HTC?has dated when some of its current Android powered phones will be getting Google's latest version of Android; Ice Cream Sandwich.

The announcement comes via the company's official Facebook page and states that the roll out will begin at the end of March.

Android smartphones to be first in the queue to getting the Android 4.0 upgrade are the HTC Sensation?and?HTC Sensation XE, followed soon thereafter by the HTC Sensation XL.

"HTC has been working hard to get its Ice Cream Sandwich?upgrades ready, and we’re excited to announce that?our first round of ICS upgrades will roll out by the end of March for the HTC Sensation and?HTC Sensation XE, followed soon thereafter by the HTC Sensation XL," says the phone maker. ?

There is also hope for HTC EVO 3D,?HTC Incredible S,?HTC Desire S and HTC Desire HD owners too with the company confirming that although they won't be getting the ICS update in March, they will be getting the update at some point in 2012.

"In addition, we can confirm Ice Cream?Sandwich upgrades will be coming later this year to the?HTC EVO 3D,?HTC Incredible S,?HTC Desire S and HTC Desire HD. Stay tuned for more updates on Ice?Cream Sandwich releases in the coming weeks," adds HTC.

We will keep you posted.

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Tags: Phones Mobile phones HTC HTC Sensation HTC Sensation XE HTC Sensation XL HTC EVO 3D HTC Incredible S HTC Desire S HTC Desire HD Ice Cream Sandwich Android

HTC dates Ice Cream Sandwich update, Sensation models get it first originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 09 Feb 2012 22:04:00 +0000

Evernote is not the only note taking service. If you’ve never got on with the green-look super-program that is, then today’s App of the Day on Pocket-lint is definitely worth a try. For a start, you can change the background to one of a huge variety of different non-green themes and, secondly, it’s a lot more social and a touch user-friendlier too.

So, if your life needs a little sorting out, you’re terrible at remembering things or you just want to bring all those little post-it notes of yours into the digital age, then the app you need to try out is...

Springpad

Platform

Web, iOS, Android

Price

Free

Where

Here, here and here

Springpad’s been around as a web service for quite a while but, if you are going to take to it fully, you’ll need to download a mobile version for your iOS or Android device as well. Fortunately, it’s free, so no excuses there.

The way it works is that you create notes to add to your profile. You can make them from scratch by typing them in yourself or you can get Springpad to look things up for you. So, for example, you might want to remember the name of a book or a film or a bottle of wine that tickled your fancy. Quickly put in a brief search term and Springpad will find it out there on the web in services like Amazon or Pricegrabber or even on the social networks if it’s a person that you’re seeking. Should it be a product, however, the service might also come up with a list of places to get it near you and just what it will cost.

On top of that, you can create tasks that will alert you, sync Springpad with your Google Calendar, scan in from barcodes and there's even a section which ties in your Facebook and Twitter networks so that you can see the notes that your friends are saving too - so long as they've allowed that of course. Nothing on Springpad is open to the public unless you've set it to share.

The whole idea is that you've then got all your thoughts, inspirations and wished-for products and consumables in the same place just ready for you to act upon.?All in all, lots to play with. Make sure to give it a full go before you decide whether it works for you.

Tags: Apps Android apps iPhone apps iPad apps App of the day Springpad Evernote

APP OF THE DAY: Springpad review originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 09 Feb 2012 18:06:00 +0000

So you have an iPhone. You like to consider yourself part of the modern internet connected world. But can you send an email while learning English? Or do your expenses and record a podcast? Only the best app users truly can. Getting quicker with your iPhone isn't difficult, nor is pushing more productivity tasks through it particularly tough.?

But where to start? Below is a list of choice cuts from the app store that we believe to be the most useful apps out there for productivity. So get reading, get downloading and get faster.?

Dynamic English Lessons

Super-simple to use, this app brings a little bit of fun to the whole process of learning; rather than delving too deeply into the intricacies of the English language it aims to bring a run-down of some common phrasal verbs.?This focus on phrasal verbs should allow for their practical application in a variety of scenarios; something that is addressed in this app.?On loading up the Dynamite English Lessons, you're confronted with four sections at the bottom, including Settings, Dictionary, and the one we're interested in, Categories.

These categories are split into sub-headings which include Leisure, Travel, Dating and the like. Tapping through will then start your process of learning, bringing up sentences with the verbal phrases missing; it's then your job to fill them in via two multiple choice scroll wheels at the bottom.?As you complete more phrases from the various categories, phrases will be added to the dictionary section; so there's a real incentive to keep going. Complete them all, and you'll also be rewarded with an X Rated category - just how saucy it is remains to be seen. Read More

iTunes: Link

Price: ?0.69

Rating: 4/5

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ExpenseMagic

The beauty with ExpenseMagic is that it turns what is a boring process into a simple one. You simply snap pictures of your receipts, tickets or anything else you want the boss to cough up for and it does the work for you.?Not by using image tracking tech like we've seen in apps like Evernote or Business Card Reader, but by having "trained bookkeepers" do all the work for you. Tthey will even work out the VAT details for you. Your receipts get processed within a few hours.

The app itself is free, and allows you to bring in other elements such as attaching a receipt to a diary event from your calendar, but for every 20 receipts you want processed, you'll need to cough up ?2.99. You'll get 5 for free when you start.?If you're overseas on business the app will use the GPS function of your iPhone to see where you are and adjust the currency and you can even choose to have all your expenses put into one single claim form that can be automatically emailed to your employer once a month. Read More

iTunes:?Link

Price: Free

Rating: 4/5

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WorkSnug

The idea behind this simple but effective app is to connect mobile workers to the nearest places to some work done. Anyone who works remotely will know, only too well, the panic that sets in when dashing around the streets from coffee to pub in desperate search of Wi-Fi so that you can get on with some graft. That's where WorkSnug Pro comes in.?All you need to do is point the camera in front of you and the app will overlay a series of GPS-tagged pointers to tell you where the nearest work-friendly places are, whether that's coffee shops, pubs or libraries.

All listed locations have been rated for their atmosphere, noise levels, power points, Wi-Fi and - crucially - the quality of the coffee. You can add your own reviews for the places you visit so that it becomes a network that's updated by the community that uses it. It even includes an integrated decibel meter so that you can take your own readings to add to your review. Read More

iTunes: Link

Price: Free

Rating: 5/5

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Mint.com Personal Finance

Mint.com is all about your money - it’s a service which aggregates all your online bank accounts into one manageable place. Instead of having to log in to four different company systems, you enter all your details on set up and leave Mint to do the work for you each time you want to take a peep. It’ll deal with your savings, credit cards, mortgages and anything else you’ve got and put all of them and their transactions into one online statement. And, like all the best things on thenternet, it’s free.

The service uses bank level security and will also warn you if it suspects fraudulent activity on any of your accounts, but it doesn’t stop there. If you want to be super organised, you can create a budget. That’s because the website can categorise and display exactly what kinds of things you spend your cash on. So, it’ll let you know just how much you waste on expensive take out coffee. Off the back of that, you can make a new cash flow plan for yourself and the service will even make suggestions of where you can cut down your expenses as well. Read More

iTunes: Link

Price: Free

Rating: 5/5

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Evernote

Evernote is a simple enough idea. It’s a cloud-based filing system for notes. It’s a giant, searchable, back pocket with dividers. The phone, pad or desktop app - however you want to use it - allows you to take notes as pictures, written notes, audio notes or you can just upload a file. You give each one a title as you do so and you’re welcome to tag them too. Once you’re done, you hit upload and off they go into the cloud as if you’ve just attached a magical helium ballon. That’s probably how they’d show it in an advert, anyway.

While it’s a good service from a laptop, it really comes into its own on your mobile phone. You can take a photo of something you see that inspires you when you’re out on the hoof, or perhaps a Christmas gift idea or maybe just a ticket confirmation number or something you’ll need later. It’s not hard to think of times where it comes in handy, you just have to remember that you have this service in your pocket in the first place. Best of all, of course, it’ll cost you nothing to try it out. Make sure you do. Read More

iTunes: Link

Price: Free

Rating: 5/5

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Documents to Go Premium

Documents to Go (DTG) is a, quite frankly, brilliant office suite that will turn your iPad into a rich office-based machine, without clogging up your precious hard-drive space with files.?Because, although you can store documents locally on your iPad's memory, DTG works best when you bring in the cloud - and that's why it's worth forking out for the premium version.DTG is compatible with Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint files and you'll also be able to view images, iWork files and PDFs as well.

With Word, Excel and PowerPoint you can edit files and there are all the formatting options that you could possibly wish for, you simply have to scroll through them on the toolbar at the bottom. Holding your finger down on a button gives you a text explanation of what it will do, so you don't need to guess.?Packed to the rafters with handy features, Documents to Go is a fantastic app and we highly recommend it. Less than ?12 is a bargain for what you get with the premium version, although there is a version without cloud support for just ?6.99. Read More

iTunes: Link

Price: ?11.99

Rating: 4/5

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Diacarta Planner

This one should help anyone who suffers from a lack of organisational skills as it's a simple way to plan and visualise your day - say a big hello to Diacarta.?This very neat planner is designed to enable the user to visualise his or her day by choosing icons that match with the things you'll be doing. You basically start off with a clock to which you can add said icons, thereby creating a handy at-a-glance reminder.?Here you can see the initial clock face, your day a blank slate ready to be filled with exciting and interesting things. By tapping on the + tab you can add a variety of different icons, which number around 50 and you can also add notes to each one or just enter text if none of the symbols matches your activity.

It's also possible to swiftly set up future events with the calendar and everything seems to work as it should.?In our play we found it all very straight forward, although it isn't perfect as there doesn't appear to be the ability to import from you existing calendars. That said, it is quite possible that particular functionality could come at a later date. Read More

iTunes: Link

Price: 69p

Rating: 3/5

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UCAS-Track

Applying for a university place is a rite of passage all graduates have to go through. The UCAS system can be a little confusing, and as it is not renowned as being one of life's more pleasant experiences this iPhone app is here to help.?Features of the app include an at-a-glance view of your choices along with a comprehensive FAQ section. There's also a description of key dates outlining the UCAS application cycle so you know what to do and by when.?Applicants can track all their UCAS applications, with a detailed view of each choice including course details, start dates and of course most crucially, conditions and replies.

This free to download app will also enable you to see which universities have rejected you, before you go into that must-try-harder-pot that is clearing.?Finally, security-wise, UCAS promises that your info is held securely and can only be accessed by entering your personal ID, username and password. Read More

iTunes: Link

Price: Free

Rating: 5/5

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Xobni Smartr Contacts

Sure its name has been written in a world seemingly devoid of grammr but hey, if it makes things smartr then we are all for it. The app launched on Android back in 2011 and continues to grow in popularity. The iPhone launch however is what really matters here. Existing in either a free to use or paid for form, Xobni intelligently amalgamates all your contacts into one place.?

Smartr by Xobni from Smartr & Xobni on Vimeo.

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The paid-for version of the app, which costs $7.99 per month, can scan and add any new contacts made through email inboxes to your phone. The BlackBerry version for example managed to bump us all the way up to a staggering 6000 contacts virtually instantaneously. Saves you keeping a lengthy email history on your phone, should you need to go fishing for a phone number or someone's details.

iTunes:?Link

Price:?Free

Rating: 4/5

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Evi

Don't have an iPhone 4S yet? Desperate to constantly question your smartphone for useless information? Evi might be the thing for you. Pegged as a serious rival to Apple's current offerings, it is apparently capable of recognising speech and natural language and coming back with correct search results.?

The best thing about Evi however is that it fills a rather significant hole in Siri's UK functionality. It can use maps and locations to find out about local businesses. The app can integrate with the likes of?Yelp, Google Places, Parkopedia and TopTable, making it a highly formidable location tool. The speech recognition is also top notch and easily on a par with what Apple manages.

iTunes:?Link

Price:?Free

Rating: 4/5

Tags: Phones iPhone iPhone 4 iPhone apps Apps Features

Best iPhone productivity apps originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 09 Feb 2012 17:53:00 +0000

People of a certain age will remember that, at one time, Creative Labs was the only name that mattered when it came to PC sound. Sadly for the company, the PC market has dried up substantially. So it began to focus more on MP3 players and other audio devices. A tricky area, given Apple's indisputable dominance.

And that brings us to the WP-350 headphones. Designed to be paired with phones, MP3 players - including both Apple's and Creative's devices - they offer Bluetooth connectivity and a few other tricks, for about ?90.

Comfortable and practical

The 350s are light, which is good, but they also keep a pretty decent grip on your head, which is incredibly important if you don't want to be picking them up off the floor all the time.

There are some buttons located on the right-hand earpiece. These are pretty useful, and with these being Bluetooth headphones, support on phones is pretty universal too. There is a phone icon, which allows you to trigger your handset's voice dialling feature. It also acts as the power button, and pressing it for an extended period when you turn the headphones on puts them in to Bluetooth paring mode.

As you might expect, there's a play/pause control, which comes in handy when you don't want to unlock your phone to pause the music. There are also track forward/back buttons, which worked flawlessly with our Samsung Galaxy Nexus, using the default music player.

Underneath, you'll find a pair of volume controls. These work differently depending on the device you're controlling. On Apple hardware, they generally control the master volume. On other devices, it's a little less clear. But the result is the same: changing volume.

We found that, even when worn for more than an hour, the WP-350s were comfortable. The tight band can make them feel a little bothersome on sensitive ears, but they're nicer to wear than heavier, wired headphones. The soft pad didn't seem to make our ears too hot, something that can be a problem with larger models too.

The headphones are charged via a mini-USB socket, making them compatible with most phone chargers. This is a really smart move, and one that is likely to see people actually using these headsets. We really hope this is a sign that the proprietary charger is dying a death.?

Bluetooth and hands-free

In addition to being Bluetooth headphones for music, the 350s also have a small, discrete microphone. This means that you can use them to make and receive calls. Doing so was easy on our Galaxy Nexus. Press the call button, say the name, and the phone calls that person.

That all works really well, and we had no trouble with voice recognition, and the in-call volume was certainly loud enough. However, we found that it was quite a low-quality affair. We used the Skype call-testing service to check - as we do with all such headsets - on the quality, and found it to be some of the worst we'd heard. Even just listening to speech via our phone was subject to far more distortion that we would expect.

None of this is a disaster, the system is certainly usable, but we're getting used to the likes of Plantronics making very high-quality headsets, and it's spoilt us slightly. And as we use Skype a lot, we really like having that extra quality that sadly, these headphone can't offer.

It is worth pointing out that the headphones support the aptX system. This should lead to increased audio quality with devices that support it. The problem is, a lot of us are using older Bluetooth devices that don't. It should help in the future though.

Sound quality

Obviously, the quality of these headphones varies wildly depending on the device you use. We tried them with an iPod Touch, and Samsung Galaxy Nexus and one of Creative's own MP3 players, the ZEN X-Fi3. EQ settings on the Apple and Samsung devices meant we could tweak the sound to our taste.

There's certainly a lot of bass on offer here, should that be your poison. You can also overdo that part of the audio spectrum, giving a booming sensation that's not entirely pleasant. But setting the EQ up sensibly will yield some impressive results, and we quite liked the sound overall. There was some distortion on specific tracks, but it wasn't a problem in most of what we listened too.

When partnered with Creative's own MP3 player, we felt they were a little weedy sounding. The X-Fi doesn't have quite as many EQ options, and that meant we were more or less stuck with some preset controls, none of which really made a huge difference. We could live without the low end, but these headphones also seemed a little too bright. Certainly, the sound on the Creative WP-350 is never flat, the ultimate goal of all decent headphones.

Verdict:

The Creative WP-350 headphones aren't the cheapest we've seen. They're decent enough, but far from the best-sounding earphones we've ever used. They do have plenty of bass, and with Bluetooth the audio quality is never perfect anyway.

But these will certainly appeal to certain musical tastes more than others - electronic music works well, classical will probably not be as pleasant. The added microphone and their ability to work as a hands-free system is very handy though, and it works well enough for phone calls, but dedicated hands-free headsets are generally better when you need higher-quality voice calls.

Tags: Audio Headphones Creative Bluetooth Bluetooth headsets

Creative WP-350 Bluetooth headphones originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 09 Feb 2012 16:30:00 +0000

It hasn't exactly set the music-streaming world alight, so it should come as no surprise that Research in Motion is trying to push BBM Music by offering up to six months free access.

The service, first announced in August, allows BBM users to get access to up to 50 music tracks for ?4.99 a month with the facility to swap 25 of those tracks a month, every month.?

Hoping to offer something different from Spotify, which is also available on BlackBerry, BBM Music also allows users to share their musical choices with up to 500 BBM friends meaning, in theory, you could get access to 7000 tracks in total on and offline.

Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group and EMI are all on board so there are plenty of tunes to choose from - more than 10 million, in fact.

BBM Music has also seen an update to version 1.1 bringing in Facebook and Twitter contacts as possible music friends, giving you a better chance to access more music.

The free trial (six months in the UK, four months Stateside) is available to new BBM Music users only.

Tags: Phones BlackBerry RIM BlackBerry apps BBM Music

BBM Music now available free for six months originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 09 Feb 2012 16:23:00 +0000

Kodak is to stop making digital cameras, pocket video cameras and digital picture frames as its parent company attempts to cut costs after a turbulent few months financially.

In January, Eastman Kodak Company filed voluntary petitions for chapter 11 business reorganisation with a bankruptcy court in the US.

The move, which essentially saw Kodak entering a protected period and taking credit of $950 million, was seen as the last throw of the dice for a legendary brand that is firmly on its death bed.

The camera and printer company, established in 1892, has been feeling the financial strain for several years. Despite its being an early pioneer of the digital camera, many believe its focus on film and the budget side of the compact camera market has contributed to its decline.

Described by the company as the "logical decision", the move to scrap the digital camera business is a sad state of affairs for a brand so steeped in camera history. It follows the decision to sell its image sensor division in November last year.

Three-quarters of all Kodak's revenue came from digital but it will now focus on licensing its technologies, as well as continuing the online and retail photo printing services it provides. The company also makes desktop printers.

Kodak had previously tried to sell off its patents to avoid bankruptcy, but failed to gain any interest. Sad days indeed for one of the most recognisable brands in photography.

Tags: Cameras Kodak

Kodak kills its digital camera business originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 09 Feb 2012 15:43:00 +0000

There are enough high-profile fans of the BlackBerry to make something like this Porsche Design special edition make sense. From celebrities to CEOs, the BlackBerry still has quite a hold on people as a great communicator, whether for business or pleasure.

And this Porsche Design P'9981 BlackBerry is something special. But does it go far enough? Will this give you a BlackBerry experience that surpasses what you'll find elsewhere? Is this the BlackBerry handset you should be aspiring to own?

Design

RIM isn't known for design variation. Tracking the family of the BlackBerry handsets, not a huge amount has changed over the past few years. The same could be said of Porsche automobiles, but both the Porsche and the BlackBerry are rather iconic in their design.

The Porsche Design BlackBerry P'9981, however, really brings some class to the tried and tested Bold formula. Where the standard Bold blends in with the rest of the BB crowd, the P'9981 is distinct and individual and really stands out in a sea of similarity.

Whether you like it, or not, will be a case of personal taste and we've come from a position of thinking it was brash and offensive, to one where we love the look and feel. You know it's special and so does everyone you show it to.

Hewn from stainless steel, it's still instantly recognisable as a BlackBerry thanks to the split face offering a full QWERTY keyboard below the display. The finish is very good in most places. The keyboard feels right, the phone looks right from every angle. Where the metal gives way for the display you have wonderful distinct clean design lines.

But as much as we love the design, it's design where this phone also suffers. The back is plastic and finished in leather, although it feels substantial enough when in place it doesn't attach especially well to the back of the phone.

Like many devices, it uses regularly placed plastic tabs to hold it on, but on our sample it was all too easy to pop the back off by accident. Grip the phone wrong and you feel the back detach. Porsche cars have a reputation for letting the back-end go so we're wondering if it is some sort of in-joke.

The second point is the positioning of the convenience key. This is a useful button, which you can program to open an application of your choice - the default is to launch the camera. It is positioned in the right edge, exactly where your hand would be if you use a two-thumbed keyboard technique. On more than one occasion we were furiously typing emails, only to find we’d launched the camera.

Aside from the overly large box that the phone arrives in, you also get a matching dock. This too is finished in steel and leather and features a soft light to guide your Porsche phone in at night for refuelling. It's a convenient bedside stand and we like it a lot.

This being a dressed-up BlackBerry Bold, the keyboard is one of the most important elements. At first we weren't sold on it, as the alternative characters are much more difficult to see than on the regular Bold. This isn't helped by the decision to move away from the tried and tested black background, but the backlighting certainly helps make things clearer once you start typing.

Although the design is sharper, and the cut across the individual keys is sharper and more defined than on the Bold, that action isn't too different. Given a couple of days with the phone, we found that using it became second nature. Despite the changes, it's only really the occasional moment when you're left looking for a colon that it causes a problem.

Hardware

Internally, there is less to talk about, especially if you've read our BlackBerry Bold 9900 review. You get a 1.2GHz processor, 768MB RAM and 8GB of internal memory. BlackBerry has been kind enough to include a 16GB microSD card too, so you should be well provisioned for storage.

The screen too, is the same as the original Bold. It is a capacitive touchscreen, with a resolution of 640 x 480 pixels. That sounds low in modern terms, but at only 2.8-inches, it gives you an impressive 287ppi. It will render fine detail crisply and there is punch and vibrancy to the colours, but it's let down with a flaky touch response.

We're convinced this is nothing to do with the hardware and everything to do with the software, more on which later.

Around the back of the phone you have a 5-megapixel camera, supported by an LED flash. This is lacking in modern terms, not because of the pixel count, but because it is fixed focus. This sets it behind other smartphone cameras in terms of results, which aren't as sharp as we'd like. Given good conditions you'll get snaps acceptable for sharing, but the inability to focus on close detail is irritating.

The camera also offers you HD video of the 720p variety. Again, focus is fixed so it's not as adept as some rivals, although this is less of an issue in mobile video capture. The results are average, a little noisier than you might expect, but perfectly acceptable for casual use.

The external speaker is surprisingly good and loud. It lacks bass, obviously, so isn't great for music, but plug in a pair of quality headphones and the results are good too. The external speaker is in the bottom of the device and surprisingly it isn't devastatingly muffled when you park it on the dock.

There is a set of Porsche Design headphones in the box, which offer an in-line mic, but we weren't taken by the quality of the audio they offered and were easily surpassed by the Klipsch headphones we tried instead.

The ear speaker is loud enough and we had no problems hearing callers, although that neatly designed angular top edge can be a little uncomfortable against your ear in long calls. We also found we could hear our end of the conversation being repeated through the ear speaker during a call, although this might be a problem limited to this device.

Software, apps, performance

So far the Porsche Design BlackBerry P'9981 has hit most of the right markers. The hardware looks powerful on paper, the cameras are okay, but not fantastic, and the design and keyboard are mostly without issue. But a phone hangs on the software performance, which governs the user experience.

The theme applied to the Porsche Design handset can be switched off if you don't like it, although it is nice to have something a little different. But what it loses is in the app icons. All the native app icons have been stylised and in the process it all become rather generic, so it's more difficult to spot the app you want in a flash.

But this customisation only applies to the native and preinstalled apps, not those you then download, so it does end up being something of a mishmash.

Starting with the positives, the BlackBerry 7 OS that the P'9981 sits on provides a great communication experience. BlackBerry's integrated messaging system and universal search make it easy to find what you're looking for and managing a busy email life is certainly easy. It's mostly conversant with things like Google accounts, although it will stumble with multiple calendars - Google Sync will resolve that for you though.

The combination of touch and type works to a point. You can quickly select an icon or tap a link, which is better than scrolling across the optical trackpad to make things happen. But on many occasions, like trying to press a button at the bottom of the display, the screen doesn't respond. When people are becoming familiar with a silky smooth and refined touch experiences elsewhere, BB 7 feels a little rudimentary.

We won't go into more detail of what RIM needs to do to move the OS forward, but we will stop to talk about the topic du jour: apps. They have redefined the mobile experience and the BlackBerry, while offering many and varied applications, finds itself without some of the biggest names.

There is no Skype, for example, no Netflix, no BBC iPlayer and some of the core apps, such as YouTube, merely redirect to the mobile website. The App World app itself isn't great and whenever you come to download and install new apps, everything else grinds to a halt and often begs for a restart.

The browser, although vastly better than previous BB versions, is no match for Android or iOS. Pinch zooming doesn't work well at all, scrolling can be slow and jerky, even if pages load quickly enough.

The result is that no matter how well you dress your BlackBerry, the experience is very much the same. If you spend your time working through emails sitting in the back seat of a Phaeton, then you probably won't care. The core BlackBerry services are well integrated and run without a hitch - except Maps, which is as good as useless. If you're the sort of person who whiles away time on the train with a little casual gaming, or catching up on last night's TV, this isn't the phone for you.

And finally…

The last word goes to battery life. With a 1230mAh battery, the P'9981 struggles to make it through a busy day. Like the Bold 9900, we found that the P'9981 needed to be charged every night. This is slightly out of character for a BlackBerry handset, as most of the rest of the range will easily make it through a day. At least you have that dock to park it on, so you don't need to fiddle around with cables.

Verdict:

It might sound like we've been rather harsh here, but there's no escaping the fact that the P'9981, Porsche Design or not, it still a BlackBerry at its core. Where it excels with communication features, it lacks with entertainment refinement. Whilst the app offering is there, it isn't anything like as exciting as you'll get on Apple or Android.

You couldn't say the Porsche Design BlackBerry P'9981 was good value for money, but then you couldn't say that about a Porsche either. A VW Beetle will get you from A to B comfortably and effectively, but people still go out and buy the Porsche Cayman. But this is a little like buying your Cayman with a 1.2-litre Beetle engine: it has the looks and it will get you there, but not like a Porsche should.

We can't say the P'9981 is any worse than the Bold 9900 in terms of performance. It has the same positives and the same negatives. Together they offer the best performance in the current BlackBerry portfolio, if that's the phone you're after. With a price of €1475 ?(?1234) ?it will never be deemed good value for money, but then what Porsche is?

Tags: Phones BlackBerry BlackBerry Porsche Design P9981

BlackBerry Porsche Design P'9981 originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 09 Feb 2012 15:04:00 +0000

Not only have we been treated to the the first images of (parts) of the iPad 3 (probably...maybe) but now we've a launch date for the next-gen Apple tablet - the first week of March.

That's when AllThingsD's sources are saying an Apple event to announce the third iPad iteration will take place, at least.

There's no concrete info on the time or the place; just "presumably at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts" and a guess at retail availability roughly following "the same schedule as that of the iPad 2: available for purchase a week or so after the event".

The original iPad was announced at the end of January 2010 and went on sale in the States in March. The iPad 2 was unveiled at an event on 2 March last year with it hitting the shops just over a week later.

There's been plenty of speculation as to what we might expect from Apple's next magical toy, including a 2048x1536 display, a quad-core A6 chip, a bigger battery and a better camera.

All we know for sure is that it better warm up come launch day - otherwise there are going to be thousands of cold fanboys sitting outside Apple Stores.

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Tags: Tablets iPad 3 Apple

iPad 3 launch event first week of March originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:47:00 +0000

It's been a white phone crazy 2012 so far with pale handsets falling from all angles like heavy (and expensive) snow. But what good is a white handset when it comes to showing your love? No good at all we say, pink is what the ladies like.

