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• Alleged LulzSec member arrested over Sony Pictures hack
• Oracle now claiming $1.1billion from Google
• In Depth: Spotify on Facebook: what you need to know
• In pictures: Facebook Timeline
• HP ousts Apotheker as CEO, brings in ex-eBay chief
• Facebook re-invents web apps for music, movies and news
• Facebook announces link-up with Spotify
• Facebook Timeline announced, re-works the profile page
• Early View: Nikon V1 vs Nikon J1
• Facebook Music: what you need to know
• Facebook Music announced with Spotify
• Review: Thermaltake Armor A30
• Interview: How bleeding edge tech keeps Eurofighter Typhoon in the air
• HP board meet to decide future of CEO
• Nexus Prime rumours: What you need to know
• Nexus Prime: What you need to know
• T3.com relaunches with fresh new look
• 3D makes gaming easier, says Sony
• Hands on: Nikon J1 review
• Review: Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray
• Microsoft 'has lost $5.5 billion on Bing'
• RIM stock price continues to tumble
• Analysis: The elephant in the room for Windows 8
• YouView still on for 2012 launch, snaps up Sky Go exec
• Beats Audio coming to HTC Windows Phones

Alleged LulzSec member arrested over Sony Pictures hack Posted: 23 Sep 2011 12:54 AM PDT The FBI has stated that a suspected LulzSec member has been arrested on charges of taking part in the Sony Pictures Entertainment website hack. This week saw an indictment by a grand jury unsealed which charges a 23-year-old with conspiracy and the unauthorized impairment of a protected computer. The attack on the Sony Pictures website in June was a coda in a hugely uncomfortable time for Sony, following an even higher profile attack on its PlayStation network. SQL The indictment unsurprisingly points to a SQL injection attack on the website, and states that the full extent of the breach is still being investigated. LulzSec had openly boasted about using the method to hack the website saying: "We recently broke into SonyPictures.com and compromised over 1,000,000 users' personal information, including passwords, email addresses, home addresses, dates of birth, and all Sony opt-in data associated with their accounts. "Among other things, we also compromised all admin details of Sony Pictures (including passwords) along with 75,000 "music codes" and 3.5 million "music coupons". Sony has not commented on the arrest, which could see a maximum sentence of 15 year's in prison if the man is found guilty.

Oracle now claiming $1.1billion from Google Posted: 23 Sep 2011 12:41 AM PDT Oracle has put a price on its Android Java damages claim over alleged copyright and patent infringement by Google, suggesting that $1.16 billion (£750m) would cover it. An original claim for $6.1 billion (£3.9bn) was rejected by a judge in the US, but Oracle was told it could revise its claims. And the final demand is around one fifth of the rejected claim, with Oracle lawyer Steve Holtzman stating in a letter to Judge William Alsup that as much as $202 million was for the alleged patent infringement and $960 million for alleged copyright breach. Fall guise The trial is due to be heard in the San Francisco court in front of Judge William on 31 October. The claim revolves around Oracle's claims that the Android mobile OS infringed on Java patents bought up seven months previously. The huge claim is just one of a huge bodies of claims and counter-claims being fought by major technology companies on a global scale.

In Depth: Spotify on Facebook: what you need to know Posted: 23 Sep 2011 12:30 AM PDT As long rumoured, Facebook has announced that it is working with Spotify to offer music through the social network. But, as you'll read, you'll still need to have the Spotify app installed for it to work. The move was announced at Facebook's F8 confrerence today Mark Zuckerberg announced "two of the most exciting things we've ever done". The first was Timeline, a more visual way to explore Facebook. Facebook has announced a number of changes to the site over the last few weeks, but the link up with Spotify is a big step for Zuckerberg's army. The first hint that a link-up between Facebook and Spotify washappening came in August 2010, when a revamp of the service offered deep Facebook integration.And when Spotify launched in the US it seemed like it was only a matter of time. Here's what you need to know about the announcement: 1. Facebook now has a Music app The service isn't offered through a specific Spotify app - instead you'll now have a Music app in your Facebook profile sidebar. Spotify is a featured service within this. Spotify calls this page your Music Dashboard, though we're not sure if that's an official name or not. Speaking about the Spotify app, Daniel Ek from Spotify said: "Finding new music is always difficult and that is why we created Spotify. "We have spent the last few years building a service where you can find music. Add this to Facebook's 800 million users and this will light up the world." 2. It's a new type of app Music is the first type of a new 'open' app from Facebook (called Open Graph) - enabling any company to create an app that allows social interaction. Mark Zuckerberg said about the apps: "The open graph is a completely new class of social apps to discover new things with your friends." Other names on board with these new apps are The Guardian, The Independent, Netflix (not UK) as well as Nike Plus. Other music services to have signed up include Deezer and SoundCloud. 3. You can play music directly from your Facebook page... You can click a play button from your Facebook newsfeed or Music Dashboard and the music will start. Though there's a caveat... 4. ...but you'll need to have Spotify open One thing that's played down is that you'll need to have Spotify open to play music. If it's not open, you'll see this message and Facebook will try and open it. And the Music you're recommended won't necessarily be on Spotify - we've already been recommended a Feeder album that's not on the service. Here's the permission screen you'll see from within Spotify. 5. Spotify on Facebook will be free "We knew that the service had to be free to draw people away from piracy," continued Ek - but of course, you'll still need to have a functioning Spotify app to use it. "Helping them to listen to even more music. To do that, we also knew that the service would have to be inherently social. There couldn't be a better place to do this than Facebook. "This integration with Facebook will help everyone to discover more free music than ever before. Thanks to our unrivalled, truly free service, users can just hit play to enjoy the music, no hassle, no gimmicks; month after month after month." 4. You'll see what your friends are listening to You'll now start seeing new music posts and play buttons in your newsfeed, while your friends will be able to see what you're listening to - providing you give Facebook permission of course. 7. Spotify reckons that more people will buy music as a result "We know that Spotify's users who connect to Facebook listen to more music on a weekly basis," continues Ek. They listen to a wider variety of music – in fact we have more than 400 million playlists created in Spotify now. Because these users are more social, they're more engaged. Because they're more engaged, they're more than twice as likely to pay for music "Social discovery on Facebook means that we're bringing people back to paying for music again. And that's how the brilliant artists who create this music can continue creating it for us to enjoy." 8. Facebook will fill in the social gaps that Spotify lacks Since its launch, Spotify has enabled you to scrobble to Last.fm to keep track of your most listened to artists and tracks. You can still do this, of course, but now your Facebook Timeline will populate with your listens, as well as your top albums, playlists and artists. And it will also provide the recommendation tech that Spotify has so needed. YouTube : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjAr5nGzjV8

In pictures: Facebook Timeline Posted: 22 Sep 2011 11:10 PM PDT At Facebook's F8 conference yesterday, the social networking site announced a new feature, called Facebook Timeline. This is an extended Facebook profile that shows not only what you've been up to recently but everything you've ever done since your debut on Facebook. It will run alongside your existing profile for the moment, but the signs are it may completely replace your profile in future. As you'll see, it's pretty visual, incorporating pictures, apps - including achievements such as run times - maps and video. You can sign up for Timelinehere.

HP ousts Apotheker as CEO, brings in ex-eBay chief Posted: 22 Sep 2011 05:42 PM PDT HP has announced that it has ousted its controversial CEO Leo Apotheker and replaced him with the ex-CEO of eBay, Meg Whitman. There were rumours abound that the board at HP were not happy with where Apotheker had taken the company, with his announcement last month that HP would be ducking out of the hardware business and putting most of its focus on software. This revelation did not sit well with investors, with HP's share price dropping 47 per cent at the time. Execution orientation Bloomberg had hinted this week that the board had met up to discuss the future of Apotheker and said that Whitman was in line for the job if he were to be replaced. This has turned out to be the case with Whitman saying about her hiring: "What I bring to this table is leadership, management skills, strategic vision, communications and an execution orientation to deliver the result." There's no word on how Whitman will bring better results to HP, but we've a feeling that we haven't seen the last of the company in the hardware sector. And, as for the HP TouchPad, don't be surprised if it graces shelves again soon.

Facebook re-invents web apps for music, movies and news Posted: 22 Sep 2011 05:03 PM PDT Facebook has announced a number of new apps that will be used within the social network, offering up a more social way to listen to music, watch movies and read the news. Unveiled at Facebook's f8 conference, these new type of 'open' apps allow any company to create an app that allows social interaction. On board already are big names like Spotify and Netflix, both allowing you to see what music and movies your friends are watching and allow you to watch movies and listen to music straight from the Facebook homepage. Apps for any lifestyle There's also a number of lifestyle apps. These include are more interactive version of Nike Plus. These supercharged apps will aggregate all the interesting stuff you are doing and give you at a glance reports that you can add to the newly developed Facebook Timeline. Partners like Ticketmaster are also on board. Mark Zuckerberg said about the apps: "The open graph is a completely new class of social apps to discover new things with your friends." Speaking about the Spotify app, Daniel Ek from Spotify said: "Finding new music is always difficult and that is why we created Spotify. We knew the service had to be free and social. "We have spent the last few years building a service where you can find music. Add this to Facebook's 800 million users and this will light up the world." Time is on your side Zuckerberg revealed just how the new apps will work with the Timeline, explaining: "You can fill out your Timeline with your favourite activities using apps and websites, and create a live connection to them so they're updated as you go. "For example, photographers can fill their Timeline with photo apps that will update with each new photo taken; cooks can add recipe apps that will update with each new dish made; and music fans can connect to apps that show their top playlists." Other companies that have signed up include the Guardian and the Independent - both offering their news in a more social way - movie sites Netflix and Daily Motion, and music services such as Deezer, SoundCloud and MusicCloud. You can sign up now to try a beta of the Timeline, which should allow you to try out a number of the new apps, including the music streaming.

