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Google adds Google Flip approach to Google Reader

So you use Google?reader to track all your RSS feeds like a hawk allowing you to play the field when it comes to getting your daily dose of technology news. Really it’s okay

The trouble is, shifting through thousands of entries can be, well a bit dry, at times.

Google is hoping that a new service - Google Reader Play will - like Stumbleupon - help solve that, not by replacing Google Reader, but by giving you yet another way of browsing “interesting stuff on the web”.

“In Google Reader Play, items are presented one at a time, and each item is big and full-screen. After you’ve read an item, just click the next arrow to move to the next one, or click any item on the filmstrip below to fast-forward” says Google.

Based on the same technology found in Recommended Items in Google Reader it will do its best to work out what you like and what you don’t as long as you are prepared to tell it what you like and what you don’t.

The new Google plaything is live in Google labs ready to be played with.

http://www.google.com/reader/play/

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Software Online Google Google Reader Google Reader Play

Google Reader Play make your RSS feeds exciting originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 23:27:43 +0000

Could European trademark hint at new name?

Sony?could be about to name its PlayStation motion controller, the PlayStation Move if new trademark filings in Europe are anything to go by.

While we are likely to find out for sure in the next couple of hours at the company’s GDC press conference in San Francisco, the controller previously know as the PlayStation Gem and PlayStation Arc, has been spotted with a new moniker based on trademark filings by the company.

Gaming site kotaku, has found that the same “dude” that dug up the original PlayStation Home logo, NeoGAF user gofreak, has done the same for PlayStation Move, a mark protected against “game controllers” as well as the potential logo seen above.

Sony is expected to announce further details about their controller that will go up against the Wii and Microsoft’s Project Natal later today.

UPDATE:?Sony PlayStation Move motion controller confirmed

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Gaming PS3 Sony PlayStation Arc PlayStation Gem Playstation Move Controllers

Sony PlayStation to “Move” your world? originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 23:03:49 +0000

Hands on the ?279 camera

We nearly assigned these photos to the Recycle Bin/Trash, because we’ve seen this camera, or a version of it, already. But to clear up the issue, we thought we’d fill in the gaps, and let you at the photos anyway.

This is the Samsung ST5000, the lesser spec version of the ST5500. The confusion comes about because in the US this is called the TL240, whilst the bigger brother is called the CL80, which we bought you photos of here from CES?back in?January.

If you are looking for wireless sharing (Bluetooth and Wi-Fi) and a 3.7-inch AMOLED screen, you’ll be wanting the ST5500/CL80. All clear?

Back to the here and now, and the ST5000 offers you a 3.5-inch capacitive touchscreen display that handles all the control of the camera. We had a good dig though the menus and found it intuitive and responsive, with added guide notes to tell you what you are selecting - which helps demystify some of those technical terms.

You get a 14.2-megapixel sensor, with an F/3.3 Schneider Kreuznach lens offering a range of 31-217mm (in 35mm terms), so reasonably wide. It’s fairly compact too, given its 7x offering. The neat thing is that the lens details are upside down on the lens, reflecting the right way up on the housing when the lens is extended.

Video capture offers you 720p at 30fps as MPEG4 and you get all the normal bells and whistles of image stabilisation and scene modes. It takes microSD as the memory card of choice.

The Samsung ST5000 will be hitting stores in the UK at the end of March/beginning of April and will cost you ?279. The ST5500 will set you back ?349, although both are up for preorder with discounts on Play.com already.

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Cameras Compact cameras Digital cameras Samsung 14 megapixels Samsung ST5000 Samsung ST5500 Samsung CL80 Samsung TL240

PHOTOS: Samsung ST5000 shot and priced originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:52:36 +0000

From Penzance to Shetland

Google’s Street View service has been available in 25 cities in Britain for some time, but the company is about to announce a major expansion - to the entirety of the UK - more than 238,000 miles of road.

In 2006, the Ordnance Survey concluded that the UK has 246,988 miles of road, giving an impressive coverage of 96.36%. Google has managed to send its cars down some of the most remote rural roads in Britain - from Penzance all the way up to the Shetland Islands. And it’ll have to do it again in 6 months’ time.

Ed Parsons, Google’s geospatial technologist, said: “With so many practical applications it’s no wonder that over two thirds of people who had tried the service said they would use Street View again” - referring to the legions of people who use the service to househunt and get directions.

Still, we doubt the service will be rolling out in Broughton in Buckinghamshire, whose residents chased the Street View car out of town with flaming torches and pitchforks about a year ago.

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Software Websites Car And GPS Street View Google

Street View rolls out nationwide originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 17:25:00 +0000

With Peep Show, Skins and Wife Swap

Microsoft is all set for an imminent launch of its online video player which offers full TV shows in Britain, in a similar way to the BBC’s iPlayer. Unlike the iPlayer, however, it won’t be just restricted to catch-up episodes - you’ll be able to watch whole series.

Content is already lined up - Peep Show, Skins and Wife Swap will all be available, with the programs aimed at teenagers, young families and professionals. It’ll be free, but there’ll be several 30-second adverts to watch - before, during and after the program. It’ll only be accessible in Britain.

Ashleigh Highfield, Microsoft’s UK consumer and online managing director, laid in to the iPlayer when asked about the differences -?”Not all video players are equal. Our average viewer watches for 25 minutes, significantly higher than other online services. It shows we’re doing more than slapping on any programme for people to watch”.

