Review of Samsung's i900 Omnia multimedia powerhouse 0 comments

HTC made a big splash in the Windows Mobile world of smartphones last year when it introduced the Touch, a smartphone that was pretty much all touchscreen and was intended to be controlled with a finger. Earlier this year HTC came up big again with the Touch Diamond, adding a VGA display and a new UI to the mix. While it might be a bit late to the party, Samsung has put forth the SGH-i900 Omnia to show, in a big way, that it, too, can compete on the Windows Mobile multimedia smartphone front. With features like a 5 megapixel autofocus camera, up to 16GB of built-in storage, a built-in GPS, and automatic screen rotation, the Omnia certainly has a lot of WinMo fans drooling.

Thanks to WirelessImports.com for loaning us the Samsung Omnia used for this review.

Physical Aspects

Like many similar devices, the finger touch oriented Samsung Omnia bears a simple design. The front is dominated by the 3.2" WQVGA resolution (240x400 pixel) touchscreen display. The display is flush mounted, which means that a fingerprint free screen is never more than a pants leg swipe away. Below the display one finds the call send and end keys, and the optical "mouse" directional controller, which replaces a conventional d-pad. A graphite colored chrome rim frames the front of the Omnia, and I was surprised that it stayed quite clean looking. The sides of the Omnia are made of a semi-gloss black plastic, and the back cover, which is home to the camera and flash, is made of a dark matte plastic with a brushed finish.

The only other items of note are found on the edge of the phone. The left edge is home to the Samsung power/headset/USB connector and a lanyard loop, and the right edge is where the volume, camera, and Samsung menu keys are found. A somewhat finicky power/standby button is on the top edge of the phone, next to an old-school reset button. There is no externally accessible microSD card slot, though. The microSD slot is found under the rear cover and requires that the battery be removed in order to access it. Since the Omnia has 8 or 16GB of internal storage, and a fast USB connection, that's not too much of a hassle.

The large 3.2" display is sufficiently bright for most situations, and can be set to automatically adjust its brightness based on the amount of ambient light available to save power. While a stylus is included for use with the display, it must be attached to the phone via the lanyard loop, so many people will probably prefer to do without, even though the touchscreen can seem, at times, difficult to use accurately with a fingertip or nail.

The optical mouse controller works in one of two ways. It can be used in a d-pad like fashion that lets the user swipe a finger across in one one of the four cardinal directions to move up, down, left, or right. Sometimes, but not always, a fast swipe will cause the Omnia to scroll quickly (and uncontrollably). The other mode of control is to use a real mouse pointer to control the phone, much like the red and green TrackPoint controllers found embedded in the keyboards of some Lenovo and Toshiba laptops. The mouse is surprisingly easy to use in this mode, but is of little real use other than with the Opera web browser. Regardless of the control mode that is activated, pressing on the mouse will select the currently highlighted on-screen item or button.

With a weight of 122.5g (4.3oz) and a size of 112.5mm x 57.0mm x 13.5mm (4.4" x 2.2" x .5"), the i900 Omnia is very pocketable. It feels solidly built and durable. One always has to worry what keys or coins could do to an exposed touchscreen display, but I would imagine that the Omnia will hold up reasonably well. My only gripe is that the WQVGA display makes the phone taller than it would otherwise need be, and reaching the upper right hand corner of the device, where Windows Mobile places the constantly used OK and X buttons, can be quite difficult with one hand - even for somebody with large hands.

While I am also not a huge fan of the optical mouse, I still think that Samsung has done a pretty good job with the SGH-i900 Omnia from an overall design perspective.

Core Functions

The Samsung SGH-i900 Omnia that we tested was equipped with quad-band GSM and 2100MHz UMTS support. So while it works across North America, Omnia users in that part of the world will have to do without 3G support. Reception on the Omnia was acceptable, and call audio quality seemed very good. The speakerphone also performed well. Our battery test showed the Omnia to be capable of well over 10 hours of GSM talk time, though users on a UMTS network should expect no more than 5.5 hours of talk time.



While the Omnia sports the standard Windows Mobile contact management system, it also comes equipped with Samsung's own contacts application, Phonebook. Phonebook is basically a more finger friendly version of the standard Contacts app. It uses larger fonts, and provides a nice index along the right hand edge of the contact list. When a contact is selected, Phonebook gives users a set of large buttons that can be easily pressed to initiate a call or send a text message. The only thing missing from Phonebook is the ability to search on first and last names at the same time, which the standard app can do. It is also worth mentioning that both apps can be a bit difficult to search in when the Omnia is configured to use the Phonepad input method, which uses predictive text.

As a Windows Mobile Professional device, the Omnia has no true profile management system. It merely offers users the ability to run in normal, vibrate, or silent modes. Vibrate mode can be toggled quickly by long pressing the on-screen # key from the dial pad. The Omnia appears to lack support for normal speed dialing, but makes up for that in part by adding quick contact access to one of its home screen layouts. Voice dialing is also absent, which seems odd. I was quite pleased with Samsung's call management software, though, which replaces the standard Windows Mobile apps. One of the nice things was that it gives users the ability to jot down a quick note at the end of the call, and that the note is pre-filled with the contact's name and the time and date of the call. Quite handy.

The Omnia uses the standard Inbox application for managing email, and supports Windows Mobile 6.1's threaded SMS as well, but uses its own editor for SMS and MMS messaging. The new editor assumes that messages are SMS until the user tries to add some sort of media file, at which point it warns the user that this will turn the message into an MMS and gives them the chance to reconsider. The editor itself is also different, and was designed with Samsung's various on-screen text input methods in mind. The MSN Messenger client is pre-loaded on the Omnia. Overall the messaging support is solid, the issue is the text input.

Samsung offers three new text input methods in addition to the standard Windows Mobile methods. The Samsung Keyboard is a large QWERTY layout virtual keyboard. The keys are quite narrow when the display is in the normal portrait orientation, and they can be very difficult to use. Turning the phone to landscape mode helps significantly, but the lack of vibration feedback on the keyboard still leaves us wanting a better solution. Samsung also offers virtual 20 key and 12 key keypads that work decently. The 20 key keyboard would be a great solution if the user didn't have to switch it to symbol mode and back every time a simple period (full stop) is required at the end of a sentence. This makes it a pain to use for any real messaging tasks. The 12 key setup works nicely, though. But, just as with the QWERTY keyboard, they both sorely need haptic vibration feedback.

As a 3G HSDPA device, the Samsung i900 Omnia is capable of quick data connections without being tied to WiFi networks, which the Omnia also supports. Since the Omnia we tested was configured for the 2100MHz UMTS networks found in Europe and some other parts of the world, we were unable to test 3G connectivity speeds. The EDGE support worked out well enough for us, though, and the phone can be easily used as a modem thanks to WinMo's Internet Connection Sharing app. Other wireless connectivity needs on the Omnia are handled by Bluetooth for headsets, stereo headphones, and data, but the Omnia's Bluetooth range seems to be somewhat limited. USB is a great option for moving around files, since the connections to a PC through the included USB cable proved to be blazingly fast.

Multimedia / Applications

With either 8GB or 16GB of built-in internal storage, depending on the configuration, it is obvious that Samsung's SGH-i900 Omnia has some lofty multimedia aspirations. Overall, it lives up to the expectations - especially when it comes to its 5 megapixel autofocus camera. It lacks an optical zoom, but the camera otherwise takes some of the best photos that I have seen come out of a cameraphone. The color balance is very accurate, in anything but poor lighting the focus is usually spot on, and the photos don't look overly sharpened and don't appear to have been hit too hard with noise reduction algorithms.



