iPhone 5 pre-orders hit 2m

The Guardian

Apple unveiled the iPhone 5 at the beginning of September and will start
shipping the phone by the end of the month. Photograph: John G. Mabanglo/EPA

Apple says first-day orders were double the 1m taken for the iPhone 4S, but some consumers will have to wait until October to receive their handsets


More than 2m iPhone 5s were ordered in the first 24 hours the handset was on sale, Apple has said, although some customers will have to wait until October to get their hands on the phone.

The latest version of the US technology giant's handset, which is slimmer and larger than previous iPhones, is released on 21 September, and Apple has been taking pre-orders direct and via mobile phone operators around the world. It said first-day orders were more than double the 1m taken for the iPhone 4S and exceeded its initial supply of handsets.

"While the majority of pre-orders will be delivered to customers on 21 September, many are scheduled to be delivered in October," Apple said in a statement. Its website is advising that orders will be shipped in two to three weeks.

The handset retails at £529 for the 16GB version, £599 for the 32GB model and £699 for the 64GB version for those who want an unlocked handset. Mobile phone operators are offering 16GB handsets for free on tariffs starting at £46 a month.

In the US, prices start at $199 for a 16GB handset on a two-year contract. Purchases in the UK and US are limited to two handsets per customer.

Keen customers have already started queuing outside Apple stores in a bid to get their hands on the phone. Apple said handsets would be available at 356 stores in the US from 8am local time on 21 September.

A roll out to 22 other countries will begin a week later on 28 September.


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UK games jam breaks world record

BBC News

Games jam participants received their certificate from the Guinness Book of Records at the end of the event

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A games jam held at Bedfordshire University in Luton at the weekend has broken the world record for the largest number of people taking part.

A games jam is a gathering of video game developers. Participants are put into teams and challenged to build games within a time frame.

A total of 329 students attended the 48 hour games jam, organised by Microsoft and online learning service Train2Game.

The games had to be built for Windows platforms.

"The UK now holds the world record for the largest games jam - it's an excellent achievement for the games industry," said Richard Wilson, chief executive officer of Tiga, the trade association which represents the gaming industry.

"To be able to develop a game in 48 hours is incredible in its own right - a console-quality game takes millions of pounds and months to develop."

London pride theme

Most of the participants were students on the gaming courses run by Train2Game, which is validated by Tiga.

The games had to have a "pride of London" theme and were built with Windows 8 software.

The students worked in teams and developed a total of 41 games in the 72-hour time frame.

"Nobody actually went to bed," said Train2Game course leader Myra Smallman.

"You have to be very enthusiastic about gaming - being a gamer is being in a certain world."

The game judged the best by a panel of industry experts will now be developed further with a view to being made available on the Windows store.

The winning game, Royal Rush, involved getting a character version of the Queen around various monuments around London.

The average age of the participants was about 25, said one student.

Windows platform

While Richard Wilson described Windows 8 as "an exciting platform" for games, others in the industry have been more cautious about it.

Speaking at the Casual Connect game conference in Seattle in July, Valve Software chief executive officer Gabe Newell described it as "a catastrophe" for the PC industry.

Valve Software produces the Half-Life, Left4Dead and Portal games series.

Mr Newell expressed concern that Microsoft's control of the Windows Store would mean far less choice and freedom for gamers.

"We have to continue to figure out how there will be open platforms," he said at the conference.

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Andy Murray 'overwhelmed' by turnout for Dunblane homecoming parade

The Guardian

Andy Murray may have steeled himself for the intensity of Wimbledon's centre court and a major tennis final, but a walk through the streets of his hometown in central Scotland left him a little stunned.

The US Open champion and Olympic gold medallist arrived in Dunblane, near Stirling, under slate-grey clouds, to be feted by an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 fans, former school-friends and neighbours who had gathered from mid-morning for his homecoming parade. It seemed as if the town's 8,800 population had doubled: fans had come by car, coach and train from across Scotland, to line the narrow, sloping streets up to ten deep.

"The number of people that were there was really overwhelming," Murray said, after more than four and a half hours signing autographs, posing for photographs and exchanging rallies with young players at his former tennis club. "I kind of lost track halfway round; it was all a bit of a blur," Murray said. "I was really nervous beforehand. I have never done anything like that before.

"The last two months have just been unbelievable: the best couple of months of my life. I can't believe it's happened: the Olympics and US Open coming so soon."

Britain's first male major tennis title winner since Fred Perry in 1936, Murray said it was a bit strange coming back to the club – he left the town 10 years ago, aged 15, to pursue professional tennis training in Spain. It was at Dunblane tennis club that he first picked up a racket, aged four. When he and his brother, Jamie, played there, often in "rubbish conditions", the courts were empty; there are now 255 youth members. Scores of children queued in the drizzle to enjoy a brief rally with their idol.

On the street, the crowds endured the gentle drizzle which turned into a drenching downpour, snapping open umbrellas and draping themselves in saltires and union flags, standing for four hours or more for Murray's slow walk through town.

Murray puts that loyalty down to Dunblane's strong small-town bonds: "Everyone has just been saying that they're very proud [of me], and I have always had unbelievable support here. Even when I have had tough losses and bad moments in my career, I have always had great support from the people of Dunblane," he said.

Nancy Lemmon, 74, and Molly McGregor, 80, had come from nearby Stirling and Bannockburn. "We're his groupies", they laughed, with a Scotland the Brave flag draped over a crash barrier. They were ecstatic after his US Open and Olympics victories: "He just blew them away," said Lemmon.

