Speed Week on TechRadar
With the advent of dual-core mobiles and tablets, the recent launch of Intel's fastest ever processors, and the rollout of fibre broadband, we thought it was high time we celebrated the tech that gives our gadgets the speed we crave.
So throughout this week, we've beeen publishing articles looking at various speed-related technologies, looking at what we have now and what we'll be enjoying in the future.
In the PC world, we revealed the fastest computers in the world, showed you how you can build a super-speedy desktop PC for yourself, and took a look at the upcoming high-speed connections that will make Thunderbolt look sluggish.
We also delved into the AMD vs Nvidia graphics card speed race to see where this battle is headed, and revealed the amazing possibilities that future processors will offer.
In the mobile phone arena, we broke through the jargon to explain the technologies that make your handset speed along, and then moving onto internet tech, we examined the state of the UK's broadband and talked to experts to find out what Britain needs to do to get up to speed with the countries that make us look as though we're still on 56k modems by comparison.
And talking of 56k modems, we spent a day using one instead of our broadband connection to see just how far we've come over the last 15 years.
We also chatted to Google to discover how the internet giant handles millions of searches and returns accurate results so quickly. And moving from online to offline, we paid a visit to the design team behind the Bloodhound SSC to discover the mind-blowing tech in the car that hopes to break the land speed record by reaching around 1,000 miles per hour.
Speed Week is brought to you in association with LG Optimus 2X
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Exclusive: Microsoft: Windows Collection is not biased by OEMs
Microsoft has told TechRadar that its choice of laptops for its recently launched Windows Collection has not been biased by commercial pressures.
The Windows Collection includes 10 original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), with Sony, HP, Acer. Toshiba, Dell (and Alienware), Packard Bell, Asus, Lenovo and Samsung joined by Scan.
Of the 30 laptops only three have AMD processors, and some of those included – the Toshiba Satellite C660 for instance – have not garnered particularly good reviews.
Cynicism
But, UK MD of consumer and online, Ashley Highfield, has insisted that the inevitable cynicism over the process of choosing the laptops is misplaced, with Microsoft's focus on selling more Windows PCs generally and raising the profile of good machines.
"The proof of the pudding will be in the eating," Highfield told TechRadar. "We want to sell more machines so picking ones that aren't the best in their categories would be a strange thing to do.
"The consumer may well be somewhat interested in the specs but they often just want to know 'is this the one that will suit my needs'.
"I think we may well have gotten too obsessed, along with the OEMs about the spec which is a bit nerdy – and not enough about aesthetics, what it's designed for and how does it work."
Say for certain
Microsoft's UK head of Windows, Leila Martine, insisted that corporate benchmarking and then the UK team's opinions were what brought the choices.
"I can certainly say that the way we have chosen these machines are not based on any commercial agreements," she stated.
"It doesn't matter to us because any one of these that sells over and above we get the same licence fee across any of those."
"Part of whole process is what OEMs are sharing with us in terms of innovation. Obviously, we have to actually see the machine in order to consider it.
"I think we have a pretty good range everything, not everything is right at the top of the price range."
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Speed Week: 24 hours back on 56k dial-up: what's it like?
This article is brought to you in association with LG Optimus 2X
It seems ridiculous now, but there was a time when you watched the clock when you were online. The early days of the internet seem archaic now – a single Acorn Archimedes computer at my school was able to go online – but in that age before Google we just didn't know any different. Using the internet actually seemed a special, rare privilege. And you went on for a purpose.
Usually it was for research, but the age of mass information was a fledgling idea and the internet was pretty sparse. The BBC website, for example, started in 1997, but you could only find out very basic information. And the idea of the web as a place for news was hardly existent.
As it's TechRadar's Speed Week, the powers that be decided I should spend a day using a modem and document how I got on. The main question I wanted to answer was whether today's internet would work on it.
When I told my father that I'd be spending a whole day going back to using a modem, he said it would be "painful." That's coming from someone who hardly uses a computer. Of course he was right.
I looked on a couple of forums, including one on Money Saving Expert, to see if people in general were still using dial-up. The responses? Actually surprising. This was typical: "Quite a few people around here (Mid Wales) have to use dial-up. Broadband from the local exchanges is rationed to a fixed number of connections and phone/dongle coverage is very patchy."
So although such people are in the distinct minority, it was worth bearing in mind that my experience would be akin to how some people in the UK have to use the internet.
Some of the other, flippant recollections of dial-up from the forums are also worth mentioning:
- "My ex husband is still on dial-up. Yet more proof he's neanderthal man (not that I needed any mind, it's obvious he's from the dark ages as soon as he opens his mouth)."
- "I spent many a night trying to muffle the modem when connecting late at night when my parents were in bed."
- "I remember trying to look at porn on dial-up and it taking ages for the picture to load."
- "I might just as well be on dial-up in the evenings, my Virgin broadband is that slow!"
I contacted US Robotics who duly sent me a USR5637 56K USB Fax Modem. That's right, you can also use it to send a fax – does anybody send faxes anymore?
Oh, and in case you're wondering (you probably weren't) you can use this modem on Mac OS X and Linux as well as Windows. I duly installed the drivers and connected up my modem, but then I didn't really know what to do next.
Then I was a bit stuck. I'd completely forgotten how to create a new internet connection in Windows. This hasn't changed a lot since Windows 95 or 98 and in Windows 7 you get to it via the Set up a new connection or network link in the Network and Sharing Center.
NOT WIRELESS?: Choosing how to connect to the net
I selected dial-up with a heavy heart, after which I set about entering my ISP details. There are still shedloads of numbers available, and a quick Google on my phone showed me a bundle of cheap dial-up details. All you need is the number, username and password. I clicked Connect.
READY: This box has hardly changed since Windows 95
All was quiet, there was none of the kerrrrchsssss noise that you used to get with older serial modems. It seemed like it wasn't working and then, suddenly it was there. First a message appeared from my Livedrive backup software to say the connection to their servers had been restored – my uploads were quickly paused so my PC didn't try and squeeze a batch of MP3s down the phone line.
DIALING: The iconic dial-up noise has gone
Then Dropbox kicked in and tried to upload the screengrabs and text I had already written for this feature. It's slow enough when you try and do that on mobile broadband, but this was excruciating. It was apparently happening at 686kbps, but Dropbox was obviously lying to me. I was actually achieving speeds of around 25-30kbps using my modem.
Skype logged in without issues, though it didn't connect a video call when I tried it – somewhat understandably – and you'd struggle to even make a Skype voice call on dial-up. Windows Live Messenger didn't even bother to log in automatically.
So I went through the usual services I check every morning. First Twitter – I started TweetDeck. The columns looked to be refreshing for absolutely ages and took over a minute to appear. At the same time (more fool me) I tried to load Facebook – which didn't load at all. TweetDeck then loaded a solitary tweet while still attempting to refresh the other two columns.
FREEZE: TweetDeck was more like a lame duck on dial-up
Giving up, I decided to look at Twitter on the web. Unfortunately the website didn't even work properly. Loading Twitter.com was staggeringly slow and it didn't even to bother log me in automatically as it does usually. Either this is some security thing as I'm using a different connection on this PC, or I'm pretty second class as a dial-up user.
WHO: Twitter refused to remember me on my second-class connection
I left Twitter open and decided to do some work. I often use Google Docs but this time decided to work offline. When I tried to access an – admittedly large – spreadsheet in Google Docs, loading was very slow. But I wasn't surprised – if there's a web app dial-up wasn't designed for, it's Google Docs.
However, it's not all doom and gloom; Gmail wasn't too bad and loaded fine on the simple HTML view for slow connections.
One of the main problems I had with dial-up while trying to do work is that I use Google all the time to look up various stats and other information. I was surprised that Google searches took an age to appear – Google Instant didn't work, while non-text search results like the images and videos didn't really appear! I was surprised that Google doesn't seem to adapt for slower connections as I thought it might – aside from the lack of Google Instant the page looked identical.
The most painful thing was that at various points it seemed like I was slowing to a total crawl, so I had to disconnect and reconnect.
After hours, I looked at Facebook. The service works OK on dial-up – but only if you're patient. It loads pretty sluggishly and the Top News column expands constantly as you start to browse it, because new elements are still loading.
The norm for some
It's no wonder we all used to rely so much on magazine cover CDs for programs to install; downloads are obviously super slow on dial-up and can take many, many hours. Something as bloated as Apple's iTunes takes around 8-10 hours to drip through your connection.
But there are some sites that work extremely well on dial-up – the BBC text-only or mobile sites have all the same great information and the plethora of sites specially adapted for the iPad, such as http://touch.facebook.com, are great examples of sites that are great on a dial-up connection.
So, by the end of my day, I'd actually got rather used to being on a slow connection. That's not to say I really enjoyed it of course – at times it was extremely difficult. It's just that I was able to adjust what I was doing. Instead of listening to stuff on Spotify or Last.fm I just used iTunes. Instead of looking at Facebook several times a day I just looked at it once. And downloading files? I didn't bother doing that at all.
But, of course, this was a single day for me. A lot of people have no choice. The Government's 2009 Digital Britain report said that "Up to 10 per cent of homes are still in not-spots, not-a-lot spots or not-at-all good spots" for broadband. A sobering thought for those of us so used to fast access.
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Big Grips launches childproof iPad cases
If you regularly let your kids use your iPad or iPad 2, or happen to be incredibly clumsy yourself, you will be keen to invest in this new child-proof Big Grip case for Apple's tablet.
The Big Grips Frame is currently only available in the US ($35, plus international shipping costs from www.biggrips.com) but it would be a wise investment for anybody who is concerned about dropping their beloved Apple tablet on a stone floor and seeing it smash into a million tiny pieces in front of their horrified eyes.
