tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79876628538915875122024-03-13T17:03:30.509-07:00The Gadget AddictsAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02846171181841504850noreply@blogger.comBlogger42125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7987662853891587512.post-32898430784915018482015-05-19T05:00:00.000-07:002015-05-19T05:00:00.415-07:00CD Projekt Red - The Good Guys Of Game Development<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It'll be no surprise to you that gaming is big business. In this current generation of gaming, development budgets are huge, marketing budgets are bigger and the incentive for financiers to recoup their investment has never been greater.<br />
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This has lead to an annoying disparity for gamers over the last few years. It started with DLC on the last console generation, downloadable chunks of a game that we were encouraged to pay over the odds for to slightly expand the time we spent with a game and allowed for publishers to milk a franchise further down the line.<br />
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Sometimes DLC worked well. The tremendous Artorias Of The Abyss for Dark Souls and Left Behind for The Last Of Us were two pieces of content that significantly fleshed out the experience of the main game with new areas, new story points and even new ways of playing. Most of the time, especially with single player DLC (map packs for the likes of Call Of Duty are par for the course), paying for extra story content either wasn't worth it or felt like a distinct rip off. For instance, the From Ashes DLC for Mass Effect 3 that was released on the same day as the game and was actually already on the game's disc received a huge backlash.<br />
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In this generation of gaming there has already been a lot of controversy about the value of downloadable content. Evolve has roughly £100 worth of content which most gamers see as largely irrelevant and Destiny's initial DLC The Dark Below cost £20 and was considered underwhelming.<br />
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But more than just DLC there is a new scourge on the wallets of gamers: pre-order bonuses. A relatively new phenomenon, different retailers are now securing exclusive bundles of content to encourage players to preorder with them. This can come down to special editions too, given that in the UK it was retailer GAME who had the exclusive rights to sell the Bloodborne Nightmare edition. Further from this, depending on who you preorder Batman: Arkham Knight from you can get up to 4 different digital add ons ranging from maps, to characters to a skin for the bloody Batmobile. It's getting insane as to a point this is removing the choice of the customer to buy a game where they want, depending on who is selling which version of the game.<br />
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However, in this day and age there is one developer who is bucking this trend: CD Projekt Red. Today, 19th of May, marks the release date of the much anticipated The Witcher III: Wild Hunt. The Polish developer has long been one of the last big independent developers and their ethos revolves around making the games they they themselves would want to play. To this end, The Witcher games have been huge, sprawling and challenging epics, full of fantasy wonderment, violence and sex.<br />
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CDPR have long stated that they were on the side of the gamers. This is why there is only two versions of The Witcher III up for sale, the standard edition and the collector's edition. No matter which edition you buy, you get the exact same game disc with the exact same content. The difference between the two is the huge statue you get with the collector's edition.<br />
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Even the standard edition dwarfs some special editions of games. In the box you get a manual (when was the last time you actually got a printed manual in a box?), a huge map of the game world, some stickers and even a soundtrack CD. Then there is the free DLC programme, which means everyone who buys the game, whether it's preorder, in store release, online, standard or collector's edition gets 16 pieces of DLC for free over a period of two months. SIXTEEN! FOR FREE! These range from extra missions, to cosmetic items to characters. Basically the kind of things most games of this generation have been offering as part of a season pass.<br />
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The Witcher III does have a season pass, however this is one of the few times I would say it's completely worth it. For your season pass you get two huge expansion packs released next year which add roughly 30 hours to the length of the game, all for the same price as the underwhelming Destiny expansion pass.<br />
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CDPR know how to look after their customers. They know exactly how to offer additional content and garner grace for their efforts. In a world where the likes of EA, Activision and Ubisoft can rampantly gouge players for everything they're worth, CDPR are a breath of fresh air. The big players could learn a lot from them.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02846171181841504850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7987662853891587512.post-61156145262550045412015-04-27T03:43:00.001-07:002015-04-27T03:43:04.069-07:00Why You Should Play P.T. While You CanSo news came out over the weekend that the upcoming Silent Hill reboot, Silent Hills, has been cancelled. Co-director Guillermo Del Toro dropped the news at a conference and the game's IRL star, The Walking Dead's Norman Reedus, confirmed that the game wasn't going to be made. This, of course has caused a lot of upset for people around the world who were looking to a proper, scary as hell reboot of the now stagnant Silent Hill franchise.<br />
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Of course, Silent Hills' demise is part and parcel of Hideo Kojima's rather sudden exit from publisher Konami and the dissolution of Kojima Productions in a recent company reshuffle. Kojima was attached as a co-director and would have made his horror debut with the franchise reboot. However, now he is leaving the publisher, all branding related to him and Kojima productions has been stripped from Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain's web presence and the website for Silent Hills had the same treatment.<br />
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Worst of all though, is the fact that on Wednesday 29th of April, when the PlayStation store has its weekly refresh, P.T. will be taken down, likely forever.<br />
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If you're not familiar with it, P.T. (or Playable Teaser) was possibly the most interesting thing to come out of the Tokyo Game Show last year. It was released onto the PlayStation store for free, as a Demo of a game made by the unheard of 7780 Studios. The mysteries started immediately, with the odd and irrelevant image tile on the PS dashboard to the fact that no one had heard of this studio before.<br />
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When you opened up the game you were treated to a first person perspective in a dark room. The door unlocks and you walk out into a photo realistic hallway. This is far and away the most realistic looking game I've ever played. It looked superb. The basis of the game was to follow the endlessly looping hallway, solving logical puzzles (all relatively simple, all nearly impossible to work out quickly) and having the shit scared out of you.<br />
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P.T. was a master class in psychological horror. While it had a couple of utterly devastating jump scares, the game revelled in the fact that it was genuinely scary. The sound, the images, the concept, the subtle changes to the hallway every time you made progress, it was utterly captivating and completely terrifying.<br />
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Check out my playthrough of P.T. below if you haven't had the chance to play it (or can't because you don't have a PS4):<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/videoseries?list=PLanxOVoIyaHnzy34H_Hnor9J3Nz2-c2nK" width="560"></iframe><br />
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If you do own a PS4, download P.T. before Wednesday and enjoy what can only be described as the first genuine horror title on the PS4 that is legitimately scary. Even if you've seen the videos and seen the jump scare involving Lisa, you won't appreciate the subtle brilliance of the game unless you've played it yourself.<br />
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RIP P.T.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02846171181841504850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7987662853891587512.post-6835743418232491972015-04-21T03:39:00.002-07:002015-04-21T03:39:40.418-07:00Are We Undermining The Quality Of Modern Games?So the saying goes, opinions are like arseholes, everyone has one. Everyone is a critic to some degree and everyone wants to have their opinions heard. It's human nature and these opinions can create some of the best and most interesting debates, especially when you have two opinions that are opposed but equally passionate.<br />
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But if we focus primarily on gaming, you only need to have a cursory glance across the comments sections of Eurogamer or IGN to see how immediate people's opinions can be to a bit of gaming news. Look at forums like NeoGAF and you'll find huge arguments and debates raging about the largest and smallest facets of gaming.<br />
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But are these constant debates undermining what gaming is about?<br />
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At the time of writing, Bloodborne has been out for less than a month, yet already in the Fextralife forums there are threads discussing what people don't like in the game, what people would want changed in future patches and even what people would like to see in Bloodborne 2. Hidetaka Miyazaki and his A Team at From Software spent three years making the game, poring over every detail and making it as good as humanly possible and already people are tearing it to shreds over the tiny little things.<br />
