Tech node Issue 1

Spring 2011

new tech to
change
your
world
Tablets A U G M E N T E D R EAL I T Y

4G mobile D igit a l Art R i o ting

P l u s 2 0 1 1 ’ s 2 0 h o tt e s t g a dg e t s
INTROducing
Technode
Welcome to the very first issue of Technode, a new technology magazine
from the team behind the TechDigest and Shiny Shiny websites.
In it you’ll find round ups of what we think are the hottest gadgets of
the summer, a look at how disruptive 4G technology could be to the mobile
phone industry, a glance at the future of digital art and a whole lot more.
Rewind a minute though. So what is a web company doing producing
a magazine? Why not just put the stories on your sites?
Well, we felt that there were some stories we wanted to write which
would be much better served by a magazine format because they were lon-
ger reads. There was also a series of stories - all focusing on the immediate
future of technology - that we thought would sit well together in one publi-
cation. Lastly the introduction of the iPad and other tablets PCs has changed
magazines so they no longer have to follow a rigid pattern. It is early days
for us for but as time goes by we hope to play a real role in re-inventing tech
publications. There’ll be a lot more flashy stuff next time.
The best part of all though is that Technode will be available in a num-
ber of formats. You can grab a fully interactive version of the mag if you own
an iPad. Alternatively download a PDF version and read it on your PC or
your mobile device. Or if you want to read the features in the bath there’s
always the printed version courtesy of our partners at Magcloud.
Oh, and unless you buy the printed version, for which there’s a fee to
cover print costs, Technode is completely free.
If you have enjoyed this then issue two of Technode will be available
sometime during the summer and will mainly focus on technology and how
it is changing the car. Until then...

Tech node
Technode was a collaborative editorial project with contributions
from the following: Gerald Lynch, Anna Leach,
Elisabeth Edvardsen, Laura Scott, Ashley Norris, Chris Price

Designed and prepared for iPad by onegoodeye.co.uk

Thanks to Alligator Digital Magazines and Magcloud

Shiny Media. 5a Goodge Place, London, W1T 4SD. UK

Tel: +44 (0)2031 671 944
Contact: Ashley@shinymedia.com
contents 4 This Year’s Key Tech Trends
We look at the big tech developments for the next 12 months.
Including 3D games, in car connectivity and entertainment. Plus
the latest web tablets

8 How Augmented Reality Is Coming Of Age

More than just a gimmick AR really is going to change your life

12 Summer’s 20 Hottest Gadgets

The battle of the hottest handhelds incuding the Nintendo 3DS
and the Sony NGP. Also Blackberry’s Playbook and more

22 The Future Of Mobile Devices

3D tech hits tablet and smartphones. But are European
manufacturers losing the smartphone race?

26 Facebook Riots
Public demos have come a long way since the days of home made
placards and chants of ‘Maggie Out’. Now demos are organised us-
ing social networks like Facebook and Twitter

28 How 4G Might Mean Free Mobile Data

Fourth generation, or 4G, technology offers super fast data speeds
without the need for a fixed connection

30 Social Liars
Are social networks encouraging us to embellish the truth in or-
der to win friends and influence people?

34 Why Digital Art Is All About Technology

Digital art is merging hi-tech with creativity. Once the
preserve of geeks, code is now the hottest new raw material

4 26 34
 3
key Tech
Trends

The next six months look like being

pivotal ones for the gadget world
with several key technologies finally
hitting the mainstream. Here are three
to keep your eye on.
by gerald lynch
 tech tr en d s
It’s been the industry buzzword
1 for nearly half a decade now, but
2011 finally sees all the pieces in
place for the 3D revolution to really
kick in. From 3D content creation
The Growth to video consumption, there’s no
of the 3D reason for a 3D-ready device not
Ecosystem to make it into every tech-savvy
household this year.
For starters, decent 3D TVs are
dropping in price faster than mince
pies do in January. The superb
40-inch Samsung LE40C750 now
costs less than £750. But those
who can afford to splash out even
further can also look forward to
truly luxurious sets in the coming
year, such as the 70-inch Sharp
Aquos Quattron LE935 with quad-
pixel technology, which is due in
the Spring.
While there still isn’t as much 3D
content out there as the TV manu-
facturers must surely be crying
out for 2011 will be the first full
year of broadcasting for the UK’s
first 3D-only TV channel, Sky 3D. A
successful trial in pubs over the last
Companies like Sky and Disney have
year has seen it slowly creep into
pioneered 3D content across the globe homes, with now a wide range of
3D programming available to Sky’s
premium subscribers. 3D content
creation on a personal level is also
becoming increasingly affordable
thanks to the sliding prices of dual-
lens camcorders, with the pocket-
sized Sony Bloggie 3D touching
down in April, expected to cost little
more than £150.
The ever-improving attempts at
autostereoscopy (e.g glasses-less
3D) will also push 3D TV into the
mainstream this year, with excel-
lent examples from Sony and
Toshiba on show at January’s CES
show. It has the potential to totally
negate the now-tiresome “passive
vs. active” debate that surrounds
and confuses potential 3D adopt-
ers. There are still a few teething
problems (limited “sweet spots”
in which to truly appreciate the 3D
depth effects still plague the sets),
but the continued advancements
here will eventually break the bar-
rier that the need for expensive
glasses has put in place. In terms
of quality it’s a gamble at this stage,
but Toshiba are planning on releas-
ing an autostereoscopic TV to the
public before the year is out.
Look beyond 3D movies on TV
and the potential for the technol-
ogy becomes even greater. It’s not
uncommon to find web connected
sets sporting webcams and Skype
video-calling capabilities these
days, and here is an area where
3D TVs could really come into their
own. Picture being able to see a
loved
 one many miles away in full 3D,
1 being able to give them a virtual
hug or a virtual handshake during an
overseas video-conferenced busi-
ness meeting.
The Growth
of the 3D Or think of the possibilities for
Ecosystem shopping from a 3D TV. Imagine
being able to spin around a 3D,
virtual version of a pair of trainers
that you’ve been eyeing up to view
them from all angles before pur-
chasing. It could be possible: pair
a web connection with an inte-
grated motion sensing unit inside
a television, similar to the popular
Xbox 360 Kinect which tracks limb
movement, and you could use it to
preview a product from all angles
with a sense of depth from the
display. Gesture controls could also
be used to wave through item lists,
or browse different virtual stores. It
could bring augmented reality into
the home, allowing a web connect-
ed TV and camera to scan items in
your living room and suggest other
Below - punters gawp at Sky football products you may like based on
in 3D. Opposite - videos of 3D phones
and headsets. what you already own
(just like Google Goggles), before
allowing you to manipulate them on
screen in 3D.
Games consoles are also now
ready to get in on the action too.
Both the Xbox 360 and PS3 can
now play 3D games (with the Sony
machine also acting as a 3D Blu-ray
player) but the most interesting 3D
gaming prospect of all comes from
the Nintendo 3DS handheld.
Featuring a 3.5 inch autostereo-
scopic display (made far more
watchable thanks to the close
proximity in which it’s held to the
user), it makes 3D content acces-
sible as it too doesn’t need a pair of
3D glasses to work. If sales of the
original DS are anything to go by,
the console is likely to be the first
mass-market 3D device due to its
relative affordability compared to
3D TVs. Just as portable will be 3D
smartphones, with LG and Sharp
both rumoured to have devices
with autosteroscopic displays in the
works.

2 phones will need strong apps
In car
connectivity
Jason Johnson demonstrates the My
Ford System in the new Ford Focus
tech tr en d s
These super-powered tablets and
to make any proposed hardware
advancements worthwhile and the
future here definitely lies in web-
based ones. The reasoning here
is simple; there’s nothing better
than having all your info synced
and ready no matter what device
you’re using, and web based apps
make that easier than ever. As
examples, think of using Amazon’s
Kindle ereading apps, perfectly
syncing bookmarks across tablets,
PCs and smartphones, or Google’s
Docs, instantly updating edited files
across platforms no matter what
device the changes were made on.
Stored and backed-up remotely, the
safety of your data is (for the most
part) doubly guaranteed by their
use. The importance of web-based
apps will only grow over the course
of the year, especially if Google’s
forthcoming Chrome desktop OS,
which relies almost entirely on this
form of “cloud” computing, proves
popular.
Apps are allowing all forms of
technology to become “smart” or
“connected”, from web connected
TVs to fridges that prompt you to
stock up on essentials if they think
you’re running low on milk. This
increasingly expanding connected
eco-system will be felt no more
acutely than in in-car technology,
which may be the most exciting
development in automotive circles
since the introduction of the electric
vehicle.
Companies like Parrot are already
experimenting with web-connected
dashboard stereo systems. Its As-
teroid unit, is packing in the Android
OS and had the potential to stream
cloud-based music from the likes of
Spotify directly into the car, as well
as more conventional uses such as
looking up map and directional data.
Ford take the concept one step fur-
ther, having been developing their
own connected solution for some
years now in the shape of Ford
SYNC. It’s a voice-activated dash-
board system that will allow drivers
to access content when on the
road. The release of the Ford SYNC
SDK is of particular significance, al-
lowing developers to create apps or
modify existing ones to work with
the smart dashboard. Connectivity
between BlackBerry and Android
handsets and the Ford kit is already
available, with iPhone compatibility
set to follow.