Facebook announces link-up with Spotify Posted: 22 Sep 2011 02:30 PM PDT Facebook has finally announced that it is teaming up with Spotify to offer song sharing straight from the pages of the social network. The link-up with Spotify is part of many partnerships announced with content providers, offering up social apps for lovers of music, movie and news. One of the biggest and most wanted tie-up is Spotify, which finally comes to Facebook through the new Timeline feature. The collaboration is a significant one for both companies, as it propels Spotify into the mainstream globally and pitches Facebook as an entertainment hub, as well as a social network – something that MySpace rebranded itself as recently. The link-up was unveiled at Facebook's f8 conference, which TechRadar watched with representatives from Facebook UK. To greet the UK press, Joanna Shields, VP Europe, Facebook, said: "This is the biggest announcement for the Facebook platform since 2007. "At Facebook, we like to say this journey is one per cent finished and tonight will be testament to that." Not only did CEO Mark Zuckerberg – now the 14th richest person on the Forbes rich list – take to the stage to announce changes to Facebook, but so did Spotify founder Daniel Ek, who said about the news: "Finding new music is always difficult and that is why we created Spotify. We knew the service had to be free and social. "We have spent the last few years building a service where you can find music. Add this to Facebook's 800 million users and this will light up the world." The first hint that a link-up between Facebook and Spotify was happening came in August 2010, when a revamp of the service offered deep Facebook integration. Since then there has been rumours that Facebook was looking to get into the music market – in June, information came out with regards to how its music dashboard would work. In July the rumour was it that its music service would be called Facebook Vibes, while back in May there were reports that Spotify and Facebook had signed a deal and that collaboration was incoming, but this didn't come to fruition. But this was before Spotify launched in the US, which has turned out to be the missing part of the Facebook/Spotify puzzle. But it's not just Spotify who will be working with Facebook. Services like Music Cloud, Deezer and SoundCloud have also come aboard on the music side. Facebook also announced that you will be able to watch TV shows and movies within Facebook and newspapers such as the Guardian and the Independent have also taken the social step, allowing their content to be shared and viewed within Facebook.

Facebook Timeline announced, re-works the profile page Posted: 22 Sep 2011 10:38 AM PDT Mark Zuckerberg has used F8 to show off a new feature of the Facebook profile, called Facebook Timeline. Instead of being a realtime feed of events, Zuckerberg and co have created a past-time feed of your entire (Facebook) life, with the feature replacing everyone's profile page. Speaking about Timeline Zuckerberg said: "People feel an intense ownership over their profile. Millions of people have spent a lot time to tell the story of their life through their profile. "Millions of people have spent years curating their lives and there's nowhere to show this. We think we have the solution. The original profile was the first five minutes, the stream was your 15 minutes, now I want to show you the next. "This is the heart of your Facebook experience, reworked from the ground up. We have been working on it the whole year and we are calling it Timeline. Do the Timewarp Timeline is meant to be the story of your life. It is a lot more visual and will have all your stories. One of the ways you can add to your Timeline is use a series of apps. Zuckerberg announced that you can load an app up that keeps a log of all your runs, what you cook etc. "What Timeline does is shows all the important stuff recently, then summarises the rest of your life. This is the magic and how you can tell the whole story on a single page." There's a number of ways you can see the Timeline, including a map view, showing you where you have been in the world. Timeline allows you to highlight and curate all your stories. It is essentially a profile within a profile - you will even have a profile pick for the Timeline section of Facebook. To make the Timeline work, a new class of apps have been created. These 'personal' apps allow for you to express yourself in new ways, according to Facebook. Among those who have created apps for Facebook Timeline, include Spotify, The Guardian, and Netflix. All of these companies are hoping that you will embrace your social side, allowing Facebook to know what song, film or article you are reading at any one time so your friends can join in with the experience.

Early View: Nikon V1 vs Nikon J1 Posted: 22 Sep 2011 08:29 AM PDT Nikon has launched two brand new cameras under the Nikon 1 banner. The cameras, which sit in a category that Nikon describes as "Advanced Camera, Interchangeable Lens" are the first mirrorless models from Nikon. The Nikon V1 is the more advanced camera out of the two, while its little brother, the Nikon J1, is aimed at beginners looking for a step-up in image quality. Both cameras have similar specifications, so we've taken a look at the differences between the two. Nikon V1 vs Nikon J1: size One of the key differences between the two cameras is the size. The Nikon J1 is a smaller offering, doing away with the electronic viewfinder which adds extra bulk to the J1. It does however feature an inbuilt flash, something which you will need to purchase as an extra if you go for the V1. The J1 also uses a smaller battery than the V1 to reduce the size even further. Nikon V1 vs Nikon J1: specifications The internal specifications of the V1 and J1 specifications are very similar, but you do get a little more bang for your buck with the J1. Not only will you get the electronic viewfinder, but you'll also find a higher resolution LCD screen (460k dot screen vs 921k dot). Both cameras use the new 10-megapixel CX format CMOS sensor, the Nikon 1 mount and are compatible with SD, SDHC and SDXC memory card formats. Thanks to its smaller size, the Nikon J1 battery life is approximately 230 pictures for still images, compared to the V1's 400. The V1 also incorporates both a mechanical shutter and an electronic shutter, which means it should provide more accurate exposures. Nikon V1 vs Nikon J1: price Of course one of the most important considerations is price. The V1 should retail at around £829 with the 10-30mm kit lens, or £879 with the 10mm pancake lens. On the other hand, the J1 is set to retail at £549 with the 10-30mm kit lens, or £599 with the 10mm pancake lens.

Facebook Music: what you need to know Posted: 22 Sep 2011 08:09 AM PDT As long rumoured, Facebook has announced that it is working with Spotify to offer music through the social network. At Facebook's F8 confrerence today where Mark Zuckerberg announced "two of the most exciting things we've ever done". The first was Timeline, a more visual way to explore Facebook. Facebook has announced a number of changes to the site over the last few weeks, but the link up with Spotify is a big step for Zuckerberg's army. Here's what you need to know about the announcement: 1. It's been long rumoured The first hint that a link-up between Facebook and Spotify was happening came in August 2010, when a revamp of the service offered deep Facebook integration. Since then there has been rumours that Facebook was looking to get into the music market – in June, information came out with regards to how its music dashboard would work. In July the rumour was it that its music service would be called Facebook Vibes, while back in May there were reports that Spotify and Facebook had signed a deal and that collaboration was incoming, but this didn't come to fruition. But this was before Spotify launched in the US, which has turned out to be the missing part of the Facebook/Spotify puzzle.

Facebook Music announced with Spotify Posted: 22 Sep 2011 08:02 AM PDT Facebook has finally announced that it is teaming up with Spotify to offer song sharing straight from the pages of Facebook. The collaboration is a significant one for both companies, as it propels Spotify into the mainstream globally and pitches Facebook as an entertainment hub, as well as a social network – something that MySpace rebranded itself as recently. The link-up was unveiled at Facebook's f8 conference, which TechRadar watched with representatives from Facebook UK. To greet the UK press, Joanna Shields, VP Europe, Facebook, said: "This is the biggest announcement for the Facebook platform since 2007. "At Facebook, we like to say this journey is one per cent finished and tonight will be testament to that." By Ek Not only did CEO Mark Zuckerberg – now the 14th richest person on the Forbes rich list – take to the stage to announce changes to Facebook, but so did Spotify founder Daniel Ek, who said about the news: xxxxx The first hint that a link-up between Facebook and Spotify was happening came in August 2010, when a revamp of the service offered deep Facebook integration. Since then there has been rumours that Facebook was looking to get into the music market – in June, information came out with regards to how its music dashboard would work. In July the rumour was it that its music service would be called Facebook Vibes, while back in May there were reports that Spotify and Facebook had signed a deal and that collaboration was incoming, but this didn't come to fruition. But this was before Spotify launched in the US, which has turned out to be the missing part of the Facebook/Spotify puzzle. Facebook has announced a number of changes to the site over the last few weeks, but it's link-up with Spotify is definitely the biggest yet.

Review: Thermaltake Armor A30 Posted: 22 Sep 2011 08:01 AM PDT Overview The Thermaltake Armor A30 is a small PC case. While huge PC chassis – such as the Cooler Master CM Storm Enforcer – have a lot going for them, smaller cases also have many good points too. The Thermaltake Armor A30 is a small chassis that's been designed to house some of the best gaming components money can buy, while maintaining a size that is small enough to carry around to LAN parties. Even if you're not into professional gaming, the Thermaltake Armor A30, as well as other small chassis such as the CyberPower Game Cube can be a compelling buy, because they take up far less room than some of the behemoths we've seen. The small stature doesn't mean compromises have to be made either – Micro-ATX and Mini-ITX motherboards can hold most of the latest technology without a problem. Sure, multiple GPU arrays are out of the question. There's also no denying that cramming the components in an upgrading isn't as simple as with the Thermaltake Armor A30's more spacious siblings, such as the Armor A90. But when a compact gaming chassis gets it right, it can be an excellent addition to your gaming arsenal, and a great choice for housing your rig. But does the Thermaltake Armor A30 succeed where others have failed? Verdict Straight away we could tell that the Thermaltake Armor A30 is a PC chassis that has been designed to be as visually striking as possible. As soon as you get it out of box you understand the "Armor" part of the name. It might be short and stocky compared to cases such as the Corsair 600T White Special Edition, but it's still been designed to intimidate other gamers with perhaps just a touch of short man syndrome. The looks have been designed to appeal to gamers, but they'll probably put other users off. Put simply, the Thermaltake Armor A30 is going to look out of place as a media centre or office PC. If you can get past the divisive looks, you'll find a small chassis that packs a lot of punch. To begin with, its length enabled us to fit a full-length graphics card. Considering the power of new Mini-ITX motherboards that are capable of handling Core i7 processors, such as the Gigabyte H55N-USB3, there really aren't that many compromises to make if you choose the Thermaltake Armor A30 to build a gaming PC. While space is still at a premium – no surprise for a case sized just 267 x 292 x 457mm (10.5 x 11.5 x 18.0inch) – building and upgrading inside it is made much easier due to the modular design of the case. This enables you to take out parts of the case, such as the hard drive enclosure, so you can install components in their housings outside of the case – avoiding some potentially infuriating fiddly installations. Installation takes a bit more time than with bigger cases, but the Thermaltake Armor A30 avoids a lot of pitfalls that come with small form factor chassis. We liked Even though the Thermaltake Armor A30 case is very small, we were still able to fit some good components in. Input and output ports such as USB 2.0, USB 3.0 and SATA are conveniently placed at the front of the case for easy access. And the modular design makes installation and upgrading easier than trying to work in the small space. We disliked There's no getting away from the fact that installing a motherboard and components takes longer with the Thermaltake Armor A30 than with a larger cases, with the modular design requiring more screwing and unscrewing than usual. The distinctive look might not be to everyone's tastes either. Final verdict The Thermaltake Armor A30 is a decent small-size gaming chassis that's clearly aimed at gamers, if that's what you're after.

