The specs of the phone remain the same, meaning we're sadly not seeing the i5700 Galaxy Lite phone Samsung seems to be releasing soon.
But that does mean if you're giddy with excitement over Samsung and Google joining forces but not a fan of black (and we all know it's about the graphite or mocha or whatever other fancy colours manufacturers are after these days) then this picture should make your day a whole lot better.
More than a Hero
Don't forget, we're seeing a phone with a 5MP camera (with flash), a 3.5mm jack and super-thin shell in the Samsung i7500 Galaxy, which still out specs the HTC Hero.
The i7500 should be debuting in the UK any day now - O2 confirmed to us a few weeks ago it would be stocking it around the beginning of August - so we're just sitting here flicking peanuts at one another until that day finally dawns.
TechRadar has spoken with TomTom reps in the UK and I am still awaiting the 'official' confirmation of pricing and a release date, which I should be hearing about soon. For now, the release date is still down as 'summer'.
Pop it in the car
If you are an iPhone owner and are in need of a pocket-friendly GPS device to guide you around the UK and the rest of Europe that you can easily pop into the dashboard car-dock when necessary, then this might prove to be not a bad price at all.
Alternatively, if you are not that desperate to upgrade your current satnav you might want to stick with the good old Google Maps on the iPhone for the time being.
Indeed, opinion in the TechRadar office is currently divided - on the one hand, there are those who argue they would rather invest in a dedicated satnav device for the car; on the other hand, the idea of having satnav functionality on your iPhone at all times seems quite appealing (particularly for road trips to unknown towns).
I've had a go with Navigon on iPhone, which beat TomTom by being the first turn-by-turn app for the iPhone.
You can get more details and pre-order the TomTom iPhone car kit for £113.85 over on Handtec right now.
The updated eight-core Mac Pro looks similar to previous models on the outside, but makes a number of internal changes that improve its digital-media and multitasking performance. Design professionals will welcome this new tool in their arsenal, although gamers might be slightly disappointed
What is it?
Professional-level desktop PC
What i think:
Great desktop, offering noticeable performance improvements and best-in-class design
I like:
Strong performance with high-definition video and 3D rendering, thanks to new Intel CPU and faster RAM
I don't like:
I wish it had eSATA ports for external hard-drive connections
The Mac Pro features four easy-to-remove hard-drive brackets
Apple has added few external features to the new Mac Pro. The only major difference is a pair of new video ports on the Nvidia GeForce GT 120 graphics card. Instead of a pair of standard DVI ports, as in the past, the new card now includes dual-link DVI and mini DisplayPort outputs. As before, you can add up to three more graphics cards to the Mac Pro for additional display support. Keep in mind that adding those cards will not get you increased 3D graphics performance via Nvidia's SLI or ATI's CrossFireX multi-GPU technologies.
The Mac Pro's interior is segmented into distinct zones for the various hardware components. The optical drives and power supply are concealed behind pull-out metal drawers, and, below, sits the familiar row of four removable hard-drive trays. Apple has preserved the cable-free hard-drive interface we came to love in the older Mac Pro in the new model. We've seen numerous Windows vendors imitate this design in the two years since its debut.
In addition, the expansion-card slots, CPUs and memory have also received improved design elements. Rather than relying on the various annoying retainer tabs common to PCI Express graphics slots on PC motherboards, Apple uses a single metal rod that spans across all four expansion slots to hold its cards in place. It's a simple solution to a problem you will only encounter when you add or remove an expansion card, but, given the price of the Mac Pro, we appreciate that the rod mechanism makes card upgrades that much easier.
You can slide the CPUs and memory out of the Mac Pro completely, thanks to its clever tray design.
As for the CPUs and memory, if you recall the older Mac Pro, you'll remember its memory attached to a unique removable tray that fitted into the motherboard like one large expansion card. Apple has taken that concept a step further in this new system, and now you can remove the entire CPU and memory portion of the motherboard via a simple tray design.
As with the expansion-card rod, this removable tray will really only benefit those who will make frequent upgrades or repairs to the Mac Pro. But I can't fault Apple for flexing its design muscle and providing its customers with the sense that the Mac Pro is as much a unique design object as a productivity tool. With Windows PC makers largely reliant on industry standards for motherboards and other components, few, if any, of Apple's competitors are as well-positioned to make such dramatic innovations to their own desktops.