The finger friendly touch screen user interface is a virtual pleasure cruise to use, and advanced features like face detection and smile mode work quite well. Face detection mode does a good job of locating faces in the frame, even recognizing them in other photos. The smile mode is really nice, too, as it causes the camera to wait until the subject smiles before snapping the photo. The camera can also be used to record videos at up to VGA resolution. In short, the camera is one of the best features on the phone by far. Samsung did an excellent job with it.

Like other Windows Mobile smartphones, the i900 Omnia comes equipped with Windows Media Player. Samsung, however, chose to add its own player to the mix, which it has named TouchPlayer. TouchPlayer has the same base capabilities as Windows Media Player, but is far easier to use with fingers thanks to its larger buttons and font sizes. It supports album art and background music play, and instantly found the music I had synchronized to the phone with a desktop PC's Windows Media Player app. If you prefer your music over the airwaves, the Omnia's FM radio has got you covered.

The Omnia has a built-in GPS module that can be used with the pre-loaded Google Maps application. The phone can be setup to automatically download satellite positioning hint data daily to help speed up the process of finding an initial location. The Google Launcher app can be used to bring up Maps or to load Gmail in the Omnia's Opera browser. The browser is basically the same as the one found in the HTC Touch Diamond, which means it provides a true desktop experience. My only complaint would be that when panning around with a finger, the display doesn't track the finger movement well, always seeming to scroll more than your finger drags it.

In addition to the many organizer applications on the Omnia, such as the calendar and tasks, Samsung also loaded the smartphone with a number of media viewers for photos and other media files, as well as clocks, video editors (for cropping), and even a TV-out function. Full versions of Microsoft's Office Mobile suite are also included, though I doubt that many people will do any real document creation when forced to use the Omnia's on-screen text input methods.

While the Omnia's 96MB of application RAM always seemed sufficient, I did run across a problem that kept me from using the camera. I had been testing out some of the phone's messaging UI extensions, which involve panning and zooming, and then received a message from the phone telling me that it was out of "video memory" when I tried to run the camera. The phone suggested that I close some other applications to address the problem, but even with all other applications killed off, the problem remained. Once I reset the phone everything worked again, but this still points to some sort of memory leak problem with some of Samsung's software.

User Interface

As a Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional smartphone, much of the Samsung i900 Omnia's user interface is the same as on dozens of other devices. But like HTC, with its Touch lineup, Samsung has attempted to replace or augment a large portion of the basic WM6.1 user interface found on the Omnia with the goal of making it more finger friendly. In many ways, it has been successful. Just not completely so.

The most obvious additions that Samsung has made to the WM6.1 platform are its today (standby) screens. The "widget" screen that the device is configured with by default lets users drag and drop various controls and info boxes about the screen. It is interesting, but largely useless. Better are the two other Today screen plug-ins on offer. Each of them displays a nice statically laid out and finger friendly array of icons and information. One of them, which supports basic swipe gestures, goes even further by providing quick access to picture contact speed dials as well as commonly changed settings. The combination of these Today screens and the Samsung authored menus that are called up with the dedicated menu key make it easy to get to most commonly used phone functions. For a good introduction to them, check out the video on the first page of this review.

While the Today screens and Samsung's own menus provide vibration haptic feedback when the touchscreen is pressed, the rest of its own apps and text input methods, as previously mentioned, do not. This is a shame because the vibration feedback really has a majorly positive impact on how easy the touchscreen is to use. One thing that Samsung did get right, though, was the automatic screen rotation system. Turning the phone clockwise or counterclockwise 90 degrees will automatically rotate the screen, while providing an optional vibration effect as well. All of the apps on the phone support this, and Samsung's own menus and Today screens were designed with this functionality in mind. It is an incredibly nice feature to have on the phone. Samsung goes one step further by automatically muting the phone whenever it is placed face down. This works with inbound calls, music playing in the media player, or anything that makes a noise except for the alarm.



There are a number of misses in the Omnia's system, though. Firstly, only the Samsung applications, of which there are many, support finger scrolling. The notable exception being Opera, which also responds to finger gestures. Applications like the messaging Inbox and the stock Contacts app don't support finger scrolling at all, which makes them difficult to use. The optical mouse's scrolling feature is poor, at best. Samsung tried, somewhat half-heartedly, to address the issue in the messaging app by letting users double tap on the screen to bring up a separate mail viewer with finger controlled zoom level and panning. It's workable, but less than optimal. There is also, sometimes, a separate screen magnifier function that can be bright up that supports panning and scrolling with a finger - but the documentation doesn't mention it (or much at all, honestly), and I have only been able to call it up a few times.

Another issue with the Omnia is that it, at times, seems to need more CPU power. This is sometimes the case when playing music in the background, and always the case when scrolling in Samsung's Phonebook application. The fact that the touchscreen calibration never seems quite right when used with a finger makes everything more difficult. This isn't a general problem with the Omnia, but one that users will stumble upon occasionally. Similarly, our early production Omnia experienced a few crashes, too, that required a reset to address.

Overall I feel that Samsung has done a solid job with its extensions and new apps for Windows Mobile Professional. I prefer the Omnia's finger menu system and applications by far to those in HTC's TouchFLO 3D. TouchFLO 3D is visually stunning, but the Omnia's system is much more usable, and still manages to be fun. I'll take that any day. The automatic screen rotation is a wonderful feature that all smartphones should support, too, but Samsung really needs to add generic finger scrolling to all apps, a feat that HTC managed with its very first Touch well over a year ago. It isn't perfect, especially since the touchscreen seems inaccurate when not using a stylus, but I still like it better than a plane Jane Windows Mobile setup.

Conclusion

If you are a fan of devices like the Apple iPhone and the HTC Touch Diamond, the Samsung Omnia is probably going to capture your interest. Samsung's done a good job of layering some new functionality over what is otherwise a somewhat dated Windows Mobile user interface. The Samsung extensions and menus are visually appealing and fun to use, not to mention functional. The Omnia's superb camera should be considered a lesson to other manufacturers on how things should be done in a smartphone, and having up to 16GB of built-in storage as well as supporting microSD cards means that there are few devices in production that can carry around more media files than the Omnia. That's all great stuff.



But the Omnia has its flaws. While I appreciate the extra pixels, I think that a WQVGA display was a poor choice for a number of reasons. A more conventionally sized VGA display would have made more sense in my opinion, offering both more resolution as well as making the phone easier to use with one hand since it wouldn't have to be as tall. The display is not the best performer when it comes to positioning accuracy, either.

The big problem, though, is the text input. The virtual 12 key T9 keypad works well, but the 20 key and QWERTY keyboards both have real usability problems. In the end, the text input and display issues, which are somewhat related, are enough to keep me from giving the Omnia our top rating. Still, though, it is a very enjoyable device that suits passive email consumers very well, and it earns a solid "Recommended" rating.

Tim Brighouse knighted for achievements in education 0 comments

Educationist Tim Brighouse at Thomas Tallis school in London. Photograph: Martin Godwin

The educationalist Tim Brighouse, who was formerly London schools tsar, has been knighted for his achievements in the new year's honours list.

Brighouse has spent his entire career in education after his parents said journalism was too hazardous.

In a career spanning three decades, he worked in grammar and secondary modern schools, including a deputy headship at the age of 26, before becoming chief education officer of Oxfordshire at 38.

He has held professorial posts at Keele University and the Institute of Education and has honorary doctorates from the Open University, Oxford Brookes, Exeter, Warwick, Birmingham, West of England and Sheffield Hallam.