Interview: How bleeding edge tech keeps Eurofighter Typhoon in the air Posted: 22 Sep 2011 07:48 AM PDT TechRadar is - clearly - not a military website despite having "radar" in the title. Nevertheless, we jumped when we were given the chance to talk to Mark Bowman. He's the BAE Systems chief test pilot, which has got to be one of the coolest jobs in the world. The Eurofighter Typhoon is at the forefront of technology – capable of reaching supersonic speeds in less than 30 seconds. It's got interchangeable parts – the 13 "hardpoints" enable different weapon configurations to be added. The most recent innovation on the Typhoon is a head-tracking system, which follows the pilot's gaze to lock onto targets and deploy weapons. We grilled Mark on this and the other components that make the Typhoon the cutting-edge piece of kit that it is. TechRadar: Can you give us some background on the Eurofighter Typhoon? Mark Bowman: It's a fourth-generation combat aircraft, pretty cutting edge in most areas. It brings together what would have been squadrons of aircraft in the past in an aircraft that is multi-role. It can perform both air-to-air and air-to-ground tasks, and it's got 13 hardpoints. It packs in the latest cutting-edge technology – including the helmet-mounted display and very advanced sensors – we're not just talking about weapons here, we're talking about radars, infrared search and track systems and defensive aids. It's absolutely potent, and an aircraft where we can expect to multiply many times the capabilities of early-generation aircraft. TR: What's the most crucial piece of technology in the Typhoon? Mark Bowman: All the displays we present to the pilot have to be put in such a way that we can take all that information, process it and present it to him in something he can assimilate quite simply, so he can spend most of his time concentrating on the mission. Now we're getting the pilot even more involved in the weapons system through things like the helmet-mounted display, which essentially says: "If I know where the pilot's head is at any one time, then I can use that information to steer sensors, to steer weapons, to actually control the aircraft". We also use voice control, which is another high-end technology. We can talk to the aircraft. TR: Does the pilot still have a very fixed role in the plane? Mark Bowman: At the end of the day, you've still got a prop, you've still got a stick, you've still got that interface with the aircraft. But the aircraft is clever enough to say you're approaching a limit – maybe a high-speed limit, maybe a G-limit, maybe a roll limit. It knows those limits, and it provides information to the pilot to do something about it. Ultimately, the pilot is still the arbiter of good taste and judgement, and we have to give him the information he needs to make both tactical and operational decisions. TR: What happens if all the automation fails? Mark Bowman: The safety of the pilot is paramount. However, we're looking at a very unstable aircraft here, it's very aerodynamically unstable. That's controlled by four flight computers – it's a quadruplex redundant system in some areas, and in others it's hexaplex redundant, in terms of things like data. As such, if all that failed, the aircraft is aerodynamically unstable, and as such it wouldn't be able to maintain a controlled flight. TR: How has the Eurofighter Typhoon changed since you started working with it? Mark Bowman: When the UK tax payer is spending so much money on technology, there's absolutely no point in buying something that lasts a couple of years. These aircraft are going to be around for 30 or 40 years – maybe longer. You have to future-proof it to enable technology to go in, to put new weapons in as interfaces develop between the aircraft and the weapons that it carries, and constantly being able to upgrade the aircraft in terms of technology. The aircraft has been in service since 2004, we've gone through its infancy, and now we're in its adolescence. There's so much more to come in this aircraft, and that's a real testament to the way the aircraft's been designed, and the real future-proofing that goes into such a high-end aircraft. TR: What's coming up next for the Typhoon? Mark Bowman: We're not standing still here – there are new weapons coming along. The UK has purchased a new, extra long-range air-to-air missile, called Meteor, which is being integrated on the aircraft. We've got new smart multi-seeker bombs going on there, which use GPS as well as laser guidance. As the weapons are upgraded, the aircraft's there to match it. TR: How do you simulate such a complex piece of kit? Mark Bowman: We've got two types of simulators. One emulates the flight dynamics of the aircraft. As I mentioned before, the aircraft is unstable, and we need some pretty good confidence that before we fly it we've got the flight dynamics properly modelled, and we've got the control system simulator to do that. On the cockpit side, the interface the pilot has with the weapons systems is constantly being upgraded, and we use an active cockpit rig which allows us to simulate all the connectivity between the various sensors and the pilot and develop those as well. TR: A lot of consumer technology – from radio to GPS – has come from a military background. Is there anything you're using at at the moment that you could see coming into civilians' lives? Mark Bowman: In the future, I think you'll be looking at a human usage aspect, the interface between the human and the technology. Where I'd be looking – and I'm only speaking as the monkey with the stick and the rudders – is the automotive industry. We've already seen where voice is used there, and I think it's going to be exploited an awful lot more. The helmet I use at the moment, and the ability to track where the pilot's head is, and a displacement surface, so you can put imagery on there – you may want that in the civil aviation industry, or you may want it in the automotive industry, to put images in front of the pilot, or the driver. TR: We're seeing more and more reports of "drones" carrying out military operations. Do you think there's always going to be a role for the pilot in combat? Mark Bowman: I think there is going to be a growth of unmanned aircraft in the future, and I think the piloting side is going to be complementary to that, in terms of the roles conducted. Those roles where you need persistence – being in the battle area for a long time, doing repetitive surveillance type work – are going to lend themselves more and more to pilotless aircraft, where human fatigue is an issue. Instances where it's a highly dynamic situation, where ultimately a lot of tactical information is being sifted through, are going to be better suited to manned aircraft. It may be supported in terms of firepower and what-have-you by unmanned aircraft, but ultimately there's going to be manned aircraft in there. The thing not to forget here is the ethics side of it – if you're conducting wars there needs to be a human face behind it, and I think it's quite important that manned aircraft are seen as the arbiter of whether stores are released, or whether they're not. Being there, and having eyes on the target, is massively important. I can never foresee that we're going to be in a position to say, "sorry, that's the end of manned aircraft." I think we tried it in the 1950s and failed miserably – I don't really see that the situation's changed. TR: You obviously don't want civilians being injured or killed during war – is this something you consider when you're building the plane? Mark Bowman: It's not particular to Typhoon or anything – the ability to limit collateral damage is very much at the forefront of how aircraft weapons systems are developed, and Typhoon is concerned not only with the safety of the pilot who's flying it, but the safety in which ordinance is delivered and targeted.

HP board meet to decide future of CEO Posted: 22 Sep 2011 07:36 AM PDT The board at HP have been meeting up to discuss the future, if any, of the company's CEO Leo Apotheker. This is according to Bloomberg, which is quoting 'sources close to the matter'. Although Apotheker is not even a year into the HP job, the CEO has announced a number of proposed changes to the company that effectively take HP out of the hardware game and into the software market. Such sweeping decisions weren't taken lightly by shareholders and, because of this, the company's board has been meeting to discuss whether or not Apotheker should stay as CEO. CE-go? If Apotheker is ousted, then the likely candidate for the position is former eBay CEO Meg Whitman. Given that shares in HP dropped by 47 per cent after the company acquired UK software makers Autonomy (as this showed HP's apparent intent to go software only), it is clear that something needs to be done to bring back confidence. With news of the possible change at the top, shares rose by 6.7 per cent. HP proved that it can still sell hardware in August, when it significantly dropped the price of its discontinued HP TouchPad tablet range. At a price of £89, demand for the tablets was unprecedented and prompted HP to begin selling more of the range but at a higher price.

