3D cinema defies '600 million years of evolution'
3D may be the format of choice in Hollywood at the moment, but an Oscar-winning film editor has hit out at the format calling it unnatural for human eyes. Walter Murch, who won Oscars for editing Apocalypse Now and The English Patient, has a bone or two to pick with 3D films.
Murch says the way our eyes have to work to watch 3D movies is unnatural; he calls it the "convergence/focus issue", and it's a deal breaker.
Deal breaker
The audience's eyes must focus on the screen, he says – this is a constant, a fact, irrefutable.
He continues, "But their eyes must converge at perhaps 10 feet away, then 60 feet, then 120 feet, and so on, depending on what the illusion is.
"So 3D films require us to focus at one distance and converge at another. And 600 million years of evolution has never presented this problem before. All living things with eyes have always focussed and converged at the same point."
While we do have the ability to do this, it's hard work for our poor little peepers as well as for the area of our brains that deal with perception – resulting in eye strain and headaches.
"This is a deep problem, which no amount of technical tweaking can fix. Nothing will fix it short of producing true 'holographic' images," Murch concludes.
Now there's a challenge for filmmakers if ever we heard one; true holographic cinema, the next big thing.
 |  |
Read More ...
The Pirate Bay music-sharing site will 'scare music industry'
The Pirate Bay has hinted that its next venture is to be a music-sharing site that will 'scare the music industry'.This is according to a source close to The Pirate Bay who believes that what is about to be launched could have massive implications on the whole of the music industry.
In 2010 there was a big sea change for torrent and download sites.
LimeWire, one of the biggest file-sharing sites in America, was closed down, as was Mininova and members of the Pirate Bay faced numerous court battles.
To hit back, The Pirate Bay is about to target the music industry with a site that should be up in running by April, under the domain: fear.themusicbay.org.
Beyond imagination
The nameless insider who contacted TorrentFreak about the new site, said: "The music industry can't even imagine what we're planning to roll out in the coming months.
"For years they've complained bitterly about piracy, but if they ever had a reason to be scared it is now.
"It will be a special surprise for IFPI's 78th birthday, and we're thinking of organising a huge festival in Rome where IFPI was founded."
In a massive coincidence, the IFPA (International Federation of the Phonographic Industry) issued its annual report on the state of the music industry this week, which noted that piracy was hitting jobs in the music industry.
The report explains that 'jobs are at risk across the creative industries' and that 'total sales by debut artists in the global top 50 album chart in 2010 were just one quarter of the level they achieved in 2003.'
Quite why 2003 is used is beyond us – maybe the subsequent years between 2003 and 2010 didn't quite fit the 'file-sharing is evil' message of the IFPA.
Rigged by piracy
The document goes on to say: "As we enter 2011, digital piracy, and the lack of adequate legal tools to fight it, remains the biggest threat to the future of creative industries.
"Great new legitimate music offerings exist all over the world, offering consumers a wide range of ways to access music.
"Yet they operate in a market that is rigged by piracy, and they will not survive if action is not taken to address this fundamental problem."
Every single word of that statement will be music to the ears of The Pirate Bay, whose main job in 2011 is to antagonise the IFPI.
| |
Read More ...
Pope urges Christians to join Twitter and Facebook
Never one to mince words, Pope Benedict XVI has issued an edict today encouraging young Christians to join social networks like Facebook and Twitter. After extolling the virtues and risks of an online presence, Pope Benedict wrote, "I would like then to invite Christians, confidently and with an informed and responsible creativity, to join the network of relationships which the digital era has made possible."
The Vatican's intention is, of course, that young people use the networks to spread the Gospel, not just for a spot of innocent pre-marriage poking.
Distraction
Spreading the virtual Word is all well and good, but, like many psychologists before him, the Pope also warns against "excessive exposure to the virtual world" and the dangers of creating an online persona.
"It is important always to remember that virtual contact cannot and must not take the place of direct human contact," he argues.
"Entering cyberspace can be a sign of an authentic search for personal encounters with others, provided that attention is paid to avoiding dangers such as enclosing oneself in a sort of parallel existence, or excessive exposure to the virtual world."
