Author: Paul Lamkin
Windows 7 – release details confirmed
Microsoft has announced the release dates and prices for its latest operating system – Windows 7.
From 15th July the public can pre-order their copy of Windows 7 Home Premium for a special introductory price of £49.99 – not bad when you consider the RRP of £149.99. From the release date of 22nd October until the end of December, consumers will be able to buy a copy of Home Premium for £79.99.
If you were holding off buying a new PC because you were waiting for Windows 7 there’s no need to wait any longer. From tomorrow until the end of January any new PCs bought with Vista installed will receive free upgrades to Windows 7. Make sure you agree with your PC dealer that the upgrade deal is in place before parting with your cash.
Users should also be aware that, because of Microsoft and the EC’s little spat, the European version of Windows 7 (7E) will not be a simple upgrade – it will require a clean install. Make sure you back up all of your stuff before you do this – a clean install will wipe everything.
This all sounds like good news, until you consider that the Americans can pre-order their copies for $49.99 – not really fair when you look at the latest exchange rates.
Windows 7 Professional will also be available to pre-order for £99.99 and, along with the Home Premium version can be pre-ordered on Amazon or via the DSGi group (Dixons, Currys, PC World) from 15th July to 14th August or until they run out.
PC users will be hoping that Windows 7 is a major improvement on the disappointing Vista and not mereley a Vista Upgrade as was claimed by Apple’s Bertrand Serlet at the WWDC.
(via The Guardian)
RUMOUR: Xbox 360 to come with 1TB HD?
Industry analysts are suggesting that Microsoft will soon be offering a huge terabyte hard-drive to support its forthcoming games on demand service.
Rumours suggest the 1TB Xbox 360 will be released at the same time as Project Natal – Microsoft’s camera based motion-sensor.
The games on demand service will allow gamers to download full versions of Xbox 360 titles directly to their hard-drive after purchasing them with a credit card. This means users will need a lot more storage – hence the 1TB rumours.
The largest Xbox 360 hard-drive currently on the market is the 120GB premium Xbox 360 Elite.
(via bit-tech)
Related story: New Xbox planned for 2010? Microsoft doesn’t even seem to know
Sony Ericsson's latest mid-ranger: the T715
I’m not going to lie to you. This phone isn’t a world beater. But the T715 looks like a decent, compact and rather elegant mid-range phone.
It’s got a slide out number pad and so the thickness of 14.9mm is quite impressive. The phone only measures 91.5mm x 48mm and weighs in at 96.5g so it will fit quite comfortably in even the most skinny of jeans.
The screen is 2.2-inches with a 240×320 QVGA display that, apparently, will respond well in direct sunlight. It’s got 3G connectivity as well as Bluetooth. There’s also a 3.2-megapixel camera with LED flash.
Web connectivity via the 3G connection should allow for video streaming and Java and it also comes with Google Maps and AccuWeather. Music playback of MP3 or AAC shouldn’t be a problem but there’s only 90MB of built in storage. This is expandable by microSD – M2 memory cards seem to have their days numbered now then.
No word on availability, networks or price yet though. To me, this looks like a prime candidate as a free offering on cheaper plans (£20ish ones) or as an affordable handset for PAYG.
Check on Carphone Warehouse for deals when it comes out.
Google to help you plan your city break
It seems that not a day goes by when we don’t have a new Google project to report on. Those guys seem to knock out new services faster than you can say “total world domination”.
This time Google has been working on City Tours – an app that will help when planning city breaks. Enter a city name, a set of dates and duration of your stay and sit back as City Tours plans a multi-day itinerary complete with schedule and walking distances.
Click on a certain attraction’s name and it gives you opening times, a star rating and even suggested stay times – three stars out of three and an hour visit for Madam Tussauds in case you were wondering.
It’s not just the big cities that feature on City Tours – a suggested tour of Southend-on-Sea includes all the big attractions. Yes, Southend-on-Sea has some big attractions – the longest pier in the world, don’t you know?
