Samsung NaviBot Silencio promises quieter robotic hoovering

Samsung has announced the NaviBot Silencio robotic cleaner, a faster, quieter iteration of the original Roomba-alike NaviBot.

The little alien-like device can be programmed to simply putter around your home, sucking up dust and dirt while you put your feet up or go out to aerobics or whatever it is you do when you're not hoovering.

The robot also has cognitive mapping technology which uses two CPU control chips and a navigation program that allow it to remember where it has already cleaned.

Robotic servant

It also has a little camera which takes 30 photos of a room per second to create a virtual map which the NaviBot uses to decide the quickest and safest route around the room.

We've always said that robot vacuums should be seen but not heard, and the NaviBot Silencio is on its way to a quiet life with its running volume of 62dB, about the same as a normal conversation.

Don't be fooled by the name of the pet haircare system; it is not a handy dog-grooming attachment, but a special comb for picking up pet hair.

The NaviBot Silencio UK release date is set for April 2011, while UK pricing will be around £500.

But the real question on everyone's lips is: will the NaviBot Silencio prove as popular with our feline friends as the Roomba?

HTC Flyer: what you need to know

At Mobile World Congress HTC announced the HTC Flyer tablet.

But the specs didn't blow us away - it's a 7-inch single-core device running an older version of Android instead of one of the dual-core larger options running Android 3.0.

So what do we know about the new device?

The HTC Flyer doesn't have Android 3.0

HTC plumped for the earlier Gingerbread version of Android (2.3/2.4) rather than the Android 3.0 version a lot of the other tablets are using. It seems Honeycomb will arrive on the tablet imminently though.

The HTC Flyer processor is 1.5GHz

The HTC Flyer packs a 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor - surprising amidst the slew of dual core tablets being released at the moment. However, it is clocked high at 1.5GHz. There's also 1GB of RAM.

The HTC Flyer has a 7-inch screen

Like the BlackBerry PlayBook and Acer Iconia A100, the HTC Flyer plumps for a 1024 x 600 7-inch display surrounded by an aluminium unibody. That's the same resolution as the PlayBook too.

A 5MP camera with flash resides on the back of the device, and we're treated to a 1.3MP offering on the front for video calling – however voice calling is not supported despite a 3G connection.

The HTC Flyer has a stylus

Yep, you heard that right. Although during our hands on: HTC Flyer review we weren't that impressed by the pressure sensitivity which "doesn't really seem to work that well when trying to annotate text – although the range of brushes and options were accurate and useful."

Every time an application can make use of the new stylus, a small icon pops up in the bottom right hand side of the screen.

We weren't blown away by the video quality on the device we were having the demonstration with, but with the settings unable to be altered at this early stage we couldn't get the brightness to an acceptable level anyway – whether this will be a decent PMP substitute remains to be seen.

The HTC Flyer has HTC Sense

It was rumoured that the skin that HTC uses on its Android phones - HTC Sense - may get a redesign and a new name for the HTC Tablet. HTC has trademarked HTC Sensation alongside a list of devices which include mobile phones, wireless devices and portable computers.

But the Flyer will actually run HTC Sense atop Android Gingerbread. There's a bunch of new 3D widgets, while HTC says it has done a lot of work on the interface - but the only visible difference is that apps are now much bigger of course (as well as working in landscape).

The dual-pane windows for things like video, contacts and mail seem to work well.

The Notifications bar now also gives you quick access to the Settings, as on the HTC Desire S.

The HTC Flyer battery life is said to be good

The charger is a slightly altered microUSB offering, designed to facilitate power to the 4000mAh battery.

The HTC Flyer is thin and light

The HTC Flyer is really light at just 415g, and with a thickness of just 13.7mm. It will fit nicely in a bag, though is 7-inch too small for you, especially if you've used an iPad? The device also has a thick iPad-like bezel.

The HTC Flyer has the standard HTC buttons

There are controls for the Menu, Back, Search and Home functions which glow when in use. Otherwise there's just a volume switch.

When is the HTC Flyer UK release date?

