Sunday, 17 April 2011

Samsung Galaxy S Android 2.3 update lands in Europe

Samsung Galaxy S owners can rejoice as their cherished Android 2.3.3 Gingerbread update has finally started rolling out in mainland Europe.

There are firm reports that the update has already landed in Germany, Austria and Holland, through the company’s Samsung Kies PC software tool. This exciting news makes us, here at T3, think that the UK rollout is tantalisingly close for one of 2010’s most popular smartphones.

While not a huge update features wise, Android 2.3.3 Gingerbread, nevertheless promises a new on-screen keyboard, a streamlined user interface, an improved copy and paste facility and better download management.

The update will surely lift Galaxy S owners who will soon have Samsung Galaxy S2 owners waving their new dual-core 1.2GHz units around to all and sundry. Although, we have no nailed-on dates as to when the big carriers will roll the update out, for the 10 million Galaxy S owners in the wild, a Gingerbread-tasting surprise is surely imminent.

Samsung Galaxy S owners, will the 2.3.3 Gingerbread update stop you from lusting after a Galaxy S2? Tweet or post us your thoughts on our Twitter and Facebook feeds and stay tuned for the latest news in the world of tech.

 


Posted by T3 Online


Source: T3.com News

Ebook sales overtake US paperbacks for the first time

The digital revolution continues apace in the old-tech world of publishing. In the US, the eBook has become the single bestselling format in American publishing for the first time, a year ahead of analysts forecasts.
 
The report from the Association of American Publishers, showed February’s eBook sales were $90.3m (£55.2m), compared to $81.2m (£49.8m) in paperbacks, a leap of 202.3% on the same time last year. Philip Jones, deputy editor of the Bookseller, believes that the UK is set to follow the US trend in the take-up of the technology, “the UK are a year behind but they are catching up quite fast.”

Despite the challenge of the rapidly expanding tablet market, many of which come pre-loaded with an e-reader, the figures show standalone eBook readers have carved out an important niche in a hugely competitive marketplace. Their popularity is down to choice – there are over a million free books on the Amazon Kindle – as well as a lower price-point than tablets, speedy downloads and portability.
 
The news comes hot on the heels of Amazon’s Kindle e-book reader becoming the best-selling product on Amazon.co.uk, way ahead of Sony and Samsung’s rival products.

Have you ditched paperbacks for good in favour of an e-reader? Tweet or post us on our Twitter and Facebook feeds and stay tuned for the latest news in the world of tech
 


Posted by T3 Online


Source: T3.com News

Saturday, 16 April 2011

Tech Week: HTC Sensation unveiled and iPad 3 rumours

 

News of the Week
HTC's new flagship handset has been the talk of tech town this week with the Taiwanese company officially unveiling the 1.2GHz dual-core HTC Sensation at a London-based press conference on Tuesday afternoon. Hours before the device was formerly unveiled, however, Vodafone leaked the Sensation, full specs and all, taking away some of the surprise. Following the device's arrival and in response to Vodafone's faux pas, Orange, O2, Three and T-Mobile all announced they will stock the HTC Sensation in June following the leaky red network's launch exclusivity.

 

Sticking with the new HTC device and a new revamped 3.0 version of the HTC Sense UI was unveiled alongside the HTC Sensation bringing a bevy of new features such as a smart app-touting lockscreen and 3D widgets to the popular skin. Whilst HTC's Android fans were excited by the arrival an official HTC announcement stating Sense 3.0 would not hit old devices later disappointed before the company flip-flopped on its own remarks stating the features of the UI would be available to existing handsets

 

Apple's brushed under the carpet flop that never was, the white iPhone 4 looks set to finally be making it to market after analysts and sources close to the matter 'promise' the white iPhone 4 will launch this month. A bold claim that we can only hope comes to life. This was later backed up by the Wall Street Journal which claimed Apple confirmed the white iPhone 4 will land in April.

 

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App of the Day | Battery Watch - Free Power Consumption Monitor
Presenting you with battery monitoring that’s as deep or as shallow as you want it to be, appealing UI
T3 App Chart | Top 10 BlackBerry AppsBattery Watch Review
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Features of the Week
The Apple iPad 2 might be no more than a few weeks old but that lump sleekly designed electronics is old hat compared to what we expect to see in the mooted iPad 3. Keeping you abreast of all the rumours and speculation circulating the next-gen tablet, we bring you Apple iPad 3 rumours: What we know so far. Enjoy.

 

With the London Marathon set to hit the capital's streets this weekend we have a bumper marathon feature offering for you here on T3. Kicking off with the best running shoes to get you through the 26.2 miles, we also have professional tips from World Record holding marathon runner Paula Radcliffe, former Olympian Steve Cram and the lovely folks at Six Physio. 

 

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T3 Podcast - The web's biggest audio gadget show
The T3 tech team discuss the weeks top news and their gadget of the week, the Motorola Atrix
T3 Podcast episode 178
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Reviews of the Week
Following the unveiling of HTC's new flagship handset we have gone hands-on with the HTC Sensation to let you in on what we think of the dual-core device that will hit stores next month running the new version 3.0 of the company's hugely popular Sense user interface.

 

Want to be healthy with a bit of an electrical boost? Then have we reviewed the perfect gadget for you, the Eagle LSR-50 electric bicycle. Priced at £1750 the bike isn't cheap but does the 0 - 25kph boosting eco bike fill that price tag? Read on to find out what we think.

