FastCharge: Power your electric car in 2.5 hours

(Credit: Chargemaster)

Electric car charging is set to get a whole lot quicker--at least if Infracharge gets its way. The company, which supplies roadside charging station to London boroughs, will shortly be rolling out a new set of roadside and home charging stations that it says can recharge electric cars in as little as 2.5 hours.

The first of its products is the Chargemaster FastCharge, which is designed for use in public places. This bad boy chucks out a whopping 32A (7kW) current, more than twice the amount offered by today's charging posts. The extra power reduces the time it takes to charge a typical electric vehicle from 6 hours to a far more respectable 2.5.

Read more of "Chargemaster FastCharge: Charge your electric car in 2.5 hours" at Crave UK.

Do not pay for security software

After the recent disaster of an antivirus app update from security vendor McAfee, I took a quick look at what the laptop and PC companies--from whom most people get their security software--were offering in the way of security software on new computers.

Basic security protection can be enough.

Here's what I wanted to see: computers pre-packaged with with Microsoft's free antivirus software, Microsoft Security Essentials (download), which I've found to be robust enough for all users except the most cavalier sloppy clickers out there. MSE is also lightweight enough that it doesn't slow your computer and is largely invisible when doing updates. And it's free. Did I already say that?

It's not that free software is better by nature. The full-feature, paid security suites are robust computer and information protectors, especially for people who might otherwise get themselves into trouble online due to a lack of education on basic computing security practices. There's nothing wrong with saving these folks from trouble. But are you one of them?

McAfee-type flubs are also rare, and nothing's magically protecting Microsoft, AVG, Avast, and any other free antivirus apps from the same fate. But I say, given the problems that you might have with any antivirus app, why pay money for features you don't need? It's not like your money buys you complete peace of mind.

So where can you buy a computer with MSE pre-installed? Microsoft confirms that no top-tier computer maker is yet offering it pre-installed on new PCs. That's a shame. In Microsoft's own retail stores, though, MSE is part of the included software suite.

The standard offering now is a trial (time-limited) version of either Symantec's Norton security suite or McAfee's, for no charge, or the option to select either Norton or McAfee. On some product lines you can opt out of the pre-installation of either of these products and get a computer completely unprotected if you ask. Others will let you opt out of the setup of a pre-loaded security suite when you first power up your computer. On these machines, you can easily download MSE and install it yourself.

Keep in mind that connecting an unprotected computer to the Internet is not the smartest thing in the world to do. While I do not believe the hype that a new, unprotected computer will be instantly taken over and turned into a zombie for the Russian mafia, if it connects to the Net over Ethernet or Wi-Fi without running security software, you still don't want to do much, if any, surfing without a protection app installed. (One way to stay belt-and-suspenders safe: download the installer for MSE from a protected computer, put it on a flash drive, and then install it on your new computer before you let it connect to the Net.)

So why can't you get the excellent Microsoft app pre-installed instead of Norton or McAfee? Because the companies that make the paid apps pay the manufacturers for converting trial users to subscribers. Microsoft Security Essentials is free, and Microsoft pays computer makers nothing for installing it. So it's in the manufacturers' financial interests to keep offering you security suites that are too big, too expensive, and frankly too flaky.

A Dell rep even told me that the suite you're more likely to be offered depends on the "deal of the month" that Dell has with the security vendors (Symantec or McAfee). It's like walking into a Best Buy, she said: some days the big in-store displays push one product; some days another. It depends on the deal.

Sure, this is capitalism at work, and we can't really fault that. But in this case I call foul. Users' computer security is more important than making a few bucks from them, and not all security suites are created equal, certainly not equal enough to be swapped out based on the deal of the moment. It's time for computer vendors to do the right thing for users, and that means offering good free security apps if they're better for users. And for many users, they are.

See also: Why it's time to move away from McAfee.
See also: Top free security suites.

Facebook, Twitter, HD chats now on Live Messenger

A day after launching the iPhone version, Microsoft today pulled the curtain off a new version of Live Messenger for PC, their popular Instant Messaging application. It adds a number of much-needed features like tabbed conversations and social networking integration. Following is Microsoft's new mantra for the Live Messenger -- "The new Messenger will provide a great way to have more meaningful conversations with the people you care about most. It will also bringing together your social networks and sharing updates, cutting through the clutter, and staying up to date with your favorite friends". We got a sneak peek at the new version and these are the main features we saw.

