Sponsored

Techradar

---

• Samsung unveils new Google Chromebook laptop
• Google reveals official Chromebook plans
• HTC Sensation UK price revealed by retailer
• Retailer reveals HTC Sensation UK pricing
• Review: HTC Wildfire S
• Slow speeds the biggest bugbear for computer users
• BlackBerry Touch 9860 gets close-up snap
• Nikon 'cancels' Coolpix S4100, blames Japan quake
• Explained: Music by Google: everything you need to know
• Chiltern Railways launches paperless mobile train tickets
• Asia is now the spam continent of the world
• Google confirms there will be a Nexus 3
• Google hits 100 million Android activations
• US Navy crowdsources pirate-catching plans using online game
• Review: Sony KDL-40EX724
• Vivitek Qumi Q2 3D pocket projector launches
• Twitpic updates terms, causes photo-ownership furore
• Review: One For All XSight Plus
• Explained: Ice Cream Sandwich: everything you need to know
• Review: AC Ryan Playon! DVR HD
• iFlowReader ebook seller folds, says 'Apple killed us'
• Review: AVerMedia F200 HD HomeFree Duet
• Review: Shuttle SX58H7
• Video game Tekken to be turned into 3D animated film
• PSN still down 'for a few more days'

Samsung unveils new Google Chromebook laptop Posted: 11 May 2011 01:03 PM PDT Samsung has unveiled the first Chromebook - the new Series 5 laptop running which will run the Google Chrome operating system. The ultra-slim 0.79-inch device was officially launched at the I/O conference in San Francisco, where Google lifted the lid on its plans for the web-based OS. The Series 5 fits in with the required Chromebook specs, offering "all-day" 8.5 hour battery life and a dual-core 1.66GHz Intel Atom processor under the hood. Web only There'll only be 16GB of sold-state memory on board, but with Google's plans to make this a "web-only" device, that shouldn't cause too much of a problem. The laptop has a 12.6-inch, 1280 x 800 resolution screen, the option of global 3G connectivity, 802.11 WiFi, two USB ports and a HD webcam. The Series 5 will be launched in the US on July 15th, with prices starting at $429, which is just over £250 in real money. No word yet on UK pricing and availability. Related Stories Buying Guide: Best Intel Core laptops 2011

Google reveals official Chromebook plans Posted: 11 May 2011 11:52 AM PDT Google has officially revealed the plan for its new Chrome OS netbooks, which it is calling 'Chromebooks'. The netbooks will be sold as stand-alone products, but will also be available on a subscription model for businesses and schools. Over at Google I/O, Sundar Pichai, VP of product management for Chrome at Google, told delegates that the netbooks are about "nothing but the web", offering instant-on, built-in 3G, all-day battery and cloud storage. Chromeo The company showed off two new Chromebooks. One is made by Samsung which offers a 12.1-inch display with 8 hours of battery life. The other comes from Acer, with an 11.6-inch screen and slightly lower battery life at 6.5 hours. It looks as though both of the Google netbooks will be launching in the UK on 15 June, the same day as the US gets its first Chromebook fix. The UK pricing is unconfirmed, although a straight conversion of the US pricing would suggest a Wi-Fi only version of the Samsung netbook for around £250, with 3G for £305 and the Acer model for £275. Shools and businesses can opt for the subscription model, which will bag them the laptop, web console, full tech support and hardware upgrades. Businesses are looking at $28 (£17) a month, while schools get a subsidised rate of $20 (£12) per month, confirming the pricing rumours that TechRadar reported on earlier today.

HTC Sensation UK price revealed by retailer Posted: 11 May 2011 09:57 AM PDT The HTC Sensation has popped up on its first priced-up page, complete with UK pricing. Play.com will sell you the touch-tastic SIM-free handset for £499.99, pegging the HTC Sensation UK release date as 30 June. No other retailer has yet dared to take a punt on pricing for the dual-core handset, although Clove has gone as far as to suggest a UK release date of 10 June. Sensative With spec like a dual-core 1.2Ghz processor, 4.3-inch qHD Super-LCD screen and Android 2.3 with Sense 3.0, we've got lofty expectations for the Sensation. The question is: can it topple the similarly-specced Samsung Galaxy S2 as our best mobile phone in the world today? We know you're all eagerly awaiting our definitive HTC Sensation review; it should be hitting TechRadar around mid-May. Stay tuned. Related Stories Google launches Android Market movie rentals Android forges alliance for consistent OS updates BlackBerry Touch 9860 gets close-up snap Retailer reveals HTC Sensation UK pricing Review: HTC Wildfire S

Retailer reveals HTC Sensation UK pricing Posted: 11 May 2011 09:57 AM PDT The HTC Sensation has popped up on its first priced-up page, complete with UK pricing. Play.com will sell you the touch-tastic SIM-free handset for £499.99, pegging the HTC Sensation UK release date as 30 June. No other retailer has yet dared to take a punt on pricing for the dual-core handset, although Clove has gone as far as to suggest a UK release date of 10 June. Sensative With spec like a dual-core 1.2Ghz processor, 4.3-inch qHD Super-LCD screen and Android 2.3 with Sense 3.0, we've got lofty expectations for the Sensation. The question is: can it topple the similarly-specced Samsung Galaxy S2 as our best mobile phone in the world today? We know you're all eagerly awaiting our definitive HTC Sensation review; it should be hitting TechRadar around mid-May. Stay tuned. Related Stories Google launches Android Market movie rentals Android forges alliance for consistent OS updates BlackBerry Touch 9860 gets close-up snap Review: HTC Wildfire S HTC Sensation UK price revealed by retailer

