Our city has been destroyed. It’s hard to find a natural disaster
anywhere which has a larger effect on a country than this
earthquake is having here. In relative terms, the effect on New
Zealand is equivalent to around 8 Hurricane Katrinas, or around 3
2011 Sendai earthquake and tsunamis. Christchurch needs serious
help to recover from this once in 10,000 year event. […]

On Wednesday 22nd of February 2012, all our apps will be reduced
in price. 100% of the proceeds of all sales for the day will go
into seeding the formation of a charitable trust with the explicit
purpose of kickstarting the creation of a built environment for a
safe, vibrant, sustainable downtown Christchurch people can
inhabit again.

Great apps, great prices, great cause.

Update: As Tim Coulter observes, it’s obviously a spoof, because the production values are too high for an actual video from Dell.

The Vita isn’t just good for gaming you know, it can do so much more thanks to its slowly growing application store. At day one, only the likes of Facebook and Flickr are available and its the latter we are going to concentrate on here. Why not Facebook you ask? Well because Flickr does a much better job of showing exactly what can be done with an application on the new console, having a particularly swish UI.

Flickr

Format

PlayStation Vita

Price

Free

Where

PS Store

Before we get started on this one, we have a bone to pick with Yahoo and Flickr: please, please, please sort out the way devices are approved to Flickr. It took us 20 minutes to get even close to getting the site to let us sign in using our Vita and in the end we gave up. If you manage it, let us know!

Right so on to the app itself. At the top is a search bar that allows you to look for photos, people and groups on the Flickr website. It works well enough and gets you to where you want to be going. Below that is a your photos section. Here is your photostream and other relevant snaps and sets. We would talk about this more but Flickr seemed to be denying us access today. History will show what you are looking at and the explore bar is for Flickr’s explored shots.?

In settings you can adjust each one of these bars so they appear in the order you would prefer, as well as add in other information such as recent activity, uploads and favourites. It works very simply and allows a bit of extra customisation to the app. The arrows to the right of each bar will expand them in quite a swish animation that, a bit like live tiles in WP7, lists all the photos in a Ken Burns effect.?

When you do actually come to tapping an images, a small res version will load up with text about the image to the right of it. From here you can comment, favourite and see what groups the shot appears in. It is all very nicely done and incredibly smooth. Finally tapping on a shot will bring it up so it fills the Vita’s screen, you can then pinch to zoom and pan around. All very nice indeed and makes the Vita a useful little portfolio device because it is portable and has a nice display.?

Good stuff from Flickr then and a strong start to the app landscape for the Vita. Just get that signing in sorted and get it sorted now.?

Tags:
Apps App of the day PlayStation PS Vita PS Vita Apps

APP OF THE DAY: Flickr review (PS Vita) originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 22 Feb 2012 18:46:00 +0000

Many of you may have been waiting patiently by the door this morning for the postman to drop a shiny new PS Vita through the letterbox. You might have even queued up late last night to be one of the first to pick up the handheld . Either way, you got one and are happy gaming away at Wipeout, Uncharted or whatever launch title you chose to pick up.

We don’t want to distract you from a lengthy gaming sesh, but the Vita can do so much more than just play games. Want to get the most out of your new handheld? Read on to find out what the PS Vita can really do.

Take a photo, shoot some video

Take a peek on the front and back of your new Vita. You might notice that there is not one but two cameras sat there. Designed so you can do things like video calling or take snapshots of yourself while playing (Wipeout 2048 we mean you!), they can also be used like a smartphone camera.

On the Vita’s home screen, tap the photos icon and wait for it to load up. From there you can do exactly what you would expect – take photos. The icon on the right inside the capsule will switch between video and stills, the one above swaps front and back camera. Top right is location data and the left changes between 16:9 shots and square format.

Video is recorded to the Vita’s memory card and can be accessed using the playback symbol on the top right of the photos app.

Have a party

The Vita’s PlayStation network capabilities mean you can interact with friends from both the PS3 and Vita console. The party app allows you to bring together network friends and chat. Straightfoward stuff really – you can check invitations and favourites but mainly it’s just for keeping in contact with others using the PS network.

