With summer well and truly here, it’s the perfect time to dust off your bike and get back in the saddle with these awesome accessories.

Image courtesy of skippyjon from Flickr

Garmin Edge 305 GPS Bike Computer – R.R.P £259.99

A nifty little device that doubles as a GPS system and personal trainer, the Garmin Edge 305 is easy to use and comes with its own bike mount. The computer measures a variety of stats, including distance, speed, time, altitude, heart rate and calories burned. With a personal trainer function, it doubles as a virtual cycling partner and will map specific ‘courses’ to let you race against your best time. Able to detect your location even in challenging terrain, you’ll never have to take a map break again.

Archos Helmet Cam – R.R.P £169.99

Complete with built-in remote and microphone, the Archos Helmet Cam is the perfect way to record extreme stunts and journeys. The compact, light-weight camera fits onto the top of your helmet and comes with its own head band. For cyclists on a budget, cheaper models include the Actioncam Action Video Camera (R.R.P £39.99) and the OregonScientific ATC3K Action Camera Extreme (R.R.P £99.99).

Oakley RAZRWIRE Bluetooth enabled sunglasses – R.R.P around £150

Oakley are famous for making classy eyewear but now they’ve gone one step further and produced these Bluetooth enabled sunglasses, meaning you can answer calls with the press of a button and chat while you ride. The headset works up to 33 feet away from your mobile and, if your handset has voice-activated dialling, you can call someone on the go without having to look for your phone. The wireless technology promotes freedom of movement and the glasses are also available with prescription lenses.

Winkku Cycle Safety Mirror and Indicator Light – R.R.P £20

Every cyclist knows the perils of the right-hand turn. Holding your arm out in the path of an oncoming car and hoping any vehicles behind have noticed you is not an appealing prospect. Thankfully, the days of wobbling all over the middle of the road are over with Winkku’s indicator lights. Designed to fit onto the end of your handlebars, the lights serve as a rear view mirror and indicator so you can see who’s behind you and let them know where you’re going while maintaining your balance (and dignity).

[Source: Summer’s must-have cycling gadgets]

Spring has sprung and final exams are in full swing. Why not bribe reward your favourite graduate for achieving a stellar work/play balance over the last few years? They might have the latest offerings from Apple and other hip brands already, but here are a few alternative gadget gift ideas for budgets big and small.

£50 and under
Orange Miami Touch Screen Phone – One of the cheapest touch screen phones on the market, the Orange Miami comes with a 2-megapixel camera, Bluetooth and video capabilities. With prices starting at £39, you can get a snazzy phone for a fraction of the cost of its competitors.

SoundMAGIC PL30 In-Ear Headphones – Retailing at £35, these value-for-money headphones offer a good, balanced sound and noise cancelling qualities without carrying a hefty price tag.

£100 and under
Canon Powershot A480 Digital Camera – Perfect for travelling to foreign climes or festivals, this light-weight camera produces excellent pictures without breaking the bank. The RRP is around £120 but websites like amazon.co.uk are pricing it between £60 and £70.

£500 and under
Cowon S9 MP3 Player – A serious competitor to the iPod, this high-tech player does almost everything except tap dance. As well as having the MP3 and video basics, it also works as an audio recorder, radio, and Flash player – and all for £170.

Nintendo DS – With different sizes, colours and more games than you can shake a stick at, the Nintendo DS is the only games console that caters for practically everyone. Perfect for whiling away those long commutes, the consoles retail between £120 and £150.

Samsung LE19B450C4 LCD TV – Available with either 19- or 33-inch screens, these HD ready TVs come with their own Freeview boxes and an HDMI 1.3 connection. The sets are priced at £177 and £300 respectively.

Over £500
Advent AIO-101 All-in-one Desktop – An all-purpose desktop that saves the usual set-up time and hassle. With an 18.4 inch screen, the integrated hard drive saves space and means no more messy cables. Complete with a built-in tuner, the computer also be used as an extra TV. Prices start at around £680.

