News
Mustek delivers DVD player
17 May 2006
Mustek has launched a new 10-inch LCD DVD player, perfect for keeping the kids entertained in the back of a cramped car.
That's because the 16:9 widescreen tablet MP100 can be neatly folded into on-top display form with the nifty 180-degree swivel mechanism.
Compatible with DivX and MP3 formats, the DVD player is ideal for music and video playback, while it can even display your latest holiday snaps, accepting JPEGs or Kodak Picture CDs.
The USB port and SD memory card reader are also joined by a convenient car-mountable carry bag, allowing everyone to stay entertained on long car journeys and in painful traffic jams.
Other extras include a 12-volt cigarette lighter – not for the kids of course; mini remote control; audio and video cable; adapter; and a pair of earphones to avoid sending the driver completely round the bend with all the noise and excitement.
Weighing in at 1230g, Pocket-lint reports the £249 MP100 is out at the same time as a new Mustek digital camera.
However, CNET didn't think the player was worth its weight in gold. For all of its multimedia prowess, the reviewers found it too heavy, with a pretty poor picture quality and unimpressive viewing angle.
Packed with features, they could still only give it 5.9/10 with a clear conscience.
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Move to Blackburn for fast mortgage payments
17 May 2006
Everyone wants to pay off their mortgage as soon as they can, so it may also pay to consider where in the country to live before choosing that dream home.
We all know that it doesn't come more expensive than our fair capital, but the place in the UK where people can pay for their property quickest is actually Blackburn in Lancashire.
Research from RBS Offset Mortgage takes into account the average price of a property and the average person's income to arrive at an estimate of the mortgage lifetime when making regular monthly repayments. The survey assumes the average homeowner spends around 18.5 per cent of monthly income on mortgage repayments.
With the average home in Blackburn costing £89,982 and the homeowner's average salary standing at £18,356, it takes a remarkable eight years and two months to pay off the loan if you live in the Lancashire town.
Northern towns do particularly well in the top ten, with homeowners in Halifax, Yorkshire, taking just two months longer than people in Blackburn. Scotland comes in third place, with residents of Kilmarnock taking just eight years and ten months.
Karen Snodgrass, head of RBS Offset Mortgages, said of the survey results: "Even if consumers do not live in these areas, there is much they can do to become mortgage free quickly."
She explained that an offset mortgage, where you only pay interest on the difference between the loan and any savings, "can help the average homeowner pay off their mortgage around two and a half years ahead of schedule".
A survey of around ten million British mortgage holders also showed that almost three-quarters (72 per cent) of homeowners described paying off their mortgage as their single greatest financial security concern.
"Our Fastest Mortgage League highlights areas across the UK where anyone aiming to pay off their mortgage quickly, can make this dream a reality," said Ms Snodgrass.
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| Women making more use of MP3s
16 May 2006
Today's women are listening to more music than ever thanks to MP3 players and digital music downloads.
A survey of 1,800 adults by the media group Emap found that almost four-fifths of women reported listening to more music now they have acquired an MP3 player such as one of Apple's iPod range.
More women than men said they had increased their music listening, with just three-quarters of men saying an MP3 player has made them more hungry for music
Over 75 per cent of women between the ages of 16 and 75 say they have either got an MP3 player or mobile phone with the same capability.
This has led Emap to deduce that women could well be the driving force behind a 150 per cent rise in the number of music tracks downloaded in the first three months of this year compared to 2005.
Around 80 per cent of women and 72 per cent of men said they had rediscovered old music they liked through downloads, while 72 per cent of women said they now spent more time surfing the internet for new tracks.
A knock-on effect of the download demand is that more women also seem to be subscribing to music magazines, turning to the experts to help them sort the gems from the rubbish. Women actually represent over half of the readers of the mag Kerrang.
Sophie Watson Smyth, spokeswoman for the music magazine Q said: "The freedom afforded by new technology means that women are now confidently downloading music at home and broadening their musical horizons in private."
She told the BBC that magazines were helping to navigate women through what was becoming an increasingly "cluttered world".
A separate report from Digital Media Europe recently revealed that just under half (49 per cent) of people with an MP3 player have an iPod.
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| Sony shows off Blu-ray laptop
16 May 2006
Sony has today lifted the lid on the first in its range of Blue-ray laptops, offering a powerful alternative to the DVD for playing and recording movies on the move.
