When the people who brought you Android start working on their very own phone, known as Project Ara, it’s time to get excited.
Haven’t Google created loads of phones in the past?
Yes and no. It’s more accurate to say Google have commissioned smartphones. A range of manufacturers, including LG, Samsung, HTC and most recently Huawei, have been created with the support of Google. The behemoth tech company looks after marketing and design while the manufacturers look after the rest. The difference with Project Ara is Google will build this on their own, though Motorola were involved at the beginning prior to Google acquiring that area of the telecoms business.
The goal of Project Ara
Project Ara is a fascinating endeavour for a lot more than tech reasons. The Google handset is modular, meaning you buy a base model and add the features that you need. The rollout plan aims to have the Project Ara handset reach six billion people, with one million of these people being first time mobile phone users. To encourage adoption, will ship with a basic skeleton for around €50, where the user adds features they want. The benefit here is similar to what Google is attempting with the Daydream and overcomes the problem a similar idea by LG will encounter: having enough base models of one unit to encourage development of compatible modules.
Why we need Project Ara to work
Since 2013, Facebook have been testing various methods of delivering an internet connection to 4.5 billion people never connected before through internet.org. Google are looking to do the same thing with hardware. By creating an affordable handset, adoption rates in poorer areas are likely to increase. Even better is the lifespan on the unit being vastly increased for the user.
Should the user require a better battery life or a camera replaced, they need only replace the related module. Google have also stated that the handset will be open source, meaning anyone can develop modules. The potential here is enormous. Specialist modules can be added to the device for medical use, also being interchangeable without the device being powered off.
Why we want Project Ara to work
There are less world changing reasons we want to see this Google project work. It’s cool. People are upgrading their handsets less frequently than ever, made evident through the latest ComReg report and general handset sales worldwide have slowed. Being able to upgrade elements of your smartphone without throwing it away reduces waste and the cost to the user. Everything about this project is pretty much improving how we think about smartphone.
Finally, modular smartphones are cool. Having a phone that can grow with your needs is an amazing concept. Bring an extra battery unit to a festival or carry a module that acts as a stand for watching movies on train journeys.
Project Ara release date and price
This Google handset is expected to roll out in early 2017 with developer handsets being available later this year.
How we consume news has fundamentally changed in recent years. While older generations are resisting modern methods of consumption, news media outlets who once focussed on print media now focus on delivering their stories electronically. Following the advent of smartphones and increased connectivity, we are never more than a few clicks away from news.
We’ve found one app that seems really useful. Launched in mid-2015, 
It has been two years since Google shook the VR world with Cardboard. While excitement was growing thanks to the crowd funded Oculus Rift, Google’s simple cardboard solution would allow users to witness VR first hand for €30, if not less. Google is now targeting the wonderful 
Google Daydream is an ambitious project, but who can doubt Google. The project aims to become the standardised VR platform everyone adopts. We can already imagine one of these sitting in 50% of homes after the launch, so this really is a big deal.
There are two outstanding alternatives Apple may be plotting; wireless Bluetooth ear-pods or wired headphones through the lightning connector. The latter here is perhaps the most likely, while also offering exciting possibilities. Audio partner, Beats, would not longer require battery packs in their noise-cancelling headphones, instead being able to run power from the smartphone.
The leaked image also shows connectors at the base on the rear of the iPhone 7. This suggests Apple are seeking an alternative to wireless charging, which has proven popular with Samsung. The connector will also open the doors for a range of in-car features and home speakers. Remember when you had to throw out all those 30-pin chargers? The time has come again.
Apple would appear to be testing the waters with a reasonably big change on the camera front as well. Images have emerged of a dual sensor (right), which will apparently feature on the next generation of iPhone. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen smartphones with dual sensors. Huawei have featured it recently, while it also featured on the HTC One M8.
The leaked schematic shows there is plenty of room on the rear of the handset for this a rumour that should hold some water.
You unleash what is perhaps the most fun and chaotic style of mayhem you can witness on Gear VR. It’s lunacy, but endlessly fun. You play your way through various different scenarios and achieve different endings. Then you simply reset and start the next scenario. The goal is the few all endings, which you can track on the console in front of you. So push away as there are thirty insane conclusions and sequences you need to enjoy.
Many of you will be more than familiar with Taiwanese manufacturer, HTC. They have been a leading smartphone manufacturer for years. Recently, their handsets have widely been considered brilliant though often lacking in ground-breaking innovation. Many believe this has been caused by HTC’s shift in focus towards virtual reality through the Vive project in 2015. One of the most exciting aspects of the Vive’s development is HTC’s partnership with Steam, combining one of the world’s most innovative virtual reality headsets with the world’s leading gaming provider.
Of course, with immersive experiences, being terrified is ultimately what we were after. Brookhaven Experiment is still only available as a demo, but is already one of the greatest virtual reality experiences we have come across. This wave survival based first person shooter is a combination of terrifying and immersive perfection. One of the best parts of the game was when one hand got tired firing the gun. When swapping the gun and torch, it didn’t feel like I was swapping controllers, instead genuinely feeling like it was the items from the game.
The Samsung Fast Charge Wireless Pad is a particularly good example of how good wireless charging actually can be. Samsung have managed to combine wireless charging with what is perhaps their flagship device’s most underestimated feature: fast charging.
What was a little disheartening after opening the packaging, was that despite the price, you still must use the wireless pad with the adaptive fast charger you found when you opened your Samsung device for the first time. This is a real pity as these aren’t too easily found on the high street and also don’t come too cheap, usually weighing in around €30. The wireless pad will work with other chargers, but in order to avail of fast wireless charging, you must combine the pad with the official Samsung adaptive charger.
As the levels begin and your turret gets moved into place, you can’t help but feel you are about to face into a war. Looking around the turret you see notes from loved ones while looking from the perfectly positioned first person view. Pop on a set of headphones and the commander’s voice may as well be coming through loud and clear in your helmet.
The man who sleeps with his sister, has three children through incest, helped his brother escape after he strangled a whore and shot his pops while he pooped is to be played by none only the Captain America himself Chris Evans.
To replace the strongest man on earth is always going to be tough. Being known as a moving mountain carries a certain wait with it. This was a tough call, with Tom Hardy just about winning over the destroyer of pancakes, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
When one thinks of the Dornishmen, one thinks of Latino, silky smooth and a hint of arrogance. Really, who fits this bill better than Zorro himself, Antonio Banderas?.
Look for intensive purposes Jon Snow should only ever be played by Kit Harrington: he is perfect and it may already be the defining role of his career. If it did have to be someone else, the only logical replacement would be Christian Bale. He’s big he’s brooding, he is Batman and is an absolutely superb actor who has shown time and time again that he can do any role. Someone get that man a cloak and let his watch begins.
You might need to squint a bit before you agree, but there is something there. When you look at Oliver Platt and picture him bald and in a tunic, he just looks every bit of the scheming unic. Also Oliver Platt’s career has seen him act in some real top quality movies and spans almost 30 years, he has never been the main man but someone who fades in and out of the background but seems to always have a part to play in the story as a whole, sound like any one we know?
