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Archos Android tablet line revealed!
iriver M41 Revolve budget iPod nano rival unveiled: photos
BlackBerry slider 9800 with OS 6.0 incoming?
Sony Walkman W250 water resistant MP3 player arrives: photos
Modern Warfare 2 creators jump to EA, promise “state-of-the-art gaming”
Steve Jobs email: no more Apple support for iPhone 2G
Miyamoto moots Starfox for Wii
MacBook Pro update: 5 things Apple can learn from the iPad
Sony Walkman A845 OLED PMP finally arrives
iPhone 4.0 video chat clues mount in iPhone OS 4

Posted: 12 Apr 2010 09:30 AM PDT

The Archos Android tablet family the French PMP maker revealed was in the works last month have just been outlined and pictured for the first time. Now we know what the company’s iPod touch rival might look like, as well as how much it’ll cost. Read on for the details.

Archos revealed it had plans for a range of Archos Android internet tablets back at CeBIT last month, stretching from ten inches screen sizes all the way down to three. But now those models have been revealed for the first time in a slideshow presentation reportedly shown by Archos CEO Henri Crohas to Chinese partners.

Archos Android 3-inch iPod touch rival incoming!

While the image is obviously the same render shrunk down a few times, the slide still gives us plenty of gossip about the upcoming Archos Android tablet line, as well as a good idea of the curved, Sony Ericsson Vivaz lines they’ll sport. We now know that there will be no fewer than six different sized models, with performance provided by either an ARM Cortex 800MHz CPU, or a 1GHz chip capable of churning through OpenGL graphics for snazzy gaming.

Multitouch will also be onboard for pinch zooming on the new Archos Android tablets, and best of all, they’re expected to come in at a seriously low price: just $100 (£64) for the smallest, presumably 3-inch model, up to $350 (£226) for the largest.

We hope Archos is still on track for a Summer launch for its new Archos Android line up, as it originally announced, and we’ll keep you posted on any further news.

Out TBC | £TBC | Archos (Via ArchosLounge)

iriver M41 Revolve budget iPod nano rival unveiled: photos

Posted: 12 Apr 2010 09:00 AM PDT

The iriver M41 Revolve has quietly slipped on to the audio purist’s official website, complete with specs and a pricetag that doesn’t so much undercut iPod nano as undersever. If you’re not fussed about iTunes syncing or video recording, this could be for you. Read on for all the photos.

The iriver M41 Revolve has just popped up on the South Korean company’s official site without fanfare. While its low resolution 160×128 inch screen won’t wow, its slim build (it’s just 8mm thick)and iPod-esque touchpad do.

The iriver M41 Revolve weighs just 45g, and stuffs in 4GB of storage space, an FM radio and voice recorder, and it ’s expected to cost around just £42, with a battery life of around 15 hours. Of course, it being an iriver PMP, we also expect some solid sound quality inside the iriver M41 Revolve.

Read our iriver Story review now

There’s no word on a UK launch for the iriver M41 Revolve just yet, though the site does state that the FM radio supports European bands, so we’ve got our fingers crossed, and we’ve contacted iriver’s UK distributor for more information. Check the iriver M41 Revolve up close in our photo gallery in the meantime right here.

Out TBC | £TBC | iriver (Via Generation MP3)

BlackBerry slider 9800 with OS 6.0 incoming?

Posted: 12 Apr 2010 08:30 AM PDT

A BlackBerry slider 9800, with a slide out, portrait QWERTY keyboard and a revamped BlackBerry OS 6.0 could be nearing release. How do we know? Official RIM documents sitting live on its site right now say so!

We’ve seen spy snaps of a BlackBerry slider prototype recently, as well as leaked screenshots of revamped BlackBerry software, but now more evidence pointing to an imminent launch is live on RIM’s site right now.

BlackBerry addicts have stumbled across a document on RIM’s BlackBerry site, which mentions a BlackBerry 9800 with a QWERTY keyboard, and tantalisingly, a 360×480 screen resolution. That’s not hugely sharp, but certainly points to a screen that’s longer than it is wide, like a BlackBerry Storm. But with a keyboard shoved in there too.

