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iPad Kindle fighting tech and data limit warning revealed

Mic Wright — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 17:15:18 +0000

iPad pre-order fever is currently gripping the US and we’ve told you how to get a UK iPad early. Now we’ve discovered that delving into the newly available iPad support page reveals some hitherto unannounced iPad features like more information on its Kindle battling iBook reading skills and a data limit warning. Read on for the results of our iPad fine print scouring…

iPad 3G models aren’t appearing in the US until late-April but Apple has slung up its iPad 3G support page to feed folk hungry to pre-order their iPad with important info. It seems iPad 3G owners who opt for the limited 250MB data plan will get a data limit warning to going over it.

When your iPad 3G nears the 250MB limit, you’ll get an onscreen warning. Warning will pop up when your iPad 3G has 20%, 10% and no data remaining. The iPad data alerts will give you the option of topping up your data.

The iPad 3G will also let you sign up or cancel your data plan via a dedicated iPad data plan window which will allow you to switch from the limited to the unlimited plan or add another 250MB chunk of data. There’s also a reference to an international data plan which Apple has yet to reveal any details about.

iPad carriers for the UK haven’t been announced yet and we’re also still waiting to find out whether AT&T’s data plan will be converted into a similar package by one of the UK networks. We still don’t know the UK iPad price although Play.com may have leaked it.

The iBooks app won’t come pre-installed on the iPad even in the US but instead be offered as a download from the iTunes App Store. Apple already told us poor UK folk that iBooks won’t be available here at launch.

The iPad VoiceOver text-to-speech function will integrate with the iBooks app. That raises the prospect of problems with publishers as Amazon was forced to allow them to disable that feature in its Kindle ebook reader.

Has Apple done a deal to avoid this and will the Amazon Kindle app also be able to make use of the VoiceOver function. Somehow, we suspect not.

Another neat feature that will help when using the iPad for reading is the addition of a physical screen rotation lock switch. Positioned on the side of the iPad with the volume rocker, it will stop the screen from automatically rotating and make it much easier to read the iPad while lying down.

Eagled-eyed readers: if you spot something interesting or surprising in the iPad specs and features pages on the Apple Store, let us know.

Out late-April | £TBC | Apple

O2 Priority: get video games early

Ben Sillis — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 17:00:13 +0000

O2 Priority will soon offer video games early to O2 customers, according to a new report. Now, the date you get hold of a flagship new game could all depend on what network you’re on: read on for the details.

As part of the O2 Priority scheme, which lets customers buy gig tickets before full release, the network will soon sell PC games up to 48 hours ahead of release too.

O2 apologises for iPhone exclusivity claims

MCV reports that the O2 Priority offer will also allow new O2 mobile and broadband customers to get free game downloads too.

O2, which also sells games in its high street stores, has yet to reveal what games or publishers are involved in the new O2 Priority scheme, but if any of the big games lined up for this Summer are involved, and you’re on O2, you might just find a few more people wanting to be bezzie mates all of a sudden.

We’ve contacted O2 for more details on the O2 Priority plans and will update when we hear back.

Out TBC | £TBC | O2 (Via MCV)

Sony 3D TV up for pre-order!

Ben Sillis — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 16:30:45 +0000

The first Sony 3D TV to hit the UK is up for pre-order, right this second. Want to know where and for how much? Read on and we’ll tell you.

LG’s first 3D TV for the UK might not go on sale until May, but if you can’t wait that long, you can now check out the first Sony 3D TV models inside Currys stores.

And as of right now, you can also pre-order the first Sony 3D TV, the Bravia HX903, in shops or online. For £2,499, the first available Sony 3D TV comes with Freeview HD built in, a 200Hz panel, 4HDMI sockets and Bravia Internet access for video on demand (including Lovefilm).

Sony Bravia Freeview HD TVs out this week!

Just be wary though that to get 3D up and running on the Sony 3D TV, you’ll need to shell out extra: Currys tells us 3D goggles will cost £99.99, while a 3D transmitter will set you back £74.99.

There’s no exact shipping date for the Sony 3D TV, but we’re told it’ll be out in time for the World Cup, but be sure to seek out a demonstration unit in shops first.

