Breaking: Facebook Timeline announced, re-works the profile page
Mark Zuckerberg has used F8 to show off a new feature of the Facebook profile, called Facebook Timeline.
Instead of showing off a realtime feed, Zuckerberg and co want to show off your entire life, adding the feature to the bottom of everybody's profile page.
Speaking about the feature Zuckerberg said: "People feel an intense ownership over their profile. Millions of people have spent a lot time to tell the story of their life through their profile.
"Millions of people have spent years curating their lives and there's nowhere to show this. We think we have the solution. The original profile was the first five minutes, the stream was your 15 minutes then I want to show you the next.
"This is the heart of your Facebook experience, reworked from the ground up. We have been working on it the whole year and we are calling it Timeline.
Timeline is the story of your life. It is a lot more visual and will have all your stories
"What timeline does is shows all the important stuff recently, then summarises the rest of your life. This is the magic and how you can tell the whole story on a single page."
There's a number of ways you can see the Timeline, including a map view, showing you where you have been in the world.
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Early View: Nikon V1 vs Nikon J1
Nikon has launched two brand new cameras under the Nikon 1 banner. The cameras, which sit in a category that Nikon describes as "Advanced Camera, Interchangeable Lens" are the first mirrorless models from Nikon.
The Nikon V1 is the more advanced camera out of the two, while its little brother, the Nikon J1, is aimed at beginners looking for a step-up in image quality. Both cameras have similar specifications, so we've taken a look at the differences between the two.
Nikon V1 vs Nikon J1: size
One of the key differences between the two cameras is the size. The Nikon J1 is a smaller offering, doing away with the electronic viewfinder which adds extra bulk to the J1.
It does however feature an inbuilt flash, something which you will need to purchase as an extra if you go for the V1.
The J1 also uses a smaller battery than the V1 to reduce the size even further.
Nikon V1 vs Nikon J1: specifications
The internal specifications of the V1 and J1 specifications are very similar, but you do get a little more bang for your buck with the J1. Not only will you get the electronic viewfinder, but you'll also find a higher resolution LCD screen (460k dot screen vs 921k dot).Both cameras use the new 10-megapixel CX format CMOS sensor, the Nikon 1 mount and are compatible with SD, SDHC and SDXC memory card formats.
Thanks to its smaller size, the Nikon J1 battery life is approximately 230 pictures for still images, compared to the V1's 400.
The V1 also incorporates both a mechanical shutter and an electronic shutter, which means it should provide more accurate exposures.
Nikon V1 vs Nikon J1: price
Of course one of the most important considerations is price.
The V1 should retail at around £829 with the 10-30mm kit lens, or £879 with the 10mm pancake lens.
On the other hand, the J1 is set to retail at £549 with the 10-30mm kit lens, or £599 with the 10mm pancake lens.
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Review: Thermaltake Armor A30
The Thermaltake Armor A30 is a small PC case. While huge PC chassis – such as the Cooler Master CM Storm Enforcer – have a lot going for them, smaller cases also have many good points too.
The Thermaltake Armor A30 is a small chassis that's been designed to house some of the best gaming components money can buy, while maintaining a size that is small enough to carry around to LAN parties.
Even if you're not into professional gaming, the Thermaltake Armor A30, as well as other small chassis such as the CyberPower Game Cube can be a compelling buy, because they take up far less room than some of the behemoths we've seen.
The small stature doesn't mean compromises have to be made either – Micro-ATX and Mini-ITX motherboards can hold most of the latest technology without a problem.
Sure, multiple GPU arrays are out of the question. There's also no denying that cramming the components in an upgrading isn't as simple as with the Thermaltake Armor A30's more spacious siblings, such as the Armor A90.
But when a compact gaming chassis gets it right, it can be an excellent addition to your gaming arsenal, and a great choice for housing your rig. But does the Thermaltake Armor A30 succeed where others have failed?
Verdict
Straight away we could tell that the Thermaltake Armor A30 is a PC chassis that has been designed to be as visually striking as possible.As soon as you get it out of box you understand the "Armor" part of the name. It might be short and stocky compared to cases such as the Corsair 600T White Special Edition, but it's still been designed to intimidate other gamers with perhaps just a touch of short man syndrome.
The looks have been designed to appeal to gamers, but they'll probably put other users off. Put simply, the Thermaltake Armor A30 is going to look out of place as a media centre or office PC.
If you can get past the divisive looks, you'll find a small chassis that packs a lot of punch. To begin with, its length enabled us to fit a full-length graphics card.
Considering the power of new Mini-ITX motherboards that are capable of handling Core i7 processors, such as the Gigabyte H55N-USB3, there really aren't that many compromises to make if you choose the Thermaltake Armor A30 to build a gaming PC.
While space is still at a premium – no surprise for a case sized just 267 x 292 x 457mm (10.5 x 11.5 x 18.0inch) – building and upgrading inside it is made much easier due to the modular design of the case. This enables you to take out parts of the case, such as the hard drive enclosure, so you can install components in their housings outside of the case – avoiding some potentially infuriating fiddly installations.
Installation takes a bit more time than with bigger cases, but the Thermaltake Armor A30 avoids a lot of pitfalls that come with small form factor chassis.
We liked
Even though the Thermaltake Armor A30 case is very small, we were still able to fit some good components in. Input and output ports such as USB 2.0, USB 3.0 and SATA are conveniently placed at the front of the case for easy access. And the modular design makes installation and upgrading easier than trying to work in the small space.
We disliked
There's no getting away from the fact that installing a motherboard and components takes longer with the Thermaltake Armor A30 than with a larger cases, with the modular design requiring more screwing and unscrewing than usual. The distinctive look might not be to everyone's tastes either.
Final verdict
The Thermaltake Armor A30 is a decent small-size gaming chassis that's clearly aimed at gamers, if that's what you're after.
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Interview: How bleeding edge tech keeps Eurofighter Typhoon in the air
TechRadar is - clearly - not a military website despite having "radar" in the title. Nevertheless, we jumped when we were given the chance to talk to Mark Bowman.
He's the Eurofighter Typhoon's chief test pilot, which has got to be one of the coolest jobs in the world.
The Typhoon is at the forefront of technology – capable of reaching supersonic speeds in less than 30 seconds. It's got interchangeable parts – the 13 "hardpoints" enable different weapon configurations to be added.
The most recent innovation on the Typhoon is a head-tracking system, which follows the pilot's gaze to lock onto targets and deploy weapons. We grilled Mark on this and the other components that make the Typhoon the cutting-edge piece of kit that it is.
TechRadar: Can you give us some background on the Eurofighter Typhoon?
Mark Bowman: It's a fourth-generation combat aircraft, pretty cutting edge in most areas. It brings together what would have been squadrons of aircraft in the past in an aircraft that is multi-role. It can perform both air-to-air and air-to-ground tasks, and it's got 13 hardpoints.
It packs in the latest cutting-edge technology – including the helmet-mounted display and very advanced sensors – we're not just talking about weapons here, we're talking about radars, infrared search and track systems and defensive aids. It's absolutely potent, and an aircraft where we can expect to multiply many times the capabilities of early-generation aircraft.
TR: What's the most crucial piece of technology in the Typhoon?
Mark Bowman: All the displays we present to the pilot have to be put in such a way that we can take all that information, process it and present it to him in something he can assimilate quite simply, so he can spend most of his time concentrating on the mission.
Now we're getting the pilot even more involved in the weapons system through things like the helmet-mounted display, which essentially says: "If I know where the pilot's head is at any one time, then I can use that information to steer sensors, to steer weapons, to actually control the aircraft".
We also use voice control, which is another high-end technology. We can talk to the aircraft.
TR: Does the pilot still have a very fixed role in the plane?
Mark Bowman: At the end of the day, you've still got a prop, you've still got a stick, you've still got that interface with the aircraft. But the aircraft is clever enough to say you're approaching a limit – maybe a high-speed limit, maybe a G-limit, maybe a roll limit. It knows those limits, and it provides information to the pilot to do something about it. Ultimately, the pilot is still the arbiter of good taste and judgement, and we have to give him the information he needs to make both tactical and operational decisions.
TR: What happens if all the automation fails?
Mark Bowman: The safety of the pilot is paramount. However, we're looking at a very unstable aircraft here, it's very aerodynamically unstable. That's controlled by four flight computers – it's a quadruplex redundant system in some areas, and in others it's hexaplex redundant, in terms of things like data. As such, if all that failed, the aircraft is aerodynamically unstable, and as such it wouldn't be able to maintain a controlled flight.
TR: How has the Eurofighter Typhoon changed since you started working with it?
Mark Bowman: When the UK tax payer is spending so much money on technology, there's absolutely no point in buying something that lasts a couple of years. These aircraft are going to be around for 30 or 40 years – maybe longer.
You have to future-proof it to enable technology to go in, to put new weapons in as interfaces develop between the aircraft and the weapons that it carries, and constantly being able to upgrade the aircraft in terms of technology.
The aircraft has been in service since 2004, we've gone through its infancy, and now we're in its adolescence. There's so much more to come in this aircraft, and that's a real testament to the way the aircraft's been designed, and the real future-proofing that goes into such a high-end aircraft.
TR: What's coming up next for the Typhoon?
Mark Bowman: We're not standing still here – there are new weapons coming along. The UK has purchased a new, extra long-range air-to-air missile, called Meteor, which is being integrated on the aircraft. We've got new smart multi-seeker bombs going on there, which use GPS as well as laser guidance. As the weapons are upgraded, the aircraft's there to match it.
TR: How do you simulate such a complex piece of kit?
Mark Bowman: We've got two types of simulators. One emulates the flight dynamics of the aircraft. As I mentioned before, the aircraft is unstable, and we need some pretty good confidence that before we fly it we've got the flight dynamics properly modelled, and we've got the control system simulator to do that.
On the cockpit side, the interface the pilot has with the weapons systems is constantly being upgraded, and we use an active cockpit rig which allows us to simulate all the connectivity between the various sensors and the pilot and develop those as well.
TR: A lot of consumer technology – from radio to GPS – has come from a military background. Is there anything you're using at at the moment that you could see coming into civilians' lives?
Mark Bowman: In the future, I think you'll be looking at a human usage aspect, the interface between the human and the technology. Where I'd be looking – and I'm only speaking as the monkey with the stick and the rudders – is the automotive industry. We've already seen where voice is used there, and I think it's going to be exploited an awful lot more.
The helmet I use at the moment, and the ability to track where the pilot's head is, and a displacement surface, so you can put imagery on there – you may want that in the civil aviation industry, or you may want it in the automotive industry, to put images in front of the pilot, or the driver.
TR: We're seeing more and more reports of "drones" carrying out military operations. Do you think there's always going to be a role for the pilot in combat?
Mark Bowman: I think there is going to be a growth of unmanned aircraft in the future, and I think the piloting side is going to be complementary to that, in terms of the roles conducted. Those roles where you need persistence – being in the battle area for a long time, doing repetitive surveillance type work – are going to lend themselves more and more to pilotless aircraft, where human fatigue is an issue.
