There is of course a whole other debated required to see if such a ‘sweet spot’ exists in the first place; but regardless, the company’s first foray into the ‘on-the-go’ market is certainly an interesting one. The Streak is a 5-inch Android based Tablet that’s designed to empower users to access entertainment social media and a whole range of other services on the move. Set to launch in due, the company who are synonymous with no-frills PCs, claim the device will become a compact and powerful companion for people who want to expand their ability to access their digital lives. The 5-inch touch screen around which the Streak is built, is set to play host to the thousands of games, widgets and applications that are available via the constantly growing Android Market; all of which can be accessed via built-in Bluetooth, WiFi and 3G capability.

Under the surface the Streak leverages Qualcomm’s Snapdragon solution with integrated 1GHz processor, a powerful set-up that combines pocket-portability with enough raw power to perform the kind of basic browsing you’d usually employ a laptop for. On the memory front there’s a built in 2Gb, which isn’t much, but can be expanded to 32Gb via Micro SD. There’s a 5mp digital camera (presumably an inclusion designed to appeal to those who are deterred by poorer performing camera’s on more popular smartphones) as well as built-in Google maps and navigational functionality. However, aside from that there’s really not much to write home about, save for the 5-inch screen that offers the full-screen browsing experience which seems to be Dell’s main selling point.

To be fair the screen is larger than almost any other smartphone on the market and also has more portability than the swathe of tablets that are currently entering stores, so the Streak really does operate a unique position that it’s manufacturers claim. However, it remains to be seen whether it’s a position that will appeal to customers. The Streak sacrifices both the portability and functionality of a smartphone, as well as the user-experience of a tablet; falling somewhere between the two it’s more of a mongrel breed than a best in show, and it’s hard to imagine who the device will appeal to.

Pricing is yet to be announced, but given Dell’s track-record you can at least expect the Streak to be affordable when it is made available via O2 and The Carphone Warehouse from June. Overall, it’s not the worst piece of kit you’ll see this year and the 5-inch screen is great; however I struggle to see the appeal in a device that’s trying to find a niche that isn’t there. Then again, they said that about the iPad and that’s already proving people wrong.

[Source: The sweet spot between iPhones and iPads: the Dell Streak?]

The problem is that the technology is moving so fast that it doesn’t seem quite enough any more. We’re becoming increasingly voracious as far as our media consumption is concerned and this means that we’re changing the way that we access video content. So alongside Freeview, we now demand HD programming, we want access to online catch-up services like BBC’s iPlayer and we crave the ability to stream our own media as and when we please.

It seems like an impossible task but British-based company 3view could have answered our multi-media prayers with what they claim is the world’s first true next generation set-top box.

So what’s so good about this magic little box? Well, it takes all of the technologies that we use to watch media and packs them together in one handy device, giving you unparalleled access to entertainment whether it’s through free to air channels (including HD), seamless connection to the Internet, or via access to files on other devices in your home network.

3view is one of the first set-top boxes to use the new DVB-T2 terrestrial receivers, which let people receive both High and Standard Definition free-to-air channels using a typical domestic digital aerial. In addition to free HD TV the 3view box also allows people to access the most popular video content on the Internet through their television. Full-screen Sky Player, iPlayer and Youtube are just a number of online TV and video services which can be searched and watched using the new 3view device.

The device comes complete with half a terabyte of storage, enough for even the most hardened of sofa surfers; and with built in widgets to access social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook you can even stay connected to your friends even when you’ve got your feet up. So it looks like the 3view seems to have all bases covered and speaking as someone who regularly uses a set-top box, laptop and an Xbox 360 to juggle various media; I can certainly see the appeal of a device that puts you in control of your video and TV content, no matter where it comes from.

Priced at £299 it’s not going to cost you the earth either, and whilst there are undoubtedly cheaper models on the market, few can offer the level of interconnectivity that sets the 3view head and shoulders apart from other set top boxes.

3view is available for pre-order from April 7th at www.3view.com.

[Source: 3view set top box: The answer to multimedia player prayers?]

Alongside the Android 2.1, Samsung have added some nice features including some rich augmented reality content and advanced LBS (Location Based Services). Social networkers are also well catered for with the ‘Social Hub’ feature which connects all of a user’s profiles into one place allowing them to enjoy communications with their friends, colleagues, and families whenever they want and wherever they are.

Wireless N networking is accompanied by Bluetooth 3.0 and standard 3G and HSDPA will be on hand for all of your mobile internet access needs. They’re impressive specs and weighing in at just 118 grams the Galaxy S is also light, especially when you consider the hardware it’s packing and the large screen.

The Galaxy S is no slouch in the looks department either. As with all touch screen smartphones it has got a little bit of the iPhone about it, but it’s impossible for anything to look bad with a screen that looks like it belongs on a widescreen TV rather than a phone.

A release date for the Galaxy S hasn’t been announced yet but Samsung have hinted that it’s likely to hit UK shelves soon, so watch this space.

