Britons it would seem are a nation of online shoppers. According to the latest figures from the OECD, the UK has twice the average number of online shoppers outstripping even Germany, France or the US. Last year online shoppers in the UK spent nearly £70bn according to IMRG, which equates to over £2,000 for every adult in the country, and according to the Boston Computing Group the Internet economy accounts for 10% of our gross domestic product (GDP), outperforming the US (4.7%) and China (5.5%).

It's not surprising then that the e-commerce sector is thriving. However, with so much choice with how you set-up your online store, it can be difficult choosing the right platform for your needs. The good news is that you don't have to have any knowledge of HTML, graphics applications or know your Flash from your PNG files, as today e-commerce can be as easy as filling in a few online forms.

Choosing your weapons

When deciding how to set-up your e-commerce site there are a number of key decision to be made that fall into a number of categories:

• Online or self-hosted – you can use a number of e-commerce applications that are hosted online, or build your own site and host this on your own servers
• Website or blog – these days the difference between these two is blurring with many businesses 'e-commerce enabling' their blogs. A standalone website can though, give you complete control over every element of your store
• Shopping cart – the most important aspect of your e-commerce presence is efficiently taking payments. Look for shopping cart software that is fast and efficient
• Security – shoppers are now more comfortable buying online, but always ensure your site uses SSL (Secure Socket Layer) that is now the industry standard for online payments
• Above every other consideration should be your site's visitor experience. Don't forget your competitors are just a mouse click away in the world of e-commerce.

Is eBay right for your business?

Opening its doors in 1999, eBay UK now has over 14 million users, with over 10,000 people using the site for a business that is their primary means of income, and it's not just people selling unwanted goods, businesses have used the simplicity that eBay offers to set-up lucrative businesses. Even the larger brands such as Argos, Debenhams and House of Fraser are using eBay to sell online.

With sophisticated tools now available you can be up and running with your store in just a few hours. The eBay Business Centre has all the information you need. Each store is managed via eBay's familiar user interface, and there are a number of eBay provided tools such as Listing Strategies and Markdown Manager to help manage, track and promote your shop once it's established.

Using eBay as the platform for your business could be ideal if your business wants to sell goods on a fixed price basis. The complete integration of the PayPal e-payments system into eBay takes care of this essential component of your store.

The key with eBay is to look closely at the costs involved and also the transaction fees that PayPal charge before moving forward and setting up your own store.

How to create your own e-commerce solution

Of course if you want complete control over every aspect of your new online store, building each page yourself will be the best course of action. Hiring someone to code your website is one option. If you decide to do this follow these steps:

1. Ask the company for live examples of their work to look at
2. Write a detailed brief of the site you want created. The more detail the better to avoid confusion
3. Ensure you understand the price you are being charged and how many revisions this price includes
4. Always have a signed agreement or contract before work commences
5. Ask whether the designers will host your site and if you will be able to make updates yourself or if all updates must go through the design agency at an additional cost
6. Ask for the copyright of your design to be assigned to your company, as your website is an important part of your business' intellectual property
7. Put into your contract, details of how the agreement can be amicably dissolved if things go wrong

You also don't have to build your site completely from scratch. Buying a template can give you all the basic pages your site needs. You can then either modify them yourself using an application like Dreamweaver, or hire a coding expert to make the changes. Website templates are available from a number of vendors including Template Monster.

If you already have a website and want to add e-commerce functionality, this can be easily achieved with a number of applications including:

• XCart
• ClickCartPro
• CubeCart

Off-the-shelf e-commerce packages for business

There has been a steady expansion of the packaged e-commerce application over the last few years. Most of the well-know applications now offer a full set of e-commerce tools you can use to construct and manage a professional e-commerce site. Some of the leading vendors include:

• Actinic
• ShopFactory
• ekmPowershop
• MrSite

Whichever route you decide to take when building your website always remember:

1. You need to ensure your store can be easily updated and managed
2. Good professional web hosting is vital to ensure your site is always available
3. Look for payment and shopping carts that are intuitive and efficient to use
4. Customer service is king these days. Businesses shouldn't just efficiently take customers' money but should properly support them
5. Is your store fully integrated with all the leading social media sites?

Setting up your online store should be approached carefully and diligently to ensure you put a professional and efficient site live. Internet shopping continues to expand. Make sure your business doesn't miss out on a sales channel that shows no signs of slowing down.

Google search users have begun seeing messages at the top of search results informing them that their computers are infected and that they could lose the ability to connect to the internet in the future.

The message looks at first like the sort of malicious pop-up frequently seen when surfing the web's shady underbelly, but on closer inspection is revealed to come straight from Google.

"Your computer appears to be infected," the warning reads.

"We believe that your computer is infected with malicious software. If you don't take action, you might not be able to connect to the internet in the future."

FBI operation "Ghost Click"

The message refers to the prolific "DNSChanger" malware program, also known as "RSPlug," "Puper, " and "Jahlav."

It's lain dormant in hundreds of thousands of computers, including many running Mac OS X, suppressed only by a network of FBI servers set up last year.

On July 9, the FBI's "Ghost Click" network is scheduled to be terminated, leaving infected computers unable to connect to the internet.

The DNSChanger virus was the result of a focused effort to steal personal information, one that ended in six arrests last November.

The malware rerouted computers to the criminals' DNS servers, effectively giving them access to the personal data of hundreds of thousands of internet users.

When the FBI seized the servers, they decided to legitimize them rather than switching them off so that users would still have access to the internet.

But the servers will be shut down July 9, and any computers still routing through them will lose their internet connections.

Google's stepping up

The FBI's improvised servers send a special IP address to Google's servers when infected computers query Google's search engine.

Google recognizes the special IPs and displays the warning to those users, providing steps to help remove the DNSChanger malware before the servers are shut down on July 9.

It's unclear exactly why Google stepped up to spread the word about the DNSChanger malware, and the search giant did not immediately respond to TechRadar's request for comment.

Despite skepticism from competitors, Verizon Wireless announced that a total of 36 entities expressed interest in purchasing 700MHz spectrum bands from the company.

Verizon offered up A and B block spectrum in the 700MHz range as a good faith sale to convince the FCC to approve the company's proposed purchase of unused AWS spectrum from cable companies.

Verizon Wireless also announced that 36 unnamed entities signed non-disclosure agreements to receive more information concerning the deal.

As part of the deal with cable companies, Verizon proposes to partner with the likes of Comcast and Time Warner to offer consumer packages that include cable, internet, digital phone and mobile phone service all in one.

But critics of Verizon's proposal say it's a threat to competition.

The nitty-gritty

Verizon purchased the A, B and C blocks of the 700MHz band in 2008 for $9.4 billion, and they used the C-block to launch the beginnings of their 4G LTE network for smartphones.

The AWS band Verizon is attempting to purchase from cable companies is currently not being used, although Verizon's competitors have claimed that it's some of the last AWS spectrum available anywhere.

Granting it to Verizon, T-Mobile senior VP Tom Sugrue told the FCC in April, would be a waste of valuable AWS spectrum, since Verizon isn't using the AWS spectrum they already have.

The FCC regulates such deals closely since spectrum bands are limited and should be used in a way that benefits the public.

As a show of good faith, Verizon offered up the 700MHz A and B blocks for sale, although Sugrue said last month that those bands are practically useless due to commercial interference and a lack of compatible devices.

The Senate subcommittee disapproves

T-Mobile and Verizon's other competitors aren't the only ones who are concerned about the deal.

The Senate's antitrust subcommittee chairman Sen. Herb Kohl wrote the following to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski:

"In brief, without reaching any final judgment as to the legality of these transactions under the antitrust laws or Communications Act, I believe these transactions present serious competition concerns which should be examined closely by your agencies."

Verizon defended the proposal, saying "the Lower 700MHz A and B bands are not as good a complement to our existing spectrum holdings as is the AWS spectrum," implying that the two are comparable assets, though many disagree on that point.

In the tablet game, there seems to be only one question - what's the right size? Samsung with their Galaxy Note figured a 5-incher qualified only as a hybrid. The iPad proved people would buy a 9-incher en masse, the HP reaffirmed it, and the Blackberry thought it stumbled on something magical with its 7.7-inch tablet.

But Toshiba has unequivocally answered the question nobody was asking - "what size is too big?" The Toshiba Excite 13 inch tablet is the answer to that question.

The Excite line already had the basics covered - a 7.7-inch and 10-inch tablet - when they decided to go pull a Galaxy Note.

The official PR line on the Excite 13 is that it offers "more screen for more of everything" and this certainly holds true. Whereas a 13-inch computer might not seem Godzilla-sized in your hands, the Toshiba Excite 13 does.

This also leads to a feeling that you're somehow doing something superior, like every video is an IMAX film, and that your tablet is technically superior through screen real estate alone.

Fortunately, the illusion isn't quickly shattered by looking over the spec sheet. the 13.3-inch tablet has an LED backlit display boasting a 1600x900 resolution (at 16:9 aspect ratio - tailored perfectly for HD videos).

A quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 3 processor with GeForce graphics keeps the processes snappy and the gaming good, while 1GB of RAM insures the processes never make the device feel sluggish. In our tests, the tablet could respond as quickly as we could possibly hope.

Swiping between home screens can be done quickly with the swipe of a finger, though we have to admit even that slight swipe seems astronomically huge to what we've experienced on other tablets.

