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• Tech Week: Xoom price cut and Apple patent bonanza
• BT Openreach: super-fast broadband for 156 exchanges
• Apple hires Activision and Nintendo UK PR execs
• Milton Keynes has slowest 3G mobile broadband speed in UK
• App week: Android Music 3.0, Angry Birds Rio review
• Computer controlled by thoughts developed

Tech Week: Xoom price cut and Apple patent bonanza Posted: 09 Apr 2011 10:00 AM PDT Posted by Luke Johnson on Sat 9 Apr 2011 Yet another busy week in tech has past us by, here are our highlight from the past seven days, enjoy.   News of the Week Motorola's Xoom tablet has been hit with issues and price cuts this week ahead of the Android 3.0 device's official UK launch. Starting off with PC World lowing the Xoom's price, the Motorola tablet then unofficially went on sale via online retailer simply electronics before having a further price cut courtesy of Carphone Warehouse. Between all this it emerged the iPad challenger has shifted just 100,000 units since hitting the US in February.   Apple's patent department has been working overtime recently with the Cupertino firm churning out weird and wonderful patent possibilities this week. Starting us off with a new dock conector come USB 3.0, Apple moved on an iPhone 5 smart bezel feature that could see the device move touch controls to the handset-s frame, later revealing plans for a hybrid e-ink-LCD display for future tablets. Around these the company was on the winning end of a $625 million patent court review.   Samsung's Galaxy smartphones were making headlines this week after it emerged the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S II will sport a 1.2GHz dual-core processor as opposed to the 1GHz offering touted at its unveiling. This was later officially confirmed by Samsung UK much to the delight of wannabe owners. Elsewhere on the Galaxy S front, the original Galaxy S is to get Android's 2.3 gingerbread update within a matter of weeks.   ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ App of the Day | Live Holdem Poker Pro If you are a fan of online gambling, this app's a good place to start making playing poker easy as possible T3 App Chart | Best Android Apps | Live Holdem Poker Pro Review ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   Features of the Week Our top features this week are all about making your weekend as plesent as possible. With this glorious spell of weather we are having up is that time of year where us optimistic Brits dust of the barbeque and brave the fleeting sun. If your BBQ didn't fair well through the winter months left out in the rain here is our guide to the best barbeques to buy.   With a high octane weekend of sport ahead of us with the Grand National and the Masters golf we have tackled both events in a techy manner. Kicking off with the National we bring you a guide to the best iPhone betting apps so you can make a cheeky flutter on the nation's favourite betting event. On to the Masters and again we are tackling it with apps, this time the best golf apps to help your swing, green technique and find where you should be swinging those irons.   ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ T3 Podcast - The web's biggest audio gadget show The T3 tech team discuss the weeks top news and their gadget of the week, Chrome OS Cr-48 netbook T3 Podcast episode 177 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   Reviews of the Week Following the offical, albeit slightly hairy UK launch of the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play last week we have checked out the launch titles for the gaming centric phone. In our review of the Xperia Play launch games we tackle FIFA 10, crash through Crash Bandicoot and give a thorough nod to the rest.   Keeping with phones but moving away from gaming and into the social sector we bring you our full review of the INQ Cloud Touch handset, a device created with Facebook at the forefront. Going social and adopting Facebook we gave the Cloud Touch a three star verdict, read on to find out why.   Video of the Week | Google Chrome OS: Top 10 desktop apps This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

BT Openreach: super-fast broadband for 156 exchanges Posted: 09 Apr 2011 06:00 AM PDT Posted by Devina Divecha on Sat 9 Apr 2011 Super-fast broadband plans expanded further BT Openreach will be upgrading 156 exchanges for them to have super-fast broadband by 2012. Related links Fasted broadband could add value to UK house prices Broadband speeds misleading, says Ofcom Broadband is the most loved innovation of the decade Free fibre optic upgrade to broadband customers Best mobile broadband dongles to surf the web With this upgrade, more than 1.5 million customers and businesses will have fibre-optic broadband by next year. Openreach has released further details of the 156 towns and cities that will be upgraded to the new fibre-optic broadband through 2011 and 2012. BT has promised £2.5 