Nexus Prime rumours: What you need to know Posted: 22 Sep 2011 07:30 AM PDT Google's third Nexus Android phone, officially announced back in May, is expected to be manufactured by Samsung, with many, many recent rumours claiming a model known as the "Nexus Prime" - or the Samsung GT-I9250 - will be the new flagship Android phone. Samsung itself has already confirmed that a phone under the name "Nexus Prime" exists, thanks to a list of settings discovered on its own site - but the odd mixture of specifications it contained led some to believe it was simply a placeholder. And whether it'll actually launch under the name Nexus Prime is still debatable, but the signs are all pointing to an October or November launch for the next official Android flagship phone, made by Samsung, running the newest Ice Cream Sandwich version of Android, which may or may not be known as Android 4.0. Here's what else we know about the Nexus Prime handset itself. Nexus Prime specs It's no surprise to learn the Nexus Prime will offer a decent leap above current Android phone specs. We're expecting it to be the first to arrive with a 720p resolution display (unless LG beats everyone to it with its HD LU6200). Tech specs are all, of course, unconfirmed, but the most recent leak claims it'll arrive powered by a Texas Instruments OMAP processor - which is dual-core - running with a dual core 1.5GHz processor. It'd better have a big battery as well. And if it's going to support HD material, it'll need a big screen - the Nexus Prime is currently rumoured to feature a whopping great 4.65" Super AMOLED display, running at that HD 1280x720 resolution. We're expecting Ice Cream Sandwich to completely remove the requirement for phone to have Back, Home and Menu buttons, meaning the Nexus Prime should arrive without any front-facing buttons whatsoever. Unless Samsung sticks a big, round Home button in the middle, just to annoy Apple. Nexus Prime UK release date Google has said that it expects the Ice Cream Sandwich release date to be October or November, so it's safe to assume that, as has happened in previous years with the Nexus One and Nexus S, the Nexus Prime will be the hardware flagship for this exciting new Android OS release and will launch simultaneously with the software onboard. Samsung Romania also made a little error on Twitter, claiming the Samsung-made Nexus Prime would launch in late 2011 with Android 4.0. Nexus Prime will debut with Ice Cream Sandwich Google has done a remarkably good job of keeping its Ice Cream Sandwich Android update under wraps. We've heard that it'll combine the mobile and tablet versions of the OS, bringing the Honeycomb "holographic" interface to mobiles, unifying the current mobile and tablet versions of the OS – although the oddly disappointing supposed early leaked images of ICS suggested a rather underwhelming, minimal change. Google always likes to debut a big Android update alongside a piece of hardware that shows it off to its best extent, so we fully expect ICS and the Nexus Prime to be announced and shipped on the same day. Nexus Prime price We can but guess. So we'll guess. Given the cutting-edge nature of the rumoured spec sheet, the size of the screen and the fact that Samsung's Galaxy S II commanded a huge £499 price on release, it's safe to assume you'll need to find at least that much for a Nexus Prime if buying outside of a contract. On monthly contracts, the Nexus Prime is bound to arrive at the top end - meaning at least £35 per month. At least, for the first few weeks while demand is still high. If you wait a few months you'll save yourself piles of cash - the Nexus S launched for £429 late last December, but was swiftly chopped down to around £300 a few months after launch. So don't get too excited and spaff loads of cash too soon. Will Samsung make the Nexus Prime? Despite Google recently signing a deal to buy Motorola's mobile division, it looks almost certain that the Nexus Prime will be a Samsung-made device, as Google doesn't see Motorola as the automatic choice for making its future flagship phones. Other, older rumours have claimed LG may have been in the running to make it, plus, of course, it was HTC which made the original Nexus One. But we're 99 percent sure that 2011 will be Samsung's turn. Again. Nexus Prime rivals Samsung's bitter local rival LG has been making a lot of noise about its plans for future "HD" Android phones, even going so far as announcing the fact it's signed Capcom's Street Fighter IV as an exclusive for an as yet unnamed future smartphone. Plus LG has its HD LU6200 - although that's not yet running Ice Cream Sandwich. Persistent rumours claim Sony Ericsson may be about to launch a dual-core Android phone, with its unannounced Nozomi regularly popping up in many internet leaks. But again, there's no official word on ICS support there. The other big unknown is HTC. We've seen plenty of future HTC phones leak - like the HTC Bass and HTC Ruby - but they appear to be standard Android 2.3 phones with buttons rather than buttonless Ice Cream Sandwich handsets. It'll have something, but we don't know what. Yet.

Nexus Prime: What you need to know Posted: 22 Sep 2011 07:30 AM PDT Google's third Nexus Android phone, officially announced back in May, is expected to be manufactured by Samsung, with many, many recent rumours claiming a model known as the "Nexus Prime" - or the Samsung GT-I9250 - will be the new flagship Android phone. Samsung itself has already confirmed that a phone under the name "Nexus Prime" exists, thanks to a list of settings discovered on its own site - but the odd mixture of specifications it contained led some to believe it was simply a placeholder. And whether it'll actually launch under the name Nexus Prime is still debatable, but the signs are all pointing to an October or November launch for the next official Android flagship phone, made by Samsung, running the newest Ice Cream Sandwich version of Android, which may or may not be known as Android 4.0. Here's what else we know about the Nexus Prime handset itself. Nexus Prime specs It's no surprise to learn the Nexus Prime will offer a decent leap above current Android phone specs. We're expecting it to be the first to arrive with a 720p resolution display (unless LG beats everyone to it with its HD LU6200). Tech specs are all, of course, unconfirmed, but the most recent leak claims it'll arrive powered by a Texas Instruments OMAP processor - which is dual-core - running with a dual core 1.5GHz processor. It'd better have a big battery as well. And if it's going to support HD material, it'll need a big screen - the Nexus Prime is currently rumoured to feature a whopping great 4.65" Super AMOLED display, running at that HD 1280x720 resolution. We're expecting Ice Cream Sandwich to completely remove the requirement for phone to have Back, Home and Menu buttons, meaning the Nexus Prime should arrive without any front-facing buttons whatsoever. Unless Samsung sticks a big, round Home button in the middle, just to annoy Apple. Nexus Prime release date Google has said that it expects the Ice Cream Sandwich release date to be October or November, so it's safe to assume that, as has happened in previous years with the Nexus One and Nexus S, the Nexus Prime will be the hardware flagship for this exciting new Android OS release and will launch simultaneously with the software onboard. Samsung Romania also made a little error on Twitter, claiming the Samsung-made Nexus Prime would launch in late 2011 with Android 4.0. Nexus Prime will debut with Ice Cream Sandwich Google has done a remarkably good job of keeping its Ice Cream Sandwich Android update under wraps. We've heard that it'll combine the mobile and tablet versions of the OS, bringing the Honeycomb "holographic" interface to mobiles, unifying the current mobile and tablet versions of the OS – although the oddly disappointing supposed early leaked images of ICS suggested a rather underwhelming, minimal change. Google always likes to debut a big Android update alongside a piece of hardware that shows it off to its best extent, so we fully expect ICS and the Nexus Prime to be announced and shipped on the same day. Nexus Prime price We can but guess. So we'll guess. Given the cutting-edge nature of the rumoured spec sheet, the size of the screen and the fact that Samsung's Galaxy S II commanded a huge £499 price on release, it's safe to assume you'll need to find at least that much for a Nexus Prime if buying outside of a contract. On monthly contracts, the Nexus Prime is bound to arrive at the top end - meaning at least £35 per month. At least, for the first few weeks while demand is still high. If you wait a few months you'll save yourself piles of cash - the Nexus S launched for £429 late last December, but was swiftly chopped down to around £300 a few months after launch. So don't get too excited and spaff loads of cash too soon. Will Samsung make the Nexus Prime? Despite Google recently signing a deal to buy Motorola's mobile division, it looks almost certain that the Nexus Prime will be a Samsung-made device, as Google doesn't see Motorola as the automatic choice for making its future flagship phones. Other, older rumours have claimed LG may have been in the running to make it, plus, of course, it was HTC which made the original Nexus One. But we're 99 percent sure that 2011 will be Samsung's turn. Again. Nexus Prime rivals Samsung's bitter local rival LG has been making a lot of noise about its plans for future "HD" Android phones, even going so far as announcing the fact it's signed Capcom's Street Fighter IV as an exclusive for an as yet unnamed future smartphone. Plus LG has its HD LU6200 - although that's not yet running Ice Cream Sandwich. Persistent rumours claim Sony Ericsson may be about to launch a dual-core Android phone, with its unannounced Nozomi regularly popping up in many internet leaks. But again, there's no official word on ICS support there. The other big unknown is HTC. We've seen plenty of future HTC phones leak - like the HTC Bass and HTC Ruby - but they appear to be standard Android 2.3 phones with buttons rather than buttonless Ice Cream Sandwich handsets. It'll have something, but we don't know what. Yet.

T3.com relaunches with fresh new look Posted: 22 Sep 2011 07:00 AM PDT T3.com has relaunched, with the gadget website given a completely new look and a whole heap of new functionality. T3, a Future Publishing stablemate of TechRadar, now boasts the likes of the buzzwall – a visual glimpse of the gadget zeitgeist, as well as smart search and hub pages for the big names in tech. Kieran Alger, Editor T3.com, said about the new look: "I'm absolutely delighted with the relaunch of T3.com." Aspiration "We set out to create the ultimate product showcase and bring the website firmly in line with the aspirational values of the print and iPad editions. "With innovations like the brand new Buzzwall and our automated buyers' guides we've made it easy and fun for our users to indulge their passion for the latest gadgets and technology. "All this comes at a time when we're already bringing in record traffic and we're now in an even better position to grow our reach." You can check out the new look at www.T3.com.

3D makes gaming easier, says Sony Posted: 22 Sep 2011 06:48 AM PDT Playing games in 3D can help you get better scores, according to a Sony 3D bigwig. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Mick Hocking, senior group director of Sony Computer Entertainment's Worldwide Studios 3D team, revealed that stereoscopic gaming helps your reactions. 'If you can see something more clearly and understand something more naturally, whether it's speed, distance or scale, you can respond better to that. So we've found that people do get better scores in 3D.' Hocking also hit back at critics of 2D-3D games conversions and the 3D format itself. 3D conversion Converting games to 3D from a 2D render can produce s result of equally high quality than if it was built in 3D to begin with, he said. "The issue is that it has to be done technically correctly. We have 10 technical checks that all 3D games should adhere to." Meanwhile, Hockey said that those who complain of headaches after watching 3D should blame poorly-implemented hardware and software, not 3D as whole. Of course, this argument is what you'd expect from a man closely involved in pushing 3D games – and it's not one that everyone agrees with. Earlier this year, optical boffins at the University of California, Berkeley conducted a study that showed that the basic nature of 3D, which requires viewers to focus on two separate distances at the same time (the actual screen and the stereo content) causes "discomfort" and "may limit the use of the technology". So this argument could run and run.

