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Project Canvas free on demand TV service approved
iPhone 4.0: all white model planned?
iPhone 4.0 cases spotted
3D games will be 50% of releases by 2012 says Ubisoft
Samsung Wave and Samsung Galaxy S: Tell us what you want to know
iPhone still ahead of Android in Europe
Samsung Genio set for Android 2.1 overhaul?
iPod touch with a camera spotted in the wild
LG Windows Phone 7 UK hands on: photos
Lunchtime Lowdown: Palm Pre Plus priced and dated, webOS printers and HTC Smart review

Project Canvas free on demand TV service approved

Posted: 19 May 2010 10:00 AM PDT

Project Canvas, the on demand TV standard backed by the BBC, Channel 4, ITV, Five, BT and Talk Talk amongst others, won't be challenged by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT). The common approach to on demand telly will mean services like 4OD, ITV Player and BBC iPlayer as well as web apps will be piped right into your living room…

Last year, the OFT blocked Project Kangaroo, an on demand TV plan developed by ITV, Channel 4 and the BBC. That's now been reborn as the commercial TV catch up site Seesaw. Project Canvas has escaped the chop because the OFT considered it a platform for standardising on demand content rather than a joint service.

Though all Freesat and many Freeview and Freeview HD boxes already include an internet connection, Project Canvas will take things a step further.

Project Canvas compliant devices will integrate on demand content in a common user interface and also offer web apps. On the Project Canvas site, a Lovefilm streaming service is also shown as one of the potential applications.

Graham North, commercial director at Humax, says: "Providing a common standard is a positive step that will guarantee the viewer a quality service…it will also guarantee a viewing experience that is consistent regardless of the hardware or device being used to access the content."

Humax has confirmed that it plans to built Project Canvas compliant set-top boxes once the scheme gets under way. Like Sky+ HD and other current PVRs, Project Canvas devices will also give you the option to watch shows live and record episodes and series.

While competitors including Sky and Virgin Media have slammed Project Canvas, it should now be full steam ahead for the on demand TV standard.

Let us know: what do you make of Project Canvas? Is a universal internet on demand TV service just what you've been waiting for? Or are you pained at the prospect of having to pay for a brand new box?

Due TBC | £TBC | Project Canvas

iPhone 4.0: all white model planned?

Posted: 19 May 2010 08:00 AM PDT

iPhone 4.0 could come in an all white version if the latest iPhone 4.0 leak is on the level. White front and back panels for the new iPhone have popped up online. Would you spring for an entirely white iPhone?

The iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS were both offered with a white back, now an image posted to Taiwanese Apple rumour repository Apple.pro appears to show a white iPhone 4.0 front panel.

The new image matches both the detached front piece which popped up in an iPhone 4.0 video with a painful Coldplay soundtrack in April and the design shown in the iPhone 4.0 leak.

One of the iPhone 4.0 questions we pondered when the new iPhone first popped up online was whether we might see it offered in a range of colours. While an all-white iPhone wouldn't be as wild as the fruit pastel pallette of the original iMac, the white back on the iPhone 3GS was definitely popular.

If Apple offered a white iPhone 4.0 would you choose it over the more sedate black option? And if you did, would you put it in one of these iPhone 4.0 cases?

Due TBC | £TBC | Apple (via MacRumors)

iPhone 4.0 cases spotted

Posted: 19 May 2010 07:30 AM PDT

iPhone 4.0 cases are the latest piece of the iPhone 4.0 puzzle to leak out into the world. Usually we'd be pouring over this pile of protective skins for clues about the new iPhone but this time, they just seem like more confirmation that the handset seen in the iPhone 4.0 leak is coming our way…

The image of iPhone 4.0 cases sent to Hard Mac show space for the rounded corners present in the original iPhone 4.0 leak and the more recent iPhone 4.0 leak from Vietnam. There's also space for the new iPhone camera with a flash at the back and holes for the physical buttons at the side.

However, there's no guarantee that the iPhone 4.0 cases have definitely emerged from an official accessory maker. Since the world and his wife has seen the iPhone 4.0 on the web, it'd be pretty easy for a chancer to knock up some accessories.

It's looking more and more likely that the iPhone 4.0 design that's made its way onto the web is what we'll see unveiled at WWDC in June but we're not so sure about these pony plastic skins.

Do you think the iPhone 4.0 cases are genuine? And how long will it be before iPod Touch with camera accessories pop up too.

Out TBC | £TBC | Apple (via Hard Mac)

3D games will be 50% of releases by 2012 says Ubisoft

Posted: 19 May 2010 07:00 AM PDT

3D games are certain to pick up steam with PS3 3D support already here and the Nintendo 3DS on the way but the fortune tellers at Ubisoft are thinking big. They’re predicting that by 2012 half of all games released will feature that eye-straining extra dimension…Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot made the claim during a call with investors. He said: "I think next year we should see maybe 15-20% of games with 3D on next-gen consoles…and the following year will be at least 50% of games."

