Exclusive: MSI P55A Fuzion motherboard here!
MSI has recently announced the mainstream versions of its Fuzion motherboards.
What's interesting about this line up?
Well, like the Big Bang Fuzion P55 board before it, these 870A and P55A Fuzion boards carry the Lucid Hydra graphics chip.
This wee chippie enables multiple graphics cards to be used on the board, but the difference between traditional SLI and Crossfire boards though is that either AMD or NVIDIA cards can be used in any combination.
That means NVIDIA and AMD cards, like ebony and ivory, living together in perfect harmony, side by side next to this very keyboard. Oh lord, why don't we?
Previously we thought that was a signal the end times where close at hand, like human sacrifices and cats and dogs living together, but MSI is here to prove that wrong.
Currently we're told Lucid is making regular driver updates, at least in line with the sort of driver updates AMD makes in its monthly cycle.
We're also told that the current driver set is almost in line with the actual manufacturer's driver performance, and in some configurations actually better.
Other motherboard manufacturers are working with Lucid at the moment to implement its technology in other upcoming motherboards, but MSI has been at the forefront of this new tech.
We've got a pre-production sample of the P55a Fuzion benching in the test rig at the moment and will get you a hands-on review soon as we've corralled the NVIDIA and AMD cards into the same board.
Til then we'll leave you with the gorgeous hi-res imagery and the glorious possibilities GPU cross compatibility could offer.
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Sony PSP boss not smitten by glasses-free 3D
It seems unlikely that Sony's PSP will follow the Nintendo 3DS into the ranks of the naked-eye handheld 3D consoles. At the recent E3 games convention Sony Computer Entertainment boss Kaz Hirai revealed to Japanese publication Sankei Biz his thoughts, saying: "naked-eye 3D for portables does not have high precision, and at present there are limitations," although he didn't comment on Nintendo's 3DS itself.Meanwhile, Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata has hinted that the successor to the Wii will be a 3D-compatible console but doesn't think that the glasses-free 3D technology adopted by the 3DS is currently suitable for big screen TVs.
Certain distance
"With parallax barrier technology the LCD must be a certain distance away from the screen. It also needs a certain viewing angle. We think it is not a great match for the home TV set," Iwata told VentureBeat.
"As one of the engineers, I can anticipate that someone will invent a 3D TV that does not require you to wear 3D glasses. As far as today is concerned I do not think they can do it well. We need an invention to make it happen. If you ask me when, I have no idea."
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Has 3D peaked in the movies?
Pixar's latest 3D release, Toy Story 3, scooped record opening weekend box-office revenues of $109 million for the animation studio but a smaller proportion of punters saw it in 3D than they did Shrek Forever After, prompting fears that interest in 3D fatigue may be setting in. According to BTIG Research analyst Richard Greenfield, 3D represented 60 per cent of revenues for Toy Story 3 whilst the figure was 70 per cent for Alice in Wonderland and 61 per cent for Shrek Forever After.
In addition Toy Story 3 revenue from IMAX 3D screenings declined two per cent compared with Alice and and three per cent against How to Train Your Dragon. It had however increased by one per cent compared with Shrek.
Novelty worn off?
Greenfield has said that the novelty of 3D has been surpassed by a more considered judgement about value for money with increasing numbers of families are weighing the value of spending money on premium priced 3D tickets against lower-priced 2D tickets.
The national US average for a 2D ticket was $7.50 in 2009, according to the National Association of Theatre Owners, whilst 3D prices are around $15 for a youth in New York City.
UK stats are currently unavailable.
"We believe movie exhibitors could generate higher box office results, especially on family films, by lowering the 3D ticket surcharges," said the analyst.
The analyst added that lower ticket prices would drive more people to 3D, and mitigate the risk of alienating consumers when they see a "bad" movie in the format, underscoring sentiment they wasted money on the premium ticket.
Disney CEO Bob Iger recently cautioned against flooding the market with 3D releases, insisting that 3D releases should be done strategically, and not as an afterthought.
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Exclusive: Wearing 3D glasses 'won't kill off 3D TV'
Stu Lipoff, from the IEEE Consumer Electronics Society Standards Committee, has told TechRadar that he doesn't think that 3D glasses will turn people off 3D, despite a recent study which noted that 70 per cent of Japanese consumers weren't happy watching 3D this way.Currently, 3D without glasses is still some way from coming to the home, despite autostereoscopic technology being used sparingly in display advertising.
Using glasses to view 3D content, however, won't be something that will discourage consumers, says Lipoff, explaining: "Developing autostereocopic technology [for the home] isn't needed.
"Glasses aren't a killer when it comes to 3D – if it's worthwhile you will put them on."
Learning process
Lipoff has a vast amount of experience with 3D, consulting with the IEEE on how the technology can be pushed through existing TV infrastucture, and he believes that it will be the quality of content on offer which will drive 3D sales, even though there's still some way to go until filmmakers get 3D right.
"The thing about Avatar is that it was designed to be a great 2D experience but Cameron knew it would be 3D from the front," says Lipoff.
"Other directors are still making things a little gimmicky; the effects are exaggerated
"Part of this is that the filmmakers are still learning. Like if you shoot a couple of objects in the same plain, you need rich backgrounds, with some things in front and behind... we are going to see the production side of it get better, for sporting events, cinema, movies and even for ordinary things shot in 3D."
More natural
Lipoff notes that cinema's foray into 3D is the same as when it first went into colour.
"The first colour programmes shown were over stylised," he notes.
"It was when they made the colour more natural you no longer thought it was cartoonish, it was muted.
"You will see the same thing with 3D when it becomes much less of a gimmick, and Avatar shows that."
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Review: LG 55LX9900
Every year LG seems to get more ambitious with its TVs, partnering its hugely successful budget line-up with some real show-off stuff for the premium end of the market. But nothing the Korean giant has done before quite prepares us for the amount of innovation and extravagance it's thrown at the 55LX9900, a 55-inch TV so jam-packed with technology – including active 3D playback — that it's likely to have even Philips and Samsung scurrying for cover.
Probably the single most striking innovation in this TV concerns the LED technology at the TV's heart. For remarkably, LG has managed to make a screen that uses full (direct) LED technology, where the diodes sit behind the screen, but which sports the sort of slender profile previously only achievable with edge-mounted systems.
By combining the slim-form design of the latter with the premium picture potential of the former, LG has created a truly mouth-watering proposition.
The 55LX9900's design does a startlingly good job of ramming its LED innovations home. For as well as only sticking out 31mm around the back, as we would expect to see with typical edge LED TVs, the set's screen surround is also unbelievably thin, protruding just 2cm from the top, left and right edges of the screen.
And that distance includes three or four millimetres of transparent outer edging, so that the main black frame looks even thinner still.
LG's European (though not UK) marketers have been talking optimistically about borderless TVs for months now and the 55LX9900 gets mightily close to delivering on this promise.
As well as delivering a visual metaphor for the technological innovations within, the 55LX9900's design is remarkably compact and utterly gorgeous. Especially as the screen sits in the same single plane as the surround, the LG logo beneath the screen subtly illuminates and the desktop stand uses a transparent, cube-like neck to extremely attractive effect.
Spinning the set round to assess its sockets, though, uncovers a concern. For the majority of the connections face directly backwards, presenting a considerable problem for anyone wanting to wall mount the TV. Similarly slim TVs we've seen from Samsung and Sony have both tried hard to keep their connections facing at right angles to the set so you can slide cables in from the side.
To be fair to LG, the 55LX9900 does manage to provide a single side-facing HDMI, two side-facing USBs, a down-facing RF input and a little side-mounted adaptor port for a component video input, with the adaptor for this provided in the box. So it is possible to avoid having connections jutting straight out of the set's rear, particularly if you use an external HDMI switching device, such as an AV receiver, to avoid the other three back-facing inputs. But there's no easy solution for anyone wanting to use the D-Sub PC port, Scart socket or RS232 port.
Maybe LG is trying to push you towards its optional wireless AV system. For if you cough up extra the cash, you can get a wireless media box that enables you to transmit audio and full HD video from your sources without cables, thereby massively reducing the burden on the connections built into the TV.
It might have been nice if this system had been included as standard on such an expensive set, but there you go.
Rather disappointingly, the 55LX9900 doesn't even have built-in network Wi-Fi; this again needs an optional extra bit of kit in the shape of a USB dongle.
The good news in all this, of course, is that, as you may have noticed, the 55LX9900 still has all the connections it needs to cope with today's HD and multimedia requirements. Especially since many of these all offer a wide-ranging set of functions.
