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Techradar |
- Sony and LG agree to a truce
- Fujifilm launches new 15x zoom compact
- Fujifilm unveils new budget camera
- Man who 'found' prototype iPhone 4 charged
- Review: BlackBerry Bold 9900
- Facebook Messenger app to offer video conferencing?
- 7digital adds FLAC download section to website
- Windows Phone Tango update meant for budget handsets?
- In Depth: 80 handy iPhoto tips and tricks
- Review: Creative Sound Blaster Tactic 3D Omega
- Apple also suing Motorola over Xoom
- Updated: Windows 8 tablets: what you need to know
- Gary Marshall: Apple vs Samsung: something here is rotten
- Nikon boasts strong profits in Japan
- Anonymous members plan Bonfire Night Facebook hack
- Sony PS3 firmware update 3.70 is 3D flavoured
- In Depth: Office 2012: What we're expecting to see
- Nokia N9 won't be released in the UK
- Updated: iOS 5: all the latest details
- Updated: Ice Cream Sandwich: everything you need to know
- Sky in talks with BBC over on-demand programmes
- Amazon launches Kindle Cloud Reader to side-step App Store
- New SATA interfaces promise faster, smaller SSDs
- Review: Elipson Planet L loudspeaker
- Review: Samsung ST6500
| Posted: 11 Aug 2011 01:46 AM PDT LG and Sony have come to a truce, with the electronics giants dropping patent disputes between them and signing a cross licensing deal. The two companies have been at each others throats for the last three years, but have decided the time is right to let bygone be bygones, possibly in response to the escalation of hostilities between other major rivals. "LG and Sony recently agreed to drop patent infringement lawsuits against each other," a spokeswoman at South Korea's LG Electronics said. AcrimonyAside from ending some acrimonious incidents that have seen injunctions taken out over LG phones and, back in March, the seizure of PS3s after a Dutch court case, the agreement could help insulate the companies from a degree of the current heat around patents. With the likes of Apple, Microsoft, Google and Samsung fighting it out in the courts and headlines over patents for various technologies, consumers are likely to be the ones that suffer as profits are hoovered up by law firms and increasingly ludicrous amounts of money are spent on patents. The acrimony and legal wrangling is showing no signs of abating, but it appears some companies are beginning to seek their own solutions outside of the court rather than keep up an ever-escalating battle with deep-pocketed rivals. 
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| Fujifilm launches new 15x zoom compact Posted: 10 Aug 2011 11:00 PM PDT Fujifilm has announced a new compact camera to sit in its EXR range. Boasting a 16 megapixel EXR-CMOS sensor, the camera also features new EXR Auto with motion detection capability to help reduce subject blur in all lighting conditions. The Finepix F600 EXR replaces the F550 EXR it supersedes, but retains the same small size. Built-in GPS functionality adds a Landmark Navigator feature to help photographers pin-point locations. Intelligent digital zoom mode doubles the camera's telephoto capabilities. With a 15x optical zoom, the camera offers the 35mm equivalent of a 24-360mm lens. Using the new Intelligent Digital Zoom, the zoom range stretches to 30x. Conventional digital zoom usually increases picture noise and generally leads to lower quality results. Fujifilm's Intelligent Digital Zoom claims to be different by assessing areas of contrast within an image and applying selective processing to the sections of the image where sharpness can be boosted without lowering image quality. The 16 megapixel EXR CMOS sensor was first seen in the F550 EXR, and combines back illumination to help reduce noise in different lighting conditions, especially low light. The new Motion Detection function helps the camera tackle motion blur. The camera automatically detects whether a subject is moving, and if it is, uses a higher ISO setting. If no subject movement is identified, ISO is kept lower along with image stabilisation. Augmented realityGPS tagging was included on Fujifilm cameras for the first time with the F550, but extra functionality has been included on the F600. The GPS Landmark Navigator makes use of Augmented Reality to show you where famous landmarks are in relation to your current location. Users are also able to add and edit locations. Photo navigation can also be used to help get back to a previously photographed location, as well as enabling users to create a route of their travels using Google Maps. More advanced features on the F600 EXR include, ISO sensitivity up to 12,800, a full range of exposure modes including aperture priority, shutter priority and manual, 8fps continuous shooting and the ability to capture in raw format. Film simulation modes and the ability to capture full HD 1080p movie. The Fujifilm F600 EXR price will be £269 RRP, with on-sale dates scheduled for the end of October. 
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| Fujifilm unveils new budget camera Posted: 10 Aug 2011 11:00 PM PDT Fujifilm has announced a new budget camera to slot into its J line-up. The new camera features a 15 million pixel sensor, a wide range of shooting modes and easy web upload for YouTube and Facebook users. Featuring a 5x optical zoom lens (equivalent to 28-140mm on a 35mm camera), the camera is also equipped with a 2.7-inch rear LCD screen. A selection of shooting modes are available, along with SR Auto which leaves choice up to the camera. Face, Smile and Blink Detection are also included to help when shooting portraits. Panoramic modeDigital Image Stabilisation is featured to reduce the effect of camera shake. Panoramic shooting and exposure compensation modes are also available. ISO sensitivity ranges from ISO 100 to 3200, while flash is available with a number of options. 720P high definition video recording is also a feature. Aimed squarely at social networkers, the camera allows you to mark pictures ready for upload when the camera is connected to a computer. The Fujifilm Finepix JX370 RRP will be £89 and is expected to go on sale at the end of October. 
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| Man who 'found' prototype iPhone 4 charged Posted: 10 Aug 2011 01:48 PM PDT A man who claims to have found an iPhone 4 prototype in a bar, before selling it to a technology blog has been charged by police. Brian Hogan, who sold the prototype for $5,000 after an Apple employee misplaced the device, has been charged with a handling stolen goods and misappropriation of lost property. A second man, Sage Robert Wallower, who allegedly shopped the handset around to the various tech blogs has also been charged with misdemeanor offences by the DA in San Mateo County, California. However, no charges will be brought against Gizmodo or editor Jason Chen who bought the device, revealed it in photos and videos on the internet before tearing it down to check out the innards. "After a consideration of all of the evidence, it was determined that no charges would be filed against employees of Gizmodo," said a statement from the District Attorney's office. Within the lawThe discovery of the iPhone 4, which turned out to be one launched by Steve Jobs in June last year, proved one of the biggest tech stories of the year and defied Apple's notorious code of secrecy. Gizmodo earned the scoop of the year and Chen gained a lot of plaudits for having the courage to run with the story when its rivals turned down the prototype. However, Chen himself was soon the victim of a police raid at his home, and the influential blog has since been blacklisted by Apple as a result of the iPhone 4 revelation. Gawker Media, owner of Gizmodo added: "While we have always believed that we were acting fully within the law, it has inevitably been stressful for the editor concerned, Jason Chen, and we are glad that we can finally put this matter behind us." Serving hard timeIf found guilty of the charges, Hogan and Wallower face up to a year in country jail and a fine of up to $1,000 dollars. Court proceedings will begin in Redwood City on 25 August, which is where poor Apple computer engineer Robert Gray Powell is said to have left the iPhone prototype on the bar after a beer or two. There's a pattern emerging this week? Everyone accused of stealing from Apple is suddenly falling foul of the law. Link: PC Mag 
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| Posted: 10 Aug 2011 10:29 AM PDT The BlackBerry Bold 9900 comes as something of a shock. You see, for years, BlackBerry has, in a sense, been catching up. That's not a dig at its parent company – it's practically royalty in push email and corporate handset circles. But it has been rare for RIM to lead the way. Cameras, internet browsing, HTML emails – all were included on RIM's phones years after they'd become standard fare on other handsets. For recent examples of decent phones that didn't really push the envelope all that far, just take a look at the Bold 9780 and 9700. But the Bold 9000 finally offers some cutting-edge tech, and in an attractive package to boot. Its 1.2GHz processor, high-spec touchscreen, brand new OS7 and HD video camera are all specs we never really expected a BlackBerry to have before the next millennium.
Plus, the staple BlackBerry offerings of a fantastic keyboard and top-notch security will keep regular users interested.
And, for once, RIM is taking the initiative, thanks to the inclusion of a near field communication chip – a fairly new technology that's been talked about for years. RIM is the first to properly take the plunge and add the tech in, while the others dilly-dally about whether to include it. The question is: can the 9900 really compete in an already very crowded, and competitive, market? Pick up the Bold 9900 and you'll definitely know about it. It's 130g, so it's by no means feather-light. But would you want it any other way? Ultimately, this is a handset that's supposed to feel like it means business, and at least it feels lighter than you expect it to be. RIM's also bucked the trend in making a phone that's bigger than its predecessor, the 9780. In fact, it's like looking at a smaller version of Ol' Grandpa Bold, the original 9900 – albeit smaller than that huge elder statesman and with a trackpad instead of a trackball.
At 115 x 66 x 10.5 mm, you can slide it into your pocket without too much bulk. In fact, that's one of the 9900's key selling points; RIM says this is the slimmest BlackBerry yet. It probably is on paper, but due to the design and the way that the back protrudes out slightly, it looks a bit thicker than it is.
The high-gloss screen is surrounded by a brushed metal border, while the rear is made of a combination of matte plastic and glass. The rear cover isn't so much a cover but a door that easily pops out of the centre, enabling you to throw in your SIM card and memory card (which is not hot swappable, even after all this time).
With 8GB of internal storage and an option to increase that to 32GB, this is a handset that doesn't scrimp on memory. The right-hand side of the 9900 has four buttons. Three of them are clustered together with the top and bottom ones acting as volume up and down and the middle used to pause media, which is a nice touch and saves you having to muck about on screen.
There's also a camera shortcut button, which you can, as always, change to open something else on your 9900 should you wish. There is no second convenience key on the left, which we will admit that we miss. That's your lot, because the left-hand side is reserved for ports, including a micro USB charging and syncing port, the latter of which we can't help feeling looks a bit naked, since you get the illusion of being able to see right inside it. Plus there's a 3.5mm headphone slot.
The beauty here is that the headphone jack creates what seems like an unnatural lip in the contours of the back, but this gives you something to rest your fingers against as you hold the 9900 in your hand.
Up top, there's the lock button, which is aesthetically placed in the middle and conveniently situated so that your finger hits it without effort. RIM has obviously thought this through and little touches like this go a long way in our eyes. On the front is an incredibly sharp touchscreen. It's 640 x 480 pixels over 2.8 inches and easily looks as good as anything with 'Retina' branding.
We love it. Icons feel like they float above the wallpaper, whites are white and text looks fantastic. In fact, we never thought we'd say this, but RIM's basic black text on white background when reading emails (boring, maybe) looks brilliant. The touchscreen is capacitive and highly responsive. Whether most BlackBerry users will migrate to it is another matter - we found ourselves reaching for the trackpad regularly for navigation, although the internet is certainly an area where we prefer to caress the screen.
If we have one criticism, it's that we're not big fans of the buttons below the screen. The usual BlackBerry suspects are there (call, menu, back and terminate call) and they're all moulded into one big section, which makes you think they may be touch sensitive. They certainly look like they are. But they're not and when you use the frankly excellent QWERTY keyboard, your fingers aren't able to glide over them but have to be raised up, then brought across and down to set your choice into action. At the time of writing, the Bold 9900 is not on the shelves yet, but for a SIM-free model, you're looking at forking out about £500 based on pre-order prices with the big online retailers. This puts it right at the top end of BlackBerry's range, which is where the Bold has always been since it was introduced to the family. Contract prices are still to follow, but they won't be cheap. We can't help feeling you'll struggle to get this as a free upgrade on anything less than a £30-£35 a month with a two-year plan.
Competitor-wise, BlackBerry has always been a bit of its own entity, a bit like the posh child from down the road who desperately wants to fit in and play with the cool kids, but can never shake off their label. RIM is, however, a master of its own arts: email and security. That's why we can't imagine a day when we'll see the suits in Canary Wharf carrying anything else other than a BlackBerry. Yet, we've watched the strategy change recently, with the introduction of the Curve range, the pushing of the BBM messaging app as a credible tool for teens and the desperation to get some BlackBerries included in the recipe for that ever-popular social media pie.
Although BlackBerries want to be cool, they're always going to have that air of being too classy about them. This isn't such a bad thing for the Bold 9900, which is the kind of handset you imagine anybody who wants to look like they're anybody will have. We imagine RIM's biggest competitors will be its own Bold 9770/9780 (after two years, though, we think this is starting to look tired now) as well as other business-led communicators such as Nokia's own very credible E6, which currently doesn't command too much of the market. In this sense, RIM has much of the sector to itself. The big selling point of the Bold 9900 is the same as the Torch touted last year – this is the first device to offer BlackBerry's newest OS. For weeks, every sign for the Torch we saw proclaimed it was the "only handset running new OS 6". Pah! How very last year. In fact, the Bold 9900 runs the brand spanking new OS 7. That's just as well, since as we've previously reported, OS 7's hardware requirements mean it won't be coming to older models.
Cosmetically, OS 7 takes its cues from the PlayBook. Gone is the standard blue-and-white grid format that we got in OS5 and, to a certain extent, an updated version of in OS6. The icons on OS7 are all very much individual. In fact, it looks a little bit of a mishmash and we couldn't help thinking of the busy look that OS4 provided when you had the app drawer open in the old days. There's no kind of uniformity here and, while we are big fans of the clarity of icons, we have to admit we think this is where it all looks a bit cheap. We know die-hard BlackBerry fans will be left open-mouthed at that statement, but it's all about first impressions. Aside from that, although there have been some tweaks, it doesn't feel that revolutionary. This does not look like a new OS by any stretch of the imagination. It looks like an updated version of OS6 and should probably be marketed as OS6.5 rather than getting its own new number.