Neil Yarwood, 42, an insurance broker, had travelled from Perth with his family: "Andy is the total pride of Scotland. We've followed him ever since he won the US Open championship first time around as a boy. If he had never won a grand slam, he would still be a hero in our eyes: he's an idol."

Murray seemed to sign anything presented to him: saltires, lions rampant and union flags, Team GB Olympic banners, notebooks, a young boy's shirt sleeve, and even the protective cloth sleeve of one woman's Olympics torch. He held wellwishers' camera phones aloft as they pressed themselves against him for a photo, accepting hugs with a shy good humour.

The schedule was soon abandoned, as Murray's walkabout through Dunblane lengthened from the 75 minutes planned into a slow four-and-a-half-hour communion with the people – almost as long as his US Open final against Novak Djokovic.


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Google breaks down summer Maps searches, Brits love squash

Google breaks down summer Maps searches, Brits love squash

CNET UK

Summer is coming to a close (it officially ends the day the iPhone 5 goes on sale, coincidentally). And to mark the start of autumn, Google has broken down what we searched for on Google Maps over the summer months.

So what did we get up to here in the UK? Playing squash and going to the park, if the data are correct. Nice to see we're not living up to the stereotype then.

'Squash' and 'park' are the UK's top two rising queries on Google Maps. (Squash? Is it the 1980s?). 'Pubs, bars and inns' is next, followed by 'camping sites'. 'Cafe', 'gym', and 'hostel' follow, then 'school' comes in at number eight, which I guess would be down to parents checking out the local comprehensives. 'Golf courses' and 'hotels' round off the list.

There's also a ranking for popular landmarks. Interestingly, the Olympic Stadium comes tenth on the list, behind such stalwarts as Hampton Court Palace and the British Museum. I would've thought it'd be higher, but there you are.

Americans, blessed with better weather these past few months, searched for nearby beaches, while our French, Italian and Spanish cousins sought out community swimming pools. Camping dominated quite a few countries' searches, so maybe the recession means we're all looking for back-to-basics ways of enjoying ourselves.

Google analysed results between the end of May and beginning of September. It's an interesting breakdown of what we did this summer, country by country. No doubt the UK's results were influenced quite heavily by that month-long rain deluge we suffered in July.

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British designer, Laptop inventor Bill Moggridge dies, aged 69

CNET UK

The British designer credited with inventing the laptop has died age 69, following a battle with cancer.

Bill Moggridge designed the Grid Compass (shown below), one of the first gadgets to combine a keyboard with a flip-down screen. The chunky machine was crafted by Moggridge in 1979 and went on sale in April 1982.

With a 320x240 pixel display and 340kb memory, the Compass may not look like much compared to the ultrabooks and tablets of today. It was pioneering tech, however -- a fact that was cemented in gadget history when NASA opted to use the computer in the Space Shuttle during the 80s.

The Compass lacked modern conveniences like a built-in hard drive, but extra tech could be bolted onto the 5kg computer via an I/O port.

Moggridge, who in his early years studied design at St Martin's College of Art and Design in London, designed the breakthrough portable computer for US firm Grid systems.

Moggridge made a big impact on tech, as he championed interaction design, a school of thought which focuses on how humans interact with and use technology.

In 2010 Moggridge was awarded the Prince Philip Designers Prize, and toward the end of his life was Director of the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum in New York.

While some types of gadget prove nothing more than fads, the folding laptop has survived for decades as the standard design for portable computers. Only as recently as the last few weeks have we been given reason to think that the laptop's iconic design is on the way out, having been offered a glimpse at the first touchscreen tablets running Windows 8.

Even those gadgets seem to be flaunting optional keyboard docks however, so it seems the folding PC style isn't finished yet.


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LG event tagged for Sept. 19

Tech Radar
By Michelle Fitzsimmons

Could we be edging closer to the LG Optimus G's reveal?

A press invite sent out Thursday seems to suggest as much.

The invite touts a Sept. 19 event in New York co-hosted by LG and Qualcomm, the processor manufacturer that's reportedly fueling the G with a quad-core Snapdragon Pro CPU.

The Optimus G is optimal indeed with a Qualcomm quad-core Snapdragon processor, making it the first 4G smartphone to sport such power.

Oh, baby

As for what else is inside, the G's got 2GB of RAM, 32GB internal storage and a NFC.

It eclipses the iPhone 5's 4-inch front with a 4.7-inch True HD IPS+ display. Throw in a 13MP rear camera (another 1.3MP faces the front) LTE and that 1.5GHz quad chip, and this phone promises to be a monster among men.

A video surfaced Wednesday boasting the Optimus G's camera as the best the world has ever seen, though some regions will only get an 8MP version.

Though it packs Android 4.0: Ice Cream Sandwich, we think an Android 4.1: Jelly Bean upgrade can't be too far off.

Invitees to Sept. 19's event are encouraged to "Live without boundaries," an exciting suggestion that bodes well for a gripping debut.

The event falls on the same day as HTC's event, of which we have far less details except a promise to reveal "what's next."

Hold onto your seats, TechRadar readers, Wednesday's going to be a whopper.

Via CNET


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My Take:

Will LG announce the anticipated Optimus G smartphone or will they also  include an upgrade for their LG Cinema 3D Smart TVs?

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EE: iPhone 5 4G customers will have to sign up with Orange or T-Mobile first

Pocket-lint

Would-be iPhone 5 EE 4G customers who want the iPhone 5 on day one will have to buy the new iPhone through Orange or T-Mobile first, EE, the parent company of all three brands, has told Pocket-lint.

