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• 10 of the best Linux distros for privacy fiends and security buffs
• 5 things Hololens does that even Iron Man can appreciate
• Official: Canon spots a problem with the 750D/760D
• Hands-on review: Updated: Oculus Rift
• Apple may offer free trials of new Beats Music streaming service
• Review: LG Watch Urbane
• In Depth: Google Project Fi plan vs AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint
• Microsoft confirms there will be no Windows 11
• Hands-on review: Updated: Samsung Gear VR (S6)
• Samsung Gear VR for Galaxy S6 now available
• PC sales slow ahead of Windows 10 launch
• Buying Guide: Mother's Day tech gifts: What to give a new mom
• Review: Acer Liquid Jade S
• Review: Aorus X3 Plus v3
• Google will bring privacy to the people with Android M
• AMD just gave your next laptop better graphics and a battery life boost
• Hands-on review: Canon 760D (Rebel T6s)
• Amazon's delivery drones will be able to hunt you down
• Review: Microsoft Lumia 640 XL
• Review: Marshall Monitor

10 of the best Linux distros for privacy fiends and security buffs Posted: 09 May 2015 12:15 AM PDT Introduction Linux distributions can be separated into various categories based on use case and the intended target group. Server, education, games and multimedia are some of the most popular categories of Linux distros. For security conscious users, however, there's a growing niche of distros aimed at protecting your privacy. These distros help ensure you don't leave a digital footprint as you go about navigating the web. However, for the truly paranoid, privacy distros are only one part of the equation – and the greater part of that equation involves penetration testing distros. These are distros designed for analysing and evaluating network and system security. These efforts feature a vast array of forensic tools to help you test your configured systems for potential weaknesses. In this article, we've highlighted 10 of the best privacy and pen testing distros. You might also want to read: 10 best Linux distros: which one is right for you? Backbox This Ubuntu-based distro is designed for pen testing. With the lightweight XFCE as the default window manager, Backbox is incredibly fast. The software repositories are constantly updated to provide you with the latest stable version of the included tools, which can help you perform web application analysis, stress tests, vulnerability assessment, privilege escalation and much more. Unlike most other distros that feature a vast array of applications, Backbox makes a conscious effort to avoid redundancy. You'll only find the best possible tool for each specific task or purpose. The tools are sorted into well thought out categories that make them easy to spot. The project's wiki offers a quick introduction and usage options for many of the included tools. Although primarily designed as a pen testing distro, Backbox also features Tor, usually found in privacy distros to help you hide your digital presence. Kali Arguably the most popular pen testing distro, based on Debian Wheezy, Kali is developed by Offensive Security Ltd and is a rewrite of its earlier incarnation known as BackTrack Linux. Available as 32-bit and 64-bit images, you can run Kali off a USB stick or CD, or even install it to disk. The project also supports the ARM architecture and can be run on Raspberry Pi, and it features hundreds of pen testing tools. The default desktop is Gnome but Kali lets you build a custom ISO if you'd rather work with another desktop environment. This extensively customisable distro also allows users to modify and recompile the Linux kernel to their exact requirements. Kali's popularity can also be gauged by the fact that it's a supported platform for MetaSpoilt Framework, a tool that lets you develop and execute exploit code against a remote machine. Pentoo Available for 32-bit and 64-bit machines, Pentoo is a pen testing distro that's based on Gentoo Linux. Existing Gentoo users can optionally install Pentoo, available as an Overlay, on top of their Gentoo installation. The XFCE-based distro supports persistence, so when running off a USB stick, all changes you make will be saved for future sessions. The included tools are divided into some 15 different categories such as Exploit, Fingerprint, Cracker, Database, Scanner, and so forth. Being based on Gentoo, the distro also inherited the Gentoo Hardened feature set, which allows additional security configuration and control of the distro itself. You can use the Application Finder utility to quickly locate particular apps nested inside the different categories. As the distro is based on Gentoo, there's some amount of work involved in getting your network card and so on to work. When booting, choose the Verify boot option and configure all your devices. Security Onion Based on Ubuntu, this distro is designed for intrusion detection and network security monitoring. Unlike penetration testing distros that you can think of as offensive security distros, Security Onion is more of a defensive distro. That said, it features many of the offensive tools found in pen testing distros in addition to a number of network monitoring tools such as Wireshark packet sniffer, Suricata intrusion detection software, and others. Along with XFCE, the distro also provides most of the essential apps featured in Xubuntu to function as a regular desktop. Security Onion is not intended for hobbyists and a certain level of familiarity with network monitoring and intrusion detection is a must to be able to work with the complex apps on offer. Thankfully, the project regularly features guides and video tutorials to help users make the most of the included software. Caine Caine is an acronym for Computer Aided INvestigation Environment. Available as a Live disk, the latest edition of the distro is based on Ubuntu 14.04 and uses SystemBack as the installer. It can be run from the hard disk, once installed, or even as Live USB or CD. The distro strives to provide a user friendly interface and features a host of tools to aid in system forensics. It stands out from its peers because of some of the included tools such as rbfstab, a utility that safely mounts plugged devices as read-only for forensic examination. In addition to a large number of memory, database and network analysis applications and various other forensic tools, Caine also features all the other popular apps found in most desktop distros such as browsers, office tools, email clients, etc. BlackArch With a Gentoo derivative on our list, how can Arch be far behind? Described as a lightweight expansion of Arch Linux, BlackArch is available as an installable Live image – but Arch users can install BlackArch on top of their existing installation. The project recommends using the dd command to create a Live USB and not UNetBootin. The default login for the live session is root:blackarch. At over 4GB, the distro ships with the choice of several different window managers such as Fluxbox, Openbox, Awesome, etc. Unlike the other pen testing distros, BlackArch is also an adept privacy distro. In addition to the many forensic tools, the distro also offers anti-forensic tools, such as sswap and ropeadope to securely wipe the contents of the swap and the system logs respectively, and many more tools designed to ensure your privacy. Parrot Security OS Developed by Frozenbox, an Italian network dedicated to IT security and programming, like BlackArch this Debian-based distro can be used for penetration testing or for maintaining privacy. And also like BlackArch, Parrot Security OS is another rolling release distro. The default login for the live session is root:toor. The installable Live image offers several boot options such as persistence mode and even encrypted persistence. In addition to the forensic tools, the distro also features several anonymity tools and even cryptography software. The customised Mate environment presents a very slick looking desktop and Parrot is blazingly fast even on older machines with only 2GB of RAM. The distro features several niche utilities such as apktool, which is used to re-engineer Android APK files. For privacy conscious users, there is a special category under Applications, labelled anon surf, from where users can enable anonymous surf mode (which uses Tor) with a single click. JonDo Live-CD/DVD A Debian-based distro designed specifically for surfing anonymously, JonDo is an anonymising proxy available for various platforms including Linux, BSD, Windows and Mac. The live distro offers users the option of using the JonDo or Tor proxy to protect their privacy online. The included applications, where possible, are all pre-configured to allow for anonymity. For instance, Pidgin is configured for anonymous instant messaging. The distro includes several different IM clients such as Pidgin and TorChat, and also privacy-enabled browsers like JonDoFox and TorBrowser. The project hosts a forum board, wiki and various tutorials to help you make the most of the anonymising tools included with JonDo. Qubes Based on Fedora, Qubes is an install-only distro that strives to provide security through isolation. The distro relies on Xen to create isolated virtual machines for the different desktop functions. Each virtual machine only has access to services that it needs to perform the designated function, thus limiting the potential security threat. Despite all that virtualisation wizardry, Qubes offers a coherent and streamlined desktop. To install the distro, you must follow the instructions offered on each step of the text-based anaconda installer (which you can see in the image above). The distro gives you the choice of installing Qubes with KDE, XFCE, or both. While Qubes offers the choice of standard partitioning and LVM, on our test machine the install only worked if we chose the third option: BTRFS. The installation process is complicated, especially in the age of graphical installers, but the effort yields an incredibly secure distro. Tails As with JonDo Live, Tails Linux also ships with a number of internet apps pre-configured for anonymity. You can use the persistence mode to store settings and files for future sessions when running Tails from a USB drive. Indeed, according to the project's website, you can even run Tails from an SD card. By default the distro uses the Tor network to anonymise all internet traffic, be it web browsing, email or IRC and instant messaging. Tails wipes all traces of your activity from the disk and uses top-of-the-line cryptographic tools to encrypt all files, emails and instant messaging. Several important add-ons like AdBlock Plus, NoScript and others are enabled by default in the Tor-enabled Firefox. The latest release ships with Electrum Bitcoin wallet and lets you camouflage the system to resemble Windows 8, along with the usual tricks like spoofing the MAC address.

5 things Hololens does that even Iron Man can appreciate Posted: 08 May 2015 04:26 PM PDT Welcome to the future Imagine a world where impressive, immersive eye-candy doesn't stop as soon as you step away from your computer screen. A place where smartphones exist but they're actually considered low-tech compared to the augmented reality-powered goggles you wear from dawn until dusk. This is the world Avengers' Iron Man, aka Tony Stark, lives in, but more and more his world and our world are converging. The one technology getting us closer to Iron Man-status? Microsoft HoloLens. Of course, as exciting as it is, HoloLens can't quite help us live like Tony Stark yet. Microsoft has shown off some nifty use cases for HoloLens, but the reality of the AR viewer is that it's still a work in progress. So instead of taking this feature as a hard-and-fast "HoloLens is the future, right now!," treat it as a side-by-side comparison of all the eye-candy from the Iron Man and Avengers movies and the best HoloLens demos that left me drooling and buying a ticket on Microsoft's hype train. So, how is HoloLens going to make us into Iron Man? Here's five ways. By controlling a robot remotely When Microsoft rolled out a two-bit robot as part of its developer conference keynote last week, I had my doubts. How was a rolling stick, encased in LEDs and seemingly useless sensors going to change engineering? Then, before I could ponder it any further, the robot sprouted a head and said, "Holo World." The head, of course, was a virtual one, only capable of being seen by the presenter wearing the HoloLens. Using only touch gestures to plot movement paths and adjust settings using a somewhat basic interface that, most likely, would make Tony cringe if he ever saw it, the presenter moved the animated robot around the stage to the audience's delight. Now, admittedly, a small, motorized stick with sensors isn't as cool as the Iron Man suit, but the idea of controlling a robot using Microsoft's new visor is actually pretty rad. What did it look like in Iron Man? By diagnosing a problem with a human body Evolution has done wonders for the human body. From a highly specialized brain to the feedback mechanisms that dictate the release of hormones and start chemical reactions, the human body is no stranger to enhancements. That said, at the end of the day we're still bags of meat - systematically flawed and bound by an expiration date. It's good, then, that technology has come a long ways in the past few hundred years and now allows us to diagnose more diseases more readily than ever before. Microsoft may have shown us the future of the healthcare field at Build when presenters pulled up an anatomically detailed human figures they said could help medical students learn by seeing where organs are, how they function and visualizing broken bones. Again, not as cool as when Tony Stark pulled up a real-time version of the gold and crimson suit, but still very cool. What did it look like in Iron Man? By designing a vehicle Manufacturing is tricky. Parts need to come together in exactly the right way to produce a working, efficient and ultimately safe product. The HoloLens demonstrated its ability to help automotive engineers cobble together the motorcycles of the future using augmented reality. The finished result, a neon-green bike clearly inbound for Neo from The Matrix, may not be the pinnacle of eye-catching design, but it does make for a cool demo for engineers tired of seeing their designs on a computer screen. What did it look like in Iron Man? By making international video calls Even the best entrepreneur/playboy/engineer needs to make a phone call every once in a while to keep business afloat. Using the Windows 10 Universal Skype app, the HoloLens can connect you with friends, family and even potential business partners from around the world while beaming their faces onto any surface in your house. Whether you use the technology to talk face-to-face with an arch-nemesis hacker who's sworn vengeance against you and your entire corporation, or simply to wish Mom a happy Mother's Day, however, is up to you. What did it look like in Iron Man? By creating a three-dimensional map OK, so recreating a map in Minecraft may not have the same kind of impact that saving the city from a gang of auto-piloted kill-droids has, but it's still pretty nifty. Microsoft clearly set out to show how HoloLens can apply to nearly every field, from enterprise to entertainment. For gamers, we see this in the form of Mojang's loveable, moddable and all-around-brain-building open-world game, Minecraft. Using the HoloLens you'll be able to walk around the map, creating structures and terraforming the land however you see fit. Overall, it feels a bit rudimentary to use an insanely powerful machine to display a game as simplistic as Minecraft, but this is only a small window of what gaming could look like with a truly powerful AR device. What did it look like in Iron Man?

