Batman: Arkham Knight's Batgirl DLC gives us more of the main game's best parts
While many baulked at Batman: Arkham Knight's exorbitantly priced season pass, it certainly looks like the investment is going to pay off, if the first trailer for the game's DLC prequel chapter 'A Matter of Family' is anything to go by.
Set before the events of the original game, Batman: Arkham Asylum, 'A Matter of Family' lets you play Barbara Gordon before she was confined to a wheelchair by Joker, when she was still protecting the streets of Gotham as Batgirl.
Joker has taken Commissioner Jim Gordon (Barbara's dad) hostage, and it's up to her and her crime-fighting (and romantic) partner Robin to save him.
It looks absolutely fantastic, giving us all of the core game's best elements (sneaking, fighting, investigating), with the added bonus of getting to play as a kick-ass heroine who happens to retain all of Batman's skills.
Steve Urkel isn't the only thing absent from these family matters
One of Batman: Arkham Knight's most controversial elements has been the addition of the the Batmobile to the series – many believe it to be the low point in an otherwise outstanding game, due to its slippery, awkward controls and its many forced, repetitive tank combat sections.If that's your biggest beef with the game, you'll be happy to know that the Batmobile is nowhere to be seen in this DLC trailer – not only does Batgirl not drive Batman's ride, the story seems to be tighter and more focused around a single location, kind of like the aforementioned Batman: Arkham Asylum.
And, also like that game, this downloadable chapter sees you facing off against the Joker once again, with his lovably-evil main-squeeze Harley Quinn (finally in her amazing original costume) by his side – the only question that remains is, 'how much playtime the chapter will provide?'
Batgirl's 'A Matter of Family' DLC will be available to Batman: Arkham Knight season pass owners on July 15, and can be purchased separately on July 22 for AU$10.45 (US$6.99 in North America and £5.80 in the United Kingdom).
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iOS Tips: Apple Music: 10 best tips and tricks to maximize your music
Master Apple Music
Unless you have something against oodles of free music, you probably signed up for the Apple Music trial last week. Even if you have no plans on ever actually paying, you can still stream for the rest of the summer, which is more than enough time to get closely acquainted with Apple's new service. And that's good, because there's a lot to absorb.
Whether you're coming from iTunes Radio, Spotify, or Beats Music, Apple has made its music service unique (some might say confusing) enough to require a bit steeper of a learning curve than the usual Apple product. But after using it for the past week, we've unearthed some tips and tricks that will help you listen like a pro.
Find fantastic playlists
Apple has curated dozens of playlists spanning all sorts of genres and activities, from one-hit wonders and chart-topping sensations to graduation tunes and motivational workout jams. But finding them isn't so easy. Apple spotlights a smattering of them on its For You and New home screens, but if none of them strike your fancy, you can easily search for more. Just type the word "curator" or "playlist" into the search field and you'll see a lengthy list of what's available. And if you want something specific, you can filter by genre too.
Make a mix
When you tap the ellipses at the end of a song, artist or album, you'll get a menu of options that let you add it to a playlist, buy it in the iTunes Store or share it on Twitter or Facebook. But if you want to make a quick mix of songs that don't rise to the level of a playlist, you can queue them up by selecting "Add to Up Next." You'll find the songs you've selected by tapping the list icon in the full-screen Now Playing window (drag up on the small bar at the bottom of the screen), where they can be rearranged, changed, and deleted - just like if you were a real DJ.
Find other songs by an artist
If you're listening to a song on Beats 1 or other radio station and you want to see what else the artist has recorded, you can either tap the magnifying glass and search their name, or you can use the more-convenient ellipses menu. While you won't see a option for "Find More Music by This Artist," you can tap the song title at the top of the expanded menu to jump right to the artist page.
Change your musical tastes
When you first sign up for the Apple Music trial, you'll be met with a series of red balls representing your musical tastes, which Apple's curators and algorithms use to generate the content on your For You page. But if you hastily zipped through it the first time around or are just unhappy with the recommendations you're getting, you can fine-tune your selections. Just click on the account icon in the left corner and head to the Choose Artists For You tab. Inside you can refine, expand and reset your selections.
More personalization
Speaking of For You, the red bubbles are just part of the personalization process. Liking a song by tapping the heart icon will affect what's displayed (though skipping does not), and tapping and holding on a suggested album or playlist lets you tell Apple Music that you don't like the selection.
Disconnect from Connect
Connect is one the main features of Apple Music, but if you're not feeling it, Apple has given you a secret way to turn it off. You'll find the toggle hiding in the Settings app. Head over to Restrictions in the General tab and turn it on (it'll prompt you to create a unique passcode). Then you'll be able to switch Connect off, bringing back the dedicated Playlists tab.
Tell Beats 1 what to play
Alongside its subscription Music service, Apple rolled out something a bit more old-fashioned: a free, live radio station with scheduled programming that's surprisingly good. And in true terrestrial radio fashion, its DJs take requests. To get a song played, just head over to Apple's Beats 1 Tumblr page (http://applemusic.tumblr.com/requests) and find the number for the country you live in. Of course, you could hear it quicker if you just played it yourself, but somehow it sounds better when the rest of the world is listening with you.
Play it again
Unless you're obsessively adding songs to your music library, it's going to be hard to remember all of those great tunes you heard while exercising. Thankfully, Apple has collected them for you. You'll find a handy list in the Up Next menu; tap the icon in the Now Playing window and scroll down to see your complete history - whether you played the song yourself or heard it on one of the radio stations.
Listen locally
As long as you keep paying for Apple Music, the songs you save to your music library are yours to play, whether you're connected to a network or not. To store them on your iPhone and listen to them in places where a signal isn't available, tap that ellipses menu again and select "Make Available Offline" to download it. And when you want to listen to it, make sure the "Show Music Available Offline" toggle - which you'll find by tapping the Artists/Albums/Songs menu - is switched to green.
Old-school Music
If you decide all of these new-fangled streaming features of Apple Music aren't for you, you can turn them off and make your Music app to the way it used to be (more or less). Go to Settings > Music and deactivate the Show Apple Music switch to remove the recommendation and on-demand streaming features. The buttons at the bottom of the app (Music, For You, New, Radio, Connect) will be partially replaced, but you'll still be able to listen to local music and radio stations, and the Connect option will remain as well - unless you switched it off using our earlier tip.
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Is Facebook set to take on Apple Music and Spotify?
While Facebook recently took on YouTube with its own video streaming platform, it looks like the social media giant is now gearing up to take on the likes of Apple Music and Spotify.
Sources speaking to Music Ally say that Facebook has been in talks with music labels in a bid to launch its own music streaming service.
But we might not see the service launch anytime soon as, according to the report, Facebook wants to get the monetization aspect of its new video platform (which will give advertisers 55% of ad revenue) perfected before delving into a viable audio streaming business.
Music videos, anyone?
This could end up having Facebook entering the music streaming game pretty late, considering how many services are already available.In the meantime, you might be seeing music videos popping up on Facebook in the next few months, as according to the sources, the social media giant is in "advanced talks" with music labels to get their music videos on Facebook.
With such a strong user base (and with direct access to fans) this could end up being a stronger threat to YouTube. And with potential for a tied-in video platform, a Facebook music service could become a threat to the likes of Spotify and the recently launch Apple Music and Tidal.
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This is how HoloLens could be used in universities
Microsoft has been busy trying to show us what the HoloLens can do lately, especially in the field of science.
The company recently released a video with the untethered headset in action at a university where students want to use it to study medicine.
Shifting the anatomical systems to see each one side-by-side for better visual aid opposed to reading it on the page or dissecting a cadaver was noted as a highlight of the HoloLens. The faculty members in the video also expressed interest in using the augmented reality device for art history and anthropology.
Of course, this is all still only a demo as the HoloLens is currently in development. Though once it's up and running, the potential is endless.
Check out the video below to see what the HoloLens can be used for in the future.
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Hands-on review: Updated: Windows 10
Windows 10 review: Introduction
NOTE: We're continually updating this article with new observations as we get closer to the full release of Windows 10 – we're using the Windows 10 Insider Preview to do this.Windows 10 is an entirely new version of the veteran Windows operating system - a version that is make-or-break for Microsoft.
Even though Windows 8.1 did improve things, there's no escaping that with Windows 8, Microsoft was hugely complacent, buoyed by the success of Windows 7. It drastically misunderstood its users with a fundamentally changed user interface which didn't make any logical sense and was hard to learn. It failed us. It failed itself.
Thankfully 2015 Microsoft is pretty different to 2012 Microsoft. The key management of the corporation has changed. It has woken up to the fact that people can choose other operating systems. It's keen on making stuff for OS X, Linux, iOS and Android. As you'll hear, it's allowing apps from other platforms to be easily ported to Windows, too.
Microsoft believes the future of Windows is as a platform for all. Like Android, the strength of Windows is in the thousands of companies that develop for it (see the section about Universal apps for more on the relationship with developers) and use it in their products.
That's why Windows 10 is no longer just an operating system for 32 and 64-bit PCs. It will also run on the ARM platform for smaller tablets and smartphones. Windows 10 is going to run on phones – it's the new version of Windows Phone, but it's not that clear whether Microsoft will brand new Windows Phones as 'Windows 10' or not. If you know what Windows RT was, then don't worry, because it's nothing like that.
Universal apps will run not only on PCs, but on Windows 10 phones, Windows 10 for IoT devices and Xbox as well.
Like Windows XP, Vista, 7 and 8 before it, Windows 10 is part of the Windows NT family.
From the Windows 10 Release Preview to RTM
So, how have we put together this Hands on? We've been part of the Windows Insider program, which has given people early access to Windows 10 through various phases of its development. The version which this hands-on review is based on, is version 10.0.10130 (known as build 10130).Several new builds have dropped during the last few days of June and early July. The latest is build 10162 and it's this version we're currently updating this review to reflect.
Windows 10's release is getting pretty close now though, and the OS as we have it is feature complete. Microsoft is working to squash hundreds of bugs.
The RTM - or Release to Manufacturing - version will end up on Windows 10 PCs and it can only be a matter of time before that's with us.
Build 10163 is expected to come any time now with Windows 10 RTM likely to be signed off by Microsoft this week. 10176 is the build that will be sold in retail.
The great news is that even in the early pre-release builds we've been using the operating system was fast and stable and that trend has continued.
Annoyances such as a slow-loading Start menu and Cortana search bar now appear to have been consigned to the develelopmental trash can.
After Windows 10 goes to RTM, the Windows Insider program will continue and Microsoft will release Windows 10 updates to members of the program first. While it's natural that Windows 10 will be considered as 'finished' by reviewers and consumers in the coming weeks, Microsoft doesn't subscribe to this point of view and says it will carry on developing the OS.
Windows 10 release date, upgrades, versions
Upgrading to Windows 10
We know that Windows 10 will be a free upgrade for the first year of release if you have Windows 7, Windows 8.1 or Windows Phone 8.1 device. If you have Windows 8.1 (PC or phone) there should be no issue in installing Windows 10.If you have Windows 7, you'll need to make sure you meet the system requirements – see below.
If you have a device with Windows XP or Windows Vista on it, you'll need to do a clean install – make sure you meet the System Requirements which are:
- 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster
- RAM: 1 gigabyte (GB) (32-bit) or 2 GB (64-bit)
- Free hard disk space: 16 GB
- Graphics card: Microsoft DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM driver
- A Microsoft account and Internet access
If you're on a version of Windows that can be upgraded (7 or a version of 8) you might well have seen an icon appear on your desktop via Windows Update (providing your machine is up-to-date, of course). Clicking the icon launches a window that enables you to reserve your place in the queue to download the free upgrade.
You'll then get a notification when it's ready to install. This is presumably so Microsoft can drip down some elements early to your PC and avoid an old school iOS-style server meltdown when the new version is available.
If you have a pirated copy of Windows already, you will be able to "make it genuine" by getting hold of Windows 10 via the Windows Store. It's not completely clear whether this upgrade will still be free.
If you're unfortunate enough to have a Windows RT device, sorry, but you won't be able to upgrade to Windows 10. Microsoft sold you a dud.
You'll need to make sure you're upgrading to the right version - see the section on Windows 10 price below.