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What issues have they got with the game? Nothing at all, but people want magic attacks, or a move back to medieval fantasy or even less bosses. LESS BOSSES?<br />
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Anyway, my point is that as soon as a game comes out we the gaming people seem completely unable to just enjoy the game for what it is. It's worse when there's actually nothing wrong with the game. I expect the internet to be full of fervour when broken games like Assassin's Creed: Unity or Halo: MCC come out and are actually genuine disappointments, or when the latest Call Of Duty comes out and everyone remains disappointed that nothing has actually changed for the better.<br />
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It's not just the AAA games that receive this kind of treatment either. I've seen Indie charmers like Shovel Knight, Spelunky, Never Alone and Binding Of Isaac all have their finer points taken apart by players when really, there's nothing wrong with them.<br />
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What people seem to forget is that games these days are the product of thousands of man hours worth of work, where teams of people push towards a common goal; making the best game possible. People like Miyazaki-san are becoming auteurs of the digital age. The effort that developers are putting into creating engaging worlds that suck players in is gargantuan, yet people are so concerned with the tiniest details that don't sit with their perfect view of gaming.<br />
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Here's s tip, just enjoy the damn game. Play it, breathe it, experience it. If it's bad, then make your voice heard, but if the game is great and all you care about is the specific damage per second on a weapon or just precisely how difficult a map is to navigate, do us all a favour and keep it to yourself. Games are supposed to be fun, so stop worrying so much about the minutiae and just enjoy yourself.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02846171181841504850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7987662853891587512.post-28482565891256526452015-04-16T04:11:00.000-07:002015-04-16T04:53:36.915-07:00Are Social Features Ruining Gaming?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The internet is a wonderful thing. The world is getting smaller every day as it gets easier and easier to communicate across the world in an instant. This in itself has been such a wonderful thing for the human race as we're all now closer than ever. I myself have friends across the world from Canada to Australia who I talk to more than I do with the friends I have who live in the same town as me.<br />
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With the surge in popularity of social networks it's now the norm to have a Facebook profile. In fact, whereas back in 2007 having a Facebook account brought sneers of derision or looks of confusion, it's now the case where those few people who don't have accounts are looked at like they're insane. "You <i>don't</i> have a Facebook? But how do you talk to your friends?" is usually the question that comes next, such is the network's ubiquitous stature (the answer to that question is a rant for another day, however).<br />
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But one area that Social networking has failed to permeate properly is gaming, so as a result developers and publishers seem to be doing their best to get players together and talking. With this latest generation of consoles, the race is on to integrate people as much as possible. Both the Xbox One and the PS4 are heavily linked to Facebook and Twitter (in fact, both encourage you to sign into your accounts when they set are being set up). From both consoles you can instantly share gameplay videos and screenshots to your network of choice to show off something you've done or seen in a game.<br />
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When it comes to the games themselves, things are different. Now games are being built with their own "social spaces" and efforts to bring players together in faux-meaningful ways. Do you remember the hoopla that Bungie made over Destiny? Promises of drop in drop out online gameplay, seamless social integration, blah blah blah. The technology was impressive but the game suffered as a result. You had The Tower, a space where you could interact with other Guardians, which eventually boiled down to people just standing and dancing together. For all the grand promises about how the game would bring players together, it really just provided an area to dick about in outside of the main game.<br />
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Then look at the concepts in the game itself. Much was made over the game's hardcore Raids, requiring six man teams to take on extreme challenges that dwarfed what you would find in the main campaign. Bungie set some rules in stone for the Raids though, that there was no matchmaking for raids, you had to go in with six players and you all had to be over a certain level before you could even access the area.<br />
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Now, I'm sorry, but the idea of rounding up five other players on a weekly basis to grind the same challenge over and over again does not appeal to me. Forcing people together like this does not a social experience make.<br />
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It's not just with Destiny, Evolve made a big fuss about it's 4v1 hunt concept where all the hunters had unique abilities and everyone needed to work together to win. Great idea. The problem is, when playing with matchmade team mates the game is simply no fun. It's great fun if you have people you can reliably get online with whenever you want, but without those bonds or the ability to communicate the game is an unbridled mess. When I'm playing as the Monster I can always tell when I'm playing against a party or not (mostly due to whether I win or lose).<br />
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Games like these end up alienating their audience because of the vast promises made on these "social features". Destiny proved to be dangerously shallow unless you had the will, want or desire to grind endlessly for heroic or legendary gear, whereas Evolve was disappointingly thin on features and suffered due to the unbalanced nature of it's multiplayer when matchmaking was involved.<br />
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That's not to say social features are a bad thing in general. You only have to look as far as Bloodborne, with its inherited online features from the Souls series of games. There is a unique social backend to the game which is very subtle, but can prove to be incredibly useful and helpful to players of all levels. From being able to summon other players to help you in your game at any point or the ability to leave notes and messages around the level to warn other players of traps or upcoming enemies, the system isn't new, but it works in context with the game you're playing.<br />
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But the best thing about Bloodborne's social features? Neither From Software nor Sony went on a platform bragging about it. They didn't go out and say "look how awesome it is that players can work together!" No, instead it's just a feature of the game that is explained in tutorials, nothing more and nothing less.<br />
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Then there's the weight of expectation on the social side of games these days. DriveClub was universally broken from the start because of such a poorly managed yet critically integrated "club" system. Or what about Sim City with it's disastrous always online DRM and the focus on people building competing cities? Both games failed because they focused so much on doing something clever rather than being actually good games.<br />
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And for one last point, a lot of these social based work on dedicated, proprietary servers beyond the PSN/XBL set ups. So what happens when the player base drops? EA has already proved that it's not willing to keep servers switched on for years at a time and as soon as the player base in their sports games drops below a certain threshold they sunset the game and turn off the online features. This wasn't so much of an issue for games like FIFA which are annualised and don't have a shelf life much beyond a year, but what happens when Bungie realise no one is playing Destiny any more? Are they going to turn off the servers and render the always online game entirely unplayable? All of these social based games make grand promises but at the end of the day they have a limited lifespan. When people stop playing them, the publisher or developer will eventually just switch them off.<br />
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What's wrong with a good game with a solid multiplayer that makes sense? I don't want to play a game where I'm forced to interact beyond partying up with people and kicking some ass together. I don't want to be social with my gaming, I don't want to have to post to facebook to unlock achievements or trophies and I certainly don't want to spend £45 on a game only to find that I can't play it because the weight of the world is forcing the server to buckle. Give me a game with a solid multiplayer and a good story mode and please, just leave it at that.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02846171181841504850noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7987662853891587512.post-41922506222608207402015-04-15T07:08:00.003-07:002015-04-15T07:08:38.334-07:00The Gadget Addicts Blog: Some ThoughtsHi there.<br />
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This site has been pretty inactive for nearly two years, in fact I believe the last post I made on here was coverage of the iPhone 5S release announcements. A lot has happened in that time.<br />