1) Integration with social networks: Instead of fighting with the rest of the world with their own social networking portal, Microsoft has decided to rather aid the aggregation of existing services. Thus, with Live Messenger, they have tied up with popular networking mediums like Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and LinkedIn. The messenger can pull updates from these applications and aggregate them in one window. Thus, you can say, comment on other people's Facebook photos or update status messages for all social networks at once -- right within the Messenger interface.

2) HD-quality video chats: Skype did it a few months ago, and now Live messenger supports High Defintion (HD) video chats as well. We got a demo of an HD video call using a Microsoft HD web-cam, and the quality was pretty impressive. Again, quality will depend upon the web-cam you're using and the internet connection you're on. We bet you'll need a fairly high-speed internet access to have HD video conversations.

3) Photo sharing: There's improved photo sharing in the new Live messenger. For instance, one can do an image search on Bing or pull a photo through a Facebook album, and instantly share it in the chat conversation. All this happens within the Live Messenger application

4) Tabbed Conversations: Just like most of the browsers of today, tabbed conversations are added to Live Messenger. This is helpful since many users would possibly be chatting with more than one person at the same time.

5) Messenger in Hotmail: Like Gtalk's integration in Gmail, the Live Messenger will now also exist in the bottom left corner of your Hotmail. Thus, you can chat without the need to install the application.

A few other notable features include: Games that you can play online with friends, leaving a video message (like voicemail) and sending SMS via Live Messenger among others. Microsoft hasn't released this software to the world yet, but detailed info has been posted on a dedicated website.

BlackBerry OS 6.0 Sneak Peeked

It was just last week that the first images of BlackBerry's next generation OS were leaked. Soon after that, at the WES 2010 conference, RIM, for the first time, publicly revealed screenshots of its upcoming OS.

While it was certainly far from a comprehensive preview, the sneak peek was enough to ascertain that OS 6 will be a radical departure from the OS 5. BlackBerry devices have a fan following worldwide and for the past year or so, it has been let down due to an OS that is just not in tune with the times. This is what OS 6.0 intends to change.

According to initial reports, OS 6.0 looks a bit like the new generation OSes that includes the likes of the iPhone OS, Android and even Palm's WebOS. It will come integrated with social-media feeds and multimedia features. We guess the browser would be far more capable than the existing one. The most interesting bit of information is the fact that, in its touch screen avatar, the OS would be fully multitouch compliant.

Many opine that RIM was intelligent enough to give a very limited glimpse of the OS. This ensures that potential users will get excited about the OS and will remain interested in the OS till it is released later this year. Let us wait and see if RIM manages to claw back their win.

AMD Phenom II X6 1090T Hands-On Preview

Today, AMD released two new six-core processors, the Phenom II X6 1090T and Phenom II X6 1055T. The two AMD processors don't break the bank, but they also don't set any speed records either. The Phenom II X6 1090T will retail for $285, and the Phenom II X6 1055T will cost $200.

Both chips have the same features, but they differ in clock speed and turbo core speed. Turbo core is new to the Phenom architecture and functions similarly to Intel's turbo boost feature. AMD's implementation recognizes when a particular application is not highly multithreaded and boosts the chip's clock speed by up to 500MHz.

Phenom II X6 1090T
Speed - 3.3GHz
Turbo Core - 3.6GHz
L2 Cache - 3MB
L3 Cache - 6MB

Phenom II X6 1055T
Speed - 2.8GHz
Turbo Core - 3.2GHz
L2 Cache - 3MB
L3 Cache - 6MB

To go with the new processors, AMD also released the 890FX motherboard chipset, which supports two 16-lane PCI express slots, 6Gbps SATA, and, depending upon the motherboard, USB 3.0 support. However, you don't need to upgrade to the 890FX in order to take advantage of the new six-core processors. AMD indicated that the Phenom II X6 is backward compatible with AM2+ and AM3 motherboards--quite a boon for users that want a drop-in upgrade.

CPU Tests

At the $285 price point, the Phenom II X6 1090T lines up with Intel's Core i7 930 and Core i7 860 (both are mostly identical CPUs that differ based on socket compatibility). We tested with the Core i7 930 across a broad selection of games. The tests were divided into two categories--those that were CPU limited (low resolution/quality tests) and those that were real world or GPU limited (high resolution/high quality). The Intel CPU scored more than its fair share of wins on the CPU-limited tests. When we switched over to how users actually play games, the two chips were dead even with both CPUs largely taken out of the equation.

