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- Orange Monte Carlo officially announced
- Apple iPad 2 Plus coming this year: do we need it?
- Microsoft wants £9 for every Samsung Android smartphone sold: are they crazy?
- Sony PSN Pass: will it axe the second-hand game market?
- HP Pre 3 set for August 31 release: bad news for webOS
- Spotify-Virgin Media love-in, Ofcom speed map, and iPhone 5 coming September: Lunchtime Lowdown
- Release date, movie streaming, 3D: 7 revelations about the Nintendo Wii U
- PayPal Twitter hack leaves customers concerned
- Star Wars Call of Duty mod revealed: frag in a galaxy far far away
- iPhone 5: September launch rumours revived
| Orange Monte Carlo officially announced Posted: 06 Jul 2011 08:50 AM PDT
If you’ve been following it you’ll be aware this is one of most hotly anticipated handsets of the year, so read on for more. It's a strange name for a bargain phone, considering the city's lush casinos and playboys. But with a 4.3-inch screen, 5-megapixel camera and 800MHz processor, the Orange Monte Carlo (aka ZTE Skate) is a serious contender for blower of the year. We spotted it as listed on Orange's website last week, now it's been officially announced. Android 2.3 comes as standard on the Monte Carlo, but unfortunately any more details are scant, with no release date or price. All we've been promised is it'll hit the shelves this summer. Out summer | £TBC | Orange Related posts:
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| Apple iPad 2 Plus coming this year: do we need it? Posted: 06 Jul 2011 07:41 AM PDT
There's no two ways about it — the iPad 2 is a smashing success. Supply is the only limiting factor for iPad 2 sales as Apple's marketing team has been able to leverage the unique qualities of its slate beautifully with online and TV adverts. Third quarter shipments are expected to reach 14 million units. As successful as the iPad 2 has become, the iPad 2 Plus is rumored to include one upgrade many had hoped to see in the current version — a higher resolution display. IBT is reporting the iPad 2 Plus could feature a display in the neighborhood of 250 to 300 pixels per inch (ppi). This display would match the rumored display of the iPad 3 DigiTimes has also reported. A higher resolution display would certainly be a welcome addition, but far from a necessity. If all other aspects of the iPad 2 remained unchanged, the iPad 2 Plus would be an even smaller upgrade than the iPhone 3GS was to the 3G. Based on that fact alone, we hardly need a new version in 2011. Unless Apple plans to step up the optics, increase RAM as well as double the display resolution we could hold out until 2012. Related posts:
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| Microsoft wants £9 for every Samsung Android smartphone sold: are they crazy? Posted: 06 Jul 2011 07:15 AM PDT
Burning bridges with smartphone manufacturers is not an advisable tactic, especially when you're the purveyor of a relatively new OS with a small install base. Windows Phone is not Android by any stretch of the imagination. While some analysts believe that one day (as soon as 2013) it may become a contender, its present-day market share is minor compared to iOS, Android, Symbian and BlackBerry OS. Imposing a £9 fee per Android smartphone sold sounds insane. But why would Microsoft go ahead with royalty fee? One possibility is that it realizes Android growth is unstoppable and Samsung smartphone sales will continue to sky rocket. The money Microsoft would make from Samsung selling Windows Phones probably pales in comparison to the £9 per handset. The goal of a business is to make money — a royalty guarantees this. Whether Samsung honors the proposed £9 royalty is an entirely different story. We imagine that fighting for the £6 fee will be a top priority, even if it decides to skip plans of launching future Windows Phones. If there's one thing we've learned through today's revelations it's that Microsoft is prepared to cash in on Android and no relationship is safe. Related posts:
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| Sony PSN Pass: will it axe the second-hand game market? Posted: 06 Jul 2011 06:53 AM PDT
There's still two months before Resistance 3 goes on sale and we have a full grasp on Sony's PSN Pass. Industry insiders believe the PSN Pass will either be launched simultaneously or in advance of that date. But what is PSN Pass? Allegedly, the new feature will be similar to those used by EA and THQ, which discourages the purchase of pre-owned games by locking multiplayer modes and special content to specific codes. Purchased a used copy of a game requires a new code to access the same content. While Sony has yet to confirm such a feature, Andrew House, then president of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, said Sony was supportive of the model. Officially, he said, "on the principle of making online portions of the game available or unlocked from the disc-based release for a fee, we're broadly supportive of that. And we're exploring actively the same option for our own content.” The move would undoubtedly help boost revenues for Sony, but at the expense of second-hand game retailers. Last week we confirmed Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D saves game data to the Nintendo 3DS and this week we have the PSN Pass. That's a painful one-two punch for used games. Related posts:
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| HP Pre 3 set for August 31 release: bad news for webOS Posted: 06 Jul 2011 06:35 AM PDT
Yesterday HP's webOS boss Jon Rubinstein sent out an internal letter of support to both the TouchPad engineers and the webOS 3.0 development team. In the letter he reminds that, "it's a marathon, not a sprint" when it comes to refining webOS and the TouchPad. Unfortunately history has proven time is not on the side of the underdog. Coming to market last and offering an unfinished OS are hardly ingredients for success. At CES 2009 Palm announced the Pre and webOS. It took six months before the phone came to fruition, launching only days after Apple's WWDC convention. We thought Palm learned its lesson from these two critical mistakes. Apparently that's not the case and the HP Pre 3 will be a repeat offender with a six and a half month gap between announcement and launch. By late August, an army of bigger, better and faster Android smartphones will be the talk of the town — not to mention the fifth generation iPhone. HP needs to realize that six months is a lifetime in smartphones. If you want a successful product launch cut the time between announcement and release to three months. Related posts:
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| Spotify-Virgin Media love-in, Ofcom speed map, and iPhone 5 coming September: Lunchtime Lowdown Posted: 06 Jul 2011 04:30 AM PDT
This morning's been a doozy, with Spotify teaming up with Virgin Media, Ofcom showing you where to move to next, and iPhone 5 September launch rumours gathering pace.
Spotify has signed a deal with Virgin Media, meaning the ISP will offer music streaming to customers through its broadband, mobile, and TV services. Options include online only, or Spotify Premium, and you can expect exclusives and special offers aplenty. Spotify with one of our favourite TV services? Where do we sign? Nintendo boss Reggie Fils-Aime has spilled seven revelations on the forthcoming Wii U, including when it's out (after April 1st next year), will it have movie streaming (it's possible), and whether it'll work along with the 3DS (he's working on it). Ofcom has created a map of the UK showing where's got the best broadband, and where to avoid. We’re upping sticks and hotfooting it to Edinburgh, sharpish. The iPhone 5 will be coming September, according to another rumour. The manufacturers has apparently taken an order for 15 million units, which either spells a launch or one hell of a giveaway. Finally, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare has a Star Wars mod. It's taken two-and-a-half years, and looks bloody amazing. Related posts:
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| Release date, movie streaming, 3D: 7 revelations about the Nintendo Wii U Posted: 06 Jul 2011 03:29 AM PDT The more we hear about the Wii U, the more we can't wait to get one under our TV. So we're chuffed Nintendo's president and chief operating officer has just spilled more about the forthcoming console. So when's it out? Will it stream movies to the control? Can you use the 3DS with it? And will it get 3D capabilities in the near future? All will be revealed…
Reggie Fils-Aime, president and chief operating officer, sat down with business mag Forbes to chat Wii U. But don't worry, we've picked through all the guff about sales figures to bring you the details that really matter. So, let's get straight to the meat of the matter. 1 It'll be on sale in April 2012 Spring is traditionally launch time for Nintendo, with the 3DS launching on March 25th this year, and it seems next year will be no different. "It will launch after April 1st 2012," Fils-Aime told Forbes. We're counting down the days already. 2 It'll sell along the original Wii Again, it's in Nintendo history to have consoles selling contemporaneously. "What I can tell you is when we launched the original Wii, there was an overlap with Gamecube," said Fils-Aime. "When we launched the original DS there was an overlap with the Gameboy Advance. I actually think maybe that one is more applicable, because Gameboy Advance was a tremendous, tremendous platform in its own right, and yet it sold side by side to the original DS, at least here in the US, for almost two full years." He went on to add they can survive side by side for a certain amount of time, but that the backwards compatible Wii U would definitely become the one standalone system. 