Moto X launches and NSA stays sneaky

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www.techradar.com Week in Tech The new Moto X is 'always listening' - and so is the NSA! We knew so much about the Moto X that Motorola could have saved a great deal of time at the product launch by going on stage, waving it around and simply saying "yup." Was it worth the wait?  Michelle Fitzsimmons is on the customisable case and explains what's inside. The Moto X is "made for you", says Motorola - but only if "you" are in the US, because so far the Moto X isn't coming to Europe or Australia. And even Americans aren't supposed to get their hands on the device: the phone constantly listens for voice commands. Lily Prasuethsut reckons that "has taken the Moto X to a whole new level of creepy. A phone that's listening to me all the time? Really?" You know who else is listening to you all the time? That's right - the Feds! The ongoing revelations about the NSA's snooping powers reached a new and even more frightening level this week with the disclosure of XKeyscore. XKeyscore "allows for 'real time' interception of a person's web activity - and to target a single person, all the NSA needs is a phone number or email address." The only good news is that XKeyscore is harvesting so much data that it can't physically store it for more than a few weeks. Or at least, that was the case a few years back. Ladies and gentlemen! It's time for tinfoil! Read the full story     In this week ■ Week in Tech: The new Moto X is 'always listening' - and so is the NSA! ■ Talking points: PS4 vs Xbox One, new look for Samsung Galaxy S5, and date set for O2 4G network ■ Competition: WIN! A top-of-the-range Medion ERAZER laptop worth £999 ■ The week's best buys: Panasonic DMP-BDT330, Lenovo IdeaPad Z500 Touch, and Sony Xperia Tablet Z ■ Top 20: Smartphones   Talking points 1 Is the PS4 about to crush the Xbox One? Like the lords of Westeros battling for kingships and glory, the PS4 and Xbox One are about to go head-to-head in the most thrilling hardware clash in the history of gaming. Only one console will win the Iron Throne [writes James Rivington]. The other must pay the Iron price, and favourite for the wooden spoon is currently the Xbox One. Read more       2 Get a grip: The Xbox One will be a massive hit There are plenty of reasons why it's been a ropy start for the Xbox One [writes Patrick Goss]. I'm not going to defend Microsoft's ham-fisted efforts to show its next-gen console in the best light. However, the time has come to redress the balance and point out that, far from being an unmitigated disaster of a console, this is a wonderful gaming machine that will flourish. Read more       3 Is that what the Samsung Galaxy S5 will look like? Samsung could be about to ditch nature and shake up its smartphone design if a new patent is any indication. The images, unearthed by Patent Bolt, show a rectangular shape but with slanted edges. All in all, it looks a little bit more in line with the HTC One, moving away from Samsung's current nature-inspired look found on the Galaxy S3 and Galaxy S4. Read more       4 O2 4G network going live on August 29 O2 has officially confirmed its 4G LTE network will go live in the UK on August 29, with SIM-only tariffs starting at just £26 a month. The bad news is that it appears iPhone 5 users won't be able to get the 4G speeds.This is because O2 will be deploying on the 800MHz band, which Apple's device doesn't support. Read more       Competition WIN! A top-of-the-range Medion ERAZER laptop worth £999   Medion is giving one lucky TechRadar user the chance to win a top-of-the-range Medion ERAZER X6823 (MD98254) laptop worth £999 - for the ultimate gaming and home entertainment experience. Enter competition   WIN! An iPad 4 with stunning Retina Display Enter competition       WIN! A superzoom Nikon Coolpix S9500 worth £279.99 Enter competition       WIN! A MacBook Air and two superb Literature and Latte apps Enter competition       Your tweets this week       The week's best buys Panasonic DMP-BDT330 This Panasonic Blu-ray player is a great all-digital option. It's the easiest to use of any Blu-ray deck we've tested, and though it lacks some apps in a rather old-fashioned GUI, it's also the fastest working. View offer Read review       Lenovo IdeaPad Z500 Touch An interesting mainstream addition to the market place, and good value too: most pure gaming machines tend to cost a good deal more than this. This is a well-thought out system that can play the latest games with few compromises, and for the money, that's hard to scoff at. View offer Read review       Sony Xperia Tablet Z The Sony Xperia Tablet Z is a triumph. If you're against the iPad for any reason, or even just agnostic over your OS, the Sony has taken the best of Android and fused it with its own innovation to make a device that delights in more ways than we can count. View offer Read review       What you said about Retina Display on the iPad mini 2 @buckmasterflash Just got an iPad mini two weeks ago. Don't need retina. Have two on my face.      @jerrycooke I'm still using a 1st gen iPad I got at release - comics still look crisp. While I have an iPhone 5, retina isn't a dealbreaker     @asgardclone Waiting to buy next iPad mini but no retina = dealbreaker         Top   phones in the world How do you decide which smartphone is the best one for you? Well, this is where we make it easy with our continually updated comparison of the top 20 best smartphones you can get in the UK.   HTC One       Samsung Galaxy S4       Sony Xperia Z View top 20           TechRadar Promotion TechRadar's Deals of the Week: Sky Now TV box for only £10 The recently released Now TV box is Sky's attempt at bringing internet TV functionality to those without the latest smart TVs. It offers access to BBC iPlayer, BBC News, 4oD and Demand 5, as well as the option to watch Now TV services from Sky with a day or month pass. View promotion Panasonic Lumix GF6 The Panasonic GF6 is one of the best compact system cameras currently on the market, especially for the beginner user. Image quality is fantastic, while usability, thanks in part to the touchscreen and sensible menu system, makes it one of the more pleasurable cameras to shoot with. View promotion  New issue out now We put the first pair of Google Glasses in the UK through their paces in our extensive review. It's also our first annual T3 Brit List, with Sir Jonathan Ive's iOS 7 leading the way. Download now         www.techradar.com

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