The government has finally woken up and changed the law to allow people to make digital copies of their copyrighted CD eBook and movie collections without fear of reprimand.
Sure, people have been burning CDs for years and the police haven't come a knocking, but at least this practice is now completely guilt free.
The inclusion of movies being allowed to be copied onto a digital format should have been a boon for many who want their vast DVD libraries converted into a form which can easily be transferred between PC, laptop, tablet and smartphone.
However, it's still illegal to remove the 'TPM' (technical protection method), so the biggest barrier remains in place for most consumers.
Sharing still a no no
Of course all this activity is strictly for personal consumption only, as soon as you start sharing any of your newly created files with anyone else the long arm of the law will be poking you on the shoulder.
And it's okay to store your copies in the cloud as well, with the government ignoring suggestions from rights holders that anything online is ripe for piracy.
If you feel especially hard done to that your movie and TV content is still almost impossible to legally take from a disc and on to your tablet you are allowed to complain to the Secretary of State.
But according to the Giovernment's document they can simply point you in the direction of somewhere were you can BUY a digital copy.
Only half of the BBC's iPlayer views were from a computer in November 2012, showing just how quickly video viewing on tablet and phone is growing.
The BBC's monthly report doesn't make a big deal of the landmark, but given that a year ago the amount of people using a computer to watch their favourite Auntie programmes was at 65%, it is clear that our habits are changing.
10 per cent of views are now coming from the tablet - no doubt boosted by the fact that the iPlayer now allows downloads of content to view offline on Apple devices; another 14 per cent of views are coming on phones.
Console yourself
Games consoles have stayed consistent at 5 per cent of views and Smart TV and catch-up on set-top boxes is at around 16 per cent, which is interesting given Sky offered up on-demand catch-up for the first time last month.
The mathematicians among you may be wondering what happened to the other five per cent, and, to be honest, we are no wiser than you with the mysterious 'unknown' filling out the figures.
And if you are wondering what people are watching at the moment, well, it was the Young Apprentice opener that dominated in November, with a staggering 1.168 million requests.
It seems that for many people, the iPhone 5 is a disappointment - so what's missing? We asked for your suggestions and scoured the online reviews, and the results are below. It's your ultimate iPhone 6 (or iPhone 5S, if Apple's next iPhone is so named) wishlist.
Blogger Ed Valdez cites six reasons why we can expect an iPhone 6 announcement by June 2013 - a mere nine months after the iPhone 5. But it's still likely there will be an iPhone 5S instead.
iPhone 6 design
Many of you weren't sold on the iPhone 5's design. For some of you the taller screen was odd - it "looks strange at best," said nebulaoperator - and for others it simply wasn't big enough.
Lions87a reckons even 4.5 inches would be too little: "popular phones like the Galaxy S2 and S3 have shown that people are pretty happy nowadays to accept bigger than what the iPhone 5 is currently offering."
Writing in the Chicago Sun-Times, influential tech journalist Andy Ihnatko suggests that taller isn't necessarily better. "The benefit of bigger screens is almost entirely in their increased width, not their length," he writes.
"A wider keyboard is easier to type on. Books, web pages, and emails will have wider margins and they'll be more comfortable to read."
John Gruber of Daring Fireball agrees that bigger isn't always better, but he's not a fan of wider, either: while he says that "navigating the full screen while holding the iPhone in one hand is worse," rivals' wider screens mean it "really is far more difficult to do anything on them one-handed, including typing."
A new set of patents filed by Apple, that we outlined on 15 October 2012, suggest that the iPhone 6 design might hide external-facing components such as the camera and flash from view using a polymer-dispersed liquid crystal window which can change opacity on demand.
The question at the moment is whether Apple's next-generation iPhone will be beaten to the punch by the new Samsung Galaxy S4 which could even debut at Mobile World Congress in February.
iPhone 6 processor
No surprises here: we had plenty of people telling us that rival firms' processors have more cores. However, as Lions87a pointed out, "If the iPhone 5 or Nokia 920 can run their OS without any lag or delay, and delivers a flawless experience, and the Galaxy S3 does the same with a quad-core, then the number of cores, and the speed of the cores is irrelevant. The argument turns into 'which operating system is best?'"
