Roundup: Best of TechRadar: this week's best features and hottest reviews
Best of TechRadar: all our best words
The secret technology that makes the F1 world go round
Hundreds of gigabytes of car data needs somewhere to go
"The first races are going to be test events … no team is taking it lightly," says Alan Peasland, Head of Technical Partnerships at F1 world champions Infinity Red Bull Racing. He squirms in his seat as he considers what promises to be some tentative opening races as the new Formula 1 season kicks-off in uncertain circumstances. "Reliability is crucial."
So is global data exchange and communication, both of which have been overhauled for the new season by Red Bull's new innovation partner, AT&T.The new networks are in place in Australia to help the team battle new technical challenges created by a set of radical new regulations being introduced this season by the FIA, the sport's governing body. So what's going on?
How Thatcher killed the UK's superfast broadband before it even existed
Margaret Thatcher, broadband snatcher
As you sit on the phone to your ISP's customer service line, listening to half-baked excuses for why you've only got 0.5Mbps upload speed and why you "need" to upgrade to "superfast" fibre optic, it may be little comfort to know that in an alternate reality you'd already have it as standard. In 1990, a single decision by then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher had a devastating effect on the UK's broadband infrastructure for the next 20 years and for the foreseeable future. Continue reading...
25 years of the World Wide Web
The key tech milestonees that grew the web
At 2:56pm on 6 August, 1991, Tim Berners-Lee launched the very first website, setting in motion a chain of events that would change the connected world. But it was a couple of years earlier, in March 1989 that he filed the proposal for what was to become the World Wide Web. As Berners Lee himself says on the webat25.org site: "My boss dubbed it 'vague but exciting'. Luckily, he thought enough of the idea to allow me to quietly work on it on the side." Continue reading...
Oppo N1 review
The Oppo N1 is a solid, thin and powerful phone with a great camera. And most importantly, the Oppo N1 beats the opposition in terms of price. The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 costs around £450 to buy unlocked outside of a contract, whereas the Oppo N1 is relatively cheap - at around £370 ($615, AU$680) - to buy direct from Oppo. Plus Oppo throws in a really nice flip case and a remote to control the camera. In terms of bang for buck, the N1 is a winner. The capacitive buttons are a bit temperamental and there are some small bugs in the OS, but the camera and its original rotating mount are both awesome features. It feels like Oppo is trying very hard to make friends with the N1. It's certainly made a few here. Oppo N1 review
Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes
Where do we place the value in videogames?Here in the land of share buttons, beanie-donning antiheroes and actual 1080p gaming, the talk of the town is Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes. Specifically: it's short. So short the developers can speedrun it in five minutes, which is less time than you'll spend typing out a caps lock-laden response to that smug 1080p bit a few lines back. Most people who've played it are reporting it took them about an hour and a half to complete.
They're also reporting that it's an incredible hour and a half, representing a successful marriage of Metal Gear legacy, modern day sandbox gaming and scintillating next-gen visuals (alright, so it's ménage à trois). So should we hike Big Boss up on a stick and throw rotten fruit at him for ripping us all off, or just enjoy the magnificent, movie-sized portion of entertainment on offer? It's a genuine dilemma. Read PlayStation Gamer
This year's BAFTAs show games winning all round
The games industry gives itself a hearty high-five
Perhaps it's the hour's sleep I'm running on, but I've come over all emotional. It's been a great year for gaming. Last night, the BAFTA Games Awards celebrated some of the biggest and best titles of the last 12 months, and loaded honours on the teams that crunched hours and sacrificed blood, sweat, tears and divorce papers to bring each of them to life. Read Xbox Gamer
Will Sony's 4K War Horse experiment change live events forever?
Sony brings 4K to live theatres
4K isn't just for movies and TV, it's for live theatre too. That's the surprising message from Sony's digital cinema group and National Theatre Live, after the two staged the world's first 4K live to cinema event. Even as patrons were filling the New London Theatre for another sold out showing of Michael Morpurgo's award-winning stage play War Horse, wannabe theatre goers were filing into the Curzon Chelsea cinema to watch a live transmission of the same show. Cinema screenings of such live events are not new, but they've never been done in 4K before. This was a complete equine-to-end experiment.
iOS 7.1 vs iOS 7: what's new?
Improved Sire and new CarPlay features
If iOS 7 was a fresh coat of paint for Apple's operating system, then today's iOS 7.1 release is a much-needed touch up six months into the redesign. This essential software update fixes a number of unresolved bugs that complicated owning an iPhone 5S, iPad Air and iPad mini 2. iOS 7.1 also features a handful of user interface tweaks that alter the non-skeuomorphic design. They're still flat, but a little rounder than before. Continue reading...
Best SMS text messaging apps for Android
Sidestep the switch to Hangouts with these alternatives
It's all very exciting having the latest version of Android install itself on your mobile, but what happens when it makes changes you don't actually like? That's the situation owners of phones like the Nexus 4 and Nexus 5 found themselves in recently, as Google's exciting new Android 4.4 KitKat release arrived – and forced upgraders to use Google's own Hangouts app as the default SMS app. See the best alternatives
Samsung Galaxy S6: what we want to see
Make it metal, make it awesome!
It's never too early to speculate wildly about the next smartphone in Samsung's Galaxy S series. The Galaxy S5 was definitely a step up from the S4, but we can't shake the feeling that everyone's favourite South Korean manufacturer (sorry LG) is resting on its laurels. Come on Samsung, market domination should be about more than outspending your rivals on advertising, get back in the game and kick it up a gear!
Amazon Prime Instant Video review
Prime represents good value for money unless you want to use a mobile device: video on iPads is awful, it isn't available for Android and you can't stream over 3G/4G. If those aren't deal-breakers, though, the service itself is very good. The film selection is stronger than Netflix's, there's a good kids' section and the parental controls are effective; and while the browsing experience is pretty dull, it's no worse than any other online shop. Amazon Prime Instant Video review
Netflix review
Netflix is totally worth the money. If it had Breaking Bad and Johnny Bravo and nothing else, it'd still be worth the asking price, but when you consider the massive amount of TV series, the Disney films and the ability to watch programmes on pretty much any conceivable device, then six quid is an absolute steal. It isn't perfect - if recent movies are your thing then your money might be better spent on Amazon Prime or on pay-per-view rentals - but when it comes to streaming video Netflix remains the service to beat. Netflix reviewNetflix vs Amazon Prime Instant Video
A feature-by-feature comparison of both streaming services
The battle of the big American movie streaming services is getting serious: the Amazon-owned LoveFilm is no more, replaced by the new and heavily-promoted Amazon Prime Instant Video. Is Amazon UK finally taking streaming seriously? Can Netflix hold on to its crown as our favourite streaming service? Let's find out. Netflix vs Amazon Prime Instant Video
Toshiba Chromebook review
Chromebooks are a bundle of contradictions, budget laptops that are both weird and brilliant, underpowered yet potent. They pack basic computing functionality into the Chrome OS, a web browser masquerading as an operating system. The search giant's OS and mobile computer spec are just a few years old, but companies like HP, Samsung and Acer already have several models on the market. The other firms may have a headstart but the Toshiba Chromebook has come out swinging, the first with a larger 13.3-inch screen, plus two USB 3.0 ports. Size and speedy ports aside, the Toshiba Chromebook is nearly identical to its competitors on paper. Looks, however, are a different story. Toshiba Chromebook review
Sony KDL-50W829 review
Offering imperious HD picture quality, the Sony W8 sets a high benchmark indeed. Nominally a mid-ranger, it outperforms expectations to such a huge extent that many buyers will be hard pressed to justify spending more. Connectivity is excellent, with four HDMIs and two USBs, while its internet connected feature set delivers most of what you'll deem important, including Netflix, Amazon Instant Video, BBC iPlayer, YouTube and On Demand movies. Android smartphone integration is also seamless. Decent build quality and tasteful minimalist design merely cement its appeal. What few caveats we do have are outweighed by that head-turning price tag. This is a cracking 1080p Smart telly. Sony KDL-50W829 reviewFollow TechRadar on Twitter...
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Interview: Why businesses should be paying attention to NoSQL in 2014
Billy Bosworth, CEO at Datastax, explains why the NoSQL database will continue to grow in popularity in 2014.
TechRadar Pro: Why should people be paying attention to NoSQL in 2014?
Billy Bosworth: First, it's already infiltrated your world and you probably don't even know it. Whether you are shopping, gaming, reading news sites, watching movies online, or getting a prescription filled, you're likely using our technology. We're past theory and into reality.
Second, The "always on" world cannot be serviced by databases with 25-year-old technology. They weren't built for the kind of architectures that can avoid disasters and deliver performance that was unheard of just a few years ago
Third, no matter your business, data is the new currency. I'm pretty sure Google did not buy Nest for over $3B because they wanted a pretty thermostat. We're seeing new industries born and old industries radically changed by changing how we perceive the value of data. Before any of that vast amount of data can be analyzed, it must first be created. We are the engine that allows all that data to be created.
TRP: Why will the team be able to take on Oracle this time around? What's different?
BB: MySQL was brilliant for its time because the team understood something that is very difficult for software developers, and that is reductionism. Relational databases were bloated with too much bolt-on technology, so MySQL went after an audience that needed one thing (web transactions) above all else, and they blew away all the other chaff.
They made it simple, and they made it free in the open-source world. That was a massive disruption to the relational market, but make no mistake about it, it was a cost disruption more than anything else. It was still a relational database.
Today, we get incredible value out of my leadership team members who come from MySQL because they know the open source software model (no trivial thing) and because they learned how to disrupt a huge incumbent. But the reason they are here is because they know that this time, the primary market driver is not cost -- it is technology.
The real disruption is that our technology is built for an "always on" world where data is massively distributed. The fact that we're typically 1/10th the cost of something like Oracle is fantastic, but incidental. Spending more money, or using clever marketing, cannot fix a bad architecture.
That is not only true for relational databases, but also applies to NoSQL databases that suffer from architectural limitations not sufficient for a fully distributed world.
TRP: What will be the key areas for NoSQL in 2014?
BB: This year will see NoSQL become a lot more mainstream and get adopted by companies who you wouldn't think of as modern innovators - like the Post Office or manufacturers. Well, they've already begun making the transition, and many others will soon follow. So it's not just for web and "cloud native" businesses any longer.
Undoubtedly, the demand for skills around NoSQL will go up this year as well – we are helping the community here with access to free training around Cassandra, expanding the number of people with skills and making it easier to support these innovative new apps.
If you are well versed in NoSQL, and can write applications at global scale, then you can pretty much write your own ticket because you are the most in-demand employee a tech company can find. So we see a lot of growth happening in the community because the top engineers really want to learn these new skills and also have fun with a really exciting technology.
TRP: How do you see areas like telecoms taking on NoSQL?
BB: I see the telcos absolutely needing the power of NoSQL for a variety of reasons:
Always-On: The amount of data points that the telco's need to consume is astounding. They're one of the top data generation industries in the market because of all the data points they need to capture. If the system is down or slow -- even for milliseconds -- it creates a backlog such that the system cannot catch up. They *must* start embracing fully distributed ways of dealing with ever increasing data flows.
