Chinese experts explain why India and Russia jointly develop FGFA

Chinese television asks Chang Hu, the editor of a military magazine, and his colleague about Indo-Russian cooperation in military aviation.
 

Russia has announced its priorities for the export of arms where India is the key priority. Currently, Russia and India are jointly developing the Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA). Recently, the Indian Air Force reported the plans to purchase more than 200 FGFA fighters. 
On October 8, the Indian Air Force organized an exhibition and demonstration flights at the base near New Delhi to celebrate the 79th anniversary of the national Air Force. It was announced that the Air Force would buy 214 FGFAs, including 166 single-seat and 48 twin-seat models. The twin-seat fighters will be manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL).
Chang Hu, the editor of a military magazine, and his colleague were invited to the studio of the Chinese television CCTV. They answered a number of questions.

What is the FGFA fighter?
It should be a fighter developed in line with the highest world standards. India’s technological base is very weak, therefore Russia would do the bulk of this work. Russia has already developed a prototype aircraft (the T-50 project), which is undergoing flight tests.

Then why can’t Russia sell these fighters to India? Why do they need this joint development?
In fact, the T-50 is still under development. Russia showed the fighter at the MAKS 2011 air show. It was clear that the aircraft’s design is "rough" with a lot of seams and joints. India’s participation can cover a significant share of funding for this project. Currently, India has to make the choice between the two European fighters - Typhoon or Rafale – to buy 126 fighters for the Air Force. Given the difficult economic situation in Europe, India can succeed in  "extorting" technologies. For example, these aircrafts have very good avionics and India can become a "consolidator" of European and Russian technologies in the FGFA project.

According to the Indian Air Force, the country hopes to get this fighter as early as 2017, that is, it would take only six years to develop it.
In fact, the entire technological platform of this aircraft will be developed in Russia. However, the T-50 is rather a technology demonstrator and it will take a lot of time to get the real fighter. The Russian Air Force reported this fighter would be adopted in 2015, which is hard to believe. Moreover, if the Indian Air Force gets this fighter in 2017 then India can adopt it even faster that the Russian Air Force. Probably, India will be the second test site for the T-50.

It is known that the USA does not export the F-22, then why does Russia allow another country access to the latest technologies?
I think the first reason is that India poses no threat to Russia. Second, this aircraft’s design is still far from the desired level. The T-50 has on-board equipment but a lot has still to be created, for example, a digital data bus similar to the American 1553B. Russia lags behind in this area but France can share a similar technology with India if the Rafale fighter wins the tender.
So, India can consolidate the French and Russian military technologies in the new fighter. India has a special way of military thinking – it wants to get ready-made products not bothering to develop new ones.

But India will again be dependent on foreign technology ...
I think the participation in the development of modern aircraft would be useful for India since the country needs designing experience. The FGFA project is a rare opportunity to gain experience in this field.

So, can India become the owner of the latest technology?
Yes. It will be a big step forward. India will be one of the few countries in the world with its own fifth-generation fighter.

If all goes as planned, can India surpass the US in the number of heavy fifth-generation fighters?
That’s true.

How will this factor affect the situation in the Asia-Pacific?
India has approved the 11th five-year plan, during which 214 fifth-generation fighters must be adopted. In fact, everything depends on the Indian Air Force funding.

But this period is too short to produce so many fighters. 
That’s right. 

Another question. Today, India can purchase military systems from Western countries including the United States. But Russian weapons still account for 70% of India’s military arsenal. Why does India continue to prefer Russian weapons?
First, it is because of the relative cheapness of Russian military hardware and equipment. Second, Russia is willing to transfer much more technology than Western countries. India uses this situation to diversify arms purchases thus achieving greater independence in the sources of weapons. For example, India buys the C-130 and C-17 transport aircraft in the United States.

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LG G3 review

"With its huge 2,560x1,440 display, innovative apps, excellent camera and fast performance, the G3 is one of the best smartphones ever made"

Specifications

Processor: Quad-core 2.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 801, Screen size: 5.5in, Screen resolution: 2,560x1,440, Rear camera: 2.1-megapixel, Storage: 16GB, Wireless data: 4G, 3G, Size: 146x74x8.9mm, Weight: 149g, Operating system: Android 4.4.2

Expansys

The LG G3 is one of the best-looking phones we've ever seen. With its super-high-res 5.5in 2,560x1,440 IPS display and ultra-thin bezels, it's not only gorgeous to look at, but its simple, clean design also makes it supremely comfortable to hold.
Like its predecessor the G2, the G3 has its power and volume buttons on the rear of the phone, which takes some getting used to, but does mean you don’t press them accidentally when using the phone one-handed. We particularly like the G3's smooth, curved back, which fits perfectly in your palm. Its metallic finish isn't real aluminium as on the HTC One (m8), but it doesn't attract fingerprints and provides a decent amount of grip compared to the sometimes-slippery G2. We prefer the design to that of both the One (m8) and Samsung Galaxy S5, but it's the G3's screen that really makes it stand out from its competitors.

With a resolution of 2,560x1,440, the G3 has a massive 3.68 million pixels crammed onto its 5.5in display, giving it an astonishing pixel density of 534 pixels-per-inch (PPI). To put that figure into perspective, a 5.5in phone with a 1,920x1,080 resolution would have just 2.07 million pixels and a PPI of 400. That's almost double the number of pixels in the same amount of space, giving the G3 a much crisper and clearer-looking screen than that of any other top-end smartphone.
Text was noticeably sharper on the G3 than on phones with Full HD displays, and we had no problem at all reading headlines and smaller body copy on web pages such as The Guardian and BBC News running in Desktop mode. Even Full HD phones force us to zoom in occasionally, but we felt no such need with the G3.

We measured the G3's black levels as 0.56cd/m2, which isn't particularly deep, but we found this made little difference to the clarity of text as the screen's high brightness of 417.32cd/m2 really makes letters stand out against its clean white backgrounds. Colours were also extremely bright and vivid thanks to the phone's high sRGB colour accuracy score of 91.7 per cent, and our measured contrast ratio of 741:1 led to plenty of detail in light and dark areas of images.
It's easily one of the best smartphone screens we've ever seen, but we did notice that the G3 wasn't able to sustain its maximum brightness setting during extended periods of use. Instead, the phone would gradually lower its maximum brightness level automatically, and wouldn't let us increase it again until the phone's internal temperature had cooled down. This was a little disappointing, but even though the G3 did get quite warm during every day use, it never got so hot that it was uncomfortable to hold and the brightness level rarely dropped below 90 per cent, meaning we could still use it outside in bright conditions without any trouble.
Of course, one of the benefits of having such a large resolution screen is having a lot more workspace to play with, and LG has made the most of the G3's screen with its Dual Window app.