Digital Pope
It's not the first time the Vatican has got all 21st century on us; the Pope already has Facebook and iPhone apps, and has welcomed the site's popularity in past missives.
Today's social networking homily comes on the feast day of Saint Francis de Sales, patron Saint of journalists – a breed that is already well-versed in using social networks to gain followers.
On an unrelated note, why not follow TechRadar on both Twitter and Facebook?
Via @bengoldacre
| |
Read More ...
In Depth: 3D without glasses: the gadgets coming in 2011
2011 is the year when 3D gets personal. Whether or not the act of putting on glasses is putting-off consumers (European and US consumers trail the world in 3D excitement according to analysts at Nielsen), the recent CES in Las Vegas saw a raft of unexpected announcements, demos and prototypes of glasses-free 3D gadgets.With a few stunning exceptions - Toshiba's 56-inch and 65-inch LCD TVs, to be precise - almost all were portable smallscreen devices such as smartphones, photo frames, camcorders and laptops (though strangely no tablets).
At the time of writing - with the Nintendo 3DS yet to go on sale - there is only one glasses-free gadget on sale; Fujifilm's FinePix REAL 3D W3 camera.
Lucy Edwards, marketing manager for Digital Cameras at Fujinon, believes that glasses-free 3D 'lenticular' (ie the lens is across the screen rather than in glasses) technology is currently best for gamers and photographers.
She says that the W3's 3.5-inch screen is, "best viewed straight-on due to the screen having a certain 'sweet spot' where the 3D effect is most pronounced, making the technology ideal for a camera or handheld games device.
"Human eyes are generally around 64mm apart, so in order to be able to shoot true, realistic 3D images, the W3 is equipped with two Fujinon lenses that are actually about 20% further apart - so as to maximise the impression of depth, while still producing natural-looking images."
Do-it-yourself 3D
Sony's immediate answer to the lack of 3D content is identical to Fujifilm's; make your own, and it's obvious that its aim is also a glasses-free future.
As well as professional 3D cameras, Sony used CES to launch a glasses-free 3D 'Bloggie' camcorder, while previewing a 10.1-inch portable 3D Blu-ray player, a VAIO laptop and perhaps the ultimate example of 'personal 3D' (though hardly glasses-free); a pair of 'headmount' 3D glasses with a 3D OLED screen for each eye, which seems destined for the PlayStation platform.
NO SPECS: From three new Sony Bloggie devices, the MHS-FS3 uses a glasses-free 3D screen
"2011 begins the next phase of our 3D strategy - the year in which 3D becomes personal," Sony's CEO Howard Stringer told a packed audience at CES.
"3D is far more than a science fiction gimmick to make special effects dominate the storyline and bedazzle the viewer, it simply mirrors the experience of reality itself," he said.
"We don't see the world around us in 2D, we see it in living 3D. As with all technology refinement and improvements will follow, with or without glasses, and viewers will become more enthusiastic."
As such, display manufacturers are queuing up to take advantage of the expected boom in 3D devices. Master Image, which makes a 3.1-inch screen already used in Japan by Hitachi's WOO 3D smartphone, was at the CES, while eLocity's 10-inch photo frame that auto-converts 2D pictures into 3D, told TechRadar that it intends to make glasses-free 3D gaming PCs and TVs this year.
Sharp demoed 3.8-inch and 10.6-inch 3D screens, while LG also contributed to the debate with a 4.3-inch glasses-free 3D display that features a resolution of 400x800 pixels.
FIT FOR A PHONE? Sharp's 3.8-inch LCD screen
"LG sees tremendous growth potential in the 3D mobile display market," said Dr. Jong-seok Park, president and CEO of LG Mobile Communications Company, at CES. "LG is looking forward to debuting this exciting new way to watch 3D movies or play games on your mobile phone." To us, that sounds like it's pretty close to market.
All of these glasses-free - or auto stereoscopic, to be precise - 3D gadgets essentially work the same way; an often transparent (to allow 2D watching, too) parallax barrier on the screen has a series of light-blocking slits that together send a different image to each eye. In essence it's a refined version of 3D stickers, cards and cereal packs from 20 years ago. And it has the same disadvantage: the viewer has to stay still.
