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Phone options for the blind previously been pricey hardware based solutions -- or feature-light (physically-heavy) handsets. While the functional abilities of smartphones have expanded out wildly from the mobile devices we used to use, accessibility options have remained firmly in the past. Enter Georgie, an Android app that offers up a blind-friendly interface to open up the likes of maps, Twitter and email. It also includes an OCR function that can both re-display text in larger fonts and offer an audio version for listening. You can even store these photos for listening to later. Navigation through the app is steered by holding your finger to the screen, hearing the menu described and giving haptic feedback to confirm your choice. Keep reading to see how the app developed and our impressions on how it all works. You can also check out our hands-on video, which includes a glimpse at the app's OCR read-out feature and a quick demonstration from its co-creator Roger.

It's been about three years since Microsoft unveiled a new version of Office, and particularly with Windows 8 just months away from dropping, the software has been well overdue for an upgrade. Today, Redmond unveiled the latest edition -- Office 2013 (aka Office 15) -- which the company will be showing in a preview stage until the final version goes on sale (hit up the source link if you want to download it for yourself).

Perhaps the biggest news isn't any single feature Microsoft's added to Word (hello, easy YouTube embeds!), but how and where you'll access your files. With this version, the company is moving to a subscription-based model wherein your Office files are tied to your Microsoft ID. Once you sign up, you can download the various desktop apps to a certain number of devices and, as with Windows 8, your settings, SkyDrive files and even the place where you left off in a document will follow you from device to device. (It's telling, we think, that files now save to the cloud by default.) As you'd expect, too, this version is also more tablet-friendly than editions past, with a touch mode that widens the spacing between onscreen objects and flattens menus. In Word and PowerPoint, you'll also find a read-only mode that turns documents into full-screen editions, whose pages you can swipe through as you would an e-book or digital magazine.

Of course, Microsoft included plenty of granular updates like PDF editing and a behind-the-scenes Presenter View in PowerPoint. Fortunately for you, curious power users, we've been spending the better part of a week testing the software on a Samsung Series 7 Slate loaded up with Windows 8. So join us past the break where we'll give you a detailed breakdown of what's new, along with screenshots and detailed first impressions.

Looking to snag a mobile hotspot with your pending Ultrabook purchase? If so, Sprint is looking to be the first US carrier to oblige with a package deal. The wireless provider will bundle the Lenovo IdeaPad U310 with a 3G / 4G mobile hotspot for $849 -- plus a monthly bill of either $34.99 for 3GB of data or $49.99 for 6GB of the added connectivity. If that wasn't enough to get you to pull the trigger, the outfit has also thrown in three months of service for free once you commit to two years of Sprint's mobile broadband. You'll be strapped with the Core i5 CPU version of the Ultrabook, but you'll be able to decide between either a MiFi or an Overdrive Pro for the hotspot option. Itchin' to take the plunge? Hit that second source link below to sign up and part with your funds.

The Nexus Q hacks are coming fast and furious now, and inching closer to true usefulness with each one. The latest is easily the most exciting -- a port of full-blown CyanogenMod 9 and XMBC for Android. While the hack was the work of the actual CM team, the Q is not an officially supported device. There are still plenty of quirks and bugs to iron out, but WiFi and Bluetooth are both up and running. If you've got one of the expertly crafted magnesium spheres, there's nothing stopping you from blessing it with a little custom ROM love. Just know that there's still lots of work to do, especially on the XMBC for Android front which is still very much in the experimental stage. To see CM9 in action check out the video after the break and hit up the more coverage link for install instructions.

It's been a long three weeks since iOS 6 beta 2 arrived to refine Apple's next mobile OS, so it's with some relief that beta 3 has just popped up as an over-the-air update. As always, the attention is on mending bugs and bringing the code closer to what an everyday iPad, iPhone or iPod touch owner will see when all is said and done. Those of us regular users pining for Passbook will still have a number of reasons to wait awhile before we can get our own direct taste in the fall -- not the least of which is Apple's recent clampdown on bootleg access.

[Thanks, Jamie]

Update: As MacRumors notes, this update also marks the beginning of the transition to iCloud.com email addresses.

Due to numerous marketing materials, FCC documents and other leaks, T-Mobile hasn't exactly made it a secret that the Samsung Galaxy Note would be coming to its network sometime soon. We've been begging the company to just come clean about it and confirm the inevitable, and a spokesperson has finally pulled the trigger, announcing on Twitter that it indeed is going to be coming to the lineup. This is unfortunately all the carrier is willing to divulge at this time, however, as we were told in a separate email that it will have "more details to share in the coming weeks." We're now strongly considering a pool on whether or not it'll arrive before a rumored sequel is announced.