Did someone say operating system?
iPhone 6 operating system
iOS has been around for a while, and for many it's getting stale. "I don't think anyone can deny that the
UI needs a refresh when you see widgets and live tiles on competitors' phones," says Vincennes, while Tubemonkey2000 says that "the current [UI] is so tired and old it makes it seem really basic, sort of like a kids' toy."
Our own Gareth Beavis agrees, arguing that "there are so many tweaks Apple could make to its OS to turn it into more of a powerhouse – icons that update with information, or extending the widgets in the notification bar beyond weather and stocks... Apple is taking things very slowly on this front."
iPhone 6 price
iPhones have never been cheap, but in a world of credible - and cheaper - competition they look pricier than ever. Or maybe it's because the iPhone's price has gone up. Saltire is "surprised no-one has mentioned the price increase for the 16GB model", while Gareth Beavis says that "we simply cannot see how a 16GB model can cost £529 / $199, but to double the memory will cost an extra £70/ $100 with no other changes to the design."
There's no doubt that you pay more for the materials, fit and finish of an iPhone than you do for, say, a plasticky Android handset, and not everyone thinks that's worth it.
"£529 for a phone that is no better than my six month old Android shows the arrogance of Apple," Alastairmack says, while Beavis points out that when you consider contracts, "it's far and away the most expensive in the shop, and most of the time you don't even get unlimited data."
iPhone 6 features
iPhone 6 will include a Super HD screen display and camera according to new reports in December 2012.
NFC has, possibly unfairly, been dubbed "Not For Commerce" (or more saltily, "No Effing Customers"), but for many it's the most obvious omission from the iPhone 5 - "not because of the technology itself," says Fmartins, "but to really give the critical mass contactless payments need. Plus, I would love to use the phone as my Oyster card."
For Fmartins, that would be good for everyone: while s/he isn't an iPhone fan, "it would have been nice seeing Apple push the envelope again so that I could benefit on [a] Lumia down the line." Gareth Beavis agrees. "It's not quite there yet in terms of market penetration for payments, but the world's largest network of accessories could definitely have made use of it for making ever cooler docks and cases," he says.
On 3 October, we reported that Apple is looking at Australian fingerprint technology for NFC mobile payments, so it seems that NFC could arrive with the iPhone 6.
Other suggestions included more LTE bands, which we're sure we'll get next year when other UK 4G networks launch; expandable storage - not something we imagine Apple doing when it can flog you iTunes Match and/or get you to pay a small fortune for the 32GB model over the 16GB - and brighter, more saturated screens, although given the improvements to the iPhone 5's screen that one's largely a personal preference. Oh, and of course you'd like Apple to fix Maps too.
Maps has the potential to be a superb and very useful app, but it needs some work
iPhone 6 reception
No, not antennas - they seem fine this time - but the critical reception. As Lusky79 says, even without cock-ups such as Maps, any new iPhone is going to be disappointing: "Even if Apple had all the suggestions [here], it would still seem mediocre because the revolution was the original iPhone and the other, similar, smartphones that followed." As Nenslo put it: "What the iPhone really needs is Steve Jobs."
iPhone 6 wireless charging
According to CP Tech, Apple filed a patent application last month for Wireless Power Utilization, a wireless charging system with near-field magnetic resonance (NFMR). That means we'll get wireless charging at last.
Anything else?
Hit the comments to add your wishes for the next iPhone.
You wait a year for an Amazon Kindle Fire (see our Kindle Fire review) to make its way to the UK, then two come along at once, with the greatly enhanced Amazon Kindle Fire HD arriving at the same time as its predecessor.
We'll say this from the off: now that the Amazon Kindle Fire HD is here, the original Kindle Fire seems somewhat surplus to requirement.
Far more interesting, though, is the intense external rivalry presented by the Google Nexus 7 and the iPad mini.
Starting from just £159, and offering a 7-inch HD display and a 1.2GHz dual-core CPU, the Amazon Kindle Fire HD appears to offer great value for money.
But it also needs to offer a stand-alone tablet experience that's capable of matching - or even surpassing - its illustrious rivals.
Best cheap tablets 2012: top budget options
The Amazon Kindle Fire HD certainly matches the Nexus 7 in terms of price and raw hardware, and it comfortably trumps the iPad mini on price and screen resolution.
