IT News Head Lines (Techradar) 4/2/2015

Intel's entry-level Braswell CPU to boost cheap laptops and desktops

Intel has introduced seven new processors that will make their way into affordable laptops and desktops.
The new chips, from the Braswell family, are manufactured using a 14nm technology and will take
over Bay Trail parts in the long term.
Interestingly, all the announced Celeron parts cost the same except the N3150 (the top range model) and come with four cores clocked at 1.6GHz with 2MB of cache.
Braswell (for desktops) and Cherry Trail (for tablets) are both part of Airmont, which is a die-shrink of the current Silvermont architecture.

Still too expensive

The popular Geekbench 3 application suite shows that the N3150 scored 843 and 2689 respectively on its single-core and multi-core benchmarks, both very decent numbers. The newcomers are likely to find their way into Intel's next generation NUCs (Next Unit of Computing), in addition to entry-level desktops and laptops.
Braswell was announced last year in China as part of a concerted push by Intel to produce Chromebooks and similar devices costing as little as $199 (about £120, AU$240).
That said, if Intel wants to hit that price point, it will have to significantly reduce the suggested retail prices of the newly-released processors which hover around the $100 (about $60, AU$120) mark.

• Intel vs AMD: which processor is best?

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Blip: The original Xbox was almost a free console for 'casual' gamers

Microsoft's Xbox launch in 2001 marked a turning point for the home video game console market and for the game industry as a whole, but it could have gone off much differently.
Former Microsoft developer Seamus Blackley, who helped design and launch the original Xbox, and Oddworld Inhabitants' Lorne Lanning, who launch Munch's Oddysee on the Xbox in 2001, told GamesIndustry that Microsoft had considered giving the console away for free to undercut Nintendo.
"At the time, Xbox thought that the core market was going to be casual. They were going to be the casual gamers' machine," Lanning said. "Now, that's why they approached us because they said 'we think you've got something that competes in that Mario space and we think Mario's the thing to kill ... We see that space. We want that audience. We love Oddworld so why don't you get on this bandwagon? And we might give the box away'."
Blackley added that Microsoft also considered launching the Xbox as a game console but later forcing it to run Windows - a ploy to get the then-unpopular OS into homes - as well as focusing it on movies instead of games, or only letting it play internal Microsoft-developed games.

More blips

Thankfully none of that happened, and today you can use Internet Explorer on your Xbox One to read more of TechRadar's blips. Win?

• This iPad selfie stick makes us sick
• This Game Boy gun shoots 8-bit pictures at you
• Go play Super Mario 64 in your browser right now

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Amazon's physical 'Dash Buttons' buy you household goods with a press

With one day remaining before April Fool's, Amazon has unveiled a new gimmick that we're 100% sure isn't a prank: Amazon Dash Button.
The buttons let you order individual products, from Bounty paper towels to Gatorade, with a press.

• 2015 is the year of cool gadgets

The idea is you stick them up in your pantry, laundry room or bathroom and give them a tap when you notice you're running low. Amazon then charges your account and sends your order posthaste.
Amazon Dash could potentially make it easier than ever to get certain home supplies - although the absurdity of dedicating an actual, physical dongle stuck on the wall of your home to simply buying rolls of toilet paper has us questioning this a bit.

Sign us up

Amazon says the Dash Buttons are free for Amazon Prime users - with an invitation. To grab some for yourself head to amazon.com/oc/dash-button.
This also could be a sort of proof-of-concept on Amazon's part, as the company notes that "developers, makers, and manufacturers can integrate the same service that powers Dash Button into their product or services," with a link to learn more.
YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMacTuHPWFI
We asked the bookseller just to make sure this wasn't a too-real-seeming joke, and a spokesperson confirmed it: this is a very real thing. Oh, joy.

• Here's what we're expecting at IFA 2015

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Google Drive for Work bolstered by new security settings

Google is beginning to roll out a new update for Google Drive for Work that brings added security to file sharing. With new sharing controls, digital information rights management (IRM), and alerts, IT administrators now have better control of how corporate files are shared.
"And to keep your company's data even more secure in Drive, we're launching new sharing controls, alerts and audit events to Google Drive for Work and Google Education over the next several weeks," Google said in a statement.
In one instance, Google detailed a scenario in which a company may want to keep files created by the research department internal. By adjusting the Drive settings within the Admin Control, administrators could limit the files from the research department to only be shared internally to users with the same domain.
These settings could be tweaked for various departments. Each department will have their own share settings.
The rollout for the update starts today and continues over the next month.
YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdVVukQJWdA

Information Rights Management

To control how files are shared and handled, a new Information Rights Management (IRM) setting allows file creators to limit downloading, printing, and copying. If you have sensitive information that is meant to be accessed only by a few people, IRM helps to prevent these files from being copied or further disseminated.
IRM can be applied to any file created within Google Docs, including spreadsheets, documents, and presentations.

Drive audits

Administrators can also set up custom alerts that will be sent to their phones if any of the policies are breached.
"So if you want to know when a file containing the word 'confidential' in the title is shared outside the company, now you'll know," Google detailed. "And there are more events coming to Drive audit, including download, print and preview."
Custom Drive alerts can also be used to let administrators know when things change. For example, a Drive alert could be set up to notify if a shared calendar was deleted.
Administrators can also add trusted domains. Businesses, schools, and organizations with multiple Google apps domain will benefit from this feature as trusted domains, once added, will be treated like an internal domain for files limited for internal access. Administrators can also set up an expiration time for temporary file shares with trusted domain users.
For organizations, this means that you can add your partners' and customers' domains and share files as if they are internal to your business. Schools can also add domains for individual departments for broader collaboration.
Sharing documents with people outside of your organization is easier, even if they don't use Google services. A new feature, if enabled, allows shared Drive files to be viewable without having to sign in with a Google account.

• Read our comparison of the best cloud storage services

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Meet the Asus Flip, a very attractive 2-in-1 convertible Chromebook

Chromebooks for the most part have followed a model to be inexpensive 11- to 13-inch machines without much deviation. This year we're starting to see that mold break apart with the Acer Chromebook 15 and now Asus has unveiled a new convertible Chromebook called the Flip.
Available later this spring for $249 (about £167, AU$327), the Asus Flip is just as affordable as any Chromebook, but if features a screen that you can…well, flip back a full 360-degrees to turn it into a Chrome OS tablet. The screen itself is a 10.1 inch IPS panel with a 1280 x 800 resolution, which is just a tiny bump up from the traditional 1,366 x 768 resolution screen most 11-inch machines come with.
While the Lenovo N20p has the honor of beating the Flip to the convertible Chromebook, this machine also features an all-aluminum chassis that 15mm thin and weighs less than two pounds.
For the computing guts, Asus has gone with 4GB of RAM, a 16GB SSD and a fanless Rockchip 3288 CPU. That might not be a household name next to Intel's Core M but it's an ARM chip based on a 32-bit quad-core Cortex 17 design. On paper this 2GHz quad-core processor should be more than adequate for web browsing, meanwhile benchmarks from CNX-software have shown it running laps around an Intel Baytrail Atom processor.

On top of the Flip, Asus 11.6-inch Asus Chromebook C201, which will also feature the same Rockchip 3288 processor. The new machine is due to go on sale at Amazon this May with a starting price of $169 (about £ 113, AU$221) for the 2GB version alongside another 4GB model.

New players

We also have a new players in the Chromebook space with Hisense and Haier, two electronics manufacturers from China.
Firstly, there's the Haier Chromebook 11, an 11.6-inch Chromebook that comes sporting a Rockchip 3288 chipset with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage. Haier claims its first Chromebook will have a battery life of 10 hours and it's already available on Amazon for $149 (about £100, AU$195).
The Haier also has plans to release a Chromebook 11E made specifically for the education market that's more durable with a spill proof keyboard as well as a removable battery.
Hisense, meanwhile, announced its own Chrome OS laptop will be available for preorder on Walmart for $149 (about £100, AU$195). For the price you'll get an 11.6-inch cloud-based machine with 8.5 hours of battery life with practically identical specs as the Haier Chromebook 11.

• Chrome OS is great but its it missing any features?

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Turn your TV into a Chrome PC with Google's affordable Chromebit dongle

Google is going way beyond Chromecast with its latest HDMI dongle, the transformative and affordable Chromebit.
The Google Chromebit, made by Asus, turns any TV with an HDMI jack into a full-fledged Chrome OS PC - and it costs just $100 (about £70, AU$130).
The Chromebit comes in blue, silver and orange, and it swivels to fit in any HDMI port.
Google's Chromebit uses a Rockchip RK 3288 chip and quad-core Mali 760 graphics, 2GB of memory, 16GB of solid state storage, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, and a USB 2.0 port on the end.

