When Sony announced the PS Vita earlier in the year, we also heard that their new handheld gaming console would go on sale before the end of 2011, now it looks like it will only be Japan that will get the PS Vita before the end of the year.

Sony’s executive vice president, Kazuo Hirai has announced that the Sony PS Vita will go on sale in Japan by the end of the year but it wont go on sale in the UK, US and Europe until 2012.

There are no details as yet on when exactly in 2012 the PS Vita console will hit the US, UK and Europe, and the news will come as a disappointment to many gamers who were expecting to ... Read more »

Skype has today rolled out a new version of its Android Skype application to 2.1 which brings with it video call support for an additional 17 of the most popular Android devices.

But even if your Android phone is not listed, if you are using Android 2.2 (Froyo) and above, you should still be able to enable video calling in your Skype settings. If you can not see the video call settings on your device then unfortunately at the moment your Android smartphone is not compatible.

You can now download the updated Skype 2.1 for Android app from the Google Android Market&n ... Read more »

The last thing we heard about HTC’s bootloader unlocking tool for its Android devices that it would be available some time in August, HTC has now confirmed they are still on track for an August release and have also revealed some details on how the tool will work.

The bootloader unlocking tool for HTC devices will be available as a web tool and you will have to register an account with HTC, then plug your HTC smartphone into your PC with the Android SDK loaded to retrieve a device identifier token, this token can then be entered into the web tool and a unique unlock key will be sent to you via email.

Since our last update, many of you have asked how the bootloader unlocking process will actually work, and in particular why HTC’s ... Read more »

Google has rolled out a new update to their mobile Gmail web application designed to bring it more inline with a native application you might find on Apple’s iPhone 4. To make the feel of  their Gmail web app a little more polished, Google has now added high resolution icons, providing a smoother and sharper user interface on retina display smartphones.

Other new features included in this update include a new Pull-to-refresh feature, that makes it quicker and easier to check for new messages and download them to your smartphone. As explained in the digram below there is now a bar along the top which if flicked down and released will now start the send and receive process.

Oth ... Read more »

Google has released new statistics on its Android platform distribution, and the statistics show that many users are still on Android 2.2 Froyo, with around 55.9 percent of users still on Android 2.2.

Next up is Android 2.3.3 and 2.3.4 Gingerbread with 23.7 percent of all devices using Gingerbread, after that we have Android 2.1 on 15.2 percent, Android 1.6 using just 2 percent and Android 1.5 just 1.3 percent.

Google’s latest Android version Honeycomb, which is designed for Android Tablets now makes up just 1.3 percent, and this includes honeycomb 3.0, 3.1 and 3.2.

... Read more »

HTC’s smartphones have become incredibly popular over the last few years, mainly thanks to Google’s Android OS, and they also produce Windows Phone 7 smartphones.

Now HTC’s CEO, Peter Chou has announced that the company will launch between six and eight new smartphones this quarter, and whilst he didn’t give details of any models that will be announced, we suspect that we will see some of the rumored devices we have heard about over the last few months.

We can expect to see some new HTC Android devices as well as some new HTC Windows Phone 7 devices, as soon as we get some more information on exactly what new HTC smartphones will be launching we will let you guys know.

Source ... Read more »

Before you get too excited the image below is a fan-made amalgam using pre-order graphics and does not represent official game artwork for the new games skins. As Rocksteady/Warner Bros have still not yet released any official images of the skins included within their new Batman: Arkham City game.

However to date there are expected to be six skins available within the game but this could increase as the game gets closer to launch.

The skins are available to gamers who pre-order the new Batman : Arkham City from certain retailers. For example if you like the Batman animated series skin you will need to purchase the Batman: Arkham City from MightyApe.

It looks like Skype, which was recently purchased by Microsoft is looking to bring video calling to Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 platform, as a recent job posting mentions the following ‘building and optimizing the Skype Video Engine solution for Microsoft Windows and Windows Phone platforms.’

Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 Mango offers support for front facing video cameras, so it would make sense for Microsoft and Skype to offer video calling on Windows Phone 7.

There are no details on when Skype with video calling will be available for Windows Phone 7, but we suspect it may be before the end of the year.

Source ... Read more »

Black Diamond has this week unveiled their new next generation auto locking carabiner the Black Diamond Magnetron, which no longer relies on springs but magnetic fields. The magnetron carabiner uses the magnets to make the carabiner easy to use and lock in either your left or right hand. Magnetic attraction to a steel insert in the carabiner nose keeps two independent arms securely locked in place locking the carabiner.

Watch the video after the break to see Bill Belcourt Black Diamond’s Climbing Hardgoods Category Director explain the new magnetron technology and the way it works without the need for traditional springs.

Unfortunately the new B ... Read more »

Google’s new social network Google+ seems to be becoming more popular every day, and Google has now released a new version of Google+ for Android brings a range of new features to your Android device as well as some bug fixes.

With the latest version of Google+ for Android it now features improved notifications, the ability to share stream posts with individual people, and much more you can see full details of everything that is new in the Google+ for Android app below.

New in Google+ for Android 1.0.5

Improved notifications reliability

"_add to circle” notifications shown in bulk

Share stream posts to individual people

Clicking a +mention ... Read more »