[Source: Latest Gadgets’ alternative graduate gadget gift list]

Toshiba has announced a new range of Satellite Pro business laptops that will be hitting retailers this summer. Aimed at serving small and medium-sized businesses, the three new models offer high-speed processing and a range of features to suit professionals.

Acting as a desktop replacement, the 17.3” Satellite Pro L670 provides a high-performance solution to office users on a budget. Its baby sister, the L650 has similar features and a more compact 15.6” screen, making it a portable option for workers on the go, and the C650 offers a reliable and speedy performance without breaking the bank.
The L650 and L670 come with up to 500GB storage and Intel Core i3 and i5 processors, while dedicated graphics processors provide top quality visuals. The Intel Turbo Boost Technology and a generous 4GB of DDR3 RAM mean that you can multi-task without your PC grinding to a halt.

The Satellite Pro C650 offers a choice of AMD or Intel processors and up to 320GB storage. With the same multi-tasking abilities as the larger models, the C650 also comes with an integrated DVD drive, a 15.6” screen, webcam and microphone.

All models have the latest wireless connectivity, optional USB docking solutions and ergonomic keyboards. A touchpad with multi-touch control allows users to pinch, swipe and zoom through documents, presentations and images, while the HD screen and integrated HDMI connectivity means you’ll be able to display crisp visuals and graphics.

Available with Windows 7 Professional or Home Premium, each laptop comes with Toshiba LifeSpace, which allows you to organise meetings, personal appointments and keep track of important notes. The ‘Bulletin Board’ and ‘ReelTime’ functions also allow users to organise their virtual work space more efficiently.

Coming to stores by early June, each computer comes with Toshiba Eco Utility software, which allows manual control of the machine’s power consumption, potentially enabling users to save energy, help the environment and prolong battery life.

[Source: Satellite Pro of Love: Toshiba launches new business laptop range]

Designed with the modern, multi-tasking user in mind, Dell have released details of a new range of feature-packed PCs for consumers on a budget. Using AMD’s VISION Technology, the machines are designed for music, video and gaming fans who have been bitten by the social networking bug.

Fronted by the Studio XPS 7100 desktop, the new PCs will enable users to multi-task between entertainment packages and multimedia software. Glen Robson, vice president of Dell consumer product marketing, explains how the newest range is suited for people with busy lifestyles: “These new Dell PCs with AMD Vision technology are feature-packed, yet budget-friendly. They’re perfect for listening to music, streaming video and gaming, while connecting with friends and family via social networking sites and blogs.”

One of the first desktops on the market with an AMD Phenom™ II X6 six-core processor and AMD Turbo Core technology, the machine also boasts qaud-core Athlon™ II processors, giving users high-speed HD media creation, multi-tasking abilities and an immersive 3D gaming experience. With all that processing power, you’re going to need somewhere to store your media, so Dell have included up to 16GB of DDR3 dual-channel memory and up to 3TB of hard drive storage. Additional features are premium integrated ports, including eSATA, Optical SPDIF and HDMI, as well as an integrated 19-in-one media card reader and SATA 6GB for high-speed disk transfer of HD media.

Available from £699, the Studio XPS 7100 comes in a sleek Carbide Silver casing and is available from www.dell.co.uk from 13th May. Other models to be released in the coming months include the Dell Inspiron M301z, a light-weight laptop with long battery life, and the Dell Inspiron M501R, which comes with an AMD Phenom™ II Quad-Core processor and integrated ATi Mobility Radeon graphics. Designed for users on-the-go, both machines boast the latest media-friendly features and a sleek, classy finish.

[Source: Dell unveils Studio XPS range of ‘multi-tasking’ PCs]

With the analogue to digital switchover happening now, the nice people at NextD have created the EZBox LT-105, a gadget that allows analogue viewers to keep watching their favourite programmes without having to splash out on a new digital TV set. Complete with an auto-retune feature, the box will automatically upgrade when the switchover happens in your area without you having to lift a finger.