Clumsy iPad user?
It is made from a high density foam and comes in a range of bright, childish colours. Importantly, while it gives you maximum tablet protection (oo-er!) it doesn't get in the way of the touchscreen or any of the ports on the iPad or iPad 2.
The iPad is already proving to be particularly popular with some lucky school kids, and parents can check out our recent top ten iPad apps for kids feature if they want to know more about the best educational and entertainment apps on offer on iTunes right now.
Big Grips is also selling a separate chunky, rubbery stand in which you can safely sit your highly-protected Apple tablet, safe in the knowledge that not even the most angry pre-school child could possibly destroy it… could they?
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Developers get the latest 'iPhone 4S' from Apple
Apple has begun shipping souped-up a so-called "iPhone 4S" to games and app developers, in preparation for the forthcoming launch of the new iPhone 5.
A select few games devs have received the new Apple iPhone, to help them prepare the best titles possible for the iPhone 5 launch.
A5 chip in iPhone
9to5Mac reports that the new handsets feature Apple's super-nippy A5 chip, allowing developers to create the fastest and best-looking mobile phone games yet possible.
The A5 chip powers the Apple iPad 2 and is around nine times faster than the A4 chip in the iPhone 4 and first-gen iPad.
9to5Mac's source claims that the "iPhone 4S" is almost identical to the current iPhone 4, apart from the inclusion of the newer, faster processor.
The "iPhone 4S" also apparently runs a specially adapted version of iOS4, created to work with the A5 chip in the iPhone.
The iPhone 5 is rumoured to be launching later this year, with no official word, as yet, from Apple.
You can read TechRadar's comprehensive round-up of all the latest iPhone 5 rumours to get the full low-down on what's in store.
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Review: Apple Smart Cover
The Apple Smart Cover is aptly named: it looks great, and the way it works is so clever that we can't think of a better way to describe it.
It's got smooth polyurethane or leather on the outside. We prefer the £35 polyurethane version, which comes in brighter colours: blue, green, orange, pink or matte grey. The £59 leather version comes in more muted, 'executive' colours of tan, black, navy, off-white and red.
Apple claims the microfibre lining keeps your screen clean, but it really doesn't move around enough to wipe fingerprints away.
Magnets in the hinge keep it attached to the iPad 2, and only the iPad 2 (iPad 1 owners aren't invited to this party). It auto-aligns with magnets in the iPad 2's frame, so it's impossible to put it on incorrectly.
Another magnet sleeps your iPad when the cover closes, and automatically wakes it up when you open it, so there's no need to press the Sleep/Wake button.
You can lift the iPad 2 by the Smart Cover as long as you do so gently. To remove it completely, just be a bit firmer. The cover folds back into a triangular shape (also held together by magnets), which works great as a stand in landscape mode. It can hold the iPad at a comfortable angle for typing, or upright for watching videos.
The typing angle is quite stable, but when it's upright and you tap an on-screen button, it does wobble a bit, albeit less than last year's £31 Apple iPad Case.
The Smart Cover keeps the iPad upright in portrait orientation, but it feels a little less stable than in landscape.
Our main complaint is the price, which seems a little on the steep side. It comes in at £35 for the polyurethane version and £59 for the leather option. And it only covers the screen, not the whole iPad, although that also keeps everything slim.
An iPad 2 with the Smart Cover is still slimmer than the iPad 1. However, of the dozen or so iPad 2 cases we looked at, the Smart Cover is still at the top of the class.
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Speed Week: How the UK could get the world's fastest broadband
This article is brought to you in association with LG Optimus 2X
Last month, BT made Cornwall a little bit faster: it gave fifty people internet access at speeds of up to 40Mbps as part of a roll-out that will reach 80% of UK homes by 2014.
40Mbps sounds impressive, and it was - in 2005. That's when Asian ISPs were upping speeds to 40 and 50Mbps or higher, and it's taken quite a while for us to catch up.
By the time the average UK consumer gets 40Mbps broadband many other countries will be on 100-plus - and because BT's fibre doesn't reach our homes and offices we'll still have the same "up to" nonsense that makes the UK's broadband adverts so confusing.
British broadband is rubbish. The average UK broadband speed is just 6.2Mbps, Ofcom says, and while faster options do exist they aren't widespread - so for example Virgin's 100Mb service is only available to one million homes, and BT's roll-out can't deliver 100Mbps until we have fibre-optic connections from the cabinets in our streets to the sockets in our homes.
Akamai's most recent State of the Internet report rated us 17th in the world for broadband. Akamai reckons our average speed was even lower than Ofcom's number - it says we're averaging 4Mbps - while the world leaders, South Korea, averaged 14Mbps.
Hong Kong was second with 9.2Mbps and Japan 8.5Mbps. These figures are averages for the entire country, taking into account both urban broadband and slower rural services: when it comes to cities with fast broadband, the UK didn't make the top 100.
WHERE'S WALLY? And by "Wally", we mean "Britain". We don't feature in the world's top broadband table
The undisputed leader of fast broadband is South Korea, whose cities enjoy peak broadband speeds of around 57Mbps. So why are they so far ahead, and what could we do to catch up?
Fixing our broadband
"The Korean question is an easy one," says Trefor Davies, founder of communications provider Timico and council member of the Internet Service Providers Association, ISPA. "Most people live in densely packed multi-tenant dwellings such as apartment blocks, which makes it easy and far more cost effective to serve them with high speed, fibre-based connectivity. A 1-gig fibre connection to an apartment block can easily be distributed as 100Mbps or more to each apartment."
Oliver Johnson of broadband analysts Point Topic agrees. "South Korea is a little unusual," he says. "Dense population concentration and relatively high numbers of people per household mean that it would be theoretically easier to make a return for a commercial deployment - although that said, it's unlikely it would be quite so ubiquitous today without government intervention."
Given that BT is already rolling out Fibre to the Cabinet (FTTC), couldn't it do the last mile to homes and businesses while it's at it? The technical answer is yes, but the economic one is no.
"This is a straightforward business case issue," Davies says. "It is cheaper to supply Fibre to the Cabinet than Fibre to the Premises, especially in rural areas where the cost of digs and wayleaves can be very high. BT is in the business of making money... this is quite unfortunate for UK PLC, because I think it is in the national interest to go 100Mbps everywhere rather than the - initially - more cost-effective 40Mbps."
Long wait
Don't think of 40Mbps as a step towards 100Mbps, Davies warns: think of it as BT telling you not to hold your breath. "The people who are now euphoric because they're getting FTTC will have to wait a very long time before they get 100Mbps," he says. "BT will want to wait for that investment to be repaid before spending any more money in a specific area."
Could someone else jump in and do what BT won't? Fujitsu would like to, but there are two problems.
The wayleaves - rents paid to locate ducts and poles on private land - negotiated by BT are often so low that rivals can't possibly hope to pay similar prices, and Fujitsu and several other network providers claim that BT's charges for access to its own network are ridiculous.
Fujitsu wants Ofcom to force BT Openreach - BT's network arm - to provide access to telegraph poles and cable ducts on "fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms".
The government could also help by changing the way it taxes network operators. The coalition government abandoned its promise to review the rates levied on fibre optic networks, so - excepting BT and Virgin - firms are taxed according to the length of their networks.
That taxation, which makes things particularly difficult in rural areas, is "an active disincentive to competitive, next-generation access roll-out". Who said that? Ed Vaizey, our communications minister. Of course, he wasn't in power then.
"It cannot be right that a network operator might have to pay rates on a specific length of cable whilst BT does not," Davies says, noting that whenever the rates have been challenged in court, the courts have found in favour of the status quo.
"Operators should be getting together en masse to oppose the rating system - but they are not." In the current climate, local authorities won't be keen on giving up this particular cash cow.
Broadband subsidies
What about South Korea-style subsidy? Oliver Johnson isn't convinced that it would work.
"It would be very difficult to transfer the model to Europe without affecting or compensating the market... we're already too far down the commercial deployment road to make significant intervention meaningful for most of the population. Where government can make a difference is in the commercially marginal - or flat-out impossible - areas and population."
That's an issue that applies to BT and to Virgin: large parts of the UK are sparsely populated, which makes rolling out any kind of broadband prohibitively expensive. The operators are private businesses, not charities.
As Trefor Davies explains:, "the investment case really doesn't exist for BT to roll out services [in rural areas]," he says. "Even where there is substantial EC aid as was the case in Cornwall, this only just brought the business case return on investment to an acceptable time frame - 13 years or so, I am given to understand."
SURFING THE NET: Thanks to BT, these ordinary businessmen can now SURF THE NET! [Image credit: BT Plc]
There's more to broadband than the operators' return on their investment, though. South Korea's investment in broadband and related technologies saved its economy.
Reeling from the collapse of the Asian financial markets in the 1990s, its government saw technology as a lifeline and spent billions on infrastructure, subsidies and investment in IT firms. In the 1990s, South Korea was an economic basket case. Now, it's one of the world's more successful economies.
Given that our economy is apparently a basket case too, could broadband help us out of the hole?
There are certainly economic benefits, Oliver Johnson says. "Broadband increases the tax base, increases GDP - by up to 2% from the first period of broadband... and even more today, reduces government expenditure in the medium to long term and improves the quality of life and access to services for the population."
It turns out that the biggest obstacle to super-fast broadband may be that the benefits take too long to arrive - for MPs, that is. As Johnson points out, "you don't get much benefit in the five-year lifespan of a Parliament." Why invest in something if you might not be around to get the credit?
