24th August 2006 Archive

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Apple pays $100m to settle iPod patent clash lawsuits

Small change for Creative

Apple is to pay $100m to settle its legal spat with rival MP3 player maker Creative Technology. The cash not only brings Creative's patent infringement lawsuits to a close but provides Apple with a licence to its intellectual property. Apple will also terminate its counter-suits. Creative needs the money, of course. During …

Media players 24 Aug 2006, 08:54
Dell quietly switches off own-brand MP3 player line

DJ Ditty dropped to make room for Sandisk, Creative kit

Dell stopped selling hard drive-based digital music players in February and now it's dropped its own-brand Flash offerings too. Instead, the PC giant will sell players from SanDisk and Creative. "Dell offers only name brand MP3 players," the company's website says, among the reasons it offers why consumers should buy a …

Gadgets and Gizmos 24 Aug 2006, 09:08
AMD reckons 40% server share is achievable

Not until 2009, though

AMD wants to win 40 per cent of the world's server-chip sales, but it's willing to wait until 2009 to get it. Company executive Marty Seyer this week said there's "no reason" why AMD can't hit that target. AMD took 25.9 per cent of the server market in Q2, up from 22.1 per cent in Q1, 16.4 per cent in Q4 2005 and 12.7 per …

Bits 'n' Chips 24 Aug 2006, 09:44
Fujitsu Siemens kicks off football club coloured laptop line

In a league of their own?

Fujitsu Siemens is marking the start of the soccer season with a set of club colour-coordinated notebooks. The machines are kitted out in the team colours and stamped with the club logo. At the top of the laptop league are notebooks pitched at fans of Celtic, Aston Villa, Everton and Tottenham Hotspur, but FS promised other …

PCs 24 Aug 2006, 10:19
Sony to show 27 playable PS3 games next month

GPS unit for PSP, too

Sony will have not 25, not 26 but 27 playable PlayStation 3 games on show at the Tokyo Game Show, the company said this week. The event, which takes place at the end of September, will also host the launch of a GPS module for the PlayStation Portable. Among the list of PS3 titles Japanese gamers will be able to sample: Namco' …

Consoles 24 Aug 2006, 10:46
Logitech spins 'revolutionary' free-wheeling mouse

No more clicky, sticky scroll wheels

Mouse maker Logitech today introduced its first input device with a freely-rotating scroll wheel, aiming the system at gamers looking for fast weapon changes and Microsoft Office users who need to be able to whizz through long documents. Logitech launched two mice: one, the MX, for desktop users and the other, the VX, for …

Gadgets and Gizmos 24 Aug 2006, 11:50
BenQ aims to pull with 'mauve sensation' lady-phone

'Shimmering luxury'

BenQ Mobile certainly has an eye for the ladies. Having announced butterfly-branded and Hello Kitty kitted versions of its AL26 slider phone, the company today said it's out to captivate women "women with a desire for elegance and dazzling color" by seducing them with its upcoming "luxury style statement" SL80 handset. The …

Gadgets and Gizmos 24 Aug 2006, 13:39
T-Mobile UK introduces latest phone-like BlackBerry

Carrier takes on 7130g

T-Mobile UK has launched its incarnation of Research in Motion's BlackBerry 7130, the push provider's latest phone-style email gadget. Dubbed the 7130g, the handset incorporates quad-band radio, Bluetooth, a speakerphone, MP3 ringtones - but no MP3 playback - and a "bright, high resolution colour display" with a light-level …

Phones 24 Aug 2006, 14:27
Canon unveils its first dust-busting digital SLR

EOS 400D gets 10Mp sensor, too

Canon has launched the follow-up to its hugely popular digital SLR camera, the EOS 350D, bumping the new model's image sensor up to ten megapixels and adding a dust-busting technology to its internal workings. The EOS 400D also sports a bigger LCD viewfinder than in predecessor: it's 2.5in in size and has a 160° viewing angle …

Cameras 24 Aug 2006, 15:01
Lite-on reveals external Blu-ray Disc writer

Reschedules internal drive's ship date

Lite-on unveiled its internal Blu-ray Disc writer, the LH-2B1S, in June this year, promising to ship it in August. It hasn't shipped the drive - it'll now appear in October - but that hasn't stopped the company announcing a new, external model, the LX-2B1U. The drive's capable of working with single- and dual-layer Blu-ray …

Storage 24 Aug 2006, 15:27
El Reg unleashes turbocharged search engine

Goggle

We're delighted to announce today what some you may have already noticed: Reg Hardware now has a new, improved search engine. You can peruse our handy search help page for details on just how the upgraded facility will enhance your Reg experience and help create a better world for your children and your children's children - or …

Gadgets and Gizmos 24 Aug 2006, 15:59
'Hindenbook' returns to burn Apple users

It's not just Dell in battery hell

Dell isn't the only manufacturer affected by Sony's exploding batteries. Apple has issued a recall of 1.8m batteries for PowerBooks and iBooks sold between October 2003 and August 2006 inclusive. It's the fourth time in two years that Apple has issued a recall, but this time it's by far the most serious. "We want [users] to …

Mac 24 Aug 2006, 21:23