to result in a 14nm manufacturing process size, which is minuscule compared to ARM's current 40nm and 32nm offerings (also developed in partnership with IBM). The ability to manufacture tiny, cheap, powerful chips with low energy consumption will get smartphone manufacturers hearts' racing. Michael Cadigan, general manager at IBM Microelectronics, said, "We plan to continue working closely with ARM and our foundry customers to speed the momentum of ARM technology by delivering highly advanced, low-power semiconductor technology for a variety of new communications and computing devices." 
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| BBC iPlayer a record breaker again, PS3 views on the up Posted: 18 Jan 2011 03:43 AM PST  The BBC has revealed that the iPlayer proved more popular than ever over the Christmas period, with 145 million people logging on to catch up on their televisual viewing. It's no surprise that Top Gear was the most popular show on the service, with the two specials garnering 1.3 million hits each, but what is interesting is how many people are now logging on through the Playstation 3. There were 31 per cent more people viewing the iPlayer through the PS3 month on month, with the app earning an impressive 7 million requests. Impressive audience To put the amount of views iPlayer got over the Christmas period in context, in December 2009 the iPlayer had 89.7 million requests; December 2010 upped this by 27 per cent to a whopping 145 million. "In December we saw huge growth of BBC iPlayer on game consoles, connected TVs, and mobiles phones. We're seeing impressive audience appreciation for our TV and mobile experiences, and I anticipate that growth on these devices will significantly outpace traditional BBC iPlayer use in 2011," said Daniel Danker, general manager, programmes and on demand, about the upsurge. Worringly for Doctor Who fans, the iPlayer only had 700,000 people log on to view the Xmas special, while Matt Lucas and David Walliams's execrable airport based comedy, Come Fly With Me, managed 780,000. These on-demand viewers may be tech savvy but their taste in programmes seems to suck. 
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