If Nokia caught your attention with previous Lumia handsets, but couldn’t get you over the line, it may now have the device for you.

Nokia yesterday announced the introduction of two new handsets to the Australian market: The Lumia 900 and the Lumia 610.

The Lumia 900 is Nokia’s premium device, featuring a 1.4 GHz processor, 4.3″ AMOLED touchscreen, 8MP camera with dual LED flash and Carl Zeiss optics.

The Lumia 610 is the range’s entry level device and could be a good option for those looking for an affordable Windows Phone. We’ll give you our verdict when we get our hands on it.

Both devices feature the Lumia range’s signature colourful look, available in white, cyan, magenta and black.

With these devices in place to bookend the Lumia range, Nokia and Microsoft will be looking to further strengthen the position of Windows Phone within the Australian market.

Will these devices tempt Australians away from their iOS and Android devices? Share your thoughts in the comments below or via Australian T3′s Twitter and Facebook feeds.

New research suggests that if you want to get the truth out of someone you should try texting them.

According to a study to be presented this week at the annual meeting of the American Association for Public Opinion, people are more likely to disclose sensitive information through texting than they are in a spoken interview.

The study, which focused on 600 iPhone users, questioned them on topics such as their drinking habits and exercise regimes using both phone calls and SMS.

Interviewees were found to be more likely to tell the truth via SMS. The researchers attributed this to its less immediate nature.

“This is sort of surprising since many people thought that texting would decrease the likelihood of disclosing sensitive information because it creates a persistent, visual record of questions and answers that others might see on your phone and in the cloud,” said Fred Conrad, director of the Program in Survey Methodology at the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research.

The study also suggests SMS decreases the frequency of “satisficing”, a survey industry term referring to the giving of close-enough answers that are not entirely inaccurate.

“We believe people give more precise answers via texting because there’s just not the time pressure in a largely asynchronous mode like text that there is in phone interviews,” said Conrad. “As a result, respondents are able to take longer to arrive at more accurate answers.”

What are your thoughts on the study? Are you more likely to be more truthful when texting? Share your thoughts in the comments below or via Australian T3′s Twitter and Facebook feeds.

Via: University of Michigan

Max Payne 3 reviews all rolled into one. Find out what the critics thought and whether Rockstar’s latest third-person shooter is worth your cash.

After months of rumours, Max Payne 3 has finally landed – and to much fanfare too. But what do the critics think?

CVG were mightily impressed by the third-person shooter but flagged up a few issues concerning gameplay, saying:

“By the time we’d finished Max Payne 3, we’d killed over 1400 people. From start to finish, the game is a violent tornado of death and destruction, and one of the bloodiest, most relentless shooters ever.

“It has all the cinematic flair, polish, and production values you might expect from a Rockstar game – but it’s missing some of the surreal magic that made the original games so memorable.”

So what were they?

“There are a lot of cut-scenes, and they can be immensely distracting.

“Even something as simple as moving from one room to another, or commenting on something in the environment, is shown as a cinematic, when it could have easily been presented in-game.

“The constant snapping between short bursts of gameplay and long cut-scenes really hampers your sense of interaction, and sometimes you feel like you’re only actually playing half the game.”

It’s not all good news

OfficialXboxMagazine also pointed out some negatives, saying: “The problem is, do anything – no matter how much fun – 1,000 times and it begins to become a mite repetitive.

“Max Payne 3′s only regular concessions to variety are the odd mounted gun sections, which don’t really change the formula beyond temporarily removing the use of your legs.

“There are armoured flavours of enemy, who require a headshot or two before they acquiesce and fall over, but you’ll have been prioritising the cranium for efficiency’s sake anyway.”

However, OfficialPlayStationMagazine couldn’t stop raving about the game’s top notch graphics and physics system, saying:

“Facial detail is excellent, character models are robust and realistic, and enemies react dynamically to every single bullet you pump into their evil carcasses.

“Just as impressive is the physics system, which is a step up from every other game in the genre. Firefights are often dynamic affairs, with Max diving, rolling, moving between cover, and the like.

“And all of this is realistically modelled: he authentically braces himself and slumps as he crashes into a wall, transfers his weight as you change direction to avoid a hail of gunfire, or even flips head over heels as you clumsily shootdodge straight into a fence.”

It’s not all bad news

GamesRadar also had pleasant things to say, concluding:

“Max Payne 3 marks an exceptional comeback for the series. The plot wraps the neo-noir storytelling around a bright and exotic locale while peppering the action with enough backstory to stave off boredom.

“While prior games were certainly dark tales, the stories of addiction, double and triple crosses, as well as some grim surprises ripped straight from urban legends. It maintains the mechanics that made the prior games great while modernizing them to excellent effect.

