Motorola Xoom on sale next week

Motorola’s Android 3.0-toting tablet – the Xoom – should be with us some time after the weekend. For anyone who couldn’t be bothered to stand in a 12-hour queue for an iPad 2, expect the Tegra 2-engined beast to set you back £500 (or £600 if you want 3G). Can’t make up your mind? Hit the review links below to compare.

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Nintendo’s Wii 2 – 3D or not 3D?

With the hubbub of the 3DS launch behind it, Nintendo has only to sit back, tot up the sales figures from its new 3D handheld and count the cash. Right? Wrong – from the sounds of things, Ninty’s next-gen Wii won’t get the 3D treatment.

In an interview with CNN, Hideki Konno, one of the company’s head console boffins, said Nintendo wasn’t interested in big-screen 3D until it glasses-free 3DTVs became the norm. So, what will we see? HD? Will Nintendo stay with motion control? Or will it invent the next big thing in gaming? Again?

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Star Wars is coming to Blu-ray

Star Wars: The Complete Saga will be sold on Blu-ray from September 20. It should fill the gap while we wait for Star Wars in 3D due in February 2012.

The nine-disc box set will feature all six films, plus over 30 hours of special features – longer than all the films combined. We’d like to see someone nail that box set marathon in one sitting.

Star Wars: The Complete Saga on Blu-ray will cost you £70 and can be pre-ordered on Amazon now.

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Windows Phone 7 to get NFC update

So, Apple, you don’t think you’ll bother putting NFC in the iPhone 5, eh? Well, not only has Google jumped the gun by baking the contactless payment/data transfer tech into Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) as seen in its Nexus S, now it looks like Microsoft might follow suit by adding the touch-and-pay wunderkind via a Windows Phone 7 update. Admittedly, there’s a haze around who Businessweek’s nameless sources might be, but it’s one way to give your new OS a leg-up.

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App of the Week – Amazon MP3

Price: £free

Platform: Android

Cloud music services are nothing new but when a player as big as Amazon wades into the mess of DRM, piracy, quality and licensing, it's always worth checking it out. And its new Cloud Player and MP3 app might just be keepers.
The concept is pretty simple. Amazon provides 5GB of online storage for music (also documents and photos, to defuse any whinging from the record companies), rising to 20GB when you buy an MP3 album. There are paid options for larger libraries. Once you've uploaded some tunes, you can listen to them on virtually any other device, via a basic website or a swanky app like this – currently available only for Android devices and only in the US.The app is pretty good. Choose Player and you can see all the songs you've uploaded (yep, including Apple DRM tracks), sorted by artists, albums, songs or playlists (sorry, your iTunes playlists and ratings didn't survive the transfer). Play controls are simple and intuitive, and you get album art but no further info. Sound quality is promised to be the same as you uploaded at, and 320kbps songs did sound pretty awesome on the HTC Thunderbolt over 4G. At any point, you can hit the download icon to drag songs from the cloud down into your device.Click into the store and you can browse Amazon's decent (and decently priced) MP3 shop. All the songs you buy from now on can automatically move into the Cloud Player, where they don't count towards your 5GB or 20GB limits. Everything worked quickly and seamlessly, with the app just crashing once in my test.This is a tidy little app and a decent service from Amazon. However, the hassle of uploading, re-rating and re-playlisting massive audio libraries can't be underestimated. Amazon Cloud Player might be the best integrated MP3 store/music locker for now, but when Apple finally builds the awesome Lala - which didn't require actual uploads - into iTunes, Jeff Bezos had better have another musical trick up his sleeve.

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NASA Studies Chicken Fat Derived Fuel as an Eco-friendly Jet Fuel Alternative

 Last year homemade biofuel for diesel cars made from left over cooking oil was news for many folks trying to save money on fuel. While that homemade diesel fuel was not something that most folks were interested in, Biofuels made from things like old cooking oil that we would throw away are an area of intense study all around the world.

NASA is currently studying the use of something that most of us would never think could make jet fuel - chicken fat. That is something I always cut off and toss in the trash. A team of researchers at NASA loaded up an RV at the Langley Research Center and made a cross-country trip to run an experiment with the new eco friendly fuel. The team drove 2,600 miles to NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center. The fuel the team was there to test is called the Hydrotreated Renewable Jet Fuel on a NASA DC-8 test aircraft to measure performance and emissions. The testing on the new fuel is part of the AAFEX II or Alternative Aviation Fuel Experiment II program.

"It's made out of chicken fat, actually," said Langley's Bruce Anderson, AAFEX II project scientist. "The Air Force bought many thousands of gallons of this to burn in some of their jets and provided about 8,000 gallons (30,283 liters) to NASA for this experiment."

The team of researchers is measuring the performance of the aircraft with a 50-50 mix of the biofuel and regular jet fuel, biofuel only, and jet fuel only. The jet fuel being used is standard JP-8. The chicken fat-based biofuel was provided to NASA by the air force. The USAF purchased "thousands and thousands" of gallons of the fuel to burn in their jets.

"NASA Dryden is excited to continue contributing to the study of alternative fuels for aviation use," said Frank Cutler, NASA's DC-8 flying laboratory project manager. "These tests will assess exhaust emissions generated by modern turbine aircraft engines using man-made fuels."

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The World: Powered by Photosynthesis

MIT's Daniel Nocera, Ph.D, believes he can power the developing world- and eventually the whole world- through photosynthesis. Transferring sunlight and water into energy has long been a Holy Grail for the environmental sustainability movement. Small, inexpensive and durable artificial "leafs" would provide an easy source of energy for homes that don't have the luxury of a power grid. Until recently, such a device has been considered an unattainable dream.

But now Daniel and his research team have created a functioning artificial leaf. ""We believe we have done it. The artificial leaf shows particular promise as an inexpensive source of electricity for homes of the poor in developing countries. Our goal is to make each home its own power station,"

The current product is roughly the size of a poker card. You simply drop it in a gallon bucket of water and place it out in the sunlight. That gallon would be enough to supply a developing-world home with power for an entire day. So far, the prototype leaves are able to work up to 45 hours continuously without a drop in efficiency. And the technology is still very young.

Earlier artificial leaves weren't very efficient and were far too expensive, due to the rare materials required for their catalysts. The first "leaf" had a lifespan of just one day. But Dr. Nocera and his team have figured out how to create catalysts from cheaper materials, like nickel and cobalt. They've also figured out how to beat mother nature at her own game. The artificial leaf is ten times more efficient at photosynthesis than a real leaf. Take that, mother nature.

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Amazon Cloud Drive is a Mean Right Hook to Apple's Jaw

This is a big one, folks. Amazon has just declared outright war on iTunes. Earlier today the company sent out a press release announcing the launch of Amazon Cloud Drive and Cloud Player. The Cloud Drive is an online storage system for music, movies and pictures. 5 GB is totally free, and you gain an extra 20 GB free the first time you purchase an Amazon MP3 album. The Cloud Player allows you to access your media from any Mac, PC or Android device.

It seems Amazon has finally hit upon a music retail / consumption solution that rivals iTunes for utility. And the press release is littered with mean little barbs against the current leading online music storefront. Like this one:

"The launch of Cloud Drive, Cloud Player for Web and Cloud Player for Android eliminates the need for constant software updates as well as the use of thumb drives and cables to move and manage music."

Bill Carr, VP of Movies and Music, might as well have said, "Our service is easier than dealing with iTunes updates and plugging your phone into your computer."

That wasn't the only dig either-

"Customers don't need to worry about regularly updating software on their computer to enjoy music, and Amazon MP3 customers can continue to use iTunes and Windows Media Player to add their music to their iPods and MP3 players."

This is a crafty bit of PR wordsmanship. First, Amazon assures us that their service will be free of cumbersome updates. Immediately after, they mention Windows Media Player and iTunes. It's hard not to read into that.

Amazon's Cloud Player certainly sounds like a solid system for keeping your playlist together across a variety of devices. The ability to get 5 GB of free storage for nothing but a registration isn't bad either. But the "20 GB free with one album purchase" deal isn't quite as good as it sounds. With Amazon's Cloud Drive service, you purchase data on a yearly basis. Buying an album only gets you 20 GB free for one year.

In subsequent years, you'll need to either pay up or lose your extra data. Amazon's also selling additional 20 GB slots for $20.

The most brilliant feature here is the fact that Amazon MP3 albums do not count towards your data storage limit. Meaning consumers now have a very compelling reason to buy from Amazon, rather than Apple. Cloud storage is extremely useful, but also expensive for large amounts of data. Free cloud storage for your Amazon-bought media, plus another (2)5 GB free works out to one hell of a deal. iTunes users are about to find their loyalty sorely tested.

