Posted by: Nik Taylor

Among the popular stories on Tech & Gadgets this week – including news on Sony’s 3D TV plans, iPlayer’s arrival on Freesat and the fact that the world hasn’t ended now the LHC is back up and running  – has been this tale of the world’s most expensive iPhone.

Now, you might think that shelling out for an iPhone is fairly expensive as it is, but try stumping up for this one that’s been lobbed in a bucket of 22-carat gold and covered in 190 diamonds (including one seven-carat beast of a stone which takes the place of the navigation key).

Tasteful? No. Pricey? You betcha. This understated little number will set you back the princely sum of £1.92 million – a chunky £1,919,400 more than your common or garden iPhone 3G S.

Still, it does come with a rather fancy presentation box, hewn from a single slab of granite and weighing a chunky 7kg. I’d imagine storing it in a case made of solid rock will have a somewhat detrimental effect on the phone’s reception, not to mention your own ability to hear it ring. But then, if you can afford a phone like this, you’ve probably got a flunky to take care of that kind of thing for you.

Tech & Gadgets greatest hits this week

Geocaching nears the million mark

Review: Left 4 Dead 2

Obsolete in 2010?

Posted by: Jane Douglas

The week in gadget news has brought us Twitter, Facebook and Last.fm for the Xbox, as well as a new video delivery service for the PlayStation 3, a delay for the mythical Apple tablet (now with OLED screen) and some revelations about the Chrome OS.

The expectation from Google that its OS will be for a secondary, supplementary device is notable – almost as much as the fact that “as a consumer, you can’t go download Chrome OS… You will have to go and buy a Chrome OS device.” Curiouser and curiouser.

And, to finish, a few bits from T&G. Bon weekend!

2010’s endangered gadgets

Review: Dragon Age: Origins

Is this the perfect netbook?*

*/internet tablet/netpad/smartbook?

Posted by: Jane Douglas

Despite many games having cleared the way for the Modern Warfare 2 juggernaut, strategically shifting release dates into next year, there’s more than enough to play right now, even if military shooters aren’t your bag.

I’m still sinking time into BioWare’s Dragon Age: Origins which, like many a western RPG, got its claws into me somewhere around the 10-hour mark.

Assassin’s Creed II has been demanding my attention for days. So when am I going to make time for Left 4 Dead 2? And to top it off, New Super Nintendo Bros Wii - as raved about by Mr Martinet in the podcast - is out today.

It almost makes you grateful Modern Warfare 2’s single-player campaign was so very short. Almost.

The Grudge: The Game

Ju-on: The Grudge, a Wii exclusive, has been out in the UK for a while – and much longer in the US and Japan – but I hadn’t managed to give a spin till this week.

It’s a curious, even promising, concept, selling itself as a “haunted house simulator” instead of a survival horror game. So it’s a first-person ghost train, not a spooky shooting gallery: you’ve no gun, just the world’s least efficient flashlight, as you stumble through creepy deserted buildings after your runaway dog.

You’re not quite on rails, but there’s just one path; you direct your movement and your view with the remote, picking up a battery or key here, being assaulted by a mad-eyed onryō there.

Sadly, the jump moments lose their impact over time, despite the freakiness of the meowing kid-ghost, and the controls are awkward; I spent too much time turning in slow circles or unintentionally examining the ceiling.

There’s something to the concept, though: the forced (maddeningly slow) walking pace and absence of weapons do make a player feel vulnerable, which is all for the good in a horror game. How vulnerable did you feel as Resident Evil 5’s Chris Redfield, armed to the teeth and punching boulders?

Guest blog post: David McCarthy, Rising Star Games

This week, I've been playing Bayonetta. Bayonetta is a game that features a beehive-wearing, leather-clad dominatrix who wears a formidable set of secretary-glasses and four guns, strapped to her arms and legs. It's from the same guy who created Devil May Cry and Viewtiful Joe, and it's just as full of glorious silliness as both of those games. It is relentlessly fast and increasingly excessive, with an increasingly rapid succession of bosses that just get bigger and bigger as the game goes on.