In the deadzone
In fact, if you move your head even a tiny distance the entire 3D effect is ruined; you're watching from the 'deadzone'.
"An auto stereoscopic screen has a number of views across its screen - effectively nine different images that you see as you move you head across," Bill Foster, senior technology consultant at Futuresource Consulting, told TechRadar. "If you're not in one of those nine sweet spots you can potentially see a reverse 3D image."
Promising a 'deadzone-free' 3D experience is Toshiba, which surprised industry watchers by unveiling at CES a 15.6-inch auto stereoscopic 3D laptop. What's interesting about this is that it's all about 'personal 3D'; only the person sat in front of the screen gets a 3D image. Everyone else, even if they crowd around the laptop, can only see ghosting and flicker.
Crucially, the viewer can move their head around and shift their viewing position during playback and still see a 3D image - there are no 'deadzone' gaps between the sweetspots.
A Toshiba USA spokesman told TechRadar: "The laptop uses a webcam to recognise your face and it puts a virtual mask on you." Sure enough, an inset feed from the webcam alongside the 3D image reveals a live feed of me with a line around my eyes, nose and chin.
"It adjusts the light output based on tracking your eye position, but it doesn't always work if you get too close to the screen." During our demo the 3D effect was pretty resilient, especially in the foreground. However, the webcam tracking system got confused by the bright light from a camcorder behind us, interference and mistakes if I moved by head quickly, and I did see a double image in the left-hand side.
This prototype of 'two parallax' tech - as it's known - still needs a tweak or two, but is slated for sale later this year.
Toshiba tellies
Toshiba, which prefers the term 'natural' 3D, appears to have the most glasses-free 3D gadgets in its arsenal. Also showing without glasses at CES were its previously announced 12-inch and 20-inch 3D TVs - only on sale in Japan - and the real deal; 56 and 65-inch LED 3D TVs that use Toshiba's powerful CEVO Engine - and don't require glasses.
TINY TELLY: Toshiba's 12-inch, 466x350 pixel 12GL1 auto stereoscopic 3D TV is already on sale in Japan for around £1,000
With those, pixilation is an issue; some of the pixels are being used to generate different views, though it's less of an issue with smallscreen devices - hence the big push. Besides, technology improvements are imminent. "We've now got nine views, but coming down the pike is 15 views," says Foster. "Though that will need more processing and a meaty chip."
Despite there being some misgivings about the quality of the technology, Toshiba, Sony, LG and the rest clearly think there's a demand. Commercial realities are at play, too; sales of 2D cameras and camcorders have been in terminal decline since smartphones added cameras and video recording.
The advent of glasses-free 3D could give these dying devices a temporary shot in the arm, though expect the smartphone (all eyes on Mobile World Congress 2011) to once again consign them to the digital dustbin; we expect glasses-free 3D to be all about gaming gadgets for a year or so - cue the Nintendo 3DS - but it won't be long until everyone has a parallax in their pocket.
| |
Read More ...
Nintendo UK confirms 3DS 'eShop' for launch
While there has been some uncertainty over in the US regarding Nintendo's plans for its 3DS download store, Nintendo UK has confirmed that the '3DS eShop' will be available to British gamers at launch.A Wired US report earlier this week said that Nintendo's 3DS eStore would not be ready on the day of release and that it would arrive at a later date via a firmware update.
3DS eStore at launch
Following that report, a spokesperson for Nintendo told Eurogamer that the 3DS's internet browser and eStore would be "updated on day one" – essentially being made available to Brits on the 25 March release date announced last week.
Further details on Nintendo's plans for its '3DS eShop' are scarce, although we expect to hear plenty of official announcements from Nintendo and its 3DS games publishing partners over the next two months in the run-up to the console's UK launch.
A downloadable portal for 3DS apps and games will hopefully ensure that both established games publishers and developers, in addition to smaller independent games creators, should all find a suitable outlet for their games on Nintendo's new handheld.
The '3DS eShop' will also give users access to the full catalogue of DSiWare games, as well as games demos and a huge back catalogue of retro titles.
