Mike Slocombe

Daewoo Lucoms Releases UMPC Solo M1
Korean technology company Daewoo Lucoms, have unveiled their new ultra mobile PC Solo M1.
Coming hot on the heels of Samsung Q1, the ‘Solo M1’ UMPC handheld comes in tablet form, with a natty two-tone red and blakc finish and a 7-inch wide WVGA TFT screen.
Unless you’re in the habit of walking into the office donning clown’s trousers, you’re never going to be able to fit this thing in your pocket as it appears to be quite a hefty beast, with near-laptop dimensions at 25.5mm(W)x 114mm(D) x 25mm(H).
The 830g UMPC is powered by an Intel Celeron 900 Mhz CPU, running on MS Windows XP Tablet Edition and ships with 512MB of DDR2 400 memory (max 1GB) and a built in 30GB hard drive.
The Solo M1 features a variety of multimedia features, including video and music playback via Windows Media player, a DMB tuner, a 1.3 MP webcam for video conferencing and a 4-in-1 (MMC/ SDIO/ MS/ MS Pro) memory card reader.
Connectivity options include USB 2.0, Bluetooth V1.1 & V1.2 and Wi-Fi 802.11 B & G, with the unit’s cradle station offering S-Video out.
There’s also a range of optional accessories available, including a leather case, mini keyboard and external optical drive.
We’ve no idea yet about the crucial matter of battery life, but we can tell you that the Daewoo Lucoms Solo M1 UMPC is available in Korea for 998,000 KRW (~£570, ~$1,040) which seems pretty competitive.
But it’s still a chunky looking fella.
Daewoo Lucoms
18 July, 2006
BT Tops UK Broadband Performance Table
A new report has awarded the honours to BT, Virgin, Demon, AOL and Orange as being the UK’s top five consumer ADSL broadband services throughout the second quarter of 2006.
The new study by Customer Experience Management (CEM) firm Epitiro placed BT as the top dog of their overall ADSL index.
BT, along with Virgin and AOL, were the fastest services to actually connect to the Internet, while BT, Pipex and Orange were found to be up to four times faster than the industry average at delivering email.
Gavin Johns, Managing Director of Epitiro said, “Our consumer ADSL testing found that in terms of Internet performance, BT topped the overall rankings for the period April to June 2006. BT was also found to provide the fastest service as a percentage of its theoretical maximum.”
Solutions galore
Epitiro – a company very partial to using the word ‘solution’ in every other sentence – explained that they used their (ahem) “customer experience monitoring and competitor benchmarking solution, ISP-I” to monitor the ADSL broadband services by periodically connecting from ten key geographic locations around the UK from April to June 2006.
This information was compiled into Epitiro’s Consumer ADSL Internet Performance Index (IPI), which awarded a performance score of 1 to the best performer in each test throughout the period.
1 BT 2.78
2 Virgin 4.79
3 DEMON 5
4 AOL 5.22
5 Orange 5.23
With the ADSL industry’s average IPI score for Q2 2006 being 4.72, this shows that BT really are ahead of the game right now.
Epitiro
17 July, 2006
Trendnet Wi-Fi and 512MB Flash Memory Combo with HotSpot Detector
Travellers needing to keep connected might like the cut of the jib of Trendnet’s handy new USB wotsit. Regaling under the lengthy name of the ‘Trendnet HotFlash 802.11g Wireless & 512MB Flash Memory Combo USB Adapter with HotSpot Detector,’ this cheeky little puppy wedges in a ton of functionality into a memory stick sized unit.
Ranked by Laptop Magazine as one of the best road-ready accessories for mobile business folks, the HotFlash packs in 512MB of flash memory with a built in, plug-and-play 802.11g Wi-Fi adapter.
Best of all, there’s no need to fire up the laptop to look for Wi-Fi zones when you’re on the move thanks to the onboard Wi-Fi network scanner, with the information being presented on a small LCD screen.
The Hotflash can detect and connect to IEEE 802.11b and 802.11g HotSpots, with the display showing SSID, channel, encryption types and signal strength information.
Powered by a built-in rechargeable Li-on battery (which charges up when connected to a USB port), the specs claim a wireless working range of 35-100 meters indoors and 100-300 meters outdoors.
All in all, not bad for $100.
Trendnet
17 July, 2006
YouTube Delivers A 100 million Videos A Day
The online video sharing Web site YouTube, has, in the space of just a year, become the leading online video resource with up to 100 million videos being watched every day.
