IT News Head Lines (Techradar) 11/24/2014

Updated: Apple Watch release date, news and features

Apple Watch specs, release date and price

Update: We tested Apple Watch here and have more insight into its release date, apps, price and other features.
It's been two months since Apple CEO Tim Cook's "one more thing" announcement was literally up his sleeve: a sapphire-coated smartwatch dubbed the Apple Watch, not the fabled iWatch.
This iPhone-compatible watch was unveiled alongside the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, fulfilling the Cupertino company's "new product categories" promise for 2014.
It's not a circular smartwatch like its fashionable rival, Moto 360, but it still features a premium rectangular design with rounded-off corners and works seamlessly with iOS 8 devices. Here's what we know.

Cut to the chase
What is it? An iOS 8-friendly watch that plays nice with your iPhone
When is it out? Spring 2015 release date
What will it cost? Starts at $349 (likely north of £223, AU$403)

What does Apple Watch do?

Apple's first wearable gadget beams messages, Facebook updates, and simplified apps to our wrists, eliminating the all-too-common need to take out our devices to constantly check notifications.
There are more than a dozen ways to interact with the watch, from receiving glanceable notifications, to feeling taptic feedback, to calling up Siri, according to the newly released developer WatchKit software.
It's going to become especially convenient to pocket the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 and even bigger 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus in your jeans, or to always stow the newly released 9.7-inch iPad Air 2 in a bag.
It is a telemarketer not worth your time or an emergency from a loved one? Apple Watch makes mundane notifications easy to dismiss while keeping you in the loop on life's most important alerts.

Other apps seen in the Apple Watch video include iMessages, Health, Calendar, Weather, Mail, Photos, Camera's shutter button, Passbook that now includes Apple Pay and even Apple Maps for navigation.
Developers are now readying more Apple Watch apps thanks to the WatchKit SDK launch. They're being given a headstart with the software and it could bring a whole new section to the iTunes App Store.
The smartwatch also takes cues from the Nike FuelBand SE and other fitness trackers with health sensors and nutrition apps, a must for any serious wearable gadget these days.
Sure there are fitness apps on your smartphone, but you're not always carrying your iPhone while tracking your steps and activity. Apple Watch is better suited for your everyday workout.

Design

The final Apple Watch design isn't too far from the made-up renders that we've seen in recent weeks. It draws inspiration from iPod Nano with a rectangular-shaped screen plus one knob and a single button.
Apple Watch is more than iPod Nano meets the iPhone, though. The smartwatch display comes in two sizes measured by height: 38mm (1.5in) and 42mm (1.65in). Both are slightly smaller than the entire Pebble Steel watch height, which measures 46mm (1.8in).

We also now know the resolution of each screen. It'll come in two sizes: the 38mm Apple Watch will have a resolution of 272 x 340, while a 42mm version will have a 312 x 390 display.
Apple has only revealed the height of its new smartwatch screen, so we can't properly calculate the pixels per inch, and anyone who does it just guessing. But it'll likely rival the 300ppi of the Samsung Gear S.

Apple Watch's screen is surrounded by casing made of custom alloys of stainless steel and aluminum that, according to the company, stand up to the physical demands of daily wear and another BendGate.
Beyond the "Apple Watch" and "Apple Watch Sport" versions, a special "Apple Watch Edition" mixes in 18-karat yellow or rose gold for a premium look. It goes well with that gold iPhone 5S for sure.

That brings the metal colors to six: stainless steel, silver aluminum, space black stainless steel, space gray aluminum, 18-karat yellow gold and 18-karat rose gold.

Digital crown

Apple Watch doesn't have a unique round display like Moto 360, but the casing does feature a circular knob known as the "digital crown."
This input is unique among smartwatches, but a true classic derived from traditional watches. Apple has of course put a modern-day twist on its twist functionality.

The Apple Watch digital crown replaces the pinch-to-zoom touchscreen mechanic used on everything from iPhones to MacBooks. It's too impractical on such a small display, according to Apple.
Rotating it allows you to zoom into your app selection, your location on Apple Maps and a photo from a gallery. Scrolling through dates and stopwatch times is handled by this knob too.
The digital crown also acts as the Apple Watch home button. There's no Touch ID sensor here, but Apple Watch is smartly tied to your wristwatch with an anti-theft passcode required whenever it's taken off.

Conversation button

The button below the digital crown allows you to start a conversation with friends. Pushing it brings up a their contact info photos and zooming into a specific person with the digital crown gets things started.
Beyond calling and messaging Apple Watch wearing friends, you can get their attention with a gentle tap. It vibrates the "taptic" feedback on their smartwatch.

What's intriguing about this taptic feedback system is that it's said to be more precise and subtle than a vibration everyone can hear. Want to ditch a party? Your friends' secret sign may be three taps on the Apple Watch before bailing. It's an interesting way to get someone's attention.
Apple Watch goes all Drawesome on us with a bizarre sketch function for light messaging on the wrist. Snapchat became big, why not Swipechat? You can also share your heartbeat with someone in real time.

Apple Watch bands

The variety of Apple Watch bands played better than U2 at the press conference, giving consumers a way to personalize their smartwatch.
Standard straps include Leather Loop that conceals magnets for easy fastening, the leather Modern Buckle and the leather Classic Buckle. There's also a gym-friendly elastomer Sport Band.

Higher-end metal straps include the Milanese Loop with flexible magnetic stainless steel mesh and the stainless steel Link Bracelet.
The ability to swap the straps without having to use tooling or visit or jeweler is one of our favorite features in the Apple Watch vs Moto 360 comparison.

Apple Watch faces

Apple is promising customizable watch faces with "millions of different appearances." It brings everything to its timepieces, from time lapse backgrounds to classic Mickey Mouse arms as dials.

However, just to be clear, the smartwatch comes with a base of 11 watch faces, according to the official Apple Watch press release. Most allow you to change the colors, design elements and add functionality.
The Apple Watch face gallery shows off an Astronomy design with an interactive, real-time 3D model of the earth, moon and planets. Likewise, the Solar acts as a contemporary sundial.

If you want a moving background, there's the Motion watch face, or a still image, there's the Photo face. Utility, Chronograph, Color, Modular and Simple exhibit more contemporary designs.

Apple Watch battery life

Tim Cook didn't go into great detail about the Apple Watch battery life, but he did hint that the smartwatch is designed to be "worn all day" and is "simple to charge at night."
"We think people are going to use it so much you will wind up charging it daily," Cook later reiterated at a conference in late October.
That had led us to believe that the Apple Watch battery life will be approximately one day, sort of like the Moto 360, LG G Watch and Samsung Gear Live we've reviewed.
An Apple spokesperson backs up our theory, more or less confirming that the smartwatch requires a daily charge. The person also reportedly said Apple is working on modifications to eek out more battery life.

Previously, when it was known as the Apple iWatch, it was rumored to have a 400mAh battery, but Cook is saving that announcement for a later date.
He did, however, call attention to the unique recharging method. The Apple Watch's back crystal houses a magnetic inductive wireless charging solution similar to the MagSafe design. Again, it looks as if Apple bucks another trend - this time it's the popular Qi wireless charging method - in favor of its own standard.

Release date

For a gadget that supposedly keeps the time, the Apple Watch release date speculation has been all over the place. It highlighted the fact that no one outside of Apple had the full scoop until September 9.
Just don't expect that to be the iPhone-compatible watch's release date this year. Apple's official line is that it won't deliver the the Apple Watch until early 2015.
Sure, reports in the Taiwanese media have placed the release date as sometime in February, but newer remarks attributed to Apple executives give it a later, less precise and far more likely spring 2015 window.
"We're going into the holidays, we'll go into Chinese New Year, and then we've got a new watch launch coming in the spring," read an alleged internal memo by Apple Senior Vice President of Retail and Online Stores Angela Arendts.
Apple is said to be constrained by the amount of sapphire that it's able to produce thanks to its main, now-bankrupt supplier GTAT, but it's determined to launch its smartwatch with the scratch-resistant material.
This could mean that when the Apple Watch does arrive, there could be less than the targeted 10 million smartwatches the company may want for the launch window. Although it's important to bear in mind that Apple's entry-level model, the Apple Watch Sport, doesn't include a sapphire display.
This may mean that while numbers of the Apple Watch and Apple Watch Edition versions are less than expected, the company can still produce enough Apple Watch Sport models.

Why so long between the Apple Watch unveiling and actual launch? Google. It's first smartwatches have just released care of Samsung Gear Live, LG G Watch and Moto 360. None work with iPhones.
A sneak peek at the iPhone 6 event made the watch right on time, enough to distract people from even prettier Android Wear watches hitting stores now, including the LG G Watch R.
Apple will be working hard to avoid the same kind of limited supply problems it faced when introducing the hot, but hard-to-find gold iPhone 5S last year.

Price

An even trickier question than "when will it come out?" has been "how much will the Apple Watch cost?" There's really no precedent for a premium smartwatch price just yet.
The answer: More than we were hoping to pay, even though its specs may be on par with Android Wear.

That notorious Apple tax pushes the pricetag to $349 given components involved. That's £223 in the UK and AU$403 in Australia, but expect those prices to be even higher, above the straight dollar conversion.

• Before iWatch: the timely history of the smartwatch

It's true that Apple has recruited high-profile people throughout the watch and biometrics industries who have wound up on its Apple Watch team. That talent comes at a price.
Then there's a hidden cost. While a subsidized iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are cheaper upfront in the US, stores make up the difference with contract kickbacks. Not so with a smartwatch. Stores need a cut too.

For the sake of comparison, Android Wear's cheaper options are the Samsung Gear Live at $200 (£170, AU$250) and LG G Watch at $230 (£160, AU$250).
But Apple's biggest and most stylish competition is from Motorola, and the Moto 360 price is $249 (£199, likely AU$275 given its rivals' prices).
Apple is aiming for luxury given the sapphire glass-protected display, an imposing digital crown, two sizes and even the 18k gold colored edition. Expect prices for that version to climb even higher.
Apple Watch won't be an impulse buy for most consumers. That's why we'll continue to update this page to see whether or not the iPhone-compatible smartwatch is a fit for you. Stay tuned.

Previous rumors

Apple's smartwatch remained firmly up Tim Cook's sleeve until the very end. Plenty of iPhone 6 spy shots leaked, but so-called "iWatch" photos didn't surfaced before the official announcement.
The final Apple Watch design isn't too far from the renders that we've seen in recent weeks. The iPhone-compatible smartwatch features a rectangular-shaped design, one knob and a single button.

The Apple Watch screens features scratch-resistant protection thanks to sapphire glass. That's really important for wearables that we bang and knock around all day.
Previous rumors indicated that the "iWatch" will end up with a 1.6-inch display, which is slightly larger than the square-shaped iPod Nano 6G, and a two bigger screen options at 1.8 inches.
For a real-world comparison, the now-launched Moto 360 has a circular 1.56-inch LCD touchscreen with an almost completely round 320 x 290 resolution.
It's the 2.5-inch screen that has us collectively scratching our heads. Samsung Gear Live is a large at 1.63 in. and LG G Watch is even bigger at 1.65 inches. Samsung Gear S tips the scales at 2 in.
Apple already makes a device with a 2.5-inch display, the iPod Nano 7G, but it's difficult to imagine the company crafting the same dimensions onto wrists without some of that Apple "magic."
This could be why we're hearing that the iWatch could come in two different sizes that conform to bigger and smaller wrist sizes.
There's also a chance that Apple may compete directly with the Moto 360 smartwatch that features a stunning circular watch face. Could Motorola's stylish smartwatch be why iWatch isn't due until 2015?
The company could, alternatively, go with a more fitness-focused approach with an Apple iBand that's modeled after the Nike FuelBand SE, but its smartwatch features would be limited.

Specs

That LG-made iWatch display may be locked behind sapphire glass to protect it from the sort of nicks and bumps that comes with a constantly worn wearable.
Sapphire glass is the same tough-as-nails material that's supposedly being used in the iPhone 6 in an effort to replace Gorilla Glass 3.

The move, though expensive, would be much appreciated. We've brushed our Android Wear smartwatches against walls in just one week's time and that's too close for comfort.
At the heart of the iWatch needs to be a speedy, yet small processor along the lines of the 1.2 Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 that's inside the Samsung Gear Live.
Apple has partnered with Samsung and ARM for its iPhone processors in the past, including the A7 CPU iPhone 5S, so the same could be true for the iWatch core.
It would also help if Apple could match its two Android Wear competitors' the 512MB of RAM and 4GB of internal storage. Something tells us it won't be user-replaceable.

Sensors

Apple isn't all about cramming more megapixels into its smartphones vs the competition, but it may be inclined to add more sensors than any other smartwatch manufacturers.
The iWatch has been speculated to include more than 10 sensors including an accelerometer, gyroscope, altimeter, compass, heart-rate monitor, pulse oximeter, among others.
This would pivot the iWatch from an iOS notification-reading wearable to a full-fledged fitness tracking devices, taking cues from the Nike FuelBand SE and expanding on that relationship.
Health-focused smartwatches and apps seem like the future of wearables given the biometric sensor-filled Samsung Simband prototype and Apple's own iOS 8 Health app that's just crying out for the iWatch.

Interface and apps

Like a Jetsons watch from the future, iWatch is likely to incorporate Siri on the wrist so that Apple's personal assistant can head your every beck and and phone call.
iWatch could put iOS 8 at your dominant-hand's fingertips at all times thanks to a streamlined interface and smaller versions of the apps that you use every day.

It's expected to push both iMessages and SMS texts to the Apple smartwatch and alert you of upcoming calendar events and reminder tasks.
This would eliminate the all-too-common problems of "I left my phone in the other room," "in the charger" or "in the car overnight." On second, it may ruin some of your best excuses!

The benefit of iWatch apps

An iWatch would basically take the most important notifications from your iPhone and beam them to your wrist.
Care to dismiss a call without the pomp and circumstance of taking your phone out? Done. Or maybe you're waiting by the iPhone for important news? Check.
The iWatch touchscreen may deliver the ability to more discretely dismiss calls and actively keep on top of the ones you want to answer.
Meanwhile, a built-in microphone could launch Shazam to identify a mystery song more quickly (like before the track ends five seconds too soon) or call up directions more safely.
With an iWatch literally on hand, there'd be no more dangerously fumbling with the iPhone on your dash while you wait for Apple CarPlay to be installed on your vehicle of choice.

iWatch apps in the making

We haven't seen official iWatch apps just yet, but Apple's iOS 8 Health app is almost certainly being readied for its first wearable due to metrics you just can't track with a normal iPhone.

