.::REALITYRECALL::.

We’ve spent extensive time with our prototype of the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play, but how’s it feel to use the real, near-finished model? Quite a bit better, actually. The phone looks identical, to be sure, but the hinge is much sturdier. The speaker quality has gone up, too, although in the crowded room it was much too noisy to really make a solid judgment call there. The screen attracts fingerprints like no other, but it’s basically on par with other Xperia models. Its skinned Android Gingerbread UI was snappier, to be sure, and the customizations obviously a lot more complete, but really our biggest concern here was the games. (Check out our Pro, Neo, and Arc previews for more thoughts on the interface.)

We were able to play three titles: Star Battalion, FIFA, and Asphalt. All were found via the applications pane amongst all the other software, but they were also highlighted by the eponymous Xperia Play app. (There was additionally the infamous PlayStation Pocket app, but more on that later.) The former title, very much a StarFox ripoff, had tight controlling via both the gamepad and optional accelerometer option. The trackpads wasn’t supported, however, but when we swapped over to FIFA, we found the left “pad” could be used for moving the player. Though definitely usable, it felt rough under our thumbs and we couldn’t smoothly slide about as we would with an analog nub. It is large enough to do varying degrees of a direction like an analog stick, but you won’t really be fine-tuning your shot so much. The indents work really well to help gauge your thumbs’ position without having to look down. Both titles took quite a while to load, crashing a few times in the process; we were told multiple times this was largely due to early software. Multiplayer was not an option at the show, but we did make it through Asphalt far enough to notice it was being run still by Gameloft and not via Sony servers. As for Xperia Play (the app), we couldn’t help but notice the Get More Games section, no matter how simple, does a much better job at highlighting individual games than the Android Market currently does.

The PlayStation Pocket app on most demo units was as barren as our own model, but we found at least one running Crash Bandicoot for PS One (the “legendary pre-installed title,” as referenced in the press conference) at a smooth 60 frames per second. To compensate for only two L and R triggers, the settings menu offers six different button layouts where you can use the trackpads as secondary shoulder buttons (which prevents their use as analog nub replacements) or have L2 / R2 on screen virtually. Thankfully, jumping out of the app saves the game’s state, and you can return by clicking on the app. An additional confirmation screen confirms you’re really ready to play, which though we can see being a nuisance to some, will be welcome to others who often mis-click. The rep told us no multiplayer, but still you can toggle between the game pad being seen as controller one or two. We also heard that the PS One library will likely be rolled out on a weekly basis and not be available all at once.

What we needed to convince us of the Xperia Play’s viability as a game platform was the games itself, and we will say that Sony and SE are doing well to assuage our concerns there. The form factor is still sleek despite the slide-out gamepad, which feels great to use. The initial PlayStation Suite launch line up is… promising, but we hesitate to give it higher marks without more flagship original titles. What it’ll take to attract more developers is a larger reach for the platform, which ironically will take more PlayStation Certified devices — and as for when that’ll happen, no one’s saying yet. We’ll have hands-on video of the Xperia Play later tonight; meanwhile, find hands-on pictures of the phone (and dock!) in the gallery below!

Update: Fleshed out impressions, and video after the break!

Continue reading Sony Ericsson Xperia Play MWC 2011 hands-on! (updated with video)

Sony Ericsson Xperia Play MWC 2011 hands-on! (updated with video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 13 Feb 2011 15:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Subliminal messages work everytime…

(Thanks, Jeaux Janovsky, via 9gag.com)

Cartoon Brew: Leading the Animation Conversation |
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Nokia hints we’ll see first Windows Phone 7 device this year originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 13 Feb 2011 12:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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As fans of sci-fi television, we must perpetually worry that our favorite stories are going to end suddenly and nonsensically. Any time a season comes to an end, there is a very good chance that it won’t come back, and especially if there have recently been changes to the writing staff, management, timeslot, network executive whim, or astral positioning.

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Lookie here. Intel may have been the jilted bride left at the altar by Nokia, but it’s not giving up on MeeGo just yet. The above poster has been hung up here in Barcelona, in the area us humble journalists still aren’t in allowed yet, and shows a smartphone and tablet running Intel’s Linux variant as their OS. There are plenty of details to pore over, such as the multiplicity of home screen items on the tablet that includes Big Buck Bunny — a favorite for testing HD video playback — in its top right corner; the handset, meanwhile, could very well be that Aava Mobile device we’ve been hearing about lately. MWC is opening its doors tomorrow, so even if Intel doesn’t announce these devices in full, we’ll snoop its booth out and find out for ourselves.

