Apple may be gearing up for a big launch event in the first week of March for the iPad 3, if a new report by AllThingsD is to be believed.

According to the site's sources, they're stating that at the very least an event will be hold detailing the product, even if its actual release sits a little longer away.

No time or place was revealed by the source, but the blog hazards a guess at "presumably [...] the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts" as the venue with the tablet itself released following "the same schedule as that of the iPad 2: available for purchase a week or so after the event".

By that estimation, it'd make it pretty much a year-on-year refresh for the line since March 2010, when the first iPad was released following its unveiling in January.

As for what to expect from the iPad 3, the rumour mill has certainly been churning of late. Reports of a 2048x1536 Retina display, a quad-core A6 chip, larger battery and a more comprehensive camera offering than the iPad 2's pitiful showing have all been suggested.

Via: AllThingsD

Kodak have announced that they are to stop manufacturing cameras digital cameras, pocket video cameras and digital picture frames in the first half of this year in order to cut costs following their bankruptcy protection filing.

Despite inventing the digital camera, Kodak have been forced into the move after noting that it will save them somewhere in the region of $100 million dollars. On top of their long list of patent sales, it's hoped the move will save the iconic brand.

"Today we announced that Kodak is phasing out digital cams [sic], video cams & digital frames in 2012," read updates from the Kodak UK Twitter feed.

"Kodak will continue to honour all warranties and provide support as we phase out dig & vid cams and frames.

"Kodak will focus consumer biz [sic] on inkjet, online and retail printing."

Kodak's new focus will be on their printer business. We had a look at their Hero 9.1 All-in-one (pictured above) at the back end of last year and came away impressed.

Enough with the white smartphones already! What today is clearly missing are some hot pink mobiles. Delivering the goods, just in time for Valentines Day, are Samsung, who've just given their impressive Galaxy S II handset a new salmon-like shade.

Carphone Warehouse are putting the phone up for sale, with deals starting at £25 and going up to £31 on Orange, Vodafone and O2.

Like the regular black and white variations of the Samsung Galaxy S II, the phone packs a 1.3GHz dual-core processor, 8MP camera with 1080p recording and a luscious 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus touchscreen, all wrapped up in a super-slim 8.49mm case.

For an in depth look at the phone, check out our full review.

Check out the pink deals by clicking here.

Google have unveiled Chrome 17, the latest stable release of their increasingly popular web browser.

A major upgrade for the browser, it has re-vamped its page pre-rendering process, meaning that when you begin to type a web address into the omnibox bar, the browser begins to pre-load pages based on your bookmarks and browsing history. In some cases, it means pages load near-instantly, before you've even hit the enter key.

"When I visit my favourite sandwich shop, I always order the same thing: a chicken cashew salad sandwich on whole wheat (it's awesome)," said Chrome software engineer Noé Lutz on the Chrome blog.

"Now, the owners know what I want as soon as I walk in the door. Which means they can start making it before I say a word. Which means I get my sandwich faster.

"Chrome now does the same thing. Except not with sandwiches. When you start typing in the omnibox and the URL autocompletes to a site you're very likely to visit, Chrome will prerender the page, so it will appear faster - sometimes, even instantly - as soon as you hit Enter."

Other updates for Chrome 17 include enhanced malware and spyware protection.

Click here to grab the broswer. It's free.

With the snow falling up and down the country, so too has a spate of snow-coloured white smartphones. The latest to get the white-washed look is the HTC Sensation XE.

Heading out into the wild on February 20th, Clove have the white HTC Sensation XE listed up at £408.

Originally released in September last year, the new white Sensation XE matches the first version of the phone spec for spec. You're still getting a 1.5GHz dual-core processor and luscious 4.3-inch qHD screen.

Running Android 2.3.4 (with HTC's nifty Sense UI laid over the top), there's also an 8MP camera on the rear, capable of shooting 1080p video, and a VGA front facing one for video calling. You'll also find either an 8GB or 16GB microSD card popped on the box depending on how much you pay, perfect for filling it up with tunes on the Beats Audio device.