Windows 10 release date
The Windows 10 release date is 29 July.The operating system will be available in 190 territories globally (111 languages) with existing Windows 8.1 and Windows 7 users having one year (until 29 July 2016) to upgrade free to the new version. After that they will presumably still be able to upgrade, but they'll have to purchase an upgrade version.
Microsoft has planned a phased approach to the launch. Windows 10 will release for desktop and laptop devices first, then trickle down to phones, the Xbox One, Arduino machines and finally its own HoloLens.
Windows 10 versions
Windows 10 will be available in seven versions. These are IoT (Internet of Things, for devices like Raspberry Pi), Mobile, Home, Enterprise and Professional. There's also a new Mobile Enterprise version (as Microsoft takes aim at BlackBerry's stomping ground) well as Education.In comparison, there were only four versions of Windows 8.1 (five if you include Windows Phone 8) and one of them was the dead-as-a-dodo Windows RT.
Windows 10 Home and Pro are available free to some users - see more on that below.
Windows 10 price
It will be free to upgrade to Windows 10 for the first year after release. That doesn't mean you will have to pay after that if you've already upgraded, it just means that you need to upgrade your PC by Summer 2016.Windows 10 Home and Pro will be available for free to Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 users that have appropriate licenses, so Windows 8.1 Pro users can upgrade to Windows 10 Pro and so on.
For users who are not eligible for Microsoft's upgrade program – those who upgrade outside the first year free offer, those running a pirated version or those running a Windows operating system older than Windows 7 – Windows 10 Home will cost $119 (£78, AU$156) and Windows 10 Pro will cost $199 (£131, AU$262) per license,
And there is an option for Windows 10 Home users who want to upgrade to Pro. But it isn't cheap, they will have to pay an additional $99 (£65, AU$130) for the Windows 10 Pro Pack.
So now we've got all that preliminary info out of the way, we can get on with the review! Read on...
Windows 10 key features: UI, apps and more
The redesigned user interface
The good news is that people who missed out the woeful Windows 8 will be right at home – in basic use Windows 10 is not a million miles from Windows 7. You've still got the Start menu, even though it's fundamentally changed (more on that shortly). Key functions are all accessed from the Taskbar, which has a flat, functional feel. The design language feels refined – window borders are smaller, a subtle.If you did immerse yourself in learning Windows 8, there is a little problem in that the Charms (the little icons that appeared on the right-hand side of the screen) have totally gone. Probably the shortest-lived yet supposedly crucial interface element in history. Microsoft said they were the future! Well they aren't now.
Action Center
All the former Charms functions are contained in a new Notifications panel, called Action Center. This is launched from the notifications area of the task bar (some of you will know it as the system tray!). When you launch Action Center, a full height bar appears on the right of the screen; it's designed to match the Notifications setup in Windows Phone.
During the early 2015 versions of Windows 10, the Action Center was clearly a work in progress, but it is now not only usable, but powerful.
A raft of individual settings (called Quick Actions) resides at the bottom of the Center. Most of these functions are standard to us from iOS and Android; features such as toggling Bluetooth, Wi-Fi or Location on and off, but it's great to have.
You can also get to Settings here as an alternative to the Start menu, as well as switch into Tablet mode (see later in this review for a lot more on that). And there's also now a Note feature for instantly launching OneNote.
You'll also notice there's other connectivity features available from here, such as the ability to connect to devices such as Bluetooth speakers. You can also lock rotation if appropriate. This is context sensitive, so on a non-touch device it's not there.
Quiet hours is a new feature to banish notifications when you don't want to be disturbed.
In the Settings app you can select which of these Quick Actions appear in the Action Center as well as which apps can send you Notifications. When notifications appear, you can swipe them away on touch, flick them with the mouse or just click the X to close. Tap or click the down arrow to see more detail. There's a Clear All option, too.
Pop-up notifications now appear in the bottom-right as opposed to the top-right in Windows 8. People were used to glancing at the bottom-right for pop-up messages in earlier versions of Windows, so this makes sense, although it does take a little getting used to.
The Start menu
The Start menu is very Windows 8-like in that it features Live Tiles for at-a-glance information in apps. These were largely redundant for many Windows 8 users because of the lack of decent apps.That's likely to change in Windows 10 (see the 'Apps and App Store' section) but it remains to be seen how useful this section can be (we have used it a few times for looking at the weather and emails, but little else).
You can scroll down through the Live Tiles. The tiles also animate (as if the tile itself is rotating) if there's new content for you to check out.You can group and rename the live tiles just as you could in Windows 8.
You can resize the start menu itself by dragging the sides, which is a handy new feature. However, you can't switch the live tiles section off completely. In early builds, we found the live tiles on the Start menu to be absolutely useless.
But more recently we've found ourselves looking at the tiles more as they pop up. And we really have found some interesting news that we've clicked on. It's mainly useful for at-a-glance stuff, though.
The remainder of the Start menu is more like the Windows 7 version, with controls for turning your PC off and restarting it as well as most used apps and the ability to scroll down through all your apps in alphabetical order through an All Apps menu. File Explorer and Settings are also present.
Clicking the Power button within the Start menu pops up another menu enabling you to shut down, restart or sleep. As in Windows 8, the lock and sign out settings are contained in a seperate menu; you have to clck your account picture at the top of the Start menu.
Search is no longer contained within the Start menu (it's on the taskbar, more on that soon), although you can still hit the Start key on your keyboard and start typing to find something.
The taskbar
The taskbar is mostly unchanged, but open apps have a subtle coloured bar below them, while the new Search bar (which you can reduce to an icon or get rid of completely via the taskbar right-click menu) and Task View icons are there to stay alongsuide the Start button.Coincidentally, the Windows logo got smaller as Windows 10's development went on. Quite why we're not sure, as it now looks a little lost sitting quietly in the bottom left.
The Noticifications area at the other end has been made much simpler by the advent of Action Center. App icons that aren't shown in the Notifications area (formerly the system tray) are housed in a pop-up, just as they always were, but you can now drag them in and out to re-order them.
There's also a completely new calendar - click on the clock icon to view it.
And, in case you were wondering, the power user menu is still there – just right-click on the Windows logo.
Once again, you can minimize everything by clicking in the far right-hand corner of the Taskbar. You might also notice that the Calendar has changed appearance if you click on the time and/or date. And there's a nice way of knowing when apps are open – just a simple line underneath each pinned or open icon.
File Explorer enhancements
File Explorer has been given a little bit of a makeover. You now have a Quick Access area to which you can pin and unpin any folders you want to regularly access. In the 'home' screen of File Explorer you can also see Frequent Folders and Recent Files. It's much more helpful now.You can pin things permanently onto Quick access by right-clicking them and selecting Add to Quick access.
You'll also notice that various icons have changed – many of these (such as the Recycle Bin) have gone through several iterations since the first preview version of Windows 10 debuted at the very beginning of October 2014.
There are a lot more file operations that you can access on the ribbon at the top of the window without the need to use the right-click menu.
The old Windows 8 Share logo is now used for File sharing from all apps. You can choose to email a file straight from the File Explorer window or add it to a zip file.
As you'd expect, OneDrive is also incorporated within File Explorer. While it's now an integral part of Windows 10, it's not a pain to dismiss and you can quite happily use Windows 10 without it.
Universal Apps and the new Windows Store
Windows 10 makes a big push in terms of apps, both built-in and third-party.Microsoft is going big on so-called Universal Apps – it's the corporation's great hope that developers will develop their apps once and that they'll work across PC, Windows 10 on mobile and Xbox, too – essentially on every screen size. This is known as the Universal App Platform or UAP.
These Universal apps are the replacement for the apps that, in Windows 8 and 8.1, were known as Metro apps or Modern UI apps. They're different than desktop apps, but they now co-exist with desktop apps on the desktop. They also have Live Tiles that live in the Start Menu.
Microsoft doesn't want to repeat the mistake made with Windows 8 – that it assumed developers would flock to the new OS – and so it is making it easy for devs to convert existing Android apps, while Microsoft Visual Studio 2015 now supports Objective C (used to create iOS apps) and can compile it to Universal apps.
This doesn't necessarily mean they'll flock across, but it does at least attempt to minimize effort for devs so it's not as simple for them to say they're just prioritizing iOS and Android. It will be interesting to see how this pans out, though the continued dearth of Windows Phone market share isn't exactly helpful.
There's a new Windows Store in Windows 10. As well as a revamped design, the new store will also house desktop apps as well as Universal Apps.
Like Universal apps, desktop apps installed from the Windows Store will be managed from there so theoretically they will install quickly (without you doing anything more than clicking once to download/install), they can be uninstalled without hassle and – crucially – they will be sandboxed from the rest of the system a la Universal apps.
Devs will use an Application Virtualization (App-V) container to package up their desktop apps ready for the Windows Store.
Organizations will also be able to deploy apps from their own versions of the Windows Store. This is all managed from the Business Store Portal which will manage software licenses centralized payment info and more.
We mentioned before about Universal apps co-existing on the desktop – that has meant Microsoft has had to find a new way to control them because the Windows 8 and 8.1 Charms are no more.
This has meant a new menu bar in the top left, as well as standard minimize, maximize and close icons on the top right. These apps can now be resized however you want.
The built-in Windows 10 apps
Thankfully, the quality of the built-in apps so far is way better. There's a new Photos app that provides you with a complete back catalogue as well as editing and filter capabilities.Mail actually works now and has some features (in Windows 8 Mail was so feature incomplete as to be embarrassing).
Sport and News are improved experiences even if they still feel a little superfluous. Best of all, these apps all start up nice and quick, too.
Microsoft Edge is the new browser for Windows 10 (previously it was codenamed Project Spartan), and we've covered that further into the review.
Task View
There has always been Alt-Tab – well, since Windows 3.x, anyway – to switch between open apps. But over the last two decades of Windows, Microsoft has dabbled with various other ways of switching between open apps.In Windows 95, we got the taskbar and, later, taskbar grouping in Windows XP, which we still have, although presented differently. In Windows Vista there was Windows Flip, where Windows+Tab showed a jazzy 3D view of your Windows (no wonder Windows Vista's system requirements were so haughty). And there was the swipe in from the left on Windows 8.
Now in Windows 10 we have Alt+Tab (cycle through your apps) and a new thingy called Task View - there's a permanent icon on the task bar for it next to the Cortana search bar.
This now does the same as Windows+Tab. It takes you to an app overview where you can use your mouse to select the app you want. It's pretty clever and in any mode of Windows 10 there is always an icon for it on the Taskbar.
But there is something else Task View can do – multiple desktops. Going into Task View and there's an icon in the bottom right that enables you to add another desktop, so you can have one screen for your email perhaps and another for your Photoshop work. This is a nice new feature for Windows, but has been on the Mac for years – since OS X 10.5 Leopard introduced 'Spaces' in 2009.
Apps can be open in more than one desktop, but you can't switch into windows that are on another desktop. Things are kept nicely separate. Alt+Tab only works within the desktop you're in. The only way to switch desktops is to go into Task View and select another open desktop. From here you can also close desktops using the X icon that appears when you hover over each desktop icon.
Settings, Search (Cortana) and Tablet Mode
The Settings app
If you used the Settings app in Windows 8 or 8.1, you'll know what a half-arsed affair it was – you basically opened it, realized you couldn't do what you wanted to and went to the Control Panel.Well, the Control Panel is still there in Windows 10. And if you're a technical user, you will come across it from time to time. But for most of us, you'll never see it. Settings is now a far more comprehensive solution and is much more logically arranged.
In early Windows 10 builds it still felt as though the Control Panel would reign supreme, but things have changed pretty much everything you'll need is there, separated into nine distinct areas.
To give some indication of how little we've used the Control Panel in recent months (to bring you this review we've been using the various builds of Windows 10 since October 2014), we think we last went into something in the Control Panel in March.
There are still a few things you'll need the Control Panel for - we think we needed to reset a network adapter on that occaision - but it's really few and far between.
Each category in Settings leads you into a wordy sub-menu like this. It's not quite as intuitive as the Control Panel was, but you can always find what you want. It's light years ahead of the Settings app in Windows 8 and 8.1.
And, what's more you can search in Cortana on the taskbar for a setting – and you can search within the Settings app, too. And - unlike in Windows 8 - the search normally finds the setting that you want, too.
Search and Cortana
Rather than being at the bottom of the Start menu as in Windows 7, search now has its own bar on your Taskbar (though you can reduce it to a simple icon or get rid of it completely).That's because Cortana, Microsoft's virtual assistant is now incorporated within Windows' search and you can - of course - control it by voice. So you can ask Cortana to complete various tasks for you.
