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Infinity Blade for Android, PSP beats 3DS, Windows Phone 7 16-bit: US Update
RIM outlines the Super App experience, reconfirms Android compatibility
NoDo update causing HTC Windows Phone to sport SNES 16-bit graphics?
What’s hotter than the Nintendo 3DS in Japan? the PSP
Blu-ray knows no limits: Panasonic outs 100GB rewritable discs
Unreal gets onboard with Android, Epic Games confirmed
Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc review, Samsung Galaxy S update and the best iPhone apps of the week: Teatime Tech
Samsung Galaxy S Android 2.3 update hits this month?
Best iPhone apps: app of the day = Meal Snap
Tech Business: iPad 2, domain name fortunes and the power of the cloud

Infinity Blade for Android, PSP beats 3DS, Windows Phone 7 16-bit: US Update

Posted: 07 Apr 2011 06:15 PM PDT

Call Rebecca Black, it's Friday. Time to kick off your morning with a daily dose of tech news, better known as the US Update. Sweeping this morning's headlines is news from Epic's VP Mark Rein who confirmed the Unreal Engine is coming to Android, say hello to Infinity Blade. We hop on over to the latest sales data for portable gaming consoles in Japan where the PSP reigns supreme. We take a look at a bug giving Windows Phone 7 handsets 16-bit graphics and more.

Epic Games VP Mark Rein confirmed to website Gamasutra that the UDK will appear on Android and they've been providing Unreal Engine 3 in source code format for their licensees for quite some time. Panasonic confirmed they'll unveil a rewritable single-sided three-layer Blu-ray disc with a 100GB capacity on April 15th. As the world's first rewritable 100GB Blu-ray disc, what's next for consumer electronics giant?

The grass is greener for Sony in Japan. This week PSP sales reached 58,075 units, an increase of 7,000 on the previous week. Meanwhile the Nintendo 3DS raked in 42,979, down nearly 8,000 units over the last seven days. Taking a 2011 HTC Windows Phone back to the days of 16-bit graphics is not exactly what we had in mind for a Friday morning. According to user submissions over on wmpoweruser, this is exactly what is happening on the HTC 7 Trophy and HTC HD7 after loading the latest Windows Phone update and NoDo.

Last up this morning are details on RIM's new Super App requirements. We cover the six steps in order to make your app super and update you on the status of Android apps for BlackBerry Tablet OS. That wraps up your daily dose of tech news. As always I'm Nick Marshall and I'll see you again tomorrow.

RIM outlines the Super App experience, reconfirms Android compatibility

Posted: 07 Apr 2011 06:01 PM PDT

What's better than an app? Well, a Super App. By leveraging the unique capabilities of the BlackBerry Application Platform, RIM is hoping its developers have what it takes to make their apps super. So what does it take to make the grade? Let's find out.

RIM has deemed six critical components for a Super App. First, the app must offer an always-on experience — the app must run on device power-up or in the background (i.e. multitask). Next, the app must be highly contextualized, providing location-specific features and always context-aware. Number three, the app will need tight integration with native apps for a seamless experience.

With the success of social networking it should come as little surprise the next requirement is 'social and connected' — social networking must be present in your app. In the five spot is 'proactive and notification driven' – your app must provide near real-time proactive alerting and notifications. Last, the app must be efficient — the app must be designed with efficiency and scalability in mind.

Now onto the latest in Android portability. As we've previously covered, the BlackBerry Java Development Environment and Android platforms can be easily ported via application players. Today, RIM reconfirmed the application player for supported Android apps will be available this summer, followed soon after by the application player for supported BlackBerry JDE apps. Both application players will be available through the BlackBerry App World storefront.

via BlackBerry

NoDo update causing HTC Windows Phone to sport SNES 16-bit graphics?

Posted: 07 Apr 2011 05:29 PM PDT

Listen, we were fans of the Super Nintendo (SNES) just as much as you. 1991 was a solid year in gaming, but taking a 2011 HTC Windows Phone back to the days of 16-bit graphics is not exactly what we had in mind for a Friday morning. According to user submissions over on wmpoweruser, this is exactly what is happening on the HTC 7 Trophy and HTC HD7 after loading the latest Windows Phone update and NoDo.

It's too bad HTC is not including a SNES emulator with the latest WP7 update, the color banding and 16-bit effects would certainly pair nicely. Joking aside it's time to get down to brass tax. According to Santi, a wmpoweruser reader, his problems with 16-bit color across the entire OS are tied to the new firmware FW 2250.09.1101 and FW 2250.09.12000. Apparently the OS version makes no difference and the problem is being experience on both the HTC 7 Trophy and HTC HD7.

