IBLOG SPACE

The Samsung Galaxy S isn’t the only Android 2.1 smartphone to arrive here today; we’ve just taken delivery of the HTC Wildfire , the company’s new entry-level smartphone and quite the mini-Desire and promptly shot an unboxing video and shared some hands-on first impressions over at Android Community. Packing a compact 3.2-inch QVGA capacitive touchscreen, 3G/UMTS, HTC Sense and a 5-megapixel autofocus camera with LED flash, the Wildfire walks the tightrope between budget and functionality, and it seems to do a whole lot better than the Tattoo it replaces. Build quality is high, it’s a reasonably attractive design and the screen – though low resolution – is bright and, thanks to using an LCD rather than AMOLED panel, actually a little more viewable while outdoors than that of the Desire or Nexus One. Keeping things ticking is a mere 528MHz Qualcomm processor, so while in its raw state things appear to be swift, we’ll be keeping an eye on how the Wildfire performs when it’s loaded up w

UK carrier O2 has announced official iPhone 4 handset pricing, and there are some surprises in store. Having shown us their tariff details – complete with paltry 500MB inclusive data allowance – this time last week, O2 has now confirmed that the iPhone 4 will in fact be cheaper on an 18-month basic contract than it will on a 24-month agreement: £209 versus £279 for the 16GB model, in fact. As with rival Orange, the only free iPhone 4 handset will be the 16GB model on the most expensive monthly contract, at £60 for a two-year agreement or £65 for an 18-month agreement. Full details on all the packages in the table below.

Sharing a single data connection across multiple WiFi devices seems to be a growing trend these days, popularised by the MiFi mobile hotspots and then spreading to cellphones and now laptops. Sony has announced that their VAIO Z and Y series notebooks will have a “Share My Connection” (SMC) option, that when turned on allows up to five nearby devices to connect via WiFi. The VAIO Z and Y Series notebooks will need to have an activated Verizon Wireless WWAN card in order to use SMC, which will be toggled on and off through the bundled SmartWi utility. As on other devices, there’ll be password protection and a unique ID so as to prevent other people leaching your data allowance. The Sony VAIO Z series kicks off from $1,950 and the VAIO Y series from $770; obviously you’ll need to budget for a Verizon data plan too.

Back when we reviewed the Samsung Wave, while we loved its Super AMOLED display and swift 1GHz Hummingbird processor, we also felt the Samsung Galaxy S with Android 2.1 would be a better bet for most consumers than the new bada OS. Happily that’s something we can test out now, since there’s a Samsung Galaxy S fresh to the test bench at Android Community today. Packing a 4-inch WVGA Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen display, TouchWiz 3.0 UI, WiFi b/g/n, triband UMTS and Bluetooth 3.0, the Galaxy S certainly ticks the specs boxes. Hands-on, the display leaves no room for disappointment, even managing to put HTC’s AMOLED technology – as on the Nexus One and Desire – to shame with its right, bright colors and crisp resolution. It’s also impressively swift, with menus whipping past and webpages rendering almost instantaneously. Pinch-zooming shows none of the lag we’ve seen on other recent, less powerful Android handsets, and screen rotation happens without a pause. We’ve shared more

Some people work all by themselves in situations where they are far from help and could be seriously injured. These folks need equipment that can stand up to harsh conditions to keep safe. Sonim has announced a new mobile phone that is designed specifically for workers alone in harsh conditions where injury is a daily risk. The handset is called the XP3 Sentinel mobile phone . The device is rugged and meets military standards for resistant to water, salt, humidity, and shock. The handset uses a gorilla glass screen and can be submerged in up to a meter of water for 30 minutes. The interesting safety feature of the phone is a set of buttons that are green, amber, and red. The green button can be used to signal the start of a shift or the end of one. When the worker is going into a dangerous situation, the amber buttons ask for enhanced GPS coverage in case of an emergency. When an emergency happens the red buttons automatically reaches a call center with GPS location information and eme

