August 2006

BoxWave Dual Handsfree Stereo Adapter For Palm Treo Review (80%)
If you’re fed up with having to use the rubbish headphones that came with your Treo, you may want to consider investing in BoxWave’s Dual Handsfree Stereo Adapter.
Like many other mobile manufacturers, Palm elected to use the non-standard 2.5mm headphone socket, meaning that you can’t use your favourite headphones with the device.
Although many electronics stores like Maplins carry simple 2.5mm (male) to 3.5mm (female) stereo adapters, your listening pleasure is going to be interrupted every time you take a call as you’ll have to unplug your headphones every time. Not cool.
So here’s where the BoxWave’s Dual Handsfree Stereo Adapter comes in.
The unit features a simple (gold plated) 2.5mm to 3.5mm adapter which connects up to a small control unit which includes an integrated microphone, single-touch answer call button, volume control, and a switch for toggling between music and handsfree phone mode.
The adapter also comes with a removable lapel clip so that you can clip the microphone to your jacket, and to avoid the usual spaghetti tangle of wires, there’s a clever cable retract/recoil design that winds in any excess cabling.
Giving it some welly
We tested the adapter with a Palm Treo 650 and a pair of Grado SR60 cans.
Giving it a bit of welly with some MP3s played back on Pocket Tunes, everything worked as advertised, with the music mode automatically pausing the tunes whenever a call came in on the Treo.
As soon as the call was finished, the music would kick back in again, so there was no need to go rummaging about in bags or pockets. Sweet.
We also liked the retractable cable, although there’s no denying that the combination of adapter, cable coiler and control unit added a bit of bulk.
Although we initially had a problem with a noisy potentiometer (that’s a volume control to most people, but we’re trying hard to impress you here), Boxwave were quick to send out a replacement, so it looks like their customer service is on the case.
Overall, we found the BoxWave to be well worth the outlay (currently on offer from their site at $20.95) and a great investment if you want to be able to get the best music performance out of your Palm Treo 650/700p/700w.
If you haven’t got a Palm, you might be interested to note that Boxwave also do a Dual Handsfree Stereo Headset which replicates most of the functionality of the Palm version, but has non-removable headphones – check out their page for compatible models.
Features: 80%
Build: 80%
Value For Money: 85%
Overall: 80%
BoxWave Dual Handsfree Stereo Adapter
17 August, 2006
USRobotics Adds Two Skype USB Phones
USRobotics has rolled out two new Skype Certified handsets, the oh-so-catchily named USR9601 USB Internet Phone and the seductively monikered USR9602 USB Internet Mini Phone.
Both phones plug into an available USB port and integrate with the Skype desktop application to provide “easy voice communications” to the Skype community.
According to USRobotics, the phones come with technology enhancements designed to get rid of the annoying echoes that plagued earlier handsets and banish the ‘orrible “tunnel” sound suffered on cheapo handsets.
Both phones – neither of which are lookers – come with an integrated keypad letting VoIPers make calls to Skype contacts via assigned speed dial numbers, or to dial telephones anywhere in the world with SkypeOut.
The more expensive of the two phones, the £30 ($49.95) USR809601 offers a high-resolution, blue back-lit LCD screen for contact information and call status, while the entry level ($24.95, £13) USR9602 USB Internet Mini hasn’t a single LCD pixel to its name.
“Our collaboration with USRobotics provides the growing Skype community with high quality, affordable Skype devices that make Internet communications easy whether you’re at home or in the office,” hyped Manrique Brenes, director of hardware for Skype.
“USRobotics and Skype are committed to enabling the world’s conversations; these new USB Internet phones are a great example of our shared vision,” Brenes added, while we pondered over how one gets a job as an “enabler of world conversations.”