Dual View lets you use two apps at the same time
Like the Multi Window feature on current Samsung devices, Dual View lets you use two apps simultaneously, and you can adjust the height of each window to fit your needs. This means you can send a text while looking at Google Maps or browse the web while chatting to friends in Google Hangouts. Using apps in Dual Window can be a little cramped compared to using apps in full screen view, but it's great for multitasking and we much prefer it to continually going back and forth between different apps via the home screen.

Performance and battery life

In terms of performance, the G3 is right up there with the HTC One (m8) and Samsung Galaxy S5. With a quad-core 2.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor, it completed our Sunspider JavaScript benchmark in a lightning-fast 649ms using its default browser, and we saw no signs of lag or hesitation whatsoever when browsing the web. Image-heavy pages were quick to load and scrolling and panning round zoomed-in pages was incredibly smooth.
The G3's graphics performance wasn't quite as good on paper as the One (m8) and S5's, but this isn't surprising given the G3 has to render almost double the number of pixels. Taking this into account, the phone's Adreno 330 GPU coped brilliantly with our graphics benchmarks, as it scored a respectable 8,552 (roughly 34.9fps) in the Extreme version of 3DMark Ice Storm. It even managed a smooth 28.9fps in the Epic Citadel benchmark on Ultra High quality settings at a resolution of 2,392x1,440, so the G3 should be able to handle any game available in the Google Play Store.

Of course, powering such a large screen is going to take its toll on the G3's battery life, but the handset's huge 3,000mAh battery still lasted an impressive 13 hours and 12 minutes in our continuous video playback test with the screen set to half brightness. This is just 16 minutes shy of the HTC One (m8) under the same conditions, so you should be able to get a full day's use out of the G3 without having to charge it up during the day.

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Tonino Lamborghini Antares smartphone

 
Worried your smartphone isn't exclusive enough? Try this £2,500 Android handset instead 

If you've ever thought that Samsung's and Apple's top-end smartphones just aren't exclusive enough for you, then the Tonino Lamborghini Antares Android phone could be just what you're looking for. Available for £2,500 exclusively through Carphone Warehouse at Selfridges, the Antares is designed for the rich.
To that end, the phone isn't designed to have the latest, highest specifications, but it aims to please with its high-end design instead. In truth, there's nothing else quite like it.
Made from stainless steel, the Antares has a PVD coating, which makes the surface tougher, but also allows Tonino Lamborghini to provide colour options. It's available in rose gold, gold, black and stainless steel. There's also a choice of leather colours for the back panel.

We have to say that it looks pretty good in the flesh, with the rose gold model catching our attention in particular. With its angled edges and metal grilles, it's fair to say that we've not seen a phone like the Antares before and it's one of the most attractive handsets that we've seen.
Part of the cost comes down to the expense of making the phone look the way it does. In fact, the handset has to be manufactured to a slightly larger size, so that when it's been hand-polished and metal removed in the process, it still all fits together.
Using stainless steel does have a slight weigh disadvantage, with the phone weighing 170g. Considering there's only a 4in screen, that's quite a bit of bulk.

Inside, the specs don't match those of the latest handsets, such as the Samsung Galaxy S5. Its 4in screen has only a qHD resolution (960x540), lagging behind the Full HD screens we're used to seeing. Given the comparatively smaller screen size, compared to the current crop of Android handsets, pixel density is still a respectable 274ppi; it looked fairly sharp from our brief interaction with it.
There's a 1.5GHz quad-core processor and 2GB of RAM, although we couldn't run any benchmarks, as the handset wasn't connected to the internet. 32GB of storage is standard onboard, with a 32GB micro SD card provided in the box.

Things are altogether better with the camera. The Sony-manufactured model has a 13-megapixel resolution, so should be capable of capturing some high-detail shots. You also get a Yamaha amplifier and speakers for audio, although we'll need to test these out in more detail to find out if they're any better than the audio kit that comes with other smartphones.

Android 4.2 is installed, although the company will roll out Android 4.4 when it feels that the newer OS is stable enough. While Android mostly remains the same, Tonino Lamborghini has added its own icons and applications to the phone. For example, you get a special Antares browser. However, as Google won't let people mess with the apps that should ship with Android, you also get the regular version of Chrome. This happens with some other apps, so your phone ends with two apps to do the same job: one Google and one Tonino Lamborghini. It's good to see that there's full access to the Google Play store, so you download and install any of the thousands of Android applications available on it.

Available now from Selfridges, the Antares is a limited edition handset, with each model stamped with a unique serial code.

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iPhone 5S review

"A staggeringly fast processor, excellent build quality and a great operating system, what's not to like?"

While the Android world was going big-screen, Apple has steadfastly stuck to its more pocket-friendly design with the iPhone 5S. In fact, on a first glance, there's very little to tell this smartphone from the iPhone 5. With larger-and-larger phones coming out, the question is whether or not Apple has lost the plot.
The good news is that Apple seems to know exactly what it's doing and the iPhone 5S remains a beautifully made and desirable smartphone. While it may look like its predecessor, this phone is an improvement in practically every way.

Specifications

Processor: Dual-core 1.3GHz Apple A7, Screen size: 4in, Screen resolution: 1,136x640, Rear camera: 8 megapixels, Storage: 16/32/64GB, Wireless data: 4G, Size: 123.8x58.6x7.6mm, Weight: 112g, Operating system: iOS 7.1

Apple

Build quality

The one area where Apple hasn't managed to better itself is with build quality, and that's only because the iPhone 5 was such a great phone. Apple doesn't skimp on premium materials and the metal body and Gorilla Glass covered screen still look and feel fantastic.
It's not just the materials, but the attention to detail that catches the eye. Its precision-cut aluminium rear sits absolutely flush with glass panels that sit at the top and bottom. The smartphone's neat bevelled edges are perfectly formed and the 7.3mm thick phone feels incredibly comfortable in the hand. Weighing just 112g, which still feels almost impossibly light when you pick up the smartphone for the first time, the iPhone 5S is incredible to look at and hold.

The iPhone 5S is hard-wearing, too, thanks to its tough aluminium body. We've been carrying our one around since launch and, aside from the odd minor scratch (mostly around the bezel), it looks as good as the day it was taken out of its box. We keep the phone in a sleeve case to protect the sides and screen, but the quality is still impressive to behold. After all, this is a device that will be thrown into pockets and bags, and carried everywhere, so that fact it still looks good after that kind of punishment is testement to its quality.

If you're coming from a large-screen Android phone, the iPhone 5S does look a little small, but for all practical purposes it's still a great size. It fits easily in one hand, letting you use it with just your thumb, while you can put it comfortably in any pocket.

For this year's models, the white model is the same as last year's, but there are also two new colours. Space Gray replaces the 'black' model of last year and is subtly different, with the case a purer grey than last year's blue-grey model. It's the Gold edition that's really different. Pictures don't do it justice, as it tends to look quite garish, but in the flesh the champagne gold finish is altogether more subtle and classier.
Gold model aside, the biggest issue of the iPhone 5S's looks is that to the untrained eye it doesn't look as though you've bought a new phone, although Apple has at least eased the burden by taking the iPhone 5 off sale, replacing it with the plastic iPhone 5C instead.

