game review

Death to Spies: Moment of Truth

noreply@blogger.com (frostbite) — Sat, 15 Sep 2012 10:03:00 -0700

1C Company announced the development of the sequel to the stealth-action the game Death to Spies: Moment of Truth. The main character this game is called Semion Strogov, Captain of the 4th department of the Soviet Counterintelligence service SMERSH. SMERSH in general can be interpreted in the language of Russian Death to Spies, was the name of the Counterintelligence departments in the Soviet Army during World War II.

equipped with a variety of skills that is needed, especially for dangerous missions including getting information about the disposition of hostile military and civil units.

Key features:

- Brand new missions located in Western and Eastern Europe, USA, in the UK and the territory of the former USSR
- New vehicles and weapons
- Enhanced animations and visuals
- New graphic effects: new landscape texturing with higher resolution and bump mapping effects, updated rendering with HDR and dithered shadows
- Improved interface
- Moment of Truth contains a lot of improvements based on the game community’s requests

Minimum System Requirements

Operating System: Windows 98/2000/XP/Vista
Processor: Intel Pentium IV or AMD Athlon 2 - 2,4 GHz
Memory: 1 GB
Video card: NVIDIA GeForce 5700/ATI Radeon 9800 with 128 MB RAM or higher
Sound card: DirectX Compatible Sound Card
Hard disc: 3,8 GB
CD ROM: DVD ROM

Recommended System Requirements

Operating System: Windows 98/2000/XP/Vista
Processor: Intel Pentium IV or AMD Athlon 2,8 GHz
Memory: 2 GB
Video card: NVIDIA GeForce 7800/ATI Radeon 1600 with 256 MB RAM or higher
Sound card: DirectX Compatible Sound Card
Hard disc: 3,8 GB
CD ROM: DVD ROM

Plant Vs Zombies II

noreply@blogger.com (frostbite) — Sat, 15 Sep 2012 09:48:00 -0700

Plant Vs Zombies II will be released soon, for you guys fans of the game with funny animations and addictive gameplay, of course, for this one game is not foreign anymore and of course do not miss the game list your smartphone. As one of the best casual game ever released for the developer PopCap brought the tower defense genre, by making plants As with any type of defense to repel the zombies that can not be get in, is makes the game never loses fans, and till now is still favorite game to play with, especially the seasons of going home like this, who needs a refresh in the middle of traffic jams.

About the detailed information given about the news PopCap itself is actually only a confirmation of the presence Plant Vs Zombies game with the latest sequel, and for a platform that can play the game are still kept secret. PopCap own hand just said that the sequel will be presenting a variety of new features, situation and setting new missions are planned to be released on the coming spring of 2013.

Splinter Cell Blacklist

noreply@blogger.com (frostbite) — Sat, 15 Sep 2012 09:31:00 -0700

Sam Fisher not yet finished! Splinter Cell: Conviction is considered as the end of the series because of the closure of the organization Splinter Cell Third Echelon, Remnants members of Third Echelon who is a terrorist now codenamed "The Blacklist", will be pursued by Sam Fisher himself, that became leader of the new organization formed by the American president: "Fourth Echelon".

Splinter Cell: Blacklist planned to publish third quarter 2013, and is available for PC, Xbox 360, and PS3. This game also supports Kinect, so it must be very interesting. Awaited further news from Ubisoft.

Samsung’s Windows 8 Hybrids

noreply@blogger.com (frostbite) — Sun, 2 Sep 2012 23:45:00 -0700

Windows 8 is that your tablet and your PC can be the same device. Exactly how will that work? After seeing of intriguing possibilities, we’re starting to get a more firm idea with actual products like the Samsung Series 7 and Series 5 PCs.

The new machines are hybrid PCs — meaning they “transform” from an 11.6-inch Windows 8 tablet to laptop and back again. They do so via keyboard docks, which hold the tablet in place.

Make no mistake, these are full Windows 8 PCs, not Windows RT devices. That means you can run all your old Windows 7 or XP apps on them in addition to any newer Windows 8 apps. They also sport Samsung’s new take on the old Windows Start menu, the S Launcher, which should calm the nerves of a few skittish Windows 8 users.

There’s a big gap in price between the Series 7 and Series 5, which cost $1,199 and $749, respectively. That’s because of what they have inside: The Series 7 boasts an Intel Core i5 processor, 4GB of RAM and a 128GB solid-state drive. But the Series 5 is something else, packing Intel’s latest Atom mobile chip “Clover Trail,” 2GB of RAM and a 64GB SSD. Both will be available when Windows 8 launches, Oct. 26.

While the keyboard dock is included with the Series 7, you can get the Series 5 with or without it. With no dock, it just costs $649. The pricing gives you an idea of what other Windows 8 tablets like the Microsoft Surface and Lenovo’s Clover Trail model might cost.

Finally, Samsung has tied its new hybrids into its AllShare network, the company’s cloud service for sharing content across devices. Any photos you take with the tablets, for example, will automatically get shared to your other devices via the service. While this functionality doesn’t yet apply to movies and TV shows you might buy from Samsung’s online media hubs, the company says it’s working on it.

