Sony's PS4 virtual reality headset to be announced in March

Sony developing Virtual Reality headset for PS4

Sony is preparing to reveal the final piece of its PS4 hardware strategy at TGS by showcasing a PlayStation-branded virtual reality head-mounted display, CVG has learned.

[Update: Following the publication of this article, CVG has been told by people connected to the matter that there are no longer any existing plans to publicly showcase the virtual reality headset at the Tokyo Game Show.

In August, when Sony abandoned its initial strategy to reveal the device at Gamescom, CVG was told at the time that the reveal had been be pushed back to the Tokyo event. Now the expectation is to showcase the headset in 2014.

Executives at Sony have demonstrated the VR display to a select number of developers at E3 and Gamescom, and will also conduct closed-doors meetings at TGS.

Sony originally intended to reveal the headset at Gamescom but plans fell through at the eleventh hour. The company is currently weighing up whether the PS4 device should be pitched as a key differentiator for the console or a non-essential add-on.

The matter has been slightly complicated, but not derailed, by the growing industry support for Oculus Rift. Sony's device will be a categorical rival to Oculus, and for months there have been rumours suggesting the two companies are seeking a partnership.

A games developer familiar with Sony's plans, who wished to remain anonymous, told CVG that Evolution Studios is currently working with the device to simulate a cockpit view on its

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The Last of Us: Left Behind review

It says much of the quality and depth of The Last of Us' characters and world that Naughty Dog could have picked any one of a number of threads to explore in this, the first and only story expansion for its seminal action-adventure. The strained relationship between Joel and his brother Tommy; Marlene's journey from Ellie's guardian to head of the Fireflies; the story of Ish, the enigmatic survivor whose notes detail his harrowing experiences in Pittsburgh - any might have worked.

Instead, Neil Druckmann, Bruce Straley and their team have chosen to explore one of the defining relationships of our young heroine Ellie's life - her close friendship with a fellow teenage survivor, Riley. Those that have played through The Last of Us already know how this story ends and likely have an idea of how it might play out, and so it is to the developer's significant credit that Left Behind manages to defy foreknowledge to tell a story that is touching, revealing and important.

Left Behind presents an unexpected duality, contrasting the Ellie with whom we are familiar with one whom we've never met. Ostensibly, it is a snapshot of a pivotal time in Ellie and Riley's friendship that plays out against the backdrop of a post-outbreak world, a world in which quarantine zones and death are everyday considerations and where trips to the mall and carefree teenage frivolity are wholly alien concepts. To pick out any single instance of this juxtaposition would be to deny you the joy of discovery. Suffice to say that exploration is its own reward, and it's as amusing as it is poignant to witness the two friends walk amongst the relics of an opulent past and wonder aloud at the bemusing superficiality of it all.

In its way, Left Behind also serves as an examination of Ellie's later relationship with Joel. It offers insight into the depth of the bond that exists between the two and provides a deeper understanding of this relationship by exploring events that are only alluded to in the main story. In doing so, it once again turns the pseudo-father-daughter relationship on its head and offers still more to ponder in the main story's ambiguous ending. While there's certainly value in playing through The Last of Us again prior to starting Left Behind, there's also a surprising amount to be taken from venturing through the main story

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The rise of the phablet

Go back to 2010 and you'd be hard pushed to find a handset which sported a screen bigger than 4 inches. Back then the big phones of the year were the 3.5-inch iPhone 4, 3.7-inch HTC Desire and the 4-inch Samsung Galaxy S.

Today we're seeing handsets rocking screens in excess of 6-inches, while the bustling budget tablet market is churning out top quality devices in the 7-inch arena.

The line between phones and tablets is more blurred than it's ever been and the considerable amount of crossover has resulted in the coining of the rather inelegant phrase "phablet" - love it or hate it, the phrase and the devices it's attached to are here to stay.

In the beginning

Our first real taste of a phablet was back in 2011 when the Samsung Galaxy Note was launched to a muted response. People scoffed at its ridiculously large 5.3-inch display and 90s S-Pen stylus, but little did we know Samsung was onto something.

Alan Thomas from Carphone Warehouse explains: "The phablet was a slow burner. When the original Samsung Galaxy Note hit the shelves it wasn't instantly popular. The industry as a whole didn't know what to make of it.

"But, as Samsung marketed it and showed what it could do, why you use it, people found it offered something they wanted."