Messaging: The backbones for messaging architectures are some of the most demanding in the world. Openwave Messaging, a DataStax customer, provides messaging services for half of the top tier telcos. A few years ago while using a relational database, they experienced a critical failure that left 800,000 subscribers without email access.
They activated their experimental Cassandra cluster and regained operations within 20 minutes and have migrated over to DataStax Enterprise full time. They haven't experienced downtime since.
New business opportunities will emerge as our personal devices become a bigger and bigger part of our daily lives. The telcos must have the internal database infrastructure ready to handle the launch of massively successful new services to customers. If the infrastructure isn't there, massive market share will be squandered.
TRP: Databases are a dry subject – will corporate IT teams look at NoSQL this year, or will they stick with Oracle?
BB: Let me give you an analogy… when I played football in college, I was an offensive lineman. That position doesn't have the flash of, say, a wide receiver. That is, not until your $80M quarterback gets injured because a lineman didn't do his job -- then nobody wants to talk about anything else!
Our job at DataStax is to deliver the Cassandra database in a way that does amazing things with mind-bending performance, and yet have the database remain a "dry" topic. When we do that, it means we're doing our job because there are no crises to talk about and applications are humming along!
To answer your question specifically, IT departments are the ones who will ultimately take these technologies used by the various application teams and make them standard inside their organizations. That is a very useful thing for numerous reasons, so IT has an important role to play going forward as databases like Cassandra propagate within companies.
TRP: Where do you think the next big challenge for IT will come from?
BB: Everyone faces a challenge of scale because data is growing so quickly. Whether you are a startup looking to grow or an established company that is reacting to market forces, IT is critical to your success.
Being able to keep pace with huge growth in consumer demand and application traffic is essential. Alongside this, there has to be an appetite for working in closer partnership with business around their needs. This is that age-old problem of how to get past IT being seen as a straight cost center; it needs to be a valuable partner in a business' success.
TRP: What do you think will be the biggest success opportunity for IT this year, and what will flatter to deceive?
BB: If IT can proactively approach the business with the infrastructure required to handle the demands and SLA's of the business application teams, they will be nothing short of rock stars within the company. Most application teams do not want to own the infrastructure of their application, but often they see IT as slowing them down. It is a tough problem for myriad reasons, but it is a huge opportunity for IT to be seen as truly a catalyst to the business.
Apart from NoSQL, the cloud is revolutionizing IT as you can see from the emphasis coming out of Google Cloud Platform and Amazon Web Services.
Deploying applications into the cloud and providing a reliable, performant cloud infrastructure will revolutionize how companies do business and which applications they provide their customers. IT will have to figure out how to balance the demand for cloud infrastructures with standardization and governance that they deliver with on-premise solutions.
TRP: Do you think the Internet of Things will take on the mantle of cloud or big data as the biggest hype term? Or will it actually start to prove its worth?
BB: The Internet of Things has received strong interest in Europe for some time, but is now also gaining strong traction in the U.S. The IOT is very real and already proving it's worth. Google recently acquired the smart-thermostat provider, Nest, for $3.2B.
They didn't do that because they want to be in the thermostat business - they did it for the data. Everything is going "live" and it's actually frustrating to the younger generations when things they have are not "connected." IOT is just a nice umbrella term for describing what is already happening.
TRP: Cassandra is based on the support of its community, like most open source products. How do you plan to support this community going forward?
BB: Cassandra forms the core of our business, and the Cassandra community is the lifeblood of this technology. We are 100 percent committed to fostering the community, adding value to all of its members, and providing them with the tools and knowledge they need, even if they aren't DataStax customers.
Any open source company worth its salt knows that they will have far more open source users than paying customers, so you know going in that the real success for your company will be a thriving community.
We offer a website called PlanetCassandra.org that is packed with resources. We also offer free online training for anyone who wants to build their skills with Cassandra, and we recently announced a startup program that allows small companies to deploy DataStax Enterprise for free, thus investing in their growth at an early stage.
Last year, our first European Cassandra summit held in the UK sold out so quickly that we added a whole extra day to meet demand. Our US Cassandra Summit 2013 was the largest gathering of Cassandra community members ever.
We are planning to run the same style events this year and we expect even more success when we hold our U.S. Cassandra Summit in September and our EU Summit in December 2014.
TRP: There are so many NoSQL companies hitting the market now. Do you think the market risks getting confused, and how do you plan to set yourself apart?
BB: Sure the market risks getting confused. The market is confused already. NoSQL databases are revolutionary and the opportunity is as large as they come. Here's the first step to sorting out the real players… look for documented customer information. DataStax for example serves 20+ of the Fortune 100 and more than 400 customers - and more than 1,500 companies form the basis of the open source Cassandra community.
Today you can visit our site and read through 40+ case studies and interviews conducted with our customers, and more than 200 interviews on the open source page, www.planetcassandra.org. Now, many of the largest and most recognizable brands aren't the most forthright about their deployments - but that's generally because they are hesitant to share the "secret sauce" of their success. But if you are evaluating a technology and they can't provide 10 really well documented use cases, don't bother.
I can tell you with absolute confidence, and with no marketing hype, that we offer the very best database for online applications -- period. Cassandra is an always-on, fully distributed database, that is built specifically for the world of online, dynamic applications where data is absolutely king.
At DataStax, we deliver Cassandra to the enterprise, helping our customers overcome serious obstacles to innovation that they need to revolutionize the way they do business, and that they can't get done with old, relational technology.
There is nothing else out there that delivers our performance in the face of ridiculously challenging environments. With Cassandra, you can lose an entire datacenter and never miss an SLA for a transaction. Think about that for a minute… that is a concept so radically different from anything we've ever done with databases that it's easy to pass over. That kind of power is rare, and we deliver it in real life -- not just on whiteboards and in marketing speak.
We need to do a much better job at communicating those benefits to the market. There is a trend in technology to rest simply on the strength of your solution and expect the market to understand it organically. In a sense this is true, given the strength of our community - but you also need to educate people, and that is a huge focus for DataStax in 2014. But we are looking forward to an absolutely phenomenal year and are expecting massive growth in Europe and globally.
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Firefox 'Metro' app abandoned because no one wants Microsoft's Modern UI
Don't expect Firefox to surface on your Surface 2 or Windows 8.1 start screen, as the open-source software developer behind the browser has abandoned its Metro-styled app.
Mozilla realized launching the 1.0 version of its Microsoft Modern UI app "would be a mistake," wrote Johnathan Nightingale, vice president of Firefox, in a blog post.
"It looked like the next battleground for the web," noted Nightingale. Now he says, "we've been watching Metro's adoption. From what we can see, it's pretty flat."
While pre-release versions of Firefox's desktop browser are beta tested by millions of people, the company never saw more than 1,000 active daily users taking advantage of Metro.
If a bug exists in a Metro app, does anyone hear it?
The problem with Microsoft's new design language isn't just that it's unpopular; it's also hard for app developers to properly bug test their software.Nightingale theorized that Mozilla could have eventually shipped the Firefox Metro app, but without real-world testing, a lot of glitches would have been discovered by end users.
This decision to pull the plug on this Mozilla app ends its arduous two-year development cycle. It was first announced in February 2012 and slated to finally release in December of last year.
It was even previewed just before the end of last year, but delayed as recently as January of this year and now won't come out any time soon.
Instead, Mozilla will focus on its development efforts on existing Firefox platforms, including Mac, Linux, Android and straight-up Windows.
Maybe when Windows 9 rolls around, it can consider giving Metro another go, but for now it says the real costs of investment in a platform its users have shown little sign of adopting isn't worth it.
- Firefox is still available on Androids like the Samsung Galaxy Note 3
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Valve shows off new Steam Controller, missing touchscreen and all
Valve announced in January that it had redesigned its unique Steam Controller, while showing off the new version to its Steam Dev Days attendees.
The only pictures we got of the redesign came from smartphone snaps of a presentation screen, but today Valve has released the first official shot of the Steam Controller's new look.
It lacks the touchscreen that the original design had, and now includes more physical buttons.
Valve said these changes were implemented thanks to feedback from beta testers.
Trade-offs
It was reported back in January that Valve was also considering replacing the strange dual trackpads with actual analog sticks, but it looks like the touch controls are still around.The old version featured four physical buttons arrayed around the touchscreen, but without that touchscreen the new Steam Controller has a more traditional layout.
There are four face buttons near the right trackpad, and physical directional buttons on the left.
The trackpads may work for some games, but fans of fighting games and 2D side-scrollers will no doubt appreciate the addition of those directional buttons.
The Steam Controller will launch with SteamOS and Steam Machines sometime this year but we're hoping for a sneak peek during this year's Game Developer's Conference in San Francisco.
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Is the Microsoft-exclusive Titanfall coming to Macs?
Titanfall is the game of the hour, or many hours, on the Xbox One and PC, but people in the Mac camp may soon be able to play too.
According to Vince Zampella, co-founder of Respawn Entertainment, the company is in talks with Aspyr, a publisher that specializes in porting Windows games to Macs.
The information comes from Zampella's Twitter however, and isn't exactly official.
Still, if true, it would be awhile anyway before Mac owners could stomp on Grunts. Aspyr has ported Borderlands 2 and BioShock Infinite for Macs but it took four and six months respectively to get each up and running.
We've asked Microsoft for more information on Zampella's comments and will update the story when we hear back.
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Microsoft is paying Windows XP users to jump ship
The end of support for Windows XP is drawing ever closer, and Microsoft is sparing no expense making sure users move out of the outdated platform.
In the company's latest move, it's now offering Windows XP users $50 (about £30, AU$55) in credit towards any Windows 8 tablet, laptop or all-in-one desktop at the Microsoft Store.
Alongside the gift card, Microsoft is also giving away 90 days of premium support for no extra charge to help customers make the transition. The service includes 24/7 phone and chat support to help with getting set up on a new PC.
Finally, the Redmond firm is extending a free data transfer service through Laplink. The data migration service will help users move over everything on their hard drives to a new machine, including photos, videos, music and other files for free.
The offer is only valid from now to April 30, so act quickly.
The sun is setting on XP
Microsoft has slowly been bringing down the curtain on Windows XP. Along with a final patch coming April 8, Security Essentials on the old operating system will no longer be supported.After losing the built-in firewall and security suite, the company has promised to continue providing anti-malware support through July 2015.
Third-party vendors have promised to continue protecting Windows XP with their own anti-malware solutions. However, without any more official security patches coming from Microsoft, it's clear the sun is setting on the old OS.
- Check out how Microsoft's latest operating system stacks up in our review of Windows 8.1
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Samsung S Band fitness tracker tipped to finally make a move
Samsung appears to have one more wearable gadget up its sleeve for 2014 in the form of the long-overdue S Band activity tracker.
The display-less S Band was originally announced during last year's literal song and dance routine in which Samsung unveiled the Galaxy S4, but it never launched.
