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UK carrier in talks to make Nokia Lumia 920 a British LTE exclusive, says Financial Times
We're hoping for big news from UK carrier partnership Everything Everywhere over the next couple of months -- not just the first real LTE service in the British Isles (as if that wasn't enough), but also new handsets to put that bandwidth to use. According to the Financial Times, the conglomerate is now in talks with Nokia to make that happen, with the LTE-sporting Lumia 920 standing to become an Everything Everywhere exclusive if the negotiations end happily. There's nothing official to confirm it at this point, but Nokia struggled to win over some carriers with its last batch of Lumias and has now made it clear that it's open to alternative strategies, just as it already has a special relationship with AT&T in the States. Of course, by the time the Lumia 920 reaches the UK -- likely in early November -- there could well be another honest-to-goodness 4G superphone in its midst.
Virgin Media unveils quartet of new SIM Only plans for data-focused Brits
It was only in June that we saw Virgin Media shaking up its regular mobile plans for UK residents. The carrier is back for another round, this time to serve the SIM Only customers who thrive on unlocked phones. Four plans starting from £12 ($19) a month all provide unlimited data and text messaging for bring-your-own-phone subscribers, with voice as the only real separating factor: the thriftiest callers get 150 minutes per month, while higher £15, £17 and £25 ($24, $27 and $40) tiers ramp up to a respective 250, 1,200 and 2,500 minutes for chattier customers. The chief gotcha is a lack of bundled landline calling for all but the priciest plan, although existing Virgin Media subscribers can knock an extra £5 off of that rate. If you're the sort who can't bear the thought of a contract, Virgin now has you better covered.
Tesco recruits Andy McNab's e-book firm Mobcast to help win the Supermarket content war
Hot on the heels of purchasing Blinkbox and Peter Gabriel's WE7, Tesco has purchased Andy McNab's e-book publishers, Mobcast. It seems clear that the British supermarket heavyweight is currently engaged in a phony war with rival Sainsburys, which snapped up Rovi, Global Media Vault and Anobii for its competing online content service. McNab's company is rather small, only offering around 130,000 titles in the UK, but like the earlier purchases, its infrastructure and resources will most likely be cannibalized to boost the company's forthcoming digital platform.
Guild Wars 2 tiptoes past Sleeping Dogs for UK top spot
Guild Wars 2, the MMO so popular that its developer felt obligated to stop online sales in order to maintain quality control for players, was the top selling game in the UK last week. According to Chart-Track, the game enjoyed the "second largest launch ever for a non-Warcraft MMO PC title, behind Star Wars: The Old Republic." Let us hope that Guild Wars 2 doesn't suffer the same fate as the MMO in a galaxy far, far away.Guild Wars 2 is also the first PC-exclusive game in the UK to reach the top spot since Football Manager 2011 in November of 2010. It should be noted that Guild Wars 2 was also sold as a digitally distributed product, which would not be counted by Chart-Track.Sleeping Dogs slides one spot into second, showing it has a longer sales tail than Darksiders 2, which had sales drop 71 percent last week to go from second to sixth. Ride past the break for the UK top ten.
Flash for Android briefly returns to Google Play Store in UK, zombie-style
Adobe was last seen burying mobile Flash and moving on with its life. Like the stars of George Romero movies, however, Flash is back to walk amongst the living -- if just temporarily. The developer tells the BBC that Flash for Android is back in the UK's Google Play Store for a short while after "strategic partners" pushed it into action, including the British broadcaster. While the link isn't explicitly confirmed, it's strongly implied that the BBC and others want a little more time to wean Android apps like iPlayer off of their Flash dependency and toward web technologies like HTML5. Adobe is quashing any hopes of a permanent revival with a disclaimer that there's no support for the download; any bugs will remain there forever. Those attached to their dearly departed plugin may still appreciate one last look before the code is once more put six feet under. [Thanks, Kevin]
Barnes & Noble continues British invasion, forges pacts with Argos, Blackwell's and Foyles
Barnes & Noble has continued its quest to stock the shelves of United Kingdom bookstores with Nooks, by adding Argos, Blackwell's and Foyles to the list of where you can get one. Those retailers will join John Lewis in carrying the Nook Simple Touch and its Glow Light-toting cousin, giving UK'ers nearly a thousand bricks and mortar sites to get one -- including bookstores at 55 colleges and universities. Those locations will join Barnes & Nobles recently launched online website in selling the e-readers -- but if you like to Touch before buying, the PR is after the break.
