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HTC Sensation review: What do you want to know?
Motorola Droid 3, Sony PSN outage priced, Apple Store 2.0: US Update
Apple Store 2.0 live, now powered by iPad 2 [video]
Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 accessories revealed, HDMI and USB support confirmed
PlayStation Network outage will cost Sony £106m
iPhone 4 in 64GB capacity inbound: better late than never?
Alcatel OT-990 Android phone preview: Gingerbread dips below £100
Motorola Droid 3 joins Droid X2 as latest LTE-less handset for Verizon
Sign up to Electricpig Prime Cuts and win a PlayStation 3!
iPhone nano, new Asus tablet teased and PSP games headed to PS3: Lunchtime Lowdown

HTC Sensation review: What do you want to know?

Posted: 23 May 2011 09:57 AM PDT

The HTC Sensation has landed at Electricpig. We’ve nabbed one of the very first dual-core HTC handsets in the country – Vodafone has short term exclusivity on the smartphone – and we’re naturally going to put it through the wringer for you, as we always do. So, time to tell us: what do you want to know about the HTC Sensation?

Want to know about how HTC Watch works on a smaller screen than the Flyer tablet? How that dual-core CPU handles 1080p video and Android 2.3 Gingerbread? Whatever you’re after, just jot down your queries in the comments below.

Of course, we’re expecting most of you want to know how it compares to our current smartphone king, the Samsung Galaxy S 2 – you can bet we’ll tell you that, but if there’s anything else you want to see in our HTC Sensation review coming later this week, just pipe up here and now. Stay tuned and enjoy our unboxing photos in the gallery above.

Motorola Droid 3, Sony PSN outage priced, Apple Store 2.0: US Update

Posted: 23 May 2011 09:00 AM PDT

Jump starting your week it's time for your evening dose of tech news. Today we begin with an update on the Motorola Droid 3, also known as the Milestone 3. We carry on with Sony's forecast predicting the PSN hack will cost £160m and we close with Apple Store 2.0, the future of Mac retail. This and more on today's US Update.

The Motorola Droid 3 has been spotted and the specs are as follows: 4-inch qHD display, 5-row QWERTY keyboard, 8-megapixel camera, 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera and Tegra 2 or TI OMAP 4430 dual-core processor. Unfortunately it appears Motorola skimped on 4G LTE support just like the Droid X2. A 64GB iPhone 4 release looks imminent. New details, by way of an internal memo, explicitly mention both a 32GB and 64GB white iPhone 4 headed to Verizon Wireless. Will this be Apple's hot summer seller?

This Thursday Sony will release its earnings report but instead of the expected net profit of 70 billion yen (£531m), the company expects to post a net loss of 260 billion yen (£1.98b). After 77 million user accounts were compromised we now know Sony expects monetary damages to hit £160m, but is this enough? The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 is back in the spotlight after receiving a warm welcome at Google I/O last week. Over on Samsung Germany, 10 new accessories have been unveiled including both HDMI and USB connection kits.

Last up this morning is Apple Store 2.0. The Cupertino camp has replaced the printed details alongside its products in store with iPad 2s running a special 'Smart Sign' app. In addition, Apple has released a new version of its iOS Apple Store app which now offers built-to-order (BTO) Macs and an optimized version for the iPad. That wraps up the latest and greatest in the fine world of tech. As always I'm Nick Marshall and I'll see you again tomorrow.

Apple Store 2.0 live, now powered by iPad 2 [video]

Posted: 23 May 2011 08:11 AM PDT

The cat is out of the bag, Apple's big surprise for its 10th retail anniversary is making its way around the globe. Based on Apple nomenclature, we'd call the makeover a mid-2011 retail refresh. At the heart of Apple Store 2.0 is the iPad 2, replacing the printed details previously located alongside its products. That's not the only change; they say a picture is worth a thousand words so here's a cool million.

As the video so aptly illustrates, the iPad 2 is running a special 'Smart Sign' app which provides five shortcuts: features, compare, new to Mac, support and specialist. The latter serves as a notifier to send a friendly Apple associate your way to answer additional questions. This hands-off retail approach has served Apple very well. As someone who can't stand a pushy salesperson, the app looks like a sure-fire winner.

In addition to the iPad 2 display units, a new version of the Apple Store app is now available via iTunes. Custom built (BTO) Macs are now baked in and the app has been optimized for the iPad. Not bad for a retail refresh, don’t you think?

via 9to5Mac

Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 accessories revealed, HDMI and USB support confirmed

Posted: 23 May 2011 07:42 AM PDT

If you didn't happen to be one of the 5,000 attendees at Google I/O to receive a shiny new Samasung Galaxy 10.1 then odds are you'll be a bit surprised to find out the world's thinnest slate lacks USB, HDMI connections as well as a SD card slot. At first glance this might be considered a shortcoming, but in truth the plan all along was to use Samsung's 30-pin connector — likely a result of its razor thin design. Here's a sneak peak at 10 brand spanking new accessories planned for the Galaxy Tab 10.1.