It’s definitely a work in progress though. It doesn’t seem to recognise water and only seems to measure walking times based on straight lines between points. It doesn’t seem to have a problem making users walk for about six hours a day either.
It’s only in Labs at the moment and no doubt Google will have all these problems ironed out before a full release. Try it out here.
(via Search Engine Land)
Related stories: Google’s landmark recognition concept.
HTC announces the Hero – the best Android phone yet
It’s being billed as the first ever fully customisable Android handset. The HTC Hero with HTC Sense will allow users to amend almost every aspect of their setup.
Tech Digest has had its hands on the phone and it has to be said that it is a lot more simple and natural to navigate than its predecessors. It’s actually soft to touch and appears to be quite durable. It’s even contoured to perfectly fit a face during a call. It’s slightly chunkier than the HTC Magic at 14.3mm thick.
Tech wise there is a 3.2-inch, 320 x 480, HVGA touchscreen that supports multi-touch and pinch whilst browsing. It has a compass, AGPS and a gravity sensor, which I don’t think we’ve seen before.
There’s no more need to constantly wipe the screen clean too – the Hero includes an anti-fingerprint screen that is also smudge resistant. A welcome inclusion is the 3.5mm headphone jack.
Browsing should be improved with the inclusion of Flash and there is also a search button that explores everything from your apps to your Twitter feed.
The Sense feature allows for widgets that push content, different customisable content profiles called scenes and it also combines all communication channels into one screen. That means Twitter, Facebook, flickr and the like can all be accessed from one screen. Sense also allows users to link Facebook information, like photos and status updates, directly to contacts.
The white version will come with a Teflon coating – this is a first in the smartphone world and will help keep the Hero fresh and clean.
More spec info:
- Qualcomm MSM7200A processor running at 528MHz
- 512MB/288MB ROM/RAM
- 900/2100MHz HSPA and quadband GSM
- 802.11b/g Wi-Fi
- 5-megapixel auto-focus camera with microSD expansion – but no flash
The HTC Hero was announced today at a launch event in London and should be available in July on T-Mobile and Orange. Expect a full review on Tech Digest some time soon.
Facebook – the movie
Rumours doing the rounds in Hollywood suggest that David Fincher – who has been responsible for some absolute belters including Se7en, Fight Club and err…Panic Room – is to direct the upcoming Facebook movie.
The film will be based on Ben Mezrich’s book The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook, a Tale of Sex, Money, Genius and Betrayal. Aaron Sorkin – creator of The West Wing – is all set to write the screenplay apparently and Kevin Spacey is said to be involved in producing the film.
So, who’s going to play Mark Zuckerberg? I’m no casting agent but I reckon Michael Cera has got to be a shoe-in. Not only does he look the part – he’s also got the gawky, nerdy and nervous act of to a tee.
(via Slashfilm)
Pre-order your copy of Ben Mezrich’s book The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook, a Tale of Sex, Money, Genius and Betrayal from Amazon today.
Related post: Second Life – the movie
The Firefly glowPhone – a restricted phone for kids
The Firefly glowPhone is to be released in the UK by the end of the year. The child friendly handset which has become a big hit in Ireland (7,000 units sold) aims to tap in to the ever increasing children’s mobile phone market – over half of all under 10s in the UK own a mobile phone.
The phone has a fairly basic setup – perfect for younger children. It has just five buttons and two of these are dedicated for mum and dad. There is a 1.5-inch colour screen with 128×128 resolution that kids will be able to customise with their own wallpapers. Other features include built in games, customisable ringtones and a flashlight.
The phone has capacity to store up to 50 contacts although everything is pin protected so as parents can control all in and outgoing calls. Blocking texts is also a function on some models.
Not surprisingly there is some criticism for the phone. Not surprisingly a lot of this criticism is via The Daily Mail.