So it's great timing, with less than a week to go before Valentine's Day, for the pink Samsung Galaxy S II to land in the UK. Carphone Warehouse is offering the purty phone for free on deals ranging from ?25 to ?31 on Orange, O2 and Vodafone.

It's not the first time we've seen a pink handset hit the shops in time for the big romantic day though. Last year Research in Motion unveiled a "Fuchsia Pink" Curve 3G. But if your lady is like Mrs Pocket-lint and isn't so keen on RIM-action, then she'll no doubt be ecstatic to receive a Galaxy S II instead.

For those who have been exclusively hanging out in caves, with no access to the outside world, the Samsung Galaxy S II features a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus touchscreen, 8-megapixel rear-facing camera and, with a waistline of only?8.49mm,?is a super svelte machine.

You can get your pink version now, direct from Carphone Warehouse.

Tags: Phones Samsung Samsung Galaxy S II Carphone Warehouse

Pink Samsung Galaxy S II arrives in time for Valentine's Day originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 09 Feb 2012 13:57:00 +0000

All the clues are pointing towards Nokia giving the Symbian OS one last high-profile outing; with the N8's successor likely to be the much leaked Nokia 803.

We first got wind of the supposed Nokia Belle handset back in December when a user manual turned up and now we've got some extra details to add to the rumour round-up.

BGR is reporting that a "trusted source" has the readies on the new handset and that we could be looking at a smartphone packing "the largest camera sensor" ever.

The Nokia N8, if you remember, wasn't exactly a smash-hit for the Finnish company but its camera skills were, and still are, pretty much unrivalled. It features a 12-megapixel snapper with Carl Zeiss optics and a xenon flash, and is capable of 720p video with continuous AutoFocus at 30fps.

If the Nokia 803 eclipses that, it will be a seriously spec'd camera phone giant.

It's also rumoured to be packing a 4-inch AMOLED display with a HDMI-out port, microSIM support and NFC skills too.

So, quite a swan song for Symbian although come the murmured May release - will anyone really care about ringing the Belle?

Tags: Nokia Nokia 803 Phones Symbian Nokia Belle

Nokia 803 to be last throw of the Symbian dice? originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 09 Feb 2012 13:03:00 +0000

Apple is the king of rumour mongering and the Apple iTV currently carries the rumour crown. Schtum until the last minute, as Forest Gump would suggest, Apple is like a box of chocolates: you never know what your gonna get.

So with Apple television set rumours, things remain very much the same. Who knows what sort of treats Cupertino’s labs are currently cooking up? We can’t wait to find out, that’s for sure. In the meantime why not speculate like mad, heck it helps relieve some of the stress of waiting at least. This is by no means what the finished iTV might end up looking like, more just everything the internet currently predicts it to be. What follows is an amalgamation of absolutely everything currently circulating the web on Apple's supposed iTV product.?

Apple iTV release date

There have been very few murmurs whatsoever of the hardware’s definite arrival time. Virtually nothing has been mentioned and no one really knows when it is going to turn up. The best way to approach this question then is to look at the way Apple traditionally unveils hardware.

Any iPhone or iPad launch is scheduled with a big enough distance between that they don’t clash and detract from each other's hype. The iPhone 4S arrived in mid October, the iPad 2 at the end of March. That leaves quite a tasty gap in between during the summer months. If Apple were to follow the same release schedule as last year, the iTV might well arrive in summer.

Walther Isaacson's biography of Steve Jobs, released in October, explained that Jobs had made the iTV his last big project and that as he put it, had “cracked” connected television. This, at least, means it exists and had been worked on by Jobs just before he died. This would put it towards the end of its R&D cycle and make a summer launch even more likely.?

A supply chain leak reported by Digitimes in December 2011 did reveal something of a possible release time and appears to agree with Isaacson's biography of Jobs. Materials for the sets are supposedly being prepared in Q1 this year with aims to release the hardware to market in Q3. Do take this with a slight pinch of salt though, as Digitimes doesn't have a spotless record for accurate rumour reporting.?

Apple iTV display

This is where rumours surrounding the iTV get a bit more exciting. First up is that the iTV is going to appear in multiple sizes, according to a story on smarthouse.com.au published in December 2011; logical when you think about how people approach a television purchase.

We are expecting the standard 32-inch model going all the way up to 55-inch. How do we know this? Well rumours coming in from Japan point to Sharp as the panel manufacturer for the brand new Apple sets. The same report in allthingsd.com also suggests that the panels are going to be LCD, not OLED which may be reserved for future variants of the television. Doubtless the public will be extremely happy if they see a 32-inch version of the screen used on the iMac. Apple has always done a good job with its panels and so expect whatever turns up in the iTV to be of decent quality.

Further rumours surrounding Sharp’s work on the iTV also say the company has completely retooled its Sakai production plant just for putting together the displays. We already know that the company will likely be working on OLED screens for future iPhone and iPads, but whether they release an iTV with similar display tech remains to be seen. The Digitimes supply leak in December doesn't mention anything of the sort, it does however suggest just a 32 and 37-inch panel available at the television's launch.

In all likelihood the cost will keep things LCD focused for the first generation at least. What no Apple iTV rumour reports have pointed to, as yet, are whether or not the displays will use IPS, be LED-backlit or of Retina Display pixel density.

Apple iTV remote control

A quote from Jobs in Isaacson’s book suggests we might see Siri make an appearance in the new iTV set as opposed to conventional controls.?

"I’d like to create an integrated television set that is completely easy to use. It would be seamlessly synced with all of your devices and with iCloud. No longer would users have to fiddle with complex remotes for DVD players and cable channels. It will have the simplest user interface you could imagine."

It would make sense, given the success of systems like Kinect and its Xbox voice control, and would certainly tie in with the idea of cutting down on remote controls but it's equally possible that the quote refers to using another iDevice as a remote or indeed Apple iTV coming with something universal of its own.

There is also - as reported in December of 2011 by the Wall Street Journal?-?the possibility of gesture controls. Apple has been gesture obsessed since it launched the trackpad for Mac, so it would certainly make sense.

Apple iTV operating system

Apple already has a highly formidable operating system in iOS. The failings of the current Apple TV and its alternative software approach make it even more likely that it's the iPhone and iPad interface that will appear on the new iTV. It's hard to see Apple going any other way than with its hugely popular and well-established iOS with its vast app infrastructure but, until we receive reports on the matter either way, it's not possible to say for sure.

Apple iTV hardware

On top of the display rumours in the allthingsd.com report, there have been more details on the innards and outtards of the iTV coming as dropped in a survey conducted by?Best Buy?in February 2012. These specifications have been debunked by the store itself, but its still worth taking a look at what the consumer electronics megastore had in mind.

The survey talks about a 42-inch 1080p television that runs iOS and can access the app store - two things that ring true with other reports of the Apple iTV system.

What is slightly puzzling about the whole Best Buy survey is the use of an iSight camera for Skype. iSight is no longer how Apple refers to its built-in cameras and FaceTime would be far more likely to come as standard than Skype.

Apple iTV iCloud integration

Steve Jobs himself gives mention to the uses of iCloud in the Apple iTV set.

"I’d like to create an integrated television set that is completely easy to use. It would be seamlessly synced with all of your devices and with iCloud." Jobs told Isaacson in his biography.

There is no reason why Apple wouldn't be taking advantage of the vastly expensive infrastructure they have created with iCloud. Wireless content syncing across devices? iTunes Match on your telly? Yes please.?

Apple iTV channels

Analysts say Apple is working on custom channels for its new iTV.?Shaw Wu and?Sterne Agee told AppleInsider in December 2011 that, if Apple's service were to take on the likes of Sky and Virgin Media, it would offer paid-for internet TV subscription packages.

All TV programming would be streamed over the internet which would mean, theoretically, that viewers could create their own custom channels. We already know from the December rumour story that Apple approached CBS in the US for TV licensing deals. Sure, they were turned away but it means that the big A is at least planning something.?

There are also murmurs that Apple iTV could kick off Premier League coverage, or at least gain access to it following the normal Apple TV set top box. The Daily Mail explained that the Cupertino giant was looking into the Premiership to bolster its selection of programming, something that could appear on the iTV, should they gain access to the rights.?

Bloomberg also reported in July 2011 that Apple was considering purchasing Hulu?which would mean access to even more programming for the iTV.?

Apple iTV price

Again, there is very little to go on here. Best Buy suggested a hefty $1499 cost for the set. This is entirely possible given the current price premium placed on Apple's products.

To put it in perspective, a 27-inch Thunderbolt display is ?899. Add in all the complex internals needed for television programming and the extra screen size to hit 32-inches and you have lots of cost on top. It seems unlikely, given the price of Thunderbolt displays, that the smallest iTV will cost less than ?1000.?

Apple iTV review

Expect plenty more coverage as we get closer to the release date and full and thorough Apple iTV review once we've had a chance to get Apple's television into the Pocket-lint labs.

Tags: Televisions Apple Apple iTV Sharp Features ios Apple TV

Apple iTV: Review of rumours, features, pictures and specs originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:14:00 +0000

Not content with unleashing the Android version of its popular browser, Google has also found time this week to reveal the 17th stable iteration of Google Chrome for your desktop.

Yep, Google Chrome 17 is here - about three and a half years since the first version came flooding out of Mountain View. That's some rapid release cycle.

But, rather than being a boring update concerned with debugging and behind the scenes developer changes, Chrome 17 does pack some cool new features that will make your browsing swishier ?- including prerendering of web-pages when you type into the omnibox based on your web history and habits.

"When I visit my favourite sandwich shop, I always order the same thing: a chicken cashew salad sandwich on whole wheat (it’s awesome)," explains Chrome software engineer No? Lutz.

"Now, the owners know what I want as soon as I walk in the door. Which means they can start making it before I say a word. Which means I get my sandwich faster.

"Chrome now does the same thing. Except not with sandwiches. When you start typing in the omnibox and the URL autocompletes to a site you’re very likely to visit, Chrome will prerender the page, so it will appear faster - sometimes, even instantly - as soon as you hit Enter."

Chrome 17 also gives extra protection from cyber nasties, with added security to protect you from downloading malicious software.

Google Chrome is growing its market share at an incredible pace and is on course to overtake Microsoft's Internet Explorer this year. StatCounter reports that Chrome is now the browser of choice for more than one in four web surfers (27 per cent) and that IE is losing its dominance daily. Microsoft's once undisputed king still holds more than a third (38 per cent) of the market share - but this is way down on its 70 per cent share back in 2008.

You can get in on the revolution by downloading Chrome 17 now. It's free, of course.

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Tags: Software Google Chrome Chrome Google Browsers

Google Chrome 17 guesses your desires originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:14:00 +0000

The Windows 8 Consumer Preview, ie, the first time that Joe and Joanna Public will be able to take Microsoft's new baby for a spin, will go live on 29 February.

The launch date has been confirmed courtesy of a Mobile World Congress invite which is set for the leap-year extra day at 3pm Spanish time. Microsoft had promised a February launch for the platform and so it seems it will keep to its word.

Over in Vegas at CES, Pocket-lint was given its strongest indication yet that Microsoft will launch Windows 8 in October.

Discussing the launch time frame during a briefing and demo session of the next-gen OS, Janelle Poole, director of public relations of the Windows Business Group, said:?"We haven't talked about the release date and we generally don't. We are talking milestone to milestone, so for us right now we're talking about the next milestone being the consumer preview happening in late February.?

"One of the things that I think is a good guideline though, is we've always said that Windows releases come round about every three years and this year will be three years in October since we launched Windows 7. So I think that's a good guideline to consider."

October has long been touted as the month that the Metro UI-tastic platform will land, but this was the biggest hint that we had been given so far.

Pocket-lint will, of course, be out in Barcelona in force covering all the MWC news as it breaks so be sure to check back during the show for comprehensive coverage.

Tags: Software Microsoft Windows 8 Operating Systems

Windows 8 Consumer Preview goes live 29 February originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 09 Feb 2012 11:36:00 +0000

Bored of white phone releases yet? No? Well that's good then, as we've news of yet another one coming your way courtesy of the HTC Sensation XE.

The HTC Sensation XE launched back in September, packing Beats Audio and an ambition to sail the HTC flagship. And now, if you're a fan of the paler side of tech, you can grab it in white. Clove has the new colour option listed as due for shipping on 20 February for ?408.

With a hardware set to rival the Samsung Galaxy S II, and a claim for the Android heavyweight championship, the Sensation XE has impressed us with its super speeds thanks to its 1.5GHz dual-core engine and crisp displays courtesy of the 4.3-inch qHD screen.

There is also an 8-megapixel camera on the back, a VGA one up front and it is capable of shooting 1080p videos. Running Android 2.3.4 with HTC Sense 3.0 over the top, it comes boxed with either an 8GB or 16GB microSD card.

There has been an absolute barrage of white handset news as of late including the white Samsung Galaxy Note, the white Nokia Lumia 800 (and 900), the white Samsung Galaxy Nexus, the white Motorola RAZR and the white HTC Sensation.

It's funny when you think about all the problems Apple had releasing just one white phone not so long ago.

?

Tags: Phones HTC HTC Sensation XE Clove

White HTC Sensation XE landing 20 February originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 09 Feb 2012 10:51:00 +0000

Images of what is purported to be the back cover for the next-generation iPad 3 have leaked online.

We know, we know - more often than not these leaked manufacturing shots end up being little more than images of knock-off devices that are more iPed than iPad. But this bunch of shots comes from an array of sources, giving extra credence to their authenticity.

First up the chaps at fix-iphones.com have a side-by-side shot of the back of an iPad 2 and the supposed iPad 3 sitting together. Confirmed with "industry insiders in China", the iPad 3 casing is apparently the real-deal and gives us a few clues as to what to expect from the next Apple slate.

There's a smaller logic board mount which could mean a bigger battery and, therefore, a longer standby and operating time. There's also a bigger hole for the camera lens, meaning we could be in line for an improved snapper.

Finally, because of the altered mountings, the LCD display will apparently be "different".? A higher resolution display has often been touted in the iPad 3 rumour mill.

9to5Mac has a clearer image of the case and has stated that "there are not only a few of these back shells being floated to repair shops, but there are sizeable amounts of these parts being built in China". It says a March launch is on the cards.

The final image comes courtesy of Apple.pro. It has a picture of the outward facing part of the case which backs-up the bigger camera argument. Plus, and this is where it gets really juicy - there's an Apple logo on show, clear as day. An Apple logo! We know - unbelievable. It must be real.

In fact, given the trio of leaks, and the fact that the iPad 3 March launch whispers have gained significant volume over the last couple of weeks - we wouldn't be at all surprised if these parts prove to be genuine.

Watch this space...

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Tags: Tablets iPad 3 Apple

iPad 3 leaked pictures suggest improved battery and better camera originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 09 Feb 2012 10:19:00 +0000

Google is all set to launch a cloud-based storage solution to rival the likes of Dropbox and Apple's iCloud.

That's according to a report in the Wall Street Journal, which cites our old pals "people familiar with the matter" as having knowledge of the platform.

"Like Dropbox, Google's storage service, called Drive, is a response to the growth of Internet-connected mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets and the rise of cloud computing, or storing files online so that they can be retrieved from multiple devices," says the report.

Google's Drive, or G-Drive has been a long-running rumour but with the success of Dropbox? - worth between $1 billion and $2 billion and with more than 50 million users - the timing for a launch is nigh.

With the ubiquitous array of Android mobile devices, both tablets and smartphones, and the huge Google community (through Gmail, Google+, YouTube and the rest), the Mountain View client would have no issues building a user-base, although attracting them away from the likes of Dropbox may be tricky.

But, with the report suggesting Google may offer a more generous freemium model than Dropbox (which offers 2GB as the standard free allowance), backed by Gmail-style ads, and a cheaper premium model it may have a chance.

Google is keeping tight-lipped so far, but with Gmail and Google Docs already making use of the Google "cloud", a virtual drive isn't exactly a massive step for the search giant.

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Tags: Online Cloud computing Google Dropbox iCloud

Google Drive coming to take on Dropbox and iCloud originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 09 Feb 2012 09:43:00 +0000

The days when most people would willingly let a total stranger into their home are long gone.

Isn’t that a sad statement? Absolutely. Is it true? Almost certainly.

But not completely. Because if you take a look at www.airbnb.com you’ll find a whole network of people who are prepared to share their homes with strangers. For a fee admittedly, but it’s still quite a gesture.

Some do it to help pay the bills. Others do it to meet new people from all over the world. Some just want to share their homes with others.

Regardless of the hosts’ reasons, if you’re travelling somewhere on a budget, this is one way to find a comfortable, safe and affordable place to stay.

It’s a simple, almost utopian idea that could only really ever be brought to life online and it’s left us with a slightly warm fuzzy feeling and an itch to pack our bags and go and see some more of the world in a slightly different way.

Tags: WebsiteOfTheDay Websites Software Online

WEBSITE OF THE DAY: Air BNB originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:00:00 +0000

There have always been white smartphones, but it really feels as if every manufacturer is jumping on a bandwagon at present. Not least Samsung, which has recently announced that a white Galaxy Nexus is on the way (13 February) on the back of the release of this, a white version of its 5.29-inch screen-sporting behemoth of a phone/tablet combination, the Galaxy Note.

The innards are, of course, identical to the black (listed as blue) device we reviewed on its release at the beginning of November 2011. It has the same?HD Super AMOLED touchscreen,?1.4GHz dual-core processor, 16GB of storage with a microSD memory card slot for further expansion of up to 32GB, and 8- and 2-megapixel cameras front and back respectively.

However, this time the entire casing is white. Very white. Very white indeed.

Perhaps the most surprising element of this is that the back is gloss white, whereas the original model was matt - mottled, in fact. We suspect that this is done so as to avoid it becoming murky and dirty too quickly, with the shinier plastic being easier to wipe clean.

In contrast, the S Pen pressure-sensitive stylus has a matt finish, and could become grubby with constant use. That's not to say it will, however, as we suspect most people to use the Note as a massive phone or internet browser more often than a drawing or, ironically, note-taking device but it's worth pointing out - noting, if you like.

So that's about it. Apart from the aesthetic differences, there's very little else to discuss. From putting both models side-by-side, we have to say that we prefer the funkiness of the white edition, but could see ourselves favouring the black (blue) one just because it's less likely to be marked or look tatty when pulled out in a business meeting.

It's really horses for courses. And we certainly welcome the choice.

The white Samsung Galaxy Note is now available in the UK from multiple retailers. The cheapest we've seen it online (SIM-free) is ?525.

Tags: Samsung Phones Samsung Galaxy Note Android

White Samsung Galaxy Note pictures and hands-on originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 08 Feb 2012 21:32:00 +0000

The original Reckless Racing was a straightforward piece of smartphone gaming addictiveness. Based loosely on Radical Racing, a retro classic, it is a top down racer with an emphasis on drifting and crashing.?

Reckless Racing 2 sees the series return to form in a much improved guise. In depth car customisation, loads of new tracks, improved graphics and an even better drifting setup, reckless racing 2 is one of our favourite gaming apps on the iPhone.

Reckless Racing 2

Platform

iOS, Android

Price

?2.99

Where

Market/iTunes

Graphically RR2 is a bit of a stunner. It boasts big bold bright colours and car models which look nearly as good as that of Real Racing's. The top-down view also lets you get a good view of all the on screen action as you bash around the track.?

The game is a very simple one at its core. Just go forwards and back, drifting around corners as quickly as you can. You will find you pick up gold in most of the early races doing just the above. Later on however and you are going to need to go into all sorts of customisation in order to build a car quick enough to take the win.?

This is where Reckless Racing really gets fun as the level of control you have over the car's driving is pretty extensive. The more you play, the better you get at nailing exactly how you want the thing to drive. By the end you will be zooming round tracks in one constant powerslide.?

At ?2.99 the app is a tad more expensive than most, but it is worth the outlay for those who take mobile gaming seriously. Near Infinity Blade quality graphics and a good few hours worth of gameplay to get stuck into make it a worthy of a place on your phone's home screen.?

Tags: Phones Mobile phones Apps App of the day

APP OF THE DAY: Reckless Racing 2 review (iPad / iPhone / Android) originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 08 Feb 2012 18:00:00 +0000

Amazon's global assault continues with the news that the e-retail giant has signed a deal with Viacom - meaning a wealth of new content is now available for the Seattle-based company to stream.

Stream in the US, that is - remember, we don't get any Amazon streaming action in the UK as of yet although hopefully deals like this and its ownership of Lovefilm may change that soon.

The Viacom deal means that Amazon Prime streamers, and owners of Amazon's Kindle Fire tablet, will be able to access content from channels including MTV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, VH1 and Spike. In total there are now more than 15,000 Prime Instant Videos with the Viacom partnership bringing in shows such as The Hills, Jersey Shore, The Sarah Silverman Program, Dora the Explorer and SpongeBob SquarePants.

"Over the last year we have received fantastic customer feedback about Prime Instant Video," said Brad Beale, director of video content acquisition for Amazon. "We are constantly working to improve the service by adding the shows that our customers enjoy the most."

It certainly has us nailed: we're a sucker for a bit of SpongeBob action.

Tags: Home Cinema Amazon MTV Nickelodeon comedy central Viacom Streaming

Amazon adds Viacom to its streaming armoury originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:01:00 +0000

TomTom is to jump into the car insurance game. Not by offering policies, you understand, but by teaming up with broker Motaquote and providing the technology behind a new insurance product, which bases premiums on driving behaviour.

So, rather than being judged by your policy provider on your gender, age, profession, hair colour and whatever else they think may affect your driving, you can select to be judged by your driving behaviour and habits.

The info is collected, and displayed to you, via a specially developed?TomTom?PRO 3100 satnav - a device that will also give you warnings about traffic and tell you off if you corner too harshly or brake too sharply.

Fair Pay Insurance, as it has been labelled, follows a trial by TomTom that Pocket-lint reported on back in May last year.

"We've dispensed with generalisations and said to our customers, if you believe you're a good driver, we'll believe you and we'll even give you the benefit up front," said Nigel Lombard, MD of Fair Pay Insurance.

"This is unlike some other telematics-based schemes where you may have to prove your ability over a number of months. So if you think of your insurance as your car's MPG - the better you drive, the longer your fuel will last. It's the same with Fair Pay Insurance, good drivers get more for their money and in that sense they will pay ultimately less."??

Tags: Car And GPS GPS TomTom Motaquote

TomTom Fair Pay Insurance to reward good drivers originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 08 Feb 2012 15:00:00 +0000

In what has been an absolute bumper week for camera launches ahead of the big CP+ photography expo in Japan, Sigma has unleashed its new kit - or rather a new twist on some old favourites.

First up, the Japanese company has the re-branded its flagship DSLR camera, the SD1, which is now known as the Sigma SD1 Merrill. Dick Merrill was the chap who invented the technology that has made the Foveon X3 Direct Image Sensor possible.

"This revolutionary image capture system reflects both the artistic and technological sides of Merrill’s personality," reads a company statement. "As an expression of Sigma’s passion for photography and in honour of Dick Merrill’s genius, we have named the latest generation of the Foveon X3 Direct Image Sensor the Foveon Merrill."

Apart from the name, the camera stays the same. But, don't worry, there are some completely new devices sporting the Merrill moniker by way of the Sigma DP1 Merrill and Sigma DP2 Merrill.

Packing the Foveon Merrill sensor, these beauties take their lead from the original DP1 and DP2 cameras, released back in 2006, the first compacts to boast almost DSLR-size sensors. The megapixel count is up to 46 (4800 x 3200 x 3 layers) which is manageable thanks to a dual TRUE (Three-layer Responsive Ultimate Engine) II image processing engine.

Both the DP1 Merrill and the DP2 Merrill have 3-inch, 920k dot, displays - the difference between the two lies in the lenses. For the DP1 it's a new 19mm f2.8 lens (28mm equivalent), which should make it a darn sight faster than the 28mm-equivalent f4 lens of the previous model. For the DP2 it's a new 30mm f2.8 lens (45mm equivalent) one.

The SD1 Merrill will be available in March; the DP1 Merrill and DP2 Merrill's release details are still to be confirmed.

Tags: Cameras Sigma SD1 Sigma SD1 Merrill Sigma DP1 Sigma DP2 Sigma DP1 Merrill Sigma Sigma DP2 Merrill

Sigma SD1, DP1 and DP2 Merrill honours Foveon sensor originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 08 Feb 2012 14:41:00 +0000

Along with the official launch of the OM-D and the unveiling of the Tough TG-820 and TG-620 cameras, Olympus has also found time to announce the successor to its SZ-30MR super-zoom compact - the Olympus SZ-31MR.

Packing the same 16-megapixel backlit sensor as its predecessor, as well as an identical 24x (25-600mm) optical zoom, the SZ-31MR also has a new image processor - the dual engine TruePic V.

Like the TG-820, the new camera boasts Olympus' new iHS (Intelligent, High-Sensitivity and High-Speed) tech, which it claims will produce sharper and more vivid images, along with a smart panorama mode, HDR backlight adjustment, advanced i-Auto mode, AF tracking, and face and pet detection. Videos are shot in Full HD 1080p and the ISO range is 80 to 640.

The new compact super-zoom flagship camera features a 3-inch, 920k dot touchscreen LCD, which also boasts touch shutter controls and touch auto-focusing.

And if you thought we were done for the day with new Olympus camera news then think again as the sleek looking Olympus SH-25M has also been unleashed.

It doesn't quite have the 24x zoom skills of the SZ-31MR, coming in at 12.5x (24-300mm), but it does boast the same 16-megapixel backlit sensor and the TruePic V processor, as well as the iHS tech and the 1080p HD video skills.

Its display is a 3-inch 460k dot one which also has touch-screen options and the SH-25M also has GPS and an electronic compass built-in, with three-sensor technology, "for orientation and key information at a glance".

The Olympus SZ-31MR is available from late March for ?299.99? The SH-25M will land a month later but with a price-tag ?70 less.

Tags: Cameras Olympus SZ-31MR Olympus Olympus SH-25MR

Olympus SZ-31MR sails the compact superzoom flagship originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:05:00 +0000

Motorola kicked off 2012 by announcing the arrival of both the?Motorola Defy Mini and Motorola Motoluxe budget Android 2.3 (Gingerbread)?handsets, and the latter is landing in the UK this month.

The Motorola Motoluxe has a 4-inch touchscreen display. The resolution isn't exactly high-end but, for a handset that is likely to appeal to the limited purse-strings of the tween market,?480x854 is none too shabby either.

In the engine room is a single-core 800MHz?processor?and there's 512MB of RAM on board so this should be plenty for basic app running, listening to music and watching back a bit of stored video. Over the top of Android is the MotoSwitch user interface so there's plenty of social network fun built-in.

It features an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera with autofocus and an LED flash and boasts a funky illuminated lanyard slot that gives a different colour indication depending on whether you've received a text, missed a call or have an email waiting.

There's a front-facing camera for video calling too and its?1400mAh battery offers up to 6.5 hours of talk time or 19 days of standby time. It will be available in?liquorice?or white colour schemes.

No pricing of network availability as of yet but it is definitely hitting the shops this month. We'll let you know when we know more.

We've already seen the Motoluxe in the flesh, so be sure to check-out our hands-on photos.

Tags: Phones Motorola Motoluxe Motorola Android

Motorola Motoluxe February launch for the UK originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 08 Feb 2012 12:14:00 +0000

LG may just have the answer to Fragma's prayers, as the Windows Phone 7 touting LG Miracle has been leaked all over the internet.

