Review LG distinguished itself recently by releasing the UK’s first smartphone with a dual-core processor. But while the Optimus 2X grabbed all the headlines, LG also delivered another high-end handset – single-core, this time – the Optimus Black.
Optimus Black: are LG bosses JK Rowling wannabes?
The name Black hardly distinguishes it, since it’s a colour it shares with 90 per cent of its rivals. The entire front is covered by a single sheet of glass, with a touch-sensitive strip beneath the screen for the four standard Android buttons. Read the rest of this entry »
Review If you’ve not followed developments in the FEAR franchise of late then you might be left somewhat puzzled by FEAR 3′s initial goings-on – the game plunging the player into a set-up which is never particularly embellished or explained. Waking in a prison, series protagonist ‘Point Man’ must not only put up with his rather mundane moniker, but also once more set out in pursuit of his apparitional mother Alma – she being the root of all evil, cause for the end of days and so forth.
Hang in there
Luckily – though perhaps unluckily might be a better description – Point Man also has the malevolent spirit of his dearly departed psychotic brother, Paxton Fettel, in tow. Fettel, like Point Man, is also apparently on a preordained path to meet their mother, but as a raving lunatic, has a rather different view of the end of the world. Despite their differences (Point Man did after all fire the shot that killed his corporeal body) the two set off in begrudging tandem on their way to the inevitable showdown with mummy dearest. Read the rest of this entry »
Android App of the Week Socialising your mobile photography is all the rage these days, a picture presumably being worth at least 140 alphanumeric characters, and this is where Lightbox shines, as a simple way to share your pictures with your social network.
Camera by Lightbox (left) beefs up the Android Camera app, while Lightbox Photos (right) handles gallery duties
Install Lightbox and two icons appear on your phone, Camera by Lightbox and Lightbox Photos. The first does the duty of your phone’s Camera app but with added connectivity options. The second lets you see the images hosted on your free Lightbox account. Read the rest of this entry »
Review Now that playing digital files from USB keys, or streaming them over a network, is a feature built into many TVs and almost every new gadget that plugs into one, it’s inevitable that standalone players will become cheaper. The PopBox sits at the bottom of Syabas Technology’s Popcorn Hour range of media players.
PopBox 3D: a nondescript black slab of a box only 2001 fans would love
Launched in the US late last year – to a less than enthusiastic reception – it’s now available in the UK, but here revamped with firmware fixes and the addition of BBC iPlayer to the on-board apps.
The PopBox is a compact and rather nondescript black slab, about the size of a chunky paperback. While the remote control is friendly enough – and brightly backlit in case you’re using it in the dark – the box is a mixed affair when it comes to setting up. Read the rest of this entry »
Review Tight spots don’t come much trickier than the one netbook makers find themselves in. Squeezed from above by prettier, more interesting tablets, netbooks such as Samsung’s £350 N350 are barely appealing alternatives to Apple’s glossy view of the future.
Samsung’s NC110: more of the same, but with a gloss-less screen
And take the new NC110 out of the box and it looks, depressingly, like business as usual. There’s a 10.1in screen, a dual-core Atom processor and 1GB of RAM, all of which adds up to just enough to run Windows 7 Starter edition, assuming you’re brave enough to remove the processor-crushing irritation that is Norton Internet Security. Read the rest of this entry »
