Mike Slocombe

Fujitsu Siemens Launches Pocket LOOX N GPS PDAs
Fujitsu Siemens have launched the “first handhelds with fully integrated GPS functionality”, the Pocket LOOX N500 and Pocket LOOX N520 PDAs.
Delivered with Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0 and optional NAVIGON MobileNavigator 5, the new LOOX models offer an integrated SiRFStar III GPS Receiver for GPS functionality, making them “robust without compromising on design”.
Powered by an Intel XScale PXA270 312 MHz CPU, the devices come with a SD/MMC slot (with support for SDIO), USB 1.1, IrDA and Bluetooth, with the Pocket LOOX N520 offering integrated wireless LAN 802.11g Wi-Fi.
Both units offer a large 3.5″ screen (active area: 53×71 mm) with a resolution of 240×320 pixels, 64K colours and 10 levels of backlighting brightness, supported by 64Mb RAM and 64Mb flash memory (LOOX N500) and 128Mb (LOOX N520).
The attractively finished silver and slate grey LOOX devices come with a removable Li-Ion 1200 mAh battery which should provide something like 16 hours of MP3 playback.
A new Persistent Memory feature has also been added, providing secure storage for programmes and documents when the power gets low.
There’s also a ton of Fujitsu Siemens-branded applications bundled in the package, including Voice recorder, AudioPath and Key Look, along with a Microsoft Mobile suite including Excel, Power Point, Outlook and Internet Explorer.
They’re not the smallest PDAs on the market, with pocket-straining dimensions of 116x71x14 mm (bigger than the previous LOOX 420 model) and a weight of 160g, but they do come with a cool blue illuminated keypad and base station with headphones.
Both handhelds are available now from £239.00 (~US$434, €351~) and £259.00 (~US$459, €381~) respectively (excluding VAT).
Fujitsu Siemens
26 October, 2005
BitTorrent File Sharer Arrested
A Hong Kong doleboy has been slapped down by The Man after he was found guilty of distributing three Hollywood films using BitTorrent’s peer-to-peer file sharing technology.
A report in the Taiwanese English-language newspaper The China Post named unemployed Chan Nai-Ming in what is believed to be the first case of its kind.
The 38 year old used BitTorrent to distribute “Miss Congeniality”, “Daredevil” and “Red Planet” and heard the knock on the door from customs officers in January 2005.
Nai-Ming pleaded not guilty to copyright infringement but was convicted after a four day trial. He will be sentenced on 7 November, 2005, although some Websites are reporting that he’s already been fined $641 (~£360, ~E529).
The Hong Kong government is claiming the action as its first successful action against peer-to-peer file sharing, with Hong Kong Commerce Secretary John Tsang confident that it would deter other potential file-sharers.
Since the arrest, the Hong Kong customs department said that illegal file-sharing had plummeted by 80%.
The OpenSource BitTorrent software has become one of the most popular means of downloading large files, with the technology allowing users to download fragments of a large file from multiple users, rather than in one hefty lump.
Initially, the program needed centralised tracker files to manage this process, but BitTorrent’s creator, Bram Cohen announced that they were no longer needed in the last year.
As it’s grown in popularity, BitTorrent has garnered the unwelcome attentions of spyware and adware pushers along with the corporate might of recording companies and movie studios.
Thousands of peer-to-peer downloaders using software like Napster and SoulSeek have already been sued for copyright infringement over the past few years, with the US Supreme Court ruling last year that peer-to-peer makers could be sued if they encourage users to copy material.
We expect the corporate-profits-defending big boot of The Man to be seeing a lot of door-kicking action in the upcoming months.
BitTorrent
MPAA to pursue film file-sharers
26 October, 2005
BT Starts Trials Of 8mbps Broadband
BT is planning to turbo-boost broadband connectivity by quadrupling basic connectivity speeds to 8mbps nationwide and giving the service a snappy name, “ADSL Broadband Max”.