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Enki’s iPad 2 Genius Case Works With Apple’s Smart Cover

When Apple announced the new iPad 2 they also announced the new Smart Cover, which protects the screen on your iPad 2, unfortunately it doesn’t protect the back of the iPad 2.

If you want to protect the back of your new iPad 2 and still use your Apple Smart cover, a company called Enki has the solution with their new Genius Case which is compatible with Apple’s Smart Cover.

Enki Genius Case IPad 2

The Enki Genius case fits on the back of the iPad 2, protecting ot from knocks, bumps and scratches, and you can still use your smart cover on the front of the iPad 2.

The Genius case should be available for the iPad 2 within the next couple of weeks, there are no details on pricing as yet, but you can find out more details over at Enki.

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Apple PowerBook G4 (Titanium) (2001)

Vital stats

Released in January of 2001 with a starting price point of $2,599, the original TiBook boasted a 15.2-inch widescreen display, a 400MHz PowerPC processor, 128MB of RAM, and a 10GB hard drive.

History
Along with objects of desire like the iMac, iPod, and iPhone, the titanium PowerBook G4 stands as one of those pivotal moments in Apple design history -- a moment when everyone (even non-fanboys) had to take notice. The laptop broke away in more than just basic design; while it did eschew the previous G3's curved, black plastic housing, it also set the stage for widescreen displays as a standard, brought slot-loading drives to the masses, and transformed the idea of a laptop from mere business accessory to object of desire. Since 2001, the look and feel of Apple's portable computers has evolved, but still remains closely linked to this category-shaping design; a testament to the power of good looks.

Editor's take

In 2001 I couldn't even dream of fantasizing about imagining that I might find enough money to buy one of these, but a much more successful friend had no problem dropping nearly $3k on the day Apple made them available. While playing one of our many Myth II tournaments at his house I remember marveling at how smooth the graphics were on the TiBook (the game was a bit old by then, but still crawled on a G3 I'd bought second-hand). I never managed to scrounge up the dough for the titanium version of the G4 PowerBook, though eventually I scored its replacement, a 15-inch aluminum model that I used all the way into my early days at Engadget. - Joshua Topolsky

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Canon Digital ELPH (2000)

Vital stats

Line started in 2000 with PowerShot S100, which retailed for $599 with 2 megapixel sensor and CF storage.

History

We've no personal attraction to Canon, but it's tough to argue the importance of the PowerShot Digital ELPH range during the noughties. First emerging in early 2000, the 2 megapixel S100 sparked a revolution in the point-and-shoot arena by enabling the (mildly affluent) Joe and / or Jane to afford a pocket-sized digital camera with image quality that was more than passable -- and even today the lineup is as significant and well-respected as the day it was introduced. The line took handheld cameras to a new level of thin (borrowing heavily on the already-popular ELPH line of fashion-forward film cameras), and starting with the SD100 model in 2003 it also helped kick start the SD obsession that carries on today. Various manufacturers have attempted to achieve the same level of success by jacking up the megapixels and slimming things down as much as humanly possible, but when you think P&S, you probably think Canon first (and for good reason).

Editor's take

My first experience with the Digital ELPH came in early 2005, when I was gifted with an SD200. Turns out that unboxing would lead to a lifelong obsession -- or should I say love / hate relationship -- with the Digital ELPH. I've since donated my SD200 to my dear mother, and it's still pumping out reasonably decent photographs to this day. I can't say the same about the pair of SD850 ISs that I've owned, both of which are currently sitting on a shelf of defunct gadgets after being dropped onto hard surfaces (and in turn, obliterated) during trips to Montreal and Philadelphia, respectively. You'll notice that my own clumsiness didn't stop me from purchasing the exact same camera to replace my first shattered SD850 IS, and I can say with some degree of certainty I'll pick up a Canon to replace it. Probably something a little more me-proof, though. - Darren Murph

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Mozilla Releases Firefox 4 Mobile For Android (Video)

Mozilla has just announced on their blog that they have released Firefox 4 for Android, and it is also available to download for Maemo devices, and we suspect it could end up being very popular amongst Android fans, if it follows the same pattern last week when the desktop version of Firefox 4 was released.

According to Mozilla, Firefox 4 is up to three times faster than the stock browser in Android, and it comes with major enhancements to the JavaScript engine, which is designed to make sites load faster.
Firefox 4 Mobile is built using the same technology as the desktop version, and it comes with tabs, one touch bookmarking, and a range of browser controls.

You can find the full features on Mozilla Firefox 4 Mobile for Android and Maemo devices over at the Mozilla Blog, and have a look at  the video of it in action below.

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Giant Green Machine motor trike could break a world record

Back in the days when I was riding a Big Wheel, there was the Green Machine. The Green Machine had nothing to do with saving the environment, but it was the Porsche of the Big Wheel cycling trikes with two giant brake levers for some serious spin-outs. At least, that is what the ads showed.

A few guys from Parker Brothers, who have also designed a working Tron Lightcycle, have created this Green Machine Motorcycle trike. It has an 80-inch Harley Davidson Evo engin and is capable of going at speeds of 50 miles per hour. Something tells me I might want to take a class before I get behind the wheel (the big one in front) of this. I have no idea what those controls do, but it reminds me of a Speeder Bike from the Return of the Jedi movie.

I’m not certain why you would want to build this, except for fun. Apparently, Parker Brothers is seeking some sort of approval from the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest wheel on a motorcycle. I am not certain what in the world is the next biggest, or who would try to break this record.

I once heard that our old comedian friend Gallagher created an adult-sized Big Wheel. I’ll bet he would really like this one.

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Basketball Return Net

Love shooting hoops all day long? If you’re one who prepares early enough, then summer can’t come quickly enough for you to stay outdoors all day long, throwing your basketball into the hoop as you attempt to make that money shot. Of course, part of the satisfaction is seeing you make your shot, but what happens when you miss it (and by a mile, to boot)?

This is where the Basketball Return Net comes in, where it allows you to practice from just about any distance or direction without having to go through the hassle of chasing down balls when you can spend that time shooting. You will need to mount it to rectangular backboards up to 60″ wide in just a matter of minutes, where the net will extend 15′ from the hoop with its corners attached to a couple of moveable, weighted bases. Those bases will need 50 lbs. of sand, and it will facilitate quick return of free throw and perimeter shots.

At $149.95 a pop, surely your little one might grow up to be the next Michael Jordan or Larry Bird as his natural talent is augmented by practice.

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From Samsung to iPhone: The world's ten best mobile phones

Whether you're in the market for the bells and whistles of the iPhone, want music on the go, or simply need to make a few calls, there's a handset here that's perfect for you

>> Click on image to launch our guide

Leave your comments and suggestions below

1. Best for budget buyers
Palm Pixi Plus
The Palm Pixi is a well-kept secret that's great for apps, has a superb touchscreen, and a snazzy operating system. Palm has the best interface apart from the iPhone, cleverly mixing contacts, Facebook details and multiple calendars.
£110 on pay-as-you-go, no contract
www.o2.co.uk

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How to play Snake on YouTube

Google's YouTube website has hidden a playable version of Snake in some videos.

To access the classic arcade game go to a video with the new playback style such as this one of a black screen, click on the video window (it may pause), then press and hold the left arrow key on your keyboard. Keep the key pressed for around three seconds.

We've tried it for ourselves and it works but appears only to be available when using the Flash versions of video not HTML5.

It is not clear when the game was added, but seems only to work on the new YouTube video player introduced in April.

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Cyber data alert as Google found guilty of breach

Google committed a “significant breach” of data protection laws when its Street View cars “mistakenly” collected people's email addresses and passwords over unsecured WiFi networks, the Information Commissioner has ruled.

However, the company escaped a fine and was asked only to promise not to do it again.

Now a cyber-security expert based in Belfast warned that the information gleaned by Google could be abused if it fell into the wrong hands.

Information Commissioner Christopher Graham said Google had broken the law when devices installed on its specialised cars collected the personal data.

He told the company to delete the information “as soon as it is legally cleared to do so” and ordered an audit of its data protection practices.

The breach occurred between 2008 and May 2010 when Google was photographing streets across the UK, including Northern Ireland.

Dr Sakir Sezer, research director at the Centre for Secure Information Technologies at Queen’s University, explained the implications of the data breach.

“I think what is worrying is that Google has collected information on private WiFi (wireless) access,” he said.

Dr Sezer said Google was not only mapping streets but internet hotspots — places where you can have free wireless internet access.