Review: HTC Wildfire S Posted: 11 May 2011 09:54 AM PDT The HTC Wildfire arrived in mid-2010, when the world was still reeling from the impact of the sensational HTC Desire. And the Wildfire was almost as popular, coupling HTC's fantastic Sense user interface with a smaller, solid and capable little body – it was a lot of people's first, affordable smartphone. But things are a little different in 2011. The dual-core "superphones" have arrived, which means something with a lowly 600MHz processor is going to have to win fans via features and price rather than power. The HTC Wildfire S isn't exactly a cheap phone, either. Currently on sale for around £220 through the SIM-free retailers, there are now plenty of extremely capable Android-powered phones out there for less money – such as the Samsung Galaxy Ace or LG Optimus One. It's going to be a bloody fight, this. Design HTC has refreshed the design substantially, giving the Wildfire S the same workmanlike black and chrome look as seen in the excellent HTC Desire S. There are no physical buttons on the front of the phone, with HTC opting for four capacitive touch-buttons. These are your standard Android Home, Menu, Back and Search options. They're responsive, plus HTC has put in a little vibration feedback to reassure your brain that your finger did indeed just hit the right spot. HTC has removed the optical trackpad, which has allowed it to make the Widlfire S a little shorter than last year's model. It's a very tiny phone and also manages to be lighter – 105g versus the original's 118g. The 3.2-inch screen runs at 320x480 resolution, so obviously isn't going to be as sharp as displays found on more expensive phones. But it is pleasingly solid, nice and glassy and responsive to even the lightest of touches. Given that the old HTC Wildfire had a screen outputting at a shameful 240x320, this is still a big step up. It's not particularly sharp, mind – there's a noticeable mesh over everything if you look closely. Feel Round the back is your classic HTC moulded rubber cover, which is grippy and feels pretty solid. There's also the 5MP camera lens and, thankfully, an LED flash. There's a proximity sensor in the front case, allowing the Wildfire S to dim the screen when you press it to your ear. But there's no front-facing camera here. It's a chunky, well-made little phone that feels very nice in the hand and impressively solid. But is it any good when you turn it on? HTC Wildfire S review: Interface You get Android 2.3 on the Wildfire S, with HTC's latest version of its Sense UI over the top. We like a bit of HTC Sense – it's a very comprehensive re-skin, and one that adds huge amounts of extra functionality to Google's popular mobile OS. The lock screen is in the standard HTC style – swipe down to access the Home screens. Once there you have a choice of seven workspaces to flip through, each holding a selection of app shortcuts, widgets and folders. The standard pull-down Android Notifications window has been upgraded by HTC, now coming with a scrolling list of recently opened apps, plus a quick settings tab for toggling Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS and more on or off. The Wildfire S does a pretty good job of keeping everything running smoothly. Some of the more complex apps, such as social network aggregator Friend Stream, can slow the scrolling down a little, but it's generally a solid experience. Friend Stream lets you pull in status updates from Twitter, Flickr and Facebook, presenting everything in one unified timeline. You can scroll up and down within this app, so it's all there right in front of you on a Home screen. It can get a little messy, though. Web links in status updates very kindly open up the website in question, only your view of the page is restricted by having the original tweet at the top and a retweet bar at the bottom – leaving only a minuscule gap for the actual web content between. While HTC's widgets offer great functionality, their white-on-black style is beginning to look a little dated. HTC has also provided Home screen widgets that create an icon-based list of Contacts you've added to your Favourites, a music player, its famous weather widget and one that streams in your latest text messages. It's all very user-friendly, and no doubt geared towards those who don't do a lot of tinkering. If you do like playing about, HTC's Sense interface has a lot beneath the bonnet. Home screens can be shuffled about, with a two-fingered pinch of the screen bringing up an overview of your workspace and long-pressing on a screen icon enabling you to change the order in which it appears. Enthusiasts will also enjoy HTC's many customisation options. The right-hand button on the curved dock brings up the Personalisation menu, from where users can change scene – a way to create and save Home screen setups – or select entire new skins for the phone's screens and menus. It's not just visual enhancements, either. Collections of Sound sets can be downloaded via this menu and the HTC Hub it links to, if you need a new collection of tones and alarms. Back in the apps menu, HTC has again given us more options than are usually found in Android devices. Apps can be sorted alphabetically or by date, plus there are separate tabs for frequently used tools and those you've downloaded yourself. One of the many tiny changes made to this latest version of HTC Sense is the scrolling of the app listing. It now flips down one whole screen at a time, so it's easy to keep your place if you have a heap of things loaded onto the phone. Android 2.3 is a great, polished operating system. HTC Sense makes it a little better. Clicking the Phone button that permanently sits at the bottom of the Wildfire S' screen brings up the dialler, which sits atop your complete list of contacts. There's a nice little toggle in the bottom-right of the screen, which lets users quickly sort the entire contacts section, choosing not to display people the phone has sucked in through Twitter or Facebook. This is very useful for temporarily hiding people who don't have phone numbers. Editing individual contact pages presents hours of fun. You can allocate different ringtones to different people, block callers and even specify a default action when clicking on the name. For example, having it so that pressing on a contact opens up a new email to that person rather than accidentally phoning them. The widget even puts an appropriate icon on their profile image, so you know what the default action is – or if there's not one already allocated, it'll ask you to set one the first time you press it. Contacts can be linked, too, so if there's someone in your SIM list you've known for 20 years who has only just got around to signing up for a Twitter account, you can press the little chain link on a person's page and link their boring SIM contact to their exciting new online pseudonym. The Facebook integration is as good as ever - things like people's statuses popping up when you phone them and a little alert to tell you it's their birthday are brilliant. The Android dialler offers many options for human-to-human voice chatting, even letting users put people on hold. For fun. The phone's mobile network connection was good, and voice quality when making calls was also perfectly respectable. Text messaging within the Wildfire S is pretty simple. You get a text interface with an attachment menu, allowing users to send pictures, video, text-based app recommendations, contact details in vCard format and even vCalendar appointments. HTC's email app supports multiple POP3/IMAP accounts and Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync, with the app managing to successfully set up our BT and Hotmail accounts using only the username and password. Emails all arrive into one inbox, with messages colour coded for different email accounts. HTC's email presentation isn't very exciting, but it does the job. You're able to copy text out of the body of emails, which is useful, or send highlighted chunks of text – selected by long-pressing on a text area – via Android's sharing menu. It's therefore very straightforward to highlight a sentence from an email and send it directly to Twitter, if that's how you spend your working days. The keyboard is HTC's take on the standard Android QWERTY. It's quite sensitive and responds to touches without lag, plus it can be set to predict words or not. It does a decent job, plus it's nice having alternate characters on each key – accessed by a long-press – so you don't have to flip to a second screen when adding apostrophes, question marks and the like to messages. If you're feeling brave, it's also possible to activate voice input. It manages single words like "hello" without too much fuss if you talk like Rex Harrison, but try a sentence of a few words and it struggles to separate them. It takes time to process your words, and correcting errors is more trouble than it's worth, so we'll stick with the keyboard. The 600MHz processor in the HTC Wildfire S just about works for regular web use, although scrolling through more complex sites can be a bit of a slow process. HTC has updated the tab system, with a pinch of the screen zooming out your view and popping up a scrollable list of all your open browser windows. This is a fantastic addition to the Android web browser. Sadly there's no Flash Player support in here, due to the speed of the processor, so you can forget about BBC's iPlayer site or app working. That's a fairly large problem when it comes to selling a mass-market phone aimed at the casual buyer. General page browsing is surprisingly good, given the rather low-spec 600Mhz processor inside. Scrolling while the pages are loading can get a little messy, but once everything's arrived it's easy to pinch-zoom your way around. Page text reflows nicely if you double-tap the screen, again helping users to navigate big pages with the minimum of fuss, and the letters will still jumble around to fit even if you zoom in a little more with multi-touch pinching. If a site has a visible RSS feed, the RSS icon appears beside the URL bar. Pressing this prompts users to add the subscription, which pops up in HTC's custom News app. This app also syncs with your Google account, so will pull in any feeds you've previously added to the Google Reader desktop tool. The low resolution (by today's standards) screen means text is never particularly sharp unless you zoom in, but it's readable and does the job as a mobile web machine. The HTC Wildfire S comes with a 5MP camera, powered by an almost identical menu system to that used in the larger and more powerful HTC Desire S. The only difference here is the lack of a couple of the fancier image filter options that featured on the Desire S, such as the vignette and hipster-style retro filters. All you get on the Wildfire S are: A sepia filter A black and white effect The usual pointless negative And a posterize option for creating your own Andy Warhol prints. There are also aqua (blue tint over everything) and solarize (negative only messier) to play with. The image preview comes with an icon to instantly set the photo you've just taken as an icon to represent one of your contacts, which is handy. It's all very 'joined up'. Photos taken at the highest resolution of 2592x1728 look nice in good light, although areas with high detail, such as grass and trees, tend to end up looking a little smudgy when viewed at full size. FLASH: The flash is a highlight, making indoor, low-light photos look great DARK: Without the flash, low-light photos emerge looking very grainy indeed It's your standard, slightly disappointing HTC camera, basically. Great for outdoors landscapes, but not so hot if you go to places that aren't substantially illuminated by a large, nearby star. Video quality is one of the bigger compromises on the HTC Wildfire S. The maximum resolution here is 640x480, so there are definitely no HD ambitions on display. This is a bit of a shame, as 720p recording was on the spec sheet when the phone was revealed at Mobile World Congress earlier this year. But it's not in the finished phone. You are, however, able to zoom in when recording clips, although be prepared to wait a while – this is a very, very laggy and jerky process. The sensor also chugs noticeably when moving from light areas to dark, meaning it's possible to watch the phone reduce or increase brightness step by step. Couple this with the clunky zoom and it gets very messy indeed. Back on the positive side of things, the LED light can be set to be permanently on for illuminating dark scenes, plus you have manual control of white balance. The frame rate stays pretty solid, and the picture isn't as blotchy as that found on some lower-spec smartphones. It's perfectly usable, but the HTC Wildfire S remains one of the poorer-performing Android phones out there when it comes to video recording. The technical specs of the HTC Wildfire S state the phone is able to play 3GP, 3G2, MP4 and WMV video files, with audio support for AAC, AMR, OGG, M4A, MOD, MP3, WAV and WMA music files. In reality, this means most mainstream, paid-for video downloads will play, but there's no joy for those of you hoping to play any of the more popular AVI or MKV video formats. The Android video player is always something of a disappointment, offering nothing more than the option to play/pause, skip through the clip and toggle between a zoomed-in full-screen view and a bordered original scale. The music player is rather standard too, letting you sort tracks on SD card by artist, album, playlist or a massive list of everything. There are no affiliated shopping systems on here, so if you want to buy music directly through the phone, you'll need a standalone app. HTC supplies a full-page app for playing music, although there's not much use in it. It plays and pauses and lets you skip tracks, but that's all. Pressing the album art opens up the main player. There are no lock screen audio controls, either. Of course, being a Google-powered phone means you get the official YouTube app on here. The HTC Wildfire S handles this with ease, even supporting direct uploads of your own video recordings from within the player. HTC has also stuck in an FM radio, which comes with plenty of customisable presets. It's possible to route the sound through the speaker, although it still requires the headphones to be plugged in to act as an antenna. Sound quality through the onboard speaker is good, lacking bass as ever, but sharp enough. HTC's headphones are simple in-ear bud things, with one button – Play and pause – on the cord. They do a good job. There's not much in the way of onboard storage space for downloaded applications, sadly. Just installing a few essentials took us up to 60MB of used memory, with only another 90MB free. If you plan on playing some of the bigger games, memory space is going to be an issue with the Wildfire S, no doubt about it. The HTC Wildfire S comes with a 1230mAh battery, the same as in 2010's original Wildfire. We found it lasted very well indeed, thanks to the small (by today's standards) screen and the efficient Android 2.3 OS. HTC states that GSM talktime is 430 minutes. We got two and a half days off one charge, with moderate web use and email/data sync options left at their default settings, which is certainly better than you get out of the 'superphones' with their enormous screens. So if longevity is a concern, that's one area where the Wildfire S beats most other Android phones by a mile. Connectivity Wireless hotspot functionality is in, with the Wildfire S able to turn itself into a fully functional 3G modem for hooking a laptop into. You don't have to do it wirelessly, either – a USB cable from a laptop to the phone is enough to enable you to tether it to your mobile data connection. Wi-Fi connectivity supports 802.11b/g/n, and we found it great at maintaining a connection to our home network. Bluetooth supports version 2.1 along with A2DP for wireless stereo headphones. Being an Android phone means you get the finest free sat nav tool in existence bundled in with your phone – Google Maps. The Wildfire S is exceptionally quick to connect to a GPS satellite, taking only a few seconds to get a location. Once it knows where you are, the Navigation tool is a fully-featured sat nav, complete with voice directions. Obviously you get the official Gmail app along with Google's Latitude and Places toys, plus HTC has put on a couple of competing choices of its own. Apps HTC Likes is the company's own app recommendation engine, which features a selection of apps pulled from the Android Market, with votes generated from HTC users. It's a rather unnecessary duplication of the Android Market that's surely going to end up simply confusing people – especially as following the "install" option takes you to the Android Market. You also have access to more widgets via the HTC Hub, which includes many less thrilling HTC Sense tools. One we like very much is the Bookmark Widget, which adds a list of your bookmarks to the Home screen for easy launching of sites. HTC has fiddled with the Android Market page for this phone. The usual My Apps tab has been replaced by an HTC icon, which takes you to an off-putting and seemingly random collection of paid-for apps that, presumably, someone somewhere has paid HTC to try to sell to its users. The My Apps tab is now hidden behind the Menu button, making it slightly less convenient to access and manage your software. That said, the Android Market itself has improved massively in the year since the first HTC Wildfire launched. Android users can now install apps via the web, and there's a huge amount of free and paid content out there. But can it play Angry Birds? Yes, just about. It's usually quite smooth, although as the levels increase in complexity so the number of jerky moments does too. If the only reason you want a new telephone is to play Angry Birds, don't get the Wildfire S. The HTC Wildfire S is a solid, charming little phone, ideal for those making their first steps into the smartphone world. Experienced Android users won't be impressed by its average web performance and lack of gaming power, but those who don't mind the odd glitch will love its staggering collection of social features. We liked The physical form of the phone itself is good. It feels well made, HTC's rubberised back is nice in the hand and the screen feels solid. The capacitive menu buttons are very responsive too. The updated HTC Sense 2.1 UI is another fantastic effort from HTC. Some of its widgets are a little bland-looking, but the functionality you get from having both Android 2.3 and HTC Sense is peerless. HTC's contacts system is immensely impressive. A variety of Home screen widgets and easy customisation make it simple to invent your own one-click messaging powerhouse. We disliked Being limited to 640x480 video recording is a little disappointing, especially when many other smartphones with similar 5MP cameras manage 720p video capture with no trouble. Also, the phone struggles to actually record. The digital zoom, while nice to have on occasion, is rendered useless by the lag. The 600MHz processor does struggle to keep things running smoothly elsewhere, especially when using the web and gaming. Angry Birds is a bit jerky, which is an enormous crime in this day and age. Verdict The HTC Wildfire S is a solid and well-featured phone, no doubt about that, but the poor little thing struggles to render some web pages and isn't exactly future-proof in this fast-moving mobile world. Yes, you get Android 2.3 and all the many joys of HTC Sense, but without Flash Player support and with a processor that would've been considered slow in 2010, it's hard to find a place in 2011's vibrant, multicultural smartphone scene for the HTC Wildfire S. For only a few quid more – about an extra £3 per month on monthly tariffs – you could get the vastly more impressive HTC Desire S instead, which features much the same software running on significantly more capable hardware. Or for much less money you could pick up a PAYG model such as the Orange San Francisco, the LG Optimus One or the Samsung Galaxy Ace. Sadly for HTC, there are many cheaper options available to those looking for their first smartphone right now. The only ace up the sleeve of the Wildfire S is its arrival to running Android 2.3, which simply isn't enough to warrant the extra money. Related Stories Google launches Android Market movie rentals Android forges alliance for consistent OS updates BlackBerry Touch 9860 gets close-up snap Retailer reveals HTC Sensation UK pricing HTC Sensation UK price revealed by retailer