Official: Canon spots a problem with the 750D/760D Posted: 08 May 2015 03:26 PM PDT We've been following a story first reported by Roger Cicala of US camera hire company LensRentals on DP Review, who says he had to return some samples of a batch of Canon EOS 750D/Rebel T6i and 760D/Rebel T6s cameras due to defects in the sensor unit. These took the form of sensor spots across the whole sensor area – but these were within the multiple layers of the sensor stack and not on the surface. The spots are not immediately visible but can be seen with an angled light. Like regular sensor spots, it seems they become more prominent in images taken at small lens apertures – this increases the depth of focus at the sensor plane and makes out-of-focus spots on the sensor, or in this case within it, become more clearly defined. This story has been widely circulated since Cicala first reported his findings, but now Canon has made it official with a 'proactive' Product Advisory Notice on its US website. Canon says the fault is caused by 'optical irregularities' within the sensor design and confirms the appearance of 'dark circular patterns' under 'certain shooting conditions'. The company says it's possible to check if a camera is affected using its serial number and an identifying mark on the battery cover: Identification Procedure: Serial Number: [XXnnnnnnnnnn] EOS Rebel T6s: If "XX" is "01" or "02", the phenomenon described above may occur. EOS Rebel T6i: If "XX" is "01" or "02", the phenomenon described above may occur. "n" represents any digit. NOTE: If the battery cover contains the marking illustrated below, the camera is NOT affected by the phenomenon described above even if the first and second digits of the serial number are of the numbers mentioned above. Canon says affected cameras will be inspected and repaired. This information is for Canon US customers. Canon owners in different territories should check with their local Canon Customer Support Center. We've just posted our own hands on reviews of the EOS 750D/Rebel 6Ti and 760D/Rebel 6Ts cameras and saw no obvious evidence of sensor issues with our samples. Read: Canon EOS 750D/Rebel 6Ti hands on review, Canon EOS 760D/Rebel 6Ts hands on review

Hands-on review: Updated: Oculus Rift Posted: 08 May 2015 03:02 PM PDT Hands on at CES 2015 and GDC 2015 Update May 2015: We have a consumer Rift release date! Sort of. Oculus revealed it plans to start shipping the Rift to the general public in early 2016. It also teased what Rift will look like when it starts arriving for customers. Pre-orders open up later this year, though we still don't have a price for the VR viewer yet. Even more details are due in the coming weeks, so stay tuned to this space for more on Oculus Rift. Hands on review continued below ... Oculus didn't announce a new SDK or final build of the Rift during GDC 2015, but there was a new demo on the show floor that we tried out. Still focusing on immersive experiences, the Rift took us into a scene from The Hobbit where Bilbo meets the fearsome Smaug for the first time. Except you're Bilbo. With the dragon still hidden underneath the piles of gold, you can take the opportunity to get closer to the shiny trinkets all around you, like a conveniently placed helmet on a treasure chest nearby. Of course prodding it means you're just crazily poking the air in real life. Oculus Rift vs Microsoft HoloLens, ready? Fight! Then all of sudden, Smaug starts shifting causing rivulets of gold to fall towards you. At this point, not only are the VR visuals stunning making you want to greedily pocket the goods, but the sound of the clinking coins coming at you with 360 degree audio is starting to make you think twice about sneaking into a dragon's chamber - especially when Benedict Cumberbatch/Smaug starts telling you he can smell you. The quick demo ends with you getting fried in a fiery inferno of dragon breath. The flames burst up from all directions making you really feel the heat and then the scene goes black. Morbid. But so deliciously fun. It's not the awesome shoot out we experienced with Move controllers and Sony's Project Morpheus but if watching movies on the Oculus will be anything like this in the future, count us in. Update CES 2015: We went hands on with the Oculus Rift Crescent Bay prototype during CES 2015, however the demo was the same one revealed during Oculus Connect. The company has also continued to remain mum on the spec details of the latest audio equipped HMD. Though the audio itself has a few new things under the hood. Specifically, a new Oculus Audio SDK will be part of the CV1 package. This means devs will be able to incorporate 3D positional audio for an even deeper immersive experience. The same SDK will be available for the Samsung Gear VR, another virtual reality venture Oculus is part of. We've included a few photos of the CES experience and an interview with Oculus's Head of Mobile, Max Cohen where he explains the significance of adding sound to VR. YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvDb0C5pGYI#t=30 Update November 12 2014: There has been a recent 0.4.3 release of the Oculus PC SDK, which features Linux support, a number of performance and stability improvements and support for developing Rift content with Unity Free. Another PC update will be released this month, perhaps to coincide with the impending release date of the head mounted display. Hands on Oculus Connect 2014 Oculus held its first ever Oculus Connect virtual reality conference in Hollywood on September 20, and the growing company used the opportunity to show off its newest Oculus Rift prototype: Crescent Bay. The lighter, more comfortable Crescent Bay Rift prototype has beefed-up specs and, for the first time, integrated headphones designed by the engineers at Oculus VR. But unlike with past prototypes like DK2 or "Crystal Cove," Oculus is being less than upfront about Crescent Bay's specifications. They bumped the last headset up to 1080p, and Crescent Bay certainly appears to have an even higher resolution, but the company won't confirm as much. That's because they want to focus on the Oculus Rift as a full package rather than as a simple amalgamation of its various components, all of which will no doubt change by the time the consumer version Rift - CV1, as the company refers to it - is finally ready. "It's the combination of the resolution with the optics, with the mechanical engineering and industrial design of this thing, that allow for it to look like it's a higher resolution, even though it may or may not be," Oculus Vice President of Product Nate Mitchell told TechRadar. "The synergy of all the components together is what takes it up a notch." What Oculus instead focused on with the Crescent Bay demos it showed off at Oculus Connect was the level of "presence" the Rift can make users feel under optimal conditions and with content designed specifically to be as immersive as possible. Down with the Bay Whereas every past official Oculus Rift demo took place with users seated, this time the company had journalists and other Oculus Connect attendees standing up and walking around with the headset strapped to their faces. In interviews afterward, Mitchell and Oculus VR founder Palmer Luckey emphasized that the stand-up Rift experience is not the experience that they're stressing for consumers, but was simply meant in this case to crank up the immersion as high as possible. Mitchell called this demo "conceptual," and Luckey said "the Oculus Rift is a seated experience. It's very dangerous to stand up." As true as that may be - you probably shouldn't try walking blindly around your home while the Oculus Rift is tricking your brain into thinking you're on a different planet or in a submarine - the stand-up experience demonstrated with Crescent Bay at Oculus Connect was undoubtedly the most immersive and impressive virtual reality demo ever. The experience consisted of about a dozen demos developed by Oculus's new internal content team. Luckey said these demos are the cream of the crop as far as what Oculus has developed, and many more experiences were scrapped or sidelined. Over several minutes they showed off a variety of potential Rift applications, eliciting a number of very different responses. The demos The Crescent Bay demos took place in a highly controlled environment: a small, empty room with four plain, grey walls. A camera - larger than the one used with Crystal Cove - was mounted on the wall, tracking users' positions as they walked around a small, black mat on the ground. By tracking the Crescent Bay prototype's white-studded surface (these nubs are now located all around the headset, including on the back of the strap) this camera can accurately understand your position in the room, allowing you to walk around freely in virtual space. Not to get too dramatic, but it really is a mind-blowing experience. The demos themselves consisted of several non-interactive environments, from a creaking submarine chamber to a sunny museum in which a life-sized (looked that way at least) T-Rex sniffs around and ultimately steps directly over you. These short experiences lasted less than a minute each. One highlight took place at the top of a skyscraper in a steampunk, BioShock-inspired city. Standing up in that grey room, you could walk to the edge of the virtual roof and look down hundreds of feet to the traffic below. And as with the T-Rex's roar, the Crescent Bay Rift's attached headphones - technically stereo, but with simulated surround sound - made the experience seem all the more real with traffic noises, hissing wind and more. That demo called to mind the Game of Thrones "Ascend the Wall" Oculus Rift experience designed by visual effects firm Framestore. Used by HBO at promotional events like the premiere of Game of Thrones' fourth season, Ascend the Wall put users inside an actual metal cage - replicating the elevator from the series - that rumbled and blew cold air at them as they virtually ascended to the top of the show's fictional 800-foot-high Wall. The more points of feedback these demos are able to simulate, the more "presence" users feel, Oculus contends. These feedback points range from that feeling of cold air being blown in your face - which is not very practical - to ambient sound, which is practical - to something as simple as standing up, which is not ideal for every situation but nevertheless ramps things up considerably. "You stand up, and suddenly your balance kicks in, and you're like, 'woah!' and you feel your weight shift subconsciously," Mitchell explained to us after the demo. "When you stand up suddenly [your subconscious] is totally engaged." All of these demos showed off the ways that standing up can enhance virtual reality. For example, within environments that appear small, like a tiny cartoon city or a sci-fi terrain map that could be used for a strategy game, walking around makes you feel like you're playing an Ender's Game-like simulation. But one of the most fun demos involved simply standing and facing a curious alien on a distant planet. As the user bends down and moves around to better examine the alien, it does the same to the user, clucking in a strange tongue. You actually get the sense that it's talking to you, and it's easy to see how this type of interaction could be used to make video games better. Yet another demo had you staring into a mirror, with your head represented by a floating mask. No matter how hard I tried or how fast I moved, I couldn't detect a shred of latency as the mask in the mirror reflected my every movement. Again, the grey room in which this took place was a more controlled environment than most people's homes, but it was nevertheless impressive. Early verdict The final experience - and the most game-like - showed off exactly how cool an Unreal Engine 4 Oculus Rift game might be. Futuristic soldiers shot at a hulking robot as it fired right back, explosions sending cars flying in slow motion as the point of view crept slowly down the street toward the machine. It felt natural to physically dance around, dodging incoming bullets and ducking under flipping vehicles, no matter how ridiculous I might have looked to onlookers who couldn't see what I was seeing. This could legitimately be the future of gaming - if Oculus can figure out the input problem. Although many Oculus Rift demos have used an Xbox 360 controller, there's still no standard input device for Rift games. Like Crescent Bay's integrated audio, though, this is a problem Oculus is actively working on. "There's a very real possibility that we would have come to the conclusion that audio is something we were going to leave to third parties," Luckey told us at the conference. "We came to the conclusion that we had to do it ourselves, and we had to do a good job, because it was so important to get right. I think input is in that camp." That's just one of the problems Oculus needs to solve before the Rift is ready for consumers, and given that Crescent Bay is just the latest of many prototypes it's unclear when it will be. But when Oculus Rift CV1 is ready, it has the potential to change entertainment forever. Hands on at Comic-Con and GDC 2014 Update: Oculus Rift Dev Kit 2 is on its way to game makers and it's being used for by movie studios. We revised our hands-on review and added facts about its Galaxy Note 3 screen and Mac support. Hands on impressions by Matt Swider and Alex Roth As Oculus Rift Dev Kit 2 starts shipping to pre-order customers, we got more face time with the virtual reality headset at PAX Prime and Comic-Con. Codenamed Crystal Cove, the updated Oculus Rift DK2 costs $350 (about £207, AU$373). That's $50 (about £30, AU$53) more than the first-generation developer kit. However, the improved specs make it well worth the price bump if you're a developer with a passion for cutting-edge technology and the patience for beta hardware. The face-worn display outfits developers with an HD screen that's 1080p or 960 x 1080 per eye. It finally meets our next-generation gaming needs. Believe it or not, the Oculus Rift DK2 display actually uses the 5.7-inch Super AMOLED panel from the Samsung Galaxy Note 3. Behind its rubber casing is same exact front panel, "Samsung" logo and all. YouTube : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hyeUkB44IM This makes sense. Oculus was rumored to be working with Samsung on the South Korean electronics giant's own virtual reality headset. Whether or not that pans out remains to be seen. Despite both the physical and theorized Samsung ties, Mac compatibility has been added to the Oculus Rift DK2, making good on the start-up company's promise to support Apple machines. All five OS X game developers are rejoicing right now. Oculus Rift DK2 drops the first interation's control box in favor of integrating the guts into the headset itself. Only a single cable - HDMI and USB woven together - dangls from your face. The new kit also comes with a motion-tracking camera, which allows for greater movement within the world of the Rift. It looks a bit like a webcam, and a lot like a PlayStation Eye camera from the PS3 days. It features a blue "on" light and an Oculus logo, but its true power isn't visible to the naked eye. It uses forty infrared LEDs on the headset to track your head movements and integrate them into the game. These LEDs were visible on the version we tried at CES 2014, but not anymore. In the demos we saw at GDC 2014, this meant players could lean in for a closer look at in-game objects and characters. These were the same demos we saw at CES, with the exception of a new one by Epic Games, which integrated the player into the game a unique way. The game was a one on one battle between two sword and shield wielding avatars. It takes place in a living room, where players can see representations of themselves seated in the room, controller in hand. To keep an eye on the fight we had to swivel our head and crane our neck. The Rift was a surreal experience as always; when our opponent turned his head or leaned forward it gave his neck a stretched, snake-like appearance. And when one of the battling avatars leapt up onto your lap, you half expect to feel his little feet on your legs. If you've used the previous Rift, know that Crystal Cove is a night and day difference. The higher resolution makes all the difference in the world; it's like going from Skyrim on a four-year-old PC to one from last year. Note that we say last year; the Oculus Rift still isn't sporting visuals that you could call next gen. There are still jaggedly rendered objects, but the immersive nature of the experience trumps graphics any day, and is one you need to see to believe. Movies come to Oculus Rift at Comic-Con Comic-Con 2014 provided a different sort of experience - with entertainment at the forefront - and maybe one we can expect more of now that Facebook owns Oculus VR. Both Twenty Century Fox and Warner Bros. were backing new Oculus Rift Dev Kit 2 units at the cosplay-filled San Diego convention with demos for their X-Men and Into the Storm films. The X-Men Cerebro Experience provided the more surreal experience as attendees slipped into the wheelchair and saw through the eyes of mutant leader Professor Charles Xavier. He, fittingly, donned the just-as-snug brain amplifying mutant detector Cerebro on his own head. The concept involved seeking the shapeshifting mutant Mystique by looking 360 degrees in any direction. She was hiding in a Comic-Con crowd that was fictitious and barren - it would have been cooler if it used augmented reality here. The actual hunt was automated and fairly boring, but Professor X's replica wheelchair at the Fox booth provided developers with the opportunity to predict the location of our limbs and torso. It accurately overlayed his body onto our own. Obviously, this demo didn't call for much movement and that worked to the movie studio's advantage. It could easily trick your mind into thinking that the Professor's subtle finger tap on the armrest was your own with a "Wait, I didn't just do that!" Into the Storm upped the energy level with simulated tornado winds inside a small glass both built by Warner Bros. Through the first-person perspective, we saw three characters hunker down behind a gated sewer entrance, truck-sized debris smash against its ironclad bars and pipes burst with gushing water. It didn't have the advantage of a stationary wheelchair-bound character to map our bodies and there was no interaction whatsoever, but Warner Bros did aptly demo its new disaster movie with this terrifying scene recreation. It also messed up our hair. Both X-Men Cerebro Experience and Into the Storm also gave us insight into how big-name movie studios intend to use Oculus Rift to invent new ways of enjoying theatrical experiences. Video games were just the beginning. Hands on CES 2014 Oculus Rift gets more impressive every time we see it, and the futuristic virtual reality headset's appearance at CES 2014 was definitely no exception. Since E3 2013 Oculus VR has gained impressive talent and raised an extra $75 million in funding, and the result is the Oculus Rift Crystal Cove prototype (named for a state park in southern California). It's significantly easier on the eyes than older versions of the headset and, by extension, closer than ever to the Rift's final, fully functional, consumer-facing form. The two game demos Oculus co-founder Nate Mitchell showed us in a private meeting room at CES were designed to showcase two new features: positional head-tracking and low persistence, both of which help make the virtual reality experience more immersive and address some users' complaints with the headset, including motion blur-induced nausea. The head-tracking is the most obvious improvement. The new white studs on the Oculus Crystal Cove prototype's face are indicators that communicate your head's position to a new external camera, mounted near your monitor. As a result the full movements of your upper body, not just the sideways and up/down movements of your head, are detected and translated to the game world. That means you can lean forward while playing CCP Games' extremely impressive 3D space-shooting game EVE: Valkyrie, bringing your in-game face closer to your space ship's various monitors and switches so you can better read their warnings and instructions. Since the very first demo Oculus Rift has inserted players into virtual worlds, and with this addition it's a more immersive experience than ever. Get low, low, low, low Second and more subtle is the low persistence, which makes the Oculus Rift's somewhat notorious motion blur a thing of the past. Now the graphics remain more clear and sharp even when you move your head around rapidly. There's still a tiny amount of blurring, but it's a massive improvement over the previous version of Oculus Rift. To prove it Mitchell turned low persistence off and then on as we moved around, and although the image became darker with it on, it almost totally alleviated what was previously one of the Rift's biggest issues. The tech behind the low persistence is somewhat complex, but Mitchell explained the gist of it. Essentially the new "Crystal Cove" Oculus Rift's OLED display has zero latency, so it takes the pixels no time at all to change color. Even then, Mitchell said, there was some blurring, but Oculus alleviated it even further by programming the pixels to consistently but imperceptibly flicker on and off, only turning on when they have "good" data to display. That new OLED display is also full HD 1080p, just like the prototype Oculus showed off behind closed doors at E3 2013. That of course helps as well. Wizard Chess We played EVE: Valkyrie at E3 2013 as well, though on the older, lower-resolution Oculus Rift. In 1080p, and with minimal motion blur and the new positional head-tracking, it was even more immersive now than it was back then - and that's saying something, because even that first time it was totally mind-blowing. Piloting a space ship with an Xbox 360 controller while you look around the cockpit and target enemies with the motions of your head is one of the most impressive gaming experiences ever created. It feels like the first time you played Super Mario 64, or Halo, or Wolfenstein - completely fresh and like it has the potential to change the world of gaming. And right now it's only a demo. The other software Oculus had at CES was a very basic defense game built by Epic Games in Unreal Engine 4. It's an evolution of one of the original Oculus Rift demos Oculus showed around - the one where users simply walked or floated around several beautiful but interaction-light Unreal Engine 4 environments, including a snowy mountain and the lava-filled lair of a scary-looking demon lord. Now, that demon sits on his throne across from you, the player, he being your apparent opponent. Around you is his cavernous, fiery lair, and before you is something like a 3D board game with moving pieces. He sends tiny dwarves marching inexorably toward your goal, and you press buttons on the Xbox 360 controller to fire arrows, cannonballs and flamethrowers at them. There are two views: one overhead and one from closer to the game's level, almost like you're leaning down toward it to put on your thinking cap. And thanks to that positional head-tracking you can actually lean forward to peer into the game and examine the little dwarves up close. You can look into their faces as they're pinned with arrows and crisped with fire. The experience of playing a game inside a game world is not unique to Oculus Rift. This little game, though still very basic, could conceivably be a mini-game within some epic, sprawling RPG. But like with everything else, playing it on Oculus Rift makes you feel like you're really there. Early Verdict Mitchell said the camera that enables the positional tracking may be only a temporary solution. But whatever Oculus settles on to make sure the final version of Oculus Rift features full six-point head-tracking will be included with the unit, whether that means bundling a camera in or something else. There's still no projected release date or final pricing for the consumer product that the Oculus Rift Crystal Cove prototype will eventually become, despite rumors of a Christmas 2014 goal that Mitchell would neither confirm nor deny. And the conspicuous indicator lights on the Crystal Cove's front aren't final either, Mitchell revealed, even if they do look kind of cool. Mitchell and his colleagues at Oculus VR seem to think the Rift still has a long way to go. That may very well be true, but the fact is the Oculus Rift is the coolest product in the world right now, and it gets better every time we see it. Alex Roth and Matt Swider also contributed to these hands-on previews Earlier previews Update: It's E3 2013, and it's been several months since TechRadar last saw Oculus Rift. The virtual reality headset has undergone two major changes since January: a new prototype now comes with full HD 1080p visuals, and it's now got something resembling an actual video game. Hands on impressions by Matt Swider and Alex Roth We went hands on at the show to check out what's new with Oculus Rift, and we came away extremely impressed. Catching snowflakes Oculus VR is now using Epic's Unreal Engine 4 to demo its Rift headset. Specifically, the company is showing players the lava and snow demo that debuted in videos in late March. Wearing the standard-definition headset (similar to the one we saw at CES, but with an extra top strap for added comfort), we felt like we should be able to catch a snowflake with an open mouth when we looked up at the virtual sky. It's that real-looking, and when we put on the brand new prototype HD Oculus Rift that sensation was only heightened. Oculus Rift is incredibly immersive, and part of that is thanks to its true stereoscopic 3D. The two screens inside the goggles become extensions of your own eyeballs, and your brain quickly adapts to the point that you'll raise your arm and expect to see them in the game world. You can truly sense the world's depth, and despite knowing it's an illusion it feels very real. We didn't experience any nausea, but we only used it for a few minutes. We did get a touch of vertigo as we looked down from the top of a virtual mountain, though. The consumer version of Oculus Rift, which Oculus VR Vice President of Product Nate Mitchell said is coming in "months and not years," will likely come in HD like the prototype we saw at E3. As you can imagine it's absolutely a superior experience. Mitchell was hesitant to divulge too many specifics, though, mostly because they're always subject to change. "We want to continue to improve the hardware," he said. "Display technology keeps getting better. Sensor technology keeps getting better. We're adding new features and things like that, a lot of which we haven't announced." He said they want to keep the price point around $300 (about UK£191, AU$312), though. FutTv : gkBi1Kyu99L9d To infinity (and beyond) The other big development in the world of Oculus Rift came not from Oculus VR itself, but from EVE Online developers CCP Games. The first development kits for the headset went out a few months ago, and in that time CCP built an impressive demo that they showed off at E3 this week. In it players fly a spaceship using an Xbox 360 controller while the Oculus Rift tracks their head movements. This works incredibly well because just like when you're controlling a vehicle in real life, you can look around and move independently. The multiplayer demo - which unfortunately is just that, a tech demo - allowed multiple players to fly around in a large outer space environment while shooting lasers and missiles at one another. We could shoot lasers straight forward while targeting other players above and to the sides of our ship by simply moving our head and visually targeting them. The sense of space in this demo (no pun intended) was simply astounding. Tilting our head down, we could see our knees in the game; we found ourselves moving our arms and expecting our in-game avatar's arms to move as well. That sensation caused some dissonance as our brain tried to differentiate the virtual body it was seeing from the body it's attached to. That could be solved with a Kinect-style sensor that tracked your arm movements used in tandem with Oculus Rift, though Mitchell said they don't have plans for anything like that. The dev kits are out there, though, and it's not impossible. In fact, it seems we're just beginning to explore the possibilities of Oculus Rift, and if what we've seen so far is any indication then it's time to get very, very excited for what's in store. Original article: Oculus Rift made headlines last year for its wildly successful Kickstarter project. The enterprise to create a commercially viable virtual reality headset raised $2,437,429, and at the pre-CES 2013 Digital Experience event, TechRadar got to experience Oculus Rift eyeball-to-eyeball. The VR headset has been through several iterations, but the one we saw at CES was the most refined. It isn't perfect (and as we found out, it might not ever be perfect for some players) but it's undoubtedly superior to any previous attempts at a virtual reality display. Instead of a clunky skull-encompassing helmet, Occulus Rift is more like a set of ski goggles, with room inside for small eyeglasses if you wear them. Inside are two lenses, which each feed a separate 640 x 800 image to your eyeballs. Combined, they form a unified 1280 x 800 image. Motion tracking means it responds to your head movements, as though you're looking around an actual 3D environment. Oculus VR (the company behind Rift) showed off its remarkable new kit with the Epic Citadel demo - a standard video game input (in this case, from Xbox 360) in first-person view. This plunged us into a medieval marketplace populated by humble townsfolk and knights in armour, with snow softly settling around us. Wear it well The first time we moved was rather perplexing and disorienting. It's almost like walking for the very first time. However, the visuals seem extremely fluid and natural. And in less than a minute, we felt that Oculus Rift really could be the new face of playing games. Unfortunately, not long after that TechRadar's motion-sickness susceptible reviewer began to feel something else. He was only able to tolerate ten minutes before nausea spoiled the party. The time it takes for sickness to kick in appears to depend on the game's frame rate, camera system and other factors that have yet to be isolated. But surprisingly, while Oculus VR's representatives say this initial reaction is common among first-timers, they also report that most (though not all) players subsequently become accustomed to the experience. Early verdict There is still no target release date for the final product, let alone price. At CES, two versions were shown: the somewhat rough prototype, which is covered by black tape; and the developer kit, which looks far more polished. But whenever it appears, Oculus Rift seems set to mark a big shift in gaming. Clearly, though, there's work to do if the headset is to fulfill its potential - we can't see it becoming truly popular if it gets a reputation for making players sick.

