The Empire Strikes Back

Much has been said about the BBC’s coverage of the Formula 1, nearly all of it praiseworthy, and rightly so. As far as sports programming goes, it’s in a league of it’s own and the BBC have every right to be proud of it. Mind you, it didn’t take a great deal of effort to improve the ITV coverage, but kudos to the BBC for going several extra miles and making their F1 weekend the highlight of a televisual fortnight in countless homes across the land.

Race weekends in my house start with P1-3 on Fridays (if we’re home), continue with qualifying on Saturdays and culminate with a ‘grand screening' of the race on Sundays. I cook a big roast, the phone is unplugged, the doorbell turned off. The FreeviewHD box is fired up and routed through the home cinema to impressive levels. In short, Mrs The Hurf and I make a fuss and turn into an event as we both enjoy the sport. My home is one of those “countless homes across the land”.

It’s a real pity then that Formula 1 and Bernie Ecclestone, despite saying 3 months ago:
"...Sky have been trying to buy the TV rights from us for a long time, but we won’t (sell) because they are not free-to-air broadcasters. With their viewing figures it would be almost impossible for teams to find sponsors. That would be suicidal...” 
...opting instead to take whatever Sky were offering and screw over a large portion of the BBC viewing audience by reneging on the final year of the contract with the BBC, awarding broadcasting rights to Sky from 2012 –2018. They will now show every race with ‘unprecedented live coverage.’

It’s not all a total loss, (at least as far as the BBC are concerned) as they get to show half the races through the year. In fact Barbara Slater, Director of BBC Sport, is “…absolutely delighted that F1 will remain on the BBC. The sport has never been more popular with TV audiences…and the BBC has always stated it’s commitment to big national sporting moments…with this deal not only have we delivered significant savings, but we have also ensured that through our live and extended highlights all the coverage yada yada…”

In the wake of all this, the BBC have posted a lengthy article here attempting to explain themselves. It's done nothing but unleash a spectacular amount of vitriol, spawning comment after comment, accusing the BBC and Formula 1 of selling themselves out. I'd post links here, but there are so many it just would'n't be feasible.

What a funny old world it is in Telly Land, where you can win awards for superlative coverage of a sport and universal praise from audiences across the land for the coverage of F1…and apparently be happy with the leftovers from the Sky plate and convinced that a 50% reduction in the number of races shown live on the BBC each year will somehow still provide “…all the coverage…”

This is the biggest and most disappointing load of bollocks I’ve heard in quite some time.

How is it possible to show all the coverage when you’ve signed away HALF the season and will now show extended highlights? Highlights aren’t the real deal and if only the witless bean counters at the BBC had sense enough to see this. It’s a great shame and a real pity on so many levels:

• That F1 has sold its soul to the BSkyB and the Murdoch Empire, particular in the wake of weeks and weeks of damning scandal...and saying they wouldn't sell out at all.
• That the BBC have been bent over the bargaining table...and walked away from the deal thinking losing 50% of coverage is great idea. 
• That the fans of F1 who don’t want to line somebody else’s pockets just to see their favourite sport (particularly in the current economic climate), now have to make a choice. 

The BBC coverage was bought and paid for until 2013, so who's palm has been greased to renege on next years coverage? Let's not forget, the Concorde Agreement also states F1 coverage should be free-to-air as it could have a significant impact not just on sponsorship agreements for teams and drivers, but on F1 itself:

• Coverage on the BBC attracts 6 million viewers, each every race. 
• Viewership of F1 is at a 10-year high, 
• Moving F1 to can (and will) alienate a large portion of this audience. The The cheapest way to get Sky and the Sports channels is £31.75. That's not including HD coverage, nor is it taking into account coverage may well end up on Sky Sports 2. The whole package could end up costing £50 a month and I'm not paying it!
• Depending who currently has Sky but not sports, how many of the 10 million Sky customers are going to fork out another £12.25 a month - over a year it equates to paying the TV Licence twice - to watch something that has ALWAYS (according to F1's own rules) been free?