Features
Apple has updated the Mac Pro's CPU, memory and graphics card. As with the older Mac Pro, the new model comes in either single-chip quad-core or dual-chip eight-core configurations, but Apple has now upgraded to Intel's Xeon 5500 chips, based on the Nehalem core shared by Intel's Core i7 consumer desktop chips.
With Nehalem come a few technology upgrades, specifically support for DDR3 memory and the return of Hyper-Threading Technology from the days of Intel's Pentium 4 chips. Hyper-Threading Technology can simulate more processing threads on the CPU, for up to 16 threads in total on our eight-core Mac Pro.
Aside from the processor and memory, Apple has also added a 512MB Nvidia GeForce GT 120 graphics card to the new Mac Pro's baseline spec, which amounts to a faster GPU and twice the graphics memory as the older ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT default card. You also get a 640GB hard drive this time around -- double the previous model's standard option.
Performance
Before I get into our performance tests, I should point out that my primary comparison for our eight-core default spec Mac Pro is the eight-core model from the previous generation. Because the new model's triple-channel memory needs to work in groups of three to take advantage of its full 1,066MHz bandwidth, I kept my review unit with its default 6GB of DDR3 RAM.
The older model, on the other hand, uses dual-channel DDR2 memory, and so it works fastest in multiples of two. Thus, I tested the older system with 4GB and 8GB to account for both higher and lower memory allotments in relation to the new 6GB system. Interestingly, I saw little difference between my 4GB and 8GB test results, but, since I have the scores, I might as well share what I found.
Adobe Photoshop CS3 image-processing test (in seconds)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)
Velocity Micro Edge Z-55
79 Apple Mac Pro 2008 8GB
99 Apple Mac Pro 2008 4GB
102 Apple Mac Pro 2009
112
Adobe Photoshop CS4 image-processing test (in seconds)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)
Apple Mac Pro 2008 8GB
167 Apple Mac Pro 2008 4GB
173 Apple Mac Pro 2009
236
Apple iTunes encoding test (in seconds)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)
Velocity Micro Edge Z-55
116 Apple Mac Pro 2008 4GB
139 Apple Mac Pro 2008 8GB
140 Apple Mac Pro 2009
148
Firstly, it's important to note that the new CPUs' core 2.26GHz clock speed is significantly slower than the pair of 2.8GHz chips in the older model. This does not mean that the new Mac Pro is slow across the board, because it still has faster memory and a whole new CPU architecture with a more efficient cache structure.
But what it does mean is that, with applications that rely heavily on single-core processing speed, such as Photoshop, my review unit actually lagged behind both the 4GB and 8GB configurations of the older model. I should add that the less-expensive four-core version of the new Mac Pro has a single 2.66GHz quad-core chip, which could close the performance gap on these kinds of tests.
Apple Final Cut Studio 2 (in seconds)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)
QuickTime encoding with blur
Log and transfer Apple Mac Pro 2009
83 143 Apple Mac Pro 2008 8GB
95 180 Apple Mac Pro 2008 4GB
93 207
Multimedia multitasking (in seconds)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)
Apple Mac Pro 2009
133 Apple Mac Pro 2008 8GB
172 Apple Mac Pro 2008 4GB
184 Velocity Micro Edge Z-55
383
Cinebench
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
Rendering multiple CPUs
Rendering single CPU Apple Mac Pro 2009
21,204 3,149 Apple Mac Pro 2008 8GB
17,834 3,224 Apple Mac Pro 2008 4GB
17,717 3,218 Velocity Micro Edge Z-55
17,055 4,265
I found a much better outlook for the new eight-core Mac Pro with programs that rely on the strength of the system as a whole, such as Apple's Final Cut Studio 2, and in our multitasking and Cinebench tests, which split the work between multiple processing cores. Keep in mind that my comparison Mac Pros also have eight CPU cores, and a faster clock speed than the new model, but the new Mac Pro was able to overtake them on all of the above tests.