Lenovo has unveiled its first 3D-capable notebook, the Lenovo IdeaPad Y560d , complete with a 15.6-inch 1366 x 768 TriDef 3D display and polarizer glasses, a choice of Core i3, i5 or i7 processors, and ATI Radeon HD 5730 1GB graphics. The TriDef 3D solution used in the IdeaPad Y560d can not only show native 3D content but create pseudo-3D graphics out of 2D images and video. As for other hardware, that includes up to 8GB of DDR3 memory, up to a 750GB hard-drive (plus optional 32GB/64GB SSD), a choice of DVD or Blu-ray and standard WiFi b/g/n and gigabit ethernet. Other options include Bluetooth and 3G WWAN, while there’s a 1.3-megapixel webcam, a USB/eSATA combo, three regular USB ports, ExpressCard and both VGA and HDMI outputs. If you’re already a glasses-wearer then Lenovo supply clip-on polarizing lenses that can hook onto your existing frames, and battery life is rated at up to 5hrs from the integrated Intel HD graphics or up to 4hrs using the ATI GPU. The Lenovo IdeaPad Y560d

This week Viewsonic pulled the VMP75 streaming media player from the shadows. The device is much like other streaming media players on the market and supporting online video services like Netflix, YouTube, and more. The VMP75 supports 1080p resolution streaming and lets the user connect to social networking sites including Twitter and Facebook. Users can connect flash drives and external hard drives as well as eSATA devices directly to the VMP75 for playing home movies and other content. Internet connectivity is offered via Ethernet port or an optional WiFi adapter. Connectivity on the VMP75 includes HDMI, Composite, S/PDIF, USB and eSATA. The optional WiFi adapter supports 802.11b/g/n. The MSRP for the media player is $149.99 and it can be pre-ordered now on Amazon or Newegg.

Don’t tell Steve, but for all his protestations that a stylus is the sign of a failed tablet, companies just can’t stop offering aftermarket pen-input options for the iPad. Latest to the table is the Ten One Design Particle Case, a rubber bumper-style iPad case that has an integrated clip for one of the company’s Pogo Sketch styluses . Unlike the curved, wobble-prone back of an unsheathed iPad, the Particle Case has moulded feet so as to keep it stable on your desk. The rubber is also shock-absorbant, and Ten One Design have left pretty much the entire back open so as to avoid the iPad overheating; still, that will limit its protection from scratches if dropped into your bag. $34.95 gets you the Particle case and the Pogo Sketch stylus to slot into the clip too. It’s available now.

Samsung has announced a new SSD that uses a new type of NAND called toggle-mode NAND. The new SSD has 512GB of storage capacity and is aimed at the premium notebook category. The SSD is built on a 30nm class 32Gb chip that went into production last November. The toggle-mode structure of the NAND in the SSD and the SATA 3 Gbps interface work together to give the SSD 250MB/s sequential read performance and 220MB/s sequential write performance. Samsung also uses a new controller design that was made specifically for toggle-mode NAND. Using the tech Samsung claims that it can extend the life of a notebook using the new SSD by an hour or more. The SSD also features 256-bit AES encryption to protect data and supports Windows 7 TRIM. Volume production of the 512GB SSD will start next month.

Apple has pushed out iTunes 9.2 , the latest update to its desktop multimedia manager app, and the headline feature of which is compatibility with the new iPhone 4. There’s also support to sync and read ebooks and PDFs that are on an iOS4-based iPhone or iPod touch, and speedier backups when using such a device. Meanwhile there’s also the ability to rearrange homescreen apps, again on an iOS4 device. The new iOS version will be released for iPod touch, iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS owners on June 21st, though exact functionality across all three devices will vary. You can download iTunes 9.2 here or alternatively you’ll be offered an upgrade option when you next load up your existing version. It’s a roughly 100MB download, and we’ve noticed a fair boost of speed in navigating through our media catalog; even if you’re not planning on picking up an iOS4 device any time soon, that could be a good reason to upgrade all the same.