At one point we were quite concerned about search in Windows 10. In early builds Cortana just wouldn't find stuff on our own PC, and this seemed to continue for eons. It was as if Microsoft was so keen to incorporate potential web searches into the Cortana results that often you needed to click again to find a file on your PC. And even then it wouldn't always find the file you wanted.
Thankfully Microsoft has listened to what was (no doubt) a shrieking chorus of complaints from Windows Insiders. Search is now light years better.
It finds your files, it finds your folders. It has become quite brilliant - say you type Linkedin into the menu, well you it will offer you the ability to open the site in your default browser (even if it's Chrome) or you can search for Linkedin in Bing.
It's difficult to tell what is prioritised, simply because the context sensitivity is so good. Apps and Settings appear to be first in line, with your files close behind. The only time Cortana looks a little lame is if you type a name like 'Manchester United' into the menu; you're just offered the ability to search the web.
There are two tabs at the bottom of the search menu - My Stuff and Web - if you really do want to drill down to one type of results.
Cortana shows you a lot of context when you open the search bar, things such as weather, stocks and calendar appointments. This is within a section called Home. As you can see, there are other sections - Notebook, Reminders and Feedback (this latter option enables you to give direct feedback on Cortana results and may not be in the final release).
Notebook includes various options such as getting around, music and food and drink. Essentially these are options you can turn on and off (some with more settings than others). So perhaps you don't want Cortana to tell you anything about traffic - well, you can have it your way.
Reminders is just a simple tool to set yourself a reminder that pops up on your desktop (and presumably on other devices you have Cortana).
Cortana is a very handy tool if you're just searching or asking simple tasks such as what the weather will be like in Berlin tomorrow, but the jury is still out on whether it's a valuable addition to an operating system on a traditional computing device. Naturally, it comes into its own on devices without keyboards and it's actually pretty reliable.
Cortana is also incorporated into Microsoft Edge, too – the new browser for Windows 10. More on Edge shortly.
Windows 10 Tablet Mode
Microsoft hopes a lot of tablet PCs will be sold over the coming years. As does Intel – it's putting a lot of weight behind 2 in 1 PCs with detachable keyboards.Originally named Continuum (a name that we really did love), Windows 10's Tablet Mode is clever because it's automatic; detach the keyboard and the desktop prepares itself for touch – the Start menu becomes the Start screen and apps appear full screen.
Because we haven't got a huge number of Live Tiles pinned to the Start menu our Tablet Mode looks a little sparse, but you get an effect that's more like the much-maligned Windows 8 Start screen. Despite its failings, a screen of apps is a better launcher for touch-enabled devices.
There are some differences to the Start screen though, the left-hand side now has three icons. The top 'hamburger' icon enables you to access your most-used apps, while there's also a shortcut to the all apps menu and power options.
The Taskbar also changes to be more touch friendly – the icons are more spaced out while the pinned app icons don't appear at all – you just cycle through them in Task View.
The Start icon is now joined by a back button, so you can cycle back to previous apps – even if you were in the Start menu before.
If you want, you can toggle between Tablet Mode and non-Tablet mode yourself via the settings at the bottom of the Notification Center. This could be useful if, say, you have a touchscreen laptop and want to put it into Tablet Mode for a presentation.
Aero Snap also goes all Windows 8.1 on you in Tablet Mode - you can pin two apps side-by-side. As in Windows 8.1 (but not original Windows 8) you're able to adjust the split. You can't do a four-way split as you can in the normal desktop mode.
Microsoft Edge
Microsoft Edge is the new browser for Windows 10 (previously codenamed Project Spartan). To say Edge is a little rough round the edges is an understatement. When it first appeared in the build 10041 on March 30, it was basically alpha software.Many things just didn't work and we felt a little queasy writing any kind of 'verdict' on a piece of software that was clearly so early in its development cycle that it couldn't possibly be used.
In the latest 10062 build things are VERY different. Microsoft Edge has not just improved a great deal, but it's also now completely usable as a browser - albeit with some missing features.
There's even a new logo, too, while looks quite like the Internet Explorer 'e'. Now, we were a bit surprised about this at first until someone else in the office pointed out that there are millions of Windows users out there that equate that 'e' to 'how they access the internet'. (We know you're not in that category, dear TechRadarian).
Still to come is support for extensions, which developers can easily port from Chrome. We don't think we'll get that update until after the release of Windows 10.
Edge is the default browser within Windows 10, though naturally you can change this. You can easily move your Favorites and bookmarks from another browser, though there's no way to currently rearrange them properly which rather grated with us. Actually there is, it's just that our changes didn't stick (don't worry, we completed a feedback note).
Where Edge is totally impressing is in terms of raw performance. Pages render jaw-droppingly quickly.
Using Sunspider 1.0.2 to test JavaScript performance, Microsoft Edge gave us a score of 118ms compared to Internet Explorer 11 which gave us a score of 137ms. Firefox 37 turned up with 260ms and Chrome 43 303ms. Not too shabby.
Browsing still needs work, mind you – some more complex websites don't render quite right. In one web form we used, we couldn't put our cursor in the box. Now, a lot of this is due to badly coded sites, but it shows there are still issues with Edge.
When we tried to use Sky Go - which uses Microsoft's own but ageing Silverlight tech - Edge told us to open Internet Explorer to use it in there instead. Again, this is because of old protocols, but it's quite amusing that it's Microsoft's own that caused this situation.
In this latest version you can finally rip tabs off and browse in private. There's a built-in note-taking mode, so you can save and annotate webpages, plus a reading mode that strips away the content you don't need when reading through an article:
And here's the screen enabling you to annotate pages:
There's also a new Dark theme to go alongside the standard Light theme.
Favourites, Reading List, Downlads and History are all contained in the same pop-out panel.
Similar to Internet Explorer, this panel can be toggled between the views.
Forward, back and refresh remain on the title bar, while there are also options to add the current page to your reading list or Favorites.
One major annoyance is that you can't drag files into the browser (to attach them to an email or upload to cloud storage). This is a big miss and will put people off.
As with the Cortana integration in Windows 10, Edge points you at Bing by default. There's currently no way to alter this, but there will be – an option to add a search provider is present but greyed out.
There is the ability to change various other settings, such as deploying a Favourites bar, configuring the home page and fine tuning the reading view. The browser can aslo save your form entries and paswords.
Talking of Cortana (no pun intended), you're also able to select anything and 'Ask Cortana' about what you've highlighted by right-clicking. This brings up a sidebar where search results will appear.
So what do we think of Edge? Well, it has a lot to offer. In terms of browsing speed it's brilliant, but it currently lacks power features such as Extensions. To that end, it has more work to do before it can persuade people to move from Chrome and Firefox.
Other Windows 10 features and Early Verdict
Aero Snap
Windows 7 was such a great version of Windows. Aside from the fact it trumped Vista with its resource efficiency, general robustness and modest system requirements it also brought us something else – Aero Snap.The ability to snap windows to the sides of your screen might seem small, but it's something many Windows users use every day. Apple has obviously realised that Mac users use third-party extensions to get the same effect; it's introduced window snapping in OS X El Capitan.
Windows 8 got it a bit wrong as Modern UI apps could only be snapped in certain ways, but Windows 8.1 improved on this hugely.
Windows 10 gives us something else – four way AeroSnap, so you can have four applications in each corner of your desktop.
Now, if you've got a laptop screen this is about the most inefficient way you could use your desktop, but if you've got a whopping 27+-inch display it might just be the ticket. In early builds it worked as well as an umbrella in a Force 10 storm, but now it's pretty good and you'll get used to it quickly.
Other enhancements
New systems that ship with Windows 10 and support biometric security hardware will enable you to use a fingerprint, face scan, or iris scan to log into Windows and apps, websites, and networks. This is called Windows Hello.There's a new Command Prompt too – small beer, you might say, but you're now able to properly select text and copy and paste in and out. Ctrl-V really will work. Text also re-flows as the window is resized.
Early verdict
Windows 10 is pretty much finished finished now. Yet even when it was a much earlier work in progress, we knew it was going to be a good one.There are several keys to why we think Windows 10 will be a success – there's the welcoming arms Microsoft is holding out to developers (if Microsoft can't make this work there is a problem). Then there is the fact it will be a free download for consumers. But above all, there's the fact it just works.
If Windows 8 was the steepest learning curve imaginable, Windows 10 is like meeting a great friend you once knew - it's just they've bought some new clothes of which you really do approve.
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Logitech drops the 'tech' with new Logi products
To appeal to a younger generation, the world's largest maker of computer peripherals is undergoing a major rebranding. Logitech announced that it will be dropping the "tech" from its name as it moves into the home automation space.
Under the direction of Alastair Curtis, Logitech's Chief Design Officer who came from Nokia, the company's teaser video utilizes a lot of bold primary colors, similar to what Nokia, now Microsoft Mobile, uses on its Lumia line of Windows Phone.
"Logitech has undergone huge changes, so we've created an identity that is an expression of who we are today and who we will be moving forward," said Curtis, in the a statement. "A company transformation of this magnitude should come with an equally bold transformation of its brand."
More products and more product categories
Since its early days of making keyboards and mice for computers, Logi has evolved to create lifestyle accessories, like the Bluetooth-enabled UE Boom speakers and the Logitech Harmony home remote control. Now, with the branding, Logi teased that it will introduce "some twists and a few surprises in new categories" with new products.
"We've been reinventing Logitech, creating products that strive to blend advanced technology and design to bring you amazing experiences," said Bracken Darrell, Logitech President and CEO, in a statement.
Logi did not disclose what the new product categories will be, but Curtis said that we'll see the new branding efforts on Internet of Things products. In this space, Logi will compete against Belkin, which makes similar keyboard accessories for mobile products and has a WeMo line of home automation products.
Despite the consumer-facing rebranding efforts, Logi's company name will remain Logitech International. Legacy products, like computer and mice, will also continue with the full Logitech branding.
The rebranding effort has been under development for the past two years, Darrell revealed. The project is part of the CEO's efforts to turn the company around. Although the company's stock price is rebounding from a low in late 2012, Logitech still has a long ways to go to reach the peak it achieved at the end of 2007. Logitech stock closed 45 cents lower at $14.26 (£9.28, AU$19.20) at the end of Wednesday.
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Official Star Wars app lets you take selfies in a galaxy far, far away
The Star Wars 7 movie release is still months away, but you can feast on the official Star Wars app starting today.
Some Star Wars app highlights include weather forecasts for spots like Tatooine, classic sound effects and quotes (think light saber clashing and "It's a trap!") and alerts for major movie news and new trailers.
There's plenty of fun stuff to do, like sharing animated GIFs, picking up trivia from This Day In Star Wars History or following along with the Star Wars: The Force Awakens countdown ticker. Perhaps the app's best offering though is the "selfie" feature, which lets users snap a pic in classic character garb and Star Wars settings.
The app also lets users unlock 3D characters using an augmented reality camera feature. At the week's San Diego Comic-Con, a special poster will be on display that lets app owners do just that.
Check out the app trailer (yes, it has a trailer) below and download it for iOS and Android if you're feelin' the Force:
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Apple thinks iPhone 6S can still break records with an 'S' phone
Apple is expected to keep the dimensions of the rumored iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus the same as last year's phones, but increase the size of its sales dramatically.
The company is asking for between 85 million to 90 million new iPhone models to be made by its suppliers in 2015, according to the Wall Street Journal.
That record number would top the current high of 70 million to 80 million iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus phones, which Apple is said to have ordered by the end of 2014.
This is further evidence that if the iPhone were spun off into its own company, it would still beat Google, Microsoft and the rest of Apple in sales. That's clearly not changing any time soon.
How it plans to woo shoppers
At first glance, the iPhone 6S doesn't sound like a remarkably different phone, according to all of the rumors. The outside is supposed to be nearly identical.But it can still woo shoppers with an upgrade to the internal specs and color choices. Apple is rumored to be including a pressure-sensitive Force Touch display like the Apple Watch.
The iPhone 6S camera is supposed to take even better photos with a 12-megapixel sensor, up from the 8-megapixel snapper of the current phone.
Touch ID is supposed to be faster, as in the processing power thanks to an upgraded Apple A9 chip and 2GB of RAM tipped for the new phone.
