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The Social Network: Facebook movie writer hates the Internet
Wii Remote Plus to have built-in MotionPlus
iPad mini: 7in tablet finished say Chinese rumourmongers
Sony pitching Ico movie
Apple tries to patent smart flash: iPhone 5 tech spied?
Dell Inspiron Zino HD update takes on Mac Mini
HTC HD7 Windows Phone 7 full specs: HTC HD2 heir crowned!
Samsung Galaxy Tab: 10-inch model confirmed
Dead Space 2 multiplayer beta pops up on PS3
HTC Desire HD launching October 8?

The Social Network: Facebook movie writer hates the Internet

Posted: 24 Sep 2010 10:02 AM PDT

The Social Network aka the Facebook movie is getting amazing reviews but despite penning one of the Internet’s great creation myths, West Wing creator Aaron Sorkin has revealed he does "get" the Internet. Talking to New York magazine to promote The Social Network, he went on a rather entertaining anti-Internet rant…

Sorkin doesn't use himself Facebook and he's not impressed by the Internet as a whole either. Picking up on the frankly brain-melting statistic that a quarter of American's don't think Barack Obama was born in the US, he says: "there's too much bad information getting out there and I have to believe that's mostly the fault of the Internet, which isn't held to any standards of accuracy."

He goes on to slam the web for its often lax approach to facts: "People say, well, there's so much Internet content, how could you possibly do that? And the answer is, there would be a lot less Internet content! thinning out the herd is a good thing." In a quote that would please Rupert Murdoch he claims newspapers were enough information and concludes: "I'm not quite getting the Internet."

Perhaps someone should send him our Friday Five (this week's pick of interesting sites for you to visit). Don't bother poking him on Facebook though, you'll get short shrift.

Out October | £varies | The Social Network (via New York)

Wii Remote Plus to have built-in MotionPlus

Posted: 24 Sep 2010 09:30 AM PDT

Nintendo is about to launch Wii Remote Plus – a new Wii Controller that will make the MotionPlus add-on a thing of the past.

Oops. A bit of box art for an upcoming Nintendo Wii game may have just revealed the latest official Wii peripheral – the Wii Motion Plus. The new controller is to be bundled with FlingSmash – which looks like a sort of fantasy tennis game – and a pre-order page for the game at US retailer Gamestop has let the cat out of the bag.

The Wii Remote Plus looks like a slightly longer Wiimote and seems to have the Wii MotionPlus add-on built in. The Wii MotionPlus is an add-on dongle that plugs into the botto of a standard WiMote, adding extra sensors which give a much more precise measurement of how the controller is being moved and enabling much finer control within supported games.

FlingSmash was originally set for a November release, put was pushed back to nearer Christmas. The bundling of a new controller could explain the delay, although the game is playable with the old WiiMote+MotionPlus combo.

Christmas 2010 | £tbc | Nintendo (via Kotaku)

iPad mini: 7in tablet finished say Chinese rumourmongers

Posted: 24 Sep 2010 09:01 AM PDT

The iPad mini rumour has been revived, giving us the wild Apple speculation we crave of a Friday afternoon. This time, a China-based gadget site says it's heard details of the a 7in iPad from gossips while slinging around in Shenzhen, home to Apple's biggest and most controversial supplier Foxconn. Are they the product of boozer bragging or do these rumours stack up?

We've been hearing talk of a smaller iPad for ages, basically since about five minutes after the current iPad launched. Shanzai says the new iPad model comes it at 7in and resembles an iPhone 4 on steroids rather than a shrunken iPad. It also revives talk of front and rear iPad camera.

The idea of a 7in iPad mini isn't so wild if you think about it. It's a pretty appealing size with both the Samsung Galaxy Tab and the Dell Looking Glass plumping for the similar vital statistics. Putting two cameras in a new iPad model would also lure plenty of folk beguiled by FaceTime on their iPhone 4 but after a bit more real estate.

