| HTC Desire P and Desire Q uncovered Mar 26th 2013, 10:50 
Details of HTC's next mid-range and budget offerings have slipped out online, revealing two new handsets in the form of the Desire P and Desire Q. Picked up by Taiwanese blog 4ndroid Taiwan, supposed press images have seen the light of day alongside side specs for both phones. The HTC Desire P looks to be the mid-range offering, with the report claiming it will sport a 4.3-inch WVGA display, 1GHz dual-core processor, 8MP rear camera, Beats Audio technology and a microSD slot. Going by the press shots the Desire P seems to channel the 4G-enabled HTC One SV, which was launched towards the back end of last year - with the P packing a better camera, but less punchy processor. Alpha-BeatsThe budget-focussed HTC Desire Q lends itself far more to the Desire X in terms of design with the distinctive camera surround found on the back of the handset. In terms of stuff under the hood, the Desire Q is said to be equipped with a 4-inch display, Beats Audio technology and three colour options: black, white and red. Release dates for the handsets are unclear, but apparently those lucky enough to be in China can expect them soon, with the Desire P apparently setting you back around $365 (£240/AU$350), while the Desire Q could slide in at $235 (around £155/AU$225). We contacted HTC to see if we could glean some more details on the duo of devices, but we received the generic "HTC doesn't comment on rumour or speculation" in reply.     |  | Camera shortage is reason for HTC One delays Mar 26th 2013, 09:56 
HTC has confirmed that its flagship handsets, the HTC One, has been delayed due to slow camera module production. Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, HTC's chief marketing officer Benjamin Ho confirmed the reason for the handsets delay, which has seen it arrive a couple of weeks late. Ho said: "Our friends in the media have been asking why there has been a delay in shipments for the new HTC One, whether there is a component shortage. Failure to ramp"There is some shortage, because the phone's camera was designed specifically for us, and production cannot be ramped up so quickly." The camera in the HTC One uses fancy new ultrapixel technology which uses fewer, larger pixels to allow in more light in for richer snapshots, especially important in low light conditions. HTC One stock is arriving in the UK, Germany and Taiwan this week while other markets including North America and Asia-Pacific will see the handset hit stores before the end of April. We're rather taken with the HTC One, naming it the best mobile phone in the world today, so if you're looking for your next super smartphone this is one you seriously need to consider - delay or no delay.     | | Blip: Seizure-inducing The Wolverine trailer hits Vine Mar 26th 2013, 03:42 
You have to love it when marketing teams embrace the latest social media trends. 20th Century Fox is counting down to the release of The Wolverine in July, and planning to release a new trailer online this week. To tease the teaser (a trailer for the trailer, if you will) Fox has posted a 6-second version of the trailer to the newly launched Vine service. To maximise the amount of information conveyed, the Vine "tweaser" contains 18 shots, by our count, or 3 shots per second. The result is a little bit of everything and a whole lot of nothing. If we had to summarise the clip, it would read, "fighting, yelling, Japan, wincing, yelling, falling, explosion". Which, funnily enough, is also the description of the best night out ever. If you haven't come across Vine before, it's a new photo-sharing service from Twitter that creates short video clips from still photos and collects them all in an Instagram-like community. It's very iOS-centric at this time, though hopefully Twitter plan to open it up to more platforms soon. Still, it is attention grabbing, and yes, it has made us aware that there is a trailer to watch this week. Bravo Fox, we feel nauseous, but we'll be sure to watch your movie. Blips are TechRadar's new news nuggets that you'll find percolating through the homepage - or you can see them all by hitting the blip keyword below.     | | CyanogenMod founder praises S4, disses TouchWiz on his way out Mar 25th 2013, 19:58 
Steve Kondik, the creator of CyanogenMod who was scooped up by Samsung in 2011, has left the South Korean company. He announced his departure with zero fanfare in a Google+ post, where he declined to discuss the details of his time there, his reasons for leaving or his plans for the future. Kondik's departure from Samsung was "not because of anything in particular," he wrote in the discussion thread following his post. "Samsung was great. Just decided to do something new.. Ask me in a couple of months." He added a smiley-face for good measure. Though his lips were sealed about certain things, he wasn't shy with his praise for Samsung's latest flagship Android phone, the Galaxy S4. 