Apple's HomeKit has also been previewed as a way to tie together smart home electronics. It could trigger smart light bulbs, door locks and thermostat setting.
Since Android Wear devices like Moto 360 can initiate commands and message replies via voice recognition technology, the same is likely a part of Apple's iWatch roadmap too.
Just don't expect a full iOS 8 experience on the wrist or a phone-call-cabale iWatch decked out with a SIM card like the rumored Samsung Solo. Your Dick Tracy wristwatch days aren't here just yet.

Battery life

The biggest hurdle for the Apple iWatch and all smartwatches in general is battery life. No one wants to charge another gadget every day. We do that too much as it is.
Case in point, one of the major cons we mentioned in our Samsung Galaxy Gear review revolves around its pitiful one-day-per-charge battery cycle. It has a 300mAh battery.
The LG G Watch, which also runs Android Wear, is hardly better at a day-and-a-half average capacity running off of a still-tiny 400mAh battery. Moto 360 is in the middle with a 320mAh battery.

Apple has previously patented a curved battery design that could give it the extra space that it needs to boost the rumored iWatch beyond a day or two.
The smartwatch components need to be small, but the battery life does not, according to energy-drained consumers.
At the same time, they require more than the monochrome display of the Pebble Steel and the original Pebble watches, which eked out a respectable 3-4 and 5-7 day battery life.
This impossible task may be why Tim Cook and company reportedly faced battery woes early on with the iWatch and still hasn't overcome them completely.

Wireless battery charger

At least when the iWatch battery dies, there may be a cool way to recharge the device thanks to wireless charging technology.
Apple has reportedly called upon a wireless charging coil supplier in China to send samples of its technology so that it can implement it into the iWatch.

The iWatch could therefore wirelessly charge through magnetic induction, a method similar to the Qi-compatible Moto 360 smartwatch.
The Moto 360 wireless charging cradle is rather slick, perfect for a nightstand. It could even come with the iWatch, sort of like the first iPhone included a dock in the box initially.
Qi is quickly becoming the more popular wireless charging standard ahead of its rivals. That being said, Apple does like going with its own proprietary technology more often than not.

Waterproof

A lightning connector could also be an alternate way to charge the iWatch, but that may be a more difficult task if Apple is to make it waterproof or at least water resistant.
Smartwatches that can stand up to the elements are being demanded by consumers who want their "24/7 wearables" to be true to that term down to the second.
If the iWatch is like currently Android Wear watches, expect it to be splash proof up to IP67, which is rated for a depth of 1 meter (3.3 feet) for 30 minutes.
That's good for the shower and accidental submersions, but not exactly fit for dunking the iWatch in the swimming pool or taking it in the ocean. Not this first generation at least.

Compatibility

iWatch is likely to loosely follow the iOS 8 compatibility chart by working with new iPhones and iPads that contain newer Bluetooth antennas.
The battery-saving Bluetooth 4.0 Low Energy made its debut in the iPhone 4S, iPad 3 and iPad mini and can be found in all newer models.
It's the exact same lineup that can wirelessly sync with the Fitbit Force, Jawbone Up24 and NikeFuelBand SE.
The iPad 2, which can be upgraded to iOS 8, is the one exception to the chart. It may be left off of the iWatch compatibility list.
It may mean it's time to turn in that old iPhone 4 for an iPhone 6 or a price-reduced iPhone 5S when the new phones launch later this year.
Just don't expect any Android phone, new or old, to work with the iWatch. Android Wear can't connect to Apple's devices, and we expect Apple to return the favor.
TechRadar is going to keep updating this feature explainer leading up to the release date and cost reveal, going beyond the vague spring 2015 and $349 (likely well north of converted £223, AU$403) price.









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Analysis: Xbox One: 12 months on, has the third Xbox recovered from its shaky start?

Xbox One turns one year old today, and what a frustrating, fascinating year it's been for fans of Master Chief and chums.
Microsoft entered the listings on an all-time high, having comfortably overturned Sony's market dominance with the Xbox 360.
PS3 has now drawn level in terms of boxes shifted, but Xbox had the edge for much of the battle, while Sony struggled to overcome the fallout from a tardy debut and mountainous production costs.
Nintendo's Wii may have beaten both consoles to the hundred million mark, but if you were a serious enthusiast, Microsoft's was the machine to own – cheap, relatively easy to develop for and joined at the hip to Xbox Live, the only online multiplayer and distribution platform worth speaking of.

• Sony PS4: One year on, has the PlayStation 4 lived up to the hype?

You couldn't have asked for a better platform to start to a new generation. And yet, here we are 12 months later with Xbox One trailing Sony's triumphant PS4 by millions of sales. How did that rallying cry to "jump ahead" become such a massive step back?

Stumbling out the gate

We looked on, aghast, as a firm often portrayed as the original "Evil Empire" cheerily unveiled a console that imposed limits on your ability to sell back games to retailers.
We watched in baffled horror as, at the height of the Edward Snowden leaks, Microsoft began singing the virtues of mandatory internet check-ins and the Kinect camera's ability to match faces to names and online records – a combination seemingly dreamt up by a National Security Agency spook in a fit of silliness.

• Read our updated Xbox One review

And we marvelled as Microsoft somehow managed to engineer the worst possible at-a-glance hardware proposition in recent history – a console that employs less powerful RAM than its biggest competitor, cue sub-1080p resolutions for the Xbox One versions of major multiplatform games in a console that somehow cost significantly more.

The "power of the cloud" was invoked early on as a solution to the RAM shortfall, but some admittedly very creative uses of remote processing have so far failed to justify that particular buzz.
It was a dismal debut that Microsoft has yet to fully recover from, though not for want of trying. The surgery was savage and laudably swift: within months of Xbox One's announcement, the manufacturer had axed the online requirement and reduced Kinect to an optional extra.
Nowadays, the latter isn't even bundled with every edition of the console.
Sadly, the immediate consequence of this was a console that went to launch without some of its most touted features, such as the ability to share digital libraries with family members.
Xbox One's trumpeted TV applications also proved a struggle – key elements, such as the OneGuide channel menu, didn't show up in territories outside the US till well after launch.
Territories like Japan, meanwhile, were obliged to do without the Xbox One full stop till just recently, as Microsoft battled to localise Kinect's voice control features and sign up appropriate media providers in time.

The comeback king

It's a shame, because the ingredients for a success story were there – and lately, they've begun to tell.
First of all, the Xbox One's ultra-flexible operating system design has paid dividends in the form of substantial monthly refreshes, adding fan-requested features such as custom dashboard backgrounds, while restoring those that were bizarrely omitted at launch, such as a front-end Friends section.
These monthly updates have also allowed Microsoft to show its human face after some disastrously out-of-touch statements last year.
Top execs like director of product management Albert Penello and new Xbox head Phil Spencer now chat to fans regularly on Twitter about the console's current capabilities and forthcoming reveals.

Spencer in particular has been a god-send for Microsoft's image – affable, knowledgeable about new and old games, and able to discuss Xbox One's failings without sounding prickly.
The further we get from Xbox One's launch, moreover, the harder it is to ignore the sheer scale of Microsoft's investment in exclusive or timed exclusive games.
Whether it be a genre-bending third-party offering, such as Titanfall, a preposterous value for money package, such as this month's Halo: The Master Chief Collection, or a quirky indie like Capybara's upcoming Below.
You can argue the toss about which console will ultimately have the most attractive exclusives - Sony perhaps commands more raw talent, and has the deeper pool of IPs to dip into - but at the time of writing and for the immediate future, Xbox One has a more robust and diverse games slate than any other new generation console.
It's a shame this level of quality doesn't extend to the free Games with Gold service – a somewhat half-hearted response to Sony's PlayStation Plus giveaway service, which has proven instrumental in establishing the latter's network as a creditable alternative to Xbox Live.
Microsoft's game portfolio isn't quite a critical advantage just yet. Sony, after all, can simply claim that it offers the "definitive" 60 frames a second and 1080p version of every major multiplatform release, with the promise of a new Uncharted down the road serving as a pill-sweetener.
But it could be the start of a full reversal of fortunes for Xbox One, especially now that the manufacturer has whittled away the price gap. Providing games are kept firmly to the fore, Microsoft's third console may yet come out on top.









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The biggest threats to the internet

Introduction, routers and government censorship

With over seven billion people on the planet and approximately 40% of them online, the internet is one of the most important resources to protect, but is it completely protected? We've all heard about bugs like Shellshock and the 512k router problem, but are there other menaces that could bring down the worldwide web?

512k routers nearing their limit

"While there are extreme scenarios like natural disasters and terrorist attacks that can cause disruption to the web, it is actually far more commonplace to see the internet fall foul due to shortcomings with routine maintenance and operations, such as hardware upgrades," says Mike Palladino, director of IP infrastructure and operations at internet hosting company Internap in Atlanta, US. Palladino is talking about widely-deployed, older routers hitting their default 512k routing table limit, a problem that has this year seen websites and networks knocked down.

At around 500,000 routes – a figure that's increasing by around 1,000 routes per week – the growth of the global internet routing table shows no signs of slowing. "It's putting many organisations on a collision course with network instability over the coming months and years as millions of legacy routers hit their physical limits," thinks Palladino. "What makes the problem even more challenging is that companies don't want the headache of fully migrating to IPv6, so they are trying to squeeze as much IPv4 out of the remaining allocations as possible, which is only adding to the inflation of the routing table."
Many companies are getting caught off guard, Palladino believes, and smaller enterprises in particular could learn some very painful lessons.

Government censorship

This is the real baddie. "Some of the largest instances of internet outages weren't caused by natural disasters or terrorist attacks, but rather government censorship," says Brian Chappell, Director, Technical Services EMEAI & APAC at the Leeds office of BeyondTrust.
There are theoretical threats – such as the Kremlin's plans to take control of the .ru domain and take Russia off the global internet during an 'emergency' – and there are real problems caused by governments, such as the 'great firewall' in China. The latter's latest effort is Green Dam, a piece of web censorship software that will soon be pre-installed inside every computer sold in China.

That, and Edward Snowden's NSA online surveillance revelations, are mere asides in the fight against governments who think it is their right to switch the internet on and off. Censorship by the Chinese government was thought to be behind an internet outage in January that severed access to the web for hundreds of millions of people, while governments in both Libya and Egypt effectively banned the internet during the Arab Spring uprisings of 2011.
And who can forget the almost comical stance of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who called social media "the worst menace to society" before banning it in April? Luckily, the country's constitutional court overturned the ban after two weeks. However, the ban had an unexpected consequence. "When the Turkish prime minister banned Twitter, tweets about the ban and from Turkey increased significantly," says Dinah Alobeid at the New York office of analyst company Brandwatch.
It might be interrupted by earthquakes, hurricanes, ageing hardware or banned by power-crazy governments, but the internet consistently does one thing very well – it always fights back.

Disasters, security flaws and network outages

Data centres in disaster zones

Is your service safe? From 2.6 zettabytes in 2012, global data centre traffic growth is set to hit 7.7 zettabytes by 2017, a tripling of workload. Global cloud traffic will soon dominate data centre traffic, and it's growing fastest in the Middle East and Africa.
Tragedy could hit any data centre at any time. Hurricanes are common in the eastern US, and earthquakes in the west, while tornadoes, freezing winters, floods, and of course terrorism, can happen almost anywhere. It's less about choosing a data centre in a safe location and more about knowing what its Plan B is.
"Take care in selecting a data centre and have full knowledge of its disaster planning," advises Jim Cowie, Chief Scientist at cloud-based internet performance company Dyn. "If your data centre facility isn't properly prepared for a potential disaster, you are risking major outages and potential loss of revenue."

Cowie recommends investing in an intelligent load balancer. "If you rely on only one data centre to hold and serve all of your information, it's only a matter of time before something happens, causing your site to go down," he says. "With failover, in the event of an outage on your primary server, you can redirect traffic to a redundant, off-site server." An intelligent load balancer can geographically load balance traffic and have built-in failover mechanisms.
However, Palladino thinks that the internet at large already has a built-in back-up plan. "In the rare event of a natural disaster that severs cable connections, intelligent routing capabilities can help organisations to ensure continued network availability and prevent any disruptions," he says. "These technologies have the potential to scan networks globally for traffic-impacting issues like outages, packet loss and latency, and redirect traffic over alternative and stable internet paths."
Cowie agrees, but warns against complacency. "The internet is a dense web of domestic and international connectivity, and in response to any possible disruption the internet will route around catastrophic damage and keep the packets flowing, despite terrible chaos and uncertainty." However, Cowie thinks that companies should always have a separate backup plan to reinforce their online presence.

Security bugs, viruses and hackers

So far in 2014 we've had Heartbleed and Shellshock, and numerous targeted hacks, but despite the cybersecurity doom-merchants the internet still appears to be working.
"The number of variables involved in deliberately trying to blackout the entire internet make it next to impossible – even when there's availability of widespread vulnerabilities such as Shellshock – these are still limited in the scope of their impact," says Chappell. "While there are key points on the internet that can result in widespread outages, targeting them all comprehensively would need understanding, timing and coordination beyond the imagining of most of us."

Others aren't so sure. "Hackers are getting more sophisticated and staying a step ahead of security measures," says Marc Malizia, CTO of cloud solutions provider RKON Technologies. "This will escalate until companies start taking the threat seriously and put resources and cutting edge technologies in place to protect their devices, including mobile phones and laptops."
Malizia predicts that in 2015 more organisations will begin equipping mobile devices with security software.
In the longer term, the Internet of Things is cybersecurity's next frontier – no-one is going to want their car/fridge/toilet hacked.

A network node goes down

Companies like AT&T have Network Disaster Recovery teams that jump on a plane as soon as a 'smoking hole' appears on their global networks. However, just as likely as an earthquake or a 9/11 scenario is a complete overload of a network node during, say, a protest or some other unscheduled mass event.
So high are the stakes that an entire industry is watching internet traffic in the hope of stopping or circumventing an outage. So far, it's been very successful, and even major disasters like October 2012's Hurricane Sandy, which ripped through the east coast of the US, have failed to cause havoc.

