PS4 Review

Sony PS4 review :

The Sony PS4 games console is here to wage war with Xbox One for next-gen supremacy. Is this the future of gaming?

The Sony PlayStation 4 finally arrives to take on the Microsoft's Xbox One in a next-gen gaming war more drawn out than any product launch we've seen. But in a console battle often fought more on ethics than specs, with the hardware now in our hands, what does it all add up to? Launched in New York back in February, the PS4 hits the US on 15 November 2013, with the UK having to wait till 29 November to get its game on. But T3's been following it all year, demoing its games for months and have had a retail unit for a few days, with access to the US networks, so we've been putting it through its paces… Sony PS4: Size and build The Sony PS4 is surprisingly svelte for such a serious games machine at 2.8kg, its 275 x 53 x 305mm frame both smaller and lighter than the original PS3 and even its PS3 Slim follow-up. Somehow, there's no unsightly power block to hide either. Next to the Xbox One, it's the clear aesthetic top dog, you'll feel proud to have this in your living room, and it's easily ported around the house. Looking like a suitably futuristic if unassuming black monoltih, with all vents and most ports hidden round back, the matte/gloss aesthetic is divided by a glowing power line that glows blue at boot up before giving way to a more living room-friendly white. It looks good beneath or beside your telly, whether laying down or, as we prefer, upright (the horizontal-only Xbox One is going to require a bit of under-TV rearranging). It is, however, a little on the vulnerable side – drop one and we don't reckon it will survive. The connections at the back are now all digital, with an aux port for the optional PlayStation Camera, Ethernet for wired online connections, an HDMI port to hook up to the telly and Optical Audio out, too. Up front there are two discrete USB 3.0 ports to charge the wireless controllers, beneath the on/off and eject buttons that sit either side of the disc port (6 x Blu-ray, 8 x DVD). It also has Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, the latter syncing the controllers. Despite the more power-packed eight-core Jaguar x86-64 processor and 1.84 TFLOPS AMD Radeon GPU, the console's innards are noticeably much quieter than the current-gen machines. While we're still not talking silent running, a very light hum when games boot up and get overly busy is about as active as it gets. \ Sony PS4: Controller The PS4 comes packed with one DualShock 4, though additional controllers are available at £50 a throw (the console supports up to four). It's a massive improvement on the last iteration and the best pad PlayStation's produced. Sturdy and reassuringly weighty in the palm compared to the always-a-bit-light-for-us DualShock 3, its surprising sleekness is married to a textured coating on the base and dual sticks that aid grip. The button configuration is, at first, as you'd expect – two analogue control sticks, a bumper and trigger button on each side, and four shape-marked action buttons on the front. The dual sticks mfeel stiffer compared to the PS3's, which we've found can help accuracy, though it takes some acclimatising. The triggers are now very trigger-like indeed, more flush than before, and their close placement to the shoulder buttons is a good design move that aids quick changes. The improved motor rumble andm added speaker, which throws out in-game orders if required, also give you more immersive, contextual feedback.   However, where there was once Select and Start, there are a raft of new options there place. The first, called, well, Options, is a surrogate pause button that also brings up contextual info when in the main interface and lets you delete items in the menu. Share, on the other side of the pad, is the one-stop media shop that lets you put image stills or video of your game on to social networks, or even stream direct once you've set up an account. A quick click of the button automatically takes a screenshot and saves the last 15 minutes of your gameplay to your hard drive (the PS4 has already been recording you, see?), and takes you to a sharing menu; a longer held click just takes an on-the-fly screen grab. On Call of Duty Ghosts, an image was 250KB and a video 792MB locally, which you can then share out to Facebook or Twitter if you wish. Video sharing requires a Facebook log-in to function, for some reason, with no inbuilt YouTube sync as yet and no ability to port any of your footage out on to an external drive either. There's also no editing suite at present, unlike the Xbox One's excellent Upload Studio. If you want to broadcast your efforts of gaming prowess on to the internet, you can choose either Twitch and Ustream, but you'll need an account with them directly before you can activate and the PS4 just sends you off to their websites. Neither of the new buttons is particularly elegantly placed or of a large enough size for quick, mid-game use – there's still that unfamiliar fumble each time, leading to the odd eyes-off-screen death – but we suspect we'll get used to them. Their multi-functionality makes them a real boon. In the middle is the Touch Panel, a tactile interface based around the PS Vita's rear input. It's not textured at all, smooth to the fingertip, but is fairly responsive when navigating menus and can also act as surrogate buttons, with two click points like a mouse. The 'slide for weapon' functionality has been tried in Killzone Shadow Fall, but it will be interesting to see how indies embrace touch and whether the trackpad-esque qualities will suit PC-centric strategy/adventure fare. Below this and the speaker is the PS button, which acts like an iPad's Home button (as well as logging users on multiple controllers in and out) and the headset port (although the provided one-bud earpiece is a bit cheap and smartphoney). Sixaxis remains inside, with you able to use the combined gyrometer and accelerometer to navigate on-screen keyboards more swiftly, while the light bar on the reverse acts like a mini PlayStation Move if you're Camera'd up. This also signifies players by colour and flashes in some games when you're hit – though since