Samsung's Note series remains the most recognised of the phablet generation with the Korean firm adding the Galaxy Note 2 and Galaxy Note 3 in the following years, but it has now been joined by the likes of Sony, Nokia and HTC in the race for the best supersized smartphone.

It's still not clear what defines a phablet, and Thomas told us "it's getting a bit debatable, but typically a phablet has a screen size larger than 5.3 inches and smaller than 7 inches. Tablets normally have screens of 7 inches and over and smartphone screens tend to be 5.2 inches or under.

"There is a little bit of overlap and it's largely due to how the manufacturer chooses to market their devices."

Why oh why?

There wasn't much of a calling for our smartphones to dramatically increase in size before the Galaxy Note popped its head up, so what advantages do phablets actually provide?

Thomas notes: "people have really begun to use their smartphones a lot more for the internet, and the larger screens make it more

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PS Vita Slim (2014)

PS Vita Slim (2014): First Impressions

What is the Sony PS Vita Slim?

The new PS Vita is the 2014 edition of Sony’s handheld console. It is cheaper, slimmer and lighter than its predecessor. Although Sony is keen to say it is still simply called the PS Vita, we’re sure it’ll quickly adopt the Vita Slim moniker.

The key selling point of the new Vita is its design, as the software and processing power under the hood are near-identical to the last model. It's slimmer, and has an LCD screen rather than an OLED one.

For existing PS Vita owners, those design tweaks make the latest model feel quite different from its predecessor.

PS Vita (2014) - Design

Sony has listened to gamer feedback to make the Vita easier and more comfortable to hold for long periods of time. Even when picking up the new handheld for the first time, the difference is clear.

25 per cent of the original Vita’s weight has been shaved off to make the latest model feel considerably lighter than the original. It's a welcome change. The original was by no means a heifer at launch, but in a direct comparison it feels like quite the dead weight.

The PS Vita Slim has a new soft, matt finish on the rear and the finger grips have been enlarged to help you endure those extended gaming sessions. These touches make the new model much more tactile and finger-friendly than the former gloss finish. The rear touch panel is still glossy though, so your fingers won’t notice a change there.

To help reduce accidental presses, the rear touch panel has been reduced by around 30 per cent. From our brief play with top Vita title Tearaway, the smaller touchpad doesn’t affect the way you play whatsoever. And it is still large enough to feel accessible and convenient without having to stretch your fingers too far.

Changes to the buttons are some of the more subtle design alterations, with the symbol buttons and d-pad receiving minor cosmetic changes. The start and select buttons under the right analogue stick are now small and round rather than oval, and the PS Home button is no longer backlit.

Instead there are a duo of LED lights at the top of the device to indicate power and battery levels.

The best new feature of the PS Vita Slim is Sony’s abandoning of

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Top 7 best budget Tablets

The iPad Air is ruling the roost as the best tablet in the world, but with prices starting at £399 and rising all the way to £739, it's clearly priced in a bracket way above many people's budget.

Apple's sky-high prices mean those wanting a more affordable tablet experience will have to look elsewhere, although the original iPad Mini has seen a price cut since its successor, the iPad Mini with Retina display, came onto the scene.

Google's Android operating system now adorns a multitude of tablets, from those priced at the same lofty heights of Apple's offerings, to those that can be picked up for less than £100 at your local supermarket – although we'd advise against purchasing most of these, and instead check out the superior options below.

For those of you who are still with us, well done. To reward you for your loyalty, here are some top tablets for under £250.

 

1. New Nexus 7 (2013)

 

 

Price: from £199

OS: Android 4.4 KitKat

Review score: 4.5/5

With a quad-core processor, beefy 12-core GPU, 7-inch full HD display and being the first tablet to run the superb Android KitKat operating system, the new Nexus 7 is quite simply the best budget tablet out there.

The 16GB, Wi-Fi only version is available for just £199, while the 32GB Wi-Fi model will set you back a still reasonable £239. It's quite possibly the bargain of the century.

The only real shortcoming is there is no microSD card slot, meaning you're stuck with 32GB at most – although that can be easily overlooked at this startlingly attractive price.

2. LG G Pad 8.3

Price: from £229.99

OS: Android 4.2 Jelly Bean

Review score: 4.5/5

If the 7-inch tablet range is a little too small for your liking, and the iPad mini 2 is just out of your price range then you'll love the LG G Pad 8.3.

As you may have already guessed it sports a 8.3-inch display, a full HD affair which looks great and with a 1.7GHz quad-core processor and 2GB, the G Pad 8.3 has no trouble running Android Jelly Bean.