TechRadar has contacted a number of leading Nintendo handheld developers for further comment on this story. Stay tuned for updates.
The Nintendo 3DS's web browser will also be activated on launch day on 25 March.
| |
Read More ...
Nvidia Tegra 2 3D processor revealed
Slides from Nvidia's Mobile World Congress presentation have been leaked to a tech news site, revealing that its Tegra 2 3D processor will be shown-off and shipped in 2011. There will be two versions of the dimension-rich processor; an AP25 version for smartphones and a T25 version for tablets.
Both are based on an ARM dual Cortex A9 processor, with up to 1.2GHz of power behind it.
3D take over
While cinema has already been well and truly taken over by 3D, 2011 is the year we'll see it hit our handheld devices in a big way.
The LG Optimus Pad is just one tablet that is set to feature a 3D display this year, about which we'll also find out more at Mobile World Congress; it could very well be using Nvidia's tech.
The Tegra 2 3D processor is set to start manufacturing in Q1, which should see it hitting devices in Spring.
| |
Read More ...
Toshiba's Android-toting tablet teased
Toshiba has shown off its new Android-based tablet, in the form of a teaser video.The tablet is the successor to Tosh's Folio 100, which was an poorly received after the device was pulled from sale due to myriad complaints about the thing not actually working properly.
Toshiba will be hoping its yet-unnamed tablet gets a better reception from the general public, with the teaser video showing off the many connection ports the Honeycomb-based tablet has as well as the fact that it can run full websites and Flash.
Tablet talk
There seems to be numerous digs to the iPad - and what the device can't currently do - in the teaser.
In the video clip we see that the Toshiba tablet has both rear and front-facing cameras, HDMI, USB (mini and full), SD card slot and analogue ports.
It also allows you to swap out the battery for a bigger and better one if you so wish.
While all of the above is something the iPad can't do, it's fairly obvious that the Toshiba tablet – with all that connectivity – is going to be one weighty and thick product.
We'll know for sure when we get our hands on the Toshiba tablet, which has a UK release date of spring, this February.
| |
Read More ...
BBC explains why radio is leaving the iPlayer
Erik Huggers has outlined the reasoning behind pulling radio off of the iPlayer, and onto a new amalgamated radio and music channel that will be available on 'whatever internet–connected device you happen to have". Radio programmes will still be listed in the iPlayer, but when someone clicks on them, they will be taken to the music channels rather than staying within the normal channel.
Huggers explained in a blog post that this was due to the inherent differences between the way people consume radio and television.
Different consumption
"While BBC iPlayer has been a good home for online radio, the way audiences want to interact with radio and music online is different to TV," said Huggers– who will soon leave the BBC for Intel.
"Radio and music will come out of BBC iPlayer, and we'll develop a new standalone product.
"All radio station sites, music events, podcasts and programme pages will be integrated to focus on highly interactive live radio, quick and seamless access to programming, support for new music and personalisation - on whatever internet-connected device you happen to have."
This bringing together of all of the BBC's music and audio could well prove to be popular with consumers; although, sadly, the changes come alongside a raft of cut-backs that will see many BBC staff lose their jobs.
| |
Read More ...
Sony PSP2 'to come with 3G connection'
The latest PSP2 rumour suggests that the gaming handheld will come with 3G data connectivity. The data connection will mean that multiplayer games can be played from afar, as well as giving the PSP2 the potential to download videos, films and games wirelessly.
The PSP2, which will launch officially on 27 January, is also said to be toting Wi-Fi for when you're at home.
Crispy OLED
That's not all – the display is said to be an OLED touchscreen affair, which will mean crisp, delicious graphics and games which can be played without the keypads.
But if the PSP2 is set to offer 3G, then why bother with a separate PSP phone (to be revealed at Mobile World Congress)?
The main difference based on these rumours is that the PSP2 won't actually make calls, but the Sony Ericsson PlayStation phone will also be running Google's Android OS which will give it greater app-based functionality.
There are just three days left to wait for official details of the PSP2; if even half the many rumours are true, the PSP2 is set to give the Nintendo 3DS a real run for its money.
| |
Read More ...
