On August 9th Taiwan-based technology giant ACER release the Stream, their newest smartphone, and it looks set to be the firmest indication yet that they are ready to take announce themselves as genuine contenders in this ultra competitive market.

The phone itself, like every other Tom, Dick and Evo, uses the Google Android system, which of course means its ultra familiar to most us out there. Although it will be loaded with Android 2.1 on release, ACER have told us that version 2.2 (also called Froyo, obviously) will be available to upgrade to around a month after the phone is released.

Looks-wise, smart simplicity is the key with minimal buttons and an easy to navigate interface that has been completely revamped by ACER since their last smartphone release. The black matt design also should stop it becoming marked or scratched. The screen is a decent size at 3.7” and according to this press release right here has the capability to display a mindboggling 1.67 million colours. Now, hands up if you knew that many colours even existed?

Behind the screen is a 5 megapixel camera, and a 720p video with enables HD quality recordings. The phone boasts 2GB’s of internal Flash memory too, so there shouldn’t be any problems storing your pictures and videos. Powering this is the 1GhZ Snapdragon processor which all ensures the programs open swiftly, and that there is little problem with multt-tasking. It also gives the Stream considerably more oomph than the Google Nexus One and Desire which boast only 512MB of storage space.

Being an Android, obviously you have access to Google applications like Maps which for any City-dweller is essential for finding that elusive watering hole where the object of your affections waits impatiently. Other standard applications you can expect from it are 2.1 Bluetooth, stereo FM radio and an inbuilt Micro USB port so you can synch it all up with your PC.

It’s got a recommended price of £399.99; pretty standard for a phone of this power. Interestingly, it will only be available from expansys.com, so don’t expect to run out to Carphone Warehouse on the 9th and find it gleaming at you.

All in all, the ACER Stream looks a safe bet to carve itself a niche in the smartphone market. It’s got the features required to make it stand out but, as with everything, it’s all very good on paper so we will have to wait until next month to see if it comes good on its potential. Early reviews of it have been generally positive, and they have been with early edition handsets that chug somewhat slower than the Stream at full pace.

[Source: Acer Stream – just another Android smartphone?]

I quite like History Pin. It’s a thoroughly ‘nice’ idea- it’s roots seem, certainly on the surface, to be based in the force for good. Conceived by the well-meaning folk at the not-for-profit We Are What We Do, it is as an attempt to put Google Maps and Street View in some historical context by allowing users, through the www.historypin.com site to ‘pin’ pictures of theirs onto the existing map to create a interactive picture archive of any given place through the ages.

We Are What We Do are the people behind the infamous 2007 ‘I’m Not A Plastic Bag’ creation, designed by Anya Hindmarch, which sold out at Sainsbury’s in record time. They also published the million selling Change The World For A Fiver book back in 2004, so it is safe to assume that they are a company who’s aims are genuine. The fact that they managed to convince Google to let them use Google Maps and Street View gives you an idea of the respect they hold within the industry.

Putting the pictures up has been made agreeably simple, with the only necessity for signing up and being able to pin photos being a Googlemail account which, lets be honest, is pretty standard these days anyway. From there it’s the kind of everyday upload system that Granny could work if she put her mind to it. You can also upload a story to accompany each picture, explain it, who is in it and help place the picture in its proper perspective for the user. The website is still in its beta stage so is obviously not full and many of the more obscure and not so obscure towns I searched for were still awaiting pictures, but this is to be expected at this early point.