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Nintendo details and dates Super Mario 3DS
It was, of course, inevitable that Nintendo's chubby Italian plumber would grace the company's new 3DS handheld, with the company revealing the latest game details and plans for the upcoming Super Mario 3DS.
The main thing you need to know is that feted game designer Shigeru 'father of Mario' Miyamoto says his latest game is a cross between Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario 64, and – most importantly – will be releasing later in 2011.
3DS launch missed
It is a shame that Nintendo couldn't have timed the release of the new Mario game to coincide with last month's launch of the new 3DS console, though fans will still be celebrating the fact that they will be able to play the new title later this very year.
Miyamoto told our sister site Edge that the game is "a combination of Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario on N64" and that it will be playable at E3 2011 in June.
In terms of 3D gameplay, Miyamoto added: "For example, the floors floating in space: in 2D it's difficult to judge the distance, but in 3D it's really easy."
Miyamoto confirmed that his new game is "completely original, and coming this year."
E3 2011 runs from June 7 to 9 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. TechRadar will of course be bringing you all the biggest gaming hardware and tech news directly from the show, as it breaks.
New Mario Olympic title
In other Mario news, Sega and Nintendo have also announced the new Mario and Sonic game for the Wii and on the Nintendo 3DS, Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games, set to feature over 50 original Olympic themed games including athletics, aquatics, table tennis, football and horse-rising.
"Mario and Sonic have had a phenomenally successful partnership and we are extremely proud to be able to recreate this once again with Nintendo and ISM for the London 2012 Olympic Games," said Naoya Tsurumi, Chairman for SEGA of America and SEGA Europe.
Expect that title to arrive at some point early 2012.
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Warner considers Harry Potter 3D re-makes
The last movie in the hugely popular Harry Potter series is due to arrive in cinemas later this year, with Warner Bros. now considering re-making all the films in 3D.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 is currently set to be the first movie in the series to be produced in 3D as well as 2D for its theatre release later in 2011.
3D Potter-thon
Not one to give up on one of its main movie franchises, Warners is now rumoured to be looking to remake all of the past Potters for 3D cinema and Blu-ray re-releases in the future.
The news follows recent announcements from George Lucas' camp, who is planning to re-release 3D versions of the entire Star Wars series in cinemas in the near future.
Warners is yet to officially confirm or deny the rumours, but it is looking increasingly likely that all the past flicks in the series will get a new 3D airing at a cinema near you over the next year or two.
Or if you happen to be a massive fan of the boy wizard and his oh-so-smashing pals, plus have recently invested in a new 3D TV and Blu-ray player, you might want to start looking forward to a 3D Potter-thon in the comfort of your own home soon.
Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 2, arrives in 3D in cinemas later this summer, on July 15.
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Samsung hits back, sues Apple in patent case
Samsung is suing Apple, claiming that the Cupertino computing firm has violated a number of its patent rights.
The latest legal shenanigans between the two consumer tech giants follows on from recent accusations from Apple that Samsung was guilty of copying the designs of its iPhone and iPad with its Galaxy line of smartphones and tablets.
Patent spat
Samsung is one of Apple's major suppliers, providing the Cupertino company with chips for its iPhones and iPads, LCD screens and more.
These latest patent lawsuits were filed in South Korea, Japan and Germany this month, with Samsung claiming Apple is guilty of infringing up to five of its patents.
"Samsung is responding actively to the legal action taken against us in order to protect our intellectual property," reads a statement from the company.
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Review: Kymera Magic Wand
If the Kymera Magic Wand seems familiar it may be because it was featured on Dragon's Den, where it received the blessing of gruff Scot Duncan Bannatyne.
To use a Hollywood term, it's very 'high concept' – potentially appealing both to Harry Potter/Lord Of The Rings/fantasy fans as well as to those technophiles who wish they could control their telly using, well, a magic wand rather than having to get to grips with sometimes confusing, button-heavy modern remotes.
Light but sturdy
Incorporating a three-axis accelerometer, it comes in a 'dragon skin' and silk presentation box accompanied by a cute instruction booklet with faux parchment-like stylings, and is made from lightweight (most heft comes from adding batteries) if sturdy plastic. There are no buttons, but a green indicator light sits at the bottom end.
As you'd expect, the control method is gesture-based (you can incant 'spells' if you must) using pre-determined moves which can be mapped to replicate functions on an existing remote control.
These include flicking the wand up and down, twisting it slowly left or right, jabbing it back and forth or tapping it on the lower end. These take some practice (and memorising) but are aided by a built-in feedback system where the successful completion of a move is rewarded by a set number of pulses assigned to each emanating from the lower end.
Remote functions are learned by placing your zapper of choice in front of the wand, putting it in learning mode and carrying out a sequence of moves including performing the gesture you want to use and pressing the corresponding button on the remote you want to mimic.
You are limited to using a maximum of 13 gestures/commands in all, which is just enough to gain a fair degree of control over a TV and PVR – particularly if you want full control of the latter's recording transport functions. Any more than that is pushing it and there's no macro functionality for controlling multiple devices at the same time to make life a little easier.
Muggle-friendly
The wand stopped short of turning on our Panasonic TV but controlled it otherwise alongside our Sky+ and Virgin V+ HD box.
Pausing briefly between performing each move gives best results but using PVR functions proves frustratingly imprecise if you want to, say, quickly skip around a recording or timeshift – we reverted to using our trusty Sky+ remote instead.
The Magic Wand isn't a 'just a toy' but it is best suited to quite basic TV setups and it is children – 'muggles' though they may be – who will be most likely to overlook its shortcomings in favour of its fun factor.
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Week in Tech: Is the Digital Economy Act now unstoppable?
The High Court upset a few people this week when it rejected BT and TalkTalk's appeal against the controversial Digital Economy Act.
As our very own Kate Solomon reports, the court rejected claims that the Act breached EU privacy laws and that its anti-piracy measures were disproportionate, although it did say that ISPs shouldn't pay towards the costs of setting up any anti-piracy measures.
Our columnist Gary Marshall, who was railing against the Act long before it was even an Act, wasn't impressed. "It's nice that the review concluded ISPs shouldn't help fund the creation of a kangaroo court," he writes. "But it's still a kangaroo court."
The Act became law in the dying days of the last government, despite enormous opposition from concerned voters. In what former minister Tom Watson called "a catastrophic disaster" the proposed legislation was rushed through in the "wash-up" period, a kind of last day of school when most MPs have already returned to their constituencies and the few who do turn up are allowed to bring in board games.
Despite MPs of all parties promising to fight the legislation, it was passed with a comfortable majority and was granted Royal Assent last April.
Three strikes and you're off
Why does this matter? The Act's anti-piracy measures want ISPs to implement a three-strikes policy with possible disconnection for persistent copyright infringers, and they also allow blocking of infringing websites.
There are several concerns about that. The first is the cost to ISPs, and the way it would change their role from independent third parties to copyright cops. The second is that infringers would be chosen by the entertainment industries, whose track record in correctly identifying pirates is hardly exemplary.
And the third is that the legislation could potentially cripple the connections of innocent people or organisations whose home, office or public Wi-Fi connections were (ab)used by others, or of sites wrongly accused of copyright infringement.
As one prominent politician put it: "It [is] far too heavily weighted in favour of the big corporations... it badly needs to be repealed, and the issues revisited." That politician promised that if he was elected, he'd campaign for repeal of the Act.
Good news! He was elected! Bad news! He's Nick Clegg!
Another key concern is that there could be a slippery slope here, and that things could get even worse.
For example, in New Zealand apparently sensible people are demanding legislation to cut copyright infringers off from the internet altogether, without the ability to sign up with a different ISP. Closer to home, scoundrels of dubious legality have imitated the three-strikes letters to demand money with menaces from alleged infringers.
Could sites be blocked?
The government is currently consulting ISPs on plans to create a kind of Great British Firewall to block sites accused of copyright infringement. The Act permits such injunctions for sites where "a substantial amount of material has been, is being or is likely to be obtained in infringement of copyright". Could that mean a search engine, a whistle-blowing site like Wikileaks or a user generated content site such as YouTube? Maybe.
It's enough to worry Google, certainly: when the Act was being finalised, Google expressed its concerns that the Act's site-blocking amendments were "introduced 24 hours before a crucial vote in the House of Lords, without a full debate over whether such a policy is right in principle," and argued that "blocking through injunction creates a high risk that legal content gets mistakenly blocked, or that people abuse the system."
BT and TalkTalk are currently mulling over the verdict and whether they will appeal. If they don't, Gary Marshall has a suggestion: get Google to buy the entire music business. "Which would you rather see?" he asks. "Google-owned record labels, or an internet where you can only see what record labels say you can see?"
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New iPhone game appeals to blind gamers
The latest puzzle sensation for Apple iPhone is set to appeal to gamers who are blind or visually impaired, by using sound-based gameplay married with touchscreen control.
Stem Stumper is based around a standard puzzle-game template, in which the player guides a funny-looking plant creature around various obstacles such as angry tree stumps or clouds of nasty weed killer, in order to find bags of fertiliser.
Drag your finger along the screen to create a path and you will see and hear clues which let you know when you have come across something important or useful.
iOS gaming for the blind
"Come play Stem Stumper, a blind-accessible puzzle game for the iPhone and iPod Touch," reads the iTunes blurb. "A dynamic layered soundtrack guides Mimea the vine through 100 brain-teasing levels. Use sling shots, sprinklers and Angry Acorns to open paths for her to grow. Use the right combination to rack up points and prove once and for all you're smarter than a 6th grader.
"The inaugaral game of Ananse Productions, Stem Stumper is built from the ground up to be enjoyed by both the iPhone's burgeoning blind community and fully sighted players around the world."