Call of Duty 4 (in frames per second)
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
Pipeline
Bog
Ambush Apple Mac Pro 2009
18 20 22 Apple Mac Pro 2008 8GB
6 7 8 Apple Mac Pro 2008 4GB
6 7 8
The gaming prospects of my Mac Pro review unit are less exciting. Yes, the 512MB GeForce GT 120 card provides a marked improvement in 3D performance compared with the older Mac Pros. But our Call of Duty 4 time-demo tests ran at a 1,680x1,050-pixel resolution and 4x anti-aliasing -- both relatively forgiving settings -- and the new Mac Pro was unable to hit an even 30 frames per second.
You can purchase a faster 3D card from Apple, but you'd have to pay a minimum of around £2,060 to upgrade even the less-expensive four-core Mac Pro. If gaming on a Mac is your goal, you still have to pay a disproportionate amount compared to a Windows desktop with the same level of 3D performance. The default graphics card will certainly let you dabble in 3D games, although you're better off with lower resolutions and image-quality settings, as well as less-demanding titles.
As I've said, my performance results apply only to the new eight-core Mac Pro in its default configuration. Apple offers various CPU, memory, hard-drive and other upgrades for both the four- and eight-core model.
As with Apple's new iMac, you can also buy the Mac Pro with a keyboard that has no numeric keypad, although the default configuration gets you the standard full-sized model. The Mac Pro also has no default wireless networking -- not a must-have in a traditional desktop -- but you can add an AirPort Extreme card for an extra £40. Other options include various mini DisplayPort adaptors, as well as different Fibre Channel PCI Express cards and professional software packages.
In addition to the video ports mentioned earlier, the new Mac Pro also gives you a handful of digital and analogue audio jacks, as well as USB 2.0 and FireWire 800 ports on the front and back. We'd still rather see Apple adopt the external eSATA standard for even faster external-hard-drive transfers than FireWire 800.
Conclusion
Design professionals should find the new eight-core Mac Pro a worthwhile purchase, thanks to multitasking and digital-media performance that's a marked improvement on that of previous models, as well as a number of useful design tweaks.
In the weeks after the teaser trailer was revealed, several thousand Left 4 Dead players joined an online boycott of the sequel. This small but significant segment felt a sequel would split the multiplayer community between the old and new titles and that the original game – released in November 2008 – would not get the continued support it deserved from its developer, Valve.
Valve responded to the hostility with assurances that Left 4 Dead 2 was far from a glorified expansion pack sold as a full-sized game. This new material warrants a game of its own, said Valve, just wait and see.
But can the game itself bear out that claim? We got our hands on the Left 4 Dead 2 at E3 and, more recently, in an extended demo to assess the situation.
Four new Survivors replace the heroes of the first game: Nick, a besuited conman; Coach, a school football coach; Ellis, a young mechanic; and Rochelle, a cable news reporter.
Though there’s plenty of fan affection for the Survivors and classic zombie movie feel of the original game, the full change of cast and location is Valve’s effort to expand on the world of Left 4 Dead, to flesh out its apocalyptic vision in a new location.
If Left 4 Dead 2 delivers more of the absorbing, light-touch storytelling that graced the first game – and the early signs are good – then it’s hard to argue with the change of scenery. That scenery comes complete with new weather effects. Valve forecasts storms and though these have not yet been demoed, we have high hopes for nightmarish swampland lashed by rain.
Each of the five campaigns will be playable in the time challenge Survival mode and competitive Versus mode from the outset. Valve has said Left 4 Dead 2 will also introduce a new game mode, to be revealed closer to the release.
The ParishIn the demo, we played through much of the New Orleans campaign, called The Parish and taglined “This Time It All Goes South”.
The concept, unsurprisingly, is exactly the same as that of the original. For Left 4 Dead newcomers: a team of four Survivors (preferably human-controlled, though AI will step in if you don’t have four players) fight their way from saferoom to saferoom through a campaign, battling hordes of Common Infected (regular zombies) and freakish Special Infected (powerful zombies with extra abilities), towards a dramatic set piece finale.
As we emerge from a saferoom into a sunlit courtyard, picking off Common Infected and making our way through to a balcony-lined street, one of the team comes face to face with the Wandering Witch. Not the best start to a chapter.