The PS3 has already had its 3D firmware update while Xbox 360 3D gaming has spotted in the Far East. 3D TV sets are on sale now in the UK and we should start to see the first onslaught of 3D games soon. But 50% of releases seems like a pretty high number.

We'd be quite tempted by Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood in 3D or adding an extra dimension to Sam Fisher's stealthy antics in a Splinter Cell: Conviction sequel. Guillemot seems pretty sold on the idea of 3D games: “It’s more immersive, so it will be a good way for the industry to give even more emotion to the gamers.”

However we suspect that as with the Nintendo 3DS 2D mode, lots of 3D games will also feature normal visuals for gamers who get queasy or haven't splashed out on a 3D TV.

Do you think Guillemot is right when he says 3D will add more emotion to games? Or do you creating 3D will just to be a gimmick?

Due TBC | £TBC | Ubisoft (via CVG)

Samsung Wave and Samsung Galaxy S: Tell us what you want to know

Posted: 19 May 2010 06:40 AM PDT

Why, if it isn’t the Samsung Wave and Samsung Galaxy S, kicking back on our desk and showing off their snazzy Super AMOLED screens. Yup, we’ve managed to grab some pre-production samples for a play: got any burning questions about bada, or Sammy’s beefed up Android multimedia phone? Jump on through and tell us!

The Samsung Wave’s release is just around the corner, and we’ve managed to grab a model for a quick go on the new bada OS, but we want to hear what matters to you most. Want to know what the new screen tech’s like? If bada is more TouchWhiz than Android? Just scribble your thoughts in the comments.

Likewise with the Samsung Galaxy S. The 1GHz touchscreen phone has a huge 4-inch AMOLED display – the biggest of any phone to date – but it’s also packing previously unheard of media skills for a Google blower. Want us to put them to the test?

Samsung Wave bada phone hands on photos

We’ be putting up detailed previews of the Samsung Wave and Samsung Galaxy S answering all your questions shortly, so if there’s anything you want to know, tell us here, and rest assured, we’ll be giving you the full verdict with in depth reviews of shop ready samples as soon as we grab them.

Out TBC | £TBC | Samsung

iPhone still ahead of Android in Europe

Posted: 19 May 2010 06:30 AM PDT

iPhone is still beating Android in Europe despite the Google OS overtaking it in the US, according to the latest count by the market research boffins at Gartner. Symbian and Blackberry are still ahead of both of them. Dive into the figures and you’ll find the future doesn't look so bright for Microsoft…

Gartner says twice as many iPhones flew off the shelves as Android handsets across Europe in the first quarter of 2010 helping Apple retain its spot as the third biggest seller of smartphones worldwide. Meanwhile Android leapfrogged over Windows Mobile to come in at number 4 with phones like the HTC Desire helping to deliver 5.2 million sales.

Symbian is still by far the largest smartphone OS. 24.1m Symbian-toting handsets were sold in during the same period but its market share is slipping, dropping from 48.8 percent to 44.3 percent. That's hardly a massive decline and we've got our fingers crossed that Symbian 3 and the Nokia N8 will deliver.

Blackberry maker RIM is still holding on to the number 2 spot and also has the potential to deliver something exciting with the Blackberry 6 OS. It's Microsoft that really needs to worry having dropped into 5th place with Windows Mobile phones shifting just 3.7 million units. Windows Phone 7 really needs to pull out the stops.

Make your prediction: do you think iPhone 4.0 will keep Apple ahead of Android? Or does the sheer variety of Google OS-packing handsets mean the 'droid is destined to win?

Out now | £free | Gartner

Samsung Genio set for Android 2.1 overhaul?

Posted: 19 May 2010 06:00 AM PDT

The Samsung Genio range – last represented round these parts by the Samsung Genio Slide – could be set for an Android makeover. Elsewhere in the world, the budget blower goes by the name Corby and specs for a new model, the Samsung I5500 Corby, have been spied online. Could the HTC Wildfire soon have another economical Android rival?

While the Samsung Genio range ditched the Corby name in the UK (possibly down to confusion with the trouser press makers), the handsets were the same. That means the Samsung I5500 Corby is pretty likely to touchdown here as a new Samsung Genio.

The Samsung I5500 Corby hasn't been pictured yet or officially announced but it has been submitted for Wi-Fi certification and found its way to the FCC. As well as packing 3G, Bluetooth and GPS, it's reportedly running Android 2.1. That would be a big change as the Samsung Genio Slide didn't do apps and opted to offer TouchWiz widgets instead.