2 way to use their devices and their
In car
connectivity
The Volvo Road train where cars follow
each other in a convoy automatically
adapting their speed, distance and
steering independent of human actions.
“More and more drivers will find a
apps while in the car,” said Der-
rick Kuzak, Ford Motor Company’s
Group Vice President of Global
Product Development.
“They can do it unsafely, or they
can do it through safer voice-acti-
vated solutions such as Ford SYNC
- keeping their eyes on the road and
their hands on
the wheel.”
App submissions for the platform
already number into the thousands
and it’s little wonder why; Ford
SYNC is now in 3 million vehicles
and counting, a genuinely sig-
nificant figure that is only set to
expand, representing an intriguing
new area in which app developers
can spread their wings.
Look a little further into the future
and networked, connected cars
could completely revolutionise the
way we travel. We’re talking about
cars that could potentially drive
themselves; with a precise GPS
unit in every cay that could track
vehicle positioning within inches,
motion sensors in bumpers to
prevent collisions and a Sat Nav
to decide destinations, a network
of computer controlled cars could
become an electronic chauffeur
service for every passenger.
The same principles could apply
to networked emergency ser-
vices, which could drastically lower
response times to life threatening
incidents or thefts. A car that can
sense when it has been in a serious
accident and automatically calls
the ambulance or fire brigade, with
location aware features allowing
them to track down the address
of the incident in an instant. Or a
mobile app that kills the ignition in a
stolen car, calling the police to track
down perpetrators before they’ve
had a chance to make a getaway.
Some of these ideas are already
making their way into new vehicles,
soon to be available from a car
dealership near you. The latest Ford
Focus model, already in production
and up for pre-order before general
sales begin next year can auto-
matically parallel-park. If you pull
up near a parking space and switch
on the automatic parallel parking
assist function, the car will calculate
whether or not it can fit in the gap
and set about squeezing itself in
while you sit back, never needing
to crane your neck around to avoid
scrapes.
Likewise, Volvo are experimenting
with cars that can automatically fol-
low a lead vehicle in a convoy. The
project is codenamed SARTRE (add
in any existential readings of the
technology as you see fit!), which
stands for Safe Road Trains for the
Environment. Sensors built into
one lead vehicle send information
to a fleet of driver-less cars trailing
behind, which automatically adapt
their speed, steering and distance
between each other dependant on
the actions of the human-manned
front car. By closely monitoring
each vehicle in this way, there’s
great potential for increased road
safety, driver and passenger com-
fort in the following vehicles and
reduced
CO2 emissions.
 tech tr en d s
Just as unavoidable as 3D this
3 year will be tablet computers.
The Apple iPad opened the flood-
gates last year, a total trailblazer
for the form factor that proved not
tablets only that slate devices could be
consumption useful, but that they could be sexy
and and desirable to consumers too.
creation It’s taken a year of playing catch-up
for the other major manufacturers
to put their devices together, but a
line-up of genuine contenders are
now standing tall and ready to rock
Apple’s dominance. Or at least until
the iPad mark-2 rears its “magical”
head.
The iPad 2 could prove a tipping
point in tablet trends, potentially
moving them away from media
consumption to creation too. Re-
sourceful artists are already using
the tablet as a makeshift lightbox,
and it has even become the stan-
dard as a portfolio presentation tool
for photographers. But expected
hardware improvements could
make creativity flourish from within
the device itself. For instance, with
Apple expected to include decent
Pretty much every mainstream consumer
electronics maker now has a tablet PC.
front-and-rear facing cameras this
time around, you’d have everything
you need for a great mobile blog-
ging platform; a 3G connection, a
great web browser, a generously
sized keyboard, an integrated stills
camera for capturing all the action
and a video recorder for “vlogging”
interviews and more.
Motorola’s Xoom and the Galaxy
Tab 2 will lead the Android charge,
rocking the new Honeycomb ver-
sion of the operating system, the
first from Google to be made spe-
cifically optimised for tablet-sized
devices. It will (hopefully) lead to
devices with interfaces just as slick
as Apple’s iOS, and will increasingly
be bolstered by multi-core CPUs,
a trend that’s set to ignite mobile
computing in smartphones too.
LG’s forthcoming Optimus Pad
makes use of just such a dual-core
processor in the shape of its Nvidia
Tegra 2 chip in order to power its
3D visuals. Again the potential ap-
plication for such a display in tablets
is riveting; a mobile workstation
in which to organise our files and
media in a faux-3D space, browse
maps with depth-defining topogra-
phy not to mention consuming 3D
movies and games. The Optimus
Pad’s Achilles hell however is it’s
need for 3D glasses, stunting it’s
portability somewhat.
The Tablet that may yet surprise us
all is the Playbook from Blackberry.
Built with work applications as its
key features it could prove itself
to be the corporate must have for
2011. It will raise the bar in making
Tablets productive work tools.
tec h n od e
o pi n ion

Augmented
Smartphones have been
the catalyst for a host
of innovative uses for
Augmented Reality like
this Dutch museum tour.

Reality: still
the future?
How AR is moving away from
fluffy gimmicks to truly enrich
our experience of the real world
by ANNA LEACH
 AUG MENTD RE ALI T Y

O
!
ne of the big issues facing the Augmented power-hungry AR apps will never be things you leave
Reality industry in the next six months is on in the background or have running for more than a
sorting out the hype from the true devel- few minutes at a time. When our phones are jacked-up
opment, the gimmicks from the ground- power boats, this will all be a lot easier.
breaking. Currently GPS for civilians is only accurate to about
This is hyped area. Mostly because it’s a sexy area. 10m which restricts what can be done with geolocated
It’s visual, it’s dramatic and to those of us who like to AR. That’s set to improve to about 2-3m in 2015 but in
think technology can change the world it’s almost ir- the meantime there is a more accurate form which uses
resistible – you can see the world changing through your local cell phone towers as well as satellites to triangulate
mobile phone – dragons hover above Oxford Street, the position of the user, though not all handsets support
information hovers above buildings, tweets pop up on this.
streets as people post them and you can read about Since AR relies on downloading and displaying
what’s going on behind walls you can’t see through. All information from the internet, it works best when there
in real time. is a good internet connection. A one bar 3G connection
It’s imaginative, visual and sexy – little wonder isn’t always good enough to keep up with the demands
that two of the industries most interested in exploiting of streaming heavy content - graphics for example.
it are advertising and the music industry – who have When 4G mobile internet finally hits - it’s looking like
both sunk a lot of money into the enterprise producing this will be about 2015 in the UK - this will only get bet-
anything from a Rolling Stones app to the Black Eyed ter, faster and more convincing..
Peas BEP360 animated augmented music video app to As for processing power - things are looking up
pop-out virtual games on the back of cereal packets. already: LG’s 2X smartphone unveiled at CES
And where they go - money follows - the AR industry
was given a projected value of $1.5bn by 2015 by Juni-
per research.
But - is it useful? That is the question Augmented
Reality fans and developers are going to have to deal
with in the near future. Insiders have been sceptical
about the promised $1.5bn revenues for the AR industry
by 2015. We’ve seen some fun apps, and some attempts
at great works – like groundbreaking translator app
Word Lens. But even in apps like Word Lens, the user
experience hasn’t fully caught up with the ideas and the
overlaid translation on top of the original text can be
shaky and flickery. I think it is still more of a toy than a
useful tool.
Since AR relies
WHAT’S IN THE WAY There are a bunch on downloading
of external factors that are holding up the devel-
opment of Augmented Reality. Things like the
and displaying
processing power of mobile phones, the inaccu- information from
racy of civilian-grade GPS and that battery power the internet, it
needed to fuel complex tasks.
Consequently there’s a hitlist of obvious improve-
works best when
ments that will make augmented reality significantly bet- there is a good
ter. And they are largely to do with mobile phones which
is where most augmented reality stuff is right now. Most internet
smartphone batteries only last a day, which means that connection.
 has a dual-core chip, we’re likely to see a lot more
of these in future. The advent of tablets will be a big deal
here too, because it will make mobile devices bigger and
more powerful - able to deal with the demands of com-
plex applications. However, I don’t see people wandering
around the streets with iPads perched on their faces, the
way people wear glasses so, user experience will have to
be compelling and useful for this sort of AR to become
useful.
BEYOND MOBILE PHONES Branching
out from phones and tablets, I think we’ll see AR
winding up in other things too. Cars are one of
the obvious areas where Augmented reality could
work well. Windshields can act like display units,
there’s a strong supply of power from the car’s bat-
tery and information like directions, traffic infor-
mation could be easily displayed and mapped on
top of the real world. A big issue will be making
the displays prominent enough to be useful but
not distracting, obviously there are major issues
with safety in cars.
Gaming is another area we’re likely to see a strong
take-up of AR - whether it’s enhanced Kinect style
devices that put the monsters to fight into your living
room and track your arms, making the image interact as
you punch it, or real-world games that involve people
running around with headsets seeing virtual bombs and
enemies overlaid on the real world. See Human Pac-
Man - the game where contestants in augmented reality
headsets chase each other through the streets for a fun
though ridiculous example of this.
of the image coming in through your viewfinder - that’s
not true AR because there’s no interaction between real
and virtual. All the developer has done is substitute the
background to his drawing for a feed from the camera
of the phone. It’s a neat trick, but there’s not meaningful
connection.
If the virtual character winces when you touch it
with your real-world fingers, or if he reacts to standing
on a table, then that is real AR. That’s the virtual world
connecting to and interacting with the real world.
HOW IT WORKS Currently, there are two
ways of making that connection between the vir-
tual and the real one. One is location based and
uses GPS to work out where to pin the content,
this is like having the Wikipedia article for Brit-
ish museum pinned to the location of the Brit-
ish museum; and the other is image recognition
based and uses visual clues to position the virtual
content. This is like the webcam on your laptop
positioning a virtual moustache on your face be-
cause it knows which bit of the image is your face
because of smart image recognition software.

