Although competitor Vonage has already stated that it's working on a wi-fi phone, as reported earlier, Skype CEO Niklas Zennstrom has reconfirmed that we can expect to see a wi-fi Skype mobile and see it later this year. The phone will provide Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP. Tranlsation: cheap internet calls) available without having to tether yourself to your machine. Good news for us, bad news for almost every mobile phone network.
Technology takes another big brother-esque turn with the release of these new forget-me-not panties. Using technology only previously available to the military (a little morsel of information that somehow fails to provide comfort), these pants will allow the tracking of a loved one on GPS, and can monitor body temperature and heart rate. The basic panties will allow you to quell those paranoid fantasies for a mere $99, whereas the more advanced ones which monitor temperature and heart rate go for $179.99. Rather worryingly, the site has announced that they've sold out, and expect to restock within 30 days. Certainly a lot of, umm, security conscious people out there.
Update: Err, the Shiny Shiny girls just got in touch to tell us that we've been getting our knickers in a twist over nothing. These aren't actually real - it was all just a big ploy to gain lots of coverage for a competition. Read all about it here.
Does anyone remember that rash of fitness gadgetry that came out a while ago? You know, the ones that would help tone up your muscles by giving you small electric shocks? Questions of whether this approach actually works aside, if you feel the need to electrically shock your flab into muscle (and who wouldn't?) while on the PC, then this latest offering from Thanko could be appealing. Just wire yourself up with the four pads which stem out from between the optical mouse and the USB cable and expect a Schwarzenegger-like physique within weeks. Or not.
via i4u.
Samsung has announced that it's beginning to churn out more sophisticated NAND flash memory. This flash memory uses a new 70 nanometre process technology, smaller than the previous 90 nanometre industry standard. What does this mean in the real world? Well, it means that Samsung will be able to get 60% more memory from one wafer, and that we can expect to see NAND flash memory prices half, and memory card prices fall a fifth in price by the end of this year alone, analysts say. A good excuse at the end of the year for a new digital camera, methinks.
Hot on the heels of Intel's announcement of dual core chips, as reported earlier on Tech Digest, is the revelation by AMD that it's going to be releasing its own set of dual core chips, set to be showcased at the Computex trade show in Taiwan. The chips, dubbed X2 Athlons, come in four different varieties, and are twice the price of the recently announcement Pentium D chips, with a low end 2.2ghz chip going for $537 and a higher end 2.4ghz chip costing $1,001. Could this be a sign that dual core chips are the way of the future?
The G'zOne TYPE-R not only has one of the most god-awful names we've ever seen, it's also one of the most rugged mobiles around. The clamshell is waterproof up to one metre, shock resistant (thanks to the protective foam rim and magnesium alloy case) and it comes with a number of features designed to aid outdoors types, such as 3 types of navigation system (including a digital compass), a stopwatch, flashlight and buzzer. There's no fish hook or tweazers, but it does have an "extension mode" which lets you check emails and use your address book when the battery is dead. It's also got a 1.28-megapixel camera so you can do a spot of snapping while you're out in the wilderness.
And the campest looking photo of the week award (not that I'd say it to the players' faces) goes to NTL for this shot of Lions' players Johnny Wilkinson, Will Greenwood and Ronan O'Gara - I bet the New Zealanders, famous for that stoopid Haka war dance, are bricking it after seeing this.
For those who want to get all the behind the scenes action from the forthcoming rugby tour, Lions' sponsor ntl is offering exclusive video footage via its broadband portal, ntlworld.com. Promised are exclusive interviews with the players, coaches and the management staff and even a Big Brother style diary room. There are also competitions to win a trip to see the action live in New Zealand.
Since we're heading off to the seaside like the slackers we are, why not take a look at what's happening at some of our other blogs this bank holiday weekend?
Games Digest: PS3 Graphics Chip Unfinished, Nintendo DS rumours are rumbling, Spore for Xbox 360?