The real innovation here is the option to play in "sonar mode" in which the visuals disappear from the screen and you are forced to focus and play the game exclusively via the sound effects emerging from your phone.
Stem Stumper supports Apple's VoiceOver, which reads out the instructions for each stage, for those visually impaired or blind gamers.
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Review: Ross 22300HD-R
We're a nation of DIY enthusiasts, driven by the desire to save money (especially in these austere times) and indulge in practical creativity. B&Q is now selling satellite equipment with the same gusto as it does tins of paint and flat-packed kitchen units.
Made by Ross, these range from a simple £50 SD kit to a £200 offering a single-tuner HD PVR and dish. We're testing the mid-range dish and the 22300HD-R HD receiver package, the latter of which can be upgraded to PVR operation via USB.
Build and connectivity
Despite the budget pricing, the receiver is fairly well specified. Dubbed the HDR-8130USB, this compact FTA-only receiver incorporates a single DVB-S/S2 tuner for reception of HD channels alike.
A four-digit LED display for clock/channel number is complemented by front panel control of most receiver features. Front and rear-mounted USB sockets are provided for storage devices. In addition to recording TV programmes, they allow multimedia content to be fed into the receiver.
The single LNB is accompanied by a loopthrough output, while AV outputs consist of a single Scart and a HDMI port. Although there's an AC3-compatible coaxial digital output, no dedicated analogue audio feed is provided.
The 65cm off set dish is fitted with a 0.3dB LNB, and supplied with a bracket that can be fastened to a wall or concrete floor with expanding bolts. Although this system is sold primarily for use with Astra/Eurobird's usual English channels on, its dish could also be aimed at other reasonably powerful satellites.
Indeed, the receiver makes provision for DiSEqC (1.0/1.1/1.2/USALS), and so can be used with a motorised mount. Although a means of attaching the dish to solid ground or a wall is provided, mounting on an existing pole (up to 45mm diameter) is another possibility.
Generously, 12m of LNB cable is supplied pre-fitted with crimp-type F-connectors. This means you cannot fit the protective LNB-connector boot and will need to drill a larger hole than is necessary to pass the cable through woodwork/brickwork.
The dish is fashioned from thin pressed steel, and the construction of its mount makes for difficult adjustment – it has a tendency to 'flex'. But with care and patience you should be able to peak the dish for the desired bird – the receiver's signal/quality bars are a boon here.
The instructions give you elevation/azimuth/skew tables, but although they refer to a compass none is supplied!
Setup
Once you've selected a satellite in 'Antenna setting' you can assign a DiSEqC 1.0/1.1 switch position (or access the 1.2/USALS positioner setup function) if needed and configure your LNB.
Pressing the handset's green button gives you a satellite-dependent list of transponders to choose from – plus strength and quality meters. The editing or addition of new transponders involves a separate TP list menu; from here, it's possible to specify PIDs.
Pressing red initiates searching – all/FTA/scrambled, either or both polarities, and with network scanning if desired. Add to this a blind search option. Channels can – with a 'channel manager' function – be organised into one of eight pre-defined favourites groups.
Another setup menu covers audio-visual parameters. The resolution of the HDMI output can be changed from 480i/576i (standard-definition NTSC or PAL) to 1080i50/60. For Scart, you can switch between composite, S-video, RGB and component.
Other menus look after standby mode (there's a low power-consumption setting), clock, USB drive-formatting, parental controls, firmware upgrades and the back-up or restoration of channel databases.
Overall, it's pretty comprehensive for a receiver that B&Q sells on its own for around sixty quid.
Basic use
The default 'master list' covers all channels; thankfully, an 'advance' list mode facilitates the selection of satellites, and the sorting of channels alphabetically, by transponder or the encryption system employed.
A powerful zoom function is available, courtesy of a dedicated button. Other such controls bring up info about the current programme, select subtitles or alternative audio soundtracks, swap between radio and TV, access two games (Tetris or Snake) and invoke LNB loopthrough USB port teletext.
Red button digital services aren't an option here. Accessed via the 'EPI' button, the EPG – which supports seven-day schedules where available – focuses on one channel at a time.
The channel's EPG data is displayed in a box, outside of which is listed selectable options such as language and the desired date/channel. There's also basic programme information (which can be expanded) and a 'timer set' box.
If you work down the EPG listing, its contents change to reflect the running time of the highlighted programme.
PVR and multimedia
Pressing the OK button on a programme in the EPG sends the relevant details to the timer screen for making a recording. You can't change channel while recording, even if you want to access a service that's carried on the same transponder.
With storage attached, chasing playback is available. Oddly, you have to manually start recording and then press the timeshift button.
The USB multimedia player is compatible with more varieties of content than many receivers with a much higher price. JPEG/BMP images and MP3/WAV/WMA audio, DiVX/XviD and x.264/MKV (1080p was handled with no problems) are supported.
Pause and cue/review playback functionality is offered.
Performance
The dish and receiver were tried with Astra 1x, Hot Bird and Astra 2x/Eurobird, and reliable reception was obtained from all of them. Channel selection and menu access are responsive, and the standard scanning modes were faster than expected. Blind scanning is also fast, but it found fewer channels than a regular 'all-channels' scan.
Picture and sound quality via HDMI were fine. HD images, particularly, are praiseworthy, given the modest price.
We did note a few bugs, though. Occasionally, the menu system would lock up and during media playback the RGB Scart mode is disabled until you return to regular satellite TV reception – not an issue if you're using HDMI.
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News.me app arrives for Apple iPad
The latest social news app for Apple iPad, News.me has finally arrived on the App Store this week, offering users one week free, after which they will then need to sign up to a 59p-a-week subscription.
News.me has backing from the New York Times, and some high profile media partners including Forbes, Gawker, Business Insider, Gigaom, Mashable, Venturebeat and the Associated Press.
Social news on the iPad
The iPad app will also provide you with a list of news content that your friends on Twitter are currently viewing, very much like other apps such as Flipboard and Zite, with the developer promising a "seamless interface for immersive reading" which somehow "uses science" to provide you with the most relevant personalised content.
News.me application's App Store description lists its features as follows:
- Explore your own News.me stream based on the people you follow
- Explore others' News.me streams to see the news that they are reading
- Access the News.me streams of notable users such as Steven Johnson and Nicholas Kristof
- Read full articles ad-free from major publishers like the New York Times
- View full text, images, and videos in an elegant and streamlined layout
- Save stories for later in your News.me reading list (or add to Instapaper)
- Personalized relevance filters using bit.ly data
- Browse and read the news offline
If you like what you see, then you can pay 59p per week to keep using the app. Indeed, if you really like what you see, then you might even want to pay the annual subscription of £20.99 up front.
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The tech behind Wii 2: latest details on 'Nintendo Stream'
Following earlier news that the Wii 2's controller is set to feature a 6.2-inch touchscreen, further details on the tech behind Nintendo's next console have been revealed.
Nintendo is said to be considering "Stream" as a potential name for the new console, according to trusted sources at IGN.
The Nintendo Stream?
IGN's sources also reveal what they claim to be the tech details on Nintendo's rumoured Project Cafe console, as well as the estimated price, release date, design and lots more.
The new Nintendo console is said to launch in the US at a price point between $350 and $400, with the final pricing still to be decided depending on manufacturing costs.
The machine will actually be produced in Taiwan, by Foxconn, which also allays gamer's concerns about potential delays due to the recent (and ongoing) Japanese earthquake crisis.
The plan is apparently for Wii 2/Project Café/Stream (or whatever Nintendo finally calls the new console) to leave the factory this coming October, potentially in time for a pre-Christmas release in November.
Faster than PS3, 3D-capable
IGN's source also claimed that the new Nintendo console is based on AMD's R700 GPU architecture "and not AMD's Fusion technology as previously believed, which will out-perform the PlayStation 3′s NVIDIA 7800GTX-based processor."
The source also claims that the new Nintendo system's CPU will be a custom-built triple-core IBM PowerPC chipset, much like that inside the Xbox 360, but adds that the clocking speeds will be faster and that "the system will support 1080p output with the potential for stereoscopic 3D as well, though it has not been determined whether that will be a staple feature."
Finally, in terms of form factor, Nintendo's new console is going to be considerably larger than the Wii, with IGN's source claiming that it will be more comparable to the Xbox 360 in terms of size and design.
Wii 2, Project Café, Stream, or whatever else they decide to name it, we expect to hear lots more official details on Nintendo's new console from E3 in Los Angeles this coming June.
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Wii 2 controller to have 6.2-inch touchscreen?
The controller for the expected Nintendo Wii 2 console will boast a giant 6.2-inch touchscreen, along with a camera, according to reports in the gaming press.
The peripheral is also rumoured to be packing eight buttons and twin analogue sticks, making it about as far away from the minimalist design of the original Wii Remote as possible.
Our sister site CVG revealed earlier this week that the controller is set to have a touchscreen, but only today have we heard of the proposed 6.2-inch scale, which would make the pad an absolute beast.
Wii Remote still required
While the new controller will possibly make more headlines than the console itself, it won't spell the end for the Wii Remote, according to the Kotaku report.
While the touchscreen would be useful to control games like Zelda, displaying maps and the like, the Wii Remote would still be essential for motion control-centric games like Wii Sports.
The Wii 2 itself, codenamed Project Cafe, is set to be unveiled at E3 this June with speculation suggesting HD gaming, 3D compatibility and maybe a Blu-ray drive.
Earlier this week the price of the original Nintendo Wii was cut to just £100 in the UK, adding more fuel to the speculation that the new model is only a few weeks away from being officially announced.
Source: Kotaku
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iTunes cloud streaming coming before Google?