GOOD AND GIMICKY AR As the obstacles

clear out of the way, developers can get on with
the business of making great applications using
Augmented Reality. AR needs creativity and some
really hard thinking about usefulness and user
experience to really make it mainstream.
To reconsider that - let’s drill down to just what
Augmented Reality is. It’s when the real world is con-
nected to the virtual world in a meaningful way. Gim-
micks happen when the AR is only pasted on top of
reality with no interaction or purpose. In some apps for Brands are increasingly using AR. Walt Disney
example, little cartoon figures will just be superimposed launched the worlds first Augmented Reality
outdoor campaign for Prince of Persia in May
on a picture of the real world and float around on top last year
 Applications of geolocated AR include in-drive
navigation on cars, tourist guides and local discovery
engines. Consumer applications for image-recognition
AR include anything to do with facial recognition or
advertising - characters pop out of cereal packets and
magazines. Industry has many uses for this kind of thing
- helping engineers fit parts of an engine together visu-
ally, for example.
MAKING AR USEFUL The big challenge
facing AR is making that connection between the
virtual world and the real world useful. The appeal
of virtual reality is obvious. We know that people
can spend hours and hours engrossed in virtual
worlds like computer games or Second Life.
Reality is, well, what we live in – we have no choice
but to be interested in it.
But being neither real nor virtual - augmented real-
ity is a tricky thing to get right. It doesn’t have the fan-
tasy escape function of virtual reality – you’d never fire
up an AR app to escape from it all, same way you might
play World of Warcraft. As for the real world - well - the
problem is that often when we’re doing things in the real
world we don’t want to be distracted from them. If you’re
with your friends in the pub, for example you don’t want
to be looking at them through a screen, even if it lets you
interact with their social media profiles.
There are dangers to wandering the streets of a city
with your eyes glued to a screen. We do
So if AR is to
work it needs to
pick up reality at
the times when
reality isn’t quite
good enough or
needs to be
improved.
Augment Reality’s
Howard Ogden
on the different
types of AR
Howard Ogden of AugmentReality and
MobiliStar is one of our favourite aug-
mented reality developers. Based in Am-
sterdam, he has worked a lot with aug-
mented reality platform Layar and made
the ground-breaking Beatles AR app which
landed him headlines across the world. He
tells about the Microsoft Kinect and his AR
Shazam..
Are we correct in thinking that the two
main branches of Augmented Reality are
geolocated AR and image recognition AR?
We can use either location or computer vision
as triggers for AR content. Currently there’s
only one mobile platform that can serve both
types of AR content (Junaio) but expect more
coming to market in the first half of 2011
(Layar is developing an IR solution). Both
branches of AR are seeing a stratospheric rise
in popularity, acceptance and usage.
That said, it shouldn’t matter how the
content is being served. We think the technol-
ogy behind the delivery of AR should remain
invisible to the end-user. The only clear dif-
ferentiation that should matter is whether the
user is static (i.e. in front of a fixed screen) or
mobile.
What are the advantages and general uses
of geolocated AR?
The platforms that allow us to deliver Geo-lo-
cated AR content (Wikitude, Layar and Junaio)
are cloud-based systems with API’s that can
be updated in real-time. This is great when
you have lots of evolving data (or points of
interest). For companies like Yellow Pages or
Funda (a Dutch real estate company) who we
worked with last year, this is perfect.
 it now because we need to – to reply to that text or
work out where we’re going on Google Maps, but would
we do it for pleasure? Would we do it constantly as a
kind of second vision?
Let’s be honest most of the time reality doesn’t need
augmentation. Most of the time it’s just fine and we don’t
want a layer of slow-loading pixels intercepting between
us and the people and things around us.
So if AR is to work it has to pick up reality at the
times when reality isn’t quite good enough or just needs
to be improved. And it’s going to take some vision and
smarts to work out when, where and how to do that.
Those will be the apps that we switch on everyday, and
they will be the ones that make their developers famous.
Tim Maly, author of blog Quiet Babylon really sums
it up in an interesting conversation on social media site
Quora:
“We will see improvements in enabling AR to con-
nect the real world (identified via Computer Vision, GPS
etc) to the online world. The intelligence of the connec-
tion, enabled via social/search/AI/magic/who-knows
will be a big factor in finding utility in an AR experience.
AR will abandon gee-whiz look-what-we-can-do in
favour of its usable destiny: Delivering information just-
in-time, just-in-space.”
So let’s lose the gimmicks, improve the basic tech-
nology, wait for external problems to be resolved and
then set about working how and where the world needs
improving. When all this happens AR will really be the
future.
WATCH: Leading Augmented Reality platform Layar demo
their new features and make aliens do battle over the
Amsterdam harbour
There are NO Computer Vision based AR
apps That can be trained to recognise more
than 10 images. So that’s 10 experiences
maximum from the one app.
One drawback to this is that you always
need a data connection or your phone to get
the content.
What are the advantages and uses of AR
based on image recognition?
Computer vision based AR apps have the
advantage of being standalone. This means
(generally) no data connection is needed to
view the content. It also means that the con-
tent itself can be more complex as it doesn’t
have to download over a wireless connection.
So expect to see high quality 3D animation,
sounds and multimedia in these types of
apps. The drawback is the limitation of the
number of objects they can recognise.
We've seen AR in phones and now in
gaming consoles what other areas are we
likely to see it in the near future?
This year will be all about Tablets. Samsung
are promoting their Galaxy tab heavily. Apple
has v2 of the iPad – this time with cameras so
we can get started on developing AR content
for that platform. We are also seeing a lot of
promise from Microsoft’s Kinect which has
already been hacked to deliver AR - perhaps
we’ll see the first commercial implementa-
tions of this shortly. AR Glasses too, Vuzix
have made some available now...
What other trends are likely to affect AR in
the short-term?
The chip manufacturers are taking AR seri-
ously. Qualcomm have released an AR de-
velopment kit and Intel just heavily invested
in Layar. The CEO of Metaio (an alternative
augmented reality platform) recently said his
company is in discussions about embedding
their platform into a chipset. This would be
a massive step forward as it would deliver
faster processing speed (and therefore more
capabilities) and lower battery consumption.
 our 20 Most
wanted gadgets

