iPhone 4S Features Dual-Core A5 Chip, All New Camera, Full 1080p HD Video Recording & Introduces Siri

Picture for illustrational purposes only

SYDNEY, Australia?5 October 2011?Apple® today announced iPhone® 4S, the most amazing iPhone yet, packed with incredible new features including Apple’s dual-core A5 chip for blazing fast performance and stunning graphics; an all new camera with advanced optics; full 1080p HD resolution video recording; and Siri™, an intelligent assistant that helps you get things done just by asking. With the launch of iPhone 4S also comes the launch of iOS 5, the world’s most advanced mobile operating system with over 200 new features; and iCloud®, a breakthrough set of free cloud services that work with your iPhone, iPad®, iPod touch®, Mac® or PC to automatically and wirelessly store your content in iCloud and push it to all your devices. 

“iPhone 4S plus iOS 5 plus iCloud is a breakthrough combination that makes the iPhone 4S the best iPhone ever,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “While our competitors try to imitate iPhone with a checklist of features, only iPhone can deliver these breakthrough innovations that work seamlessly together.”

iPhone 4S comes with iOS 5, the world’s most advanced mobile operating system, which includes over 200 new features including Notification Center, an innovative way to easily view and manage notifications in one place without interruption and iMessage™, a new messaging service that lets you easily send text messages, photos and videos between all iOS 5 users. iOS 5 will also be available as a free software update for iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS customers allowing them to experience these amazing new features.*

iPhone 4S also introduces Siri, an intelligent assistant that helps you get things done just by asking. Siri understands context allowing you to speak naturally when you ask it questions, for example, if you ask “Will I need an umbrella this weekend?” it understands you are looking for a weather forecast. Siri is also smart about using the personal information you allow it to access, for example, if you tell Siri “Remind me to call Mum when I get home” it can find “Mum” in your address book, or ask Siri “What’s the traffic like around here?” and it can figure out where “here” is based on your current location. Siri helps you make calls, send text messages or email, schedule meetings and reminders, make notes, search the Internet, find local businesses, get directions and more. You can also get answers, find facts and even perform complex calculations just by asking.

iCloud is a breakthrough set of free cloud services, including iTunes® in the Cloud, Photo Stream and Documents in the Cloud, that work seamlessly with your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac or PC to automatically and wirelessly store your content in iCloud and push it to all your devices. When content changes on one device, all your other devices are updated automatically and wirelessly.

iPhone 4S includes an all new camera with the most advanced optics of any phone. The 8 megapixel sensor has 60 percent more pixels so you can take amazing high quality photos with more detail than ever. iPhone 4S includes a new custom lens, a larger f/2.4 aperture and an advanced hybrid IR filter that produce sharper, brighter and more accurate images. The Apple-designed image signal processor in the A5 dual-core chip is built for performance, and coupled with the features built into iOS 5, makes the camera one of the fastest on any phone. With iPhone 4S, the Camera app launches much faster and the shot to shot capability is twice as fast, so you’ll never miss another shot.

New features in the Camera and Photos apps give you instant access to the camera right from the lock screen, and you can also use the volume-up button to quickly snap a photo. Optional grid lines help line up your shot and a simple tap locks focus and exposure on one subject; and the new Photos app lets you crop, rotate, enhance and remove red-eye, and organise your photos into albums right on your device to share them on the go. New iOS 5 features include built-in Twitter integration and iMessage, so you can instantly share your photos via Twitter directly from the Photos app and send photos via iMessage to individuals or groups. And with iCloud’s innovative new Photo Stream service, a photo you take on your iPhone is sent to iCloud and automatically pushed to your iPad, iPod touch, Mac or PC. You can even view your Photo Stream album on your Apple TV®. 

iPhone 4S can also now record video in full 1080p HD resolution and with the new video image stabilisation feature, you can take richer, smoother videos. Other iPhone 4S video camera improvements include increased sensitivity, sharpness and an increased ability to capture video in low light conditions. With the new iMessage service in iOS 5, you can now instantly share videos with family and friends. 

iPhone 4S has the same beautifully thin glass and stainless steel design that millions of customers around the world love, while being completely redesigned on the inside. Apple’s dual-core A5 chip delivers up to twice the processing power and up to seven times faster graphics than iPhone 4, all while maintaining incredible battery life—now up to 8 hours of 3G talk time.