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Since then, I've largely abandoned the gadgety end of my output, focusing primarily on the gaming side of things and growing my YouTube channel. At this point I'm approaching 100,000 views and well on my way towards 1000 subscribers.<br />
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Some of you will be sat there saying "so why are you still The Gadget Addicts if you're not going on about gadgets?" Well, to answer that, there's two reasons:<br />
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<ol>
<li>I'm lazy and by the time I'd decided to focus entirely on gaming I didn't feel like the effort of rebranding was worth it.</li>
<li>I like the name, The Gadget Addicts. I don't want to be one of those YouTubers that would be "MikeFTW" or "MikeGames" or shit like that. My handle is unique and I don't want to lose it.</li>
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However, despite my focus on YouTube, one thing that making videos doesn't satisfy (much as I love it) is my love for writing. For a while I was able to flex my writing muscles by writing for WhatCulture, a click bait list site, but that's out the window now.</div>
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I've held onto this blogger page because I was quite happy with the writing I'd done before and I don't ever like the idea of wiping the slate clean and losing work that I've done in the past. That was part of the reason I didn't rebrand my YouTube channel as I would have had to delete my channel and I've put far, FAR too much work into that to just click a button and throw it all away.</div>
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So in an effort to rebuild my writing, I'm going to start using this blog to talk about what's on my mind, what I've been living through, experiencing and more importantly, cover the kinds of things I don't normally do on my YouTube channel.</div>
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If you've seen my channel, you'll see that I have a weekly series called Crucible Chat where I do get to talk about whatever is on my mind, however because this is a weekly thing I often miss important topics I want to talk about because by time the weekend comes around a lot of topics are out of people's conciousness or have been discussed to death already, so whatever point I can make would be moot. Using this blog I can talk about the things that wouldn't get into a Crucible chat either by my own standards of what I'll talk about on video or because by time the video would be made the subject will have passed.</div>
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Beyond that, I'll also be talking about games, the industry and everyting in between. I hope you enjoy what I've got to say.</div>
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For now, I'll sign off and look out for blog posts coming soon.</div>
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Mike</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02846171181841504850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7987662853891587512.post-48368536934247200022013-10-22T13:58:00.001-07:002013-10-22T13:58:17.780-07:00Apple Announces New iPad Air and A Host Of New UpdatesWell, that was a busy conference wasn't it? An hour and a half of nothing but updates to Apple's non-iPhone ranges. We've got a lot to cover, so let's get going:<div><br></div><div><b>iPad Air:</b></div><div><b><br></b></div><div>Firstly, updates to the iPad range. The new iPad air is the first major redesign of the iPad since the iPad 2:</div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3Dj987LzbVGVRCVJAyEKIeNSbza6Ll5Fk1npy_sj4fBS5SuyOor7rHBWUI5s8UWfpSU_CWswp1_K-yRJiSi0WcYVlNT3cLRBvbOT5MTwYuGD9lt1ijdeOO1oRDryb4oszlepWsDGU9iA/s640/blogger-image--141775457.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3Dj987LzbVGVRCVJAyEKIeNSbza6Ll5Fk1npy_sj4fBS5SuyOor7rHBWUI5s8UWfpSU_CWswp1_K-yRJiSi0WcYVlNT3cLRBvbOT5MTwYuGD9lt1ijdeOO1oRDryb4oszlepWsDGU9iA/s640/blogger-image--141775457.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The iPad Air is thinner, lighter and more powerful than any previous model. At just over 7mm thick it's only marginally thicker than the iPad mini, but the big statistic is the weight; less than 1lb. That's right, less than 1lb.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Internally, it features an A7X chip, the M7 motion processor seen on the iPhone 5S and a 9.7inch retina display. Capacity wise, nothing has changed, it's available in 16, 32 and 64gb flavours. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The prices for the iPad Air remain the same as the previous iPad, starting at £399 for the 16gb Wifi model.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The iPad Mini is now available with a retina display too. The iPad Mini Retina will cost £319 for the 16gb Wifi model whereas the original iPad Mini gets a price cut to £249.</div><br></div><div>Both the iPad Air and the iPad Mini Retina will be available from 1st of November.</div><div><br></div><div><b>MacBook Pro</b></div><div><b><br></b></div><div>In line with the update to the Air range in the summer, the retina MacBook Pro notebooks are being upgraded to the new Intel Haswell processors. These provide a performance boost as well as significant improvements to battery life. The 13" model now boasts an impressive 9 hour battery life while the 15" model can rack up 8 hours of use.</div><div><br></div><div>There has been no update to the non-retina MBP line which says to me that they will be phased out in the next year or so. Further evidence for this can be gained from the price cut to the 13" retina MBP; there is now only £100 difference between the two, the retina MBP now costs only £1099.</div><div><br></div><div><b>Mac Pro</b></div><div><b><br></b></div><div><div class="separator" style="font-weight: bold; clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyjjop1PmVG8fddqYIab-kei46pR69CXJ5ZvjUEmS_wY82fnMMVsVZC1m9M_TYJ7Uy5A_qCP42LeMRvz_7pI_uEsc8XycK_Ine9jTHBc4jMzvesYlczjQyw2kSNEbo4JzlkiMm5ixKdRo/s640/blogger-image--784236859.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyjjop1PmVG8fddqYIab-kei46pR69CXJ5ZvjUEmS_wY82fnMMVsVZC1m9M_TYJ7Uy5A_qCP42LeMRvz_7pI_uEsc8XycK_Ine9jTHBc4jMzvesYlczjQyw2kSNEbo4JzlkiMm5ixKdRo/s640/blogger-image--784236859.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="font-weight: bold; clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The wonderfully redesigned Mac Pro will finally be available this December.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">A radical redesign of the desktop computer, it boasts the capacity for 12 cores, huge amounts of memory and storage and the ability to run 3 of Apple's Cinema Display monitors via Thunderbolt. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I actually cannot wait to see one of these in the flesh, it is such a unique design and typical of what Apple does best.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>OSX Mavericks</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><br></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="font-weight: bold; clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFPTGO-KMB-WmZZzyTNo2wJC4zs9-YyHTNqeD58bwS5iJB3mysf-9-C9Gvw5Yl9TM3aL_YPF6JglV7XSSwh8bxvCFU2LT55xIzdes_qEuxl90BTtmvt4IVkFKj5FipvRMoqQH6Y-6K4Ko/s640/blogger-image--1198108530.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFPTGO-KMB-WmZZzyTNo2wJC4zs9-YyHTNqeD58bwS5iJB3mysf-9-C9Gvw5Yl9TM3aL_YPF6JglV7XSSwh8bxvCFU2LT55xIzdes_qEuxl90BTtmvt4IVkFKj5FipvRMoqQH6Y-6K4Ko/s640/blogger-image--1198108530.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="font-weight: bold; clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Lastly, the newest update to OSX, Mavericks, is available now on the Mac App Store...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i>For free</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i><br></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">That's right, for the first time Apple has released a major OS iteration for free. Providing you're running OSX Lion or above, just pop into the App Store and you can download the new OS for free. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">And that's it. It's a lot to take in, I know. What are you most excited for? Let me know in the comments below</div><br></div><br></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02846171181841504850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7987662853891587512.post-87735858873199927062013-10-22T02:48:00.001-07:002013-10-22T02:48:29.450-07:00Apple Media Event TonightAt 10am PST (6pm UK time) Apple CEO Tim Cook will once again take to the strage at Cupertino and provide us Apple geeks with more to salivate over.<div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIjkwaEZ02yCBAgvz6kl_viSKTo3DVYpGObKQCuDMyhE9kwd8LZZ0TGIqayEA0Ng0X2TvqMh8e5sEvRMTy6ATVplt4Dgg6utkdRKv8tGoAJsLDinQV99oNQzbgahU73bdItuzU6i5XVBg/s640/blogger-image--1914868129.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIjkwaEZ02yCBAgvz6kl_viSKTo3DVYpGObKQCuDMyhE9kwd8LZZ0TGIqayEA0Ng0X2TvqMh8e5sEvRMTy6ATVplt4Dgg6utkdRKv8tGoAJsLDinQV99oNQzbgahU73bdItuzU6i5XVBg/s640/blogger-image--1914868129.jpg"></a></div><br><div><br></div><div>What can we expect though?</div><div><br></div><div>Rumours are abound that the iPad 5 and iPad Mini 2 will be formally revealed today. Since the iPhone 5S was released, the rumour mill has been going ballistic about thinner, lighter iPads and more powerful Minis.</div><div><br></div><div>It's also widely expected that the redesigned Mac Pro will get a release date, as will OSX Mavericks. Given the processor and battery update to the MacBook Air range in June, the smart money would be on the MacBook Pro range getting a bump up to the new Intel Haswell processors.</div><div><br></div><div>There's quite a few rumours relating to Apple announcing their long wanted HDTV as well as the supposed iWatch to compete with the Galaxy Gear. I think these are less likely, but you never know, Apple may surprise us.</div><div><br></div><div>Check back later and I'll post up the news as I hear it.