How do you like Samsung’s Windows 8 hybrids, or hybrids in general? Let us know in the comments.

Update: It looks like Samsung is calling these tablets “ATIV” tablets in the global market. Reps tell us Samsung hasn’t decided if it’ll use this label in the U.S.

Source

Samsung Unveils Galaxy Note II

noreply@blogger.com (frostbite) — Sun, 2 Sep 2012 23:19:00 -0700

Samsung unveiled the Samsung Galaxy Note II smartphone Wednesday at its event at the IFA trade show in Berlin.

The new Note is narrower and taller than the old version, with a 5.5-inch HD Super AMOLED screen — slightly larger than the previous Note‘s 5.3-incher. Samsung managed to narrow the form factor by changing the aspect ratio to a 16:9 widescreen display.

The new Note is powered by Android 4.1 “Jelly Bean.” It packs a 1.6GHz quad-core processor with 2GB of RAM.

Of course, it also has the S Pen stylus, boasting some new abilities that weren’t in the old Note. First is Air View, which lets you preview content by hovering the stylus over icons. For example, you could hold the S Pen over a day on a calendar, and a preview window of that day’s appointments will appear.

There’s also Quick Command: Just sweep the S Pen up and a blank square pops up where you can write customized commands that will instantly do things such as send an email to a specific person.

SEE ALSO: Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1: The Stylus Just Got Real [REVIEW]
Popup Note is a kind of multitasking ability, letting you call up a note from the S Note app as a pop-up window on the screen. This could come in handy when you get a phone call and need to write something down quickly.

Finally there’s Easy Clip, a way to quickly outline and crop certain kinds of content on the screen. With the S Pen’s button, it intelligently figures out what you want to clip, then you can paste it into other content.

The Galaxy Note II will be available in 16, 32 and 64GB configurations, all enhanceable via a microSD card. It has an 8-megapixel camera with all the new camera functions that we saw in the Galaxy S III. There’s also a bonus camera function called Best Faces, letting users designate the “most preferred” face in a group.

The new Note will be available in white or gray, and it’ll debut October in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. No word yet on a U.S. launch.

source

OCZ Releases Low Profile Version of Vertex 3

noreply@blogger.com (frostbite) — Sun, 26 Aug 2012 22:36:00 -0700

OCZ has launch a low profile version of the Vertex 3 to their SSD portfolio. The drive has a height of 7mm, which is 2.5mm slimmer than most 2.5" drives are. Other specifications match the regular Vertex 3, so reading our Vertex 3 review will give you an idea of the performance, but below is a specification table in case you don't remember the main details off hand :

A Canadian retailer, Canada Computers, is already listing the low profile versions and pricing appears to be slightly higher compared to normal Vertex 3. However, Canada Computers has not received any stock yet so the prices may not be final yet. Availability is unknown as of now but expect to see these SSDs in stores within a week or two.

We are definitely experiencing a shift towards smaller form factors in storage devices and computing in general. Especially Intel's Ultrabook project is fuel for the fire because in order to meet Intel's strict dimension limitations, it's necessary to use either mSATA SSDs or thinner 2.5" SSDs/HDDs. On top of that, the internal components of SSDs don't usually even need the extra 2.5mm and making a drive 7mm instead of 9.5mm is only a matter of shaving off some of the chassis. I'll give you a sneak preview of our Plextor M3 Pro review to demonstrate this:

Both SSDs have exactly the same PCBs and the only thing that makes the M3 Pro thinner is the fact that it has thinner thermal pads. What this means is that pretty much any 2.5" SSD could be turned into a 7mm model without even modifying the PCB.

I would like to see more hybrid approaches like what Intel is doing, though. Hybrid in this case means that there's a riser attached by screws that turns a 7mm SSD into a 9.5mm SSD. Some laptops are designed for 9.5mm drives and a 7mm drive might jiggle inside the laptop.

Having a riser means the user doesn't need to decide between 7mm and 9.5mm as you can easily remove the riser if you need to fit drive inside a computer that only takes 7mm drives. Of course, offering 7mm and 9.5mm drives like OCZ and Plextor are doing is better than offering only 9.5mm drives, but using a riser still looks like the best option.

Source: OCZ

DiRT 3 Complete Edition announced and coming on March

noreply@blogger.com (frostbite) — Sat, 25 Aug 2012 06:38:00 -0700

Codemasters announced that DiRT 3 Complete Edition, a compendium box set featuring the multi award-winning racer expanded with over £20 (€25) worth of additional content, will race into stores on March 9th for X360, PS3 and PC with a suggested price of £29.99 (€39.99). DiRT 3 Complete Edition will see DiRT 3, Gamespot’s ‘Racing Game of the Year’ and rated 87 on Metacritic, expanded with 12 new routes across two locations, new cars and a range of liveries (via download on PC) to deliver the definitive version of the ultimate off-road racer.
DiRT 3 Complete Edition extends the game with:

· The Monte Carlo Rally Pack – eight breathtaking Rally stages featuring dramatic climbs, descents and hairpins of snowy mountain roads. Race through the Alps and conquer the legendary Col de Turini pass.