Now, exactly one year to the day later, with the Galaxy S5 around the corner, we're seeing what appears to be a sales guide for a redesigned fitness tracker courtesy of SamMobile.
The S Band is said to monitor calories burned, steps, distance and sleep efficiency, all metrics that can be transferred from the sensor to a phone - presumably only Galaxy devices with S Health 3.0.
Incoming calls and text notifications vibrate this wrist-worn wearable and flash its tiny LED. A loss protection mode is supposed to do the same when the Bluetooth-connected device is out of range.
Grain of S Band salt
There's nothing to confirm that Samsung is preparing to resurrect the S Band that it has put off for a year like our poor gym habits.Today's marketing slides actually look a little dated considering there's a Galaxy S4 pictured in the material and the grammar appears to be off in several cases.
Its claim that "this will prevent you from lost your phone or child in the crowd" doesn't exactly strike consumer confidence. This sales pitch clearly isn't ready for prime time.
Samsung also has plenty of other forthcoming wearables, including the Gear 2, Gear 2 Neo and stylish Gear Fit. If the S Band does finally come out, expect it to be on the lower end of a price spectrum.
- See the next wearable Samsung may copy in our Google Glass review
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Xbox One Skype app now has push notifications, Captain America emoticons
Microsoft has unleashed an update to Skype for Xbox One that adds contact filtering, longer chat histories and a set of Captain America: The Winter Soldier emoticons.
This is the first update to the Xbox One's Skype app, and the contact filtering in particular is a much-needed improvement.
It allows users to sort their contacts by availability, rather then requiring them to scroll through their entire friend lists to see who's online.
The update also improves the experience with superior conversation syncing between devices, less missed messages, and a conversation history that stores up to 1,000 messages instead of just messages from the last seven days.
First time for everything
The new Xbox One Skype update also adds a tutorial for first-time Skype users, and Microsoft says it's eliminated several bugs.Skype for Xbox One marks the first time the Microsoft-owned service has been available on Xbox game consoles.
However, it's not available to everyone, as it requires an Xbox Live Gold subscription.
Microsoft recommends users visit the Skype Community with any questions.
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Looks like WhatsApp's VoIP feature will fit right in with iOS 7
Alleged screenshots of WhatsApp's upcoming Voice over IP feature have surfaced, and they show an app that looks a lot like iOS 7's Phone app.
The images come from iPhoneItalia, which also claims that besides the addition of VoIP, the new WhatsApp won't be very different from the existing app.
The VoIP feature will allow WhatsApp users to make voice calls with their smartphones and tablets over Wi-Fi and cellular connections.
Facebook-owned WhatsApp has been expected for weeks to introduce VoIP soon, but there's still no official arrival date.
Competition by imitation
WhatsApp announced that it would soon add VoIP at MWC 2014, shortly after Facebook bought the company for $19 billion (about £11.4b, AU$21b).As has been pointed out, the VoIP design seen in these alleged screenshots pretty closely resembles the Phone app in iOS 7, from the blurred background image to the circular, red end call button.
The other semi-big change supposedly coming in the next WhatsApp update is that the camera button to attach photos to messages will be located right above the keyboard instead of tucked away behind the "more" button.
Despite the info, there's still no word yet on when this update is coming.
- Here's everything TechRadar knows about the iPhone 6
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Samsung's latest accessories include ultrasonic cover, print-reading stand
Samsung is introducing three new accessibility-oriented accessories for the Galaxy Core Advance made specifically to help the disabled or visually impaired.
The first, and perhaps most impressive, of the three is an Ultrasonic Cover that uses sound waves to detect people and objects ahead of the user.
It's nowhere near a bat(man)'s echolocation, but it can send out obstruction-sensing sound waves up to two-meters away.
After detecting an object, the cover will inform visually impaired users if they're getting close through vibration and spoken alerts.
Smartphone, tell me a story
Another accessory Samsung announced for its low cost smartphone was the Optical Scan Stand. It's essentially a scanner set on a stand that reads any printed materials passing in front of its sensor.Once the user taps the Optical Scan application on the Core Advance, the device will automatically recognize and read the text out loud.
Samsung's last little helper is called the Voice Label, which allows the user to identify objects with their phone and make notes or tag voice labels to them.
Voice labeling works with all NFC-enabled electronics and it's meant to help the visually impaired with distinguishing their devices and recording a short explanation on how to use them.
The new Galaxy Core Advance accessories are already available and Samsung noted it has plans to expand the accessibility to its other Galaxy devices in the future.
- Samsung's new flagship smartphone is here; see our hands on with the Galaxy S5
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Faucet of iOS 8 leaks take aim at Notification Center, Game Center
iOS fans have had a veritable smorgasbord of leaks this week that could offer insight into what Cupertino is planning for its mobile OS this year - and there's still more to come.
9to5Mac is wrapping up a busy week of iOS 8 rumors and leaks by detailing a number of other areas Apple appears interested in tweaking, according to an unnamed source allegedly familiar with what the company is considering for the next release.
First up is a more streamlined Notification Center that removes the third and seldom-used "Missed" tab, sticking to the far more useful "Today" and "All" views to make the information presented there easier to access.
The built-in Messages and Voice Memos apps are also said to get modest overhauls, with the former adding an option for automatically deleting message threads after a certain period of time, with a more refined button arrangement in the latter.
RIP Game Center?
Moving on to potentially larger changes with iOS 8, Apple is said to be considering the removal of its Game Center app, instead pushing its somewhat limited functionality into apps that actually tap into the social gaming service.Although few drivers are actually using CarPlay now that iOS 7.1 is available, Apple also appears to be working on cutting the Lightning cord requirement, allowing compatible vehicles to work wirelessly over a presumably ad-hoc Wi-Fi network instead.
Last but not least, a new developer API is rumored to be in testing that provides an "XPC" service, which apps can use for better data sharing and communication between each other.
Earlier rumors this week revolved around changes to Apple Maps, the potential for iTunes Radio to become its own app and the possibility of new Preview and TextEdit apps, but keep in mind this is all just speculation and hearsay until company executives walk on stage and make it real.
- Don't forget to check out the latest iPhone 6 rumors!
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Blackberry Kopi reappears on the radar, but will it ever see the light of day?
Last we heard about the BlackBerry device codenamed 'Kopi' reports claimed it and its 'Cafe' stablemate had been cancelled by new CEO John Chen amid plans to re-evaluate future handset launches
Now, a few months on from those prophecies of doom, the qwerty-packing device has reappeared on the radar thanks to new leaked pics unearthed from Chinese social Weibo by the N4BB side.
Thought to the an entry-level device, sitting between the BlackBerry Q5 and the Q10 devices, although with a slighter squarer form factor, the K-Series 'Kopi' phone was thought to be arriving this month.
Not a lot was known about the handset, prior to BlackBerry's rumoured redaction, but a Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8960 processor had also been tipped.
Kopi lives?
Whether BlackBerry still has plans to launch this device, as it continues an apparent transition away from devices and into services, and in what markets remains to be seen.According to the N4BB report, the device is 'still making it's way to BlackBerry partners,' so perhaps the firm is testing the waters ahead of a potential release later this year.
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Gaming Spotlight: Metal Gear Solid 5, Titanfall, and Sony's biggest announcement since the PS4
This year's Game Developers Conference is expected to be the scene of Sony's biggest announcement in gaming since PlayStation 4.
Various sources claim the company's long-rumoured virtual reality headset will grace the halls of San Fran's Moscone Center at some point during the four-day event - and we'll keeping our DualShock-cramped fingers crossed for some hands on time, too.
Of course, that's not all we're looking forward to at GDC 2014, nor is it the only topic for this week's Gaming Spotlight. Taking their regular spots on the sofa, Patrick Goss and Hugh Langley also question whether Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes is just a glorified demo cashing in on fan excitement, and also give their first impressions Titanfall – possibly the first true system-seller of the Xbox One.
You can tune in to this week's Gaming Spotlight by clicking the video below.
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In Depth: Nexus 6: what we want to see
The key features the Nexus 6 needs
Fans of the cutting edge vanilla Android experience were quick to fall in love with the Nexus 5. It ushered in Android 4.4 KitKat with a sexy Google Experience Launcher on top, but it wasn't perfect.Originally imagined as reference devices to inspire original equipment manufacturers, recent Nexus smartphones have grown beyond that brief to drive down prices and raise expectations. With Play editions of flagships like the Galaxy S4 and HTC One, you could argue that we don't need Nexus phones any more, but that doesn't mean we don't want another one.
If it comes, the Nexus 6 is likely to land, like an autumn leaf, towards the end of the year. Google will definitely have to revamp the naming conventions after that, because we already have a Nexus 7.
Here's what our friendly neighbourhood search giant could do to get us excited about the Nexus 6 - the phone we expect to launch Android 5 in November..
A bigger battery
Battery life has bossed the chart of complaints in the smartphone market for years now and last year's Nexus was a major offender, with a constantly weird amount of power suckage.Scraping through a day simply isn't good enough. If you're going to pack more and more irresistible features into a device with a gorgeous hypnotizing display, then please give it enough juice to fulfil our obsessive usage.
The days of removable batteries appear to be over, at least where the Nexus line is concerned. Battery cases are too bulky and wireless charging is far from ubiquitous. We demand a bigger battery, or much greater efficiency. Ideally we'd like a mix of the two, especially when it comes to the leaky Nexus range.
A better camera
Google made some swift adjustments to roll out an update that fixed up the Nexus 5 camera, but it's still an obvious candidate for improvement. A new version of Android should handle the software side, but the Nexus 6 is going to need to pack some decent hardware.Nokia is the current gold standard with the 41MP-toting Lumia 1020, but the Android pack is pushing 13MP and upwards now. Of course there's more to a camera than the megapixel count, but there's a lot more than can be done here.
It would be a very pleasant surprise to get a Nexus 6 capable of taking photos that can compete with the latest iPhone and the rest of the flagship gang. We want great quality shots, but also fast performance to help us capture those precious, spontaneous moments as they happen.
A slightly bigger screen
With some clever engineering and some ruthless bezel slicing we're getting bigger displays without smartphones growing to ridiculous proportions, although phablets are now a thing. Perhaps the 6 will refer to the screen size.Realistically 6 inches might be pushing things too far, but we could always use more screen real estate. We'd like to see the Nexus 6 creep up a touch past 5 inches without becoming unwieldy. A slight increase in screen size without additional bulk would hit the spot nicely. An edge-to-edge display has long been a dream for smartphone fans.
A 64-bit processor
Since Apple made the jump to a 64-bit processor in the iPhone 5S it's inevitable that other manufacturers will want to follow suit. It doesn't matter if there isn't much obvious short term advantage. Let's face it, we're hardly bumping up against the 4GB RAM barrier yet, but you can bet we will.App developers and manufacturers will be able to realize the potential of this in years to come, but perception is important and that's reason enough for the Nexus 6 to need a 64-bit processor.