you can't see it yourself, this is presumably only helpful to others. Battery life for the controller is a decent if not spectacular seven hours, which is a fair bit less than the DualShock 3's, though with the amount of new tech on board, was to be expected. It's charged, handily, via micro-USB to USB rather than a proprietary connection from the front of the console, so you're sure to have a spare cable knocking around if you lose this one. Sony PS4: Features Out of the box, you'll need to do the PS4's 1.5 firmware update, as seems to be the case with all consoles nowadays, before you can get many of the features working. We set ours up as all the US accounts went live and it took us a while, but it's only 323MB so at UK launch we don't see this being an issue. Once into the new PS4 interface, you notice how quick and smooth the whole experience is, the most palpable effect of owning a new piece of gaming hardware after a six-year wait (and a not-yet-taxed 8GB of GDDR5 RAM). Going back to current gen after a few hours in its company is like trading broadband in for dial-up. But while it makes the last gen feel archaic when you return, there's a familiarity here. Sure, the visually striking dynamic window tiles may fill the screen and a 'What's New' social feed of you and friends' movements hang below, but a tweaked XMB bar sits just above it for more in-depth settings, while the classical audio strains and floaty background wallpaper remain almost identical. Breezing along the menus, in and out of apps in a flash, is a revelatory experience, but its design can sometimes feel almost too unstructured. If you're a bit OCD like us, it's slightly annoying you can't reorganise the dynamic tiles as you can on Xbox One (they're shown in order of use). Similarly the social functions lack organising tools and the browser, as is becoming the norm with PlayStation, is not up to much. The controller's PS button acts as a handy default pause and home key to suspend whatever you're doing in one touch. It sounds basic but the ability to alter settings on the fly, without having to log out and boot up again, is something smartphones and tablets have been doing for years, but consoles are finally there. Multi-tasking is go (though only one game can run at a time still). System updates are a thing of the past, as they now update in the background, while the promise of being able to play a game as you download it is only part fulfilled. We had to wait for Warframe to part-download from PSN before we could play, although this is on online-only game. But discs seemed to play instantly despite clearly shifting data over to the hard drive, which they did with no noticeable issues. Sony PS4: Content All PS4 titles are now available for digital download from the PSN Store, though with some next-gen triple-A games clocking in at up to 40GB a go, we're not sure the same-sized 500GB hard drive as our old PS3 is going to last long (which is actually nearer 400GB of free space after OS software). Maybe we'll be streaming games over Gaikai by the time it fills up, who knows, but Sony's ambitious cloud gaming service doesn't even start trialling in the US till some time next year, with no UK date announced, so perhaps not. External hard drives are not supported at launch, though you can swap the internal one if you have the desire and the know how. With so much focus on gaming, media has been something of an afterthought for Sony. MP3 and local digital media aren't currently supported, though are rumoured to be coming in a future update, while after some confusion 3D Blu-rays are rumoured to be supported by a firmware fix that will land at some point after launch day. On the services front, we're promised Netflix and BBC iPlayer to tick the boxes in the UK, but even in the US there's not a huge selection (the usual Hulu and Crackle), with Sony focusing its music and video efforts very much on its good if restrictive Music and Video Unlimited subscription streaming hubs (from £4.99 a month for the first and pay per view from £2.50 on the latter). Where media does get the upper hand is in 4K playback, which is supported in a non-gaming capacity only, although without any 4K media in reach or a 4K telly to try it on, this remains untested by us. Sony PS4: Peripherals Control can be expanded beyond the included set-up with a variety of optional extras. The PlayStation Camera (£45), which adds Kinect-esque motion-sensing to the gaming mix as well as, more usefully, voice-controlled menus (with a simple 'PlayStation…' order) is a nice, inessential piece of kit. While not as uniformly integrated or perhaps technologically advanced as the new Kinect, it does individual tasks very well indeed. Voice pick-up is much better than current-gen Kinect, while we set multiple log-ins to face recognition and it got us all every time, even in a crowd. It also makes use of the pre-loaded Playroom demo compendium at present, though the excellent two-player air hockey aside – an ace, touch-panelled pong that uses Sixaxis to morph the play area with the Camera films your reaction – this is a one-time family party trick. The PS Vita handheld (£170), if you haven't already taken the jump, is an excellent gaming portable in its own right. With a selection of very good games at reasonable prices, it now joins in with the PS4 as part of the Remote Play functionality (download 3.00 firmware on to your Vita to join them up). Paring is simple with a code system, but as we're having to use a US account to trial the console, we couldn't sync to our UK Vita (both devices have to be tied to the same PSN log-in). We tried a Remote Play-enabled Vita at a game show earlier in the year and while there was minimal lag, this will inevitably vary depending on location. There's also PlayStation App, available for iOS and Google Plays smartphones and tablets, which takes the PS4's UI to your phone or tablet. As well as managing your account and chatting to PSN friends on the go, you can also line up purchases and even interact with games and media as a second-screen input or output. Alas, this wasn't live in the UK at our time of testing either. Sony PS4: Games It might be obvious to some but it's worth pointing out that the PS4 