As before, you have numerous app drawers you can swipe through (favourites, recent, downloaded and so on), although you can now manage which ones you want to see via the menu. We found these drawers to be a bit pointless and distracting on our old 9780, so are glad this option is here. RIM has also decided to remove the option to have two rows of icons on the home screen from the preferences, so you're now stuck with one. As before, you can search anywhere within the phone using the keyboard, which is kind of like smart dialling, but searches through more than just your phone book. When OS7 was announced, we were told that it would be easier and faster to use. And there's no doubt that it is faster. Whether that's down to the 1.2GHz processor under the bonnet, or tweaks in the code of the OS, we don't know (probably both). But next to our ageing 9780, the Bold 9900 zips along and leaves its elderly relative barely able to keep up.
Also promised on the original press release was the option of voice-activated searching (the web as well as your own content.) We admit we struggled to find this option on the Bold 9900 we were provided with. It could be that it didn't make the final cut, or could be a future update - but we saw no evidence of it. BlackBerry operating systems have always been among the more complex to get to grips with when compared to iOS or Android. Not difficult to pick up per se, but so customisable that it can all become a little overwhelming (trying to change custom notifications for individual apps can land you with a spell in The Priory).
If you're buying the 9900 just for the basics, you'll get by OK with OS 7, but then the chances are you won't be buying this phone anyway. We imagine anybody willing to spend the cash in order to get their hands with a premium handset like the 9900 will be doing it because they want the more advanced features. Come prepared with either past experience or the willingness to put in a little effort. Other than that, there's nothing really that different in here unless you count a few updated icons within the settings menu and tweaks to the browser, which we'll mention later. Don't get us wrong, though – there is nothing bad about this OS. We would much rather have it than OS6. But it just feels like a bit of a let down that not much appears to have changed. Even a couple of extra themes in there would have been nice to just to whet our appetites. Alas, no. If you're looking for any signs of revolution in the contacts section, you'll be disappointed. Maybe RIM has decided not to fix what it doesn't think is broken, or maybe it just got lazy. Either way, contacts are the same as they were on OS 6. In fact, we went through every single option in there and did so on our OS 6-running 9780 and not one single option has changed as far as we can see. Again, that's not to say that the offering here is bad, because it definitely isn't. BlackBerry's contacts handling system is as top-notch as it always has been – albeit, a little boring cosmetically.
Firstly, getting contacts on the phone is a cinch. You have either the BlackBerry Enterprise Server option, via Google over the air or using the sync software. We copied our contacts over in seconds via cable and they were all there as they should be when we checked - something RIM has improved massively in recent years. Contacts are listed with thumbnails. If you have a photo of the person, it looks great. If, like us, some do have pictures and some don't, then you'll just have what looks like an untidy phonebook with lots of missing images in your list.
Within a contact field, you can put any bit of information you require, ranging from date of birth to anniversaries, address, phone, email details plus custom information if you want to keep a note of their dog's name. Calling a person is easy: just type their name in from the home screen and smart dialing kicks in, or do it via the contacts app. You can also add shortcuts to people to dial on your home screen, a feature that our iOS-loving friends still miss out on, unless they want to go around the houses using third party apps and web shortcuts.
When in a call, you get the usual options, such as hold, add participant and so on. There's nothing new here. And the call quality is, as you'd expect from BlackBerry, pretty good. It's clear as a bell, loud on both speaker and handset modes, and there's even the option to increase bass. The Bold 9900 can hold onto a signal and that is, of course, one of the basics a manufacturer should always get right. Alas, despite this being a 3G phone, if you're looking for any form of video calling on the 9900, forget it. It seems BlackBerry has no time for FaceTime - although we can't see too many getting upset about this. Indeed, there doesn't appear to be much integration with social networks here either. The Facebook and Twitter apps are largely a separate entity. The example of Android and the excellent integration into the likes of HTC Sense hasn't been followed here. For a business handset, we can understand it, but for an OS that is also geared towards the social networkers, this is a massive omission. While you can input Facebook and Twitter info to contacts, this is manually done via the app and lacks the simple and automatic integration of other operating systems - step it up, RIM. News that will come as a relief to RIM fans: the BlackBerry Bold 9900 is as excellent as always for messaging. Multiple email accounts are possible and you can use BIS (BlackBerry Internet Server) or BES (BlackBerry Enterprise Server) depending on your/your employer's needs. It's all easy to set up and most operators will even give you a helping hand over the phone (they're nice like that). You can customise how you want it to look and can have your emails separate from BlackBerry Messenger (BBM), or from your SMS or throw the whole lot together into a consolidated inbox. It's not really much different to what we've seen before, but once again everything just seems to work.
BBM is one of the big success stories of recent years for RIM. Its proprietary messaging app was always there, but nobody really used it for a long time. Then came the relaunch, the advertising campaign and now it is one of the main selling points – particularly to the younger market. And as a staple part of the OS it is, of course, present in OS 7. It's been slightly updated but there's not really anything to message home about.
Remember how we told you how disappointed we were with the low levels of integration between contacts and social networks? Well, we have dried our eyes enough now to tell you that's not the case with messaging. Hurrah! Get yourself a tweet or a Facebook message and it'll appear in your inbox.
While we're on the subject of Facebook, can we just say a big fat hooray? After what seems like years of the same old (bland-looking) app, Facebook has finally been given a makeover. This all-new look is such an improvement. There's now a drop-down grid that gives you access to all of the major functions and it just looks so much better. It's been a while in the making, but this is how it should have always been. Facebook places, Facebook chat, photo slideshows, an improved news feed – the list goes on.
Twitter is also sporting a new look. It's not as radical as the Facebook one, but still a little prettier. The improvements are more basic and include a lighter colour scheme, the option to hide the tweet composer in the home timeline and so on. Nevertheless, they're all welcome. As for that display, again it really sets the Twitter app off.
BlackBerry's own Social Feeds app is also present, although we feel that this is a waste of time and memory. When you click on any feed, it takes you to the relevant app anyway and we were unable to open it after the first instance without restarting the Bold 9900.
Other IM methods, including Google Talk, Yahoo and Windows Live, are on board and you can always add others within seconds. As for typing, we can comfortably say that we think this is the best BlackBerry keyboard RIM has ever offered up. It's same old BlackBerry but has more of a matte finish than the gloss of the 9700/9780, which makes it easier for fingers to grip and key presses give a satisfying click. Not only that, because it's slightly bigger than the 9700/9780 (which we have used with ease), we found that it was the perfect size and couldn't believe how quickly we were bashing out lengthy messages on it. It wasn't until the launch of OS 6 that BlackBerry really managed to convince us you could surf the web on one of its devices. Quite frankly, the older browser was appalling. OS 6 came along boasting of its WebKit prowess, but it still wasn't enormously quick on the 9700/9780 and navigating pages was a bit of a bore because of the device's screen size. Apparently, part of the attraction to OS7 is its increased web capabilities. According to the PR blurb we should expect general level performance gains from Liquid Graphics, which should deliver faster rendering and seamless panning and zooming, plus the bonus of a JIT (just in time) JavaScript compiler to improve the load time speed of web pages. We really, really wanted this to be true. However, our findings weren't as promising as RIM's. Firstly, the good news: pages, when loaded, do look great. That's mainly due to the resolution. So even though the screen isn't as large as iPhone or Android handsets, that's not a problem.
But in our experience, pages didn't load as quickly as they do over other handsets - the iPhone 4 and Samsung Galaxy S2 both had the edge in side by side tests, although the Bold 9900 is definitely a step forward. When the page did load, we panned around using the touchscreen - although here we encountered a problem as the screen sometimes proved unresponsive and the display didn't follow our finger.
Another issue was the page rendering - when we zoomed in on an article and then scrolled down, we were frequently shown the dreaded white and grey checked background. It was only momentary, but it spoiled the experience somewhat, and we're getting used to not seeing it with today's dual core offerings.
Don't get us started on Flash though, or rather the lack of it. We don't buy the excuses that it's horrendously buggy, since our Samsung Galaxy S2 and HTC Incredible S have managed it for months.
RIM, if you're going to bang on to us about how this phone has such a great processor, then also give us one of the basic elements of modern web browsing. So what if it supports HTML5? Both that and Flash should be included as standard and we should not even have to write this paragraph again on another review. It should just be there, like the speaker, the hang up key and an internal antenna. At least RIM has updated the bookmarks – so instead of getting them in a list format, you get little thumbnails of all of your sites. The same goes for your history. The browser now isn't too far off the rest of the competition when it comes to a competent browsing experience; it just needs a couple of iterations further (and in this case, a larger screen) to be considered class leading.
To be fair to BlackBerry, the camera on the Bold 9900 isn't its main selling point. Which is just as well, because it's pretty average. What we're given is a 5MP snapper – the same as we had on the 9900's predecessor, the Bold 9780. It's not too shabby but also not very adventurous, considering that various phones (including the iPhone 4, which is more than a year old) come with that spec. Thankfully, it comes with an LED light too, which makes things a little bit better in darker conditions. Having said that, pictures taken on the Bold 9900 at max resolution are actually slightly smaller than those taken on the 9780 (2560 x 1920 versus 2592 x 1944). The camera app is exactly the same as before. The only notable exception is that the autofocus option has disappeared from the menu. We assume this is because it is now automatic. If that is the case, somebody really needs to tell it, because on several occasions it didn't bother to rise to the challenge. We reckon a touchscreen should come with tap-to-focus functionality too, but that wasn't present here.
Photographs taken in good light reproduced well and colours were fairly representative. Those taken close up in normal light with the LED on auto mode seemed to be bathed in something that made everything look more yellow than in real life. We thought our dog was auditioning for The Simpsons at one point. In pitch black, the LED light does its job well, picking out images from complete darkness. Whack it into a low light setting or just turn the light off completely and you'll see that objects are almost impossible to see.
There are various snapper modes from face detection to sports, landscape and party. In reality, we noticed little difference. As a phone camera, it's manageable, but you won't be taking it as your only one on holiday. We're sad that for such a premium handset, an average 5MP camera with last season's software is all RIM could manage to give us.
Close up, our image looked quite yellow and looked slightly blurred even with minimal movement.
Colours reproduced well but the autofocus couldn't seem to get out of bed.
Taken in good light with artificial lamp ahead. The image looks slightly grainy when it shouldn't considering the conditions.
In pitch black, the LED light picked out our show-off frog with little difficulty.
In macro mode, text wasn't focused on automatically which made us wonder what the point was in having it
Some images seemed overly processed and the colour in direct sunlight wasn't true to life. This blue ended up looking more grey,
Same here – this was daylight at 2pm on a bright day but looks like some kind of filter has been applied. But while the Bold 9900 won't be boasting about its stills snapper, at least it can about the video recorder. Because this baby comes equipped with a HD video snapper. Whereas before users could only shoot in a maximum VGA resolution (640 x 480), now, by default, the Bold 9780 will happily film away in glorious 1280 x 720. Videos shot in good light came out well. When you go from light to darkness, it copes admirably and fixes the shot as appropriate. But in dark settings, you'll have to turn the light on, otherwise you may as well forget it. This is no great surprise and we can't hold it against RIM.
What we can hold against the company, though, is the act of turning that light on, because it's all a bit of a pain. Despite there being a shortcut on the screen, our unit didn't actually let us click it. So we had to go into the options, tick to turn the light on, accept the mandatory warning that the light will use battery life, click save, go back and start recording again. Worse, that process automatically ends your recording, which is annoying. We can't help feeling that if RIM had spent more time concentrating on getting these little things right and less time on banging on about processors and the new OS, the video app could have been much better.
As it is, although the video is HD, the actual experience is only really adequate. Interestingly, files are encoded as 3GP rather than the MPEG format we'd have expected. And you'll have to email all videos to share them via direct messages, because a good 30 seconds worth of footage will be around 40MB (way above the 300k limit most operators impose on MMS.) Alternatively, you could transfer them via the cable or use an app such as Dropbox. At least you're presented with various options. RIM knows that media is a big selling point and that to challenge the prominence of the iPhone (which is itself trying to encroach on RIM territory), it has to get this right. With the BB lines being targeted at media-savvy youngsters, it's good to know that RIM hasn't completely ignored this category and what we have is a perfectly respectable media experience. It's pretty much the same as the previous model, but it does just work. Syncing with the official software even lets you get your iTunes playlists across with full recognition of names in the right places (Android users will be familiar with this pain) and copy across all non-DRM protected purchases. Syncing music is fairly speedy over USB.
But if you plan on syncing video, make sure you do it overnight, because even copying a five-minute piece took a good half an hour due to the fact it was doing some kind of optimisation. Not good if you're in a hurry and also not good because you can't use your phone for anything else while the 9900 is plugged into the computer. Memory wise, you have 8GB plus a maximum of 32GB memory card option, which beats the top iPhone model (for now) and there's no reason that this can't take the place of an iPod.