Instances where it's a highly dynamic situation, where ultimately a lot of tactical information is being sifted through, are going to be better suited to manned aircraft. It may be supported in terms of firepower and what-have-you by unmanned aircraft, but ultimately there's going to be manned aircraft in there.
The thing not to forget here is the ethics side of it – if you're conducting wars there needs to be a human face behind it, and I think it's quite important that manned aircraft are seen as the arbiter of whether stores are released, or whether they're not. Being there, and having eyes on the target, is massively important.
I can never foresee that we're going to be in a position to say, "sorry, that's the end of manned aircraft." I think we tried it in the 1950s and failed miserably – I don't really see that the situation's changed.
TR: You obviously don't want civilians being injured or killed during war – is this something you consider when you're building the plane?
Mark Bowman: It's not particular to Typhoon or anything – the ability to limit collateral damage is very much at the forefront of how aircraft weapons systems are developed, and Typhoon is concerned not only with the safety of the pilot who's flying it, but the safety in which ordinance is delivered and targeted.
The Typhoon is at the forefront of technology – capable of reaching supersonic speeds in less than 30 seconds. It's got interchangeable parts – the 13 "hardpoints" enable different weapon configurations to be added.
The most recent innovation on the Typhoon is a head-tracking system, which follows the pilot's gaze to lock onto targets and deploy weapons. We grilled Mark on this and the other components that make the Typhoon the cutting-edge piece of kit that it is.
TechRadar: Can you give us some background on the Eurofighter Typhoon?
Mark Bowman: It's a fourth-generation combat aircraft, pretty cutting edge in most areas. It brings together what would have been squadrons of aircraft in the past in an aircraft that is multi-role. It can perform both air-to-air and air-to-ground tasks, and it's got 13 hardpoints.
It packs in the latest cutting-edge technology – including the helmet-mounted display and very advanced sensors – we're not just talking about weapons here, we're talking about radars, infrared search and track systems and defensive aids. It's absolutely potent, and an aircraft where we can expect to multiply many times the capabilities of early-generation aircraft.
TR: What's the most crucial piece of technology in the Typhoon?
Mark Bowman: All the displays we present to the pilot have to be put in such a way that we can take all that information, process it and present it to him in something he can assimilate quite simply, so he can spend most of his time concentrating on the mission.
Now we're getting the pilot even more involved in the weapons system through things like the helmet-mounted display, which essentially says: "If I know where the pilot's head is at any one time, then I can use that information to steer sensors, to steer weapons, to actually control the aircraft".
We also use voice control, which is another high-end technology. We can talk to the aircraft.
TR: Does the pilot still have a very fixed role in the plane?
Mark Bowman: At the end of the day, you've still got a prop, you've still got a stick, you've still got that interface with the aircraft. But the aircraft is clever enough to say you're approaching a limit – maybe a high-speed limit, maybe a G-limit, maybe a roll limit. It knows those limits, and it provides information to the pilot to do something about it. Ultimately, the pilot is still the arbiter of good taste and judgement, and we have to give him the information he needs to make both tactical and operational decisions.
TR: What happens if all the automation fails?
Mark Bowman: The safety of the pilot is paramount. However, we're looking at a very unstable aircraft here, it's very aerodynamically unstable. That's controlled by four flight computers – it's a quadruplex redundant system in some areas, and in others it's hexaplex redundant, in terms of things like data. As such, if all that failed, the aircraft is aerodynamically unstable, and as such it wouldn't be able to maintain a controlled flight.
TR: How has the Eurofighter Typhoon changed since you started working with it?
Mark Bowman: When the UK tax payer is spending so much money on technology, there's absolutely no point in buying something that lasts a couple of years. These aircraft are going to be around for 30 or 40 years – maybe longer.
You have to future-proof it to enable technology to go in, to put new weapons in as interfaces develop between the aircraft and the weapons that it carries, and constantly being able to upgrade the aircraft in terms of technology.
The aircraft has been in service since 2004, we've gone through its infancy, and now we're in its adolescence. There's so much more to come in this aircraft, and that's a real testament to the way the aircraft's been designed, and the real future-proofing that goes into such a high-end aircraft.
TR: What's coming up next for the Typhoon?
Mark Bowman: We're not standing still here – there are new weapons coming along. The UK has purchased a new, extra long-range air-to-air missile, called Meteor, which is being integrated on the aircraft. We've got new smart multi-seeker bombs going on there, which use GPS as well as laser guidance. As the weapons are upgraded, the aircraft's there to match it.
TR: How do you simulate such a complex piece of kit?
Mark Bowman: We've got two types of simulators. One emulates the flight dynamics of the aircraft. As I mentioned before, the aircraft is unstable, and we need some pretty good confidence that before we fly it we've got the flight dynamics properly modelled, and we've got the control system simulator to do that.
On the cockpit side, the interface the pilot has with the weapons systems is constantly being upgraded, and we use an active cockpit rig which allows us to simulate all the connectivity between the various sensors and the pilot and develop those as well.
TR: A lot of consumer technology – from radio to GPS – has come from a military background. Is there anything you're using at at the moment that you could see coming into civilians' lives?
Mark Bowman: In the future, I think you'll be looking at a human usage aspect, the interface between the human and the technology. Where I'd be looking – and I'm only speaking as the monkey with the stick and the rudders – is the automotive industry. We've already seen where voice is used there, and I think it's going to be exploited an awful lot more.
The helmet I use at the moment, and the ability to track where the pilot's head is, and a displacement surface, so you can put imagery on there – you may want that in the civil aviation industry, or you may want it in the automotive industry, to put images in front of the pilot, or the driver.
TR: We're seeing more and more reports of "drones" carrying out military operations. Do you think there's always going to be a role for the pilot in combat?
Mark Bowman: I think there is going to be a growth of unmanned aircraft in the future, and I think the piloting side is going to be complementary to that, in terms of the roles conducted. Those roles where you need persistence – being in the battle area for a long time, doing repetitive surveillance type work – are going to lend themselves more and more to pilotless aircraft, where human fatigue is an issue.
Instances where it's a highly dynamic situation, where ultimately a lot of tactical information is being sifted through, are going to be better suited to manned aircraft. It may be supported in terms of firepower and what-have-you by unmanned aircraft, but ultimately there's going to be manned aircraft in there.
The thing not to forget here is the ethics side of it – if you're conducting wars there needs to be a human face behind it, and I think it's quite important that manned aircraft are seen as the arbiter of whether stores are released, or whether they're not. Being there, and having eyes on the target, is massively important.
I can never foresee that we're going to be in a position to say, "sorry, that's the end of manned aircraft." I think we tried it in the 1950s and failed miserably – I don't really see that the situation's changed.
TR: You obviously don't want civilians being injured or killed during war – is this something you consider when you're building the plane?
Mark Bowman: It's not particular to Typhoon or anything – the ability to limit collateral damage is very much at the forefront of how aircraft weapons systems are developed, and Typhoon is concerned not only with the safety of the pilot who's flying it, but the safety in which ordinance is delivered and targeted.
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HP board meet to decide future of CEO
The board at HP have been meeting up to discuss the future, if any, of the company's CEO Leo Apotheker.
This is according to Bloomberg, which is quoting 'sources close to the matter'.
Although Apotheker is not even a year into the HP job, the CEO has announced a number of proposed changes to the company that effectively take HP out of the hardware game and into the software market.
Such sweeping decisions weren't taken lightly by shareholders and, because of this, the company's board has been meeting to discuss whether or not Apotheker should stay as CEO.
CE-go?
If Apotheker is ousted, then the likely candidate for the position is former eBay CEO Meg Whitman.Given that shares in HP dropped by 47 per cent after the company acquired UK software makers Autonomy (as this showed HP's apparent intent to go software only), it is clear that something needs to be done to bring back confidence.
With news of the possible change at the top, shares rose by 6.7 per cent.
HP proved that it can still sell hardware in August, when it significantly dropped the price of its discontinued HP TouchPad tablet range.
At a price of £89, demand for the tablets was unprecedented and prompted HP to begin selling more of the range but at a higher price.
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Nexus Prime rumours: What you need to know
Google's third Nexus Android phone, officially announced back in May, is expected to be manufactured by Samsung, with many, many recent rumours claiming a model known as the "Nexus Prime" - or the Samsung GT-I9250 - will be the new flagship Android phone.
Samsung itself has already confirmed that a phone under the name "Nexus Prime" exists, thanks to a list of settings discovered on its own site - but the odd mixture of specifications it contained led some to believe it was simply a placeholder.
And whether it'll actually launch under the name Nexus Prime is still debatable, but the signs are all pointing to an October or November launch for the next official Android flagship phone, made by Samsung, running the newest Ice Cream Sandwich version of Android, which may or may not be known as Android 4.0.
Here's what else we know about the Nexus Prime handset itself.
Nexus Prime specs
It's no surprise to learn the Nexus Prime will offer a decent leap above current Android phone specs. We're expecting it to be the first to arrive with a 720p resolution display (unless LG beats everyone to it with its HD LU6200).
Tech specs are all, of course, unconfirmed, but the most recent leak claims it'll arrive powered by a Texas Instruments OMAP processor - which is dual-core - running with a dual core 1.5GHz processor. It'd better have a big battery as well.
And if it's going to support HD material, it'll need a big screen - the Nexus Prime is currently rumoured to feature a whopping great 4.65" Super AMOLED display, running at that HD 1280x720 resolution.
We're expecting Ice Cream Sandwich to completely remove the requirement for phone to have Back, Home and Menu buttons, meaning the Nexus Prime should arrive without any front-facing buttons whatsoever. Unless Samsung sticks a big, round Home button in the middle, just to annoy Apple.
Nexus Prime UK release date
Google has said that it expects the Ice Cream Sandwich release date to be October or November, so it's safe to assume that, as has happened in previous years with the Nexus One and Nexus S, the Nexus Prime will be the hardware flagship for this exciting new Android OS release and will launch simultaneously with the software onboard.Samsung Romania also made a little error on Twitter, claiming the Samsung-made Nexus Prime would launch in late 2011 with Android 4.0.
Nexus Prime will debut with Ice Cream Sandwich
Google has done a remarkably good job of keeping its Ice Cream Sandwich Android update under wraps. We've heard that it'll combine the mobile and tablet versions of the OS, bringing the Honeycomb "holographic" interface to mobiles, unifying the current mobile and tablet versions of the OS – although the oddly disappointing supposed early leaked images of ICS suggested a rather underwhelming, minimal change.Google always likes to debut a big Android update alongside a piece of hardware that shows it off to its best extent, so we fully expect ICS and the Nexus Prime to be announced and shipped on the same day.