· The X Games Asia Track Pack – four new routes set across two new tracks in Shibuya, the neon heart of central Tokyo, where spectacular mud-spattered Rallycross circuits weave beneath towering skyscrapers.
· The Power and Glory Car Pack – stars five cars including the BMW M3 Rally, Lancia Delta S4, Ford Focus ST Rallycross, Scion tC and Chevrolet Camaro SSX Concept, each with a range of liveries.
· The Mud and Guts Car Pack – features five cars available for single-player, split-screen and online multiplayer events. Race the Lancia Stratos, Peugeot 205 T16 Evo 2, Citroën C4 Rallycross, Saturn Sky and Ford Mustang GT, each with a range of liveries.
· The Colin McRae Vision Charity Pack – access the Ford Escort Mk II, a 70s rally classic with five liveries.
· The Ken Block Special Pack – features a customised and upgraded Ford Escort Mk II, an Open Class Rally car sporting a killer Ken Block livery.
· The Mini Gymkhana Special Pack – access the mid-engined Mini Cooper S Gymkhana, customised and tuned to become an outrageously responsive Gymkhana car.

DiRT 3 itselffeatures over 50 years of iconic rally cars to be raced through the snow, rain and dirt. Powered by the award-winning EGO Engine, the game delivers incredible graphics, damage and weather in solo, online and in split-screen. From the forests of Michigan to the infamous roads of Finland and the national parks of Kenya, gamers take on a wide range of disciplines including Gymkhana, Rallycross, Landrush, Head 2 Head and Trailblazer, plus the most amount of Rally content in the series yet.

SBK Generations announced for PC, PS3, Xbox 360

noreply@blogger.com (frostbite) — Sat, 25 Aug 2012 06:33:00 -0700

Bike racing series SBK will return in May with the launch of SBK Generations, publisher Black Bean Games has announced.

PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions are planned.

The annual update follows last year's SBK 2011 and will deliver the latest classes, riders, and tracks from the 2012 season.

How else will it differ from last year's game? Black Bean promises more information "in the coming weeks".

Matt Edwards skidded through last year's entry to deal out a decent 7/10 score in Eurogamer's SBK 2011 review:

"What lets it down is an overall lack of progression from last year's game," he wrote. "But once you adapt to the improved riding model, you'll probably overlook the lack of new gimmicks. In short, SBK 2011 is a solid upgrade on an already winning formula."

First screenshots from SBK Generations lie below.

DLC Shift 2 Unleashed Will Be Present At PC

noreply@blogger.com (frostbite) — Sat, 25 Aug 2012 06:28:00 -0700

EA released today six screenshots for Shift 2 Unleashed’s two DLC Packs and announced that Speedhunters & Legends are coming to the PC and get this right. Both of these DLC Packs will be free. Speedhunters & Legends will be made available on June 30th for free via Origin.com.

The Legends Pack features a dozen cars and 5 new tracks from racing’s golden age, and the Speedhunters Pack added two new game modes – Drag and Standing Mile – as well as 14 new vehicles to try against your friends for epic Autolog battles.

PC gamers, rejoice. Those interested can find more information at the game’s Official Website. Enjoy the following screenshots!

Battlefield 3 DLC trio coming in June

noreply@blogger.com (frostbite) — Sat, 25 Aug 2012 06:19:00 -0700

Expanding on our knowledge base from the earlier Battlefield 3 expansion reveal, EA has confirmed that "Close Quarters" will launch in June, followed by "Armored Kill" in the fall and "End Game" this winter.

Hit the break for more details on the punch these DLC packs are ... well, packing.

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – March 7, 2012 – The Battlefield™ army is over 12 Million strong and growing every day as Battlefield 3™ and its first expansion, Battlefield 3: Back to Karkand continues to recruit gamers around the world with its dynamic sandbox gameplay and state-of-the-art technology. Today, DICE, an Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) studio, demonstrates its ongoing commitment to fans by unveiling three new themed digital expansion packs* that will enhance the superior Battlefield experience with fresh and innovative gameplay, new modes, unique environments and more ways to wage all-out-war on the battlefield. Powered by the Frostbite™ 2 engine, the next expansion packs are: Battlefield 3: Close Quarters in June, Battlefield 3: Armored Kill in the fall, and Battlefield 3: End Game in the winter.

Battlefield 3: Close Quarters – In Battlefield 3: Close Quarters, players are dropped into a frantic, infantry-only theatre of war. Frostbite 2 high definition destruction makes the environment come alive as everything from furniture to plaster gets shot to pieces. Players will feel the intensity of the world exploding around them as rubble and broken pieces pile up on the floor, while tight level design and vertical gameplay create a highly competitive environment. Battlefield 3: Close Quarters also introduces new weapons, assignments and unique dog tags to bring back to the base game.

Battlefield 3: Armored Kill – Following the tight infantry gameplay of Battlefield 3: Close Quarters, DICE will release Battlefield 3: Armored Kill that ups the ante for vehicular mayhem as only Battlefield can do. Featuring new driveable tanks, ATVs, mobile artillery and more, Battlefield 3: Armored Kill also delivers huge battlefields for an all-out vehicle assault, including the biggest map in Battlefield history.