Emotions are torn somewhat with Historypin. On the one hand, you can see where they are coming from when they say they want ‘to get people from different generations [to] share more and come together more often.’ Google obviously see the potential in it, with their marketing manager Kate Hammond describing it as a ‘remarkable project.’ And there is relevance in what they are saying- at the end of the day we’re all looking for ways for different generations to share their experiences, learn from each other and close the ‘gap’. It just all seems, to these eyes anyway, a bit of a big deal about a website that is not doing anything particularly interesting. From a purely personal level, I can’t imagine I’ll ever have any desire to use the site, nor to sit down with those I know who can still remember the war and flick through it in the hope of finding some lost memory that we can wax lyrical about- that’s what cups of tea and Sunday roasts are for. But I’m loathe to slate it as it is a nice idea, learning about your history undoubtedly helps you learn about the present and, at the end of the day, it’s charity. In 30 years perhaps, when every Grandparent has grown up using the internet and non-digital photographs are as long forgotten a concept as DVD, it will fulfil its potential.

[Source: History Pin – pictures from the past]

Them at Panasonic have pre-empted Freeview HD being rolled out across the country by releasing an absolutely marvellous bit of kit in the DMR-XW380. Seemingly a cross between Sky Plus and a DVD player, this brand new gizmo will enable you to record programs from Freeview HD channels onto its hard drive and then, if you wish, transfer that onto a DVD with the quality of picture not being compromised. Reviews of the clarity of the picture once it’s transferred have been unanimously positive, with the grandly named High Definition Chroma Processer seemingly ensuring lines stay crisp and edges sharp.

Often the problem with these kind of digital TV recording facilities is that if you are recording something you cannot watch another channel (which, to these eyes, seems to slightly negate the point of the whole thing, but lets not get bogged down in that eh?). Thankfully the DMR-XW380 has swerved this whole problem marvellously by not just allowing you to watch another digital channel, but allowing you to record another digital channel. Oh, praise be to God in the Highest! What a stunning development this is. For football fans already salivating at the prospect of a month of ignoring their other half and garnering another excuse to drink beer during the World Cup, this means the whole experience can be lengthened. Two games on at the same time? Not a problem mon frère! Watch one (record if its England), watch the other straight after. If you think about it logically, taking into account half-time and pre/post match reflection this would enable you to avoid any kind of meaningful, non-football related conversation for at least four and a half hours. That’s more or less an evening for most people, which enables them to skip all that mucky, soulless hows-your-day smalltalk, and get right down to the good stuff before the bliss of boozy slumber.

Of course, the plus points don’t just finish here. Any Sky Plus fan worth their salt will rhapsodise at length about the innocent joy of being able to pause live TV. If they don’t they’re probably lying about having it in some cock-eyed attempt to be ‘cool’ and in fact run away screaming to Mummys breast any time ‘people start coming out of that little black box. ’ Well, the DMR-XW380 has this capability in the form of its cryptically named Rewind Live TV function, which will enable you to rewind over two hours back to the scene of your choosing (no jumpy Body Of Evidence shots for the next generation of UK teenagers).

It’s all delivered in Dolby Digital/Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 channel surround sound and users can, if they wish, use subtitles on all recordings. There’s also a bevy of extra features- you can upload images and movies from your digital camera, you can use it to watch videos on sites like Youtube. One particularly snazzy snippet is its DLNA server functionality which enables you to connect it to compatible devices in other rooms, so even the most unfriendly of house-sharers can bear the fruits of their work at Panasonic HQ.

It would seem the only sticking point is the price- £550. It seems an awful lot especially when you know it’ll be half that in a couple years. Of course that’s not really the point-the sort of person that really desires these functions now won’t give two bananas about the price. And for them, it seems, the DMR-XW380 will be nothing but a Godsend.

The DMR-BW880EBK and BW780EBK Freeview+HD Blu-ray Disc™ Recorders are also available and feature in the lovely picture above.

[Source: Panasonic high definition DVD recorder for Freeview+HD: ideal for the World Cup]

It seems everyone’s in the iPhone camp or the Blackberry camp in these halcyon days of smartphone wizardry, and anyone that resides out of the two camps can expect to be pitied, sniggered at behind closed doors and, ultimately, have sex less often. However, Blackberry’s new swanky new Pearl 3G seems to be their punt at grabbing these poor fools, these on-the-fence’ers and, while Blackberry purists might shrink from it and stick to their Bolds’ and their Curves’, it seems a good bet to these bloodshot eyes.