And if pink is your favorite color, there's good news here too. Look for either a pink or rose gold version of the next iPhone, further mimicking the Apple Watch.
- Can iPhone 6S make up for poor Apple Watch sales?
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Your heartbeat picks your next Tinder date in this Apple Watch app
Tinder on Apple Watch is a near-perfect match, but "Hands-Free Tinder" makes things even more personal by letting you speak with your heart instead of your finger. Developers from an Austin, Texas-based creative agency have retooled the original app with a little help from the new Apple Watch SDK that gives third-party developers access to the heart rate monitor, Taptic Engine and Digital Crown, among other improvements.
It takes the standard Tinder experience on your wrist and puts your heartbeat in control of the swiping. First, the app gets a sense of your heart's normal pace from the start and then begins showing you potential matches. If the app detects that a match has you so excited that your thumper starts beating faster, you'll be set up for a match. On the other hand, if your heart rate declines or remains unchanged, Hands-Free Tinder will show you another candidate. Simple enough.
In the past, Tinder users only needed to rely on their gut feeling. But with Hands-Free Tinder on Apple Watch, you just need to follow your heart...rate, that is. Hey, don't say you got the tip from us, but you could even use the ol' "my heart led me to you" pick-up line here.
T3, the app's creator, claims that the app will be available for download on the App Store and the Google Play Store, but at the time of writing, Hands-Free Tinder isn't available. We'll check back and update this article when it goes live.
Via Elite Daily
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Review: Dell Latitude 12 7000 Series (E7250)
Introduction and design
The Dell Latitude 12 7000 Series E7250 ($1,079, £702, AU$1,452) is a compact business Ultrabook. If you can get over the understated appearance Dell has packed a bevy of ports, an array of wired and wireless connectivity options and enterprise-class security features into the compact frame of this 12.5-inch laptop.Its closest rivals in the business market include the HP EliteBook Folio 1020 G1 ($1,249, £820, AU$1,640) and Lenovo ThinkPad X250 ($836, £544, AU$1,124), both equipped with 12.5-inch displays. Apple's 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display ($1,299, £846, AU$1,747) comes with a higher resolution display on a slightly larger screen, but sacrifices the touchscreen and enterprise-focused features.
Design
With largely unchanged aesthetics from last generation's E7240 model, this year's Latitude 12 7000 Series (E7250) design is inoffensive, and may even appear slightly unremarkable at first blush. Comprised of a carbon fiber lid, metal chassis and black aluminum trim, the Latitude has a solid heft to it, giving it a sturdy and balanced feel when you pick it up.Measuring 12.2 x 0.79 x 8.3 inches (310.5 x 20 x 211mm) and weighing just under 3 pounds (1.36kg), the Latitude isn't the lightest nor slimmest 12-inch notebook. It weighs more than the 2.68-pound (1.22kg) HP EliteBook Folio 1020 G1 and 2.9-pound (1.32kg) Lenovo ThinkPad X250. The Latitude also has a slightly larger body than these 12-inch rivals. For comparison, the HP EliteBook Folio 1020 G1 has a 12.2 x 0.62 x 8.27-inch (31.04 x 1.57 x 21.01cm) footprint.
What may appear as boring is actually the result of blending pragmatic design with modern aesthetics. Unlike slimmer consumer Ultrabook rivals, Dell chose to keep the rear profile of the Latitude boxy to accommodate a wide array of ports, negating the need for costly adapters that could become lost when traveling, as in the case of the uni-port MacBook.
The front portion of the laptop, unlike the completely rectangular Lenovo ThinkPad X250, is tapered, making the Latitude feel more modern. Despite this tapering, the black finish makes the Latitude 12 appear less "airy" than the aluminum-clad XPS 13 and MacBook Air.
On top, the lid is covered in a woven black and gray carbon fiber design, giving the laptop a soft, inviting feel and an interesting texture compared to Lenovo's implementation. The woven pattern is broken by a 3/4-inch black strip at the front where you lift the lid open. This is where the radio antennas are located. Dell design engineers informed me that because carbon fiber, like metal, blocks radio waves, this strip allows the laptop to receive Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, cellular and GPS signals.
The 12.5-inch full HD touchscreen is held securely to the body with two, upward-facing hinges. This design is similar to what is found on the Lenovo ThinkPad T450s, creating a sturdy hinge that allows the screen to articulate 180 degrees, far wider than the concealed hinge of the MacBook or EliteBook. On the lid near the right hinge, you'll find three LED indicator lights to quickly alert you to power, hard drive and battery states even if the laptop is closed. The LED lights are repeated again on the keyboard deck for quick access when the Latitude is open.
Designed to operate under harsh conditions, the Latitude 12 7000 is advertised as having passed MIL-STD-810G testing, allowing it to be used in a variety of environments, including low and high altitudes, extreme temperatures, drops and shocks, exposure to acid and saline, sand and dust, humidity and more. For users needing an even more rugged laptop, the Dell Latitude 12 Rugged Extreme ($3,649, £2,377, AU$4,909) should be able to survive most situations short of a nuclear explosion, but at the cost of price, size and weight compared to the non-rugged counterpart.
The Latitude 12 7000 (E7250) comes with a full-sized, backlit keyboard that's spill resistant. Accidentally spilled water will empty out through a small drainage hole on the bottom of the Latitude, helping to prevent damage to the laptop for butterfinger-proned business executives. There are two levels of brightness to the backlight, which helps to illuminate the keyboard for easy typing when working in dimmer environments.
The Latitude's boxy rear design is pragmatic considering the number of ports Dell managed to cram onto the 0.79-inch thick frame.
The notebook comes with HDMI, power connector, Ethernet and two USB 3.0 ports on the rear. On the right side of the Latitude, you'll find a third USB 3.0 port, Mini DisplayPort, audio and SD memory card reader. The side ports make it convenient to connect headphones and a wired mouse or flash drive, while the rear situated ports make cable management easy when you're using the laptop on a desk. A VGA port isn't included, but you can regain the port if you need to connect the Latitude to an older projector with an optional Mini DisplayPort to VGA dongle.
On the bottom, the matte black powder-coated paint is simply wonderful. It conceals the metal so that it doesn't feel cold to touch when the device is powered off, and the paint adds a nice grippy feel so that the laptop doesn't feel slippery when you're carrying it around the office. Compared to the soft-touch coating that rival Lenovo uses on the ThinkPad W550s, the powder-coating gives the laptop a nice matte finish but without attracting oils, dust or fingerprints.
The Latitude 12 7000 is a highly serviceable laptop with a removable battery and removable back plate. To get to the internals of the laptop, you'll need to remove the battery, unscrew two screws and slide out the metal backplate. Once I did that, I was able to upgrade a few key components of the laptop, including adding a Dell Wireless 4G LTE WWAN module, another 8GB of RAM to the second memory slot and the 256GB solid state drive to a 1TB mSATA SSD.
Specifications, security and performance
Pricing for the Latitude 12 7000 Series (E750) start at $1,079 (£703, AU$1,451). At that price, users will get an Intel Core i3 processor, 4GB RAM and a 128GB solid state drive. The price quickly rises when you're upgrading to a more powerful processor, adding RAM and boosting the storage during configuration.The Latitude 12 7000 Series can also be configured with optional WiGig support. This enables support for the Dell Wireless Dock ($269, £175, AU$361). With the wireless dock, you can connect your peripherals – like a keyboard, mouse, display, hard drives and printers – without requiring a hard connection to the dock. You can also place the wireless dock off your desk and free up space.
Here's how the Dell Latitude 12 7000 Series (E7250) sent to TechRadar Pro was configured:
Specifications
- Processor: 2.3GHz Intel Core i5-5300U (dual-core, up to 2.9GHz with Turbo Boost)
- Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 5500
- Storage: 256GB SSD
- Memory: 8GB RAM
- Display: 12.5-inch, 1920 x 1080 10-point touchscreen, 360-nit anti-fingerprint (16:9) WLED
- Camera: 720p HD webcam for WiGig
- Connectivity: Intel tri-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi, WiGig, Bluetooth 4.0; 4G LTE WWAN optional
- Operating system: Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit
- Ports: HDMI, Ethernet, three USB 3.0, Mini DisplayPort, headphone, TPM, Smart Card reader. Optional NFC Smart Card reader and fingerprint scanner.
- Weight: 2.99 pounds (1.36kg)
- Dimensions: 12.2 x 0.79 x 8.3 inches
Performance
The dual-core Intel Core i5 Broadwell processor on the Latitude 12 7000 Series (E7250) performs as expected. Applications and files open quickly, and even multitasking with multiple Chrome tabs open didn't slow the system down.
Lacking a dedicated graphics processor, the integrated Intel HD 5500 graphics will feel anemic to creative professionals working with large video and photo files. Business users who want to play fast action games with high frame rates on their downtime may also want to steer clear of this compact Ultrabook, but the Latitude can handle most computing tasks with ease. For more graphics-heavy tasks, you'll want to look at heavier mobile workstations instead.
Benchmarks
3DMark: Fire Strike: 540, Sky Diver: 2234, Cloud Gate: 4154Cinebench: CPU: 267; GPU: 20 fps
PCMark 8 Work: 3383; Battery life: 4:55:58
Even though benchmarked performance of the Latitude is within range of similarly equipped systems, Dell's 2015 XPS 13 performed better on a graphics-heavy test with similar GPU, CPU and RAM configurations. The XPS 13 posted higher GPU and 3DMark scores than the Latitude, but slightly lower 258 CPU score using Cinebench.
Although the Lenovo ThinkPad T450s that we reviewed comes with an Intel Core i7 Broadwell chip, processing performance on the Latitude is stronger. The Lenovo delivered a CPU score of 249, but beats the Latitude on GPU performance with 24 fps. ThinkPad also fared better on the 3DMark tests, posting results of 731, 5305 and 2648 for Fire Strike, Cloud Gate and Sky Diver, respectively.
While I didn't notice any slow downs during normal operations with the Latitude, I found that the system was slower to shut down than most other notebooks, including the HP EliteBook Folio 1020 G1 and the Lenovo ThinkPad T450s. Since the Latitude ships with a relatively clean build of Windows 8.1, save for a few Dell apps, it's unclear why the Latitude takes a few seconds longer to power down.
The Intel Core i5 processor on the Latitude generates a bit of heat. Most of that heat is felt on the top left corner of the laptop, but this doesn't affect its "lapability," as the bottom of the notebook still runs cool. The main issue with heat is that when the fan kicks in, fan noise is louder than the Lenovo ThinkPad T450s.
Battery life
The Latitude 12 lives up to Dell's claims of all-day computing. Despite packing in a more powerful Intel Core i5 processor compared to the MacBook's Intel Core M, the Latitude 12 7000 Series (E7250) is equipped with a 4-cell battery that lasted more than nine hours of daily use.
For users in the field and away from a power outlet, the Latitude comes with a removable battery, so you can swap a depleted battery for a fresh one if you need more power. Dell also offers an external battery pack in the form of the Dell Power Companion. These are similar to battery packs that charge cell phones on the go.
Even though you can swap out a dead battery for a new one, unlike the Lenovo ThinkPad X250, the Latitude doesn't come with an internal bridge battery. This means that when you swap out your battery, you'll have to save your work, power down, replace the battery, power up and re-open and reload all your application and data. This can be a nuisance if you're a heavy multitasker with multiple windows and tabs that need to be re-opened.
Enterprise security and features
Dell also offers optional contactless NFC smart card reader, Smart Card reader, fingerprint scanner, TPM, FIPS-certified hardware crypto accelerator, Dell Control Vault, Computrace and Dell Data Protection Encryption. The Latitude 12 7000 Series comes with a one-year subscription to Dell Data Protection Security Tools and Protected Workspace.DDP Encryption protects data across all endpoints, including external media and public cloud storage, while DDP Protected Workspace works to stop malware while the DDP Security Tools provides advanced authentication.
Dell also provides advanced BIOS management capabilities. This gives IT administrators the ability to manage the BIOS remotely. This feature competes with the SureStart self-healing BIOS technology on HP's EliteBook Folio 1020 G1 notebook. The difference is that Dell allows remote BIOS management, whereas HP's technology allows the BIOS to autonomously repair itself with a stored copy in the event of a malware attack.
