Crysis 2 for Xbox and PS3 'looked impossible'
Crysis 2 not only looks better on PC, but the PlayStation 3 and Xbox versions 'looked impossible' at points of the development cycle, according to Crytek CEO Cervat Yerli.
In a fascinating interview on CVG, Yerli explained that, just as the original Crysis became the benchmark for gaming PCs everywhere, the second will indeed be at its best on the PC.
However, despite moments when it looked difficult to bring the game's trademark top quality visuals to the current generation of consoles, Crytek are delighted with all three versions.
High-end
"So we were looking at every high-end feature and said, how can we bring this to console? I said to our technology guys, we have no choice. It has to come," said Yerli.
"How do we do it? Instead of telling me which ones you can and can't do, whenever it looked impossible, I said find another solution.
"So that forced a lot of optimisation and rethinking. Ultimately, that made for an even better PC title."
With PC gaming still battling to remain a player against the consoles, and not just in the realms of MMOs, real time strategies and professional gaming, Crytek is hoping Crysis 2 could be a fierce weapon.
"PC is the best looking version, yeah," added Yerli.
"But if I had shown it on PC, it would have been like... okay, Crysis 2 is on console, but they're not showing the console version. So we wanted to go with console."
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Apple iPhone HD snapped and confirmed as real by Gizmodo
Apple's next mobile, rumoured to be called the iPhone HD, has been snapped, shot on video and 'confirmed' as real by Gizmodo.
The news we brought you earlier today of a unit found in a San Jose bar looks like it is actually real, according to the pictures and video shot by the US site.
The new iPhone (name unconfirmed, so we're sticking with the iPhone HD) is radically different to the first three devices - gone are the sleek curves, replaced by a chunkier plastic-backed device.
Gizmodo has disassembled it and prodded around everything it can find - sadly it won't turn on as it appears to have been remotely wiped by Apple, although the finder did confirm it was running iPhone OS 4.0.
Camera upgrade
The headline grabbing specs are pretty nice: there's an aluminium border around the whole device, it has a front facing video camera and the rear camera has been improved to include a flash as well.
It's using a micro-SIM rather than a regular sized unit, and apparently the display is improved too, although there's no way of confirming the exact specs. But it seems pretty nailed on that the display would fit the 'HD' moniker.
It might be three grams heavier, but the plus point is the battery is 16% larger, and the internal storage should be around 64GB - massive.
'Confirmed as Apple'
As the phone can't be turned on, it's impossible to say whether this is the actual iPhone HD (or whatever) or not - but Gizmodo is convinced it is, having poked around the innards.
Opinion is already divided over whether this is the finalised chassis or an earlier prototype - if this is the final design, it's an interesting direction for Apple and one that might rankle with some fans.
We've never had a leak of this magnitude by Apple before, so we're going to watch the fallout with bated breath - this could ruin one more thing for Jobs.
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Three new Navmans announced
Mio has announced three new additions to its Navman sat navs – with the 470, 475 and 575 ranging from just under £100 to £150.
The latest Navmans bring IQ Routes for avoiding traffic, and LearnMe which promises to learn the routes that you like best, possibly meaning that sending you along the traffic light ridden South Circular in London becomes a thing of the past.
"Real-time traffic information proves highly beneficial for any modern day driver" adds Mio's release.
No excuses
"The Navman 475 and 575 include live traffic information and updates, ensuring users are always informed of traffic alerts in real-time – and being stuck in traffic will never be a valid excuse for turning up late again."
The 470 and 475 bring a 4.5 inch screen and the Navman 575 has a 4.7 inch display – and all three come with 3D Junction Views, Text to Speech for spoken street names and QuickSpell keyboard.
The devices have a UK release date of May and costs are Mio Navman 470 (with Western European maps) £99.99, Mio Navman 475 (with UK & Ireland maps) £109.99, Mio Navman 575 (with UK & Ireland maps) around £129.99 and Mio Navman 575 (with Western European maps) around £149.99.
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Panasonic unveils 2010 Blu-ray Home Theatre range
Panasonic has announced its 2010 range of Blu-ray Home Theatres – with the SC-BT735, BT330, BT230 and BT222 offering what the company terms a 'realistic' cinema surround experience.
Panasonic's latest Blu-ray bundles use a combination of real and virtual speakers to try to bring a little cinema magic to your front room and the entire range incorporates PHL Reference Chroma Processor Plus for more accurate colours.
