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Apple 27in LED Cinema Display out now: big screen with a big price
Stat clash: HTC Desire HD vs iPhone 4
PlayStation Move: The games you can buy today
Gran Turismo 5 more track and cars revealed: just release it!
iPad sales killing laptops says Best buy boss
Flipboard update: improves video playback and customisation
Facebook Places UK rollout begins today!
Medal of Honor controversy: EA blames the media
Windows Phone 7 joins Steve Jobs anti-porn crusade
HTC Desire HD: contract flop incoming

Apple 27in LED Cinema Display out now: big screen with a big price

Posted: 17 Sep 2010 08:01 AM PDT

The Apple 27in LED Cinema Display that Apple outed back in July with the new iMac and Magic Trackpad has finally hit the Apple Store. It seems to have killed off the old 24in LED Cinema Display, meaning you've now got a straight choice between it and the ginormous 30in Apple LED Cinema Display. Head through for all the specs and pricing…

The new 27in Apple LED Cinema Display is a 2560 x 1440 panel with a 16:9 aspect ratio. There's a built-in iSight webcam and microphone, a 49W 2.1 stereo speaker system and Mini DisplayPort connector. You also get three USB 2.0 ports, two Firewire 400 connectors and Kensington security port to keep it locked down.

That Kensington lock is well worth using if you do plump for the Apple 27in LED Cinema Display. While US Apple fans can snap it up for $999 (£640), UK buyers will need to rustle up £899.99. If you want to jump up to the existing 30in display, it's available for an extra £300 at £1199.

Are you tempted to grab the new Apple 27in LED Cinema Display? Let us know what you'll be using it for.

Out now | £899.99 | Apple

Stat clash: HTC Desire HD vs iPhone 4

Posted: 17 Sep 2010 07:57 AM PDT

The HTC Desire HD and the iPhone 4 are two of the most hotly anticipated smartphone releases we’ve seen this year, along with the Samsung Galaxy S (stat clash incoming!), so we've pitched the iPhone 4 and the newly announced HTC Desire HD against one another to see how they stack up.

UI
The HTC Desire HD runs on Android 2.2, Froyo, with the HTC Sense skin on top. The iPhone 4 runs iOS 4.1 (until it’s updated later in the year). Most users have already decided which they prefer, but typically, to get the best out of Android it takes some tinkering with settings to really streamline your device to how you want it, whereas iOS on the iPhone 4 is ready and raring to go from switch on. This one’s a simple matter of taste.
Winner: Undecided

Body
The HTC Desire HD is sleek, its aluminium body is cool and smooth, and despite its bigger size it fits in your hand. The iPhone 4 has Apple’s signature design, and the iPhone 4 is arguably better than any iPhone that’s come before it. Body wise, the iPhone 4 is obviously smaller, even in depth, because the HTC Desire HD has a larger screen. But that larger screen on the HTC Desire HD runs almost right to the edges, which looks great, and feels like it’s putting every millimetre to best use. But for sheer beauty, the iPhone 4 is king.
Winner: iPhone 4

Storage
The iPhone 4 has 16GB or 32GB of internal storage, whereas the HTC Desire HD has 1.5GB of internal storage with a microSD card slot that can be boosted up to 32GB. That means that if you need it, the HTC Desire HD can be boosted further than the iPhone 4, which can take no expansion.
Winner: HTC Desire HD

Video and Camera
The iPhone 4 and HTC Desire HD both have HD video recording: 720p. Both stills cameras have an LED flash, but it's in the megapixels where the HTC Desire HD trumps the iPhone 4. Where the iPhone 4 packs 5MP, the HTC Desire HD gets an extra 3MP, checking in at 8MP. However, while the iPhone 4 is pretty poor in low light, HTC cameras don’t have a great reputation either. This is one we’ll find out for sure when we get a full hands on with the HTC Desire HD, but until then, the HTC packs more megapixels.
Winner: HTC Desire HD

Battery
Because the HTC Desire HD hasn’t been put through its paces for more than a few minutes at a time yet, we have to go on the stat sheets to pit the two devices against each other. HTC has a bad rep for the battery life of its phones, but the HTC Desire HD has 6.5 hours of talktime on 3G, whereas the iPhone 4 has 7 hours of talktime over 3G. Given the fact that these figures are at absolute best circumstances, and can be misleading, the battery life is hard to test without a realtime test.
Winner: Undecided

Screen
The HTC Desire HD has a 4.3" capacitive SLCD WVGA touchscreen, whereas the 3.5" iPhone 4 screen has the Holy Grail of smartphone displays – the retina display. Here, although the HTC Desire HD packs a lower resolution, it does have a bigger screen. So although the iPhone 4 is sharper, the HTC Desire HD is bigger. It depends what you want: crispness or size?
Winner: Undecided

How do the two stack up to you? Is there a clear winner, or will the verdict on this one have to be postponed until we’ve had some in depth hands-on time with the HTC Desire HD?