The Ethernet port, for instance, can be used to access future interactive services available from the set's built-in Freeview HD tuner. Or you can use it to stream files from a DLNA PC (Nero's MediaHome 4 Essentials PC disc is shipped with the TV). Or you can hook it up to your router for access to LG's new NetCast online service.
The USBs, meanwhile, can play DivX HD video files, MP3 audio and JPEG photos from digital cameras or USB storage devices. And last, but by no means least, the HDMIs are built to the latest HDMI v1.4 standard, as required by the active 3D format.
3D capable
Now that we've mentioned 3D, we should kick off an exploration of the 55LX9900's 3D talents by saying that it doesn't include 2D-3D conversion, but does cover side by side (as used by Sky), top and bottom, checker board and, of course, frame sequential (as used by the latest 3D Blu-ray players) 3D options.
As a side note, we were rather startled by the huge list of cautions when viewing 3D video contained in the TV's manual. These include advice not to watch 3D if you're pregnant, old, or have a heart condition; not to let children under 5 watch 3D as it can 'cause problems to normal vision development'; and not to sit near any fragile or dangerous objects as you might 'confuse the 3D video as reality and suddenly move to cause an injury'.
The advice also suggests that you take a break every five to 15 minutes for every one hour of 3D watched, which is hardly ideal for 3D movie fans.
One very pleasing discovery is that the 55LX9900 ships with two pairs of 3D glasses as standard. What's more, while these specs aren't particularly great at shielding out ambient light, they are reasonably comfortable, certainly more wearable over extended periods of time than Panasonic's current eyewear.
Magic remote
LG hits the innovation trail yet again, meanwhile, with its Magic Remote. This curious-looking device resembles a PC presentation 'wand', and its big trick is that you can point it at the TV, Wiimote style, and choose your options that way rather than using the traditional, less intuitive remote control approach (though a standard handheld controller is also included).
As well as providing a genuinely intriguing way of controlling the 55LX9900, the Magic Remote also comes in handy as an alternative control method for a selection of games LG has included within the TV's memory. We can't go into more detail on this, though, since the sample we tested crashed out and rebooted itself every time we selected the game option.
The NetCast web browsing system is disappointing. The only content on there at the time of writing was the AccuWeather weather forecasting platform, YouTube and the Picasa photo-sharing site. Again, though, these services didn't work properly during our tests, repeatedly causing the TV to reset itself. But assuming they work on the final shop 55LX9900 samples, there's no getting round the fact that the NetCast content level is rather behind the online offerings of Sony, Panasonic and Philips.
As with many other LG TVs, the 55LX9900 is endorsed by the Imaging Science Foundation (ISF), thanks to a formidable roster of picture fine-tuning tools. A colour management system, for instance, enables you to adjust the contrast and brightness of the RGB colour elements, and the saturation and tint of the red, green, blue, yellow, cyan and magenta components. Then there is a series of gamma presets, various levels and types of noise reduction and a multi-setting contrast booster.
The last two features we want to cover are both very significant. The first finds the 55LX9900 boasting 400Hz processing. This doesn't mean the screen really refreshes 400 times per second, mind you; rather the screen refreshes at 200Hz, but is joined by a scanning backlight which makes the 400Hz claim possible, if not strictly accurate.
Samsung uses a similar set up on its C8000 3D TVs, but has elected to stick at the more conservative 200Hz number for its marketing.
The 55LX9900's last trick is local dimming. This enables the TV to control the brightness levels of the individual clusters of LED lights behind the screen, with potentially profound impact on the picture's contrast. In fact, LG claims a contrast ratio of 10,000,000:1 for the 55LX9900, which is even higher than Panasonic's claims for its latest premium NeoPDP plasma TVs.
Given the truly mammoth amount of features the 55LX9900 carries, you might expect it to be a nightmare to use, but this is not so.
For starters, the on-screen menu system is exceptionally well presented, with large, clear text, obvious graphics and straightforward organisation. The normal remote control is impressively well thought through and comfortable, while the Magic Remote proves a largely inspired alternative to the usual way of doing things.
We spotted a glitch with the latter's menus, whereby the text under some of the icons gets repeated to a nearly unreadable extent. But again, this will presumably have been sorted via firmware for sets on sale.
On the downside, some parts of the instruction manual appear to be rather poorly translated, and the TV's picture presets are hit and miss.
For instance, the TruMotion processor is kept on when you've got the Sport preset selected, even though it regularly caused the ball to vanish completely momentarily while watching the Wimbledon tennis. Just as well, then, that the process of tinkering with the settings yourself has been made so easy.
So has LG managed to deliver on its promise of direct LED quality within an edge-LED type of design?
First impressions suggest very much that it has. For a start, the image is remarkably bright for such a slender screen. In fact, the amount of light it kicks out almost seems to go against the laws of physics.
Crucially, though, the light seems impressively even right across the full 55 inches of the screen during bright scenes, with no obvious hot spots. The brightness isn't over-egged either, with peak whites, such as those of a typical Wimbledon tennis outfit, looking crisp and clean, but never overly bleached.
Even better, the light drives an excellent palette. The range of colours achieved is truly exceptional, giving pictures a fabulously dynamic look. But even better is the finesse with which the 55LX9900 uses that range, producing superbly stripe-free and patch-free tonal blends that work wonders on making notoriously tricky content like skin tones and football pitches look totally realistic.
The combination of richness and naturalism appears to be a welcome by-product of using direct LED lighting, and it's a benefit LG has made the most of.
Also playing a substantial role in the sort of dynamism the 55LX9900 achieves is its contrast, which achieves impressive black levels to counterpoint those vibrant colours.
For anyone perhaps worrying here that the sort of aggressive colour approach we've been talking about might not be to their taste, fear not. For while we found ourselves generally unable to resist leaving the picture looking exuberantly dynamic, there's more than enough flexibility in the 55LX9900's picture tools to enable you to tone things down radically. Something the Cinema picture preset does at the press of a single button, in fact.
With many TVs we would find ourselves having to go for a more muted approach than we preferred with the 55LX9900 in order to keep noise levels in check, especially on a screen as large as this. But as testament to the quality of the processing LG has put together for this TV, noise levels hardly increase at all until you push the brightness and contrast settings to unrealistically high levels.
It's often the case that images that suppress video noise well tend to look a bit soft. But while again the tools are there to soften pictures if that suits your tastes, they can also look extremely sharp and crisp with HD. And you appreciate the detailing all the more on account of the sheer acreage of screen the TV carries. Just make sure you don't leave the edge enhancer circuit set to 'high', though, for that can start to make edges look rather overstated.
Perfection in motion
Yet more good news finds the LG 55LX9900 handling motion impressively. For while the TruMotion processing does a fine job of suppressing both judder and LCD's motion blur problems, it does so without generating many unwanted processing side effects beyond a sporadic and momentary horizontal glitch when watching 1080p/24 Blu-rays.
So far, we've been talking about the 55LX9900's 2D performance. But you're doubtless champing at the bit to hear how this monster set handles 3D. And the answer is: great in many ways, but with one irritating flaw.
The good news concerns the striking brightness and vivid colour saturations the set retains even after you've perched the 3D glasses on your nose. Inevitably, there's some reduction in the image's brightness, and whites tend to turn creamier in tone. But there's certainly nothing like the large reduction in brightness noted with Panasonic's plasma 3D TVs.
This helps 3D HD pictures look impressively detailed and crisp, even in dark image areas. The excellent motion processing the 55LX9900 carries also makes its presence felt with 3D material, delivering 3D action sequences with expert fluidity and clarity, and again without generating distracting side effects.
So, what's the catch? Crosstalk noise. For as with Samsung's C7000 and C8000 3D TVs, the 55LX9900 suffers quite badly at times with this 3D issue, where parts of the picture can appear with ghostly echoes of themselves to the left and right of their 'real' position.
At its worst – as in, when you can see it on the main subject of an image, rather than on background content where it more commonly manifests itself – this can be seriously distracting. Not to mention straining on your eyes, as they try to 'refocus out' the ghosting bits.
The key thing about this is that Panasonic's plasma 3D TVs, with their much faster response times, suffer far less from crosstalk than the 55LX9900 or Samsung's 3D TVs.
One other small point about the 55LX9900's 3D pictures is that the sense of depth they create doesn't seem quite as profound as it does on the Samsung and Panasonic models. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, though, for it arguably makes particularly deep 3D content easier on the eye and more natural, crosstalk problems notwithstanding.
Before we wrap up the 55LX9900's picture assessment, we've got a couple of issues to clear up concerning the locally dimmed LEDs. The first is that, although you're given the option to turn the local dimming off, you really have to leave it on all the time.
For if you don't, the set's black level response reduces dramatically, leaving dark scenes looking awash with grey, and colour tones less credible.
