Nokia Asha 501 to illuminate UK in next few weeks

Already tempted by the Asha 501, Nokia's featurephone disguised as a smartphone? Well the phone is about to roll out globally, meaning it won't be long until you can pocket Nokia's vibrant little number.

The Finnish phone maker confirmed that the Lumia-like handset will be launching in Thailand and Pakistan this week and then roll out to Europe and other countries in "subsequent weeks". This one won't be hitting the US and Canada for now.

Don't get too excited about the specs though - with only 2G connectivity on offer, the 501 is the budget buyer's choice. It also packs a 2-inch QVGA display, 3.2MP camera, along with a 4GB memory card in the box.

The phone runs on Nokia's overhauled Asha software, which brings in the big Windows Phone icons and simple swiping. Meanwhile there are two main screens, the 'Home' and the 'Fastlane'. The former has the traditional grid of apps while the latter is a feed of messages and updates, as well as recently-used applications.
Phoenix from the Ashas

Still, set at a recommended retail price of €75 (about £65), it promises to be perfect for those bridging the gap to a full smartphone, or for festival-goers looking for a decent backup handset that won't break the bank.

Not only will it be coming in at a budget price, it'll also be presenting itself in six colours: yellow, cyan, bright red, bright green, black and white.

Nokia claims that the phone will also offer 47 days of battery life on standby, and 17 hours of talk time. Not bad if you ask us.

Twitter expands notifications to include re-retweeted retweets and more

Prepare yourself to receive more Twitter notifications. The social network is delivering more updates to give users greater insight into what's going on around their Twitterverse.

The Next Web reports that users will now receive a notification when a tweet they're mentioned in are favourited by another user.

Previously, users would only receive a notification if one of their own tweets was granted the distinction of a 'favourite' from another user.

Beyond that, and bear with us here, notifications will also occur when another user retweets a tweet that you retweeted!

That kind of makes sense as it'll be interesting to see which of your followers also found the retweeted post funny or interesting.
Too much?

The report suggests Twitter began rolling the new updates over the last few days (or June 17 to be precise).

Have you been receiving extra notifications yet? Has it expanded your Twitterverse or is it just straight-up annoying?

Let us know in the comments section below.

I.R.I.S. IRIScan Book Executive 3 WiFi Scanner

Reduced sized scanners have come a long way of late and for this I am thankful. I love scanning and converting scanned in images of copy into an editable document via OCR. We took a look at a the LG’s competent mouse scanner a while back. It proved effective in most situations and was even capable of scanning larger A5 blueprint sheets. But when it came to book page scanning, the device fell a bit flat. Where the page meets the binding was often un-scannable or just to difficult to reach without ripping the binding.

Today we take a look at the IRIScan Book Executive 3 WiFi scanner. It functions with or without a computer and can send scanned images in PDF, Excel or Word documents. It’s a versatile device that has learned to play nice with Windows PCs, Mac, Android and iOS devices. Those latter two work via apps obtained from their respective marketplaces. It’s a cool trick where you can scan a document, store the image on the BE3′s included 1gb microSD card for later use. When ready you can wireless beam the image to your paired WiFi phone, tablet or Wifi-enabled PC/laptop. It’s actually pretty slick, but not without its own hurdles.

The unit is also packaged with a USB cable for tethered transfer of scanned documents. Also included in the package is a set of 4 AAA batteries (alkaline are ceommended for longer use), software install CD, the microSD card and SD card adapter, plenty of literature about IRIS’s other products, coupon for 20% off your next IRIS purchase, voucher for a free year of Evernote, registration card and two card for free IRISCompressor for Mac or PC. It’s a meaty package of mostly with only a mild waste of paper.
Yet for all the card stock and paper stock used, there is no sign of a physical user guide or instruction manual. It took me quite a few minutes just to divine how to open the battery compartment. Luckily there is a very detailed instruction guide on software installation CD. It’s a definitely needed as the device proper only features 3 physical buttons and a single slider with 3 modes. Most users will be at a loss with the guide.