Battlefield 3: End Game – The fourth expansion pack will ship in the winter but details remain tightly guarded.

Battlefield 3: Back to Karkand – Battlefield 3: Back to Karkand is available now for download for $14.99 or 1200 Microsoft points and features four of the most beloved Battlefield 2™ maps (Strike at Karkand, Gulf of Oman, Wake Island and Sharqi Peninsula), all fully re-imagined utilizing the power of the Frostbite 2 engine.

Patrick Bach, Executive Producer, Battlefield 3 said, "Instead of delivering piecemeal map packs, we're giving players a completely new experience with every themed expansion pack to keep the action fresh. Our expansions are designed to excite our large and active fan base while attracting new recruits with gameplay that is dynamic and unpredictable every time."

Battlefield 3 is supported by a robust, and completely free social platform called Battlelog that invites players to compete, communicate and play with friends. Gamers track personal stats, compare against other players and join a platoon in an effort to dominate the battlefield. To add to the competitive fervor, a fully integrated rent-a-server program for console players will be available for gamers to play online with friends the way they want to play in either private, public, ranked or unranked matches. For more information about these enhancements and future plans for Battlelog, please visit www.battlefield.com.

Since its launch on Oct. 25, Battlefield 3 has quickly become the fastest selling title in EA's 20+ year history selling more than 12 Million units since release. Lauded by game critics worldwide for its compelling single player campaign, intense co-op missions and its addictive and world class multiplayer, Battlefield 3 has won more than 120 awards including IGN.com's "Best Multiplayer Game of 2011."

Battlefield 3 is available now in North America and Europe for the Xbox 360® videogame and entertainment system, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment and PC.

For the latest news on Battlefield please visit http://www.facebook.com/battlefield, follow us on Twitter® at www.twitter.com/battlefield or sign up for the official Battlefield newsletter at www.battlefield.com. Press assets for Battlefield 3 are available at www.info.ea.com.

* Content and release dates subject to change. Expansion pack prices to be announced when released.

About Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) is a global leader in digital interactive entertainment. The Company's game franchises are offered as both packaged goods products and online services delivered through Internet-connected consoles, personal computers, mobile phones and tablets. EA has more than 100 million registered players and operates in 75 countries.

In fiscal 2011, EA posted GAAP net revenue of $3.6 billion. Headquartered in Redwood City, California, EA is recognized for critically acclaimed, high-quality blockbuster franchises such as The Sims™, Madden NFL, FIFA Soccer, Need for Speed™, Battlefield, and Mass Effect™. More information about EA is available at http://info.ea.com.

SimCity to have cloud saves, possible cross-platform

noreply@blogger.com (frostbite) — Sat, 25 Aug 2012 06:12:00 -0700

During the highly technical SimCity engine talk today at GDC 2012, a trio of Maxis creative leads went into more depth on next year's simulation. Specifically with regards to online play, the game will feature cloud saving which will work continuously in the background as you play online.

While only PC support has been announced, Maxis said the game has been built to support a “play anywhere” philosophy, and mentioned browser-based play.

Gamasutra reports Maxis gave a detailed explanation of its new Glassbox engine, in which it mentioned the tech has been devised with an eye for supporting all future games.

Although Maxis has nothing to announce at present, it said Glassbox could handle titles like SimTower and SimCopter.

SimCity was announced yesterday at an external GDC event focused on games as social change agents.

Transcend PATA SSD For Your Aging PC

noreply@blogger.com (frostbite) — Sat, 7 Apr 2012 23:00:00 -0700

There is a way to update an old PC with PATA/IDE SSD that have been announced by Transcend. The PSD320 series is offered in a 2.5-inch form factor with capacities of 32, 64 and 128 GB.

According to the company, the SSDs are designed to replace traditional 2.5-inch HDDs to lower power consumption and increase read-write data performance. The drives are rated at read and write transfer speeds of 104 MB/s and 93 MB/s, respectively. Transcend said that the PSD320 drives support PATA, Ultra DMA modes 0-6, PIO modes 0-4, and multi-word DMA modes 0-2.

There was no information of pricing, but we were told to expect street prices to begin at about $70 for the 32 GB model.

ASRock Fatal1ty X79 Professional Motherboard

noreply@blogger.com (frostbite) — Sat, 7 Apr 2012 22:37:00 -0700

ASRock Motherboard Fatal1ty X79 the new series motherboard based x79 made specially for a gamer.quipped with top-class components, the new ASRock/Fatal1ty X79 Professional was designed to exceed expectations of even the most dedicated gamer!

"This Fatal1ty motherboard was designed to bring your gaming performance to the highest level. The Fatal1ty X79 Professional comes with a Fatal1ty Mouse Port that delivers the precise control needed to elevate your game." said Fatal1ty. "In addition to gaming functions, the board packs 4 PCIe 3.0 slots, supporting up to 4-Way SLI and 4-Way CrossFireX. This combination will make you deadly and feared in the battlefield."