USRobotics USB Internet Phone USR9601A Specifications
Plug-and-Play for auto installation
Echo cancellation and noise reduction technology
Supports full-duplex communication
Dialed and incoming number memory
USB
Supports USB 1.1 and 2.0 ports
USB Powered (no external power supply needed)
USB Port: A-type interface, Universal Serial Bus Specification, Revision 1.1
Dot matrix LCD Screen: Time and date, Caller ID, Call states and duration
Dimensions/Weight
USB Phone
5.9 x 1.75 x .8 in / 15 x 4.45 x 2.03 cm
0.44 lb / .2 kg
Handset Functionality
Blue back-lit display
Echo cancellation, noise reduction
Dial Skype contacts (Speed Dial)
Dial Skype-Out numbers using phone keypad
Place calls on hold and mute calls
LCD State Indications: Skype online, Skype offline & missed calls
Selectable ring tones
Minimum System Requirements
400 MHz Pentium II IBM compatible PC with 128 MB RAM and 5 MB free hard disk space (or higher)
Available USB port or a USB hub with external power supply
Windows XP/2000 or Macintosh X or higher
USRobotics USB Internet Mini Phone USR9602 Specifications
HiFi Voice technology
Plug-and-Play
Echo cancellation and noise reduction technology
Supports full-duplex communication
USB
Supports USB 1.1 and 2.0 ports
USB Powered (no external power supply needed)
USB Port: Mini-USB type B female on handset
Mini-USB type A-to-USB type A cable, 2.5 m
Universal Serial Bus Specification, Revision 1.1
Dimensions/Weight
USB Internet Mini Phone
5.9 x 1.75 x .8 in / 15 x 4.45 x 2.03 cm
0.44 lb / .2 kg
Handset Functionality
Control Skype contact list, history scrolling, utility activations, and tabs switching
LED Indicator: Off – handset idle, Blinking – Incoming Skype call, Slow Blinking – Handset microphone is muted
Echo cancellation, noise reduction
Dial Skype contacts (Speed Dial)
Dial Skype-Out numbers using phone keypad
One button call pick-up, hang-up, mute and hold
Speaker volume adjustment
Buzzer/Ring tone selection
Minimum System Requirements
400 MHz Pentium II IBM compatible PC with 128 MB RAM and 5 MB free hard disk space (or higher)
Available USB port or a USB hub with external power supply
Windows XP/2000
USB Robotics
16 August, 2006
Samsung SCH-B470 Offers Picture In Picture DMB
Yet more proof that Koreans are spoilt rotten when it comes to having the very latest must-have mobile gadgets comes in the form of Samsung’s brand new phone – displayed, as ever, by scantily clad models.
OK, the Samsung looks a bit weird with its ET-like swivelling head, but – check out this out – not only does it boast Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB), but it’s got Picture in Picture too!
Perfect for those with an attention span that can only be measured in milliseconds, the SCH-B470 lets TV-mad users view two channels at the same time via a split screen, just like your big TV at home.
The chunky black clamshell phone also lets users switch between having a small Picture in Picture (PiP) display showing the secondary channel or splitting the display in half, with the two selected channels sharing the total viewing area.
Naturally, users can also elect to fill the screen with just the one channel for fuddy-duddy, old-school types who are satisfied with just one channel playing simultaneously.
It’s not all endless fun for tech-savvy Koreans though, as there’s only twelve S-DMB channels currently available.
More features
As well as the way cool PiP TV modes, the SCH-B470 comes with a swivelling 2 megapixel camera, an MP3 player, a flip out and rotate 2.2-inch LCD screen and some sort of ‘pet’ game to entertain users when there’s nowt on the telly.
With all that cutting edge technology stuffed inside, it’s no surprise that the phone comes with a hefty price tag, expected to hover around the 700,000 KRW ($728, £384) mark.
Samsung Korea
What’s DMB?
16 August, 2006
Mobile Internet Population Hits 34.6 Million In US
With more Internet-enabled handsets on the market, it’s not surprising that more punters are getting a bit of Web action on the move, with email and weather sites being the top two most visited mobile sites.
According to mobile data spods Telephia, the population of the “mobile Internet” clicked up to 34.6 million users in June 2006, up 6 percent from the 32.7 million users recorded by the company in January.
Their figures also revealed that once punters are hooked up to the mobile Internet, their addiction grows, with users notching up an average 34.3 sessions in June, compared to 31.4 user sessions in January.
Bernard Brenner, director of mobile content for Telephia commented, “Even as the subscriber rate grows, the number of people using the mobile Web is also increasing. It’s an increasing number in an increasing market.”
Top US Mobile Websites (June 2006)
The top ten of the most popular mobile Websites contains the expected big names, with Yahoo Mail being the most viewed, registering a unique audience of 6.51 million mobile users, accounting for 3 percent of subscribers.
