This week saw the Netflix app for iOS updated to version 2.2, bringing with it enhancements to the player user interface.
Netflix is the world’s leading subscription service for watching TV episodes and movies on your phone. This Netflix mobile application delivers the best experience anywhere, anytime.
– Enhancements to the player user interface
– Ability to select audio language when available (requires iOS 5.0 or greater)
– General performance improvements
As of this week, stock of the recently launched G-Technology G‐RAID Thunderbolt drive is available in UK stores. The G-RAID Thunderbolt is available in capacities of 8, 6 and 4TB.
Aimed at the professional AV creative market, the G‐RAID with Thunderbolt drive delivers blazing speeds, as well as massive capacity, transforming Thunderbolt‐enabled laptops and desktops into full‐fledged video editing workstations. With this speed, it can transfer a full‐length, high‐definition, internet‐ready H.264 movie in less than a minute.
By incorporating 10 gigabit per second (Gbps) Thunderbolt technology by Intel® and two 4TB, 7200 RPM Deskstar™ hard drives, the G-RAID with Thunderbolt sets a new capacity and performance standard for RAID storage. It features two Thunderbolt ports, enabling the connection of up to six Thunderbolt peripherals such as additional G‐RAID drives, high‐resolution displays and professional video capture devices. It also delivers up to 280MB/sec sustained throughput to handle multi‐stream compressed HD workflows, including REDCODE, DVCPro HD, XDCAM HD and ProRes 422.
Building on G‐Technology’s AV storage experience, and the capabilities of Intel’s Thunderbolt technology, highlights of the new G‐RAID with Thunderbolt family include:
· Ultra high performance with up to 280MB/sec sustained throughput
· Two‐drive, RAID 0 designed specifically for professional content creation applications
· Supports multi‐stream HDV, DVCPro HD, XDCAM HD, ProRes 422 and uncompressed SD workflows
· Dual Thunderbolt ports for daisy chaining up to six Thunderbolt‐compatible peripherals
· Time Machine® ready, plug‐and‐play setup on Mac OS
· 8TB, 6TB and 4TB capacities
· Two, high‐speed 7,200 RPM Deskstar hard drives
· Solid all‐aluminum case for ultimate durability
· Kensington® Lock slot for security
· Smart‐cooling fan technology for cool, quiet operation
· Three‐year limited factory warranty
G‐Technology’s new G‐RAID with Thunderbolt drive family is now available nationwide in Apple and Jigsaw stores. The manufacturer’s suggested retail price for the 8TB drive is £769.99, 6TB is £654.99 and 4TB is £539.99.
Learn more from the G-Technology websiteLucasArts, a Lucasfilm Ltd. company, announced a new internally developed videogame franchise, Star Wars 1313.
The game will make its formal debut at the 2012 Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles June 5-7. As players take control of a lethal bounty hunter in a never-before-seen dark and mature world, Star Wars 1313 introduces an integrated development approach by bringing together great artists across the Lucasfilm organization, including LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic, Lucasfilm Animation Ltd. and Skywalker Sound. A third person cinematic action adventure game, Star Wars 1313 will bring to life the Coruscant underworld, the most dangerous place in the Star Wars galaxy.
Named for Level 1313, a ruthless criminal underground deep below the surface of the planet of Coruscant, the game puts players in control of a deadly bounty hunter as he uses an arsenal of exotic weaponry to hunt down his marks and uncover the truth surrounding a criminal conspiracy. Star Wars 1313 emphasizes epic set pieces and fast-paced combat with a hero who uses human skills and gadgets, rather than supernatural Force powers, to make his way through this dangerous world.
“We’re excited to share one of the projects LucasArts has been hard at work developing,” said Paul Meegan, President, LucasArts. “Star Wars 1313 dives into a part of the Star Wars mythos that we’ve always known existed, but never had a chance to visit. We are committed to bringing the best gameplay experience and visual fidelity to life and I truly believe the work we are showcasing at E3 will speak for itself.”
More details about Star Wars 1313 will surface in the coming months. Visit www.StarWars1313.com for the latest updates.