RIPE NCC – one of the five Regional Internet Registries (RIRs) that support the critical infrastructure of the internet around the world – used its RIPE Atlas to measure the effects of the storm on the internet to see how traffic was diverted around the problem. It shows us how network operators are able to compensate for all but the most severe damage to infrastructure, and function almost normally even without one of their critical hubs.
"We do need to be concerned about our dependency on the internet, but thankfully its architects had already thought about its resilience and robustness," says Chappell, who points out that in the early days of the net the technology being used wasn't very reliable. Consequently it's designed to be resilient enough to cope with frequent dropouts.
"The Internet operates as a packet-switching network, so even in normal operation there's no certainty that two sequential data packets in a transmission will follow the same route, and it doesn't matter that they don't," says Chappell. "It means that when a disaster or attack takes out a portion of the network, the rest can carry on operating, actively routing traffic around the failure until it's resolved."
So resilient is the internet, Chappell believes, that a major disruption to it would be really bad news. "A total internet blackout from a natural disaster is going to leave us with more to worry about than whether we can get to our Facebook accounts," he says, "as it's likely to have also affected many more of the fundamental requirements for life."









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Roundup: Updated: We played with the worst apps in the world, so you don't have to

1. This week's worst app

There are now over 1,300,000 apps on the iOS App Store and the Google Play Store is home to around the same number of Android apps right now. What we're trying to say is - there are a lot of apps out there, and unsurprisingly, a lot of them are crap.
We're sure you've stumbled on some stinkers yourself, but we hope you've not come across any as bad of these. You see, at TechRadar we're making it our mission to scour the underbelly of both app stores to find the truly terrible, the truly disgusting, and the truly WTF, all in the name of technology.
Each week we'll be nominating an app that deserves the crown of "worst of the worst", with an aim to complete a list of the ten truly most terrible apps we've ever seen.
So let us begin our dangerous journey through the bowels of humanity's ideas. It's a dirty job, but someone's got to do it.

1. I Am Important

Platform: iOS
Price: Free
"The price of success is hard work, dedication to the job at hand, and the determination that whether we win or lose, we have applied the best of ourselves to the task at hand." - Vince Lombardi
The price of success in 2014 is jack all. All you need is an iPhone and a sense of deep, penetrating loneliness.
I Am Important is a fake diary organiser designed to make you look like, in the words of the app itself, a "top-flying shaker". For example, it'll generate made-up contacts in the app and put them in your address book. Those contacts aren't just low-life nobodies though - they're "highly important and highly paid business people". You know, better people.
Even more deplorably, the app will create fake events and insert them into your calendar. This is "to make you look busy and important as important people are involved in many events", as the app helpfully informs us. These important people sound really busy and interesting.
But of course, none of this is any good if no one is checking your phone, and as you're so "unimportant", chances are that they won't be. That's why the app lets you post your "success" to Facebook to make your friends green with envy. That's assuming you have any friends, which is unlikely if it's reached this point.

"Sometimes, when you feel like nobody cares, I Am Important will ask you about your day and what happened that day," notes the app description. Sure enough, there's a box at the bottom for you to write how you're feeling. Appropriately, ours suggested "self-condemning".
That last part might not quite match the criteria of the app's mission statement: "I Am Important does two things: 1. Shows the world how important you are. 2. Makes you feel more important."
But here's the best bit: you can pay to remove the app's adverts using a three-tier pricing system dependant on how "Important" you think you are. By clicking "Kind of important" and paying a minimal 69p, you'll get the ads removed but nothing else, while paying more will earn you bonus features, such as a colourful background. And if you fancy coughing up £6.99 for "Head of State/CEO" - importance then: "You're important - big time. You need a crazy, moving background to show everyone that your level of importance is [something undisclosed]."
There's a scene in the The Office (US version) where boss Michael Scott finds a video-recorded TV appearance from when he was a child. In it, a cat puppet asks Michael what he wants to be when he grows up. Michael replies: "I want to be married and have 100 kids so I can have 100 friends. And no one can say no to being my friend." It's a surprisingly sad moment in an otherwise funny scene.
I Am Important is that moment embodied in an app. In a word: tragic.

2. Funny Hand Dryer

2. Funny Hand Dryer

Platform: Android
Price: Free
This week's app is called Funny Hand Dryer but there is literally NOTHING funny about it. In any way at all. It's just a pretend, crappy, low-res picture of a hand dryer that makes a noise. If you've ever laughed at this, you're a moron.

To get the "funny" started, you touch beneath the vent as if you were sticking your hands out to dry, and the familiar blowing sound starts blurting out of your phone or tablet speakers. We have literally just described the function of Funny Hand Dryer as exhaustively as possible.
Now, perhaps we're missing the big joke that the rest of you are all in on, but as far as we can tell hand dryers have never quite been a source of 'banter'. Never have we heard a good joke involving a hand dryer and we highly doubt the "funny" is going to start with this app.
But who are we to argue with ten thousand downloads? And the app's creator is obviously keen to maintain the quality their fans have come to expect. The 1.1 update makes sure the app is now installed to any inserted SD card, so you can rest assured that you're never too far from a good bathroom facility-based joke. Just imagine the look on your friends' faces when you whip this one out. You don't deserve friends.
We'd say that iOS users are lucky to have dodged this bullet but the app Electric Razor is almost as harrowingly crap, though we guess you could at least rub the phone all over your face to help imitate the act of shaving. The 21st century is great, isn't it?
Needless to say, the reviews for Funny Hand Dryer are less than complimentary, although one person wrote: "It's alright not the best game in the app store,"
Not the best... but not the worst apparently. You mean you've played worse games than this, anonymous Google user? That may also be the most liberal use of the word "game" we've ever heard.
Luke Stanbridge gives the most in-depth analysis of the bunch, however: "Too basic, you can't change any settings of this app, when you take your hand off the screen the sound effect just cuts out unrealistically."
Yeah, because up until that point it had us utterly hornswoggled.

3. Floating Miley Cyrus

3. Floating Miley Cyrus

Platform: Android
Price: Free

We'll begin this week's worst app review by paying it the one compliment it deserves: Floating Miley Cyrus does exactly what its name promises. That's more than we can say for a few others on this list.
The app drops a tiny version of the titular pop star on your screen, who will dance while you catch up on the day's news, watch a film, or simply brush up on some Marxist critique of capitalism. Whatever it is you people do on your tablets these days.

You can drag her around the screen, but beyond quitting the app, deleting it and moving on with your life, you have no other control. Miley is going to dance and she's going to make you watch. There's no variation either, she just does the same move again, and again, and again, and again.
This being the classy piece of software that it is, a nice little advert will also appear every time you boot up Miley, and because its close icon is so damn small, you're probably going to accidentally open it. Sorry about that.
It's pointless and no one is ever going to open this more than once, but we did discover our own fun game to play. We call it 'Where can you put Miley that's really funny?'. Turns out, quite a lot of places.

On 'researching' this week's app, we discovered a surprising number of Miley-related games in the Play Store, all of an unsurprisingly low quality. So we're also giving an honourable mention to the 'Miley Cyrus Game', in which the player earns points by dragging many Miley faces off the screen. We've experienced fun before. This is not it.

4. Beef War

4. Beef War

Platform: Android/iOS
Price: Free on Android/ $0.99 (69p) on iOS
Imagine an alternate version of history where America fought the Nazis not with guns or Buccaneer bombers, but with beef. No, in fact, stop imagining - you can live that very scenario right now.
Beef War is precisely what its name suggests. It's a war where your only ammunition is cuts of cow. The description doesn't give much away beyond the fact we can expect "48 unique cuts of beef, seven types of panzers, and 'intense strategies'."
Enemy tanks will blast different bovine parts in the middle of the screen, and it's your job to fling meat at them. Yes, meat beats Panzer. What do you mean you've never played Beef, Bayonet, Blitzkrieg before?

Every piece of meat is labeled on an Angus Beef Chart, which unhelpfully uses the world's smallest font size. You'll soon know your chuck pot roast from your flank steak, assuming you have superhero vision.
Ok, so there's some underlying message about American beef farmers being undermined by foreign trade. However, any awareness of the issue is offset by Herbert the Pervert seductively calling out the names of the beef types as you annihilate the enemy, like we're living in some war-meat fetishist's kinky sex fantasy.
And none of this is helped by the absence of any explanation from the app developer whatsoever beyond "BEEEF WAAAAAR" being screamed at you every time you start the game.
And while there's some strategy to it, we'd hardly call it "intense". Though we'll give it this: it's the most realistic war simulator with beef cuts you can play right now, down to the constant and not-at-all-annoying sounds of distress as cowzilla is slowly Panzer'd to death.
Sometimes at night, we can still hear the mooing.

5. Will you marry me?

5. Will you marry me?

Platform: Android
Price: Free
By this point, we've already dug up some some pretty atrocious apps - really, truly awful things. But just when you think you've scraped the bottom of the barrel, someone lifts that barrel up and out squirms a monstrosity that defies imagination.

That monster is Will you marry me?, an app that wants to do the job of proposing to your most beloved one for you.
"Have you ever tried tell your feelings for your girlfriend, or boyfriend?" asks the blurb in broken English. "Want you to make it with your phone? Can't you say it yourself? You can't speak in these situations? You are not alone! But... You can do it with your phone!"
No. No you can't.
Let's start with the design. The app is a single landing page that can only be described as 'my first Powerpoint'. You don't read the text so much as decipher it from a font that, for good reason, we've never seen used before in our lives.
Thankfully the adverts at the bottom are completely legible, directing you to apps that will help you "meet flirty single women" and other entirely inappropriate dating sites. This really helps the romantic mood.

The background displays two giant wedding rings with "Will you marry me?" scrawled across the top, while your significant other has the choice of selecting either "Yes" or "I need more time".
If your soon-to-be-ex taps the latter, "Think it through again, please, I LOVE YOU!" appears on the screen, suggesting that this relationship has turned into some hellish multiple-choice RPG that they cannot win.
But that button's so unreadable that they'll probably just hit "Yes" to just make the nightmare end. Then the shrill organ music starts to play and they realise that the real nightmare has just begun: they're about to spend the rest of their life with a person who thought that this app was a good idea.

6. Ethan

6. Ethan

Platform: iOS
Price: Free

Who is Ethan? How is Ethan? Why is Ethan? In some ways, aren't we all Ethan?
These are the inevitable musings that come with downloading Ethan, a conversation app that lets you speak to one person and one person only: Ethan.
Ethan is an ordinary guy, apparently. We don't know much about him but we wish we did. So far he's not responded to any of our messages. Oh sure, he'll speak to TimParker. "What a great chap, highly recommended," so goes his review on the App Store. Why won't he message us? We feel really quite left out.
Put simply, Ethan is a real-life Siri. Want advice on what to watch on Netflix tonight? Ask Ethan (we're told he'll always recommend The Room). Stuck for a date idea? Ask Ethan. Which season of Grey's Anatomy is the best? Ethan may have an opinion (we think season 6, hopefully Ethan agrees).

But the way we see it, Ethan is just a guy with access to Google and more free time on his hands than he knows what to do with. "Don't ask if I'm real (I am)" he says. But who are we to believe him when Siri is just as evasive with such questions? We also find his preference for multiple choice questions highly suspicious.
Siri is a robot parading as a human, Ethan Gliechtenstein is a so-called human in our smartphones. This is Philip K Dick's existential nightmare. We are Ethan and Ethan is all of us.

7. Got Juice?

7. Got Juice?

Platform: iOS
Price: Free
From the very the people who created Hold On comes another smash hit app you never thought you needed: Got Juice?
"What's Got Juice?" you ask? Well let us answer your question with another question: ever wondered how much battery you've got left but had no easy way of seeing it? Us neither! Luckily that's not what Got Juice? does, which is just why you need it! This is an app that inaccurately tells you your battery status with a crappy graphic. On our first try Got Juice? told us we had 80% of battery left, the iPhone battery indicator reckoned it was 86%.

Wait, you mean Got Juice? wasn't meant to get the percentage wrong? Well that explains why it's in this list doesn't it.
But then again, who are we to argue with the real critics? sonydog123 said: "This app is free and great, very simple to check your battery status and highly recommended - great job on it!"
While the one and only reviewman57364 really dug deep for his analysis. "Great app! - liked how it goes up to your percentage. Very nice feature."
"Looks cool - I'm shocked there are no ads!" said mriphoneaddict. We'll be more shocked if this is a legitimate review.
But it's allytheangel who really nails it with Roger Ebert-esque insight: "You'll always know exactly how low your battery is! Makes me wonder why it isn't included as a standard."
Yeah, us too...

8. Hold On

8. Hold On

Platform: iOS
Price: 69p

The past few years have seen smartphones completely transform the gaming industry, with some notable titans helping to blow the medium wide open.
Angry Birds defined mobile gaming from the off. Infinity Blade showed us that smartphone games could go toe-to-toe with consoles. Monument Valley proved they could be thoughtful and beautiful. Hold On, which costs 69p, shows us that the app store really needs to sort itself out.
Here's the premise: hold the button for as long as you can. If you let go, the game is over. Then try to beat your previous record. When will the fun end!?
"Develop your perseverance and improve your concentration skills to make you more productive!" reads the app store description. We'll cast some doubt on that. This app is more likely to aggravate any underlying anger issues when you realise you wasted ACTUAL MONEY on it. But perhaps we're too quick to judge, so let's take a closer look.
We've covered the central tenet more extensively than it deserves, but there's plenty more to do. Say, for example, you want to submit your high score, just tap 'submit' and enter your name like it tells you to. What's that? Oh, you can't actually enter your name because there's no working keyboard. Just tap OK then, we guess.

Now that you've anonymously entered your score to the global rankings, better go see how you're faring. Oh look, that just brings up a load of code. This is paying for itself already.
But wait, we forgot the biggest feature of all: you can connect to a friend via Bluetooth and enjoy the shoddiness together! Of course we haven't been able to test this feature because we couldn't persuade anyone to spend their money on it.