Improving on the innovative stainless steel external, dual-antenna design of iPhone 4, iPhone 4S is the first phone to intelligently switch between two antennas to send and receive. iPhone 4S now supports twice the download speed with HSDPA of up to 14.4 Mbps and iPhone 4S is a world phone, so both CDMA and GSM customers can now roam internationally on GSM networks.**

Pricing & Availability 
iPhone 4S comes in either black or white and will be available in Australia for a recommended retail price of AUD$799 inc. GST for the 16GB model and AUD$899 inc. GST for the 32GB model and AUD$999 inc. GST for the new 64GB model. iPhone 4S will be available from the Apple Online Store, Apple’s retail stores and select Apple Authorised Resellers. iPhone 4S will be available in the US, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan and the UK on Friday, 14 October and customers can pre-order their iPhone 4S beginning Friday, 8 October. iPhone 4 will also be available for just RRP AUD$679 inc. GST and iPhone 3GS will be available for RRP AUD$449 inc. GST. Siri will be available in beta on iPhone 4S in English (localised for US, UK and Australia), French and German. iOS 5 software will be available on 13 October as a free software update via iTunes 10.5 for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch customers.
iPhone 4S will roll out worldwide to 22 more countries by the end of October including Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

*Some features may not be available on all products.

**Carrier roaming policies apply. HSDPA availability and network speeds are dependent on carrier networks.

Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and has recently introduced iPad 2 which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices.

Dungeons & Dragons: Heroes of Neverwinter enters open beta phase

London, United Kingdom — October 3, 2011 — The first name in roleplaying games is taking another step in its storied pop culture history as Atari brings Dungeons & Dragons to the Facebook platform. Atari, one of the world’s most recognised publishers and producers of interactive entertainment has released Dungeons & Dragons: Heroes of Neverwinter into its “open beta” phase, bringing the ultimate RPG brand to the ultimate social platform.

“Heroes of Neverwinter delivers a high level of depth, polish and authenticity that will fundamentally change the way players think of RPG gaming on social platforms” said Jim Wilson, President and CEO of Atari, Inc. “Existing fans of the D&D franchise will find the translation compelling in all areas of the gameplay experience, while more casual gamers will find the adaptation accessible and intuitive.”

Legions of Halflings, Dragonborn and Eladrin will sharpen their blades and ready their spells as Facebook players around the world create their unique heroes and set forth for adventure! Explore over 50 dungeons, battle over 40 unique monsters, learn over 30 unique skills and discover hundreds of powerful magic items. Gamers can even take on the role of Dungeon Master and create their own adventures for friends and other players to explore. Dungeons & Dragons: Heroes of Neverwinter will be the deepest RPG experience ever to reach the Facebook platform.

Play the game today at http://apps.facebook.com/neverwinterheroes/?track=EuPR&kt_tu=partner, and follow Dungeons & Dragons: Heroes of Neverwinter at www.facebook.com/heroesofneverwinter.

About ATARI, SA
Atari (www.atari.com) is a multi-platform, global interactive entertainment and licensing company. The original innovator of video gaming, founded in 1972, Atari owns and/or manages a portfolio of more than 200 games and franchises, including world renowned brands like Asteroids®, Centipede®, Missile Command®, Pong®, Test Drive®, Backyard Sports®, Deer Hunter®, Ghostbusters®, and Rollercoaster Tycoon®. Atari capitalizes on these powerful properties by delivering compelling games online (i.e. browser, Facebook® and digital download), on smartphones and tablets and other connected devices. The Company also develops and distributes interactive entertainment for video game consoles from Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony. As a licensor, Atari extends its brand and franchises into other media, merchandising and publishing categories.

Atari has offices in Los Angeles, New York, Paris, Lyon and London.

© 2011 Atari Interactive, Inc. All rights reserved. Atari word mark and logo are trademarks owned by Atari Interactive, Inc.

Dungeons & Dragons, D&D, and Dungeons & Dragons: Heroes of Neverwinter are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast LLC in the USA and in other countries, and are used with permission.

Today, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and Snowblind Studios release a new behind-the-scenes trailer for their upcoming action RPG, The Lord of the Rings: War in the North.

Each hero in this tale – Andriel the Elf, Eradan the Human, Farin the Dwarf – contributes a vital talent further uniting the Fellowship. Hear from the creators themselves as they delve into the inner workings of the game’s heroes. Utilizing teamwork and communication, players can join together to fight the War in the North.

On November 2, launch day, The Lord of the Rings: War in the North will bring the action RPG genre to new heights, fighting toward the ever prescient, ever emerging darkness.

For years, humans and their animals have always been the best of friends, just like Timmy and Lassie, John and Garfield and Roy and Trigger, humans and their pets have shared a special bond. Today, to celebrate these friendships, The Sims 3

Pets releases all-new screen shots that showcase the ways in which pets can become man’s (or woman’s) best friend in the game. From playing tug-o-war, to riding around town in style on horseback, Sims can interact with all of their pets in a variety of activities, games and challenges.

