Tech Digest

JVC's headphone selection

JVC has been taking the trouble to show us some of its new gadgets for the coming year. These Gumy earphones weren't the most top spec things on offer, but they certainly look nice and bright and that's good enough for us. The idea behind the soft touch earbuds is that they'll be on point of sale displays in shops so that people will hopefully pick up a pair on a whim. We've got a pair and they do the job nicely. They cost around £6. Also on show were these HA-E63 headphones which will set you back a few quid more.

Bluetooth stereo headset on sale

Shoppers at the the Carphone Warehouse will be able to grab themselves a pair of Bluetooth headphones as of tomorrow (1 March) in the form of BlueShark Systems' Sonorix headset. The headphones, which cost £175, aren't just able to direct music wirelessly from a PC to your ear, they can also play back MP3 music files thanks to the in-built 128MB of flash memory. The Bluetooth audio player also lets you make wireless phone calls, with the side mic picking up your every word. The headset looks reasonably small to us, and the inclusion of a charging dock and a USB Bluetooth dongle for adding wireless to your computer, makes the price far easier to stomach.

Blue Shark

Tatung's Elio iPod Photo alternative

We're trying to wean ourselves off referring to everything as an iPod "killer" since we - and everyone else - have been saying that with alarming regularity for many months, and it's now abundantly clear that the iPod family is far from being killed. But Tatung's elio player at least adds another option to the mix. The 20GB hard disk player is a photo jukebox that will set you back £230. The 2.2-inch screen displays 65,000 colours and the player supports MP3, WMA, and WAV music files and JPEG photos. Considering the 30GB iPod Photo costs just £19 more at £249, this isn't exactly a budget alternative, but it does at least offer direct transfer of images from digital cameras via a USB connection as well as an SD memory card reader.

Read

World's "smartest" iron

That's smartest as in clever, not as in neat and tidy - although that's what your clothes should be after Laurastar's Magic i-S5 iron has had a go at them. This is apparently the world's most intelligent iron and, coupled with the Steamup iG5 ironing board, it should reduce ironing times by up to 50%. How does it do this? Using the age old magic of steam. As soon as it detects forward motion the iron sends out a blast of twice heated steam. But where it veers from the path of standard ironing is in its dry heat application. As soon as the iron stops or is moved backwards, dry heat is delivered, "setting" the fabric. And it's not just the iron that's got brains. The ironing board comes with a built in ventilation system, allowing the iron to "ride across fabrics on a wave of air" as the press release poetically puts it. Cambridge Consultants is the company to come up with the scheme, creating this new range of ironing systems for Laurastar. The products will be launched in April for between £199 (€269) and £699 (€999).

Read

Onkyo introduces iPod control

And the award for most fascinating press shot of the week goes to Onkyo. Or then again maybe not. Though it might look a little bit like part of a tube station map this is actually a picture of the company's remote interactive (RI) port. Nothing new in that - it's been on the back of Onkyo systems for about ten years. The big news is that the Japanese company has now got together with Apple to produce an iPod docking station and control unit which uses the IR port.

What this means is that owners of Onkyo AV amps will be able to control their iPod's digital music output via their remote controls - a first for the hi-fi industry. One cable connects from the docking station to the RI port on the Onkyo and two phono cables connect to the Onkyo's tape deck input.

The only downside is that Onkyo amps won't (initially anyway) be able to display the iPod's track lists etc. on the front of the unit or TV screen. This means you will still need to look at the iPod to change album. An upgrade is expected next year.

Pictures and pricing of the iPod docking station have yet to be announced, but it's expected to go on sale mid-2005.

Onkyo

DAB radio that talks to you

Now available from PURE Digital is the world's first speaking DAB radio (why the vast majority of people would want one we're not quite sure though blind people will be very grateful no doubt). Featuring iVOX voice feedback technology, the SONUS-1XT uses recorded speech to provide selectable voice feedback for anything from the time, to your alarm settings, to the full set-up of the radio. Scroll through the selection of available stations and hear them in apparently human (ie. not Stephen Hawking robotic) tones. You can even choose a male or female voice.
PURE SONUS-1XT DAB Digital Radio with... 

Based on the Evoke-1, The Sonus-1XT also lets you hear the time, tells you your alarm settings and can talk you through settings or presents. It's available priced at around £119.99

Features list:

Easy to read full-screen graphical display and DAB scrolling text
Two independent alarms to enable different setting for you and your partner for weekdays/weekends – or simply for a backup alarm – all of which can be set to different stations or a simple alarm tone
Touch sensitive Snooze-Handlesnoozes the alarm and indicates time/alarm settings with one or two taps
Sleep button switches off automatically after 15, 30, 45, 60 or 90 minutes.
Alarm setting where you can fall asleep to one station and wake up to another Nine event timed record function for use with MiniDisc or other recording device
Ten station presets – including station select by name, scrolling display which shows track information, news and sports results and more station choice
Clock is automatically updated from the broadcast DAB time signal so you never have to worry about the clocks going back/forward
Volume Equalisation Technology means that your SONUS-1constantly monitors the audio levels of every station and subtly adjusts their relative volume levels over time – keeping to your preferred volume setting – even if you switch between stations
Integrated full-range hi-fi speaker featuring a bass reflex port for enhanced bass performance
USB connector enables you to keep your SONUS-1^XT Up-to-date by downloading software upgrades from an internet connected PC

PURE SONUS-1XT DAB Digital Radio with...