Shame on you, Ecclestone, and shame on the BBC too – if you hadn't spent £900 million moving operations to Manchester, you'd have had more cash in the pot. I suspect there's a massive bill for the Olympics coverage too. But, iIf Eastenders is able to go five nights a week following the ‘savings’ made in the wake of this deal, or Doctor Who suddenly plays 52 weeks a year there’ll be ructions, I tell thee. Boo hiss boo!

Memory

I've been watching the memory on the phone the last few weeks, mainly since 2.3.3 was implemented and since a colleague in Test Lab commented on excessive memory bleed. Today my phone had been up for 40 hours and it was slllllllllooooowwwww. Accessing Auto Memory Manager showed I had around 92MB left in the memory. Killing a couple background apps freed up a little more.

Before I continue with the results of my experiment I'd like to note (and I'm sure many of you have noticed something similar) there are certain apps on the phone which can't be killed by conventional methods or otherwise. If anyone at Sony Ericsson could explain to me why my phone apparently needs to run THREE widgets for the clock I'd be grateful:

• The blue digital clock widget - which I use on my homescreen
• The black digital clock widget - which I don't use
• The analogue clock widget.

Furthermore I'd be thrilled to know why the following services need to be running on my handset? The Sony Ericsson Facebook service which, despite being killed in sync etc (as I hate Facebook Inside Xperia), still manages to run in the background, along with

• the stock Music app,
• HDMI control,
• Maps,
• BBC iPlayer,
• BBC News and
• Skype.

Quite why Skype runs in the background when it's not even logged in is bewildering. Why the HDMI controller is running, perpetually poised to spring to life, despite the absence of an HDMI lead, is equally perplexing, bordering on plain stupid.

Anyway, back to the memory issue. There's definitely a problem somewhere as I did a quick reboot and the phone was back up to 169MB. However within 5 minutes of this power up, 5 MB has mysteriously disappeared into the ether. 10 minutes after this point the phone has dropped below 140MB and sure enough, Skype is lurking in the background, along with Maps and HDMI control. I'm sure by the time I check the phone at bedtime despite clearing caches and killing unused apps it will have bled out a few more MB.

One of the many joys of Symbian was the ability to leave the phone on for DAYS and it still run at the same speed. My k800i, switched off but used as an alarm, lasted a MONTH before the alarm failed to activate. The big problem with smartphones is no-one's looking past the end of the working day. 


Most manufacturers aren't interested in TWO working days use from the phone. The assumption is users will rag their phone until the battery is exhausted, usually in one day, and the handset will power down. The subsequent overnight recharge rejuvenates the phone and you carry on as normal. This is generally where Mugen Power et al pick up the slack.

What happens though, when you don't turn the phone off? I use my phone as my alarm clock, and one of the limitations of the Android system is the phone MUST be on for the alarm to work - it doesn't have the internal counter like Symbian handsets have. So if your phone never goes off, it never gets the chance to rest, regroup and press on again. In short, it chokes on it's own crap.

Now there are apps on the market like the aforementioned AutoMemoryManager, that help Android manage it's memory but I feel this is something Android should be able to do itself. Cleaning the app cache can sometimes free up 10-20% of the available memory, but why is it left to be done manually? The OS should be smart enough to keep itself ticking over efficiently (or more efficiently than it currently is), rather than getting bogged down under the weight of self-generated crap.

Fantastic Voyage - Xperia 2011

Following the progress of the 2011 Xperia range certainly makes for interesting viewing.
When I got the X10HD in January I was suitably impressed with the handset, however a big step was taken with the Arc, moving from plain old black to the glossy purple, shiny-shiny veneer of the Arc, which quite obviously trumps the X10HD in terms of style and grace.

However, what's more fascinating to me is charting the evolution of the handsets and the technology contained therein, from the Arc through to the Ray. The Arc was quite a large handset, purposefully designed to be sleek and slim but to cram as much tech onboard as possible. The Neo was supposed to be out at the same time as the Arc but was delayed due to production issues following the tsunami in Japan in March.