“I believe Google will publish maps on free public hotspots. But by collecting data on public WiFi, they have also collected private WiFi information.

“The worst-case scenario is that someone who discovers you have open WiFi could drive to your house, sit in their car, and distribute spam or use your internet access for illegal dealings.

“They could also extract information to use fraudulently.”

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Baffled by Rebecca Black's Friday phenomenon? You're not alone

The competition for the worst music video ever is a hotly contested one, with several hundredweight of dubious emotional symbolism and bad lip-synching slung online every day. Last weekend, however, the internet made a final decision.

The efforts of widely derided DIY artists of yesteryear such as Getu Hirpo and Reh Dogg (worth a Google if you're not familiar) were deemed to have been eclipsed by a song called "Friday" by American teenager Rebecca Black.

It's hard to sum up the depressing banality of the video, tune and lyrical content, but suffice to say that your average five year old would sneer at its lack of sophistication. No awards will be heading Rebecca's way, but a whole heap of attention certainly has.

The video for "Friday" has had 38 million views at the time of writing. It's hard to know how many of those 38 million people considered the song to represent great entertainment but, judging by the anger that's been provoked, probably a couple of dozen. "I hope you get an eating disorder," was a typically cruel, unhinged response to the mild cultural offence that had been committed. But strangely, a crisis of conscience took hold online, which doesn't happen often.

The focus of rage switched from a blameless 13 year old to Ark Factory, the LA-based outfit behind the video.

Black's parents reportedly paid Ark $2,000 to have their daughter feature in the superficially professional but ultimately awful production, and a glance at their artist roster revealed that this was far from a one-off.

They're repeat offenders, having attempted to harness the limited talent of budding child stars such as Lil Nay Nay and Jolie Adamson. "It's complicated," sings Jolie on one tune, before going on to outline her emotional state – which is, as you might expect, far from complicated. The true target established, renowned internet vigilantes 4Chan set about their task with vigour.

You'd think that Ark Factory would consider any publicity good publicity. After all, their whole business model is about reaction, not content, and the inanity of Rebecca Black's song got her a spot on American breakfast television.

But Ark seem troubled by the invective suddenly directed at them. A widely scorned video of an Ark launch party has been made private, web pages about the company have disappeared – although their main site remains, as does an infomercial. The hysterically excited voice over describes Ark as "a place you can call your world," whatever that means. It's baffling – like pretty much everything connected to the "Friday" phenomenon.

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iPad 2 released in UK today but is it any good?

Apple’s new tablet doesn’t need the introduction last year’s model did. In a year, touchscreen tablets have become familiar, even commonplace, thanks to Apple.

Last year, the burning question with the iPad was, what’s it for? Of course you wouldn’t ask that about any other computer, but the iPad was a puzzle: who needed a glass screen with no keyboard, no mouse? Turns out, a lot of us did, with over 15 million sold worldwide in nine months.

Like the iPhone, the iPad uses apps, those small, quickly downloadable applications which add to the machine’s capabilities.

These threw up a three-way contract between Apple, app developers and us. Apple created the hardware and the sublimely intuitive interface. The app developers created features we never knew we needed, like the sophisticated painting program Brushes, cool electronic magazines and newspapers (like the i app) and gorgeous, interactive ways of showing us weather or the periodic table.

Then we, the customers, found ways to make the most of them. Like taking a screenshot of a website so the information is saved in case we’re out of wi-fi contact later, say. Developers create apps all year round (65,000 iPad-specific apps and counting) but Apple only gets to update the hardware once a year or so.

That time has rolled around and the iPad 2 is faster, lighter and whiter. Faster is important – although the original iPad was speedy, as apps have become more advanced, they risked slowing the hardware down. Now, the souped-up processor and increased graphics performance mean more complicated effects can be achieved quickly. Games will probably be the biggest apps to gain: Apple promises graphics processing will be up to nine times as fast as on the first machine. Some games are already taking advantage of this, offering greater detail, a richer colour palette and no slowdown.

The increased speed in other uses besides graphics (twice that of the first iPad) is evident enough. Take the two new Apple-developed iPad apps, iMovie and GarageBand. The iMovie app means you can edit footage with great precision, add multi-track audio and video sharing. Typically for Apple, it’s astonishingly straightforward to use and delivers satisfying results. It takes advantage of the iPad’s cameras, so it doesn’t work on the original iPad. It’s not perfect, mind. There are easy ways to share the video by uploading to iTunes, Facebook YouTube and more. But even with an adaptor to connect a USB stick, there’s no way to download content directly, which would be nice.

GarageBand is a revelation, with lots of effects, touchscreen versions of instruments and even ways for the least musical among us to create songs. There’s a piano keyboard which includes a sustain pedal and even responds to different finger presses. The screen’s not pressure-sensitive, it uses the iPad’s accelerometer motion sensor to judge the sound you want to make from classical-gentle to rock-hard. This will work on the first iPad, but loading times were visibly quicker on the new machine.

So that’s faster. As for lighter, the weight is more crucial than you’d think. The first iPad weighed up to 730g (1.6lbs), depending on configuration. Now the maximum weight is 613g (1.35lbs). It may not sound much but in the hand it’s noticeably lighter, so it suddenly feels like a one-handed device, like a book, and one that you will take with you instead of leaving on the coffee table.

And since the stand-out omission of the first-gen machine (front- and back-facing cameras) has been rectified, there are more reasons to use it on the move. I mean, it’s still too unwieldy to making long video recordings and the resolution for still photographs is low, so it won’t be your first choice at a wedding perhaps. But a business user could launch FaceTime, the video calling over wi-fi program, to send live video from a satellite office back to headquarters, for instance. The lighter weight adds to the machine’s versatility.

Anyway, what about whiter? Well, this is only relevant if you want to stand out from the crowd by choosing the version with a white bezel. The white (or as I like to say, fashion-forward) version of the iPhone 3GS was in less demand than standard-issue black, but here the gleaming frame looks great: I suspect it’s going to be popular.

There’s also a stunning new accessory, the Smart Cover, a sheet of leather or polyurethane which attaches to the screen to protect it. With the super-obsessive attention to detail only Apple would bother with, this cover attaches perfectly, auto-aligning to fit the screen, folding to provide ways to stand it up and even waking the iPad as you open it. For £35 (£59 for the leather one), it’s an essential add-on.

Last year, Apple had the tablet market to itself, but now there’s a raft of alternatives. Scores of tablets are on their way, but few compare with the iPad 2. The strongest large-screen competitor is the HP TouchPad, a similar-sized machine using the highly enjoyable operating system developed by Palm, which HP bought. And there are two 7-inch display machines coming which are definitely worth considering. They’re the BlackBerry Playbook and HTC Flyer, both of which have great features. But they’re not here yet.

And so far no competitor is beating Apple for price. Indeed, while the US price matches what it was last year, in the UK it’s now cheaper than the original. Last year, the cheapest iPad here was £429, rising to £439 when VAT went up in January. Now you can pick up the 16GB wi-fi only version for £399.

I’d recommend splashing out on the 32GB model with wi-fi and 3G (£579). Not only will you fill the hard drive with apps, movies and photos faster than you think, the 3G version includes GPS.

Add a 3G micro-sim and you can affordably use it to stay connected if you just can’t find a wi-fi hotspot. A Pay-as-you-go sim from Three gives you 3GB of data download for a one-off payment of £20.99 and you have three months to use it up. Mind you, if you have an iPhone with the latest software, you can use its 3G connection instead.

The iPad 2 is a subtle but actually quite big step forward from the first machine. There’s a rumour that iPad 3 might arrive before the end of the year. I don’t know, but I think it’s unlikely. Whether that rumour is true or not, you shouldn’t let it hold you back from buying – the iPad 2 is an elegant, capable and deeply desirable object.

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Review: Crysis 2, PS3

A stunningly beautiful first-person shooter that arguably improves on an already impressive original.

That should be more than enough to set shooter fans on the road to their nearest gaming store, but for those of you who can hang on for a little more detail, here goes.

Alien invasions, cataclysmic viral outbreaks and one incredible customisable nanosuit go a long way to making this one of the top console shooters on the market right now.

Whether you want to go out all guns blazing, play the stealth game or tactically use the environment and items around you, the gameplay choice on offer is superb within each level-based scenario.

Firefights are intense but the AI enemies in campaign mode aren't as impressive as expected and things can be a little 'buggy' at times. However Crytek has done a great job of squeezing extra performance out of the PS3. It is easily the best-looking shooter of the year with good physics and incredible lighting.

Crysis 2 certainly plays slicker than its predecessor - released exclusively for the PC - and the game also includes support for 3D televisions.