The EZBox supports the Freeview TV standard and provides 50 Freeview Channels and 24 digital radio stations. These include the usual suspects (the BBC channels, ITV and Channel 4), as well as digital-only services, such as Film4, E4, BBC3 and ITV2. And if all this choice leaves you indecisive, viewers can now avoid family squabbles and choose their schedule in advance using the eight day listings guide.

Easy to set-up and install, the box comes with step-by-step instructions. Thanks to its auto-retune feature, users only have to go through the set-up process once. Even if channels are added to or removed from the digital service in the future, the box will automatically retune itself. Other standard features include parental controls, two scart connections to allow VCR recording and an RF loopthrough. Using less than 1W when on standby, the box is energy efficient and bill-friendly.

In addition to the usual set-top box features, NextD have installed a USB 2.0 connection for firmware downloads, as well as a JPEG and photo album viewer that allows you to share pictures with family and friends through your television set. For all the music lovers out there, the EZBox comes with WMA and MP3 playback features so you can listen to your favourite tunes before flicking over to the news.
On sale for just £35, the box can be purchased directly from Amazon and provides a cheap solution for analogue television owners.

[Source: Something worth watching: the EZBox LT-105 digital freeview set-top box]

MFlow is a new music sharing service due to launch on the 15th April. Billed as ‘iTunes meets Twitter’, the service allows users to share music they like using ‘flows’. Like the social networking site, you can ‘follow’ your friends, as well as some British celebrities and DJs, who have already signed up before its launch.

Just like Twitter, your updates (or ‘flows’) appear in your friends’ feeds, and theirs in yours. However, instead of the usual ‘OMG I just burnt my toast’ or ‘did you see what so and so was wearing on the X Factor last night?’ Twitter updates, you ‘reflow’ songs you like, which your friends then get a chance to sample. So far, it’s an interesting idea, but that alone isn’t enough to separate it from already established competitors like Spotify. What really gives this service the edge is its rewards system.

Users can purchase single tracks or albums from the application for around the same price as music on iTunes, Amazon and HMV. Once downloaded, songs are even compatible with the iTunes and can be played on iPods and other MP3 players. If a friend likes a track you have recommended, they can also pay to download it, at which point you get 20% of the track or album cost credited to your account. Basically, the more music you can persuade people to buy, the more music you’ll have; it’s a win-win situation

Although the system is currently in private BETA mode, it will be opened up to the public on 15th April, offering over 1 million tracks and around 70% of the music bought in the UK on a weekly basis. As well as individual users, big music names like NME and Clash have profiles and share music recommendations.

MFlow works like any other music download application. It has an accessible search function and the ‘reflow’ format will be easily recognised by anyone who has used Twitter. Currently, MFlow doesn’t offer the music selection of other downloading websites and, although you can hear 30 second previews of most tracks, some are billed as ‘album only’ and can’t be bought separately or listened to beforehand.

Having said that, MFlow is an original service that could potentially change the way people download legally online. Offering more incentives than traditional downloading software such as iTunes, it not only provides users with a way to share music but also to connect with their favourite artists.

Competition

Latest Gadgets are giving away 20 invite codes for mflow. To enter our competition simply login to your Twitter account and tweet the following message “@LatestGadgetsUK are giving away 20 invite codes for mflow”. Then drop us an email to news@latestgadgets.co.uk remembering to include your Twitter user name. 20 winners will be picked at random and will be notified by email.

[Source: MFlow – where iTunes and Twitter meet]

SeeSaw is a new online streaming service designed for UK audiences. Released in February, it brings together content from the BBC, Channel 4 and Channel 5 so viewers have a wider selection of programmes all on the same website.

It’s a simple idea and this simplicity extends beyond the concept to its function. Although the service is competing with many others on the web – some legal, most illegal – it is this simplicity that sets it apart from the crowd.