We hope to see a lot more of Star Wars 1313 at E3 this coming week. We will of course bring you more on this when we have it,
Dolby Laboratories announced that it has entered into a two-year agreement with Lenovo, the world’s second largest PC vendor, to include Dolby Home Theater v4 or Dolby Advanced Audio v2 technologies in select Lenovo products, including future ThinkPad, ThinkCentre, IdeaPad and IdeaCentre PC product lines.
“At Lenovo we recognize how crucial it is to keep pace with consumer demands for a top quality entertainment experience available through PCs and laptops”, said Bai Peng, Vice President and General Manager, IdeaPad Business Unit, Lenovo. “We are thrilled to be working in collaboration with Dolby, a consumer trusted brand, to provide a uniquely rich audio experience, ensuring a great, all-around multimedia entertainment device for our customers.”
“Adding to our reputation as a significant supplier of business laptops, we are excited that people are using Lenovo PCs for entertainment and social interaction, and that is why we are working with Dolby to bring high-quality audio and cinematic surround-sound to Lenovo consumer and enterprise product lines.” said Dilip Bhatia, Vice President and General Manager, ThinkPad Business Unit, Lenovo. “By delivering the best audio features and listening experiences, Lenovo aims to meet the evolving needs of our customers, who want a powerful and versatile way to enjoy music, movies, television and games on a PC.”
Today’s connected world has changed the way people enjoy movies, music and games. Dolby’s entertainment technologies are designed to solve a number of challenges associated with providing a high-quality PC or mobile audio entertainment experience. For example, distortion and, low volume playback are common problems with the small speakers built into today’s laptops. Also several audio problems arise when transferring an experience intended for the cinema environment to smaller personal entertainment devices such as PCs, tablets and cell phones.
As a leader in delivering premium quality audio, Dolby helps preserve and maintain the integrity of the artist’s vision from creation, through distribution and rendering.
“Dolby is thrilled to expand our relationship with Lenovo, so that more Lenovo customers can enjoy entertainment in the way it was envisioned by creators, delivered right to their laptop,” said Mike Chao, Managing Director, Greater China, Dolby Laboratories. “Together with Lenovo, we aim to address a rapidly growing demand for high-definition content delivered across a wide range of devices.”
The Dolby PC Entertainment Experience program offers two technology suites, Dolby Home Theater v4, which delivers immersing surround sound and high fidelity audio for all forms of entertainment content, and Dolby Advanced Audio v2, which delivers a consistent listening experience and virtual surround sound via built-in PC speakers as well as high-fidelity audio for all forms of entertainment content.
The following features are included in Dolby Home Theater v4:
Dolby Advanced Audio v2 offers Surround Virtualizer (for built-in speakers), Volume Leveler, Volume Maximizer, Graphic Equalizer, Audio Optimizer, and Audio Regulator.
The Amazon Mobile app for Windows Phone has been updated to version 1.8, and finally brings with it support for UK and German stores.
The Amazon Mobile App allows Windows Phone users to quickly search, compare prices, read reviews, share products with friends, access Gold Box Deals, and make purchases on Amazon using a simple, yet elegant, interface. To make on-the-go shopping and price comparison even easier, the Amazon Mobile App includes helpful shopping features that allow users to scan a barcode or type a search to quickly compare prices and check availability. Users may also save time by pinning the Amazon barcode scan tile to their Start screen, enabling them to simply tap the tile to take them straight to the barcode scanner.
Shoppers are able to access Amazon’s US, United Kingdom, and Germany sites from a single app by simply selecting their desired Amazon country store. Amazon customers have full access to their existing cart, wish lists, payment and Amazon Prime member shipping options, order history, and 1-Click settings. All purchases made on Amazon Mobile are routed through Amazon’s secure servers just as they are on the web.
* Support for United Kingdom and Germany country stores.
* We hate bugs as much as you do (so we fixed a bunch).
CoPilot are offering a free upgrade for all CoPilot Live v8 iPhone, iPad Android Customers giving them access to all the new features.
This is what CoPilot posted on their blog:
We have great news for all CoPilot Live v8 iPhone, iPad & Android North America and USA customers. You can now upgrade to get the latest and greatest CoPilot features for FREE!