On the other hand, the current iPad is still rocketing along. iPad sales are massive so even if Apple is planning a smaller version, we're unlikely to see it for months. Putting out an iPad mini now, especially one with cameras, would put current owners hackles up instantly.

Another interesting claim in the Shanzai story is that Apple has five different designs in an attempt to keep potential leakers off the scent. We're not sure that would be the smartest strategy.

What do you make of this latest iPad mini rumour? Are you in the market for a beefed up iPhone 4/slimmed down iPad? Hop into the comments and tell us.

Out TBC | £TBC | Apple (via Shanzai)

Sony pitching Ico movie

Posted: 24 Sep 2010 08:30 AM PDT

Sony is pitching its classic PS2 game Ico to Hollywood bosses, following a deal to film its sequel Shadow of the Colossus.

The progress Sony has seen in the production of giant-monster slaying epic Shadow of the Colossus has got studio bosses talking about the possibility of filming the other games in the loose series, starting with Ico and perhaps including the yet-to-be-released The Last Guardian.

Like Colossus, Ico is an extremely cinematic game with lush visuals and a rather melancholy plotline. Where Colossus i packed with battles featuring monsters the size of skyscrapers (with an undercurrent of philosophy) Ico is more like a wistful romcom – albeit one with hardly any dialogue and plenty of swordfights. If anything is going to shake off the memories of awful gaming flicks like Streetfighter, this could be it.

Team Ico’s final game in the loose trilogy – The Last Guardian – was one of our higlights of last year’s E3.

Apple tries to patent smart flash: iPhone 5 tech spied?

Posted: 24 Sep 2010 08:02 AM PDT

Apple surprised us with HDR photos in iOS 4.1 during the last Apple event, so we know it's been thinking about clever ways of perking up the iPhone's once neglected camera skills. That makes a new Apple patent application pretty appealing. It details a new smart flash system that would make an ideal addition for iPhone 5…

The latest Apple patent application to surface thanks to the tireless efforts of Patently Apple details a new camera flash system which would adjust the flash according to the subject of the photo.

Using a flash redirector, which redirects light towards the photo subject, and either a single moveable flash or an array of smaller light sources, the Apple patent application details improved iPhone touch-to-focus skills. On screen you'd be able to add extra illumination to areas that appear too dark.

While the Apple smart flash patent application show an illustration of an iPhone, it makes it clear that the method could be applied in any iOS device (like the camera-packing new iPod touch or an iPad camera model). Of course, as with all of Apple's frequently published patent applications whether it'll make it into a finished product is moot.

Let us know: do you think Apple's smart flash plans would make a good companion for the iOS 4.1 HDR photo tech?

Out TBC | £TBC | Apple (via Patently Apple)

Dell Inspiron Zino HD update takes on Mac Mini

Posted: 24 Sep 2010 07:30 AM PDT

Dell has revealed an update to the Inspiron Zino HD. Aimed at the home entertainment market, this looks like it could give the Mac Mini a serious run for its money.

The Inspiron Zino HD is intended to plug in to your HD TV or giant monitor with it VGA and HDMI outputs. Unlike other small form-factor PCs, the new Zino HD actually has a bit of oomph to deliver something worthwhile watching on a big screen.

An AMD quad-core Phenom II twinned with 1GB of graphics memory will mean playing decent games won’t require lugging the Alienware PC downstairs and should make short work of any multimedia task you throw at it.

Audio is THX 7.1 compatible and you can fit a lot of downloaded multimedia and home videos on the (up to) 1TB of storage. Wireless keyboard and mouse are included, as is an IR remote.

The Mac Mini comparisons are inevitable, given the design, but this update make the Zino HD more of a powerhouse than the Apple machine. If you want to make it stand apart a little more, you have the choice of red, blue and silver.

Available now | £329 | Dell

HTC HD7 Windows Phone 7 full specs: HTC HD2 heir crowned!