Slow speeds the biggest bugbear for computer users Posted: 11 May 2011 09:26 AM PDT A new survey has revealed that computer users cite slow speeds as their biggest computing annoyance. A quarter of the 1,000 people asked about their computing habits said that when a computer got sluggish it was their biggest bugbear, but on average they still stick with the same machine for 4.5 years. The survey was commissioned by Crucial.com, a computer memory upgrade website, which found that instead of replacing an older computer that was slowing down they would rather compress files, run an anti-virus checker or reboot the machine. Which is quite heartening considering the throwaway age we seem to be living in. Big investment "A lot of people regard their computers as more than mere machines, so it's no surprise that the research unearthed strong emotions from computer owners, such as the disagreements they have with their systems due to slow speed," explained Roddy McLean, marketing director at Crucial.com. "A computer is a big investment that comes with high expectations, and it is clear from the survey that most people aren't treating them like disposable assets." Given that this is a survey from a computer upgrade site, it's no surprise that nearly half of all those asked thought a memory upgrade would be beneficial to their computing system. A massive 39 per cent, though, were scared at the prospect of doing a DIY upgrade. And 16 per cent of users who obviously need to man up were more scared of their computer than they were of discarding a spider. With this in mind, it's pretty crazy that a mere two per cent of those asked change their computer every two years.

BlackBerry Touch 9860 gets close-up snap Posted: 11 May 2011 09:11 AM PDT The BlackBerry Touch 9860 has spent as much time posing for photos and videos as most phones that have actually been released, with yet another photo shoot turning up online. RIM's first full-touch BlackBerry since the Storm range, the Touch 9860 features an optical trackpad and four physical navigation buttons along with a fairly large-looking touchscreen. Code-named the BlackBerry Monaco, we were hoping to see the Touch 9860 launch at BlackBerry World last week, but that brought only the BlackBerry Bold Touch 9900 with it. Iconography We'd fully expect the BlackBerry Touch 9860 to come with the newly revealed BlackBerry OS 7.0, and from the look of the redesigned icons in the leaked image, we'd be right. That means we could also reasonably expect a high-resolution capacitive touchscreen and a 1.2Ghz processor, as well as juicy extras like NFC. Of course, we won't know for sure until RIM gets around to launching the BlackBerry Touch 9860; let's hope it gets its first official outing soon. Related Stories Google launches Android Market movie rentals Android forges alliance for consistent OS updates Retailer reveals HTC Sensation UK pricing Review: HTC Wildfire S HTC Sensation UK price revealed by retailer