Holding the damn thing is also a bit of a problem, as it's a "two hands at all times" type tablet. The Excite 13 isn't so much heavy as it unwieldy. But once you get yourself acquainted to the idea that what you're holding is more computer than tablet, you can start to excitedly imagine all the possibilities a tablet this size could offer. HD Videos would rock, a bluetooth keyboard would make the device the sleekest laptop imaginable, Angry Birds with eagles displayed in their real-life size.

We're excited to review the monstrosity in all it's gargantuan glory, so keep an eye out for our full-length review.

• Read our complete coverage of CTIA 2012 here

When we showed up at CTIA 2012, we had no idea what Unnecto was, but their folded phone brochures littered the show floor and media room, so we just had to find out what they were about.

For the most part, Unnecto sells cheap, unlocked GSM phones with their own Unnecto OS. However, they have two Android offerings, and the Quattro definitely has something to offer.

It's first trick is functionality as a dual-SIM phone - meaning taking calls on your work number and your home number can be done through the same phone.

It's got a five megapixel rear facing camera, a 4-inch LCD display (with a resolution of 480 x 800).

The 650Mhz processor isn't going to exactly tear through complex processes, but it didn't feel sluggish in our time with it.

The plastic back feels expectedly cheap, and it's obvious the design is one of the steeper corners cut. It has a large rectangular home button that looks remarkably Apple-esque.

It comes with a slightly tweaked version of Gingerbread and with the weak processor, we don't expect we'd much like Ice Cream Sandwich even if it was installed.

The Unnecto Quattro will be releasing in coming months and cost less than $200. The official line was "between $150 and $200," which sounds like an absolute bargain for the dual-sim wielding niche.

• Read our complete coverage of CTIA 2012 here

If you want an LTE-capable Windows phone on AT&T with a bottom bargain price, up until now you've been a bit stuck. Fortunately, at CTIA 2012, Samsung unveiled the Samsung Focus 2.

The Focus 2 is a $49 Windows phone that performs admirably - even when compared to heavyweight contenders like the Nokia Lumia 900.

While the Lumia 900 will certainly beat it in a variety of tests, like best display, most internal storage, as well as outdoor reading tests - because Microsoft so strictly regulates Windows Phone specs it was only a matter of time until cheaper alternatives overtook the industry.

The Samsung Focus Flash packs LTE, and comes pre-loaded with WP 7.5 Mango. It has a 4-inch Super AMOLED, a 1.4GHz single-core processor (all Windows Phones are single-core), 8GB memory and a 5MP rear facing camera and an industry-standard front-facing camera.

The device feels solidly constructed in the hands, and we found the ridges to give it a sense of durability. The lights that illuminate the home buttons initially seem like an awesome addition, but quickly deteriorate into semi-gimicky and give the device a slightly cheaper feeling.

But at $49, none of that really matters. This is the phone you can recommend to your mom's friend who knows nothing about phones. It's solidly constructed, boasts an impressive OS, and looks unique in its all-white (a decidedly un-Samsung design decision).

The only real problem is that the Samsung Focus 2 isn't alone at the $49 price range, where it is joined by the Lumia 900 (at least in street price).

• Read our complete coverage of CTIA 2012 here

With its recent U.S. Customs delay now safely behind it, Samsung is finally debuting the Galaxy S3 next week, complete with S Voice - the company's own take on the iPhone 4S's virtual assistant, Siri.

But is S Voice an improvement over Apple's solution?

Several websites managed to get their hands on a Samsung Galaxy S3 ahead of next week's June 1 U.S. release.

So, the natural thing to do was to toss its new S Voice mobile assistant into the ring against Siri, the solution Apple introduced with the iPhone 4S last October.

Virtual assistant thunderdome

As it turns out, in their current form, neither Siri nor S Voice may be worthy competitors in a virtual assistant showdown.

When comparing Siri and S Voice, GSM Arena tossed Android app Speaktoit Assistant into the ring.

They discovered that the trio were not that practical, "and interacting with them is often as distracting as doing the task on your own (not to mention slower)."

Another tech gadget site discovered that Siri was indeed faster at responding to queries, while Samsung's S Voice seemed more capable at many tasks, matching Siri for note-taking, searches, weather updates and more.

And another review found that "Siri may be the better assistant for the time being," but noted that S Voice excelled at common tasks like changing a Facebook status or opening Dropbox results, which Siri chokes on.

Rumors continue to buzz about a tablet team up between Google and Asus, with the most recent pointing to the introduction of Android's next OS.

The Google tablet will be unveiled at the annual Google I/O conference on June 27-29, with a developer unit of the device handed out to attendees, according to recent published reports.

What's more, the reports claim that the developer unit being handed out will come pre-loaded with Android 5.0 - otherwise known as Jelly Bean.

Of course, pre-installing Jelly Bean on a developer unit isn't the same as the tablet having 5.0 when it arrives.

In fact, launching the Google tablet alongside Android 5.0 could just lead to further delays.

Google reportedly delayed the previous launch of the Nexus tablet in an attempt to arrive at an affordable price - at least $199, the same price as the Kindle Fire.

Launching Nexus in June?

While the Jelly Bean rumor may be of questionable merit, the report corroborates rumors of Google and Asus announcing a joint tablet at the Google I/O conference for a June launch.

And those rumors suggest that the device is in fact the Nexus tablet, which Google picked Asus to manufacture over HTC and Acer.

Additionally, the Nexus tablet could feature a 7-inch display and Nvidia's quad-core Tegra 3 chip.

There was no comment from Google or Asus on this rumor, but we'll keep you updated on the latest Google tablet rumors and release date news from Google I/O.

Cisco's WebEx Meetings app has just been updated for Android and iOS and it now features; two-way video for Android Tablets, and support for high-resolution content sharing, and support for the iPads high-res Retina screen.

The new versions of the app allow users to get the most out of the video capabilities of their tablet and to join in on any WebEx meeting as if they were on their desktop.

Features include;

• High-quality, multiple videos – Each viewer gets their own video box on-screen video carousel
• 2-way video with camera switcher – You can see and be seen
• Voice-activated video switching – the video swaps to the user who is talking
• Full-screen video – If you want to concentrate on the video and ignore the presentation you can

As well as the new video features, tablet users can do a lot more than just view the presentation on the app. You can now schedule, start, and cancel a meeting from within the apps Meeting Pane, invite others to meetings, and pass presenter capabilities to another participant.

The only thing you can't do is to present content from the iPad, we'll keep you posted on when this will available. The workaround is you can however view content shared from other's computers. So if you are the meeting host, you can pass presenter control to another computer user who has a copy of your presentation and is on a desktop and share the content that way.

The app is free and anyone can attend a WebEx meeting for free, but you need a WebEx host account is needed to schedule and host a meeting. There's a 14-day trial account available and webEx accounts start at £30 a month.

WebEx Meetings on Google Play

WebEx Meetings for iPad on Apple App Store

Rumours are abound that Canon has finally started to ship the 1DX, the company's new top-of-the-range DSLR.

Originally announced all the way back in October, the 1DX was initially scheduled to go on sale from February. However, delays to the production have pushed this back to a general on-sale date for June.

Assumed by many to be released in 2012 to tie-in with all the photographers at the upcoming Olympics, a June release date doesn't give pros much opportunity to get to grips with the new gear.

Canon is also likely to be concerned about its biggest rival, Nikon, which has had the D4 on sale for a while - although it's worth noting that actually getting hold of one hasn't exactly proven easy.

Select few

Now rumours suggested that a select few professional photographers have been receiving their 1DX cameras, ahead of official on-sale date.

We contacted Canon UK for a statement, but are still waiting for a response - we will update as soon as we hear more.

The 1DX is the successor to both the 1Ds Mark III and 1D Mark IV. It features an 18 million pixel full-frame sensor, 61 autofocus points, 12fps shooting and a £5,299 price tag.

Windows 8 tablets: what you need to know

Microsoft's been pushing tablet computers for the best part of a decade, so you can imagine how happy the iPad's success makes them.

But Microsoft doesn't give up easily, and Windows 8 tablets will be with us later in the year. One such example, that we saw at CES from Lenovo - called the Yoga - is a wrap-around convertible tablet that becomes an ultraportable laptop.

• Hands on: Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga review

Microsoft has now released the Consumer Preview of Windows 8, so you can check it out for yourself.

The Windows 8 release date is late 2012, so let's see what Windows 8 tablets will have in store for us. It's a crucial product for Microsoft financially.

Windows 8 tablets will run on ARM, Intel and AMD chips

As well as traditional x86-based AMD and Intel machines, Windows 8 can now run on ARM-based hardware - the same type of kit as the iPad or any Android tablet. Expect plenty of interesting kit to hit the streets after the launch of Windows 8.

Windows 8 for ARM tablets will come out at the same time as Windows 8 for x86 PCs, if everything goes according to plan. As of mid-May we're hearing that Intel Windows 8 tablets will arrive in November.

The Windows 8 versions will be called just plain Windows 8, while there will also be Windows 8 Pro. Both of those are for x86 Intel and AMD devices. ARM devices will have Windows 8 pre-installed. It will be referred to as Windows RT - a name which many have slated.

Read more about the Windows 8 versions here:Making sense of the Windows 8 versions

Nvidia's Tegra 3 chip has been confirmed to be one of the test beds for new ARM-based tablet devices.

"Microsoft is excited to partner with Nvidia to bring developers leading edge Windows on ARM test PCs to support the creation of compelling Metro style app and device experiences for Windows 8," said Aidan Marcuss, head of the oddly-named business planning department at Microsoft.

However, ARM-based Windows 8 won't have desktop apps (only Metro apps) so rumours in early March suggested that there would be few tablets at launch.