Fresh off the Samsung.de website we bring you two cases for the Tab 10.1: the £60 'pocket diary' and £26 'bag'. The 'pocket diary' is a hard shell protective case with a built-in kickstand while the 'bag' is a traditional leather sleeve, much like the ones used on laptops. Moving up in price is a £130 Bluetooth keyboard as well as a £69 keyboard dock with sound amplifier and £30 desktop docking station.

Now for the stars of the show, a 30-pin to HDMI connector and USB connection kit. The latter is rumored to ship with the Galaxy Tab 10.1, but in the event that doesn't happen we can expect either adapter to set us back £26. The last and final accessory is a Bluetooth headset, priced at £43.

Keep in mind prices and availability of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 accessories are subject to change. The good news, for now, is that we know accessories do exist and the 30-pin port will provide both HDMI output and USB connectivity.

Coming June | Samsung | £26 – £130

PlayStation Network outage will cost Sony £106m

Posted: 23 May 2011 07:03 AM PDT

In a surprise twist this afternoon, Sony has updated investors with revised estimates ahead of its official earnings report scheduled for Thursday. The company now expects to post a net loss of 260 billion yen (£1.98b), a far cry from its net profit forecast of 70 billion yen (£531m) for 2010 to 2011. Now, for the first time, we can put a price tag on the PSN outage which compromised millions of our identities.

The number is £106m. That’s the price Sony has placed on the damages it suffered as a result of the PlayStation Network intrusion. In a statement this afternoon to investors the company said, "Based on information currently available to Sony, our current known costs associated with the unauthorised network access are estimated to be approximately 14 billion yen in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2012.”

While £106m is a sizable figure, this is only part of the picture. Think of all the credit card companies which will need to re-issue new cards in light of the attack. That's potentially 77 million credit or bank cards, a cost we'll likely passed on to consumers in higher interest rates and/or surcharges. Factor in future losses associated with identity theft and today's news is only the tip of the iceberg.

Was £106m more or less than you expected Sony to suffer from its PSN outage? Sound off.

via gamesindustry.biz | Reuters

iPhone 4 in 64GB capacity inbound: better late than never?

Posted: 23 May 2011 06:35 AM PDT

The white iPhone 4 had its fair share of setbacks leading to its 10-month delay. Today, fresh news has surfaced supporting previous claims the iPhone 4 would be offered in a 64 GB capacity. This is not our first dance with the 64 GB iPhone 4, in fact we've seen the device handled and photographed once or twice before. Is this the latest sign the iPhone 5 (4S) will be delayed until late 2011 or early 2012?

Today's confirmation Apple will released a 64GB iPhone 4 comes by way of ThisIsMyNext. The site managed to track down a memo referencing the high-capacity iPhone 4 circulating over at third-party Verizon retailer Russel Cellular. While this could be a typo, how hard would it be for Apple to carry over the 64GB capacity from the fourth generation iPod Touch to its iPhone line?

The recent iPhone 5 (4S) leaks which suggest the fifth generation smartphone will miss the traditional summer launch further support these claims. What better way to keep iPhone 4 sales rolling in this summer than a larger capacity iPhone? The question remains — will this be enough to win at the register? We're not sure, but 64GB would certainly be enough to silence critics unhappy with the iPhone's lack of expandable memory.

via ThisIsMyNext

Alcatel OT-990 Android phone preview: Gingerbread dips below £100

Posted: 23 May 2011 06:25 AM PDT

The Alcatel OT-990 isn’t an Android phone for spec heads. While Samsung and HTC do battle at the top end of the market with dual-core CPUs and lavish qHD displays, this new handset is designed to lure in Pay As You Go folk, with a sub £100 price tag, but also the latest version of Android. It’s not out until August but we’ve been testing a prototype over the weekend: read on to see what we make of it.

We wouldn’t blame you if you’d never heard of Alcatel before. The French phone peddler is known for its awful dumphones and rapper/royal family tie-ins rather than smartphones, but it’s no stranger to smartphones: last year, it quietly released the Alcatel OT-980, a charming £99 phone with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard.

Budget build?

It’s following that up with the Alcatel OT-990, which is out in August on Pay As You go exclusively on O2 – the first time an Alcatel smartphone’s been sold through a network. This one lacks a QWERTY keyboard, but will ship with Android 2.2 Froyo and receive an Andorid 2.3 upgrade in Q4 (October-December), the network says.