From the crisp feel of an unbroken cellophane

seal or the tight pop of a never-before-opened
box, there’s nothing quite like getting your hands
on a brand new gadget for the very first time. To
save you the effort of sifting the tech-wheat from
the gizmo-chaff, we’ve compiled this list giving you
a glimpse of all that is set to be good and great
during the next few months of gadgetry.
by gerald lynch
 20
SAMSUNG 9 3D MONITOR
What is it? A PC monitor with a
design so striking you’ll want it in
your living room rather than your
musty old office.
Why should you care? The at-
tention to detail on Samsung’s 9
Series 3D monitor makes it look
more like a prop from 2001: A
Space Odyssey than an actual
real PC display. But real it is, and
it’s feature-filled to boot. Inspired
by a folded piece of paper, not
only do you have that super-cool,
super-slim asymmetrical design
to make your jaw hang around by
your ankles, but you’re also getting
a LED-backlit 3D-ready display,
complete with glasses and a
TV tuner.
When is it coming out? We’re
expecting to see them in stores by
Summer.
19
SONY EXPERIA ARC
What is it? The smartphone
to put Sony Ericsson back on the
map.
Why should you care? Sony Eric-
sson have been given a fairly bad
rap recently for their use of the
Android OS, but all will be forgiven
if the Xperia Arc proves to be as
good as our quick preview ses-
sion suggested. Running Android
2.3 Gingerbread with SE’s rubbish
Timescape social stream reduced
to a mere widget, it’s a super slim
smartphone with a beautiful 4.3
inch TFT LCD screen. It’s using
the same Bravia Engine usually re-
served for Sony’s HDTVs, meaning
colour accuracy for media playback
should be spot on, with an 8.1
megapixel snapper on the rear.
When is it coming out? Should
be in the stores by the time you
read this.
18
SHARP AQUOS le935
What is it? Sharp’s quad-pixel
Quattron HDTVs get an added third
dimension.
Why should you care? They say
bigger is better, and they really
don’t come much larger than this
stonking set from Sharp. 70 inches
in size, it combines quality 3D
visuals with Sharp’s much-lauded
four-pixel colour tech to spice up
the TV’s colour range.
When is it coming out? Ready
from late Spring, you might have
to knock a wall out of your flat to
20
get it inside first.
17
CASIO BLUETOOTH WATCH
What is it? A concept wristwatch
that uses a Bluetooth connec-
18
tion to pull notifications from your
smartphone.
Why should you care? - Going for
genuine usability rather than pipe-
dreams to supplement-rather-than-
replace your phone’s functions, the
watchface shows caller IDs, text
and email previews and time zone
updates, as well as the ability to
mute a ringing phone just by
17

tapping the display. Using the
Bluetooth Low Energy standard
means all this syncing wont be a
massive power drain, with Casio
promising a two year
battery life.
When is it coming out? Casio are
looking to get the tech into their
next line of G-Shock watches, due
out in the third quarter of 2011.
16
LADY GAGA’S POLAREZ GL20
What is it? It’s what happens when
you give the genuinely-slightly-men-
tal pop-princess Lady Gaga the title
of Creative Director at Polaroid.
Why should you care?
Because the Pokerface star’s ec-
centricity has evolved into one of
the most creative camera designs
we’ve seen in an age. The Polarez
GL20s are worn like a pair of wrap-
around glasses, but feature a cam-
era in the bridge. In the ultimate
turn of tech narcissism, this sensor
streams whatever the wearer is
seeing to two outwardly facing
1.4 inch OLED screens, meaning
whoever is gawping at you in the
eye-catching specs will also be see-
ing exactly what your eyes are. We
think it is a genius idea, though we
are not quite sure exactly who will
be buying them when they finally
go on sale.
When is it coming out? Though
the “2011” release date is vague,
we’re chuffed that these mad
frames are getting a retail release
at all.
As for price, well we expect only
Gaga herself will be able to afford
them though.
2 0 Hottest ga d gets
15
CASIO TRYX
What is it? A compact camera
that breaks the mould thanks to its
twisty-turny frame.
Why should you care? The Tryx
doesn’t boast out of this world
specs (12.1 MP, wide-angle 21mm
lens with 1080p video recording
capabilities), but it does ooze great
design creativity. Hinged in two
places, you can twist and turn the
3 inch touchscreen and sensor to
almost any angle, with the chassis
acting as the camera’s own built-in
tripod.
When is it coming out? Due im-
minently with an estimated RRP of
$249 (£160).
14
SAMSUNG SLIDING PC 7 SERIES
What is it? A slick tablet/laptop
16
hybrid aimed at the indecisive tech
fan.
Why should you care? Tablets
are great, but when it comes to
getting some actual work done,
tapping away at a touchscreen is
less than ideal. The best of both
worlds, this tablet and netbook
mash-up boasts both a full hard-
ware QWERTY keyboard and a
sliding touchscreen that allows you 15
to access loads of apps optimised
for finger prodding. It’s got a rea-
sonably impressive spec sheet too,
powered by Intel’s 1.66GHz Z670
Oak Trail processor, with a 1366 x
768-resolution, 10.1-inch 340-nit
display, 32GB / 64GB SSD options,
and 2GB of RAM. 14
When is it coming out? We’re
expecting to see this bastard child
of a laptop and a tablet touchdown
later in the summer, and it will set
you back around $699 (£440).
13
PIONEER NETWORK VISION
What is it? An exciting
in-car laser projected navigation
system that syncs with your smart-
phone.
Why should you care? A laser
projector that sits on your dash-
board, it hooks up to your smart-
phone to beam mapping data,
directions, caller IDs and poten-
tially any other web-connected
notifications like Facebook updates
directly onto the inside of your
windscreen.
When is it coming out? Hope-
fully soon, but potentially never.
Due to safety concerns Pioneer
will have to jump through some
serious hoops to make this one
road-worthy!
12
BLACKBERRY PLAYBOOK
What is it? RIM’s answer to the
iPad.
Why should you care? Aimed
predominately at BlackBerry-own-
ing business types, this is the first
tablet that’s designed to let you
get some work done. Running the
QNX OS, the 7 inch touchscreen
tablet will let you run two screens
simultaneously off the device,
perfect for giving presentations via
a projector. You’ll also get full HD
recording and playback, extensive
email support and of course the
excellent BBM instant messaging
service, with a bezel that hides
secret touch controls.
When is it out? Expected to hit
stores this summer, you’re looking
at £300+ price tag.
11
SONY 3D OLED TV
What is it? The best example of
glasses-free 3D we’ve seen this
year.
Why should you care? We all
want to embrace the 3D revolution
that’s taking place in TV Land right
now but, boy, do those 3D glasses
feel uncomfortable! Autostereos-
copy, as employed by Sony in this
sweet OLED screen, is the way
forward, allowing for 3D without
any glasses. It’s a technology still
in its infancy, but is improving
every time we see it.
When is it coming out? No pric- 12
ing or release info yet, but with
Toshiba planning on getting their
own (inferior) autosteroscopic
screen out before the end of the
year, we’d imagine Sony will be
following suit sometime in 2012.
10
11
NINTENDO 3DS
What is it? Nintendo’s follow up
to the DS, now with added 3D
visuals!
Why should you care? - Not only
is the Nintendo 3DS far more pow-
erful than its predecessor, but the
3D visuals it’s 10

touting are of the glasses-less
kind. A slider on the side of the
dual-screen handheld lets you
set the intensity of the 3D effect,
and while it works, early reports
are suggesting it’s going to be an
acquired taste with the depth set-
tings turned up to the max. Still,
even with the 3D visuals toned
down you’re getting a super-cool
bit of kit, with a built in 3D stills
camera, augmented reality smarts
and Nintendo’s three-decades
worth of videogame-development
expertise.
When is it coming out? Launched
at the end of March it retails for
around the £200.
9
sony bloggie 3d
What is it? - An affordable, pocket-
able 3D camcorder from a com-
pany that’s going for 3D cameras
big time.
Why should you care? 3D televi-
sion may be the future, but there’s
still a dearth of 3D content to make
buying one of the expensive sets
worthwhile. The Bloggie 3D will let
you shoot your own Avatar alter-
native without breaking the bank,
squeezing in dual 1080p lenses
into a unit no bigger than a mobile
phone. It is small and light and
pretty simple to use too. Sony has
also packed it out with plenty of
innovative and interesting features
too.
When is it coming out? - You’ll be
able to slip a Bloggie 3D into your
trouser pocket any day now. We
think it will be priced somewhere
in the region of 250 quid.
2 0 Hottest ga d gets
8
razer switchblade
What is it? A tiny laptop/ tablet
hybird with one of the most inven-
tive keyboards we’ve ever come
across.
Why should you care? If you’re a
PC gamer, the Razer Switchblade
is pretty much the portable device
you’ve been dreaming of. Tiny at
just 7 inches, the Switchblade is
thought to be using the Oak Trail
processor, keeping it slim, cool,
near-silent and relatively powerful.
The display is a touchscreen, with
a sleek media-browsing interface
that’s just crying out to be stroked.
But the coolest bit of all is the LCD
keyboard, which automatically
changes the function of each key
depending on the application you
are using, lighting up with a differ-
ent symbol as necessary.
When is it coming out? Techni-
cally still a concept piece (if a very
advanced one) we’re still unlikely
to see this in shops until 2012.
9
7
lg st6000 tv upgrader
What is it? Instant web-
connectivity for your crusty old
HDTV set.
Why should you care? LG’s
Smart TV platform is an intuitive, 8
app-centric way of accessing web
content from a big screen TV, but
not everyone is going to have the
dough to upgrade their set to a
brand new
7