James Lee, VP of ASRock Sales and Marketing commented "ASRock-Fatal1ty motherboards represent quality. This board is crammed full of features like XFast 555 and F-Stream. The blistering performance will satisfy users who require both overclocking and gaming needs."

XFast 555 Technology : XFast RAM / XFast LAN / XFast USB

ASRock endeavors in delivering the most trusted motherboard products and most convenient software kits to users. Not only focusing on facilitating operating speed, ASRock XFast 555 technologies also increase system performance significantly and provide an enhanced computing environment.

XFast RAM will create a virtual disk from the system memory to boost the system performance. For Photoshop. It can even perform 5X faster than before. XFast LAN can lower latency in game after setting online game priority higher and drive 5X faster performance for gamers. XFast USB is the world's fastest USB transfer technology and provides up to 5X faster performance boost in USB data transfer speed.

Digi Power / 16 + 2 Power Phase

Digi Power provides CPU Vcore voltage more efficiently and smoothly. The advanced 16 + 2 power phase offers sturdy components and unmatched overclocking capability.

Premium Gold Caps / 4-Way SLI, 4-Way CrossFireX

Premium Gold Caps are 100% Japan-made solid capacitors. These caps are sleek, high gloss caps with a premium gold coating representing long life and stable performance. The board comes with 4 x PCI-E 3.0 slots supporting Nvidia® 4-Way SLI and AMD 4-Way CrossFireX.

Fatal1ty Mouse Port

A customizable technology for PC gamers who use F-Stream; with an adjustable wide range of mouse polling rates from 125 Hz to 1000 Hz. Gamers can now obtain the most precise control of their mouse.

Get The Optimized Result : DDR3 2600+ (OC)

The high-performance X79 Professional motherboard was also designed to unleash the maximum performance of memory modules. Testing reveals support for up to an incredible DDR3 2624(OC) MHz. As below figure shows, the system has very powerful OC capability and is stable enough to completely run all the Hyper PI tests.

This astonishing performance unlocks the full potential of Intel's X79 platform and allows users to get the highest quality memory performance from a PC.

For more product information, please visit : http://www.techpowerup.com/161082/ASRock-Introduces-the-Fatal1ty-X79-Professional-Motherboard.html

Dell XPS 13 Pocket-lint review

noreply@blogger.com (frostbite) — Thu, 5 Apr 2012 21:41:00 -0700

The new Laptop series from DELL Dell XPS 13.Dell has popped on the scene with its XPS 13, and when we got it out of the well-designed box and handled its smooth, metal surface we did a little dance. A dance, if you will, of joy and relief that finally a Windows laptop could offer us the desirability that has been lacking for so long now.

First class styling

It might seem gushing, but the XPS 13 is a joy to hold. In fact, once you've unpacked it, you'll probably want to hold it a lot, and sometimes - and we really mean this - caress its smooth metal lid. This is something that, in the past, only Apple laptops could inspire from us.

But this lovely design isn't the only thing on which Dell has taken its cue from Apple. This machine has very little in the way of connectivity - something that garnered Apple considerable criticism when the Air launched. There are just two USB sockets, and only one of them supports USB 3. Aside from that, you'll find a DisplayPort socket and a combined headphone and microphone jack.

Our gut reaction is that we simply don't care, that the design and beauty of this laptop makes up for its lack of socketry. Then we snap out of the haze that Apple has managed to hypnotise us in to, and we realise that it is a little bit annoying not to be able to use an Ethernet connection without an adaptor.

We miss a full-sized SD card socket too, and that hurts a little more, as it means we'll have to carry a card reader around with us to manage photographs and video - something we do an awful lot of. In many ways, we think Dell should have ditched the battery meter, and put an SD card socket in there instead. Although we have no idea if that's possible, given the tiny proportions of this machine.

Screen and sound

As with 99 per cent of Ultrabooks, the screen on this XPS 13 is driven by Intel integrated graphics. That means you'll get a solid, but uninspiring performance. Gaming is pretty much out of the question here, but that's unlikely to bother the people buying this machine.

The screen is covered in a glossy glass. This is a bit of a disaster for using it in bright conditions, but it is usable. There are some Ultrabooks that use matt screens, and this is good if you use your machine outside a lot, but for most of us, it's not a massive issue.

The LCD panel behind the glass is top-notch though. It might be only a 1366x720 panel but the colours are spot on and there's plenty of detail. We really enjoyed looking at it and movies and TV shows look superb with that high contrast - thanks in part to that glass cover.

We streamed movies in both 720p and 1080p over our network using Plex. They looked utterly fantastic, and the detail in both was delicious. It's worth pointing out that the i5 processor in our machine handled the high-quality video with ease. Proving, to some extent, that the faster core i7 is perhaps unnecessary.

Options

The available hardware choices for the XPS are quite small, which is a good thing. As of now, you can get two i5 machines with either 128 or 256GB SSDs and 4GB of RAM each or you can opt for an i7 with a 256GB SSD and 4GB of RAM.