So come on, you shout. What’s the difference? What can they really do to change this mobile trailblazer? Well, it’s very simple. The pad. To those not in the know [snigger], Blackberry has a Qwerty keyboard. It’s amazing, game-changing; if your life is fairly vacuous and empty of love and creativity it may just change it. Once you have the Qwerty permanently at your fingertips, you realise the thought of pressing one,two,three times just to get to sodding F is a waste of time, of life; a commodity that Iggy Pop is paid a fat wedge to tell us is so precious. However, not everyone seems to think so as according to the press release ‘three quarters of the people in the global mobile phone network are still buying handsets with a traditional alphanumeric keypad.’ Introducing a keypad to try and tempt these luddites over to the Blackberry camp would therefore seem a fairly obvious move, if one that this Blackberry devotee sees as some antithetical to the point of the Blackberry in the first place. It’s all about taking your life, by extension your office, with you in the most natural way possible. Tapping three times to get that F is not natural. But then I’m not the target market.

It looks friendly, you can’t argue with that. Weighing in at only 3.3 ounces its never going to weigh you down and with its slimline, Nokia-esque shape its not as imposing as the traditional models. If the Curve is the Daddy Blackberry, this is the Teenage Daughter With An Older Boyfriend Blackberry. The phone’s industry promo also hints at this, kicking off with a long look through its abilities to store and play music. A pronounced move away from its traditional mobile office USP, its all a big attempt to make the Blackberry less staid, less serious, a little more (whisper it) iPhone. Even the dancing people in the promo is a blatant steal from those horribly chipper Apple ads.

It’s got all the normal features- 624 Mhz processor, 256MB Flash Memory, 3.2 Megapixel cameral, 360×400 sharp resolution, and its all presented in a slightly bigger, ostensibly more user-friendly desktop screen. Obviously it’ll synch with your social media, as well as Windows Media Player and iTunes. One major new feature that will be interesting to test is the new trackpad control, instead of the famous Blackberry trackerball. The trackerball is truly the gift and the curse; at first it makes scrolling and navigating the screen the smartphone control equivalent of Kerry Katona. Easy. But if that trackerball becomes wet or stuck! Woe betide your sorry, unconnected soul as you press, prod and spin that cruel vixen in the hope that it’ll come back to life and you’ll be able to make that vital Tweet. The trackpad will supposedly do away with this bane of the Blackberry user’s existence, though whether that’ll be at the expense of ease of movement will be the important thing.

All in all, the new Blackberry Pearl 3G seems like a win-win update. Longstanding Blackberry users will swerve it and stick with the models they like. Younger newbies will be sucked in by its unimposing looks, musical features and keypad. Either way, its clear them head bods know what they’re doing. Long live Blackberry.

[Source: A bite-sized smartphone – the Blackberry Pearl 3G]

Any environmentally friendly invention has to be admired. We can all realise the use and relevance of the solar panel, the wind turbine and the electric car because it is obvious to even the most lay of planet-keeper that what they are doing is essentially good; that there is worth in their existence. Beneath such obvious examples, there is a whole industry of products being invented by eco-minded individuals desperate to do their bit to help save the world whilst making a sly buck. Thus, it is just as important that we recognise the job that they are trying to do, and that if all these inventions did click and become household names then it’s a bit more likely that we’ll still have a half-decent planet kicking around in 200 years.

