Microsoft wants to reboot the franchise with new characters but are hoping to include cameo appearances from fan-favourite characters from the original series – such as Sylar (Zachary Quinto) and Matt Parkman (Greg Grunberg).

Microsoft recently set up its own television entertainment studio and the Xbox TV service is planned to run across a number of Microsoft’s platforms including consoles, phones and Windows OS.

SOURCE: TV Line

So, if the reports are accurate, we’ll have to wait about 6 weeks to find out the real information on the next Xbox and if rumours of an “always-online” connection are true.

In maybe-related news, Microsoft sold their Mediaroom IPTV business to Ericsson today and Microsoft Vice President Yusuf Mehdi wrote in a blog:

“With the sale of Mediaroom, Microsoft is dedicating all TV resources to Xbox in a continued mission to make it the premium entertainment service that delivers all the games and entertainment consumers want – whether on a console, phone, PC or tablet.”

This would leave us to believe that they’re hedging all bets on Xbox TV and we can expect even more multimedia features in the future on Microsoft’s consoles.

Source: The Verge

The Apple’s iPhone 5S will have special fingerprint sensor tech built in. That’s according to chatter coming out from the device’s supply chain and picked up by a Chinese language site, China Times.

The fingerprint function will work in conjunction with Near Field Communication (NFC) tech, which has been available on rival Android devices for years, allowing contactless payments and interaction between separate devices securely.

Apple is said to be planning for the fingerprint sensor to work as an added layer of security and this also maybe why Apple bought AuthenTec last year, a company focused entirely on developing Biometric security.

It has been rumoured in an article on Kotaku that Star Wars: First Assault has been put on hold. If you’ve not heard of the game, you’re not the only one. We knew that a yet-to-be-named game for Xbox Live Arcade was in the works at the studio but the article, which sourced a leaked document, indicates that it’s the aforementioned Star Wars title.

According to Kotaku, the document revealed a downloadable first-person shooter for up to 16 players, 8 rebels versus 8 Stormtroopers, on a number of worlds from the series. First Assault was planned to serve as a test for production on a new Battlefront game, something which has yet to be formally announced either.

Source: Kotaku

In an interview with Silicon Republic, SCEE’s Senior Vice President Michael Denny let slip the possibility that Polyphony Digital’s racing sim Gran Turismo would be seeing a sequel released on Playstation 3:

“Look at the games coming out this year on the PlayStation 3 like The Last of US, Beyond:Two Souls, GT6… “

When IGN contacted Sony for confirmation, a company representative simply responded with the following:

“In 2010, Kazunori Yamauchi confirmed that Polyphony Digital had commenced development for Gran Turismo 6. We look forward to sharing further details on this title in the near future.”

They refused unsurprisingly to give any further information on the game when pressed.

So that just leaves us with confirmation that Gran Turismo 6 is indeed coming but will it come to PS3? And will it be out this year? Or did Mr. Denny simply misspeak?

In any case, it would seem logical that the game is coming to current generation hardware and not [necessarily] PS4 given it’s long development and lack of appearance at the recent Playstation 4 announcement.

Sources: SiliconRepublic, IGN

With the PlayStation 4 having been unveiled during a Sony press conference in New York last week, the world now awaits in anticipation for Microsoft’s response. When will we see the next Xbox?

According to CVG, we can expect our first look this April.

A number of developers and industry professionals have allegedly told CVG that microsoft will hold a conference to reveal the company’s next-generation console this April.

In addition, an interesting domain name registered by Microsoft partner Eventcore, formerly Ustechs, a company who has worked with MS on past media briefings and press conferences such as last year’s E3, was spotted by the NeoGAF community. It reads “XboxEvent.com.”

A senior Sony official also told CVG he was informed that the PlayStation meeting last week had “at first caught Microsoft off-guard.” He added, “we definitely ruffled their feathers.”

While we can look forward to an official look at the next Xbox this April, should the rumors prove true, this year’s GDC in March is also likely to reveal Microsoft’s future-tech, should the company’s engineers and developers attend.

Source: http://mp1st.com/2013/02/24/microsoft-expected-to-reveal-next-generation-xbox-in-april/

The wait for the iPhone 5 just got officially shorter today with invitations from Apple being sent out to the world tech-press.

For the last month or so it was widely believed that September 12^th would be the day that the next generation iPhone would be announced, but that was all based off of industry insiders and speculation.

The general consensus is that the iPhone 5 will bring in arguably the biggest change to the iPhone range since its launch by way of a bigger screen – 3.5 inches to 4.0 inches to be precise.

Up until now the biggest change to the iPhone was probably the shift in design from the 3GS to the 4 and 4S.

Apple are also rumoured to be working on an iPad Mini – a scaled down version of the world’s bestselling tablet, but that unveiling isn’t expected to be held until sometime around October.

We’ll be on hand on September 12^th to give you all the juicy details.

You can contact the author of this post, Luke Hoare Greene at Luke@TechTV101.com or Follow him on Twitter.

Well, as usual, the rumour mill is all a-churning again with the latest bit of ‘leaked’ info that Apple is set to release a new 7″ iPad this Autumn. The device is also said to have an unlikely Apple price of somewhere between €200-€250.

Now, this particular rumour has been circulating for months and months now but it really has appeared to gain more traction in the last couple of days with a couple of sources adding info to the pot.

If Apple were to release this iPad (nano?), it would definitely be a very blatant attack on the likes of the smaller screened iPad competitors such as the Kindle Fire and Blackberry Playbook, both of which aren’t massively successful to begin with.The device would more than likely have a retina display and some impressive processing power so it would become king of the 7″ market in no time as well.

Apple are believed to announce this new tablet alongside their latest version of the iPhone, the iPhone 5/iphone 4GS/the new iPhone, whatever the hell it will be called, later on this year.

So what do you think guys, if you aren’t already an iPad convert, would this new smaller tablet tempt you to join the iPad brigade?

BUT, this has much more dire implications. This could mean the end of the high street games retailer. With the likes of Game already struggling and not stocking some of the most recent AAA titles due to cash flow problems, the lack of Optical Disks and the introduction of Downloads / read-write memory cards, effectively means the end of the second hand games market and quite possibly the new games market as well (assuming that a vast majority of customers will end up using the download route for convenience).

While the Xbox (and PS3) have had full game downloads for a while now, any new games have always hit the high street first in Disk form, removing this is a huge move and would also mean the end of “Special Editions” with extras packed in (which would make me sad). If AMD are to be believed the next consoles will have “Avatar Like” graphics which could be HUGE downloads, much bigger than a DVD can currently handle. With Memory Cards going so cheap these days (good 32GB SD card is less than 20euros online), it makes sense to move to a format like this.

I’m going to be watching this closely to see how it plays out!

What do you guys think?

“We have something you really need to see. And touch.”

That’s the only information Apple have have given on invitations they sent out to the press world today, along with the above image.

Keen observers are quick to point out that the screen on the device in the image looks to be a lot sharper than the current iPad 2, lending truth to the rumour that the iPad 3 will use Apples’ Retina Display.

Nothing else is known right now, but all will be revealed on March 7th at the Apple Keynote in San Francisco.

You can contact the author of this post, Luke Hoare Greene at Luke@TechTV101.com  or Follow him on Twitter.

Having just returned from day one of Panasonic’s Press Convention here in Hamburg, I received information from one of the display team that Panasonic plan to announce 3 new smartphones at MWC in Barcelona next week. He was obviously very reserved with his information but he did go on to say that we ‘may’ see Panasonic’s own digital camera brand, Lumix, integrated into at least one of these new phones.That was all the information he was willing to give me and said I’d have to wait until MWC for more.

With one more day to go at the convention, I’ll try my best to get more info for you guys!

If the rumour mill is to be believed, we may actually see Playstation Suite certified HTC phones before the year is out. Coming from the Pocket-lint website, which was informed by ‘anonymous sources, Sony is looking into allowing the rival smartphone manufacturer  access the Sony Entertainment Network and the chance to play PSone games. Not much more info on this is known.

We should expect more light to me shone on this at MWC at the end of the month in Barcelona.

Would you HTC loving guys like to see Playstation Suite on your handset?

Source http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/44406/htc-playstation-certification-coming-2012

The last few weeks has seen a slew of rumours and unconfirmed reports about Microsoft’s upcoming unannounced successor, the NextBox, Xbox 720, Loop or whatever you want to call it at this point. In order to make this deluge of information a bit more manageable, we’ve compiled it into a bite-sized report for you.

So check out below to be the most up-to-date gamer in the know.

It’s going to be six times more powerful than its daddy

One of the most interesting rumours to come out last week is that the new Xbox will feature AMD’s Radeon tech powering its graphics. Specifically, the system will feature hardware similar in juice to the Radeon HD 6670, a chipset that offers DirectX 11, multi-display output, 3D, and 1080p HD output.

And the main hub of the machine is apparently going to be using a chip, codenamed Oban, which is set to go into mass production towards the end of the year, with both IBM and Global Foundries handling its development.

What all that jargon means is that the system will offer raw processing power that is six times that of the Xbox 360, and 20-percent more powerful than Nintendo’s upcoming Wii U. Also according to the boys at IGN, dev kits based on the final configuration will be in the hands of developers in August.

The end of trade-ins…

Perhaps the scariest news to come out of last week was the rumour that the system would not allow used games to be played on it. Microsoft have yet to confirm this but the main question this raises is how Microsoft would be able to prevent used games from working on the platform. Our best guess is that it will be an extension of the current Online Pass style system, whereby each game is shipped with a unique code that unlocks the game’s full capabilities – without the code the player would be left with nothing more than a demo version of the game. What-ever Microsoft’s strategy for implementing this, it will no doubt be a controversial addition to the system should it prove to be true.

Ever since retailers like HMV and GameStop began selling second hand copies of games, publishers have been screaming that used sales are bad for the videogame industry and even fired a warning shot at the retailers by introducing online passes a couple of years ago. So could this be the end of days for 2^nd-hand games. We’ll just have to wait and see on this one.

Blu-Ray 2.0?

Another report that came out last week is that console will include a blu-ray drive. Microsoft always opted to stress the importance of downloads and the streaming of films while seemingly ignore the fact that blu-ray is the next generation of discs. Blu-ray discs have come a long way since they first came out and if this rumour is true and the next gen console has a decent blu-ray drive in it, it could allow for seriously larger and more high-resolution textures as well as less discs.

Only 23 months to go…

Microsoft has always loved a pre-Christmas release, with both original consoles being released in November, 2001 and 2005 respectively. Apparently production is to begin this Christmas, so if this rumour is too believed we can expect the console as earlier as November 2013.

Microsoft France says the next Xbox will not be coming in 2012. French marketing director Cedrick Delmas says that despite several rumors about the system, it won’t be released this year.

Delmas told French site Lepoint.fr.

“We’re in an industry that talks a lot, that likes telling stories, I am not convinced that things will happen this year. The Xbox 360′s cycle is not over at all. The proof is that we haven’t price cut this year. Afterward, what will happen at E3, it’s still too early to say. What’s certain is that there will be nothing new in 2012.”

Now how do I pay?

Ok so this isn’t a rumour exactly but it does affect the 360 and all future incarnations. Apparently, Microsoft has decided phase-out is exclusive currency (Microsoft Points or MSP’s) even before the launch of the new system. While some gamers will welcome this idea with open arms and a hell load of spare MSP’s, some may not. A straight money system has worked on the PlayStation and PC downloadable platforms for many years now, so why shouldn’t Microsoft adopt a similar model?

So there you have it, while some of these rumours may be just that, I have a feeling that most will be true. Stay tuned to TechTV as we’ll bring you all the latest from Microsoft as and when we hear it.

It looks like the PlayStation Network is about to receive two additions to its PS2 Classics library. The ESRB has rated Grand Theft Auto III and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City for release on the PS3.

When an older game is re-rated for the PS3 by the ESRB, this generally means it’s due for a re-release. For example, the ESRB posted a new listing for Killzone two weeks ago and Sony confirmed afterward that the PS2 shooter was on its way to PSN. It’s shockingly common for the ESRB to reveal a re-release before the company has a chance to do it themselves.

As Siliconera notes, there’s no listing for GTA: San Andreas. That’s a bit of a disappointment, as it was arguably the best of the PS2 GTA games. It’s tough to complain about only getting two critically-acclaimed games, though.

Rockstar celebrated GTA III’s 10th anniversary this fall. They commemorated the milestone by releasing a mobile version of the game. Perhaps a PSN re-release was originally going to be part of the 10th anniversary festivities.

Home button could disappear from the iPhone 5

Designer Kris Groen came up with an iPhone 5 concept-video that shows a device with a 4-inch display in which the home button has been replaced by two separate home bumpers on the side.

The idea behind the concept is that with the future iPhone the user can simply squeeze the size of the phone on the left or right side of the device to use the home button.

The squeezing can be done easily as the position of the side buttons is based on the way phones are held.

By squeezing the buttons there a number of functions that the smartphone can perform, with no need to touch the screen.

iPhone 5 could become waterproof thanks to HzO

The technology developed by HZO is able to make any electronic component waterproof by applying a protective film at the nanometer scale on them during the assembly. Now Apple is said to have taken an interest in the concept for its future products.

“HzO uses a unique coating processes to shield almost anything from water and corrosion damage,” the company said.

“Unlike other water damage solutions, with HzO technology a device is not sealed, water is able to enter. Instead, the electronic components inside the device are coated to provide protection, leaving the device unencumbered and always guarded against unexpected accidents.”

The ‘nanotech’ spray coating is applied to the components when assembling the electronic device. To demonstrate the reliability of his technique, a working iPhone and Samsung Galaxy were dunked into a bowl of water and still remained functional.

iPhone 5 could feature Thunderbolt technology

The revolutionary I/O Thunderbolt technology is the new high-speed transmission format introduced by Apple that can transfer gigabytes of data in seconds.

Three patent applications filed by Apple last week detail on subjects such as the basic pinout of the Thunderbolt connector and the ways in which the wires are arranged within a cable.

“A connection may be provided between a portable media player and a display, a computer and a portable media player, or between other types of devices,” the report reads.

Thunderbolt sets a new standard for speed, flexibility and simplicity and it is currently available on MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac and Mac mini.

iOS 5.1 hints at Facebook integration

Codes in the iOS 5.1 beta 3 firmware seeded to developers shows that Apple could plan introducing Facebook into the contacts, just as the current version does with Twitter.

Built-in Facebook could give users the opportunity to post pictures and videos to their accounts directly from iOS, without having to open the Facebook app.

The team at iMore, who were the first to discover the hints, found that the operating system features a field for a Facebook user name in the contacts app.

However, this is to be taken with a grain of salt as it is still uncertain if Apple will make the feature available, or even if they will release it one day.

LTE for iPhone 5 could mean bigger battery, analyst says

Carlo Raphael Diokno at popherald.com speculated that the future Apple devices will have to integrate a heavier battery if they are to feature LTE technology.

In an article published last week, Diokno wrote that Apple will need to insert a heavier battery if it plans on introducing Long-Term Evolution to its gadgets in 2012.

According to the analyst, even though Apple’s rival, Android, is already providing faster wireless technology, a major drawback for Android LTE phones is their poor battery life.

Diokno also concluded that if the Cupertino company decides to add either the 4G/3G toggle or 4G, there is a high possibility that the next-gen iPhone and iPad will be thicker due to antenna and the battery.

iPhone 5 will feature 4-inch screen, says analyst

Susquehanna Financial analyst Chris Caso sent a note to his clients in which he speculated that the iPhone 5 will enter production this year in June, ahead of its fall release, and that it will come with a larger 4 inch screen.

Rumors of a larger screen for the next iPhone appeared late last year.

In addition, a recent iPhone 5 concept-video by designer Kris Groen shows a device with a 4-inch display in which the home button has been replaced by two separate home bumpers on the side.

Apple wants to redesign future batteries for LTE

In the purpose of launching thinner devices, the Cupertino tech giant has to shape the battery design so that it fits their desired standards.

In a new patent application, Apple writes about the company’s plan to make batteries thinner, which has led many to believe that LTE could come to the future iPhone 5.

According to tech site Cult of Mac, in order to bring a better battery life to upcoming iOS devices, Apple plans to revolutionize the shape of the batteries by building them from different electrode sheets.

This could also mean that such batteries could lose their rectangular shape to make way for custom designs that would fit the requirements of such measures.

iPhone 5 will have “monster” launch and release date, analyst predicts

In a note sent to investors, Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray speculated that the future iPhone 5 will have a “monster” launch.

“If Apple sells 30 (million)-plus iPhones in Dec., with no new form factor, up from 17.1m in Sept., it would be evidence supporting our survey work indicating that 94% of iPhone users plan to upgrade to a new iPhone,” Munster wrote.

“This theme suggests iPhone 5, which we are expecting in Aug. with a new form factor, will be a monster upgrade.”

Consequently, Munster predicted that 94 percent of the current iPhone owners will upgrade to the iPhone 5.

New tablets based on Windows 8 OS and powered by new Intel processors are going be launched by Acer and Lenovo in the third quarter of FY 2012-13. In 2011, a number of android tablets and smartphones with dual core processors were launched. 2012 is going to feature ultrabooks, quad cord smartphones and Windows 8 based tablets.

Tablets are versatile computing devices. These are being adopted by more and more business communities and student communities around the world. Tablets are easy to operate devices which will take input through touch screens or pen-enabled devices. Tablet PCs are used in classroom environment and to maintain purchase lists by retailers, etc. Tablets come with traditional desktop based operating systems or mobile based operating system.

Reports are coming that plenty of windows based tablets are in the development stage and they are likely to hit the market in 2012 Q3. Intel Clover Trail – W processors are going to change the game plan in the personal computer market. As the market is fully saturated with iPads from Apple and Android based smartphones there is much anticipation on windows 8 based tablets. There are many expectations both from the technical communities and consumers. It is going to give a new life to windows based ecosystems spread across the world. Microsoft has successful business model that makes it keep going in spite of stiff competition from its competitors. It is a great opportunity for the coming new tablets to attract customers by introducing new features and removing unfamiliar features from the current leading tablets.

On the other hand, Microsoft and Nokia are going to sport slates of their own brands. Of course, these slates are targeted at enterprise customers. With all these new happenings, 2012 is going to witnesses a new set of devices powered by Intel’s new processor and Microsoft’s Windows 8 Operating System. Both Acer and Lenovo have presence in Tablet market. However, the current tablets are packed with Android OS only. Microsoft seems to have optimized Windows 8 operating system both for mobile computing devices like tablets and traditional computing devices such as desktops and laptops. Other major brands such as HP and Dell had already announced their intentions to launch Windows 8 tablets. Clover Trail processors are expected to consume less power. It is to be noted that battery backup is going to play a key role in deciding the success of coming generation of tablets. The tablets present in the market have this drawback. If the same is rectified by the combined efforts of a new processor and a new smart operating system, windows 8 based tablets will become a huge success.

Sony left fans drooling today with a video-clip that teases an upcoming feature called “Dot Switch”.

The 30-second clip shows a pair of hands use an Xperia handset to trigger various devices. The video is typically cryptic, linking to a website which highlights Dot Switch as “New entertainment from Sony”.

Yes, we are just as baffled as you…

Apple’s next iPad may be only a couple months away. A new report suggests that the company will release the iPad 3 in March. This new tablet will sport a high-def screen and a faster processor.

Bloomberg, citing three sources “familiar with the product,” says that Apple’s manufacturing partners in Asia began mass production of the iPad 3 this month. Factories have been running 24 hours a day in China. They expect to have full volumes by February.

The report stats that the iPad 3 will have a quad-core chip, enabling users to switch between applications at a quicker rate. The higher level graphics processing will enable videos to start playing almost instantly. Videos and images alike will look better due to its HD display, said to have more pixels on screen than some televisions. Images will be close to print quality.

The iPad 3 is also said to be compatible with a new wireless standard called LTE, or long-term evolution. LTE will be introduced on the iPad before the iPhone because the tablet has a larger battery. This battery makes the iPad better able to meet the power requirements for this technology.

The first iPad was released in 2010. Since then the tablet market has become much more competitive, with companies like Amazon and Samsung offering their own alternatives. As the company that popularized tablets, there’s going to be a lot of pressure on Apple to impress.

Apple declined to comment on Bloomberg’s report. In order to get official confirmation, I guess we’ll just have to wait for a company engineer to get drunk and lose one.

Sony has unveiled a “Crystal LED Display”–a 55-inch prototype TV that actually uses miniature light-emitting diodes in place of pixels. Up until now, the LEDs you have heard of have actually just been vanilla LCDs, just with an LED light source.

If you’ve ever been to a professional football, or GAA game, and seen the giant screens above the stands, you will be familiar with LED displays. That’s fine for an image measured in furlongs, but this is the first time a company has been brave/stupid enough to try it on a television.

The Sony prototype uses 6 million LEDs (2 million each of red, green, and blue) mounted directly on the front of the display, which Sony says improves the efficiency of light output. The company claims that the technology is superior to both LCD and plasma, with higher contrast, a wider color gamut, and wider viewing angles.

While the TV is nowhere near actual production, Sony says it could be used in a wide range of applications ranging from professional to consumer use. The company makes a point to note that the LED doesn’t replace work on OLED–see the XEL-1 for Sony’s efforts here so far–which is it says is in “continued development.”

Antonio De Rosa, of Italy-based ADR Studio, has released his latest photo-realistic imaginings of what he calls the “iPhone SJ” for “Steve Jobs.” Think of airbrushed smartphones. The response has been nearly orgasmic.

“This iPhone SJ Concept Render Will Likely Blow Your Mind”

is the headline for Ben Reid’s Redmond Pie post, using a phrase that dates to the late 1960′s to sum up the impact of hallucinatory drugs. Not a bad metaphor for iPhone rumors.

Reid does have one nit to pick, though. “Although [De Rosa] hasn’t really given the design … much in the way of technical specs except the to-be-expected A6 dual core processor, and an improved 10-megapixel camera.”

That might be because De Rosa is, you know, a marketing communications designer and not an actual software or hardware engineer. That in turn might explain De Rosa’s reference to Apple’s anticipated A6 chip as dual-core; every reference we could find expects the A6 to be a quad-core processor. The iPad 2 and iPhone 4S currently are the first to use the dual-core A5.

Here are some of the other iPhone 5 Rumours doing the rounds at the moment:

iPhone 5 will have Gorilla Glass 2

Corning announced last week that it will announce this week, at the Consumer Electronics Show, Gorilla Glass 2.

And since iPhones and other iDevices use Gorilla Glass 1, you know what that means.

In a press release, quoted at 9to5 Mac, the company said it will “showcase the critical role of highly engineered specialty glass in addressing emerging trends.”

iPhone 5 will have a quad-core processor

At least, it’s reasonable that it will have one, according to Marc Gurman’s post at 9to5 Mac.

“Hidden deep inside the latest iOS 5.1 beta is updated processing-core management software that not only supports the dual-core processing enabled by the A5 iPhone and iPad chip, but also quad-core processing,”

he reveals.

These cryptic references are buried in the beta firmware in a “hidden panel that describes cores that are supported by iOS device hardware. The updated core management software includes an option of “/cores/core.3,” and this represents a fourth available processing core.

There’s even a screen capture of the hidden panel, with the revealing numerals circled in red. How much more evidence to you need, apart from the iPhone 5 itself?

“Apple leaving references to quad-core chips in the iOS 5.1 beta is notable because iOS 5.1 is the software currently being tested against the third-generation iPad,” Gurman explains. “In addition, as we previously revealed, Apple is currently testing an unreleased ‘iPhone 5.1′ against the iOS 5.1-beta software. We cannot conclude that due to iOS 5.1 including quad-core processor references, Apple’s next-generation iPad and iPhone will include a quad-core chip, but it seems reasonable …”

Of course, in the iOSsphere there’s no hard and fast rule about what constitutes “reasonable.”

iPhone 5 will have a “radical” redesign

Wall Street analyst Shaw Wu, with Sterne Agee, got digital ink when bloggers and rumor sites, among them Boy Genius Report, picked up on a recent “note to client” that noted among other things how important iPhone is to Apple’s revenues, and how important iPhone 5 will be, too.

And, citing anonymous sources among Apple’s suppliers, he predicted that iPhone 5 will have a “radical” redesign.

That’s why analysts get paid the big bucks. BGR noted that “the analyst claims that Apple’s next-generation iPhone 5 will feature a ‘radical’ redesign including a thinner case with a sleeker form factor, a slightly larger display and compatibility with faster 4G LTE networks.”