As an existing CoPilot Live v8 customer you can unlock turn-by-turn, voice-guided navigation features in our new CoPilot GPS app at no cost. By upgrading, you’ll continue to enjoy unlimited CoPilot Live navigation, only better – and with regular app updates in the future. Plus, we’ll restore all your existing CoPilot Live Favorites, Recents and subscriptions!
CoPilot GPS gives you our latest and greatest navigation features, including alternate routes, drag and drop route editing, and a sleek new user interface designed specifically for the latest smartphones and tablets.
Here’s how to get your free upgrade:
Important: You do not need to delete your CoPilot Live v8 app in order to upgrade.
1. Download our latest CoPilot Live v8 free app update in iTunes or Google Play
2. Launch your CoPilot Live v8 app and sign in with your existing CoPilot ID (email address) Click here if your forgot your password
3. Tap Upgrade Now. You’ll be asked if you want to back up your v8 Favorites, Recents and subscriptions before upgrading.
4. Once your CoPilot Live has completed the backup, you’ll be automatically directed to the App Store/Google Play to download CoPilot GPS
5. When you initially launch CoPilot GPS, sign in with your existing CoPilot ID (the one you signed in with on your v8 app) to activate your free upgrade and transfer your v8 Favorites, Recents and subscriptions. It will take a few moments to restore everything. Please note if you tap Create Later you will have to go to MyCoPilot > Register or Sign In to complete the upgrade.
6. On the My Maps screen, tap Get Maps. Choose the map region you wish to download from the list.
7. Once the map download is complete, the map will be stored on-board your device. Now you’re ready to start navigating!
If you try it out, let us know what you think of it!
Gameloft have announced that N.O.V.A. 3 – Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance is now available on Google Play for a range of Android devices.
The most immersive and impressive sci-fi FPS franchise on smartphones is back! Fight for mankind’s survival in the greatest space shooter on mobile devices!
Four months have passed since Kal ruined the Volterites’ plans by sabotaging their war factories, and stopping the extraction of the Judger Artifacts. However, following the assassination of President Folsom, the government surrendered the colonies to the Volterite Protectorate in order to prevent civil war amongst the increasingly pro-Volterite citizens.
Kal Wardin has been laying low since Folsom’s death, but now he has received a desperate plea from Yelena to come to Earth. Once again, the hero must rise to save mankind!
An Epic Space Drama (single player campaign)
• Humanity finally returns to Earth after years of exile. Kal Wardin must rise again to protect his kind.
• Extended powers & weapons (Flamethrower, squasher, freezegun and more) & abilities (repel, shield, shift + more)
• Improved enemies from N.O.V.A. 2, plus brand new enemies to battle against.
• Multiple environments: From terra-formed Earth to frozen Volterite City, and more.
• 10 levels in the single-player which will last 5+ hours.
Evolved 12P multiplayer
• Now includes highly anticipated vehicles, such as war buggy, mech, and jetpack (you also experience these in the single player campaign)
• For the first time, truly drive vehicles and team up to defeat your enemies!
• 6 game modes across 6 different maps (w/ match customisation options such as aim assist on/off, killchains on/off, adjustable time limit, kill limit & max players)
• New players customizable classes – weapons, perks, items & add-ons unlocked as you rank up: add-ons include faster reload, extended magazine etc. & items include jetpack, chemical grenades etc. – all of which can be saved as character pre-sets for convenience.
The next visual and technical benchmark
• Dual core optimized: Dynamic lightning & shadows, real physics engine, huge draw distance, highly detailed textures and geometry
• Story told through cinematics, supported by compelling characters and interactive cut-scenes
• Uses Gameloft’s own proprietary engine
Pure yesterday announced the availability of Contour 200i Air, a powerful and stylish wireless audio system with Apple AirPlay that allows the user to play their music wirelessly via a PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch without the need to dock the device.
At an SRP of just £199.99, the Pure Contour 200i Air not only supports wireless streaming, but also includes a dock for iPad, iPhone and iPod for charging as well as music playback.