It's likely the next Nexus will be the poster child for the latest iteration of Android, and with version 5.0 set to be the first to support 64-bit chips, the Nexus 6 needs to be an absolute monster when it comes to power.
Dual speakers
The front-facing dual-speaker setup on the HTC One was undeniably nice and the more we consume media on our smartphones the more important it becomes to get decent sound.
The Nexus 5 had one speaker at the bottom and it was less than stellar. It's another obvious target for a spot of improvement and it would be nice if headphones weren't a requirement for enjoying music on your phone.
A new form
The LG G Flex and the Samsung Galaxy Round have begun the transition to flexible displays which will enable new form factors.A gentle curve is not much to get excited about, and it's still probably too early for the full potential of flexible displays to be realized, but anything that takes smartphones away from the black rectangle convention could be good.
A Nexus 6 with a really interesting design and some software innovation from Google could point the way for the evolution of the smartphone, and given LG is apparently in the hot seat to make its third consecutive Nexus, this could be a winner from one of the world's biggest makers of flexible phone screens.
At the very least a kind of secondary display portion on the edge for at-a-glance functionality and controls. Maybe even a dual-screen set-up with a low energy secondary display for notifications.
Always listening
The big USP for the Moto X was the voice recognition, allowing you to issue commands to Google Now without using your hands. The idea of hands-free operation has always been hampered by the need to press something first.If the Nexus 6 was always listening for its master's voice, we might be tempted to make better use of Google's fortune-telling digital butler.
A 2K display
Full HD with a 1920x1080 pixel resolution became the new standard for top-end Android smartphones in 2013. The next development looks likely to be 2K, with a resolution of 2560x1440 pixels.LG has shown off 2K display technology and Chinese manufacturers Vivo and Oppo have stated their intentions to release devices with 2K displays this year.
It wouldn't be a shock if the Nexus 6 brought us a new level of pixel density. It's probably too soon for 4K displays, but we're heading in that direction, and this would at least give a Nexus the headline grabbing features we love.
Of course, only if it can be done cheaply. We don't want to lose the low, low prices we've become accustomed to.
Biometric security
Face Unlock was a gimmicky feature that arrived in Android Ice Cream Sandwich. It didn't always work and it was easy to spoof with a photo but finding new ways to effortlessly, but securely, unlock your smartphone is still on the agenda.Apple's Touch ID uses your fingerprints and there were strong rumours of a retinal scanner in the Galaxy S5, even if it never came to pass and instead offered up a boring digit scanner. If this kind of security is set to become a new standard, then you can bet the Nexus 6 should jump on board.
Indestructibility
We've seen Kevlar coating from Motorola and waterproofing from Sony and Samsung, and there's no doubt the Nexus line could stand to toughen up. You only need to glance at any Nexus 4 or Nexus 5 forum to find tales of woe from hapless owners with shattered screens.Flexible display technology could put an end to cracked and broken screens. Waterproofing has left the rugged category behind and broken into the mainstream. A Nexus 6 that can survive a dunk and doesn't need a polycarbonate overcoat is surely on the cards.
What do you think? Let us know below how you think Google needs to spec the Nexus 6 to make it into a winner.
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Is this Amazon's game console controller?
What appears to be an Amazon Bluetooth gaming controller has just surfaced online, as rumours of Amazon's set-top box continue to hot up.
Two analogue sticks, four face buttons, a D-pad, trigger and shoulder buttons all adorn the Xbox-esque gamepad, but it's the buttons in the middle of the controller that have caught our eye - those are Android icons.
Apart from the bottom-middle one, of course, which looks an awful lot like the Amazon GameCircle logo.
On the bottom sit some buttons for media playback - play/pause, rewind, fast-forward - and there are LED indicators for... something... on both sides.
Fugly?
According to Zatznotfunny, which picked up the pictures from Brazilian regulatory agency Anatel, the controller will be sold as an accessory and won't actually come bundled with the box.
If true, that suggests Amazon's box won't have gaming as its central focus and will likely be a more rounded streaming system.
The gamepad will also be powered by a pair of double A batteries and will allegedly work with Kindle Fire tablets. Our opinion? It's not much of a looker.
Not much else is known about Amazon's box for the time being, but given the proliferation of leaks and rumours, we expect we'll hear something official very soon.
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Interview: What happens when your cloud provider pulls out of the market?
At the start of the year, the news that Symantec's Backup Exec.cloud offering had been removed from the market left customers just one year to migrate to an alternative solution.
This generous window of opportunity is not indicative of the cloud industry in general, with companies typically leaving a much smaller migration window. So what do you do if your backup provider pulls its product from the market?
Started over 10 years ago, Databarracks, based in Clapham, South London, provides secure, Infrastructure as a Service, Backup as a Service and Disaster Recovery as a Service from UK-based, ex-military data centres.
Oscar Arean, Technical Operations Manager at Databarracks, discusses what you should do if your cloud provider is forced pull out of the market, what it means for your data and how you can retrieve your data.
TechRadar Pro: What is the difference between retrieving my backups from a cloud service provider compared to regular data storage?
Oscar Arean: Retrieving backup data is a far more complex process than when working with normal production data. Unfortunately it's not as simple as collecting your disks from the data centre and extracting the data straight from them.
Due to the nature of backups, they are usually encrypted, compressed and stored in a way very specific to your provider's software. The process of extracting this data, in a readable state, is far more time consuming in comparison to application or file data.
TRP: How can I keep all the different generations of my backups?
OA: Good providers will do this for you, and export the data in a way that allows your next provider to set up your new backup service without losing any historical data. Not all providers do this as standard, however, and can charge a premium when it is required.
While not always possible, it's useful to have this conversation with your CSP before committing, to ensure you both understand the expectations and restrictions on the relationship.
Ideally your new provider will use the same technology as your previous one, making the transition as smooth as possible. You can transfer historical data to a different system if necessary but you need to bear in mind the extra time, storage and essentially money that this requires because you will be the one doing the work to convert it.
Check for additional charges from either provider that may be incurred. It may also be possible to export configuration settings which can reduce setup times, although at this stage it is recommended to review backup settings to ensure that they meet your requirements and are actually protecting all of your essential servers.
TRP: How fast can I get my data back from my CSP's environment?
OA: This is dependent on the amount of data you have and the speed of transfer. It is important to note that although you may have a very fast internet connection, some service providers to impose restrictions on the speed of transfer.
Unless you are only storing a very small volume of data and have a large internet connection, the most sensible method to retrieve your data is to have it physically sent to you.
To ensure fast delivery, negotiate an SLA into your contract that guarantees the couriered delivery of your data. For added security, the delivery can be tracked in transit from the data centre to your site.
TRP: Can I transfer directly to another provider?
OA: Sometimes, but there are four main things to take into account:
Are you happy for a complete refresh with no historical data? How will you get your historical data to another service provider? Have you considered the costs in exporting and importing historical data?
Does the historical data get de-duplicated or does it add to the overall storage which increases the cost of the solution?
TRP: Is there a cost for me to transfer my data?
OA: As I said, the process of transferring backup data can be a complicated one. If you just want your data back – this is quite simple, but if you want to keep the structure of your backups so you can continue with the same strategy, this can increase your costs.
Some CSPs will provide this as part of their service but at an additional cost, due to the amount of extra storage it requires in the short term, as well as the number of man hours.
If you'd rather not pay for the service, it is possible to perform the transfer yourself – if you have the available time, storage and know-how to do so. We don't usually recommend this though - imagine a company with 100s of servers, how do you guarantee that data has been transferred correctly?
TRP: Does it actually matter what country my Cloud Service Provider (CSP) is located in?
OA: The nationality of your service provider is usually brought into question in terms of security, but these worries are often unfounded. Backup is one of the more secure cloud services because backups are encrypted in transit and at rest. As this is the case, the location of your backup service provider is less significant than for instance your CRM or IaaS service provider.
Nationality becomes very important, however, when you have to deal with something like getting your data back from a provider if they pull out of your market.
The risk and complexity in resolving that kind of issue is far less with a domestic provider than it would be when dealing with a big international conglomerate.
For example, does the service provider have the option to store your encryption key? What's to stop them from restoring/assisting in restoring your data if requested by government agencies in the US? Really, in any situation where you need to recover significant volumes of data – having a service provider in your own country is preferable.
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Updated: Apple iWatch release date, news and rumors
Apple iWatch: Health, apps and that curved screen
What time is it? If you check your smartwatch, you may find that it's a text message past a Twitter notification but if you check the zeitgeist, you'll find that it's wearable tech time.After more than a year of relegation to "next big thing" status, the smartwatch is finally breaking out into the mainstream with the likes of the Samsung Galaxy Gear and Sony Smartwatch 2 following where Kickstarter phenomenon Pebble led.
But we're yet to see a watch with true wow-factor and, for that, many are looking to Apple.
Rumors of an Apple smartwatch have abounded since Pebble first hit the big time. The so-called iWatch has so far failed to materialize in 2013 but will we see Apple get in on the wrist-worn game in 2014?
Cut to the chase
What is it? An iOS-friendly watch that plays nice with your iPhone (probably)
When is it out? The rumors say sometime in 2014
What will it cost? No one really knows
We've
rounded up all the rumors and speculation to keep things ticking
(geddit!) over. Which seem likely and which are complete Apple
poppycock? Let's find out. What is it? An iOS-friendly watch that plays nice with your iPhone (probably)
When is it out? The rumors say sometime in 2014
What will it cost? No one really knows
Does the iWatch even exist?
That's the million dollar question, and one that only the Apple insiders really know the answer to for now. So the short answer is: We don't know.Now for the longer answer:
Way, way back in 2008, Apple co-founder and renegade loud-mouth Steve Wozniak "let slip" to the Telegraph that "Apple's future could lie in an 'iWatch'." And, in April 2013, an Apple board member mentioned the word "watch."
Taking time out of dissing Google Glass ("I wear glasses because I have to"), Apple CEO Tim Cook told attendees at All Things D that "the wrist is interesting" in May, thus kindling thousands of iWatch rumors across the web.
The WSJ seems "confident" that the iWatch is real because it's been talking to "people briefed on the effort," while a couple of analysts have stuck their oars in too, saying "Yup, an Apple Watch. That sounds feasible. I'm going to say yes, that exists."
Then, in the midst of a thousand iWatch rumors, Apple seemed to confirm that it was at least thinking about releasing a product of that name by trademarking 'iWatch' in Japan, Mexico, Russia and a number of other countries.
But a trademark does not a definite product launch make.
The Nike connection
While the world and it's sister got hyped about smartwatches when the Pebble Kickstarter went stratospheric, Apple's interest in watches stretches back beyond that.Design guru Jony Ive, in particular, is a fan. According to ex-Nike man and watch designer Scott Wilson, in the mid-2000s, Jony Ive took his team to visit watch factories and ordered boxes of "a sports watch" made by Nike.
That's well before Nike's Fuelband hit the mainstream, but the two companies are close.