But with it, setup is pretty simple. Insert the MicroSD card. Then press the scan button for 2-seconds to power on the IRIScan BE3. The display will light up. You can use the top Color/Mono button to select if you want JPG or PDF in black or white. Use the bottom resolution button to select from 3 resolutions – low = 300dpi, Mi = 600dpi and Hi = 900dpi. You have to look very carefully. The font size is near-microscopic on the display and barely legible. But once the unit is prepped and set, tap the Scan/power button to place it in Scan mode. Then slowly slide the BE3 down your document. Press the scan button again when you reach the bottom to complete your scan. The image is now stored on your the microSD card and ready for transfer to your computer or mobile device via the USB cable or over WiFi.

The IRIScan Book Executive 3 is not bad at all. I did have a some minor issues getting the Android IRIScanBook app to function properly.  You have to move the slider to the middle position. WiFi will light up with a blue illumination. Then you can navigate to your tablet or phone’s available WiFi devices to to select the IRIScan Book unit. Of course this kills your access to the internet. The HTC One found the device no problem but I had to back out of the app a couple times and restart before it registered to show me the saved scans on the scanner. But from there you simply select which ones you would like to download. The process takes mere seconds and you’re ready to edit, crop and or save them as needed. The app could use some sprucing up with a series of 1st time dialog bubbles telling you what each button does. The interface is rather bland as well. But once the scanner is paired it works well enough.

Despite some hard to read display text and a wonky app, the IRIScan Book Executive 3 is a winner. It should be noted a steady hand is necessary for straight even scans. But you probably guessed that. I suggest lining your document up against a straight surface and use that to prevent slippage and uneven scans. Also noteworthy, batteries are not needed on Windows PC. It can sup power via the USB cable. Yet that can further hamper your steady scan if you’re not careful.
Bottom Line: The IRIScan Book Executive 3 is a nice little product. With some of the minor issues in tow, I think a sub-$100 price tag would seal the deal for most. Without that it’s a bit expensive. But it’s a great option to have for quickly scanning book pages, documents and more to be later downloaded to your device of choice.

Razer Atrox Moddable Arcade Stick System

Here’s Razer homage to button mashers and Street Fighter tournament goers and those who yearn to walk in their Houduken-laden shoes. The Razer Atrox is an arcade stick for Xbox 360. Razer says the product is the result of intense testing and evaluation with some the world’s best pro-gamers in and out of the Fighting Game Community.
The arcade stick system is made from “premium quality” Sanwa components. There are 10 buttons and a 8-way precision joystick. The inside of the arcade stick can be easily accessed with a single button press. You can change out various design choices for a more customized look and feel with access to the to the screws and such. There is even a compartment to house a spare bat top joystick. It comes with detachable screwdriver and 13 foot (4 meters) USB cable to help with modding. There is also a headset jack for Xbox Live.
Product features:
• 10 tournament-grade Sanwa buttons
• Authentic Sanwa joystick with ball top and additional bat top
• Interchangeable top plate allows for custom artwork finishes
• Fully accessible internals and storage compartments for easy modding
• Honeycomb structure on the inside for easy screw mounting
• Storage room for alternative bat top joystick and more
• 13 ft / 4 m detachable USB cable
• Screwdriver included for modding
• 2.5 mm audio jack for headset use on Xbox LIVE

Source: Razer Atrox

PS4 release date, news and features

The PS4 is now an official thing. It officially exists, and from what we've been told so far it looks pretty awesome. The PS4 release date is unknown, but we do at least know a lot about the console itself - other than what it actually looks like.

With TechRadar in attendance at the event on the 20th Feb, Sony revealed some tantalising details about the PlayStation 4 hardware specs, along with some amazing software features that the new console will have.

Here's everything we know about the PlayStation 4 so far...

PS4 release date

The PS4 release date is "Holiday 2013" for the USA. That's the only official detail Sony revealed at the launch in February and it's unclear which other territories it applies to, if any.

However, in an interview with editor of Outside Xbox and TechRadar contributor, Mike Channell, Assassin's Creed 4 boss Gene Guesdon hinted in March that his game would launch on all platforms simultaneously... at the end of October this year.

Now, obviously for a game to launch on a next-gen console, that next-gen console is going to have to be on sale. So the natural assumption is that the PS4 release date will be October.

