The Nexus 5 was probably caught carousing in a bar
Stop us if you've heard this one: An unannounced phone is spotted in a bar...
No, this isn't a retelling of the soppy saga of the iPhone 4 prototype. It's a new tale being spun about the Nexus 5, which was apparently recently found charging in a watering hole.
According to 9to5Google, which obtained photos and video of the possible new Nexus out on the town, a Google employee left it unsupervised and a bar employee took the opportunity to take some photos and shoot some vid.
The hardware matches with previous leaks (like that Android KitKat commercial) and FCC filings (see here and here). 9to5Google theorizes it may be running Android 4.4, though the bootup shot looks like Google Play Edition handsets.
Nexus 5 found?
There is one key difference between today's lush phone and previous leaks. The "Not For Sale" stamp is along the back and bottom, a different placement than the handset from last week's FCC filing.There's no discernible warning on the phone in the Android 4.4 commercial, but the disparities are likely a matter of different pre-production models of the Nexus 5.
There's not a whole lot else to glean from the pics and videos, but previous leaks have us preparing for a handset based on the LG G2.
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Blip: Amazon proves vinyl isn't dead as it claims sales are up 745%
Vinyl is aliiive! According to Amazon anyway.
The e-tailer giant has seen a steady 745% increase in vinyl sales since 2008 and released an infographic today to prove it. Because you know it's true if it's in an infograph.
Reasons for the high percentage may be cultural (hipsterism?) and Amazon AutoRip, a feature that offers a free MP3 version of certain vinyl and CD purchases.
More blips!
Our blips are something of a cultural phenomena too.- Chromecast in stock at Google Play, can ship to you early next week
- Could Google follow Yahoo's lead and fiddle with its logo?
- Mind-boggling software pops 3D objects out of your old photos
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Gabe Newell teases hardware news for next week, is it time for Steam Box?
Linux is the future of gaming, according to Gabe Newell. But the Valve co-founder would say that, wouldn't he?
During a presentation today at LinuxCon 2013, taking place this week in New Orleans, Newell laid out why Linux, an open platform, will drive PC gaming where closed systems fail. More concretely, he teased that we're in for some hardware news soon.
"Next week we're going to be rolling out more information about how we get there and what are the hardware opportunities that we see for bringing Linux into the living room, and potentially pointing further down the road to how we get it even more unified with mobile," he said.
Might next week hold Steam Box, the gaming hardware Newell has confirmed Valve is building? It's entirely possible, but not the only potential development coming from the Valve team.
Inputs and others
Newell touched on input obstacles during his talk, so a controller or other input solution could be in the cards too."There are some issues to making sure that whatever computing platform you have works well in a living room environment," he said.
"There are thermal issues and sound issues but there are also a bunch of input issues, so the next step in our contributions to this is to release some work we've done on the hardware side."
What's more, while we very well could see the Valve Steam Box, Newell could have been referring to a product or service aimed at third-party hardware makers. With his talk of mobile, perhaps we're in for a something aimed at smaller screens?
Linux challenges
The allure of Valve hardware is strong, but at least today Newell was far more interested in making a case for the adoption and support of Linux in PC gaming.Newell spent most of his presentation extolling Linux's openness, yet while he proclaimed it's the future of gaming, still pointed out its miniscule market numbers.
According to Newell, looking at Linux in gaming "is pretty painful" by any metric. From the number of players to player minutes to revenue generated, Linux typically holds less than 1%.
That's not to say there isn't growth; Newell cited there are currently 198 Steam games running on Linux. While PC sales are tumbling by double digits year-over-year, Newell said Steam's own sales have grown by 76%.
He also revealed Valve is co-developing a Linux debugger per the suggestion of developers who want to see the tool, a solution that should help with future software development.
You can watch Newell's LinuxCon 2013 talk below:
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Possible iOS 7-heavy changes coming to Twitter mobile apps
Amidst all the hubbub over Twitter's recent IPO filing, word on the 'net is that the not-so-little birdie may be releasing a series of mobile updates.
A new app rollout isn't too far off though, especially since Twitter recently asked users to sign up for its Android beta program to squash out bugs.
Twitter will release a small app update following Apple's Sept. 17 iOS 7 release with sources at All Things D claiming the newly designed app will be available a bit after in a larger update.
With the Facebook interface always morphing, Yahoo's recent logo switch and Google's own purportedly impending logo change, it's not surprising Twitter feels the need for a refresh to stay current.
Pictures, pictures, pictures
According the The New York Times, the Twitter app will update the tweet stream to be more visually appealing.All those pictures and videos in your Twitter stream will be displayed automatically without the need to click and expand, much like the Discover tab, for an image-heavy experience.
Additionally, the Times says Twitter will be taking cues from iOS 7 and aim for a more crisp and clean look to "feel more alive."
The mobile update will also include the ability to swipe from stream to stream, and do away with the four buttons on the bottom, for seamlessness that allows for more content and less interface.
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Google buys Bump, more than just data-tranferring fist bumps may ensue
Google has scooped up a start-up, one that unlike some other tech company pick-ups, you've probably heard of before.
In an blog post today, Bump Technologies, the maker of an eponymous app as well as photo-sharing app Flock, announced Google is its new owner. A Google spokesperson also confirmed the purchase to TechRadar via an emailed statement:
"The Bump team has demonstrated a strong ability to quickly build and develop products that users love, and we think they'll be a great fit at Google." The spokesperson wouldn't divulge future plans for Bump or how exactly it will fit into Google's current product and service offerings.
Bump allows users to literally bump fists while holding their phones to transfer contact information, photos, audio and other files. Bump also supports the transfer of info between a phone and computer.
Bump, bump, bump, bump it up
Bump was hugely popular when it debuted in the Apple App Store, and to date has garnered more than 100 million downloads there. Flock, meanwhile, offers to create a shared photo album between users and their nearby Facebook friends (say, while you're all at the same barbeque).Both apps have Android counterparts, naturally.
Bump CEO and Co-Founder David Lieb wrote that Bump and Flock "will continue to work as they always have for now; stay tuned for updates." All signs from Google are that the apps will stay up and running for the time being, but that could easily change per Lieb's door-open "for now."
While we don't know Google's plans for Bump just yet, TechCrunch put forward the theory that Flock holds the most interest for Google as it could help Google+ compete with Facebook and Dropbox's photo sharing and saving services.
Google+ lags in engagement across the board, but creating a location-based photo sharing feature using Flock's tech could wrangle users away from the more dominate social network.
What's more, Bump Technologies owns a nice stash of patents centered on device synching, and Google could stand to gain some nifty future developments thanks to this IP.
- Will Bump's technologies make it into Android 5.0? Check out the updates we're expecting.
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Google Glass untethered from tethered data sharing plan requirement
The latest update for Google Glass eliminated the need for an expensive tethered data sharing plan, according to multiple owners of the wearable tech.
That means Explorer Edition early adopters aren't required to enable Bluetooth tethering on their smartphone's data plan for which they incur monthly fees from their carrier.
This is a welcomed relief for the testers of Google's already expensive head-mounted display, which cost them $1,500 (about £945, AU$1610) up front.
The workaround is said to still beam data between the MyGlass Android companion app and Glass hardware when XE9 is loaded onto the headset.
XE9 release notes
The data sharing changes for Google Glass weren't outlined in the XE9 release notes, but plenty of other features were listed.This includes the use of vignettes, the ability to play videos through search and a Shazam-like "OK, Glass. What is this song?" query called Sound Search.
Without the data sharing workaround in the official XE9 release notes, it's unknown if the final retail version of Google Glass will completely ditch the requirement for the expected release date in 2014.
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Samsung reportedly already planning Galaxy Gear 2 with GPS
Samsung just announced its Galaxy Gear smartwatch, but a second-gen successor is reportedly already in the works.
The Galaxy Gear 2 will feature improvements like greater device compatibility and GPS capabilities, Korean site media.daum.net (via Tech Kiddy) reported today.
Rumor (and logic) has it that the Galaxy Gear 2 could launch next year at CES or MWC, two of the biggest tech conferences out there.
But besides the much-appreciated addition of a GPS chip, other possible improvements in the Galaxy Gear 2 are the stuff of speculation.
To-do list
The current Galaxy Gear will only be compatible with the Galaxy Note 3 at launch, though future Android updates like the Android 4.3 release for the Galaxy S4 will add more devices to that list.To improve on that the Galaxy Gear 2 will need to launch with full Android device compatibility, which seems perfectly reasonable to us.