But, as we've come to realise, Apple's dominance in the tablet market has been built on strong design, coupled with a peerless content ecosystem and a super-slick UI.
The Amazon Kindle Fire HD may be cheap, but ultimately it will still need to embrace all three of these key elements if it's to succeed.
If you still think of Amazon Kindles as those little monochrome holiday companions, then you should know that the Amazon Kindle Fire HD is a completely different beast.
Rather than focusing on the very specific job of downloading and reading electronic books, this is an all-purpose tablet that acts as a window onto Amazon's wider multimedia world - films, music, apps and games are all included in the Kindle Fire HD's remit.
With that in mind, the Amazon Kindle Fire HD is a much simpler, purer design than the original Kindle.
The emphasis here is on the screen first and foremost, with the only hardware controls coming in the shape of some weedy and difficult-to-locate volume and power buttons on top of the device, right alongside its 3.5mm headphone jack.
The lack of a fixed home key adds to that minimalistic vibe (we'll discuss the effect that has on usability later). The only detail on the front of the device is a 1.3-megapixel camera for video calls - there's no rear-mounted camera here.
Despite that impossibly cheap price point, the Amazon Kindle Fire HD doesn't feel like a cheap device. It's solid in the hand, with none of the creak you find in many budget Android tablets.
There's a nice contrast between the Amazon Kindle Fire HD's smooth, glass front and its grippy matte back. It's quietly pleasing from a tactile perspective, even though it lacks the sheer machined precision and premium feel of Apple's tablets.
While Apple has opted for a super-slim bezel for its iPad mini - partly to facilitate that wider 7.9-inch display - Amazon has been more generous with its own offering.
Indeed, the thick border around the smaller 7-inch screen brings it closer to the full-sized iPad in design than its miniature brother.
We like this approach from a purely practical perspective (it actually makes it look a little chubby, if we're honest).
It's still comfier to hold the Amazon Kindle Fire between your thumb and fingers than it is to rest it in the span of your hand, even when held in portrait view. Of course, that's partly because it's slightly chunky for its size - at 395g it's almost 90g heavier than the iPad mini.
One area in which Amazon would hope to gain a big advantage with the Amazon Kindle Fire HD over its rivals is with its display. As we've mentioned, we're talking about a 7-incher here, but it's the quality of that screen that's causing Amazon to boast.
The company claims that the display features a polarising filter and anti-glare technology, which apparently boosts colour and contrast, as well as improving viewing angles.
Despite such claims - not to mention early positive reports from the US - we have to admit to being slightly underwhelmed by our initial experience with the Amazon Kindle Fire HD display. It seems distinctly yellow to our eyes.
Of course, it could just be that we've been conditioned by Apple's slightly cooler, bluer high-definition displays.
Indeed, once your eyes have grown accustomed to its warmer hue, you'll no doubt begin to appreciate the Amazon Kindle Fire HD display's more naturalistic colour contrast - particularly when viewing video content. It's certainly richer than the somewhat washed-out and dim Nexus 7 screen.
That's only half the story with the Kindle Fire HD display, too. The clue is in the name - that 7-inch display is sharp. It's high-definition-sharp. In fact, with a resolution of 1280x800 and a pixel density of 216ppi, it's considerably sharper than the iPad mini equivalent.
This isn't particularly apparent within the main Kindle Fire interface, but it certainly bears fruit when reading a book or browsing the internet, where small text remains clear and eminently readable.
This display is powered by a capable 1.2GHz dual-core TI OMAP 4460 CPU. While this is far from the most powerful processor on the market, it is very well balanced and certainly doesn't come up short when faced with demanding tasks like high-definition video and 3D games.
One final piece of hardware-related info we really must cover is the Amazon Kindle Fire HD's impressive speakers. Positioned on either side of the device (if you're holding it in landscape), they're surprisingly punchy, given their size.
They really do crank out some respectable stereo sound - both in terms of volume and clarity.
Naturally, we'd recommend using earphones whenever possible, but for those times where you're just following a quick email link to a YouTube video, they're more than adequate.
A press shot of the heavily-touted ZTE Grand S smartphone has appeared online, two weeks before its launch at CES.
The handset will be competing for attention against a raft of fellow 5-inch, full HD 1080p displays when it officially arrives in Las Vegas in the second week of January.
