Asus certainly make some interesting form factors. The FonePad and PadFone being the two that confuse me the most and it seems that the PadFone range is going to continue with what looks like a 7? tablet with a 4.3? companion handset attached.
I think this really could be a successful product, if they spec it right and price it right this really could save people like me from carrying two devices around. How about you?
Source – evleaks
As if playing pool in two dimensions isn’t hard enough, there is now 3D Pool.
This is definitely a game that will test your mental acuity and give that redundant geometry knowledge a workout. As you can imagine from the title, the game is based around a regular pool table but it has been made into a 3D affair. Whilst this gives you more pockets to put the balls into it also gives you more options for sides to bounce the balls off. The initial learning curve is not too bad as there is a very helpful tutorial which I would strongly advise doing. Once you have finished that then you have the option to play one of 3 differing games- 8 Ball, 9 Ball or Straight Pool.
You have your cue strength as a slider on one side and on the other you have your cue ball. You can then use the the main screen area to line up your shot the best you can. Just remebr that you have a 3rd dimension to worry about this time. The rest of the game is fairly simple from then on as you would expect.
The things that really stand out about the game is the graphical richness. I was testing this game on a Nexus 7 (2013) and I was hugely impressed with the clarity and detail of the graphics all of which are rendered in 3D. It also has a a great soundtrack that keeps you plying away until you finish the game. Te view over the table can be modified by using the age old pinch and zoom method and you can even use a single viewpoint mode which makes the game inherently harder.
This is a great wee game that will stir up old memories of geometry and calculated pool moves from early arcade pool games, with the added twist of using the 3rd dimension.
It is currently in Beta testing and will be available on the Play Store on the 29th and is available now on iOS, so give it a try.
It is well worth a download and will certainly while away some time during the more boring parts of the upcoming festive period.
Cuebox introduces the whole new dimension of fun. Literally!
It is the first 3D pool game without gravity. Play Cuebox in beautiful HD graphics and discover the dimension of billiards you have never encountered before! Compete against a friend or in single player mode playing classic 8-ball and 9-ball games that are extended to three dimensions!
This new exceptional 3D billiard game will be available for iPhone,iPad and Android devices on November 28th, 2013.
I’ve got a secret to confess. I don’t buy music. Sure, I listen to it, but I rarely buy it. Call me weird, but that’s me. Most of the time I listen to one internet radio station, but the MixPal.fm app has a bit of a twist – 30 different channels to choose from.
Not only that, but the quality of music is 320 kbps, meaning that you get a really high quality stream. The 30 radio channels are put together by some top DJs, so you get the very latest tracks and you can choose between jazz, house, trace, chillout and more.
You don’t necessarily have to listen to the track that is currently playing either, as there’s the ability to skip forward and back through the play queue. You can also repeat tracks if you like them or find new ones. This is something that my usual internet radio station doesn’t let me do, and I can find myself sitting through tracks I’d rather skip through but can’t.
There’s a social element to this app too, with a social network giving you the ability to share and rate tunes. Not only that, but you can compile albums and save tracks to your device, which is rather good indeed.
If you want to use the app for free music is set to 96 kbps, which is good for listening over mobile data, but you can’t skip tracks. For $1.99 (£1.22) a month (or $9.99 / £6.10 for six months) the adverts are removed and there’s no voiceovers. There’s the ability to skip and repeat some tracks.
If you pay for the ProMember service it’s $4.99 (£3.05) per month or $24.99 (£15.26) for six months. That’ll get you a 320 kbps stream and you can skip forward or back on the whole play queue or repeat tracks.
You can listen to the streams right now on the MixPal.fm website if you’d like a taster, or grab the app (currently iOS only) from iTunes. I’d recommend it especially at the moment because anyone who registers in the app now will get 1 month Pro membership for free.
The best ever Kickstarter project the Pebble Smart watch is now available on Amazon through their marketplace.
Pebble is so far the only cross platform smartwatch, supporting iOS and Android already, with Windows Phone to come (and some limited Windows Phone 3rd party apps available already). I’m one of the original backers and have the Kickstarter version and absolutely love my Pebble.
Amazon UK is currently listing them with the cheapest at £189. Amazon US however sells them $149.00 and even direct (with free shipping) they’re only (£93). Yes there could be VAT and import duty on that, but the Amazon Marketplace is ranging from £189 – £250 at the moment!
On another point, BBC does air a good programme titled Rip Off Britain!
Source – Amazon
Vodafone have launched the Nokia 1520 in black today, a full 3 days before Nokia’s initial statement suggested.