I think the phone is a great idea. It comes as SIM-free so parents can stick a PAYG SIM in it, put £5 credit on and restrict the calls to only allow ones to/from themselves and selected others. It’s just another expensive toy for kids to play with. I know my youngest nephew would love one.
The glowPhone will cost around £85 and should be available from Firefly direct.
(via ITProPortal)
UPDATE: RealPlayer SP – rip streaming video and watch it on your phone
Real has released a beta version of the latest instalment of their long running media player. Dubbed SP – which stands for social/portable – the USP of this, the 12th version of RealPlayer, is that it allows users to rip streaming video and convert them to devices such as smartphones and portable media players.
After installing RealPlayer SP a download button appears if the cursor is hovered over YouTube, or other, video streams. After downloading the video using Real’s own download manager the video will now appear in the user’s library.
Now, this is when things get pretty interesting – honest. The user can now select to convert the video to a large number of portable devices ranging from the Palm Pre to the Nokia N97. If a user’s device isn’t listed – which isn’t likely as the list is huge – it is also possible to convert with custom settings. The conversion rate is quite slow though, only 1x, meaning a three minute video will take around three minutes to convert.
I can see this portable side of the SP being extremely useful for mobile users who haven’t got a free data plan. Instead of streaming video on the go, users will be able to preload their device before leaving their house using a broadband connection at home.
The social side to the SP is that users can share videos directly through email, Facebook and Twitter. However, this sharing is only done by sending links – so it’s hardly revolutionary.
RealPlayer SP will be available for free as well as a pay version – $40 in the States – which allows H.264 conversion as well as DVD playing/burning. Currently it only works on Windows – sorry Mac fans.
The portable side of this beta release looks great. I just wish it was available as a separate app rather than being lumped in with the whole RealPlayer package.
Download RealPlayer SP beta here.
(via CNET)
The five best video games TV shows
With Charlie Brooker confirming this morning, via Twitter, that Gameswipe will be the latest hybrid of his Wipe alternation, we at Tech Digest though it would be fitting to have a look at the best games TV shows of years gone by.
So in no particular order, here are our five favourites of a genre that undoubtedly enjoyed its golden period in the 1990s but has never really threatened the prime-time mainstream:
Gamesmaster
Well, I did say in no particular order but clearly Gamesmaster is the undisputed king of the bunch. It had Patrick Moore, actually Sir Patrick Moore CBE to give the great man his proper title, appearing as The Gamesmaster – a sort of futuristic cyborg who would reign over the proceedings with great aplomb.
He would give instructions to contestants for various games challenges as well as giving out cheats for the latest games. The fact that he never really sounded as if he was too sure what he was talking about mattered not one iota. He had a floating head surrounded by, at the time, cool looking armour – we believed every word he said.
Originally hosted by Dominik Diamond and later Dexter Fletcher, Gamesmaster was the show to watch if you wanted to know your Golden Axe from your ToeJam & Earl.
Even Simon Amstell made an appearance:
HP introduces first ever web connected printer
Yeah printers are boring, we know. But not the HP PhotoSmart Premium with TouchSmart Web. Oh no. This printer is so far from boring, it’s positively intoxicating.
Ok, it’s not that exciting but as far as printers go, it’s pretty cool. You see, dear readers, the HP PhotoSmart Premium is the first printer that will connect directly to the web.
It has a 4.33-inch screen in order to access its internet apps. Yes, that’s right, I said apps. On a printer.
HP has struck up partnerships with USA Today, Google, Fandango, Coupons.com, DreamWorks, Nickelodeon, Web Sudoku and Weathernews so as users can select the relevant app and access, and directly print if required, news, maps, coupons, tickets, recipes, personal calendars and more – all at the touch of a button. Users can also connect directly to Snapfish to print their own digital photos.
The printer prints, faxes, copies and scans. It can print directly from Wi-Fi-enabled PCs, Bluetooth devices and the iPhone.
Out in the Autumn across the pond for $399, the model is expected in the UK next year.
(via HP)