But I think Bayonetta is interesting for another reason. It's entirely in English.

The relationship between most Japanese people and the English language is a strange one: everybody is made to learn English at school, but there seems to be very little enthusiasm, or even understanding, outside the school gates - a bit like the way almost nobody in Britain can speak French. In spite of this mass incomprehension, though, English is routinely used for advertising slogans (like Honda's ‘The Power of Dreams', or the make-up brand Kate and its ‘No More Rules') and (sometimes in pretty mangled form) as decoration on the packaging of products. 

But it's only games like Bayonetta that seem to subject the Japanese to prolonged exposure of English: Japanese games, intended for Japanese gamers (who, remember, generally can't speak English) are routinely in English. Imagine going into your local game store and buying Shenmue, or Final Fantasy, and finding that not only all of the voice-acting is in Japanese, but also all of the menus. That's a bit like what it must feel like for Japanese gamers when they buy a game like Bayonetta. It's difficult to even persuade publishers like Sega to release games like Yakuza or Shenmue with Japanese voices in the west; and yet here they are releasing a game in Japan with English voices.

But why? I don't really know the answer. I've been told that England is perceived as ‘glamorous' in Japan, but that doesn't tally with my experience. So I guess it must have something to do with the huge role that coin-op gaming has played in Japan, where English menus made it easy to localise beat ‘em ups for foreign markets. But I'm really just speculating - so if you know the answer, please let me know!

Read more from David on Hoshi Club at Rising Star Games

Posted by: Nik Taylor

There’s been plenty going on this week; YouTube announcing full HD streaming, jailbroken iPhones getting hit by another virus, the full launch of Microsoft’s search engine Bing. But really its been all about the release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Activision’s steamrollering behemoth of a game that’s smashing every record in its path. If you missed our coverage on launch day, look back through the blog for games reviewer Simon Munk’s as-it-happened opinions on the whole of the single-player campaign, and then check out his full review on the main site. After that, if you’ve not already got a copy glued inside your console, well… you’d best go pick one up, hadn’t you? (and if it’s a PC copy you’re after – you can do just that at our games download store)

Previously, on T&G…

Vote for your game of the decade

The latest top gadgets

 
Hands-on with the Samsung H1

Posted by: Nik Taylor

Our friends over at T3 are on a mission: to create the ultimate netbook. They’re taking the whole concept back to basics and adding killer features to a slick design that, once complete, they hope will actually go into production. As you can see from the teaser pics below, things are coming along rather nicely.

MATERIALS
It stays ultra light thanks to a combination of magnesium alloys, perforated aluminium and carbon fibre, but it’s still a heavyweight on the inside, powered as it is by Windows 7

SIDE SCREENS
Two info bar touchstrips run along either side of the main display. They’re always visible and on hand to quickly change songs, spot new email arrivals and bring up photos as and when you want

KEYBOARD
This keyboard is retractable, so you can keep it out of the way when not in use. Even when pulled out, it’s not too imposing, with razor-thin keys like those developed for mobile phones

CONNECTIONS
With an industry-norm-shattering four USB ports, an audio out for headphones and speakers, and DVI to attach a monitor and a TV tuner, the Netpad keeps you connected in every conceivable way

MULTI-PURPOSE LID
A carbon fibre lid keeps the screen safe during transport, and transforms into a stand to prop up the screen when you want to watch movies. You can detach it completely if you prefer to lay the device flat

Keep an eye on the main site next week for a full photo gallery of how this uber-desirable gadget is shaping up. In the meantime, let us know on the message board what features you would like to see on the perfect netbook. You might even find your suggestion incorporated into the final design.

Posted by: Nik Taylor

Microsoft’s search engine Bing launches officially in the UK today, having shed the beta tag it’s been carrying since going live earlier in the year. It’s hard to write about this on an MSN blog without sounding like I’m trying to give it the hard sell, but there are some genuinely cool features on Bing that you really should see.