With the local dimming active, though, we noticed some very slight haloing effects around extremely bright objects when they appear against mostly dark backgrounds. This becomes quite extreme if you have to watch the TV from much of an angle.
But provided you watch from pretty much straight on and don't leave the image's brightness settings too high, haloing shouldn't be considered a major issue.
It's amazing the 55LX9900 produces any audio at all, given how slim it is. Especially as volume is able to go respectably loud without distorting or causing unwanted cabinet vibrations.
But while the mid-range is at least open enough to handle voices creditably and not sound muddy during action scenes, there's very little happening at the bass or treble extremities.
This is a tough one to call. For while £3,700 is clearly a huge amount to spend on a TV, the 55LX9900 certainly doesn't skimp on the features, innovations, design sleekness or performance quality and, of course, it's absolutely enormous.
While the 55LX9900 is a truly stellar TV in most ways, though, the 3D crosstalk issue represents quite a significant flaw given the prominence of 3D on the set's specification.
The 55LX9900 proves definitively that innovation and ambition are not only alive and well, but thriving in LG's R&D department. It really isn't overstating the case to say that it's arguably the definitive high-tech TV of its generation, which is no mean feat when you consider just how quickly things are changing in this area at the moment.
Obviously, such high levels of innovation come at a steep price, but at least LG has managed to deliver mostly excellent picture quality to accompany the 55LX9900's enormous feature count and ground-breaking aesthetics. It's just a pity that the crosstalk issues diminish the mostly good 3D playback.
We liked
The TV looks absolutely sensational, with its tiny border and svelte profile looking almost miraculous given the huge expanse of screen they support.
The set is also packed with connections and multimedia talents, including an optional wireless AV transmission system.
We also found the TV remarkably easy to use for such a feature-laden model, and really enjoyed the intriguing Magic Remote control option. Best of all, the 55LX9900 is capable of producing some really sensational big-screen picture quality, with clear, smooth motion; rich colours; high brightness levels; good black levels; and lots of sharpness and detailing.
We disliked
Although the 55LX9900 is very easy to use for a TV packed with innovation, features and options, you do have to take a little care with the picture setup in order to get the best out of the TV. You can definitely drastically reduce the picture's appearance if you get a few key tools set badly.
It's a pity some of the set's connections stick straight out, rather than resting at right angles to the screen and also that the mostly impressive picture quality is affected by crosstalk noise with 3D material, and extensive haloing and contrast loss during off-axis viewing.
Final verdict
The 55LX9900 represents the state of the TV art, and LG should be justly proud of what it has achieved with the set. In fact, if you're after a truly luxurious and profoundly talented 2D TV, it hits the spot completely, finally destroying LG's image as a budget-only brand.
Its only significant problem is that it suffers from the widespread crosstalk noise problem with 3D, thus leaving us with no choice but to suggest that anyone really keen on 3D might be better off with one of Panasonic's VT20 plasmas.
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In Depth: 20 iPhone 4 and iOS 4 tips and tricks
The iPhone 4's operating system represents a significant improvement on earlier versions of Apple's smartphone operating system. It's also got a new name - iOS - signifying the importance of the iPad alongside the iPhone. And what's more, iOS 4 is available to users of the iPhone 3GS, third-gen iPod touch and 3G too (albeit with limited features with the latter). iOS 4 will be available for the iPad later in the year.
We've delved right under the hood of the new iPhone to bring you 20 essential iOS4 and iPhone 4 tips.
1. Lock the screen orientation
If you're lying in bed reading an iBook or a page in Safari it can be annoying when the iPhone's orientation keeps flicking between portrait and landscape. You can solve this by activating the new Portrait Lock. Double tap the Home button to reveal all the running apps, then swipe your finger to the right to reveal iPod controls and the Portrait Lock.
2. Tap to focus/zoom in Camera
The iPhone 4's new 5 megapixel camera has a fantastic digital zoom. But to activate it you first need to focus on an object – like a face, for example, in your view. Do this by simply tapping anywhere on the screen. A white square will appear showing you the object that the iPhone is focused on. A zoom bar will also appear, which you can use to zoom into the object you've picked.
3. Multitasking: update your apps
Multitasking is one of the big new features of iOS4, but while all Apple's apps (like Calculator and iPod) are compatible, all third party apps will need to be upgraded to properly multitask. So, you'll need to head to the App Store app on your phone, then visit the Updates section to download a update for each app. This can take a while, but don't forget, the App Store app also multitasks (as it always has), so double tap the Home button to get back to it to save time after selecting each update. There's also a handy "Update all" button to tap.
4. Switch to UK English
If you're getting annoyed that your iPhone thinks colour should be spelt without a 'u' it's because you've got English (US) selected. You can easily switch back to English (UK) for spell checking by tapping the globe button next to the space bar in any app that brings up the soft keyboard (like Mail or Notes). This toggles your iPhone between English (UK) and English (US).
5. Multitasking: kill a running app
After you've been using your iPhone for a while double-tap the Home button to see how many apps you have running - it will be more than you think! Normally you just let the iPhone decide how many it can keep running at once, but you can take matters into your own hands by killing running apps here. Just tap and hold on a running app and a "-" button appears against all of them. Tap this to kill the app.
6. Add an accent on the e and a key
It's possible to quickly add a variety of accents to the letters "e" and "a" when typing on the iPhone's keyboard. Just tap and hold on either key to reveal more options, like "é", for example.
7. Turn caps lock on
If you want to change your typing to capital letters all the time, rather than just for the next letter, then double-tap on the Shift key on the iPhone's keyboard. It will now turn blue, indicating caps lock is on. Just tap it again to turn it off.
8. Camera: take a picture of yourself
The iPhone 4 has a front and rear-facing camera. The rear-facing camera is the high quality 5 megapixel one, and the front facing camera (used mainly for FaceTime video chat) is lower VGA resolution. This means it's now easy to take a picture of yourself (something that was pretty difficult on the previous iPhone models). In the Camera app just tap the Switch button at the top right to change cameras from rear to front.
9. Camera: email a video of yourself talking
You can also use the forward facing camera for recording video, and the iPhone 4's second microphone means it works well capturing anything you say too. In the Camera app tap the switch icon (as in tip 8) then change to video mode using the slider and record a video of yourself talking. Now select it in the Camera roll then tap the Forward icon and select Email Video - job done!
10. Make and rename folders
Organising your apps is so much easier on iPhones running iOS4. Just tap and drag apps on top of each other and you create intelligently named folders. You can rename the folder names Apple chooses though - just tap and hold on an app to make them wiggle, then tap on the folder name and start typing.
11. Make a FaceTime call
When they first get an iPhone 4 a lot of people start looking for the FaceTime app to make video calls. Actually, there's no FaceTime app! To make a video call you simply make a regular call, then tap the FaceTime button in the Phone application. At the moment FaceTime is only available between iPhone 4 users on Wi-Fi. We would expect more compatibility going forward, as the FaceTime technologies are being ratified as an open standard.
12. Hide Caller ID
It's possible to hide your Caller ID when making calls on your iPhone. In the Settings app tap on Phone, then tap on Show My Caller ID and turn it to OFF. (Incidentally, if you ever forget your phone number, you'll find it in here too).
13. Restrict features
If you've brought an iPhone for your kids to use you might want to restrict some options, like the iTunes store and the App Store, for instance. You can also restrict the ability to watch age-rated content. In the Settings app click on General then Restrictions to turn this feature on and choose what you'd like to restrict.
14. Delete a text from the text history
The iPhone Messages app records a history of all your text messages, like an instant message conversation. You can selectively delete old texts though. In Messages tap the Edit button at the top of the screen and then tap the radio button next to the offending text and tap Delete.
15. Watch live TV on your iPhone
Not an iOS 4 tip per se, but you can turn your iPhone into TV thanks to the mobile version of the great TVCatchup website. You need to register, but the service is completely free, and even works over 3G as well as Wi-Fi.
16. iMovie and photos
Apple's iMovie for iPhone 4 app means you can edit movies on your phone. Obviously it lacks the depth of the full iMovie for the Mac, but considering it runs on a phone it's very impressive. You can also add photos to your movie projects with a Ken Burns effect. One useful tip is to create an album of all the photos you plan to add to the project because otherwise you have to search through your camera roll, and for every photo you insert you have to start back at the beginning of the roll.
17. Show PDFs
iBooks for iPhone can display PDF files as well as ebooks (as in the image below). To upload a PDF to your iPhone you have to use iTunes. First drag and drop your PDF file into your iTunes library, then when you sync your iPhone look in the Books tab. Here you'll find options for uploading the PDF. Once you've done that look in the iBooks app and a new PDF tab will have appeared. Tap this.