Sky poised to buy The Cloud
BSkyB is set to buy public Wi-Fi network The Cloud, as it looks to compete with the likes of BT in offering its broadband customers extended connectivity.The move would see Sky broadband customers gain access to Wi-Fi while out and about, in much the same way that BT customers can use BT OpenZone.
An announcement is expected to be made on Thursday when the company reveals its latest earnings report.
Cloudy sky
As mobile networks struggle under the data demands of super-powered smartphones, public Wi-Fi has the potential to ease the strain.
But mobile network operators don't seem too bothered about providing the services themselves, instead allowing fixed-line operators to corner the market.
We're particularly interested to see that News Corp, which already owns Sky and The Sun, will now own The Cloud. It's all getting a little bit Monty Burns for our liking…
| |
Read More ...
'Sensation' to be HTC's Android tablet skin?
Sensational news! HTC's popular Android skin, Sense, may be getting a new name for its tablet iteration: HTC Sensation. That's if a trademark filing from the Taiwanese company is anything to go by, which suggests that the range of HTC tablets we're eagerly awaiting could have the custom Android skin.
The trademark requests the words "HTC Sensation" officially belong to HTC and was filed alongside a list of relevant goods and services which includes mobile phones, wireless devices and portable computers.
Sensible
It's all sounding mighty tablet-y to us, and the evolution of the name from Sense to Sensation also makes, er, sense.
The success of HTC Sense has given HTC's Android smartphones a differentiating factor in the ever-swelling Android handset market, proving that a polished, attractive and above-all usable skin can be a boon to the Android OS.
So it'd be just dandy if tablet-specific Sense-like software makes its way to an HTC tablet, be it the HTC Scribe or Flyer or whatever.
Like all vaguely mobile-related news at the moment, Mobile World Congress 2011 could hold the answers. We'll keep you posted.
| |
Read More ...
New BBC iPlayer plans announced
The BBC has announced plans to "re-shape" the iPlayer as a unified television offering – bringing together TV channels programme information as well as live and on-demand content, and will soon be offering 'selected' archive content. In a raft of changes to the company's online services – which will see costs cut by £34 million – the BBC is looking to streamline its web offerings and shift the focus of its content.
One of those shifts will be around the iPlayer, with the BBC announcing that it would be one of five main product groupings in this brave new online world.
BBC iPlayer re-shaped
"The BBC iPlayer will be reshaped into a unified television offering, bringing together TV channels, programme information, and live and on-demand content," said the BBC.
"Selected archive content will be featured in TV & iPlayer and Radio & Music."
The statement also ruled out any move from the BBC to become an aggregator service for other television channels – although it will "link to other on-demand products".
| |
Read More ...
BBC to axe half of its 400 websites
The BBC has announced major cutbacks of its online properties, with the aim of bringing costs down from £137 million to £103 million by 2013/14. Half of the BBC's 400 "top line" domains will be closed, replacing the majority of its programme websites with automated content.
Those cuts will include changes to the iPlayer as well as major shifts into more local news and sport.
The biggest change to the iPlayer will be that it is being stripped of radio content. Instead users will be diverted to the radio and music channels.
Focus on news
News is to be the core of the new-look and substantially trimmed BBC Online, with the BBC's Erik Huggers saying about the changes: "News is absolutely central to service on BBC Online.
"There will be a high quality focus on video and audio, and a network of correspondents in the UK and the world.
"BBC services will have a much clearer focus on basics: local news, weather and travel.
"Sport is very important but not doing every sports news service means we can be more in depth."
Huggers also noted: "There will be a substantial reduction in showbusiness news and we will be dialing up our culture and arts content.
"There will be fewer news blogs and sport news. Services like 606 and BBC iPlayer message boards and H2G2 will go."
Cutting the huge success
"BBC online lies at the heart of the BBC' s digital future," said BBC Director General Mark Thompson.
"As in television and radio, licence fee payers look to the BBC to inform, educate and entertain them online.
"As digital technologies advance, internet delivery of content becomes more important and more profound in our lives.
"BBC Online is a huge success, but our vast portfolio of websites means we sometimes fall short of expectation. A refocusing of our editorial priorities, of commitment to the highest quality standards and a more streamlined and collegiate way of working will help us transform BBC Online for the future."