Real World Gaming

The Phenom II X6 1090T did not dissappoint when it came to real world gaming, but its losses on CPU-limited tests made us pause. Should you already have an AMD AM2+/AM3 platform, the Phenom II X6 1090T makes for an easy plug-in upgrade. It's really hard to go wrong for the money (especially considering that there are already $50 rebates running for it).

If you're looking at a new system, the value proposition is on AMD's side when comparing it against Intel's Core i7 930, which functions on the relatively expensive LGA1366 socket. By comparison, motherboards based on the AM2+/AM3 platform can be had for a song. However, when taking into account for the Core i7 860, our purchasing decision tilts towards Intel (which should test similarly to the 930)--as the CPU is based on the equally affordable LGA1156 socket.

System Setup: Intel Core i7 930, AMD Phenom II X6 1090T, Intel DX58S0 (6GB DDR3), MSI 890FXA-GD70 (4GB DDR3), 750GB Seagate 7200.11 SATA Hard Disk Drive, Windows 7 64-bit. Graphics Card: Radeon HD 5870, beta Catalyst 10.3.

PS3 Slim Console Refreshed with 40nm GPU

Sony has refreshed its PlayStation 3 Slim gaming console with 40nm RSX graphics chip unit. The console will now consume less power as compared to the existing PS3 Slim models. This was first discovered by Japanese site - Pocketnews who dismantled the new PS3 Slim model. Also, PlayStation focused website PlayStation University reported that the new 40nm RSX chip would consume up to 15 percent less power and be cheaper to produce for Sony. This new 40nm RSX GPU will join the already shrunk 45nm Cell Processor in PS3 Slim consoles. Nonetheless, this hardware upgrade won't change the prices of PS3 Slim console.

The new 120GB PlayStation 3 Slim console carry model name CECH-2100A and have 40nm RSX (Reality Synthesizer) Graphics chip that has been co-developed by Sony and Nvidia. This 40nm RSX chip replaces the 65nm RSX chip which was added as PS3 refresh in 2008. PS3 Slim already has 45nm Cell processor which is basically die-shrunk from the previous 60nm Cell Processor. New 45nm Cell Processor and 40nm RSX GPU combination will consume less power compared to the 45nm and 65nm chip design.

Here's a table comparing the power consumption by two different PS3 Slim model.

	CECH-2000A	CECH-2000A
XMB Menu (Still wallpapers)	76W	67W
XMB Menu (Main Theme)	83-86W	71W
FFXIII game event scene	96-107W	78-83W
FFXIII game menu	83-84W	74W
BD playback	88-91W	77-78W
Power Off (Remote Play Stand-by)	9W	9W

Also, the new CECH-2100A model will be loaded with two 128MB XDR RAM chips instead of 64MB XDR RAM chips. That may change memory bandwidth offering marginally. Even the power supply of the console weighs 30grams lesser (412g total weight). The cooling unit of CECH-2100A too has shed some weight and now weighs 408g. This means new CECH-2100A SKU would be the lightest PS3 model so far and would be available at the same price - $299 in U.S. and for Rs. 19,990 in India.

This new CECH-2100A model name based 120GB PS3 Slim is already available in Japan but we don't know when Sony would be shipping it to the rest of the world. In case you're an eager soul and don't mind spending $190 (Rs. 9,120 approx.) extra, then this eBay listing has a brand new 120GB PS 3 Slim (CECH-2100A) factory packed console for $489.

Opera Arrives on Mac Platform

Opera has just released Opera 10.52 web browser for Mac OS X systems. This new Opera 10.52 is claimed to be 10 times faster than the Opera 10.10 version. So Firefox and Chrome for Mac already have a tough competition in terms of speed. Opera 10.52 features native Cocoa integration, multi-touch trackpad gestures support, and Growl notification support.

Visit http://www.opera.com/browser/download/ from your Mac OS X's Safari/Firefox/Chrome to download the Opera 10.52 browser.

Opera has built the new 10.52 web browser on native Cocoa framework and hence it appears to be more responsive. New 10.52 version brings along HTML5 Video and SVG support. Also the new Carakan JavaScript engine and new Vega graphic library play a major role in boosting the speed of this browser.

The design of Opera for Mac has been overhauled and the browser also supports multi-touch gestures on the glass trackpad of MacBook Pros. Opera has also added Growl notification support and so you'll get certain notifications if your download is complete or pop-up is blocked, etc. Opera also brings Turbo compression technology in this browser which allows surfing even in slower or congested networks.