only plays PS4 games – it is not backwards compatible with PS3 physical discs. Also while your PSN and PS+ accounts will crossover and films port across, any digital games from PSN won't run on the new machine either. However, all of this applies to Xbox One, too, and what both do is usher in the proposed new generation of full 1080p, 60 frames per second gaming. The 19-strong PS4 launch line-up sounds initially like a good haul, but a bit of delving shows that there are relatively few exclusive and next gen-only titles to play right now. That said, the PS4 offers the highest definition console version of Call of Duty Ghosts (1080p after a launch-day update, with Xbox One at 720p) and the much-improved Ignite engine version of FIFA 14. Similarly spruced up interpretations of Battlefield 4 and Assassin's Creed 4 Black Flag (with extra content just for PS4) fill out the £50-a-go triple-A stable nicely, too. You may well have these already on your current-gen console, but these are the definitive versions and pack a suitable wow factor – on some you can unlock a digital PS4 upgrade for $9.99 in the US (UK pricing TBC). The console promised land of full 1080p, 60 frames per second gaming isn't quite fulfilled yet, though, with most developers seemingly choosing between 720p at 60fps or 1080p at 30fps at present. If you're talking gameplay over grunt, our picks of the slate are actually two of the indie offerings, Resogun and Contrast, the first a PS4-only pulsating, retro-tinged twin-stick shooter, the latter an art-house puzzler, both with great soundtracks. Each are under $15 (UK price TBC) or free if you hook your new console up to PS+, the subscription service that adds online multiplayer as well as a stream of very good ongoing freebies across all your PlayStation devices (£12 for 90 days, £40 for the year). We really recommend it. For those not sure indie subtlety warrants a hardware upgrade in search of some exclusive excess to show off their system, Killzone Shadow Fall offers some of the finest visuals and lens-flare use we've seen, even if the trad shooter underneath isn't much to write home about. Similarly, PS4 chief architect Mark Cerny's Knack is a fairly formulaic platform-brawler with a nice paint job that should please youngsters. Elsewhere, the not radically redesigned PSN Store is mainly chock full of remakes of (it's worth pointing out, very good) PS3 and PS Vita indies – Flower, Flow, Sound Shapes and Escape Plan are all worth a dabble if they've eluded you – and some American sports titles. It's fair to say this isn't quite as strong as PlayStation was aiming for, with planned launch racer DriveClub and Ubisoft's hack 'n' gun open-worlder Watch Dogs both pushed back to next year. However, it's good to see PlayStation's Cross Play initiative continued on PS4, meaning some titles are available for one price across PS3, PS Vita and the new console. Of course, history tells us there's usually a sharp quality spike in the year after launch, as developers get used to the hardware and install base numbers make development financially viable. Other exclusive games on the roster for 2014 include third-person action titles like Infamous Second Son in March, The Order 1886 and, of course, Uncharted 4, as well as promising indies like Rime, Octodad and Everything's Gone to the Rapture. Cross-platform persistent online world juggernauts such as Destiny (with the beta debuting on PS4 next year), The Division, The Crew and The Witcher 3 will also head PS4's way, as well as a raft of titles of all shapes and sizes thanks to PlayStation's open self-publishing policies. The huge effort to build a platform that's easy for games development after the PS3's complex infrastructurem makes us fairly confident that the quality will flow. Sony PS4: Verdict The PlayStation 4 is a fast, great-looking, powerful console at a not-silly price that also packs the best controller that's adorned a PlayStation so far. It has a fair amount of good games of all sizes and price points to play from the off, although not as many exclusive must-haves as we'd haveliked and it's not backward compatible with PS3 titles. While Sony's focus on gaming has left the PS4 a bit light on the entertainment end, it covers off the streaming and on-demand basics. The Xbox One's media focus has certainly given it a lead on this front, though at launch its UK-centric offerings are similarly underwhelming and we expect both to address this through firmware updates, which now thankfully all download quietly and effortlessly. As is common in tech now, the PS4 is a line in the sand rather than the finished article, the investment in a new ongoing service rather than a standalone product, with improvements and tweaks happening daily. While this long-term investment very much puts it up against the Xbox One for your attention, this prevents either from being a direct replacement for anyone's current-gen set-top. Other than a handful of Full-HD titles and a very swish and speedy interface, there's little this can functionally do right now that demands an upgrade. Because of this, the idea of dishing out full marks to any games console at launch is slightly ridiculous, when you consider the always-light initial game selection, untestable factors like long-term online services (multiplayer needs more thorough usage to pass judgment) and the simple fact that it takes time for game makers to get the best out of new platforms. But we think the PS4 is set up well to evolve – its developer-friendly spec, social integration steps, commitment to Cross Play and mobile extensions to the ecosystem across PS Vita, tablets and smartphones, not to mention future Gaikai-powered cloud gaming plans, giving it space to expand and be flexible as gamer requirements shift in years to come. With the PS3 and Xbox 360 producing some of the finest games of the moment and acting as fully operational media hubs while they do it, a new console is undoubtedly a want rather than a need right now. But through its super-fast UI, noticeable graphical jump and expansion plans, PS4 looks like one worth buying into in the long run. Sony PS4 release date: Out now (US), 29 November 2013 (UK) 28th December (India) Sony PS4 price: Rs.29800