Nikon 'cancels' Coolpix S4100, blames Japan quake Posted: 11 May 2011 09:00 AM PDT Nikon has stopped the sale of its Coolpix S4100 compact camera due to a shortage of parts following the 11 March earthquake in Japan, the company has announced. According to a statement posted to Nikon's Japan website, the Nikon Coolpix S4100 'will be canceled'. The company cited lingering 'problems with parts procurement' and stable production, which has prohibited Nikon from making sufficient supply of the camera to meet demand from photographers and dealers. It is believed that the Nikon S4100 is the first camera to be officially discontinued due to the effects of the earthquake in Japan. The Nikon Coolpix S4100 was announced on 9 February 2011. Our colleagues at PhotoRadar have left messages with representatives from Nikon asking if the Coolpix S4100 will be re-launched in future. We will update this story as more details become available. Via Nikon Rumors

Explained: Music by Google: everything you need to know Posted: 11 May 2011 08:30 AM PDT As well as Ice Cream Sandwich, Google also took the wraps off its cloud-based Google Music service at the Google I/O conference in San Francisco yesterday. Music Beta by Google enables initial users to store your songs in the cloud, which can then be streamed anywhere you choose. But the service is US only for the moment and you will need to be invited to take part in the Beta. Google has beaten Apple to having any kind of cloud music offering, but it lags behind Amazon, which launched a cloud service in the US in March and is a far more limited service than, say, Spotify. Music by Google UK release date Presently, the service is invite-only and only available in the US. There is, as yet, no information about when – or indeed if – Music by Google will be available in the UK. Music by Google storage You'll be able to store 20,000 songs on Google Music, with the limit being that number and not a definitive Gigabyte limit. That's quite a bunch of storage Google is passing on there. We guess that, in due course, you will be able to pay for more storage, just as you can with Picasa. Music by Google Store It was expected that Google Music would launch with a Music by Google Store. Sadly, however, it appears Google hasn't been able to reach agreement with labels over how this will work. Music by Google price The service will "initially be free", but it seems it will only available to Android 2.2 users and above. Motorola Xoom owners on Verizon will apparently get priority. Google may charge for the service when it exits Beta or, as we suggest above, choose to ask people to pay for extra storage. Music by Google features Google Music Beta is rather like the recently launched Amazon Cloud Drive. It essentially enables you to store your entire music library online and then stream the music on any of your devices. So it's like Spotify, but without subscription – as you already own your own music. The advantage is that you don't have to sync devices and/or playlists. As with Spotify, playlists are automatically kept in sync, so if you create a new playlist on your phone, it's instantly available on your computer or tablet. You can also import your existing playlists from iTunes. Google has cleverly woven in offline capabilities - Music Beta from Google stores the songs you've recently played in your cache; meaning they're still available if you lose your 3G or Wi-Fi connection. You can also choose songs, albums or artists you want to make available offline, just like Spotify. Music by Google devices Google says you can stream to a web browser (on, presumably, virtually any device) or via the Music app available from the Android Market - it works on Android 2.2 or up. However, it seems clear to us that Google is targeting Android 3.0 Honeycomb devices in particular here. Watch the official Google intro to Music Beta by Google. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Related Stories Legal action against 23,000 illegal downloaders underway Ballmer: Skype deal is 'a significant opportunity' Music Beta by Google officially launched Twitpic updates terms, causes photo-ownership furore Asia is now the spam continent of the world

Chiltern Railways launches paperless mobile train tickets Posted: 11 May 2011 08:25 AM PDT Chiltern Railways has launched a fully mobile train ticketing app, which allows your mobile phone to act as your train ticket, even if your handset isn't exactly at the cutting edge of smartphone technology. Although the idea of mobile ticketing isn't exactly new to the world, Chiltern's new app will allow you to buy tickets on your handset, then use it as your ticket on the train or at station barriers in the UK. Rather than having to print any tickets, the app provides a QR code on your device's screen which you can then scan at the gate. This means no more frustrating queuing for the ticket machine as you watch your train slowly pull away. Android on its way Chiltern has invested in some snazzy new barriers to facilitate the m-ticketing (below), which can be used on iOS devices, BlackBerry handsets, Nokia, Sony Ericsson and Samsung java-based handsets with colour screens. An Android version is also in the works. Sadly, it's a fairly limited tool; only Chiltern Railways will accept m-tickets, and the line only runs between London Marylebone and the Midlands, so if you're in the North, it's not much good to you at present. In terms of security, your card details won't be stored on your mobile; rather, some of the details will be encrypted and stored on external servers, but will require you to input your card's three-digit security code in order to buy anything. It's an interesting approach to have taken with NFC on the cusp of taking off and we do wonder if Marylebone faces more upheaval as NFC readers are installed at barriers some time soon - if the Oyster card readers are incompatible with the eventual technology. But Chiltern's app does mean that people with older, NFC-less handsets can enjoy the convenience of mobile ticketing as well as those with all-singing all-dancing smartphones.

Asia is now the spam continent of the world Posted: 11 May 2011 07:43 AM PDT The world's worst purveyors of spam for the first quarter of 2011 have been released, with Asia now at the top of the spam pops piping out 35.1 per cent of the planet's junk email. Europe is close behind with 32 per cent, but this figure has meant that it has dropped from the top spot. In third place is North America with just 17.3 per cent. When you drill into the figures and look at actual countries, the USA is the worst for relaying spam, making up 13.7 per cent of the world's spam. The UK is in sixth place, but we only manage 3.2 per cent of total spam. Spam kings Interestingly, Sophos, which conducted the research, found that although the rise of mobile platforms and social networking has given spammers a wider remit, overall spam levels have decreased. "While spam continues to make money for the spammers, it will continue to be a global problem," said Graham Cluley from Sophos. "Too many computer users are risking a malware infection that sees their computer recruited into a spam botnet. To combat the spammers, it's not only essential for computer users to run up-to-date security software, they must also resist the urge to purchase products advertised by spam." Related Stories Legal action against 23,000 illegal downloaders underway Ballmer: Skype deal is 'a significant opportunity' Music Beta by Google officially launched Twitpic updates terms, causes photo-ownership furore Explained: Music by Google: everything you need to know

Google confirms there will be a Nexus 3 Posted: 11 May 2011 05:43 AM PDT Google's Andy Rubin has confirmed that the Nexus smartphone brand is set to continue, with a Nexus 3 destined to come on to the market at some point. Speaking at the Google I/O conference to Android and Me, Rubin confirmed that the Nexus brand is here to stay and that it represents the best of what the market has to offer. Setting the bar "The Nexus has been the thing that we used to set the bar, and there's always going to be new ones coming out in the market," explained Rubin. "We'll make an announcement at some point in the future." The Samsung Nexus S was the first smartphone to be given Android 2.3, so we're anticipating some tasty Ice Cream Sandwich action on the Nexus 3 when it is released. As for a Google Nexus 3 UK release date, if it's anything like the Nexus One and the Nexus S then it will be on shelves in January 2012 - but if we're right about it launching with Ice Cream Sandwich, we could see it land in time for Christmas 2011. Related Stories Samsung Galaxy S2 reaches 3 million pre-orders New Windows Phone 7 Mango features shown off Exclusive: Samsung promises faster Android updates for Galaxy range

Google hits 100 million Android activations Posted: 11 May 2011 05:42 AM PDT Google has announced that over 100 million Android devices have now been activated, with 400,000 new tablets and phones being switched on every day. We all know Google isn't above a spot of bragging, and the keynote speech at Google I/O was the perfect opportunity to do so in front of a crowd of like-minded Android fans. The figures garnered whoops and applause from the San Francisco audience but, while 100 million is a notable achievement, we can't help but point out Apple's comparable figures. Hope you brought an umbrella to the Google parade Apple announced that it had sold 189 million iOS devices to date in its last financial report, released in April. Apple, incidentally, has released just four phones, four generations of iPod Touch and two tablets running iOS. Google said last night that there are now 310 Android devices on sale around the world. The TechRadar mathletes have been on the case and concluded that in the great Android v Apple devices race, Apple is currently winning. But with rumoured delays to the iPhone 5, stock shortages of the iPad 2 and Google's upcoming release of the all-singing all-dancing Ice Cream Sandwich OS, Google could have an opportunity to catch up fast.

