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- INTERVIEW: The Wire’s Idris Elba talks tech, his love of Apple and enjoying apps in the lavatory…
- The iPhone prototype that wipes itself if you’re unconscious
- A5 MacBook Air, Nokia E6, Ecopad: US Update
- Creative ZiiLabs Android Honeycomb tablets to pack resistive screens: Oh dear
- Windows Phone 7 flooded with 1,200 apps in five days, spam alert!
- Motorola Atrix hits T-Mobile on Wednesday
- Ecopad tablet concept: powered by Honeycomb, no charging required
- Nokia E6 pre-orders now available £349 SIM-free
- Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 hits FCC: on track for summer release date
- 2011 MacBook Air: powered by A5 processor with Thunderbolt I/O?
| INTERVIEW: The Wire’s Idris Elba talks tech, his love of Apple and enjoying apps in the lavatory… Posted: 27 May 2011 12:36 PM PDT  From Hackney to Hollywood: you probably know Idris Elba as ruthless drug kingpin ‘Stringer’ Bell in HBO’s The Wire, but the A-list actor started out as a pirate radio DJ in East London. We called him up to chat about his obsession with everything Apple, making music on the iPad and why the best place to enjoy an app is the gents lavatory…
"The best time-wasting apps are games like Cut The Rope because you can play them without anybody knowing what you're doing. Then there's Real Racing 2 HD. That is proper! The only thing is, you look like a right pr*ck sitting there turning the iPad round and round. That's one for playing in private; even if you're in a restaurant and you go for a number two, you can have a game on that real quick…"
“GarageBand on the iPad is really intuitive. They've made it really simple. You've got the chords, the smart keys, the smart piano, the smart drums; it’s perfect for putting down an idea in ten minutes. With the drum kits in GarageBand you can knock out a phenomenal beat. They add different kits, too – I can't wait for the updates to that."
"I'd have the iPad smoked out. Black gunsmoke metal, like a frickin' plate of armour. I could hold it next to my chest and it'd look like body armour. And I’d have my company logo – my company's called Headshell – etched into the back. Phwoarrrr! To be honest, I'm going to have to go and do that right now…"
"My first music-making experience was in school, where I learnt to play the drums. Then I left school and started DJ-ing on pirate radio as DJ Kipling (‘Exceedingly good tunes’) and bought my first drum machine, a Roland 303. It was phenomenal, one of the best pieces of technology I've ever bought. Then I got one of the first four-track mini disc players. Before that it was all tape, you know – this was Minidisc and it was crisp! I made loads of songs on that little set up. Although these days, if I'm DJ-ing in a club I'll use my MacBook Pro with either Serato or Tracktor."
"My secondary school drama teacher was Welsh. She was a great girl – really encouraging. I had a crush on her, too. Although my parents didn't mind the idea [of me becoming an actor] for a long time they thought it was just a hobby. I think they’ve started to like the idea now…"
BBC drama series Luther returns soon, here’s the new trailer…
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| The iPhone prototype that wipes itself if you’re unconscious Posted: 27 May 2011 09:45 AM PDT  The iPhone 4 leak will go down in history as one of Apple’s most embarrassing slip-ups, so it should come as no surprise that the company has vowed to ensure it never happens ever again. But the extremes Cupertino has gone to, described in a new report, are still eye opening. Read on to find out about the iPhone that self-destructs.