Hands on: Nikon J1 review Posted: 22 Sep 2011 06:41 AM PDT Overview Nikon's new compact system cameras, or, to use its parlance, ACIL cameras, were finally unveiled after months of speculation and internet rumours. Releasing not one, but two cameras onto the market, the J1 is the V1's smaller brother featuring a smaller body design. It loses the electronic viewfinder but does gain a built-in flash. Other than the aesthetics of the camera, the J1's interior specifications are almost identical to the V1. They both use the new CX format sensor, EXPEED 3 processor and Nikon 1 mount. The J1 is obviously aimed squarely at the beginner end of the market, and is available in a variety of colours including a candyfloss pink. We spent some time with a pre-production J1 to see how it works, how it feels and what you can expect from the camera when the final version is available to buy. Both of the new cameras, Nikon claim, have been designed from the ground up to feature a completely new design and sensor format. Keen to distance the cameras from other compact systems on the market, Nikon is calling this an "advanced camera with interchangeable lens". Build quality and handling The J1 is one of the smallest compact system cameras on the market, reminiscent of the size of the recently launched Olympus E-PM1 Pen Mini. The camera has clearly been designed with sleekness and portability in mind. While it's unlikely to be jeans pocketable, with the 10mm pancake lens attached, it's slim enough to fit into a jacket pocket. Though it is small, the J1's finish and weight do give it an air of quality, and you certainly don't get the impression that you're using a toy, despite its diminutive size. One of the benefits of opting for the J1 over the V1 is that you get an inbuilt flash. It certainly is useful to have a flash, and we can see that families looking to frequently shoot in low-light conditions will be attracted by this. It is, however, not the most aesthetically pleasing part of the J1, sticking out an awkward angle in order to avoid the lens. It does also appear a little flimsy, as if a hard knock may damage or even completely destroy it, this is something we'll be keen to look at further in the full test. Performance Most of the features of the V1 can also be found on board the J1. As the camera is aimed mostly at beginners, you won't find controls such as aperture or shutter priority on the main control wheel. This may be a little offputting to DSLR users at home with having these controls quickly available, but it does help to reduce the clutter on the rear of the camera. Aperture priority and other exposure modes are available through a sub menu, and once you locate these, adjusting the aperture and so on is fairly simple. Adjustments can be made via the zoom switch at the top right of the camera, which again is a little unusual if you're used to a DSLR. Nikon claims that both the cameras in the 1 range are the fastest cameras in the world, boasting a super high-speed AF system which instantly switches between Phase-Detection AF and Contrast Detect AF. During our initial tests we found that the camera could lock onto a subject quickly and easily. Smart Photo Selector makes use of the new EXPEED 3 processing system that boasts speeds quicker than the high-end Nikon D3x DSLR. The mode starts to shoot photos while the shutter release is half pressed, continuing to shoot even after it is fully released. The camera takes 20 photos and then automatically selects the best five based on composition, red-eye and more for you to choose from. We can see this mode appealing to parents keen to capture a fast-moving child. Verdict As we were using a pre-production sample of the J1, we were unable to capture any of our own photos with it. However, Nikon provided sample images from the V1 for us to look at. Given that the sensor and basic specifications are the same, we can expect very similar image quality from the two models, and what we've seen so far is promising. We're looking forward to carrying out a full review, but the images provided by Nikon appears to show that the camera copes well in low light and that a pleasing depth of field effects can be achieved. The new 1 range is a long awaited and intriguing prospect from Nikon. The J1 is cheaper and aimed even more squarely at beginner and family photographers than the V1 and as such it will be interesting to see how the camera performs in terms of sales. Convincing the consumer who is used to spending £200 or less on a compact camera that they need to upgrade to a £550 "ACIL" could prove tricky.