To ensure that your company's data doesn't fall into the wrong hands if the laptop is lost or stolen, IT managers can also remotely wipe the laptop's drive even if the Latitude is powered off.
The Latitude 12 comes with a three-year standard warranty. Dell also offers optional enhanced warranty services through ProSupport and ProSupport Plus packages. Both packages come with SupportAssist software that routinely scans your system for malfunction.
In the event of a system failure, a ProSupport agent will contact the customers proactively, a move that Dell claims will shorten your downtime as you don't have to wait in line for service or send your laptop to a depot for diagnostics. The Plus option adds next business day on-site repair service, meaning that Dell will send a technician to wherever you're located to diagnose and fix the problem. Additionally, ProSupport agents can handle technical questions, help you setup your home network and even assist in troubleshooting third-party hardware and software. For a small business owner, it's like having an IT staff on call.
Display
It's surprising to see that the maximum resolution available for the Latitude 12 7000 Series (E7250) is a full HD 1080p touchscreen. The notebook's base configuration comes with a paltry 1,366 x 768-pixel panel, but both options fall short of the QHD and Retina display resolutions found on competing notebooks.The 12.5-inch HP EliteBook Folio 1020 G1, for example, comes with a similar 12.5-inch display, but with a higher 2,560 x 1,440 QWHD resolution screen. Even though the Latitude comes with just a 1080p display, the screen is still crisp. Both text and images appear fine, and colors are vibrant.
The upside is that the screen on the Latitude can tilt further than both these rivals. With a 180-degree tilt, allowing for better screen sharing and collaboration in one-on-one or small group meetings.
Also, even though Dell rates the brightness of the the 1080p display on our review unit at 350 nits, the screen seems a lot brighter. On competing notebooks, I found that I usually increase the brightness to between 50% and 70% indoors to get rid of glare and 80% to 100% outdoors when working under a bright sun. On the Latitude, I can keep the screen to about 30% to 40% indoors, and 50% to 70% outdoors.
The 12.5-inch screen sizes feels a lot less cramped than the smaller 10.8-inch Dell Venue 11 Pro 700 Series ($749, £488, AU$1,007) and the 11.6-inch Apple MacBook Air. I still wish Dell had gone with a taller screen, like that on the 3:2 aspect ratio on Microsoft Surface Pro 3 ($799, £520, AU$1,075) or the 16:10 of the MacBook rather than video-centric 16:9 ratio. Even though a taller screen would lead to letterboxing while watching videos, it would make working with large Excel spreadsheets easier with less vertical scrolling.
For multimedia, the Latitude has downward-firing speakers at the front. The speakers are loud with good audio fidelity, even at high volumes.
Keyboard and trackpad
Typing on the Latitude took a little bit of time to get used to coming from a larger 15-inch MacBook Pro. The keys on the Latitude's keyboard are 1/16 inches smaller than the chicklet-style keys on the MacBook Pro, and key spacing is also slightly reduced.However, once I got used to the key size and spacing, typing is an absolute joy on the Latitude with springy, responsive keys. Key travel is satisfying with just the right of level of stiffness so that the keys don't feel mushy, and there is a reassuring level of "clickiness" to the keys when depressed.
The soft touch finish on the keyboard deck also helps with the typing experience as the material feels nice on my wrists. When you first power on the laptop, the area doesn't feel too cold compared to an aluminum deck, and after prolong use the area doesn't get hot, making for a very comfortable experience from the moment you power up the Latitude to the moment you shut down your notebook.
After a week with this notebook, I can say that Dell has created my favorite laptop keyboard.
On the other hand, the trackpad is good, but could be better. The trackpad supports gestures, such as scrolling and pinch-to-zoom, but the tracking area is smaller than on a MacBook. One reason for this is that Dell didn't go with a large, clickable trackpad. Instead, there are two hardware buttons below the trackpad for left and right clicks. Unlike the Lenovo ThinkPad T450s, the Latitude does not come with a trackpoint.
Verdict
The Latitude 12 7000 Series (E7250) packs lots of features that are sure to please the most demanding business user. It balances security, performance and connectivity in a travel-friendly 12.5-inch form factor.What we liked
With a bevy of ports, options for wireless connectivity and highly serviceable internal components that users can upgrade, the Latitude 12 7000 Series can be considered a pared down mobile workstation in its own right, but one without a dedicated GPU.Even though the keyboard is slightly smaller than a traditional keyboard, the Latitude packs in one of the best typing experiences on a laptop.
Enterprise users will appreciate the robust selection of security protocols, superb battery life, rugged build quality and a highly mobile 12.5-inch form factor.
What we disliked
The Latitude 12 lacks the sheen of sleeker consumer Ultrabooks, and its port-friendly design may be considered uninspiring. At its highest priced configuration, the Latitude 12 instantly feels underpowered, compared to mobile workstations like the Lenovo ThinkPad W550s and the 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display, as it lacks a dedicated graphics processor. The Latitude 12 also lacks the higher resolution screen options found on some of its rivals.Final verdict
The Latitude 12 7000 Series (E7250) is the ultimate business-class Ultrabook for power users. Even though the understated design may look boring compared to the sheen of consumer notebooks, the Latitude's subtle curves make it appear stylish while staying functional. A long three-year warranty, upgradability, removable battery, comfortable keyboard and assortment of wired and wireless connectivity options make the Latitude an excellent productivity companion for mobile road warriors who need a thin-and-light laptop without compromise.
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New Uber feature knows where the best pickup spots are near you
Uber has begun testing a new feature that should make actually getting picked up by a an Uber car safer and easier.
The new "suggested pickup points" feature, spotted by TechCrunch, is being tested in the San Francisco area, though only some users are seeing the feature right now.
The suggestions show up as green spots on the map, which indicates areas Uber cars can pull over safely and more easily to pick up passengers, likely based on information where Uber cars have stopped in the past.
However, the feature doesn't necessarily take note of your current location or which direction you need to go, meaning you might be picked up going south when you need to head northward.
You can drop your pin on a green dot, which will show the address so you can walk to it, though you aren't restricted to the suggested locations - you can still drop your pin anywhere you want to the Uber to get you.
There's been no confirmation yet if the feature will be tested or rolled out across the US, but we've asked Uber for just this info and we'll update as we hear more information.
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Review: HP 260 G1
Introduction and performance
Sometimes, a PC vendor comes up with something totally unexpected that, well, gets heads turning. That's a fairly easy thing to achieve in a market that has relied for years on flogging the same boxes or base units to avid audiences. Now users are shifting elsewhere (to tablets, laptops, all-in-ones), leaving the aforementioned vendors with no way forward other than innovating.Which brings me nicely to the HP 260 G1 (manufacturer ID K8L27EA#ABU). As its suffix alludes to, this is a first generation desktop mini PC that's part of the company's business desktop range. It currently is the cheapest ready-to-use Windows computer in the market at just under £100 (around $155, or AU$205) at Ebuyer which provided us with today's sample (we noticed that adding a 3-year Square Trade Warranty will cost only £18, so this is an option worth considering).
The only other rival in this price range is the Lenovo ThinkCenter E50 which we reviewed recently and is a more traditional computer at £120 (around $185, or AU$250). This model is also available with more expensive (and powerful) Core i5 processors.
Design
The first thing you notice when getting the HP 260 G1 delivered is how tiny its box is. Opening it you find a PC that's smaller than a keyboard, along with a traditional keyboard and a mouse. HP deliberately seems to have eschewed the common NUC (next unit of computing) form factor initiated by Intel, for a proprietary one.At 175mm x 177mm x 34mm and weighing 700g, the 260 G1 is probably one of the lightest fully fledged PCs we've tested, on par with the Pipo X7, though obviously way bigger than the Intel Compute Stick (but the latter is a different beast altogether).
Its targeted market, businesses of all sizes, will love its understated design; the anthracite chassis of the G1 reminds me of an external optical drive.
Its sturdy metal enclosure means that this machine can be easily used as a socle and other than a bundled stand, there's the option of screwing it directly to monitors thanks to a VESA mount.
The front of the device houses the power button, an HP logo, audio ports and two USB 3.0 ports. Flip it around and there's air vents, a VGA and a DisplayPort connector, four USB ports (two 3.0 and two 2.0 ports), a power connector, an audio connector, a security lock and a GbE port. A single screw keeps the compact case closed, a boon for system administrators looking for an easy to dismantle/upgrade computer.
Specification
The HP 260 G1 is powered by an Intel Celeron 2957U; while the mere word Celeron might make a few of our readers snigger, this part shares more in common with another Haswell-based model, the Intel Core i3-4020Y, than it does with the Bay Trail-based Celeron parts that have become ubiquitous. Other than a 1.4GHz clock speed, there are two cores, two threads and 2MB of cache.The device comes with only 2GB of RAM but can be upgraded to 16GB by swapping the on-board memory for two 8GB SODIMM modules, transforming it into a very capable low cost workstation.
There's also a 32GB M.2 SSD Sandisk storage solution (which can be complemented by a standard 2.5-inch hard drive), Intel HD graphics solution, Windows 8.1 with Bing, sound provided by the Realtek ALC 221 (which supports DTS Sound+ amongst others) and an external 89% efficient 65W power adaptor.
HP has also chosen to bundle applications that some might consider to be irrelevant especially given the low storage capacity of the device – users will probably uninstall Cyberlink PowerDVD 12, Skype, Bing Search, Foxit PhantomPDF, the Weather Channel for HP and Office 365 trial.
The keyboard and the mouse are bog standard, average input devices that do the job as part of HP's value range of products. The keyboard has a row of four multimedia buttons located just above the arrow keys, and both peripherals sport a low-key matte black finish that matches that of the base unit.
The interior of the device is pristinely organised with a DIMM door to protect the memory modules and a carefully aligned heatsink fan (yes, this machine is not fanless).
Performance
When it came to benchmarks, this sub-£100 computer didn't disappoint despite its rock-bottom cost. We were expecting the worst but the HP 260 G1 managed to pleasantly surprise us.Despite its low price, the G1 managed to score a respectable 14.06 FPS and 101 points on the Cinebench 15 GPU and CPU tests respectively, far higher than its Atom-based peers in the same price range, some of which couldn't even run the tests in the first place.
It achieved 1605, 1997 and 1406 points respectively on the PCMark 8 Home, Work and Creative benchmarks, which again is far higher than similarly-priced Bay Trail desktop systems. The 260 G1 hit 21469, 2075 and 301 on 3DMark Ice Storm, Cloud Gate and Fire Strike, again very decent scores given the price and the intended audience.
Verdict
The first criticism I have of the HP 260 G1 is that it will not get Windows 10 in the immediate future, and from what I understand, this is because of its low on-board storage capacity. So if you are considering the HP 260 G1 and want to get Windows 10 ASAP, that is unlikely to happen.I would probably have preferred to swap the keyboard and the mouse for an integrated Wi-Fi card that would slot in the free Mini PCIe card slot.
The Intel 7260.HMWWB (£12 at Amazon) would go a great job since it adds 802.11ac connectivity as well as Bluetooth 4.0, both lacking in the 260 G1 (and it would do so without the need for an external antenna).
So who is the HP 260 G1 destined for? Well, it will appeal to anyone who wants to have an affordable system that is more powerful than standard Bay Trail parts, one that runs out of the box (unlike an NUC) and can be happily stored in a corner.
Compared to the Pipo X7, it is a better all-rounder thanks to a more powerful processor, but this HP effort loses out in terms of connectivity.
We liked
The HP 260 G1 is a great all-rounder product which is perfect for light tasks either in an office environment or in the home. Because it is part of HP's business range, it comes with better-than-average support – that's next business day service for parts and labour as well as free 24x7 telephone support. We also appreciate the presence of DisplayPort and VGA which allows the box to cover a wider spectrum of displays, even if that requires adaptors.We disliked
Some might have preferred to have a bigger storage option in lieu of the SSD. The lack of Bluetooth and wireless is a sore point although not a fatal one as you can always upgrade within minutes.Final verdict
There's a lot to like about the HP 260 G1; true, it is not perfect and of course given the price, there have been concessions made. However, none of them are deal breakers and once prospective buyers understand that they are not buying a £500 computer, but one that costs less than most smartphones, this little bundle of joy will make for a lot of happy owners.
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Adobe to plug Hacking Team Zero Day Flash vulnerability
Last weekend, Hacking Team became Hacked Team after over 400GB of confidential company data was leaked, and it's emerged that a major Adobe Flash Player exploit is part of that package.