Ralph Tabberer, director-general for schools at the Department for Children, Schools and Families, also received a knighthood, despite this summer's delayed Sats results that led to the scrapping of the contract with ETS Europe and the demise of a government body, the National Assessment Agency.

The chair of the Million+ group of former polytechnics and vice-chancellor of the University of Bedfordshire, Prof Les Ebdon, was awarded a CBE for services to local and national higher education.

Dr Mark Walport – head of the UK's largest research funder, the Wellcome Trust, which provides billions of pounds worth of grants to UK researchers each year – was knighted for services to medical research.

The businessman John Madejski, who has an academy named after him, was also knighted for his charitable services.

Among the other honours for outstanding service in schools, further education colleges and higher education were knighthoods for Robert Edwards, head of Garforth community college in Leeds, Wendy Hall, professor of computer science at the University of Southampton for services to science and technology and Martin Taylor, professor in pure mathematics at the University of Manchester, while Keith Elliot, principal of City of Bristol college, was awarded a CBE.

Among those named in the new year honours are:

Knighthood

Prof Ian Halliday, chief executive of Scottish Universities Physics Alliance and president of the European Science Foundation, for services to science

Commander of the British Empire

Isabelle Boyd, headteacher, Cardinal Newman high school, Bellshill, North Lanarkshire, for services to education

Prof Tina Bruce, visiting professor of early childhood studies, Roehampton University, for services to early years education

Tarun Kapur, executive headteacher, Ashton-on Mersey and Broakoak schools, Trafford, for services to education

Prof Thomas Kirkwood, professor of medicine and director of the Institute for Ageing and Health, Newcastle University, for services to medical science

Prof Henrietta Leyser, professor of plan developmental genetics, University of York, for services to plant science

Francis McLoughlin, principal of City and Islington college, for services to further education

Prof Alexander Templeton, professor of obstetrics and gynaecology, University of Aberdeen, for services to medicine

Prof Peter Wells, research professor and senior scientific director, Institute of Medical Engineering and Medical Physics, University of Cardiff, for services to healthcare science.

Prof David Woods, principal adviser, City Challenge, for services to education

Order of the British Empire

Veronica Rowland, cook manager at St Joseph's boys' high school, Newry, for services to education in Northern Ireland

William Tate, principal, Belvoir Park primary school, Belfast, for services to education in Northern Ireland

John Teal, caretaker, Hartlepool sixth-form college, for services to further education

Peter Vowles, learning gateway manager, Weymouth college, for services to further education

Patricia Wallson, formerly headteacher, Columbia Market nursery school and vice-chair, Little Oaks children's centre, Tower Hamlets, London, for services to early years education

Rosemary Ward, learning and teaching support assistant, school of education, Nottingham Trent University, for services to higher education

Ernest Watkins, for voluntary service to education in Newport, South Wales

Canon Richard White, for services to music education, Truro, Cornwall

Susan Whitham, head of secretariat, sixth-form colleges forum, for services to further education

Stephanie Wilson, governor, Newland school for girls, for voluntary service to education and to the community in Kingston-upon-Hull

Maureen Tyler-Moore, principal, independent specialist college, Foxes Academy, Minehead, for services to special needs education

Jane Pratt, governor, the Connaught school, Aldershot, Hampshire, for voluntary service to education

Valerie Priestley, for services to Edith Cavell lower school, Bedford

Arek Hersh, for voluntary service to Holocaust education

Derek Hudspeth, departmental superintendent, department of geography, University of Durham, for services to higher education

Robert Jost, prison officer physical education, HM Young Offenders' Institution Thorn Cross, Warrington, for public and voluntary service

Carol Leonard, nursery nurse, St Clement Danes Church of England primary school, Westminster, London, for services to education

Douglas MacNeilage, formerly janitor, Tobermory high school, for services to education and to the community in the Isle of Mull

Prof Jagdish Dave, for services to education and to Asian people

Margaret Fish, formerly teacher, Park primary school, Alloa, Clackmannanshire, for services to education and to the community in Alloa

Kenneth Bates, formerly chairman, University of the Third Age Nottingham, for voluntary service to adult education

'No guarantee' over Sats delivery 0 comments

Examiners have warned the government there is a "significant" risk that pupils could face a repeat of this summer's Sats test fiasco.

A new company has been put in charge of the tests after pupils' results were delayed after a series of blunders.

But the exams watchdog in England says the rush to appoint a new firm to run Sats in 2009 means there is no time to test the marking systems.

Education Secretary Ed Balls said he accepted the results may be late.

New contract

This year, hundreds of thousands of 11 and 14-year-olds were left waiting months for their marks from the exams.

An inquiry has been held into the delay, which also resulted in the postponement of this year's league tables.

Lord Sutherland's inquiry blamed the exam watchdog - the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) - and ETS Europe, the private contractor which ran the tests.

ETS Europe was sacked from its five-year contract with the QCA in August.

Half of the Sats themselves - those taken by 14-year-olds - have been scrapped in a subsequent shake-up of testing.

The former contractor, Edexcel, was chosen to run next year's remaining tests for 11-year-olds, and it agreed to deliver 99.9% of test results to candidates by 7 July 2009.

But the QCA chief executive Ken Boston - writing to Education Secretary Ed Balls before his suspension in mid-December - warned "whilst the supplier is committed to achieving it (the deadline), there is currently no guarantee that events will not cause them to miss it."

He stated the speed with which Edexcel had to be appointed meant the fine details of the contract will have to be worked out after it is agreed.

The risk of missing the deadline will, he said, "be at its greatest in the crucial and short period between the beginning of marking and the completion of results data".

Progress report

In a reply, Mr Balls said he understood Mr Boston's concerns.

"I understand your concerns that the overall risks to delivery remain high and that there is a cumulative risk the contractual target of 99.9% of results available, on or by 7, July may not be met," he wrote.

He urged the QCA to arrange for "effective contingencies" to be put in place, "thereby reducing the likelihood and impact of serious risks to delivery".

But Mr Boston's reply to that letter re-iterates his warning: "We will do all we can to mitigate risk, but it is important that I re-emphasise to you that the risks in this process are high.

"In the restricted time available to us it will not be possible to develop mitigations to the level that either you or I would wish.

"In particular during the crucial short period between the tests being sat, and the results being published on or by 7 July, the only meaningful contingency available is a delay in publishing the result."

AT&T Offers Refurbished iPhones for $99 0 comments

A temporary discount on refurbished iPhones pushes the 8GB models below $100 for the very first time.

While rumors of a so-called $99 iPhone were quashed this weekend when Wal-Mart officially began offering the phones for a mere $2 below MSRP, there’s hope for bargain hunters yet. In a surprise move, AT&T began offering refurbished iPhone models the same day, for a much more significant price cut of $100, placing the cheapest models at only $99.

The supply of refurbished phones comes from AT&T’s 30-day trial program, which allows subscribers to return new hardware within 30 days if they aren’t satisfied with it. The refurbished phones, AT&T explains, are therefore “lightly used” and may have minor scratches. Another potential caveat: The phones will carry only 90 days of warranty, compared to the full year warranty that new phones receive.

This isn’t the first time AT&T has sold refurbished iPhones through the Web, but previously the phones carried only a $50 discount. The extra $50 cut that arrived on Sunday won’t last, though. AT&T intends to return to previous prices on Dec. 31.

Currently, AT&T’s online store stocks black refurbished 8GB iPhones for $99, and both black and white 16GB models for $199.

Top Tech Companies Sued for Using...Icons? 0 comments

A Michigan company is suing tech giants Microsoft, Google, and Apple for patent infringement for using thumbnail icons to represent files.