In addition, the first-gen Gear reportedly comes with a battery life of about 25 hours, so users who wear it all day will probably need to charge it overnight.
In comparison Sony's Smartwatch 2 can supposedly go three to four days between charges, so an improvement in battery life for the Gear 2 would help catch it up to its competition.
Beyond that we're just guessing, but from where we're standing it seems Samsung would do well to take that $299/£299 (about AU$320) price point down a few notches as well.
Pre-orders for the Galaxy Gear kick off tonight at midnight on AT&T.
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Samsung Galaxy S5 may touch down in Android and Tizen versions
The Samsung Galaxy S5 is one of life's inevitabilities, and it seems like the wheels are well in motion. First we heard that it will most likely come packing a 64-bit processor chip and now it sounds like the phone may offer up both Android and Tizen variations.
Samsung is clearly keen to push Tizen OS but will be keeping a grip on the popular Android interface for the time being, with Android 4.4 KitKat expected to go live October.
Co-CEO of Samsung, Boo-Keun Yoon, said that the plan is to use Tizen on future phones and tablets, with the S5 likely to come in both a Tizen and Android version.
Eye of the Tizen
Other rumoured features of the phone include an optical image stabilisation camera and a body built from aluminium and magnesium.We even saw some patent images surface recently, pointing to what might be a less nature-inspired look found on the Samsung Galaxy S4.
Right now we're expecting Samsung to stick to its cycles and release the Galaxy S5 in March 2015.
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Sailfish OS now compatible with Android, Jolla hopes for a coattail ride
Finnish start-up Jolla announced today that its Sailfish OS is now compatible with Android software and hardware, an achievement it hopes will help Sailfish speed into the global market.
In a press release Jolla said that Sailfish users will now be able to "take full advantage of the Android application ecosystem," naming specific Android apps, like Instagram, WhatsApp, Spotify and popular Chinese messaging app WeChat, that are compatible with Sailfish.
Sailfish users can download Android apps directly from "various app stores globally," the release said, though which ones exactly is unclear (GigaOM says the Google Play Store is not in the cards - we reached out to Jolla to find out for sure).
In addition, the Sailfish OS is now compatible with common Android hardware, "particularly smartphones and tablets."
Break on through
This makes it easier for existing Android hardware manufacturers to develop Sailfish-based devices, since they can put the OS on the same hardware they're already using for Android - but will it be enough for the OS to make inroads into the global market?The mobile market is dominated by a disproportionately small number of operating systems, making it difficult for new options to make a dent.
But Android is already in global use, and Jolla might just be able to ride its coattails to success.
"We believe Sailfish with Android compatibility is a highly relevant mobile operating system option for major mobile companies in Europe and in Asia," Jolla CEO Tomi Pienimäki said in today's press release.
He added that they are "already in discussions with several major Asian vendors."
All aboard
Jolla was formed by ship jumpers from Nokia who left after the company ditched its Linux-based MeeGo OS in favor of Microsoft's Windows Phone platform.Sailfish was built from the ashes of MeeGo, and Jolla's been sailing that schooner ever since.
Now that Microsoft has officially taken control of Nokia devices and services division, Jolla believes that "the strategic position of Jolla and Sailfish OS has strengthened significantly," according to its announcement.
And in response to "positive feedback and increased demand" Jolla will offer a second batch of Sailfish phone pre-orders on its website this week aimed at "Finnish customers who want to express their passion for the Finnish mobile industry."
We've asked Jolla to clarify some points, like what app stores and apps Sailfish is compatible with, and we'll update this story when we hear back.
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iPad 5, iPad mini 2 to take the stage during Oct. 15 Apple event?
We may be a little more than a month away from the next big Apple reveal, if the latest chatter is to be believed.
The word coming from sometimes-iffy French site MacG.co (Google translation) is that Apple is planning a "special event" for Tuesday, Oct. 15.
It's widely thought Apple will debut the iPad 5, iPad mini 2 and possibly new iPods and new Macs next month, following the September debut of the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C.
MacG definitely stated the "new iPad" will make an Oct. 15 appearance, though we fully expect to see more than one product come Apple's next gathering.
An October to remember
Apple is no stranger to holding separate September and October product announcements.The company unveiled the iPhone 5 and new iPods in September 2012 before announcing the iPad 4, first iPad mini and new Macs during an event one month later.
Also according to today's report, iMac stock is at an all-time low at Apple Stores, a sign that Apple is flushing supplies in anticipation of an imminent new release.
In addition to new iMacs (probably running Intel's Haswell chip) and all the products we've already listed, we could also see the release of Mac OS X Mavericks, something on the Apple TV front and the long-awaited iWatch.
Will it be an October to remember for Apple? The clock is seemingly ticking until we find out.
- Pre-orders for the iPhone 5C are open now, but is the phone worth purchasing? Check out our hands on review to see for yourself.
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Interview: Atari's console suicide left PS4 and Xbox to prosper, says founder
Nolan Bushnell still thinks about the vacation that he should have taken back in 1976.
The man who founded Atari along with Ted Dabney says that if he had just taken a break, he would not have started a catalogue of events that he believes doomed the gaming giant.
With the next generation of consoles about to arrive, he firmly believes that Atari consoles would be competing with Xbox One and PlayStation 4, but for a bad decision that he regretted soon after making.
37 years on, and he tells TechRadar that the stresses and strains of running one of the fastest growing companies of all time had left him drained. And it was this that made him take the fateful decision to sell the company to Warner.
"Absolutely Atari could be competing with Xbox and PlayStation today," he tells us. "Under Warner it committed suicide. It wasn't homicide, it was self-inflicted stupidity. What you had was a bunch of record guys thinking they knew what the game business was about - I could catalogue the screw ups they made.
"I would have liked to have taken Atari to another level. If I could go back in time I would not sell to Warner. Take the company public, raise money that way - I think I should have just taken a vacation.
"You are going so fast, and a lot of people don't realise that when you are growing you are a consumer of capital - and so I was constantly chasing things like payroll! Even though we were profitable and growing, we were just chewing through capital."
"It felt like a relief at the time to sell it, but about six months later I regretted it.
"The thing that really wakes you up is when the new management goes in a direction that you think is absolutely bloody stupid and you just say: 'You don't have a clue,' and they say: 'Nolan, this isn't your company anymore.'"
All mine
Bushnell's exit from Atari clearly remains a source of regret. He refers to the company "as my first big one," adding: "It represented turning me from a baby entrepreneur to an adolescent at least, and I learned so much."Oh man the early days of Atari were like being on the back of a kangaroo - they were heady times.
"I still game - I like Minecraft right now - but I can say that I like it and I love it and I play it, but I'm real close to being over it.
"I lose interest when I feel like I've explored the vertices of what's going on. No, I won't be at the front of a queue for Xbox or PlayStation."
It's fair to say that Bushnell did not rest on his laurels after Atari's sale and his subsequent exit from the company he still loves. He also came up with Chuck-E-Cheese restaurants, Etak digital mapping and a whole host of other ideas, many of which were well ahead of their time.
"Bright shiny objects are fun," he explains when we ask him about his scattergun approach to what he involves himself in. "I think they call that magpie syndrome. I just love new things, and once I've got that figured out that's kind of good enough for me in most cases.
"When I say: 'Gee, if I'd stuck that out I'd have made four or 10 times as much money,' I think: 'I've got as much money as I need.' And I know that had I been as big a workaholic as I could have been, I wouldn't have nearly the relationship I have with my kids."
Work-life balance is something Bushnell sees a lot of people getting wrong: "There's this thing that happens in Silicon Valley now where the exception is that the kids are not screwed up."
Live and learn
Bushnell, who has just given a keynote at the O2 Campus Party in London, starts the interview visibly exhausted, but his enthusiasm for his current project - an adaptive learning game called BrainRush that is straight out of Ender's Game, and which adapts to each person using it, and has already proven itself a remarkably effective tutor - is palpable."In every business that has been a success in my life, there has been this point when I knew it was the right thing at the right time. Not just thinking but knew - and that point happened about nine months ago with BrainRush.
"I started getting results back and found out that the game was teaching kids 10 times faster. When you start on any project and think, 'If I can go two to one better then I've got a business,' then when you are doing it 10 times as fast it's incredible.
"You know that if you don't make a good business out of it then you are an idiot. Hang it up, go home."