You can use either text or audio chat to keep in contact with mates and messages will be shared across both PS3 and Vita system. It’s all done very well and is a nice straightforward way of “partying” with your friends without seeing them in person.

The group messaging app does very much the same thing, except it isn’t used for in game chat – more like a multi-person chatroom you can use to communicate with others.

You are also going to want to use the friends app to build up a decent list of PlayStation network contacts to chat with. Fire it up and click the three dots in the bottom corner, send friend requests to the relevant people and there you go, ready to “party”.

Show off your trophies

Just like the PlayStation 3, the PS Vita also has a trophies system which will enable you to build a collection of bronze, silver, gold and platinum rewards for your in game achievements. Everything you have earned on the PS3 under the same network account will be shown and you can browse through friends and compare trophies just the same.

We did notice that the Vita was a lot quicker than the PS3 at syncing our trophy information, which normally takes about ten minutes. Similarly going in and exploring each title’s individual rewards is a lot quicker. Definitely worth bearing in mind should you be a trophy obsessive.

Go Near someone

You might have noticed the Near app icon when you booted up your PS Vita system. Definitely one of the cooler albeit more convoluted apps included with the Vita, it takes a bit of perseverance to work out.

Near works by letting you share information about your Vita related activities. Think of it as a friendstream and timeline, like in Facebook, but for the Vita. So anything you buy, play or earn will be told to those nearby. As with the 3DS, you can discover nearby players and earn points and player details.

Don’t get lost

The 1.61 update for the Vita brought with it the ability to browse maps in the way you would on a smartphone and find out your location. The Vita also uses a digital compass and Google Maps to give you directions to and from a place.

It is quite a decent maps application and is made even better by the Vita’s beefier OLED screen, which is larger than the average smartphone. If you have a 3G Vita, then maps will also work while out on the go, so you can use your handheld system to stop yourself getting lost.

Play games remotely

One of the Vita’s most exciting features is its ability to play games remotely from your PlayStation 3. As of now, very few titles are supported, so few in fact that we couldn’t find any. All we have found is Bejeweled 2, Anarchy: Rush Hour and Peggle which are said to be compatible. There is however a video on the web showing the likes of Battlefield 3 running remotely on the Vita.

Setting up remote play is done by connecting your Vita to your console. From the settings menu you need to hit devices list and connect the Vita. Then go to network and select remote play from the PS3, fire this up at the same time on your Vita and you should be away.

Browse the web

Another highlight of having a 3G Vita is being able to browse the internet while out and about. You can of course do so via Wi-Fi when at home but its nice to have that extra flexibility. The Vita has a lot of power and it shows when using it to surf the web.

Pages load extremely quick but run into problems when Flash or HTML 5 is involved. YouTube for example doesn’t get on hugely well with the Vita which is irritating as the OLED screen would be great for watching videos. There is a fix for this though.

Download a video

No YouTube? If you absolutely have to see some kind of moving image that isn’t a game, you can either pre-load video on to the Vita using its content manager or us the PS Store from which to rent movies.

There is a similar selection to that available on the PS3, going from stuff like the Hangover Part II to Captain America. Prices do vary but anything particularly recent is going to cost you ?3.50. Not bad when you think about it. Purchasing a film is quite a bit more at ?11.99 but then you can keep it and watch it back on your PS3 later.

Download an application

The Vita is a pretty multi-talented device. Within the PS Store, which has been open only a few hours, applications are beginning to emerge. So far we have the ubiquitous Facebook app, which is actually rather good. Flickr is also showing its face and has a similarly swish UI.

Netflix is rumoured to be on the horizon and if it supports 3G streaming, should turn the 3G Vita into an ultimate on-the-go movie device. In the meantime, best to hold out until the PS Store starts filling with apps. What to do instead then? How about downloading a game.

Download a PSP game

The Vita can access the entire library of PSP downloads and will, should you already own some, let you re-download them to the console. They work perfectly fine and even benefit from an added graphical increase from the Vita’s power.

Also available is the likes of the PS Minis and what we would consider to be app style games for the Vita. Cheaper than the full-size titles such as Uncharted, they are more pick up and play, using things like augmented reality and the front-facing camera. Worth giving a go however, as it is cheap for what it is, is Super Stardust.