Those changes include increasing the quality of news, more culture and arts coverage, dynamic editions of BBC Online for each nation and more focus on live sport.
| |
Read More ...
BBC rules out creating Twitter and Facebook rival
The BBC has ruled out launching its own social network to compete with the likes of Twitter and Facebook. The integration of social networking tools into the iPlayer has been a big success for the BBC, but it has not decided to use its clout to bring a UK rival to the table.
"BBC Online will not launch its own social network," stated the BBC as it outlined a raft of cutbacks and changes to its online offering.
iPlayer - staying social
It was the third iteration of the iPlayer that brought social-networking tools to the service.
The use of Facebook and Twitter helped to bring more social integration to the iPlayer - so if your friends 'Like' something they have watched, it can be recommended for you to view.
The company has been asked to severely cut back the money it is spending on online, with some 200 websites set to close or be integrated into other sites by 2013/14. This has led to the BBC prioritsing just what it should do online - with social-networking being ruled out.
Erik Huggers, who recently announced he would be leaving the BBC for Intel, said about the cuts: "We're not here to launch our own social network.
"We're not in trade press business and will not publish local listings. We're not trying to do a Wikipedia here. We will aggregate well but will refer to other resources on the web.
"When it comes to video on demand, we will link out but will not be providing the technology [for rival services].
"And we will not invest in online sports rights."
The BBC has long been criticised by other broadcasters and newspapers for treading on their toes in the online sector, so Huggers' speech today will alleviate some of that animosity - unfortunately, though, hundreds of jobs will be lost in the process.
| |
Read More ...
Android phone to be sent into space
Researchers at the University of Surrey and Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd are planning to send a sub-£300 Android handset out into the final frontier. A satellite containing the as yet unknown smartphone will be launched into orbit around the Earth later this year, in a project known as STRaND-1.
The researchers want to find out if the tiny, cheap yet technologically advanced components in smartphones can withstand the extreme changes in temperature, gravity, and atmosphere, with a view to incorporating them into regular satellites.
Satellite apps
Lead researcher Dr Chris Bridges explained: "Smartphones pack lots of components – such as sensors, video cameras, GPS systems and Wi-Fi radios – that are technologically advanced but a fraction of the size, weight and cost of components used in existing satellite systems."
"And because many smartphones also run on free operating systems that lend themselves to online software developers, the creators of applications ('apps') for smartphones could feasibly develop apps for satellites," he added.
"If a smartphone can be proved to work in space, it opens up lots of new technologies to a multitude of people and companies for space who usually can't afford it. It's a real game-changer for the industry."
And, presumably, for Android-owning astronauts.
It won't phone home
Putting ET's homemade Speak-n-Spell phone somewhat to shame, the handset will send images and messages back to earth via a radio system, and will even be used to operate parts of the satellite.
No doubt even Spielberg would have struggled to string ET borrowing Elliot's smartphone to text his family out into a full-length feature film.
| |
Read More ...
Competition: WIN! A Zotac GTX 480 graphics card and 3D kit from Nvidia
The ZotacGTX 480 graphics card - £370 worth of polygon-pushing graphical wizardry using the latest Nvidia tech - was agreed by PC Format magazine earlier this year to be "the best single GPU money can buy."We have managed to get hold of one of these beasts to give away as a competition prize, in addition to a bagful of 3D goodies from Nvidia, including some of the best 3D-ready PC games on the shelves right now.
All in, in addition to Zotac's GTX 480 card, Nvidia has given us a 3D Vision kit – worth £120 – and a pile of quality 3D-enabled PC games to keep the hardest of hardcore gamers more than happy well into spring 2011.
In addition to the card and the 3D kit, the prizewinner will also pick up a copy of Ubisoft's HAWX 2, an exclusive collector's edition of Blizzard's World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, as well as copies of 2K Games' Mafia 2, Capcom's Street Fighter IV and EA's Need For Speed Hot Pursuit.
You can see more on the Zotac GTX 480 over at Zotacusa.com and more on Nvidia's 3D Vision kit over at Nvidia.com.