Nokia Launches Three New Phones in India

Just a few weeks after the new low priced QWERTY keypad laden handsets were introduced by Nokia, the company has decided to launch them in India. All the three new phones, the C3, the C6 and the E5 have been launched in the country ahead of their international launches. All these phones target the low to mid-range segment where the maximum volume of sales happen these days. With a deluge of feature packed phones from "not-so-famous" manufacturers raking up huge sales in this segment, Nokia felt it couldn't delay the launch of these phones any longer. The prices of the devices start from Rs. 5,300. This, however, is still way more expensive compared to devices from companies like Micromax and Intex who sell QWERTY keyboard laden devices for as little as Rs. 2,000. They even possess Dual SIM capabilities which these Nokia's lack.

However, what you do get with Nokia are the services that come bundled with the phone. All these new phones, for example, come preinstalled with Nokia's new free push email service, Nokia Messaging. Nokia Messaging if you're not aware, aggregates multiple email accounts through one client. It supports configuration of upto 10 email accounts on a single device.
Let's now take a look at the phones that have been launched.

Nokia C3

The Nokia C3 happens to hold the distinction of being the first QWERTY keypad laden S40 device. The C3 is the lowest priced amongst the handsets released yesterday and features an easy to use home screen from where users have direct access to social networks. People can view, comment, update their status and share pictures to their favourite social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. It boasts of a 2.4-inch screen and also supports Ovi Mail and Ovi Chat. The C3 comes with Wi-Fi as well! There is a basic 2 megapixel camera at the rear. The phone supports memory expansion and can take up to 8GB of memory using microSD cards. The C3 is priced at Rs. 5,317 (Euro 90).

For More Detail Click Here

Sony DCR-SR68E

Compact, SD recording, good price, swivel touchscreen controls, excellent build, very light, crystal clear sound, smooth and silent optical zoom motor, good battery life, SteadyShot, Face Detection, Tele Macro, Zoom mic

Image quality, mirror-like touchscreen, no optical viewfinder, touchscreen controls may be difficult to use, awkwardly placed USB port, no headphone jack

We have a brand new Sony camcorder - DCR-SR68E - for review today and this one has SD recording capabilities for DVD quality video.

Sony, one of the companies at the forefront of manufacturing digital cameras, also manufacturers a large range of camcorders; non-HD and HD. The DCR-SR68E camcorder comes with touchscreen controls, which are typical of camcorders from Sony. This particular model comes with an 80 GB hard drive with drop sensor, so you will never really run out of recording space. And in the unlikely scenario of you actually running out of recording space, there is an MS Pro Duo card slot and an SD card slot for more capacity. It features powerful 60x optical zoom, which is the highest we have ever got and also 2000x digital zoom. We shall see in our review how well this camcorder performs and whether what is shown on paper, does indeed hold true.

Bundle

• Sony DCR-SR68E
• Wrist strap (attached)
• Li-Ion Battery
• 3 instruction manuals
• Software quick start guide
• Software disk
• Power cable and adapter
• USB cable
• Component cable
• AV cable
  

The Sony DCR-SR68E comes with the necessary bundle and you will not need to purchase anything extra. The DCR-SR68E has better compatibility with most PCs, as it has a USB 2.0 interface rather than FireWire, which, though faster, is a lot less common. The AV cable and Composite cable let you connect the camcorder to a TV to view videos directly on TV from the camcorder.

Unfortunately, this camcorder does not come with a wireless controller, which would have come handy. A wireless controller lets you control the camera remotely without even touching it and is useful, especially when you are among the subjects being shot.

For More Detail Click Here

Sony Vaio-Z 117 ultra-portable laptop

Excellent performance Very light weight Mind blowing hardware Heats up quickly under heavy load

The combination of powerful hardware, light-weight design, excellent performance and super-cool looks, is something that one cannot expect from ultra-portable laptops. But, the Sony Vaio Z is here to break that notion. It is not only stylish, something that typical of Sony Vaio laptops, but is also as powerful as a desktop PC. This laptop is special in all aspects. As a matter of fact its core hardware will blow you away.

Design and build quality
Sony laptops are known for their style and finesse, and the Vaio Z follows the exact same trail. It sports a minimalist design with good build quality, despite the slimness. The screen is ridiculously thin, but the hinges take care of stability. Also, the unit is slightly over an inch in thickness, but the use of metal makes it sturdy and gives it a slick look.