Apple may offer free trials of new Beats Music streaming service Posted: 08 May 2015 02:42 PM PDT Apple may be catching some flack for putting the pressure on Spotify to abandon its free music streaming, but Re/code reports Apple's upcoming streaming service may offer a few gratis tunes of its own. While Apple will fund its streaming service (presumably the Beats Music relaunch) through paid subscriptions, it does plan on offering a free trial period of up to 3 months long, though it's reported Apple won't ever offer an unlimited free music tier like Spotify does. The report also says that Beats Music is taking a page from Soundcloud's book by adding a feature that lets users upload their own music, a unique tool that could separate it from the rest of the music streaming service pack. More iTunes We may also see a new version of iTunes Radio that benefits from the addition of human DJs (including the popular BBC jockey Zane Lowe) as well as four producers from BBC Radio 1, according to Music Business Worldwide. An improved radio function could elevate Beats Music to better compete with Pandora. Although Spotify's free streaming was intended to eventually lead users to paid subscriptions, only a fourth of its users actually pay for the service - a fate Apple's trying to avoid. If the rumors prove true, we'll see the company credited for pushing the $0.99 DRM-free MP3 file also credited with putting a permanent price on streaming. Though Apple's reach may ensure that it has some level of success, Tidal's similarly ambitious efforts have thus far been fairly muted. We rank the best music streaming services