This is followed by the Weather Channel with 5.9 million users and a 2.7 percent share, with ESPN.com in third place with 5.3 million users /2.5 percent.
In fourth place is Google Search (4,356/2.0 per cent) and then MSN Hotmail (3,441, 1.6 per cent), MapQuest (3,067/1.4 per cent), AOL Mail (2,907/1.4 per cent), CNN (2,799/1.3 per cent), Yahoo! Weather (2,740/1.3 per cent) and, finally, Yahoo! Search (2,531/1.2 per cent).
When it comes to mobile browsers, Openwave, Motorola and Nokia browsers have the highest adoption rates, with Openwave registering more than a quarter of all mobile Web users.
Telephia
16 August, 2006
Dell Recalls 4 Million Laptop Batteries
Dell has announced that it is to recall millions of laptop batteries over fears that they could overheat and pose a fire hazard.
According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, Dell are working with the Consumer Product Safety Commission in what the commission is describing as, “the largest safety recall in the history of the consumer electronics industry.”
This big daddy of product recalls involves 4.1 million lithium-ion batteries manufactured for Dell by a unit of Sony and sold between April 2004 and July 2006.
The recall comes after Dell says it received six reports of batteries overheating, resulting in property damage to furniture and personal effects, although many suspect the figure to be much higher.
The problem hit the headlines in June 2006, when a Dell laptop burst into flames during a conference in Japan.
Photos of the flaming computer were posted on the tech site The Inquirer, with the eye witness reporting that the computer “suddenly exploded into flames” and “produced several explosions for more than five minutes.”
A battery of battery recalls
This isn’t the first time that Dell has issued recalls for its batteries either.
In December 2005, the company was forced to recall 22,000 batteries in the United States after fears that they could overheat and create a fire hazard.
The jumbo-sized recall adds up to 18% of the 22 million notebooks Dell sold during the period, this rather raises questions about about the safety of other laptops using Sony-built batteries.
Inquirer
Images courtesy of The Inquirer.
15 August, 2006
Gadgets Allowed Back On UK Flights
Gadget fans dreading the prospect of long Transatlantic flights without the comforting flicker of LCD screens or the in-ear thump of iPods will be pleased by a relaxing of the restrictions brought about by last week’s ‘critical’ terrorist security alert.
From 4.30am this morning, the Department for Transport (DfT) will allow Heathrow passengers to carry one item of cabin baggage on to planes, and this can include your lovely electronic gadgets – on the proviso that it is kept in clear plastic bags.
In a statement, the DfT said the new arrangements will apply to “all passengers starting their journey at a UK airport and to those transferring from international flights at a UK airport”.
The maximum dimensions for cabin baggage have been substantially reduced which may tempt hardcore travellers into investing into an ultra portable laptop rather than risk lumping their precious laptops into unpressurised cargo compartments.
Long distance lotharios who like to splash it all over with Brut 33 before arriving at their destination will be disheartened to learn that the carrying of all liquids remains forbidden.
Here’s a full breakdown of the new rules:
Cabin baggage must not exceed a maximum length of 45cm, width of 35cm and depth of 16cm (17.7″ × 13.7″ × 6.2″ approximately), including wheels, handles and side pockets. This is smaller than the previous limits on hand luggage.
Other bags, such as handbags, may be carried within it.
All items carried by passengers will be X-ray screened.
No liquids of any type are permitted through the airport security search point, with two exceptions: Prescription medicines in liquid form essential for the flight (such as diabetic kit), as long as it is verified as authentic. Baby milk and liquid baby food (the contents of each bottle or jar must be tasted by the accompanying passenger).
Liquids not allowed include gels, pastes, lotions, liquid/solid mixtures and the contents of pressurised containers, for example toothpaste, hair gel, drinks, soups, syrups, perfume, deodorant, shaving foam and aerosols. No cosmetics, toiletries or sharp objects.
To help their progress through search points, passengers are encouraged not to include items capable of containing liquids (e.g. bottles, flasks, tubes, cans, plastic containers etc.) in their cabin baggage.
All laptops and large electrical items (e.g. large hairdryer) must be removed from the bag and placed in a tray so that such items neither obscure nor are obscured by the bag.
Pushchairs and walking aids are permitted but must be x-ray screened. Wheelchairs are permitted but must be thoroughly searched.