Based on a metallic theme, the lid is black and the chassis is of dark grey aluminum with a slightly brushed finish. Even the wrist rest, touchpad and mouse buttons are matte. Ergonomically, there isn’t anything to complain about as the chiclet keyboard has well-spaced keys and the Enter and Shift keys are well-sized. The laptop weighs merely 1.37 Kg which makes it extremely convenient to carry. You can slide it into your rucksack without feeling its presence. Overall, it has a sheer business look and feel.

Features
In terms of features, it’s the phenomenal hardware that distinguishes this laptop from others. Built around the Intel HM77 chipset, the Vaio Z is powered by the Intel Core i7 M620 processor, which is a dual-core variant, clocked at 2.67 MHz. Furthermore, there is a whopping 8 GB DDR3 RAM and four SSDs (in raid) of 64 GB each (total 250 GB usable space). These are the main highlights of this laptop. Also, equipped with a discrete Nvidia GeForce GT330M GPU and a full-HD 13.1inch screen (1920 x 1080), this laptop is good even for HD movies and gaming at medium settings.

Here’s the interesting part -- there’s a three-way hardware switch above the keyboard that lets you toggle between the onbaord Intel graphics and the discrete Nvidia graphics. You can make the switch manually, and alternatively, you can set to ‘automatic’ where the laptop switches to onboard graphics when unplugged from the mains.

Apt for business users, the laptop even features a finger print scanner located between the mouse buttons. The keyboard is backlit (there’s an automatic light sensor), so you don’t have to worry about using an external light source when using the laptop in the dark. There are 3 USB, an HDMI and a VGA port, 2 memory-card readers, audio jacks, physical switch for wireless connectivity, webcam, a DVD-writer and a Kensington lock slot. Connectivity options include WiFi N, gigabit Ethernet and Bluetooth, and, the unit ship pre-loaded with Windows 7 Professional (64 bit).

For More Detail Click Here

Nokia's 12MP Camera Phone, N8 Gets Previewed

Nokia’s N8, the company’s rumored 12 megapixel camera phone may not be officially acknowledged by the company but the grapevine says it’s legit, and the grapevine is rarely wrong about such things. From the leaked images, the N8 looks like a sleek touchscreen handset and just a bit similar to the Sony Ericsson Aino sans keypad. It will feature the new Symbian ^3 OS and corresponding UI.

Oddly enough the handset hasn’t even been officially announced but it’s already been previewed and the results don’t seem to be doing Nokia any favors. The handset’s display will feature multi-touch a welcome addition to the Nokia fans. The UI seems to be quite the same as the Touchscreen versions available today, but I’m curious to see for myself what Symbian ^3 brings to the table.

Some features that the handset is rumored to have include -

• 3.5 inch AMOLED screen with 640 x 360 pixel resolution, 16 million colors
• EDGE/GPRS
• 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1, GPS, USB, HDMI
• 12MP camera with Xenon flash and face recognition
  
• Dolby Digital Plus support, maximum 5.1 channel speaker output
• FM radio, and FM transmitter
  

The 12mp camera will shoot video in HD but up to 720p only which is no better than the Satio or for that matter the Vivaz. The camera will also feature Carl Zeiss optics and a Xenon flash, from the looks of it. An HDMI port also seems to be available but according to the previewer, it seems it’s not of a standard size. Perhaps the prototype just isn’t quite ready yet. Let’s hope so.

The Nokia N8 is expected sometime in the second half of this year. There’s been no mention of price.

The Week That Was

Time for yet another edition of Techtree's weekly news roundup. Let's take a look at what hogged the tech headlines over the course of the past week.

Apple Requests iPhone 4G Back from Gizmodo

After 'real' iPhone 4G images hit technology news sites Engadget and Gizmodo, the web space went wild. While everyone had their doubts if this was the 'real' device or not, news that Apple has sent a letter to Brian Lam, editorial director at Gizmodo, requesting to return the device (read: iPhone), has more or less confirmed it. Gizmodo possessed the device for a few months but wasn't sure if it was the real iPhone 4G. When Gizmodo revealed the exclusive images and video clip showing the iPhone 4G prototype, Apple got to know that the secret device is not a secret anymore. Always tight-lipped, Apple still didn't acknowledge the device as iPhone and referred it as 'device' in the formal letter to Gizmodo. Also, Gizmodo is being accused of paying $5,000 to an unknown party to possess the prototype iPhone device.