My robot
Bushnell's current crop of projects includes immersive theatre, and a South Park-a-like animation for YouTube that will use Machinama and appeal to his tech friends. He's also helping some friends with an idea for an internet connected toilet that gathers medical data from your excretions."I like to do something completely different every year of my life," he tells us.
But he does have a regret that he hopes to assuage within the next few years - building a personal robot.
"I have got to do a personal robot otherwise all the money I've lost trying to do a personal robot in the past, instead of being an education, will be a loss.
"I think the technology is almost there. You know, low-power processing and sensoring is getting really good, and all the things that used to be hard but not impossible are now becoming easy and cheap.
"Look at accelerometers and gyroscopes now - that's a 20 cent chip. I mean, Jesus Christ, the accelerometers we had in the first Etak prototype were 300 bucks and they weren't as accurate as the ones that were in the iPhone. That was 10 years ago."
You can't but wonder just what would have happened if Bushnell had managed to take a break back in 1976. But his enthusiasm for pushing on to the next big thing suggests that even running a gaming giant would not have been enough to capture his full attention.
- Bushnell isn't the only former tech magnate with an interest in robots: Bill Gates is getting in on the cybernetic action too
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GTA 5 review: CVG gives its verdict
Take a deep breath, relax, compose yourselves. GTA V is just hours away and the long-awaited verdicts are finally in.
It's been an excruciating wait since that first teaser broke in November 2011. Little did we know back then that we'd be getting not one protagonist this time, but three.
And the surprises kept on coming: just last month we discovered that 5 would give birth to an entirely separate online component, Grand Theft Auto Online, which launches on October 1.
So what's the ruling? "Whether you're in the thick of a bank heist or exploring the wilderness listening to Johnny Cash on the country station, it always feels tight, refined, and polished," said CVG. Go read the full-blown review right over here.
- You can also check out our interview with the game's art director, Aaron Garbut, on how the team made San Andreas come alive once again
- Or you can have a look at CVG's video review below
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Updated: Android 5.0 release date, news and rumors
Android 5.0 news
Google's showing no signs of slowing its pace of Android development, with Android 4.0 appearing on the Galaxy Nexus late in 2011, followed by the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean release that arrived powering the super Nexus 7 in July of 2012.Two more flavors of Jelly Bean were to follow: Android 4.2 was released on 13 November 2012, and then Android 4.3 arrived on 24 July 2013.
Throughout the Jelly Bean reign, we've been gathering rumors of the next major Android update, Android 5.0. The word was that this release was being developed under the dessert-related codename of Key Lime Pie but then on 3 September 2013, Google announced that Android 4.4 KitKat would precede Android 5, so the Key Lime Pie name looks to have been ditched.
We're still expecting an Android 5 release, of course, but with different features, a new code name and a later release date than we were originally anticipating.
The dessert-themed moniker that we assume will begin with L is anyone's guess at this stage. Android 5.0 Lemon Cheesecake or Android 5.0 Lemon Meringue Pie, anyone?
As we wait on official news of that code name, as well as the Android 5.0 release date and features, we can start to pull together the latest rumors from around the web.
Android 5.0 release date
Until Android 4.4 was announced we had expected the Android 5.0 release date to be some time in October 2013. We now expect to see Android 4.4 KitKat launch during that month. In the face of that point release, we think it's now likely that we'll see Android 5.0 shown in mid-2014, quite possibly at Google IO, Google's annual two-day developer conference in San Francisco.That's a year on from when we had originally expected to see Android 5.0, which was at Google IO 2013, which took place from May 15 to May 17 2013. Given that Google announced Android 4.1 Jelly Bean at 2012's IO conference, it seemed reasonable to expect to see Android 5.0 at the 2013 event.
But on 13 May 2013, we got our confirmation that there would be no serving of Android 5 at Google IO from Sundar Pichai, Google's new head of Android. Pichai told Wired that 2013's IO is "not a time when we have much in the way of launches of new products or a new operating system". Boo! "Both on Android and Chrome, we're going to focus this IO on all the kinds of things we're doing for developers so that they can write better things," he added.
Android 5.0 phones
Rumors of a new Nexus handset started trickling in during the third quarter of 2012, as we reported on 1 October 2012. There was talk that this phone would be sporting Android 5.0 but the handset, which turned out to be the Google Nexus 4, arrived running Android Jelly Bean.While the Nexus 4 didn't appear with Android 5.0, speculation that we reported on 21 January 2013 suggested that the Motorola X was the Android 5.0-toting handset that would be revealed at Google IO. The Moto X wasn't on show at IO and instead appeared in August 2013, running Android 4.2.2.
We also heard whispers that a new Nexus phone, most likely the Google Nexus 5, might be blessed with Android 5.0 and on 18 March 2013, supposed images of the Nexus 5 surfaced, with the handset apparently being manufactured by LG. If the accompanying specs, leaked along with the photo by the anonymous source, are true, then the Nexus 5 will feature a 5.2-inch, 1920 x 1080 OLED display, 2.3GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor and 3GB of RAM.
The latest speculation, which we reported on 13 September 2013, suggests that the Nexus 5 will now arrive sporting Android 4.4 KitKat.
If rumors that we covered on 30 May are correct, then HTC will be bringing us an Android 5.0-powered 'phablet' in the form of the HTC T6 (now looking as though it'll launch as the HTC One Max).
Featuring a 5.9-inch full-HD screen, the One Max will be squaring up against the Samsung Galaxy Note 3, which broke cover at IFA 2013. According to tipster evleaks, the One Max will feature a 2.3GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage. With a rumored release date of the end of 2013, though, it's going to arrive too early to come with Android 5.0 out of the box.
Android 5.0 tablets
The original Nexus 7 tablet was unveiled at Google IO 2012, so we thought it possible that we'd see a refreshed Nexus 7 2 at Google IO 2013. The speculation earlier in the year was that Google would team up with Asus for this, as it did with the original Nexus 7. We expected an upgraded display on the new Nexus 7 tablet, while Digitimes reported that the 2nd generation Nexus 7 would have 3G service and range in price from $149 to $199.The new Nexus 7 was a no-show at IO, but the Asus-built device was later launched by Google on 24 July 2013, albeit running Android 4.3 rather than 5.
Samsung's Android 5.0 upgrades
Although Samsung is yet to officially confirm its Android 5.0 schedule, a SamMobile source is claiming to know which phones and tablets will be getting the upgrade. According to the source, the devices set to receive the upgrade are the Galaxy S4, Galaxy S3, Galaxy Note 2, Galaxy Note 8.0 and Galaxy Note 10.1. Do note that this claim was made before Google announced Android 4.4, so if it was ever correct, it's probably a lot less correct now.
Android 5.0 features
For 24 hours, it seemed as though the first kinda, sorta confirmed feature for Android 5.0 was a Google Now widget, which briefly appeared in a screenshot on the company's support forum before being taken down. As it was so hurriedly pulled, many people assumed it was slated for the big five-o and accidentally revealed early.As it happened, the following day, on 13 February 2013, the Google Now widget rolled out to Jelly Bean.
On 28 February 2013, we learned from Android Central that Google is working with the Linux 3.8 kernel, which gave rise to the notion that this kernel might power Android 5. One improvement that the 3.8 kernel brings is lowered RAM usage, which would mean a snappier phone with better multitasking.
On 13 June 2013, VR-Zone also claimed that Android 5.0 will be optimised to run on devices with as little as 512MB of RAM.
We're now expecting that Linux 3.8 kernel to show up in Android 4.4, given that Google's stated aim with KitKat is "to make an amazing Android experience available for everybody".
Android Geeks reported that Google Babble would debut on Android 5.0. Babble was the code name for Google's cross-platform service and app with the aim of unifying its various chat services which include Talk, Hangout, Voice, Messenger, Chat for Google Drive and Chat on Google+.
A screenshot that we were sent from a Google employee on 8 April confirmed that not only was this unified chat service on the way, but that it was called Google Babel not Babble. The service was to come with a bunch of new emoticons and Google+ built-in so you can jump from Babel chat to hangout. A leaked Google memo on 10 April provided a few more juicy details including talk of a new UI and synced conversations between mobile and desktop.
On 10 May, we discovered that Babel would launch as Google Hangouts, and on 15 May we saw it come to life for devices running Android 2.3 and up. So much for it debuting on Android 5.
Following an 18 April tear-down of the Google Glass app MyGlass by Android Police, it looked as though there may be an iOS Games Center-like service coming to Android 5.0.