Intel CEO Paul Otellini also hit out at ARM's planned Windows 8 tablets, saying "we have the advantage of the incumbency, the legacy support."

Intel said in April that Windows 8 tablets will pack a dual-core Atom Z2760 "Clover Trail" chip, which features a "burst-mode", providing an extra boost of power when required. Clover Trail also boasts hyperthreading technology, allowing it to act like a quad-core chip at certain times.

Intel also claims its Windows 8 tablets will deliver over nine hours of battery, 4G connectivity, NFC technology, weigh less than 680g (1.5 pounds) and sport a slender, sub-9mm body.

Tom's Hardware reports that Intel and Microsoft are looking to reduce the iPad's 70-per cent global market share down to below 50-per cent by the middle of 2013. However, the jury's still out as to whether Windows 8 tablets can really make a dent. Analyst Gartner says that Windows 8 tablets will only take a 4 per cent market share this year though.

Windows 8 tablets will have the new Metro interface

As we saw in our Hands on: Windows 8 review, Windows 8 tablets will have a marvellous new interface that looks rather like Windows Phone 7, called Metro.

• 10 ways Windows 8 tablets can take on the iPad

"Fast, fluid and dynamic, the experience has been transformed while keeping the power, flexibility and connectivity of Windows intact," says Microsoft's head of Windows Experience Julie Larson-Green.

"Although the new user interface is designed and optimised for touch, it works equally well with a mouse and keyboard. Our approach means no compromises - you get to use whatever kind of device you prefer, with peripherals you choose, to run the apps you love. This is sure to inspire a new generation of hardware and software development, improving the experience for PC users around the world."

In late October 2011, Microsoft was forced to talk about how Windows 8 tablets would deal with portrait orientations - all the demonstrations thus far have been of Windows 8 tablets in landscape.

Windows 8 tablets desktop

In February Microsoft confirmed that new ARM versions of Windows 8 tablets would have the traditional desktop as well as the new Metro interface - but it will only allow third-party Metro apps.

On ARM, the Windows desktop, with familiar apps like Explorer, Internet Explorer and the Windows Live apps, plus Office – but everything else will be Metro.

WIndows 8 removes the now-familiar Aero Glass effect seen in Windows 7 and Windows Vista.

• Windows 8 on ARM: Steven Sinofsky speaks

Windows 8 tablets Start Menu

Microsoft is also facing somewhat of a backlash as Windows 8 loses the Start Orb, better known as the Start button - it's replaced by the Metro interface.

Microsoft has had to defend the decisions it's made with the Start Menu in Windows 8.

Windows 8 tablets manufacturers

The first one Windows 8 tablet wasn't a commercial model - a Samsung Windows 8 tablet shown off at Microsoft's Build conference and given out to developers on 13 September 2011.

• Check out our Hands on: Windows 8 tablet review

After it confirmed that it was to keep making PCs in late October 2011, HP also said it would be making Windows 8 tablets (check out the leaked HP Slate 8 details here). And it won't be alone - some sources reckon that there will be 32 Windows 8 tablets by the end of 2012.

It has also been widely reported that Dell is pinning its hopes on Windows 8 and that it will be launching tablet products featuring the OS. In an interview with Bloomberg TV, CEO Michael Dell said Windows 8 tablets "have a lot of potential." He spoke of the bonus opportunities as they will be compatible with existing systems and software.

"We're very encouraged by the touch capability we are seeing in the beta versions of Windows 8," said Dell's chief commercial officer Steve Felice in a Reuters interview on March 16.

"We have a roadmap for tablets that we haven't announced yet. You'll see some announcements.. for the back half of the year," he said. "We don't think that this market is closed off in any way."

UPDATE: Details have leaked of a forthcoming Windows 8 tablet from Dell - the Dell Latitude 10. According to Neowin, it's a 10.8 inch tablet with 1366x768 resolution, dual-core Intel Atom processor, fingerprint reader, 2GB RAM and 128GB SSD. Neowin also reports that a convertible tablet will follow.

On 9 May 2011, we reported on a rumour of a forthcoming Nokia Windows 8 tablet. The info comes from phone commentator Eldar Murtazin, who wrote on the Mobile Review forum that Nokia will launch a tablet in 2012, possibly pushed back to 2013. Nokia said at October 2011's Nokia World that Windows 8 represents a "broader opportunity" for the company, (reported by TechCrunch).

Nokia CEO Stephen Elop later said that the company was looking at the tablet market and is considering just how to take on the might of the iPad.

"There's a new tablet opportunity coming... Unquestionably, that will change the dynamics [of the tablet market]." It would appear the Nokia Windows 8 tablet could be slated for June 2012.

Digitimes claimed in March 2012 that a Windows 8 Nokia tablet wouldn't be with us until the very end of 2012 at the earliest.

A leaked slide from Netbooknews.de indicates that Asus will begin selling Windows 8 tablets in Q3 2012. We hear that HP, Dell and Asus will be the Windows 8 tablet launch partners.

Acer told TechRadar that the forthcoming Windows 8 OS could bring Microsoft back to consumer tablet devices - so expect it to launch some Windows 8 devices.

"We think that Windows 8 tablets could well be a proposition for both consumers and professionals," said a spokesperson.

Lenovo is also working with Intel on a ThinkPad Windows 8 tablet, according to Computerworld.

Windows 8 tablets pricing

Entry level slates could hit the shelves with price tags of under $300 - although not everybody believes that price point would make sense. Indeed, Windows 8 manufacturers seem to be suggesting that Windows 8 touchscreen devices won't be cheap - Dell said in May that they would be priced higher - although he was mainly talking about laptops.

According to DigiTimes, Windows on ARM tablets will struggle to meet manufacturer's target prices to compete against the iPad - in other words, they could be a good deal more expensive.

Windows 8 tablets will have a lot of support

During an earnings call in mid-August, Nvidia's Jen-Hsun Huang also said: "I'm very bullish about Windows 8," adding: "I think it's going to be an amazing operating system. Windows 8 tablets and Windows 8 clam shells that Tegra is going into, I hope will translate into real growth for our company in the second half of next year."

"We're not leading the charge on Windows 8, but as we become comfortable that [Windows 8] is a viable ecosystem [and] that the quality of innovation and quality of services and quality of capabilities [are] being delivered there, we will certainly be open to that," he said in response to a question.

Nvidia has been involved with delivering sample Windows 8 tablets to developers.

Motorola has also said it is "completely open to Windows as a platform" according to Cnet.

Australian site Smarthouse.au claims some vendors will even move away from Android tablets in favour of Windows 8.

Windows 8 tablets will be thin and light

While Dell makes some unusually shaped tablets already, the Samsung tablet is "similar in size and shape to the Apple iPad, although it is not as thin." Unlike the iPad, "it also includes a unique and slick keyboard that slides out from below for easy typing."

Some Windows 8 tablets will be designed for business

"The company believes there is a huge market for business people who want to enjoy a slate for reading newspapers and magazines and then work on Microsoft Word, Excel or PowerPoint while doing work," the NYT says, quoting the inevitable "person familiar with the company's tablet plans".

Windows 8 tablets will have apps and an app store

Apps are a big part of Windows 8, with Microsoft convinced that "app development will move to the web" and it has built a Windows Store with manufacturer-specific entrances. Again, we saw a lot more detail on this in the Windows 8 Consumer Preview.

Windows 8 will come with a number of pre-installed Metro apps, which look set to include things like a camera, messaging, mail, calendar, SkyDrive, people, photos, video and music.

The apps will be in the Windows Phone Metro style and some, like messaging may incorporate mobile aspects like SMS support.

Dolby says its technologies will be integrated into Windows 8 tablets and PCs.

Windows 8 tablet display

According to Microsoft, Windows 8 supports a 10.1-inch tablet display with 291 pixels per inch resolution. The new iPad has 265 ppi. That probably means HD resolution tablet displays will be a standard feature of Windows 8 tablets.

Introduction

Canon's IXUS range of compact cameras is treading a tricky line. If it starts to offer too many features it'll end up treading on the toes of Canon's PowerShot range. Too few features, though, and the camera phone - already taking chunks out of the compact camera market - will offer an altogether more compelling and convenient alternative.

The Canon IXUS 510 HS (known as the Canon ELPH 530 HS in the US) is resolutely consumer level. Pick up the rather angular 163g camera and the most immediately noticeable thing is the lack of buttons - a power button, a playback button and the shutter button are all you get. The only other physical control is the zoom rocker switch around the shutter.

The back is occupied almost wholly by the 3.2-inch LCD screen, which is a touchscreen, hence the lack of hard controls.

It's what's inside the Canon IXUS 510 HS that makes it interesting. Canon has crammed in 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, for example, which means you can connect the camera directly to the internet from an enormous variety of places, uploading your images and videos to Facebook, Twitter or YouTube, or emailing a link.

Alternatively, you can create an ad hoc network straight from the camera, enabling you to finally ditch your Medusa's haircut of USB cables and beam your images from the Canon IXUS 510 HS to a computer.

Finally, Canon has launched its hat into the mobile app ring, creating apps for iOS devices.

Lest we forget, there's a Canon compact camera underneath all the tech niceties, with the package priced at £349 in the UK (about $550).

Impressively, the camera includes a 12x optical zoom (28-336mm in 35mm terms), a 10.1 megapixel sensor and Canon's much-vaunted High Sensitivity (HS) System for better performance in low light.

Build quality and handling

The Canon IXUS 510 HS is a rather boxy camera - the curved edges seen on cameras such as the svelte Canon IXUS 125 HS are gone, but there's no doubt the Canon IXUS 510 HS is still a pretty chic-looking device.