The BT735, brings 'Pure Direct Sound' speakers for the front options and 'Advanced Bamboo' cone units for the front and surround speakers as well as a slim-type speaker box which 'reduces unwanted reflection from the baffle and brings out high quality pure direct sound.'
The SC-BT330, BT230 and BT222 all feature the new Advanced Bamboo Cone Speakers as Centre speakers.
Subwoofers
"Kelton Subwoofers with their distinctive design are included with the BT735 and BT330 in order to deliver a powerful, reverberating bass despite of its small, compact size," adds Panasonic's release.
The BT735, BT330 and BT230 are also wireless ready for the rear speakers and feature VieraCast, BD-Live, DLNA capability, and are Wireless LAN ready.
That connectivity means that users can view videos on YouTube and Web-based photos on Picasa via VieraCast as well as download BD-Live Blu-ray Disc bonus content.
Panasonic also announced that its Full HD 3D Blu-ray Disc Home Cinema System which features Pure Direct Sound Speakers, Full HD 3D playback with 1920x1080 frame-sequential method, VieraCast, and BD-Live, will be coming in Autumn.
The BT735 has a price of £698, with a UK release date expected shortly.
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Flagship Garmin Nuvi 3700 series announced
Garmin has unveiled its nuvi 3700 series of sat navs – devices which 'rethink an industry icon' and includes a new flagship in the nuvi 3790T.
With the pressure increasing from mobile phones, sat nav manufacturers are keen to raise their game, and Garmin's effort offers things like pinch to zoom, dragging maps for surrounding areas and map rotation, elements familiar to phone users.
But it is the design that headlines with the 3700 series, with the device bringing home a Red Dot Design award.
A new era
"Personal navigation is entering a new era, and the nuvi 3700 series has the stunning design and seamlessly intuitive interface to lead the way," said Dan Bartel, Garmin's vice president of worldwide sales.
"Our designers and engineers were challenged to rethink an industry icon, and the result is as pristine as it is practical."
The Garmin nuvi 3790T brings a customizable "wake-up phrase" to initiate voice-activated navigation, 3D terrain and 3D buildings and nuRoute with trafficTrends and myTrends
The nuvi 3790T and nuvi 3760T feature free lifetime traffic alerts and Bluetooth wireless technology for hands-free calling with a compatible phone, and the whole nuvi 3700 series is preloaded with ecoRoute to help drivers with fuel-efficient navigation, helping to conserve both petrol and money.
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In Depth: 'The things the iPad doesn't do, we do'
After delays caused by component shortages (and in some cases ODMs apparently putting in the wrong components and assuming Toshiba wouldn't notice), the 7-inch Journ.E Touch tablet is on sale at last.
It's half the price of the iPad says Alan Thompson, the president of Toshiba Europe, and "the things the iPad doesn't do, we do – we're quite comfortable that the product is as good or better than [the iPad] in functions and it has better price performance in the usage model."
That's using the Journ.E Touch around the house for web browsing, ebooks and entertainment rather than taking it out and about, although Toshiba claims 3.5 hours of battery life using Wi-Fi or 6 hours watching video without a connection.
"You might be watching something while the family finishes a film you've already seen," suggested Thompson; "and I'm not suggesting a man would be checking the football results…"
Huge market?
When we asked how big the market for tablets will be, Thompson joked "I was wondering about that till Apple announced its iPad! When we originally launched this - maybe prematurely - people said 'is this touch product going to catch on?'; Apple comes out with the iPad and they're saying everyone should have one of these."
Specifically, the advantages are supporting Flash (Flash Lite, at least), letting you expand the memory with up to a 32GB SD card or a USB stick, connecting directly via HDMI and playing media wirelessly on DLNA-compatible devices (like Toshiba's new Windows 7-certified REGZA TVs).
You can play a video that's on the Journ.E Touch on your TV – or use it to control playing content from any PC on your network.
MEDIA CONTROLLER: The Journ.E Touch media controller software has the same interface as the similar PC software; drag and drop content to the TV you want to watch it on
That's using the same simple interface that general manager Marco Perinosays will be common across Toshiba products: "our camcorders, our external hard drives, our multimedia hard drives as well as our tablets and many other products to come will have the same graphical user interface, to let people easily understand how to operate them."
Thompson revealed that Toshiba designed this interface in collaboration with Microsoft after brainstorming Microsoft's new mantra of 'three screens plus cloud' with Steve Ballmer – although he commented that "life moves on" and Toshiba now refers to its approach as multi-screen.