Michigan's Cygnus Systems, Inc., a company focused on networking support and development, has filed a patent infringement lawsuit (PDF) against Microsoft, Apple, and Google for&mash;get this—using icons to represents files. But not just any icons: representational thumbnails that reflect the onscreen display of a particular document or file. Such miniaturized thumbnails are now a common feature of many software products, including Apple's Finder and iTunes software (think Cover Flow), Windows Explorer, and Google's Chrome browser—and if Cygnus is willing to go after those three companies, they might be considering action against Adobe and Opera (which have products with similar interfaces) and even Web-based music and photo services like Amazon's MP3 Store and Flickr which, after all, offer thumbnail representations of files.

Cygnus applied for the patent, number 7,346,850, way back in June, 1998, but it was only granted in March of 2008. Since then, presumably, the company has been trying to get companies (like Apple, Google, and Microsoft) to license the patent, but apparently no agreements could be reached, so the company has filed suit. Cygnus Systems is seeking an injunction to prevent other companies from infringing on its patent, along with damages and fees. Interestingly, the company is seeking damages back to the date the infringement began, which in many cases would land substantially before Cygnus's patent was granted.

If the case goes to trial, industry watchers expect the legal teams of the targeted companies will attempt to have Cygnus's patent invalidated on the basis of prior art: numerous instances of representational thumbnail icons for files existed on numerous operating systems prior to Cygnus's 1998 patent application, and the technique was employed by several companies including Apple and Adobe.

Apple and Microsoft declined to comment on the suit; Google and Cygnus Systems could not be reached for comment.

Acer Takes Aspire 8930G Quad-Core 0 comments

Acer has added Intel's Core 2 Quad Q9000 CPU to its Aspire 8930G notebook, featuring an 18.4-inch screen, Blu-ray, Nvidia graphics...and prices starting at $1,800.

Computer maker Acer has decided to amp up its high-end Aspire 8930G notebook computer by rolling in an Intel Core 2 Quad Q9000 processor, increasing the system's appeal to power-hungry gaming and multimedia enthusiasts. And with a large 1080p-capable display, optional Blu-ray drive, Nvidia graphics, and Dolby audio processing—plus a separate numeric keypad—the system has a lot to recommend it for users who aren't terribly concerned with portability.

"By incorporating the latest capabilities of Intel's Core 2 Quad mobile processors into the Aspire 8930G-7665, Acer is delivering a perfect combination of mobility, innovation, and extreme gaming capabilities," said Acer America's VP of product marketing Sumit Agnihotry, in a statement. "Gamers and enthusiasts who enjoy HD multimedia entertainment will find the performance benefits of quad core mobile performance in the Aspire 8930G unrivaled to other multimedia notebooks on the market."

The Aspire 8930G now offers a 2.53 GHz Core 2 Quad Q9000 processor as an option, with 12 MB of L2 cache and a 1066 MHz front-side bus. The system ships with 4 GB of RAM, and features a mammoth 18.4-inch 1,920 by 1,080-pixel LCD display driven by an Nvidia GeForce 9700M graphics controller with 512 MB of video memory. The notebook is also available with a 500 GB hard drive, either a Blu-ray or DVD Super-Multi drives, a 6-in-1 media card reader, and 802.11ag.n Wi-Fi wireless networking. The Aspire 8930G also touts a Webcam, Dolby Home Theater audio processing, and the 64-bit edition of Windows Vista Premium.

The quad core-equipped Aspire 8930G is available now, at prices starting at $1,799,99.

Philips intros snazzy Xenium 9@9q Dragon / Phoenix handsets 0 comments

Philips’ Xenium line is known for being able to last an incredibly long time without a recharge, and the outfit’s newest duo continue the trend. The special edition Xenium 9@9q mobiles — dubbed Dragon and Phoenix — both feature rather snazzy designs and can reportedly last up to a month in standby mode. The most fantastic aspect is probably the subtle light-up indicators on the outside of the clamshell, and yes, we’re serious. Still, a phone with such longevity might actually be worth 4,999 rubles ($172), but only if you place an inordinately high amount of value on the aforesaid indicators.

Link: www.unwiredview.com

Sony Bravia LCD HDTV 0 comments

With all the big screen flat-panels cluttering up the HDTV arena, one may wonder if anyone's even paying attention to consumers clamoring for LCDs that can be handled by fewer than four burly gentlemen.

Sony's BRAVIA KDL-26M4000/R is one set that fits better in a bedroom than a den, with a 26-inch panel and a 1,366 x 768 resolution. The gurus over at PC World were able to take the mid-sized set for a spin, and while it found that some tweaking was necessary out of the box in order to get the best possible HD quality, things were pretty swell once calibration was over.

The built-in ATSC / NTSC / ClearQAM tuner did its job admirably well, and it also did a fantastic job of making SD content look as bearable as possible. The biggest knock against it was the price, which shouldn't be surprising for anyone who follows MSRPs of Sony TVs, as critics felt most folks would be happier spending less for similar sets.

MediaSmart Server EX485 and EX487 just launched! 0 comments

HP just launched an updated MediaSmart Server, which is a small networked storage appliance that runs on Windows Home Server. There are a number of improvements, but the big thing is that it is now Time Machine friendly and Mac OS friendly in general, although you still need a PC to configure it. It's good to know, if you're a Mac-only person.

This is not it, this updated version also have the ability to save data online, using the Amazon S3 service. That's something that was high on the users' wishlist. I bet that more online services will be available in the future.

The hardware has also been updated: MediaSmart server now runs on a 2.0Ghz Celeron with 2GB of RAM. It makes it fast enough to convert music files on the fly for streaming your tunes over the web. The older model won't be able to do that, even with a software update. We're still playing with the new MediaSmart, but keep your eyes open for a review.

Sprint Launches All-In-One 3G/4G USB Dongle, The U300 0 comments

WiMax may have officially launched but its far from ubiquitous. Still, though, you don’t wanna miss out on the opportunity to experience blazing fast wireless speeds virtually anywhere you go on your laptop. So what do you go with hardware wise?

Sprint’s latest USB broadband dongle, the U300, is the first of it’s type to feature both 3G and WiMax connectivity. You’ll have to throw down an extra $20/month to access to both networks ($60 for just 3G) but you’ll be ready for the future.

Big Holiday Discount On VUDU HD Movie Player 0 comments

VUDU is offering a big $200 discount on their HD movie player. Normally priced at $299, the VUDU box is priced to move at $99 (add $49 for a wireless kit). Now you know there’s a catch and indeed there is. You’ll have to purchase $50 worth of movie credits to go along with the box. Still, that’s a great deal for a HD device that has the following features:

* Movies On-Demand — Access over 13,000 movies and TV titles from all Hollywood studios and leading independent distributors directly from your HDTV.
* New Movies Weekly — Watch newly released movies the same day the DVD becomes available. No worrying about it being in-stock at the video store, or having to queue it up online. Even watch the trailer before you decide to rent or buy.
* HDX™ Movies — Only VUDU gives you the freedom to choose between an instant-start HD movie and a higher quality HDX download, both offered at the same price.
* 1080p HD Quality — Rent HD movies in native 1080p or SD movies up-scaled to 1080i/p resolution and get the best viewing experience on your HDTV.
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Purchase Here

Gadgets At A Glance: Energizer Solar Recharger 0 comments

What is it: The Energizer solar recharger does exactly that: it charges AA or AAA batteries using power from the sun

Features: Charges AA or AAA batteries, USB-out port to power USB devices (think cell phones, mp3 players, etc), option to charge batteries from power outlet, includes 2 Energizer rechargeable batteries, weatherproof

HTC Touch HD service manual leaked - claims US 3G support 0 comments

The HTC Touch HD service manual has just become available for download, and while I have not yet read the full 96 pages, page 5 already revealed quite a bomb.