Because the EE brand,offering the UK's first 4G network won't be live at the time of the iPhone 5 release, customers looking to buy the new iPhone 5 will have to first buy the phone with an Orange or T-Mobile contract before transferring it across to the new EE 4G network a in the coming weeks, EE says.

It means that the first wave of customers won't be able to enjoy 4G speeds on 21 September or perhaps even during he first couple of weeks.

"We will be making it very easy for customers to transfer across,"  a spokesperson reassured us when we expressed our concern over the confusion such a move will make for consumers.

Asked what deals would be available on the new network and whether you would be able to carry across your new iPhone 5 deal, EE said details would be announced closer to the launch. That suggests customers will be expected to pay a premium for the new 4G speeds, but EE could try to price it in similarly to the Orange and T-Mobile price plans to fend off competition from Vodafone and O2.

O2 has already announced it will be offering the iPhone 5 from £26 a month if customers sign up for a 24-month contract.

EE is the only network in the UK to be able to offer 4G surfing speeds.


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Nintendo details Wii U games console's December release

Nintendo details Wii U games console's December release

BBC NEWS

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Nintendo has revealed it will launch two versions of its Wii U console in Japan on 8 December.

                                            The Wii U can be controlled by a new touchscreen                                                                           game pad that can also run games on its own

The basic edition will cost 26,250 yen ($337; £210) and a premium version 31,500 yen ($405; £251).

Details of the international release will be discussed in New York later.

Nintendo's stock has fallen 29% since March on fears users may opt instead for updates to the Xbox and PlayStation consoles, expected to be announced in 2013.

The difference between the two versions of the Wii U is that the basic model features 8GB of storage, while the premium version has 32GB and additional stands for the games machine and its touchscreen controller.

Consumers wishing to buy an additional GamePad controller will have to pay 13,000 yen ($167; £104).

The device features a touchscreen offering players to ability to carry out in-game tasks, such as checking their inventory or setting an explosive, while the main action continues on their television. Gamers can also continue to play a title using the device when they do not have access to their main screen.

Nintendo has claimed it would help "revolutionise" gaming.

However, the gadget has been criticised for lacking multitouch - the ability to recognise different fingers on a hand.

It also faces a challenge from both Sony and Microsoft who have introduced similar facilities for their existing consoles: the PlayStation 3 can be controlled by the firm's Vita handheld, while the Xbox 360 can be connected to existing tablet computers via software called SmartGlass.

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iPhone 5 release date and all the details

Pocket-lint

Everything you need to know


The iPhone 5 has landed. Apple has chucked it all out the window, re-invented the wheel and still come home in time to watch Blue Peter. Or maybe not - it all depends if you are an Apple fan or not.

Either way, there is a new iPhone in town and you want to know about it. Thankfully so do we. So much so in fact that we have nearly worn out our keyboards bashing out this in-depth round up of iPhone 5 goodness. Read on to discover everything you need to know about the new iPhone 5 and crucially, the iPhone 5 release date.

Size: 7.6mm thin

Apple has changed things up with the new iPhone 5. Working in pairs, the iPhone 4 was a big departure from the 3GS, the 4S a spec update and the 5, another big change from the 4. Apple has recognised the need to offer a bigger screen with the new iPhone, but hasn’t sacrificed much in terms of weight or design. The iPhone 5 measures just 7.6mm thin.

Constructed from glass and aluminium, the iPhone 5 is put together with Apple’s usual top-quality materials and built like one single, seamless object. This means no removable battery.

Weight: 112 grams

Things have somehow become bigger but even lighter, with the iPhone 5 weighing 112 grams, 20 per cent less than the iPhone 4S.

Display size: 4-inch

As we've already noted, Apple has gone bigger in the screen size, as well as changing the display format. Things are now 16:9 and apps play out on a larger 4-inch screen. This should put to rest any reservations potential iPhone purchasers had about Apple’s lack of screen compared to competitors.

The 16:9 screen means some apps can run in widescreen but with a set of black borders on either side. Once developers update them, the apps will naturally lose the borders. Expect this to happen just as quickly as Retina display apps arrived for the new iPad.

Display resolution: 1136 x 640, 326 ppi 

Apple has punched the screen res even higher for the iPhone 5. In order to retain those Retina display credentials, the larger screen offers a 1136 x 640 display resolution with the new iPhone 5. The result: likely one of the sharpest screens currently available on a smartphone.

This bigger screen has been optimised to show more. Apple now has a fifth column of apps and four icons at the bottom, as well as larger and wider apps themselves.

Display quality: IPS, 44 per cent more colour saturation. 

Apple loves IPS and so do we. Everything from the new iPad to the Retina MacBook Pro has an industry leading display. IPS has been working wonders for the likes of Asus and Amazon with its Kindle Fire HD, and there are no exceptions here.

Apple has also further improved colour saturation with the iPhone 5. Now you get 44 per cent brighter colours from the screen, bringing the display in line with that of the new iPad. There's also reduced glare in direct sunlight.

Network connectivity: LTE

Wait, what’s this? 4G I hear you say. Yup that’s right, Apple has entered into the 4G mobile game with the new iPhone 5. Network selection will vary by country, but it looks like those who want it will finally have access to high-speed mobile internet on an Apple phone. Apple has included a LTE to bring just about every possible form of 4G to the iPhone 5. In the UK, you'll be able to get 4G LTE on the iPhone 5 with EE.