“Between the arcade mode and multiplayer, there’s enough substantive content to keep you hooked for some time. While there are some mechanically wonky moments, they’re too miniscule to tank a stellar sequel that was worth the wait.

“Between its pacing, its presentation, and its excellent gunplay, Max Payne 3 has raised the bar for other action games to follow. Welcome back.”

With the Ice Cream Sandwich updated hitting the rest of the Xperia line Sony has confirmed that it’s nearly ready to give the Xperia S an ICS makeover

Sony have confirmed via a forum that the Sony Xperia S Ice Cream Sandwich update will be rolling out around late May and throughout June.

The news was revealed via a Sony employee on a forum after many wondered when Sony would be rolling out the Ice Cream Sandwich update that it had promised for the new Xperia range.

This comes just a few months after it was revealed that they have a beta version of Android Ice Cream Sandwich for the Xperia Play available to download. Lacking certain key features such as Gmail and Google Maps Sony stressed that it was definitely for developer use only.

According to the announcement on Sony’s developer blog the beta version has primarily been released to work out which of the games available for the PlayStation Approved smartphone will need adjusting.

Of course for those that do download the beta there will be some drawbacks, most prominent of which being that once downloaded you won’t be able to install the final version of Ice Cream Sandwich onto the phone.

Now with Sony confirming the ICS update for the newly released Sony Xperia S as well it would appear as though the company is staying on schedule to update their entire range.

Facebook may be about to grow its range of apps with Pages joining Messages and the main iOS app. Pages would give users access only to the non-personal profile pages that they manage.

Facebook is working on a new app for iOS devices which would give users separate access to the Pages they control on the social network.

Similarly to the Messages app, which got its own gig on multiple platforms last year, the Pages app would live outside of the main Facebook app.

The idea would be for members to keep business and personal interests separate, so you’re not inundated with notifications for your personal account from your small business or outside interests.

The early-stages app, as you can see from the picture above, also throws away some of the clutter and allows you to focus on analytics and gives you the ability to navigate between different pages very easily.

The app is currently being tested on a small cross-section of users in Australia, with many being prompted to download Pages.

However, Facebook says it is in no rush to push out this feature, in a statement offered to The Next Web: “We’re testing an app that helps owners of small to medium Pages more easily manage their Facebook presence.”

Via: The Next Web

Is it time for Apple to upgrade its iPhone screen? Cupertino certainly thinks so if new reports are to be believed.

According to The Sydney Morning Herald, screens for the next generation iPhone are set to increase from the 3.5-inches – used since Apple’s smartphone launched in 2007 – to a more generous but hardly gargantuan 4 inches.

Production of the screens is now underway at three suppliers: LG Display Co Ltd in Korea, Sharp and Japan Display.

An increase in screen size is an absolute must for Apple’s next generation handset with competing devices from the likes of Samsung and HTC leaving the iPhone trailing in their screen dimension dust. Samsung unveiled the Galaxy S3 recently and Apple would certainly have taken note of its 4.8-inch touchscreen and faster processor.

As smartphones have developed, consumers have increasingly used them for functions once reserved for laptops (i.e. watching videos, playing games), so an increase in screen size would be a vital step if Apple is to keep up with trends. In fact, it could be argued that if Apple is to increase the iPhone’s screen to 4 inches it would be a disappointingly conservative move and the tech giant should go further.

We’d also be surprised if Apple neglected to shake up the new phone’s design in a more general sense. As appealing as the 4S’ looks are, it’s a design that has been around for 18 months and in the world of tech anything that’s been around that long will start to look a little tired.

What do you think we should expect from Apple’s new device? Has Samsung’s latest offering delivered a killer blow to Apple’s once unassailable handset? Share your thoughts in the comments below or via Australian T3′s Twitter and Facebook feeds.

Australia has been waiting for Spotify since launch rumours began circulating last year. Could details for the Australian launch finally be announced next week?

Last year when Kate Vale was appointed to oversee the Australian division of Spotify, rumours and speculation were aplenty. Australia waited patiently for details for a local launch, but it never came.

In March, we reported that Spotify was set to make an Australian launch announcement, but again we waited and nothing came. In the time Australia has spent waiting for Spotify, we have been given Rdio, JB Hi-Fi Now, Zune Music Pass and Sony Music Unlimited.

According to themusic.com.au “a source close to the launch has confirmed” that Spotify will launch for Australia in Sydney next week. Spotify may be coming late to the game down under, but it currently has the biggest library of songs and an ad-based free option that other services do not offer.

Australia has been set up before though, so forgive us if we don’t hold our breath for this one. We will report when and if we hear more regarding the Australian Spotify launch.