According to DigiTimes, Apple Daily says that a JP Morgan analyst says that Google is messing around with its Android support. Motorola is Google's priority for 3.0, LG will be priority for 3.5 and HTC follows on, which means the HTC Tablet won't ship before the second quarter of 2011.

We're betting on a March or April HTC Flyer UK release date.

The HTC Flyer price may be $790

One DigiTimes report took a stab at the HTC Tablet price, and it predicts that without subsidy it'll be $789.75.

On February 21 the HTC Flyer hit German pre-order, with pricing set at €669.

The tablet was listed by the company itself; so if we use a straight currency conversion that gives the HTC Flyer UK pricing of around £563 – not at all bad for the tablet, in our view.

The HTC Tablet price might be zero

Download Squad says the HTC Flyer will launch on Verizon in the US with a price tag of zero depending on the tariff you choose.

Sony's Vaio L series all-in-one PC arrives in UK

Sony has unveiled its latest all-in-one, with the Vaio L series multimedia PC bringing what the Japanese electronics giant is terming an 'elegant focal point for your home multimedia collection'.

The Vaio L series brings a 24 inch Full HD display with full-frame multi-touch and LED backlight.

The screen features a glossy-black display and a is a tilt-adjustable "floating" display on a V-shaped stand with a novel touch sensitive 'edge access' to functions.

"It's beautifully easy to interact with your media collection using the full-frame multi-touch screen," explains Sony's release.

Mouse-less

"Open and scroll through files, zoom and rotate images with intuitive fingertip gestures… and no mouse or menus needed," it continues.

"In an exciting innovation by Sony, the LCD screen of the VAIO L Series is surrounded by a touch sensitive new "Edge Access" that gives friendly 'no mouse' access to key functions."

Spec-wise, you can have either Core i7 or Core i5 Intel processors and the possibility of a Blu-ray player, along with S-force front-surround 3D and the potential to use the screen as just a monitor (for such things as a PS3, Sony readily points out).

It's certainly a nice bit of kit and is available now, but don't expect much change out of a grand for the basic version, with the UK price starting at just under £1000 and moving ever upwards as you boost the features.

Sony's Vaio C series glows orange or green

Sony has unveiled a laptop range which positively glows, with the Vaio C series offering the novel if slightly odd sounding "light emitting translucent style option".

The 14-inch Sony Vaio C series offers the usual range of goodies including Exmor HD web camera and 3D supported HDMI out, but it is the glow that's going to catchj the attention.

"With eye-grabbing looks that demand attention, the colourful new 14" VAIO C Series from Sony makes a dramatic lifestyle statement," states Sony's release.

Radical!

"The latest Vaio C Series showcases a radical style direction by Sony that stands out from run-of-the-mill notebook PCs, it continues. "A choice of fashion colours include two special orange and green 'light emitting' options.

"This audacious design scatters light along edges of the translucent PC lid and other key surfaces to create a dramatic glow effect."

Also worthy of mention is a backlit keyboard and speedy internet access without booting up the full OS.

Specs wise the laptop brings Core i5 Intel processors, 320GB HDD and 4GB of memory along with Windows Home Premium.

Did we mention that it glows?

Facebook Breakup Notifier app goes live

A new Facebook web app will send you an email to let you know when your friends' relationship statuses change.

If you allow the Breakup Notifier to link up with your account you can select the Facebook friends you'd like to monitor and then receive an email notification when their love life takes a turn.

So, for example, if you're friends with an old school sweetheart who's got married to the guy who stole her from you, you can have Breakup Notifier follow her in the hope that it all goes south.

"You like someone. They're in a relationship. Be the first to know when they're out of it," says the app's website.

Many of us have probably been there, but it's still pretty creepy.

Unofficial

While, to our knowledge, the app isn't endorsed by Facebook, the site hasn't exactly discouraged the voyeuristic folks among us in the past.

So if you're living hope that "In a relationship" is going to become "it's complicated" then there's now a tool that'll do it for you without you having to manually check every day... or every hour.

Microsoft to launch Kinect for Windows SDK this spring

Microsoft has moved a step closer to bringing Kinect to Windows-based PC's by announcing that the SDK will be launched this spring.