While Perino promised only more features and screen sizes in future Journ.E Touch models, Thompson– while cautioning that it's not his job to speculate about future products – predicted that the hinted at a thinner, sleeker 10-inch model with a capacitive multitouch tablet (and a higher price).
Capacitive rather than resistive
"It will not be a surprise to anyone that it will be faster, better, have lots more cool features and lots more content," he said Next to an iPad, the Journ.E Touch looks much more portable (though less stylish), but the smaller screen does show much less of a web page.
"If you were to advance the theory that 7-inch might not be a choice for a follow up, I would not disagree," Thompson told TechRadar; " the upper limit of probability is around 10-inch – once you get above that it gets unwieldy."
Instead of the current resistive screen he expects new tablets to have capacitive screens; "It's our belief the direction is the multitouch; it's justwhat people are used to.There's pluses and minuses but people are getting used to the multitouch. They can get to where they want to get to faster; it's more intuitive, some people would say."
He expects that the original 7-inch Journ.E Touch could stay on the market for some years as the low-cost option as a "perfectly good entry level product" but said the look would also change. "I think any future version would be much thinner.
People might want it to be a little bit more sexy, to be in tune with other devices. It will automatically be more expensive; you can't avoid cost. You have to use more clever positioning of the battery to get the thickness down."
When we asked about Reuters reports that Toshiba would launch tablets running Windows 7 and Android later this year, general manager for products, strategy and development Thomas Teckentrup pointed out that this year is the 25th anniversary of Toshiba's notebook business and the company can hardly let it pass without bringing out some appropriately innovative design. Watch this space…
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Irish judge okays three-strikes rule for file-sharers
A judge in Ireland has given the okay for an ISP to operate a three-strikes-and-you're-out policy on users who share copyrighted files without permission.
The law courts have ruled that Eircom's decision to use a three-strikes policy before cutting off users' internet connections is not in violation of the country's privacy laws.
Eircom was sued by a group representing a portion of the music industry for not preventing people from sharing files that were under copyright, and decided on a move that is unlikely to prove popular with its customers.
Controversial act
With the UK still reeling from the arrival of the Digital Economy Act, the focus on illegal filesharing has never been higher, and the Irish ruling will no doubt bring even more attention.
The judge decided that copyright was a 'human right' of the creator – something that the film and music industries are likely to seize upon.
There are, to date, no public plans by UK ISPs to institute a three-strikes policy.
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In Depth: 10 common iPad problems solved
As well received as Apple's new iPad has been, it's not been without a few technical hiccups. Here we've rounded up the most common faults and annoyances and provided a solution for each.
Obviously, if you suspect that something is badly wrong with your iPad, your first port of call is to take the faulty unit back to your point of purchase for a replacement.
Otherwise, read on and we'll help get your problem solved.
1. iPad not charging or slow to charge
The iPad is a hungry beast, and requires a high-powered USB port to charge. Plug it into an old laptop and you get a 'not charging' message.
Even with relatively recent laptops it doesn't always work. For example, even on a recent aluminium MacBook, if we plugged our iPhone in first, then plugged in the iPad, it wouldn't charge.
However, plug the iPad in first and your MacBook will allocate its USB port to "high power" and work. But even if your iPad charges when connected to your USB device, you'll still find that it charges quite slowly.
For the fastest charge possible plug your iPad directly into the mains using the supplied charging plug.
Another useful tip to know is that if you put your iPad into sleep mode, then even older, lower-powered USB ports will be able to charge it, albeit slowly.
2. Can't connect to a Wi-Fi network
There has been a lot of press coverage over the iPad's Wi-Fi problems. The jury is still out on whether this is a genuine design fault, since the vast majority of iPad users haven't experienced these issues, but we did experience something similar with our test unit one day when web pages failed to load.
And that's despite having all 3 signal bars lit in our Wi-Fi connection, which remained unbroken. We solved the problem with a hard reset - simply press and hold the iPad's Sleep/Wake button until a screen asking you to slide to power-off appears. After your iPad has reset simply press and hold the Sleep/Wake button again to restart it.
3. Can't sync Outlook Calendar or Contacts
Your iPad can sync events from your Outlook calendar and contacts on a PC. While this often works flawlessly, syncing isn't a trivial matter, and your computer, or the iPad, can get confused.