18. Get better reception
Apple's statement that there's a fault with the way the iPhone displays signal strength, which will be fixed by a future software update, is all very well, but people are still losing signal when gripping the iPhone 4 in a way that covers the gap between the metal bands at the bottom left of the phone. iPhone Bumpers (£25, from Apple), or in fact any third party case that covers the outside edge of the phone will solve the problem, since they prevent your skin from contacting the metal antenna.
19. Turn on SMS character count
A nice little update in the iOS 4 software is the ability to turn on a character count in the Messages app. You'll find the option in Settings/Messages. Now you'll be able to keep your overly long text messages in check!
20. Search more with Spotlight
The Spotlight search has been enhanced significantly in iOS 4. Swipe right from the Home screen to activate it. You'll notice that it now searches more things, including text messages in the Messages app. But if you keep scrolling down the list of results you'll notice two new options at the bottom of the screen – Search Web and Search Wikipedia. These are handy links that open up Safari automatically and start searching for you.
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Google: No plans for Nexus One successor
CEO of Google Eric Schmidt has revealed that there are no plans for a Nexus One update and it is all because of the phone's success.While other normal companies would leap at the chance to create another version of something that was deemed successful – Apple we're looking at you – Schmidt believes that the Nexus One proved to the world Google could create a phone (with a little help from HTC), so there's no need to do it again.
Congrats… now stop
"It was so successful, we didn't have to do a second one," Schmidt told the Telegraph.
"We would view that as positive but people criticised us heavily for that. I called up the board and said: 'OK, it worked. Congratulations - we're stopping'. We like that flexibility, we think that flexibility is characteristic of nimbleness at our scale."
We're not quite sure how Schmidt deems the Nexus One a success, but it wasn't seen that way in the UK, where predicted sales for the device dropped 70 per cent when it was first released.
Although when it was released, it did so to rather glowing reviews.
Saying that, future versions of the Nexus One look to drop the OLED screen, in favour of an LCD.
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Acer: multiple devices are key to the future
Connecting people to their digital lives through multiple devices is key to Acer's plan for the next five years, according to the company's VP of marketing communication Gianpiero Morbello. Speaking to TechDesign TV – sponsored by Acer and in association with TechRadar – Morbello insisted that a single convergent device was unlikely, and that the laptop giant was focused on having ranges or products to suit everyone.
"The future of Acer is not in the product but in the customer," said Morbello.
Seamless experience
"It is in giving the customer a seamless experience into the online community overall and into the technology that you can find now.
"We are providing the customers with the right product o ensure that their digital life is connected through different products."
The full video, discussing convergence and the next generation of devices, is available now on the TechDesign TV site.
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Updated: LG announces plans for Android tablet
LG has revealed it is working on an Android-based tablet and hopes to release it in the fourth quarter of the year.This little snippet of news was announced alongside two new phones – the LG Optimus Chic and LG Optimus One.
Both these handsets share the same name as the UK released LG Optimus, which also has the not-very sexy moniker of the LG GT540.
Tablet time
Since the launch of the Apple iPad, there have been a number of manufacturers who have announced that tablet PCs are in the offing.
Dell was quick to market with its Slate and there's also the Samsung Tab Android tablet, which has been spotted in the wild a few times.
LG is hoping that the tablet will be in the shops before Christmas, while both the LG Optimus Chic and LG Optimus One will both supporting Android 2.2.
Speaking about the new handsets, Skott Ahn, President and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Compan, said: "The LG Optimus Series is aimed at challenging the notion that one device can meet the needs of many.
"At LG, we believe in providing people with many different choices because our customers are not all alike. We want to provide devices that suit all needs and simplify people's lives."
As for the LG Android tablet, LG is boasting that it "will deliver vastly superior performance than other similar devices currently on the market while still managing to be thinner and lighter than competing devices."
'Thinner and lighter' than the iPad, eh? Sounds good to us.
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Bioware 'not discussing' Star Wars MMO for consoles
Bioware insists that it has not even discussed bringing Star Wars: The Old Republic to consoles. Star Wars: TOR is being widely touted as the MMO that could finally challenge the dominance of World of Warcraft, and it is being developed by Bioware for the PC.
Console owners who are hoping that the next big MMO is arriving on their platform may be in for a long wait, with developers Bioware insisting that it has not been a topic that has surfaced.
No idea if it's possible
"I have no idea if it's possible," Daniel Erickson told CVG when asked about the possibility of a console version.
"I'd have to ask our tech director. I can tell you that it's not anything that we've even discussed.
"There is nobody anywhere in Bioware laying the groundwork for that because we have a very large complicated game to ship first."
Natural place
Erickson insists that the PC is the 'natural' place for MMOs: "[Which platform it would be rolled out to] was not a question when we started Old Republic - or any of our games, for that matter.
"There's a reason the lead SKU for Dragon Age was PC as well. When we're developing an RPG, it's a natural place to be."
So, might be worth thinking about updating your PC if you want to be enjoying becoming the next Han Solo.
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Sony makes 3D simple with new surround systems
Sony has launched a range of 3D-friendly home cinema systems capable of receiving and passing on 3D Blu-ray video signals.Never mind the specs, one of the major irritations of 3D for many home cinema enthusiasts is that the HDMI inputs on their existing amps are unable to handle the 3D signal from a Blu-ray deck and pass it through to a 3D compatible screen.
It's good news, then that Sony new line-up comprises two surround sound/amplifier combis – the HT-AS5 and HT-AF5 – and the BDV-470SS, a complete system that adds a 3D Blu-ray player.
The implementation of a 3D pass-through means that the 3D signal from a Blu-ray deck can be fed to a 3D TV screen via the home cinema system, allowing the amplifier to decode the hi-res audio formats carried on most 3D Blu-rays.
Each system is powered by a 1,000W S-Master digital amp hidden in a compact subwoofer/control centre.
Other common features include Audio Return Channel, dual optical/single coaxial digital audio inputs, 7.1-channel LPCM compatibility, auto-calibration and Sony's Digital Cinema Sound processing.
Slim, compact speakers are used for front and rear channels, the HT-AS5 using the same speakers all round, while the HT-AF5 has tall floorstanding front left and right channels for a bigger sound.
The BDV-470SS all-in-one package combines a BDP-S470 3D Blu-ray Disc player with a HT-AS5 surround sound system. Additional features include DLNA multi-media networking and Sony's impressive BRAVIA Internet Video platform.
The HT-AS5 is available from Sony's online store for £400, the other two models have an impending UK release date, but prices have yet to be announced.
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Review: Samsung UE55C9000
Samsung's 9 Series screens represent the pinnacle of its TV range. Designed with money-no-object flair, the models – available in 40, 46 and 55-inch sizes – combine the very latest in LED backlighting techniques and picture processing modes with 3D capability. They are, in every sense of the word, 'statement' products.
These models currently have no equal when it comes to design and build quality. Finished in gleaming aluminium, the Samsung UE55C9000 reviewed here is just 33.9mm deep. At first glance the screen appears to be an optical illusion. In reality, it's an astounding piece of consumer electronics engineering.
The back-panel is sheet metal with no overt air vents. There's a consequence to the slimness, though. The back panel rim is too slim to support AV inputs, so they are relegated to the rear of the stand. This in itself is pretty thin, so the set is supplied with a selection of adaptors, which come with pinch-locks to secure them in place.
There's scant space between some of the ports. Once you've added the Scart and LAN adaptors it is very difficult to remove them, as there's barely room to squeeze the locking lugs to allow you to pull them free. Having an adaptor for an Ethernet cable also seems odd, as the rim does appear to be deep enough to support a native connection.
The four HDMI leads can be connected directly. To the side are USB ports to accommodate the supplied Wi-Fi dongle. This can be used to take the set online and/or to connect to the set's touchscreen remote.
It's worth noting that the set ships with a low-profile WMN1000B wall mount. This enables you to hang the screen like a painting (the set weighs 20.4Kg).
The UE55C900 is full to the brim with features. It is fully network compliant and also offers access to the brand's own content portal, Internet@TV.
So not only can you access your media across your home network, pulling digital still images, music and video from PCs and NAS devices (there's support for JPEG, MP3, DivX, MKV and AVI extensions), you can also browse YouTube, check-in with Facebook and stream movies from LoveFilm. Samsung's own App store offers a range of simplistic games and more choices are promised for later this year.
Series 9 sets also ship with Samsung's ambitious Wi-Fi-enabled 'Touch Control' remote. This can be used in various ways, from standard controller to streaming TV viewer. For the latter to work you need to pair the remote to the Wi-Fi dongle, or your network at large.