Nexus Prime price
We can but guess. So we'll guess. Given the cutting-edge nature of the rumoured spec sheet, the size of the screen and the fact that Samsung's Galaxy S II commanded a huge £499 price on release, it's safe to assume you'll need to find at least that much for a Nexus Prime if buying outside of a contract.On monthly contracts, the Nexus Prime is bound to arrive at the top end - meaning at least £35 per month. At least, for the first few weeks while demand is still high. If you wait a few months you'll save yourself piles of cash - the Nexus S launched for £429 late last December, but was swiftly chopped down to around £300 a few months after launch. So don't get too excited and spaff loads of cash too soon.
Will Samsung make the Nexus Prime?
Despite Google recently signing a deal to buy Motorola's mobile division, it looks almost certain that the Nexus Prime will be a Samsung-made device, as Google doesn't see Motorola as the automatic choice for making its future flagship phones.Other, older rumours have claimed LG may have been in the running to make it, plus, of course, it was HTC which made the original Nexus One. But we're 99 percent sure that 2011 will be Samsung's turn. Again.
Nexus Prime rivals
Samsung's bitter local rival LG has been making a lot of noise about its plans for future "HD" Android phones, even going so far as announcing the fact it's signed Capcom's Street Fighter IV as an exclusive for an as yet unnamed future smartphone. Plus LG has its HD LU6200 - although that's not yet running Ice Cream Sandwich.Persistent rumours claim Sony Ericsson may be about to launch a dual-core Android phone, with its unannounced Nozomi regularly popping up in many internet leaks. But again, there's no official word on ICS support there.
The other big unknown is HTC. We've seen plenty of future HTC phones leak - like the HTC Bass and HTC Ruby - but they appear to be standard Android 2.3 phones with buttons rather than buttonless Ice Cream Sandwich handsets. It'll have something, but we don't know what. Yet.
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Nexus Prime: What you need to know
Google's third Nexus Android phone, officially announced back in May, is expected to be manufactured by Samsung, with many, many recent rumours claiming a model known as the "Nexus Prime" - or the Samsung GT-I9250 - will be the new flagship Android phone.
Samsung itself has already confirmed that a phone under the name "Nexus Prime" exists, thanks to a list of settings discovered on its own site - but the odd mixture of specifications it contained led some to believe it was simply a placeholder.
And whether it'll actually launch under the name Nexus Prime is still debatable, but the signs are all pointing to an October or November launch for the next official Android flagship phone, made by Samsung, running the newest Ice Cream Sandwich version of Android, which may or may not be known as Android 4.0.
Here's what else we know about the Nexus Prime handset itself.
Nexus Prime specs
It's no surprise to learn the Nexus Prime will offer a decent leap above current Android phone specs. We're expecting it to be the first to arrive with a 720p resolution display (unless LG beats everyone to it with its HD LU6200).Tech specs are all, of course, unconfirmed, but the most recent leak claims it'll arrive powered by a Texas Instruments OMAP processor - which is dual-core - running with a dual core 1.5GHz processor. It'd better have a big battery as well.
And if it's going to support HD material, it'll need a big screen - the Nexus Prime is currently rumoured to feature a whopping great 4.65" Super AMOLED display, running at that HD 1280x720 resolution.
We're expecting Ice Cream Sandwich to completely remove the requirement for phone to have Back, Home and Menu buttons, meaning the Nexus Prime should arrive without any front-facing buttons whatsoever. Unless Samsung sticks a big, round Home button in the middle, just to annoy Apple.
Nexus Prime release date
Google has said that it expects the Ice Cream Sandwich release date to be October or November, so it's safe to assume that, as has happened in previous years with the Nexus One and Nexus S, the Nexus Prime will be the hardware flagship for this exciting new Android OS release and will launch simultaneously with the software onboard.Samsung Romania also made a little error on Twitter, claiming the Samsung-made Nexus Prime would launch in late 2011 with Android 4.0.
Nexus Prime will debut with Ice Cream Sandwich
Google has done a remarkably good job of keeping its Ice Cream Sandwich Android update under wraps. We've heard that it'll combine the mobile and tablet versions of the OS, bringing the Honeycomb "holographic" interface to mobiles, unifying the current mobile and tablet versions of the OS – although the oddly disappointing supposed early leaked images of ICS suggested a rather underwhelming, minimal change.Google always likes to debut a big Android update alongside a piece of hardware that shows it off to its best extent, so we fully expect ICS and the Nexus Prime to be announced and shipped on the same day.
Nexus Prime price
We can but guess. So we'll guess. Given the cutting-edge nature of the rumoured spec sheet, the size of the screen and the fact that Samsung's Galaxy S II commanded a huge £499 price on release, it's safe to assume you'll need to find at least that much for a Nexus Prime if buying outside of a contract.On monthly contracts, the Nexus Prime is bound to arrive at the top end - meaning at least £35 per month. At least, for the first few weeks while demand is still high. If you wait a few months you'll save yourself piles of cash - the Nexus S launched for £429 late last December, but was swiftly chopped down to around £300 a few months after launch. So don't get too excited and spaff loads of cash too soon.
Will Samsung make the Nexus Prime?
Despite Google recently signing a deal to buy Motorola's mobile division, it looks almost certain that the Nexus Prime will be a Samsung-made device, as Google doesn't see Motorola as the automatic choice for making its future flagship phones.Other, older rumours have claimed LG may have been in the running to make it, plus, of course, it was HTC which made the original Nexus One. But we're 99 percent sure that 2011 will be Samsung's turn. Again.
Nexus Prime rivals
Samsung's bitter local rival LG has been making a lot of noise about its plans for future "HD" Android phones, even going so far as announcing the fact it's signed Capcom's Street Fighter IV as an exclusive for an as yet unnamed future smartphone. Plus LG has its HD LU6200 - although that's not yet running Ice Cream Sandwich.Persistent rumours claim Sony Ericsson may be about to launch a dual-core Android phone, with its unannounced Nozomi regularly popping up in many internet leaks. But again, there's no official word on ICS support there.
The other big unknown is HTC. We've seen plenty of future HTC phones leak - like the HTC Bass and HTC Ruby - but they appear to be standard Android 2.3 phones with buttons rather than buttonless Ice Cream Sandwich handsets. It'll have something, but we don't know what. Yet.
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T3.com relaunches with fresh new look
T3.com has relaunched, with the gadget website given a completely new look and a whole heap of new functionality.
T3, a Future Publishing stablemate of TechRadar, now boasts the likes of the buzzwall – a visual glimpse of the gadget zeitgeist, as well as smart search and hub pages for the big names in tech.
Kieran Alger, Editor T3.com, said about the new look: "I'm absolutely delighted with the relaunch of T3.com."
Aspiration
"We set out to create the ultimate product showcase and bring the website firmly in line with the aspirational values of the print and iPad editions."With innovations like the brand new Buzzwall and our automated buyers' guides we've made it easy and fun for our users to indulge their passion for the latest gadgets and technology.
"All this comes at a time when we're already bringing in record traffic and we're now in an even better position to grow our reach."
You can check out the new look at www.T3.com.
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3D makes gaming easier, says Sony
Playing games in 3D can help you get better scores, according to a Sony 3D bigwig.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Mick Hocking, senior group director of Sony Computer Entertainment's Worldwide Studios 3D team, revealed that stereoscopic gaming helps your reactions.
'If you can see something more clearly and understand something more naturally, whether it's speed, distance or scale, you can respond better to that. So we've found that people do get better scores in 3D.'
Hocking also hit back at critics of 2D-3D games conversions and the 3D format itself.
3D conversion
Converting games to 3D from a 2D render can produce s result of equally high quality than if it was built in 3D to begin with, he said."The issue is that it has to be done technically correctly. We have 10 technical checks that all 3D games should adhere to."
Meanwhile, Hockey said that those who complain of headaches after watching 3D should blame poorly-implemented hardware and software, not 3D as whole.
Of course, this argument is what you'd expect from a man closely involved in pushing 3D games – and it's not one that everyone agrees with.
Earlier this year, optical boffins at the University of California, Berkeley conducted a study that showed that the basic nature of 3D, which requires viewers to focus on two separate distances at the same time (the actual screen and the stereo content) causes "discomfort" and "may limit the use of the technology".
So this argument could run and run.
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Hands on: Nikon J1 review
Overview
Nikon's new compact system cameras, or, to use its parlance, ACIL cameras, were finally unveiled after months of speculation and internet rumours.Releasing not one, but two cameras onto the market, the J1 is the V1's smaller brother featuring a smaller body design. It loses the electronic viewfinder but does gain a built-in flash.
Other than the aesthetics of the camera, the J1's interior specifications are almost identical to the V1. They both use the new CX format sensor, EXPEED 3 processor and Nikon 1 mount.
The J1 is obviously aimed squarely at the beginner end of the market, and is available in a variety of colours including a candyfloss pink.
We spent some time with a pre-production J1 to see how it works, how it feels and what you can expect from the camera when the final version is available to buy.
Both of the new cameras, Nikon claim, have been designed from the ground up to feature a completely new design and sensor format. Keen to distance the cameras from other compact systems on the market, Nikon is calling this an "advanced camera with interchangeable lens".
Build quality and handling
The J1 is one of the smallest compact system cameras on the market, reminiscent of the size of the recently launched Olympus E-PM1 Pen Mini.
The camera has clearly been designed with sleekness and portability in mind. While it's unlikely to be jeans pocketable, with the 10mm pancake lens attached, it's slim enough to fit into a jacket pocket.
Though it is small, the J1's finish and weight do give it an air of quality, and you certainly don't get the impression that you're using a toy, despite its diminutive size.
One of the benefits of opting for the J1 over the V1 is that you get an inbuilt flash. It certainly is useful to have a flash, and we can see that families looking to frequently shoot in low-light conditions will be attracted by this.
It is, however, not the most aesthetically pleasing part of the J1, sticking out an awkward angle in order to avoid the lens. It does also appear a little flimsy, as if a hard knock may damage or even completely destroy it, this is something we'll be keen to look at further in the full test.
Performance
Most of the features of the V1 can also be found on board the J1.
As the camera is aimed mostly at beginners, you won't find controls such as aperture or shutter priority on the main control wheel. This may be a little offputting to DSLR users at home with having these controls quickly available, but it does help to reduce the clutter on the rear of the camera.
Aperture priority and other exposure modes are available through a sub menu, and once you locate these, adjusting the aperture and so on is fairly simple. Adjustments can be made via the zoom switch at the top right of the camera, which again is a little unusual if you're used to a DSLR.
Nikon claims that both the cameras in the 1 range are the fastest cameras in the world, boasting a super high-speed AF system which instantly switches between Phase-Detection AF and Contrast Detect AF. During our initial tests we found that the camera could lock onto a subject quickly and easily.
Smart Photo Selector makes use of the new EXPEED 3 processing system that boasts speeds quicker than the high-end Nikon D3x DSLR. The mode starts to shoot photos while the shutter release is half pressed, continuing to shoot even after it is fully released. The camera takes 20 photos and then automatically selects the best five based on composition, red-eye and more for you to choose from. We can see this mode appealing to parents keen to capture a fast-moving child.