The Miracle isn't likely to take on the likes of the HTC Titan or Nokia's top end Lumia smartphones - the spec sheet suggests a mid-level entry device.

It is said to be packing a 4-inch WVGA NOVA display, which should sparkle somewhat, a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon CPU, 8GB of storage, a 5-megapixel rear camera that can shoot 720p video and a VGA front-facing webcam.

It's purported to boast 14.4Mbps HSPA connectivity, 5.0GHz-capable 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 3.0 and NFC too - which is a bit of a curve-ball as NFC isn't supported by the platform yet.

We haven't seen an Windows Phone 7 action from LG since the OS launched in October 2010 and the LG Quantum (or Optimus 7Q) and the Optimus 7 hit the shops. With the Mango update giving Microsoft's platform the shot in the arm that it needed, it will be nice to have a major player back on board.

LG looks like being busy over in Barcelona at MWC at the end of the month. We were also recently treated to a teaser of the LG Optimus Vu, a 5-inch Android device set to take on the Samsung Galaxy Note.

Don't call it a comeback...

Read

Tags: Phones LG LG Miracle Windows Phone 7

LG Miracle picture and details leak originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 08 Feb 2012 11:51:00 +0000

OneNote for Android has finally arrived, following the iOS version launched last year.

The app, which is included in the Office Hub on Windows Phone 7, allows SkyDrive and desktop OneNote users to keep up-to-date with all their office-based shenanigans on the go. You'll be able to create your own notes with text, pictures, and bullets when you're out and about, make and manage to-do lists with checkboxes and keep everything in sync with the cloud using Microsoft SkyDrive online storage.

You'll need a Windows Live account as the point of OneNote is that you store your files remotely. You can then access and manipulate them through Office 2010 with OneNote installed on a PC or by using the app.

Obviously there are plenty of other scrapbook creation apps out there, with Evernote probably being the most high-profile of the bunch, but OneNote for Android will be incredibly useful for any fandroid who uses?Office 2010 on a PC.

The full list of features are....

•???????????? Text formatting, images, and bulleted lists in any note

•???????????? Checklists and To-Do lists

•???????????? Quick photo capture with a phone's camera

•???????????? Quick access to recent notes

•???????????? Store and access multiple OneNote notebooks

•???????????? Sync to your free SkyDrive? account for access anywhere

•???????????? Offline access to notes

•???????????? Option to sync notebooks only over a Wi-Fi connection

•???????????? Built-in spell checker

•???????????? Support for external hyperlinks

•???????????? Table editing

•???????????? Free technical support

OneNote for Android is free to download and use for up to 500 notes. Once you hit your 501st note you'll have to upgrade for a one-time fee of ?2.99 for unlimited use. It's in the Android Market now.

Tags: Apps Android apps Microsoft Microsoft OneNote

Microsoft OneNote lands on Android originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 08 Feb 2012 11:25:00 +0000

Vodafone has come clean with the price and bundle details for the 3G version of the PlayStation Vita, the next-gen handheld console from Sony that is landing in the UK later this month.

The phone network, which is the "preferred provider" for the 3G version of the console, will sell the PS Vita for ?279. This price includes a 4GB memory card and a pay-as-you-go SIM card which, when topped up with ?5, will get you 250 MB of data lasting up to 30 days. You'll also get access to download WipEout 2048 for free.

The PS Vita will go on sale in the UK, Europe and the US on 22 February. The new console, Wi-Fi only version, will be available for ?229.99. You'll be able to get the 3G version in Vodafone stores, as well as other shops and still be able to tap into the free game offer if you get a Vodafone SIM sorted.

The 3G version of the console packs GPS connectivity and allows you to use the console's Near app's location features when you're out and about.

The handheld machine went on sale in Japan before Christmas and more than 300,000 were snapped up in the first two days of availability. However, the launch has been plagued with complaints of apparent technical glitches from early adopters.

Fortunately, these seem to have subsided now and Sony's new console is receiving rave reviews and was recently awarded a Pocket-lint Hot Product tag.

Tags: Gaming PlayStation Vita Sony Vodafone Sony PlayStation Vita

3G PlayStation Vita priced up by Vodafone originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 08 Feb 2012 10:57:00 +0000

Yesterday Google announced a beta version of Chrome for Android. As Chrome fans on the PC, we were keen to test it so we grabbed a copy. The beta software is compatible only with Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0) so we're testing it on the Galaxy Nexus.

Perhaps the question that sprang to our minds when we first heard there was a version of Google Chrome for Android was, "Why hasn't this been there since the start?". Chrome is our web browser of choice on a real computer, it's by far the nicest, most stable web browser available - especially on Windows - and has none of the atrocious memory problems that still plague Firefox, and none of the quirks of Internet Explorer.

We also love the fact that bookmarks, passwords and usernames can all be synced across computers, and as multi-machine users, that's crucial for us. This feature, thankfully, has arrived on the new beta version of Chrome for Android. So bookmarks on your PC are easily accessible on the phone.

But Chrome for Android goes further than that. As with the desktop version, your most-visited sites are shown on your start page. But here, on the Android version, you can also see which tabs you have open on your PC running Chrome. That is incredibly helpful, and means you can pick up reading where you left off when you're out and about.

Stylistically, Chrome for Android is beautiful. The simplicity is obvious, as it is on the desktop client. There's a URL bar at the top, an indication of the number of tabs open, which doubles as a button to access your other "tabs". There is also the Android stacked dots indicator, to show there are menu options tucked away, should you want them.

There's an incognito tab option in this extra menu. This allows you to surf without your history being logged and prohibits third-party sites from storing cookies or tracking you. It's very handy on the desktop - we use it for uploading video to one Google account, while looking at email on another account our normal browser window. It's often called "porn mode" for its amnesia over sites you've visited.

Tabs are the most impressive, graphically. When you select the button, all open tabs slide out in a stack - in portrait mode. You can select the one you want by tapping it. If you'd rather, you can switch between tabs by swiping across the screen, this allows you to swoop, like an eagle, between all of your open pages.

Flash isn't supported, but thanks to Apple's bullish refusal to work with Adobe's product, many sites offer HTML 5 video anyway, which does work. We noticed that streaming video worked brilliantly on The Guardian but embedded YouTube videos seemed more problematic. While on The Guardian, we were able to maximise the video window, YouTube clips embedded on third-party sites did not.

From a speed point-of-view, it seems pointless to compare beta software to the fully-fledged browsers available on Android. The stock browser is very good too, so performance-wise it was always going to be tricky to beat. That said, Chrome is very fast, it's certainly nearly as capable as the stock browser, and the extra features mean it's well worth downloading, if you have an Ice Cream Sandwich device.

Tags: Google Android Ice Cream Sandwich Ice Cream Sandwich apps Chrome Chrome for Android Apps Android apps

Google Chrome for Android pictures, video and hands-on originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 08 Feb 2012 10:31:00 +0000

Logitech has taken the covers off its latest assault on your desktop - the Logitech Touch Mouse M600.

When Apple announced the Magic Trackpad in 2010, many people thought it could spell the end for the simple mouse. If anything though, Apple's new peripheral has simply upped the evolution process of the mouse bringing it kicking, screaming and, most importantly, gesturing into the 21st century.

The M600 takes on the likes of Microsoft and its Explorer Touch Mouse and Apple's very-own gesture-friendly Magic Mouse by throwing in extra control options to sit alongside the usual point-and-click mix.

Its touch surface lets you navigate intuitively with your fingers allowing you to scroll through web pages and images simply by swiping your digits. It's also ambidextrous; designed for righties and lefties alike with click areas that can easily be reassigned with Logitech SetPoint software.

"People are growing accustomed to using fingertip gestures to navigate on their smartphones and tablets," said Todd Walker, brand manager for Logitech. "In fact, for many people these gestures have become second nature. The Logitech Touch Mouse M600 reflects this evolution in how we interact with the digital world and extends to the computer what have become natural, intuitive motions."

The Dixons group has a three-month exclusivity period on the M600, where it will sell for a penny shy of ?60.

?

Tags: PC accessories Logitech Mice And Keyboards Mouse Logitech Touch Mouse M600

Logitech Touch Mouse M600 scrolls in originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 08 Feb 2012 10:28:00 +0000

LG has teased its latest Android smartphone, the LG Optimus Vu, by way of a bizarre promo video that doesn't really tell us anything other than the device's aspect ratio.

It is said to be a 5-inch screen, so will automatically go up against the likes of the Samsung Galaxy Note, even with a somewhat squarer display.

The video gives us no other specs for the Android device (check out the virtual buttons) but luckily Datacider.com has the lowdown on the phone it says was once known as the LG Optimus Sketch. And it also has what it is claiming as a photo of the device in the wild.

Apparently, we're looking at a model number LG-F100S/LG-F100L, which will come with a stylus - like Sammy's Note.

The resolution is purported to be 1024x768 on an IPS display and it's said to be powered by a Qualcomm APQ8060 1.5GHz dual-core processor with 1GB of RAM. There's an 8-megapixel camera mentioned, 8GB of storage and Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and NFC connectivity.

Running Android 2.3 at the moment, we'd expect some Ice Cream Sandwich action by the time the Vu goes official. Probably in a couple of weeks over in Barcelona at Mobile World Congress.

Read

Tags: Phones LG LG Optimus Vu

LG Optimus Vu to take on the Samsung Galaxy Note (video) originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 08 Feb 2012 10:10:00 +0000

Sony's latest entry into the handheld console market, the PlayStation Vita, arrives in the UK and the US on 22 February. And Sony has brought to the table a console capable of making some pretty big waves (check out our full review here).

It boasts a gorgeous 5-inch qHD OLED touchscreen, is powered by a quad-core ARM Cortex-A9 processor and the graphics engine is hefty, to say the least; again quad-core in the SGX543MP4+. Throw in a rear touchpad for an altogether different experience, Sixaxis motion sensing, a three-axis electronic compass and, crucially, a D-Pad and buttons; something that almost all tablets and smartphones are missing.

It's all well and good the hardware looking the part, but it's going to be the quality of the games that ultimately decides the Vita's fate. So Pocket-lint thought it only right to give the launch titles the once-over, to let you guys know what's in store.

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Arcade

Okay, so we'll admit that the arcade genre is a bit vague, but "Everything Else" looked sloppy, so here you are. These are the titles that don't fall into a set category without argument. They involve puzzle solving, gesture and observational skills. And, most awesomely, one of them involves toe-tapping to the King of Pop's best tunes...

Little Deviants

Publisher

SCE

Release date

22 February

Little Deviants nicely shows off what the PlayStation Vita is capable of above and beyond the traditional control methods; including mini-games that use augmented reality, the rear touchpad and much more But, from a quick play, we couldn't help but think it was all a bit gimmicky. Kids will probably love it though, and?there's plenty of variation so they shouldn't get too bored.

Michael Jackson: The Experience

Publisher

Ubisoft

Release date

22 February

Nothing new here in terms of gameplay, we've seen this type of music?rhythm?game a million times before (including on the iPad and iPhone). But that doesn't mean that it's not ruddy good fun - because it is. And we defy anyone to not toe-tap along to some of Jacko's best tunes.

Gravity Rush

Publisher

SCE

Release date

TBA

On the face of it, Gravity Rush is a third-person adventure with gorgeous comic book-style graphics, but it too uses some of the additional control properties of the Vita. The shoulder buttons enact an?anti-gravity?mode and you can then use the motion sensors inside the handheld to twist the world around, so that you can flip it entirely upside down and walk on the floor or walls. Freaky and will take a while to get used to.

Touch My Katamari

Publisher

Namco Bandai

Release date

22 February

Featuring the same bonkers gameplay as its similarly named forebears, Touch My Katamari requires you to grow a ball of junk from objects littered around the different landscapes. However, the Vita version also utilises the rear touchpad in order to stretch your Katamari. It also uses the front touch screen to roll around the expanding ball.

Escape Plan

Publisher

SCE

Release date

22 February

As an aesthetically distinct puzzling adventure game, it will be interesting to see how Sony markets this one and, most importantly, how it prices it. There are plenty of puzzle-solving-type games available in the App Store and the Android Market, some of which won't cost you a penny. Sure, it's slick and it works well on the PS Vita, using the multiple control methods along the way, but we would hope that it's competitively priced, especially as it will be one of those available to buy directly from the PlayStation Store as a digital download.

?

Beat 'em up

Beat 'em up is such a loose term. After all, even in the most straightforward one-on-one fighting game you've usually got the option of blowing up your opponent, decapitating them or, at the very least, maiming them. In fact, the only thing that really gets beaten up during these games is gamer's thumbs as they struggle to adapt to the new title's special moves and revert to trying any button combo that worked on Street Fighter II and Mortal Kombat back in the day.

Reality Fighters

Publisher

SCE

Release date

22 February

Great fun, if not the best beat 'em up that you've ever played. It's no Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat or Tekken, that's for sure - but in none of those games can you stick your ugly mug on a skinny, pant-wearing rake and pitch yourself against Mr Miyagi on your living room floor. Thanks to its extensive use of the front and rear cameras, you can in Reality Fighters.

Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3

Publisher

Capcom

Release date

22 February

Mayhemic tag-team fighting action that fans of both franchises are likely to love. We really thought we were reliving our Street Fighter II glory days as well, pulling Hadoukens and Dragon Punches out all over the place. Then we realised we had it set on "easy" so the special moves and combos came at the tap of a button. We didn't tell anyone mind.

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Platform

The platform genre is probably the most universal, and yet most multifarious mix of titles in the gaming world. Whereas 2D side-on platfomers featuring little plumbers, hedgehogs, treasure hunters or Willys dominated in the 80s, 90s and the early part of this century, the extra oomph that the latest gen consoles provide has meant a move into a more open 3D world. Characters are now faced with pitfalls from all directions. The Vita, with its AR capabilities and extra control functions, should see the humble platform game evolve further but, for now, it's much of the same...

Super Monkey Ball: Banana Splitz

Publisher

Sega

Release date

TBA

A classic title that works well with the PS Vita's gyroscope and accelerometer running the show. There's not a lot of originality to strike any great excitement to anyone who has played a previous version of the game before, but it's great fun nonetheless.

Rayman Origins

Publisher

Ubisoft

Release date

22 February

Platformers seem to work well on the little screen and Rayman is no excpetion. Fans of older Rayman titles will be well away. Essentially the same as the PS3 version, one thing the Vita edition does add is the ability to get up close and personal with the gorgeous artwork.

LittleBigPlanet

Publisher

SCE

Release date

TBA

To be honest, it's next to impossible to see how LittleBigPlanet will shape up on the PS Vita from our brief initial play. But the fact that the content on offer was of radically different mini-games - one Tron lightcycle-esque, one a sort-of shooting game - gives us great hope that it will be a cornucopia of invention by the amateur games designing community.

Sound Shapes

Publisher

SCE

Release date

TBA

Another title that will be exclusive to the PlayStation Network, Sound Shapes is the sort of puzzling platformer that can take a firm grip on you and never let go until you've finished it. Even beyond its progressive indie gameplay, it offers a simple level editor that should, like LittleBigPlanet, excite those with a creative bent.

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Racing

The racing game genre is one which spreads its love far and wide, from the streets of London to the outer reaches of the galaxy, and has been ubiquitous with every major console through the ages. Looking back to the launch of the original PlayStation in the mid 90s, a couple of the most popular titles back then were racing games; Ridge Racer and WipEout. And you know the old saying, "you never change a winning team"...

Ridge Racer

Publisher

Namco Bandai

Release date

22 February

Another big console launch and another version of Ridge Racer to support it on launch day. This time around a customisable drift system has been added to the mix, plus network support for multiplayer gaming, but the same arcade racing mechanics we all know and love make up the meat of this latest addition to the franchise.

WipEout 2048

Publisher

SCE

Release date

22 February

What can you say about WipEout 2048 that hasn't been said about the perennial future racer before? One thing that strikes us about this latest version, however, is that it's possibly more simple than some of its former iterations. And it offers eight-player network racing, including cross-platform play, where it doesn't matter whether you're playing on PS Vita or PS3.

ModNation Racers: Road Trip

Publisher

SCE

Release date

22 February

Another that's compatible across both PS Vita and PS3, ModNation Racers: Road Trip is a decent karting game at heart, but with the creative nous of LittleBigPlanet or its older brother. The Vita version also adds an ability to earn ModMiles (in-game currency) by using social networking to spread the word.

F1 2011

Publisher

Codemasters

Release date

22 February

Hopefully not as fiendishly difficult as its home console counterpart, F1 2011 looks stunning on our first brief lap. It's more simulation than arcade racer, and clearly based on last season's drivers and teams. But for fans of the motorsport, it'll be a no-brainer. Especially with its four-player modes.

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Shooter

First person, third person - it doesn't matter what person; Pocket-lint was always going to lump any games involving guns and weapons into this category (and have done so in the third person, you may have noticed). So, if you love blowing off people or alien's heads (virtually, of course) or just shooting up some carnage then you've come to the right place.

Uncharted: Golden Abyss

Publisher

SCE

Release date

22 February

The priciest of Sony's launch titles by far (RRP of ?45), Uncharted: Golden Abyss is the one we've been waiting for the most. Not only is it a new chapter in Nathan Drake's treasure hunting life, but it feature the same stunning graphical talents as its PS3 cousins. This time around, the front and rear touchpads offer up interesting new ways to interact with play, although we suspect you'll default to the thumbsticks, like us.

Unit 13

Publisher

SCE

Release date

22 February

Unit 13 has a touch of the Rainbow Six about it, as you control "an elite team of intelligence operatives recruited from the very best military outfits across the USA and Europe". Basically, it's a mission-based third-person shooter with plenty of evil terrorists to blow away, and nefarious plots to scupper using high grade weaponry. Yum.

Resistance Burning Skies

Publisher

SCE

Release date

TBA

A unique first-person shooter set in the Resistance world, this is essentially the most obvious FPS in Sony's initial line-up. We didn't get to see much in our brief play, but you can be assured that there will be plenty of hardcore weaponry and some keen melee combat as we wielded an axe in the first five minutes or so.

Super Stardust Delta

Publisher

SCE

Release date

22 February

Super Stardust Delta on the Vita is as fast and furious as its PS3 equivalent, except it also uses the touchscreen to create black holes and the motion sensors to trigger power ups. If you're into your simple but crazy shoot 'em up action, this could be the download for you - it'll be available on the PlayStation Store solely.

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Sport

Kids are often encouraged to get up off of their backsides, to go outside and play some sports. But have you ever seen the outside? It's a horrible place full of rain, cold, awful people and white dog poo. At least it was last time we looked (we've heard that the white dog poo is no more, but we suspect it's a ruse to get us to step outside). And why bother going outside when you can play sports, inside, on your shiny new PS Vita? In theory, you could take it outside but why would you, eh?

Hustle Kings

Publisher

SCE

Release date

22 February

Another game to offer cross-platform play, Hustle Kings is pretty much your standard 3D pool game, albeit one that uses the touchscreen and rear touchpad to great effect. There are also other network play features, such as an online leaderboard.

Everybody's Golf

Publisher

SCE

Release date

22 February

With some of the familiar holes from the PS3 version of Everybody's Golf 5, and the usual golf-sim controls on board - we were well away. One nice touch though, literally, is the inclusion of the rear touch controls, allowing you to select your swing type and get a more accurate aim from your lie.?

Virtua Tennis 4: World Tour Edition

Publisher

Sega

Release date

22 February

A title that doesn't really add to numerous Virtua Tennis titles that you've played in the past, but it's still nice to see it make its way to the Vita. It uses all kinds of touch shenanigans to make shots more precise, while there's a bizarre Touch Versus mode that lets two players play on the same handheld console. You can even add your own mugshot onto your created tennis star.

Top Darts

Publisher

SCE

Release date

22 February

It's darts... on the PS Vita. Er, that's it really. However, you can play eight-player events on the same console with turn-based gameplay where you pass the device around like a touch controllable parcel at a children's party.

FIFA Football

Publisher

Electronic Arts

Release date

22 February

And so we end with one of the most successful gaming franchises of all time, and we're willing to bet that this Vita version will sell in the sack loads. All of the officially licensed teams make an appearance, along with 11 versus 11 online play and Be a Pro modes, but it is the use of the front and rear touch controls that will determine whether it really is a step forward for EA Sports.

Tags: Gaming Sony Sony PlayStation Vita

Hottest PlayStation Vita games for launch and beyond originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 08 Feb 2012 09:49:00 +0000

Hot on the heels of the Pentax Optio WG2-GPS and the Canon PowerShot D20, Olympus has unleashed the TG-820 and TG-620 Tough duo - the latest wannabes for the compact camera hard gang.

These sturdy compacts boast the usual array of 'proof features, including being waterproof (10m for the 820, 5m for the 620), shockproof (2m, 1.5m), freezeproof (minus 10 degrees) and, in the case of the 820, crushproof to 100kg.

They also have cases that are more like armour - ?including double lock mechanisms to keep the battery and the ports safe and a metal barrier to protect the lens from getting damaged.

In terms of the usual camera specs, you're looking at a couple of 12-megapixel snappers with 5x wide optical zoom (28-140mm) lenses that are powered by Olympus' TruePic VI image engine. They boast iHS technology, HDR backlight adjustment, a 3D shooting mode, dual image stabilisation and a range of magic filters. On the video side, it's Full HD 1080p all the way, including when you're underwater.

The TG-820 trumps its little brother when it comes to the display; boasting a 3-inch 1,030k dot Super Precision HyperCrystal III LCD, compared to a 460k dot one on the TG-620.

Both cameras play nicely with Eye-Fi, are SDHC and SDXC memory card compatible and pack direct HDMI out for watching back your media on your TV.

Both of these new Tough compacts are available from the middle of this month; the Olympus Tough TG-820 for ?269.99 and the TG-620 for ?229.99.

Tags: Cameras Compact cameras Olympus Tough TG-820 Olympus Tough TG-620 Olympus

Olympus Tough TG-820 and TG-620 cameras flash in originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 08 Feb 2012 09:43:00 +0000

After weeks of rumours?Olympus?has confirmed the launch of a new Micro Four Thirds camera: the?Olympus OM-D.

And as you've come to expect, Pocket-lint has already had a play with the new model, letting us bring you some of the details first hand.

The new camera will sit above the current range of Pen models offering a retro-looking, but professional camera for those who want something a little more than your average compact system camera.

It will be available from April 2012 as a kit with the M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-50mm 1:3.5-6.3 for ?1149.99, the body only price is still to be confirmed.

Taking a leaf out of the Fujifilm X100 book, the new OM-D model has taken a decidedly retro, or as Olympus call it "classic" look, and harks back to the heady days of the Olympus OM SLR models. It comes complete with a leather finish and angular design made from magnesium alloy, that is both dust and splashproof.

The result is a beautiful looking camera that is bigger than the original film OM-1 but smaller than the company's Four Thirds model, the Olympus E-620. If either of those are alien to you, the new camera will sit on the palm of your hand, but is unlikely to fit in even a small bag.?

The OM-D (E-M5) comes in a silver or black body adding to that retro feel - we like the black better.?Also adding to the retro feel is the sheer number of buttons and dials on the model - it seems the only thing missing is the original film advance lever. However, that hasn't stopped Olympus adding a 3-inch OLED capacitive touchscreen rear-panel monitor that can be tilted to assist when shooting from high and low angles.

As you can imagine, using OLED here makes a big difference over previous LCD screens found on the Pen range, and like OLED screens on phones, the inclusion on the OM-D offers a major improvement in quality and perceived quality of the image when viewing it in playback mode.

Sadly, we weren't allowed out of the blacked-out armoured truck in which we were shown the new camera to see how the screen fared in bright sunlight, but shooting and then viewing images back on the screen in the environment we were in looked pretty sharp.

Not that you need to care about that OLED screen. The biggest difference, aside from the new design, is that the camera will be the first Olympus Micro Four Thirds camera to have an electronic viewfinder (EVF) giving you a more traditional camera feel that sets it apart from the Pen models. That EVF is incredibly sharp (1440k-dot) allowing you to check manual adjustments to brightness and colour tones live and again, in our quick play, worked very well.

Looks are one thing, what about performance?

Olympus is pushing several core features here and sadly while we were able to get a feel for it in the hand, we weren't able really to test the camera's shooting capabilities. What we can talk about is some of the specs ahead of a more in-depth play we have planned for the next couple of weeks.

The new high-speed Live MOS Sensor on the OM-D comes with 16.1 megapixels, and allied to the TruePic VI image processing engine it offers noise-reduction capability and still-image shooting sensitivity as high as ISO 25600.

Olympus is also boasting the fastest auto-focus of any interchangeable lens camera (including all DSLRs) with a further refinement of the world-beating FAST AF (Frequency Acceleration Sensor Technology) also found on the popular Pen series models.

Again, that's hard to test in the back of a truck, but even in the poor lighting it seemed to be quick.

According to Olympus the OM-D will include Fine Detail Processing technology, first seen on the E-5, which eliminates Moir? and pseudo-colours, while Real-Colour Technology is used to reproduce previously hard-to- render colours such as emerald green. The OM-D also offers a new “Key Line” filter to enhance edge lines, op make the photo look more like an illustration; two variations provide different-strength effects. Art Filter Bracketing?allows?you to generate multiple pictures with different filters from a single shot.

Where Olympus is really hoping to impress though is a new five-axis image stabilisation that now not only deals with yaw and pitch, but also horizontal and vertical shift as well as rotary motion.

That should come in handy when you are without a tripod, but also when shooting movies. The OM-D can record Full HD (1920 x 1080) in MOV format up to 29 minutes.

On the accessories front, the OM-D is compatible with all MFT Olympus lenses, which will be supplemented by two new lens options later in the year: the M.Zuiko Digital ED 75mm 1:1.8 and the M.Zuiko Digital ED 60mm 1:2.8 macro. There is also the battery grip, flash and adapte rings, to make a complete package.

First impressions of the Olympus OM-D are good. Although our time with the camera was brief, we can't help marvelling at its classic lines, whilst feeling rather reassured by it's modern innards.

We will be bringing you a full review in the near future, so stay tuned.

Tags: Cameras Micro Four Thirds Olympus 16 megapixels Olympus OM-D Photos Compact system cameras

Olympus OM-D (E-M5) pictures and hands-on originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 08 Feb 2012 02:01:00 +0000

The Olympus OM-D, the digital remastering of a classic SLR camera, has now been?announced?by Olympus following weeks of leaks and rumours. So now the Olympus OM-D, or E-M5 as it is marked, is official, let's run down what you get.

Adopting the Micro Four Thirds system, the OM element of this new camera appears to be mostly about positioning and external styling. To use OM lenses from the original 35mm SLR cameras, you'd need an MF-2 OM Adapter ring (?160).

However, it is compatible with Olympus's existing MFT selection, and will come with the M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-50mm lens (24-100mm in 35mm terms) as a kit. You'll also get a weather-proofed body, so it's less prone to damage from brief dust or damp exposure.

However, there are a number of modern headline features of the new Olympus OM-D E-M5 camera, including five-axis stabilisation and lightning-fast autofocus, to help you get sharp 16-megapixel images out of the Live MOS sensor.?

Of more interest, however, might be the integrated electronic viewfinder. The lack of a viewfinder, or having to use an external accessory, has been a criticism of compact system cameras since their inception. Some Panasonic Lumix models, Sony's NEX-7 and more recently the Fujifilm X-Pro1 have all addressed the viewfinder issue in various ways.