Out TBC | £2,499 | Sony and Currys

Best free Blackberry apps: top 10

Mic Wright — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 16:15:25 +0000

Free Blackberry apps are plentiful in Blackberry App World, RIM’s online app store, but it can be tricky to know which apps are worth the effort. We’ve scoured Blackberry App World and the rest of the web to bring you our pick of the 10 best free Blackberry apps.

1 Übertwitter
A Twitter client is a vital weapon in the arsenal of any savvy smartphone owner these days and the best free Blackberry app for blasting out tweets from your Blackberry is Übertwitter. Frequently updated to add new Twitter features, Übertwitter brings simple, stable tweeting to your Blackberry. You can geotag your tweets using your Blackberry’s GPS or cell location, embed videos in your tweets and upload pictures straight from the app. Not only is Übertwitter the best free Blackberry Twitter app, it’s also the best free Blackberry app with an umlaut.

2 Facebook
Facebook for Blackberry was once the poor relation of Facebook’s other smartphone outposts, living in the shadow of the Facebook iPhone app but no longer. The Facebook for Blackberry app now slings almost all of the desktop functionality into a sylph-like smartphone package – you can update of view your status, receive notifications, post photos from your Blackberry and use them as a profile picture. Facebook for Blackberry also includes Facebook events which is handy for when you’re on your way and forget the address.

3 Opera Mini 5
Blackberry browser, the Blackberry’s built-in web browsing app, does the job but Opera Mini 5 gives some really useful features to play with. Opera Mini 5 includes tabs which lets you open multiple websites at one go with the tabs optimised for fondling with your finger if you’ve got a touchscreen Blackberry. Opera Mini 5 will also add a option to open links in Opera Mini to your Blackberry email client, has a built-in password manager and a handy copy and paste feature. It’s a must-download free Blackberry app if you idle away lots of time browsing on your Blackberry.

4 Urbanspoon
Urbanspoon turns your Blackberry into your restaurant-recommending best friend. You can either let you Blackberry randomly select a restaurant near you by hitting the space bar or shaking it if you’ve got a Blackberry Storm or Blackberry Storm 2. Or if you’ve got your heart set on a certain sort of cuisine and a price range that won’t punish your pocket, you can set those options and have Urbanspoon for Blackberry offer you some options.

6 Google Sync
Blackberry ownership is all about getting your info on the go and Google Sync keeps you connected to even more of vital info. It flings your Google Calendar appointments and Gmail contacts to your Blackberry as often as you want it to and sits quietly in the background while it’s doing it. Link your Outlook calendar on Windows or iCal info from your Mac to a Google Calendar and you’ll be able to get those events on your Blackberry too.

7 Evernote
Evernote is a free Blackberry app that turns your Blackberry into an extension of your brain. Evernote gobbles up text notes, voice memos and photos that you create and uploads them to an Evernote account on the web. You can sync your Evernote info on your PC or Mac which means you’ll be able to get your memory jogging missives on your work computer, at home and on your Blackberry on the go.

8 TubeBuddy
Traversing the London transport network can be a bit of a nightmare. TubeBuddy is a free Blackberry app that eases the pain, keeping you updated on how the Tube and DLR is running, even giving you live departure board updates to tell you when it’s time to run for your train. TubeBuddy also has a daily alert feature so you can know if your preferred Tube line is playing nice or staggeringly snarled up. It’s a free Blackberry app that helps you work out whether it’s worth getting out of bed.

9 Viigo
If you don’t want to fire up the Blackberry browser or Opera Mini 5, Viigo is a smart option for getting your fix of your favourite websites without having to wait. The RSS reader runs in the background on your Blackberry, updating the feeds for your favourite websites so they’re ready for you to read whenever you fancy. Viigo lets you add your own feeds or import your Google Reader links, which is great if you subscribe to lots of sites and want to catch up with your reading on your Blackberry while you’re bored on the bus.