[Thanks, Ramon]

The waiting is the hardest part -- just ask stateside fans of the Xperia NXT series. But in a welcome change of fortune, Sony's breaking down international borders and making its Android trio available unlocked for American mitts. Interested parties can hit up Sony stores or visit the usual online mega retailers now to snag the 12-megapixel-toting Xperia S, WhiteMagic-y P and wee U for $560, $480 and $300, respectively. You'll have to hitch your wireless ride to AT&T to take full advantage of the goods and there's no 4G LTE service to speak of, but hey, beggars can't be choosers. Hit up the source link below to get'em while they're hot.

Sick and tired of waiting around for some exascale computing? So's the Department of Energy. The agency has offered up a $12.4 million contract to NVIDIA as part of its FastForward program, an attempt help speed up exascale development. The chipmaker will be using the two-year contract to help develop architecture for an exascale computer that operates at a "reasonable power level," in order to "advance the frontiers of science." Possible implications for exascale computing include the study of climate change, development of efficient engines, the search for disease cures, according to NVIDIA -- not to mention "reasons of national security and economic competitiveness."

Tasked with mine detection and eradication in the Persian Gulf, the US Navy has sent a fleet of unmanned submarines to help keep the Strait of Hormuz open in Iran. Dubbed the SeaFox, each vehicle houses an underwater TV camera, sonar and a dose of explosives. Tipping the scales at less than 100 pounds, the subs are about four feet in length and are controlled via fiber optic cable that sends the live feed back to the captain of each ship. SeaFoxes can dive to depths of 300 meters and boasts a top speed of six knots. The units are thrust into action from helicopters, small rubber boats and off the rear of minesweepers and are capable of disposing of the aforementioned weapons of both the floating and drifting sort. There is one small catch: the $100,000 submarine destroys itself in the process, making each successful trek a suicide mission of sorts.

At first it was faint -- a blurry smear bisecting the sky above, running roughly north to south and flanked by a second, even more indistinct line to the west. Soon, though, both lines began to change, coalescing and intensifying into bright green streaks impossible to miss and difficult to ignore.

As the night began to expire and the morning matured, those lines grew brighter and brighter and then, without warning, they started to dance. Numbing feet and chilly fingers forgotten, bundled-up onlookers looked skyward to gasp and laugh out loud as the evergreen, spectral curtains far above began to waver and move, blown by a fickle celestial wind. Waves traveled from north to south and back as the luminescent lines above twisted, forming glowing knots of purple and red before slowly spreading out, covering the night sky in green, bright enough that even the snow-colored landscape glowed like an emerald wonderland. Gradually, the motion stopped and slowed, seeming to stall in the sky above, exhausted before -- encore; the heavenly dance began anew.

Alaska Project Aether

The recent release of the Radeon HD 7970 Ghz Edition is having knock-on benefits further down the stack. $20 has now been shaved off the regular 7970 rrp in addition to the last discount we reported, while the 7950 is down $50 to $349 and the 7870 has also been nudged $50 deeper into the mid-range sweet spot at $249. Other cards in the line-up may also drop by some degree, although there's no official word on those just yet. These summer prices should start having an impact in stores from today -- just in time to benefit from the latest Catalyst 12.7 drivers, which promise to bring significant performance gains and hence even more tension to your NVIDIA product comparisons.

With only vague plans for two new Meego smartphones and a loose commitment from Nokia in its pocket, nervy startup Jolla went ahead and signed its first sales channel -- Chinese retailer D.Phone. The company made the announcement by Twitter, since it doesn't even have a website yet, calling itself a "rising smartphone product company," and saying that it will use D.Phone's 2,000 stores to sell the as-yet nonexistent handsets to Chinese consumers. It also confirmed that the first device would launch later this year featuring a fresh version of MeeGo, though the company didn't discuss dates or any new features that the new OS version might pack. For a mobile platform that was on death's door, it may have just been gifted a possible reprieve -- provided Jolla can build phones to match its ambitious plans.

Intrigued by Motorola's new flagship device on AT&T? If you read our review on the Atrix HD you'll know the smartphone is a solid choice in the $99 price range, but today and tomorrow is your time to try grabbing one for the especially awesome cost of zilch. In celebration of its launch this week, Motorola provided us with a brand new unit to hand out to a lucky reader. You know the routine -- head below, leave a comment and keep those fingers crossed. Good luck!

When it comes to storied products, the Motorola Atrix has already mushroomed into one prolific line of devices, even in its short, 18-month life. It began as the Atrix 4G, entering the market with a splashy press conference at CES 2011, earning our respect as a game-changer, with its fingerprint sensor and innovative Webtop system. Less than a year later we were treated to the sequel, which offered some incremental improvements in specs and design, but failed to dazzle techies the way the original did.