When discussing the PS4 and the next Xbox, Guesdon said: "We have a strong engine and we are always pushing the limits so this year again we are ready to support such new capacities, new abilities so the game will be ready for that but also you know we make it for current gen obviously from a starting point," said Guesdon.

At that, Channell asked, "Is there going to be any delay in the versions or are they all going to release at the same time?"

"Same ship" was the definitive response.

After the internet melted at the news, Ubisoft rushed out a clarification saying that Guesdon was not talking about PS4 or Xbox 720, but was instead referring to Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.

We asked Mike what his view of it was and he had this to say for TechRadar: "If you look at the answer in context, from 5:05 onwards, it's part of a discussion that's specifically about PS4 and equivalent next generation consoles. I don't think there's any misunderstanding there. He's saying both current and next gen versions will ship at the same time, which implies the consoles will launch before the game's publicly announced release date."

Officially, Sony has said it wants the PS4 release date in Europe to be as soon as possible but makes no promises on whether the UK and other European countries will get a release date in time for Christmas this year or whether it'll be an uncomfortable wait until sometime in 2014.
Stock issues might be the reason for this, and that's exactly what happened back in 2006/2007 when the PS3 launched. It went on sale in the US and Japan in time for Christmas and Europe and the rest of the world had to wait for March the next year.
Zavvi has actually listed a UK PS4 release date of 31st December which seems extremely unlikely - launching a few days after Christmas? Surely that's retail suicide.
Until Sony gives more details then, it's all just speculation. Even the retailers don't seem to know when the PS4 will release - so maybe Sony doesn't either. It could depend on how quickly they can get manufacture going on retail models, what yield rates are and the capacity of the factories.
Until we know more, we'll quietly pray to the gods of silicon that the PS4 release date will be Christmas 2013 worldwide. Or better yet, tomorrow!

PS4: Hardware specs

AMD, as we guessed all along, is coursing through this new system's veins.

Post-event, Sony revealed the system runs on a single-chip custom processor and utilizes eight x86-64 AMD Jaguar CPU cores, with a next-gen AMD Radeon based graphics engine powering the way.

So it's very much a PC-based system then, which is great news for developers who will find it much easier to code games for the next gen consoles and for PCs. However, that CPU is hardly next-gen - it may have been modified for this system but the AMD Jaguar platform is by no means the fastest of its kind - indeed it's slower than Intel's fastest by orders of magnitude.

    You can pre-order the PS4 from these stores: ShopTo | GAME

However, with fewer redundancies than a PC has, the PS4 will certainly be able to make use of every single Watt of power it draws.

The "highly enhanced PC GPU" is another story. It's another AMD part - something along the lines of a Radeon 7850 card - and packs 18 GCN units. That may sound a like a lot of techy mumbo jumbo but what it essentially means is that the GPU packs 18 processing clusters, each packing up to 64 cores. That provides a lot of parallel processing power, and will thus handle the majority of the PS4's grunt work. It hits 1.84 TFLOPS of processing mojo. This is a far more powerful component than the Jaguar CPU and is rumoured to have the edge on the GPU inside the Xbox 720.

Sony announced at the NYC event that the console will even use GPU compute features to take advantage of the GPU's raw power - it'll be used for general computation tasks as well as making games shiny.

Memory

The PS4 will ship packing 8GB of GDDR5 memory. That's some super-fast stuff right there and should enable lightning fast performance.

Indeed, Sony has revealed that you will be able to power down the PS4 mid-game and then switch it on again in seconds and pick up right where you left off. That's the sort of loading power that this memory enables.

Other specs

We're also looking at Blu-ray disk support plus good ol' DVD, plus HDMI output support as well as Analog-AV out and an optical digital output.

PlayStation 4 Eye

What's really grabbing though is the development of the PlayStation 4 Eye, a newly developed camera system that utilizes two high-sensitivity camera equipped with wide-angle lenses and 85-degree diagonal angle views.

Sony said the cameras (amounting to 1280 x 800 pixels) can cut out the image of a player from the background or differentiate between players in the background and foreground, enhancing game play handily. There's also mention of logging in using facial recognition and using voice and body movements to play games "more intuitively."

If you want to know how these specs stack up against what we know so far about the Xbox 720 (clue: PS4 is more powerful) - check out our comparison of PS4 and Xbox 720 specs.