Findings of AVG’s 2011 SMB Market Landscape Report reveals lack of understanding of the threats posed by business reliance on mobile phone and social networking use. 

MELBOURNE, 4 October 2011 — AVG (AU/NZ) Pty Ltd, the distributor of the award-winning AVG Internet and mobile security software in Australia, New Zealand and South Pacific, today announced the findings of this year’s SMB Market Landscape Report. It revealed the glaring gap between the ready adoption of new technologies and the preparedness of small- and medium-size businesses for the associated heightened levels of risk to security.

This annual report, commissioned by AVG and undertaken by GfK NOP, tracks the security attitudes and practices of SMBs with up to 100 employees. The online survey conducted during August 2011 elicited responses from 1,000 ICT managers in the USA and the UK. AVG (AU/NZ) believes the results should alert their Australian counterparts to the global issues of cyber crime and business protection.

Lloyd Borrett, Security Evangelist at AVG (AU/NZ), said: “Businesses must equate online security with corporate governance and brand protection. New mobility technologies and social networking open businesses to opportunities for growth but also introduce the very nasty reality of security breaches and information theft.”

Almost 75 per cent of respondents did not understand the risks posed to their businesses by their organisation’s use of mobile phones. One in three had a profile on a social networking site without taking additional security precautions. The majority of respondents remained focussed on countering the more traditional e-mail and web based malware attacks.

The announcement this month of the latest release of AVG’s robust protection for small- and medium-size businesses, AVG Internet Security Business Edition 2012, is the security software answer for today’s ‘Internet active’ SMBs. It addresses the potential impacts of cyber crime while being resource-light and affordable.

Borrett strongly advises anti-virus and Internet protection be kept current for all computers and mobile devices that are brought in or taken home by staff, contractors, clients and visitors. He stresses the importance of properly securing smartphone and tablet devices.

Almost three quarters of SMBs surveyed did not agree that the use of smartphones in business represents a threat to IT security. Yet as Borrett points out, these devices are Internet-connected, highly mobile computers, with vital business and personal information being carried around on them. They can be easily misplaced, lost or stolen. Combine this with a 273% rise in mobile malware in the first half of 2011 and such devices are a growing security risk that SMBs must address quickly. This highlights why AVG has been a pioneer in introducing its AVG Mobilation security solutions for Android smartphones and tablets.

AVG SMB Market Landscape Report 2011

The AVG SMB Market Landscape Report 2011 revealed that:

• SMBs have a more conservative attitude towards IT spending as a response to financial uncertainty. In spite of this there are some pockets where spend has risen against 2011. In the USA it’s the smaller 1–5 employee business whose investment is up, while in the UK it is the medium portion (26–50 employees) of the SMB market spending more.
• SMBs are embracing technologies to increase levels of mobility, though few are aware of the potential dangers associated with bringing data to more devices. One in ten SMBs are now using tablet devices, a threefold increase on 2010.
• SMBs recognise the opportunity social networking offers to promote business and engage with customers, but do not take the proper additional precautions against specific social-media threats. SMBs are most frequently using social networks to engage with their customers, and to disseminate company and product information. However, more than a quarter claim to be using their social networking connections to research trends and gain consumer insights.
• SMBs remain focused on traditional IT vulnerabilities like e-mail and web viruses without safeguarding against emerging IT security threats, such as information theft and social engineering. In 2010 large numbers of SMBs were considering moving their data into the cloud. However, one in six now have concerns about the safety of their data which is stored there.
• SMBs are most concerned about losing access to files and replacing hardware, when security breaches are the costlier risk. SMBs that have already experienced such a breakdown are more likely to have seen the long-term impact, such as loss of sales and revenue opportunities and the man hours lost from reacting to a breach.

The AVG SMB Market Landscape Report showed that SMBs are remarkably consistent in terms of their requirements for security software. They want IT security software to:

• Deliver the right level of protection
• Not impact on business performance
• Work in the background

“As the champions of SMB security, this is just what AVG’s Business Edition 2012 products deliver,” said Borrett. “They’re designed exclusively with the small and medium business in mind. This is why AVG has considerably higher levels of satisfaction amongst small businesses compared to other major brands.”  

AVG Business Edition 2012 Availability and Pricing

The complete AVG 2012 family of SMB products (including AVG Internet Security Business Edition 2012 and AVG Anti-Virus Business Edition 2012) is available now at www.avg.com.au, as well as through a large network of independent software resellers throughout Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific.