9. 99 Bottles!

9. 99 Bottles!

Platform: iOS
Price: Free
Let us set the scene: You're having '99 Bottles of Beer' sung to you by Stephen Hawking. We just described the entirety of the 99 Bottles app.
No, that's not fair, you can also pause the song or choose to start it over. There are also some crap bottle animations that twitch along with the "music". Ok, now we've described it.

Yes, it's the slow, awkward rendition of 99 Bottles you never asked for but you're sure as hell going to get anyway. And what happens if, God forbid, you last the whole 19 minutes and 48 seconds? No spoilers here, but we can confirm that time is accurate because we sat through the whole damn thing ourselves.

Actually, we got a text message at just over 50 bottles down the first time and accidentally hit 'start again', so we basically sat through it twice for this column. You're welcome.
You'll hear all the greats: 87, 64, 50, 42… And if your phone goes to sleep just as bottle 93 has been taken from the wall, does it start exactly where it left off? Course not, it starts number 93 ALL OVER AGAIN.
We really can't think of any useful applications for this other than torture, and Amnesty would be all over this in a heartbeat.
To its creator's credit he at least acknowledges how ridiculous the app is. We just don't know why anyone would use it, let alone make it. Then again we did play it for the whole 20 minutes so we're hardly in a position to judge. No wait, make that 29 minutes and 42 seconds. Again, you're welcome.

10. Pet Baby

10. Pet Baby

Platform: iOS
Price: Free
Here's how I imagine the meeting at Trashicon HQ happened the day the idea for Pet Baby was born.
"Hey guys, people like sharing pictures of their pets. I think I've spotted what they call a 'market opportunity'."
"You sure have, Jerry. But our app budget is focused on babies right now. Babies are funny, remember?!"
"But wait, why don't we combine the two?"
*The room falls deadly silent. A single bead of sweat runs down Jerry's forehead. He's eyeing up his desk across the room, mentally packing up his belongings*
"Careful Jerry, that's the sort of thinking that'll get you a… PROMOTION."
*Everyone claps*

And thus, Pet Baby was born. An app that asks the question that's been on the collective lips of humanity since the dawn of man: "What would your pet look like… as a human baby?" Given that most babies look the same, the answer is probably 'just like every other baby ever', right?
WRONG. Your pet baby is a mutant child that will devour your soul.
You see, rather than making any effort whatsoever to morph your dog's face into some sort of funny canine-baby mashup, the app lazily hacks the two together with an opacity tool to create what can only be described as a pure evil.
But does the fun stop there? Oh no. No, once your rabid demon child has been conceived, you can expose your friends and family to the horror via Facebook and Twitter.
Just look at some of the beauties we came up with:


And God forbid the app ever does produce anything looking mildly sentient, you can expect something like the following:

This app had zero reviews at the time of publishing.



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Review: Leica V-Lux (Typ 114)

Introduction and features

Leica and Panasonic have an interesting working relationship. Some Panasonic cameras have Leica lenses that are produced in Panasonic's factory following Leica quality control measures. And some Panasonic cameras are essentially rebadged as Leica models. The V-Lux (Typ 114), for example is Leica's version of the popular Panasonic FZ1000 and like the D-Lux (aka Panasonic LX100), it's produced in Panasonic's factory.
Both have been covered already along with all the other latest camera reviews and news in the Techradar Camera Channel home page.
The (Typ 114), by the way, distinguishes the V-Lux from its predecessor, which was called the V-Lux 4 (confusingly) but was based on an the older Panasonic FZ200 bridge camera which has a smaller sensor.
As usual there is a price premium to pay for the Leica badge, but the V-Lux comes with a 3-year warrantee from Leica and a copy of Lightroom 5 for organising and processing your images.
Like the FZ1000, the V-Lux (Typ 114) is a bridge camera with a 16x zoom range and a focal length equivalent to 25-400mm. Both cameras have a Leica DC Vario-Elmarit lens with a maximum aperture of f/2.8 at the widest point and f/4 at the narrowest.

Just like the FZ1000, the V-Lux is a direct competitor to the Sony RX10 which also has a (20.2Mp) 1-inch sensor, but the Sony's focal length range is restricted to the equivalent of 24-200mm, although the maximum aperture is a constant f/2.8 throughout the zoom range – the V-Lux's maximum aperture drops to f/4 at the equivalent of 175mm.
Inside the body is a 1-inch sensor (significantly larger than the 1/2.3-inch devices in most models), with 20.1 million pixels. The bigger sensor means larger photo-receptors, to allow more light to be captured and improve noise control, dynamic range and image quality as a whole.
Leica doesn't actually mention the V-Lux's processing engine, but it's a safe bet that it's the same Venus Engine as is found in the Panasonic FZ1000. This allows the native sensitivity to be set in the range ISO 80-12,500 with an expansion setting of ISO 25,000 – that's slightly different from the FZ1000 which tops out at ISO 12,800.The maximum continuous shooting speed is 12 frames per second.
There are exposure modes to suit enthusiasts (program, aperture priority, shutter priority and manual) along with a fully automatic mode and scene modes to help less experienced photographers. The V-Lux also has a mode that gives access to the same 22 filter effects available on the FZ1000. These effects are applied to JPEG files, but they can be used when shooting raw files simultaneously so that a clean file is available for processing.
The FZ1000 was the first bridge camera capable of 4K (3840 x 2160 pixel) video recording at up to 25fps (PAL) in MP4 format, and the V-Lux follows suit. While this may not impress some stills photographers, the fact that it's possible to extract 8Mp still images form 4K video may.
It's also possible to record video at Full HD and VGA resolution, but the V-Lux only allows MP4 recording while the FZ1000 can record in MP4 or AVCHD. The FZ1000's ability to record Full HD footage at 100fps is also absent in the V-Lux.
Like the FZ1000, the V-Lux has a collection of AF point selection options including, 49-Area, 1-Area AF, Pinpoint AF, Face Detection AF and the Custom Multi AF mode first seen in the GH4 that allows the user to select blocks, rows or columns of AF points for use. It's also possible to focus manually and Focus Peaking is available to show the areas of highest contrast (focus) – this is especially useful during video recording.
There is also a Zebra display for highlighting areas close to burning out. This can be set to indicate a brightness value of 50-105%.

Naturally, as it's a bridge camera, the V-Lux's viewfinder is electronic rather than optical. This is a 2,359,000-dot OLED device, and there's a vari-angle 3-inch 921,000-dot LCD. As on the FZ1000, this screen is not touch-sensitive.
The V-Lux has Wi-Fi and NFC connectivity built-in for connecting to smartphones and tablets. In addition, Leica offers a free app (Image Shuttle) which enables the camera to be controlled remotely and images transferred wirelessly.
An intervalometer for time lapse recording, multiple exposure mode and a built-in flash, along with a hot-shoe for attaching an external flashgun, top-off the V-Lux's specification nicely.

Build and handling

Bridge cameras have grown in size in recent years, perhaps to convey a greater sense of gravitas, but the V-Lux (Typ 114) is one of the larger models around. Like the Panasonic FZ1000, it's a little larger than the Sony RX10, but it also has a much longer lens (albeit with a smaller maximum aperture at longer focal lengths). Neither the FZ1000 nor the V-Lux have quite the same high quality feel as the RX10.

Although the V-Lux is reasonably solid for a bridge camera and is very similar in appearance to the FZ100, there are a few design touches that make it feel a little different in the hand. The Leica camera is just a tad more angular in appearance than the Panasonic camera and instead of the bottom edges being rounded, they are chamfered. It isn't a major issue, but this makes the camera a little less comfortable in the hand.
The textured coatings on the front and rear grips of the Leica camera also aren't quite as grippy as on the Panasonic model. Plus, the coating on the back doesn't extend quite so far around the thumb-ridge and this makes the camera feel a little less secure in the hand.
There are no changes to the control layout, however, and the V-Lux has a fairly extensive collection of buttons and dials giving a direct route to key features.
There's a mode dial on top of the camera that can be used to set the camera to shoot in aperture priority, shutter priority or manual exposure mode, or one of the Automatic or Scene modes. The point marked COL gives access to Creative Control mode and the 22 digital filter effects, including Sepia, High Dynamic, Toy Pop, Rough Monochrome, Soft Focus and Miniature Effect.
Like the FZ1000, there's a deep zoom ring around the lens barrel, but it isn't always convenient to use it to zoom from 25 to 400mm. Instead, I found that I often used the sprung switch around the shutter release to make major adjustments, while the ring is handy for minor tweaks to the framing.

This ring can also be used to focus manually and there's a switch on the side of the barrel that allows you to switch between zooming and focusing. I found that there were very few occasions when I needed to focus manually because the autofocus system is very good, but Leica enthusiasts may feel more comfortable with manual focus. If they do, as well as the Focus Peaking display, the camera can be set to magnify a section of the scene to make it easier to assess focus.
I found that the 2,359,000-dot OLED electronic viewfinder (EVF) gives a good, clear view and changes made to the exposure or colour settings are quickly reflected in the image it displays. The rear screen, which has 921,000 dots also gives a clear, detailed view and its articulating joint means it is useful for composing images at above or below head-height. It's a shame the screen isn't touch-sensitive though as this would make it much easier to set the AF point, especially when shooting from awkward angles.
The electronic level which can be displayed in the EVF and rear screen is especially useful when shooting from unusual angles and you need to keep the horizon level, but it can be tricky to see on the screen in some situations – especially in bright conditions.
By default in 1-Area AF mode the desired point is set by tapping the left navigation key to access the AF point selection options, tapping the down key and then using the navigation controls to highlight the point. I activated the Direct Focus Area option in the custom menu to speed the process up by allowing the navigation keys to set the AF point directly. Unfortunately this means that their shortcut options (ISO, white balance and macro mode) are not accessible, but they can be reached via the Quick Menu.
The Quick Menu can be left in its default set-up or customised. I prefer to customise it so that I can access the options I want without having to scroll through features I rarely use. The customisation is easy, but once features have been assigned a position in this menu, the only way to reposition them is to delete them from it and then add them again.
Conveniently, there are a few options such as the drive mode and focus mode that can be set via dials and without delving into either the main or Quick menu. This speeds things up considerably. I also found it useful to set the Custom shooting modes (accessed via the mode dial) so that I could quickly switch between my preferred set-ups. You just need to remember that any features that need to be set via dials (such as the drive mode) will not be changed.

Leica has used the same menu arrangement for the V-Lux as Panasonic has for the FZ1000, but rather than highlighting the selected option, it is underlined in red. There's also the same Menu Guide with it's rather variable degree of assistance. For example, if you try to access the HDR (high dynamic range) feature when recording raw files (or raw and JPEG files simultaneously) it shows the option as greyed out. There's no explanation that this is a JPEG-only option and that to access it you first need to turn off raw recording. It also doesn't explain why you might select features like the electronic or mechanical shutter (maximum shutter speed rises to 1/16000sec with the electronic shutter), it just informs you which option will be selected by each setting. It's not so much helping you decide what to do, as confirming that you are doing what you are doing.

Performance

My first impressions of the V-Lux were very good. It's clearly capable of capturing high quality images with pleasant colours and a decent level of detail. Raw files in particular impress with their dynamic range and the ability to draw back detail from areas that initially look burned out.
However, the multi-purpose metering system throws up a few surprises. On some occasions it delivers perfectly exposed results, but on others it delivers very bright images. In some situations during this test the exposure needed to be reduced by 1EV or more, without any logical reason – the AF point was on a midtone and the iDynamic dynamic range optimisation system was switched off.

This was shot using the exposure settings suggested by the camera and looks too bright. Click here for a full resolution version.

Reducing the exposure by 1EV has produced a more pleasing image that better reflects the shooting conditions at the time. Click here for a full resolution version.

Another rather bright image. Click here for a full resolution version.

This time reducing the exposure by 2/3EV has produced a more natural result. Click here for a full resolution version.
Thankfully the electronic viewfinder (EVF) and screen on the back of the camera do a good job of representing the image as it will be captured. So if the image is going to be too bright you will see it before the shot is taken. There's also a histogram view and the Zebra view to assist with this. However, when set to show areas at 100% brightness, the Zebra display is a little over-enthusiastic and tends to indicate more will be white than actually is.
Images produced using the default 'Standard' Photo Style have pleasant colours and a pleasing level of mid-tone contrast. Simultaneously captured raw files look a little flat and lacking in saturation, but are ripe for processing.
It's interesting to compare images from the V-Lux with those from the Panasonic FZ1000. At the lower sensitivity settings the Leica camera produces JPEGs that look a fraction more natural at 100% than those from the Panasonic model. Details are slightly sharper and out of focus areas appear more naturally soft. These differences, which indicate that Leica has chosen the in-camera processing, become less noticeable as sensitivity rises. The Leica camera's processing seems to handle out of focus areas a little better, although there's not much in it. At normal viewing sizes the JPEG images are hard to tell apart.
Panasonic and Leica provide different raw file processing software and this may have an impact upon how the raw files appear direct from the cameras and after processing. However, when raw files from the two cameras are processed in the same way using Adobe Camera Raw, they look the same.
Processing raw files post capture brings the ability to apply as much or as little noise reduction as you like to preserve detail. At normal viewing sizes the V-Lux produces decent looking images throughout its native sensitivity range (ISO 80-12,500). Zoom into 100%, however, and there's a faint granular texture visible in some areas even at low sensitivity settings such as ISO 400. This luminance noise becomes more visible along with chroma noise as sensitivity rises (when all noise reduction is turned off). By ISO 3200 there's some softening apparent in JPEGs, and smudging of details captured in JPEGs captured at ISO 6400.
The V-Lux's automatic white balance (AWB) system performs well in most natural light conditions, producing images that represent the shooting conditions well. Under overcast skies the atmosphere of the weather conditions is visible, but the images don't look excessively cold or blue. Similarly, images taken in full sunlight look warm, but not too yellow.
As with the FZ1000, chromatic aberration is controlled well and distortion isn't a major issue at any point in the lens's focal length range.

