Shazam celebrates 300 million users with new tablet apps

There's something satisfying about pressing that giant 'Shazam' button the music-tagging app that tells you what you're listening to so you don't have to Google the lyrics, has surpassed 300 million users worldwide, the company announced today.
That's no small feat - according to a report from Strategy Analytics, there are a little more than 1 billion smartphone users as of October 2012.
Any app used by almost a third of smartphone users can probably be considered a success.
To celebrate, Shazam announced plans to release redesigned apps for iPads and Android tablets "in the coming weeks."
We still use Shazam mainly to find out the names of whatever annoying new songs are playing on the radio and in bars, but the company announced that the new Shazam tablet apps will make social and mapping features more prominent.
Users of the new Shazam apps will be able to view activity streams to find out what songs and TV shows are being tagged most often and see what people are tagging in any city in the world.
Shazam CEO Andrew Fisher called it "the most efficient way to experience more of the media around you" in a press release.
The app will include a newly redesigned home screen that emphasizes social features, an interactive map that shows tags around the world, improved friend features, faster tagging, automatic re-submission if your initial tag attempts fail due to poor reception, and better integration with other social networks for easier sharing via Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and Gmail.
Shazam also announced that users of the free version of the app will get some nice bonuses soon as well: faster tagging and lyrics display for tagged songs.
The press release also mentioned that the iOS Shazam app is universal, so it seems as if the incoming iPad update will work on iPhones and iPods as well.
No word on whether the same applies to Android devices, but TechRadar asked Shazam to find out and we'll update this story when we hear more.

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Hands-on review: MWC 2013: LG Optimus L3 2

The LG Optimus L3 2 picks up where its predecessor left off, sliding in at the bottom of the Korean firm's smartphone family.
It's a dinky little handset which will appear in various global markets has already been confirmed for the UK where it will retail for around £50-£60 (around $75-$90/AU$73-AU$88).
The Optimus L3 2 release date is pegged for the middle of the second quarter of this year, so we'd expect it to start hitting stores towards the end of April/beginning of May.

We were rather disappointed by the original Optimus L3 which launched at MWC last year, but LG has worked on the device to bring it up to speed.
It still sports the same small compact design cantered round a 3.2-inch display, and the curved edges means it snugly sits in the hand.

The chassis is noticeably plastic but we weren't expecting brushed aluminium at this price point and the Optimus L3 II does feel sturdy enough.
You do get the choice of three colours, black, white and silver, each of which have a slightly different finish on the rear of the L3 2, with the black sporting a glossy look, while white offers you a textured pattern.

We preferred the white version as it provided more grip, but as the Optimus L3 2 is so small you can easily wrap your mitt around it and hold it tight.
The ancient Android Gingerbread operating system has been replaced by the much newer Android Jelly Bean platform, with the Optimus L3 2 running version 4.1.2 out of the box.

LG has added its IPS technology to the 3.2-inch display, but it's very low res and there's no getting away from the fact that you can clearly see the pixels on the 240 x 320 screen.
A light overlay has been put on the Jelly Bean OS but it's relatively inoffensive and adds handy features such as quick settings in the notifications drop down.

The processor has been given a boost over the 800MHz chip found in the original, with the Optimus L3 II benefiting from a 1GHz single-core deal, which coupled with 512MB of RAM and Jelly Bean makes for a pretty good user experience for a low end device.
Where the original was chronically laggy, the Optimus L3 2 runs Jelly Bean efficiently and while it may not have the zip of more powerful devices, we didn't find ourselves getting frustrated.

LG has popped its Quick Memo app onto the Optimus L3 2 which lets you to draw on top of whatever screen you're currently viewing - allowing you to quickly jot down a phone number or draw a picture.
It's a nice feature to have on an entry level device, but the small screen on the handset means drawing with your figure isn't particularly easy, or accurate and we found ourselves generally making a bit of a mess.

The physical home button below the screen is surrounded by an LED light which you can set to flash different colours for various notifications which ping up on your phone.
This feature appears in the whole L-Series II range and it's a handy one to have, as a glance at the phone will tell you if you've got an email, text message or Facebook comment.

Thanks to the 102.6 x 61.1 x 11.9 mm body the home button plus back and menu touch keys either side of it are easy to hit without having to awkwardly shuffle the Optimus L3 2 in your hand.
There's only 4GB of internal storage in the Optimus L3 2, but the addition of a microSD slot means you don't need to be economic with the media you put on the handset, but with its small low res screen you probably won't be sticking movies on it.

You get a 3MP round the back of the Optimus L3 II which is really the minimum we expect from smartphones these days.
There isn't a flash though so you'll want to avoid snapping in low lighting, and there's also no front facing camera so video calling is also out of the question.
Image quality is, as you'd expect, pretty average with the low resolution display not helping the situation, but the camera is at least good enough for the odd picture here and there.