Joining this industry is the SOWAT ashtray a portable ashtray from France. The SOWAT (standing for Smoke Only With AshTray) is basically a plastic holder/clip for your fag packet. You slip your packet in and, running adjacent of the back of the pack is a small pop-out tray. This, in theory is where you stash your smoked cigarettes, which you can then dispose with later in an appropriate place. And therein lies the raison d’être of the SOWAT; it is there to stop the everyday smoker putting their 11 o’ clock fag out in the street. According to the press release, some 7,000 cigarettes are dropped in the Square Mile every day, whilst a mind-boggling 845,000 tonnes of butts are discarded worldwide every year. C2C, the Lyon-based team behind the SOWAT wanted to end this and accordingly, after carrying out what they describe as ‘extensive studies of smokers behaviour’, have developed this wee (1.05 ounces heavy) gadget that will rid our streets and rivers of fag-ends as smokers worldwide do the diligent thing and put their C-Sticks back in their pockets.

Of course, the only problem I can see with the device is that smokers (and bear in mind I am one) are among the most self-centred, most foolish band of brothers and sisters on the planet. They are, lets not forget, regularly doing something that very well might kill them sometime in the not-so-distant future. If they care so little about themselves, are they really going to inconvenience themselves to carry around a little device that looks like its been designed for drug dealers to smuggle their quarry into nightclubs? Of course they’re not. Still, the good people behind SOWAT have created a device that reduces smokers’ damage to the planet and that is no bad thing.

[Source: SOWAT portable ashtray]

So, the much vaunted Playstation Move was finally unveiled this month at the GDC conference in San Francisco, and Sony are hailing it, somewhat unexpectedly, as the ‘next generation of motion gaming’.  The question is, however, is it little more than a Wii wannabe, and Sony’s attempt to muscle on the market that them bods at Nintendo have cornered so well?

The answer, it would appear at this early juncture (its not actually released until the Autumn in America), is pretty much a yes. But then it was always going to be and, at the end of the day, why shouldn’t they?  Compatible for the PS3, and available at launch as a bundle with game and the Playstation Eye camera-more on that later- for around 100 $ it seems to offer a viable alternative for the hardcore Sony gamers who can’t bear to move to Nintendo or Microsoft (who are releasing a similar gizmo, the Natal, later this year).

The device itself is not unlike the Wii, with a controller and and a second sub-controller for navigating characters around gaming environments.  Visually the most striking aspect of the controller is the blue rubber ball that sits on the end- the lighting up of which the Playstation Eye catches, and captures the players position.  The Eye, essentially a camera that you pop on your TV, ‘detects the precise movement, angle, and absolute position in 3D space’ of the gamer, and in conjunction with the controller allows the user ‘intuitively play the game as if they themselves are within the game.’  The Eye, in certain games, will also film you, and project your image onto characters as a means of increasing the level of immersion with the games.

Reaction to the device in the notoriously harsh gaming world has been somewhat muted; from reading forums and talking to gamers who already own the PS3, there seems to be an air of cynicism about the device.  Wii lovers see it as nothing other than a copycat, trying to nab the attentions of those uninterested in the family/casual gaming ethos that Nintendo has fostered so well.  A lot of Sony devotees, who revel in the complex and made-for-adult games put out by the Japanese company, seem to view it as a sign of Sony dumbing down their product.  Of course, the proof is in the pudding and if Sony can bring out the games to appeal to this demographic then all will be swiftly forgiven.  Sony says there will be 20 games released on the platform in 2010 with deals and support in place from 36 publishers and developers, so this clearly anything but a gimmick for Sony, but a concerted attempt by them to both prolong the lifespan of the PS3, and to enter the lucrative world of motion gaming.  Roll on Autumn.

[Source: Playstation make their Move]

The MSI GX700 and GX640 have been designed by MSI for that most hard-to-please class of techhead; the gamer. The tagline- obscene performance for serious gamers- says tells you all you need to know about the products intended audience- social Pro Ev’ers need not bother.  Stick to your PS3 because these two brand new models, only launched in Europe on the 18^th February, are for the guys that mean business  and think fourteen hours in front of Bioshock 2 as a standard use of their weekend.