3D: the Marmite of the technology world. It's very much a love/hate affair many of us share with 3D displays, but there's at least one thing we can all agree on; the sooner we ditch the glasses, the better.

Those with a very specific sized laptop display (15.6 inches, to be exact), got a reasonably affordable way of upgrading their machines to offer glasses-free 3D visuals today.

A company called Spatial View have revealed the 3DeeScreen peripheral, a magnetized mounting frame that clips over the top of your existing laptop screen to turn in into a makeshift lenticular display, using a series of tiny mirrors to give the impression of depth to what you're viewing. It's pretty much the same principle employed in Nintendo's 3DS handheld.

"Our goal is to provide a superior 3D viewing experience and enable existing laptops with 3D functionality at a reasonable price," said Spatial View general manager Ihor Petelycky.

Priced at $129, Spatial View ship to the UK too, should your laptop be one of the few that fits with the add-on.

Via: Slashgear

George Lucas, creator of the Star Wars franchise, has been singing the praises of 3D technology as his first 3D effort, a 3D re-mastering of Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace, hits cinemas.

Lucas is gushing in his praise, comparing the jump to 3D to that of the transition from black and white to colour.

"We're going through a new technological revolution that is set to change everything," Lucas told Shortlist magazine.

"Watching a movie in 3D is simply a better way to watch a movie. It's like black and white versus colour. Watching a movie in black and white is fine, however, colour makes it look more real.

"With 3D the depth brings reality to the digital characters and you notice things in the background that actually impact on the story. It becomes a truly immersive and overpowering experience."

Of course, with The Phantom Menace now hitting cinemas (and the possibility of the superior trilogy getting a 3D makeover dependant upon the success of this first re-release) Lucas has a vested interest in hyping the benefits of 3D.

But it's still quite a bold step to say that the 2D format with which he made his fortunes is now inferior to the regularly derided 3D one. Say what you like about George Lucas's penchant for tinkering, but he has the balls to do and say stuff that will certainly irk the majority of his series fans, and couldn't give a damn whilst doing so!

Todd Howard, head of Skyrim development studio Bethesda Game Studios, took to the stage to deliver his keynote at the DICE 2012 gaming conference.

As well as detailing the development process of one of 2011's game's of the year, Howard also revealed Bethesda's post-release "Gam Jam" week for Skyrim, which saw all the game's designers go crazy for a week and work on their own personal projects that they would like to have seen in the game.

Collected into a short video by Bethesda, Howard showed off the results at the DICE conference. It was basically a sneek peak at possible DLC headed to the Elder Scrolls V in the future.

Some really wacky ideas were produced, including:

• Seasonal foliage with falling tree leaves.
• Spears.
• Kill cams for magic and ranged combat, like in Fallout 3.
• Stealth enhancements such as water arrows.
• Paralysis runes locking enemies to the floor.
• New follower commands for combat style and training.
• The ability to build your own home.
• Goblins. Which looked great.
• Waygate fast travel.
• Mounted combat.
• Dragon mounted combat.
• Kinect-enabled shouts.
• Enhanced underwater visuals with wavy effects.
• Ice and fire arrows.
• A Werebear.
• Lycanthropy skill tree.
• Becoming a flying vampire, with minions..
• An enormous, screen filling mud crab boss.
• "Fat giants."

The whole keynote, courtesy of Gamespot, can be found above.

Google are about to get into the cloud storage game, and are all set to launch the Google Drive to rival Apple's iCloud and Dropbox.

"People familiar with the matter" have told the Wall Street Journal that:

"Like Dropbox, Google's storage service, called Drive, is a response to the growth of Internet-connected mobile devices like smartphones and tablets and the rise of cloud computing, or storing files online so that they can be retrieved from multiple devices."

