Hands on: Red Sony Ericsson Xperia Neo
The Sony Ericsson Xperia Neo hasn't been released yet, but TechRadar managed to bag some time with the new colour variant.The Xperia Neo is a refresh of last year's Vivaz, but with a much better chassis and an Android, rather than Symbian, OS powering things along.
It's Android 2.3 as well, meaning you'll not only be getting a touch of the Timescape overlay that brings easier to see social networking, but the latest and fastest (plus less battery-sapping) of Android.
The Xperia Neo is a made of shiny plastic, but that doesn't stop it having a more premium feel - the weight of the device is offset by the lighter covering.
TechRadar brought you our exclusive hands-on Sony Ericsson Xperia Neo review earlier this month, but the blue version looked a lot more anodised than you'd expect from its plastic exterior.
The red version is more in keeping with the materials used, with a shimmering effect that promises the taste of cherries but fails to deliver under the tongue.
If it sounds like we're going a little off topic here, it's true - we're struggling to write a lot about a phone that's a different colour, but thankfully a picture is a lot more useful, so hopefully we've helped you make up your mind over which one is for you if you're in love with the new Sony Ericsson Experia Neo.
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Hands on: White Google Nexus S
All of those of you that wanted an upgraded Google Nexus S - your wish has been granted, if you consider a new colour an upgrade.TechRadar got a little look at the new handset on test, and if you're in the market for something different when it comes to a new mobile, then the White Nexus S will at least set you apart.
First impressions make it feel like all Google and Samsung have done is chuck a while plastic cover on the back of the phone, but thankfully it's a little more than that.
Firstly, the whole inside of the phone is now white when you pop the cover off, as well as the extraneous buttons - and these are the things that are actually different on view when you consider the differences between the white and black version.
Sat side by side, you probably wouldn't notice the difference between the two phones from the front, with the same 4-inch Super AMOLED screen on offer. We have no idea why the front isn't also white - we can only assume this messes with the colour perception in some way, as the dual tone looks odd.
We put the black plastic cover on the back of the white Nexus S (there's not a lot else you can do when taking pictures of a new cover) so you can see the difference.
Another key difference, and in our eyes an upgrade, is the back is no longer glossy plastic but a slightly mottled exterior making it easier to hold.
Other than that, the two phones are identical. there's no official White Google Nexus S UK release date, but expect to see the phone sometime in April.
It should be landing on the same £30 a month (ish) tariff as its black brethren on Vodafone - at least now you can decide which version suits you better.
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New Toshiba Folio 100 tablet revealed
Toshiba is resurrecting its Toshiba Folio 100 tablet, despite the first iteration of the device being dropped by the Dixons retail group.It was all going so well for the Toshiba Folio 100.
After a positive showing at IFA 2010, the tablet was released to middling reviews and then canned soon after by Dixons due to an unusually high number of returns.
Tablet frenzy
But Toshiba has revealed to TechRadar that it is making a comeback and will be refreshed for this year.
Currently the Toshiba Folio 100 UK release date is March 2011, with the tablet still featuring Android 2.2 and no access to the Android Market.
Those who want Android 3.0 will want to try out the as-yet unnamed Toshiba tablet, that is set to come with Android 3.0, two USB 2.0 ports and an SD card slot.
The Toshiba tablet also houses a 10.1-inch touchscreen capable of displaying 720p HD video on its 1280x800 display.
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All Android 3.0 features coming to phones
After all the will-they-won't-they of Google's Android 3.0 OS coming to mobile phones, a Google employee has tweeted that all the features will indeed make their way to Android phones. Further details are scarce, although an updated version of Gingerbread is set for an imminent release making Honeycomb apps compatible with its smaller-screen compadres.
Whether all the features will be included in this apparently incremental update, or whether some will be saved for the next version (Ice cream?) remains to be seen.
Good old Twitter
The full tweet from Dan Morrill, Android Open Source & Compatibility Tech Lead, reads: "Honeycomb runs all existing Android apps; all the APIs & features will come to phones in some form. Just a matter of time."
While we probably won't see all Honeycomb's features make it to all phones – the Sony Ericsson X10, for example, isn't getting any more Android OS updates – most recent Android handsets should see the upgrades from the tablet-tastic OS.
Now all we need to know is when, eh Google?
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Review: Samsung UE46C7000
Samsung's concentration on aesthetics and high-end features goes down very well in the mass market, but the 7 Series screen won't appeal to everyone. Design-wise, it's part stunning, part gaudy; a black frame with silver highlights is bookended by a mirrored strip along the bottom of the TV. There's also an unusual spider stand that's very reflective, though a screen this slim is surely destined for a wall.A mere 26.5mm deep around the sides and only 29mm deep in the middle, the UE46C7000 – while not as slim as Samsung's 8mm-deep 9 Series – is impressively tiny.
An edge LED backlight helps create this slimness, but there's a lot more to the UE46C7000, including 3D, a Freeview HD tuner and Samsung's expanding Internet@TV service.
Elsewhere in the 7 Series are the 40-inch UE40C7000 and 55-inch UE55C7000. Also in the 7 Series are two plasmas, the 63-inch PS63C7000 and 50-inch PS50C7000, while slimmer sets lie higher-up Samsung's ranges.
In a move that sees all of its Series 7 and above screens fitted with virtually the same comprehensive feature set, slimness and finish appear to be the only differences.
The 8 Series measures 23mm in depth and comprises a 65-inch UE65C8000, 46-inch UE46C8000 and 40-inch UE40C8000, while the flagship, titanium-coloured 9 Series – which manage a startling 8mm – comprises the 46-inch UE55C9000 and 55-inch UE55C9000. Essentially, the UE46C7000 is a cheaper version of those, though it shows only in the outward design.
Two pairs of £130 active shutter 3D glasses (SSG2100RB models) are included in the box, but whether you're happy to splash out extra on additional pairs for your kids or friends is another matter (especially for the latter – there are few worthwhile 3D movies for anyone out of primary school).
The UE46C7000 uses active shutter technology, which is marketed as the highest quality of 3D available. It's about to come under intense pressure from Samsung's Korean rival LG, which used January's CES to criticise the technology, arguing that it caused nausea and headaches. LG is about to push a set of cheaper 3D TVs that use passive polarised technology; while this can't deliver full HD to both eyes, as the UE46C7000 can, the 3D specs will cost just a few quid.
Before you think 'format war', bear in mind that it doesn't really matter which 3D tech you buy into – if you like active shutter 3D images (it's advisable to compare 3D on LCD/LED and plasma before making a decision) and you can afford it, there's really no problem.
Ultimately though, the UE46C7000 will please those not even remotely interested in the third dimension. Its in and outputs befit a mid-range TV, though that 29mm depth has been achieved only with an army of adaptors.
On the reverse we counted Ethernet LAN, two Scarts (one RGB), component video, composite video, analogue audio ins, PC VGA and PC audio in, all of which are strung out across the bottom and all of which require additional adaptor cables that measure around seven inches. However, it's not a major issue since the resulting mess of bulky cable joins is hidden by the screen.
Along the inside right-hand side of the TV are the 'major' inputs, including four HDMI inputs (all version 1.4 for 3D, and one with an audio return channel) below a stunning three USB ports. One is capable of making recordings to a USB stick or external hard-disk drive.
Above that, fairly high-up the TV's side, is an optical digital audio output, an analogue audio output, a Common Interface slot and – right up in the top left-hand corner of the screen, a headphones jack.
On the video side, the UE46C7000 includes 3D HyperReal Engine picture processing, Wide Colour Enhancer Plus and Clear Motion Rate 600.
The integrated Freeview HD tuner will attract many, as should Samsung's Internet@TV service. The latter's (already) dated interface includes access to the BBC iPlayer, Lovefilm, Facebook and Twitter among a roster that also includes Acetrax (movie streaming à la Lovefilm), Dailymotion, Picasa, Getty Images, AccuWeather, Google Maps, Rovi (TV listings), The History Channel ('this day in history' text, no video), Muzu.TV and USA Today (news).
Skype is also present. Using a Samsung-specific Freetalk TV camera (£134.88 from skype.com) that also works on the brand's C8000 Series, you can use the UE46C7000 for voice and/or video calling.
One real shame is the expensive TV's lack of built-in Wi-Fi, though at least there are plenty of USB ports free if you feel like investing in Samsung's £50 WIS09ABGN LinkStick Wi-Fi dongle.
While 2D is handled with aplomb, Samsung's UE46C7000 really struggles with 3D material. With Monster House playing on 3D Blu-ray, there is an overriding sense of unreality – surely the opposite of what 3D should be trying to achieve.
Rather than mirror how two-eyed animals see the world, the UE46C7000 tends to place the in-focus areas of a shot at the front. The result is a mess of depths and angles, double echoes and crosstalk issues that render the whole image confusing. There are moment of cohesion when the effect is multi-layered and impressive, but even then total immersion is tricky; even at 46-inches the screen simply doesn't seem large enough.
The most significant problems occur with movement. Just as most LCD TVs struggled with any kind of moving video until relatively recently, this capable LED-backlit LCD panel delivers 3D objects that stutter and appear stepped when they move, something that's incredibly uncomfortable to watch.
What the ultra-bright UE46C7000 doesn't do – which 3D plasmas tend to – is reduce the brightness of the panel when watching in 3D. Don those 3D glasses and the picture retains its vivid colours, while the contrast holds up reasonably well, too.
One thing to remember about edge LED sets is that they're all about slimness, with an uneven brightness almost always noticeable. That's the case with the UE46C7000: bright spots are visible along the bottom of the panel and are particularly obvious during contrast-rich footage and CinemaScope-shaped Blu-ray discs, whether 2D or 3D.
The 2D-to-3D conversion almost salvages the UE46C7000. An as-live conversion of athletics on BBC1 produces mixed results, with some footage not appearing in 3D at all. Other scenes, such as a close-up of some hurdlers racing towards the camera, proved as convincing – if not more so – than some 3D Blu-ray discs.
It's true that the main focus of the frame is either sucked into the foreground and the rest sent backwards, which creates a distorted depth, while much of the time the picture is completely misinterpreted by the TV, but it's not nearly as uncomfortable to watch as you might expect.
Thankfully, the UE46C7000 has plenty of other points of interest and skills, chief of which is standard 2D Blu-ray. A blast of the BBC's Yellowstone documentary reveals some excellent nuanced colours amid a bright, vibrant picture that shows-off the great outdoors in sublime fashion. Flick on something a little more moody, and the UE46C7000 manages an image with just about enough contrast, albeit with a slightly blue hue.
Although it's not exactly scarred by motion blur during 2D material, the UE46C7000's LED Motion Plus motion compensation mode works well, which is actually quite rare. It's best left on a low setting, but worth experimenting with since there's less flicker around moving objects than we've seen on rival models' frame interpolation modes.
Freeview HD fare has a similarly sublime service and even standard-definition stuff is clean and bright and without the 'wobble' that is often obvious when digital TV broadcasts are blown up to this huge size.
It might not be big enough or capable enough as a 3DTV, but the UE46C7000 proves itself hugely impressive with all other sources.
Sound
Samsung has very obviously gone for a slim profile at the cost of palatable audio.