Android Police found references in the code to functionality that doesn't exist in Glass, which suggested that developers accidentally shipped the full suite of Google Play Services with the Android application package.
The files in the package contained references to real-time and turn-based multiplayer, in-game chat, achievements, leaderboards, invitations and game lobbies.
As expected, we found out more about Google Play Games at Google I/O, but it's not an Android 5.0 feature after all as it has been made available already.
Android 5.0 interface
While this is pure speculation, we're wondering whether Android 5.0 might bring with it a brighter interface, moving away from the Holo Dark theme that came with Android 4.0.Google Now brought with it a clearer look with cleaner fonts, and screenshots of Google Play 4.0 show Google's app market taking on similar design cues. Is this a hint at a brighter, airier look for Key Lime Pie?
On 6 August 2013, we learned that Google had applied to patent a rather cool piece of functionality whereby an Android user would be able to launch different apps by drawing different patterns on the lock screen.
If this feature makes it into Android 5, we could be able to launch the camera app by drawing one pattern and Twitter by drawing another.
Our Android 5.0 wishlist
While we wait on more Key Lime Pie features to be revealed and scour the web for more Android 5.0 news, TechRadar writer Gary Cutlack has been thinking about what we want to see in Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie. Hopefully the new mobile OS will feature some of these things...1. Performance Profiles
It's bit of a fuss managing your mobile before bed time. Switching off the sound, turning off data, activating airplane mode and so on, so what Android 5.0 really needs is a simple way of managing performance, and therefore power use, automatically.We've been given a taste of this with Blocking Mode in Samsung's Jelly Bean update on the Samsung Galaxy S3 and the Note 2 but we'd like to see the functionality expanded.
Something like a Gaming mode for max power delivery, an Overnight low-power state for slumbering on minimal power and maybe a Reading mode for no bothersome data connections and a super-low backlight.
Some hardware makers put their own little automated tools in, such as the excellent Smart Actions found within Motorola's RAZR interface, but it'd be great to see Google give us a simple way to manage states.
Another little power strip style widget for phone performance profiles would be an easy way to do it.
2. Better multiple device support
Google already does quite a good job of supporting serious Android nerds who own several phones and tablets, but there are some holes in its coverage that are rather frustrating.Take the Videos app which manages your film downloads through the Play Store. Start watching a film on one Android device and you're limited to resuming your film session on that same unit, making it impossible to switch from phone to tablet mid-film.
You can switch between phone and web site players to resume watching, but surely Google ought to understand its fans often have a couple of phones and tabs on the go and fix this for Android Key Lime Pie?
3. Enhanced social network support
Android doesn't really do much for social network users out of the box, with most of the fancy social widgets and features coming from the hardware makers through their own custom skins.Sony integrates Facebook brilliantly in its phones, and even LG makes a great social network aggregator widget that incorporates Facebook and Twitter - so why are there no cool aggregator apps as part of the standard Android setup?
Yes, Google does a great job of pushing Google+, but, no offence, there are many other more widely used networks that ought to be a little better "baked in" to Android.
4. Line-drawing keyboard options
Another area where the manufacturers have taken a big leap ahead of Google is in integrating clever alternate text entry options in their keyboards. HTC and Sony both offer their own takes on the Swype style of line-drawing text input, which is a nice option to have for getting your words onto a telephone. Get it into Android 5.0 and give us the choice.UPDATE: Google heard us and this feature appeared in Android 4.2.
5. A video chat app
How odd is it that Google's put a front-facing camera on the Nexus 7 and most hardware manufacturers do the same on their phones and tablets, yet most ship without any form of common video chat app?You have to download Skype and hope it works, or find some other downloadable app solution. Why isn't there a Google Live See My Face Chat app of some sort as part of Android? Is it because we're too ugly? Is that what you're saying, Google?
6. Multi-select in the contacts
The Android contacts section is pretty useful, but it could be managed a little better. What if you have the idea of emailing or texting a handful of your friends? The way that's currently done is by emailing one, then adding the rest individually. Some sort of checkbox system that let users scroll through names and create a mailing list on the fly through the contacts listing in Android Key Lime Pie would make this much easier.
7. Cross-device SMS sync
If you're a constant SIM swapper with more than one phone on the go, chances are you've lost track of your text messages at some point. Google stores these on the phone rather than the SIM card, so it'd be nice if our texts could be either backed up to the SIM, the SD card, or beamed up to the magical invisible cloud of data, for easy and consistent access across multiple devices.8. A "Never Update" option
This would annoy developers so is unlikely to happen, but it'd be nice if we could refuse app updates permanently in Android 5.0, just in case we'd rather stick with a current version of a tool than be forced to upgrade.Sure, you can set apps to manual update and then just ignore the update prompt forever, but it'd be nice to know we can keep a favoured version of an app without accidentally updating it. Some of us are still using the beta Times app, for example, which has given free access for a year.
9. App preview/freebie codes
Something Apple's been doing for ages and ages is using a promo code system to distribute free or review versions of apps. It even makes doing little competitions to drum up publicity for apps much easier, so why's there no similar scheme for Android?It might encourage developers to stop going down the ad-covered/freemium route if they could charge for an app but still give it away to friends and fans through a promo code system.
10. Final whinges and requests...
It's be nice to be able to sort the Settings screen by alphabetical order, too, or by most commonly used or personal preference, as Android's so packed with a huge list of options these days it's a big old list to scroll through and pick out what you need.Plus could we have a percentage count for the battery in the Notifications bar for Android 5.0? Just so we know a bit more info than the vague emptying battery icon.
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Updated: PS4 pre-order guide: Prices, game bundles and where you can get it
If you're planning to buy a PlayStation 4 in the UK on November 29, you'd better get your skates on.
From Asda to Zavvi, the PS4 is almost sold out. There are only a few places still offering consoles for launch day and you might have to pay a premium to get one.
If you didn't order a PS4 before August 6 (and why else would you be here?), retailers are promising that they will fulfill orders as soon as they can after November 29. There might be some extra stock closer to launch day, there might not. Sony certainly isn't saying.
Some PS4 deals are better than others. Bundles range from the standalone console, which has an RRP of £349, to the exclusive Call of Duty: Ghosts Exclusive Prestige Edition at Game, which costs a whopping £534.98.
We've rounded all of them up, which we'll keep updated so you know just where to get the best deal on a next-gen PlayStation.
The Sony store is dry
What do you get when you plunk down £349 for a basic PS4 pack? You get the PlayStation 4 System itself, a DualShock 4 wireless controller, an HDMI cable, power cable, wired mono headset and a USB charging cable. This is the bare minimum spec and you're unlikely to find discounts that go more than a pound or two below the RRP.While the Sony store is still accepting 'pre-orders' for this standalone PS4 (no games included), the website cites high demand and points out that "orders placed for this PlayStation 4 console from August 6 may be received after release… We will ship orders as soon as we receive sufficient inventory." You'll see a similar story on most websites.
But you could get a PS4 on launch day here
You'll need to be quick, but at the time of writing (September 15), simplygames.com was advertising a standalone PS4 for £349.99 and promising that the "item will arrive by the day of release!!" That's good news. But it probably won't stay that way for long.Simplygames.com also has a number of bundles available if you want to splash the cash. A PS4 with a copy of Killzone: Shadow Fall costs £399.99, as does a PS4 bundle that includes Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag. If money is no object, you can pick up a PS4 with a copy of Driveclub and an extra DualShock 4 controller for £448.99.
The prestigious PS4 at Game UK
Game has two PS4 packs available for 'pre-order' - the standard £349 console and the exclusive Call of Duty: Ghosts Game Exclusive Prestige Edition (£534.98). The latter includes a copy of the game, a 1080p HD Tactical video camera, a Call of Duty: Ghosts Season Pass for access to DLC and map packs, plus various patches and player cards.While these two bundles are still available to buy on the Game website (by paying a £20 deposit), the retailer is at the mercy of Sony's pre-August 6 stock control. Long story short: anybody who pre-ordered a console (online or in-store) before August 6 will get 'priority' over the available stock at launch. That's not a firm guarantee of a console on November 29, you'll notice. Just a promise that you'll be at the front of the queue.
If you ordered (or order) on or after August 6, you'll have to wait for further stock to arrive from Sony. Retailers have been burned before by guesstimating future delivery dates. For this console generation, they're keeping their mouths shut.