Shutter speed isn't particularly quick, with the Optimus L3 2 taking a couple of seconds to go through the picture taking motions, but there is LG's funky "Chesse Shutter" to hand which lets you take a picture by speaking to the handset.
Say "Cheese", "Smile" or "Whiskey" for example and the Optimus L3 2 will happily snap a photo for you - particularly handy if you're trying to take a picture of yourself. It worked surprisingly well on the noisy show floor.

The keyboard on the LG Optimus L3 2 is a decent offering but is hampered by the size of the screen which means the keys are cramped and it's difficult to tap out a sentence without making a mistake.
Web browsing is also a slow affair as the single core processor struggles to load pages in a decent time, with desktop sites be a big effort for the Optimus L3 II.
The handset does come with the stock Android browser and Chrome pre-installed which at least gives you a couple of pretty decent surfing options, just don't expect to be flying around the world wide web.
The LG Optimus L3 2 seems to be a well equipped smartphone for its bargain basement price and could well prove to be a popular choice for parents looking for a first handset for their little ones.
Obviously the screen, processor and camera are hardly stellar features, but at this price point that can be forgiven as the L3 2 manages to offer up a solid user experience.

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Hands-on review: MWC 2013: Nokia Lumia 720

As well as the budget Nokia 520, Nokia also announced the Lumia 720 at MWC 2013.
The new handsets join Nokia's increasingly broad Lumia range, slotting in around the Lumia 620, 820 and 920 for Windows Phone 8.

The 4.3-inch 720 retains the familiar unibody casing and it's available in five different colours - we've opted to photograph the rather striking mustard yellow. Do you like it? We actually do.
If you've used a Lumia before, the new model will seem unremarkable, but it is a lot lighter than the high-end Lumias at just 128g.

The phone will make its debut in Hong Kong, Vietnam and Singapore soon - the Nokia Lumia 720 UK release date is likely to be in the Spring. It seems the US release date will be further out.

Performance of the handset is snappy - there's a 1Ghz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor inside - but the screen doesn't innvovate - it's 800 x 480 just like the 820's 4.3-inch display. It 217ppi though, and it has a high enough resolution to make some third-party live tiles look a little substandard.
However, all the standard OS and Nokia Here add-on apps look the part, and you won't be disappointed with how things look.



The camera is, again, a selling point for Nokia; Carl Zeiss optics are used as usual, although it's only a 6.7MP snapper. Pictures did look vibrant though, but some images were a bit blurry under the MWC show lights.
Video is 720p at 30fps, while the front camera has a resolution of 1280 x 960.

We've always liked how the Lumias look and feel in the hand, but some of the handsets have been a little too big for our liking. 4.3-inches is a good size

On the top of the handset there's a 3.5mm headphone jack and you can see the camera lens and flash here too.

On the side are the standard three Lumia buttons - volume, screen on/off and the camera control. This picture makes the handset look a lot thicker than it actually is - it's 9mm.

Towards the bottom of the back is a speaker as well as three tiny holes for a Wireless Charging cover, which fits on the back of the device..


The Lumia 720 doesn't have the high end features we've come to expect from the more expensive Lumias but it does have a decent spec sheet for something that's bound to be available on next-to-nothing contracts. Nokia wants to spread the Lumia's appeal - and that of Windows Phone 8 - and sees this and the low end 520 as crucial to its hopes.

See more mobile phones Add comment 'Hands on reviews' are a journalist's first impressions of a piece of kit based on spending some time with it. It may be just a few moments, or a few hours. The important thing is we have been able to play with it ourselves and can give you some sense of what it's like to use, even if it's only an embryonic view. For more information, see TechRadar's Reviews Guarantee.

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Hands-on review: MWC 2013: LG Optimus G Pro

There's a new king at the top of the mobile tree over at the Korean firm as the LG Optimus G Pro struts its stuff at MWC 2013.
Taking over from the LG Optimus G, the Optimus G Pro was officially announced back in January but this is the first chance we've had to get hands on with the new flagship device.
LG says the Optimus G Pro will be available in global markets, although it's bad news for anyone living in the UK as the Korean firm has already confirmed it won't be heading that way.

The LG Optimus G Pro comes equipped with an excellent 5.5-inch full HD IPS display which delivers an eye popping 400ppi, meaning everything looks stunning.
This puts the Optimus G Pro firmly in competition with the Samsung Galaxy Note 2, Huawei Ascend Mate and ZTE Grand Memo in the ever evolving phablet war.
That screen is backed up by a beefy 1.7GHz quad-core processor and 2GB of RAM which sees Android Jelly Bean zip along at a rate of knots making for a pleasing and efficient user experience.

Thanks to that 5.5-inch display the Optimus G Pro is a pretty large device measuring 150.2 x 76.1 x 9.4 mm and weighing in at 160g.
LG has taken steps to make it more manageable for one handed use with a slender bezel running down each side of the display helping you wrap your fingers round the device.