We love how you can not only create playlists on the phone, but also create automatic playlists based on particular criteria or algorithms. That and the fact that album art transfers perfectly and looks great on the Bold 9900's amazing screen is a real feather in its cap. Sound quality is brilliant through headphones and we had high hopes for the on-board speaker, remembering how fantastic music sounded on our original Bold 9000. Although it was loud, the bass got a little bit too carried away with itself on certain songs (Adele's 'Rolling In The Deep' really suffered) and made them sound terrible. But there was also something else we noticed. Now, we promise you we haven't had a drink. Nor have we taken a knock to the head. But when we listened to certain songs, we actually heard bits of them we'd never heard before. It may sound odd, but it's true.
For example, 'Bright Lights Big City' by Cee Lo Green begins with quite a large orchestral piece. We've played that song hundreds of times through an iPhone and a home stereo, but only when listening to it on the BlackBerry Bold 9900 did we notice some of the strings and layers we'd never clocked before. Whether it's the way the music is processed or recorded or whether it's just down to the equaliser is anybody's guess, but it sounded amazing and we were sold.
Watching video back is a pleasure too. The blacks are black, whites are white and again the audio is very well represented. In fact, when you get your videos on here, the only reason you would choose not to watch them would be because of the screen size. However, making the screen bigger would change the form factor and alter the phone from what it is meant to be, so the company has done its best with what it's got and the result looks good and works well.
We tried all the major formats and didn't manage to throw the Bold 9900 off course. We doubt you'll be watching full movies on it, though. For a quick burst of YouTube or short clips, the Bold 9900 does a champion job.
Speaking of YouTube, if you're a fan, you'll be pleased to know there's a YouTube icon on board. Then you'll probably be dismayed that still it is merely a link to the YouTube mobile site and not a fully functioning app.
There is no FM radio either. Not that there ever has been on a BlackBerry, but lots of people do like to listen to the radio on their phones. In the end, we downloaded the TuneIn Radio app and streamed stations instead - but RIM needs to add this feature in as a large number of people like to use it, in our experience.
For years, nothing could compare to BlackBerry battery life. The phones truly were the proverbial workhorses, able to last for days and days. In fact, aside from the legendary Nokia 6310, many would say BlackBerry battery life was unmatched. Sadly, that's changed over recent years as the colour screens, cameras and other signs of the 21st century have arrived on Planet RIM. They're still good for a day or so, though, which is more than can be said about certain Android handsets. That's not bad, but it's not amazing either. We're still sad to see that the Bold 9900 only comes with a 1230mAh battery. That's less than the 1300mAh of the Torch 9800 and significantly smaller than the 1500mAh which came with the original Bold 9000. RIM may argue that OS7 is more battery-friendly, but let's not forget that this handset is also packing a 1.2GHz processor and that's bound to have an effect on battery life.
We don't understand what RIM was thinking. Yes, this may be the slimmest BlackBerry ever, but is that because they have scrimped on battery size? And if so, is that the right approach for a flagship handset that's evidently aimed at the power user? In reality, our battery got us through a day with moderately heavy use. Namely, it was taken off charge at 6:30am and since that point we got a few emails pinging in, 26 messages sent (between text and email), about half a dozen photos and videos shot, music was played on a 45 minute journey via headphones, we made 30 mins worth of calls and did about half an hour's (painful) web browsing over 3G and Wi-Fi. By 11pm, it was down to 10%. That's fairly respectable but if you have a really heavy day, you may need to keep a portable charger with you. Luckily, like so many handsets these days, the Bold 9900 charges over micro USB and with cables cheap as chips, it's no great hardship to keep one in your bag or work drawer to connect the phone to your computer to charge over USB.
Connectivity-wise, we have the usual suspects: HSDPA 3G and HSUPA, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and GPS. Bluetooth is not just reserved for calls but also streamed music wirelessly to our stereo via A2DP which we were very happy with. The Wi-Fi signal was strong and we had no problems with the speeds of our T-Mobile 3G signal, although we did have page loading delays which we mentioned earlier. Of course, the big plus here is NFC. Near field communication is to phone operators now what integrated GPS was back in 2007. All of the manufacturers are talking about it and telling us it's the future, yet BlackBerry is one of the first to bring it to market, which you really have to commend them for. In theory, the technology will let you use your phone to pay for goods by touching them against a sensor.
We tried it years ago when O2 were trialling it using an older Nokia handset and it allowed us to use our phone as an Oyster pass (for those outside London, it's what is used to navigate the tube network.) We could definitely see the potential.
In practice, it's not that much use yet, because nobody's really using it. It's nice to have and we are sure some retailers will use it as a selling point, but aside from bragging to friends you have an NFC mobile, we're slightly unsure what good it is. You may also look like a wally when said friends challenge you to show what it can do. If you're looking for fantastic mapping software, you can breathe a sigh of relief here. Don't panic, everybody, because the BlackBerry Bold 9900 comes preloaded with BlackBerry Maps. We are, of course, joking. This is a dreadful piece of software. It's been shocking since the days of the BlackBerry Curve 8300 range, when we first encountered it, and it is still dreadful now. In fact, all that seems to have changed is the icon.
We're genuinely perplexed as to what RIM sees in this programme. It's not as if it's ever been improved or gets better. It's been consistently bad. Why not divert resources to solving some of the other issues we've mentioned in this review and drop this rubbish? Anybody with any sense will immediately download Google Maps and be done with it.
The good news is that when you do install some good mapping software, it can get a GPS fix very quickly. Still not as fast as the Samsung Galaxy S2 – which we have never been able to match – but it's definitely respectable. Even indoors without a view of the sky, the Bold 9900 knew where we were within 15 seconds and that was from a cold start. In terms of other apps, there are a few new bits in there such as a new 'Smart Tags' programme, which is related to the in-built NFC technology and allows you to track all the tags your phone reads using the new tech. There's also BlackBerry Protect to help keep your data secure – remember, security has always been one of RIM's biggest selling points, so there's no surprise it is cashing in on this.
The usual suspects are in there too such as Tasks, Calculator, Password Keeper and a premium version of Documents To Go is present also, for which the corporate types will be grateful. We do wish BlackBerry would update things at the other end of the scale, though: the games section comes with BrickBreaker and Word Mole. While the latter has only been with us a few years, BrickBreaker has been present for so long that you have to compete against Moses for a highscore and what's more, apart from a very minor lick of paint, it still looks exactly the same.
How about a couple of new games? Even the most hard-nosed of businesspeople like to have some brain dead time now and again. Thankfully, you can download extra apps and games from App World, which is getting better. It may lack the oomph of Apple's App Store or Android's Market, but it is making some headway - although we doubt it will ever have the large numbers of the others' stores.
Apps are, we think, still hideously overpriced, but at least the choice is improving. There are also third parties, such as Handmark, who've offered BlackBerry downloads for years and continue to do so.
You may have noticed that we have spent a lot of this review moaning about certain aspects of the Bold 9900, but it's hard completely chastise this phone, because what it does well, it does extremely well. It's just that certain parts feel like they have been completely forgotten about. It's almost as though RIM has concentrated on a few features and thought the rest would take care of themselves. Luckily for it, most of the people who buy this handset will be doing so because they want the Bold 9900 for a specific reason. And we suspect that they will be corporate types who want unchallenged email capabilities and security. The fact that they can boast of having the slimmest Blackberry ever may also help - but it needs more than that to be a real iPhone rival. We liked The Bold 9900 looks very cool and BlackBerry is a secure system that has proven to be useful and effective. The screen borders on the magical, striking the perfect mix between stylish and functional. It's nice to have a touchscreen – even if we did forget it was there – and shooting in HD is a good addition. Plus, you know that in the majority of cases that what you're getting here will just work and work well. RIM has taken a proven formula and built on it. We disliked We were not enamoured by the browser, which still needs a little tweaking to make it really industry-leading. That's annoying, because we find we use our phones for surfing more than calling these days - although it's by far the best iteration RIM has ever popped on a BlackBerry Battery life was adequate but not earth shattering, and we were disappointed that the camera still is only 5MP. What is this? 2009? The interface isn't that much of an update either, and still needs something more to make it class leading. It feels like we're getting a stop-gap OS until the real power of QNX is realised, so let's just hope that RIM is still at the sharper end of the smartphone market when that opportunity rolls around. Verdict It's hard not to recommend the Bold 9900, because here we have a fantastic piece of kit that we can confidently describe as RIM's best BlackBerry to date. That's saying something, because the manufacturer has pumped out some cracking handsets over the years. Yes, we're dismayed by the lack of a decent camera and slightly disappointed about the web browsing experience, but all of this is irrelevant if you're just buying this as a messaging device, which many people will. And if email is your bag, you can't do any better. If you want this as a media player, it's definitely adequate and performs well - but given the smaller screen size, it's only really going to be used for music over video. The Bold 9900 is certainly bold in its ambition. It may fail in some places, but in the most part, it really impresses. We can see this one shipping by the bucketload, especially compared to the keyboard-less Torch 9860, as it ticks all the normal boxes and adds in a premium chassis to boot. 
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| Facebook Messenger app to offer video conferencing? Posted: 10 Aug 2011 10:14 AM PDT Facebook's just-released Messenger app has been hiding a video-calling feature in its code. It looks as though you'll be able to video call on both Android and iOS, and there's speculation that the feature will use Skype to power it, just as the video calling feature on the web version of Facebook does. The app, which has only been released in the US for now, was announced as a text messaging service that, like BlackBerry Messenger, delivers your messages within a closed network. CodemastersIt's not the first time that scouring Facebook app code has brought up future features; just a couple of weeks ago an eagle eyed developer discovered the entire Facebook for iPad app hidden inside the code for the existing iPhone app. There hasn't been an official release for the iPad app just yet, but it's likely to be imminent. As for video conferencing within the Facebook Messenger app? Seems to be a given but who knows exactly when it'll be launched as a fully-fledged feature; at this point, we'd be happy just to see basic Facebook Messenger land in the UK.
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| 7digital adds FLAC download section to website Posted: 10 Aug 2011 09:42 AM PDT UK music download service 7digital has announced that it has overhauled its website to showcase the lossless FLAC audio format more - giving it a dedicated section on the site. 7digital has always been a massive proponent of lossless audio and reckons more labels and artists are warming to FLAC as well, so expect new albums to be made available in the format in the near future. The service is currently the only one that offers 24-bit FLAC but you can also download 16-bit files as well. High-quality demand"There's an increasing demand amongst consumers for higher quality music downloads," explained Ben Drury, CEO at 7digital. "Internet connected music devices that provide a 'better-than-CD' quality sound are becoming commonplace in the home. "These devices rely on higher quality digital music downloads to provide superior quality music playback, and appeal to a broader base of consumers beyond the average audiophile. "We're already in talks with the major and key independent labels about offering more FLAC downloads from 7digital stores, and expect to make more tracks and albums available as demand from consumers increases." FLAC albums will be made available on the site from £9.99. 
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| Windows Phone Tango update meant for budget handsets? Posted: 10 Aug 2011 09:13 AM PDT The next Windows Phone update, dubbed 'Tango', could be intended only for cheaper, low-end Nokia-made handsets. It seems there could be two versions of the update on the cards, with Nokia inspiring the low-end focus as Microsoft looks to lower the entry-price of Windows Phone handsets. Tango is set to fill the gap between the imminent Mango release and the major Apollo update slated for next year, with at least one, maybe two Tango releases coming out before Apollo. Cheap and cheerfulLong-time Microsoft commentator Mary-Jo Foley spoke to sources who suggested that Tango may be "focused largely or even exclusively on the Asian market", so we may not even experience the sweet tangy tang of Tango here in the UK. She also discovered that all Windows Phone codenames will end in –o for the foreseeable future; so here are a few to keep them going: bingo, disco, Ringo, quango, armadillo, mambo, pogo, amigo, stiletto, jingo and hobo. While we can't see Microsoft going for hobo, we'd be very much in favour of Microsoft opting for the Windows Phone Disco update. Anyway, back to the phones; we're reckoning on seeing Mango hit Windows Phone handsets pretty soon. But as far as an entry-level range of Tango-running Nokia handsets go, we'll file it under 'Quite Likely' until firmer evidence presents itself. 