Posted: 24 Sep 2010 07:02 AM PDT

HTC has a veritable army of Windows Phone 7 handsets ready to hit us and the latest to pop out of the leak machine is the HTC HD7 (aka the HTC HD3). The spiritual successor to the HTC HD2 looks set to arrive with similar looks and some tasty features. Read on for the leaked HTC HD7 specs…

According to the leaked specs sheet, the HTC HD7 will be slightly bigger but marginally than the HTC HD2 (120.5 x 67 x 11mm vs 122 x 68 x 11.2mm). It'll also have 3G, HSDPA, a nippy 1GHz processor, a digital compass, A-GPS and a 5MP camera with LED flash. Basically ticking all the boxes in the official Windows Phone 7 hardware specs.

Sadly it looks like we'll get shortchanged on storage with the US getting a 16GB microSD card bundled in with the phone to bump up the 512MB onboard while we'll have to make do with an 8GB card. The exact same thing happened with the HTC HD2. Do US users simply stash more stuff on their phones? We somehow doubt it.

Besides hardware, the HTC HD7 includes a trio of new apps – a new ToDo list, a Bedside clock and, curiously, a Parking Meter Widget. Hit the link below to see the exhaustive list of HTC HD7 Windows Phone 7 specs. If you spot anything we've missed, do shout up and let us know in the comments whether this phone sells you on Windows Phone 7. We still like the aluminum-clad HTC Schubert best so far.

Out TBC | £TBC | HTC (via WMPoweruser)

Samsung Galaxy Tab: 10-inch model confirmed

Posted: 24 Sep 2010 06:30 AM PDT

The Samsung Galaxy Tab will be followed by another Android tablet with a larger 10-inch screen Samsung has confirmed. The company is also planning a range of smaller tablets to complement the 7-inch Galaxy Tab.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab distinguishes itself from the pack of iPad clones by plumping for a portrait-shaped 7-inch screen. It works well and really lends itself to eBook reading. Still, did anyone really think they weren’t going to go after Apple’s baby?

Samsung’s Mobile Ireland manager Gary Twohig has apparently confirmed that the company is planning a 10-inch Galaxy Tab for release early in 2011. The larger tablet will run Android too, but as Android 3.0 (Gingerbread) should be out by then we would be surprised if it didn’t come with that rather than its smaller sibling’s Android 2.2 (Froyo)

Samsung reps also told Slashgear that the company is developing a range of smaller tablets to bridge the gap between the mobile phone and tablet form factors. These would focus on different features – some emphasizing multimedia, others photography and games, etc.

Early 2011 | £tba | Samsung

Dead Space 2 multiplayer beta pops up on PS3

Posted: 24 Sep 2010 06:00 AM PDT

A beta version of Dead Space 2 has made its way onto the consoles of several dedicated fans of the original slice-em-up survival horror.

EA and Visceral Games have been sending out invite codes to the closed beta to people they describe as ‘dedicated fans’. How dedicated? Well, dedicated enough to fill out an online form saying they wanted to try the beta. THATS how dedicated.

This beta is all about multiplayer and early reports suggest the game will support team-based play with Necromorphs hunting down human survivors and vice-versa. It all sounds very Left 4 Dead to us, which is no bad thing if Visceral can pull off the same tension and seamless co-op.

Dead Space 2 is a direct follow-up to the original game, with the single player campaign reawakening Isaac after a period of hibernation and being hunted by both beasties and human foes alike.

Out TBA | £TBA | EA

HTC Desire HD launching October 8?

Posted: 24 Sep 2010 05:30 AM PDT

The HTC Desire HD could be winging its way to you on October 8 according to the folks at Mobiles.co.uk. After tipping us off about the Nokia N8 release date, its promising that it'll have the HTC Desire HD in stock from October 8 and has kicked off its HTC Desire HD preorders. You'll be able to grab the HTC Desire HD unlocked and unbranded with a £30 a month contract from Vodafone. If that doesn't float your boat, a T-Mobile HTC Desire HD will set you back £40 a month and Play.com is shipping a SIM-free HTC Desire HD for £469.99 from 11 October. Check out our HTC Desire HD hands on photos and the HTC Desire HD video guide to help you work out whether its the best smartphone for you.