Review: LG Watch Urbane Posted: 08 May 2015 01:16 PM PDT Introduction and display Frankly, LG's first smartwatch didn't offer much. Though, its second, the LG G Watch R, has proved to be far superior despite being a bit plasticky. It seems like the third time's a charm for LG, with the LG Watch Urbane looking the sleekest of the bunch. However, the Urbane is essentially a dressed up G Watch R with nearly identical dimensions and innards. With more premium materials, the watch is, of course, going to cost more. Though at $349 (£259, AU$459) - the same price of the cheapest Apple Watch - it doesn't seem like LG is asking for too much. Still, you can pick up its predecessor for $100 less and pretty much have the same smartwatch. Pricing aside, the Urbane has a distinct look that's certainly polished, but it's clearly been tailored for a certain demographic. Despite images of women sporting a variation of the Urbane, it looks like this watch was made for businessmen. This isn't a huge problem, of course, but good luck getting women interested in wearing a chunky piece of metal and leather that won't fit right. The Urbane has the advantage of being the first Android wearable with the latest Lollipop 5.1.1 software. But again, the other smartwatches will get updated soon, meaning there's really nothing special about the latest LG timepiece save for its style. Display The LG Watch Urbane sports a 1.3-inch P-OLED display (320 x 320, 245ppi) which matches the LG G Watch R to a tee. The Urbane is also a bit smaller than its rounded rival, the Moto 360, which comes in at 1.56-inches. Like the G Watch R, the Urbane's screen is lovely to stare at but sometimes looks pixelated, depending on which watch face you plop on the front. I found the Classic face had the most pixelation on the dial. The moons on the Moonphase face also look a little blotchy. Design and comfort Where the G Watch R looks perfect for runners and outdoor enthusiasts, the Watch Urbane fits best in the world of suits and the modern day Mad Men types. The Urbane has a clean, stainless steel body that allows you to change out its 22mm strap, should you wish to switch out the genuine stitched leather for something made of silicone, metal or even a different leather strap. You can also choose between a rose gold or silver watch body, likely LG's attempt at drawing in a larger pool of potential female watch buyers. However, the material of the Urbane's body will do nothing to hide the fact that it's still gigantic and bound to dangle on slimmer wrists. The Urbane's bezel has been thinned out and slightly flattened, instead of the sporty G Watch R's detailed dial that dipped slightly inward towards the face. There are no buttons on the body of the Urbane, but a traditional watch crown has been placed on the right. It doesn't do much other than serve as a back button when pushed. At 45.5 x 52.2 x 10.9mm, the Urbane's dimensions are nearly the same as the G Watch R's dimensions of 46.4 x 53.6 x 9.7mm. However, the Urbane is noticeably heavier at 66.5g compared the the G Watch R's 62g. Comfort I wouldn't say the Urbane is entirely uncomfortable for everyone. But, as someone with tiny wrists, it just doesn't fit properly. Even at the last strap hole, the Urbane remained a sad, colossal mess unsure of where to sit on my arm. I imagine it would be comfortable on more average sized wrists with the stock leather strap. Switching out the bands may help, but I can't help but think that the 1.3-inch display on a small wrist will look ridiculous no matter what. Interface, apps and fitness The Android 5.1.1 software installed on the LG Watch Urbane definitely puts it above the other Android smartwatches out there - but it's only a matter of time before most of them are outfitted with the update. An always-on screen isn't a new feature, but 5.1.1 allows you to conserve battery life by displaying a partial watch face with less colors and detailing. Holding your wrist up will switch it back to the main watch face. My personal favorite is the addition of hands-free gestures. You can flick your wrist toward you or away from you to skip through Google Now cards or dismiss them. It doesn't work as a method of reading through emails by scrolling down, though. Aside from this downside, the process is seamless and satisfying, especially after using the Apple Watch's extremely annoying system of dismissing notifications one by one. Another big new feature is Wi-Fi support, which means the smartwatches with built-in Wi-Fi can connect to a network and still receive notifications, send messages and use any apps you want, even if your phone isn't nearby. However, your phone still needs its own Wi-Fi or LTE connection in order for the watch to work. It's been super handy with the Urbane, not having to worry about having my Android phone with me at all times around the house or office. The previous Android Wear app interface was a huge, confusing mess, but thankfully it has been de-cluttered. With the new update, all you have to do is tap on the watch face screen or swipe left to see a cleaned up version of your app list. The three most recently used apps stay on top, while the rest are listed alphabetically underneath. Keep swiping left to find your contacts, and another left-swipe will take you to the voice control screen where you can say "OK Google." A series of options are listed below the voice command to help give you ideas. Lastly, you'll be able to draw out emoticons. Specifically, doodling an outline or random sketch will make the software determine what you were trying to draw, list out a bunch of options and then let you pick the correct one to send. It's not always perfect, but it works well enough. I tried drawing a bird face, and Android Wear thought I meant pizza, where a smiley face pulled up several different smiley emoticons. I actually don't really see the point of this feature if you can't send the drawing itself, like Apple's sketchable messages. I do, however, like the variety and ability to send multiple emoticons in one message, compared to the Apple Watch's method of allowing only one emoticon message at a time. Apps and fitness Despite the majorly upgraded software, there's still nothing particularly ground breaking pre-installed on Android Wear. There's the standard compatibility with Google's apps: Agenda, Gmail, Play Music, Stopwatch Timer and Flashlight along with Amazon, Find My Phone, LG Pulse and checking your recent calls. You can browse Amazon by vocally searching for an item, scroll through lists one thing at a time and then either purchase via 1-click buys or add to your wishlist. Find My Phone calls your missing Android phone, which is pretty neat. LG Pulse keeps track of your heart rate by logging metrics and letting you tag them to differentiate between types of activities. Along with the Fit app, Pulse monitors your steps. That's about it for stock Urbane and Google fitness apps. You can download more, but a few listed in the Android Wear store strangely don't even show up on the Urbane, so it can be a hit and miss situation. Specs, compatibility, performance and battery life The LG Watch Urbane is a timepiece that has all the normal specs you'd expect from an Android Wear device. The 320 x 320p P-OLED 1.3-inch screen sits on top of a Snapdragon 400 chipset, clocked at 1.2GHz and 1GB of RAM. There's 4GB of onboard storage and the ability to install your own music on there as well for tunes without a phone. The Urbane infuriatingly still doesn't come with GPS - LG's reasoning for this is that it will kill battery life. But given you'll get about 30 hours of use out of this watch between charges anyway, it seems like daily re-powering is the only way forward here. So, a little extra functionality couldn't hurt. The heart rate monitor on the back, combined with the barometer and accelerometer inside, make it a good watch to use when walking out and about in the wild. Then again, there are many other devices that are equally as stylish and better suited to the task. This watch is also only IP67 rated, meaning the Urbane is resistant to dust and water. In regards to the latter, the Urbane should remain operational even if gently submerged in a tank of still tap water at room temperature for about 30 minutes, up to a depth of 1 meter. And, if you hadn't guessed already, the Urbane is only compatible with Android devices running Android 4.3 and later. Performance and battery life Interestingly, while switching between the various watch faces, the Urbane crashed and needed to reboot. I was pretty surprised that this little task could completely stop the watch, but it happened again later on when I was trying different apps. It's quite possible the software has a few kinks to iron out - which is still disconcerting. But hopefully all the bugs will be squashed before the update hits the other smartwatches. For the time being, the Urbane seems stuck with a couple of crashes here and there. The Urbane's 410mAh battery is the exact same power pack found inside the LG G Watch R. Both can last far longer than the pitiful Moto 360, but unsurprisingly can't make it as long as the Pebble Steel. With emails, notifications, downloading apps and the usual testing, my Urbane lasted two days on a single charge - much like the G Watch R. This is slightly longer than the day and a half that my Apple Watch offers. You'll also find the Urbane requires a familiar magnetic charging cradle. It's basically the same one the G Watch R uses. In fact, you'd think they could be interchangeable, but of course, they're not. Verdict The LG Watch Urbane is a beautiful timepiece but it's twin, the LG G Watch R is pretty much identical. Knowing this, it's tough to outright recommend the Urbane for anyone other than the fashion obsessed. We liked The battery life of the Urbane isn't ideal, but it's far better than most other smartwatches. The design of the wearable is also a head turner, with its classic circular face and simple timepiece feel. The on-board Android 5.1 software is also a huge perk, thanks to its improved interface and new features. We disliked That same elegant design is also a bit irritating on another level - it's far too large. Sure, there are plenty of massive analogue watch faces that we're all used to seeing. But, if a smartwatch is going to be marketed to both men and women, it would be wise to offer multiple size options, or at least something closer to a middle ground. The Urbane is also the most expensive Android Wear watch to date, but it doesn't exactly stand out from the G Watch R apart from its fancier looks. Final verdict The LG Watch Urbane is the watch you should get if you want a premium looking LG G Watch R. You'll basically be breaking out $349 (£259, AU$459) for a smartwatch you could have for $100 less. Again, there's no doubt that the Urbane is a lovely-looking wearable, but when the Lollipop 5.1 update rolls out to the other Android smartwatches, there won't be much incentive to pay such a hefty chunk of change. In fact, while 5.1 brings significant improvements, it still doesn't make the Urbane a must-have wearable that can stand in for my mobile device. I still need my phone nearby for proper messaging and calls, plus a lot of apps still require the phone to even work right. That said, if you're looking for a polished equivalent to the Apple Watch, the Urbane isn't a bad Android Wear smartwatch. However, you might be better off waiting for the next LG wearable. Having made it this far, LG's next could hit the sweet spot with an appealing design, affordable price point and perhaps a killer feature to really stand it out from the wearable crowd.

In Depth: Google Project Fi plan vs AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint Posted: 08 May 2015 01:00 PM PDT Google Project plan price vs other US carriers Google Project Fi is the search engine giant's plan to disrupt the high cost and ineffectiveness of US carriers like AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint. Never content with the status quo on this broader issue, the company has particularly focused on is making the internet more accessible and affordable in other ways. We've seen this through Android, which is currently the most popular mobile OS on the planet. We're also starting to but surely see this through Google Fiber, which is currently in eight different US cities at a price millions of people are paying for a fraction of the speed. The move has shaken up local competition, forcing AT&T to offer affordable gigabit internet in Austin, and Time Warner Cable to do the same in Charlotte, North Carolina. These are just a couple examples, and where I used to live in Ohio, Cincinnati Bell began rolling out similarly priced gigabit internet in September 2014. What is Google Project Fi? Clearly, Google's master plan to force archaic models out is working, and with the announcement of Project Fi, it's wanting to further shake up mobile. Launched on April 22, Project Fi is the tech giant's own wireless carrier. Running off of T-Mobile and Sprint's network and so far limited to Google's Nexus 6 phone, it's a no-contract carrier with a focus on Wi-Fi connectivity. If this sounds familiar, that's because Republic Wireless has been doing this since 2011 aside from also utilizing T-Mobile's network. Project Fi customers can make calls over Wi-Fi, and seamlessly transition over to cellular when stepping out of range. Thanks to the Hangouts app, users can make calls or send and receive texts through their designated Project Fi phone number on tablets, desktops or laptops. However, where Google is particularly trying to make a splash is the pricing, and the fact you'll be credited for data you didn't use. Also, similar to T-Mobile, users won't have to deal with extra charges when in another country. Currently, Google includes data access in over 120 countries, though it is throttled down to very blah 3G speeds. We wanted to see how Project Fi's plans stack up to some of the major competition it's looking to influence: Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile. Because of Project Fi targeting the individual user rather than family, we'll keep that in mind. Google Project Fi plan price Project Fi's plans are very straightforward, and start at a base price of $20 per month. For every gigabyte, you pay $10 per month on top of that. For example, if you opt for and use 2GB of data, you'll pay $40 that month. However, if you only use up 1.5GB, you'll be credited $5. If you go over 2GB, you'll simply pay the normal rate of $10 per gigabyte. Plans go all the way up to 10GB, and this includes being able to tether another device such as a laptop or tablet at no additional cost. Verizon On Verizon, the well-hidden "single line plan" still exists and will run you $60 per month for 1GB of data or $75 per month for 2GB of data. Buying the Nexus 6 outright, 2GB of data on a single line plan will cost you $60 per month off-contract. However, if you need more than 2GB of data, you'll need the More Everything Plan. It starts at $40 per smartphone per month, and 3GB will run you $50 per month. If you join Verizon Edge, you'll be paying $75 per month for 3GB of data instead of $90 per month, but that doesn't include the monthly payment of your smartphone spread over 24 months for the chance to upgrade earlier, and without upgrade fees. That's also the same you'll pay if you bought the Nexus 6 outright through Verizon. Bringing your own phone, through Verizon's prepaid plan, you'll pay $60 per month for 2.5GB of data, and that includes unlimited talk and text. If you need more data, it'll run $10 for 1GB or $20 for 3GB. AT&T AT&T's Mobile Share Value plans are very similar to Verizon's More Everything plans, and start at $25 per month for 1GB of data, plus $40 per month per smartphone. 3GB will run you $40 per month, and 6GB will run you $70 per month. At the 3GB level, you'll be paying $80 per month or $65 per month if you opt for the "Next" program, which also allows you to upgrade earlier by making monthly smartphone payments over 30 months. However, if you were to buy the Nexus 6 upfront through AT&T, you'll pay $65 per month for 3GB of data off-contract. Data does rollover into the next month, so say you were to only use 2GB, you'll have an additional gigabyte the next month. It's worth mentioning that through AT&T's GoPhone plan, by bringing your own phone, you'll pay $5 less per month, but have to get 4GB of data instead of 3GB. Sprint Sprint is still shouting unlimited data from the rooftops, and an individual plan will run you $60 per month or $50 per month with the iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus. The same $60 per month applies if you were to purchase the Nexus 6 outright through Sprint. Like Verizon and AT&T, if you want the chance to upgrade earlier without paying fees, this, again, doesn't include monthly smartphone payments. T-Mobile T-Mobile also offers unlimited data at $80 per month, not counting the monthly cost of your smartphone since the carrier completely done away with contracts. However, if you don't need unlimited data, you can get 1GB for $50 per month, 3GB for $60 per month, and 5GB for $70 per month. Where other carriers will charge you if you go over your data allowance, T-Mobile will instead throttle you down to 2G speeds for the remainder of the billing period. Announced back in December, Data Stash lets customers on the 3GB and 5GB plan rollover their unused data, and that unused data doesn't expire for up to a year. It's worth mentioning that T-Mobile doesn't count data used by a growing list of music streaming services, which could definitely work out in your favor. Google Fi plans vs everyone else breakdown The average US mobile subscriber consumes 1.8GB of mobile data per month, according to a report published by Mobidia in November 2014. Taking that into account, here's how much at least 2GB of data would run you across each carrier: Monthly price for calls, texts and data: Project Fi: $40 for 2GB, $50 for 3GB, $60 for 4GB, etc. Verizon: $75 (2GB) on-contract or $60 (2GB) off-contract AT&T: $80 (3GB) on-contract or $65 (3GB) off-contract Sprint: $60 (unlimited) OR $50 for iPhone 6 or 6 Plus T-Mobile: $60 (3GB) plus monthly smartphone cost Project Fi is the clear winner in terms of pricing, though AT&T matches it at 4GB if you bring your own phone. We can't forget that Project Fi currently only works with the Nexus 6, which starts at $649 for the 32GB model. Thus, the off-contract pricing is a bit fairer match-up. Although Verizon only charges $599 for the Nexus 6 32GB, at $60 per month you're only getting 2GB of data versus 4GB through Project Fi. While Sprint and T-Mobile offer the Nexus 6 at the same price you'll pay through Google, AT&T is a little less unreasonable charging $699. For the average smartphone owner, Project Fi makes a lot of sense. You'll end up saving money over the long run compared to other carriers, and the fact it works with T-Mobile and Sprint's network will give you a little more peace of mind. Of course, depending on where you live, coverage might be a nightmare. And right now, in its current state, Project Fi leaves a lot of customers off the table by only supporting the Nexus 6. A 6-inch display is simply too big for many people. Project Fi, similar to Google Fiber, is in its early stages. More devices will be supported over time, and once Google can offer other smartphones at $399 or less, it could have a serious winner on its hands.

Microsoft confirms there will be no Windows 11 Posted: 08 May 2015 12:56 PM PDT Microsoft says that Windows 10 will be its final release of the iconic operating system that's installed on over 90% of computers. "Right now we're releasing Windows 10, and because Windows 10 is the last version of Windows, we're all still working on Windows 10," said Jerry Nixon, Microsoft's developer evangelist, at the Ignite tech conference. Instead of releasing an entirely new and different version of its desktop OS every few years, Microsoft is taking an Apple-like approach to subsequent Windows releases, standardizing on Windows 10 as its Cupertino-based rival has done with OS X. Under this new strategy, Microsoft will deliver regular improvements to Windows through software updates. Windows as a service In the past, Windows users could go to a store, purchase a copy of Windows and install it on their PCs. With the release of Windows 10 this summer, Microsoft is radically changing the way users upgrade Windows. For the first time, Microsoft is making Windows 10 available as a free upgrade to all Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 users. Starting in July, for the first year of Windows 10's availability, owners of these prior releases can upgrade through Windows Update over-the-air at no cost. Microsoft will continue this strategy of delivering Windows as a service, delivering frequent updates to Windows 10. There are also new methods to download Windows, including downloading the updates through multiple sources to get them quicker. Users can download Windows updates through Microsoft's servers and from local and internet-connected PCs that have already obtained the updates. Taking a mobile-first approach Under CEO Satya Nadella, Microsoft is taking a cloud-first, mobile-first approach to its business, and this also applies to Windows. Windows will employ a strategy similar to how mobile operating systems split up the core components to deliver faster updates . The Start menu and built-in apps are now unbundled from the main OS so users can get faster updates. Rather than waiting for a full Windows update, Microsoft is delivering smaller standalone app updates, a feature we're seeing in the Windows Insider Preview - formerly known as the Windows 10 Technical Preview build - with the Mail and Calendar apps. This unbundling effect has allowed smartphone manufacturers to update core apps - such as the camera, photo gallery, mail and others - without having to wait for mobile operators to push out a larger OS-wide update. Like Windows, Microsoft employs a similar strategy with Office. With Office 365, Microsoft's subscription service for Office already delivers the most up-to-date Office experience to users, regardless of the OS or device you're running. Office 365 subscribers will have access to Office 2016, which brings cloud-based collaboration, when that version hits retail. The next generation After the launch of Windows 10 this summer, Microsoft is rumored to have started work on its next update, codenamed Redstone. Redstone is expected to arrive in 2016, bringing Windows 10 support to more devices, like HoloLens. Read our Windows 10 review

