18th July 2007 Archive

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Leaked 'PSP Slim' manual reveals fresh tweaks

PSP-2000 details emerge

With a month to go before Sony's slimmed down second-generation PSP hits the shops, reports have already begun circulating about less cosmetic changes to the console's design, including a battery adjustment among other tweaks. A manual purportedly covering Sony's new PSP - aka the PSP-2000 - shows that the console's WLAN …

Consoles 18 Jul 2007, 08:02
AMD goes after AppleTV

iTV Con Calls for Canadian curling channel

Questioning whether Apple TV has what it takes to bring internet television to mainstream consumers, chip-maker AMD continues to call for a less-fascist internet-to-television setup based on the good ol' personal computer. As the company points out, this "Active TV" initiative is part of a shameless scheme to sell more chips …

Bits 'n' Chips 18 Jul 2007, 08:50
Burned by a MacBook

First Person In more ways than one

Can you run a business using a MacBook? No, is my answer. My experience with a new MacBook, which turned out to be a complete and utter lemon, and my battle with Apple's derisory customer service nearly sent me bananas, lost me thousands of pounds worth of freelance journalism and consultancy work, and left me with a burn mark …

Mac 18 Jul 2007, 09:01
Intel roadmaps laptop-friendly 45nm CPUs

LV, ULV versions coming too

Intel's 45nm 'Penryn' processor architecture gets ever closer, and as we near the release of the first CPUs based upon it, chip-by-chip details are beginning to leak out. The latest: Intel's plans for mobile processors. Four laptop-oriented Core 2 Duos are coming in Q1 2008, all operating on an 800MHz frontside bus and …

PCs 18 Jul 2007, 09:17
'World's most capacious' mobile HDDs come to UK

US storage specialist WiebeTech has created what it claims are the world's largest capacity portable external hard drives, offered in 200GB and 250GB versions. The ToughTech Mini: small drive, big capacity The 200GB drive has a 7200rpm, while its larger 250GB cousin spins at 5400rpm. Both are distributed in the UK by AM …

Bits 'n' Chips 18 Jul 2007, 09:32
Tomato ripens dinky digital device

Tomatoes are often mistaken for vegetables and so this fruit-branded vendor will be hoping its latest tiny portable video player, dubbed simply Video, doesn't get mistaken for something else, like a credit-card, a pack of ciggies or a matchbox. Tomato's Video: not as tasty as the real thing? This tiny 6.6 x 5.1 x 1cm …

Gadgets and Gizmos 18 Jul 2007, 10:06
Official: BlackBerry gets Wi-Fi, VoIP

32GB memory card support too

The rumours were true. Research In Motion (RIM) has officially confirmed its development of the BlackBerry 8820, the first handset in its history to feature built-in Wi-Fi connectivity. It also supports Micro SDHC memory cards. RIM's 8820: the first BlackBerry with Wi-Fi Unlicensed Mobile Access (UMA) capability is also …

Phones 18 Jul 2007, 10:27
Wave goodbye to your TV... literally

Out goes the remote, in comes gesturing tech

Losing a remote control down the back of the sofa could soon become a thing of the past, thanks to two Australian boffins' development of a TV controller system operated entirely by hand signals. The system combines a webcam, a gesture processing unit and a universal remote control. The webcam captures the hand signal, which …

HD 18 Jul 2007, 10:57
EU officially endorses DVB-H

But who asked for their opinion?

The European Commission (EC) has formally endorsed DVB-H as the preferred standard for digital TV signals to be broadcast to mobile phones, though the business model for broadcast TV is still open to debate. The Commission makes much of its decision to mandate GSM as a mobile phone technology back in the 1980s, and the …

Phones 18 Jul 2007, 12:24
PS3 outsold Xbox 360 2:1 in Japan

And Wii sales micturate on both

For all ex-Microsoft, now EA Sports man Peter Moore's claim that the PS3 isn't doing too well in Japan, the latest sales figures from that country show the Sony has shifted a darn sight more next-gen consoles than Moore managed. According to Japanese games magazine publisher Enterbrain - by way of the Reuters news agency - …

Consoles 18 Jul 2007, 12:42
Blu-ray drive maker slashes burner price by €100

Blue-laser diode famine over

Lite-On is to knock 15 per cent off the price of its internal Blu-ray Disc writer, the LH-2B1S, in a bid to boost the popularity of the next-gen optical disc format in Europe. Right now, the drive retails in Europe for around €649 ($895/£437), Lite-On said. But it expects that to fall €100 to €539 ($757/£370), "in the near …

Bits 'n' Chips 18 Jul 2007, 13:08
Ion mixes it up with second-gen USB turntables

Fresh from its first USB turntable, Ion has expanded its single-model set by adding two additional turntables into the mix, each offering new looks and improved feature sets. Ion's iTTUSB05: plug-and-play vinyl recording Both models are suitable for plug-and-play use and ship with the EZ Vinyl Converter software, which …

Media players 18 Jul 2007, 14:12
LG Touch Me FM37 MP3 player

Review ...sounds like a one-hit wonder from the 80s

The personal multi-media category is a crowded one and has risen to a very high point in terms of consumer awareness. However, it is still relatively young and product feature development is coming thick and fast. A bit of fresh thinking can go along way. And LG are as fresh as they come. At 5.15 x 0.9 x 1.04cm and 63g, it' …

Media players 18 Jul 2007, 14:47