billion to the cause of rolling out fibre optic broadband to two-thirds of UK by the end of 2015. David Campbell, managing director of Next Generation Access for Openreach, said: "Our fibre programme is well under way with more than four million premises now able to order a fibre-based broadband service from their chosen supplier." He also said they would work with industry and local authorities in order to decide where the technology would be rolled out next. These upgrades will offer speeds of 40Mbits per second up to 100Mbits per second. What kind of broadband does your current location offer? Let us know what speeds you're experiencing at T3's Twitter and Facebook feeds and stay tuned in for the latest tech news. Via: ComputerActive     This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Apple hires Activision and Nintendo UK PR execs Posted: 09 Apr 2011 05:31 AM PDT Posted by Devina Divecha on Sat 9 Apr 2011 Whatever is Apple upto now? Rumours are rife that Apple has gotten its hands on not one, but two notable PR people of the gaming industry. Related links Apple iPad 2 review Apple iPhone 5 release date delayed until September Apple iPhone 5 rumours: what we know so far Apple iPhone 4 review Next gen Apple iPod Touch to host glasses-free 3D display Apple iPad vs Samsung Galaxy Tab Last week, MCV reported that Robert Saunders, Nintendo UK's PR head will be leaving the post after seven years at the gaming company. He will depart from Nintendo at the end of April and will, according to reports, join Apple in a new role. MCV said, "There is no confirmation from Apple or Saunders himself as yet, but MCV understands that he will be focused on PR for apps across the iPad, iPod and iPhone ranges." Now reports say that Activision's Nick Grange is also making his way to Apple. Grange had stints at EA and Microsoft before joining Activision 4 years ago. Again, MCV says there is no official confirmation but they say he will be focusing on iPad hardware. With these two appointments at Apple, could it be the Cupertino company will be directing their efforts towards capturing a slice of the gaming market? Do you think Apple will be more focused on the gaming side of its apps from now on? Tweet or Facebook your thoughts to us (via our official Twitter and Facebook pages) and remember to follow us for more updates in the world of tech. Via: MCV     This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Milton Keynes has slowest 3G mobile broadband speed in UK Posted: 09 Apr 2011 03:16 AM PDT Posted by Devina Divecha on Sat 9 Apr 2011 And the winner is... The winning town of the slowest 3G mobile broadband speed in UK is Milton Keynes. According to research by Top10.com, the average 3G mobile broadband speed is about 1.73 megabits per second, which is 45% slower than average speeds i other 3G hotspot areas. This speed would take 10 seconds to load a webpage on a smartphone. Or to put it in perspective, it would take over two minutes to download an Angry Birds app. Related links Best mobile broadband dongles to surf the web Orange announces new mi-fi device and broadband reforms Mobile World Congress 2011: mobile phone trends UK fails to rank in the internet speed chart The next slowest towns and cities are Leicester and Huddersfield. Leicester has an average 3G mobile broadband speed of 2.01 Mbps and Huddersfield 2.17 Mbps.  Peterborough however has the fastest 3G mobile broadband speeds in the UK with an average download speed of 3.86 Mbps. Alex Buttle, director of Top10.com, said, "There’s clearly quite a disparity when it comes to 3G connectivity across the UK. Despite the Government and mobile operators tirelessly working to increase the coverage and speed of the 3G service, there is evidently still a long way to go." He also added, “Ofcom recently unveiled its plans for 4G, the next generation mobile communications technology, with the telecoms regulator announcing that an auction would take place for the right to provide high-speed services to consumers and businesses. Judging by the results of our mobile broadband tests carried out by smartphone users, the networks should probably be trying to ensure their 3G house is in order before they start promoting 4G services." Top10 carried out tests online between January and March 2011 through which the data for this research was compiled. Is your town in the list of slowest 3G mobile broadband speeds? Let us know at T3's Twitter and Facebook feeds and stay tuned in for the latest tech news.     This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

