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BBC's iPlayer revamp goes live for everyone
The BBC unveiled a heavily redesigned iPlayer web client a couple of months ago now, but if you ignored the prompt to opt-in and see the new UI for yourself, we're afraid you can't fight change any longer. Today, the BBC's taken the fresh-faced iPlayer layout out of "preview" mode, thereby retiring the old interface and ushering users to embrace the new one. Aside from looking different, there's now a greater onus on finding new content to watch, and between the launch of the new iPlayer and now, the BBC's already added more ways to filter programmes within the category and favourites tabs. Redesign virgins are best off jumping in and checking it out, and if you're sad you didn't get to say goodbye, the updated apps for set-top boxes and other TV-connected gear are still in preview mode, and the Android and iOS apps are still just like you remember them until they get made-over in "the coming weeks."
Nexus 7 purchases now come with £50 Play Store credit
If you've been eyeing up Google's latest Nexus 7 tablet but needed a little something to tip you over the edge, then this might give you the incentive you need. Google and ASUS have teamed up to offer £50 credit to spend on Play Store content if you purchase a 16GB Nexus 7 between now and June 1st. There's also some good news if you bought your Nexus earlier in the month: ASUS says that any purchase made from a UK retailer after May 5th will qualify. If you have your Nexus 7 in hand, all you have to do is head to this site within 30 days and follow the instructions to redeem your credit.
Smartphones for hire: Which personal assistant is right for you?
"Ring-ding-ding-ding-dingeringeding." This isn't a standard job interview answer, but then again, "What does the fox say?" isn't a typical question, either. The top three smartphone platforms now feature fully functional personal assistants, and just like real-life assistants, it's not so easy to pick one at random. Each has its own talents, weaknesses and personality quirks to consider. So, I conducted a series of "interviews" with Siri, Google Now and Cortana to get to know them better -- and yes, they all know exactly what the fox says.
Sky News launches on-demand hub for Sky+HD boxes
News programming isn't something you'd think a good fit for catch-up TV when up-to-date reporting is so readily available. That's why we were a tad puzzled to hear about Sky News' catch-up service launching today, probably because it's better described as a news content portal accessed via your Sky+HD box. With videos split into several categories, you can quickly take in the day's headlines and bulletins, visit the featured section for important stories and longer reports, and look specifically at happenings in the tech and "showbiz" worlds. You can also check on the weather, and delve into Sky News' archives to revisit important events, as well as catching a variety of weekly round-up shows, including some new ones. All things considered, it sounds like a pretty good idea as long as the interface is slick enough, bringing the browsing style of news consumption websites afford us into the living room.
Yahoo brings its personalised Sports app for iOS and Android to the UK
There's no shortage of sport-related apps available on iOS and Android, but when a major online player outs one for the UK, it's certainly worth a look. Having served US audiences for a little while now, Yahoo Sports today came to the App Store and Google Play on this side of the Atlantic, launching alongside a new Android version of Yahoo's News Digest app. Sports offers personalised news, scores, goal alerts, results and team updates. Football, rugby, cricket, tennis, golf, F1 and all major US sports are represented, giving the BBC's updated sport apps a bit of healthy competition.
London police testing body-worn cameras for 'speedier justice'
Rugged video cameras have become part of the police uniform for London officers after the Metropolitan Police kicked off a one-year trial thought to be the biggest of its kind. A total of 500 Axon Body units supplied by Taser will be distributed to officers across the capital, beginning in Camden, in the hope that it'll accelerate convictions. It follows a couple of smaller pilots that proved beneficial in doing exactly that. To calm fears that Londoners will be subjected to continual surveillance, the Met says the cameras will always be switched off (unless needed) and that they only intend to collect evidence in domestic abuse and public order incidents, or when "potentially contentious interactions" like a stop-and-search go wrong.
Drone inspectors: UK airline easyJet looks to tech to cut costs
Virgin's the kind of brand we're not shocked to see playing with the latest tech -- after all, Richard Branson's got a space plane. Experiments with Google Glass, smartwatches and iBeacon for Virgin have all focused on boosting customer experience, as long as you're in Upper Class, anyway. European airline easyJet, however, is known for its no-frills, low-cost approach, which is why we're curious to see the company investing in an "innovation" arm that looks at how new technologies can be applied to aviation, with no immediate return. easyJet sees it differently, though, as the long-term goal is to save money by reducing technical delays, or hopefully avoiding them all together. This has a knock-on effect of improving customer service by minimizing disruptions, of course, but make no mistake: easyJet's motivated to explore emerging tech because a grounded plane might as well be a money pit.