Released at the end of June. It has the same features as the Arc, albeit a slightly smaller screen, throws in a front-facing camera, but still manages to be smaller than it's predecessor. Sure it's a bit chunkier overall, but it does more than the Arc could do (Skype video calling is brilliant!) and does it very well.

In fact if I’m going to be honest and totally biased, it’s a blinder of a handset, probably in joint first place with the amazing k800i. Considering 6 months ago Sony Ericsson were top of my shitlist, for the Neo to come along and go straight to the top of the list, that’s saying something as:

1. I’m not very forgiving
2. I still love the k800i handset!

Moving on, the Xperia Ray, due out late August/early September has very similar specs to the Neo but has managed to squeeze the same features into an even smaller chassis probably a teensy bit bigger than a 5 th generation of iPod Nano.

First up for the Ray, software improvements. Those of you who read my blog would know I complained bitterly back in April about the lack of digital zoom on the Arc handset, when it had been in place on the X10HD. Why release a phone with Exmor-R capabilities and BRAVIA picture improvements and then take a step backwards by removing zoom capabilities? Madness!

So, at a recent Test Lab meeting I thrilled to be able to play with the Ray for a bit and discovered improvements to the camera software. Yes, digital zoom is back! Hurrah!

Coming back to the physical aspects of the Ray, there have been some necessary sacrifices to accommodate the reduction in size; we lose LED flash (replaced with a horrific photo-light, similar to the travesty that blighted the X10HD) and an HDMI port.

These sacrifices may mean a lot to some (dirty photo-light), but when you consider the phone retains the front-facing camera, the 8.1 MP rear camera (still with 720p HD video) the 1GHz Snapdragon processor and throws in some subtle but welcome software improvements, that's impressive.

And for the handsets to go from the size of an iPod Classic to just about iPod Nano 5G size (and I mean ‘just!’) in a mere 6 months (Arc –Neo –Ray) that’s very impressive indeed.

The end of all things Potter?

So, after 7 novels, 7 movies and 10 years of waiting, the end is nigh for Potter.  I'm not going to explain the story or deliver a plot breakdown as I'm fairly sure most (if not all) of you reading this will be fully aware of the story...suffice to it's THE most hyped film of the year, nay the decade, but is it any good?

To start off, anyone expecting a stunning show-stoppping showdown, with all-out carnage hinted at in the stunning trailer, may well be slightly underwhelmed. I can't comment on the 3D presentation as I avoid the format like the plague.

Don't get me wrong, it's spectacular, thrilling stuff but it just feels like at times there's something missing from proceedings. Spells are cast, debris, blood and bodies fill the screen but it all somehow seems a little rushed. Sure, old cast members make cameo appearances (Horace Slughorn, Sybill Trelawney) and the current cast are all present and correct, but....I don't know. Considering the average running time for the previous 7 films is about 150 minutes, this film, clocking in at 130 minutes including credits, is about half an hour off the mark. And it shows.

Compare it to the other big film of the summer, Transformers 3; Dark of the Moon spends just over an hour building up to a stunning 75-minute denouement - as I said a previous post:

"...Bay carefully sets everything up for a fabulous payoff...an orgy of building-demolition porn and robot snuff...It's Transformers meets Spielbergs' War of the Worlds meets Black Hawk Down and it's pure awesomeness..." 

Although let's be totally clear Dark of the Moon doesn't offer anything remotely comparable in emotional terms, I was expecting more from Potter in terms of "...pure awesomeness..." Deathly Hallows Pt. 2 spends an hour and a half building up to a defining showdown between Good and Evil - then throws it all away in about half an hour.

That said, the acting is as good as ever, though particular attention must be paid to Alan Rickman, Michael Gambon and Ralph Fiennes, who all put in stellar performances. A crucial scene with Rickman as Severus Snape offers the series' most powerful and emotive scenes and should draw a tear or two (or at least itchy eyes) from even the most hardened of souls. Gambon is as deliriously cryptic as ever in his scene(s) as Dumbledore and Fiennes is clearly having an absolute ball being gleefully, maniacally evil as He Who Must Not Be Named.