Something which detracts from the Optimus G Pro from a design perspective is the use of plastic, as we're seeing premium handsets such as the iPhone 5, HTC One and Sony Xperia Z sporting classier materials these days.
The gloss finish of the plastic also means that the Optimus G Pro is a pretty slippery customer in the hand offering up very little in the way of grip and we would be concerned about dropping this behemoth.
It's also tricky to hit the power/lock key on the right and the volume rocker and quick key buttons on the left side of the G Pro when holding it in one hand, and we found ourselves employing both mitts when it came to adjusting the volume or unlocking.

The responsive touchscreen meant we were able to merrily skip through homescreens and app list without issue and applications opened up almost immediately on the Optimus G Pro.
LG has added a few touches as part of its Android overlay including quick settings toggles in the notification bar allowing you to easily control Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS and NFC.

QSlide also makes an appearance on the LG Optimus G Pro, allowing you to have multiple applications open at the same time on the expansive 5.5-inch display, which is prefect it you need to read a document while replying to an email, or need make a quick calculation in the middle of a text message.
Video playback on the Optimus G Pro is very impressive and HD movies look excellent on the large screen which also boasts decent viewing angles allowing your friends to huddle round and watch the action.

Battery fans will be pleased to hear that the LG Optimus G Pro comes with a removable 3,140mAh juice pack, which will be in high demand thanks to the HD screen and 4G network capabilities.
The Optimus G Pro is also blessed in the camera department boasting a 13MP lens and single LED flash on its rear, while round the front you get a 2.1MP camera for video calls and self portraits.

As with the rest of the handset, shutter speed is rapid and there's a decent range of modes and settings in the camera app to keep budding photographers busy.
Google Chrome and the stock Android browser both make an appearance on the Optimus G Pro, offering up a slick, fast and visually impressive web experience which you can take on the road thanks to the LTE compatibility.

The Optimus G Pro is an impressive handset offering up super slick Android Jelly Bean and a top notch range of features.
It gives the likes of the Galaxy Note 2 and Xperia Z some serious food for thought and it could go on to be a pretty decent success as LG looks to turn its ship around off the back of a successful Nexus 4 period.

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Qualcomm and doubleTwist bond over Android media streaming

The doubleTwist music player for Android
As much as you might love using an Android phone, there are a few things which as still easier with Apples. Media streaming is a prime example, thanks to Apple's AirPlay protocol.
This could change, if a new project partnership between chip-maker Qualcomm and music player doubleTwist bears fruit. Together they have created MagicPlay, a new open-standard streaming protocol which they are hoping OEMs will incorporate into the next generation of Android smartphones and tablets.
The MagicPlay technology is actually based on an older Qualcomm wireless concept called AllJoyn, which connects compatible (read: Qualcomm) chips creating peer-to-peer networks over short distances.
Wireless connectivity is something doubleTwist knows a thing or two about, having created th successful AirTwist wireless media syncing tool to complement the standard doubleTwist media player for Android phones. AirTwist connects with a client installed on PCs and updates the media library on your phone, so that you always have the most up-to-date music to listen to.
From here, Qualcomm will begin the uphill battle selling MagicPlay to the manufacturers and trying to convince them to use MagicPlay in their media apps rather than the older (and clunkier) DLNA protocol and the new (and considerably more streamlined) Miracast.
Either way, it's a win for consumers. After years of wishing the latest droid could dock and stream like the iPhone, we may finially see something resembling a standard that all the manufacturers can embrace; both in phones and in their home theatres and TVs, too.
Via CNET

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Review: Razer Deathstalker Ultimate

Good integrated touchscreenGenuinely useful functionsStylish designGood build qualitySome minor bugs remain with touchpadChiclet keys not to all tastesA bit priceyBy Dave James from PCFormat Issue 276  February 20th 2013
You wait all year for a super-expensive gaming keyboard with touchscreen controls and then two turn up at once. Following hot on the crazy-priced heels of the Mad Catz STRIKE 7 comes this ultra stylish, ultra techie riposte from peripherals guru Razer.
Like the STRIKE 7 it comes with a touchscreen interface, but aside from that and the £250 price tag, they are almost entirely different takes on the gaming keyboard.
Whereas the Mad Catz look is all rounded-off angles, Meccano-like configurability and stealth-fighter chic, the DeathStalker Ultimate is a matte black slab of stylish gaming goodness. The chopped-off corners stop it being a plain rectangle, but the flat frame and low-profile chiclet keys give it a rather more subtle look than the Mad Catz board.
That said, you've still got the multi-coloured LED backlight shining through the keys, and your eye will always be drawn to the touchscreen trackpad that sits where the numpad ought to live.
That trackpad almost manages to justify the DeathStalker Ultimate's enormous price. The STRIKE 7 had potential (if developers managed to get something interesting out of its resistive touchscreen, which they still haven't), but the Razer has impressive functionality right out of the box. My Windows installation recognised it as a trackpad even before I installed the Synapse 2.0 software from Razer.
Once the Synapse application is in there, things get even better. There are already various interesting little tools for the 4-inch screen, including YouTube, Twitter and Facebook apps, and a Gmail client. These all load on the touchscreen itself like smartphone apps.
For gamers with a single panel, this extra screen is fantastically useful. You can keep tabs on the social world and watch videos of Colonel Meow without having to leave your game. There's even a rudimentary web browser that stays separate from your Windows session.
You also have stopwatch and clock functions, but my favourite is the screenshot button. In screenshot mode you can press a button to capture an image, view ones you've already shot, and upload them to Facebook - all without exiting a gaming session. These dynamic keys can be configured separately too, allowing you to add icons and program functions yourself.
It's by no means perfect though, which is a shame given the price. In certain USB ports the screen and buttons had visible artefacts in them, and my PC would occasionally boot without the touchscreen active. But for the most part the DeathStalker works well, and its extras are genuinely useful.
I'm still not a fan of membrane-switch keyboards, but the chiclets are very responsive, if loosely built.
There's no way I can really talk about the DeathStalker Ultimate in terms of value for money, but it's a thing of beauty, and if you can spend this sort of cash on a very functional peripheral then this is the top-end keyboard of choice.