XBOX ONE review

XBOX ONE

THE REVIEW

The Xbox 360 that exists in 2013 bears little resemblance to the console that Microsoft launched in 2005. It’s so different, in fact, that it helps to think of the company’s new Xbox One as an evolution, not of the original Xbox 360 but of the one that exists today.

Over that eight-year span, the Xbox 360 underwent radical transformations. In 2008, the "New Xbox Experience" delivered an entirely new interface, customizable player Avatars, eight-player party chat and Netflix streaming, a first for video game consoles. In 2010, the first iteration of Kinect and the platform’s voice and gesture controls redefined the 360 once again.

That focus on entertainment never diminished the Xbox 360's gaming bona fides, however. Between first-party exclusives like Halo, third-party console exclusives like Left 4 Dead and timed exclusives likeThe Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion, the Xbox 360 never wanted for games. The Xbox Live Arcade program made games like Castle Crashers, Braid and Limbo into household names. Despite its investment in entertainment, the Xbox 360 was always a video game console.

But there was a sense that the Xbox 360's greater aspirations as a mainstream portal for entertainment were restrained by hardware created before our current age of streaming video, tablets and smartphones.

So when examining the Xbox One, it may seem familiar. This is what Microsoft has been working toward all these years, effectively showing its next-generation hand as early as 2008. While the Xbox 360 was upgraded, the Xbox One was developed in parallel, but as a beginning, not an end. And despite its familiar elements and concepts, the Xbox One still manages a genuine sense of wonder, all without losing sight of the strong gaming foundation the Xbox was built on.

THE CONSOLE

HARDWARE & DESIGN

The nicest description most Polygon staff could manage for the Xbox One's silhouette is "inoffensive" — there's no sugarcoating the console's lack of visual flair. Microsoft has created a system designed to blend into the other components of your home entertainment center, and it does that ... for better or worse.

The console lacks the profile and space-saving considerations of the PlayStation 4 — or even the original Xbox 360. Not only is the console larger than the original Xbox 360, but the new Kinect sensor is larger than the first one. Even the massive power brick from the last generation makes a not-so-welcome return.However, given the Xbox 360's notorious reliability problems, it's a little reassuring that the Xbox One was given so much room to breathe. It's quiet, and it runs relatively cool. But if you're looking for subtlety, this is not the console for you.

Like the PS4, the Xbox One has gone digital-only with its audio and video — you'll only find HDMI and optical audio ports. For network connectivity, Microsoft has added a gigabit Ethernet port. It doesn't support 802.11ac, but the Xbox One does connect to 5 GHz wireless networks.

A single game can occupy as much as 50 GB — and that's before any DLC, expansions, or major title updates.

The Xbox One also features an HDMI input in the back. This is designed for the system's television capabilities, but it will actually work with any HDMI device. If you're as disappointed as we are by the lack of backwards compatibility this generation and want to keep an Xbox 360 or PS3 plugged in here, we've got some bad news: It works, but our most lag-sensitive editors wouldn't want to play that way.

There are also three USB 3.0 ports — two on the back and one on the side — that are currently only useful for charging controllers and connecting the imminentKiller Instinct Fightstick from MadCatz.

Lastly, unlike the Xbox 360, the Xbox One has a Blu-ray drive, meaning those of you with a soft spot for physical media won't need to keep a second device around. That drive is partnered with a 500 GB internal hard drive, where all games are installed. While that may sound like a lot of room, a single game can occupy as much as 50 GB — and that's before any DLC, expansions or major title updates. While unfortunately missing on day one, Microsoft has promised support for external storage after launch, a significant improvement from the expensive proprietary storage options available on Xbox 360.

CONTROLLER

 A SMALL STEP FORWARD

Microsoft had the unenviable task of redesigning something that nobody thought was broken. The Xbox 360 controller was universally praised, so it shouldn't be surprising that the Xbox One controller is familiar. Improvements have been made to the triggers, which now feature rumble motors; the D-pad, which is now a cross; and the thumbsticks, which are now smaller and more accurate. It's a comfortable controller with a good amount of weight, and a great texture not only makes it feel more premium but ameliorates the gross, slippery feel following a long session with the Xbox 360 controller.

Not all the changes are home runs, though. The new bumpers split opinions at Polygon — some editors feel they're more difficult to click than the 360's shoulder buttons. When compared to moving the "Black" and "White" buttons on the original Xbox controller to the shoulders on Xbox 360, this modification seems superfluous at best and a detriment at worst.

We haven't been able to fully deplete a charge on our controllers in a week and a half of constant play.

The Xbox One controller features a more recessed space for the battery, as opposed to the outward bump found on the back of the Xbox 360's controller. By default, it uses standard AA batteries — while the rechargeable AA battery users on staff adapted quickly, others were nonplussed that there wasn't a rechargeable option in the box.

But you won't spend a lot of time worrying about batteries. We haven't been able to fully deplete a charge on our controllers in a week and a half of constant play. While the controller's micro USB port won't charge a pair of rechargeable AA batteries — that will have to be done separately, just like the Xbox 360's controller — it will disable the controller's proprietary wireless connection in favor of the direct wired connection. It's a small but valuable improvement from the Xbox 360 controller.

One of the most exciting additions to the controller is actually behind that unusually long battery life. The controller works in coordination with Kinect to monitor its use. When you put the controller down to watch a movie, it enters a low-power state. It’s a smart way of extending the utility of Kinect in a practical way.