There is one big clue that the phone you've got is the iPhone 5S: the metal-rimmed home button, which no longer has the familiar-looking square icon in it. As you're no doubt aware, this is the brand-new fingerprint reader, Touch ID. With Touch ID, rather than having to tap in a PIN to unlock your phone, you can simply hold your finger over the sensor. If that sounds like a gimmick, it's not: it's actually a brilliant time saver and something that helps enforce security.

Touch ID

Touch ID can be programmed to recognise up to five fingers (they can be just yours or yours and trusted other people). All you have to do is hold your finger to the sensor repeatedly, while the iPhone 5S builds up an image of what your print looks like. You're prompted to move your finger around, to get full coverage, and even to use the side of your finger so that you can use Touch ID from pretty much any angle. With that done, you're ready to go.

Apple had some complaints when the phone first came out that Touch ID wasn't particularly reliable. However, an iOS update has fixed that and made the fingerprint reader faster and much more reliable. Plus, you can help things along by registering the same finger twice, dramatically increasing the recognition levels.
We have to say that it works pretty much flawlessly, at any angle and, impressively, any rotation, so you can even tap Touch ID with your phone upside down to get it to work. We found that other people's fingers couldn't unlock the phone either. What's particularly brilliant is how you can unlock the phone in one go: just click the home button to switch on the iPhone 5S, then release and hold to unlock it in one smooth move. The only times we have suffered any problems are with a wet finger, such as after washing our hands; for the most part, the sensor works brilliantly.
This ease of use shouldn’t overshadow the technological effort that has gone into creating Touch ID. It's massively impressive that Apple has managed to fit the best fingerprint reader we've used underneath a button. Even better, you only have to touch the reader for it to work; with the Samsung Galaxy S5, you have to swipe your finger over the button, which isn't quite as easy or as user friendly.
Perhaps more importantly, setting up Touch ID requires you to set a PIN for your phone, which is required after a reboot and to access key settings, such as adding new fingerprints. So, in adding easier-to-use security, Apple is also pushing people to be more secure in general.

Then, there's the future of the technology. At the moment Touch ID can be used to unlock your phone and to buy from iTunes and the App Store, rather than having to enter your password. It makes sense that Apple will open this system up at some point in the future, at least to certain developers, so you could use your fingerprint to access your bank, for example. Nothing has been announced, but we'd be surprised if Touch ID isn't used for more over the coming year.
Fingerprints are stored in the phone's A7 chip's Secure Enclave, where they're not shared or uploaded to iCloud. This helps boost security and should stop the fingerprint reader being hacked. Of course, the system is not entirely fool-proof, but Apple quotes a 50,000-in-1 chance of someone being able to unlock the phone, which is still better than the 10,000-in-1 chance of someone guessing a four-digit PIN.

Screen

Given that the phone size hasn't changed, Apple hasn't changed the screen, so you get the same 4in 1,136x640 screen that was used in the iPhone 5. Again, you can get higher resolution, bigger screens moving to Android, but we don't see the iPhone 5S's size as a problem.

For starters, there's plenty of resolution for web browsing and apps, with the interface disappearing off-screen when you're reading pages, giving the full screen over to the current task. Next, the 326ppi pixel density is what Apple calls a Retina display. This means that when you view the screen at a normal distance, you can't view individual pixels. In other words, everything looks pin-sharp and more resolution wouldn't achieve anything, bar making icons and text too small to read without scaling.
Image quality is excellent, too. Apple has used a high-quality IPS panel and it's still one of the best smartphone displays. It's evenly lit, bright, produces excellent whites and vibrant colours, and the excellent viewing angles mean that you can see what's on screen clearly from anywhere.

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Nikon D810 review - first look, release date and UK price

When the Nikon D610 came out, it was largely a tweak to the existing D600, seemingly because of complaints about the latter's sensor suffering from dirt on the sensor. When Nikon announced the D810, the successor to the D800, our immediate question was, is this model just a minor tweak as well?
The answer is a little more complicated than a simple 'yes' or 'no'. We can't expect a massive change over the D800, as its revolutionary sensor resolution simply can't be improved on year-after-year. On top of that, Nikon can't and shouldn't dramatically change the controls and their layout, otherwise existing users wouldn't be happy. Within those boundaries, Nikon has made the biggest changes it can, refining the control layout and installing a brand-new sensor and processing engine.

New sensor and performance

For the D810 Nikon has created a brand-new 36.3 megapixel sensor. Resolution wise, it's no big change from the D800, which had a 36.2 megapixel sensor. That's fair enough as resolution was never one of the D800's problems. What Nikon has done this time around is refine and improve the performance of its sensor. Combined with the new Expeed 4 image processing engine, the D810 is designed to be quicker, producing cleaner, sharper images. For this model Nikon has removed the optical low pass filter (OLPF), so the D810 effectively replaces both the D800, which had an OLPF, and the D800E, which didn't.

For starters, the new sensor and processing engine mean that the camera is faster, managing 5fps at full-resolution and up to 7fps when set to DX crop mode. The D800 could only manage 5fps in DX crop mode (15.3 megapixels), so this is a big improvement, particularly if you're shooting fast action and want to snap of a burst of shots to capture the perfect moment. Even better, switching to JPEG mode, the camera can rattle off an unlimited amount of shots, as long as the memory card is still empty. This works for any shutter speed of less than 4s.
Post production and image capture have also been given a boost thanks to the RAW Size S format. This creates 12-bit uncompressed Nikon NEF RAW files, which are much smaller in size.
One of the disadvantages of having such a large sensor is that less light falls per pixel than on cameras with lower resolutions. This can lead to noiser images. With the D810 Nikon has looked to address that, promising cleaner photos. ISO range has been expanded, too, with the camera able to use ISO 32-51200 in an extended mode (regular mode is ISO 64-12800).
Nikon has also added an electronic front-curtain shutter, which you can use when the mirror is up in live-view mode. This is designed to minimise internal vibrations caused by the mechanical shutter, eliminating micro-blur. It could prove very useful when using telephoto lenses, such as for wildlife photography.

Auto-focus has been improved, too. The D810 now has the D4S' Multi-CAM 3500FX 51-point AF system, which can be configured in 9-point, 21-point and 51-point coverage settings. The AF points are clustered towards the centre of the frame, though; switching to DX crop mode gives you almost 100 per cent coverage. The D810 also gains the D4S' Group Area AF mode. This is designed to make focussing in challenging lighting conditions easier and more reliable.
We'll need to wait until we get a review sample in before we can fully test all of these claims, but the sample shots we've seen certainly look impressive.

Video mode

Video is one of big growth areas for cameras, so it's no surprise to see that Nikon has boosted the performance of the D810. It has added 50/60p shooting, and has made full ISO control available from 64-to-Hi2. As well as recording in-body, the feed can be sent to external device, or even broadcast live.
It's great to see Nikon boosting the video capabilities of its DSLR, but the one crucial thing that's missing is the ability to record 4K video. Currently only the Panasonic Lumix GH4 has that mode.

