IT-Code-News: IT News Head Lines (Techradar) 11/7/2013

PS Vita system update adds 'PS4 Link' app for next-gen support

The PS Vita's system software was updated to version 3.00 today to prepare it for the impending launch of the PS4 on November 15.
The most significant change in the new PS Vita firmware is the addition of an app called "PS4 Link," Sony announced on its blog.
As the name suggests, PS4 Link enables the PS Vita to connect to the new PlayStation console for Remote Play and second screen purposes.
Remote Play lets users stream PS4 games to the handheld console over Wi-Fi, while for some games the PS Vita can act as a "second screen," turning it into a touch controller, a map, and more.

PS Vitastic

The main purposes of today's PS Vita update was to ready the handheld for the PS4's launch. But the update changed plenty of other things about the PS Vita, some big and some small.
It added parental controls and a panoramic photo setting to the PS Vita's options, for one thing.
The Friends app has been improved in anticipation of the PS4's newly expanded friends list.
Other apps, like Group Messaging and Party, had their icons and/or names altered slightly, and gained new functions like the ability for PS Vita users to voice and text chat with PS4 users, and to send messages to users with the PlayStation app installed on their mobile devices.
The icon and name of the existing Remote Play app have been changed to reflect that it's now for PS3 Remote Play only, since PS4 Remote Play will be handled from the new PS4 Link application.
But the PS Vita can now more easily connect to PS3 consoles, as the Content Manager app now works over Wi-Fi.
Lastly, PS4 trophies are now viewable on the PS Vita, and Vita users can now choose to have future software updates downloaded automatically.

Feeling young again

The PS Vita has so far not been the most successful handheld gaming system in history, but it's about to get a new lease on life with the PlayStation 4's release.
Features like Remote Play were underused during the PS3 generation, but that will change now that virtually every PS4 game will be compatible with it.
And second screen functions will make the Vita an attractive option for excited PS4 buyers who want their console to emulate some of the Wii U's two-screen gimmicks.
Yet the PS Vita is too expensive to be sold as simply a PS4 accessory, and that means it needs good games, an area Sony could definitely stand to improve in.
Hopefully we'll see more good PS Vita games get announced next year at E3, especially if Vita sales ramp up with the PS4 launch.

The PS4 and Xbox One are almost here. Which one is better? TechRadar weighs in.

Apple jabs at Google, Facebook in first-ever global transparency report

Following months of revelations that the government has likely collected information from and about you (yes, you), Apple has issued its first formal transparency report.
Google, Yahoo, Facebook and others have circulated these for some time now, but Apple, perhaps struck by a pang of duty, is out with its own data on government information requests for both accounts and devices. The data covers the period between January 1, 2013 and June 30, 2013.
Apple pointedly noted that "[u]nlike many other companies dealing with requests for customer data from government agencies, Apple's main business is not about collecting information," a clear jibe at competitors.
In an earlier part of the report, the company stated: "[O]ur business does not depend on collecting personal data. We have no interest in amassing personal information about our customers. We protect personal conversations by providing end-to-end encryption over iMessage and FaceTime. We do not store location data, Maps searches, or Siri requests in any identifiable form."

Types of data

Because of this, Apple said the "vast majority" of requests it receives are for information about lost or stolen devices. Apple logs these as device requests.
"Only a small fraction of the requests" governments send Apple's way are for personal information related to an iTunes, iCloud or Game Center accounts.
These requests typically involve the account holder's personal data and "their use of an online service in which they have an expectation of privacy." Apple categorizes orders for identifying information, email, stored photographs and other user content stored online as account requests.
Account requests most commonly involve robberies and other crime or requests involving law enforcement searching for a missing person or child, finding a kidnap victim or hoping to prevent a suicide, Apple explained.
These requests typically see Apple turning over information in someone's iTunes or iCloud account, like a name or address.

"In very rare cases, we are asked to provide stored photos or email. We consider these requests very carefully and only provide account content in extremely limited circumstances," Apple assured.

The company noted that in order to get user info, government agencies need a court order. The Apple legal team pours over these orders, and only after determining them "valid and appropriate" does it hand over "the narrowest possible set of information responsive to the request."

The requests

While the account request orders for most regions are down to the number, there's one glaring exception.
The United States has imposed a set of stipulations that limit the amount and type of information Apple can reveal about these requests. The company, for example, is required to combine national security orders with account-based law enforcement requests, and only a range in increments of 1,000 are allowed to enumerate the orders.
For account requests, the US leads the pack in all categories, though again, no specifics are allowed.
Australia sent 74 requests for 75 accounts, and data was disclosed for 41 of those. The UK issued 127 requests, and in one instance some content was disclosed.
Apple transparency

Apple also recorded the number of requests it objected to, however it's unclear whether this means Apple was successful in fighting the request or not.
As Apple stated, device information requests far exceed account requests in most regions. Apple receive 1,178 device requests from Australia, and for 59% of those Apple provided some data. The UK issued 1,028 requests and received some info for 67% of them.
The US filed 3,542 requests with Apple to receive some information on 88% of them.
Interestingly, the numbers tend to differ between requests and devices specified in the request. The US, for example, wanted info on 8,605 devices within its 3,542 requests. Apple explained this occurs in circumstances where a shipment with hundreds of serial numbers is compromised.

