Sony Ericsson: We're Committed to CDMA, Android

Sony Ericsson Xperia Play for Verizon Wireless
The Sony Ericsson Xperia Play, for Verizon Wireless, is the first phone with a PlayStation gaming experience on board.

Xperia Play Star Battalion
Here I'm playing Star Battalion. The control pads make a huge difference in gaming.

Xperia Play Games
The Xperia Play comes with several top games preloaded, and you'll be able to download more from Verizon's or Google's app stores.

Windows Phone 7 update resource debuts

Windows Phone 7 owners now have a resource that provides them with basic information on when their devices will receive their next update.
The appropriately named "Where's my phone update?" Web page lists six available Windows Phone 7 devices in the U.S., along with the status of software updates--in testing, scheduling, or delivery. The resource will be updated once a week.
When a device is in the testing phase, its software update is undergoing "mobile operator network and quality tests." Once that's complete, it moves to scheduling, at which point the software giant is deciding which day to launch the update. According to Microsoft, scheduling takes up to 10 days. After that period, the company launches the update to customers "in batches." According to Microsoft, it could take Windows Phone 7 users "several weeks before you receive notice that an update is available to you."
Microsoft's new resource, which launched yesterday, comes just a day after the company started to roll out its latest Windows Phone 7 update, which includes the ability for users to copy and paste text. It also boasts better searching for the Apps Marketplace and speed improvements.
But as the phone update page shows, the chances of many users getting their hands on the update anytime soon seem slim. The Dell Venue Pro, HTC HD7, HTC Surround, LG Quantum, and Samsung Focus are still awaiting the February update, which featured minor improvements. With the March update, only the Dell Venue Pro and the HTC HD7 have made it out of the testing phase.
Of course, there might be good reason for Microsoft to want to take its time with these rollouts. Last month, the company started updating Windows Phone 7 devices, only to find that the update caused what Microsoft called a "technical issue" with a "small number of Samsung phones." That "issue" rendered some of those phones inoperable.
After nixing the update and releasing it days later when issues had been addressed, reports surfaced claiming the updates were once again causing problems with Windows Phone 7 devices.


Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-20046688-17.html#ixzz1HWqKzJ4h

Fashion goes pop

From Lady Gaga's fantastical creations to Katy Perry's tongue-in-cheek costumes - today's female pop stars are in competition to top the charts for outrageous fashion. So what happened to elegant red-carpet styling? And how much more bizarre can their outfits get?

Spring is a fertile time. Not just for the lambs and the budding trees, but for fashion and trends. The first months of each year bring the latest round of catwalk shows from New York, London, Milan and Paris, and the concurrent awards season sent the best dressed in film and music trotting up the red carpets to the Grammys, the Brits, the Baftas and the Oscars. Spring is an orgy of style.

In the old days, if you wanted to look at the beautifully ridiculous, the conceptual or the just plain silly, the fashion shows were your best bet. Awards ceremonies, by contrast, used to be elegant oceans of pretty, colourful gowns by Valentino, Marchesa and Versace. They were so sedate that, in 2001, when Björk wore a swan dress by fashion designer Marjan Pejoski and laid six eggs on the red carpet at the Oscars, she was lampooned for years. In 2011, a decade later, nobody would blink if Björk had taken off and flown to her seat. This spring, at the Grammys, Katy Perry sported angel wings, 10-year-old actress and pop star Willow Smith turned up in 8in platform trainers, US singer Nicki Minaj added leopard-print highlights to her pompadour hair to match her leopard-print dress and Lady Gaga arrived in an egg, carried like a Roman emperor.

The designers' most outrageous creations were papped on celebrities at red-carpet events rather than at the fashion shows. In fact, the most talked-about turn on the catwalk this season wasn't by Kate Moss, Lara Stone or any other model – it was Lady Gaga's debut at the Thierry Mugler womenswear show in Paris. Something odd is happening with celebrities and style. The stars are becoming more daring, more avant garde than the designers.