If only the same fevour for the task at hand could've been shown by Radcliffe; here he seems to dial in his performance from miles away, never quite raising his game to match the enormous scale of this film. Perhaps it was a little too much pressure on such young shoulders, but some attempt to match his peers would've been appreciated.

The final scene, an epilogue set two decades after the climatic battle at Hogwarts, may well draw an illicit snigger or two from the audience with some questionable old age make-up. Harry looks fairly convincing as thirty-something, though it appears the make up team forgot to work on Ginny's face and simply made her hair bigger and her clothes frumpier. Ron and Hermione also appear: Ron is noticeably paunchier though again, Hermione's clothes look older than her make-up does. Malfoy drew the biggest laugh from me, as he bears a resemblance to a paler version of That Yellow Bastard from Sin City. The photo below doesn't really do justice to the comedy of it all;



Dodgy makeup aside, eternal credit must be given to David Yates (and his team) for his unwavering vision and guidance through the last 4 movies; Order of the Phoenix, Half-Blood Prince and two parts of Deathly Hallows. The production design remains fantastic and the visual effects are mind-blowingly superb, really top notch.

Watching back parts of The Philosophers Stone again tonight, it's wonderful to see how the cast have grown through the years, though doubtful whether the series could've continued with the success it's had, had they remained the cutesy, kiddie-friendly vehicles they were for Philosophers Stone and Chamber of Secrets. I for one am still thrilled with the change of direction the series took from Azkaban onwards. In fact, my personal favourite of the Potter films is Azkaban, closely followed by Half-Blood Prince. My favourite novel, curiously, is The Goblet of Fire, a film which doesn't rate that highly with me.

Anyhoo, back to the subject at hand! All eight(!) of these films do the British film-industry immeasurable justice and we should be proud to call them own.

LiveView

Having heard multiple stories about the LiveView, both good and bad, I decided to acquire a unit for myself. Receiving the package in the post at 11.30 today (Friday) I plugged the unit straight into the computer and repaired the software, making sure I was running a clean unit. Everything fine and dandy.

Installed a couple plugins - Gmail and FB - all worked fine. Went out @ 13.30 for the afternoon to see Harry Potter (more on than later). By 14.30 I had received notifications for messages, Facebook, Gmail and a couple phone calls. Was feeling very pleased with my purchase, until the unit slipped out of it's housing as I was reaching for my phone and bounced on the floor from waist height.

Now, the phone will charge but will do very little else. It will turn on and off, but won't show notifications retained on the device or even do the really cool 'Find My Phone' routine. It will also tell the time, but won't connect to SEUS to repair itself.

The curious thing is, the 'select' button is registering somewhere in the unit, as when the screen dims and I hold the button in, the screen comes back to life. So I'm wondering whether the little knock has scrambled the unit - I refuse to believe it's so weak it can't surface one drop.

Unless I can repair the unit, and I fear my skills as a precision engineer may have left me, the LiveView is a watch that essentially doubles as a buggy, near-useless wireless controller for your Android phone, And that's being generous.

Xperia Duo

The rumour mill kicked into overdrive this afternoon with the publication of an article from International Business Times, detailing the much-rumoured Xperia Duo. It's picking up enough buzz to have made the news on Techradar, who claim the specs are a little outlandish. I don't think so, at all:

• A 4.5 screen is a pinch bigger than the HTC Sensation. So, it probably can be done.
• A 1.4 GHz DC processor? The best (HTC Sensation/Samsung Galaxy S2) are running at 1.2 but the natural evolution of technology means it can be done.
• LED Flash? Done
• 1080p video recording on a mobile? Done – HTC Sensation setting the benchmark again.
• 1.5GB of RAM? Not done, probably possible but given SE don't like to give too much RAM, I'd say this is at least 500MB over the top.
• 2500mAh battery? Mugen Power offer significant battery upgrades but these come at a cost of an increase size to the handset, which SE won't want to compromise on.
• Rumours abound of 8GB or 16GB memory cards with the phones. Personally I hope it's the latter as 12MP stills and full-HD videos are going to eat space like there's no tomorrow.

