Once upon a time, mobile phones used to weigh a couple of pounds (literally), feature large antennas, and very basic designs, and were used primarily to make and receive voice calls. Today’s smartphones are as much gaming machines and music players as they are devices for managing calls. However, mobile gaming is still far off from the quality of console or PC games and you might think that things will stay that way for a long, long time.

If we are to believe NVIDIA’s claims, though, this situation could well change in the (very) near future, with mobile GPU (graphics processing unit) performance set to be on-par or even surpass console power by 2014. As you can see from the nice slide below, coming straight from NVIDIA, mobile GPU performance is currently way behind the performance of PCs and consoles. The chart is not very easy to read and might get a tad confusing, but, as far as I can tell, console performance equals nowadays mobile GPU power multiplied with four or five.



In other words, consoles are a solid four or five times faster than smartphones or tablets these days. But the race might get a lot tighter as soon as next year, and, if NVIDIA’s projections prove accurate, mobile GPUs might be as fast as console processing units by 2014. On the other hand, mobile processors are likely to remain significantly slower than PC chips over the next years, so the number one gaming platform should remain the same, at least for the near future.

If you’re confused by the graph, the solid lines are the estimated performance levels for each platform, while the dotted lines represent trends. The console line features two plateaus, representing the performance of the Xbox 1 and Xbox 360, while the mobile graph starts with Apple’s first iPhone and continue with NVIDIA’s Tegra 2 and Tegra 3 platforms.

This graph should be taken more like a marketing material than an accurate technical representation of the evolution of hardware. Then again, NVIDIA is not the only one predicting an important leap in performance for mobile GPUs.

http://www.androidauthority.com/mobile-g...ion-77655/

The Samsung Galaxy S3 rumor bonanza is building up as we get closer to the unveiling event set to take place in London on May 3. However, the leaks and speculations seem to be gaining consistency and credibility, and now we might just have caught the future Sammy flagship on video.

The “next big thing” appears in a Vietnamese video brought to you exclusively by the guys at Tinhte, a website that has a very good record of getting mobile devices before anyone else. On the other hand, the video clip has to be treated with caution, as there’s no way to know for sure if it’s real and if that beast caught on camera is really the Galaxy S3.

Also, you shouldn’t judge this smartphone’s design very harsh, as it seems that the gadget has been nicely tucked into a disguise outfit. There’s a fake outer shell on top of the device, so we can’t say how much will the phone measure, how thick it will be, and what kind of materials will be used on its chassis.



What we can say, though, is that, if this device proves to actually be the Galaxy S2 successor we are all waiting for, its technical specs are impressive, to say the least.

Packing a quad-core 1.4 GHz Exynos processor, the Galaxy S3 (or whatever Sammy will end up calling it) might just be the snappiest smartphone of 2012. Aside from the chipset, which is on-par with most of the latest rumors that came our way, the beast should feature 1 GB of RAM, as well as an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera.

With 16 GB of on-board storage, the future Sammy super-phone will most likely also come with a microSD card slot (hooray!). The rest of the features exclusively “revealed” in the video include a 4.6-inch display with a 1184 x 720 pixels resolution and 320 PPI pixel density, NFC support, Ice Cream Sandwich out of the box, and a 2,050 mAh battery (probably non-removable).

The Taiwanese clip shortly compares the Galaxy S3 with the Galaxy Nexus, putting the two side by side, but I personally wouldn’t rely on that comparison, as it is pretty obvious that the real S3 will look very different than the test device in the video.



No Samsung officials have commented on the veracity of the video clip just yet, the official response given earlier to Engadget being an unsurprising “we will be able to tell you more at the 2012 Samsung Mobile Unpacked”.

You can check out the video clip below, with English subtitles, but if I were you I would hurry up, because it’s very possible for it to be removed from YouTube, as it happened with the original clip earlier today. If that is to happen, though, the guys at Engadget already managed to pick up a copy of the video, which can be seen at this link at any time.





I wouldn’t be surprised if the S3 would feature the tech specs shown in this video, as most of them were mentioned in previous rumors and speculations. A quad-core Exynos processor, the HD AMOLED display, 1 GB of RAM, an SD card slot, a pretty huge battery, and this could be the biggest hit in Android’s history so far.

http://www.androidauthority.com/samsung-...ecs-77489/

http://justpressstart.net/?p=5650

You can use this if you get a bug on the Xbox version.....open up on pc...open debug....fix the bug....resale and transfer to Xbox.