Borrowed bits

As Gizmodo points out, this is not a wholly original idea. Chinese companies already sell Android-based TV dongles - which also use the Rockchip processor - and Intel in January announced a Windows 8,1-based HDMI gadget clumsily dubbed the Compute Stick.
The site said this entry-level Chromebit won't be the only version, either, and that Asus isn't the only company with one in the works.
The first Google Chromebit should launch some time this summer.

• Roku Streaming Stick is a decent Chromecast alternative

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Putting human vision models into computer video display

Image processing technology has achieved remarkable breakthroughs, with more vivid colors, richer detail and higher definition images. This adds up to better resolution and a broader range of available colors at lower cost per pixel. But despite these stunning advances in visual display, it has been impossible to accurately reproduce what the human eye would see when viewing the scene directly.
No matter how advanced the technology, there has always been a difference between seeing something on the screen, and seeing it in real life. The human eye has an advantage in perceiving input, due to its ability to compensate on the fly for differences in lighting conditions both in static and mobile viewing.
There's no doubt that the future of television and video display rests in higher definition. Most recently, 4K TV, also known as Ultra HD, offers up dramatic improvements with twice the picture resolution of a standard 1080p full HD television.
What's next though, isn't just adding more pixels to the display and supporting larger color gamuts. The most dramatic improvement is in an entirely different approach that begins with a study of how the human eye organically perceives and processes color.

The human eye isn't just RGB

The original color standards defined a limited range of colors, by creating different intensities of red, green and blue (RGB) light emitted from rare earth phosphors grouped into sets of three. This system has persisted over time, but it does not allow for all possible colors, since it does not allow for negative amounts of a color to be used.
Nonetheless, it worked well, and has been extended a number of times. The most common standard continues to be sRGB, although some new color emitters in display devices are capable of creating more colors than are defined by the standard.
It's also important to note that the move from analog to digital displays came at a cost. In the real world, human eyes are not digital (unless you are a character from Star Trek). The natural color spectrum is analog, and every color in the frequency range of visible light is possible.
Digital displays impose an artificial limitation on the color gamut, because they have to rely on discrete digital values. Digital displays take the entire display as a single unit – only using crude adjustments of brightness that are applied across the board, which leads to a perception of some colors as being simply "wrong" in certain lighting environments.
The human eye adjusts how it sees colors based on brightness, and color of the viewing light. Technological displays, unlike the human eye, do not differentiate between regions that should be adjusted (such as shadows) and those that should not.
Also, digital standards do not take ambient light into account, and as a result, a display in an environment in which there is bright light, will look less colorful than it would in a dimly lit theater. The human eye does something that technology has until now been unable to do – and that is to adjust perception of colors based on the level of ambient light.

Putting human vision technology onto the digital screen

Applying the physical models of human vision to the computer or television display will come closer to natural vision than any other image technology on the market. This new era of real-time color processing, first developed by Entertainment Experience for its eeColor software application, in partnership with Rochester Institute of Technology, is now a reality. The new model displays vibrancy that even in Ultra HD, has never before been possible.
The technology applies real-time light sensors to automatically restore any quality that might be lost due to subpar lighting or bright sunlight, making it the first display technology suitable for equally vibrant displays in any lighting environment.
In addition to the ability to dynamically adjust for light, the new processing technology uses an approach with multidimensional tables, in order to map the true image colors as seen by the human eye. This gives total color control for the first time.

The evolution of color reproduction

The problem with video display is that it fundamentally differs from how the brain works. The way digital display works hasn't changed a whole lot since the early days of TV. We have four colors, and added white and other attempts to make the standard look better. The trouble is, it looks awful if you take relatively poor processing capability in the video processor and display it on a big screen.
But no matter what you do to the display, the color information in the image data doesn't correspond to the way your brain expects color to work. You just get a better-looking bad picture. The problem is, the eye is naturally adaptive. That's why you can see a candle on a dark night ten miles away. The way the color image processing works, it isn't visible at all.
To achieve a video display that offers the same quality as the human eye, one must first start out by understanding what science calls memory colors. Examples include blue sky, sky tones, and reference colors.
If you can make those colors look right, our eye system, when it looks at the display, will perceive that there is quality of color in the image that is much closer to what is actually there. To do that, you have to understand how to map the image to different pieces of the color space.
In current technology, adapting the display depends on adjusting saturation and contrast to compensate. The new Entertainment Experience technology does not depend on those adjustments. Instead, they control the area in the color gamut of the display that creates the color one's eye expects to see, controlling for ambient light.
Furthermore, the approach is scalable for different screen sizes. It scales to the size of the display at any height level. Scaling down, on the smartphone, the display characteristics can be adjusted, so you can look at it and see it clearly even in bright sunlight.
Unfortunately, before eeColor, standards have not kept up with the promise of the hardware. The color gamut for HDTV was bound by what can be created from a scanning electron beam and phosphor.
Today we do have wavelength-tunable lasers that can create a larger color gamut. It is possible to get to 85% of the theoretical maximum gamut with current LED laser technology, but the standard remains at about 45%.
We throw away a lot of color information in going from what the camera saw, to what you see when it's displayed. eeColor puts back much of the information that was thrown away, by processing what was retained in a dynamic fashion.
The eeColor technology is a software plug-in. The engine references a set of lookup tables that can be very specific or completely generic to a class of device, which gives it a high degree of flexibility to be adapted to almost any display hardware.
YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmGhq-jPn5c
The result is simply stunning – and represents the future of display technology on every device from smart phone displays to Times Square billboards.

• John Parkinson is Chief Executive Officer of Entertainment Experience LLC.

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Updated: LG G4 release date, news and rumors

LG G4 release date, news and rumors

Latest update: We've received an invite to an LG event that's likely to be the G4 announcement. Plus new snaps of the phone may have been uncovered and it might be packing a not-so-cutting-edge Snapdragon 808 chip.
The LG G4 missed MWC 2015 but it looks like we may see it as soon as April, so the wait is hopefully almost over.
It should be worth the wait too, with talk of a premium new design, a super-sharp display and a whole lot of power. Plus this is the company which brought us the LG G Flex 2, so a curved screen is never entirely off the table.
With the Samsung Galaxy S6 and HTC One M9 out the way LG G4 rumors are heating up and flooding in and we're hopeful that it can stand up to such tough competition.

Cut to the chase

• What is it? LG's next flagship smartphone
• When is it out? Likely to be announced on April 28
• What will it cost? It will command a high, flagship price - but cheaper than the competition

LG G4 release date

We've received an invite for an LG announcement on April 28 and not only does the invite itself hint at the G4 but the announcement event is taking place in London, New York, Paris, Seoul, Singapore and Istanbul- so it's bound to be for something big.

Of course it could be a few weeks or more after that before the LG G4 actually lands in shops, so don't expect to be able to buy it before May.
An April or May launch has been looking likely for a while now, with an earlier rumor pointing to April and another rumor pointing to a May launch at the earliest, while an earnings call pointed to a quarter 2 release.

LG G4 design

We may have caught a glimpse of the LG G4 in the wild, as a metal-backed LG phone certainly seems to have been snapped. Though it's on the large side and appears to have a stylus, which suggests it could actually be the LG G4 Note. It's still unclear whether the G4 will have a metal body or not. Some rumors say yes while others say no.

The LG G4 could be almost with us though, as case makers are already selling protective covers. If they're an accurate fit then you can expect a return of the laser autofocus and dual-LED flash found on the LG G3 judging by the cut-outs.

We've also seen several press renders, supposedly showing a non-final version of the handset, with a curved back, a large camera lens and dimensions of 148.9 x 76.5 x 9.9mm, which oddly would make it bigger than the LG G3. It also seems to have the same metal-effect casing.

That last bit clashes with a previous rumor though, as LG's mobile chief Juno Cho has stated that the G4 will be "radically different" to anything that's come before, with those changes including a metal casing rather than a polycarbonate one.

LG G4 screen

The LG G4 might have an even bigger display than the LG G3, as @OnLeaks claims it will come in at 5.6 inches. It also looks like the LG G4 will have an ever so slightly curved screen, as @OnLeaks attempted to prove with the drawing of a very straight line over a leaked press image.