The iPhone 4 pre-order saga continues, and following AT&T pushing back shipments of the new iOS4 smartphone until July 14th, Apple’s own online store has been updated to reflect the new July 14th date too. At present the delay only seems to be affecting the US, with the UK Apple store still showing the July 2nd ship date it was updated to yesterday. Yesterday, Apple announced that they had seen in excess of a whopping 600,000 pre-orders for the iPhone 4, overwhelming their systems and those of their carrier partner’s AT&T in the US. That was compounded by an apparent database error on AT&T’s part which saw customers attempting to upgrade their phones shown user information of other subscribers. That confusion apparently caused multiple customers to double-order iPhone 4 handsets through AT&T, and the carrier’s confusingly-worded email response to the duplicates prompted uproar as buyers were left unclear on whether they would be getting a handset at all. Sales succe

One minor surprise at the Apple iPhone 4 launch earlier this month was the storage on offer from the new smartphone. The absence of a 64GB iPhone 4 raised a few eyebrows, especially given Toshiba had already revealed a 64GB NAND chip back in December 2009; now Toshiba has followed up with a 128GB NAND flash memory module , the biggest embedded chip in the industry and seemingly ideal for the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch. The new modules measure a scant 17 x 22 x 1.4 mm and squeeze in sixteen 64Gbit4 (equal to 8GB) NAND chips produced on Toshiba’s own 32nm production line. They also manage to pack in the controller circuit too, making for a smaller overall gadget, reduced data errors and a cheaper bill of materials. Toshiba are estimating up to 55MB per second read speeds and up to 21MB per second write speeds from the memory, which will also be available in smaller capacities than 128GB. Mass production is expected to begin in Q4 2010, perhaps perfectly timed for the iPad 2G refresh

Logitech has confirmed that their upcoming Google TV companion box will be officially dubbed the Logitech Revue with Google TV. The box will allow for full Google TV access with an existing TV; as we’ve already heard, that means online and cable/satellite guide searches, streaming media and access to many of the Google Android apps in the Android Market. Revue will also work with Logitech’s webcams, which can turn your HDTV into a video phone. For those looking for a full home entertainment make-over, Sony will be offering new HDTVs with integrated Google TV functionality. According to Logitech, the name “Revue” was chosen as it harks back to the “multi-act theatrical entertainment that combined music, dance and sketches – wildly popular between 1910 and 1930.” They’re keeping back full technical details on the box until this fall, ahead of the full Google TV launch later in 2010. You can pre-register for information here.

Digital keyboards seem to be the big thing now-a-days. That has a lot to do with Apple’s iPhone (did you hear? Over 600,000 iPhone 4s pre-ordered!), and of course there’s plenty more out there for anyone to use, and get accustomed to. But, sometimes you just need to feel those physical keys under your fingers, and we completely understand where you’re coming from. Don’t want a thick phone? Maybe it’s time you look at a Bluetooth keyboard. Don’t want a full-sized one? Here’s your perfect middle-ground, then. The Lapara Mini Bluetooth keyboard looks, without a shadow of a doubt, miniature. We won’t say that it looks unusable, only because we haven’t had any time to actually play with one, but from the looks of those keys, we’re hoping there’s plenty of feedback with each press. But, maybe getting something this small, and something that works with the iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Android devices, Windows Mobile, and Symbian S60 is worthwhile to you. The key here is the Bluetooth connectiv

Competition is usually great for consumers, especially in the gadget world. Competition among phone makers is the most obvious example, but even digital cameras, laptops and netbooks, and HDTVs are all part of a highly competitive electronics landscape. Buyers can now find these products at lower prices with more features than ever before. It’s tough, perhaps even un-American, to argue against competition, but in the video games industry , a little less competition would do gamers a lot of good. The console gaming industry used to be a much less competitive field. There was Atari and everybody else. There was Nintendo and Sega, but Sega never really dominated the field or provided much competition, even when its hardware and games library were just as good. Sony changed the face of the industry with its original PlayStation. For the first time, a full-fledged consumer electronics company entered a market dominated by companies with roots in playing cards and pachinko machines. How comp

HTC has announced that their Desire smartphone – aka the Nexus One with HTC Sense – will indeed be getting a launch in the US. As of August, according to the company’s official Twitter account, the Desire will debut on “select regional operators”, though they’re withholding details until closer to the launch. The Desire has a 3.7-inch AMOLED WVGA capacitive touchscreen, 5-megapixel camera with LED flash, multitouch support and 3G; it replaces the Nexus One’s physical trackball with an optical joystick, but otherwise is functionally very similar to the Google-branded phone. More details on the Desire in our full review, here.