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| In Depth: 80 handy iPhoto tips and tricks Posted: 10 Aug 2011 08:30 AM PDT Probably the best tip we can give you for a happy iPhoto life, is to try and take good pictures in the first place. So we'll kick off with 20 top tips for better photos. And the great news is you don't need anything fancy. Even an everyday compact camera can take great shots when you know how to get the most from it. And if your photos still aren't quite right, iPhoto has the tools to fix them. It might not be as advanced as Photoshop, but what it does, it does quickly and simply, and underneath that simple-looking surface is an impressive image-editor. Before long, of course, your photo library will be growing to epic proportions, but luckily this is what iPhoto was designed for – managing and displaying thousands of digital photos in a way that lets you find and organise your pictures as easily as possible. Even here, though, there are tips and secrets that can make your life easier. Finally, photos are meant to be shared, not hoarded away on your hard disk. And iPhoto's slideshows, web albums, prints and books are the perfect way to do it. We finish off, then, with 20 top tips for things to do with your photos. Some you have to pay for, but there's plenty of great things you can do without having to fork out a penny, too. iPhoto isn't just a photo browser. It's central to getting more out of photography with your Mac, from enhancing them to organising them and sharing them with other people. Let's get to work! Take better photos1. Brace yourself! Most blur is caused by camera shake. In bad light, the camera uses a slow shutter speed, and unless the speed is displayed on the LCD, you might not realise it. Brace your camera hand against a wall or rest your camera on a steady surface to take the shot. 2. Check the ISO Cameras have an auto ISO setting that increases the sensitivity in low light, but this also reduces the picture quality. You'll need this if you're shooting handheld, but if the camera's braced you won't. Instead, manually set the ISO to its minimum value. 3. Manual white balance
The camera's auto white balance setting will do a good job in most conditions, but not all. When you're shooting in artificial light, choose the nearest manual white balance preset ('tungsten' or 'fluorescent') for better colours. 4. Check the histogram You can't always rely on the camera's automatic exposure system to get it right. Many cameras display a histogram, though, so use this with the EV compensation control to make sure the shadows and the highlights in your photo aren't being clipped. 5. Use the focus lock Even now, you will find cameras that still suffer badly from shutter lag. This is caused by the amount of time it takes for the camera to focus when you press the shutter button. However, the trick is to half-press the shutter button to make the camera focus; you should then wait for exactly the right moment to press it the rest of the way and take the picture. 6. Don't rely on your zoom Zoom lenses can make you lazy, so don't just stand in one spot and zoom in and out to frame your picture. Walk up to your subject, past it and around it to see a wider range of viewpoints, angles and perspectives. The direction and the quality of the light will change, and have a big effect on the picture. 7. Experiment with viewpoints If you're photographing kids or pets, get down to their level. Lying on the ground can lend everyday subjects monumental proportions, and finding high viewpoints and shooting downwards will produce unusual perspectives and compositions. It's easy to get into the habit of shooting every picture at eye level, missing out on lots of interesting pictures. 8. Use natural frames
Doorways, windows, overhanging branches and even buildings can make effective 'natural frames', and often you only have to move a few paces to find them. This will focus attention on your subject more effectively, and give a sense of place to your picture. 9. Use a tripod Tripods are a cumbersome nuisance, right? But they do three very important things. First, they let you shoot in light that's too dim for regular handheld photography. Second, they let you frame set-up shots like still-lifes and macros very precisely. Third, they leave your hands free to adjust props, move people around for group shots and get stuff out of your bag such as filters and memory cards. 10. Check the background We've all seen those shots where the subject has a telegraph pole sticking out of their head, but backgrounds can clash in subtler ways than that. Inappropriate signs, leering passers-by, graffiti and overflowing wheelie bins can all spoil your shots; a few moments' thought and a shift in position may be all you need to fix it. 11. Turn off the flash
In full auto mode, the camera will fire its flash automatically in dim lighting. Sometimes it's useful, but it can kill the natural lighting and atmosphere. In theatres or museums, make sure you switch it off, even if it means bracing the camera or using high ISOs. And leave it off for night scenes or indoor stadiums, too. Flash power drops off with distance – there's no way it could illuminate objects more than a few metres away anyway. When the flash is enabled, the camera won't make any attempt to extend the exposure to capture any natural lighting. 12. Choose your moment Timing is everything: getting the right expression, waiting for passers-by to get out of the way, even seizing the moment when the sun breaks through the clouds. So grab a shot straight away by all means, but then wait a few moments if you can, to see if an even better one is going to come along. 13. Fill the frame/move in close Try to fill the frame with your subject by zooming in or moving closer. Many pictures lose impact because the subject isn't prominent enough and there's too much clutter or empty space around it. 14. Fill-flash for portraits Portrait shots taken in bright sunlight often look harsh or, if you're shooting into the light, can be lost in shadow completely. This is where the camera's built-in flash is useful. If you set it to 'fill flash' or 'slow flash' mode, it will light up your subject's face but the effect will be balanced against the natural lighting. 15. Rule of Thirds It's tempting to place your subject right in the centre of the frame, but this can produce some rather static-looking shots. Instead, place it a third in from the edge, or a third of the way in from the top or the bottom of the frame. You don't have to stick to this 'Rule of Thirds' for every shot, but it's worth keeping in mind. 16. Converging verticals
When you shoot tall buildings, the tops tend to converge, which gives the picture an amateurish look. It happens because you're tilting the camera upwards. The solution is (where possible) to move further back so you don't have to tilt the camera. Also, try and find an interesting subject in the foreground to fill the bottom part of the frame. 17. Jog-free shutter release How do you avoid jogging the camera when you press the shutter release for long-exposure night shots, or when you're shooting close-ups with the camera on a tripod? You could invest in an expensive wireless remote, but it's much simpler just to use the self-timer on your camera. Most have an adjustable delay, too – typically two seconds or 10 seconds. 18. Shoot panoramas
Many cameras these days come with wideangle zooms – however this may still not be enough to capture the full width of the scene. Instead, find out if your camera has a panoramic mode. Some shoot panoramas in a single 'sweep', others shoot single frames for stitching together later. Don't go mad, though. Two or three overlapping frames can be enough to produce a great extra-wide shot. 19. Check your settings Digital cameras allow you to change the ISO, white balance, picture style and more besides, but it's all too easy to forget you've done it and carry on shooting with the 'wrong' settings next time you use the camera. It's best to get into the habit of resetting the camera to its default settings either when you've finished using it or before you start shooting. 20. Don't use the digital zoom However much the camera makers try to dress it up, 'digital zoom' is just cropping and interpolation carried out inside the camera. If you can't get close enough to your subject, use the maximum optical zoom instead and then crop the picture in Photoshop or Elements – this means you'll be able to choose the area you crop in on. Tweak your images in iPhoto21. Use the Enhance button If you've got a problem photo, try iPhoto's Enhance button. The automatic enhancements are effective, optimising the Levels, adding saturation and tweaking the white balance to produce slightly 'warmer' colours. You can then open the Adjust panel to see what it's done, and tweak or remove the adjustments if they're not working. 22. Edit highlights with RAW files An advantage of shooting RAW files is that you can extract extra highlight detail from your pictures. When you edit a RAW file in iPhoto, you'll see that a couple of the controls behave slightly differently. With JPEG images, the Highlights slider simply darkens the existing highlights in the picture; with RAW files, it recovers extra, 'hidden' highlight detail. 23. White balance and RAW files When you edit JPEG images, the Temperature and Tint sliders are 'relative', so you can make the colours look warmer or cooler. But when you edit a RAW file, the Temperature and Tint values are 'absolute' – you have access to the full colour data recorded by the sensor and before any white balance has been applied. 24. Third-party RAW conversions iPhoto can open and edit RAW files from many cameras, but while its RAW conversions are good, you might want to use a different program. If you send files to an external editor, the converted file won't be added back to your iPhoto library, so it's best to convert photos before you actually import them. 25. Retouching tips
iPhoto's Retouch tool is basic but effective. First, choose a brush size a little larger than the blemish you want to remove. Second, 'dab' rather than 'brush' – a brushing action tends to smear the pixels. Third, if the repair doesn't work first time, hit undo, change the brush size or position slightly and try again. 26. Shadows and Highlights These sliders can be extremely handy for any 'problem' photos where ordinary Levels adjustments don't help. They work by separating out the darker and lighter parts of the picture for adjustment. The Highlights slider darkens over-bright areas, and the Shadows slider lightens dense shadows. Don't push them too far, though, or you'll start to see a 'glow' effect around objects where the adjustment is being blended in. 27. Edit duplicates iPhoto's adjustments are non-destructive, so that you can revert to the original version of the picture at any time. However, you can't easily see which pictures have been adjusted and which haven't, or what the original looks like. But, if you like, you can duplicate the original before you start (Command+D). The duplicate will have 'Version 2' added to the title, and the original will still be there alongside it. 28. Prints and aspect ratios When it comes to printing out your photos you'll often find that the picture's aspect ratio doesn't quite match the aspect ratio of the paper you're printing on. For example, most compact cameras shoot at a ratio of 4:3, but that's not the same as the 3:2 ratio of 6" x 4" prints. To control just how the picture is cropped to match the paper, check the Crop tool's 'Constrain' box and choose the correct aspect ratio from the list that comes up. 29. Levels adjustments
The Levels adjustments in iPhoto work slightly differently to most other photo-editing apps. Here, when you move the black point (left) and white point (right) sliders, the middle slider stays exactly where it is (in other programs, you'll find it will move proportionally). However, it's really easy to grasp and means the brightness doesn't change. To adjust the brightness, move the middle slider left (lighter) or right (darker). 30. Straighten before you crop Some pictures need straightening, and some need cropping too. Make sure you straighten before you crop, though, because the straightening process removes thin wedges at the edges of the picture as you rotate it – if you crop first, you'll lose even more of the picture when you straighten it. 31. WB eyedropper tips You can adjust the white balance in your pictures by using the eyedropper to click on a neutral tone in the picture. This is not always successful, though, because there's often nothing in your pictures that will provide a truly neutral tone. You may have to click on several different areas to find one that gives good results. 32. Edits apply everywhere! Remember that when you adjust a photo, you're adjusting its appearance everywhere it appears. Let's say you want to create an album of antique-effect pictures – if those pictures appear in any other album, they're going to have that antique effect there, too. The way round this is to duplicate (Command+D) the photos before you start, and then apply the effect to the duplicates. 33. Using an external editor If you'd rather use an image-editor such as Photoshop or Elements for your more ambitious projects, you can set this up in the Advanced tab of the iPhoto preferences. When you click the Edit button, iPhoto creates a duplicate and sends it to your external editor. When you save the file, it's returned to iPhoto, replacing the duplicate – but you have to stick to the same file format (JPEG). 34. 100% zoom You can use the Zoom slider to check detail in your photos, but the magnifications aren't marked, which makes it difficult to judge the sharpness. If you want to see the image at 100% magnification, just hit the 1 key. The 0 key will fit the image to the screen again. 35. Black and white toning You can convert a colour photo to black and white in iPhoto by reducing the saturation to zero in the Adjust panel, but you can do the same thing using the B&W Effect, and introduce some nice toning effects too. Add the Boost effect to create a rich sepia tone (much better than the standard Sepia effect) or the Fade effect to create a cool-toned cyanotype. 36. Exposure adjustments Be careful when using the Exposure slider because it brightens all the tones in the image, shifting the whole histogram to the right (you can see it moving as you drag the slider), and this can clip detail in the highlights. To brighten an image without harming the highlights, drag the middle Levels slider to the left. 37. Before and after comparisons There are two ways to compare your edited photo with the original as you work on it. One is to press and hold Shift, which displays the original image until you release it again. The other is to create a duplicate of the original, and then display both in the Edit mode so that you can see the difference as you work. 38. Copy and paste adjustments You might find a set of adjustments and effects you like for one picture and decide you'd like to apply the same to another one. You can do this using the Edit > Copy Adjustments and Edit > Paste Adjustments commands, but you have to be in the Edit mode and you can only paste adjustments to one photo at a time. 39. Full-screen navigation
iPhoto 11's fullscreen mode is great for editing, but the navigation system is different. You use navigation buttons at the top-left to get back to a 'home' screen, where buttons let you choose whether to browse Events, Faces, Places or Projects. 40. Don't underestimate effects
iPhoto's Effects are more than they seem. They're not like effects in Photoshop, say, which are applied on top of each other. Instead, they work in parallel; you can apply more than one effect, and you can use Effects and the Adjust tools in tandem. Some of them come in different strengths, too, and you keep clicking to increase the effect. You can add or remove Effects at any time without affecting your other adjustments, and if you get in a mess you can click the None button in the Effects panel to remove them all and start again. Organise your images in iPhoto41. Use Descriptions Keywords are good for categorising photos and descriptive titles can help you identify pictures quickly, but you might want to add more info about the subject or the ways in which the picture has been modified. Do this using the Description field in the Info panel. 42. Keyword shortcuts There's a quick way to add keywords you use often. First, open the Keywords window (Command+k), then drag the keyword(s) you want from the bottom to the top area – iPhoto will assign a single-letter shortcut. To apply this keyword, select an image thumbnail and type the shortcut letter (the Keywords window must be open for this to work). 43. Keyword searches
You can search for keywords just by typing them straight into the Search field, but this is pretty indiscriminate and only lets you search for one keyword at a time. But if you choose Keywords from the Search field's pop-up menu, it displays a full list, and each extra keyword you click on narrows the search down further still. 44. Adding Places The Places feature is really useful even if you don't have a GPS-enabled camera. It means you don't need to use Keywords for place information, and it lets you browse photo locations on the Places map. To speed things up, you can select multiple photos or even entire Events and assign a Place to many photos at once. 45. Set key photos for Events
You can 'skim' through all the pictures in an Event by moving the pointer across the Event's thumbnail from left to right, and once you've found the one that sums up the Event the best, right-click and choose 'Make Key Photo'. This now becomes the thumbnail image for the Event. 46. Faces or photos If you use your mouse to double-click a face on the corkboard to view that person's photos, you'll notice at the top-right is a switch to display Photos or Faces. By default, it just shows faces, cropping off the rest of the picture, but selecting Photos will display the whole picture, and this can be useful when you're trying to identify people in group shots. 47. Merging Events You can merge Events simply by dragging one Event thumbnail onto another. Or, if you simply want to move photos from one Event to another, select both Events and then double-click either. Both Events are opened and their pictures displayed, and you can now drag photos between these Events. 48. Autosplit Events When you import photos from your camera they'll be stored as a single Event. Manually splitting them would be tiresome and slow, so select the Event and use the Events > Autosplit Selected Events command instead. The photos will be split up automatically, with one Event for each day you took pictures. 49. Sorting photos into Events Photos can exist in various albums at the same time, but they can only ever be in one Event. Use this when organising your photos. For example, you can separate personal and work photos in different Events or, if you take pictures for a living, separate photos by client. 50. Hide poor photos Not every photograph you take will be a masterpiece, yet at the same time you don't necessarily want to throw away pictures with some historical or sentimental value. The solution is to use the Hide Photo command (Command+L). Your substandard photos are now hidden from view unless you use the View > Hidden Photos command. 51. Use ratings and smart albums The bigger your library gets, the harder it is to sort the wheat from the chaff, which is where ratings come in handy. You can sort photos by rating so that the best ones are at the top, and you can create smart albums that display only your best photos. 52. Multiple iPhoto libraries You don't have to restrict yourself to one iPhoto library. If you hold down Option as you start iPhoto, you're prompted to choose which library you want to open or where to save a new one. 53. Referencing versus importing By default, iPhoto imports copies of your photos into its own internal library, but this duplication means you've now got two lots of pictures taking up twice the disk space. But you can set iPhoto up to behave like professional image-cataloguing programs, which 'reference' photos in their existing locations – open the iPhoto preferences, select the Advanced tab and deselect the 'Copy Items to the iPhoto Library' box. 54. Show photos in the Finder The iPhoto library is displayed as a single file but you can right-click the library icon in the Finder and choose Show Package Contents to see how the files are organised. 55. Use folders for organising Albums are easy to create and useful for keeping photos together, but you can quickly end up with a lot of them. Organise them into folders (File > New > Folder). These work like the folders in the Finder, and you can also 'nest' folders within folders. 56. Filenames and titles When you import pictures, the filenames are displayed below the thumbnails. However, what you're seeing is just a photo 'Title'. iPhoto uses the filename initially, but you can type in any titles you like and they don't have to be unique. The photos retain their original filenames in the Finder, though. 57. Batch change titles
Typing in titles and descriptions for every photo in your collection could become a real bore, but there's a much quicker solution. First, select the photos you want to modify, then use the Photos > Batch Change command. You can set the titles to any text you like, even adding an index number to make them unique. And you can also set the description for all the selected photos, replacing the existing Descriptions or adding (appending) new text to the existing ones. 58. Quickly compare photos
Digital photos cost nothing to take, so it's tempting to shoot half a dozen variants of the same picture to be sure of getting a good one. As good as it is to have this option, it can give you a headache later because you need to work out which to keep and which to delete. But you can compare them directly by selecting them and clicking the Edit button – you can zoom in to check the fine detail, too. 59. Resetting dates and times iPhoto retrieves its date and time information from the EXIF data embedded in each image by the camera. However, if you haven't set the camera's clock correctly, the pictures will be wrongly dated. You can fix this easily by selected the problem photos and using the Photos > Adjust Date and Time command. And if you wish, you also have the option to apply the changes to the master files themselves. 60. Smart albums really are smart!