Hands-on review: Updated: Samsung Gear VR (S6) Posted: 08 May 2015 11:28 AM PDT Update: If you're willing to plop down $199 (£199, about AU$251) and live in the States, you can now pick up the new Gear VR headset from both Samsung and Best Buy online, and in stores May 15. Global availability has yet to be announced. Samsung's relaunch of the Gear VR so soon after the last model is odd: everyone expected it to be a simple case of sticking your new Galaxy S6 in the same port and it would work just fine. It's hard to work out whether anyone would be annoyed about Samsung bringing out another model so soon after the last one. It's always irritating when a company does that, but in this instance it feels like getting angry about a brand making a new case for its new phone, rather than using the one from last year. It's a very expensive case, admittedly, coming at nearly £199 (around $300 / AU$400) if it follows the same pricing strategy as 2014's Gear VR. But it's designed for the new phones – the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge – and there will be very, very few people that bought the Gear VR for the Note 4 and were looking to get the next model so soon after. Design If you've seen the Note 4 Gear VR version, you've seen this one too. It's precisely the same, except for the fact it's a little bit smaller (less phone to chuck in there) and a little lighter – plus the straps have been modified to provide a more comfortable fit. The side panels are still present and correct for navigation and moving through the interface, so a judicious amount of swiping and tapping helps you navigate through the myriad Samsung options and menus in the Milk VR app. They are also slightly shrunken though, with very little loss in usability it seems – that wasn't a hard mark to hit, as they weren't that accurate on the Gear VR anyway. I still found the device slightly uncomfortable to wear, as the lenses are slightly too close to your eyes – anyone with lovely and attractive long eye lashes will find they crush against them and distort the image. The focus jog wheel on the top of the new Gear VR is a little stiff, but I get the feeling that this would actually help lock in the clarity of hat you're watching without constantly moving around and adding the fuzz. A new virtual world I only had a limited time with the new Gear VR, so there were a couple of things that I wanted to try out. I firstly had another look a the 360 film of a circus (slightly different to the one used on the Samsung Galaxy Note 4) to work out if the picture was any more clear, as the previous model was cool, but had very clear pixellation thanks to blowing up the image. It is still slightly fuzzy though, which is a slight shame. I was hoping the improved 577ppi of the smaller screen on the Galaxy S6, while still offering the same QHD resolution, would have made it better. However, I still think it's excellent for watching videos, and something I'm keen to do more of. It does need to be a slightly less chunky design, but the overall use was good as a home entertainment device. Gaming was cool too, although I only played a small 3D platformer that was just me running a troll through some doors, then occasionally setting his stick on fire. Not the most engaging, but I didn't care. Because being able to look up at a volcano, or look down at the canyon, was brilliant. It's so simple, but combined with the Bluetooth gaming controller I can see this being a real reason for developers to get on board. Early verdict There's not much new on the Gear VR (S6 edition). It's the same thing that's been through a slight bodyform, making it 15% lighter and with more ergonomic straps. The lower pixilation wasn't apparent during my time with it, but playing in the immersive world with the gaming controller was a new one for me – and I loved it. Is it perfect? No. But VR is one of those things that seems like it's becoming a real trend – and it's one of those times that you feel like it's just astoundingly awesome that I hope Samsung (and others) manage to push the message on properly.

Samsung Gear VR for Galaxy S6 now available Posted: 08 May 2015 11:22 AM PDT You won't have to wait till the holidays for the new Samsung Gear VR Innovator Edition for S6, after all. Pre-orders of the mobile VR headset went live at the end of April and now both Best Buy and Samsung are taking orders online. The S6 Gear VR is selling for $199 (£199, about AU$251) and you can pick one up in store on May 15. There's no word yet on global availability. Just like the first Gear VR needing a Note 4 to work, you'll have to hand over additional dough for a Samsung Galaxy S6 or Galaxy S6 Edge for the VR experience to come alive. We're betting virtual reality will be huge at E3 2015

PC sales slow ahead of Windows 10 launch Posted: 08 May 2015 11:13 AM PDT Leading up to the launch of Windows 10 this July, market research firm Canalys and GPU manufacturer Nvidia expect a decline in the PC market. "We see a very soft market going into Q2," said Nvidia CFO Colette Kress. The company lowered its guidance from $1.18 billion to $1 billion for the second fiscal quarter in an earnings call with analysts. Desktops Analysts are lowering their expectations for the PC market, with Canalys reporting that desktop PCs are hit the hardest. Shipments of desktops fell by 13%, and the category is no longer benefiting from the boost driven by users migrating from Windows XP. "The global PC market, including tablets, experienced an annual decline of 7% in Q1 2015, reaching 115.7 million units worldwide," the report read, noting that Apple was able to hold on to its first place position despite a 16% drop in PC shipments. Lenovo, HP, Samsung and Dell round out the top five PC manufacturers. In addition to softening demand leading up to the launch of Windows 10 this summer, Canalys Senior Analyst Tim Coulling cited fluctuating exchange rates as a challenge, which "means PC market declines will be greater in the second quarter than they were in the first." With DirectX 12 a standard supported by Windows 10, Nvidia hopes that the demand for graphics performance will help increase the number of new PC shipments this summer. Notebooks After holding steady for two consecutive quarters, notebooks experienced a small slip, falling 4%. According to Canalys, notebooks face challenges on two fronts. On the Microsoft side, restrictions to the Windows with Bing program to notebooks with displays smaller than 14 inches may inhibit growth of more expensive, larger notebooks. On the Google side, inexpensive - and more powerful - Chromebook models are competing against less expensive Windows notebooks. Tablets and hybrids The tablet market is in decline due to weak demand in mature markets, high saturation and cannibalization from smartphones with large screen sizes. Canalys expects growth in the tablet market will likely result either from business purchases or replacements of existing devices. Despite declines in the tablet market, shipments of convertible tablets have doubled year-over-year led by Asus, Lenovo and Acer. Canalys's views are in line with the recently released IDG report. Hybrids, or convertible tablets, come with removable keyboard docks and are seen as more productive, versatile devices suitable for work and play. Examples include the Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro, Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga 12, Surface Pro 3 and Surface 3, Dell Venue 11 Pro 7000 Series and Acer Aspire Switch R11. Although a few hybrids ship with Google's Android operating system, many of these devices run Windows. Adoption of two-in-ones will likely continue to grow with the release of Windows 10. Microsoft's Continuum feature comes with an adaptive user experience that makes it easy for these devices to switch between tablet and desktop modes. Read our review of Windows 10

Buying Guide: Mother's Day tech gifts: What to give a new mom Posted: 08 May 2015 10:56 AM PDT There's no tougher job than being a mom, let alone a new mom running on little sleep and tons of anxiety. With Mother's Day on Sunday, why not give the new mom in your life a helping hand? We've gathered a trio of tech that may just make Mom's life a little easier, and perhaps even gift her a few precious minutes of extra sleep. The gift ideas below are affordable, and we've included a free app that we think should be on every new moms' mobile device. Read on, and if you have any new mom tech gift ideas, let us know in the comments! D-Link HD Pan & Tilt Wi-Fi Baby Camera DCS-855L The new mom in your life probably spends most of her day hovering over her infant's crib. Newborns make lots of goofy sounds: they cry, they whimper, they spit up - and it's Mom's job to make sure everything is okay. With D-Link's Wi-Fi baby monitor, Mom can take a step back (literally) and watch her baby from another room. D-Link's genius product lets moms control everything via her smartphone. She can capture HD video, pan and tilt for better angles, take photos, play audio and even speak directly to her baby - all via the My D-Link Baby app. She can also set up audio notifications in case the little one needs immediate attention. What's especially cool about this device is that an internet connection isn't even necessary! Mom can simply connect her smartphone to the camera's built-in wireless network to begin watching her baby from a (safe) distance. Price: $229 Snuza Hero Portable Baby Movement Monitor The first few months of a child's life can be a scary time for new mothers. It's not uncommon for new moms to wake up several times just to check her little one's breathing. Fortunately for the mom in your life, Snuza has invented a portable device that detects abdominal movement and will send Mom an alert if her baby has been still for too long. Mom can simply clip the small and lightweight device onto her baby's diaper and the Hero will begin monitoring for movement. Using a series of vibrations, notifications and alarms, the Snuza Hero escalates in alert intensity if the baby hasn't stirred or breathed at a frequent enough pace within any given 60-second period. This isn't a flashy device by any means, but it will help Mom get her needed rest by saving her a few trips to the crib each night. Price: $99 The My Shush app If you've ever heard a mother shushing her newborn when it cries, don't worry, she's not being rude. It turns out babies are soothed by white noise because it reminds them of the sounds they heard while still in the womb. There are several expensive devices on the market that produce an endless loop of ambient noise, which will help calm a baby quicker than you can say, "Hand me an Advil." However, the free My Shush app for iOS works just as well as any of these devices (albeit with fewer unnecessary features and settings). With My Shush, Mom can simply record herself shushing for five seconds, and the app will produce the sound into perpetuity. Recommend this app to any new mom and you'll surely put a smile on her face this Mother's Day. Price: Free