Passengers boarding flights to the USA and items they are carrying, including those acquired after the central screening point, will be subjected to secondary search at the gate.
Any liquids discovered will be removed from the passenger.
More info: BAA
15 August, 2006
Philips WOWvx 3D Displays: Casinos First To Use
Following the long tradition of Web innovations often premiering in the ~~dodgy~~ adult entertainment sector, the European Holland Casino has announced that it will be introducing 3D screens for gamblers.
Unlike previous 3D systems which usually involved punters strapping on daft cardboard glasses, the new display technology from Philips gives the impression of objects and images coming out and moving beyond the screen (lots of potential for the p0rn industry, then).
The effect is created using Philips award-winning WOWvx 3D technology, with its 42″ displays providing autostereoscopic 3D images with full brightness (460 cd/m2), full contrast (1000:1) and true colour representation.
Introduced earlier this year, the 3D displays have been used for professional applications, but the Holland Casino will be the first company in the leisure and entertainment world in Europe to use these 3D displays for the general public.
The 3D screens will be first seen at the Breda Casino, where punters keen to lose the shirt off their backs can be entertained by a roulette ball that “seems to roll out of the screen” and chips that “fly towards you.”
The Holland Casino plans to integrate the 3D screens in a new national jackpot concept, the Mega Million Jackpot, with the technology being introduced in the Autumn.
Philips 3D
15 August, 2006
Edinburgh Interactive Entertainment Festival: Strong Lineup
You’ve no doubt have noticed that we had the Edinburgh Interactive Entertainment Festival (EIEF)
As a reader of Digital-Lifestyles, you well know that Convergence isn’t just about your mobile phone and toaster becoming one (!), it’s also about content types coming closer together and, in some cases blending. At the extreme, we think it’s arguable that TV could be in a whole heap of trouble when video games become photo-realistic. Why watch TV when you can _be_ in the programme?
We went to EIEF last year and were impressed with the quality of the sessions and the delegates, who were all jolly friendly.
As you’d expect, we’ll be covering it from the ground next week, not hiding in an office waiting for the press releases to arrive like many other publications.
Set over Monday 21st and Tuesday, there’s a host of strong conference sessions arranged, covering a wide range of subjects, not just the obvious. Here’s our highlights.
In the Monday Keynote David Gardner, Executive V-P and COO of EA’s World Wide Studios is delving in to the challenges and opportunity of developing for the next gen consoles, such xbox360, Sony PS3, Nintnedo Wii.
The UK press has occasionally thrown a fit about the realism of video games, in some cases leading to the changing of blood colour in some games. This is basis of the Green Blood vs Red Blood session which will debate the implications of HDTV and photorealistic graphics for the games industry. Wise to debate it in advance, rather than wait for the censors.
Ben Sawyer of Serious Games explores “Games That Heal ï¿½ the medicine of interactive software.” Examining how games are being used to help patients with conditions ranging from cancer to post-traumatic stress disorder.
To end off the night, Edge will be holding their Award and networking party at the Jam House.
Tuesday
If you’re living your Digital-Lifestyle, you’ll be aware of Machinima – where computer games are used to create films. One of the original was Red vs Blue where the footage was grabbed from Xbox mega-title Halo and voiced-over to create a drama. This has now grown to have many episodes – at least 83 we’re aware of.
In the session, find out just how far Machinima has gone into the mainstream and yet has managed to retain its rebellious and experimental approach.
The icing on the cake of this session is the world premiere of a live machinima performance from Rooster Teeth, the creators of above mentioned Red vs Blue.
The other session highlight is ‘When Alice Met Elvis’, which explores taking games beyond the screen, into other medias and how it impacts the creative process.
Author Kate Pullinger will unveil the World Premiere of the third part of her Inanimate Alice series, a ‘unique kinetic experience’, part game, part novel, part film.
When you want to bring all of those elements together, it’s not something that’s going to happen if you leave it to the last moment. To bring this into focus the founders of Velvetelvis will share their experiences in trying to encourage the “fusion” of all potential commercial elements ï¿½ film, games, music, web, books – at the very beginning of a new project.
As if all of that wasn’t enough to keep you busy, there’s a series of screenings at the Odeon cinema on Lothian Road of Lord of the Ringsï¿½ Online: Shadows of Angmar; Reservoir Dogs video game; Spongebob Squarepants; and Crackdown from Dave Jones, creator of the Grand Theft Auto series and Lemmings.