Nowadays, the biggest female names in music don't particularly set themselves apart from their predecessors through musical style – most of them create surprisingly traditional pop – but the way they look is a whole new world. Mainstream pop stars have typically had mainstream styling. (This trend is mainly centred on music – film stars are rarely extreme in their style choices, perhaps because they need to be believable in a versatile range of personas.) The Spice Girls, Britney Spears, Jennifer Lopez, Kylie, Girls Aloud, even Madonna – all the platinum-selling female acts of the past decade have fitted within received ideas of fashion and femininity, be it sexy, pretty or cool. Singers typically wore clothes that were easy to sell or easy to copy for the high street: Buffalo trainers, hot pants, hipster jeans.

Professor Mathieu Deflem is a sociologist who teaches a course called "Lady Gaga and the Sociology of the Fame" at the University of South Carolina. He says Gaga's fashion is a change from that of other pop stars. "Lady Gaga reassembles and restyles familiar items in an unfamiliar way. Her sense of style and sex is different. It is artistic, not commercial. Her fashion is the goal, the expression, not a means."

The new generation don't go out without a carapaced catsuit, flame-throwing bras, dresses made of cupcakes or flowers or Muppets, and hair that defies logic and gravity. Singers such as Rihanna, Jessie J and Paloma Faith choose to look kitsch or theatrical or even warrior-like rather than follow a standard idea of beauty. Not only is their style a break from tradition but it's impossible for fans – or retailers – to recreate their looks, well, at least without the aid of a mechanic and a pastry chef.

These new stars have unique relationships with the designers. Traditionally, when performers forged partnerships with labels, they were equal. Kylie works with Dolce & Gabbana, an Italian label which shares her often kitsch and flamboyant style. Julien Macdonald is known for pretty dresses and so are Girls Aloud. No one blinked when he created stage outfits for them. But when Giorgio Armani dressed Lady Gaga for the 2010 Grammys, the partnership seemed crazy. The designer is synonymous with restraint and the colour "greige"; Lady Gaga likes wearing a lobster on her head. Armani completely abandoned the style he has developed over 36 years to dress the pop star in spangles. "It wouldn't be possible to give Gaga a look from the collection because she wears pieces of art," a spokesperson admitted.

This year, Armani dressed Katy Perry for the Grammys and gave her a custom-made, winged, crystal-encrusted gown. Gaga, meanwhile, went to Hussein Chalayan, who is known as creative and experimental, but it was Lady Gaga who convinced him to make her an egg. That so many of these new pop stars wear custom-made clothes from established names, clothes which differ wildly from the labels' signature looks, marks a shift in the fashion status quo. These pop stars are inspiring designers to change. Particularly with the Gaga/Armani collaboration, it didn't feel that Armani dressed Gaga – more that she inspired him to rethink his idea of a dress.

The fashion designers haven't always been so fascinated by these stars. Nicola Formichetti is creative director of the Thierry Mugler label and has worked as a stylist at magazines such as Dazed & Confused, Another and American Harper's Bazaar. He is also Lady Gaga's fashion director, the man responsible for finding the meat dress, the veils and the dildo she wore on the cover of Q magazine. He has said that labels weren't always keen to work with the singer. "At the beginning, fashion designers didn't get her. Nobody would lend her anything. I had to lie and say I needed it for my editorial work."

Hussein Chalayan cheerfully admits he wasn't a fan of Lady Gaga or her dress sense until he saw her perform. "I wasn't interested in her at all until I went to see her in concert. She's likable and warm and makes an effort with everyone – I hope she doesn't change. I think what she's doing is a regurgitation of the past, but it's fresh packaging."

Being snubbed by the fashion establishment has meant these stars and their stylists have worked hard to find their fantastical looks. Whether the singers are underground or transgressive is debatable; the fact that they've brought new fashion talents into the international spotlight is not. Formichetti tweets the credits for all the clothes Gaga wears, and being worn by Beyoncé or Rihanna is now as important as being name-checked by US Vogue's Anna Wintour. Designers such as David Koma, Gareth Pugh and Francesco Scognamiglio have achieved international reputations in part from working with pop stars. The Blonds, David and Phillipe – otherwise known as David Trujillo and Phillipe Rollano – are a rising New York fashion duo who have made their reputation dressing stars such as Fergie, Rihanna and Katy Perry in sculpted, outrageous outfits.