'Blows the competition out of the water'Kondik's post reads partially like a Samsung ad and partially like a genuine review. "Spec-wise, this device blows the competition out of the water," he wrote of the S4. "Benchmarks put this device FAR above the competition (40K on Quadrant CPU) and there should be no reason why it won't run your favorite apps flawlessly. "GPS seems to work better than any other Samsung device, with a lock being acquired instantly in almost any condition. The camera is excellent as well, both front and back." He also praised features like the touchscreen's ability to detect a hovering finger (with varying effects) and the S4's IR blaster, both of which he said "have a lot of potential." And he added that although the hardware design hasn't changed drastically from the Galaxy S3, the S4 does feel "more solid than" its predecessor. Hold the phoneKondik was not so quick to praise Samsung's TouchWiz interface overlay, though, calling it "a bit more consistent" before leveling some nitpicks. "It feels like [TouchWiz] has been sent a few years back in time to the Froyo days," Kondik wrote. "Say goodbye to all of the nice touch-friendly ViewPagers and say hello again to a fully tabbed UI. "You'll also enjoy the seemingly endless onslaught of popup windows and modal 'Loading…' dialogs. UI performance is average. It's better and worse at the same time, depending on your viewpoint I suppose." On the features side, he had one complaint: "My least favorite new feature is 'Smart Scroll' which is supposed to scroll based on face detection + tilt, but it mostly serves to anger me into disabling it." Overall, though, he said the Samsung Galaxy S4 is "a solid device and a clear choice if you are upgrading from the [Galaxy S2]." "You'll feel right at home if you have a GS3 currently, but upgrading is probably less urgent (especially if you're on contract)," he added. CyanogenMod on the Galaxy S4So far there's been no official word of CyanogenMod continuing its life on the Galaxy S4, but Kondik did tease the possibility at the end of his lengthy Google+ update. "Since [the S4 is] powered by Snapdragon, CM should work wonderfully on it," Kondik wrote, followed by another smiley-face. Given CyanogenMod's history and Kondik's obvious infatuation with the Galaxy S4, it seems likely that the custom Android firmware will eventually make its way onto the new device. But given Kondik's air of secrecy, it also seems that there's more in his future than just CM, and it will be exciting to see where he leaves his mark next.     | | Most Galaxy S4 phones to reportedly use quad-core, not octa-core CPU Mar 25th 2013, 19:10 
It turns out that much-hyped octa-core processor in the Samsung Galaxy S4 won't actually be available in most versions of the April-bound handset, according to a report out of South Korea today. Instead, 70 percent of the first 10 million Galaxy S4 smartphones will opt for the Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 CPU, a quad-core processor, said the report picked up by Unwired News. We already know the UK won't see any Galaxy S4s with Samsung's Exynos 5 Octa system on a chip, and it looks like the US and Australia can also be added to that list, with the super powerful handset being reserved for Asian and African nations that lack LTE. The report indicates that not enough of these chips will be available for the launch of Samsung's new flagship smartphone. Samsung's much-talked-about processor is said to be scheduled for mass production in Q2 2013, whereas the Korean manufacturer's Galaxy S4 release date is at the end of April. Galaxy S4 quadcore vs octacoreThe good news for the Western world is that there's been some debate over whether or not Samsung's octa-core is that much better than the Qualcomm's quad-core system on a chip. The octa-core-equipped Samsung Galaxy S4 packs a 1.6 GHz quad-core Cortex-A15 and a 1.2 GHz quad-core Cortex-A7 CPU, with an IT tri-core PowerVR SGX 544 graphics chip. The faster and slower cores switch between performance and efficiency modes. The quad-core version of the Galaxy S4 uses a speedy 1.9 GHz Qualcomm Krait 300 chip at all times and takes advantage of an Adreno 320 GPU. Which CPU configuration bests the other is going to be up to Samsung Galaxy S4 tests that are sure to happen the moment this highly anticipated phone arrives. Either way, Samsung, knowing that it can't manufacture enough octa-core processors in time for the Galaxy S4 launch, may have made the right choice - even if this doesn't back up the company's eight-core marketing bluster.     | | Sony Xperia ZL now available for pre-order in the US Mar 25th 2013, 17:48 