Apple has finished work on its heavily-rumoured iTunes cloud music storage service and will beat Google Music out of the gate, according to sources close to both companies.
The service is set to allow subscribers to upload and store their music on Apple's servers for access through connected devices, much like the recently outed Amazon cloud-drive.
The report, which Reuters claims as an exclusive, claims that although Apple has completed the project, it is yet to get the backing of its music label partners, who also haven't been told when it will launch.
News that the service is scheduled to be a cloud storage service may disappoint folks hoping for an all-you-can eat service like Spotifty, with unlimited music for a set monthly fee.
Google Music delay
Reuters' sources have also revealed that the launch of its own long-awaited cloud music service might be a little while away still.
Word coming out of Silicon Valley is that the hold-up is being caused by Google executives flip-flopping on what the service will actually provide.
Recent reports have suggested that the company wants to make Google Music like iTunes - a store to purchase tunes - whereas more stories suggest the company is exploring subscription services.
The wait continues.
Source: Reuters
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Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc crowned best mobile phone
The Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc has shown itself to be the phone that finally knocks the HTC Desire off the perch of best mobile phone in the world.
TechRadar's ranking of the 20 best handsets is our definitive list, helping you work out which phone to pick up, and has had millions of views since its launch last year.
The HTC Desire has sat proudly atop that list since its launch last year, but now there's a new smartphone cowboy on the scene in the shape of the Xperia Arc.
It was an nigh-on impossible task to choose a winner, with all of the top 20 proving to be quality smartphones - and the HTC Desire S and Desire staging the mobile version of a Greek tragedy at numbers two and three below the Xperia Arc.
Still all about HTC
HTC was the best represented on the list, nabbing six of the 20 slots, with Samsung stealing four (with the Galaxy S proving its longevity at number five).
INQ was a new entry with the Cloud Touch, although the Orange San Francisco nabbed the title of 'best budget phone' at number nine.
Predictably, Android was the dominant OS with 16 of the entries running the Google OS - but it's good to see Bada, BlackBerry OS and Symbian in the mix too.
We're still waiting to see where the Samsung Galaxy S2 and the HTC Sensation land in our ranking - but right now it's Sony Ericsson proving that it's finally moving in the right direction with the gorgeous Xperia Arc sitting pretty at number one.
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Ongoing PlayStation Network outage could be DDoS attack
The Sony PlayStation Network is currently suffering some downtime, with all Sony Online Network services unavailable for use.
Although Sony has posted a blog post saying that it is not yet sure what has caused the outage, speculation is already rife that Anonymous is behind it.
The anonymous collective is the group behind the website attacks in support of Wikileaks some weeks ago, and recently named Sony as its next target.
Dramatic
Sony's European blog manager, James Gallagher, didn't rule out the possibility of outside interference, writing: "Our support teams are investigating the cause of the problem, including the possibility of targeted behaviour by an outside party.
"If the reported Network problems are indeed caused by such acts, we would like to once again thank our customers who have borne the brunt of the attack through interrupted service."
Sony invoked Anonymous' ire by legally pursuing PS3 hacker George Hotz and "violat[ing] the privacy of thousands" in the process; the case has since been settled out of court.
So, as you head off for your long weekend at half five, spare a thought for the poor Sony engineers working overtime while you enjoy the sun.
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Buying Guide: 20 best mobile phones in the world today
Our verdict on the best mobile phones / best smartphones - constantly updated
We've all got at least one mobile phone each, right? The trouble is, how do you decide which is the best mobile phone for you when you realise it's time to phone the network and trouble them for an upgrade?
If you've read our list of the latest mobile phones, seen the hottest pre-release new mobile phones and are still stumped, well, this is where we make it easy. Because here we have our constantly-updated list of the top 20 best mobile phones you can get.
And now, thanks to a glut of top-end mobile phones steaming out from Mobile World Congress 2011, we're bringing you our biggest update ever to our definitive chart.
So what's changed? We've lost seven of the 20 from the previous ranking, the top ten has seen a huge shake-up and both high-spec and budget phones have crashed now into the list.
Will the HTC Desire stay at the top of the pile? Can the iPhone 4 finally overthrow it now Antennagate is seemingly over? Or have we chosen a new challenger assume the throne, all in a bid to help you decide on your next mobile phone?
If that still doesn't help, well, there's always our extensive mobile phone reviews pages as well.
And when you've decided what new phone to buy, why not cash in your old one with our phone recycling price comparison service?
Here are our rankings for the best mobile phones around, currently available in the UK.
20. HTC Desire Z
Keyboards might not be the most fashionable things on a whizzy touchscreen phone these days, but the HTC Desire Z also manages to pack a decent Android OS on top - although we're still waiting for the Gingerbread update.The hinge mechanism on the Desire Z is a little loose and feels like it could snap at times under the heft of the overall chassis - and let's not forget the sub 1500mAh battery, which means it lasts a little less longer than it probably could have done if HTC had chucked a higher-capacity version in there.
However, with an advanced version of Sense under the hood (albeit without inbuilt e-book capabilities) this is probably the phone we'd point you to if you're after a landscape keyboard and a decent touchscreen on top.
Quick verdict
The HTC Desire Z is pretty much just the older HTC Desire with a slightly slower processor and a keyboard bolted underneath. It's understandably heavier and thicker than today's glut of ultra-skinny mobiles, but for those that must have it's tactile keyboard, it warrants a place on our list.
19. Samsung Wave 2
Samsung's somewhat left-field decision to launch its own Bada smartphone OS alongside its big Android push is still a little confusing - well, at least to us Brits. Over it Korea it's apparently going great guns, stealing swathes of market share from boring old feature phones.If we were to recommend a cheaper smartphone option running Bada, then we'd quickly hold this one up for you to see. From it's lovely lines to premium chassis construction, the Samsung Wave 2 is one of those phones that makes you feel all important pulling it out of your pocket.
Despite losing the Super AMOLED screen, the larger 3.7-inch screen is still its equal, with some eye-popping colours and more comfortable feel. It's also using the new Bada 2.1 OS, which might not have the largest range of applications, but offers a slick alternative to Android with some useful widgets.
Apps are at a premium on this still-nascent platform, so not one for those that love to customise their phone all over the place. The £25 a month plan isn't the cheapest you'll see either, but does represent good value for those that want a bigger screen and it can be purchased for around £300 SIM free if you don't want to pony up to a network each month.
Quick verdict
It's a quirky little phone, is the Wave 2. It looks a bit like an Android phone with the same TouchWiz overlay, but then hits you with a lack of homescreen icon customisation. Still, for a premium design and longer battery life than most, you'd do well to check this out if you like your smartphones a little different.
18. Blackberry Bold 9780
The BlackBerry Bold 9780 is a worthy upgrade to RIM's flagship range from the Bold 9700. The new operating system is a significant improvement, making the phone more relevant to the wider market than anything that's come before.An improved screen and BlackBerry OS 6 make it feel more premium, and the chassis construction will please many too, along with an upgraded 5MP camera with flash that actually takes passable snaps.
The keyboard design has again been tinkered with, and we don't think to the benefit of BlackBerry stalwarts the world over, but it's still a great way to quickly chuck in some text.
Quick verdict
The Bold 9780 is the only member of the BlackBerry family on our list - some might question the lack of a Torch on here given it's status as RIM's flagship model, but we felt the chunkier design, higher price and poor on-screen keyboard mean its been overshadowed by its slimmer, slicker and more conventional brother.
17. LG Optimus 7
Windows Phone 7 made a big impact on our top 20 list back in November 2010, but now it's reduced to a single offering - and we're plumping for the LG Optimus 7.While it lacks the vivid screen of the Samsung Omnia 7 or the large display/kickstand combo of the HTC HD7, the Optimus 7 wins simply because it's got a few more features on offer out of the box, including an awesome augmented reality browser that shows the weather when you point it at the sky. (Yes, we know you could look at it with your eyes. We mean forecasts).
The PlayTo DLNA service is ace too, making it a breeze to send content to your big screen TV, and the build quality isn't too shabby either.
The sleek packaging and slick operating system still bring a smile to our faces when using it - but Windows Phone 7 badly needs the big Mango update we're hoping to see in the next few months.
Quick verdict
If you follow the word of Stephen Fry and simply must check out Microsoft's new smartphone OS, this is the phone we'd recommend to do it on. The sweet swishing action will impress you, and the Live Tiles and Xbox integration are nice additions too. It's still far too simplistic to be a cutting-edge phone, but that will all change when the multi-tasking Mango update drops.
16. Samsung Galaxy Ace
The Samsung Galaxy Ace is an odd little phone when you first pick it up - plastic mesh back, lower-res touchscreen and a slight lag on the interface aren't what everyone is looking for in a smartphone.However, combined with Samsung's TouchWiz overlay and a sublime £15-£20 a month price point, the Ace suddenly seems like much more attractive package - a tip-top 5MP camera on the back to boot.
It might not be the snappiest phone you'll ever use (we found it sometimes stumbled wandering from one home screen to the next) and it's only average for media - but for that price point it deserves to be one of the budget newbies on our list.
Quick verdict
Compared to the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S2, the Ace looks lightweight - but then you consider that you're getting access to a large amount of the Android Market, a microSD slot and an above-average camera, and the head to head comparison is suddenly looking a lot more even.
15. Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini / Pro
Sony Ericsson's time in the doldrums might be coming to an end, and that turnaround was marked by the success of the Xperia Mini and it's keyboarded sidekick, the Mini Pro.We loved its miniature dimensions (although we still don't understand how adding a keyboard only increased the depth by 1mm) and the reskinning of Sony Ericsson's overlay to fit a teeny screen was genius at times.