Fighting Uncle Sam

The report is littered with language about Apple's opposition to the US' "gag order" on providing more specific information.
Aside from presenting its case to the White House, US Attorney General, congressional leaders and courts, it's also filed an Amicus brief with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court "in support of a group of cases requesting greater transparency."
The company will file another Amicus brief in the country's Ninth Circuit later this year in support of a case seeking greater transparency for National Security Letters. Apple wrote it believes dialogue and advocacy on these matters is more productive than filing lawsuits against the US government.

Updated: Fox News website 'hack' said to be just an 'internal production problem'

The Fox News website bore all the markings of a hack earlier today, though the conservative-leaning US cable channel called the odd-sounding, outdated stories on its homepage an "accident."
"During routine website maintenance, a home page prototype was accidently moved to the actual site," said Fox News Chief Digital Officer Jeff Misenti in a statement sent to TechRadar.
"As with any mistake in testing, engineers noticed the error and quickly brought the site back to its normal function."

Breaking! But not

FoxNews.com briefly informed visitors of old, strange-sounding stories, like the one about Apple's unveiling of new computers and "OS X Sea Lion," a joke made back at WWDC 2013.
The website also had a breaking news programming alert banner at the top that read "World Zombie Day to Bring Out the Living Dead." Believe it or not, that's celebrated every year in October.
Fox News' official Twitter account called this an internal production error that had been remedied:
"As you may have seen, http://FoxNews.com is having issues. It's an internal production problem and will be fixed soon," tweeted Fox.

Hacking becomes hackneyed

Whatever went down at the Fox News, its website is back to normal and functioning properly right now.
It wouldn't be the first website on the internet to be spoofed by third-party intruders.
Big name companies like Ubisoft, Sony, Valve, Facebook and Twitter have all had their web services breached in one way or another.
Hackers are usually looking to swipe credit card numbers, data-rich user account information, or simply tweak a site's homepage.
Sometimes, as it appears to be the case today, somebody just hit the wrong button and a number of suspect-sounding stories surface to the top of the homepage on a major news network. Oops.

BlackBerry won't give up on making new phones

As it tries to keep from bleeding out, HTC will turn attention to budget phones

You better start savoring the HTC One family now because it might be the last set of premium handsets HTC makes for awhile.
The Taiwanese smartphone maker revealed today that it plans to lean more heavily on cheaper devices in the coming months as it tries to cut costs and bounce back onto more stable, profitable feet.
HTC Financial Chief Chialin Chang said the company would look "at boarder products this quarter," with the goal of producing higher volumea into 2014 for "better profitability," in reference to making affordable smartphones.
The move is in response to a dismal quarterly outlook - HTC told investors that it expects the current quarter saw profit fall up to 15% from the quarter before.

A new deal

It's a major reversal in strategy since the company decided last summer it was going after the premium market occupied by mainly by iPhones and Galaxies. It followed that pronouncement with the unveiling of the HTC One this February.
HTC had stated it wanted to own 20% of the high-end smartphone market in China, however recent research from IDC revealed 60% of all smartphones shipped to China cost $150 (about £93/AU$157) or less.
Clearly, HTC is rethinking how it wants to approach the growing Chinese mobile market and whether costs accrued in other regions are really worth it.
With rumors of the HTC One Two surfacing this week, we could see HTC reenter the high-end market with the HTC One follow-up. Only time will tell.

Check out our hands on Nexus 5 review!

'OK Google' comes to iOS Search app as update brings it closer to Android version

Google has released an update for the Google Search iOS app that adds numerous features, ones that should look familiar to users of Android's Google Now suite.
The iOS Google Search app has long been more than a simple app for discovering things on the web, but today it's even closer to the full Google Now experience.
In version 3.1.0, the biggest improvement comes in the ability to initiate a Google search by saying the words, "OK Google" (on iPhone 4S and later), a much-hyped, hands-free feature on Android.

OK Google, tell me more

That's not all, of course; the new Google Search for iOS app now features reminders and push notifications along with new types of Google Now cards.
The new cards include helpful slides with information concerning everything from event tickets and boarding passes to car rental reservations and train schedules.
The Google Search with Google Now app can notify users automatically when it's time to leave for an appointment, if a flight is running late, or when the last train home is leaving.
YouTube : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8Ey0AufD9g
You can also verbally ask the app to give you reminders; because it was designed to intuitively to understand your commands, it should notify you at the right time and/or place.
Examples given are "Remind me to buy coffee beans at Starbucks" and "Remind me to check out the fair this weekend." The iOS Google Search app can now understand these requests and will display reminders when it detects you're at a coffee shop or when the weekend arrives.
You can also press a "remind me" button from Google search to be notified when new episodes of a show air, when your favorite musicians put out new albums, when actors you like star in new films, when certain politicians make headlines and much more.

And it still does search

On top of all that, it seems searching with the iOS Google Search app has been improved as well. Shocker, we know.
Google Search now features "a redesigned and simplified homepage," new gestures to interact with images, improved voiceover accessibility and one-touch sign-in if you use other Google apps on your device.
Overall, the new iOS app sounds like a big improvement, but only time and testing will tell whether all of these impressive-sounding features function in practice for users.

Enjoying iOS 7? Here are 21 surprising tips and tricks for Apple's latest OS version.