If you prefer your Android smartphone from the Sony brand, the company's online store is finally accepting preorders for the latest Xperia ZL handset in the U.S. - but you might need to take out a loan to get one. Sony Mobile Communications announced Monday that online preorders are now available in the United States for the Sony Xperia ZL, an Android-powered smartphone with a 5-inch, 1920x1080 HD display. Sony's website isn't exactly pricing the handset to move at a suggested retail price of $759.99, but the hefty price tag does at least give you free ground shipping and an unlocked, 4G LTE-capable device. Available in your choice of black, white or red, the Xperia ZL is estimated to begin shipping around April 8 from Sony.com. Comparison shoppingWhile the Sony Xperia ZL comes with an extremely capable 13MP front-facing camera powered by a Snapdragon S4 Pro quad-core processor, it does pay to shop around before buying - especially if you want one sooner. According to Android Authority, at least two online sellers are showing stock available for a 3G-only model of the Xperia ZL intended for international markets, available via Amazon Marketplace for a more reasonable $640. Popular mobile device reseller Negri Electronics also has the same version in stock for a few dollars more. The report noted that Sony is offering an LTE-less, HSPA+ model of the Xperia ZL for $40 less, but that version is not currently available for preorder.     | | Top 10 practical joke apps for the GALAXY Note II Mar 25th 2013, 17:33 
With April 1 fast approaching, it's a good time to unlock the practical joke potential of the Samsung GALAXY Note II. You may not have realised it, but there is an abundance of joke apps on Google Play that allow you to have a little bit of fun with your handset. Whether it is having a laugh at the expense of others or giving yourself a cheeky little giggle, the potential for copious amounts of hilarity is only a few S Pen strokes away. So, in no particular order, below are 10 of our favourite joke apps, the ones that you would be a fool to be without… 
Audio Blaster Prank Free There is something about annoying noises that seems to upset even the most mild-mannered of people. Audio Blaster Prank plays on this with wonderful consequences. The idea of the app is rather simple: essentially it emits a strange, high pitch sound that will have dogs from miles around barking. It's not something you want to listen to often, I fact it will annoy everyone (and thing) in a room but that's all part of the fun of the app. A simple start and stop button is all the Audio Blaster Prank offers, but this means that it is even easier to start the sound without everyone around you thinking it is you. Annoying yes, but when it comes to a bit of fun, its pitch perfect. 
Whoopee Cushion Pro £0.69 It's good to see that the classic practical joke, the whoopee cushion, has survived throughout the years and is now very much part of the digital world. This app allows you to prime a whoopee cushion sound on your phone and gives you a number of options to make sure you don't get caught out. There's a timer, so you can leave the room while the 'cushion' sounds. A motion detector will make sure the app goes off when someone moves and you can even have it to sound detect – so, it will go off when someone speaks. A brilliant app, which is sure to cause something of a stink with your friends and family. 
Crack Your Screen Free There is nothing worse than cracking the screen of your phone. Thankfully, with Gorilla Glass 2 on board, the chances of this happening with the GALAXY Note II are slim-to-none, but you can still make people believe that you have been a clumsy so and so, with the Crack Your Screen app. Simply load the app up and you can choose a number of 'cracked' styles, all of which will make anyone around you think that your phone is in a bit of a state. The look on people's faces who genuinely believe you could do something so horrid to your lovely Note II will be worth it, trust us. All in all, it's cracking stuff. 
Fake Call and SMS Free Sometimes you need a phone call to get you out of a sticky situation. Just staring at your handset isn't going to make it ring but Fake Call and SMS can, and it can also make it look like you have famous friends to the people around you. The app allows you to play a neat little trick on both friends and family. It can send you fake phone calls and text messages to make it look like you are a lot more popular than you actually are in reality. You can also assign famous names to these calls to make it look like you are being phoned by the President of the United States or maybe someone a little more realistic, like the 10th runner up of X Factor. However you use it, it's an app primed for some fun times. 
Pranks Timebomb Free The best practical joke apps all seem to be centred round timing. Pranks Timebomb is one that executes the art of timing perfectly. The app is simple to use, simply set a timer, choose the sound you want the app to make and put your phone near your soon-to-be victim. There are a number of sounds to choose from – shell, explosion of a building, air bomb and explosive – but the end result is always the same: a load sound that will quickly shift even the most docile out of their chair. 
Ghost Cam: Spirit Photography Free Sometimes practical jokes aren't enough to get your friends jumping around – occasionally outright scares are needed to get some sort of response. And, you'll be pleased to hear, that things don't get much scarier that Ghost Cam: Spirit Photography. Of course, ghosts aren't real but this app will make it look like they are. Simply load up a picture, from the GALAXY Note II's fantastic image gallery, and you can add a spooky apparition into the image. From floating hands, to full-on spectres the app isn't short of a scare or two, which makes for a great spooky practical joke. 