The metal finish means the G Pad 8.3 also feels great, almost putting it on a par with the premium design of the iPad mini - it's a lovely tablet which won't disappoint.

3. Amazon Kindle Fire HDX 7

Price: from £199

OS: Android 4.2 Jelly Bean

Review

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iPad Pro release date, rumours and news

Apple did something interesting with the launch of the latest full-sized iPad (aside from a total hardware revamp): Gave it a new name. The iPad Air alludes to the Cupertino, Calif. company adopting the naming convention of its laptop lines, the MacBook Air and Pro series, for its premiere range of tablets.

Logic would dictate, then, that if Apple were to release an even more sizable iPad, it would be with a professional bent and named the iPad Pro. So, we're looking at 2014 for a newer, bigger iPad entering a product category that has seen little success thus far. Will Apple be the one to legitimize the "professional's tablet?"

Cut to the chase

What is it? A brand new, larger iPad

When will it release? Either spring or fall 2014, we expect

What will it cost? Likely somewhere between the iPad Air and MacBook Air

iPad Pro release date

The iPad Pro release date will be in 2014, following the iPad Air, which released November 1, 2013. However, there are many rumors regarding the tablet's firm release date.

Unnamed Foxconn sources have told Chinese news site Pad News that Apple plans either a late winter/spring or October 2014 release date. To further confuse things, these sources also claim that Apple is working on two versions of the pro-level slate.

According to Pad News, an iPad Pro with a 2K screen resolution will launch in April 2014, while a 4K iPad Pro will land in October. Korea Times's sources at a "local first-tier display supplier" report that a single version will launch "sometime early next year" with a nearly UHD resolution.

Even more sources reporting to China's United Daily News, point to another iPad Pro manufacturing partner entirely: Quanta Computer. DigiTimes's sources (hit-and-miss with rumors) recently backed up this report, claiming that Apple expected the manufacturer to have either a 12.9 or 13.3-inch model ready. Now, the Taiwanese outlet's sources say that Apple is leaning toward the smaller screen.

As if to mix things up even more, International Business Times reports that Apple is aiming for winter or even a spring 2015 release, according to its Foxconn sources.

Computer World points out that most US school districts determine their budgets in January or February each year. So, a fall or winter 2014 launch would make the most sense.

The competition already heats up

Samsung beat Apple to the punch in

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Ipad Air: Logitech FabricSkin Keyboard Folio review

Pros

-Classy design with front and back protection

-Easy to remove iPad when you want

-Clever magnetic stand design

Cons

-Keyboard takes a little getting used to

-Pricey in comparison to alternatives

Logitech FabricSkin Keyboard Folio for iPad Air review

What is the Logitech FabricSkin Keyboard Folio?

As if to alleviate any doubt, Logitech seems determined to answer this question in full using just the name. As its title suggests this a folio case with a keyboard, while the 'FabricSkin' part refers to how the keyboard and outer shell are splashproof. It's Logitech's second attempt at such a case and it doesn't come cheap at £119, but it has a lot of plusses if you can overlook the price.

FabricSkin Keyboard Folio: Design

This version is a serious step up from the original FabricSkin Keyboard Folio. It still protects the front and rear of the iPad, but this version trades the soft touch material of the original for a hardier, more satisfying textile material over a hard plastic shell.

The combination gives the FabricSkin Keyboard Portfolio a more tactile feel, but just as important it's thinner and lighter than before. The old version, admittedly using a heavier iPad, weighed in comfortably over 1kg combined. An iPad Air and this Folio, however, are a more manageable 880g. It's a still a fair bit heavier than an iPad Air on its own, but it's far more in line with Logitech's popular Ultrathin Keyboard Cover for iPad Air than before.

This makes the FabricSkin a far more viable solution for anyone who wants a Folio-style keyboard and case in one, but doesn't want to sacrifice too much portability. It helps, too, that in this incarnation the FabricSkin Keyboard Folio looks very classy. The textile exterior looks far more professional and smart, while the choice of either a white or a (rather fetching to our eyes) yellow interior gives you a little choice.

All these improvements are great and the Folio's best feature remains: the magnetic clasp. This holds the iPad in place when in typing mode, with the Bluetooth connection automatically engaging (or disengaging) when its activated. It's a neat, very user-friendly touch that means you're never left wondering whether the keyboard is connected or not and saves on battery life -- Logitech claims up to three months when used around three hours per day.

One final plus point is that's it's very

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