The AF system had no trouble getting this bird sharp as long as it stayed on its perch. The detail around the eye is good, but the complex patterns of the feathers on the back of the bird look rather painterly. Click here for a full resolution version.
The V-Lux is capable of focusing quickly even in quite low light and it can keep a moving subject sharp provided that the active AF point is kept over the target. The Tracking AF system, however, is useless with anything other than slow moving subjects. It doesn't respond quickly enough to movements around the frame or to changes in subject distance.

Image quality and resolution

As part of our image quality testing for the Leica V-Lux (Typ 114), we've shot our resolution chart.
Click here to see a full explanation of what our resolution charts mean.
Examining images of the chart taken at each sensitivity setting reveals the following resolution scores in line widths per picture height x100:

Full ISO 100 image. See 100% crops below:

JPEG

ISO 100: Score 26. Click here for full resolution version.

ISO 200: Score 26. Click here for full resolution version.

ISO 400: Score 22. Click here for full resolution version.

ISO 800: Score 22. Click here for full resolution version.

ISO 1600: Score 22. Click here for full resolution version.

ISO 3200: Score 20. Click here for full resolution version.

ISO 6400: Score 22. Click here for full resolution version.

ISO 12500: Score 22. Click here for full resolution version.

ISO 25000: Score 22. Click here for full resolution version.

Raw (converted to TIFF)

ISO 100: Score 28. Click here for full resolution version.

ISO 200: Score 28. Click here for full resolution version.

ISO 400: Score 26. Click here for full resolution version.

ISO 800: Score 24. Click here for full resolution version.

ISO 1600: Score 24. Click here for full resolution version.

ISO 3200: Score 22. Click here for full resolution version.

ISO 6400: Score 22. Click here for full resolution version.

ISO 12500: Score 22. Click here for full resolution version.

ISO 25000: Score 22. Click here for full resolution version.

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.
The four rival cameras we chose for this comparison are the Panasonic FZ1000, Sony RX10 and Canon SX60 HS.
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.

JPEG dynamic range

Analysis: Interestingly, the dynamic range of the V-Lux (Typ 114) does differ from that of the Panasonic FZ1000, the camera it's based on – this seems to confirm our impression that there are differences in the image processing. At lower ISOs the Leica's performance is average and below the FZ1000's, but at ISO 1600 and beyond the tables are turned, and the V-Lux puts in the best performance.

Raw (converted to TIFF) dynamic range

Analysis: The RAW files tell a different story. Here, the figures for the Panasonic FZ1000 and Leica V-Lux are almost identical. All four cameras in this comparison show similar results at ISO 100-200, but beyond that the smaller sensor Canon falls away rapidly, as we would expect.

JPEG signal to noise ratio

Analysis: The three cameras with 1-inch sensors easily outperform the Canon SX60 HS, demonstrating the value of a larger sensor. The Sony proves better at handling noise in JPEG images at ISO 1600 and beyond, while the Panasonic and Leica produce identical results.

Raw (converted to TIFF) signal to noise ratio

Analysis: The signal to noise results are broadly the same for raw files, though here the Panasonic FZ1000 and Sony RX10 prove the most closely matched, with the Leica V-Lux falling slightly behind at higher ISOs. The Canon's data again shows the disadvantages of a small sensor.

Sensitivity and noise images

Full ISO 100 image. See 100% crops below:

JPEG

ISO 100. Click here for full-resolution image.

ISO 200. Click here for full-resolution image.

ISO 400. Click here for full-resolution image.

ISO 800. Click here for full-resolution image.

ISO 1600. Click here for full-resolution image.

ISO 3200. Click here for full-resolution image.

ISO 6400. Click here for full-resolution image.

ISO 12500. Click here for full-resolution image.

ISO 25000. Click here for full-resolution image.

Raw (converted to TIFF)

ISO 100. Click here for full-resolution image.

ISO 200. Click here for full-resolution image.

ISO 400. Click here for full-resolution image.

ISO 800. Click here for full-resolution image.

ISO 1600. Click here for full-resolution image.

ISO 3200. Click here for full-resolution image.

ISO 6400. Click here for full-resolution image.

ISO 12500. Click here for full-resolution image.

ISO 25000. Click here for full-resolution image.

Sample images

The vari-angle screen is useful when you want to shoot from low angles like this. Click here to see a full resolution version.

There's an impressive level of detail in this shot and the focus falls away naturally. Click here for a full resolution version.

Shooting at the longest point of the lens and f/5 has blurred the background nicely. Click here for a full resolution version.

Taken at the shortest point of the lens. Click here for a full resolution version.

Taken from the same position as the previous image but at the longest point of the lens. Click here for a full resolution version.

The automatic white balance system has produced a natural looking result in the overcast conditions of this scene. Click here for a full resolution version.

The V-Lux's long zoom is useful for candid shots and the wide aperture (this was taken at 300mm and f/4) blurs backgrounds nicely. Click here for a full resolution version.

The colour and detail of this back-lit JPEG image are very natural. Click here for a full resolution version.

All noise reduction has been turned off when processing this ISO 1600 raw file to reveal the chroma noise in some mid-tone-to-dark areas. Click here for a full resolution version.

This is the same shot with bespoke noise reduction applied. The coloured speckling is hidden to leave only luminance noise and plenty of detail. Click here for a full resolution version.

Verdict

A major part of the appeal of bridge cameras is their wide focal length range without the need to swap lenses. With a 16x zoom (25-400mm), the V-Lux doesn't offer the greatest range of a bridge camera, but it is still extremely versatile. Its widest point is suitable for landscapes, interiors and documentary photography, while the telephoto end is useful for capturing distant details and wildlife. And provided you can keep the active AF point over the subject, it's a good optic for shooting sport.

Other manufacturers that have more extensive zoom ranges achieve the headline figure by using a smaller sensor. This has negative repercussions for image quality and encourages the photographer to zoom rather than move to explore the subject and find a better shooting angle.
The comparatively large maximum aperture throughout the V-Lux's focal length range is also very attractive, bringing the ability to control depth of field for creative blurring of backgrounds as well as enabling safe handholding shutter speeds in low light.
Leica's history lies in stills photography and even its most highly prized cameras like the Leica M and Monochrom have a stripped down specification that focuses on the most important aspects of the medium. The company's association with Panasonic, however, brings the V-Lux some up to the minute features including the ability to record 4K video. The fact that this allows 8Mp stills to be extracted is probably anathema to the dyed-in-the-wool Leica followers, but it could prove useful to inexperienced and experimental photographers.

We liked

The main selling points of the V-Lux and FZ1000 are their larger than average (1-inch type) sensor, the high quality Leica lens with a 16x zoom range and the SLR-like controls. The V-Lux is more expensive than the FZ1000 but it has a three year guarantee, which will be a comfort to many, and it is supplied with Adobe Lightroom. Lightroom is an excellent image organisation and editing software package, but it's worth noting that it now comes bundled with Photoshop CC as part of the Adobe Photographers' Program available for £8.78/$9.99 per month.
Like the FZ1000, the V-Lux has a very good electronic viewfinder that is capable of showing plenty of detail with no flickering or banding. There's also the helpful Focus Peaking display to guide manual focusing.

We disliked

While Leica doesn't normally employ fancy features like touchscreens, Panasonic usually does. This makes it strange that neither the FZ1000 nor the V-Lux have a touchscreen. It's a shame as it would make setting AF point a little quicker and setting adjustments would be made more intuitive.
It would also be nice to have the ability to shoot raw files when using HDR mode and have control over exposure in the Creative Control options.

Verdict

The Panasonic FZ1000 is an excellent bridge camera and the Leica V-Lux is almost exactly the same for a bit more money. The JPEG files that it produces look a little better when viewed at 100% on screen, but the differences are minor at normal viewing sizes. The raw files from the two cameras appear identical when processed using the same software.
Although the V-Lux is nicely constructed, it lacks the high quality feel of the Sony RX10. It's also not quite as comfortable in the hand as the FZ1000.
While the large size of the V-Lux provides a decent amount of space for your hand, it is less portable than some smaller bridge, compact system cameras and compact cameras. It's so close in size and design to a small SLR that I'd advise potential purchasers to take a good look at cameras like the Nikon D3300, which could be paired with a superzoom lens with a focal length range of 18-200mm (27-300mm effective on APS-C format) or even 18-300mm (27-450mm). A compact system camera like the Panasonic G6 could also make an attractive alternative. Both of these cameras have larger sensors, which brings better image quality. They also accept interchangeable lenses.
That said, many users opt for a bridge camera to avoid the concern of lens selection. These users will find the V-Lux an excellent camera that has lots of scope for taking control if you want to while providing automatic options for those who want the camera to do the thinking. Whether or not it is worth the extra money in comparison with the FZ1000 depends upon whether you want the security of a three year warrantee and the ability to process raw (and JPEG) files using Adobe Lightroom.









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Week in Gaming: GTA V hits the next-gen, PS4's Vue and Nvidia Grid is locked on

Week in gaming is not normally one for talking about Christmas in November, but just like Ebeneezer Scrooge at some point you just have to give in and embrace the mistletoe*.
Because the last seven days have provided us not only with the ghost of Christmas past - in the shape of the next-gen consoles' first years - but also the ghost of Christmas present in the form of the launch of Grand Theft Auto 5 for PS4 and Xbox One and even a little spectre of the future with the talk about streaming services and more information about the arrival of Steam Machines.

PS4's room with a Vue

Not even a particularly misanthropic curmudgeon could deny the lovely people at Sony an extended moment's glory as we continue to celebrate the first birthday for the PS4, a console that has flourished since its arrival.
Given that the campaign for Xbox One spent the first six months of focusing its laser sights very accurately at its own big toe, it's fair to say that the competition is now finally hotting up, and we're very much looking forward to the console war escalating to the levels where the next-gen consoles start to feel a bit more thrilling.
This weekend, the Xbox One turns, erm, one so keep an eye out for a whole host of great features on Microsoft's comeback kid.
A big part of the second year push for Sony is the PlayStation Vue service so we wondered if the TV service could be yet another major factor in deciding whether to go with Microsoft or the Japanese gaming leviathan.

Giving the next-gen a high(res) Five

The arrival of the much-heralded GTA V for this particular generation is definitely a step in the right direction. We celebrated the launch of the new version by asking for a few words from gaming gods Matt Hill and Dan Dawkins and, typically, they refused to boil things down at all and gave us the kind of scintillating and well thought out insight that makes WiG wonder if it's one word review of the game ("Woo!") seem somewhat skimpy.
YouTube : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rc27bww7-94
"If you'd shown me a world that looks like this back when I first got into games, in the 'glory' days of the ZX Spectrum, I'd have considered it indistinguishable from magic," said Dawkins - simultaneously filling us with glee and that horrible realisation that the Spectrum is now so old that most people won't even understand the joke we were going to make about rubber keys and cassettes.

Boiling over

So instead we'll talk about the future and the Steam Machines that, whisper it, could potentially re-ignite not only a new gaming war, but also make PC gaming hip, cool, rad, awesome and potentially even spiffing all over again.
The sad news is that the TechRadarians flocking to CES in droves will sadly not be seeing Valve's take on its own PC-project, but the good news is, that as we revealed this week, the droves of TechRadisters flocking to GDC 2015 will see it instead. We could not be more excited.

Grid-locked

At this juncture we'll move from Steam to stream - and talk about the Nvidia Grid Gaming service, which despite some fairly hefty flaws right now (not least the fact it needs a special modem and an internet connection more robust than superman) is definitely a fascinating glimpse into the future.
"Imagine if Grid came to every desktop or laptop running an Nvidia graphics card. It'd be more robust than OnLive and backed by a company deeply entrenched in the industry," posited our very own Nick Pino. "I'm not saying Nvidia's infallible, but there's real potential to grow in this space. The developers haven't ruled that out. The Shield products, they say, are a testbed for the platform."









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Review: HP Envy 15 x360

Introduction and features

The introduction of Windows 8, the emergence of touchscreens and the increasing efficiency of components have helped laptops get thinner and lighter, and they're also behind the growth of hybrids – machines designed for use as both notebooks and tablets.
The HP Envy 15 x360 (model 15-u000na) is one such system. It flips between laptop and tablet modes with a hinge that rotates through 360 degrees, and its 15.6-inch screen makes it one of the biggest hybrids we've seen.

Turning heads

The Envy's 5.3 pound weight (2.4kg) and 0.94-inch thickness (about 24mm) are more akin to laptops than tablets, and that stands up when the HP is compared to its rivals: the Lenovo Flex 2 15 is another 15.6-inch hybrid, but it's thinner and lighter. The HP's nearest laptop competitor, the Dell Inspiron 15 7000, is only a little bigger.

The dimensions, and the 15.6-inch screen diagonal, mean the HP is far more comfortable when used as a laptop. With the screen flipped back to tablet mode the Envy is too large to use in one hand, which means that its use is restricted – it needs to be rested on a table or a lap to be used comfortably with two hands.
The price of £649 (around $1,015, AU$1,175) puts this machine firmly in the mid-range, but it looks like a premium device. Most of the visible surfaces are clad in smart brushed metal, with a glossy black bezel surrounding the screen. Build quality is inconsistent: pushing the underside saw the keyboard flex, and the screen was little better – only a light tap on the rear saw the desktop disfigure. A solid wrist-rest is little consolation.

Control Zone moans

The HP's trackpad is augmented with two Control Zone pads. These sit on either side of the trackpad, and they're designed to add touchscreen-style functionality. Taps and swipes on the left-hand pad select and switch between apps, and swiping the right-hand Control Zone opens the Charm menu.
In reality, it's a mixed bag. Opening the Charm menu from the right-hand pad worked flawlessly, but the left-hand pad required too much force for its gestures to function. That inconsistency renders the Control Zone somewhat pointless, especially given that the touchscreen isn't exactly difficult to reach. The trackpad doesn't make up for the disappointing Control Zone – its coating has too much resistance, so using the pad requires more effort than we like.

The keyboard is similarly disappointing. The layout is fine, but the typing action isn't: the keys feel cheap, there's not enough travel, and our presses occasionally failed to register. It's fine for brief typing, but no good for work.

On the inside

The HP's specification ticks the right boxes, but there are no surprises. The Envy is built around a Core i5-4210U processor – an ultra-low-power part that's clocked to 1.7GHz and uses Intel's latest silicon designs.