Animal Translator Free While we think we know our pets, there's a fair chance that what we perceive as them being loving and obeying their masters, may well be a ploy to take over the world at some point. Well, now you can find out with the fantastic Animal Translator… okay, you may be starting to form a pattern with these apps – most of them pretend to do something but don't actually do it. And that's the fun of animal translator. Load it up and capture the voice of your cat or dog and a translation will appear. Your friends will forever know you as the dog whisperer, while you will know the joke's on them. 
Prank and Record Free Not one for the faint-hearted, Prank And Record is quite a devious app. Give your Note II to a friend with this app loaded on it and they will think that they are playing a simple spot the difference game. But what they are really about to have is a very good scare. Because, a way into the game they will get a shock when a scary face appears. And the best thing about the app is that it will record the reactions of those who use it. Great (if a little scary) fun. 
Advanced Lie Detector Free Now, as fantastic as the Samsung GALAXY Note II is, one thing it cannot do, like all other phones on the market, is tell the truth from lies. And while Advanced Lie Detector is all-good fun, it can't tell fact from fallacy but this doesn't mean that you can't have great fun pretending to do it. And the great thing about the app is that it doesn't let on that it is fake, it merely plays with the pretence that it will find out who took the last biscuit from the cookie jar by recording people's voices and offering up results as to whether they are lying or telling the truth. Yes, it's a lie detector app that lies but that's a big part of the fun. 
Fatbooth Free One of the most famous apps around is still one of the best. There's no better way to joke around with your friends than by adding a few virtual pounds to their face and show them just what they would look like if they actually decided to eat all the pies. Free for Android, and an app that makes good use of the Note II's 5.5-inch screen, Fatbooth allows you to take a picture of anyone and, well, resize them. A quick snap then adjustment to where the eyes, chin and mouth, and within seconds you have a great plus-sized portrait. Big fun all round, then.     | | Nexus 5 to skimp on screen tech but soup up camera, battery life? Mar 25th 2013, 16:36 
Google's upcoming Nexus 5 may not be the massive Full HD-screened smartphone you're looking for. The word comes from PhoneArena, whose tipster reckons that Google will leave the mega-screens to the likes of the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 and downsize the Nexus 5's display to 4.5 inches. The source also reckons Google is opting for a 720p IPS screen rather than going Full HD as is the current craze - to be honest, we find it a bit hard to believe that Google would do this given the growing penchant for streaming HD movies on the go. The pay-off is that it'll feature a barely-there bezel - the source says that the display will take up 88 per cent of the front of the phone, which doesn't leave much room for a border. BorderlineAnother one for the pro column is some serious battery life, thanks to a 2800mAh juice pack. Also rumoured are a Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 quad-core processor and a 9MP CCD camera. We've got a lot of time for Phone Arena but since we can't verify their source and there's no indication of exactly where they got this info, we'd recommend a healthy serving of scepticism as a side-order with this one. Hopefully we'll find out a bit more about the Nexus 5 from Google at its developer conference, Google I/O, in May.     | | In Depth: Want to make a killer game for the Note II? Mar 25th 2013, 16:19 
At some point – probably when sitting in a pub or on a train, tapping away on our GALAXY Note II at whatever game currently has us in its seductive grip – we've all had the same thought: "Why didn't I think of that?" The best Android games – the likes of Angry Birds Star Wars (Rovio, Free), Temple Run 2 (Imangi, Free) or David Cameron's favourite, Fruit Ninja (Halfbrick, 76p) have incredibly simple premises. We've all daydreamed about creating the next big smash-hit on Google Play Games, amassing fame and fortune in the process. But is that a realistic possibility? Android: democratising games development Well, creating the next game to take the Android world by storm won't be easy, and it won't happen overnight. But neither is it beyond the realms of possibility – as one man recently proved. Simon Read is the (solo) creative talent behind New Star Soccer (New Star Games, £1.99), the awesome football management/playing game that any connoisseurs of the beautiful game will surely have purchased.  Developer Simon Read created a truly beautiful mobile game in New Star Soccer
And recently, his efforts were rewarded in the most prestigious way possible: New Star Soccer won the Best Sports/Fitness category at the BAFTA Games Awards, triumphing over the mega-budget likes of FIFA 13 and Nike+ Kinect Training. So how long did it take him to make a successful mobile game, and did it involve a lot of dedication and single-mindedness? "Yes, that's the key thing. I started making my own football games back in about 2001. It was just a hobby, but it was something I loved to do – it was fun as much as anything. If you're not having fun building games, then you're probably not in the right business. Even when it became a full-time job, it still felt like a hobby. So I put in 12-hour days, just working on the game – that dedication is very important." From PC to Android Read only recently brought New Star Soccer over to Android: earlier versions of the game were just on the PC: "I ported the code across using a language called Monkey, which