Like, really close: nevermind Apple CEO Tim Cook sitting on Nike's board of directors and wearing a Fuelband day in day out, Apple has reportedly hired Ben Shaffer (previously innovation leader at Nike) and Jay Blahnik, a health and fitness instructor who consulted on the Fuelband for Nike.
So Apple really likes the Fuelband. And Nike really likes Apple, going as far as to tell TechRadar that it "hopes" the Fuelband has inspired the Cupertino crew.
Jony Ive and his health- and sport-focused dream team
The supposed iWatch project is supposedly being headed up by Jony Ive. Bloomberg reports that around 100 engineers are working under Ive to develop the device, but a number of secretive yet also high profile hires also hint at the Apple watch's potential capabilities.Aside from the ex-Nike men Apple has brought on board, Apple has hired a raft of sleep analysis experts, who hold "several patents for integrating mobile devices with fitness equipment" and biometric scienticians to boot.
In early February 2014, Apple also nabbed Roy J. E. M Raymann, a sleep-monitoring expert, igniting rumors that the iWatch will be a thing you wear 24/7. Later that month, Apple also made Marcelo Malini Lamego, who specialises in health-related sensor tech, a job offer he couldn't refuse, and advertised for a fitness specialist as well.
The San Francisco Chronicle went on to claim that Apple's Tomlinson Holman, inventor of THX and 10.2 surround sound, is working on tech that uses sound tech to predict heart attacks.
The iWatch will be mainly about health monitoring
So it could be supposed that Apple is planning some kind of health and sport-focused device. And if that device played nice with your iOS devices and just so happened to be worn on your wrist, the same wrist that Tim Cook thinks is interesting, then it stands to reason that Apple could, perhaps, name it the iWatch.Insiders claim that such a device could even predict heart attacks, while a patent filed back in 2012 details how Apple plans to make some kind of wrist-worn device exceptionally accurate at monitoring the steps you take.
The health-heavy Basis Science was reportedly making eyes at Apple, but Intel has since snagged the company for its own.
Then again, it could just be big into this rumored Healthbook app which is supposedly en route to iOS 8, especially given that a rumour in mid February 2014 said Apple would be stripping back the sensors on the iWatch and relying more heavily on the companion smartphone.
There is also word that Apple wants to monitor your health and fitness via your ears, rather than your wrist.
The iWatch will be all about the curves
The most recent word claims that Apple may be going for the whole bendy approach with a fully flexible plastic OLED screen, which was backed up by speculation that LG Display will provide G Flex-like bendy screens for the watch.Before that'd we'd heard that Apple was playing with the idea of curved Corning glass. "Apple is experimenting with wristwatch-like devices made of curved glass," says the NYT's Nick Bilton, quoting "people familiar with the company's explorations."
The glass "can curve around the human body" and may be Corning's just-announced Willow Glass, which "can flop as easily as a piece of paper in the wind without breaking."
In January 2014, Corning announced that it's ready to manufacture curved glass products using 3D-forming technology. Gorilla Glass is the glass of choice on most of Apple's mobile devices, so this sounds like good news for the iWatch, if it exists.
Adding credence to this particular supposition is the fact that Apple has patented a '90s slap-band style form factor which would require such a flexible display. Apple's patented plenty of tech that never sees the literal light of day - we can't help but hope this isn't one of those.
In February 2014, the company also applied for a patent relating to flexible displays, in which a device's bezel could be done away with because the screen itself would bend around the sides of the casing.
But hold your horses: in February 2014, the Korea Herald reported that an insider revealed that the iWatch is unlikely to have a curved screen because of the strain a curved 2-inch display would have on your wrist. A 2-inch display? That's bigger than the previous rumors you'll see on the next page...
Apple iWatch: Display size, Bluetooth and battery
The iWatch has Bluetooth but display size isn't locked down
That's what Chinese gadget site Tech.163 reckons, anyway, although that might be one of many prototypes. Bluetooth is essential, though: if the iWatch is going to communicate with your phone or iPod, low energy Bluetooth is the way to do it.Then, an Apple patent surfaced that showed a Wi-Fi-less device using Bluetooth to share another device's network connection - so you'd connect the iWatch to an iPhone to get enough internet juice to get news, messages and push notifications on your wrist.
That's seemingly the idea behind formalising the standards for the location tracking Bluetooth-based iBeacon, too.
A 1.5-inch screen suggests it'll show selected information from your iOS device rather than mirror the whole display, which would be rubbish.
However Apple is also said to still be toying with its idea of a 1.3-inch or 1.4-inch screen, though it's the 1.5-incher that is said to exist as a full prototype right now.
In November, the Korea Herald announced that Apple will make two versions of the smartwatch: iWatch for Him and iWatch for Her.
Could the Apple watch actually come with a sapphire crystal display? Tim Cook confirmed that the company has invested in an Arizona plant that is experimenting with sapphire crystal glass so there's a possibility that a potential iWatch could make use of the tougher, more scratch-resistant material.
Rumours suggest that the sapphire screen is more likely to make an appearance on a watch than an iPhone because it's just too expensive.
Apple might put a solar-charger in the iWatch
So says the Korea Herald, whose sources in the industry tell it that the company will stick with lithium-ion batteries in the iWatch, with some supplied by Samsung and LG's battery-making arms."Since the energy efficiency of solar-charging technology is one-tenth of the lithium-ion battery, it doesn't make sense to run a gadget with solar power," the source told the Herald.
The Herald's source refuted rumors from the New York Times which suggested that all of Apple's upcoming mobile devices would come with solar, inductive and motion-charging batteries, with solar charging a "particular focus."
The iWatch may have Siri and Maps
Nick Bilton again: "Would it include Siri, the voice assistant? Would it have a version of Apple's map software, offering real-time directions to people walking down the street? Could it receive text messages? Could it monitor a user's health or daily activity?"Some of Bilton's questions have since been reported as fact by more excitable outlets, but the idea of having Siri makes sense, not least because you could pretend to be a sci-fi secret agent.
In March 2014 word emerged that Apple is busily beefing Siri up, supposedly in preparation to allow an iWatch device to book reservations and send texts through third-party apps without requiring Apple to work directly with apps' developers.
If Siri is on board, it may be because the iWatch is running a form of actual iOS rather than a souped-up iPod nano software system - thus supposes Bloomberg again, with "confirmation" provided by The Verge's inside sources.
The iWatch features could include authentication, NFC, home automation and flying cars
Bruce Tognazzini makes it clear his ideas are "not based on insider information" but they include predicting the weather, organizing your life, monitoring every step you take, replacing cash, making Passbook work really well and even fixing Apple Maps. We were with you right up till that last one, Bruce.He makes a good point about the iWatch release date too: "Apple, when you look back, is never actually the first. They let a few others, sometimes many others, experiment first. (Tablets were out for more than a decade.) Then, they bring out the killer product."
In March it emerged that the Apple Watch may come packing fingerprint scanning tech for NFC-based security reasons, although this news comes from an analyst who heard it from a supplier who had it from a leprechaun who came to him in a dream.
This rumor became less spurious when Apple launched the Touch ID-toting iPhone 5S in September 2013, of course.
Never one to shy away from a challenge, we've put our own concept design together based on rumors and speculation so far. It's classier than a G-Shock, we think you'll agree.
Apple iWatch release date and pricing
The Apple Watch release date will be 2013...
So said a bunch of rumors from the likes of Bloomberg, The Verge, an analyst and more. It's 2014 now, so using deductive powers unparalleled by anyone from Sherlock Holmes on down, we're going to say that they are all wrong.The iWatch failed to materialize at September's iPhone launch event, but perhaps it will make its debut on October 22 alongside the iPad 5 and iPad mini 2. Update: nope!
Display Search decided in November that the "delay" to a product that has never even been formally acknowledged by its supposed manufacturer is down to another mythical Apple product: The iWatch is supposedly holding up the launch of the iTV!
The Apple Watch release date will be 2014... or 15... or never
Quite aside from Tim Cook promising "some really great stuff coming ... across all of 2014," when Apple hired ex-Burberry chief Angela Ahrendts to sort out its shops, a lot of people thought hey! she's from fashion, watches are kind of fashion-y, maybe this is something to do with the iWatch.Hey, maybe. After all, Ahrendts supposedly "took particular interest in the watch retailing space" during her time at Burberry. Ahrendts doesn't start at Apple until "spring 2014." Hmm.
What's more, Tim Cook's end of 2013 staff memo said, "We have a lot to look forward to in 2014, including some big plans that we think customers are going to love." Are we going to love the iWatch, Apple? ARE WE?
Of course, there's always the possibility that Apple looked into making an iWatch and then decided naaaah.
The iWatch is 'delayed'
In as far as any unannounced product can be delayed in the eyes of the consumer, rumor after rumor has claimed that Apple's manufacturers are having trouble performing.A report in November 2013 posited that production of the iWatch has actually started but factories Quanta and Foxconn have been having trouble producing fully functioning products so mass production has apparently been pushed back to the second quarter of 2014 (April - June).
In early January 2014, the famously unreliable Digitimes claimed that the factories producing the iWatch are failing to turn out more than 50% as working devices because of its teeny tiny innards.
Hot on the heels of this bad news came more: The battery is also causing the Apple Watch problems with its display tech, to the point where Apple ditched one supplier and (we assume) moved on to another.
The iWatch price is a total mystery
Remember before the iPad launched and everyone thought it'd be $1,000? Oh, how we laugh about that now.Clearly, though, until we have a better idea of what the Apple Watch is and whether Apple is actually going to ship it, nobody has the faintest idea what it'll cost.
Nobody but one anonymous analyst who had a stab at pricing and reckons somewhere between $149 and $229 (£100 to £150 / AU$167 - AU$250) seems likely.
The iWatch will face stiff competition
In fact, it already does. The wearable watch market could be the next big tech battleground as perennial Apple nemesis Samsung has already released its Galaxy Gear smartwatch.Other smartwatches have made their way into the limelight in recent months too: there's the original Kickstarted Pebble and the Sony Smartwatch 2 to contend with, not to mention a host of new gadgets from unlikely sources like Adidas, Qualcomm and Garmin.
Other tech heavyweights are rumored to be getting in on the timekeeping game too; the Apple watch may have to fight off competition from Google, which filed a smart watch patent last year and was "confirmed" to be working on a timepiece by the good folk over at the Financial Times.
Since then, rumors of a Google Gem watch have percolated through the web - could we see Google unveil its watch before 2014 is out?
Also leaping aboard the wearable bandwagon is LG, which launched the fitness-focussed LG Lifeband Touch at CES 2014.
And it's not just smart watches that will give the iWatch a run for its money - other wearable tech like Google Glass swims in the same pool. Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey is backing Apple's watch over the glasses in the short-term, but who's to say which will win out overall.
Last but not least, even long-standing watch-maker Casio piped up to say that it's ready to take on the likes of Apple and Samsung in the great battle for your wrist.
We've taken an in-depth look at the competition between the two types of sartorial gadget too, and conclude that the Apple Watch has the edge solely because it'll hit the mainstream (and mainstream price points) first.