Processor: A6 chip, 2X faster than iPhone 4S

Not content with the already potent powerhouse in the new iPad, Apple has planted a new A6 chip into the iPhone 5. This should bring yet more impressive apps as well as an even more responsive iOS. Expect this to make the new iPhone the fastest handset Apple has yet produced.

So fast in fact that Apple is touting a 2X speed increase over the iPhone 4S with graphics also being twice as quick. Pages, for example, opens 2.1 time times faster than on the previous iPhone. Games such as Real Racing have proper reflections and real time mirrors.

The processor is also 22 per cent more efficient, meaning it shouldn't have any major impact on the battery life of the new iPhone 5.

iOS 6

We already know quite a bit about iOS 6 but we are yet to get our hands-on to play with it. That's about to change, as the new iPhone 5 is announced. Shipping with iOS 6 brings with it a tonne of new iPhone features. Take a look at the lot of them here.

Rear camera: iSight, 8 megapixel

The iPhone 4S made quite a storm with its camera at launch. Apple wasn’t about to let this change with the new iPhone 5. Slapped on the back is an 8-megapixel sensor loaded with iSight tech.

The result is the best shooting experience yet on an Apple device and one which should be able to compete with the likes of the Nokia Lumia 920. Just see what happened when we pitched the iPhone 4S against the Nokia Lumia 920.

Boasting a 3264 x 2448 resolution, f/2.4 lens with hybrid IR filter, dynamic low light and sapphire crystal cover, this is the best camera Apple has put together by far. iOS 6 also brings new image processing tech that should improve the ability of the iPhone 5 to process shots in low light.

On top of that there are things such as a new Panorama mode capable of a 28 megapixel image and shared Photo Streams in iOS 6: Apple really has packed the new iPhone full of camera tech.

Front camera: 720p capable

iOS 6 adds the ability to make FaceTime calls over 3G. As such Apple has pumped up the front-facing camera resolution on the iPhone 5, with hopes that more people will start using the video calling service. Let's hope all the resolution makes things look just that little bit better.

A BSI sensor with face detection like that on the rear-mounted camera puts the front-facer not that far off the rear. There is also improved video stabilisation, making those all-important high-res video calls over 4G just that little bit sweeter.

Video capture: 1080p/30fps

It wouldn’t be right if the new iPhone didn’t feature at least some sort of 1080p video capability. No surprises then that you get that same HD resolution recording as found in the iPhone 4S.

Connectivity: LTE, Ultrafast Wi-Fi, 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi, dual channel up to 150Mbps

Yup that's right, the new iPhone is LTE capable. This means ultra-fast mobile broadband and access in all likelihood, to EE's 4G network.

A clever dynamic antenna for auto switching connections should help save on power. Wi-Fi also takes a speed jump, running all the way up to 150Mbps should you have a connection that fast.

Storage: Up to 64GB

Apple’s usual trio of storage options is on offer here, with a gradually increasing price scale to match. No microSD though, but then are you really surprised?

Battery: Beats the iPhone 4S

LTE and that more powerful processor demands a bigger battery. Apple has kept quiet on the actual size of the unit, but has given some time estimates to the battery. Eight hours on 3G and 225 hours of standby put the iPhone 5 ahead of the 4S, despite the LTE and extra processor power.

Three microphones, Wideband Audio

Apple has included a trio of microphones on the iPhone 5, as well as a clever noise-cancelling ear piece with wide band audio. The result should be the best-sounding calls yet on your iPhone. This does require carrier support however and only 20 so far are involved. EE is one of them.

Lightning: 8 signal dock connector

Apple has redesigned its dock connector for the iPhone 5 to bring it up to date with the rest of the phone's technology. Called Lightning, to go along with Thunderbolt, it is 80 per cent smaller, more durable and has a reversible connection.

Apple has naturally announced an adapter for the 30-pin connector to use it with the 8 pin, so accessories shouldn't be defunct.

iPhone 5 release date: 14 September pre-order, 21 September shipping

Rumours were true then. The phone is going up for pre-order in both slate and white on 14 September and should turn up at houses on the 21. Expect things to sell out quick. Very quick.

iPhone 5 price: from £529


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Guide to UK 4G LTE network from EE: Phones, coverage and more

 IT Pro Portal

EE, as the telecoms operator is now known, clearly set out to impress the sizeable audience at its 4G launch and rebranding event at the Science Museum in West London yesterday.

Having walked bleary-eyed journalists through the vast sculpted tributes to the country’s technological milestones, EE was seemingly telling us that its own 4G network rollout was just as significant as any of the scientific and engineering breakthroughs featured around the cavernous venue.

Indeed, EE’s CEO Olaf Swantee said in his speech that 4G will become “as important to the country as roads and railways”; before the company played a succession of striking visual promotions and even shoved out Boris Johnson to talk of the imminent advantages for 4G’s first beneficiary, London.

But beneath the fanfare and PR, what does all this 4G business really mean for Joe Public?


What was announced
The new high-speed networks have now been switched on for testing in London, Birmingham, Bristol and Cardiff. A further twelve cities, highlighted in EE's presentation slide below, will be covered by 4G before Christmas.

In terms of EE itself, the company has streamlined its name from Everything Everywhere, and launched a new brand to sit alongside its original subsidiaries – which will also be called EE, just to be confusing. This means EE, T-Mobile and Orange will all supply data plans under the overall umbrella company of EE. However, only the new EE brand will sell 4G contracts. Muddying the waters a little, current Orange and T-Mobile users may now see an EE icon at the top of their screens, even though they are still receiving only a 3G connection.