Verizon launches its own affordable Android tablet, Ellipsis 7

Apparently not content to only offer tablets from the likes of Apple and Samsung, Verizon Wireless is serving up its own slice of seven-inch 4G LTE fun this week, courtesy of an affordable, unbranded slate.
Verizon Wireless announced today the launch of the Ellipsis 7, a budget-priced seven-inch Android tablet that takes full advantage of the carrier's 4G LTE network, exactly as rumored only last week.
Arriving in stores exclusively from Verizon on November 7, the Ellipsis 7 features a 1280 x 800 IPS HD screen in a compact frame for only $249.99 (about UK£156, AU$262) - an attractive option considering Google's newest Nexus 7 still can't be activated on the carrier's network.
For a limited time, Verizon customers signing up for a new two-year data contract can grab the Ellipsis 7 for $100 (about UK£62, AU$105) off, a deal that also applies to any other tablet offered by Big Red.

Google Play ready

The first product in what Verizon Wireless calls a "family" of Ellipsis products yet to come, the seven-inch tablet comes out of the box with a full range of Google services, including the Google Play Store.
Powered by a quad-core 1.2GHz processor with 8GB of expandable storage, Ellipsis 7 also features a 3.2MP rear camera plus front-facing camera for video chats, a feature perfectly suited for families keeping in touch during the busy holiday season ahead.
Ellipsis 7 also comes with Verizon Messages, the company's own app for sending and receiving text messages, which now includes the ability to send customized photo collages thanks to a major update released last Friday.
Last but not least, Ellipsis 7 is running a relatively stock version of Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, making it one of the cheaper ways to experience 4G LTE without buying one of Google's own.

Find out why Apple's new iPad Air received an Editor's Choice review!

Facebook finally bestows Graph Search on Brits as UK roll-out begins

Facebook has been banging on about its Graph Search engine since January, so it's about time the social network gave some folks outside the United States the opportunity to see what all the fuss is about.
Graph Search, which displaces the current search bar with a larger, more functional one, is rolling out for UK English users over the next few weeks, starting today.
The new engine helps users call up content like 'Photos I have liked,' or 'Restaurants my friends have been to' or 'people who like music that I like' among a multitude of other things.
The whole idea is to allow users to revisit their Facebook history, browse their connections quickly and easily, make new connections and call on the local knowledge of their Facebook friends.

A huge feat?

"Graph Search for UK English is one of several global products developed in part at Facebook's London engineering office, which opened just over a year ago – and it's a huge feat," wrote Facebook engineer Ian Hegerty on the company blog.
"Not only does Graph Search make sense of information about millions of users, but searches are different for everyone and change all the time. So if you're looking for holiday ideas using "photos of my friends in Spain" – it'll update all the time as more of your friends share their trip photos."
Are you seeing the new Graph Search bar over at the Facebook.com website yet? Give it a spin and let us know if it has instantly changed your life in the comments section below.

If you're still wondering why the bleedin' 'ell it is, and why you should be using it, check out our helpful explainer.

Blip: 'We want KitKat!' say thousands of petition-signing Galaxy Nexus owners

Galaxy Nexus owners miffed their devices won't receive the latest Android 4.4 KitKat update can now take action!
Sorry, we got a little caught up in the spirit of the 15,823 (at last check) people who've signed a Change.org petition asking Google to send the new OS down to their handsets.
"We, the Galaxy Nexus owners and anticipators ask you, Google, to update the Galaxy Nexus for one last time and give us KitKat! Don't be an apple ;)," the petition cheekily read in part.
Google revealed after its October 31 KitKat announcement that the Samsung phone falls outside the 18-month release window of devices it will update, clearly causing waves of disgruntledness to flow amongst those with older phones.
Organizer Max Duckwitz wrote November 4 that he'd printed the signatures and comments, plus a letter and the petition text, and sent them to Android head Sundar Pichai. The ball is in your court, Mr. Pichai.

More blips!

The spirit of the people compels you to read more blips.

Updated: Best tablet 2013: our top 10 ranking

Best tablets: 10-6

What's the best tablet for 2013? Today's latest tablets compared and rated - constantly updated
Tablets are taking the world by storm. Just a few years ago they were an unknown for many people, but nowadays you've got more choice than you can shake a mildly agitated badger at.
And with choice comes decisions - difficult decisions. Do you eschew Apple's high prices, join the Android brigade and find the best iPad alternative?
We're still waiting to get the the new iPad mini 2 with Retina Display and LG G Pad 8.3 through our in-depth review process, but if you can't wait that long then we've got you covered.
We've made it easy for you and pulled together the top 10 tablets of the moment available in the UK.
For those of you who are still new to the whole tablet game, let us fill you in on what one is:
In general terms, today's tablet computers sport touchscreens ranging in size from 7- up to 13-inches. These dimensions are by no means static, and boundaries can be blurred as smartphones get larger displays, a la the 5.7-inch Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and huge 6.44-inch Sony Xperia Z Ultra.
Physical keyboards are also a rarity, but there are the exceptions such as the Asus Transformer Pad Infinity and Mircosoft Surface Pro 2 which come with a keyboard dock for the tablets.

Apps

As with today's best smartphones, applications play a big role on tablets – once you've decided which of these tablets if right for you, check out our top app lists so you can get your fill of Temple Run, update your friends on Facebook and read the latest news, all on a bigger screen.

If none of the top 10 tablets here take your fancy then head on over to our tablet reviews pages, where you'll find in-depth reviews for many more models.
Let us know your thoughts on the top 10 (and whether you think we've got the order wrong) in the comment box below.

10. Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1

What's better than a tablet with a big screen? A tablet with a big screen, a quad core processor and the might of the S Pen... known as a stylus to me and you.
Well, not just a stylus - with many levels of pressure sensitivity and the ability easily sketch and annotate on a wide range of items, the Galaxy Note 10.1 offers so much more than your average tablet.
We're huge fans of the alternative choice here, and it even comes with a microSD slot to boot - plus we're now looking at Android Jelly Bean sitting proudly underneath the TouchWiz OS.
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Quick verdict

Sure, it's expensive, the screen quality is lower than we've seen from Samsung in the past and the build quality somewhat lower than the competition, but this is still a fabulous tablet that many workers constantly forced to use a paper and pen will love to try out.

9. Asus Transformer Pad Infinity

If it wasn't for the higher price, the Infinity would be a real contender for the top spot. It's got everything you could want in a tablet - and a keyboard dock as standard too.

With the latest version of Android on the way, a simple interface and more ports than you can poke with a stick, the Infinity is the tablet that can handle anything you can throw at it.
Add in the Super IPS panel with a tremendous resolution, and you can see why this is a tablet to rate very highly - especially if you're fond of typing on the go but crave the simplicity of a slate too.
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Quick verdict

Everything we'd look for in a high-end tablet is present and accounted for with the Transformer Pad Infinity.
While power is always welcomed, it was the improved screen that really caught our attention. Given that we use our tablet mostly for browsing the web and watching video, we couldn't help but marvel at the resolution, either. if you're looking for a top Android tablet (and have the cash to splash), then the Asus Transformer Pad Infinity should be at the top of your list.

8. Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0

The Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 arrived on the scene with the iPad mini firmly set in its sights and while it gave a strong showing the Android tablet, complete with S Pen, didn't manage to hit the same heights as its Apple-made rival.
That's not to say the Galaxy Note 8.0 isn't a good tablet as it's a light, highly portable device and there's no denying that its display is far better than that of the iPad Mini.
It's solidly built, with expandable memory - the S-Pen has clearly been enhanced to make this a major selling point, plus we love the IR blaster and its media capabilities. That said it's set to be blown out of the water by the iPad mini 2.
FutTv : g9G3nLJkPy49z

Quick verdict

The Galaxy Note 8.0 is a good device. There are better out there for the money, and with an arguably better design as well. However, for those that like the S Pen as a tool, it's a great offering, albeit not really worth the extra cash for most.

Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 review

7. Tesco Hudl

What's this, a supermarket making a tablet? Whatever next, Argos making one too? Oh wait... That aside, the Hudl tablet is a super cheap, £119 Android tablet which puts other £100 slates to shame.
Given it's price the Hudl is very well specced, sports a solid build and a pretty decent 7-inch display. Stock Android will please those who are not fans of the various interface overlays which exist, and the addition of a microSD slot is useful.
Of course the Hudl isn't going to blow you away with super slick operation, although the quad-core processor means there's a chunk of power under the hood and the less said about the camera, the better.

Quick verdict

If you can stretch to £200, we'd still recommend the Google Nexus 7 as the best pound-for-pound tablet on the market. If you're looking at spending closer to half that, though, we can't see any compact tablet out there that tops the Hudl.

Tesco Hudl review

6. Microsoft Surface Pro 2

*Ding, ding* Round 2. Microsoft's second generation Windows 8 slate is here, building on its predecessor and providing a well rounded tablet-come-laptop experience.
In terms of portability the Surface Pro 2 won't be winning any awards - it's big and it's heavy, but if you're looking for a powerful business tablet then the Pro 2 is one of the best (if not the best) around.
Microsoft has improved the Pro 2 in a numbers of ways from the original Surface Pro, with an updated Windows 8.1 OS, beefy Intel processor, improved battery life and two position kick-stand.
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Quick verdict

The Surface Pro 2 doesn't offer the best natural tablet experience, but if you're looking for a device which bridges the gap between laptop and tablet then this is one of the best on the market.
With a handy QWERTY keyboard, large screen and Microsoft's Office suite it's an obvious business machine, but also offers something rather different to the iPad and Android slates.

Microsoft Surface Pro 2 review

Number 5: Google Nexus 10

5. Google Nexus 10

The 10.1 display is one of the biggest talking points on the Google Nexus 10. At 299 pixels per inch it's the highest resolution 10-inch tablet display on the planet - take that Apple and your Retina screens.
If you're looking for something which is packing even more pixels you'll need to trade in screen size for the 7-inch, 323ppi Nexus 7.
It's a great performer too. Other than taking a while to process panoramic photos we never felt like it was struggling to keep up. It's fast and smooth whatever you throw at it.
Sure it may not be as stunning to look at, or as well built as an iPad, and the lack of expandable memory will irk some, but overall the Nexus 10 gives you a quality, big-screen Android experience which is not to be sniffed at.
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Quick verdict

The Google Nexus 10 is easily one of the best Android tablets on the market and while it's not quite as fantastic value for money as the Nexus 7, it certainly gives Apple's high-priced iPad Air a run for its money. For the price you're paying, you won't be disappointed. Be warned though, a new Nexus 10 is expected to arrive soon.

Nexus 10 review

Number 4: iPad mini

4. iPad mini

Apple's former CEO Steve Jobs famously slammed small tablets a few years back, leading many to believe the Cupertino-based firm would never dabble in the budget end of the market, but here we are.
In terms of consistency in the tablet market Apple cannot be matched, as it now lays claim to two of the top four places in our top 10, although the iPad mini is no longer the jewel in an already glistening crown - although one that's now been usurped by the upgraded Google Nexus 7.
The slight downsides to the iPad mini are that it misses out on a Retina display and it pushes the upper end of the budget price bracket, but you can justify that price with its slick operation and premium build quality, letting you know you have a top piece of kit in your hand.
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Quick verdict

When it landed we dubbed the iPad mini "the best iPad Apple has ever created", and while the iPad Air may lay claim to that title now, this pint sized slate is still a force to be reckoned with.
If the screen puts you off, fear not, for the iPad mini 2 with Retina display will be out soon.