10 Google Talk
Google Talk for Blackberry is a brilliant little instant messenger app that will work along side Blackberry Messenger and keep you in contact with all your non-Blackberry owning, Google-loving pals. Google Talk shows you which of your friends are online, lets you customise your status updates (“I”m on my Blackberry!”), have group chats and change your Google Talk picture. Unlike some Blackberry IM apps, Google Talk for Blackberry integrates with your Blackberry inbox so when you get an IM message it’ll bounce right to the top.

If you’ve spotted a great free Blackberry app tell us about it.

Android HTC Tattoo: 2.1 Sense update incoming!

Ben Sillis — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 16:00:22 +0000

The Android HTC Tattoo phone with HTC’s Sense social networking is set to get a 2.1 update, just like the Hero, and soon. Looking to get in on a bit of the HTC Legend’s sensational software? Read on for the details.

We found the Android HTC Tattoo to be a delightful little budget smartphone when we reviewed it last year, but the HTC Sense software draped atop Android 1.5 means it can’t just jump to the latest version of Google’s OS as and when. HTC has to craft a retooled version of it, but the good news is one is coming to take the Android HTC Tattoo OS to 2.1 soon.

HTC Legend review: HTC Sense

HTC confirmed to FrAndroid that it is “still working hard to building Sense for this new version but we expect to have the upgrade finished and ready to go soon.”

We can’t wait to see HTC Sense 2.1 land on the Android HTC Tattoo, as the new features, like Leap and Friend Stream, really do make the HTC Legend an iPhone killer.

We’ve got a call in with HTC UK now, and we’ll let you know when the 2.1 Sense Android HTC Tattoo update is dated.

Out TBC | £TBC | HTC (Via FrAndroid)

Sky HD gets ITV HD, Hallmark Channel

Ben Sillis — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 15:30:08 +0000

Sky HD just got a few extra feathers in its high definition cap, with news that ITV HD and the Hallmark Channel, among others, are headed to the extra sharp service. If you’re looking at Freeview HD, but just can’t get enough of crystal clear Diagnosis Murder, some tough choices will have to be made…

Starting from 2 April, ITV HD will begin broadcasting on Sky HD, meaning you’ll be able to cop plenty of Champions League and World Cup action in high def.

The Hallmark Channel HD meanwhile will land on Sky HD a few months later, on 28 June, while 29 April sees the launch of Sky Sports HD 4 on Sky HD.

Sky HD 1TB box outed

That puts the number of channels available on Sky HD to 40, with Sky revealing it has plans to reach 50 by year’s end.

That puts Sky HD far ahead of Freeview HD and Freesat of course, but can you live without Monk in HD in exchange for a one off up front price? Stay tuned, as the HD telly wars are only just beginning.

Out April | £TBC | Sky

iPad 3G video streaming incoming! Air Video app prepped

Ben Sillis — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:30:47 +0000

The iPad 3G model may not be shipping for a while yet, but it’s now got a bonus extra feature worth waiting for: the Air Video iPhone app, one of the cheapest and easiest ways to sling video to your iPhone anywhere is set to get a native iPad app version too.

While there are plenty of apps that let you access video on your computer or home server from your iPhone, the Air Video iPhone app is one of the most favourably reviewed. It works by converting video to the right format in realtime, so you don’t have to do any time consuming encoding in Handbrake, but now the developer has confirmed an iPad version is on the way, with support for the sharper native resolution.

iPad 3G and Wi-Fi models delayed

If the iPad version of Air Video packs the same features as the iPhone version, out now, iPad 3G owners should get excited: one of the experimental features lets you sling that video over a 3G network as well as Wi-Fi.

In otherwords, if you’ve got an iPad 3G version, you can download or rip just about any video on your PC once, then watch it immediately from wherever you are. Now if only someone would pick up where Rewatch let off and give us a native BBC iPlayer app for the iPad and iPad 3G too.

Out TBC | £TBC | Air Video (Via Automated Home)

Windows Phone 7 Series: no realtime multiplayer gaming

Ben Sillis — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 13:00:48 +0000

Windows Phone 7 Series is Microsoft’s attempt at a big come back and reinvention in the smartphone space, but if you were holding out for a true gaming alternative to the iPhone, you might not want to get your hopes up. Microsoft has revealed that multiplayer games on the platform will be turn based only. Um, anyone for a game of touchscreen Connect 4?