The UE46C7000 is fitted with down firing, 10W stereo speakers that muster just enough for normal digital TV, but get completely lost if you watch a movie. SRS TheaterSound has several effects: Music (more bass), Movie (a more even mix), Clear Voice (treble-heavy) and Amplify (increases background audio volume).
Activate SRS TruSurround HD and dialogue seems to sink amid no real sense of rear effects, while SRS TruDialog simply pushes the treble and flattens background effects.
Value
Having lost a third of its value since its 2010 launch, there's a suggestion that this 46-inch edge LED-backlit LCD (or just 'LED', as Samsung prefers to market this tweak of old-fashioned LCD technology) is more delectable wallflower than 3D powerhouse.
It's a mixed bag, but this is the smallest size you should plump for if you want your 3D to be at all immersive. If you can go higher still, do so – and ironically, the perfect candidate exists elsewhere in Samsung's range. That Samsung's 6 Series full HD 3D plasma is bigger and cheaper virtually renders the UE46C7000 pointless, though not quite; that plasma is a 'whopping' 71mm in depth, which may be too much for some to stomach.
Ease of use
As well as LED slimness, the UE46C7000 is extremely touchy-feely. Along the bottom right-hand side of the TV's frame are a few buttons that light up when touched, though they're needlessly labelled.
The remote control is similarly high-end in look, with a brushed metallic appearance and soft rubber dividers between rows of buttons. The size of the keys, their responsiveness and even the large fonts used are excellent, though we're not sure how rugged or long lasting the plastic remote will prove to be; it's brushed metallic in look only.
The UE46C7000's onscreen menus are typical Samsung fare in that they're simple and comprehensive. The way they're laid out is rather linear and nowhere near as modern as, say, Sony's Xross Media Bar or LG's grid-style approach, but it all ties together well.
The central menu's picture settings include the usual Movie/Natural/Standard/Dynamic settings, though there are some high-end options hidden away in the Advanced Settings section. In there you'll find adjustments for gamma, white balance and colour space, though the main feature to pay attention to is LED Motion Plus, Samsung's effort at frame interpolation technology to reduce motion blur.
Dedicated 3D picture settings include a depth scale (one to 10) and a picture correction mode, but the most unusual is 2D-3D conversion. Flick that on and the channel you're watching suddenly converts to 3D – with mixed, though generally impressive, results.
The eight-day electronic programme guide for Freeview HD is superb. It contains information across two hours for six channels at once, with a brief description of each programme above alongside a small screen showing the channel you're currently watching.
You can use a USB stick to make recordings, but the TV attempts to persuade you to use a proper external HDD. We formatted an 8GB stick then managed to record A Question of Sport simply by pressing the remote's record button, with an option appearing to either record the entire programme, or in 10-minute increments up to 360 minutes. Recordings can only be played back on this TV, while an arguably more useful pause/rewind live TV function is also available.
Using a wholly different menu system is Internet@TV, which is reached via a dedicated button on the TV's remote. More details are here, but know that this hub is richer in content than most and as easy to use as any. Its dated look is immaterial, and that should change with the introduction of Samsung's new Smart Hub, due in March.
The UE46C7000's treatment of multimedia files via USB is similarly comprehensive without being particularly attractive. Insert a USB stick and you're presented with the option of playing back music, video, photos or recorded TV programmes. Virtually all video formats are supported, including DivX and DivX HD files, though music is limited to the MP3 format.
Able to display 2D and 3D – and even convert one into the other (great if you've just shelled-out on extra 3D glasses), Samsung's UE46C7000 is stuck in the middle. Not able to produce brilliant 3D but excellent with 2D, it has much the same problems as its far better looking Series 8 and Series 9 screens.
We liked
Freeview HD and 2D Blu-ray are sublime, while standard-definition fare is upscaled well. BBC iPlayer via Internet@TV service is a bonus, as is pausing and recording live TV, while the touch sensitive remote control is better than most. It's far from perfect, but 2D to 3D conversion is worth persevering with if you're set on creating a 3D experience.
We disliked
Confusing, uncomfortable 3D and a feeling that even this 46-inch size isn't large enough, with edge LED backlighting that's uneven and blotchy, Samsung is being a tad too ambitious with the UE46C7000. The slimness will appeal to some, though if you're after a seriously cinematic picture it's always best to completely ignore aesthetics – and slimness always comes at a price.
Final verdict
We're not sure who the UE46C7000 is aimed at. For a number of reasons, active shutter 3D footage looks far better on a much cheaper, bigger plasma, as proved by Samsung itself. There's also still a niggling feeling that even this huge size of screen just isn't big enough for 3D to be completely convincing – and a warning to avoid 2011's upcoming raft of 32-inch '3D-ready' TVs.
Which, in effect, makes this 7 Series screen – and all of the other screens higher-up in Samsung's range – all about edge LED, and all about depth. If you're after a shallow screen, you've got a great candidate in the UE46C7000, though even its relatively stylish good looks don't compare to its 9 Series siblings.
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LG Optimus 3D UK pricing revealed
The LG Optimus 3D UK pricing has been set at around £515 by online retailer Expansys. The handset, which can shoot and show 3D content, also has a UK release date of 25 April on the retailer's website.
Although Expansys has been known to publish inaccurate info in the past, the April release date ties in with whispers we've heard from networks, although nothing concrete has been officially announced.
Premium 3D
The price tag of £515 isn't outrageously expensive for a dual-core smartphone, although the 3D ability of the handset is its main USP; is it good enough to warrant so much of your hard-earned cash?
Not only can the handset play 3D video content, but you can record it using the dual-camera set up on the back of the handset, and out-put 3D movies to a 3D-ready TV using the HMDI out port.
There's also a gorgeous 4.3-inch screen, 8GB of memory, a front-facing camera and Android 2.2 (for now – a Gingerbread upgrade is on the cards).
With most UK networks set to release the LG Optimus 3D, it may be worth checking out subsidised tariff deals when they are announced; but opting for the SIM-free model may cost less in the long run.
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Panasonic: Avatar 3D Blu-ray deal was a one-off
Panasonic has confirmed that the long-term Avatar 3D Blu-ray deal with 20th Century Fox was a one-off. Many non-Panasonic-owning 3D fans are disgruntled by the fact that they won't be able to enjoy the little blue men in 3D in the comfort of their own homes until February 2012, two years after Avatar's cinematic release.
Masayuki Kozuka, head of R&D for Panasonic's Media and Content Alliance, told Home Cinema Choice of the deal: "The market is more mature now, but during 2010 there was very little software. We needed an incentive."
Studios to blame
He also revealed that 20th Century Fox lured Panasonic and Samsung into a bidding war over the 3D release.
Kozuka was keen to point out that it is not the manufacturers who are pushing this model, saying: "Studios come to us and ask if we want to take exclusive deals. We don't usually go to them."
Exclusive deals may offer a short-term incentive to new 3D customers but a general release will surely prove better for all concerned in the long run; leaving segments of the market out of the 3D loop will only lead to bad feeling, more piracy and lower sales of 3D movies.
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Sony Ericsson 4G tablet prototype pictured
Sony Ericsson is rumoured to be working on a 4G, Android-running tablet, a prototype of which has been snapped by a Dutch blog. Hiding in plain sight, the tablet was spotted on the TDIA stand over at Mobile World Congress.
The inclusion front-facing camera comes as no surprise – apparently it's a 3MP snapper – and that screen is estimated to be 6 or 7-inches.
Chubby Android
The TDIA representatives on the stand confirmed to NieuweMobiel.nl that it will run Android on release, although they did not specify which iteration of the OS.
There are three buttons on the prototype device – home, menu and back – which are pretty standard for Android phones but most tablets these days do away with as many buttons as possible.
Of course, there's no guarantee that all three buttons will make it to the final device, nor, we hope, will the enormous bezel or overall thickness of the tablet.
The unnamed Sony Ericsson tablet is branded TD-LTE; a 4G China Mobile network. Obviously, a 4G tablet isn't much good to us Brits at present, but there's a good chance we'll see a WiFi or 3G model launch as well if the tablet ever hits the market.
When we spoke to Nathan Vautier, MD of Sony Ericsson UK, last week, he denied that Sony Ericsson was working on a tablet at all; but these branded prototypes and comments from CTO Jan Uddenfelt suggest otherwise.
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Updated: Top 20 best tablet PC iPad alternatives
This year is going to be the year of the touchscreen tablet, of that there can be no doubt.While tablet PCs have been around for yonks, only now are they becoming the desirable, usable and functional devices that we've always wanted them to be – and it's about time too.
The iPad is currently the most obvious example of how tablets are going mainstream, but that's not to say that all tablets released from now on are guaranteed to be super awesome.
Indeed there are some real stinkers out there – remember the Toshiba Folio 100?
So allow us to walk you through the best tablets currently on sale, along with the sexy tablets that are set to tickle your fingertips later in 2011.
Samsung Galaxy Tab GT-P1000
UK release date: October 2010Specs: Android 2.2, 1 GHz Cortex A8 CPU, 512MB RAM, 16GB/32GB, 7-inch capacitive LCD at 1024x600, 3.2MP rear-facing camera, 1.3MP front-facing camera, phone-call-friendly 3G, 380g.
What we think: While the Galaxy Tab promised the world, it didn't quite deliver the tablet experience we were hoping for. As the first big-name tablet to take on the iPad, it failed to live up to its billing. That said, user response has been positive, and despite a high asking price of over £500 SIM-free, this is about as good as it gets out of the current crop of Android 2.2 tablets. A Wi-Fi only model is imminent.
Read more: Samsung Galaxy Tab review
Viewsonic ViewPad 7
UK release date: October 2010Specs: Android 2.2, Qualcomm MSM 7227 600MHz CPU, 512MB RAM, 512MB storage, 7-inch capacitive LCD at 800x480, 3MP rear-facing camera, VGA front-facing camera, phone call-friendly 3G, 375g.
What we think: Not technically built by Viewsonic, this tablet is also available under various different titles. Essentially it's a Chinese-built OEM device, but you'd be wrong if you think that means it's not very good. It is. It's responsive, it's a nice size and it's usable. The problem is that it should cost £200, not £400.
Read more: Viewsonic ViewPad 7 review
See also: Linx Commtiva N700 review
Advent Vega
UK release date: November 2010Specs: Android 2.2 (sans Android Market), 1GHz Nvidia Tegra CPU, 512MG RAM, 512MB storage, capacitive LCD at 1024x600, 1.3MP rear-facing camera, no 3G, 700g.
What we think: At £250, the Advent Vega comes in at a very attractive price - it's probably the best tablet for those on a very tight budget. And actually, it isn't half bad. It's responsive, it's not too heavy, it runs Android without breaking a sweat. The problem is that without 3G connectivity there's no Android Market access. There's also no Home button, and the other hardware buttons are fiddly as hell.
Read more: Advent Vega review
ExoPC Slate
UK release date: October 2010Specs: Intel Atom N450 1.66GHz CPU, 2GB RAM, 23GB/64GB, 11.6-inch capacitive LCD at 1366x768, 1.3MP front-facing camera, 950g.
What we think: While the list is dominated by Android tablets, let's not forget poor old Windows 7. It's in no way a touch-friendly operating system, but that doesn't mean there isn't some decent hardware out there doing its best. The ExoPC Slate is the best Windows tablets at present, and so if you MUST have Windows on your tablet, this is currently the one to get.