Amazon, Argos and Gamestop prices
The August 6 cut-off date applies to the £349 PlayStation 4s on sale at Amazon ("orders placed for this PlayStation 4 console from August 6 may be received after release date") and Argos ("we can no longer guarantee delivery at launch.") So you're better off looking somewhere else.Gamestop also can't promise you a PS4 (£349.97) on launch day, informing pre-orderers that they will be "placed in a queue" and that any subsequent pre-orders will be fulfilled based on the time and date of those orders. So the sooner you order, the sooner you'll get a console.
There are (or were) some discounts...
Not every UK retailer is sticking to the £349 RRP for the PS4. If you'd been quick, Toys R Us was selling the basic PS4 for a tenner less (£339), but has sold all of its stock and isn't accepting any new pre-orders.Other discounts are less impressive. Zavvi is selling its standalone PlayStation 4 pack with a five pence markdown (£348.95), while Shopto.net undercuts the default price by a mere tuppence (£348.98). But if you want to pay more, Shopto.net is also selling a PS4 bundle for £448.85, which includes FIFA 14 and an extra DualShock controller.
While the PS4 is still technically available for pre-order at both Zavvi and Shopto.net, we're sorry to say that neither one will guarantee you a console for launch day. They don't give an expected delivery date for orders placed after August 6 either.
Asda? Tesco? Currys? It's the same old story
Asda Direct prices the basic PS4 at £349 and you can still order one before launch day by slapping down a £20 deposit. The trouble is, you're not guaranteed to receive that console on launch day if you order after August 5, which today most definitely is.In contrast, Tesco is no longer taking pre-orders on its website as it "cannot guarantee we will have the stock to fulfil your order." When the PS4 does eventually come back in stock, the price tag is the same £349 as you'll find nearly everywhere else.
The high street electrical colossus that is Currys/PC World is also selling the PS4 at £349. You can order, but the store can't (and won't) guarantee launch day delivery unless you pre-ordered before August 6.
The Overall picture
The PS4's popularity is obvious and, unless you pre-ordered one before August 6, there's now little chance that you'll get one to play with on launch day.Any orders placed after this date will typically be fulfilled as soon as extra stock arrives. But retailers are at the mercy of Sony's supply chain and how fast the factories can crank the machines out. It could be a week after the launch before new stock arrives. It could be a month.
To avoid disappointment (and broken promises), retailers are not supplying delivery dates for orders placed after August 6. That's not to say you won't get a PS4 on launch day if you pre-order now. But it's unlikely - as unlikely as Norwich winning the Premier League, Nokia selling an Android phone or Microsoft convincing us that Surface is a good alternative to the iPad.
Our advice: keep an eye on this page - we'll update it if things change and fresh stock hits retailers. You can also track day-to-day PS4 availability via the handy Stock Informer website.
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The one-box solution for all your office IT needs
Comprehensive doesn't need to be complicated. Dell's PowerEdge VRTX, powered by Intel Xeon processors, is the innovative one-box IT solution for businesses.
It brings together servers, storage and management into a single box the size of a tower server that fits well into any office and puts an end to bunches of cables, unnecessary extra devices and needless maintenance costs. What's more, noise is kept to a minimum.
The revolutionary PowerEdge VRTX acts like your own data centre in a box, catering for all your back office needs. Dell has put the power and function of a data centre into one small package that can change the face of IT in your small to medium business or remote office. It really is a game-changer.
It's simple to manage too – you can remove the need for time-consuming and expensive management interface retraining – the Dell PowerEdge VRTX consolidates all of your disparate management tools into one comprehensive and easy-to-use console that provides at-a-glance health status. And if you're setting up your first server, it's a straightforward process.
If you're worried about server performance then don't be – the PowerEdge VRTX incorporates the latest Intel Xeon E5 processor family.
There's a huge potential storage capacity too, with up to 48TB of data across 3.5-inch or 2.5-inch drives of your choice and can take 76GB RAM. You'll benefit from the high availability that's a trademark of RAID. There's data protection and encryption technology
Network performance is also the preserve of PowerEdge VRTX, with integrated Gigabit network ports. And, naturally, you'll receive Dell ProSupport for all your service needs. With Dell PowerEdge VRTX your business technology needs are all catered for.
Don't know where to start? The first step is to contact a Dell expert to understand how Dell's technology and services can help your business. Find out more at dell.co.uk/vrtx
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Competition: WIN! A 46-inch HD Samsung 3D Smart TV
TechRadar has teamed up with Barclaycard bespoke offers to bring you the chance to win a 46-inch full HD Samsung UE46F6740 3D Smart TV, with Freeview HD and voice control features.
This Samsung Smart TV features Wi-Fi connectivity while immersing you in rich 3D viewing - you'll even get two pairs of 3D specs in the box.
The Smart TV features, meanwhile, will give viewing recommendations tailored just for you. The more you watch, the more it understands what you're likely to want to watch next.
Samsung's Smart Hub will also arrange your content into different categories - Movies and TV Shows, Photos, Videos & Music, Social - to make everything as easy to find as possible.
bespoke offers helps you find great money saving offers going on across the UK, all via the web or your mobile phone. You can find out more over on the bespoke website.
To be in with a chance of winning this behemoth TV, just answer this question.
Please note that this competition is only open to UK residents over 18 years of age.
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Exclusive: Nobody will find all of GTA V's easter eggs, says art director
The art director for Grand Theft Auto V has told TechRadar that the game is so packed with references he doubts many people will even see them.
In an extensive interview into the world of GTA V, Garbut explains just how much the landscape has changed for a series that has become such a touchstone in modern gaming.
When asked about rumours of yetis and other visual easter eggs, Garbut confirmed that players would be wowed by the sheer amount.
Obscurity
"There's stuff that's so obscure that most people will never see it," said Garbut."I love the connection that social media has given us to the people that play our games.
"We can see what they like and what is interesting them as it happens, and this really has helped push more of these things into the game.
"I think everything in IV has been found, I'm not sure if the same thing will happen for 5."
We will start to see if GTA V, which launches tomorrow, gets the critical acclaim from when reviews sneak out from under embargo at 3pm.
In the meantime we'll get back to sitting next to our postboxes and hoping that we're among those lucky enough to get an early delivery.
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Nokia's Sirius tablet is no joke as it reappears in benchmark leak
Nokia's rumoured RT tablet is picking up some serious momentum as of late, with the slate now popping up in a leaked benchmark test.
The tablet has apparently been Bluetooth certified with the model number RM-114. The benchmark results, unearthed by an anonymous tipster to phonearena, also reiterate that "Sirius" name we've been hearing a lot of, listing the device as "Jinsh Sirius".
According to the specs, Nokia's first full tablet will also come with a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor CPU with Adreno 330 GPU.
Why so Sirius?
We recently saw a leaked render of the tablet shows itself on the web, with details claiming the tablet will boast a 10.1-inch 1920 x 1080 Full HD IPS display, 2GB of RAM, up to 10 hours of battery life, and will come with 32GB of native storage expandable via microSD.A 6-megapixel rear camera is also expected along with a 2-megapixel front-facer.
However the same earlier leak outed the tablet at a price of $499 (about £315, AU$538), which seems like a big ask for an RT tablet. Of course, don't start throwing things just yet though - it could be a lot of old rubbish.
But with Microsoft now in control of Nokia's device and services division, a Nokia-built RT tablet makes more sense than ever.
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Interview: The tech that built an empire: how Rockstar created the world of GTA 5
It's GTA on another level
If architects are the unsung heroes of the modern world, spare an extra special thought for Aaron Garbut. Since Grand Theft Auto 3, Rockstar North's art director has been creating virtual playgrounds that aren't just ambitious, but which often resonate as much as their real-world inspirations.Now hoards of gamers are about to descend on the latest fruit of Rockstar's labours, Grand Theft Auto 5, and are set to experience an open world environment that's more daring than anything the series has attempted before.
"I've always been proud of the worlds we've built, but this one really is on another level all together," Garbut tells us. "I think the immersive thing is that, as large and detailed as it is, it always has more to give.
"There's always new things to see, and layers of detail on the ambient life that really makes it feel like there's stuff going on without you. It's a world with which you interact and exist, it doesn't feel like a facade that's created around you."
And don't we just know it. Having dipped our toes into the San Andreas waters ourselves we're ready to take the plunge. This is a very different place to the one we visited with CJ back in 2004. It's richer, more vibrant, and in many ways never-ending.
From facing off sharks on the ocean floor to taking in the view from the peak of Mount Chiliad, Rockstar wants us to not only experience San Andreas this time, but breathe it.