One of the features in Windows Phone 7 Series highlighted at launch last month was Xbox Live integration. But the screenshots we’ve seen so far haven’t got our hopes up for Halo deathmatches on your mobile, and now Microsoft has all but killed off hopes of realtime multiplayer gaming.

In an interview with Joystiq, Xbox Live manager Ron Pessner and XNA Game Studio manager Michael Klucher confirmed that multiplayer Windows Phone 7 Series games will be “turn by turn” only, and while other “scenarios” might be on the roadmap, that’s all we’re getting for launch. In other words, Redmond only wants you and your mates to play games you can leave and come back to now and again. Battleships? Boo.

Windows Phone 7 Series: hands on video

That’s a real shame, as Windows Phone 7 Series had been shaping up quite nicely as a gaming platform from what we’d seen this week at the Game Developers COnferencer, with Microsoft demoing a game running on an Xbox and Windows Phone 7 Series, and synching between the two. Expect to hear more about gaming on Windows Phone 7 Series at Microsoft’s MIX conference next week.

Out 2010 | £TBC | Microsoft (Via Joystiq)

Ricoh CX3 camera review

Sam Kieldsen — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 12:30:18 +0000

The Ricoh CX3 is the latest premium compact camera to offer a back-illuminated CMOS sensor. Cast your mind back a few months to the launch of the Sony HX1 and WX1 snappers and you may remember them getting “mad props” for their superb low light performance – well, that was down to Sony’s Exmor R back-illuminated sensor, and now Ricoh has stuffed something similar into its own camera. Does it deliver in the dimness? Find out in our full Ricoh CX3 review.

Yes, the Ricoh CX3’s 10-megapixel is back-illuminated, which makes it more sensitive to light than a regular camera sensor. That means it can snaffle up sharper shots when there isn’t much available light around and you don’t fancy using the flash. This, coupled with some pretty effective noise reduction tech, makes the CX3 one of the niftiest cameras around when it comes to low light results.

If you’re the sort that loves to roam the streets at night snapping away, or wants to take photos at gigs without attracting the ire of flash-hating security guards, you’ll appreciate the Ricoh CX3’s flashless results. You’ll also like the decent range of the zoom lens (10.7x optical zoom) and the built-in anti-shake tech to counter unsteady hands.

There are other nice touches too, including an electronic spirit level to aid framing and a built-in dynamic mode, which takes two exposures very quickly and merges them together to deliver a shot with detail in both shadows and bright areas – sort of like an integrated HDR mode, albeit one that doesn’t deliver the eye-popping degree of dynamism evident in real HDR. Also, take a shot at a wide angle and the camera will automatically adjust the picture to edit out any barrel distortion.

There’s also the ability to film 1280 x 720 movies, adding the Ricoh CX3 to the ever increasing list of compact cameras capable of capturing HD video.

All this goes into making the Ricoh CX3 an easy camera to use, as does the fantastically bright, clear and sharp 3-inch screen. One thing it does lack when compared to some of its rivals is the ability to shoot in RAW – the Canon G11, for instance, manages to feel more like a serious photographer’s camera than the CX3 despite its roughly similar price tag.

It’s also a bit of porker compared to some rivals. Like the G11, it’s just a little too large to sit comfortably in a trouser or inside jacket pocket. Other than that, the Ricoh CX3 is a mightily impressive compact camera with great performance and versatility.

Lunchtime Lowdown: pre-order your iPad, Google Nexus One on Vodafone and more

Ben Sillis — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 12:30:16 +0000

The week is winding down but the gadget and games news certainly isn’t: read on for all the latest headlines in our lunchtime lowdown round up right here.

First up, in gaming, we got a good look at Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker in action, while the developers of Heavy Rain revealed they had planned their own motion controller.

In mobile meanwhile, the Google Nexus One is nearing release on Vodafone, while we found a way to get your iPad super early in the UK.

Still need more news? Head on over to the homepage and help yourself!