All the lush visuals are complimented superbly by Hans Zimmer's dramatic orchestral score. Better known for his work on soundtracks for Christopher Nolan films Inception and The Dark Knight, Zimmer is no stranger to video games having also contributed to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

Throw in an accessible and entertaining multiplayer mode and you have a cracking shooter package to consume, with an overall experience that more than matches those pretty looks.

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Kingston adds 4GB and 8GB Class 10 microSDHC Memory Card

Kingston adds to its Class 10 microSDHC family with 4GB and 8GB cards, joining the 16GB card. Like other Class 10 microSDHC, the 8GB and 16GB cards offers Class 10 speed speed with a minimum data transfer rate of 10MB/s. These Class 10 cards are available standalone or with SD adapter.

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The Color App May Serve a Purpose After All

Color is a new image sharing app that launched earlier this week and garnered a lot of attention with its large initial funding of $41 million. The company and its investors obviously believe they have a hit on their hands, but many are still wondering how the app would be useful. All Things Digital dug up an old Onion video that suggests just how the Color app could come in handy.
The video is funny because it’s a plausible idea of trying to piece together an incident through pictures taken, just not taken to the extremes portrayed in the spoof. What Color does is share pictures people have taken with everyone in real time. The app uses your location to determine who gets to see your pictures, with no filtering or privacy settings. Users will get to see and share pictures, texts, or videos with people around their location and other members they’ve expressed an interest in by viewing their pictures, liking them, or commenting on content.

The creators of Color feel that subscribing or “friending” someone is outdated. With Color relationships are implicit rather than explicit. So for large gatherings like a wedding, sporting event, or party, Color could let you share pictures with people you don’t actually know. A user’s interest may change over time and Color will augment a user’s list of contacts to reflect that. The app is now available to download for iOS devices and Android, with RIM and Windows Phone versions coming soon reportedly.

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Brain Waves Harnessed To Play Music

Using the power of the brain has long been a science fiction staple. Eduardo Miranda, composer and computer-music teacher, has created a system where someone can play music with their mind. The brain-computer interface tracks and picks up neural impulses from your brains and translates them into musical notes. The type of technology is not entirely new as other types of brain-computer interfaces let people control prosthetic limbs and even type on a computer with their thoughts.
To use the system you have to don an EEG skull cap and concentrate on four “buttons” on a screen. When a user focuses on a button, their brain fires of a unique series of impulses specific to each button and those impulses are captured by the skull cap. A series of notes is played for each respective button. Since this type of interface is not intrinsically known, calibration is needed for each user. It takes a user with locked-in syndrome, a paralysis of the entire body except the eyes, about two hours to calibrate the system during trials at the University of Essex.

Miranda came up with the idea of using brain waves to make music over ten years ago and now its getting closer to fruition. He realized that this type of device would have a large impact in music therapy. He is hoping to develop and refine the system so that it doesn’t take so long to calibrate. In the future the device will use algorithms to predict which notes the user wants to play.

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Bing Upgrades With Real-Time Twitter Feed

Microsoft announced today that its Bing search engine will begin implementing tweets into its news search results as well as integrating more with Facebook. The Bing Team feels that the addition of the social media giants will help users “make more informed decisions in search by surfacing the kind of information you can only get from your friends, often in real-time.”
Bing will show all the relevant tweets related to headlines in Bing News and augment the search results you get depending on what your friends “like.” Google did something similar to this last month by altering its search results based on whether certain information was shared by your friends. On Facebook you can now directly post search results from Bing on things like movies, artists, musicians, and TV shows.

Microsoft and Facebook have a pretty close relationship since 2007 when Microsoft outbid Google to invest $240 million in the social network. Bing is now the default search engine on Facebook and other deals have been struck between the two tech leaders. There will likely be more integration between Facebook and Microsoft in the near future.

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iPad 2 Compact Flash card reader ideal for mobile videographers [Video]

As we discovered in our review of the iPad 2, the new iMovie for iPad app turns the iOS slate into quite the portable video editing studio (you can see a demo of quite how easy it is after the cut). Apple’s official Camera Connector Kit will get you going with SD memory cards, but until now if you recorded to CompactFlash you were out of luck. That’s all changed, however, with the new M.I.C. CF connector kit.
As with the SD card reader Apple offers, the CF adapter plugs straight into the iPad 2 (and, indeed the original iPad) dock connector. You can then import directly from the memory card onto the iPad’s storage, and from there import photos and video clips into iMovie for iPad. There’s also a USB port for hooking up cameras via a cable.

The adapter is a terribly reasonable $29.90, and will begin shipping from April 25. More details in the video below, though be warned it doesn’t support the Canon EOS 5D Mark II.

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Apple’s OS X Lion Golden Master first-attempt imminent?

Apple is reportedly readying a Golden Master release of OS X Lion, the next iteration of the company’s Mac OS. However, while a Golden Master build is normally one step away from a complete, public release, there’s talk that this particular version is only GM1 in what will be several phases of release. According to TechCrunch‘s sources, the upcoming OS X Lion GM1 will be the first attempt at a bug-free and full-performance version of the software.
f the bugs are truly absent then it could mean Apple’s release schedule accelerates, however that’s unlikely to be the case. OS X Lion is expected to see its full release in the summer, potentially around WWDC 2011 which is expected in early June. A developer preview was pushed into the wild last month, complete with full-screen app support, pinch and double-tap zoom in Safari and a document saving system called Versions.

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Watchdog sets 4G auction for next year

The communications watchdog has fired the starting pistol for next-generation internet services on mobile phones, with operators set to battle it out for licences at an auction in 2012.

Ofcom yesterday announced plans for the largest single spectrum auction, which will allow Everything Everywhere, O2, Vodafone and 3UK to provide UK customers with 4G services.

Benoît Reillier, a director at KPMG, said: "This is a significant announcement; everyone has been waiting for it for a while. The outcome will shape the mobile landscape for years to come."

The auction, Ofcom said, will include safeguards and coverage conditions to promote competition and "significantly widen the coverage of mobile broadband" to 95 per cent of Britons.

The 3G auction at the height of the dot.com boom brought the Government £22.5bn, but many believe this time round, the spectrum is likely to raise only between £2bn and £4bn. Ofcom would not be drawn on the potential price but raised the minimum reserve, saying it would cover the costs of the auction and discourage frivolous bids.

Spectrum is vital for operators to support the growth in mobile internet data as the popularity of smartphones and tablet computers continues to gather pace. Ed Richards, the chief executive of Ofcom, said: "This is a hugely contested area. These are the strategic assets for competition in this market for the next 20 years."

This auction will offer 80 per cent more spectrum than was released in the 2000 auction. "Arguably this is the most significant event ever in terms of volume and quality of spectrum," Mr Richards said. The regulator is to offer a block of 800MHz – following the digital TV switch-over – and 2.6GHz, both described by the regulator as being "in the sweet spot" of the spectrum scale.

4G offers increased speed of mobile internet use by up to 100 times as well as reduced latency and is more efficient. Mr Richards said: "This is a step-change in the quality of service offered."

The regulator decided to impose caps as it feared a fully open auction could risk hampering the ability of the smallest operator, 3UK, to compete. Insiders at the mobile group had warned that it could exit the market if it felt unable to challenge the larger operators.

Kevin Russell, 3UK's chief executive, hailed yesterday's announcement, which keeps the principle of four wholesale operators at its core. "This is a clear and strong commitment from Ofcom and the UK Government that will stimulate investment in mobile broadband and protect UK consumers," he said.

It has not only set spectrum caps for the operators but also, more unusually, "floors". Mr Richards said: "This is so we're confident at least four operators will hold sufficient spectrum to be credible network wholesalers."

Tom Alexander, the chief executive of Everything Everywhere, said the auction provides the industry with the opportunity to move forward, but was unhappy about the cap and allocation of certain other spectrum bands.

The regulator has opened the proposals to consultation until 31 May, with a final statement published in the autumn. The auction is expected to take place by June 2012. This means UK customers will not be using 4G handsets until at least 2013.

4G vs 3G

4G is the next generation of mobile services and will be particularly effective at increasing the speed users can surf the internet and reduce latency, or lags on the line.

Ofcom's chief executive Ed Richards said it equates to "domestic residential broadband". Terry Norman, the principal analyst at Analysys Mason, said that true 4G would bring absolute top speed of 100Mb, although the average will be lower. It should blow current 3G services – which offer an average of 1Mb – out of the water.

Ofcom, however, does not want to lift expectations too high, saying consumers should expect at least 4Mb. It will allow video streaming on the move without the buffering and the ability to download a daily newspaper as if on a home computer.