The OM-D features a 1440k-dot electronic viewfinder. It's beautifully integrated in retro fashion into the top of the camera. We've used Olympus's accessory viewfinders in the past and the quality is very good on those, so we have high expectations of it here too.

Interesting accessories include a battery grip, which sort of defies the original raison d'?tre of a compact system camera. But, with some just wanting a retro-style camera, with familiar and sophisticated digital performance, the Olympus OM-D might be just the ticket.

As such you'll get ISO up to 25600, a wide selection of creative Art Filters, Full HD video capture, and a 3-inch vari-angle touchscreen OLED display, making this retro wonder quite the modern superstar.?

But as retro as it looks and sophisticated as it sounds, at ?1149.99 it costs as much as a mid-range DSLR, which might be a stumbling block for some.

The Olympus OM-D will be available in April 2012, as we've already seen it, so be sure to check-out our photos of it in the flesh.

Tags: Cameras Compact system cameras Olympus Micro Four Thirds Olympus OM-D

Olympus OM-D brings retro style to your Micro Four Thirds life originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 08 Feb 2012 02:00:00 +0000

For some people, looking beautiful is an effortless affair. A quick flick of a hairbrush, a smidgeon of something that smells nice and then they get on with their day.

But, for most people (and I absolutely, wholeheartedly include myself in this) it takes a little bit of work and a lot of experimentation when it comes to the right lotions, potions and miracle products.

At www.glossybox.com some of that experimentation might have just got a little bit easier.

For a tenner a month, they’ll send you a box of new stuff to try – all of it tailored to the profile that you give them when you register.

They’ve recently started their range for men, so this is really is a great way for all of us to try out some new stuff and spoil ourselves a little bit.

If your regime needs a refresher, this is a good place to start.

Tags: WebsiteOfTheDay Websites Software Online

WEBSITE OF THE DAY: Glossy Box originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 08 Feb 2012 01:00:00 +0000

Nokia?has announced that it will be making a white version of the Nokia Lumia 800 which will be going on sale at Phones 4 U in the UK in March and Pocket-lint was of course on hand to have a gander and snap a few shots ahead of the official release to the UK public.

The new version of the phone is identical to the black, cyan, and magenta versions of the Windows Phone 7 smartphone albeit with a glossy rather than matte shell.

That glossy shiny white look means that it will show up smudges a lot easier, but will also still sparkle when it catches the light - something the black, even the Lumia 800 Batman edition, fails to do.

Like the cyan, magenta and black Lumia 800s that are already available in the UK, the phone packs a 3.7-inch, WVGA 800x480 AMOLED display, an 8-megapixel camera boasting Carl Zeiss optics and a f2.2 aperture lens.

It is powered by a 1.4GHz Qualcomm MSM8255 Snapdragon processor with 512MB of RAM, and it has 16GB of storage (and 25GB of SkyDrive storage). The white finish is a result of its smoothly crafted polycarbonate unibody.

To celebrate the launch of the white Lumia 800, there's a new White selection on Nokia’s music service, Mix Radio, featuring music from the likes of White Stripes and Barry White.

Available to pre-order from Phones 4u now, the Nokia Lumia 800 in white will be available on contracts starting from ?20.50 a month. It will ship in March.

For American readers, although the Lumia 800 in UK only, the US only?Nokia Lumia 900 is also expected to be available in white?following a gaffe by Nokia on their Facebook page showing the new AT&T exclusive phone in white even though it hasn't been officially announced as yet.?

Tags: Phones Mobile phones Nokia Nokia Lumia 800 Windows Phone 7 Microsoft

White Nokia Lumia 800 pictures and hands-on originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Tue, 07 Feb 2012 22:03:00 +0000

Pentax has announced a brace of new tough cameras, the Pentax Optio WG2 and the Optio WG2-GPS, which pack in a host of features for those that like to abuse their pocket camera.

Not only does the WG2 look like it has been designed for Batman, but it is waterproof (12 metres, IPX8), dustproof (IPX6), happy in the cold (down to -10C) and crush proof (100kgf). In our books, that makes the Optio WG2 something of a badass camera.?

Of course, all that protection is no good if the features are lacking. Fortunately you have a 16-megapixel back-illuminated sensor, offering a top ISO of 6400, along with a "night snap" mode that will take four images and compile them together with the aim of creating one good image.

There is a 5x zoom lens built in, offering 28mm at the wide end and 140mm at full zoom. An ultra-wide mode can also be deployed, giving you a 21mm effect by stitching two images together.

You get Full HD video capture and a slow motion option if you accept a drop in resolution. An HDMI will let you hook-up to the big screen to share your snaps and movies.

On the rear of the camera you get a 3-inch 16:9 display, offering a typical 460k-dot resolution and an anti-glare coating to aid viewing on the beach or slopes in bright conditions.

On the front of the camera you'll also find six LED lights in a ring around the lens for macro illumination in the "digital microscope" mode. They can also be used for self-portraits and as a torch in the dark, again adding to this camera's rugged repertoire.

If you want the GPS version, you'll have to accept a ?50 premium on the price, but you'll then be able to tag your photos as you shoot.

The Pentax Option WG2 will cost you ?299.99 and the Pentax Optio WG2-GPS is ?349.99. Both will be available from March 2012.

Tags: Cameras Compact cameras Pentax Pentax Optio WG2 Pentax Optio WG2-GPS 16 megapixels

Pentax Optio WG2-GPS: The adventure proof camera originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Tue, 07 Feb 2012 22:00:00 +0000

Kind of a Comic Relief for those with an urge to get off their feet and run, jump or throw something, Sport Relief is another arm of the charity that aims to raise gazillions of pounds for incredibly worthwhile charities in Africa and the UK by getting people to raise funds in ways that everybody can enjoy.

And even if you don't have a sporty bone in you, you can still take part in some way; not least, pledge some cash. And in return, here's a completely free app with a stack of info, content and a truly addictive game for free. It should prepare you nicely for March 23-25...

Sport Relief in your Pocket

Format

iPhone / iPod touch / Android (soon)

Price

Free

Where

iTunes?/ Android Market (soon)

We actually covered the Red Nose Day in your Pocket shortly before the last of the big Comic Relief fundraising events, and this particular sequel is much of the same kind of thing. However, this time, instead of just iOS, and the devices that run it, Sport Relief in your Pocket will shortly be available for Android too.

It's essentially a collection of different clickable arenas, some serious, some not so, that help you delve more into the activities surrounding the March dated event itself. You can see where your nearest Sport Relief-organised The Mile run is happening and be directed to a website to enrol. You can find our more about the causes funds have been invested in previously and related news snippets. You can donate money from the app itself, which charges you via SMS or PayPal. And you can follow what people are saying on Twitter from within the application.

There's also a countdown clock to the start of The Mile and a section called "Inspire Me" which comes up with a random piece of video to watch.

However, the best part of the app is the included game, Fling a Face. In it, you get to load a catapult with a super round noggin from the world of celebrity. Dermot O'Leary, Vernon Kay, Colin Jackson, Miranda Hart, Gary Lineker and Fearne Cotton are all available to choose from, plus you can upload your own image, which will be mapped on to an in-game sphere.

Then you have to fire the said face into the air, hoping to get as far as you can while collecting stars, avoiding obstacles and using power ups along the way. Each level is set somewhere in the British Isles and you are given a target distance to?achieve?each time before moving on to the next city, with a further objective.

The stars allow you to buy new power ups and you'll be thoroughly addicted before you know it.

Fling a Face is worth the admission price on its own (free, naturally) and hopefully, like us, you'll feel compelled to donate some cash. Not only will it make you feel better, but you're getting a decent reward for doing so.

Tags: Gaming Apps Sport Relief in your Pocket Comic Relief iPhone iPhone apps AOTD App of the day iPod Touch iPod Touch apps Android Android apps

APP OF THE DAY: Sport Relief in your Pocket review (iPhone / Android) originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Tue, 07 Feb 2012 19:54:00 +0000

If, like us, you love to cook, but like some radio-based company in the kitchen, you'll most likely be interested in the OxxDigital Classic. A DAB+ and internet radio with support for podcasts and a few other nice tricks.

You might not have heard of Oxx Digital before, which isn't a surprise, as the Danish firm is only just getting a foot in the door here in the UK. If you want one of its products, the main supplier is Amazon.

Design

There's a lot to like in the simple design of the Oxx Digital Classic. It's available in a selection of colours, the one sent to us was white, but there are also black and blue versions.

From the front, it looks like any radio from the past 60 years. There's a single speaker, a couple of dials and a few push buttons. There's a digital display though, which marks if out from the "retro" style in which it's been designed. Obviously, such a modern instrument is necessary in an internet and DAB radio.

Around the back, there's a mix of modern and less-modern sockets. There's a line in and an Ethernet socket. Up on the top of the radio, there's a telescopic aerial, something that hasn't changed much, if at all, since FM was launched.

The case itself is a plastic, but it's premium stuff and it feels very solid when you pick it up. Oxx tell us that the cabinet inside is made of wood, for the best performance. You can see an emphasis has been placed on sound quality too, because there's a bass port at the rear and the case has clearly been constructed to make the radio sound more powerful.

Modes

While the design is a little different to a lot of DAB radios, the functionality is very similar. The Oxx Digital Classic connects to your home network either wirelessly or via the rear-mounted Ethernet jack.

As well as listening to DAB, or DAB+ stations, you can access one of the thousands of internet radio stations listed via the vTuner database. There are also podcasts from lots of global providers of such things - BBC radio, is a great example.

You can also connect to your home network and stream music from your PC. We used Windows Media Player for this, but it will work just as well with any DLNA compliant device, including, no doubt, many modern smartphones and tablets. All of which increases your entertainment options a huge amount.?

DAB+

There has been all manner of hatred pouring down on DAB radio stations since they launched some time ago. Audio quality is a bugbear for many, who claim that data rates are too low via the service and that audio can sound quite nasty.

A lot of this is unnecessary hysteria. DAB certainly isn't perfect, but on most music stations, the bit rate is high enough to deliver a very nice sound, especially on a small radio like this.

For those haters though, there is DAB+, which offers a quality improvement over normal DAB. It's unclear if the UK will move its stations over to this system - a lot of older DAB radios would be useless if they did this - but the support is built in to the Oxx Digital Classic in case it does eventually happen.

Why use DAB or FM at all?

With Internet radio on board, there's a pretty powerful argument that you don't actualy need to use FM or DAB ever again. And there's considerable truth in that, because these days, pretty much every local radio station in the UK broadcasts online too. That means that instead of being restricted to, say, London's stations, you can tune in to some hard rock from Glasgow.

Of course, streaming radio does have an impact on your data consumption. So if you're on a heavily capped internet tariff, then you're likely to run in to problems. That said, audio-only feeds are much less data intensive than video, so you're very unlikely to run in to any major problems.

And, even better, with the internet, you're not restrained to just what's on now. The OXX allows you to access an array of podcasts too. For us, the number one use of this feature is to catch-up with Radio 4 shows. This is all done via the radio's search function, and it's easy to find what you're looking for.

Sound quality

One of the things we noticed about the Oxx Digital Classic was that it's not the loudest radio in the world. It does, however, have enough punch to fill a small room with sound. So for kitchen use, or in the bedroom, it's perfect. Larger rooms might cause a problem, but this radio is very much aimed at people who want to dance to music while they lay down a lasagna, and for that, it's ideal.

The other advantage of its limited volume, is that it remains in perfect control of its sound, right the way through the volume dial. Crank it up to the max, and the sound is as tight and controlled as it is at the low end. This is brilliant, and cements the idea that this is a high-quality radio in our minds.

But, we have to say, we were blown away by the sound quality. There's a fine balance here, with bass being just deep enough to impress, but without damaging the overall sound quality. Both DAB radio and MP3s streamed over the network sound amazing. Speech on Radio 4 was crisp and very clear, something not all radios can claim. Whatever you're using this little radio for, it's bound to impress, quality wise.

Minor problems

Given the choice, we would improve the LCD screen on the Digtial Classic. It has two problems that we noted. The first is that it's quite dim, even on its maximum setting. In a dark room, or at night, it's fine. Throw a bit of sun in to the equation though, and it becomes pretty hard to see the screen.

Then there's the angle. In all likelihood, you'll have this radio on a surface that's below eye-height. To really see the screen, and to search for podcasts or select a radio station, you have to bend down. This is fine, of course, but it's not as convenient as it could be. On a Sonos, you do get the advantage of using a phone app to select radio stations. Here, that's not possible, which is a shame.

These are small quibbles though, and otherwise, the radio was a delight.

Verdict:

Supporting DAB+ means that the Oxx Digital Classic is ready for the future. The support for internet radio and podcasts means you'll never be bored when you're in the kitchen - or wherever you end up putting this cool little radio.

The sound quality is stunning, and although the power is a little less than we'd hope, it's still loud enough, and the quality means makes it a joy to listen to.

At ?130, it's not super-cheap, but there's enough here to warrant considering it. If you love the styling, and want something that sounds great, we'd say this might be the radio for you.

Tags: Audio DAB DAB+ DAB Radios Oxx Digital Classic + DAB

Oxx Digital Classic + DAB originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Tue, 07 Feb 2012 19:00:00 +0000

We played Kinect Star Wars back at E3 in 2011 and now LucasArts and Microsoft have given us a launch date and lined up what you can expect from the latest Star Wars game.

Launching on 3 April 2012, Kinect Star Wars will cost you ?39.99 and give you five gaming modes - Jedi Destiny: Dark Side Rising, Podracing, Rancor Rampage, Galactic Dance Off and Duels of Fate.

Jedi Destiny gives you the storyline to follow, pitching you against enemies, racing Speeder Bikes and battling iconic opponents like Darth Vadar on your quest to become a Jedi.

Podracing and Rancor Rampage sound pretty much cut and dry, and judging by the screens we have from Microsoft, it all looks like good, wholesome Kinect fun. Rancor Rampage sees you in the streets of Mos Eisley (or some other wretched hive of scum and villainy) and Podracing recreates those scenes from Phantom Menace.

We don't know too much about Duels of Fate, but it appears to be lightsaber battle action, which claims to "sharpen your Jedi skills".

Finally, you have the Galactic Dance Off. Sure, we know Dance Central has been a great hit for Kinect - but with a Star Wars theme? Oh go on then. Hopefully you can bust a groove to that catchy tune performed by Figrin D'an and the Modal Nodes in the Mos Eisley Cantina.?

However, if you are lucky enough to have the Star Wars Special Edition Xbox 360 console, you'll get an exclusive C-3PO unlockable for the Dance Off, pictured above. Be sure to check-out our hands-on with the ultimate customised Star Wars console.?

No word on whether you'll get the chance to don Leia's gold bikini and dance for Jabba, but here's hoping...

Of course, we'll bring you a full review of Kinect Star Wars once we have our hands on it.

Tags: Gaming Star Wars Kinect Star Wars LucasArts Microsoft Xbox 360

Kinect Star Wars detailed, coming in April originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Tue, 07 Feb 2012 17:08:00 +0000

When it comes of Special Edition Xbox 360 consoles, the Star Wars version has to sit at the top of the tree. Gears of War and Call of Duty have pretty much passed into gaming folklore, but Star Wars is a different beast altogether.

The Star Wars Xbox 360 Limited Edition console arrives in celebration of Kinect Star Wars and naturally, this is a Kinect version of the Xbox, with a 320GB hard drive.?

The artwork on the Xbox itself reflects some of the detailing from R2-D2's paint job in blue and white. It's instantly recognisable and looks great sitting in your lounge. The white matching Kinect with black panels in the underside looks every inch like an Imperial Stormtrooper.?

There is a small hidden detail too. Press the eject button to open the disc tray - accompanied by R2-D2 sound effects - and you'll find Star Wars' perhaps most iconic line inscribed inside: "Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi, you're my only hope."

The sound effects add a touch of difference too. As we've seen in other Special Edition Xbox consoles, both the power and the eject buttons emit noises when touched, although not when you use the controller or UI to switch the power off or eject the disc.

Finally you have the controller. It's finished in gold to reflect, literally, C-3PO's highly polished gold plating. Running around the back you'll find coloured wiring to look like the droid's exposed midriff.

If we've one negative comment about the controller, it's that the gold finish is glossy and therefore doesn't give you the same surface grip as the regular controller. You'll also have to polish those grubby fingerprints off it, but neither is too much to ask and the underside is regular textured black, so feels like the normal controllers do.

Of course, if you're getting the Star Wars Xbox 360 console you'll get your hands on Kinect Star Wars too, and for that you won't need the C-3PO controller, so it can sit, polished, where everyone can gaze at its brilliance.

To round out the kit you get a black headset and all the normal cables and connections, making this quite a package for Star Wars fans young and old. Of course, we couldn't help snapping it from every side and shooting a quick video, so be sure to check both out.?

The Kinect Star War Xbox 360 Limited Edition will be landing on 3 April 2012 and will cost you ?349.99. If you can't stretch to a whole new console, you'll be able to get the Kinect Star Wars game for ?39.99.

The Kinect Star Wars bundle is available at all participating retailers.

Tags: Gaming Xbox 360 Star Wars Photos Video Kinect Star Wars

Kinect Star Wars Xbox 360 Limited Edition pictures, video and hands-on originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Tue, 07 Feb 2012 16:02:00 +0000

YouView - the much-delayed free TV service funded by a consortium that includes the?BBC, Channel 4, Channel 5 and ITV, as well as ISPs Arqiva, TalkTalk and BT - is on course for a scheduled spring launch.

That's according to TalkTalk CEO, Dido Harding, who stated that his company has begun end-to-end consumer testing of its YouView platform ahead of a full consumer trial.

"We expect to be moving through trials and pilots through Q4 and Q1 on track for launch Spring 2012, exactly as we said in November," said Harding.

YouView has led a turbulent existence. It was originally scheduled to launch by the end of 2010, but the live date has been continuously pushed back.

Formerly Project Canvas, the video-on-demand service aims to supply a one-box solution for catch-up TV, video on demand, Freeview, HD content and recording functionality without a monthly fee. When it was first announced in 2008, it sounded like a great way of getting the likes of the BBC iPlayer and ITV's on demand library in one place.

Now, it barely seems worth the hassle. With the iPlayer spread across a ubiquitous array of devices and 4oD, ITV Player and the gang also popping up on more devices by the week - not to mention the cheap streaming deals from Lovefilm and Netflix - is there really any need for a dedicated device?

Time will tell but time also looks like being YouView's nemesis.

Read

Tags: Home Cinema YouView TalkTalk Video on demand

YouView on course for spring launch originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Tue, 07 Feb 2012 15:41:00 +0000

Remember Windows XP? We certainly do. Think back to the days of noisy hard-drives and floppy disks clicking away. Have a guess what sort of power was inside the average PC back then?

Take a peek at the Windows XP system requirements and you might get an idea. The whole OS itself takes around about 1.5GB to install, needs just 64MB of RAM to run and a whole 233MHz of CPU power to kick the operating system into gear. This now seems like nothing, but think back to what you could do with Windows XP. At launch it was a formidable piece of software and has been used as a standard PC OS up until very recently.

Compare this with a smartphone's current hardware setup. All that power in your pocket starts to seem a bit unnecessary. Sure, browsing the web is quicker and gaming looks a lot better, but do we really need a quad-core processor sat in our mobiles, or even a dual-core one?

In the past three years or so there has been a drastic jump in the amount of processing power seen in phones.?When Apple announced the original iPhone in 2007, no one could have guessed how successful it would be. The market was a relatively stable place dominated by a select few manufacturers. The problem was that the smartphones available just weren't that smart. Apple stopped everyone dead in its tracks with an unparalleled user experience and highly innovative piece of hardware design. The competition needed something to compete with it and out came Android.

From the outset Android was a fundamentally power hungry OS. It likes to have lots of processing speed and RAM to keep running along smoothly and it was Qualcomm's Snapdragon platform that was the first to step up and provide it. Like a PC compared to a Mac, it's become a spec-fest: the more, the merrier.?

Couple that with the fact that, to market Android handsets properly, manufacturers needed to pick at something that Apple couldn’t compete with and it quickly became speed that would define a handset’s success. The Google Nexus One was the starting gun and it hasn't stopped since.

This will be the year of the quad-core smartphone. Will that bring anything new to our mobile experience? We doubt it. Sure, things might get even faster, but Android is still Android, iOS still iOS and apps are still apps. Games might look better, cameras might get more resolution, we may even finally see WP7 get some multi-core action on the go.

The problem is that none of it will make much difference to the fundamental smartphone experience, short of making handset batteries run out quicker. Google Maps will get us to the same place fine on an old Android phone as it does on an iPhone 4S. We can play Angry Birds just the same on both and even send an email as quick as the network will let allow.

The core smartphone experiences aren’t governed by the amount of power you have available. They are driven by the applications designed around them. Dropping the obsession with power makes coding for multiple handsets easier and results in something as slick and easy to use as Windows Phone 7.

Like the megapixel battle in both compact cameras and feature phones before that, speed has become the new USP for smartphones with processor cores the latest battleground. Just as 16 megapixels was ultimately useless without a high grade lens in front of it, loads of cores are pointless without very demanding apps. These just aren’t commonplace and those which do exist bring virtually no benefit to the base smartphone experience.

Android and iOS could do with taking a leaf out of Microsoft’s book, as bizarre as that may sound. Dropping the focus on power and shifting towards creating a rich user experience based around the fundamentals of a smartphone would be of benefit to everyone. Concentrate on the areas that count and we could have?more interaction between handsets via technologies like NFC; ease of connectivity and a more reliable battery life, the last of which is going to be the only thing can derail this runaway train. When battery technology simply can't keep up, the mobile makers will have to turn its attentions elsewhere.

All the time that manufacturers are trying to outsell each other they are looking for ways to draw customers into their hardware and nothing is easier than whacking a great big processor inside and saying it's the most powerful phone you can buy. It's certainly an easier sell than trying to push a top end user experience through advertising.

In the end, of course, the public will get wise to the what it's being told is the new black. Just as your cameraphone's megapixels became less relevant, so this game of processor Top Trumps will eventually give as it creeps towards the ridiculous - something that looks likely for 2012. But if you're thinking that that will be the end of the silliness, then think again. With pixel density and screen size shooting up, it's your mobile's display that's fast becoming the next battleground, and where it goes beyond there is anybody's guess, but we're pretty sure it won't be something as practical but unsexy as battery life.

Tags: Phones Mobile phones Android ios WP7 Features Comment

Aren't smartphones fast enough? originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:58:00 +0000

Nikon’s new D800 can shoot broadcast-quality 1080p video, at least that's what they tell us. It damn well needs to, as Canon has had quite a monopoly over video fans with its 5D MK II. On paper the D800 delivers in just about every respect. It trumps its predecessor in every way possible.

The proof of the pudding is in the eating and we aren’t believers until we see plenty of D800 footage for ourselves. While it might be scarce, there is quite a bit of video already making its way on to the internet shot with the new camera. Curious about how the D800’s movie footage looks? Take a peek below to see what she is capable of.

D800 promo - Joy Ride

The first proper D800 video to emerge has been put together by someone called "Sandro". Despite having a name like one of Alan Partridge’s children, it is damn impressive what can be produced from just a DSLR. Sure he might have had a massive crew at his disposal but ultimately this is what you can get out of a D800 should you try.

For a promo video this is seriously edgy stuff. It features some rather dishevelled looking ladies of the night, a child being born and even a cool motorbike guy. Oh and it was all shot at night, should you be wondering what high ISO footage looks like from the D800.

There is also a behind-the-scenes clip which shows how the Joy Ride video was shot and edited.-

Joy Ride - Behind the Scenes from Sandro on Vimeo.

Nikon D800 D movie - Through the lens

Appearing on Nikon Asia’s YouTube channel, this video is shot using a D800 under Multi-area AF mode. It is taken in daylight and has had a lot less tweaking done to it than the above promo video.

First thing we notice is how well the D800 copes with motion and wobble that you usually get from DSLRs. It is also incredibly sharp, colours well balanced and more than up to Nikon’s claims of broadcast quality video.

As boring as the content is, this is the video that has got us wanting to play with the D800 more than anything else.

At the moment this is all we have, unfortunately. Believe us though, the internet will be flooding with delights shot using the D800 any moment now. The second we see anything we will add it to this article.

Tags: Photography Cameras Nikon Nikon D800

Nikon D800 video samples roundup originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:56:00 +0000

Nokia Belle, possibly the last hurrah of the Symbian OS, is now available to download for an array of handsets from the Finnish manufacturer.

Previously called Symbian Belle, before Nokia banned all use of the "S" word, Nokia Belle is the second major update to Symbian^3, after Anna hit last year.

It launched in 2011 originally on the Nokia 701, Nokia 700 and Nokia 603 smartphones and is now available for anyone packing a Nokia N8, Nokia E7, Nokia E6, Nokia X7, Nokia C6-01, Nokia C7 or Nokia Oro in their pocket. Nokia 500 owners will have to wait a little longer - the update will be made available within the next few weeks.

Nokia Belle brings you more home screens, expanding the three home screens you get with Nokia Anna to six. That’s more screen real estate to host your apps and widgets as well as new features such as imaging applications with HD video recording at 30fps and a visually improved web browser.

To get in on the Belle-fun connect phone to a PC to perform the update using the Nokia Suite software (3.3 or later).

Read

Tags: Nokia Nokia Belle Symbian 3 Symbian belle Nokia N8 Nokia E7 Nokia E6 Nokia X7 Nokia C6-01 Nokia C7 Nokia Oro Nokia 500

Nokia Belle update now ringing originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:41:00 +0000

Ladies and gentleman, it's the news that you've all been waiting for. The follow up to one of the most successful phones in Samsung's history has just been made official.

That's right.....the Samsung Tocco Lite 2 is hitting shops in March.

What? What phone did you think we were talking about?

The Tocco Lite 2 takes the reins from the original Tocco Lite, a handset that was sold 30 million times around the world, and runs with them.

Runs with a proprietary OS with Samsung TouchWiz Lite thrown over the top. And runs with EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 connectivity. Okay, okay - so it's probably not going to be running very fast sans-Android (or even Bada) and 3G connectivity, but it's likely to be cheap as chips (from a chip shop, not an upmarket gastro-pub) and it packs plenty of social features to keep its target tween market entertained.

Features include Samsung’s communication service ChatON, which boasts integration with Facebook, Twitter, MSN, Yahoo and Google Talk.

Hardware-wise, it has a 3.0-inch QVGA TFT LCD display, a 3.2-megapixel camera, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity and space for a microSD card (you'll need it - on board storage is a paltry 20MB). As well as ChatON, there's a wealth of other youth-friendly software on board too, including a music player and the Opera mini browser.

Out in March, there's no word on pricing just yet. We'd suggest betting low.

Tags: Phones Samsung Samsung Tocco Lite Samsung Tocco Lite 2

Samsung Tocco Lite 2 lands for social tweens originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Tue, 07 Feb 2012 13:02:00 +0000

Remember Razer's slightly mad?Project Fiona? Still in its infancy, it is an attempt to transfer proper gaming internals to a tablet designed specifically for that very task.?

Speaking to Alienware product manager Eoin Leyden, it appears the high-end PC manufacturer could be looking into something similar. We asked Alienware what it thought of Razer's efforts.

"We have discussed it [tablets] a couple of times." explained Leyden.?"There are issues and limitations that make it difficult to see that would appeal to our core audience right now."

The problem is that translating a hard-core gaming experience to tablets is very difficult. For casual applications, Angry Birds for example, the touch interface makes sense. The intricacies of PC controls however are very different.?