</div></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02846171181841504850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7987662853891587512.post-56024771930912553512013-09-23T14:18:00.001-07:002013-09-23T14:51:12.552-07:00iPhone 5S Hands OnSo, today I visited an Apple store for the first time since the iPhone 5S and 5C were released. My wife was in for a repair on her iPhone which gave me ample opportunity to have a play with the newest iDevice on the block.<div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4p9-2sM2sKoHYkblvb55rjSaGQzA4t14dixdKu5yXhcPdWzqONG4HftPdZXulqntL_qf4UTbBsEozhebZDv2UPY033SunrpH92QL1WWmp01G6ydJ5pys-QmAvqDOTeak-PeJehyQ8zJ8/s640/blogger-image-1414649967.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4p9-2sM2sKoHYkblvb55rjSaGQzA4t14dixdKu5yXhcPdWzqONG4HftPdZXulqntL_qf4UTbBsEozhebZDv2UPY033SunrpH92QL1WWmp01G6ydJ5pys-QmAvqDOTeak-PeJehyQ8zJ8/s640/blogger-image-1414649967.jpg"></a></div><br><div><br></div><div>Picking up a display model I have to say, it's very impressive. What struck me immediately was its thinness, managing to make my iPhone 4S look positively lardy in comparison. I know the dimensions and weight are almost identical to the iPhone 5, but it's still a marvellous thing to behold when you do get your hands on one .</div><div><br></div><div>The first thing I went for was the TouchID demo they have on the display units. This app basically allows you to map your fingerprint to the phone and test it without actually saving it. About 5 taps later and my thumb was successfully mapped and the device was registering my touch with 100% precision. This is very impressive technology for sure.</div><div><br></div><div>Next up is the camera, which is a similar 8mp effort as the 5, however with a greatly improved sensor. Now, while I couldn't check any photos on a large screen, the quality of what I was dealing with on the phone itself was superb. Great colour balance and fantastic clarity, everything you want in a decent camera. The slow motion video was well implemented and great fun, though I'm not sure if I'd ever use it properly, it's a fun enough toy.</div><div><br></div><div>With the boosted processor, iOS 7 whipped along at a fantastic pace. I've noticed that it can hang a little on my iPhone 4S. With the 5S being designed for the new OS, the performance is excellent. Very quickly opening apps and transitioning between screens.</div><div><br></div><div>The new champagne gold colour is quite nice in the flesh, however I still think it's a little gaudy. However, the silver and slate colours are beautiful and understated. I think I would personally go for the silver colour myself, that one to me is clean and elegant.</div><div><br></div><div>Initial impressions for the iPhone 5S for me are really good. The TouchID feature is particularly impressive in my eyes. I'll be getting a 5S in the coming months when my upgrade is due so look for a full review coming soon. However, on first impressions this is a stellar handset and worth every bit of the hype</div></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02846171181841504850noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7987662853891587512.post-34947890713665064072013-09-23T13:38:00.001-07:002013-09-23T13:55:29.895-07:00Blackberry Cuts 40% Of Workforce, Braces For TakeoverOver the last weekend, Canadian smartphone maker Blackberry (formerly Research In Motion) announced that it was cutting 40% of its workforce and suspending consumer phone sales due to severe financial difficulties.<div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcQMrtv5jSpb1yOZ1OY4scBxgyBthpED6Z4j_d7udphKXzt3WA4dAQxbfppY9O9R62JVahj9JWuyOPgIOzkdFjZw4CJ_58VdzW-SWxrNMA0MZnhHcZT26YBJIhHoLuILNtQHi3V6QOm98/s640/blogger-image-284589675.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcQMrtv5jSpb1yOZ1OY4scBxgyBthpED6Z4j_d7udphKXzt3WA4dAQxbfppY9O9R62JVahj9JWuyOPgIOzkdFjZw4CJ_58VdzW-SWxrNMA0MZnhHcZT26YBJIhHoLuILNtQHi3V6QOm98/s640/blogger-image-284589675.jpg"></a></div><br><div><br></div><div>The company is expected to have lost $995million in it's 2nd quarter financial results. With the announcement of 4500 jobs being cut, the share price dropped by 17% to a record low for the firm.</div><div><br></div><div><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font color="#000000"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Blackberry's chief executive Thorsten Heins released a statement on Friday saying: "We are implementing the difficult, but necessary operational changes announced today to address our position in a maturing and more competitive industry, and to drive the company toward profitability.</span></font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2ywuo-XQVR8YuOYxNyqfE3IdnabbnMPHADT35dtDoB2ygesoDoD3i2Ntdzpl_YoZYqoG6TC7enaarl_eiysWf7cwoD5alnXEW2oIK397M6-bRpfEYM6K-zH54lk8InmKgC5mfygUCwLY/s640/blogger-image-1013211903.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2ywuo-XQVR8YuOYxNyqfE3IdnabbnMPHADT35dtDoB2ygesoDoD3i2Ntdzpl_YoZYqoG6TC7enaarl_eiysWf7cwoD5alnXEW2oIK397M6-bRpfEYM6K-zH54lk8InmKgC5mfygUCwLY/s640/blogger-image-1013211903.jpg"></a></div><br><p></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">"Going forward, we plan to refocus our offering on our end-to-end solution of hardware, software and services for enterprises and the productive, professional end user."</span></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">Blackberry have been struggling every since competition from the iPhone and Android eroded their enterprise market. Previously, Blackberry's BES service was considered the defacto enterprise email service. However, as soon as iOS and Android began to incorporate secure Exchange email services, Blackberry's market share began to dip.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">Blackberry tried to reinvigorate its fortunes with Blackberry 10, a new, eye catching and easy to use operating system bundled with the Z10 and Q10 handsets. However, spiralling costs and massive delays cost the company massively, with less than 6 million of the units sold since their release in January 2013. Considering after 3 days on sale, Apple had sold 9 million iPhone 5S units, it's an unmitigated failure for a device that had the future of a whole company on its shoulders.</span></p><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">The company is primed for takeover with Fairfax Financial, a corporate holdings company, pitching $4.7billion for the beleaguered firm. This values each share at around $9 each, wiping billions off the value of the company at it's peak.</span></div></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><font face="Helvetica Neue Light, HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif">Blackberry also announced that they were pulling their planned Blackberry Messenger app for iOS and Android devices. Once the "must have" part of teenage life, Blackberry Messenger has seen massive declines in user figures as users migrate to free alternatives such as WhatsApp or Snapchat.</font></div></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02846171181841504850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7987662853891587512.post-14964832962305506362013-09-19T11:47:00.001-07:002013-09-19T11:57:09.270-07:00Dark Souls II Release Date AnnouncedAt the Tokyo Game Show, From Software has announced the release date for the hotly anticipated Dark Souls II.<div><br></div><div>For the US, the game will be available on March 11th and in the UK/EU it'll be out a few days later on March 14th.</div><div><br></div><div>From also announced two special edition bundles for the game. The first of which is the "Black Armour Edition" which comes in a steel book case and features a bonus CD with the game's original orchestral soundtrack.</div><div><br></div><div>The major announcement is the<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"> Collector's Edition, which I'm very interested in. The Collector's Edition comes with:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">- A 12inch statue of the "Warrior Knight"</span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">- Original Art book</span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">- A cloth map of the game world</span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">- Original sound track</span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">- A steel book case</span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglAjaQKSZk9I-jWbFSbzBG62uGfQBEC6krUkFIyXZiipvrTHN0VV6ENBDMDU_EjJ0_Mrz9qExfPW8ZKiNAAKmVCI1sPQfCkvc_cgYOuPAC8Ta_OvVNC4eyTLJq11-9FOLd9kRSA4vPhc0/s640/blogger-image-1221932735.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglAjaQKSZk9I-jWbFSbzBG62uGfQBEC6krUkFIyXZiipvrTHN0VV6ENBDMDU_EjJ0_Mrz9qExfPW8ZKiNAAKmVCI1sPQfCkvc_cgYOuPAC8Ta_OvVNC4eyTLJq11-9FOLd9kRSA4vPhc0/s640/blogger-image-1221932735.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">From Software also announced that the game will be coming for the PC too, though it'll be after the console release as FromSoft are keen not to repeat the slight missteps of the PC release of the original Dark Souls.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Don't forget as well, if you're in the EU and you own a PS3, you can register for the Dark Souls II beta test that is due to kick off in October.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">It's a good time to be a Souls fan</div><br></span></div><div><br></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02846171181841504850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7987662853891587512.post-66193208801134174012013-09-19T05:45:00.001-07:002013-09-19T06:17:47.208-07:00iOS7 ReviewSo, after months of waiting, Apple finally released iOS7 to the public on Wednesday. This is the first chance I've had to play with it, so I'm understandably excited.<div><br></div><div>Now, I'm not going to detail all the changes, that would take far too long and to be honest, there's already been plenty written about the new features, so I'm going to pick out a couple of things I use and detail those.</div><div><br></div><div><b>1: The UI</b></div><div><b><br></b></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="font-weight: bold; clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_5-icLq-DyyvOHFgxQxDBoyXn5-PvojJ8tz4bqBwV6lo9bxFMz1_JbEJzW_-2hqemOHhVoJOltrxZKaAJeqwHllMpunNLZRucWMxvJD85aBytBATJ7t8jbLD2M4-m_vBXwKzC5WBUiZI/s640/blogger-image-756209708.