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Hands-on review: MWC 2013: Huawei Ascend P2

Last year Huawei gave us the world's slimmest and the world's most powerful smartphones in the form of the Ascend P1 S and Ascend D Quad, and now the Huawei Ascend P2 has stolen the "world's fastest smartphone" crown.
In short, Huawei loves a good record breaker (which means it will absolutely love TechRadar), probably due to the fact it generates additional hype around its smartphone launches.
The Chinese firm is firmly setting its sights on the mid range and high end mobile market, as it tries to shake off the budget tag it's developed for itself over recent years.

It all started at CES 2013 when the Ascend D2 and the huge Ascend Mate took centre stage, and the Ascend P2 now slides in below these two to fill the mid-range void in the line up.
The natural successor to the Ascend P1, the Ascend P2's release date is set for the second quarter of this year and it will cost €399 (around £345/$525/AU$510).

For the money you'll get a 4.7-inch 1280 x 720 display with 315 ppi, 1.5GHz quad-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, 13MP rear camera, 1.3MP front camera, Android Jelly Bean (version 4.1), 4G, NFC and a 2,420mAh battery.
Huawei has managed to cram all that tech into a relatively slender frame with the Ascend P2 measuring 136 x 67 x 8.4mm, and weighing a comfortable 122g.

The handset sits nicely in the hand, with the flat back and curved edges of the handset allowing you to grasp it properly, although the all-plastic finish does detract a little from the smart, minimalist design.
It feels solid enough, with the strength enhanced by the sealed chassis - meaning there's no access to the battery inside the handset.

This means you're left with a microSIM slot on the right hand side of the Ascend P2 which is covered by a simple-to-remove plastic flap, just below the easily reached power/lock key.
The Gorilla glass which covers the front of the Ascend P2 extends over the top and bottom of the device, which apparently gives a similar effect to an infinity pool - at least that's according to Huawei's Head of Device, Richard Yu.

However you want to describe the Ascend P2, you'd probably say it's a tasteful design which is clean and professional and it looks like a handset you might actually want to own.
There's no full HD resolution on the 4.7-inch screen because Huawei believes there's no point having anything more than 720p on displays less than 5 inches in size as the human eye can't distinguish the difference.

Not everyone is singing from Huawei's hymn sheet, though, as the HTC One sports the same size display as the Ascend P2 and a full HD screen.
The screen on the Ascend P2 is very good though - it's bright, colourful and well defined, making the heavily customised Android Jelly Bean operating system look good.

In a similar fashion to Nokia and the Lumia 920, Huawei has equipped the Ascend P2 with what it's calling Magic Touch, allowing you to use the handset whilst wearing gloves - an insanely useful feature we wish more smartphone manufacturers would implement.
Huawei has gone to town a little with its Emotion UI overlay, as it looks to give the Ascend P2 a different look and feel to the rest of the Android handsets on the market.

For example, it has completely removed the app draw from the P2 leaving you with just the homescreens to manage your apps from.
At first we found this pretty confusing, as we kept wanting to press the app list key at the bottom of the screen, only to find it wasn't there. However, after a short while we became accustomed to the fact we were stuck with just the homescreens.

Another unique feature is the ability to group a series of different sized widgets together into one larger widget, to provide a personalised homescreen experience and one that reminds us a little of the variably sized Live Tiles on Windows Phone 8.
The default icon design on the Emition UI does come across slightly childish, but the Ascend P2 has over 100 different themes for you to choose from, which changes the icons, wallpaper, widgets and colour scheme.