Read more: ExoPC Slate review
BlackBerry Playbook
UK release date: Spring/Summer 2011Specs: BlackBerry Tablet OS (QNX), 1GHz Cortex A9 dual core CPU, 1GB RAM, 7-inch capacitive LCD at 1024x600, 3MP front-facing camera, 5MP rear-facing camera, 400g.
What we think: From the moment the good folks at RIM started talking about the Playbook, we knew it was going to be awesome. And by Jove it's one of the most impressive gadgets we've ever played with. Slick, seemless and sexy, the new BlackBerry OS is as impressive as the polished hardware. This one simply cannot be released soon enough.
Read more: Hands on: BlackBerry Playbook review
Motorola Xoom
UK release date: Spring 2011Specs: Android 3.0, Nvidia Tegra 2 dual-core CPU, 1GB RAM, 32GB Flash storage, 10.1-inch capacitive LCD at 1280x800, proximity sensor, ambient light sensor, barometer, gyroscope, 5MP rear-facing camera, 2MP front-facing camera, 3G, 730g.
What we think: The Motorola Xoom is one of the second-generation Android tablets that the tech world is getting very excited about. Packing Nvidia's super-powerful Tegra 2 chip and running the tablet-friendly Android 3.0 OS, the Xoom is going to be big.
Read more: Hands on: Motorola Xoom review
Read more: Motorola Xoom - everything you need to know
HTC Flyer
UK release date: 2011Specs: Android 2.3, 1.5GHz single-core Snapdragon, 1GB RAM, 32GB memory, 7-inch capacitive LCD at 1024x600, 5MP camera, 3MP front-facing camera, phone-call-friendly 3G, 415g.
What we think: HTC has decided to release it's first tablet running on Android Gingerbread (2.3/2.4), which will upset some purists that only believe these tablets should run on Honeycomb. However, it does come with a new version of HTC Sense with dual-pane windows which works well with videos and email. As a single-core device in a dual-core world, though, will the Flyer be good enough?
Read more: Hands on – HTC Flyer review
LG Optimus Pad
UK release date: 2011Specs: Android 3.0, 1GHz Tegra 2 CPU, 1GB RAM, 32GB storage, 8.9-inch capacitive screen at 1024x768, 2x 5MP rear-facing cameras for 3D capture, 2MP front-facing camera, phone-friendly 3G, 630g.
What we think: The Optimus Pad is a super-looking tablet and has the USP of having dual 5MP rear-firing cameras for 3D image capture. Add to that dual-core Tegra 2 CPU, a decent screen and Android 3.0 and you've got an exciting tablet on your hands. But pricing could be this tablet's Achilles heel – it's going to be pricey.
Read more: Hands on – LG Optimus Pad review
Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 P7100
UK release date: 2011Specs: Android 3.0, 1GHz dual core CPU, 1GB RAM, 16GB/32GB storage, 10.1-inch capacitive screen at 1280x800 (WXGA), 8MP rear-facing camera with LED flash, 2MP front-facing camera, 3G, 599g.
What we think: The new Galaxy Tab 10.1 (P7100) looks like a real corker. With top-end hardware specs, a lovely screen and Android 10.1, this looks every bit the iPad alternative that the original Galaxy Tab P1000 was supposed to be. We're excited about this one.
Read more: Hands on – Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 (P7100) review
HP TouchPad
UK release date: UnknownSpecs: webOS 3.0, 1.2GHz dual-core Snapdragon CPU, 1GB RAM, 16GB, 32GB storage, 9.7-inch capacitive screen at 1024x768, 1.3MP front-facing camera, 740g.
What we think: The touchpad looks like one of the most powerful tablets yet announced, running the as-yet unreleased dual-core Snapdragon APQ8060 1.2GHz CPU. It's also running Palm's webOS 3.0 which sets it apart from all the Android tablets but at 740g it's rather heavy.
Read more: Hands on – HP TouchPad review
Notion Ink Adam Tablet
UK release date: Summer 2011Specs: Android 2.3, Nvidia Tegra 250, Cortex A9 dual-core CPU, 1GB RAM, 1GB SLC, 10.1-inch capacitive display at 1024x600, optional Qi display, 3.2MP swivel camera, 3G, 2x USB, accelerometer, ambient light sensor, compass, 726g.
What we think: The Notion Ink Adam Tablet is maybe the most anticipated tablet of them all. While it runs on Android 2.3, the Bangalore-based company has built its own complex interface on top called Eden. The hardware specs are impressive on paper, and it looks like this could to be one of 2011's hottest products. Or, it could be an absolute disaster... we'll find out soon enough.
Asus Eee Pad MeMo
UK release date: Summer 2011Specs: Android 3.0, Qualcomm Snapdragon 1.2GHz CPU, 512MB RAM, 7-inch capacitive display, 64GB Flash storage, rear-facing camera, front-facing camera, mini-HDMI out.
What we think: We don't know much about the Asus Eee Pad yet. What we do know is that there are four models, of which the MeMo is at the bottom end. We also know that Asus is taking its time with these Eee Pads, so we can be fairly confident that when they finally go on sale, they'll be good.
Read more: Asus Eee Pad – what you need to know
Read more: First Look: Asus Eee Pad
Asus Eee Pad Slider
UK release date: Summer 2011Specs: Android 3.0, Nvidia Tegra 2 dual-core CPU, slide-out keyboard, 10.1-inch capacitive display at 1280x800, card reader, HDMI-out, rear-facing camera, front-facing camera.
What we think: At 10.1-inches, the Eee Pad Slider is bigger than the MeMo, and Asus thinks it's big enough to warrant a slide-out keyboard. It's the netbook of the new generation, if you will. It's also the first Android tablet we've seen with a feature like this, though it's not a new concept. Typing on a touchscreen can be a pain, so including a proper keyboard is a nice idea – though how useful it ends up being remains to be seen.
Read more: Asus Eee Pad – what you need to know
Read more: First Look: Asus Eee Pad
Asus Eee Pad Transformer
UK release date: Summer 2011Specs: Android 3.0, Nvidia Tegra 2 dual-core CPU, 10.1-inch capacitive display at 1280x800, full-size keyboard dock, card reader, HDMI-out, rear-facing camera, front-facing camera
What we think: Asus is keeping all its bases covered by offering a variety of different tablet options, and waiting to see what people buy. The Eee Pad Transformer is similar to the Slider, except there's no built-in keyboard. Instead, the tablet comes with an optional keyboard docking station (it'll cost considerably more with it) for you to keep on your desk.
Read more: Asus Eee Pad – what you need to know
Read more: First Look: Asus Eee Pad
Acer Iconia Tab A500
UK release date: April 2011Specs: Android 3.0, Nvidia Tegra 2 dual-core CPU, 1GB RAM, 10.1 capacitive screen, 5MP rear-facing camera, 3G.
What we think: As Acer's flagship tablet we were expecting big things from the A500 but from what we saw at MWC it doesn't look like the A500 is as high-end as we were expecting it to be. It's still a powerful Tegra 2-powered Honeycomb tablet though, so if it has an attractive price, this could be one to watch.
Read more:Hands on – Acer Iconia Tab A500
Acer Iconia Tab A100
UK release date: April 2011Specs: Android 3.0, Nvidia Tegra 2 dual-core CPU, 7-inch capacitive screen at 1024x600, 5MP rear-facing camera, 2MP front-facing camera, 3G.
What we think: The A100 is the little brother to the Acer Iconia Tab A500, and we have high hopes for it. While it doesn't have the high-flying specs of some of the other tablets on this page, we expect this 7-inch tablet to carry a more modest price.
Read more: Hands on – Acer Iconia Tab A100
Viewsonic ViewPad 10s
UK release date: Spring 2011Specs: Android 2.2 (with Tap UI), Nvidia Tegra 2, Cortex A9, 512MB RAM, 16GB Flash memory, 10.1-inch capacitive LCD at 1024x600.
What we think: While the original ViewPad 10 was an absolute dog, the 10s looks a lot better simply because Android 2.2 replaces the dual-booting Windows 7 and Android 1.6. Already released as the Viewsonic G Tablet in the US, the 10s boasts decent hardware specs and a custom overlay on top of Android 2.2. Providing it's priced sensibly, this could be an attractive purchase when it goes on sale.
Read more: Hands on: Viewsonic ViewPad 10s review
Dell Streak 7, Dell Streak 10
UK release date: Summer 2011?Specs: Android 2.2, 7-inch capacitive LCD, 1.3MP front-facing camera, 16GB storage.
What we think: Dell is expanding its range of Android products after it launched its 5-inch phone/tablet lovechild last year. On the way is the 7-inch Dell Streak 7 and the 10.1-inch Dell Streak 10 - and if the original is anything to go by, these tablets will be excellent.
Read more: Dell Streak 7 - everything you need to know
More tablets on the horizon in 2011:
Panasonic Viera Tablet: We had our first look at the three Panasonic Viera Android 2.2 tablets at CES this year. While the hardware is nothing special, what's interesting is the way they interact with Panasonic's Viera Connect Internet TV service.Lenovo LePad: The LePad incorporates a 10.1-inch (1280×800) touch-screen, 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and runs a customised version of the Android 2.2 OS. To be available in 16GB and 32GB versions, it's 3G-only and includes a front-facing 2 Megapixel camera.
Apple iPad 2: Hazzah!
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Updated: Top 20 best tablet PC iPad alternatives
This year is going to be the year of the touchscreen tablet, of that there can be no doubt.While tablet PCs have been around for yonks, only now are they becoming the desirable, usable and functional devices that we've always wanted them to be – and it's about time too.
The iPad is currently the most obvious example of how tablets are going mainstream, but that's not to say that all tablets released from now on are guaranteed to be super awesome.
Indeed there are some real stinkers out there – remember the Toshiba Folio 100?
So allow us to walk you through the best tablets currently on sale, along with the sexy tablets that are set to tickle your fingertips later in 2011.
Samsung Galaxy Tab GT-P1000
UK release date: October 2010Specs: Android 2.2, 1 GHz Cortex A8 CPU, 512MB RAM, 16GB/32GB, 7-inch capacitive LCD at 1024x600, 3.2MP rear-facing camera, 1.3MP front-facing camera, phone-call-friendly 3G, 380g.
What we think: While the Galaxy Tab promised the world, it didn't quite deliver the tablet experience we were hoping for. As the first big-name tablet to take on the iPad, it failed to live up to its billing. That said, user response has been positive, and despite a high asking price of over £500 SIM-free, this is about as good as it gets out of the current crop of Android 2.2 tablets. A Wi-Fi only model is imminent.
Read more: Samsung Galaxy Tab review
Viewsonic ViewPad 7
UK release date: October 2010Specs: Android 2.2, Qualcomm MSM 7227 600MHz CPU, 512MB RAM, 512MB storage, 7-inch capacitive LCD at 800x480, 3MP rear-facing camera, VGA front-facing camera, phone call-friendly 3G, 375g.
What we think: Not technically built by Viewsonic, this tablet is also available under various different titles. Essentially it's a Chinese-built OEM device, but you'd be wrong if you think that means it's not very good. It is. It's responsive, it's a nice size and it's usable. The problem is that it should cost £200, not £400.