Google's cloud Drive has long been rumoured, but with cloud storage solutions becoming more and more ubiquitous (Dropbox now has 50 million users and is worth almost $2 billion) it seems the time is right for Google to show their hand. Integration into their Android platform, and perhaps with additions like Google Docs support and Google+ photo album storage, Google could quickly build up a loyal following.

Compared to Dropbox's initial free offering of 2GB, Google, through their impressive ad-funded services, could offer far more than that.

With much of the necessary framework already in place, we wouldn't be too surprised to see this launch fairly soon.

If you pine for a traditional movie-going experience, away from the madness of 3D screenings, you may want to stop reading. Everyone else though, get excited; trips to the cinema are about to get a lot more immersive, as Cineworld have just announced they're installing D-BOX technology seating to select screens up and down the country.

D-BOX movement technology seats rumble and shake in sync with the action on screen, letting you feel the blast of an explosion or blow of a punch while watching a movie, though without the associated pain and discomfort that would go along with those in real life, of course.

"D-BOX's unique technology excite film-goers senses through the power of movement and feeling, creating a multi-sensorial revolution in film watching. D-BOX simulators offer the next dimension of the cinematic experience, placing viewers in the centre of the action," reads a statement from Cineworld.

"With seat movements perfectly synchronized to the onscreen action and sounds, D-BOX seats create an unmatched realistic immersive experience."

The first cinema to get the technology will be Cineworld Glasgow Renfrew Street, showing a D-BOX enabled screening of John Carter 3D on March 9th.

Cineworld will be rolling out the technology to other cinemas over the next two years, with Cineworld O2 Greenwich, Cineworld Crawley and Cineworld Milton Keynes the next locations to get the upgrade.

Sci-fi fans rejoice! EA have confirmed that a new third-person shooter set in the Mass Effect universe is headed to iOS devices like iPhones and iPads.

Mass Effect Infiltrator is a companion app to Mass Effect 3 for the PC, Xbox 360 and PS3, allowing those that play the game to increase their "galactic readiness" in the console and computer game, which will help those who play it to achieve the best possible ending in Mass Effect 3.

EA describe the app in a press release as follows:

Take the all-out galactic war in Mass Effect 3 on-the-go with Infiltrator, a fully-featured iOS third-person shooter showcasing stunning graphics and authentic weapons and powers from the Mass Effect series.

Inspired by the deep and immersive Mass Effect 3 universe, in Infiltrator players will help to free prisoners from a hostile Cerberus base and will receive rewards for collecting evidence of Cerberus' crimes along the way. Every completed rescue and intelligence discovery in Infiltrator will increase a player's Galactic Readiness rating directly through the Galaxy at War system in Mass Effect 3.

No news on how the cross-platform integration will be achieved yet, but we expect EA's Origin platform to play a part somewhere down the line. More news on this release soon.

Thought we were done with Olympus cameras for one day? Think again! Next up on their long list of releases today is the SZ-31MR super-zoom compact camera.

The successor to the SZ-30MR, it offers the same 16 megapixel backlit sensor and 24x (25-600mm) optical zoom as its predecessor, but adds in a new image processor in the shape of the dual engine TruePic V.

Olympus's new iHS (Intelligent, High-Sensitivity and High-Speed) tech is onboard, which the company claims leads to sharper, more vivid images. ISO range is 80 to 640. You'll also get a smart panorama mode, HDR backlight adjustments, an advanced i-Auto mode, Auto Focus tracking, and face and pet detection for your pooch.

Full HD video can be recorded too, while a 3-inch, 920k dot touchscreen LCD sits on the rear, offering touch auto-focus and shutter controls.

Hitting stores in late March, the SZ-31MR will set you back £299.99.

Logitech have today launched a new gesture-enabled mouse called the Logitech Touch Mouse M600.

Set to take on the Microsoft Explorer Touch Mouse and Apple's Magic Mouse, it has a touch-sensitive top surface that lets you swipe and scroll through web pages and image galleries.