Compared to some of the competition, BT’s current 2mbps basic broadband connectivity speed (quadrupled from 500kbps to 2mbps earlier this year) makes a glacier look light footed, so the upgrade is desperately needed to keep customers from straying elsewhere.
The 8mbps service will see BT reaching the theoretical top ADSL speeds it announced when the broadband service first launched in 2000.
BT has said it will begin trials of its ADSL Broadband Max service next month in London, Cornwall, South Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, with the trials gradually expanding into a national 8mbps roll out starting in spring 2006.
Cameron Rejali, managing director for products and strategy at BT Wholesale, was on-message, “BT is committed to ensuring everyone benefits from the broadband revolution, whether they live in valleys, villages or city centres”.
With the industry rapidly consolidating, BT is coming under increasing pressure from newly merged uber-telecos like Telewest/NTL and Sky/Easynet, with the former already offering speeds of more than 8mbps for no extra charge on existing broadband subscriptions.
Elsewhere, BT has started trialling optical fibre broadband services in Wales, connecting business to ultra-high-bandwidth services using strands of blown fibre run along using existing telegraph poles.
This technology saves BT having to mess about digging optical fibre trenches to properties and reduces costs of delivering optical services in “the last mile”.
BT
26 October, 2005
Samsung SCH V700, The World’s First PMP Phone
Released today in Korea, the land where they get all the cool gadgets first, Samsung’s new SCH V700 handset has the honour of being the first PMP (Portable Media Player) phone in the world.
But before you get really excited and suspect that this PMP gadget will provide a rush of excitement on a par with its near namesake, PCP, allow us to explain:
PMP is just another new marketing tag dreamt up by PR types in a froth of cappuccino to describe a common or garden multimedia handset, i.e. a hard disk/flash memory based gizmo capable of playing back/recording MP3s and video.
The V700 comes in Samsung’s favoured clamshell design with the added twist of a tilting display which lets users rotate the screen 90 degrees to take advantage of a wider display (it looks a bit like ET to us in this position, but maybe we’ve been overdoing it a bit recently.)
Clad in an unspectacular silver finish, it’s not the smallest ot most attractive phone around, but it serves up a reasonably generous 320 x 240 pixels main QVGA display, with a quirky circular LCD fitted on the phone’s exterior.
Inside, there’s a capacious 200 megabytes of internal memory on offer with additional storage offered by a T-flash card slot.
We’re impressed with the onboard TV out port which could prive a great way of sharing your photos with chums.
We’ve no idea when it’s likely to be on the streets of the UK, but the price looks like it’ll be hovering around the €450 mark (£350, $540).
Samsung
via akihabara news
25 October, 2005
EX-600: Casio Wafer Thin Digital Camera Announced
CASIO have announced their new, wafer-thin EXILIM CARD EX-S600 digital camera.
Small enough to slip in your pocket without inviting Mae West quotes, the 16mm thin camera sports a 3X optical zoom (38 – 114mm, F 2.7 – 5.2), with a nippy start up time and super fast 0.007 second release time lag.
Offering a healthy six megapixels resolution, this card-sized diminutive snapper comes with “Anti Shake DSP” which Casio claims can reduce or eliminate blur caused by shaking mitts or moving subjects.
Compared to its predecessor, the EX-500, the camera offers an updated CCD imager, 50% improved battery life, a slightly closer macro focusing distance of 15 centimetres and a new “Revive Shot” feature which attends to the rather obscure needs of people taking digital pictures of old album photos.
According to Casio’s announcement, Revive Shot mode “adjusts for obliquity as well as brightly refreshes faded colours.”
Our dictionary says that obliquity means, “the presentation during labour of the head of the foetus at an abnormal angle” and “the quality of being deceptive,” so we’re not entirely sure what they’re on about, but we figure that it just sprinkles a bit of fairy dust over old images and boosts up the colours.
Unlike Pansonic LX1’s mechanical Optical Image Stabilisation, the Casio achieves the effect with digital bodgery, automatically bumping up the ISO and thus making faster shutter speeds available (at the expense of more noise.)