Read more: Viewsonic ViewPad 7 review
See also: Linx Commtiva N700 review
Advent Vega
UK release date: November 2010Specs: Android 2.2 (sans Android Market), 1GHz Nvidia Tegra CPU, 512MG RAM, 512MB storage, capacitive LCD at 1024x600, 1.3MP rear-facing camera, no 3G, 700g.
What we think: At £250, the Advent Vega comes in at a very attractive price - it's probably the best tablet for those on a very tight budget. And actually, it isn't half bad. It's responsive, it's not too heavy, it runs Android without breaking a sweat. The problem is that without 3G connectivity there's no Android Market access. There's also no Home button, and the other hardware buttons are fiddly as hell.
Read more: Advent Vega review
ExoPC Slate
UK release date: October 2010Specs: Intel Atom N450 1.66GHz CPU, 2GB RAM, 23GB/64GB, 11.6-inch capacitive LCD at 1366x768, 1.3MP front-facing camera, 950g.
What we think: While the list is dominated by Android tablets, let's not forget poor old Windows 7. It's in no way a touch-friendly operating system, but that doesn't mean there isn't some decent hardware out there doing its best. The ExoPC Slate is the best Windows tablets at present, and so if you MUST have Windows on your tablet, this is currently the one to get.
Read more: ExoPC Slate review
BlackBerry Playbook
UK release date: Spring/Summer 2011Specs: BlackBerry Tablet OS (QNX), 1GHz Cortex A9 dual core CPU, 1GB RAM, 7-inch capacitive LCD at 1024x600, 3MP front-facing camera, 5MP rear-facing camera, 400g.
What we think: From the moment the good folks at RIM started talking about the Playbook, we knew it was going to be awesome. And by Jove it's one of the most impressive gadgets we've ever played with. Slick, seemless and sexy, the new BlackBerry OS is as impressive as the polished hardware. This one simply cannot be released soon enough.
Read more: Hands on: BlackBerry Playbook review
Motorola Xoom
UK release date: Spring 2011Specs: Android 3.0, Nvidia Tegra 2 dual-core CPU, 1GB RAM, 32GB Flash storage, 10.1-inch capacitive LCD at 1280x800, proximity sensor, ambient light sensor, barometer, gyroscope, 5MP rear-facing camera, 2MP front-facing camera, 3G, 730g.
What we think: The Motorola Xoom is one of the second-generation Android tablets that the tech world is getting very excited about. Packing Nvidia's super-powerful Tegra 2 chip and running the tablet-friendly Android 3.0 OS, the Xoom is going to be big.
Read more: Hands on: Motorola Xoom review
Read more: Motorola Xoom - everything you need to know
HTC Flyer
UK release date: 2011Specs: Android 2.3, 1.5GHz single-core Snapdragon, 1GB RAM, 32GB memory, 7-inch capacitive LCD at 1024x600, 5MP camera, 3MP front-facing camera, phone-call-friendly 3G, 415g.
What we think: HTC has decided to release it's first tablet running on Android Gingerbread (2.3/2.4), which will upset some purists that only believe these tablets should run on Honeycomb. However, it does come with a new version of HTC Sense with dual-pane windows which works well with videos and email. As a single-core device in a dual-core world, though, will the Flyer be good enough?
Read more: Hands on – HTC Flyer review
LG Optimus Pad
UK release date: 2011Specs: Android 3.0, 1GHz Tegra 2 CPU, 1GB RAM, 32GB storage, 8.9-inch capacitive screen at 1024x768, 2x 5MP rear-facing cameras for 3D capture, 2MP front-facing camera, phone-friendly 3G, 630g.
What we think: The Optimus Pad is a super-looking tablet and has the USP of having dual 5MP rear-firing cameras for 3D image capture. Add to that dual-core Tegra 2 CPU, a decent screen and Android 3.0 and you've got an exciting tablet on your hands. But pricing could be this tablet's Achilles heel – it's going to be pricey.
Read more: Hands on – LG Optimus Pad review
Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 P7100
UK release date: 2011Specs: Android 3.0, 1GHz dual core CPU, 1GB RAM, 16GB/32GB storage, 10.1-inch capacitive screen at 1280x800 (WXGA), 8MP rear-facing camera with LED flash, 2MP front-facing camera, 3G, 599g.
What we think: The new Galaxy Tab 10.1 (P7100) looks like a real corker. With top-end hardware specs, a lovely screen and Android 10.1, this looks every bit the iPad alternative that the original Galaxy Tab P1000 was supposed to be. We're excited about this one.
Read more: Hands on – Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 (P7100) review
HP TouchPad
UK release date: UnknownSpecs: webOS 3.0, 1.2GHz dual-core Snapdragon CPU, 1GB RAM, 16GB, 32GB storage, 9.7-inch capacitive screen at 1024x768, 1.3MP front-facing camera, 740g.
What we think: The touchpad looks like one of the most powerful tablets yet announced, running the as-yet unreleased dual-core Snapdragon APQ8060 1.2GHz CPU. It's also running Palm's webOS 3.0 which sets it apart from all the Android tablets but at 740g it's rather heavy.
Read more: Hands on – HP TouchPad review
Notion Ink Adam Tablet
UK release date: Summer 2011Specs: Android 2.3, Nvidia Tegra 250, Cortex A9 dual-core CPU, 1GB RAM, 1GB SLC, 10.1-inch capacitive display at 1024x600, optional Qi display, 3.2MP swivel camera, 3G, 2x USB, accelerometer, ambient light sensor, compass, 726g.
What we think: The Notion Ink Adam Tablet is maybe the most anticipated tablet of them all. While it runs on Android 2.3, the Bangalore-based company has built its own complex interface on top called Eden. The hardware specs are impressive on paper, and it looks like this could to be one of 2011's hottest products. Or, it could be an absolute disaster... we'll find out soon enough.
Asus Eee Pad MeMo
UK release date: Summer 2011Specs: Android 3.0, Qualcomm Snapdragon 1.2GHz CPU, 512MB RAM, 7-inch capacitive display, 64GB Flash storage, rear-facing camera, front-facing camera, mini-HDMI out.
What we think: We don't know much about the Asus Eee Pad yet. What we do know is that there are four models, of which the MeMo is at the bottom end. We also know that Asus is taking its time with these Eee Pads, so we can be fairly confident that when they finally go on sale, they'll be good.
Read more: Asus Eee Pad – what you need to know
Read more: First Look: Asus Eee Pad
Asus Eee Pad Slider
UK release date: Summer 2011Specs: Android 3.0, Nvidia Tegra 2 dual-core CPU, slide-out keyboard, 10.1-inch capacitive display at 1280x800, card reader, HDMI-out, rear-facing camera, front-facing camera.
What we think: At 10.1-inches, the Eee Pad Slider is bigger than the MeMo, and Asus thinks it's big enough to warrant a slide-out keyboard. It's the netbook of the new generation, if you will. It's also the first Android tablet we've seen with a feature like this, though it's not a new concept. Typing on a touchscreen can be a pain, so including a proper keyboard is a nice idea – though how useful it ends up being remains to be seen.
Read more: Asus Eee Pad – what you need to know
Read more: First Look: Asus Eee Pad
Asus Eee Pad Transformer
UK release date: Summer 2011Specs: Android 3.0, Nvidia Tegra 2 dual-core CPU, 10.1-inch capacitive display at 1280x800, full-size keyboard dock, card reader, HDMI-out, rear-facing camera, front-facing camera
What we think: Asus is keeping all its bases covered by offering a variety of different tablet options, and waiting to see what people buy. The Eee Pad Transformer is similar to the Slider, except there's no built-in keyboard. Instead, the tablet comes with an optional keyboard docking station (it'll cost considerably more with it) for you to keep on your desk.
Read more: Asus Eee Pad – what you need to know
Read more: First Look: Asus Eee Pad
Acer Iconia Tab A500
UK release date: April 2011Specs: Android 3.0, Nvidia Tegra 2 dual-core CPU, 1GB RAM, 10.1 capacitive screen, 5MP rear-facing camera, 3G.
What we think: As Acer's flagship tablet we were expecting big things from the A500 but from what we saw at MWC it doesn't look like the A500 is as high-end as we were expecting it to be. It's still a powerful Tegra 2-powered Honeycomb tablet though, so if it has an attractive price, this could be one to watch.
Read more:Hands on – Acer Iconia Tab A500
Acer Iconia Tab A100
UK release date: April 2011Specs: Android 3.0, Nvidia Tegra 2 dual-core CPU, 7-inch capacitive screen at 1024x600, 5MP rear-facing camera, 2MP front-facing camera, 3G.
What we think: The A100 is the little brother to the Acer Iconia Tab A500, and we have high hopes for it. While it doesn't have the high-flying specs of some of the other tablets on this page, we expect this 7-inch tablet to carry a more modest price.
Read more: Hands on – Acer Iconia Tab A100
Viewsonic ViewPad 10s
UK release date: Spring 2011Specs: Android 2.2 (with Tap UI), Nvidia Tegra 2, Cortex A9, 512MB RAM, 16GB Flash memory, 10.1-inch capacitive LCD at 1024x600.
What we think: While the original ViewPad 10 was an absolute dog, the 10s looks a lot better simply because Android 2.2 replaces the dual-booting Windows 7 and Android 1.6. Already released as the Viewsonic G Tablet in the US, the 10s boasts decent hardware specs and a custom overlay on top of Android 2.2. Providing it's priced sensibly, this could be an attractive purchase when it goes on sale.
Read more: Hands on: Viewsonic ViewPad 10s review
Dell Streak 7, Dell Streak 10
UK release date: Summer 2011?Specs: Android 2.2, 7-inch capacitive LCD, 1.3MP front-facing camera, 16GB storage.
What we think: Dell is expanding its range of Android products after it launched its 5-inch phone/tablet lovechild last year. On the way is the 7-inch Dell Streak 7 and the 10.1-inch Dell Streak 10 - and if the original is anything to go by, these tablets will be excellent.
Read more: Dell Streak 7 - everything you need to know
More tablets on the horizon in 2011:
Panasonic Viera Tablet: We had our first look at the three Panasonic Viera Android 2.2 tablets at CES this year. While the hardware is nothing special, what's interesting is the way they interact with Panasonic's Viera Connect Internet TV service.Lenovo LePad: The LePad incorporates a 10.1-inch (1280×800) touch-screen, 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and runs a customised version of the Android 2.2 OS. To be available in 16GB and 32GB versions, it's 3G-only and includes a front-facing 2 Megapixel camera.
Apple iPad 2: Hazzah!
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Radiohead embraces online again for The King Of Limbs
Radiohead has announced the arrival of its latest album The King Of Limbs, ushering the new record into the world in much the same way as it did with In Rainbows.The band has decided to offer the album directly through its online site in both MP3 and WAV format. But instead of the pay-anything experiment it tried with its last album, you will have to fork out £6 for the download, or £9 if you want a WAV version.
In Rainbows showed the music world that online downloads can make a profit if done strategically.
By bypassing record companies and allowing fans to buy straight from the band's website, it meant that any profit that was made on the music would go straight to the band itself.