The end result is that nothing syncs properly. The solution is actually pretty straightforward. You need to reset your iTunes Sync History (in iTunes choose Edit/Preferences/DeviceHistory/Reset Sync History). Doing this should have you syncing properly in no time.
For more information see this Apple Support article.
4. Losing the network after sleep
If you find that your iPad is losing connection to the network after it's been to sleep and you've woken it up, try turning the brightness up slightly. That's right, we're not kidding, and it does sound like tech voodoo, but several users have reported that it completely fixed their problem.
Go on, try it - what's the worst that could happen?
5. Argh! There's no word count in Pages!
Unbelievably, Apple hasn't included a word count in Pages. While this might not matter to the casual user who simply wants to write a letter to their bank manager explaining why their iPad purchase tipped their account into the red, for anybody who has to write professionally, it matters. The solution is found in an app called Pastebot.
It's a clipboard manager that not only enables you to copy multiple items to the clipboard, including images, but also gives you an automatic character or word count on any text you've selected.
If you're too tight to spend the £1.79 that Pastebot costs on the App Store, don't forget that there are quite a few websites that will enable you to get a quick word count on pasted text, like Wordcounttool.com, for example.
6. Exporting documents from iWork is a pain
Exporting documents you've made changes to, or created, from any iWork app (like Pages, Keynote or Numbers) back to your PC or Mac can be a real pain.
Not only do you have to plug in your docking cable and wait for your iPad to sync pretty much everything (unless you've turned every other sync option off), but the whole implementation is a bit messy – the documents aren't actually synced at all in the true sense of the word – new versions are created instead.
You also have to manage the documents from within a small window inside the Apps tab of iTunes. If you're on a Wi-Fi network then it's actually a lot less hassle to simply email the document to yourself from within the iWork application.
All three of the iWork apps enable you to do this, and as a bonus feature, Pages enables you to email documents in Word file format, too.
7. iPad isn't recognised by iTunes
There have been reports of the iPad not being recognised by iTunes once you connect it to your Mac/PC. This is related to the USB charging issues mentioned in our first tip, and general USB flakery, so the first thing to do is to unplug all other USB devices on your Mac/PC, then reconnect the iPad to a different USB 2.0 port. Don't connect it to your keyboard's USB port – go straight for your Mac/PC.
If you've still got no joy then try the old hard restart trick – hold down the Sleep button until a red slider appears, then power off and restart by holding down the Sleep button again. Now restart your computer and reconnect your iPad. Of course, it almost goes without saying that you need the most recent version of iTunes installed as well.
8. I can't use the App Store on my iPad!
Apple recently sent around a media advisory that the international release of the iPad had slipped back to the end of May due to unprecedented demand.
While this is good news for the iPad as a platform, it's like having Christmas cancelled for many Apple fans who are left with no choice but to shake their fists in silent fury at their American counterparts as they continue to glory in a glut of iPads.
Of course, some brave, brave souls have taken matters into their own hands and either got an American friend to buy them an iPad and post it to them, or they've had to fly to New York for an urgent business meeting. However, these lucky few have then been thwarted by the functionality of Apple's App Store.
You see, you can't buy apps (even free ones) on the iPad itself using an iTunes account from a country where the iPad hasn't launched yet. If you find yourself find this dubious position then don't fret – there are workarounds. The easiest solution is to simply buy and download the apps in iTunes on your Mac/PC and then sync them over to the iPad. That works fine. The other solution is to create a US iTunes Store account.
9. I want the iPad on pay as you go!
The iPad comes in two flavours – Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + 3G. While international pricing has yet to be announced, opting for a 3G model immediately puts $130 on the US price.
You're also on a contract that's restricted to just one provider. In the US that's AT&T (not everybody's first choice for a provider). International contracts will obviously be with other providers, but why limit yourself? Another solution is to get a MiFi.
This handy little gadget costs just £50 and has a pay-as-you-go 3G connection via 3. It creates a mini Wi-Fi hotspot that you can then connect your cheaper iPad Wi-Fi to, thus saving yourself the hassle of a contract and the extra expense of buying an iPad Wi-Fi + 3G.
7GB of data costs just £25, which might not sound like much, but would last a lot of people over a year, easily. The MiFi is also battery powered, which is handy, so it won't drain your iPad's battery. Be aware that it only works in areas of the country that have 3G coverage.
10. No phone calls!
The iPad might look like a giant iPhone, but that's where the similarity ends. It's not a phone… unless that is you install a VOiP app like the free Skype, that is.