This means you can make the phone look quite a bit smarter without too much effort, but the pared down options may put off the Android purists.
You can easily manage your apps by dragging one on top of another to create a folder, and you'll find a variety of handy quick settings in the notification bar if you drag down from the top of the screen.

Moving around Android and jumping in and out of apps is generally pretty good, but the Huawei Ascend P2 lacks the zip of the Samsung Galaxy S3 and HTC One.
It's not a huge issue and it's certainly not so slow as to infuriate the user, but some applications did take two or three seconds to load up - the camera being one.

The Ascend P2 sports a dedicated camera key towards the bottom of its right side, which gives you the option to easily load up the app so you can quickly snap a picture.
Although the app may take a little time to load, the shutter button is far more responsive and we were able to snap pictures in quick succession without any hint of slow down.

Picture quality from the rear facing 13MP camera was very good, helped in part by the presence of autofocus and tap-to-focus, which meant we could avoid blurry messes most of the time.
During the launch event for the Ascend P2, Huawei claimed it had equipped the handset with a Super Resolution 2x digital zoom which would put an end to poor picture quality.
In practice this didn't quite seem to be the case, with some pixelation occurring as we zoomed in, but it wasn't as much as we're used to seeing on smartphones.

If you like to play around with your photos, there are a variety of camera effects and filters available in the app, along with modes such a panorama, HDR and low light. There's also a front facing 1.3MP camera, which is perfect for video calls or the odd vanity check.
Huawei is making a big song and dance about the Ascend P2's internet capabilities - they're the reason the manufacturer has dubbed P2 "the world's fastest smartphone".

The Ascend P2 is the first smartphone to come equipped with CAT 4 LTE, meaning you're able to access even faster 4G speeds - apparently maxing out at 150Mbps.
This is faster than the iPhone 5 and Galaxy S3 LTE, which both house the CAT 3 version of the technology.
Sadly we weren't able to put the Ascend P2 properly though its paces as the only internet connection available to us was a rather mediocre 3G network.

In terms of web browser you're provided with the perfectly functional Android default, although our surfing experience was distinctly average thanks to that 3G connection - look out for our full Huawei Ascend P2 review for the proper run down of how well the world's fastest smartphone fares on the web.
Web pages do look great though, thanks to the 720p display, and the automatic text-reflow made reading out favourite TechRadar articles a breeze.
We watched the HD trailer for Rango on the phone and we're pleased to report that the movie looked fantastic on the Ascend P2 and we would happily watch a full length flick on this device.

Thanks to the quad-core processor and 1GB of RAM, the Ascend P2 has enough grunt to run even the most taxing of games and Riptide ran smoothly during our play - though we felt the graphics weren't quite as good as handsets running Tegra 3 processors.
Huawei has also tweaked the onscreen keyboard and thankfully it's still a pretty decent offering with well spaced buttons and adequate auto correct and next word prediction making tapping out a message pretty easy.
The Huawei Ascend P2 is a solid mid- to high-end smartphone with some decent features and a pleasing array of specs.
It doesn't quite have the build quality of the iPhone 5 or HTC One, nor does it have the same snappiness as the excellent Galaxy S3, and the Emotion UI may not be every Android fan's cup of tea.
That said, it will give the likes of the HTC One S, BlackBerry Z10 and Nokia Lumia 820 a right old run for their money, and we look forward to putting the Ascend P2 through its paces in our in-depth review.

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Review: Cooler Master Seidon 120M

Good performanceRemoves need for low-profile RAMPricePeak-to-idle time not very fastBy Dave James from PCFormat Issue 276  February 22nd 2013
There once was a time when the idea of water-cooling was seen as about as outlandish as the way we currently look at people jamming liquid nitrogen into their systems for overclocking challenges. Water-cooling also used to be rather tricksy and damned expensive to boot, but not so any more.
Adding to the glut of closed-loop liquid CPU coolers is Cooler Master's latest series, the Seidon. This Seidon 120M version is the single-fan setup using one 120mm fan with a radiator of the same size, much like the pricier Thermaltake Water 2.0 Performer.
At less than £50 this water cooler is piling into serious air-cooling territory, and with the impressive thermal performance of even these budget liquid chillers it's getting harder and harder to recommend active air-coolers.
There's another string to the Seidon 120M's bow and that's its small footprint in your PC. A £50 air-cooler is likely to have a hefty heatsink setup even before you start adding in the primary or secondary fans, and if you're not sporting some low-profile RAM, things can get tricky. With the Seidon's tiny waterblock there's no such worry, and the radiator is only around double the depth of the 120mm fan you've likely already got exhausting hot air out of the back.
It also means the Seidon 120M is perfect for the burgeoning small-form factor performance PC market. With the rise in quality mini-ITX boards and chassis you also need coolers that aren't going to take up half the case. So, in practical terms, Cooler Master's Seidon 120M is a winner in the price and footprint stakes, but how does it actually perform when it comes to keeping your hot chips chilled?
The answer is: rather impressively for a small radiator cooler. Our test rig uses Corsair's excellent H100; a water-cooler with a 240mm radiator and a pair of 120mm fans keeping it cool. Cooler Master's smaller Seidon 120M does a great job of keeping pace with the beefier H100.
Stock cooling performance
Full CPU load: Degrees centigrade: Lower is better
CM SEIDON 120M: 58
CORSAIR H100: 60
Stock cooling performance
Peak to idle: Seconds: Quicker is better
CM SEIDON 120M: 177
CORSAIR H100: 41
Overclocked performance
Full CPU load: Degrees centigrade: Lower is better
CM SEIDON 120M: 88
CORSAIR H100: 87
With the larger area Corsair's H100 is a more effective cooler, but that doubled radiator only manages to chill things by an extra couple of degrees at best. In fact, at stock CPU speeds, Cooler Master's latest manages to stay a little cooler under load.
Though it has to be said our test H100 has taken a fair bit of punishment over the years. When we ran our 3770K at 4.6GHz the larger liquid cooler showed a bit of an edge at the high end, but still the Seidon 120M ably kept the Corsair cooler in its sights.
Where the larger radiator of the H100 comes into its own is in the time it takes to get the chip from its peak temperature back down to the idle temperatures. At stock speeds the H100 does this in over 40 seconds while the Seidon takes under three minutes whether the chip is at stock speeds or overclocked.
The higher performance of the cooler with the larger radiator was expected, and we also expect the Seidon 240M to be incoming very soon. But for less than £50 the performance of the smaller 120M is impressive and will keep your overclocked chips running happily.

