The 10 greatest gadgets of 2012

 

The world may have not come to an end as Mayan naysayers contended, but the year certainly has. As we move onto 2013 and all the tech to come, we’re taking a look back at the year that was, and the top ten gadgets of the last twelve months. Read on to see what made the cut, and chip in with your thoughts in the comments.

Apple iPad mini

It was slated on launch for its high pricetag compared to seven inch rivals, but Apple’s trimmed down tablet proved its worth with its pure power and premium build. Make no mistake, at some point soon this will soon be the iPad that everyone thinks of as the iPad.

Samsung Galaxy Note 2

It’s rare for a company to invent a whole new category of phone, yet that’s exactly what Samsung’s done with its giant Galaxy Note series. Not only is the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 turbo-charged with fantastic, speedy software, it’s single-handedly resurrected the stylus and put it to good use. Or two-handedly, anyway.

Google Nexus 7

Asus stunned pundits with its low price seven inch Android tablet this summer. Its speedy software puts Amazon’s Kindle Fire efforts to shame, and six months on – a century in tech terms – it’s still the best slate in its class. At £159, it’s a feat of engineering and software married together that’s worthy of Apple.

Humax DTR-1000 YouView

It was almost lost in all the media hubbub about tablets, iCloud and Android, but 2012 also saw the launch of YouView, the Freeview HD service with a twist. It beautifully integrates all your favourite catch-up service right into the EPG, so you can even watch the shows you forgot to record. Seriously classy TV.

Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime

It seems like a lifetime ago, but at the start of the year, Asus was the first to prove that somebody could create a tablet at the same price as an iPad that would actually sell. It was beautiful, thin and scorchingly fast, and regularly and promptly updated by Asus – if you were prepared to shell out for extra it even had a keyboard dock accessory to turn it into a laptop. A year on, the Google Nexus 10 has superseded it, but it was still an awesome tablet tech milestone.

Nintendo Wii U

If you didn’t get a Wii U this Christmas, it was only because it’s as rare as gold dust already. While the new console has its flaws, it’s wonderful to finally see Nintendo’s characters rendered in glorious HD, and it’s clear the Japanese gaming giant is only just getting started: the potential for the GamePad controller is vast. It also marks the start of the next generation of console wars, and we can’t wait to see what Microsoft and Sony are readying in response.

Nokia 808 PureView

Yes, as a phone, the Symbian-powered (or crippled) 808 PureView is awful. But as an example of what camera phones can be capable of, the 41 megapixel sensor around back is nothing short of breathtaking. Stunning detail and amazing low light performance point the way forward for 2013, and we’re already starting to see the tech emerge in Nokia’s more usable Windows Phones, like the Lumia 920.

Samsung Galaxy S3

With the epic, speedy Galaxy S3, Samsung finally arrived. The 4.8-inch beast is every bit the rival to the iPhone 4, especially now you can pick it up with 4G super speed connectivity. It’s a shame that Siri-rival S-Voice is utterly useless, but at least Google’s since filled that void with its own impressive Google Now service.

HTC One X+

One of the true tragedies of tech in 2012 has been the sidelining of HTC. The Taiwanese gadget company’s phones this year were nothing short of beautiful, and the beefed up HTC One X+ made this spring’s One X even better. With up to date Android Jelly Bean, a faster processor and new look, this is one future-proofed phone for design aficionados. Ignore at your peril.

Roku LT

The £49.99 Roku LT might just be the most improved gadget of 2012. Since launch earlier this year, the little HD rival to the Apple TV has been bolstered with extra channels and new services. But with a huge investment from Sky, it’s only going to get better next year: the Now TV channel will soon get sport and drama too, making it the world’s cheapest Sky box.

What were your favourite gadgets of 2012? Did we miss any? Let’s hear your views in the comments below!

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10 amazing things you can do with your new iPad mini

 

Unwrapped a brand new iPad mini for Christmas? Have we got a treat for you: it may be small, but it can pull off some big gadget feats. Here are ten things you might never know your iPad mini can do.

1. Video chat

Chat away to friends and family with the built-in front-facing camera using apps such as FaceTime or Skype, letting you keep in touch with loved-ones all over the world.

2. Control your Xbox

Microsoft’s SmartGlass has just been released, and lets you control your Xbox from the comfort of your new iPad mini. Use it to go through media on your Xbox, as a keyboard and mouse for Internet Explorer or just as a companion for when you’re gaming.