US Navy crowdsources pirate-catching plans using online game Posted: 11 May 2011 04:56 AM PDT The US Navy is hoping to find new ways of stopping Somalian pirates by crowdsourcing ideas from a multiplayer online game. It seems that the pirate-repelling laser isn't exactly doing the trick, and more ideas are needed to foil the scourges of the seven seas with the game intended to "encourage out of the box thinking about contemporary pirate issues." The catchily-named Massive Multiplayer Online WarGame Leveraging the Internet (MMOWGLI) will see players posing as naval officers or commercial ship crews, and has no connection with The Jungle Book. Yarrr, I've a degree in contemporary pirate issues Players can also take on the role of the pirates themselves, although it's not clear exactly what that will achieve other than fulfilling childhood daydreams and that kind of thing. The idea behind the Warcraft-alike game is to come up with new ways to tackle the pirates so any strategies that work well in the game may be tested in real life. There are three scenarios to play out in MMOWGLI: protecting sea lanes, sea attacks and hostage rescue. We already have Peter-Pan-inspired ideas for all three. Unfortunately, it's not a free-for-all; only around 1,000 military personnel and some specially chosen civilians will be allowed to play the online game, so it's back to World of Warcraft with you. Update: Looks like there's another version of MMOWGLI set to go live in which you - yes, you! - can suggest pirate-tackling ideas in a brief, character limited text box, Twitter-style. Other users can then vote on or amend your idea, leaving the Navy with onehumongousflow chart chock full of pirate-busting game plans.

Review: Sony KDL-40EX724 Posted: 11 May 2011 04:11 AM PDT The KDL-40EX724 sits at the top of Sony's mainstream EX range and offers 3D compatibility, cutting-edge internet connectivity and the kitchen sink. It's also available as the 46-inch KDL-46EX724 and the 32-inch KDL-32EX724. The set looks smart enough, with a subtle, two-tone fascia and the requisite amount of gloss. It's fashionably thin at just 42mm and tips the scales at an eminently wall-hangable 11.2kg. Despite the lightweight construction, build quality is considered good; the casing doesn't creak or flex and the overall cosmetic finish is high. Priced just below the EX724 line is Sony's look-alike EX723 series. This slightly cheaper option comprises the 55-inch KDL-55EX723, 46-inch KDL-46EX723, 40-inch KDL-40EX723 and the 32-inch KDL-32EX723. The only visible difference between the two ranges is the design of the pedestal stand. The KDL-40EX724, along with its siblings, not only has a 20° swivel but also leans back by 6°, which is perfect if you plan to park it on some fashionably low TV furniture. Less obvious is the fact that the EX724 models have integrated Wi-Fi, whereas the EX723s require an optional Sony dongle. These days you should feel short-changed if your new telly offers fewer than four HDMI inputs and a couple of USBs. Thankfully this Sony isn't miserly. The KDL-40EX724 has just that number of hi-def audio-visual inputs, with the fourth facing sideways and positioned alongside a pair of USBs, a PC mini D-sub connector and a CI slot for Top Up TV services. On the right hand side of the screen are standard volume and channel buttons. Joining the three HDMIs on the back panel is a Scart connector, component video and stereo audio, a digital audio output and an Ethernet port to get you online, if you choose not to use the integrated Wi-Fi option. One new feature this year is Skype. Sony is one of several TV vendors to offer Skype video calling and for many users this will be a big reason to upgrade. Sony sells the matching USB CMU-BR100 camera and microphone module to get you connected. It sells for around £90. Naturally, this full HD TV incorporates a Freeview HD tuner, enabling you to watch subscription-free hi-def TV channels from the BBC, ITV and Channel 4. Freeview HD has up to five times the detail of regular Freeview and is well worth upgrading to. One big attraction of Sony's net connected TVs is the brand's Bravia Internet Video portal. This sprawling IPTV collection offers endless diversions, from catch-up TV services like BBC iPlayer and Demand 5, to the increasingly compelling YouTube and DailyMotion. The portal also houses the Sony Entertainment TV channel (which doesn't appear to have changed its content for months on end), Sky News highlights and LoveFilm (subcribers can manage their rental list online as well as stream movies directly). There's more of course: 28 channels at the last count, including Eurosport, Blip.tv, Howcast, Ustudio, Golflinks, LoveFilm Trailers and Singing Fool. Sony recently supplemented its Bravia Internet Video offering with its own subscription music and VOD service called Qriocity. With these you can subscribe to streaming music or rent new and classic films. The film choice on Qriocity is good, with titles available in both SD and hi-def. One additional benefit of placing the KDL-40EX724 on your home network is that you can stream video and music from a PC or a networked storage device. This enables your TV to become the hub of home entertainment. However, as we've seen on previous Sony TVs, file and format support can be a little uneven. While AVIs and AVCHD files played across the network and from USB flash drives, the screen did not acknowledge the existence of MKV wrapped content. It's a consistent omission that Sony would do well to fix. One final feature onboard the KDL-40EX724 worth mentioning is the ability to record to a USB hard-disk drive. Simply plug in an external drive (ideally, something above 160GB that you have sitting around unused) and let the TV format it (obviously, this process wipes everything, so make sure you don't have anything valuable stored before you proceed). You can now record direct from the set's TV Guide. Clearly, this inexpensive recording option has limitations. As the set has only one tuner you won't be able to record one channel while watching another. But as a simple timeshifter for when you're out, or a backup when your Sky or cable box is busy, it's a great bonus. Sony TVs have long enjoyed an enviable reputation for picture quality. While the brand may have lost some ground to the competition in recent years, 2010 saw a bit of a renaissance. To a degree, that improvement holds true with the KDL-40EX724. This set sports a fair selection of high-powered picture-polishing silicon. Unlike cheaper screens in the EX range, this model sports Motionflow XR200, Sony's really rather effective fast frame-rate technology. Without Motionflow, the native motion resolution of this panel is around 650 lines – quite a drop from the 1,080-line clarity you enjoy when everyone is standing around really still. With Motionflow XR200 we get four modes to play with: Clear, Clear Plus, Standard and Smooth. Interestingly, neither Standard nor Smooth are massively successful. Clear, however, retains a full 1,080 lines of fleet-footed clarity without introducing any significant motion artefacts of its own. We would suggest this is the mode to choose when watching sport. The detail boost it gives makes a massive difference when following the action. A test pattern that comprises scrolling English and Japanese text confirms just how effective Motionflow is. At 6.5 ppf (pixels per frame) we noted no loss of detail at 100-, 50- and 30 per cent luminance. Even at a faster 2.5ppf, there's only marginal bleariness, most noticeable when luminance drops to 30 per cent. This can be considered a fine performance. Of course, you're welcome to try this fast frame-rate processing when watching movies, but be aware that the speedy refresh rate can give films an unpalatable video sheen. Our American cousins have taken to calling this the 'Soap Opera effect' and it robs a movie of its cinematic texture. If you don't like it, simply switch off Motionflow when settling down with a bag of popcorn. Black levels are deep and contrast is dramatic. Greyscale tracking is on the money. A demanding test disc sequence, shot around the Tokyo Tower at night and featuring dynamic highlights against a black sky, played out with smooth blacks and decent shadow detail. Even though the set's edge-lit LED backlight is somewhat uneven, this doesn't spoil the consistency of the image. While there is evidence of light pooling in the corners of the screen, it's not at an intrusive level. The picture presets tend to over-crank sharpness, which needs to be taken back to around 22 per cent for a naturalistic, but crisp, image. To guarantee that you make the most of the screen's image quality, ensure that you turn Off Auto Display Area. If you don't, the TV overscans and you'll lose picture information behind the bezel. While the KDL-40EX724 generally pleases with its hi-def performance, it disappoints with 3D in equal measure. Normally, a 3D screen receives demerits if it suffers from excessive crosstalk (double imaging caused by an overlap between left and right eye images). However crosstalk (of which there is plenty) is the last thing wrong here. Three-dimensional images suffer from huge parallax problems; items that should sit in the background are brought incongruously forward. A poster on the wall of the Antartic survey station featured at the beginning of Monsters Vs Aliens floats away from the wall and sits on the zero parallax plane; structural elements of the long stasis chamber when Jake Sully awakens from animation at the start of Avatar don't recede into the background as they should, but pop defiantly forward. There is also noticeable solarisation around objects, with bizarre colour shifts; images stutter and judder. The 3D picture on this TV is, in no short order, unwatchable. The screen also offers 2D-to-3D conversion. This feature is designed to add realistic depth to any regular broadcast or DVD content, but you can also three-dimensionalise video games from a connected console (PS3, Xbox 360 or Wii). The resulting effect should be fun: here, it's anything but. Sound The KDL-40EX724 tries its best when it comes to audio fidelity, but doesn't have an awful lot to play with. There's no subwoofer and consequently there's a predictable absence of mid to low bass. The overall volume is loud enough – driving the downward facing speakers is a 2 x 10w S-Force digital amplifier, but the stereo spread is polite at best. There's the choice of the usual Dynamic, Standard and Clear Voice modes as well as faux-surround with four DSP settings. Take the latter with a pinch of salt. Value Taken at face value, this 40-incher would seem a reasonable bet. It's fashionably swish even though it's built to a price, offers access to a superior selection of IPTV channels when you take it online and can deliver highly credible 2D hi-def images. Sony's Motionflow XR200 picture processing is demonstrably beneficial to the clarity of its images; its inclusion here warrants the price hike from cheaper EX iterations which lack the technology. For telly addicts stepping up to Freeview HD and net connectivity for the first time, the KDL-40EX724 would seem well worth investigation. What should cause pause for thought is its inexplicably poor 3D performance. This TV behaves completely differently once you don those Active Shutter glasses. 3D on this set is the visual equivalent of sticking your head in washing machine full of multicoloured smalls – and then activating the Fast Spin cycle. Ease of use Sony has totally overhauled the user interface on its 2011 TV models. The old XrossMediaBar, which spread like a virus through the previous Sony hardware fleet, has been pensioned off, giving way to a new system that enables you to navigate while live TV plays in a minimised window. It's an intuitive and attractive upgrade. This digital paint job extends to the brand's online service, too. Whereas before, channels within the Bravia Internet Video portal tumbled in an interminable list from the main menu, they now appear in an ordered grid. The KDL-40EX724 does stumble a little in some apparently forgotten areas of the UI, though. Call up the 3D menu and you'll be given an opportunity to adjust the severity of the 'outy-ness' of its 3D presentation. Unfortunately this menu obscures 50 per cent of the screen. Trying to adjust 3D depth when you can only make out half the picture will defeat most users. The remote appears the same as the 2010 vintage, complete with perplexing secondary power button on the flip side of the controller. Once you get used to its main, circular Home/Options/Return buttons though, it's a simple enough handset to use. As a feature-stacked mainstream TV, the 40-inch KDL-40EX724 delivers. Its internet connectivity is first rate and, thanks to a sensible integration of social media widgets for Facebook and Twitter, it edges ahead of its net connected competition. There's also much to commend its picture performance – at least when viewed flat. Unfortunately, a worst-in-class 3D turn rather blots its copy book. Let's hope that this inability to deliver convincing 3D is restricted to Sony's EX range and doesn't extend further up the brand's TV hierarchy. Remember, should you want to use them, Sony's Active Shutter 3D glasses are an additional (and expensive) extra. We liked Sony's new look user interface is a pleasure to use, the Bravia Internet Video IPTV portal is impressive and the 2D picture performance is excellent. The built-in Freeview HD tuner is a boon, meanwhile, as are the high motion resolution and low power consumption. We disliked The 3D performance is surprisingly poor, uncommitted media streaming support grates and the audio is lacklustre. Final verdict It doesn't really matter how much we laud Sony's 2011 facelift, nor praise the wealth of content available to watch on the Bravia Internet Video portal. The KDL-40X724 is defined by its 3D performance, which is inexplicably poor. This is a set which is genuinely painful to watch when you put on 3D spex. And that's enough to guarantee two thumbs down. Related Stories Review: Panasonic TX-P42ST30B Review: Sony KDL-32CX523