There's also not a huge amount of difference in price. The entry-level machine is £950, the mid-range £1150 and the high-end £1300. Interestingly, if you buy now, Dell will give you £100 cashback for trading in a old laptop when you buy the mid-range and £150 for the top of the range. That makes the 256MB i5 only £50 more than the 128MB i5, and for us, this is the upgrade you want to go for.

Control

The keyboard on the XPS is the now ubiquitous raised island type. These are nice, on the whole, to type on, and the Dell is no exception. The keys are a little smaller than we'd like in an ideal world, but they are positive and travel well. They are also backlit, which is useful when you're on a night flight and want to get work done, without turning on an overhead light.

The trackpad is also very slick and, unlike so many similar devices, works really well indeed. We found minimal frustration with two-finger scrolling or tapping the two, subtle, buttons at the bottom of the pad. This all works well, although the friction is more than on the glass trackpad you'd get with a Mac.

Battery

It's always a challenge to tell you what battery life you'll get out of a laptop. If you turn the screen brightness down and don't do much more than typing, then we're sure you'll see five hours.

The problem is, in normal light we found that we needed to turn the screen up quite high to really see it. This is partially because of the reflective screen, but we also didn't find this laptop as bright as others we've used - including Dell's 15z.

Stream a bit of 1080p video with the screen turned up, and we're confident you'll see somewhere around the two hour mark. Keep the power saving mode turned on, and while you might see lower performance - perhaps say goodbye to 1080p playback - you'll almost certainly see a much improved battery.

Dell software

Usually, we have to get quite cross with Dell about the software it installs on its machines. Here though, the company seems to have been a little calmer than usual. There are the usual face recognition, virus and data backup options, but not much more than that. You get 15 months' McAfee protection included, after which you can uninstall and use the brilliant Windows Defender instead, which is completely free.

0800 numbers to be free to UK mobile users

noreply@blogger.com (frostbite) — Thu, 5 Apr 2012 21:00:00 -0700

0800 number, maybe should be the lucy number for user from uk, 800 numbers on a mobile phone could soon be a thing of the past. Ofcom, the independent regulator and competition authority for the UK's communications industries, has outlined a proposal to make the number group, as well as 116 numbers, free to call with all phones, not just landlines.

Currently, if a mobile user dials a supposedly "freephone" number, they can incur a charge of up to 21p per minute. This would be abolished, if the proposal goes ahead.

In addition, Ofcom proposes that more clarification is needed on charges for other 08 numbers (such as the dreaded call centre 0845 numbers), as well as 09 and 118 prefixes. At present, only BT line users can tell how much they're being charged when calling them.

"Callers are not able to understand how much the call costs as opposed to the cost of the service being provided via the call," said the regulator in a statement. "Under Ofcom’s proposals, consumers will in future be presented with clear, transparent information on both."

On calling a revenue-sharing number, callers are currently told: "This call will cost you X pence per minute on a BT line, calls may vary on other landline and cost considerably more on a mobile."

However, Ofcom proposes that this is changed to: "This call will cost you X pence per minute plus your phone company’s access charge."

The proposal will now enter a consultation period, with Ofcom expecting to rule on the changes at the beginning of 2013.

"Consumers are often confused about how much they will pay to call these number ranges," said Ed Richards, chief executive of Ofcom. "Under our proposals, people will have much clearer information and there will be greater competition on prices.

"By making calls to 0800 numbers free from all phones, we will clear up any uncertainty about making calls, especially from mobiles, to the benefit of consumers and service providers alike."

Source

ADATA DashDrive UV 100 More Small And Thin

noreply@blogger.com (frostbite) — Thu, 5 Apr 2012 20:24:00 -0700

ADATA Technology today has launched its latest USB Flash drive that is DashDrive UV100.With a length of only 41 mm and a thickness of just 5.8 mm, it enters the market as an extremely compact and economical solution to those who view data portability as a day-today necessity.

The DashDrive UV100 incorporates the capless design that has proved to be a successful hallmark of ADATA Flash drives, eliminating the risk of cap loss. An integral strap hole makes the drive easy to carry on a lanyard or keychain. In a nod to the ever-increasing design requirements of the fashion-conscious, the drive boasts a diamond-cut bevel exterior, allowing owners to express their unique personal style. However, the key feature of the product may well be its highly competitive price point, which will make the UV100 an ideal option for those who use Flash drives on a daily basis and are looking for a highly portable backup drive.

The DashDrive UV100 comes with a lifetime warranty, and is available in capacities of 4, 8, and 16 gigabytes. Color options include red, blue, and black.

Availability
The DashDrive UV100 will be available through selected distributors and resellers. More information can be found on the company's website at http://www.adata-group.com/index.php?action=product_feature&cid=1&piid=167&lan=en.

Logitech Launched Touch Mouse M600

noreply@blogger.com (frostbite) — Thu, 5 Apr 2012 10:12:00 -0700

Logitech has launched the Logitech Touch Mouse M600, a mouse that has a touch surface that allows navigation using only the fingers.
With the Logitech Touch Mouse M600 you can scroll, swipe and surf wherever your fingertips rest on the mouse. With its modern design, smooth edges and designed-for-comfort curves, this touch mouse feels comfortable in your hand and looks good wherever you use your laptop.