Back when we reviewed the Seagate GoFlex HDD we concluded that, while the concept of an external drive with interchangeable cables was reasonable, we thought it would make more sense when used with the company’s multimedia docking stations. Happily that’s just what we have on the SlashGear test bench today, the Seagate GoFlex TV HD, a standalone media player that boasts compatibility not only with the company’s own GoFlex drives but with any USB storage. Outwardly it’s not exactly the most eye-catching of devices, a gloss-finish black plastic box roughly the size of a book. Up front is a hinged door hiding the GoFlex drive bay, on the side a single USB 2.0 port, and along the back are power, component and composite outputs (both requiring the included adapter cables), digital S/PDIF, an HDMI 1.3 port, a 10/100 ethernet port and another USB 2.0 port. Seagate also bundle an infrared remote control and an ethernet cable, though there’s no integrated storage. That’s because the GoFlex TV

A company called Gioteck has announced that its very cool looking EX-01 PS3 headset is now available in America. The headset is a wireless device for the PS3 gamer that uses Bluetooth for connectivity. The EX-01 is designed for comfort during long gaming sessions with padded ear pads and more. The device is a single sided headset sort of like a standard Bluetooth device for mobile phones. It has controls on the outside for power and volume. The ear hook is reversible to let you wear it on either ear. The speaker sits on the outside of the ear rather than in it for comfort. The EX-01 has an edgy design that looks more like a space ship than a Bluetooth headset. Pricing and the exact launch date are unknown.

As much as Sony wants to call the new SONY CECH-ZVS1 a surround sound system for the PS3 , that’s not what this thing is. There are no rear channel speakers. The system is a sound bar. That’s not necessarily a bad thing though, especially if you don’t want wires running everywhere in your room. The device will be priced very competitively at $199 and it will let the user enjoy better sound from the PS3 and will work for games and movies. Sony has optimized the soundboard to deliver a virtual surround sound environment. The soundbar has 10W per channel and uses two active 65mm subs and four passive radiators. Inputs include a single analog and a single optical. The device supports Dolby Digital, DTS, MPEG-2 AAC, Linear PCM, and has stereo sound. The system will ship this fall.

Really, this was inevitable. It took about an hour after the Wii was announced before we started seeing hoards of accessories to hold the controllers turn up on the market with things like golf clubs, bats, and guns for shooting games. Sony is generating its own accessory rush for the PS Move controllers unveiled officially this week at E3. The PS Move shooting attachment has gone official at E3 with pics from Sony and the thing looks great. It reminds me of a laser gun that would have been used in a 50’s sci-fi flick. The round bulbous end of the Move controller sticks out of the barrel of the ray gun and all the buttons are accessible. The ray gun has a trigger in a slotted channel rather than just sticking out. Apparently, the Move controller locks inside the gun since the thing has a release slider on the side. I don’t know how well the thing works, but Sony certainly hit the aesthetics nail right on the head.

We have seen leaks and lots of other information about the Blackberry Bold 9800 Slider already. Back in May, we saw the device in some pics sporting its WebKit browser and Blackberry 6 OS. Some of the images that have been floating around online even have the Bold name printed on the handset. All of that would lead you to believe that the Bold moniker is a done deal, but apparently, that is not true. Crackberry reports that it has been tipped that RIM may in fact be seriously considering naming the device theBlackberry Torch 9800. To backup the rumor, RIM has registered the Blackberrytorch.com domain and word is that the device is being made down in the Mexican RIM plant with the Torch name emblazoned on it right now. Apparently, the name change is the only question and the device is expected to launch with the same specs already tipped.