The site has a user-friendly interface, uncluttered by advertisements or text. Viewers can select programmes by channel, genre or using a search function.

The home page features programme selections, centred around topics such as ‘money, money, money’ (The Secret Millionaire, Cash and a documentary about Bernie Madoff) and ‘Home is Where the Heart Is’ (Property Ladder, Up Your Street, Kirsty’s Homemade Home and others). It also showcases the programmes other SeeSaw users have been watching so you can browse the most popular choices.

Once you’ve selected the programme you want to watch, a summary of all available episodes helps you choose those you haven’t seen yet without giving too much away about their content. Every episode starts with one or two adverts, something you’ll find on 4oD but not on the BBC iPlayer. You can’t fast forward or skip through these but they do give you just long enough to make a cup of tea before you settle down to watch your chosen show.

Even the viewing options have been stripped down for maximum ease of use. The only functions to choose from when streaming a programme are full screen, volume and lighting. The first two are the only things you really need when watching online, while the latter is an extra quirk for those who choose not to opt for full-screen mode. With this feature, you have the option to dim the screen brightness around the programme box when watching – a nifty device that produces a vaguely cinematic effect, even without the full screen.

The streaming is very fast and, unlike, other services online, I got through several programmes without a single hitch. For viewers in a family setting, there are also parental controls, which enable older members of the family to protect unsuitable content with a pin number.

Having the programmes from all three channels amalgamated into one service is definitely more convenient than watching them separately. The website is simple, easy to use and it works well. Although SeeSaw is still a new venture, it certainly has the potential to become a hit in the future.

[Source: Online TV: You saw, we saw, SeeSaw?]

The idea sounds great: let people connect to those they’ve emailed using their Google account. Let them share Twitter updates, show pages they’ve visited, videos they’ve watched on YouTube and swap more online content than ever before.

Yes, it’s a lovely idea, but, in practise, it has proved to be a dramatic failure.

When Buzz was launched, a Google algorithm selected up to 50 contacts of each account holder to ‘follow’ users’ updates. This auto-follow system may have been easily customisable – if users had known that it was in place. However, many people suddenly found themselves revealing personal information to clients, ex-partners, parents and people they hadn’t even been in contact with for years. Less than ideal.

The security flaws didn’t stop there. Having connected account holders to other contacts without their permission, Google then published lists of users’ connections on the internet. Suddenly everyone knew that Joe Bloggs had been emailing the CEO of a rival company and Sally Smith had been in contact with a psychiatrist. Users who had deliberately kept their identities private when emailing suddenly found them revealed, complete with headshot.

With their lack of regard for users’ privacy, one has to question whether the Google team was living under a rock during the Facebook security debacle last year. Otherwise, they would have realised that users really object to their information being shared without their permission. Furthermore, the security violation is worse with email; email is password-protected for a reason: because it is personal and it is private.

Although the public reaction was far removed from Google’s hopes, bad publicity is better than no publicity. Without the furore surrounding the security risks, there wouldn’t actually be that much to say about the programme. It’s selling point is that it allows people to connect at a deeper level, combining Twitter-style updates with the chance for users to share content from other websites, such as Google Reader and YouTube.

Oh wait, you can already do that on Twitter. And Facebook.

Buzz makes these things nice and simple, presenting contacts’ status updates in an easy to read list, but at the moment it isn’t offering any serious competition to the social networking giants.

There’s no denying that Google Buzz could be potentially useful for businesses, enabling them to share data privately in a way they couldn’t on other social networking sites. However, it seems that the company tried to release something too big, too soon. After the public outcry surrounding Buzz (and a possible investigation by the Federal Trade Commission) future products are going to come under heavy scrutiny. While I’m not giving up my Gmail account just yet, the company are going to have to work hard to regain users’ trust in the long-term.

[Source: Hands on with Google’s Buzz (kill)]

As Google enters the ring and Firefox releases a new update, we compare the most popular internet browsers available for download.