Google Maps for Android adds turn-by-turn biking navigation, helps pedal-pushers in 10 more countries
Google's cycling directions have been slowly expanding their reach to the mobile world and other countries, but the only option for navigation so far has been to memorize the route. As of today, you won't have to stop every five minutes to get your bearings. Google Maps for Android has received a low-key update that adds spoken, turn-by-turn Google Maps Navigation for riders in every country where biking directions exist -- if you can clamp your phone to your handlebars, you can find your way. Many more riders are just seeing mobile support of any kind in the process. Both navigation and regular directions should now be live in the Android app for 10 more countries, including Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK. Cyclists just need to swing by Google Play to keep their two-wheeled adventures on track.
Death arrives on UK charts in second, Sleeping Dogs lie in first
Sleeping Dogs rests comfortably in first place for a second week on the UK charts. Darksiders 2's debut didn't knock off the crime simulator, but the apocalyptic sequel did see 80 percent more units sold in its first week than its predecessor, according to Chart-Track.The only other new entry to the top of the charts last week was Transformers: Fall of Cybertron, which rolled out into fifth. The holiday season is just starting and the battle for the charts is slowiy heating up. Transform this page past the break for the UK top ten.
University of Victoria's Mano underwater robot to prowl Arctic waters for legendary ships
Canadians well-versed in their history are very aware of Sir John Franklin's ill-fated 1845 expedition to find the Northwest Passage: a British voyage that set out to establish a sailing route through the Arctic and ended with the untimely, mysterious deaths of its two ship crews. No human ever found the abandoned ships, which makes it all the more fitting that the next best shot at discovery might come through a just-launched autonomous underwater vehicle from the University of Victoria and Bluefin Robotics. Meet the Mano, a new sonar-toting robot that can produce detailed undersea maps all by its lonesome while keeping a steady altitude above the ocean floor. It can only operate for 12 hours at a time, which will keep humans in the area, but its ability to run untethered below storms and cold Arctic winds should dramatically expand the territory that researchers can cover during their share of a larger five- to six-week journey. There's no guarantee that the Mano will hit the jackpot, or find something recognizable even if it does. Still, any mapping should improve navigation for modern boats -- and hopefully prevent others from sharing Sir Franklin's fate.
Wipeout developer Sony Liverpool closed
Sony confirmed this morning that Wipeout developer Sony Liverpool has been shut down. It is currently unknown how many people have lost their jobs. MCV reports that the campus will remain open for various Sony Europe logistic services, but that the studio itself has been terminated as part of Sony's quality review process."We have reviewed and assessed all current and planned projects for the short and medium term and have decided to make some changes to our European Studios," reads a Sony statement released to MCV."It has been decided that Liverpool Studio should be closed. Liverpool Studio has been an important part of SCE Worldwide Studios since the outset of PlayStation, and have contributed greatly to PlayStation over the years. Everyone connected with Liverpool Studio, past and present, can be very proud of their achievements."Sony Liverpool began life as Psygnosis back in 1984, releasing under that name classic games such as Shadow of the Beast and Lemmings. In 1995, the studio created the Wipeout franchise under Sony's ownership, with Wipeout 2048 releasing on the PlayStation Vita earlier this year. It's not known if the studio was working on any future Wipeout games or any other Sony releases.
Sleeping Dogs conquers UK sales chart
Crime drama Sleeping Dogs awoke to meaty sales in the UK last week, sinking its teeth into first place. Chart-Track notes the game, developed by United Front Games and published by Square Enix, has become "the sixth best selling game on first week sales in 2012."The other major debut last week was the 3DS's New Super Mario Bros 2, which flew in at second place. Although it may seem awkward for a major Mario to launch in second, New Super Mario Bros also started its life in second place back in 2006. The game is sure to have a long (raccoon) tail.Meanwhile, London 2012: The Official Video Game of the Olympic Games took bronze after a couple golden weeks.
Nook headed for UK as Barnes & Noble goes international, dabbles in the Queen's English
Well, our English friends, today is a good day. Your choice in e-readers is about to get that much better as Barnes & Noble has decided to make your homeland the first stop on its highly-anticipated international tour. The Nook and its associated store will be making their big debut in the UK this October, though how exactly the prices will translate to British Pounds remains to be seen. At first, only the Nook Simple Touch and its Glow Light-equipped sibling will be available through the storefront, but we imagine it won't be long before the company's line of Android tablets make their own splash in the land of tea and James Bond. The e-book store will be launching with a rather respectable catalog of over 2.5 million titles, which should give the new comer a nice running start. You'll find PR after the break, but sadly it's a bit light on finer details. Don't worry, though, we'll be back with more info as we get it.