The processor is paired with a modest integrated graphics core, 8GB of RAM and a 1TB hard disk – all standard stuff.
Connectivity is disappointing. The inclusion of a single-band 802.11n Wi-Fi chip means this machine can't connect to dual-band networks or faster 802.11ac routers, so don't expect great speeds. Gigabit Ethernet and Bluetooth 4.0 are standard inclusions that don't make up for the poor wireless connectivity.

Performance

• PCMark 8 Home: 2,322
• PCMark 8 Home battery life balanced 50% screen: 3 hrs 53 mins
• PCMark 8 Home battery life power saver 25% screen: 5 hrs 4 mins
• PC Mark 8 Home High Performance 100% screen battery life: 2 hrs 46 mins
• 3DMark: Ice Storm: 37374; Cloud Gate: 4054; Fire Strike: 504
• Cinebench R11.5: CPU: 2.57; Graphics: 15.35fps
• Cinebench R15: CPU: 237; Graphics: 19.85fps

The HP scored 2,322 points in the PCMark 8 Home benchmark. That's a tad faster than the Lenovo Flex 2 15 which scored lower despite a Core i7 processor, but it's not able to match the Dell, which also had a Core i7 chip. In Cinebench 15, the HP's processor score of 237cb was reasonable: seven points ahead of the Flex, but behind the Dell Inspiron 15 7000, which scored 255cb.
That mid-range result translated to decent real-world performance – the HP loaded applications without much of a delay and, when booted, software ran smoothly. Only high-end work applications will cause the HP to struggle.

Game for a laugh?

The news isn't as good in our gaming tests. In 3D Mark's Ice Storm benchmark the HP scored 37,374, which is behind both of its rivals. None of these laptops are high-end gaming systems, but the HP's particularly poor score means it's only suitable for light gaming – casual, retro or indie titles, rather than the latest blockbusters.

The screen isn't much cop, either. The 1,366 x 768 resolution is the bare minimum, and quality isn't up to scratch. The 211cd/m2 brightness is just about acceptable, but the black level of 0.63cd/m2 is too high. It means that contrast is poor, colours lack bite, and inky blacks look grey – so dingy scenes in movies and games won't have the same impact.
Colour accuracy is disappointing thanks to a Delta E of 9.15, and this panel can only handle 62.6% of the sRGB colour gamut. Forget any serious image work – the poor gamut coverage, accuracy and contrast mean that this panel is only good enough for surfing the web and other basic tasks.
It's also a shame that the screen can't handle 1080p footage, as the HP's Beats Audio speakers are surprisingly good. They're a little bass heavy, but the meaty sound is offset well by a solid, snappy high-end.

Battery chops

There's one area where the HP bests its rivals, and that's battery life. In our standard PCMark 8 longevity test the HP's near four-hour lifespan was noticeably better than the competition, and we hit five hours by using Power Saver mode and dropping the screen brightness. It's not an all-day system, but it's a step ahead of other machines.
The Envy is hampered by its software. It's loaded with apps from McAfee, CyberLink and WildTangent games alongside numerous tools from HP. Your mileage may vary with this software, but we found little of it useful, and were irritated by unwanted pop-ups and prompts.

Verdict

The HP is a good-looking, sturdy machine that's got enough power to cope with the demands of daily computing – all factors that make it a good laptop. As a hybrid, though, it misses the mark: it's too heavy and bulky to be used in one hand and, even in two, it's not the most intuitive machine.
This mid-range machine foregoes excellence in individual form factors for mediocrity in two. Unless you need a hybrid, you'd be better off buying a dedicated tablet or a proper laptop.

We liked

There's no denying the HP's metallic good looks, and it's got the goods on the inside, too: the Core i5 processor has ample power, and the chip is augmented by decent battery life and surprisingly good speakers.
Its dimensions aren't too bad, either, for a mid-range laptop – the HP is both thinner and lighter than its similarly priced rival from Dell.

We disliked

The HP's hybrid mechanism is this system's biggest problem – it's just too bulky to be used as a comfortable tablet, especially when other hybrids are thinner and lighter.
The screen doesn't impress, the trackpad and keyboard aren't particularly comfortable, and its rivals are faster in games. The single-band 802.11n wireless chip puts paid to any good networking prospects.

Final verdict

This smart looking machine is hampered by its size and weight – while both figures are fine when it comes to laptops, they're just too big to make a comfortable tablet in all but a handful of circumstances. Processing performance and battery life are good, but they're held back by a poor screen and dodgy ergonomics. Unless you really need a hybrid, you'd be better off buying a dedicated tablet or laptop.









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Buying Guide: Xbox One deals: how to save big on the Xbox One this holiday season

Don't go green with envy if Santa didn't leave you a new console under the tree last year. Launch line-ups were weak and, admittedly, most of the best apps didn't come out until the middle of the summer. But, over the last year a half-dozen awesome titles have come out since then, making now the appropriate time to fork over the cash for the best all-in-one entertainment system around: the Xbox One.

• We've got many more Black Friday deals!

So why wait until the end of December to get everything on your list? Some of the best deals are happening right now and TechRadar is the No. 1 source for game consoles, along with all the other tech on your wishlist.

• Plus the best Cyber Monday deals!

Best in-store Xbox One deals

Sea-lovers will feel right at home with the first deal from Target, which is offering an Xbox One bundle fit for a pirate king: Target Xbox One Assassin's Creed: Unity and Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag Black Friday deal, which includes a $50 gift card, is available for $329.99.
Best Buy has a similar deal, except it's throwing a Kinect and an extra controller in for $100 more: Best Buy Xbox One Assassin's Creed: Unity and Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag Black Friday deal for $429.99.
If you'd rather spend some time in space than the high seas, check out the Halo: The Master Chief bundle at the Walmart Xbox One and Halo: The Master Chief Collection Black Friday deal for $329. This one also includes a $30 gift card in the bundle.

Best online Xbox One deals

If you can hold out until the Friday after Thanksgiving, WalMart's deal blows everything else out of the water. The Walmart Xbox One with Halo: The Master Chief Collection Black Friday deal is only $379 and includes 12 months of Xbox Live and a choice of game.
Or for $329 you can get the same deal without Xbox Live and extra game from Dell's Xbox One with Assassin's Creed Unity and Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag Black Friday deal.









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Looks like Google's Glass Basecamp stores might be closing their doors

The past couple of weeks have not been great for Google Glass users, and now to top it off it looks like Glass Basecamp locations in the US may be shutting down.
Google Glass Basecamps are the pop-ups in New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles where Glass users could get technical support, try out different colors and accessories and more.
But according to Phandroid these stores are no longer taking new appointments, indicating they may be shutting down.

Bad sign/good sign

The Google Glass Basecamps were likely always meant to be temporary, but with the consumer version of Glass likely pushed into 2015 it probably isn't a good sign if they're closing already.
Then again this could just be a natural part of Google's transition into the consumer Glass launch or into purely online sales on Google Play for its existing and future Glass headsets.
We've asked Google to confirm whether the Basecamps are closing and what that means for Google Glass, and we'll update if we hear back.

• Sergey Brin picked a bad time to leave his Google Glass in the car

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Pebble watches can finally see all the notifications from your Android phone

Among all the pros and cons of a Pebble smartwatch has until now remained one glaring flaw: they couldn't get all the notifications from your Android phone.
Thankfully the latest Pebble Android companion app update has finally fixed that.
Prior to version 2.1 Pebble watches could only display notifications from select Android apps, including Gmail and others.
But now if your Android phone is trying to tell you something, your Pebble watch will display it, no matter what app it's coming from. You can adjust these settings in the app itself.

Conditions

That's if you're using a smartwatch like the Pebble Steel with Android 4.3 or higher, while support for Android 4.0 and up will arrive later.
Pebble hasn't released a new watch in a while, but with the new apps and price drop its existing offerings just got now is a good time to pick one up.

• Pebble's next smartwatch will be "more everything"

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Europe's parliament wants to split Google up

European regulators have had Google in their crosshairs for years now over various antitrust concerns, and according to one report they might finally do something about it.
Europe's parliament is considering proposing that Google separate its search service from the rest of its commercial enterprises, reports Reuters.
The site claims to have seen a draft of this proposal that, although it didn't refer to Google by name, was clear in its intent.
The motion reportedly "calls on the Commission to consider proposals with the aim of unbundling search engines from other commercial services as one potential long-term solution."

Well that is one solution

As Reuters notes the European Parliament doesn't have the authority to force Google to split its search business off into a separate company.
But this proposal could potentially put pressure on the European Commission, which apparently does have that authority.
Meanwhile the US is losing this same battle, with a California court deciding in November that Google can re-order its search results as it sees fit under first amendment protections, despite the possibility that it might use that power to curtail competition.

• Sergey Brin picked a bad time to leave his Google Glass in the car

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Buying Guide: Smartwatch deals: how to save big on smartwatches this holiday season

Tick tock, time to beat the clock! Black Friday is fast approaching and if you plan on taking advantage of the deals on deeply discounted smartwatches, you'll need a solid plan of attack.
But that's too much work after the madness of Thanksgiving, so we've compiled a list of links below for the LG G Watch R, Moto 360, Pebble Steel (with more to come) so you can ease out of your food coma with one less thing to worry about.

• Head here for more Black Friday deals!

Keep checking back as we'll continue to add all the top smartwatch deals we can find. In the meantime, check out these other pages for deals on everything else tech.

• All the details on the best Cyber Monday deals around!

LG G Watch R deals

The latest LG smartwatch is available for $370 on Amazon.
Currently, the LG G Watch R is out of stock in the Google Play Store but you we've included it to keep tabs on it.
You can also head to AT&T for an LG G Watch R at $299.
If you prefer the original square shaped LG G Watch, check out Best Buy where it's priced between $211-$299 or Amazon for $184.99.

Moto 360 deals

The Moto 360 has been out of stock in a ton of places which should tell you just how popular this lovely timepiece is.
You can find a Moto 360s on Amazon for $310 plus $4.99 for shipping.
There's also a few of Motorola's watches available at Best Buy for $249.99.
The actual Motorola store seems to also be in stock (for the time being) and is selling them for $299.99.

Pebble and Pebble Steel deals

The price for the Pebble and Pebble Steel have gone down significantly over the year. They're also easily the most widely available smartwatches on the market.
Right now you find the Pebble on Amazon for $99 and the Steel for $199.99.
The Pebble is also $99 from Best Buy and Pebble Steel is $199.
There are original Pebble from Target for $99 but you can't get the premium looking Steel.



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Updated: Nexus 6 being recalled from AT&T stores due to Motorola error

Update: A Motorola spokesperson confirmed that "a small number" of Nexus 6 handsets sent to AT&T have the wrong software installed, sending TechRadar the following statement:
"We delivered a small number of Nexus 6 smartphones with incorrect software to AT&T customers who pre-ordered. The incorrect software prevents the phone from starting up properly. We will provide replacements for consumers whose phones are affected. The problem has been corrected and the phones currently shipping are fine."
The spokesperson said any Nexus 6 users who are able to see the "welcome" screen when they boot their phones up don't have to worry. For anyone who is affected the spokesperson said to call Motorola's customer support line.
original story follows…
This is odd, but the Nexus 6 is reportedly suffering from a crippling bug that only affects the first batch of handsets sent out on AT&T.
That's according to Droid Life, which spoke with "multiple sources" about the issue.
The bug apparently causes the Google flagship's display to go black and prevents it from connecting to AT&T's service, "essentially leaving the device useless," the site says.
As a result AT&T stores are allegedly being told to send back the Nexus 6 handsets they've received so far, causing stock shortages until they can get more in. AT&T's website lists the Nexus 6 as "out of stock" as well.

Nipped in the bud

There hasn't been any major hubbub online about the bug, which suggests it hasn't affected many Nexus 6 handsets.
On the other, that may be exactly what AT&T is hoping to avoid with this alleged recall.
If you currently have an AT&T-branded Nexus 6 you might want to go into one of the carrier's stores and see if you can get it replaced, whether you've seen this issue yet or not.
We've asked AT&T and Motorola to confirm these details and what they recommend their customers do if they've already purchased the Nexus 6 from the carrier, and we'll update here if we hear back.
Luckily there are plenty of other places to get the Nexus 6 in the meantime.

• These Black Friday Deals will save you big this holiday season

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A Chromebook for the holidays comes with 1TB of Google Drive storage

Google is offering a pretty good deal to anyone who buys or receives a new Chromebook for the holidays: a whole terabyte of free Google Drive cloud storage.
Just get a new Chromebook and register for the offer before January 1 and you'll get 1TB of Google Drive storage for free, Google Group Product Manager Alex Vogenthaler said on the Drive blog.
The offer lasts a full two years, after which point you'll have to start paying for it - but still, that's a $240 (about £150, AU$280) value.
Google says only some Chromebooks will be eligible, so make sure you're getting one that is if you plan on taking advantage of this.
And check out TechRadar's list of the best Chromebooks if you need inspiration.

• Hands on with Google Inbox: what's it like to use?

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Amazon's free streaming service reportedly a go, for real this time

Amazon was said back in March to be working on a free streaming service, though the bookseller staunchly denied it at the time.
Now those rumors have been reignited thanks to a new report from the New York Post.
The site says Amazon will launch a free, ad-supported video streaming service early in 2015.
The service will reportedly be completely separate from Amazon Prime.

OK, go

The Post spoke with "ad sources" who are allegedly in talks with Amazon about the service, one of whom said it will be designed to ultimately "lure" users into paying for Prime subscriptions.
And unlike when Amazon was reportedly considering this move in March, it's now "a definite go," the site says.
For now Amazon is remaining mum on this one, so it sounds like we'll probably have to wait until next year to find out for sure.

• 5 things you need to know about the Amazon Echo

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Buying Guide: Fitness tracker deals: how to save big on fitness trackers this holiday season

After you've gorged yourself on the turkey and pies, it's time to get fit! What's the best thing to get you out of bed and on the run towards a healthy heart? Fitness trackers.
Fitness trackers have been notorious for being a bit on the pricey side so take advantage of these amazing Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales.
We've created this handy list of the best fitness tracker deals around so you can get the jump on some post-Thanksgiving shopping without having to aimlessly push and shove too much.