The motion sensing tech launched last year as a peripheral for the Xbox 360 console and developers will now get the opportunity to create software for desktop and laptop PCs.

A post on the Official Microsoft Blog says that interested parties will get access to the total Kinect package in order to create new tools.

The post reads: "The Kinect for Windows SDK is being developed and released by Microsoft Research.

"It will be available this spring as a free download, and will give academic researchers and enthusiasts access to key pieces of the Kinect system - such as the audio technology, system application programming interfaces and direct control of the Kinect sensor itself."

More than gaming

The announcement confirms what we're been expecting for some time and will come as a huge fillip for software developers seeking to get their mitts on the tech.

The blog continued: "We are very excited by this announcement. Not only does it showcase our investment in this important technology trend, but it ensures that people have the tools they desire to revolutionize how people interact with technology.

"The possibilities are endless. Natural and intuitive technologies such as Kinect can be more than just a great platform for gaming and entertainment.

"They open up enormous opportunities across a wide variety of scenarios, including addressing societal issues in areas such as healthcare and education."

You can read the full blog post on the Official Microsoft Blog

Egyptian baby named 'Facebook'

An Egyptian father has named his newborn daughter 'Facebook' after the role the site played in the country's recent revolution, according to reports.

Many used the social networking site to raise awareness of the attempts to remove president Hosni Mubarak and organise the widespread protests that gripped the country during the last month.

Now Gamal Ibrahim has commemorated Mark Zuckerberg's multi-billion dollar baby, by naming his own baby girl in the site's honour, reports the Al-Arham newspaper.

The paper says that Ibrahim chose the name "to express his joy at the achievements made by the January 25 youth," the name given to the movement that successfully campaigned to remove Mubarak.

Overjoyed

TechCrunch has translated the report which reads: "The girl's family, friends and neighbors in the Ibrahimya region gathered around the new born to express their continuing support for the revolution that started on Facebook. 'Facebook' received many gifts from the youth who were overjoyed by her arrival and the new name."

Facebook, Twitter and YouTube were all used as efficient tools to organise the regime change despite a widespread government-enforced internet blackout during the protests.

1,000 workers walk out on Nokia after Microsoft announcement

Nokia has had a day to end all days today, with news that the company announcing it is ditching Symbian in favour of Windows Phone 7 prompting 1,000 of its employees to walk out.

This is according to Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat, which is reporting that workers are protesting with their feet at Nokia's Oulu and Tampere offices.

If the reports are accurate then this equates to a quarter of the workforce based at the two offices.

All change

The news that the company is ditching Symbian in favour of Windows Phone 7 as its primary smartphone OS does point to major restructural changes in the company - and while the number is unknown, CEO Stephen Elop did confirm there would be worldwide cuts.

While the majority of the workers are said to have used the company's flexi-time system to stage the walkout, it does point to unrest at the news that Nokia is embracing Windows Phone 7.

The company's shares were down by 13 per cent today, and Google had no qualms making light of the Nokia situation, with one of its recruiters tweeting that jobs were available for devs within the company.

Rumour: iPhone nano being developed by Apple

Apple could be developing a budget iPhone in order to ward off competition from Google Android handsets.

A prototype version of a smaller, cheaper Apple handset than the iPhone 4 is said to exist, although this is no guarantee such an iPhone will ever make it to market.

The mysterious little iPhone is apparently a third smaller than the iPhone 4, with no home button on the front of the handset, which certainly sits well with rumours that Apple is aiming to do away with the button on all iOS devices.

iPhone nano

The person who claims to have seen the prototype device says that Apple has considered selling it at around $200 (about £130); you can currently get an iPhone 4 for around that price, but you'll be locked in to an expensive two-year contract for your trouble.

Another price cutting measure is to take advantage of drops in component pricing. The new budget iPhone could use parts currently used in the iPhone 4 – processor, display etc. – leaving new, pricier elements to the as-yet unannounced 'big' iPhone 5.

Apple for the people

The reasoning behind Apple's potential downmarket move is to widen the handset's appeal and combat the effects of Android, which currently offers a huge range of price points.