is a simple gaming language, but it will build the app on whatever platform you want to put it on. "Then I had to bring in the gameplay for the mobile version, because obviously it's a touch-screen game opposed to one that you would use a gamepad or a keyboard for. That was relatively easy – I just wanted to play the highlights of the games. "Because it's a mobile game, you don't want to spend ten minutes on a match; you want it to be easy to dip in and out of. I got the ball bouncing across the screen where you tap it to kick, and that seemed to work well; it all just seemed to come together quite naturally. "The process of launching it on Android was dead easy: you can basically just sign up with Google and get it on Google Play and be up and running in a matter of days. I think the hardest thing, for me, was implementing in-app purchases, which I still haven't done. "I had a job up until 2006, working on an IT helpdesk. There were sometimes long hours during the night when I didn't have much work to do, so I'd just get the laptop out and work away on New Star Soccer. Eventually, New Star Soccer 3 came out, and that made me enough money to quit my job and do this full-time. "Over the last six or seven years, it has been tough at times. Some games didn't do very well, but generally, I just scraped by. My wife is a nurse, and that helped – I wouldn't have been able to survive without her support and her income." Tips for making your first Android game Jon Hare, CEO of Tower Studios, is a bona fide games industry legend; co-founder of Sensible Software, of Sensible Soccer fame. He has spent recent years making mobile games – most recently, the Android version of Sensible Software's Speedball 2He has a wealth of dos and don'ts for those toying with the idea of making an Android game – many of which chime with Simon Read's experience. Think about your control system Hare says that if you've got a lovely great touch-screen like that on the GALAXY Note II, you need to use it: "It's most important for young designers to understand that you're making a touch-screen game: there's no joypad or buttons. "Even virtual D-Pads are not a good thing to put in a game. D-Pads are a hangover from console games, and you should never design originally for them – it's a bit like having a mouse emulator on a PlayStation. Also, you have to consider physicality: you don't want to stay cramped up in front of it a small screen for long periods of time. "So you have to design the game around snacking-type gameplay. The most successful games are where the concentrated input per move lasts one or two seconds. The ability to drop a game at any point – when you're getting off the bus or going to the toilet – then resume from where you left off is essential for an Android game. You have to design around that." Those are lessons that the likes of Angry Birds, New Star Soccer, Cut The Rope and Bejewelled 2 all took to heart. Don't expect instant success, and collaborate As Read's experience shows, you can't walk into the world of mobile games and expect to take it instantly by storm. Hare has this to say: "To go through the process of making a game, it is easier to do it with someone else, for two reasons. There aren't many people who have good art and programming skills. And it's quite motivating to have another person to work with. Game development is a lot about momentum and caring, and feeding off people. "The other thing is to not expect anything first time. Take Rovio, for example. Angry Birds is the 52nd game they made. From the perspective of someone just starting: just get something out there that proves that you're up to it. The big similarity between the old days and now is the ability to have a one, two or three-man team to make a game and get it out there. That wasn't available for years and years of console development." Make it free-to-play Hare continues: "The majority of Android games are free-to-play. That alters some of the way you view progression and unlocking. The most successful games, number one, have a great game mechanic that people want to play and number two, things that are going to monetise them – for example, if it's a shooting game, you can get so far but you know that if you have some extra ammo, you'll be able to finish the job off properly. "The key is to make that uppermost in the player's focus. It's very much like a fruit machine – they say that you've got a two or three-second window. The purchases that work best in games are when you've got that feeling you have to perform instantly." Shades of retro games Finally, Hare suggests that with your first game, at least, you should stick to 2D, rather than 3D graphics. Which, of course, brings to mind the early days of gaming. You could do worse than seek inspiration from some of the classics from yesteryear. Such as PGZ Space Invaders (Adam Pigg, 65p), which takes one of the first, best-loved games but reinvents it for touch-screens and accelerometers. Atari's Greatest Hits (Atari, Free), should also provide your game-design sensibilities with succour. Then, when you've got something under your belt and out there, you can perhaps thinking about adding some sophistication. Like the unbelievably clever and addictive Minecraft – Pocket Edition (Mojang, £4.99) or the hilarious. Plants Vs Zombies (EA Swiss, 99p). So get programming and best of luck.     | | HD Super AMOLED explained: the future of mobile displays Mar 25th 2013, 15:33 