Orange SPV C550

Engadget has totally unconfirmed reports of a successor to Tech Digest's most indispensable phone of the year, the Orange SPV C500. The new SPV C550 has a 1.3 megapixel digital camera, 240 x 320 QVGA resolution screen, a mini SD memory card slot and Bluetooth. Extremely similar to T-Mobile's SDA Music Smartphone, it's built by HTC in Taiwan. More details as and when the rumours are confirmed.

[Via Smartphone Thoughts]

Two new Siemens handsets: A75, AX75

Siemens' two latest entry level handsets are a bit of a change from some of the company's more male-friendly handsets of yore. Not that they're especially feminine either, but they look more like phones that would appeal equally to either gender. The A75 (left) is the more budget friendly of the two (although no prices have been confirmed yet). There aren't any special features to speak of, but it's available in two colours - Atlantic Blue and Polar Silver. In fact, if anything, its lack of features - no camera, only 4K colour screen - are what makes it stand out. Ideal for parents and people who just want a phone that makes calls. The AX75, meanwhile, is a top end entry level handset (if there is such a thing). It boasts a whole 65K colours, and synchronisation with Outlook/Lotus notes via data cable (like the A75, there's no Bluetooth). The A Series handsets go on sale in the late spring.

Product page

Hitachi's 6GB Microdrive goes on sale

Hitachi's 6GB tiny Compact Flash-sized Microdrive is now on sale. The hard disk drive can carry 1500-3000 songs, 6,000 pics or 8 hours of MPEG-4 video. $299 is far below what it was originally expected to retail for, making it are far more appealing prospect. The 4GB version will also be coming out at a reduced price, 60% less, in fact, at $199. The Baby Mikey will be out soon. The 4GB 1-inch Microdrive will be 20% smaller with a capacity of 8-10GB.

Denon DVD-A1XV: nice but pricey

There's no doubt that Denon produces some mighty fine looking home cinema kit. This latest DVD player will set you back a bit - a lot, in fact - at £2499.99, but the picture quality is supposed to be comparable to HDTV grade. The universal disc player is a brand new unit, designed from scratch from the ground up. The company not only claims superb picture quality, but the sound quality is supposed to match that of specialist audio players. More details of the features after the turn.

Denon

Features include:

- UNIQUE DENON Pixel Image Correction (DPIC) for custom picture enhancement
- UNIQUE DENON Advanced AL24 and Denon Link for stunning sound from all sources
- WORLD FIRST Hollywood Quality Video HQV
- from Silicon Optix (from the $60k Teranex box)
- WORLD FIRST DVDO 10 bit Precision Video Scaling™ technology by Anchor Bay Technologies
- Plays virtually ANY DISC. DVD, DVD-A, SACD, MP3, WMA, JPEG, PHOTO CD, DVD / CD -R +R etc
- EVERY OUTPUT. HDMI, DVI, FireWire, Denon Link, Progressive Component, Composite, S-Video, RGB SCART

David Brent tops the polls

There was no way we could pass up the opportunity to post this pic of David Brent doing all out for his Comic Relief dance. It's just been voted the number one clip clip on a BBC Motion Gallery-sponsored poll. Voted for by 5000 industry bigwigs, celebs and Broadcast magazine readers, Brent's bum-clenchingly embarrassing impromptu dancing session got 20% of the vote beating clips from Blackadder, Doctor Who, The Blue Planet, Cathy Come Home, Dad's Army and Morecambe & Wise. The hospital scene from Blackadder Goes Forth was 2nd, while third place went to the Daleks from Doctor Who. Others on the list included Live Aid, the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the crazy, terrifying spectacle of the Iranian Embassy siege in 1980, the moon landing in 1969, and Jeremy Paxman's hilarious "did you threaten to over-rule him?" grilling of Michael Howard on Newsnight. The full results will be printed in a special supplement of this week's Broadcast magazine.

Arcam Solo

Arcam's Solo has been designed as an affordable and stylish alternative to the hi-fi separates on sale. The £1000 all-in-one Solo is apparently different to competitors because it's loud enough for parties, but high quality enough for seasoned musos. As well as the CD player, there are also DAB and FM radio tuners, 50 watts rms per channel amp as well as "the world's finest clock radio" whatever that may mean. It's available from March.