A lower-cost iPhone could also see Apple get a foothold in the huge Chinese and Indian markets where price is a real factor.

Although very few people in the company know of the project, Bloomberg's source says that Apple was aiming to reveal the budget iPhone in the summer.

Nokia to rush out cheap Windows Phone handsets?

Nokia has said it will be manufacturing low-cost Windows Phone 7 handsets to allow the OS to reach a very low price point, very quickly.

Speaking to a group of Finnish business journalists, Nokia's CEO Stephen Elop said that the ability to quickly bring a cheap handset to market was a key topic in its discussions with Microsoft.

Windows Phone £7

After convincing the software giant that it could reach "a very low price point", Elop reiterated the need for speed:

"We have become convinced that we can [reach the low price point] very quickly."

During its press conference at Mobile World Congress, Nokia said it hoped to have its first Windows Phone device on sale by the end of 2011 – but this latest revelation suggests an earlier release could be on the cards.

Given Microsoft's stringent minimum hardware specifications for its mobile OS, it remains to be seen if Nokia will get special dispensation in order to bring costs down, or whether it is relying on falling component pricing.

Hackers now unbanning themselves on PS3

PS3 hackers have figured out a way of circumventing Sony's PSN bans on those that jailbreak their PlayStation 3 consoles, as the war between the hacking community and Sony rumbles on this week.

Sony moved to block PS3 hackers from accessing the PlayStation Network recently, as TechRadar reported late last week.

Mere days later and a new jailbreak has reportedly been released that lets hackers unban themselves and continue accessing PSN's online services as before.

A jailbreak war of attrition

Jailbreakers were issued a message from Sony last week, which read as follows:

"A circumvention device and/or unauthorized or pirated software currently resides on your PlayStation 3 system. Immediately cease use and remove all circumvention devices and delete all unauthorized or pirated software from your PlayStation 3 system.

"Failure to do so will result in termination of your access to the PlayStation Network and access to Qriocity services through your PlayStation 3 system."

Undeterred by Sony's swift moves to ban jailbroken PS3s from its network, Destructoid reports that the latest update to the PS3 jailbreak not only lets you unban yourself, but also ban other users, should you be so evil.

Expect a response and an update from Sony's anti-piracy specialists very soon on this, as the PS3 jailbreak war continues.

LG Optimus 3D UK pricing revealed

The LG Optimus 3D UK pricing has been set at around £515 by online retailer Expansys.
The handset, which can shoot and show 3D content, also has a UK release date of 25 April on the retailer's website.
Although Expansys has been known to publish inaccurate info in the past, the April release date ties in with whispers we've heard from networks, although nothing concrete has been officially announced.
Premium 3D
The price tag of £515 isn't outrageously expensive for a dual-core smartphone, although the 3D ability of the handset is its main USP; is it good enough to warrant so much of your hard-earned cash?
Not only can the handset play 3D video content, but you can record it using the dual-camera set up on the back of the handset, and out-put 3D movies to a 3D-ready TV using the HMDI out port.
There's also a gorgeous 4.3-inch screen, 8GB of memory, a front-facing camera and Android 2.2 (for now – a Gingerbread upgrade is on the cards).
With most UK networks set to release the LG Optimus 3D, it may be worth checking out subsidised tariff deals when they are announced; but opting for the SIM-free model may cost less in the long run.

All Android 3.0 features coming to phones

After all the will-they-won't-they of Google's Android 3.0 OS coming to mobile phones, a Google employee has tweeted that all the features will indeed make their way to Android phones.
Further details are scarce, although an updated version of Gingerbread is set for an imminent release making Honeycomb apps compatible with its smaller-screen compadres.
Whether all the features will be included in this apparently incremental update, or whether some will be saved for the next version (Ice cream?) remains to be seen.
Good old Twitter
The full tweet from Dan Morrill, Android Open Source & Compatibility Tech Lead, reads: "Honeycomb runs all existing Android apps; all the APIs & features will come to phones in some form. Just a matter of time."
While we probably won't see all Honeycomb's features make it to all phones – the Sony Ericsson X10, for example, isn't getting any more Android OS updates – most recent Android handsets should see the upgrades from the tablet-tastic OS.
Now all we need to know is when, eh Google?