The figures, released by Web measurement site Hitwise, reveal that YouTube has now grabbed the numero uno position in online video, pwning a mighty 29 percent of the US multimedia entertainment market.
The site has become a huge hit with media-hungry surfers wanting to upload, share, and watch homemade videos from YouTube’s global audience, with the company saying that YouTube videos now account for 60 percent of all videos watched online.
In June, around 2.5 billion videos were watched on YouTube, with more than 65,000 videos being uploaded daily, up from around 50,000 in May.
With the vids being so short (typically 2 mins), YouTube has become the perfect place for bored office workers and attention-drifting types looking to grab a quick fix of free entertainment.
When we checked out the homepage (only in the interests of research, of course), there was a “Chipotle Burrito Parody,” a short clip of a “Giant Humbolt Squid,” “Cat Robot” and the always popular, “Zidane Headbutt Attack” for our viewing pleasure.
The Hitwise report also lists other companies competing in the US multimedia entertainment market, with News Corp.’s MySpace having around 19 percent share of the market, way down on YouTube’s 29 per cent share.
There’s then a big drop downwards to find Yahoo, MSN, Google and AOL who only have 3-5 percent of the video search market.
Curiously, the company says that it is “still working” on developing advertising and other revenue generating services to support the business.
With their eye-watering bandwidth charges, we reckon they’d best sort it out pronto.
YouTube
17 July, 2006
Fizz Traveller 2.3 For Pocket PC/MS Smartphone Review (69%)
Wedging its foot firmly into the territory currently ruled by rival application World Mate, Fizz Traveller for Pocket PC is a mobile travel companion, compatible with Windows Mobile 2003/2005 and Smartphone editions.
As befits its travel aspirations, the program comes stuffed with information useful to globe trotting types, offering world time, international weather information with forecasts, alarms, to-do lists, Internet-updated currency conversions and more.
Loading up the application on our i-mate JAM, we were taken to a large clock with some daft confetti stuff stuck all over it that promptly sent us looking for the ‘how we did get rid of this’ option.
A rummage through the menus revealed that the developers were pretty keen on the eye candy, with customisation options letting users fiddle about with various themes, background images, clock styles and colours.
Great if you like that kind of thing, of course, but we’d be happier with just one clean, crisp and professional interface than a load of bubbly, baubly spinning things.
We found the overall interface a bit of a pain too, with an animated menu system needlessly complicating matters, although we were impressed with the information that could be (eventually) displayed.
On a more positive note, the Today plug-in that ships with Fizz Traveller was a well designed addition that could be configured to show the current date/time and weather information, and cycle through other modes.
Talk about the weather
The program comes with 58,000 pre-programmed world wide cities, with the option to display more detailed time and weather for six user-selected ‘Favourite Cities,’ along with a pretty little map.
Sadly, you couldn’t zoom into the map so it wasn’t the greatest of travel aids.
The weather information was, however, impressively comprehensive, offering min/max temperatures, precipitation, forecast maps, satellite maps and 2/7 day forecasts, as well as an “Airport Delays” option which didn’t seem to be particularly useful.
More useful was the currency conversion section which, like the weather forecasts, could be configured to update wirelessly at preset intervals.
Wrapping up the feature set was a mixed bag of conversion tools for temperature, length, weight, area, volume, speed, power and torque.
We can’t recall the last time we found ourselves needing a program to convert horsepower into Kilowatts when we were on out travels, but we’ve certainly got one now.
Conclusion
There’s a lot to like about Fizz Traveller, with the program offering lots of useful, travel-related functionality and a well executed Today plug in.
We liked the weather maps and there’s no denying that the interface has been buffed and polished up to a very high standard with lots of options for folks who like to customise their app.
The only problem was that in their quest to produce the prettiest travel application around, usability occasionally flew out of the window.
Compared to its chief competitor, WorldMate 2006, the program often felt clunky and slow, and at times we found the pop up navigation system downright annoying.
It’s not all bad news for the Fizz crew though, as the program offers similar levels of functionality to their rival but retails for substantially less ($20 against WorldMate’s $35), so we’re sure some will be prepared to put up with the quirks of the interface to save themselves a few bob.
Features: 80%
Ease of use: 60%
Value For Money: 75%
Overall: 69%
Fizz Traveller 2.3 for Pocket PC
14 July, 2006
Why I Still Love The Palm: A Short Guide To Best Treo Apps
Here’s the third in Mike’s three part review of why the Palm Treo rocks his boat.