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HTC ONE X

The The brand new htc One X provides the very best cpu, an High definition display along with a sublimely slim body as the Taiwanese company appears to replicate the results of the original Desire.

The One X is really a mobile phone that's got us captivated for some time – using a quad core Processor (Nvidia's Tegra 3) as well as one of the biggest displays on any HTC… and that's without having to be given a massive name like the Titan.

It's obvious from the beginning what HTC is attempting to do with the One X: get rid of the bit of a doom and gloom surrounding the brand's drop in revenue, and bring out a smooth, powerful and, even more important, useable handset that only costs £36 per month (about $57) on a two year deal.

With Ice Cream Sandwich running from the outset, this is the phone that really takes HTC to the next level – but is it a case of too much, too soon for a brand that's still really just over a decade old?

HTC's phones have been slowly moving towards sleeker design ever since the purchase of One & Co (which may have had more than a little to do with the new naming strategy) and the release of the HTC Legend.

Since then, unibody designs and smooth lines have been a feature of its devices, and that principle has been evolved with the HTC One X.

However, before you read any further, a note of caution: if you're not willing to accept a pretty large mobile, then you're better off waiting for the likes of the HTC One S – the One X is a large piece of phone estate in your hand.

But it's that large 4.7-inch screen that is such a stunning feature of the One X – it's a 720p HD display packed into a chassis that's only 8.9mm thick. Plus it's also using the Super IPS LCD 2 technology that, while it lacks the vivid colour reproduction of Samsung's Super AMOLED range, really brings games and movies to life.

We're not going to get into the pros and cons of OLED vs LCD – suffice to say, it's a matter of choice whether you prefer improved contrast ratios or a more true to life colour reproduction. In our opinion, both are excellent and the One X will certainly not disappoint.

Like the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, it's got a pixel density (screen sharpness) that rivals the iPhone 4S, but does it on a screen that's over an inch larger. It's one of those devices that you have to see to really believe, but there's a good chance you'll confuse it with a shop model with a static image Sellotaped onto the front.

The rest of the phone design is, again, pretty subjective. For the large size, it's very light indeed at 130g. That's quite a bit heavier than the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S2 (14g, in fact) but in reality you'll consider it to be almost impossible to feel in the pocket.

The rest of the phone is pretty minimal in design. Unlike the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, we're offered some physical (well, touch sensitive) keys on the front of the HTC One X, meaning the display won't need to jump up and down to show the contextual versions.

There's an expected volume rocker switch on the right-hand side, a power button on the top (accompanied by a 3.5mm headphone jack) and a microUSB slot on the left-hand side – which also doubles a Mobile High-Definition Link to hook up to a TV.

It's a very sparse offering on a phone that's so expansive in its design, and leads to a very minimalist feel, which will likely appeal to many.

That effect is compounded by the microSIM slot on the back of the phone, which requires an Apple-esque device to open it up – and there's no microSD support to be found here either, with the battery locked into the unibody design.

While the smaller SIM will be a slight annoyance to those upgrading from the full-size version, the lack of a microSD slot will be a big worry for many, especially as HD movies and large games will play very well on a phone like this.

There is 32GB of onboard storage, but that's not going to be enough for the ilk of smartphone user that wouldn't buy an iPhone until capacity was raised to 64GB.