Number 3: Google Nexus 7

3. Google Nexus 7

The new Nexus 7 takes over from the original 7-inch effort from Google in 2012, and packs a 1.5Ghz quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM and comes with either 16GB or 32GB of storage
Offered up at just 260g, it's the perfect tablet for slinging in a bag and hurtling down to the local supermarket, or is equally adept at being a long-haul saviour, with reams of apps, a decent slug of battery life and that all-new high-res 7-inch IPS display with a resolution of 1920 x 1200 display with 323 ppi.
It's a little more expensive than the previous model was at launch, with prices set to begin at £199 for the 16GB option and £239 for the 32GB variant - and it's worth remembering that the OS takes a portion of that storage too, to allow for Android 4.3 to thrive.
At least there's a 4G option from the outset... no, wait, that's not coming to the UK for a while either, but at least it is appearing.
But it has some top end features, a low-risk update policy and is built in a way that makes it feel both premium and robust enough to chuck around the house. That's a good mix in our eyes.

Quick verdict

If you're considering a tablet now and are already dabbling in the Android ecosystem, we see know reason why shouldn't take the plunge with a Nexus 7.
If you haven't invested at all with Android, you're still in a good place to start. You could wait for the iPad mini 2, which is advisable for those who have racked up a lot of App Store purchases, but it's not as affordable as the new Nexus 7.
We do think the new iPad mini will steal back second spot by beating everything the new Nexus 7 has bar the price, but that's a tablet battle we just can't wait for.

Nexus 7 review

Number 2: Sony Xperia Tablet Z

2. Sony Xperia Tablet Z

Sleek, powerful, iconic - these are all words used to describe the impressive tablet from Sony,
The brand has been plugging away in the mobile space for a few years, but now the combination of the Sony Xperia Z and Tablet Z show that the Japanese brand is bringing us devices that the public can finally really lust after.
And that's one of the things we liked about the Tablet Z: it's light, really light, yet looks premium too. Sony has surpassed expectation with this and delivered a tablet that wouldn't look out of place in a business class lounge or at the centre of a home entertainment network.
It's waterproof too - sure, you might not use that feature a whole lot, but it gives it an air of ruggedness that puts your mind at ease when manhandling something that costs so much.
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Quick verdict

With a super slim chassis, impressive screen and whole glut of Sony extras on board, the Xperia Tablet Z is one of the finest pieces of kit we've seen in 2013.
Its quality abounds the moment you take it out your bag, and the speedy internals and impressive weight are enough for us to recommend it wholeheartedly.

Sony Xperia Tablet Z review

Number 1: iPad Air

1. iPad Air

We have a new player at number one! If you've already read our iPad Air review this will come as no surprise, as Apple's latest slate is the first tablet ever to gain a five star rating on TechRadar.
People scoffed when Apple launched the first iPad, but the sector has grown exponentially since the first generation device landed and with the Air the Cupertino firm has finally nailed the formula.
Impressive design coupled with a thinner, lighter chassis makes for a premium and quite frankly beautiful tablet, and Apple's powerful A7 and M7 chips under the hood means it chews through even the toughest tasks in next to no time.
Of course the price tag is still sky high, but you're paying for the best when it comes to the iPad Air and you won't be left feeling short changed.

Quick verdict

"It's not just Apple's best tablet, it's the only tablet you should be considering if you're keen on a larger screen." That's what we said in the verdict of our in-depth iPad Air review. While the Xperia Tablet Z is a brilliant tablet, the Air just takes things to the next level.
If you want the best tablet on the market then look no further. The iPad Air has reclaimed top spot for Apple and it's going to take some beating.

iPad Air review

Acer CEO gets the chop after failing to turnaround tumbling sales

It's tough times for Taiwan-based company Acer, which has seen its CEO J.T. Wang step down following less-than-stellar financial results. It's the second tech casualty in a week following the departure of BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins, who exited the company after it failed to secure a buyer.
The world's fourth-biggest computer maker saw sales plunge 11% year-on-year to $3.11 billion (around £1.9 billion, or AU$34.9 billion) during the quarter ending October 31.
It posted an operating loss of $86.61 billion (around £54 billion, or AU$91.3 billion), which the company put down to readying Windows 8.1 devices and related inventory management.

Brave face

Acer hasn't exactly shied away from experimentation in the Windows 8 arena - its flawed Iconia W3 was the first 8-inch tablet featuring Microsoft's tactile OS - and its hinge-toting R7 laptop took the unconventional approach of putting the trackpad above the keyboard.
But the company has struggled to bolster computer sales in the face of an increasingly competitive tablet market and weak global demand for laptops. It saw global PC shipments drop by 34.5 per cent year-on-year during the quarter, according to market watcher IDC.

Acer spades

Wang, who has led the company since 2008, will step down as CEO on January 1 but will stay on as chairman until the second quarter of 2014.
He is being succeeded by Acer President Jim Wong, who will be tasked with leading a significant restructuring program that will see 7% of the company's work force laid off, a move expected to save the company in the region of $100 million a year from 2014.
Though Acer says that it expects shipments for its notebooks, tablet PCs and Chromebooks to decrease by 10% in Q4 compared to the previous quarter, it expects profits to improve.