The shiny finish is something of a double-edged sword: on the one hand it initially looks great, but after a days' handling it picks up more fingerprints than a crime scene.

There's no terribly natural way to hold it, either. There's no grippy area on the front, and you have to hold the camera with your thumb underneath the bottom edge to avoid tripping the touchscreen, which occupies the entire back surface, with the exception of a 4mm bezel on the right-hand edge. Supporting the camera with a hand on the left-hand side works pretty well.

Speaking of the touchscreen, it's a resistive, rather than capacitative, screen, which means it's less sensitive and a little more bendy than the high-calibre glass screens on high-end phones. But it's still pretty accurate - typing Wi-Fi access point passwords is simple enough, for instance.

Swiping gestures work a little less reliably, but it's always possible to simply tap your way through the menus.

In general, using the touchscreen to navigate the Canon IXUS 510 HS's various options works very nearly as well as using the buttons on Canon's non-touchscreen cameras. The menu system is recognisable from other IXUS cameras.

The wireless features are among the camera's most interesting. The playback screen has a Wi-Fi logo at the top left; give it a poke and by default you can send images to another camera, a mobile phone or a computer.

Setting up a wireless network is quick and easy, and Canon's CameraWindow app, though basic, is free and works well. It's a tad sluggish, with high-quality previews of images on the camera taking around four seconds to render from their low-res counterparts, but being able to browse the contents of the camera from a connected iPad or iPhone is undeniably cool.

CameraWindow also enables you to post images to Facebook, save them to your device's camera roll, or email them out. Assuming your device has a 3G connection, being able to create an ad hoc wireless network is a great way to share photos without needing to splash out on Apple's £25/$29 Camera Connection Kit.

At places with internet-connected Wi-Fi networks, it's possible to share directly from the camera, although this takes a little more legwork. You need, for instance, to sign up to Canon's Image Gateway service, then add that to your Facebook profile. All this needs to be done from Canon's desktop CameraWindow software and the settings synced to the camera over a USB cable, but it's a one-time job.

Frustratingly, you can't define the name of the Facebook album you're uploading to without connecting to a computer: the camera simply uploads everything to the same set of pictures, which is great if you've set up an album before going away for the week, but less ideal if you're away for a year and fancy splitting your shots up by country.

There are also restrictions when it comes to sending shots by email - you can't tap in an email address on the camera itself. Instead you have to create a group of email addresses on your PC, then sideload it to the camera. From the camera itself you can select these preset groups and email out links to your galleries.

Another one-time annoyance is the Canon IXUS 510 HS' taste in memory cards - the 8.6cm wide, 2cm-deep camera only takes microSD cards, so most - including those upgrading from another compact camera - will need to add one to their shopping list.

Performance

Image quality is generally excellent from the Canon IXUS 510 HS, which is impressive considering the small 1/2.3-inch sensor with 10.1 million pixels jammed onto it.

You can set the sensitivity to up to ISO 3200 in the Canon IXUS 510 HS's Program mode, and below ISO 800 images are more or less indistinguishable from each other, which is impressive. Canon's noise-supression is effective at ISO 1600 and 3200, although the trade-off is significantly less sharpness in images at the higher reaches.

The 12x zoom, f/3.4-5.6 lens held its own well in our tests. As well as offering an entirely practical amount of reach for most situations (it's ideal for travel), chromatic aberration is very well controlled across the board.

Appropriately for a camera that can send pictures straight to the web, the Canon IXUS 510 HS comes with a number of image presets. These run a rather familiar gamut - think a faux fish-eye effect, a fake tilt-shift mode and so on - but it's still pleasing to be able to turn out stylised images without needing to go near a computer.

Disappointingly, none of these effects can be applied after the fact, so you can't shoot a standard image and then apply a punched-up, vignetted style to it, so a bit of anticipation helps.

Elsewhere, Canon's compact camera expertise is on show - gained from making cameras such as the excellent Canon IXUS 125 HS, Canon IXUS 230 HS and Canon PowerShot G1 X. White balance and exposure is consistently accurate, and there are a few features to help more advanced photographers get the most out of their shots. Evaluative, centre-weighted and spot metering are all on offer, and you can set your autofocus point manually with a well-aimed prod at the screen.

Image quality and resolution

As part of our image quality testing for the Canon IXUS 510 HS, we've shot our resolution chart.

If you view our crops of the resolution chart's central section at 100% (or Actual Pixels) you will see that, for example, at ISO 100 the Canon IXUS 510 HS is capable of resolving up to around 16 (line widths per picture height x100) in its highest quality JPEG files.

For a full explanation of what our resolution charts mean, and how to read them, check out our full explanation of our camera testing resolution charts.

Examining images of the chart taken at each sensitivity setting reveals the following resolution scores in line widths per picture height x100:

ISO 100, score: 16 (Click here for the full resolution image)

ISO 200, score: 16 (Click here for the full resolution image)

ISO 400, score: 14 (Click here for the full resolution image)

ISO 800, score: 14 (Click here for the full resolution image)

ISO 1600, score: 12 (Click here for the full resolution image)

ISO 3200, score: n/a (Click here for the full resolution image)

Noise and dynamic range

We shoot a specially designed chart in carefully controlled conditions and the resulting images are analysed using DXO Analyzer software to generate the data to produce the graphs below.

A high signal to noise ratio (SNR) indicates a cleaner and better quality image.

For more more details on how to interpret our test data, check out our full explanation of our noise and dynamic range tests.

JPEG signal to noise ratio

JPEG images from the Canon IXUS 510 HS show that noise is handled well up to a sensitivity of ISO 800. Above this value noise starts to become more of an issue.

Dynamic range

This chart indicates that the Canon IXUS 510 HS compares well against the Nikon Coolpix S9300,Panasonic TZ30 and Canon IXUS 500 HS up to a sensitivity of ISO 800. Above this value, tonal graduation in both the shadows and highlights can be lost easily.

Sample images

Click here to see the full resolution image

The Canon IXUS 510 HS's ability to create well-saturated, stylised shots in-camera is useful as you can simply upload shots straight to the internet.

Click here to see the full resolution image

The long focal length is handy for shy wildlife - or avoiding being attacked by geese.

Click here to see the full resolution image

Unprocessed shots can look a little flat, but that's to the benefit of those who want to process their images properly afterwards.

Click here to see the full resolution image

The Canon IXUS 510 HS's Macro mode is at work in this shot.

Click here to see the full resolution image

The Miniature mode produces a tilt-shift effect.

Click here to see the full resolution image

A longer focal length (we're zoomed all the way in here) has captured a fair amount of atmospheric haze, but that's hardly the camera's fault.

Click here to see the full resolution image

The Miniature mode works very well when presented with an appropriate subject.

Click here to see the full resolution image

Some of the effects are fairly heavy-handed, but used sparingly can be effective. This is the camera's Toy Camera mode.

Click here to see the full resolution image

The heavy vignette effect here fades the background to black - a nice effect to have without employing the flash.

Click here to see the full resolution image

Again, a touch of exposure compensation (a third of a stop) has been used to get a balanced exposure.

Click here to see the full resolution image

Despite the small sensor, convincing depth-of-field effects can be had by zooming in.

Click here to see the full resolution image

The minimum focus distance of 1cm makes itself useful in Macro mode.

Click here to see the full resolution image

The over-saturated effect is useful for the sign in the foreground, but the bricks behind are too orange.

Click here to see the full resolution image

The camera has got white balance bang-on here.

Click here to see the full resolution image

A tricky exposure with a wide range of tones which the 510 HS has handled well.

Click here to see the full resolution image

Finding subjects appropriate for the camera's various styles is all part of the fun.

Sensitivity and noise

Full ISO image, see the cropped (100%) versions below.

Click here to see the full resolution image

ISO 100

Click here to see the full resolution image

ISO 200

Click here to see the full resolution image

ISO 400

Click here to see the full resolution image

ISO 800

Click here to see the full resolution image

ISO 1600

Click here to see the full resolution image

ISO 3200

Verdict

The Canon IXUS 510 HS offers an enormous amount to the casual photographer. In particular, the ability to send images to the internet is useful for those who don't want to travel with a laptop in tow. Alternatively, being able to send images to an iPad - which could be loaded with an image editing app - is a good way of processing and sending shots.

Other aspects of the wireless features feel a little under-developed - it would be nice if you could define Facebook albums, for instance, or single email addresses.

We liked

The Canon IXUS 510 HS is a very reasonable amount of camera for the money, with the long lens and integrated Wi-Fi being particular draws. It's good value as long as you're sure you'll use the extra features.

We disliked

The aesthetics-led design makes for a camera that's occasionally awkward, and the Wi-Fi, while certainly useful as it is, could do with a few more features.

Final verdict

Build and image quality are both more than up to par, leaving you only with the unpleasant task of actually paying for the Canon IXUS 510 HS.

At around £350 (about $550), it's expensive for a compact camera; in fact, it's actually a little more than Canon's cheapest DSLR, the Canon EOS 1100D, is currently selling for in some places, albeit without a lens.

If you're willing to compromise on the integrated Wi-Fi and a bit of lens length, you'll find cheaper cameras out there, but it's unlikely you'll find anything more convenient.