The technology is also cheaper for operators as it is more efficient, "so operators may look to compete on price", Mr Norman added.

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Videogame industry welcomes Budget tax credits

Chancellor George Osborne has lent a helping hand to Britain's videogame industry in announcing research and development tax credits would increase by 200 per cent from April.

During his second Budget speech, Osborne also said the R&D tax credits would be raised by 225 per cent in 2012, a move which has been hailed a victory for games industry body TIGA.
The industry body spent the past year arguing the case for such tax credits with MPs, HM Treasury and the Government.

TIGA's chief executive officer Dr Richard Wilson said of Osborne's announcement: "This is a decisive victory by TIGA which will benefit not just the UK games industry but also the wider UK economy.

"TIGA’s proposals for the R&D tax credits will deliver 60%-75% more value to games studios than the current R&D tax credit regime. This could be worth around £7 million to the UK video games industry.

"This will enable studios to invest more in R&D, generate and retain new IP, and hire more development staff. Reforming the R&D tax credits along the lines proposed by TIGA will help power our high technology industry forwards."

But TIGA expressed disappointment that its much wanted tax relief - plans for which were scrapped in the Chancellor's first budget - will not be introduced.

"The Government’s failure to deliver TIGA’s Games Tax Relief is a dismal decision that displays a complete lack of imagination and one which will leave the UK video games industry swimming against the tide internationally," Dr Wilson said following the Budget.

The group has long claimed that hundreds of jobs and millions of pounds of investment would be generated if the videogame industry was granted tax relief.

The games industry contributes £1bn annually to UK GDP and some of the biggest titles in videogaming were created in Britain including Tomb Raider and Grand Theft Auto.

But the industry has faced financial problems and it was starkly felt at Realtime Worlds in Dundee which closed in September 2010. In January, US-based Activision announced it was looking to sell its development studio, Bizarre Creations in Liverpool, despite it producing critically acclaimed titles such as Blur.

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iPad 2: The best just got better, app-solutely

Apple’s new tablet doesn’t need the introduction last year’s model did. In a year, touchscreen tablets have become familiar, even commonplace, thanks to Apple. Last year, the burning question with the iPad was, what’s it for? Of course you wouldn’t ask that about any other computer, but the iPad was a puzzle: who needed a glass screen with no keyboard, no mouse? Turns out, a lot of us did, with over 15 million sold worldwide in nine months.

Like the iPhone, the iPad uses apps, those small, quickly downloadable applications which add to the machine’s capabilities. These threw up a three-way contract between Apple, app developers and us. Apple created the hardware and the sublimely intuitive interface. The app developers created features we never knew we needed, like the sophisticated painting program Brushes, cool electronic magazines and newspapers (like the i app) and gorgeous, interactive ways of showing us weather or the periodic table. Then we, the customers, found ways to make the most of them. Like taking a screenshot of a website so the information is saved in case we’re out of wi-fi contact later, say. Developers create apps all year round (65,000 iPad-specific apps and counting) but Apple only gets to update the hardware once a year or so.

That time has rolled around and the iPad 2 is faster, lighter and whiter. Faster is important – although the original iPad was speedy, as apps have become more advanced, they risked slowing the hardware down. Now, the souped-up processor and increased graphics performance mean more complicated effects can be achieved quickly. Games will probably be the biggest apps to gain: Apple promises graphics processing will be up to nine times as fast as on the first machine. Some games are already taking advantage of this, offering greater detail, a richer colour palette and no slowdown.
The increased speed in other uses besides graphics (twice that of the first iPad) is evident enough. Take the two new Apple-developed iPad apps, iMovie and GarageBand. The iMovie app means you can edit footage with great precision, add multi-track audio and video sharing. Typically for Apple, it’s astonishingly straightforward to use and delivers satisfying results. It takes advantage of the iPad’s cameras, so it doesn’t work on the original iPad. It’s not perfect, mind. There are easy ways to share the video by uploading to iTunes, Facebook YouTube and more. But even with an adaptor to connect a USB stick, there’s no way to download content directly, which would be nice.

GarageBand is a revelation, with lots of effects, touchscreen versions of instruments and even ways for the least musical among us to create songs. There’s a piano keyboard which includes a sustain pedal and even responds to different finger presses. The screen’s not pressure-sensitive, it uses the iPad’s accelerometer motion sensor to judge the sound you want to make from classical-gentle to rock-hard. This will work on the first iPad, but loading times were visibly quicker on the new machine.

So that’s faster. As for lighter, the weight is more crucial than you’d think. The first iPad weighed up to 730g (1.6lbs), depending on configuration. Now the maximum weight is 613g (1.35lbs). It may not sound much but in the hand it’s noticeably lighter, so it suddenly feels like a one-handed device, like a book, and one that you will take with you instead of leaving on the coffee table.

And since the stand-out omission of the first-gen machine (front- and back-facing cameras) has been rectified, there are more reasons to use it on the move. I mean, it’s still too unwieldy to making long video recordings and the resolution for still photographs is low, so it won’t be your first choice at a wedding perhaps. But a business user could launch FaceTime, the video calling over wi-fi program, to send live video from a satellite office back to headquarters, for instance. The lighter weight adds to the machine’s versatility.

Anyway, what about whiter? Well, this is only relevant if you want to stand out from the crowd by choosing the version with a white bezel. The white (or as I like to say, fashion-forward) version of the iPhone 3GS was in less demand than standard-issue black, but here the gleaming frame looks great: I suspect it’s going to be popular.

There’s also a stunning new accessory, the Smart Cover, a sheet of leather or polyurethane which attaches to the screen to protect it. With the super-obsessive attention to detail only Apple would bother with, this cover attaches perfectly, auto-aligning to fit the screen, folding to provide ways to stand it up and even waking the iPad as you open it. For £35 (£59 for the leather one), it’s an essential add-on.

Last year, Apple had the tablet market to itself, but now there’s a raft of alternatives. Scores of tablets are on their way, but few compare with the iPad 2. The strongest large-screen competitor is the HP TouchPad, a similar-sized machine using the highly enjoyable operating system developed by Palm, which HP bought. And there are two 7-inch display machines coming which are definitely worth considering. They’re the BlackBerry Playbook and HTC Flyer, both of which have great features. But they’re not here yet.

And so far no competitor is beating Apple for price. Indeed, while the US price matches what it was last year, in the UK it’s now cheaper than the original. Last year, the cheapest iPad here was £429, rising to £439 when VAT went up in January. Now you can pick up the 16GB wi-fi only version for £399.

I’d recommend splashing out on the 32GB model with wi-fi and 3G (£579). Not only will you fill the hard drive with apps, movies and photos faster than you think, the 3G version includes GPS.

Add a 3G micro-sim and you can affordably use it to stay connected if you just can’t find a wi-fi hotspot. A Pay-as-you-go sim from Three gives you 3GB of data download for a one-off payment of £20.99 and you have three months to use it up. Mind you, if you have an iPhone with the latest software, you can use its 3G connection instead.

The iPad 2 is a subtle but actually quite big step forward from the first machine. There’s a rumour that iPad 3 might arrive before the end of the year. I don’t know, but I think it’s unlikely. Whether that rumour is true or not, you shouldn’t let it hold you back from buying – the iPad 2 is an elegant, capable and deeply desirable object.

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iPad2 launch: Never mind the Budget blues – today is must-have Friday

Reports of its elegant design and sleek, wipe-clean surface have had would-be purchasers rubbing their hands in anticipation. But the official royal wedding loving cup – the latest addition to the official Royal Collection celebrating the impending nuptials of Prince William and Kate Middleton – isn't the only eagerly awaited purchase to become available today.

Two much-hyped new gadgets, the iPad2 and the Nintendo 3DS, also hit UK stores today, in a convergence of product releases that have caused some to dub it "must-have Friday".

Apple stores are preparing for frenzied scenes as the second generation of its groundbreaking tablet device goes on sale in the UK from 5pm today. Analysts estimate that Apple sold 500,000 iPad2 devices on its first day of sale in the US, and huge queues are expected to build during the day for the £399 upgrade, which adds front and rear-facing cameras to a thinner-designed model. The queue outside the Apple Store in London's Regent Street was headed by Jewels Lewis, 32, who began waiting at 7.30am yesterday. By the time he gets the new iPad he will have waited 33 hours.

Nintendo, meanwhile, was hoping to steal a march on the iPad by releasing its £179 3DS console, which allows users to play games and films in 3D without wearing glasses, at midnight last night.