Additionally it seems the LG G4 may have a QHD 1440 x 2560 display, as both a user agent profile page and an html5test result suggest as much. Though one wilder rumor based on a leaked specifications screenshot tied to the G4 suggests that it will have a 3K 1620 x 2880 display.
It could also be goodbye bezel on the LG G4, as the South Korean firm has launched a display with a super slender 0.7mm of fat around its perimeter. The screen in question measures 5.3 inches, which is a jot smaller than the 5.5-inch G3, though given other rumors point to a 5.6-inch screen we wouldn't count on it.
The LG G3 has 1.15mm of bezel either side of the screen, so this new display if used could make the G4 look visually stunning.

LG is apparently also preparing a fleet of bendable phones for 2015, following in the footsteps of the LG G Flex and the LG G Flex 2, and links are being made between this and the rumored G4. In fact LG quietly took the covers off a three sided smartphone at CES 2015 in Las Vegas - could this be our first glimpse at the LG G4?

LG G4 rivals

As a flagship Android phone the LG G4 will have the Samsung Galaxy S6 as a major rival and if it ends up being curved then it could also have some direct competition from the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge.
Of course the HTC One M9 will give it a run for its money too with its stylish build and similar specs to those the G4 is rumored to pack. The Sony Xperia Z4, which may well arrive at a similar time to the LG G4, could give it pause for thought as well.
Then there's always the iPhone 6 and the looming threat of the iPhone 6s for anyone not married to Android. In short the LG G4 is going to have some serious competition.

LG G4 camera and battery

Best intelligence, from a batch of leaks, suggests the LG G4's camera will be boosted from the 13MP resolution of the LG G3 to 16MP.
Though G4Games reports that LG has unveiled a new 20.7MP sensor, which could be headed for the LG G4. The key question then is how the brand will use this new technology after the snapper on the G3, which should have been awesome, was woeful compared to the competition.
Another rumor, this time stemming from inews24, is that the LG G4 will have dual rear cameras a bit like the HTC One M8, though we'd take that claim with a huge pinch of salt.

LG G4 OS and power

Surprisingly the LG G4 might pass on the Snapdragon 810 and use the weaker Snapdragon 808 instead, if a benchmark believed to be from the LG G4 is to be believed. It could be true though as the Snapdragon 810 reportedly suffers from overheating issues. Alongside that it's shown with a meaty 3GB of RAM.
Though that flies in the face of earlier rumors, which suggested that the LG G4 would sport a Snapdragon 810 processor and 3GB of RAM. That had seemed likely, given that the HTC One M9 has arrived with exactly those specs and even the LG G Flex 2 uses the Snapdragon 810.
LG's mobile chief Juno Cho has stated that the G4 will use the LG UX 4.0, which is a new UX system, set to be announced before the handset.
The LG G4 is also bound to run Android 5.0 Lollipop straight out of the box, which is good news if you want a handset that comes with Google's latest mobile operating system.

LG G4 other features

One particularly spurious LG G4 rumor suggests we may see a fingerprint scanner on the back of the handset. This would seemingly be a last minute decision and LG officials have denied the rumor, but with Samsung and Apple both including them in their flagships there's a possibility that LG could follow suit.
There is also a suggestion that the LG G4 may pack a stylus in its body, but we'd be surprised if LG put this on its core flagship device. It's probably something that will arrive with a variant, like the LG G3 Stylus.

LG G4 what we want to see

While we're fleshing out the details of what will be coming with the LG G4, here's what we want to see when we do:

A metal chassis

The LG G3 sure does a good job of looking metallic, but that's all it is, an effect, and as soon as you pick up the phone the illusion is broken, so much so in fact that it actually winds up feeling cheaper than the LG G2.

So we really hope the LG G4 will go the whole hog and have a shell crafted from actual metal. Even Samsung's sticking metal in its phones now so LG really can't afford not to.
We'd also appreciate it if they gave the G4 a unibody rather than having a removable back, as it's likely to feel more solid and premium as a result.

Improved battery life

The LG G3 had good battery life, but it was actually slightly worse than the G2's battery and that's not a trend we like to see. There's steeper competition here now too, with Sony in particular doing well with the Xperia Z3 and the Xperia Z3 Compact, both of which have a whole lot of juice.

A battery saving mode

Battery saving modes are all the rage these days, whether it's Sony's Stamina mode, HTC's Extreme power saving mode or Samsung's Ultra power saving mode, but the LG G3 doesn't have one.
Now it already does a good job of conserving battery on the fly, by adapting the display and slowing down the processor when the extra horsepower isn't needed, but it would be great if the LG G4 went even further and had additional options that could be toggled as needed, just to squeeze even more juice out.

More power

More power is an obvious wish and an increasingly redundant one as most high end phones are levelling out and delivering near faultless performance. But the LG G3 actually did noticeably lag at times.
Maybe that's down to the QHD display, maybe it's just down to poor optimisation, but whatever the reason we really hope LG sorts it out and gives us a faster phone in the LG G4.

A slicker interface

LG could also afford to do some more work on its interface. The G2's was a cluttered nightmare and the G3's was a big step in the right direction, but still not as slick as it could be.

In particular we'd like to see improvements made to Smart Notice. This sits below the weather widget on the home screen and gives you tailored advice and suggestions, for example it might give you more details on the weather or suggest you add someone to your contacts if you call them a lot.
The problem is it just doesn't work that well, often providing irrelevant advice, so LG should make it smarter or ditch it, we already have Google Now after all.

A better camera

On the whole the LG G3 has a pretty great camera, complete with optical image stabilisation and a laser autofocus. But while it performs well in bright light it's not so good in low light, relying on software to unconvincingly smooth over noisy shots, rather than taking good photos to begin with. So hopefully the LG G4 will improve in that area.
Recent rumours have suggested that we'll be getting what we wished for, with the LG G4 coming with a 16 megapixel snapper.

We'd also like to be given more manual control. The LG G3 is great if you just want to point and shoot, but there aren't many options for those who want to adjust the exposure or ISO for example.

A superior screen

This one might seem strange, after all the LG G3 is already QHD, but we're not talking about more pixels. Rather we'd like to see improved performance from the pixels that are already there. In particular the LG G3 suffers from a noticeable loss in brightness when not viewed square on, so if LG can sort that for the G4 we'd be pretty happy.

Water and dust resistance

While not exactly a headline feature, water and dust resistance are undeniably nice things to have. We have to wonder how many people ever actively make use of the fact that they can submerge their smartphone, but knowing that it can survive a little water gives us some peace of mind.
Here in England it rains all the time and sometimes we'd actually like to be able to use our phone while outside, without first crafting a makeshift shield from whatever else we happen to be carrying / wearing at the time.

Knock Code Improvements

We love Knock On – the ability to wake up your phone with a tap, but Knock Code, which takes things further by letting you also unlock your phone with a series of taps, just doesn't work all that well.
The main problem is that if you touch the screen when picking the G3 up it registers that touch as the first tap and causes the pattern to be interpreted incorrectly. We're not quite sure how LG can get around that so it's a good thing we're not designing the G4, but hopefully LG has a solution because a feature which doesn't work is just an annoyance.

Front-facing speakers

With support for high quality audio the LG G3 already does a great job when listening to music through a good pair of headphones, but its speaker isn't so hot either in terms of positioning or quality.
For the LG G4 we'd like to see dual front-facing speakers, like those on the HTC One M8 and Sony Xperia Z3. It's a much more logical place for them, especially when you're watching something or playing a game. If LG can make the sound crisper and richer too then all the better.

• We're looking ahead to the Samsung Galaxy S6 too.

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Netflix wants to let you watch all its movies, no matter what country you're in

Netflix is something of a hero to many of us. After all, this is the firm that brought high-quality video streaming to the world and gave us a way to see shows like Breaking Bad when UK broadcasters couldn't be bothered.
Now it seems that Netflix also has another plan - to rid the world of geographic boundaries. At least as far as video goes. The argument made by Netflix CEO Reed Hastings is that people shouldn't have to wait for programming to come to their region, but everything should be released globally.
That's actually some logical and smart thinking that's somewhat lacking from the movie and TV industries. Release windows have a historical basis, but it's about moving a physical product around the world.
In the old days, it was expensive to print movies for projection, so instead the US would show movies, until popularity dwindled, at which point the films would be taken out of the cinema and the physical media shipped to, say, the UK for use here.