Review: Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray Posted: 22 Sep 2011 06:05 AM PDT Overview, design and feel It's been a busy old year for Sony Ericsson. As it struggles to regain a foothold in the market it was once sucha major player in, it's been firing out more Android-based Xperia smartphones than long-lost relatives on an episode of Jeremy Kyle. And they're not half bad either. The Xperia Arc has been the flagship of 2011's bunch. Arriving in the spring, it became the skinny poster girl for the Swedish-Japanese hybrid, showing off its amazing screen presence with the help of the Sony Reality Display (the bit that reproduces colour on the screen and makes it look great) but in the Xperia Ray, Sony Ericsson has gone for a smaller model. Before we go any further, there is one point we have to make clear: this phone is small. And thin. Think smaller and thinner than you expect, then shave a bit more off your dimensions. That's what you get. The Xperia Arc (we're going to be making lot of comparisons to the Arc in this review) is 125 x 63mm with a depth of 8.7mm. The Ray slices most of that off and comes in at a remarkable 111 x 53mm. It is slightly fatter, by less than a millimetre, clocking in at 9.4mm deep. It reminds us very much of the original (and, at the time, revolutionary) HTC Touch Diamond from 2008 – a niche handset that only retro phone geeks are likely to recall. Indeed, compared to the larger handsets we've become used to using, such as the Samsung Galaxy S2, Apple iPhone 4 and HTC Sensation, this really does feel teeny and we couldn't stop picking it up at first. But it is no slouch. Under that hood, you'll find a not-too-shabby 8MP camera with HD video recording, Android 2.3.3 Gingerbread, HSUPA/HSDPA and 1GHz processor. The Ray sits comfortably in the hand, and at 100g, you'll barely even notice it's there. Indeed if ever there was a candidate for a 'going out phone' that would slip unobtrusively into a pair of skinny jeans, this is most definitely it. The rear has a matt finish that's only broken up by the camera lens and flash, plus a speaker near the bottom, crowned by a Sony Ericsson logo. Around the side, there's little to comment on. The left has only a micro USB socket for charging/syncing, while the left houses a volume rocker. Up top, you'll find little of interest other than a (thankfully easy to hit) power/sleep button and the 3.5mm socket for headphones of your choice. The front is fairly minimalistic, made of a large sheet of glass broken up only by an earpiece and a physical Home button. The other two buttons that serve as Back and Options are both touch-sensitive jobs and, unfortunately, not as sensitive as we'd have liked. Inside, you'll find 1GB of memory – although only 300MB is available to the user – and a slot for swapping microSD cards. You only get a 4GB card in the box compared to the 8GB the Xperia Arc ships with, which seems a little tight. But considering how cheap memory is these days, we'll not hold it against Sony Ericsson too much. But here's an issue: the memory isn't hot swappable. Seriously, Sony Ericsson – is that too much to ask in the year 2011? The handset is available in a number of colours, including gold, black, pink and white, catering for all members of fashion crowd, apparently. The Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray's screen is the same resolution as the Xperia Arc's amazing display, which means 480 x 854 pixels. But it's a lot smaller, at 3.3 inches, compared to the Xperia Arc's 4.2 inches, which means a much higher density. Don't underestimate this – when you look at the Xperia Ray's display, you will not believe how clear it is. Put it next to an Apple Retina display and you'll notice there isn't much in it. Colours on the whole look fantastic, although we were disappointed with the quality of our blue sky wallpapers, which looked a lot more washed out than they did on the Samsung Galaxy S2. Plus the clarity is incredible. We did find that we often had to tap a button or function again because the first go didn't register. We had the same issue with the soft keys. It wasn't a deal breaker, but it was unresponsive enough for us to notice and get slightly frustrated. We're shallow enough to admit that one thing we love is the animation when you turn the display off. Hit the Standby button and the screen decreases and disappears into a white line in a deliberate echo of the sequence we'd see in days gone by when turning off an old CRT TV set - first seen on the Google Nexus S. It's a cosmetic addition that adds no functionality. It's a gimmick. And it's pointless. But man, did we love it. And so did all of our friends we showed it to. Small things, small minds. As with all modern mobile phones, the glass is apparently toughened. We couldn't see any literature that defined it specifically as Gorilla Glass but whatever it is, it's not great. Not only is the Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray a fingerprint and dust magnet, the screen is also a scratch magnet. In the week that we had it, we noticed scratches appear at the rate of several per day. Don't get us wrong, they weren't huge, and indeed, we had to strain to look for them. But if you're as OCD as us about keeping your precious looking precious, you won't like it. And putting a screen protector on (providing you can find one that fits exactly) will take away some of the sparkle. The Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray has just started hitting shelves at a very reasonable £299 SIM-free price. That's £50 cheaper than the Xperia Arc, which is almost identical, save for the size. If you want to go on contract, it's available free on £25 a month deals (provided you sign 18-24 months of your life away.) On a 12-month contract, you're looking at about £50 for the phone, which is still very reasonable for what you're getting. Without reinforcing a stereotype, we can't help feeling this is one for either the ladies or the smaller fingered men among us. Those who want a similar Android experience on a larger deviceare likely to plump for a Samsung Galaxy S2, HTC Sensation or, indeed, the Xperia Arc itself. Interface The problem for any Android manufacturer is the same: how do we make our smartphone different? There are dozens of Android handsets on the market in this country, and it's the world's most-used mobile phone operating system. But that's also the problem, because it's reaching saturation point. HTC has enjoyed phenomenal success with its HTC Sense skin that sits atop the Android platform and has become instantly recognisable through that big flip-style home screen clock widget. Samsung's given us TouchWiz and, in turn, Sony Ericsson brings Timescape to the table. In essence, the main function of this overlay is a widget that sticks your social media updates on your front page, or wherever else you fancy putting them. It's versatile in that you can add Twitter and Facebook updates out of the box but also install other extensions to get additional services. (Foursquare, Gmail, Orkut and Picassa are just a few of these – there are dozens on Android market, although curiously we couldn't see a LinkedIn extension.) You can set it to update your notifications periodically and then swipe through them like a rolodex. SMS/MMS and missed calls can all be handled here too. But for us, it just wasn't practical for two main reasons. Firstly, we have a fair amount of Facebook friends but follow hundreds of people on Twitter. If Timescape updates all your Facebook and Twitter info together, you're going to be looking through it all day. You can decide which services it checks and which it doesn't (so, for example, we selected Facebook only, to make it more manageable) but if you're doing that, what's the point? You may as well just use the individual Facebook and Twitter apps. You'll probably end up doing that anyway, because that is our second point – Timescape is merely a launcher. If you scroll through and see a friend has, say, posted a link on a Facebook update, when you click it in Timescape, it just launches the Facebook app, which then gives you the link to click on, which then launches the browser. It's the same with photos and so on. So you then have to exit the Facebook app to go back to the home screen to get back to your feeds and go through the whole rigmarole again. It's bitty and annoying and we'd much rather that Timescape had some kind of inbuilt image and web browser so that you could view all your Facebook and Twitter content in one place. Luckily, being an Android phone, the Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray enables you to remove Timescape and just customise your screens with better widgets, which we'd advise you do. Other widgets include a Favourites Quick Dial, which we liked because it had room for 12 people (we're very popular) plus obligatory elements such as quick toggles, Google search, weather and music/gallery controls. It's all effective, but there was nothing in there to jump out at you, and we couldn't help feeling it was all a bit pedestrian. Sony Ericsson does give you a selection of themes to pick from, although they're all just coloured variations of the same pattern. You can also reorder apps easily through the app drawer and create folders. It's a small blessing, but something we're glad to see, since many other Android manufacturers omit this for reasons known only to themselves. The four shortcuts on the main screen dock at the bottom of the display can be easily reassigned whichever way you see fit by long-pressing the icon. We did install some nice new live wallpapers, but were dismayed to see that the Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray struggled with them. The standard Android ones were there, but when we tried to install the beautiful Flux free live wallpaper (which we've used on several Android handsets), it stuttered and stammered until we'd uninstalled and gone back to the original wallpaper. This isn't what we'd expect from a 1GHz processor. Not. At. All. There are five home screens for you to pick from. We couldn't see any way to increase this, which is a shame because you may fill them up quickly, but you can always plump for a free third-party launcher replacement if you like, to solve this. Luckily, with Android, if you've used a handset with this operating system before, it's pretty similar, albeit with custom icons. And if you haven't used an Android phone then, along with iOS, it's one of the most intuitive systems out there. Contacts and calling The contacts and calling section app on the Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray is heavily skinned, and we found it a pleasure to use. It's all very intuitive. Calls are easy to place using the on-screen dialler or the various tabs such as Call Log, Contacts, Phone and Favourites. You can also save a contact into the phone book having dialled their number manually. Contacts can store an almost infinite amount of information, and it's all presented in an easy to navigate format. Each entry has three shortcuts up top: Send Message, Favourite and Edit. If you want to call them, you just tap the phone number itself and away you go. We have to say we weren't overly impressed with the Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray's contact linking abilities. Some of us are extremely tidy when it comes to keeping our phone books in check, but we have to say we're not. We've been astounded by the initiative shown by recent HTC mobile phones in the way they manage to automatically link contacts from Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp and elsewhere and tie them all together, with an option for us to then approve. The Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray has a 'joining' facility too – but unfortunately, it's not great. Whereas HTC handsets do it automatically periodically, on the Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray, you have to go into each individual contact, then select to edit. Only once in edit mode can you link that contact with another. If you have several joins per person, it becomes a real chore and will take you all day. With hundreds of names in the average address book, we decided that life is far too short and gave up by the time we reached the letter C. Calling was one of the Xperia Ray's strong points, with conversations conducted without any groaning or moaning. We could hear the other party clear as a bell, and they reported a good reception from us too. Signal could be a little flaky from time to time and we weren't blown over with the strength of the Wi-Fi chip, which appeared to struggle with showing full bars even when we practically sat on the router. Still, it never actually dropped a signal, which was highly commendable when you consider that other phones we've tasked with this have failed. Yet one thing we're still missing here is full-screen caller picture ID. Yes, we know it's a small thing. Yes, we know it doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things. But it breaks our heart when we have such an amazingly sharp screen plus some beautiful photos, but we can't have them appear properly when loved ones call us. If this were any other manufacturer, it'd be a simple moan. But we're particularly disappointed because this was a feature all Sony Ericssons used to come with, and it's a real shame this hasn't made it through to the subsequent Android builds. Messaging Messaging is heavily catered for on the Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray. We wouldn't expect it to be any other way. This is, after all, an Android handset. The actual messaging app is standard Google fare, although again it's been skinned to fit in with the look of the rest of the phone. When you open the app for the first time, there's a subtle but cool animation that stacks your messages up, which is a nice touch. If you have photos of your contacts in your address book, they're displayed alongside the message in list mode, which again just makes the experience that little bit nicer and more visual. Email-wise, you get a good selection. The inbuilt Gmail client is onboard – it's the version we know and (some) love, and nothing has really changed here (the changes are, apparently, on the way with Ice Cream Sandwich). It's functional enough and provides advanced tools for hardcore Gmail users such as organising labels and proper searching of your inbox remotely. If you're not a fan, there's also the separate email client that Sony Ericsson has provided, which works with Gmail but is primarily provided for those who don't want to give their mail over to Google. It supports most other IMAP/POP3 services as well as the all-important Exchange protocols. One thing we really like about it is the 'split view' it offers. Both in portrait mode and landscape, you can view your emails in a list with a preview pane. In reality, the screen is a bit too small for it to be of any practical use for long, but we really like the fact that Sony Ericsson has put it in there as an option. The usual suspects are available for social networking – the likes of Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, LinkedIn, plus third-party services that tie into them. You have to download them to get the latest versions, but they work well although they are very individual. We yearn for an HTC Sense-type experience where it all feels integrated into Android, but in the end, we didn't get it. It's a shame, because Sony Ericsson has obviously had a slight whiff of this with Timescape but not followed through and made it into anything worth having. Of course, no messaging handset is even worth getting out of the box if the typing experience isn't top notch. And with the virtual keyboard on screen here, we'd say that's an adequate way of describing it: "not top notch." We have to put a disclaimer in here and say that this is entirely our personal opinion, based on rather large hands. We must also point out we thought the keyboard was great at first. But the experience went downhill. The problem here is the screen size. It's just difficult to type on a screen that small and hold the phone in the hand correctly. To be fair to Sony Ericsson, in portrait mode, the Xperia Ray is set up to automatically use an on-screen phone-style keyboard like you used to get on an old mobile phone – how retro. You even have T9 that you can toggle on and off. In theory, this should work. But in use, we found that issue with the screen's unresponsiveness kept rearing its head. We'd be tapping away and realise that keypresses hadn't registered and have to keep going back, which just got annoying after a while. Alternatively, you can turn that option off and in its place, you get a standard keyboard in portrait orientation. But because of the screen size, it's difficult to hit the keys accurately. Not impossible, we stress. You can do it if you're careful, but you won't be typing at any great speed to do it. Or any speed at all, really. Indeed, the only really usable keyboard is the one that appears when you turn the phone into landscape mode. It is easy to hold the Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray and type with both thumbs here, but again, you won't be typing out War and Peace on this. Unfortunately, it's the downside of going for a smaller phone with a smaller screen, and there's not much that Sony Ericsson can do about this. Internet If you're a big browser, then the Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray gives you a full-blown internet device in your pocket at a size you'll barely notice. And we have to say the internet experience on the Ray is second to none. Firstly, it comes with Flash integration (as do most Android handsets), so gets a massive plus from us and usurps handsets that retail for hundreds more pounds (*cough* iPhone and BlackBerry handsets *cough*). Videos on websites load without any hitch and pages appear blisteringly fast. On Wi-Fi, the TechRadar home page loaded in full in five seconds and only took marginally longer over a 3G internet connection. It trumped our HTC Sensation, which was still playing catchup on page one by the time we'd already started reading our second page on the Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray. Pages also look absolutely beautiful on the Xperia Ray's screen when they fill the whole screen. To actually read anything, you obviously have to zoom in, so use pinch to zoom or double tap, which both work with no delay. You'll struggle to see any pixilation even when zoomed in. This really is one of the top internet experiences we've had on a smartphone, and we found that loading speeds were on a par with some of those larger, dual-core smartphones. The standard Android browser is used, so it supports multiple windows and bookmarks, which work as you'd expect. We love the fact that you can change search engine (although this isn't restricted solely to the Xperia range) and that great Android function where you type whatever you like into the address bar and it automatically detects if it is a website or a search term. We may have reservations about other areas, but when it comes to browsing, we were sold. Camera The Xperia Arc is one of Sony Ericsson's flagship Xperia handsets and, as such, comes with an 8.1MP camera. Naturally, we'd have expected something a little smaller on the Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray. But fear not, this too has an 8MP camera, and what a great addition it is. The viewfinder fills the screen and subjects almost jump out because they look so clear and vivid. As we moved the camera around the room (not taking a picture, just looking for things to photograph), there was absolutely no lag or flickering. It was as though we were watching a high-definition movie. We assume this is where the Reality Display bit really kicks in. The camera gives you scene modes, although curiously, only three: Normal, Smile Detection and Automatic. All seemed to work OK, but we just kept it on Automatic for best results. You can also select the photo size (8MP, 6MP and 2MP) but, for some reason, you can pick between 4:3 and 16:9 in 2MP mode but not the others, presumably as that's the only mode Sony Ericsson thinks can fit in all the pixels. We like the fact that there's a self-timer, which is something that some of the even more advanced handsets seem to neglect. However, one thing we don't like is the way the photo light deals with situations or, more to the point, the lack of automatic mode. The light is either on or off, and there's no option to let the Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray decide what's most appropriate. That's left to the user to decide for each individual photo, and can get annoying if you're trying to take a snap in a hurry. NOISE: The Xperia Ray struggles in low light without the flash, and you end up with lots of noise See the full-res image CHANGER: The phone's camera automatically switches modes and can pick out text with little effort See the full-res image DAYLIGHT: The camera performs best in bright daylight See the full-res image COLOURFUL: Colours in bright daylight are well represented and true to life See the full-res image MACRO: Macro mode picks out text well See the full-res image AUTO: Automatic scene mode gives you an accurate representation of colour See the full-res image CONFUSED: It struggles in certain scenarios, such as sunset See the full-res image TOO DARK: In low light, you may as well give up See the full-res image FLASH: Even with the flash on and camera up close, it doesn't make a huge difference, unfortunately See the full-res image Another small thing we like is the option to turn the shutter sound completely off. Some handsets don't give you the option to do this, which we get annoyed by. There are occasions where taking a sneaky pic is justified, and we like the fact that we can do this without being caught if we need to. To take photos you won't be using a camera button, because there isn't one, which is a slight shame. Instead, to shoot you tap the screen. Normally, we'd expect tapping the screen to focus, but that's not what happens here because this camera has some kind of human-like intelligence – so much so that if you move from focusing on, say, a person to a close-up of some text, it actually recognises what you're trying to shoot and tells you (it says 'document' in the corner) and refocuses all by itself. Hurrah. In general, we weren't overly pleased with the outcome of photographs taken with the camera. There were some issues with noise in low light settings where the flash wasn't used, and we admit that we did think they looked better displayed on the actual screen of the phone than transferred to a computer. Video The Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray shoots video in all its HD glory. If you're not convinced, it even boasts of that with a big 'HD' logo on the rear battery cover. And for some bizarre reason, although you only get three basic scene modes to pick from in the standard camera app, when it comes to the video camera, you're presented with lots more (Landscape, Beach, Party, Portrait, Night and Sports modes). That's really odd and these would surely be more use in the stills camera. YouTube : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQIFztOkvPU There is no way of automatically focusing your video as you move around. Although there are three focus modes built into the options (Single Focus, Face Detection and Infinity), we found they made little difference and parts of our video remained blurred out. Again, the light is either on or off, and since you have to tap the screen to start/stop recording, you can't even bring the light in midway because any interaction with the screen will end your moviemaking. You do get the feeling that in the Xperia Ray, Sony Ericsson has put more weight behind the video recorder than the main stills camera, since you're overrun with options from exposure value and white balance to metering and image stabiliser. Again, you'll have to tap on the screen to start and end your video, because there's no camera button. Most Android phones with HD recording commit one cardinal sin: they enable you to film video in fantastic clarity, but when you want to send your video by MMS, they don't resize it, just tell you that the video is over your carrier's limit. This is one field where the Apple iPhone beats Android smartphones hands down, and it really needn't be the case. So we were hoping that Sony Ericsson might buck the trend here. But it doesn't. Yes, you are able to send your video by MMS, and the Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray does give you the option of editing your video to send that way. But in reality, it doesn't reduce the frame rate and make a smaller file. All it does is give you the ability to trim your video and, due to the size of an HD recording, it means you'll probably only get about three seconds of video in an MMS. Pointless. Luckily, you can share via lots of other methods from email to WhatsApp to Dropbox, but it does leave a sour taste in the mouth that you have to download third-party software to do something that a phone this smart should be able to do out of the box. Media Media-wise, the Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray is pretty standard Android fare. It does the job well but there is nothing here that is brand spanking new and will leave you excited. In terms of watching videos, this is one of the Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray's strengths. Again, you just can't fault that screen for clarity, and watching HD videos that we'd dragged and dropped onto the card was a real pleasure. You won't be watching the Star Wars Box Set on it – unless you like squinting – because the screen is so small, but for watching a quick music video or an episode of Family Guy on the train to work, we give the Xperia Ray a big fat thumbs up. The music player is standard Android. Again, it's been skinned to within an inch of its life to give it the Xperia colour tone, but under the gloss it's the same music player you'll find on most other Android handsets. That's not to say it's a bad thing, because it works well. We found that dragging and dropping a ton of music from a MacBook Pro worked a treat, and the player was able to figure out which albums were grouped together simply. The gallery app is the same one we've seen since the Nexus One launched at the start of last year. It looks slick, creates albums automatically, tilts in line with the accelerometer and even manages to change the background of the entire gallery depending on what photo you're looking at. We'd love to say it's busting with loads of new features and tell you all about them, but the reality is there were only two new things we noticed about it: firstly, the icon is new (well, it's a Sony Ericsson variant). And secondly, Facebook albums are now in there too, as part of the deeper Facebook integration that now lives in the contacts menu too. There's a YouTube app preinstalled (Note to BlackBerry: an actual app, not a link to the mobile website. Take the hint!), and it does the job valiantly. It's the standard YouTube for Android app. However, as well as the standard Android stuff, Sony Ericsson has also kitted out the Xperia Ray with its own media goodies, which we feel should get a special mention. First, TrackID is an inheritance from the days of the K800i (possibly even earlier) and was the precursor to Shazam. It's always worked well and we've always been fond of this little app. Not only that, but now it goes even further and provides you with an updated music chart and options to search YouTube or even buy the song you've searched for. It's all powered by the fantastic Gracenote database, so you really can't go wrong. One fun app that we noticed is called Friends' Music & Videos. It's linked into Facebook and basically collates all of your friends' posted and recommended videos or music. It's not something you're likely to spend hours on, but for mucking about it's a nice addition. For those who want to rent movies (or indeed buy them) direct on the device, there's a Qriocity app built in. The selection of flicks isn't exhaustive but it's OK if you're really bored and stuck for something to watch. Prices are similar to the likes of iTunes. And, hallelujah! We knew we could rely on good old Sony Ericsson not to let us down here: there is an FM radio! Woohoo! With lots of manufacturers neglecting to fit these, it's lovely that Sony Ericsson still keeps this element in just like it did in the old days. For those of us who like to go running with our phones and listen to the radio, the Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray gets a bonus point here. Battery life and connectivity One of the complaints about the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc was (and still is) the pretty woeful battery life. The 1500mAh power pack may have been useful in older phones, but it just couldn't cut it on the Xperia Arc with that vivid screen and hungry thirst for juice. Indeed, one sales rep at a large high street mobile phone retailer told us: "The phone's great – but I can't lie, the battery's shit". If that's his sales patter, you've really got to worry. So, we picked up the Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray with a slightly heavy heart and prepared to find that Sony Ericsson had fitted it with something pointless like a 400mAh battery due to its size. We nearly fell off our chairs to discover that this little baby has a 1500mAh unit inside it too – the same as its big brother, but on a screen that's much smaller. It seemed too good to be true, but you know what? We're really thrilled to say it wasn't. Because here, in the Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray, we have an Android handset where we can confidently say the battery life does not completely suck. Sony Ericsson quotes the talk time as up to 7 hours and standby time as up to 440 hours, depending on your network band type. With moderate use, you'll still probably not get anything more than two full days out of it. But you'll certainly notice it go a long way. We got some fantastic readings out of our evaluation unit. We're talking taking it off charge at 7am, some pretty heavy twitter usage for a couple of hours, an eight mile run (using both the RunKeeper software and FM radio simultaneously), about 20 minutes worth of streaming music over Bluetooth to the car stereo, sending about 12 texts and eight emails, plus about 30 mins worth of calls. At this rate, we still had 32% by 7pm. That's quite commendable since Android smartphones (even Gingerbread handsets) aren't known for being phenomenal with battery. If you barely use the Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray, you'll notice it lose about 1% an hour on battery, but these things are always subjective and depend on the strength of your signal and various other factors. You're pretty connected in every conceivable way with the usual suspects including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS and HSDPA/HSUPA included. We weren't overjoyed with the signal strength of the Wi-Fi unit, as we mentioned in the Contacts and calling section of this review, but everything else works as you would expect. The GPS packs a powerful punch for such a small baby and we managed to get a signal indoors a fair distance from the window within five seconds from a cold start. HSDPA really does live up to its name, and data flows down from the ether into this handset like molten lava when loading web pages. We still can't get over how bloomin' fast this is at displaying websites. Bluetooth streamed across to our car stereo with no issues. Sony Ericsson provides its own remote sync software, which helpfully enables you to sync your contacts with its servers. That's nice of it, but we can't help wonder why bother when Android is based on Google, which offers contacts sync out of the box. Still, it's there if you want it. NFC is not included on the Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray – not that we expected it to be. Sony Ericsson is not one of the handset manufacturers pushing the technology down our throats, and obviously doesn't view it as crucial to the Xperia user base. DLNA is naturally supported (we'd be surprised if it wasn't, since Sony was the firm to bring it to us originally years ago) and helpfully enables you to share your media on the big screen via either a PS3 or supported TV. We think it's restricted to Sony Bravia units, because we struggled with our Samsung TV. However, getting it connected to the PlayStation was a dream, and we were very pleased to be able to bore friends with our holiday snaps in glorious Technicolor! Maps and apps The Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray caters very well for your app needs. And of course, being an Android handset, what you get in the box is just the beginning, with much more available via the Android Market. You'll find all the usual suspects in there, including Maps, Latitude, Places, Talk, Gmail and the excellent (and free!) Navigation Beta. Maps now supports 3D scrolling, although it only works in certain cities. It's nice to show the area around the Empire State Building to your friends, even if it is slightly pointless. Sony Ericsson also provides you with helpful set-up and support apps. The Calendar is standard Android fare – although we got a little annoyed with the fact that although it supports multiple Google calendars, by default it displays them all as the same colour, and we couldn't figure out how to change this. It makes multiple calendars pretty pointless and means you have to concentrate more rather than just being able to evaluate your diary with a quick glance. There are other helpful additions in there too, such as a Data Monitor, which will be a lifesaver if you're using your Android phone abroad in particular. We really wish we'd had it on a recent trip to Asia, where automatic updating of apps left our holiday anything other than cheap. We thought we spotted Sony Ericsson's own app stores here, following Samsung's lead. But its helpful Get Apps and Get Games offerings actually just show you a selection of recommendations that then require downloading via the Android market. There is an alternative app store of sorts, in the form of PlayNow, which is a hangover from yesteryear. We fired it up and chuckled at the cheapness of it (the way it looks rather than the cost of apps) before closing it. Heaven knows why Sony Ericsson still supports this, let alone ships it on handsets like the Xperia Ray, but it probably keeps somebody in a job. For the business minded, you get Office Suite as standard, but closer inspection reveals that you need to upgrade to the Pro version if you want to edit documents, since the Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray only comes with a licence for viewing office docs. Not that it's extortionate at $9.99, but it's a shame Sony Ericsson couldn't have felt the love and included this for free and swallowed the cost. Having said that, a viewer is probably all you'll need, since any attempt to tap out more than the shortest of memos on that tiny but beautiful screen will no doubt lead to colourful language being emitted. Hands on gallery Official gallery Verdict The Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray really is a phone of contradictions. The internet browser is amazing, but the camera and keyboard are average. That's the only way we can think of to describe it. And in these times when we seem to be getting more obsessed with the mine's-bigger-than-yours argument (we're talking screen sizes here) with the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S2, the BlackBerry Torch 9860, the (probably) forthcoming iPhone 5 and the HTC Sensation, it's really refreshing to go back to the smaller units. Holding it makes us feel slightly nostalgic – almost as though we're gripping an old Nokia 8210. We liked The Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray is an impressive handset with a powerful processor and very impressive battery life. Plus, it rocks Android Gingerbread, so is customisable to the hilt. It flies through internet pages – even with Flash – like nobody's business, but struggles with some live wallpapers. Based on the size of it, it should be a basic handset, but it is actually a stealth powerhouse. We disliked The small size won't be to everybody's taste – especially when it comes to trying to type on the screen. And while children and the slender handed will be fine, the giants among us won't be fans. It comes with an 8MP camera, but doesn't take pictures as well as you'd expect, and the flash is really underpowered. The video is equally uninspiring, especially when sharing it over MMS. We can't help wishing it was ever so slightly more powerful than the 1GHz it currently gives us, so that we don't feel we're putting it under strain with live wallpapers. Final verdict There is no doubt about it – never mind a rabbit, Sony Ericsson has pulled a gem out of the hat here. The Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray is a joy to use (for 99% of tasks) and we're seriously impressed with the form factor and how it's squeezed it all in. The only issue we have is that the remaining 1% of tasks that are less pleasurable to do with the Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray (typing on the screen, for example) really do affect usage, so this is a handset you should try out before you buy. The beauty is that if typing is your only gripe with the Xperia Ray, then the Xperia Arc will provide you with an almost identical experience, albeit in a larger form factor. But that's also the problem – the Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray is not massively different to the rest of the Xperia line, which is starting to feel like its saturating the market with 'me too' handsets that don't offer anything uniquely different. Not that this will matter to the majority of buyers who, like us, will be won over by its small size. And there is no getting away from it – if you want something small that packs a punch and don't fancy Scrappy Doo in your pocket, then the Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray is definitely a very worthy contender for consideration.