Ease of use is generally good. The user interface is, for the most part, extremely well designed and attractive. Navigating the set's features is aided by some lovely artwork. Unlike Panasonic's TV listings interface, the EPG is clean and attractive. Only the Wi-Fi implementation really needs a rethink.
The supplied touchscreen remote looks like the bee's knees, but proves to be a headache to use and some regular users might not persevere after initial frustrations.
While the set has an extremely well designed and intuitive user interface for most of its functions, the Wi-Fi component is impenetrable and some of its dialogue boxes are laugh-out-loud obtuse.
The remote is not really worth the hassle of trying to partner with the set because it falters with general usability. The touchscreen requires you to scrutinise every finger dab, as it's incredibly easy to hit the wrong part.
The right-hand side of the directional navigator is positioned alongside the 'Exit' button and it's very easy to quit a command inadvertently after connecting with the wrong graphic. The battery life is also limited: it can only just manage a day's use, and once depleted has to be recharged via a USB wall socket.
The 2D picture clarity of this set is startling. Detail levels are phenomenal. If it's in the source material you'll see it on the screen. This revelatory approach will have you searching for the very best source hardware you can find.
The set uses edge-mounted LED backlighting (hence the screen's astounding slimness), and illumination is pleasingly even. As a result, black levels are deep and consistent, and colour fidelity high. As with all LCDs, perceived black levels are higher in a well-lit room than in a darkened environment (plasma, of course, is the opposite), but there is no impression of creeping greyness.
Pictures from the Freeview HD tuner are terrific and improve even further with Blu-ray.
The set has excellent deinterlacing, with no jaggies. Black level and greyscale is excellent. Simon Lee, Samsung's R&D chief suggests 45 as the ideal brightness level for the screen, although you might be tempted to edge it a little lower.
Judging from the Belle-Nuit testchart, the black level really should be pitched around the low to mid-30s, although for general viewing this will appear too dark. Around 42 brightness should suffice for most purposes.
One area of traditional weakness for LCD is motion resolution, and multiple solutions have been used over the years to improve this (high frame rates, black frame insertion, flickering backlights and so on). The UE55C9000 shows how far these techniques have come.
Using a motion resolution test pattern developed by the Advanced PDP Development Centre, there is a noticeable drop-off in clarity during movement, but it is modest. Average motion resolution drops from 1,080 lines to between 850-950 depending on the settings deployed on the screen. You lose a little more clarity with very fast motion.
A secondary test pattern, which comprises scrolling English and Japanese text, fairs well. Only when luminance drops to 30 per cent does significant image blur becomes apparent.
It's worth noting that there is no mode on the set which offers 1:1 pixel matching. Every viewing option features an element of overscan. Given that there is no need for overscan when playing Blu-ray, we feel there should be at least one mode that offers it.
There is clearly already a formidable rivalry between Panasonic and Samsung when it comes to claiming best overall 3D performance.
The UE55C9000 offers a wide range of 3D viewing formats: frame sequential Full HD 3D (Blu-ray), side-by-side (Sky and other forward-thinking broadcasters), top and bottom and checkerboard.
As is clear from an exhaustive workout using Monsters Vs Aliens and various test discs, along with the Xbox 360 game of Avatar and the Sky 3D TV channel, the set's 3D performance is very good indeed. Images have genuine depth and retain colour vibrancy despite the glass filtering.
The most contentious issue for Home 3D is crosstalk; this manifests itself as a double-image created when picture information in the left/right eye channels overlap. It can be avoided and/or disguised by fast refresh rates and response times, as well as through aggressive filtering via 3D glasses. But if you look for it, you will find it on most screens. Certainly, it's evident on the Samsung UE55C9000.
Samsung bundles the 3D Blu-ray of Monsters Vs Aliens with its 3D glasses. The disc itself provides a couple of good test sequences. The opening church steeple sequence in itself is quite revealing of Crosstalk.
To improve motion clarity and minimise crosstalk effects, Samsung has adopted a picture processing technique called Dual Black Insertion. The 60Hz per eye refresh rate is upped to 240Hz, but instead of a left/left/right/right image refresh (which is the approach used by Sony), we're treated to a left/black-frame/right/black-frame on-going sequence.
Samsung currently offers a few different styles of 3D glasses and this set ships with a single pair of the SSG-2100AB Active Shutter model. Battery life is rated at 50 hours. They do not rob the screen of too much brightness and they are light, mainly because the LCD lenses are not fully enclosed in plastic rims. This does make them a little fragile, though, and our pair didn't survive being accidentally sat upon in a darkened test room.
It's interesting to note that the 3D as viewed here is brighter than you'll find at your local multiplex. The filtering also translates to a difference in white balance.
Like Samsung's first crop of 3D screens, the set can convert 2D material to 3D on the fly. This is a fairly contentious technology, and a number of different vendors have their own approach to this, but Samsung arguably does it better than any other current implementation.
The company uses a proprietary algorithm that analyses the incoming signal for depth separation; the image is broken down into 96 segments and then layered to create a stereoscopic 3D image. There are slight vertical black bars left and right, but the effect is often fine. The 3D is unpredictable, but if you stick to a high-quality source (Blu-ray or HD TV) you can get some good results; cinematic material generally looks better than studio fare. The finale of Lost was surprisingly effective.
You might expect a blade-thin TV to have insubstantial audio, but the UE55C9000 confounds when it comes to sound.
Its speakers are cleverly located in its pedestal, facing forward across its width and unless you're seeking them out, you won't spot them. However, they deliver a well-rounded stereo spread. Naturally, there are a variety of processing modes, but for most use you can leave the screen on 'SRS Movie'. Power output is rated at 30w (2 x 15W).
In movie viewing we would still recommend utilising a separate multichannel sound system, but for every-day use the screen is fine.
Value
Value is more difficult to access. Clearly, much of the cost of the UE55C9000 is tied up in that gloriously engineered chassis. Ultimately, this is not a screen you'll audition if you're on a budget.
This is for lovers of the extraordinary; viewers who hanker for something a little bit special. A number of brands exist in this niche, catering for well-heeled customers, but it's unlikely that the likes of Loewe and Bang & Olufsen could have foreseen being shown a clear pair of heels by Samsung.
The Samsung UE55C9000 is the most ambitious LED LCD TV you can buy. Beautifully designed, with leading-edge electronics, it's a worthy flagship product from the world's biggest TV maker.
Two-dimensional pictures are terrific, images are extra-sharp and the use of LED backlighting aids black levels immeasurably. The feature set, with well considered online and network capability, is also on the money.
The 3D compatibility almost seems like an afterthought, but performance is very good, although crosstalk artefacts are there if you want to look for them. Overall, this is a fabulous TV proposition.
We liked
The gorgeous design and finish on this set, along with the astoundingly sharp picture quality. The screen's multimedia abilities impress, both in terms of networking stream and the richness of Samsung's online content portal. The 2D to 3D conversion is also impressive.
We disliked
The Touch Control remote zapper is far too fiddly to use and its Wi-Fi implementation is wanting. Integrated Wi-Fi would make more sense than a dongle.
There is also crosstalk evident in the set's 3D image, which may be noticeable depending on the kind of 3D material viewed.
There is no zero-overscan, 1:1 pixel matching mode.
And of course, you're going to need deep pockets to buy into the Series 9 experience.
Final verdict
It's expensive, but it very much looks the part. And if you're more interested in the visual performance than the aesthetics, there's always the brand's step-down Series 8 range.
Overall this is a remarkable LED LCD screen. It exceeds expectations in most areas and stands as a shining example of just how well Samsung can do high-end screens.
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In Depth: The truth about 3D Blu-ray
Director James Cameron was bang on the money when he declared his revolutionary sci-fi epic Avatar would be a game-changer. Moviegoers queued round the block to get a glimpse of Pandora in glorious 3D, propelling the movie to a record-pulverising box-office take of almost $3 billion.
The reason, Cameron reckons, was quite simple: "Where they had a choice the audience was selecting the best possible way to see the movie, and they saw 3D as the premium viewing experience."
Producer Jon Landau claimed that the movie had "restored belief that cinema can be a magical experience," and other studios were falling over themselves to capture some three-dimensional lightning in a bottle.
CLOUDY: The world's first stand-alone 3D Blu-ray, which is also bundled with Sony kit
Warner Bros. trotted out a conversion job on Louis Letterier's Clash Of The Titans remake, while Disney can thank Alice In Wonderland for it's second $1 billion box-office haul.
3D on the big screen has been an enormous hit, but will we get the benefits of that third dimension in our front rooms? This year has seen the arrival of a raft of 3D home entertainment gear from the likes of Panasonic, Sony and Samsung and a recent survey commissioned by the British Video Association (BVA) 63 per cent of 3D cinema goers would be interested in recreating the experience at home. The problem is, the 3D Blu-ray shelf is a little bare.