We’ve got a great feature in Tech & Gadgets which highlights all the key features, but for now here are some of my favourites.

Main page image
The home page background is changed every day, and the photos are always really striking. In the background are facts about that image, which you can uncover by hovering your mouse pointer over certain areas of the page. And you can scroll back through previous pictures by clicking on the arrows at the bottom right.

Visual search
This new feature already looks cool, but it will be excellent once it incorporates more content. It’s for those times when you want to search by image rather than word; for instance, if you’re looking for a footballer you’ve just seen on TV, but whose name you don’t know. Click on the category you want to search through and keep clicking through the sub-categories to bring up picture lists of all the matching results.

Categorized search
We’re told only one in four searches is successful straight away; all the rest have to be refined. The usual way to refine a search is to tweak your terms, either adding or removing words – but Bing is trying a different approach. It lists the results for your initial search and, on the left of the page, shows an ‘explore pane’ which lists categories you can click on to refine your search. It’s a quick way to drill down into results to get to what you’re looking for.

Better maps
Online maps just keep getting better, and the new Bing maps are very slick indeed. As a Londoner, my favourite feature is the option to overlay the tube map on top of the existing map.

All good stuff – take a look for yourself.

Right on time – the closing credits are rolling as I type this. So, that’s a total of around seven hours non-stop single-player play today. Overall? Absolutely slick presentation, spectacular setpieces, awesome gunfights – this is clearly one of the games of the year. It’s even more polished than Uncharted 2. Visually it’s brilliant too.

There are negatives to be had – it’s short, again (that was one of the gripes fans had with the original), and the plot and much of the script is bottom-of-the-barrel military-shooter standard. For such a slick game, it’s a shame more thought hasn’t been applied to providing emotive depth, some smart laughs to lighten things up and some real character voices. This would have made the game even more involving and intense in single-player. That said, it’s still an adrenaline ride like nothing else this year.

What about multi-player? That I’m saving for when my kids are asleep tonight (and can’t hear me cursing on Xbox Live). Full results on what I think of online and the new Special Ops coop mode tomorrow in the main review. For now, hope you’ve had as good a day as I have…

Ah, so it’s the old double, triple, quadruple cross. Or something. The plot has got so daft it may, as Charlie Brooker once said, be taking place in the mind of a goose. And the voiceovers are getting more and more deep-voiced and serious to match.

Still, while the plot is complete rubbish, the game continues to thrill – even though my hands and eyeballs are starting to tire. The last US Marine mission I played, through a nuked wasteland reminiscent of Fallout 3 might play starkly and emotively in the US, but here it felt a bit daft. Still, leave it to the British SAS missions in Modern Warfare 2 to focus the game again – with attack/defend missions heavy in tension, tactics and gunfire and a superb running battle through a airplane junkyard.

OK, I take it back – the US Marines kick butt in Modern Warfare 2. They settled into a bit of a holding pattern there, then blam, came out of it brilliantly. While the plot is still completely ridiculous, the latest Marines mission, set in a capital city, was excellent – building clearance, SAM sites, helicopter gunships – generally big fireworks action with suitably stirring music.

Mind you, a certain SAS prison escape mission preceding that was also quite good. Well, when I say quite I mean very.

On a separate note, as I delve deeper into the single-player, I’m really starting to appreciate how well-balanced the weaponry is. It’s always lying around in plentiful supply (on regular mode anyway). And so you’ve got lots of opportunity to try out the varied arsenal – so far, few have failed to impress, but I’ve got a few firm favourites already.