They are all geared up to run as normal laptops, with Windows 7 as standard on both models.  However, it’s clear you wouldn’t pay the £999 asking price unless you really liked games.  Therefore, obviously, the most vital thing with the GX640 and GX700 is whether they deliver increased performance.  The spec for both is impressive; powered by the Intel Core i5 Processor they have an ATI Radeon HD5870 AND HD5850 graphics card.  Both these have 1G GDRR5 of memory which should enable the two machines to deliver better clearer visuals while losing less power and, in the gaming world, MSI enabling the GDRR5 on machines of this price is a very big deal indeed.  Although there are notable machines with this capability of these, they are in the upper end of the market.  MSI are hoping to be the standard bearer, and with its use of Turbo Boost technology- which regulates machine temperature and current and estimated power consumption- they are giving buyers the chance to get the absolute maximum value from their machines.

Both also come with a reasonable range of in-built features-DVD Super Multi and Blu-Ray player,  a 2.0M webcam and optional Bluetooth, though there is only a fairly stingy 3 USB ports.

It’s with weight that these models are really coming into their own.  The GX700 (17” display) comes in at only 3.2 kg, while the 640 (15.4” display) is a titchy 2.7 kg.  This makes carting it around easy, and easy to unravel on the bus/tube/train with the minimum of fuss and disruption to those around you.

All these features add up to the GX640 and GX700 being a true gamers delight, and early reports back on its performance have been generally positive.  Of course it takes a while for real value to be extracted, and to discover whether the drive and graphics card can run at the speed and resolution that the spec suggests it can.  But overall, it seems, if you are looking for an affordable laptop that will allow you to fulfil your desires for a top gaming performance, one of these will do the trick.

[Source: MSI launch GX640 & GX740 gaming notebooks]

The Gyration Air Mouse Elite has recently hit the market, and is intended to be a step up from last years Air Mouse.

Seemingly most useful for those in the boardroom giving presentations or teachers in the classroom it is, essentially, a computer mouse that you can walk around with. Greg Smith, Vice President at Movea Inc has this to say about the companies newest gadget:

‘Whether in the boardroom, classroom or living room, presenters and digital media enthusiasts everywhere have used Gyration’s in air mice to bring presentations to life and to control their environment whilst enjoying freedom of movement’

Working up to 100 metres away from a computer (that’s a big boardroom), and even picking up the signal through walls the Air Mouse enables the user to direct a laser pointer at the screen, then magically morph it into a highlighter or pen as per their needs. With little more than an upward swipe whilst holding the ergonomically placed button on the bottom of the mouse, the user can then click on tabs, embedded media, or flick between pages, programs and presentations.

Although the uses for it in the workplace are obvious, Movea also insist it is a relevant product for the home as well; being most useful for those that have their computers synched up with their televisions, and it is compatible with Windows and Macs. This does make sense, and presumably will make game playing and web-surfing from your couch a straightforward and user-friendly experience, especially if you buy it with the matching keyboard. Its laser sensor will also link it up with a normal computer, so those using it at work would be able to take it home.

At only 3.3 ounces its pretty clear you’re not going to be weighed down by the Air Mouse Elite, and this is vital for its potential popularity. Users will need to feel entirely comfortable with it and, for boardrooms and classrooms where I personally think it will be most relevant, those giving presentations and classes will have to be able to rely on it being easy to use and navigate around the screen. Repeated clicking or an unresponsive signal will see it quickly downed in favour of traditional methods. Considering that it does its not outrageously expensive (£89.99, or £129.99 with the keyboard) and, providing its usability is sound, there’s no reason why companies, schools and Universities will not find good use for them.

[Source: Movea annouce new Gyration Air Mouse Elite]

So runs the tagline for the new website set up by those thoughtful people at Virgin Digital Help. The site has been set up to tackle the problems facing the millions of Britons that depend on their digital gizmo’s for their work and play, but know absolutely naff all about them.  A mere layman as I am, its probably best to hand over the explaining of the concept to God himself, Sir Richard Branson- ‘Digital products are fantastic but the industry, as a whole, has done very little to support consumers when they get back home and try to make it all work… “Virgin Digital Help is dedicated to relieving consumers’ stress and helping them get the most out of the technology which is so important to them – without being limited to particular bits of kit, technologies, or service providers.’