The BBC's World Cup Rewind will let you stream classic matches 'live'
Like us, you might be unreasonably excited for the start of the 2014 World Cup. The BBC knows this more than anyone, so it's banking on the streaming technology it used for the 2012 London Olympics to deliver full "live" coverage of some of the home nations' biggest World Cup matches from years past. The BBC World Cup Rewind will include the 1966 England vs West Germany World Cup Final, Archie Gemmill's super goal for Scotland against The Netherlands in 1978 and Northern Ireland's famous win against tournament hosts Spain in the 1982 group stages. The Beeb says it will pull out all the stops when broadcasts begin on May 30th by including additional text commentary as well as insight and comments from Gary Lineker and other "special guests." As usual, everything will be available across smartphone, tablet, laptop and connected TVs, letting you experience (or painfully remember) Diego Maradona's infamous 'Hand of God' moment as if it happened today.
Stream: Jonah from Tonga
Now that the BBC is killing off BBC Three, the corporation is pushing viewers over to iPlayer. Auntie is testing the waters by letting users binge-watch (Netflix-style) Chris Lilley's comedy Jonah from Tonga over the weekend. The spin-off from Summer Heights High sees young Jonah Takalua try to navigate school, and will be available to watch on BBC Three in the old-fashioned way from next Thursday. We haven't seen the show yet, but we figure that if you're already a fan of Lilley's unique sensibilities, then this will be a must-watch. Jonah from Tonga is available to stream in its entirety for the next 48 hours on BBC iPlayer.
Sky's raising Now TV package prices, but don't blame Game of Thrones (update)
If you've invested in Sky's super-cheap Now TV box, the chances are that you've also been enjoying the company's introductory pricing it offers on its streaming packages. Sky's entertainment and movie bundles are currently priced at £4.99 and £8.99 per month respectively, but are set to rise to £6.99 and £9.99 later this month. At first glance, it looks like the broadcaster has chosen the optimum time to recoup some of the investment its made in exclusivity for shows like Game of Thrones, but the reality is a little less scandalous. Prices were actually meant to shoot up in March, but Sky decided at the time to extend the introductory offers until May 29th. So while it appears like the Lannisters are after yet more coin ahead of the cut-off in the coming weeks, it was actually the plan all along. It's probably not the news you were hoping for as you wait to see whether Daenerys Targaryen and her dragons can conquer the seven kingdoms, but the Now TV honeymoon period originally had an earlier deadline, so you've still had better luck than Ned and family. Update: Since the time of writing, Sky has decided to put the price hike on hold, for now at least. The note on Sky's Now TV forums doesn't offer any new timeline, but we assume it means you'll be seeing out the current series of Game of Thrones, and watching all your favourite characters die, no doubt, at the current monthly rate.
Play: The simple, mesmerizing Impossible Road
You can now play anything from first-person shooters to role-playing epics on mobile devices, but there's still plenty of love out there for casual time-killers. Impossible Road has recently arrived on Android after a year-long residency in the iOS App Store, and it's one of those games you can splurge an hour on at home, or poke at for five minutes on the bus. Your mission: Guide a ball down a winding track for as long as possible -- kind of like a never-ending Super Monkey Ball level, but set on the Rainbow Road track of Mario Kart legend. Admittedly, there isn't much originality to the gameplay, but Impossible Road does have a quirky and compelling visual style. You're an all-white ball in an all-white world, with the only definition and sense of space given by a ribbon-like track of changing blues that stretches to infinity below. The almost tribal techno soundtrack is a little busier than what's on screen, and it manages to match the pace of the game well, while also being a constant reminder of your inevitable doom.
Nokia X review: What happens when Nokia makes an Android phone?
For a company now under Microsoft's rule, Nokia has serious grit. The phone maker announced an Android phone called the X just two months before completing its merger with Microsoft. Even more intriguing is the fact that this is no run-of-the-mill Android device: The X comes with a Windows Phone-like launcher, offers Microsoft services and will be sold for around $120 in developing markets. While it may not be a powerful smartphone, it has many unique qualities that help it stand out from the low-end crowd. What's it like, and should Microsoft invest in its success?
Google Senior VP and head of Google+ Vic Gundotra is leaving the company
Vic Gundotra, who is known for his role in building Google's social network, has announced that he's leaving the company after a tenure of eight years. Appropriately, Gundotra made his intentions known in a post on Google+, saying that "now is the time for a new journey, a continuation." He was careful not to mention any specifics about what lies ahead, other than stating that he's "excited about what's next." Gundotra came to Google in 2007 and helped pioneer the company's push into the mobile space by leading the mobile and developer relations teams. He headed up the Google+ project after Buzz was scrapped, which at the time was considered a risky move.
Samsung Gear Fit review: a messy merger of fitness band and smartwatch
Fitness trackers and smartwatches come a dime a dozen, but devices that combine the best of both? Still exceedingly rare. Now, however, Samsung thinks it has the perfect solution in the Gear Fit, a fitness band with a beautiful, curved screen, as well as a heart rate monitor, pedometer and a few smartwatch features thrown in for good measure. It's an ambitious product, no doubt, but unfortunately, this $200 fitness-tracking smartwatch hybrid didn't quite meet my expectations. Here's why.