Listen to music

If you have splashed out on a decent sized memory card for your Vita system, then you can always use it to play back music. You are going to need either the PS3 or PC’s content manager application, just like with video. Once it is on there, then the Vita will organise it all for you into a rather neat music application.

Anything else?

Short of making calls, the Vita does everything that most smartphones can do. Sure you are lacking in apps, but Facebook and Flickr are good enough. Think about the access the portable has to gaming and the power inside and then it shapes up to be a pretty formidable device.

This will only keep on growing as well, putting any doubts to bed that we had of it being a powerful portable and not much else. What else can your PS Vita do? From the looks of it, quite a bit.

Tags:
Gaming PlayStation Sony PS Vita Features

What else can my PS Vita do? originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 22 Feb 2012 18:36:00 +0000

The UK’s 4G launch has hit another bump in the road, with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) telling the BBC that up to 900,000 homes could need filters installed to prevent Freeview TV interference from LTE mobile signals.

Culture Minister Ed Vaizey admitted there was a problem but said there are plans in place to alleviate any issues with the next-gen phone network.

“There will be some interference when 4G services are rolled out but we will have the solutions in place to eliminate the disruption to television viewers,” he said.

Those solutions include fitting a filter to a Freeview TV or set-top box to block out unwanted noise from the 4G signal for houses falling within a certain range of transmitter towers. And for homes where the filter isn’t up to the job – having satellite or cable TV platforms put in place with a cost of ?10,000 put aside for homes unable to “find a solution”.

But don’t worry, the potential cost of ?108 million won’t be met by the tax-payer; it will be up to the winners of the 4G spectrum auction to foot the bill.

A final decision on the way Ofcom wants the 4G spectrum to be handled will be made in the summer. Don’t get too excited though because we’re not likely to have widespread availability in the UK until 2015. According to an Ofcom report published in December, the roll-out of 4G mobile services won’t even begin until 2013/14.?

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Tags:
4G LTE Freeview Phones Phone industry Digital TV tuners

UK 4G network to cause Freeview fuzziness originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 22 Feb 2012 17:33:39 +0000

According to a report by the New York Times tech section Bits, we could be seeing the much-speculated Android powered Google AR glasses landing before 2012 is up.

We first got wind of the project at the end of last year when 9to5Google ran a story claiming it was an open secret that Google was working?on wearable technology in its secret Google X lair, and that the search giant was “in late prototype stages of wearable glasses” that “provide a display with a heads up computer interface”.

The Google-centric blog then followed this up earlier this month with claims that the HUD glasses “have a front-facing camera used to gather information and could aid in augmented reality apps” and “will also take pictures”.

The NYT’s report now states that “several Google employees familiar with the project” have said the clever-specs will go on sale by the end of the year and would “cost around the price of current smartphones” (which is a bit vague, we know).

The “Android-based” glasses will apparently feature a small screen, 3G or 4G data connectivity, “a number of sensors including motion and GPS” as well as a “unique navigation system”.

Steve Lee, a Google engineer who apparently created Google Latitude is said to be involved with a view to having layer based location data at the forefront (literally) of the design and Google co-founder Sergey Brin is also purported to be heavily involved in the project.

The report states that Google will gauge user interest before it decides upon potential business models to fully monetise the tech.

We know a certain cyborg assassin from 2029 who may be interested…..

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Tags:
Glasses Augmented Reality Google Android

Android powered Google AR glasses to land this year originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 22 Feb 2012 16:35:14 +0000

The Sony PlayStation Vita has arrived – in fact, if you want to know all about it you can read our Sony PlayStation Vita review – but you’ve probably already bought one. In that case, what you’ll need to do now to maximise your enjoyment of the latest and greatest in handheld gaming is to accessorise it.?Yes, you might have invested ?240 but why go so far without going all the way?

Below you’ll find our suggestions for the very best PlayStation Vita accessories with a nice mix of those that Sony suggest and those where we reckon you can do some improvements of your own.

PS Vita Cradle

With the Vita as impressive a video device as it is one for gaming, having something to prop it up while you tuck into your latest feature-length download is going to save you a set of dead arms and a lot of shifting around in your seat.