PlayStation Move: The games you can buy today

Posted: 17 Sep 2010 07:11 AM PDT

The PlayStation Move is out today, and if you’ve just slapped down for the PS3 motion controller already, you’re probably wondering what there is to play. We’ve got all the details on all the launch titles right here in one place: read on for what to nab, and what to avoid.

Read our PlayStation Move review now

In shops

Sports Champions for PlayStation Move
This is the flagship title for PlayStation Move, the one Sony’s hoping will become a Wii Sports level sensation, and demonstrate just what the wand and camera rig is capable of. And it’s not a bad stab at it either. Some of the events are a bit random (Bocce, disc golf), but others like archery and table tennis really demonstrate PlayStation Move’s stunning accuracy. And if you can overlook the comically crude racial stereotyping of the characters, they’re a good laugh too. Find out more in our full Sports Champions for PlayStation Move review.

Kung Fu Rider
This bizarre PlayStation Move game out of Japan sees Danny Wallace and Chun Li rolling down the streets of somewhere very San Francisco-ish, on an office chair, dodging obstacles and kicking the snot out of suited mafia types along the way. It’s fun, and the control system is surprisingly complex, although it can be a tad repetitive. This is one to rent, or sell on when you’re done. Check out our full Kung Fu Rider for PlayStation Move review for the lowdown.

Start The Party!
Yeah, so technically you can buy this PlayStation Move game today, but we’d strongly advise against it. So far this year, it’s the only game we’ve given a one star out of five rating, and for a very good reason: it’s atrocious. Twee, try hard, lacking any substance: it’s everything a launch title should not be. While it demonstrates the potential for augmented reality with the PlayStation Move controller, you shouldn’t have to endure a game like this to see it, and there are better mini game party titles out there that use a normal controller. Check the full autopsy in our Start The Party! for PlayStation Move review.

PlayStation Move: Everything you need to know

On the PlayStation Network
You’ll find these full games available for download in the PlayStation move section of the PlayStation Store.

Flight Control HD
Now this is what we’re talking about. We fear Kinect games may prove a tough one for smaller developers to come through with, but the fact that there’s already a version of the smash hit iPhone game available to use with the PlayStation Move controller speaks volumes about its grassroots gamer potential. The premise is simple: guide the planes to the right runways, just by drawing lines to them. Fulfilling that goal is anything but. We’ll have a full Flight Control HD for PlayStation Move review for you on Monday with our findings, but it’s available on the PlayStation Network now. We’re expecting it to be furiously addictive.

Hustle Kings
For £6.29, this PlayStation Move will let you do your best re-enactment of Tom Cruise and play pool in a smoky bar. No word if it’ll let you cheat by playing against other online, throwing one game and then luring your next opponent into a false sense of security for money.

Planet Minigolf
It’s difficult to do a mini golf game badly, to be honest, and while we’ve yet to test this PlayStation Move title, 144 holes across four courses should keep fans occupied for a while at least. £6.29 on the PlayStation Store.

Tumble
It’s a little bit pricier at £7.99, but Tumble is one PlayStation Move game for all ages (Kung Fu Rider and its lead character’s gyrating butt definitely aren’t): just build the highest tower out of blocks in a series of increasingly difficult challenges.

Gran Turismo 5 more track and cars revealed: just release it!

Posted: 17 Sep 2010 06:22 AM PDT

Hey! Gran Turismo 5 is getting more tracks, more cars and some rather snazzy weather effects. We're glad that the racer's realism has been ratcheted up even further but ultimately, after the long wait, we're just hoping Gran Turismo 5 actually does arrive on the November 3 release date we're promised. Speed through to the other side for all the details on the new Gran Turismo 5 features…

Over at the Tokyo Games Show, Polyphony Digital has unveiled new tweaks to Gran Turismo 5 – the third time in the last three years that they've rocked up to the Asian gaming fest. New courses unveiled at the event include the Lagna Seca Mazda Raceway and a remake of the classic Gran Turismo track Trial Mountain.