Post Hastings, please

However these days movies are sent from the distributor via satellite to digital projection systems. The release window makes no sense. The same is true of TV. No more do we need to ship a ¼ tape across the world, but shows can be sent anywhere in a few minutes - just look at piracy, which does a smashing job of distributing TV globally within moments of it airing.
Hastings was speaking to Gizmodo Australia, and addressed many of the same problems that have plagued the UK from time to time, from data caps to a real lack of content availability.
He spoke of the problem with VPN use, where user want to watch legal stuff on Netflix, are happy to pay, but have no service in their country. Hastings told Giz, "The VPN thing is a small little asterisk compared to piracy".
In short, if you give them what they want, they don't need to break the law any more.
So Netflix wants a future where we all have access to films and TV at the same time. That's something we can get behind. Until then, why not read our Netflix review or see which we prefer between Amazon and Netflix in our side-by-side comparison?









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blip: Pac-Man goes 'wakka wakka' all over Google Maps

It’s a surreal feeling to see an aerial version of your stomping grounds on Google Maps. More perplexing, but just as undeniably awesome is that Google has introduced a new feature that allows digital tourists to turn the world into a fully-functional game of Pac-Man.
To give it a try yourself (and you definitely should), head to Google Maps and click the rather obvious button on the bottom left part of the page. Once you do that, the page is taken over with a delightful homage to the arcade classic. It's as cool as it sounds and we don't deserve this.
I’m terrible at Pac-Man, especially given the crazy twists and turns of the terrain here in NYC. Try playing in a familiar location so that you can use the lay of the land to your advantage.

More blips

It won’t take you long to beat our measly high-score in Pac-Man on Google Maps, but once you’re finished, how about you take a look at more of these bite-sized blips?

• Companies are actually making iPad selfie sticks
• Play Super Mario 64 in your browser right now
• Cyberpunk creator was mesmerized by today’s VR

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HP suing former Autonomy executives for $5.1b

HP's court battle with Autonomy co-founder Mike Lynch and its former CFO Sushovan Hussain has kicked up a notch after it filed a claim form with a UK court to recover $5.1 billion (around £3.4 billion, or AU$6.6 billion) in damages.
The claim form, which was filed yesterday at London's Chancery Division High Court, seeks to recover the sum in relation to accusations of dubious accounting practices at the company HP acquired for $11.7 billion (around £7.1 billion, or AU$15.35 billion) back in 2011.
"HP can confirm that, on March 30, a Claim Form was filed against Michael Lynch and Sushovan Hussain alleging they engaged in fraudulent activities while executives at Autonomy. The lawsuit seeks damages from them of approximately $5.1 billion. HP will not comment further until the proceedings have been served on the defendants," according to a statement provided by HP.

Lynch counter-suing

Lynch and Hussain already cleared their names once this year when the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) brought no charges against them in January and subsequently closed its probe into the firm. Bloomberg also reported today that Lynch and the former management team of Autonomy will counter-sue HP for over £100 million (around $148 million, or AU$194 million).
"The former management of Autonomy announces today they will file claims against HP for loss and damage caused by false and negligent statements made against them by HP on 20 November 2012 and in HP's subsequent smear campaign," the ex-management team, including Lynch, said in a statement.
It's just the latest escalation in an increasingly bitter war of words between the two sides since the Autonomy acquisition went sour when HP wrote down an $8.8 billion (around £5.9 billion, or AU$11.5 billion) charge just a year after the deal went through, claiming that Autonomy had overstated profits of one of its British units by 81%. Lynch has always argued that the accounting practices under question were legal under UK law, yet the FBI and Securities and Exchange Commission continue to look into those same accounting practices.

• HP claims Autonomy made 80% less profit than stated in 2010

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Review: mini review: TDK TREK Flex

The Bluetooth speaker market is becoming aggressive. Companies are figuring out how to pack in a bevy of sought-after features like water-proofing, shock-resistance, NFC-connectivity and more into a smaller form factor. Not just that, the price for a well-stocked, portable option has come down significantly.
A noted example of this is the TDK Life on Record TREK Flex. For $129 (about £119, AU$166), a lot is on the table here. Better yet, I've seen it for as low as $99. You'll find almost every attractive feature under the sun stocked into this speaker. Even if you don't see yourself using its sporty lifestyle capabilities, this Bluetooth speaker is still a smart buy.

Design

The TREK Flex is champion of features that help it stand up to rugged handling and gentle water play, but you'd never guess that based on looks alone.

Its capabilities, of which there are several, are masked in a sophisticated, cylindrical presentation. This speaker is the size of a large coffee mug and also similar in weight to one that's full of delicious joe.
While comprised of several materials, the black grille is the most prevalent on the TREK Flex. Two pieces curve around the speaker, meshing together to form an almost seamless appearance. If you catch the right light, you can see right through the body.
This speaker can stand on end vertically on either end of the cylinder, which makes it perfect for fitting into tight spaces. However, it does seems like there is a correct side and a less correct side. One is more rugged than the other, which displays the spun metal branding.
When laid out horizontally, there's no puzzle involved. There's only one way to lay it. The kickstand protrusion jutting out from the band of rubber that wraps around the speaker keeps it from moving around when laying flat.

The main attraction for the TREK Flex's functionality and design is the button panel. Contained beneath a strip of soft rubber that stretches from top to bottom (or side to side depending on which way you orient the speaker), each button offers a subtle click. Each of these functions are lit up with LEDs to indicate battery life, Bluetooth status and volume level.
To finish the design tour, there are a few ports around the backside of the speaker. Lifting a protective rubber flap reveals the simple array: an on/off switch that allows entering in and out of standby mode, a micro USB charging port and an auxiliary port for wired listening.

In short: the TREK Flex is easy on the eyes and incredibly simple to use.

Performance

Just when you thought that the cylindrical design was only for portability and looks, TDK cooked in a bunch of features that leverage the form factor as well.
Let's start out by talking about the rugged build, which is arguably the TREK Flex's main draw. The speaker enclosure offers resistance against shock with a grade of IK07, enough to survive short tumbles. It's also built to resist the elements with a water and dust-resistance rating of IP65. That rating guarantees survivability against dust and a decent amount of water splash – just do not submerge this speaker. It isn't made for underwater expeditions.

As a standalone speaker, the TREK Flex offers plenty to like. Piggy-backing off the pleasing design are a few more desirable traits.
Similar to the way screens have a limited viewing angle, most Bluetooth speakers also suffer from a rather limited cone of sound delivery. Sure, sound can be heard outside of the cone, but not as clearly or with as much definition. Taking advantage of the cylindrical design of this speaker, TDK implemented 360-degree sound to moderate levels of success.
The angles of sound are indeed much wider than that of a strictly forward-firing speaker, but a true 360-degrees isn't what we're getting here. There are few dead zones, areas where sound just isn't emanating from. However, thanks to the open design that the grille puts forward, this emulated 360-degree effect still works pretty well.

The sound performance of the TREK Flex is another of its strengths. Either stood up or laying down on its side, this speaker provides sufficiently deep bass, and it's no slouch when it comes to delivering mids and highs. For also being such a rugged option, I'm impressed with the quality of the sound.
To touch on the rest of the speaker's features, I listened at a wide variety of rather loud volumes and the battery fell roughly one hour short of its advertised eight hour lifespan. I'm confident that the speaker would have surpassed it at a steady (and generally lower) volume.
Bluetooth connectivity is strong, too. In my studio apartment, my tethered device was 30 feet away at times and it operated without a hitch. Connecting via NFC and utilizing the built-in microphone are both issue-free experiences.

We liked

This Bluetooth speaker contains quite a large feature set for the price and thankfully, the inclusion of these features doesn't come at the expense of battery life and sound performance. In fact, both this speaker's longevity and sound profile are excellent for just over 100 bucks.
If you're a design nut, you're going to want to pick up and hold this speaker as soon as you lay eyes on it. A design ID this strong and sensible is rare at this price point.

We disliked

The 360-degree sound, while still rather effective, doesn't fire in every direction. Therefore, it's not really 360-degrees.
Another minor issue is that upon successfully pairing, the speaker will automatically resume paused music. This is great if you intend on it happening, but too often, it's not exactly ideal.

Final verdict

Simply put, the TDK Life on Record TREK Flex is a great value. No matter what you use it for – beachside jamming, hiking, or just on a bookshelf – you're getting a tremendously designed speaker for a sweet deal.









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Buying Guide: 5 best mobile workstations 2015: ideal laptops for business

Best mobile workstation 2015

Few productivity decisions are more important and, in turn, nerve-racking than selecting the right mobile workstation for your employees.
Making the wrong choice could mean saddling your employees with a bad computer. So what do business owners look for?
A great display, computing power and exceptional battery life without breaking the bank. There are few mobile workstations that can do this and we've rounded them up here.