Best free BlackBerry apps: top 10

The UAProf document, as it’s known, also lists a 6.0 version of “RIM OS”, pointing to a BlackBerry slider 9800 model running the new operating system.

Other specs in the document list the latest n-standard Wi-Fi, plus 3G, and plenty of file format support for music and video, including the popular H.264 video codec. Disappointingly though, the BlackBerry browser is listed as only being HTML 4.0.1 – in other words, not up to the swish HTML5 standards of the Android browser and Safari on the iPhone. Whether or not the BlackBerry slider 9800 will pack the new, faster WebKit browser we’ve been promised is still unclear.

There’s no word on a launch date for the BlackBerry slider 9800, but it can’t be far off now: RIM’s big annual expo, WES, takes place at the end of the month in Orlando Florida, so a betting man might want to take a punt on then.

Out TBC | £TBC | BlackBerry (Via CrackBerry)

Sony Walkman W250 water resistant MP3 player arrives: photos

Posted: 12 Apr 2010 08:00 AM PDT

The Sony Walkman W250 wearable music player has just strutted into officialdom today, and while it may look like a rehashed Sony Walkman W202, it’s got one useful bonus for gym bunnies. This time, it’s splash and water resistant so sweat won’t frazzle it. Read on for the photos and specs.

The Sony Walkman W250 takes the form factor and sturdy headband shape of last year’s W-Series line, keeping the 2GB of storage and quick charge time (3 minutes for 90 minutes of playback). It’s just about the only MP3 player less intrusive than the buttonless iPod shuffle for runners, and this time, it can be rinsed as well, to clean off all that nasty sweat it gets caked in after a jog.

Conveniently, the charging stand for the Sony Walkman W250 doubles up as a dock, so you can power it up while dragging and dropping new songs on board. Unfortunately, Sony is still persisting with its bizarre Zappin shuffle mode, which features a berk yelling that he’s “Zapping in” a new track. That’s the price you pay for being able to wash your MP3 player, we guess.

Sony Walkman W-Series hands on photos

It’s worth stressing that the Sony Walkman W250 is only splashproof rather than fully waterproof, so don’t expect your local gadget vendor to take a return after you’ve put it through a triathlon, but you’ll be able to get the Sony Walkman W250 from late next month in the UK.

Out May | £TBC | Sony

Modern Warfare 2 creators jump to EA, promise “state-of-the-art gaming”

Posted: 12 Apr 2010 07:30 AM PDT

The men behind Modern Warfare 2, Jason West and Vince Zampella, have announced the formation of a brand new studio, and are partnering up with Activision arch rival publisher EA. It’s not clear where that leaves Modern Warfare 3, but the pair are on the hunt for a new team, and promise “state-of-the-art” games to come.

We knew that the former of president and CEO of Modern Warfare 2 developer Infinity Ward, West and Zampella, were involved in a legal tussle and rumoured to be jumping ship, but now it’s official. The pair have announced that they’re forming a new studio, Respawn Entertainment, which will work with EA on its Partners Program to distribute the new games, meaning it remains independent and owns its own intellectual porperty. EA and Infinity Ward publisher Activision are huge rivals, and since Modern Warfare 2’s launch late last year was the biggest for any game ever, it’s a huge coup for the publisher.

Read our Modern Warfare 2 review now

Respawn Entertainment’s website only shows an email address for job applications, and West and Zampella are currently assembling a new team of designers and developers for the studio. The official announcement also makes no mention of what will happen to a potential Modern Warfare 3, but you can expect things to turn messy as the pair dispute with Activision over who owns the rights to the smash hit series.

What the pair does promise though is a “state-of-the-art gaming” experience. Whether or not that’ll be under any Modern Warfare name remains to be seen. Stay tuned, as things are about to get much, much messier.

Out TBC | £TBC | Respawn and EA

Steve Jobs email: no more Apple support for iPhone 2G

Posted: 12 Apr 2010 07:00 AM PDT

Steve Jobs has written a rash of emails, seemingly confirming a new Macbook Pro is on the way, talking iPad and iPhoto and teasing iPhone OS 4.0 features. Now he's dropped another one and it's bad news for folk still clutching an iPhone 2G. Read on to read the latest economical email from Steve Jobs…

A German iPhone user dropped Steve Jobs a line to ask whether Apple will support the iPhone 2G in the future. After the iPhone OS 4.0 launch, we pretty much knew the answer but its good to get it straight from Steve Jobs.