When you put the controller down to watch a movie, it enters a low-power state.

The Xbox One also supports the Wi-Fi Direct standard for, well, direct wireless connections between devices. This kind of connection eliminates your wireless router from the equation, reducing latency and speeding up transfer speeds — which Microsoft is using for the Xbox One's new, improved version of SmartGlass .

KINECT & UI

USER INTERFACE & EXPERIENCE

While the Xbox One's UI is a departure from the Xbox 360, it should be familiar to anyone who's used Windows 8. The colored tiles are easier to navigate than the multiple cluttered pages that made up the Xbox 360's dashboard, and there's a clear, easy-to-understand hierarchy.

The most immediate shortcoming of the Xbox One's UI is transparency. Lots of options are buried behind a press of the Xbox One controller's Menu button — like uninstalling games, for example, or pinning a game or app. Pinning is great, but it seems like a stopgap measure while Microsoft figures out some more intuitive form of library management. Our experience with the console thus far suggests that it will be needed — like the PS4, the game and app library is listed horizontally, though there are two rows of icons, at least.

The newly renamed Xbox Store may have a similar problem.

The Xbox One's store is much faster than the version found on the Xbox 360, featuring large game art and recommendations that are currently based on your Xbox 360 game history. But we're not confident that it will remain as easy or as fast to navigate once there are more than the couple of dozen launch titles available.

Our favorite addition by far, though, is the ability to skip entering codes for pre-order bonuses, DLC or other game downloads by scanning QR codes with Kinect. It's fast and convenient, and we never want to enter 25 characters using the on-screen keyboard again.

After spending time with the system, it's clear the interface and Kinect are deeply linked. There seem to be motion and gesture elements in the UI, but we weren't able to get them to function reliably, and using them never surfaces any sort of guide or instructional prompt. The motion and gesture control experiments with Kinect on the Xbox 360 seem to have taken a back seat to voice controls for now, and the vestigial bits in the OS are practically useless. Microsoft appears to be betting on speech-driven navigation with the Xbox One.

Microsoft appears to be betting on speech-driven navigation with the Xbox One.

It isn't perfect: Saying "Xbox" at certain times practically fills the screen with green-colored voice options, which can be distracting. Kinect demands full names of movies and games to start them, so you'd better get used to saying "Ryse: Son of Rome" instead of "Ryse." Cross talk was also an issue — when multiple people were speaking conversationally, commands often went unheard. Less an issue, but worth mentioning: There's a learning curve in understanding what works and what doesn't with Kinect. "Xbox off" is a no-go, for example. Instead, you'll need to say "Xbox, turn off" and confirm, for good measure.

The good news? Issues aside, it really works. In fact, the fastest way to navigate the Xbox One's user interface is via the incredibly robust suite of voice commands. The friction that limited voice commands on the Xbox 360 with Kinect is all but gone. Now you can order the system to go from one app to another from anywhere — whether it's to watch TV, start Netflix or boot up a game. There's little perceptible lag from finishing a command and the results on screen.Kinect is also used for lots of little things throughout the Xbox One's user experience. Profiles support fast facial recognition for sign-in. Once a profile has a face associated with it, the console will sign that person in whenever they sit in front of the console — it even says hello. Controllers sync automatically based on who's holding them. There was a frequent sense of "holy crap" among Polygon editors regarding the Xbox One. We were constantly surprised by what the system could distinguish, by all the small but smart usability enhancements provided by Kinect. It feels futuristic and cool in a way that little else about the new consoles does.
XBOX LIVE
ONLINE PLAY
Xbox Live has long been a competitive advantage for Microsoft, but Sony's recent enhancements to PlayStation Network have blunted some of that edge. In order to keep that advantage on Xbox One, Microsoft has embraced the cloud — a reported 300,000 servers have been dedicated to supporting everything from cloud-based saves to actual computational assistance. It's a big, somewhat opaque strategy that may take time to fully realize.
Like  the PlayStation 4, the friends list maximum has been raised from 100. While Sony's maximum is now 2,000, Microsoft has opted for a still-massive 1,000 with one clever addition: followers. Instead of requiring two-way authorization, the Xbox One allows players to follow anyone's profile. Imagine Twitter, but full of your game activity. And not only can you have more friends, but you can actually hear what they're saying thanks to the inclusion of Skype's audio codec and a much higher bitrate for voice chat.
The new "Smart Match" system promises to improve the way matchmaking works on the system and, in our experience, it delivered on streamlining some of the most common actions. Joining a friend's lobby is as simple as clicking "Smart Match" in a game, and it's designed to help pair you with players similar to you. Even better, if you're in an Xbox party with a friend and they start an online match, Smart Match will send you an invite automatically. It's a small quality-of-life improvement, but it's welcome.
A notable disappointment is the absence of real-name support at launch. One of the PS4's most enjoyable enhancements has been postponed for Xbox One until an unspecified future date. Microsoft has also dropped social-network integration, which seems like a short-sighted reaction to the lack of users of the Xbox 360 apps. With the Xbox One far more qualified to support these features alongside games and entertainment, it's disappointing they're not here.
Also missing at launch is Twitch livestreaming support. While Sony revealed its console — and its streaming ability — first, Microsoft was first to specifically announce Twitch streaming support. Twitch, unlike other streaming video platforms, is gaming-specific and its inclusion in the PlayStation 4 already makes the feature feel mandatory. Twitch streaming is coming to the Xbox One "during the first part of 2014," but its initial absence is pronounced.
You can record and share gameplay clips using Microsoft's SkyDrive service, however. Saying "Xbox, record that" will capture the last 30 seconds of gameplay to your account. For longer clips, up to five minutes, you can go to the Xbox One's Game DVR app — again, either by saying "Xbox, go to Game DVR" or selecting the app from the home screen.
From there, you can access Upload Studio, trim and prepare your video and publish it to your Xbox Live account or, for sharing purposes, push it to SkyDrive. Once uploaded, you can grab the link, further edit the video or manually upload it to YouTube or share it manually across social networks, though it again rankles that there's no direct Twitter or Facebook integration.
Xbox Live now completely integrates cloud saves, which are universally synced. Even better, Microsoft has committed to unlimited storage for its users — though specific games will likely enforce hard limits on this end. These saves are automatic, whether you're an Xbox Live Gold subscriber or not. It removes the complication of selecting storage mediums or manually bringing your progress to a friend's house.
GAMES
LAUNCH LINEUP