Arcam

Apple's second generation iPod Minis

Good news for those who want to get an iPod Mini but don't want to have to spend £180 on a fashion statement. Apple has dropped the price of the 4GB player by £40 to a more reasonable £139 and introduced a new step-up model with 6Gb of memory for £169. Both second-generation models come with increased battery life of up to 18 hours (another criticism of first generation models), USB charging and four different colours to choose from (Apple has dropped the yukky gold one).

Full press release to follow

CUPERTINO, California—February 23, 2005—Apple® today unveiled the
> second generation iPod® mini lineup with a new 4GB model priced at just
> £139 (inc. VAT) and a new 6GB model with 50 percent more storage priced
> at £169 (inc. VAT). Both iPod mini models feature increased battery
> life of up to 18 hours, USB charging and an ultra-portable, lightweight
> design available in four vibrant colours.
>
> “The iPod mini is now available at the magic price point of £139 (inc.
> VAT),” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “At this breakthrough price point,
> and with more than twice the battery life, the new iPod mini should
> appeal to even more music lovers.”
>
> iPod mini works effortlessly with Apple’s iTunes®, providing music
> lovers with access to the iTunes Music Store, the number one digital
> music service in the world. iPod mini features Apple’s patent-pending
> Auto-Sync which works seamlessly with iTunes to automatically download
> an entire digital music library onto iPod mini with just one click,
> keeping it up-to-date whenever iPod mini is plugged into a Mac® or
> Windows computer using USB 2.0. In addition to keeping the iPod mini
> up-to-date, plugging directly into the USB 2.0 port will also
> conveniently charge the iPod mini—so, one connection does it all.
>
> Apple’s iPod, the iTunes jukebox and the iTunes Music Store are leading
> the digital music revolution. With over 10 million iPods sold to date,
> the iPod is the world’s most popular digital music player, and the
> iTunes Music Store is the number one online music store with over 70
> percent market share. The new iPod mini is a member of Apple’s wildly
> popular iPod family for both Mac and PC which includes the fourth
> generation iPod, the iPod photo, the iPod U2 Special Edition and iPod
> shuffle.
>
> Pricing & Availability
> The 4GB and 6GB models of iPod mini for Mac or Windows are available
> worldwide immediately for a suggested retail price of £139 (inc. VAT)
> and £169 (inc. VAT) respectively, in a choice of silver, pink, blue or
> green through the Apple Store® (www.apple.com/ukstore), Apple’s retail
> stores and Apple Authorised Resellers. iPod mini includes earbud
> headphones, a belt clip case, a USB 2.0 cable, and a CD with iTunes
> 4.7.1 for Mac and Windows computers.
>
> An optional USB power adapter is available for £19 (inc. VAT) which
> easily charges iPod mini when travelling. Other accessories include the
> iPod Dock for £25 (inc. VAT) for desktop syncing and charging, in-ear
> headphones for £25 (inc. VAT), an arm band for £19 (inc. VAT), a
> lanyard for £15 (inc. VAT) and FireWire® cable for £15 (inc. VAT).
> Laser engraving is available for iPod mini for free from the Apple
> Store (www.apple.com/ukstore) and can include two lines of text with up
> to 23 characters per line.
>
> iPod mini requires a Mac with a USB 2.0 port or FireWire* and Mac OS® X
> version 10.2.8 or 10.3.4 or later; or a Windows PC with a USB 2.0 or
> FireWire port, or USB 2.0 or FireWire card and Windows 2000, with
> Service Pack 4 or later, or Windows XP Home or Professional with
> Service Pack 2 or later.
>
> All iPods include rechargeable batteries which have a limited number of
> charge cycles and may eventually need to be replaced. Battery life and
> number of charge cycles vary by use and settings. See
> www.apple.com/uk/batteries for more information.
>
> *Firewire options require an optional cable, sold separately.
>
> Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the
> Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the
> Macintosh. Today, Apple continues to lead the industry in innovation
> with its award-winning desktop and notebook computers, OS X operating
> system, and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also
> spearheading the digital music revolution with its iPod portable music
> players and iTunes online music store.

Apple debuts new iPod Photo

As widely predicted yesterday Apple has refreshed its iPod Photo line up by adding a budget 30 Gigabyte model for £249 ($349) and a new 60 Gig top ender for £309 ($449). Both are available now.

The 30 Gig model is also a little slimmer than previous iPod Photos players, although other than tweak the only real story appears to be the price of the players which brings them a step closer to rival non colour screen jukeboxes.

Both models hold up to 25,000 digital photos and feature the ability to import photos from your digital camera via the new iPod Camera Connector for instant viewing and slide show playback on iPod photo.

Apple has also introduced a new accessory in the iPod Camera Connector. It enables users to connect their digital camera to iPod photo and import their photos into the iPod. It will be available in late March for £19.

