Author: Andy Merrett
Garmin-Asus announces new generation of nüvifone: M20 and G60
Garmin-Asus, the tech company alliance that to me sounds more like an airborne disease, has announced two new additions to its nüvifone range of mobile phones.
If you remember, the company announced its first mobile phone about this time last year, and its newly announced G60 offers very much the same functionality as that handset — namely 3.5G (HSDPA), 3.55-inch touchscreen display, location-based everything (email, SMS, photo sharing, social networking, going-to-the-toileting — nah, not really), built-in accelerometer for exciting screen reorientation, lots of sat-nav stuff (as you’d expect from Garmin) and advanced web browser.
Post-Kangaroo, 4oD gets a Flashy revamp
The Competition Commission may have put the kibosh on Kangaroo but that’s not stopping the individual broadcasters pushing ahead with their own TV-on-demand services.
Channel 4 isn’t letting the marsupial off the hook quite that easily, though, and is set to reuse some of the technology that would have been used in the joint project to beef up its own 4oD (Four on Demand) offering…
i-mate launches 810-F: unspectacular phone name for spectacularly active lifestyles
i-mate may not have excelled itself in the gadget name-choosing department, but its newest 810-F handset offers advanced features in a rugged, waterproof shell that’s designed to withstand knocks and scrapes.
The hardware features a full QWERTY keyboard and 320×240 resolution impact-resistant touch screen, 3G connectivity and 2.2GB of storage. It runs Windows Mobile 6.1 for all your email, music, gaming and web surfing needs.
Niche of the week: ThisIsWhyYoureFat.com
This week’s bizarre corner of the web is the This is why you’re fat web site.
Subtitled “where dreams become heart attacks” it showcases “deliciously gross food” in all its saturated, multicoloured glory.
Savour if you will the “deep fried peanut butter-covered brownie wrapped in cookie dough”, “the garbage plate”, “The Romellete”, “The Meat Ship”, “hot beef sundae”, “the bacon explosion” and “baconnaise – everything should taste like bacon”.
Bargain of the Week: Sony Handycam HDR-SR12E
Today’s bargain is for those of you who want to spend some serious cash on a camcorder. Bearing in mind that Sony equipment is pretty pricey at the best of times, and you can get other camcorders for less, I present to you the Sony Handycam HDR-SR12E.
With an RRP of £1,049, Amazon.co.uk is currently selling this beast for £749.99 — that’s a nearly £300 (29%) saving.
What do you get for your money, apart from the Sony name itself?…
Friendly hackers break into Kaspersky's US web site
Unfortunately it’s a fairly common occurrence for web sites to be hacked into these days, but there’s an additional sense of embarrassment when that web site belongs to a security software vendor.
Kaspersky, makers of anti-virus software, has had its US web site compromised by a group of “friendly” hackers. Friendly in the sense that they found the vulnerability that allowed them to gain access to a large amount of personal customer data, but then told the company about it instead of using it their ill-gotten gains…
Virgin Mobile shows off "UK's lowest" £8.50-per-month mobile tariff
Virgin Mobile has announced what it claims is the UK’s best value monthly tariff, sprinting in at just £8.50 per month.
Granted, you’re not going to get a top-of-the-range smartphone for that kind of cash, but what you do get is 100 minutes and 100 texts per month on a choice of handsets including the Samsung G600, LG KC550 and Nokia 3120…
BlackBerry 9300 "Gemini" specs trickle out
It looks as if RIM is lining up its next BlackBerry on the world. The 9300, codenamed “Gemini”, thankfully returns to the world of 3G. Other details gleaned include a larger, higher resolution screen than the BlackBerry 8900, better CPU, more rounded keyboard but with overall similar styling to the 8900 and Storm, and likely to have both Wi-Fi and GPS.
The bad news is that it may not be available for another year. That’s the problem with all this speculation — lots of pictures and likely specs, but not so much as a sniff of the handset for aeons…
New app lets you turn your iPhone into a web server. Why?
I’ve nothing against setting up a personal web server so that you can share files across the Internet, but I would recommend that you don’t try and turn your iPhone into one.
Yes, there’s a new application called ServersMan@iPhone that will do just that. Assuming your iPhone is on, and is running that particular app, then anyone on the Internet can upload and download files to their heart’s content…
iTunes UK gets a high definition boost: new TV shows arrive
iTunes stores outside the US have always lagged behind when it comes to new features, but Apple has gradually been adding new video content to the UK store.
Last week’s moderately big news was that high definition episodes of Lost series 5 have made it into the iTunes store. Now, eagle-eyed fans have discovered a range of other titles that have “suddenly hit” the store…