Increasing choice
Right now, if you want to watch a 3D Blu-ray movie at home your choice is Dreamworks' Monsters vs Aliens, which is only available as part of Samsung's 3D starter kit, or Sony Pictures' Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs, which arrived earlier this month and comes bundled with Sony's new range of 3D TVs and Blu-ray players.
Dreamworks is, however, hoping to release the Shrek films later this year, which will also be part of Samsung's year-long exclusive deal with the studio. Although this essentially means that only Samsung customers can get their hands on Dreamworks titles, CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg is positive about the format's progress.
"It is an incredibly exciting time for the industry at large," he said at a recent 3D launch event in New York. "Thanks to Samsung's innovation leading the charge," Katzenberg declared, there was now "the capability to deliver a truly premium 3D experience for consumers in their homes."
Lexine Wong, Senior Executive Vice President, Worldwide Marketing for Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, is equally effusive about 3D Blu-ray's future. "Beginning this year Sony Pictures Home Entertainment plans to release all of our studio's 3D theatrical films to Blu-ray 3D" she revealed, announcing some big titles in the pipeline.
"Our initial slate will draw from our catalogue of 'native' 3D content – Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, Open Season, Monster House – as well as upcoming 3D theatrical releases like Resident Evil: Afterlife, Green Hornet and Men In Black III."
So it seems that a stunning 3D Blu-ray collection isn't too far off, after all. Crucially, though, animation is emerging as the key element to the 3D Blu-ray release schedules. For one particular studio this comes as no surprise.
Disney in the lead
"Disney has produced and released more 3D content than any other major studio to date," says Bob Chapek, President of Distribution for The Walt Disney Studios. According to Chapek Disney plans to "offer consumers an incredible line-up of true three-dimensional films and footage that will revolutionise the in-home entertainment experience."
So far that line-up consists of Robert Zemekis' A Christmas Carol, which has been confirmed for the end of 2010, and a 3D showcase disc featuring classic 1953 short Working For Peanuts. It will also show off trailers for Alice In Wonderland and Toy Story 3, suggesting they are not too far from getting an official release date of their own.
While it makes financial sense for studios to concentrate on existing 3D material, which is principally animation, Yves Caillaud, Chairman of the Board of Directors for The Digital Entertainment Group Europe believes we'll be seeing a lot more than just digital characters.
"Our view is titles which have a spectacular visual element will be the most greatly enhanced by 3D – so yes animation, but also movies that feature action packed sequences such as Clash Of The Titans, and stunning natural surroundings such as nature documentaries. There are many film genres which would be great viewed in the 3D format."
GAME CHANGER: Avatar, the film that kick started the 3D revolution, could change the fortunes of Blu-ray 3D
For this revolutionary visual spectacle, home entertainment fans will be expected to pay more. However, according to Sony this shouldn't come as a big shock, as we are already are paying more.
"At theatres, consumers are now used to the idea of paying a modest up-charge to see a movie in 3D, and we do feel that that expectation will carry over to Blu-ray 3D" Says Lexine Wong, while Simon Heller from the BVA agrees that all entertainment innovations carry a premium.
"As with all new technologies, the first players and discs will be higher priced on launch to off-set the investment. However, as 3D becomes more mass market, then we will see prices fall as we have seen with BD and DVD."
Sony has also confirmed 2D and 3D DVD/BD combi-packs, and they are currently exploring options for 3D special features and bonus content in a bid to add value to the package.
How big will Blu-ray 3D be?
Simon Heller also believes it will be a bit of a slow start for 3D BD. "If the launch of DVD is replicated, there will be only tens of titles released initially as replication costs are high to start with," although he does predict growth within the sector. More importantly, though, how big is the sector?
Blu-ray only accounted for 8 million disc sales in 2009 in the UK (compared to DVD's 235 million), and although it is growing at a faster rate than DVD did at launch one could easily deride 3D as a niche within a niche.
There's also the fact that industry forecasts for 3D TV sales over the next few years are conservative at best. "All markets have to start somewhere," Heller concludes.
And what of the movie that started it all? Arguably Avatar could have the 'Matrix' effect on 3D Blu-ray, but according to 20th Century Fox it remains in the "conceptual" stage. They're also being pretty tight-lipped about their 3D plans, with only Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs confirmed on the slate, arriving as part of a Panasonic bundle.
As for Cameron, well, he's certain that great releases are vital to the success of 3D. "If you play all the 3D movies in existence on your fancy new 3D TV, it will keep you entertained for about three days," he says.
"This content gap is the biggest hurdle for the rapid adoption of 3D TV." We are not playing an entirely different game just yet, then.
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In Depth: The truth about 3D Blu-ray
Director James Cameron was bang on the money when he declared his revolutionary sci-fi epic Avatar would be a game-changer. Moviegoers queued round the block to get a glimpse of Pandora in glorious 3D, propelling the movie to a record-pulverising box-office take of almost $3 billion.
The reason, Cameron reckons, was quite simple: "Where they had a choice the audience was selecting the best possible way to see the movie, and they saw 3D as the premium viewing experience."
Producer Jon Landau claimed that the movie had "restored belief that cinema can be a magical experience," and other studios were falling over themselves to capture some three-dimensional lightning in a bottle.
CLOUDY: The world's first stand-alone 3D Blu-ray, which is also bundled with Sony kit
Warner Bros. trotted out a conversion job on Louis Letterier's Clash Of The Titans remake, while Disney can thank Alice In Wonderland for it's second $1 billion box-office haul.
3D on the big screen has been an enormous hit, but will we get the benefits of that third dimension in our front rooms? This year has seen the arrival of a raft of 3D home entertainment gear from the likes of Panasonic, Sony and Samsung and a recent survey commissioned by the British Video Association (BVA) 63 per cent of 3D cinema goers would be interested in recreating the experience at home. The problem is, the 3D Blu-ray shelf is a little bare.
Increasing choice
Right now, if you want to watch a 3D Blu-ray movie at home your choice is Dreamworks' Monsters vs Aliens, which is only available as part of Samsung's 3D starter kit, or Sony Pictures' Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs, which arrived earlier this month and comes bundled with Sony's new range of 3D TVs and Blu-ray players.
Dreamworks is, however, hoping to release the Shrek films later this year, which will also be part of Samsung's year-long exclusive deal with the studio. Although this essentially means that only Samsung customers can get their hands on Dreamworks titles, CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg is positive about the format's progress.
"It is an incredibly exciting time for the industry at large," he said at a recent 3D launch event in New York. "Thanks to Samsung's innovation leading the charge," Katzenberg declared, there was now "the capability to deliver a truly premium 3D experience for consumers in their homes."
Lexine Wong, Senior Executive Vice President, Worldwide Marketing for Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, is equally effusive about 3D Blu-ray's future. "Beginning this year Sony Pictures Home Entertainment plans to release all of our studio's 3D theatrical films to Blu-ray 3D" she revealed, announcing some big titles in the pipeline.
"Our initial slate will draw from our catalogue of 'native' 3D content – Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, Open Season, Monster House – as well as upcoming 3D theatrical releases like Resident Evil: Afterlife, Green Hornet and Men In Black III."
So it seems that a stunning 3D Blu-ray collection isn't too far off, after all. Crucially, though, animation is emerging as the key element to the 3D Blu-ray release schedules. For one particular studio this comes as no surprise.
Disney in the lead
"Disney has produced and released more 3D content than any other major studio to date," says Bob Chapek, President of Distribution for The Walt Disney Studios. According to Chapek Disney plans to "offer consumers an incredible line-up of true three-dimensional films and footage that will revolutionise the in-home entertainment experience."
So far that line-up consists of Robert Zemekis' A Christmas Carol, which has been confirmed for the end of 2010, and a 3D showcase disc featuring classic 1953 short Working For Peanuts. It will also show off trailers for Alice In Wonderland and Toy Story 3, suggesting they are not too far from getting an official release date of their own.
While it makes financial sense for studios to concentrate on existing 3D material, which is principally animation, Yves Caillaud, Chairman of the Board of Directors for The Digital Entertainment Group Europe believes we'll be seeing a lot more than just digital characters.
"Our view is titles which have a spectacular visual element will be the most greatly enhanced by 3D – so yes animation, but also movies that feature action packed sequences such as Clash Of The Titans, and stunning natural surroundings such as nature documentaries. There are many film genres which would be great viewed in the 3D format."
GAME CHANGER: Avatar, the film that kick started the 3D revolution, could change the fortunes of Blu-ray 3D
For this revolutionary visual spectacle, home entertainment fans will be expected to pay more. However, according to Sony this shouldn't come as a big shock, as we are already are paying more.