Full press release on the turn

Apple Updates iPod photo Lineup

New Slim 30GB Model Starts at Just £249 (inc. VAT)

CUPERTINO, California—February 23, 2005—Apple® today updated its iPod®
photo lineup by introducing a new slim 30GB model, holding up to 7,500
songs, for just £249 (inc. VAT) and a new 60GB model, holding up to
15,000 songs, for £309 (inc. VAT). Designed to take your entire music
and photo libraries with you wherever you go, both iPod photo models
feature a stunning high-resolution colour screen for displaying photos
and enhancing the entire iPod music experience. Both models hold up to
25,000 digital photos and will feature the ability to import photos
from your digital camera via the new iPod Camera Connector for instant
viewing and slide show playback on iPod photo.

“The new slim 30GB iPod photo at just £249 (inc. VAT) lets music lovers
enjoy their iPod in full colour, including album artwork along with
their personal photo library,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “And now
you can import photos from your digital camera directly into iPod photo
with the optional iPod Camera Connector.”

iPod photo works effortlessly with Apple’s iTunes®, providing music
lovers with access to the iTunes Music Store, the number one digital
music service in the world. iPod photo features Apple’s patent-pending
Auto-Sync which works seamlessly with iTunes to automatically download
an entire digital music library onto iPod photo with just one click,
keeping it up-to-date whenever iPod photo is plugged into a Mac® or
Windows computer using FireWire® or USB 2.0, the standard amongst both
Mac and PC users to both charge and update any iPod.

The new iPod Camera Connector is an optional accessory that enables
customers to connect their digital camera to iPod photo and import
their photos into the iPod. By simply connecting the iPod Camera
Connector and a digital camera*, customers can easily transfer digital
images to their iPod photo, providing tremendous storage space so they
can take more pictures. Imported photos are immediately viewable on
iPod photo's crisp colour screen, and can also be brought back to
iPhoto® on the Mac or various photo applications on the PC. The iPod
Camera Connector is expected to be available in late March for £19
(inc. VAT).

Apple’s iPod, the iTunes jukebox and the iTunes Music Store are leading
the digital music revolution. With over 10 million iPods sold to date,
the iPod is the world’s most popular digital music player, and the
iTunes Music Store is the number one online music store with over 70
percent market share. The new iPod photo is a member of Apple’s wildly
popular iPod family for both Mac and PC which includes the fourth
generation iPod, the iPod mini, the iPod U2 Special Edition and iPod
shuffle.

Pricing & Availability
The 30GB and 60GB models of iPod photo for Mac or Windows are available
worldwide immediately for a suggested retail price of £249 (inc. VAT)
and £309 (inc. VAT) respectively, through the Apple Store®
(www.apple.com/ukstore), Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorised
Resellers. iPod photo includes earbud headphones, a USB 2.0 cable, a
USB power adapter and a CD with iTunes 4.7.1 for Mac and Windows
computers.

Optional accessories with the following suggested retail prices include
the iPod Dock for £25 (inc. VAT), in-ear headphones for £25 (inc. VAT),
the iPod Camera Connector for £19 (inc. VAT) and FireWire cable for £15
(inc. VAT). Laser engraving is available for iPod for free from the
Apple Store (www.apple.com/ukstore) and can include two lines of text
with up to 27 characters per line.

iPod photo requires a Mac with a USB 2.0 port or FireWire**, Mac OS® X
version 10.2.8 or 10.3.4 or later and iPhoto 4.0.3 or later; or a
Windows PC with a USB 2.0 or FireWire port or USB 2.0 or FireWire card
and Windows 2000 with Service Pack 4 or later, or Windows XP Home or
Professional with Service Pack 2 or later, and Adobe Photoshop Album
2.0 or Elements 3.0 or later.

All iPods include rechargeable batteries which have a limited number of
charge cycles and may eventually need to be replaced. Battery life and
number of charge cycles vary by use and settings. See
www.apple.com/uk/batteries for more information. Music capacity is
based on four minutes per song and 128-Kbps AAC encoding; photo
capacity is based on iPod-viewable photos transferred from iTunes.

*Support varies depending on make, manufacturer and model of digital
camera.
**Firewire options require an optional cable, sold separately.

Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the
Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the
Macintosh. Today, Apple continues to lead the industry in innovation
with its award-winning desktop and notebook computers, OS X operating
system, and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also
spearheading the digital music revolution with its iPod portable music
players and iTunes online music store.

Customise your iPod Shuffle

You'll be delighted to learn that you can now get skins for your iPod Shuffle as well as all your other iPod devices. ShuffleArt is offering the vinyl stickers for sale, which means you just need to lay the designs over your Shuffle's casing for immediate - and removable - customisation. The skins cost $12 on pre-order now and although there's only a limited selection, more should be along soon.

