Lovefilm hits Xbox One just in time to sate early adopters' on-demand desires
The Lovefilm instant streaming app is now available for the first Xbox One owners to download from the console's App Marketplace.
The Amazon-owned on demand portal was listed as one of the few big name entertainment apps that would be made available on day one, and duly arrived on Friday afternoon as buyers unboxed.
Naturally the app, which joins rival service Netflix on the new Xbox One, features 1080p streaming and Dolby 5.1 sound along with the full catalogue of movies and TV shows.
It also plays nice with the Xbox One's 'snap and full' features, allowing users to work in other apps while watching content on the big screen.
WhisperSync and Kinect integration
The Lovefilm app also features the Amazon WhisperSync technology (borrowed from the Kindle range) which lets viewers pause and resume on other devices without losing their position.It is also compatible with Kinect gestures with browsing, selecting and moving through content available through a simple wave of the hand.
The arrival of Lovefilm boosts the Xbox One's launch line up with currently lacks Xbox 360 mainstays like the BBC iPlayer, Sky Go and Sky's Now TV.
The BBC says it is working with Microsoft to bring the iPlayer to the Xbox One, which Sky says Now TV won't arrive until next summer, with no immediate plans for Sky Go.
The iPlayer on the other hand will be a launch app on the PS4 when it arrives next week. It appears to the naked eye that the Beeb's beef is with Microsoft's desire to put everything behind the Xbox Live paywall.
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Alright, Mate? Huawei's new Ascend smartie to pack 6.1-inch, 1080p display?
The first Hauwei Ascend Mate broke the 6-inch barrier for smartphones when it arrived earlier this year and now the company wants to bring it up to speed in the resolution stakes, according to new leaks.
The Huawei News website reckons the second-gen smartphone will pack a 6.1-inch, full HD 1080p display when it makes its debut, possibly at CES 2014 in January.
The original device boasted a still-impressive 720p display, earning plaudits in a TechRadar review, but apparently Hauwei thinks it can go one better with the sequel.
According to the report, the device will also show up with a 1.6GHz quad-core processor, boosting the power slightly, along with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage.
No KitKat?
The information comes from leaked screens that also show the handset packing Android 4.2.2 rather than the newer version of Jelly Bean or the new KitKat OS, but that could change before launch.That will all be confirmed whenever Huawei comes forward with an announcement. For now? We're quite looking forward to that 6.1-inch, 1080p display, as Huawei looks to improve its market share in the west.
Will our new best Mate show up in January at CES? Here's what to expect from the biggest tech show of the year.
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Twitter adds another layer of security to keep out the government snoops
Twitter has joined the likes of Google and Facebook, by implementing "forward secrecy," a security tool that will aid the effort to keep out government agencies like the NSA and and GCHQ.
The social network says the added layer of security will prevent data intercepted by what it calls 'adversaries' (i.e. the governments) being decrypted.
Previously, unwanted parties who intercepted this user data could interpret it if they were also able to get hold of the master key a website uses to decrypt the data.
Forward Secrecy isn't a new tech, but has been rarely implemented until recently. It gives that master key a huge security boost by creating random session keys that don't travel across the network.
Protecting voices
Twitter's use of Forward Secrecy comes after Google's implementation in 2011 and Facebook's in June of this year, following the Edward Snowden revelations."Security is an ever-changing world. Our work on deploying forward secrecy is just the latest way in which Twitter is trying to defend and protect the user's voice in that world," the company wrote on its official blog.
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Xbox One joins the million-up club in less than 24 hours
Earlier this month we brought word that the Sony PS4 had passed a million sales within the first 24 hours and a week later, Microsoft's Xbox One has repeated the feat.
Microsoft says the Xbox One that its launch in 13 countries around the world had also yielded over a million in less than 24 hours.
That beats the Xbox 360's day-one tally and sets a new mark for Microsoft's gaming consoles.
The device is now sold out at most retailers, after midnight launches in the various territories around the world.
Score draw
For what it's worth, the Soy PS4 hit the million sales landmark on day one from North American sales alone, after launching on November 15, The console won't begin its roll-out in Europe and Australia until November 29.However, as we don't have official sales figures to hand, it's difficult to judge if either side has enjoyed a better day one than the other. It seems pretty certain both would have sold a lot more had more stock been available.
Microsoft said it was working hard to create more consoles to fulfil the demand for Christmas. Yusuf Mehdi, Corporate Vice President of Marketing and Strategy, Xbox said: "We are working hard to create more Xbox One consoles and look forward to fulfilling holiday gift wishes this season."
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IN DEPTH: 11 ways tech companies try to pull the wool over your eyes
What tech companies love to tell you
One of the great things about the technology industry is that everyone in it tells the truth about everything all of the time.Ha! Of course they don't: like any other massive industry, tech is responsible for more porkies than the world's horniest hard-working hogs.
From sins of omission to pretending that words don't mean what they actually mean, here are some of the ways tech firms can pull the wool over your eyes.
1. Up to 67% more graphics!
"Up to" is one of the great fibs of tech: it's used to describe broadband speeds you won't get, Wi-Fi throughput you can't achieve, performance improvements that only apply in very specific circumstances and battery life that's only possible if you don't actually use your device. It's the tech equivalent of MPG figures for cars or the RRP on supermarket wine promotions.2. Truly unlimited limited unlimiteds
In the real world, unlimited means something isn't restricted or controlled in any way. In tech, it means quite the opposite. For years, ISPs cynically advertised unlimited broadband or data packages that had all kinds of limitations, usually in the form of data caps hidden in the small print of fair usage policies.The British Advertising Standards Authority cracked down on such practices in 2012, but that doesn't necessarily mean that the package a firm describes as unlimited isn't subject to restrictions or controls. Restrictions or controls such as…
3.Surprisingly good benchmarks
It
was rife in the PC industry and now it's turning up in the mobile
market too: we're talking about manufacturers deliberately optimising
their devices so that they'll score well in specific benchmarking apps.
The latest culprit appears to be Samsung,
whose Note 3 just happens to enter a high performance CPU mode when
certain benchmarking apps are used - but Samsung isn't the only firm
accused of such shenanigans.
4. The speed you need
Last month, the Advertising Standards Authority ruled that UK ISP Virgin Media's website was making promises it couldn't keep.The "unlimited" package that offered "consistently fast broadband even at peak times" was subject to a traffic management policy that could slow connections down by as much as 40%.
5. Big numbers
In March, UK high-street retailer Carphone Warehouse said that the Galaxy S4 had generated more than four times the pre-registrations as the Galaxy S3. It even quoted a figure: 446%.That sounds amazing until you look into the figures, as The Guardian's Charles Arthur did, and discover that the numbers don't add up and the term "pre-registration" is utterly meaningless. Is a pre-registration a sale? Nope. Is it a pre-order (a meaningless term in itself)? Nope. Are our inboxes plagued with such nonsense? You betcha.
6. Showing shipments instead of sales
When you're young, you try to make yourself sound older by including fractions in your age - so you'll say you're five and a half or seven and a quarter, because that sounds older than five or seven. Tech firms do the same thing by quoting shipment numbers instead of sales.Shipping isn't the same as selling - it means sending products out to retailers, who will then try to sell them - and when a firm brags about the former but won't talk about the latter you're usually dealing with a dud. Watch out for carefully chosen statistics too, such as "our market share is up 132% in Bogota!" accompanied by silence about the US and EU.
More lies, damned lies and statistics
7. Space for your stuff
When you buy a tablet with 64GB of storage space, you don't expect more than half of it to be unavailable - but that's exactly what happened with the Surface Pro in January thanks to Windows 8, pre-installed apps and a recovery partition taking up stacks of space.The Surface was unusually hungry, but the issue applies to all devices with storage - so for example a 16GB iPad, which is offering a fairly small amount of storage to begin with, ships with around 13GB of available storage.
8. Phone coverage maps
It seems that mobile phone networks' coverage checkers should be called coverage guessers: some maps don't make it clear that you might not get a signal indoors, they don't reflect key factors such as building density and tree coverage, and because different operators measure signal in different ways you can't really use the maps to compare providers.Our tip? Always make sure there's a cooling-off period if you're signing up for a network you haven't previously used in your area.
9. Real-life results
Tech advertising uses all kinds of tricks to mislead, from carefully shot photos to speeded-up footage that makes devices look faster than they actually are.Nokia got into a bit of trouble last year with its Lumia 920: it's alleged that the footage and photos supposedly shot using the device were nothing of the sort.
10. The price is right
In August, the Advertising Standards Authority banned Sky's Bruce Willis advert over misleading price claims: the ad promised unlimited broadband for £7.50 a month but if you squinted at the small print you'd see that you also needed £14.50 monthly line rental and £21.50 TV subscription - bringing the total monthly cost to £43.50.We can't be the only ones whose broadband, TV and phone package prices bear no resemblance to the prices you see in the ads.
11. We've got the power
This one is our favourite, and yet again it involves the ASA: in its pre-Google days, Motorola got an ASA ruler over the knuckles for claiming that its Atrix phone was "the world's most powerful smartphone".When it was pointed out that it clearly wasn't - Samsung's Galaxy S II had a 1.2GHz processor compared to the 1GHz one in the Atrix - Moto essentially said "well yeah but our one has a keyboard and stuff". It turns out that there's power, and then there's ACCESSORY POWER!
- But tech can be good too! Here's 10 ways everyday tech is changing the world
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Interview: Mozilla's web security guru talks open source
Mozilla is about more than just web browsers - it's an organisation committed to making the web a better place for users. As part of this, it's funding development of a tool to help web developers make their sites more secure: the Zed Attack Proxy (or ZAP).
Our sister magazine Linux Format met lead developer and security campaigner Simon Bennets to talk about ZAP, Mozilla and black hats.
LXF: Can you let us a little bit about how you started using open source software?
SB: I've been using open source for many years as a developer. I really like it, and I like the principals behind it, but I'd never had the opportunity to contribute to any. I'd tried to convince previous companies that some of our products should be open, but to no effect. Those are commercial decisions, which I typically don't get involved in. I wanted to have a project to work on, and I wanted to learn about security, so I decided to start work on ZAP, as it became. It all came from there, really.
LXF: And you're now working for Mozilla. What's the culture like?
SB: Completely bizarre. Really strange. I've come from a commercial background, and the discussions we have are completely different. You have discussions about whether you should have the discussions in public or not. It's all about what's best for the users - what's best for people who use the internet. It's a very accepting culture and it's a very supportive culture. It's all about doing the right thing, which is really nice to be part of.
LXF: Can you tell us a bit about ZAP. What's it for? Who is it aimed at?