The iPlayer has ruled the roost for legal online TV watching in Britain for some time, but can Microsoft’s service take its crown? Or will the incoming SeeSaw service provide all you’ll need? The times, they are a-changin’.

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Home Cinema Software Microsoft Websites iPlayer Video streaming

Microsoft to launch iPlayer rival originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 17:03:19 +0000

Combined with 3D Blu-ray player should make perfect package

LG has confirmed that its 3D TV?portfolio will spring into action in May going up against the barrage of other sets from Samsung, Sony, Panasonic and Philips.

Although the company is already rolling out 3D TVs in a number of pubs in the UK, users will finally be able to get a slice of the three dimensional pie in May with the Full LED 3D Ready TV (LX9900) and 3D Blu-ray player (BX580) for the home.

Available in both 47-inch and 55-inch variants, the televisions use active shutter glasses to create the 3D experience. Other specs on board include TruMotion 400Khz, 10,000,000:1 Dynamic contrast ratio, Bluetooth, DLNA, wireless AV link and a name that is likely to only get consumers confused with the top of the range Sony offering; the?LX900.

Planning to offer the complete package, LG will also offer a 3D Blu-ray player, the BX580 at the same time.

Prices are still to be finalised, but our gal on the inside tells us the televisions will cost somewhere between ?2500 - ?3000 for the 47-inch LX9900 and ?3600 - ?4000 for the 55-inch LX9900. The 3D Blu-ray player will be around ?350.

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Home Cinema 3DTV LG Televisions LG LX9900 LED televisions LCD televisions Blu-ray players

LG LX9900 LED TV to bring 3D TV to your lounge in May originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 17:00:01 +0000

What if the Big Apple was in Zelda?

A coder called Bret Camper has built an 8-bit map of New York City and put it online for people to explore in a Google Maps-esque style. He says that it’s an attempt to “make the city feel foreign yet familiar”.

It’s been created using a custom rendering engine that takes in data from OpenStreetMap and converts it into a lo-fi approximation of the maps that were seen on the NES or the Commodore 64. You can zoom in for greater detail, or zoom out to get an idea of where the parks and other districts are. You can also search for particular places.

He’s planning to expand to 15 more locations, having raised more than $3000 to fund the project. Among those will be San Francisco, LA, Boston, Chicago, Washington DC, Seattle, London and Paris, but the other 7 will be selected by people who have contributed cash to the project - including Austin, New Orleans, Detroit, Nijmegen in the Netherlands and Akihabara in Japan.

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Gaming Car And GPS Mapping Software Retro

New York gets 8-bit mapping project originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:10:36 +0000

With “more selective” tracklisting

Harmonix looks set to keep on expanding its Rock Band franchise, officially announcing Rock Band 3, which will be coming out in time for Christmas 2010. It’ll be created by Harmonix, published by MTV Games and distributed by Electronic Arts.

The company announced the move in an update on its Facebook fan page, which said: “Harmonix is developing Rock Band 3 for worldwide release this holiday season! The game, which will be published by MTV Games and distributed by Electronic Arts, will innovate and revolutionize the music genre once again, just as Harmonix did with the original Rock Band, Rock Band 2 and The Beatles: Rock Band. Stay tuned for more details!”

Those details will hopefully include information on compatibility with previous instruments, previous tracks, and whether the franchise will work with Microsoft’s in-the-works Project Natal - all burning questions. ?However, expect a shortened tracklisting following recent complaints from the company that royalties from an unfriendly music industry were too expensive.

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Gaming Music games Rock Band MTV EA Harmonix Rock Band 3

Rock Band 3 confirmed, due Christmas 2010 originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:28:35 +0000

Exec predicts plethora of iPad clones

If predictions from Roy Chen, processor-maker ARM’s worldwide mobile computing ODM manager, come true then we’re going to see a whole lot of tablet computers in 2010. The exec said that he reckons there’ll be more than 50 launched globally this year.

“The first tablet devices will launch in the second quarter by [mobile network] carriers”, he said, during a press meeting, adding: “you’ll see a lot more in the third quarter”. Most are due to be launched in China, but a selection are likely to make it to the UK too. The inspiration, apparently, has been Apple’s iPad plans.

ARM may know more than most about the plans of tech companies. As one of the first destinations for manufacturers planning the specs of new gadgets, the company gets to see an awful lot of prototypes. The big question is - what will the tablets run? Android, Linux, or Windows?

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Hardware Tablet PCs ARM Apple iPad

ARM: Over 50 tablets will launch in 2010 originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:00:19 +0000

Access the service via the red button

Freesat viewers with Humax Foxsat-HD Freesat receiver?and?Humax Freesat+ Foxsat-HDR recorder?boxes can now access the BBC?iPlayer?on their Freesat service directly through the red button, the company has confirmed.

The move, which follows?beta?testing with some users of the boxes, means that thousands more licence payers in the UK will be able to access the BBC iPlayer and its range of on-demand TV and radio shows.?

To access BBC iPlayer on Freesat users will have to connect their Humax box to a Home Broadband Router and satellite dish before pressing the red button to access the new service. Once the BBCi Homepage appears select BBC iPlayer Beta from the list and press OK, or simply type 7001 into your remote control and press OK.

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Home Cinema Televisions Freesat Humax BBC iPlayer

BBC iPlayer now available to all Humax Freesat boxes originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:44:43 +0000