Bikini jam in tray 1 - Ever thought clothes shopping is far too much hassle? Now you can print your clothes without having to step foot in your local Primark. Okay, so you'll need a 3D printer, and if you don't look good in a bikini then you might want to think again, but it's certainly a start. [SlashGear]

Commodore covers – The album you never asked for but have secretly wanted all your life is here. It's called Home Computer and features 26 tracks (two CDs) of Commodore 64 game theme tune covers. All the classics are there – from Ghosts'n'Goblins, Rambo and Monty on the Run. 8-bit heaven. [PressPlayOnTape]

Crafty craft – Ever wanted to build a hovercraft but couldn't quite find the right tools in your garage? Well, fear not – as Wired has published a realistic how-to on making a hovercraft from household goods. If only Blue Peter had these sort of things on its show when we were kids. [Wired]

Blindsided - This audio-adventure game for iOS kind of sounds like it's going to be rubbish but watch the video below and you'll see it could be kind of cool. Just don't play it in public, because it uses the gyroscope in your phone to play and you'll look like a fool spinning around, phone in hand with your eyes closed. [Blindside]

Light fantastic – Scientists who've read far too much Harry Potter have been trying to create an invisibility cloak but inadvertently found a way to trap rainbows. No word yet if they also managed to nab a leprechaun and his lucky charms as well. [BBC]

Size matters –Steve Ballmer, Microsoft's illustrious CEO, has reportedly ditched his notebooks and office phone in favour of an 80-inch wall-mounted Windows 8 tablet. Sounds sensible. [Wired]

It's not just space, it's Russian space - Pictures from space are nothing new, we've all seen pictures of Earth, the moon and co – but those clever-clogs over in Russia have now delivered the highest-resolution images to date, using 121MP sensors to take the retina busting shots – in your face 808 Pureview. [The Register]

Swept away - At first we thought these LED brooms were actual brooms and we were excited about how much more fun they would make sweeping up. Sadly they're just lamps. Yeah, we're all right thanks. [Gizmodo]

Image credit: Gizmodo

Hype machine – Loads of people are suddenly reporting that the RIAA is after $75 trillion from Limewire. It's not. It was at one point, but the judge laughed them out of court. And that was over a year ago. Tchuh, the internet. [TechRadar]

Yorksh-ear – The Dales are Alive with the Sound of Music as sales of headphones spike in Yorkshire. We have nothing to add to this press release headline. [Asda]

Bonus tech video of the day – We had a rummage around under Gareth's desk and unearthed this advert for the Samsung Galaxy S3 from 1985. We were as confused as you are. He must have some kind of time portal under there. Anyway, it's brilliant (Don't mind this horn, it's ours. We're just blowing it).

E3 2012: what to expect from this year's show

E3 is the games industry's most important yearly conference - and also a reminder each year about how huge the industry is getting.

Despite the double-dipping depths of the recession, the big three console manufacturers - Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo - have been in perpetual war since the launch of the Xbox.

We've gone into their E3 plans in more detail over the previous days, but this is a overview of what they and the other game publishers are likely to be up to - and what we're likely to see from the increasingly important Indie and mobile sectors.

Microsoft's main concern is to avoid cannibalising the sales of the Xbox 360 and Kinect, which is making lots of money, so it's unlikely to make any hardware announcements this year - indeed, it is likely to further extend the 360 brand into cheaper units before it announces the 720 for Christmas next year. (We'd bet that it will be announced early in 2013 - after the holidays so the 360 keeps selling, but early enough for hype to build - with a huge launch line-up of first party exclusive games.)

You can read more about what we expect to see from Microsoft in Microsoft at E3 2012: what to expect.

Nintendo is also predictable; it'll show off a much improved Wii U and hopefully announce a Christmas launch date for it. It'll have a good line-up of third party games, including big titles like Batman: Arkham City, all of which will use the redesigned Wii U controller. However, the price will be under wraps and many of the games won't be ready for launch. We've written more about the hardware and what we think the launch line-up will be in Nintendo at E3 2012: what to expect.

The dark horse is Sony. If it announces a new console at E3, it has to be aware that it'll immediately kill sales of PS3 - which is losing the company money on every unit anyway, and is still more expensive than the profitable 360. Having the hardware in place for its ambitious 4K resolution and cross-platform play will also be difficult.

Sony is also struggling financially, due to poor HDTV sales last year, and its new handheld, the Vita, isn't selling as well as it had hoped. Despite all that, Sony is the only company that could surprise us. To find out more, and have a look at Sony's impressive list of new games for this year, check out Sony at E3 2012: what to expect.

E3 for PC gamers

The biggest market that's not covered by those three manufacturers is the PC market. Yes, we're admitting that Microsoft doesn't support PC gaming explicitly any more. Though its DirectX technology is behind many of the best games on the platform, it has shut or remodelled most of its PC-focused development studios into studios producing games just for Xbox 360 - for example, Rare and Lionhead.

PC developers needn't worry; there are enough indie, kooky and free games on the PC to keep it going. Smaller publishers like Wargaming.net, Paradox Interactive and Bohemia Interactive are releasing PC-only titles like World of Warplanes, War of the Roses and ARMA 3 which make the mooted next-gen consoles look 8-bit. Meanwhile, thanks to Steam's support through Steamworks, modding is again thriving.

On top of that, the rise of Kickstarter means that the PC games community is getting to communicate directly with developers about what they're actually interested in. Before a game has had more than rudimentary design work done, the developer can know if it will be a success or not; a huge step forward for developer security.

The only company that's really backing the PC is Valve, the creator of Half-Life. There have been persistent rumours that Valve will be launching its own hardware, of some sort. These rumours were confirmed earlier in the year when Valve said that it was working on wearable computing (http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/04/14/that-was-easy-valves-hardware-is-wearable-computing/), similar to Google's Glasses, but also working towards pervasive computing and the UI for that.

However, Valve has also announced that it will not be showing anything new at the show, beyond its announced games (DOTA 2 and Counterstrike: Global Offensive but no Half Life 3) and its new 10' UI - showing off how its games and systems will work on sitting room TV screens.

E3 games to look forward to

The favourite for Game of the Show is GTA V, if announced, but there are few details on it yet and Rockstar has said that it's not attending. Barring that, the game that could steal the show is Elder Scrolls Online. It's been rumoured for years, it's only just been revealed and the only surprise is that Bethesda will release it before the inevitable Fallout MMO (or Fallout 4, which we'd assume it has a team working on). Massively multiplayer, despite no game really succeeding since WoW, nevertheless captures the imagination of the E3 audience.

So what about the third party games? Well, they'll be covered by our colleagues over on GamesRadar but just to reel off the biggest names we think will be there: Halo 3, Resident Evil 6, God of War Ascension, Assassin's Creed 3, Starcraft: Heart of the Swarm, Batman: Arkham City 2, Rainbow Six Patriots, Last of Us, Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, Super Mario Wii U, Metal Gear Solid 5, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2, Dead Space 3, Dragon Age 3, Star Trek: The Game, Medal of Honor, Need for Speed, Crysis 3, Tomb Raider, Hitman Absolution, Far Cry 3, Metro: Last Light, Company of Heroes 2, Xcom: Enemy Unknown, Planetside 2, Borderlands 2, Rayman Legends, Beyond Good & Evil 2, a new Total War game, Star Fox Wii U, an unknown LucasArts game, Sim City, Shootmania and Lego Batman 2.

And the best of the rumours is that Eminem is going to appear on Nintendo's stage to promote a game called Acid Ghost.

Cloud and mobile gaming

Increasingly important is the cloud gaming sector. Though the established contenders here are Gaikai and OnLive (read Gaikai vs OnLive for a comparison), many other larger companies have the infrastructure and tech to enter the market.

For example, Amazon, Google and Microsoft all have the tech, away from any games divisions. We're just hearing rumours that Sony, in a bid to rejuvenate the PS3, will announce a cloud partnership at E3. Our bet is that it will be with Gaikai, as its instant-on gameplay will allow the PS3 to bypass the poor download structure and UI it currently uses, and its CEO, David Perry, is extremely well-connected.

Bystanders at the show, but increasingly important, are the mobile and indie sectors. Indeed, Apple's iOS devices are swallowing an increasing proportion of casual gamers' incomes, and the PC hardcore increasingly is.

The indie sector really comes into its own at GDC, the games developers conference, earlier in the year while the mobile sector has its own shows, including Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Behind closed doors, they'll be showing off the titles that will really come to dominate the market, and the new profit models and tech that the main sectors will copy in coming years.

The other story of learning from the mobile and social games sectors is the rise of the freemium market on all platforms. Sony has said that it believes that the next generation of consoles will be led by free-to-play games, and analysts are implying that both Sony and Microsoft will attempt to cash in on this money-spinner, sooner rather than later. We think you'll see the first free-to-play games on PS3 this year.

The one thing that we've really been wishing for, which luminaries as far apart as Ray Kurzweil and Lord David Puttnam have been pushing for, is that games take a bigger part in education, given their proven benefits in improving attention and hence learning.

We don't think that there will be many developments on show for this at E3 and we're not sure it's the right place to show them off anyway, but we'd love to see them being given more attention.

Tomorrow marks the cookie implementation deadline and from the end of today all UK websites that store cookies should have implemented some sort of policy, or they could be facing fines.

Over the last week major sites like the BBC, the Mirror, BT have started to obtain consent from visitors to store or retrieve any information on any device from computers through to smartphones and tablets.

The reason they're doing this is because of the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations law. The law was designed to protect online privacy by making consumers aware of how information about them is collected by websites, and enables them to choose whether or not they want it to happen.

It started as an EU directive adopted by all EU nations on 26 May 2011, and this directive was brought into UK law through the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations. Although the directive came into force in May 2011, the UK Information Commissioner Christopher Graham gave British organisations a year to conform.