App week: Android Music 3.0, Angry Birds Rio review Posted: 09 Apr 2011 03:00 AM PDT Posted by Chris Smith on Sat 9 Apr 2011 Every Saturday we round-up the week in mobile applications bringing you news of the biggest new releases across all major platforms and a host of reviews from T3's App Chart. Let's crack on... APP NEWS: Cloud music finally coming to Android? It seems we've waited longer than an Oliver Stone movie for Google's cloud music service to arrive and beat the tar out of iTunes, but an interesting leak this week suggests it's almost good-to-go. The Android Music 3.0 app appeared in, and was then quickly removed from, a developers' version of the Android Market.   Atari's Greatest Hits makes old new again The App Store is making a habit of making the old seem new again and there's no better evidence of that than the new Atari's Greatest Hits app for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. The app features 100 Atari luminaries, such as Pong, Asteroid, Battlezone and Centipede. You can buy the whole lot in-app for $14.99.   Bing! Microsoft's first iPad app Microsoft has launched a rather lovely-looking version of its Bing search engine, which is its first venture onto Apple's tablet. As far as debuts go, this is like scoring a hat-trick at the Kop end. It's a visually beautiful app, intuitive and fun to use and a real contender to the bland Google search offering provided by Safari   Mix your own Bowie track Pop icon David Bowie will release an iPhone app this summer to accompany his Golden Years EP release. The app will allow users access to the original multi-tracks from the song to create their own remix and share it with the world. Good old Bowie... still at the cutting edge.   PlayBook gets another app boost As well as access to the Android Market, the BlackBerry PlayBook will benefit from developers still convinced that there's room for more than two successful ecosystems. App developer Polar has promised 100 apps in the first year for the new RIM tablet, claiming that it'll be more of an on-the-go device than the Apple iPad.   ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ App of the Day | Live Holdem Poker Pro If you are a fan of online gambling, this app's a good place to start making playing poker easy as possible T3 App Chart | Best Android Apps | Live Holdem Poker Pro Review ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   APP REVIEWS FROM THE T3 APP CHART: Orange encourages us to be better people... ...and it doesn't have to ruin your day! The Orange Do Some Good app for iPhone allows you to do good deeds like fill in a quick survey for the Samaritans while you're on the bus, or send in pictures of your local area that you think need more trees or a bit of guerilla gardening. Nice idea.   Angry Birds head to Brazil for movie tie-in The rise of Angry Birds continues with its first Hollywood hook-up. Angry Birds Rio sees the irate winged beasts fly to South America to free some kidnapped pals, Sonic the Hedgehog style (yes, the pigs get a repreive in this episode). It features 60 addictive levels and is another must-have iteration of the world's most famous smartphone game.   The kind of watch Flynn would wear... While hugely-functional apps that make our lives easier and more enjoyable dominate this page each week, we're still a sucker for geeky apps that just look cool. TRONclock for Windows Phone 7 is one of those. Basically, it’s a spinning neon disc with a little dot and segments cut out for seconds, minutes and hours, but for TRON: Legacy fans it looks like it has arrived straight from the grid and a nifty addition to your Windows Phone 7 handset.   Link: T3 App Chart     This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Computer controlled by thoughts developed Posted: 09 Apr 2011 02:24 AM PDT Posted by Devina Divecha on Sat 9 Apr 2011 Tech being developed for computers to read our minds Scientists at the Washington University have developed a method by which a person's mind can control a computer. Related links World Cup 2018: future of football viewing Future tech: today's gadgets in 10 years time Richard Hammond talks future motors The future of air travel tech Future home: the future of reading Future tech: 10 tomorrow's world moments Sensors were attached to the individuals brain and by thinking of specific sounds, individuals were able to move a cursor on the screen. The experiment showed an accuracy of 91%. The experiment is based on a technique known as electrocorticography, by which the brain is connected to a computer through electrodes and is normally used for epilepsy treatment. "There are many directions we could take this, including development of technology to restore communication for patients who have lost speech due to brain injury or damage to their vocal cords or airway," said Eric C. Leuthardt MD, assistant professor of neurosurgery at Washington University's School of Medicine. The procedure while invasive shows that the computer can, essentially, read the person's mind when he/she thinks of certain sounds and move the cursor. Would you prefer controlling a computer with your mind or doing it the old-fashioned way? Let us know by popping over at T3's Twitter and Facebook and follow us for the latest news in the world of tech. Via: Techwatch     This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

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