Intel Launches New Dual-core Core i5, Pentium Chip

Intel has quietly introduced new dual-core chips for desktops of which one is Intel Core i5 and other is Pentium E5000 series processor, reported techPowerUp. The new Intel Core i5 is the Clarksfield family microprocessor and supports LGA 1156 Socket based motherboards. Intel Pentium E5500 is value-segment dual-core processor that supports LGA 775 Socket motherboards. Intel Core i5 680 processor costs $294 per-piece in thousand unit tray quantities while the Pentium E5500 costs $75 per piece in thousand unit tray quantities.

HTC Legend hits India, Priced at Rs. 25,990

HTC India has finally introduced the much anticipated smartphone - Legend with Android Eclair 2.1 mobile operating system in the country. Legend is a worthy Android OS based successor of the ever appealing HTC Hero. Coming in a unibody aluminum enclosure, the new HTC Legend has HTC Sense user interface layered over the Android 2.1 Eclair update. As a successor of HTC Hero, the Legend carries Android OS goodness with HTC Sense UI enjoyable on 3.2-inch capacitive AMOLED display supporting 320x480 pixel resolution. This stylish phone is machined from one aluminum block. However, we wonder how will the cellular network reception quality will be, considering the fact that aluminum isn't good receptor of radio waves.

BlackBerry OS 6.0 Images, Details Surface

Earlier in February it was reported that Research in Motion's BlackBerry OS 6.0 was in the making. Now, BoyGeniusReport has acquired the first screenshots and some details of the OS. A redesigned homescreen, multi-touch gesture support for touchscreen handsets, and system-wide kinetic scrolling are few of the many features unleashed in the major upgrade. RIM is expected to reveal BlackBerry OS 6.0 at the WES 2010 symposium starting April 27, while it will be released sometime in June or July. Hey, that's when the iPhone OS 4.0 update is expected too!

Facebook Bids Adieu to Lite

It was back in September 2009 that Facebook introduced a stripped down version of the popular social networking website called Facebook Lite. The Lite version of the site was intended for low bandwidth connections and for users who faced issues accessing the full version of Facebook on slower connections. However, seven months after the Lite version arrived, Facebook has for reasons best known to them, decided to pull the plug on the service and has shut it down. The erstwhile Facebook Lite URL at http://lite.facebook.com now redirects to the full Facebook webpage. The confirmation regarding the closure of Facebook Lite came on its official fan page where Facebook thanked everyone who used Facebook Lite.

INTEX Launches Dual SIM, QWERTY Phone IN 2020

Intex has announced its latest QWERTY keyboard laden, dual SIM phone, the IN 2020 in India. The phone is touted to be an affordable, dual SIM, QWERTY mobile phone. It supports GPRS and WAP as well. The 1.8-inch screen is large enough for online-chatting and texting. The IN2020 has a long lasting battery, good for about 11 hours of talk time and up to 336 hrs on stand-by. It features an audio/video player, equalizers and wireless FM radio as well. The handset also features Mobile Tracker- SMS based facility to track the phone if at all it gets stolen, and Black List- an in-built feature to block 10 callers of your choice.

Finally, Android made to run on iPhone

iPhone Dev Team member Planetbeing has finally achieved what many geeks have been dreaming for over a year - successfully running Google's Android operating system on an iPhone. After a break of almost a year, Planetbeing sent a Twitter update announcing his success on making Android run on iPhone. However, this port is not of 'production quality' but still, almost everything works on it. While the tension between Apple and Google keeps growing to higher levels each time, developments like these may frustrate Apple further. Google's Android mobile operating system is looked down as direct competitor to iPhone OS. We were aware that a small group of enthusiastic geeks was working to bring Linux on iPhone. However, Planetbeing has managed to achieve what everyone just wished for - Android on iPhone.

Dell Lightening running Windows Phone 7 Leaked

The new Dell Lightening phone runs Windows Phone 7 mobile operating system and also has Qualcomm's 1GHz Snapdragon processor inside. With aesthetic looks, Dell has added a bunch of features but this slider smartphone won't hit the stores until the end of this year. Yes, it's going to be a long wait. Dell had entered in the smartphone arena with Dell Mini 3i last year in August. Leaked details of Dell Lightening smartphone amazes with killer combo of Windows Phone 7 and 1GHz Snapdragon microprocessor inside. Soon, we'll get see more smartphones sporting 1GHz microprocessor, it seems. Lightening has 4.1-inch WVGA OLED capacitive display made by Samsung with multi-touch support. Being a slider, Lightening also endures with full QWERTY keypad when the top panel slides upwards.