The operator repeatedly assured us yesterday that transferring to the new 4G network will be made “easy” for Orange and T-Mobile customers, but price plans won’t be announced for a “couple of weeks” yet. Expect these packages to be a little more expensive. A spokesperson told us that EE recognises “consumers are prepared to pay a premium for speed.” As for Vodafone, O2 and other customers, remaining bands of the UK’s 4G spectrum will be auctioned off to these operators towards the end of the year, meaning non-EE 4G networks won’t be available until mid-2013.

Getting 4G

But regardless of what operator you are currently with, if you want mobile 4G you’ll need a 4G LTE enabled handset; no 3G phones will be able to upgrade to the new network. EE has provided a list of the first phones that will be compatible with its spectrum, which includes new releases like the Nokia Lumia 920 and 820, as well as refreshed 4G versions of phones already on the market, like the Samsung Galaxy S3 and HTC One XL. We are promised lots more handsets to be launched on EE's network “in the coming weeks and months."

A 4G SIM and price plan are also required, and the user will need to be in an area covered by the new spectrum. The first cities getting 4G are listed in the image above, while EE says 70 per cent of the country will be covered by the end of next year, and 98 per cent by the end of 2014. So 4G coverage should be available to almost everyone in two years’ time, though, as usual, our countryside dwellers will have to wait a little longer than the rest for the latest broadband connectivity.

What’s so good about 4G?

But why invest the time and money into this new technology? At the crux are the data speeds that are around five times as fast as 3G. Experiments at the event yesterday testified to these claims, with 4G devices on EE pulling in over 25Mbps (megabits per second) compared to just 5Mbps on 3G handsets. With mobile users going online from their devices more than ever, the higher speeds will be apparent and useful. App downloads, video streaming, social networking, game playing and general browsing should be lightning-fast compared to what we’ve become used to.

Citing incidents when the higher 4G speeds are most striking, EE’s Chief Marketing Officer for Consumer, Pippa Dunn, said you can skip to any point of a streaming video without a moment of buffering, and upload large files in a fraction of the usual time. Dunn claims to have downloaded an HD film in six minutes using 4G when it would usually have taken half an hour, and also adds that real-time mobile gaming is now a real possibility.

10 times faster broadband at home

The EE onslaught isn’t all about mobile either. Signing up to the company’s new fixed-line fibre broadband packages will bring connectivity ten times faster than the UK average broadband speed, the company claims. EE's fibre broadband will initially be available to over 11 million homes, which equates to around half of the UK population. As with mobile, price plans have not yet been revealed, but consumers are advised to keep checking EE’s swanky new site for all the information they may need. And rest assured, ITProPortal will be keeping tabs on all things 4G and fibre broadband over the coming weeks, as the revamped EE begins its quest for UK network hegemony.

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Samsung UE40ES6800 review

IT Pro Portal

Samsung’s TVs look great in the TV adverts with their flashy designs and cutting-edge tech. But they’re usually showing you the expensive range-topping models, which are beyond the budgets of most buyers.

But at just over a grand, the UE40ES6800 brings Samsung’s edge LED expertise to a more affordable price bracket than the flagship UE40ES8000 (£1,499) and the £1,299 UE40ES7000.

It’s from Samsung’s midrange 6 series, also home to a couple of cheaper 40in sets (the £879 UE40ES6300 and £979 UE40ES6710) plus the step up UE40ES6900.

This model comes complete with all the Smart TV trappings of its flagship sets – delivered via built-in Wi-Fi – with dual-core processing, LED Micro Dimming and 400 Clear Motion Rate for smooth onscreen movement.

Design and connections

Although the UE40ES6800’s design is slightly less luxurious than the 7 and 8 series sets, that doesn’t mean it’s been hit with the ugly stick. The look is glamorous thanks to the shiny silver frame surrounding the black bezel (which is thicker than on the step-up sets) and a lip at the bottom sporting the Samsung logo.

The silver table stand is the four-pronged ‘Quad’ version as opposed to the curvy stand used by the UE40ES8000, but it has more panache in one prong than some 40in sets have in their entire bodywork. On the whole the ES6800 is a remarkably slim and beautifully built set.

On the back is a decent selection of sockets, although you only get three HDMI inputs when some similarly-priced rivals offer four at this price. They support 3D and one of them also offers Audio Return Channel functionality.

There are three USB ports, which let you connect a few flash memory devices or external hard-disk drives – useful for media playback or recording from the built-in Freeview tuner using the set’s PVR function.

Elsewhere there are AV inputs (component, composite and analogue stereo), Scart input (using an adapter cable), Ethernet and optical digital audio output for sending sound to an external system. Additionally you get headphones output, RF in/loop, PC in (via HDMI) and a common interface slot.

Surprisingly the set also provides a Freesat HD tuner, and for that reason you’ll find an LNB socket on the back. All of the jacks either face downwards or sideways, making life easier when wall mounting.

Features

Samsung has stripped away many of the futuristic features of the series 7 and 8 sets, such as motion control, face recognition and voice control, plus the on-board motion processing is 400 Clear Motion Rate as opposed to the ES8000’s 800 mode.

But despite that, the spec is still amazing for the money. There’s a glut of connected technology, including Samsung’s Smart Hub web portal and AllShare DLNA media sharing – all courtesy of the built-in Wi-Fi connection (or via Ethernet if you prefer).

Smart Hub’s line-up of apps is getting better all the time – even more so given that it’s the only smart TV portal that offers ITV Player.

And, aware that video content is what most people want from a smart TV service, Samsung throws in a healthy range of other video apps, including BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport, Netflix, LoveFilm, YouTube, PictureBox, Dailymotion, Vimeo and more.