Microsoft 'has lost $5.5 billion on Bing' Posted: 22 Sep 2011 04:56 AM PDT A new report suggests that Microsoft is losing $1 billion a quarter on Bing, its search engine, with total losses so far reaching $5.5 billion. This is according to CNN Money, which has gotten its calculator out and totted up the total losses Microsoft has made on Bing and revealed that the company's online search division has never actually made a profit. According to CNN, since it started revealing the finances of the unit in 2007 it has made a total loss of $9 billion. People will expect more from search The losses are despite Microsoft gaining good ground in the search market. ComScore is tracking the search engine as having a 14.7 per cent share of the market, with Google at 64.8 per cent. Despite the massive disparity in percentages between the two companies, Microsoft is gaining in the search sector. One of the reasons for this is the tie-up with Yahoo, with Microsoft powering Yahoo's search functionality. Speaking about Bing, Stefan Weitz, Microsoft's director of the search engine, said to CNN: "Our challenge is that no one wakes up in the morning and says, 'I really wish there was a better search engine'. "That's why, for us, it's always been about figuring out how to accomplish more than we thought was possible with a search engine. Eventually, people will expect to do more with search, and if they can't, they'll be disappointed." There's no doubt Microsoft is making waves in the search market, but there's also no doubt it will want to start recouping its losses from the search engine, given that it can only be a loss-leader for so long.