It's great for music playback while sitting secretly in a pocket (although it's never going to be a video-watching marvel) and the internet browser is unbelievably snappy for a 600MHz processor - plus a lower price tag than many handsets around it, at less than £200 on PAYG and running Android 2.1.
Quick verdict
The clever implementation of Android with customisable corner icons and a simple yet effective keyboard means it's very easy to use this phone, and even the internet is still a good experience for one of the world's smallest smartphones.
We can see a refresh for this line coming soon - hopefully with a little bit of a Gingerbread flavour about it - but for now, it's a cool choice if you're after a tidy package.
- Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini review
- Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini Pro review
- Compare Xperia X10 Mini offers
- Compare Xperia X10 Mini Pro offers
14. Nokia N8
If you've been a Nokia fan for years, then you'll have noticed that the Finnish firm hasn't been competing at the sharp end of the game for a while now.It hoped to change all that with the N8, and on the hardware side at least it triumphed: 12MP camera with Xenon flash, HD video recording, reams of internal storage and a high end media player, as well as the new Symbian^3 OS.
It's not an expensive device either, with it available on an 18-month deal at only £25 a month - we're getting back to the days when you could have a high-end smartphone and not be locked in until you start drawing a pension. (Unless you're reading this and 64 years old - those days are gone for you).
However, the user interface still needs a lot of work in our opinion - the new Symbian Anna update goes a long way to fixing the laggy issues and poor internet browser, but it still needs a few more updates to even think about rivalling the slickness of the Android brigade.
Quick verdict
This is hardware at the sharp end of many categories, which is sure to bring a smile to the tech-lovers' heart. It's a phone that polarises opinion though - some people prefer a snazzier user interface, which the Nokia N8 fails to deliver, even with the Anna update. Others love the power of Symbian^3 and can see past the slight lag in the ageing UI - and for them this phone is without compare.
13. HTC Wildfire
While HTC might not have budget phones right the first time round - remember the HTC Tattoo, forlornly stuck on Android 1.6? - the HTC Wildfire is a much bigger hit, essentially taking the HTC Desire and squishing it down and reducing the cost.We were impressed with the HVGA screen and dinky dimensions - while the camera was only passable, the presence of the flash helped things greatly.
Essentially, it's a decent Android smartphone for not much cash - although it's going to be usurped by the new HTC Wildfire S which is smaller, faster and more importantly, cheaper.
Our quick verdict: Friendly on the pocket and even nicer on the wallet, the Wildfire is set for a big price drop when the Wildfire S emerges, so perhaps hold fire for a few weeks if you're thinking of upgrading to this HTC Desire mini.
12. HTC Desire HD
The HTC Desire HD was a phone we were so excited about when it launched - the huge 4.3-inch screen, DLNA support in the new version of Sense - this was going to be the new favourite Android phone on the block.However, battery issues got in the way - many people reported that it lasted less than a day on a single charge when used under normal conditions, and the larger screen meant it was dubbed a 'male-oriented' phone.
Don't get us wrong, it's a cracking piece of kit: 8MP camera with flash, large screen with surround sound and connection to HDTVs is a decent line up, even before we mention the excellent Sense UI on top, but after the launch of the Incredible S, it's inevitable that the Desire HD would drop significantly on the list.
Quick verdict
The Desire HD is a behemoth of phone - powerful, hefty yet slim. However, with the 4-inch screen of the HTC Incredible S, the cooler design and same price point (plus updated Sense UI) we have to plump for that one instead if we're recommending a larger HTC phone.
11. Motorola Atrix
When Motorola announced the Atrix at CES 2011, we were blown away by the tech crammed into the tiny package. Dual core Tegra 2 1GHz processors, 1930mAh battery and qHD screen meant the Atrix was far and away the most powerful phone around.It garnered rave reviews from us thanks to the snappy processor speeds, the range of accessories that use the inbuilt WebOS (including an awesome LapDock that turns the phone into a fully-fledged netbook) and above average battery life, even in heavy usage scenarios.
The only reason the Motorola Atrix isn't higher up in the list is we're still yet to review the UK edition, and we want to make sure the experience is worthy a place in our top ten list - plus we need to know the final price to you, dear reader.
Quick verdict
Dual core phones are the talk of Mobonia at the moment (the land where handsets are conceived and developed) and the Motorola Atrix is leading that charge. It's not the sleekest handset out there at the moment, and in the dual core wars it's likely to be trumped by the likes of the LG Optimus 2X and Samsung Galaxy S2 in terms of looks.
But for the power business user, this is highly likely to be the only phone they need look at for a long while.
10. INQ Cloud Touch
When deciding on the top 20 best mobile phones in the world, it's sometimes tempting to only look at the super-skinny, action-packed expensive phones that promise you unlimited power and status just by owning them.But equally, those that serve a purpose and aren't hideously ugly deserve a mention too - and we're big fans of INQ's budget-friendly social networking range.
The INQ Cloud Touch is all about social networking, thanks to a deeper than ever integration with the Facebook application allowing users to simply see their favourite people's updates, check in places quickly and see new statuses without entering a new app.
It's also got a dedicated Spotify key, which is ace if you're a premium user and want direct access - plus the info key, which has details on alarms, expected battery life and connection control.
It's quirky in place of being attractive - and at £18 per month or less than £200 for the handset, it warrants a solid place in our list.
Quick verdict
The INQ Cloud Touch is a phone that mixes it with the big boys admirably and costs a lot less - the lower power processor might irk some, but we reckon the Facebook integration will win over more fans.
9. Orange San Francisco
Android is one of the big winners in our top 20 list, and the Orange San Francisco has emerged as the winner of the 'budget league', with a great build, slick operation and clear screen - all for under £80 as well.It's 'only' got Android 2.1, but an upgrade is in the works, and despite that you still get a fast response from the capacitive screen and all the widgets and home screens you've come to expect from Android.
There are some trade-offs: don't buy this if you want to take quality pics or are an avid radio listener, for instance, but overall it's a super phone for the price.
Quick verdict
There was a time when the Orange San Francisco was the only decent budget phone on the market - but now that title is being challenged hard. Despite all that, it's testament to the clever price drops and ahead of the curve tech on board that it still remains our top budget smartphone buy.
8. LG Optimus 2X
The dual-core race is set to hot up, and LG has stolen a march on its Atrix-shaped rival in the UK by dropping the Optimus 2X.The new phone is certainly a slick player - we found the screen it be bright, the operation lightning fast at times and the HDMI mirroring a really neat feature.
If it wasn't for some odd 1080p recording issues and slightly juddery internet experience there's no doubt that the Optimus 2X would have been troubling the top of this chart - but you can forgive even those issues when you realise that it costs just £25 a month.
That's right. A mid-range price for a top end handset - we're really hoping this is a trend that continues.
Quick verdict
The idea of dual-core handsets is still better than the reality at the moment, as there still aren't many apps that can take advantage. That said, 1080p video recording and improved graphics performance are still winning features, and the LG Optimus 2X is all over these like a rabbit in a radish field.
7. Google Nexus S
The first Android 2.3 phone to land on the market is also one of the first with NFC capabilities and a curved Super AMOLED screen from Samsung.It's a 'Pure Google' experience, which means no messing about waiting for networks to bring you the update; if Google likes it, you'll have it.
The price dropped just before launch to a palatable £430, and competes very well indeed with the iPhone 4 and others in the top phone game - although with more Android 2.3 handsets landing seemingly every week, unless you're after a Google-only experience, it's appeal becomes more limited.
However, the build quality might feel a little suspect at first, but is robust enough and sits in the hand well, and that screen is just superb for the internet and media.
Quick verdict
A 'no frills' handset that delivers on the specs - affordable and practical for the developer and early adopter alike, plus offering a more unique design than others on the market. If and when NFC becomes more widespread in the UK, this will probably see a real surge in interest again too.
6. HTC Incredible S
HTC's ability to make large-screened phones on Android is seemingly never-ending, with more emerging from the woodwork every week.With the HTC Sensation landing soon, and the HTC Desire S already available, there was some worry about this Android 2.2-toting handset becoming lost in the ether. But with a vacuum-packed design and large and bright 4-inch screen, it's quickly become a hot alternative to the Desire HD.
The 8MP camera with dual LED flash is a decent option, the interface snaps along nicely and the price is palatable - another top example of HTC Sense that will only improve when the Android 2.3 update lands.
Quick verdict
If you want a phone that stands out slightly from the rest, the Incredible S at mid-range price point, could be a goer for you. If you're someone that wants the latest and greatest HTC though we suggest holding fire until we bring you our full HTC Sensation review.
5. Samsung Galaxy S
The Samsung Galaxy S is one lucky phone indeed - it was in danger of sliding right down our top 20 list until a last minute Android 2.3 update booted it back up to the front of the pack (so last minute that we're still working on updating the review).We can confirm that some of the niggles that were appearing with the older version of the software are gone - the lagging on certain applications seems to have gone now, and while battery life is still not stellar, it's certainly improved - especially when it comes to offering a correct reading.
The Super AMOLED screen is still one of the best around for media, rivalling the likes of the iPhone 4, and Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc and while we can't fix the fact it doesn't have a flash, Flash VIDEO now works a lot better.
When the Samsung Galaxy S2 lands you'd imagine this phone will slide down the rankings simply because its big brother is tipped to be a real big-hitter, but if you're after the budget version, this is definitely worth a look.
Quick verdict
The Samsung Galaxy S is everything that's good about the Wave, but with Android power to back it up. The Super AMOLED screen is awe inspiring, and the 1GHz Hummingbird processor means the phone never misses a beat, even though it's not dual core.
This was Samsung's breakout smartphone, and its longevity near the top of our charts is testament to its quality.