"Over-the-top glamour is our speciality," says David Blond. "The 'Blond' aesthetic and themes hark back to a time when women dressed to kill, like the golden age of Hollywood. Now there is a real need for fantasy and escape from the everyday, and elaborate costume plays a huge role in this. Life is theatre for us and we want to bring a bit of that into everyone's life."

The Blonds believe the charisma of the new wave of pop stars is about more than their clothes. "Stars like Gaga, Nicki Minaj and Katy Perry understand the impact of how they present themselves and we believe that comes from within, because without these women the costumes don't have life."

The new stars do seem to be more humorous and self-aware than their pop predecessors. When Jessie J won the Critics' Choice at this year's Brit Awards she wore a Vivienne Westwood minidress. "I look like the evil queen from Snow White," she told reporters. "I just need to go and find my dwarfs now." Similarly, when asked about her big-cat Givenchy couture at this year's Grammys, Minaj described her outfit as "miraculous meets her cub meets ferocity meets fabulosity meets the runway". Katy Perry is more pragmatic. "We're all unique. That's why we all win and we all can exist. People don't just want vanilla. They want 31 flavours. I couldn't do what Rihanna does. I couldn't do what Gaga does. They can't do what I do."

What these stars do is create a break in the monotony of style that has smothered culture of late. Trends used to wash from catwalk to stage to club and pavement unhampered. They may not be of vast cultural significance, but these new celebrities' style is vivid and fun. We have come a long way from laughing at a star for laying eggs on a red carpet to applauding one for arriving in an egg. It's going to be entertaining to see how much further we can go.

Yamaha unveils Power Beam damper to control motorcycle frame flex

Yamaha has introduced a new product aimed at dampening frame flex in motorcycles and scooters. All two-wheeled machines experience varying levels of deflection under hard riding, and while excess flex can give the impression of an unsettled machine, too little can numb the bike's handing at the limit. In order to find that Goldilocks sweet spot between the two extremes, Yamaha has introduced the Power Beam. The device soaks up energy from frame flex and converts it into heat energy, which is then dissipated. The company says that the device serves up a more comfortable, stable ride.

While you'd think that that the new tech would debut on the latest and greatest street rocket from Yamaha, the company says at first, the Power Beam will only be available on the company's T-Max scooter. From what we hear, the T-Max enjoys a fairly substantial tuning following and owners are quick to snap up the latest and greatest piece of kit from the Japanese manufacturer. There is some indication that the Power Beam may make its way to other products in the near future, however.

INQ Cloud Touch phone ships this April 6th

Remember the INQ Cloud Touch that went official last month? Well, we now have word that this fabled Facebook handset will hit the UK when April 6th rolls around. Among the known launch partners for the device would be Best Buy and Carphone Warehouse, where pre-orders for the INQ Cloud Touch has already been going around at £299.95 sans a SIM card. For folks who prefer a Pay As You Go scheme, then the INQ Cloud Touch is more affordable at £199.95 a pop. Folks who are looking at a free on £20 monthly or higher contracts are those who don’t mind tying themselves down to a long-term commitment. Well, the beginning of April isn’t too far away, and we do hope to see whether the amount of Facebook activity will increase with the proliferation of such handsets.

HTC Arrive review: Welcome, Windows Phone 7, to copy/paste

The good: The HTC Arrive features a durable design with a responsive QWERTY keyboard and a tilting screen. It's the first Windows Phone 7 device to ship with Microsoft's cut-and-paste feature.
The bad: The HTC Arrive's heavy and bulky body will weigh some people down, and it requires some pressure to slide open the keyboard. Its camera could be better, and we were hoping for 4G WiMax support.
The bottom line: The HTC Arrive, Sprint's first Windows 7 phone, is a solid effort that largely delivers, although it will disappoint those looking for a 4G smartphone.
Editors' note: This review focuses on the HTC Arrive's design, performance, and differentiating features. For more on its operating system and core functions, please read our full review of Windows Phone 7.