Read [Via Cool Hunting]

Nikon's Face recognition cameras

Nikon's added facial recognition technology to its latest line up of Coolpix cameras. The Coolpix 7900 and 5900 both come with software called Face-priority AF, which can seek out the face of your subject and then use it for auto focus. The software can deal with movement as well, locking onto the faces in the frame and staying right on target. The Face-priority software has been based around the Facelt program, developed by Identix Corporation for use in biometric security systems, including Sweden's new biometric passport. A quick run down of the specs include: 7.1 megapixels, 3x Zoom-Nikkor ED Glass lens for the 7900; 5.1 effective megapixels, 3x Zoom-Nikkor ED Glass lens for the 5900. The Coolpix 5900 is scheduled for release in February 2005 for £249.99, exclusively to Jessops, while the Coolpix 7900 is scheduled for release in March 2005 and will retail at £319.99.

Press Release [plus, further details from Gadget Madness]

Turn your tape deck into an MP3 player

OK, so the idea isn't a novel one - there's numerous companies making casettes that let you plug your music players into your car stereo - but the Mobiblu is the one of the few tapes with its own memory storage facility. This means you can stick it into your car tape deck - or even your old Walkman if you're still using it - and play MP3s. The casette player has 256MB of memory, along with an MMC memory slot for adding extra storage, and tracks can be loaded onto it via the mini USB connection. The Mobiblu also comes with an FM radio and you can control the player using the tape deck's buttons, fast fowarding and rewinding through tracks - something that you don't get with normal casette adapters. A very thorough review can be had at DansData.

Read [via Gizmodo]

Mustek: R320 DVD Recorder

Mustek's just launched the DVD R320 DVD recorder. It comes with a 200 Watt, 5.1 channel speaker system (five speakers and a subwoofer) and a built in 5.1 channel amp. It will record from TV, radio, VCR or satellite onto DVD+R/RW discs and offers 5 different quality levels. It's on sale now for £239 from Redstore.

Redstore

3G to help stargazers

Orange tells us that its 3G Mobile Office card is being put to unusual use by scientists in the UK. Researchers over here are using the cards to let them access and control one of the largest fully robotic telescopes in the world based over in Hawaii. They can access the internet from their laptops to connect to the Faulkes Telescope, allowing them to check out and download images received from the star gazer wherever they may be. Great PR story for Orange, and one that certainly sparked our interest.

TeenTech Portable DVD Player

Just like any sensible manufacturer, TeenTech has got its eye on the kids' consumer market, but the TeenTech Portable Colour DVD/CD player is for the adults as well - how else are you going to get your squalling offspring to stay quiet in the car? With a 3.5-inch colour screen, remote control, 2 headphone jacks to stop sibling rows, and an external speaker, the portable player can handle VCDs, CD, and MP3 Playback as well as DVD. It's a nice price, as well, at just $99 on Amazon. Only problem is, judging by those reviews, the plug is liable to blow up at any moment, leaving you with a scorched and disgruntled child. Still, if it keeps them quiet, who's complaining.

Read [via Gadget Madness]

Motorola Manager lets slip about Bluetooth iPod

No sooner have all the various iPod flash and iPod phone rumours died down and been confirmed, another load of rumours start doing the rounds. This time it's a Bluetooth Apple iPod that's in the offing, and apparently it's looking pretty likely after a Motorola managed spilled the beans on French radio. According to Bogdan Nedelcou, Automobile Product Manager for Moto, consumers will soon be able to broadcast music wirelessly from their iPod through their car speakers. In an interview with Radio France, Nedelcou also described how drivers will be able to answer calls on their phones withouth having to touch their mobile. This has led to speculation about the possibilities of a dock that will enable both the iPod and a mobile phone to communicate with a car stereo. There's no evidence that this will be an Apple product, but it hasn't stopped speculation on the possibility of an "AirPod". And, of course, Motorola is likely to know what Apple's up to at the moment after working on the ROKR Motorola iPod phone together.

Read

A more in depth round up of the other iPod rumours, including the suggestion that the iPod mini will gain a colour screen and a bump up to 5 or 6GB capacity, and the iPod's will ditch greyscale for colour entirely, can be found on ThinkSecret.

Inverto: 80GB Digital PVR

Unbeatable's just got its hands on a new PVR that's set to go on sale this week. The Inverto IDL 7000 PVR is an 80GB hard disk recorder that comes with two digital tuners so you can record two channels (or record one and watch another). It gets a bit tick from us for including digital, since pretty much all the big league PVR manufacturers are still stuck on analogue (what with Freeview not being such a selling point in Europe and all...) The finish is as white as the snow currently outside our London abode and the price is £219.99. Other features include PiP Channel Search14 Day Programme Guide, Series Record (Weekly/Daily), Instant Replay, RW Live TV, Twin Scart Sockets (RGB Loop) and Trick Playback Modes.