4. Apple iPhone 4
The iPhone 4 is certainly the most impressive iPhone ever, and a big step up from the iPhone 3GS. The flat body is only 9.3 millimetres thick, 24 per cent thinner than the iPhone 3GS at its thickest. It feels great in the hand, and at the keynote Steve Jobs remarked, "Its closest kin is a beautiful old Leica camera."By far the most in-your-face feature of the iPhone 4 is 960x640 Retina Display. It's got 326 pixels per inch, and we're talking tiny pixels, only 78 micrometers wide.
The Retina Display, especially, is hands-down one of the clearest, most enjoyable screens we've seen on a handheld, and the sheer amount of technology packed into the device is surprising.
The 3G reception disappearing problem w is gone now with newer builds (although Apple would never admit it) and while we know that many will never condone the phone not being at the top of the list, we still have a problem with the price.
How can a phone that's approaching a year old not have a slide in cost? The HTC Desire, which was cheaper than the iPhone 4 already, is now only £15 per month - yet Apple's device still costs a premium on networks.
Quick verdict
If it wasn't for the reception issue, the iPhone 4 would have probably topped our charts long ago - well, perhaps if it had been a bit cheaper now.
It's still a class-leading bit of kit now, and with the iPhone 5 supposedly delayed until September, still worth taking a look at - but Apple die-hards will want to wait to see if the new model is a better proposition or not.
3. HTC Desire
We all knew it had to happen - the HTC Desire couldn't hang on to top spot forever, and despite a really cheap price tag attached to it these days, plus an Android 2.3 update in the offing, it's time at the summit is now over.The hardware is still as solid as ever - the only niggles we have are a lack of internal storage (meaning apps that can't live on an SD card are at a premium) and the HD video recording is suspect.
Users have had some battery life problems with the phone, but that doesn't detract from a phone that simply WORKS - very few crashes, swift internet browsing, a quality on-screen keyboard and a decent design ethic to boot.
If you're after a budget phone and don't mind slightly older kit, then this could even be in second place for you.
Quick verdict
We will always have a soft spot for the HTC Desire in our hearts - it's still a class apart from many other phones out there, and the combination of intuitive overlay and flawless operation showed the world that there was life beyond the iPhone - and it still a decent piece of hardware to boot.
2. HTC Desire S
It's hardly a surprise, is it? The sequel to the best phone in the world with updated software is ahead of its predecessor?We agonised about the choice - the first Desire is such good value and the new version is only an evolutionary, rather than revolutionary, handset. But the Desire S is a more compact offering with the latest version of Sense, and going forward is likely get the best updates, so just nips ahead.
Excellent call quality, decent camera, strong build and clever-as-ever social networking integration make this a class-leader once more (although whether it will hold onto the title of best HTC phone once the Sensation lands remains to be seen).
Quick verdict
The HTC Desire is a slick, compact and attractive handset that has edged ahead of its predecessor thanks to simply taking a good formula and improving on it.
It may only have a 5MP camera, but it's got a budget-busting £20 price tag on it already, so that should see it stay attractive when the HTC Sensation launches.
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1. Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc
When we talk about a Phoenix Phone, it forever be the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc. A company that was making phones like the Xperia X10 on outdated software just a year ago has brought out one of the world's thinnest and most attractive handsets that sits atop our 20 best list.And it's earned it place on our list through sheer quality - the things we're impressed with on the Xperia Arc are almost too many to list.
From the beautiful Reality Display with Bravia Engine to the powerful-yet-simple 8.1MP camera with Exmor technology, this is one of the phones that people actually want to hold and play with when you show it off.
The new Sony Ericsson overlay has cool features like an 'exploded widgets' view, and the integration of YouTube searching for videos of songs currently playing is super cool too.
OK, it's not dual-core powered, but until we start seeing some applications that really start to challenge these smartphones, we're happy to recommend a phone that is slick under the finger, slim in the pocket, satisfying in the hand and kinder than many on the wallet to boot.
Quick verdict
The hardware is extremely impressive, both in terms of looks and performance. Forget the fashionable dual-core phones – when done right, a single-core 1GHz processor can do it all.
As it is, we're prepared to overlook the Xperia Arc's minor flaws thanks to its stunning good looks, superb screen and very decent photo performance. You can't help but love it once you've held its magically thin body and gazed adoringly into its dazzling Reality Display.
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Verizon reveals that iPhone 5 will be a 'global' phone
Apple will no doubt be firing off a strongly worded email to Verizon this afternoon, after a representative of the US network let slip that the iPhone 5 will be a 'global device'.
This means that it will be able to roam on both CDMA networks (like Verizon in America) and GSM ones like those we use in the UK.
The revelation came during a conference call in which Verizon discussed its quarterly results.
Juicy
It's not clear if this means Apple will release just a dual-mode version, or if we'll see some iPhone 5s retain their single-radio status.
Still, it's the first concrete leak we've had to play with on the iPhone 5 front; other more tenuously touted spec include a dual-core A5 processor, a larger screen, a metal back and full 1080p output thanks to an improved dual-core GPU.
Sadly, no one has left the iPhone 5 lying around in a bar yet – but with all signs pointing to a September launch for the new Apple handset, there's still time.
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LG Optimus 3D pushed back until June?
The LG Optimus 3D UK release date has been newly touted as 6 June by online retailer Clove.
That's a whole lot later than other retailers Play.com and Expansys, which have the three dimensional handset listed for release next week, on 25 April.
The first 3D-toting handset, first unveiled at this year's Mobile World Congress, will be retailing for around £454.80 SIM-free if bought through Clove.
Price wars
That's quite a bit cheaper than the prices listed by other retailers: Play.com is selling the Android handset for £515, while Expansys is asking £524.99.
We have no doubt that the UK's networks will be offering competitive subsidised contract deals too, especially since Three, Vodafone, Orange and T-Mobile all clamoured to claim it as soon as it was announced.
LG is yet to reveal its official LG Optimus 3D UK release date, so we'll just have to wait and see if we can enjoy that glasses-free mobile 3D next week or not – although we're beginning to suspect not…
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Review: Sony KDL-32EX723
It's been a long wait – made longer by production delays caused by Japan's earthquake – but at last the first of Sony's eagerly anticipated 2011 Bravia TVs is here, and comes internet, 3D and full HD-ready.
The 32-inch KDL-32EX723 is a great starting point for getting a handle on how Sony's 2011 TV range might shape up in the weeks and months to come, since it sits more or less in the middle in terms of cost. Priced at £750, it's the most affordable Sony TV this year to carry active 3D capability, and far more affordable than the Sony KDL-46NX713.
Aside from its headline 3D talents, the 32EX723 features Sony's new, improved Bravia Internet video platform, a full internet browser (the first time we've seen this on a Sony TV), Motionflow XR 200 motion processing and the new X-Reality picture processing engine.
The 32EX723 doesn't benefit from one of Sony's striking Monolithic designs, with their ultra-slim profiles and single-layer, glass-like finishes. But this doesn't mean it's an ugly TV by any means – the left, right and top edges of its bezel are slender and glossy, and the bottom edge offers a cute contrast in metallic-looking grey. But it's certainly a lot more ordinary-looking than the Monolithic sets, and its build quality feels a touch plasticky for a mid-range TV.
Series
It joins the 55-inch KDL-55EX723, 46-inch KDL-46EX723 and 40-inch KDL-40EX723 to form the EX723 series.
Above the EX723 in Sony's extensive new TV range is the NX723 series, which delivers Sony's sleek Monolithic design, an ultra-slim LED panel and built-in Wi-Fi on a higher level. Take one step down from the EX723 series and you get to the EX524 models, which crucially don't have 3D capabilities or sport the EX723's MotionFlow XR 200 video processing.
The 32EX723 is very well specified indeed for what's ostensibly a mid-range model. Clearly the highlight – especially as it's still quite rare on 32-inch TVs – is its active 3D playback. The transmitter is built-in too; there's no need to purchase an optional £50 external 3D transmitter like there was with some of Sony's 2010 range.
However, you don't get any Sony 3D glasses included for free. Sony's new TDG-BR200 models, with their rechargeable batteries and lightweight design, will likely set you back around £100 a pair. This could make the 32EX723 a more expensive proposition than its £750 basic price if you've got a 3D-loving family to cater for, especially with glasses-free 3D technology growing.
As you might expect of a TV with online services, the 32EX723 is chock full of connections. There's the LAN port for accessing the online Bravia Internet video service and for file streaming from networked DLNA PCs. You can make the TV Wi-Fi ready by adding an optional extra USB dongle, too.
Other USB functionality includes playback of video, photo and music files from USB storage devices, and the ability to record from the integrated Freeview HD tuner to USB HDDs. The increasingly inevitable four HDMI outputs (one on the side, three on the rear) are on hand for HD video duties, alongside a D-Sub PC port and an optical digital audio output.
Sony's latest online services available in the 32EX723 boast a new, generally improved interface, discussed in the Ease of use section. Also intriguing are its new video and music search utilities. The first of these searches an online database for any programme name, cast or crew member you type in. The music search tool is even cooler – just press the remote control's TrackID button when a piece of music is playing in a film or TV show, and the engine will find information on the track.
It would be easy to be sceptical about this feature. But it works mind-bogglingly well, managing to detect that Homes Under The Hammer was playing a short excerpt of the opening piano section of The Feeling's Rosé while one of the presenters was waffling on over the top of it. Geek heaven!
There's also a decently flexible new open internet browser on board the 32EX723, though it doesn't support embedded video playback. The most interesting thing about Sony's Bravia Internet video service is that it hasn't changed that much. Other brands have taken a smartphone-style apps approach lately, but Sony continues to focus on video and music.