You can also install games, puzzles, sports, lifestyle and educational apps – the vast selection is still among the most generous on the market – although most of these aren’t worth bothering with. Social networking is covered by Facebook, Twitter and Skype. New content can be downloaded from the Samsung Apps store.

In addition, you can access specific zones – Fitness and Kids – as well as Family Story, a way of sharing photos with a network of other Samsung owners. Fitness offers workout videos and tools for monitoring your progress, while Kids includes an assortment of cartoons and educational aids. There’s also a web browser and Your Video feature that provides details about Smart Hub’s movie content.

The UE40ES6800 is fully 3D compatible, and as a bonus you get two pairs of active shutter specs free. The set will convert 2D material to 3D, which means you’re not only restricted to watching 3D Blu-ray discs. You can also download Samsung’s ‘Explore 3D’ app within Smart Hub and enjoy a range of extra content.

AllShare DLNA functionality lets you stream music, video and photos from servers on your home network (PCs, NAS drives). I tried it out and the Samsung supports a decent range of video formats including DivX HD, AVI and WMV HD, although it wouldn’t play my AVCHD or 1080p MKV files, plus the network connection dropped out after trying to play them. Not good. On the music side, the set will play MP3, FLAC, WMA, and AAC but not WAV.

Playback from USB devices is a lot less problematic – both MKV and AVCHD played smoothly.

Go beyond the standard picture adjustments (backlight, contrast, brightness, sharpness, colour and tint) and you’ll find a range of advanced settings, including Black Tone, Flesh Tone, Colour Space, White Balance, and Gamma. A separate menu handles all the processing modes, such as LED Motion Plus, noise filters and colour tone, while another menu handles all the 3D settings. It’s a comprehensive suite of image tools that let you get the best out of this set’s LED panel.

Operation

Like most of Samsung’s 2012 products, a lot of love has gone into the onscreen menu system. The main Smart Hub menu (accessed by pressing the colourful logo in the middle of the remote) is pure eye candy, using crisp HD graphics with vibrant colours. When you enter zones like Fitness, the backgrounds are designed with pastel-drenched panache.

Despite its sophistication, the layout is beautifully simple and uncluttered, placing key apps along the top next to a small live TV screen, with other services like Family Story and Fitness running across the middle. The main functions, such as AllShare Play, the EPG, web browser and TV channels, are found at the bottom, each denoted by a cute icon. It’s fabulous.

The setup menu is drab by comparison, but we like the way it explains every option when you highlight it. A useful Tools menu provides contextual options for whatever you’re watching, while a Freeview info banner gives a detailed synopsis about every programme up to a week in advance – some banners limit you to now and next info.

The full EPG is designed with similar flair. It squeezes a live TV screen, synopsis and six-channel programme grid into a single screen without feeling cramped. It’s quick to respond, and puts some useful shortcuts along the bottom.

The web browser loads pages at super fast speed, but on the downside it’s really awkward to use with the remote. The arrow cursor is slow to move around the screen despite the dual-core processor at play, while the alternative link browsing method is long-winded. I gave up after five minutes in pure frustration.

But that’s not the fault of the remote. It’s a terrific zapper, blessed with a logical layout and surprisingly good build quality. The buttons are flush with the surface, and press down with a solid click. Almost all the major features have their own button, and everything is clearly labelled. The silver detailing and Smart Hub logo in the middle are pure class.

Should you, for some reason, not like this remote, then you can download Samsung’s remote app for smart phones and tablets.

Performance

The UE40ES6800’s picture performance is very impressive but doesn’t quite reach the world-beating standards of some rivals in its price class (like Sony’s 753 series) or step-up Samsung sets.

Don’t rely on the set’s Dynamic or Standards presets though – their excessively high contrast levels look garish and emphasise noise. Go into the picture menu, tweak the levels and the Samsung begins to deliver pictures you can really believe in.

With 2D Blu-ray discs and Freeview HD channels, the image is naturally vivid and punchy, which makes brightly-lit scenes look engaging.

Colours are also decent, reproducing strong tones with pleasing richness but avoiding garishness. That said, it lacks the tonal sensitivity of the best LED sets, making skin tones seem a little waxy.

Contrast wise, the Micro Dimming technology proves adept at making dark bits look fairly solid while simultaneously making light areas within the same scene look crisp.

We’re not talking about the blackest of blacks though – some tell-tale grey mist is visible during dark scenes, subtly reducing the density of the black areas and interfering with the clarity of shadow detail.

Motion handling is good with the ‘Clear’ mode selected within the Motion Plus menu, which eliminates judder and blur without making everything look unnatural or introducing excessive artefacts.

I tried out tricky test patterns from a professional calibration disc showing fast-moving trains and camera pans, and the Samsung copes brilliantly. That pays dividends when watching sport. Wheelchair basketball at the Paralympics on Channel 4 HD is displayed with impressive fluidity, keeping detail nice and crisp as the players glide around the court.

Despite suffering the same contrast and colour drawbacks as above, 3D images are still dazzling and absorbing. Layering is clear, detail is razor sharp and the overall image looks punchy through dimmed active specs. What little crosstalk there is doesn’t ruin your enjoyment either.

SD images from the Freeview tuner suffer from the same haziness and shimmering seen on most LED sets, a result of Freeview’s inherent noise being accentuated by the set’s picture processing. But it’s perfectly watchable, with strong colours and smooth movement.

