iPad Mini incoming, Xbox 720 games and Windows Phone 8 revealed: Gadget Digest

The Gadget Show  Friday 31 August 2012

It’s been another hectic week in tech, and if you’ve been busy with other things, you might have missed some big stories. Not to fear though, we’ve got them all rounded for you right here, from the iPad Mini release date to word on the Xbox 720. Read on for them all in Gadget Digest.

iPad Mini incoming

We’re just days away from the inevitable press invites for an Autumn Apple event -which according to sources is scheduled for 12 September. But is the iPhone 5 the only thing we’ll be seeing at this showcase? Several reports have popped up in the last week: one suggesting that a 7-inch iPad Mini would be revealed in October, and another report stating that this little slate would be going on sale then. If the latter is true, the iPad Mini might be turning up in a fortnight’s time after all. Watch out Amazon...

Windows Phone 8 arrives early

Lots of juicy news for Microsofties this week. We got word of an early November release date for Windows Phone 8, its all new smartphone software, but lots more to chew on until then too. Samsung was first out of the blocks, officially unveiling the powerful Ativ S Windows Phone 8 handset at IFA. But Nokia and HTC aren’t resting on their laurels: we saw leaks of their new flagships too. HTC’s working on a quirky purple number, while Nokia is believed to be showing off this bright yellow bad boy with an amazing camera at an event in New York next week. Which will you go for?

IFA overload

This week saw one of the biggest events on the gadget calendar, Berlin’s IFA expo, kick off. Just about every player in the game but Apple was there, showing off new wares. Samsung impressed with its Android-powered camera and insanely powerful Galaxy Note 2, but it had strong competition from the likes of Sony. The big trend for the show though is undoubtedly the convertible tablet: whether it’s running Android or Windows 8, fold out keyboards are very much back in. At least, that’s what manufacturers are hoping.

Next generation consoles

Microsoft and Sony may not be talking about their next generation consoles yet, but games developers certainly are. Konami showed off a stunning tech demo of a new Metal Gear Solid game, Ground Zeroes, leaving it unclear as to what system it would be appearing on. Team Bondi meanwhile, the crew behind the popular detective game LA Noire, promised that their next game, too rude to name here, would arrive on next generation consoles. In other words, you can expect the Shanghai set game to go on sale for Xbox 720 and PS4.

FIFA 13 kicks off

Last but not least, this week EA revealed loads of juicy details about the next version of its smash hit FIFA football series. We got a full preview on video, so be sure to take a look:

Tags:

Gadget digest, Apple, iPad Mini, ifa 2012, FIFA 13, Windows Phone 8