The VAIO AR comes in Premium and Standard versions, with Premium promising to play Blu-ray content in pristine 1080p HD resolution. A Blu-ray disc of martial arts movie House of Flying Daggers is included to show the superior quality in all its glory.
The laptop's widescreen display is an impressive 17-inch WUXGA, while the top technology used is Sony's XBRITE Hi-Color. But if the screen just isn't big enough for the movie-experience you're looking for, Sony has helpfully included an HDMI connector and cable to hook the notebook up to the TV for a more intense slice of the action.
Of course the sound and picture quality will make this seriously popular with film fanatics, but it is the aspiring filmmaker who is likely to find it most irresistible. "Combined with unsurpassed storage capability our new Blu-ray Disc enabled notebook computer offers users with limitless creative possibilities," said Sony spokesman Mike Abary.
The VAIO AR is able to record camcorder content to Blu-ray discs, allowing you to edit and share content on 50GB BD-RE Blu-ray discs or the more familiar DVD formats DVD-R/RW and DVD+R/+RW.
An NVDIA GeForce Go 7600 graphics card will also grab the attention of today's gamer, boosting the graphics quality of computer games, as well as TV and DVD playback. The card cones with a mighty 256MB of dedicated video memory.
Shipping with Microsoft Windows Media Center Edition 2005, there is even a built-in television tuner and TV controls to watch and record favourite TV programmes.
Finally, a microphone and camera means you can communicate with your friends using video online.
The chic, shiny, black VAIO AR Premium is priced at $3,500 in the US, with the standard model almost half price at $1,800. No UK pricing details are yet available.
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| Microsoft reveals brain behind gestures
15 May 2006
Microsoft has confirmed the name that will be behind the awesome EyeToy-style extra for owners of the Xbox 360 , GestureTek.
The cool camera will be designed to bring a degree of live action to the gaming experience, letting you use hand and body motions to control the action on the screen.
As well as being great fun, this could finally put an end to the image of gamers hunched over their control pads, rarely seeing any natural light and cut off from the rest of the world. Instead, the gaming experience will become even more sociable and could lead to Xbox owners becoming even fitter than the average guys and girls on the street.
GamesIndustry.biz reports that some of the action to be expected includes snowboarding and volleyball sports games, games where you learn to play musical instruments and even beat-em-up style sequences where you have to dive and dodge bullets and flying kicks.
Microsoft spokesman Aaron Greenberg, said: "Our technology has been thrilling and entertaining users in public and private installations around the world since well before the movie Minority Report popularised the concept of gesture control.
"This offering opens doors to unlimited applications in the gaming experience."
Outlining its vision at the E3 conference recently, Microsoft also demonstrated the great graphics that could be achieved with the latest DirectX 10 technology, set to debut on Windows Vista.
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| Motorola launches red mobile
15 May 2006
Mobile firm Motorola has launched a new, bright red model of one of its phones, the Slvr L7 .
The stylish, bold product is part of pop star Bono's Product Red campaign, getting big companies with massive profits to help in the global fight against AIDS in Africa.
Motorola is the latest in a line of companies to sign up to the idea, joining American Express's red credit card, as well as products from big names in the fashion world, GAP and Armani.
In addition to donating money to a very worthy cause, owners of the sexy Red Motorola Slvr L7 will enjoy quad-band connectivity, a 0.3 megapixel camera, MP3 player and web browser. You can also communicate in a group or hands-free with a Bluetooth speakerphone and enjoy extra download storage capacity courtesy of a TransFlash expandable memory slot. Finally, the Slvr L7 looks great, a streamlined 11.5mm thin, according to CNET.
Available from today (Monday May 15) £10 of the purchase cost (approximately £150) goes straight to The Global Fund for eliminating AIDS in Africa, with five per cent of all call and text charges also going to charity.
All the major network operators are on board too, with the phone being sold at retail outlets run by Vodafone, O2, Orange, BT Mobile, Virgin Mobile, Carphone Warehouse, T-Mobile, Tesco Mobile and Fresh.
Bono said: "RED is a 21st century idea. It's an amazing thing that these companies are doing - lending their creativity and financial firepower to the Global Fund's fight against AIDS in Africa."
Ron Garriques, president of Motorola Mobile Devices, added: "Motorola has been doing business in Africa for more than 30 years and our support of the Global Fund is one way that we're able to give back to the region."
"With every call, every text and every download, consumers will be able to make a difference in the fight against AIDS in Africa every day."