Now that you've seen the proof would any HTC Windows Phone users in the audience like to comment on the situation? Anyone else experiencing a similar issue on their handset? Let us know in the comments below, thanks.

via wmpoweruser

What’s hotter than the Nintendo 3DS in Japan? the PSP

Posted: 07 Apr 2011 04:42 PM PDT

Our insatiable demand for the fresh new Nintendo 3DS in the US and the UK pales in comparison to our friends from Japan. According to the latest Japanese sales data, the Sony PSP has managed to outsell Nintendo's 3D creation for the second week in a row. Unlike last week's figures which tallied all PSP sales, this week it only took sales of the PSP-3000 to eclipse the 3DS.

The grass is greener for Sony in Japan. This week PSP sales reached 58,075 units, an increase of 7,000 on the previous week. Meanwhile the Nintendo 3DS raked in 42,979, down nearly 8,000 units over the last seven days. In the home console segment the Playstation 3 continue to reign supreme with sales of 27,453, a sizable advantage from the number two home console the Nintendo Wii which sold a mere 10,249 units.

To Nintendo's credit, they're DS title 'Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2 Professional' was the best selling game, following its strong debut of 163,008 units. The only 3DS title to make the grade in the top 10 selling titles this week was Pro Yakyu Famista 2011 which finished 9th. The remaining positions were filled with PS3, PSP and PS2 games.

While the Japanese market data is not indicative of the Nintendo's global position, it's certainly reason (or enough of a reason) for Sony to celebrate. Now that we've got a clear picture of how sales are going in Japan, how do you expect sales to look for the US and the UK? We certainly loved the 3DS in our review, give or take a few headaches.

In related Sony news, the official name for the NGP, pricing and launch titles are expected to be announced at this year's E3 Expo. Anyone have a guess for price point?

via Ubergizmo

Blu-ray knows no limits: Panasonic outs 100GB rewritable discs

Posted: 07 Apr 2011 04:23 PM PDT

News flash: we are approaching the day when rewritable media encroaches on the storage capacity of hard drives. In a press release this afternoon, Panasonic confirmed they'll unveil a rewritable single-sided three-layer Blu-ray disc with a 100GB capacity on April 15th. As the world's first rewritable 100GB Blu-ray disc, what's next for consumer electronics giant?

Today's single-sided two-layer Blu-ray disc checks in at an impressive 50GB capacity. The new 100GB rewritable Blu-ray disc shatters that capacity with the potential to store 12 hours of 17Mbps Digital TV or just about every mp3 file of even the largest collection. Now for the important details — compatibility.

The 100GB rewritable discs can be recorded at a maximum of 2x-speed and are compatible with BDXL Part1 Version 3. Basically, you'll need a BDXL-compatible Blu-ray disc recorder that was release after September 2010 to use the disc. Assuming your hardware checks out, Panasonic will begin selling the discs starting next Friday, April 15th.

April 15 | Panasonic | TBD [via Tech-On!]

Unreal gets onboard with Android, Epic Games confirmed

Posted: 07 Apr 2011 04:04 PM PDT

Gaming on Android smartphones continues to elevate as news came in this morning regarding the availability of the Unreal Development Kit (UDK). Epic Games VP Mark Rein confirmed to website Gamasutra that the UDK will appear on Android and they've been providing Unreal Engine 3 in source code format for their licensees for quite some time.

In the early days of Android, and by early I mean a year ago, the elephant in the room had always been the short supply of high-quality gaming titles. Over the past six months gaming for Android has evolved at a staggering pace. First with the Xperia Play announcement which brings the Playstation Suite and possibility of more Playstation-certified handsets and now the Unreal Development Kit (UDK).

The biggest hurdle left for Android in gaming is the size limitation for apps (50MB). For UDK specifically, the pressing issue is that Unreal is designed for high-end, high-quality-content games, which as no surprise, take up tremendous amounts of space. To put it simply, UDK requires cutting-edge hardware (think Tegra2) and needs a large amount of free storage.

“UDK will come eventually to Android, and Google is going to solve that problem – we know they’re working on it, but we don’t know the release date and we don’t know when it will get into the hands of all the different vendors with all the different phones,” said Rein.