You've seen the display on the Samsung GALAXY Note II and it's impossible to not be impressed; with its large dimensions and expansive viewing area, combined with an HD resolution, it's perfect for everything you want to do on the go. However, we humans are a curious bunch by nature – sometimes we want to know how we're getting such impressive performance in a smartphone, rather than just labelling it as some kind of technological sorcery and moving on. So let's take a look behind the scenes and see what really makes Samsung's HD Super AMOLED technology (the official name of the GALAXY Note II screen) tick. What is HD Super AMOLED? When you first look at the myriad displays on offer for the humble smartphone, it would be easy to get so confused you just shut yourself in a shed with an old black and white TV and never think about it again. After all, we've got LCD, LED, Super LCD, OLED, AMOLED – and they can be monochrome, full colour, as grainy as a glue factory in a sandstorm or clearer than life. But thankfully Samsung's technology is marvellously simple in its naming process. Super AMOLED is the name of the Korean firm's technology, and it's been used in devices for years, ranging from the original Samsung GALAXY S to the current breed of premium GALAXY devices. The HD part of the moniker is what's really exciting here though, as it pumps up the pixel count to give you, the viewer, a super-crisp display that brings everything you look at marvellously to life. We're talking 1280 x 720 pixel counts here – think back five years and you were probably salivating over the thought of a 32-inch TV with that kind of resolution, and now it's here in your hand. What is better about OLED over LCD? How is it made? Sometimes people don't realise that there's a huge divide in the smartphone and tablet market: those that use OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) displays, and those that run with LCD (Liquid Crystal Display). The latter technology is the one most people will be familiar with, as it's the tech that's been powering TVs and flatscreens for years. However, OLED has been around for a while now, and it's finally been developed to a point where it can be used to create jaw dropping, mesmerising displays. The fundamental difference between OLED and LCD is the need for a backlight – simply put, LCDs need light behind the pixels so you can see them, where OLEDs are self-emissive. This backlight adds weight and thickness to a device, so by using this new technology Samsung's GALAXY Note II can be made thinner and lighter to make it feel like it's hardly in your pocket! So how does this make the GALAXY Note II so good? Another key benefit of OLED technology is the contrast ratios it can provide – simply put, the blacks are as dark as can be and the white portions dazzlingly clear. Compared to LCD, which struggles to offer truly dark blacks thanks to the backlight seeping through, Samsung's HD Super AMOLED screen brings super clarity no matter what you want to do. Combined with the High Definition resolution this means that viewing videos on your mobile goes from being simply convenient to jaw-dropping – if you don't believe us, load up an HD movie to show your friends down the pub and watch them marvel at the crispness and clarity of the screen. On top of that, the pin-sharp resolution means that doing more detailed things like viewing your calendar in month mode offers up more visible information, so you won't have to keep zooming in and out of days to know whether you've got a meeting to attend or a family gathering to find a way to avoid. And, of course, the HD Super AMOLED screen on the Samsung GALAXY Note II is perfect for internet viewing. Not only does the wide and generous screen mean you can see more of the web page you're interested in at once, but with the high pixel density you can read text without having to zoom in. It's like having a computer monitor in your pocket. Where can display technology go? The best thing about today's smartphone technology is that it's constantly evolving, so while we're already getting a fantastic experience there's still so much to look forward to. The obvious next step is Full HD screens, bringing 1920 x 1080 pixel counts to the smartphone, offering another level of clarity. Samsung's also developed Youm, which is a new Super AMOLED display that actually bends. By using a plastic backing rather than the traditional glass and metal, Samsung has managed to create a way of wrapping a display around the end or side of the phone – or even possibly on a flexible watch! There's no doubt that the Samsung GALAXY Note II offers the best the smartphone world has to offer, and now we've shown why it's got one of the best displays out there too. So no matter whether you're looking to browse the internet, watch the latest blockbuster or streamline your office, the HD Super AMOLED screen is definitely the way to do it.     | | The future of mobile gaming, Note II style Mar 25th 2013, 15:10 
The Samsung GALAXY Note II has proved that the Android operating system is more than equipped for gaming. You only have to load up a quality, processor-heavy game, such as N.O.V.A 3 (£4.99) to see how effortlessly the quad-core chip inside the GALAXYNote II cuts through detailed graphics like butter, effortlessly pushing pixels around the screen with the minimum of fuss. A standout gaming display There are myriad reasons the Samsung GALAXY Note II is good for gaming, but standout is the 5.5-inch 720p HD Super AMOLED screen. Other handsets just can't quite match what the extra screen space offers the gaming community – after all, a key selling point of most of today's most eye-poppingly beautiful blockbuster games on Android are 3D high def graphics, which is exactly why gamers cannot sing the praises of the Note II's expansive screen and superfast processor high enough. Additionally, the extra screen space means that games that use a virtual joypad are a joy to play, as your thumbs don't get in the way of the action. Which is a real boon for the "larger-fingered" gentleman gamers out there! Plus, when it comes to games that use the Note II's accelerometer, the screen means that you can hold on to the device and twist and turn it without fear that you will miss