The PS Vita Cradle has a USB and line-out sockets on the rear for you to charge and exchange media – should you be plugged into a computer – as well as make a real mini-theatre of it if you’ve got some decent external speakers to plug in too. There’s no official UK figures at the moment but, with it retailing at $20 in the US, expect to be paying about the same in sterling over here.

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PS Vita memory cards

You can grind your teeth all you like but the fact is that Sony has gone back to using its own version of over-priced removable media instead of letting you use the microSD cards that you’ve been careful not inhale or drop down the cracks of your keyboard. The machine comes with a mildly poxy one out of the box but, given that the memory card is where you’ll be storing the bulk of your videos, music and such forth, you should really treat yourself to something a little more capacious.

The dream purchase here is the 32GB bad boy which can handle something like 16 full games, 24 movies, 9,000 songs and 6000 photos all at the same time but it will set you back a frosty ?80 or so to get shipped in from overseas. Luckily it only weighs the same as a six helium atoms which brings the cost of postage down a touch. Otherwise there are 16- and 8GB versions at ?27 and ?38 respectively.

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Uncharted shock proof Vita case

With such a lovely, sensitive screen and all those delicate controls, you’ll need to carry around your PlayStation Vita with quite some care – that is, unless you encase that thing in shock-resistant foam and then that foam in some double-hard material. That’s what Thrustmaster is offering with this limited edition PlayStation Vita case that’s all safari style and done up to look like the kind of thing that Uncharted’s Nathan Drake might carry his Vita around in.

Quite reasonable at ?17.99, it includes slots for six games as well as compartments to protect your Vita mini-sticks. It has the Vita game’s Golden Abyss title on the top cover as well as an aluminium dog tag of the man himself. If you’re not into Uncharted or beige or both, then you can pick up basically the same thing in black with straight Vita branding on the top instead.

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PlayStation Vita portable charger

The Vita battery isn’t too shabby but you can bet you’ll have days when you wish there was more. Enter the official PlayStation Vita portable charger which is the next best thing to having a spare battery, given that you can’t actually remove or replace the power pack inside Sony’s latest gaming handheld.

It works pretty much as you’d expect. You charge the thing up from the mains and then plug it into your Vita when needed and it’ll bring you 1.5 times the charge that your internal battery can manage. That works out as an extra seven hours video and at least four more hours of gaming. The portable charger will also hold its charge for up to one year which is also seriously impressive. Not too bad at all. Only available overseas at the time of writing but expect it to land on British shores soon.

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Car Adapter

Of course, portable power is only going to get you so far. Sometimes, you’re just going to run out of juice. What might come in handy in that instance is a car adapter and PS Vita cable kit which might wind up your partner/parent while they’re trying to have a conversation with you/use the gear stick but if it’s a long journey and there’s gaming to be done, then, well, there’s gaming to be done.

There is an official PS Vita adapter available in the States but in the mean time you can pick up a third party version for ?11.95 instead.

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Screen protectors and wipe

Screen protectors aren’t many people’s idea of a good time. OK, screen protectors are nobody’s idea of that but you’ll see who’s laughing last when you accidentally run your keys against the Vita’s OLED display in your pocket. Well, OK, again, screen protectors don’t laugh, we’ll give you that, but you know what we mean. You’ll be sorry.

So, instead, invest in a pack of two Subsconic screen protectors, specially cut for the Vita, which also come with the bonus gift of a micro-fibre, anti-dust, anti-your finger grease screen wipe. At ?4.99, there’s not much to lose. Apart from your ?4.99, of course.

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PlayStation Network Card

Digital downloads are still very much a part of the PlayStation handheld experience even though you can buy Vita games on dedicated Vita cards. Whether its movies, music, apps or PSP games, you’re going to need a fair old stack of that virtual cash which comes in the form of PlayStation Network Cards loaded and ready to go.

They can be bought in all sorts of denominations online or from just about any consumer electronics retailer out there but, if you fancy getting a better exchange rate, you can head over to the likes of eBay where you’ll get about a fiver knocked off face value.

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Decent headset

Sure, you can go for the official PlayStation Vita in-ear headset if you fancy but there’s going to be something better out there on the audio front given that they only cost somewhere in the region of ?20. Instead, a set of Klipsch ProMedia in-ear gaming headphones will do the trick. Once priced at just under a tonne, you can pick them up for a cut price ?40 on Amazon.