Verdict
As we were using a pre-production sample of the J1, we were unable to capture any of our own photos with it. However, Nikon provided sample images from the V1 for us to look at. Given that the sensor and basic specifications are the same, we can expect very similar image quality from the two models, and what we've seen so far is promising.
We're looking forward to carrying out a full review, but the images provided by Nikon appears to show that the camera copes well in low light and that a pleasing depth of field effects can be achieved.
The new 1 range is a long awaited and intriguing prospect from Nikon. The J1 is cheaper and aimed even more squarely at beginner and family photographers than the V1 and as such it will be interesting to see how the camera performs in terms of sales.
Convincing the consumer who is used to spending £200 or less on a compact camera that they need to upgrade to a £550 "ACIL" could prove tricky.
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Review: Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray
Overview, design and feel
It's been a busy old year for Sony Ericsson. As it struggles to regain a foothold in the market it was once sucha major player in, it's been firing out more Android-based Xperia smartphones than long-lost relatives on an episode of Jeremy Kyle. And they're not half bad either.The Xperia Arc has been the flagship of 2011's bunch. Arriving in the spring, it became the skinny poster girl for the Swedish-Japanese hybrid, showing off its amazing screen presence with the help of the Sony Reality Display (the bit that reproduces colour on the screen and makes it look great) but in the Xperia Ray, Sony Ericsson has gone for a smaller model.
Before we go any further, there is one point we have to make clear: this phone is small. And thin. Think smaller and thinner than you expect, then shave a bit more off your dimensions. That's what you get.
The Xperia Arc (we're going to be making lot of comparisons to the Arc in this review) is 125 x 63mm with a depth of 8.7mm. The Ray slices most of that off and comes in at a remarkable 111 x 53mm. It is slightly fatter, by less than a millimetre, clocking in at 9.4mm deep.
It reminds us very much of the original (and, at the time, revolutionary) HTC Touch Diamond from 2008 – a niche handset that only retro phone geeks are likely to recall.
Indeed, compared to the larger handsets we've become used to using, such as the Samsung Galaxy S2, Apple iPhone 4 and HTC Sensation, this really does feel teeny and we couldn't stop picking it up at first.
But it is no slouch. Under that hood, you'll find a not-too-shabby 8MP camera with HD video recording, Android 2.3.3 Gingerbread, HSUPA/HSDPA and 1GHz processor.
The Ray sits comfortably in the hand, and at 100g, you'll barely even notice it's there. Indeed if ever there was a candidate for a 'going out phone' that would slip unobtrusively into a pair of skinny jeans, this is most definitely it.
The rear has a matt finish that's only broken up by the camera lens and flash, plus a speaker near the bottom, crowned by a Sony Ericsson logo.
Around the side, there's little to comment on. The left has only a micro USB socket for charging/syncing, while the left houses a volume rocker.
Up top, you'll find little of interest other than a (thankfully easy to hit) power/sleep button and the 3.5mm socket for headphones of your choice.
The front is fairly minimalistic, made of a large sheet of glass broken up only by an earpiece and a physical Home button. The other two buttons that serve as Back and Options are both touch-sensitive jobs and, unfortunately, not as sensitive as we'd have liked.
Inside, you'll find 1GB of memory – although only 300MB is available to the user – and a slot for swapping microSD cards. You only get a 4GB card in the box compared to the 8GB the Xperia Arc ships with, which seems a little tight. But considering how cheap memory is these days, we'll not hold it against Sony Ericsson too much.
But here's an issue: the memory isn't hot swappable. Seriously, Sony Ericsson – is that too much to ask in the year 2011?
The handset is available in a number of colours, including gold, black, pink and white, catering for all members of fashion crowd, apparently.
The Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray's screen is the same resolution as the Xperia Arc's amazing display, which means 480 x 854 pixels. But it's a lot smaller, at 3.3 inches, compared to the Xperia Arc's 4.2 inches, which means a much higher density.
Don't underestimate this – when you look at the Xperia Ray's display, you will not believe how clear it is. Put it next to an Apple Retina display and you'll notice there isn't much in it.
Colours on the whole look fantastic, although we were disappointed with the quality of our blue sky wallpapers, which looked a lot more washed out than they did on the Samsung Galaxy S2. Plus the clarity is incredible.
We did find that we often had to tap a button or function again because the first go didn't register. We had the same issue with the soft keys. It wasn't a deal breaker, but it was unresponsive enough for us to notice and get slightly frustrated.
We're shallow enough to admit that one thing we love is the animation when you turn the display off. Hit the Standby button and the screen decreases and disappears into a white line in a deliberate echo of the sequence we'd see in days gone by when turning off an old CRT TV set - first seen on the Google Nexus S.
It's a cosmetic addition that adds no functionality. It's a gimmick. And it's pointless. But man, did we love it. And so did all of our friends we showed it to. Small things, small minds.
As with all modern mobile phones, the glass is apparently toughened. We couldn't see any literature that defined it specifically as Gorilla Glass but whatever it is, it's not great.
Not only is the Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray a fingerprint and dust magnet, the screen is also a scratch magnet. In the week that we had it, we noticed scratches appear at the rate of several per day. Don't get us wrong, they weren't huge, and indeed, we had to strain to look for them.
But if you're as OCD as us about keeping your precious looking precious, you won't like it. And putting a screen protector on (providing you can find one that fits exactly) will take away some of the sparkle.
The Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray has just started hitting shelves at a very reasonable £299 SIM-free price. That's £50 cheaper than the Xperia Arc, which is almost identical, save for the size.
If you want to go on contract, it's available free on £25 a month deals (provided you sign 18-24 months of your life away.) On a 12-month contract, you're looking at about £50 for the phone, which is still very reasonable for what you're getting.
Without reinforcing a stereotype, we can't help feeling this is one for either the ladies or the smaller fingered men among us. Those who want a similar Android experience on a larger deviceare likely to plump for a Samsung Galaxy S2, HTC Sensation or, indeed, the Xperia Arc itself.
Interface
The problem for any Android manufacturer is the same: how do we make our smartphone different? There are dozens of Android handsets on the market in this country, and it's the world's most-used mobile phone operating system. But that's also the problem, because it's reaching saturation point.
HTC has enjoyed phenomenal success with its HTC Sense skin that sits atop the Android platform and has become instantly recognisable through that big flip-style home screen clock widget. Samsung's given us TouchWiz and, in turn, Sony Ericsson brings Timescape to the table.
In essence, the main function of this overlay is a widget that sticks your social media updates on your front page, or wherever else you fancy putting them.
It's versatile in that you can add Twitter and Facebook updates out of the box but also install other extensions to get additional services. (Foursquare, Gmail, Orkut and Picassa are just a few of these – there are dozens on Android market, although curiously we couldn't see a LinkedIn extension.)
You can set it to update your notifications periodically and then swipe through them like a rolodex. SMS/MMS and missed calls can all be handled here too.
But for us, it just wasn't practical for two main reasons.
Firstly, we have a fair amount of Facebook friends but follow hundreds of people on Twitter. If Timescape updates all your Facebook and Twitter info together, you're going to be looking through it all day.
You can decide which services it checks and which it doesn't (so, for example, we selected Facebook only, to make it more manageable) but if you're doing that, what's the point? You may as well just use the individual Facebook and Twitter apps.
You'll probably end up doing that anyway, because that is our second point – Timescape is merely a launcher. If you scroll through and see a friend has, say, posted a link on a Facebook update, when you click it in Timescape, it just launches the Facebook app, which then gives you the link to click on, which then launches the browser. It's the same with photos and so on.
So you then have to exit the Facebook app to go back to the home screen to get back to your feeds and go through the whole rigmarole again. It's bitty and annoying and we'd much rather that Timescape had some kind of inbuilt image and web browser so that you could view all your Facebook and Twitter content in one place.
Luckily, being an Android phone, the Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray enables you to remove Timescape and just customise your screens with better widgets, which we'd advise you do.
Other widgets include a Favourites Quick Dial, which we liked because it had room for 12 people (we're very popular) plus obligatory elements such as quick toggles, Google search, weather and music/gallery controls. It's all effective, but there was nothing in there to jump out at you, and we couldn't help feeling it was all a bit pedestrian.
Sony Ericsson does give you a selection of themes to pick from, although they're all just coloured variations of the same pattern.
You can also reorder apps easily through the app drawer and create folders. It's a small blessing, but something we're glad to see, since many other Android manufacturers omit this for reasons known only to themselves.
The four shortcuts on the main screen dock at the bottom of the display can be easily reassigned whichever way you see fit by long-pressing the icon.
We did install some nice new live wallpapers, but were dismayed to see that the Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray struggled with them. The standard Android ones were there, but when we tried to install the beautiful Flux free live wallpaper (which we've used on several Android handsets), it stuttered and stammered until we'd uninstalled and gone back to the original wallpaper.
This isn't what we'd expect from a 1GHz processor. Not. At. All.
There are five home screens for you to pick from. We couldn't see any way to increase this, which is a shame because you may fill them up quickly, but you can always plump for a free third-party launcher replacement if you like, to solve this.
Luckily, with Android, if you've used a handset with this operating system before, it's pretty similar, albeit with custom icons. And if you haven't used an Android phone then, along with iOS, it's one of the most intuitive systems out there.
Contacts and calling
The contacts and calling section app on the Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray is heavily skinned, and we found it a pleasure to use. It's all very intuitive. Calls are easy to place using the on-screen dialler or the various tabs such as Call Log, Contacts, Phone and Favourites. You can also save a contact into the phone book having dialled their number manually.
Contacts can store an almost infinite amount of information, and it's all presented in an easy to navigate format. Each entry has three shortcuts up top: Send Message, Favourite and Edit. If you want to call them, you just tap the phone number itself and away you go.
We have to say we weren't overly impressed with the Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray's contact linking abilities. Some of us are extremely tidy when it comes to keeping our phone books in check, but we have to say we're not.
We've been astounded by the initiative shown by recent HTC mobile phones in the way they manage to automatically link contacts from Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp and elsewhere and tie them all together, with an option for us to then approve. The Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray has a 'joining' facility too – but unfortunately, it's not great.
Whereas HTC handsets do it automatically periodically, on the Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray, you have to go into each individual contact, then select to edit. Only once in edit mode can you link that contact with another. If you have several joins per person, it becomes a real chore and will take you all day.
With hundreds of names in the average address book, we decided that life is far too short and gave up by the time we reached the letter C.
Calling was one of the Xperia Ray's strong points, with conversations conducted without any groaning or moaning. We could hear the other party clear as a bell, and they reported a good reception from us too.
Signal could be a little flaky from time to time and we weren't blown over with the strength of the Wi-Fi chip, which appeared to struggle with showing full bars even when we practically sat on the router.
Still, it never actually dropped a signal, which was highly commendable when you consider that other phones we've tasked with this have failed.