The mouse is also designed for ambidextrous use, meaning both left and right handed users can swipe away in comfort, with the left and right mouse buttons easily configured through the bundled software.

"People are growing accustomed to using fingertip gestures to navigate on their smartphones and tablets," said Todd Walker, brand manager for Logitech.

"In fact, for many people these gestures have become second nature. The Logitech Touch Mouse M600 reflects this evolution in how we interact with the digital world and extends to the computer what have become natural, intuitive motions."

Hitting Dixons group stores exclusively for a three month period, the M600 will cost £59.99

If LG are looking to take on Samsung's Galaxy Note in the giant phone stakes, they're sure going about it in an unusual way. The Korean arm of LG have just revealed a teaser for an LG Optimus Vu phone.

So what's so strange? Well apart from the giant 5-inch screen, how about the boxy 4:3 aspect ratio? Said to be running Android 2.3, Lord only knows how many apps will be compatible with its unconventional screen size, or will be stretched and skewed out of all recognition.

However, LG state that the size is more comfortable in the hand than regular widescreen handsets, so we'll give them the benefit of the doubt...for now.

Elsewhere, the Vu is said to sport a 1.5GHz Qualcomm APQ8060 SoC, 1GB RAM, 8GB ROM, NFC and an eight megapixel camera.

Quite the oddity, we'll have more news on the Vu as it trickles in.

Skyrim gets a major update across all platforms today, one that should make PC and PS3 gamers in particular very happy.

While Xbox 360 and PS3 gamers still have to wait for the patches to be greenlit by Microsoft and Sony respectively, PlayStation fans will be happy to hear the patch should fix the continued issues with lag that has plagued the game since launch. Numerous bug and quest fixes roll out across all platforms too.

PC gamers, who already have access to the 1.4 patch, now get access to the Syrim Creation kit for modders, as well as mod download integration through Steam.Bethesda have also thrown in a new high-res texture pack for PC gamers, though it's arguable that the modding community have already done a better job polishing up the visuals than what's being offered here.

The full patch notes follow. Fixes are across all platforms unless stated otherwise:

NEW FEATURES

The Unusual Gem that was inside the Thalmor Embassy is now accessible after finishing "Diplomatic Immunity"
In "Breaching Security", the quest token is no longer required to receive a fortune reading from Olava the Feeble
Fixed issue where Galmar would not complete Joining the Stormcloaks properly if "Season Unending" was an active quest
Fixed issue where starting "Season Unending" after finishing "Joining the Stormcloaks" would prevent "The Jagged Crown" from starting properly
Fixed issue where progressing through "Message to Whiterun" while "Season Unending" was still open would block progression for both quests
In "Arniel's Endeavor", fixed issue where a quest journal would trigger multiple times
In "Forbidden Legend", the amulet fragment can no longer disappear after player leaves a dungeon without taking it
Fixed rare issue in "Forbidden Legend" where killing Mikrul Gauldurson while sneaking would make his corpse unaccessible
In "The White Phial", the phial can no longer disappear if player leaves dungeon without taking it
"The White Phial" will now start properly if player already has a briar heart in their inventory
Player can no longer get stuck in Misty Grove after completing "A Night to Remember"
Fixed issue where leaving Riften during "A Chance Arrangement" would prevent quest from progressing
In "Darkness Returns", a door in Twilight Sepulcher will properly open if the player leaves the dungeon for an extended period of time before completing the quest
In "Revealing the Unseen", if the player leaves the Oculory for an extended period of time after placing the focusing crystal and returns, the quest will proceed correctly
"Onmund's Request" will now start properly if player has already found Enthir's staff before receiving this quest
Fixed instance where Tonilia would stop buying stolen items and also would not give Guild Leader Armor
"Repairing the Phial" will start properly if player already has unmelting snow or mammoth tusk in their inventory
Finding Pantea's Flute before speaking with Pantea no longer prevents her quest from updating
In "The Break of Dawn", fixed rare instance where a quest object would spawn incorrectly on the Katariah during Hail Sithis
Fixed rare issue in "The Mind of Madness" where player is unable to equip the Wabbajack
Fixed issue in "Pieces of the Past" where Mehrunes Dagon's Razor will not trigger properly if player leaves the cell for extended period of time before activating it
"Blood's Honor" will start properly if you visited and completed Driftshade and an extended period of time passes before starting the quest.
Fixed rare issue where "Dampened Spirits" would not start properly
Fixed issue where player would be unable to become Thane of Riften if they purchased a home first
Fixed issue where killing guards in Cidhna Mine would block progression for "No One Escapes Cidhna Mine"
Fixed numerous issues with "Blood on the Ice" not triggering properly
In "Blood on the Ice", Calixto can now be killed if player owns a house in Windhelm
In "The Cure for Madness", killing Cicero then resurrecting him no longer impedes quest progress
Fixed rare issue in "To Kill an Empire" where an NPC would fail to die properly
Clearing Knifepoint Ridge before starting "Boethiah's Champion" no longer prevents quest from starting.