3. Makeshift set-top box

Combine your new iPad with an Apple TV and stream whatever you have on your iPad straight to the big screen, making it a makeshift smart TV. Combine that with Netflix or TVCatchup and you’ll never need a Sky box or DVD player ever again.

4. Comic book reader

With a plethora of comic apps in the App Store, you can turn your new device into a comic-breathing wonder device, letting you munch through comics like chocolates on Christmas day and making traditional comic books all but redundant.

5. TV Remote

OK, it might not be able to control your tradition infra-red TV set, but if it’s hooked up to a YouView box or a Plex media centre , then you can control what appears on your TV straight from your brand new slate.

6. Fitness

Keep in shape by using all manner of fitness apps available in the App Store, such as My Fitness Pal, which lets you track both what you’re eating and activity – plus you can make use of the built-in camera to log your progress in photos.

7. Arcade machine

Of course, who could forget, your new iPad mini is capable of playing all sorts of games. From Angry Birds to Cut The Rope, to even more graphics intensive games like Real Racing or Infinity Blade, there’s bound to be something in the App Store to keep your thumbs busy.

8. Drawing tool

While the popularity of Draw Something has waned, the screen size of the iPad mini lends itself well to little doodles. Using apps such as Paper will let you turn your device into a digital easel, where you can paint and draw to your heart’s content.

9. Digital photo frame

If you need to put your device down for a few minutes, why not make use of its size to turn it into a digital photo frame? Prop it on its side, get the slideshow going, and feel free to discuss/bore your latest holiday with the family.

10. Cookbook

The kitchen is a busy place, and there might not be room for a full fledged laptop, or even a larger iPad. The iPad mini, however, can lend its svelte size to the eager chef by serving as a cookbook. With apps such as Epicurious, or even Jamie Oliver’s Recipes, plus the whole internet at your fingertips, your new iPad mini is the ultimate cookbook to outdo Delia with

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Tech trends: The biggest gadget shake ups of 2012

Time flies, eh? Almost as quickly as the gadget industry moves. As we draw to the end of 2012, we take a look back at the biggest trends of the year, from phablets to touchscreens in the place you’d least expect.

The seven inch tablet comes of age

Seven inch tablets have been around for years, but they didn’t mature until this summer, when Asus unleashed the super fact, super value Nexus 7 on the world. Rivals were quick to follow, with Amazon unleashing the Kindle Fire HD and Barnes & Noble the Nook HD. Even Apple weighed in with its 7.9-inch iPad mini. Make no mistake, this smaller, more portable sized tablet will soon become the standard for slates.

Android finds a size that fits

Apple’s arch rivals figured out something important not too long ago: not everyone likes the iPhone’s small screen size. So why compete? The likes of Samsung and HTC reacted with jumbo phones with screens measuring 4.7 inches across and beyond – and Samsung at least cleaned house with them. We’ve even seen the emergence of a new 5-inch-plus phablet category with the release of Samsung’s hotcake-selling Galaxy Note 2 – expect a slew of imitations to follow from everyone but Apple.

Laptops go touch

Windows 8 arrived in October, and with it a quiet revolution began: soon, you won’t be able to find a single decent new machine that doesn’t sport a touchscreen, from laptop to all-in-one. And why not? It’s just one extra way to interact, and with Windows 8’s huge, finger friendly icons, it’s a useful one too. Even Google is rumoured to be working on a touchscreen Chromebook running Chrome OS. How long before we see the same happen on Mac?

Voice recognition goes mainstream

The Siri voice assistant for iOS got a big update with iOS 6 this summer, bringing it to iPad and iPod touch, and adding some smart new commands. But it wasn’t alone. Google unleashed its new Google Now service in the summer that comes built into every Android 4.1 device: its voice recognition skills are phenomenally accurate and fast (and now also available on iPhone for those who are interested). As we move into 2013, expect voice to become one of the core inputs for tablets and phones.

Filters everywhere

Image sharing network Instagram struck gold this year – literally – when Facebook acquired it in a billion dollar deal in spring. The service, which specialises in providing retro image filters to tart up your camera phone snaps, passed the 100 million user mark, and soon attracted some stuff competition, when Twitter introduced image filters of its own to its mobile apps. Will it be enough? Time will tell.

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Apple plans wireless charging zone for your next iPhone!

Apple’s mission to cut the cables out of your life continues. The tech giant recently filed a patent application that outlines a wireless hotspot, but not like you know it: instead, any devices in the area would get charged. Is this tech headed to the iPhone 6?