We had a huge flutter a few months ago when HTC claimed the Touch HD was incapable of US 3G. There have however been reports of some people having 3G coverage in USA. It now turns out the support for the 850 and 1900 HSDPA bands are officially confirmed by the manual!

While this news wont bring a carrier-subsidized HD any closer to USA, it does mean enthusiast who wish to import one can look less sceptically at importers who claim US 3G support.

Download the manual at this website for more information.

Meteorlight Light-Up Dog Ball 1 comments

Since I’ve been walking the dogs with NakedJen recently, we have had to go quite early in the morning before she heads off to her glamorous work for Sundance. That means that we are trying to play fetch with the dogs in the dark and it’s hard for them to find the normal tennis balls in the unlit areas of the park. On those dark mornings, Jen brings her Meteorlight Light-Up Dog Ball. It works with the Chuck It, so she can throw it for yards and yards, but the dogs can still see it because it lights up.

It’s so fun watching Buddha and Stella chase after the light up ball and watch them run back with it flashing in their mouths. If you have to exercise your dogs in the dark mornings and evenings of winter, this light up ball is a must-have.

Marketing Success Of the Year Wii Fit 0 comments

Nitendo's brilliant strategy to push the Wii into the domain of physical fitness was a move that was not expected by many.The Wii Fit used an electronic balance board to calculate the weight and centre of gravity of the gamer, allowing him or her to go on a regimen of exercise, ranging from yoga to rhythm boxing and pushups as well. Nitendo has innovated again by merging the need to stay fit with the need for entertainment, creating a delightful mix that can keep the entire family entertained. If you hate the gym, or are too much of a video game addict to go to one, the Wii Fit might just be the perfect solution for you.

School Groups Hope K-12 Gets Share of Stimulus 0 comments

Some hope education programs—not just school construction projects—will snare funding to help boost the economy.

As President-elect Barack Obama and Congress begin laying the groundwork for a massive economic stimulus package, education groups are hoping for a major infusion of cash—beyond just construction projects—to help put financially struggling school districts on firmer fiscal footing.

Mr. Obama announced in a recent radio address that his administration would seek to direct a portion of a federal spending bill aimed at getting the economy back on track to school construction and to expanding broadband access in schools. The overall legislation could cost as much as $850 billion, according to published reports.

But, as more states warn of substantial cuts to K-12 spending, some school and state officials are lobbying lawmakers and the Obama transition team to include money for programs such as special education, teacher training, and grants to help districts educate disadvantaged students.

“The context has shifted so dramatically with this economic meltdown, but I think it also creates an opportunity for bold action, and that’s what it will take to make education a priority,” said Edward R. Kealy, the executive director of the Committee for Education Funding, a Washington lobbying coalition.

He argued that, over the long term, education is one of the best places to target federal dollars because “it actually has the strongest possibility of being able to pay back” the government, since students and workers will be better equipped to compete in the global economy.
Best Approach Debated

President-elect Obama said he would like Congress, which convenes next month, to get a stimulus package ready for his signature shortly after he takes office Jan. 20, providing an immediate jolt to the stumbling economy.

But fiscal-policy experts are split over whether aid for schools’ operating costs—such as materials and teacher salaries—will help create jobs and eventually generate revenue for states and the federal government.

Many states already face yawning deficits, and it’s possible that federal relief would simply help stave off cuts to education programs, rather than allow schools to purchase more materials, or hire additional teachers, said Nick Johnson, the director of the state fiscal project at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a research group in Washington focused on the needs of low-income families.

Still, in tight times, even keeping major cuts at bay might help save jobs, he said.

“When states make cuts, it is very bad for the economy,” Mr. Johnson said. “They lay off workers, cancel payments to vendors and so on.”

But Chris Edwards, an economist at the Cato Institute, a free-market think tank in Washington, said the projected size of the stimulus package is simply opening the door for education organizations and state policymakers to “recycle long-standing requests for aid” that may have nothing to do with stimulating economic growth. Mr. Edwards is also skeptical that increased government spending will spur a recovery.

It’s too early to say if federal relief for cash-strapped states—if any—can help states avoid or scale-back cuts to K-12 programs.

When President-elect Obama met with the majority of the nation’s governors in Philadelphia earlier this month, most expressed support for federal help, but education took a back seat to other priorities. ("Governors Make Pitch to Obama for Stimulus Money," Dec. 10, 2008.)

And in testifying before the House Appropriations Committee this month, Gov. James E. Doyle, a Democrat from Wisconsin, said that extra money for programs such as Medicaid might help state legislatures shift resources to education programs.

But another Democratic governor, Jon Corzine of New Jersey, said he’d like to see “some kind of block grant,” possibly geared just for schools.

Some lawmakers on the panel agreed with him. “Count two for that plan,” Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, D-Fla., said, noting that schools in her South Florida congressional district were considering hiring freezes and layoffs. “I couldn’t agree with you more.”

Special Education Relief

Education organizations are encouraged by the President-elect’s high-profile support for making school construction money and funds for expanded broadband access part of a stimulus package.

In a letter sent this month to congressional leaders, the Committee for Education Funding said that investing $20 billion over five years in school facilities could support about 50,000 jobs. If such construction took a “green,” or environmentally friendly, approach, it could save up to $20 billion in energy costs over 10 years, the organization wrote.

But education lobbyists are also hoping for money for career and technical programs, Pell Grants for college students, pre-kindergarten programs, and state data systems.

And one item makes nearly everyone’s wish list: Increasing the federal share of funding for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

Under the 2004 reauthorization of IDEA, the federal government is authorized to cover up to 40 percent of the states’ excess special education costs, based on the national average per-pupil expenditure. That 40 percent is what is considered “full funding.” But annual federal appropriations have fallen far short of that goal. In fiscal 2008, which ended Sept. 30, the federal government covered 17 percent of such costs.

In November, the National Governors Association sent a letter to Congress asking for $19 billion over the next two years to fund IDEA. And some groups, including the American Association of School Administrators, want the funding to become mandatory, meaning that the federal share of IDEA would be financed automatically by law and not subject to the annual appropriations process.

Providing more money for special education would take pressure off state coffers, help relieve property taxes, and boost districts’ bottom lines, said Mary L. Kusler, the assistant director of government relations for AASA, which is based in Arlington, Va.

“If the federal government really wanted to do something that would help everybody at the local level,” it would fully fund IDEA, she said.

If the federal government decides to provide substantial funding for IDEA and other programs in the stimulus, it’s likely that education organizations and state policymakers will keep pressure on Congress to continue with the investment even after the economic outlook has brightened.

“We will hold their feet to the fire to make sure they keep full funding,” said Randall Moody, the chief lobbyist for the National Education Association, a 3.2 million member Washington-based union.

Lenovo ThinkPad W700ds Hand-on Shots 0 comments

Lenovo’s ThinkPad W700ds is a notebook PC with two displays, a 17-inch HD display and a 10.75-inch secondary display. There is also a Wacom digitizer. GottaBeMobile has got an ThinkPad W700ds from Lenovo and gets a hands-on look at the laptop.

Lenovo ThinkPad W700ds sports an Intel Core 2 Extreme 2.53GHz processor, 4GB of RAM, 460GB hard drive and a NVIDIA Quadro FX3700M graphic card.

Rebellion dominates education year 0 comments

The year was dominated by rebellion in schools: an acrimonious dispute which virtually closed a secondary school for three weeks and the long-running and increasingly bitter battle over academic selection.