Keeping to his usual pattern of pounding out supremely short emails on his iPhone, Steve Jobs replied with just two words: "Sorry, no." So there you have it. Your iPhone 2G has seen its last software update.

While the two word email from Steve Jobs doesn't give us much of a window into the world of the black clad gadget guru, there's always our dissection of Steve Jobs's diary.

Out now | £free | Apple (via Mac Stories)

Miyamoto moots Starfox for Wii

Posted: 12 Apr 2010 06:45 AM PDT

Legendary Nintendo games designer Shigeru Miyamoto has hinted that the Wii may yet see a Starfox game – and also said he wants the next version of the Wii to be unique.

Miyamoto, responsible for bringing the Mario and Zelda games into the world, told GamesTM magazine that the next big challenge for Nintendo was how “unique and different” a product it is able to make in comparison to its rivals’ consoles.

When asked about the long-rumoured Wii HD, he replied: “Technology is always evolving and Nintendo… is going to integrate those technologies into our new products as they develop. Whether that be a Wii HD, Wii 2 or an entirely new console, I am not in a position to say at the moment.”

When GamesTM said that they’d like to see Starfox make a return to Nintendo’s consoles, he agreed. While that’s hardly a confirmation of a Wii Starfox title, he has previously said that the Wiimote would be suitable for controlling Starfox’s Arwing spacecraft. Putting two and two together, it seems we could well see Starfox jetting his way onto Wii in the not-too-distant future.

Out TBC | £TBC | Nintendo (via MCV and GamesTM)

MacBook Pro update: 5 things Apple can learn from the iPad

Posted: 12 Apr 2010 06:30 AM PDT

A MacBook Pro update seems increasingly likely, as the whispers of new Intel Core chips and more turn into a roar. But if a new MacBook Pro does arrive tomorrow, it won’t be the first new computer Apple’s launched this month. Apple’s been busy rolling out the iPad, and given its stellar reception and strong sales, it’s already shown us a few things about what people really want from their computer. Here’s what Apple needs to take from its tablet’s launch when it rolls out a MacBook Pro update and new MacBook line up.

Touch is the future
A touchscreen MacBook Pro update would be a real surprise this time around, but if the iPad has shown us one thing, it’s that the internet was meant to be perused through with your digits. Multitouch pinch zooming and flick scrolling feel totally intuitive, and we’d love more than anything to be able to do the same on any Mac, without the need for any third party welding and alchemy. At 13, 15 or 17 inches, the screen would be bigger, and there’d be Flash support too! This is easily our single most wanted feature in any new Mac, not just a MacBook Pro update.

We want more games
Apple’s iPhone turned out to be a huge success as a gaming platform, and the number of native iPad games ready at launch suggests the iPad could dominate too. But it’s high time Apple turned OS X into a gaming platform too: Valve thinks it’s worthy of Steam support and Portal 2 as well, and the latest MacBook Pro models are perfectly capable or sauntering through games with Windows 7 installed. We’d love to see a MacBook Pro update with a desktop version of Games Centre, the achievements focused social network Apple is launching for iPhone OS 4 and coming to the iPad in the Autumn.

Read our iPad UK review now

We need flexible 3G
As we discovered while reviewing the iPad, the day you first take out a Wi-Fi model on the bus and realise you can’t jump online is the day you wish you’d waited for the 3G model. Apple’s made it as simple as possible to hop on and offline with the 3G iPad, letting you pay from the screen itself, and for single months at a time so you can pay for just when you need to use it. It’s shameful that the ultra portable MacBook Air still doesn’t have a 3G SIM card slot, but it’s high time the thin and powerful MacBook Pro line gets it too, letting you surf the web from wherever, whenever. What’s to lose, Apple?

New MacBook Pro update due this month?