PS4 controller: DualShock 4

The PS4 controller comes in the form of the DualShock 4 pad. Very much a classic design, the DualShock 4 nevertheless offers upgraded vibrations, enhanced motion sensors and a Vita-like touchpad on the front.

PS4 user interface

The XrossMediaBar (XMB) interface of PlayStations past has been completely ditched in the PS4, with Sony instead choosing to design a new OS that looks a lot more like that of the Xbox 360 than the PS3.

Will the PS4 be 4K capable?

In a chat with Kotaku, Sony has revealed that the PlayStation 4 will be able to playback 4K/Ultra HD video. However, it will not upscale to 4K or play games at 4K resolution.

Sony has also confirmed that it will definitely launch a 4K movie service on the PS4 and is looking at ways it can get around the 100GB downloads required.

Backwards compatibility

The PS4 will definitely not offer native support for PS3 games. However, there will at some point be a service on the Sony Entertainment Network that offers server-side emulation and streaming of games from PS One classics right through to PS3 Platinum Editions.

PlayStation Move

Sony has confirmed that PlayStation Move will play a big part in the PS4 ecosystem. However, it has not yet been revealed whether the PS4 will launch alongside a new PS Eye camera and new Move controllers or whether the peripherals are staying the same with all the enhancements made console-side.

Synergy with PlayStation Vita

Sony has revealed that the PS4 will launch with the ability to stream games directly to your PS Vita. In exactly the same way as the Wii U allows you to switch off your TV and continue playing on the tablet controller, the PS4 will wirelessly send your games to the Vita.

There will be similar synergy between "all Sony devices" which means Xperia handsets and tablets, Bravia TVs and BD players.

Sony hinted that there will be more announcements in this area, too. We think the obvious next reveal in this area is the ability to play PS4 games on your Vita from any location using a wireless connection.

PS4 Instant On

The PS4 will be one nippy device if Sony is to be believed. It will have an instant on/off feature allowing your to shut down during a game and then boot up from scratch in seconds and resume where you left off. The days of waiting 60 seconds as your console loads up are about to end.

PS4 price: how much will it cost?

We really don't know what price the PS4 will fetch. Some rumours suggest a figure of around $450/£399. But it's pure speculation at the moment.

The sake Zavvi page which lists the UK release date as 31st December 2013 has a pre-order available for £399. Again, we'd take that with a pinch of salt, but if it's their best guess, there might be a grain of something in it.

PS4 launch titles

A number of games have been revealed for the PS4. They Are: Deep Down (Capcom), Destiny (Bungie), Diablo III (Blizzard), Driveclub (Evolution Studios), Final Fantasy (Square Enix), Infamous: Second Son (Sucker Punch), Killzone: Shadow Fall (Guerilla Games), Knack (Sony), The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (CD Projekt RED), Watch Dogs (Ubisoft).

Second-hand games on the way out?

Sony has yet to discuss this area of the PS4, but you'd think it would dispel the rumours if they're not true.

The rumours suggest that Sony is going in the same direction as Microsoft in that it wants to kill off the second-hand games market. Current industry wisdom suggests that future PS4 games might be tied to your Sony Entertainment Network account and will thus have no resale value. That's a similar approach as used by PC developers using Steam so we reckon this is a likely development. Doesn't mean we're happy about it, though.

What will the PS4 actually be called?

It's the PS4, of course!

Galaxy S4: what it means for Apple's iPhone 6

The Samsung Galaxy S4 launch was much more interesting than the Galaxy S4 itself. The tone was way off - CNet called it "shockingly sexist" - and like recent Apple launches, the device was evolutionary, not revolutionary. The Daily Mash nailed it with its report of "state-of-the-art pointlessness" that means "if you are watching a video you can pause it while being attacked by a wolf."

Many of the new features are old features, such as the tilt scrolling Instapaper offered in 2008 or the infra-red transmitters Nokia churned out by the truckload in the early 2000s. Other features have appeared on earlier Samsungs, or are available in apps such as Google Translate. Add-on games controllers are hardly a new idea either.

That's not to say that any of these things are bad - the wheel's been around for a while now, and that's still pretty handy - but of course if this was the iPhone 5S we'd have the entire internet telling us that Apple is doomed.