Right, back into it… 

Excuse the slightly later post. Lunch was a quick fry up to re-energise me after last night’s late dash to get a copy of the game. Anyway, the last hour has seen the plot (I’m trying not to give it away) twist and turn and skip in merrily confusing directions. But the British SAS sections continue to outdo the US sections by a mile. The US Marines town clearance basically is playing out like a Gears Of War wannabe – lots of ducking behind cover, running forward, lobbing the odd grenade. It’s very repetitive. The latest SAS missions saw the squad storming an oil rig from the water, loads of stealth, slow-motion door breaches and infrared action. It feels grittier, more tense and better paced. Or do I just prefer the accents and the absence of all the “hoohahs”? Back to it…

OK, so we’re into a pattern here, shuttling between south and north America. The SAS missions in the Brazil Favelas are excellent – tense, claustrophobic firefights with enemies above you, round every corner and often flanking behind you too. In contrast, the ludicrously gung-ho US Marines missions feel, plot-wise, so idiotically over-the-top they’re a bit cartoony. That said, the action remains at an intense pace. I’m shaking with adrenaline – and I’m sat on my sofa with a cat on my lap.

What next? Hopefully something to change things up a bit and give you a tiny bit of breathing space – be nice to have another stealth mission about now. Let’s see…

So, I’ve shot a bunch of innocent people in an airport massacre – how do I feel? Disgusted? Upset? Excited? No, mostly disappointed. The much-hyped and controversial Modern Warfare 2 airport level, where you go undercover among Russian nationalist terrorists who’re killing hundreds of civilians in an airport was a bit of a let-down.

It could be something to do with the weird animations for the civilians – their duck and run backwards movements look jerky and odd – very videogamey. Whereas the animations for armed enemies through the rest of the game feel much more fluid, dynamic and realistic.

It’s a noticeably odd level – and so feels tacked on to stir up a bit of emotion and controversy. It fails on the former, clearly has succeeded on the latter. Ultimately, I don’t think it’s done well enough to have warranted inclusion.

On the other side, despite making less sense in plot terms than a very nonsensical thing (OK, so we’re going to Brazil because the bullets for the Russian massacre came from there?!), the following Favela slum level is Modern Warfare 2 back to its bang-for-the-buck best.

If I’m right, and the next level is what I think it is, the plot is about to take a turn into absolute lunacy. Don’t know yet if that’s a good thing or not. More in an hour…

So, I survived the icy streets on my bicycle last night to get a copy of the game, and survived the icy wastes of Siberia on a snowmobile this morning in Modern Warfare 2.

The SAS mission to infiltrate, blow up and escape a frozen military base then flee on snowmobiles was one of the first videos released for Modern Warfare 2. So I was keen to get to grips with it – and like the preceding two missions, it delivers exactly what you’d hope for it – high-octane action in non-stop helpings.

Three things impress so far. The visuals on the Xbox 360 version are stunning – massively crisp and complex, with the blood splashes when you’re hit particularly brilliant (and frequent for me). Certainly Modern Warfare 2 is one of the best-looking games around. Then there’s the familiarity – I’ve been playing the original over the weekend and the cut-scenes, controls and action approach all make Modern Warfare 2 a very nice sequel so far to its predecessor – enough that’s different, but enough that’s the same. And of course there’s that already mentioned, high-end action in full, turn-it-up-to-11 effect.

One thing disappoints so far – the script. It’s fairly obvious from the second Afghanistan level that the writers have been watching Generation Kill (the David “The Wire” Simon TV show) very closely – the level steals a few ideas from the show, but more than that, all of its “oscar mike”, “victor 2” jargon has been nabbed too. But without any of the wit or smarts Generation Kill managed. So far.

It’s early days yet – I reckon I’m about to hit the controversial airport massacre section. I’ll report back in an hour and let you know how I’m doing. If you’re playing on a day off, stick a comment on and let me know how your experience matches mine!

Posted by: Nik Taylor

There’s no getting away from it – Modern Warfare 2, which goes on sale tonight at midnight, is the biggest game ever. Don’t believe me? Just check out the game’s massive “premiere” event tonight at Leicester Square, look at how it’s been pronounced by Amazon as it’s ‘biggest selling pre-order video game of all time’ (having overtaken previous record holder Grand Theft Auto 4) and see the way it’s been kicking off price wars and broken street dates across the country.