The rear of the phone features the 8MP camera, which protrudes quite a lot from the handset, but thanks to the slightly curved nature of the chassis, doesn't affect the phone too much when resting on a table.

The power button on the top of the phone can be quite hard to hit with the phone resting in the palm if you've not got the largest hands in the world, although the travel is such you'll hit it pretty accurately most of the time, which is something some phones fail to manage.

The size is the main design issue we can see for most people – this sleek-looking, lightweight phone will appeal to both men and women, but those with smaller hands will struggle to use the HTC One X effectively without doubling down on their digits.

Alleged Samsung Galaxy S 3 Leaked out

A Polish tech blog published a scoop. Its writer, Piotr Pesta, had written he acquired a hint from an nameless source who stated he (or she) is evaluating Samsung’s Galaxy S 3 together with a photograph to verify it.

The picture revealed the supposed Samsung smart phone set out on a flat work surface having its icons pixelated, perhaps to cover up the source’s identity. Apart from the picture, the original source did not elaborate about the specifics of the alleged Samsung Galaxy S 3.

Nevertheless, studying the picture verifies some rumours concerning the device. On the list of rumours going around is the fact that Samsung Galaxy S 3 may have up to 5 columns of applications in a single display, reducing the necessity to swipe through pages as often.

As for the physical element, we can easily say the smart phone includes a physical home button, speakers, sensors, along with a front-facing digital camera. Now we simply have to verify information regarding its computer hardware and Operating system. Gossip has it that the Straight talk samsung Galaxy S 3 will feature a 1.5GHz processor, a full High definition display, and Google android 4..

Source: OPDA, via Slashgear

Android RAZR MAXX

At merely 8.99mm (.35-inch), the Android RAZR MAXX by Motorola for Verizon wireless is definitely the longest-lasting mobile phone on the market yet still impossibly slim. Outfitted with the exact same wonderful features as the first Android RAZR, the Android RAZR MAXX comes with a much larger 3300 mAh lithium-ion power supply with as much as 21 hrs of talk-time using one charge. Strengthened with Corning Gorilla Glass and surrounded in laser-cut KEVLAR fiber--the most powerful substance in smartphones--the Android RAZR MAXX continues to be among the thinnest 4G LTE mobile phone handsets around. Android strong. RAZR sharp.

LG's OLED HDTV

LG's OLED HDTV which stunned journalists at CES might just be showing up in the market earlier than initially believed having a rumoured release day of May and the cost of 4,941.00 EUR or 6,585.49 USD.

Based on the OLED Association the release is going to be timed with the 65th Cannes Film Festival, a modification of plans after that it was thought they'd be launching later on while in the 2012 Olympic games.

Culminating in a long time of research and development LG have created their 4-Color Pixel and Color Refiner Technologies and positioned it along with LG's very own OLED display to produce what they feel is considered the most real looking tv screen on any Television.

LG OLED 55" High-definition television Specifications

While the display quality will make an impression it's the size that will then take your breath away, at a unbelievable 4mm thin, the LG 55-inch 3 dimensional OLED Television must be among the thinnest panels out there, which makes it slimmer than an apple iphone 4S and not even half the thickness of the Samsung Galaxy S2.

LG have obviously embraced this technological innovation having devoted a considerable sum of their resources into producing the premium technology much better as well as less expensive as demonstrated by LG Electronics Chief executive officer Havis Kwon.

One of the major benefits of OLED over say LCD or LED is definitely the speed, offering a responsiveness that's in excess of 1,000 times that of either.

Add to that its ability to be stuffed into a far more compact design and style and you've got a product which might just steal the show as the most desired devices of 2012.

 Source: OLED Association

Roku 2 XS 1080p Streaming Player

     With well over 150,000 motion pictures and shows offered by the largest and finest places, Roku immediately provides that fantastic title to fit your mood. Begin with the very best Netflix experience around, showcasing up to 1080p High definition video and support for English subtitles. Latest Television shows? Try out Hulu Plus. Countless free of charge motion pictures from Crackle? Check out. The most recent Hollywood releases? Immediately, on Amazon Instantaneous Video. There is even use of high quality services like HBO GO and EPIX, obtainable by way of participating companies.
     Roku 2 delivers a lot more than motion pictures and television shows. Gain access to the very best choice of streaming entertainment out there—over 400 channels, with a lot more arriving at a mad rate. There is live sporting events, music, picture and video sharing, video games, worldwide programming, radio stations, technology news, non-tech news, podcasts, cartoons, clips, kitty tricks, and… well, you get the drift.
     Need to have a break from the motion pictures? The main Roku 2 XS incorporates a Wireless bluetooth remote control with detectors for motion-based gameplay, in addition to game-ready control buttons to assist furious button activity. Hit video games offered include things like the Angry Birds collection, PAC-MAN Championship Edition, Galaga, and Jeopardy. Additionally, a lot more video games are included on a regular basis
     Whenever you need it. Roku streams the experience using the largest collection of live sports programs ever, like National basketball association, NHL, MLS, Ultimate fighting championship, MLB and much more. Dependant upon the league and your subscription, enjoy live and on-demand out-of-market video games on the Television in High definition.
     Visualize having each and every CD on the globe at your fingertips. With Roku in the room, enjoy any music, at any time. Let limitless music from Pandora and MOG take you in new directions—or towards the specific tune you're searching for. From ShoutCast to your iTunes collection, Roku will get your fingertips snapping and feet going.
     Slightly bigger than a coaster, Roku is definitely the tiniest streaming player ever—perfect for sliding nicely next to any Television or entertainment center. In addition, it contains the smallest energy footprint, utilizing lower than 2 Watts when you are enjoying a movie. That is significantly less electricity than a night light. 20 times under a DVR. And 60 times under a well-known gaming console.
     From the easy remote to the easy-to-use user interface, Roku was made to please absolutely everyone. All you have to get going is a high-speed Web connection (along with a Television, of course). The built-in wireless and well guided installation mean you are able to be up and running within a few minutes.