Do you want to see all the photos taken with a particular camera, or at a particular ISO, shutter speed or lens aperture? You can do this by creating a smart album and then choosing shooting settings from the drop-down menu. You can add 'conditions', so you could look for all shots taken at ISO 1600 on a Canon EOS 5D, for example. Other 'conditions' include album names, faces, dates, keywords, descriptions, edited/unedited files and more. Smart Albums really are an incredibly powerful tool for finding, organising and displaying your photos. Share your photos in iPhoto61. Email your photos If you don't want to set up an online album you can always email a photo gallery. iPhoto '11 has some terrific email templates that are simple to use, and display in any HTML-compatible email program. It only takes a few moments, and because the email capability is built in, you don't need to use Apple Mail. 62. iCloud galleries
There are many free ways to get your photos online, so why pay for Apple's MobileMe service? Well, it's going free with iCloud, and there's plenty of image features there. 63. Picasa Web Albums iPhoto doesn't support Picasa Web Albums directly, but you can download a Google plug-in, which adds a Picasa Web Albums tab to iPhoto's File > Export dialog. You can create a web album from an existing iPhoto album or create a new one. 64. Export to iWeb If you have your own web host, you can send photos to iWeb to produce a Photo Page using one of iWeb's built-in design themes. The latest version of iWeb also supports FTP uploads to any web host, so you can then publish your web album directly. 65. Facebook albums Simply put, iPhoto's Facebook integration is brilliant. Upload photos as albums via the Share menu, and the Description you add in iPhoto will become the captions displayed in Facebook. iPhoto will even display your friend's comments. 66. Set slideshows to music
iPhoto slideshows look great, but they can sound great too when you add a soundtrack from your iTunes library. However, what you really want is for the slideshow to last for the same time as the track – click the Settings button and check 'Fit slideshow to music'. 67. Animated Places slideshows iPhoto '11 has new animated slideshows, including a Places theme that uses the Places information you add to your photos to present an animated map, with push-pins identifying the places you've visited. It comes with its own soundtrack, but you can add one of your own from your iTunes library. 68. QuickTime movies There's an even quicker way to turn your photos into a slideshow. Select the ones you want, then use the File > Export command and select the QuickTime tab. Choose the movie dimensions, select a background colour and you're done. Your photos will be exported as a QuickTime movie, with a subtle fade between each picture. 69. iPhone slideshows Once you've created a slideshow, use the File > Export command and select Slideshow. Choose a size, and check 'Automatically send slideshow to iTunes'. When you sync in iTunes, make sure 'Include videos' is checked in the Photos tab. Press the Videos button on your iPhone to see your slideshows. 70. Take your photos with you Wouldn't you like to carry round your photo library with you on your iPhone or iPad? it couldn't be easier – plug it in, then select the Photos tab. You can now choose to synchronise all your photos or selected albums only. Worried about the amount of space that will take up? Don't be, because your photos will be optimised for the smaller display and won't take up anywhere near the space they do on your Mac. 71. Print your own books?
iPhoto books don't match standard printer paper sizes, so there's no easy way to print photo books yourself, unless you pick smaller sizes and trim the sheets manually (though you can still print pages for proofing purposes). But you could produce a PDF version – most printers let you set up custom paper sizes, and you can then use the PDF option in the Print dialog. 72. Custom calendars iPhoto's Calendars have to be ordered from Apple, and they're pretty pricey (£14.39 when we checked), but there's more to them than you might imagine. They're populated automatically using the photos you choose, but they can also include public holidays for different territories, events in your iCal calendars and birthdays in your Address Book. Once you get one, you'll never look back. 73. Frame your photos Print photos directly from iPhoto using a variety of preset layouts and templates, including 'digital mats', which can look quite convincing when combined with a real-life photo frame. 'Mats' are the cardboard inner frames with bevelled edges that professional framers use, but the iPhoto versions look convincing enough to pass casual inspection, especially when framed under glass. 74. Printed contact sheets If you ever need to print off the contents of an album or Event to look at on one sheet, select all the photos, hit Command+p and choose the Contact Sheet print theme. You can change the number of columns to get more pictures on a sheet, change the background colour (white will use less ink!) and even the font used for the titles. 75. Print multiple photos It looks like iPhoto can only print one picture on a sheet, but that's not the case. If you pick the Simple Border theme and hit the Customize button, you can open the Layout menu and choose 1, 2, 3 or 4 pictures. You also get a choice of how the pictures are arranged on the sheet and whether or not you want a caption. 76. Media browser Use your photos in your iWork documents, spreadsheets and presentations. Pages, Numbers and Keynote have a Media button on the toolbar that displays a panel containing the contents of your iPhoto library, complete with all your Events and albums and a search box. To use a picture, drag it across. 77. Beautiful books
Why print photos when you can print books, using the superb book-creation tools in iPhoto '11? You can even print full-bleed spreads – perfect for panoramic photos. Keep an eye on the page count though as you will get charged extra for going over. 78. Desktops and screensavers Select a photo as a screensaver in the Share menu then select Set Desktop. Or create your own – go to File > Export to save copies of your photos to a new folder. Then open the Mac's Desktop & Screensaver panel, click the '+' button and add your folder of images. 79. Make your photos a movie The Photo Browser in iMovie lists the contents of iPhoto albums so you can drag photos into your movie projects, either mixing video and stills or making a movie out of stills alone. 80. Saving slideshows
There are two ways to create slideshows in iPhoto, with two slightly different outcomes. If you select an album and click the Slideshow button at the bottom, you'll be able to choose a theme and settings, but they won't be saved. You can opt to have your settings saved as the defaults for future slideshows, but that's not the same thing. To create a slideshow, use the File > New > Slideshow command. The new slideshow will be added to the Slideshow section at the bottom of the panel, and each slideshow created in this way retains its own unique settings. 
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| Review: Creative Sound Blaster Tactic 3D Omega Posted: 10 Aug 2011 07:50 AM PDT The Creative Sound Blaster Tactic 3D Omega is one of the best gaming headsets we've ever tested. People talk about sound quality a lot. Many products claim to deliver crystal clear audio and most press releases for these products declare an unrivalled attention to detail and sound quality unlike anything the world has ever seen. Exclamation marks are often deployed at the end of these sentences!!! Most of the time, of course, it's all a complete load of dingo's gonads. But the Sound Blaster Tactic 3D Omega is the real deal. In the box The Omega headset comes in a number of different pieces. In the box there's the headset itself, the USB soundcard dongle, various USB cables, a stand which you must assemble yourself, and some audio cables for connecting the dongle to a games console.
The earcups contain 50mm drivers which offer a powerful punch and an all-round meaty sound. There's none of the treble-heavy audio that you get with many other gaming headsets. The headset is big and weighty, too, with a good headband for comfort and big, bouncy earpads for a snug fit as well as excellent noise isolation. On the headphones you've got an on/off button which you press and hold, there's volume up/down controls as well as a microSD charging port and the port for connecting your Xbox 360 controller.
Cross-platform The Creative Sound Blaster Tactic 3D Omega gaming headset is platform agnostic, which means it'll work with a PC, Mac, PS3 and Xbox 360. With the PC and Mac, it acts as the system's soundcard and conducts all of the sound processing itself. However, when in console mode (there's a slide-switch on the front), the USB dongle acts as more of a conduit between the PS3 and Xbox 360's own sound systems, and the fantastic headset itself. So while it acts as a two-way communications throughput for the consoles, you can also use the line-in port on the back with any other sound device. If you want to listen to your iPod using the headset, one way would be to just plug it into the 3.5mm port.
In theory you could use this method to hook a Nintendo Wii up to the headset too - you'd just need to attach your TV's audio-out port into the dongle's audio-in port - it would only work for sound though, the microphone wouldn't work. Connecting the Omega headset port to a console is a case of connecting the Xbox 360 or PS3's red and white composite cables to the 3.5mm adaptor provided in the box, and plugging the dongle in via the supplied microUSB cable. You then have to change your consoles' audio settings so that they know to send the sound out through composite instead of HDMI – instructions are included. There's also an additional inline volume control for Xbox 360 gamers - you plug one end into the headset and the other into your 360 controller just like you'd normally do with the 360's bundled headset. In general it's not the easiest setup for anyone without a tiny bit of confidence with tech, but for anyone used to fiddling around with USB cables, audio devices and changing the settings on the consoles themselves, it's a fairly straight-forward process. Traditional PC or Mac
The dongle and headset setup is a collaboration between Creative and THX, the former supplying a lot of sound-processing know-how.
Gone is the old X-Fi branding, and in comes the THX TruStudio Pro software suite which offers the same Crystalizer, Surround and Smart Volume features as we've seen many times before, but also improved bass boost and a fantastic Dialog Plus mode to enhance dialogue in movies and other media.
Many gaming headsets – including a lot of the good ones – work well for gaming, but aren't great for listening to music or watching movies. But the same cannot be said for this headset – sound quality is decent across the board.
Music playback has a delicate balance of meaty bass and delicate, precise treble while movies sound equally good. The software settings enable you to customise your setup for personal preference, too. The Dialog Plus setting, in particular, works very well and does a good job of bringing dialogue to the forefront without compromising the rest of the sound spectrum. There's also a customisable TacticProfile which enables you to save your own settings or use pre-configured settings from pro-gamers, as well as the now-standard programmable VoiceFX system for voice morphing into in-game characters or during VoIP chats. Yay for talking like an alien. These settings are, of course, not available when using the headset with a games console. And due to the various cables that need switching and settings that need changing, this is not a device you'll be wanting to move around your home. You won't want to be using it as your primary PC headset and your console headset – it's just too awkward and fiddly to be moved around like that.
The Creative Sound Blaster Tactic 3D Omega is a great headset. If offers truly excellent, versatile sound quality across the board which is something hard to find in many gaming headsets. We liked: The headset is very comfortable to wear and easy to set up on a computer – the software and drivers auto-install when you plug the dongle in via USB. Sound quality is excellent, and the THX software works well and enables you to set up your sound profile any way you see fit. We disliked: Battery life of the headset is perhaps the only disappointment. We found the batteries last around 10 hours or so, though if you've got a long enough microUSB cable/charger, you can use the headset while plugged into the power. The price is also a bit steep. £150 may be a good price for a headset that works with all these different devices, but you won't be using it with all your devices. It's only really designed to work with one device – it's too fiddly to be unplugging it and plugging it in somewhere else. If we have to nit-pick we'd also say that the press-and-hold method of turning the headset on and off is just a tad too slow - it takes too long for the headset to turn on and off. Verdict: As far as gaming headsets go, this is a good'un. Excellent sound quality, mixed with versatility and a variety of settings and options make for a very attractive option. But can you justify £150 on a gaming headset? 