Logitech Flow Scroll software gives you scrolling that is fluid, much like scrolling on your favorite touchscreen smartphone. Slide your finger along the touch surface to experience immediate, continuous and free-flowing Web page scrolling.

The mouse's unique shape is designed so that it feels great doing exactly the tasks you do most - pointing, clicking and scrolling. And it's a perfect choice for right- and left-handers alike, with click areas that can easily be reassigned with Logitech SetPoint software. Additionally, the Logitech Touch Mouse M600 includes the tiny Logitech Unifying receiver, which can connect up to six compatible mice and keyboards through one USB port. Add a keyboard, switch between mice, mix and match to fit your lifestyle, without having to change receivers or sacrifice another USB port.

With smooth feet, advanced optical tracking and supreme ease of use, this sleek mouse is everything you'd expect from Logitech, and more.

The Logitech Touch Mouse M600 has been named an International CES Innovations 2012 Design and Engineering Awards Honoree in the Computer Peripherals product category.

The Logitech Touch Mouse M600 is expected to be available in the U.S. and Europe beginning in February 2012, for a suggested retail price of $69.99

New SimCity scraping sky on PC in 2013

noreply@blogger.com (frostbite) — Wed, 4 Apr 2012 02:49:00 -0700

latest SimCity game has been officially announced by Electronic Arts in 2012 GDC event.It's coming to PC in 2013, and going back to Maxis.The game, simply being labelled for now as SimCity (not SimCity 5), is being developed by Maxis, is due for the PC, and will be out in 2013.

EA says that the development team consists of many veterans from SimCity 2000 and SimCity 4. It will also - wait for it - feature curved roads. Yes.

The new SimCity also has a feature called "Social Flow", which is the term for how your city will affect other people's cities. For example, resources are finite, and decisions you make - and technological advances other make - will impact the development of your own metropolis.

Interestingly, mention is also made by EA in the game's first press release of downloadable content (free to Origin pre-purchasers, of course), called SimCity Heroes & Villains, which will apparently feature "a battle between Maxis Man and his longtime nemesis Evil Dr. Vu." A very elaborate new disaster to clean up after, perhaps?

Further stuff like talking to individual Sims, a complete world builder and even the ability to customise buildings shows, surprisingly, Maxis is actually making a proper SimCity here. Not a social game, not a Facebook title, they look like they're making a real, honest-to-God SimCity game. Which sounds great.

Rumor: Black Ops 2 Coming In November

noreply@blogger.com (frostbite) — Wed, 4 Apr 2012 02:09:00 -0700

Amazon's French site has been "accidentally" offer game Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, drawing a little disquiet among some game news site in France with the Activision.

But now a new listing has been uncovered, this time its from European retailer known as "FNAC". It has listed Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 to release in November 2012.

We have the snap of the listing below you can check it out below. FAKE or LEGIT we left it to you to decide. Neither Activision nor Treyarch has announced anything, so at present all these details are RUMOR only.

The release date might just be a placeholder, but what you guys have to say about existence of Black Ops 2?. Let us know your views in the comment section below.

Assassin’s Creed III gets three special editions

noreply@blogger.com (frostbite) — Tue, 3 Apr 2012 13:59:00 -0700

Ubisoft preparing a special edition of the game Assassin's Creed III for gamers and collectors.A special edition of three types, respectively called The Freedom Edition, The Join or Die Edition and The Special Edition.

The Freedom Edition

Assassin’s Creed III retail game
A 24-cm high-quality figurine of Connor
A steel book case art drawn by awards-winning comic artist Alex Ross
George Washington’s notebook revealing all the truth & secrets about the Assassins and the Templars during the American Revolution
One exclusive Lithograph

Two in-game Single Player Missions:
– Lost Mayan Ruins: Connor’s mission leads him in an old Mayan pyramid, full of mysteries and revelations. Players will be able to unlock Captain Kidd’s fabled cutlass, a deadly, brutal and beautiful piece of steel.
– Ghost of War: The tide of the Revolution turns into the Templars favour. Defeat your enemies and unlock The Pontiac’s War Club, a powerful Native American weapon.
One in-game Multiplayer Package:
– The Sharpshooter package: Unleash the Sharpshooter fury in multiplayer with 1 new character, the Sharpshooter, 1 Relic, 1 Emblem, 1 special Picture and the Title of “The Jester”.

The Join or Die Edition

Assassin’s Creed III retail game
The medallion of the Assassins with its high-quality curd ladle
George Washington’s notebook revealing all the truth & secrets about the Assassins and the Templars during the American Revolution

One in-game Single Player Mission:
– Ghost of War: The tide of the Revolution turns into the Templars favour. Defeat your enemies and unlock The Pontiac’s War Club, a powerful Native American weapon.
One in-game Multiplayer Package:
– The Sharpshooter package: Unleash the Sharpshooter fury in multiplayer with 1 new character, the Sharpshooter, 1 Relic, 1 Emblem, 1 special Picture and the Title of “The Jester”.