Sound

I’m actually fairly impressed by the UE40ES6800’s sound quality. Many LED sets are too treble-heavy but that’s not the case here – the sound has a nice balance to it, with palpable bass backing up the authoritative midrange and crisp treble.

That means speech is consistently intelligible and music has reasonable depth. Movie action scenes are conveyed with an expansive, dynamic flavour, which is useful if you can’t be bothered to switch on the home cinema system.

Verdict

Although the UE40ES6800 lacks the aesthetic razzle dazzle of Samsung’s pricier sets, and the picture prowess of Sony’s latest LED efforts, it makes up it with a superb range of smart features, good multimedia support and a wonderful operating system.

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My Take:

This particular attractive Samsung TV set starts another fight with the new Sony Bravia TVs and LG Cinema 3D Smart TVs, but is the beauty more than skin deep? Leave your comments below.

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LG Optimus 4X HD review

IT Pro Portal

Every handset manufacturer has its top-of-the-range model, and that model tends to have everything but the kitchen sink thrown at it including a pumped up screen size and resolution, and usually some serious thought put into chassis design too. So it is no surprise that, as a flagship handset, the Optimus 4X HD is a phone brimming with great features. Large? Yes. A little unwieldy perhaps? Yes. But undoubtedly powerful, albeit with a few annoyances.

The chassis design is definitely distinctive. The bruisers out there might not like the white with sliver trim approach, which they might see as a little bit Primark. But there’s no doubt that the double rim of silver round all the edges with its inner strip of patterned white plastic on the long edges is a look that’s different.

The faux leather finish to the back is reminiscent of LG’s Prada range of phones, and I don’t much like it, but it is more grippy than a flat finish and that matters with a handset of this size. At 132.4 x 68.1mm, I found it a bit big for my relatively small hands to grasp and it isn’t a lightweight either at 133g. The LG Optimus 4X HD is thin though – just 8.9mm thin. The coveted Samsung Galaxy S III is only slightly thinner at 8.6mm. That thinness means there’s a lip around the top-mounted headset slot, which is a small but neat little design feature.

So, I’ve mentioned the size of the LG Optimus 4X HD. It has a 4.7in IPS LCD screen and while that is bettered by the Samsung Galaxy S3’s 4.8in, it matches the HTC One X’s dimensions and equals them both for resolution with 1,280 x 720 pixels on offer.

The screen has great viewing angles and good colour reproduction, and watching video in particular was a pleasure. On a screen this size it is easy to expect tablet-like service from applications, and so websites that default to mobile versions are a real pain. The screen does really attract fingerprints though, a little more so than the average in my view.

I said earlier that LG has thrown everything but the kitchen sink at the Optimus 4X HD. So what does that mean? Well Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) of course, plus Nvidia’s Tegra 3 SoC, with it’s quad-core CPU running at 1.5GHz and a battery power saving fifth core on hand. These are supported by Nvidia’s 12-core graphics GPU and 1GB of RAM. It is stunningly fast and data renders in a jiffy, though I did meet the occasional stumble. The camera was a little slow to focus, for example. And the handset ran slightly warm when the processor was being pushed too. Not enough to worry me, but enough to be noticeable.

There is a generous 16GB of storage, but LG has installed quite a lot of stuff onto the device and out-of-the-box my review handset reported 11.8GB free. That’s still a fair amount, of course, and you can boost it with microSD cards. The slot is easily accessible under the backplate.

NFC has been built in. There’s no HDMI slot but the LG Optimus 4X HD supports MHL – that’s Mobile High Definition Link – through the USB connector. You don’t get a cable, but they’re easy enough to obtain.

LG has included an above par battery. With 2,150mAh on offer it ought to deliver quite well. In fact, though, I had the usual problem of having to charge in the late afternoon or early evening to be sure of enough power to get me through to the next morning. And if I went into manic gaming mode I was seeking mains power after a couple of hours of gameplay.

There is a front-facing camera and an 8-megapixel camera on the back, which produced some good results. There’s no dedicated camera button but the volume rocker doubles as a shutter button and even caters for continuous shooting when held down. I bet other hardware makers will steal this neat trick. I did find that autofocusing took a while to kick in, which is irritating. As for video, it can be captured at 1080p.

LG has of course skinned Android and added some of its own widgets, but the skinning is fairly light touch. I like the ability to fiddle with the unlock system to choose pattern, pin, swipe, password, or using the front camera for face unlock, or even having no lock screen at all. It is nice to be able to select the clock type and unlock app shortcuts for the lock screen too.

The skinning isn’t all software related. The Google Recent Apps touch button has been replaced with the more traditional menu button, while you get access to recent apps with a long press of the Home button. I’m happy with that.

The music player is not much to write home about but I do appreciate that LG has bundled a set of round in-ear buds. They’re not the best quality in the world, but they are reasonably good at blocking out other sounds, and the Dolby Mobile technology is joined by a number of other effects such as bass reducer, treble booster and vocal boost, which do seem to have an effect on sound quality and might prove useful.

LG adds a few apps into the Android mix, with the almost obligatory FM radio among them and a nice memo app for jotting things down. This and Polaris Office really are usable for serious stuff on a big screened handset like this.

Verdict

LG hasn’t quite managed to pull off a complete win here. Battery life disappoints if you push this handset hard, and the hardware design could have been sleeker. With Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) now here, the phone is a tad behind the times, and the camera isn’t without its issues. Still, the large screen is fantastic for email, general writing, video and web, and if you are looking at the top of the tree then this phone sits well next to the Samsung Galaxy S3 and HTC One X.