[Source: Samsung smartphone takes us to a whole new Galaxy]

It’s this market that Packard Bell is looking to reach with their latest desktop offering. The iPower X3.0 has impressive specs with the choice of a Core i5 or i7 processor, up to a mammoth 3TB of storage space and either AMD DirectX 11 or Nvidia DirectX 10 graphics cards. There’s also embedded high-definition audio with multi-channel surround sound which delivers true-to-life sound effects to add to the gaming experience.

But it’s not all about performance and whilst the specs are impressive Packard Bell also scores highly in the looks stakes. The new system turns heads with it’s street-racer inspired design with black coasting, suave red lighting and graphitti-like logo. Functionality is also at the forefront. The Packard Bell iPower X3.0 is equipped with front-mounted buttons and ports to easily access and use key features. All the most important I/O ports and key function buttons are even slanted toward you like a race car control panel for maximum usability. Add the top storage tray providing 2 additional USB ports plus ample space for cameras, smart phones, mp3 players, etc. and all connections to peripheral devices are extremely fast and easy to access. Packard Bell have even made it easy to adapt the machine and thanks to tool-less expansion bays it’s easy to move and swap hard drives.

It’s a lovely looking machine and whilst it may not be every hardcore gamer’s cup of tea, at just £899.99 it’s certainly amongst the more affordable gaming rigs on the market.

[Source: Packard Bell launches the iPower X3.0 gaming rig]

Thankfully though there’s an upgrade on the horizon with USB 3.0 offering a predicted tenfold increase over the file transfer speeds of our current connections. We’ve previously reported on the first PCI-E card to offer the upgrade to 3.0 and now comes the world’s first external hard drive to offer this super-charged technology.  The Hard Drive XS 3.0 comes from Freecom, an award-winning manufacturer of external hard drives and portable storage devices. Using USB 3.0 Freecom claim that their new drive offers transfer speeds of approximately 130 MB/s, significantly faster than existing solutions, enabling users to back up and upload information in a matter of seconds. Measuring only 3.5 inches it’s also one of the smallest desktop drives on the market and weighing in at just 860 grams it’s ideal for those that want to carry their data on the move. But don’t let it’s size fool you. With storage capacities of up to 2TB, the Hard Drive XS 3.0 can hold up to to 400,000 MP3’s, more than 1.3 million digital photos, 400 full DVDs or 2,000 movies; and with the ability to transfer a 5GB movie in just 38 seconds you can backup your data in no time at all.

It even looks good and priced at just £99.99 for the 1TB model it’s good value too. Just a shame then that we’ll have to wait until mid-November for its European release.

————————————————–

Correction – We’ve just heard from the company that the XS 3.0 is actually available immediately in EMEA.

[Source: Freecom’s World first USB 3.0 external HDD]

The DMP-BDT300 will be the company’s first Full HD 3D Blu-ray player as the home entertainment giants jostle to provide us with an increasingly immersive entertainment experience. Panasonic boast that their player features the brand new, exclusively developed UniPhier LSI chip, which helps to process the large volume of Full HD 3D movies. This new UniPhier enables the player to output Full HD images in 1920×1080 resolutions in the so-called frame-sequential method. With this method, the images for left and right eye are displayed in alteration in order to create 3D images, which all sounds pretty impressive.

As you might expect Pansonic promises unrivalled picture quality whether you’re watching movies in all three dimensions or the customary two dimensional output that we’ll one day get nostalgic about. Like seemingly all modern players though, Panasonic have furnished the device with a wireless connection with which you can access a world of apps and widgets to keep you constantly connected with the outside world. It’s a strange idea that seems at odds against the totally immersive home cinema experience that they’re pedalling, and one which I imagine will rely heavily on the type of content they’ve got up their digital sleeves, but for those with the set up the ability to stream content direct from your home network will be appealing.

Whether Panasonic will trump Samsung in the battle for your living room remains to be seen, but we can only welcome the competition and hope that more players will come on the market to drive down what will undoubtedly be an expensive piece of kit.

[Source: Panasonic’s DMP-BDT300 enters 3D Blu-ray market]

Parrot are the world-leaders in wireless products for mobile phones and for those of you that haven’t heard of the AR.Drone yet, it is quite simply a remote controlled helicopter that’s designed for use with the iPhone and iPod Touch. The quadricopter promises to be stable whether flown inside or out and the two video cameras give users a never-before-seen experience as they can zip the drone about all over the place as if you were sitting in the pilot’s seat. It’s a stunning design that incorporates the best of today’s technologies but as Henri Seydoux, the founder and CEO of Parrot explains, it’s also an idea that captures the imagination:

“At Parrot, we have been developing wireless concepts for video games for 4 years. Our first project was a Bluetooth race car. We developed it, but I was not satisfied. A video game should contain part of a dream that I missed with the Bluetooth car. It should fly! So I started with the idea of a quadricopter. With video cameras and a powerful computer, we have developed a very stable drone that is easy to control and flies like a dragon-fly.”