SB: I'm trying to aim it at as wide an audience as possible. It's a tool for finding vulnerabilities in web applications. It's used by security teams - professional penetration testers - but my focus is to get developers, functional testers and quality assurance using it because I think it's important that they understand security.
I believe that you can't create secure web applications unless you have some understanding of web application security. This is a way of understanding that. It allows you to hack your own web applications and get some understanding of what the bad guys are going to do.
LXF: What's the thing that's surprised you most about working on an open source project?
SB: I suppose the willingness of people to help. I wanted ZAP to be a community project because I think the strength of open source comes from when anyone can contribute. It's been great getting people involved, people to helping out and people doing some really great work. Dealing with the people has been a real pleasure.
LXF: How many contributors are there?
SB: Quite a lot. We have a list of credits on the website that's included with ZAP as well. There are 30 or 40 names on there. About half a dozen contribute code regularly, and some people as and when. It is a community project, so I want people to get involved.
We're very supportive of new people, so whether you're a developer who wants to learn about security or an expert in security who wants to learn more, then we're happy to help you. I'm happy to spend an hour helping someone do something that would take me 20 minutes to do myself, because that means that the person can do more in the future.
LXF: Are there any skills shortages you've found in the open source community?
SB: Documentation! I haven't found a shortage of security skills; surprisingly. ZAP has taken off in the security community, so there's people working on ZAP that know a lot more about security than I do. I'm still learning. I guess we all are!
I suppose there's less of a testing background, but Björn Kimminich has just joined the team and he's from a QA background. He pointed out that there aren't many ZAP regression tests. He's right, and he's started writing them. So we're finally getting some unit tests, which I'd been meaning to do for some time. We could use more people working on the tests, working on the documentations and working on it generally, but that's always the case.
LXF: If there was one piece of advice for people to develop secure web apps, what would it be?
SB: Start learning about security. If you don't know anything about security, you can't build secure web apps. Something like the Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) top ten risks to web applications is a great place to start. You can start learning about cross-site request forgeries and things like that, which a lot of developers don't know about.
LXF: How do you deal with the issue that ZAP will be used by some bad guys?
SB: That was something I worried about before releasing ZAP. The justification I've got, and the one I still think is valid, is that the bad guys already know how to do all this. The bad guys know the techniques, and they've got their own tools.
A lot of it is knowledge - the bad guys have it and the good guys don't - so I'm aiming this at the good guys. I'm trying to make it as easy as possible with things like integrating ZAP in a continuous integration environment - things that the bad guys aren't interested in. We focus on things that the good guys can use, and it's levelling the playing field to give them a fighting chance.
LXF: Have you made any design decisions that make it harder for black hats to use?
SB: There are certain things that people have asked for that I don't really want to develop - other people can develop them - so there are definitely things that I can think of (which I won't mention) that I would not be comfortable implementing. But in the end, the bad guys will have the tools, and theywill use them to attack your web applications. They're attacking your web applications right now.
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Prescription lenses, new designs and doctors offices next up for Google Glass?
Google Glass may have spied its prescription lens partner and by extension, so much more.
As reported by the Wall Street Journal, Google is in talks with VSP Global, a US vision benefits provider and frames and lens producer.
The companies are in early discussions about developing prescription lenses just for Glass, more fashionable frames and even putting the gadgets in optometry offices.
VSP, which provides a vision plan for Google employees, has 60 million enrolled members and counts 30,000 eye doctors in its networks - assets that could help bring Glass to a broader audience. More than 110 million Americans wear corrective lenses, so Google would be wise to widen Glass' scope.
More Google Glasses!
As the Journal noted, VSP could help Google develop more designs for Glass too.Google Glass 2, complete with earbud, has already been unveiled, but its look isn't exactly hip aside from an early adopter semblance.
The talks may lead on a road to nowhere of course. While it wasn't mentioned in today's report, another firm called Rochester Optical has said it will release prescription lenses for Glass in early 2014. The company also plans to provide "fashion and sports lenses" for the computized eyewear.
According to The Verge, Rochester Optical is not working with Google to develop its lenses.
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No time rift: Doom creator leaves id Software to focus on Oculus Rift
Doom creator John Carmack won't have his time divided between id Software and Oculus VR anymore, as he has resigned from the two-letter software company to focus on Oculus Rift.
"John Carmack, who has become interested in focusing on things other than game development at id, has resigned," wrote id Studio Director Tim Willits in a statement to TechRadar.
"His departure will not affect any current projects," noted Willits, who made a point to say that work on the studio's proprietary game engine, Tech 5, won't be affected.
"As colleagues of John for many years, we wish him well."
Carmack: 'Probably for the best'
Carmack's departure from the software company he co-founded in 1991 seemed to be more abrupt when looking at his Twitter account, @ID_AA_Carmack, a handle that may change in time"I wanted to remain a technical adviser for Id, but it just didn't work out. Probably for the best, as the divided focus was challenging," he tweeted.
But the move isn't a total surprise. Carmack made the fan-to-executive transition this summer, officially joining the Oculus Rift team as CTO.
Carmack has envisioned an untethered Android future with Oculus Rift being powered by Android and a system-on-a-chip, and sees a lot of potential in the head mounted display.
Now he has a lot more time to act on that.
This may not be the last Quake fans see of Carmack at id's annual QuakeCon event. He teased on Twitter, "If they don't want me to talk on stage at Quakecon next year, we'll just have to fill up the lobby like the old days."
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Instagram to become IM-stagram with new instant messaging feature?
Instagram has become a household name thanks to its filter-friendly photo and video sharing tools, but the Facebook-owned company reportedly has no plans to stop there.
Sources within the company have told Gigaom that the next version of the app will feature a private instant messaging feature that will allow users to converse beyond the current commenting mechanism.
The feature is likely to be integrated into an update before the end of the year, according to the "well-placed sources," and could even enable group messaging, which the site has reportedly experimented with.
Integrating messaging could give the photo sharing network a shot at competing with apps like Snapchat, which are proving popular with the younger sectors of Instagram's audience.
The Snapchat effect
Indeed, Facebook itself reportedly attempted to buy Snapchat for $3 billion recently amid a significant surge in its popularity, so may be operating under a 'If you can't beat of buy 'em, join 'em' strategy.An Instagram spokesperson declined to comment on the report.
Is instant messaging to 2013 what filtered photos were to 2013? Would you welcome IM within Instagram? Let us know in the comments section below.
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Review: PlayStation 4 Camera
Sony put its adoring PlayStation fans in a tough spot when it chose to make the PlayStation Camera an optional accessory for the PS4.
Sure, it kept the cost of the console $100 cheaper than the Xbox One. That entices buyers and has earned the PS4 plenty of positive buzz from the media and players alike.
But now that the new Sony console is finally out, you're faced with a dilemma: to buy the PlayStation Camera or not?
No matter which way you look at it, that's not an easy question to answer, even for the most hardcore PlayStation fan.
The PlayStation Camera is $59.99 - that's not chump change. In fact, it's the cost of an extra controller, which can be the difference between having fun with a friend or playing by yourself.
And PS3 owners probably remember how little they used their PlayStation Eye cameras.
But if no one buys the PlayStation Camera now, then developers won't bother to implement it in their games, and the accessory will stagnate on store shelves until the next gimmick arrives.
No, it's not an easy decision. So after playing with the PlayStation Camera over the weekend, we decided to break it down for you.
Design
Luckily for those who decide they just can't live without it, the PlayStation Camera is a sleek little accessory.It's an unassuming black rectangular cube with two visible camera lenses and multiple other sensors, including microphones. But despite its odd segmented form the PS Camera doesn't look busy or awkward, like the PS3's PlayStation Eye camera or even the Xbox 360's Kinect.
It's also much smaller than the Xbox One's new Kinect sensor.
The only marking on the new PlayStation Camera is a small "PS" logo on one side, where no one will ever see it. In fact, most people will probably never notice it sitting by your TV.
It should fit nicely into most players' entertainment systems, whether on its own or with the officially licensed (but not officially included) PS Camera clip.
The clip may be worth it if your living room setup doesn't have any room for the small Camera. It features a minuscule nub and a sticky pad that allow it to snap easily and securely to the bottom of the Camera, and three firm but adjustable segments that let it wrap around a TV's upper edge.
This should allow the clip to work with most living room setups. And between the old and new Kinects, the Wii/Wii U's sensor bar, the PS3 Eye, and the new PlayStation Camera, power gamers' environments are getting far too cluttered with cameras, so elevating one might be necessary or at least more aesthetically pleasing.
And even if the PS4 Camera is up high it will see your space with ease; it doesn't mechanically tilt on its own, like the old Xbox 360 Kinect would, but it can be rotated independently from the clip so that you can tilt it up or down to suit your setup.
Once the PlayStation Camera is plugged into the back of your PS4 you'll probably forget that it's there - until it comes time to use it, that is.
Interface
It's not a secret that the PlayStation Camera is not nearly as advanced as the Xbox One's new Kinect sensor.But it does provide some of the same functionality for the PS4, albeit in a far more limited capacity.
When you log into the PS4 for the first time the console will check whether you have a PlayStation Camera and ask whether you want to run face recognition setup. It will tell you to brighten the room and sit a certain distance away from the Camera, and then away you go.
The Camera is quite good at detecting faces, even with multiple people in the room. Once it's had a look around it asks you to point out for it which face is yours, and then you're run through a one-time program that will help the system recognize your face automatically later on.
You're asked to follow along with an on-screen box as it tilts and rotates, moving your head so that the PS4 Camera can view your visage from multiple angles. It's painless and once it's done you won't have to do it again.
That said, if you do run the setup program again from the settings menu it will add to the face data for your profile, not replace it, so that it can recognize you with even more accuracy.
The PlayStation Camera won't automatically recognize everyone who walks by like the Xbox One Kinect does, but it does recognize you on start-up if the PS4 is not set to automatically log in one user.
When that's the case, the system asks you to choose a profile when you turn it on. But if facial recognition is on and the Camera detects anyone it knows, it will enlarge the image it sees and ask the person who wishes to log in to hold up a PS4 controller under his or her chin.
It's unfortunate that the PlayStation Camera can't simply log users in automatically when it recognizes them, and to be honest it's a lot easier to simply select your profile manually, even with multiple users in the room.
Anyway, after the log-in process the PlayStation Camera can recognize a few rudimentary voice commands.
From the home screen, you can say "PlayStation, start" to open the selected application, "PlayStation, log in" to change profiles, "PlayStation, take screenshot," "PlayStation, back to game" if you've already opened a game, or "PlayStation, power" to access controls that let you turn the console off or put it into standby mode. When in an app or game you can say "PlayStation, home screen" to go back to the dashboard.