The grammar schools mostly attended by Protestant pupils were first to declare that they would set their own entrance exams, if Education Minister Caitríona Ruane did not offer a replacement to the 11-plus transfer tests.

The final tests took place in November 2008.

This spurred the minister to offer what was described as a transitional arrangement allowing three more years of testing, leading to grammar schools phasing out academic selection.

That has not been voted on by the Assembly and, as it stands, it is unlikely to win the cross-community support it needs.

In the meantime, a growing number of Catholic grammar schools have announced they too will run their own independent entrance exams, in the absence of an acceptable and workable alternative.

The governors of the Catholic schools made the decision, despite the Catholic bishops' stated opposition to independent testing.

Alleged assault

The dispute at Movilla secondary school in Newtownards began over the alleged assault of a teacher by a pupil.

After intervention by the education minister, the children's commissioner and the Assembly's education committee the two sides - the NAS/UWT union and the South Eastern Education and Library Board - went to arbitration at the Labour Relations Agency.

With a mid-term break involved, it was three weeks before the 540 pupils were able to get back to their lessons.

School closures and the threat of closure demonstrate the impact of the shrinking pupil population.

The historic Hilden Integrated Primary school closed after a long battle to save it and Balmoral High School in Belfast closed, even though it had opened only a few years ago.

Poor planning was blamed for its demise.

Lisnasharragh in east Belfast, George Best's old school, also closed down.

For the first time, a funded integrated school had to shut. Armagh College realised it could not recruit enough pupils to make it viable.

Controversy

The Further Education sector was not immune from controversy.

Sixteen colleges have recently been merged to form six large institutions but after struggling with that often- difficult change, four of the six chairmen resigned.

Some said they were unhappy at the scale of unpaid work they were expected to do, but the Department of Employment and Learning said the chairmen should have been aware of the commitment needed.

The Department said it was not possible to offer them payment as the chairpersons of school boards of governors did not get remuneration.

Colleges across Northern Ireland have also lost almost 200 staff because of reorganisation, despite controversy over whether there was enough money in the coffers to pay for enhanced pensions and redundancy deals.

Online Security Check 0 comments

A lot of Internet user are uninformed about basic computer security and feel no need to protect themselves from online threats. The Getsafeonline website is a part of a campaign launched in 2005 by the British Government and is sponsored by leading businesses such as eBay, HSBC and Microsoft.It offers home and business users free advice on online security and cover topics such as writing business security plans, installing anti-virus software and preventing spyware from making its way to your computer.
You can browse through security and privacy-related quizzes and gauge how safe you are online.

Link: www.getsafeonline.org

I.Tech Virtual Keyboard 0 comments

I.Tech Virtual Keyboard leverages the power of laser and infared technology to project a full-size, working virtual keyboard onto any plane surface.As you type on the laser projection, the unit automatically analyses what you have tapped on by the coordinates of that location.The virtual keyboard employs Bluetooth technology to pair with devices such as laptops and mobile phones and is a very convenient means for typing messages on the go.Moreover, it comes with adapters for Palm and Pocket PC handhelds,USB,serial and a power cable for charging the device

Link: www.microcenter.com

Iqua Sun Bluetooth Wireless Headset 0 comments

At first glance, The Iqua Sun looks like a fairly ordinary Bluetooth Headset.However, closer examination of the device reveals the small solar panel tucked neatly in front, which converts ambient light into useful power for charging the battery and doubles as an on/off and answer/hangup button, giving the headset theoretically, an infinite standby time.What's more, the headset also comes with AC and USB power cords for conventional charging.This unique gadget not only supporting answering, ending and rejecting calls, but also features last number redial, voice dial, call mute and volume control functions.

Link: www.amazon.com

Canon EOS 5D Mark II suffering from black dots and banding noise 0 comments

Camera enthusiasts who went out and bought Canon’s latest EOS 5D Mark II have been disappointed to find it is suffering from two major problems.

The first problem is black dots that appear on the right side of point light sources when an image is taken at night. You can’t see the dots if you review the image on the camera, but if you enlarge it on your PC or by having prints made then they are clearly visible.

The second problem is vertical banding noise. This occurs only when you are recording in sRaw1 format and depends on the settings of the camera. Canon has setup a support page explaining the problems in detail and suggesting ways to reduce the banding issue.

At the moment they are still looking into what causes the black dots and will post their findings as soon as they figure out what is wrong. In the meantime owners should refrain from shooting night shots if possible.

Read more at the Canon support notice, found via PC Pro

Matthew’s Opinion
I’m sure Canon are hoping that this is something they can fix with a firmware update. If it isn’t then this could be a very expensive recall for the company depending on what it has to do to solve the problem in the cameras.

In their testing before the camera was released you would think the issues would have been spotted, especially the banding problem. The black dots may have been missed because the tests just checked the images on the camera and not via prints or a PC.

One thing is for sure, in future Canon will be carrying out more stringent testing on its hardware before releasing it to the public. This incident may turn out to be costly, but also hurts their reputation as a quality camera manufacturer.

Motion Activated Lawn Sprinkler 0 comments

I wish I had one of these last spring when raccoons were digging up my lawn. It's a motion activated lawn sprinkler, for the express purpose of scaring away garden pests such as raccoons, dogs, cats, and other animals. When triggered by its infrared day-or-night motion sensor, it sprays a forceful stream of water at the intruders.

Philips DECT Digital Baby Monitor 0 comments

Having suffered through two kids worth of basic, no-frills baby monitors, I now greatly appreciate the features that Philips have built into their new DECT digital baby monitors. DECT stands for Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunication, and it's basically the same technology built into high-quality digital cordless phones. Unlike the older-style baby monitors I had to use before, this one has zero interference from nearby monitors or other devices in or around the home. It's also a totally private connection -- the neighbors can no longer listen in.

Recently featured in Time Magazine, the Philips DECT Baby Monitor features a two-way intercom so you can communicate with your child directly from the handset, an integrated thermometer reads ambient room temperature and displays it on the handset and base, 5 different lullabies are controllable from the handset, a nighlight is controllable from the handset, and rechargeable batteries with up to 12 hours operation between charges.

Also included are a belt clip, neck cord, zippered travel bag, and a lifetime guarantee.

Hauppauge USB Digital Terrestrial Receiver DEC2000-T 0 comments

Its a good job the black box police haven't looked under your TV recently, Video / DVD / HiFi / DTT receiver / PVR where does it all end!

What if you want to control some of this from a PC or laptop, this is quite a logical step as a PVR (personal video recorder) is just a big hard disk with a video capture card (a bit like a PC then) and combining a DTT or Digital satellite recorder is another easy step. Hauppauge has been making PC cards for the last few years staring with analogue TV cards and moving into digital satellite, however PC cards don't suite all applications and Laptops have little space for them.

The Hauppauge USB Win TV DEC2000t product deals with this by keeping the DTT receiver outboard in a neatly styled unit that connects to your laptop or PC via USB, from your machine you have full control over the decoder or you can use the supplied remote control to drive the unit directly. The Hauppauge decodes the full UK DTT multiplexes giving 30 channels of "Freeview TV" and a selection of digital radio stations and displays this on your PC or via a scart output on the rear of the unit for direct connection to a screen or projector.

The supplied Win TV software allows for 16:9 or 4:3 viewing and does a fairly good job of decoding a quality MPEG2 stream, its rare for the unit to have any stalls in decoding unlike many of the current crop of black box DTT decoders. The inbuilt record facility can be set to wake and record at a set time or a quick one button press will switch into record mode, recordings are named with the channel and record time. One feature that is missing as standard is the ability to link to a web based EPG, the option given is an interface to TVTV.co.uk which at 19.80 Euros including VAT for a year isn't bad but would it hurt to give year one in the price?