Nintendo said it had received 140,000 pre-order sales on Amazon for the handheld device, which was made available at midnight openings at HMV stores across Britain.

Nintendo and Apple both maintained that European supplies of their gadgets would not be affected by component shortages caused by the Japanese earthquake and tsunami.

Some gadget-hungry customers are expected to commute from the late-night Nintendo store openings to Apple. But the iPad is also expected to be available for collection at launch from Argos and John Lewis, while Orange is offering a £200 iPad contract deal at its flagship London store.

But Luke Peters, editor of T3, the gadget magazine, warned that "must-have Friday" could turn into "must-return Saturday". "I gave the 3DS to my nieces to play with and the 3D began to hurt the eyes," he said. "Nintendo have to be clear about their warnings that it is not suitable for children aged six and under."

Peters predicted that gadget fans would be most excited about the iPad. "A lot of our readers said they were waiting for the second generation device with cameras for face-to-face conferencing."

The queues for iPads and 3DSs may not be quite as well-mannered as those for the latest must-have item of royal wedding memorabilia – the official William and Catherine loving cup. But the cachet of exclusivity is comparable. Only 1,000 of the double-handed mugs, which retail at £125, are available through Royal Collection gift shops.

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A Few Android App Developers Rake in Millions

The iOS platform isn’t the only way to make money on the mobile apps scene.

Tech news site Electricpig took a look at eight groups that have made it big — more than six-digits big — with hit Android apps.

Better Android Apps, for example, has made approximately $1.34 million from purchases of its hits Better Keyboard and Open Home. Yongzh created emulators for the PlayStation, Sega, Nintendo and Atari systems, and gathered about $1.81 million from sales of these apps.

“Conventional wisdom told us that to be successful, we had to focus on iOS. Conventional wisdom was wrong,” said Gary Gattis, CEO of Spacetime Studios.

That certainly seems to be true with the tower-defense game Robo Defense. It has also been a big winner, netting creator Lupis Labs more than $2.09 million.

An estimated 3.7 billion Android apps have been downloaded to date, according to AndroLib. Many developers wish that number would rise at a faster rate and are counting on tools like in-app payments to spur app purchases and developer earnings. However, that hasn’t stopped developers such as Eddie Kim, creator of Car Locator, or almost anyone else on this list, from netting big profits.

These high sales figures illustrate that Android’s app market is finally coming to fruition as a solid distribution platform, where software programmers can make good money. Within months of the opening of Apple’s App Store in the summer of 2008, a few lucky programmers quickly struck gold with hot sales of their apps.

Android has been around for about the same time, and only now are we beginning to see comparably high sales figures for Android app makers. Though Google’s app market has been slower to mature, these success stories should give programmers more incentive to make killer apps for Android-powered tablets and smartphones.

Beautiful Widgets netted its maker, LevelUp Studio, more than $934,000. Halfbrick Studios (maker of Fruit Ninja) has netted more than $242,000 after porting its iOS favorite to Android.

Other big winners, thanks to pop-up advertising, include Rovio, for (what else?) Angry Birds, and Arron La for Advanced Task Manager.

Spacetime Studios‘ Pocket Legends, a 3-D MMO, has managed to garner profits of $8,000 per day from in-app payments, making it a shoo-in for six-figure earnings in the not-too-distant future.

“The Android platform has seen phenomenal growth, and it’s great that new avenues for app distribution are opening up,” Rovio CEO Mikael Hed said in a recent news release.

The addition of new marketplaces like Amazon’s App Store is proof, showing that Google’s OS has the potential to be just as lucrative as Apple’s, and companies want to get in on the action.

Spacetime’s Gattis summed up the Android app scene pretty nicely: “In some ways, it’s kind of like the wild, wild West,” he said, “but that’s where the Gold Rush people made their claim.”

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Kindle Can Now Buy, Download Audio Books Over Wi-Fi

Kindle users can now browse, buy and download Audible audio books, direct from their device. You’ll need to be connected to Wi-Fi to actually download anything thanks to the large chunks of data involved, but this simple addition makes the Kindle a whole lot more useful.

To try it, just head to the Kindle Store from your Kindle, and you’ll see a new link to browse audiobooks. You can browse 50,000 titles by genre, or you can search. And just like regular e-books, you can download and listen to a sample. The audiobooks show up in your main book list, and you open them just by clicking, as you’d expect. The page then shows a cover thumbnail, a summary of the book and a set of on-screen audio controls for playing, navigating and skipping tracks.

I have had a Kindle 3 for a few months now and I have never tried out the speakers. They’re surprisingly good. Speech is loud and clear, and easily good enough to listen to a book while you cook. And of course, you can plug in headphones.

If you are already an Audible subscriber, you can sign in from the Kindle and then spend your Audible credits instead of charging your Amazon account. I can’t yet find a way to download previously purchased Audible content, but I’m working on it. Plus, you can always just download the files and transfer them to the Kindle via USB.

I’m also running tests on how playback affects the Kindle’s battery life. More on that as I get it. Given that I have only charged the thing twice since I got it, that may take some time.

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Aluminum-Framed Laptop Bag from Finland

I’m sorry. I’m about to write about yet another bag, but you’ll love this one. I promise. Not only is it hot-looking, it has some very clever design details. Also, it’s from Finland, which somehow makes it seem even better.

The laptop bag comes from a company named Normincies, and is available in either nylon or Alcantara, a suede-like artificial fabric, and comes sized for 15 or 13 inch laptops. All models have plenty of pockets and storage inside, but its what’s on the outside that makes these bags so different. They have a fat aluminum strip running around the outside, and the bag is strung inside this handle, offering rigidity and protection.
That’s neat enough, but take a look at how the shoulder-strap joins the bag. Those odd-looking slots and holes at either side are in fact anchor points for the strap, a strip of webbing which terminates in two metal torpedoes that hook into these holes.

The only problem is the same one you get with almost any laptop bag: weight. At 4.6 to 5.1 pounds (depending on size) these bags may weight more than the computer you’re putting into them.

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CandyShell Card Case Turns iPhone into Wallet

The iPhone 5 may or may not have a near-field communication chip with which to make cashless payments, but why wait to find out anyway? You can add cashless payments to your iPhone 4 today, with Speck’s new CandyShell Card case. It has no high-tech electronics — just a slot which will carry your credit cards.

The hard case covers everything except the screen, and round back there is a rubberized slot which can hold up to three cards. These slide in through an opening in one edge, and at the other side there is a cut-out that lets you push cards out with your thumb.

It’s simple, and it lets you leave your wallet at home. It will also let you sample that feeling of terrified helplessness you get when you lose not just your phone, but all of your money and ID too. Get used to it. If NFC payments take off, losing you phone will be a whole lot more inconvenient than just losing the ability to make calls. $40.

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Wooden iPad Cover Bends, Sticks and Supports

Some said that Apple’s Smart Cover would kill the third-party case market. When I first saw the neat magnetic cover, I thought the opposite — that case-makers would go crazy with cool ways to use the magnets inside the iPad 2. And here’s the first really clever take I have seen: a wooden cover from Dutch company Miniot.

The picture above is awful, so I recommend watching the video. The cover is a thin sheet of cherrywood scored with grooves so that it can roll. On the inside face is a plush, soft layer to cushion the screen, and there are magnets to hold the cover to the iPad’s spine, and also to activate the screen-lock.
The clever part is its hingeless design, making it even more minimal than Apple’s own cover. Magnets are in the edge of the cover itself. To use it as a stand, you first roll (not fold) the cover back, and then swing it around to the iPad’s rear. Thus positioned, it can hold the iPad up for movie-watching, or down almost flat for typing.

Best of all, the case is cheap. At just €50, it is €20 less than Apple’s leather cover. If you’re importing into the U.S, it’s not quite so good, translating to 71 of your U.S dollars. Available, apparently, from today.

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Sony launches NEX-FS100 camcorder

Sony has just launched a new professional grade camcorder – the NEX-FS100. Specially designed for shooting commercials, music videos and action scenes in budget dramas, this camcorder packs an Exmor Super 35 CMOS Sensor that can shoot up to 1080p at 60 frames per second at up to 28Mbps to an SD card, Memory Stick or optional 128 GB SSD. It can also output uncompressed 4:2:2 footage over HDMI, and has a 3.5″ LCD viewfinder for you to keep an eye on the action. It makes use of the Sony E-mount interchangeable lens system used in the NEX-5, 3 and NEX-VG10E Handycam so you won’t have to worry about not having any lenses to add to this bad boy. However, the camera doesn’t come with any lenses of its own, its lens kit will set you back an additional $700 but it gives you a 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 lens, viewfinder tube and shotgun microphone. The NEX-FS100 will cost $5,850 though no release dates have been mentioned yet.