LG one just to go online. The LG
ST600 Smart TV Upgrader is the
solution, being a small add-on that
connects to your home network
via your TV’s HDMI. Once connect-
ed, you can browse online con-
tent and check out all manner of
widget-based web treats such as
YouTube and your own networked
DLNA content.
When is it coming out? No of-
ficial date yet, but we’re guessing
around late Spring/ early Summer.
It shouldn’t cost any more than
£100.
6
motorola atrix
What is it? A mad dual-core smart-
phone/laptop hybrid thanks to its
unique docking bay. Includes 4G
connectivity in the US.
Why should you care? Because
it’s not only an excellent Android
smartphone (with a beautiful
4-inch touchscreen, 1GHz dual-
core processor and 4G connection
where available), but also a fully
featured workstation. The Atrix
manages this via its truly innova-
tive Laptop Dock; a slim keyboard
and monitor set-up that springs to
life when powered solely by the
smartphone. With the two devices
paired, you can use all manner of
web-based apps to get some real
work done.
When is it coming out? May in
the UK for the standard Atrix, but
you’ll be waiting some time for the
superfast 4G connection as that
won’t hit the UK’s mobile net-
works until at least 2015. Doh!
5
sony 3d visor concept
What is it? A Tron-style headset
that provides the wearer with their
own immersive
personal 3D display.
Why should you care? The tech
entertainment equivalent of a one-
man band, it packs all the compo-
nents of a great multi-component
AV set-up in a single device that
you can wear with relative com-
fort. Sliding over your head like one
of those old-school virtual reality
helmets, a quick set-up optimises
two tiny OLED screens in front
of your eyes for video content of
the third-dimensional kind. Totally
immersive, you can turn your head
anywhere and not lose track of the
action, with the built in pseudo 5.1
surround sound speakers pumping
soundtracks and sound effects into
your ears. Sony’s visor would be
perfect for a late night 3D gaming
6
session that doesn’t disturb the
neighbours.
When is it coming out? No time
soon; this one is just a Sony ex-
periment at the moment, the big
teases...
4
5
lg optimus 2x
What is it? The world’s first
commercially available dual-core
smartphone, previously known as
the LG Optimus Star.
Why should you care? The Opti-
mus 2X is the first Android handset
we’ve seen to match iOS devices
for slickness 4

thanks to its NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual-
core processor. Multi-tasking, web
browsing with Flash content, mes-
saging, HD video and polygonal
gaming is a breeze for the smart-
phone, while the super-bright 4
inch screen looked really lush and
vibrant too.
When is it coming out? On sale
now for around £450.
3
sony NGP
What is it? Sony’s ridiculously
powerful follow-up to the PSP.
Why should you care? A four-
core ARM Cortex-A9 processor
makes the NGP handheld games
console able to play titles graphi-
cally comparable to that of a full
blown PS3, with a touchscreen
OLED display rendering them in
pinsharp quality. It has the po-
tential to be the most graphically
impressive portable device of all
time, barring perhaps some high-
end gaming laptops.
When is it coming out? No
word yet on a UK launch, but safe
money would see it hitting stores
before Christmas.
2
motorola xoom
What is it? The “Daddy” of CES
2011 tablets, it’s the first slate
device to make use of Google’s
Android version 3.0 “Honeycomb”
OS.
Why should you care? - Because
this is an Android tablet done right.
By Google’s own admission, earlier
2 0 Hottest ga d gets
versions of their operating system
have not been optimised for tablet-
sized screens; Honeycomb is. The
Xoom backs the intuitive new-look
OS with an incredibly impressive
spec sheet too, packing in a 10.1
inch capacitive multitouch screen,
dual-core NVIDIA Tegra 2 1GHz
processor, 720p recording capabili-
ties, full HD video playback, front
and rear-facing cameras and a
forthcoming update to allow for 4G
mobile internet in the territories
where it’s available.
When is it coming out? - Should
be on sale now with pricing set at
around £500.
1
apple ipad 2
What is it? The sequel to Apple’s
infamous game-changing tablet.
3
Why should you care? Only the
iPad 2 has access to the sleek iOS
software and hundreds of thou-
sands of apps. With a much slim-
mer and lighter design, front and
rear cameras, a 1.2Ghz dual-core
A5 processor and new Apple-built
apps including Garageband and
iMovie, it’s as “magical” as its
predecessor.
2
When is it coming out? You can
get one now. You know you want
to.
1
tec h n od e
o pi n ion

Has Europe
lost the the
mobile battle?
With the iPhone and Android ruling the mobile roost,
most of the serious phone development appears to be
coming from North America. But Europe does still
boast MWC, the world's biggest mobile show.

A
by gerald lynch
s another February passes, the GSMA once again close the
doors on the annual Mobile World Congress telecoms con-
ference. Held each year since 1987, initially under the GSM
World Congress banner, 2011’s event saw record numbers of
over 60,000 attendees file through the gates of the Fira Mountjuic exhibition
centre in Barcelona as the leading lights in mobile communications software
and hardware came together to flaunt their wares.
However, while the gadget-loving hordes flocked to continental Spain
to glean info on the latest mobile technology, a sea change in the industry
over the last few years makes MWC’s Barcelona setting seem ever-more dis-
placed. The European telecoms old-guard seem to be increasingly falling
behind their transatlantic rivals.
For example, 3G mobile internet found its first foothold on the conti-
nent, launching in March 2003 in the UK via the Three network while our
US counterparts wept into their 2G-only cells. Less than a decade on and
Sprint, Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile USA are all leading the superfast 4G
mobile broadband charge (with both LTE and WiMAX) whilst we bemoan
our increasingly redundant last-gen connections, with at least two or three
more years before any comparable service crosses the pond.
Then there is the battle of the handset manufacturers. Nokia, once the
go-to company for innovative phones has been totally left behind in the

MWC’s hottest
new phones
Your complete guide to
who launched what
LG
That’s not to say that the other
manufacturers didn’t bring their
A-game to Barcelona though. There
were still stellar offerings on show
from LG, HTC and Sony Ericsson
among others.
Firstly, smartphone offerings. LG
were already off to a flying start
to the year with their dual-core LG
Optimus 2X and 4G LG Revolution
handsets onshow at CES in Janu-
ary. These again made an appear-
ance at MWC, but were now very
much overshadowed by the LG
Optimus 3D. Billed as the first 3D
capable smartphone (though the
Docomo SH-03C/Sharp Lynx has
just as valid a claim to that title), it
features a 4.3 inch parallax barrier
display for glasses-free 3D visuals.
smartphone stakes, while Apple’s iPhone and mobiles making use of Google’s
Android platform reap the sales rewards.
Too concerned with proprietary operating systems and chasing mega-
pixels (see the N8 flop), the Finnish company has all-but conceded defeat by
bunking up with Microsoft, who will ensure future high-end Nokia handsets
tow the party line when running their Windows Phone 7 operating system.
Many had expected Nokia to side with Google in the smartphone OS stakes,
a sentiment shared by exiting chief Executive Eric Schmidt:
“We would’ve loved if they would have chosen Android; they chose the
other guys,” he said.
“I think we were pretty straightforward. We would like them to adopt
Android at some point in the future; that offer remains open. We think An-
droid was a good choice for Nokia, and we’re sorry they made a different
choice. “
And sorry Nokia may very well end-up: where they were once sitting
pretty on piles of cash in the low-to-mid range handset market, the increas-
ing prevalence of cheap Android devices casts a shadow over their long-term
fortunes in that area too.
It seems almost grovelling then for the GSMA to award Apple’s iPhone
4 the ‘Handset of the Year 2011’ prize, considering the Cupertino company’s
continued snubbing of the event; it’s a bit like the nerdy kid pleading with the
prettiest girl in school to turn up at his birthday party. The mobile monopoly
has certainly migrated from Europe to pastures new.
A 1GHz dual-core processor from
Texas Instruments powers the
handset, with a dual-lens camera ar-
ray on the rear for 3D still shooting
and video recording. Highlighting
the dearth of 3D content available,
LG have also inked a deal with
YouTube to bring their 3D channel
to the smartphone and allowing all
Optimus 3D owners to upload to
the channel from within a device-
specific Android app, in essence
creating a user-generated ecosys-
tem of 3D videos for the handset.
HTC
HTC’s flagship offerings were a
little more prosaic. “S” branded
sequels to the Desire and Wildfire
made sturdy improvements on their
MWC 2011 saw high profile mobile
predecessors (greater launches from the likes of LG and HTC.

