HTC Ville C budget Ice Cream Sandwich handset leaked

Esat Dedezade — Thu, 17 May 2012 04:49:35 -0700

HTC is reportedly planning to release a more affordable version of its HTC One S handset according to BriefMobile's source (as reported by Pocket Lint).

The Ice Cream Sandwich-toting HTC Ville C (as it's being called for now) takes after the HTC One S' 'Ville' codename and is said to pack a 1.7Ghz dual-core Qualcomm processor in an 'ultra slim PDA phone' design.

Interestingly, the mystery source's documentation also lists the HTC Ville C as running HTC Sense 4.5, suggesting an update to the Sense 4.0 overlay that's found in the HTC One X (reviewed here), One S and One V.

A 4.3in qHD AMOLED display is also on the cards, along with an 8MP camera with 1080p video recording, 16GB of storage and 1GB RAM, all topped off with a 1,650mAh battery.

We're not sure whether or not HTC should fall into its old habit of selling too many handsets at once, but if you're looking for Ice Cream Sandwich on a budget, the mysterious Ville C could be right up your street.

Steam remote download and install feature is live

Esat Dedezade — Thu, 17 May 2012 04:09:04 -0700

Steam's game sales have long been the downfall of our wallets, mercilessly tempting us with ludicrous discounts and making us lament the little time we have to actually play anything.

It's only going to get worse, as Steam has officially enabled its remote download feature which lets you download and even install games away from your PC, so that you'll have titles installed and ready to roll before you even get home.

All you have to do is access your Games list on Steam's community site via any web browser (or Steam's Android and iOS mobile app) to install previously purchased games, or just choose the remote install option when buying a new title.

You can fight it all you want, but it's only going to make impulse purchasing worse. We've inexplicably already started installing a bunch of games we've never even heard of. Damn our puny willpower.

Next Big Thing – super-efficient mini aircraft

Esat Dedezade — Thu, 17 May 2012 03:12:24 -0700

A Spy drone? Nice.
Not quite. The Synergy aircraft is actually a five-seater plane which features a car-beating fuel efficiency of 40 miles per gallon. That's ten times better fuel economy than a small regular jet meaning it's the ideal solution for millionaires who're looking to save a few pennies.

Why so efficient?
It's all about the design. CNC-machiend carbon fibre makes up the light aerodynamic body, which does a great job to reduce drag. The Synergy also packs a propellor engine as opposed to a jet one, which helps to increase fuel efficiency.

I'll never be able to afford this, will I?
Your finances are entirely your business, but we do know that the Synergy is currently looking for funding on Kickstarter, with a target fund of US$65,000. As for its final price tag? We're too scared to ask.

Like the look of the Synergy? Check out our 5 of the best crazy vehicles for even more ways of gliding through the air.

Sony NEX-F3 officially revealed

Sophie Charara — Thu, 17 May 2012 00:08:55 -0700

The excellent NEX series has an impressive new member today. The NEX-F3, of which we've heard (and seen) so much about recently got the nod from Sony for an official launch.

The NEX-F3 is the new entry-level interchangeable lens cam from Sony and can be yours to own from £530 with a June release date.

Inside there's a 16.1MP APS CMOS sensor and a third gen Bionz imaging processor (seen in the Sony a77) and we reckon the new design makes the outside of this CSC pretty tempting too.

Also on board are a 180 degree tiltable display and a pop-up flash, which was missing from its predecessor the NEX-C3, plus the NEX-F3 comes rocking ISO skills up to 16,000 and Full HD video.

Watch out for a full Stuff.tv review to see if the NEX-F3 has got the imaging goods.

Google adds Knowledge Graph to search results

Sophie Charara — Wed, 16 May 2012 23:55:08 -0700

Google's overhauling its search engine, at least in the US for now, with a new Knowledge Graph feature. The idea is that you won't have to leave Google at all to get the information you're looking for – if you type in the name of a celebrity, landmark, film or work of art into Google, a panel will appear on the right hand side of your results with relevant info.

Aiming to act a bit more like Wolfram Alpha (and perhaps become the service Ask Jeeves always dreamed of), the Knowledge Graph already contains 500m objects and 3.5 billion facts, making us wonder how many facts there are on the World Wide Web in total.

With the info coming from sources including Wikpedia, we'd also say that the Knowledge Graph might be a good overview of a subject with interesting links but we wouldn't rely on it for now.

As we said, this new search feature is kicking off in America but we're sure the big G will see fit to extend the fun to the rest of the world before long.