Review: Acer Liquid Jade S Posted: 08 May 2015 08:59 AM PDT Introduction and design While the name 'Acer' is one more synonymous with desktop and laptop computers, over the past couple of years the Taiwanese company has released some solid budget and mid-range smartphones, such as the Liquid Z4 and E3. Acer, like a number of other Asian smartphone manufacturers, is continuing to push the boundaries in regards to value for money, recently showcasing four upcoming budget-oriented devices at MWC 2015, including the promising Liquid M220 and Jade Z. Last year, it was in the mid-range category where Acer showed signs of progress, giving us the curvaceous Liquid Jade. While at the time it was the firm's best shot at a smartphone, a number of gripes, including underwhelming performance, prevented Acer's flagship from really competing outside of Asia. This year's iteration, the Liquid Jade S, looks to boost performance without altering the overall design of its predecessor. The Liquid Jade S retains the 5-inch 720p display from the Jade, covered by a single piece of curved Corning Gorilla Glass 3, with the same 13MP rear snapper with LED flash combo around the back. Inside, Acer has added a more powerful Mediatek MT6752M processor with 2GB RAM and 4G LTE, and upgraded the internal storage to 16GB with the option to expand by a further 32GB via a MicroSD card. Unlike many of their Chinese counterparts, the majority of Taiwanese Android smartphones come with Google apps and services such as the Play Store pre-installed. The Acer Liquid Jade S is no exception and a SIM-free model can be snapped up for £229.99 (around $336, AU$438). While on paper the specs have seen a welcome upgrade from the original Liquid Jade, it remains to be seen how the Liquid Jade S fairs against current mid-rangers such as the Honor 6 and the Oneplus One. Acer has really thrown the cat amongst the pigeons here. It's rare to see a smartphone in this price category with such a slick and minimal design. At just 120g, the Liquid Jade S is incredibly light. While the aesthetics won't appeal to everyone, the flowing curves are more than merely aesthetic and contribute to a superb in-hand feel. An Acer logo, an earpiece somewhat reminiscent of a watering can rose and a 5MP front snapper are the only noticeable elements on the face of the Liquid Jade S. Proximity and ambient light sensors, as well as an LED notification light, are hidden away under a single piece of Corning Gorilla Glass 3, which tapers gently into the faux-chrome surround. Despite the 5-inch IPS display having a resolution of only 1280 x 720, resulting in a pixel density of 294 PPI, text and images look crisp. Viewing angles are also impressive with little-to-no colour shifting and thin bezels helping to create a pleasant, immersive viewing experience. There's very little to see on the bottom edge of the Liquid Jade S, with Acer keeping things minimal once again. The microUSB port takes up a wide position flanked by a single microphone, which sits precariously close to one of the many rounded corners. The dual-SIM card and microSD card slot is located on the left-hand side of the Liquid Jade S, with the volume rocker on the right. In terms of positioning, the volume keys are perfect. However, they feel rather cheap when pressed, giving off a far from confidence-inducing click. The volume '-' key also has a habit of sticking, which doesn't bode well for longevity. Although the Liquid Jade S is not particularly tall for a device with a 5-inch display, it is still a little awkward to reach the power button on the top edge. Thus, as when using the HTC One M8, some hand-gymnastics will be needed for those with small-to-medium sized hands. Fortunately, the power button is considerably better feeling than the volume rocker, and while not stellar, it does provide a certain amount of tactile feedback. Around the back, the Liquid Jade S retains the protruding 13MP camera and single LED flash combo from the Liquid Jade. Acer has decided to do away with the silver ring around the outside of the camera lens, resulting in a more polished and understated look. The Acer branding, DTS-HD logo and spherical speaker also return from the Liquid Jade, but the Taiwanese firm has decided to tone down the overall appearance of the rear. Instead of using the same glossy plastic as the Liquid Jade, the Liquid Jade S features a matte brushed metal-effect finish. As well as being less of a fingerprint magnet, the matte rear makes for a much improved in-hand feel. As you'd expect, even with curved Corning Gorilla Glass 3 on the front and durable matte plastic around the back, the Liquid Jade S still feels a lot less premium than metal/glass flagships such as the HTC One M9, Samsung Galaxy S6 and the iPhone 6. Nevertheless, for an affordable mid-range device, the design and build of the Liquid Jade S is impressive. If the black Liquid Jade S is a little too understated for your liking, white, pink and red variants are also available. Key features and interface The dual-SIM functionality of the Liquid Jade S may not be a high priority for every user in the UK, US and Australia, but in other countries, particularly in the developing world, being able to use two SIM cards in one device is a highly valued feature. This feature, despite its limited implementation in the West, is extremely useful for those who normally have to carry around both a work and personal phone. Frequent travellers, especially those who often go to one particular country for business or leisure purposes, can keep both a local and foreign SIM inside their phone; thus reducing the need to go through the laborious task of hot-swapping SIM cards every few days. Two nano SIMs can be inserted into the Liquid Jade S' SIM tray side by side, with the option to swap one SIM out for a microSD card if the 16GB onboard storage is not enough for you. While having to sacrifice storage for a second SIM is not ideal, this is one of the compromises that had to be made in order to keep slender profile and curves of the Liquid Jade S. Other than the international version of the Moto G (2014), there have been very few widely available dual-SIM mid-range smartphones. The Liquid Jade S can be purchased directly from Acer, and thus is a much safer alternative than buying a dual-SIM smartphone, with no international warranty, through a third-party import supplier. As well as dual-SIM functionality, Acer touts the prowess of both the Liquid Jade S' 13MP rear-facing shooter and the 5MP selfie snapper. That's a similar combination to those found on pricier mid-rangers such as the OnePlus One and Honor 6. The Taiwanese firm also emphasises the "epic speed" of the Liquid Jade S, mainly due to the inclusion of an octa-core Mediatek processor. Both the overall speed and camera performance will be covered later in the review, it's just worth mentioning them here as they are two of the most noteworthy features. On the software side of things, the Liquid Jade S runs a lightly skinned version of Android 4.4.4 KitKat. The absence of the latest version of Android could be a blessing in disguise, though, considering the numerous issues current smartphones running Lollipop are facing. Acer's custom Liquid user interface is certainly not the prettiest, but it's light, functional and easy to navigate around. The Acer Launcher is very similar to the old stock Android launcher found on devices such as the Nexus 4 and features separate tabs in the app drawer for apps and widgets. Many of the additions to the UI, such as the slew of Acer's own apps and 'Quick Mode', will not be immensely useful to most. That being said, there are a few helpful software features that aid multitasking and ease of access. The 'Float Apps' feature works very similarly to Samsung's 'Multi Window', allowing you to use certain mini apps simultaneously on one screen. While there are only a limited number of mini apps to choose from, a small consolation is that any widget can also be used in a floating window. 'Quick Touch' gestures are a much-needed inclusion considering the hard-to-reach power button on the top edge of the Liquid Jade S. By drawing certain letters on the screen while the phone is in standby/sleep mode you can either jump directly into your homescreen or open the dialler, music or camera app. Yes, the gesture options are fairly limited at present, but at least they cover the basics and are pretty reliable. Hopefully more functionality will be added in future software updates. Like the Liquid Jade and a number of other Acer smartphones, the Liquid Jade S includes DTS enhanced audio. While the DTS-HD branding is proudly displayed on the rear above the circular speaker, the overall audio experience is decidedly poor. 'DTS-HD Premium Sound' can be enabled within the general settings menu, and despite there being a number of tweakable options present, the feature fails to provide fantastic audio quality through headphones or the Liquid Jade S' rear speaker. With a decent pair of headphones, you can notice a considerable difference when toggling the 'Premium Sound' option on and off. However, the improvement in audio quality with this option enabled only brings the sound quality up to a level comparable with other mid-range smartphones. Another disappointing aspect of the audio experience on the Liquid Jade S is the muted and rather tinny rear-firing speaker. Even with the volume level set to maximum, audio was extremely quiet. Whilst playing the same YouTube video, the Liquid Jade S – set at maximum volume level – was almost completely drowned out by a Nokia Lumia 735 that was set to only half volume. Performance and battery life Performance Sluggish overall performance was a major thorn in the side of last year's Liquid Jade. Acer has sought to rectify this with the Liquid Jade S, opting for a much more powerful 64-bit MediaTek MT6752 octa-core processor and Mali-T760 GPU. Despite a powerful processing package, the Liquid Jade S runs Android KitKat which, unlike Android Lollipop, does not fully support 64-bit architecture. Thus expect to see an increase in performance after the Liquid Jade S receives it's next update. Even in its present state, the Liquid Jade S still delivers impressive benchmarking results, scoring an average of 3517 on the Geekbench 3 multi-core test. While the Liquid Jade S is a fair way behind the all-conquering Samsung Galaxy S6 (4850), its score is not far off that of Snapdragon 810-powered flagships such as the HTC One M9 (3803). When factoring in the price of the Liquid Jade S and the scores of its mid-range competitors, performance seems even more remarkable. The Liquid Jade S scores considerably higher than the ever-popular Oneplus One (3050) and Honor 6 (3148), demolishing cheaper offerings such as the Moto G (2014) (1142). As you'd expect from such a fine benchmarking score, real-world performance is superb. The raw power of the processing package combines extremely well with Acer's minimal user interface, resulting in a snappy and responsive experience. Flicking through numerous homescreens, the app drawer and the UI in general is a smooth, snappy affair. Multitasking was also handled without a hitch, thanks partly to the 2GB RAM, and graphically intensive games, such as Asphalt 8: Airborne, run very well indeed with no noticeable frame drops or lag. Due to the thinness of the Liquid Jade S, heat dissipation isn't the greatest. The rear gets pretty hot during gaming and even when undertaking less intensive tasks such as web browsing. Battery life The slender profile of the Liquid Jade S has prevented Acer from including a high capacity battery. Although the non-removable 2,300mAh battery seems respectable on paper, considering the power efficient MediaTek processor and 720p screen, battery life on the whole was average. For most light-to-moderate users the Liquid Jade S will make it through a full day of mixed use, with around four to four and a half hours of screen on time. Those who regularly use the dual-SIM functionality and 4G LTE will need to be a little more frugal with their use in order to avoid the dreaded low battery warnings. Playing the TechRadar test video at full brightness and volume for 90 minutes drained the battery of the Liquid Jade S from 100% to 73%. That's 11% worse than the ZTE Blade S6, a fellow mid-ranger, which sports a similarly sized battery and 720p screen. Initially, things don't look too great for the Liquid Jade S, but when delving a little deeper into the specs, there may be a glimmer of hope. As previously stated, the Liquid Jade S has a 64-bit processor. However, unlike the Blade S6, it does not currently run the latest version of Android. Android KitKat is not fully optimised to support 64-bit architecture and an update to Lollipop would solve this issue, potentially reducing overall power consumption. As of now, the battery life of the Liquid Jade S is not fantastic, but it's not dreadful either. For most, the battery will suffice for a day's worth of use. Although if you're a heavy user who likes to play graphically intensive games or stream videos, expect to charge the Liquid Jade S before the day is out. The essentials and camera The essentials Unfortunately, despite it's snappiness, the Liquid Jade S does only a mediocre job of providing the core smartphone features. Call volume, rather than call quality, is the major sore point here. The earpiece on the Liquid Jade S looks elegant and delivers a crisp sound. Yet, due to the low maximum in-call volume, it's extremely difficult to decipher what the person on the other end of the phone is saying when you're in a loud spot. The problem can be alleviated by using a hands-free headset, but that's a compromise you shouldn't have to make. The rear speaker's quiet output is also not the greatest when you're listening out for notifications and calls. While the speaker is difficult to muffle, the low maximum volume often results in missed calls and notifications if you don't have the vibrate setting enabled. On a more positive note, Acer's decision to subtly customise the stock Android dialler, contacts and messaging apps, rather than adding features for the sake of features, results in a functional if not spectacular core experience. Some of Acer's pre-installed apps, such as the FM radio, torch and file manager are handy in day-to-day use. However, a number of Google apps, also pre-installed, offer better options than the Acer alternatives. Prime examples include Google Chrome and Photos, which are far more refined and feature-full than the stock browser and gallery apps. That being said, you'll encounter little slowdown when browsing the internet via Google Chrome or the stock browser on the Liquid Jade S. Webpages load up in a flash and swiping through multiple tabs is a fluid affair. Being able to save webpages for offline viewing is certainly a useful feature of the stock browser; although it's not one that would persuade me to switch from Chrome, as I prefer the integration with Google's ecosystem. Typing in the stock browser, or in any other app for that matter, is swift using either of the two pre-installed keyboards. Swipe is enabled by default and while many prefer to type via swipes, the on-board Google Keyboard offers better English prediction and well-spaced keys. Even though the 5-inch display on the Liquid Jade S is not the most pixel dense, consuming media should be at least a satisfactory experience. This is unfortunately not the case due to the poor, muted output of the rear speaker. The microSD card slot in the SIM tray does offer media junkies extra storage for music and movies, yet in order to get audio of an acceptable quality, you'll have to slip on a pair of headphones. Camera One of the most common misconceptions is that if a smartphone camera has more megapixels, it will produce better images. While megapixels are important, they're not everything and the Liquid Jade S certainly illustrates this point. A rear-facing 13-megapixel shooter with a f/1.8 aperture and single LED flash, combined with a 5MP snapper up-front sounds respectable for a mid-range device in 2015. Yet both cameras on the Liquid Jade S ultimately flatter to deceive, producing pretty grainy results that display a fair amount of noise upon closer inspection. In order to squeeze the most out of the protruding camera on the Liquid Jade S, you'll have to change the aspect ratio from 16:9 to 4:3. That's not ideal for those who enjoy taking landscape snaps on a regular basis, but the increase in resolution is noticeable when bumping the megapixel count up from 10 to 13. Feature-packed, rather than elegant, is how I'd describe the camera interface on the Liquid Jade S. There's an impressive array of shooting modes and options, akin to those on high-end flagships such as the Sony Xperia Z3. Although, I feel that inclusion of a dedicated manual mode, like the one found in Lumia Camera on the Nokia Lumia 930, would have been a handy. The majority of capture and scene modes are useful, especially HDR and Night Mode. More unconventional modes such as 'Beautification' and 'Presentation' seem to work well enough, but will appeal only to a niche group of users. Hitting the cog icon in the top left-hand corner of the the camera app opens up yet more tweakable settings. The menu here includes toggles for options such as continuous shutter and video stabilizer, two that arguably should be enabled by default. Being able to select your preferred capture mode for the "Favourite shot" button to the left of the main shutter key is also a nice touch. Much like the voice control feature of the Galaxy S6's camera app, voice command on the Liquid Jade S allows you to control aspects of the camera without having to touch the screen. Aside from being unable to start a video recording via voice, the feature on the Liquid Jade S has more functionality than its Samsung counterpart. As well as being able to snap a shot by saying one of the three trigger words, switching between the front and rear camera, selecting capture modes and even taking selfies, with the countdown timer, can be accomplished using your voice. Thanks to the f/1.8 lens on the Liquid Jade S being able to let in more light, high ISO values can be used, resulting in fast shutter speeds. Autofocus is also pretty nippy and tap to focus is always available if needed. Despite the competent camera app and promising specs, the Liquid Jade S manages to deliver only mediocre results. In well-lit conditions, you can take some passable shots with the 13MP rear snapper. Colours are not particularly vibrant and images are soft, lacking detail. Zooming in reveals a large amount of noise, and in general they're not the kind of photos you'll want to crop. Camera sample images Click here for the full res image Macro shots look a little better, with the camera able to capture a decent amount of detail on close-up subjects. The Liquid Jade S also does a reasonable job of creating a shallow depth whilst keeping the subject in focus. Click here for the full res image Click here for the full res image 'Night', 'Night Portrait' and 'HDR' modes help to maximise the amount of light that the f/1.8 lens on the Liquid Jade S receives. Images taken in low light are a little grainy and far from spectacular, yet some detail still remains. Videos recorded using the rear camera of the Liquid Jade S are just as disappointing as the stills it snaps. The 1080p videos, shot at 30 frames per second, lack detail and the camera fails to adjust quickly to changing light conditions. Much like the 13MP unit around the back, the 5MP front-facing shooter on the Liquid Jade S is underwhelming. Noise is once again visible and images lack sharpness. The overall camera experience on the Liquid Jade S is far from the worst out there but, considering the specs, it performs poorly. Images from the rear camera will suffice for sharing on social media and the front snapper is adequate for the occasional selfie and video chat, but nothing more. Verdict In terms of performance and design, Acer has improved upon its flagship from last year with the Liquid Jade S. Yet it is still far from the finished article and exhibits a number of issues that, unless you are looking for a dual-SIM device, are hard to overlook. We liked Thanks to the octa-core processor and Acer's minimal software tweaks, the performance of the Liquid Jade S is simply stellar. For just over £200, it's arguably one of, if not, the most powerful mid-range smartphones currently available – and even gives flagships a run for their money. Design is another major high point with the lightweight, curvaceous build resulting in a solid and comfortable in-hand feel. The dual-SIM card slot is well integrated into the phone's aesthetic and, while the feature is not essential for everyone, it's incredibly handy for many businesspeople and frequent travellers. Expandable storage in the form of a microSD is a welcome addition, although you do have to sacrifice one of the nanoSIM card slots for the privilege. On the software side of things, Acer's Liquid UI is functional and includes the useful 'Float Apps' multitasking feature, allowing you to use multiple mini apps at once on one screen. We disliked The rather quiet pair of speakers on the Liquid Jade S really hampers the overall core experience. If you're in a loud spot you'll be hard to pushed to hear anything through the earpiece, and due to the muted output of the rear-firing unit, it's easy to miss a call or notification. Even DTS enhanced audio cannot save the rear speaker from sounding faint and a little tinny. If you want acceptable audio, you have to slip on a pair of headphones. Battery life is average at best and only light-to-moderate users will make it through the day without needing to charge. Power-saving mode is present, but heavy users will definitely rue Acer's decision not to go for a removable battery. Linked into the issue of battery life, Android Kitkat is currently on-board the Liquid Jade S and despite being stable, it doesn't include optimisations for the 64-bit processor. An update to Lollipop will rectify this, but at present it still hasn't been released for the Liquid Jade S. Considering the promising optical specs and impressive camera app, results are disappointing. Both the primary 13MP unit and the 5MP snapper up-front produce noise-filled images and videos that lack clarity as well as detail. Final verdict Acer is heading in the right direction with the Liquid Jade S, showcasing its ability to combine an impressive design and blistering performance with an affordable price tag. That being said, there are still a few key areas where it suffers in comparison to other mid-range offerings, and as a result, the Liquid Jade S may not be at the top of everyone's wish list. However, if you are in the market for an affordable dual-SIM smartphone that is powerful and well made, you'll be hard pushed to find one better than the Acer Liquid Jade S. First reviewed: April 2015