Build quality

As you'd expect from Nikon's high-end DSLR, the build-quality is second-to-none. It has a magnesium alloy body, with weather and dust sealing as standard. You'll need to make sure that you buy weather-sealed lenses for the best experience, though.

Nikon has also redesigned the shutter, with a new kevlar/carbon fibre-composite unit. As well as reducing shutter lag, the new unit is designed to be quieter, while still guaranteeing a minimum of 200,000 releases.

Controls

Nikon's cameras are well-known for their ergonomic and cleverly-thought-out controls. The Nikon D800 had it about right, so there's no major revolution with the D810, rather an evolution and refinement of what's on offer. Most of the design changes have come about because of feedback from photographers.

Now the metering mode button has moved to the main control dial, making it easier to reach and change when shooting. Making way for it is the Bracket (BKT) button, which moves to the front of the camera.

Nikon has modified an upgraded the grip, too, making it more comfortable to hold. In our short time with the camera, it certainly felt comfortable and easy to hold. Otherwise, it's business as normal for the buttons and dials, letting anyone familiar with Nikon cameras pick up the D810 and start using it immediately.

Screen

Nikon has used the same size screen, as on the D800, but the 3.2in model has been upgraded to a 1,299K-dot resolution, up from 921K-dots. It's a fairly chunky improvement that should make reviewing shots and composing in live view that bit easier. In addition, Nikon has added a new split-screen mode, which lets you pick two points on a straight line to make sure that you've got the shot level and that everything's in focus. It's particularly useful, we're told, for architectural photography.

Memory card slots

As with the D800, the D810 retains two memory card slots. There's one SDXC slot and one CF slot, which will appeal to the professional photographers. The slots can be used together, with one set as primary and one as an overflow for when the first card fills up. You can also choose to shoot RAW on the primary slot and JPEG on the secondary. In all cases, dual slots give you flexibility and control over how you shoot, so it's good to see this feature retained.

Conclusion and availability

From what we've seen of the D810, Nikon seems to have addressed many of the little niggles that we had with the D800, boosting performance, image quality and video recording. It's also tweaked and refined the controls, making it even easier to shoot with. First impressions, then, are very positive, but we'll have to wait until we get a final model in for review to give it a proper test.
Nikon will make the D810 available from 26th June, with the body-only model due to cost £2,700. We don't have a price for a kit yet, but expect to see a variety of deals available.

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Galaxy S5: Expert views on Samsung's latest smartphone

The Galaxy S5's new heart rate reader could come in useful for Samsung Electronic's investors.

The South Korean firm warned earlier this week that it expected its profits to fall for the second quarter running.
Several analysts suggest the high-end market is becoming saturated, meaning most people wanting a premium phone already own one, making it harder to sell them another.
"Year to date, the share price of Samsung Electronics continues to underperform both in absolute terms and against the Kospi [Korea Composite Stock Price Index] as well," Taewoo Kim, portfolio manager of Fidelity's Korea fund tells the BBC.
"This weak performance reflected investors' concerns on its smartphone business particularly in the high-end segment as a result of elevated competition."

Samsung manufactures many of the parts that appear in its new handset

But Mr Kim believes things are about to improve, thanks in part to the improving performance of Samsung Electronic's memory and home appliance divisions.
The new Galaxy could guarantee such a turnaround if consumers warm to its water-resistant build, improved camera and fitness-tracking facilities.
To mark the S5's global launch the BBC asked five experts for their thoughts

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Sony Xperia Z3: Release date, rumours, price, news and features

It's been a short few months since the February launch of Sony's Xperia Z2, but we're already looking ahead to the rumoured Sony Xperia Z3 smartphone.

Sony Xperia Z3: Release date

The Sony Xperia Z3 could be landing as soon as August, according to a report by Trusted Reviews. That puts a decidedly short six months between it and the previous Sony Xperia Z2. Sony does have a habit of cracking out smartphones by the dozen, but we're not so sure a sequel to the Z2 is set for so soon.
The original Sony Xperia Z launched in February 2013, setting the first two iterations apart by a whole year, making this an August release seem suspicious. Sony's upcoming mid-tier smartphone, the Sony Xperia T3, is set for a July release, so it could be a busy summer for the Japanese firm.
An August launch has benefits and costs for the mobile manufacturer. It's likely that the early launch could rile up customers who only just got their hands on the Sony Xperia Z2. On a brighter note, the early launch could be a business boon, giving Sony the chance to put an Xperia Z3 in the hands of customers before they even get a whiff of Apple's upcoming iPhone 6, expected for September/October.

Sony Xperia Z3: Features

An Android device through and through, the Sony Xperia Z3 is expected to launch with the latest version of Android 4.4 KitKat OS. At present, that would mean the smartphone operating on 4.4.3, but Google I/O 2014 featured some exciting chatter about the upcoming Android L mobile operating system. Stay tuned.
The Sony Xperia Z2 launched with Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity, so it's a safe bet to assume the Sony Xperia Z3 will rock the tech too.

Sony Xperia Z3: Appearance

Leaked photos back in May showed what was purported to be the metal frame of a Sony Xperia Z3. Apparently the frame was treated with a PVD coating to make it more corrosive resistance, stronger, and more scratch-proof than previous models.
GospelHerald thinks an efficiently designed Sony Xperia Z3 looks likely, writing "the most recent rumour points to the Xperia Z3 having bezels that are significantly slimmer than the previous Xperia Z2." Many users complained that the Sony Xperia Z2 wasted too much device real estate on above- and below-screen bezel.
The device itself might be slimming down along with the bezel, with rumours putting the Sony Xperia Z3's thickness at a super-svelte 7mm.
Trusted reviews says we could be looking at a 1080p HD display, but a report by GospelHerald suggests a large 5.3-inch QHD display sporting a hefty 2550 x 1440 resolution. The Sony Xperia Z2 rocked a slightly smaller 5.2-inch full HD display, so an upwards move for screen real estate and pixels-per-inch seems likely.
Other sites suggest the Sony Xperia Z2's 1080p screen is set to make a return for the Sony Xperia Z3, but we're hoping Sony ditches the old display in exchange for the more pixel-dense version.
The Sony Xperia Z3 will probably follow the Sony Xperia Z2 in terms of basic design; we're expecting a squared-off, rectangular chassis, most likely sporting a black bezel and Sony branding front-and-back.

 

Sony Xperia Z3: Price

There's no confirmation on price yet from Sony as the device isn't officially announced, but we'll whip up some guesswork in the meantime. The Xperia Z launched back in 2013 at £529, but now retails at just £277. The Xperia Z1 upped its retail game, with Sony tagging the sequel device at £599. Next came the Sony Xperia Z2, which now sells for about £540.
With the above in mind, a price point in the range of £549-599 seems likely. £600+ is far too premium but a mark-up south of £549 would undersell the device compared to other leading smartphones. While it's definitely big money to shell out, the Xperia Z range is packed with premium blowers and looks to compete with offerings from Samsung and Apple.

