Ordnance Survey frees up mapping data

Mapping agency Ordnance Survey launches a new service this week offering free and unrestricted access to many of its maps for the first time.

Following extensive public consultation, OS OpenData is set to be launched by Communities Secretary John Denham today.

Denham hoped it would attract "a new wave of entrepreneurs" to reuse the OS' mapping data in new and innovative ways and help to place the UK at the "cutting edge of a digital revolution".

Wider cultural change

Mr Denham said the new scheme was part and parcel of changes which, "signal a wider cultural change in Government based on an assumption that information should be in the public domain unless there is a good reason not to - not the other way around.

"Greater openness, accountability and transparency in Government will give people greater choice and make it easier for individuals to get more directly involved in issues that matter to them."

People have used the limited free data that was previously available via OS OpenSpace to create safe cycling and rambling routes, or provide maps with locations of local post and phone boxes.

OS OpenData is part of the government's "Making Public Data Public" initiative launched by the Prime Minister last November.

Sir Tim Berners-Lee said of the move: "I'm delighted that the Ordnance Survey is releasing this data for free re-use," said Sir Tim.



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This post was written by Techradar - All the latest technology news on March 31, 2010

PrimeSense outed as sensor maker for Natal

PrimeSense has been named as one of the key technology partners for Project Natal – Microsoft's soon-to-be released motion detection kit.

PrimeSense certainly has something of a pedigree for motion-based tech. Last year it was announced as the best new technology at CableLabs' Innovation Showcase in the US.

At the time, TechRadar mentioned that the gadget "sounds like another Project Natal". Turns out it was part of Natal.

"PrimeSense's technology enables a paradigm shift in the way people interact with consumer electronic devices. The engagement with Xbox 360 establishes PrimeSense's position as a leading supplier of 3D-sensing technology," explained Inon Beracha, Chief Executive Officer, PrimeSense. "We are especially honoured to have a partner like Microsoft who share our vision for bringing innovative and engaging natural experiences to consumers."

Controller-free entertainment

Ian Spillinger, Vice President of Xbox 360 hardware also noted: "PrimeSense has delivered an important component to the technology, helping us deliver revolutionary controller-free entertainment experiences in the living room."

Project Natal – which now officially boasts a sensor based on PrimeSense – has a UK release date of Christmas.



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This post was written by Techradar - All the latest technology news on March 31, 2010

Android codenames cracked: How to identify yours

Our Android overlords don’t just come from one distant planet. There are different breeds of Android, or “versions” if you’re more used to terrestrial lingo. Each new version of Android has brought enhancements, improvements and additions, and word is there are even more bizarre mutations to come.

Each Android version is named after a type of desert too, with delicious-sounding codenames whetting our appetite for their high-tech contents. Want to know which version of Android is inside your Android phone? Here’s a run down of the ones that have landed, what their special powers are and the next lot you can expect.


Android Invasion! Everything you need to know about Android phones



Android Cupcake
Android 1.5 is Cupcake’s alien codename. It was first spotted landing on Earth on 30 April 2009, adding new next-gen powers to the first ever Android phones. We’re talking stereo Bluetooth, a new on-screen keyboard, between screen animations, camcorder recording and direct Picasa and YouTube uploading.

If you have an ageing HTC Magic in your pocket, this is the Android edition your phone’s infected with.

Android Donut
Known also as Android 1.6 and from a planet not too far from Cupcake, this Android update brought earthlings a better Android Market, higher resolution screen support for WVGA screens, boosted voice search abilitiers, and integration of Google’s voice technology with contacts.

There were also speed improvements. When it debuted, Donut was the fastest Android ever seen. Newer HTC Magics already support Donut out of the box, and it’s at home inside the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 too.

Android Eclair
A recent invader, hitting Earth in October 2009 and worming its way into the Nexus One, HTC Legend and HTC Desire. Different in many ways from its inter-planetary cousins, it offers a new browser interface, Microsoft Exchange support for workaholics, digital zoom for cameras, multiple Gmail account access and a super-advanced image search tool called Google Goggles.