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_5-icLq-DyyvOHFgxQxDBoyXn5-PvojJ8tz4bqBwV6lo9bxFMz1_JbEJzW_-2hqemOHhVoJOltrxZKaAJeqwHllMpunNLZRucWMxvJD85aBytBATJ7t8jbLD2M4-m_vBXwKzC5WBUiZI/s640/blogger-image-756209708.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="font-weight: bold; clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">As you can see, it's a complete redesign. The Forstall design era is well and truly over. The new UI is flatter, features a lot of visually pleasing tricks and gimmicks.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">For a start, the apps sit forward from the background, so if you tilt the phone on the home screen the background moves slightly. It's not a big difference, but it's a nice effect nonetheless.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Fonts have been refined, everything is cleaner and neater. It's rather nice.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>2: The task menu</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><br></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="font-weight: bold; clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjno2CtFlSEcK12mwGVWYzcB_ub3Az9xoqeX-O4lFGxdHbSUgu3PUJmnl_4f8jU5rri3GRGdwatppVz33opU-yb8BfSVZo73lY-A0WVM6FY6y0OBGZP_F3Tv_L7533631AtfZmzV6Am5Aw/s640/blogger-image-1810838455.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjno2CtFlSEcK12mwGVWYzcB_ub3Az9xoqeX-O4lFGxdHbSUgu3PUJmnl_4f8jU5rri3GRGdwatppVz33opU-yb8BfSVZo73lY-A0WVM6FY6y0OBGZP_F3Tv_L7533631AtfZmzV6Am5Aw/s640/blogger-image-1810838455.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="font-weight: bold; clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Swipe up from anywhere in the phone (including the lock screen) and you get this task menu. Simply enough it gives you quick short cuts to common functions such as Bluetooth, wifi, airplane mode, air play and the current music playing.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">It's a nice feature, something iOS has been lacking since it's inception.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>3: Multitasking</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><br></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="font-weight: bold; clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgymY3URJgJVnKc_87tJW2sDql_OQFHZWvhdfXiVfsdnBl52GgL3VP6bAqamD705tonNC0aok7X2G-7X6HaQz_YUN-cqkN2LrpL_Gbk9LYQIAFWzDW0sdvZc_Rq-R0LT_qbt0Q-XR7XQWc/s640/blogger-image-944816010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgymY3URJgJVnKc_87tJW2sDql_OQFHZWvhdfXiVfsdnBl52GgL3VP6bAqamD705tonNC0aok7X2G-7X6HaQz_YUN-cqkN2LrpL_Gbk9LYQIAFWzDW0sdvZc_Rq-R0LT_qbt0Q-XR7XQWc/s640/blogger-image-944816010.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="font-weight: bold; clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">So whereas in iOS6, multi tasking consisted of the screen sliding up and a row of your open icons, in 7, you double tap the home button and you are greeted by this rather splendid card view.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">While it does look similar to the Palm Pre's Palm OS, it makes multitasking look much snazzier, even if it doesn't add any functionality.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>4: Notification Centre</b></div><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq_0fGE53npYc2cJ34FCU6OFzfmFOBfiTVyZm1TUhhkeDWDoRuuSxuOqMciAjbsZBkoPgxt3eMa04x5epe8XjhtmZixwObPAtgz-Qv6SklAwpDlFuxFG6EX-CtoHp09KXI7prPImaF_uE/s640/blogger-image--374672794.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq_0fGE53npYc2cJ34FCU6OFzfmFOBfiTVyZm1TUhhkeDWDoRuuSxuOqMciAjbsZBkoPgxt3eMa04x5epe8XjhtmZixwObPAtgz-Qv6SklAwpDlFuxFG6EX-CtoHp09KXI7prPImaF_uE/s640/blogger-image--374672794.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The notification centre has had an overhaul. The transparency that sits throughout iOS7 is present here. Swipe down from any screen, again, including the lock screen, and you get a quick overview of your day. The weather, calendar events and your stocks.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The previous notification centre was overly cluttered and too busy for me, so this is a welcome change.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>5: Camera</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><br></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="font-weight: bold; clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUKQD3mps7m2EuITUQlQ85tjqHF3D6H9jFhtXrsMUiHVHJGOUqQa4BrVKa4HeEM5eFhfHMeQ-gkFJV7BNt-I-bRT0l9yRiuYphf9y9lVmIx883W4P64LlMDgjWt6A0HQwWrM3UDt3Rdtg/s640/blogger-image--1178847759.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUKQD3mps7m2EuITUQlQ85tjqHF3D6H9jFhtXrsMUiHVHJGOUqQa4BrVKa4HeEM5eFhfHMeQ-gkFJV7BNt-I-bRT0l9yRiuYphf9y9lVmIx883W4P64LlMDgjWt6A0HQwWrM3UDt3Rdtg/s640/blogger-image--1178847759.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="font-weight: bold; clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The camera app now caters directly for the Instagram lovers out there, with live filters and square frame photos all available from the camera's menus, it's a fairly pointless change in my eyes. But, plenty of people will enjoy it, so I can see the reasoning behind it.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>The Verdict</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><br></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I've only been able to play with iOS7 for a few hours, but overall it's a welcome change. iOS was getting stale and restrictive.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Although this UI change is very reminiscent of Android 4.3, it puts Apple back into the game when it comes to a modern UI.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">One thing I will say is that on the iPad 2 it runs pretty slowly. So I'm assuming that on the iPhone 4 it will be the same. I'm running iOS7 on my iPhone 4S and whips along at a decent rate, so I would say the best way to experience iOS7 is to use iPhone 4S/iPad 3 or upwards.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Still, I like this UI a lot and I'll be interested to see the extra functionality on the 5S, such as the TouchID and Air Drop functions.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">iOS7 is free to download now through iTunes or over the air when your device is connected to a wifi hotspot</div><br></div><br></div><div class="separator" style="font-weight: bold; clear: both;"><br></div><br></div><br></div><br></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02846171181841504850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7987662853891587512.post-69492584389509627882013-09-18T03:54:00.000-07:002013-09-18T03:54:07.659-07:00Grand Theft Auto V PlaythroughIt's here, it's finally here!<br />
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GTA V released yesterday to much fanfare, hooplah and sick days around the world. Here at The Gadget Addicts, we've been giving it some hands on love, starting at about 1am on Tuesday the 17th, we're that committed to bringing you great content as soon as we physically can.<br />
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So here it is, our playlist as we progress through the first few hours of the game. It's very brilliant and we really do recommend you pick up a copy. A full review will be incoming in the next few days. For now though, see how not to play GTA V<br />
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<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/videoseries?list=PLanxOVoIyaHnWkDf0LieS0fXTADOCHtV-" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02846171181841504850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7987662853891587512.post-70666250110449920622013-09-16T18:24:00.000-07:002013-09-16T18:24:36.648-07:00The Last Of Us PlaythroughGood morning all. It's 2:20am and I have just completed my first hour of GTAV.<br />
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While I'm in the process of editing and uploading it, I thought I should let all of you who aren't aware know that I finished my playthrough of The Last Of Us.<br />
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For those of you who missed what I was doing, The Last Of Us is one of my favourite games of this generation. It's a spectacular game full of action, violence and some of the most emotionally charged cut scenes I've ever seen in a game.<br />
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Over the space of 13 hours and 18 parts, I've played through the game in it's entirety for you, showing you as much as I know about it, tactics, solutions and routes through the game.<br />
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I've even gone as far as creating a handy playlist for you all to view the lot in one, 13 hour shot (should you want to). Check it out here and please subscribe to my YouTube channel if you like what I'm doing<br />