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| Xbox Monthly Product Review
12 May 2006
Back in December last year Microsoft launched its much-hyped Xbox 360, selling out within hours of the shops opening their doors. But there's no need for gamers to chuck their old Xbox in the corner in shame. The Xbox remains one of the truly great games consoles, with multiplayer modes, online opportunities and phenomenal graphics.
Moreover, the powerful 733MHz processor makes it hard to put the control pad down, even if it's just to get to the shops to buy some new games. So today we're taking a look at some of the games out there at the moment to save you the hassle of testing them yourself.
First up it’s the racing demon that is Sega's OutRun 2006: Coast to Coast . An updated version of the favourite arcade game, it's also a follow up to OutRun2, but there's a whole lot more to see and do from behind the wheel. It's fairly simple to play and you won't feel the frustration of constantly bumping into walls and taking ages to accelerate again. Still, you should be prepared to be tossed sky high in an almighty accident if you really need to have your licence taken away! The visuals are pretty good overall, and there's all sorts of different modes, including "heart attack" and "girlfriend" challenges such as dodging incoming UFOs. Gamespot was pretty impressed, giving Coast to Coast a big thumbs-up with 7.9.
From fast cars to cute characters, next up it's Over The Hedge by Activision. Designed with the younger player in mind, this movie-inspired game is also likely to appeal to the young at heart, with quirky dialogue from a colourful collection of woodland creatures. The animals need to adjust to living nearer to humans, with perils to overcome and food to forage for, and there are plenty of cool moves such as stacking the little guys on top of each other in certain situations. Crazy colourful graphics and action-packed missions mean that the only downside is there's sometimes just too much going on, but Gamezone still gave it a big slap on the back with 7.8.
Last up in today's line up is the slick sci-fi game, Rogue Trooper , by Eidos Interactive. Playing a clone fighting to stay alive in a post-apocalyptic poisonous atmosphere, you get to use some amazing weapons to fend off opponents, including a handy backpack containing helpful biochips of captured colleagues' personalities and abilities. This game has advanced line-of-sight AI and online gameplay, while great graphics led users at Metacritic to award it an outstanding 9.1.
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| Gadget Monthly Product Review
12 May 2006
Where would the world be without pointless gadgets? They are an indispensable part of any office desk or study, perfect for fiddling with and wasting time when you know you should be working. Some of them can even come in handy when least expected too. Gadgets also make great presents and with Christmas now just seven months away, it's never too early to start making lists and get in there early.
Here we're getting to grips with a couple of the latest gizmos released, checking out their pros and cons and trying to work out whether they're worth the cash.
The first toy to be tested is the Sega Toys iFish , a little pet robot thing with a tail that swishes back and forth in time to music. Powered by three AA batteries that go into the toy's tummy, you only need to tap a fin and the marvellous minnow goes mental, lighting up, spinning round and bubbling like nobody's business. As the name might suggest you can get the fish to dance to your iPod while it’s plugged in, but the power automatically shuts off after 20 minutes. The volume isn't too bad either, but at $65 in the US the Gadgeteer thought it was a little bit fishy as an investment.
Another iPod speaker follows the iFish, but this time it's in the shape of a ball. The Oregon Scientific iBall has six different dock connectors so it can be used with any iPod out there. You can hook it up to a PC or Mac computer and the ball can even be used to control a 3G connection. The visual display certainly looks good, but it’s a little difficult to decipher and there's a bit of resonance to wrestle with if the volume goes to high. Lordpercy said that the rolling iBall stood out from the crowd of iPod speakers and would be good for the garden in the summer. It was good value for money too at £170. They just thought it could do with being a little bit louder.
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| Nintendo DS Round-Up
11 May 2006
Nintendo recently held its pre-E3 meeting, setting out some success stories so far and new developments in the pipeline. Naturally there was a lot of hype surrounding the new motion sensor Wii console, but you'll be pleased to know the good old Nintendo DS is still doing a roaring trade.
We learnt that some 16 million consoles have been sold since last year's launch, with 1.3 million users of the Nintendo WiFi online service. When it comes to games Nintendogs and Brain Age are selling like hot cakes, and we can look forward to titles such as Yoshi's Island 2, Diddy Kong Racing and Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2 later this year.
But that's for another day. Right now we're checking out what's hot and what's not on the DS today. As usual, we'll be profiling some of the latest releases to help you decide whether they're really worth parting with your hard-earned cash to play.
