The Sony Xperia acro S and Xperia go were spotted a couple of days ago, and both of them are water resistant – bear in mind that water resistant does not mean waterproof, so you cannot just leave this underwater for days on end without having it continue to work just fine. Having said that, water resistance is a very different animal altogether – you can probably cycle through the rain without worrying about your smartphone not working any more when you arrive at your destination. Someone spilled a glass of water all over your desk, splashing some on your Xperia acro S at the same time? Not to worry. Just to drive their point home, Sony has taken the Sony Xperia acro S and Xperia go for a spin with a couple of videos that depict their hardiness. You can view the Xperia go (Xperia advance) in action after the jump.
Read full post →Sony Xperia acro S and Xperia go get wet and wild

The LTE version of the HTC One X is set to launch with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon S4 dual-core processor on board. This is opposed to the NVIDIA Tegra-3 quad-core processor that was originally announced with the device, and while the Snapdragon S4 can definitely hold its own, without doubt there have been plenty of upset customers who were bummed to find out that their LTE capable One X will only be sporting a dual-core processor instead of a quad-core. Well if you thought that was bad, it seems that the folks in China are having it worse.
Read full post →China Telecom’s HTC One X will feature last year’s Snapdragon S3 processor

If you’ve ever played American McGee’s Alice and its sequel, you’re no doubt familiar with American McGee’s company, Spicy Horse Games. Well if you’ve enjoyed what they’ve put out so far, the company has recently announced that a new game of theirs, BigHead BASH will be free to play and has entered into its open beta phase today on Kongregate. For those wondering just what the heck is BigHead BASH all about, it’s basically this multiplayer game where players will be represented by toys. Players will also be able to purchase toys, weapons and accessories in which it will help their battle against other players. In fact come 18th of June, Spicy Horse Games will be introducing several new characters from the Alice: Madness Return game. If you’re interested in giving it a spin (it is free after all!), pop on over to the BigHead BASH website for the details! Until then be sure to check out the trailer above which will give you a glimpse as to what you can expect.

A couple of days ago, we reported that a lawsuit against Ubisoft would be dropped. For those unfamiliar, the lawsuit involved the Assassin’s Creed franchise in which author John Beiswenger claimed stole ideas from his book, Link. According to Beiswenger, the lawsuit was dropped namely due to the huge expenses that he incurred, and while it certainly looked like that was the end of it, Ubisoft has retaliated and has filed an official complaint against Beiswenger.

Given that Beiswenger had voluntarily dropped the lawsuit and it was ended “without prejudice”, it also meant that he was free to pick it up anytime. Perhaps looking to prevent another lawsuit down the road, according to the folks at Gamasutra, Ubisoft wants a ruling that his complaints of copyright infringement were “entirely meritless”. Assuming Ubisoft is successful in their request, it would certainly look like this case will be closed for good. Until then be sure to check back with us in the future for more updates.

Sharp announced that their new oxide semiconductor (IGZO) technology that features high crystallinity is set for a worldwide debut, where this particular material is said to deliver even higher resolutions without sipping additional power – on the contrary, it will deliver higher visual quality while lowering power consumption, not to mention superior performance in touchscreen displays, in addition to narrower bezel widths for LCD display panels that tend to see action in mobile devices like smartphones and tablets.

Not only that, Sharp’s IGZO panels are also said to be able to be adapted for action in organic EL displays, paving the way for a pretty bright future where display technology is concerned. Needless to say, there definitely will be obstacles to the commercialization process, especially when we are looking at service life and production, but Sharp intends to position themselves favorably by pushing ahead with research and development in order to meet the needs of future markets. All the best, Sharp! [Press Release]

ETSI, the European Telecommunications Standards Institute in long form, has given the go ahead for the new SIM format standard that some dub the nano-SIM. Apple pioneered the introduction of a micro-SIM card when their iPhone 4 was released, and now, the nano-SIM is said to be 40% smaller compared to the current micro-SIM design. This is not good news for folks like me who tend to lose stuff, and as it is already, I have a hard time keeping track of the number of microSD memory cards in my stash. ETSI has agreed in principle to the design in Osaka, Japan, where the final shape will be 12.3mm by 8.8mm, and will share the same thickness as existing SIMs at 0.67mm thick. This design is said to be backwards compatible with current hardware, and does seem to veer towards Apple’s recommended size.
Read full post →New nano-SIM format given nod of approval by ETSI

When Carmageddon was released all those years ago, it raised plenty of hue and cry among parents especially, as this game required you to mow down pedestrians as you make a dash for the finish line while you are safe behind a seemingly indestructible car in order to rake up the points. It has since remained as one of the most controversial racing games to date, and while the past few years have done plenty to desensitize us to violence, there could still be an outcry when Carmageddon arrives on the iOS and Android-powered platforms later this summer. This new game will be free for the first 24 hours it is released as a “Thank You” gesture to those who recently backed up its Kickstarter campaign. Will you be playing Carmageddon when it arrives, or do you think that you would still be happy with Diablo 3? Granted, those are very different genres, but some games just have a weird stranglehold on you, don’t they?

Apple’s iOS 6 has yet to be announced, but somehow the folks at 9to5 Mac have managed to get their hands on the beta version which interestingly revealed some details of the upcoming iPhone device. So assuming that their information is accurate and is to be believed, what can we expect in Apple’s upcoming iPhone? Apart from aesthetics which has since been “revealed” to sport a larger 4” display, under the hood the new iPhone is expected to pack a ARM S5L8950X processor which is a step up from the iPhone 4S’ S5L8940X and the S5L8945X on the new iPad.
Read full post →iPhone 5′s hardware gets detailed? [Rumor]

Not too long ago and bugged by Apple’s silence on the status of the Mac Pro, a bunch of Mac Pro users got together and started a Facebook petition where they appealed to Apple to let them know if the Mac Pro would be seeing a refresh or if it would be scrapped entirely. While Apple is still keeping mum on the issue (hopefully WWDC is when the details will be revealed), Jim Dalrymple of The Loop in a podcast with Amplified’s Dan Benjamin was quoted as saying, “No” when asked if Apple would be discontinuing the Mac Pro.

Granted Dalrymple’s word can hardly be called official, but he is without doubt connected and has always been invited to Apple’s events, so it is safe to assume that he knows what he’s talking about, or at least has made a much better educated guess compared to the rest of us. Unfortunately his “no” did not reveal much so it is unclear if Apple will be updating the Mac Pro range of professional-grade computers any time soon or if we will be waiting for the next few years. Either way WWDC has yielded some Apple hardware announcements in the past and while nothing has been confirmed yet, do check back with us then for any updates!

How far does $14 get you these days? When it comes to mileage, not very far with the ever increasing price of fuel, and filling up your stomach with $14 worth of food is not going to do much, unless you decide to stuff yourself with fast food deals. Well, may we let you in on a secret – $14 will be able to let you upgrade to Windows 8 Pro in an offer from Microsoft as part of their Windows Upgrade Offer, now how about that? This Windows Upgrade Offer will start from June 2nd onwards in 131 markets across the world, US and Canada included.
Read full post →Microsoft lets you upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for just $14