Sony's approach feels logical. As noted in the Samsung UE46D7000 review, the only online TV service offerings that feel useful are those that fit most closely with what you normally use a TV for – namely, watching video. Many other apps just feel like unnecessary clutter.
The on-screen instruction manual on the 32EX723 does mention a Bravia Widgets feature, however, but we couldn't get this to work on our review model.
Video content already available features services including BBC iPlayer, Sky News, LoveFilm, Sony Entertainment Television, EuroSport, YouTube and DailyMotion. Non-video online services include Picasa, Moshcam for music concerts and the National Public Radio server for finding podcasts. It will also support Skype if you add a voice control camera and microphone, but again, we couldn't find this during our test.
While Bravia Internet video might not have changed much, picture processing in the 32EX723 has. The new X-Reality system adds sharpness and detail – especially to standard definition content – without exaggerating source noise. Another noteworthy feature is MotionFlow XR 200 motion processing (at 100Hz, plus a scanning backlight). You can choose between Standard, Smooth and Clear options for this, with Clear generally being your best bet, as it doesn't make the image look too processed.
Further picture adjustments – once you've tracked them down in the hard-to-find Display menu – include a black corrector, gamma adjustment, Sony's Live Colour processing, a white level booster and separate MPEG and dot noise reduction systems. Plus in the White Balance menu you can fine tune the gain and bias settings for red, green and blue, boost detail levels and edge sharpness, use the seemingly ineffectual Skin Naturaliser and manually tweak the TV's interlaced-to-progressive processing.
The screen itself is lit via edge LED illumination, and carries a Presence Sensor eco feature which detects if anyone's in the room and turns the picture off if not. The 32EX723 also has the distinction of being the first TV that's arrived with a European Energy consumption sticker. It achieved a B grade, based on a 59W running power and 86kWh/annum consumption.
Sony's 32EX723 is massively off the pace with its 3D performance. The main problem is that old issue of crosstalk noise, where the panel's inability to refresh itself fast enough to keep up with the alternating frame rate of the full HD left and right eye images causes double ghosting in the picture.
This sort of noise was common to all 2010 LCD TVs, but so far in 2011 it's been substantially reduced on the Samsung UE46D7000's 3D LCD screens and all but completely removed on Panasonic's ground-breaking DT30 LCD series. Plus it's seldom apparent on LG's 55LW650T. Yet on the 32EX723 it's still there, seemingly every bit as severely and distractingly as it was on Sony's 2010 models, such as the KDL-46NX713.
This affects the clarity of almost every 3D shot to some extent, and makes some scenes – including the notorious sequence on the Golden Gate Bridge in Monsters vs Aliens – borderline unwatchable.
It's especially bad because your eyes already feel strained by watching 3D on a screen as small 32-inches. As with Panasonic's otherwise impressive TX-L32DT30B, the 32EX723 shows again that 32-inches isn't big enough for 3D unless, perhaps, the TV is going to be used in a small bedroom or study, where you'll sit close to it.
Turning on Sony's active shutter glasses also causes a heavy drop in brightness and colour saturation compared to the Samsung and LG 3D TVs, plus a little more flickering than you might feel comfortable with, particularly if you've got a very bright room. These two issues wouldn't stop the pictures being enjoyable, though, if it wasn't for the unacceptable amounts of crosstalk as well.
As a final blow, the crosstalk seriously reduces the impact of the extra sharpness and HD detail that active 3D was developed to deliver – especially as the impact of this detailing is reduced by the smallness of the screen.
For the record, Sony's onboard 2D to 3D conversion is one of the more effective around, in terms of adding depth without causing depth errors. But thanks to all the crosstalk, you still wouldn't really want to watch it.
Shifting quickly to 2D, things improved markedly. The fuzzy mess of 3D is replaced by a pleasingly crisp picture in both HD and standard definition mode, the latter immediately proving the worth of the X-Reality engine. The resolution enhancement system is so sophisticated at boosting perceived resolution, without making the picture look noisy, that you might even want to try out the Detail Enhancer system.
Sony's MotionFlow system plays a part in clarity too, reducing juddering and blurring without making the picture look artificial, or causing side effects like flickering edges or haloes around moving objects. Just be sure to stick with the lowest power Clear setting.
The TV's black level response is good too. It takes a little work; you should try and keep the backlight set as low as you sensibly can, and while the Black Corrector and Advanced Contrast Enhancer can help, only use them on their very lowest settings, unless you want shadow detail to take a massive hit. As long as you follow these basic rules, black colours look surprisingly deep and convincing.
Backlight levels are mostly consistent too. Sure, you can make out faint light shooting in for a slim inch or two from the screen's corners, especially the bottom ones, but this is seldom visible under normal viewing conditions, and the amount of screen space affected is relatively minor.
When it comes to colour, the 32EX723 lacks the aggression and dynamism found with some rival sets, such as the Samsung UE46D7000. But while they might not explode off the screen at you, they're deftly rendered in terms of subtle colour shifts and blends, and generally look natural in tone. The colour balance is good too, with no particular hues tending to stand out from the others too much.
If you're a gamer, you'll feel reasonably pleased with the 32EX723's 40ms input lag time, which, while far from the lowest around, shouldn't cause you too many missed Guitar Hero notes or unnecessary Call of Duty deaths.
While viewing angles are inevitably limited versus IPS-Alpha LCD or plasma panels, black levels and contrast aren't affected as severely when viewed from the TV's side as they are with many other PVA panels.
Sound
The 32EX723 feels pretty average in the sound department. As so often happens with relatively small, flat TVs, there just isn't enough headroom in the mid-range to squeeze in a complex soundstage.
The result is a sound that feels rather thin, compressed and indistinct. It can nudge over into harshness, too, if there's an excess of treble sound information to deal with.
Value
On the one hand, the 32EX723's above-par 2D picture performance and extensive, well-pitched multimedia services look attractive on a £750 TV.
However, it's impossible to shake the suspicion that you're paying at least a little for the TV's 3D capabilities, even though these 3D capabilities are hamstrung by crosstalk noise to the extent that they're almost unusable.
Ease of use
Sony has revamped its on-screen menus, with mostly positive results. Pressing the remote's large, colour-defined Home button shrinks the picture by around a third and moves it into the top left corner, while double-axis menus appear along the bottom and up the right-hand side. The effect is not unlike that seen with the Sharp Quattron LC46LE821E, and is much easier to follow than the cluttered, PS3-like approach used by last year's Sony models.
It's great, too, to find that the online services have been moved into a dedicated on-screen space where you can see and access most of the current options without having to scroll down huge lists like you had to with the previous interface.
The remote control takes a little getting used to, because its layout feels as if some features have just been retrofitted to an old design where buttons were originally intended for something else. But once you've learned your way around, you appreciate how many features you can access directly from a button.
Our two main issues with the operating system concern the iManual and the web browser. The iManual is a standalone on-screen manual, rather than a truly interactive one where you can call up quick explanations of particular features. This makes it quite time-consuming and difficult to find the section of the iManual you want, and makes you wish for a paper manual fairly quickly.
The internet browser's text is just too small to be readable unless you've got your face right up against the screen. This is true even if you adjust the text display option to Large. It's quite bizarre that Sony didn't include a simple Magnify button in the browser controls.
Couple the painfully small text with the sheer tedium of using the remote control to move around a typical website, and the experience becomes one that only a masochist would want to take on very often. Shame.
Sony's 32EX723 looks on paper as if it's generously specified for a TV that only sits around the centre of its price range. Among its headline-grabbing tricks are 3D playback (with the necessary IR transmitter built in), Sony's impressive Bravia Internet video platform, plenty of multimedia playback support, optional Wi-Fi via a USB dongle, and even a brand spanking new X-Reality picture engine.
Connectivity is prodigious, and its edge LED lighting system helps it deliver an enviably slender form, as well as playing its part in producing a pleasingly contrast-rich image.
Its 2D pictures are generally very likable, with believable and decently punchy colours, only minor motion blur and high detail and clarity levels. However, if you're thinking of getting the 32EX723 for its 3D capabilities, you should think again. As well as its 32-inch screen not being big enough to make the experience come to life, the 32EX723 also suffers quite severely from crosstalk noise, which makes 3D viewing unconvincing and tiring.
We liked
The TV's 2D pictures are clean and punchy, with sharpness increased by the new X-Reality processing engine, especially where standard definition is concerned.
X-Reality also does a good job of keeping a lid on video noise, and black level response is unusually good for such a small LCD model.
The new operating system is also a big improvement, the set's multimedia facilities are excellent and the video-centric approach to online features represented by the Bravia Internet video makes a lot of sense.
We disliked
The amount of crosstalk in the 32EX723's 3D pictures is startlingly excessive, showing little if any improvement from last year.
The internet browser feels pointless, thanks to the smallness of its text and the torture of navigating a busy website via the remote control, and the audio is nothing to write home about.
Final verdict
As a 2D TV, there's much to like about the 32EX723. The new X-Reality processor does a good job of making both HD and standard definition pictures look sharp and detailed, while the Motionflow system stops motion suffering badly with blurring or judder. And it does this without leaving the picture looking artificial.
The edge LED illumination is well controlled too, enabling the TV to combine punchy bright elements with deep black levels without suffering any truly distracting levels of backlight inconsistency during dark films.
Multimedia fans will appreciate the support the 32EX723 gives there, while the Bravia Internet video system delivers a persuasive argument for focusing on smaller but more relevant content offerings.
The problem is that the 32EX723's 3D pictures really don't pass muster at all, making the TV feel slightly expensive for a 32-inch model that's ultimately only recommended for 2D viewing.
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