Now's a good time to check out 30 laptops for every budget

Updated: Nokia Lumia 525 leaked as budget blower follow up

Update: Evleaks is up to his usual tricks, having just tweeted a new picture of what he claims is the 525 in orange, yellow and white. He also added "2013" in the message, suggesting we might be seeing it very soon.
Original story below...
We're big fans of the Nokia Lumia 520 and we're not alone as it's proved to be the most popular Lumia yet. So the thought of a follow up is no bad thing.
That follow up is the Nokia Lumia 525 and Chinese site Baidu recently got a hold of its specs. The phone apparently has a 1GHz dual-core Snapdragon 400 processor, 1GB of RAM, a 4-inch 800 x 480 IPS display, 5MP camera, 8GB of built in storage, microSD card slot and a 1430mAh battery.
All of which is identical to the Nokia Lumia 520, other than the RAM, which is up to 1GB from 512MB. Even the dimensions and weight are the same.

Headset heaven

The only other difference we can see so far is the suggestion that the Nokia Lumia 525 comes with the Nokia Guru Bluetooth Headset, which suggests it's aimed at music fans.
So it's not the most exciting successor to the Lumia 520, but if the price is right then the jump to 1GB of RAM could still make it a great prospect.
While its most immediate point of reference is the Nokia Lumia 520, the numbering of the Lumia 525 also brings to mind the big-screened Nokia Lumia 625, though it seems to have little else in common with that over sized handset.

After something a little higher end? Why not consider the Nokia Lumia 1020?

Nikon Df: is 16Mp enough?

While the Nikon D800 is a very capable camera, there was one feature that got photographers more excited than any other, its 36-million-pixel sensor. This put it on a par with medium format cameras and even now, over a year and a half after its launch, it is still the highest resolution small format DSLR available.
And when the Canon 5D Mark III was launched a month after the D800, many photographers scoffed at its paltry 22-million-pixel resolution. Some dismissed it out of hand without even considering other aspects of image quality or its superb handling characteristics.
However, while 22 million pixels might be 12 million pixels fewer than the 36 million of the Nikon D800, it's also 6 million more than are found on the Nikon Df's sensor.

Aim high

A key advantage of a good sensor with a high pixel count is that it can resolve plenty of detail. The D800 and its optical-low-pass-filterless friend the Nikon D800E make this very clear.
The often mentioned downside of having a very high pixel count is that the photoreceptors themselves have to be made smaller than on a sensor with a lower pixel count. This means that they receive less light and generate a smaller signal which needs greater amplification. As a result the images are noisier and it's more important to shoot at lower sensitivity settings.
There's also another drawback to a high pixel count that doesn't get mentioned quite so often. That is that the camera is more susceptible to image blurring from camerashake. Even tiny movements have a significant impact when the photosites are very small.
As a result we've found that if you're handholding the D800 you need to use a shutter speed of 1/125sec or faster to get images that are sharp at 100% on screen. In some instances this may mean that you need to push the sensitivity up a stop or two and accept that the image will be a bit noisier than you might have wished.
Meanwhile if you're using the camera on a tripod, you need to use a remote release and engage mirror lock-up or exposure delay to avoid shake from the mirror blurring the image.
Some may argue that these issues only come to light when you pixel peep, but if you're paying for a 36-miilion-pixel camera you expect to be able to get the full benefit of them.

Middle ground

As well helping to keep noise levels down, having a lower pixel count means that any tiny accidental camera movements are less significant, so the camera produces (smaller) images that look sharper at 100% on-screen.
With many cameras now topping the 20-million pixel mark we have started to use the word 'just' when describing sensors with 16 million pixels. It's a popular count for the Micro Four Thirds format, but we forgive it because it is a little restricted by its smaller sensor size, plus cameras like the Olympus OM-D E-M1 are very capable.

Traveling light

The Nikon Df is a comparatively small and light full-frame camera. It is weatherproof and designed to be used outside on treks and adventures. And while it can be used on a tripod, those who buy it to travel light are less likely to want carry a tripod, so it will probably be used handheld most of the time. Consequently, it needs to offer the ultimate in low light capability and noise control.
By plumping for a sensor and processing engine that is used in its top-of-the-line SLR, the much-respected D4, Nikon has given prospective owners of the Df a clear signal that it is a high quality and capable camera. It should also be a model that can be pushed to the limits of low-light shooting with a top expanded sensitivity setting of ISO 204,800.

In conclusion

There are plenty of valid reasons why the Nikon Df should have a sensor with 16 million pixels. But would most prospective owners like it to have a 24-million pixel sensor like the Nikon D610?
Probably.

Microsoft updates Dynamics CRM with tailored industry templates

Microsoft is looking to tempt businesses in the direction of its updated Dynamics CRM 2013 (customer relationship management) software with a series of free templates for industry verticals.
The configurable templates, which can be downloaded for free from the Microsoft Dynamics CRM marketplace, include designs for sports management, healthcare, government and nonprofit, as well as specialised areas such as prison offender management.
Their availability was announced on Tuesday during Microsoft's Convergence 2013 EMEA event in Barcelona.

Discount scheme

The company is aiming to usher its Office 365 users onto the cloud-based version of Dynamics CRM, Dynamics CRM Online, by offering discounts of up to 40 per cent off the cost of a professional licence. It says the promotion will run until March 2014.
Microsoft also used the event to confirm that the next version of its Dynamic AX 2012 R3 ERP (enterprise resource planning) suite, which will also run on Windows Azure via Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), will arrive in April next year.
It will bring advanced actionable insights through an update to the Microsoft Dynamics Business Analyzer app, according to Microsoft, bringing a more "personalised" experience based on employees' roles and devices.