• If you'd prefer a Best Desktop Workstation roundup, we've got you covered.

Lenovo ThinkPad W550S

This workstation impresses with its long battery life and hi-res screen

With understated aesthetics and a durable design, there is much to love about the ThinkPad W550s (starting at $1,133, £765, AU$1,455), if you can afford it. Long battery life and a large, high resolution display keeps you productive longer while you're mobile. Plus, the docking port allows users to take the ThinkPad W550s back to their desks to use as a desktop replacement, given its strong performance.
Read: Lenovo ThinkPad W550S review

Dell Precision M6800

This monster laptop impresses with its power and versatility

This Dell model is an impressive, niche product and Dell's biggest and most powerful business notebook pricing in at $3,490 (around £2,075, AU$3,750), almost double the price tag of some of its rivals. To make up for the hefty cost, Dell has packed this laptop with every feature a professional will need on the road. The chassis is built from aluminum and magnesium alloy, and build quality is top-notch with no give on any surface, as well as dust and extreme temperature resistance.
Few employees will truly need the versatility and power offered by this Dell, but if they can justify the investment, it truly excels in every important area. Overall, the M6800 is clearly built for business, from its hard-wearing chassis and versatile exterior to its high-quality keyboard and powerful professional components.
Read: Dell Precision M6800 review

HP ZBook 17 G2

A truly fantastic mobile workstation for your business

The ZBook 17 G2 mobile workstation ($1900, £1250, AU$2400) is a ferocious laptop built to withstand any task you throw its way. This 17.3-inch laptop is built with a three-spindle wedge design that shifts most of its hefty 7.42 pound weight toward its thick backside (1.57 inches). The ZBook features a dark grey plastic chassis that is surrounded by aluminum that covers the top of the display and houses the keyboard. Performance is where this machine shines. The ZBook crushes Lenovo's ThinkPad W540 in every category we test, especially on the Cloud Gate graphics and physics tests, as well as on SkyDiver and FireStrike.
Read: HP ZBook 17 review

Dell Precision M3800

Dell has produced one of the best Windows laptops available

This Dell breaks the construct that if you want a high-end laptop capable of running processor-intensive software as well as a desktop can, you have to expect it to be as heavy as a Lenovo ThinkPad system. Instead, the M3800 ($2236, £1397, AU$2569) is exceptionally powerful and portable, fitting a Haswell-based Intel Core i7 processor, and Nvidia Quadro graphics card, up to 16GB of memory and both an SSD and hard disk into a chassis that's just 18mm thick and weighs 1.8kg.
Read: Dell Precision M3800 review

Lenovo ThinkPad W540

A top-notch 3K workstation with a top-shelf price tag

This is a workstation powerhouse, with the downfall of being possibly too expensive for general office use at $2,573 (about £1,606, AU$2,946). The W540 is a mobile visual studio built on Lenovo's platform of ThinkPad workstations. With a 15.6-inch, 2880 x 1620 (3K) resolution IPS display and a high-end 2.7GHz Intel Core i7-4800MQ processor with a Nvidia Quadro K2100M graphics card, this machine is ready to tackle anything from simple word processing tasks to thousand page spreadsheets and even heavy 3D modeling.
Read: Lenovo ThinkPad W540 review









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Buying Guide: Best monitor: the best displays on the market

Introduction

Ten years ago, monitors were nothing more than necessary accessories. Today, they can be luxury items that dramatically improve all aspects of computing and content consumption. There are so many types of monitors that suit so many different needs.
Screen resolution, response time, panel weight: everything should be considered when choosing a personal device or an enterprise fleet. Unfortunately, all of these specs can be confusing. We've compiled this roundup to help you sort through the abundance of options available.

Acer S277HK

There is a lot to like about Acer's 27-inch 4K display. The S277HK ($699, £452, AU$892) offers uncompromised performance in an elegant package. Although rear port placement and cable clutter may prevent the S227HK from making the cut in a minimalist front office, its good looks will make Acer's offering an excellent companion in many workspaces.
With a 60 Hz, 4ms refresh rate at maximum resolution, the S277HK is a versatile monitor that could be used for productivity and play. Picture-in-picture mode, side-by-side screen mode, and a bezel-less design give users plenty of multitasking options with a single-display setup or with multiple S277HKs.

Viewsonic VP2772

The Viewsonic VP2772 ($1,019, £599, AUS$1096) is a 27-inch SuperClear IPS panel that boasts a 2560x1440 QHD resolution that covers 99% of the Adobe RGB color space. Viewsonic created the perfect monitor for working professionals in the creative space, for video editors, design professionals, and print departments.
The size of this monitor is perfect for those who want a bigger screen, comparable to the Apple Thunderbolt Display, but without paying a high price. The VP2772 weighs 19.84 lbs (9Kg) without its base, and its dimensions are: 25.3" x 18.5" x 13.7" (64.26cm x 46.99cm x 34.80cm). Viewsonic put multiple ports into the VP2772 including a Dual-Link DVI port, an HDMI 1.4 port, a mini-DisplayPort, and four USB 3.0 ports.

• Read our Viewsonic Vp2772 review

Dell UltraSharp UP2414Q

Although it's only a 24-inch monitor, the Dell UltraSharp UP2414Q ($830, £545, AUS$1062) has a beautiful Ultra HD 3840 x 2160 (4K) resolution that packs in four times the resolution of Full HD. This IPS UltraSharp panel provides true color accuracy as well as 99% AdobeRGB and 100% sRGB coverage.
The Dell UltraSharp UP2414Q dimensions are as follows: 13.33" (338.5 mm) x 22.40" (569.0 mm) x 2.22" (56.3 mm) and weighs 4.8 kg (10.58 lbs). The UP2414Q has an HDMI connector, one Mini DisplayPort, one DisplayPort (version 1.2), four USB 3.0 ports, and a card reader.
The UP2414Q has a PPI of 185 and the contrast ratio has the capability of achieving 2 million:1, which is awesome. Viewing content on the Dell UltraSharp UP2414Q is incredible, and the built-in card reader will allow professionals in the digital field the ability to work efficiently.

• Read our Dell UltraSharp UP2414Q review

LG 34UM95

LG hits the ball out of the park with this 34-inch monitor. The LG34UM95 ($1,289, £800, AUS$1,389) boasts a 3440x1440 (21:9) resolution screen. This larger working area is the equivalent of running two 20-inch monitors side-by-side with resolutions of 1720x1440 (6:5). The LG 34UM95 is not just about size, as it has multiple reasons to invest in a bigger working monitor.
For starters the LG 34UM95 is a wonderful option for those who do not want to buy an Apple Thunderbolt Display. LG put two Thunderbolt connections into this monitor, along with two HDMI and one DisplayPort which allows this monitor to be used by both Apple and PC users.
The 34UM95 has a viewability of 23.8" (60.47 cm), it weighs 16.98 lbs (7.7Kg), and the full product dimensions are 33.7" x 18.5" x 6.8" (85.60cm x 47cm x 17.27cm).

• Read our LG 34UM95 review

BenQ BL2710PT

BenQ took a 27" monitor, gave it a 2560x1440 Wide Quad HD (WQHD) resolution, which allows the BL2710PT to deliver four times the number of pixels of HD resolution screens, which ensure you a crisper image than your traditional 1080p resolution.
BenQ's BL2710PT ($642, £390, AU$688) dimensions are 20.67" x 25.16" x 10.2" (52.50cm x 63.9cm x 25.91cm) and it weighs 18.0lbs (8.2Kg). The BL2710 has a ton of connectivity ports with two USB 3.0 ports sitting on the left-hand side of the monitor and two USB 2.0 ports on the backside, it has an HDMI port, DVI-D port, VGA port, and an audio-in port.

• Read our BenQ BL2710PT review

Acer B326HUL

The Acer B326HUL ($777, £462, AU$836) is ideal for use in office environments or computer labs. It delivers dynamic visuals due to the high display resolution and vibrant colors. But, the Acer B326HUL is more than just that.
The 32-inch B326HUL has a 2560x1440 pixel resolution, a refresh rate of 6ms, a 100,000,000:1 contrast ratio, and 16:9 aspect ratio. Acer put one DVI connection, one DisplayPort connection, one HDMI Cable connection, and one USB 3.0 Cable into the B326HUL monitor.
The B326HUL is a wonderful monitor. It has all the things a basic user needs but comes with a high quality image that anyone in a design or digital background will be happy as well.