First up it's Atari's board game update, Monopoly/Boggle/Yahtzee/Battleship . That's right, the four family favourites for a rainy day have made the transition to the Nintendo DS, but should they have stayed in the cupboard? Ace Gamez found them just a little bit dull, even though the classic Battleship came with different funky ship styles, from Viking rowboat to intergalactic starship. Monopoly has the most potential, which means it could also go terribly wrong, and unfortunately Ace Gamez found it a pale imitation of the original. The length of time taken to download for multiplayer mode was enough for them to put it back in the box with a sorry 5/10.
Next we've got the latest in Majesco's Guilty Gear series, Guilty Gear Dust Strikers . This is a more typical battle game, with the option of playing against the computer or challenging your friends to a wireless contest. There are six modes of play, with all 21 of the characters familiar from previous versions of the games. Jumping from floor to floor and avoiding traps, poison, fire and thunder, it's all good family fun, with cool special moves such as Psych Burst and Dust Attack. But the view at metacritic was that the gameplay was disappointingly average, giving it a less than glowing 62/100.
Finally, we've got Nintendo's own Polarium , a puzzle game that works a bit like everyone's favourite, Tetris. There's a two-player mode and you use the Nintendo DS pen to trace the coloured squares through a maze and make them disappear as they keep stacking up. This one is a great one for the kids, with some of the levels fiendishly difficult. Basically it will keep them quiet for ages. You can even make up your own puzzles. The only letdown is the soundtrack, which was enough to put the guys at Kidzworld to sleep.
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| DIY Power Tool Round-Up
11 May 2006
With all those home improvement shows on TV these days, it's easy to get the feeling you're not making the most of your pad. But some people only need to pick up a hammer and DIY disaster strikes. So thank goodness there's all manner of nifty gadgets around these days to help make DIY improvements so much easier.
But whether you're putting up shelves or knocking through walls, with all the models out there, which do you choose? Today we're looking at DIY power tools, sorting those that genuinely make life easier from the ones that will only add to your woes, leaving you red-faced and vowing never to leave your armchair again.
First we've got the neatly compact Black&Decker LI3000 SmartDriver Compact Screwdriver , which should save you considerable labour without breaking the bank. It doesn't need to be constantly recharged and can be kept in the kitchen drawer or glove compartment until called on, although the speed could certainly be improved and there is no clutch or variable control. The LI3000 isn’t meant to be a substitute for a cordless drill, however, and a neat set of accessories persuaded the New Power Tools reviewer to give it three stars.
Rather more expensive at around $100 in the US (£53) is the Porter Cable PIN100 23-Gauge Pin Nailer Kit . Designed for intricate operations, this was described as almost perfect. It was able to shoot truly tiny nails into furniture so that they could hardly be seen. The only thing letting this robust, well-thought-out gun down was a rather feeble trigger, according to New Power Tools, enough to lose it one star with 4/5.
And finally it's the turn of the JCB Household DIY Kit . This budget collection of tools will set you back no more than £60, but should still see you safely through most basic household operations. Some of the tools included aren't quite up to the job, but then you do get a bi-directional power drill thrown in. Pocket-lint was particularly impressed with this feature, penetrating all tested materials except a stone wall. There aren't any screwdriver bits either, which might have been beneficial.
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| PC Round Up (10 May 2006) | | Wireless Round Up (10 May 2006) | | DVD Player Round Up (09 May 2006) | | Camcorder Round Up (09 May 2006) | | Photo Printer Round Up (08 May 2006) | | Home Cinema System Round Up (08 May 2006) | | Speaker round up (05 May 2006) | | Plasma screen round up (05 May 2006) | | PDA Round Up (04 May 2006) | | Vacuum Cleaner Round up (04 May 2006) | | LCD Round up (03 May 2006) | | Game Boy Advance Round up (03 May 2006) | | Mobile phone Round up (02 May 2006) | | MP3 player Round up (02 May 2006) | | PSP Roundup (28 April 2006) | | PS2 Round up (28 April 2006) | | GPS Round up (27 April 2006) | | DVD Recorder Round up (27 April 2006) | | Digital Camera Round up (26 April 2006) | | Media Player Round up (26 April 2006) | | Plasma Screen Round up (25 April 2006) | | Projectors Round up (25 April 2006) | | XBOX360 Games Roundup (24 April 2006) | | Sky and Sony team up for HD cash back (24 April 2006) | |
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