Sony Ericsson’s long promised PSP
phone - the Xperia Play - finally arrived
at MWC 2011.
storage, newer builds of Android,
faster processing power), but now
lacked the “wow-factor” that those
handsets landed with in their first
iterations. However, two notewor-
thy devices were launched in the
shape of the QWERTY packing HTC
ChaCha and HTC Salsa phones.
While not processing powerhouses
and certainly not high-edn smart-
phones, each featured a dedicated
Facebook button, allowing users to
update their statuses within a few
seconds of booting up the phones,
and represent the first partnership
of their kind between Zuckerberg’s
all-powerful social empire and a
handset manufacturer. I think we’ll
see more Facebook/HTC collabora-
tion later in the year.
Samsung
Samsung’s refresh of the Galaxy S,
in the shape of the Galaxy S II, was
a little more exciting. Impossible
thin at 8.49mm thick, it feels light
enough to blow away in your hand.
It makes it all the more impressive
then to consider all the features
Samsung have managed to pack in
under the 4.27 inch super AMOLED
touchscreen; NFC technology, 4G
networking, as much as 32GB of
storage, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, 1080p
HD video recording, Android Gin-
gerbread. You name it, the Galaxy
S II seems to have it tucked away
inside. The original Galaxy S sold
some 10 million units, and we see
no reason why the Galaxy S II can’t
match that.
Sony Ericsson
Sony Ericsson kept the gaming con-
tingent happy by finally unveiling
the long-rumoured and often-leaked
Xperia Play handset, AKA the PSP
Phone. Running Android 2.3 with
a 4 inch touchscreen, it’s the first
handset to come with PlayStation
certification thanks to its slide-out
gaming keypad. As well as the
usual raft of Android games, you’ll
be able to download titles from
the first PlayStation home console
direct to the smartphone, as well
as eventually sharing the same
PlayStation Suite functionality as
seen in the forthcoming Sony NGP
handheld console beast.
Tablets
Most interesting though was the
LG’s MWC 2011 offering was very innovative and different, while HTC took a different
tack offering subtle upgrades of existing handsets.
increased dominance of tablet
devices at the show, of which there
were many lust-worthy offerings
available from multiple manufactur-
ers.
LG
Again LG put on a promising display
with another 3D enabled device,
the Optimus Pad. Packing Android
3.0 Honeycomb into its 8.9 inch
frame, the dual-core tablet is zippy
enough to handle multiple memory
intensive apps at once. However,
what should have been killer 3D
functionality proves a little moot;
recording in stereoscopic 3D, it
outputted to a 3D-ready HDTV fine
in this format, but was restricted to
old-fashioned anaglyph (red/cyan)
glasses viewing when playing back
on the slate itself.
HTC
HTC took a slightly different tact to
the recent wave of finger-friendly
tablets with their Flyer device.
While still a touch-savvy

It seems quite likely that MWC 2012 will see as many tablet launches as it will
mobile phone handset debuts.
capacitive number, 7 inches in size,
it comes complete with a stylus for
precise annotation and note taking,
whereas many other companies
have veered away from pen input
as it remains so closely associated
with the disappointing early wave
of resistive-screen tablets. Pow-
ered by a 1.5GHz Qualcomm core,
the Flyer also represents the first
fruits of HTC’s recent partnership
with the OnLive game streaming
service, bringing console quality
gaming to the device by sending
a video stream of titles played via
remote super computers to the
slate’s screen.
Why networks love Tablets
So why the big push towards tablet
devices from pretty much every
major exhibitor at MWC 2011?
While it’s difficult to say the smart-
phone market is saturated (low-to-
mid range devices still dominate
worldwide sales) the show did re-
veal a lack of innovation somewhat
in smartphone design.
Take the Xperia Play or Optimus 3D
n e xt gen mo bil es
touchscreens, the concept of apps
and download portals; these have
all been pioneered in smartphones,
and are now proven successes.
The popularity of Apple’s iPad has
shown that just repackaging these
in a larger form, coupled with some
savvy marketing, can give these
gadgets a “magical” air. And to
consumers that equates to highly
desirable devices.
The devices lend themselves
equally well in terms of ongoing
partnerships with mobile network
providers; the need for a mobile
data connection in many cases
keeps the networks happy, continu-
ing the symbiotic relationship with
handsets for instance; these are not the hardware manufacturers as
examples of innovation, but of con- they offer subsidised units and reap
vergence, only bringing gaming or the rewards of lucrative data
3D elements together with existing packages. Don’t be surprised if the
mobile standards rather than trying next Mobile World Congress show
to re-invent the wheel. throws up an equal split between
tablet and smart- phone launches.
It has once again become a num-
bers-and-gimmicks hardware race,
as manufacturers push for faster
processors, higher-pixel density in
screens and so on and so forth. The
fact also stands that almost every-
one now has a functioning mobile
phone of sorts, even if it is not a
smartphone; tablets still represent
a brand new proposition for the
majority of consumers.
Tablets offer a fantastic new opportunity
Despite the allure of a new form for networks, especially if they can offer
the devices at subsidised prices.
factor from a consumer point of
view, relatively little new tech-
nology has been needed for the
development of the tablet designs
too, making them a natural product
progression for smartphone manu-
facturers, and a reasonably safe and
inexpensive investment to boot.
3G and 4G technologies, capacitive
 tec h n od e
o pi n ion

The Facebook Protests

T
1
Public demos he protests in the Middle East have radically changed how we
have come a long think about social media. From being something for the social
John Stillwell/PA Wire

lives of college kids to being a tool that can bring down govern-
way from the days
ments and change the balance of global power – the real impor-
of home made tance of the software Mark Zuckerberg created in his dorm room has come
placards and a long way in 7 years. The impact of social media has been felt in media, in
chants of Maggie advertising and retail, but never before in politics. Now we have felt it.
out. We look at But opinion is divided as to how important it actually is. Big hitters
how social make claims both ways - sociology guru Malcolm Gladwell, along with
networking has Techcrunch and the New Statesman, argues that social media was a mi-
nor player in a revolt that was really all to do with long-standing political
empowered a new
tensions, but the Guardian and The Next Web
generation of counter claim that Facebook’s horizontal social Protestors cross Waterloo
activists Bridge to join the TUC
network provided the framework in which the March For The Alternative
in London to protest against
revolution could take place... Government spending cuts
by anna leach in March 2011.
AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis
A UK UNcut flashmob take to the
London streets to demand Philip Green
pays his taxes in December 2010
But in all the discussion of people power and the Protesters stand next
to a fire following a
revolution, what tended to be lacking was a look at march by thousands
what you can and can’t do with Facebook or Twitter: of students protest-
ing against tuition
how the software actually works and how people re- fees in London,
November 2010
spond to it.
Being techies, not political analysts, we’d just like
to look at how social media can help to organise and document a protest.
What on Facebook and Twitter will cause people to actually get up, get out
and start protesting on the streets?
I want to look specifically at a situation we in Britain are familiar with
and understand much better than the Arab Spring – the protests and riots in
Britain in the past year.
The massing of 50,000 students in London in November 2010 and con-
sequent riot was the first time in a generation anything like that had hap-
pened. It was a reaction to the Higher Education Act by the new government
which tripled fees for students and took away maintenance grants for poor
sixth-formers. It was the most significant example of a wave of activism -
from Climate Change protests (involving stunts like presenting Nick Clegg
with a giant Viagra tablet) to flashmobs on TopShop and other tax-evading
businesses by new organisation, UKUncut.
 Timeline:
Technology
and political
demonstrations
in the UK
Martin Keene PA Archive
POLL TAX RIOTS, 1990
A peaceful march against
the very unpopular Poll
Tax turned into a massive
riot with parts of Central
London vandalised and
more than 500
demonstrators arrested.
Key Tech Mobile phones
have been available in the
UK for a few years but
they were very much the
preserve of flashy busi-
ness types.
Peter Jordan/PA Archive
ANTI-CAPITALIST
PROTESTS, 1999
Anti-capitalist protestors
caused 2 million pounds
($3.2 million) worth of dam-
age to London. Demonstra-
tors clashed with riot police,
burnt cars and attacked
buildings.
Key tech By 1999 mobile
adoption had rocketed but
phones were not widely
used
We talked to long-standing climate change activist Deborah Grayson
about how this new breed of activism is organised online and what makes
it successful...
In this new strain of political activism, technology has been present
from the very start... forums sprang up after the Conservative party victory
of disenfranchised young lefties and out of the “what shall we do next” con-
versations sprang up three or four groups which have been behind much of
the activism of the past few months - including UKUncut and False Econ-
omy.
Deborah emphasises that this was an addition to real-world contact
that had already existed.
“We all knew each others’ faces” - but that the space and structure al-
lowed for more to be achieved than could have been with just traditional
means.
Similarly with the organisation of the protests: pre-existing organisa-
tions like Student Unions were enhanced by online tools. So Student Unions
organised transport, placards and meeting points and shared the details with
their members on Facebook, then Facebook users shared the event among
their friends and also crucially, their feelings about it.
Facebook was useful for two things 1) being a noticeboard where all the
details could be easily found and shared. And 2) allowing for the spread of
feelings - anger at the threat to education, disappointment at the jobs market
- feelings that were essential in making the events significant.
Otherwise, as Deborah says - people don't pay attention to Event re-
minders.
“I don’t know about you, but I have hundreds of invitations to things
that I don’t look at, at all. If I just email an invitation to everyone, it gets lost.
Facebook actually make it quite hard to invite lots of people – it can take 2
hours to invite a hundred people.
“Facebook is a way to put all the information out there in one place,
it’s not a way to get people to come to stuff. You have to send an individual
email, write a personal message, post on individual people’s walls..”
With the 2010 demos it wasn’t just one person contacting thousands,
it was friend to friend, thousands contacting thousands. But that’s an usual
situation - there needs to be a really strong general feeling for that to work.
Twitter is a natural tool for a live event and came into its own dur-
ing the protests. Official accounts like @ucloccupation and @ukuncut used
Twitter to announce movements, changes, speakers and acted as a local
news service for protest. Protesters there, all equipped with smartphones
tweeted what was going on around them – what they were doing, what the
police were doing.