Out on a limb
The release of The King Of Limbs may not be as ground-breaking as In Rainbows but it has still caused much debate on Twitter.
Because it has been released a day earlier than expected, there is definite buzz about the record, with half of the Twitter Trends in the UK dedicated to the album.
But it is not just Twitter that is abuzz about Radiohead – the band also launched the first music video for album track 'Lotus Flower' on YouTube. The video is currently stuck on 310 views, which is always a sign that its numbers are going to be big.
Whatever you think of the band's music, it's great to see they are embracing the world of downloads instead of moaning that the web is killing off artists.
If you do want to buy the album in CD format, then you will have to wait until 9 May – or fork out £30 for the 'newspaper album', which includes vinyl, artwork and a CD copy.
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HTC Desire S UK pre-order opens
Amazon UK has opened its pre-order for the HTC Desire S, setting its SIM-free UK pricing at £419.99.The HTC Desire S UK release date is also set at 18 April on the retailer's website, with HTC itself listed as the seller.
Several networks have already thrown their hats into the HTC Desire S ring, including Orange, Three and Vodafone, which should mean we'll see some competitive subsidised pricing for the handset on tariff deals.
Not much of an upgrade
While it shares a lot of specs with its predecessor, the HTC Desire S does come with a new 1GHz Qualcomm processor and a slightly upgraded battery.
Along with the redesigned aluminium unibody, the big news is that the HTC Desire S is running Gingerbread, just like the rest of the new HTC range.
This means we should see Android 2.4 released by mid-April when the handset is released; although ViewSonic claims it will be first out the gate with the minor OS upgrade.
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Nazis in 3D! Eye-popping propaganda movies unearthed
James Cameron may be the current poster boy for 3D with his blue movie Avatar, but back in the '30s the Nazis felt that the technology would be put to good use in its propaganda movies, with news that a number of 3D movies made by the Nazis have been found.Phillippe Mora, director of some Howling sequels and currently working on a 3D movie about Dali, found the films in the Berlin Federal Archives while researching for a documentary.
3D propaganda
The names of the movies – So Real You Can Touch It and Six Girls Roll into Weekend – may sound like some sort of twisted Carry On franchise but were part of a collection of films that show Nazi Germany in a very good light.
Mora spoke to Variety.com about the movies, saying: "They were made by an independent studio for Goebbels' propaganda ministry and referred to as 'raum film' — or space film — which may be why no one ever realised since that they were 3D."
The black-and-white flicks have been filmed on 35mm with a prism in front of two lenses to create the 3D effect.
The movies are set to appear in Mora's upcoming documentary, which is currently called How the Third Reich Was Recorded.
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Gary Marshall: Is the future of search social?
Fresh from helping us block content farms from search results, Google has a new wheeze: more social search. Now, when you search the web you can bring your friends with you.Don't worry. Your friends won't be virtually watching over your shoulder as you search for naked midgets covered in coleslaw or ask Dr Google about unpleasantness in your unmentionables.
Rather, Google will refine search results based on what your friends have shared online. It's offered a social element for a while, but it's more useful now and more prominent.
It's a clever idea. When I'm thinking about booking a holiday, my friends' recommendations of kid-friendly resorts mean more to me than any brochure's blurb or travel site's summary - and my friends' photos of cockroaches the size of dogs can help me avoid the holiday from hell.
Leaving aside the obvious privacy implications - it doesn't work if you don't give Google access to your social links, so it's yet more information the firm's storing about you - and the fact Facebook isn't included because it and Google are still having a fight, I can only think of one teeny-weeny little problem.
My social graph is too squiggly.
Social not working
The problem I have with social networks is I'm too nice. I don't want to offend anyone. So when I get a friend request from somebody I last spoke to 22 years ago, and whose only real connection with me is that I really fancied their sister, I don't want to dismiss them; I find it's more polite to accept the request than to ignore it or refuse it. If someone I've contacted through work pops up with request, I'll add them too.
Bring Twitter into the equation and things get even more complex. I follow a few hundred people who are interesting in various ways. But just because I care what they think about, say, Nokia or HTML5 or Ford Mondeos doesn't mean I give a hoot about their taste in music, their favourite kind of jumper or their opinions on Israel. Quite the contrary: I often find people I follow posting links to things that are variously idiotic, annoying or occasionally, downright frightening.
It's not Google's problem so much as social networking's problem: we connect to people in different ways for different reasons, and social networks aren't very good at differentiating between, say, your soulmate and someone you only know because the two of you went to the same U2 gig in 1992.
How does Google know which one's which?
Solving that problem won't be easy, but maybe it doesn't need to be solved.
Rather than using my social graph to refine my Google searches, I'd prefer to use a social search engine that can find things across the various social networks I use. That's exactly what Greplin offers - and it does it really, really well. Google's asking the right questions, but I suspect Greplin is the one with the answers.
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World's first anti-laser developed, cancels out laser beams
Lasers, eh? They get around. When they're not repelling pirates or recycling old TVs, they're blinding ravers and reducing things to small piles of dust. Well, not any more they're not. Over at Yale University, scientists have developed an anti-laser, which is capable of absorbing an incoming laser beam.
There's nothing uncool about a laser. Literally.
Before you paranoid androids make plans to cover your home in anti-lasers to evade any aggressive laser beams coming your way, we have to tell you that it won't do you much good:
"The energy [from the laser] gets dissipated as heat. So if someone sets a laser on you with enough power to fry you, the anti-laser won't stop you from frying," said Professor Stone, who worked on the project.
Instead, the anti-laser's laser-absorption could come in handy as optical switches in next-gen computing, which may use optical components that work with light instead of electrons.
The device traps incoming beams of light using two lasers of a specific frequency. The incoming laser is then directed to a specially designed optical cavity made of silicon, where it's forced to bounce around until it's worn out and its energy is spent.
Spent in heat, it would seem, meaning that some super efficient cooling systems may also be required.
Still, we'll happily imagine the anti-laser being put to good use in an epic struggle between good and evil, probably somewhere in space or in a cyber-pyramid. Get to it, Hollywood.
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Facebook offers up new relationship options
Facebook has announced that it has expanded its relationship status offering, which allows gay and lesbian couples to acknowledge their relationships online.The social network has added 'in a civil union' and 'in a domestic partnership' to its Relationship Status list for users in the UK, US, Canada, Australia and France.
Clear message
The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation is obviously happy with the news and has said about the news: "Today, Facebook sent a clear message in support of gay and lesbian couples to users across the globe.
"By acknowledging the relationships of countless loving and committed same-sex couples in the US and abroad, Facebook has set a new standard of inclusion for social media. As public support for marriage equality continues to grow, we will continue to work for the day when all couples have the opportunity to marry and have their relationship recognised by their community, both online and off."
Now all we need is for Facebook to allow us to add the name of someone we are in a relationship with that hasn't got a Facebook account and everybody will be happy.
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Buying Guide: 6 of the best online backup services for Mac
Keeping your data backed up is second nature to many Mac users simply because of Time Machine. Those who never made a copy of their digital data now have a reliable and invisible fallback. Of course, a belt-and-braces approach of Time Machine and another external drive copy is the recommended regime. That might sound over the top, but losing every byte of data is much more painful than keeping track of two backups.
A double backup is a good idea, but does suffer from one fatal flaw: both copies are, generally, in one place. Unless you back up at the end of every day and take your backup 'off-site', all your data is still at risk. Fire, flood or – less catastrophic but still data-destroying – electrical surges and wayward cups of tea are all capable of destroying a hard drive.
So what is the solution to this issue? Storing your backups online, obviously.
Until recently though, remote data storage was the preserve of big businesses. However, you can now feasibly have a home backup procedure that includes a totally secure off-site element. With an off-site backup, no matter what the disaster you can recover your data. Fire, flood, swarm of locusts – never again will your data be at risk.
We've put six of the best online backup tools to the test.
Tools on test
1. Backblaze - $5 per month (£3.20)
2. Carbonite - £41.95 per year
3. CrashPlan+ - $5 per month (£3.18)
4. iDrive Pro - $4.95 a month (£3.17)
5. Livedrive - £3.95 a month
6. Mozy - £4.99 a month
Test one - Value for money
Naturally, your data is priceless and no amount of money is too much to protect it. In the real world, however, just about everything has a price. None of the services could be described as prohibitively expensive though.
Here the clear loser is iDrive, with its $5 (£3.16) a month charge limited to just 100GB of data. It does offer 2GB for free, which is fine for smaller storage needs, but not for a full backup.
Backblaze, Carbonite, CrashPlan and Mozy offer unlimited storage for your monthly fees. You can pay for a number of years up-front to reduce costs further. However, CrashPlan gets extra points for offering a family pack solution that allows you to back up your house full of Macs for $120 (£76) a year.
The clear winner here, however, is Livedrive, which for £3.95 a month enables not only unlimited storage, but also unlimited numbers of computers to be backed up. That is truly excellent value.
Test two - Interface
One of the good things about all the tools in this test is that once they are set up they're all but invisible. Sure, you'll notice a hard disk spinning up and every now and again, and catch the toolbar notifications. In general, however, there's nothing to do other than sit back and let your data be backed up.
This, then, was a really tough call to make, as each of the backup utilities took a similar though not identical approach to organising and editing backups.
We docked a few marks from Livedrive and iDrive for a more fussy approach. Livedrive lists every single file being uploaded as it works, which is nice, but a simple progress counter would do. iDrive has a sync option that could easily confuse the non-techie user. But these criticisms are of the minor niggle variety.
Forced to make a decision, we'd err on the side of CrashPlan. It's just a little clearer than the others. That little bit is tiny, though, and not a major advantage over the competition.
Test three - Data retrieval
Uploading all your files to a remote server is great, but the real test is retrieving them if you ever have that disastrous flood or your computer is stolen.
The best service here in terms of flexibility is the plan from Backblaze. Not only can you download your files in a ZIP archive, you can have your backup shipped to you on DVD or USB. This is great if you need to get your data back in the fastest way possible. Naturally, you'll have to pay for international shipping on top of the $99 (£63) for DVDs or $189 (£120) for a 400GB hard disk, but if you're downloading a lot of data it's likely to be much faster.
The rest of the services here offer online retrieval tools. Carbonite is next best, with its Restore Assistant that manages all your file retrieval automatically. You can still pick and choose which files to get back manually if you want, but if it's a full restore the assistant takes the pain out the procedure.
Each of the rest offers simple online file restoration tools.
Test four - Extras
The main process of backing up your Mac is clearly the most important aspect of each of the tools, but those hidden extras all add value.
We really like the flexible CrashPlan approach that enables you to back up to any remote computer. This allows you to create your own off-site backup. Save your work computer's documents to your home Mac and vice versa. It alone makes the client incredible value for money. Also its Backup Sets can be split between online and local storage.
The Livedrive Briefcase feature lets you email documents to be synced across your machines, and you can access your files from an iPhone too, as well as streaming any music or video you have stored online. Simply install the Livedrive app and you can be watching movies on your iPad without taking up that precious disk space.
Backblaze, Carbonite, iDrive and Mozy are less expandable in comparison, offering just the simple backup tools.