Do you already use a music streaming service? Does Spotify offer enough to cause you to make the switch? Let us know in the comment section below, or via the Australian T3 Facebook or Twitter feeds.

Via: themusic.com.au

Photos on Facebook’s mobile services now appear three times larger on the Newsfeed as the company takes a little inspiration from the acquisition of Instagram.

It’s little wonder Facebook just shelled-out over $960m to acquire Instagram. The company loves the site so much it has revamped its iOS and Android apps, as well as the mobile site with a decidedly photo-centric feel.

The newly updated apps, which are available now, make photographs shared by your friends three times larger on the Newsfeed than before and will run edge-to-edge across your screen.

A post on the company’s own Facebook page said: “Starting today, we’re rolling out an improved design for posts in news feed on your mobile phone. Now photos are up to 3x larger, and all posts will fill your mobile screen from edge to edge. The new design will be available on iOS, Android and m.facebook.com.”

The roll-out comes as Facebook put the focus squarely on mobile in the build up to its IPO set for later this week. Zuckerberg reckons we ‘ain’t seen nothing’ yet’ in the mobile department.

With Instagram integration most likely to be a key aspect of that roll-out, it seems that Facebook is finally on the way to creating a photo-sharing experience worthy of the world’s biggest audience.

Via: CNET

Grand Theft Auto 5 release date hinted by Amazon as December 2012, as trailer and screenshots leak ahead of the game’s official launch.

Amazon has become the first major retailer to predict the highly anticipated GTA 5 release date, billing Rockstar’s upcoming title with a December 2012 launch.

It squashes rumours triggered by Baired analyst Colin Sebastian, who claimed GTA V won’t be making an appearance until 2013.

Click To: Pre-order GTA 5

Rockstar’s other highly anticipated game, Max Payne 3, is out now.

The December release date means the game will be made available in time for the pre-Christmas rush.

It could also be that Take Two, GTA 5’s distributor, is holding off until Assassin’s Creed 3, Resident Evil 6, Halo 4 and Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 are released in either October or November respectively, simply because there’s too much competition around.

GTA 5: Rumours

Rumour has it the game’s lead character will be played by actor Ned Luke (Law & Order) after the game appeared on his IMDB profile (it has since been removed).

It’s believed he’ll be playing the lead character in the game, reportedly named Albert De Silva.

There has been further speculation that the character was Ray Liotta reprising his role as an older Tommy Vercetti, however fansites such as gtav.net have agreed in their prediction of Luke as the actor involved.

Games site CVG believes we’ll be seeing the return of CJ, the main protagonist in GTA: San Andreas.

Of course while there are similarities between CJ and the character in the trailer, we’ll have to wait for E3 2012 until we know for sure.

T3′s round-up of the best iPhone 5 concepts, renders, mock-ups and visions of the Apple smartphone we hope to see in the near future…

The date for WWDC 2012 has been set and while a new MacBook Pro range is tipped to be on the agenda this year, we hope that the iPhone 5 gets a mention as well. Apple fanboys have already been chomping at the bit to find out what the iPhone 4S successor and Samsung Galaxy S3 rival is going to be made of, so what will the iPhone 5 look like?

We don’t expect any slip ups from the chaps at Cupertino like the iPhone 4 in the bar episode, so until we get to officially see the new handset we’ve picked the best iPhone 5 concepts that we’ve seen.

1. iPhone Air

What happens when you lock a Macbook Air and an iPhone in a room? Nine-months later out pops this beautiful design. Incorporating the tapered edge of the Macbook Air and much loved simple lines of the iPhone 4S to give birth to a device that is as elegant as difficult to produce. The slimness of the device would almost definitely limit either battery life or processor power. Sacrificing either for the sake of aesthetics is not something we imagine Apple would entertain, so whilst we love the design, unfortunately it probably won’t come to fruition in the next iteration of the iPhone.

Link: Ciccaresedesign.com

2. iPhone 5 Liquid Metal concept

A slimmed down, shinier, sleeker looking iPhone 4S, the liquid metal concept scraps the home button in favour of a wider screen in landscape mode, and takes Apple’s minimilism to the next level, leaving the remaining buttons virtually invisible. With it’s shiny metal side panels, it is one of the most believable yet aesthetically pleasing concept designs.

Link: Yanko Design

3. iPhone 5 concept

Bringing back nostalgic memories of the original iPod Mini line up, Antonie Brieux’s concept shows the physical home button is still intact. It doesn’t look out of place with its rounded indentation complimenting the rounded edges at the top and bottom. With a splash of colour, it is definitely refreshing change after several generations of monotone looking iPhones.

Link: NAK Phone Design