Lady Gaga fastest ever single to 1m iTunes downloads

Lady Gaga's new single 'Born this Way' has become the fastest selling track ever on iTunes, reaching a mllion downloads in less than five days.
The eccentric pop star, who hit the headlines by emerging from an egg during at the Grammys last weekend, is leading the iTunes single's chart in 23 countries across the globe.
Gaga has established herself as the new media queen in recent years with over 407,000 subscribers on YouTube, while the official Vevo video for Bad Romance garnering 346 million views.

The dust had barely settled after a chaotic stampede of tablets at CES. Now, a month on, there’s more tablet action to come.
At this year’s Mobile World Congress, Samsung, HTC, Acer and LG all announced new tablets. Add these to devices on show from HP, RIM, ViewSonic and Motorola and you can see why 2011 is going to be the year of keyboard-less computing.
Here’s our round-up of the best tablets and pads on show at MWC 2011…
HTC Flyer
After much speculation, HTC finally revealed its Flyer tablet at Mobile World Congress. It comes with a 7-inch display, so it ducks direct comparison with the iPad and has more in common with the original Samsung Galaxy Tab and the Blackberry PlayBook.
In fact, the HTC Flyer fits neatly between the two – it’s better specced than Samsung’s mini-tablet, yet not as high-tech as RIM’s over-sized Blackberry.
We like the screen, which has a resolution of 1024 x 600 pixels and can be used with a stylus. We also like the 5MP camera on the back and the addition of a 1.3MP lens on the front for video chat.
What don’t we like? The early model on show at MWC ran the Gingerbread phone OS with HTC Sense rather than the tablet-specific Android 3.0 version.
The 1.5GHz single-core processor inside is also a strange choice compared to the dual-core CPUs being deployed in rival devices.
Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1
While the HTC Flyer is a mixed technology bag, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 eliminates any niggles we had with Samsung’s original 7-inch device.
Rocking the Android 3.0 OS, the new Galaxy Tab speeds along courtesy of a dual-core Nvidia Tegra 2 CPU and impresses with a luxurious 10.1-inch (1280 x 800 pixel) touchscreen.

On the back, Samsung has added an 8MP camera, while around the front there’s a 2MP lens for video conferencing. Or for simply using the Galaxy Tab 10.1 as an expensive mirror. With Flash 10.1 and 1080p support, the overall specification just edges out the Motorola Xoom. Just.
LG Optimus Pad
It’s difficult to pick a favourite Android tablet when the hardware specifications are so similar. Like the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, The LG Optimus Pad boasts a screamingly fast dual-core Tegra 2 processor (with Nvidia GeForce graphics) and Android 3.0, aka Honeycomb.
But the Optimus Pad stands out in two respects. First, it features an 8.9-inch (1024 x 768 pixel) touch-sensitive display that might just hit a sweet spot for anybody who thinks that 7-inch screens are too small and 10.1 is too unwieldy.

Second, it features two 5 Megapixel cameras on the back, enabling it to take 3D videos and photos like the LG Optimus 3D smartphone.
Whether you see this as a deal-maker or a pointless gimmick (like fingerprint recognition on a consumer laptop), it certainly differentiates the Optimus Pad from the crowd.
HP TouchPad
This was the TouchPad’s first appearance since HP unveiled the device at its San Francisco WebOS event in early February.
Like the iPad, the HP TouchPad features a 9.7-inch display and is well-built and neatly designed. The fact that it runs WebOS 3.0 and multi-tasks beautifully makes it a credible alternative to Android 3.0, the Blackberry OS and Apple’s iOS 4.