Enter the third installment of the Atrix saga: the Atrix HD. True to its name, Motorola's latest device is the company's first US-bound smartphone to take advantage of a 720p display. It's also the outfit's first handset to ship with Ice Cream Sandwich already installed, and it sweetens the pot with other goodies such as LTE and an 8-megapixel rear camera. The spec sheet looks promising, and at $99 with a two-year agreement, so does the price. So is it worth your hard-earned Benjamin and two more years with AT&T? Let's find out.

Motorola Atrix HD review

Only a handful of Skype users have reported this problem over at the support forum, but what they're complaining about is pretty hair-raising. They say that, following an update in June, instant messages have repeatedly and unintentionally been forwarded to random people in their contact lists. In other words, third-parties are seeing stuff they were never meant to see, which constitutes a serious breach of privacy. Skype now tells us it's aware of the issue and is working on a fix. Here's the official response in full:

"We are aware that in rare circumstances IM's between two contacts could be sent to an unintended third contact. We are rolling out a fix for this issue in the next few days and will notify our users to download an updated version of Skype."

[Thanks, Kuldar]

The folks behind Ouya got millions of dollars, courtesy of a slew of very kind folks on Kickstarter -- and now the hard part begins: actually bringing a product to market. Thankfully, it's not wasting any time. In a note posted to its Kickstarter page, the team let it be know that it's working with NVIDIA on the project, meeting with the chipmaker on Thursday to "maximize the performance" of the Tegra 3 it'll be packing. Ouya may also help game developers get a jumpstart on the action, noting that it "might consider" a reward to let devs get early access to the raw circuit board and software.

The mapping scene has seen plenty of activity lately -- what with Apple ditching Google to launch its own service while the latter continues to layer on improvements such as better walking directions and more Street View coverage for its maps. Now a new app called "Recce" is trying to elbow its way into the conversation by using a free, searchable 3D mapping system that not only serves up location-based services but also location-based games. Named after military slang for "reconnaissance," Recce is the brainchild of former Psygnosis co-founder Ian Hetherington and Google engineering director Rian Liebenberg, who formed London-based developer eeGeo. The app works by pulling together a slew of data feeds from sources such as map providers and social networking services to provide an interactive 3D view of an area. It can also be used to update services like Twitter so your followers can know exactly where you were when you saw Justin Johnson, er, Bieber speeding away from the paparazzi in his chrome Fisker Karma. Do note that data is limited to central London at the moment, though San Francisco and New York are slated to get their 3D closeup next.

Zoom is known for making audio recorders, but its latest product, the Q2HD, brings video to the recording party -- HD video, no less. Sure, there are many ways to shoot and share our lives these days, and it's a wonder that services like Ustream aren't just full of videos of people unboxing cameras, checking in and uploading pictures to Pinterest (while also watching Ustream). Zoom, however, evidently believes that though the method might evolve, the medium largely remains the same -- voice and video. As such, the Q2HD Handy Video Recorder (to give it its full name) promises to play, capture and stream, all in "HD audio and video." Paraphrasing of the box aside, we got our hands on one and took it for a spin. Want to know how it fared? Let's reset the levels, then head past the break for the mixdown.

Zoom Q2 HD hands-on

Sky is going online and ditching the contracts... sort of. The UK TV provider is launching a new service called Now TV that will take on more established properties like Lovefilm and Netflix. The streaming video service will initially be available on OS X, Windows and Android with iOS to follow shortly. By the end of the year it will also be available on Xbox, PS3, Roku and Youview. Initially Sky Movies will form the backbone of the service, with titles costing anywhere from £0.99 to £3.49 for playback, or you can purchase unlimited monthly access for £15. Eventually Now TV will expand to include Sky Sports, Sky 1 and plenty of other BSkyB owned properties. For more, check out the PR after the break.

Steam's Android app has thrown up a selection of new categories that point to the possibility of productivity apps and other types of non-gaming software being sold in the near-future. Ranging from photo editing to accounting, there's ten categories that aren't available on the desktop version. It would open up yet another branch for Valve, which already offers books and movies through its online store, but until these categories get fleshed-out -- they're currently empty -- we're left guessing as to what it's likely to offer.

Two different audiences and two very different screenings. After unfamiliar 48fps Hobbit footage was pretty universally panned back at Cinema-Con, Peter Jackson decided to play it safe and show Comic-Con fans the traditional low frame-rate teaser. Their response? They loved it. Which would, you'd think, give the head hobbit a clear message: his film works better without the wacky frame rate, but that's just not how he sees it. Writing on his Facebook page, he said "I've always been happy to bet on myself" and the 48fps version of Hobbit is "something really special" when you watch the entire movie. In other words, he's sticking to his orc sword, and in the meantime we're left to wonder what would have happened if the Comic-Con crowd -- who are perhaps more his kind of people than Cinema-Con goers -- had been shown the tricked out footage.