Sony Xperia Z3: Specs

Most reports agree that the Sony Xperia Z3 will pack a powerful 2.7GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 processor. This seems an obvious upgrade from the Sony Xperia Z2's 2.3GHz Snapdragon 801, and would put the phone above both the Samsung Galaxy S5 and the HTC One M8 in terms of processing power too.
PCAdvisor tips a slightly less powerful CPU for the Sony Xperia Z3, reporting the device to have a 2.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor. Up on the Sony Xperia Z2, but by no means equivalent to the mighty Snapdragon 805.
While the Sony Xperia Z3's processor might be getting a boost, the RAM looks likely to stay at the 3GB mark, mirroring the Sony Xperia Z2's memory. Its camera is expected to match its predecessors too, sporting a respectable 20.7MP rear snapper.
Reports that the Sony Xperia Z3 will boast an 500MHz Adreno 420 GPU, which would be great for mobile-minded gamers

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Aston Martin Gran Turismo 6 concept in the metal

Aston Martin has been showing off a model of its virtual-only DP-100 supercar at the Goodwood Festival of Speed before it arrives on Gran Turismo 6 in July. 

 

The Aston Martin DP-100 is one of a number of models being shown at the 2014 Goodwood Festival of Speed designed for PlayStation 3 game Gran Turismo 6.
The Aston Martin design team, led by Marek Reichman, took six months to style and engineer the real-life model to show off at the event.
It was created at Aston Martin's Gaydon headquarters using a combination of sketches and a 3D model.
Unlike Aston Martin's existing range, which all have their engines mounted in the front of the car, the DP100 uses a mid-engined configuration for what Aston Martin says would be a twin-turbocharged V12 producing 800bhp.
While it was built purely for the digital world, Aston says many of the concept’s design cues, such as the light blade rear lamps, could carry over to future sports cars.
Some of the world’s biggest manufacturers have also rolled up at Goodwood with their own virtual-only supercars including the Nissan Concept 2020, Volkswagon GTI Roadster, Mitsubishi Concept XR-PHEV Evolution, and BMW Vision Gran Turismo.
The Aston Martin DP-100 will be downloadable on Gran Turismo 6 from July as part of Vision Gran Turismo, a celebration created to herald the game series' 15th anniversary.
If you want to check out the other incredible supercars built for the Vision Gran Turismo project, then head over to gran-turismo.com.

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Sony Wireless Stereo Headset 2.0

Serious PS4 gamers demand a great headset - can Sony's official model beat third-party rivals? Find out in our Sony Wireless Stereo Headset 2.0

 

Sony Wireless Stereo Headset 2.0 review

Love

• Quick and simple setup
• Compatible with everything
• Comfortable for long sessions

Hate

• Average audio/mic quality
• Surround only on PS3/PS4
• USB wireless
• not Bluetooth

One of the things we like about the Sony PS4 is that it supports most gaming headsets out of the box, unlike the Xbox One, which requires a special headset or an adaptor.
Despite universal headset compatibility, Sony has still decided to release a model of its own in the form of the Wireless Stereo Headset 2.0.

It features Sony's familiar black and blue styling, support for a custom PS4 app, and compatibility with PS3, PS Vita, PC, Mac, and anything else with a standard headphone port.

There are already some excellent gaming headsets out there, from the Turtle Beach Ear Force PX4 to the Astro A50 and the SteelSeries H Wireless. But is Sony's Wireless Stereo Headset 2.0 the PS4 headset to rule them all?

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Nikon D810 review: Hands-on

The latest DSLR in Nikon's range boasts the highest image quality yet in the maker's history. Check out our Nikon D810 hands-on review

 

The Nikon D810 DSLR sports the highest image quality in Nikon's history, says its maker. Big words, but can the replacement for the Nikon D800 and Nikon D800E live up to them?

Sitting below the top-of-the-range Nikon D4s in the range, this is a pro camera that's also in reach for enthiastic amateurs (albeit ones with bags of cash). It sits just above the Nikon D610.

Nikon D810: Size and build

The D800 was already an impressive camera and some would argue that there wasn't much room for imrprovement, but Nikon has made several tweaks to the design. The grip has been improved so that it's more comfy to hold - although we weren't able to get our mitts on it for very long, we found it was great to hold and didn't feel overly weighty even with a lens attached.

Some of the buttons have also been switched around slightly since the last model to make them more easily accessible, while an i button has been added for swifter access to some of the key controls.

The new model comes with dust and weather sealing, like that on the Nikon D7100 so you should be fine taking pictures even if there's a classic British downpour.

Nikon D810: Features

The new ultra-wide ISO range goes from 64 to 12800 so the camera can cope in a variety of lighting conditions and will maintain definition even in bright light.

According to Nikon, you'll be able to capture up to 1200 images on a single charge, something that we'll best tesing out later on.

Nikon D810: Screen

The D810 features a respectable 3.2-inch 1229k-dot LCD anti-reflective display, which looked clear and bright in our short test. We only had the chance to try this out in studio conditions, rather than out in bright sunlight but that's something we'll look at again as soon as we get our mitts on a review sample.

Nikon D810: Picture quality

 

The brand new FX-format CMOS sensor has a pixel count of 36.3MP and Nikon has left out the optical low pass filter so that the image packs in as much detail as possible.

The D810 also features the same Expeed 4 processing engine as the flagship D4S and as well as the same 51-point AF system as the range-topping pro cam.

The new model can shoot with a a burst rate of 5fps on full resolution images and up to 7fps on cropped pictures. All of these enhancements combined certainly add up to some very impressive specs.

The camera's video credentials have also been given a boost including increased frame rates. We didn't get time to try out the video mode but that's something we'll be looking at in more detail in our full review.

Nikon D810: Verdict

Although the Nikon D810 may seem like a modest upgrade compared to the popular D800, the jump in picture quality is extemely impressive on paper. And the results that we were shown taken by pro snapper John Wright after a very short time with the camera were great. We look forward to testing it out in full.

Nikon D810 release date: 17 July 2014

Nikon D810 price: £2699.99 (body only)

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MacBook Air 2014 review

The 13-inch MacBook Air 2014 has had a minor spec boost and a price cut. Find out how it fares in our MacBook Air review

MacBook Air 2014 review

Love

• Cheaper
• Slightly more powerful
• Same winning design

Hate

• Not a Retina display
• No CD drive
• No Ethernet port

Apple seems to be changing its ways, and aiming its products at more price-conscious punters. Not only has it launched its cheapest ever iMac, it’s also slashed a ton off the 2014 MacBook Air. So this year’s model can be yours for just £749.

It’s identical to last year’s model, except it packs a 1.4GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 chip. That’s up from the 1.3GHz dual-core i5 in the 2013 Air. So not exactly a massive leap.

