The streaming gods are looking down on us and smiling this afternoon as we just received our early invite to Music Beta by Google, better known as Google Music. Armed with a passion to take our music library on the go, we set out to install the app, upload our music and put the service through its paces. Does Music Beta by Google live up to the hype?
The deep-rooted history of Windows smartphones being powered by Qualcomm chips looks to be weakening. Carlo Bozotti, CEO of STMicroelectronics, confirmed to Forbes magazine that Nokia will be using the dual-core ST-Ericsson U8500 chips to power “some of its Windows Phones”. With strict hardware guidelines from Microsoft, previously requiring Qualcomm internals, has the Redmond camp loosened its reigns?
![Pixel density, not screen size transforms Android Honeycomb into Gingerbread [video]](http://cdn.electricpig.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/gingerbread_honeycomb-150x150.jpg)
The 10-inch 1280 x 800 resolution display of the Motorola Xoom might outpace the new high-end qHD Android smartphone displays, but it doesn’t mean your new tablet can’t join in on some Gingerbread action. According to modder Graffix0214, bumping the pixel density (ppi) from 160 to 170 or higher will transform your Xoom into a Gingerbread tablet and we’ve got the video to prove it.
While we’re not normally sticklers for megapixels, but the Sigma DS1 set launch in Japan on June 10th touts a jaw dropping 46 megapixel sensor. The cost of admission will not be cheap, in fact the DS1 is priced more than 3.5x higher than our Canon 5D MK II, but the light-weight magnesium allow body might just win you over. There’s officially a new challenger in the high-end photography market ladies and gentlemen, here’s what you need to know about the Sigma DS1.
The days of downloading at will on the Verizon Wireless network are numbered. Like most of the world, the U.S. market is gradually transitioning to tiered data, a move which carriers hope clears the pipe for a better overall user experience and at the same time increases profits. We’ve known since last year the Verizon $30 unlimited data plan would expire this Summer, but now for the first time the carrier has hinted at what the future may hold.
Come one, come all and see what you’ve missed in technology news and views this morning. We’ve got gaming gossip, Google’s invasion of home cinema and more all waiting for you right here in the lunchtime lowdown.
Google has said in the past that Google Goggles could do face recognition but won’t because, well, it’s a bit icky. Eric Schmidt, Google Executive Chairman and frequent ponderer of the “creepy”, reiterated that point earlier this week saying the idea of Google creating a facial recognition database was “very concerning” and that Google just wouldn’t do it.
However, it seems that not everyone at Google agrees. A patent application focused on recognising faces on social networks popped up in February and, yesterday, an even more intriguing document was released by the US Patent and Trademark Office – a facial recognition patent focused on celebrities!
Orange has beaten the pack to become the first UK network to offer a contactless payment service built into a mobile.
To use the service, you’ll need either a Barclays debit card or an Orange Credit card both of which already feature contactless payment. But with QuickTap, you can wander out for lunch without cash and just swipe your smartphone instead…