In terms of games, this one is an absolute megastar. Accordingly, publisher Activision has been giving it the full prima donna treatment by keeping such a tight grip on it that games journalists haven’t even been sent advance review copies. Spare a thought tonight, then, for Tech & Gadgets gaming maestro Simon Munk who will fight his way to the front of his local game store’s queue to get a copy, and then hurtle home through the icy streets of London to make sure we get a review up as soon as possible.

That review’s going to be live on Tech & Gadgets first thing on Wednesday morning, but for launch day coverage, this very blog is the place to visit. Simon will be posting regular updates as he hammers his way through the campaign and multiplayer modes. Read what he’s got to say from first thing tomorrow morning to find out whether this game can truly stand up to the hype.

Posted by: Jane Douglas

Phones, phones, phones
Two newly unveiled phones come top of the gadget news heap this week:

LG’s GD510 Pop, a three-inch touchscreen available on pay as you go for under £100, and the Xperia X10, Sony Ericsson’s first phone to run Google’s mobile OS, Android.

I’ve also just had the colossal HTC HD2 (pictured, with an iPhone on the left for scale) land on my desk. It’s the first Windows phone to feature a capacitive touchscreen, and it’s a big, crisp-looking one at that: 480 by 800 pixels, 4.1 inches across.

Compared to the resistive screen on the similarly sized 4.1-inch Toshiba TG01 Windows phone, the HD2’s touch display is a smooth, responsive dream. That’s the very first impression – I’ll be slapping in a SIM, test driving it over the weekend and back with more next week.

American beauties
Also, newly launched US-to-UK shipping service Bundle Box thinks it can save gadget lovers money by letting shoppers register for a free US postal address, then have a package of cheap(er) electronics delivered home via that address in two weeks or so.

We asked them to put together a sample bundle of American bargains and US-exclusive gadgets and they came up with:

Microsoft Zune HD 16GB: $219 (£132)
Microsoft Zune HD 32GB: $289 (£175)
Kindle, 6-inch, US & International Wireless: $259 (£157)
Sony Reader Touch Edition: $299 (£181)
Apple iMac, 27-inch display, 3.06GHz: $1700 (£1028)
Blu-Ray box set, Michael Jackson: This Is It: $28 (£17)

Which would run to a total, with £506 added for the service, import duty and VAT, to £2196 in all. That’s a lot of gadget for the money – albeit for someone who has a couple of grand to spare…

On Tech & Gadgets
Meanwhile, back at cash-strapped Tech & Gadgets headquarters:

 
Review: Nikon S1000pj


Wired: on the art of moneygami

In pictures: Modern Warfare 2

Guest blog: David McCarthy, Rising Star Games

Starting today, David McCarthy (Rising Star Games and former deputy editor of Edge magazine) is going to be guest blogging for us direct from Japan on the games scene over there. Read his first post below and check back for more from David every fortnight.

Land of the Rising Star

"Man, Japan is over. We're done. Our game industry is finished."

That's how Capcom's Keiji Inafune felt after walking round this year's Tokyo Game Show, apparently. Inafune is best known as the creator of Mega Man, Onimusha and Dead Rising, but he's also had a hand in the Resident Evil series, the original Street Fighter, and about a million other of Japanese developer Capcom's greatest hits. It's difficult to argue with someone who has such vast experience in the world of videogames. But he's wrong.

Ever since I first visited Japan, several years ago, people have been using the Tokyo Game Show to predict the end of Japanese gaming. Japanese kids are all too busy sending emails on their phones, they'd say, or games like Grand Theft Auto are too dominant, leaving no room for Japanese games to find success outside Japan.