The application, entitled ‘wireless power utilisation in a local computing environment’, hints heavily that the folks at Cupertino are going for wireless charging within a select zone for the next iPhone.

Wireless charging is a great idea, one gaining some mainstream acceptance with the Nokia Lumia 920, freeing you from the jungle of wires that plagues desks, but the current real world options aren’t all that practical. Most of today’s wireless chargers still have wires, and use inductive charging, meaning the wireless charger and your phone need to be close together or touching.

Apple’s patent application uses a different approach to wireless charging. The scheme uses a near-field magnetic resonance (NFMR) power supply to charge up nearby devices that also have a NFMR resonator circuit built in. This, in theory, could power up and charge multiple devices such as mice, keyboards and multiple phones making everything wireless, battery-free and eco friendly too – so long as they’re all nearby. Handy.

But the reliance on magnets also means that it could mess with things such as flash memory or credit cards if they too get caught in the vicinity. We’ll still have to wait a few years before this could become a feasible reality, but at least Apple has got the idea down “just in case”. Think this is something awesome or something awful? Let us know in the comments

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Samsung's Galaxy S3 beats Apple's iPhone in Q3 sales

 

Samsung Galaxy S3's best-selling position is likely to be short-lived

South Korean electronics firm Samsung's Galaxy S3 has outsold Apple's iPhone 4S for the first time, becoming the world's best-selling smartphone, says research firm Strategy Analytics.

Samsung sold 18 million models, compared with Apple's 16.2 million sales, in the third quarter of 2012.

The Galaxy S3 "has proven wildly popular with consumers and operators," said Strategy Analytics' Neil Mawston.

However, Apple's new iPhone 5 is widely expected to reclaim the top sales spot.

Strong Galaxy smartphone sales helped Samsung report record profits in the three months to September. Net profit was 6.5tn won ($5.9bn; £3.7bn), up 91% from a year earlier.

But analysts say that one reason Samsung's phone was able to wrest the top sales spot from Apple's iPhone 4 was because many customers were waiting for the iPhone 5, which was launched during the third quarter.

The Apple iPhone 5 has already got off to a solid start and "we expect the new iPhone 5 to out-ship Samsung's Galaxy S3 in the coming fourth quarter", said Neil Mawston.

"Apple should soon reclaim the title of the world's most popular smartphone model," he added.

Legal struggle

Samsung and its rival Apple have been locked in a series of ongoing legal battles over patent infringement claims in various countries.

In October, sales bans in the US on Samsung's Galaxy Nexus phone and its Galaxy 10.1 tablet computer were lifted, in a blow to Apple.

Meanwhile, earlier this year, a US court awarded Apple $1.05bn (£652m) in damages, after ruling several of its software and design technologies had been infringed by Samsung.

Samsung has challenged that verdict and called for a retrial.

Analysts say that given the tremendous growth potential of the sector, the two firms' legal battle is likely to continue.

Virtual Projected Keyboard

 

Virtual Projected Keyboard

The Celluon MAGIC CUBE Virtual Keyboard is a startling fresh alternative to using a standard keyboard and mouse with your mobile device or computer. The MAGIC CUBE projects a laser onto a flat opaque surface to provide you with a virtual keyboard. You can type on top of the surface of your desk and you can also use the MAGIC CUBE as a mouse. The MAGIC CUBE is powered by a Lithium-Polymer battery and comes with a mini-USB to USB cable for recharging it from your computer. It works with the iPad, iPhone 4, mobile devices running Android 2, 2.1, or 2.2 as well as any device that supports Bluetooth 2.0 or greater, such as a desktop or notebook computer

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Samsung to fix Galaxy S3 search function removal mistake

 

 

Samsung has admitted it made a mistake in releasing a software update that removed a search function from international versions of its flagship smartphone.

The "stability update" disabled the Galaxy S3's ability to search the web, contacts, apps and other on-device material through a single interface.

The move had been thought to be linked to Apple's claim that the innovation infringed one of its US patents.

Samsung said a fix was imminent.

"The most recent software upgrade for the Galaxy S3 in the UK included the inadvertent removal of the universal search function," it said in a statement.

"Samsung will provide the correct software upgrade within the next few days."

Patent dispute

Users who downloaded the update had not been warned that it would remove the advanced search function when the software was installed on GT-i9300 (S3) models available in the UK and other places outside the US.