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Fujitsu Stylistic Q550 tablet priced

The business-oriented Stylistic Q550 tablet from Fujitsu that was launched in CeBIT last month has finally been priced. Prices of the tablet will range from $1,212 to $1,373 depending on the configuration of the tablet. Optional features include a self-encrypting solid state drive that will be available in 32GB or 64GB, 3G connectivity and a GPS. Standard features include an Intel Oak Trail Atom processor, up to 2GB of RAM, a 10.1″ LED display (1280 x 800), front and rear webcams, USB 2.0, HDMI, SD card reader, WiFi, Bluetooth, fingerprint scanner, smart card reader and an anti-theft protection system. The Windows 7 tablet will be released next month on April 28.

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Blackberry PlayBook price will match iPad 2

The Blackberry PlayBook will arrive on April 19 in the US and it’s gunning directly for the iPad 2 with an identical entry level price point ($499). That’s an interesting move given that the Blackberry PlayBook is a 7in tablet versus the iPad 2′s 9.7in display. Obviously the Blackberry PlayBook has the strength of handling Flash video but right now we’re not sure whether it’ll get anywhere near the battery life boasted by Apple’s tablet.
The other tricky part is that the Blackberry PlayBook does not have a 3G version meaning you’ll have to find a phone to tether it with when you’re away from a WiFi hotspot. Click the headline and hop into the comments to let us know: are you hopping on the Blackberry PlayBook bandwagon or is iPad 2 still the one for you? Check out our Blackberry PlayBook hands on too.

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Windows Phone 7 update: NoDo brings cut and paste

If you’ve got a Windows Phone 7 device, it’s just about to get better. The Windows Phone 7 NoDo update has started to roll out bringing copy and paste functionality with it.

The Windows Phone 7 update also promises to load apps more quickly, improved Windows Phone Marketplace searches and perk up your WiFi performance. There’s also improvements to Outlook, messaging, Facebook, audio and the camera. Let us know in the comments if your Windows Phone 7 device had got the nod yet.

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Google Doodle patent: the scribbles get serious

The Google Doodle is now a patented Google innovation. After 10 years trying, Google has convinced the US Patent and Trademark Office to give it a patent for its awesome scribbles. Titled “Systems and Methods for Enticing Users to Access a Web Site”, the patent is all about adjusting the main image on Google homepages.

The patent credits the innovation to Google co-founder Sergey Brin and includes the examples of a pot of gold for Saint Patrick’s Day and a turkey for Thanksgiving. What’s your favourite Google Doodle? Click the headline and jump to the comments.

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Steam iPad, iPhone and Android integration incoming?

Intriguing rumour alert! Whispers says Valve’s Steam games distribution platform is set to add iOS devices following the Steam for Mac launch in May 2010. The rumour comes via a Steampowered User Forum member who chatted to Valve co-founder Gabe Newell. He apparently dropped hints that both iOS and Android could become Steam-friendly platforms…
iOS support could definitely be a goer given that Apple is thought to have given Valve a helping hand to get Steam for Mac up and running. Another interesting confluence of rumours would be if the Steam for iOS chatter dovetailed in to all those hints about an Apple TV console future. It’s all just rumours and chatter right now but we know Apple is getting serious about games and Steam would definitely help.

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Griffin GuitarConnect: Jack your axe into GarageBand for iPad

GarageBand for iPad is certainly among the coolest apps for Apple’s tablet, and while you can record a guitar track by strumming away on the touchscreen, wouldn’t it be better to rig up your actual electric guitar? Enter the Griffin GuitarConnect.

This cable comes with three connectors: a standard 1/4-inch cable for your guitar, bass or other musical instrument; a 3.5mm stereo plug for your iPad’s headphone jack; and a 3.5mm input, so you can attach a pair of headphones and monitor the sound – or alternatively hook it up to your home hi-fi.

You can buy the Griffin GuitarConnect from Apple stores now.

Out now | £19.99 | Griffin

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Xbox 360 only being replaced in 2015?

Bad news if you were expecting an upgrade to your Microsoft gaming experience anytime soon: we’re hearing that the next-generation Xbox is only pencilled in for 2015.

That’ll make it a full 10 years since the Xbox 360 was launched, and while a decade-long life span is exactly what Sony seems to be planning for the PS3, part of that time has seen the PS2 co-existing alongside it. The Xbox 360 has been alone as the only Microsoft console since its launch.

The source of the 2015 rumour is the web portfolio of a designer collaborating with Microsoft on investigating future user experiences and hardware – for 2015.

Of course, that certainly doesn’t confirm that the next Xbox is still a full four years distant, but with the Kinect having recharged the Microsoft console’s appeal towards the end of last year, it wouldn’t come as the biggest surprise in the world.

More about → Xbox 360 only being replaced in 2015?

New Sony Bravia LCD TVs hit Japan

Japan is normally a good place to look if you want a glimpse of the next-gen gadgets that will be heading to the UK down the line, and Sony’s latest Bravia LCD TV range looks to be quite something.

There are six models in all – every one full HD, naturally – and all six are 3D-capable too. Sony’s latest range of home cinema technologies include the X-Reality PRO picture processing engine, S-Force front surround 3D sound, while the trusty MotionFlow tech is present too.

There are 46in and 55in models available in the top two sub-ranges. The premium HX920 models, priced at around £2,600 and £3,200 in Japan respectively, come with the full 3D Intelligent Peak 3D LED system for high-quality 3D viewing, while the step-down NX820 series pair (£2,180 and £2,775) come with lesser edge-lit LED panels.

The entry-level NX720 pair come in 40in (£1,580) and 46in (£2,130) screen sizes, and forego Wi-Fi and Sony’s distinctive monolithic design offered by the other four models.

All the new models support Sony’s recently launched Qriocity video-streaming service, as well as a bunch of other web services, including Skype, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

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Fancy paying £5m for an iPad 2?

With the iPad 2, Apple is in the unusual position of offering one of the most affordable products of its kind around. But if you prefer your Apple gadgets to come off the Premium shelf, here’s an iPad 2 you may be insterested in.

Only two of these Stuart Hughes-designed creations have been made available, but when you hear the price tag you’ll understand why, as these jewel-encrusted babies come in at £5 million each.

For that you get a total of 16.5ct of IF flawless diamonds and 53 individually set sparkling gems. A gold back and a solid gold outline to the Apple logo are a good start, but flip it back over and you’ll notice the frame is made from 75m-year-old Ammolite rock, with a 65m-year-old T-Rex’s thigh bone splintered and shaved into it. And no, we didn’t make that up.

Finishing things off are a single cut 8.5ct flawless diamond inlaid in platinum and surrounded by 12 outer flawless diamonds – you guessed it, the power button.

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Apple iPad 2: The 5 Big Rival Tablets - Xoom, Playbook, Optimus Pad, TouchPad and Galaxy Tab

2010 may have made the word "tablet" a household computing term, but 2011is the year the tablet wars will really get interesting. Apple have now revealed the iPad 2 and it again is set to sell like hotcakes, but keep in mind there was barely any competition last year when the first iteration was revealed. Now, with the release of Google's tablet-focussed Honeycomb Android OS, there are plenty of slates looking to take on the mighty iPad. From Motorola's Xoom to the 3D LG Optimus Pad, things are about to get truly interesting.

Jobs may have dismissed the competition as "copycats" at the iPad 2 launch on Wednesday, but that's not to say they don't all have a few of their own tricks up their sleeves to warrant your attention.

Here we take a look at the iPad 2's 5 biggest rivals.

More about → Apple iPad 2: The 5 Big Rival Tablets - Xoom, Playbook, Optimus Pad, TouchPad and Galaxy Tab

iPad 2 UK launch delay looking more likely

Will the iPad 2 launch as planned on Friday?

The iPad 2 is scheduled to launch here in the UK on Friday. But as launch day approaches fears are growing that demand in the US will force Apple to delay the tablet’s launch internationally.

The next-gen Apple slate went on sale over in the States on March 11, and promptly sold out immediately, both in stores and online. At present, Apple is quoting a 4-5 week shipping turnaround for our US friends, with eBay now presenting the best chance for consumers to get their hands on the Apple slate – albeit at a significant price premium.

As things stand, Apple is still listing March 25 as the iPad 2’s launch date, but pre-orders have yet to open on the tablet, and one of the other territories set for a Friday launch – the Czech Republic – has now been shifted back a month to April 25, prompting fears that it’s just a matter of time until others follow.