Contour 200i Air is one of the first products with Apple AirPlay to include Wi-Fi login sharing, which means that it is extremely easy to set up. All the user has to do is dock their iOS device, which is connected to their home Wi-Fi network, press the Wi-Fi setup button on the back of Contour 200i Air and accept a message displayed on the iOS device asking whether they want to ‘share Wi-Fi settings’.
Says Colin Crawford, Pure’s director of marketing: “Some day we’ll wonder why we ever had to physically connect devices, and Apple AirPlay is leading that behavioural seachange. There is nothing to beat the convenience of sitting back in your armchair to control your music collection with your iPad or iPhone, while the music itself is played beautifully and powerfully by Contour 200i Air.”
Contour 200i Air connects simply to the user’s home network via Ethernet or WiFi, and produces 36W RMS of digital quality sound delivering an expansive, room-filling listening experience. The DSP corrected, high-efficiency audio amplifiers and custom designed 3.5 inch dual full-range speaker drive units ensure exceptional clarity and tonal richness.
Contour 200i Air is an ideal companion to the free Pure Lounge app which enables access to tens of thousands of internet radio stations, on demand content (podcasts and listen again programmes) and ambient sounds, as well as the ability to discover, explore and listen to millions of music tracks via the Pure Music subscription service**. All content from the Pure Lounge app including Pure Music, can be streamed wirelessly to Contour 200i Air.
‘Works with iPhone, iPod and iPad’ compliant, the Pure Contour 200i Air allows users to dock, charge and play their iPad, iPod or iPhone. When docked, music stored on the Apple device can be controlled using the supplied credit card style remote control. It is also possible to connect the Contour 200i Air to a home AV system using the digital audio ouput and there is an auxiliary input for connecting an MP3 player. A multi-coloured LED status indicator shows which source the Contour 200i Air is playing. Software updates are delivered seamlessly to Contour 200i Air over WiFi.
As well as being a key part of the expanding Contour dock family, Contour 200i Air is also part of the an EcoPlus programme, a statement of Pure’s ethical philosophy and ongoing commitment to looking after the environment. All Pure products are designed to minimise their environmental impact and manufactured in ethically approved and audited facilities. They have reduced power consumption in operation and standby, use recycled packaging materials, have the smallest possible packaging and components selected to minimise environmental impact.
Learn more from the Pure website
Earlier in the week the ITV Player app for iOS was updated and now it’s the turn of the Android version.
Catch up on ITV programmes from the last thirty days, on your mobile device.
ITV Player on Android is ITV’s video catch-up service for mobile and tablet devices.
This is the first Android application that allows you to view ITV programmes on your handset.
You can watch all ITV programmes that we have the rights to show on mobile, for up to thirty days after broadcast.
– Works on your Android mobile and tablet devices
– Requires a Wifi connection to playback programmes
– Catch up on programmes from ITV1, ITV2, ITV3, ITV4 and CITV
– Free to download with unlimited usage
– Browse recommended programmes
– Search for programmes by channel or alphabetically
To use this application you need a mobile phone or tablet device that runs Android 2.3, Adobe Air 3.1 (or higher) and is connected to wireless internet.
– You can now watch content for up to 30 days after broadcast
– Inclusion of CITV content
– Exit button – we listened to your feedback and you can now fully close the app
– Parental Controls – you can now set a 4 digit PIN to prevent access to content that carries a Guidance warning
– Improved usability and carousel responsiveness
– Fixes various performance and stability issues
Microsoft have just updated SkyDrive for the iPhone and iPad, taking it to version 2.1.
• Bug fixes.
• Updated to support iPad, including the new iPad with Retina display.
• Choose multiple photos or videos to upload from your iPhone or iPad.
• Share your files and photos—send a link in email or get a link you can copy and paste.
• Manage your files—move, delete, rename, or create new folders.
• Open your SkyDrive files in other iOS apps.
Are you using SkyDrive yet?
Take a look at the day with spent with Microsoft using SkyDrive Download now from the Apple App Store
NVIDIA have announced that they will be releasing Windows 8 WHQL-certified graphics drivers next week.
This is what NVIDIA posted:
In conjunction with today’s launch of Microsoft Windows 8 Release Preview and the opening of the Microsoft Windows Hardware Quality Labs (WHQL) for Windows 8, NVIDIA has received Windows 8 certification for its new R302 graphics drivers.