"At theatres, consumers are now used to the idea of paying a modest up-charge to see a movie in 3D, and we do feel that that expectation will carry over to Blu-ray 3D" Says Lexine Wong, while Simon Heller from the BVA agrees that all entertainment innovations carry a premium.
"As with all new technologies, the first players and discs will be higher priced on launch to off-set the investment. However, as 3D becomes more mass market, then we will see prices fall as we have seen with BD and DVD."
Sony has also confirmed 2D and 3D DVD/BD combi-packs, and they are currently exploring options for 3D special features and bonus content in a bid to add value to the package.
How big will Blu-ray 3D be?
Simon Heller also believes it will be a bit of a slow start for 3D BD. "If the launch of DVD is replicated, there will be only tens of titles released initially as replication costs are high to start with," although he does predict growth within the sector. More importantly, though, how big is the sector?
Blu-ray only accounted for 8 million disc sales in 2009 in the UK (compared to DVD's 235 million), and although it is growing at a faster rate than DVD did at launch one could easily deride 3D as a niche within a niche.
There's also the fact that industry forecasts for 3D TV sales over the next few years are conservative at best. "All markets have to start somewhere," Heller concludes.
And what of the movie that started it all? Arguably Avatar could have the 'Matrix' effect on 3D Blu-ray, but according to 20th Century Fox it remains in the "conceptual" stage. They're also being pretty tight-lipped about their 3D plans, with only Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs confirmed on the slate, arriving as part of a Panasonic bundle.
As for Cameron, well, he's certain that great releases are vital to the success of 3D. "If you play all the 3D movies in existence on your fancy new 3D TV, it will keep you entertained for about three days," he says.
"This content gap is the biggest hurdle for the rapid adoption of 3D TV." We are not playing an entirely different game just yet, then.
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HTC Vision brings QWERTY keyboard to Android
Spy pictures of the HTC Vision have been released, showing off a high-end specc'd smartphone with a full QWERTY keyboard.While some were hoping the HTC Vision would be a Desire with a keyboard, design-wise, the Vision looks a touch uglier, with the 'Terminator eye' optical trackpad missing.
At least the screen-size is the same 3.7-inches as the Desire. It also has a 1GHz processor and seems to be sporting Android 2.1 – which will more likely be 2.2 when it is officially released.
Real keyboard
It will be interesting to see what the market is like for another Android smartphone with a real keyboard.
Most Android releases of late have dodged actual keys in favour of a full touchscreen experience.
The HTC Vision seems to have HTC's Sense UI overlay, which means that even if its chassis isn't the nicest we've seen, the OS will be.
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6Music saved from BBC axe, 'valuable to UK culture'
BBC 6Music is no longer set to be axed, the BBC revealed today, much to the delight of music fans across the UK who have been concerned about the future of the station since the BBC pegged it for possible closure back in February this year.It is clearly fantastic news and the many listeners that supported the Save 6Music campaign will no doubt be overjoyed.
"The BBC Trust has rejected plans to close 6Music," said 6Music news this morning.
No case for closure
Responding the the initial the BBC strategy review, BBC Trust chairman Sir Michael Lyons said that that a case for a closure of 6 Music has not been made.
However, the BBC Trust has decided to close the Asian Network, teen service Blast!and to slash 25 per cent of the online budget.
In a statement, the Trust said: "The Executive should draw up an overarching strategy for digital radio. If the director general wanted to propose a different shape for the BBC's music radio stations as part of a new strategy, the trust would consider it.
"The trust would consider a formal proposal for the closure of the Asian Network, although this must include a proposition for meeting the needs of the station's audience in different ways."
Valuable to UK culture
David Bowie has said of the proposals to close down 6Music that it "keeps the spirit of broadcasters like John Peel alive and for new artists to lose this station would be a great shame."
BBC 6Music DJ Jarvis Cocker most recently said that the threat of the Sword of Damocles above the head of the employees was unfair. No doubt the Pulp frontman will also be happy to hear that his fellow DJs and producers and all the other employees of 6Music still have jobs, for the foreseeable future.
The BBC added that the BBC Trust had not been convinced by the case for the closure, adding that: "the station plays a very valuable role in the nations cultural life."
The number of BBC 6Music listeners has increased from around 600,000 to a million a week since the news first broke that the station may be up for the axe.
TechRadar has contacted a number of British digital radio manufacturers, including Pure Digital and Roberts Radio, as well as Digital Radio UK and other leading authorities in the digital radio industry for further comment.
Colin Crawford, PURE's director of marketing told TechRadar: "We are delighted that the passion of 6Music listeners has achieved a significant turn around and secured the rescue of such a unique digital radio service. The recent success of the digital radio amnesty also proves that more and more people are tuning into digital in the UK!"
A fully digital future
Jane Ostler, Communications Director of Digital Britain UK, the industry body charged with managing the future of digital radio in the UK, said of the BBC's decision:
"Digital Radio UK welcomes the BBC Trust's initial conclusions to the BBC Strategy Review, and strongly supports the BBC's ongoing work with Government, Digital Radio UK and the commercial radio industry on the development of a plan for digital radio.
"Digital Radio UK notes that the interim conclusions ask for a clear strategy for the BBC's investment in digital radio, and agrees that the BBC has a vital role in promoting digital radio, to ensure a fully digital future."
Tune in! DJs Jarvis, Ms. Laverne and co. are seriously rocking it.
A great day for British music. (Oh and if you are in the market for a digital radio, be sure to get a DAB+ compatible one, by the way!_
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6Music saved from BBC axe, 'valuable to UK culture'
BBC 6Music is no longer set to be axed, the BBC revealed today, much to the delight of music fans across the UK who have been concerned about the future of the station since the BBC pegged it for possible closure back in February this year.It is clearly fantastic news and the many listeners that supported the Save 6Music campaign will no doubt be overjoyed.
"The BBC Trust has rejected plans to close 6Music," said 6Music news this morning.
No case for closure
Responding the the initial the BBC strategy review, BBC Trust chairman Sir Michael Lyons said that that a case for a closure of 6 Music has not been made.
However, the BBC Trust has decided to close the Asian Network, teen service Blast!and to slash 25 per cent of the online budget.
In a statement, the Trust said: "The Executive should draw up an overarching strategy for digital radio. If the director general wanted to propose a different shape for the BBC's music radio stations as part of a new strategy, the trust would consider it.
"The trust would consider a formal proposal for the closure of the Asian Network, although this must include a proposition for meeting the needs of the station's audience in different ways."
Valuable to UK culture
David Bowie has said of the proposals to close down 6Music that it "keeps the spirit of broadcasters like John Peel alive and for new artists to lose this station would be a great shame."
BBC 6Music DJ Jarvis Cocker most recently said that the threat of the Sword of Damocles above the head of the employees was unfair. No doubt the Pulp frontman will also be happy to hear that his fellow DJs and producers and all the other employees of 6Music still have jobs, for the foreseeable future.
The BBC added that the BBC Trust had not been convinced by the case for the closure, adding that: "the station plays a very valuable role in the nations cultural life."
The number of BBC 6Music listeners has increased from around 600,000 to a million a week since the news first broke that the station may be up for the axe.
TechRadar has contacted a number of British digital radio manufacturers, including Pure Digital and Roberts Radio, as well as Digital Radio UK and other leading authorities in the digital radio industry for further comment.
Tune in! Laverne's rocking it.
More to follow...
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FourSquare clocks one million check-ins a day
Foursquare has shown the social-networking world that it means business, by clocking 1 million check-ins in just one day.The smartphone app posted the number on 2 July, just after it announced it was given $20 million in funding.
FourSquare is now said to be worth $95 million, has an active user base of around 1.8 million people and has signed up media partnerships with the likes of Starbucks, Marc Jacobs and Pepsi. Not bad for a company that employs just 27 people.
Expansion
Speaking about FourSquare's success, Ben Horowitz, who was behind the funding, said that the site was growing faster than Twitter was at the same stage.
Although FourSquare is posting big-ish numbers, it is hoping to get a lot bigger and it is already looking at how to monetise its service – something which took Twitter a long time to do.
The man behind FourSquare is Dennis Crowley who found his feet with Dodgeball, another location-based app which was sold to Google and replaced with Google Lattitude in 2009.
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Apple TV set for major update?
Apple TV could be set for a big overhaul, with the New York Times suggesting that the company could even bring in a customised version of its iOS operating system being used in the iPhone and iPad. With Google TV on the horizon and the BBC-fronted Project Canvas finally approved, it's an interesting time for IPTV, and Apple's platform could do with an overhaul if it is to stay current.
According to the NYT, citing several unnamed sources familiar with Apple TV, the company is deep in development of the next generation of Apple TV.
iOS changes?