It's all interesting stuff, the vast majority of which may be bullshit. Bearing this is mind, even though the story only broke today, it's generating significant enough buzz to have warranted a full story on Techradar this very afternoon. And a post here on my blog. And probably a load more stories (one here) as well before the week is out.

I really hope this phone turns out to be more than just a rumour. Consumer reports indicate the Play hasn't sold very well at all which, seeing as though SE appear to have pinned their hopes on the Play more than say, the Arc or Neo, isn't really the success story they're hoping for. 

With the release of the HTC Sensation, the Motorola Atrix and LG Optimus 2X having occurred from March – June, the time is right for SE to bring out a handset to quite thoroughly trounce the aforementioned handsets – and wrestle the iPhone 5 for the position of the best and most desirable handset of the year. SE - it's over to you.

Data Monitor

At the Test Lab meet last week we were shown some new phones; the Ray and the two new Minis. Inspecting the software for these I found a couple new apps in the app drawer. One that caught my attention is Data Monitor.

It basically does exactly what it says on the tin, monitors the mobile data going to and from your phone. You can set alarms and things to notify you when you go over your allowance. For those on small data plans this is a very useful tool.

There are other apps out there that can do the same thing, but I think it's interesting SE have developed this app and I get the feeling this is the first in a line of in-house apps that I think are going to compete with other third-party apps on the Market.

Video calling, Facetime and all that jazz.

Ever since FaceTime was announced last year as a 'new' feature for the iPhone 4/iOS4, I've wondered why we keep coming back to video calling?

Let's be honest, video calling isn't all that new. It's been around in various forms, believe it or not, for nearly 80 years. So Apple proudly boasting about FaceTime being innovative yada yada yada is really a load of tosh; my great-grandmother, the inimitable Nanny Biscuits, has been around longer than video calling.

My first dalliance with the technology was back in 2005 when I got my Sony Ericsson k800i handset. At the time, the technology in mobiles was VERY new and I was very much in the minority. As I recall didn't get much chance to test it until late 2006/2007 and even then, just four years ago, I wasn't all that impressed. It was blocky, it was done over 3G/UMTS networks and it really just wasn't very good unless your phone was specifically built for it. To be honest, I thought the idea of video calling on mobiles had largely been abandoned by the end of 2007!

Fast forward three years and Apple, in yet another attempt to lay claim to something they didn't invent, introduce FaceTime to the iPhone 4 as a 'new' technology. It might be new - to iPhones - but it only works with iPhones so is useless to anyone who is able to think outside the box and get a real smartphone.

Skype Mobile is bringing video calling to Android-based mobiles in a big way, as is Android 2.3.4 which brings standard video calling. I've no intention of making a video call using my data plan but I have experimented with Skype-to-Skype video calling using a webcam and the front-facing camera of the fabulous Sony Ericsson Xperia Neo.

It was a good experience, much better than in 2007. It's on a par with using Skype on a computer, the connection was nice and steady, good picture, good sound. Much better, in fact, than the new video messaging service from Facebook...room for improvement there for sure..!

Time will tell whether video-calling really takes off again, but I think with the prevalence of WiFi in so many homes these days, we could see more people having face to face conversations and I reckon a significant portion of these will be done through a mobile phone.

As a further note, the upcoming Xperia Ray and the Xperia Pro handsets both feature a front-facing camera and will definitely be worth a purchase to take advantage of the ability to video call with Skype from anywhere on the planet with a decent WiFi connection. These handsets are expected to launch in September/October.

The Path of Neo

The release history of the Neo has been interesting. It first had a hands-on review back in early February with TechRadar and they said reasonably nice things.

The handset was due for release at the same time as the Arc and Play, though sadly the terrible disaster in Japan affected supply of crucial components and delayed the release until July. Techradar reviewed the handset properly at the end of June, here, and gave it 3.5 stars out of 5. Their main dislike? Some sort of problem with headphones - I don't feel this is a good enough reason to mark a phone down, especially when I've had no problems using headphones with the phone or with Bluetooth attachments.

