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Friday, February 4, 2011

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News@8pm: The free Daily and the iPad 2

Posted: 04 Feb 2011 12:00 PM PST

Welcome to your nightly round-up of the day's news and goings on courtesy of T3.com

Friday’s news boils into some distinct categories, so lets get down to it. First up: the internet. Scary headline of the day comes in the form of an IP address shortage. Apparently they’ve run out, and we’re all doomed. Or something. Rupert Murdoch’s got bigger problems to deal with though, as his new Daily iPad paper’s been made available online for free. Meanwhile MySpace looks set to change hands. Lets hope that helps.


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Tablet news came to us in the form of the Optimus Pad, which reared its head just ahead of MWC. Samsung defended its Galaxy Tab after rumours that it’d suffered a huge 15 per cent return rate, while more iPad 2 rumours point to a release at the end of next week.


Nokia, 02 and Google took care of the mobile phone headlines today. Nokia’s N9 was the victim of a nasty specs leak, while 02 confirmed that its long-researched Wallet payment system – which will use NFC tech – will be coming later this year. Google rounded off the mobile news with word that the next mobile iteration of Android – entitled Ice Cream – will be receiving some of the tricks up Honeycomb’s sleeves.


Nintendo put the cherry on the news trifle when Sainsbury’s posted the 3DS’ price as under the mythical £200 mark. That’s all for today. If you missed anything form the week, check out tomorrow’s Tech Week post for the full skinny.
 

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HTC Desire 2 leaks ahead of MWC 2011 unveiling

Posted: 04 Feb 2011 09:13 AM PST

Vodafone Germany leak HTC Desire 2 existance ahead of MWC unveiling

The long awaited follow-up to the phenomenally successful HTC Desire, the aptly named HTC Desire 2 is heading for an MWC 2011 unveiling as the handset appears on the inventory list of Vodafone Germany.

 


Having leaked recently on a Taiwanese subway sporting a front-facing camera but no optical trackpad like its predecessor, the Desire 2 is now expected to launch alongside the recently rumoured HTC Pyramid during the upcoming Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

 

Whilst little is known about the mooted Desire 2 and with the Taiwanese handset manufacturer remaining tight lipped on the rumoured device, much attention of late has been focussing on the Pyramid, a reportedly 1.2GHz dual-core processor touting smartphone set to kick start HTC’s foray into the new breed of dual-core smartphones.

 

Which handset would you rather see come from HTC at MWC 2011 the week after next, the Desire 2 or the Pyramid? Let us know via the T3 Twitter and Facebook feeds.

 

Via: TechRadar

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LG Optimus Pad release date confirmed for MWC 2011

Posted: 04 Feb 2011 07:26 AM PST

LG tablet device to hit Mobile World Congress

Ending much speculation and adding to the tantalising array of devices set to be unleashed on the conference halls of Mobile World Congress later this month, LG has confirmed that the heavily rumoured LG Optimus Pad is to be unveiled at the Barcelona trade show.

 

Announced via a press release in the company’s native Korea, LG has revealed that following the arrival of the LG produced T-Mobile G-Slate in the US, the Optimus Pad will be unveiled to a European market during the firm’s MWC press conference on Monday February 14th.

 


Whilst it is unknown if the G-Slate and the Optimus Pad are one and the same device simply renamed for the various markets, it is widely expected that following a preview with a screenshot of the upcoming tablet, the Optimus Pad will be launched running Google’s latest rendition of its Android operating system, the tablet friendly version 3.0, Honeycomb.

 

Far from confirmed recent Optimus Pad rumours have seen the future LG tablet pegged with everything from a 8.9-inch glasses-free 3D display to 3D video recording capabilities and a Tegra 2 dual-core processor. USB ports and a HDMI connection are also hotly tipped for inclusion.

 

Would the inclusion of 3D tempt you into the tablet market tablet and away from Apple’s dominant iPad device? Let us know via the T3 Twitter and Facebook feeds.

 

Via: TechRadar

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Pool of available Internet IP addresses officially runs dry

Posted: 04 Feb 2011 06:55 AM PST

IP address pool drained as last batch assigned

The original batch of internet addresses has officially run dry as the final five blocks of internet protocols known as IP version 4 are assigned to the regional bodies responsible for their distribution.

 

Despite containing some 16 million IP addresses apiece the five remaining blocks of internet protocols called /8s are expected to have been completely exhausted by September this year ending the run of 4.3 billion addresses assigned under IPv4.

 


There is no need to fret about the future of internet access and content, however, follow-up to IPv4, IP version 6 is already well under way despite the full move to iPv6 expected to take a number of years to complete. Ensuring similar changes need not be made again in the near future the pool of IPv6 addresses is said to be a “billion, trillion times larger” than its predecessor.