Here's IT cloud explained

Review: Mini review: PlayJam GameStick

Ouya was arguably the thing that put Android games consoles in our collective minds, causing a frenzy that resulted in the likes of Mad Catz M.O.J.O, Nvidia Shield and the GameStick here.
All these consoles have their own little variations of the theme, and the GameStick's party trick is that it's a stick that plays games.
Well, there's nothing wrong with a descriptive name. The GameStick consists of a wireless controller, with a slot in the top that holds a removable HDMI dongle – that's the game console part. Like Google's Chromecast, it's just an HDMI port sticking out of a small plastic rectangle.
Pop it in the back of your TV and it's connected, or take it out and slot it into the controller to take away with you.

Well, sort of. You'll find this becomes a running theme with the GameStick, but it's not quite as smart as it looks. The dongle still needs power other than that the HDMI port provides, so you also need the USB cable and possibly the mains attachment for it.
It comes with a couple of USB cables in the box (one for charging the controller, one for powering the console), a mains adapter for USB plugs, and a short HDMI extender, in case you can't fit the GameStick in the space behind your TV or AV box. The USB cable intended for the console is 1.5m long, which is a bit short for our liking, but it has a Y connector with an extra female USB port, so you can charge the controller and power the console from the one mains connection.
The GameStick itself is a nice little design, if simple. It's just a solid square of plastic, with plenty of holes in the casing to let the heat from its ARM system-on-a-chip out.

Specs

The ARM chip in question is an Amlogic 8726-MX, combining dual ARM Cortex A9 cores with an ARM Mali 400 GPU. What does that mean in real life? In theory, it's competitive with the Nvidia Tegra 3 found in the Ouya, which is fine for a lot of mobile games. But in a larger context, consider this point: both of these chips are less powerful than the iPad 3. Not the iPad 4, which was much more powerful than the 3. Not the iPad Air, which is much more powerful again. The iPad 3.
You get 8GB of built-in storage, but only 3GB of it is available for storing games. However, there's a microSD card slot for adding more space that you can move games to (or play media from).

Still, a games console is made or broken by how it plays, not by its raw specs. Sadly, the GameStick gets off to an awkward start from the moment you pick up its Bluetooth controller. And we literally mean awkward – you'd swear the thing was made by someone who thinks ergonomics is something to do with finance.
It's just a massive slab, with no concession to the shape of the human hand at all, except that the buttons are positioned nearish to where your thumb goes. It's as wide as an Xbox 360 controller, but doesn't taper in at the top like Microsoft's does (or the PS3 controller, or any comfortable controller ever), so it's just wide all the way up. It's not curved either, with a flat front, back and sides – as if the NES controller was the peak of hardware design.
For most people to reach all of the buttons comfortably will just mean holding it a little differently to most pads, and it's still perfectly usable – it's just less comfortable than others. And unlike the Ouya, you can't just use any Bluetooth controller you like – it has to be official GameStick controllers.

Even ignoring the ergonomics, much of it just isn't as good as controllers from the big consoles. The shoulder buttons (labelled L1 and R1 despite there being no second buttons) are hinged on the outside, rather than towards the centre, meaning that you get less responsiveness in the most comfortable place to press it. The D-pad is fairly stiff, which doesn't fit well with it having quite a long travel – when things get tricky, it doesn't feel nimble.
On the other hand, the analogue sticks are good. They're massive, looking almost comical, but they're made of grippy rubber with a good-sized ridge, and offer enough resistance to feel like you're moving them with precision.

Interface

Turning the GameStick on for the first time and activating it is an annoying experience, requiring you to manually adjust how it displays to fit your screen properly (which some games will also then do as well – where is the simplicity of consoles?), then input your Wi-Fi password using an on-screen keyboard that infuriatingly moves your cursor to the bottom corner when you switch to symbols/numbers.
Once you're online, it gives you an activation code that you then have to trot off to your computer to input, and sign up for your GameStick account, which was also a poor experience – the mandatory date-of-birth fields couldn't be scrolled, so we had to say we were eight years old, but it then let us choose our age restriction for games as 17+ without question.

Once you're in, you finally see the main interface, which is fairly nice – there are elements reminiscent of both Sony's and Microsoft's console interfaces, but it has its own look. Everything's in a grid, with games options along the top edge, account options along the left edge, and content of some kind filling the middle, depending on what you've selected.
The first thing you'll want to do is find some games, though, and it's off to an imperfect start there. There's a Featured section, a Popular section, and an All section. And that's it – no narrowing down to free games, no genre options. Oh, and the Featured section was empty throughout our time with the console.
GameStick

If you want to find something specific, the All section is at least in alphabetical order, but that's only manageable while the game count remains low (45 at the time of writing). It's also not even that easy to find things in order: the ordering goes left-to-right across the rows of games, but because of the way things are shown in columns of three, your eye naturally scans up and down, instead of vertically.
Once you find a game, you can buy it with money in your GameStick wallet (that you don't connect it straight to a credit card feeds into the overall feeling we get that PlayJam considers the GameStick as aimed at kids), or grab it immediately if it's free, and download it (which it can do in the background).
For some reason, games don't install once you download them – you have to do that manually afterwards. Actually, we think we know the reason why: this process totally locks the GameStick up. Installing ShadowGun took three minutes, during which the console was totally unresponsive. We played a few games on our iPad while we waited. Mostly the same ones you can get on GameStick.