TechnoBuffalo has a fascinating piece this week on just how Apple and Verizon kept a CDMA version of the iPhone 4 a secret in the run up to its January launch, from a source close to the proceedings. But the most remarkable nugget in the article is a description of how Apple secures prototype iPhones being tested out in the wild. Field testing smartphones is of course essential, but does expose them to being left in bars, then sold to technology blogs. And as the feature points out, though Find My iPhone can shut down an errant handset from afar, what happens if it’s not reported missing? As TechnoBuffalo puts it, what if the tester “got punched in the head for drunkenly hitting on someone's girl?” To prevent this, the report says, Apple requires testers to text a PIN code to a secret number every 12 hours, or be wiped. That’s smart, but let’s put things in perspective here. Apple is so security conscious that it’s built in a fail safe in case a person doesn’t just lose a phone while testing it, but is incapacitated while testing it. That’s both testament to the company’s genius, and its overbearing controlling attitude. And it makes you wonder what lengths Apple is going to while testing the iPhone 5, iPhone 6 and even iPhone 7 – which you can bet it’s doing somewhere right now. Vacuums in space? Volcano lairs? Who knows. Oh, and as a reminder, here’s the video that started the whole affair – police raids, drunken escapades and all. (via TechnoBuffalo) Related posts:
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| A5 MacBook Air, Nokia E6, Ecopad: US Update Posted: 27 May 2011 09:45 AM PDT 
Contrary to previous claims suggesting the 2011 MacBook Air would use Intel Core I chips like its MacBook Pro brother, the upcoming MacBook Air will be powered by the A5 chip — the same chip inside the iPad 2. Want to find out what else will be inside your new MBA? The Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 has been handled and certified by the FCC, a sign we'll see the slate this summer. Will Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 and 8.9 be the knock out punch Android needs to battle Apple in 2011? The Symbian 3 OS powered Nokia E6 is now available for pre-order on the company's UK store for £349 (SIM-free). Armed with a touchscreen display and physical QWERTY keypad, the E6 looks to be the perfect replacement for your E71 or E72. Tired of your tablet running out of battery life? Well we have the perfect tablet concept for you. The Ecopad uses a NANO piezoelectricity film which collects power from every touch and swipe on the screen. Is this the future of eco-friendly tablets? Last in this morning is news on Windows Phone 7. A report over at WMPowerUser shows that more than 1,200 apps have been added to the Marketplace in the past five days. Most of the apps are slight variations of existing apps, but growth nonetheless. Is this a sign Windows Phone 7 is on the rise? That wraps up your week of tech news. As always I'm Nick Marshall and I'll see you again on Monday. Related posts:
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| Creative ZiiLabs Android Honeycomb tablets to pack resistive screens: Oh dear Posted: 27 May 2011 09:14 AM PDT  Creative ZiiLabs has a couple of new Android tablet designs out today which it’s hoping to flog to willing white label manufacturers. They’re Android 3.x “Honeycomb” compatible, but one option is a bit of a blast from the past: it uses a resistive touchscreen. Is Google’s tablet OS destined for the bargain basement?
A couple of ZiiLabs’ new Jaguar reference platform Android tablets look rather tasty. The 7-and 10-inch slates are powered by ARM Cortex-A9 dual or quad-core processors and capable of outputting full 1080p video to your TV through HDMI, and can pack in up to 64GB of storage as well as 4G WiMAX connectivity. In a little bit of a disturbing twist however, ZiiLabs is providing options for both capacitive and resistive touchscreens on top of its designs. A little primer: capacitive screens are the ones widely used in smartphones today, not capable of pixel-precise accuracy, but able to recognise multiple inputs and pull off those swooshy zoomy pinch gestures. Resistive touchscreens on the other hand are generally cheaper and more precise, but as a result need a precise input – such as the point of a stylus, and not your fingertip. And you have to push, hard. Thus in general consumer use, they tend to result in quite a shocking experience, as we’ve see on previous Google-disapproved, cheap Android tablets. Want proof? Watch BBC tech correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones struggle with the resistive screen on the Next Android tablet in the clip below. Google has yet to open-source the code for Honeycomb – possibly for this very reason – so we’d be surprised if it’ll fork it over to any manufacturers interested in a cheaper resistive tablet option. Would Google be smart not to here? Let us know your thoughts in the comments! Out TBC | £TBC | ZiiLabs Related posts:
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| Windows Phone 7 flooded with 1,200 apps in five days, spam alert! Posted: 27 May 2011 08:45 AM PDT 
Judging by the Marketplace rate of growth chart (seen below), Windows Phone 7 looks to be on a roll. Unfortunately, a majority of the 1,200 apps are minor variants of existing apps. However, Windows Phone 7 is not alone in these app redundancies. Both Android and iOS have plenty of developers creating customized versions of apps for local markets.