These commands work pretty consistently. Unless the TV volume is up too loud or others in the room are speaking, the PlayStation Camera will almost always recognize your words.
That said, most of those actions can be carried out just as easily, if not more easily, using a controller. Taking a screenshot is just a matter of holding the Share button on the DualShock 4 controller.
At this point there are no gesture controls, so the minimal voice commands and face recognition are all the PlayStation Camera gives you at a system level. That's a shame, since the Camera seems to be quite good at detecting players' movements.
Games
The PlayStation Camera seems to be about on par with the original Xbox 360 Kinect in terms of recognizing players' movements. Granted, that's just based on a single game, and it's a game that was designed to use the PlayStation Camera in the first place: The Playroom.The Playroom is included on every PS4 by default. This is where Sony's decision-making gets foggy; was The Playroom always meant to be a pack-in, from a time when the Camera would have been as well? Or did Sony decide to include the game on every system in order to entice more early PS4 buyers to purchase the PS Camera as well?
Either way, The Playroom should have been included with the PlayStation Camera, not the PS4 itself, if anything.
It's not even really a game; it's more a tech demo. It has five functions, only three of which are actually interactive. Of those, only one is really a game, and it's entertaining for about five minutes tops.
The Playroom has two setup applications that show off some of the new PS4 controller's functions, including its light bar, touchpad, rumble feedback motors, motion controls, and speaker, and help you configure your room so the Camera gets the optimal view.
Beyond that, two applications let you play with virtual robots and a final one is a quirky version of two-player Pong.
AR Bots is easily the most entertaining of these. Swiping up on the controller's touchpad causes small robots to jump out of it. The TV shows an image of your living room, which you can populate with the hapless little buggers.
People in the room can then flail their limbs around, kicking and punching the robots as they're hurled around the screen.
Pressing the touchpad in (it clicks like a button) vacuums the bots back into the controller. You can join them with a downward swipe on the touchpad; the inside of the controller looks strangely like the inside of a controller, and you can jostle the little guys around by tilting the gamepad.
Once in a while, a giant rubber duck comes out of the controller instead of a robot. It's not clear why.
The other robot-centric application, Play With Asobi, is less entertaining. A cute droid named Asobi flits around your head, reacting to your "touch" with a variety of facial expressions and motions.
Punching Asobi will make it angry, and it often responds by zapping your head with electricity, frying it with a laser, or freezing it in place. Yes, the PlayStation Camera is good at recognizing faces. We get it!
Finally, the Pong game is just that. It requires two controllers and the PlayStation Camera, or in other words over $120 of additional accessories that don't come with the console.
Both players control their paddles using the gamepad's touchscreen, and tilting the controller warps the play area accordingly. You won't be showing this off to your friends.
The Playroom is cute - especially the AR Bots application.
But is it worth buying a PlayStation Camera for? Absolutely not.
So what is?
The only other game that makes any extensive use of the PlayStation Camera at this time is Just Dance 2014, and that's not a good sign.
Keep in mind there are a full two dozen PS4 launch games (including The Playroom). And Just Dance 2014 is available on multiple platforms.
And as if that wasn't bad enough, the Camera isn't even required to play Just Dance 2014 on the PS4. PS3 owners can just use the old PS Move controllers they may or may not have lying around.
So The Playroom is amusing but shallow, and Just Dance 2014 is relatively niche and doesn't even technically require the Camera. Anything else?
Actually, NBA 2K14 will reportedly give you a penalty for swearing if you yell out a curse word during a game when the PlayStation Camera is plugged in, according to this Reddit thread.
But is that something you even want happening? We think not.
We liked
The PS Camera is more than functional; it actually works quite well when it comes to recognizing users' faces and voice commands. Telling the PS4 vocally to turn off or perform other functions can sometimes be more convenient than pressing buttons.In fact, from what's currently available to test it seems to be more accurate at detecting players and recognizing voice commands than even the Xbox 360's Kinect was.
In addition, The Playroom provided some solid entertainment, however short-lived. It appears the device has some potential.
We disliked
There is simply not a single real game that uses the Camera in any essential way, and there are few games that use it at all.The lack of gesture controls is also disappointing, and the voice commands are extremely limited.
Plus there's the fact that developers at this point have little reason to add PlayStation Camera support to their games, since the peripheral isn't included with the console. That's not going to change unless adoption is high right off the bat, but again, there's no tangible reason to get the Camera at all.
Verdict
The bottom line is that right now it's just not worth it to buy a PlayStation Camera.Go ahead and give the new PS Camera a try if you're a hardcore PlayStation fan who want to see more developers utilize it down the road, or if you simply need to have those face and voice detection features going from day one.
Otherwise, you might be better off if you pass for now and wait to see what happens.
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Chromecast app list could grow as Google preps dev kit release
The number of apps Chromecast supports has hamstrung the otherwise excellent media dongle, but that could change once Google opens up its much-needed SDK to developers.
The Android company is ready to do just that, it confirmed to TechRadar, inviting whitelisted device developers to an event in two and a half weeks.
"The Chromecast team is hosting a two-day hackathon for developers to test-drive the upcoming release of the Google Cast SDK," read a copy and pasted invite sent to one of these developers.
"Engineers will be available to share changes from the developer preview, discuss best practices, and answer any questions."
What it means for Chromecast owners
The Chromecast SDK doesn't mean much for the average media streaming user out there, but having it in the hands of developers could quickly enhance the device, turning it into Google's secret weapon.If Google releases these powerful software tools to everyday developers, we could see an Android-like store filled with all sorts of creative apps that are compatible with the Chromecast.
That's undoubtedly needed. Chromecast initially only beamed Netflix, YouTube, Google Play Music, Google Play Movies & TV to televisions via smartphones, tablets and computers. The Chrome browser did the same from computers.
With just five apps, it's a good thing buying the $35 (about £22, AU$38) Chromecast felt like a five-finger discount. The cheap price outweighed the disappointing number of applications.
Hulu Plus and Pandora were added last month, while HBO Go became the latest app to sport a cast button this week.
Chromecast could out-app Apple TV
The Chromecast app list is now at eight and still pales in comparison to the Apple TV ecosystem, which has about 100 compatible apps.Apple is always adding more, too. Yahoo Screen and PBS were this week's additions in the US, for example. Because they're both video apps, they weren't available outside of the States.
The newer Chromecast could easily catch up if Google were to open the SDK. Apple TV, despite its long list of apps, is still subject to Apple's walled-garden.
As we surmised in our Chromecast review, the first company to open their respective media streaming device to average developers could win the TV war, seeing how the App Store and Google Play store turned out.
- See which is better: Apple TV vs Chromecast.
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BBC iPlayer available on day one for Sony PS4 buyers, unlike Xbox One
The Sony PS4 console will arrive in the UK packing the BBC iPlayer app when it goes on sale next Friday 29 November, reports have confirmed.
The Sixth Axis website, which has a pre-release PS4 console, says the iPlayer, BBC Sport, IGN and Demand 5 apps have already shown up on the console.
The site said there's no sign of Netflix, Lovefilm, 4oD, Blinkbox and NowTV, but there's a chance those apps will arrive in the week leading up to the console going on sale.
With iPlayer on board on day one, Sony can claim a minor victory over the Xbox One, with the BBC still in the process of developing its version of the on-demand portal for Microsoft's new console.
No Auntie
The Xbox One went on sale in the UK today without Auntie's app, but with 4oD, Netflix, Lovefilm and Demand 5 all on board the console.Currently Sky says it has no immediate plans to bring Sky Go to the next-gen consoles, but the company is likely to roll out the on-demand portal to the Xbox One sometime next year. Now TV will arrive on the Xbox One next summer.
Does the presence of the iPlayer affect which console you'd prefer to have in your living room? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
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Galaxy S5 metal frame leaks suggest sturdier smartphone, bigger screen
The Samsung Galaxy S5 has been leaked so often and regularly at this point that we've already developed a pretty good idea of what it's going to look like on the outside.
Now new photos have surfaced purportedly showing what the next Galaxy is rocking on the inside.
The latest leaks comes by way of Nowhereelse.fr. The French tech site alleges the Galaxy S5 will come with a metal interior frame for some much needed rigidity after a line of Samsung phones classically known for their chintzy, all-plastic bodies.
Rockin' body
Based on the frame's measurements - 143.8mm (5.6 inches) tall and 72.2mm (2.8 inches) wide - the new Galaxy S5 could very well feature a larger screen than the Galaxy S4's 5-inch display.Compared to the Galaxy S4's dimensions, 136.6 x 69.8mm (5.38 x 2.75 inches), the new metal frame is slightly longer. This could mean the Galaxy S5 will have a widescreen aspect ratio display.
The images of this completely straight metal frame don't match up with our renderings of a bending Galaxy S5, but it gels with our theory about it having metal accents.
What we know so far
The new shots are also just the latest in a long string of Galaxy S5 leaks and rumors.We've heard unsubstantiated reports that the S5 will have an eye scanner as well as a 16-megapixel camera to watch you. Inside, the smartphone could also come packing one of the very first 64-bit chips for an Android system.
On top of that, the Galaxy S5 supposedly will come with a 560ppi display as well. Again, we're going take all of these specs with a grain of salt until we get more definite proof, but the rumors are certainly swirling for Samsung's next handset.
We may even see it as soon as CES 2014, so the days until the Galaxy S5's release may be waning.
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Updated: Xbox One day one buyers report faulty drives, other issues with new console
The Xbox One has finally launched, but unfortunately for Microsoft and its fans this day hasn't gone off without a hitch.
Day one Xbox One buyers are reporting a variety of issues with the hardware they purchased at the console's midnight launch and throughout its release day.
Those problems range from critical errors with software updates to scratched consoles and faulty headsets and disc drives, according to reports given to and compiled by IGN and Geek.com.
Update 5:55 p.m. PST Friday: Microsoft has sent TechRadar an updated statement, noting that "the issue" is only impacting a miniscule number of users:
"The issue is affecting a very small number of Xbox One customers. We're working directly with those affected to get a replacement console to them as soon as possible through our advance exchange program. Rest assured, we are taking care of our customers."
We asked Microsoft for clarification on what exactly "the issue" it is referring to is.
Making light
Alleged issues with day one Xbox One hardware include a headset that emits nothing but static, a console trapped in an endless loop of crashing and rebooting, and disc drives that won't read or install games and even make grinding noises.Users posted the above videos, which appear to show the Xbox One making some alarming noises before failing to read discs like Call of Duty: Ghosts and, amusingly, a Rage Against the Machine CD.