Vivitek Qumi Q2 3D pocket projector launches Posted: 11 May 2011 04:08 AM PDT Vivitek has revealed its latest projector to hit the UK – the Vivitek Qumi Q2 3D. While it is not quite a pico, the Qumi Q2 is a slight 16 x 10 x 3.2cm in size and weighs just 617 grams. Packed into the diminutive chassis are a number of high-end features. These include: a native WXGA resolution (HD720p compliant), contrast ratio of 2500:1, up to 300 lumens of brightness and 3D-readiness. If you really wanted an image that's 90-inches in size, the Qumi Q2 can deliver this from a range of just one to three metres. Qumi's LEDs last around 30,000+ hours of operation, so there won't be any worry about the lights going out on the thing. Feature focus All these features mean that the Vivitek Qumi Q2 3D offers the brightest and richest colour in its category. Connectivity on the projector includes a mini-HDMI, VGA, a USB port and SD card slot. Vivitek's Qumi Q2 HD pocket projector UK release date is June and it will come in either a black or white finish. Price wise, you are looking at £499. Related Stories Anonymous castigates Financial Times over Sony hack claim

Twitpic updates terms, causes photo-ownership furore Posted: 11 May 2011 04:05 AM PDT Twitpic, the popular photo sharing service used to post photos to Twitter, has updated its terms of service in order to sell photos on to third parties. The changes come following a lengthy if somewhat understated debate over news outlets reproducing photos tweeted using the service. By uploading a photo to Twitpic the user retains copyright of the image, but also now agrees to license it to the company; which means that Twitpic can sell your photo on to magazines, papers and photo agencies. All about the Benjamins To this end, Twitpic signed a deal with news agency WENN, which will distribute photos on to other media, particularly those posted by celebrities. Chief executive of WENN, Lloyd Beiny, said, "The belief by some that any photo posted on Twitter is available at no cost is completely wrong but now as result of this new arrangement, anyone wishing to publish celebrity photos posted on Twitter via TwitPic will be able to do so legitimately via WENN." After a brief Twitter outcry regarding the new terms TwitPic took to its blog in order to clarify the changes, saying: "This has been done to protect your content from organisations who have in the past taken content without permission. As recently as last month, a Twitpic user uploaded newsworthy images of an incident on a plane, and many commercial entities took the image from Twitpic and used it without the user's permission." So you see, it's all for us Twitpic users. Never mind the fact that Twitpic plans to make money from your images, the real reason behind the new terms is to protect you. Gee, thanks Twitpic. Related Stories Legal action against 23,000 illegal downloaders underway Ballmer: Skype deal is 'a significant opportunity' Music Beta by Google officially launched Asia is now the spam continent of the world Explained: Music by Google: everything you need to know

Review: One For All XSight Plus Posted: 11 May 2011 04:00 AM PDT The One For All Xsight Plus is a universal remote capable of controlling up to 12 devices. When docked with your PC via USB (sadly, £50 doesn't get you built-in Wi-Fi) it can be configured and upgraded via One For All's very newbie-friendly EZ RC website. While this is essential for creating activities/macros and (up to 24) favourite channel lists, if for any reason web access is not an option you can still use the included learning functions if the pre-stored remote codes don't work. The rubberised backing makes gripping it more comfortable than its angular appearance might suggest, but it's not the most elegant design. The buttons have a cheap, plasticky coating but are sensibly arranged, sporting pads for oft-used features such as calling up the Guide and PVR functions. Tilt functionality means it can be set to turn on when picked up. A small backlit LED screen at the top displays info in an unfussy manner with three main options to choose from: 'Devices', 'Activities' and 'Favorites' [sic]. Whether connected to your PC/online or otherwise, setting it up to control a device requires choosing your device type (e.g. Satellite, Cable box, TV) your brand from a list (non-mainstream receiver makers such as Technisat and Dream Multimedia are catered for) giving it a name, then entering the model or remote number if known. You then test out stored or downloaded codes in sequence by pressing buttons until you find one that controls the device. If these don't work more can be downloaded when online or you can try to learn the code by placing the remote next to the original. Happily, the XSight Plus gained full control of our four-year-old Panasonic plasma, including turning it on where others had failed. Selecting Virgin Media as the manufacturer, we also had success from the off testing the first set of remote codes on our Virgin Media TV powered by TiVo box. Getting it to operate our Pace Sky+HD was as easy as picking Sky as the maker with no need for model number, though we had to try a few codes to gain control. Setting up activities – such as turning on our TV then our Sky box – also proved painless. They can be mapped to menu options such as 'Watch TV' or 'Listen To Music' or you can create your own. Build quality may be lacking but this beginner-friendly remote replacer is well worth considering.