Yet one thing we're still missing here is full-screen caller picture ID. Yes, we know it's a small thing. Yes, we know it doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things. But it breaks our heart when we have such an amazingly sharp screen plus some beautiful photos, but we can't have them appear properly when loved ones call us.
If this were any other manufacturer, it'd be a simple moan. But we're particularly disappointed because this was a feature all Sony Ericssons used to come with, and it's a real shame this hasn't made it through to the subsequent Android builds.
Messaging
Messaging is heavily catered for on the Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray. We wouldn't expect it to be any other way. This is, after all, an Android handset.
The actual messaging app is standard Google fare, although again it's been skinned to fit in with the look of the rest of the phone. When you open the app for the first time, there's a subtle but cool animation that stacks your messages up, which is a nice touch.
If you have photos of your contacts in your address book, they're displayed alongside the message in list mode, which again just makes the experience that little bit nicer and more visual.
Email-wise, you get a good selection. The inbuilt Gmail client is onboard – it's the version we know and (some) love, and nothing has really changed here (the changes are, apparently, on the way with Ice Cream Sandwich).
It's functional enough and provides advanced tools for hardcore Gmail users such as organising labels and proper searching of your inbox remotely.
If you're not a fan, there's also the separate email client that Sony Ericsson has provided, which works with Gmail but is primarily provided for those who don't want to give their mail over to Google. It supports most other IMAP/POP3 services as well as the all-important Exchange protocols.
One thing we really like about it is the 'split view' it offers. Both in portrait mode and landscape, you can view your emails in a list with a preview pane. In reality, the screen is a bit too small for it to be of any practical use for long, but we really like the fact that Sony Ericsson has put it in there as an option.
The usual suspects are available for social networking – the likes of Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, LinkedIn, plus third-party services that tie into them.
You have to download them to get the latest versions, but they work well although they are very individual.
We yearn for an HTC Sense-type experience where it all feels integrated into Android, but in the end, we didn't get it. It's a shame, because Sony Ericsson has obviously had a slight whiff of this with Timescape but not followed through and made it into anything worth having.
Of course, no messaging handset is even worth getting out of the box if the typing experience isn't top notch. And with the virtual keyboard on screen here, we'd say that's an adequate way of describing it: "not top notch."
We have to put a disclaimer in here and say that this is entirely our personal opinion, based on rather large hands. We must also point out we thought the keyboard was great at first. But the experience went downhill.
The problem here is the screen size. It's just difficult to type on a screen that small and hold the phone in the hand correctly.
To be fair to Sony Ericsson, in portrait mode, the Xperia Ray is set up to automatically use an on-screen phone-style keyboard like you used to get on an old mobile phone – how retro. You even have T9 that you can toggle on and off.
In theory, this should work. But in use, we found that issue with the screen's unresponsiveness kept rearing its head. We'd be tapping away and realise that keypresses hadn't registered and have to keep going back, which just got annoying after a while.
Alternatively, you can turn that option off and in its place, you get a standard keyboard in portrait orientation. But because of the screen size, it's difficult to hit the keys accurately. Not impossible, we stress. You can do it if you're careful, but you won't be typing at any great speed to do it. Or any speed at all, really.
Indeed, the only really usable keyboard is the one that appears when you turn the phone into landscape mode. It is easy to hold the Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray and type with both thumbs here, but again, you won't be typing out War and Peace on this. Unfortunately, it's the downside of going for a smaller phone with a smaller screen, and there's not much that Sony Ericsson can do about this.
Internet
If you're a big browser, then the Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray gives you a full-blown internet device in your pocket at a size you'll barely notice. And we have to say the internet experience on the Ray is second to none.
Firstly, it comes with Flash integration (as do most Android handsets), so gets a massive plus from us and usurps handsets that retail for hundreds more pounds (*cough* iPhone and BlackBerry handsets *cough*). Videos on websites load without any hitch and pages appear blisteringly fast.
On Wi-Fi, the TechRadar home page loaded in full in five seconds and only took marginally longer over a 3G internet connection. It trumped our HTC Sensation, which was still playing catchup on page one by the time we'd already started reading our second page on the Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray.
Pages also look absolutely beautiful on the Xperia Ray's screen when they fill the whole screen.
To actually read anything, you obviously have to zoom in, so use pinch to zoom or double tap, which both work with no delay.
You'll struggle to see any pixilation even when zoomed in. This really is one of the top internet experiences we've had on a smartphone, and we found that loading speeds were on a par with some of those larger, dual-core smartphones.
The standard Android browser is used, so it supports multiple windows and bookmarks, which work as you'd expect.
We love the fact that you can change search engine (although this isn't restricted solely to the Xperia range) and that great Android function where you type whatever you like into the address bar and it automatically detects if it is a website or a search term.
We may have reservations about other areas, but when it comes to browsing, we were sold.
Camera
The Xperia Arc is one of Sony Ericsson's flagship Xperia handsets and, as such, comes with an 8.1MP camera. Naturally, we'd have expected something a little smaller on the Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray. But fear not, this too has an 8MP camera, and what a great addition it is.
The viewfinder fills the screen and subjects almost jump out because they look so clear and vivid. As we moved the camera around the room (not taking a picture, just looking for things to photograph), there was absolutely no lag or flickering. It was as though we were watching a high-definition movie. We assume this is where the Reality Display bit really kicks in.
The camera gives you scene modes, although curiously, only three: Normal, Smile Detection and Automatic. All seemed to work OK, but we just kept it on Automatic for best results.
You can also select the photo size (8MP, 6MP and 2MP) but, for some reason, you can pick between 4:3 and 16:9 in 2MP mode but not the others, presumably as that's the only mode Sony Ericsson thinks can fit in all the pixels.
We like the fact that there's a self-timer, which is something that some of the even more advanced handsets seem to neglect.
However, one thing we don't like is the way the photo light deals with situations or, more to the point, the lack of automatic mode. The light is either on or off, and there's no option to let the Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray decide what's most appropriate. That's left to the user to decide for each individual photo, and can get annoying if you're trying to take a snap in a hurry.
NOISE: The Xperia Ray struggles in low light without the flash, and you end up with lots of noise
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CHANGER: The phone's camera automatically switches modes and can pick out text with little effort
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DAYLIGHT: The camera performs best in bright daylight
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COLOURFUL: Colours in bright daylight are well represented and true to life
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MACRO: Macro mode picks out text well
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AUTO: Automatic scene mode gives you an accurate representation of colour
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CONFUSED: It struggles in certain scenarios, such as sunset
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TOO DARK: In low light, you may as well give up
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FLASH: Even with the flash on and camera up close, it doesn't make a huge difference, unfortunately
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Another small thing we like is the option to turn the shutter sound completely off. Some handsets don't give you the option to do this, which we get annoyed by. There are occasions where taking a sneaky pic is justified, and we like the fact that we can do this without being caught if we need to.
To take photos you won't be using a camera button, because there isn't one, which is a slight shame. Instead, to shoot you tap the screen.
Normally, we'd expect tapping the screen to focus, but that's not what happens here because this camera has some kind of human-like intelligence – so much so that if you move from focusing on, say, a person to a close-up of some text, it actually recognises what you're trying to shoot and tells you (it says 'document' in the corner) and refocuses all by itself. Hurrah.
In general, we weren't overly pleased with the outcome of photographs taken with the camera. There were some issues with noise in low light settings where the flash wasn't used, and we admit that we did think they looked better displayed on the actual screen of the phone than transferred to a computer.
Video
The Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray shoots video in all its HD glory. If you're not convinced, it even boasts of that with a big 'HD' logo on the rear battery cover.
And for some bizarre reason, although you only get three basic scene modes to pick from in the standard camera app, when it comes to the video camera, you're presented with lots more (Landscape, Beach, Party, Portrait, Night and Sports modes).
That's really odd and these would surely be more use in the stills camera.
There is no way of automatically focusing your video as you move around. Although there are three focus modes built into the options (Single Focus, Face Detection and Infinity), we found they made little difference and parts of our video remained blurred out.
Again, the light is either on or off, and since you have to tap the screen to start/stop recording, you can't even bring the light in midway because any interaction with the screen will end your moviemaking.
You do get the feeling that in the Xperia Ray, Sony Ericsson has put more weight behind the video recorder than the main stills camera, since you're overrun with options from exposure value and white balance to metering and image stabiliser.
Again, you'll have to tap on the screen to start and end your video, because there's no camera button.
Most Android phones with HD recording commit one cardinal sin: they enable you to film video in fantastic clarity, but when you want to send your video by MMS, they don't resize it, just tell you that the video is over your carrier's limit. This is one field where the Apple iPhone beats Android smartphones hands down, and it really needn't be the case.
So we were hoping that Sony Ericsson might buck the trend here. But it doesn't.
Yes, you are able to send your video by MMS, and the Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray does give you the option of editing your video to send that way. But in reality, it doesn't reduce the frame rate and make a smaller file. All it does is give you the ability to trim your video and, due to the size of an HD recording, it means you'll probably only get about three seconds of video in an MMS. Pointless.
Luckily, you can share via lots of other methods from email to WhatsApp to Dropbox, but it does leave a sour taste in the mouth that you have to download third-party software to do something that a phone this smart should be able to do out of the box.
Media
Media-wise, the Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray is pretty standard Android fare. It does the job well but there is nothing here that is brand spanking new and will leave you excited.
In terms of watching videos, this is one of the Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray's strengths. Again, you just can't fault that screen for clarity, and watching HD videos that we'd dragged and dropped onto the card was a real pleasure.
You won't be watching the Star Wars Box Set on it – unless you like squinting – because the screen is so small, but for watching a quick music video or an episode of Family Guy on the train to work, we give the Xperia Ray a big fat thumbs up.
The music player is standard Android. Again, it's been skinned to within an inch of its life to give it the Xperia colour tone, but under the gloss it's the same music player you'll find on most other Android handsets. That's not to say it's a bad thing, because it works well.
We found that dragging and dropping a ton of music from a MacBook Pro worked a treat, and the player was able to figure out which albums were grouped together simply.
The gallery app is the same one we've seen since the Nexus One launched at the start of last year. It looks slick, creates albums automatically, tilts in line with the accelerometer and even manages to change the background of the entire gallery depending on what photo you're looking at.
We'd love to say it's busting with loads of new features and tell you all about them, but the reality is there were only two new things we noticed about it: firstly, the icon is new (well, it's a Sony Ericsson variant). And secondly, Facebook albums are now in there too, as part of the deeper Facebook integration that now lives in the contacts menu too.
There's a YouTube app preinstalled (Note to BlackBerry: an actual app, not a link to the mobile website. Take the hint!), and it does the job valiantly. It's the standard YouTube for Android app.
However, as well as the standard Android stuff, Sony Ericsson has also kitted out the Xperia Ray with its own media goodies, which we feel should get a special mention.
First, TrackID is an inheritance from the days of the K800i (possibly even earlier) and was the precursor to Shazam. It's always worked well and we've always been fond of this little app.