It seems ASUS were playing silly beggars at Computex this year, with their demo Eee PC 1015PN and 1015N netbooks both labelled as using Intel Atom N475 processors whereas actually they packed Intel’s newer dual-core Atom N550 chips. NotebookItalia spotted the discrepancy – the correct processors showed up in the system integration – and promptly ran some benchmarks to see quite how much of a boost the N550 brings over previous generation netbooks. The good news is that the N550 bests not only the N450 but some Intel CULV chips. The benchmarking tool in question is found buried in 7Zip, which crunches through ZIP archives to figure out how speedy a processor is. The N550-based Eee PC 1015N scores roughly double what an Atom N450 machine can manage, but also bests Intel’s Core 2 Solo SU3300 chip by a similar margin and edges ahead of the desktop Atom D510 and Atom 330 processors. Gratifying stuff from the 1.5GHz Atom N550, and we’re growing increasingly interested in this latest gene

E3 has seen the launch of some interesting gaming peripherals and other gear so far. Some of the coolest peripherals come from Razer and are branded to go along with the StarCraft II Wings of Liberty game. The line of peripherals includes the Spectre mouse, Marauder keyboard, and the Banshee headset. The Spectre mouse has a special AMP lighting system that has changeable colors and can change those colors to give visual feedback. The mouse features 1000 Hz ultrapolling and has a 5600dpi laser sensor for $79.99. TheMarauder is a gaming keyboard with backlit keys, the AMP light system, and in-game macro recording. The keyboard can record macros to up to ten profiles and will sell for $119.99. The Banshee headset is a large over the ear headset with an integrated mic for voice chat. It uses the same AMP lighting system and has an EQ to individualize the sound to the user’s needs. The headset sells for $119.99.

Apple has pushed out OS X 10.6.4 , an update to their Mac OS which includes various security updates, bug fixes and Safari 5 as standard. Interestingly, the update is also listed as affecting MobileMe, though there’s no mention of any applicable changes. OS X 10.6.4 should be offered to Mac users via the Software Update tool, though you can manually download ithere if you have multiple machines to upgrade. Meanwhile there’s a separate version for OS X servers, which improves file, directory, calendar and mail services, among other things. General fixes and improvements improves compatibility with some Braille displays resolves an issue that causes the keyboard or trackpad to become unresponsive resolves an issue that may prevent some Adobe Creative Suite 3 applications from opening addresses issues copying, renaming, or deleting files on SMB file servers improves reliability of VPN connections resolves a playback issue in DVD Player when using Good Quality deinterlacing resolves an i

HTC are paving the way for the promised HTC Hero Android 2.1 firmware update to European handsets, though the new OS package itself is not yet in the wild. A new OTA update for the Hero has been announced which upgrades the smartphone’s “Firmware over-the-air (FOTA) client” (along with making unspecified tweaks to the YouTube player app); that’s likely the first part of what we’ve previously heard is a two-stage update process. Update: HTC has been in touch with an official statement – find it after the cut. We’re not yet seeing any sign of this first update package being offered to our Hero (which is still running the stock Android 1.5 firmware) though some Android Community members claim to have artificially prompted its install by changing the date to one month into the future and restarting their phone. As for the Android 2.1 package itself for the Hero, the exact release date for that is still unknown; HTC maintain that it will only arrive sometime this month.

Google obviously aren’t entirely confident that we understand how their new Google TV system works, hence anew video putting the system into context for the everyman. As we’ve already heard, the Google TV system whips together search, streaming video, photo galleries and remote DVR and cable box control, all in a lounge-friendly UI that sits on top of your regular TV experience. If you’re still confused after watching the video, check out our summary article which not only covers the service but what sort of hardware you’re going to be seeing offering it. To be fair, we’re still not entirely convinced by Google TV, and neither are some of our pundits; Avi Greengart described is as a “good idea” but with “poor initial execution”, while Don Reisinger isn’t convinced that users wouldn’t be better off with a proper HTPC.