"The issue is the input mechanism and how the game uses the the mechanisms and turns them into in-game actions."

Possible fixes are alternative ways of play. Unlike Razer's bolt-on controllers, Leyden sees very different control methods being used in future:?

"At some point in the future tablets could have eye tracking in there, so you could control your character that way."

Thanks to the likes of Nvidia and its Tegra setup, tablets are going through a rapid power increase. More cores, bigger GPUs and larger amounts of RAM are being added yearly. This is leading to a rapid portable graphics evolution. It still isn't quite enough for the likes of Alienware to get excited however.?

"From a performance point of view tablets are on an accelerated curve. They aren't quite there yet though."

So no tablet from the gaming experts just yet. Clearly though the market share tablets are chewing up has sparked the interest of top-end PC manufacturers. If what Razer releases proves a success, who knows - we might see Alienware jump on board as well.

Tags: Gaming Tablets Alienware

Would Alienware consider a gaming tablet? originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:29:00 +0000

Among all the excitement on Monday with the news that Nokia Lumia 800 would be hitting the shops, all dressed in white, it almost went unnoticed that Nokia posted a promo picture of the Lumia 800's bigger brother - the Nokia Lumia 900 - also sporting a sparkly white chassis.

Almost.

For a few eagle-eyed Engadget readers pointed out the picture to the US tech site (they had noticed the front facing camera); one that is still hosted on the Nokia Facebook page.

The new Windows Phone 7.5 phone sports a 4.3-inch display and a bigger battery than the Lumia 800. Virtually identical to the 800, with a polycarbonate case, the phone is powered by a 1.4GHz Qualcomm processor and comes with 8GB of storage.

The Lumia 900 is tipped to hit US shops next month and a UK release for June has also been touted.

Let's hope that if it does land on this side of the pond that the white version is an option. It sure is purty....

Read

Tags: Phones Nokia Nokia Lumia 900

Nokia Lumia 900 also all-white originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:13:00 +0000

Microsoft has once again teamed up with he Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) to release a version of IE9 that is safe for kids to use.

The browser has one-click access for Windows users to useful sites such as CEOP.police.uk?and thinkuknow.co.uk and makes use of the IE9 and Windows 7 integration to provide Jump Lists that make it easier for a parent to set their kids' age groups.

There's also a dedicated Thinkuknow and Bing homepage and protected Bookmarks and Favourites with safety information from CEOP.

"At Microsoft we always want to provide our customers with the tools to enjoy the web safely and securely," said Gabby Hegerty, Internet Explorer lead in the UK.

"The internet has become a central part of everyday life for adults and children, from learning and communicating to working and playing online. As the leading browser provider, it is important we make the appropriate safety information available and build in features to our software which provide families with peace of mind online."

Peter Davies, CEOP Chief Executive, added: "We have been happy to work with Microsoft to ensure that IE9 users can access advice and guidance in a way that is quick and easy. We welcome this approach and continue to work with service providers so that help and advice is available whenever it is needed."

The customised browser is available to download now, and is free.

Tags: Online Browsing Internet Explorer 9 IE9 Microsoft CEOP

Kid friendly IE9 browser lands for Safe Internet Day 2012 originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Tue, 07 Feb 2012 11:34:00 +0000

The Toshiba AT200 - the tablet the Japanese company claims is the thinnest 10.1-inch slate in the world (and who are we to argue?) - has landed in the UK and is available from Carphone Warehouse.

The super-slim 7.7mm tab, which goes by the name of the Toshiba Excite X10 in the US and the Toshiba Regza AT700 in its homeland, was first announced way back in September 2011 at IFA in Berlin.

The Honeycomb (Android 3.2) tablet comes with a 1280x800 resolution LED backlit display, is powered by a 1.2GHz TI OMAP 4430 processor, has 1GB of RAM, and 16 or 32GB storage options.

There is a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera, as well as a forward-facing one for video calling. Connectivity options include a micro-USB port and microSD card reader, while a micro-HDMI port connects the AT200 directly to your big screen TV.

It is more than 1mm thinner than the iPad 2 and weighs just 558 grams. The full dimensions are:?256 x 176 x 7.7mm. Toshiba is promising 8 hours of battery life from a single charge.

Available to order online now the 16GB version costs ?399, it's ?50 more for the 32GB one. It will hit Carphone Warehouse stores on 15 February.

Tags: Tablets Toshiba Toshiba AT200 Toshiba Regza Toshiba Regza AT700 Toshiba Excite X10

Toshiba AT200, world's thinnest 10-inch tab, available in the UK now originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Tue, 07 Feb 2012 10:51:00 +0000

The Alienware X51 has arrived. Designed to be a small form factor PC that can actually handle a decent bit of gaming, it is Alienware's first attempt at a cheap(ish) desktop.?

Aimed squarely at the casual PC gaming market, the X51 is a halfway house between a home console and a top-end PC. Around the same size as a normal games console, it is intended to be?inconspicuous?enough to sit in your living room but still run triple-A titles such as Battlefield 3 at high settings.?

Close up the Alienware looks damn nice. Keeping all the internal goodies wrapped up warm is a matte plastic body, with a glossy black wraparound at the front. There is also a set of USB ports, headphone and microphone jacks and a rather nifty power button on the top of the front of the rig.?

Sat at the back is plenty more connectivity as well as a beefy grille to aid ventilation of the computer. On the side is the usual club tropicana style lighting you find on all Alienware hardware. It is much more understated here than say the laptop keyboards. We imagine this is to do with the fact many will be using this as a media centre PC in their living rooms.?

Alienware has done a masterful job cramming so much power into such a small rig. Inside is your choice of Sandy Bridge processors and either an Nvidia GT 545 or GTX 555, both with 1GB of video memory. There is also the option of a DVD or Blu-ray player and, of course, upgradeable RAM.

The real trick however is how easy it is to upgrade the internals. Unlike a normal game console, you can easily yank the graphics card out and stick a more powerful one inside, once an update is due. Things are definitely packed in tight in the X51, so don't expect to manage to fit a huge GTX 590 or any other top end card, but for now, a GTX 555 is going to do a good job with high-end DX 11 gaming.?

We have no idea how Alienware has managed to keep the inside of the X51 properly ventilated. Take a peek at the internals and it is slotted together perfectly like a piece of Lego. Think Mac Pro but packed in tighter.?

The X51 is going to start at around ?699 for the entry level model. It might be a fair hop up from a normal games console, but don't forget you are getting a small form factor rig that will likely run Windows at lightning speed.

Tags: Gaming Computers Alienware Alienware X51

Alienware X51 pictures and hands-on originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Tue, 07 Feb 2012 10:43:00 +0000

RIM has demoed some of the updates coming to PlayBook 2.0, which is scheduled to arrive on your PlayBook in February, at the BlackBerry DevCon Europe event in Amsterdam.

Along with headline features like Runtime for Android, which will see the easy porting of Android apps on to the tablet, you'll also get an update to BlackBerry Bridge 2.0.

BlackBerry Bridge is the software that links your PlayBook to your BlackBerry smartphone and today RIM demoed the new features in action.

Bridge 2.0 will let you remote control your PlayBook, so you not only get full navigation from your device, but you'll also be able to use your smartphone keyboard to enter text on your PlayBook.?

This means you'll be able to use your PlayBook as a display, while sticking with your familiar Bold keyboard to bash out those emails. The remote control function also mean you'll be able to easily demo or share apps on your PlayBook, using the touchscreen on your handset as a controller.

RIM also touched on the updated calendar and contacts views on PlayBook 2.0, showing the integrated social networks, so you can view a meeting and see those people that you'll be hooking-up with. You'll also find that the date number grows depending on how busy you are.

BlackBerry PlayBook 2.0 should be landing on your device this month.

Tags: Tablets BlackBerry BlackBerry PlayBook RIM

BlackBerry PlayBook 2.0 demoed, Bridge 2.0 gives remote control originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Tue, 07 Feb 2012 10:21:00 +0000

There is a saying that if you wish for something long enough it becomes true and that's probably what Best Buy is hoping for after it conducted a survey concerning the rumoured Apple iTV platform.

US tech site The Verge reported on a leak that saw the?superstore supposedly having the inside track on the new Apple iTV and detailing it in a survey to some of its customers to see if they were interested. However, after being picked up by all and sundry,?Best Buy has now admitted to Wired that it was a practice survey and no details were official.

"The customer survey was a routine offer effectiveness survey conducted by one of Best Buy’s research partners," the retailer told the US site. "Any brand reference was hypothetical. The survey is no longer available."

The Best Buy survey mentioned a 42-inch 1080p TV that runs iOS and has access to the App Store. iCloud support is mentioned as being on board, as is an iSight camera (for Skype though and not FaceTime, which sounds suspicious). The "dummy" survey mentions a price-tag of $1,499. Wishful thinking indeed and a price point that is treble what is currently on the market.?

It's all a bit wishy-washy, we know. The Best Buy survey definitely reeks of a bit of a balls-up, creating unnecessary hype for a hypothetical device.

However, a new twist in the tale appeared on Tuesday, that Apple iTV prototypes are already in testing at Bell and Rogers in?Canada - if you believe unnamed sources - suggesting someone else is wishing for the iTV to become a reality too.?

According to the Canadian paper The Globe and Mail:?"Rogers and Bell already have the product in their labs" due to the "wireless and broadband capabilities". The report also says that iTV will include Siri voice control as well as hand gestures, video chat, and an on-screen keyboard.

The trouble is, we know that here in Blighty, networks don't even get access to new iPhone models before the official Apple announcement so we're not convinced Canadian networks would be on board as of yet, for a brand new product category from Apple that hasn't even been?acknowledged?any further than a mention by Steve Jobs in a biography published after his death.?

While it's not really clear what's real and what's not, one thing is for sure - those wishing for Apple TV to be become a reality are growing with pace.?

Read

Tags: Apple Apple TV Home Cinema Apple iTV Best Buy

Apple iTV detailed by Best Buy originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Tue, 07 Feb 2012 10:05:00 +0000

Google has hit us with a double whammy this morning. Not only does its most recent Doodle celebrate the life of someone that we've actually heard of for a change - Charles Dickens - it is also in recognition of what we'd call an actual milestone; it would have been his 200th birthday.

So no celebrating the 132nd birthday of Bulgarian composer Dimitar Stoitchkov, 87 years since Valerie Dancerton - the famous classical ballerina - died, or the 173rd anniversary of the discovery of the seven legged Septospider*

No, this is a genuine event and is celebrated with a gorgeous Doodle that features some of the famous author's most recognisable characters including Ebenezer Scrooge, Bob Cratchit and Pip.

He was born in Portsmouth in 1812 and in 1833 his first story, A Dinner at Poplar Walk, was published in the London periodical Monthly Magazine. He would go on to write such other timeless classics as David Copperfield, Nicholas Nickleby, Our Mutual Friend, A Christmas Carol and Great Expectations.

Dickens died of cerebral haemorrhage on 9 June 1870 in Gad’s Hill. His tomb is inscribed: "He was a sympathiser to the poor, the suffering, and the oppressed; and by his death, one of England’s greatest writers is lost to the world."

When you click the Doodle, you aren't given the usual search results; it defaults to give you Charles Dickens titles from the Google Books library. There are far worse ways of wasting the day by getting lost in a couple....

*We may have made these events up.

Tags: Online Internet Google Google doodle Google Books

Google Doodle celebrates the life of Charles Dickens originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Tue, 07 Feb 2012 09:27:00 +0000

Canon has updated its zoom lens-touting travel compacts, introducing the PowerShot SX260 HS and PowerShot SX240 to the range and increasing their optical range considerably. Both feature new 20x zoom capabilities and lay claim to being the slimmest models with that optical range in the manufacturer's line-up.

In specifications terms, the models are similar. Each features the aforementioned?20x zoom, 25mm wide-angle lens, and they have 12.1-megapixel CMOS sensors and the?DIGIC 5-powered HS System. They also sport Canon's proprietary Intelligent IS (Image?Stabilisation) technology.

ZoomPlus technology adds digital zoom to the cameras too, combined DIGIC 5 with the sensor in order to extend the range to 39x.

Both cameras have 3-inch?PureColor II G LCD screens on the rear, and now chuck in Face ID, a face recognition system that can recognise up to 12 previous stored faces of your friends and family. You can also include their birthdays, and then Smart Auto will apply age-related setups and scenes to photographs. For example, if one of the stored faces belongs to a sleeping baby, Smart Auto will know to?disengage the flash and audio cues.

Face ID will also tag images with the names of the subjects.

Another interesting feature is Movie Digest. It records the last four seconds of action before each shot is taken and then edits them into a single movie at the end of the day, in 720p, so that you can watch a mini film of your excursion or event.

Each camera also offers Full HD (1080p) video recording functionality, which also utilises the 20x zoom lens and image stabilisation talents.

Other notable features include?Manual, Av and Tv modes, high-speed shooting, and the cameras can be complemented with optional 40m waterproof cases.

The major difference between them is that the Canon PowerShot SX260 HS also comes with GPS to location stamp images.

Available from March, the SX260 will cost ?329 and come in four colours - silver, black, red and green - while the SX240 will be ?299 and come in three - silver, black and red.

Tags: Cameras Canon Canon PowerShot SX260 HS Canon PowerShot SX240 HS

Canon PowerShot SX260 HS and SX240 HS compacts are for the roaming snapper originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Tue, 07 Feb 2012 09:05:00 +0000

You know what today needed? Six more cameras, that's what. Luckily, Canon thought so too and has announced the arrival of its new PowerShot A series comprising of the following entry to mid-level compacts: The Canon PowerShot A810, the Canon PowerShot A1300, the Canon PowerShot A2300, the Canon PowerShot A2400 IS, the Canon PowerShot A3400 IS and the Canon PowerShot A4000 IS.

Before we give each camera some individual time to breathe, let us first tell you what they've all got in common. They all pack the DIGIC 4 processing engine (sadly not the DIGIC 5 that we've seen land in the Canon Ixus 510 HS and Ixus 240) and they all have 16-megapixel sensors.

They also all shoot movies in 720p HD and, unless stated below, have 28mm wide-angle lenses with 5x optical zoom skills and 2.7-inch LCD displays.

The pick of the bunch is the A4000 which ramps the optical zoom up to 8x and offers a 3-inch LCD display.

Next up is the A3400, which may not have the zooming skills of the top model but does boast the bigger LCD display, this time with touch-screen controls thrown in. The A3400 and the A4000 also feature an optical image stabiliser with Intelligent IS technology built in tech. As does the A2400.

The A2300 and the A1300 have optical viewfinders; something that you won't find on the A810. The A2300 is also lithium-ion battery powered, whereas the two lower models run on AA batteries. The A810 also lacks the smart auto (32 scene) mode of its A series brothers and sisters.

The Canon PowerShot A4000 will be the first of the bunch to hit the shops, landing this month for ?169. In March, the A2300, A2400 and A3400 will arrive costing ?119, ?129 and ?149 respectively, followed by the A810 (?89) and the A1300 (?109) in April.

Tags: Cameras Compact cameras Canon PowerShot A810 Canon PowerShot A1300 Canon PowerShot A2300 Canon PowerShot A2400 IS Canon PowerShot A3400 IS Canon PowerShot A4000 IS

Canon PowerShot A series announced for entry-level fun originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Tue, 07 Feb 2012 09:00:00 +0000

It is turning into a busy day for camera launches. Not only have we seen Nikon unleash some top-end kit by way of the D800, Canon is also getting in on the pre-CP+ expo fun by annoying a barrage of new snappers including the latest entrants to the Ixus line up: The Canon Ixus 510 HS and the Ixus 240 HS.

Both models pack Wi-Fi capabilities and fanboys will be pleased to know that these compact cameras have been built firmly with their iThings in mind. Over the air you can chuck your images and videos straight at your Apple toy of choice; they are compatible with iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPad, iPad 2 and the 4th-gen iPod touch.

Both models, which offer touch-screen control, also play nicely with Facebook and YouTube and the Canon Image Gateway; Canon’s online facility for sharing photos and video with up to 10GB of space on offer.

Those touch screens that we mentioned are 3.2-inch PureColor II Touch LCD displays with 460k dot resolutions and they feature Canon’s Touch Shutter functionality for quick shooting.

Both the Ixus 510 HS and Ixus 240 HS also boast Canon's new DIGIC 5 processing engine and both are capable of Full HD 1080p video recording. They also have the Movie Digest mode, like the recently announced PowerShot D20, which lets you record the four seconds before every still shot in 720p.

Where the cameras differ are the sensors, the chassis and the zoom options. The 510 has a 10.1-megapixel 1/2.3-inch BSI-CMOS sensor, whereas the 240 has a 16.1-megapixel one.

On the 510 HS you get a 12x optical zoom (28 - 336mm), with a digital zoom taking this up to 21x, but you'll only get 5x optical (24 - 120mm) with the 240 HS and 10x digital.

The 240 weighs in slightly less at 145g compared to 163g for the 510 but it's a little chunkier in the hand; 94 x 57 x 21mm opposed to 86 x 54 x 20mm.

The Canon Ixus 510 HS will hit the shops in April priced at ?349, the 240 HS is ?279 and will be with us in March. Stateside, these cameras are called the Elph 530 HS and the Elph 320 HS.

Tags: Cameras Compact cameras Canon Canon Ixus 510 HS Canon Ixus 240 HS

Canon Ixus 510 HS and Ixus 240 HS play nicely with your iPhone originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Tue, 07 Feb 2012 08:23:00 +0000

It's been exactly three years since we welcomed the Canon PowerShot D10 into our lives and now, finally, the rugged compact has a sequel by way of the Canon PowerShot D20 which has just been announced by the Japanese photography giant.

This is a rough, tough, no-nonsense compact camera that is packed into a "a robust and sporty body" making it waterproof (down to 10m), shockproof, freezeproof and dustproof.

The D20, like its older brethren, features a 12.1-megapixel CMOS sensor, backed by the DIGIC 4 processor but takes the optical zooming up to a more healthy 5x.

1080p Full HD video is thrown into the mix, as is a rather neat movie-making feature called Movie Digest. This mode, when enabled, grabs four seconds of action from before you take your still pictures (in 720p HD, no less) meaning at the end of your adventures you can have a good look at exactly what you got up to.

The camera, powered by Canon's HS system, boasts a 28mm wide-angle lens and the LCD display on the back has also had a major upgrade. It is now a 3-inch 460k dot PureColor II with a 4:3 aspect ratio.

The waterproof capabilities mean that, with the 10m limit, the underwater macro mode, quick AF technology and clever white balancing skills you can use it straight out of the box for snorkelling and shallow dives. If you want to go deeper you can - up to 40m - using the optional WP-DC45 waterproof case with external flash.

The D20 also boasts GPS logging with Google Earth compatibility and seven creative filters including: Fish-eye effect, miniature effect, miniature effect in movie, super vivid, poster effect, toy camera effect and monochrome.

The Canon PowerShot D20 is available from May, priced at ?349.

Tags: Cameras Canon Compact camera Canon Powershot D20

Canon PowerShot D20 rugged compact fires in originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Tue, 07 Feb 2012 07:54:00 +0000

The D800 is here. Nikon has finally announced a successor to its now long in the tooth D700. The new camera has given us so much to talk about that we figured a versus was only fair.

We aren’t trying to work out which camera is better here, as we would hope the D800 easily grabs the crown. Instead we are looking at the main differences and updates, so you can figure out if holding off a purchase for the D800 is worth it, or if grabbing a cheaper D700 off eBay is the thing to do.

Some of the updates are fairly obvious, such as Nikon’s new prosumer full-frame snapper being able to compete with the 5D MK II for video. Others are much more subtle, but could make a huge difference to the way you shoot. So let's get down to it and tear the meat from the bones of this beefy new Nikon snapper.

Sensor

1st: D800

36.3 megapixel FX-format (24 x 39.5mm) CMOS sensor

2nd: D700

12.1 megapixel FX-format (23.9 x 36mm) CMOS sensor

At the core of any digital camera is its sensor. The D700 launched with a high-performance full frame - that is, the same size as 35mm film - CMOS sensor. Despite being released to market all the way back in 2008, the D700 still performs immensely well in low-light situations. The FX-format hardware inside was quite a way ahead of its time and still outdoes all but the top-end professional part of Nikon’s lineup.

The D800 has gone all out on the megapixel front, coming in with a whopping 36.3, compared to the D700’s 12.1.This is ideal for the studio photographer who wants lots of image data to play with, but for someone on the go, the more pixels on a sensor, the more low-light issues. Nikon says the D800 has the same level of noise control as its predecessor, but why not rein in the number of megapixels so it can improve upon it? Until we have a proper play we just can’t be sure. This one goes to the D800 for sheer megapixel punching power.

Body

1st: D800

Magnesium alloy, improved ergonomics, lighter

2nd: D700

Magnesium alloy

The D700 and D800 are both professional-grade pieces of kit. They are put together to be battered and bruised over years of photographic work. This means weather sealing and dust proofing which, when combined with the rubber gasket-clad G-type Nikon lenses - make the camera pretty impervious to the elements.

Nikon’s D700 was a tough camera. We know, as we have had one since launch, and it's still snapping away nicely. The size and feel of the camera however isn’t perfect and Nikon has done quite a bit to improve it with the D800. One of the most significant changes is the button layout, which does things such as move the AF and Manual focus switch so you don’t need to take your eye from the finder to change it. There is also a dedicated movie shooting button.

Coming in at 900g the D800 is 10 per cent lighter than the D700, which weighs 995g (no battery, card or caps). More than enough changes here then to know the new Nikon is the winner.

Display

1st: D800

3.2-inch, 921k dot, LCD with auto brightness control

2nd: D700

3-inch, 921k dot, LCD

Not a huge difference here between the two screens on the D700 and D800. Nikon’s display tech was already pretty good in 2008 but has undergone a major update for the new camera.

The D700 suffered from problematic viewing in bright light. This has been fixed with an automatic brightness setting in the D800, which has a much wider colour reproduction range. It means that when shooting video on the new camera you will be able to rely on the screen on the body for accuracy. This is hugely useful to people who intend to use the D800 for video professionally, as it does away with the need to connect and peek at a calibrated monitor all the time.

Viewfinder

1st: D800

0.7x magnification glass prism finder, 100 per cent frame coverage

2nd: D700

0.72? magnification glass prism finder, 95 per cent frame coverage

The D800’s finder comes with a much needed update over the previous full-frame Nikon, namely 100 per cent frame coverage.

This means whatever you see when looking through the viewfinder will be exactly the image taken. Normally some of the picture is cropped out simply because the finder doesn’t cover the whole sensor. Nikon has fixed this with the D800. The new finder is also extremely bright, allowing you to see clearly under moonlight and even darker situations.

Processor

1st: D800

Expeed 3

2nd: D700

Expeed

As the D700 drew on a lot of the hardware found in Nikon’s flagship bodies at the time, the D800 has done the same. Bits of hardware, namely the Expeed 3 that comes from the D4, have been built into the new snapper.

The Expeed 3 is a beast of a camera processor. It allows for the D800’s low-light performance with such a high number of megapixels. You get 16-bit image processing in both cameras but a significantly improved scene recognition setup in the D800. Advanced facial recognition, loads of detail and smooth colour graduation, these all come with the Expeed 3.

Another benefit of the Expeed 3 of course is what it can bring to video, which we will talk about later.

Focusing system

1st: D800

Advanced Multi-CAM 3500FX AF, 51-point sensor

2nd: D700

Multi-CAM 3500FX AF, 51-point sensor

Despite having the same name, the D800 has a brand new AF sensor, which is capable of all sorts of clever tricks. Redesigned for the D4, you get things like 3D colour tracking and improved low light focusing.

Ultimately though, there isn’t a huge difference between the 51 point, 15 cross type focus system. The D700 performed brilliantly in nearly every focus situation, apart from when it was dark. If Nikon has really improved this, then it's on to a winner.

Shutter

1st: D700

200,000 actuations, 4fps in FX, 6fps in DX crop

2nd: D800

200,000 actuations, 4fps in FX, 5fps in DX crop

What’s this? The D700 has managed to claim a win over the D800. Caused in part by the large number of megapixels in the new Nikon, it just can’t burn images to a card as quick. Neither cameras is really designed for high-speed shooting. For this you want something like the D300s or the Nikon D4.

The D700 and D800 both have immensely hardy sensors, in particular the 200,000 actuations test on the new Nikon is reassuring. We are giving this one to the D700 purely on numbers, but ultimately both are very tough. You also have years of the D700 being used in the field with little to no problems reported. And hey, you have to give the old man something, right?

Video

1st: D800

Full HD 1080p video at 30, 25 and 24fps, 720p 60fps slow mo

2nd: D700

No video

We would have been pretty worried if the D800 hadn’t won this one. Nikon has fallen behind in the video stakes to Canon and its 5D MK II, which shoots an unbelievably high-quality video.

The D800 needs to impress on this front and on paper it does. Hardware choices like a dedicated microphone in and headphone out are extremely useful, as is linear PCM support for other audio recording sources. You also get DX and FX recording formats, which means you can take advantage of the extra focal length gained from the smaller sensor size.

Broadcast quality 1080p output from the camera’s HDMI is useful for those shooting straight to an external display. You also get a "power aperture" which lets you adjust exposure using designated buttons on the front of the camera rather than the command dial.

All signs point to great video functionality in the D800. It grabs the win here obviously but will it manage to take the crown from Canon’s shooter? We will know more once we have had time to play with the and fully review it.

Price

1st: D700

Around ?1800

2nd: D800

?2399.99

Interestingly Nikon isn’t going to quit selling the D700, planning to push both cameras alongside each other. Sure the D800 is going to cost well over ?2000 but for that you get a huge number of improvements, as you can see from the above. Most will be willing to pay the extra for the video alone.

Some, however, will plan on using the camera just for stills and low-light use, in which case perhaps the cheaper D700 would be money well saved. Ultimately both are expensive cameras and the D700 has already proven itself in the field of photographic battle. Having the latest and greatest is definitely a nice feeling though and no one is going to argue the D800 isn’t that.

Verdict

As we said at the start of this article, we aren’t trying to find a winner here, more just pick out the differences. The D800 has done a lot to improve on Nikon’s top-end prosumer formula. All the best parts of the D700 have been retained and some rather large functionality holes filled. The video capabilities are a massive improvement and long overdue, as is the megapixel jump for those who need it. The rest of the camera however isn’t hugely different to the D700, presumably why Nikon is still keeping it on market. Hopefully a price drop will come the D700’s way and a cheap full-frame alternative will appear to Nikon’s new camera. We know one thing for sure, however: we want the D800.

To help you make up your mind, why not?check-out all our Nikon D800 pictures?

Tags: Cameras Nikon Nikon D700 Nikon D800 DSLR cameras

Nikon D700 vs Nikon D800 originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Tue, 07 Feb 2012 04:10:00 +0000

Nikon has actually launched two DLSR cameras today. The first is the Nikon D800, the second is the D800E, "the ultimate alternative", the "special edition", as Nikon refers to it.

The D800E is based on the D800. Actually, it's the same camera, with all the same features, except for one major difference. The Nikon D800E has had the optical filter modified to remove the anti-aliasing characteristics.?

The anti-aliasing filter, sometimes known as the optical low-pass filter, removes unwanted interference, such as moir? patterning, that can occur on particular subjects, especially common on textures such as meshes or patterned surfaces - clothes, brick walls or netting, for example.?