The Alcatel OT-990 comes with a 3.5-inch capacitive touchscreen with a 480×320 resolution, plus a five megapixel camera with flash, and the whole thing is powered by a 600MHz CPU. In the hand, the 12.2mm thick smartphone has a satisfying solidity, with a nice arrangement of touch sensitive buttons below the screen, and a raised physical home button.

The back cover has a lovely rubberised and smudge resistant finish, complete “with Google” logo, but this could actually change. O2 says it’s planning to run a competition on Facebook next month to let readers vote for another back panel to be included on the Alcatel OT-990, and we’d expect the shortlisted candidates to be a little bit more vibrant, INQ style.

All in all, it’s a solid piece of kit for under a ton. Of course, so is the Orange San Francisco, which is made by ZTE, sells for the same price, and comes with a superior, sharper AMOLED screen, presumably through some Faustian pact. However, there is software to consider.

Untouched Android

In a rare occurrence, the Alcatel OT-990 will actually be sold without a software skin. on top of Android – and if you’ve read our reviews of LG and Motorola‘s recent Android smartphones, you’ll know we’re rarely fans of them.

What we’ve got here is largely untouched Android 2.2, complete with the typical Google apps. The only obvious change Alcatel has made is to switch out the stock keyboard for CooTek’s TouchPal on-screen QWERTY. We found it frustrating to use, but you can of course switch it out for one of many (free) alternatives on the Android Market. O2 also says it’s planning to ship the Alcatel OT-990 with the most popular free Android apps on the Market preloaded, which is a welcome touch.

Check out our best Android phone: budget Top 5 here

We were testing a pre-production unit, but the 600MHz CPU delivers surprisingly impressive performance in the web browser, with pinch to zoom gestures coming across very smoothly indeed. It should be more than enough to handle email, web pages and even the odd game of Angry Birds, though the processor used means Adobe Flash support is out of the question. Oh well, you can’t have everything for nothing, right?

Verdict

An unskilled Android phone available for under £100 is music to our ears, especially if it receives a timely upgrade to Gingerbread, and while the Orange San Francisco lingers on Android 2.1, it could be the budget smartphone to get. Stay tuned, and we’ll have a full review for you in due course.

Motorola Droid 3 joins Droid X2 as latest LTE-less handset for Verizon

Posted: 23 May 2011 05:51 AM PDT

Unconfirmed reports are rolling in this afternoon revealing details surrounding the third generation Motorola Droid (Milestone), the Droid 3. Sporting a 4-inch qHD display like its older brother, the Motorola Atrix, the Droid 3 packs an impressive feature set with one notable omission – LTE 4G support. Will the upcoming Droid 3 follow in the footsteps of the Droid X 2 and HTC Incredible 2 before it?

The Motorola Droid 3 is armed with a 5-row QWERTY keyboard, 8-megapixel camera (1.3-megapixel front-facing) and either a Nvidia Tegra 2 or Texas Instruments' OMAP4430 dual-core processor. While these specs are certainly cause for celebration, Verizon has been touting its 4G LTE as the fastest game in town. If the purported specs prove true, this would be the third high-end smartphone to miss the mark.

Can the Droid 3 survive without 4G LTE? We'll find out soon, the handset is expected to be released this June.

Coming June | Verizon Wireless | TBD

Posted: 23 May 2011 05:23 AM PDT

We’ve got plenty of juciy competitions running on Electripcig at the moment: as well as a brand new, unreleased BlackBerry PlayBook on offer, we’re giving a PlayStation 3 and a copy of DiRT 3 to one lucky subscriber of our Prime Cuts newsletter. Get yourself in on the draw right now by signing up here, and hurry – you’ve only got until Wednesday before the draw!

Click to enter

iPhone nano, new Asus tablet teased and PSP games headed to PS3: Lunchtime Lowdown

Posted: 23 May 2011 05:13 AM PDT

It’s been another bizzay morning in tech news and views, but if you’ve been away from your desk and missed it all, fear not! We’re on hand to deliver it all to you in bitesize chunks here in our lunchtime lowdown roundup. Here comes the plane!

First up, let’s talk mobile. A new rumour hit the web today, with a report suggesting that the iPhone 5 may sport a curved screen, just like an iPod nano. We also got a glimpse of what might be Asus‘ new smartphone – if it’s not also a tablet, that is.

Over in gaming meanwhile, Sony announced plans to port PSP games to the PS3, allowing you to play on both devices and move saves between them.

Finally, with the launch of iCloud tantalisingly close, we took a look at why it may still beat Google Music to the cloud locker punch.

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