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Keep an eye on my YouTube channel for Grand Theft Auto 5 content coming as soon as my internet connection will allowAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02846171181841504850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7987662853891587512.post-12433819122726185992013-09-12T05:20:00.001-07:002013-09-12T05:27:20.585-07:00Microsoft Secure Xbone.com DomainMicrosoft have secured the web domain for Xbone.com.<div><br></div><div>Despite the assertions of Xbox Love director of programming Larry Hryb (a.k.a Xbox Live mouthpiece Major Nelson) that the term Xbone is distasteful and disrespectful, Microsoft have bought the domain.</div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwnrH1DxVY7uvpE6i2L_1jZn12YH213Yfs2f7duV4gyfwKwWo1A24_s84EauaphyphenhyphenEZ2IMt8dTSukiDnjTkrhwnwLprKMupHMwZOXx-sZCYzwMggR8T-nHGj4QhLAM49u9xK3ktvDquI1s/s640/blogger-image-1346336313.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwnrH1DxVY7uvpE6i2L_1jZn12YH213Yfs2f7duV4gyfwKwWo1A24_s84EauaphyphenhyphenEZ2IMt8dTSukiDnjTkrhwnwLprKMupHMwZOXx-sZCYzwMggR8T-nHGj4QhLAM49u9xK3ktvDquI1s/s640/blogger-image-1346336313.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div><br></div><div>Just two days ago, Hryb took to NeoGAF and proclaimed "<span style="text-align: left; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">"I don't like it. It disrespects the teams that have put in thousands of hours (already) into the development of the product. Sure, it's cheeky but I don't care for it myself."</span></div><div><span style="text-align: left; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="text-align: left; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUCd6uqkyqo3C6GiLKSoJ5PgDi8Wl9wg9yJJuf6EVqyC8l6hXREu-ZqhGtBmmeTar7ga6xKej6dMFuLw7TJrjekmyQHN7b1ol94fz227sneUzQ1KPunSH7xsCHy4O-eL0qfJilXOjikgo/s640/blogger-image-1420679988.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUCd6uqkyqo3C6GiLKSoJ5PgDi8Wl9wg9yJJuf6EVqyC8l6hXREu-ZqhGtBmmeTar7ga6xKej6dMFuLw7TJrjekmyQHN7b1ol94fz227sneUzQ1KPunSH7xsCHy4O-eL0qfJilXOjikgo/s640/blogger-image-1420679988.jpg"></a></div><br></span></div><div><span style="text-align: left; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="text-align: left; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">For those unsure, the nickname is a contraction of Xbox One and was coined within minutes of the name being announced back in April, spreading like wildfire over the Internet (as such high profile things do).</span></div><div><span style="text-align: left; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">In most cases, Xbone is used with a slightly derogatory inflection, but more often than not it simply rolls off the tongue easier than Xbox One</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><br></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">Heading to Xbone.com, visitors are greeted with a Bing search results page. It's unlikely that Microsoft will do anything with the page, given the company's distaste for the term</span></div><div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Proxima, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.35; text-align: left; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); "><br></span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02846171181841504850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7987662853891587512.post-81696904351998854182013-09-11T02:25:00.001-07:002013-09-11T02:25:02.247-07:00GTAV Map LeaksIf you're avoiding any spoilers for GTAV, then look away right now.<div><br></div><div>The map for GTAV has leaked a week early. From the images provided it appears like someone has received the official strategy guide for the game early and has taken it upon themselves to show us all where we will be playing for the foreseeable future.</div><div><br></div><div>To give an indication of scale, someone else has overlaid the map from GTAIV over the image. The already-pretty- big Liberty City is completely dwarfed by Los Santos and it's surrounding areas. This game is going to be absolutely massive.</div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUL_40yNoMY4w-5n9U3gfx7HAGo-FXhkG4rmA4lh-4HcDzBN12kLii-_EYoTdA5eibawCMhMXUjVSyokEKPDfCJ7NPjtHhmOWBOqffIf7a6DWimADoax2nPNaLcLyh8gq7RXJ1KAJL-C8/s640/blogger-image--1932945845.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUL_40yNoMY4w-5n9U3gfx7HAGo-FXhkG4rmA4lh-4HcDzBN12kLii-_EYoTdA5eibawCMhMXUjVSyokEKPDfCJ7NPjtHhmOWBOqffIf7a6DWimADoax2nPNaLcLyh8gq7RXJ1KAJL-C8/s640/blogger-image--1932945845.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">GTAV is released in the UK on September 17th. Check back with The Gadget Addicts for playthrough videos and reviews next week. We'll be hitting up a midnight launch of the game and bringing you loads of new content for what stands to be the last massive hurrah for this generation</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">In fact, in preparation, subscribe to our Youtube channel so you're ready for the deluge of content we'll be unleashing:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">http://www.youtube.com/user/TheGadgetAddicts/</div><br></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02846171181841504850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7987662853891587512.post-84631771994569557592013-09-10T11:34:00.000-07:002013-09-10T11:35:03.619-07:00Apple Announce The iPhone 5C and 5SStraight from the live text, Apple have announced the next generations in the iPhone range.<br />
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First up, the 5C. The 5C entirely replaces the iPhone 5. It features exactly the same internal components save for an improved battery. The main difference is the new hardened polycarbonate shell, which comes in a range of colours.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz69hyphenhypheno7N_PtLmMzvqCEUejZTpmULpPbGf1GM6OSKI2vSEyf5vU6Yl2nGu5dRddxjhZfSl-nC3H33R23_8PTVg6b73sXiEQyE5xM0DogN54sYeQWmJZO6SiVC6TsCqqKvLa7RYuV-sZyU/s1600/5c6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz69hyphenhypheno7N_PtLmMzvqCEUejZTpmULpPbGf1GM6OSKI2vSEyf5vU6Yl2nGu5dRddxjhZfSl-nC3H33R23_8PTVg6b73sXiEQyE5xM0DogN54sYeQWmJZO6SiVC6TsCqqKvLa7RYuV-sZyU/s320/5c6.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The 5C is taking over the traditional "Previous model" price point. In the past, when Apple has released a new phone, they have knocked the previous model down to an 8gb storage amount and cut the price by about $100. This changes things. For the first time, it's still available in 16 or 32gb and there has been a significant design change. As well as this, a range of silicone rubber cases has been designed to complement the iPhone 5C, in a range of rather bright, teen friendly colours. Here is the green phone combined with the blue case... yeah...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiaibtYHGlZ1Gry_4SZTHfSdHsXb_eJ6dG_ICQv7YNzUPl3PzQyHR0Fs9bhmacofRDlQ6WSUQPKUsVzzkRrXUhVTv8Rchf_z33169PDocTM8aWQnp2axMDOJxDgMLrzg3bKmyrcjgj8iY/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-09-10+at+19.20.23.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiaibtYHGlZ1Gry_4SZTHfSdHsXb_eJ6dG_ICQv7YNzUPl3PzQyHR0Fs9bhmacofRDlQ6WSUQPKUsVzzkRrXUhVTv8Rchf_z33169PDocTM8aWQnp2axMDOJxDgMLrzg3bKmyrcjgj8iY/s320/Screen+Shot+2013-09-10+at+19.20.23.png" width="193" /></a></div>
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Other than the case though, the phone is identical to the iPhone 5.</div>
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The new flagship phone for Apple is the iPhone 5S. This is an evolution on the 5 adding a raft of new features to the device, not least, another new colour palette:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirUG51ehU4n_VWY1W5Rv-i5KEN0nxdhV1ISRM9p0U__v8uYJCdpdBXmLsoheblJ-PfVDtokaWxHDYXllTTuOnqObgu3XmEutjKnVl8xnamP1YTsjsoeS6QRF2ltJ6qkg4msHBzyK4xTrQ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-09-10+at+19.23.13.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="83" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirUG51ehU4n_VWY1W5Rv-i5KEN0nxdhV1ISRM9p0U__v8uYJCdpdBXmLsoheblJ-PfVDtokaWxHDYXllTTuOnqObgu3XmEutjKnVl8xnamP1YTsjsoeS6QRF2ltJ6qkg4msHBzyK4xTrQ/s320/Screen+Shot+2013-09-10+at+19.23.13.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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That's right, that's a champagne gold colour you can see in between the traditional slate and silver colours. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7o-jFK0wSk84a1bk5YJAu-hB-12IIGfcOnB11ADS1pJ-BD908PSI4NCi4V11UxO-n6hi1YQMroqkjtZipc4a-8-BWL9VzDp03yVgxcEfWhwiedugR86oekK0YBvRIaGal77BunM1i8Wk/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-09-10+at+19.24.12.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7o-jFK0wSk84a1bk5YJAu-hB-12IIGfcOnB11ADS1pJ-BD908PSI4NCi4V11UxO-n6hi1YQMroqkjtZipc4a-8-BWL9VzDp03yVgxcEfWhwiedugR86oekK0YBvRIaGal77BunM1i8Wk/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-09-10+at+19.24.12.png" /></a></div>
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But away from the colour of the unit, there have been some serious revisions under the hood. The new A7 chip is 64 bit, contains 40x the processing power that the original iPhone had and is complemented by a second chip, the M7 co-processor which is dedicated to processing data from the motion sensors. This means that more of the phone's raw processing power can go towards apps and games, without having to worry about tracking the gyroscope and accelerometer in the phone.</div>
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The camera has also gotten a bump, featuring a 15% larger sensor and an f/2.2 size aperture to provide the best quality photos possible. The camera is capable of burst mode, 120fps slo-mo and features two LEDs for the flash, which the phone automatically adjusts to give you the perfect low light exposure.</div>
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The biggest new feature however, is TouchID. Yes, it's a fingerprint sensor. This excites me far too much.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdUvs4Axs4pV1cnKyqFWOpsK-8UJyFQNBG-rof6pQqyl51EC-yNQb1q_iOsZBhPKyTXmJsAXN7COXIMqC1q9vgLWCTG83awrQCLQozwIQbS0ZwNpY6lJK-r9m8o5v6gLOsTnTWyNGgGa0/s1600/5s9.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdUvs4Axs4pV1cnKyqFWOpsK-8UJyFQNBG-rof6pQqyl51EC-yNQb1q_iOsZBhPKyTXmJsAXN7COXIMqC1q9vgLWCTG83awrQCLQozwIQbS0ZwNpY6lJK-r9m8o5v6gLOsTnTWyNGgGa0/s320/5s9.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Essentially, the home button now allows you to unlock your phone. The home button now contains a fingerprint sensor, protected by laser cut sapphire, which lets you simply touch your finger to the button and unlock the screen. This can also be used to authenticate iTunes/AppStore/iBooks purchases and save you constantly entering passwords. For the concerned among you, the fingerprints are encrypted and saved on the A7 chip, they are never shared with iCloud, nor are they allowed to be shared anywhere within the phone, which is a definite relief.</div>
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The iPhone 5S and 5C will both ship with iOS7 on the 20th of September. iOS 7 is available to download on the 18th of September. You can pre-order the 5C from Friday 13th of September, however there are no pre-orders available for the the 5S, you'll simply have to go and queue if you want one.</div>