In certain areas, namely the USA, it also has free Google Maps Navigation, although this has yet to break out from quarantine and land in other territories.

Android FroYo
FroYo will be the next Android update due to land. It’s still en route to Earth and as yet, nobody’s sure when it’ll arrive. New Android versions find their way to handsets every few months however, so its arrival could be imminent.

FroYo is short for Frozen Yoghurt. It certainly sounds delicious. We just hope that means it tastes great, but doesn’t leave us with a headache.

Android Gingerbread
From an even more distant planet, Gingerbread is currently in a galaxy far, far away, not to be seen for a few months yet.Very little is known about Android Gingerbread, although that’ll change as it begins to infiltrate our solar system.

Its Android powers are said to be so extreme that mere mortals cannot stare at it for too long, for fear of extreme technology envy and high-levels of next-gen gadget anticipation.

Related posts:

  1. HTC codenames hint at up to 15 more Android phones
  2. Techie Breakie: Android netbook made in 2008, iTunes cards cracked and the BlackBerry Storm F1 car!
  3. Lunchtime lowdown: Nokia DRM cracked, PlayStation Home launch tomorrow, and is Sony Ericsson working on an Android phone?

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This post was written by James Holland on March 31, 2010

Android phones: what would aliens think?

Android phones have infiltrated Earth, and while plenty of people are waiting for aliens to arrive with awesome extraterrestrial technology, with an Android phone in your hand you’ve already got tons of out of this world features in your grasp. In fact, if aliens did land, they’d be amazed by all the things a humble Android phone can do.


Android Invasion! Everything you need to know about Android phones


Android knows more than its owner
Faced with an Android phone packing augmented reality apps like Layar and Wikitude, an alien might be forced to conclude that it knew more than the person pecking away at its touchscreen.

With its camera acting like an eye on the world, your Android phone can overlay interesting facts about the buildings around you more quickly and comprehensively than a human tour guide. Layar even offers different information layers, so you can choose to find local shops, or see tips from other users, left as a digital breadcrumb trail as you wander around our home planet.

It’s fair to expect aliens would be impressed by Android. They’d see a mobile operating system tuned to helping its owner, as well as showcasing the fruits of human creativity through the YouTube and Spotify Android apps.

Android has a better sense of direction
If you try to give an alien directions, you’ll end up terribly confused. They won’t understand our earthbound landmarks, street names or postcodes. Android handles that task far better with Google Maps. Turn-by-turn directions will help the alien on its way, and Google can even tell an alien which bus to take, next time they need to pop to the shops.

Aliens could use Google Voice Search to find locations simply by speaking, assuming they’ve picked up the local lingo. There’s lots of great navigation apps on the Android Marketplace too: worried that the alien will forget where it parked the spaceship? Tag the location with Carr Matey and your Android phone will give it directions back to the craft, complete with an entertaining pirate voice.

Android keeps track of your friends
If the alien wants to understand human friendship, your Android phone can explain it far better than you, bringing together all your communication with friends and family in a clear, easy-to-understand way.

Gmail keeps track of your email, Twitter apps like Twidroid and Seesmic handle your tweets. Meanwhile phones like the HTC Desire, HTC Legend and Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 pull all of that together to show your social networking activities in a single window.

Feed your Android phone with your Facebook, Flickr, Twitter details and more, and the alien will see a fully rounded picture of what human social life is all about.

Android gets you organised
With push email onboard, Android phones send you messages as soon as they arrive. But that’s not all. Support for Microsoft Exchange means calendars and contacts are synched up with the cloud too.

Show the aliens your Android phone’s organisational skills, and it’ll seem more like a  super-powered secretary rather than simply a phone. Add extra apps like Astrid and the alien will really think that Android has a better handle on your appointments than you do with audio notifications to tell you when tasks are due.

Add the Locale Android app, and your Android phone will even know when you’re in work and when you’re at home and not bother you when you’re relaxing.

Android has a better memory
While you’ll seem dreadfully forgetful to the alien with its cranium straining brain, expect it to be impressed with your Android phone’s memory. With a camera and Android apps such as Evernote, Android can keep a visual record of where you’ve been and what you’ve done.

Install the Google Goggles Android app and your Android phone will snap a picture and identify objects for the the alien, even when your mind is blank. Synching your Gmail emails and chats to the cloud, Android will remember what you’ve been talking about with friends too, as well as telling you their e-mail addresses, even if they’re not in your contacts book!

Related posts:

  1. Google Android to grow beyond mobile phones
  2. Google expects 18 Android phones by end of 2009
  3. LG launching three Android phones this year

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This post was written by James Holland on March 31, 2010

Android phone scours night sky for UFOs

An Android phone can do far more than simply make calls and browse the web. Having an Android mobile in your hand is like your own personal astronomer, ready to scour the night sky for alien contact.

Point the Android browser at the right website or install a couple of handy apps and suddenly the mysteries of the universe will be revealed to you. Wondering whether that light in the night sky is a star, a satellite of something more mysterious? Read on, and we’ll show you how an Android phone can help you get to the truth.


Android Invasion! Everything you need to know about Android phones


UFO hunter tool 1: Google Sky
Thanks to your Android phone’s full web browsing abilities, it’ll have no problem opening Google Sky, the search giant’s web-based tool for mapping the heavens. Once you’ve figured out what’s what in the night sky, you’ll find scouring for UFOs much easier.

Just point the Android browser to www.google.com/sky/ and you’ll see the heavens laid out in front of you. It’ll let you get a good perspective on the space which UFOs will come racing through. You can zoom in to look at the stars by tapping buttons to the left of the screen, galaxies and nebulas of the known universe.

Swipe the touchscreen of your Android phone and you’ll scroll around the heavens, and if you’re using a multitouch Android mobile like the HTC Legend, you can pinch to zoom in or out too. You can also go on tours of particularly interesting galactic spots including the Andromeda Galaxy and the Horsehead Nebula. Find a spot you like and you can drop a bookmark by tapping the menu button within the Android browser to return to it speedily, if not at light speed.

UFO hunter tool 2: NASA Images
It pays to keep up with developments in space technology if you’re hoping to spot a UFO. NASA Images is an Android app that gives you access to an archive of over 4000 of the space agency’s images, plus its Astronomy Picture of the Day website right on your phone. You’ll see space ships, satellites and the International Space Station.

You can also set NASA images as your Android phone’s home screen background from within the app. It’ll remind you to keep an eye on the skies, even when you’re glancing down at your Android mobile.

UFO hunter tool 3: Google Sky Map
Google Sky Map uses the same technology as Google Sky to map the celestial bodies around our planet, but perks it up by using the special skills of your Android phone. Fire it up, and it’ll let you find planets, stars and constellations by pointing your phone up at the night sky. Using your Android phone’s GPS, accelerometer and compass, it will identify the objects you’re looking at, overlaying information on the screen, so you can spin around an identify that aerial object in seconds. Is it a UFO, or just a satellite passing overhead? Google Sky Map can tell you.

Google Sky Map has an automatic mode which will adjust the map view as you move your phone too, so that the screen effectively becomes a window identifying what you’re seeing in the night sky. If you want to investigate at your leisure there’s a manual mode where you can use your finger to move the map.

Because Google Sky Map identifies celestial objects – stars visible to the naked eye, planets and the moon it’ll help turn your Android phone into a great UFO hunting tool. If your Android phone can’t identify the object, it’s some other space object. Now, it could be the International Space Station trundling by, but until you’re sure, it’s unidentified, an unidentified flying object. Get snapping with your Android phone camera and contact the National Enquirer immediately.

Related posts:

  1. Samsung Armani Night Effect phone sighted
  2. Android phone aids human space explorers
  3. Android messaging: Use an Android phone to send messages into space!

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This post was written by James Holland on March 31, 2010

Apps to turn yourself into an Android

The Androids have landed. But fear not, Earthlings, it’s time to embrace our new rulers, not cower as they take all before them in a brutal show of mobile strength. Here are five apps which you can add to your Android phone to give yourself cyborg-style abilities, welcome our robotic overlords and show yourself as being one with the all-conquering Android invasion.


Android Invasion! Everything you need to know about Android phones


Each Android app is available through the Android Market on the Android phone’s application menu. Just tap into it, search for the app, and install it with a quick press of the screen.

Layar
The Layar Android app lets you see just like your new Android rulers using the power of Augmented Reality. Download it free from Android Market, fire it up and point your Android phone’s camera at something. Layar works as a ‘reality browser’ working on top of your Android’s camera. Scan around and it’ll map the best restaurants, bars, places to hang out and even shops, using GPS and the digital compass inside your Android mobile. This is how Androids see the world, and now you can see like a cyborg too, just like our new extra terrestrial rulers.

SpoofApp
Androids can change their voices at will. Add the SpoofApp Android app and you can mimic our alien lordships in the same way. Fire it up and choose male or female voice and it’ll tweak the tone of your booming vocal chords into something wholly unrecognisable. Perfect for instilling Android-like fear in non-believers, and you can even use it while bellowing down the phone.

Google Sky Map
Android phones are out of this world, so get to know their neighbourhood with Google Sky Map. Load it up, point your phone’s camera at the sky and it’ll clue you in on the stars, planets and constellations wherever you are, even plotting names of the most obscure parts of the solar system. Who knows, point it in the right direction and you might be looking straight up at your Android’s home planet.

Translator
As well as using different voices, Androids are multilingual. Add the Translator Android app to your phone and you can be too. It’ll take text in your native language and using Google’s translation service turn it into words you can send to foreign pals. It works both ways too, so you can understand what’s going down when your buddies e-mail from overseas. Take this Android app on holiday too, and you’ll fit in like a robotic local. The app can even tell which language your Android is programmed to speak and will automatically translate to it when you’re away.

Twidroid
Spread the word about the Android invasion with Twidroid. It’s the first full-on Twitter Android app, with picture posting, auto-complete and location support, also helping you see what’s trending across the globe, so you’ll tap into the pulse of the populus without ever leaving the app. You’ve got 140 characters to tell the world why they should love the Androids and eschew their rivals now. Get tweeting!

Related posts:

  1. Android apps to turn your phone into mobile minion
  2. Techie Breakie: Google Maps gets turn by turn
  3. Google Maps for mobile to get turn by turn?

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This post was written by James Holland on March 31, 2010

HTC Legend: 10 reasons it’s an Android icon

The HTC Legend is arguably the hottest Android phone yet. From its sleek design to its stellar implementation of the Google Android OS, it’s an all-round winner, and much more than just a pretty face. In fact, we’re willing to state it’s a true Android icon. Here’s 10 reasons why it’s a cut above the smartphone competition, and ahead of the Android pack.


Android Invasion! Everything you need to know about Android phones


Stunning all-metal shell
The unibody frame of the HTC Legend sets it apart from every other smartphone going. It’s carved from a single piece of solid aluminium, which not only means it looks the part, but also that it feels great in the hand. No other Android phone can match it when it comes to design.

Durability by design
That metal shell isn’t just good looking. It means the HTC Legend is hard as nails. It’ll take a pounding and still stand up to everyday tasks, since there’re no plastic weak points to come adrift, or even hinges to take a hammering. That’s not to say you can throw it about willy nilly mind. It’s not a hardcore rugged mobile, but it’s a lot tougher than most while still looking the business.

HTC Sense bulks up Android
The new version of HTC Sense makes Android, and the HTC Legend, sing. Added extras like Leap, which zooms out to show you all of your homescreens at once, with a single pinch of the multitouch panel, and Friend Stream which aggregates all your social networks onto one page accessible right up front, make the Legend stand out. This is more than a smartphone. HTC Sense makes it a geniusphone.

Smart hidden features
Embarrassed by your blower ringing in the middle of a meeting? Grab the HTC Legend as it rings and it’ll quieten down. And if you flip it over on a desk, it’ll silence itself completely. They’re both clever touches, and ones that really show the attention to detail that sets the Legend apart from its rivals.

Best in class components
The HTC Legend is loaded with the very best tech to make it one of the world’s most advanced Android phones. The 3.2-inch screen is AMOLED, which keeps glare to a minimum and doesn’t eat through the battery, despite being super-bright and bursting with colour. Around the back, there’s a 5 megapixel camera that is nothing short of stunning, and inside there’s HSDPA and HSUPA for uploads and downloads at speeds to rival home broadband connections.

It learns from other mobiles
The HTC Legend isn’t the first all-metal mobile, but it is the best. It’s learned from its rivals mistakes in designing a built-in plastic panel to allow 3G , Wi-Fi and Bluetooth data signals to pass through untroubled. Likewise, the headphone socket at the top of the HTC Legend sits flush with its edge, meaning there’s no trouble connecting your own cans, a problem that marred some preceding metal mobiles.

It rocks Android 2.1
The HTC Legend has bang-up-to-date Android software. It might sound like a small point, but keeping up with Google’s software releases is no mean feat. Few mobiles currently rock the latest iteration of Android, but by packing in Android 2.1 the HTC Legend has made sure you can use multiple Google accounts, Goggles picture search and adds increased stabilty and speed.

No trackball, no problem
The HTC Legend dispenses with the analogue trackball of its predecessor, the HTC Hero, replacing it with a stunning trackpad the picks up your movements with ease. It’s clickable too, meaning that little silver disc is a true multi-purpose button. A real added bonus, and a smart use of space where alternative controllers might be cramped.

It’s small, but beautiful
The HTC Legend eschews the super-size screens and monster waistlines of its rivals, instead packing in a raft of amazing Android features in a slimline frame that measures just 11.5mm deep. The 3.2-inch screen is the perfect pocketable size, but can still handle video with aplomb. By crafting the entire body out of aluminium, HTC has made sure the Legend is sleek and solid, while simultaneously making sure there’s no wasted space.

Killer battery life
Most smartphones die after a day, desperate for some electrical love. The HTC Legend, however, can power through two days of full-on tasks before needing some much earned rest and recuperation via the USB charger. It’s head and shoulders above the competition when it comes to battery life, and enough to put it ahead when it comes to a tussle for our affections.

Related posts:

  1. HTC Legend official: iPhone for Android fans
  2. HTC Legend dissected: Android exposed
  3. HTC Legend review

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This post was written by James Holland on March 31, 2010

Android messaging: Use an Android phone to send messages into space!

Your Android phone has the power to send extra-terrestrial messages. Fire it up, and you can send messages into the cosmos. Or, at least, to the International Space Station. All you need to do is install the Twidroid Android app from the Android Market, and it’ll do your bidding. Here’s how it works and why your Android will be a willing partner in your quest to reach out to distant galaxies.


Android Invasion! Everything you need to know about Android phones


Astronauts hanging out on the International Space Station have had web access since January this year, when NASA announced a special software upgrade would let them use the web just like us Earthlings. Since then, they’ve been communicating with Earth more regularly, and you can get in touch too, just by using your Android phone.

Set up your Android phone properly, and you can fire questions to the astronauts in a jiffy. Just tap into www.Twitter.com and open a free Twitter account. Once that’s done, point your Android phone at the Android Market, download Twidroid and using your Twitter account.

Send queries to astronauts in orbit by beginning them with @Astro_TJ. That’ll get to Flight Engineer T.J. Creamer, who’s first message arrived safely on Earth earlier this year: “Hello Twitterverse! We r now LIVE tweeting from the International Space Station — the 1st live tweet from Space! :) More soon, send your ?s.”

You can also tweet T.J.’s crewmates ISS Commander Jeff Williams and Soichi Noguchi by beginning your messages @NASA_astronauts. And don’t forget you can tweet with photo attachments to them as well, reminding them what it’s like back on terra firma and making sure they’re not too homesick.

You can also use your Android phone’s browser to load www.issfanclub.com, where you can track the International Space Station on a map of the world, as well as keeping tabs on what the ISS’s astronauts are up to when they’re not tweeting.

Related posts:

  1. Android phone aids human space explorers
  2. Astronauts hit Twitter, tweet live from space
  3. Robotic resident on the International Space Station

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This post was written by James Holland on March 31, 2010

HTC Desire vs Nexus One: What’s the difference

The HTC Desire and Google Nexus One share the same DNA, since they’re actually made by the same manufacturer. But there are some core differences which will help you tell the difference between HTC’s own Android colossus and Google’s in-house handset. Read on, and we’ll help you tell these deceptively similar-looking twins apart.


Android Invasion! Everything you need to know about Android phones


Optical trackpad
The most obvious difference between the HTC Desire and the Google Nexus One is the trackpad on its chin. The HTC Desire rocks a rather sharp optical trackpad, which responds whenever you stroke a finger across it, or press down to click. It’s used for navigating around the HTC Sense UI, grafted on top of the standard Android OS.

In its place, the Google Nexus One instead uses a sometimes-glowing analogue trackball. It’s a mechanical component, which means it gives physical feedback with every movement, but is also more prone to wear and tear. It’ll also light up, however, glowing like a beacon when you receive calls or text messages.

Casing
The body of the HTC Desire differs ever so slightly to the Nexus One, the latter with a two tone grey spine, while the monotone dark grey frame of the HTC Desire dominates proceedings. The USB port at the bottom of the Desire is also slightly more protruded, and the Desire features physical buttons either side of its trackpad, compared to the Nexus One’s touch sensitive shortcuts, embedded at the base of its screen.

There are very few physical differences between the two blowers, however. Both measure 11.9mm thick, 60mm wide and 119mm tall.

HTC Sense UI
While the Google Nexus One utilises the speedy, yet basic edition of Android 2.1, the HTC Desire has the excellent HTC Sense UI sitting on top. That means you get the likes of HTC’s Leap shortcut to navigate between homescreens, while the Nexus One makes do with smaller thumbnails along the bottom of its display. Both achieve the same effect, but we have to say the HTC Desire does so in a much slicker, and enjoyable way.

Likewise, HTC’s addition of one-stop social networking in Friend Stream and news aggregation right on the front page makes the Sense UI a worthy addition. Sure, Google’s vanilla Android inside the Nexus One brings animated wallpapers, but HTC has added genuinely useful features to the Desire, as well as making it prettier in the process.

HTC’s added extras
The HTC Sense software inside the HTC Desire isn’t just a revamped UI, it runs much deeper. HTC has tweaked the browser on the Desire to offer Google Translate and one-touch Wikipedia lookup tools when you highlight text and hold it with your finger. That means you can change the language of your lingo at a press of the touchscreen, or seek out definitions if something confusing crops up. Both are features not available on the Google Nexus One.

Battery life
The HTC Desire’s 3G standby time is a whopping 360 hours, while the Nexus One offers 250 hours on the same setting. Of course, when you’re on-the-move you use your phone in different ways and depending how intensive you are when it comes to using apps, surfing the web and, yes, even having a natter, the results you’ll see will vary between the two.

Related posts:

  1. HTC Desire debuts: Nexus One with HTC Sense
  2. HTC Desire manhandled for your eyes-on pleasure
  3. HTC Desire review: Overall verdict

Posted under Cameras, Computers, GPS Navi, Gadgets, Monitors, Notebooks, PC Accessories, Printers, Scanners, iPod

This post was written by James Holland on March 31, 2010

Sony Ericsson Xperia X10: next-gen Android features

The Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 is more than a standard Android phone. It strengthens the standard Android operating system with a serious set of souped-up features. On top of the brilliant basic offerings of Android, the Xperia X10 adds a layer of beautiful solutions to make your life easier. Read on, and we’ll spell them out.


Android Invasion! Everything you need to know about Android phones


Messaging mashups
Android has great messaging features, boasting easy integration with Google apps like Gmail and support for IM through Google Talk, but the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 takes them to another level with Timescape. In the Timescape app, you can see all your texts, multimedia messages, emails, call logs and Facebook and Twitter updates together.

Timescape shows your conversations as stacked cards featuring the photo of the person you’re talking to. Flick through them with your finger and you can easily travel back in time, press the Infinity button at the top of the screen and Timescape will show you all your conversations with that person, no matter where they happened, from texts to Twitter updates – all in one place.

Next gen web browsing
The Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 has a huge 4 inch capacitive touchscreen that really comes into its own when you’re browsing the web. The Xperia X10’s enhanced web browser automatically reflows text and columns so they fit the screen perfectly. On large sites with lots of text, you can use the magnifying glass tool to zoom in and navigate with your finger. Open several websites at once, and you can jump back to them using the window button to see all the pages you have open in a handy grid.

Enhanced entertainment
While Timescape powers up Android’s messaging features, Mediascape makes the most of your music, videos and photos. Dive into the Mediascape app and you’ll be greeted with three tabs dedicated to Music, Video and Photos.

Hop into a tab and you’ll be greeted by a gallery showing your most recently viewed or played files at the top of the screen. On the bottom half of the screen, Mediascape will show your Facebook, Picasa or Flickr photos or pull related videos from Youtube and tracks from the PlayNow music store. The Xperia X10 automatically analyses your music, and offers up more of the same from across the web, it’s literally a bottomless pit of entertainment, just waiting for you to take the plunge.

Futuristic control
The Xperia X10 features a redesigned on-screen keyboard that can really take advantage of its roomy touchscreen. While you can still make use of the standard Android keyboard by choosing it from a settings menu, Sony Ericsson’s tweaked Xperia X10 version offers larger, easier to use buttons especially in landscape mode. Meanwhile, for those who can’t stand typing on a touchscreen, the X10 also features handwriting recognition.

Design
The Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 packs Android into a smooth, stylish exterior. The first thing you’ll notice is the Xperia X10’s huge touchscreen. Almost every function of the phone can be accessed through the touchscreen. The other controls on the Xperia X10 are subtle and elegant. On the bottom of the Xperia X10 you’ll find physical Home, Menu and Back buttons, which make it easy to bring up menus and jump back to your home screen without having to make a flurry of finger presses.

On the side of the X10 there’s a dedicated camera shutter key (though you can set the Xperia X10 to snap pictures by touching the screen too) and a volume control rocker that doubles up as a zoom control when taking photos.

On the top of the Xperia X10 there’s a 3.5mm audio jack which means you can use your favourite headphones, the power key and a microUSB connection for synching your phone to a PC, and charging it up. The Xperia X10’s design includes great attention to detail both in the hardware design and in the user interface. For example, you’ll find the USB connector is covered to avoid dust and dirt keeping inside, and when you fire up the X10 for the first time you’ll notice you can change the direction of the curving swipe you use to unlock the phone, perfect for left and right handed owners alike!

Related posts:

  1. Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Android phone unleashed!
  2. Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 dissected: Android exposed!
  3. Sony Ericsson Xperia X3 Android phone dated

Posted under Cameras, Computers, GPS Navi, Gadgets, Monitors, Notebooks, PC Accessories, Printers, Scanners, iPod

This post was written by James Holland on March 31, 2010