• Read our Acer B326HUL review

Samsung UD590

Gamers, media and digital consumers, and the productive-worker have a monitor built for them. Samsung, with the aforementioned in mind, built the UD590 ($679, £429, AUS$782) monitor with a 3,840 x 2,160 pixel resolution, which is four times greater than a 1080p monitor. The UD590 has a 28inch 4K display that includes two HDMI ports, a DisplayPort, and a headphone jack.
The UD590 can tilt 15 degrees up and down but can not swivel horizontally, the UD590 stand is not height-adjustable, nor does the monitor have vesa mount holes on the back, lending it to a basic monitor with beautiful color
The UD590 has a TN Panel, so it has noticeable difference if right next to a monitor with an IPS panel. Upon opening, the UD590 may need to be calibrated but Samsung placed a wonderful joystick menu button on the panel that makes changing monitor settings easy as pie. If you're looking for something a little more stylish, but a lot less powerful, we also recommend the Samsung SD590CS.

• Read our Samsung UD590 review

Samsung UD970

Samsung's UD970 ($1,999.99, £1,200 or AU$2,150) was built with the professional in mind as each monitor is individually calibrated at the factory with incredible accuracy to ensure unified color across the entire screen, and accurate greyscale color gradation. Samsung exclusively developed an embedded chipset and a 16-bit look-up table into the UD970 to allow more precise colors across the entirety of the screen than other monitors.
The UD970 is a 31.5-inch monitor, it supports a 3840x2160 resolution, and comes with the following ports: a Dual Link DVI, two DisplayPort 1.2 ports, an HDMI 1.4 port, four USB 3.0 ports, a Mini DisplayPort to DisplayPort connector, and a headphone jack.
This monitor, by factory calibration, offers a 10-bit color depth screen that is capable of displaying more than one billion colors, 100% of the sRGB color spectrum and 99.5% of Adobe RGB. Work in CAD or Design? Think about this monitor for color precision in the market. As a basic gamer who wants to go into the 4K world, this monitor might be of interest though note that the 8ms refresh rate is not as fast as a hardcore gamer may be looking for.

• Read our Samsung UD970 review

Asus PB287Q

With the Asus PB287Q ($649, £599, AU$799) you can see every detail in its 28-inch true 4K display that has a resolution power of 3840 x 2160 UHD, 157 pixels per inch, and real 10-bit color. This is a monitor for the designer, the photographer, and possibly even the gamer.
Asus provides you with the fastest 4K experience possible with 1ms GTG response time and 60Hz refresh rate in the PB287Q monitor. Amazing. The PB287Q has a natural 16:9 aspect ratio that allows eight million pixels and more than one billion colors to come out of this vivid beautiful monitor.
Connect what you want when you want as Asus put almost every type of connection into this monitor: HDMI, HDMI/MHL, DisplayPort, and two audio ports (in and out).
The video quality is high with this monitor. Have a good Vid card? Then this monitor is for you.

• Read our Asus PB287Q review

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Buying Guide: 6 best laptops for students 2015

Best laptops for students

Even for those who feel at home with their nose in a textbook, the end of summer break (or Winter recess) is a big bummer. But as much as it's a return to school and schedules, it's an opportunity. This is a fine excuse to invest in some fresh tech to make the coming academia-addled year a little more bearable.
If you're still reliant on a desktop, or if your laptop winces at the sight of a high-definition video lecture, it's time to look into an upgrade. And thankfully if you know where to look, it's possible to get a sleek and impressive notebook without blowing through your savings (or student loans).
We've pored through ourarchives from the past several months and picked the best laptops for school. Our short list spans a variety of budgets that range from power-sipping Chromebooks to help you with that 1,000 page dissertation to more powerful machines that'll do better at a dorm room lan party.

Toshiba Chromebook 2

A gorgeous 1080p screen makes this Chromebook a real contender

For $329 (about £205, AU$382), the Toshiba Chromebook 2 is a gorgeous and affordable laptop that doesn't have many weaknesses. It comes with more RAM and a full HD 1080p screen, making it a step up from other models in this class, like the Samsung Chromebook 2 and Acer C720.
But potential buyers should note that the Toshiba Chromebook 2 moves the Chromebook category closer towards the territory of an affordable Windows 8.1 laptop. So you might be overpaying if you're not purchasing this laptop specifically for the Google ecosystem.
That being said, the 1080p screen is a huge bonus and the laptop speakers made by Skullcandy are booming. Add it all up and the Toshiba Chromebook 2 might be an ideal streaming system for everything from YouTube and Google Play to Hulu Plus and Netflix.
Read: Toshiba Chromebook 2 review

Asus ZenBook UX305

A truly excellent ultrabook at a very agreeable price point

While the Asus UX305 does not necessarily break any new ground in the Ultrabook scene, it's a nearly flawless device, for an extremely affordable price and that in itself is worth high praise.
The ZenBook UX305 is a superbly-built, fully metal machine that's thin, light and very attractive. This lightweight system' also easily handled all my daily tasks whether I was browsing the web, watching video or editing images. What's more, you can get excellent battery life out of the machine considering its 1080p display.
Of course, the most striking thing about the UX305 is that it comes at a $699 or £649 (about AU$902) price. This is a great price for any mobile computing machine, but in this case you're getting a premium, full-metal Ultrabook with an excellent full HD display and a 256GB SSD to boot. While isnt' exactly a shining symbol of innovation in the Ultrabook space, it is the most affordable Ultrabook out today and it won't disappoint you.
Read: Asus ZenBook UX305 review

13-inch Macbook Air

Still the benchsetter for thin and light laptops in 2015

Apple's ultralight MacBook Air is a thin and impeccably built machine. Despite the laptop's slim, cheese knife-like profile, it packs a capable Core i3 processor and an impressive battery that can last up to 12 hours. With this all-day battery life, it's a laptop that can get you through a whole day of classes as well as some internet browsing and Netflix bingeing.
The MacBook Air is of the most affordable ways of getting into the Apple camp of mobile computing. There plenty of reasons to do so too with free software updates and a bundled copy of iWork. Where as on Windows you have the extra expense of having to buy Microsoft Office.
Read: 13-inch MacBook Air review

Asus ROG GL551

One of the best entry-level gaming laptop available

There isn't anything too surprising about the Asus GL551. It checks off all the boxes you'd expect from gaming laptops without breaking the bank. Despite the value-packed price, this laptop isn't lacking in power at all. It performs admirably playing just about any title on medium to high settings.
The Asus GL551 isn't the best looking gaming laptop around, however, it's mostly a joy to use and that's what really matters. The metal keyboard deck and palm rests is a solid platform for gamers to tap and click on well into the wee hours of the night. Plus the notebook comes with a decent set of tweeters. That saves you from having to invest in a headset to hear all of the splashy in-game explosions.
Sadly, our biggest (and only) hangup with the Asus GL551 is its downright awful display for day to day use whether you're gaming or just browsing the web. Save for the display, though, the Asus GL551 is a sweet package for its affordable price and one of the very best affordable gaming laptops currently out today.
Read: Asus GL551 review

Acer Aspire V7

Offering great all-round performance this is ideal for a student

Acer set out to split the difference between a 14-inch gaming machine with a portable Ultrabook machine, and it's struck a good balance with the Aspire V7. It's one of the slimmest 14-inch laptops around, thanks to its Ultrabook-inspired styling. As just barely a gaming laptop rig, the Acer will play games far better than most ultraportable machines that lack dedicated graphics processing.
The Acer Aspire V7's screen was really love at first sight. Whether we were streaming movies or working in Lightroom the colorful display impressed us consistently with its visual fidelity and sharp resolution and great colors working in Photoshop. Acer has put one of the best laptop screens we've ever seen into the Acer Aspire V7, and photographers as well as media junkies alike will love it.
The Aspire V7 also has a surprising amount of gaming power behind it despite its rather middling components. The machine was able to play a handful of modern games including Wolfenstein at 30 fps, and then at 58 fps with some visual tweaks.
Read: Acer Aspire V7 review

Surface Pro 3

Certainly the best laptop/tablet hybrid yet released

This is not only Microsoft's most striking and versatile device to date, but the most convincing poster child for the hybrid category yet. And this ringing endorsement comes from a long-time skeptic of such devices.
That said, the Surface Pro 3 (starting at $799, £639, AU$979) is hamstrung by flaws that cannot be ignored. Namely, the battery life might be in line with most Ultrabooks, but isn't close to what Apple's leading laptop and top tablet. And the Type Cover billed as an accessory doesn't help Microsoft's cause – it's quite pricey to boot.
At any rate, this version of the tablet comes in cheaper than the most affordable iPad Air and 13-inch MacBook Air combined, even with the Type Cover, and that's the point. On paper, this slate is more powerful than either Apple device, not to mention most other comparably priced laptops and tablets. The Surface Pro 3 might not be perfect, but it's far and wide the brightest shining example of a potential tablet takeover. If you're not concerned about a downgraded performance, consider the new Surface 3, which doesn't provide as much kick as the Pro, but is lighter and a lot cheaper.
Read: Surface Pro 3 review