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The UK prices are as follows (screen caps from the Apple UK store):</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-cVGg_BZR15Bvem90XfOz2cYIOvlM7I71WP0GmqjV6hr9yXsXGw5TdoSj8zgT96rU6aU0Np8KGHxiz1Eqmt6cTiZj_dcrsPvz0uMMsxzs0htNlQh-D7PSNw2bvXM1XEpwUR9qKfG2He8/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-09-10+at+19.11.36.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-cVGg_BZR15Bvem90XfOz2cYIOvlM7I71WP0GmqjV6hr9yXsXGw5TdoSj8zgT96rU6aU0Np8KGHxiz1Eqmt6cTiZj_dcrsPvz0uMMsxzs0htNlQh-D7PSNw2bvXM1XEpwUR9qKfG2He8/s320/Screen+Shot+2013-09-10+at+19.11.36.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi50u7OJWNX-tv59kJPfhrzsRAEeSYwNn_qF_MDak9MsjZWVLqKQBr1gKInoD4fMaCOXSYastyTZlvmHC8uVfX61jgfgZWvObpQObqZeOMKXWQu28AWnApy27CAFywmAQXB3xeU4aQMCU/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-09-10+at+19.13.02.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi50u7OJWNX-tv59kJPfhrzsRAEeSYwNn_qF_MDak9MsjZWVLqKQBr1gKInoD4fMaCOXSYastyTZlvmHC8uVfX61jgfgZWvObpQObqZeOMKXWQu28AWnApy27CAFywmAQXB3xeU4aQMCU/s320/Screen+Shot+2013-09-10+at+19.13.02.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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If you want the full, blow by blow details from the press conference, check out our live blog of the event <a href="http://thegadgetaddicts.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/apple-iphone-event-live-coverage.html" target="_blank">here</a></div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02846171181841504850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7987662853891587512.post-25180803432359904662013-09-10T04:13:00.001-07:002013-09-10T04:24:38.459-07:00Apple iPhone Event Live Coverage<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</script>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02846171181841504850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7987662853891587512.post-58374721772555721402013-09-09T05:24:00.001-07:002013-09-09T05:24:55.805-07:00Sony Announce New PS VitaSony has announced a redesign of the PS Vita at their pre-Tokyo Game Show conference.<div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOLWU_cpVkqOvu2hyWF_OvjPQDg9-qEQnEeG-1zB4YUeORT5lkVj50p1QKTwVkYaMRadvlUUhuv_RO7UaBGRq8VJIkHHb45N14jmJywJ9Hcklb41OirDXkrPS_EGbM3iZ__0kpWEkfAnc/s640/blogger-image--1320854046.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOLWU_cpVkqOvu2hyWF_OvjPQDg9-qEQnEeG-1zB4YUeORT5lkVj50p1QKTwVkYaMRadvlUUhuv_RO7UaBGRq8VJIkHHb45N14jmJywJ9Hcklb41OirDXkrPS_EGbM3iZ__0kpWEkfAnc/s640/blogger-image--1320854046.jpg"></a></div><br><div><br></div><div>The redesigned unit will be 20% thinner and 15% lighter than the current Vita model, which is fairly impressive as it is already pretty thin and very light.</div><div><br></div><div>Surprisingly, it also has some built in storage, although it's only 1gb, it's still better than nothing.</div><div><br></div><div>One of the caveats to this cheaper model though, is that the gorgeous 5 inch OLED touchscreen on the current Vita has been replaced with a 5 inch LCD model. Seeing as the quality of the screen is one of the selling points of the Vita, this could be a big disappointment. On the flip side, with a less power hungry screen, the battery life will be boosted by around about an hour.</div><div><br></div><div>As well as the Vita refresh, Sony also announced the Vita TV. This unusual little unit allows you to play PS Vita games on your TV using a Dual Shock 3 (and eventually, Dual Shock 4) controller.</div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdk_D64cgKhKtQirKqr4iO5Zit2AolkHoGKUTxRCdFciBdeHXLG86qOjBVP-_hRBBablEJZX9nLJl9QkY0lpyxTkEzFSs2U4mCcPiqqsibCUm2eaVnUIg9oMeT0ZNNKBO-Ws5n12xGLqM/s640/blogger-image-256104916.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdk_D64cgKhKtQirKqr4iO5Zit2AolkHoGKUTxRCdFciBdeHXLG86qOjBVP-_hRBBablEJZX9nLJl9QkY0lpyxTkEzFSs2U4mCcPiqqsibCUm2eaVnUIg9oMeT0ZNNKBO-Ws5n12xGLqM/s640/blogger-image-256104916.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div><br></div><div>The diminutive little unit is only 6cm by 10cm, about the size of a deck of cards. It has a slot for Vita game cards as well as Vita memory cards. The unit will also allow for remote play from PS3/PS4 and will allow you to use streaming services (Hulu has already been mentioned) straight to your TV.</div><div><br></div><div>The refreshed PS Vita will be released in Japan for 18,980 Yen ($190) on October 10th. The PS Vita TV will be released on November 14th for 9,480 Yen ($95). A special edition of the Vita TV, which comes bundled with a Dual Shock 3 and an 8gb Vita memory card will be available on the same day for 14,980 Yen ($150).</div><div><br></div><div>No US or Europe release dates or pricing has been released yet for either model but it's a good bet that they'll eventually get a western release</div></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02846171181841504850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7987662853891587512.post-4516352853218213562013-09-08T09:11:00.000-07:002013-09-08T09:14:02.207-07:00Stealth Inc. A Clone In The Dark Video ReviewFor all you puzzle lovers out there, Mike presents a video review of <i>Stealth Inc. A Clone In The Dark</i>. <div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju6GKMaV55TaR2PhQhHaot7S0Er2lSNMdIqssnXUHUXDZjGMZqUHC8pQqdnk0N1JaoU1v10nLJEYNI5DYJ-CVnf7VP7RdSviPKodwgPHTahfgPlEihfwXKkY5LvgWKTYAX6aV9iZumPiY/s640/blogger-image--2141710853.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju6GKMaV55TaR2PhQhHaot7S0Er2lSNMdIqssnXUHUXDZjGMZqUHC8pQqdnk0N1JaoU1v10nLJEYNI5DYJ-CVnf7VP7RdSviPKodwgPHTahfgPlEihfwXKkY5LvgWKTYAX6aV9iZumPiY/s640/blogger-image--2141710853.jpg"></a></div><br>
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Watch as Mike tries to explain this game, gets his words muddled and dies a lot. It's great fun and well worth picking up.<br>
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<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/r-v8k5zLotw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02846171181841504850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7987662853891587512.post-19864748099719610142013-09-05T23:13:00.000-07:002013-09-05T23:13:00.166-07:00Kickstarter Of The Month: Nidus Gaming Centre NewcastleSo, after the success of NoFlo last month, for September we have a brand new kickstarter campaign to look at. This one is so close to home for me, I couldn't not get involved.<br />
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Ladies and gentlemen, I give you:<br />
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Nidus Gaming Centre!<br />
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The concept around this is fantastic. Essentially, the brains behind this operation want to open a dedicated space for gaming in Newcastle Upon Tyne (where I'm from, incidentally). It is designed to be a safe, unisex space where people can go to play games, hang out with each other and generally be around other gamers.<br />
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There will be PCs and consoles, private gaming booths, areas for board games, plenty of tournaments and competitions all housed within a solid community of gamers.<br />
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What has attracted me most to this concept is not just that it's in Newcastle, but it's also something Newcastle desperately needs. There have been LAN arenas and gaming hubs in the past, but traditionally they are little more than people sitting with headphones on, playing World Of Warcraft, there's no community, no interaction. The aims of the three founders are to get a proper community going where people are coming not only to game, but to socialise and have fun.<br />
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This campaign runs until the 1st of October and they are asking for £44.500. At the time of writing they're at £1,067, so they need our help. I've backed this campaign, you all should too. You can pledge using the widget below the video:<br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1630156127/nidus-gaming-centre-newcastle-upon-tyne/widget/video.html" width="480"> </iframe><br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="380" src="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1630156127/nidus-gaming-centre-newcastle-upon-tyne/widget/card.html" width="220"></iframe>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02846171181841504850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7987662853891587512.post-33786482730694622132013-09-05T11:43:00.001-07:002013-09-05T11:43:42.865-07:00Samsung Announce Smart WatchIt's been a busy day for news, hasn't it?<div><br></div><div>Today at the Samsung Unpacked conference in Germany, Samsung announced its first smart watch, unsurprisingly titled the Galaxy Gear.</div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWUQEwehQOxYEeO31XnGU5Xwg8iJUujK3KLtU_xNEziibaINulrqyRLl0bja36sQzO9s_gBbfHJ9PieHKqC6RBaczcYs5ZDv8wgPM9NeXEW-CYWarH4V_PR_0kmZAYfjrtu7Bmzw7_wck/s640/blogger-image-1072218937.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWUQEwehQOxYEeO31XnGU5Xwg8iJUujK3KLtU_xNEziibaINulrqyRLl0bja36sQzO9s_gBbfHJ9PieHKqC6RBaczcYs5ZDv8wgPM9NeXEW-CYWarH4V_PR_0kmZAYfjrtu7Bmzw7_wck/s640/blogger-image-1072218937.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div><br></div><div>Unlike most previous attempts at a smart watch, the Galaxy Gear features speakers and a microphone, allowing you to answer calls without getting your phone out.</div><div><br></div><div>The stainless steel watch houses a touch screen interface which shows text messages, emails and allows you to access apps, take photos (it has a camera, too) as well as make and receive calls.</div><div><br></div><div>From the descriptions given of the device, it appears like it will be a Bluetooth extension of your mobile phone, rather than acting as a replacement to a phone. Technical details are little on the scarce side right now as it's only just been announced.</div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg1KLFly-SbD2NUWAF3csDgLKLcSDO3llAup66EPJVspjrceAO0c1FAblgDyv56MlCbvE8CiOlb1-me3zXuuTQPLwV3HtG8BeNwVVNMLjZ8PUR7IjSjdDGjuXPwleahsyH_TUyHFzlXFk/s640/blogger-image-211342005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg1KLFly-SbD2NUWAF3csDgLKLcSDO3llAup66EPJVspjrceAO0c1FAblgDyv56MlCbvE8CiOlb1-me3zXuuTQPLwV3HtG8BeNwVVNMLjZ8PUR7IjSjdDGjuXPwleahsyH_TUyHFzlXFk/s640/blogger-image-211342005.