In digital imaging, this often happens because the grid of the sensor and the grid of the pattern have different alignment or the resolution of the sensor isn't high enough to accurately sample patterning in the scene, or both. Anti-aliasing filters are generally included in all digital cameras in some form, with medium format cameras being the notable exception.

The trade-off for avoiding the interference in images is a slight reduction in sharpness and often brightness. For most users, it's an acceptable compromise, but for those few that want the best possible results from the 36.3-megapixel sensor, then the Nikon D800E might be of interest.

To demonstrate the sort of difference you can expect, Nikon used the image below, which is a crop from a snowy mountain scene (resized here, but you can still see the difference).

While you won't have to pay the same sort of prices as you would to get an AA filter-free camera of the PhaseOne or Hasselblad variety, there is a small premium. The Nikon D800E will cost you ?2689.99.

When asked what proportion of buyers would opt for the D800E over the D800, Jeremy Gilbert, group marketing manager of Nikon UK, said he thought it would be "around 10 per cent". Nikon D800E availability will be through selected retailers, in particular those who can better service the needs of advanced photographers, from 12 April 2012.

You can see all our Nikon D800 photos here, and read more about the Nikon D800 specs here, as apart from that AA filter and the price, the cameras are the same.

Tags: Cameras DSLR cameras Nikon Nikon D800 Nikon D800E 36 megapixels

What is the Nikon D800E? originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Tue, 07 Feb 2012 04:05:00 +0000

The Nikon D800 is a new enthusiast or semi-professional full-frame model. Pocket-lint was on hand to grab the new camera as soon as it was announced, to have a quick play and show you what the camera looks like in the flesh.

It has evolved out of the popular Nikon D700, but incorporates some of the features we saw in the recent D4 launch. Importantly it doesn't replace the D700; Nikon sees the D800 very much as a camera that a D700 user might step-up to, or a D300s user might move over to, but both the D800 and D700 will be available moving forward.

As a full-frame DSLR it is fairly weighty at 1kg (without a lens), but this is close to the weight of the D700 and to be expected from this type of camera. Fortunately the body is large enough to give a nice natural grip, so it sits nicely in the hands.

The layout of controls reflects the D700 forebear, but with some adjustments. The angle of the shutter button has been altered, as it was in the D4, to give a more natural position. Elsewhere you have controls for video, specifically the video capture button just behind the shutter button.

You also have specific live-view modes for video or stills, selected using the switch on the back. Nikon is taking video seriously with the D800, looking to steal some of the limelight from the Canon EOS 5D Mk II, which has been quite the box office hit. The normal complement of Full HD 1920 x 1080 capture at 30/25/24p is present, as well as 60/50p if you step down to 1280 x 720 resolution, resulting in a MOV file.

You'll find the connections you'd expect hiding under the flap on the left-hand side. The HDMI will offer an uncompressed video output aimed at professional use and you get audio monitoring via the mic and headphone sockets. You also get USB 3.0, meaning faster data transfer for moving all those huge files off - with a typical NEF RAW file being 76MB, you can understand the need.

There are four controls sitting atop the release mode dial on the left, a new bracketing button makes an appearance, designed to make things like HDR shooting more straight forward. As a "compact" full-frame camera there is a pop-up flash, meaning you don't need accessories if you don't want them.

The viewfinder offers a 100 per cent field of view and the 3.2-inch display on the back features a light sensor like the D4, so the display will adjust to suit the conditions as best it can. The viewfinder was bright and full of rich information from the AF system and the display looked to be nice and vibrant from the time we spent with the camera.

The sloped shoulders of the Nikon D800, incorporating the new rake of the shutter button, gives the new model a slightly softer look over the D700 which looks boxy by comparison. This means the name sits sort of awkwardly, not that anyone will care too much.

But despite all the expected updates, we suspect the talking point for many will be the large 35.9 x 24mm CMOS sensor (Nikon FX format), with 36.3 effective megapixels. The sensor partners much of the redesigned architecture we saw in the Nikon D4, including the Expeed 3 processor, but the fastest frame rate you'll get is 4fps at maximum resolution, or 5fps on DX crop, so this probably isn't one for photographers who need to catch that fleeting sporting moment.

In operation the Nikon D800 felt assured and serious. It was fast to focus, a no-nonsense camera, but unfortunately we weren't able to take away any of the shots we took for closer examination. To judge the quality of that new 36-megapixel sensor, we'll have to wait for the verdict of our Nikon D800 review.

The Nikon D800 will be available from 22 March and will cost you ?2399.99. The MB-D12 grip also pictured will cost you ?379.99.

Tags: Cameras DSLR cameras Nikon Nikon D800 36 megapixels Photos

Nikon D800 pictures and hands-on originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Tue, 07 Feb 2012 04:01:00 +0000

The Nikon D800 is a new full-frame DSLR in Nikon's professional line of cameras, sitting on a new 36-megapixel CMOS sensor. The model borrows much of the styling of the D700, mixing in technology from the Nikon D4.

Top of the bill is that new 36-megapixel FX sensor. As a full-frame model it has a large sensor, but this number of megapixels is also new to "consumer" DSLR cameras. Nikon boasts that the level of detail it offers is unprecedented, while managing low-light noise as effectively as the D700.

The new Nikon D800 sits on the same architecture?as the flagship Nikon D4, so you have the same AF module and Expeed 3 processor, but much more data to process from that sensor.?

The model tweaks the styling of the D700, bringing in controls for the newly added video modes. Again keeping pace with the Nikon D4, you get Full HD video capture, as well as slow-motion 50/60fps options in 720p, looking to rival the likes of the Canon EOS 5D Mk II.

An HDMI fires uncompressed video out, ideal for professional production purposes and headphone and mic sockets will support your audio capture.?Other connections include a USB 3.0, the first for a Nikon DSLR, meaning fast data transfer to get all those images off. At 76MB for a NEF RAW file, you'll need it. Internally you'll find slots for CF and SD cards which can be used in combination.

Around the back of the new DSLR camera is a 3.2-inch 921k-dot LCD display with an ambient light meter, so it will adapt the display properties according to the environment. Above it sits the 100 per cent field of view viewfinder, which will display the 51 AF points.

The metal body of the Nikon D800 offers the same level of weatherproofing as the D700, so it's a camera that is designed to survive daily abuse and will offer 900 shots from the battery. You'll get a normal ISO range of 100-6400, with options to step down to ISO 50 or up to ISO 25600. You'll have options to shoot in different crop modes, from the native FX mode, to DX (APS-C equivalent), as well as 5:4 and 1.2x.

The Nikon D800 is a hefty camera at around 1kg (with battery but no lens) but offers a full range of capture options for the serious photographer or videographer. It also comes in at a serious price, launching at ?2399.99. It will be available from 22 March 2012.?

Now why not look at our?Nikon D800 pictures and hands-on?or see how the D800 compares to the D700?

Tags: Cameras DSLR cameras Nikon Nikon D800 Nikon D800E 36 megapixels

Nikon D800: full frame, full HD, full of 36 megapixels originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Tue, 07 Feb 2012 04:00:00 +0000

In these times of financial uncertainty, I for one have been tightening my belt. At least I have in a metaphorical sense. You see, I love my food. So, in our house, rather than cut out all the good stuff, we’re just being a lot more selective about what we buy and where we buy it.

We’ve gradually reduced our dependence on supermarkets: fruit and veg from the farm shop, meat from the butcher, etc.

If you’ve done something similar, this might be for you, simply because www.loveyourlarder.com is about the best site we’ve seen for finding all those artisan foodie treats, without having to spend all your spare time trawling the farmers' markets and organic shops.

It might all sound a bit middle class and chunky sweaters, but we’ve found that by buying better, less often, we’re eating more healthily and enjoying our food even more.

We even manage to save money because we no longer waste any food.

This is a great place to stock up on some romantic treats too...

Tags: Online WebsiteOfTheDay Websites Software

WEBSITE OF THE DAY: Love Your Larder originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Tue, 07 Feb 2012 01:00:00 +0000

The rounded and colourful case of this sleek and shiny Samsung netbook makes it stand out from the pack, as do the backlit keyboard and light weight. But do the compromises Samsung has made to achieve the style and slenderness mean it's all flash and no substance?

Design

The glossy metallic case certainly looks flash, in dark red or rich bright blue. The colour continues round to the base of the chassis and even moulds around the ports neatly, although the embossed Samsung logo across the lid is rather imposing - or tacky, depending on your point of view. Neatly curved corners and sloping edges look good and are comfortable to carry, especially as the NS310 is just a hair over a kilo in weight. The weight is well balanced too; when you have it open, the two hinges hold the screen steady and there's no sign of it tipping over backwards.

The interior is all black, relieved by the blue glow of the power button above the screen and the indicator lights below the large trackpad. These are placed so that you won't keep brushing over them as you type, and even if you do they don't have the sharp edges we've complained about on some netbooks.

The screen and bezel have the usual popular but irritatingly reflective gloss finish; despite the good viewing angle of the screen, we had noticeable problems with reflections when working near a window with the NS310.

Keyboard and trackpad

The keyboard, surround and trackpad are a uniform matte black plastic. The keyboard is sunken into a well to give you more action on the keys; it's also backlight. This adjusts automatically to surrounding light, turning on as the room gets darker, and off when you don't use the keyboard for a while - or you can adjust the brightness yourself.

The keys are a little on the small size for a machine with a 10.1-inch screen, thanks to those curving edges and sloping sides; although there's plenty of space between the isolated keytops, the keyboard, as a whole, feels rather cramped and we'd happily sacrifice the second alt and ctrl keys for real home/end keys, rather than extra functions on the arrow keys. The secondary controls on the function keys are all useful, adjusting brightness and volume or bringing up the ControlCenter utility, but there are no media buttons.

The trackpad is large for a netbook, with a surface that's both smooth and yet textured enough for precision. It's responsive for simple scrolling and two-finger pinch zoom, scroll and rotate. The three-finger tap and swipe gestures are turned off by default, probably because the touch pad surface is just too small to use them comfortably unless you have the tiniest of fingers. The buttons have a nice positive action, but they're set into a single rocker bar so the middle section doesn't press in at all.

Ports

The selection of ports down the sides of the shiny case isn't impressive with three USB 2.0 ports but no USB 3 and VGA but no HDMI. The good news is there’s 100Mbps Ethernet and separate headphone and microphone jacks, plus an SD card slot on the front. At least you get three USB ports, but the layout of the ports is also irritating. The third USB port, in particular, is too close to the VGA port and a monitor cable will make it hard to reach.

We had no real complaints about the build quality; the keyboard doesn't flex while you're typing but the plastic chassis is a little creaky and it doesn't feel as sturdy as an HP Mini.

Sub-standard performance and battery life

What is disappointing is the performance and the battery life. The NS310 comes with the usual Office Starter and Windows Live apps, a large selection of not-very-interesting games and the ubiquitous YouCam Webcam tools. The round dozen Samsung utilities mostly duplicate Windows controls or only work with specific Samsung phones or printers. That sad, the DLNA content sharing tool is useful. There are also netbook versions of Norton Internet Security and Online Backup combine those with IE8 and the Bing Bar and you get a slow and unresponsive system.

Swap Norton out for a less bloated AV like Microsoft Security Essentials and things improved but even a 1.5Ghz dual-core Atom N550 isn't particularly speedy, especially with only 1Gb of memory. And when you compare the price to other similarly equipped netbooks it becomes clear that you're paying extra for the case design. The hard drive is a fair 240Gb but oddly our review sample was formatted so only 90Gb was in use.

With Wi-Fi on and the screen at about half brightness, we saw nearly four hours of battery life in light use; start streaming videos and music and that drops to two and a half hours. That's considerably less than other netbooks because while the 25Wh battery keeps the case sleek rather than bulging it also stores rather less power than usual.

Things are better when it comes to multimedia. The twin speakers above the keyboard produce quite pleasant sound at full volume, although they're almost inaudible below half volume. The screen is bright and vivid, especially for a netbook, although it's not particularly saturated and there's no comparison to high-end screens. The adjustments that automatically kick in when you play a video file do improve the picture, and video is enjoyable to watch. Contrast is fairly poor, especially in dark areas, but the hinge stops the screen tilting back enough for this to be a problem.

Intel GMA 3150 graphics isn't up to even half-serious gameplay, but it does well on video. The screen is too small to really see the detail on 1080p video but what you can see is crisp and full HD video streamed smoothly from YouTube. 720p video streamed over a home network fared better, playing smoothly with excellent crisp detail and only the slightest and very occasional artefacting on regular backgrounds like roof tiles.

Verdict:

Beyond the minimal specs and cramped keyboard it's not that there's much actually wrong with the Samsung NS310 and we do like the design, although it may not appeal to everyone. But to get the good looks and the slim style, Samsung has sacrificed battery life and the performance is average for the price. Cute, shiny, with an unusually good screen for a netbook, the Samsung NS310 doesn't make the right compromises for most users.

Tags: Laptops Netbooks Samsung Samsung NS310

Samsung NS310 originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Mon, 06 Feb 2012 19:16:00 +0000

While YouTube might boast the bigger audience, there is no denying that the videos on Vimeo are, how shall we put this, more crafted.

Vimeo has released its Windows Phone 7 app, something that Google's YouTube has still failed to do, offering a host of features and ways to catch up with the latest videos on the service on the go, but is it better than the website? We get downloading and uploading to find out.

Vimeo

Platform

Windows Phone 7

Price

Free

Where

Marketplace

Download the free app and you are instantly presented with a welcome page offering quick links to a host of goodies.

There is the facility to search the entire Vimeo catalogue, the ability to see "my videos", which videos you have ticked the "likes" button for, the ones you've opted to "watch later" and even "collections".

Swipe to the right and there's featured content, letting you instantly enjoy recommendations either from the Vimeo team, or by the most-viewed content on the video site.

Swipe again and you have the chance to explore via Vimeo's numerous categories. Whether your interests are in Art, Comedy, Experimental [oh errr] or Sports the Vimeo app has you covered.

Each video has all the details you would expect to see, the ability to set to watch later and like, as well as the chance to read and make comments. You can also share videos via email, social, and SMS.

Where the app gets a little more interesting than just another way to view the video site is that you are also able to upload video to Vimeo as well over 3G if you wish.

Opting to upload video fires up the camera's video functionality - although don't expect to get anything other than that. There are no focus controls, or effects, or the ability to upload videos you've previously captured - something of a missed opportunity.

If you're a fan of Vimeo then this app will serve you well, allowing you to quickly catch up on the wealth of videos on the site in a handy-to-eat app format. We would have liked more control over the upload feature and of the video functionality when you come to actually capture something, but at least Vimeo has included 3G support.

The Vimeo app for Windows Phone 7 is available now in the Marketplace.

Tags: Apps Windows Phone 7 apps Vimeo Video

APP OF THE DAY: Vimeo review (Windows Phone 7) originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Mon, 06 Feb 2012 18:00:00 +0000

Before Microsoft bamboozled us with its vision of the future, Gorilla Glass maker Corning blew our socks off with its A Day Made of Glass video.

The YouTube phenomenon (17 million views and counting) gave us a glimpse of the world of tomorrow and was so attractive because it all seemed so possible, as many of the technologies on show have already been developed and are just waiting to hit our homes and streets.

And now we've had to spend another 5 or so minutes with our jaw on the floor as A Day Made of Glass 2 has been released.

According to its makers, the sequel "extends the ideas, applications, and interfaces introduced in the original video into new arenas – including healthcare and education – continuing the story of how highly engineered glass, with companion technologies, will help shape our world".

According to us, it's just bloomin' brilliant. How can you not love a bit of AR Jurassic Park action, or the fact that a doctor can literally drag a patient's brain around?

There's also an extended version of the video that gives a bit of extra detail on the technologies used in the action.

Mind-blowing stuff, we're sure you'll agree.

Tags: Corning Home Cinema Phones Tablets Video

Corning's A Day Made of Glass 2 gives us a window into the future (video) originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:11:00 +0000

Zeon Tech, the company behind the forthcoming iPhone-activated Tardis and R2-D2 Smartsafes, is to release a rival to the iCade Jnr, an arcade cabinet for the iPhone and iPod touch. Called the iAppCade, the new device differs in several key areas, the most notable being that it doesn't connect to an iDevice via Bluetooth.

Instead, the mini coin-op machine casing works a bit like an iPhone dock: just insert your handset and away you go. It will automatically work with dedicated games without the need for a complicated setup period.

Essentially, movements on the eight-way joystick or either of the two buttons equate to presses on the lower half of the device's touchscreen using a capacitive material and, as?the play screen is 4:3 in aspect ratio, you can't even see that going on.

"As I use one half of the screen as the control interface, the other half is used to display the game," says Steve Carpenter, the designer of the iAppCade.

"I designed a case that would fit the iPhone, have buttons and joysticks for playing the game.?I then coded a test game for the iPhone and set the screen to roughly half the available screen space. By chance this was around the 4:3 aspect ratio that real arcade cabinets use. Fitting it all together resulted in a small but proportional?cabinet with a 4:3 screen, 8-way joystick and dual buttons!"

It results in a cabinet that doesn't require power, nor sucks the life from your device like Bluetooth can.

However, there is a downside to this proprietary method of control. On launch, there will be only a few games on the App Store that are compatible - Blasteroids, Pinger, BlockBuster and Invaders from Outerspace - all variations on classic arcade titles. But developers are working on more and the iAppCade will play HTML5 games online for multiplayerbattles and user generated games.

Additionally, as we secretly spied at the unveiling of the prototype during London's Toy Fair in January, the cabinet is also completely compatible with MAME4all, the arcade emulation software that's barred from the official App Store, but still available on Cydia for jailbroken iDevices.

The iAppCade is coming in Q2 (around summertime) and will cost a mere ?14.99. A larger version for the iPad is also on the cards, if its diminutive forerunner proves successful.

Tags: iPhone iPhone accessories Phones Zeon Tech iAppCade Zeon Tech iPod Touch iPod touch accessories iPad accessories MAME4all ToyFair2012

iAppCade iPhone arcade cabinet works without Bluetooth (pictures) originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:57:00 +0000

The mystery has been, er, solved. Kind of. We think we know what's going on. Maybe. What we're mumbling our way towards is that the covers have been taken off of the Google "Solve for X" website.

Well, sort of. Rather than the whole website going live, visitors are treated to a teaser splash complete with a blurb reading:

"Solve for X is a place where the curious can go to hear and discuss radical technology ideas for solving global problems. Radical in the sense that the solutions could help billions of people. Radical in the sense that the audaciousness of the proposals makes them sound like science fiction. And radical in the sense that there is some real technology breakthrough on the horizon to give us all hope that these ideas could really be brought to life.

"This combination of things - a huge problem to solve, a radical solution for solving it, and the breakthrough technology to make it happen - is the essence of a moonshot.

"Solve for X is intended to be a forum to encourage and amplify technology-based moonshot thinking and teamwork.

"We can't wait to share what we discover."

We can't either. In fact, we can't wait to see just what the heck is going on. For, if you are any more the wiser after reading that (and looking at the launch video), then you are obviously more radical than we are.

Our best guess is that it's going to be some kind of open-forum think-tank based around some pretty heavy themes like sustainability, medical advancements and world change. Think TED but with fewer octopuses (octopi?). And it's probably all tied-in with the Google X, top-secret lab, that the New York Times reported on last year.

What we do know is that you can submit your email now if you've got some "moonshot" ideas and are ready to change the world.

Update: The videos are now live. You can see them on the site, or on the We Solve X's YouTube channel.

Read

Tags: Online Google Solve for X Google Labs

Google unleashes Solve for X website originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:38:00 +0000

The Samsung Galaxy S III anticipation could soon be over with a May launch touted for the much speculated handset.

That's the word from Korean publication ETNews, which also reports that the next-gen Sammy flagship phone will be a super-skinny 7mm thin. That's not quite skinny enough to take the world's skinniest title away from Huawei and its Ascend P1 handset but will no doubt be slimline enough to ruffle a few feathers over in Cupertino.

The report says the smartphone will utilise printed circuit boards (PCB), connector parts and chips that are 10 to 20 per cent thinner than conventional parts, to keep its waistline thin.?

Last week a memo from Samsung dropped into the Pocket-lint inbox stating that "the successor to the Galaxy S II smartphone will be unveiled at a separate Samsung-hosted event in the first half of the year, closer to commercial availability of the product".

There's a raft of rumours surrounding the S III online and, if they all ring true, then we're in for a monster device. We're not too sure, though, how Samsung is going to fit both a quad-core and a dual-core ship inside.

?

?

?

Read

Tags: Phones Samsung Samsung Galaxy S III

Super-skinny Samsung Galaxy S III coming in May originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:04:00 +0000

There aren't many people who would argue that staying in shape is important, and an increasingly popular pastime for many. So mobile phone companies are keen to appeal to active sorts with phones that can help them in their pursuits.

Sony Ericsson markets the Xperia Active as a splash-proof, shock-proof handset that offers everything you need in a phone - if you're someone who loves being outside, running, cycling or just walking over hill and dale.

Design

The Xperia Active is a fairly small handset, a tiny bit bigger than a credit card in width and length. It is, however, quite a chunky monkey, with a depth of 55mm, it's quite a fat phone. It's a decent weight too, at 110.8g, but we doubt that's too heavy for most people.

Included in the box are a set of pretty comfortable, in-ear headphones, a lanyard of sorts and an armband, to wear the phone in when you're out for a jog.

Nokia fans of old should also rejoice, for the changeable rear cover is now available on Sony Ericsson phones. The Active comes with two in the box - one black, one white - and there are limited editions of this phone that come with different designs. The phone also has orange trim, which as orange lovers, we're very keen on. We're sure some will hate this, but it does have a strangely sporting feel to it.

In terms of software, we're looking at a slightly tweaked version of Android. This is good, because on this smallish screen (3-inches) it's preferable to have a custom UI, to make the most of the screen. Here, Sony has "hot corners" which each have a shortcut to one or more apps. By default, SMS is in the top left, activity apps in the top right. The bottom right is the dialer, while the bottom left holds the address book.

The app tray is a slight customisation too, but we like it, because it retains the Android look, while making the most of the screen. Very sensible, very slick. Certainly nothing here to upset Android fans.

Camera

The 5-megapixel camera is a nice surprise. It produces lovely, sharp photos which have more than enough detail to please our HD-loving eyes.

They aren't the most vibrant or saturated colours we've ever seen, but we'll take accuracy over vibrancy any day of the week. Plus, if overblown colours are what you're looking for, you can always tweak them later in a photo app. In fact, we tried this, and the Active's images are surprisingly well suited to tweaks like this.

So all in all, we rather like this little camera. It's better than on most small phones, and more than enough for happy snapping out and about.

Keep fit

The main fitness part of the Active is an app called MapMYFitness - although on the Active, it's called iMapMyFitness+. It's a fairly comprehensive little program, and quite easy to use. You can manually enter details of exercise, as well as track where you go using GPS.

There's an online portion too, and there you're able to check out what people near you are doing, and what runs there are completed locally. There are all sorts of tools for nutrition tracking, and you can also import exercise from other devices.

The only thing is, you don't need to have an Xperia Active to download this free app, and the Sony Ericsson pre-installed version still has adverts too, so the company hasn't sprung for a premium version for people buying this phone. Still, that doesn't change the fact that the app is good, and will hopefully help keep you motivated.

You also get an app called WalkMate, which keeps track of the number of steps you've taken. Walking can have a huge effect on the fitness of a normal person, so we're quite pleased to see this here. There's a goal you can aim for, and it's good to see, as you can just fire-up the app and forget about it. Although, the app itself does warn that it increases power consumption. Again, there are free pedometer apps in the market, so this in itself doesn't add much value over a normal Android phone.?

As part of its rugged design, the Active also supports "wet finger tracking" which sounds perverse, but is quite clever. Many capacitive touchscreens are driven crazy by wet fingers. And, if you're excerising, there's much more chance that you'll be mildly moist during your workout. So the Active can compensate for that when you're using the touch screen. Sadly, it's not actually all the brilliant in practice. We found that moist fingers worked okay - although not as well as dry fingers - but add any real water, from say, rain, and it all goes badly wrong, with random apps starting an inability to control the phone accurately. A shame, but for us, not a deal breaker.

One feature we do, very much like is the Ant+ sensor support. If you have a compatible activity sensor ?- Garmin, for example, offers them for use with its equipment sports watches. Ant+ sensors come in lots of different forms, from bike speed sensors to pulse rate monitors.

Also included in the pack, and part of the fitness capability, is the arm case for the phone. You slip the handset in to it, and then a clear window on the front allows you to see and control the phone while you're out running. It's okay, and the phone fits reasonably well, but we found that the screen wasn't easy to control through the plastic cover, and the whole thing was a little too loose in the case to reliably ensure the screen was touching the case enough to control.

Our iPod Touch fitted better, and the touchscreen worked properly through the plastic too. Whoops!

Music

Music is a huge part of exercise, for most people. Without it, after all, running becomes such a soul crushing hate-fest that quickly becomes as depressing as the torrid state of the banking system and our ever-corrupt politicians. Happily, the Sony Ericsson is pretty good in this regard. Sony has a customised music player, which works well on the smaller screen of this device.

Our biggest concern really, is that with music being such an important part of fitness phones, the inclusion of only a 2GB memory card seems a little mean. When we work out, we like to have a lot of tunes to choose from, and 2GB hardly provides that. Sure, 16GB microSD cards are cheap as chips these days, but when you're paying for a phone, it seems like a nice perk to get a good chunk of included storage. The phone itself adds an extra 1GB of capacity, but only 320MB is user accessible.

The supplied headphones are decent enough - a little bit better than most pairs that come with phones. They sit in the ear well, and should keep out a fair bit of external noise, and they're certainly among the most-comfortable we've used.

Battery life

Once again, small phone generally equates to a small battery, and that's true here. It's not a catastrophe, but at 1200mAh, it's not the most powerful battery you can get. We used our phone with data off for most of the time, because we were using a pay-as-you-go SIM from Orange, and that increased our battery life. It still wasn't brilliant though, and you'll need to keep this phone topped up when you're near a power socket.

Verdict:

The Xperia Active is an interesting phone. We took too it pretty quickly, and while it isn't the sort of phone that we would probably buy, if you want something tough, water resistant and designed for workouts, then this is really an ideal phone.

It's a little bit too expensive to replace an MP3 player, but if you take exercise seriously, it's the same price as a Motorola ACTV, for example, and offers you a full mobile phone too boot. So perhaps it could be a second phone for people who like specific tools for specific jobs.

Do bear in mind though, that there is nothing here that you couldn't get on ANY android handset. The fitness app is free to all, via the market - although support for heart rate monitors is a nice extra, and one you don't get on many phones. Of course, monitoring your heart rate is singificantly less important to most people than tracking how much exercise they have done.

Judging this phone as a phone though, and we're very happy with it. The battery is good enough, especially if you're a light user and the rugged design is good for those who are accident-prone. We just can't help but like it, to be honest.

Tags: Phones Sony Sony Ercisson Sony Ericsson Xperia active

Sony Ericsson Xperia Active originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:58:43 +0000

Qooq, the tablet device designed exclusively for the kitchen, is coming to the UK in the second half of the year. It has already been making waves in France for a while, but will be available outside its home country after a full English version of the proprietary platform is finalised.