But despite a lot of speculation that the game would arrive for the dawn of the PS4 and Xbox One, GTA 5's release on the current generation left the question of how much Rockstar could possibly wring out of the existing systems. Would there be anything left after GTA 4, Red Dead Redemption and Max Payne 3?
"Technologically the biggest achievement has been squeezing this all into the console's memory and making it run as smoothly as it does," says Garbut.
"I think it's pretty staggering that you can be in a jet flying fast and high above the clouds, looking past the mountains to the city below you and then hit eject and parachute out over the map, seeing the world sprawled out beneath you and knowing the level of detail that exists across everything you can see."
Engines for engines
GTA hasn't just got bigger either - it's evolved in almost every other aspect too. "Everything is so much further on than it used to be," Garbut tells us. Grand Theft Auto 4 may have been the first of the series to take RAGE (Rockstar Advanced Game Engine) for a spin, but it was also in its infancy.Over the past five years the entire engine and its mechanics have been fine-tuned to point that it's "effectively become the new RAGE," according to Garbut.
"Originally RAGE was a set of components - a basic rendering engine, a physics engine and the like. It was never a game engine. When we started Grand Theft Auto 4, RAGE was a toolset that gave us the basics for a rendering engine and a physics engine that we were able to build on."
"Over the past five years through 5's development, they have evolved, standardised and generalised the GTA engine," he says.
"Now, since Max Payne 3, we have a standardised full game engine across all titles at Rockstar. This is amazing since it gives all our games the same building blocks to pick and choose from, and it means all our artists are familiar with the same toolset.
"It's so much more than what RAGE originally was or what Renderware was for us in the past. This is effectively a finished game that we then build on and steer towards each title's needs."
"We can stream far more and compress far more into memory, meaning orders of magnitude more detail than we had in 4," adds Garbut. "The graphics engine has been overhauled, which gives us much better rendering of characters, vehicles and the world as a whole."
Waterworld
Considering the sheer size of the map, the level of detail that RAGE affords in GTA 5 is hugely impressive. While not a whole generation away from number 4, time has taught the technology how to squeeze every last drop from the current gen."The water has moved forward massively, and we have a far more accurate lighting model and generally a far better lighting system, both in terms of quality and quantity," says Garbut. "We render more lights and we render them much, much further."
"Our weather systems are far in advance of what we've had in the past, building on the cloud systems and rain systems from Red Dead Redemption. If you look at a night based screenshot, all the little lights you see in the far distance are real, you can drive towards them and find the bulb that casts the light.
"The animation system is amazing. It's able to blend in so many actions incredibly smoothly to give us a really rich movement across all characters. It also utilises the streaming improvements to give us huge amounts of variety and specific actions, allowing us to seamlessly blend in and out of cutscenes. They stop being interruptions to play, so you feel much more connected to the story."
A perfect example is in one of the game's earlier missions, Three's Company, a cinematic heist that requires players to switch between Michael, Franklin and Trevor.
The three-way dynamic is one important way GTA V has evolved from its predecessors, while packing the game with more heist missions was response to gamers' love for GTA 4's Three Leaf Clover. Go back and play that mission now and there's an odd sense of foreshadowing.
Cityscaping and Grand Theft Auto Online.
Before Grand Theft Auto 5's first teaser trailer hit in November 2011, gamers were busy speculating about where 5 might be headed. San Andreas was the bookies' favourite, but some felt a return to Vice City was on the cards. Others thought we might even see Rockstar reclaim the streets of London.However it doesn't take a lot of roaming around GTA 5's map to see why it was important to revisit Vinewood. San Andreas had plenty more to give, and Rockstar had plenty more love to give it. But when faced with putting down the first brick, where do you choose to begin?
"We always start with the roads then we build out the city, then the terrain, then the ocean floor," Garbut tells us. "We get the roads in first so we get an idea of the districts and how they flow together and get a feel for how the scale feels as you drive around the world. Then a small team blocks in each area - this is our pre-production - and it took the best part of nine months this time."
But while the Grand Theft Auto series has prided itself in replicating famous landmarks, it's also had to grapple with a reality that a lot of people don't often consider: cities are actually kind of boring.
Full of repetition and areas of sprawling, concrete nothingness, it's fair to say that only a small part of any urban metropolis is actually worth recreating. So how does the team make sure GTA's take on Los Angeles is better than the real thing?
"Firstly we are distilling massive areas down so we remove repetition," says Garbut. "We obsess over each district and look at what looks good, what looks fun, what could provide good dramatic backdrops to action or cutscenes.
"Our goal is to take a city and pick out the key bits that define it, whether that's a key building, a street or a district. That gives us the flavour of the city and helps us to capture the feel.
"Then we try to make sure that everything we add flows together well and feels natural. While we are doing that we just make sure what we're adding works to build sightlines and skylines in a more sculptural sense. Creating interesting shapes and framing views.
"Then finally from a playability viewpoint we want to make sure it feels good to drive through, to climb over, and then we can play about with the details."
Letting it grow
Struggling to visualise the size of GTA 5's map? Think Red Dead Redemption, GTA 4 and GTA: San Andreas combined, according to earlier reports. For once, Rockstar hasn't made use of the cutting board."Normally we chop things down," says Garbut. "On GTA 4 we cut four or five blocks north to south from all the islands about 60% of the way into production to cut areas that weren't working and save time. On 5 we didn't chop. Everything worked, it flowed really well and instead we just let the areas evolve through continuous iteration."
When it comes to replicating Grand Theft Auto's locations, much of the work comes from teams being sent out on the ground. But Garbut admits that they have a few tools to make matters easier. "Google maps and the like have helped immensely," he says.
"It's always better to see things for yourself, but tools like this can and do make a massive difference. Google Maps is an amazing tool to act as a reminder, or to help become familiar with an area if you've never been there. When you combine this with the countless thousands of reference images and videos, we have a lot of information to get to grips with an area."
Which brings us to Rockstar's ace up the sleeve, Grand Theft Auto Online. It may be based on the new San Andreas map, but Grand Theft Auto Online is its own living, breathing entity.
Gamers have been hankering for a full GTA MMO since the early days of the series, with various modded versions popping up online. 16 players might not make Grand Theft Auto Online an MMO in the "massive" sense, but its persistent, evolving structure promises to offer something vastly different to anything we saw on 4.
Even better, it's here to stay. Grand Theft Auto Online will continue to grow into the future, past 5 and whatever comes next. Rockstar has even hinted that we could see some familiar old territories pop up here one day. Fancy hopping on a flight from Los Santos International and jetting over for some 80s-esque Vice City action? It might just be possible.
The fact Rockstar hasn't mentioned anything about possible PS4 or Xbox One versions of the game has left a lot of space for speculation. Rockstar is keeping tight-lipped on what comes next, but an Xbox One and PS4 version would certainly make sense in the near future.
X(box)-Files
But conspiracy theories are part of the Grand Theft Auto experience. The titles have always been loaded with Easter eggs, but San Andreas went one step further (at least according to the fans) with reported sightings of UFOs, Bigfoot, and even Leatherface himself. So has Rockstar loaded GTA 5 with more mythical goodies?"There's stuff that's so obscure that most people will never see it," admits Garbut. "I love the connection that social media has given us to the people that play our games. We can see what they like and what is interesting them as it happens, and this really has helped push more of these things into the game. I think everything in IV has been found, I'm not sure if the same thing will happen for 5."
Finally, we have to ask Garbut to name the one spot he can't wait for fans to experience for the first time. No easy task, it turns out.
"I have a lot of favourite locations. It depends on my mood. For me that's what works so well about the game in general, that it's whatever you want it to be. That there's so much to it that it will work whatever mood you're in.
"It's also the contrasts that I like, the switch from our version of Sunset or Beverly hills to the scariest, most run-down backwater in the desert. From the inside of a high-end office block to a chicken processing plant.
"The thing I want people to see most is the scale, to fly over the city in a jet, to look over the countryside from the top of a mountain as the sun goes down. Or to drive out of Los Santos towards our version of Malibu, head out onto a pier and dive in and get a sense for how much there is under the water too. I love that's it's not just a passive backdrop, that there's stuff to see and do and take part in everywhere."
As we encounter wild animals of Blaine County's RDR-like desert, feel thankful for the Max Payne 3-style cover system in the heat of a getaway, or take a moment to appreciate the improved facial animations that (though not using MotionScan) clearly owe themselves to the detail of LA Noire, it really feels like this is the game that everything has been leading up to.