Olympics and Batman group up for winning UK sales
Olympics and Batman... peanut butter and jelly? London 2012: The Official Video Game of the Olympic Games takes the gold for a third consecutive week on the UK charts, with the top four titles remaining in their same positions for a second week. Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes took silver, followed by Mario & Sonic London 2012 Olympic Games with bronze and finally Batman: Arkham City with the "participation award."There were no new games to break the top 40 last week, which should hopefully change with the launches of Sleeping Dogs and Darksiders 2 this week.
Radio astronomy pioneer Sir Bernard Lovell dies at 98
Astronomy just lost one of its vanguards, as Sir Bernard Lovell has died at 98. The UK-born scientist was best known as a cornerstone of radio telescope development. While he wasn't the first to leap into the field, he established the University of Manchester's Jodrell Bank Observatory to study cosmic rays in 1945 and organized the construction of what would ultimately be called the Lovell Telescope -- a radio telescope so large and useful that it's still the third-largest steerable example in the world, 55 years after it was first put into action. His work helped track some of the earliest spacecraft and was instrumental in confirming the first discovered pulsars and quasars. On top of his most conspicuous achievements, Sir Lovell played an important role in developing airborne radar during World War II and was lauded for having scientific curiosity long after he hung up his Jodrell director's hat in 1980. Science will be poorer without him. [Image credit: NASA; thanks, Darren]
Sky adds Bond Channel to its movie offering, will screen entire back catalog in high-definition
Fresh from his appearance at this year's Olympic opening ceremony, James Bond is getting his own dedicated channel on Sky. The UK broadcaster will start showing all 22 movies in high-definition from October 5th, gearing up to the British spy's latest adventure, Skyfall, which launches a month later. Android, iOS and PC platforms will be able to stream the collection through Sky Go, while its new on-demand service will also be showing the full gamut of Bond adventures in a few months. For England, James.
Olympics games take gold and bronze for second week on UK charts
The quality may be tin, but sales in the UK have been golden for London 2012: The Official Video Game of the Olympic Games. Olympic fever has been epidemic, as sales of the game were up 88 percent from the week prior. Mario & Sonic London 2012 Olympic Games also had a bump of 42 percent, placing it at bronze again, directly behind the Lego Dark Knight and friends.The only new game this week was Risen 2: Dark Waters, which debuted in spot 14, far better than its predecessor's number 29 premiere in 2009. Sail past the break for the UK top ten.
UK retail software sales last week lowest since records began
Software sales in the UK at retail last week were the lowest since records started being kept, generating £8.4 million. MCV reports that 394,688 games were sold last week, according to data provided by Chart-Track.Several factors could be contributing to last week's soft retail sales, but it's a pretty safe bet that a lack of major new titles and the Olympics going on in London would be a significant factor.The sad sales at retail do not factor in any business done through digital distribution networks, MMOs or freemium titles. And let's face it: those can be significant.
House of Lords wants UK TV to go fully online and leave airwaves clear for cellphones
The UK House of Lords' Communications Committee has suggested that all broadcast TV should be moved to the internet to free up wireless spectrum for cellphones. In its report, the panel found that whilst such a network would be cheaper and more efficient in the long run, it would also require extensive re-building of the country's archaic communications infrastructure. Given that the analog-to-digital switchover is currently in progress, it seems unlikely that a further transition will be timetabled -- especially since there are still concerns over the cost of bringing fiber-optic broadband to rural areas. Any change in the plan will need to be rubber-stamped by Government, but perhaps it'd be more amenable if they saw how good 8K video looks on one of those connections.
Official Olympics game takes gold on UK charts
Thanks to the start of the Olympics, sales of London 2012: The Official Video Game of the Olympic Games were up 25 percent last week in the UK, helping the global event tie-in game step up to the top pedestal.The official game, which held the silver last week, wasn't the only Olympics game to benefit from the event's starting gun. Mario & Sonic London 2012 Olympic Games also saw a bump of 21 percent, raising it from eighth to bronze. Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes finds itself wedged between the two sports minigames in silver.Pokémon Conquest was the only new game last week to break the top 40, storming spot 17 in its debut week. Now we wait to see if the Pokémon X Nobunaga's Ambition franchise crossover converts poke-fever into a desire to buy strategy games based on feudal Japan. Scout out the UK top ten after the break.
Engadget's first UK Giveaway: win one of three Sony Xperia S phones!
You asked, you pined and here it is -- welcome to our first (but certainly not last) UK competition. To kick off proceedings, we have three of Sony's latest flagship, the Xperia S, to offer up to our readers on the eastern side of the Atlantic. As it's our first competition for Britons, we advise that you read up on the rules after the break, then just leave a comment below to enter. Unfortunately, the adorable robot isn't up for grabs in our giveaway (we asked), but if you manage to track down a similar automaton around the UK, Sony's running a separate contest where you can net a free Xperia U in exchange -- visit the more coverage links for hints. Good luck!