It is a fairly sophisticated bit of software and you can use the online listings for free @ www.tvtv.co.uk the integration applet available from the Hauppauge site allows you to mark programmes on the web to be recorded and then download them to your PC ready to run as a job list, of course this isn't really a patch on Sky+ but then we aren't subscribing to sky are we!

In terms of EPG the now next is displayed on screen and the guide can be accessed to show you information provided by broadcasters about the programme you are viewing. There is also a timed delay feature where you can start recording while you go make tea etc and then pickup from where you left off, the recording quality is configurable and at its highest setting a 30gb disk could hold 20 hours of programmes.

Downsides are getting hold of a DEC2000t they are getting a little rare now, the DEC1000 is cheaper but still quite good but without some of the hooks and features, otherwise for a technically minded user the DEC2000t is a dream to drive and worthy of our recommendation.

Humax Foxsat Freesat Review 0 comments

The credit crunch may be starting to press but the last thing to go is the Sky package. Strange as it may seem satellite TV clings on long after life's other luxuries have been consigned to the bin and we have started to look in the dented tins bin at the supermarket. So the box on review this week may come as a welcome surprise, satellite TV that uses your standard mini dish without a contract, welcome to freesat and the Humax
Foxsat HD Set top box.

HD is certainly a must have if you are buying a new TV but when combined with a Freeview box you could be waiting a few years before you get a terrestrial HD signal. So if you want true HD telly you need satellite from Sky or now freesat. Freesat currently has just over 130 channels and is adding them at a rate of about 5 a week, it won't be long before they have all the Freeview channels plus many more free to air ones. Lastly the killer blow is that freesat will start to feature Freesat only channels like the ITV HD service that will not go up on Sky.

Sat under our TV this week is the freesat box the market has been waiting for the Humax Foxsat HD. The early freesat units were from global brands like Alba and Bush, hardly a good way to launch a new service and the forums were fully of flaky box stories. Humax however is a different league and you can tell this from the moment you start up the Foxsat. Measuring 280 x 45 x 200mm the Foxsat HD is a small unassuming box that will sit under the TV, its green LCD display is easy to read and there is a small red LED to show the standby mode.

The setup wizard guides you through and all it needs is your postcode to get started, once verified it starts to use the Freesat EPG data to check through the same transponders that BSkyB uses to uplink the shared services. The beauty of this is that Freesat uses the same 28.2 / 28.5 degree orbital slot so you can use the existing mini dish you have hanging off the wall at home. Just unplug the cable from an existing Sky box or where the skybox may once have been and plug it into the Humax Foxsat HD.

The first tune took around 2 minutes and prompted us to save the channels at the end having found 133 in total, these are a mixture of TV and radio. Our first glimpse of the EPG proved that this is no Sky+ but it's no ugly duckling either, its pretty swift, readable and easy to navigate too. Soon we had BBC services on screen looking colourful and clear as good as any Sky box we've seen. The BBC's HD service is available and the Humax has full HD connectivity via HDMI, YPbPr or Scart, worth noting that the box will stop you watching some services if you have the scart enabled as party of a copy block system. The set top box supports 1080i, 720p, 576p, 576i resolutions and so is fully equipped for all the announced services.

Humax HD set top boxAudio is acceptable even when using the digital optical output it lacks a bit of oomph and could be accused of sounding thin which is most noticeable on movies or music, this applies to both SD and HD programmes.

Humax boast a low power consumption in standby of under 1 watt, which is still not excuse for leaving it on 24/7 but as so many people do its good to know its not eating too much. Also worth noting that the Foxsat does not come with an HDMI lead you'll need to buy one if you want to watch HD on your set using HDMI.

Overall Humax have done a good job with a solid if not sexy set top box, it does the basics well receiving Freesat and displaying quality images and passable sound all with an easy to use EPG. We fully expect Freesat to be up to nearly 200 channels by Christmas and perhaps even a few Freesat only services, what we really like is the unique mix of Freeview favourites like More 4 and some of the Satellite only services on one box. There is also a Freesat PVR unit on its way, a kind of Freesat+ box that will record programmes from the epg.

Sony NWA S639 Review 0 comments

Unless you have been living on mars there is no doubting you'll know what the BBC iPlayer is, what you may not know is that its spreading like a popular virus and infecting all sorts of devices and services. First iPlayer was web only, then Virgin TV took it and some handheld devices and now we see it on the Sony NWA-S639. Well when we say "see it" we mean it works running on the 16gb MP3 and MP4 player from Sony, not that Sony has any amazing deal with the BBC.

Back to the device up for review the Sony NWA-S639, this is a 16gb MP3 player pitched squarely at the iPod Nano market and that's quite an intense battle ground. measuring 42 x 89 x 7.5mm and styled a bit like a mobile phone (not accidentally) the Sony fits nicely in the hand, weighing 46grams it wont dent your top pocket as its around half the weight of a candybar mobile phone.

Sony have this strange way of building a base MP3 player and the adding features and styling to differentiate the upper models, the same is true here as the New S630 series looks not dissimilar to the S600 but you do get a much nicer brushed aluminium front panel and not plastic. At just over 7mm thick the 630 series is also a lot slimmer than previous models and is now not out of place amongst its competitors and in no way needing of a visit to fat fighters.

Inside its sturdy and yet seductive shell lies 16gb of storage good for 3,800 MP3 tracks and this being the most open Sony player yet it handles MP3, WMA and ACC audio without needing conversion or locking you into the old Sony Atrac formats. The S630 goes beyond being a mere MP3 player and claims to bull a fill DAP (digital audio player) supporting a few video formats including WM9, MPEG-4, MPEG-4/AVC and MP4, which is where the iPlayer comes in but more on that later.



We started by loading up the S630 series via USB, which was both quick and efficient. Gone are the days of having to load the bloated sonic stage software Sony used to push and now if you choose you can just drag and drop onto the device folders. Or our chosen approach which was to use windows media player 11, which many of you will already have and is also included on the disk supplied in the packaging. This simply detects the player and shows it as a portable device allowing you to sync all or part of the collection from your PC.

One we had a collection of files on the S639 it was time to fire up and being some serious testing. First impressions are good, the user interface is intuitive but weirdly we found it had a marmite effect in the office (you either love it or hate it), quite why was unclear but those with iPods hated the buttons and missed the click wheel interface, those who had avoided the Apple liked the Sony and thought it easy to use like a mobile. The menu system is quick to navigate and is a mixture of icon driven and lists which we soon got the hang of, our only gripe is why the settings are buried so deep in the menu system, its best to go down there and set everything 1st or you'll be in and out continually.

So onto some listening tests, we have to say that Sony keeps getting better and this latest evolution of their network walkman sounds great. testing with 192kbps MP3 tracks and our trusty Shure E2C earphones (not the ones supplied) music of all genres sounded great, punchy and yet balanced. Right up to the upper limits of volume and of course within what EU laws permit the Sony NWA-S639 delivers. Sony do packs the S630 series with an array of toys that while fashionable in Japan may not translate as well here, if you use the Top Gear cool wall rule explaining the magic of DSEE and the dynamic normaliser to a girl is sure to send her running. Plus in our tests these features made no noticeable difference to a well encoded MP3 file. Again we see Sony has not provided gapless playback which is a shame and will upset all those who listen to mixes and mashups as you will get a gap between each file.