Still, if it ain’t broke. And the price cut is most welcome. But is it enough to stave off rivals like the Microsoft Surface 2, Toshiba KiraBook, and new Samsung Galaxy Tab S? Let’s take a look.

MacBook Air: Size and build

Aesthetically, this year’s MacBook Air is exactly the same as last year’s. Not that we’re complaining – the MacBook Air is one of the most gorgeous gadgets we’ve ever laid eyes on, with its brushed aluminium body and fantastically bright screen. (There are rumours of a Retina display model, which would really make our day.)

The new model has the same 325x227x17mm frame as the MacBook Air 2013 model. (We tested the 13-inch version, which starts at £849, but you can also buy the 11-incher.) The edges taper so it’s just 3mm at its slimmest point. And it weighs the same 1,350g, which is light enough to not really notice it in a bag. Very impressive indeed.

MacBook Air: Features

Again, it has the same features as the 2013 model. Mac OS X Mavericks comes as standard (though OS X Yosemite will be out in the autumn).

On the ports side of things, you get two USB 3, a Thunderbolt, the MagSafe 2 (for the magnetic charger) and an SDXC card slot.

Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0 come as standard, and the keyboard is the same winner as before, with plenty of space (pardon the pun), and backlit keys.

MacBook Air: Screen

The 13.3-incher packs 1,440x900 pixels, giving it a pixel per inch count of 128ppi. If you want an even more portable option, the 11.6-incher has 1,366x768 pixels, with 135ppi.

It might not be a Retina model – not yet, anyway – but colours are accurate, it has wide viewing angles, and it’s more than bright enough.

However, things have moved on since, and it seems the MacBook Air has been left behind somewhat. The Toshiba KiraBook boasts a QHD display, with a resolution of 2,560x1440 pixels, giving it 221ppi.

So while the MacBook Air’s screen might be good, there are better – if more expensive options – available.

MacBook Air: Performance

The spec bump is only a measly 0.1GHz, so you won’t tell much difference between this and last year’s model. Again, that’s no bad thing. All the games we tried ran without any issues, and it handles basic tasks like web browsing and video streaming with aplomb.

Start-up is fantastically quick too, thanks to the solid state drive.

MacBook Air: Battery

 

The slightly upgraded processor didn’t make any difference to the battery life either. We got a full day out of it, and that was with fairly heavy usage. Apple quotes 12 hours, which sounds accurate. If you’re out and about all day, the MacBook Air should last you.

MacBook Air: Verdict

We tried our best to find something to dislike about the new MacBook Air, but really, it’s hard to fault. The screen is still a stunner, it’s still the most premium-looking laptop around, and now it’s cheaper and a bit more powerful. The best just got better.

MacBook Air release date: Out now

MacBook Air price: From £749

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Windows 9: Release date, beta, rumours, start menu, news and features

Windows 8 launched back in October 2012, bringing with it a complete overhaul of the OS and incorporating Microsoft's Metro aesthetic. 19 months on and T3's eager to see what's next.

Windows 8 is nigh on two years old now, and we'll never forget the controversy that shipped with it. The tiled Metro design had Windows vets up in arms, and let's not even start on Microsoft's binning of the dearly beloved Start button.
Microsoft launched Windows 8.1 in October last year, bringing back the Start button (sort of) and plenty of other changes too. Despite this, fears of desktop users being nudged to the wayside in lieu of an touch-screen focused future still aren't quelled, and Microsoft's keen to move on from Windows 8 altogether.
Microsoft's BUILD conference took place earlier this year and brought with it a slew of fresh announcements, but unfortunately Windows 9 was nowhere to be seen.
Whilst there's no official confirmation on Windows 9 just yet, we're still excited about what's in store for Microsoft's flagship operating system. Here's our rumour round-up.

Windows 9: Release date

It's expected that Microsoft will release 3 versions of Windows 9 before the official public release. This will give Microsoft a chance to work out the kinks for a smooth release, to help avoid the PR blowback that came with Windows 8.
The same source suggests with some certainty that Microsoft is targetting an April 2015 release for the upcoming Windows 9 OS - that's just short of a three-year gap since Windows 8.
Windows 7 launched to the public in October 2009, putting three years and four days between it and Windows 8. Windows Vista was January 2007, so not quite three years. This all suggests an approximate three-year cycle for Windows operating systems is the norm, and so April 2015 isn't a bad bet. We'd put October 2015 at the extreme end of release estimates to be safe.
Another leak suggests a 2015 Q2-3 release, which falls in line with the April 2015 date. We're expecting a beta release in early 2015 at the very least.

Windows 9: Features

Machine learning
Microsoft's Head of Research Peter Lee dropped some hints about Windows 9 during an interview with Digital Trends, although he remained stalwart in dodging actual confirmation of the upcoming OS.
Lee talked about how the future iterations of Windows will have a much greater focus on cloud-computing, and how Microsoft is working to make your desktop smarter through 'machine learning."
"Using machine learning to extract relationships, entities, key ideas being worked on and bring those to the surface in tools. Maybe even digital-assistant tools to make companies more productive and smarter. That’s one area we’re going at," says Lee.
The research lead thinks Bing is a great example of smart computing, which suggests that Windows 9 will take some hints from Microsoft's search engine.
“Bing tries to understand entities. When someone does a Bing search for ‘Canon 4D’ and they click the Canon Rebel link, we learn about those relationships. With enterprise there’s similar issues but with much less data. The computer science ends up being different."
Lee thinks that machine learning is the future for Windows, and for businesses operating with Microsoft's flagship OS.
“If I write a document and I want to say, share this with the appropriate people that work with Vikram from the meeting, or say, ‘what’s trending around me at work,’ not in my personal space but at work … answering questions like that requires a very different kind of machine learning,” he said.
App unity
A Microsoft job posting back in February 2012 mentioned unifying Windows Phone apps and Windows desktop apps, giving a clue to the potential app ecosystem of Windows 9:
"Do you wish the code you write for Windows Store apps would just work on the Windows Phone and vice versa? If so, then this is the role for you! We are the team leading the charge to bring much of the WinRT API surface and the .NET Windows Store profile to the Phone."
Power plans
Bruce Worthington, who heads up the team working on power management for Windows, talked tech in regards to saving power in Windows 8.
"If you look at the number of times we would wake up the CPU per second," he explained, "for Windows 7 you would typically see numbers on the order of one millisecond. We would literally be waking up the CPU a thousand times per second. If you look at Windows 8, on a clean system, we have numbers that are better than a hundred milliseconds. "
Worthington says the team has to up their game for the next release, namely Windows 9, and talks about plans to save power in the upcoming OS.
"Now we're looking forward to the next release and we can get even farther – especially as we start interacting more and more with our phone brethren."
"They want us to be quiet for multiple seconds at a time. They even talk about minutes in some scenarios which is pretty far afield for us, to be thinking about minutes of being completely quiet. At least getting into the multi-second we're definitely ready to think about that."
...and more
TechRadar reports that 3D camera-based gesture control could be a feature of Windows 9, but we're not so sure. Microsoft seems to be ditching the Kinect in its Xbox One business plan, and it might not be a great idea to return to gesture control in the wake of the controversial decision.
It's also looking likely that Windows 9 will be 64-bit, compared to Windows 8 which shipped in 32- and 64-bit varieties. Of course, this is dependent on what sort of chips manufacturers like Intel decide to provide for the Windows devices.