The camera offers quick picture playback of approx 0.1 seconds interval on the large 2.2 inch LCD, which Casio claims is “twice as bright as previous models” (good job too as there’s no optical viewfinder onboard.)
As is de rigeur on consumer compacts, there’s a built in movie mode with the Casio capturing MPEG-4, VGA (640×480 pixels) at 30 frames/second.
Battery life is a beefy 300 still pictures or 1 hour and 50 minutes of movie recording per battery charge, with the EX-S600 connecting to a TV or PC via the multi cradle, which also doubles as the battery charger.
As ever, there are enough scene modes (34) on offer to ensure that even an Icelandic daytripper to the Amazon should be able to capture every atmospheric eventuality on the way, although we imagine most people will just go along with the ‘auto’ option.
Currently only available in Japan and other Asian markets, the EX-S600 comes in a selection of colours, sparkle silver, fiesta orange, mistral blue and luminous gold.
Casio
25 October, 2005
SD430: Canon PowerShot Adds Wi-Fi
Canon are trumpeting that they are “bringing IXUS style and performance to the wireless age” with the release of their PowerShot camera.
Essentially a Powershot SD450 with Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11b) bolted on, the compact camera comes with a 5.0 Megapixel CCD sensor, 3x optical zoom, 2.0″ LCD display and 14 shooting modes for creative experimentation.
The addition of the Wi-Fi gubbins means the SD430 offers direct printing to any to any Canon PictBridge compatible printer courtesy of the supplied Wireless Printer Adapter (WA-1E).
An Auto Transfer mode automatically transfers images to a nearby PC (with Canon’s software installed) while the Wireless Remote Capture lets users fire off snaps from their PC – great fun for candid party shots and capturing scampering squirrels in the garden. If that’s your bag, of course.
The camera can be registered with up to 8 target devices including wireless access points via a secure communication system to prevent eavesdropping or interception of your photographic masterpieces.
As well as industry standard WEP, the SD430 employs WPA-PSK with TKIP/AES encryption for enhanced data security.
“With wireless technology extending beyond the office to personal home networks, Canon expects Wi-Fi support to be the next big trend in the digital photography market,” insisted Mogens Jensen, Head of Canon Consumer Imaging Europe.
“The Digital IXUS WIRELESS delivers freedom and ease-of-use that consumers expect from wireless devices,” he continued.
Although we naturally warm to the convenience and sheer ‘techiness’ of Wi-Fi enabled digital cameras, we remain to be convinced that the technology has reached maturity yet.
After all, firing off images wirelessly is no quicker than using a standard USB dock, there’s no built in browser or infrastructure for shifting images when you’re away from home (or at a photo printing lab, for example) and, of course, all that WiFi-ing is going to give your camera’s batteries a slapdown.
We speak from some experience here too, after foolishly being seduced by Sony’s innovative – but frankly pointless – Bluetooth feature on its 20002 DSC FX77 camera.
After an eternity of fiddling about with Bluetooth settings only to see images crawling onto our PCs, the novelty soon wore off and the thing was dumped straight back on to its USB cradle.
Mind you, it was fun taking photos from a PC in the next room until the Bluetooth connection went tits up.
Back to the SD430, we can also add that it comes with an all-important cool blue light, offers manual and auto shooting modes with stitch assist, and weighs in at 130 g (4.6 oz) in a pocketable 99 x 54 x 22 mm (3.9 x 2.1 x 0.9 in) case.
Pricing to be announced.
Canon
25 October, 2005
Apple Sued Over Scratchy iPod Nanos, Motorola Miffed
More details about Jason Tomczak’s class action against Apple for releasing defective iPod Nanos have emerged on The Inquirer’s site.
In the action, started in a San Jose district court, Tomczak alleges that the iPod Nano’s easily-scratched screen renders the display unreadable and thus breaches state consumer protection statutes.
Tomczak alleges that Apple kept on shifting the Nanos even when they knew that there were problems with the design and by failing to recall the MP3 players, the company “passed the expense, hassle and frustration of replacing the defectively designed Nanos along to class members”.