an essential part of the game. The OS is a key part of the game The key to this fantastic mobile gaming experience isn't just the device but also the operating system. Android has quickly cemented itself as a place where games developers are clambering among themselves to be a part of. The last audit saw that there were an astounding 675,000 apps and games on Google Play, the official Android store for applications, proving that this is a platform that is primed for gamers looking to get the most out of their smartphones and tablets. Game Hub and match Samsung also has its own excellent game service. Called Game Hub, this is the place to go on your GALAXYNote II if you want to see the best games available for your device. Here you will find games from a number of the best games companies in the world – from EA to Glu to Gameloft. There's a tonne of social games here as well, some of which make superb use of the GALAXY Note II's S-Pen – such are Maze Racer and Sudoku. And if you are still need convincing that Android is the place to be when it comes to gaming, then you only have to look at the new breed of consoles coming on to the market which take advantage of the operating system. New devices such as Ouya, the Wikipad and Project Shield are hoping to capture gamers' imagination and bring Android to the big screen. GALAXY Note II offers a console-like experience You will be happy to know, however, that the Samsung GALAXY Note II is already offering a similar console-like gaming experience. If you decide to give mobile gaming a bit of a rest and want to play on the big screen, then all you need is a Smart Dock. Plug your GALAXY Note II into this device, and you can view you phone content easily on a big screen – including all of your favourite Note II games. All in, the Samsung GALAXY Note II has been created to be a gaming powerhouse and the amount of games that are of console quality but can be played on a device such as a Note II are growing – in fact, Google Play is positively bursting with games that need the features the Note II has to get the most out of them. As Eurogamer excitedly exclaimed in a recent GALAXY Note II review: "Games such as N.O.V.A 3 and Jetpack Joyride look beautiful on the large display and the powerful Exynos 4412 chipset appears well equipped to handle more advanced titles." And if that's not enough for gamers to take Note, then we don't know what is.     | | In Depth: Google Glass: what you need to know Mar 25th 2013, 08:13 
When Google Glass was unveiled, the tech world instantly fell into two camps. Camp one was excited: we're living in the sci-fi future! Camp two, though, wasn't so happy. It's vapourware! some said, while others worried that Google just wanted to plaster ads on the entire world. Is either camp correct? Let's find out. What is Google's Project Glass?Google Glass is the attempt to make wearable computing mainstream, and it's effectively a smart pair of glasses with an integrated heads-up display and a battery hidden inside the frame. Wearable computing is not a new idea, but Google's enormous bank account and can-do attitude means that Project Glass could well be the first product to do significant numbers. When will it be released?Originally Project Glass was mooted for a public release in 2014 at the earliest but the latest news on the Google Glass release date suggest it's beginning to look like we could see consumer units by the end of 2013. That's because the prototype Explorer units are becoming an increasingly common site around San Francisco - and Google is even allowing competition 'winners' to pay $1,500 to get these early offerings. What does Google Glass do?The core of Google Glass is its tiny prism display which sits not in your eyeline, but a little above it. You can see what is on the display by glancing up. The glasses also have an embedded camera, microphone, GPS and, reportedly, use bone induction to give you sound. Voice control is used to control the device; you say 'ok glass' to get a range of options including taking pictures, videos, send messages using speech to text, 'hang out' with people or get directions to somewhere. You access these options by saying them out loud. Most of this functionality is self explanatory; hang out is Google's video conferencing technology and allows you to talk to a people over web cam, and stream them what you are seeing and the directions use Google Maps and the inbuilt GPS to help you find your way. The results are displayed on the prism - essentially putting data into your view like a head up display (HUD). It's potentially incredibly handy. Also rather nifty is the potential for automatic voice and speech recognition - and Google has given its Glass project a big boost by snapping up specialists DNNresearch. People are already developing some rather cool/scary apps for Google Glass - including one that allows you to identify your friends in a crowd, and another that allows you to dictate an email. What are the Google Glass specifications? An FCC filing in the US revealed many potential details, suggesting that Wi-Fi and Bluetooth would be used to send pictures to the screen, whilst bone-induction may be used for sound, vibrating your skull to communicate the sound into your inner ear. It's not a new technology, but certainly does have critics who suggest that it falls short of traditional headphones. We don't have a lot of the final details on specs just yet - but expect Google Glass to run modified Android, to sport a decent resolution camera with a decent lens and we'd be fairly certain that the microphone needs to be a good quality. There will be a GPS chip, and the lightweight and flexible glasses design will come in five colours - Charcoal, Tangerine, Shale, Cotton, Sky. That's black, orange, grey, white and blue for anyone that prefers plain English over marketing speak. 