 

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Video of the Week | HTC Sensation review: Hands-on first impression
We go hands-on with the recently announced HTC Sensation to bring you our first impressions
Plus: Motorola Xoom unboxing | Google Chrome OS: Top 10 desktop apps reviewed
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Posted by Luke Johnson


Source: T3.com News

Battlefield 3 needs 1 million "likes" to unlock new trailer

If you want to see the next Battlefield 3 trailer a day ahead of schedule, you need to hit "like" on its Facebook page.


EA and DICE are giving eager gamers an incentive to like their page because if they hit 1 million likes before April 17, then a 12-minute trailer and a producer's commentary will be unlocked for fans.

Landing on the Battlefield 3 page will show you a graphic that says "Mission: Like the page to help unlock the full trailer and producer's commentary early."

While these trailers will be unlocked by April 17 anyway, it's an interesting social media marketing tactic used by them. 

Currently, the number of likes the Facebook page for Battlefield 3 has received stands at near 760K, so it's just one-quarter away from the magic number of 1 million.

Battlefield 3 will be released towards the end of 2011 for PC,PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 platforms.


What do you think about EA's social media campaign? Let us know at T3's Twitter and Facebook feeds and feel free to like us on Facebook to get more tech news coming your way. 


 

 


Posted by Devina Divecha


Source: T3.com News

Friday, 15 April 2011

News@8pm: White iPhone 4 confirmed and 3DS sales

Games console sales have made news today as reports reveal the former Nintendo DS is outselling the recently released 3DS console in a number of markets around the globe, bad news for Nintendo's glasses-free 3D device. On the flip side Sony has announced the sale of the 50 millionth Sony PlayStation 3 console.

 

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App of the Day | Nike+ GPS
Nike’s new running application sees it add in a lot of the missing features from the previous iteration
T3 App Chart | Top 10 iPhone AppsNike+ GPS Review
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Apple iPhone updates have once again landed on our radar with the release of iOS 4.3.2 to fix issues on the Apple blower and iPad 2 surrounding Facetime. On top of this the WSJ is reporting Apple has confirmed the white iPhone 4 release date as this month, that's right, its finally coming, maybe.

 

Google's Android OS is reaching new heights as the internet giant reveals the mobile operating system has racked up more than three billion Android app downloads. Keeping on the Android front and HTC's Android skin, the Sense UI is to bring Sense 3.0 features to past devices the Taiwanese company has confirmed.


Posted by Luke Johnson


Source: T3.com News

Google's Android OS tots up three billionth app download

Google’s Android mobile operating system is going from strength to strength with the global tech giant officially announcing the Android platform has clocked up more than three billion app downloads to date.

 

Whilst this is still a hefty margin behind Apple’s iOS operating system which has reported in excess of 10 billion application downloads thus far, the figures, revealed via the company’s quarterly earnings report, mark a 50 per cent download increase from Q4.

 


Having taken 20 months from launch to hit the one billion app download milestone, Google’s mobile OS has since catapulted to mainstream popularity toting up its two billionth download just five months later ahead of yesterday’s three billion announcement.

 

These weighty figures have been obtained in such a short period of time thanks to the rapid rise in popularity of the Android operating system. Keen to reiterate just how successful the OS has become, communicating via the company’s quarterly earnings report, Google’s Senior VP of Commerce and Local declare that more than 350,000 Android devices are being activated each and every day.

 

Are you an Android adopter? Let us know what you think of the Google mobile OS and which of the many app downloads has proven most popular on your handset via the T3 Twitter and Facebook feeds.

 

Via: TechRadar
 


Posted by Luke Johnson


Source: T3.com News

Thursday, 14 April 2011

News@8: Spotify Free cuts and Razer Switchblade launch

Spotify Free users were dealt another blow as the streaming music service decided to make more restrictions on its free version delivering just 10 hours of music per month. For those who have not decided to upgrade to the Premium subscription service, you can get all the Spotify Free restriction details here. Remember the Razer Switchblade gaming concept we spotted in January? Well the portable gaming PC is set to launch in China first as we hope for a worldwide release to follow.

 

White iPhone 4 still on your mind? Well it appears we can expect a white iPhone 4 release date in April. If however you have given up waiting on it, you can always check out these white iPhone 4 alternatives. If you’re not a fan of the Apple smartphone, you may want to check out the BlackBerry Touch 9860 which has been caught on video once again.

 

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App of the Day | Battery Watch-Free Power Consumption
T3 App Chart | Top 10 BlackBerry Apps | Battery Watch-Free Power Consumption Review
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Android 2.3 updates are beginning to roll out to more handsets and for those of you with an original HTC Desire, a Gingerbread update is set for mid-May. It’s not such good news however on the HTC user interface front with the new HTC Sense 3.0 only hitting the HTC Sensation and new devices.

 

Nokia’s Symbian OS it seems is not going anywhere just yet with the Finnish mobile manufacturers pledging to back Symbian OS until 2014. Nokia’s new smartphone stable mate Microsoft on the other hand have discussed details about the new Windows Phone 7 Mango update which should arrive later this year.

 

MORE Taptu iPad app launches as an innovative new news source I Xperia Play: O2 says phone "nearly ready"

 

 

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HTC Sensation video: First look

 

 

 

Source: T3 video

 

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Posted by Michael Sawh


Source: T3.com News