Bad news first: The Xbox One's hefty lineup of exclusive titles isn't without its misses. Crimson Dragon is a disappointing follow-through on its potential as a successor to Panzer Dragoon. LocoCycle is reprehensible in almost every way — it's racist, sexist, amateurish and monotonous. Ryse is beautiful but boring (and thankfully short).

But Microsoft has secured a comparatively large number of Xbox One-exclusive titles for launch, assembling a lineup with broad appeal. Dead Rising 3 is technically impressive and a fun playground, with bad writing and so-so controls — but running from hundreds of zombies across the hoods of cars feels like a truly next-gen experience.

The Xbox One is a hundred dollars more than its direct competition, and several third-party games run in lower resolution than they do on the PS4.

Zoo Tycoon is a flawed but compelling game with a surprising amount of depth.Powerstar Golf is a simple but delightfully approachable casual golf game, filling the hole left by Sony's missing-in-action Hot Shots Golf series. Killer Instinct is a pretty decent reboot for the long-dormant franchise, despite some trepidation about its business model. And Forza Motorsport 5 is the best of the bunch, a strong evolution for the series despite a reduced number of tracks and cars.

Google Gem

Google Smart Watch: All the latest news, rumours on 'Google Gem'  :

With Google Glass proving to be such a success it seems wearable technology is more a matter of 'when' rather than 'if' and a smart watch will be the next step

With Google Glass showing that wearable peripherals are soon to become the norm, it only makes sense that the company would then start investigating the possibility of making a Google Smartwatch. Competitors like the Samsung Galaxy Gear and theSony SmartWatch 2 have shown that whilst there is clearly demand for these wearable smart devices the finished article hasn't always lived up to the hype. In our Samsung Galaxy Gear review we praised Samsung's smart watch for having a 'functional and premium design' but ultimately discovered that 'the more we used it the more useless it became'. Sony's SmartWatch 2 faired slightly better, in our review we praised the fact that it worked with all Android smartphones but still found its functionality to be limited once disconnected from a smartphone. Ultimately if Google is to release a Google Watch then it'll surely need to address some of these concerns, creating a product that is as technically advanced as it is functional to wear. It'll need to be open to, at the very least, all of Android and will need to function just as well when not connected to a smartphone or tablet. Google Smart Watch release date The Wall Street Journal has reported that Google's Smartwatch release date could be just a few months away with the company already well advanced in the manufacturing stages. Google Smart Watch specs The same source that spoke to the WSJ has also reported that the new Google Watch will come running a version of Android (perhaps the same version that's on Glass?), whilst the software will be focused around Google Now. Google Now is, at present, Google's voice-controlled answer to Apple's Siri. By speaking at smartphones like the Moto G and the Nexus 5 you can ask Google to perform any number of tasks from enter calendar entries to searching for recipes. It would certainly make sense to implement voice-control into Google's smartwatch however whether it'll offer the same functionality seen on Google Glass remains to be seen. Google Smart Watch features Interestingly Google recently acquired WIMM a company that has been working specifically on creating an Android Smart Watch and did in fact make several working prototypes. The watch offered open-source programming which meant anyone could write apps for it, much in the same way that Android operates on tablet and smartphone.  Rumours have pointed towards the Google watch running Android 4.4 KitKat after it was revealed that the latest version of Android had now been optimised to run as smoothly on low power devices as on flagship smartphones. Design will also play a major part in how consumers feel towards the idea of a Google Smart Watch. A senior analyst at Forrester Research, Sarah Rottman Epps spoke to CNET and believes that if Google is to succeed in this area it'll need to move away from the bulky smart watches we've seen so far. "Smartwatches are big, honking ugly devices, and I have yet to see one that a woman would ever wear, for Google's watch to succeed, it needs to not only show it's a software company, but that it's a first class hardware company." Motorola-made Google Smart Watch? A source close to Google has reportedly told Android Authority that Google's Smart Watch will actually be made by Motorola, the now Google-owned company which released the Moto X. Considering how skeptical Android Authority are about this information it goes without saying that this info should absolutely be taken with a pinch of salt, especially when you consider that Google decided to manufacture Google Glass themselves. Of course the company is in a state of change and there has been increasing talk that Motorola would eventually take over the responsibility of the Nexus brand replacing the likes of Samsung, Asus, LG and HTC who have all made Nexus devices in the past.