The lack of pre-order action on the UK Apple site suggests that, at the very least, Apple is simply trying to cover in-store demand for launch day, and is trying to avoid masses of orders coming in ahead of time, as happened in the US.

Needless to say, we’ll keep our ears to the ground through the week and will let you know as soon as things become clearer.

More about → iPad 2 UK launch delay looking more likely

The .xxx internet domain: It's here

www.joebloggs.xxx - how's that for a personal website?

This may not be the core market for this new web extension though, as those little x'es aren't kisses but tell you the content is x-rated.

This means only those in certain industries will be given the option to use the extension. Now as the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has finally approved the .xxx extension, it will be given to the "adult entertainment industry" only.

So that's porn - which should make it clearer to see what's what on the internet. And with this great suffix also comes responsibilities - those using .xxx will have to meet certain standards.

The approval was delayed because the Bush administration (and US Christian groups) was against .xxx - but isn't it better to have these sites clearly labelled? The International Foundation for Online Resposibility (IFFOR) will regulate .xxx, making sure the sites do what they are supposed to do to combat child pornography. They also have to conform to best practice to prevent children from seeing the sites.

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The 11 greatest internet firsts

Today (March 21st) marks the fifth anniversary of the first ever tweet. Time has flown by, 140 characters at a time, and Twitter is now the 190-million-strong social networking institution that we all know and tolerate. But what of other web firsts? Join us as we celebrate the big leaps forward that made the internet what it is today...



1. Online Virus, 1971
Engineer Bob Thomas is “credited”, if that’s the right word, with creating and deploying the first self-replicating computer virus. The Creeper smashed through the Arpanet system, harmlessly displaying the onscreen message “I’m the Creeper: catch me if you can.” Scary stuff.
2. Anti-Virus software, 1971
The purpose-built Reaper eradicated the above.


3. Domain name, March 15th, 1985
While enea.se, registered in Sweden in 1983, was the first URL, the first domain registered using today’s system was Symbolics.com - a short-lived computer manufacturer.


4. Search engine, 1991
While working at McGill University, Alan Emtage took it upon himself to build a search system. Calling it “Archie”, he set it to run in the evenings, sorting the burgeoning web into a manageable database. “By 1991,” he recalls, “it was using half the bandwidth of eastern Canada.”


5. Online Store, 1994
Bizarrely, the first commercially available items on the net were pizzas. Pizza Hut began offering online ordering in 1994, aided by two new technologies: the Netscape 1.0 browser and SSL encryption, which secured online purchases.


6. Item sold on eBay, 1995
The first item to list on what was then known as AuctionWeb was a broken laser pointer, which fetched a princely $14.83 (£9.50). No doubt wary of 100% negative feedback, seller and company founder Pierre Omidyar contacted the buyer to reiterate that the pointer was non-functioning only to be told, “I’m a collector of broken laser pointers.”


7. Blog, Jauary 1996
The first and foremost example of a “web-log” belonged to Chicago’s Justin Hall, who started the influential Justin’s Links from the Underground. It’s all still online at www.links.net.


8. Wikipedia entry, January 15th, 2001
Founder Jimmy Wales published “Hello World!” on the day the online encyclopaedia opened its doors. The first Wiki entry to go up that’s still live is on American philosopher William Alston, attracting passionate debate since January 17 2001.


9. Youtube Video, April 23rd, 2003
Youtube co-founder Jawed Karim kicked it all off with his non-Oscar-nominated short Me at the Zoo, which was about him, at the zoo.


10. T3.com Story, March 3rd, 2004
A story about Nintendo’s then upcoming DS allowed the young T3.com to wax lyrical/incomprehensible. Apparently, not gifting the handheld console wireless multiplayer would be, “disingenuous even by Nintendo’s enigmatic standards.” It was true then and it’s true now.


11. Tweet, March 21st, 2006
Co-founder Jack Dorsey launched the microblogging site with “Just setting up my twittr”, setting the text-speak trend from the off.

More about → The 11 greatest internet firsts

Kinect PS3 hack: look mum, no Move!

Time once more for us to share with you the best iPad apps we’ve come across this week: the software that’s been setting our tablet’s 9.7-inch screen on fire. Not literally – the iPad is a very well engineered device on that front, thank you very much. This week we have something to enhance news and tweets, something to help you gain an edge over friends in word games and a couple of apps that’ll suit creative types to a t (whether they’re into music or devouring raw fish).

Check out the list to the right

GarageBand
£2.99 | iTunes
One of the apps debuted at the iPad 2 launch a couple of weeks ago, GarageBand feels like some real envelope-pushing stuff. Putting to bed the myth that “the iPad is for consuming content, not creating it”, it lets you craft music through a wide variety of instruments, all playable via touch. It even uses the iPad’s accelerometer to gauge the force with which you strike a piano key or snare drum, reflecting that in the sound. And don’t worry if you’re about as musically inclined as the average boy band member: GarageBand can play loops for you: in the guitar mode, just can simply hit the chord you want and the app will do the fiddly strumming itself. It’s fully compatible with the Mac version of GarageBand too, so you can craft your “club banger” on both devices.

Teach Me Sushi
£5.49 | iTunes
Fancy some sushi? Well, resist the temptation to pop down to your local Waitrose for the ready made stuff – this app will train you in the art of rolling your own. There are no fewer than 15 tutorial videos and over 300 photos to take you step by step through the process, plus a rice timer feature, a shopping list calculator and a map that uses your iPad’s GPS skills to show you the location of the closest Japanese supermarket. The bad side is its size: because the videos are stored locally rather than streamed from the cloud, it’s a whopping 913MB…

W_rds!
£Free | iTunes
Ooh, this is a sneaky one, designed to help players of games such as Words with Friends find potential words with which to beat their opponents. It tells you how many points you’ll get for a particular word, and also works as a “lite” dictionary by providing definitions and usage examples. But yeah, mainly it’s just designed to give you an advantage over your rivals in iOS and Facebook word games. Evil.

Spout
£0.59 | iTunes
Sick of seeing tweets, Facebook status updates and RSS feeds presented in the same old boring way? Spout turns these cold, lifeless pieces of text into gorgeous animated sequences, each one dominating your iPad’s screen while it appears. Give it a prod and you’re taken to the source by the app’s built-in web browser. You can try out a range of different themes. Check the video for some examples.

convertMyURL
£0.59 | iTunes
Its makers may have little respect for the conventional uses of upper and lower case letters, but they’ve made quite a useful little app. convertMyURL takes a web page (yes, you enter the URL into the app) and creates a PDF file from it – removing any ads in the process. You can then share this PDF via email or Dropbox.

More about → Kinect PS3 hack: look mum, no Move!

Anger at app to 'cure' gays

Apple has come under fire for approving an ''app'' that offers guidance on how homosexual people can be ''cured'' and convert to heterosexuality.

The ''gay cure'' application, to be used on Apple's hand-held devices, was created by Exodus International, a religious organisation which believes in teaching ''freedom from homosexuality through prayer and practicing conversion therapy''.

It is offered free on Apple's iTunes online shop and was given a ''4+'' rating, meaning it is not considered to contain objectionable content.
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Gay activists quickly gathered more than 37,000 signatures for an online petition asking Apple to drop the software.

The petition on the website change.org said the Christian group was using ''scare tactics, misinformation, stereotypes and distortions'' of gay life, and promoting ''the use of so-called 'reparative therapy' to 'change' the sexual orientation of their clients, despite the fact that this form of 'therapy' has been rejected by every major professional medical organisation''

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iPad 2 UK launch delay looking more likely

 

Will the iPad 2 launch as planned on Friday?

The iPad 2 is scheduled to launch here in the UK on Friday. But as launch day approaches fears are growing that demand in the US will force Apple to delay the tablet’s launch internationally.

The next-gen Apple slate went on sale over in the States on March 11, and promptly sold out immediately, both in stores and online. At present, Apple is quoting a 4-5 week shipping turnaround for our US friends, with eBay now presenting the best chance for consumers to get their hands on the Apple slate – albeit at a significant price premium.

As things stand, Apple is still listing March 25 as the iPad 2’s launch date, but pre-orders have yet to open on the tablet, and one of the other territories set for a Friday launch – the Czech Republic – has now been shifted back a month to April 25, prompting fears that it’s just a matter of time until others follow.

The lack of pre-order action on the UK Apple site suggests that, at the very least, Apple is simply trying to cover in-store demand for launch day, and is trying to avoid masses of orders coming in ahead of time, as happened in the US.

Needless to say, we’ll keep our ears to the ground through the week and will let you know as soon as things become clearer.

More about → iPad 2 UK launch delay looking more likely