It appears the firm meant only to prevent some US models from being able to use a Google-powered search tool to show information sourced from within the phone's memory in its results.

Apple has claimed the technology infringed its patent to a unified search interface which it uses in its Siri app to collate results from a range of sources.

The iPhone maker has launched a lawsuit over the matter in the US and had briefly secured a sales ban of another Samsung handset - the Galaxy Nexus - on the basis that the inclusion of the feature threatened "irreparable harm".

A Washington-based court will review the case on 20 August.

Apple's Ridiculous Patent

 

Apple's Ridiculous Patent

As if you needed more evidence that the US patent system is broken Apple has just been awarded one of the most ridiculous patents ever. The title? “Method for providing human input to a computer”

Here’s the Abstract from the filing:

The invention provides a method for providing human input to a computer which allows a user to interact with a display connected to the computer. The method includes the steps of placing a first target on a first portion of the user’s body, using an electro-optical sensing means, sensing data related to the location of the first target and data related to the location of a second portion of the user’s body, the first and second portions of the user’s body being movable relative to each other, providing an output of the electro-optical sensing means to the input of the computer, determining the location of the first target and the location of the second portion of the user’s body, and varying the output of the computer to the display based upon the determined locations for contemporaneous viewing by the user.

It gets better; the patent claims …

1. The invention can provide a 3, 4, and 5 dimensional touch screen or graphics tablet. In other words, the x,y location of the touch, the force or depth of the touch, and the vector direction of the touch (2 angles).

Of course, there’s no actual demonstration of this “5D” system and like so many modern patents this one amounts to a hand-waving (literally) exercise more along the lines of “what if” than anything concrete. Those issues aside, where’s the novelty?

I wonder how this patent will stand up to challenges and, should Apple try to exert what has become its intellectual property, how well might they fare in court?

it’s a mad mad mad mad world and getting madder

Apple 2012: MacBook Pro with Retina Display, MacBook Air, iOS 6 and OS X Mountain Lion

 

Apple last night unveiled a bunch of exciting new products and services for Apple fans to get excited about. Among them: a new 15-inch MacBook Pro fitted with Apple’s Retina Display, a handful of new MacBook Air laptops, and the announcement of iOS 6 for Apple smartphones and tablets, including maps. Read on for all the must-know Apple details. 



Beginning with the new MacBook Pro. Retina Display MacBooks had been rumoured for a while. Now they’ve finally arrived. There are two 15-inch Retina Display models that are now 0.71-inch deep – thinner than existing models.

Each pack a 2880×1800 resolution Retina Display with a 220 pixels-per-inch density. That means more detail, clearer, more vibrant images, and better viewing angles.

The new MacBook Pro will be powered by your choice of a quad-core 2.3GHz Intel Core i5 or 2.6GHz Core i7 processor, and up to 768GB flash storage, 8GB RAM and 768 Solid State Drive (SSD). The ports have also been tinkered with. You now get a HDMI-out and two USB 3.0 ports, thunderbolt ports, and an SD card slot. The Retina Display models start from £1,799.

New MacBook Air models were also on the menu. There were a couple of 11.6-inch models, and 13.3-inch models with upgraded internals. You get two USB ports on each, and a webcam that supports 720p HD FaceTime chats.

The more basic models sport a 1.8GHz processor, 4GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD, or you can opt for a 2.0GHz processor and 512GB of storage. The new MacBook Airs are shipping today, with the 11-inch models starting from £849, and £999 for the 13-inch model.

 

Also on the bill was iOS 6, out this Autumn. The latest version of Apple’s mobile operating system now brings new mapping skills developed in-house by Apple, and turn-by-turn navigation with Apple’s Siri built-in. Siri will also be able to launch apps using your voice, and also come to third generation iPads. Apple fans can also look forward to more Facebook integration cross areas such as contacts and location sharing. There will also be support for FaceTime over 3G.

And then there’s the new OS X Mountain Lion, out July for Mac. A lot of the focus will be on how it uses iCloud. iCloud now integrates with reminders, notes, documents, and messages from mobile devices. Apple’s Safari internet browser will also get a performance boost, with a unified search box, and iCloud tab syncing to open pages that you had previously looked at on another device. There will also be Apple’s Game Center, and the ability to update in sleep mode. Mountain Lion will be out in July.

Which of the updates are you most excited about. How about those Retina Display MacBook Pros? Send us your comments below.

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