by the protestors in this
demonstration. Cross
network SMS was only
introduced in 1998.
ANTI IRAQ WAR
PROTEST, 2003
The UK’s biggest
demonstration with one
million people urging the
government to pull back
from war with Iraq. A very
good natured demo with
only one arrest.
Key tech Early adopters
were using first gen smart-
phones like the XDA to ac-
cess the web, but mostly
contact between protes-
tors was by text messag-
ing. Social media was still
several years away.
Simon Dawson/AP/Press Association Images
STUDENT
PROTESTS, 2010
Demos in November and
December against govern-
ment plans for higher edu-
cation resulted in damaged
buildings and smashed
shop windows as well
as injured protestors and
police officers.
Key tech Social media
played a huge role in the
organisation of the demon-
strations. How influential
smartphones were in influ-
encing the way the demon-
strations evolved is still a
hotly contested issue.
FACEBO O K PROTESTS
The information quickly became documentation - the hashtag trended,
people outside the protest retweeted tweets from within, and fed in messag-
es of support and external information from mainstream media. The same
thing happened on Facebook – though to a smaller extent.
At the protests, 3G internet went down very quickly, phone signal was
erratic and went down at the peak of the protest, and mobile phone batteries
ran out particularly in the 7-9 hours kettles that police trapped protesters
in.
There are of course disadvantages to using social media to organise
protests. The biggest one is that you really don’t know who else is monitoring
the conversations. For example it has been suggested that having published
plans on Facebook allowed the police to kettle protestors.
In Britain, we live in a democratic society and battles are rarely physical
ones, they’re more about telling the story. That battle to tell the story is one
that’s waged between protestors and police and between social media and
traditional media.
It’s not just that social media and technology gives more power to the peo-
ple - it also gives more power to any one who can use it well.
In the future social media could get co-opted by smart governments
too - stuff like Facebook’s plan to use facial recognition to auto-tag faces
would give them a database of the world’s faces that could easily be used by
police to identify offenders.
Increasingly social networks are going to face political pressure and
political decisions - when do they give information to the police? When do
they co-operate with authoritarian regimes? Just like Google’s dithering over
China there are some tough decisions ahead and in many respects CEOs of
major technology companies aren’t really best placed to make these calls.
So social media is not just a new tool for the people, it’s also a new
battlefield. However, Deborah, along with many others, holds out one hope
for how social media can outsmart an organised authoritarian regime.
There is something about the horizontal structure of social media that
has its own advantages: “with social media is that everyone can talk to every-
one else and when that’s working well, information spreads very fast hori-
zontally, in that case it’s really difficult for a top-down organisation like the
police to track that or counter it because they have to go up the hierarchy
and get commands before they can take any action.”
Perhaps there is something inherently democratic about Facebook and
other social network sites after all. Whether they are going to be a force
for good in the world is a moot point, but they certainly will be a force for
change.
tec h n od e
o pi n ion