 

"This is one of the most important days in the internet's history," declared Rod Beckstrom, head of net overseer Icann on the assigning of the final five blocks of current IP addresses.

 

He added: "It is a point that the founders of the internet thought would occur far in the future. It gives us an opportunity to shift to an internet protocol that offers a pool so large that it is difficult even to imagine."

 

What other tech related incidensts pegged for far off in the distant future do you think will occur earlier than expected? Let us know via the T3 Twitter and Facebook feeds.

 

Via: BBC

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Android Honeycomb to get bespoke Economist app

Posted: 04 Feb 2011 06:30 AM PST

Current affairs mag joins CNN in backing Android tablets

Android Honeycomb is red hot following its launch earlier this week with The Economist becoming the latest publication to throw its considerable weight behind Google's tablet-friendly operating system.

 

One of the major concerns for those seeking an alternative to the iPad was whether developers and publishers would be producing the same quality and quantity of apps as seen on the App Store, but it seems like the big guns are lining-up.

 

The current affairs bible has joined CNN in offering up a bespoke app for 3.0 featuring the new application fragments, which provide a more user-friendly browsing experience, by offering sections in tabs, much like apps like BBC News and Twitter do on the iPad.

 

Readers will also be able to store all of their issues on the homepage thanks to the 'bubbled' widgets in Honeycomb that enable readers to scroll through multiple items from within the same app without diving in. The Economist will also make use of in-app purchases so readers can pick up multiple issues.

 

The new app will be available upon launch of the first Honeycomb tablet, believed to be the scrumptious-looking Motorola XOOM. You can get a sneak preview of The Economist app in the video below.

 

 

Link: PaidContent

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Weird News: iPhone goes 80s, The Daily goes gratis

Posted: 04 Feb 2011 06:10 AM PST

This week's more eccentric goings in the tech world...


Google accuses Bing of copying its search results
The search war is on. This week Google accused Bing of half-inching its search results, after some snooping revealed that random word searches such as ‘srjkgbesob’ were returning the same results on both services.


How to win at split-screen multiplayer
It’s an age-old problem… how can you get one up on your mates if they can see what you’re up to on your screen? Now, after several hundreds of thousands of years of human evolution, we have the answer. Are you ready for this game changing device?


Awesome Call of Duty spoof is awesome
Epic Games, makers of the upcoming Bulletstorm, know how to make a game trailer. What they’ve done here is tacked one on to a pitch perfect spoof of the call of duty games – in itself a free four-minute long playable game. Watch the gameplay video at the above link.


The iPhone 80s-iser
Sick of your iPhone 4 being among the slimmest, sveltest, most monolithic smartphones on the planet? Yeah we can imagine. Time to upgrade it with an 80s style aesthetic. This phone bumper not only brings a huge amount of Gordon Gecko class to your Apple handset, it also stops the antenna death grip problems. Bonus.


The Daily gets hacked
iPad-only newspaper The Daily hasn’t stayed iPad only for very long. Due to a seemingly legal loophole, journalist Andy Baio has indexed and pasted its entire contents on a Tumblr page for free, ready for your reading pleasure. Just don’t tell Rupert Murdoch.


Angry Birds Rio
Rovio, who makes an unhealthy amount of money by selling you apps with suicidal birds, has just made a lot more money by signing a deal with Dreamworks to push their upcoming film. Angry Birds Rio will be a tie-in game for the film about parrots in the Brazillian city. Green pigs are unlikely to feature.


Google offers crims $20,000 dollars
Get your hacking boots on. Google has put the word out that its so proud of its Chrome browser, and so confident in its security, that it’ll give you the princely sum of $20,000 if you can break into its buttery seams and scoop out its brains.


And finally…

The Brocial Network
The winner of satirical-film-spoof-that’s-out-just-in-time-for-the-Oscars-but-ages after-the-initial-film-release is…
 

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Samsung defend Galaxy Tab return rate figures

Posted: 04 Feb 2011 04:41 AM PST

Samsung claim Galaxy Tab has less than a two per cent return rate

Samsung has struck back at claims up to 15 per cent of Galaxy Tab sales have subsequently been returned to vendors, reporting the actual return rate is “below two per cent.”

 

The reported high return figures, which originated from a Wall Street marketing firm on Wednesday, struck a chord with the Korean tech manufacturer following an earlier PR faux-pas surrounding the company’s first Android powered tablet device.

 


In a stern response to the seemingly fictional statistics Samsung announced: "The return rate of the Galaxy Tab in the US as claimed by an North American market research firm is incorrect. According to Samsung Electronics Mobile Communications Business the return rate is below 2 percent."

 

If true, Samsung’s claimed return rates of under two per cent would put the number of disgruntled Galaxy Tab users in line with those returning iPads to Apple.