Unbeatable

Newgen phone running next gen Windows Mobile

There's still some slight doubts as to its authenticity, but if this GSM Newgen D2000W is real, we want one. Running Windows Mobile 2005 - currently codenamed Magneto - the slider handset boasts a QVGA screen, MP3 and MPEG4 playback and an FM radio. Readers will also be thrilled to learn that it supposedly also suppports 802.11b WiFi and a 1.3-megapixel camera. We're not quite up to  translating the Czech site, but we can see the words Bluetooth, MiniSD and WAP 2.0 as well. Very nice looking phone indeed. And if those specs are correct, it's going to be a peach.

Read [via Engadget]

First scanner for cameraphones

Realeyes3D not only has a great company name, it's also the first to come up with a commercial scanner service for cameraphones. Digitizer3 (pronounced Digitizer Cubed) can scan, fax, email or store printed documents, enabling high resolution camera phones to receive data from a page. The service has been demoed at 3GSM World Congress in Cannes and the first version of Digitizer3 is available for Series 60 Symbian smartphones. Versions for other platforms, such as Windows Mobile, and clientless versions will be available in the coming months.

Read

Grand Theft Auto PSP to hit US in April?

The US release of Grand Theft Auto for Sony's PSP handheld console is set to be April 15 according to several games retailer listings. Other than the game being set in Liberty City we have few details so far as to what it'll be like. The Sony PSP is expected to launch in the UK at the end of April.

Simon M (via Games Digest)

iPod Shuffle goes on sale in the UK

Speaking of Apple, the iPod Shuffle is now shipping in the UK. Those wishing to buy the random player can do so from the Apple site for £69 along with all the accessories - such as arm band, sports case and dock - which all cost £19.

Product page
More about the Shuffle
Buy Apple iPod shuffle - 1GB

Sony planning another stab at the "iPod Killer"

A report on the Register suggests that Sony's set to try again with the grabbing of Apple's pie, plotting the launch of a portable music player to end all iPods. The company's president, Kunitake Ando, said that the new player, planned for the end of this year, will be "much more competitive than the iPod". Saddened by the loss of the top slot, Sony is hoping that an agressive plan will enough to win back its number one position. The key to Sony's success is simple: make a music player that's as easy to use as the iPod and it can beat Apple. This means developing new software that makes Sony's Walkman products more straightforward to use (preferably so that the app doesn't keep making my laptop cry, thanks Sony). The company has already gone some way to seeing the error of its ways by adding native MP3 support to its players on top of its own ATRAC format. Now it's planning on doing the same for its MiniDisc players, apparently. Speculation that Sony might one day buy up Apple has been one of life's constants over the years, but Ando attempted to put those rumours to bed, saying that Apple is now just too expensive to acquire.

Read

Push to View gets an airing at Cannes

Push To View (PTV) is being hailed as the latest "killer app" for 3G mobiles. The technology is currently being previewed at 3GSM in Cannes, courtesy of LG Electronics. The company showed off the mobile service, which works on the same principle as Push To Talk, allowing multiple users the opportunity to share live audio and video feeds in real time. The PTV service also provides a chat engine that's being likened to text messenger services, allowing you to invite people to join in a video conference with you and other contacts.

Read

Hitachi's flat screen masters

While some of the cheaper flatscreens aren't suitable for high def TV (HDTV), Hitachi's latest models are apparently fully future proofed for when the format becomes mainstream (at the moment high def's only really available via European satellite). HDMI and DVI digital inputs are both on board and the sets will also handle HDCP content protection. First up in Hit's Picture Master range are a 42inch plasma, the 42PD700, and a 32inch LCD, the 32LD7200. Read on for the full specs.

* Three Scart sockets plus component, S-Video and composite inputs
* PC inputs
* 1024 x 1024 ALIS (Alternate Lighting of Surfaces) panel (42PD7200)
* 1366 x 768 Super IPS (In Plane Switching) panel (32LD7200)
* Multi-brand remote control
* Multipicture mode for splitting the screen (view two sources simultaneously)
* Three picture modes (dynamic, natural, cinema)
* Powered swivel stand with 60 degree range
* 1 bit digital amplifier with bass control
* Four audio modes (movie, music, speech, favourite).

Prices to be confirmed.

Hitachi

Canon's most powerful amateur digital SLR

Canon's got big plans for the Digital SLR. The company's aiming to pretty much single-handedly grow the SLR market by 400 percent by the end of this year. And how's it going to do that? By selling the cameras to the amateur, consumer market. The EOS 350D is the camera that is intended to do it for them. The 8-megapixel camera can snap 3 frames per second in 14 frame bursts. It's being priced to entice the amateurs in, with an RRP of £749.99 for Body Only and £799.99 with the EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 II lens included (normally £349.99). It'll be out in March.