You access most of its information by downloading its Desktop Digital Helper onto your desktop (for free), and from there it will scan your computer and offer solutions to make it faster, cleaner, safer or better for the environment.  You can also set up a remote account with them which means you can call the Virgin team as and when you have problems, and, if necessary, they will then access your computer remotely to fix whatever need to be fixed.  They will also come to your home if the problem is not solvable at their end.  Of course, if you actually want to do these things you have to pay, with prices ranging from anything from £4.99 a month to set up a remote account, to £69.99 to have them remove a particularly virulent virus.

The site itself also has over 100 free self-help guides for your most recognisable problems like How Do I Perform  Disk Clean Up On Windows Vista, or How Do I Sync My Smartphone and PC. For £2.99 a month you can also, amongst other things, get access to 70,000 of these guides and over 1000 video tutorials.  These guides are actually all pretty conclusive , and a lot easier to read and navigate than Windows Help which has surely caused more than a few people to hit the bottle out of sheer frustration.

Marketing itself as part customer-service haven, part 21^st century stress reliever the idea initially seemed, to these eyes at least, as a bit of a gimmick and a reason to push a load of Virgin products onto you.  However, even though there is a sense with it that if you do want to get anything really good you will have to pay, the prices in general are reasonable and dealing with Virgin is somewhat preferable to dealing with one of the plethora of second-hand computer shops that line our streets.

Unfortunately, I am unable to report back what the customer service team is like, nor if you have sit through half an hour of ‘your call is important to us’ messages, as when I called the helpline with a made-up digital emergency  it just went to an answering machine which wouldn’t let me leave a message (useful that). Experience of being with Virgin Media in the past suggests that they talk a good game but actually fail on delivery but, if they get waiting times down and the service good, they could be onto a winner.

[Source: Don’t get mad – get Virgin help?]

We’ve all been in the situation haven’t we? One too many drinks on a Wednesday evening whilst trying desperately to impress the slightly common HR girl who always wears the skimpy skirts; failing miserably, watching her cop off with your boss who’s really very smug about it before arriving home far too late and dishevelled for a school night. In the haze you forget to charge your phone, and by the time you arrive late to work in the morning the battery has run out. Truly a 21st century dilemma it be.

Well, thanks to Austrian inventor Stefan Penfold this can be a thing of the past. Stefan has invented the Sunnybag which had its release on the 12th November. These range of bags with an in-built 3 Watt solar panel which powers a 1600m Ah LI-Ion battery pack, which in turn can be connected to over 400 mobile phones, PDA’s, iPod’s, iPhone’s and USB’s.

Great, you may think, but surely a bag with a solar panel is going to look like a misplaced prop from Total Recall? Oh ye of little faith. The Sunnybag team have knocked together two swanky leather satchels, appropriate for businessmen, everyday-ers and students alike with multiple compartments. These come in dark brown or black, while there is also a green canvas bag that will suit those who are looking for a bag for camping trips and the like. Somewhat perversely, generating electricity from sunlight n’ all, the bags also do not necessarily need a sunny day to get your equipment charged; a cloudy one will easily suffice- good news for all those used to English Winters (and Summers, thinking about it…).

Stefan himself says of the bag: ‘Our solarbags are more than a fashion statement, they are a personal statement about a commitment to sustainability, sensibility, and responsibility.” And it is in this that the Sunnybag really becomes an invention for our time, with its admirable use of the worlds natural resources to fuel our needs. However, and here is the rub, this comes at a high price with the product retailing at 199 Euro’s, which puts it out of reach of the high street market. If the Sunnybag is a success, though, this price will surely come down and make forgotten chargers and low battery an oft-mocked memory.

[Source: The Sunnybag: fashionable and responsible?]