 

The reportedly erroneous figures followed a recent mistranslation of Samsung exec Lee Young-hee who was reported as describing sales of the Galaxy Tab as “quite small” when he in fact stated they were “quite smooth”.

 

Which of the current breed of available tablets takes your fancy? Let us know via the T3 Twitter and Facebook feeds.

 

Via: TechRadar

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MySpace set for new owners

Posted: 04 Feb 2011 03:00 AM PST

Recent cuts not enough to convince Murdoch to stay the course.

MySpace has been the poor relation to Facebook and Twitter for years now. Once king of the social networks, it’s become a dumping ground for desperate new musicians and failed to gain any ground on its key rivals.

 

Which is why it seems Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, which bought MySpace for $580 million in 2005, is ready to cut and run. MySpace’s operations guy Chase Carey said, “The plan to allow MySpace to reach it's full potential may be best achieved under a new owner."

 

"There's been a lot of interest, because there's been some indication we're pursuing this path,” he continued. “We'll consider all options... it could be a sale, it could be an investor coming in to it, it could be us staying in with a restructured ownership structure with management."

 

Whatever happens, Murdoch won’t be getting his money back, although his focus now will be firmly on getting the Daily iPad newspaper into as many hands as possible.

 

Via Engadget and Paid Content

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Nintendo 3DS price drops below £200 at Sainsbury's

Posted: 04 Feb 2011 02:46 AM PST

3DS price wars begin as Sainsbury's breaks the £200 barrier

Supermarket chain Sainsbury’s has announced it will sell the upcoming Nintendo 3DS for just £199.99 becoming the first national retailer to drop the portable games console below the £200 mark.

 

Following the official European unveiling of the Nintendo 3DS last month in which the glasses-free 3D pocket-friendly games console was pegged with a March 25th UK arrival, the majority of UK retailers earmarked the revolutionary gadget with a £229.99 price tag.

 


Whilst this lofty price point has steadily been reduced over the past weeks, Sainsbury’s has become the first retailer to offer the 3DS for under £200 as standard. Online outlet ShopTo.Net recently dropped the console’s price to just £199.85 for a ‘limited time only’.

 

Chasing the low-end Sainsbury’s pricing for the 3DS, Amazon, Play.com and fellow supermarket Asda are all currently offering the device for pre-order at £202.

 

Eager gamers looking to take advantage of the orange supermarket’s 3DS deal ahead of the console’s release next month can pre-order the device now either online or via one of the chain’s 300 larger stores. Sweetening the deal those venturing to a physical outlet to place their orders will be rewarded with 1000 bonus Nectar points.

 

Speaking on the Sainsbury’s offering the retailer’s chief games buyer Gurdeep Hunjan said: “If you’re looking for a Nintendo 3DS, this is a great way to secure one now and save some cash.”

 

Is the Nintendo 3DS’s price tag still to high? Share your thoughts on the upcoming console release via the T3 Twitter and Facebook feeds.

 

Via: PocketLint

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The Daily iPad newspaper free online: No iPad necessary

Posted: 04 Feb 2011 02:41 AM PST

Digital paper available to read on Tumblr sans subscription

The Daily newspaper, launched two days ago, is the first daily rag to appear solely on the iPad. The currently US-only app costs 99 cents a week and is pushed to Apple’s tablet on a daily basis. But what if you don’t own an iPad?


Fret not, anyone wanting to read Rupert Murdoch’s newest publication can do so online via a handy loophole online. The paper makes its content available to share online through the app, so all it’s taken is one enterprising chap to index all this content and blog it.


That person is journalist Andy Baio, who has set up a Tumblr page that’ll let you read every article from the Daily each… erm, day. Technically there’s nothing illegal about this, but we’re sure that Murdoch’s none too happy either way, since it brings the newspaper’s content to any iPad with an internet connection. Will you partake of this swindle? Let us know on the ever-busy T3 Twitter feed.
 

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Nokia N9 specs outed?

Posted: 04 Feb 2011 02:01 AM PST

Is Nokia finally ready to take on the might of Android and Apple.

The Nokia N9 is one of this year’s most hotly tipped handsets, expected to land at Mobile World Congress next week. But until now, all we’ve had to go in is a rather sharp spy shot and the knowledge that it’ll come packing the all-new MeeGo OS.

 

But now eagle-eyed gadget lovers at NokiaPort.de appear to have laid their mitts on a spec sheet for a top-end MeeGo device, most likely the N9. Having rooted around in MeeGo sources files, they’ve got hold of some impressive stuff.

 

The new blower is said to pack a lightning fast 1.6GHz processor by Intel, 512MB of RAM, a 480x854 panel, NFC tech, HDMI out, 21Mbps HSPA+, plus Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

 

MeeGo is a joint tie-up between Nokia and Intel, so that chipset looks like a dead cert for the N9. The rest of the spec sheet is a bit of a doozy too and suggests Espoo is about to fling itself firmly into contention with its burgeoning welter of rivals.