The dual-core tablet runs on Linux as its operating system, but its software was designed entirely in-house. Its purpose is to provide access to 3,500 recipes from 100 different chefs, with 1,200 of those presented as videos. But it can also be used to access the internet, webmail and social networks. It can play MP3s or MP4 video files, has a weather application, a timer and web radio functionality. There is also a digital photo frame option.

Specifications include a 10.1-inch 16:9 mineral glass touchscreen, 1GHz ARM Cortex A9 dual-core processor, 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi connectivity, an Ethernet port for wired internet, USB 2.0, SD/SDHC card reader, and 8GB of inbuilt memory.

The shell features a splash-proof surface, waterproof buttons and Zamac feet with non-slip blocks.

Pocket-lint has spoken to Qooq, which tells us that the UK price is yet to be decided. Its price in France is 349 Euros (?289) for the tablet itself, but to access the multitudes of foody content you will also need a subscription. It comes with 500 interactive recipes for free, plus a range of culinary services, such as automated shopping lists and community tips, but to get full access you will need to purchase a Qooq Pass.

A Qooq Pass costs either 1.99 Euros a day, 9.99 Euros a month or 99 Euros for a whole year's subscription. They each allow you unlimited access to all of the company's content.

The Qooq tablet will be available in cream, black or red.

Tags: Tablets Qooq Kitchen gadgets Home And Kitchen

Qooq, the French cooking tablet, is coming to UK later this year originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:22:00 +0000

Canon is all set for a bumper camera launch with US site Canon Rumors obtaining a list of eight new PowerShot cameras that it says will be announced this week.

Among the list is the Canon PowerShot D20, which would most likely be a follow-up to 2009's tough D10 - a 12.1-megapixel snapper backed by a DIGIC 4 processor that is also shock resistant and reaches the IPX6 standard, meaning it is waterproof as well.

The list also mentions the A2300, the A2400, the A3400, the A4000, the A810, the Elph 320 and the SX240.

Tuesday (7 February) will mark exactly one year to the day that Canon last unleashed a barrage of new cameras including the PowerShot SX230 HS, the PowerShot SX220 HS, the EOS 1100D and its flagship, and Pocket-lint favourite, the EOS 600D.

Dare we dream then, that we may also see the 650D getting all official as well? After all, the 600D was announced exactly a year after the 550D. The 650D is much anticipated, with speculation online suggesting a new 24-megapixel APS-C sensor will be on board, along with a DIGIC 5 processor.

With the CP+ Camera & Photo Imaging Show 2012 all set to kick off in Yokohama on Thursday, we'd be very surprised if Canon altered its timely announcements. Watch this space for more information soon.

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Tags: Cameras Canon Canon PowerShot D10 Canon Powershot D20 Canon EOS 600D Canon EOS 650D

Canon gears up for mammoth PowerShot launch originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:05:00 +0000

Any chapter in the Mass Effect story has a responsibility to shoulder. In a time when so many games are over in a 6-hour flash and rely heavily on multiplayer for any sort of longevity, Mass Effect 3 has to deliver the thick storytelling that practically all contemporary titles lack.

We played through the first 90-minutes odd of the game at a preview event to get a feel for what Mass Effect 3 is going to offer when the game launches in March. Talking to a spokesperson from BioWare, we got confirmation that this instalment will be similar in length to Mass Effect 2, so that's about 60 hours of gaming, with plenty of replay value based on how you approach the game.

You get to pick your game style at the outset. You can play it as an action game, with the dialogue section playing as cutscenes rather than user triggered section. Many, if not most, will elect for the traditional RPG approach, or you could play in story mode, which cuts down the difficulty of the combat.?

There is plenty of scene-setting as the game opens and some stunning graphics too. There will be some spoilers in what we cover here, but nothing that should ruin your game experience, given the length and variety it offers. If you've seen the trailers, you've been given a good taster on what is to come anyway.

Mass Effect 3 is similar in look and feel to Mass Effect 2, although there has been some obvious tweaking to character modelling in cutscenes. We thought things looked a little too shiny in ME3, but it was smooth and detailed, with masses of attention in faces that reflect tension and stress, which is important to building the central story.

Our man from BioWare told us that the preview portion we were playing was almost finished, so aside from the occasional pause in animation, there was very little to complain about.?

The opening is rather cinematic, and like Mass Effect 2, there is plenty of rich storytelling to get you going. Nothing happens without reason and there is context to everything. Starting out in Mass Effect 3, the context comes from the previous games.?

As such, if you're a newcomer to the game, some of those familiar faces, who nod in recognition or surprise, will be lost on you. But you're not left high and dry: there is enough here to set you off on the right path, and even if you're not totally conversant with Mass Effect lore, you get eased in gently enough.?

Returning as Commander Shepard, Mass Effect 3 sees you battling to save the Earth from the invasion of the Reapers. The action opens with the huge Reaper ships dropping from the sky to tear your world apart. This is where the first playable prologue section begins too, which will quickly outline the main controls as you fight your way to extraction on the Normandy.

With the Reapers ripping the place up, you take Shepard through the smashed city, up and down ladders, jumping gaps and vaulting walls, outlining the skills you'll need in the game to come. The controls are very much as they were previously, although the menus have been redesigned slightly to power-up various skills, but not drastically so.

If anything, you might find that there is a little too much dependency on the A button when it comes to control. It opens doors, it puts you in cover, vaults cover, it makes you sprint. That means you're juggling different actions through the same control based on the game situation. We were cut down several times trying to sprint to cover and duck, but instead vaulting over that cover, into the line of fire.

But this is partly due to the complexity that Mass Effect 3 brings with it. It's not just shooting from the hip, it's a whole range of other actions and skills too, all of which have to be mapped on to a console controller. At least it's easy enough to assign powers to buttons to get things running the way you want.?

You'll finally make your way on to the Normandy, but not before Mass Effect 3 throws down one of its emotional story hooks. A boy sheltering in air ducts (invoking memories of Newt from Aliens) that you tried to rescue, makes his way on to a transport ship, only to be annihilated by the Reapers. Mass Effect isn't scared to tell its story and it's delivered with more skill and maturity than the brutal shock value of something like Homefront.

Having made your escape from Earth, you're off to a colony on Mars on an information gathering mission, the first proper level of Mass Effect 3. The destination is the Prothean Archives, but this isn't simply the case of waltzing in. Almost as soon as you've set foot on the red dust of Mars' surface, you'll find things aren't going to be that simple.?

You'll get to put your gunplay to the test here as well as find, swap and upgrade weapons as you roam around. Now that you have the semblance of a team forming, you'll also be able to command your teammates and start to get to grips with the various powers you have at your disposal. In this section you'll be reunited with Liara and have to put her skills into play. Even in these early sections, it becomes apparent just how much you can come to depend on your allies.

Even playing in action mode, you can't just shoot your way through. You'll need to use everything at your disposal - there isn't enough ammunition for sustained gunfights, after all. And yes, we did find ourselves faced with an empty clip and multiple skirmishing enemies on several occasions.?As you proceed through this level on Mars the plot thickens. As with the opening levels of Mass Effect 2, you're fed information in tiny amounts as the plot twists and squirms, throwing out surprises as it reveals itself.

We leave this intense, but satisfying, re-introduction to the world of Mass Effect with a thirst for more. To us Mass Effect 3 already feels like it will be an unmissable title for 2012 and as we've seen with Mass Effect 2, it's likely to deliver that deep satisfaction that many games currently lack.

Tags: Gaming Xbox 360 PS3 PC games mass effect 3 BioWare EA

Mass Effect 3 hands-on originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:57:00 +0000

White stuff is flying in from all angles and we're not talking about the snow. No, it's a tech based blanco blizzard. After Samsung announced the official availability of the white Samsung Galaxy Nexus, the white Nokia Lumia 800 has also been unleashed.

"The story of the Nokia Lumia is one of reduction and purity," says Nokia's colour and material designer Tiina Aarrasshe. "White is the ultimate colour of reduction. It’s also perfect for emphasising the black polished screen. If you stand a white Lumia 800 on a table the body almost disappears, and the black screen seems to lift up and float."

Indeed it does, although we think the images may have had more Photoshop action than a Madonna GQ cover.

Like the cyan, pink and black Lumia 800s that are already available, the phone packs a a 3.7-inch, WVGA 800x480 AMOLED display, an 8-megapixel camera boasting Carl Zeiss optics and a f2.2 aperture lens.

It's powered by a 1.4GHz Qualcomm MSM8255 Snapdragon processor with 512MB of RAM and it has 16GB of storage (and 25GB of SkyDrive storage). The white finish is a result of its smoothly crafted polycarbonate unibody.

To celebrate the launch of the white Lumia 800, there's a new White selection on Nokia’s music service, Mix Radio, featuring music from the likes of White Stripes and Barry White.

Available to pre-order from Phones 4u now, the Nokia Lumia 800 in white will be available on contracts starting from ?20.50 a month. It will ship in March.

Coolest Lumia 800 yet? Almost, but it's not quite as awesome as the limited edition Batman handset that we got hands on with recently.

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Tags: Phones Nokia Lumia 800 Nokia

White Nokia Lumia 800 now official, coming to the UK originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Mon, 06 Feb 2012 13:03:00 +0000

Sony has decided to ditch the accounts part of its PlayStation Network, with all user data now part of the? renamed "Sony Entertainment Network accounts" or "SEN accounts" group.

Contrary to reports elsewhere on the net however, the change doesn't mean a complete re-branding; the Sony PlayStation Network (PSN) will remain but the move is part of Sony's plan to group all of its digital media offerings under one big umbrella. The SEN account enables use of Sony’s non-game services such as Music Unlimited, Video Store and PlayMemories Online (previously called Personal Space) across a variety of network-connected devices.

"This transition is based on Sony’s goal to enhance its unique digital entertainment offering," read an official statement.

"As a series of these activities Sony started last September, PlayStation Network will be aligned with Sony Entertainment Network. This helps us get closer to our goal of establishing a global comprehensive network platform of services across games, movies, music and more, all accessible from one convenient account."

The change on the accounting side could be seen as the first sign of a move away from the PSN name; a name that took quite a bashing back in April last year after an "external intrusion" that affected 77 million registered accounts meant the online gaming platform was out of action for weeks.

However, Sony recently announced an operating loss of $1.176 billion for the last quarter of 2011 and a net loss of $2.038 billion on revenue of $23.37 billion, so the move could be seen as a signal that Sony is keen to more closely align its digital media offerings with the PlayStation group of products. After all, despite the huge PSN hiccup last year, PlayStation is still a massively successful brand for the company.

Either way, your PlayStation Network account is dead... long live your Sony Entertainment Network one.

Tags: Gaming Sony PlayStation PSN Playstation Network PS3

PlayStation Network tweaks its accounts branding to Sony Entertainment Network originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Mon, 06 Feb 2012 12:21:00 +0000

New confirmed specifications and pictures of Olympus' much-rumoured OM-D micro four-thirds camera have been leaked ahead of its (now) expected launch on 8 February, by none other than Amazon.

The Japanese arm of the online retailer posted pictures and some tech spec nuggets on its product pages, and keen-eyed website 43 Rumours managed to grab them before the images were removed (presumably on OIympus's say so).

Attached to a pistol grip, the digital update to the company's classic range of OM film cameras comes with the model number OM-D E-M5, and Amazon posts that it will feature a 16-megapixel MOS sensor, something we've heard before. The retailer also lists its screen size as?17.3 ? 13.0mm, and confirms that it will shoot on to SD cards (SDHC / SDXC / UHS-I)?with Eye-Fi support.

The 43 Rumours site also notes that the build quality of the OM-D is clunky, but we don't think it's anywhere near as clunky as the Pentax K-01 mirrorless camera recently revealed. In comparison, the Olympus is positively svelte.

We'll be bringing you more on the Olympus OM-D as soon as it's officially launched. Including pictures and hands-on.

Tags: Olympus Cameras Olympus OM-D Olympus OM-D5

More Olympus OM-D pictures leaked... by Amazon originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Mon, 06 Feb 2012 11:53:00 +0000

A long time ago in a Galaxy far away there was a phone that was all set to be the third Google-branded Nexus instalment. That phone, you may recall, leaked several times under the guise of the Google Nexus Prime.

Alas, the Nexus Prime wasn't to be, as the Samsung Galaxy Nexus came forth and stole official Google status when it was announced in October. And now, just in time for Valentine's Day (there's nowt more romantic than a t?l?phone blanc, right?), the white Galaxy Nexus is set to hit shops.

The Galaxy Nexus features a 4.65-inch HD Super AMOLED display technology at 720p resolution and a 1.2GHz dual core processor. It's just 8.94mm thick, with a minimal 4.29mm bezel around the edge and features software navigation buttons, a first for Android smartphones.

Its Ice Cream Sandwich d?butante also has a redesigned 5-megapixel camera that boasts panorama mode, 1080p video capture, zero-shutter lag and image effects.

Samsung's Simon Stanford said: "After much speculation, we are pleased to announce the availability of the Galaxy Nexus white which follows the great reception the phone has received since it was launched back in November.

"One of the things we at Samsung pride ourselves on is the choice we offer customers, and we’ve enjoyed huge success to date by introducing white variants of our most popular models to our product portfolio."

The Samsung Galaxy Nexus, in white, will hit shops on 13 February.

Tags: Phones Samsung Samsung Galaxy Nexus

White Samsung Galaxy Nexus lands 13 February originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Mon, 06 Feb 2012 11:43:00 +0000

Google has applied for permission from the bandwidth and radio-wave overlords to begin testing a Wi-Fi and Bluetooth powered mystery "entertainment device".

The mystery is ours, of course: we're sure that the Google bods know exactly what it is they want to test out. The Mountain View tech giant has asked the FCC for permission to use the device in employees' homes in four US cities.

The application reads:

"Google is developing an entertainment device that requires testing outside the laboratory environment. The device is in the prototyping phase and will be modified prior to final compliance testing. … Users will connect their device to home Wi-Fi networks and use Bluetooth to connect to other home electronics equipment. This line of testing will reveal real world engineering issues and reliability of networks. The device utilizes a standard Wi-Fi/Bluetooth module, and the planned testing is not directed at evaluating the radio frequency characteristics of the module (which are known), but rather at the throughput and stability of the home Wi-Fi networks that will support the device, as well as the basic functionality of the device. From this testing we hope to modify the design in order to maximize product robustness and user experience. Utilizing the requested number of units will allow testing of real world network performance and its impact on applications running on the device, so that any problems can be discovered and addressed promptly."

What can it be exactly? A new generation Google TV set-top box? Some kind of Android-powered media server? A massive tablet that also doubles up as a coffee table? Or something entirely different?

Our money, based on the wording "to connect to other home electronics equipment", is that the testing has something to do with the Project Tungsten / Android @ Home platform that was announced in May last year.

Google had hinted at wanting to control everything in your home with a magic box and said Android @ Home would see a raft of Android accessories hitting your living room; whether it’s a switch connected to a light, or? just a power button for a speaker. "We want every device in your home," said the company on stage at its Google I/O event in San Francisco.

We've got a feeling that this mystery device could be the first step.

Read

Tags: Home Cinema Google Google TV Android

Google testing mystery entertainment device originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Mon, 06 Feb 2012 10:40:00 +0000

The Super Bowl has become a tester platform for all the big-budget adverts set to hit the US. Dominated by technology and consumer electronics advertising, it draws audience numbers quite unlike any other television show in the US, bar the Moon landings.

This means new products and ideas get massive budgets thrown at them to come up with new adverts for the Super Bowl. Being inventive is key, as standing out in a seven-minute ad break - where each second is costing thousands of dollars - is extremely important. Social media in particular is going to be the buzz word of Super Bowl 2012. Nearly every advert will have a Facebook or Twitter counterpart as well as an app.?The Yanks reckon that up to 35 per cent of people watching the game could be doing it with an iPad or smartphone next to them, so building on that with social interactivity is going to be important.?

So what does Super Bowl XLVI have in store? Do any new products make an appearance? Or has CES cleared the big players out?

Update: We have now added the full versions of the adverts for your enjoyment post Super Bowl. Oh and congrats Giants fans, not sure exactly how you win at American handball, but you appear to have done it.?

Acura NSX with Jerry Seinfeld

We previewed the NSX concept?last month when we got a chance to see it at the Detroit motor show. But now, there's a Super Bowl ad available to see too. Like those much-hated Microsoft adverts from a few years ago, Seinfeld is starring, and we think it's pretty amusing.

All of this is quite a lot of expense and effort to go to for a car that's as much as three years away from going on sale. Still, it's charming enough, and it does feature the Soup Nazi.?

Volkswagen Star Wars dogs

Volkswagen has a tradition of putting something big out at every Super Bowl. Back in 2011, it was a young Darth Vader messing with a new Passat. This year the Star Wars theme continues with something even better.

What can only be described as a doggie choir is used to re-enact the iconic Star Wars theme, complete with an AT-AT clad Whippet at the end, a particular favourite part as we have one ourselves. This is just a taster to the real advert to come, so who knows what to expect. A battle between Rebel Alliance cats and Empire dogs? We can only dream.

Full advert:

Volkswagen has now released the full version of the ad. Its not really as good as the preview, despite featuring the delights of aqualish and the rest of the Mos Eisley cantina crew. Watch the whole video, the dog element is just a prelude to the good stuff.?

Go Daddy.co girl

Go Daddy likes to keep things fairly low rent at the Super Bowl, hoping that it will keep eyes fixed to the screen during ad breaks rather than running off to grab snacks.?Take three models and have two of them body paint Go Daddy logos on the best looking one who is naked. Simple enough really.?

Oh and if you want to see an uncensored version of it then it will be live on the Go Daddy website. We haven't looked at it yet. Honest. No, we really haven't but that is because it isn't live yet.?Oh, and just in case you want to do a bit of Googling, the models involved are?Natalia Velez, Danica Patrick and Jillian Michaels.?

Go Daddy also made as equally a low-rent ad for its conventional cloud and .com domains. We aren't really going to complain though, this one has the Pussycat Dolls thrown in for good measure.?

Chevrolet game time app

Prizes, prizes, prizes! Everyone loves a good give away, especially if it involves cars, houses or, say, billions of pounds-worth of uncut diamonds. Chevrolet has sadly opted for just cars this year, along with some other treats that all seem to involve either American football or pizza; a decent enough combination.

Should you want to prep for the Chevy giveaway, then you can pick up the app?here. There are 20 different Chevrolet cars up for grabs during the ad breaks alone. So, who knows, you could get lucky. Then again you might end up winning some tyres which is great if you have a car but not so hot if you don't.?

You've Been Samsunged!

Samsung's never-ending pursuit of Apple continues. This time it's a crack at fans who queue outside Apple shops on launch day. A Galaxy S II owner walks by and drops off a charger for the cold?queuing crowd, explaining how he got there using free navigation apps with Android.?

Shame that the people?queuing seem to ignore him and go and buy a new Apple device anyway, or at least that is what we presume. Samsung wishes they had device launch days like Apple has and this advert comes across slightly as if it has been designed by a jealous child. Who knows though, perhaps the Galaxy S III will do it.??

Samsung has also thrown this preview to its Super Bowl extravaganza online. The next big thing is coming. Wonder what it could possibly be??

It's not the Galaxy S III before you get too excited.

Full advert:

Oh wait, it was The Darkness. Forgot how much we loved this song. They really go for it in this advert. We are sure if any of this started going on in the background Apple fans would begin leaving the queues.?

Coke Polar Bears

Coca-Cola is to bring back its Polar Bear advertising this year with the Super Bowl. The company will use a highly innovative social media campaign which will involve the bears commenting live on the game, via a Facebook stream.?

Hundreds of pre-rendered animations have been put together to create the impression that the CGI animals are actually watching things. A selection of teaser videos currently sits on cokepolarbowl.com, including the above, to give you an idea of how it will work.?

Lexus GS teaser

What could possibly be more manly than a game where men run around in spandex, touch each other's helmets and fight it out over balls? Big fast-car adverts between the game of course! Lexus is to show off its new GS at the Super Bowl which will no doubt be a highlight among petrol heads.

Known for its in-car gadgetry, the new GS will no doubt have some treats hidden inside. If it is anything like the LFA, which has without doubt the?best dashboard we have ever seen on a car, we are excited.?

Full advert:?

The car manages to escape unharmed. Solid stuff these Lexi (plural for Lexus), getting the whole way through a thick steel wall without any damage to the front. Worryingly the airbags didn't deploy. Perhaps a safety rethink Lexus?

Bridgestone rubber balls

More cars? Yup. Well not cars exactly, more tyres, which are even more exciting. Ooh big rubber round things which you can roll down the street with a stick. Bridgestone is one of the best manufacturers of equipment for this classic Victorian past-time and have as such indulged in a rather elaborate advert for the Super Bowl.

In a taster currently live on YouTube the company is apparently putting its expertise into balls and pucks. It's obviously a spoof, but still fun none the less.?

Full advert:

We get to see the rubber balls in action in both American Football and basketball. Personally, we prefer the former as the idea of quiet basketball is a bit rubbish.?

Audi vampire party

Recently we've noticed particularly flamboyant lighting setups on Audis. The company's saloons in particular are guilty of cyclist blinding blinkers sat on the front. Audi is aware of this and has turned it to its advantage in its Super Bowl advertising.?

A vampire manages to crash his own party by melting his friends with his car's lovely headlamps. He doesn't seem to get fried by them though when he gets out; a minor detail we know, but hey accuracy is paramount when it comes to vampires.?

Chevrolet apocalypse

We would like to think if the world did end, the first car we went for wasn't a Chevrolet truck. Once the fire and brimstone was over, a Ferrari would most definitely be sat outside the front of our chateau. The Americans however, with their love of all things big, appear to have chosen a Chevy truck as a post- doomsday transport.?

Ford users are apparently all dead. At least that is what Chevrolet says.?

Chevrolet Sonic

You can't beat a bit of gratuitous action. Chevrolet went all out this year at the Super Bowl with its Sonic adverts. The poor little car gets thrown about in all different ways, pulling off bungee jumps, a music video and even a kickflip.?

There is plenty more Chevrolet adverts that aren't quite as enjoyable as the two above, if you want to check them out, head over to Chevy's YouTube channel.

Honda CR-V

Honda has done a good job here, making what is a relatively unexciting car into a fun piece of kit. Matthew's day off, as the advert is entitled, sees Ferris Bueller star Matthew Broderick going about his business after pulling a sicky from work.?

Fiat 500 Abarth

This car has been a bit of a sleeper hit for Fiat. The souped-up version of Fiat's hatchback has proven hugely popular. This advert features a rather enjoyable Italian lady who eventually transforms herself into the car.?

Tags: Features superbowl Star Wars Chevrolet Lexus Volkswagen Coca-Cola Samsung Audi Super Bowl

Super Bowl 2012 tech ads: Seinfeld, Star Wars Bark Side, Go Daddy girls, Chevrolet apps and more originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Mon, 06 Feb 2012 10:33:00 +0000

Virgin Media has announced that its super-fast 100Mb broadband service is now available to 10 million homes in the UK, and that it will meet its roll out target ahead of schedule. The provider originally planned to be able to offer the speedy internet connectivity to half of the UK by mid-2012, but is on track to have work completed by spring.

This news comes on the back of the company's current campaign to double all of its existing and new customers' broadband speeds by 2013 - advertised on TV and on Virgin Media's own website by world record-holding runner Usain Bolt (masquerading as Virgin chief Richard Branson). L and M customers will have their broadband doubled from up to 10Mb to up to 20Mb, XL from up to 30Mb to up to 60Mb, XXL from up to 50Mb to 100Mb, while existing 100Mb subscribers will receive a price drop on their service.

Different areas are being switched over at different times, as?a total of 186,000km of cable and 38,000 street cabinets are upgraded. All of the work is expected to be completed in 2013. New customers who sign up now will also have their service doubled once their area has been improved. You can check when the work in your area is due to finish on a handy post code checker hosted on Virgin Media's website.

It comes on the back of BT's announcement that it is trialling FTTP (Fibre to the Premises) technology at present, which is capable of carrying speeds up to 300Mb. However, this could still be some way off from being a consumer proposition.

Tags: Virgin Media Broadband Internet

Virgin Media 100Mb broadband now available to 10 million homes originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Mon, 06 Feb 2012 10:23:00 +0000

The PlayStation Vita has been received with much love here at Pocket-lint towers, with Sony's new handheld console being awarded the prestigious Hot Product tag. But even in our glowing review we noted that the lack of video recording on board was "weird".

But our prediction that a future update would come along to rectify this oversight was on the money, as Sony has announced the 1.60 software update will bring the functionality.

The update also adds a Map app feature to the front screen (looking very Google powered) which shows (on the 3G version, at least) your position and also gives the usual array of options such as route planning, satellite views and traffic info.

As well as the video recording and Map app, the 1.60 release also coincides with that of the Mac OS compatible version of the PlayStation Content Management, making it easier for fanboys to transfer their media and files between their computers and their Vitas.

All this and more - the PS button will now light blue when plugged in to the mains. Incredible, we know. Blue. Amazing.

The new software is set to land on 8 February.

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Tags: Gaming PlayStation Vita Sony

PlayStation Vita video recording lands with 1.60 software update originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Mon, 06 Feb 2012 10:00:00 +0000

The latest Google Doodle has been unleashed by the Mountain View-based search giant in celebration of what would have been Fran?ois Truffaut's 80th birthday.

Or rather, the latest three doodles, as the controversial critic turned film-maker is honoured with three efforts, each depicting a scene from one of the French New Wave pioneer's titles including the 1959 classic Les Quatre Cents Coups (The 400 Blows).

Truffaut was born in Paris on 6 February 1932 and worked as a critic at film magazine Cahiers du cin?ma before deciding to make his own movies. He began with the short film Une Visite in 1955 and followed that up with Les Mistons in 1957. In 1973 he won an Oscar and a brace of BAFTAs for La Nuit Am?ricaine (Day for Night).

He also played scientist Claude Lacombe in Steven Spielberg's 1977 film Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

He died on 21 October 1984, aged 52, at the American Hospital in Neuilly-sur-Seine in France.

The Google Doodle is now becoming so common that we're actually surprised to see the regular Google logo pop up on our browser now. This latest effort, counting the three as one, takes us to 25 for 2012 already, and we're only 37 days in.

Tags: Online Google Google doodle

Google Doodle waves in for François Truffaut originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Mon, 06 Feb 2012 09:29:00 +0000

Justin Hawkins from UK rock outfit The Darkness appears in Samsung USA's new advert for the Galaxy Note, which was debuted during Super Bowl XLVI last night (5 February). And it cheekily slams Apple while using the band's biggest hit, "I Believe in a Thing Called Love".

Starting out with glum, tired people supposedly queuing for the latest iDevice, they all break out of their sombre moods when Hawkins launches into his trademark wailing. And as the advert grows, the sillyness increases.

The one-and-a-half-minute commercial was directed by Bobby Farrelly, one half of the infamous brotherly duo behind such comedies as Dumb & Dumber, Kingpin, There's Something About Mary and Shallow Hal, and while it refrains from any gross-out moments, it certainly shares some of the over-the-top properties that make them so great.

And we love the pay off at the end.

Tags: Samsung Adverts Online Samsung Galaxy Note Apple Virals Videos

US Samsung Galaxy Note ad uses The Darkness to mock Apple (video) originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Mon, 06 Feb 2012 08:59:00 +0000

Here’s one to gratuitously leave on screen when the other half stumbles across your laptop (not something most people will be in the habit of doing, so we hear…)

What with Valentine’s Day around the corner and all that, they might be looking for gift ideas.