Not only that, but now it goes even further and provides you with an updated music chart and options to search YouTube or even buy the song you've searched for. It's all powered by the fantastic Gracenote database, so you really can't go wrong.
One fun app that we noticed is called Friends' Music & Videos. It's linked into Facebook and basically collates all of your friends' posted and recommended videos or music. It's not something you're likely to spend hours on, but for mucking about it's a nice addition.
For those who want to rent movies (or indeed buy them) direct on the device, there's a Qriocity app built in. The selection of flicks isn't exhaustive but it's OK if you're really bored and stuck for something to watch.
Prices are similar to the likes of iTunes.
And, hallelujah! We knew we could rely on good old Sony Ericsson not to let us down here: there is an FM radio! Woohoo! With lots of manufacturers neglecting to fit these, it's lovely that Sony Ericsson still keeps this element in just like it did in the old days.
For those of us who like to go running with our phones and listen to the radio, the Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray gets a bonus point here.
Battery life and connectivity
One of the complaints about the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc was (and still is) the pretty woeful battery life. The 1500mAh power pack may have been useful in older phones, but it just couldn't cut it on the Xperia Arc with that vivid screen and hungry thirst for juice.
Indeed, one sales rep at a large high street mobile phone retailer told us: "The phone's great – but I can't lie, the battery's shit". If that's his sales patter, you've really got to worry.
So, we picked up the Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray with a slightly heavy heart and prepared to find that Sony Ericsson had fitted it with something pointless like a 400mAh battery due to its size.
We nearly fell off our chairs to discover that this little baby has a 1500mAh unit inside it too – the same as its big brother, but on a screen that's much smaller.
It seemed too good to be true, but you know what? We're really thrilled to say it wasn't. Because here, in the Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray, we have an Android handset where we can confidently say the battery life does not completely suck.
Sony Ericsson quotes the talk time as up to 7 hours and standby time as up to 440 hours, depending on your network band type. With moderate use, you'll still probably not get anything more than two full days out of it. But you'll certainly notice it go a long way.
We got some fantastic readings out of our evaluation unit.
We're talking taking it off charge at 7am, some pretty heavy twitter usage for a couple of hours, an eight mile run (using both the RunKeeper software and FM radio simultaneously), about 20 minutes worth of streaming music over Bluetooth to the car stereo, sending about 12 texts and eight emails, plus about 30 mins worth of calls. At this rate, we still had 32% by 7pm.
That's quite commendable since Android smartphones (even Gingerbread handsets) aren't known for being phenomenal with battery. If you barely use the Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray, you'll notice it lose about 1% an hour on battery, but these things are always subjective and depend on the strength of your signal and various other factors.
You're pretty connected in every conceivable way with the usual suspects including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS and HSDPA/HSUPA included. We weren't overjoyed with the signal strength of the Wi-Fi unit, as we mentioned in the Contacts and calling section of this review, but everything else works as you would expect.
The GPS packs a powerful punch for such a small baby and we managed to get a signal indoors a fair distance from the window within five seconds from a cold start.
HSDPA really does live up to its name, and data flows down from the ether into this handset like molten lava when loading web pages. We still can't get over how bloomin' fast this is at displaying websites.
Bluetooth streamed across to our car stereo with no issues.
Sony Ericsson provides its own remote sync software, which helpfully enables you to sync your contacts with its servers. That's nice of it, but we can't help wonder why bother when Android is based on Google, which offers contacts sync out of the box. Still, it's there if you want it.
NFC is not included on the Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray – not that we expected it to be. Sony Ericsson is not one of the handset manufacturers pushing the technology down our throats, and obviously doesn't view it as crucial to the Xperia user base.
DLNA is naturally supported (we'd be surprised if it wasn't, since Sony was the firm to bring it to us originally years ago) and helpfully enables you to share your media on the big screen via either a PS3 or supported TV.
We think it's restricted to Sony Bravia units, because we struggled with our Samsung TV. However, getting it connected to the PlayStation was a dream, and we were very pleased to be able to bore friends with our holiday snaps in glorious Technicolor!
Maps and apps
The Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray caters very well for your app needs. And of course, being an Android handset, what you get in the box is just the beginning, with much more available via the Android Market.
You'll find all the usual suspects in there, including Maps, Latitude, Places, Talk, Gmail and the excellent (and free!) Navigation Beta. Maps now supports 3D scrolling, although it only works in certain cities. It's nice to show the area around the Empire State Building to your friends, even if it is slightly pointless.
Sony Ericsson also provides you with helpful set-up and support apps.
The Calendar is standard Android fare – although we got a little annoyed with the fact that although it supports multiple Google calendars, by default it displays them all as the same colour, and we couldn't figure out how to change this.
It makes multiple calendars pretty pointless and means you have to concentrate more rather than just being able to evaluate your diary with a quick glance.
There are other helpful additions in there too, such as a Data Monitor, which will be a lifesaver if you're using your Android phone abroad in particular. We really wish we'd had it on a recent trip to Asia, where automatic updating of apps left our holiday anything other than cheap.
We thought we spotted Sony Ericsson's own app stores here, following Samsung's lead.
But its helpful Get Apps and Get Games offerings actually just show you a selection of recommendations that then require downloading via the Android market.
There is an alternative app store of sorts, in the form of PlayNow, which is a hangover from yesteryear. We fired it up and chuckled at the cheapness of it (the way it looks rather than the cost of apps) before closing it.
Heaven knows why Sony Ericsson still supports this, let alone ships it on handsets like the Xperia Ray, but it probably keeps somebody in a job.
For the business minded, you get Office Suite as standard, but closer inspection reveals that you need to upgrade to the Pro version if you want to edit documents, since the Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray only comes with a licence for viewing office docs. Not that it's extortionate at $9.99, but it's a shame Sony Ericsson couldn't have felt the love and included this for free and swallowed the cost.
Having said that, a viewer is probably all you'll need, since any attempt to tap out more than the shortest of memos on that tiny but beautiful screen will no doubt lead to colourful language being emitted.
Hands on gallery
Official gallery
Verdict
The Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray really is a phone of contradictions. The internet browser is amazing, but the camera and keyboard are average. That's the only way we can think of to describe it.
And in these times when we seem to be getting more obsessed with the mine's-bigger-than-yours argument (we're talking screen sizes here) with the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S2, the BlackBerry Torch 9860, the (probably) forthcoming iPhone 5 and the HTC Sensation, it's really refreshing to go back to the smaller units. Holding it makes us feel slightly nostalgic – almost as though we're gripping an old Nokia 8210.
We liked
The Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray is an impressive handset with a powerful processor and very impressive battery life. Plus, it rocks Android Gingerbread, so is customisable to the hilt.
It flies through internet pages – even with Flash – like nobody's business, but struggles with some live wallpapers. Based on the size of it, it should be a basic handset, but it is actually a stealth powerhouse.
We disliked
The small size won't be to everybody's taste – especially when it comes to trying to type on the screen. And while children and the slender handed will be fine, the giants among us won't be fans.
It comes with an 8MP camera, but doesn't take pictures as well as you'd expect, and the flash is really underpowered. The video is equally uninspiring, especially when sharing it over MMS.
We can't help wishing it was ever so slightly more powerful than the 1GHz it currently gives us, so that we don't feel we're putting it under strain with live wallpapers.
Final verdict
There is no doubt about it – never mind a rabbit, Sony Ericsson has pulled a gem out of the hat here. The Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray is a joy to use (for 99% of tasks) and we're seriously impressed with the form factor and how it's squeezed it all in.
The only issue we have is that the remaining 1% of tasks that are less pleasurable to do with the Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray (typing on the screen, for example) really do affect usage, so this is a handset you should try out before you buy.
The beauty is that if typing is your only gripe with the Xperia Ray, then the Xperia Arc will provide you with an almost identical experience, albeit in a larger form factor.
But that's also the problem – the Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray is not massively different to the rest of the Xperia line, which is starting to feel like its saturating the market with 'me too' handsets that don't offer anything uniquely different.
Not that this will matter to the majority of buyers who, like us, will be won over by its small size.
And there is no getting away from it – if you want something small that packs a punch and don't fancy Scrappy Doo in your pocket, then the Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray is definitely a very worthy contender for consideration.
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Microsoft 'has lost $5.5 billion on Bing'
A new report suggests that Microsoft is losing $1 billion a quarter on Bing, its search engine, with total losses so far reaching $5.5 billion.
This is according to CNN Money, which has gotten its calculator out and totted up the total losses Microsoft has made on Bing and revealed that the company's online search division has never actually made a profit.
According to CNN, since it started revealing the finances of the unit in 2007 it has made a total loss of $9 billion.
People will expect more from search
The losses are despite Microsoft gaining good ground in the search market. ComScore is tracking the search engine as having a 14.7 per cent share of the market, with Google at 64.8 per cent.Despite the massive disparity in percentages between the two companies, Microsoft is gaining in the search sector. One of the reasons for this is the tie-up with Yahoo, with Microsoft powering Yahoo's search functionality.
Speaking about Bing, Stefan Weitz, Microsoft's director of the search engine, said to CNN: "Our challenge is that no one wakes up in the morning and says, 'I really wish there was a better search engine'.
"That's why, for us, it's always been about figuring out how to accomplish more than we thought was possible with a search engine. Eventually, people will expect to do more with search, and if they can't, they'll be disappointed."
There's no doubt Microsoft is making waves in the search market, but there's also no doubt it will want to start recouping its losses from the search engine, given that it can only be a loss-leader for so long.
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Analysis: The elephant in the room for Windows 8
Windows 8 is coming. We've heard all about it, poked around with it and really rather like it.
What Microsoft is doing is good and, what's more, it might breed a whole new range of multipurpose computing devices that go beyond the tablet.
But the OS presents one massive issue that Microsoft has yet to fully answer: how will it tell people they can't run legacy apps on ARM versions of the OS?
At a closed 'Windows on ARM' demo I attended at CES in January, Microsoft's Steven Sinofsky made it crystal clear that legacy x86 apps wouldn't have any way of working on new ARM-based Windows systems.
So how will Microsoft tell people and help them to work out what's what?
After all, we're all used to buying a Windows PC and sticking all and sundry on it. If people can't do this with an ARM-based Windows tablet but you can with an Intel-based Windows tablet, confusion will reign.
Relying on developers
Sinofsky went on to make it sound like the problem won't apply to new Metro apps: "When you write a Metro style application, all the tools are there to enable you in any of the languages that we support to automatically support ARM or X86. I think that's the key part of everything that we'll run."But Metro is merely a UI specification rather than a new application execution model – programs will still need to be compiled for both the x86 and ARM architectures.
Therefore Microsoft is, to a certain extent, leaning on developers – many will need to make their apps compatible with both x86 and ARM. There's no magic potion for this.
Microsoft certainly hasn't given developers an awful lot to go on, most notably there has been little communication from Microsoft explaining how it will differentiate the Windows 8 versions.
A Windows of two halves?