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div><br></div><div>Galaxy Gear will come in 6 colours, apparently be comfortable enough to wear all day and will release in 140 countries alongside the Galaxy Note 3 on September 25th.</div><div><br></div><div>For me, I'm not sure there is a market for a smart watch. It seems like the answer to a question no one asked. I mean, other than living out your favourite Joe 90 fantasies, there doesn't seem to be much use for it. And I can imagine you would look quite silly speaking into your wrist.</div><div><br></div><div>However, I'm all for being proved wrong if it proves to be a hit. </div><div><br></div><div>The question is, would <b>you</b> have one? Let me know in the comments</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02846171181841504850noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7987662853891587512.post-89700988780273074422013-09-05T03:00:00.001-07:002013-09-05T03:01:11.756-07:00Dark Souls 2 Beta registration is open<i>Preparing to prepare to die</i><div><i><br></i></div><div>Praise the sun! From Software have opened applications for a close beta of fantasy kill-em-up RPG Dark Souls 2.</div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGjJXP7-Y3BtotPFK6CfrxQ5w3DW_s7PsCtYHlY-CT72SLm0ZvJ7F3hyPfGbT_V0NS99zHjEpmE40x22H7pcfmPi4lnYlTvHguKtyZPiO0KfJCzLhNCGJqgLX2jkzqb9PVi98Fxpu95KY/s640/blogger-image-126099259.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGjJXP7-Y3BtotPFK6CfrxQ5w3DW_s7PsCtYHlY-CT72SLm0ZvJ7F3hyPfGbT_V0NS99zHjEpmE40x22H7pcfmPi4lnYlTvHguKtyZPiO0KfJCzLhNCGJqgLX2jkzqb9PVi98Fxpu95KY/s640/blogger-image-126099259.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div><br></div><div>PS3 owners (sorry Xboxers) can register for the beta by downloading a registration ticket from the Playstation Store. Registration is free , but downloading the ticket doesn't guarantee that you'll get access.</div><div><br></div><div>There are two beta phases planned, the first kicking off on October 12th, with the second starting on October 27th.</div><div><br></div><div>From Software haven't confirmed what is going to be in the beta yet, whether we'll be a seeing a chunk of the full game, whether it'll be the demo that was presented at E3 or whether it will be something exclusive to the beta.</div><div><br></div><div>We've signed up for the beta, so if we get access, you know that we'll be covering it in depth. Read about why Dark Souls 2 will ruin your life and why that's a good thing:</div><div><br></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue'; font-size: 16px; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); ">http://thegadgetaddicts.blogspot.com/2013/08/six-reasons-why-dark-souls-2-will-ruin.html</span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue'; font-size: 16px; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); "><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue'; font-size: 16px; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); ">Dark Souls 2 is out in March 2014. Look out for exhaustive playthrough videos, articles and much swearing...</span></div><div><br></div><div><br></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02846171181841504850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7987662853891587512.post-90293648496938285902013-09-04T07:31:00.001-07:002013-09-04T07:31:28.032-07:00Xbox One Release Date RevealedMicrosoft have finally confirmed that the Xbox One will be released on 22nd of November in North America, the UK and about 11 other territories.<div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQN5-3s-b0jDO5MZ4aJY2ONZxhM5yHTfx4Z0O-dLVx1px0YdWnZljbwBT4O5c9dk3LjJdr-8Bg1wIa9wSBfnputEHNm65mdnXfD3k2J2ncGaLyffbpnU91H4iYU0wwbcnnBufY0o4XtSY/s640/blogger-image-726857021.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQN5-3s-b0jDO5MZ4aJY2ONZxhM5yHTfx4Z0O-dLVx1px0YdWnZljbwBT4O5c9dk3LjJdr-8Bg1wIa9wSBfnputEHNm65mdnXfD3k2J2ncGaLyffbpnU91H4iYU0wwbcnnBufY0o4XtSY/s640/blogger-image-726857021.jpg"></a></div><br><div><br></div><div>This places the Xbone release a week behind the PS4 in the states but a week ahead of its European release date. Make of that what you will.</div><div><br></div><div>Microsoft has also confirmed that it has made a number of Xbox One Day One edition consoles available for preorder after stock had sold out. The Day One edition comes with a free digital copy of FIFA 14 in Europe.</div><div><br></div><div>As has been previously reported, the Xbox One will retail for £429 in the UK from launch. Preorders are getting thin on the ground and merchants such as Game and Amazon are no longer guaranteeing standard edition consoles for the launch day. A Day One edition preorder will be guaranteed for launch day but new pre orders of the standard edition console aren't held to the same date.</div><div><br></div><div>So the battle lines have been drawn for the end of November. Which are you more excited for? The PS4 or the Xbox One? Make yourself heard in the comments below.</div></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02846171181841504850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7987662853891587512.post-75167568335945947402013-09-03T01:02:00.001-07:002013-09-03T01:45:09.703-07:00Microsoft buys NokiaYes, you read that right. In a move that surprised the hell out of me (and most of the Internet), software giant Microsoft has bought Finnish phone maker Nokia for a reported $7.1bn<div><br></div><div>That number is split, $5.4bn is for Nokia's handset business while the remaining $1.7bn pays for Nokia's many (and lucrative) patents.</div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiIYoPUQB4y6AaSPQFKhJ0jOidAO_pOZcAmZsPhC0zVQYuqTAcCEnnO7KrWvuTv1lZCghP90N9Ukrklt25bECJr_UVKWRu-BfmCgyKtNl_2xR0d3V6WEZ0c-gGTEzqk0Udg3bcIBrdBDs/s640/blogger-image-2097892236.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiIYoPUQB4y6AaSPQFKhJ0jOidAO_pOZcAmZsPhC0zVQYuqTAcCEnnO7KrWvuTv1lZCghP90N9Ukrklt25bECJr_UVKWRu-BfmCgyKtNl_2xR0d3V6WEZ0c-gGTEzqk0Udg3bcIBrdBDs/s640/blogger-image-2097892236.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div><br></div><div>Nokia, who were pioneers of GSM technology and formerly one of the biggest players in the mobile phone market, have suffered recently at the hands of strong competition from Samsung and Apple.</div><div><br></div><div>Microsoft have been making gains with it's Windows Phone operating system, recently overtaking Blackberry in the global smartphone rankings, putting them in third place behind Google and Apple. However, 3rd place is still only 3% of the market, such is the dominance of iOS and Android devices.</div><div><br></div><div>By buying Nokia, Microsoft appears to be making its first concerted move into phone manufacturing, something it's been unwilling to get into in the past, preferring to licence out the Windows Mobile and Windows Phone OSs to other manufacturers.</div><div><br></div><div>The purchase of the patents will be the biggest money spinner for MS. Nokia pioneered GSM technology and own the rights to technology such as SIM cards, mobile calls over GSM and SMS text messaging. Manufacturers have had to pay Nokia licence fees to make use of this critical functionality. </div><div><br></div><div>The sale should complete in early 2014 with 32000 Nokia employees moving to Microsoft, whilst most of the Nokia senior execs and Vice Presidents are expected to join the Microsoft board.</div><div><br></div><div><b>**Update**</b></div><div><b><br></b></div><div>Steve Ballmer has given a strong indication that now-former Nokia CEO Stephen Elop (a former Microsoft man) is in the running to take the reigns from Ballmer when he retires. Engaget have the details:</div><div><br></div><div><a href="http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/03/microlop/">http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/03/microlop/</a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02846171181841504850noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7987662853891587512.post-80316498187196571792013-08-30T09:26:00.001-07:002013-08-30T09:26:35.746-07:00Apple Introduce iPhone Trade In SchemeApple has introduced a trade in initiative in its US retail stores.<div><br></div><div>Simply enough, take in your old iPhone and an Apple Pip (my name for those who work in the stores) will check your phone out, then issue you with a voucher/gift card at a set value. This must then be used immediately towards the purchase of a new iPhone.</div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAtBFPY64ep-oQ9xxniCZV_B81w-yNxsnM_sghcEbmTKbJqEGNDBhMCahtLrtPlYh1AcmgsQTvzLN42mSFyesUnTLhNlsfRfRPqKyHpgChfyN2jrerubyBfsqyoMc0LkJi6l82IAJN94U/s640/blogger-image-1888059642.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAtBFPY64ep-oQ9xxniCZV_B81w-yNxsnM_sghcEbmTKbJqEGNDBhMCahtLrtPlYh1AcmgsQTvzLN42mSFyesUnTLhNlsfRfRPqKyHpgChfyN2jrerubyBfsqyoMc0LkJi6l82IAJN94U/s640/blogger-image-1888059642.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div><br></div><div>The amount you get for your old phone is based on the model, capacity and condition of the unit.</div><div><br></div><div>The timing of this couldn't be more significant as we're now only a week and a half away from the 10th of September, the much rumoured date that the iPhone 5S and supposed 5C are to be revealed.</div><div><br></div><div>Other rumours that are kicking about are that the new iPhone(s) are to be available for purchase on the 20th of September in the traditional first wave countries (US, UK, Europe etc), which follows the previous pattern of an iPhone being available 2 to 3 Fridays after its announcement.</div><div><br></div><div>The rumour is backed up by information that T-Mobile US and AT&T have stopped holidays for a period starting on the 20th of September. Networks only do this when there is a huge release coming and they need to have all hands on deck to make sure they have enough staff to cover the demand.</div><div><br></div><div>Having worked at T-Mobile UK across two iPhone launch dates (4 and 4S), it's pandemonium on the phones, so it's a very sensible stance to take. </div><div><br></div><div>More information as I get it</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02846171181841504850noreply@blogger.com0