One feature worth a mention is the SenseMe this lets the S639 sort out your music into categories such as Pop Ballad, Relax, Extreme, Energetic, Classical, Electronic, Acoustic, Daytime and Lounge. Nothing new as its been on the Sony Ericsson walkman phones for a while and seems to take ages to do its processing (several hours if you have the full amount of tracks) but it is quite accurate and a nice way to browse music.

New to this series is podcast support and this is accessed from the UI via a new podcast icon, its taken Sony a while to catch on to podcasts but we are placed they have now and you can easily find those that you have transferred to your network walkman in one place. If you run out of music and podcasts there is an FM radio which seems to have ok reception.

Video is the big seller for the NW-S630 series and the perhaps overblown iPlayer inegration. Now we though that iPlayer being stamped all over the adverts would mean you could connect to the BBC servers and watch TV. However with no WiFi or Bluetooth this was not on the cards. In fact what we are talking about here is downloading for a "mobile device" from iPlayer which gives you a 7 day license to watch the video on your Sony player. It is fairly manual but again you can use windows media player to sync over the iPlayer videos to the Sony and this works well.

Soon we were watching spooks on the 2.0" QVGA LCD screen in landscape mode, while its not a TV the 2" screen does its best and would easily help pass the time on a train journey or in the car (providing that you are not driving). Also another plus point for the Sony not immediately apparent is that it works well while inside a protective case, something you may want to consider if you use it a lot out and about. The buttons operate just fine through a sleeve or covering unlike the iPod.

Sony claim an audio only battery life of over 40 hours, but you should be aware this is with all the features switched off and with low bit rate MP3 files as well, so we'd doubt real life operation would see 40 hours, that said around 15 hours of playback over 3 days saw us at 50% battery usage. Also worth noting that the battery is non replaceable and while lithium Ion it will eventually die and lime the iPod you will need a new device if you don't want to send it on holiday for a new battery.

For those eco warriors dropping in to Lordpercy.com turn away from the screen now, there is a nifty feature for instant on, instead of waiting for it to boot up the Sony just goes into a sleep mode for 24hrs and leaps into life at the press of a button. this does consume some battery power (like standby mode) but it saves waiting all those extra seconds when you switch on.

Overall Sony have done a great job with the NWA-S639 or the Sony NWZ-S639FB to give it the exact title, perhaps this is Sony biggest failing when pitched against the iPod, but while style and marketing may not be up to the Apple standard the player is more than a match.

Plus the 16gb version is available right now (December 08) for just £88 and at that price its a steal.

Buy Here

Link: Amazon

Watch Camera Cell Phone Hyundai W-100 0 comments

We're on a new integration kick - multi-function gadgets are the new thing. The Hyundai W-100 cell phone watch has a 1.3MP camera, touch screen, and Bluetooth. Apparently the perfect watch will be available in English and Chinese, and sports microSD for expansion for MP3 audio and video playback. Battery life is sure to suck but for everything this new gadget packs on your wrist, we're likely not to care too much so long as it will go a day on a single charge.

Link: Akihabara News

Win a Dirt Devil KWIK USB Vacuum Desk Cleaner 0 comments

Have you checked out the new USB powered vacuum cleaner from Dirt Devil called the "KWIK?" It's designed to live in your work area or entertainment system and cleanup crumbs from keyboards, pet fur, dust in gaming equipment, entertainment centers, and other expensive electronic equipment.

GadgetMadness has teamed up with Dirt Devil during their "12 Days of Cleaning Sweepstakes" where from now until December 12th you can win your very own KWIK vacuum. Contest details are below, winners to be notified daily by Dirt Devil via email. You can enter once per day, so good luck!

* Sweepstakes drawings will be held every day December 1-12
* Readers can submit one entry form per day to win a KWIK vacuum
* Winners will be randomly selected at 3 p.m. EST the day following the drawing from a database of eligible entry forms
* Prize winners will be notified via the e-mail address provided with entry submission
* The drawing is open to residents of the U.S. only

New Apple iPod Touch - Gaming Handheld In Disguise? 0 comments

TouchArcade reports that the new 2nd Generation Apple iPod Touch has the fastest 3D rendering performance of all devices in its class, making it even faster than the new iPhone 3G in this regard:

The most clear difference is that fact that the iPod Touch’s processor was quietly boosted to 532MHz (up from 412MHz) with the 2nd generation model introduced in September. Meanwhile, the iPhone 3G, Original iPhone and 1st Generation iPod Touch continue to run at the original 412MHz. Though not the intended purpose, this video from Handheld Games Corp shows that the app load time of the 2nd Generation iPod Touch is notably faster than the 1st Generation model.

It seems that there are additional factors, however, as there are performance differences even found between the models that run at the same speed. The models rank in the following order (fastest to slowest) for 3D rendering, with the 2nd Generation iPod Touch being the fastest “by far”.

We love Apple's discreet way of introducing products that offer enhanced functionality like gaming without shouting "Hey look now it does this too!" from the rooftops. The new Touch is easily our favorite gadget of the year so far - with the ability to check email, browse the web, play games, view photos, listen to music and watch videos AND run cool apps we're as happy as we can be!

Link: http://toucharcade.com

The Nokia N97 0 comments

If ever the Google G1 Phone and the iPhone were to have a love child, this would be the Nokia N97. The Nokia N97, according to Cell Phone Reviews, is Nokia's latest attempt at a touchscreen phone but with the added bonus of a physical QWERTY keypad.

Looking over at Cell Phone Review's Nokia N97 Review, reveals that this device has a large 3.5 inch screen with only one physical button on front. The slide out keyboard has only minimal buttons but is evenly spaced so I'm sure that a lot of people with large fingers (myself included) won't have any problems typing on this device. It also has everything that the iPhone 3G has to offer plus more like WiFi, 3G, GPS, Bluetooth, and the extra features include TV out and a 5 megapixel Carl Zeiss camera.

Not bad and I'm glad that Nokia was able to make the Nokia N97 thinner compared with the HTC Touch Pro. The Nokia N97 is expected to be released early in 2009 so let the waiting begin.

Two ways to connect to Skype 0 comments

Neither of which is via a PC however both require an Ethernet connection, the first the Belkin Ethernet Skype Phone is wired and the second the Philips VOIP 841 has a wireless link to its base station that connects to the router.



Belkin Ethernet Skype Phone

This looks exactly like a standard office phone. Looks are deceiving as it is a Skype phone and unlike most other Skype phones needs just one thing an Ethernet port. It is not wireless but wired and probably because of that sound to the caller and receiver is excellent.

It is 15cm tall, 18cm wide and 3cm thick. However the phone sits at 45degrees making its display very clear on your desk. The handset is 17x4.5x3cm max and this sits on the left side of the unit. Also unlike a lot of Skype and indeed most mobile phones the display is always visible as it is on the body of the unit.

Once you have plugged in the Ethernet lead (supplied) to your phone and a port on your router you only need to plug the power adapter into the phone. Once it has power it will ask you to login (or create an account) and once your user name and password are entered it can remember them so – if like me – you do not keep it permanently turned on next login is rather quicker.
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On most occasions the router is also off at night so as the phone and router are both connected to the same surge strip I need to retry the login as the phone is up and ready before the router is, the display is clear, bright and easy to read and another advantage you can see messages something that is more than difficult when the display is on the underside of the phone. Just like a normal wired phone lift the receiver to answer.

In use this was a dream, the best reception I have had, the best sound quality, no drop outs and no problems with echo back from the other end whatever the other user is using. Skype out also worked without problem.

So if you are happy to be tied to a phone cord then I heartily recommend this offering from Belkin. Doing my Internet searches found the Belkin Ethernet Skype Phone at a best price of £69.51 from first link below

http://www.amazon.co.uk/

http://catalog.belkin.com