Click below for our iWatch rumors video:
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Hynix sued by Toshiba, SanDisk over memory tech leak
Toshiba and SanDisk have separately filed civil lawsuits against South Korean company SK Hynix over claims that the latter stole data related to flash memory technology.
The leak is claimed to have revolved around NAND flash memory developed by Toshiba and SanDisk during their 15-year partnership. SK Hynix, reports Reuters, has said that it has received no litigation as yet and had no comment to make on the matter.
The suits follow the arrest of a former SanDisk engineer suspected of providing technical data to Hynix, which he went on to work for following his stint at the Californian company.
Taking sides
Toshiba has yet to disclose how much it will be seeking in the litigation, but estimated that it had suffered losses of $980 million (around £589 million or AU$1 billion) as a result of the leak. SK Hynix is a business partner of Toshiba, but it is clear on which side the Japanese company stands.SanDisk too, has not revealed the extent of the reparations it desires, but has filed its suit in Santa Clara Superior Court, California. The company has said that it will be aggressively pursuing all legal options available to it.
A 2004 case also saw Toshiba sue Hynix, seeking damages for breach in flash memory patents, which was settled through a cross-licensing agreement.
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Fighting Talk: Wait... how did the Galaxy S5 suddenly became desirable?
Sometimes they say that less is more. I always think that's rubbish. I'm speaking from experience here. I'm writing this with a coffee made from five scoops even though the packet says I only need two. But who cares. I'm high as a kite!
In many other ways though, the less is more mantra is now becoming true. Case in point: The Galaxy S5. Yes, I know I'm late to the party here, but having heard that the pre-orders are opening made me wonder if the annual cash-draining-ebay-frenzy-phone-merry-go-round should begin again.
My opinion of Samsung has actually been slightly changed. It was always the slightly crazy one. Remember the toe-curling launch of the Galaxy S4 launch last year?
Hiring out New York's Radio City Music Hall, getting some poor fool to ping around the stage in some crap musical role play and then launching a phone which had more WTF features than Buzzfeed.
It sold well - but as so many people agreed: it was just TOO MUCH!
So, in many ways, it looks like Samsung reigned itself back with the S5. It's sat on its hands. Put the crazy pills back in the cupboard and the designers clearly laid off the gin during this design phase. Because looking at it: it looks like it just works.
Samsung hasn't given us a phone that is a perfect circle in shape just because it can. It hasn't given us one with a 4K display which would be great on the spec sheet but utterly pointless right now. It has created sensible features. Bits and bobs we will actually use.
Good doesn't need to be new
Sure, some are not original ideas. The fingerprint scanner can hardly be described as ingenious. But others really are useful. The monochrome display to save power.. the after-shot focusing of photos. These are things that you'll find come in handy. A darn sight more usable than Smart Stay.Maybe Samsung had no choice. Maybe we are entering the age of sensibility because we have to. Face it, there isn't much space left for real innovation any more.
The iPhone was the last big device to really give us something completely new (I'm preparing for an onslaught here - but I'm talking iPhone 1 which, regardless of where you sit on the fence, you have to admit really changed things.) Prior to that, it was the Motorola RAZR.
Other devices have tickled my fancy, but none have really wined and dined it, good and proper.
I've been using an iPhone 5S since November (jailbroken since January, I hasten to add!) Why? Because I got bored of the S4. It started to slow down, I got fed up with its various nuances.
But after days of ennui over an identikit Samsung phone, suddenly I can't wait for the S5. April usually means one thing - my bank manager starts to panic.
OK, he doesn't really - he's wringing his hands with glee, because he knows I'm about to go ballistic on the old flexible friend. If he's any sense. he'll be popping the champagne already. It's an inevitability.
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D-Link outs fixed LTE routers '10 times faster' than competition
D-Link, in collaboration with Direct Beam, has unveiled new fixed LTE wireless routers.
The low OpEx routers can be used indoors and outdoors and are designed to provide superior performance for subscribers and reduce the installation time for service providers, D-Link says.
Direct Beam and D-Link developed the new routers based on algorithm technology patented by the former. The tech, the two firms promise in a bold claim, will increase overall coverage and speed by up to 10 times higher than other routers currently available.
Maximum performance
The routers automatically perform self-beam steering adjustments according to any changes in their RF environment. This will, the two firms hope, maximise the performance at all times and in all situations."These new products will significantly broaden coverage, throughput and service quality, addressing significant pain points in the market." said GK Lee, vice president and general manager of mobile service providers division, D-Link.
"These products will enable operators to enhance their network, increase the service quality and generate incremental revenue from advanced value-added services," added Erez Marom, CEO, Direct Beam.
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Interview: The reality of the digital skills gap
Digital, design and business education provider, General Assembly, is an institution that transforms thinkers into creators through education in technology, business and design at eight campuses across three continents.
Its aim? To create a global community of individuals empowered to pursue work they love, by offering full-time immersive programs, long-form courses, classes and workshops on the most relevant skills of the 21st century.
According to General Assembly (click here to browse its courses) the UK's digital skills gap is a real issue, and it provides the training to encourage the next generation of talent into the industry.
TechRadar Pro spoke to General Assembly's European Director, Matt Cynamon, to find out more.
TechRadar Pro: Does the digital skills gap really exist and to what extent is it affecting the tech industry?
Matt Cynamon: It's no secret that a digital skills gap exists in the UK. A study carried out on behalf of O2 towards the end of 2013 found that Britain will need 750,000 skilled digital workers by 2017 - and if we can't support that growth, it could result in costing the UK as much as £2bn each year.
However, I don't think the UK is particularly unique in this situation. The skills gap here is no bigger than in the US for example.
The way I see it, the rate at which technology is evolving is making it a lot more difficult for people to keep up-to-date with the skills they need, meaning demand for highly skilled individuals in the digital world is exceeding supply. This is happening all over the world right now, not just in London or the UK.
TRP: Do we need to teach more digital skills in schools or provide education to the current generation of job-seekers?
MC: Today's digital sector could potentially play a huge role in driving a sustained economic recovery in the UK, but for this to happen, it's important to consider both long and short term solutions. Of course we need to safe-guard the future of the industry by teaching young people digital skills, but it's also very important to invest in the current generation of job-seekers, in order to address the talent demand today.
This includes teaching the right digital skills, offering work experience schemes and encouraging companies to take on apprentices - all of which help to close the gap between academia and the real working world.
TRP: What options are available to businesses seeking skilled individuals to fill these increasing gaps?
MC: Last year it was reported that more than 15,000 new companies launched in London's Tech City alone. That's a huge number, which only accounts for a small portion of the UK's digital environment.
Companies and entrepreneurs however, are looking for employees with specific digital skills which perhaps a few years ago, didn't even exist. One option for businesses is targeted training of some kind, whether that be internally or externally. As well as employing skilled individuals, why not consider training someone just out of university, or a person that's looking to embark on a new career.
I'd also encourage businesses to think about getting involved in apprenticeship programmes. This is a great way to nurture certain individuals who might not have had the opportunities of further or higher education. It also allows the business to fine-tune the individual's skills to suit the culture and demands of that particular organisation.
TRP: Is it necessary to have a degree before landing a dream role in the tech industry and what options are available to people looking to learn new skills?
MC: There are plenty of opportunities out there for anyone looking to learn new skills and begin a career in the tech industry, whether someone has a degree or not. Self-motivation to find the best path for that particular individual is key. It might be entering an apprenticeship programme or taking a course to develop new - or modernise existing - skills.
At GA, we focus on improving the employability of our students by updating our classes and courses to reflect the 'real working life' skills sought after across the industry. Our apprenticeship scheme also pairs students with suitable work placement opportunities, to provide them with the on-job training they need to enter the employment market.
TRP: What types of digital and tech skills are employers looking for at the moment?
MC: We are seeing demand across the entire digital industry. This spans several areas, including web development, UX design, digital marketing and data science to name just a few.
TRP: What does it take to get hired in today's competitive digital environment?
MC: It's a challenging environment because often the jobs available require specific skills, but once someone's taken the right measures and shown their determination to learn, half the battle is done.
A recent study from GfK found that almost half of Tech City's businesses say a shortage of skilled workers is the biggest challenge they face as an organisation.
On top of that, nearly eight out of 10 (77%) say they could grow faster if there were more skilled people available. So, if this is the case, finding the job is not the problem, obtaining the skills to be the ideal candidate is what really matters right now.
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Are Google and Microsoft pushing Asus to kill its dual-OS devices?
While we'd already heard a rumour that Google was unhappy about Android sharing a bed with Windows, we're now being told that Microsoft is just as uncomfortable with the idea - and the pair are pressuring Asus to kill its dual-OS PCs.
The main device in question is Asus' upcoming Android/Windows Dual-OS Transformer Book Duet TD30, which would have helped push Windows into more users' hands, but probably wouldn't have been hugely beneficial for Google.
Now the Wall Street Journal reports that both Google and Microsoft are pressuring Asus to postpone the sale of the convertible.
Sad song
Also, according to an alleged internal Asus memo, the Taiwanese company will also stop selling its Transformer AiO P1801 and P1802 dual-OS PCs.And yet we're also hearing that Android and Windows will be cosying up in a Huawei handset in the second quarter of this year.
Perhaps the two are happier sharing a phone, or perhaps there's no truth to any of this – we're chasing up with Asus now to see if we can clarify the matter.
- Look at this thing you might never be able to buy! Hands on with the Transformer Book Duet
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Interview: Why the cloud is a crucial component to creating effective analytics-ready data
Rosslyn Analytics believes the world of data is at tipping point, with organisations slowly waking up to the fact that data is critical, but struggling to translate that effectively into informing business strategy.
The company thinks that the legacy business intelligence (BI) path is littered with expensive failures and systems that no longer work.
Combine this with a rapidly evolving data and technological landscape, with data that is exploding at a hitherto unseen velocity and complexity, and it's clear that existing solutions are simply not up to the job, according to Rosslyn.
Data is entering crisis mode and visualisation tools are only as good as the clean data they are provided with. Rosslyn Analytics CEO Charles Clark explains more about the how the company's cloud-based platform, RAPid and its IP-patented technology, is helping to solve data issues.
TechRadar Pro: What is Rosslyn Analytics, and what does it do?
Charles Clark: We focus on developing technologies that allow our clients to integrate critical data, and then cleanse and enrich it with multiple other external relevant data sources, making it far more valuable than the data they are currently being provided directly from the data warehouse.
Anyone who analyses data in any detail will appreciate the single biggest bottleneck is the data itself, not the analytical or visualisation tool. And with data now everywhere and in multiple different formats the problem is increasing.
One of the main hurdles our clients have is the quality of the raw data and in almost every case it is questionable, and with volumes exploding at exponential rates, it is fast becoming the mother of all headaches for senior management teams.
We enable clients to integrate all their enterprise data , and then connect this to other sources of data, whether those sources of data be private, such as a spreadsheet with a unique data source such as company KPI's, SLA's or savings metrics, to public data sources such as social media and news, to premium data sources like DnB credit ratings.