The company has been teasing the arrival of the flagship Grand S by posting sketches on its Sina Weibo account, but Engadget has now picked up an official-looking shot from an anonymous tipster.
Not a huge amount is known about the other specs for the phone, beyond the display, but a note on the CES website refers to the as-yet-unnanounced Grand S as "the world's thinnest for 5 inch FHD smartphones."
Big trend
It seems that the trend towards 5-inch, full HD smartphones will dominate the annual tech extravaganza in the desert.
The likes of Sony, HTC, Sharp, Lenovo and Huawei are all thought to be preparing big-screen 1080p phones.
What's the best tablet for 2012? Today's latest tablets compared and rated - constantly updated
Tablets are taking the world by storm. Just a few years ago they were an unknown for many people, but nowadays you've got more choice than you can shake a mildly agitated badger at.
And with choice comes decisions - difficult decisions. Do you eschew Apple's high prices, join the Android brigade and find the best iPad alternative? Or do you give in to near-perfection and the get the new iPad?
Luckily we've made it easy for you and pulled together the top 10 tablets of the moment available in the UK. We'll keep this listing constantly updated as new players enter the market and the older ones fizzle out.
For those of you who are still new to the whole tablet game, let us fill you in on what one is:
In general terms, today's tablet computers sport touchscreens ranging in size from 7- up to 13-inches. These dimensions are by no means static, and boundaries can be blurred as smartphones get larger displays, a la the 5.5-inch Samsung Galaxy Note 2.
Physical keyboards are also a rarity, but there are the exceptions such as the Asus Transformer Prime and newer Asus Transformer Pad Infinity, which come with a keyboard dock for the tablets, but there's a new kid on the block in the form of the Microsoft Surface.
Apps
As with today's best smartphones, applications play a big role on tablets – once you've decided which of these tablets if right for you, check out our top app lists so you can get your fill of Temple Run, update your friends on Facebook and read the latest news, all on a bigger screen.
Top 200 best Android apps
Top 200 best iPad apps
If none of the top 10 tablets here take your fancy then head on over to our tablet reviews pages, where you'll find in-depth reviews for many more models.
Let us know your thoughts on the top 10 (and whether you think we've got the order wrong) in the comment box below.
An iPhone case which transforms into to a video game controller has hit the popular crowd-sourcing site Kickstarter this weekend.
The concept case is only 3mm thin, but contains the traditional directional pad and button configurations seen on many classic handheld games consoles.
To the naked eye, it looks like a regular iPhone case, but snapping it from the centre reveals the controls and alters the shape of the case to make it easier to grip for gamers.
The case connects to the iPhone via Bluetooth 4.0 and is charged by Solar power and indoor light sources.
Apple on board
The creator Justice Frangipane has been working on the controller for over a year and has now teamed up with the iDevices company to help make the project a reality.
Most importantly, Frangipane says the project also has Apple's support.
He said: "iDevices contacted Apple on my behalf and we are happy to announce that Apple is not only going to support us, but willing to devote a team to making sure that this controller works perfectly with Apple iOS devices!"
The project requires a $135,000 (UK£83,490, AUD$129,772) bounty to officially go ahead and you can see the latest prototype in the video below.
The new iPad is dead, long live the new iPad... although only an incremental upgrade, the iPad 4 has been released to usurp this model.
However, at only £359 the iPad 3 is still on sale and still offers a strong experience with the latest version of Apple's operating system, iOS 6.
However, the iPad 3 is a device that from the outside looks remarkably like the iPad 2 but with an overhaul on the innards.
The question most people ask us when it comes to the third iteration is: what's different from the old one?
Well, in this case it's pretty easy: there's a Retina Display that makes everything looks superbly crisp, an updated A5X processor bringing quad-core graphics and a 5MP camera on the rear with a VGA sensor on the front.
10 best tablet PCs in the world today
iPad mini review
Oh, and the iPad 3 was also the device that brings iOS 5.1 to the masses (well, it's also on the likes of the iPhone 4S and iPad 2 as well, but hey, we're not reviewing those today.)
The design of the iPad 3 isn't really anything different from the original duo from Apple's tablet range. Actually, while we're thinking about it, it looks almost identical to the iPad 2 – to the point you'd struggle to tell them apart when turned off.