The iPad has a microphone, so with Skype installed you can make calls and text at Skype's competitive rates, or call other Skype users for free. The only problem is that you end up looking like Dom Joly holding it up to your ear to talk, not that you have to do that, but everyone does the first time.
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Review: Microboards G3P-1000
Six years have passed since the last consumer Mac was made that included an optical drive that wasn’t capable of burning CDs, so you might think us crazy to suggest spending more than a basic MacBook Pro costs on a device that burns CDs. It does more, however.
It’s a single box that both burns and prints CDs and even dual-layer DVDs. (There’s also a separate Blu-ray model.)
You load 50 printable discs into the hopper in the top, and then, when you send a job from the PrintWrite software, it will first burn, then print the disc, and send it to the output hopper at the front of the device. And if you ask for more than one copy of a disc, the G3 can be printing the first at the same time as the second is being burned.
It took just over 40 minutes to create 10 printed, burned copies of an audio CD, and that included four and a half minutes to cache the copy to hard disk from a physical disc.
Print quality is excellent – it’s an HP engine – and while not waterproof, discs can at least cope with small splashes. CDs are quite cheap to print at around 15p per disc.
It’s not perfect, however. Mac OS X 10.6 isn’t supported, though Microboards hopes to rectify that soon.
Of more concern though is the quirkiness of the software and the setup. We had a few issues getting it sorted, and though it may not be the norm, it’s nevertheless true that the PrintWrite software isn’t as well presented or easy to use as it could be. There’s not even a basic app for laying out your labels – you’d have to create them in, and export them from, another program – and the results you see in the preview don’t always match the printed output.
The calibration routine was useless, and we ended up centring the output through guesswork; luckily it’s a job you only need do once.
Nobody would argue that this is a mass-market product, and it’s priced accordingly, but once you’ve bent it to your will, it’s fast and efficient. We’d like to be able to have tested it hard for six months to get an idea of its robustness, but we’re optimistic it would stand up to moderate use.
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US college blocking Apple iPad connections
The Apple iPad may be selling so fast that hot cakes are feeling decidedly chilly, but it hasn't been an unmitigated success for the company, with US universities admitting that the device is causing them problems.
With the UK launch put back by a whole month due to the US demand for the device, Apple's iPad is performing above expectations in terms of sales, but some colleges are having trouble with the device.
Princeton has reportedly been blocking 20 per cent of devices from its Wi-Fi networks after noticing 'malfunctions that can affect the entire school's computer system.'
Apparently, Princeton is currently working with Apple to find a solution.
Not alone
The University is not the only one having problems, although for the most part it is the sheer amount of data being consumed by users of the device showing off its functionality.
But the questions over the device's Wi-Fi have certainly eased the pain of the UK delay, and Apple's rather failed attempts to tell us we should be pleased that there has been a delay.
With the US being told that the 3G version of the Apple iPad will be available on 7 May, and rumours about the next generation already circulating, the iPad certainly isn't struggling to keep itself on the news agenda.
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iPad 2 rumoured to be getting OLED screen
Before the UK has even got its eyes on the first one, the rumours of iPad 2 begin to surface, with the latest reports out of the far east suggesting that Apple's iPad version 2.0 may well get an OLED screen.
Digitimes reports that the next iPad might get an OLED panel, after reportedly speaking with component makers working on Apple's tablet devices.
Same design as iPhone 4G
Digitimes claims that the second generation iPad will use the same design concept as the iPhone 4G. If the rumours are anywhere near true, Apple is clearly hoping that the costs of OLED panels will have come down by a significant amount by the time it plans to make iPad 2.0
Sony, Samsung, LG and others are all investing more into OLED research and development, in addition to releasing new products to market with OLED screens, such as LG's recently launched OLED TV.
AU Optronics (AUO) also plans to restart its OLED production in 2011 – all of which means that the extra manufacturing capacity could well make the costs of larger OLED panels fall considerably.
Digitimes' in-house analyst, Mingchi Kuo still claims that the high costs of OLED panels will continue to be an obstacle for Apple and other computer firms looking to invest in OLED tablets and laptops in 2011.
By way of comparison a 9.7-inch LCD panel for iPad currently costs Apple around $60 to $70, but the price of a 9.7-inch OLED panel is about $500.
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New iPhone app promises short story renaissance
The launch of a new short stories app from book publisher Ether Books promises to offer iPhone readers a reading renaissance.