Samsung largely escaped that, although it was funny to see the odd bit of rumour-fuelled disappointment when the S4 didn't turn out to include a giant robot horse. Apple launches have had rumour-fuelled disappointment for years!

Cheap gags aside, can Apple learn anything from the S4?

I think it can.

It's all about the experience - and the apps

Samsung knows that it can't really stand out with hardware alone - let's be honest, bar the odd gimmick there's not a huge difference between the S4 and the S3, any more than there's a huge difference between an iPhone 5 and an iPhone 4 - and it can't really stand out with stock Android, because everybody's got that.

In fact, the word "Android" was conspicuous by its absence last night, and you got the distinct impression that if Tizen was ready, the S4 would be running that.

There's only so much you can do with the hardware. Sure, Apple can give us a bigger screen, a finish that doesn't scratch itself to death if you look at it funny, and it can boost the processor and the battery life and the megapixelszzzzz

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Sorry, where was I?

What's interesting now isn't the hardware, but the overall experience. The ecosystem. The apps.

That's where Apple could do so much better.

Take Siri, for example. It's a superb technology that doesn't do very much. Let me control my phone with it, activate Airplane Mode or find a particular video clip and send it to my Apple TV.

Give developers an API so they can expand it into the areas Apple doesn't do or hasn't got round to. Siri should be an oracle and a Babel Fish translator, a taxi booker and a cheap flight finder and a Netflix controller and a song identifier and anything else developers can come up with.

It'd be nice to see Passbook actually do something too. My wallet's full of paper and plastic cards - gym memberships, petrol vouchers, loyalty cards, gig tickets - and Passbook could easily replace the lot of them, but right now it's a dead app.

Get the big names on board, get Siri to find the voucher or card I'm looking for.

Better sharing between apps.

A lock screen more like Google Now.

*cough* Maps *cough*.

You get the idea, and I'm sure you have your own suggestions (please, share them in the comments, we're all ears).

That's my wish list for the next iPhone. What's yours?

Trade panel delays decision on Apple, Samsung patent fight

Google has agreed to pay a $7 million fine after a three year investigation by a coalition of state attorneys general found the search giant's Street View vehicles had collected private data from home and business networks.

Between 2008 and 2010, the Street View vehicles, which were equipped with antennae and open-source software, collected names, passwords, addresses, emails and other personal information from millions of unencrypted home and business Wi-Fi networks, said Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen, who spearheaded the investigation.

Thirty-eight states and the District of Columbia are included in the settlement.

Slideshow: Crazy Images Caught on Google Street View

Jules Polonetsky, director and co-chair of the Future of Privacy Forum, said the fine sends a mixed message.

"Most of us would be enormously unhappy if, as in the old days, we had to wait three minutes while our GPS searched for satellites," he said. Google took information it should not have, he said, "but the big picture here is we all seem to be really happy making this tradeoff."

The $7 million-dollar fine is pocket change to Google, say analysts -- based on projected revenues this year of $61 billion, the company will bring in $7 million per hour. But its reputation has taken a hit; its informal slogan in its early years was "Don't be evil."

Google has agreed to start a nationwide educational campaign to teach people how best to protect themselves on wireless networks. The search giant said it would also educate its employees on user privacy. And it promised to destroy the data it had collected, unless a lawsuit requires that it be preserved. Several class-action suits are still being appealed.

When the intrusion first came to light, Google blamed it on a rogue engineer who set up a data-collection program in equipment that was only meant to detect basic information about the locations of local Wi-Fi networks. The FCC investigated and said last year that some Google managers knew about the data-mining, but didn't stop it.

"We work hard to get privacy right at Google. But in this case we didn't, which is why we quickly tightened up our systems to address the issue," a Google spokesperson said in a statement to ABCNews.com.

"The project leaders never wanted this data, and didn't use it or even look at it. We're pleased to have worked with Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen and the other state attorneys general to reach this agreement."

Jepsen, whose state will get $520,823 from the settlement, said he is pleased with the result.

"Consumers have a reasonable expectation of privacy," he said. "This agreement recognizes those rights and ensures that Google will not use similar tactics in the future to collect personal information without permission from unsuspecting consumers."