If they really love you, they might wonder why you were looking at www.red5.co.uk and take note.

They might actually click on the handy “Gifts for Him” or “Gifts for Her” links to find that special something for their special someone.

Or, they could just get lost in a site full of all kinds of brilliantly weird and wonderful gadgets, gizmos and techie works of art, just like we did.

UK readers might recognise the name from the small chain of shops now spanning the country, but no matter where you live, you can stock up on some (not so) romantic gifts regardless.

Go on treat yourself, just in case they don’t take the hint…

Tags: WebsiteOfTheDay Websites Software Online

WEBSITE OF THE DAY: Red5 originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Mon, 06 Feb 2012 01:00:00 +0000

Star Wars fans, listen up, we've managed to use the Force to convince the powers that be to give us two tickets to an advance preview screening of Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace 3D at London's Empire, Leicester Square.?

Yep, that's right, thanks to Microsoft and the fact that Kinect Star Wars is coming in Spring 2012,?two lucky winners will be able to see the new version of the film next Wednesday (8 February) two days ahead of the official UK box office opening.

All you have to do is follow us on Twitter (@pocketlint) and retweet this or any other story on the site with the hashtag #starwarskinect?to be in with a chance of winning.

The competition will be ending this Sunday (5 February) so you've got to be quick. Tickets will be posted recorded delivery to the winner first thing Monday morning.

Just think, by this time next week you could have seen one of the must-see films of the year.

May the Force be with you!

UPDATE: This competition is now closed.?

Tags: Star Wars Home Cinema Competitions Microsoft Microsoft Kinect

Win Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace 3D preview tickets originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Sun, 05 Feb 2012 16:06:00 +0000

The snow has caused havoc, but now the sun has come out. Quick, grab your camera and get shooting. The snow makes for some great photo opportunities, but also some tricky shooting experiences.

Here are five tips to help you take some great pictures whether you're just capturing the moment or trying to grab that perfect picture for your Christmas cards.

Exposure
Chances are your camera is going to get confused by the snow no end - you can use "snow" settings if your camera has one, else just notch up the exposure of the camera to compensate. +1 should do it. The result will be that you are overexposing the scene by one stop, admitting twice as much light into the photo and stopping everything from looking grey.

Contrast
Shooting a snow storm doesn't look that pretty because there is no contrasting colours - everything looks grey or white. Wait till the sky clears and now you've got a crystal blue sky to shoot against. If the sun is refusing to come out make sure your subjects are brightly dressed. Scarves are a great way of adding a dash of bright red or green into the picture.

Point of View
This goes for all pictures you take but think about getting down to the level of your subject. Shooting a snowman by lying on the floor will give you a sense that he is far bigger than he is. Likewise when it comes to shooting a snowball fight if you're photographing kids - get low. If you're feeling brave get them to throw snowballs at you just as you take the picture.

Light
All that reflective snow around means there will be plenty of light. Make sure you don't shoot into the sun. Keep the sun at right angles to your shot during morning and evening hours and at an acute angle from behind you when it's high in the sky for improved scene exposure. The best shots will also mostly be snapped either late in the day or first thing. The great thing about shooting early is that you'll get plenty of untouched natural shots if you've had a fresh bout of snow overnight.

Kit
If you're venturing out into the woods or city it sounds silly but wrap up warm. Take a blanket (for lying on) and make sure you've got a full charge in your battery. Batteries don't last as long when they are cold so you're likely to not get as many shoots out as you can on a baking hot, sunny day. The great thing about snow is that you can always build a tripod so at least that's one less thing to pack.

Photo: Steve Dye

Article originally published on 3 February?2009

Tags: Cameras Features snow

Five tips for photographing snow originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Sun, 05 Feb 2012 09:02:00 +0000

Readdle is back with yet another note-taking app, this time in the form of Remarks which it describes as a new way to "write down your thoughts, capture ideas and information, annotate documents and outline notes anywhere from university class to sofa at home".

But instead of capturing ideas and generally making our time on planet earth a little bit more meaningful, we decided to take Remarks for a spin by chucking in pictures of animals and writing incomprehensible notes. As you'll see in today's App of The Day.

Remarks

Format

iPad

Price

?2.99

Where

iTunes

The first thing that you'll probably want to know is how Remarks differs from Readdle's PDF Expert App. Well, not a great deal to be honest except that it's aimed a bit more at the casual user and things are a bit more streamlined.

But that's not to say it isn't still an incredibly useful app - it is. You'll be making notes, annotating PDFs and sharing your creations left, right and centre before you know it. Literally we mean, you'll be accidentally dragging your content all over the screen if you forget to switch off the drag control.

But we're getting ahead of ourselves. Allow us to rewind a little. Basically, Remarks is an app that treats whatever is on screen, whether that be a PDF file, an image or simply an empty text file, as your notepad. You can do with it what you want.

You can add typed notes with several font options, you can hand write notes using a varied selection of virtual pen and pencil types (with different thickness), you can highlight, you can chuck in shapes or arrow and you can insert pictures. It's simple to use your finger but it's obviously designed with styluses in mind (we used the Griffin Crayola one).

It's all very easy to navigate, using the simple-to-use and well labelled toolbar at the top, and everything works very quickly, with rapid response times for turning pages, adding notes, going back to your library of notes or sharing your creations. There's also a nifty zoom function that allows for some close control annotating.

Sharing is possible across email and, if your pals are using Remarks too, you can collaborate on works together. You can also print your notes and, coming soon, upload them to Dropbox or Box.net. At the moment, it does allow you to open files from Dropbox, but not save them directly (although there is a workaround by using an office app such as Docs to Go).

Remarks is a fully fledged PDF annotator with plenty of useful note-taking features thrown in, all wrapped up in a simple to use package. At less than ?3, it's a steal.

Tags: Apps iPad apps App of the day Remarks

APP OF THE DAY: Remarks review (iPad) originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:00:00 +0000

Huawei is slowly building a name for itself. If you haven't yet heard it, you will in the next year or so. For a start, the firm has the world's slimmest smartphone in its CES-announced Ascend P1 S. And it seems committed to making the move from backroom hardware - Huawei equipment runs mobile networks the world over - to the customer-facing side.

The Ideos X3 is a budget handset, which you can pick up online for around ?130. It's got Android 2.3.4 installed as well as a 3.2-inch screen. It's small, light and clearly aimed at people who care more about having a phone, than having the latest and greatest phone.

Design

To look at, the X3 is much like other Android handsets, while managing to pull off something a little different. For example, there's a home button - a physical one rather than the capacitive type - and three touch-sensitive controls for "back", "menu" and "search" functions.

There's not a massive amount different here from any other budget smartphone. There's a headphone jack at the top - a great location for this - along with a power button and, on the right of the handset, a volume rocker switch. On the bottom, there's a USB socket for charging and data transfer.

To access the battery, you slide the back of the handset down, and the rear plastic case detaches. Inside, there's a microSD slot, to take cards up to 32GB and, as you would expect, a full-sized SIM socket. The battery is a 1200mAh pack, which will provide quite modest standby times.

Overall, it's not a bad-looking phone, it's not super-sexy, nor is it a minger. You're looking at middle of the road here.

Customisations

Huawei has approached the Android customisations with similar gusto to Samsung. Indeed, it's app drawer looks very similar to the one in the Korean firm's TouchWiz. It's nice enough here, and certainly isn't a visual disaster.

Huawei has built-in a 3D effect when you flip from one home screen to the next. This is entirely unnecessary, but it does make the phone look quite different. It works fine too, and there's no extra stutter or lag introduced by its presence.

In the status dropdown, there are controls for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, data and auto-rotate. These toggles are really handy, and we're always pleased to see them. They look nice too, Huawei has done a good job of keeping everything subtle and in keeping with the Android OS.

You get some custom apps too. For example, there's a data monitor system, called Smart Traffic, that asks you what your monthly allowance is, and then warns you when you get near to it. It also - and we like this a lot - puts a reminder in your status and notifications dropdown. Very cool.

Huawei also includes something called "Streams" which is a social media timeline that can include updates from your friends via Twitter and Facebook. This is much like any similar app on any platform. It can be interesting to casual users, but more-devoted fans of social networks will find it adds little to the existing apps for those services.

The screen

Visually, the screen on the Ideos X3 is quite nice. It's not the most detailed we've seen, but it certainly is good enough for most purposes. There's more than enough brightness, and the auto-adjustment of the backlight seems very capable. Adjust it manually to maximum, and you'll have enough light to see the screen even in bright light.

The resolution is 320x480, and that gives you 180ppi on the 3.2-inch screen. Not the best technically, but it looks absolutely fine. There are no problems similar to those on the HTC Explorer either, where moving text gets very blurry.

The problems come, not from the panel though, but from the capacitive screen. In our testing, we found that it was often confused by swiping. Single taps were fine - although we had the devils own job typing on the Huawei supplied virtual keyboard - but swipes often went wrong.

We noticed this most when trying to scroll down the app tray, or in the Android menu system. We'd be trying to scroll, but the inevitable finger lift and reapplication would cause the system to think we were tapping. It seems clear that other phones must deal with this differently, as it's the first time we've really seen this problem this severe.

Camera

The built-in 3.2-megapixel snapper is nothing to write home about. It works though, and it's fuss-free. There's no autofocus and the camera app itself is a little basic, but it works and there's a digital zoom - although you'd be mad to use it, there's just no point. The X3 can shoot video too, although you won't be blown away by the results.?

Power

This is certainly not a phone for the power user. It has a 600MHz Qualcomm CPU and just 256MB of RAM. This is very much an entry-level phone, and one for people who have never heard of Angry Birds or Tiny Tower.

Interestingly though, in day-to-day use, the lack of ooomph isn't a massive problem. Web browsing, for example, is snappy enough. And the screen makes it easy enough to read pages. Scrolling around also presents no problem, honestly, we've seen more problems from higher-powered devices.

Battery

Despite it's modest capacity, the 1200mAh battery did fine for us. We used the phone all day, and with modest use, occasional web checking, push email and phone calls, it lasted easily. You'll see more drain if you're out-and-about and we tested it mostly on Wi-Fi, which is less of a power hog than using 3G constantly.

But as this phone is aimed at the Smartphone refusniks who has been forced in to the 21st century against their will, it will probably be more than enough to see them through. Hopefully though, this plucky little smartphone will soon get them addicted to all manner of modern mobile apps, and they'll be looking for the next step up.

Verdict:

We like the X3. It's not the fastest phone, but its small size, decent screen and more than acceptable call quality is enough for the casual user. More advanced owners might find the touchscreen tedious, but you could certainly live with it.

If you make huge numbers of calls, or end up using the Internet a lot, you might also find the low-capacity battery doesn't last very long. But overall we wouldn't really expect too much more from a cheap, entry-level phone.

Tags: Phones Huawei Huawei Blaze Huawei Ideos X3

Huawei Ideos X3 originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:39:00 +0000

In what is believed to be a UK first, London's Kensington and Chelsea College?is to offer budding photographers a photography course with a twist. For there won't be any SLR action going on; the course, called "iPhoneography" is, you guessed it, centred on teaching fanboys and girls how to take good pictures with their Apple handsets.

Richard Gray will be taking the course and he says that "all you need is a passion for photography and a creative mind".?

"With the right apps and skills, the iPhone can be a powerful creative tool," he said. "It is a great levelling force within photography. No longer do you need expensive or complex equipment to produce great images."

The course will focus on the native camera app, teaching students camera basics such as composition, colour and use of light. There will also be editing lessons too, as well as sessions on specialist third party apps such as Instagram, ShakeIt, Hipstamatic and Photoburst.

Mr Gray told BBC News: "The iPhone is revolutionising photography. It allows you to take a photograph and then process it and and post it online while you are on the bus on your way home."

Android phones aren't allowed at the moment but the course could grow to include them in the future. For now, it's iPhone only and you will need your own handset.

Read

Tags: Phones iPhone Apple Photography

iPhone photography course on offer for 'appy snappers originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:36:00 +0000

iPod speakers?fall into two categories, they are either bog standard and fairly cheap, or they attempt to be iconic in their design. Sometimes this division is so great that they polarise potential customers into thinking it is either the best-looking thing in the world or the most fugly thing they have ever seen.

The Bayan Audio Bayan 7 sits, as you might have gathered from the picture, in the second of those two camps coming with a striking design.

"Interesting" design

The design starts with a large, square, box with a further four speakers on the front, mounted into a large sheet of clear Perspex.

Fo those who like tech specs, the Bayan 7 has a 120W power output through its twin amplifiers, a 5-way?2.1-channel stereo speaker setup and an 8-inch subwoofer for deep bass control. Then there is a pair of 2-inch mid-range and a 1-inch tweeters. Its frequency range is 30Hz - 47kHz.

The 7 is available in black or white, but whichever you choose, you end up getting a wall of speakers and docks with a big box behind it. The Bayan Audio Bayan 7 is more akin to a microwave than your usual iPod speaker.

That presents its own issues, in that it will take up most of a sideboard, and certainly be too big and too heavy for most shelves - ?something to bear in mind if space is at a premium.

Size aside, design, as already mentioned, is something that you'll either love or hate. It's certainly striking, causing plenty of conversation to everyone we've shown. Personally we're not so sure it works. We prefer the more subtle lines of the B&W Zeppelin, but each to their own. We're sure the designer loves it.

Performance and sound quality

Get past the "kooky" design and you can start to enjoy some of the more unusual features of the Bayan 7. Like the two docking station slots on the front allowing you to charge two iDevices at the same time. Which means both you and your other half's iPhone can be charging together.

As well as being charged, you can switch between the two iThings via the accompanying remote control although that's as far as it goes. Would-be DJs: there are no fading options.

Each dock is designed to accommodate the array of iPods and iPhones on the market, but if you've got a iPad it won't fit without blocking the speakers above.

If you haven't got an iDevice, then you can still play with the addition of a Line-in around the back, and for Android tablet users there is a USB charging slot as well - a nice touch.

The remote, as you would expect, allows you to control volume - although we found this to be pretty slow to respond - and if you are using an iPhone or iPod you can skip through tracks and other standard playback functions.

While the remote has a bass and treble button, but no visual feedback on whether these were working, we couldn't notice any audible difference even after pressing the buttons violently to change the settings.

One thing we did notice was that, for some reason, the volume control wouldn't work correctly with our first-generation iPod touch. Annoying.

With the volume controls buried at the back out of quick reach - a strange decision - you'll have to control playback and volume either via the remote or with the Apple device itself.

So, what about the quality??Not surprisingly the Bayan 7 sounds really good. The speaker combination gives a clear sound, coping well with both bass and treble on the tracks we played via an iPod touch and iPhone 3GS we had in the office.

We tested a range of music from Adagio for Strings (Platoon Soundtrack), to Daft Punk, to more challenging tracks from NoFX and TaTu - All The Things She Said.

Sound is crisp and clean compared to the Zeppelin - which offers a more base-heavy feel. Volume is loud enough to fill a medium-size room comfortably.?

Verdict:

The Bayan Audio Bayan 7 sounds great, but with a design that isn't likely to be everyone's cup of tea. It's also one that will most likely be just too big to fit anywhere in your house, unless it's a mansion.

But if you lived in such a grand abode you would probably go for something a lot more impressive, leaving us with very mixed feelings for the Bayan 7.

We actually like the dual iPhone charging station idea for the iPhone or iPod friendly family, but it isn't enough to seal the deal for the microwave-sized music-monster.

Tags: Audio Speakers Bayan Audio iPod speakers

Bayan Audio Bayan 7 originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:53:00 +0000

A man died at his work station in an internet cafe in Taipei, Taiwan, this week, but nobody noticed for up to nine hours. Twenty-three-year-old?Chen Rong-yu checked in to play the multiplayer online game?League of Legends on Tuesday night, but was found sitting "rigid on a chair with his hands stretched out towards the keyboard and mouse", said local police.

None of the other 30 people in the cafe noticed, although it is claimed he had been taking frequent nap breaks, so that could explain the inaction. His body was found by a female employee on Wednesday.

Police believe that Mr Chen may have suffered a heart attack brought on by low temperatures, and?his family have confirmed that he had been treated for a heart complaint in September last year. They suspect an attack was brought on by a combination of tiredness, lack of movement and the cold.

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Tags: Gaming Internet League of Legends

Gamer dies at PC in Taiwanese Internet cafe and nobody notices originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 15:31:00 +0000

Dropbox has taken off the covers of an all-new version of its cloud-based solution for Android devices: the Experimental Android Forum Build 2.0.9. Catchy name huh?

The beta release brings with it a number of key new features, most notably the addition of a Camera Upload function. This allows you to have your smartphone or tablet's photos or videos beamed directly into the cloud without your having to mess around with an upload manager.

What's more, you'll get 500MB of free Dropbox storage once your first picture hits the cloud. Files are limited to 180MB so you won't be able to fire up your home-made HD movies if they are too long. But, if they're nice and quick and get to the climax sooner rather than later, you should be okay.

During the testing period you'll also get 500MB of free space for every 500MB of photos and videos automatically uploaded, with up to 5GB up from grabs.

The new build also includes several improvements and bug fixes, and still has all your favourite features such as file starring and bulk uploading.

Being a beta release, it's not yet in the Android Market but you can download it directly from Dropbox.

Tags: Apps Android Dropbox Cloud computing

Dropbox for Android beta lands with auto camera uploads originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 15:15:00 +0000

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, the single-player role-playing game due for release by Electronic Arts on 10 February, is the forerunner to a MMO that has been in development since 2006. There had been confusion over whether developer 38 Games would continue with its original plans for an online game set in the same world, but executive art director Todd McFarlane has confirmed to Pocket-lint that the multi-player game is still on the cards.

In addition, the comic book figurehead and toy manufacturer explained to us that the standalone EA title is actually a prequel to the MMO Kingdoms of Amalur (codenamed "Copernicus") and is set 1,000 years beforehand.

Speaking about Curt Schilling, former World Series-winning baseball pitcher and founder of 38 Games, McFarlane explained that the origin of KoA was solely as an MMO: "He wanted to do, initially, an online fantasy game, so R.A. [Salvadore, the fantasy author] and I started and we started developing the MMO game."

But when Schilling bought Big Huge Games - a company formerly owned by THQ which was developing its own RPG - the studio decided also to turn its attention to a single-player game. "He decided, 'Hey, why don't I develop two games at once. One on the console and still continue the MMO game'," McFarlane said.

"And R.A. Salvadore had done such an extensive back story that spanned 10,000 years, it was fairly easy for us to then say, 'Let's just back this up about 1,000 years and use some of the same elements, show what the world will look like from a different point of view'. Of course, it'll all be new to the customers."

However, while there will be a Kingdoms of Amalur MMO game eventually, McFarlane will not be using his comic book or toy-making skills to create merchandise around the property. At least, not yet. "Curt was very ambitious at the very beginning," he said. "His hope is that you have Reckoning 4 some day, and along with that, there would be the comics, the novels and the toys. Maybe a full-length feature movie. He's pretty ambitious about it. But we have to put out a product that's worthy of attention first.

"The consumers will basically tell us whether we got it right or wrong. And the demand from that will tell us whether we get to do the other?ancillary?stuff."?

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning will be available on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 from 10 February.

Tags: Gaming Kingdoms of Amalur Reckoning Xbox 360 PC PS3 Electronic Arts Todd McFarlane 38 Studios

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning confirmed to be prequel to MMO originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:29:00 +0000

Back in July last year digital cameras went Asda-price when the supermarket giant offered up the Nikon Coolpix L23 for just ?49. This was followed by a ?14 Disney kids camera last month and now Asda is offering yet another budget camera option: The Kodak EasyShare Mini M200 for ?25.

Just ?25 for a camera that boasts a 10-megapixel sensor and a 3x optical zoom lens (29 - 87mm). The M200's tiny body measures 94 x 60.1 x 30.5mm, but the specs have been pared down too, so it offers only VGA-quality video capture. There is a 2.5-inch LCD screen on the back though.

For ?25, this is a camera that you can chuck in your bag and forget about until the time comes when you need a bit more than your smartphone's built in snapper can offer. It would also be a great first camera for a kid.

And don't forget - this is a camera that went on sale less than a year ago for around ?80. When we got hands-on with it at CES last year we noted that one of the highlight features was the reflective silver button on the front, meaning you can easily snap pictures of yourself. The Kodak agent we spoke to in Vegas described the Mini as being pitched at "tweens".

The Kodak EasyShare Mini M200 is available online from Asda. It is warning suitors to "hurry if they want to snap one up".

Tags: Cameras Compact cameras Kodak Asda Kodak Easyshare Mini

Kodak EasyShare Mini M200 just £25 at Asda originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:25:00 +0000

Want to know how well brands are performing with their Super Bowl advertising campaigns? Probably not; that sounds a bit dull after all.

But how's about seeing how well brands are performing by seeing little cartoon worms (complete with gridiron helmets) popping out of their holes? We know - awesome, right?

And that's exactly what social media monitoring company Brandwatch is offering for Super Bowl XLVI with its live data visualisation of the Twitter buzz surrounding the big match's advertisers.

Each worm on the constantly updating website represents a different brand and, every time one pops up, it means that someone has mentioned that brand's campaign on the micro-blogging platform. It even deciphers which tweets are positive, which are neutral and which negative. The worm in possession of the football tells you which brand is creating the most hype.

There have already been more than 2 million tweets, with Volkswagen leading the way thanks to its Star Wars dogs ad teaser. You can also see each brand's performance over the past 28 days and an estimate of just how much money they have all spent on their campaigns.

If you fancy getting involved and tweeting about the Super Bowl, add #bwcheerleader to your tweet and you'll unleash a hidden cheerleader on to the site as well. Marvellous.

Check out the fun for yourself over at labs.brandwatch.com/superbowl

Tags: Online Twitter Brandwatch Super Bowl superbowl

Brandwatch buzzing for Super Bowl XLVI Twitter hype originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:01:00 +0000

Rather than waiting for the ARM-based threat from the likes of Nvidia to invade its PC market share, AMD has plans to expand towards mobile devices in the form of Windows 8 tablets.

That's the message from new CEO Rory Read who was speaking to analysts in the States this week. "We have a huge opportunity in front of us," Read said. "How the world is using processors is changing rapidly. This is about stepping out of the shadows and leading."

The huge shadow that AMD stands in is, of course, Intel's - which has already embraced the tablet revolution and recently went public with its move into the smartphone arena with its Medfield chips.

AMD doesn't want to be left behind though and, while there are no declared smartphone plans yet, a mobile move is coming by the way of the Hondo low-power chip designed for tablets. Featuring a 40-nanometer manufacturing process, Hondo will combine processing and graphics in a single chip that AMD is calling an accelerated processing unit, or APU.

Lisa Su, head of global products at AMD, said Windows 8 tablets packing the chip would appear later this year. And, in 2013, we'll see Hondo's successor in the way of Temash featuring the new Jaguar processing core.

Read is aware that the company is entering a competitive arena. "We’re entering an inflection point in the market," he said. "We’ve got to see the opportunity in the market and execute on it. We have to build trust, change the architecture, and capture where the puck is going."

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Tags: Tablets Windows 8 AMD Hardware Intel

AMD Windows 8 tablets landing in 2012 originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:35:00 +0000

Skype 5.8 for Windows has landed, complete with an all-new HD video calling option.

The updated software now supports 1080p video, meaning that - if you have a Full HD webcam such as the Logitech c920 - you'll be able to video chat with your pals in high-definition. Better have a go at those black-heads then...

You'll need a 2Mbps upload and download speed to jet a judder-free experience mind.

The other big addition is group screen share, which allows Skypers to broadcast their entire screens (or a single app window) with their contacts during conference calls. Handy for things like photo presentations and group collaborating. You'll need Skype Premium to make use of this feature.

Other additions in Skype 5.8 include video calling to your Facebook pals, even if they aren't on Skype, and a push-to-talk feature so you can set up hotkeys for muting your microphone. There's also a new Facebook contact hide option for offline pals and Bing toolbar integration.

Skype 5.8 for Windows is free and is available now.

Tags: Software Skype VoIP

Skype 5.8 for Windows dials in 1080p HD calling originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 10:45:00 +0000

BT has announced that it has held successful trials of “FTTP on demand” in St Agnes, Cornwall, paving the way for broadband download speeds of up to 300Mbps.

Back in 2009 BT said it would use "fibre to the cabinet", or FTTC, tech at 29 exchanges across the UK, promising speeds of up to 40Mbps. FTTP tech takes the fibre-optic revolution a step further, by taking advantage of the fibre it has already deployed between the exchanges and the street cabinets to provide super-fast speeds for both downloads and uploads.

BT says this technological development "has the potential to transform the UK broadband landscape". It plans to conduct further trials in the summer and to release the service commercially by spring next year.

Openreach chief executive Olivia Garfield said: "FTTP on demand is a significant development for Broadband Britain. Essentially, it could make our fastest speeds available wherever we deploy fibre. This will be welcome news for small businesses who may wish to benefit from the competitive advantage that such speeds provide."

BT also announced that it expected to begin doubling broadband speeds from 40Mbps to 80Mbps in the next few months and that two thirds of BT's customers would be able to benefit from these faster speeds by the end of 2014.

A recent Ofcom report stated that average broadband speeds in the UK had risen by 22 per cent since the end of 2010 but that the speed nationally was measured at just 7.6Mbps - 300Mbps still seems a long way away then...

Tags: Broadband BT Fibre optic broadband FTTC FTTP

BT planning 300Mb broadband originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 10:11:00 +0000

French design studio Agence 360 is about to put its foldable urban bike helmet, Overade, into?commercial?production this year. A prototype was first made in 2010, by designer Patrick Jouffret in collaboration with engineer Philippe Arrouart, and the company now believes it is ready to hit the market.

Agence 360 says the Overade is as sturdy and safe as a conventional bicycle helmet, yet can be folded into a small form factor to fit into a bag or backpack. It can, therefore, be carried more conveniently in an urban situation (on the Tube, for example).

There's no news on who the manufacturer may be, but it's worth keeping an eye out for further announcements later this year, especially if you're planning on buying one of the Pacific Cycles folding bikes Pocket-lint featured at the end of January. We can't think of a better match to an iF Mode or, more specifically, iF Urban 700 than an Overade foldable helmet.

And, if you're a contortionist, you could all fold up neatly into a suitcase or carry bag in order to travel. Probably.

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Tags: Bicycles Cycling Overade foldable bike helmet Sports Fitness Agence 360

Agence 360 to start production on Overade foldable bike helmet originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 10:02:00 +0000

The Asus Eee Pad Transformer line may be seeing yet another model thrown into the mix if a couple of leaked pictures on the web are anything to go by.

The images, nabbed by French site Blogeee, show a device that has apparently been named as the TF300T by a QuieTek certificate.

The original Transformer, which hit the shops in April last year, was labelled the TF101 and the Transformer Prime, which was announced in late 2011, was the TF201. So the new model number certainly hints at being a sequel for the 10.1-inch range. And that seems to be the size that the rumour mill is suggesting.

However, it is hard to tell, so maybe this tab could end up being the mystery 7-inch Tegra 3 rocking Asus device that CEO Jerry Shen showed off in Vegas at CES.

Who knows? What we do know is that Asus is certainly a big player in the tablet market now, with the Transformer Prime gaining a lot of respect from the industry and any new devices are sure to stir up plenty of interest. Watch this space...

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Tags: Tablets Asus Eee Pad Transformer Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime Asus Rumours

Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime sequel pictures leaked originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 09:38:00 +0000