While Samsung is just about to drop its first bada OS phone, the Samsung Wave, it's always said it would look at Android too. If the Samsung Genio does return packing Android it could mean access to all those apps for a lot less.

Are you after an affordable Android phone? Let us know how much you’d be willing to pay for a Android-toting Samsung Genio.

Due TBC | £TBC | Samsung (via GSM Arena)

iPod touch with a camera spotted in the wild

Posted: 19 May 2010 05:30 AM PDT

An iPod touch with a camera has been spotted in the wild, just days after Apple suffered another iPhone 4.0 and new MacBook leak. If you ever wanted proof that something strange happened last Autumn, this is it. Could this arrive along with the new iPhone?

Remember all the rumours swirling around an iPod touch 3G with a camera back in the run up to last September’s iPod refresh? Everyone was left flummoxed when a 64GB model without a camera was revealed, and reports in the week after pointed to a last minute change.

If you needed more proof though, Vietnamese site Tinhte (Which has scooped many a phone before) has it, in a bunch of clear as day photos, showing an iPod touch with a two megapixel camera, and a serial number linked to a late 2009 third generation model.

Read our iPod touch 3G review: Six months on here

What’s not clear however, is if this camera infused iPod touch is heading for release. It lacks the new look design of the iPhone 4.0, and it’s not clear if it will have a screen as sharp as the new iPhone’s is reported to be.

However, given that Tinhte has sourced two Apple products before official launch in the last month already (Seriously Apple, what’s going on?), we’re optimistic. Could we be seeing a new iPod touch as soon as next month at WWDC?

Out TBC | £TBC | Apple (Via Tinhte)

LG Windows Phone 7 UK hands on: photos

Posted: 19 May 2010 05:00 AM PDT

The LG Windows Phone 7 handset revealed earlier this year has made its way across the Atlantic and landed in our hands here in the UK. We grabbed a go with the South Korean company’s first smartphone to use the new OS: read on for the photos!

Windows Phone 7 has come on leaps and bounds since we saw a skeletal version of it in action back at Mobile World Congress in February: so much so in fact that a senior Microsoft exec has been using this LG Windows Phone 7 prototype as their own personal handset for daily use.

We’re much more excited seeing that unusual homescreen bursting with info this time round (in an amusing, if impractical touch, a smiley faces turns to a frown the more unread texts you have) and we have to say, it’s certainly much nippier now, with a working calendar that can detect addresses in text and proffer up speedy Bing maps, and frankly astounding looking Office support that puts Google Docs access on mobiles to shame.

The screen on the LG Windows Phone 7 model is also a vast improvement on the poor display on the original Windows Phone 7 prototype shown at Barcelona, and it really felt like a finished product on the outside at least, with a sturdy sliding mechanism and decent landscape keyboard.

Windows Phone 7 hands on photos

We’ve yet to play with the Android 2.1 LG LU2300 phone sporting a similar form factor and Snapdragon 1GHz processor, but we can see the first LG Windows Phone 7 model being a serious alternative to it, provided the latter’s lack of multitasking doesn’t make it a non-starter. Unfortunately, we don’t know when the LG Windows Phone 7 model goes on sale, but since it was the first third party blower to be shown, we’re hopeful it’ll be available at launch in the run up to Christmas.

Take a look at our LG Windows Phone 7 hands on photos here in our gallery. Will you be buying one? Sound off in the comments!

Out TBC | £TBC | LG

Lunchtime Lowdown: Palm Pre Plus priced and dated, webOS printers and HTC Smart review

Posted: 19 May 2010 04:30 AM PDT

It’s bang on halfway through the working week so it’s time to stop what you’re doing and tuck into all the latest headlines from around the world. They’re all rounded up for you in one condensed, ultra convenient post for you here in the lunchtime lowdown. Read on for the rundown!

The big news is in mobile right now, with Palm outing a release date and pricing for the Palm Pre Plus and Pixi plus on O2 in the UK at long last. And sticking with webOS, new Palm owner HP says it might stick the mobile operating system inside its future printers!

On rival platforms meanwhile, we reviewed the cheap and cheery HTC Smart phone, and took an in depth look at all the latest Android phones, including the Google Nexus One and HTC Desire. Speaking of Android, be sure to check out our guides to the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10, and everything it can do in under a minute.

Finally, in gaming, we got a look at a new Call Of Duty Black Ops video, and looked at how to stream PC games to your TV over the air using Q-waves‘ wireless USB gear. Find out more about Q-waves.

Still want more news? Head on through to the homepage and help yourself, right this second!

Check out our Android Invasion, starting with our first robot romance video below!