Windows 9: Price

Leaks from a Russian source (WZOR) suggest that Windows 9 will be completely free, although the leakers seem keen to point out that nothing is confirmed so far and that this could just be referring to a prototype version of the OS.
Other sources reckon that Windows 9 will definitely ship with a price tag for the standard desktop edition, while manufacturers will get a different deal.
TrustedReviews reckons Windows 9 could operate on a subscription-based payment system, just like Microsoft's Office 365 model.

Windows 9: Appearance

Blogger Paul Thurrott thinks Microsoft will stick with the Metro aesthetic from Windows 8, but will improve it by "maturing and fixing" the design. A windowed OS that's desktop and touchscreen friendly is likely.
Some sources think the Start Menu will return full throttle, and will have the 8.1 Metro live tiles incorporated into its design. This added functionality could come as part of a future Windows 8 update, but it's a good base for understanding the direction Microsoft wants to take for the Windows 9 aesthetic.

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Microsoft smartwatch out in October?

Microsoft could launch its own smartwatch in October if the latest rumours prove true.

 

Rumours of a Microsoft smartwatch have been around almost as long as those of Apple’s iWatch. However, it now appears that we may see both devices within the space of a month.
Sources familiar with Microsoft’s smartwatch project have said that the company is planning to launch its wearable in October.
Speaking to the source said that Microsoft’s smartwatch will be compatible with other mobile platforms, unlike most Android smartwatches. The iWatch is also likely to be restricted to Apple’s iOS devices.
According to the source, the smartwatch is designed as a smaller and thinner version of the Nike Fuelband. It is said to feature a screen on the underside of the band.
We guess that probably means the outside edge, rather than the actual underside where you wouldn’t be able to see it without taking it off. That would just be plain stupid.
Other details are scarce, but like the iWatch, it is said to be stuffed to the brim with sensors.
Obviously, this is all hear-say for the time being, but it would make sense that Microsoft would be aiming to get its smartwatch out before as soon after the iWatch arrives to avoid falling behind like it did with Windows Phone.

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The internet of 3500-pound things: Big data arrives in your car

Big data has the automobile in its sights and the results will be good for both the vehicle and its owner. In the coming years we can expect to see both safer vehicles and car-to-car communications. You’ll be advised of a needed repair before it’s a problem and recall notices will be delivered through the car. A mostly upbeat picture of big data was painted at Ford’s annual futures conference in Michigan, Further with Ford.

Ford’s panel of experts went broad on big data and talked about how Obama won re-election using it, how UPS improves the speed and quality of package delivery, and how MasterCard is able to help merchants pick the best locations for new stores by aggregating anonymous sales data. That left less time to ponder whether you’ll find pop-up ads on your center stack every time you pass McDonald’s, or if vehicle-to-vehicle communications reporting speed and location might help police write speeding tickets.

Eye-tracking simplifies complexity

The most intriguing big data partisan was Intel’s VP of the Things Group, Douglas Davis. An Intel-Ford partnership is prototyping Mobii, an eye- and gesture-tracking system that simplifies interaction with the car. Point your fingers in the direction of the sunroof and say “Open,” and the car does just that.
Facial recognition software would adjust the car for your seating and radio station preferences, or your partner’s. If the car doesn’t recognize the face, it texts you and asks if the person is authorized. You then authorize the person to drive the car and even set a time limit.

Ford: “We value your privacy”

Ford’s executive director for connected vehicles and service, Don Butler, set the tone for big data in the car. “Increasingly the devices and systems in our lives are becoming more and more connected. Those connections generate data and those data generate opportunities insights that can help our customers’ lives,” Butler said. “From a Ford standpoint, we’ve always been users of data. We’ve conducted surveys, we’ve done research. We get customer satisfaction from our dealers. Increasingly with the notion of big data, we have tools, platforms and ways of analyzing the data in a much more sophisticated way that helps improve our products and services.”
As for your privacy? “We absolutely value our customers’ privacy. There’s a question of who owns the data,” said Butler, formerly an executive with Microsoft traffic data spinoff Inrix and a VP with Onstar. “In our mind, particularly when it’s identifiable, it’s the customers’ data. We are stewards of the data on behalf of the customer. We believe customers will give us data commensurate with the value that we provide to them.”

What could go wrong with big data and your car?

More than a few motorists worry that toll transponders such as E-ZPass are tracking your journey. Big business is tracking your license plate data. (See how businesses use license plate databases to track you).
While Ford (and every automaker) says your data belongs to you, the automaker as custodian of your data won’t always share nicely. Here’s an example: many automakers through their vehicle diagnostics and onboard telematics know when your car needs service. They can seamlessly set up an appointment with your dealer. What if you want the appointment seamlessly set up with your local garage, or the nearest Goodyear franchise? The automaker will tell you your local garage isn’t set up, or there’s a concern about data security (VIN number X needs an oil change?), but mostly Ford isn’t dying to help the competition. The independent garage right to repair movement has more work to do.

Next steps for Ford: Improve the telematics

Big data for Ford has a ways to go. GM is the leader in telematics; most every GM car is built with OnStar standard. Ford is beginning to build telematics into its Lincoln brand. Ford has been a leader in working with your cellphone via Sync and MyFord Touch to provide navigation and emergency services but the attach rate is low for things such as 911 Assist. For the time being, Ford has no comment on when it will embed more telematics unis and points to the affordability of the Sync connection. With integrated telematics costing the automaker as little as $100, Ford needs to take the next step before it’s a serious player in big data.

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New, security-minded Blackphone is ready to ship, and it’s packing Nvidia hardware

One of the lasting impacts of the Snowden revelations last year has been a renewed focus and interest in smartphones that can actually secure user data from various prying eyes. The Blackphone purports to be one such device with a custom Android fork, dubbed PrivOS, and a collection of default applications that give the user a great deal of control over how information is used. Many of the tools are available from the Amazon App Store or on Google Play, but the Blackphone includes a two year subscription to Silent Circle’s Friends and Family privacy services (Silent Circle is an encryption communication provider).
Ars Technica has a full review of the device and its capabilities, and they come back impressed — for a first-generation device, the Blackphone is well-secured and neatly buttoned up with only a minimal attack profile to begin with. The staff wasn’t able to hack the device or convince it to turn over any information that would enable them to do so — the only thing they were able to pick up was that the phone was connecting to Silent Circle’s servers.
What’s also interesting about the Blackphone is that it’s the first device (or one of the first, at least) to be based on Nvidia’s Tegra 4i. The Tegra 4i was announced 18 months ago, but was held up almost indefinitely due to manufacturing delays and then modem validation issues. Details have been extremely scarce regarding the fate of the product, so it’s interesting to finally see some shipping silicon.