Iambic Agendus application on the Palm OS.
When partnered with the optional Agendus Windows Desktop application, the program is a masterclass in interface and usability design and is – in our opinion – a good enough reason to move to the Palm OS alone if you’re after a world class PIM.
Despite the enhanced feature set, more powerful processor and more modern software, I constantly found Windows Mobile to be a frustrating experience, with many functions unnecessarily complicated.
Word!
Even with Microsoft’s own products, the Palm did a better job, with the bundled Documents to Go application on the Treo proving far more effective at handling Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents than its Microsoft Mobile counterpart.
When it comes to email the Treo ended up streets ahead again, with the hugely powerful third party email application Chatter Email beating everything I’ve seen on the Pocket PC platform (the less said about Palm’s built in Versamail client the better, however.)
It’s the same story with SMS, with the built in text messaging interface on the Palm remaining streets ahead of its Pocket PC rivals, with the superb auto-threading conversations making it easy to keep track of text conversations. It really is a delight to use.
Being a mature platform, the Palm OS has grown has a ton of capable, office-related, third party programs for taking care of finances and budgeting, databases, project management and travel etc., so you’re sure to find something for your needs.
In our next installment, I’ll be looking at Palm’s connectivity and having a moan about the lack of Wi-Fi.
14 July, 2006
MicroQuad By Viex Games Review (90%)
Anyone who enjoyed Mario Kart on the Nintendo SNES back in the 90s will love MicroQuad by Viex Games.
Available on the Palm, Symbian Series 60 and Windows Mobile platforms, this is an old fashioned racing game that packs in an astonishing level of detail and playability.
We tested the game on the Palm Treo 650 and the graphics were fun, fast, slick and ran as smooth as a slippery thing in banana boots sliding over an oil slick.
The game
You certainly get a lot of bang for your buck, with a total of twenty different tracks/levels (that’s four unique tracks, each with five difficulty levels) and – apparently – some hidden unlockable tracks lurking within the game.
Gamers start off by taking part in the Baby Cup, and once enough games are won, they can progress through the Junior Cup, Pro Cup, Master Cup and eventually the Expert Cup.
At the beginning of each game you can select any one of six different bikes, each offering different strengths and weaknesses (road, off road and grip).
As well as navigating the ever-curving terrain at high speed, racers have to avoid oil slicks, sticky patches and missiles launched by competing karts.
Playing the game proved to be a whole load of fun, with the bright, colourful tracks, lively animation and attractive scenery making it something of an immersive, compelling experience.
Controlling the game
Playing the game via the Treo’s five-way controller was effortless, with the option to customise the placement and function of handset buttons via the game’s options menu – and there’s even a left-handed mode on offer!
We had no problems running the game off our 2 GB Sandisk SD card and the game proved to be rock-solid in use with no crashes (and we’ve been playing it a lot!).
The game also offers an internet high score competition, a Bluetooth multiplayer option and a ‘Quick Race’ option if you fancy a quick blast around the tracks.
Conclusion
We liked this game. A lot.
It offers great value, exceptionally high quality graphics and a level of gameplay so addictive it can only be described as perilous.
The game’s tough enough to keep you coming back for more too, so you can expect a dramatic slump in productivity as soon as you install the game on your handset!
MicroQuad can be downloaded from Viex.org for just $14.95 (€12, £8).
Scores on the door: Features: 85%
Gameplay: 90%
Graphics: 90%
Value For Money: 95%
Overall: 90%
Compatibility:
Palm OS:
Tungsten E, T, T2, T3 and C
Zire 31 (low resolution), 71 and 72
Treo 600 (low resolution) and Treo 650
Sony Clie Series NX, NZ, TG, TH, TH and UX
Tapwave Zodiac 1 and 2
Pocket PC Windows Mobile 5.0
(tested on a Qtek 2020, a Qtek S100, a HP iPAQ 5550, a HP iPAQ 3950, a HP iPAQ 4700, a HP hx 2750, a Toshiba e800 and a Garmin iQue M5.)
Series60 Symbian
(tested on Nokia NGage, Nokia 6600, Nokia 7610 and Nokia 3650)
13 July, 2006
MySpace Becomes Number One US Website
MySpace is now the most popular Website in the US, shimmying past traditional Internet big boys Yahoo and Google in the visitor share department, according to tracking firm Hitwise.