Electric Pig did something similar when reviewing the Neo, here, they marked it down claiming the handset didn't know where it should sit.

My opinion of these reviews are that certain publications are only too happy to give Sony Ericsson and their handsets a good kicking at every opportunity. Granted, SE may well give these publications a reason from time to time, but most of the time it's a pity this bashing occurs...

A real pity, as after almost a  week of using the Neo I've come to the conclusion it's the balls. It's my preferred handset. The Arc may well be slick and sexy, and while the Neo may well be it's cheaper, stubbier cousin, it rocks harder than the Arc.

Sporting a metallic blue finish and some considerable heft in the hand, the Neo feels better - sturdier - straightaway. It also packs in ALL the features of the Arc into a smaller, less cumbersome housing; features including: 

• 1GHz processor, 
• 8.1MP Exmor R camera, 
• HDMI-out
• Mobile Bravia Engine 

And still manages to produce a fabulous wild-card; a front-facing camera. Testing out Skype-to-Skype video calling the other night (from PC to phone) was very interesting and rewarding - this is something that should've been on the Arc and the Play as it's brilliant! Other advantages over the Arc:

• Less cumbersome size of the phone
• Headphone socket on top of the phone, not on the side. Fits in the pocket better.
• All other sockets on the top of the phone
• Camera more centrally located on the body, less chance of covering the lens with a finger.

Dislikes:

• Message notification light is STILL on the side of the phone - WHY?! The Arc has a proximity sensor on the front plate, the Neo has TWO? Whatever for? One of these could've been ditched for a proper notification light which could be viewed from pretty much any angle.
• Earpiece is a little small, could've done with being at least twice the size.

That's it! Two gripes, neither of which were picked up on by major publications. I don't know why Electric Pig slated the handset as much as they did in their biased review - well, I do - they are iPhone fanboys after all - it does everything the Arc did and more; personally I think, had fate not dealt it's awful blow in Japan, the Neo should've been released with the Play and the Arc kept as a luxury upgrade if people wanted it.

In short - you need the Neo in your life. It's awesome.


I recommend one of these cases, they're the business too.

Dark of the Moon

Coming just two years after the much-maligned Revenge of the Fallen, the latest and final(?) instalment in Michael Bay's Transformers trilogy doesn't really have a lot to live up to. Accused of being everything from racist to misogynist, ROTF was the film everyone loved to hate in 2009.

Personally, I liked it. I can see why others despised it; it's big, loud, dumb. It's long, it's stupid, it is a touch racist and despite some impressive visual effects, appears hastily thrown together. Really there was only one way Michael Bay could go.

Let me just start with this - Dark of the Moon is better than ROTF. Much better. It doesn't quite have the magic of the first movie, but I think it comes fairly close.

Setting us up for a 154 minute journey is an interesting prologue about Cybertron and the real reason behind the USA/USSR Space Race throughout the late 50's and early 60's, involving spacecraft on the Moon and an intriguing premise - why did we stop going to the Moon after 1972?

Of course the story is a little deeper than this, I don't want to ruin the fun but the prologue sets up the film nicely as we come to the present day and meet our hero, Sam Witwicky. Shacked up with a new girlfriend in the shape of Rosie Huntingdon-Whitely poor Sam is having something of a crisis; he's currently jobless but a hero, having saved the world twice - so who wouldn't want to hire a hero? Plenty of people, apparently, except for John Malkovich, in a scene-stealing turn as Sam's slightly insane boss.

Other well-known faces pop up throughout the show; Frances McDormand lends some credibility to a Government role, the ever-funny Ken Jeong pops up in a manic cameo and Leonard Nimoy adds gravitas to a pivotal role.

Lessons have been learned from ROTF. The terrible attempts at 'comedy' have largely been written out. Sam's parents, excellent in first movie but almost ruining the second, have also largely been written out. The first hour and a bit lays groundwork for the finale. Not much happens, there's a lot of talk, but when something does happen...it's awesome. Less is most certainly more. A freeway chase about 50 minutes in showcases some amazing VFX and stuntwork.