A security bulletin released by Adobe explained that a critical vulnerability (CVE-2015-5119) has been found in Flash Player 18.0.0.194 and earlier for Windows, Mac and Linux. It has the potential to let an attacker take full control over a system.
One of the Flash exploits (CVE-2015-0349) has already been patched up but another was described by Hacking Team as "the most beautiful Flash bug for the last four years since CVE-2010-2161".
The latter allows malicious actors to execute code on a target machine by using a website and can be used against a raft of different browsers including Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Safari and Google Chrome.
Patch is coming
Adobe will release a security patch to cover up the vulnerability later today yet this might not be the end to the damage caused by the leaks from Hacking Team's locker of vulnerabilities.The Italian company has a range of different services and tools to help organisations and governments garner data on individuals with the hacked files revealing customers in Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Lebanon, Mongolia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Sudan, Russia and UAE.
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Tidal unleashes its family-friendly subscription
Jay Zed's favourite music streamer, Tidal, today unleashes its new family plan pricing to its global market, offering discounts for new accounts tied to a 'parent' account.
The new setup allows for up to four new accounts to be attached to a single main bill-payer, with each benefiting from a 50% discount to whichever tier they're signed up to.
For the base 'Premium' level that means an extra £5 / $5 for each additional account and for the 'HiFi' tier, with its CD quality audio, that's an extra £10 / $10. Fill out all five accounts with CD quality music and you're looking at quite a Tidal bill at the end of the month…
Each account has its own login and can setup its own playlists as normal and register up to three different devices for offline playback.
It's something we've been long waiting for from Tidal, with Spotify offering its own family plan in a similar vein.
Sharing is caring
Both though have been massively undercut by Apple Music, which has thrown caution to the wind at its inception, offering a £14.99 / $14.99 family plan with unrestricted access for up to six different people via its iCloud Family Sharing setup.This is feeling a lot like it could be too little, too late from Tidal as it also looks like Spotify has plans to get close to, or match, Apple's family pricing.
Speaking to the Verge, Jonathan Price, global head of comms for Spotify, is quoted as saying "we already have similar family pricing in some markets and we expect to offer competitive pricing everywhere in the near future."
In its native Sweden a family of five can have full access to Spotify Premium for around $20 a month.
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Review: Updated: Google Nexus 5
Introduction
When the Nexus 5 launched in October 2013 it was lauded as "the best that Google has to offer", but almost two years on is that still the case or has the search giant's darling handset fallen behind the times?The Nexus 5 has always been updated with the very latest software and it now boasts Android 5.0 Lollipop. I've updated this review to reflect this change and everything that the fantastic Lollipop update brings, as well as the increasing pressure from the new fleet of low-cost, yet highly specced competitors.
That said, the Nexus 5 is still a lean, mean Android machine, beyond the reach of OEM embellishment and carrier bloatware.
It delivers a streamlined experience that's stylish, refined and fast, and it does all this at a low price. Although, as already mentioned, that price isn't quite so jaw-dropping now.
You can snag the 16GB version of the Nexus 5 for around £199 ($306, AU$411) or the 32GB version goes for a little bit more at around £218.99 ($336, AU$452) if you shop around.
The price has dropped steadily since launch, but seeing as Google has discontinued the handset (it's now officially listed as "no longer available for purchase") only a handful of retailers have units left, so if you want to get your hands on one, you'll probably want to get a move on.
Rumours are also beginning to swirl about a new Nexus 5 device coming in 2015, with LG once again being pegged as the company working with Google on the handset.
With a new Nexus 5 device on the horizon, it's likely that the current Nexus 5 could see some more price drops in the near future, which could make it even better value for money.
In terms of hardware the Nexus 5 is still just about a premium smartphone, it just doesn't have a premium price tag.
The Nexus 5 was able to hold its own with the top devices of 2013, including the iPhone 5S, Samsung Galaxy S4, HTC One, and Sony Xperia Z1, but hold it up against the flagships of 2015 and the Nexus 5 is left lagging behind.
Its 2.3GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 chip isn't as power efficient as the 801 or 805 models which adorn recent high-end smartphones and while we're still seeing 2GB of RAM and 1080p displays on some of them, others such as the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 and the Nexus 6 come with more RAM and QHD screens.
If you want a closer look at how the Nexus 5 and the newer (and much larger) Nexus 6 compare, then check out our in depth head-to-head that pits Google's devices against each other.
We're now well into 2015 and Qualcomm's Snapdragon 810 chip is appearing in an increasing number of handsets - it's already inside the LG G Flex 2 and the HTC One M9 - which dates the Nexus 5 even more.
The Nexus 5 has been updated to Android 5.0 Lollipop; the biggest software jump for Android since Ice Cream Sandwich was unveiled in 2011 and proved Google could do software design well. 5.0 Lollipop completely redesigns the interface, brings in the new Material Design look and adds in many features OEMs have been including in skins for years now, a battery saver mode for example.
If you're wondering where Google cut corners on the Nexus 5 then you might point an accusatory finger at the camera and the battery life.
When compared to the very reasonably priced OnePlus One with a 5.5-inch full HD display, Snapdragon 801 processor, 3GB of RAM, 13MP camera and £199 price tag the Nexus 5 loses some of the value for money sheen.
There's also challengers from other firms in this space, with the likes of the Moto X (2014) and Xiaomi Mi 3 looking for a foothold.
I never expected to fall in love with the Nexus 5, but it seduced me. It certainly has its flaws, and I'll get into them in due course, but it's also a beautiful phone that sets a benchmark for Android.
While the Nexus 5 is no longer the flagship device in Google's arsenal, that honour falls to the 6-inch QHD display toting beast that is the Nexus 6, it's still for sale in some shops (though not from Google itself) and offers a pure Google experience to those who don't want a 'phablet'. You could say, it's the iPhone 6 to the iPhone 6 Plus.
As I rest it vertically on the arm of my couch it conjures visions of the monolith from 2001: A Space Odyssey. To soften it off and make it more comfortable to hold, the corners are rounded.
This black slab (which also comes in white and red) is all about the screen and the entire front of the Nexus 5 is glass. The only details that break it up are the round earpiece centre top and the front-facing camera to the left of it. There is actually an LED notification light down below the screen, but you'll only see that when it blinks into life.
Despite having a five-inch display, the Nexus 5 measures just 137.9 x 69.2 x 8.6mm and the bezels are nice and thin.
With a Full HD resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels, which translates to 445ppi, the Nexus 5 display looks crisp and accurate. It's an IPS display, and while critics will point to AMOLED's superior brightness and black levels, you'd be hard pressed to notice.
The back and sides are soft-touch, matte plastic and it only weighs 130g. Flip it over and you'll see a couple of design flourishes.
The word "Nexus" is embossed in lowercase gloss, with a tiny LG logo below it. Up top on the left you'll find the glaring round eye of the 8MP camera, which is surprisingly big. A tiny LED flash is just below.
The bottom edge has a standard microUSB port and there are two grilles either side of it - the Nexus 5 only has one speaker in there; the other hides a microphone. Up top you'll see the standard 3.5mm headphone port and a tiny hole for an extra microphone.
On the left spine there's a ceramic volume rocker, with no markings. On the right spine there's a ceramic power button and the SIM tray, which you'll need a SIM tool or a pin to pop out. The Nexus 5 does not open, so there's no microSD card support or battery switching.
The Nexus 5 is one of the most comfortable phones I've used. It is comparably slow to heat up, so there are no issues holding it while watching movies or during extended gaming sessions. The soft-touch finish contrasts perfectly with the ceramic buttons, which makes them very easy to find and use without looking.
There are negatives. The camera lens protrudes enough to make you worry about it taking the brunt of any impact when the Nexus 5 is put down on a flat surface. That glass expanse, without any protective lip or border, suggests that a drop could easily result in disaster and scratches might be easy to come by.
Unlike the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, which also boast a sizeable camera hump, the one on the Nexus doesn't have the added protection that a sapphire glass covering brings to Apple's devices.
There's also the inevitable smudging from fingerprints, which turns up on the back and the front, but that's a common problem.
It's not a flashy design, but the Nexus 5 does feel solid and well made. It may be a little big for easy one-handed operation if you don't have big hands, but the extra screen size will justify that trade-off for most people.
At this price, the design of the Nexus 5 is impressive. It's understated, almost making the iPhone 5S and iPhone 6 look gaudy, and it feels more expensive than the Galaxy S5.
Samsung has since taken back the design crown with the gorgeous Galaxy S6, leaving the Nexus 5 looking a little dated.
Key features
The price
Ultimately it's the price of the Google Nexus 5 which makes it an attractive proposition, and while the OnePlus One and co. may be trying to encroach on its territory, Google's own-brand is still the dominant force in the high-spec, low-cost arena.£199 for a premium Android smartphone that's this good is very good. Even at around £220 for the 32GB version, the Nexus 5 is still tempting.
Apple devices are expensive and take their sweet time when cutting their price tags. The iPhone 5S, which was released at a similar time to the Nexus 5, now starts at £459 for the 16GB version and you'll have to lay out an extra £40 to get a 32GB model for £499. While a 16GB iPhone 6 starts at £539, that's almost three times the price of the Nexus 5.
While Apple is comfortable with its premium pricing strategy, the Nexus 5 has really put pressure on the competing Android flagships.
The Samsung Galaxy S4, HTC One, and LG G2 have all witnessed dramatic price cuts over the past 12 months, while the Nexus 5 has managed to retain its sale price much better.
And now there's the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S5, LG G3, Sony Xperia Z3 and HTC One M8 - all costing around £400 and a new wave of devices like the Samsung Galaxy S6 and HTC One M9 now on the market.
Whatever way you cut it, the Nexus 5 is a lot of phone for your money, and it looks like a real attempt to drive prices down, which can only be a good thing for consumers.
However, we've since seen the OnePlus One - better specs than the Nexus 5 and coming in even cheaper - is this the phone Google should be worried about perhaps?
The camera
It would be fair to say that the camera in the Nexus 5 was a bit of a disaster on release. It's an 8MP shooter with optical image stabilization that's intended to be a good substitute for a point-and-shoot camera.There's nothing wrong with the hardware, but the software let it down badly. The camera was far too slow to focus and could be slow to launch, which killed your chances of capturing those spontaneous moments with friends and family.
In ideal conditions the Nexus 5 camera could capture stunning shots, but how often do you get ideal conditions?
Google listened to the criticism and quickly released an update to deal with the slow focus issue by balancing speed and image quality a bit better.
Where previously it would take forever to capture a shot, as you waited for the auto-focus, especially in low light conditions, or with fast-moving subjects, after the update it's much faster.
It also enables the camera app to load a little faster, and improved the contrast to produce more vibrant colours.
Further updates to the Android camera application have also seen the UI changed a little, as well as the addition of a new feature - Lens Blur - and an easier to use settings menu. I was hoping Lollipop would help the camera too, but it hasn't.
Results are generally respectable, but it's still not the greatest shooter on the market. You can take a look for yourself in the camera section later in this review.
Speed
The Nexus 5 is really about speed and power. The snappy processor dovetails with the Android 5.0 platform beautifully.Google did not cut any corners with the quad-core 2.3GHz Snapdragon 800 processor. It was a cutting-edge CPU at the time that had been paired with the Adreno 330 GPU.
That's the same combination you'll find in the LG G2, Xperia Z1, and some variants of the Galaxy S4 and Galaxy Note 3.
While the power setup in the Nexus 5 has now been usurped by more power efficient and feature packed offerings, it's still capable of handling pretty much anything you throw at it.
Interface and performance
The display on the Nexus 5 is excellent, which makes this a great device for consuming entertainment.LG's mature IPS LCD technology really delivers. The colours look accurate and the 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution on the 4.95-inch screen translates to a solid 445ppi (pixels per inch).
To put that in context, the iPhone 6 has 326ppi, the Galaxy S5 is on 432ppi and the HTC One M8 can only boast 441ppi. Though the LG G3 and Samsung Galaxy Note 4 both outmatch it with 534ppi and 515ppi screens respectively. Not to mention the 493ppi screen on the new Nexus 6.
Put it side-by-side with an iPhone 5S or Galaxy S5 and you might detect a yellow tint. The display on the Nexus 5 is also not as bright as its competitors, which has a slight impact on legibility, particularly in direct sunlight.