The AR.Drone is undoubtedly a quirky concept, but what really excites me is the idea of it as a new arena in video gaming, one that continues to blur the lines between what’s real and what’s virtual. The user will have to adapt to the real world around them, adjusting for wind and obstacles; and outside of the joy of simply flying the thing the AR.Drone also comes with inbuilt augmented reality. Thanks to this augmented reality, it’s possible to recreate a range of scenarios such as an aerial fight between two quadricopters and Parrot is also opening up the Drone as a platform for software developers which in theory will lead to the development of a range of  games, challenges and utilities in the same way that the App store has for the iPhone.

In a world where superlatives are often overused it’s no stretch to say the AR.Drone truly is a ground breaking bit of kit, and so it’s easy to see why so many people are getting excited about it.

[Source: Parrot AR.Drone – When video games become reality]

Over the years however, the laptop has been adopted in the home too as music, casual Internet surfing and even movie-watching has shifted to these mobile machines; and even if you’re not an important businessman who’s constantly on the move, your computer still needs to travel with you, even if it’s only to cover the relatively short distance from your sofa to your bed. But the problem with the compact technology that allows you to explore your digital world from the snugness of your own duvet, is that it can also affect your enjoyment of it, with tinny speakers and overheating processors that can leave you with mediocre sound and comfort at best.

This is where Logitech’s new Lapdesk N700 comes in. The Lapdesk helps to transform your laptop into something more akin to a cinema, and all from the comfort of your own lap. It’s the company’s first all-in-one laptop accessory containing integrated stereo speakers, a built-in fan and also a wide padded base to ensure maximum comfort.
Unlike most laptop speakers, the Lapdesk offers two built-in high-definition speakers with 2-inch high-performance speakers. Specially designed for notebook computers, the stereo speakers are precisely positioned on either side of your laptop to give you rich sound and powerful bass. And, because they connect through a single USB cable, there’s no cable clutter or the hassle of moving and setting up external speakers.

While you’re enjoying entertainment on your laptop, the Lapdesk also helps to keep you comfortable. Whether you’re on the sofa or in bed, the viewing angle of your screen and the padded base help you sit in a more comfortable position. Meanwhile, a quiet, efficient fan circulates air under your notebook, and the heat-shielding design helps to keep laptop heat off your legs, preventing the slow-cooking of your nether regions that’s normally associated with prolonged laptop usage.

Coming in at around £70 it’s not the cheapest accessory on the market but given the quality of the speakers and the straightforward ‘plug and play’ connectivity it’s an ideal solution for anyone who regularly uses their laptop for film, music or gaming.

[Source: Logitech Lapdesk brings cinema to your lap]

Thankfully the Universal Multi-Charger from One-For-All is on hand, promising as it does to solve the problem of charger clutter whilst helping out the old environment in the process. The Universal Multi-Charger will charge up to three devices simultaneously, with no messy wires and an LED light for the individual charge slots. Once each battery is fully charged, that slot shuts down automatically and the light goes out – so, as well as saving energy, you can tell the charging process is complete without having to check the device’s display. The device even uses turbo charge technology which can help to reduce charging time by up to 25%

The Multi-Charger works with mobile phones, PDAS, digital cameras, game players and practically any other device that needs regular recharging. The charger comes with interchangeable tips to suit all major brand devices and tips compatible with less popular models can also be ordered online, the manufacturers even claim the device will be ‘future proof’ to as they plan to release new tips as and when products are released.

In the world of wireless charging provided via the PowerMat the Universal Multi-Charger may not be the sexiest product on the market but what it lacks in aesthetics it more than makes up for in practicality. With all of us increasingly aware of our impact on the environment the Multi-Charger even ticks the green box, though coming in at a RRP of £59.99 it’s far from an affordable option for most.

[Source: Charger clutter? One For All launch universal multi-charger]

Currently leading the field is Samsung. The manufacturer was the first to introduce the technology in 2007 with the launch of the world’s first 3D capable plasma television, and over the past two years has been investing heavily in 3D image processing. Now, entertainment enthusiasts can enjoy the fruits of this labour in the BD-C6900, one of five new Blu-ray players launched by the manufacturer in Las Vegas last week and winner of the 2010 CES Best of Innovations Award.

With Blu-ray players now starting to become old hat, 3D Blu-ray is the next big thing in home entertainment and Samsung’s new player will be the first to feature built-in 3D playback. The player is compatible with Samsung’s new 3D HDTVs and upcoming 3D Blu-ray disks, but as you’d expect from a top of the range model it’s also a big step up from current 2D players and promises unrivalled picture quality and faster loading times. It even looks the part and alongside its sleek and stylish design it’s even got a transparent cover that allows you to see the disk spin as it plays. Like the manufacturer’s new TVs the player also shows off the latest incarnation of the Internet@TV platform which provides viewers with a gateway to a multitude of entertainment ranging from Video, Music, Social Networking, News and Games.

It’s the first out of the blocks as far as 3D Blu-ray goes and the finer details and price are still to be announced but the BD-C900 certainly offers a tantalizing glimpse into the future of home entertainment.

[Source: Samsung first out of blocks with 3D Blu-ray]