The short story is of course perfectly suited to iPhone reading, as it offers a bite-sized bit of literary entertainment for readers to enjoy on short commutes.
Whether or not Ether's latest mobile app can make the publisher and its authors any cash, of course, remains to be seen.
New stories from literary big-hitters
That said, Ether's app gives readers the opportunity to read stories on the go from the likes of recent Booker Prize winner Hilary Mantel, Alexander McCall Smith and Lionel Shriver.
"We think this will be the renaissance of the short story," said novelist Sophia Bartleet, who is the brains behind Ether Books's app.
Bartleet is at the London Book Fair this week to promote her new mobile app, which is on the app store now and features over 200 pieces of short-form writing, including brand new stories from Shriver, McCall Smith, Hanif Kureishi, Toby Litt and Matthew Kneale.
"I know publishers don't like short stories because they're difficult to sell," Bartleet said. "There's so much fantastic literature out there which is not getting to readers, and this is a way of reaching them."
Should the app be successful on the iPhone and iPod Touch, Bartleet wants to roll it out on other smartphones and mobile devices.
Booker prizewinner Mantel added: "As far as stories are concerned, I think readers like them, but the puzzle has been how to make them available in a way that is economically sustainable ... The idea of stories as apps makes sense. The technology suits the short form."
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Review: Western Digital My Passport 640GB
With so many portable hard drives to choose from it's not easy for a new release to stand out from the crowd, but Western Digital's My Passport Studio 640GB succeeds admirably with an interesting feature that's more than just a gimmick.
The new drive, which is preformatted for Mac and also available in 320 and 500GB capacities, features a small display screen based on e-ink technology.
You can customise it with your own 12-character label, and a graphic shows how much free space is available.
Because it uses e-ink, it remains on even when your drive isn't powered. The label is edited using WD's SmartWare drive management app, which also lets you password protect the drive using 256-bit encryption and back up your files. It's easy to use, and accessible through a menu bar icon.
A turbo driver for faster copying is also included. Connectiviy is through USB 2.0 and FireWire 800, with a bundled cable for a FireWire 400 port.
The drive label is an excellent idea, making great use of e-ink technology. The capacity gauge is handy too, but it disappears if you use the drive on a computer that hasn't got SmartWare installed, limiting its usefulness on a portable device.
Also, the drive uses the emerging but currently uncommon Micro USB standard, which could prove inconvenient if you haven't got the bundled lead with you.
Even so, it's great to see someone doing something different and inexpensive with the portable hard drive.
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Microsoft Office 2010 released to manufacturing
Microsoft Office 2010 has been released to manufacturing, with the final stage of the development process meaning that the next generation of applications like Word, PowerPoint and Excel are close.
The RTM stage means that the software has been readied for its public bow, allowing computer manufacturers to prepare for launch.
The news was released by Microsoft's Takeshi Numoto on the Office blog, and he explained that the team had 'poured their heart and soul' into reaching the milestone.
Beta success
"Since the start of our public beta in November 2009, we've had more than 7.5 million people download the beta version – that's more than three times the number of 2007 beta downloads," he said.
"Earlier this year we announced that we will officially launch Office 2010 to our business customers on May 12.
"Office 2010 will first become available in retail stores in June in the US, and customers can pre-order these retail versions of Office 2010."
The UK pricing for Office 2010, when it finally arrives, will range from £109 to £430, bringing major upgrades of all the familiar software, and the much talked-about online functionality – as Microsoft seeks to quell rivalry from the likes of Google Docs.
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Review: Sony Bravia KDL-37EX503
At last, we have a 37in TV that carries a Freeview HD tuner that doesn't cost the earth. To celebrate the ground-breaking nature of the Bravia KDL-37EX503, Sony has departed from its usual aesthetic by adding a comely strip of brushed aluminium to the bottom edge.
The set's rear is attractive, too, thanks to the inclusion of four HDMIs, a USB for playing MP3, JPEG, and AVC/AVCHD/DivX/MPEG4 video files, and an Ethernet port. As well as enabling you to stream from DLNA PCs, the Ethernet connects to Sony's new Bravia Internet Video platform.
This is a spectacular improvement on the previous AppliCast system and offers full video streaming from a huge array of sources including YouTube, Daily Motion, singingfool, and perhaps most significantly, LoveFilm. This latter portal will soon let you stream full films via your account, provided your broadband connection is up to the job.
The KDL-37EX503 provides further help in this regard by carrying a seven-second buffer and automatic PING detection.