Firefox 3.6

Faster, safer and an all-round improved browsing experience: these are the promises made by Mozilla regarding Firefox’s latest release, version 3.6. As great as this sounds, some users might find the upgrade installation less than bug free. However, after download-and-install attempt number six finally yielded results, I entered the world of the new and improved Firefox browser…

On a first look around, it doesn’t seem as if much has changed. However, Mozilla have made a lot of subtle adjustments that, put together, really make a difference to the browsing experience.

The technical improvements include:

• Improved speed – 20% faster than the previous version
• Increased stability
• Better safety features
• HTML 5 support
• Plugin updater

Other features that are sure to be popular include the Personas plugin, which gives users over 35,000 browser themes to choose from. The new version also enables one-click bookmarking, one of the many adjustments that improve the accessibility.

Internet Explorer

As the original web browser, Microsoft’s Internet Explorer has found itself struggling against its competitors more recently. When Firefox arrived, users celebrated its ease of use, stability and speed compared to its clunky Microsoft counterpart.

Since then, Microsoft have tried to level with other browsers, releasing fairly regular updates with new and improved features. However, some would probably say that they are fighting a losing battle.

This was highlighted most recently by the revelation that hackers had exploited serious flaws in IE8 to attack Google and over 30 other companies around the world. Although Microsoft quickly released an additional security patch to fix the issues, the news didn’t do much to instil confidence in their safety features.

Google Chrome

Google Chrome is a recent addition to the battle of the browsers. It’s key attraction is simplicity; the toolbar contains basic browsing functions and nothing more. It also erases the need for a separate search box, as users can now navigate web pages and search for keywords from the same place. Conveniently, it even offers to import your Mozilla bookmarks and settings when downloaded.

For many internet users, this accessibility is sure to be alluring. However, aside from Chrome’s minimalist design, Google and Mozilla are two of a kind: both offer high-speed browsing, good security features and have a customisable appearance.

The way we browse the internet has changed dramatically over the last few years. More competition in the market has lead to better features, improved security and faster speeds. However, as in any competition, someone always has to fall behind. Sadly for Microsoft, it looks like it’s their turn.

[Source: How does the new Firefox 3.6 match up?]

IPods, Zens and mobile MP3 players have become common household items over the last few years. Now, technology has taken the portable music experience a step further. Shunning the usual target markets, American audio company NuVo have released a new MP3 system for unborn babies.

The Ritmo Advanced Sound System allows foetuses to listen in on their mothers’ MP3 tracks, providing a unique bonding experience for mother and child. Whether you want to introduce your child to Mozart or get that High School Musical phase out of the way as quickly as possible, the player provides a safe way for parents and babies to interact.

Development studies have proven that reactive listening starts at 17 weeks gestation. The manufacturers claim the system could be highly beneficial for foetuses in the development stage, as scientific research has shown that exposure to music can have many positive benefits on unborn children.

While some parents might be worried about the potential health risks of exposing their baby to sound at such a young age, NuVo have designed the system with safety in mind. While the mother can adjust the volume of her music, the device continuously adjusts the baby’s music to ensure it stays at an optimal level.

Although some parents might want to start introducing their offspring to their favourite tunes, you don’t have to stop with chart classics. The Ritmo Advanced Sound System also allows you to play your own recordings. Babies remember sounds they hear in-utero and respond favourably to them after birth so the player allows parents to familiarise the child with their voices and common household sounds before they are even born.

The device fits around the mother’s stomach using an elasticised band. It contains two speakers so  the baby can hear the music wherever it is positioned in the womb. Soft, flexible fabric has been used for comfort and it can be adjusted as the mother grows. The system is also hands-free, so can be worn while doing a number of activities. Available for $129.99 (approximately £87), the Ritmo Advanced Sound System can be ordered from the NuVo group website: http://www.nuvo-group.com/product.php?id=1

[Source: NuVo’s Ritmo brings MP3 to the unborn!]