Kindle Fire

     Movies, magazines and children's books come to life using a 7" radiant color touchscreen display that provides 16 million colors in high resolution. Amazon Kindle Fire utilizes IPS (in-plane switching) technologies - very similar technologies compared to that utilized on the apple ipad - for an extra-wide viewing perspective, ideal for sharing your display with other people.
     Created from the ground-up, Amazon kindle Fire's easy, user-friendly interface places the information you cherish close to hand - whirl easily through your latest titles and web pages right from the home screen. Regardless if you are in the mood to view, read, listen, play or browse, you will get to any or all your preferred content with just one touch. It's that straightforward.
     More than 100,000 motion pictures and television shows, which include 1000s of new releases along with your favorite Television shows, are available to stream or download, pay for or rent - all only one touch away. Amazon Prime members get pleasure from limitless, commercial-free streaming that could reach over 10,000 well-known motion pictures and television shows.
     Amazon Kindle Fire includes a state-of-the-art dual-core cpu for quick, powerful operation. Stream audio when searching the internet or read through ebooks when downloading movies. Amazon Silk is really a innovative, cloud-accelerated internet browser that utilizes a "split web browser" architecture to leverage the processing speed and strength of the Amazon Website Services cloud. Supports Adobe® Flash® Player.
     Read through bestsellers, children's ebooks, comic books, and recipe books in vivid color. The Amazon kindle Store features more than One million ebooks, which include 800,000 titles at $9.99 or less. Additionally, more than Two million totally free, out-of-copyright, pre-1923 books can also be found just like Pride and Prejudice.Just forget about memory space - Amazon Kindle Fire provides you with totally free storage space for all of your Amazon digital content within the Amazon Cloud. Your ebooks, videos, music and applications are obtainable immediately to stream or download free of charge, at a touch of your little finger.
     Created for traveling with you wherever you decide to go. Tiny enough to slip inside your handbag and lightweight enough to hold on to in just 1 hand, Kindle Fire is ideal for browsing, playing, studying and shopping on-the-go. By having an Amazon Prime account, Kindle owners can select from over a hundred or so thousand publications to borrow free of charge - including more than 100 Ny Times Bestsellers - as frequently as a ebook per month, without any due dates.
     Amazon kindle makes it simple for taking your documents with you. You are able to e-mail documents - such as Word, PDF and much more - straight to your Amazon kindle so you are able to read them at any time, anyplace. Keep in touch using our built-in email application that becomes your webmail (Gmail, Yahoo!, Hotmail, Yahoo and so forth.) right into a single inbox. Transfer your messages and contact listings from other electronic mail accounts. Extra email applications can be found in the Amazon Appstore for Google android.

Droid Bionic

I've owned my Droid X since it arrived on the scene, and i also purely adore it. I can't picture using a different cell phone. I believe it outshines the iPhone in certain ways. For starters, it features a larger and crisper display. If you're intending to have fun with games, watch videos or shows, this can be a phone to suit your needs. It may not look like it's "that much" larger, however it is and yes it makes a difference. The screen is sharp enough i always view Netflix and HBO shows on my cell phone on a regular basis (have i mentioned the Wi-fi is sufficiently strong enough on the phone for this to become feasible?). Also, many people believe they just have to have their tunes on their iPods. When I acquired this cell phone, I sold my dated iTouch. Are iPods much better at dealing with music then the Droid X? Certainly. But is it a substantial upgrade? No, by no means. The song quality is exactly the same, therefore the only big difference is the user interface. It's super easy to obtain the music from the computer to the cell phone as well, merely a drag and drop approach. Having owned and operated the phone for nearly a year and half, I have to declare that the battery has decreased after a while. After I got the device, the battery life was approximately 8-10 hours using it to some degree during the day. Now that is about 5-7 hrs of heavy use. Having said that, I still really like this phone and would completely recommend it to everyone!