Other significant findings include Sony's MotionFlow 100Hz processing, the brand's dependable Bravia Engine 3 video processing system, Live Colour processing and MPEG noise reduction.
Kudos must also go, too, to the Freeview HD EPG, which is neat and tidy and shows a small version of your selected channel's picture.
Performance
The 37EX503 happily backs up its Freeview HD innovation with some impressive LCD picture quality. This kicks off in fine style with its black level response, which is among the deepest we've seen on a non-LED LCD TV.
Even better, the black is consistent across the screen, with only the faintest trace of light bleeding into the corners. Colours are natural and exceptionally subtly blended while the set's various processing systems do well at reining in LCD's inherent motion blur problems while generating precious few unwanted side effects.
This motion prowess helps both HD and SD pictures look enjoyably detailed. As satisfying as they are, HD pictures aren't as pin-sharp as we've seen on one or two rival screens. Though this isn't necessarily a bad thing if you're watching one of the slightly grainy HD broadcasts that occasionally blot Freeview HD's generally good quality copybook.
Another area where it could improve is its colour vibrancy, with tones looking slightly muted versus leading lights like the Philips 37PFL9604. Plus, of course (though this is hardly Sony's fault) Freeview HD's coverage is currently rather limited.
But with the 37EX503 adding an above average audio performance to its mighty fine pictures, it's easily good enough overall to be one of Freeview HD's first TV stars
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Pandora gaming console finally shipping to UK
Project Pandora has been one of those open source handheld gaming console developments that has been plagued with delays and accusations of being 'vapourware' for the last two years.
However, it now looks like final mass produced units of this powerful little gaming device are set to ship to the UK later this very month, following video demos of the 'final' version which we saw late in 2009.
Pandora's box finally opened?
Development units arrived in the UK back in February, but gamers were still not holding their breath about the chance of actually getting hold of one to play on themselves.
The picture here shows the first coupld of mass produced Pandoras and over at the official Pandora blog, the team reports it now has fully functioning drivers for the console and that it is set to ship final cases and boards to the UK soon for final assembly.
Of course, we have heard all of this before a number of times. So we will have to wait and see if a final version of this fascinating sounding interactive entertainment toy really does reach our shores in the near future.
All of our fingers and toes are crossed in anticipation…
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iPhone HD set for radical design change?
Wouldn't you know it - Spring lands and suddenly everyone is going iPhone-rumour crazy, and this time we've got a humdinger.
The iPhone HD/ iPhone 4G has apparently been snapped not once, but twice in leaks that either show Apple is losing interest in secrecy or someone's playing games with Photoshop again.
While we're loathe to simply put up every picture in the world of rumoured leaks of the next iPhone, this one has been 'found on the floor of a San Jose bar in an iPhone 3G case', according to Engadget.
It's a very different design (which instantly raises the alarms to us) with a chunkier look and a less sleek chassis - although we have been expecting something a little different from Apple with the fourth iteration of the iPhone.
But here's the kicker: Engadget has dug out a picture of an iPad prototype with a device that looks very similar in the corner - it might be blurry but there are definite similarities.
And the design shown off by this bar-room treasure hunter mimics the one posted on Twitter back in February exactly - check it out if you don't believe us.
We'd be surprised if this was the eventual shape of the next gen iPhone - it doesn't have the sleek look that Apple is still in love with (shown by the iPad design).
Add to that people saying that this phone is on sale in Japan as an iPhone knock-off, and has been for months, and we're starting to doubt it very much. But we all like new pictures to look at on a Monday morning, right?
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Big increase in people using phones as sat navs
It's hardly shocking news, but ComScore figures have shown an 86 per cent increase in the use of phones for navigation in the UK.
With phones increasingly coming with GPS chips and mapping services like Google Maps and Ovi Maps, the rise of mobile phones as satellite navigation devices is clearly on the rise.
The UK market had the highest growth rate in the so called EU5, UK, France, Germany, Spain and Italy, which had an average increase of 68 per cent, and has overtaken Italy in the numbers of mobile maps users.
Car use up
"Among those who accessed maps via their mobile devices for the three month period ending February 2010, most (68.2 percent) accessed those services in a car or other vehicle," detailed ComScore.
"35.3 percent of the total users accessed the services while using public transport; and 27 percent did so while walking, running or cycling. "
This rise will be of substantial concern to makers of standalone sat navs, who still insist that many people want a separate device rather than using their phones.