While the need for such apps remains in question, the rapid growth could be a sign Windows Phone 7 is becoming an App contender. We've heard Windows Phone is destined to eclipse Android and iOS, maybe this is further evidence to those claims. Fact or fiction? via WMPoweruser Related posts:
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| Motorola Atrix hits T-Mobile on Wednesday Posted: 27 May 2011 08:12 AM PDT 
You’re looking at night on identical pricing for the Motorola Atrix on T-Mobile. For £37.75 per month over two years, the dual-core 1GHz phone comes free, while contracts above £40.85 come with the Work & Play keyboard, mouse and HDMI dock free (£129 separately. The intriguing but pricey lapdock rings up £299.   The lapdock, which is powered by the Atrix's processor, sells separately for £299 As we said in our Motorola Atrix review earlier this month, we enjoyed the power and versatility of the phone, but its absurd Motoblur software skin atop a now out of date version of Android (2.2) makes it a tough sell – that’s especially true on T-Mobile, which already sells the Samsung Galaxy S 2. Pre-order with our blessing, but be sure to read up on both first.
Out 1 June | £varies | T-Mobile Related posts:
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| Ecopad tablet concept: powered by Honeycomb, no charging required Posted: 27 May 2011 07:58 AM PDT 
Powered by either Android Honeycomb or Chrome OS, the Ecopad tablet concept comes from the creative mind of Jun-se Kim, Yonggu Do and Eunha Seo. As the diagram indicates, the slate incorporates a four-layer approach: LCD panel, NANO piezoelectricity film, battery and main components. The concept, although simple, is quite remarkable: the more you use the slate, the more battery power builds.
Now, if only we could see NANO piezoelectricity film works its way into some phone concepts. Lord knows we could all use a never-ending battery on our smartphones. Am I right? via Concept-Phones Related posts:
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| Nokia E6 pre-orders now available £349 SIM-free Posted: 27 May 2011 07:40 AM PDT 
If you can swallow the £349 price tag, the Nokia E6's classic E series styling welcomes heavy email users with open arms. Featuring a 2.46-inch 640 x 480 capacitive touchscreen, most will be shocked to find the pixel density of the display matches the Retina display on the iPhone 4 (326 ppi). Beyond the razor-sharp screen is 8GB of internal memory, a microSD card slot, 1500 mAh battery and an 8-megapixel full focus camera (VGA front-facing) capable of 720p HD video recording. The Nokia E6 will begin shipping in late June. Pre-order now | Nokia | £349 SIM-free Related posts:
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| Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 hits FCC: on track for summer release date Posted: 27 May 2011 06:13 AM PDT 
There are two major players in the Android tablet space: the Motorola Xoom and the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer. The latter, at least for now, looks to be walking away with a commanding lead. To battle ASUS, the combination of a Galaxy Tab 8.9 and 10.1 might just be the one-two punch Samsung needs to win this war. The Galaxy Tab 8.9, as you'll recall, features a 1 GHz dual-core processor, 1GB RAM, Android 3.x Honeycomb and weighs 470g, significantly lighter than the 601g iPad 2 or 595g Galaxy Tab 10.1. While Apple still argues the 10-inch form factor is the ideal size for tablets, Samsung's decision to offer three sizes (7, 8.9, 10.1) caters to a wider audience. RIM's BlackBerry PlayBook has done well with a 7-inch display; can Samung do the same with the Tab 8.9? Coming Soon | Samsung | $469 (£286) Related posts:
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| 2011 MacBook Air: powered by A5 processor with Thunderbolt I/O? Posted: 27 May 2011 05:48 AM PDT 
An A5-powered MacBook Air, while shocking, is not a total surprise. Earlier this month reports surfaced suggesting Apple would move away from Intel processors in favor of ARM for all of its portables. Using the iPad 2's A5 processor in the 2011 MacBook Air would certainly justify that claim. According to the report from Japanese blog Macotakara, Apple is having trouble integrating Thunderbolt I/O with iOS and therefore has not decided between its mobile OS and OS X. By using the A5 processor the 2011 MacBook Air could offer a thinner design, increased battery life and a smaller footprint since CPU, GPU and RAM reside on a single die. As always, take these rumors with a grain of salt, but feel free to entertain the idea of an A5-powered 2011 MacBook Air. Assuming the rumor pans out do you think Apple will use iOS or OS X Lion for the razor-thin laptop? Coming Soon | Apple | TBD Related posts:
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