1st September 2006 Archive

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Blu-ray Disc launch line-up revealed to Europeans

IFA 06 The usual suspects - but not the movie of the same name...

The Blu-ray Disc next-generation optical disc format will launch in Europe this coming Christmas backed by a raft of content from the major studios, the Blu-ray Disc Association said yesterday. Take 20th Century Fox. It's releasing Ice Age 2, Behind Enemy Lines, Fantastic Four, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Kiss of …

HD 1 Sep 2006, 08:56
Animatronic Skype phones get lippy

Meet the Verballs

Dired of dull-looking USB-connected internet phones? Then UK company Aardvark Innovation thinks you may be interested in the Verballs, its new family of "personality" Skype-friendly VoIP phones. There are five to choose from but they all wave their arms and light up their horns when you get a Skype call or receive an …

Gadgets and Gizmos 1 Sep 2006, 09:20
Sony preps widescreen sat nav units

IFA 06 Irate drivers to favour new Nav-U's gesture control?

Sony will update its Nav-U GPS-based route-planning product in November, the consumer electronics giant said today. It promised the upcoming widescreen NV-U80 and NV-U81T gadgets will deliver better-than-the-rest accuracy for speed and location. Sony called its system Position Plus. Essentially, it's a series of back-up …

Gadgets and Gizmos 1 Sep 2006, 09:47
Apple settles iTunes UI patent spat

Agreement reached out of court

Apple has settled a lawsuit alleging the company ripped off another firm's design when it coded its iTunes software's user interface. Terms of the deal reached with the plaintiff were not made public, but the case is now closed. The lawsuit was filed in June 2005 by David Contois of Contois Music and Technology. Contois …

Media players 1 Sep 2006, 10:05
Pretec unwraps 8GB SD card

IFA 06 FAT32-formatted whopper

Solid-state memory specialist Pretec has unveiled what it claims is the highest capacity SD card in the universe. Beyond that, who can say? We can be clear, however, on one point: the card contains 8GB of raw, information data storage capacity. It's no great surprise to learn the 8GB card is based on version 2.0 of the SD …

Storage 1 Sep 2006, 10:26
LG shows off skinny HSDPA clamshell

IFA 06 Out by Xmas

LG has presented its upcoming 'super 3G' clamshell handset - a slimline phone that may ship as part of the company's Chocolate line - at a sneak peek event it the IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin. The U830 is a very thin clamshell model with HSDPA support. It may well be Chocolate-branded by the time it arrives in …

Phones 1 Sep 2006, 10:44
Samsung readies rival digital music service to iTunes

IFA 06 K5 player due next month

Samsung is to take the digital music fight to Apple by launching its own song download service in the UK, France and Germany, the South Korean giant revealed today. Details of the service remain scarce, but we can say it will be operated by digital music distributor MusicNet, which also powers Virgin Digital, HMV, Yahoo!, iMesh …

Media players 1 Sep 2006, 11:07
Philips calls up PC-free Skype phone

IFA 06 DECT for VoIP

Philips today broke the connection between Skype and computers by launching a DECT cordless handset capable of hooking up to the internet and initiating VoIP calls in its own right. Dubbed the VOIP841, the handset is expected to ship before Christmas, though Philips didn't say what it plans to charge for the device. The …

Phones 1 Sep 2006, 11:28
IFA 06 Pioneer to ship dual-layer Blu-ray burner next year

Pioneer will follow up the release of its... er... pioneering Blu-ray Disc recorder with an updated model that supports dual-layer media, it has emerged. The new drive, the BDR-102 will also support CD-R/RW discs, another disc format missing from the company's current product, the BDR-101. The BDR-102 is due to ship early …

HD 1 Sep 2006, 11:53
Linksys ships Wi-Fi VoIP phone in Europe

IFA 06 WIP330 crosses the pond

Linksys has at last launched its WIP330 802.11b/g Wi-Fi-connected VoIP phone in Europe - the company's first wireless handset to made available to buyers over here - after announcing the device at the IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin this morning. The WIP330 is the successor to the Cisco subsidiary's WIP300 handset - …

Phones 1 Sep 2006, 12:25
Hitachi spins up DVR-friendly perpendicular HDD

IFA 06 Consumer electronics oriented

Hitachi's Global Storage Technologies (HGST) subsidiary today launched its first consumer electronics-oriented hard drive that uses perpendicular recording techniques to boost its storage capacity to 160GB. The 1.5Gbps SATA-connected CinemaStar C5K160 is based on HHGST's 2.5in notebook drive the Travelstar 5K160. It spins at …

Bits 'n' Chips 1 Sep 2006, 13:12
SanDisk to ship low-end colour-screen MP3 player in October

IFA 06 Sansa c200 series unveiled

SanDisk today followed up last week's launch of its 8GB Sansa e280 music player with the debut today of the c200 series. The line-up comprises a pair of models: the 1GB c240 and the 2GB c250. Both players feature a 1.4in, 128 x 98 colour display that's set up for song data and photo shows but not for video. The machines each …

Media players 1 Sep 2006, 14:29
Dell laptop detonates in UK home

Went up 'like fireworks', family claims

A Leicestershire family was this left in shock after their Dell laptop exploded "like fireworks" and set light to their living room furniture, it was reported this week - just before news broke of Sony's decision to appoint a battery safety officer. According to a story in the Leicester Mercury, the Allen family of Eskdale …

PCs 1 Sep 2006, 15:19