New cars making the Gran Turismo 5 garage include the ultra-rare Isuzu 4200R, the Citroen GT, the VW Kubelwagen and curiously, the VW Schwimmawagen, an amphibious WW2-vintage off-roader.

The update in-game weather in Gran Turismo 5 sounds pretty intriguing. It'll dynamically alter elements like temperature, pressure and humidity in real time to mimic real weather conditions. That'll have an effect on the road surface and make the game that bit trickier.

After such a long wait, are you still excited to get your hands on Gran Turismo 5? Hit the comments and let us know what cars and courses you want to get at. Do you think it’ll end up in our best PS3 games list?

Out November 3 | £varies | Gran Turismo 5

iPad sales killing laptops says Best buy boss

Posted: 17 Sep 2010 06:02 AM PDT

Those stellar iPad sales are fast turning the laptop into an endangered species according to Best Buy CEO Brian Dunn. He's been gabbing to the Wall Street Journal about sales trends at the big yellow gadget seller and claims the iPad has cut the chain’s laptop sales in half. Dunn says Best Buy is reorganising its stores to respond to the iPad effect – expect to see more ebook readers, rival tablets and smartphones stacked up while laptops and netbooks go the way of the red squirrel. Best Buy is also introducing new dedicated demo zones for Kinect and the Playstation Move. Still wondering if you should pick the latter up today? Try out PlayStation Move guide and PlayStation Move review!

Out now | From £429 | Apple (via Wall Street Journal)

Flipboard update: improves video playback and customisation

Posted: 17 Sep 2010 05:38 AM PDT

Flipboard, the social networking iPad app that crashed from overuse when it launched in July, is getting a much needed update, to version 1.0.2. The new Flipboard has been given a revamp, making it faster and more flexible.

Flipboard version 1.0.2 gets extra customisation tools for the front page – you can now add 21 sections to the front page, and Twitter and Facebook accounts can be removed completely. It will also display a web page snapshot if a text preview isn’t available. Flipboard 1.0.2 also updates new content when it appears, and loads more content automatically when you get near the end of a page.

Retweeting has had comment function added on Flipboard version 1.0.2, and recommends have been given a boost, to make custom fields easier to add, and to improve browsing. Video playback has also been improved.

Have you updated to Flipboard 1.0.2? What do you think? Let us know in the comments!

Facebook Places UK rollout begins today!

Posted: 17 Sep 2010 04:02 AM PDT

Facebook Places gets its official UK launch today, after a US launch last month, and rumours that Zuckerberg was testing it out here on a visit to London. Facebook Places is available from today via the iPhone application or via the mobile site touch.facebook.com. It's a gradual roll-out, so although it starts today, it'll take a few days to get around to everyone.

Facebook Places works like Foursquare, check in, and you'll update everyone in your social network telling them where you are. One worry though, that's been bandied around this morning, is that everyone has too many friends on Facebook, lots of them to even friends, meaning that users might be a little uncomfortable informing our bevvy of Facebook acquaintances, colleagues, and family, where we are via Facebook Places.

Facebook is making a big deal about privacy controls though. The release reads: "Privacy is really important for us – check-ins are defaulted to friends only (unless your master setting is everyone) and minors will not appear in posts or check-ins to anyone but friends, you can also always remove any check-in from your phone or on the web."

You can control your Facebook Places settings via the web or your smartphone. Your friends can check you into a location if you're with them and you've given them permission in your settings, and in the People Here Now section, which displays all places users in the same place as you, you can choose not to be displayed, although by default it will show you to other people in your location.

So, the big question now is, will you use Facebook Pages? If you're a Foursquare user, which do you think is better, and will you be using both or switching to just one? Click and tell, or drop us a line in the comments…

Medal of Honor controversy: EA blames the media

Posted: 17 Sep 2010 03:25 AM PDT

The Medal of Honor controversy surrounding playing the Taliban in multiplayer has died down recently but managed to pull in a pair of foolish foxes – Fox News and Defence Secretary Liam Fox. Now EA is going on the offensive to defend Medal of Honor and it's first target is the media. Hey, don't look at us!