On the whole, Google's compelling proposition is a premium smartphone that doesn't have to feel uncomfortable in flagship company. It has achieved a winning price without compromising on quality.
The Nexus 5 shows off the latest version of Android 5.0 Lollipop beautifully. It's also set to get Android 5.1 soon and should be near the front of the queue when Android M (Malteser? M&M? Marshmallow?) comes, though as Google only promises to support Nexus devices for 18 months, that's not guaranteed.
If you're coming from an earlier version of Android, which you most likely are as few devices are running Lollipop, then there are lots of little improvements to enjoy.
The interface has been completely redesigned, with new icons, animations and colours giving it a much needed freshen up. Speaking of animations, they're beautiful. I found myself swiping around, opening up the app drawer and diving into the calculator just to see how the operating system moves.
'Material Design', Google's new design language, has impacted every corner of Lollipop. It's lighter, gone is the dark 'Holo' style settings app and everything feels fresh and vibrant. Many of Google's own apps have been redesigned to match these guidelines and they too, especially GMail and Google Maps, look stunning.
You'll find the touch sensitive trio of back, home, and multitasking at the bottom, though these now resemble a Playstation-esque threesome of the circle, triangle and square, but the functionality is the same.
The app dock sits above them with an app drawer icon in the centre which will take to you full app list. The rest of the dock is customisable so you can add your favourites and have them accessible on every home screen.
Swipe right to left and you'll access additional home screens. White dots at the bottom of the screen indicate how many home screens you have and which one you're on, although sadly you can't tap on them to shortcut to another screen.
Drag an icon to the right and you can create a new home screen. There doesn't seem to be a limit, and if you empty a home screen it simply disappears.
Long press on any home screen and you'll see your full scrollable list and get access to wallpapers, widgets, and settings. By dumping widgets from the app drawer and making the app icons bigger, there are now four across a screen instead of five, the interface is easier to navigate and clearer.
Swipe left to right on the home screen and you'll find Google Now, which can also be brought to life by the magic words "okay Google" uttered on any screen home screen.
Android had the best notification system around when it was on 4.4, but the jump 5.0 has pushed it further into the lead. iOS and Windows Phone 8.1 could really learn a lot about handling notifications from Lollipop.
Notifications are easily accessed by pulling down the shade from the top of the screen, keep on pulling and you'll find the new quick settings menu. Notifications now appear on the lockscreen, can be prioritised based on importance and pop-up at the top of screen when they come in.
It's a lot less obtrusive than iOS and I struggle to keep a track of notifications when I'm using any other platform apart from Android.
Part of the reason that the interface is so accessible is the speed. The Nexus 5 is a top performer. It has a 2.3GHz Snapdragon 800 with an Adreno 330 GPU and 2GB of RAM.
When I ran Geekbench 3 on the Android 5.0 the multi-core average was 2307, which is actually down from the 2832 score I averaged on 4.4.4. It's still higher than last year's Galaxy S4 and HTC One and only just behind the Galaxy S5 and One M8, though.
By combining that processing power with the carefully optimized Android 5.0 platform Google has delivered a completely lag-free and highly responsive experience. The Nexus 5 is a dream to use. The only downside I have found is that with the extended animations in 5.0, opening folders and the app drawer does take marginally longer, but that's only because the movements are designed that way.
You can skip in and out of apps and games without any stuttering. Even with more than 20 entries in the new Overview menu and there's no hint of a pause.
You can snag the Nexus 5 in 16GB or 32GB versions. The actual capacity is always less; in this case you get 26.7GB on the 32GB version and around 12GB on the 16GB version. If you consider that it's not unusual for graphically impressive games to be over 1GB in size, you'll see the sense in opting for the 32GB version.
Remember that you can get an extra 15GB of free cloud storage by using Google Drive, and it's worth automatically backing up photos and videos, so you never lose them.
Battery life and the essentials
Battery life
I have had to charge the Google Nexus 5 every day since I started using it. Starting out with a full battery it's generally 30% or below by the end of the day, and for really heavy usage days it needed a top-up before bedtime.
Project Volta, a new addition in Lollipop, is supposed to eke more juice from a charge and help you go longer without reaching for the charger or plonking your phone onto a Qi wireless pad.
But I haven't really found a massive improvement, if anything there's a couple of worrying incidents where my phone has simply drained itself empty overnight when it was fully charged before. There have also been a few cases where it's been at 70% and then suddenly dropped to below 20%, without any obvious reason why.
Another part of Project Volta is a battery saver mode, which automatically kicks in when your phone dips below 15%. Apart from turning the status bars a rather bright shade of orange, this mode manages to save battery by turning off background data, killing those sweeping animations and toning down performance.
In my tests I did find that when 'Battery saver' was enabled the phone would last a bit longer, but no more than an extra 20 minutes. It is nice to have, but nowhere near the feature-rich battery saver mode that Samsung added to the Galaxy S5.
Now, there isn't really any such thing as "normal" usage, but it would be fair to say that I'm a heavy user. I take my phone everywhere and use it frequently. I left Wi-Fi and mobile data on at all times, enabled location tracking with high accuracy, and opted into Google Now.
A typical day will include a cumulative hour of gaming, maybe 90 minutes worth of web browsing, a couple of photos, and a smattering of app action in Facebook, eBay, Twitter, and Flipboard, not to mention obsessive email checks (even with it set to a 15 minute refresh rate).
What this reveals, beyond my worrying smartphone addiction, is that the Nexus 5 is fairly typical.
Initially the battery life is very erratic, but this is no cause for concern, because you should find that it settles down after the first few days. Remember that downloading and installing a burst of apps tends to eat the battery life fast.
Downloading and installing an exceptionally large game, such as Asphalt 8: Airborne, which is 1.6GB, using Wi-Fi actually ate a staggering 10% of my battery.
If you use the Nexus 5 to navigate with turn-by-turn directions or play a graphically intensive game, like the aforementioned Asphalt 8 then you will really notice a major drain.
The Nexus 5 battery dropped 4% in ten minutes of playing the excellent Monument Valley. Streaming a 55 minute episode of Breaking Bad through Netflix ate 18% of the remaining battery life. A 15 minute call drained just 2% away.
The Nexus 5 battery is rated at 2,300mAh, a bit lower than the Galaxy S4's 2,600mAh battery.
Our 90 minute video NyanGareth battery test, with the screen at full brightness, knocked the Nexus 5 from fully-charged down to 74%.
The essentials
Inside or outside, in a busy shop, or a deserted street, the Nexus 5 made and received calls with no problems. Callers reported my dulcet tones came through loud and clear, even with my four year-old son screaming in the background, which points to some good noise cancellation skills.I also found callers came through with plenty of volume and clarity on my end. The speakerphone isn't as clear, but it does the job.
The phone app has been overhauled again in Android 5.0 and it's very convenient to use. The last call is listed at the top and then you get big contact spaces for your most frequently contacted friends and family.
When you do need to call a more distant contact you can just type in the search bar at the top and you'll rarely have to enter more than a couple of letters before they pop up.
You can also search for local businesses in here and call them directly, which can be very handy when you need a pizza at short notice.
I love the keyboard on the Nexus 5. Google has definitely made improvements, because for the first few days I would pause after a staccato burst of typing to go back and make corrections, only to find that the text was error-free. The swiping option has also been improved, making one-handed typing much easier.
Hangouts is no longer the default messaging app in Android 5.0 Lollipop, replaced by a new Material Design infused SMS only app.
Why Google did this, I'm not really sure. Sure, you can change your default app back to Hangouts (which still does SMS and comes pre-installed), but I had hoped Google would do away with the basic SMS app this time around.
The purity of the Google experience on offer here is unmatched anywhere else. Cast an eye over the pre-installed apps, from Maps to Hangouts, from Gmail to Google Docs, from the Chrome browser to YouTube, the strength of the Google ecosystem is impressive.
Swipe to the right on the home screen and there's Google Now, ready to serve. The Nexus 5 offers everything that's good about Google in a streamlined format.
Camera
The Nexus 5 has an 8MP main camera with a 1/3.2-inch CMOS sensor and an F2.4 30mm equivalent lens. The OIS (optical image stabilisation) helps you eliminate camera shake, and it's pretty easy to point-and-shoot and get good results.You tap the shutter button to take a shot and you can tap on screen to choose a subject to focus on, but there's no tap to focus and shoot in one. You get vastly superior results if you're able to take your time, hold tap and hold on the shutter button and just lift your finger off when you're ready to capture.
Extra options are accessible via the small circle icon sporting three dots just next to the large shutter key. Here you'll find controls for flash, countdown timer, HDR+, gridlines and the ability to flip to the front snapper.
This is an easier setup to the awkward arc which adorned the camera app pre Android 4.4.4, and it makes getting to various functions much quicker.
If you fancy a few camera modes slide your finger in from the left side of the screen, where you'll be greeted with Photo Sphere, Panorama, Lens Blur, Camera and Video modes.
Lens Blur is a recently added mode, as Google jumps on the background defocus bandwagon that many manufacturers are already riding.
It takes a few seconds for the Nexus 5 to process the Lens Blur image before you can tinker with the effect.
Swipe from right to left to jump into your camera roll, and any image taken with Lens Blur will have a circle lens icon in the toolbar allowing you to adjust the level of defocus.
It works reasonably well, but it doesn't match the accuracy of the HTC One M8 or Xperia Z3.
The more in depth settings menu also been made easier to navigate thanks to recent updates - slide to open the camera modes panel and then tap the settings cog in the corner of the screen.
From here you'll be able to tweak a number of settings including photo and video resolutions, aspect ratio and toggle manual exposure.
There's also a 1.3MP front-facing camera which is really for video calls and quick selfies.
It takes just under two seconds to launch the camera on the Nexus 5. You can swipe right to left on the lock screen or unlock and tap the camera icon.
Once open you can also use the volume rocker to take a shot, rather than the on screen shutter button. The way you'll typically hold the Nexus 5 to take a photo makes the volume rocker much easier to use than the on screen button.
Occasionally I found my fingers dropping into shot because the camera is offset to the left. When holding it in landscape the lens is at the top left, quite near the edge, but you soon get used to it.
Click here to see full resolution image
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Media
Streaming movies or TV shows is a simple prospect on the Nexus 5. The screen quality is perfect for high definition video, and your chance of encountering stuttering is entirely based upon the strength of your internet connection.
As you'd expect audio sounds better through headphones. The speaker is fairly loud, but it can get a little crackly when there are sudden jumps in volume.
Google would prefer you to use its services, so you'll find the Play umbrella of apps in the shape of Movies & TV, Games, Books, Music, Newsstand, all offering filtered windows on the Play Store content and your own collection.
Music
Whether you're listening to music you own and load into the device, or via Google Play Music's streaming service, it all takes place within the app. The only thing is when you want to purchase stuff, it will redirect you to the Google Play Store app. It makes the experience feel disjointed, but it's not a deal breaker.Music quality through the speaker is not very good. As I mentioned earlier, the speaker isn't very loud, and there is only one small speaker at the base of the phone. With decent headsets on, however, it sounds great.
The nice thing about Lollipop, and KitKat before it, is that it will show your music art and music player controls from your lock screen. Other apps will do this sometimes, too, like Spotify, but it's a nice touch that just adds to the overall experience of using the device.
Whether you're bringing over your own music or using Google Play's service, or other apps like Spotify or Rdio, you won't have much to worry about when it comes to how the Nexus 5 will handle it.
Movies
Videos and multimedia are handled by a few apps depending on what you're doing. First, there is YouTube, which is an obvious one. If you're opening YouTube videos from apps like Facebook or Twitter, or from the web, they will open in the YouTube app.Otherwise, you guessed it, it's more Google Play stuff.
If you're on the home screen, you'll see the film icon that says "Play Movies & T.." and in the app list it's shown as "Play Movies &.." It's a little ridiculous, but what you're looking at is Play Movies & TV.
If you have a Google Play account, you can download and stream movies and TV shows. The nice thing about that is if you're offline, you can still view your downloaded movies.
If this is your first Android device, or your first time using Google Play for multimedia, you should know that when you purchase something, it's yours. At least as far as playing it when you want, on any Android device you want.
This means you can play your content on your Nexus 5, and other Android tablets and phones running Android 4.0 or higher, which is pretty great.
