Wayne Williams

In tough economic times, raising the money and getting a movie made without any major stars in it can be more than a little challenging for independent film makers. Getting it distributed is even harder.

So instead of trying to get their movie into cinemas, releasing it straight to DVD, or even putting it out on YouTube, the makers of Pulp are distributing their low-budget British comedy via an alternative method -- Xbox Live.

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I’m a huge fan of Zombies, Run! The original immersive app, which basically turns a real-world run into a journey through the zombie apocalypse, and helped me get fit and lose weight when it first came out last year.

I’ve been really looking forward to Zombies, Run! 2 since it was announced, and the great news is it’s nearly here. The updated version, which comes as a free upgrade for current players of the game, will arrive on both iOS and Android on 16 April.

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HTC had a reason to celebrate yesterday as the HTC One picked up the Best New Mobile Handset, Device or Tablet at Mobile World Congress 2013, the final award of the 18th Annual Global Mobile Awards.

The main ceremony, hosted by actor, comedian and swimmer David Walliams, was held on Tuesday and saw the Galaxy S III named the best smartphone of 2012, beating out the likes of the Apple iPhone 5, Nokia’s Lumia 920, and HTC’s Droid DNA.

That wasn’t the only upset for Apple as the iPad missed out too, with Google’s Asus-built Nexus 7 scooping the award for Best Tablet of 2012.

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HTC’s new flagship smartphone, the HTC One, comes with an "Ultrapixel" back facing camera (it’s technically a 4-megapixel camera, but HTC refers to it as an Ultrapixel sensor because the pixel sizes are larger and can capture more light and, apparently, produce better quality images). It also comes with an impressive new live capture mode called Zoe Camera.

Zoe Camera automatically captures content through the camera’s lens when the app is active. Pressing the button will take a picture, but the app will automatically record the action before and after that moment. Zoe Camera can then mash together videos, images, effects, themes and a soundtrack, to produce what HTC calls a "Zoe". And if you want to see what these look like, the online hub for sharing them has just gone live.

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Remember how last year the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) managed to persuade the UK High Court to order ISPs to block the Pirate Bay, in order to completely eradicate piracy and save the music industry?

Well as it turns out, that didn’t quite do the trick, so the BPI has returned to the High Court and this time it’s Kickass Torrents, H33T and Fenopy which are being blocked. A move which, of course, will definitely stop piracy this time. A bit like how, when Jessops went bust in the UK, no one was able to buy cameras any more.

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IBM has come up with a new way to present its social content, and engage with customers. IBM Voices is a real-time data service that showcases live social feeds from across the company.

It aggregates blogs, tweets, videos and photos, and presents them on a single page, along with a search box, a word cloud showing trending topics, and the ability to connect with the company via LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and IBM Communities.

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Google has created a new sports game for Chrome, which lets you challenge up to four friends at running, swimming and cycling.

What makes Chrome Super Sync Sports so special is while the game is displayed on your computer screen, the characters are controlled using smartphones or tablets.

To play it you need to have Chrome installed on your computer, and on any Android or iOS devices you want to use as controllers.

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If you have an Android phone, check your apps -- you’ll likely have a new one lurking there. The green Google Settings app, added today, gives users quick access to various settings for services such as Google+, Apps with Google+ Sign-in, Maps & Latitude, Location, Search, and Ads. The options you see will depend on your device and what’s enabled.

The biggest, most noteworthy feature here is of course Google+ Sign-in which lets you to use your Google ID as a universal sign-in for third-party apps and services. My colleague Joe Wilcox discussed the possibilities of this following Google’s announcement of its new authentication system yesterday.

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Adobe’s Photoshop Touch app for tablets is a great photo editing tool and now it’s available for handsets running iOS and Android, so you can polish up your snaps before sharing them online, or do something even more creative.

The app is packed with powerful features such as layers, selection tools, adjustments and filters, and there’s even a clever Camera Fill function which will let you use your device’s camera to fill an area on a layer. The app can handle images up to 12 megapixels in size and you get 2GB of free Adobe Creative Cloud space to store your pictures in.

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My colleague Mihaita Bamburic posted his first impressions on the preview version of Ubuntu Touch yesterday, and now Canonical has announced its intention to bring the early version of the mobile operating system to a further 20+ devices.

Originally only available to install on the Galaxy Nexus, Nexus 4, Nexus 7, and Nexus 10, the developer preview gives installers an early start with Ubuntu Touch, but it’s currently a taster, more than an actual, fully usable operating system.

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In-app purchases are a lucrative revenue stream for both Apple and the developers who embrace it. It provides a way to try a game and then unlock the full thing, or gain access to additional features. In Temple Run 2, for example, you can use real money to buy coins and gems to use on unlocking new characters and abilities.

The problem is a lot of game makers offer this facility in their apps, and until Apple made a change to its purchasing system in iOS 4.3, it was possible for children to spend money on in-app purchases without their parents knowledge. This, inevitably, lead to a lawsuit against Apple, with the technology giant accused of failing to adequately publicize the existence of the feature in certain App Store games aimed at children.

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Samsung might have received a $1.05 billion bloody nose in its battle against Apple last year, but the South Korean giant is coming back fighting, by launching the next version of its flagship smartphone on US soil next month. The first such launch in three years.

Confirmed today at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, and in a tweet, Samsung will be unveiling the Galaxy S IV in New York as part of the Samsung Unpacked event on March 14.

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Nokia has just confirmed two new Lumia smartphones at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The entry-level Nokia Lumia 520 will be priced at $185 (before taxes) off contract, while the mid-range Lumia 720 will cost $338 (also before taxes).

Nokia now has five Windows Phone 8 devices, covering all price points and making it easier for would-be customers to find a model that suits their requirements and budget.

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The BBC’s iPlayer app is available for both iOS and Android, but owners of Apple devices definitely get the better deal with additional features, such as the ability to download shows to their iPhones or iPads for offline viewing.

The latest update from the BBC widens the gap between the app siblings further by introducing improved AirPlay support. Owners of iOS devices who also have Apple TV will now be able to beam a show from the app to the big screen, and then background iPlayer, and use their phone or tablet for something else while the show continues to play.

In addition, the new version of the app fixes various minor problems and glitches, improves playback quality, and ensures downloads are more reliable.

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A couple of days ago I described the Windows Store as being like a Bangkok night market, filled with nothing but knockoffs. You can’t get an official app for Facebook, Twitter, or Gmail on there, but you can get lots of third-party alternatives, many of which are of dubious quality.

One of the biggest names missing from the Windows Store is YouTube. Google says it has no plans to create an app for Windows 8, but fortunately an enterprising publisher called T.O.K. has got you covered with his exciting sounding “Youtube Player Deluxe”, which really must be deluxe given its $999.99 asking price.

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