This monstrous beast is the biggest Windows Phone ever, sporting a massive 6? full HD display. You think the handset’s too big? You should see the price! If you want to be the proud owner of the Lumia 1529, then it’s cost you from £52 per month on a 24 month contract plus £19 up front!
Aside from an epic phone with a 20MP PureView camera and a 2.2GHz quad core Snapdragon 800 processor, what do you get for your £1,267 then? Unlimited texts and minutes, plus 4GB per month data. You can, of course, lower the monthly cost by paying more up front. There are no pay as you go prices currently.
Source – Vodafone
***UPDATE***
It seems Vodafone were a little hasty in putting that link live. It’s actually launching tomorrow (6th December), as per Nokia’s original statement!
Here’s a reminder of the specs and a nice video that Nokia made.
Operating System: Windows Phone 8 with the latest updatesNetworks: GSM/EDGE: 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz; WCDMA: 850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz; ROW LTE: 1, 3, 7, 8, 20; USA LTE: 2, 4, 5, 7, 17; HSPA+: DL 42 Mbps (Cat 24) / UL 11.5 Mbps (Cat 7)Speed: LTE 150/50 mbps, DC-HSPA 42mbpsMemory: 2GB RAM, 32 GB internal user memory; 7 GB SkyDrive cloud storage, micro SD card support up to 64GBDisplay: 6-inch full HD 1080p LCD , ClearBlack, High Brightness Mode, Sunlight readability, Super sensitive touch for glove and nail usage, Gorilla Glass 2Processor: 2.2GHz Quad Core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800Primary camera: PureView 20-megapixel Auto Focus ZEISS optics with Optical Image Stabilization (OIS), 2x lossless zoom, oversampling technology, dual LED flash, 1080p @ 30 fps full HD video with optical image stabilizationSecondary Camera: HD 1.2-megapixel wide angleSize & weight: 162.8 x 85.4 x 8.7mm (volumetric). Weight: 209gConnectivity: NFC, A-GPS+GLONASS, WLAN (2.4/5Ghz) a/b/g/n/ac, µUSB, BT 4.0 LE, Accelerometer, Proximity sensor, Magnetometer, Gyroscope, Ambient Light SensorBattery: 3400 mAh (integrated) with built-in wireless charging (Qi compatible)Audio: Rich Recording with four microphones; Wideband Voice and multi-microphone noise reduction with four microphones; Dolby(R) Headphone, Graphic equalizer, Audio leveling; FM radio
I like to show my family just how rich and successful I am, so just last week I was making use of a discount voucher in Pizza Hut. After gorging myself on large amounts of “endless salad” and “unlimited soft drinks” I was sadly too fat to walk to the till to pay. Luckily the lovely waitress lady brought me one of those mobile payment machines so that I could whack my debit card in.
Now, I don’t know a fat deal about these machines other than the fact that the waitress sometimes pre-ticks that “Add tip?” question. They look, to my untrained eye, a bit expensive. So, if you’re running a business and want to take payments, getting the necessary kit is going to set you back a bit. The guys at payleven have a solution, and you already have half of it – your smartphone.
It’s easy to get going, you just need the free payleven app (available on iOS and Android) and a payleven Chip & PIN device. The two connect via Bluetooth, then you (as the retailer) just enter the payment amount on your phone whilst handing the Chip & PIN device to your customer. They enter their PIN as normal – a screen on the reader will let them know what’s happening. After everything is complete you can enter an email address for the customer on your phone to send a receipt. It’s that simple.
Want a paper receipt? Well, if you want you can email an online printer and have a real paper receipt that way. You can even add a photo of the item and a description for the receipt too if you wish. You also get a transaction history section where you can resend receipts later too.
There’s no hidden fees or contracts, they just charge 2.75% fee of the transaction value, so if you sell a £50 item they’ll take £1.25 of that and the Chip & PIN device is just £59.95.
This is a properly mobile solution, so you don’t necessarily have to run a cafe or a butchers. You could run a market stall or a burger van – as long as your phone has a data connection you’re set, and it’s fully secure.
Three officially started to roll out 4G today to a select range of customers. They will continue to add more over time until everyone gets 4G enabled and just lives in a 4G area.
One step to allow 4G access on an iPhone is a carrier update which is a range of settings sent to your device and also to allow the option to toggle on and off 4G access.
Until now this was missing on iPhones using the Three UK network, however reports tonight are that this carrier update (15.6) is now being rolled out to customers on iOS devices and once accepted will indeed allow 4G on the device.
Please remember though this is just one step, you still need to have 4G enabled on your SIM which will take time. You will also obviously need to be in a 4G coverage area to use this service.
However one hurdle is now overcome when it comes to getting your iPhone closer to 4G on Three