Sony Ericsson has officially announced its new XPERIA X8 smartphone, a 3-inch Android handset slotting in-between the current X10 and X10 mini models, together with the Sony Ericsson Yendo with Walkman handset, using the same XPERIA UI, and a new “Greenheart” phone, the Sony Ericsson Cedar, which the company reckons is more earth-friendly than other devices. Of interest to existing XPERIA X10, X10 mini and X10 mini proowners is the news that Sony Ericsson plan to offer an Android 2.1 upgrade “from Q3 onwards in selected markets” and that the X10 will get additional features in Q4 too. Those additional X10 features will include the ability to wirelessly connect the phone to your TV so as to display content stored on the handset, together with tweaks to the Sony Ericsson Timescape and Mediascape apps. In the Q3 Android 2.1 update, the X10 will also get HD video recording abilities. As for the new Sony Ericsson XPERIA X8 , that runs Android 1.6 with the company’s distinctive UI and Time

After all the speculation over the last few months, Sony’s just announced the official release date of their motion-based accessories. Called PlayStation Move, it’s Sony’s gamble into the now exploding motion-controller universe, and they think they’ve got the best one (obviously). There’s a few price points here, not just the $49.99 mentioned in the title, so jump in after the break to figure out what you’ll be getting for the holiday season. Sony’s PlayStation Move will be hitting store shelves in Europe first, on September 15th. It will then be released to all the welcoming hands of PlayStation 3 owners out there on September 19th in North America. It will retail for $49.99, while the Navigation controller will be only $19.99. There’s obviously going to be a bundle, where you’ll get a PlayStation 3, controller, Move controller, and everything else you’ll need in one box, called the Sports Champion Bundle. Yes, it comes with a game. That’s going to run you a cool $399.99. If you don

Projectors still exist, and they’re not just for the education market, or sports bar. They’re perfectly suitable for your living room, where you can indulge in a wall-full of your favorite video game, if you so desire. But, we understand that there’s just something gratifying about showing everyone you know your brand new HDTV. But, what if you could get all of that for the same price, roughly, but have so much more space to work with? Casio has made their Green Slim Projector s available for consumption. What you get, is a projector that can display a projected image to 100 inches or more. Even better, the Green Slim can also project that image in a full 1080p HD signal, coming from either laser or LED hybrid light sources. Those will last somewhere in the ball park of 20,000 hours, too, so you should have plenty of late nights playing your favorite games. You also get the ability to zoom in two times, making sure that if you want the full immersion environment, you get it. Thanks to

It’s been a rumor for a little while now, but Nintendo, at their press conference at E3 on Tuesday officially announced the Nintendo 3DS . Basically, it’s 3D in your pocket. Nintendo spent the majority of their time on the 3DS, at least in the beginning, talking about how well their 3D works compared to the competition, especially considering there’s no glasses needed. We’re fans of that plan, for sure. And, just as we had heard rumored before, there’s an option to turn the 3D on or off. Reggie Fils-Aime believes that the 3DS is the best way to play 3D games. After all, it’s the solution for your desires to bring 3D gaming with you wherever you go. And, that’s pretty neat. As for specs, you’re getting an upper-screen that’s 3.5-inches. Along the side, you’ll find a slider that will let you adjust the 3D for how far you’re holding the device away from your face, making the graphics all that much better. You can also choose to turn off the 3D effect entirely, if you wish. The bottom scre

t just gets more and more frustrating: the Boxee Box by D-Link may be delayed until November 2010, but the company keeps adding alluring features that only make us want the standalone media-player all the more. Latest to taunt our home entertainment appetites is RoxioNow support, courtesy of a collaboration with Sonic Solutions, that should see Boxee users able to access premium content. In fact, not only will they be able to access the content – RoxioNow is used by Blockbuster, Lionsgate and Best Buy for their streaming multimedia services, among other companies – but they should be able to do so on more than one platform. Boxee eventually intend for users to be able to buy content on, say, their Boxee Box, and then watch it on any RoxioNow compliant home or portable device. No word on what sort of content we can actually expect to see, but we’re guessing new film releases and TV shows will be in among the mixture. Similarly, it’s unclear as to when the RoxioNow functionality will