Canon

Canon updates the IXUS

Canon took great delight in informing assembled journalists at its products launch that it is now the number one in digital SLR, compact digtal cameras and flatbed scanner sales. It's aim for the year is to become the number one in every section of its sector and to stay at the top of the rest. With that in mind, the company has launched a host of new products, including 4 digital compact cameras and a digital SLR (more of that later). Two IXUS compact cameras have been added to the range. The IXUS 50 is a 5-megapixel, 3X optical zoom camera with a 2-inch LCD. The IXUS 700, upgrade of the 500, is a 7.1-megapixel camera with a 3X optical zoom lens and a very nice design indeed. Both cameras came with a novel "My Camera" set up that lets you fiddle about with the colour options, making red colours yellow, white faces tanned, and brown eyes green. PowerShots A510 (3.2-megapixel, 4X optical zoom) and A520 (4-megapixel, 4X optical zoom) were also on display.

The IXUS 50 is out April 2005 for £319, the IXUS 700 will be out in March 2005 for £399.

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Canon

10 million music downloads on 3

3's attracted so much publicity of late for its cheap pay as you go calls that sometimes you forget it's actually a mobile phone company offering pretty decent 3G applications. Particularly popular, the company tells us, is its video jukebox service which has just racked up 10 million downloads (not as if we'd ever be able to prove otherwise).

'That's over 50,000 per day since the service launched' the press release helpfully tells us. That's quite impressive especially when you consider there are daytime shows on satellite music that are only watched by the same number of viewers and they're not paying per download!

3's top 5 UK video downloaded artists are:
1) Natasha Bedingfield
2) Dizzee Rascal
3) Groove Armada
4) Faithless
5) Kasabian

Motorola's iTunes phone to be unveiled in March?

We were ticked off today by Motorola for perpetuating the urban myth that the E1060 (pictured here), which was unveiled at 3GSM earlier this week is the iTunes phone. Apparently no matter what Reuters say it will not play back your AAC tunes.

Instead the real iTunes phone will definitely be unveiled by Motorola in late March at a big bash in Miami.

Philips' delivers super shuffle to MP3 players

Philips is to launch a pair of small capacity hard disk players later in the year both of which boast an innovative feature.

The HDD095 and HDD093 are small models with a 3 Gigabyte hard disk, ten hours of battery life and MP3 and WMA playback. The only difference is that the 095 features a colour screen. They both however boast a cool feature called Like Music. If you press the Like Music button when a track is playing the software scans the tracks on your hard disk to find other music in the same vein.

Apparently it uses 40 different criteria to compile a playlist of 20 tracks taking into account the music's tempo, the instruments on it and its beat. There was no working demo of the software, but Philips claims it is smart enough to ensure you don't just get a load of tracks by the same artists. The players will debut in late summer for under £200.

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Nike Philips hard disk MP3 for sporty types

Philips has been treating journos, dealers and assorted hangers on to a few days in a converted palace in the mountains between Rome and Naples. However, before you get too jealous, the gathered hacks have been forced to quaff triple shot Espressos in a bid to keep up with the huge amount of product the company has pencilled in for 2005.

One highlight is the world's first hard disk player aimed at sporty types. Set to debut under the Philips Nike banner the PSA610 features some very clever technology which ensures that it is only the player's owner who jogs and not the on board hard disk. The player uses a buffer system to sample the user's music choice which it then stores, leaving the hard disk to power down.

Philips claims the whole process takes around thirty seconds. The benefits of the hard disk are much more storage than rival flash players, 3 Gigabytes in this instance, yet a retail price of just £180. Battery life is ten hours and the model will spin both MP3 and WMA (including DRM downloads) files.

With its circular shape it alos looks very different from the flash mob too. The bad news is it won't be on sale until the summer.

Nikon Coolpix 7600 and 7900 cameras

Yes, you did read that right, we're all phoned out for now, so time for a bit of a change of scenery with a camera story. Nikon's latest two digital cameras both have 7.1-megapixel sensors and come in at under £320, making them an appealing price for the average consumer. The Coolpix 7600 and Coolpix 7900 come with Nikon's D-Lighting function which is designed to correct problems of overly bright backlighting or insufficient flash by adding light and details to the darker parts of a shot. A 3X optical zoom is present on both and while the 7600 comes with a 1.8-inch LCD screen, the 7900 has a larger, 2-inch display. The Coolpix 7600 will be out in Spring 2005 for £299.99 and the 7900 will be about in March 2005 for £319.99. An additional model, the 5900 - a 5-megapixel version of the 7900 - will be available exclusively through Jessops for £249.99.

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Nikon

Sanyo's messaging device

This WiPOQ messaging gadget is on display at 3GSM at the moment. The Sanyo device is based on IXI Mobile's operating system, IXI-Connect, and has been designed to connect to a Bluetooth phone to send emails and messages - and nothing else. A range of handhelds are expected, with the first device scheduled for launch in Q2 2005 (which we're guessing means in the Far East, not here). The first unit will have a Java browser, large screen and a QWERTY keypad. The idea seems to be that if you don't want to carry a messenger device such as Blackberry or Sidekick, you can simply connect this to your phone as and when you need it. The IXI-Connect OS comes with PMG (Personal Mobile Gateway) technology. This means that you can use your mobile to connect all sorts of different companion devices to the internet, such as watches, cameras or MP3 players. Sanyo seems to be keeping the WiPOQs as glorified keyboards, however.