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Updated: 6 best 2-in-1 laptops 2015: top hybrid laptops reviewed

Best 2-in-1 laptops

Microsoft's Windows 8 didn't just shake up the company's entire software empire, but the mobile computing industry as well.
Given the dualistic nature of the new Windows, laptop and tablet makers responded in kind with devices commonly known as 2-in-1 laptops, or hybrid laptops.
These are devices that are able to serve as both a laptop and a tablet, either in a detachable design that sees the touchscreen doubling as a tablet, or a convertible approach in which the notebook's hinge rotates 360 degrees for a similar effect. In the past, neither have been all that successful in providing both experiences in equal measure, but that's slowly changing.
Considering their similarity to Ultrabooks in terms of build quality, thinness and lightness, 2-in-1 laptops are generally priced in the same range: between $700 (about £450, AU$800) and $2,000 (around £1,169, AU$2,131).
These are sleek, powerful devices that look good and serve multiple use cases to varying degrees of success. With that, here are the best 2-in-1 laptops that we've reviewed thus far.

Microsoft Surface Pro 3

The best tablet-laptop hybrid device yet released

This is not only Microsoft's most striking and versatile device to date, but the most convincing poster child for the hybrid category yet. And this ringing endorsement comes from a long-time skeptic of such devices.
That said, the Surface Pro 3 (starting at $799, £639, AU$979) is hamstrung by flaws that cannot be ignored. Namely, the battery life might be in line with most Ultrabooks, but isn't close to what Apple's leading laptop and top tablet. And the Type Cover billed as an accessory doesn't help Microsoft's cause – it's quite pricey to boot.
At any rate, this version of the tablet comes in cheaper than the most affordable iPad Air and 13-inch MacBook Air combined, even with the Type Cover, and that's the point. On paper, this slate is more powerful than either Apple device, not to mention most other comparably priced laptops and tablets. The Surface Pro 3 might not be perfect, but it's far and wide the brightest shining example of a potential tablet takeover. If you're not concerned about a downgraded performance, consider the new Surface 3, which doesn't provide as much kick as the Pro, but is lighter and a lot cheaper.
Read: Microsoft Surface Pro 3 review

Asus Transformer Book T300 Chi

This 2-in-1 laptop takes thinness to a new level

The Asus Transformer Book T300 Chi is one of the first laptops to finally get the hybrid form factor right. Thanks to the use of a magnet latching system and Intel's fanless Core M processor, Asus has been able to produce a lighter tablet-laptop hybrid that's thin to boot.
The detachable Bluetooth keyboard also opens up a few alternative ways to use the device. Over the last few weeks, I propped up the screen while I used the keyboard as a remote for Netflix and stood the screen on its side, using it as a makeshift vertical screen. The best thing about all this is it's entirely seamless, letting you easily switch between tablet and laptop modes with ease.
There are a few things Asus didn't get right in this go around with the T300 Chi, namely the micro-sized ports. It has helped Asus shave down it's latest Transformer Book into a much more svelte profile, but you'll need to carry around a set of cables and adapters to plug in something as simple as a USB drive. With battery life averaging five hours and maxing out at six at best, you might want to look into a tablet or Chromebook for longer use cases.
Read: Asus Transformer Book T300 Chi review

Dell Venue 11 Pro 7130

A powerful, small tablet that wants to play in the big leagues

At the $700 (£437 and AU$800) entry price, the Venue Pro 7000 offers a nice balance of performance and portability in a travel-friendly size. However, unless you find yourself accessing CPU and GPU taxing apps, you might find more value in an Atom-based convertible. Going with Atom will lower your cost and give you better battery life.
For those who need power and performance, the confines of a 10.8-inch display may be too rigid to maximize productivity. Opening more than a few tabs or windows on the small display will trigger claustrophobia. If you need to be more productive, there are bigger convertible options, like the Surface Pro 3, to choose from that may fit that need better.
Read: Dell Venue 11 Pro 7000 review

Asus Transformer Book T200

Another excellent transforming tablet-laptop from Asus

If you are looking for a combination of Windows laptop and tablet, the Asus Transformer Book T200 is a very appealing option that offers a fair amount for only $539 (£349, or AU$690).
The T200 is quiet, light, well built and feels responsive during normal usage. Battery life is excellent, so you won't find yourself hunting obsessively for charging points throughout the day. Its "smart" hard drive bay adds plenty of storage space alongside the speedy 32GB SSD, and despite having a disappointing resolution, the IPS display is at least vibrant with good viewing angles. Good connectivity in the form of USB 3.0 and RJ45 ports are welcome additions, with a reasonable pre-loaded software set finishing off the package nicely.
For those with a little more cash to splash, the Surface Pro 3 is a very appealing option that offers similar functionality in a slimmer form, and with much more power. Otherwise, if you are looking for something a little larger, Asus' 2013 13-inch Transformer Book TX300 comes with an i7 processor and a full-HD screen.
Read: Asus Transformer Book T200 review

Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 11S

The laptop that will bend over backwards to help you out

The 11.6-inch Lenovo Yoga 11S (starting at around $799, £599, AU$1,299) laptop is a flexible machine that can fold over from a typical laptop stance to a stand position, to a position with the keyboard behind the screen, ready for delivering presentations.
It comes with HDMI, SD card and USB ports, and boasts a surprisingly impressive Intel Core i7 processor, 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD for storage. The screen is sharp and bright, though not full HD, and works well with Windows 8. It's also nicely light and small for portability. You can easily use the Yoga 11S as you would any other laptop, replete with a full QWERTY keyboard.
Read: Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 11S review

Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro

Lenovo's former-flagship Ultrabook is a real stunner

With the Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro (starting at $1,099, £999, AU$1,599), we can now confirm that 3,200 x 1,800 pixels is delicious indeed. On top of the winning Yoga form factor, we loved the solid performance, backlit keyboard, and the snappy SSD, creating mobile device-like response times.
However, in our experience, a Haswell-based ultrabook this thin should run twice as long as the Yoga 2 Pro does on a full charge; we got about five hours in our testing. Even with cloud services like Google Drive, a 128GB SSD is hard to recommend for even your grandparents.
Drawbacks considered, the Yoga 2 Pro is a winner of a laptop, pure and simple. At the $1,000 price point, you could put the Yoga 2 Pro in just about anyone's hands and make them quite pleased.
For those of you who crave portability more than anything, Lenovo recently unveiled the new LaVie Z, which the company claims is the lightest convertible on the market.
Read: Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro review









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Nintendo is hosting a Direct announcement on April Fools' day - trust no one

It's time for yet another Nintendo Direct, where we get to see Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata wave a lot and stare intently at some fruit. The problem is, this one will be held on April 1.
Of all the days of the year, Nintendo is choosing April Fools' for a presentation on upcoming Wii U and 3DS games. While we'll be glad to hear what might be filling 2015's Zelda-shaped hole, we won't be able to help but be a tad untrusting.
The Nintendo Direct will take place at 11PM GMT/3PM PT/6PM EST. Expect news on Xenoblade Chronicles X, Yoshi's Woolly World and more. But if Nintendo pulls any fake Metroid game stunts then there's going to be trouble.









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Reaction: TechRadar reacts: Surface 3

Microsoft has lifted the lid on the Surface 3, which on the outside is a clear cousin of the Surface Pro 3. It sports a similar design and comes with similar accessories — from its Type Keyboard Cover to the Stylus Pen and Dock — but how about on the inside?
Powered by a Quad-core Intel Atom "Cherry Trail" CPU, the Surface 3 is (somewhat ironically for the first non-Pro tablet to run full-fat Windows 8.1) pretty unsuitable for running the demanding desktop programs — such as Photoshop — that many users rely on.
But as a crew of writers who have tested a fair amount of tablets and laptops in their time, is there anything about the Surface 3 that could make it a good buy, despite its underpowered innards? Or is there simply no reason not to shell out a bit more for a Surface Pro 3?