Intel promises, teases MeeGo smartphone and tablet for MWC originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 13 Feb 2011 09:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s already changed the behavior in Windows 7, and Microsoft has now finally rolled out an update for earlier versions of Windows that prevents a program from executing automatically when a USB drive is plugged into a PC. That behavior has been blamed for the spread of malware in recent years — including the infamous Conficker worm — and Microsoft had actually already made it possible to disable the functionality back in November of 2009, albeit only through an update available from its Download Center website. It’s now finally pushed the update out through the Windows Update channel, though, which should cause it to be much more broadly deployed (particularly in large organizations). As explained in a rather lengthy blog post, however, Microsoft has decided to simply make it an “important, non-security update” rather than a mandatory update, as it doesn’t technically see AutoRun as a “vulnerability” — it was by design, after all. That means you’ll have to look for the option in Windows Update and check it off to install it — if you choose, you can also re-enable it at anytime with a patch.

Microsoft rolls out long, long-awaited Windows update to disable AutoRun for USB drives originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 12 Feb 2011 23:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Philiana Ng
Is this a sign of bad things to come?
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Full story at The Live Feed

Test footage from the upcoming Thundercats series has leaked. Check out a less than regal Lion-O messing around with the Sword of Omens and an ambush from the villainous Slithe. Between this footage and the series’ Pokémony take on the once loquacious Snarf, how are you feeling about this? UPDATE: It looks like this is from an abandoned Thundercats CG movie from a couple years back. A curiosity, yes, but not from the new series. More »

A surprising announcement comes from the Marvel comics universe this week, as fans discover the fate of one of the longest running, least messed with comic franchises in history, the Fantastic Four. The news actually began months ago, when Marvel revealed that one of the members of the Fantastic four would soon be killed.

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Alright, we’ve just laid eyes on some internal Samsung documents and can bring you the official names and specs of the successors to the Galaxy S and Galaxy Tab. Firstly, the Galaxy S II will tout a 4.3-inch, 800 x 480 Super AMOLED Plus display, a 1GHz dual-core Orion / Exynos processor, NFC, Bluetooth 3.0, and 24Mbps HSPA+ connectivity. All those stats were leaked earlier this morning, along with the image above, and we’ve once again seen the 8.49mm thickness for this device, although we now believe it is the measurement at its thinnest point — it’s likely that the S II will fatten up to 9.9mm, presumably to accommodate the camera module, one of the last remaining parts of smartphone construction that require extra girth (NFC being another).

As to the Galaxy Tab II, it is indeed the 10.1-inch Honeycomb tablet we’ve been hearing so much about, with the added bonus of it being a Google Experience Device. That should mean no Samsung-derived skin customizations atop the stock Android 3.0 UI — exactly what we expect to see from the Motorola Xoom. Also matching the Xoom are the resolution, at 1280 x 800, and CPU speed, at 1GHz, though we couldn’t determine whether the Tab II will be a dual- or single-core tablet. Our money’s on seeing the Exynos 4210 appear in both new Galaxy devices, but we’ll have to wait until Samsung’s presser tomorrow to find out for sure. One more note of import on specs: we saw a 16GB / 32GB / 64GB storage listing, but couldn’t be sure what product it referred to — wouldn’t it be lovely if the Galaxy S II was the first smartphone to step past the 60GB barrier?

Finally, looking toward the future, Samsung is apparently working on a 4-inch WVGA display with 3D capabilities — presumably autostereoscopic like LG’s Optimus 3D — and an intriguing “Motion UI” control scheme. The latter will allow you to pan inside Google Maps and StreetView just by the movement of your phone, as well as zoom in and out of pages by tilting the handset up and down (a gyroscope will be required for both functions). Samsung also has big plans for LTE, with a focus on pumping out whatever you receive over the 4G connection to a nearby HDTV using dual display technology. The two applications we caught sight of were personal broadcasting, where your Sammy handset would act as an extremely sophisticated internet TV receiver, and cloud-based gaming. Here’s hoping we learn more about these future ventures tomorrow.

Samsung Galaxy S II and 10.1-inch Galaxy Tab II confirmed for MWC, 4-inch 3D display, LTE-based cloud gaming coming later originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 12 Feb 2011 11:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Uh oh, looks like someone got the wrong date for Samsung’s MWC keynote. The above screenshot is captured by the eagle-eyed folks at Moveplayer, who spotted what appears to be an embargoed article about the Galaxy S 2 (or Galaxy S II) over at Korean news site Paran. While the offending press shot has since been removed, the text remains intact with the following specs: Android 2.3 Gingerbread, 4.3-inch display, 1GHz dual-core processor, HSPA+, Bluetooth 3.0, and 802.11 a/b/g/n WiFi. Additionally, Paran says that this new handset weighs 116g (4.09 ounces) and is 8.49mm thick — which is close to, if not the, thinnest smartphone device we’ve heard of yet. (For the record, the Xperia Arc is 8.7mm at its thinnest point.)