However, in the hand, there's a little bit of a difference, especially when it comes to the weight. The new iPad is nearly 60g heavier than the previous iteration, and while it's not terrible, it does add a little arm strain during a marathon movie session.
Retina Display
Before we get onto all the normal insight over the frame of the new iPad, it's worth talking about the main feature: the Retina Display.
Apple has packed a huge amount more pixels into the 9.7-inch screen - 1536 x 2048 to be exact. However, despite the fact that the Cupertino brand makes a big thing about the 330 PPI density of the iPhone 4, we're looking at a screen that's technically a lot less sharp than its smartphone brethren - around 264PPI.
Apple has got around this fact by stating that the screen is meant to be held at 15 inches from the face, rather than the 10 inches the iPhone is supposed to from your eyes, and as such the sharpness is the same.
Given the fact the term 'Retina Display' really isn't a legally binding term, we don't care. What matters is the effect - and it's one of the most impressive we've seen on a tablet to date. If someone took an iPad, printed out a really hi-res image of an iOS system and stuck it on the front, we'd struggle to tell the difference - it's superb, and even squinting up close you'll be hard pushed to notice any pixelation.
The colour reproduction will also appeal to many, as it's pretty close to reality - it lacks the punch of the Super AMOLED HD screens seen on the likes of the Samsung Galaxy Note for instance, but it will depend on personal preference as to whether that's a good thing.
We like the vivid colours of Samsung's screens, but we know plenty of people that loathe them too.
The main thing is things like internet browsing; photo viewing and movie sessions are all much, much improved over the iPad 2, and is one of the main reasons to pick up the iPad 3.
Check out how the iPad 3 display got on when it went head-to-head with the Asus Transformer Pad Infinity in our video below.
Design
The iPad 3, as we said, is only marginally thicker and a little heavier than the iPad 2, and if you pick it up with no knowledge of the former, you'll likely be mighty impressed.
The rest of the design is premium too - given you can be paying a fair whack for a top end model, it needs to seem like a worthwhile investment, and it does.
The curved edges, the oleophobic scratch-proof glass and the aluminium chassis are all the kind of thing that some Android tablets have tried to ape and failed. Of course, many will prefer the feather-light frames of some of the Samsung models but, like the screen, it really comes down to personal preference.
The buttonry on the iPad 3 is pretty sparse though - we're talking four buttons and that's your lot.
The iconic home button is back once again, despite rumours of its demise, and is easy to reach and hit within the thick bezel.
The rest of the buttons are all clustered tightly together in the top left-hand corner of the device, with the rocker/volume key, the mute/orientation switch and power/lock key all within an inch of one another.
As you can see, Apple has been pretty efficient with the button placement, with all of them performing more than one function. And they say the iPad can't multi-task... tsk.
It's a little over two weeks until the world gets to know the massive Huawei Ascend Mate smartphone, but one company exec has already given fans a sneak peak.
The company confirmed it would be launching the 6.1-inch, full HD 1080 Ascend Mate earlier this month, with an eye on taking down the 5.5-inch Samsung Galaxy Note II.
Now it has appeared in the flesh, courtesy of Richard Yu, Hauwei's chairman of devices, who couldn't wait to show off the behemoth at a company store in Guangzhou, China.
You can get a glimpse of the device in the video below.
Plenty of power
The Ascend Mate is also rumoured to boast plenty of power to complement that full HD, big-screen goodness, with a 1.8GHz quad-core processor and 2GB of RAM.
It's also thought to measure up at 9.9mm thin.
We'll be at CES 2013 in Las Vegas for the official unveiling of this 6.1-inch titan, so stay tuned for our hands on (and we mean hands, not hand!) first impressions.
A new Android tablet price war looks set to commence in the new year, following the leak of a new budget offering from Acer.
The unannounced 7-inch Acer Iconia B1 tablet, which is said to run Android Jelly Bean, will make a Christmas visit to the Federal Communications Commission this week.
The leaked document tells of a Mediatek dual-core processor, with 512MB of RAM and 8GB of storage, so it won't compete at the top end of the Android tablet market, like the quad-core Google Nexus 7.
The Iconia B1 bears a striking resemblance to the original Barnes & Noble Nook tablet, mainly due to the coloured home button at the bottom left corner, which is similar to the signature "Loop" button on the Nook slate.