Some frustrated customers have taken to Twitter to complain directly to Microsoft's @Xbox account, responding to tweets with messages like, "lol yeah too bad my disc drive doesn't work" (Microsoft recommended that the user get in touch with @XboxSupport).
Elsewhere, on the four-million-subscribers strong video games subdivision of Reddit, a user reportedly opened his brand new Xbox One console to find a Microsoft test disc inside.
Another user responded, making light of the Xbox One's launch day woes, by claiming that he had found a 13-year-old Nintendo 64 game in his PC disc tray today.
Other users have reported receiving an error labeled "E100" when downloading system updates on their new Xbox One consoles.
That error and others are covered on Microsoft's official Xbox One support site, which says that customers who experience that particular message will have to submit their consoles to Microsoft for repair.
These issues could well prove to be isolated, and they in no way indicate that the Xbox One suffers from a widespread malfunction like the Xbox 360's notorious red ring of death.
Then again, by its very nature - it was caused by overheating consoles - the red ring surfaced only months after the console's launch.
To be fair
The PS4, which launched last week, had its fair share of launch issues as well.Thankfully, Sony was quick to respond. The company said that fewer than 1% of PS4 consoles were affected, and that the figure is within its expectations for a new product launch.
As of launch day, Sony was working with consumers to replace their faulty consoles.
'We plan to take care of our customers'
A Microsoft spokesperson sent TechRadar the following statement Friday afternoon, offering no explanation for what was going on with console but outlining avenues for customers to reach out to the company:"We know that with a hardware launch of this magnitude customers will have questions and we have many avenues for customers to get the answers they need and get back in the game as soon as possible.
"Rest assured we plan to take care of our customers. Any customer who believes they are experiencing an issue with their Xbox One should reach out to us. There are many avenues available for customers to get in touch with us including:
- Talking to a live customer support person that can call you back if you don't want to wait
- Xbox.com for support pages and forums
- On Twitter with @XboxSupport
- There are also Help and diagnostics on the console by saying 'Xbox Help'"
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Motorola locks down 3D printing partner in quest to build modular smartphones
Motorola's Project Ara dream to create a completely modular phone out of interchangeable modules is speeding towards becoming a reality.
The Google-owned phone company has announced it's partnering with 3D Systems, a manufacturer of 3D printers, to help turn its Ara concept into real-life handsets.
For a quick refresher, Project Ara aims to develop highly customizable, modular smartphones that users can modify to change its look and even upgrade its parts. Instead of buying a whole new phone, upgraders could just attach more RAM or a new camera onto the phone's mainframe, called an endoskeleton.
It might sound like a far flung idea but Motorola and 3D Systems teamed up with a multi-year development agreement to create a continuous high-speed 3D printing production platform to build modular smartphones.
Beating a similar drum to the customizability of the Moto X, 3D Systems CEO Avi Reichental said in a statement, "Project Ara was conceived to build a platform that empowers consumers all over the world with customization for a product made by and for the individual."
For real?
If 3D Systems is successful in building a manufacturing platform for Project Ara, it could start producing smartphone enclosures and modules as "Motorola's exclusive fulfillment partner."3D printing might be the key to Motorola's plan of producing customizable and low-price smartphones like the Moto G.
The system actually working is a major big "if" that's still to be seen. Motorola revealed that there's been a team working on Project Ara for over a year already.
The Moto X maker has invited developers to start building their own modules in an effort to come up with an alpha version of the dev kit planned for a launch this winter.
The major problem of creating a modular phone is it means each phone component needs its own enclosure and a set of contact pins to connect with the endoskeleton. A modular phone might be upgradable for years to come, but all that added bulk could make even small-screened phone as hefty as the HTC One Max.
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Sony still snooping whether to upgrade older Xperias to Android 4.4
Those with newer Sony Xperia devices can already rest easy knowing the latest version of Android is on the way, but the manufacturer is decidedly less certain about the fate of several older models.
Xperia Blog reported this week that Sony Xperia SP owners now appear to be a lock for Android 4.4 KitKat, with a support page suggesting the handset will receive the update with a "future version" yet to be announced.
A number of other Xperia devices are simply listed as "under investigation" for a possible KitKat update, suggesting Sony hasn't quite made up its mind about which will receive the new Android OS.
KitKat dreams
Earlier this month, Sony did confirm five models guaranteed to receive KitKat in early 2014, specifically the Xperia Z, Xperia ZL, Xperia Tablet Z, Xperia Z Ultra and the coveted Xperia Z1.The unlucky devices whose KitKat fate remains as yet unknown include the Xperia T, Xperia TX, Xperia V and Xperia ZR, all of which are presumably being vetted internally to determine their viability for the latest and greatest version of Android.
While those models are already on deck for a Jelly Bean update next month, Sony doesn't seem in any particular hurry to bless such relative old-timers with the KitKat brush quite yet.
But don't get cocky quite yet, Xperia SP owners - Sony remains mum about exactly when KitKat could arrive on your devices, and we're guessing it will be later rather than sooner.
- Xbox One who? Check out our full review of Sony's PlayStation 4!
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Analysis: Intel's nifty NUC proves small-form-factor PCs need to get cheaper
It fits in your hand. And it might just be all the PC you'll ever need. Give it up for the latest Intel Next Unit of Computing, or NUC for short.
We reckon NUC might just be the best ultra-small form factor (SFF) PC you can buy. But it's still far too expensive.
The basic specs of the latest NUC involve one of Intel's new Haswell CPUs,a slightly slimmed down case and a rethink of some of the features including the ports. But it's really the overall computing experience that matters with the NUC, not the hard numbers. It's a really nice little device.
That said, let's get the basics out of the way. The dimension are downright diminutive. We're talking roughly 11cm square and 3.5cm deep. This thing is very small.
Joy of specs
Inside, there's an Intel Core i5-4250U CPU. That's two cores, four threads, 1.3GHz base clock and 2.6GHz Turbo. Oh and it has Intel's latest 40-unit graphics core. In this case it's somewhat bizarrely branded with the old Intel HD Graphics moniker rather than the new Intel Iris brand that most of the 40-unit graphics cores receive.You get two USB 3.0 ports up front, two more on the back and one each regards mini DisplayPort and HDMI. Suitably specified, the NUC gives a great all round computing experience.
It looks and feels like a quality item. Inside, it's a really nicely integrated bit of electronics. It even supports 4K ultra-HD resolutions. Oh, and the Wi-Fi reception from the built-in antenna is superb.
Of course, you'll pay extra for the actual Wi-Fi adapter. Similarly you don't get a hard drive, memory or a copy of Windows. All of those things cost extra. Which is where the pricing problem kicks in.
Pricing problem
UK pricing hasn't quite shaken out on the new NUC. But based on the previous generation NUC, you're looking at perhaps as much as £350 for the barebones Core i5 version and thus at least £500 and probably more like £600 for a nicely specified solution. And that's before you've even added a screen.And that's just far too much money. The first problem is Intel's processor pricing. The Intel Core i5-4250U CPU has an official US Price of $342. The NUC's is $363 (remember, US prices don't include a value added tax, so you can't just do a straight exchange-rate conversion).
So you're getting the NUC chassis and board for just $21 dollars, which tells you plenty about how much wiggle room there is in the processor price. Plenty. But the problem is that the NUC can hardly be sold for less than the Intel Core i5-4250U itself.
It puts a hard floor on how low Intel can go with NUC pricing. Then compare NUC pricing to laptops and ultrabooks. For the same £600 you'd spend on a nicely optioned NUC, you can have any number of thin and light – or big and brutish for that matter - Core i5 laptops and ultrabooks.
Except, of course, you get a screen and a lithium battery and all the other portable accoutrements thrown in. So you may as well just buy one of those. It'll do pretty much everything a NUC will. But there's lots a laptop can do the NUC can't. Hell, you could buy a very nice laptop and a good tablet for the price of a NUC-plus-screen.
Compare the market
Of course, NUC looks good value compared to other Intel-based ultra-small form factor systems. But so what? The segment in general looks inflated, again presumably because of those processor prices.In fairness, AMD-based ultra-SFF systems aren't a whole lot better. But the bottom line is that the NUC and its ilk need to be cheaper. It makes no sense for them to cost the same as a similarly specified thin and light notebook and then still leave you needing a screen.
They need to be cheap enough that people buy them as well as a portable. I'd say £350 maximum for a Core i5 NUC with a 120GB-ish SSD, some memory and Windows 8.
We reckon what Intel and the industry at large needs to appreciate is that most people are happy with their laptops as a PC to use at home. More worryingly, they're increasingly happy with their ARM-based tablets, too.
So the lovely little NUC needs to be something punters can pick as a discretionary extra, cheap enough they don't have to think too hard about pulling the trigger. And £500 to £600 plus a screen isn't even close.
- Why not check out Windows 1.0: looking back at the OS that started it all
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Review: Moto G
Introduction
Motorola's back, and it's kicking off its global smartphone revival with the keenly priced Moto G handset. A mid-range handset with a low-end price tag - okay Moto, we're listening.First things first then, the Moto G price. You can pick the handset up in two storage sizes - 8GB and 16GB. The former will set you back just £135/$175 (around AU$190), while the larger size is still a very palatable £159/$199 (around AU$215).
So where does this place the Moto G in the market? Well at that price it has the likes of the Samsung Galaxy Fame, Nokia Lumia 520 and LG Optimus L3 2 for company, but dive into the spec list and you'll note the Moto G wipes the floor with them.
In terms of design the Moto G takes most of its cues from the firm's first, post-Google takeover handset, the US-only Moto X.
It's hardly groundbreaking in terms of looks, but the soft, curved edges of the Moto G make it relatively attractive and the swath of plastic feels solid and well built.
Weighing in at 143g the Moto G has a pleasing, well balanced presence in the hand without being overbearing, and while it may measure 11.6mm thick in the middle the tapered edges make it feel thinner than it is.
Couple that with a rubberized rear plate which slightly hugs the side of the handset too, and the Moto G fits comfortably in the palm, providing a decent level of grip.
The Moto G features a water repellent coating which means you'll be able to whip it out in the rain without fear of a short circuit, but it is not waterproof - so no jumping in the pool with it.
You can even take the rear cover off and swap it for a different color, which Motorola is pushing as a big customizable feature of the phone. In reality however it just reminds us of our Nokia 3310.
Sure, changing covers is fun for all of five minutes, but the novelty soon wears off. Not to mention the back cover is also pretty tricky to remove - you need to really dig your nails in at the base of the handset to get it free.
In fact, so much strength needs to be employed to free the cover from the Moto G we feared on more than one occasion that the thin plastic would snap - thankfully it never did.