The plaintiff alleges that with Steve Jobs whipping the Nano out of his pocket in a TV advert, Apple led consumers to believe the machine was durable.
Tomczak argues that even this simple act could lead to a scratched screen, claiming that the resin used in the product was not as thick and strong as in previous iPods.
The plaintiff wraps up his case by alleging that Apple knew about the dodgy quality problems before release but, “fierce competition on the digital music industry” compelled them to release it anyway.
Motorola miffed at Nanos
Things aren’t looking too happy-clappy for the Motorola’s iTunes music phone either, with analysts Bloomberg reporting that it may not be performing as expected.
American Technology Research analyst Albert Lin noted that as many as six times more customers are returning the Rokr phones than is normal for new handsets, and Motorola Chief Executive Officer Ed Zander said he is disappointed with the phone’s marketing and plans to fix it.
“We got off to a little bit of a rough start”, Zander said last week, “People were looking for an iPod and that’s not what it is. We may have missed the marketing message there”.
Ironically, things haven’t been helped by the iPod nano appearing on the scene straight after the phone’s launch, with the ultra-small pocket rocket holding 10 times the amount of songs for half the price
You can’t blame Zander for being a bit miffed after Apple invited his company to be the first to launch an iTunes phone and the immediately stole their thunder with the Nano announcement.
Pocket-lint.co.uk reported that he exclaimed “Screw the nano!” in a previous statement which was later receded.
Motorola is reported to be launching a new series of phones to tailored around music in the future.
Pocket Lint
The Inquirer
24 October, 2005
Portable Games To Exceed $2 Bn In 5 Years: Yankee
The portable game business will be worth a thumping great $2.3 billion in four years, according to a report released today by research firm, The Yankee Group.
Their ‘US Portable Entertainment Forecast’ report also found that half of all portable music players will be phone hybrids by 2009, yet mobile MP3 players will only account for only one-third of the portable music service revenue.
The Yankee Group predicts that dedicated digital audio devices like iPods and Walkmans will continue to be used more exclusively for their single purpose, while gaming hand-held devices and phone hybrids are both expected to grab revenue around the $2.3 billion mark by 2009.
With the line between wireless handsets and portable CE devices continuing to blur, the Yankee Group used data from both their Video Capable Device Survey and the Mobile User Survey to come up with what they describe as “the most comprehensive view into the portable device market.”
The US Portable Entertainment Forecast discovered that the convergence of wireless handsets and CE devices will force mobile manufacturers to both compete and partner with consumer electronics manufacturers.
“Within this new market dynamic, it will be crucial for companies to have a firm grasp of consumer behaviour and the competitive landscape,” said Mike Goodman, Yankee Group, senior analyst, Media and Entertainment Strategies.
“The major players must understand who will lead and who will follow in order to successfully plan future strategy and appropriately target their investments,” he added.
Yankee Group
24 October, 2005
Nokia Unveils L’Amour Collection
Mobile phone giants Nokia have announced three new phone models aimed at the “style-conscious” market.
The new models, the 7360, 7370 and 7380, are to form part of Nokia’s ludicrously named “L’Amour Collection,” expected on the market in the first quarter of 2006.
Alastair Curtis, Vice President of Design at Nokia’s Mobile Phones division was on hand to trot out the airy-fairy waffle, “For many consumers, the mobile phone has truly become an extension of their personal style – it is a fashion statement as well as an advanced communications device.”
Like Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen on steroids, Curtis continued, “Every detail of these products, from the nature-inspired graphics to the velvet-lined pouches, has been carefully considered with the style-conscious individual in mind. We are very confident that consumers who appreciate design and attention to detail will fall in love with the L’Amour Collection.”
The PR team were clearly caught up in the general arty-fartiness, trotting out a load of tosh about how the Nokia 7380 was a “reflection of discerning taste”, the Nokia 7370 “designed to make heads ‘turn’ and the Nokia 7360 somehow managing to exhibit “charming, graceful and compact” qualities.