Under the hood, there’s a turbo-charged Qualcomm Snapdragon dual-core CPU (APQ8060), ticking along at 1.2GHz. It’s also available in two configurations, with either 16GB or 32GB of internal storage.
Oddly, there’s no rear camera. But HP has specced a front-facing 1.3 Megapixel camera for Skyping.
Acer Iconia Tab A500
While the tablet spotlight gets hogged by LG, Samsung and HTC, Acer rolled out its own Android device with hardly a ‘ta-daa!’
Again, here you’ll find a dual-core Tegra 2 processor, a 10.1-inch (1280 x 768 pixel) display, HDMI out, plus a 5MP rear camera and a front-facing camera. Here, the Iconia Tab A500 ran Android 2.3 laced with Acer’s own UI tweaks.
ViewSonic ViewPads
ViewSonic is making a real effort to ensure that its tablet devices stand out. Its 10-inch ViewPad 10Pro, for example, can dual-boot both Android 2.2 and Windows 7 Professional and is one of the first tablets to use Intel’s Oak Trail CPU. Is this the future of tablet-kind?
Blackberry Playbook
RIM had already announced the Blackberry PlayBook, but its appearance at MWC was an opportunity to get up-close-and-personal with the tablet.

Like the HTC Flyer, the PlayBook has a 7-inch display with a resolution of 1024 x 600 pixels, a 3MP camera on the front and a 5MP lens around the back.
Crucially, it’s powered by a dual-core ARM Cortex A9 processor, which gives it a performance advantage over the HTC Flyer.
Motorola Xoom
We’ve already written a lot about the Motorola Xoom, the darling of CES 2011 thanks to Android 3.0, a 10.1-inch (1280 x 800) display, dual-core processor, 1080p video playback and 3G/4G/Wi-Fi connectivity.
But what a difference a month makes. Facing up to the new Galaxy Tab 10.1 and LG Optimus Pad, it doesn’t seem quite so special.

WowWee's Light Strike makes laser tag look more like Paper Jamz

WowWee, the same folks who brought you Paper Jamz, are giving yet another American leisure-time institution a makeover, and this time they've set their sights on laser tag. Carrying over the Paper Jamz aesthetic, Light Strike aims to "bring video game action into the real-world" with a set of laser tag guns and accessories that sport fingerprint ID, long-range LED targeting, built-in health and ammo meters, and the ability to play with up to four teams of unlimited size. The game's stable of weapons includes Light Strike's signature gun, the Assault Striker, a machine gun bipod with recoil action, a scope attachment with 100-foot range, and a grenade launcher that can shoot groups of enemies down in a single shot. Now, who's going to lead the campaign to make the Assault Striker the official gun of the 2012 Olympic Pentathalon? Light Strike is set for an August 2011 launch with guns starting at about $40, but you can get a very dramatic preview after the jump.

DARPA-funded Nano Hummingbird spybot takes flight (video)

We were plenty impressed when we saw the initial tests of AeroVironment's robo-hummingbird -- now officially dubbed the Nano Hummingbird -- but we can't say they quite prepared us for the final product that the DARPA-funded company is now showing off. Not only does the bot look and fly like a real hummingbird (at least if you don't look too closely), but it packs a built-in camera and a downlink of some sort that's capable of transmitting live video. According to the company, the hummingbird's also able to hover for up to eight minutes, reach speeds of eleven miles per hour in forward flight, and remain stable in wind gusts of five miles per hour -- not to mention make a perfect landing. Head on past the break to check it out in action -- it may well be one of the few chances you're actually able to see one in the wild.

HTC investing in smartphone gaming, details coming next week

HTC has announced plans to invest $40m (£25m) in OnLive, a company that specialises in cloud-based gaming.

The move could see HTC dipping its toe firmly into the gaming waters, with handsets like the Sony Eriscson Xperia Play hoping to explode the mobile gaming market this year.

Excitement abounds

HTC told us that it's very excited about the investment, and that "more news will follow next week."

Could we be in line for an exciting gaming announcement from the company at Mobile World Congress?

According to HTC spokesperson Maggie Cheng, the company's investment will "strengthen its gaming capabilities and help HTC tap into increasing demand for games on smartphones."

Good plan

We've already seen HTC move in the direction of the cloud with its HTCSense.com Mobile-Me-alike service.

Given the company's investment in its on-handset software, it would make sense for HTC to get involved in mobile gaming which is already a huge market; plus it could help the company differentiate itself in the very-samey Windows Phone 7 market.

Exciting times ahead, we hope; we'll bring you all the details next week.