Our mission is to provide our clients the most valuable foundation of data from which to drive insights that give them a distinct advantage. To visualise this data and access it, rather than develop our own tool set we enable our clients with leading tools such as QlikView. Think of us as the 'hub' for data.
TRP: What is 'analytics-ready' data and why is it important?
CK: Analytics-ready data is more than clean data, it is data that has been integrated, cleansed and enriched and in an environment which enables users to easily add additional data sources, tag data, change and manipulate data, and categorise data on-the-fly whilst concurrently visualising it, and for the experts to mine it. We enable users to "program their data".
This is unique to Rosslyn and is what differentiates us from all other approaches. The ramifications of not having these facilities and in essence using untransformed dirty data can be highlighted throughout all firms, and can be seen in some of the most simple and obvious areas.
Procurement teams consistently struggle with financial data which is littered with different terminology for the same thing, for example laptop and notebook, mobile and cell. One of our clients is a large financial institution which over the years has grown by acquisition.
The marketing and sales teams struggle to get one trusted view of the client, as their details and what they own are in multiple different systems and formats. You can only imagine the impact that has on wider reporting and data analytics for the company.
The importance of having data that is ready can be no more evident than in the last few weeks, when the UK was flooded. For a number of clients it was important to immediately understand their exposure from a supplier and customer perspective.
Every name and address in our system is automatically cleansed and given a longitude and latitude whilst we were able to integrate the flood information from the government websites. In a matter of a few short minutes our clients were able to immediately assess the impact and in some cases the opportunity!
TRP: How has cloud shaped the evolution of data analytics, and why is it so crucial now?
CK: Cloud analytics is only just emerging. We are a young and disruptive few in a market dominated by on-premise traditional software companies. The Cloud fundamentally changes the potential of analytics by being able to support a connected ecosystem of users, clients and developers, and allows for exciting social interaction between the platform and its users.
The client is king, not the vendor. Our patented IP is based on sophisticated machine-learning algorithms which makes your data more valuable the more data that flows through the platform and the more users that interact with it.
As Google memorises your search habits, the Rosslyn algo's memorise and apply all the tagging, connections and interactions to the data. We call this hyper-connectivity. This is transformational and is not available in any standalone visualisation tool.
The platform allows our clients to rapidly develop and deploy apps in real time and in an ever changing world where the business requirements are in constant flux, this is essential. We now all think for a living and with so much dependent on the accuracy of your decision making, clients need to move at speed and be constantly innovating. Current on-premise platforms simply don't facilitate this agility.
TRP: Which companies invest in data analytics, and how does it transcribe into real value?
CK: Any company wanting their managers and employees to make fact based decisions will require some form of analytics. Companies need to reduce their costs, increase their revenues, looking to reduce their risks, maintain their regulatory reporting requirements and use their data to innovate and outplay their competitors.
One of the largest companies in the world has adopted our platform recently because it used to cost them c.$100,000 to test and prove an analytics project. They had to buy, build and configure and then test out the idea on an unproven technology stack.
As a result they didn't get many projects done and they were crying out for analytics in every corner of their vast empire. The cloud has now enabled all these knowledge workers to be continually testing and innovating with ideas for a fraction of the price.
And when something fails it does hurt – in fact the CIO encourages them to "fail quickly". As something emerges the platform allows them to scale immediately. From an ROI perspective, our clients are making a material ROI within weeks/months.
TRP: What are the main challenges of working on a big, international project?
CK: For traditional on premise analytics providers, international projects are incredibly challenging. If a problem occurs then they can't be there in five minutes.
As a Cloud platform, if a problem occurs we can instantly be there from our London office or the clients themselves can address it on a self-service basis. We have no geographical barriers and we have folks in countries I rarely read about using the platform. It's really exciting.
Language is also no barrier - we enable our clients to translate all their data into a common language . We're dealing with a global manufacturer at the moment and all data from around Europe and Eastern Europe is translated into English.
TRP: Data analytics is a constantly evolving discipline. What's next?
CK: Data is exploding, it is everywhere, it is all unconnected, and it needs to be ordered and made universally available and usable. It's a massive challenge to bring it together. In my view, the next shift will be to platforms, like Rosslyn's, delivering companies a single source of information that will allow them to achieve their analytical objectives.
In turn I think there is going to be a tectonic shift from analytics being on premise to in the Cloud, which will be painful for a number of the on premise players. But like it or not the world of data analytics is moving to the Cloud!
The analytics field, up until very recently, has been dominated by a number of players who have sold a visualisation tool product - they are simply product companies. I think the visualisation tools are going to start struggling. Not because the market isn't there, but there are so many of them and it's tough to differentiate between one and the other.
Programmable data delivers unprecedented opportunities and I feel that will influence the next few steps in this exciting industry.
I also expect some consolidation, and my guess is Microsoft will soon pounce on a leading visualisation tool. Big data is hugely important and valuable but technically we are still early in its evolution and there remain technical gaps to be filled.
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Virgin Media Business unveils Three New Things
Virgin Media Business has announced the winners of its Three New Things competition.
The contest seeks out new technology that has the potential to improve lives and this year's chosen technologies are solar charging hubs for the developing world, 3D-printable plastic satellite covers and and shoes made to 3D scans of the wearer's feet.
The winners were announced at an event held at the British Film Museum. They will now meet with Richard Branson to discuss their projects and will receive mentoring, support and free business telecoms from Virgin Media Business.
The competition was judged by a panel including technology commentator Monty Munford, quantum computing and nanotechnology expert Dr Ling Ge, head of WPP's Stream series of digital events, Ella Weston, and digital consultant for the IC tomorrow programme run by the Government's Technology Strategy Board, Emily Memarzia. Of the three competition winners, last night's audience also selected Three Over Seven's custom footwear as the "people's favourite".
Footlloose
Three Over Seven allows users to scan of their feet using a mobile phone app and have a custom pair of 3D printed shoes delivered to them within 24 hours. The technology means that users will receive shoes that are an exact fit for their unique feet.Also selected by the panel was Buffalo Grid's solar powered hubs aimed at providing entrepreneurs who live in developing countries with a means of charging the mobile phones of their customers and CubeSat's low-cost 3D-printable satellite casings.
"Reading these entries has been an inspiring process and has unearthed some genuine game-changers with the power to change lives around the world," said Peter Kelly, Managing Director of Virgin Media Business. "As the UK gears up for growth again, this is exactly the kind of creativity and entrepreneurialism that we need to nurture in this country - from Government schemes to community networks, we all have a part to play in supporting UK innovation."
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Hands-on review: Updated: Olympus OM-D E-M10
Introduction and features
Olympus is hoping that the new OM-D E-M10 will find favour in the same way as the OM-10 did when it was launched way back in 1979. Whereas the OM-10 was the first consumer-level camera in Olympus's OM series of SLRs, and went on to be a big hit and a popular choice for family photography, the Olympus E-M10 is the first consumer-level model in the highly-respected OM-D series. It sits below the Olympus OM-D E-M5 and Olympus OM-D EM-1 in the company's line-up of Micro Four Thirds compact system cameras.
Update:
our full review of the Olympus E-M10 is underway and will be with you
soon. In the meantime we've added some of our lab test results and
sample images to this hands on review.
For those unsure of the difference, the Olympus OM-D series distinguishes itself from the Pen series (Olympus Pen E-PM2, Pen E-PL5 and Pen E-P5) by its more SLR-like styling and the presence of a built-in electronic viewfinder (EVF).
Features
Many of the features found in the E-M10 are the same as in the Olympus E-M5, the original OM-D. The Four Thirds type (17.3x13mm) 16.1-million-pixel LiveMOS sensor and 1,440,000-dot electronic viewfinder, for example.This means that unlike the E-M1's sensor there is an optical low-pass filter present. However, rather than using the TruePic VI engine of the E-M5, Olympus has used the TruPic VII processor that is found in the top-end OM-D E-M1.
The TruPic VII processor incorporates Fine Detail II Technology that adapts processing to the characteristics of individual lenses and aperture settings. It is also claimed to allow better noise control. These two features may mean that the new E-M10 could produce better quality images than the E-M5.
This processor also allows sensitivity to be set in the range ISO 100-25,600 and a maximum continuous shooting rate of 8fps – although focus and exposure are locked at the start. In addition, shutter speed may be set in the range 1/4000-60sec (plus bulb) and exposure compensation can be adjusted to +/-5EV.
While it's the entry-level OM-D camera the E-M10 still has the enthusiast friendly exposure modes: program, aperture priority, shutter priority and manual. There's also a healthy collection of automatic scene modes (24 in total), including a new Hand-Held Starlight mode. In this mode the camera captures eight images and combines them into a single composite automatically for better exposure and noise control.
In addition to Olympus's standard Live Bulb and Live Time modes which allow the photographer to see the image build-up on the screen during long exposures, there's a new option called Live Composite Lighten Mode. This allows a Live Bulb image to be combined with one 0.5-60sec exposure for better dynamic range control in some situations.
Being an Olympus camera, the E-M10 has a large collection of Art Filter modes, 19 in total, which may be used to apply an effect to images. Many of these effects are customisable. They can be applied to JPEG files (and video clips), but raw files can also be recorded at the same time so there's a 'clean' image for processing.
Like the other OM-D cameras, the E-M10 has a tilting LCD screen that is touch-sensitive for making settings adjustments and swiping through images in review mode. This is a 3-inch device with 1,370,000 dots, like the E-M1's so it trumps the E-M5 screen's 610,000 dot-count.
Key differences in comparison to the E-M5 include a simplification of the optical stabilisation system, which is 3-axis rather than 5, no battery-grip compatibility, the lack of an accessory port in the hotshoe and no weather-sealing.
The 3-axis stabilisation counteracts yaw, roll and pitch for both still shots and HD movies, irrespective of the lens attached to the camera. It is claimed to extend the safe hand-holdable shutter speed by up to 3.5EV.
A small pop-up flash, with Guide Number 5.8m at ISO 100, is a key addition to the E-M10. This will be useful for fill-in or shooting in low-light conditions. As mentioned earlier, there's also a hotshoe to accept an external flash. While the built-in flash sync speed is 1/250sec, it is 1/200sec with an external flashgun (1/180sec with the FL-50R).
The new camera also has Wi-Fi connectivity built-in, the same system as in the E-M1. Furthermore, it's compatible with the updated Olympus Image Share app which gives extensive control over camera settings, even allowing the exposure mode to be set to something other than the option indicated by the camera's mode dial. In addition, it's possible to use a smartphone like a standard wireless remote shutter and just trip the shutter keeping the camera settings as they are set on the body.
On the face of it the E-M10 looks like a very attractive alternative to the E-M5. It has many of the same features, makes only a few compromises and has a few aspects borrowed from the top-end E-M1.
Olympus has announced a new 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 EZ lens to complement the E-M10 and it will be offered as the standard kit lens. This new lens is a powerzoom and it collapses down when the camera is turned off to maintain the slim lines of the camera. Olympus claims that it is the slimmest standard zoom lens in the world.