Trying our best to avoid the loud klaxon noise emanating from our nearby BS Detector, here’s the phones in more detail:
Nokia 7380
Desperately described as a phone for “trend-setting men and women who enjoy being the centre of attention,” the highly distinctive 7380 looks like it’s come from the same bonkers design studio as the 7280.
Sporting a keypad-less form and clad in leather with a mirrored display, the slimline fashion phone packs in a 2-megapixel camera with 4x zoom, an MP3 player and intuitive voice dialing.
Fashionistas can expect to fork out around €500 (~£340, ~$600) for the 7380 and should be able to start strutting around and making dramatic mobile fashion statements in Q1, 2006.
Nokia 7370
Employing a sliding keypad, the Nokia 7370 comes with a 2-inch QVGA colour screen (320 x 240 pixels), stereo speakers with 3D sound effects and a 1.3 megapixel camera (8x zoom) onboard.
The designers have gone to town on the fascia, emblazoning it with “beautiful patterns, etched into the elegant metal trims” which are contrasted by “leather-inspired faceplates” which, somehow, add a “romantic appeal and an element of the exotic.”
To be honest, we’d be a bit worried if we met someone who found their mobile phone romantic, but I guess it takes all sorts.
The Nokia 7370 comes in two colour schemes, coffee brown and warm amber, each with matching graphics and screensavers.
The phone should be knocking out for around €300 and available in Q1, 2006.
Nokia 7360
Looking somewhat more conventional but still, apparently, a phone for “trend-conscious men and women” (albeit cheapskate ones), the bottom of the range Nokia 7360 comes with an integrated VGA camera, stereo FM radio and MP3 ring tones.
It also sports the same silly ‘designer tag’ sticking out the side of the phone as the rest of the range, and is available in the two “signature L’Amour Collection colour schemes”, i.e. brown and amber.
The phone will cost around €200 and gyrating down the nearest catwalk in Q1, 2006.
Nokia
20 October, 2005
Sony VAIO XL1 Digital Living System
Sony are keen for us to ‘redefine’ our living rooms with the release of their new VAIO XL1 Digital Living System, a twin box offering combining a high-end multimedia PC with a 200-disc media changer/recorder.
Clad in natty silver and black casings, the combo runs on Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 and connects to a television via an HDMI cable, outputting high-definition video and multi-channel digital audio in a single connection.
Boasting unique functionality as the result of a “close collaboration with Microsoft”, discs inserted into the changer are automatically detected by the PC which connects to the Web (via wired or wireless network) to download any available metadata, including jewel case covers and artist information.
A similar process takes place for movies, where an in-depth synopsis and star, cast, director and producer details etc are automatically downloaded and made accessible onscreen through the included wireless keyboard or remote control.
Sony has innovated once again by introducing a product that is a monumental step forward in defining the way consumers enjoy digital entertainment,” insisted Mike Abary, vice president of VAIO product marketing for Sony Electronics in the US.
“With the XL1, users can still manage all their meaningful entertainment content such as downloaded music, home movies and personal photos. But the really groundbreaking functionality is the additional ability to easily organize, sort, and access packaged content – all of the DVD movies and audio CDs that have been traditionally relegated to a bookshelf,” he added.
There’s no denying that the recording functionality seems mighty impressive to us, with the XL1 able to automatically and sequentially record up to 200 audio CDs from the media changer to the hard drive.
Users can also record a series of television show episodes to the hard drive, and transfer them to blank DVDs stored in the changer
Beating in the heart of the XL1 A/V system is a powerful PC boasting an Intel Pentium D dual-core processor, half a gig of DDR2 memory, PCI-E graphics and space for up to three SATA hard drives (RAID ready).
To ensure that your late night listening pleasure isn’t spoilt by the sound of a mass of Boeing 747-like fans starting up, the XL1 system uses liquid-cooled components for quiet operation.
The Digital Living System will be sold as a package and will be available next month for about US$2,300 (~£1,300, ~€1,930).
Sony VAIO XL1
19 October, 2005