I already wear glasses. Will Google Glasses work for me?Yes. Google is experimenting with designs that will fit over existing glasses so you don't have to wear two lots of specs. In fact, you should be able to get them before 2013 ends, according to Google. 
What is the Project Glass price?The NYT again: according to "several Google employees familiar with the project who asked not to be named," the glasses are expected "to cost around the price of current smartphones." So that's around $750/£500, then, possibly with the help of a hefty Google subsidy. The latest hints definitely suggest a price that will make them attractive to technophiles. The developer versions - traditionally more expensive that the final consumer units - were made available for pre-order for $1,500 (c£966). As to WHERE you can buy the specs; online will be a certainty, but don't rule out Glass making a debut in a all-new Google Store, with the search giant apparently considering actual shops to showcase the tech to those who haven't been following every development. Who is providing the competition? Of course, with something as high profile as Google Glass, every major company has been linked with building a competitor. Apple and Microsoft are Google's most obvious rivals - and both are rumoured to be working on their own equivalents, and Sony has gone as far as to patent a Glass-alike offering. Is Project Glass evil?It could be. Google's business is about making money from advertising, and some people worry that Google Glass is its attempt to monetise your eyeballs by blasting you with ads whenever you look at something. If you think pop-ups are annoying in a web browser, imagine them in front of your face. The ADmented Reality spoof is one of very many parodies that made us laugh. Some of the parodies actually make a good point by showing people bumping into stuff: heads-up displays can be distracting, and there may be safety issues too. Until Google ships its self-driving car, the thought of drivers being distracted by their glasses is fairly terrifying. There are privacy implications too. Never mind your web history: Google Glass might record everything you see and do. There is a red recording light, but the tech certainly raises some key debates that will become more relevant as this kind of technology surfaces. What are the repercussions from having everything you say potentially taped, turned into text and searchable? What are the repercussions for free speech. All radically new tech brings new potential for evil. But you have to weigh that against the capacity for good and the progress it brings Google Glass pre-order customers will get regular updatesThose people who paid Google $1,500 for the privilege of pre-ordering some Project Glass specs will be receiving "private updates" through Google+. Will it make me look like a dork?Er... yes.   | | BlackBerry Z10 now available through Optus, Telstra tomorrow Mar 25th 2013, 02:48 
BlackBerry's fight back campaign officially begins in Australia today, with Optus first to offer the BlackBerry Z10 in retail stores.
Australia's number two telco is only first by a day with Telstra to have stock in shops tomorrow, though Telstra is already taking orders online. The Z10 is available across the range of Optus consumer and business plans. AU$60 per month will be enough for a Z10 on an Optus $50 plan (plus a monthly $10 handset repayment), which includes 1GB data, $500 worth of calls and unlimited SMS. Telstra will be marginally more expensive at AU$67 per month, including the monthly handset costs. It is also selling the Z10 outright for AU$696. Long way to the topThe Z10 is a pivotal piece in BlackBerry's attempt to regain market share after consecutive years of losing its position in the smartphone category to Apple and high-profile Android OEMs, like Samsung. The all-touch Z10 has been designed to compete head-on with the iPhone in the bring-your-own-device (BYOD) segment of the business market. It's a long road back for BlackBerry in Australia. While the company managed to maintain significant market share in some other major markets, like Great Britain, its share in Australia has all but vanished. In 2009, BlackBerrys were the second most popular range of smartphones in Australia, but recent studies show the BlackBerry platform barely holding on to single figures in local market share, in the shadow of iOS and Android with a combined share toal of 87%.   | |
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