HTC M8 / HTC One 2 !!!??!?!?!?

HTC One 2 M8 release date, rumours, specs and more :

The HTC One has become a smash hit winning numerous awards and proving that the company can go toe to toe with the Galaxy S5 and Apple's iPhone 5s

The HTC One 2 or the HTC M8 (if we're going by the codename) is set to be the next flagship smartphone from HTC replacing the award-winningHTC One. The upcoming feature smartphone isn't set to be launched until next year and will be looking to take on the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S5 and the future Apple iPhone 6. Whilst little is known about HTC's next flagship smartphone there are rumours that can help us create a picture of what HTC will be looking to launch when it takes on the smartphone world next year. With the company already confirming earlier in the year that it would be focusing on reducing its range whilst building up its quality it goes without saying that the One 2 will be the pinnacle of what the company can achieve. Read on to see the latest rumours, leaks and our own opinion on what we think HTC will be including with the next-generation HTC One 2. HTC One 2 will have a 2014 release date So there we have it folks, the official HTC One 2 release date has been confirmed, thanks in full to a UK court Judge who has just banned the HTC One mini and the HTC One max for infringing Nokia-owned patents. Judge Arnold inadvertantly revealed the release date in his closing statement suggesting that whilst he won't ban the HTC One he sees no reason not to ban the other smartphones as HTC will 'shortly be launching a new flagship handset'. Whoops. Interestingly the HTC One max has been built using the same design language as the original HTC One which means that if the new HTC One is coming out shortly it's unlikely to feature a radical new design. That said MWC is just on the other side of Christmas and it has become the launching point for many of the big smartphone and tablet launches including theSony Xperia Z tablet as well as the Huawei Ascend P2. Lest we also forget that MWC 2012 saw the unveiling of the uber-powerful HTC One X so all in all keep MWC in the calendar. HTC One 2 will launch with Sense 6.0 So far this is the first bit of solid proof we've had that HTC is working on the next version of the HTC One. According to evleaks the company is working with a new flagship smartphone codenamed the HTC M8 (the HTC One was the 'M7') and that it would launch sporting a brand-new version of Sense, HTC's skinned UI. With HTC confirming that it would be bringing Android 4.4 KitKat to its current range of HTC One smartphones it seems logical to assume that HTC Sense 6.0 will in fact be running on the next version of Android. There's no word on how the UI would look but unless HTC is planning a huge design overhaul expect a more advanced and easier to use version of the current Sense which means improved BlinkFeed along with integration of Android's new features. This would mean you'll get the same improved Caller ID functionality which uses the Google Maps Business listings to find contact information if your phone doesn't recognise the number. HTC One 2 specs  This is something that we can almost certainly tick off from the start, specs wise there's no word on actual hardware but considering how much noise HTC has made about the UltraPixel camera on its current generation it would be a serious move by the company to not include its famed UltraPixel sensor. Photos have leaked via Unwired View which appear to show the new HTC M8 Blue Edition, whilst the most notable aspect of the images is that the M8 features a wraparound metal body what some may also have noticed is the extra circular hole above the camera. Some have postured that this could be space for a second camera, perhaps implying that it'll be able to take 3D images. Others have suggested that it's far more likely the extra hole will be a much-improved fingerprint scanner, in this instance designed for the first finger rather than the middle finger. Whilst Apple nailed the technology with its Touch ID sensor on the iPhone 5s we were far less impressed with HTC's implementation of the tech in the HTC One max. Hopefully HTC will have learnt some lessons this time around, the HTC One max offered a lot of features with its fingerprint scanner that the iPhone didn't, instead they need to perfect the hardware itself and then integrate it into the smartphone better in a way that feels far more natural.

Sorry :(

Sorry guys have not been blogging for a lot of time, i almost forgot i had a blog . So, keep tuning in for the latest news here at the gadget club. Peace V !!

Nexus 5 review

Google Nexus 5 review :

The Google Nexus 5 is the second Google phone made by LG and it could well be its last. Has LG gone out with a bang?