Motorola did make a point that the younger generation like the ability to "customize" their handsets and this particular feature, along with the rock bottom price, reinforces the Moto G's credentials as a handset which may land in the laps of many teenagers.
The left side of the Moto G is devoid of any features, while the top of the handset only sports a centralized headphone jack. Both the power/lock key and volume rocker switch are located on the right of the G and these are easy to reach and responsive to the press.
On the base is a microUSB port, while under the removable cover is a microSIM port - but no microSD slot. That means if you want to expand the onboard storage you'll have to take to the cloud.
The 2070mAh non-removable battery housed inside the Moto G is claimed to give you all day battery life, and we put that to the test - skip ahead to our battery life and connectivity section to see how it got on.
The Moto G comes with a 4.5-inch, 1280 x 720 display and boasts a 329ppi pixel density. To put that in some perspective that's a bigger, higher resolution and more defined display than the iPhone 5S - not bad for a handset which is a third of the price.
Of course a HD display isn't the only key factor in a smartphone, but Motorola has managed to equip the Moto G with a 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 400 processor and 1GB of RAM.
In terms of specs then the Moto G is actually giving the HTC One Mini, Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini and Nokia Lumia 820 a run for their mid-range, dual-core money - and once again the screen is bigger than these rivals. The Motorola handset even beats the Samsung and Nokia when it comes to resolution.
The camera on the rear of the Moto G is only 5MP and this is trumped by the S4 Mini and Lumia 820 and their 8MP snappers.
All in all the Moto G finds itself in no-mans land, with a complete disconnect between its price and spec list. This, of course, isn't a bad thing and on paper it offers outstanding value for money.
The proof however, is in the pudding, let's see how the Moto G got on in real life.
Interface
With a 1.2GHz quad-core processor and 1GB of RAM the Moto G is more than well equipped enough to run Android 4.3 Jelly Bean - pretty much the latest version of parent company Google's operating system.
It's not the most recent version though, that accolade goes to Android 4.4 KitKat, but there's good news on the upgrade front - Motorola has confirmed the Moto G will get KitKat by January 2014, so put that in your pipe and smoke it.
Android purists will be pleased to learn that the Moto G is running the stock version of Jelly Bean, with Motorola opting against applying an overlay - claiming instead that it's focused on things which add real benefit to users.
These "benefits" include a faster boot up time and improved audio, data management, web speeds and general navigation.
We found that the Moto G did boot up impressively quickly, but Motorola's claims that it performs various tasks quicker than the Samsung Galaxy S4 seem a little far fetched.
Sure the interface is smooth - impressively so in fact when you consider the price - but we can't say that it noticeably out performs, or even matches the various flagships we've had the pleasure of using.
General operation is fluid and while it may not be as lightening quick as the top end handsets, the quad-core chip is doing a good job under the hood and we had no issues with lag here.
You get five homescreens - no more, no less (there's no way to add or remove) - and the familiar Android set up with a selection of widgets available in the tabbed app drawer for you to choose from.
Drag and drop an app onto another on any homescreen and the Moto G will automatically create a folder with both applications inside, allowing you to easily organize and manage your favorite apps.
The pull down notification bar at the top of the Moto G's display offers up a feast of information from recent calls, new emails and text messages to Google Now prompts, app updates and third party notifications.
Glide a finger over certain notifications, such as a new email alert, and it will expand allowing you to see a longer overview of the message.
Slide you finger up from the home key at the base of the screen and you'll launch Google Now, Android's own digital personal assistant and Siri rival.
Google Now offers up relevant information in a series of cards, and by tracking your movement, messages and emails it can tailor these cards to suit your needs.
You can get information such as the weather, meeting reminders and details on the journey home here. It's still relatively hit and miss and there are far fewer features enabled for those outside of the US, but Google is constantly working on Now and it's slowly becoming more relevant.
Tap the multi-tasking key in the bottom navigation bar and you'll be greeted with the familiar stack of thumbnails showing the apps which are currently running.
This is testament to the quad-core processor inside the Moto G, as the handset can comfortably handle multiple apps at the same time and you're able to switch between them very quickly.
Basic applications opened promptly, but we did notice some lag with some of the more demanding games, such as Stick Cricket and Stick Tennis.
When these were tapped the Moto G took a couple of seconds to load up the application. It's not a huge issue and game play is still smooth once you're past the initial load, but it just hints at a potentially small flaw in the low 1.2GHz clock speed of the quad-core chip.
Everything looks bright, crisp and clear on the 4.5-inch display and while the Moto G doesn't match up to the full HD offerings you get on the flagship phones, for a handset with such a low price you'll be more than happy and it puts the competition to shame.
There's a thin bezel down each side of the screen, but it's not the slimmest we've seen and we reckon Motorola is pushing its luck a little calling it an "edge-to-edge display."
Sure it doesn't feel like there's any unnecessary plastic padding around the screen, but it's not a close cut as on other handsets - the LG G2 springs to mind immediately as a handset with a slimmer bezel.
The screen is also very responsive to the touch which makes moving around the Moto G a stress-free experience.
Contacts and calling
Contacts
As we've mentioned the Moto G is running pretty much stock Android, so there are no surprises in the People app.
Contacts are displayed in the standard, alphabetical list format with pictures of your chums to the right - that is if the Moto G can pull them through from your Google contacts and their Google+ pages.
A lot of our contacts ended up faceless for the simple fact that they aren't on Google+ and there's no way of linking your buddies up with their Facebook or Twitter profiles - Whatsapp integration is available however.
Why? Well it's because Google had a bit of a falling out with some of the main social media players and the join contact integration we see on the likes of Samsung, HTC and even Huawei devices are all the doing of the manufacturers themselves tinkering with the OS.
It's not a huge issue, it just means your contact list doesn't look quite as pretty, but it's something we feel Motorola could have included as part of its added benefits for the user - never mind, you can't win them all.
What all this means is that your contact cards a relatively bland - there's all the vital information - numbers, emails and the sort - but don't expect any thrills. It's cheap, cheerful and user friendly.
As well as your main contact list the People app offers two further tabs at the top of the screen - groups and favorites. Nothing out of the ordinary here, but it makes it easier to find the people you contact most often.
Adding a new contact is easy - just tap the central icon in the bar below your contact list and you'll be transported to the data entry screen where you can fill in all manner of details about your new found friend.
Calling
The Phone app is where you'll be heading if you need to make a call, and as default you'll find it in the app dock on the homescreen of the Moto G - although you can move it out of here if you prefer.
Fire it up and you'll be taken to the dialer tab which sports the familiar neon blue characters on a black background. Start tapping out a number and you'll notice that smart dialing is enabled, with the Moto G offering up various contact suggestions relating to the numbers you've entered.
If you want to call someone you've spoken to recently tap the clock icon at the top of the screen and you'll get to the call list. Press the phone icon to the right of a contact and the Moto G will start calling them.
Call quality is acceptable, although it was far from crystal clear and the Moto G could do with the addition of HD voice to improve the clarity of voice chat.
That said we were still able to hear and understand the person on the other end of the line, and vice versa, so for a budget handset the Moto G doesn't perform badly.
We found the Moto G was able to keep hold of signal well, even in areas of poor reception and we didn't witness any dropped calls during our review period.
Something we did find that happened from time to time was a delay on hanging up a call. Sometimes we'd hit the red end call button, but the call icon would still be displayed in the notification bar for a good 10 or so seconds, giving the impression the call was still live - even though it wasn't.
Messaging
The Moto G offers up the usual array of messaging capabilities, but thanks to the inclusion of Android 4.3 you get not one, but two text messaging clients.
There's the stock Messaging application which will be familiar to anyone who has used an Android phone in the past. It's a minimalist, intuitive interface with a list of all your message streams and options at the base of the display to create a new SMS, search your current messages and a basic menu.
Profile pictures are pulled through from contact cards which makes the app look a little better - although the lack of Facebook and Twitter integration means you'll still end up with a lot of blank tiles.
This is all very well and good, but Google is looking consolidate messaging apps by bringing together SMS and what was known as Google Talk into the Hangouts application.
In terms of text messages Hangouts works in a very similar way to the standard Messaging app, albeit with a slightly different look. But mixed up in your text messages are also instant messaging streams, allowing you to talk to more people from a single app.
Talking of things coming in twos, you're also treated to two email clients on the Moto G, with the Gmail app living alongside the standard Email offering.
If you only deal with Google's email setup then you can completely disregard the stock Email app and focus all your efforts on the intuitive Gmail client.
From here you can manage multiple Googlemail accounts, with an attractive and colorful interface making it a seamless and pleasing experience.
Those of you with other accounts outside of the search giant's remit will have to go to the stock Email app where you'll be able to sign in to all manner of addresses - you can even stick your Gmail accounts in here.
There's a unified inbox on offer, allowing you to see all your messages in one place, but you can also filter by account if things start to get a little confusing.
HTML emails load in a fully zoomed out view in both apps, allowing you to easily navigate to the area you want without a lot of frantic scrolling.
The Moto G looks set up for the younger generation with its low price and interchangeable covers, so we were a little puzzled when we found Motorola hadn't pre-installed the likes of Facebook and Twitter.
It's not a huge issue, as a quick trip to Google Play quickly resolves this, but it is a little frustrating. Although with Google breathing down its neck, perhaps these pre-installs were out of the question for the Moto G.
In terms of an input method you get the stock Android keyboard, which is a serviceable offering with word prediction and auto-correct, although we'd still recommend downloading a third party option such as SwiftKey if you're planning on doing a lot of typing.
The responsive 4.5-inch touchscreen aids typing speed, and provides enough space to ensure the keys are not cramped. Rotating the Moto G 90 degrees will see the keyboard adjust to the landscape view, giving you larger keys.
Internet
Chrome is the default browser on the Moto G, which isn't a huge surprise, and we found that on a strong Wi-Fi connection web pages loaded up in good time.
The desktop version of TechRadar managed to render in an impressive five seconds, while the mobile site took just a couple of seconds.
There's no 4G connectivity on the Moto G, so you'll have to settle for 3G data speeds, but even so it was able to load mobile sites in around three seconds, while desktop offerings took less than 10.
The Moto G comfortably outperforms its price bracket when it comes to surfing the web, and the 4.5-inch display means there's plenty of space to play with.
Text is crisp and clear and images are well defined on the 1280 x 720 display, which gives the impression you're using a smartphone which is twice the price of the Moto G.
Double tapping on a paragraph of text will see the Moto G zoom in to fit the width of the text to the screen, and thanks to the 4.5-inch display you can read it relatively easily.