Abhay Puri looks at player performances in England's 1-0 win over Slovenia. ENGLAND David James - 6 Did well on the rare occasions that he was called upon, most notably, a powerful second-half free kick from Birsa which he did well to get behind and collect. Glen Johnson - 6 Caught out of position a couple of times and made a few late tackles. Unconvincing but good going forward, as always. Matthew Upson - 7 Made a crucial tackle late in the game, and looked fairly comfortable despite being called upon very little. John Terry - 8 Played brilliantly, making a couple of absolutely critical blocks and tackles and intercepting numerous Slovenian passes. Ashley Cole - 6.5 Was good going forward but not his usual stellar self at the back, losing out a couple of times. James Milner - 8 Played wonderfully on the right - his accurate cross created the goal, and he was very threatening throughout the game. Steven Gerrard - 7.5 Played a captain's role, getting back well and seemed to find

Colin Chong watched a resilient USA side beat Algeria in stoppage time to top Group C, ahead of England. USA Tim Howard - 6 Did not have many saves to make, but he is the few consistent keepers in the competition Carlos Bocanegra - 6.5 Reliable Bocanegra had nothing to do till he had to make a vital interception, which turned out to be priceless. Jay DeMerit - 5.5 Looked shaky at the back. Perhaps the pressure was too much for him to take. Steve Cherundolo - 6 Made runs forward whenever he could, but protecting Howard was his priority. Jonathan Bornstein - 5 (81' off) Left back had a torrid time against the Algerian forwards and looked stretched for 81 minutes. Michael Bradley - 8 Shielded the ball to maintain possession well for the USA; looked comfortable with the ball. Clint Dempsey - 8.5 Finally found his lethal form. First he had a goal disallowed for being a whisker offside, then he hit the wood work, following up on the rebound to fire the ball into the stands. Maurice Edu (

Landon Donovan struck an injury-time winner as USA sensationally progressed through to the last 16 with a win over Algeria. The United States, watched on by former President Bill Clinton, dominated for large periods and created a host of chances but looked set to be denied by a mixture of the woodwork, good goalkeeping and poor finishing. However, Donovan popped up right at the end to slot into the net to send the Americans through as Group C winners ahead of England, who beat Slovenia in the other game, The United States will now play the second-placed team from Group D, which includes Ghana, Germany, Serbia and Australia. For Algeria, who have never progressed to the last 16 of the World Cup, they hit the woodwork early on and created a couple of other chances but were unable to net their first goal of the finals as they tumbled out. They also finished with 10 men after captain Anthar Yahia was sent off for a second booking late on in Pretoria. Algeria coach Rabah Saadane, knowing hi

England's dream lives on after they beat Slovenia 1-0 in a nerve-jangling clash in to book a place in the knockout stages. Jermain Defoe's first-half goal was enough to give Fabio Capello's side a place in the last 16 and banish the ugly memories of that horror show against Algeria, as well as the recriminations that followed. They finished in second place in Group C after a last-gasp United States winner over Algeria saw the Americans clinch top spot. And a second-round meeting with the winners of Group D now awaits. Capello rang the changes for this make-or-break showdown, restoring James Milner on the right and bringing in Defoe to partner Wayne Rooney up front. Meanwhile Matthew Upson lined up alongside John Terry at the centre of the defence. And despite some nervy early moments they gradually got a foothold in the game, displaying much more purpose than in that shocking display against Algeria last Friday night. Their reward came on 22 minutes with Milner and Defoe bo

It's crunch time in Group D as Germany meet Ghana while Serbia battle Australia. Earlier, England and USA progressed from Group C. After having started the tournament with a rousing 4-0 win over Australia, the Germans suffered a setback when they lost 1-0 to Serbia and had Miroslav Klose sent off as well. Ghana are the lone African hope in the World Cup and currently head the group with four points. In the other game, Serbia will go through if they beat Australia - who still have a mathematical chance of progressing assuming they win their game and the other result goes their way as wel. Hang on to your seatbelts! Starting XIs (Germany vs Ghana): Germany Manuel Neuer, Philipp Lahm, Per Mertesacker, Arne Friedrich, Jerome Boateng, Sami Khedira, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Thomas Muller, Mesut Ozil, Pukas Podolski, Cacau Ghana Richard Kingson, John Pantsil, John Mensah, Jonathan Mensah, Hans Sarpei, Kevin Prince Boateng, Anthony Annan, Kwadwo Asamoah, Prince Tagoe, Dede Ayew, Asamoah Gya