It needs to be cheap
At least in the US (We don’t know the iPad UK price yet), the entry level 16GB Wi-Fi iPad is remarkably cheap ($499, or about £323). And it’s sold accordingly, racking up hundreds of thousands of sales in the first week in the States. While we’re not expecting to see a cut price MacBook Pro update anytime soon (Hey, it’s why it’s called Pro), we’d love to see more of a concession further down the laptop line. Apple’s current budget Mac concession is the Mac Mini, but if the company is serious about styling itself as a “mobile devices” giant, we need one that can be unplugged too. A lower end MacBook Air would be a welcome addition, as would a white plastic MacBook with a lower pricetag.

Apple needs to put in the right ports
One of our grumbles with the iPad (And they stand out for being so few) is the placing and selection of ports on the side. We appreciate Apple’s trying to keep out the clutter, but there was no need to put the headphone port on the top. But it’s the lack of an HDMI connection for easy plugging into a flatscreen, and an SD card slot for loading up your camera pics that jar the most. Why do we need to buy a separate accessory for the latter? The last MacBook Pro update did see the introduction of an SD slot admittedly, but Apple needs to play nicer with universal standards, and switch out DisplayPort for HDMI, and move up to USB 3.0 rather than 2.0 for fast file transfers, as other big names are like Asus.

Sony Walkman A845 OLED PMP finally arrives

Posted: 12 Apr 2010 06:15 AM PDT

We first glimpsed the ultra-slim Sony Walkman A845 back in the heady days of September 2009, and then again when it was first pencilled in for a UK launch in January. Well, now it’s actually here and it’s giving the iPod touch something to think about.

The Sony Walkman A845 sports a glorious 2.8-inch OLED screen to deliver amazing contrast, vivid colours and a wide viewing angle. That should make watching video on it a very pleasant experience indeed – and with BBC iPlayer compatibility, there’ll be plenty to watch even if you don’t upload your own. Sony claims the A845 is the first UK PMP to support the higher quality 720 x 480 iPlayer downloads.

On the audio front the Sony Walkman A845 sports an S-Master Digital Amplifier, tech which is already available on some Sony hi-fi and home cinema gear. Sony reckons this, combined with other sonic wizardry like Clear Audio, Clear Stereo and Clear Bass, sets the A845 apart from rival players by delivering “rich, lifelike ultra-low distortion sound”. There’s also DSEE tech to apparently improve the quality of compressed MP3 files by smoothing out high-frequency information.

The Sony Walkman A845 comes with a set of noise cancelling headphones and 16GB of built-in storage. The battery life runs to a claimed 29 hours of audio playback per charge, or 9 hours of video playback.

Out 13 April | £TBC | Sony

iPhone 4.0 video chat clues mount in iPhone OS 4

Posted: 12 Apr 2010 06:00 AM PDT

iPhone 4.0 looks even more likely to cram in video chat with investigations of the iPhone OS 4 beta throwing up more clues. Photos and videos which claim to show an iPhone 4.0 bezel point to the inclusion of a front-facing camera and iPhone OS 4 seems to support that.

We already knew that the iPhone OS 4 beta seems to run a process called iChatAgent which clearly suggests the addition of video chats but lots of new clues have been spotted.

Delving deep into the iPhone OS 4 beta reveals references to moderators, chat rooms, encrypted video conferences and incoming video chat alerts. With no camera on the iPhone 3GS or the current version of the iPad, those elements seem to be destined for iPhone 4.0.

There are also video chat functions in the iPhone OS 4 beta that aren't present in the current code for iChat on the Mac. The evidence suggests iPhone 4.0 video conferencing will include both one-to-one video chats and group video conference calls.

Some are already speculating that the iPhone 4.0 video chat features teased in iPhone OS 4 will allow developers to create third-party video chat apps and tie in with Apple’s newly announced Gamecenter.

Is video chat one of the features you want to see included in iPhone 4.0? Let us know what you're hoping Apple will add in the next iPhone.

Due TBC | £TBC | Apple (via 9to5Mac)

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Tuesday, 13 April 2010

Electricpig.co.uk - tech news fast!

Electricpig.co.uk - tech news fast!

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