A pair of new rugged cameras are on the way from Olympus. The TG-820 and TG-620 will be available from the middle of this month, and are priced at £269.99 and £229.99 respectively.

So what do the dollars buy you?

Well, for starters, both cameras are (10m for the TG-820 and 5m for the TG-620), shockproof (2m, 1.5m), freezeproof (minus 10 degrees) and the TG-820 is even crushproof up to 100kg. Double lock mechanisms protect the battery and input ports, while a metal ring protects the lens.

Getting down to your more standard snapping specs, both cameras shoot at 12 megapixels, with a 5x wide optical zoom (28-140mm) lens powered by the Olympus TruePic VI image engine.

iHS tech, HDR backlight adjustment, 3D shooting modes and 1080p Full HD video recording are all featured too. Eye-Fi, are SDHC and SDXC memory cards are all compatible, while HDMI out is supported by both cameras too.

If you're looking for one big differentiator to help you decide between the two, the TG-820 sports the better screen with a 3-inch 1,030k dot Super Precision HyperCrystal III LCD. It's only a 460k dot one on the TG-620.

What with all the launches from Canon and Nikon over the last few days, the second week of February will have to be re-christened "Camera Week" we think. Olympus are the next to tout their latest wares, revealing this morning the Olympus OM-D Micro Four Thirds system.

With this snapper using the Micro Four Thirds compact/interchangeable set up, here the OM's heritage is really only shown through positioning and styling. You'l still be able to use OM lenses from the 35mm original SLR, but yo'll have to purchase an MF-2 OM Adapter ring to do so, priced itself at £160.

Elsewhere the camera is bang up to date though; using a 16 megapixel Live MOS sensor, the camera offers five-axis stabilisation and super-quick autofocus settings.Olympus's existing MFT range of lenses are compatible with this new kit, while the OM-D ships with a M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-50mm lens (24-100mm in 35mm terms).

The OM-D also sports a 1440k-dot electronic viewfinder for traditionalists, as well asa 3-inch adjusable touchscreen OLED display. ISO goes up to 25600,and you'll get all the usual array of scene filters, as well as Full HD video recording, that you'd expect from a high-end compact.

Due in April, theOM-D will sell for £1149.99.

After a string of delays that saw the game miss its 2011 Christmas release date, Star Wars Kinect for the Xbox 360 finally has a firm release date. Those hoping to feel the Force with their Kinect motion-sensing controllers will be able to do so from April 3rd.

Five play modes will feature in the game, described by Microsoft as:

o Space battles: As you travel the Galaxy to face an evil that threatens to undermine the fabric of the Republic, you'll engage with forces of the Empire in intense space battles

o New Galactic Dance Off mode loaded with Star Wars-themed pop tunes where those still honing their Jedi skills can take a break to battle Darth Vader on the dance floor or bust a move "Solo style."