CES or MWC launch
It's thought that the Iconica B1 may be launched at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next month or, failing that, at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in February.
Any launch is likely to be at the forefront of a renewed drive from manufacturers to further lower the entry level for affordable-yet-capable Android tablets.
2013 is likely to see some big name tablets drop beneath the $100 threshold, following the launch of the original Amazon Kindle Fire and Google Nexus 7 devices that brought prices below £200.
The UK Government's decision to allow us to make copies of the films, TV, books and music that we buy could have massive repercussions, but will we now reach the nirvana of being able to easily transfer our DVDs and Blu-rays onto our computers, phones and tablets?
The simple answer is no.
Although the government will make it legal for us to make copies for personal use of our media - it will not make it legal for people to break the DRM - or more accurately TPM (Technical Protection Measures) that currently makes it difficult to 'rip' your DVDs.
That's because a digital file without a TPM in place would be extremely easy to make multiple copies of and share with other people - something that the music world has been battling against for years.
"The supply and use of equipment to circumvent technological measures is…illegal in UK and European law in recognition of the damage it can cause," explains the government report.
CD side of life
So putting a CD in your computer and making digital copies (ripping) is legal because there is no TPM restricting this, but ripping a DVD, eBook or Blu-ray with TPM for personal use would still be illegal, not because you aren't allowed a copy of the content you have bought, but because it is illegal for you to remove the TPM without permission.
The government seems aware that this is a major issue, pointing out that TPM already prevents, for example, making accessible copies for the disabled, but adds - somewhat cryptically; "of the permitted acts considered in this document, private copying is the exception: the UK has a choice as to whether to provide a means of access."
So it's up to the government if it will allow you to remove the TPM on the film that you bought on DVD, but its legislation will soon say that it's your right to make copies of that content.
You could, as the document suggests, make a complaint to the Secretary of State (SoS) that you own that content and the copyright holder is restricting you from making a copy for personal use, but don't hold your breath for ruling in your favour.
"It is important to note that the SoS cannot simply authorise a user to circumvent TPMs; it would not be lawful under the Copyright Directive," adds the Government statement.
"Possible outcomes of a SoS intervention would include a direction to the user to purchase an existing digital copy that was usable for the purpose required, or that a rights holder provide the user with a particular excerpt from a work."
Not fair
The first half of that statement is the salient one, you may well find that any complaint brings a response of a link to the relevant page on iTunes where you can spend more of your money to buy a digital copy of something you already own on DVD.
And who thinks that's fair? The rights holders of course.
What that means for consumers is that it is a free pass for rights holders to charge what they want for digital copies, meaning the farcical situation where you can buy a DVD for significantly less than a digital version will continue.
Because music is not behind a TPM, cheap CDs mean that there is market pressure that keeps prices of music tracks and whole albums relatively low. If you cannot copy your DVD easily that pressure is not there for film and television programmes.
The government has essentially made something legal which most people would have been surprised was illegal at all, and missed the opportunity to provide a significantly fairer framework for modern day digital content which is by and large protected by DRM.
HTC could be readying two sizes of Windows RT tablets for next year, according to a rumour from Bloomberg. And one of them will be the first 7-incher to run the operating system.
Just the other day, another rumour said that Nokia would release a Windows RT tablet next year too. So it could be a big year for the operating system.
Sources familiar with the matter told Bloomberg that HTC is working on 12-inch and 7-inch Windows RT tablets that can make phone calls as well. They'll run on Qualcomm chips.
We're looking at a release sometime late in the summer, according to the sources.
Windows 8 'too pricey'
HTC considered making tablets running Windows 8, the report says, but seeing as it would have to charge around $1,000 to turn a profit, it proved too costly.
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer was said to be meeting with Peter Chou of HTC recently to discuss the Taiwanese company's Windows Phone plans. The two could also discuss Windows RT tablets at the meeting.
HTC was previously rumoured to be working on a Windows 8 tablet. The chief product officer confirmed it was interested in the market.
Nokia has also been rumoured to be working on a tablet for some time. Its Windows RT device is said to be announced in February at Mobile World Congress.
The company claims that the display features a polarising filter and anti-glare technology, which apparently boosts colour and contrast, as well as improving viewing angles.