• Check out the best Black Friday deals and Cyber Monday deals

Jawbone UP24

The Jawbone UP24 is one of the smartest and sportiest fitness trackers you can get.
There are also three sizes you can choose from and right now, and Best Buy has the medium Jawbone UP24 on sale for $122. The large and small wearables are retailing for $129.
You can also get a black Jawbone UP24 from Target for $149 or a white Jawbone for $129.
White and black too boring? You can find more colors of the UP24 from Amazon for $107-$169.

Nike FuelBand SE

The Nike FuelBand SE remains a popular fitness tracker and slightly cheaper than the other fitness wearables out there.
The FuelBand SE is $99 from Best Buy and comes in a variety of sizes.
For more sizing options and color choices, Amazon has the FuelBand SE for $102.00 - $378.15.

Samsung Gear Fit

The Samsung Gear Fit is also a neat little fitness tracker. It has the ability of your run-of-the-mill trackers but with the added bonus of a lovely curved screen.
You can pick up the Gear Fit from Target for $149.99 with free shipping.
It's also $149.99 from Best Buy with free shipping.
Walmart has it for a slightly higher price right now at $170.99.
Amazon has it listed at the lowest price yet: $126.99.









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The big tech firms you may not have heard of

Nuance, Narrative Science and Qualcomm

When it comes to tech, it's all about GAFA – Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon – and perhaps Microsoft, too. Chuck-in a plethora of startups that either wither away or get bought out by one of the above, and you've got the tech industry in a nutshell, right?
Actually, no. The big boys might get all of the attention, but the tech landscape is far more varied, with some huge companies at the core of some of the gadgets and web services we use every day – and they're firms that many people have never heard of.

Nuance Communications: a speech-driven future

This Massachusetts-based US company is all about voice recognition and natural language processing, and there's a good chance you use its products every day. Nuance tech powers Apple's Siri as well as its own speech-to-text products, and it also owns Swype, the virtual keyboard app for smartphones and tablets.
Probably its most famous other product is Dragon NaturallySpeaking/Dictate, software that lets users ditch a keyboard and speak to a computer when word processing. Its Nuance Cloud Services is licensed to myriad manufacturers that want to interact with users via voice, such as the Omate Smartwatch and smart TVs from Samsung. Nuance is hoping that the voice recognition revolution soon spreads to toasters, thermostats, light switches and cars.
However, Siri will soon run on Apple's own voice recognition system, so Nuance will effectively be competing with both Apple and Google in the voice recognition industry. Cue its recent interest in call centres and hospitals with both its call routing and Dragon Medical transcriptions software, and cloud-based medical speech recognition technology. Nuance's work on voice biometrics could mean a new swathe of gadgets that not only recognise words, but who's speaking them.
Expect Nuance to come up with myriad voice-enabled apps as well as next-gen conversation tech that will banish remote controls or learned speech commands and bring natural speech and conversation to all kinds of electronics.

Narrative Science: making a big deal of big data

We hear about big data all the time, but there's a problem; there's just too much of it. Natural language generation of this data is the game of this Chicago-based company, and it could help address the huge thirst for big data-led content.
Its leading product is an artificial intelligence platform called Quill, automated writing software that takes structured data and almost instantly translates it into readable English news stories. We're not talking about the incisive columns or the entertaining prose found on TechRadar Pro, of course, but instead analysis in areas that no-one's writing about. In short, it's for the financial industry.
This state of the art analytics engine extracts insight, describes situations, predicts outcomes, and generates prescriptions based on core data, but Narrative Science isn't about replacing humans. Instead it's more about making machines do the boring, difficult stuff with data and coming up with easy-to-explain answers based on trends it spots. It is, in short, about making big data a big deal.

Qualcomm: the 'systems on a chip' company

The San Diego-based mobile chipmaker – the world's biggest – is at the heart of the digital communications and smartphone revolution, but aside from the odd name check on the spec sheets of handsets, Qualcomm barely gets a mention.
Qualcomm is basically a group of inventors that has come up with – and licensed, with lucrative results – much of the technology used by Samsung, Sony, LG and others in their gadgets. Qualcomm's key product is Snapdragon, a family of mobile systems on a chip that are found in most Android smartphones and tablets.
However, this company has got its finger in myriad tech pies, most notably the Internet of Everything and 'automotive infotainment'. Cue its $2.5 billion (around £1.6 billion, AU$2.9 billion) purchase in October of CSR, a Cambridge (UK) based tech leader in Bluetooth, Bluetooth Smart and audio processing. As well as bolstering its open source device-to-device communications system, AllJoyn, the acquisition of CSR complements its purchase of wireless HDMI connectors company Wilocity earlier this year.
Qualcomm is also experimenting with wearables (the Qualcomm Toq), multi-room music (Qualcomm AllPlay), mobile TV (Qualcomm LTE Broadcast) and wireless electric vehicle charging (Qualcomm Halo).

Xiaomi, Alcatel-Lucent and Cisco

Xiaomi: the 'Apple of China'

Chinese phone maker Xiaomi (pronounced 'sh-how-me') will sell around 60 million phones this year and 100 million in 2015, but why the fuss? Founded in China in 2010, its near-doubling of business is down to Xiaomi's growth out of China and into six other countries in Asia, but there's much more to come with the Beijing-based company's plans for international expansion on the horizon.

The success in China of Xiaomi's sleek flagship Mi-3 phone (among others) has led to comparisons with Apple, though at Xiaomi it's all about super-low prices, which range from just $150 (around £95, AU$170) to $300 (around £190, AU$340). All of its handsets run on the firm's own MIUI rom user interface, with no need for Android or any other outside influence. The MIUI is an open platform of apps and games, and it helped Xiaomi sell more smartphones last year in China than Apple.
Xiaomi also makes smart TVs and set-top boxes, and could move into tablets soon, too. Next year Xiaomi will launch in India and Brazil, but not only to provide phones. It already runs a massive Apple iMessage-like MIUI Cloud Messaging service in China, but Xiaomi will get to both India and Brazil before the ubiquitous Amazon Web Services. Although for now it's largely centred on the Chinese market, this is a company with huge ambitions, so watch this space.

Alcatel-Lucent: the plumbers of the internet

We've all heard about the origin of the internet, but there's one company that can definitively claim a slice of history. In 1969 a computer system across two university campuses in California transmitted data from one to another, birthing the worldwide web – and that computer system was developed by Bell Labs, a research institution now owned by Alcatel-Lucent.
Alcatel-Lucent's work is everywhere – from broadband, Wi-Fi, IP and cloud networking to undersea fibre optics. It's all stuff we take for granted, but it's what makes the internet go round. Headquartered in Boulogne-Billancourt, France, but Chinese-owned, Alcatel-Lucent is focused on the connected world. The fibre optic cables it's installed could wrap around the globe 12 times, with recent projects including custom-made undersea cable systems connecting offshore oil and gas rigs.
Hot on the heels of Alcatel-Lucent in this 'internet backbone' business is Chinese company Huawei and our final company, Cisco.

Cisco: the smart city future

Servers, routers and the nuts and bolts of networking might be its bread and butter, but San Jose-based Cisco is increasingly all about the smart city. It's got the likes of IBM and Siemens to battle with, but it's Cisco that's making the most waves with its U.Life tech, a smart home system that uses smartphone apps and touchscreens to control heating, air-con and lighting.
The system is employed in the US$35 billion (around £22 billion, AU$40 billion) New Songdo City project near Seoul, South Korea, the 65,000-strong population will, by 2017, be enjoying TelePresence video call screens on street corners and in schools, offices and homes, while high-rise homes will also get mega-fast broadband provided by Cisco.
Just a few years ago New Songdo City was empty land reclaimed from the Yellow Sea. With the high-tech city deemed a success, Cisco now has its sights on being the digital mastermind behind another smart city project in South Korea.









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Updated: 10 best Android tablets in the world

Best Android tablets: 10-6

Our list of the best Android tablets in the world - regularly updated
If you're looking for a tablet and don't fancy an iPad, then Android is currently the way to go. (Don't know what an Android tablet is? Check out: what is an Android tablet?)
There are other options out there with Windows 8 tablets such as the Surface Pro 3 - but Android KitKat and Android Lollipop remain the main rivals to the iOS 8 toting iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3.

• Read: 10 Best tablets in the world today

Some Android tablets have 10-inch screens, others seven, some land somewhere in between and a handful even push the boundaries past 10 inches. There are big differences in battery life, processing power, RAM and price.
We've gathered together the best the Android tablet market has to offer, so read on to see which Google-powered slates you should be considering.

10. Tesco Hudl 2

Tesco surprised everyone with the Hudl. Not only had the supermarket giant gone and made a tablet but it was actually pretty good and even better value.
The inevitable follow-up was less surprising, but no less good. At £129 it combines similarly great value for money with a larger, higher resolution 8.3-inch 1920 x 1200 display, a 1.8GHz quad-core processor and 2GB of RAM.
The Tesco Hudl 2 isn't a top tier slate, but it's excellent value for money and well specced enough that you shouldn't find yourself wishing you'd spent more.

Quick Verdict

Although not quite as good value as the Nexus 7, the Tesco Hudl 2 is probably the best value 8-inch slate on the market. If you can afford an extra £50 or so you might want to consider the LG G Pad 8.3, but if not this is a fine choice.

• Tesco Hudl 2 review

9. Samsung Tab Pro 10.1

The Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 10.1 arrived with an impressive 2560 x 1600, slim build and a decent chunk of power and this saw it top Samsung's tablet tree for a short while.
It has since been overthrown with the arrival of the Galaxy Tab S, but that doesn't mean the Tab Pro 10.1 isn't still worth a look.
A slightly lower price and powerful innards still make it a decent Android tablet, although the typical plastic build quality is evident again.

Quick Verdict

If you're not concerned with owning the best of the best, and would rather save yourself a few pennies then the Galaxy Tab Pro 10.1 should definitely be on your radar.
With a high-res screen, punchy processor and a huge array of features the Tab Pro 10.1 has a lot to offer, including a more attractive price tag.

• Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 10.1 review

8. Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4

A direct rival to the iPad Mini 3, the 8.4-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro sports a stunning display in a portable size with the option of LTE connectivity if you want to spend a little extra cash.
Back to the 8.4-inch display though and you're treated to an eye-popping 1600 x 2560 resolution and the Super AMOLED technology ensures colours are vibrant.
It does suffer from some poorly placed speakers, and the jury's still out on Samsung's faux leather plastic design, leaving the Tab Pro 8.4 feeling a little on the cheap side.

Quick Verdict

A recent price drop has made the Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4 a slightly more attractive offering, and design aside it does well to match the iPad Mini 3 in terms of power, performance and features. It doesn't quite match the overall quality of Apple's package though.

• Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4 review

7. LG G Pad 8.3

What's this? LG in the top ten for smartphones and tablets? Could the brand be on a rebound?
Well, when you make an Android tablet with a design language like this one, perhaps it's time to quietly worry at Samsung. In place of plastic, it's got a lovely aluminium shell, and connectivity with other Android phones makes it a viable option for a wider range of users - you can receive and reply to texts direct from the G Pad 8.3.
Some might question whether the Snapdragon 600 chip is too low-power, but it allows for a sleeker design according to the Korean brand.

Quick Verdict

We really liked the G Pad 8.3, and it was only lower down in our list thanks to a slightly higher battery drain than we were expecting - plus the overlay can take some getting used to.
It's the closest competitor to the iPad Mini out there, in terms of design, and it's a tablet we're not ashamed to pull out of a stylishly slim bag. Perfect if you like the size of the iPad mini 3, but can't afford it or prefer the Android OS.

• LG G Pad 8.3 review

6. Lenovo Yoga 10 HD+

Lenovo's Yoga tablets took a little time to get off the ground, but the Chinese company has really upped the quality in these flexible slates.
The bulbous cylinder at one end of the tablet holds a massive 9,000mAh battery and also houses a small kickstand. It means you can position the Yoga at almost any angle, which is great for watching movies.
The 1920 x 1200 pixel screen resolution is rather nice, has plenty of brightness and is a major upgrade on the old model. Similarly, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 SoC with four cores all clocked at 1.6GHz is also a serious upgrade from the weak processor used last time.

Quick Verdict

The shape and size of the Lenovo Yoga 10 HD+ is not going to appeal to all. Portability isn't as good as other tablets, but if you're looking for a media device this has a lot to recommend it. The massive battery life and handy kickstand are both unique features that give this tablet its appeal.

• Lenovo Yoga Tablet 10 HD+ review

Number 5: Google Nexus 7

5. Google Nexus 7 (2013)

The Nexus is no longer king in the Android tablet world, but if you're looking for a 7-inch slate with an incredibly attractive price tag you don't need to look anywhere else.
The screen is to die for and the form factor, while taking some getting used to, is ideal for media consumption. It's light, it's bright, it's fun and it's thin.
The battery life is really impressive, and the sheer diversity on offer, be it through the uprated CPU, screen, or GPU, mean that we struggled to put it down at times.

Quick verdict

We really like the Nexus 7. We really, really like the Nexus 7. Google has taken what made the original such a belter, corrected almost every niggle with it, bumped the price up ever so slightly, yet also made the Nexus 7 feel so much more premium.
If you're looking for a 7-inch tablet, we'll put it like this: there is no better alternative on the market, right now.

• Google Nexus 7 review (2013)

Number 4: Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2

4. Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2

Sometimes bigger can be better - and Samsung will certainly be hoping that's the case with the huge Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 which sports a - yup you've guessed it - 12.2-inch display.
As you'll see from the name, this slate falls into Samsung's "Note" series, which means it comes equipped with an S Pen stylus, and with such a large canvas to work with it can be genuinely useful.
Unsurprisingly the Note Pro 12.2 isn't a small tablet, so it's not something you'll be carry around with you everyday, but with a meaty octa-core (yes, eight!) processor, 3GB of RAM and Android 4.4 KitKat OS it's a serious powerhouse capable of some very heavy lifting.

Quick Verdict

The sheer size of the Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 will put many off, but the appeal of an expansive, 2560 x 1600 12.2-inch display will attract a small crowd - if you are one of those you won't be disappointed. Big screen, big power and big price.

• Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 review

Number 3: Google Nexus 9

3. Google Nexus 9

It's been a while since we last had a large Nexus slate and even longer since HTC went anywhere near a tablet, yet here we are with the HTC made Nexus 9.
It was worth the wait too, thanks to a powerful 64-bit processor, BoomSound speakers, a long lasting battery and Android 5.0 onboard.
It's found itself a fairly unique size point too at 8.9 inches. Too big to be considered a small or even medium sized tablet, but some way smaller than the 10.1-inch Android slates that there are so many of. Whether that's a good or bad thing is subjective but it certainly helps it stand out.

Quick verdict

The Nexus 9 is powerful and a good all-rounder. It's not the biggest, smallest or best in any one area but nor does it make any major missteps and at £319 it doesn't quite have a top tier price tag either.

• Google Nexus 9 review

Number 2: Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet

2. Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet

In second place... the Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet, and to be honest it pushed the Galaxy Tab S all the way to the finish, but it was just pipped at the post.
If you haven't realised yet, the Xperia Z2 Tablet is a really good Android tablet, with a slim build and waterproof design ensuring it'll survive a trip into the bath or a bake off in a really messy kitchen.
The screen isn't quite as good as the Galaxy Tab S, nor is there a smaller version available for those who don't want to lug around a 10.1-inch offering every day - but these are minor points in what is still a very good device.
FutTv : e8lw4cZNQ2ZSO

Quick verdict

A solid, lightweight slate with a decent amount of power, the Xperia Z2 Tablet won't disappoint and the waterproof chassis is certainly a bonus.
The design is slightly more attractive than Samsung's, but with just one screen size and a display which lacks the vibrancy of its closest rival it takes second spot.

• Sony Xperia Tablet Z2 review

Number 1: Samsung Galaxy Tab S

1. Samsung Galaxy Tab S

The exterior design of the Tab S is nothing to write home about but it's thin and it's light and that counts for a lot when it comes to tablets. It helps the frame get out of the way of the screen, which is the real winner here.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S boasts "the best screen we've seen on a tablet" - which is no small feat. If you want to watch movies or play graphically intensive games they won't look better on any other tablet.
Available in 8.4- and 10.5-inch variants, the Tab S range packs in a 2.3GHz quad-core processor, 3GB of RAM, microSD slot, 8MP rear camera, 2.1MP front snapper and Android 4.4 KitKat.
Both tablets have fingerprint scanners for added security, but the plastic body may put a few off with Apple's slates sporting a more attractive design. But with more power and superior screens the Galaxy Tab S duo are working the iPad Air 2 and iPad Mini 3 hard, really hard.
FutTv : PdzoIQh63kz4Z

Quick verdict

The ultimate Android tablet experience comes courtsey of the Galaxy Tab S, offering a portable 8.4-inch slate and a larger 10.5-inch tablet which is great for movies and gaming.
From the eye-catching screen to the raw power under the hood, Samsung couldn't have done much better with what could be a final attempt to compete with Apple at the top-end of the market.

• Samsung Galaxy Tab S review

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Get a full day's battery charge in just 15 minutes

Currently raking in funds on Indiegogo, Petalite Flux is an external battery that uses a special charge dock to let it charge up in just 15 minutes.
External chargers are handy, but remembering to charge them up can be a pain. Indie project Petalite Flux seeks to solve that my making a battery that can charge in just 15 minutes.
It does this using an unusual charge dock that claims to use tech from the electric car world, using a 10A charge current rather than the 2A one you get with most other external batteries.
The Petalite Flux battery itself is a 2,600mAh unit, which should get you a full charge with smaller phones or most of a charge with big smartphone beasts like the iPhone 6 Plus and Sony Xperia Z3.
This is far from the first quick-charging external battery seen on places like Indiegogo and Kickstarter, and not the fastest either, but the Petalite Flux seems neat because the battery part you need to carry around with you is small.
The big, clever bit stays at home rather than filling up your pockets.

The price of fast charging

Petalite is looking to earn $30,000 on IndieGoGo, and at the time of writing it has earned around $8,500 with 27 days to go.
To get the full package you'll need to sponsor $64/£41, which gets you a Flux battery and the charge dock.
Real big spenders can fork out $2,850 to get 10 charge docks and 100 Lux batteries, or $10,000 to become an exclusive retail partner.
Petalite reckons the batteries will be available around June 2015, so there's a little while to wait still.
Via Petalite









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BMW i3 is first electric model to be crowned Green Car of the Year

The BMW i3 has become the first pure electric car ever to win the Green Car of the Year award, as part of the Los Angeles Auto Show.
The Green Car Journal presents the award, and it's quite a big deal that this is the first time a purely electric car has received it.
Among the final five cars shortlisted (and beaten by the i3) for the award this year were the Chevrolet Impala, which has a hybrid natural gas engine, the diesel Audi A3 and the more conventional VW Gold and Honda Fit.

Cooking with electricity

Efficiency will have played a big part in the BMW i3's victory. It manages the equivalent of 124 miles per gallon in its pure electric version, making it more efficient than any petrol-powered runabout.
There are two versions of the BMW i3. Both have electric engines, but there's also a version with a range extender that charges up the battery using its own petrol engine, acting as a generator. It's still the electric part that drives the wheel at all times, though.
You can get 80-100 mile range out of the pure electric BMW i3, and over 150 miles from the range-extended version.
The BMW i3 starts at $41,000/£30,680, although in the UK you can shave £5k off that thanks to the government's electric car grant.









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Alcatel brings super-cheap Pixi 7 tablet to the UK

If you're despearate for a new tablet but aren't on the bank manager's Christmas card list, Alcatel has come to the rescue.
The company has launched the Alcatel OneTouch Pixi 7 tablet in the UK for a piffling £69.99 after revealing it way back in February at MWC.
Why so cheap? Well, glad you asked. It's got a 960 x 540 TFT display (which sports a disappointingly low 157ppi), unnamed "triple core" 1.2GHz processor, 512MB RAM, front and rear 0.3MP cameras and a 2840mAh battery for four (count 'em) hours of browsing time.

(Infa)red hot

The tablet runs Android 4.4 KitKat although whether it allows Google Play access or not hasn't been mentioned. And even if it does, we're not sure how many apps you'll get on 4GB of space on the Pixi 7 - there is a microSD slot though.
It's also got an infared port which: "transforms the tablet into a universal remote control and also allows you to stream content straight from your tablet to your TV."
Exciting stuff indeed. Perhaps it might behove us at this moment to point out that you can now buy the original Tesco Hudl tablet for £9.01 more. And that's likely to be a fair bit more impressive.
Still, if £9.01 is still a little rich for your tastes, you can pick up the Alcatel Onetouch Pixi 7 tablet in Blueish Black (seriously) at Three stores nationwide from today.

• Want more budget action? Check out our Tesco Hudl 2 review.

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Week in Tech: Week in Tech: Everything is awesome and we're all gonna die

The world of tech is rather like the world of pop: one minute you're the next Taylor Swift; the next, you're even less popular than Limp Bizkit. This week we discovered the futuristic facial tech that's fallen out of favour, saw the most unexpected comeback by one of tech's biggest names, wondered if Valve can ever top its ten-year-old hit Half-Life 2 and found the tech founder who could talk the hind legs off a Bono. It's a poptastic Week in Tech!

N-N-N-N Nokia

Remember Nokia, the big name in phones for the last billion years? Well, now it's back! Back! BACK! - er, sort of. The Nokia N1 tablet looks like an iPad mini, runs Android and isn't actually made by Nokia. It's the first fruit of a licensing deal that lets Foxconn use the brand in exchange for big piles of money, and while Nokia did contribute the design it has no intention of making or marketing its own kit any more.

Google Glass: go hard or go home

It's starting to feel a lot like Christmas, and Google Glass is starting to look a lot like a turkey. The launch of the consumer edition appears to have been pushed back to 2015, big name firms such as Twitter have started to back away and even Google's own Sergei Brin has been spotted without his facial furniture.
Hugh Langley doesn't have high hopes for its future, and suspects it's created its own killers: as he says, "Glass's biggest problem might be that its very existence has led to the creation of its biggest rivals" in the form of VR headsets. Unlike them, "Glass isn't exciting enough to be a mass-market device."

Don't be selfish. Help with Sailfish

Smartphone firm Jolla has started an Indiegogo campaign to build the world's first crowdsourced tablet, and it surpassed its fundraising goal in just a few hours. Jolla doesn't just want your money, though. It wants your ideas too: it wants to know what features people really want to see in their tablets, and pledging money gives you a voice in that as well as a nice discount.

iOS brings the Beats

As many of us expected, Apple has decided to roll out the Beats Music service to every iOS user - but it won't be free. It could arrive as early as March, and while it'll still cost money it may be the beginning of a streaming price war: Apple has reportedly been courting record labels in an attempt to halve the service's price.

Gimme Steam

Valve won't be at CES 2015, we've discovered - but it will be at GDC 2015, and it's planning a really big push in an attempt to re-ignite the fire under its home console hardware. The devices are still in the pipeline - Alienware ones should begin shipping within minutes of you receiving this - but it's safe to say the initial enthusiasm and hype has waned somewhat in recent months.

Apple's making money, again

Despite the best efforts of rival payment services and huffy retailers, Apple's Apple Pay system appears to be doing very well indeed: McDonalds reports that 50% of its contactless payments are currently Apple-powered, while Whole Foods says it's processed 150,000 Apple Pay transactions in the US so far.
It'll be interesting to see if it can repeat its success in the UK, where PayWave contactless bank cards are already widespread: while America leads the world in many things, it's only just coming over to the idea of Chip and PIN technology so it's ripe for a bit of Apple magic. The UK payments market may be a tougher nut to crack.

Elon Musk: we're all doomed (so you might as well buy that Tesla now)

Tesla boss Elon Musk is one of the most consistently interesting people in tech, so whenever he makes predictions it's worth paying attention. So it's a shame he's running about the place with a black cape on shouting "Doom! DOOOOOOOOM!" and predicting the end of humanity. He's suggested that artificial intelligence will wipe us out before, but now he's put a date on it: he reckons we'll be in deep doo-doo "in the five year timeframe, 10 years at most." Have a great week while you still can!









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The Samsung NX1 gets the baseball bat test

The headline stories with the Samsung NX1 are its 28-megapixel BSI (back-side illuminated) sensor, 15fps continuous shooting (faster than any pro D-SLR) and 4K video capability.
But it also has a highly sophisticated NX AF System III hybrid autofocus which covers the entire frame with 205 phase-detection AF points, of which 153 are accurate cross-type points.
Phase detection AF was once restricted to DSLRs with separate phase-detection sensors. These are faster and more responsive than the regular contrast AF system in compact cameras and (until recently) compact system cameras.
But a new breed of CSCs have phase-detection AF built into the sensor, and the Samsung NX1 is right at the cutting edge.

Wait for it…

A by-product of the NX1's raw speed and AF sophistication is a clever little mode called Auto Shot that waits to fire the shutter until exactly the right moment.
Actually, it's two modes: 'Baseball' and 'Jump Shot'.
Using a combination of motion detection and movement prediction algorithms, the NX can, Samsung claims, time the shot for the instant the baseball hits the bat or the moment your subject hits the peak of their jump.
Not possible? Techradar's Test Team tried it out and, although it doesn't work every single time, it works often enough to be really rather impressive.
You have to do a certain amount of setting up, placing the camera on a tripod and positioning your batter in exactly the right place. After that, though, you just press the shutter release, send in your pitcher and let the camera pick the perfect moment to fire the shutter.



Pros might not want to trust it for unrepeatable sporting moments, but as a tool for capturing staged action shots it could be very effective.
Besides, we got to play baseball in the park for an hour instead of working.









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Apple updates iWork for iCloud with more than 50 new fonts, toolbar tweaks

The arrival of OS X 10.10 Yosemite in September meant a new lick of paint for Apple's iWork productivity apps, and now the Cupertino company has turned its attention to their online counterparts.
Part of iWork for iCloud, the browser-based versions of Pages, Numbers and Keynote have been updated with more than 50 new fonts, and documents can now be renamed from the toolbar during editing, removing the need to back out to the file selection screen.
Additionally, all three apps now provide the ability to drag wedges from a pie chart, move and resize chart legends, and Apple has added support for a bunch of languages - including French, German and Spanish.

iUpdate

Keynote and Pages recieved a few unique updates of their own. The former now provides the option to hide the slide navigator, which could prove a boon for those using smaller screens, while Apple's word processing app has added the option to undo the deletion of section breaks.
As always, the new versions can be used in conjunction with files stored in iCloud Drive, Apple's answer to Google Drive and Dropbox, which is only available to users on the latest version of its Mac OS.









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Huawei Honor smart glasses look like a hipster's Google Glass rip-off

Huawei has teased an upcoming pair of Honor-brand smart glasses that pack-in military-grade hardware but look like a pair of hipster specs with an external battery glued to the side.
These chunky smart specs were teased by Huawei on Weibo, a Chinese social network with over 100 million users.
With obvious comparisons to Google Glass to be made, how does the Huawei Honor smart glass hardware stack up?
It uses a display projected onto the lens glass much like Google's take, with a resolution of 640 x 480 pixels.
Such a resolution is too low for checking out any but the briefest videos, suggesting Huawei is opting for a similar approach to Google, which cares more about directions than One Direction music videos for its Glass project.

The Huawei Honor smart glasses do run Android 4.4, though, suggesting you may have access to all sorts of extra functionality if a not-too-restrictive interface is put in place.
As well as the display, the glasses feature a 5-megapixel camera that enables gesture control, presumably by waving fingers in front of your face.

Military grade

PhoneArena notes that the design appears to be based on the Lumus DK-40, a pair of smart glasses shown off at CES 2014. In fact, they look almost identical bar the name on the side.
They use clever prisms on the surface of the glass layer in order to project the image, avoiding the slightly clumsy look of the reflector used in Google Glass.
With a giant battery-slash-computing unit on the side, you could hardly call the Lumus DK-40 subtle, though.
The display tech is fascinating, but the branding of this new Huawei set is interesting too.
It's tagged with the Honor name, which is being used as a fresh start for Huawei's phones in the west, offering mid-range handsets with very aggressive pricing, like the Honor 6.
The Honor name suggests these smart glasses will massively undercut Google Glass. But how low can they go?

• Read our Google Glass review

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