Over on the iOS front, UDK proved to be a technological milestone for mobile gaming with the release of Epic's Infinity Blade. Once Google removes that file size limitation expect an Android release. Sit back, relax, and get ready for the next generation of Android gaming my friends — it's coming, very soon.

via GameIndustry.biz

Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc review, Samsung Galaxy S update and the best iPhone apps of the week: Teatime Tech

Posted: 07 Apr 2011 10:12 AM PDT

It’s the end of another working day. Want to see what you’ve missed in gadgetry while you’ve been slaving away? Check out our teatime tech roundup right here. Read on!

First up, let’s talk Android: specifically, the Samsung Galaxy S. It’s just joined the ranks of 2010 phones promised an Android 2.3 update, and it looks set to get it as soon as this month.

We also set loose our full review of the long awaited, hard to see from the side Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc. Is it worth your cash with dual core phones around the corner? Click to to find out.

Over on the iOS side of things meanwhile, we checked out a new best iPhone apps entrant for the weight conscious: Meal Snap.

Still want more news? Roll on over to the homepage and help yourself to it all as it breaks.

Samsung Galaxy S Android 2.3 update hits this month?

Posted: 07 Apr 2011 10:04 AM PDT

It’s a race. Will the Samsung Galaxy S Android 2.3 update hit first, or will the HTC Desire get its Gingerbread infusion beforehand? After finding out that the latter was set to get it as soon as this month, we’re now hearing that Samsung’s own veteran smartphone is due to receive it within “weeks”.

Word comes from UK network Three, which promised a customer on its Twitter feed earlier today that the Android 2.3 update is “expected in the next couple of weeks but we cannot confirm a date”. The tweet appears to have since been pulled, but the news should come as no surprise after an early build of Android 2.3 for the Galaxy S leaked online last month.

We’ve got the rundown on all the features it bring in our in depth guide, but in short, we’re looking at a revised browser, new animations and app support and improved battery life, though not the new TouchWiz UI and hubs destined for the Samsung Galaxy S 2.

Still, it’s good to see yet another manufacturer digging their heels in and pledging to keep what is almost a year old device bang up to date with the latest build. Would this stop you from upgrading come the end of your contract? Let us know in the comments.

Out TBC | £TBC | Samsung (Via TechRadar)

Best iPhone apps: app of the day = Meal Snap

Posted: 07 Apr 2011 08:42 AM PDT

Summer is just behind those grey clouds and with it the frightening prospect of having to be seen in public in swimming trunks. Today’s best iPhone apps entrant is perfect if you’re watching what you eat to get yourself a little trimmer. MealSnap gives you an estimate of the calories in any meal you eat by analysing a quick snap. I’ve tried it on both meals laid out on the plate and packaged items and it really does seem to work…

The Meal Snap iPhone app keeps track of your meals and allows you to categorise them by Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner or as any number of different snacks (which might just be classed as cheating on some diets!). If you need to be motivated/shamed by friends, you can share your meals via Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare too.

It’s a clever little tool and certainly one of the best iPhone apps in its category, though it’s only good if you’re counting calories and not the magic fitness tool that feeds you chocolate but keeps you thin that I’ve been waiting for. You can see Meal Snap in action below:

YouTube link

Out now | £1.79 | iTunes

Tech Business: iPad 2, domain name fortunes and the power of the cloud

Posted: 07 Apr 2011 07:11 AM PDT

The folks over at our sister site BizGene.com have been hard at work this week, looking at all things business, and as ever they’ve come up with some gold we can all put to use. Read on for the finest picks of the week.

BizGene’s been taking a particularly close look at domain names this week – and not just what’s in a name, but how much is in a name. This year website Sedo.com sold a domain name for $13 million, and with that in mind they’ve prepped a guide to show you how you chose a domain name that not only gets more people to your site, but could provide a nice little nest egg for you in the future.

They’ve been looking at other monetizing tricks too. For example, if you have a blog or a web site with some healthy traffic then there’s another way you can make revenue aside from Google’s AdSense. With affiliate marketing you can run web adverts that don’t just pay you pence each time a person click on the advert, they pay tens of pounds and sometimes you can carry on reaping the results for
years after.

Even if you don’t work on the web, time is one resource that we all have, and we all waste. BizGene’s looked at some easy ways for to reorganise your life so you have more time to play with those all important gadgets. Speaking of which, if you’re out on the road a lot and compere many presentations, then their sales guide to the iPad 2 could help you become much more productive. Anyhow, get stuck in at the links below:

How to choose a domain name that’s worth millions

Making your life and your work balance

What the cloud can do for you

Why the iPad 2 is the best tool for the road warrior

How to make extra money from your web site and blog