4G
the

4G
4G
4G future
How the next
generation of mobile
technology could
mean that paying
for data is a thing
of the past
by ASHLEY NORRIS
II
am sitting on a coach which is driving round the
centre of the Russian city of St Petersburg watch-
ing high definition videos streamed to my laptop.
There’s no drop out and the picture quality is per-
fect. And the magic that is making all this possible is a
mobile technology called 4G provided by a company
called Yota.
4G, which is already available across parts of the
globe, is heralded by its champions as the technol-
ogy that will change the way in which we use mobile
devices (phones, laptops and tablets) both at home and
on the move. All the things we use high speed broad-
band for at home, like high definition video, running
multiple connections etc, will be available anywhere we
go.
Over a decade ago now mobile phone companies
across the globe spent heavily in buying 3G spectrum
from governments, promising that it would deliver the
Internet on the go. Since then we have seen glimpses
of mobile broadband (especially with technological
advancements like HSPA) but for most users the web
on a mobile device is nothing like the experience they
have at home. It is slower, clunkier and most impor-
tantly much much more expensive. Which might make
consumers just that little bit cynical about 4G. So
should they be?
In the UK Telecoms regulator Ofcom will start
auctioning off the 4G mobile spectrums in 2012, with
the goal of securing nationwide coverage. We will have
to wait until 2014 before we get to enjoy the benefits of
4G.
Ofcom chief executive Ed Richards said: ‘The auc-
tion is of significant importance to the wider economy.
It will support a wide range of data services that are fast
becoming essential features of the modern world.’
There are other compelling reasons why 4G (and
indeed LTE) might become a worldwide mobile Inter-
net platform. Firstly lots of countries might go straight
for 4G and bypass home broadband and 3G and not
just in the so-called BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia,
India and China) but also in other developing nations
like Ghana, Argentina and the Philippines.
Secondly the popularity of web connected devices
means that operators might not have a choice but to
upgrade.
As Stephen Rayment CTO, BelAir Networks (a
leading mobile wireless broadband solutions provider)
says The £22 billion raised from auctioning of the 3G
licences was largely a speculative move as operators
weren’t completely sure how the spectrum would be
used. Now, the vast surges in data consumption are
wreaking havoc across 3G networks, particularly in
areas of high user concentration. Consequently, buy-
ing new spectrum is no longer a speculative move for
mobile operators it’s an absolute necessity.’
LTE 4G operators are expected to offer more ag-
gressive data tarrifs for their services. In the US Veri-
zon Wireless rolled out its LTE 4G network to 38 cities
in and in a sign of what might follow has undercut
its 3G tariffs offering consumers 4G at $10 a month
cheaper. Clearwire and T-Mobile already offer US cus-
tomer 4G systems using the rival WiMAX system.
‘I anticipate a price battle, for sure,’ Tolaga Re-
search analyst Phil Marshall told US website Computer
World. ‘Price is what these guys are going to be focused
on to try to drive demand to their networks.’
And in what might be a tantalising twist some net-
works are suggesting that 4G services could be free to
the consumer with operators making their money from
ancillary services.
‘In a few years Internet access as a paid service
won’t exist any more’, argues Rodion Shishkov, the
VP Services of 4G company Yota. ‘Rather than collect
subscriptions from customers providers will make their
money by charging third parties to use their networks
to offer services to consumers like banking, music and
video.’
Shishkov adds that his company Yota, which
has 4G networks in Russia and South America and is
launching in several more countries in 2011, will pio-
neer the free web in the next couple of years. He also
believes that both US and Western European networks
will adopt a similar approach soon after.
 4G FUTURE
What is 4G?
4G is the next generation network for
mobile broadband. It comes in a couple of key
flavours WiMAX and LTE (Long Term Evolution).
In theory it will mean that mobile devices from
phones through to tablet PCs will be able to de-
liver data at speeds that even outpace your home
broadband system.
LTE, the main 4G format (ie the one that we’ll get
in the UK) provides downlink peak rates of at least
100 Mbps, an uplink of at least 50 Mbps, though
of course we all know that it will be a lot less than
this in the real world. Nevertheless that is still
much faster than the speeds we have with 3G. It
could also signal the deathknell for home wired
broadband connections as your laptop/tablet PCs
will have LTE compatibility built in or added via a
dongle, so you won’t need a wired connection.
WiMAX has slower speeds and is unlikely to be
adopted in the UK. Nevertheless it is big-ish news
in the US with both T-Mobile and Spring already
boasting WiMAX networks.
As for LTE 4G you can already access it if you live
in some US cities, Russia, bits of Sweden and a
few other places. The big story in the US is that
it first LTE 4G network launched in December by
Verizon and AT&T have also indicated that its 4G
network will go live later in 2011. There was also a
slew of LTE 4G mobile phone announcements at
CES in January notably HTC’s Thunderbolt, Sam-
sung’s Infuse (below) and LG’s Revolution.
As for Apple the sensible
money is on an LTE phone
launching in 2012. 4G will
finally be the missing piece in
the iPhone jigsaw, the element
that takes the phone from be-
ing a glorified iPad touch to a
truly connected go anywhere
Internet handset.
‘We are seeking new partners to develop this busi-
ness model,’ adds Shishkov. ‘We are about to launch
Yota Bank and we can see that there are many other
companies that could develop their business using our
network. I think in particular that video communica-
tions could prove to be very successful.’
So could networks offer consumers web access for
free via 4G? LTE 4G networks are cheaper to run as
they make more efficient use of radio spectrum than
3G. It is unlikely that telecoms companies will pay the
inflated amounts they paid governments for 3G li-
cences. So cheaper/free options may prove more viable.
The set up costs of creating the 4G network are also
cheaper than 3G and it is likely that most 4G providers
will focus on cities rather than offering blanket cover-
age across a country.
The theory then runs that companies like Yota will
offer free web in emerging markets like Russia, Brazil,
India, Africa etc and agree deals with banks, entertain-
ment companies to offer services which previously
haven’t been available in those countries. Then the
free web will undergo a domino effect as bigger multi-
national players like Vodafone or T-Mobile then offer a
free service in the United States or Western Europe.
So are Yota’s predictions likely to come true? It
would be a seismic shift for the industry to adopt a free
model giving up billions of pounds of revenue along
the way.
There is also the prospect of some new
players in the 4G world. If the future is based around
mobile broadband and data it would not be beyond
the realms of possibility that companies like Google
and Microsoft looked at buying 4G spectrum in key
countries and using it to develop their services in an
integrated way. Imagine how powerful it would be for
say Google to own the operating system on the devices
as well as the means in which they connect to the web.
4G is likely to have a profound effect not just on
the way we use mobile broadband but how the tele-
coms industry develops over the next decade. Interest-
ing times are ahead.
How
code is
changing
art
N
I
Once the early every aspect of our daily lives is mediated through com-
puter technology, so it comes as no surprise the art world has
preserve of
also been significantly impacted by this digitisation of culture.
the geek, Walter Benjamin in The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical
programming Reproduction (1936) explored the influence of technology on art and com-
code is pared old and new forms of expression, ie. the traditional/singular works of
a new raw art such as a painting versus technically reproducible forms such as photog-
material that raphy and film. He correctly believed new mediums would have an increas-
artists and ing importance and influence on Western culture.
Now 75 years later we are witnessing the progression and development
designers can
of these mediums as a new breed of digital artists begin to emerge and thrive.
use to create These artists are using new technologies to change the way art is created, dis-
digital art. tributed, sold and displayed.
They are using innovative new technology to create works that include
by LAURA SCOTT
photopainting, digital collage, integrated digital art, virtual reality, holo-
grams, fractals, and more. For them technology has increased the number
of tools through which they can express their vision and create new works
of art.
They are completely reliant on coding and technology to do everything
from controlling lighting to video effects. This shift in artistic production
forces us to think about how our relationships and interaction with art are
affected.
The digitisation of art has made its production accessible in a way that
many traditional formats could never be, and while many argue that it is a
democratisation of culture, there is a fear that talent is being flooded out
and drowned in a vast digital ocean of mass culture. Artists are increasingly
turning into creative programmers who use code to create new and innova-
Top: Divide By Zero by Hellicar & Lewis tive visual displays.

United Visual Artists created the
stunning backdrops on the Massive
Attack world tour in 2010
But if art starts to become all about coding what happens to the value of
the actual works of art. If it is something that can be mass-produced or has
no tangible existence, is there still a monetary value to it?
Shane Walter is the creative director and co-founder of onedotzero, a
company that’s been exploring new forms and hybrids of the moving im-
age for many years, and is in many ways a leader of this new digital culture.
Walter often speaks of the massive transformation of a number of industries
not just the arts over the last 15 years. “It is a backdrop to an ever-evolving
creative playground where art forms have collided,” he explains.
“Hybrid creators have risen and more importantly the appetite of the
audience has skewed to a more progressive and diverse entertainment expe-
rience,” adds Walter.
He argues that the digitisation of the creative realm is a reflection of a
true cultural revolution. Those who are involved in creative processes are the
same people who have grown up with access to computers and digital tools,
and have witnessed how it has reshaped their world. Cross media thinking,
Web 2.0 attitude, communities, and collaborative production are there to
offer new forms of art that mix cinema with clubbing, theatre with photog-
raphy, graphics with live music, opera with computer gaming.
Data visualisation, crowd sourcing, and open source are all playing a
major role in digital art and the way we interact with it as a society. It is this
that’s helping to reinvent the image of the programmer. In the past they were
not seen as “creative” types. Now as Walter points out “code is, in its purest
form, a new raw material that artists and designers can shape and sculpt in
myriad ways to create interactive art, generative designs, and stunning mo-
tion sequences. I really see this shift having an impact on art, culture, and
entertainment as we move forward.”
Digital art is merging the hi-tech with creativity. This has, not surpris-
ingly, taken art away from the gallery space. Digital Art is a bricoloage of
styles and mediums often used to enhance the live experience. Artists such
as United Visual Artists have used lighting to enhance the live performances
of musicians, such as, Massive Attack, Jay Z, U2 and Chemical Brothers,
turning their audiences into active participants and collaborators.
Digital arts ability to live outside the gallery through limitless medi-
ums has made the live experience of art more important. The aura around
art now lies in the way in which we can interact with it and how it creates
experience.
Art is more accessible then ever and is increasingly becoming a part of
our public space. It is less exclusive and more interactive then ever before.
However, if anyone can now be an artist, will there be a future for the profes-
sional artist, or will the artist be forced to
 DI G I TAL ART

Five of our favourite

digital artists
Jason Bruges
An experimental artist with a history of producing striking
installations in public places, Bruges and his team recently
worked on a distinctive illuminated facade for the W Hotel in
London’s Leicester Square.

Our favourite though is his virtual platform at Sunderland

station which was unveiled in 2010. Behind a three metre
glass wall a disused platform has been turned into a hive of
virtual activity with ghostly characters walking up and down
the platform waiting for their train. Bruges is also rumoured
to be involved in an installation on one of the bridges to the
Olympics stadium where those crossing will be able to race
against a shadowy version of the world’s fastest athletes.

Brian Eno
The one time maverick synth genius behind Roxy Music
who then became a key player in the development of ambi-
ent and experimental music, Eno has also played a signifi-
cant role in digital art. One of his most acclaimed works
is 77 million paintings, a program that creates endlessly
unique individual paintings which are then accompanied by
innovative ambient soundtracks.

Chris Levine
Levine is perhaps best known for his extraordinary, holo-
graphic portraits of Queen Elizabeth which were created
for the channel island of Jersey back in 2004. The artist has
also taken his laser and light driven work to major music
festivals creating a stunning backdrop to a series of events
at the Eden Project in 2009.

Quayola
An Italian artist currently working in London, Quayola is a
hugely versatile individual who creates everything from in-
stallations and AV performances through to videos and web
pages. His art is very much at the cutting edge between
graphics, video and coding.

David Hockney From top: Jason Bruges

W Hotel in London. Jason
The legendary British artist is one of a growing number of Bruges Virtual Platform.
people who are using Apple’s iPad as a high tech canvas. in 77 Million Paintings
created by Brian Eno.
2010 he worked on a series called Fleurs Fraiches, or Fresh Chris Levine Light. A short
excerpt of Topologies by
Flowers, which was displayed in Paris and featured work Quayola. David Hockney
created using several apps including Brushes. Fleurs Fraiches
A still from Brian Eno’s 77 million paintings