I tried it on my pc & works fine....mines was more from a point of view of seeing gfx Xbox vs pc.

Break out the soldier irons

http://team-xecuter.com/xecuter-rgh2-0-o...l-release/

Wololo has once again managed to get the exact same VHBL hack running on the PS Vita's new 1.67 firmware but this time with another PSP game, details inside.......

Previously the PS Vita was prone to hacks which allowed it to run unsigned code due to the PSP inside the PS Vita being easily hacked. However Sony recently pushed out firmware 1.67 which removed all potential exploits.

However now Wololo has managed to get unsigned code running on the PS Vita once again on firmware 1.67 but this time using a different PSP game. He has not revealed the PSP game yet as he does not want it to be pulled from the PSN store yet.





The video above shows "Hello World" running on a Playstation Vita running firmware 1.67

http://www.psvitahub.com/2012/04/ps-vita...acked.html

New malware, which targets Android users with the offer of a system upgrade, has been discovered. UpdtBot (Update Bot), as it is known, spreads via SMS messages but is really a malicious app which allows the device to be controlled by a remote Command and Control (C&C) server to send text messages, make phone calls, and download and install apps.

The unsuspecting victims receive a SMS message which tells them that their system is at risk and they should install the latest Android update. But the link provided isn’t for a new firmware update but in fact for a malicious app. The problem with text messages is that they are very common place and have a high read rate (meaning that most people read every message they receive), coupled with the fact that users seem to trust text messages, it means that victims all too easily follow links sent via text message.

Once the link is followed and the app is installed, Updtbot talks with the C&C server and awaits instructions. It is likely that the cyber criminals will attempt to make money from this malware by causing the infected phone to call premium rate numbers or send text messages to premium rate services. There is also the possibility that they will attempt to install other malware on the device including banking trojans and key loggers.

According to the research done by the NQ Mobile Security Research Center, over 160,000 Android devices have been affected by UpdtBot. However it looks initially as if these infections are mainly on Chinese mobiles. There are no current reports that the malware has made its way into Google Play or the Amazon Appstore.

Stay safe

It is important to use common-sense when installing apps on your device and when following links sent by email or SMS. In particular:

Never follow links in emails or SMS messages from untrusted sources.
If an offer (called the link bait) sounds like it is too good to be true, it probably is.
Download apps from trusted app markets, and always look at the reviews and ratings.
Be on the look out for strange charges to your phone bill

http://www.androidauthority.com/beware-o...ade-74969/

After all the rumours Sony have finally decided to give the PS Vita a massive price cut, Kazuo Hirai interview and official price inside.......

Since the PS Vita launched worldwide lacklustre sales were a huge issue, many claimed that the sales were bad due to a lack of Japanese launch titles, other pinned the blame on the PS Vita's $250 price tag. It turns out Sony have agreed and think that cutting the PS Vita's price to $120 will greatly boost sales.

Sony President Kazuo Hirai released this press statement

Right now the PS Vita is the best thing in the world, it fits perfectly in my giant hands and Microsoft has not tried to copy it, and even Apple haven't copied it yet, and since we have already made millions of early adopters a price cut seems necessary. So from April 16th retailers will be selling the PS Vita for $120 to coincide with releases such as Gravity Rush and Resistance: Burning Skies.

Its also been rumoured that the Kaz Hirai will be taking a 60% pay cut to make up for lacklustre PS Vita sales. Below is an image of Gamestop.com which just slashed the price of the PS Vita



Along with the price cut Sony also announced a "Pioneer Program" This is a set of free gifts and downloadable games which will be available to the early adopters who purchased a PS Vita at its previous $220 price. Starting April 17th PSN accounts which connect to the PS Vita PSN store before 12am April 16th will be entitled to 10 free PSP games, the free PSP games are as follows:
Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker
Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories
Need for Speed Most Wanted 5-1-0
Tekken 6
Monster Hunter Freedom Unite
Daxter
Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition
Gran Turismo
Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII
Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee
How the games will be delivered is unknown at the moment however the most likely situation is that all games will be listed for free for early adopters.

http://www.psvitahub.com/2012/04/sony-co...e-cut.html

Sony has removed the bug ridden 1.65 firmware and just released firmware update 1.66, details inside.........

Previously Sony pushed out firmware 1.65 which added some basic features such as:
You can now disable the notification alert messages that indicate when friends sign in, messages are received and other activities. To disable these alerts, got to [Settings] > [Sound & Display] > check/uncheck [Notification Alerts]. Additionally, Notification alerts will now display for five seconds instead of three seconds
‘After 10 Minutes’ has been added as an option in [Power Save Settings] > [Auto Standby]
An arrow will indicate when new activities are available in LiveArea
Caps Lock is now supported by the on-screen keyboard. Simply double-tap the Shift key to enable it

However a few hours later Sony removed the update from PSN as it disabled Ad-Hoc support for a unknown reason update 1.66 is identical to 1.65 but without the Ad-Hoc bug.

http://www.psvitahub.com/2012/04/ps-vita...lable.html

The Microsoft/Nokia dynamic duo is certainly entering the smartphone battlefield with all guns blazing. With Nokia’s all in approach with WP7, both companies have a lot depending on the success of the Lumia 900, Nokia’s flagship device that will be released on AT&T’s network on April 8. Nokia is attempting to carve out a niche for itself in the US, a market in which it has been largely irrelevant for the last few years.

Nokia is being very competitive with the pricing scheme for the Lumia 900, which is free for a new AT&T customer (with a 2 year contract) or $99 for an upgrade. Also, Nokia and Microsoft have engaged in an aggressive marketing campaign to promote the device, with the main fixture being Microsoft’s “Smoked by a Windows Phone” series.

Now, Nokia has turned its sights on Apple and Google, with the “Smartphone Beta Test” campaign.

What is Smartphone Beta Test?

SmartphoneBetaTest.com primarily features a video of Chris Parnell sitting around, looking extremely bored, waiting for the countdown to finally reach zero. It also features a series of three backdated videos that are supposed to show the faulty decision making process behind some prominent smartphones.

While there is no direct indication, it is very obvious that the videos takes pot-shots at some of the issues the iPhone and Android phones face. The page doesn’t outright say Nokia, but if you notice the scratched logo at the top left corner, it looks like it starts with an N. The timing of this stunt couldn’t have been better either. The countdown stopping on April 6, two days before the launch of the Lumia 900, strengthens my belief that this is another part of Nokia’s marketing strategy.

Let’s move on to the videos to see what exactly Nokia(?) had to say.





“Death Grip”





“Fragile”





“Outside”





It is very obvious at what products these videos are aimed at. The first two are aiming for Apple, with its references to the infamous “Antenna Gate” and the notoriously fragile case of the phone, while the third shoots towards Android products and the increasing use of AMOLED screens by Android OEMs.

What do you think of the videos? Is Nokia going to make a splash on the US market with the Lumia 900? Should Apple and Google be worried?

http://www.androidauthority.com/nokia-ap...ots-71331/

Quote:The Asus Transformer Infinity Pad is the cause of both joy and sadness for many, for it represents the best of breed in many ways. While certain design compromises had to be made to achieve its incredibly thin 8.3mm profile, such as the lack of a full USB port and a full sized SD card reader, the sheer beauty, responsiveness, and overall appeal of the device itself are more than enough to make up for it. Packing the ridiculously powerful quad core (5 cores, actually) Tegra 3 SoC, it features an astonishing 1920×1200 resolution 10.1 inch display. With its matte metallic finished back, it is both thinner than the iPad 2 and has more than double the resolution. Of course, the iPad 3 / HD has changed all of this, but it’s likely that Apple will have a very difficult time producing them, as the LCD they have chosen is notoriously hard to manufacturer. Further to this, it is also compatible with ASUS’ latest keyboard dock, which extends its battery life to nearly 20 hours. On the keyboard dock, you will find a full sized USB port, as well as a full sized SD card reader, which work to truly extend the utility of said device. Among all the devices we encountered at CES, this was one of our absolute favorites because it’s quite simply shockingly beautiful, lightweight in the hand, borne out of high quality materials, and features an eye popping 1080p+ 10.1 inch display. Plus, with the keyboard dock you aren’t relegated to being a passive consumer of media, but rather can actually get some pretty serious work done on the device itself.