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My Take:

I have seen this one in person and I must say LG really can produce stunning display screens not only for their Optimus smartphones but also for their Cinema 3D Smart TVs.

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The British Wildlife Photography Awards 2012

The Telegraph

The winners of the 2012 British Wildlife Photography Awards have been announced. These awards recognise the talents of the UK’s best amateur and professional wildlife photographers. The awards are uniquely British, with all of the images taken of British animals in their natural habitats. Thousands of photographers across the country entered this year's competition.

All of the images from the British Wildlife Photography Awards are included in a beautiful hardback coffee table book, British Wildlife Photography Awards: Collection 3, AA Publishing, £25, out 10 September. The images will be on display in a free exhibition at the Mall Galleries in London from 17 September before embarking on a nationwide tour. For more information please visit www.bwpawards.org


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The Expendables 2

The Expendables 2

The Expendables are reunited when Mr. Church (Bruce Willis) enlists them to take on a seemingly simple job. When things go wrong, the Expendables are compelled to seek revenge in hostile territory, where the odds are stacked against them. Hell-bent on payback, the crew cuts a swath of destruction through opposing forces, wreaking havoc and shutting down an unexpected threat in the nick of time. But that's nothing compared to the justice they serve against the villainous adversary they seek revenge from.

Starring Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jason Statham, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Bruce Willis, Liam Hemsworth, Dolph Lundgren and Chuck Norris, 'The Expendables 2' is set to be the biggest action movie of the year.

‘The Expendables 2’ is released in the UK on 16th August 2012.

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Twitter and the decline of formal language

The Verge

Twitter has long had a reputation as an important tool in social revolutions around the world, but the BBC recently explored the platform's capacity for a different kind of social change. Linguists have observed a decline in the use of the formal "you" on the platform in many languages, especially French — and not just because the informal "tu" takes up two fewer characters than the formal "vous." The BBC explores the root of the trend and what it may mean for the future of language and social interactions at the source link below.

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Amazon launches new Kindle Fire tablets in UK

Amazon launches new Kindle Fire tablets in UK

BBC News

Amazon has unveiled three new Kindle Fire tablets at an event in California.

The Kindle Fire HD comes in two options: either with a 7in (17.8cm) screen or an 8.9in (22.6cm) one. That pitches the latter directly against Apple's slightly larger iPad, the bestselling tablet on the market.

A third device upgrades its original model and cuts its price.

Amazon said the first Kindle Fire had captured 22% of the US tablet market - the only country it was sold in.

The 7in Kindle Fire HD with 16 gigabytes of storage will cost £159 in the UK, and the lower-end Kindle Fire £129. Both will be available for delivery from 25 October.

By contrast the iPad 2 is sold for £329; the Google Nexus 7 and Samsung Galaxy Tab2 7 for £199; and the Kobo Arc tablet for £189.

The 8.9in Kindle Fire HD is only being released in the US at this time, where it will become available in November.

All the Kindle Fire devices will show "special offer" adverts on their screens when their displays are put into lock mode.

Amazon's share price closed 2% higher.

Only the smaller of the two Kindle Fire HD models 

is being released in the UK

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My take: The price is somewhat attractive. I am pretty sure I am not the only one who is interested in buying this new Kindle. Unfortunately, UK still have to wait for the Kindle Papaerwhite.

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Nokia forced to apologise for fake Lumia 920 camera video

CNET UK

Nokia has been forced to apologise after using a 'confusing' promotional video at its New York launch event yesterday, after it emerged that the video purporting to show off its new phone's camera was shot using a dSLR and not the new Lumia 920, as it claimed.

Nokia chiefs hailed the new Lumia as the "best smart phone to capture pictures on" at their press conference yesterday, bragging about its "floating lens" image stabilisation. This new tech was claimed to best not only their mobile rivals but also some dSLRs. The video demonstration (below), showing a girl being filmed on a bicycle, was used as an example of the steady-eyed device's capabilities.

Keen eyes over at The Verge spotted a reflection, at 0:27, showing it to be shot by a crew in a truck using a professional camera instead of a lad on a bike with the colourful new Windows Phone.

Heidi Lemmetyinen of Nokia issued a public apology: "In an effort to demonstrate the benefits of optical image stabilisation (which eliminates blurry images and improves pictures shot in low light conditions), we produced a video that simulates what we will be able to deliver with OIS.

"Of course, hindsight is 20/20, but we should have posted a disclaimer stating this was a representation of OIS only. This was not shot with a Lumia 920. At least, not yet. We apologise for the confusion we created."

It's possible the phone was unfinished at the time of shooting the promo, which would make the new Lumia's release date of 'later this year' more like 'late this year' at the earliest. But Nokia later released the following, much less glossy, video to demonstrate OIS:

Nokia has already faced criticism about the lack of similarity between the Nokia 808 PureView and its new flagship model, which also dons the PureView mantle. The Symbian-powered 808 boasts an industry topping 41-megapixel sensor, while the 920 only matches the smart phone standard of 8 megapixels.

Damian Dinning, imaging experience manager at Nokia, defended this decision in a series of tweets earlier this week. He said the PureView label is about "blending optics, pixels and image processing in new and different ways", hinting at the 920's high-end Carl Zeiss lens and image processing algorithms. "It's not about the number of pixels but what you do with them," he added. The rather defensive '#getoverit' hashtag got some fans' backs up, however.

We can't wait to properly review the new Lumia's camera and see these image stabilisation benefits for ourselves. But in the meantime let us know what you think of the phone -- and all this hoo-ha -- down in the comments or on Facebook.


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