7th March 2008 Archive

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Bluetooth set to tech up pillow talk

CeBIT Rest you head for a natter

Imagine the scene: you’ve just come home from a night out and have flopped down on the bed to enjoy 40 winks, but then your friend rings. You want to chat, but can’t be bothered to hold the handset to your ear or hook on a Bluetooth headset. What do you do? purCushion integrates a microphone that connects to mobiles over …

Gadgets and Gizmos 7 Mar 00:02
Steve Jobs unveils plans to dominate RIM BlackBerry, Life, the Universe, and Everything

'We will build 12 Amazons. Or 4 Googles'

Apple will rejigger the iPhone in a sweeping effort to satisfy email-addicted business people, video game junkies, and third-party software developers who don't mind getting Apple's approval for their applications. Today, during a press fest at its Cupertino, California headquarters that did not include The Reg, Steve Jobs and …

Phones 7 Mar 01:26
Supermarket sweeps up Medion satnav

Can i use my clubcard?

We’ve already seen supermarkets launch Medion's low-cost PCs, but if you navigate your way down to Aldi later this month, you’ll be able to spend a little and save a lot on a budget Medion satnav. Medion's E3212: spuds, chicken, bread, milk, satnav... The supermarket chain is attempting to lure customers to try something …

GPS and Satnav 7 Mar 09:02
PCMCIA pitches USB 3.0-friendly ExpressCard update

Doubling the bandwidth

The ExpressCard add-in standard for notebooks is to be updated to bring on board compatibility with USB 3.0, the PCMCIA organisation announced at CeBIT this week. ExpressCard 2.0 will double the data transfer rate between card and host to 5Gb/s - just above USB 3.0's target data speed, 4.7Gb/s. ExpressCard 2.0 will support USB …

Gadgets and Gizmos 7 Mar 10:38
Casio's extends Exilim line-up

Room for another?

Growth of Casio's Exilim digicam series shows no signs of slowing, because the manufacturer has crammed yet another model into the brand, offering a high number of megapixels in a colourful metal body. Casio's EX-Z9: 8.1 megapixels and 3x optical zoom in a colourful shell The EX-Z9 has 8.1 megapixels and will be available …

Cameras 7 Mar 10:44
Magellan charts path to entry-level satnav trio

RoadMate brand expanded

Magellan has further expanded its range of basic in-car GPS products to include more models and more features. Magellan's 1425: flagship model The 1400, 1415 and 1425 all fall under the RoadMate brand, which already includes the 1200 series. Each new model has a 4.3in touch-sensitive widescreen display with an anti-glare …

GPS and Satnav 7 Mar 10:49
Sony chews the Blu-ray fat with Microsoft

Apple too

Sony has confirmed that it's in talks with Microsoft about supporting Blu-ray Disc. Apparently, it has also been chatting to Apple, even though the Mac maker is already a Blu-ray Disc backer. The Japanese electronics giant’s US president, Stan Glasgow, told the Financial Times this week that Sony is talking to both companies. …

HD 7 Mar 11:31
Mobo makers show unlaunched Nvidia chipsets

CeBIT 790i, GeForce 8300, anyone?

A number of Nvidia's upcoming chipsets made unscheduled appearances at CeBIT this week, in particular the as-yet-unlaunched nForce 790i and variants. So did the 'MCP78', expected to debut as the GeForce 8000 series. Nvidia already offers the GeForce 8200 for AMD processors, but a few motherboard makers were showing off Intel …

Bits 'n' Chips 7 Mar 11:49
Mesh Ultimate Q8 Tri-SLI gaming PC

Review We've drooled - now it's time to see Nvidia's Tri-SLI in action

Everything about the Mesh Ultimate Q8 is imposing. The black CoolerMaster 832 aluminium case is 62cm long and 53 cm tall, and, according to our bathroom scales, weighs in at 22kg. We love the industrial looks of the case and a visiting (bloke) neighbour thought it looked dead impressive, though the missis thinks it's one of …

PCs 7 Mar 12:02
Intel talks up 'Eaglelake' DX10 chipset GPU tech

Confirms Q2 debut

Intel this week confirmed its 'Eaglelake' chipsets - the P45, P43, G45, G43, Q45 and Q43 - are indeed scheduled to debut in Q2. The integrated parts will incorporate the new GMA X4500 HD graphics engine. Actually, the G43 will use the GMA X4500, while the Q45, the Q43 and the unmentioned G41 - it's due late this year or early …

Bits 'n' Chips 7 Mar 12:09
Pioneer officially ends plasma TV production

Supplier yet to be announced

Pioneer today confirmed that it will soon begin wrapping up its in-house plasma panel production in its entirety. The announcement follows weeks of rumours that some or all of the operation was for the chop. The company admitted that maintaining the cost-competitiveness of plasma display panels at projected sales volumes will …

HD 7 Mar 12:51
The best external hard drive for Apple's Time Machine?

Q&A

I need help selecting an external hard drive. I've just bought a Macbook Pro and need something to run Time Machine on. I have an Iomega Ego 160GB but do a lot of photography and it fills up quickly when I'm away on a job. I was going to buy the new apple storage but have read various conflicting reports. What would you …

Q&A 7 Mar 13:27
BBC iPlayer for iPhone and iPod Touch is iGo

You've got to pick a pocket device or two

The BBC's streaming iPlayer for Apple's iPod Touch and iPhone has today gone live in beta. As promised last month, the release marks the resurgent iPlayer's first foray onto mobile devices. Some programmes that are available on the desktop haven't made the leap to your pocket yet, but we're promised it's just a matter of time …

Phones 7 Mar 13:49
Alienware punches out four-GPU CrossFireX gaming PC

Alienware has marked AMD's release of CrossFire X-compatible Catalyst drivers with the launch of a four-graphics chip gaming PC. It's even named the beast after the multi-GPU technology. Dubbed the Area-51 ALX CrossFireX, Alienware's machine comes with two ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2 graphics cards, each of which has a pair of 3870 …

PCs 7 Mar 14:07
Fresh 'PSP phone' patent surfaces

Could this be the final design?

Sony has long denied rumours that it's working on a PlayStation Portable (PSP) phone, but the company has lots of explaining to do now that a new Sony Ericsson patent application has come to light detailing just such a device. Sony Ericsson's sketch for a PSP-cum-phone The online application shows a device that consists of …

Consoles 7 Mar 20:37