Dell Smoke Has QWERTY Keypad, Runs Andriod Froyo

Dell's latest Android offering includes a candy bar phone called Smoke that has a 2.8-inch display and full QWERTY keyboard. Engadget got the details of Smoke, which joins the league of Thunder and Flash that are based on the Android as well. Sporting a 5 megapixel camera, Smoke supports Microsoft Exchange and has Flash 10 support. Specification details of this smartphone were leaked to Engadget. The upcoming Dell Smoke will have 800MHz Qualcomm MSM7230 microprocessor with 512MB ROM and 256MB RAM. To add more space you can use up to 32GB microSD card. Smoke has a 2.8-inch QVGA 18-bit display that is yet to be confirmed. Running an Android Froyo, we presume this phone too will have Dell's Stage UI customizations.

Free Turn-by-Turn Directions on iPhone Soon

Even though there is a lot of on-going tension between Google and Apple, the Internet giant continues to smartly push its service to the iPhone platform. At a press conference at London, Google confirmed that it will bring free turn-by-turn based navigation on the iPhone along with other platforms, reported MacUser. Yesterday, Google released Google Maps Navigation 4.1.1 Beta for Android which brought free turn-by-turn navigation in the UK. Google's competitors Garmin and TomTom are already offering their services commercially there. Garmin and TomTom have commercial models to offer satellite-aided navigation for their respective GPS devices. Google must have felt pressurized and thus introduced a free update for Google Maps Navigation tool on Android OS based smartphones. However, good news here is the confirmation that free SatNav is under development for Apple's iPhone platform as well. Google didn't confirm when exactly would the feature arrive for iPhone owners.

Download Windows 7 Multi-touch Pack Now

Microsoft has announced Microsoft Touch Pack for the Windows 7 loaded notebooks with touch-support. In May 2009, Microsoft had announced that it will bring new Touch Pack of six applications for multi-touch supporting netbooks with Windows 7 available only through notebook makers. Obviously, this Touch Pack will work only with multi-touch supporting notebooks or netbooks. The Touch function has been built into the deep codes of Windows 7. The three Surface apps in Touch Pack include Surface Globe, Surface Collage and Surface Lagoon. Surface Globe uses Virtual Earth 3D engine for showing a 3D image of globe for users to navigate, get local information and even bookmark using 'pin' on favorite locations. All digital photos stored in the computer or the removable drive can be used to make a collage with the Collage app. You can interact with the virtual fishes inside the water with the Lagoon app.

Nokia N8 Disappointing: First Reviews

It was supposed to be Nokia's next big thing after the N97 and the N900. It could have had all the features going for it that would have made it the most desirable handset money could buy - but, Nokia has given it away and what could have been a great opportunity to reclaim the "best smartphone crown", now lies in tatters. Well, we're not saying it! In fact, the phone which we are on about hasn't even been officially announced by Nokia. We're talking about the Nokia N8, the much awaited flagship device from Nokia - the existence of which is known to all - with everyone else except Nokia acknowledging its existence.

Anyway, the usual suspect Eldar Murtazin of Mobile Review seems to have chanced upon a prototype or early build of the N8 which he reviewed extensively. If you thought, with the latest Symbian^3 OS and the new features has made the N8 drool worthy, prepare to be disappointed. Eldar has virtually lampooned Nokia and the N8 and has termed the phone to be very disappointing. The drawbacks of the phone range from not so great features and an absolutely uninspiring UI which he says is nothing but a cosmetically enhanced S60v5 UI. On the features front too, the phone is on par with existing handsets. The 12 megapixel camera, according to him, is slightly better than that the one on the Satio and the fact that it supports HD video recording doesn't turn any heads either. HD video recording has been in town for the past year or so. The phone is praised for being extremely fast - but only of you keep its memory relatively clutter free. Once you start filling those flash memory chips, the phone struggles to wade through menus. In our opinion, this bit can be fixed using a firmware update - but then, these issues should not crop up on a flagship handset, even with an early firmware.

Eldar has also said that the much touted HDMI port on the phone is virtually unusable. This is because it is not your "ordinary" port and is smaller than the usual ones and will not work with existing HDMI cables. He goes on to add that he is flabbergasted as to why Nokia has chosen this weird HDMI solution. In all, Eldar has come quite heavily on the N8. While he adds that Nokia will be able to sell the phone - thanks to its advertisement prowess, he sees this effort from a Nokia being incapable of the threat posed by newer phones based on Android and even the Bada OS which have started looking more contemporary than Symbian.

