31st January 2008 Archive

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Second-gen O2 XDA Orbit goes on sale

Company sends phone into orbit

True to its word, network operator O2 has confirmed that its XDA Orbit 2 PDA phone is available to UK customers from today. XDA Orbit 2: now available from O2 The HTC-made handset was originally unveiled by O2 back in November 2007, but at the time the carrier would only said that the Orbit 2 would be available in the UK …

Phones 31 Jan 07:02
Dell developing Google Android handset, moles claim

Mobile World Congress outing?

Dell will unveil a smartphone based on Google's Android platform and it'll do so at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) show in Barcelona next month. At least, that's what unnamed "senior industry sources" cited by UK trade paper Marketing Week claim. It also admitted Google insiders say that there's no near-future announcement …

Phones 31 Jan 10:32
Samsung PS42Q97HDX 42in plasma HD TV

Living Room Review Out of the lab and into the living room; Samsung's plasma in the real world

You know how it is - you're sitting one day in front of your trusty CRT watching Apocalypse Now when you're suddenly struck by the feeling that you really aren't getting the full-fat cinematic experience. Fast forward two weeks, and some poor delivery bloke is heaving an enormous box out the back of a lorry, the contents of …

HD 31 Jan 11:02
Apple delays Apple TV movie rental update two more weeks

Haven't finished it on time

Apple has delayed its major Apple TV software update "a week or two", the company annnounced last night. Admitting that the update, which should have gone live by now according to the schedule stated by CEO Steve Jobs during his Macworld Expo keynote, was "not quite finished" will be ready for the set-top box's Software Update …

Media players 31 Jan 11:10
Apple ships Air

Love it or hate it, it's here

Apple has begun shipping its skinny MacBook Air laptop, a product that's managed to generate more controversy than even the iPhone has. Apple's MacBook Air: slim... The notebook is between 4mm and 19mm thick. It has a length of 32cm, a width of 22.7cm and weighs in at just 1.36kg. It has an LED-backlit 13.3in display and a …

Mac 31 Jan 11:33
Garmin takes on iPhone with satnav mobile

Make calls, plan routes

Is it a satnav, or is it a mobile phone? Garmin’s hoping you’ll think its latest device is both, because the Nüvifone lets you find locations and make calls through a fancy touchscreen UI. Garmin's Nüvifone: a mobile phone and GPS combined The Nüvifone combines 3.5G cellular connectivity with Garmin’s established GPS …

GPS and Satnav 31 Jan 11:54
Panasonic punts HD printer

Snap, pause and print

It may look like a Nintendo DS that's missing its bottom screen, but the Panasonic KX-PX30 is actually a miniature printer that’s able to print still images from a High Definition video source. Panasonic's KX-PX30: prints images from an HD source Designed to replace Panasonic's existing KX-PX20 printer, which was unveiled …

Gadgets and Gizmos 31 Jan 12:02
Nokia pledges eco-friendly AC adaptors

Chargers to use less power

Nokia is building on recent pledges to sell more eco-friendly handsets, by promising to halve the power consumption of its battery chargers. The Finnish phone company hopes to cut the average amount of energy used by its AC adaptors when in no-load mode - the time they spend plugged in but not charging a phone - by 50 per cent …

Phones 31 Jan 13:15
B&O reveals self-calibrating robo TV

The set that watches itself

HD TV manufacturers often claim their TVs provide a 1080p resolution, but how can you actually check it's delivering the best picture it can? Bang & Olufsen (B&O) has the answer: a robotic arm with a camera on the end. B&O's BeoVision 4 HD TV has a robotic arm for colour management Its BeoVision 4 Ppasma telly has a 1920 x …

HD 31 Jan 15:05
Sony begins tracking customers' movements

If you want them to, of course

We’ve all looked through our photographs sometimes without any recollection of where they were taken. Thankfully, Sony’s developed a handy GPS widget that makes forgotten memories a thing of the past. Sony's GPS: tracks your position and logs your snap locations Using a process often dubbed GPS tagging, the GPS-CS1KASP unit …

GPS and Satnav 31 Jan 15:40