Explained: Ice Cream Sandwich: everything you need to know Posted: 11 May 2011 03:50 AM PDT Google has dropped some interesting information about Ice Cream Sandwich, the next version of Android. It talked about the new OS during the Opening keynote speech of the Google I/O conference in San Francisco. Real Ice Cream Sandwiches aren't exactly prevalent in the UK - we have wafers - so if you want to see a real Ice Cream Sandwich, you'd better do some scrolling. As we reported from Google's keynote at Mobile World Congress, Google's mantra for the OS is "one OS everywhere" – it will be a single version of Android running across phones and tablets, unlike Android 3.0 Honeycomb that only runs on tablets. That's why it's a Sandwich y'see. Will Ice Cream Sandwich be Android 2.4 or Android 4.0? The new version may be called Android 2.4 Ice Cream Sandwich, although surely as a unifying OS bringing together Android 2.x and Android 3.0 Honeycomb, it would make more sense to be Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich - the jury's out on that one. Ice Cream Sandwich release date The Ice Cream Sandwich UK release date is late 2011. Indeed, it looks like we'll get it on some new Android devices launching Q4 this year - so in time for Christmas. Ice Cream Sandwich interface Ice Cream Sandwich will bring all the interface loveliness of Android 3.0 Honeycombto Android smartphones. Android phone users will get the updated app launcher, holographic user interface, interactive and new homescreen widgets plus the multi-tasking panel. ANDROID 3.0: This interface magic will be coming to Android Ice Cream Sandwich Ice Cream Sandwich features Google says Ice Cream Sandwich is its "most ambitious release to date" and will incorporate all the best bits of Honeycomb, the Android tablet OS, and make them useable on smartphones too. But Ice Cream Sandwich is about more than just the user interface and it will bring all the new Android 3.1 features to phones. This new update means Android tablets will also be able to act as a USB hub and you'll be to hook up devices such as mice and keyboards and game controllers to tablets and smartphones. Google is also intending to make life easier for developers by releasing a new set of APIs that will help them to scale their apps across the various sizes of Android devices - Google acknowledges that it's important for developers to be able to design apps that will work across 3.5-inch smartphones up to 10.1-inch tablets. During the Google Google I/O keynote those on stage also showed off 3D headtracking using the front-mounted camera so you can figure out who is speaking and focus on them while on a video call. Face detection will be a key feature in the OS. Ice Cream Sandwich specification Google's Mike Claren said, "we want one OS that runs everywhere." Smartphone users will also get an expanded multitasking tool, including a system manager that handles your open resources for you so you won't run out of memory or be prompted to quit an application on the tablet. Android 3.1 also means you can expand the size of a scrollable home screen widget, while existing scrollable widgets can also be upgraded by devs with a couple of lines of code. SWEET: Google's inspiration for Android Ice Cream Sandwich [Image credit: Flickr/Blue Bunny] Ice Cream Sandwich requirements There's no word yet on minimum hardware requirements, though this will certainly have implications for upgrading existing handsets to the new OS. Speaking of which… Ice Cream Sandwich upgrades Google is introducing new guidelines in which it promises OS updates for the first 18 months for existing handsets. So Ice Cream will be coming to some of the more powerful handsets released during 2011. The move is in response to accusations that Android is becoming too fragmented and it has announced an alliance of (US-only for now) networks and manufacturers who have vowed to provide more timely updates. No longer will you get left behind. Samsung UK has also told TechRadar that it is working to bring faster updates to users. Ice Cream Sandwich is open source We also know that Google is intending to make Ice Cream Sandwich fully open source. It didn't do this with Android 3.0 Honeycomb in an attempt to make things more consistent.

Review: AC Ryan Playon! DVR HD Posted: 11 May 2011 03:30 AM PDT As the AC Ryan Playon! DVR HD hybrid PVR media server has been designed to satisfy most European territories (AC Ryan is Dutch), its twin DTT tuners predictably don't cater for Freeview HD reception. It's fairly nondescript to look at (like an off -the-shelf media centre PC, which in some ways is what it is), but it runs quietly and its black casing should be a match for most people's living rooms. A large blue LED readout sits atop a row of operating buttons on the fascia. It's sold with a choice of internal 3.5-inch SATA hard discs – either 500GB, 1TB, 1.5 and 2TB, or can take drives attached by eSATA or USB (there are two ports on the right and one on the rear). Alternatively, you can stream from networked drives (DLNA/uPnP and Samba are supported), though wireless functionality requires adding a dongle. Other connections (for which a generous amount of cabling is provided) on the rear include HDMI, component, optical and coaxial S/PDIFs, a multi-format memory card slot and composite and phono inputs for external capture. The remote is cheap but effectively signposts most key features, though it's strange that there's no dedicated button for 'jumping' to TV and easy to get the start and end buttons confused with fast-forward and rewind. The interface is shortly to be overhauled but it's currently serviceable with a side-scrolling Home menu providing access to the main options. The TV portion includes a seven-day-ready EPG where you can view a list of what's on or coming on the current channel day by day, with the live channel inset on the right and synopses displayed at the bottom. Oddly, you can't browse what's on other channels without the box needing to change over to them. The same goes for the now-and-next programme information bar. Recordings can be scheduled from the EPG by using a manual timer with repeat options, or by pressing record when watching a channel where you're given the option to set the duration in 30-minute increments. You can also schedule them online using a web interface. This isn't Freeview+ certifed, so there's no series link recording. Up to two channels can be recorded at once (including while playing media or recordings) and you can timeshift (constantly if required). Recordings (and video files in general) can be fast-forwarded or rewound at up to 32x normal speed, slowed down up to 1/16x or you can 'goto' a desired time. You can record (in .ts format only) to USB, eSATA or internal drives (files can be copied between storage including via FTP) and recordings are automatically labelled with broadcast info and placed in sub-folders in a REC folder, where they can be viewed while still in progress. There are five recording quality levels. HQ and SP are perfectly acceptable virtual facsimiles of the native broadcast but results get progressively smeary from then on. The Windows-style Browser option is the quickest way to access files either networked or physically attached with media divided into Music, Movies and Photos. The player handled all the file formats we threw at it with nary a glitch and you can view photo slideshows and import playlists. Now obligatory 'apps' comprise no-frills Picasa and Flickr photo browsing/searching, plus Weather and RSS news feeds (you can add your own). YouTube and BBC iPlayer (predictably) are notable absences. It can also act as a BitTorrent client.

iFlowReader ebook seller folds, says 'Apple killed us' Posted: 11 May 2011 03:20 AM PDT iFlowReader, an ebook app, has been forced to close, saying that Apple's fee structure for ebook sellers killed the app by causing the company to operate at a loss. This is the first major app casualty of the new fee model that Apple introduced earlier this year. In a statement on its website, the company writes, "Apple has made it completely impossible for anyone but Apple to make a profit selling contemporary ebooks on any iOS device." Just buy a real book "We cannot survive selling books at a loss and so we are forced to go out of business. We bet everything on Apple and iOS and then Apple killed us by changing the rules in the middle of the game," the statement continues. "We are a small company that thought we could build a better product. We think that we did but we are powerless against Apple's absolute control of the iOS platform." Apple sells books through its own iBooks app, too – but it does so through the so-called 'agency model', which sees major publishers become the book sellers direct while Apple takes a healthy commission (again, 30 per cent) on all sales. But independent sellers also have to pay the publishers 30 per cent commission on each book sold, as well as paying Apple. So the bookseller is now taking only 40 per cent of the sale price, which, as iFlowReader puts it, "is all of our gross margin and then some." Flourish and Blotts All this is compounded by the fact that all booksellers must sell each book at the exact price set by the publisher; so if Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stoneis sold at £8.99 by the publisher, that's the price every other bookseller must adhere to (except, of course, you can't buy a Harry Potter ebook at present). As a result, the makers of iFlowReader are out over a million dollars and eighteen months' hard work "We had extensive plans to make [iFlowReader] even better. We looked to the future of ebooks for inspiration while Apple and others were looking at the printed books of the past." In a passionate conclusion, the company adds, "We put our faith in Apple and they screwed us… Apple can change the rules at any time and they did… We never really had a chance." iFlowReader users can save their existing eBooks by following the instructions on the website before 31 May.