The article also mentions that 10.1-inch Honeycomb tablet that we heard of yesterday, confirming it will pack a 1GHz dual-core processor, 8 megapixel camera with “full HD” video recording, and dual surround sound speakers. Sounds promising, but only time will tell whether all this is true or simply a matter of lost in translation.

Update: OK, so we’ve done some spying and can confirm that both devices are very real, and their specs look legit.

Update 2: Oh snap! Samsung Hub managed to get hold of a high res press shot of the Galaxy S 2 before it got pulled off the Korean sites. It sure resembles the Infuse 4G with an extra home button. We’ve posted the pic after the break for your viewing pleasure. [Thanks, Tran Quoc Hop]

Continue reading Samsung Galaxy S 2 and 10.1-inch Honeycomb tablet leaked on Korean website (Update: high res press shot!)

Samsung Galaxy S 2 and 10.1-inch Honeycomb tablet leaked on Korean website (Update: high res press shot!) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 12 Feb 2011 05:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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U.S. President Barack Obama and other world leaders are praising the courage of pro-democracy protesters who succeeded in the ouster of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

CHEATING
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According to BGR, HP’s impressive-looking (but sluggish) webOS TouchPad tablet could be on sale this June for $700. While that’ll probably be on par with the Motorola Xoom, come on tablet contenders. Give me a price point I can get excited about, already! Or one that’s at least competitive with your friends in Cupertino. [BGR] More »

So… Walternate is the villain of Fringe, right? Well, you might not think so after watching tonight’s episode. We’ve seen “Immortality,” and it’s another classic Fringe episode. Tonight's episode contains some shocking revelations — but it also will change how you view some of Fringe‘s main characters. More »

By Joe Wilcox, Betanews

First Tunisia. Then Egypt. Now Nokia. The twittersphere is again afire with buzz about massive protests. They’re not political this time, but the outcome could be just the same. Can Nokia CEO Stephen Elop survive the revolution?

Nokia employees aren’t responding well to today’s sweeping deal with Microsoft. They’re mad, as they should be. A few hours ago I called the agreement, which swaps Symbian for Windows Phone as Nokia’s primary mobile platform, a “silent takeover…If I were a Nokia employee or investor, I’d stage a revolt.” Apparently employees and shareholders are doing just that.

Investors punished Nokia shares with a 14-percent decline. Meanwhile, about 1,000 employees walked off the job, using flexible work-hour plans to do so, apparently protesting Nokia’s deal with Microsoft. There is plenty of Twitter buzz, unfortunately too much of it in Finnish (Hey, my second language was Latin, and I’m rusty at that). But the reaction I can read is absolutely chilling.

Nebil: “#Nokia RIP. #Microsoft will leach you out of your existence. Nokia bends to pick up the soap.”

Turcu Ciprian: “I think #nokia did a big mistake. No offense #microsoft but Android would of been a better way to go if they wanted a slice of the cheese.”

Rajinder Yadav: “#Nokia just added fuel to their man on a burning raft. They just killed the QT developer ecosystem today for MS and .NET”

Justine Devine: “I should start writing a case study now about how #Nokia put themselves out of business.”

Tom Reestman: “I wonder if Elop thinks his ‘relationship’ w/ #Microsoft will keep him from getting screwed by them down the road?”

Dale Wilson: “Did #Microsoft send #Elop to #Nokia to stage a coup? Hmmm … What do you think?”

Nick Robinson: “Has any other company ever scrapped the OS with the largest market share in favour of one with the smallest?”

Steven Frank: “A 20 year regime comes to an end after populist revolt.”

Helge Reikeras: “#Nokia you are officially dead to me now.”

Purnateja: “Why Did Stephen Elop decide to Elope with Microsoft?”

The questions now to ask:

• Has Elop gone too far to survive the wrath of Nokia employees, investors, customers, developers and partners?
• Does he still own Microsoft stock (I haven’t had time to yet check), which could raise reasonable questions about conflict of interest?
• Was this all along a plan between Elop and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer to gut Nokia’s platform in exchange for Windows Phone?

Remember, Elop only went to Nokia in September, surprisingly giving up his cozy position as president of Microsoft’s Business division. He’s not only new chief executive but a foreigner — a Canadian, giving an American company huge influence of one of Europe’s oldest industrialists. These are all marks against Elop when tallying up the benefits (none that I see) from today’s Microsoft deal.

Elop may have thought he was starting a revolution, by making so much dramatic change to Nokia. In the end, he may be the victim of a counter-revolution staged by Nokia employees, investors and loyalists. At the least there should be some official investigation into the ties that bind Nokia and Microsoft: A major Microsoft executive becoming Nokia CEO and then cutting a deal six months later that is hugely beneficial to his old company. Something stinks in Finland and also Washington state.

Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010