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| Apple also suing Motorola over Xoom Posted: 10 Aug 2011 07:41 AM PDT Apple is suing Motorola in Germany over the design of the Motorola Xoom and its similarities to the iPad, according to small print another court case. The notes were spotted in Apple's complaint against Samsung over the Galaxy Tab 10.1, which saw sales of Samsung's tablet suspended in Europe as the courts granted Apple a preliminary injunction. The Motorola Xoom could go the way of the Tab 10.1 in Europe if the courts rule in favour of Apple again, although the notes do not clarify whether Apple has requested an injunction in this case. Xoom, and the tablet's goneThe Motorola Xoom has another thing in common with the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1; both tablets run Android Honeycomb. Apple isn't shy about going after its Android-running competitors; but with the iPad such a runaway success, it does appear to be a case of Apple chasing money for old rope. After all, it's already suing Motorola over forty US patents and is embroiled in a complicated lawsuit fandango with Samsung and HTC in various countries around the world. Meanwhile, the UK and other European countries are already missing out on "the best Android tablet to date" – how much more tech are we going to have to sacrifice to these legal spats? "They are a great competitor to have," Motorola told TechRadar of Apple not five months ago. We think it may have changed its mind. 
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| Updated: Windows 8 tablets: what you need to know Posted: 10 Aug 2011 07:24 AM PDT Microsoft's been pushing tablet computers for the best part of a decade, so you can imagine how happy the iPad's success makes them. But Microsoft doesn't give up easily, and Windows 8 tablets will emerge. So what's Steve Ballmer going to be shouting about when he shows them off? Windows 8 tablets will have a new touch interface As we saw from the recent Windows 8 preview, Windows 8 tablets will have a marvellous new interface that looks rather like Windows Phone 7. "Fast, fluid and dynamic, the experience has been transformed while keeping the power, flexibility and connectivity of Windows intact," says Microsoft's head of Windows Experience Julie Larson-Green.
"Although the new user interface is designed and optimized for touch, it works equally well with a mouse and keyboard. Our approach means no compromises — you get to use whatever kind of device you prefer, with peripherals you choose, to run the apps you love. This is sure to inspire a new generation of hardware and software development, improving the experience for PC users around the world." Windows 8 tablets' release date In December 2011, the New York Times wrote that Microsoft would unveil tablets running Windows 8 at CES 2011 in January, which proved to be incorrect. The NYT credited an unnamed source for the leak, which suggests that Microsoft's keynote will be enlivened by the arrival of the next generation of Windows, as well as Samsung and Dell tablets. As it turned out, no Windows 8 tablets were shown at the show. However, the Windows 8 release date may be sooner than you think. Speculation is rife that a Windows 8 beta will surface at PDC, a developer conference being held by Microsoft in September 2011. The dates for the conference were announced by Microsoft at its MIX event on 12 April 2011. That means Windows 8 tablets could be out by early 2012 - after CES 2012. According to Bloomberg there will be no Windows for tablets until 2012. As we reported on 4 March 2011, sources told Bloomberg that a tablet-friendly version of Windows will be tested at the end of this year and not released until the summer of 2012.
Microsoft may launch its own Windows 8 tablet New rumours suggest that Microsoft is working on an own-brand tablet to launch running Windows 8. The speculation comes from Taipei, with sources claiming that the tablet will make use of a Texas Instruments chip and will launch by the end of 2012. Digitimes, which first published the rumour, claims its sources say that Microsoft is also looking to launch a tablet brand, as it did in gaming with the Xbox. Engadget posted on 8 July 2011 that Dell is to follow up the Streak line with a Peju tablet that will run Windows - possibly in late 2011 - so no Windows 8 initially. Windows 8 tablets manufacturers It's no surprise to see the names Dell and Samsung in the NYT piece: both firms have close relationships with Microsoft, although it's interesting to see Microsoft getting groovy with an Android tablet manufacturer. We'd expect to see something like the leaked "Lap PC" from HP too. On 9 May 2011, we reported on a rumour of a forthcoming Nokia Windows 8 tablet. The info comes from phone commentator Eldar Murtazin, who wrote on the Mobile Review forum that Nokia will launch a tablet in 2012, possibly pushed back to 2013. Motorola says it is "completely open to Windows as a platform" according to Cnet.com. "We're not leading the charge on Windows 8, but as we become comfortable that [Windows 8] is a viable ecosystem [and] that the quality of innovation and quality of services and quality of capabilities [are] being delivered there, we will certainly be open to that," he said in response to a question. Windows 8 tablets will probably look like iPads While Dell makes some unusually shaped tablets already, the Samsung tablet is "similar in size and shape to the Apple iPad, although it is not as thin." Unlike the iPad, "it also includes a unique and slick keyboard that slides out from below for easy typing." Windows 8 tablets will be designed for business use "The company believes there is a huge market for business people who want to enjoy a slate for reading newspapers and magazines and then work on Microsoft Word, Excel or PowerPoint while doing work," the NYT says, quoting the inevitable "person familiar with the company's tablet plans". Windows 8 tablets will have apps and an app store Apps are a big part of Windows 8, with Microsoft convinced that "app development will move to the web" and building a Windows Store with manufacturer-specific entrances. Again, we saw a lot more detail on this from the Windows 8 preview.
Windows 8 tablet specifications aren't strange or startling We'd expect Windows 8 tablets to have similar specifications to other iPad rivals such as the Galaxy Tab or BlackBerry Playbook, essentially netbooks in a different form factor: a gigahertz processor, a gigabyte of RAM, 802.11b/g/n wireless and multitouch capacitive displays. Expect lots of connectivity too, with USB ports a key selling point. Windows 8 tablets will run on ARM, Intel and AMD chips On 18 May 2011, Intel confirmed that there will be separate editions of Windows 8 that run on ARM processors as well as standard x86 processors from Intel and AMD - all companies involved are serious about tablets, though ARM has stolen a lead; all major tablets on the market are ARM-based. The x86 versions of Windows 8 will feature a Windows 7 compatibility mode, while ARM versions won't. Windows 8 tablet prices should be similar to Android ones Windows 8 tablets will be up against iPads, Android tablets and Chrome OS netbooks, so if they're not priced very aggressively they're going to be a tough sell. 
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| Gary Marshall: Apple vs Samsung: something here is rotten Posted: 10 Aug 2011 05:48 AM PDT Last week, we announced that the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 had finally made it to the UK, aiming to prove "that you can buy a decent slate that doesn't have a fruit logo on it." Not any more, you can't: Apple's persuaded almost all of the EU to ban it. The ban is the latest development in the ongoing "you copied our stuff! You suck!" "No, you copied our stuff! You suck!" patent argy-bargy between Apple and everybody else on the planet. What's interesting isn't the rights and wrongs of the arguments, though. It's that Samsung wasn't warned about the case or given the right to reply. "Apple says you suck!" the court has effectively said. "I like them! Bring me the banhammer!" EU can't be seriousThe way things work in Europe is fairly simple: if one country decides you're a big old intellectual property infringer and bans your product from sale, then the rest of the EU - with the exception of the Netherlands, who Apple will be talking to today - follows suit. That'd be fine in an equal, just world, but of course we don't live in an equal, just world. Fairly or unfairly, German courts have a reputation for liking intellectual property owners a lot more than they like intellectual property infringers. If Apple was aware of that, then it might try something like suing Samsung in Germany to get an EU-wide ban with the minimum of fuss. I'm not saying that was Apple's plan, of course, but isn't it a happy coincidence that that's exactly what has happened? Let's say for the sake of argument that the ban isn't justified. Samsung's had the wind knocked out of its sales at a crucial point in the Tab's marketing, and if it loses lots of sales - which it will; it's likely to take a month or more to get the ban lifted - then that's likely to have an effect on the overall profitability of the Tab range. If the courts ultimately decide that Apple was wrong and that Samsung hasn't infringed anything, Apple will be liable for damages - but by then the damage will be done. As Reuters reports, Europe is a great place for firms to take on Apple's iPad due to the relatively small presence of Apple retail outlets (52 in Europe compared to 258 in the US) - although Apple's sheer size and deals with suppliers gives it economies of scale that most rivals can only dream of. Competing against that is tough enough, but competing when you're not allowed to sell any kit is, of course, impossible. I don't know whether Apple's claims against Samsung have any merit, but I do worry about an intellectual property regime that can ban entire product lines on little more than a rival firm's say-so. That can't be right, can it? ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
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| Nikon boasts strong profits in Japan Posted: 10 Aug 2011 05:25 AM PDT Nikon Japan has announced record sales of cameras, leading the company to raise its expected profit forecast. Reported by Reuters, Nikon said on Monday that it now expects to earn an operating profit of 86 billion yen, roughly £700million, in the year up to March 2012. This is up 27% on its previous estimate, and also beats the estimate of 74 billion yen given by ThomsonReuters Starmine analysts. Sales and profit on DSLRs, lenses and compact cameras were highest for an April-June quarter, even with a strong yen cutting into profits. Nikon is quoted as saying that it was helped by quick recovery after the earthquake and tsunami in March. Operating profit in the April-June quarter more than tripled from the same period last year, with Nikon stating that the strong pace of camera sales would continue. Nikon expects sales of DSLRs to jump by over a quarter in the year to March 2012 to 5.4 million units, while compact camera sales are expected to grow by 9% to 15.5 million units. Lastly, interchangeable lenses are forecast to gain 20% to 7.6 million units. Main rival Canon, which has also lifted its forecast, was also said to be helped along by a speedier than expected recovery after the earthquake. 
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| Anonymous members plan Bonfire Night Facebook hack Posted: 10 Aug 2011 05:06 AM PDT Some members of Anonymous have announced their intention to 'kill Facebook' on 5 November. Taking the monologue-ing Bond villain approach, those planning the attack have released a video explaining their motives as well as revealing the Fireworks Night date. "Join the cause and kill Facebook for the sake of your own privacy," the video statement says. Information economyIt goes on to claim that, "Facebook has been selling information to government agencies and giving clandestine access to information security firms so that they can spy on people from all around the world. "Facebook is the opposite of the anti-sec cause. Prepare for a day that will go down in history." However, not all of the collective appear to be behind Operation Facebook; the official Anonymous Twitter account followed the launch of the latest mission by tweeting, "#OpFacebook is being organised by some Anons. This does not necessarily mean that all of #Anonymous agrees with it." So, it's a case of remember, remember the fifth of November – or, since it's a Saturday, go out and enjoy the fireworks and later on remember that some hacking collective said something about it three months ago and give Facebook a cursory check to see if it's down. 
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| Sony PS3 firmware update 3.70 is 3D flavoured Posted: 10 Aug 2011 04:36 AM PDT Sony has announced a new firmware update for the PS3, which adds more 3D functionality and improves the streaming video section of the XrossMediaBar (XMB). The 190MB download is available from today and also brings with it two features that users having been crying out for, according to Sony: automatic syncing of trophies and automatically saving games to online storage. The second feature is only available to those who have coughed up cash for a PlayStation Plus account. New featuresThe new 3D features include support for MPO (Multi-Picture format) files – essentially 3D images – and 3D playback of Blu-ray Java content. The TV section has also been given an overhaul and has now been called TV/Video Services. This is where you can find all the streaming content that's available to you in your country – so for the UK, it will be iPlayer and the like. And the final addition is a recommendation feature. This can be used to message your PS3 cohorts about new games or content that they may find of interest. 
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| In Depth: Office 2012: What we're expecting to see Posted: 10 Aug 2011 04:35 AM PDT Office 15 will be here next year. And, what's more, it'll be getting the Windows 8 look. There will also possibly be a Windows 8 authoring tool as well as HTML add-ins too. So what are we expecting to see in Office 15? What will Office 15 be called?Microsoft's PR team refers to "Wave 15" without giving any details (like "Wave 15 is currently under development, but we have nothing further to share at this time"). Several Microsoft job adverts and LinkedIn profiles for Microsoft employees use the name Office 15, and the Access team has referred to Access 15 - but Office 15 is unlikely to be the final name (Office 2010 had the Office 14 codename). Although a discussion about SharePoint by what appears to be a Microsoft employee refers to Office 2013, the name is almost certainly going to be Office 2012. As usual, we're expecting multiple Office 2012 versions from starter to home and small business versions as well as a full Office 2012 enterprise edition, with different combinations of apps. When is the Office 2012 release date?A job advert for Office Mobile testing in October 2010 referred to "Office 15 and Windows Phone 8 planning phase just getting under way", rumours in March suggested the code had already reached Milestone 2 and what looks like a legitimate build leaked in May. The Office division takes two to three years to put out a new version and we saw the beta of Office 2010 in February 2010 followed by RTM in May. Microsoft names products by the year after the financial year they come out in (so they don't look out of date immediately), but Microsoft's financial year ends in July – so anything that releases to manufacturing after July 2012 would have 2013 in the name. Office 2012 beta will probably show up early in the year again, with final code by the middle of 2012 and the actual Office 2012 release date would be before late summer. Office 2012 features"Office 15 is shaping up to be one of the most feature packed and exciting releases," says a Microsoft job advert. There's obviously noting official on the Office 2012 features at this stage but there are some hints, like Office president Kurt delBene saying at the Worldwide Partner Conference "We want to remain the leaders in productivity on the desktop. We need to push forward in new scenarios that we had not delivered before."
