Intel planning to bring Thunderbolt technology to PCs by April 2012

The Thunderbolt technology, developed by Intel in collaboration with Apple, has great potential but so far has been limited to Apple’s computers. Soon, however, that will not be the case.

Digitimes is now reporting that Intel has notified its partners that the company will fully release the technology in April 2012, with several first-tier PC manufacturers already planning motherboards, notebook and desktop PCs to be released with Thunderbolt next year.

This is good news for the adoption of the technology. With more players coming in, we will see a higher number of devices that support this technology and also a reduction in prices for them.

In case you don’t know, Thunderbolt is the fastest I/O port available on consumer computers today, with a bandwidth of 10Gbps both ways, simultaneously and can supply up to 10W of power. With so much bandwidth and power being available through just one port, Thunderbolt allows you to easily daisy chain multiple compatible devices. Thunderbolt ports are capable of transferring data as well as high definition audio and video, all through one port. Being based on PCI Express, it is backward compatible with older interfaces such as USB and FireWire.

The current cost of Thunderbolt devices is quite high, with a 1TB LaCie Little Big Disk costing $499.95 and just the Thunderbolt cable itself costing $49. Hopefully, these prices will go down considerably next year.

The Eee Pad Transformer Prime’s origami covers hit the shelves to bring stylish protection to the quad-core tablet

The iPad 2's Smart Cover is a pretty recognizable accessory for Apple’s tablet, but earlier this month we saw the Android equivalent crop up in the form of a product simply known as ‘Sleeve’.

Intended for the Eee Pad Transformer Prime and made in house by Asus, the new protective cover has arrived online and is ready and waiting for those planning on picking up the quad-core endowed droid tablet right now.

Formerly known simply as ‘Sleeve’ the new Asus origami covers bring a little more style, functionality and protection to the EPTP. The unusual folding design makes for an attractive stand and the cover itself clips in neatly along the side of the Prime.

Perhaps not as elegant as the iPad 2's magnetic clasp it might be, but safer to use the physical mechanism than risk the chance of infringing on another patent Apple undoubtedly own.

These origami covers come in a variety of Neapolitan pastels and are available on Amazon for $39.99.

Hackers could now bring Siri to the iPhone 4 without incurring Apple’s legal wrath

Hackers and modders have already figured out ways around Apple’s encrypted servers to bring the iPhone 4S‘s previously exclusive voice assistant Siri to Apple’s older i-devices.

Now however it looks like Apple might have undergone a change of heart, or at least allowed a lapse in security. There are still no official plans from Apple to bring Siri to the iPhone 4, but there are clues in iOS 5.0.1 that could give 4 users some Siri goodness via other means.

Previous third-party attempts to get Siri running on anything other than the 4S were predominantly thwarted by the encrypted ramdisks which held the system files for the service. Those who decrypted and used the files on devices such as the iPhone 4 were infringing on Apple’s copyright, however with the latest update of iOS 5.0.1, things are a little different.

This time around the ramdisks aren’t encrypted, meaning developers or the hackers and modders we talked about earlier can use those system files without getting on Apple’s bad side (for the meantime anyway). As such, iPhone 4 users could potentially be seeing full Siri functionality coming their way courtesy of developers/hackers no longer worried about encurring the wrath of Apple.

We can’t be sure if Apple meant to leave these particular files unencrypted or whether they’ll keep them that way, but as things stand, the 4S’s once unique voice assistant could well be making itself available to a host more iPhone users soon, when someone undoubtedly steps up to the plate to create a release.

Gametel Portable Games Controller for Android aims to bring greater feel to your mobile gaming [REVIEW]

We caught wind of Fructel’s Bluetooth games controller not long ago, designed to give any Android device a little more gaming freedom with its dedicated gaming controls.

Well, now we’ve actually had the chance to take the Gametel games controller for a spin so we can really tell you what it’s all about.

The controller itself is a mix of textured and smooth plastics with a few white graphics on the D-pad and four primary buttons. The whole thing is small enough to comfortably fit in your pocket when fully packed down and it’s light so you won’t notice it when you’re not using it.

The spring loaded clamp on the top allows you to drop in your droid of choice and you’re then ready to fire it up. The start button doubles as the on/off switch and once it’s powered up, the rest of the set up is droid-side, no rocket science here.

Fructel have already created a driver app on the Android Market, which not only allows you to choose your Gametel controller as the preferred input method for your device, an option you will have to switch to and from when you switch to something like your on-screen keyboard, but also shows a list of compatible titles (currently a shortlist of 50 and growing).

So we’ve mounted our device, connected it via Bluetooth using the Gametel app and installed a game that’s fit for purpose, now the fun can begin:

Asphalt 5 HD was our initial guinea pig and the Gametel certainly wowed with its responsiveness. There were no issues with latency or connectivity and it undoubtedly made for a more enjoyable experience than using on-screen controls. Trial Xtreme was the second title (demoed above) and again, the experience was smooth and seamless.

Being a Bluetooth peripheral, the Gametel doesn’t have to be attached to the device and in truth, the bracket won’t allow for much past perhaps a 4? display anyway, but as such, range is safely useable up to around 10 meters, which is decent to say the least.

Depending on the game in play, you can even use four separate Gametels for local multiplayer gaming, which is a welcome feature and actually quite a powerful tool in the Gametel’s repertoire.

It won’t quite equal the likes of the Xperia PLAY in terms of usability, but it does make mobile gaming a viable option for a host more Android devices out there, that otherwise, probably wouldn’t be seeing much action past Angry Birds. Size and weight are minimal, battery life is an impressive 9 hours and it does its job well.

For those of you wanting to enhance your mobile gaming experience, without locking yourself into the Xperia PLAY or forking out the extra cash for a Nintendo 3DS or PS Vita, the Gametel offers a low cost alternative (it retails for £50 on Amazon UK) that might just be right for you, and if you get bored for the day, it’s not stuck on your device for good.

Check out this link for the Gametel’s official site including detailed specs and a link to their Amazon store page. Let us know your thoughts on the prospect of gaming with the Gametel or if you already own one, your experiences so far, in the comments below.