- Check out CVG's GTA 5 review, when it goes live at 3pm BST / 7am PT today.
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In Depth: Become an Android Power User with the Samsung GALAXY S4
Step 1: Documents
The cornerstone of any PC has to be the Microsoft Office suite – incredibly boring, but still the benchmark for getting spreadsheets and presentations done.Although there's no official Microsoft Office suite for Android, that doesn't have to stop you. Google Docs is an excellent (and free) alternative. Just download the free Google Drive app, whack your Google Account details in, and you'll be able to start creating a variety of different document types.
If, for some unfathomable reason, you need to see documents on a PC, you can to go to drive.google.com, and all your documents will be there for your spread-sheeting or word editing pleasure.
Best of all? No need to save as it's all automatically done in the cloud!
Step 2: Email
Obviously, this is one area your GALAXY S4 is all over. The S4's email app can do everything your boring PC email client can, but without trillions of menus.To use it as your primary mailing machine, though, there are a few changes you're going to want to make. In the settings menu, change the default sync time to 'push' (for an Exchange email account) or 'every 5 minutes' for any other account. That means you'll get your email constantly, which, although a mild drain on your soul, will at least keep you in the loop.
The other change you will want to make is to update your email signature – after all, you don't want people thinking you're slacking all the time, do you? A proper signature at the end of messages will make you look like an email pro (it's your decision whether or not that's a good thing) – normal stuff to include is your name, work address, phone number, job title… It just depends how easy you want to make it for stalkers, basically!
Step 3: Photo editing
The gold standard for photo editing on a PC is Adobe Photoshop – and you don't have to give that up now you've ditched the clunky laptop.The GALAXY S4's gorgeous 5-inch screen is a perfect match for editing photos, and the £2.99 Photoshop Touch for phone app from Adobe is the dinky little tool for the job.
If you're not one for downloading too many extra apps, though, the GALAXY S4's inbuilt photo editing capabilities (which you'll find in the Camera app) can handle most tasks with aplomb, from effects to simple cropping and straightening magic.
Step 4: Music Hub
Unless you're yet to celebrate the millennium, chances are the bulk of your music collection is digital. With the GALAXY S4, you get to take that everywhere with you; but you also need a way of playing it over big speakers.While you could just use a boring old cable to plug it into the hi-fi, that's quite last decade. Instead, get a Bluetooth adaptor such as the £59.99 BAYAN Audio Streamport Universal plug it into the stereo, connect up your S4, and you'll be able to play sweet music without taking your phone out of your pocket.
For hardcore music fans, rest easy – the GALAXY S4 supports the hi-fidelity AptX codec, so your tunes will come out just fine, with none of the distortion or clipping found in Bluetooth streaming of yore.
Step 5: Keyboard and mouse
Here's where things get freaky. You know that sometimes typing out giant emails on the keyboard on your GALAXY S4 can get a little taxing, no matter how good the auto-correct? Well, tax yourself no more (that's more a job for the government, anyway).Bluetooth keyboards and mice will work just dandy with a GALAXY S4, dontcha know? Just put them into pairing mode, go to the Bluetooth menu in Settings, and they will pop up.
Connect them, and you'll have a cursor to move around on screen, and a keyboard to type words with. Or just hit randomly. Whatever takes your fancy, really.
Step 6: Monitor
BUT WAIT: there's more. Specifically, you can hook your phone up to an external monitor. All you need is this handy adaptor, and you will be able to plug a HDTV or computer monitor into it.Big Angry Birds! Sorry, we meant spreadsheets. Definitely spreadsheets. Nothing to see here. Move along…
Step 7: Display Mirroring
Chances are you've got another big screen lying around your house: your TV. It should be your go-to method for showing off photos or watching videos when you're lying on the sofa, and with the S4, it can be.If you've got a Samsung Smart TV (or Smart Blu-ray player), you can wirelessly mirror the S4's screen on the big telly. Just head to Settings > Connections > Screen Mirroring, add your display, and Bob's your blown-up-to-60-inches uncle.
Step 8: Facebook
PCs aren't all work and no play – in all probability, most of our time on the internet is probably spent "Booking The Face", organising events and over-obsessively checking our ex's photos!The Facebook app is already pretty darn good, but to get to Facebook Level 5,000, you should get the Chat Heads feature. Just download the free Facebook Messenger app, head into Settings, and enable Chat Heads.
These little bubbles sit on top of other windows, letting you fire off quick messages without having to leave whatever app you were already in. This way you never have to be more than a tap from your closest friends. The GALAXY S4: ensuring you'll never be lonely, ever again!
Step 9: Security
So, we've pretty much made the GALAXY S4 the centre of your digital life. But as everyone from Peter Parker onwards has known: with great power, come nefarious hackers.That's why Samsung KNOX will soon be on your S4 – a one-stop security shop that can easily make your GALAXY S4 secure enough to store the most sensitive of hush-hush corporate secrets, without completely ruining its fun appeal.
Step 10: Back-up
You know how you're meant to back everything on the PC up, but never do? Well, the GALAXY S4 allows you exactly the same amount of forgetfulness, without the risk of losing your files!There are dozens of cloud storage 'solutions' out there; SugarSync, Mega and Google Drive, to name but a few. The best by a country mile though, is Dropbox: the storage is pretty cheap, but most importantly, the photo backup is automatic. Even better, you'll find that your GALAXY S4 came with a whopping 50GB of free Dropbox space.
If you ever manage to drop your S4 down the loo (a sad day for all involved) all the gorgeous Drama Shots you slaved over would be lost forever. With Dropbox, they'll all be saved in the cloud for posterity.
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Updated: Android 4.4 KitKat release date, news and rumors
Well, this is a surprise. Having long expected version 5.0 of Android to be given the code name Key Lime Pie, Google has instead handed the 'K' release name to Android 4.4 and in a weird cross-promotional deal it's called it Android KitKat.
As part of the deal Nestle is running a contest to win a Nexus 7 or Google Play credit through specially branded Kit Kat bars.
So, apart from the fact that the chocolate bar has a space between Kit and Kat and Android 4.4 doesn't. what do we know about KitKat so far?
Android 4.4 release date
Android 4.3 recently arrived on the Nexus 7, Nexus 7 2012, Nexus 4, Nexus 10 and Samsung Galaxy Nexus but is yet to roll out to other devices. It'll also be arriving 'soon' on the HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S4 Google versions, with HTC saying it expects to push it out to developers by the end of September.So now we can start to look forward to the Android 4.4 KitKat release date. But when? We'll take a guess at late October or early November 2013 for now – which is when we were previously expecting to see Android 5.0 break cover.
A release date tipped to Ausdroid - and one which the site says it's taking with a large grain of salt - is October 14.
Android 4.4 features
Android 4.3 came with a few minor upgrades including better multi-user customisation, support for Bluetooth smart technology and an updated keyboard. As a minor release, Android 4.3 didn't even get its own desert-themed name, sharing the Jelly Bean moniker with Android 4.1 and 4.2.So with a brand new code name, we can expect Android 4.4 to bring some bigger changes, but all Google is saying at this stage is: "It's our goal with Android KitKat to make an amazing Android experience available for everybody."
From this, we can assume that Google wants to get Android onto less powerful devices, something we were previously hearing about Android 5.0 when it was claimed that the new OS would be optimised to run on devices with as little as 512MB of RAM.
We also learned from Android Central back in February 2013 that Google is working with the Linux 3.8 kernel. One improvement that this kernel brings is lowered RAM usage, which fits with Google's goal of bringing Android to more devices.
The source who tipped Ausdroid with the October 14 release date also leaked some supposed details of the new OS, confirming that it would be available for "older phones", adding that it would also bring gallery visualization tweaks, new animation APIs, new notification widgets and the ability to change the Android default blue to other colors.
Android 4.4 phones
In a commercial for its new operating system, Google revealed what seems to be the long-awaited Nexus 5.
Shown off in a 38 second advert, the new Nexus handset looks to be equipped with a large camera and a matte black finish, carrying an LG logo on the back.
Google has since taken the video down, leading to further speculation that it did indeed reveal the Nexus 5.
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'I've learned how to love sales people' says internet founder
People who want to be successful technologists have to learn how to become salesperson, according to one of the men who founded the internet.
Speaking at the O2 Campus Party, Cerf admitted that he'd previously had very little time for people who could talk the talk, but that he had learned over the years how important it was to convince others of a project's worth.