Review: Aorus X3 Plus v3 Posted: 08 May 2015 08:50 AM PDT Introduction and design When you think of a laptop built for gaming, you'll probably be picturing something with a big case and a wide screen, probably in the region of 15.6- or even 17.3-inches. This larger size has become the standard for gaming laptops, but there are a number of advantages to a smaller chassis, the most obvious being portability. Aorus has taken the concept of the small form-factor ultra-portable gaming laptop to the extreme with the X3 Plus v3, setting out with the intent to create the most powerful notebook-sized PC currently available. If you're dropping £1,800 (around $2,780, or AU$3,500) on a laptop – or anything else for that matter – you'll want to feel that you're getting your money's worth, and unboxing the Aorus V3 certainly makes the right impression. It arrives in a stylish black and orange presentation box, with all the components individually wrapped in fabric bags and a soft cloth suitable for cleaning the keyboard and screen. It looks like what it is – a top quality product intended for the discerning buyer who's looking for something a bit special. Design The device itself is also beautifully presented, with a sleek and stylish flat black case featuring a slightly pointed leading edge and gaping exhaust vents at the back, design motifs reminiscent of a high-end supercar or a stealth fighter jet. It is very slim and light, a shade less than 23mm thick and weighing 1.87kg including the battery, the sort of size and weight that you can take virtually anywhere. The case is aluminium on the top and bottom, giving it a nice solid feel despite its light weight, with only the moulded back and sides being made of plastic. Open it up and you're looking at a 14-inch screen with a narrow quarter-inch bezel, and a full-sized backlit keyboard with an intriguing row of extra keys down the left-hand side. The case carries a comprehensive array of ports, including HDMI and Mini DisplayPort outputs, three USB 3.0 sockets, headphone and microphone sockets for your headset, an SD card slot and an RJ45 socket on the back for hooking up at LAN parties. It even has a Kensington locking point for the security-conscious, although you probably wouldn't want to leave something this valuable and portable lying around unattended. Specifications Here is the spec sheet provided to TechRadar: CPU: 4th Generation Intel Core i7-4710HQ Processor (2.5GHz-3.5GHz) Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 970M GDDR5 6GB RAM: 16GB DDR3L-1600 Screen: 14-inch QHD+ 3200 x 1800 Wide Viewing Angle LCD Storage: 2 x 256GB SSD, RAID 0 Ports: USB 3.0 x 3, HDMI, Mini DisplayPort, RJ45, Mic-in, Earphone-out, SD Card Connectivity: 802.11ac Wi-Fi; Bluetooth 4.0 Camera: HD webcam Weight: 4.12 pounds / 1.87kg Size: 12.9 x 10.3 x 0.9-inches / 330 x 263 x 23mm (W x D x H) Features and performance The X3's internal components are every bit as impressive as the exterior. Aorus has gone all-out to create the ultimate performance notebook, with a fourth-gen Intel Core i7-4710HQ CPU running at 2.5-3.5GHz, Mobile Intel HM87 Express Chipset and 16GB of ultra-fast DDR3L-1600 RAM providing the central foundation. Storage is handled by a pair of 256GB mSATA SSD drives in RAID 0 configuration for ultra-fast data handling at up to 1500 MB/s. Of course for a gaming machine graphics are all-important, and the X3 features the very best – an Nvidia GeForce GTX 970M with 6GB of GDDR5, capable of handling even the latest games at full bore. If you want to stay alive in a multiplayer game you'll want superfast LAN and Wi-Fi network communications, and the X3 Plus delivers with 802.11ac wireless (70% faster than 802.11n) and a network-optimised LAN system controlled through the built-in Killer LAN chip and interface app, ensuring the fastest possible connection with the claim of zero packet loss. A small notebook screen isn't ideal for gaming, but if you're considering the Aorus X3 then presumably you're not too worried about that. Despite its small size the 14-inch screen (incorrectly listed as 13.9-inch on the Aorus website) is extremely sharp, having a native resolution of 3200 x 1800 with a very wide 170-degree viewing angle. This extremely high resolution on a small screen does mean that for everyday tasks such as using Windows menus or reading your email, anyone with middle-aged eyesight is going to need to squint a lot to view the tiny but very sharp text. One standout feature of the Aorus X3 Plus is its unique Macro Hub. This is the row of additional keys mentioned earlier, and it controls a clever interface app that allows the user to set up as many as 25 macro functions and one-key shortcuts. The 'G' key in the top left corner has a coloured backlight that changes each time you tap it, cycling through five colours. Each colour represents a bank of five macros, which can then be activated by tapping one of the numbered macro keys that lie in a row below it. There are a number of pre-baked macros already installed, and the interface app makes it easy to set up your own to automate frequently-used tasks and quickly launch favourite apps and games. Another handy feature is the Command & Control interface. This is really just a set of shortcuts to control panel functions, but it provides quick access to things like keyboard backlighting, mouse speed, fan control and sound options. It also looks very cool, which is always a bonus. The only feature that draws any criticism is the trackpad. It has a smooth and glossy surface which looks very striking in contrast with the matt black casing – or at least it does when it's clean – but after prolonged use it does feel quite unpleasant and sticky to the touch, and the lack of a border between the pad and the buttons is also less than ideal. Benchmarks 3DMark: Cloud Gate: 17,832; Sky Diver: 15,874; Fire Strike: 6,172 Cinebench CPU: 638 points; Graphics: 93.2 fps PCMark 8 (Home Test): 3,517 points PCMark 8 Battery Life: 2 hours and 24 minutes Middle Earth: SoM (1080p, Ultra): 104.1 fps; (1080p, Low): 111.4 fps Metro: Last Light (1080p, Ultra): 92.9 fps; (1080p, Low): 167.9 fps It almost goes without saying that the Aorus X3 Plus v3 absolutely flies. Even with all the extra software that it boots with, startup time is less than 20 seconds. Apps and games load almost instantly thanks to the RAID SSDs, and with the graphical power of the GeForce 970 GPU it handles the latest graphics-heavy games with ease. Elite Frontier on the high graphics setting runs at a healthy 60 fps even in the most frantic combat, and this machine is capable of three-figure frame rates with some of the latest first-person shooters. The X3 is powered by a decent 73.3Wh li-polymer battery, which is good for around three hours of use when doing undemanding tasks like web browsing. Of course demanding games will eat into your power reserves, and playing on battery power will drain it in about an hour. Heat control is very good despite the small size of the case, and while the underside does get quite warm after a while it's not unusually hot. The air intakes are on the underside of the case though, so you might want to check them for dust regularly. Verdict We liked The design and specification make the Aorus X3 Plus one of the most desirable gaming laptops around. With an advanced chipset, 16GB of RAM and the 6GB GeForce 970M under the hood it absolutely flies, and the slim profile and light weight make it the perfect portable games machine. We disliked The small screen is a drawback with this form factor, and the high native resolution makes menu text almost unreadably small. The trackpad is a bit nasty, and the battery life could be better. Final verdict If you're looking for a high-performance ultra-portable gaming machine that looks as good as it plays, and you have perfect 20/20 eyesight and don't mind the small screen size, then look no further. The Aorus X3 Plus is expensive, but you get a lot of machine for your money.

Google will bring privacy to the people with Android M Posted: 08 May 2015 08:38 AM PDT Google's 'Android M' is answering the call for more privacy by giving its users more say in the information that applications can access. Bloomberg reports that the new operating system, set to debut at Google IO 2015, will help users pick and choose what information is shared with certain applications, including photos, contacts, and location. This is an evolution in Google's walk to bring more privacy and peace of mind to its users. iPhone users are sure to point out that Google is behind Apple's iOS on this matter. Google is feeling more pressure from Apple than ever, as Android's mobile market share is waning in certain parts of the world while Apple's is rising. The added pressure from its Cupertino competitor, and an ever-increasing outcry for transparency in the internet age, are both likely feeding into Google's privacy-centric changes. The specifics on the amount of control 'Android M' will offer are still unknown, but we expect to learn all about it at Google's aforementioned developer conference in San Francisco, Calif. later this month. While Google may be playing catch-up with its privacy controls, application access control will be music to Android users' ears. Google IO 2015 starts on May 28 at 9:30am PST and 12:30pm EST

AMD just gave your next laptop better graphics and a battery life boost Posted: 08 May 2015 08:35 AM PDT AMD promised to deliver the goods with a new family of Carrizo processors that promised to be just as power efficient as Intel's Broadwell chips and they're finally here. The APU makers has announced five new 7000 series chips that were formally known as Carrizo and Carrizo L. Sitting at the low-powered end is AMD's E1-7000, a 1.5GHz dual-core CPU with Radeon Graphics and a very anemic 1MB cache. On the opposite end of the spectrum, there's the AMD A8-7410, which features a 2.5GHz quad-core processor paired with Radeon R5 graphics and support for faster 1866MHz memory. In between these two extremes, AMD has also introduced chips ranging from a 1.8GHz quad-core E2-7110, 2.2GHz quad-core A4-7210 and the 2.4GHz quad-core A6-7310. Reaping the benefits The new chips features a 28nm silicon, which should make them more energy efficient compared to the previous generation - keeping between 10 to 15 watts of total power draw. At the same time, AMD has made strives to significantly boost the performance of the on-board Radeon graphics while adding support for DirectX 12. Aside from the new CPUs, AMD also introduced a new Radeon M300 series of high-performance graphics cards for laptops. These new GPUs will be available in Alienware, Dell, HP, Lenovo and Toshiba notebooks in the near future. AMD is fighting hard not to be forgotten in the rising tide of Intel and Nvidia products. Earlier this week, the Sunnyvale-based company outlined its desktop roadmap includes a new x86 processor core named Zen and plans to utilize high-bandwidth memory with its next generation of GPUs due in the second half of 2015. What does a smaller processor mean for your laptop?

Hands-on review: Canon 760D (Rebel T6s) Posted: 08 May 2015 08:15 AM PDT The EOS 750D and 760D are Canon's two new DSLRs, and they sit at the top of its beginner's range, ultimately replacing the old EOS 700D, though this model will carry on for the time being. So why two cameras and not one? Although they share the same basic specifications, the 750D and 760D are aimed at different kinds of users. The 750D is pitched at relative novices, while the 760D has controls and features aimed at more experienced and more ambitious photographers. Inside, the Canon 750D (Rebel T6i) and 760D (T6s) are essentially the same camera. Both have Canon's new APS-C format 24.2MP CMOS sensor, a Digic 6 processing engine and the same 19-point autofocus system. They both use Canon's new Hybrid CMOS AF III system too, for use when images or video are composed on the screen in Live View mode. Like the 750D, the 760D has Wi-Fi and NFC technology for connecting the camera to a smartphone or tablet for remote control and image sharing. Even the continuous shooting speed is the same, at 5fps, and the 750D and 760D have the same metering system and a 3-inch articulating 1,040K-dot touch-screen display. On the outside, though, these cameras have some key differences, and the 760D is clearly designed for more advanced photographers, with a number of features taken from Canon's high-end cameras. Build and handling One handy addition in the 760D is an electronic level that can be displayed on the screen on the back of the camera, or in the viewfinder, to help keep horizons straight. This indicates horizontal tilt, but not up/down tilt, so it's useful for getting horizons straight, but it won't help when you're trying to ensure that the sensor is parallel to a building to avoid converging verticals. Like the Canon 7D Mark II, the 760D's viewfinder has a dedicated Level icon and it doesn't use the AF points to display the level – so it can be seen when pressing the shutter release to focus the lens. The 760D has a different control layout too, though the two cameras feel very similar in the hand as there's only 0.2mm difference in one dimension between them – the 760D is the slightly taller of the two. The 760D also has an eye sensor to detect when the camera is held to your eye to take a shot, and automatically turns off the display on the main screen, whereas on the 750D you have to press a switch. One of the biggest differences between the two cameras is that the 760D has a secondary (monochrome) LCD on the top-plate. This shows useful information such as the ISO (sensitivity) setting, battery level, exposure level, shutter speed and aperture. It's useful to see the camera settings from above and uses less power than the main screen. On the 760D, the mode dial is on the left of the top plate not the right, and it has a locking button in the centre. This button needs to be pressed before the mode dial can be rotated. It seems rather fiddly at first, but you get used to using it after a while. Nevertheless, it would be better if you could select to lock the dial or not. Rather than having a dedicated Wi-Fi indicator on the camera body like the 750D, the 760D displays when the Wi-Fi system is active in the top-plate LCD. In another major departure from the 750D, the 760D has a dial around the navigation buttons – along with a lock to deactivate it. This allows quick adjustments to exposure in manual exposure mode and exposure compensation in the automatic and semi-automatic exposure modes because there's no need to press a button while using the main dial. The dial feels a little lightweight in comparison with the larger dial found on the back of higher-end cameras. It's also rather low down on the body so it doesn't fall within the natural reach of your thumb, you have to stretch down to it. Performance I had the opportunity to try out the Canon 760D at the Canon launch event in London, though Canon is keen to stress that these were pre-production units and the images might not be representative of the final product. Click here for a full size version. Click here for a full size version. Click here for a full size version. Early verdict This is Canon's first new APS-C sensor for some time, and I'm keen to see how its performance compares with the 700D and, indeed, rival Nikon DSLRs using a 24MP APS-C sensor. The camera is currently being put through our lab tests and we hope to be able to post the results very soon. Camera reviews Best DSLR Best mid-range DSLR

Amazon's delivery drones will be able to hunt you down Posted: 08 May 2015 07:51 AM PDT You won't even need to go to your door to receive a package if Amazon's plans for drone deliveries come to fruition. The online retail giant's patents for parcel delivery by UAV have just been published by the US patent office, yielding a few new details on how the system will operate. Drones will use data from your smartphone to work out your exact location and take your parcel right there. Different drones will also be able to communicate between each other to discuss traffic and weather conditions. If you don't want the package brought straight to you, that's an option. You can tell the drone you'd rather have it dropped off at your home, workplace, or even "my boat". If you change your mind halfway through delivery, there shouldn't be a problem - the drones can update their routes in real-time. While progress has been slow, due to the US Federal Aviation Authority's reticence to approve commercial use of drone technology, there are signs that it's softening. Amazon was granted permission to test-fly its drones in the US in March, albeit within the pilot's line of site and no higher than 122 metres. Plus, this week, the agency permitted unmanned helicopters to be used for crop-spraying, and announced plans for news-gathering drones in partnership with CNN. It is also planning to test commercial drones that can fly beyond the line of sight of their operators for inspecting railways.