CLEAN LOOK: The OneNote 15 interface is sparser and easier to navigate on a tablet There's going to be more video (both editing and using for meetings), more social network integration and maybe a whole new experience for meetings tying together the invitation you send in Outlook, the presentation you give in PowerPoint, the notes you take in OneNote and the Lync client you use for the online meeting. Office 2012 interfaceThe Office 2012 interface is going to change from what we've seen in the leaked builds so far, but we'd bet anything you like that it's not going to lose the Office ribbon. OneNote 15 already has a new look in the leaked build with a much cleaner interface that will work well on tablet PCs, and a quick thumbnail navigation to get to recent pages that also looks tablet friendly. PowerPoint 15 doesn't have any new themes, which reports from WPC mentioned, but it does preview themes straight from Office.com; it also has a new random transition option. A new M1 tab on the ribbon (probably a reference to new features in the Milestone 1 build) has a Data Grid tool that opens a redesigned version of the Chart picker with a new combo chart type. The same tab is in Word 15, along with an Extensions dropdown; there's nothing on it but it's where the new programming model we've been hearing about fits in.
CLOUD LINKS: No new transitions in the PowerPoint 15 leak but note how you can see themes directly from Office.com Outlook shows the most interface differences, with a cleaner look that has more white space and resembles the Outlook Web App you get with Exchange and Office 365 - but again it keeps the ribbon. Instead of the vertical stack of buttons in the current interface there are Mail, Calendar and Contacts buttons at the bottom to switch to those views - and a menu with the familiar icons for Tasks, Folders and Shortcuts which lets you add them at the bottom as well.
METRO LOOK: More white space like Outlook Web App in Office 365, but the notifications and bottom buttons are very Windows 8 This has hints of the Metro style underlying the Windows Phone 7 and Windows 8 interfaces, especially with the notification icon for new messages and tasks. The M1 command here is for sorting subfolders alphabetically rather than keeping them in the hierarchy you created. Office 2012 collaborationThe co-authoring features in Word and the Word Web App show up in small changes to the change tracking, making it easier to filter by who made changes or when changes were made. That's part of what Word program manager Jonathan Bailor was promising when Office 2010 came out. " In Office 15, we'd love to take collaboration and communication to the next level. We've unlocked all of these new ways to work and a new set of expectations from users, and we're like, "Put us back in the ring; we're ready for round two." Until coauthoring a document is as easy and ubiquitous as e-mail attachments, our job isn't done." One hope is that Office 15 might deal with some long-standing issues in Office, thanks to an intern who worked on improving search features on Office.com and built a tool so the Office developers could look at what people are searching for and "leverage the data in Office '15' planning". Is there a new app in Office 2012?Maybe but it isn't Limestone; that's the same internal testing tool we saw in Office 2010 builds. The leaked build includes a new program called Moorea (there isn't a shortcut for it on the Start menu but you can run it anyway).
WINDOWS 8 LOOK: The new Moorea app lets you place images, text and links to Word documents on a tiled layout that's very Metro This lets you create layouts with images, text and links to Word documents, on a widescreen grid of tiles; it looks ideal for packaging up content into a Windows 8 tablet layout and we think it might be a tablet authoring tool – the files it saves are HTML… Is Office 2012 based on HTML?No. There's Moorea, which looks like a nice way to build HTML interfaces for content, and there's a new application model for developers creating tools on top of Office using JavaScript and HTML (although Visual Basic and C# are still there). A Microsoft job advert explains "Integration of JavaScript/HTML5 will enable developers to create rich applications that span clients and server, integrate with Office 365, enhance the SharePoint experience, and unlock new scenarios that unleash the great potential that lies in the combination of Office and the cloud." One theory; developers might be able to create add-ins for Office that would also work with the Office Web Apps. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
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| Nokia N9 won't be released in the UK Posted: 10 Aug 2011 03:59 AM PDT Nokia has released a statement saying that it has no plans to offer the Nokia N9 in the UK in the near future. The statement given to PaidContent reads: "Although we are delighted with the very positive reception that the Nokia N9 has received, here in the UK there are no plans to offer the Nokia N9 at present." Despite having launched the device in London to a tentatively impressed response from the UK press, the device's UK future has always been in question. Nokia has never directly confirmed that the Nokia N9 will go on sale in the UK but it seemed unlikely that Nokia would put on an event and give the UK media early access if it wasn't going to release the handset here. Market by marketHowever, Nokia says that it "takes a market by market approach to product rollout and each country decides which products to introduce from those available." Yesterday, it announced that the Nokia N9 wouldn't be sold in the US; it's possible that, as key smartphone markets, the US and UK are missing out on the wildcard N9 so as not to sully focus on Nokia's upcoming range of Windows Phone 7 handsets. It seems a shame for us to miss out though; we were genuinely impressed by the handset in our hands on Nokia N9 review. We've put a call into the Nokia UK team to verify the comments and will let you know when we hear back. 
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| Updated: iOS 5: all the latest details Posted: 10 Aug 2011 03:53 AM PDT We're expecting big things from Apple this year: the iPhone 5 will be with us at some point in 2011, and some rumours suggest we'll see the iPad 3 as early as this autumn. But in the meantime there's a new version of iOS, iOS 5 here and it's been revealed during tonight's WWDC 2011 keynote. Read on for our list of all the new iOS 5 features but for a video rundown of what's new, check out our pal T3's video below: iOS 5 release date The iOS release date is Autumn 2011 - probably to coincide with the new iPhone. iOS 5 compatibility iOS 5 will work with iPhone 4 and 3GS (the latter is a surprise), iPad and iPad 2, and the iPod touch 3rd and 4th gen. We're also a little surprised to see it's going to be rolled out to the original iPad, but as it has the same hardware as the iPhone 4 we guess Apple doesn't have to cut it loose this time. iOS 5 goes PC-free Apple says it is "cutting the cable" with iOS 5 - just as well, as it claimed the iPad 2 was the first post-PC device earlier in the year. OS updates can be delivered over the air - you'll just received what's changed rather than the usual 600MB download - and devices can be activated without plugging them into iTunes. Ace. You can also now create and delete iOS calendars and mailboxes too, so you really can devolve your device from your PC or Mac. "You can activate on the device and you're ready to go," explained Apple's Scott Forstall. "Software updates are now over the air. So you no longer need to plug in to update your software. And they're now Delta updates. Instead of downloading the whole OS, you only download what's changed," he continued. "We said, why do people go back to a computer? Calendars, people create or delete them. You can do that now. Photo editing, you can do it on the devices. Even mail - you can create folders. "So if you want to cut the cord, you can." With iOS 5 and iCloud, you just enter your Apple ID and password, and iCloud will seamlessly integrate with your apps to automatically and wirelessly keep all of your mail, contacts, calendars, photos, apps, books, music and more, up-to-date across all your devices without ever having to connect to a computer. iOS 5 iMessage There's now a new messaging service - like text messaging or BlackBerry BBM - but between all iOS users. It's designed for those with iPads and iPod touches primarily, but is cross-device and integrates with the iPhone, too. The new application supports a multitude of features, including the ability to send pictures, videos or contacts, and also start a group message too. Real-time notifications mean you won't have to wait to see if someone is going to reply. This is a massive hit to RIM, which prides itself on BBM for BlackBerry. According to Apple, iMessage works both over Wi-Fi and 3G, and if you want to send a message all you have to do is tap the camera icon, pick a pic and you're away.
iOS 5 Notification Center The new OS has a new system for Notifications. More than 100 billion Notifications have been pushed so far, says Apple, but the company acknowledges that they're annoying. So now there will be a Notification Center to aggregate all the Notifications - you can access it by swiping down from the top of the screen. It is not persistent, but looks a lot like Android. It's on the lock screen, as well.
iOS 5 Newsstand Further to Apple's subscriptions model, you'll now be able to browse newspapers and magazines to download just as you can books and music. New issues you subscribe to are automatically downloaded.
iOS 5 Twitter support Much rumoured beforehand, Apple has introduced Twitter natively into iOS 5, with a 'one click' option for applications to let you use Twitter functionality. All you'll need to do is sign in through the Settings menu and any app can request integration with your Twitter account, meaning no more constant signing in to every new application you download. It's also fully integrated with the Camera and Photo apps, for example. You can also tweet articles from Safari and locations from Maps. iOS 5 Safari A new reading mode has been introduced in Safari, which removes distraction and provides you with a single, scrolling story. Bye bye, ads! You can now also email the contents of the story as well as the link. There's also a Reading List option so you can save stuff to look at later. We bet Read It Later and Instapaper are well chuffed about that. There's also tabbed browsing and lightning-fast window switching. iOS 5 Reminders A reminders feature enables you to store Lists, assign reminders to any dates or even location-specific info. These sync across devices and with iCal. iOS 5 Camera There's now a camera button on the lock screen, while you can also use the volume button to take pictures - a great addition. Apple says its camera is one of the most commonly used pieces of hardware on photo-sharing sites like Flickr, and has updated the functionality accordingly. Photo editing software for easy cropping and enhancement has been added in to iOS 5, and pinching to zoom will zoom in on images when you're trying to take a pic. iOS 5 Mail The app now has new elements like draggable addresses so you can pop them across from To to Cc or Bcc. Flagging and full-searchable messages have been added in too, plus rich text formatting for easier interaction with your e-mails. A built in dictionary makes it easier to keep your spelling under control, and for the iPad: a split keyboard. Simply grabbing it with your thumbs and sliding upwards will split it in two, making it easier to tap out emails more speedily. iOS 5 Game Center Game Center now lets you browse and download games directly, as well as introducing Achievementpoints, There's also Friend Discovery. Gamer profiles have been updated to include photos as well, plus turn-based gaming is baked right into the application for more responsive gaming. Want to look back at our predictions? Read our previous iOS 5 rumours below: iOS 5.0 release date isn't until September... iOS has been around long enough for a pattern to emerge: a springtime reveal and then a summertime launch with the latest iPhone. Not this time, Techcrunch says: while iOS 5 is likely to be shown off at the WWDC event in June, the iOS 5.0 release date will probably be in September. ...or maybe April According to "trusted sources", a German blog claimed that iOS 5.0 would be released at an Apple event in April. Apple had better get a move on, then. iOS 5 now looks as though it's being tested in the wild. On 1 May 2011, 9to5 Mac said that it had received word from developers who found that their apps are being tested with iOS 5. And earlier, on 27 April 2011, a tweet from app developer Future Tap said "Just received the first iOS 5.0 crash report. MKUserLocationBreadCrumb sounds interesting." ...and iOS 5.0 might not be on the iPhone 5 There are two possibilities here: either Apple is ripping up its existing annual schedule and keeping the iPhone 5 back until the Autumn too, in which case the iPhone 5 will be an iOS 5.0 device, or Apple is sticking to its annual release and we'll see an iPhone 5.0 in the summer without iOS 5.0. Our money's on the former: the superbly well-connected Jim Dalrymple says this year's WWDC is a software show, not a hardware event. iOS 5.0 has automatic app downloads Automatic app updates appear to be coming to iOS devices in the iOS 5 update. The rumour was kickstarted by a screengrab from iTunes which says, "If your device has Automatic Download enabled for apps, your updates will download to your device without having to sync." iOS 5.0 specifications include better notifications iOS's notification system for SMSes, missed calls and app messages is rubbish, but Cult of Mac reports that good news is coming in iOS 5.0: Apple is "working on a new notification system for iOS and will be buying a small company to build its technology into the operating system" - likely candidates include App Remix, whose Boxcar does what iOS doesn't.
NEW NOTIFICATIONS: Rumours suggest Apple's buying App Remix to boost iOS's notification system iOS 5.0 features include cloud music and photo sharing Amazon's already launched its cloud-based music service, but Apple's offering is more ambitious than a few gigs of server space: 9to5 Mac says there's a photo-based social service called Photo Stream in the Photos app and the much-rumoured, cloud-based iTunes service is likely to turn up alongside a revamped MobileMe. Could iOS 5.0 also include Spaces A patent filed by Apple suggests that iOS 5 will see 'Spaces' come to the iPad. The patent application shows a touchscreen device with Spaces controlled by multi-touch gestures, which hints at the gesture control that is only available to devs in iOS 4.3 becoming standard. iOS 5.0 features include beefed-up speech recognition iOS's voice recognition lags far behind Android's, but that might change with the release of iOS 5.0: according to analysts at Soleil Securities, " Apple's IOS 5.0 for the next-generation iPhone will likely feature deep voice control into the operating system and likely be demonstrated in June. We believe that Apple's partner for the underlying voice recognition technology is Nuance".