According to the review, the Blackphone was limited to 3G support, though LTE is supposed to be ready by the time the Blackphone ships in volume. This issue was blamed on the relative newness of PrivOS rather than any underlying problem with the Tegra 4i’s unique, software-defined Icera modem. There were also issues with network switching while on a call, though again, the cause isn’t specified.

As for the Tegra 4i’s performance, benchmark results show it lagging well behind today’s high-end devices, but not absurdly so. Remember, this is a quad-core Cortex-A9 phone, not a modern Cortex-A15 class product — if put against other devices in its hardware division, these scores would be reasonable.
GPU performance is stronger in absolute terms, where the 60-core Tegra 4i GPU competes fairly well against other high-end phones. Either way, the experience looks reasonably good — the Tegra 4i may not compete with the Galaxy S5 or iPhone 5S, but it’d be a runaway victor if compared against phones from 2012 or so.
The Blackphone had no trouble meeting its preorder goals or fundraiser targets, so it’s clear that there’s a market for the product. The manufacturers have made it clear that this isn’t an NSA-proof phone — the idea is to give individuals more control over their own privacy and data settings rather than any attempt to go head-to-head with the national security infrastructure. Even so, it’ll be interesting to see if that market is strong enough to drive real interest in the platform over time — these are the kind of hooks that might motivate someone to jump ship for Android if future versions of the device clear up some of the rough edges and improve the final product.

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Will 60fps YouTube videos force game developers to prioritize frame rate?

This week, Google announced that 48fps and 60fps video playback will be available on YouTube sometime in the next few months. Most video is still shot at 24 or 30 frames per second, but there is a growing demand for high frame rate videos — specifically for video game footage. The transition to higher frame rates has been painfully slow across the board, but this move from the YouTube team could force game devs and Hollywood to focus on pumping out more frames per second. Once you’ve experienced silky-smooth 60fps video, it’s hard to go back to the blurry mess found at lower frame rates.
On its Creators Blog, Google unveiled a number of upcoming improvements for YouTube. Features like fan funding and crowdsourced subtitles are headed to the world’s most popular video distribution service, but the announcement of 48fps and 60fps video blows everything else out of the water. Users are still months away from being able to take advantage of higher frame rates for their own videos, but we did get a sneak preview of three HFR videos: a three minute clip of 60fps Titanfall gameplay, a 48fps trailer for season two of Video Game High School, and the 60fps Battlefield Hardline trailer embedded below (60fps playback is only available at 720p and 1080p).
Infamously, The Hobbit movies were shot at 48fps — twice the frame rate of most movies. While some people bemoaned the lack of a “cinematic” aesthetic, the faster frame rate allows for more fluid movement, and results in crisp footage that more closely resembles reality. High frame rate movies haven’t taken off quite yet, but James Cameron wants to film the Avatar sequels at either 48fps or 60fps. Now, innovators like Jackson and Cameron can use YouTube to spread the good word about high frame rate movies. After all, seeing is believing.
Of course, video games benefit from faster frame rates as well, but it’s traditionally been considered a hard sell to consumers. A fighting game or first-person shooter will play better at 60fps, but how do you effectively communicate that? Until recently, all consumers had to go by was screenshots and 30fps trailers. Under those constraints, many developers chose to sacrifice frame rate to beef up the visual effects on screen.
Now, sites like IGN are starting to run more 60fps videos, and the support from YouTube will take that to a whole new level of visability. Average consumers can finally see 60fps in action, so let’s hope that higher frame rates can become a selling point outside of the sphere of core gamers. When normal people can see 60fps and 30fps videos side-by-side, devs won’t be able to hide behind the traditional wisdom that prioritizes visual effects over frame rate.

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Google Play security flaw discovered by researchers

WASHINGTON: Researchers have discovered a crucial security problem in Google Play, the marketplace where millions of Android users get their apps.

Jason Nieh, professor of computer science at Columbia Engineering, said Google Play has more than one million apps and over 50 billion app downloads, but no one reviews what gets put into Google Play anyone can get a $25 account and upload whatever they want. Very little is known about what's there at an aggregate level.

He said given the huge popularity of Google Play and the potential risks to millions of users, it was important to take a close look at Google Play content.

Nieh and PhD candidate Nicolas Viennot's paper is the first to make a large-scale measurement of the huge Google Play marketplace. To do this, they developed PlayDrone, a tool that uses various hacking techniques to circumvent Google security to successfully download Google Play apps and recover their sources.

They discovered all kinds of new information about the content in Google Play, including a critical security problem: developers often store their secret keys in their apps software, similar to usernames/passwords info, and these can be then used by anyone to maliciously steal user data or resources from service providers such as Amazon and Facebook.

These vulnerabilities can affect users even if they are not actively running the Android apps. Nieh notes that even 'top developers', designated by the Google Play team as the best developers on marketplace, included these vulnerabilities in their apps.

In fact, Nieh adds, developers are already receiving notifications from Google to fix their apps and remove the secret keys.

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Google Announces Sub- $100 Smartphone

A new line of smartphones designed by Google could spread Internet access more widely in poor regions of the world. 

 

 

A low-cost smartphone designed by Google will go on sale in India this fall before debuting in other emerging economies, the company announced today.
The phones will be branded “Android One,” after the company’s mobile operating system Android, and will cost less than $100. They are part of a new effort by Google to get devices based on its software into the hands of people who currently lack access to the Internet.

Already, one billion people use phones running Google’s Android software, said Sundar Pichai, leader of Google’s Android division, at the company’s I/O conference in San Francisco today. “Our goal is to reach the next five billion people in the world,” he said. “In India and other countries like that, it’s disappointing that less than 10 percent of the population have access to smartphones.”
Google has also developed a series of smartphone “reference designs” that it is making available to manufacturers. On stage, Pichai introduced a device based on one of those designs, made by the Indian manufacturer MicroMax.
That device will go on sale in India this fall for less than $100. Its features include a 4.5-inch screen, dual SIM card slots, an SD memory card slot, and an FM radio.
Similar devices from two other Indian manufacturers, Carbon and Spice, will also go on sale this fall, and Android One devices are expected to appear in other countries soon, said Pichai. In contrast to the arrangement with many Android devices, Google, not manufacturers or wireless carriers, will be responsible for updating the software on Android One devices. The company is working with wireless carriers to make low-cost data plans available, he said.
Like other initiatives by Google and its competitors to spread access to computing and the Internet in poor countries, Android One could help bring a lucrative new customer base online (see “Facebook’s Two Faces”).
Indeed, low-cost Android phones are already  common in many emerging economies (see “Android Marches on East Africa”). But many of those devices use versions of the open-source software that don’t include services such as search, maps, and e-mail or access to Google’s app store. Android One devices will have those capabilities by default.

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