Could things be as clear as people being told to buy Intel-based hardware if they need it for legacy apps? Could this be a reason to plump for an Intel or AMD-based Windows 8 tablet over an ARM one?It might well be. After all, there will also be a lot less apps available for ARM devices from the off – though the Windows 8 Store should see this issue off. While there is still the issue of developing multiple binaries, distribution is a lot easier in the age of the app store.
Microsoft has also been working hard behind the scenes to support other devices on ARM-based platforms, the first example of which was when it used a Qualcomm Snapdragon-based test platform to print from within Windows at CES.
And it's not as if there will be any difference between the two types of the OS. All the signs point towards ARM-based Windows 8 machines shipping with both the traditional desktop and the new Metro interface – it will all be consistent. Everything looks the same as the Windows 8 Developer Preview running on x86-based hardware.
FAMILIAR: You'll have a traditional Windows desktop in both the ARM and x86 versions of Windows 8
It also seems there's no requirement for apps developed for Windows 8 on ARM to be Metro apps – so there will be desktop apps for ARM just as there will for x86.
And if you're thinking that Microsoft will discourage the use of legacy apps across Windows 8, this isn't likely.
There will also be a Windows 7 Mode in the x86 version of the OS. Many existing Windows apps also run fine on the x86 Windows 8 Developer Preview - even though the purpose of releasing the development software is to get people used to the way that Metro apps work.
Of course, if ARM Windows 8 devices really take off – as I think is very likely with the kind of technology we're seeing from Nvidia with Tegra – then we could be faced with a completely split operating system that, on the surface, looks identical but where app support is drastically different – another massive headache for developers, hardware manufacturers and Microsoft alike.
And without demonstrable design wins in tablets, there are also huge questions for Intel and AMD to deal with – in the face of Microsoft's support for ARM, these huge corporations could be seen very much as providing technology for legacy desktop and laptop devices rather than next-gen convertibles and tablets.
But most of the heat is on Microsoft with this one. And I, for one, am very intrigued how it's going to deal with this particular hot potato.
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RIM stock price continues to tumble
RIM's stock price has taken another hit as the company looks to turn its fortunes around following under-par financial results.
The BlackBerry maker has seen its market share decline rapidly in the US, one of its key markets, and while it remains buoyant in other territories (such as the UK, where it's incredibly strong in the pre-pay markets) the Canadian firm still has suffered a stock decline.
The price dropped to $21.54, a level RIM hasn't seen since July 2006, when the company was creating super-business handsets like the BlackBerry 8707 (pictured below).
From there, the company saw a meteoric rise to $144.56 per share in June 2008, off the back of a more fashionable and stylish range of phones like the Bold 9000 and the Pearl 8110, which slimmed down the chassis and brought a more modern OS to the market.
But despite the new range of BlackBerry OS 7 devices doing well (the Bold 9900 being one of the hottest smartphones around at the moment) the company still needs to show its future devices are going to compete with the likes of the iPhone 5 and the next wave of top-end Android phones.
RIM has already hinted at it will cut the price of the Playbook after it performed 'well below expectations' and continues to work on QNX devices in an attempt at bringing a next-gen smartphone performance to its range.
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YouView still on for 2012 launch, snaps up Sky Go exec
YouView has revealed that it is still on track for its delayed 2012 launch and that it has finally found a successor to Anthony Rose.
In a blog post, YouView announced the appointment of Chris Bramley, formerly chief architect at BSkyB, as its new CTO and stated its intended release was still very much on the cards.
The blog made no reference to Anthony Rose, who was one of the big names associated with YouView, despite only being part of the IPTV joint venture for six months.
Right expertise
YouView highlighted in the blog that bringing in Bramley – who worked on Sky Go and the rest of Sky's on-demand services – will ensure the venture is technically astute.Speaking about the appointment, Richard Halton, CEO, YouView said: "Chris has proven his technology leadership through delivering innovative new services into UK homes.
"He has the right expertise to lead YouView's technical team through launch and to support the future growth of the platform. I am delighted to welcome him on-board."
YouView is an on-demand IPTV initiative for the set-top box market and is backed by the BBC, ITV, BT, Channel 4, TalkTalk, Arqiva and Channel 5.
Sky has been cautious of YouView in the past, believing the service will be a niche one, so it is interesting the venture has managed to snap up one of the company's leading tech heads.
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Beats Audio coming to HTC Windows Phones
HTC has confirmed it's working on bringing its newly-acquired Beats Audio with the Windows Phone 7 range.
The company only said 'We're working with Beats to enable [its use on Windows Phone]" but didn't give any more details, such as timescale or model.
It's possible that the firm will take the same line as it did with its recent HTC Sensation XE release, where it simply brought out a higher-spec version of the original Sensation with Beats power and branding.
HTC Titan XE?
It would make sense to see something like the HTC Titan become Beats-enabled, given its larger screen and faster processor, but similarly HTC could bring out another Windows Phone device altogether, designed from the ground up with enhanced audio.One main hurdle the company would have to overcome to make a Beats-enabled Windows Phone handset would be the way the OS currently handles audio enhancement - users currently have to jump out of the music player to the main settings menu in order to enable it, which is convoluted to say the least.
The Sensation XE needs Beats headphones to activate the special profile within the phone, so the switch could become automatic, but we wouldn't hold our breath given the way Windows Phone has handled such enhancements in the past.
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Hands on: OnLive UK review
After 15 months of what founder Steve Perlman cheekily labels 'beta testing' in the US, OnLive has arrived in the UK bringing cloud gaming and, despite denials, a whole new competitor for the likes of Xbox 360, Nintendo's Wii and the PS3.
Any introduction to OnLive needs to delve a little deeper into what the service actually is, something that both the company itself and launch partner (and shareholder) BT will be at pains to do as people begin to look at what cloud gaming offers.
For traditional consoles, device and PC gaming, the gaming runs locally - ie on that gadget, be it the PS3, a MacBook or even an iPad. That means that the game's data lives on that device's storage, and every button you press or swipe you make is processed and is acted upon on the device.
Server
Cloud gaming stores the game on a server in a server farm and instead of the game running on your device it runs on that virtual computer. You are connected to that virtual computer via a broadband link - from your tablet, phone, computer or a box that sits under your television.So every time you send an instruction (like shoot, or look left, or jump) it is sent as a data package along your broadband connection and processed by the server. That server then sends you a streaming video of what is going on via your internet connection.
There are many benefits to this service, and a fairly obvious drawback or two, but we'll start with the advantages.
First of all, you don't need to install, update or patch any of your games. All of the software is updated by OnLive on its server direct, which means that when you log on you can start playing pretty much immediately.
You also don't need to have a console or update your PC to play the latest games; you can buy them (or buy access to them) on OnLive and they are there and ready.
The cloud can feasibly offer up much more processing power than the average PC or console as well - particularly taxing complicated processes can use the power of cloud computing to expand to more than one server.
Also, lower powered devices like tablets and phones can be used to play games that would be beyond their capacity to play because all they need to do is stream the video and send the user instructions.
But there are some issues that may be dealbreakers for some people; the first being that you need a steady and fairly quick broadband connection to get the best service.
Secondly, you may have to play the game at slightly lower settings than you would choose to if you were sat next to an uber gaming PC and last, but very much not least, is the problem of latency or lag.
Latency is, essentially, the amount of time it takes from you pressing a button to that action happening on screen.
All consoles and PCs have a degree of latency, but OnLive is having to send your data and the streamed video a lot further than your local devices and therefore it has more latency.
However, OnLive boldly claims that its beta testers in the UK thought that the service (at least on slightly older and less demanding games) was akin to console performance, so TechRadar's first task was to consider if that is actually the case.
We tested OnLive on a non-fibre optic broadband package and a 50MB fibre optic connection using the same equipment so that we could monitor the difference.
Design quality
It's immediately clear that this a beautifully designed product - well packaged, well thought through and designed with mass-market appeal.Having gone through the simple sign-up process and bought our first game: Deus Ex: Human Revolution naturally (on offer for a pound), we checked out the television kit first.
This consists of a small set-top box which is called the micro-console, a wireless controller and all the necessary extras - including an HDMI cable and batteries.
The controller is actually very nice; perhaps falling short of offerings on Xbox 360 and PS3 but certainly nicely built and well fitted to TechRadar hands at least.
Equally the microconsole is small enough to hide away and is by no means hideously ugly.
But the proof of this particular pudding is in the testing; how do the games play, and will people regret signing up.
First and foremost, there's plenty on offer even for people who don't want to splash out masses of cash. The idea of a rolling subscription pack of 100 games for £7 a month is clever and, we're sure, will be a popular option, and buying a first game for a pound feels like an immediate bargain.
Spectating other people is odd but quite satisfying and a lot of the community tools (like brag clips) could prove popular.
The key factor is, of course, performance. Does the inevitable lag spoil the games? How does it perform on a superfast fibre optic line and how does it perform on a fairly typical bog standard broadband connection of around 6Mbps average.
OnLive performs surprisingly well - and although it is pushing it to say that it is akin to a console, it certainly isn't a million miles away.
Indeed on a fast connection games are actually very playable. For the hardcore gamers the lag may well be a big problem; quick fire accuracy in Deus Ex was tricky, with the movement delay making it easy to under or over shoot your target.
But on older less taxing games or ones where split-second timing and pinpoint accuracy are less critical, the lag is barely noticeable and the playability is good.
On a more mediocre connection things are less wonderful - inevitably - but even then you can see a valid reason for signing up. This is a great reason for going for a fast broadband connection, and that's no bad thing.
Despite going into this with a fair degree of cynicism, the early signs for OnLive are good. A tie-up with BT is strategically impressive, and the service is far, far better than we had any right to expect.
Being able to play your favourite games on less powerful devices is an awesome concept, and if that means sacrificing a modicum of accuracy then many will take it. Of course being able to seamlessly jump from lagless local play to an okay experience in the cloud will be a massive step.
But in the meantime, this feels a lot like the first tentative step on a thrilling gaming journey.
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Facebook beats Google in Forbes rich list
Mark Zuckerberg has managed to jump a whopping 21 places in the Forbes rich list, with the Facebook founder now at number 14 – his net worth now at $17.5 billion.
This means he has leapfrogged Google's Larry Page and Sergey Brin, who are in 15th position with a net worth of around $16.7 billion.
It is Bill Gates who has topped the inaugural Forbes Rich List, however, adding a cool $5 billion to his mountain of cash.
Tech titans
As always the annual Forbes Rich List is full of tech personalities. Other luminaries who have made the list include Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, who sneaked into 13th place with $19.1 billion and Microsoft head Steve Ballmer in 19th place – his wallet is packed with $13.9 billion.Rounding off the top 50 is both Eric Schmidt and eBay founder Pierre Omidyar; they both have $6.2 billion to spend on a Scrooge McDuck-style coin-filled swimming pool.
To see the full list, go to www.forbes.com.