• Read: Surface 3 review

Kevin Lee - Associate Editor, Laptops

Last year the Surface 3 was a surprising no-show at Microsoft's yearly Surface event. Now the Richmond company has announced its latest tablet-PC to relatively little fanfare and it's no surprise given it's a bit disappointing. I was expecting an Intel Core M-powered thin and power-sipping device, but going with an Atom processor has removed the possibility of a fanless design. All the while, I'm not confident it'll be that much more powerful than a traditional tablet, and it sure as heck won't run as long.

Patrick Goss - Global Editor-in-Chief

I have to say I'm not convinced by the Surface 3 principally because I think it falls between two stools. Ultimately it seems to be targeting a group of people who think they want a tablet with a great keyboard and the ability to do a bit of work. Instead it's an expensive, underpowered laptop with a shoddy detachable and pricey keyboard or a distinctly unappealing tablet.

Kane Fulton - Computing Editor

The fact remains that the Surface 3 is the most affordable and portable Surface tablet yet. If you loved everything about the Surface Pro 3 other than its price, and don't need oodles of processing power or a bigger display, Microsoft's new tablet grants you a ticket to the Surface party for that bit less. Unfortunately, that ticket should come at a far lower price than it does.

Desire Athow - TechRadar Pro Editor

Given that the Surface Pro 3 can be had for around a hundred pounds more, I don't see any reason why one should buy the Surface 3. It's too expensive, underpowered and accessories are too expensive.

Joe Osborne - Senior Editor

They did it: Microsoft finally fixed the Surface, and in a big way. But with such a focus on productivity, much less the price, it's tough to see who this device is for in the face of the far superior Surface Pro 3. It seems like Microsoft may have jumped the gun on this one, missing a golden opportunity to showcase Windows 10 on a marquee device. What we have now is a smaller, less powerful Surface Pro 3 that's still running Windows 8.1, the heaviest ball and chain for Microsoft's hardware.

• Here's everything we know so far about Windows 10

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Opinion: Here's a big list of everything that's wrong with Tidal

In case you missed it last night, a new streaming service called Tidal washed up on the internet. Well, re-washed-up, to stretch the pun a little - because it originally launched six months ago. The difference this time is that Jay Z now owns it - he shelled out $56 million for the company back in January.
Tidal's key differentiator is that it offers high-definition lossless audio quality, as well as a few extras like editorial and music videos. According to some, that makes it a "Spotify killer", or "big trouble for Spotify". But Spotify CEO Daniel Ek doesn't seem too worried. He spent last night mocking the turn-everything-blue press campaign that Jay Z cooked up. Why not? Well, Tidal almost certainly isn't the revolution it's claimed to be.
Let's start with the price. £20 (US$20) a month if you want high-definition music, or £10 (US$9.99) otherwise, with no free tier. That's expensive, especially in a market where Spotify is already criticised for charging too much. The vast majority of people can't tell the difference between Tidal's lossless audio and the high-quality Ogg vorbis files used by Spotify, and even fewer can tell the difference on headphones that cost less than £300.
If you want to know if you can tell the difference, Tidal has a test on its website where you listen to five tracks and guess if they're lossless or not. But five tracks is hardly enough for a statistically-valid comparison, and besides, you're a fool if you trust a test run by a company that sells lossless audio. So here's an independent, and far more statistically rigorous, alternative. Did you get a good score? It doesn't matter. Because whether or not you can hear the difference isn't really the point of Tidal.

Just the cool kid on the school bus

Allow me to explain. No-one buys a ridiculous expensive wristwatch because it's better at telling the time than a £30 Swatch, do they? No, Tidal's selling perceived status - you can be that kid on the school bus who has the high-definition music that everyone wants to listen to. Or the owner of the nice car that all your neighbours glance at enviously. Or the farmer who has the jar of snake oil that cures all ills.
But selling snake oil effectively requires endorsements from people who sound like they know what they're talking about, which is why Jay Z dragged all his pals on stage last night to talk about how much they loved Tidal. Alicia Keys, Win Butler and Regine Chassagne from Arcade Fire, Beyoncé, Calvin Harris, Chris Martin, Daft Punk, Deadmau5, Jack White, Jason Aldean, J Cole, Kanye West, Madonna, Nicki Minaj, Rihanna and Usher were all rolled out to be anointed as "owners" of Tidal, meaning they get equity in the company. The whole thing was remarkable, because even a snake oil salesman wouldn't be foolish enough to tell the public that the experts vouching for his product were getting a share of the profits. 3%, and a $3 million dollar cash sweetener, if the FT's sources are accurate.
Jay Z didn't even speak at the somewhat-awkward event himself - he let Alicia Keys give a weird speech, quoting Nietzsche and trying to paint the whole endeavour as a revolution in music - redirecting money from big corporations to artists. She also called it "the first ever artist-owned global music and entertainment platform," which is clear evidence of one of the most heinous crimes in music: forgetting about Dre.

Exclusives are bad for us

All jokes aside, this isn't taking from the rich and giving to the poor. It's taking from the rich and giving to Jay Z's mates, who happen to also be quite rich. Any musicians that aren't in Jezza's WhatsApp buddy list won't benefit much from Tidal, even if he pledges to raise the royalty rate, as he did in a Billboard interview shortly after the event finished. "Will artists make more money? Even if it means less profit for our bottom line, absolutely. That's easy for us. We can do that. Less profit for our bottom line, more money for the artist; fantastic. Let's do that today," he said.
Except that Spotify's margins are already razor-thin - the company pays out 70% of its revenue to rights holders, before paying for staff, server, development and marketing. Despite earning a billion dollars in 2013, it's still not profitable. So where will the extra cash that Tidal wants to funnel to artists come from? If your answer is "customers paying more for high-definition audio", you're dramatically overestimating the number of people who are going to splash out for the upgrade. And what happens if Spotify or Apple (or YouTube!) suddenly launches a high-definition music streaming service in a month's time? Tidal is basically sunk.
So what else could save Jay Z's music service from being washed away? Music Ally suggests exclusives - which is not a bad idea, given the number of high-profile artists who are signed up. Taylor Swift, who pulled her catalogue from Spotify amidst a bitter argument about the freemium tier, is notably present on Tidal. But exclusives are bad for consumers - they lead to walled gardens, and that's not a good thing for an industry that's still very much attempting to establish itself. You only need to look at the slow growth of streaming TV and movies, compared to music, as evidence.
In short, the way it looks today, Tidal is a terrible proposition. It's selling snake oil, sharing the profits with the richest artists alone, and the only way it's going to be able to get market share is by screwing over consumers by withholding catalogues from other services. Competition is generally a good thing; there are a whole lot of ways that streaming music could be better for artists and customers in 2015, but Tidal represents none of them. Spend your cash on going to gigs instead.









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Surface 3 announced, Microsoft's thinnest, lightest tablet to date

Microsoft has today announced the next addition to its tablets line up, the Surface 3, which wants to replace your laptop.
Microsoft's new tablet will be the thinnest and lightest Surface product yet with a new quad-core Intel Atom x7 processor and 10.8-inch ClearType HD display with 3:2 aspect ratio and 1,920 x 1,280 pixel resolution.
The slate comes with a metal body measuring 267 x 187 x 8.7 mm (or 10.5 x 7.4 x 0.34 inches) and weighing in at 622g or just 1.37 pounds, while the three position-kickstand from the Surface Pro 3 makes a return, so you can use it in a variety of different situations.
There will be two versions of the tablet, one packing 4G LTE technology and one without, but both will come with Windows 8.1 on board with all the dedicated Microsoft apps. Both will be ready to upgrade to Windows 10 for free when it's available.

Below the surface

Other differences include 2GB of RAM and 64GB of storage with the other packing 4GB of RAM and 128GB of space.
Each comes packed with Bluetooth 4.0 technology and has an 8MP rear facing camera with auto-focus and 3.5MP 1080p front facing camera.
You can pre-order the Surface 3 today from Microsoft's website and it'll be available through a variety of other retailers from May 7.
As for pricing, we know the Surface 3 will cost £419 (or $499, AU$699) for the 2GB version while the 4GB version will be a bit more at £499 (or $599, AU$839).
Pricing for the 4G LTE version in the UK hasn't been cleared up just yet, but Microsoft says it will confirm this soon. Meanwhile, this iteration will start at $599 or AU$839 for the entry level model. (For the 4GB version with LTE, you'll have to pay $699 or AU$979.)
Microsoft's Surface range has been struggling to make a dent in the market for the last few years, but the little changes and turning it into a quality tablet option that may be able to pick up a few users who want something a little different and more productive than an iPad.

• Read our review of the Microsoft Surface Pro 3 here.

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