Of course, there are some niggles. It is 154 minutes - 2 hours and 25 minutes of movie and 10 minutes of credits, but every penny is on the screen. I suspect a 2nd viewing won't feel quite as long as you know where you're heading.

Rosie Huntingdon-Whitely is quite obviously a last minute replacement for Megan Fox - and it shows. She can't act, unless it's pouting at a lens for underwear shoots. And rather alarmingly, her trout pout appears to get bigger as the film progresses, despite not (obviously) being smacked in the mouth at any point.

Quibbles aside, people say all sorts of mean things about Michael Bay, some of which are really not fair, though some are deserved. Let's just be clear, for all his faults, no-one directs carnage like Michael Bay. All the minor faults with this film (and probaly ROTF) pale into insignificance compared to the last third of this film where Bay carefully sets everything up for a fabulous payoff. The reward for making you sit through the first hour with very little going on is well worth it as the last hour of this film presents the most spectacular 'Bayhem'...ever.

It's an orgy of building-demolition porn and robot snuff, wherein a host of Deceptions including a massive snake/drilling machine, lay waste utterly to the city of Chicago, while the humans invade the city to destroy a planet-wasting MacGuffin and the Autobots go to town on the Decepticons to save the day. And were talking brew-fuckin-tality; no-holds-barred, no mercy, robot-on-robot smackdowns.

It's Transformers meets War of the Worlds (Spielberg's version) meets Black Hawk Down and it's pure awesomeness, fucking brilliant - a stunning denoument.

Panorama Beta

It's been a while since I last blogged, I've been very busy with a new puppy and a change of work. It's all go, but the time off has given me chance to use the Arc and a new photography app that's been released. 

Originally only meant for the X10i, Panorama Beta can be used to take - you guessed it - panoramic photos. I used it briefly on the X10 and was pleased with the results, though it wasn't long before the wizards at XDA managed to manipulate the app to work on the Arc. Handy hints on how to do this can be found here (be sure and have a good read of post #12)...

Having the app on the Arc makes all the difference, as you get all the decent camera features like Exmor and Bravia incorporated into the photo. Of course, some would argue - and I would join them - that this sort of feature should've been on the phone in the first place. It was, after all, a standard feature of the Cybershot series and a very welcome and useful additional feature it was too, much like Best Pic?

If you remember BestPic, it took 9 photos in rapid succession and you picked the best. Panorama on the Cybershot phones only took three photos and you could only go from left to right.

Panorama works as if BestPic and Panorama are combined. You open the app, select which way you want to panorama to go (which is so much more useful than left-right) press 'play' and then pan whichever direction you told the app you wanted to move in. Cleverly enough, the phone will only let you move in the direction you've told it to move in. The app takes a series of photos (I don't know how many) and cobbles them althogether to take some very cool photos, letting you pan through up to about 270 degrees.

You do have to be careful moving the phone; if you pivot any faster than a snails pace you can get some banding on photos if you move too fast, but otherwise the results are very pleasing indeed. Check out the shots below;

These were taken at Hard Rock Calling on the evening of June 25th 2011, waiting for and during, Bon Jovi's performance:

These were taken at Ashton Gate Football Stadium on the evening of June 27th 2011, again during a Bon Jovi performance:

Taken on Berrow beach 02/07/11:

Taken at a wedding 02/07/11 (this didn't come out so well, but you can still see how effective it is:

The photo below was also taken using Panorama, but treating the app as a wide-angle lens.

It takes photos at a relatively low number of MP - in fact I'd be surprised if it's anything more than HQ VGA - but the results are still impressive. I had only used the app twice previously before testing it out on the 65,000 strong crowd in Hyde Park and as you can see, the shots above aren't too shabby at all. 

Kudos to SE for developing this, hopefully the beta testing will go well and the app will be rolled out officially to the Arc, Neo et al