SPEAK AND SPELL: Apple and Nuance are reportedly beefing up iOS's speech recognition features On 9 August 2011, screenshots surfaced showing the iOS 5 speech-to text feature. The feature requires users only to tap the microphone icon next to the on-screen spacebar, and speak aloud. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
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| Updated: Ice Cream Sandwich: everything you need to know Posted: 10 Aug 2011 03:48 AM PDT Google has dropped some interesting information about Ice Cream Sandwich, the next version of Android at its Google I/O conference. We'll update this article with more information on the new Android as soon as we get it. 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. UPDATE: On 9 August 2011, we reported that the Ice Cream Sandwich release date could be this October, according to an anonymous source. 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. "Together we'll create guidelines for how quickly devices will get updated after new android platforms and for how long they'll continue to get updated.," said Google's Vic Gundotra at Google I/O. "New devices from these partners will receive the latest Android updates for 18 months after first launch, if the hardware allows it. We think this is really great news for users, we think it's excellent for developers and really great for the entire industry." 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. "We saw a lot of comments saying 'I want my upgrade, when do I get my upgrade?'," says Hiroshi Lockheimer, director of engineering at Google. "There's no common expectation set of how this would work, so we can at least establish some form of expectation for the whole community - users and developers. "We certainly want this to be an international, global thing. We announced Vodafone;you can expect another wave of announcements around that." 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. "It's more manageable to start small and get bigger," says Andy Rubin, senior vice president of Mobile at Google. "It's an open invitation; there's no reason not to have everybody in [The Open Handset Alliance] - but I want to hit the ground running, I don't want to take a lot of time on building a list of names." 
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| Sky in talks with BBC over on-demand programmes Posted: 10 Aug 2011 03:46 AM PDT Sky viewers could well be getting BBC content on demand, with the satellite giant confirming that they are in dialogue with the corporation. Although there remain problems with an iPlayer experience on the Sky platform, there is a desire on both parties to see some of the UK's most popular television programming made available. The BBC's iPlayer team maintains that it is a service provider rather than a content supplier, with no remit on syndication yet signed off by the BBC Trust. In earnest But talks are ongoing, and TechRadar understands that this is more than a token gesture from both parties. "We continue to look to expand the VoD content available through Anytime+ and are in dialogue with the BBC about how they could best deliver on demand content through Sky," a Sky spokesman told PaidContent. "Clearly, they are keen to reach the millions of viewers they have in Sky homes, and we're keen to expand the content available to our customers, and so we continue to discuss a potential way forward." Sky is keen to offer programming through its own user interface, rather than using the iPlayer look and feel. That there is a dialogue between the BBC and Sky is not a surprise, but the optimism that a solution could be found is certainly encouraging. 
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| Amazon launches Kindle Cloud Reader to side-step App Store Posted: 10 Aug 2011 03:42 AM PDT Amazon has launched the Kindle Cloud Reader, a web-based ebook application that is "optimised for iPad". It's a very sneaky way of working around Apple's new App Store rules that bans iOS apps from linking out to external stores – which meant that Amazon couldn't sell any Kindle ebooks to its iPhone and iPad app owners from their devices. But the web app doesn't need to jump through the App Store's hoops. It still allows you to read your new and already-purchased Kindle books in an app-style interface on an iPad or download them for reading offline, but also means you can buy new books direct from the Kindle store. Sadly, iPhone users won't be able to take advantage of the web app just yet; but the fact that Amazon name checks the iPhone on the Cloud Reader homepage gives us hope that there's an iPhone-compatible version in the works. Quash laterIf Apple's annoyed about the Kindle Cloud Reader web app, it'll have to file it under 'quash later' as it deals with another ebook niggle; the company has been named in a US lawsuit over ebook price fixing. Filed in San Francisco, the suit accuses Apple of working with major publishers to control pricing, naming Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Penguin and Simon & Schuster, which collectively control around 85 per cent of popular fiction and non-fiction titles. Apple and the named publishers have been working an agency pricing model, whereby publishers become the book sellers and Apple takes a slice of the sales (30 per cent). This means that the publisher-as-bookseller sets the price of a book at whatever it fancies and all other retailers of that ebook have to fall in line; because Apple takes such a huge chunk of the profit, the pricing is alleged to be higher than it otherwise would be. The lawsuit claims that publishers "would simply deny Amazon access to the title" if it tried to sell an ebook at below the publisher-set price." It seems that the plaintiffs are very pro-Amazon, with the lawsuit complaint also alleging "that Apple believed that it needed to neutralise the Kindle when it entered the ebook market with its own e-reader, the iPad, and feared that one day the Kindle might challenge the iPad by digitally distributing other media like music and movies." The anti-competitive nature of the agency price model is already under some serious scrutiny in the UK as well, with the Office of Fair Trading investigating the way that ebooks are priced. 
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| New SATA interfaces promise faster, smaller SSDs Posted: 10 Aug 2011 03:34 AM PDT The Serial ATA International Organization has announced two new specifications for its humongously popular SATA interface - SATA Express and µSSD. The SATA Express specification piggybacks the PCI Express interface to enable epic device speeds of 8Gb/s and 16GB/s - a marked increase on the current maximum of 6Gb/s. The new specification is expected to be low-cost, and will support both current and new SATA devices. "We expect the SATA Express specification to be completed by the end of 2011," said Mladen Luksic, the SATA-IO president. Embed with SandiskThe keyboard-challenging µSSD interface allows small SSD chips to be embedded directly on the motherboard itself. By completely eliminating the standard SATA connector motherboards can be made more compact and far slimmer - a big advantage for the small motherboards that currently occupy laptops and tablets. Memory manufacturer Sandisk has already started making its postage stamp-size iSSD chips in 8GB to 128GB flavours. What's not clear is whether or not the chips will be consumer-upgradeable - we're guessing that they'll be soldered directly onto the motherboard itself. This could make the µSSDs very appealing to certain console manufacturers, who'd rather their consumers didn't swap their tiny hard drives for far bigger ones. 
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| Review: Elipson Planet L loudspeaker Posted: 10 Aug 2011 03:30 AM PDT French hi-fi has made significant inroads to the UK market in recent years, but Elipson remain one of the lesser-known brands, but this is about to change with the release of the Planet L loudspeaker. This is in spite of the fact that it has been in existence since 1938 and amongst other achievements were the default loudspeaker choice of French national television for over forty years. Bowling ballThe striking looking Planet L is the latest in a long line of spherical designs dating back for most of the history of the brand. Elipson says that the shape of the Planet L is the result of years of research into cabinet design. Available in black, white and red, the visual impact of a pair of speakers, each the size and shape of a bowling ball, is such that serious hi-fi or not, the Planet L makes a considerable statement about style. Each Planet L is supplied with a ring that allows it to be placed on a shelf, or table, or technically on a conventional speaker stand. We used the optional £199 floorstand for the review that attaches directly to the underside of the speaker and makes for a stable fitting. Wall and ceiling mounts are also available. Solid-feelingEach Planet L makes use of a 6.5-inch paper driver with a coaxially mounted soft-dome tweeter. A small rear port provides bass re-enforcement and a single pair of binding posts protrudes from the rear. Sensitivity is quoted at 90dB/w with impedance given as six ohms, so while not hugely sensitive, the Elipson ought to provide no real problems for a similarly priced amplifier. Fit and finish is top-notch with flawless paint, a solid-feeling enclosure and magnetic trim tabs for the grille. Given that the grille is pretty much acoustically transparent and removing it rather spoils the lines, we kept it in place for most of the listening. There is no shortage of £600 standmounts and most of them look more 'normal' than the Elipson does, but the Planet L has to be considered good value. The speaker is solid, well thought out and uses good-quality components. The stands are a little pricey (bespoke designs often are), but overall it feels good value for money. Star qualitiesAny lingering perception that the Planet L is some sort of lifestyle trinket is destroyed shortly after you put some music through it. Placed roughly 20 centimetres from a rear wall with a little toe-in, the speaker shows some star qualities. The coaxial driver arrangement gives it a focus and soundstage that is uncannily accurate and extremely detailed. The Elipson also has a relatively wide 'sweet spot', that means it can produce an appealing presentation over a wider area than is usually the case for speakers of this size. The Planet L is also capable of extracting nuances from recordings that even considerably more expensive speakers can fail to reproduce. Tonality is exceptionally good and it rarely sounds anything other than utterly believable and very assured. The spherical shape is no gimmick either. The Planet L has very little in the way of colouration that can be traced to the cabinet and the bass port is commendably well behaved. Bass output is not seismic – there are a number of similarly priced standmounts (to say nothing of floorstanders) that will go deeper, but the bass on offer here is very clean and incredibly fast. Strutting its stuffPushed to high levels, the Planet L will harden up, but it does so relatively slowly and benignly. They are not going to generate rock gig volume levels and those looking to fill a barn conversion might want to look elsewhere (or at least look at using more than two of them), but for an ordinary lounge, the Elipson should have no trouble strutting its stuff. Whether it's right for you will ultimately depend on whether you like the distinctive look. If you do, this is an incredibly gifted loudspeaker with a genuine talent for making music and bringing detail to the fore. What further recommendation do you need? 
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| Posted: 10 Aug 2011 03:05 AM PDT The ST6500 is touch-screen compact camera from Samsung, priced at around £180 and featuring unusual and bold styling. For your money, you get a 16 megapixel CCD sensor and a 5x optical zoom, a decent ISO range from ISO 80 to ISO3200 at full resolution and a 3 inch touch-screen. We found this screen is responsive as long as you use the stylus provided, it doesn't work quite so well with fingers. There are also 4 focusing modes, although 2 are touch screen related. The centre AF and multi AF work in the traditional way, while the touch options will focus on the point you touch on the screen. The smart touch AF takes things one step further and will lock onto and track the point you touch until you take a picture in the traditional way. The ST6500 features a host of modes and options which are accessed by pressing the home button on the back of the camera. Unfortunately, there's no obvious order to these modes, with some playback options appearing in the middle of the recording options. It would be nice to see each page dedicated to specific modes for example, capture, editing and video shooting. However, the icons are bright and easy to understand so it isn't too much of a problem.
There are four video resolution modes available, two of which are 1280x720. The highest resolution has two settings: HQ and normal. The frame rate can also be altered from 15 to 30 fps to make some extra space on the card but changing to 15fps will lower the quality. Smart phone users will find the features of the ST6500 familiar, making use of touch screen and swiping pages. We found that the camera is easy enough to understand and operate by even the most novice of users and the smart photo and smart video modes make life easy. Samsung's most recent digital compact cameras take MicroSD cards so if you're new to the company, you'll need to pick up a card when you get the camera. Switching on the camera without a card in is annoying because at full resolution, the camera doesn't have enough built-in memory to take a picture and you have to reduce the resolution from 16 megapixels to 10 megapixels just to get one picture. The Samsung ST6500 is a metal cased camera and it feels good in the hands thanks to the sweeping design It's built to a high enough level for use in every day situations and we like the little extras such as the locking switch on the battery door and the sturdiness of the USB and HDMI port covers.
There are hardly any buttons on the camera and they're all conveniently placed in positions which fingers or thumbs fall easily to, which makes the ST6500 easy to use. Batteries are charged in the camera and the cable can also detach from the mains plug to reveal a USB connection. Plugging this into a computer charges the battery while images are transferred, driver updates are also downloaded automatically. This could be useful for anyone taking the camera travelling because the camera can be charged at an internet cafe and images uploaded straight to a networking site such as Flickr or Facebook. On the whole, the Samsung ST6500 produces very nice images. In fact, when we tested the Samsung SH100, which is also part of the Cutting Edge range, we found that the metering is better on the ST6500. Even shooting directly into the sun, we managed to get decent detail in darker areas that would be silhouetted normally. Pictures are pin sharp and we love the colours that the camera produces. They're realistic, but also saturated by the processor to a pleasing degree. In macro mode, the camera throws the background pleasantly out of focus producing good bokeh for such a small sensor. Noise performance is good, especially at low ISO settings although we can see a small amount of colour invasion at ISO 200. Still, it's manageable and edge definition is still good. In fact, the edges don't start to suffer until around ISO 400 and colour invasion - while getting more widespread – is kept at bay by the noise reduction software.
Noise levels get a bit too high by ISO 800, and dark areas take on a purple cast. At ISO 1600 that cast spreads to the mid tones and although the colour invasion exacerbates at ISO 3200, the resulting images are reasonable for a camera at this level. For a camera at this price, the pictures are great. We like how sharp they are and how well the camera handles complex light and high ISO situations. If you wish to use a low ISO in low light, using the flash will help as the camera gives nicely balanced pictures with fill-in flash. However, the recycle time – despite saying 4 seconds on the Samsung website – can take a while and we lost many shots while waiting for it to charge.
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ISO 3200 Click here to see a full res version Sensor As part of the Stylish range, the ST6500 is certainly an unusual looking camera. That's not to say it's unattractive. The main issue we had to get over was our presumption that the touch-screen wouldn't be up to scratch because of the bulky framing on the back compared to flush versions found on other manufacturers and even the Samsung SH100. However it's actually a responsive screen as long as the pen is used that comes in the box. If you don't use the stylus, the screen will still work but we kept opening options and modes that we didn't want. For a digital compact camera at this price point, the ST6500 performs really well. The styling won't be to everyone's taste, but a lot of thought has gone into it. We think that the Samsung ST6500 will be suited perfectly to users who want a unique looking camera with interesting technology such as the touch-screen. We liked For a camera at this price point, the Samsung ST6500 provides excellent quality pictures that are rich in colour, sharp in focus and balanced in exposure. We disliked Despite being good quality, the screen surround is bulky and off-putting. The modes available via the home button have no logical order that we can see, which makes it tedious finding the feature you want. 
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