One suggestion is that the platform will be updated with iOS, which is currently running on iPhone and iPad, and that would make a degree of sense.
With Apple's App store flourishing, and iTunes already well established as a media store, there is no reason why Apple TV could not quickly become a major player, if the company can work the magic that they have managed with mp3 players, phones and, lately, tablet computers.
In the UK, Canvas is expected to do for IPTV what Freeview did for digital television – and make the whole concept of getting video on demand and streaming media through an internet connection and on to the television easier.
That growth in public confidence could well both help Google TV and Apple TV, as well as provide a massive competitor.
Three years
Apple TV arrived in 2007, but has never managed to have the kind of impact that the iPod or iPhone did - despite a loyal fanbase.
But, the concept is a sound one, and the infrastructure is in place, which all adds credibility to the suggestion that Apple will make another push at a mainstream media box.
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Reading speeds on iPad, Kindle and printed books compared
A new in-depth, qualitative study has compared the average reading speeds from reading long-form texts on four different reading devices – the traditional printed book, the PC, the Apple iPad and the Amazon Kindle.Jakob Nielsen's reading usability study looked to answer one simple question: are the latest e-books and tablet PCs as good as printed books?
iPad versus Kindle versus book
"We conducted a readability study of people reading fiction on the two highest-profile tablets: Apple's iPad (first-generation) and Amazon's Kindle 2," notes Nielsen.
The study was conducted using Apple's default iBook app and focused on testing "linear, narrative content because it's the primary use case for e-book readers."
Readers were taught how to use both the Apple and Amazon e-readers before the study, so the focus could be purely on measuring and comparing reading speeds.
Method
We ran a within-subjects study, testing each user on all 4 reading conditions — printed book, PC, iPad, and Kindle — rotating the sequence in which we exposed users to each device.
"On each device, we asked each user to read a short story by Ernest Hemingway," Nielsen explains. "We picked Hemingway because his work is pleasant and engaging to read, and yet not so complicated that it would be above the heads of users."
The stories took 17 minutes and 20 seconds to read on average, with all 32 users in the study being people "who like reading and frequently read books…because we wanted to focus on the people most likely to actually read long texts on tablets."
The results show that the Apple iPad measures at 6.2 per cent lower reading speed than the printed book and that the Amazon Kindle measured at 10.7 per cent slower than print.
Conclusions: books win
"The difference between the two devices was not statistically significant because of the data's fairly high variability," notes Nielsen.
"Thus, the only fair conclusion is that we can't say for sure which device offers the fastest reading speed. In any case, the difference would be so small that it wouldn't be a reason to buy one over the other.
And while Nielsen concludes "that tablets still haven't beaten the printed book" he also notes that the study "is promising for the future of e-readers and tablet computers."
More details on Nielsen's qualitative findings on users' reactions to reading e-books and tablet PCs will be presented at next month's Writing for the Web session at the annual Usability Week conference.
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Bieber YouTube videos targeted through exploit
Not content with trying to fix it for Justin Bieber to play in North Korea, mischief makers from an online community have apparently used an exploit to tinker with the teeny-bopper's YouTube videos. According to thenextweb, people accessing videos of the floppy haired Canadian were in some cases served with a pop up suggesting that he had died, and in others redirected to explicit websites.
4chan users have been linked to the attacks, which apparently involved using malformed HTML to get past the normal checks on YouTube comments.
Google-owned YouTube has, of course, responded rapidly to the problem and is working on the vulnerability.
Swift action
"We took swift action to fix a cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability on youtube.com that was discovered several hours ago," said the company in a statement.
"Comments were temporarily hidden by default within an hour, and we released a complete fix for the issue in about two hours.
"We're continuing to study the vulnerability to help prevent similar issues in the future."
Bieber, who Wikipedia informs us is a 16-year-old pop R&B singer, apparently rose to prominence after being spotted by a talent spot on YouTube.
The internet giveth, the internet taketh away.
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Bieber YouTube videos targeted through exploit
Not content with trying to fix it for Justin Bieber to play in North Korea, mischief makers from an online community have apparently used an exploit to tinker with the teeny-bopper's YouTube videos. According to thenextweb, people accessing videos of the floppy haired Canadian were in some cases served with a pop up suggesting that he had dies, and in others redirected to explicit websites.
4chan users have been linked to the attacks, which apparently involved using malformed HTML to get past the normal checks on YouTube comments.
Google-owned YouTube has, of course, responded rapidly to the problem and is working on the vulnerability.
Swift action
"We took swift action to fix a cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability on youtube.com that was discovered several hours ago," said the company in a statement.
"Comments were temporarily hidden by default within an hour, and we released a complete fix for the issue in about two hours.
"We're continuing to study the vulnerability to help prevent similar issues in the future."
Bieber, who Wikipedia informs us is a 16-year-old pop R&B singer, apparently rose to prominence after being spotted by a talent spot on YouTube.
The internet giveth, the internet taketh away.
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Google to push Android in India and China
Google is set to push its Android mobile operating system in emerging markets such as India and China.The company wants to put Android on budget phones made by the likes of Huawei and LG.
Talkin' bout revolutions
Andy Rubin, Vice President for Engineering at Google, said in a recent interview that: "The down-market opportunity is about to happen. It's actually quite a revolution."
Rubin explained that Google is making it easier for app developers to accept payments from within apps and also to sell subscriptions, in order to make more money from Android.
Mobile research firm Gartner estimates that the total global market for mobile advertising will grow from just under $1 billion last year to a whopping $13.5 billion by 2013.
Gartner also foresees Android will overtake Apple's iOS at some point in 2012 to become the world's second-most popular mobile operating system, behind Nokia's Symbian.
"As Android develops, the main vendor who is going to feel the pressure is Nokia," said Carolina Milanesi, an analyst at Gartner.
Earlier this month we heard the first rumours of what we might expect to see in the new Android 3.0 'Gingerbread' later this year.
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Lenovo boss says Apple missing a trick in China
The founder of Lenovo has said that Apple is missing huge opportunities in the Chinese market, because it doesn't understand what consumers in China want.Liu Chuanzhi, Chairman and Founder of Chinese computing giant Lenovo, told the Financial Times that if Apple were to focus on China to the same extent Lenovo did then he would consider them as serious competition in the fast-expanding market.
Steve Jobs' bad temper
As it is, Chuanzhi told the FT: "We are lucky that Steve Jobs has such a bad temper and doesn't care about China.
"If Apple were to spend the same effort on the Chinese consumer as we do, we would be in trouble."
Lenovo currently has around a 30 per cent share of the rapidly growing Chinese market and at the current rates of growth should become the biggest computing company in the world within the next 12 months.
Apple already has a flagship Apple Store in Beijing and opens a second store in Shanghai this month, but beyond that, opportunities to sell its products across mainland China are still very limited.
iPhone sales have also been hampered in China by previous requirements to disable the Wi-Fi function on the phones, although the new iPhone 4 is now allowed to be sold in China with WiFi.
Lenovo's LePhone was launched earlier this year, designed especially for the needs of Chinese consumers. The Lenovo boss describes the LePhone as "a very practical thing" compared to the Apple iPhone.
"The iPhone has more than 100,000 content providers, and we have no more than 1,000. But our Chinese customers feel our applications are very convenient to use."
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Lenovo boss says Apple missing a trick in China
The founder of Lenovo has said that Apple is missing huge opportunities in the Chinese market, because it doesn't understand what consumers in China want.Liu Chuanzhi, Chairman and Founder of Chinese computing giant Lenovo, told the Financial Times that if Apple were to focus on China to the same extent Lenovo did then he would consider them as serious competition in the fast-expanding market.
Steve Jobs' bad temper
As it is, Chuanzhi told the FT: "We are lucky that Steve Jobs has such a bad temper and doesnt care about China.
"If Apple were to spend the same effort on the Chinese consumer as we do, we would be in trouble."
Lenovo currently has around a 30 per cent share of the rapidly growing Chinese market and at the current rates of growth should become the biggest computing company in the world within the next 12 months.
Apple already has a flagship Apple Store in Beijing and opens a second store in Shanghai this month, but beyond that, opportunities to sell its products across mainland China are still very limited.
iPhone sales have also been hampered in China by previous requirements to disable the WiFi function on the phones, although the new iPhone 4 is now allowed to be sold in China with WiFi.
Lenovo's LePhone was launched earlier this year, designed especially for the needs of Chinese consumers. The Lenovo boss describes the LePhone as "a very practical thing" compared to the Apple iPhone.
"The iPhone has more than 100,000 content providers, and we have no more than 1,000. But our Chinese customers feel our applications are very convenient to use."
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