The Winner - Best online backup service for Mac
All the services here work well if you've only got a modest amount of data to upload. No matter which one takes your fancy, the end result will be a reliable and safe backup, and that's all that really matters.
iDrive is a touch pricey by comparison to the others, but the rest are all roughly equivalent. We liked the invisibility of Backblaze and Mozy, where the clients are unfussy and just get on with the job at hand.
But ultimately, our winner is CrashPlan. It's solid, easy to use and reliable. It also offers the most flexible client with the best extra features. The $120 (£76) family pack feature is amazing value in comparison to the others on test here too. As such, it fully deserves our top spot.
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Weird Tech: C is for cookie. And computer!
In the epic battle between man and machine, machine kicked man's arse. We're talking, of course, about Watson, IBM's gameshow-playing supercomputer. Competing with humans at Jeopardy! is no mean feat: it requires real language skills and a knowledge of wordplay, puns and riddles - exactly the kinds of things computers aren't usually very good at.
Don't worry, though: Watson's prowess hardly heralds a new era of robot overlords. What it might mean, though, is better medicine:
IBM has announced a partnership with voice recognition experts Nuance to create doctors' assistants that use Watson technology to analyse enormous amounts of medical data. Rather than kill us all, it seems, Watson would rather make us feel better.
A safe bet?
Fancy betting on this year's Academy Awards results? Google can help. According to the Official Google Blog, people's searches have shown "consistent search patterns among best picture winners for the last three years".
CRYSTAL BALLS: Can Google predict the future? Nope, but it's pretty good at predicting the Best Picture Oscar
Each year Google saw a surge of search interest in the film that turned out to be the winner: No Country For Old Men in 2008, Slumdog Millionaire in 2009 and The Hurt Locker in 2010. This year's favourite? The Social Network, with Black Swan and The King's Speech in its wake. Don't tell the bookies!
RTFM, Robot
This week's episode of "the robots are coming and they're going to kill us all" comes courtesy of the University of Southampton, where Professor Sandor Veres and his team have created robots that can read manuals.
MANUAL LABOUR:Robots can read instruction manuals to learn new things. And these ones can fly! [Image credit: Max Kiesler on Flickr]
"I believe humans can be substituted in some easy tasks," he told the Southern Daily Echo, suggesting that smart robots could have solved last year's terrible oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. His robots use artificial intelligence to read instruction manuals to learn new skills:
"They can go on the web and read special documents, from which they learn... I'm not claiming we've got a thinking machine, but we're going in the right direction".
It's the end of the Net as we know it
When our friends went to uni they seemed to spend most of their time either getting drunk or recovering from the resulting hangovers. It seems today's students are made of sterner stuff: they've created a "cyberweapon that could take down the internet". Which is pretty ambitious, you've got to admit.
According to New Scientist Max Schuchard and his team have found a way to meddle with something called the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP), which routers use to tell each other of changes to communications paths. By interfering with these messages on a massive scale - the attack needs around 250,000 computers on a botnet - you could take down the entire internet.
The good news is that it's unlikely to be used. "Mapping the network to find a target link is a highly technical task," NS says. "And anyone with a large enough botnet is more likely to be renting it out for a profit."
C is for Cookie. That's good enough for me
Aliencurv's latest YouTube clip shows the process of making a faintly creepy robot from an old teddy bear, but for serious robot goodness check out the same creator's Cookie Monster robot, which connects via Bluetooth to a standard PC for remote control and which is smart enough to avoid bumping into things.
We have to agree with commenter duon44, who says: "make it really big, then put a flamethrower on it and let it create chaos in the city! :D MUHAHAHAAA" And on that note, let's play out with a song.
BLUE BOT C: is for cookie, that's good enough for me. Cookie cookie cookie starts with C!
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Review: Linn Akurate system
World-famous conductor Herbert von Karajan's response, on being introduced to the delights of the compact disc in the early 1980s, was "All else is gaslight". It's a great one-liner, but was he right? Wasn't CD little more than a digital version of the vinyl LP anyway, with a laser replacing a stylus? If so, then Linn's Akurate DS system is far more radical.
It takes the whole process of listening to music in the home to another level, replacing physical sources like CD or SACD with music stored on a hard drive, while offering remote access from the comfort of your armchair. Moreover, the resolution of source material – up to 24-bit/192kHz – is much higher than CD's 16-bit/44.1kHz.
Akurate is Linn's midway offering, sitting between its entry-level Majik and flagship Klimax ranges. It's a versatile system that can be upgraded by adding extra power amplifiers -– or converted to full Aktiv operation with an electronic crossover.
What's more, each of its impressive speaker units has its own dedicated power amp. "It takes the whole process of listening to music in the home to another level, replacing physical sources like CD with music stored on a hard drive."
Deceptively simple
Outwardly, Linn's Akurate electronics look deceptively simple. The system comprises three boxes – the DS digital streaming device; Kontrol preamplifier and 2200 Power, 200-watt, two-channel power amp.
Knobs and buttons have been kept to an absolute minimum, creating clean simple-looking fascia plates. But this outward simplicity is misleading. A fairly comprehensive range of features and facilities are offered – all accessed by remote handset.
Now here's where the Akurate system starts to get interesting. You can control it from your computer, or via devices like an Apple iPad. The latter allows you to create playlists of favourite tracks without leaving your armchair. You can select/repeat/delete tracks as you listen, making the Akurate perfect for those who prefer to listen to a wide variety of hand-picked tracks (rather than specific albums) and like to flit from track to track.
But the Akurate is also great for those who want to listen to long continuous works. If you had the stamina, you could play to an entire four-act opera – or even Wagner's complete Ring cycle – without having to leave your chair. Say goodbye to awkward breaks in continuous works that exceed CD's 80-minute playing time, pop-pickers.
Listening intensively to a long work and having to get up and change discs, risks breaking the spell. And, there's no doubt that having long continuous playing times, enables you to get though a lot more music.
The way an Akurate system is configured and the kind of remote access it offers, is something you'd discuss with your Linn dealer prior to purchase. But having the whole system controlled from an iPad is undoubtedly the coolest most flexible option, but it's not the only one.
Radio GaGa
In addition to music downloaded from the internet and stored on a hard-drive, the Akurate DS gives you access to digital radio stations. You can also add a device that allows you to rip your existing CD collection to a hard-drive – and accessed that way, rather than playing the disc in a conventional CD player.
Although it's perfectly possible to have a separate CD player with a system like this, it's likely you'd want to rip your CD collection to a hard drive so as to enjoy the benefits of remote access and (with long works spread over two or more CDs) no breaks between discs.
The Akurate 242 loudspeakers also offer some interesting options. You can use them with a single set of cables – or up to five sets – either from a single amplifier, or five amplifiers. If that's not enough, they can be used in fully 'active' mode with electronic crossover and five power amps. All it takes is money!
There's a further option to increase bass output/depth by means of an extra set of terminals for use with an additional power amp. This makes the Akurate 242 unusually versatile and upgradeable.
Pièce de résistance
The electronics have a very simple understated look. The casework is made from brushed aluminium and looks quietly classy. The finish is impressive without being the least bit ostentatious or flashy. Our review samples came in silver finish, but black is available, too.
Each item is fairly light in weight. Some audiophile components are massively constructed, but not Linn Akurate components. While weight and high rigidity are beneficial, having relatively light casework also brings advantages. If resonance does occur, there's less stored energy with something light. Linn also claims that its casework improves sonic performance.
The loudspeaker cabinets are beautifully finished and solidly braced for low resonance. There are two rear-facing ports and six-way binding posts allow active and multi-amp/multi cable operation.
The piéce de rèsistance, though, is the assembly that holds the three high-frequency drivers. Dubbed The Array, this creates a wider dispersion at higher frequencies, giving better integration and less 'beaming' due to excessive directionality. Co-incidentally, it looks great and creates an attractive focal point.
Krisp and Artikulate
Sonically, the Akurate Electronics sound broadly similar to Linn's Majik. There's a comparable sort of openness and transparency; the same kind of crisp, lean, detailed presentation. It's not an especially warm or 'romantic' kind of sound, though neither is it cold or antiseptic.
However, the Akurate seems a stage or two further on from the Majik. While recognisably cut from the same cloth, it seems noticeably more detailed and articulate, sounding even sharper and better focused. Individual voices and instruments are more separate, each one having more its own unique timbre and dynamic shading.
Those looking for electronics that ooze 'personality' and add their own unique concoction of finger-lickin' herbs and spices may be disappointed by the Akurate. As the name implies, it's about accuracy and truthfulness, rather than sounding impressive or pleasant – though the Akurate can impress and please.
The sonic gulf between hi-res music from downloads, compared to ripped stuff from conventional CDs, is very apparent – the improvement over the latter being more marked than we experienced with the Majik. Having such clean source material invites you to raise volume levels, so the Akurate's extra power comes in useful here.
Initial listening took place with the Akurate electronics driving our Impulse H1/Klipsch Heresy III hybrid full-range horn speakers and results are impressive, albeit with a tonal balance tipped slightly towards the upper frequencies. Bass is good, but less voluminous than it is with our Musical Fidelity kW-750 combo.
Changing over to the Akurate 242 loudspeakers underlines these qualities. They're very crisp immediate-sounding boxes that produce a sharp, articulate sort of presentation. Bass is quite deep, but it's the sort of bass that isn't there until it's there – and then (when it does come) it can surprise you with its power and weight.
Of course, loudspeakers can produce vastly different results depending on the room they're used in. With this in mind, Linn provides a couple of foam bungs to block either (or both) ports to give a tighter, leaner bass. The high frequencies sound very airy and open, yet blisteringly detailed.
The drive units are employed in special formation – called the Array – which creates a very integrated mid-band and treble, with wide/smooth dispersion. This acts in much the same way a reflector behaves when placed behind a light source. It makes the apparent width of the source wider, ensures a smoother more even frequency response and avoids the 'sweet spot' effect, thus enabling decent stereo to be enjoyed, even when sat well off axis.
The Akurate 242s are reasonably efficient, so the amplifier's 200-watt output should be entirely adequate for most situations. However, if a bit more wellie is required, it's possible to add power amps (indeed, the Akurate power amp can be had in a three- or four channel versions) for multi-amp operation or fully active.
People sometimes talk about a hi-fi system changing your life and buying a Linn Akurate may well prove to be a life-changing experience. Why? Because it enables you to access and enjoy music that simply isn't possible with conventional disc-sourced hi-fi systems.
And while for many of us, fiddling about with LPs and CDs is all part of the fun, being able to select your music from an iPad and create a whole evening's uninterrupted listening, has its own special rewards. Rewards that you may never want to be without. Now – where did I put that shellac '78?
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iPhone 5 won't be smaller but could be cheaper, insider claims
Insiders claim that the iPhone 5 will be smaller in price but not in stature than the iPhone 4. Many rumours have suggested that we'll see a slimmed-down, budget version of the Apple handset, a so-called iPhone Nano.
But the New York Times cites an anonymous source who says there will be no smaller iPhone from the company.
No-no to Nano?
Having supposedly worked on several versions of the iPhone 5, the source told them, "Although the innards of the phone, including memory size or camera quality, could change to offer a less expensive model, the size of the device would not vary."
Another source agrees, saying that a smaller device would probably be more expensive to manufacture, more difficult to use and would force developers to rewrite applications to fit the new form.