Google Nexus 5 review Love Incredible display Android KitKat That price tag Hate Average camera OK storage The Google Nexus 5 might just be the most obviously leaked smartphone since the iPhone 5s, Samsung Galaxy S4 and... now we think about it, most of the flagship smartphones this year. The difference between these is that actually we had no idea whether Google would replace the Nexus 4, and if it was going to, which company would build the replacement. Some said it would be Motorola, following the successful launch of the Moto Xin the US it seemed more than plausible that the recently acquired company would start doing its parent’s bidding and churning out a new brand of Google-shaped smartphones. But that wasn’t to be, instead LG would make one last stand before it passed on the mantle. Leaked by one of Google’s own employees at the Android 4.4 KitKat launch, the Nexus 5 quickly became one of the most talked about smartphones in the lead up to the festive season. Well now it’s here, with almost no fanfare (was any needed?) the Nexus-branded smartphone almost immediately sold out, of course the question is, is it worth your cash? Google Nexus 5: Size and build There’s no dodging this one, the Nexus 5's design is going to instil one of two emotions, the first is quiet approval and the second is complete apathy. In truth this is somewthing of an achievement over the Nexus 4 which was already pushing the boundaries of minimalist design with the glass back being the only ‘bling’ in sight. We like the design of the Nexus 5, it’s certainly understated but the moment you hand it to someone you’ll see their face change to one of respect, it feels solidly built and despite it being all plastic it’s not plastic in the way you’d dislike. The matte finish keeps it from slipping out of your hands and adds a premium touch . Specs-wise, we’re talking hugely minimal changes here, the Nexus 5 is 8.59mm thin, which may not seem like much compared to the Galaxy S4 or the iPhone 5s but it still feels pretty slim. Weighing in at 130g this is a light phone, and you can feel it, despite all the real-estate you’ll have no problem holding it in one hand. Google Nexus 5: Features The Nexus 5 is the first smartphone to come sporting Android 4.4 KitKat which means you’ll get all the newly announced features including intelligent Caller ID and the new Google Hangouts SMS app. Most notable though is the overall design and although it may be subtle, KitKat is a move in the right direction. The translucent menu bar looks great and lets you appreciate the entire screen while small things like the removal of clutter from the apps menu means the whole system feels that little bit more polished. If we had one complaint it’s Google slow but unstoppable march towards integrating Google+ and its suite of other services into every aspect of what you do. A prime example of this is the new Hangouts app. Google proudly stated that it would now seamlessly integrate your SMS texts with your MMS messages and Google Hangouts. What it didn’t mention though is the interface is very much focused on forcing you to use Hangouts before anything else with Hangouts contacts listed first. Signing out of Hangouts is possible but it’s a pain to find and even when you have the interface still leans towards you activating it again. Thankfully Google itself has added in an easy way of getting out of this, you can just install your own SMS app, uninstall hangouts and set that as your default. Google Nexus 5: Screen The Nexus 5 comes with a 4.95-inch 1920x1080p display with, wait for it, 445ppi making it one of the highest resolution screens you can buy on a smartphone. Of course pixels are just one part of the story and we’re happy to report that the rest has been dealt the same magic touch by LG, it’s a stunning display with excellent colour reproduction and great response when playing games and video. The design of the phone absolutely contributes to the effect. The bezels on the side are minute and you could argue they’re pretty small on the top and the bottom as well which means that all your focus will be squarely centered on that fantastic display. Google Nexus 5: Camera Sadly all good things can’t last, and once again it’s the camera that lacks lustre. The Nexus 5 features an 8MP rear-facing camera that boasts optical image stabilsation and Google’s new HDR+ feature. According to Google, HDR+ takes more images than normal allowing for better balancing between contrast and brightness which, in theory, should mean better pictures in low light. In reality we didn’t notice much difference, certainly not a noticeable difference between the competition’s which were using standard HDR. It’s not that the images are bad, they’re certainly good enough for the digital world, it’s more that they suffer from a lot of noise, which makes blowing them up or printing them out a risky task. Google Nexus 5: Performance The Nexus 5 sports a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800, 2.26GHz quad-core processor along with 2GB RAM giving it almost identical specs to the LG G2. As in the case of the LG G2 this is also a seriously nippy phone with apps running smoothly, multi-tasking is without any lag and video playback is really smooth. The Nexus 5 comes in two variants, 16GB and 32GB and while in today’s world that’s not very much you do get Google Drive for cloud storage and of course Google Music which will upload your entire music library to the cloud for free. Google Nexus 5: Battery The Nexus 5 comes with a 2300mAh battery, significantly smaller than the LG G2’s 3000mAh and in truth it shows. Yes the screen is slightly smaller but honestly we would have expected something slightly bigger, of course as with anything there are compromises and sadly the battery life is one of them. It’s only slightly better than the iPhone 5s, with the Nexus 5 just about making it through to the late afternoon with continued but casual usage. If of course you’re only going to check it occasionally through the day and maybe watch some iPlayer in the mornings and evenings then you’ll maybe be able to squeeze a day out of it. Google Nexus 5: Verdict When we reviewed the Nexus 4 we praised LG for creating a smartphone that took a step back from being overly designed, instead letting it become a window for the main event, Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. We’re happy to report that LG has once again taken the same approach and thanks to its stunning display and tiny bezel you’ll only be focused on one thing, Android 4.4 KitKat itself. Then of course there’s the price, at £299 for the 16GB and £339 for the 32GB versions the Nexus 5 is indeed slightly more expensive than the Nexus 4, but when you think about the step up, it really doesn’t seem that bad. Add to that the fact flagship smartphones are now costing in excess of £500 SIM-Free and Google has clearly lost none of its knack for business. Ok so the camera is good, not excellent, but we've already heard rumours that Google has admitted it’s not that great and can apparently be fixed with a software update - of course we’ll have to wait and see. Despite that this is without a doubt the best Nexus yet, it’s one of the best Android smartphones available and, in a rather odd twist, it’s probably the best phone LG has made. If we were them we’d be kicking ourselves. Google Nexus 5 release date: Out now Google Nexus 5 price: £299 (16GB), £339 (32GB)