EA CEO John Riccitiello says: "The controversy kind of caught me by surprise. No one noticed until a journalist decided to put the game box in front of a mom who'd lost her song in Afghanistan to create some kind of controversy. I think that says more about the newspapers than it does the game industry." He may have a point. Remember the Grand Theft Raoul Moat, non-story?

Riccitiello continues: "We're incredibly sensitive to the challenges that a non-gamer who doesn't really understand…when a journalist who also doesn't understand a game describes it to her. It tends to excite a little bit of angst."

Sure the so-called Medal of Honor controversy was overblown (and yes, we did cover it pretty fully) but we're not so sure that EA was totally surprised that including the Taliban stirred up some comment. A more cynical person might suggest that it know a good publicity stunt when it sees one…

Find out what we thought of the game with our Medal of Honor preview and let us know: where do you stand on Medal of Honor? Did EA know what it was doing and did the mainstream media deliberately fan the flames?

Out October 12 | £varies | EA (via GamesIndustry.biz)

Windows Phone 7 joins Steve Jobs anti-porn crusade

Posted: 17 Sep 2010 03:01 AM PDT

Windows Phone 7 and the Windows Phone Marketplace will be as anti-porn as Steve Jobs insists the iPhone 4, iPad and iTunes App Store are. The latest version of Windows Phone Marketplace guidelines have been kicked out into the world, just ahead of the Windows Phone 7 launch, and they take a hardline on anything that seems remotely hardcore…

Just like the iTunes App Store, the Windows Phone Marketplace will have an army of censorious app reviewers ready to reject naughty apps. The guidelines for Windows Phone 7 apps declare unequivocally: "Not allowed: sex/nudity – images that are sexually suggestive or provocative."

After that blanket ban, Microsoft gets into specific just so Windows Phone 7 developers don't get confused – skim the document and you'll discover plenty of references to nipples, pubic hair and breasts. There's also a healthy dollop of tautologies: "Not allowed: content that a reasonable person would consider to be adult or borderline adult content."

Violent games will also be a no-no for Windows Phone 7 apps: "Not allowed: realistic or gratuitous violence, including depictions of…decapitation, impaling, blood splatter/blood spurting/blood pooling…guns/weapons pointed towards user/audience." Where's the fun in that? We suspect that plenty of popular games will get the nod if they'll sell oodles though.

Best of all in the prohibitions though: no showing the iPhone! "If an application depicts any mobile or wired telephone, handheld PDA or any other data and voice communicator, it must be either generic or a Windows Phone device." Microsoft's seen the trend for making phone icons look like the iPhone and it doesn't like it one bit.

Hit the comments and let us know: do you think Microsoft needs to censor the Windows Phone Marketplace so heavily? Or should adults be able to buy adult apps if they want to? We promise not to judge…

Out TBC | £varies | Microsoft

HTC Desire HD: contract flop incoming

Posted: 17 Sep 2010 02:45 AM PDT

Yesterday, news broke that T-Mobile would be offering the HTC Desire HD on contract for £40 per month for two years. This surprised us, since HTC’s Jon French had told us at the press conference the day before that the maximum monthly contract cost we should expect to see for the HTC Desire HD was £35 per month on a 24 month basis. We asked you, our readers, what you thought about the T-Mobile pricing, and the answer was definitive.

We asked whether the T-Mobile £40 per month contract, for two years, was too much for the HTC Desire HD, and 71 per cent of you said definitively, yes, it is too much.

21 per cent of you said that whether the HTC Desire HD contract was overpriced or not depended very much on how the minutes, texts, and data allowance stacked up, and said that you’d want a lot bundled in with your contract if you were to shell out £40 per month. What T-Mobile is offering for the HTC Desire HD it hasn’t yet revealed, but if it is to stand the competition from every other network, then it may have to put something very appealing together.

Only eight per cent of you said that £40 per month for two years was not too much for the HTC Desire HD. Which doesn’t bode well for T-Mobile, if, within a few days of the event, potential customers have an idea of what they should be paying, and may push people to look around. T-Mobile may be pricing itself out of the competition, allowig itself to be undercut by competitors, all of whom will be offering the HTC Desire HD, (except for O2).

Is T-Mobile pricing itself out of the game, before the game has even begun?