A code of conduct introduced by the London office of the International Chamber of Commerce at the beginning of April implied website owners will need to differentiate between cookies that they need simply to make a website work, those that provide enhanced functionality, and those that exist simply to gather information for the site's own purposes.

Most UK companies are reportedly expected to miss today's deadline, and both Graham and Communications Minister Ed Vaizey have said that they are unlikely to punish firms severely while the new policies are phased in – fines could be as much as £10,000.

Good cookie, bad cookie

You will however have to comply with the law at some time in the future, so here's our quick guide to "bad" cookies and your website choices.

Third-party cookies are the cookies that pose the most compliance issues. For example, a cookie that is used in behavioural advertising, where they identify what you click on and tell advertising websites to display that type of product or service wherever you go afterwards. From 26 May, website owners must disclose or seek permission to use this type of cookie.

Next up is the "persistent cookie" that remains on a computer after the customer has moved on to another website. They're also one of the most useful cookies, as they're the cookies that flag that a person is a returning customer and enables your website to be personalised. They're also used extensively in web analytics, so you could potentially lose all that valuable tracking data.

You effectively have two cookie options

Previously, cookies were used on most websites on an opt-out basis, meaning many site visitors undertook their web sessions with no idea that cookies were being used. The new regulations mean that users now need to opt-in to a cookie session – making it far less likely that they will be accepted

An explicit opt-in/opt-out - If your site has third-party advertising, social media connectors, uses web analytics then your safest bet is to seek explicit opt-in from visitors via some kind of very visible opt in like those used by BT.

Implied consent via notice If your site doesn't feature advertising and uses cookies for functional purposes (accessibility, Facebook Like buttons and Google Analytics), then you may be fully compliant if you have a cookie notice displayed clearly on your website referencing details on your privacy page.

We'd like to hear what you think about the new cookie legislation. Are you waiting to see what others do? What approach are you taking? Leave a comment below and share your feelings.

Dell is reportedly readying its Windows 8 tablet and it's going to have the power to take on the big boys.

According to Neowin, the Dell Latitude 10 will sport a 10.1-inch display (not 10.8- inches as reported elsewhere), a dual-core Intel "Clove Trail" Atom processor, 2GB RAM, up to 128GB SSD internal memory, 8MP rear camera, 2MP front facing camera and of course the Windows 8 operating system.

An interesting feature on the Latitude 10 is that it will have a removable battery, with two different sizes being offer. A smaller (and we assume lighter) version will provided 6-7 hours of usage and a larger (and heavier?) offering 10-12 hours.

Internet on the go

The leak also shows the Latitude 10 supporting both Wi-Fi and mobile data connections, allowing you to get online on the move via a SIM card.

Microsoft is expected to launch its Windows 8 operating system in October, with interfaces for PCs, tablets and mobile phones all being offered.

There's no word on potential pricing, but we reckon it will come in at the new iPad end of the scale – so you best start saving up now.

We expect to see a raft of manufacturers release Windows 8 tablets at the time of launch, and the Dell Latitude 10 looks set to be one of them.

You can keep up to date with our Windows 8 tablets release date, specs and prices article, and make sure you check out our Windows 8 tablet hands on video below.

Introduction

With the UK now totally digital and Freeview HD transmitters creeping into most major regions, who would buy a TV with just a bog standard digital tuner? Considering its Full HD resolution and super-slim appearance, we can only imagine that this, Toshiba's latest in a long line of 40-inch Edge LED TVs, is aimed at those with subscription TV services.

A Freeview HD tuner still carries a premium of £50-£100 on a TV, so it's worth manufacturers making bare bones TV for Virgin Media, BT Vision and Sky subscribers, we suppose, but there's relatively little else on this BL Series screen to tempt.

The Toshiba 40BL702B's Full HD LCD panel makes it a candidate for using with a Blu-ray disc player and games consoles, but its 40mm panel depth and use of LED backlighting will prove just as attractive.

What the Toshiba 40BL702B does lack is a smart TV dimension, which is a shame though hardly surprising on a TV without built-in Freeview HD guts. Ignoring 3D, too, the Toshiba 40BL702B also passes over the brand's successful CEVO picture engine, though do remember that this is a package geared towards achieving a low price, not the highest standards.

With a gloss black design and a bezel width of around 30mm, there's nothing particularly mould-breaking about the Toshiba 40BL702B, but it's pleasant enough and in terms of looks it certainly doesn't make a flatscreen faux pas.

Aside from this 40-inch model, other screens in Toshiba's BL Series include the 22-inch 22BL702B and 32-inch 32BL702B, both of which also feature Full HD resolution Edge LED-backlit panels.

Other 40-inch Edge LED TVs in Toshiba's 2012 lineup include those from the RL Series and TL Series. Freeview HD and the brand's smart TV platform, Toshiba Places, features on the 40RL858B and 40RL953B, the latter sporting a metallic design and adding a 100Hz scanning option that should completely banish motion blur.

The similarly metallic-coloured 40TL868B in Toshiba's TL Series also claims Active Shutter 3D, although the really high-end features are found on the WL and YL Series models. With Active Shutter 3D, CEVO engine processing and 'full' LED local dimming, the 42-inch 42WL863B and 42-inch 42YL863B are worth searching out.

Features

The LCD panel's 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution is a bit of a relief after discovering that the Toshiba 40BL702B doesn't carry a DVB-T2 tuner for finding Freeview HD channels, but note that this is a 50Hz panel with no anti-blur 100Hz option. More alarmingly, this TV lacks a Blu-ray 24p playback mode, so despite that Full HD, the panel isn't technically ideal for hi-def discs.

Edge LED backlighting is in place, which ought to mean some decent contrast and a certain level of local dimming. But in previous years it's around the 40-inch size that the Edge system - where lights are used only at the sides and fire light across the rear of the panel, to create a super-slim product - becomes less impressive.

Ins and outs are excellent, with no sign of cut corners whatsoever; four HDMI inputs should lend some HD versatility to the Toshiba 40BL702B, which also sports two USB slots, component video, composite video, and a 15-pin D-sub VGA port for hooking up a PC in the old analogue way. On the side is a Common Interface slot for adding Top-Up TV viewing cards.

Although there's no Ethernet LAN port or built-in Wi-Fi - as found on almost every single TV priced over £500 (around $800) - the Toshiba 40BL702B does manage to provide a couple of rarely seen connections; Scart and a direct subwoofer output. Other audio ins include a set of stereo audio phones, an optical digital audio output and a headphones slot.

Talking of which, audio comes via some relatively weak 6W stereo speakers, with some basic audio modes that include a pseudo-surround option.

Its sole USB slot, situated on the side of the TV, can play digital material from a USB flash drive, HDD, camera or smartphone, and file compatibility stretches far beyond the basic JPEG/MP3/AVI formats that most cheap TVs offer.

The Toshiba 40BL702B is probably more notable for what it lacks. But those not interested in smart TV or Freeview HD - likely Sky, BT Vision or Virgin Media subscribers who already pay for HD channels and have BBC iPlayer/Sky Player access covered - will like having the option to purchase a basic flatscreen LED TV without having to waste money on pointless add-ons.

Besides, the Toshiba Places smart TV platform is a tad clunky and bereft of any services of note, aside from BBC iPlayer and YouTube. You're not missing much.

Picture quality

Aside from some basic picture presets (Cinema, Game, Dynamic and Natural) and the usual tweaks for colour, contrast, brightness and sharpness, there's not an awful lot at hand for calibrating the Toshiba 40BL702B.

Some 'advanced' picture settings are listed in the on-screen menus, but lead only to tweaks for colour temperature, colour shift and film mode, the latter of which has little-to-no discernible effect on images.

With Freeview pictures, we're struck at first not just by how inky and intense the black areas of the picture are - even within mixed brightness scenes - but also by how empty and uniform those sectors are. Impressive in their intensity, there's nevertheless zero shadow detailing within them.

Colour in general is accurate, with a restrained, though vibrant palette featuring luscious reds and cool blues. Although the Toshiba 40BL702B's ability to create almost true black in part lends other colours a bold tone, that tendency for blocky, impenetrable black areas can leave some images looking a little odd.

It's also noticeable that the Toshiba 40BL702B struggles with blurring over movement - an old LCD panel problem that's usually solved by 100Hz scanning. A horizontal panning shot around the grand interiors of Windsor Castle in BBC One's The Queen's Palaces produces an uncomfortable pulsing as each object blurs into the next. Meanwhile, a slow, vertical shot from the top to bottom of the battlements outside are also stepped and blurred.

It's understandable that on such a big screen, standard definition channels should look rather soft, but many Freeview channels also suffer from a sheen of picture noise. It's clear that these relatively low data rate digital channels are being blown up too big to fit on this relatively basic 40-inch panel.

Turn to DVD and that lack of upscaling is again obvious. Our test disc In Time suffers from mosquito noise around moving objects and jagged edges, and could do with Toshiba's often successful (but missing here) Resolution+ upscaling circuitry.

To put that in perspective, the same DVD viewed earlier in the week on an 80-inch projection screen had no such issues.

Making use of the Toshiba 40BL702B's Full HD resolution panel, our Blu-ray discs of The Pianist and Avatar look far better, with some luscious colouring and detailed close-ups being the norm.

That motion issue remains, as does a tendency for picture noise and over-egged black, but mixed brightness night time scenes impress, as do skin tones in a reasonably enjoyable performance. A particular highlight is a snowflake scene in lamplight, which is deftly handled to show off the Toshiba 40BL702B's skill with detail and local LED dimming.