They’re noise isolating to make sure that you’re not disturbed by non-gamers around you and the soft oval tips mean that they’re comfortable to wear for long periods of time. With these in you lug holes, you’ll be able to hear a virtual pin drop.

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Portable speakers

Of course, sometimes those people around you might want to hear what your Vita is playing and sometimes you might want them to too. Most often that’s going to be when your device is doubling as a make shift boom box with its job to pump the tunes to all around. As always, there’s plenty of options on the portable audio front but a good choice right now that marries quality with convenience is the Jawbone Jambox.

Cheap, it isn’t, at ?159 but this wireless speaker works over Bluetooth with your Vita banging out 85 decibels through a pair of sophisticated tweeters and woofers and a simple bass system of sorts. It comes in all sorts of funky colours but, best of all, weighs just 347g and will last up to 10 hours on a single charge.

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PS Vita wrist strap

Like screen protectors, the official PS Vita wrist strap is probably the last thing on your list of most wanted accessories but it’s going to save your console from getting robbed from your hands or dashed on the pavement when it accidentally slips from your grip.

Gaming is an involving past time – at least, it should be or you’re doing it wrong – and it’s easy enough to become oblivious to your environment while you stand at the bus stop trying to beat your record on Wipeout 2048. Add in the Klipsch ProMedia and it’s total absorption. The only trouble is that you seem to have to buy the official PS Vita travel pouch in order to get the strap.

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Insurance

Your other option, if you’d rather not deal with the wrist strap, is some nice, tight gadget insurance. Check with your bank account or home contents policy just in case you’ve actually got that kind of facility already. You’ll need to call up your provider and register the fact that you own a Vita and hang on to your receipt for the moment when it hits the fan.

Otherwise, there’s plenty of good gadget specialist insurance companies that you can can find out there on the web, most of whom will hook you up for around a fiver a month. A wrist strap is cheaper but it’s your choice.

?

PlayStation Vita Starter Pack

Finally, if you’re on a limited budget but still want to pimp your PlayStation as much as possible, then a good option is the PlayStation Vita Starter Pack which will set you back just ?19.99. Inside, you get the cleaning cloth, wrist strap, screen protector, official carry case, a simple pouch and a game cartrige case for carrying around your top titles.

They’re not as premium as some we’ve mentioned here but it’s a lot of functionality without too much cost. After already shelling out a whole ?240, it might just be what the doctor ordered.

Tags:
Gaming Gaming accessories Features Sony PlayStation Vita Sony Sony PlayStation Vita accessories

Best PlayStation Vita accessories originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 22 Feb 2012 15:53:07 +0000

Do you like ring dings? Want to re-live 2002 all over again? If so, iTunes has the answer for you as it secured the rights to the first official ringtones from The Beatles.

Yes, ringtones. You read that right. The Fab Four are taking on the likes of The Crazy Frog in the wacky world of ringtones.

“Beginning today, fans around the world can, for the first time, purchase ringtones for The Beatles’ 27 UK and US #1 hits, exclusively on iTunes,” read the release statement on the band’s official website.

The 30-second ringtones will cost you $1.29 each (it seems to be US only at the moment) and include such classics as I Want To Hold Your Hand, Let It Be, Penny Lane, Can’t Buy Me Love and Get Back.

The Beatles landed on iTunes in 2010, with the band’s back catalogue finally getting the Apple treatment. Apple Computers that is. The Cupertino tech giant has a long-running dispute with Apple Corps Ltd, a multimedia company started by The Beatles in 1967.

This ended in 2007 with a settlement and Steve Jobs stated at the time: “We love The Beatles, and it has been painful being at odds with them over these trademarks. It feels great to resolve this in a positive manner, and in a way that should remove the potential of further disagreements in the future.”

And indeed it has. As well as the iTunes arrivals The Beatles also launched an animated iBook last year <a href="http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/43467/yellow-submarine-review-iphone-ipad“>based on The Yellow Submarine.

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Tags:
Ringtones Phones Apple iTunes The Beatles

The Beatles ringtones dial-in on iTunes originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 22 Feb 2012 15:22:00 +0000