If you find that the text is still a little small you can zoom in further, but there's no auto text reflow available, which means you'll be scrolling sideways as well as down.
Sadly there's no reader mode on offer here and that's probably the one negative mark against Chrome, as along with the lack of text reflow it makes reading long articles a little frustrating.
Chrome supports tabbed browsing and you can view the number of open tabs at the top of the page next to the URL bar and quickly jump between them by tapping the icon.
This gives you a thumbnail view of each tab, displayed in a series of scrollable cards. The Moto G has no trouble running multiple tabs at the same time.
You can also open up incognito tabs which don't track your surfing history, meaning you can visits all those special sites without a trail for your partner to find at a later date.
A handy feature within Chrome is the ability to sign into your Google account and have all your bookmarks, and even opened tabs, pulled through from your desktop and vice versa.
Bookmarks can be accessed from the Chrome menu and appear as app icons on the screen for easy perusal.
Camera
While many of the specs on the Moto G have exceeded its price, the camera is an area where Motorola has clearly tried to save some money.On the rear of the handset you'll find a 5MP camera and single LED flash, while on the front you get a 1.3MP snapper.
Motorola has done some work in the camera app on the Moto G, providing a minimalist interface which sees all the settings hidden from view and the whole screen made into a shutter key.
Now we've bemoaned the use of the whole screen as the shutter on other handsets, as the fiddly little app icons could be easily missed, leading to us taking many unwanted snaps.
Luckily this issue has been overcome on the Moto G, as the settings wheel is accessed by sliding your finger from left to right over the display - not once did we accidentally take a picture when trying to tweak options.
That might be partly due to the fact we rarely found ourselves accessing settings, because it's seriously slim pickings.
For anyone looking to tinker with various modes, effects and advanced settings such as brightness and white balance the Moto G is not the cameraphone for you.
All you get are flash, HDR mode, shutter sound and aspect ratio toggles along with a Panorama mode, the ability to attach location information to your snaps and a rudimentary focus & exposure control.
Shutter speed is pretty swift, but if you fancy a burst mode just hold down on the screen and the Moto G will snap away until you release your finger.
There's a 4x digital zoom to boot which is controlled by sliding your finger up and down the display - although picture quality takes a serious battering, so it's best avoided.
The full screen trigger makes snapping photos easy as you don't have to aim for a small shutter button on screen, although once you see the results you may wish you never bothered.
That budget price tag really rings true here, and we found the majority of our photos were a pixelated mess. The Moto G struggled to focus properly and even with the focus & exposure setting turned on things didn't improve.
The Moto G performed better close up, as it was obvious what to focus on - but when looking at landscapes and situations with a lot going on it just couldn't make up its mind.
It's a real shame that the Moto G doesn't have even a slightly better camera offering, but at its rock bottom price point a concession had to be made somewhere, and this is it.
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Video
If you've already read the camera section of this Moto G review then your expectations for video recording on the handset are probably pretty low.And so they should be, as that 5MP sensor is also responsible for the 720p video capture on the Moto G.
Options were sparse for the camera function, and there's even less choice on offer when it comes to video recording.
Hit the video recorder icon in the camera app and the Moto G will start recording straight away - no change of mode and no new wheel of settings, just straight into the action.
That's great if you're in a hurry to start recording, but it also means you get the same limited settings wheel as the camera app, with some of the features obviously not compatible with the video recorder.
One option which is dedicated to filming is slow motion capture, allowing you to add a rather simple, yet pleasing effect to your videos. It's not as impressive as the implementation on the iPhone 5S, but nether the less it's a nice feature to have.
Resulting footage is acceptable when played back on the Moto G's 4.5-inch display, but it doesn't look great when moved to a larger screen such as a computer or TV.
Media
Under the removable rear cover of the Moto G is a microSIM port - but no microSD slot. That means if you want to expand the onboard 8GB/16GB of storage you'll have to take to the cloud.Thankfully Motorola has struck a deal with parent company Google to offer Moto G users an additional 50GB of Google Drive storage on top of the 15GB already provided.
If we've done our maths correctly that means you'll get 65GB of cloud storage for free if you pick up a Moto G, although the additional 50GB is only free for the first two years.
With no microSD slot you'll find yourself digging out your USB cable and connecting the Moto G up to your computer to move large quantities of music and movies over - although with limited internal storage you may find it filling up fast.
In fact 2.5GB of storage is taken up by the Android operating system, so if you end up plumping for the 8GB Moto G you'll only get 5.5GB of physical storage - that's not great.
Music
There's just one music app on the Moto, Google's Play Music offering which fuses your own personal library with the search giant's All Access streaming service.
You can get a 30 day free trail of All Access which has millions of songs and radio stations, but once that trail is up it'll cost you £9.99, $9.99, AU$11.99 per month to continue listening.
If you're already signed up to another streaming service, such as Spotify, you don't need to bother with All Access, but if you're new to the game then you might want to check it out.
For those of you who already have a huge music collection Google will let you upload 20,000 of your tracks to its Play Music cloud service for free, giving you access to all your songs on any Android device.
Of course you can always dig out the trusty USB cable and transfer your tracks over the old fashioned way - either way they'll appear in the "My Library" section of the Play Music app.
You can browse your songs by title, album, artist and genre with album art pulled through to make things look a little nicer.
Tap a song to starting playing it and it will appear in a bar at the bottom of the screen, allowing you to continue browsing your collection.
Hit that bar and you'll be taken to the now playing screen where you'll find the usual play/pause, skip and scrub controls along with shuffle and repeat.
Sound quality is more than acceptable through a half decent set of headphones, although the built in speaker isn't exactly great with tinny, distorted sound the order of the day - in short, best avoided.
FM radio
The Moto G comes equipped with a FM radio, which Motorola claims was included to give people free access to music if they didn't fancy signing up to costly streaming services.You'll need to have the headphones plugged in to get reception, and ideally you need to be outside as indoor reception was generally pretty poor.
The app is at least easy to use, with the Moto G automatically scanning the radio waves for available stations, and you can favorite the ones you listen to the most for easy access.
Video
There's no dedicated video player app on the Moto G, so if you've transferred your own videos onto the handset, or fancy playing pack something you recorded with the phone you'll need to head to the Gallery.Video clips which you've transferred onto the Moto G will reside in a separate folder to your images, but anything you've filmed through the 5MP camera will be bunged into the camera roll, which can make clips a little tricky to find.
Tap a video and it will open in a very basic video player - you can play/pause by tapping the middle of the screen and skip through using the scrub bar. That's your lot though.
Playback itself is very good thanks to the decently sized 4.5-inch display and the 1280 x 720 resolution and once again its an area where the Moto G can comfortably compete with the likes of the One Mini and Galaxy S4 Mini.
The Moto G is comfortable to hold for long periods of time, and it's not too heavy. We would recommend listening to your videos via headphones though, as the speaker on the rear isn't up to much.
Google's Play Movies & TV app also resides on the Moto G and if you've purchased films or TV shows from Google Play you'll be able to access them from here.
Once again the video player screen is very basic with the same controls as found in the gallery, but at least it's a simple, intuitive app.
You can buy or rent movies from Google Play and there's a direct link to the store from the Movies & TV app.
Photos
Head on over to the Gallery on the Moto G to view all your snaps and other images downloaded from the likes of Whatsapp or received via Bluetooth.
It's very much standard Android fare here, with the usual thumbnail galleries allowing you to get a good overview of all your snaps.
Tap a photo and then select the pencil icon in the bottom corner and you'll be transported into the well stocked photo editor housed with the Moto G.
From here you can apply various effects, exposure settings and frames to your snaps as well as crop, rotate, mirror and even straighten any wonky efforts.
It's simple to use and there's a decent range of options for you to chose from, although the poor performance of that 5MP camera may be a step too far for this editor.
Battery life and connectivity
Battery life
Motorola claims that the 2070mAh non-removable battery inside the Moto G will give you all day battery life, and while we found it's unlikely to see out 24 hours, it's just about able to see through the day.
We managed to get a full days use from the Moto G (7am-11pm) and by the time we got into bed the battery meter in the notification bar was red and the handset was in need of an overnight charge.
The Moto G had been used pretty heavily, with a couple of hours of music streaming, web surfing, constantly updating email inboxes, some social media activity and a few hours of pretty intense gaming.
With more reserved usage the Moto G will comfortably make it to bedtime, last overnight and give you a few hours use in the morning (if you're lucky). If you're planning on staying overnight somewhere you'll still need to take your charger with you to be safe.
It's worth keeping an eye on screen brightness, especially when you're watching movies on the Moto G as it can drain the battery somewhat.
During our battery test we played a 90 minute Nyan Gareth video on full brightness with all accounts syncing in the background and the Moto G lost 33% of life from a full charge.
That's not a terrible result, but if you're planning a bit of a movie marathon you'll want to make sure you're within reach of a charger.
If you find yourself getting close to the limit but are nowhere near a charger you can always enable the battery saver which restricts background data activity in an attempt to eek our more life.
Connectivity
The Moto G comes with all the standard connectivity options you'd expect from a low-end smartphone - Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS and 3G are all on board.Pull down the notification bar on the Moto G, tap the icon in the top corner and you'll get a selection of quick settings allowing you to toggle Wi-Fi and Bluetooth quickly.
For the other options you'll need to head into the settings menu, where you'll also find the wireless hotspot function. This lets you share your phone's data connection with other devices, such as tablets and laptops.
Keep an eye on your data usage though, as this can munch through it in next to no time and you don't want to be lumped with a huge bill.
We've already talked about the lack of a microSD slot, so more of an importance is placed on the microUSB port on the base of the device as you'll need to plug the Moto G into a computer to transfer over multiple files.
There's sadly no 4G support and while this isn't a surprise when you look at the price tag, it's still something we'd have liked to see on the Moto G. NFC is also missing, but this is less of an issue as the contactless tech is still yet to take off in a big way.
Maps and apps
Maps
The Moto G comes equipped with Google Maps, which we've heavily documented many times before so we'll keep this brief.We tend to find that low-end handsets struggle with the power hungry Maps app, with sluggish load times and fragmented user experience - things are different on the Moto G though.
Maps loaded almost instantly, even over 3G, and the Moto G was usually able to pinpoint our location in under a second.
Zooming and panning around the map is smooth, while the ability to plan routes and start up the free turn by turn navigation makes the Moto G one of the most affordable sat navs on the market.
You do need a data connection for navigation to work though, so if you're planning some rural routes it may not be able to direct you if signal drops.
Apps
Apart from the stock Google applications Motorola has added very little in terms of additional pre-installs, which isn't a bad thing as the swath of bloatware you get on some smartphones (we're looking at you Samsung) can be overbearing.