AVG Internet Security Business Edition 2012 and AVG Anti-Virus Business Edition 2012 are available in five-seat increment multi-packs with one and two year licence periods. Pricing for a one-year, five-seat license for AVG Internet Security Business Edition 2012 is A$317.20. A one-year, five-seat licence for AVG Anti-Virus Business Edition 2012 is A$199.99.

Paid AVG products come complete with free telephone support from the AVG (AU/NZ) support centre in Melbourne, backed up by free technical support by e-mail. 

Keep in touch with AVG (AU/NZ)

• For breaking news, follow AVG (AU/NZ) on Twitter at twitter.com/avgaunz
• Join our Facebook community at www.facebook.com/avgaunz
• For security trends, analysis, follow the AVG (AU/NZ) blog at resources.avg.com.au

Further reading: AVG SMB Market Landscape Report 2011 (16 pages, 1.4 Mb, PDF)

4 October 2011

Looking to take advantage of all the features of Pokédex 3D, but haven’t been able to scan enough Pokémon AR Markers to unlock them? Well, look no further. Now you can access all of those features right away with a new update!

The update includes several new buttons that you can use when inside various Pokédex 3D functions. When you’re checking out a Pokémon’s action in its Pokédex entry, you can hit the Pause button to stop the Pokémon mid-motion. You can also use the Stopwatch button to freeze a Pokémon in place in the AR Viewer and the Note button to hear a Pokémon’s cry!

There’s also a new AR Settings menu you can access inside the AR Viewer. With Scale Settings, you can switch between two modes: Model Mode, which lets you scale a Pokémon to make it easier to see, and Actual Mode, which lets you see how Pokémon look relative to each other. Background Settings let you choose a photo from an SD Card to use as the background of the AR Viewer for use with Pokémon AR Markers. Select any photo you want, and you’ll see a Pokémon on top of it!

Previously, you had to collect a lot of Stickers by scanning Pokémon AR Markers to unlock these features. Now they will be unlocked right away when you run the update!

Updating your Pokédex 3D application is easy. Just launch the application and select the Settings option (the gear icon in the top-right corner). Scroll to the bottom and tap the Update button. You’ll need an Internet connection to get the update.

Have fun with all the awesome new features of the Pokédex 3D application!

For more information about the Pokédex 3D, visit: http://www.pokedex3d.com/

SYDNEY, Australia – October 4, 2011 – 2K Sports is proud to announce its partnership with the Sydney Kings to launch the highly anticipated NBA® 2K12, which goes on sale nationally 7 October, 2011. NBA 2K12 is the latest instalment in the top-rated and best-selling NBA basketball simulation franchise*, and follows the success of last year’s success of NBA 2K11.

“NBA 2K12 is a celebration of basketball and partnering with the Sydney Kings is the natural next step to recognise the rising prominence of this sport in Australia, both on and off the court,” said Sales Director for 2K, Dean Glover.

NBA 2K12 gives players the chance to experience the court in a highly realistic simulated environment and to square-off against some of the greatest NBA legends, including Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, who are featured on the cover, among other basketball icons from the NBA?s rich history.

NBA 2K12 is also a favourite amongst Sydney Kings players:

“Off the court, NBA 2K12 gives me the chance to relax in my downtime and to get a great sense of what it might have been like to play against some of the game?s greatest legends”, said Sydney Kings player Jerai Grant.

“There is a natural synergy between the Sydney Kings and NBA 2K12, with the focus on playing winning, attractive basketball in a passionate environment that showcases the best of both the game of basketball and entertainment,” said Sydney Kings General Manager, David Wolf. “NBA 2K12 empowers users to live the same dreams and aspirations of our players in their passionate pursuit to lift the championship trophy at the end of the season. It is appropriate then that our very first game of the season will be NBA 2K12 Game Night on October 15 at the Sydney Entertainment Centre.”

The increasing popularity of video games is matched by the popularity of basketball. In Australia basketball participation has surpassed that of AFL, cricket, rugby league and rugby union, becoming Australia?s third largest team based sport with over one million participants.

The partnership between the Sydney Kings and NBA 2K12 will see each raising the profile of basketball amongst both hard core fans and newcomers alike, there will be a of marketing and media initiatives planned throughout the upcoming 2011-2012 NBL season.
NBA 2K12 can now be pre-ordered before 7 October, 2011 from leading video game retailers nationwide, for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, Wii™ system, PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system and Windows PC.

NBA 2K12 is rated G by the OFLC.
For more information on 2K Sports, join our communities www.myspace.com/2ksports; www.facebook.com/2KSports; www.youtube.com/profile?user=2KSports; twitter.com/#!/2ksports