The Special Edition

Special packaging
Assassin’s Creed III retail game
One in-game Single Player Missions:
– A Dangerous Secret: Fight against a secret that could jeopardise the funding of the revolution. In case of success, you’ll be rewarded with an exclusive weapon: a Flintlock Musket.

Images of the two more luxurious packages follow. Assassin’s Creed III is due on PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in October, with a Wii U version due whenever the console arrives. Ubisoft Australia noted that special editions can be ordered through Ubishop, but presumably some territories will have retail deals going; check with your favourite store.

Nokia 808 PureView in focus 41 mp

noreply@blogger.com (frostbite) — Tue, 3 Apr 2012 12:14:00 -0700

Nokia 808 is the latest mobile phones from nokia are still in prototype stage and is powered by Symbian Belle.The uniqueness of this Symbian cell phones on camera that has up to 41MP sensor that is capable of capturing images with high detail and quality can still be maintained even cut or zoom.

Through interviews with Damian Dinning GSMArena, revealed that it takes a special method to be able to produce super high resolution camera on the Nokia 808.

Nokia 808 also make use of lenses "Carl Zeiss", but the production process is not like a regular camera up to the precision needed "ten times higher than [the lens] SLR".

"There are five lenses, a little at the top, then [the size of the lens is mounted] greater when getting closer to the sensor. Here also there is a mechanical ND filter that can be controlled in Creative modes, such as the N8."

for more complete information about nokia 808 you can view interview with Damian Dinning

iOS 5.1 Golden Master Reportedly Complete Ahead of iPad 3 Launch

noreply@blogger.com (frostbite) — Tue, 3 Apr 2012 11:49:00 -0700

iOS 5.1 reportedly includes Japanese Siri support and a new camera slider, as well two other significant features that have yet to be revealed to the public.

iOS 5.1 has satisfied the requirements of Apple's quality assurance testing and is now ready to be released to the public, presumably just prior to the iPad 3 launch within the next few weeks. The report claims that iOS 5.1 is now in the golden master stage with build 9B176 being the final build to be issued for public release.

The build number of iOS 5.1 Gold Master is 9B176 according to a very solid source, although three different partners who are testing the Gold Master claim to have slightly (by single digits) higher builds numbers on their copies, I'm assuming that's because right now it'd make sense for those people to be testing what will soon be released as 5.1.1, so I've disregarded the claims.

The quality assurance phase for iOS 5.1 is said to have taken place over the past three weeks, with work by Apple and its carrier partners to ensure that as many bugs as possible have been eliminated.

Source: http://www.macrumors.com/2012/03/06/testing-on-ios-5-1-golden-master-reportedly-complete-ahead-of-ipad-3-launch/

ViewSonic Launches the VX2336s-LED IPS Monitor

noreply@blogger.com (frostbite) — Mon, 2 Apr 2012 00:15:00 -0700

ViewSonic has today released the VX2336s-LED, a 23-inch monitor which features LED backlighting and utilizes the SuperClear IPS technology enabling 'brilliant image quality' and viewing angles of up to 178/178 degrees (vertical/horizontal).

This new display also has a curved frame with piano-black mirrored surface, a native resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels, a contrast ratio of 1,000:1 (20,000,000:1 DCR), a 14 ms response time, 250 cd/m2 typical brightness, D-Sub and DVI connectors, and the Eco-mode function for lower power consumption.

The VX2336s-LED is backed by a three-year warranty and costs £159 / $299.99.

Alienware M18x R2 Reportedly Will Have Super GPU

noreply@blogger.com (frostbite) — Sun, 1 Apr 2012 23:47:00 -0700

Latest Gaming Laptop Alienware M18x R2 of their flagship rumored to be using the new graphics cards from two leading vendors AMD and NVIDIA.Team Santa Clara team (NVIDIA) is expected to supply the two-card for M18x R2 - the GeForce GTX 660M and GTX 675M (SLI support is expected).while from Sunnyvale squad (AMD) Radeon HD 7970M will provide course with CrossFireX support.

In addition from the GPU is expected also that the laptop Alienware M18x R2 (18.4-inch) already using Latest CPU from Intel Intel Ivy Bridge CPU,red and black colors, optional Wireless HD card, and various other features which has always been a mainstay of Dell. For more info look forward to the next news.

Assassin’s Creed III is Also Coming to the Wii U

noreply@blogger.com (frostbite) — Sun, 1 Apr 2012 23:04:00 -0700

Adventure Assassin in the virtual world with the setting of the past when George Washington was alive was able to penetrate the dimensions PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC, and has now been confirmed to arrive on the Wii U.

The game’s also in development for the Wii U. That and an announcement trailer are all Ubisoft had up its sleeve when it officially announced details for Assassins Creed III earlier today. With details of the console’s launch coming soon–if not at GDC, then certainly at E3. Probably E3–it’s no surprise the series latest installment will appear on Nintendo’s new console. But will it take advantage of the tablet controller? And how? That we’ll have to wait and see.