Flash! Ahhh-aaaaaah
One way Apple is looking to bring costs down aside from by using lower-spec components, is by increasing users' cloud storage in its MobileMe service, which would mean the device itself requires less physical data storage.
Flash storage doesn't come cheap, so this could see a significant iPhone price drop.
It's the latest in a string of rumours surrounding Apple's upcoming iPhone 5 release, which, it is anticipated, will be officially revealed in June.
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Review: Veebeam HD
Although a few receivers are endowed with a degree of online functionality, it tends to be restricted. Freesat HD boxes may offer BBC iPlayer, but ITV Player and 4oD are currently not catered for. Even the best enthusiast boxes (and TVs) have added bonuses like YouTube but ultimately limit your choice with 'walled-gardens'. And though media players are available, the support for codecs and formats usually leaves much to be desired. Basically, there's no substitute for an up-to-date Mac or PC – the keyboards of which are far friendlier when it comes to entering text into search engines and so on.
You can connect a computer to a TV via HDMI or VGA. However, a more convenient wireless solution can be found in the unusual Veebeam HD.
Here, a wireless USB dongle transmits whatever is on your PC (or Mac) desktop to a distinctive black box.
This is the receiver and it's connected to your TV via HDMI or composite. Audio connections are stereo phonos and optical S/PDIF with Dolby/DTS support.
Easy to use
Veebeam is easy to use; download the software – only Windows 7/Vista or MacOS 10.5/6 are catered for – make the connections and you're away.
Two modes of operation are available. The default 'screencast' mode duplicates on the TV whatever you see on your desktop. Support for resolutions of up to 1080p will accommodate HD video and photos as well as ensuring that desktops retain their legibility. Sound and picture quality here is good, although resizing artefacts can impair the legibility of text.
The composite output is grossly inferior, and should never be used to screencast hi-res desktops (a composite only SD version is available for £99).
A second mode ('play-to') allows video to be streamed to the TV via Veebeam while your computer is being used for other tasks, but some formats such as PAL MPEG are incompatible with it.
Play-to mode demonstrates Veebeam's need for a fast computer (2.2GHz Intel Core Duo or i3/5/7). It accounted for 60 per cent of the CPU usage of a two-year-old Samsung Intel Core Duo notebook PC – in other respects an ideal Veebeam partner – and video playback was rather choppy.
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Review: Monrio Top Loader Type 2 CD player
Monrio is an Italian company with a refreshingly honest aim, "Our pretension is neither to bring a real listening experience to your house – it is not possible to do it – nor to imitate the reality but to represent it in the best possible way." Few companies have the strength of character to be this open about their approach. It does, of course, grant Monrio founder Giovanni Gadzola licence to make highly personal products, but the fact that he has been selling them for over three decades suggests that his tastes are not unique.
The Top Loader 2 is Monrio's penultimate CD player and quite a stylish conglomeration of aluminium and acrylic it is too, the question is does it sound as good as it looks?
More substance
Gadzola started out in the seventies making amplifiers and has subsequently grown the range to include phono stages, DACs, pre and power amplifiers and four CD players.
Most of the low-power circuits that Monrio builds incorporate valves and this is true of the penultimate disc player that we have here. And as is the Italian way, the styling is very strong on this machine. But this does not always tally with great ergonomics, a situation that was slightly exacerbated by the non-arrival of the remote handset.
The Top Loader 2 was built for customers who want the qualities of the company's best player, the Top Loader 3, but without the cost, so the casework is more traditionally shaped and the electronics simplified. The case is still pretty substantial and beautifully finished – Monrio is keen to keep resonance at bay and so builds heavy and strong using aluminium extrusions for maximum rigidity.
The TL 3 has two valves protruding from its flank and these same valves can be found inside the more affordable player. They are 12AU7 triodes with high-voltage transistor regulation fed by a 'generously rated' toroidal transformer with separate windings for the various sections of the player.
It has twin Sigma/Delta DACs and uses an I2S bus to keep audio signal and clock data separate prior to conversion. Analogue output is via single-ended or balanced connections and a digital signal can be output from the single coaxial connection.
The unusually slim control buttons look good, but are rather short on tactile response, there is little or no give when you press them. Doing so elicits a response, however, and after a while you learn not to press too hard.
The larger control on the right of the facia looks like it might revolve to select tracks but only seems to be a standby switch. It's a solidly built machine in all respects, except for the acrylic cover that slides over the disc bay.
It looks good with its blue tint, but doesn't operate all that smoothly. Discs needs to be held in place with a magnetic puck and the player spins up when you close the cover, a system that does mean you can stop playback by merely sliding the lid back, which makes for button free disc changes.
On the tin
This is a great-looking machine with strong design and a lot of flair for the money. Its appearance is slightly undermined by the ergonomics, but disc cover aside, most of these are less of an issue if you have the remote.
It's not big on features, there's no digital input as is the prevailing fashion, so you can't attach a streamer or PC and there's certainly no USB input for maximum flexibility. This is a CD player pure and simple, albeit one with a pair of valves inside, not many glass-powered players are all that feature-rich.
Build is generally good with decent casework alignment and an encouraging solidity. The feet look fairly mundane but are, in fact, spiked with a padded foot to avoid damage to the supporting surface.
At this price there is quite a lot of competition for Monrio. For example, we very much liked Denon's DCD-2010AE, a £1,700 machine that may not have the style on offer here, but it plays SACD and has plenty of support for your iPod. Naim's CD5 XS (£1,825) offers openness, as well as fine quality timing on top of the marque's strong reputation for musicality. The only machine we've seen in recent times that competes in terms of style is the Consonance Droplet CDP3.1 (£1,995), which is even more extravagant in appearance and also has valves under the skin.
Open and shut
In the listening room we hooked the TL2 up to Townshend's new Glastonbury Pre, a pair of Mark Levinson No.53 monoblocks and PMC's fact 8 loudspeakers. If it doesn't sound good through this lot it never will.
Fortunately it does, but with a distinctly relaxed demeanour that tallies with Monrio's musical experience rather than attempted realism philosophy. It does this very well, thanks to a good sense of timing, calm presentation and high musicality – once a good track is playing there is no inclination to turn it off and move onto the next and even with high-end players this isn't always the case.
While the valves make it a little too relaxed to be considered a pace, rhythm and timing style player, its strong sense of involvement puts in contention with that type of machine. Next to a Leema Antila you can hear that it is distinctly lacking in spatial resolution; the Leema sounds extremely open, has a lot of depth and a greater sense of realism. The Antila is a more expensive machine, but there are more closely priced players that deliver a similarly open sound.
Leading-edge definition can be enhanced with the right choice of interconnect – we tried some TMS Pulse B in place of the usual Townshend Isolda DCT100 and this enhanced the sense of speed, but undermined the Monrio's ease at high levels. There aren't to our knowledge, any cables that can make this player sound really open but if you can live with that this is a very engaging disc-spinner with its heart in the right place.
Centre stage
Very easy to live with from a sonic point of view, the Top Loader 2 is a good-looking player that is also very strong on charm. It doesn't have the transparency or urgency of the best at this price but it does make you want to listen to your music and that's a fundamental quality of good hi-fi .
It gets very close to offsetting its limitations with its ability to focus the listener on all that's transcendant in the music, but whether you will feel it gets the balance right is a matter of taste and for that matter system-matching. But if you aren't listening enough it could well have the power to put music back in your life.
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Review: Pinnacle PCTV nanoStick T2 290e
We've seen many digital terrestrial tuners for PCs, but until now all have supported only the original DVB-T standard – and that means the brave new world of DVB-T2 HD (Freeview HD) broadcasting has been strictly off -limits. All of this changes with the introduction of the nanoStick T2 290e from Hauppauge subsidiary PCTV Systems. The first tuner to support both standards, it's a tiny and stylish USB 2.0 dongle.
Decoding and displaying HD channels is a punishing task; PCTV Systems recommends a multi-core 2.6GHz processor for HDTV. It's tiny, but the nanoStick T2 also accommodates an infrared receiver for armchair control over volume/channel changes and other features.
The supplied handset is small but perfectly formed, however, those small buttons won't be appreciated by the ham-fisted. Also included is a somewhat-optimistic whip aerial – only of use if you can literally see the transmitter mast from your window. For those who aren't in such a position, an adapter allows standard aerial connectors to be attached to the nanoStick T2's diddly little MCX socket. Rounding off the package is a CD-ROM containing the software.
Experiment remotely
The main program, TV Center, is neatly presented. Setting up and tuning channels via a wizard was simple. It's also easy to use; selection of channels can be achieved with up/down buttons or a pop-up channel list.
TV Center offers all the essential features including the selection of subtitles and alternative soundtracks, time shifting and a smart, grid-based EPG for scheduling recordings (radio or TV) and channel-changes. 'Red button' digital teletext does not figure here.
Recordings, which can be quickly opened for playback in TV Center's 'gallery', take the form of transport streams. Analysis of these shows that all of the recorded channel's data, including subtitles and multiple soundtracks, is intact. From the gallery you can also arrange for recordings to be transcoded into various formats, such as PSP/iPod-compatible MPEG-4, DivX, .mkv or .mpg, but you'll need to pay €5 to use each after a trial period.
TV Center does, however, have its limitations. The EPG covers full schedules, but they take a long time to appear. Neither can you record and view different channels, even if they're on the same mux.
Picture and sound quality, especially with HD channels was, however, excellent on our regularly updated Yoyotech PC equipped with a quad-core Intel processor, digital audio output and powerful ATi graphics card.
Sensitivity appears to be good – better than some Freeview HD boxes we've tried recently. Also positive is PCTV's decision to adopt BDA drivers, instead of a proprietary one so we were successfully able to partner the capable DVBViewer with the nanoStick T2.
Macs aren't supported (though drivers may follow), although one of the features of the supplied software – DistanTV – is an ability to stream the current programme (or a recording) to another computer on your home network. That computer can be a PC or Mac; you can also stream to other devices (such as iPads and iPhones). TV streaming over the internet and web-streaming and remote scheduling of recordings is also possible.
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Review: Nikon Coolpix S8100
Although it's not stuffed to overflowing with technology, the Nikon Coolpix S8100 has all the essentials, plus a few features that help you get decent shots in tricky situations, notably in low light and fast action situations.It is in many respects very similar to the Coolpix S8000, but the S8100 has a back-lit CMOS sensor with 12.1MP in place of the S8000's 14MP CCD sensor. The benefit of the back-lit sensor (and the drop in pixel count) is that the images should have less noise.
Like the S8000, the S8100 has a lens with an equivalent focal length of 30-300mm, not quite as wide as some might like, but a usefully long telephoto optic at the opposite end of the zoom range. Camera shake is an issue with long lenses and low light, but the S8100 has both optical vibration reduction and electronic vibration reduction (VR) to help counter the problem.
In addition, the S8100's Motion Detection 
technology enables the camera to detect camera shake and subject movement, and automatically increase the speed and ISO sensitivity to reduce blurring.
As with most modern compact cameras, the Coolpix S8100 doesn't have a viewfinder, but its 3-inch LCD screen has 921,000 dots just like Nikon's DSLRs, plus a wide viewing angle and an anti-glare coating.