You can quickly build up a decent app collection on your Moto G thanks to the well stocked Google Play store which offers up a huge range of free and paid-for apps and games as well as movies, music, books and magazines.
There are a handful of Motorola's own apps on the Moto G, the first of which being Assist. With Assist you can automatically have the Moto G switch itself to silent between certain hours at night so your sleep is not disturbed.
Motorola Assist can also go through your calendar appointments and automatically mute itself when you're in meetings - perfect if you have a really embarrassing ringtone.
You can select predetermined exceptions, so if someone was to ring you twice with five minutes Assist would allow your Moto G to ring, as the call could well be something very important - or your friend could just be very drunk and feels compelled to tell you that they love you at 4am.
While Assist is a nice idea it is rather limited, as Meeting and Sleeping are the only two options, with each offering a limited number of customisable options.
We'd have liked to see an option to create your own scenarios and a wealth of exceptions and rules that could be applied - for example a location tracker which knows when you've got to work so automatically turns the Moto G to vibrate and turns on Wi-Fi.
Motorola Migrate is the next app in the line up, which aims to make it really easy for you to transfer content from your old phone to your shiny new Moto G.
You'll need to download the Motorola Migrate app on your old Android handset too, and there's currently no support here for Windows Phone 8, BlackBerry 10 (or BB OS7) or iOS 7.
In terms of what Migrate can pull across from your old phone it'll take care of text messages, call history, SIM contacts, media, volume settings and screen brightness.
Sure it's a nifty little app and the easy to follow wizard will mean even rookie Android users will be able to follow it - it's just a shame about the limited platform support.
Finally there's the Moto Care app, giving you a troubleshooting port of call if your Moto G isn't behaving itself, or you can't work out how to do something.
You can search the various help topics, tutorials and FAQs to find your answer, but if that doesn't help there's also the option to start a live chat with a support representative - plus there's an option to call someone too.
Hands on gallery
Verdict
On paper the Moto G looks like an excellent handset for the price, and in practice it lives up to the billing.As the Nexus 4 did with the mid-range market, the Moto G has turned the budget end on its head with features found on handsets double its cost.
We liked
The whole package. Look at what the Moto G offers, look at its price, and then look at the other handsets which cost the same amount.It exceeds its rivals in several key areas, from the well defined 4.5-inch display to its 1.2GHz quad-core processor and guaranteed Android 4.4 KitKat update. There's a lot to love about the Moto G for its price.
You could easily be fooled into thinking that the Moto G costs the same as the Galaxy S4 Mini and the One Mini - even web browsing is impressive on the handset.
We disliked
It's simple. Motorola must have cut some corners to get the price of the Moto G so low, and the camera is one area which has seen the compromise.The 5MP lens is simply not up to the job and our photos either came out blurry, grainy or both, while the camera app itself will be far too basic for some.
The lack of expandable memory will be a real bug bear for some, especially if you end up with the 8GB model and it's missing the more recent tech advances in the form of NFC and 4G.
Verdict
Motorola is back folks, it's official. It may not be the return we would have predicted - there's no flagship phone stuffed full of the latest tech - but arguably what the now Google-owned firm has done is even better.The Moto G is a top notch, low cost smartphone and we wholeheartedly recommend this as the best budget mobile currently on the market.
We were genuinely impressed with the feature set on the Moto G, so if you're looking for a low cost phone you can stop searching - just go out and grab a Moto G right now.
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Apple finds missing iWork features, returns them to the App Store
Apple has returned some 'missing' features to its iWork suite of productivity apps.
The Cupertino-based company was recently criticized for removing a number of much-loved (see: actually useful) features from the Mac version, including the DIY toolbar, page headers and footers and keyboard shortcuts.
Naturally, the pitchforks came out, and Apple pre-announced their return, along with an explanation that the apps were entirely rewritten from the bottom up "to be fully 64-bit and to support a unified file format between OS X and iOS 7 versions, as well as iWork for iCloud beta."
Now, the first few features have made a welcome, if fairly underwhelming reappearance.
Toolbar return
The main addition to the OS X version of Pages, Keynote and Numbers is the ability to customize the DIY toolbar. Additionally, Pages has introduced the ability to turn center and edge guides on by default, and Numbers now preserves windows size and placement upon save.Keynote on both OS X and iOS has received a handful of new transitions, including Blinds, Color Panes, Confetti, Fall, Perspective, Pivot, Scale Big and Swoosh.
But the excitement doesn't stop there - oh no - as both the iOS and OS X versions of Pages, Keynote, Numbers, iMovie and iPhoto have also brought stability improvements and bug fixes. Don't rush to the App Store all at once, now.
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Updated: LG admits that some TVs are watching you - but not for long
LG is preparing a firmware update to stop its televisions from overriding settings by sharing information about what you've been watching.
The company has conceded that some of its sets have failed to adhere to their settings by transmitting channel and broadcast data from your television to its servers even when you've told it not to.
It says that it uses the data to provide better recommendations and ads to LG Smart TV owners based on what they are watching.
Update: Whoops, LG got its own apology statement wrong. It now says, "The viewing information that LG collects has never been used for targeted advertising.
"LG does not, or has ever, engaged in targeted advertisement using information collected from LG Smart TV owners.
Original story continues:
LG said, "We have verified that even when this function is turned off by the viewers, it continues to transmit viewing information although the data is not retained by the server.
"A firmware update is being prepared for immediate rollout that will correct this problem on all affected LG Smart TVs so when this feature is disabled, no data will be transmitted."
USB woe
The internet-connected televisions were also accused of sending LG names of files you had stored on USB keys that you connected to your televisions which the company claims was intended to form part of a service that provides details on upcoming TV shows, although that still sounds a bit fishy to us.Anyway, it'll never see the light of day now as LG has decided to remove the feature in the upcoming firmware update as well.
- Are we playing fast and loose with our privacy? Shouldn't we be out protesting with pitchforks?
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In Depth: From reveal to retail: How we arrived at the Xbox One Day One Edition
The Xbox One name is a misnomer that's as giant as the hefty console itself, as Microsoft has put its third system through four major changes in just six months.
Microsoft's pendulum-swinging messages were no doubt fueled by Sony's more gamer-friendly PS4 announcements and zinger-filled E3 jabbs.
Ultimately, consumers benefit from more than the entertaining back-and-forth between the two companies - they also now have a better, feedback-inspired, next-generation Xbox.
The changes of the last six months have made transitioning from the Xbox 360 to Xbox One a little easier, albeit a bit confusing at times.
The only requirement the much-evolved Xbox One needs now is to set the record straight.
Xbox One online check-ins check out
The Xbox One reveal on May 21 sparked a panic of rumors that the new system would carry an "always-online" requirement. Gamers immediately feared this "no internet connection, no functional Xbox" future.This was never really the case, but Microsoft failed to promptly address the situation with facts, leaving wild speculation to shape the Xbox One in a color reminiscent of the Red Ring of Death.
When the company did set the record straight, gamers were left with something less threatening: a once every 24 hours online check-in requirement to keep the Xbox One chugging along.
There were benefits to this daily internet check-in "feature." Both physical and digital game purchases could be backed up to a cloud-based library and played on another Xbox One.
A few gamers liked this idea so much that they petitioned Microsoft to bring back Xbox One DRM.
- Take a gander at our Xbox One controversy timeline. Just to the right ... there you go.
Family sharing shot down
Microsoft also introduced a family sharing plan that would have allowed up to 10 members of a family to log in and play from each others' shared games library - again on any Xbox One."You can always play your games, and any one of your family members can be playing from your shared library at a given time," Microsoft explained while never defining how loose of a concept "family member" would be.
The true definition doesn't matter now. Both the cloud-based library and family sharing concept were axed, at least for the time being, when Microsoft gave up on the online check-in requirement - it was necessary to make the games library syncing process work.
Considering gamers' experience with frustrating DRM catastrophes, the potential downsides to an almost-always-online console outweighed game sharing features between multiple Xbox One consoles and family members.
Xbox One used games policy reversal
The greater reason behind the periodic online check-ins had to do with how Microsoft wanted to control Xbox One used game sales.Was it an all-out used games ban? Was there a fee attached to buying or selling a used game? Was it just an option for third-party publishers to take advantage of?
These were some of the important questions on gamers' minds that went unanswered from the first day the Xbox One was announced until up to 31 days later. Politicians in a heated scandal usually fold faster than that.
On June 6, Microsoft finally made it clear that transferring an Xbox One game to a friend wouldn't incur a fee if they've been on your Xbox Live friends list for more than 30 days. But each game could only be exchanged once.
Xbox One game trade-ins to "participating retailers" were also possible and Microsoft said it wouldn't charge a fee here either, but this left the door open to third-party publishers to apply fees.
It also seemingly closed the door to independent video game retail chains that get by on buying and reselling used games due to the never-defined "participating retailers" list.
Microsoft also hadn't made plans for loaning and renting games, stating that these options wouldn't be possible when the Xbox One launched. It was "exploring the possibilities with [its] partners."
That exploration was never needed, as the backlash over Microsoft's complicated used games policy led to a complete reversal at the same time the company did away with online check-ins.
You're required to buy Kinect, but don't have to use it
The Xbox One Kinect is a powerful 1080p gesture and voice-based input that can process 2GB of data per second and recognize six skeletons at once.But this next-generation camera has gotten under gamers' skin for a number of reasons, mostly because it was originally supposed to be essential for the Xbox One to function.
This requirement led to everything from reasonable privacy concerns to unchecked conspiracy theories when it was revealed that the sensor would be listening for the "Xbox, On" voice command even when the system was powered off.
It sure didn't help that reports fingered Microsoft for working with the US government on its Prism surveillance program. Its alleged spying on web customers further gave credence to the thought of Xbox One snapping photos and listening in on conversations in users' living rooms.
It took more than two weeks for the company to note that the Xbox One Kinect could be paused and that even the "Xbox, On" functionality could be disabled.
One less problematic issue remained: the new Kinect is much larger than its Xbox 360 counterpart. Users still complained that it might be a hassle to set up in certain living room or bedroom environments.
Microsoft set the record straight at the end of the summer, confirming that the Xbox One Kinect would not be required to be plugged in after all.
Open to indie games, maybe more than Sony
The Xbox One's final strategy shift came when Microsoft reversed its indie game policy.All game developers originally needed to find a publisher to back their software in order to have a game release on the Xbox One, threatening garage-based video game creators.
This emerging talent simply migrated to Sony's indie-friendly PS4, as Microsoft's rival was more than happy to demonstrate during an usually long segment of its E3 2013 press conference.