PS3 Update 3.30 Sneaks In PC Remote Play

Sony has quietly added PC remote play feature in PlayStation 3 gaming console through 3.30 system firmware update. This new update is listed on the PS3 system update page. Last week, we reported that firmware 3.30 expected soon will bring 3D stereoscopic gaming as well as some Trophy enhancements. However, Sony is planning to introduce PC Remote Play on PS3 using its future VAIO PCs. Sony will give out more details on this next month.

PS3 update 3.30 was deemed to bring 3D stereoscopic gaming with trophy enhancements but it looks like Sony has other plans. To complement 3D Stereoscopic gaming arrival, Sony will be launching 3D BRAVIA TVs.

Future VAIO branded PC models would be able to access PS3's XMB (Xross Media Bar) Interface to check out music, videos and photos. More details are expected in May at vaio.eu/playstation. Apart from that, the new 3.30 firmware update also brings updated Flash compatibility to the browser and also region free Blu-ray movie playback. The End User License Agreement got updated with a clause which states that Sony can update PS3 whenever it wants - un-announced.

Will the PS3 homebrew development community sway towards custom firmware or stick to the official ones? Sony is smartly luring PS3 owners with new features in system updates instead of waiting for custom firmware for the gaming console which might take a while.

Splinter Cell Conviction Interview

The Splinter Cell series has undergone a rebirth of sorts. Gone are the days when you had to spend hours in the dark tracking your prey’s every move only to engulf them silently in the shadows. The new Sam Fisher is fast, lethal and brutal. He still relies on the dark but when spotted can kill an enemy and vanish without a trace.

To fully understand the ideology behind his latest avatar we sit down and talk to Maxime Beland, the Creative Director and driving force behind Splinter Cell Conviction.

Why scrap the earlier design of the game? How painful was it to discard something you guys worked so hard on?

Our creative teams knew they needed to make an enormous impact with this fifth installment in one of Ubisoft’s most important brands. Great games aren’t made quickly and Ubisoft supported the creativity of the development team by giving the necessary time to make a great game.

Due to this, we kept all the great tools we already had, such as an amazing lighting engine and the dynamic environment, then we focused the gameplay more on the Splinter Cell values and strengths, such as light and shadows, athletic moves or gadgets to provide to the player the best possible Splinter Cell experience.

The airfield level was changed pretty radically in the last months of the project. But other than that, we pretty much produced and shipped everything that we had planned on the missions side. For gameplay, the number one feature that we where not able to do on time was the ability to carry dead bodies. I really wish we would’ve been able to do it. Not that you really need it in the game, but more because it’s a feature that a lot of fans would’ve liked to have.

What made you change the way the game plays? Why move away from the conventional Splinter Cell gameplay style?

We wanted to give the "ruthless elite agent" fantasy to the player. We focused on keeping what made SC special: intelligence in action. SC is not and will never be a skilled base shooter at its core, it has to incorporate tactical elements, and be rewarding for those that are using it effectively. Meanwhile, we realized that gamers enjoy innovative gameplay and fast-paced action. Our ambition was to bridge the tactical elements with the needed action and pacing that would resonate with gamer’s expectation.

So we’ve decided to focus on brand new gameplay elements for Conviction. The Mark and Execute is a really good example of this philosophy; Being granted a mark and execute, and using it well will require some thinking, while the execute part will be driven by providing the sense of being this ruthless agent. Additionally, the ability to use Last Known Position will allow players to strategically flank opponents. This gameplay encourages gamers to learn their surroundings and utilize strategic positioning, while still allowing the freedom to run head first into battle.

Are you still using the Unreal engine for this game? If so don’t you feel it’s aged considerably?

Splinter Cell Conviction uses a custom engine called Lead based on the Unreal 2 engine. The engine has been fully customized to meet all the special requirements of a “Next Gen” iteration of the Splinter Cellgenre.

Has the Assassin's Creed series proved as an inspiration for Sam Fisher’s new feline avatar?

The change in Sam’s look simply fits better with the new direction of the game, he is not a fugitive anymore, he is a man on a mission. Sam is not in Third Echelon anymore, he is on his own investigation, and so he chooses to dress in an adequate manner to allow him to do acrobatic moves.
The new Sam now works for himself. He’s tense and mean, and all his muscles are for predation, pointing toward his goal. Sam has always been a dangerous man. But now, he lets himself be dangerous. Sam’s look also translates all the frustrations his past life generates. He reconsiders all the choices he made, and it hurts.

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