Build and handling
Olympus has used a very similar design for the E-M10 as it has for the Olympus E-M5, the original OM-D. However, at 119.1x82.3x45.9mm and 350g it's a little bit smaller and lighter than the older camera (121x89.6x41.9mm and 373g). Consequently it is also smaller than the OM-D E-M1 (130.4x93.5x63.1mm and 443g), which sits at the top of the Olympus compact system camera line-up.It doesn't have the dust- and splash-proofing of the E-M5, nor the freeze-proof build of the E-M1, but it is constructed from metal so it feels nice and solid.
A small, but pronounced rubberised pad on the back of the E-M10 makes a good, comfortable thumbrest, while a ridge on the front provides grip for your fingers. The two combine to make the camera feel secure in your hand while shooting and when carrying it between shots.
The control layout of the E-M10 is almost identical to that of the E-M5, albeit on a very slightly smaller body.
As before, there are plenty of button and dial controls giving a direct route to camera settings. Everything is within easy reach and the controls feel responsive.
Following the layout of the E-M5 rather than the E-M1 means that the E-M10 has a mode dial on left side of the top-plate as you hold the camera for shooting. This provides a route to all the exposure modes. While there is the usual option for Art Filters, these can also be applied when shooting in the other exposure modes such as aperture priority, so it is possible to retain control over the camera's settings.
The two control dials on the top of the E-M10, for adjusting shutter speed/aperture and exposure compensation, are a little deeper and chunkier than the ones on the E-M5, but the difference is subtle.
Like the E-M5, the E-M10 has two Function buttons which can be customised to perform different operations. By default, the 'Fn2' button at the top of the camera gives direct access to the Highlights and Shadows control for boosting or reducing contrast.
The E-M10's 3-inch 1,370,000-dot screen provides a nice, clear view with plenty of detail visible even in quite bright conditions, but when the sun is shining the electronic viewfinder (EVF) is a welcome alternative. It's helpful that there's a sensor to detect when the camera is held to the eye and activate the EVF so you can quickly switch between the two viewing devices.
As usual, the touchscreen can also be used to alter the focus point, with a tap of a finger. It can also be used to trip the shutter, first focusing on the point you touch and then taking the shot. I found the touchscreen to be very responsive and quick to use, just as it is in the E-M5.
As it's mounted on a tilting mechanism the LCD screen is easier to see than a fixed screen when shooting landscape format images from low and high angles, but it's no help with portrait format images. Olympus is still resisting a move to a vari-angle screen that would prove even more helpful.
The 1,440,000-dot electronic viewfinder in the E-M10 isn't new as it's the same as the one in the E-M5, but it benefits from the Adaptive Brightness Technology found in the E-M1. This adjusts the brightness of the view according to the ambient light to give a more comfortable viewing experience that takes into account the size of the user's pupil.
I found that the EVF provides an excellent view with no obvious texture or flickering (it operates at 120fps). EVF naysayers really should give it a try.
The new 14-42mm kit lens extends promptly when the camera starts up and it feels well-balanced on the E-M10. However, it takes a few moments to get used to how close the zoom ring is to the camera body and anyone switching from an SLR may find that their fingers naturally land on the focus ring on the end of the barrel at first.
Performance
To date I have only been able to use a pre-production sample of the Olympus E-M10 and I'm not allowed to publish any images from it because they may not reflect the final image quality. Consequently, I can't pass final judgement on the quality of the images that it produces.We also need the raw processing software to be made available so that we can inspect the raw files.
However, as it has the same sensor as the E-M5 and the same processing engine as the E-M1 we can reasonably assume that its image quality will fall somewhere between the two. This bodes well as both cameras produce excellent images and are highly respected.
As it has an anti-aliasing (aka optical low-pass) filter, the E-M10 may not be able to resolve quite as much sharp detail as the E-M1, but it should be a good match for the E-M5. Noise should also be well controlled, probably on a par with the E-M1, which performs well even at the highest sensitivity setting, ISO 25,600.
Although we found some luminance noise visible in the E-M1's ISO 25,600 images when they were viewed at 100%, there's not much coloured speckling (chroma noise) and detail softening is fairly restrained. This is largely the result of the TruePic VII processing engine, so hopefully the E-M10 will perform as well in this regard.
We have found that Olympus's general purpose ESP metering system performs very well in a range of situations and we expect this to continue with the E-M10. Doubtless, there will be some scenes that require a little exposure compensation, but if Olympus's past record and the performance of the test sample we had is anything to go by, it will be in the type of conditions that test most exposure systems.
The E-M10's autofocus system seems fast and able to cope with quite low light conditions, only faltering when it becomes dark. I want to use a full-production sample of the camera with a collection of lenses to test the system fully.
Olympus's OM-D and Pen cameras generally produce natural looking colours in the default modes and I anticipate this will be the same for the E-M10. The images that I took on a pre-production sample certainly look good and reflect the shooting conditions.
The automatic white balance systems in the E-M1 and E-M5 generally perform well in a range of conditions, producing images that capture the atmosphere of the scene. Like many systems, they tend to produce rather warm images in artificial light, but this is easily corrected with a custom white balance settings or by adjusting a raw file. We will test the E-M10 in a range of lighting conditions when we get a full production sample in.
Olympus's Art Filters have proved very popular because they're a convenient way of applying effects to JPEGs. It's particularly useful that you can set the bracketing control to produce an image using every Art Filter with just one press of the shutter release. You can select which Art Filter you want to use, so you don't have to use them all if you don't want. The TruePic VII processor makes using this bracketing option a much better experience than it was in the past as processing and write times are much faster. The fact that you can shoot unaffected raw files at the same time is a major bonus not offered by any other camera manufacturer.
Noise and dynamic range
We shoot a specially designed chart in carefully controlled conditions and the resulting images are analysed using DXO Analyzer software to generate the data to produce the graphs below.A high signal to noise ratio (SNR) indicates a cleaner and better quality image.
For more more details on how to interpret our test data, check out our full explanation of our noise and dynamic range tests.
These charts compare the results of the Olympus OM-D E-M10 with the Panasonic G6, Olympus OM-D E-M1, Fuji X-E2, Canon 70D and Nikon D7100.
JPEG signal to noise ratio
Although the Panasonic G6 performs best at ISO 400, the Fuji X-E2 has the best results at every other sensitivity setting. This indicates that there's plenty of detail and low levels of noise in the X-E2's JPEG images in its default settings. However, the Olympus E-M10 puts in a very good performance and compares very well with the two SLRs (the Canon 70D and Nikon D7100), especially at the higher sensitivity settings.
Raw (after conversion to TIFF) signal to noise ratio
The Olympus E-M10 is a clear winner here, indicating that it produces the cleanest images across the sensitivity range. However, our resolution chart results show that this comes at the expense of some detail at the highest sensitivity values.
JPEG dynamic range
The Olympus E-M10 and E-M1 in their default (Natural) Picture Mode have very similar dynamic range in their JPEGs. This means that there's a wide range of tones and detail isn't lost quickly in the highlights or shadows. However, it's worth noting that the Fuji X-E2, which has a lower dynamic range, produces punchier-looking images straight from the camera in its default configuration.
Raw (after conversion to TIFF) dynamic range
These results confirm our real world findings that the Olympus E-M10's raw files have lots of tonal data and its images have an impressive dynamic range. It beats all the competing cameras here.
Sample images
Click here to view the full resolution image
JPEG images have a high level of detail direct from the camera, but as usual there's a bit more visible in the raw files (see below).
Click here to view the full resolution image
Raw files bring increased scope to fine-tune contrast and sharpening to help bring out detail.
Click here to view the full resolution image
These catkins were bobbing about violently in the wind, but in the bright light the E-M10's AF system was able to lock onto them quickly. It even managed to keep up with them as they moved around the frame in AF Tracking mode.
Click here to view the full screen resolution
In low light, AF performance drops off and although it wasn't fast enough to produce sharp images of erratically moving dodgems, it managed to deliver a few sharp images of this junior roller-coaster ride.
Click here to view the full resolution image
The E-M10 general purpose ESP metering system wasn't thrown off by the brightness of the main subject in this shot and has delivered an excellent exposure.
Click here to view the full resolution image
The tilting screen is useful when shooting very low subjects, like this crocus.
Click here to view the full resolution image
Although the white in the fungi in this JPEG file is a bit too burned out to pull back, it could be retrieved in the simultaneously captured raw file below.
Click here to view the full resolution image
It only took a couple of seconds to adjust the raw file in Adobe Camera Raw to restore the highlights in this raw file.
Click here to view the full resolution image
Using Live Time mode enabled us to see the image build up on the screen on the back of the camera (or our iPhone) and then close the shutter when the exposure looked correct. This image took 5.5 seconds at ISO 100 and f/18.
Click here to view the full resolution image
Olympus's Grainy Film Art Filter suits this cooling tower image well, but if you're not sure you can shoot a raw file simultaneously so that you have a 'clean' file to work with. It's also possible to bracket the Art Filters and produce a sequence of images with each one (or just your favourites) applied with just one press of the shutter release. Alternatively, the supplied Olympus Viewer 3 software allows you to apply the filter effects to raw files as they are processed.
Click here to view the full resolution image
Another example of where a tilting LCD screen can come in handy.
Click here to view the full resolution image
This JPEG file was shot at the same time as the raw file above, but the Dramatic Tone Art Filter has given it a bit more impact.
Early verdict
The E-M10 has a recommended retail price of £529.99 in the UK, or £699.99/AU$999 with the new 14-42mm EZ (powerzoom) lens which makes it considerably more affordable than the E-M1 and E-M5. These cameras can be found for around £1,299/US$1,399/AU$1,199 and £749/US$1,099/AU$1,599 (body only) respectively.
Olympus has give the E-M10 many of the features of the excellent OM-D E-M5, and some from the E-M1 at the top of Olympus's OM-D range. The only compromises appear to be the lack of weatherproofing, the loss of the ability to attach a battery grip (although there is an accessory grip to make the camera larger if you prefer), the loss of the hotshoe accessory port and a reduction in the level of correction offered by the stabilisation system.
However, you get a pop-up flash, a more advanced Wi-Fi system and a better LCD screen. Plus the camera is a little more compact and lightweight – but still robust with a metal construction.
As it has the same sensor as the first OM-D, the widely respected E-M5, and the same processing engine as the top-end E-M1, the E-M10 should be capable of producing high quality images. The OM-D E-M1 particularly impressed us with its noise control right up to ISO 25,600 and we have every reason to expect that the E-M10 will be just as capable. Because it has an optical low-pass filter over the sensor, it may not be able to resolve quite as much detail, but the difference is only likely to be visible when images are viewed at 100%.
I enjoyed using the pre-production sample E-M10 for a few days and I'm really looking forward to testing a full-production model. Olympus appears to be offering consumers quite a lot for their money in comparison with the other two OM-D cameras.
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