 

Via IntoMobile

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News@10: Galaxy Tab returns and Nintendo 3DS price drop

Posted: 04 Feb 2011 02:00 AM PST

T3 scans the Twitterverse to bring you a handy daily round-up of gadget news, tech rumours and randomness from the WWW. Kick back with your morning cuppa and catch up.

Friday

 

MOBILE NEWS

@Dialtosave - Orange releases Android 2.2 for the Samsung Galaxy S

 

 

TABLET NEWS

@TechRadar - Samsung refutes Galaxy Tab return claims

 

 

GAMING NEWS

@PocketLint - Nintendo 3DS now just £199 thanks to Sainsburys

 

 

SOCIAL NEWS

@ElectricPig - Facebook photo viewer overhaul

 

 

SOCIAL NEWS

@BBC - Shopped - pictures of alleged shoplifters posted on Facebook

 

 

 Get more news, views and tech tips: 

 

T3 on Twitter

Direct your web attentions to twitter.com/t3dotcom for a feed of all the latest tech news and gadgetry goodness. We’ll also reach out for your opinions for future features, so have your brains ready.

 

 

 

T3 on Facebook

Facebook.com/t3mag is our handle. Don’t worry though, we spend much less time growing Farmville crops and poking strangers than we do divulging tech info.

 

 

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O2 mobile wallet app coming this year

Posted: 04 Feb 2011 12:40 AM PST

New app follows extensive trials of wallet service.

O2 has confirmed that it’s planning to unveil a mobile wallet app in the second half of 2011. The mobile network trialled a NFC payment system on a basic Nokia blower back in 2007, allowing Londoners to use their credit card and Oyster on their mobile.

 

 

The network has applied for an e-money licence and is hoping its new app will be all-conquering in time for the London Olympics next year. The move follows LG’s recent announcement that it’s planning NFC phones, with the Google Nexus S already touting the tech.

 

O2 will of course have one eye on the iPhone 5, which is also expected to cram in NFC. If it does, O2 will want to make its app a key component of the next-gen iPhones that it sells.

 

Is 2011 the year the mobile wallet finally takes off on the UK? Or are you happy to stick with cash and plastic? Tell us what you think on our Facebook and Twitter pages now.

 

Via PCR Online

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Android Ice Cream getting Honeycomb skills

Posted: 04 Feb 2011 12:05 AM PST

Google gets to work on new iteration of operating system.

Google has publicly stated that it’s only just started thinking about bringing some of Android 3.0 Honeycomb’s features to smartphones. Privately though, it’s already begun work on a new build of its operating system that will let phone owners get a taste of Honeycomb.

 

Dubbed GRI17 and codenamed Ice Cream (as has previously been reported by us here at T3 Towers), the new variant promises not only to bring Honeycomb-based features to Android phones, but also puts paid to any idea that Honeycomb itself will ever land on a mobile rather than a slate.

 

Ice Cream is unlikely to break out into the wild for some time. The Big G is said to be keen to spread out its OS releases in order to stop customer confusion and give mobile makers more time to stick new versions of the software on their phones.

 

Will this lead to yet more Android fragmentation? Or is Google right to make Honeycomb a tablets-only affair? Tell us what you think on our Facebook and Twitter pages now.

 

Via Phandroid

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iPad 2 release by end of next week?

Posted: 03 Feb 2011 11:43 PM PST

New software could be used to trail iPad 2 release.

The iPad 2 looks set to land by 13 February, with the forthcoming release of iOS 4.3 providing vital clues as to when the second-gen slate will finally be revealed.

 

The German Apple fanatics at MacNotes.de claim that Cupertino is plotting an event at the end of next week to show off the new version of the OS, which comes packing personal hotspot skills. Apple will use the gathering to tout iOS 4.3, before unveiling the iPad 2 as its “one more thing”.

 

iOS 4.3 is also the subject of a string of rumours, with Daring Fireball suggesting The Daily’s two-week free trial period will end of with the new software being revealed. The iPad-only paper requires in-app subscriptions smarts that only exist in iOS 4.3, with Verizon picking up the tab for users during an initial fortnightly grace period.

 

The New York Times has also amended a review of the Verizon iPhone which said rival cells on AT&T would be getting iOS 4.3 on 13 February. The paper has since changed that date to the much vaguer “soon”.

 

Either way, the new iPad is going to need iOS 4.3 in order to give it an edge and help it apply Apple’s new strict app guidelines for publishers. With its release apparently imminent, surely the iPad 2 will land alongside it.

 

For more on this and other gadget stories, take a peek at our Facebook and Twitter pages now.

 

Via MacRumors

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