3 It could stream movies from the console to the controller He didn't come out and say it, but when questioned whether the interviewer could stream Netflix to watch on the control, he answered, "theoretically, it's possible." 4 But won't work as a standalone system If someone else is watching the TV, you'll still need to keep the console switched on to stream games to it, as the controller is powered by it. 5 It'll integrate with the 3DS He said Nintendo is seeing the opportunity for cross-platform playing, and that Smash Brothers could be one of the pioneers to work across both. We're salivating at the prospect. 6 There'll be more focus online, with a more open ecosystem Fils-Aime was keen to admit Nintendo needs to do more online, especially faced with the likes of Xbox Live. "We've seen what our competitors have done, and we've acknowledged that we need to do more online, starting with the launch of our eShop on Nintendo 3DS, and we're going to continue to build our online capability. For Wii U, we're going to take that one step further, and what we're doing is creating a much more flexible system that will allow the best approaches by independent publishers to come to bear. So instead of a situation where a publisher has their own network and wants that to be the predominant platform, and having arguments with platform holders, we're going to welcome that. We're going to welcome that from the best and the brightest of the third party publishers." 7 It won't be 3D anytime soon The reason the 3DS works so well is because of the lack of glasses, but Fils-Aime sees that as a way off for big-screen gaming. "In our view, what's key to the 3D experience is that there be nothing between you and the machine. So for us, 3D gaming without glasses is a key part of the proposition. Right now the TV's that offer that… I would argue they're overpriced.. and a fairly small screen. There may come a time when 3D without glasses becomes appropriate for console, but we don't see that in the near future." Via Forbes Out 2012 | £TBC | Nintendo Related posts:
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| PayPal Twitter hack leaves customers concerned Posted: 06 Jul 2011 03:15 AM PDT
PayPal UK has joined Fox News in the unfortunate club of firms who’ve had their Twitter accounts hacked. At around 8pm last night, an unknown individual with a grudge against PayPal took over the @paypaluk account and began sending a stream of angry tweets including a link to long-time anti-PayPal site, PayPal Sucks. With the help of Twitter support staff the company regained control of the account at around midnight. PayPal immediately tweeted to reassure customers that they’re data and, more importantly, their cash is safe and sound: “This account was hacked earlier. We have it in our control now. Your personal data is still 100% safe, hack occurred on Twitter not PayPal.” However, a look at Twitter reveals that the company is still receiving concerned tweets from customers spooked by the hack. If you’re a PayPal customer, what did you make of the incident? Click the headline and head for the comments to let us know. Out now | £free | PayPalUK Related posts:
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| Star Wars Call of Duty mod revealed: frag in a galaxy far far away Posted: 06 Jul 2011 02:48 AM PDT
Grab a PC and a copy of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and you can get some new life out of the four-year-old FPS. Black Monkeys have completed their two-and-a-half year project to create a Star Wars mod for the game and it’s available to grab now for free. You can play either as a Imperial stormtrooper or a rebel grunt with Star Wars: Galactic Warfare dropping you in familiar settings including Mos Eisley and Tatooine. If we weren’t working, we’d be playing already. You can grab the mod from the link below and get hints on how to install in this video guide. Take a peek at Star Wars: Galactic Warfare in action after the jump…
Out now | £free | Moddb (via PC Gamer) Related posts:
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| iPhone 5: September launch rumours revived Posted: 06 Jul 2011 02:28 AM PDT
The iPhone 5 is already heading for the production lines and set for a September release according to the latest rumour to rattle out of the Far Eastern echo chamber. The new claim comes from the constant iPhone tittle tattle tellers at DigiTimes. It claims Pegatron, which manufactures the Verizon iPhone 4, has secured an order for 15 million units of the iPhone 5 from Apple and is already pumping them out. That would put production on schedule for a September launch, just in time for Apple’s annual music-themed event. As usual rumours from DigiTimes should be taken with a significant pinch of salt but the signs pointing to an iPhone 5 in September do look very promising. Out TBC | £TBC | Apple (via DigiTimes) Related posts:
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