To be in with a chance of winning one of these eight prizes, visit our Zotac competition page.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Please note that this competition is only open to UK residents over 18 years of age.
Enter more TechRadar competitions
| |
Read More ...
Motorola Xoom: what you need to know
Android seems to have given Motorola a new lease of life: its Android smartphones are pretty impressive, and now there's the Motorola Xoom Tablet to take on the iPad. It's one of the most impressive tablets money can buy - but unfortunately you'll need a lot of money to buy it.
The Motorola Xoom price is £720
It is if you buy it from HandTec, anyway: the firm was the first to stick give the Motorola Xoom a UK price, and its initial price tag of £659.99 then rose to a whopping £719.99.
Don't expect to pay much less: the firm's VP of international marketing, Andrew Moreley, says "the Motorola Xoom is clearly a premium device with premium prices inside. This will show in the cost."
He doesn't think the price will stop the Xoom being successful, but then again tech execs don't tend to go around yelling "HOW much? Are we INSANE?"
The Motorola Xoom UK release date is a secret
Motorola seems happy to talk about price, but won't comment on when the Xoom UK release date will be - possibly because it's waiting for Google to get a move on and get Android 3.0 out the door. The Xoom tablet is pencilled in for Q1 release in the US, and we'd expect the UK one to turn up shortly afterwards.
The Motorola Xoom tablet software is Android 3.0
The Xoom was the poster child for Android 3.0, aka Honeycomb, at this year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas - and as you'd expect from one of the most powerful Android tablets we've seen to date, it makes Honeycomb look very impressive indeed.
The Motorola Xoom specifications include a big screen and HD cameras
As widely predicted, the Motorola Xoom tablet specifications revolve around a dual-core Nvida Tegra 2 processor, capable of pumping out 720p video to its 10.1-inch, 1280x800 display, or sending 1080p full HD to your TV via HDMI.
There's 1GB of RAM, 32GB of on-board storage that you can supplement with an SD card, twin cameras - 5MP at the back (for 720p video recording) and 2MP at the front - and a choice of 3G or Wi-Fi connectivity. An accelerometer and gyroscope ensure you'll be able to play games by waving it about, and Motorola claims 10 hours of battery life when you're watching videos.
The Motorola Xoom tablet has an SD card slot that doesn't work
As features go, a busted SD card slot isn't a major selling point. The problem is Android, not Motorola: as soon as Honeycomb supports MicroSD slots, the Xoom will too.
The Motorola Xoom will be upgradeable to 4G
The Xoom is a 3G/Wi-Fi device, but an additional module will give US customers 4G connectivity. By 4G Motorola means Verizon's LTE network.
There is a Wi-Fi-only Motorola Xoom too
Motorola is dropping enormous hints that a Wi-Fi-only Xoom tablet is on the cards. "A Wi-Fi only version hasn't been announced… but that will be an interesting development," says the enigmatic Mr Moreley.
The Motorola Xoom video takes a few liberties
The first half of this YouTube video makes the Xoom look like it's ten feet across. It isn't.
| |
Read More ...
Nokia MeeGo tablet leaks
What appears to be a Nokia tablet running the long-awaited MeeGo platform has appeared in some fuzzy spy-shots today. Only one thing is certain from the screengrabs; the device will play video. What formats these will take, and whether it will handle full HD or even 3D remains to be seen.
There's also what looks like an aeroplane in the top left-hand corner, which suggests an airplane mode with all the device's connections severed; presumably these would include Wi-Fi and possibly 3G or Bluetooth.
The darkness descends
The darkness of the shot makes the device form hard to make out but its bezel certainly looks relatively thin, on a par with the Dell Streak, perhaps.
There's no guarantee that this is a product ever intended for market, but with every manufacturer and its dog working on a tablet device at the moment, we certainly wouldn't be shocked to discover this is a prototype product, throwing MeeGo into the iOS, Android and Windows 7 tablet OS mix.
We're certainly hoping for some kind of news on MeeGo from Nokia at Mobile World Congress next month; we'd settle for a smartphone but a tablet would be nice too.
| |
Read More ...
No comments:
Post a Comment