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Orange launches next NFC QuickTap phone
Orange has officially announced the Samsung Wave 578 will be added to its line up - the second NFC-capable handset in its range after the re-badged Samsung Tocco Lite.
The news isn't that much of a surprise, given that the phone was added to the 'Coming Soon' section of Orange's website last week, but now we finally get a few more details.
Orange and Barclaycard, the network's partner in the QuickTap scheme for NFC payments using the phone, promised more handsets with NFC on board, and despite the Wave 578 being over six months old, at least it's a device that was designed with the contactless technology from the start.
The Wave 578 is a budget mobile device and runs on Samsung's Bada platform. It comes with a low-res WQVGA 3.2-inch screen, 3.2MP camera and Wi-Fi with Samsung's integrated social networking.
To entice customers in, Orange and Barclaycard are extending the offer to put £10 on your account when starting up the service, and 10 per cent cashback on all QuickTap purchases in the next 90 days.
A new vision
"Paying with a mobile phone means never being without the right change, and always having access to funds. That's why I believe contactless mobile is the future of payments, and I'm keen it's made available to as many of our customers as possible," said David Chan, CEO of Barclaycard Consumer Europe"At the launch of our first contactless handset earlier this year we promised we would roll out greater choice in the 'Quick Tap' range and I'm pleased to be able to announce the first of these new handsets today."
Unsurprisingly, the Samsung Wave 578 will land on both PAYG and contract tariffs, and will be released in the coming weeks, according to Orange.
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Orange launches next NFC-capable QuickTap phone
Orange has officially announced the Samsung Wave 578 will be added to its line up - the second NFC-capable handset in its range after the re-badged Samsung Tocco Lite.
The news isn't that much of a surprise, given that the phone was added to the 'Coming Soon' section of Orange's website last week, but now we finally get a few more details.
Orange and Barclaycard, the network's partner in the QuickTap scheme for NFC payments using the phone, promised more handsets with NFC on board, and despite the Wave 578 being over six months old, at least it's a device that was designed with the contactless technology from the start.
The Wave 578 is a budget mobile device and runs on Samsung's Bada platform. It comes with a low-res WQVGA 3.2-inch screen, 3.2MP camera and Wi-Fi with Samsung's integrated social networking.
To entice customers in, Orange and Barclaycard are extending the offer to put £10 on your account when starting up the service, and 10 per cent cashback on all QuickTap purchases in the next 90 days.
A new vision
"Paying with a mobile phone means never being without the right change, and always having access to funds. That's why I believe contactless mobile is the future of payments, and I'm keen it's made available to as many of our customers as possible," said David Chan, CEO of Barclaycard Consumer Europe"At the launch of our first contactless handset earlier this year we promised we would roll out greater choice in the 'Quick Tap' range and I'm pleased to be able to announce the first of these new handsets today."
Unsurprisingly, the Samsung Wave 578 will land on both PAYG and contract tariffs, and will be released in the coming weeks, according to Orange.
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Review: ECS A75F-A Black Series
The ECS A75F-A is a new member of its Black Series family of motherboards. The Black Series is home to the company's range of performance products and anyone used to seeing the Black Series Intel boards with all their added razzmatazz may be a bit shocked by this board.
It looks, dare we say it, a wee bit dull by comparison. When you first get the A75F-A Black Series out of its box there's a feeling that something is not quite right and that's down to the slightly narrower width. There's nothing wrong with being thinner than normal, indeed inside some cases it's a blessing not being as snug as a standard width board.
Solid performer
When it comes to performance the A75F-A is up there with the best of them, but in terms of overclocking the A8-3850 the A75F-A Black Series couldn't quite hit the 3.7GHz heights achieved by the Asus F1A75-V Pro.Getting it to run stably at 3.5GHz (600MHz over the standard clock) is still none-too shabby an overclock.
The BIOS offers support for memory speeds up to 1,866MHz and while 1,600MHz was fine the same couldn't be said for the low voltage 1,866MHz we tried.
It doesn't help when the BIOS doesn't allow you to set the voltage you need and you have to keep going back to the PC Health section to see what the memory voltage is. Time consuming and frankly a right pain.
TechRadar Labs
AMD A-Series
CPU rendering performanceCinebench 11.5: Index: Higher is better
Asus F1A75-V Pro: 3.42
ECS A75F-A Black Extreme: 3.45
Gigabyte A75-UD4H: 3.46
MSI A75MA-G55: 3.4
CPU gaming performance
Shogun 2: Frames per second: Higher is better
Asus F1A75-V Pro: 20
ECS A75F-A Black Extreme: 16
Gigabyte A75-UD4H: 17
MSI A75MA-G55: 19
There's not much in the way of fancy extras on the A75F-A but this isn't a put-down, in fact it makes a change to see a motherboard not crammed to the gills with unnecessary extras, but there are still better boards around for the cash.
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Review: MSI 990FXA-GD80
The big difference between this 990FXA-GD80 and MSI's much cheaper 970A-GD45 (besides the befuddling array of characters) is the chipset.
The 990FX chipset will let you play with multiple graphics cards, whether they're Nvidia or AMD-flavoured. So if you're one of those rare slobbering maniacs with two Nvidia graphics cards and a penchant for AMD processors, this board will allow you to play out your sick SLI fantasy.
Does that justify double the expense of the 970A-GD45? Certainly not – let's hope there's more on offer than just versatile GPU support and a lightening of the wallet.
At £135 it's looking quite an expensive proposition. It does little more than right the wrongs of cheaper boards – ASRock's Fatal1ty 990FX Professional and the Asus Crosshair V Formula shower extra features on the ever grateful user. So, whatcha got, MSI?
Okay, well it does have the OC Genie. The 248 per cent performance boost it promises is complete rubbish of course, but it's a hassle-free way to overclock and a great starting point for further tweaking.
TechRadar Labs
AMD 9-Series
CPU video encoding performanceX246 v4: Frames per second: Higher is better
ASRock Fatal1ty 990FX: 33
Asus M5A99X EVO: 33
Asus RoG Crosshair V: 33
Asus Sabertooth 990FX: 32
Gigabyte 970A-UD3: 33
Gigabyte H67MA-UD2H: 33
Gigabyte 990FXA-UD7: 33
MSI 970A-G45: 33
CPU rendering performance
Cinebench 11.5: Index score: Higher is better
ASRock Fatal1ty 990FX: 5.86
Asus M5A99X EVO: 5.86
Asus RoG Crosshair V: 5.86
Asus Sabertooth 990FX: 5.72
Gigabyte 970A-UD3: 5.78
Gigabyte H67MA-UD2H: 5.83
Gigabyte 990FXA-UD7: 5.74
MSI 970A-G45: 5.71
OC control
You can take a bit more control over overclocking in this BIOS of course, and even change exactly how that OC Genie button works when you press it – how far it ramps up the FSB, or CPU clock ratio, let's say.The big issue though is the price. At £100-odd we could understand its feature set compared to the competition. At £135, said competition is just too close in price and too good – this board's capable, but out-classed by its rivals.
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Windows Phone 7.5 Mango update 'the next week or two'
Microsoft has confirmed its Windows Phone 7.5 Mango update will start appearing on handsets "in the next week or two".
The computing giant made the announcement on its Windows Team Blog, explaining that because of recent speculation about a possible Windows Phone 7.5 Mango release date that it wanted to set the record straight.
"For months, we and dozens of our partner companies have been laying the groundwork for the Windows Phone 7.5 update – and making solid progress," said the blog.
"As a result, we now expect to start rolling it out in the next week or two. At that time, we'll also refresh the Where's My Phone Update? table to reflect the worldwide rollout status."
Steer clear of homebrew releases
Microsoft also explained that while there are leaked copies doing the rounds, it is best they aren't used on your handset."This also seems like a good time to caution against installing unofficial or leaked copies of Windows Phone software," the blog continued.
"During the official Windows Phone 7.5 update process, every Windows Phone will also receive software from the handset manufacturer.
"This matched and paired firmware has been painstakingly tuned so your phone – and apps – work with all the new features of Windows Phone 7.5. Since your phone requires the proper firmware to function as designed, my advice is simple: steer clear of bootleg updates and homebrew tools."
Microsoft also notes that you will need to update the installer on your computer to receive the Windows Phone 7.5 Mango update.
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Exclusive: OnLive: latency is not a big issue
OnLive founder Steve Perlman has insisted that latency issues are not a major problem for the cloud gaming service, telling TechRadar that BT's beta testers said the experience was comparable to the Xbox and PS3.
A key factor in OnLive's success or failure is how well the game performs, considering it is sending gamers' instructions to its servers and then streaming video back to the device.
That lag, or latency, is going to be a major factor in how the service is adopted, but Perlman believes that a decent broadband connection will not leave even hardcore gamers too disappointed.
Decent connection
"If you have a great connection and you have latest version of OnLive then people do not notice latency," insisted Perlman."The comment we often have is "wow, you have reached the point where it is one to one. I move the controller and there's an instantaneous response.
"If you have a marginal connection then it may work better or worse and if you are using a game which is a high latency game what people don't realise is that even on a PC locally there is a little lag.
"What people are coming to the realisation that whatever latency is apparent – there is a little bit of that added through the transport [of the data].
BT testers
OnLive is partnered with BT for the UK launch, and Perlman has been pleased with the trial feedback."We've done recent extensive testing with our partner BT and the vast majority of people thought the experience was comparable with the Xbox 360 or PS3," he said.
"It's sort of like when we got MP3s and people were saying it wasn't as good as a CD. Definitely people who were audiophiles were saying 'it's not good enough for me' but I think the number of people that appreciate convenience versus the perfection of having a CD eventually overwhelmed [the latter].
"So I think this is a similar situation but with the caveat being that with MP3 when they set the standard they couldn't take it much beyond that, but OnLive keeps getting better."
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Did Al Gore confirm multiple new iPhone models?
Former US Vice President Al Gore has taken time out from saving the world, and getting conned out of elections, to suggest there may be more than one new iPhone coming next month.
Global warming activist Gore, who is also an Apple board member, confirmed that new iPhones will be coming in October. That's plural, not singular.
The Next Web site is reporting that Gore told a leadership conference in South Africa: "Not to mention the new iPhones coming out next month. That was a plug."
It remains unclear whether Gore meant that there would be multiple models or many of the same new model. The source, Stuff Magazine South Africa's Editor Toby Shapshak, says Gore did not clarify.
Clearly plural
Later on Twitter, Shapshak followed up by saying "I clearly heard "iPhones". I recorded it. Double checked. Clearly plural but could be millions of one model."Speculation has been rife that Apple is targeting the pre-pay market with a scaled-back iPhone 4S model, which may launch alongside the long-awaited iPhone 5.
Regardless of how many iPhones will be launched, Gore's slip of the tongue is the first public confirmation from anyone connected with Apple that the company will launch new devices in October.
Earlier today we reported on leaks that point to an October 4th launch event with Tim Cook taking the stage in San Francisco.
via: The Next Web
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