The game itself will cost £39.99, but those looking to prove their full Star Wars fanboy status can pick up a bundle which includes and R2-D2 themed console, a C-3P0 gold controller and the game for £349.99,

Name: Otone Audio Stilo

Type: 2.1 Desktop Speaker

Specifications: Click here for full specs

Price: £69.99 from Otone Audio

Otone Audio are the latest UK-based company to throw their hats into the home audio ring. As well as a range of 5.1 systems, they're also launching a range of desktop PC speaker set ups. Today we're taking a look at their Stilo 2.1 PC speakers. Read on for our thoughts.

Comprising two satellite speakers, a subwoofer and wired remote, the Stilo speakers are a bit of a missed opportunity when it comes to design. While the cube-shaped subwoofer is simple enough to be easy on the eye (measuring 220 x 211 x 230mm and making up a substantial portion of the package's overall  3.65kg weight), the satellite speakers, measuring  253 x 65 x 106mm , look needlessly cheap. They're a desktop friendly size, and we quite like the the cut-oval shape. However, the decision to make them from a mix of gloss black plastic and a matte silver/grey is a bit of a mess. Perhaps they'll suit the tastes of others, but we'd have preferred just the gloss black, thank you very much.

The pebble-shaped wired remote, which plugs into the back of the powered subwoofer, is a little tidier, with the mix of blacks, silvers and a green LED (indicating the speakers are on) reminiscent of the Android smartphone colour scheme. A dial controls the volume levels, clicking from a low volume setting to off at the counter-clockwise extreme. There's a little bit of a sharp spike in volume level when dialling past the halfway mark though. On the back is a handy pair of ports for auxiliary line in (letting you plug an MP3 player directly into the speakers and bypassing a PC) and a headphone port too, with a standard 3.5mm jack.

There are few other audio connectivity options on the subwoofer though beyond the 3.5mm line-in jack, so if you're looking for a more complicated set up with a high-end sound card, these probably aren't the speakers for you.

For everyone else though, they'll perform very nicely. Using a space-age sounding patented Vortex Drive system, they'll pump out 40W (2 x 10 + 20W) of power, easily reaching room-filling levels. 2 x 2" high-sensitivity twin drivers sit in the satellite speakers, and while a little lacking at the treble end, were otherwise warm and clear. We did experience a little rattling in the subwoofer cabinet at maximum volume levels and with the subwoofer itself turned to its maximum bass setting, but we're fairly sure that was down to a slightly loose fixture in our individual sample, and nothing that should worry any prospective buyers.


Verdict:

The Otone Audio Stilo 2.1 desktop speakers sound, for the most part, great, especially for the £69.99 asking price. You may need to scale the mid-levels back a little in your EQ settings, but our love of the odd spiky guitar shred and rattle of gunfire from Call of Duty wont likely line up with everyone's tastes. They're solid sonic performers either way. It's a shame then that the satellite speakers themselves looks so underwhelming. Sat on a retailer's shelf next to the sci-fi stylings of Harman Kardon's Soundsticks, it's unlikely the Otone Audio Stilo set will get a second look, which does the audio quality they're capable of something of a disservice.

HTC's much-rumoured Ville Android smartphone has had its cover blown, with a detailed look at its specification sheet heading online ahead of its grand unveiling at Mobile World Congress 2012.

Chinese blog ePrice have been made privvy to the details with a zippy 1.5GHz dual-core processor headlining the tech on board.

1GB RAM also looks set to feature, alongside a 4.3-inch qHD Super AMOLED display, 8MP camera with full HD recording, 3MP front-facing camera and the now-standard Beats Audio on the HTC handset.

Android's latest version, Ice Cream Sandwich is onboard, with HTC's latest Sense re-skinning (4.0) also loaded on here.

In terms of physical size, it's fairly slim too at around am 8mm thickness, and shares a similar look to the Desire S.

We'll hopefully be able to give full confirmation on the specs later this month, when the MWC show kicks off.