But look at the sales charts in the UK or US and you're likely to see a top ten full of Japanese games, whether it's familiar names like Tekken and Metal Gear Solid, or newer arrivals, like Professor Layton's latest adventure or Wii Fit. Outside the top ten, you're likely to run into the sort of unconstrained creativity and eccentricity that has given Japan such a well-deserved reputation for videogame brilliance: Valkyria Chronicles, Demon's Souls, No More Heroes, and Flower, Sun and Rain, to name but a few. What's more, one Japanese company, Nintendo, has almost single-handedly transformed videogames in the past few years, opening up rich seams of design innovation, and acquiring entirely new audiences of OAPs and toddlers.

So Keiji Inafune is wrong. The Japanese games industry is far from finished. Which is why this blog is just starting, to celebrate everything about Japanese gaming - the good, the bad, and the ugly, but also the neon-coloured, spiky-haired, and just plain bonkers.

Read more from David on Hoshi Club at Rising Star Games

Posted by: Nik Taylor

Pressing all your news buttons this week have been the tales that Nokia is going to drag Apple through the courts for alleged copyright infringements, Windows 7 has continued to sell strongly and the government is planning to switch off the internet for anyone who gets a little too into file sharing.

But today, the story we’ve all got our eyes on is coming from the Park Lane Hilton in London. That’s where the  Golden Joystick Awards 2009 will be taking place, and we’ll be there to get all the news as it happens. Follow Jane and myself on Twitter to hear about each award as it’s announced, and go here from 3pm to see a round-up of all the results.

Also on T&G this week

 
Our 10 top mobile phones


The best ever gaming boss battles


Review: Mario & Sonic at the Winter Olympic Games

Posted by: Jane Douglas

When it comes to headphones, sound leakage is my big pet peeve. For two reasons:

1) Having to listen to the tinny beats seeping out of other people’s leaky earphones is annoying.

2) I don’t want other people to know how desperately uncool my musical tastes are.

Anyway. Today I’ve been testing the Reference 430 headphones from JBL (who supplied the audio tech), and Quiksilver girls’ brand Roxy (who supplied the acid-bright styling and pictured carry case). Our loaned pair is the blue-green variant. A pink-orange version is also available.

The ear cups in are on the petite side, possibly designed with teens in mind.

If they fit your delicate lugs, you’ll probably find them comfortable; the padding is covered in a velvety fabric that makes them pretty cosy. I imagine them doubling as a decent pair of earmuffs in the depths of winter.

The funky neon colouring makes the Reference 430 look a bit toy-like, as do the plastic ear cups – not in a cheap way, as the build quality is good, but these ‘phones are certainly not for the audiophile who likes their gear sleek and discreet.

Most importantly, the audio quality – for a £60 headset – is decent. To my ears, the sound is bass-focused; crank up the volume and you’ll get a good rumble going. 

I had been doing just that when I remembered my fellow editor would be suffering whatever sound leakage these headphones let out. Turns out, the Reference 430 headphones aren’t quite leak-proof.

All in all, though I wouldn’t recommend them to you for a long plane journey (at least, not if I’m sat next to you), these are a decent set of headphones: a good first upgrade from white earbuds for the iPod nano generation.

Posted by: Jane Douglas

Among the top stories in tech news this week was the unveiling of the Nook, the promising first e-book reader from US bookseller Barnes & Noble.

It has a small colour touchscreen below the more familiar greyscale e-ink display. Which makes it not entirely unlike (though shorter) than the little-known Alex by Spring Design.

Research on robopets and other technological innovations to help the future elderly also went down a treat. Then there was the Windows 7 launch, of course, with PC World calling it the “fastest selling operating system" in its history.

And following on from last week’s ‘naked’ scanners kerfuffle comes word that a children's rights group has successfully objected to kids being scanned by the X-ray security devices.

The shark that is Tech & Gadgets, meanwhile, never stops swimming:

 
Facebook’s 10 biggest fools

 
Classic sat-nav mishaps

 
Convergence “is a fact”, says Ubisoft