EE's slow killing of Orange and T-Mobile shows it's ready to bet big on 4G
Orange, T-Mobile and EE have managed to coexist together for a number of years now, despite them all being essentially the same company, and all selling similar services. While Orange and T-Mobile used to be large, established names in their own right, 4G darling EE has understandably become by far the most prominent brand of the trio. High-street stores once coloured orange or magenta have long been redressed to EE's preference, and as of fairly recently, the online presence of the 3G-only providers has begun to be absorbed by EE. T-Mobile's site now forwards directly to ee.co.uk, and although Orange's homepage still exists, you can no longer purchase anything from it directly. Previously only of interest to "technofreaks," as Vodafone's CEO once put it, 4G is more or less mainstream. It's only a matter of time before all major networks begin to retire old 3G plans in order to structure themselves more around 4G, and in EE's case, this probably means putting Orange and T-Mobile out to pasture.
Play: The frantic, fun and infuriating Trials Fusion
Some games are so challenging, frustrating and physically draining that your controller could easily explode against the nearest wall at any second. Trials Fusion is one of those games: A repetitive, soul-destroying platformer that'll have you playing the same level for hours on end, all in the hope you'll shave mere milliseconds from your previous best. However, it's only from the epicentre of this nightmare, through the tired workings of your callused, nail-bitten hands, that one experiences true gaming gratification. As with other games of this genre like Super Meat Boy or the Super Monkey Ball series, to name a few, the premise is devilishly simple. You must successfully navigate an obstacle course in the least possible time, mistakes not recommended. As its name suggests, Trials Fusion is based on the sport of motorcycle trials, with some motocross mixed in. Just it's more arcadey, and probably harder.
Hide your stash, heat-seeking drones are helping thugs hijack UK weed crops
Criminals are dicks. That much we all know is true. But now these dicks are using heat-sensing drones to pull off "sophisticated" heists of weed farms (yes, that weed) in the United Kingdom, as local paper Halesowen News discovered. Consider this quote from one enterprising crop hijacker: It is not like I'm using my drone to see if people have nice televisions. I am just after drugs to steal and sell. If you break the law, then you enter me and my drone's world.
Sony Xperia Z2 review: a big, powerful slab of a phone
It's been nearly three years since I reviewed the Xperia Neo, manufactured by what was then Sony Ericsson. The Neo represented just the second generation of Xperia phones running on Android, from a period when Sony was finding its feet in the world of mobile and still chucking out plenty of duds (I'm looking at you, Tablet P). Fast-forward to today and things have changed dramatically under Kaz Hirai's stewardship. I'll tell you this right now: The Z2 is an easy phone to recommend, at least for those living in countries where it'll definitely be available (a list that includes the UK and Canada, but not yet the US). The only real caveat is the handset's huge, monolithic construction (a far cry from puny, 126-gram Neo). As you'll see, if you can get past its size, the Z2 addresses some of the most serious gripes we had with its predecessors, the Xperia Z and Z1, particularly with respect to its LCD display. In fact, in some respects, it's far ahead of any other Android phone currently on the market.
The animated GIF as art: Google puts six loopy images on display
It's easy to sneer at the idea of artists piggybacking on the GIF craze, but Google is taking the whole thing pretty seriously, especially now that Google+ supports the animated file format. The search giant is collaborating with the Saatchi Gallery in West London to host a number of looped moving images, displayed on giant TV screens, which it feels are worthy of public recognition. There's a hint of competitiveness, as a panel of judges (including His Artiness, Baz Luhrmann) will select a single winning GIF tonight. In the meantime, we've embedded the finalists from six different image categories after the break, ranked according to how much we like them and whether any of the artists are mates of ours.
Google's Project Ara wants to revolutionize the smartphone industry within a year
The night before Google's Advanced Technology and Projects (ATAP) division was supposed to show off the one and only functional Project Ara prototype to a room full of eager developers, someone dropped the phone and broke the display. At any other product reveal, this worst-case scenario would be a nightmare come true. Not to Google: The company made lemonade out of a lemon by turning it into a selling point for the modular smartphone. A year from now, painful situations like this might be easily fixed by simply buying a new display and swapping out the broken one. Not that it would've made much of a difference if last night's fiasco never happened. Attendees at this week's Project Ara developer conference wouldn't have been able to boot up the prototype and play around with it like any typical smartphone -- in this case, "functional" is not the same as "functioning" -- but at least it would've made for a better presentation. Regardless of how it looked, however, we were able to briefly handle the Project Ara prototype and some of its first modules. To be clear, this is an extremely early model and there's a long way to go before it sees the light of day, but it at least allows us to get a good glimpse of what's to come over the next year as Ara continues to prepare for launch.