A month after this happened, Microsoft not only opened up the Xbox One platform to small-time developers, it announced that all Xbox Ones would double as a developer unit.
This kind of hardware can be five times the cost of a normal console.
"Our vision is that every person can be a creator," Xbox Chief Product Officer Marc Whitten said in a statement on July 24.
"That every Xbox One can be used for development. That every game and experience can take advantage of all of the features of Xbox One and Xbox Live."
Xbox One price remains
Microsoft changed its tune on four out of five controversial decisions, keeping the higher Xbox One price intact as it goes head-to-head with the PS4 today.The Kinect-camera-included console costs $499 in the US, £429 in the US and $599 in Australia for its worldwide launch.
But even this will change eventually. Early adopters are going to pay the premium for Microsoft's next-generation console, while everyone on the sidelines will enjoy inevitable price drops.
Macro changes for Microsoft
Microsoft didn't change Xbox One's VCR-like form factor, its 8GB RAM and included specs, or the launch game lineup in the last six months as much as it overhauled its jarring, unfriendly policies.Because of this, Xbox One acts more like the Xbox 360 than it did when it was first revealed in May, and for many gamers, that's completely OK.
Most importantly, it shows that Microsoft is open to change, a valuable lesson the wider company is at this experiencing at this very moment with its CEO exiting and its once-software-only investments looking to hardware beyond the Xbox brand.
- Our Xbox One review is evolving by the minute, but it's definitely worth reading right now.
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Amazon in talks to turn Tube ticket offices into post offices
London's soon to be vacant Underground ticket offices could be used as Amazon parcel pick up points if talks between the retailer and TFL go to plan.
London was awash with glee and gloom yesterday when it emerged that some tube lines will run 24-hours at weekends, but that every underground station ticket office would also close leading to lost jobs.
The FT reports that Amazon wants to use the counters to dish out packages that commuters could pick up on their ways home.
Mind the gap
While that might seem a harebrained scheme at first, it becomes less odd once you remember that Amazon already has unconventional drop-off points, like lockers in shopping centres and your local corner shop.London Underground's plans aren't going to come into effect until at least 2015 so don't expect to be picking up your shopping from Shepherd's Bush or birthday presents from Bank until then.
- Speaking of shopping: here are out top Christmas gift ideas for 2013
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Opinion: Why savvy console buyers are sitting out launch day
Another generation is upon us. That time once every six or seven years when the wizards of black marketing shout things at the top of their lungs, encouraging us to replace the two black boxes in the corners of our living room with two slightly shinier ones. It's NextGen™.
What are we to do with the old ones? My Xbox 360, the faithful bloodhound, barely able to stand up, solemnly rendering Los Santos with every once of its strength, is convinced it's still up to the task. After all we've been through, am I supposed to put it out of its misery? Well, not just yet.
As obvious as it sounds, a games console is nothing without games, and the problem is that they're not here yet. Your launch game is currently available in four unique flavours. You've got the bland, big-budget flashiness with nothing new to offer except the hollow promise of more polygons (e.g. Ryse, Killzone: Shadowfall).
Or you could try the half-arsed cross-generational port which functions identically to its cheaper Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 version (e.g. Battlefield 4, Assassin's Creed IV). We've also got some motion control nonsense (Fighter Within, Just Dance 2014), and Knack.
The problem with NextGen™ is these kind of releases are inevitable. The technology is, for the most part, brand new and development kits have only been available for around two years, even internally. So on top of simply making the game of your dreams in that time, there's also the messy business of learning how to deal with the messy innards.
With all the will in the world, there's barely been enough time to fart out a mediocre game, let alone a corker.
Just play the waiting game
So the games aren't much cop, that's fine. They'll come eventually, and in the mean time at least there's things to fiddle with. Apps! Glorious apps, turning your humble game box into a multidimensional media hub, harvesting all the fruits from the tree of entertainment.Except that isn't true. Of the major television broadcasters in the UK, only the iPlayer, 4OD and Demand 5 are popping their heads in to the PS4, with only 4OD bothering to show up on Xbox One. Sky isn't appearing on either for the foreseeable future, both might have Netflix but so will my microwave soon.
There's all this talk of NextGen™ being about more than just the games, yet the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, at least for the moment, also have much more to offer in that department.
No television and a limited games selection make Homer something, something. Come January you'll have already got bored of shooting the men, kicking the ball or punching the thing. There's also Knack, but why would you bother?
A standalone PlayStation 4 costs £349.00 ($399, AU $549), an Xbox One £429.00 ($499, AU $599) and it'll only be a matter of months before the inevitably slimmed down and buffed up models start popping up like rabbit acne, with a larger capacity and milk teeth replaced with proper grown up ones.
There's no way in hell you or I are even close to playing all the games from this generation that we know we should. Most of you haven't even heard of Spec Ops: The Line, or a truckload of other hidden current-gen beauties (or are they last-gen now?).
With a library of Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 games that will still continue to grow, and the real next-gen stonkers like Titanfall, The Witcher 3 and Watch Dogs not here until March at the very earliest, ask yourself "why now?"
- Still tempted? See our rundown of the best bundles for Xbox One and the best bundles for PS4
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In Depth: Xbox One: the launch games you need to play right now
So you've managed to bag yourself an Xbox One. Good work. But there's only so much fun you can have seeing if Kinect recognises rude words, so what are you actually going to play on the console? The One's launch lineup is pretty beefy, but once you've cut through it, which games are the essential ones?
We've narrowed down the list of big names to help you on your quest, rounding up the verdicts from some of our Future pals. You're most welcome.
Dead Rising 3
If welding a motorbike to a steamroller doesn't sound like fun then frankly there's no pleasing you. Dead Rising 3 is set 10 years after the last game - this time you play as Nick Ramos, who must escape Los Perdidos and its population of zombies before an impending military strike.The game has been criticised for its technical flaws - perhaps not one to showcase next-gen power, then - but there's a consensus across the board that there's still plenty of fun to be had as you decorate the streets with the entrails of the undead, turning almost any object into a weapon as you go.
Edge said:
"Dead Rising 3 is a sandbox in the purest sense, one that urges you to experiment with its innumerable toys at your leisure. The result is an open world that, in spite of its reanimated inhabitants, feels more alive than most."
While GamesRadar said:
"Dead Rising 3 has made its brand of zombie-slaying as much fun as possible, but it needs to fix a lot more than that before it becomes king of the undead."
Forza Motorsport 5
If you're looking for something that does show off the power of next-gen though, Forza 5 is probably the best place to start. Having spent plenty of time with it in recent weeks, we can promise you that it truly dazzles running at 60fps 1080p.But it's Drivatar that really takes things into next-gen territory as the game learns how you race and creates an online character that behaves just like you. If this is what developers are doing with Cloud power right now, just think about what else we might see further down the line.
Despite problems with car handling and the use of microtransactions, CVG agrees with most others that, flaws aside, the game is a visual feast. It said:
"Such niggles will be forgiven by many, simply because the game looks incredible. The 60 frames per second action rendered at 1080p with remarkable texture resolution is, at times, an astonishing spectacle."
GamesRadar, meanwhile, said:
"Forza Motorsport 5 prizes quality over quantity, eschewing the vehicular excess of previous entries to focus on the gameplay. The result is a leaner, more refined racer."
Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag
We tried to avoid putting any cross-gen-platform titles in here but it's impossible to ignore Assassin's Creed 4. The new game, which lets gamers explore pirate-infested waters, is being hailed as a return to form for the series and one of the most impressive games of the year.Given its availability on the Xbox 360 and PS3, it might not justify picking up an Xbox One alone, but you could do a lot worse than grabbing this if you're looking to pad out your next-gen collection.
GamesRadar said:
"An ambitious start for Assassin's Creed on next-gen. The vibrant Caribbean world and bloody piracy shine brightest, while the only sour notes come from contrived series story beats and repetitive missions--both need rethinking for AC5."
While CVG said:
"Much like the first Assassin's Creed, Black Flag isn't perfect. But the treasure trove of memorable experiences on offer here put all but the very best open worlds to shame."
Killer Instinct
Rare's original Killer Instinct is almost 20 years old but its legacy is still alive and kicking, surfacing as a free-to-play game for Xbox One launch day. We heartily recommend this for anyone looking for a pick-up-and-play title that's easy to dip in and out of.You'll only be able to play as the character Jago without putting down any cash, but you can choose to buy more characters individually or pay for the whole lot at once.
GamesRadar said: "Excellent mechanics and incredible playability make up for Killer Instinct's shortage of single-player content. Franchise fans and fighting game junkies will be most please."
Edge said: "There's a fantastic combo system at Killer Instinct's core, but right now it feels like half a game – one full of promise, certainly, but not an especially next-gen one either. The cascade of particles may not be enough to retain player interest until the rest of the game arrives."
Let's hope there's more to come.
Need for Speed Rivals
Another racer to round off our list, but how could we forget Need for Speed Rivals? It might be the twentieth episode in the franchise but it's back with a next-gen vengeance and we couldn't be more pleased.With Hot Pursuit's cops-vs-racers setup placed in an open world in the style of Most Wanted, Rivals really throws all its best ideas into the pan and then makes it look as stunning as possible. If you want adrenaline-pumping car chases, Rivals is your ticket.
CVG said:
"Rivals is gorgeous, invigorating, progressive and anything but a makeweight in the next-gen launch line-up. It's the strongest NFS in an age and a cheeky right-hook to the jaw of the likes of Forza Horizon, Gran Turismo and Grid 2."
GamesRadar said:
"Need for Speed: Rivals is a wholly enjoyable open-world racer. The driving is solid, its streets are a joy to explore, and its racing assignments--though a bit repetitive at times--are incentive enough to keep you coming back for more."
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Blip: Revealed: the world's cheapest and most expensive iPhone 5S
Ever wondered if you're getting a bum deal on your iPhone 5S? Well now you can find out thanks to the iPhone 5S Price Index from Mobile Unlocked.
Based on the idea of the Economist's Big Mac index, this version pulls in the cost of the 16GB iPhone 5S from 47 countries around the world, converting the prices to US Dollars (and Pound Sterling) and then offsetting the cost against each country's GDP.
What does this all mean?
Well in short: if you're in Qatar you'll be laughing, while anyone in India will be weeping into their wallets when they realise the true cost of their beloved iPhone 5S.
More blips
While you get your head around Jordan's Gross Domestic Product check out more of our affordable blips.- Google's sly response to Microsoft's Scroogle shwag
- Amazon Prime is now the only streaming home for Spring Breakers
- A university in Cyprus is officially accepting Bitcoin for tuition
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