The ever-terrifying Witch of the first game has been mobilised; she now wanders around in a daze until she stumbles upon you (or vice versa). She is harder to avoid now and it’s a necessary modification, since the daylight levels would rule out the possibility of startling her with an accidental torch wave.
Having survived the Witch, we move into back alleys, then indoors again, then across rooftops. The environments look markedly different to those of Left 4 Dead, here resembling an authentic New Orleans residential district.
To make it from the last rooftop across the street into a half-constructed house, a Mardi Gras float below needs to be towed to form a makeshift bridge. Setting the vehicle in motion, of course, triggers a swarm of Infected. They come rushing across rooftops and pouring out of the half-built house into the street below. Among them is a Charger.
New Infected The Charger is one of the new Special Infected joining those of the original game – the only kind that has been seen so far in the wild. He’s a cousin to the Tank, huge and fast, with an oversized arm for knocking seven bells out of you.
We encountered plenty of these Chargers through the level, though their prevalence was surely due to the absence of the other, yet-to-be-revealed, Special Infected.
Valve also promises other new kinds of Infected, besides the common-or-garden zombie, with special abilities or gear. In our game we saw a hazmat-suit-wearing zombie, who is fireproof and so resistant to Molotovs and incendiary ammo – a limited stack of ammunition for any weapon that ignites whatever it hits and can be picked up along the way in the new game.
As we nip through a kitchen, one Survivor grabs a hefty frying pan from a stovetop. The frying pan (which makes a glorious, ringing “fwapang!” sound) is one of Left 4 Dead 2’s all-new melee weapons, which also include the axe, the cricket bat and, star of the E3 trailer, the chainsaw. These are powerful but temporary weapons that are automatically dropped, in our case, when the player gets lassoed by a Smoker’s tongue.
More gore The animations of the sprinting Infected have been improved, making them more eerily real than ever. The gore system has been likewise upgraded – zombies now take damage more accurately and to the extreme. At one point a pipe bomb blast sheared off the head and upper right body of a Common Infected, blasting it into a heap at our feet, ribs exposed.
We find an incendiary ammo stack on a shelf here, a regular ammo stash in an alley there. Health items seem plentiful; we are told that more of these are added to the environment than in the previous game, especially in Versus mode, to create points for Infected-controlling players to focus attacks on
Gauntlet moments Some of the tweaks to level design in Left 4 Dead 2 are intended encourage a new style of play.
We came up against one of thse - a gauntlet finale - in the final chapter of The Parish campaign. These replace the more static, defensive scenarios of the original game – where the Survivors would hole up in a church, for example, and defend themselves in a certain location for a set period.
At E3, writer and project lead Chet Faliszek explained that such tweaks were meant to improve the previous game, where the most effective way to play was not always the most exciting.
The bridge The last chapter of the campaign takes place on a partially-destroyed bridge, with large chunks missing, collapsed or tilting crazily. It’s fun watching hordes of zombies fall down holes in the bridge as they charge for you, but there’s not much time to smirk.
Players are forced to keep moving, keep pushing ahead to make progress towards the rescue vehicle on the other side, being corralled through narrow channels between abandoned vehicles, hopping onto cars and lorries for a better view ahead.
Jet fighters, as seen in the teaser trailer, zoom overhead as we battle our way across the bridge, occasional respites are thrown up by ammo stashes and first aid in the back of lorries, plus a heavy machine gun mounted in the back of a flatbed truck.
It’s a gruelling, grinding experience to come at the end of a campaign, one that’s brought to a bitter end as the last Survivor standing reaches the end of the bridge only to be demolished by a Tank.
There’s no time for another try, joypads must be surrendered, so we have to count our attempt as a failure. (It’s not clear what difficulty level the demos were set to, but we couldn’t spot another group at the preview event completing the bridge finale.)
On what we’ve seen so far, we predict Left 4 Dead 2 – with more variety, new weapons and Infected, plus all-new campaigns – will win over all but the most die-hard of boycotters. Given the continued quality of Valve’s offering, which is clearly in evidence, it’s impossible to qualify more Left 4 Dead as anything other than a very good thing.
Left 4 Dead is out on PC and Xbox 360 on November 17.