Press release [via Newswireless]

Samsung's swivel screen mobile

Sounds like Samsung is having a gay old time at 3GSM, announcing all sorts of super high tech phones. Unfortunately, there don't seem to be that many pictures doing the rounds, but we're told there are 3 new 3G handsets - the SGH-Z130, the SGH-Z300 and the SGH-Z500 - and a Symbian smartphone, the SGH-D720, which features both MP4 and MP3 playback. Engadget managed to get hold of a picture of the unusual 3G handset, the SGH-Z130. This features a rotating screen as well as Bluetooth and a megapixel camera. Engadget's guess that the screen rotates for movie playback seems like a pretty sensible one to us.

Read

Philips 5 phone line up

Philips has struggled to find a handset that grips the nation with, but the company keeps ploughing on anyway, coming up with some innovative ideas and designs. We're not convinced any of the 5 new handsets out are going to take the world by storm, but they look decent enough and will no doubt appeal to pay as you go customers looking for a cheap but stylish handset. First up, the Philips 162 is a candybar handset that's certainly aimed at entry level users. There's no exciting features to speak of, but it does come in four different colours. The 568 is "a potent combination of phone, (video) camera, entertainment console and personal organiser".

The Philips 760 is a clamshell number that offers the most powerful specs of the group, including a 1.3-megapixel camera. The Philips 655 clamshell's main selling point was the built in mirror for self-portraits. Although this is hardly a novel feature, nobody can deny that the 655 does have a far larger mirror than most. The Philips Xenium 9@98 is another basic candybar similar to the other Xenium phones. It's major selling point is the extra-long battery life - 7 hours' talk time and 4 weeks on standby apparently.

Read [via Gizmodo]

Jazz up your Treo 650

These guys don't waste any time. No sooner do we put up a story about the new Treo 650 coming to the UK then we get a press release about some new cases for it from Innova Cases.

They're available in several different colours, including pink, green, orange and red-ish and they look OK - if you're the sort of person who feels the need to accessorise your smart phone. But with prices starting at around £50 they're not exactly cheap. Here are the features:

* Semi-rigid flip cover
* SD cards slot
* Charge and sync cutout
* Optional ultra clip
* Headphone access
* Easy re-set access

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Innova Cases
Vaja

Sony Ericsson announces two new handsets

As if getting everyone all fired up with promises of a Walkman range of phones wasn't enough, Sony Ericsson also announced two new 3G handsets: the K600i and the Z800i. The Z800i will look familiar to those who know the V800. The phone itself remains pretty much unchanged, except for a rather nice respray. As before, the handset comes with a rotating 1.3-megapixel camera, large screen and Memory Stick slot. The K600i, meanwhile, is a candybar handset, sporting a similar design to Sony Ericsson's other popular candybars. There's a 1.3-megapixel camera on board and a music player. As ever, it's been designed to look like a camera from the back - so you use it horizontally when taking snaps - and a normal phone from the front.

Sony Ericsson press page

Nokia's 3 new handsets

Nokia has announced three new handsets. The 6680 is the a 3G smartphone; the 6681 an EDGE 2G version for ; while the 6101 is to be the company's latest budget offering. The 6680 comes with two integrated cameras, one of which is 1.3-megapixels, a flash light and a 262k colour high resolution screen. The 6681 doesn't have the front camera, but retains the high res camera on the back. The Series 60 6680 will be available next month. The budget clamshell 6101 is a compact handset with built in VGA camera. Its will be out later this year.

Nokia

Sony Ericsson announces Walkman phones

It seems bleeding obvious to us but now Sony Ericsson is actually doing it: producing Walkman, or should that be Walkmen, phones. According to Engadget, the new range of Walkman/men mobiles, announced at the 3GSM conference in Cannes, will be launched in March.

There aren't too many details at this stage, suffice to say that they will work with Sony's Connect online music store (obviously), will come with decent quality headphones and will have large amounts of memory. Could this be the hit that Sony desperately needs - or will the company's weird predilection for favouring proprietary standards like ATRAC3 doom it to failure?

LG's Gaming handset

LG has announced a number of new phones at 3GSM, the most exciting of which is the SV360. This is a gaming handset that features the world's fastest graphics accelerator chip. The 3-D game phone has a 1 million polygon per second chip that can process data five times faster than current chips. Users will be able to play far more demanding games on the SV360 handset. Plus, the phone includes motion sensors (similar to the ones on-board the Samsung SCH-S310) that lets you wave it about to control games. The handset also comes equipped with a 2.2-inch LCD and a landscape design for better game-playing.

LG Release