A-GPS choices
"The higher incidence of A-GPS usage in cars suggests that the superior speed and precision in these devices are being used for more than just identifying locations – they are being used as full in-car navigation systems," says comScore Senior Analyst, Alistair Hill.
"That these services offer similar functionality to premium services without the significant price-tag has certainly contributed to their early success.
"Mobile mapping services also have potential for integration with other location aware services, such as mobile social networking applications that provide links to friends and insights on surroundings and, subsequently, offer great promise for the location-based advertising market."
So is the writing on the wall for standalone sat navs?
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WIN! the new, feature-rich GE J1250 digital camera
Summer is fast approaching, and we know there'll be plenty of outdoor action you'll be looking to capture so we are offering five J1250 cameras - each worth £100 - to help you do so.
The new J1250 boasts many advanced features as standard including a fantastic 5X zoom lens, 12.2 megapixel capacity, and an extra large 2.7 LCD screen.
Superb features
The J1250 also has face, blink and smile detection, pan capture panorama for capturing wide views or large groups of people, and a movie mode which means whatever that special moment – you can relive it again and again.
Getting the right picture every time is easy thanks to the auto scene detection feature selecting the right setting for any situation.
The intuitive design and sleek lightweight aluminum body, ensures the J1250 looks great, is practical and easy to carry.
For more on the full range of GE digital cameras visit http://www.ge.com/digitalcameras.
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Apple dates iPad 3G launch for US
As we Europeans await the arrival of the iPad to our shores, Apple has dated the US launch of the next version of its tablet PC, with the iPad 3G set to arrive in the States no later than 7 May.
Apple has just updated its US online store with the iPad 3G details, which shows the shipping date.
International launch delays
All versions of Apple's new tablet PC will be on the market in the US by 7 May, which means we could even see the arrival of the new 3G iPad even earlier.
The international launch for the iPad was recently put back due to the high demand for the new computer in the US.
So as we await the end of May to finally get our hands on the UK versions of Apple's iPad, we can only hope that the volcanic ash clouds part sooner rather than later for those hardcore British Apple fans who plan to make the trip to NYC earlier in May to pick up their new toy!
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New Microsoft Natal title leaked
A new Natal title for Xbox 360, developed in-house at Microsoft, has been revealed by a US movie director this week.
The new game is, as we have come to expect, firmly in the 'casual' gaming category, so is likely to get hardcore gamers any more excited about the prospect of motion controlled gaming on the Xbox 360 later this year.
River Rush was detailed on the blog of US movie exec James Gunn, who wrote about his recent experiences at a Microsoft showcase.
Aerobically-challenging game
Gunn played both the already-announced Ricochet, and the previously-unannounced River Rush alongside a friend of his from Microsoft.
Gunn described the new Natal tile as follows: "It's a game where you stand side by side in a river raft, so it's two people playing at once. To move right, you have to step right; to move left, you have to step left. As you rush down right rapids, you have to jump up and slap floating stars in the air - the whole raft jumps up every time you do.
"This game was even more exhilarating than the kicking one, and even more aerobically challenging. In fact, I'd say the ONLY drawback to the Natal some people may have is that you have to get up off your ass to play it. But, for me, a person who likes exercise and gaming, it's sort of a dream come true. An hour of playing Natal every night will definitely burn calories."
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Adobe announces beta of Flash for Android
Adobe has officially began testing its Flash player for Android, with a public beta test to follow soon.
The news follows Apple's much-publicised rejection of Adobe Flash on its new iPad tablet PC.
Android users will soon be able to watch videos and more on Adobe's multimedia platform, according to Lee Brimelow, an Adobe platform evangelist, who revealed that private testing is now underway and a public beta is set to follow very soon.
Many interesting apps
"There are going to be so many interesting things that you will be able to do," says Brimelow.
Adobe's CEO, Shantanu Narayen, also told Fox Business Network during a recent interview:
"Google and RIM and Palm are going to be releasing versions of Flash on smartphones and tablets in the second half of the year."
Adobe's CEO, also took the opportunity to criticise Apple for its ongoing attempts to keep Flash out of its mobile ecosystem on iPhone and iPad and iPod touch.
"It really isn't a technology decision as much as it is a business decision," Narayen added. "They've chosen to keep their system a proprietary and closed system, which is why they're not supporting Flash. I think that hurts customers."
Sign up to test out Adobe's Android Flash Player by creating an account and registering on the Adobe site now.
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