The online teen hangout, owned by media ubermensch Murdoch’s News Corp, accounted for 4.46 percent of all U.S. Internet visits for the week ending July 8, leaving Yahoo Mail (4.42 per cent), Yahoo (4.25) and Google (3.89) trailing in its wake for the first time.
Down the social
The site is now the unchallenged Boss, Head Man, Top Dog and Big Cheese of the social networking scene, hogging a colossal 80 percent of all visits to virtual community sites, with its nearest rival, FaceBook, a far-distant blob on the horizon with just at 7.6 percent of traffic.
Following Facebook, Xanga is but a flea in the giant cosmos of space with just 3.8 percent, while Yahoo 360 and Bebo are like floating atoms in the vastness of infinity, with their presence barely registering at 1.1 and 0.98 percent, respectively.
“MySpace continues its meteoric rise, to now claim the number one spot for all Internet visits in the US,” roared Bill Tancer, general manager of Global Research at Hitwise.
“We are still discovering the Internet laws of gravity as it relates to a site’s potential to grow on the Internet,” he added, quietly introducing a new scientific concept of ‘Web gravity’.
“The fact that MySpace was virtually unknown by the mainstream Internet users two years ago and now claims the top position, demonstrates how hyper-competitive the Internet really is,” he continued.
To the great disgruntlement of some, Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp bought MySpace for $580 million one year ago, and with MySpace clocking up a mighty 76 percent leap in traffic since April, no doubt he’ll be a happy chap.
We can’t even begin to say how happy that makes us.
MySpace
12 July, 2006
T-Mobile Adds Microsoft Push Email To Web’n’Walk
T-Mobile is the latest UK mobile service provider to offer its mobile customers Windows Push Email.
The Push Email service is compatible with Microsoft Windows 5.0 devices, which include the MDA Pro, MDA Vario, and MDA Compact handsets carried by T-Mobile.
The system – as the name suggests – works by ‘pushing’ email straight to the user’s portable device from their businesses Exchange Server, and then notifying them that there’s a message in their pocket.
Just like the cost to the little boy in the ghastly Melba Montgomery song, there will be ‘no charge’ for the new service for business users already on the web’n’walk professional tariff.
This certainly adds extra value to the T-Mobile package, which currently costs £17 a month, or £8.50 when added to Flext, Relax, or Business 1-Plan contracts.
The Microsoft Push Email service comes stuffed with security measures for businesses, including centrally controlled password protection, local data wipe, and a remote data wipe feature to clear devices of company-sensitive data if they get in the hands of ne’er do wells, rogues and robbers.
For added security and convenience (in case you’re a bit forgetful/half-cut), the wipe feature lets owners decide how many incorrect logon attempts can be tried before the phone shuts up shop.
Working over GPRS, 3G and Wi-Fi, T-Mobile’s push email service also offers integration with Microsoft Outlook, letting swivel-action besuited types synchronise tasks and search for contacts on the move.
T Mobile
11 July, 2006
Spend! Spend! Spend! Brits Head Up Euro Online Shopping League
With credit card-crazy Brits leading at the front, Europeans are spending ever more money online, with the yearly total for 2006 on course to hit €100bn.
According to new figures from Forrester Research, the 100 million Internet shoppers across Europe are shelling out a staggering €1,000 per person, with the buying-bonkers Brits spending more than anyone else, registering an average €1,744 for the year.
Jaap Favier, research director consumer markets at Forrester, commented that online sales are “building up every year in the countries where it started first, such as the UK or Sweden.”
Attributing the growth in e-commerce to the widespread adoption of broadband, Favier predicted that countries like France – who were late to the e-commerce party – are now only about two years behind the UK, and will soon have a higher growth rate in spending.
Favier added, “Consumers take about a year after going online before they will purchase something online. The first thing they purchase is either a book, a CD or a trip. Those people who have been online for a while are extending their buying into other categories such as clothing or electronics.”
So where’s the cash going?
According to Forrester, there’s a veritable tidal wave of cash heading for travel Websites, with over a third of all online spending going on booking flights and happy hols.
Favier predicts the travel boom will see an increase of 133 per cent over the coming five years, bringing the annual spend to €77bn by 2011.
Leisure is another Internet boomtown, as online off-licences and wine clubs rake it in, with Forrester predicting a thumping 283 per cent growth on leisure spending over the coming five years.
It’s a big happy-clappy rosy picture for overall e-commerce sales too, with online sales ready to more than double over the coming five years, reaching a cashtill rattling €263bn by 2011.
11 July, 2006