WIN! A Canon EOS 1100D

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www.techradar.com Week in Tech Xbox One, PS4 and what you'll pay for a Steam Machine Last week saw the global release of the Xbox One. This week, the UK gets the PS4, two weeks after the US release. "How is it possible for two competing products to be so similar and yet so different?" asks James Rivington, noting the striking similarities between their processors and architecture. While the Xbox One and PS4 may be siblings under the skin, they're very different devices - and our in-depth reviews have explored aspect of their next-generation appeal. First, we investigated the PS4, a "great machine" where gaming is "fantastic" and the performance is "really impressive." Then, we looked at the Xbox One. It "has the stronger launch lineup", Kinect is "surprisingly good" and it isn't the "Jack of all trades, master of none" that many observers feared. It's not perfect, but "the most important things are there: good games, a solid interface and reliable servers for hours and hours of online gaming." What if you’re waiting for a Steam Machine? We got first word of a price this week, as iBuyPower says its Steam Machine will be US$499 (about £307) when it goes on sale next year. Rather brilliantly, the firms' two prototypes have names that Steam fans may find familiar: the first one's called Gordon, and the second one Freeman. Read the full story     In this week ■ Week in Tech: Xbox One, PS4 and what you'll pay for a Steam Machine ■ Talking points: Rubbish games, Xbox expense explained, why to buy an Xbox One now, EA cuts PS4 download price ■ Competition: WIN! A Canon EOS 1100D ■ The week's best buys: Amazon Kindle Fire, Samsung Galaxy S3, 13-inch MacBook Air ■ Top 10: Android phones   Talking points 1 Do rubbish games prove the Xbox One and PS4 are too big to fail? It finally happened: the Xbox One has arrived in stores, nestling next to the PS4 on shelves the world over. But Instead of all the media organs pleasing their hardware gods by giving the launch titles suspiciously high scores, the initial games for both Sony and Microsoft's new home consoles are getting a rather lukewarm reception. Read more       2 Why is Xbox One more expensive than PS4? This teardown reveals true cost Microsoft isn't sticking it to gamers by charging more for its Xbox One console than Sony does for PS4 - it really costs that much more for the parts. The more expensive Xbox One's price is $471 (about £291, AU$516) at cost, according to the teardown analysts at iHS iSuppli. Its bill of materials amounts to $457 (about £282, AU$501) and manufacturing is estimated to be $14 (about £9, AU$15). Read more       3 5 reasons you should buy an Xbox One today (and 5 reasons to wait a while) Eight years after the launch of the Xbox 360, the next-gen Xbox One is finally here, promising more power, superior multimedia mastery and games that will blow your mind with levels of unprecedented detail. But should you buy an Xbox One now? Or should you wait? Read more       4 EA cuts price for PS4 game downloads, but they're still higher than Xbox One EA has now generously knocked off a whole - get ready for it - £3! This brings the price of its digital PS4 titles down to £59.99, which is still £5 more than its Xbox One games. Read more       Competition WIN! A Canon EOS 1100D   Canon’s 12-megapixel entry-level DSLR offers impeccable image quality, and reviewers have stated that “the improvements Canon has made internally on the EOS 1100D, particularly with its high ISO performance, blow its predecessor out of the water and bring the EOS 1100D’s image quality in-line with other contemporary models from higher up the pecking order.” Enter competition   WIN! £10,000 worth of gadgets in the Great Gadget Giveaway Enter competition       WIN! A pair of Scandyna SmallPod speakers worth £599 Enter competition       WIN! A Nikon J3 worth £579.99 Enter competition       Your tweets this week       The week's best buys Amazon Kindle Fire Very beginner-friendly and offers something genuinely new over its rivals. The display is sharp and ideally suited to movie watching, the stereo speakers are suitably punchy, and those dual-core CPUs drive apps, games and HD video along very well - all for a bargain price. Access to the formidable Amazon ecosystem is its main strength, however, and there's no arguing with the sheer range of, or easy access to, movie, music and book content. View offer Read review       Samsung Galaxy S3 This has every kind of feature we could ask for and more, and raised the bar in terms of battery life, processor speed and media management.  Would we recommend you buy one? Yes, without hesitation. View offer Read review       13-inch MacBook Air The new MacBook Air is a definite and significant step up from last year's release. The battery life is little short of incredible. Business travellers taking long flights and students who need it all day for lectures and then throughout the evening for writing an essay will love its all-day power. View offer Read review       What updates do you want for iOS 7? ‏@zeeshannassar Bluetooth transfer and Wi-Fi direct.     @Caddelmar Leave alone! It takes me a week to get all my phones updated in my house. It's fine now!     ‏@MiersRM Two things on screen at once, like snapping for the new xbox.       Top   Android phones There's one key way in which Android is massively different from its Apple-branded smartphone competition - the number of phones out there running Google's hot mobile OS.   HTC One       LG G2       Samsung Galaxy S4 View top 10           TechRadar Promotion Best PlayStation 4 bundles Post-launch, some UK retailers are still offering to sell you a PS4 in time for Christmas, although it will typically be part of a more expensive console plus games or console plus accessories bundle. We've rounded up all of the current deals in this article, which we'll keep updating so you know just where to get the best deal on a PS4. View promotion TechRadar and Carphone Warehouse bring you Smart Choice Make the right choice with Smart Choice, brought to you by TechRadar in association with Carphone Warehouse. From self-healing phones that actually work to the latest Android update, you'll find all the info you need to get the most from your mobile. View promotion  Christmas gift guide From consoles and phones to kitchen and garden gadgets, here's our bumper selection of gift ideas for tech lovers. Whoever you're buying for, we've got you covered.. Read now         www.techradar.com

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