Review: AVerMedia F200 HD HomeFree Duet Posted: 11 May 2011 03:00 AM PDT Available with terrestrial or satellite tuners, network tuners jack into your home network and stream channels to any PCs loaded with the included software or mobile devices with the necessary app installed. Elgato was one of the first vendors of such products but it no longer has this market to itself. The new kid on the block is the attractively styled HD HomeFree Duet from AVerMedia. Like Elgato's EyeTV Netstream DTT, this boasts a pair of digital terrestrial tuners – and so you could watch different programmes on two computers or record the same channel on both simultaneously. Despite the name, it's not HD at all – certainly not over here because the tuners only support DVB-T and don't cater for the DVB-T2 system that carries British HD TV channels. On board are an aerial input, a socket for a power supply and a network port. You must connect the latter to a router for streaming over Wi-Fi. Installation wasn't problematic. As well as the core AVerTV 6 application, you get HomeFree Manager, a utility that looks after network settings and firmware updates. Chances are that you won't need to run it, as the system is self-configuring. Don't forget to tell your firewall software to pass the necessary 'traffic', though. However, one manual aspect of installation is inescapable – the channel scan feature of AVerTV, which searches for and stores channels. This needs to be done for every computer, as channel data isn't stored in the box itself. The tuning process is surprisingly fast, considering that it covers the entire UHF band. A side effect of this is the duplication of channels, as ones from secondary transmitters might be found. You'll have to manually delete any unwanted channels, especially unreliable 'fringe' examples. Timeshifting and recording AVerTV gives you all of the functionality associated with UK PVRs, including MHEG-5 red button services (which were, alas, non-functional). Live TV can be timeshifted, your computer's HDD being used as a temporary buffer. The basic EPG will schedule timed recordings, while manual recording is another possibility. UK TV services are captured in MPEG-2 format – and because the video and audio are 'snatched' directly from the off -air transport stream, recordings exhibit no loss of quality. Picture and sound quality could not be faulted on our Yoyotech quad-core Vista 'reference' PC. However, viewing on a dual-core XP machine wasn't so enjoyable; live programmes and recordings alike being spoilt by random break-up. We were more successful with a Wi-Fi-connected Samsung notebook running Vista. The simultaneous use of multiple PCs proved that different programmes can be independently received. AVerTV cannot record one channel while viewing another on the same machine, even if the software isn't running elsewhere. Another disappointment is the lack of open standards. You cannot, for example, use other software like VLC Media Player top operate it. The AVerTV application is for Windows only; the only other option offered is a TV 'client' for streaming to an iPad. But that's something you'll have to purchase separately via the Apple app store.

Review: Shuttle SX58H7 Posted: 11 May 2011 02:30 AM PDT Overview There are plenty of things you can do with a barebones system such as Shuttle's SX58H7 case-PSU-motherboard bundle. Buy a powerful, reasonably priced CPU such as the Intel Core i7 930 and a budget 3D card and RAM, and you get one formidable workstation or media centre. Those eight threads across four cores on the 930's die will chew through processor-intensive applications and rendering tasks like a beaver through balsa wood. Alternatively, whack in a decent DX11 card, match it again with an affordable Core i7 and triple-channel, low-latency DDR3 RAM and boot up a very capable gaming or Photoshop rig. Watch the size of your memory modules though: there's little headroom between the RAM slots and overhanging storage bay. What almost no one would think to do with this diminutive desktop case, though, is fill it with top-of-the-line components for maxed-out gaming. But it is possible. Features The Shuttle SX58H7 motherboard inside supports any member of the Core i7 9xx series gang, including Intel's most powerful CPU, the 990X Extreme Edition. Struck dumb by such a prospect, we had to stick one in there. And what better graphics card to pair with such an extreme processor than Nvidia's GTX 580? Well, the Zotac Nvidia GeForce GTX 590 perhaps, but it wouldn't quite fit. So the 580 it is. In fact, AMD's king-size 6 series cards, such as the Radeon HD 6790, are out of the question here too, such is the compact nature of the interior. Gazing inside reminded us of the shoebox apartments in Tokyo that Philippa Forrester always seemed to cram herself into on Tomorrow's World. Welcome back, obscure TV memories. There's an inevitable amount of fiddling involved in actually building a system inside the Shuttle SX58H7, particularly fitting the GPU's PCI-e power connectors beneath that aforementioned storage bay of fiddliness. Elsewhere the layout is inspired, though – everything that can be has been tucked away, and everything you need is at hand. Temperature's an issue in such a cramped space, though. Apparently the thin, flat vapour-chamber heatpipes of the I.C.Evo CPU cooler work better than copper pipes. We found in reality that it's fine with low-end CPUs, but not quite the 990X for long-term usage. On test For testing we stressed this case with a higher spec than most would attempt. At the limit of its capabilities, the Shuttle SX58H7 runs the hardware cool enough to prevent instabilities. However, load temperatures for CPU and GPU were higher than anyone who'd just spent £1,300 on two components would like. At temperatures of 74C (165F) the CPU isn't going to set itself on fire, but it won't live as long as it would in a larger cooled case. It's a wondrous thing to see a machine smaller than R2-D2's rucksack running DirectX 11 games at 50fps. Things start to get a little too hot for comfort when the GPU and CPU are stressed for any length of time. With slightly lower end parts, temperatures shouldn't be such an issue, but that does defeat the point. CPU temperature performance Core i7 990X: Degrees Celsius – lower is better Shuttle sx58h7 idle: 48 Shuttle sx58h7 load: 74 GPU temperature performance GTX 580: Degrees Celsius – lower is better Shuttle sx58h7 idle: 43 Shuttle sx58h7 load: 85 Verdict For gamers with realistic budgets, it's a great place to start a system that'll fit anywhere, and as a workstation it's ideal. USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gbps would be nice at this price, which seems steep considering there's no CPU, RAM or storage included. The growing presence of Sandy Bridge Mini ITX motherboards casts a further shadow over this barebones deal. But if you're smart with how you use it, this Shuttle SX58H7 could be just the ticket. Related Stories Review: Dino PC Evolution 2600K OC

Video game Tekken to be turned into 3D animated film Posted: 11 May 2011 02:04 AM PDT Video game Tekken is set to be made into a 3D animated movie as Tekken: Blood Vengeance - with the fighting game making a return to the big screen. Video games hardly have the greatest of track records - as Super Mario Bros starring Bob Hoskins would underline - but the decision to use graphics rather than live action is definitely an interesting step. The film will be shown in digital 3D, with animated films often providing some fairly impression third dimension shots, and will be written by Dai Sato. Summer fightin' The movie is set to arrive in the summer, although there is no official word on a UK release. The fact that it is a 3D film suggests that, even if it doesn't make it to our multiplexes, it will snapped up for Sky 3D or by Virgin Media for its on demand 3D service. Those who know their below par fighting movies will point out that Tekken is not a stranger to the movie world - with the rubbish live-action Tekken from 2010 (featuring former Bros man Luke Goss) not exactly setting the world alight. Tekken creator Katsuhiro Harada Joked: "There was a Tekken movie before from Hollywood but please forget about that."

PSN still down 'for a few more days' Posted: 11 May 2011 01:39 AM PDT Sony has told PlayStation customers that it will still be at least a few days until the PlayStation Network has been restored. The PSN has been down for weeks and the gaming community has been split by Sony's response to a malicious attack on its network. But for many, the most important thing is now how quickly they can get back on the PlayStation Network and resume their online gaming . However, this is by no means imminent, with the official Sony PlayStation blog confirming that there is still no hard restart date as yet. Sorry "I know you all want to know exactly when the services will be restored," blogged SCEE head of communications Nick Caplin. "At this time, I can't give you an exact date, as it will likely be at least a few more days. We're terribly sorry for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience as we work through this process." Sony has been left with egg on its face following the attack, which also saw users' data compromised, and the company now faces a battle to win back credibility with its cloud services.

You are subscribed to email updates from techradar To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610