"You have to work out how to be a salesman," he said. "I used to think salesmen were this terrible thing, but now I understand that sales and marketing is about getting everyone else to do you want them to.
"So we need to get in front of these young people - people who have been successful at science and technology and are excited about it and have made a difference and make them realise that this kind of thing can make a world-shaking impact."
Next big thing
Cerf believes that people need to stop worrying about inventing the next big thing and focus on fixing something that is wrong."Now I have to tell you we didn't start out to have this big impact - we started out trying to solve a problem," he added.
"You don't start out by saying 'I'm going to change the world', the right thing to do is start out and say 'I'm going to solve this problem' and if you solve it successfully you go to the next step and the next step and so on."
- There's plenty more insight from Vint - check out why he thinks privacy and security must be balanced online
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In Depth: Top 10 car tech innovations at the Frankfurt Motor Show 2013
Frankfurt Motor Show: Part 1
The car and tech convergence continues. Self-driving cars, pedestrian-detecting cars, touchscreen infested cars, all-round connected cars. You name it, it was on offer at the Frankfurt Motor Show this year.It's an event on a massive scale, with single brands occupying show halls as big as what used to pass as the British Motor Show in London.
But we've trawled every hall and every stand to bring you the best bits. The techiest, the slickest and the downright weirdest.
1. BMW i8
First up is its carbon-fibre and aluminium composite construction. Then there's the radical re-thinking of what it means to be a supercar. The petrol engine is a mere 1.5l litres. But it cranks out 228bhp and also sports a lithium-ion battery pack for a grand total of 356bhp.
The result is by far and away the most dramatic combination of performance and efficiency the world has yet seen. 0-62mph in 4.6 seconds and 155mph top speed on the one hand, 113mpg and just 25g/km CO2 emissions on the other.
The i8's pure electric range, meanwhile, is 22 miles. It's right at the cutting edge for infotainment, too, with the latest build of BMW ConnectedDrive and NVIDIA-powered graphics.
Now, it's true that those official figures don't take into account the emissions associated with the electricity used to charge the i8. And we thought its interior was a little conservative. But this is still a stunning effort from BMW and a probably game changer.
2. Jaguar CX-17
It also just so happens to pack plenty of tech including touchscreens, a wi-fi hotpsot and Jaguar's new aluminium architecture. It's only a concept for now, but we reckon an almost identical production version will go on sale in a couple of years.
3. Porsche 918
The numbers are frankly insane. The combination of 875hp and 214mph on the one hand, 94mpg and 70g/km on the other, is unlike anything we've ever seen before from a true hypercar.
If that's not enough, the lithium-ion powered part of the 918's hybrid petrol-electric powertrain allows for 20 miles of pure-electric range. Perfect for sneaking into city-centre zero emission zones. Oh, and the 918 also has the slickest looking touchscreen multimedia system we've ever seen. 'Nuff said.
4. Mercedes S-Class
So, Merc's driverless S-Class prototype is right up our alley. It's at an advanced enough stage to have already managed the 56 mile drive from Mannheim to Pforzheim in Germany under its own steam. Or electronic brains.
Even better, most of the technology used is already available on the new S-Class luxury car. Fingers crossed, fully automated driving will be available much sooner than the naysayers suggest.
5. Range Rover Sport Hybrid
There's the clever aluminium architecture which shaves off several hundred kilos, the touchscreen infotainmment with dual-view screens and the brainy digital systems that aid off-road traction. Not bad, eh?
But now Range Rover is filling in the final piece of the puzzle with next-gen powertrains. In this case, we're talking diesel-electric but without plug-in charging. Even so, this V6 setup matches the straight oil-buring V8 for performance while guzzling 25 per cent less of the sticky stuff.
Frankfurt Motor Show: Part 2
6. Volkswagen e-Golf
Except mass market cars have now become so high tech, we now have a purel-electric, lithium-powered Golf. Remarkable. As if that wasn't enough, the Golf is now available with a metric tonne of techy options.
Robo-parking? Radar-controlled cruise? Auto-dipping headlights? Yup, the Golf's got the lot. It's a bit like pulling on a pair of M&S pants and finding a touchscreen and digicam sown into the waistband. UK prices have yet to be announced.
7. Alfa 4C
There's a lot more to it that just good looks, too. Its hewn from carbon fibre. That's critical in achieving the incredible sub-900kg kerb weight.
Then there's the engine and gearbox. Out goes the traditional multi-cylinder Italian orchestra. In comes a modern, compact direct-injection, turbocharged four-cylinder lump and a dual-clutch robo-shifter.
Less romantic? Perhaps, but almost definitely more effective. The only pity is the pricing. £50,000-plus is an awful lot for a 1.7-litre sports car, even one this desirable.
8. Citroën Cactus
But things are looking up with the new Cactus concept. Critically, Citroën says a production version little changed from the concept will be forthcoming shortly.
They'll have to add a middle pillar, so the open-plan airiness of the cabin will take a hit. But if the intriguing compressed air hybrid tech and impact-absorbing capsules on the body make the showroom, we'll be very happy bunnies.
9. Volvo Coupe Concept
Enter the Volvo Coupe Concept. Not the most imaginative name, but maybe all the creative effort went into the beautiful body shape. The attractions go beyond the visual, however. The concept showcases Volvo's upcoming range of automated driver aids and safety features.
That includes smart cruise that can steer you through traffic jams and pedestrian detection and collision avoidance technology. There's a large touchscreen and a head up display, too, because, well, you're nobody in this business without a few of those.
Volvo also paid lip service to the natural integration of user interfaces in its upcoming cars, but time will tell how that works in practice.
10. Nissan Friend-Me
Enter the Nissan Friend-Me. Garbled Japlish moniker aside, this concept is all about ticking boxes for the technophilic urban youth. There's a panoply of screens inside and advanced smartphone integration, including support for mutiple handsets.
The idea is that you jump on board with your chums, hook up and do you social networking thing. Except the screens are dummies and the technology appears to be entirely conceptual. Or not real, in layman's terms. Pity.
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Siri grows up and comes out of beta for iOS 7
It's been two years since the launch of Siri and since this time the service has managed to rise from being a gimmick to, well, a much-improved gimmick.
Now it seems that the service has freed itself from its beta shackles with the upcoming launch of iOS 7.
Spotted by 9to5Mac, the blurb for Siri on Apple's official page has been altered so that the words 'beta only' are nowhere to be seen.
Beta banned
It now reads: "Siri is available on iPhone 4s or later, iPad with Retina display, iPad mini, and iPod touch (5th generation) and requires Internet access. Siri may not be available in all languages or in all areas, and features may vary by area. Cellular data charges may apply."As well as this, Apple has removed its FAQs for the service - presumably you now have to ask Siri how to do things, rather than looking on a website.
Siri has been given something of an overhaul for iOS 7. As well as improved voices, you can now ask it a number of new things, such as "play my last voicemail", "turn on Bluetooth" and "increase my brightness".
The integration of iOS in cars will also see Siri pop up in a number of vehicles in the near future. Which we are more than happy with - as long as Siri responds when we call it KIT.
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PS4 is 50% faster than Xbox One, claim developers
Just as the Xbox One has finally hit the home stretch, some developers have struck out at the platform and said it shows a serious lack of power when compared to its next-gen rival.
According to sources speaking to Edge, the PS4's memory reader are 40-50% faster than the Xbox One. Its Arithmetic Logic Unit is also said to be about 50% speedier.
The report then goes on to give an example of a platform-agnostic development build can run at 30fps in 1920 x 1080 on PS4 but at "20-something" fps in 1600 x 900 on Xbox One. "Xbox One is weaker and it's a pain to use its ESRAM," added one developer.
Feather-ruffling
One thing that will no doubt get gamers fuming is the claim from one source that PS4 versions of some games might be limited in their performance so as so match the Xbox One and "avoid ruffling any feathers" over at Microsoft.It's worth mentioning that, as one source also said, the Xbox One hardware still isn't locked and the graphics drivers of both consoles will continue to be tweaked beyond launch itself. Microsoft has recently boosted the console's clock speed too, though one developer said that this move "does not change things that much."
A Microsoft spokesperson told Kotaku that "Xbox One architecture is much more complex than what any single figure can convey. It was designed with balanced performance in mind, and we think the games we continue to show running on near-final hardware demonstrate that performance."
We've contacted Microsoft for comment specifically on the architecture variations and will update when we hear back.
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