HD movies and TV video quality and sound have been great, but we do have to reiterate that it sounds best through a headset given the Nexus 5's speaker issues.
In all, the video quality is generally good whether you're viewing streaming or downloaded content, or videos recorded with the device, and even better when viewed in HD thanks to the 1080p display.
Games
For gamers the Nexus 5 can handle pretty much anything you throw it at it. Extensive sessions with simple games like Monument Valley presented no problems, and neither did graphically intensive titles such as Asphalt 8 or Dead Trigger 2.
If you do plan on playing a lot of games, or you'd like to store an extensive music or video library on your Nexus 5 then you should definitely opt for the 32GB version.
It's worth remembering that you can upload 15GB of files to Google Drive, or use Google+ as an unlimited photo backup, as long as you store them at standard size (the longest edge must be 2048 pixels or less). You can also store up to 50,000 of your own songs in the cloud with Play Music and stream them to your Nexus 5.
Comparisons
It's becoming debatable whether other Android device manufacturers, building unique user interfaces, and including their own apps and content hubs, can actually improve on what Google is offering, especially as Lollipop is such a beautiful and well equipped operating system.In the early days of Android, HTC's Sense and Samsung's TouchWiz added important features. With Android 5.0 it's tough to find areas where the platform is lacking. Let's take a look at how the Nexus 5 compares.
OnePlus One
The biggest competitor to the Nexus 5 arrived a good six months after it launched, and it came all the way from China.The OnePlus One beats the Nexus 5 when it comes to pricing, but also in the spec war with a meaty 2.3GHz quad-core Snapdragon 801 processor, 3GB of RAM, the choice of 16GB or 64GB of storage and a 13MP rear camera.
Some may find the 5.5-inch full HD just too big to handle on the One, and there's no doubt the Nexus 5 is far more manageable in the palm - but it also lacks in power.
Battery life is another advantage the Chinese handset has over Google's offering, yet the operating system is intriguing.
The OnePlus One runs Cyanogenmod - a community developed version of Android which looks pretty similar to the stock version, but with lots of added extras.
These aren't the extras you get with over the top UIs from the likes of Samsung or HTC though, instead they are implemented in a more subtle fashion and the wealth of extra control allows you to get your phone working just how you want. You can also now optionally replace the UI with OxygenOS.
Of course there are question marks over the support for the handset if things go wrong, and it's a little tricky to get hold of, but if you're looking for ultimate power vs value for money the OnePlus One offers just that.
- Read our in depth OnePlus One review
Motorola Moto G (2014)
If you're really watching your pennies and are looking for the best value for money smartphone you can't do much better than the Motorola Moto G (2014)It may not have quite the same levels of specs and features as the Nexus 5, but it still rocks the same vanilla Android KitKat OS, with the Lollipop update already rolling out in some areas. It is also half the price of Google's smartphone.
You get a 5-inch 720p display, 1.2GHz quad-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 8MP rear camera, 2MP front snapper and the choice of 8GB or 16GB of internal storage with the Moto G. There's also a microSD card slot too, for adding more storage.
There's no 4G on the Moto G (2014), so it's not the device for you if you're looking for super-fast data speeds.
The Moto G is great then for someone looking for a cheap, but still highly functional smartphone which isn't going to be used a great deal for high-def video gaming or movie playback.
- Read our in depth Moto G (2014) review
iPhone 6
You could argue that the Nexus 5 is the device Google hopes will try and entice iPhone 5S users from upgrading to the iPhone 6. While the Nexus 6 is meant to go up against the iPhone 6 Plus.There are no conflicts. It is as close as you can get to Google's version of Apple's walled garden.
It also manages to feel more minimalist than the iPhone, and there's very little between them when it comes to accessibility or ease of use. The mud traditionally slung at Android from the parapets of competing platforms like iOS 8 simply can't stick to the Nexus 5.
Considering that the 16GB model of the iPhone 5S is still more than £150 more expensive than the Nexus 5 and the iPhone 6 is more than double the £299 price-tag Google slapped on its 2013 flagship, there are plenty of reasons to take it seriously.
The iPhone 6 has a 720p, 4.7-inch display, still smaller than the 1080p 5-inch panel on the Nexus 5. Battery life and camera ability are easily better on the iPhone 6, but the Nexus does pack double the RAM, with 2GB.
If money is no object then the iPhone 6 might be for you, but the Nexus 5 is far better value.
- Check out our iPhone 6 review
Hands on gallery
Verdict
Back when the Google Nexus 5 launched you couldn't find a better smartphone for the money. Almost two years on and the Nexus 5 is still good value for money, but it now has some tough competition and is beginning to show its age.It's still satisfyingly fast and refreshingly minimalist, but the truth is that there's no real star feature on the hardware side.
Don't get me wrong, the hardware is extremely good, but it doesn't really trump other Android flagships on the market. It's also a lot harder to come by now with none of the main networks or key retailers still stocking the Nexus 5, so you'll have to search if it still takes your fancy.
We liked
A focus on the really important features means that the display and processor are still up there with the better smartphones around - the Nokia Lumia 930 sports the same Snapdragon 800 chip under the hood. The display is excellent for reading, watching videos, or playing games.The Android 5.0 Lollipop update has really given the Nexus 5 a new lease of life, it's like I'm using a completely new phone.
From the Material Design look, to the new Guest User mode, to the swathes of beautifully rendered animations and the fantastic way it handles notifications, Google's latest Android update is one of biggest changes to an operating system I can remember and Android 5.1 is set to add a few more features.
That price makes the Nexus 5 a really compelling proposition. It puts pressure on other premium smartphone manufacturers and potentially frees people from the tyranny of the contract.
We disliked
Better battery life is top of most people's wish lists when it comes to mobile technology and it's easily the worst thing about the Nexus 5. It's distinctly average, even with Project Volta in Lollipop.I'm used to a daily charging schedule already, so it's not much of a hardship, but if you're out and about for long periods then this is the only potential deal-breaker I can see. The fact that you can't remove the Nexus 5 battery will exacerbate the issue for some.
It's always nice to have the option of extra storage with a microSD card. Google doesn't gouge you like Apple does, but £40 is still a lot of money for an extra 16GB and there's no 64GB version. Not everyone wants to be forced into the cloud.
The camera is much improved after the update, but low light performance is poor and it doesn't match the 2015 flagship brigade in terms of quality.
Verdict
Google has learned from the OEMs. It has learned from previous smartphones in the Nexus line; there are no obvious omissions here, like the lack of LTE in the Nexus 4.The really important things have been nailed. What you are compromising on when comparing the Nexus 5 with the rest of the premium market is the camera, storage options and the battery life, but you get a decent processor with a wonderful display.
You also get Android 5.0 as Google intended, refined, elegant, and efficient, with a full eco-system of services.
It doesn't have it all its own way though. If you're looking for the best bang-for-your-buck high-end smartphone then there are a few, such as the OnePlus One, which trump the Nexus 5.
The Nexus 5 still represents decent value for money, and for the Android purists out there who aren't desperate about having the latest and greatest specs it still offers an excellent smartphone experience.
First reviewed: October 2013
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Facebook's new icon brings it up to speed with the modern world
Facebook design manager, Caitlin Winner, just quietly made Facebook icons more relevant to 50% of the world's population by updating key Facebook icons.
Not only does the female silhouette look less like Darth Vader, she's now been brought forward to take centre stage on group notifications. The female icon was also slightly pushed into the background in the friends notifications icon, but now both the man and woman are of equal size.
Having had to reject the idea of a shoulder-to-shoulder icon, Winner, in her own words "abandoned this approach after failing to make an icon that didn't look like a two headed mythical beast", and a new icon was born.
The final iteration was uploaded to the Facebook servers, and very quietly rolled out without much fanfare.
Rippling out
In a design blog, Winner states that the desire to change the world and make a positive impact to it was the inspiration behind the change. This being the internet, we're sure that some pernickety people will react as if she redesigned them all in pink.Facebook recently highlighted its diversity efforts in a news blog. However, its ongoing refusal to let people use adopted names continues to draw criticism.
Let's hope that small changes like this ripple out from within. Facebook has much further to go on the diversity front than just changing one or two icons.
Facebook videos are about to suck. A lot.
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Microsoft's Nokia gamble didn't pay off, 7,800 jobs cut
Microsoft has announced that it is cutting 7,800 jobs and writing off $7.6 billion (around £4.95 billion, or AU$10.2 billion) related to its acquisition of Nokia.
Rumors were already flying earlier today that a raft of job cuts were coming and that the phone business is where the brunt of the positions will be lost.
"We are moving from a strategy to grow a standalone phone business to a strategy to grow and create a vibrant Windows ecosystem including our first-party device family. In the near-term, we'll run a more effective and focused phone portfolio while retaining capability for long-term reinvention in mobility," said Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella in an email to employees quoted by The Verge.
In March, Microsoft had more than 118,000 employees worldwide, despite the 18,000 people that it handed pink slips to the previous year.
The latest round of cuts come just weeks after Stephen Elop, former chief executive of Nokia and high-level Microsoft executive, departed. Nadella then appointed Terry Myerson, an ideological companion, as head of the Windows and Devices group.
All about Windows 10
Myerson's job is among the most important across the entire company given how important Windows 10 will be to the whole firm's strategy when the operating system is finally released later this month.It's not just jobs that have been lost. Microsoft is also writing off some $7.6 billion (around £4.95 billion, or AU$10.2 billion) from the deal it made for Nokia last year, something that only actually cost Microsoft $7.2 billion (around £4.69 billion, or AU$9.69 billion).
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Motorola's sporting a new phone that we weren't expecting
Rumours suggest a new Motorola Moto X and Motorola Moto G are set to launch next month.
According to a leaked advert from Chilean month phone company Entel, Motorola is set to announce a new version of the Moto G alongside a Moto X Sport.
The name of the latter suggests it's set to be a rugged handset for those that need a waterproof option or one that can take a few knocks - but we don't know that for certain just yet.
Good sport
Leaked images show it'll have a 5.2-inch screen, the same as on the current Moto X, and under the hood is a 1.5GHz CPU. Sadly not much else is known about the inner workings. There's also a 16MP rear facing camera and a 5MP front facing camera.The new Motorola Moto G will include a 5-inch screen much like the last version, as well as a 13MP rear facing camera and 5MP snapper on the front.
The processor is rumoured to be getting a bit of a boost as well up to 1.4GHz from 1.2GHz on the last version.
Obviously there are some doubts in these details, so don't go treating them as fact, but we will eagerly await news from Motorola soon.
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You can own this real, working Star Trek Communicator
It's a good day to be a Trekkie. A replica version of the original Star Trek Communicator has gone on display at San Diego Comic Con and will be available to own in January 2016.
And the best part? It actually works as a Bluetooth headset and a speaker.
A lot of care and attention has been poured in this replica, which was built by The Wand Company and created using structured-light 3D scanning. That means it's exactly like the one used by Kirk and co.
Beam me up
It'll connect up with your smartphone so you can answer calls, plus you can use it as a speaker for music and it has a wireless charging stand for topping up the battery.But it's not cheap – if you want one it'll cost $149.95 (about £97, AU$ 202). You can pre-order it now from the Star Trek shop. If you're at Comic Con this weekend, be sure to look out for it.
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Don't update your HTC One M9 unless you want to kill the battery
There are reports that the latest software update for the HTC One M9 (version 1.40.401.8) is causing some handsets to take ridiculously long times to charge.
A number of users have reported that their devices are taking up to 13 hours to fully charge the battery. A screenshot has also appeared online showing a HTC One M9 saying, in Italian, "Charging - 13 hours until complete".
We've got a HTC One M9 handset with the latest update and can confirm that it does take a very long time to recharge, though we haven't timed it to see if it's quite as bad as 13 hours.
There is a fix
It looks like HTC is aware of the problem, as it has been instructing frustrated M9 owners on its UK Twitter account on how to temporarily fix the problem.In one reply, the account states "can you please uninstall the Google Photos App. This should be a temporary fix for the charging issue".
Another owner contacted the account to complain that deleting the Google Photos App and wiping the cache did not help. In this case HTC recommend restarting the phone by pressing and holding the Power and Volume Up keys for 15 to 30 seconds before charging.
We've contacted HTC to see what else can be done to fix the problem, and how long we'll have to wait for an official permanent fix.
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