As an iOS 4.2 delay reared its rumoured head, Amazon cheered us all up with the news that it’s bringing Black Friday deals to the UK. Meanwhile Gran Turismo 5 got a UK release date.
Our Android 2.3 rumour round-up was popular as was our hands on with the Palm Pre 2.
Read on for this week’s most popular stories on TechRadar…
Top five news stories
Apple iOS 4.2 delay looking likely
It’s looking increasingly likely that Apple has delayed the release of iOS 4.2, with the rumour mill suggesting that Wi-Fi problems are at the heart of the decision.
The latest version of the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch operating system is definitely close to being ready, but it now appears that it is days, rather than hours, from making its appearance.
Among the problems that the latest version fixes is the problem with the alarm clock that did not correct for the clocks changing in the UK – an issue that left thousands complaining that they were late for work.
Amazon to bring Black Friday deals to UK
Amazon is set to bring its well-publicised Black Friday online deals to the UK this year, the Friday following Thanksgiving.
Black Friday has gradually become America’s online pre-holiday shopping day of choice over the last decade, and it looks like Amazon plans to bring the tradition across to the UK.
While the term “Black Friday” sounds more like a remembrance service tradition for victims of the plague, it is certainly worth noting the date in your diary if you plan to buy books, gadgets, games, movies (or pretty much anything else that’s available on Amazon) for your loved-ones this Christmas.
Gran Turismo 5 gets UK release date
Sony has finally announced the UK release date for Gran Turismo 5 – with the UK getting its hands on the racer on 24 November.
Delays have beat GT5 for years – leaving gamers frustrated and angry at not being able to play one of the games that was being talked about as akey title for the launch of the PlayStation 3 back in 2006.
Although Gran Turismo 5 Prologue at least gave people a chance to play an incarnation of the racing game on the PS3, this will be the first full numbered version for this generation of the console.
iPhone Flash app makes million in a weekend
SkyFire, the app that lets iPhone users view Flash video on their phones, has managed to generate a cool million in its first weekend on sale.
The SkyFire app for iPhone costs .99 in the US and yet is still not officially available on the UK iTunes Store.
Toshiba Folio 100 tablet dropped by Dixons
Dixons, Currys and PC World have stopped selling the Toshiba Folio 100, a rival to the iPad, after the retail group experienced unusually high number of returns on the product.
At the weekend, and according to the Register, Dixons had been selling the tablet at the barmy price of £999.
This wasn’t a way to make money on the £329 tablet but, according to a note that was put on Dixons’ internal EPoS system, “to prevent further sales”.
Top five in-depth articles
Android 2.3 rumours: what you need to know
While earlier rumours were suggesting that Gingerbread was the code name for Android 3.0, we now know that Gingerbread is Android 2.3, which makes Honeycomb Android 3.0.
Google CEO Eric Schmidt showed off a phone running Android 2.3 at the Web 2.0 summit on 15 November.
Google had earlier hinted on 12 November that the Android 2.3 release date is close, tweeting a photo of a pile of Android gingerbread men, with the message “Our cafes are baking something sweet”.
Here’s what we know so far about Android 2.3:
Hands on: Palm Pre 2 review
The successor to the Palm Pre has landed in the UK and the folks at T3 have managed to get their hands on the device.
Coming equipped with a new operating system, the Palm Pre is the first true handset to be made by Palm (the Palm Pre Plus doesn’t count) after their acquisition by HP.
HP’s stamp is noted straight away, as it seems that since the takeover the Palm Pre 2’s OS is no longer called WebOS 2.0 but HP webOS.
How to build a Mac for £300
The two Steves, Jobs and Wozniak, built the Apple brand on its synergy between hardware and software. 25 years on, you pay a premium for that.
It’s £599 for the cheapest Mac Mini. £1999 for an entry level Mac Pro. But since 2006, new Macs have had a very similar internal architecture to Windows PCs. The same Intel CPUs, the same Nvidia graphics.
Since then, people have been hacking together Macs in their bedrooms. They call them Hackintoshes; PCs that run OS X for a fraction of the price of a brand new Mac. My aim was build the cheapest, usable Hackintosh possible
25 cool Windows 7 interface tweaks
Your fresh installation of Windows 7 gives a ‘one size fits all’ configuration, but there are countless ways in which you can tweak the standard operating system to make it better suit your particular needs.
Built-in customisation options include the usual controls over the interface theme and the way in which Windows alerts you to important events.
There are also a bevy of free add-ons, which provide an even wider choice of customisation options – from ways to change parts of the OS that Microsoft doesn’t cater for, to adding clever new features that make Windows 7 even more capable.
24 best browser extensions
The ability to add features to browsers makes them the most powerful applications on your screen, but with so many to choose from, where do you start?
Too many and you’ll slow down your system; not enough and you’re wasting an opportunity. Here’s our guide to the ones you can’t afford to be without.
Top five reviews
Philips 42PFL6805H Econova review
Philips hags produced what is easily the most ecologically sound TV to date in the attractive shape of the 42PFL6805H. It’s a great 42-inch LED TV.
HTC HD7 review
The HTC HD7 is the largest Windows Phone 7 phone, with a Desire HD- and HD2-matching 4.3-inch screen atop the near-identical hardware specs of its other WP7 brethren
Viewsonic ViewPad 10 review
The ViewPad’s distinguishing feature is that’s it’s a dual-booting tablet, with both Windows 7 Home Premium on board as well as Android 1.6. But is it actually any good?
BlackBerry Bold 9780 review
With the arrival of the BlackBerry Bold 9780, fans of the BlackBerry Bold 9700 will no doubt be jumping at the chance to see how good RIM’s latest flagship phone is.
Nikon Coolpix P7000 review
There’s a huge amount to love about the P7000. It’s small, it’s tough, the lens is cracking and it takes great pictures. The video mode might not be too much to write home about but at least it’s HD.
Also reviewed this week:
Amplifiers
Electrocompaniet ECI5 MkII review
Blu-ray players
Oppo BDP8SE NuForce Special Edition review
CD players
Compact cameras
Digital TV recorders
DSLRs
MP3 players
Printers
Radio tuners
Roberts Revival DAB RD60 review
Speakers
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