RIM stock price continues to tumble Posted: 22 Sep 2011 03:45 AM PDT RIM's stock price has taken another hit as the company looks to turn its fortunes around following under-par financial results. The BlackBerry maker has seen its market share decline rapidly in the US, one of its key markets, and while it remains buoyant in other territories (such as the UK, where it's incredibly strong in the pre-pay markets) the Canadian firm still has suffered a stock decline. The price dropped to $21.54, a level RIM hasn't seen since July 2006, when the company was creating super-business handsets like the BlackBerry 8707 (pictured below). From there, the company saw a meteoric rise to $144.56 per share in June 2008, off the back of a more fashionable and stylish range of phones like the Bold 9000 and the Pearl 8110, which slimmed down the chassis and brought a more modern OS to the market. But despite the new range of BlackBerry OS 7 devices doing well (the Bold 9900 being one of the hottest smartphones around at the moment) the company still needs to show its future devices are going to compete with the likes of the iPhone 5 and the next wave of top-end Android phones. RIM has already hinted at it will cut the price of the Playbook after it performed 'well below expectations' and continues to work on QNX devices in an attempt at bringing a next-gen smartphone performance to its range.

Analysis: The elephant in the room for Windows 8 Posted: 22 Sep 2011 03:37 AM PDT Windows 8 is coming. We've heard all about it, poked around with it and really rather like it. What Microsoft is doing is good and, what's more, it might breed a whole new range of multipurpose computing devices that go beyond the tablet. But the OS presents one massive issue that Microsoft has yet to fully answer: how will it tell people they can't run legacy apps on ARM versions of the OS? At a closed Windows on ARM demo I attended at CES in January, Microsoft's Steven Sinofsky made it crystal clear that legacy x86 apps wouldn't have any way of working on new ARM-based Windows systems. So how will Microsoft tell people and help them to work out what's what? After all, we're all used to buying a Windows PC and sticking all and sundry on it. If people can't do this with an ARM-based Windows tablet but you can with an Intel-based Windows tablet, confusion will reign. Relying on developers Sinofsky went on to make it sound like the problem won't apply to new Metro apps: "When you write a Metro style application, all the tools are there to enable you in any of the languages that we support to automatically support ARM or X86. I think that's the key part of everything that we'll run." But Metro is merely a UI specification rather than a new application execution model – programs will still need to be compiled for both the x86 and ARM architectures. Therefore Microsoft is, to a certain extent, leaning on developers – many will need to make their apps compatible with both x86 and ARM. There's no magic potion for this. Microsoft certainly hasn't given developers an awful lot to go on, most notably there has been little communication from Microsoft explaining how it will differentiate the Windows 8 versions. A Windows of two halves? Could things be as clear as people being told to buy Intel-based hardware if they need it for legacy apps? Could this be a reason to plump for an Intel or AMD-based Windows 8 tablet over an ARM one? It might well be. After all, there will also be a lot less apps available for ARM devices from the off – though the Windows 8 Store should see this issue off. While there is still the issue of developing multiple binaries, distribution is a lot easier in the age of the app store. Microsoft has also been working hard behind the scenes to support other devices on ARM-based platforms, the first example of which was when it used a Qualcomm Snapdragon-based test platform to print from within Windows at CES. And it's not as if there will be any difference between the two types of the OS. All the signs point towards ARM-based Windows 8 machines shipping with both the traditional desktop and the new Metro interface – it will all be consistent. Everything looks the same as the Windows 8 Developer Preview running on x86-based hardware. FAMILIAR: You'll have a traditional Windows desktop in both the ARM and x86 versions of Windows 8 It also seems there's no requirement for apps developed for Windows 8 on ARM to be Metro apps – so there will be desktop apps for ARM just as there will for x86. And if you're thinking that Microsoft will discourage the use of legacy apps across Windows 8, this isn't likely. There will also be a Windows 7 Mode in the x86 version of the OS. Many existing Windows apps also run fine on the x86 Windows 8 Developer Preview - even though the purpose of releasing the development software is to get people used to the way that Metro apps work. Of course, if ARM Windows 8 devices really take off – as I think is very likely with the kind of technology we're seeing from Nvidia with Tegra – then we could be faced with a completely split operating system that, on the surface, looks identical but where app support is drastically different – another massive headache for developers, hardware manufacturers and Microsoft alike. And without demonstrable design wins in tablets, there are also huge questions for Intel and AMD to deal with – in the face of Microsoft's support for ARM, these huge corporations could be seen very much as providing technology for legacy desktop and laptop devices rather than next-gen convertibles and tablets. But most of the heat is on Microsoft with this one. And I, for one, am very intrigued how it's going to deal with this particular hot potato.

YouView still on for 2012 launch, snaps up Sky Go exec Posted: 22 Sep 2011 03:26 AM PDT YouView has revealed that it is still on track for its delayed 2012 launch and that it has finally found a successor to Anthony Rose. In a blog post, YouView announced the appointment of Chris Bramley, formerly chief architect at BSkyB, as its new CTO and stated its intended release was still very much on the cards. The blog made no reference to Anthony Rose, who was one of the big names associated with YouView, despite only being part of the IPTV joint venture for six months. Right expertise YouView highlighted in the blog that bringing in Bramley – who worked on Sky Go and the rest of Sky's on-demand services – will ensure the venture is technically astute. Speaking about the appointment, Richard Halton, CEO, YouView said: "Chris has proven his technology leadership through delivering innovative new services into UK homes. "He has the right expertise to lead YouView's technical team through launch and to support the future growth of the platform. I am delighted to welcome him on-board." YouView is an on-demand IPTV initiative for the set-top box market and is backed by the BBC, ITV, BT, Channel 4, TalkTalk, Arqiva and Channel 5. Sky has been cautious of YouView in the past, believing the service will be a niche one, so it is interesting the venture has managed to snap up one of the company's leading tech heads.

Beats Audio coming to HTC Windows Phones Posted: 22 Sep 2011 03:04 AM PDT HTC has confirmed it's working on bringing its newly-acquired Beats Audio with the Windows Phone 7 range. The company only said 'We're working with Beats to enable [its use on Windows Phone]" but didn't give any more details, such as timescale or model. It's possible that the firm will take the same line as it did with its recent HTC Sensation XE release, where it simply brought out a higher-spec version of the original Sensation with Beats power and branding. HTC Titan XE? It would make sense to see something like the HTC Titan become Beats-enabled, given its larger screen and faster processor, but similarly HTC could bring out another Windows Phone device altogether, designed from the ground up with enhanced audio. One main hurdle the company would have to overcome to make a Beats-enabled Windows Phone handset would be the way the OS currently handles audio enhancement - users currently have to jump out of the music player to the main settings menu in order to enable it, which is convoluted to say the least. The Sensation XE needs Beats headphones to activate the special profile within the phone, so the switch could become automatic, but we wouldn't hold our breath given the way Windows Phone has handled such enhancements in the past.

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