We told it was a strong line up, didn’t we? See you there.
EIEF
15 August, 2006
N93 Short Shot By Gary Oldman Released
Hollywood hot shot Gary Oldman is today releasing his new short film, shot on the Nokia N93 we’re told.
He’s taking the short label pretty literally, as the puppy is two minutes long, featuring what is described as “a round reflection in rippling water set to a haunting soundtrack.” Sounds lovely.
We’d imagine that this has cost Nokia a pretty penny, but it all goes towards burning into your brains that Nokia is about film. Creating it as we’ve seen here and watching it on their handsets too.
To that end, completely unprompted (we’re certain), Gazzer said, “Mobile video devices like the Nokia N93 allow us to capture the extraordinary moments in our ordinary days and share them with the world. The image in Donut is one such fleeting moment I happened upon that inspired me to grab my mobile video device out of my pocket and record it to share with others. I hope my film encourages people to do the same and I look forward to seeing the results on the Nokia Nseries Studio.”
Mr Oldman’s short will be premiering online on the neatly mentioned Nokia Nseries Studio, where from today (another coincidence?) anyone can upload short films to share with the world.
Happy Slapping
Camera phones have been used by some on the streets to make their own films, sadly many with violent overtones. Unfortunately the Hollywood violence that these youth had been subjected to for the whole of their lives (in the name of entertainment) wasn’t staged as it is in films, but real. Happy Slapping video’s stormed around school playgrounds about 18 months and featured members of the public getting assaulted, while those with the camera phones recording it laughed.
DVD quality or not?
Nokia appear to be back tracking a little on their definition of the quality of the onboard camera. When the N93 was first mooted, it was DVD-quality, it’s now being labelled DVD-like.
Nokia aren’t calling the N93 a phone with a camera on it, but a multimedia computer. You may mock, but this isn’t too far from the truth – it’s got a ton of processing power on board and a 3.2 megapixel lens with Carl Zeiss optics, DVD-like video capture and 3x optical zoom.
DV camcorders beware
Discussion of DVD-quality or DVD-like aside, the N93 shows the direction that camera-phones are taking, despite this early example being pretty bulky. The quality of these is approaching that of a standard DV (Digital Video) camera putting pressure on the DV manufacturers. The response to this from them is the introduction of HiDef camcorders. Expect this to become the standard.
Nokia Nseries Studio
14 August, 2006
Tiscali Take Over HomeChoice
HomeChoice have agreed to be taken over ISP Tiscali in exchange for 11.5% of their new owner.
The tenacity of HomeChoice has always impressed us. They’ve been going for years and have just refused to give up. Getting started in the days when Video on Demand meant asking to rent a video from your local video rental shop, they’ve been through quite a number of investment rounds, some so severe that the investors ended up with nothing.
Never hitting big numbers, the writing has been on the wall for them, what with Sky getting into broadband, NTL re-enlivining themselves with Virgin mobile and BT Vision on the horizon.
HomeChoice has been settled on around 45,000 subscribers for quite a while now as they’ve been restricted to operating within London and some areas to its north. They just haven’t had the investment available to unbundle anymore exchanges beyond the 145 they have to spread their service. Their original expansion was hampered by the huge cost BT used to charge them for the Visionstream service they needed to run the service.
The last murmur about HomeChoice was that Sky was casting their eye in their direction, but we suspect that this was floated by the company itself to try and flush potential suitors out of the wood work.
As to why Tiscali has bought them …
It’s likely that Tiscali feels they need to move fast to avoid becoming sidelined by the other companies putting themselves forward as the Big Boys in the ISP/IPTV/Phone market.
By buying HomeChoice they’ll start with something they can build on, rather than having to start from scratch, giving them a time advantage. This is made very real by gaining 145 unbundled exchanges within London taking Tiscali to a total of 330 country-wide.
Homechoice has also spent quite a lot of effort in the last year building up their content relationships, creating niche programming.
As to the backend iron that HomeChoice is using to power the VOD – it may be that is getting a bit long in the tooth these days.
Don’t forget Tiscali don’t actually have to put their hands in their pockets either, just swap stock.
HomeChoice
Tiscali
14 August, 2006