Almost all the games on the GameStick store cost money, which isn't a problem, but it could really do with more ways to tempt people in. Ouya's plan to make all games at least free to try, if not more broadly free-to-play, helps to build up confidence in the quality of games on the platform. It's the same with the free trials for Xbox Live Marketplace games on the Xbox 360 – confidence to purchase.
But with GameStick, that confidence needs help to build. We don't advocate that all games should be free or anything, but when you have no idea how well these games will run, or how well the controls convert (many will be known to gamers as phone/tablet games, after all), we think a universal trial option would be helpful – or that developers consider including this themselves, using in-app purchases for the full game. We're not criticising the GameStick for this so much as just pointing it out, though – you might consider a lack of free games/trials a problem, or you might be happy paying. The games cost between £2 and £5 each, generally.

Game quality

As you'd expect, the quality of games is a little up and down. There are some solid smartphone games that have translated well, and others that feel clunkier. In some cases, that's due to an iffy port (a few games have frame-rate issues, but many are smooth), and in some cases it's down the controller, with the clunky D-pad making some games feel quite heavy to control, for example. In one game, the analogue controls appeared locked to increments instead of being truly analogue, but in others the sticks themselves seemed much smoother.
As is the case with pretty much all Android consoles, though, the choice you have leaves questions. Ouya at least offers some classic RPGs and older console games, so we hope to see these come to GameStick too, but right now it's large only very light games. If you're happy with having games designed for mobile stints as your console experience, well okay then. But we think most gamers will want to at least have the options of getting something they can get their teeth into. ShadowGun may look great, but it's simply nowhere near the quality or depth of the Gears of War games it was inspired by.

Though the GameStick intrigued us when it was first announced, the final result has suffered from time passing, and some ill-advised decisions. There's a lack of polish in the software in some areas, but this can be forgivable if fixed with an update. The relative lack of power also doesn't have to be such a major issue, if games are optimised. But the uncomfortable, slightly clumsy controller is stuck as is, without the option for replacing it with a third-party one, as with the Ouya (which had its own controller problems).
Outside of games, there's little to really differentiate the GameStick either. It has some media applications, but no Netflix, LOVEFiLM, Sky Go or iPlayer apps mean it fails to stand out as a streaming option.
Without being high quality in and of itself, the GameStick then stumbles by offering nothing to really set it apart from everything else. The Ouya is hackable, at least, but the GameStick doesn't have anything that could really sell it in the same way. Something like built-in streaming to YouTube or Twitch, for example, would at least give us something new, but no.

The GameStick's price is its only hope, really, because viewed outside of that context, it's not appealing. The games feel like more effort to play compared to the phone/tablet version they were born from, despite having physical controls. At £80, this is much cheaper than a tablet that performs well enough for gaming, so for some, it might seem okay as a kids' console – but we'd say it needs the free trials to really fit that role.

Verdict

The thing is, while there's much about the GameStick that's inoffensive, that's really the best we have to say about it. It offers nothing meaningfully unique, and is almost universally either a little behind or considerably behind other consoles in other areas. There's the potential for something good in the idea for the GameStick, but it remains unrealised here.

UPDATED: Amazon's first original shows get premiere dates, episodes will air weekly

UPDATE: A spokesperson for Lovefilm has informed TechRadar that premiere dates for Alpha House and Betas in the UK are yet to be confirmed.
Original story continues below...
Amazon's bold and expensive venture into original TV programming will kick-off in earnest this month with the premiere of the first two shows to make it past the pilot stage.
Alpha House, a political comedy starring John Goodman, will hit Amazon Instant Video in the US and possibly in the UK via Lovefilm (we're in the process of confirming that 100%) on November 15.
Meanwhile the somewhat-self-referential Betas, which centres on the adventures of a group of tech industry entrepreneurs, will begin a week later on November 22.
Each series will boast 11 episodes with the first three becoming instantly and freely available available on the premiere date, while the rest will follow at weekly intervals, for subscribers only.

Get 'em hooked and reel 'em in

The scheduling decision is interesting as it shows Amazon does not share the mindset of rival service Netflix, which prefers to dish out entire series at once, enabling users to consume at their leisure.
Amazon's approach is more in line with traditional television schedules, which prefer to keep viewers tuning in to a new episode each week.
The idea in Amazon's case is seems to be to get people hooked on the freebies to encourage them to sign up for Prime or Lovefilm.
Roy Price, Director of Amazon Studios said: "We will release three episodes upfront for all customers so they can try out the shows and get to know the characters. Then we will release new episodes via Prime Instant Video week by week so that customers can chat about the shows and build up anticipation. We're constantly experimenting and trying new things - and we're eager to hear customers' feedback on this model."
Both Alpha House and Betas made it through a pilot stage where users we given access to 14 shows and asked to vote on which they wanted to see made into full series. Six series in all were greenlit and 11 new pilots will air next year.

Amazon has its work cut out, following its TV successes Netflix is already planning to shoot its first original movie in 2014

Blip: You will never beat this robot at rock-paper-scissors

Here's a robot that will always win at rock-paper-scissors. Even worse, it's far too fast to be accused of cheating.
Instead of using any prediction nonsense, the robot instead uses high-speed movement recognition so it knows exactly which imaginary weapon you're opting for.
The robot, which can recognise your hand's shape in just one millisecond, was created by the team Ishikawa Oku Laboratory as part of the University of Tokyo, who showed off an earlier version last year.
YouTube : www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVNnoOcohaU