After months of rumours, Sony PlayStation phone is finally previewed

Following months of speculation and rumours, the 'PlayStation Phone' does actually exist.

A prototype of the phone has finally surfaced and ends months of intrigue as to whether the gadget would ever be made.

Known as the 'Xperia Play', the handset is Sony Ericsson's attempt at conquering the smart phone market and aims to mix PSP style gaming with phone functions.

Details of the phone were revealed on technology website Engadget after it managed to obtain a handset to preview from a Chinese source.

Rumours have circulated for months about the features the phone will contain, but its biggest asset is a gamepad that will be modelled on a PlayStation controller.

Game on: The 'PlayStation phone' has finally surfaced and will contain a gamepad similar to a PlayStation controller for enhanced gaming.Say cheese! As well as the gaming functions, the Xperia Play will contain a 5-megapixel camera,Not just for gaming: The phone will have wi-fi connectivity and full keyboard for sending messages

Other contenders for the iPad throne

Samsung Galaxy Tab

Estimated price: Around £200

The most likely rival to the iPad at the moment the 7-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab is powered by Google's Android operating system.

Unlike the iPad, the Galaxy Tab does feature a camera on each side of the device, as well as a slot for expandable memory.

The Galaxy will allow people to make video calls. Significantly, unlike the iPad, the Galaxy Tab also has the capability to make mobile phone calls.

The Galaxy Tab has the latest version of the Adobe Flash software, which means it is capable of showing more of the video images found on the internet.

It is expected to cost significantly less than the iPad - around £200.





HP Slate / PalmPad

Estimated price: Around £350

Still to be officially announced the HP Slate from Hewlett Packard is expected to either run Windows 7 or Palm's WebOS mobile OS.

According to details leaked on line the device includes an 8.9-inch touchscreen and runs on Windows 7 Premium.

It also has two cameras - one video and one still -- for so users can carry out web conferencing. Another clue to the device is that HP has already patented the term 'Palmpad'.

Details found on HP's website boasted of a touchscreen on which someone 'could use the pen to write or draw as if on a piece of paper.'

The HP Slate was first announced in January but there has been no news since then.



Notion Ink Adam

Estimated price: Around £260

The Notion Ink Adam is unlikely to dominate the mass market but is making waves in technology circles.

Developed by little-known Indian firm Notion Ink it is expected to be launched in the US later this year or early next year at the CES consumer electronics show.

One of its main selling points is its 10.1-inch Pixel Qi transflective display, a touchscreen that will be capable of recognising six simultaneous points of contact. It is also specially designed so that it easily readable in sunlight.

As well as touch control the tablet will respond to accelerometer movement in all directions and it has a new 3-megapixel camera with a patented 'swivel' action.



Toshiba Folio

Price: £329

Launched at the IFA last week the Toshiba Folio did not manage to cause the stir that the Galaxy Tab did.

The Folio 100 features a 10.1 inch display which supports a resolution of 1024 x 600 and comes with a SIM card slot for 3G network access.

It's equipped with a rather meagre-sounding 1.3 megapixel front facing camera.

It runs a customised version of Android 2.2 as standard but there is no access to the hundreds of thousands of apps available on the Android Market.

The device also offers full compatibility with Adobe Flash - unlike the iPad.

Google TV lets your watch tv and surf the internet.

Google prepares to launch Google TV - The device that lets you watch television and surf the net

Google is preparing to enter the increasingly crowded internet TV market with its latest product Google TV.

Google TV will allow customers to access Facebook and watch films on YouTube in the comfort of their living rooms.

Consumers with HDTV sets will be able to plug into the technology simply by buying a set-top box. The TV is expected to go on sale in the U.S. this autumn before arriving in Britain next year. The price has not yet been fixed.

Unveiled: Sony boss Howard Stringer (left) and his Intel counterpart Paul Otellini at the launch of GoogleTV in San Francisco last month

Incoming: Google believes its technology will make it easier to surf the web while watching television on the same screen, at the same time enabling it to benefit from the advertising market

The list of participating television programmers announced yesterday by Google includes household staples such as TBS, TNT, CNN and HBO, which are all owned by Time Warner Inc.

The technology will offer features from the NBA, the financial news channel CNBC and popular internet video services operated by Amazon and Netflix.

10,000,000,000 and counting: 10billionth tune downloaded from Apple iTunes... by a 71-year-old man

The 10 billionth song has been downloaded from Apple iTunes, just seven years after the online store shook up the flagging music industry.

The 10 billionth song - Johnny Cash's 'Guess Things Happen That Way' - was downloaded by 71-year-old Louie Sulcer in Woodstock, Georgia, U.S.

Apple has rewarded him with a $10,000 iTunes gift card.

An online counter of the popular music website read: '10 billion songs downloaded from iTunes. And counting' on Wednesday.
The California company behind the iPhone, iPod and Macbook series have promised a $10,000 iTunes gift card to the lucky customer who downloaded the 10-billionth song.

Apple has also provided a list of the all-time top 20 songs on iTunes to mark the occasion.

'I Gotta Feeling' by the Black Eyed Peas, which debuted in May 2009 topped the list, followed by Lady Gaga's electronic-inspired 'Poker Face.'

The iTunes Music Store had dominated the music download industry ever since its launch in 2003. This is because of the enormous popularity of Apple music devices such as iPods that automatically synced with the iTunes store.

Many iPod owners still do not realise they can buy cheaper music on websites other than iTunes, as most providers now don't use DRM (Digital Rights Management) to protect their tracks.

For instance Apple's top download from the Black Eyed Peas is 99p in the UK, but can be bought for 65p from play.com and 50p from 7digital.

iTunes has expanded over the years and now offers television shows, movies, audio books and podcasts.


Tunes from The Black Eyed Peas came first and third in a list of the top songs on Apple iTunes. The list was released to mark the 10billionth download

Steve Jobs, at the UK launch of Apple's iTunes back in 2004. It continues to dominate the download market

ITUNES TOP 20 SONGS

1) I Gotta Feeling, Black Eyed Peas
2) Poker Face, Lady GaGa
3) Boom Boom Pow, Black Eyed Peas
4) I'm Yours, Jason Mraz
5) Viva la Vida, Coldplay
6) Just Dance, Lady GaGa
7) Low, Flo Rida
8) Love Story, Taylor Swift
9) Bleeding Love, Leona Lewis
10) Tik Tok, Keisha
11) Disturbia, Rihanna
12) So What, Pink
13) I Kissed a Girl, Katy Perry
14) Single Ladies, Beyonce
15) Hot N Cold, Katy Perry
16) Stronger, Kanye West
17) Live Your Life, T.I
18) Hey There Delilah, Plain White T's
19) Right Round, Flo Rida
20) Party in the USA, Miley Cyrus

Get Apple stuffs.