Throughout our review we found the Toshiba 40BL702B's panel to be of almost uniform brightness - with just a slight pique in luminosity in one of the corners - while the viewing angle is wide. However, contrast fades quickly if you watch from even slightly above or below the centre of the screen.

Usability, sound and value

Usability

Aside from lacking HD channels, the Toshiba 40BL702B's electronic programme guide (EPG) is poor indeed.

Our main issue is with how it sits within the TV itself; press the EPG button on the remote control and both the picture and sound of whatever channel you were watching is instantly killed. That's a real shame, because as well as lacking integration, we're aware that other, far less used parts of the Toshiba 40BL702B's user interface float transparently over live TV channels.

In design terms the EPG itself is a simple spreadsheet of white lettering on a black background. Listing now/next information in place of the usual arrangement of EPGs into blocks of time, it at least covers plenty of channels - 11 in total - on a single screen.

It's actually possible to switch to a timeline-style EPG using the Fastext buttons, which also enable navigation to future days' schedules. Working quickly and efficiently, it's a pleasure to use, but it's too late; having to navigate it in total isolation from live TV is ridiculous.

We like the central user interface, which is built around a basic lineup of picture/sound/media browser icons that have been spruced up - at least in terms of colour - compared to Toshiba's entry-level sets. The division between Picture, Sound, Settings, Install/Retune, Channel List and Media Player is sensibly simple and logical.

The remote control is a huge improvement on other TVs in its 2012 range, too - here a two-tone metallic and gloss black coloured, long, slim, responsive remote uses large and clearly labelled buttons. They're tactile, too, but perhaps not as rubbery as they should be; it's a little too easy for fingers to slip across the buttons, which ultimately makes it more difficult to grasp and quickly issue commands.

The Toshiba 40BL702B's digital file support is impressive, with the media player software able to play MPEG1/2, XviD and DivX-encoded video in AVI containers, MP3 and WMA music files, and both JPEG and BMP photos.

Sound

Some Test Match Special broadcast on Radio 5 Live Sports Extra via the Toshiba 40BL702B's digital tuner reveals decent handling of dialogue, and this is repeated across Freeview channels.

And while we shouldn't get carried away with what is a rather basic audio performance from its stereo 6W speakers, the Toshiba 40BL702B does manage to deliver a more rounded sound than many of its super-slim rivals.

Engaging AVL mode adds some power, but be wary of using the surround sound option; it doesn't do what it says, and instead seems to relegate sound effects that are otherwise accurately placed. During The Pianist, some mortar fire that's given impressive power and impact by the Toshiba 40BL702B's speakers is suddenly pushed to the sides of the sound stage.

Value

A UK price of £417.90 (around £655) for a 40-inch Edge LED TV has to be judged fair value, although we do have concerns about the quality of the LCD panel used.

Blighted by blur and not fitted with much in the way of upscaling tech, we'd head either for a smaller version of this television (the 32-inch 32BL702B won't stretch a standard definition picture beyond breaking point) or spend an extra £100 or so and choose the 40RL953, which adds smart TV and a Freeview HD tuner.

Verdict

Different people want different things from a flatscreen telly, and the Toshiba 40BL702B has been specified to appeal to those only after the basics. Reasonably slim and uncontroversially designed, it does away with smart TV, 3D and even Freeview HD, and as such should be considered a basic television for those of us with subscription TV set-top boxes.

We liked

Heaped with various ins and outs and able to handle a plethora of digital video, music and photo files, the Toshiba 40BL702B reaches parts that not all entry-level TVs reach. It also offers an above average audio performance and great colours, while cutting out features that some users won't want to pay for - with the end result being a low price for considerable screen real estate.

We disliked

Motion blur is the main negative on a screen that fails to impress even with its cost-cutting attitude and low price taken into account. Picture noise is evident, as is some lacklustre upscaling of standard definition sources, which leaves its lack of a Freeview HD tuner seeming a crucial oversight. Even its basic digital tuner is scarred by a poor EPG that cuts sound and picture during use.

Final verdict

Although dogged by motion blur and a generally poor handling of standard definition sources, Toshiba's back-to-basics 40BL702B might appeal to Virgin Media, BT Vision and Sky subscribers with no wish for Freeview HD or smart TV, although when judged on picture alone there are more versatile options.

Also consider

Toshiba's 40RL953 is marginally more impressive (and expensive) and includes both Toshiba Places (the brand's smart TV platform) and a Freeview HD tuner.

In the wider market, we'd recommend either Samsung's UE40D5520 or Panasonic's TX-L37E5B. The former boasts smart TV, a Freeview HD tuner and startlingly good picture quality for less than £600 (around $940), while the identically priced latter - though three inches smaller - has perhaps the slickest smart TV service and an excellent all-round performance.

Details have leaked out about another possible Sony handset known as the ST26i, but don't get too excited.

Sony has already released a pretty impressive trio of phones this year, the Xperia S, Xperia U and Xperia P, but it looks set to expand its range in the coming months.

Spotted by Blog of Mobile, benchmark results for a new Sony handset have appeared on GL Benchmark, revealing details about the ST26i.

Yet another mid-range device

According to the results the ST26i will pack a less than inspiring 800Mhz processor (but it could be clocked to 1GHz), 480x854 display and Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich.

These are similar specifications to the ones quoted with another leaked handset, the Sony ST21i, which we reported in April.

Obviously there's no confirmation from Sony on the validity of either handset, but it's good to see the company taking its solo return to the market seriously.

Hand up if you're super-excited by E3!? Not only will Microsoft not be showing off the new Xbox 720 but Sony will be making an immediate response by failing to announce the PS4.

On the bright side, we will, of course, get to see what kind of batsh*t-mental games Nintendo have invented for the Weeeuuuuuuuuu (that's how the kids are saying Wii U by the way) that manage to use motion control + touchscreen + dpad + joysticks + microphone + heartbeat monitor + gyroscope + accelerometer + some other stuff.

Actually, as we throw our cynic's hat James Bond-like onto the coatstand of enthusiasm, even without any major hardware announcements E3 is always a big part of the TechRadar calendar, and this year we are sending some of our US team over to check out the new stuff.

You can check out the 7DiG endorsed guides to the major players with:

Microsoft at E3 2012: what to expect

Sony at E3 2012: what to expect

Nintendo at E3 2012: what to expect

Right, we've retrieved our trilby of sarcasm after exchanging some slightly creepy sexual banter with the ageing Miss Moneypenny, which means we can move swiftly on to massively hard-core 1337 games.

Quick draw First up, erm, Draw Something. Sorry. Apparently Zynga has insisted that bad doodling in pseudo game is here to stay. We'll agree with that when winning actually means something. Hruumph.

Hello Moto A court case in which the Xbox could be banned from sale in the US for breaching Moto patents (prediction: not gonna happen) has seen the Judge rule in favour of the phone giant. Somebody stop this patent lawsuit merry-go-round we are getting dizzy.

Jubilee-ation Now as 7DiG is written in Britain, we're going to assume you all know about the Queen's Jubilee celebrations. Right? Anyone? Bueller? Well anyway, possibly as part of the jubilee celebration Activision has announced a brand new UK mobile studio. We can confirm that this actually means developing phone games and not just that it's in a caravan.

Pour show It never rains but it…well Blizzards in this case. Diablo 3 is already under the critical cosh for its well-publicised server woes and now Blizzard has been forced to publicly defend itself against claims that user details were being compromised. Apparently good old fashioned password idiocy was to blame.

Weeeuuuuuuu This is how the revamped Wii U controller/tablet is going to look. We're a bit disappointed that the addition of the joysticks hasn't also brough a big analogue flight-controller style joystick at the bottom.

Horses for courses Mounted combat was one of the things that we all thought should be in Skyrim. So they added it and we're champing at the bit to see it. Just don't shout yourself hoarse. Or nag if you don't like it. We'll stop now. [CVG]

So here's our customary link bait dangled in front of you like a tempting morsel of Ecco the Dolphin on a hook of gaming genius.

CVG

Diablo 3: 30 tips, cheats and tricks every dungeon crawler should know

Unreal Engine 4 hi-res screens are far more impressive

Official Playstation Magazine

Dirt Showdown PS3 review

Ghost Recon Future Soldier PS3 review

Offical Xbox

Ghost Recon: Future Soldier Xbox 360 review

Minecraft Xbox 360 update: Adventure update is "the most difficult

Nintendo Gamer

The mysterious Totaka's Song - What it is and how to find it

Six ways FIFA 13 on Wii U should make use of the controller

Official Nintendo Magazine

E3 2012 predictions: Wii U

Wii U Fit ideas

Games Radar

E3 2012 news and rumours

Why Half-Life 3 will definitely be at E3 2012

Nokia has confirmed that its budget, Windows Phone, Lumia 610 handset will launch in June.

The Nokia Lumia 610 is set to be the Finnish firm's cheapest phone running the Windows Phone operating system, as it looks to push the smartphone envelope in the budget market.

It packs an array of uninspiring specifications including a 3.7-inch (800 x 400) screen, 800MHz processor, 256MB of RAM and 5MP camera with LED flash.

Windows Phone Tango

However the Lumia 610 also sports the latest version of Microsoft's mobile software, Windows Phone Tango, which has been specially developed to run on smartphones with less power – allowing manufactures to keep the cost of the handset down.

With this is mind the Lumia 610 is expected to land with a sub-£100 price tag in the UK – putting it in direct competition with the likes of the Huawei Ascend G300 and Motorola Defy Mini.

