Archive for February, 2010
HTC Smart – a wallet friendly smartphone
A few years ago the “boom” sector of the mobile phone industry was touted as the low-end market. Companies such as Nokia poured development and marketing resources into cheap, simple handsets for markets such as India and Africa. “Less” was going to be the next big growth opportunity. The launch of iPhone changed all that. Not the first smartphone, or even necessarily the best (especially in its original incarnation) the…
HD-FOX T2 – Humax’s first Freeview HD PVR
If you want to experience the thrill of high definition television but don’t want to spend wads of cash on a cable or satellite subscription, try the new Freeview HD box from Humax. It’s the first HD set-top box in the UK, and likely to be a trendsetter as demand grows for the pin-sharp detail and vibrant colours of high definition programmes. For a one-off payment of around £179, Humax’s…
Lumigon’s T1 & S1 Android-powered phones
What is the tech-head’s paradox? I hear you cry. Well, it’s a gadget that does everything. For, like Alexander weeping that there are no more lands to conquer, if one has something that does everything, one does not need any more gadgets. Lumigon may not have quite smashed this paradigm, but they have made a brave effort. Made with some fine craftsmanship from materials such as steel, aluminium and scratch-free…
Electrolux’s futuristic ‘Heart of the Home’ kitchen table
The kitchen can be a veritable hotbed of technology. From the first labour-saving appliances, such as the washing machine, to more recent interactive devices, such as fridges that contact you when you’re running out of milk, we are always looking for ways to make day-to-day life more efficient. With this in mind, Electrolux has developed its new design concept, the ‘Heart of the Home’ – a futuristic kitchen table combined…
Samsung reveal “Long Term Evolution” (LTE) Netbook
Earlier this month at the Mobile World Congress 2010, Samsung wowed the tech world by unveiling its Long Term Evolution (LTE) netbook PC. What places the N150 netbook at the forefront of technology is that it features a new Kalmia chip which has been designed in-house and has been described as the future of mobile technology. Samsung demonstrated the technology to its full potential by live streaming on their own…
Sony Cyber-shot TX5: water, dust, shock and frost proof!
Sony have just announced their latest and greatest, the Cyber-shot TX5 and are heavily touting it as being “everything proof”. The TX5 can take on water, dust, shock, cold and just about everything else bar T1000s. According to Sony the TX5 can withstand drops of 1.5 m, although I have no desire to test this. It’s also pretty svelte, at just 17.7 mm slim. I’ve lost a few cameras to…
MSI launch GX640 & GX740 gaming notebooks
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 18th February, are for the guys that mean business …
Three of the best: Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) lights
SAD – Seasonal Affective Disorder – is a condition where the ‘winter blues’, can cause stress, depression and and considerable disruption to a sufferer’s life. However, the condition is treatable and can be combated in a number of ways. One of the most common is to use a SAD lighting product such as a special lamp or lighting device. SAD lights work by emulating natural light, in order to boost…
Air2Air’s ‘DraganFlyer X4′ takes HD skyward
Unmanned airbourne vehicles (UAVs) have really taken off in recent years. Innovation is seeing these clever critters call the shots by taking pictures at angles hand-operated cameras can only dream of. Traditionally the territory of the military, surveyors and the police, Canadian UAV big-shot Air2Air has launched DraganFlyer X4 for the more mainstream aerial photographer and videographer. This amazing unmanned helicopter has the impressive spec of its wingman, the DraganFlyer…
Hands on with Google’s Buzz (kill)
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…