The WHQL certification of R302 drivers highlights the fact that NVIDIA is in lock-step with Microsoft and is fully prepared for Windows 8.
The new Windows 8 WHQL-certified GeForce R302 drivers will be available for download early next week from GeForce.com (Note: R302 drivers will be Windows 8 only. Other Windows operating systems will continue to use R300 drivers).
NVIDIA’s Windows 8 drivers support all the features in the new Windows Display Driver Model (WDDM) v1.2. The drivers also support award-winning NVIDIA 3D Vision and 3DTV Play products, allowing you to play more than 600 games, watch Blu-ray movies and view photos – all in 3D.
So let’s keep an eye out for them next week.
We will also be meeting with NVIDIA at E3 next week to talk about their Tegra 3 enhanced gaming offerings.
Next week sees the annual E3 Computer and Video Games show in LA, and CDW will be there to cover it!
E3 is the world’s premier trade show for computer and video games and related products. The show is owned by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), the U.S. association dedicated to serving the business and public affairs needs of the companies, publishing interactive games for video game consoles, handheld devices, personal computers, and the Internet.
E3 draws tens of thousands of professionals to experience the future of interactive entertainment. The most influential people leading the most innovative companies in the business attend E3 to see ground-breaking new technologies and never-before-seen products for computers, video game consoles, handheld systems, mobile, and the Internet.
So expect lots of tweets, pictures and news as we see what’s coming this year, and next!
We will be attending all the big press conferences from Microsoft, Sony, EA Games, Nintendo and Ubisoft, so keep checking out CDW for the latest news.
Is there anything you would like us to cover? Just let us know.
Microsoft have released a small update to it’s AutoUpdate for Mac tool, taking it to version 2.3.4.
If you are running Office for Mac you should go update now.
RIM announced the release of BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.1.0.560 to developers. Read on for details!
RIM released the latest beta version of BlackBerry PlayBook OS, version 2.1.0.560, recently. Here is what RIMm had to say about this beta:
Today we are releasing a beta of BlackBerry® Tablet OS 2.1.0 for developers to test their applications with. Developers can test using devices or a simulator, and there are some items that I think will be of particular interest.
The WebKit implementation on BlackBerry Tablet OS continues to keep pace with the latest updates to the WebKit project. There are numerous updates included which keep the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet at the forefront for Tablet Browsers in the market, as seen by our HTML5 Test Score (391 and 10 bonus points).
This latest score at html5test.com is a bit out of date, but I’m sure that won’t last long once you’ve got your hands on the beta. The beta is an improvement of 18 points and 1 bonus point over 2.0.1, most due to the inclusion of the FileSystem API.
There are three major enhancements to the Android™ Runtime in 2.1.0:
- Each Android app will now run in its own window. This greatly improves the user experience and consistency among the other application runtimes.
- Access to the Camera hardware is now supported for Android apps, allowing many more application types to work on the BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet.
- In-App Payment is now supported through the BlackBerry Payment SDK, so Android applications can include virtual items for sale in their applications.
But wait, there’s more!
There are a couple other items I noticed that I think will appeal to some developers. Full device encryption is now supported, so that the whole device and personal partition can be secure. If you develop an application that deals with sensitive personal information, you may want to include a suggestion to your users that they turn this feature on. Finally, there is a minor update I noticed which developers asked for and will be well received: screenshots are now saved in lossless PNG format. That should help quite a bit when you want to promote your application and add screenshots to the BlackBerry App World™ storefront.
For those of you wandering around the rest of the BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.1 beta, you’ll notice a few extra enhancements geared towards end users such as:
- Portrait support for Email, Calendar and Contacts
- Improved folder support including IMAP folder support
The other 2.1 features will come full steam when the new OS is commercially released. The 2.1 Android SDK will be released in beta coinciding with the OS release, and the 2.1 Native SDK will be posted next week, with an update to the Adobe® AIR® SDK to come shortly after.
I reviewed this tablet here and and found it lacking in email and calendar apps, so these changes are welcome indeed. If you are a developer, go and get your beta and test your apps!
Register and Download PlayBook OS Beta