A word of warning though, due to the low amount of RAM the Lumia 610 has inside, some apps and features, generally the more demanding ones, may not work on the handset.

Find out our thoughts on this super cheap handset check out our hands on: Nokia Lumia 610 review.

While Leica has yet to announce a compact system camera (CSC), it is one of the few companies to offer a compact camera with an APS-C format sensor. Its first model, the Leica X1, has now been replaced by the Leica X2.

The major changes that the Leica X2 brings are the upgrade from a 12.2 million effective pixel CMOS sensor to a 16 million effective pixel device. This is a considerable jump, so it will be interesting to see whether it has much impact upon the camera's ability to resolve detail and the level of noise present in images.

Like the Leica X1, the Leica X2 has a fixed Leica Elmarit 24mm f/2.8 ASPH lens. This proved to be of high quality on the Leica X1, being sharp into the edges of the frame. Will it be compromised by the increase in pixel count? Or perhaps the higher count will enable the Leica X2 to exploit the lens's resolving power.

Sticking with the same lens as the Leica X1 means the closest focusing distance is still a rather disappointing 30cm.

While we loved the image quality produced from the Leica X1's raw files, we found that the JPEG image quality could be disappointing and the autofocus system was slow and hesitant.

Although we aren't yet able to comment on the final sample quality of the image files from the Leica X2, we were happy to discover that a pre-production sample was able to focus quicker than the Leica X1. Naturally, we will test this with a full production sample when one becomes available, but the early signs are good.

Screen

The Leica X1 was announced back in September 2009, and even then the 230,000 dots resolution of its LCD screen was disappointing. Strangely Leica has stuck with the same 2.7-inch screen for the Leica X2. This seems out of step with the Leica X2's price tag of £1,575 in the UK and $1,995 in the US.

We will need to test the Leica X2 outside to see whether Leica has improved the screen's reflection control. We found that the Leica X1's screen is quite hard to see in bright outdoor light, so we are hoping for an improvement, but suspect that the X2's screen will be exactly the same.

Another disappointment with the Leica X2's screen is that its image isn't detailed enough to enable accurate manual focusing. The focus can be adjusted over quite a wide range, but the on-screen image doesn't get appreciably sharper or softer even with the magnified view enabled, making it impossible to identify to the point of critical sharpness.

Fortunately the Leica X2 has a feature that the Leica X1 lacks: a port to attach an optional external electronic viewfinder, the EVF 2, which is set to retail for £360 in the UK or $575 in the US.

This 1.4MP resolution 'Electronic Viso-Flex Viewfinder' appears to be practically identical to the Olympus VF-2 viewfinder, which can be bought for less than £170/$250. It will be interesting to see whether the Olympus EVF is compatible with the Leica X2.

We found the Leica EVF 2 provides a good, clear view, that while not quite in the same league as the EVF in the Sony NEX-7, could be a very useful extra when using the Leica X2 outside in bright light.

Early verdict

As you might expect at the price, the Leica X2 looks and feels like a lovely piece of kit. The faster autofocusing means it is more responsive and suited for use out and about.

If Leica has managed to maintain, if not better, the image quality standard of the Leica X1, then it could be a very rewarding purchase.

It is, however, surprising that a prestigious brand such as Leica uses such a low quality LCD screen in its premier compact camera. The Leica X1 was approved for use by Getty Images, so it was a useful option for professional stock photographers. These photographers are used to using high quality kit and they will notice the drop in the quality of the screen between their normal DSLR and the Leica X2.

How much is Facebook really worth, and is it about to get crappier? Those are the big questions this week after Facebook's IPO became mired in controversy.

The initial share price valued the site at £66 billion and netted Facebook an impressive £10 billion in cash, but the price began to plummet amid claims of dodgy dealing and massive overvaluation.

That matters to more than just Facebook's investors. If, as some pundits suggest, its valuation is based on hopelessly optimistic growth projections and predicted revenues, then Facebook's going to be under enormous pressure to make money - and that could mean more invasive advertising or possibly even charging for bits of the service.

Mark Zuckerberg has promised that Facebook will always be free, but he didn't promise that it would never have paid-for services too. Fancy paying extra to ensure everybody definitely sees your status updates?

Meanwhile, over in Google

While Facebook weathers the storm, things at Google are intense. Sorry, in tents. Google's Big Tent event brought chairman Eric Schmidt to the UK, and he was in typically bullish form: it turns out that Google+ isn't, as many people believe, rubbish. "Do I think it's a success?" he said. "Absolutely. Absolutely."

The problem, Schmidt suggests, is that outside observers are "comparing us to a competitor that is exceedingly well managed, well-run and is 12 years old."

CEO Larry Page wanted to talk about Google+ too, comparing it to the Google search of five years ago. "I think if you used Google five years ago you'd be astounded by how bad it is, or how bad it was, right?" he said. "And you know search has got a lot better." For Page, Google+ is part of the evolution of search to make it more personal and useful.

Meanwhile in his tent, Eric Schmidt spoke about the firm's plans for its Motorola Mobility acquisition.

"There will be more investment in Motorola devices under the Motorola brand and a lot more investment in Android," he promised. The purchase wasn't just to get hold of MM's patent portfolio, although that will certainly come in handy: "We wanted a stake in a hardware business."

Consoles on the way?

Did somebody say hardware? E3, the annual entertainment technology showcase, is imminent, and that means big news from the big names in gaming. Could the PlayStation 4 put in an appearance at Sony's E3 event?.

We're not convinced: Sony is currently bleeding money, and while it wants to beat Microsoft to the next-gen punch there's plenty of life — and profit — in the PS3 for some time to come. Our money's on new games but not new hardware, and if the games are as exciting as The Last of Us then that's fine by us.

Don't hold your breath for an Xbox 720 either: Microsoft is adamant that this year's E3 is all about the 360. As Dan Grillopoulos explains: "So, this year Microsoft is likely to show off three things: a middling exclusive game line-up, bolstered by exclusive downloadable content in other games; a host of free-to-play games; and an improved user experience, including web browsing."

It looks like the only new console we'll see this year is the Wii U.

If you'd rather play pranks than games, there was sad news this week: Rickrolling, the age-old practice of tricking people into watching a Rick Astley video, was taken off the web after a copyright claim by security firm AVG. Maybe they were trying to trick us, though, because before long the clip was resurrected and Rickrolling was available once more.

Today, TechRadar can exclusively reveal a lost Samsung Galaxy S3 advert, dating all the way back to 1985.

Although almost 30 years old, the Galaxy S3 has managed to stay under-wraps for the better part of three decades, with rumours about its arrival only beginning to leak six months ago.

Tucked away under our Mobile Devices Editor's desk, hidden in a dusty VHS Back to the Future box, the video cassette housing this historic piece of film depicts the Samsung Galaxy S3 going head to head with the iPhone 4S, in what can only be described as an epic He-Man vs Skeletor esque battle.

No one knows how it got there, no one knows who put it there, but step aside Airwolf, pipe down Super Ted and jog on A-Team – for the '80s has a new hero…

If you desperately need to return to reality after that, then head over to our full, in-depth Samsung Galaxy S3 review to get the low down on the biggest phone of 2012 so far.

The T3 Awards nominations for 2012 have finally been announced, with Apple, Samsung and Asus battling for your votes alongside the likes of controversial ubernerd Kim Dot Com and a host of ultrabooks.

The T3 Awards, run by TechRadar's publisher Future, have become a real fixture in the annual UK tech calendar with a glittering awards ceremony for the movers and shakers of tech.

The longlist phase allows the public to weed out the dull from the awesome and make key decisions as to what deserves 2012's prizes.

TechRadar will, once again, be part of the judging, where we will be casting our beady eyes over the tech that you have put forward.

Breathless

"We're really excited to announce this year's T3 Gadget Awards nominations," T3 online editor Kieran Alger told us.

"It's always a pleasure to be able to celebrate the brilliant new technology and innovation that we've seen launched in the past year.

"As ever it's going to be tough to call with big battles in the key categories and Samsung, Apple and Asus sporting really strong contenders throughout.

"Luckily we'll have the help of the tech lovers out there and with new ways to vote via Facebook and Twitter we're hoping this will be the biggest awards yet."

As well as Megaupload founder Kim Dot Com's presence in the Gadget personality of the Year nominations the brilliant Raspberry Pi will be battling it out for Innovation of the Year.

But perhaps the hardest fought category will be in the Phone of the Year category – where we'll see the brand spanking new Samsung Galaxy S3 face off against the now ageing iPhone 4S and brilliant young upstart the HTC One X.

You can get involved and cast your vote at http://awards.t3.com/awards/vote/1

If you're feeling a bit ropey today, probably don't watch this first video shot with Google Glass.

It's quite the Blair Witch experience, as a Google employee jumps and tumbles on a trampoline while wearing the Glasses.

It's shot in 720p and was posted on Google+ with the comment, "This one makes us a little queasy, but our prototype nailed what it's like to be on a trampoline."

Glassy eyed

Google has been quite public about testing out the Google Glass prototypes, posting photos shot with the specs as well as rocking up to conferences and television appearances sporting the eyewear.

Just the other day, Sebastian Thrun showed off the glasses' picture-taking possibilities, focusing on pictures that you wouldn't realistically be able to capture with your phone or a standalone camera.

Still no word on when we'll be able to get our own eyes 'round the futuristic eyewear, with 'by the end of the year' still our best guess (although with Google admitting that the design falls short of what it had hoped, you might want to hang on for the second generation…).