Review: Microsoft Lumia 640 XL Posted: 08 May 2015 07:40 AM PDT Introduction While we wait for Windows 10 Mobile to show up later this year here's another affordable, decent-looking, unfussy Windows Phone 8.1 model to tide us over. Since Microsoft bought Nokia's phone division at the end of 2013, we've seen quite a few perfectly adequate handsets that aren't going to burn too big a hole in your pocket or get your pulse racing all that quickly. And so to the Microsoft Lumia 640 XL, the bigger brother to the Lumia 640, which was also announced at MWC in March. Overall, It gives the impression that Microsoft is just killing time before Windows 10, but it's still worth a look if you're in the market for a competent Microsoft-powered handset right now. Microsoft says a SIM-free Lumia 640 XL will set you back £219 in the UK and AU$399 in Australia, with US pricing to be confirmed (it's around US$324 with a straight currency conversion). As usual, you can shop around for different prices on and off contract. The phone is available in cyan, orange, black or white with a matte finish, or glossy white. That affordable price and the 5.7-inch screen size (it's Microsoft's second-biggest handset after the 6-inch Lumia 1520) are the most notable features here. As with every other Windows Phone 8.1 device out there, Microsoft is promising a free upgrade to Windows 10 when the time comes, so you're not limiting yourself to outdated technology. Behind the scenes, there's a 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 quad-core processor, 1GB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage (expandable via memory card, as we've already said). The Lumia 640 XL sports a very large 3000mAh battery and an Adreno 305 GPU powering its 720 x 1280 pixel screen. There's a rear-facing 13-megapixel camera and a 5-megapixel snapper on the front. Design Pick up the Lumia 640 XL and it feels like the budget phone that it is: lightweight, plastic, nondescript. The bright plastic backing (mine was orange) is pleasing to the touch, and the workmanship is solid, but you won't mistake this for a premium device. The back pops off, so you can replace the battery, add the SIM and slot in a microSD if you want to. It's a sign of the device's robustness – this is not a phone that's going to mind a scratch – though if you often swap cards out, it has the potential to become annoying. From the removable back to the volume and power buttons, the Lumia 640 XL has a feeling of cheapness, but it's not quite as negative as that sounds. It's solidly put together, despite the low-grade materials, and no doubt some users will enjoy having a phone that can get bashed about a bit. It's also distinctly Lumia, with a raised camera lens module, edges that are curved and rounded, and a choice of colours for the back casing. As usual, the 3.5mm headphone jack sits atop the device, while the microUSB connector port is positioned underneath. The power and volume buttons sit on the right, with the power button lowest, as is the norm for Lumias. Like the 5-inch Lumia 640, the 5.7-inch Lumia 640 XL has a screen resolution of 720 x 1280 pixels. That takes the PPI sharpness down to 259, but it's not a bad screen to look at: like most Lumia displays I've seen, the colours are bright and engaging and everything on the interface looks sharp enough. With that large screen and dimensions of 157.9mm x 81.5mm x 9mm (6.22 inches x 3.21 inches x 0.35 inches), you're going to need two hands to operate this properly (like the iPhone Plus 6 and Nexus 6). It weighs in at 171g, but feels pretty light in the hand. OneDrive is now firmly established as Microsoft's great hope for consumer cloud storage, and of course the app is built right into the software on the Lumia 640 XL. Microsoft has confirmed that buyers will get a year's subscription to Office 365 with their purchase – that's a £59.99 (or US$79.99) saving straight away, and also includes a handy 1TB of OneDrive space. Key features and performance The key selling points of the Microsoft Lumia 640 XL are its price, its size, and the fact it runs Windows Phone 8.1 (and will eventually get Windows 10). As for its price, it feels like a phone that's good value – Microsoft has said it's targeting business users with the handset, and for people glued to Office and Outlook all day it makes a lot of sense. Large, phablet-sized phones may be awkward to use with one hand, but they leave more room for spreadsheets, websites, photos and everything else. There are benefits if you're watching movies on the go, too, though of course you don't have the solid ecosystem offered by iTunes or Google Play. Netflix and BBC iPlayer are on Windows Phone at least. That brings us to Windows Phone and a story we've had to lay out a hundred times before: app choice is its biggest weakness. Some people might be able to live without Snapchat and Crossy Road, but to not have anything official made by Google – from Gmail to YouTube – is a real problem. That's not to say there aren't big names in the app catalogue. Spotify, Evernote, WhatsApp, Dropbox, Facebook, Twitter and (a beta version of) Instagram are here, but in terms of the big picture you're still a second-class apps citizen if you plump for Windows Phone. The development of those big-name apps often lags behind the iOS and Android versions and most of the best new apps, as well as the majority of mobile games, never make it to the platform. Will the situation change with Windows 10 and 'universal apps'? We'll have to wait and see. On the flip side, integration with Microsoft services is excellent. Outlook, Skype, Office and OneDrive all run smoothly and appear as soon as you sign in with a Microsoft account. The Windows Phone interface has matured over the years, with improvements to live tiles and notifications, and it's not that far behind iOS and Android if you take apps out of the equation. Performance With specs such as those in the Microsoft Lumia 640 XL, you're never going to get blistering performance, but it's debatable whether or not you need it on a smartphone anyway (unless you happen to be a hardcore mobile gamer, perhaps). A quick blast of Subway Surfers proved to be no problem for the Microsoft handset, and we'd expect you wouldn't have issues with most apps. Windows Phone 8.1 was snappy and responsive on the handset, and I didn't notice any issues with lag or stuttering while I was using it. One area where it perhaps has the edge over iOS and Android is in the uniform design style adopted by all of its apps – it's strange but actually quite appealing to see everything from Spotify to Facebook making use of the same look. I should also mention Cortana, which mixes in some of the best features from Google Now and Siri to create an app that can control your phone's settings as well as schedule your meetings. It shows a lot of promise and it's only going to get better. The well-respected – if a little outdated – AnTuTu Benchmark app gave the Lumia 640 XL a score of 11,671. Compare that with the 67,520 points raked in by the Samsung Galaxy S6 and you can see the kind of market segment we're in. The Windows Phone benchmark app hasn't been updated for three years, but it gives you a broad idea of this phone's capabilities – it's not right at the budget end of the field, but it's close. We had a few goes on Asphalt 8, one of the more demanding mobile games out there, and though it wasn't the most fluid or high-resolution experience we've ever had with the game, it performed well without any lag or stutter. What's more, the handset didn't heat up at all. And Windows Phone is Windows Phone, which you probably know all about by now. It has its quirks, such as the live tiles, and despite the advancements it's made recently it still feels less polished than iOS or Android. Over to you in the summer, Windows 10. Battery life and the essentials Battery life I was impressed with the battery performance of the Microsoft Lumia 640 XL in the time I had it, performance no doubt helped by that lower resolution display and mid-range internal components. I was regularly finding 25-30% left at the end of the day, though of course it depends what you're doing. A spot of intense Asphalt 8 gaming and I was seeing drops of around 15% an hour, which is still very good (some other Microsoft phones drain twice as fast). Even if you're absolutely hammering the battery, it's going to last you for several hours, which isn't something you can say about every smartphone on the market with a 5.7-inch screen. Even with sync ramped up and plenty of music listening and maps checking, I never felt panicked about the phone running out of juice. Like most phones, you'll be charging this every night, but if you forget you should have some battery life left to see you through the morning – and that's out of the ordinary in today's market. The TechRadar video test (a 90-minute high-definition clip on loop), the great leveller around these parts, saw the Lumia 640 XL dropping from a full charge to 86%. That's substantially better than the Lumia 630 (77%), the Lumia 520 (66%) and the HTC One M9 (69%). If you're willing to plump for lower specs you can often feel the benefit through the resulting battery life, and that's certainly the case with the Lumia 640 XL – the large 3000mAh battery really impresses. The essentials Let's not forget the old phone calling and text features either – in both areas the handset performed solidly, with no drops in signal or broken calls. Speakerphone volume and quality was fine, as was music playback through the single speaker sat near the camera – nothing to write home about, but by no means a disaster. The Windows Phone keyboard still feels as if you're playing around with a kid's toy, but at least it's bold and clear with keys that are easy to hit. The phone was able to take full benefit of the 4G speeds offered by O2 in Manchester, with pages loading promptly over a data connection or Wi-Fi. It's not going to let you down as far as the basics go, and in some ways the sparseness of Windows Phone as a mobile OS makes for a more straightforward experience. You certainly wouldn't pick the dialler or messaging apps ahead of their iOS or Android equivalents, though, whether you were basing your choice on looks or functionality. Ultimately, Windows Phone 8.1 just isn't as refined as iOS 8 or Android 5, mobile OSes that look as though they've been through eight (or five) iterations to get where they are today. It's not without its charms, but speaking objectively it's difficult to see how you would choose this over its rivals if you were picking based on software alone. The obligatory Settings app does the job nicely, and I like the battery saver feature as well as the built-in utilities for managing phone storage and data usage. The quiet hours feature is an intuitive take on shutting off interruptions and notifications at certain times. Speaking of storage, though, you are going to want to buy a memory card — after installing Asphalt 8 (around 1.5GB) and snapping a few photos, we had less than 1GB of the 8GB internal space left. It's another reason why power users will pass on this handset. Music and video playback is very good, provided you have enough storage to keep your files with you. Like the minimal apps in the desktop version of Windows, everything is easy to navigate around and control. The MixRadio app is a definite highlight, playing a jukebox of bands you like, and there's an integrated FM radio here, too. Camera The overall narrative of the Microsoft Lumia 640 XL continues with the camera's capabilities: it's decent but not much more than that. Good lighting conditions lead to good shots, albeit a little under-saturated and noisy when you get right down to the details. Low-light performance was impressive, though, and shutter speed relatively fast, so when you consider the price I'd say this is a 13-megapixel camera that overperforms for the section of the market it's in. Weigh it up against the iPhone 6 and you're likely to be disappointed; compare its pictures with snaps taken by similarly priced Android phones and you'll be pleasantly surprised. The integrated LED flash deserves a mention, too, managing to add light to shots quite nicely without washing them out. Of course, there are better mobile cameras out there, but the Lumia 640 XL holds its own in the photo-taking stakes and isn't going to have your Facebook friends laughing at your attempts to take a nice beach or landscape shot. The Lumia Camera app that comes as standard with Windows Phone 8.1 offers basic manual controls for ISO, shutter speed, white balance and brightness, so if you want to play around with these settings then the option are there. I'm not sure the quality of the lens is up to it, but if you know your photography then these settings can help you get better shots. Click here for the full res image Click here for the full res image Click here for the full res image Click here for the full res image Click here for the full res image Click here for the full res image Click here for the full res image Click here for the full res image Verdict With the usual Windows Phone caveats, the Lumia 640 XL is a strong device from Microsoft. Not a terribly powerful handset but the lacklustre internal components and a slightly cheap feel are made up for by a nice big screen, good battery life and that appealing price point. As for Windows Phone 8.1, not everyone wants the latest must-have app – for some of you, Office is probably far more important than Periscope. It's still playing catch-up to iOS and Android but you do get Office for a year and Windows 10 Mobile is imminent. We liked Using the Lumia 640 XL for a week was a surprisingly pleasurable experience. It's solid if unspectacular in its build quality, the display pops nicely and the camera isn't going to let you down. Having a phone with battery life that you don't need to worry about is a refreshing change, too - especially when the screen is as big as it is on the Lumia 640 XL. We disliked You don't get the fine craftsmanship of something like the iPhone 6 or the Nexus 6 here, with the plastic body feeling cheap, yet sturdy in the hand. The screen is low-res by today's standards and the internal storage space isn't really adequate – factor in the cost of a microSD card when you're working out if you want to make a purchase. Final verdict Microsoft promises it has some Windows 10-powered flagship phones in the pipeline, and it's unfair to compare the Lumia 640 XL to the Galaxy S6 and the best models on the market. If you're on a budget and you want a big phablet-style handset, then give the Lumia 640 XL some serious consideration. The only unknown is how much of a difference Windows 10 is going to make, so you might want to hold off for a few months until the first reviews appear. Hardware-wise, it's a very good value handset for the price. In terms of software, iOS and Android still have the edge in several areas, so be sure to weigh up the pros and cons before you decide this is the phone for you. First reviewed: April 2015

Review: Marshall Monitor Posted: 08 May 2015 07:30 AM PDT When you're in the market for a guitar amplifier, Marshall is probably among the first few names that rolls off the tongue. But when it comes to shopping for a set of headphones, this isn't necessarily the case. In fact, it might be news to you that Marshall is in the business of making cans at all. Even if you aren't aware of the Marshall legacy in the rock world, its headphones deserve your attention. Specifically, its $200 (£170, AU$250) over-ear headphones known simply as Monitor. These are designed with the same stellar attention to detail as seen in Marshall's stage audio equipment, and they possess impressive sound capabilities. Positives aside, you're getting charged a hefty premium for the namesake, and the skimpy set of inline controls are a disappointment. Design If you've ever used a Marshall amplifier for jamming out, you're probably aware of its premium design qualities. But it's quite alright if you've never heard of Marshall, allow me to explain what makes its products stand out. Marshall amplifiers are recognized by their bold black appearance, offset with brass and white accents. They are usually coated in leather, or at least, a material that gives off a leathery look and feel. The speaker cabinets are covered in a fine metal mesh where, in its middle, the Marshall logo appears prominently. The Marshall Monitor is host to each of these features, and I admire how well the design has translated over to the headphone form factor. Inside the headband, you'll find plenty of plush to ensure that you're comfortable while you listen. The textured and smooth leatherette material gives off a premium look, but the fact that it isn't real leather is a bit of a disappointment considering the asking price. Tucked into the headband are the adjustable sidearms. These are made out of tough metal and spiffed up with a coating of matte black paint that doesn't scratch, so worries over its durability over time aren't necessary. Each sidearm stretches out thirteen notches from its original position and provides a true, one-size-fits-all experience. My large noggin came nowhere close to reaching the size threshold of the Monitor. Alongside each of the sidearms are thin, coiled cables that stretch down into the ear cups with subtle, but charming brass touches. The cups attach to the sidearms with a mechanism that allows for tilting the cups up and down, but not side to side. The design flaw is offset by its ability to handily fold up the cups into the headband. The outer section of the ear cups prominently feature textured plastic that's made to look like leather and just a hint of rubber, which makes up the striking logo. Each ear cup features a 3.5mm input, so the choice on which side you plug the included cable into is totally up to you. Speaking of the cable, it's coiled and detailed on each end to mimic a standard cable you'd use to link a guitar up to an amplifier. The insides of the ear cups are cushioned with enough room inside to fit my ears without feeling cramped. The padding is held on by magnets and can be removed to access what Marshall calls its FTF (Felt Treble Filters). Remove these for more of a crisp sound, or keep them on for a bass-heavy, warm sound style. Performance Marshall hasn't remained in existence for more than 50 years based on looks alone. Thankfully, this trait also makes its way over to the Marshall Monitor over-ear headphones without compromise. Sound performance (with or without the Felt Treble Filters) is full-bodied, packing in deep lows, mids that shine and highs that come through without a harsh, metallic effect. As much as they might seem to be a superfluous addition, the FTF actually do add a layer of warmth and bass to the sound. Conversely, without them, the sound doesn't suffer. Instead, it gains some points in crisp delivery and only loses out on a little richness on the low-end. These headphones shine in every genre that I tested them. That ranges from jazz, hip-hop, rock and even a few podcasts in between. Not only do these scale well with different types of media, I found these to be versatile over-ear companions on-the-go and in the office. The folding design of the Monitor allows them to be tucked away into a small bag, and the comfort provided by the headband and plush ear cups allow for comfortable enjoyment. The inline controls feature a microphone and a multi-function button that controls play, pause and can skip back and forth with a series of button presses. While this is an appreciated addition, its implementation feels half-baked without volume controls. Final verdict Fans of Marshall's stageside equipment will likely appreciate the design of the Monitor from the get-go. But what about everyone else? The brass and metal touches combined with textured plastic and leathery features are, altogether, more than enough to construct an appealing product. However, barring the soulful sound performance and comfort, I expect premium build materials and volume controls from a set of headphones that cost $200. For a set of on-ear headphones in the same price range that fill in these pesky blanks, check out the Klipsch Reference. That said, if you're keen on the style of the Marshall Monitor, I've seen them for sale on Amazon for as low as $115. For that price, these cans are a steal.

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