24th January 2006 Archive

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Java Opera poses smartphone challenge

Mini me

Opera, which owes much of its success to its smart-phone browsers, today offers a reason not to buy a smart phone. The Norwegian company will take the wraps off its Mini browser: a Java applet that can run on around 700m phones. Opera Mini uses a proxy server to format the content to low power, small-screen devices. The company …

Phones 24 Jan 2006, 09:10
Supremes shun RIM - again

No review of NTP appeal court win

The US Supreme Court has rejected Research in Motion's latest request that it weigh in on the Blackberry maker's battle with US intellectual property holding company NTP. The Court this week said it would not review the US Court of Appeals' August 2005 verdict that RIM had indeed infringed NTP's patents and which sent the case …

Phones 24 Jan 2006, 09:40
T-Mobile preps UK launch for Blackberry 8700g

Coming to Spain through Telefónica Móviles, Vodafone too

T-Mobile will next month begin shipping Research in Motion's latest Blackberry, the 8700, in the UK, marking the device's debut in Britain. The cellco will offer the device as the 8700g. The machine is the first Blackberry based on an Intel processor - the XScale PXA901 - and includes 64MB of Flash memory and 16MB of SDRAM. …

Phones 24 Jan 2006, 09:56
ECS readies budget CrossFire Socket 939 mobo

'Enormous overclocking potential'

Elitegroup has pledged to ship a budget ATI CrossFire-enabled motherboard for AMD's Athlon 64 X2 dual-core processors by the end of the month. The RD480-A939 joins ECS' other Socket 939/CrossFire combo mobo, the KA1 MVP. Like the older board, the new model is based on ATI's Radeon Xpress 200-class RD480 North Bridge and SB480 …

Bits 'n' Chips 24 Jan 2006, 10:44
Intel ships low-spec P4s for low-cost PCs

Cut-price dual-core part coming soon, too

Intel has begun shipping a pair of low-cost Pentium 4 5xx class CPUs that have yet to be added to its public price list. The chip giant is also preparing to offer a low-price dual-core Pentium D 8xx processor in two months' time. The chip, the PD 805, will be clocked at 2.66GHz and support a maximum frontside bus speed of …

Bits 'n' Chips 24 Jan 2006, 11:10
Vodafone readies HSDPA 3G card for notebooks

Made by Option, supplied by Dell

Vodafone is gearing up to extend its Mobile Connect Card notebook mobile phone connectivity add-in line-up with a card that supports the High Speed Data Packet Access (HSDPA) bandwidth-boosting upgrade to 3G networks. Separately, Dell this week said it was partnerning with Vodafone to bring HSPDA connectivity to future notebook …

PCs 24 Jan 2006, 12:19
Council clamps down on kids using mobile phones

Schools support ban too

Schools on Merseyside are being urged to ban the use of mobile phone among school kids. Knowsley Council wants to ban all mobiles in primary schools and restrict the use of handsets in secondary schools during the day. Councillors have introduced the proposals in response to concerns that mobile phone might damage children's …

Phones 24 Jan 2006, 13:17
ATI ships Radeon X1900 XT, XTX and CrossFire Edn

Next-gen graphics chip goes on sale

ATI has launched its Radeon X1900 graphics chip, aka the R580, offering the 90nm part as the X1900 CrossFire Edition (CFE), X1900 XT and X1900 XTX, as anticipated. This time, however, it lined up a stack of UK board suppliers to confirm they have product ready to ship should anyone worry that today's events mark nothing more …

Bits 'n' Chips 24 Jan 2006, 14:02
Orange all a-quiver over 'vibro-tactile' mobile phone

Samsung E770 shakes - but does it stir?

In a bid to put the buzz back into the mobile phone market, Orange UK has launched a version of Samsung's E770 handset that sports what inventor Immersion calls "vibro-tactile sensations". Yes, rather than merely vibrate when a call comes through or you achieve a high score in one of the phone's bundled games, the VibeTonz- …

Gadgets and Gizmos 24 Jan 2006, 14:49
No Sony PS3 in UK until 2007, says analyst

But Xbox 360 hard drives on the way

It's been a fairly tough start to the year for both Sony's PS3 and Microsoft's Xbox 360, but it looks like Sony's woe may be a touch worse. Industry speculation that Sony's projected release date for its PlayStation 3 console of "Spring 2006" was looking unlikely turned into open ridicule when a Sony source told a journalist …

Consoles 24 Jan 2006, 16:15
ATI Radeon X1900 XT and XTX

Review The world's fastest graphics cards?

The smart money says that most other articles on the launch of ATI Radeon X1900 XT and XTX - aka the R580 - will start with chatter about R5xx being late. It's a valid way to kick off the copy on a new ATI high-end GPU product. The delays in getting the silicon into a shipping state - mostly due to a problem in the wafer …

Bits 'n' Chips 24 Jan 2006, 20:18
Opera on Palm OS? Sort of...

With a little Java

Spare a thought for poor old Palm. Nokia has succeeded in convincing analysts, and portions of the press, that its $399 Linux Wi-Fi tablet, the Nokia 770, is "an entirely new device category". Even the Wall Street Journal said so. But for a hundred dollars less, Palm will also sell you a Wi-Fi tablet, only one with a vast range …

Phones 24 Jan 2006, 22:06