HTC Arrive
First known as the HTC 7 Pro at its New York unveiling, the HTC Arrive is Sprint's inaugural foray into the brave new world of Windows Phone 7. And the Arrive also represents two other minor "firsts": it's the first CDMA Windows Phone 7 phone in the United States, and it's the first Windows Phone 7 model to ship with Microsoft's cut-and-paste update.
As a result there's a lot riding on the Arrive's rounded shoulders, and for the most part it succeeds in carrying that weight. Like the HTC Surround, the Arrive is a thick chunk of handset, but that extra bulk makes possible a responsive keyboard and a screen that tilts for optimal typing and media consumption. While the data speeds are fine, we were a little disappointed that 4G WiMax isn't an option.
While there's a lot to like, the Arrive also has its drawbacks, some having to do with the handset's construction and some stemming from the Windows Phone 7 OS. For the most part, though, it acquits itself well as a Sprint newcomer.

Design
The HTC Arrive looks good, and looks strong. Rimmed with shiny, dark-gray paint, the handset has a glossy appearance and feel. It has barely rounded corners, like the iPhone 4, and two cut-outs that reveal the front-facing speakers. On the back, a swath of brushed stainless steel and a decorative screw reveal that this is not a phone to be trifled with. And if there were any doubt, the phone's dimensions (4.6 inches tall, 2.3 inches wide, 0.6-inch thick) and weight (a whopping 6.4 ounces, nearly half a pound)--attest that the Arrive is one brick of a phone. Its bulk makes it a little less comfortable to slip into a pocket, but you won't have to worry much if you drop it. We noticed, however, that the gray paint that rings the face easily flaked off in our bags and under our nail.

The HTC Arrive is Sprint's first Windows Phone 7 phone, and the first to ship with copy and paste installed.
At 3.6 inches, the WVGA capacitive touch screen is slightly smaller than that of the HTC Surround, but has the same 800x480-pixel resolution. While it's a fine screen that shows off bright colors and sharp edges, it doesn't have the richness or pop of the Super AMOLED display on the Samsung Focus.
Below the screen are three touch-sensitive buttons for Back, Home, and Bing search. A camera trigger button is on the right spine, and the Micro-USB charger and a large volume rocker are on the left. Up top there's a standard 3.5-millimeter headset jack and the power button. The Arrive's back houses a 5-megapixel camera and a flash. As with all Windows 7 phones, there's no card slot for expanding the phone's memory, but the 16GB built-in storage should be enough for most casual users' needs.
More than anything else, what makes the HTC Arrive stand out is its tilting screen. HTC is no stranger to this design; it brought us the AT&T Tilt and HTC Tilt 2, much ballyhooed back in 2007 and 2009, respectively. Those two handsets ran Microsoft's earlier Windows mobile operating systems.
As with its predecessors, the Arrive's screen slides out to expose a full QWERTY keyboard before tilting up 30 degrees (previous models tilted up 40 degrees.) You simply push the front face flat and slide it back over the keyboard when you're done. It takes a fair amount of pressure to open, and our thumb kept slipping on the phone's square design on our first few tries. The Arrive's tilting mechanism appears to be fairly sturdy, and makes a metallic click when you lay the face flat.
The tilted display is best when you're typing with the phone in your hand or setting it down to watch a video play; be aware, however, that the handset will rock back slightly if you put it down and then tap on the screen in the open position.
Below the display, the Arrive's keyboard manages to be spacious without being overly wide. Keys are fully separated, but barely rise above the surface. The backlit buttons are smooth and very responsive, although a skosh less comfortable than buttons with a more rubbery feel. There are dedicated buttons for emoticons and diacritical marks, and for adding currency symbols for euros and pound sterling.
Interface
We've examined Windows Phone 7 in depth elsewhere, but there are several features worth noting here. First, the Arrive comes with Microsoft's copy/paste feature installed, the first Windows Phone 7 device to ship with it. Touching a word on a Web page or in a document presents tags that you can easily drag to select an area. Highlighting a word also causes a "copy" icon to pop up. Tapping it then saves the selected text to the clipboard for later pasting. Finally, a "paste" icon appears when you tap an input field, like a Word document or a search field.

Unfortunately, some screens still don't convert to landscape mode.
Copy/paste works intuitively and smoothly, and we love the visual panache. You can paste the same text multiple times. However, the functionality isn't strictly systemwide, although it does appear in the obvious locations, like the browser, e-mail, documents, maps, contact cards, and search results. For instance, copy/paste doesn't appear as an option in some of the settings menus, so you can't use it when configuring your e-mail--something we could do with both Android and iOS.