Automatic shooting modes are the order of the day and the S8100 has a total of 16 scene modes, plus a Scene Auto Selector mode in which the camera is claimed to automatically identify the scene and adjusts the settings accordingly. Exposure control is limited to exposure compensation to ±2EV.
In Night Portrait mode, the camera automatically combines a sequence of images, with and without flash, to produce a correctly exposed portrait against a natural looking background. Similarly, in Backlit mode the camera merges a series of consecutively shot images to produce a single high dynamic range (HDR) picture. Meanwhile in Night Landscape mode, the S8100 takes a sequence of 5 shots with a fast shutter speed and combines them into one single, sharp image.
Thanks to its CMOS sensor and EXPEED C2 processing engine the S8100 is capable of shooting up to five full resolution images at up to 10fps. And helpfully for those occasions when the decisive moment happens more quickly than expected, up to two images can be recorded before the shutter release is fully depressed. If 10fps isn't fast enough, the S8100 can also record at 120fps at a resolution of 1 million pixels (1280x960) in its Sports Continuous mode.
No camera is complete without full HD video capability these days and the S8100 is no exception, it has a dedicated button to activate recording and a built-in stereo mic.
Sitting at the top of Nikon's Coolpix S (for Style) series, the S8100 is certainly a good-looking, stylish camera that is small enough to slip in a jacket pocket. It also feels well built, has a reassuring weight to it and is comfortable to use either one or two handed.
The controls are also responsive and its nice to have the option to use button pressed or the scroll wheel to navigate the menus and make selections.
The first few times that raised the S8100 to turn on and take a shot I mistook the bright red spot on the video activation button (which works whatever shooting mode is selected) for a light and thought that the camera had powered up accidentally. After a little use I got used to it though.
With a fairly limited number of controls, you might expect the S8100's menus to be lengthy, but they are mercifully short and easy to navigate. In fact, the camera as a whole is very easy to get to grips with. The only feature that eluded me for a while was the option to create black and white images in-camera.
After a few moments, I discovered that this is accessed via the exposure compensation control on the back of the camera. In fully automatic mode or continuous shooting mode, pressing this button provides access to three creative controls; a hue, saturation and exposure compensation slider. Setting the saturation to its lowest point results in monochrome images.
I found the S8100's LCD screen provides a clear view of the scene being composed in most conditions apart from bright sunshine, when reflections become an issue – though the S8100 is not alone in this.
You can expect to be taking images within around 2 sec with the S8100 as it starts-up pretty smartly. In reasonable light it also manages to focus pretty quickly and there's no discernable shutter lag. As is often the case with compact camera AF systems, the S8100 focus slows down a little in low light. It also isn't really fast enough to use with moving subjects, even in Subject tracking mode.
All things considered, however, the Coolpix S8100 is a very nicely camera to shoot with.
Even at the highest selectable sensitivity setting, ISO 3200, chroma noise isn't a major issue in images from the S8100, but the impact of its removal is clear when images are viewed at 100% on the computer screen. Details are soft and images have a painterly texture, while areas of even toned shadow have a slight mottling of colour. There's a significant improvement when stepping down from ISO 1600 to ISO 800.
When sized for making prints, high sensitivity images from the Coolpix S8100 lack some of the sharp detail of lower resolution images, and there is sometimes discolouration of the shadows, but on the whole the results are good. It's best to keep prints below A4 in size, but in some cases A3 prints are possible.
Images taken at the lower sensitivity settings can make A3 prints to be proud of and the level of detail is remarkably high. Generally, the images of real world scenes are better than the shots of our resolution chart might suggest is possible.
The S8100's image combining Night Portrait mode can produce very pleasant low light shots and is ideal for dinner parties and the like, but its essential that the subject and camera remain still (though hand-holding is fine) in order to avoid ghosting. It's an idea to warn the subject that three flashes are required to make the single final image, because otherwise they tend to assume its all over after the first or second burst of light and move off.
Images form the Coolpix S8100 are bright and vivid, without being excessively saturated. The camera's auto white balance system doesn't remove the whole colour cast associated with some lighting conditions, so it does a good job of preserving the atmosphere of a wide range of situations.
On a frosty, but sunny morning the shade areas of images taken with the auto white balance option selected look a little too blue, while in contrast those taken using the daylight setting look a bit warmer than I remember the scene. Both sets of images can be quickly and easily adjusted to taste using an image editing software package.
There is a choice of evaluative and centre-weighted metering available on the S8100, but I found there few occasions when I needed to move away from the general purpose evaluative option. It coped well with most situations I encountered during this test and only needed any adjustment of the exposure via the compensation facility on a few occasions.
As part of our tests of the Nikon Coolpix S8100, we shot our resolution chart across the camera's sensitivty range
If you view our crops of the resolution chart's central section at 100% (or Actual Pixels) you will see that, for example, at ISO 160 the S8100 is capable of resolving up to 20 (line widths per picture height x100) in its highest quality JPEG files. Examining images of the chart taken at each sensitivity setting reveals the following resolution scores in line widths per picture height x100:
ISO 160: 20 (Click here for full-res image)
ISO 200: 20 (Click here for full-res image)
ISO 400: 20 (Click here for full-res image)
ISO 800: 18 (Click here for full-res image)
ISO 1600: 18 (Click here for full-res image)
ISO 3200: 16 (Click here for full-res image)
ISO 160 (Click here for full-res version)
ISO 200 (Click here for full-res version)
ISO 400 (Click here for full-res version)
ISO 800 (Click here for full-res version)
ISO 1600 (Click here for full-res version)
ISO 3200 (Click here for full-res version)
At 5.4mm (equivalent to 30mm in 35mm format) (Click here for full-res version)
At 54mm (equivalent to 300mm in 35mm format) (Click here for full-res version)
Plenty of detail in this shot taken at ISO 160 (Click here for full-res version)
ISO 3200 (Click here for full-res version)
ISO 160 using the macro focus facility (Click here for full-res version)
Nikon's Coolpix S8100 is a great little camera that's perfect for slipping into a pocket ready for taking any snapshots that present themselves. In good light outdoors it can also be relied upon to take images that can be turned in to very decent A3 prints, so you won't regret not taking your DSLR on a long hike or bike ride.
It would be fantastic if Nikon could produce a similar sized camera with greater exposure control via aperture and shutter priority options (or even manual exposure mode) for advanced users.
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Review: Sony BDP-S470
Whether or not 3D as a format has a future, and especially a present, in your home is up to you. The so-called hunger among consumers for 3D certainly isn't obvious to us, though Sony – one of the third dimension's biggest promoters – is seeking to get 3D compatibility into your lounge whether you like it or not with the well specified, yet incredibly affordable BDP-S470. Compact and with a slim design, it's a wonder that Sony has shoved so many ins and outs on this Blu-ray's back. HDMI starts, of course, though component video, USB and wired Ethernet LAN port are other key features, though it's worth noting that both optical and coaxial digital audio are present in place of analogue audio outputs.
In terms of pure home cinema, that omission precludes lossless Dolby True HD/DTS HD Master Audio soundtracks, though that won't concern most people just after a cheap-as-chips Blu-ray player.
More mid-market misery is ahead; the S470 doesn't have built-in Wi-Fi, so access to two important features – DLNA networking and Sony's Bravia Internet Video streaming service – must be done either wired or through a separate USB dongle from Sony that, at £70, adds a hefty chunk onto the S470's price.
The disc tray itself is a thing of wonder. Not only can it spin a CD, DVD, Blu-ray disc – both 2D and 3D – but it can even play high resolution from a Super Audio CD (if you still have any in your music collection). Another huge plus is that the S470 takes single figure seconds to eject its tray and load a disc – what a change from the first-gen players.
Picture quality
Insert a 3D Blu-ray disc and you get a choice of either 3D or 2D playback. After syncing our active shutter glasses (which come with a 3D TV purchase, remember, not with 3D Blu-ray players), we noticed the usual problems with active shutter 3D footage when viewed on an LCD screen.The most obvious is a drop in brightness, but flicker is noticeable (apparently only one in 10 people notice the active shutter glasses constantly doing their thing, but we beg to differ) and there are a few other issues that we can't exactly blame the S470 for.
The main gripe we have it that once sitting dead-on to the screen, you literally cannot move; slouching on the sofa or, heaven forbid, lying down on a sofa, renders the picture completely blank.
We digress; the S470 as a 3D Blu-ray spinner is as good as any other we've tried, and for showing regular 2D high definition from Blu-ray, it's a steal. Colours are rich and bold, with a polished, detailed look that's hard – or should that be impossible – to beat at this price. It's no slouch with DVD, either, with plenty of evidence of some nifty upscaling circuitry.
Value & ease of use
Selling for such a low price, you could argue that the S470's ability with 3D as well as 2D Blu-ray discs comes virtually free of charge. And if you think that's good value, you're going to love the S470's Bravia Internet Video.Some brands – LG springs to mind – are about to launch separate adaptor boxes of around the size of an Apple TV to bring web video capabilities to any TV.
Effectively, that's what the S470 already is, with the bonus that Sony's web TV service is one of the best around. As well as on-demand TV from the BBC iPlayer (surely the headline act) and Demand Five, there's movie streaming via Lovefilm and the delights of YouTube and Eurosport, among many other services – including Sony's own Qriocity service. If only there was integrated Wi-Fi…
We suspect that the S470's 'wired-only' reputation will leave the rapidly improving (thanks to frequent automatic firmware updates) Bravia Internet Video service unused by many.
Digital media is handled terrifically well by the S470. Firstly, because the interface – Sony's XMB, which is common to all of its connected home products, including the PS3 – was born to tie-up disparate sources. Secondly, it's utterly comprehensive (we can confirm MKV/DivX HD support), with WMV HD alone in not being supported.
Sadly, DLNA networking is not nearly as impressive. For some reason, the S470 completely ignores a plethora of file format stored on a PC on the same network, managing to playback just AVC HD, AVI (DivX), MP3 and JPG formats.
Verdict
With BBC iPlayer, Lovefilm and Eurosport, excellent digital file playback, and an all-round easy to use interface, it's worth reminding ourselves that the S470 is, at its heart, a Blu-ray player of some standing.
We liked
Pictures, pictures, pictures. Why anyone would pay beyond this price for a Blu-ray player just does not compute if they're primarily after top-grade Full HD images; there's little to fault the S470 on, though 3D images continue to be dogged by crosstalk and ghosting when watched on a Sony 3D LED TV (which the S470 was reviewed with).
Access to BBC iPlayer and DivX HD support make for excellent bonus features.
We disliked
With Bravia Internet Video goodness onboard, the S470 should really have Wi-Fi built-in – we expect such a feature to quickly become standard now these first-gen Blu-ray-cum-streaming decks are out and about. DLNA networking also proved a bit of a letdown. It may sound trite, but considering the USB dongle issue and the need to use a stick for BD Live downloads, a third USB slot wouldn't go amiss.
Final verdict
All criticisms are slight; Sony has made one of the most impressive and attractive Blu-ray players around. Its compatibility with almost any disc, including 2D Blu-ray, is excellent while the pictures it delivers are equally spotless.
Chuck in almost complete digital file support over USB and access to Lovefilm and the BBC's iPlayer, and we'd be surprised if the S470 didn't appeal to a much wider market than just Blu-ray buyers.
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