Shiny Shiny (gadgets for girls): iGuy - Daft iPod Case, Robo Lawnmowers, Turn Your Phone into a Flash Drive
Bayraider (eBay blog): Chelsea Flower Show Garden, Your Own London Bus, Lifesize Batmobile For Sale
Hippy Shopper (green living): Belting recycled bits and bobs, Juice (and how to recycle it), Harry Potter goes eco
In case you hadn't noticed, there's a Bank Holiday on Monday (huzzah), so postage may be a bit slack - if we manage to tear ourselves away from the seaside for long enough to do any at all that is. Have a great long weekend people.
Here are the stories that are getting the techies excited today across the pond
Samsung 50-inch HDTV with 10000:1 contrast ratio - Engadget
Cafes Shutting off the free WiFi (on weekends, that is) - Engadget
VioTac S.C.O.U.T. Cam - top quality camera for the military - I4U
Intel Extreme Edition Dual Core Eyes-On - Gizmodo
Slingshot Commuter Folding Bike Gizmodo
miniSync retractable sync cable for Sony PlayStation Portable - I4U
The war between Sony and Toshiba over the next gen disc format took an interesting turn recently. After a seeming failure to reach a compromise between Sony's vaunted Blu-ray and Toshiba's HD-DVD, president of Toshiba Tadashi Okamura has stated that he expects both formats to unify, but probably not until after product launch. Industry speculation points to one format ending up on top pretty soon after the release of both formats.
Blu-ray probably has the edge at the moment with the PS3, but anything could happen. Let's get ready for the next generation of VHS vs. Betamax. Prepare for months of speculation across internet chatrooms about which format is superior.
Yahoo launched a new photo service, imaginatively dubbed PhotoMail, for Yahoo mail today, albeit in beta. Yahoo's service will allow users to upload 300 photographs by dragging and dropping from the web, your hard drive or the Yahoo photos service. The site then let's you add captions and borders to your photos.
You can of course do all sorts of exciting things, like sending pictures and saving them to any hard drive with a net connection.
Definitely not a bad little perk. Still waiting for a free site that'll let me upload my videos and large files though.
Intel has announced the release today of its new dual core processors, aimed at home users. Called the Pentium D, the dual core processor is priced significantly cheaper than Intel's extreme edition chips, its original line of dual core processors. The Pentium D's have speeds ranging from 2.8ghz to 3.2ghz and prices ranging from $241 to $530. Intel has also released the 945 and 955x chipset to go with it (the chips won't run on other motherboards), which have support for surround sound audio and high-def video. No firm launch date yet, though.
We always thought that remote controlled planes were the preserve of saddo anorak clad obsessives who never really got over excess exposure to Top Gun in their youth. But we can kind of see the point of the X-Plane which has just gone on sale via UK gadget site Iwantoneofthose.com.
For as well as being able to loop-the loop, dive bomb ducks and help re-create mini Battle of Britain type skirmishes in the park it can also take pictures using its snap on digital camera.
You basically strap the camera in to the casing, attach it to the plane and then as the aircraft soars above the ground you can take panoramic shots of yourself, your mates or if, you are so inclined the fox sunbathing naked in next door's back garden.
Rumours circulating on the web accusing the new Netscape Navigator (version 8.0) of messing up mîcrosoft's Internet Explorer seemed to be confirmed when mîcrosoft software engineer Dave Massey said on his blog that Netscape caused a problem with the XML capabilities of Internet Explorer, meaning that pages that use XML wouldn't work, (you can kiss goodbye to your RSS feeds, for instance). The mîcrosoft solution? Uninstall Netscape.
Brilliant. That'll have the conspiracy theorists buzzing before you can even say 'antitrust'. Netscape has promised a patch next week.
Marv Burkett, nVidia's Chief Financial Officer, has revealed to Games Digest that the RSX chip, due to power the PS3 is currently unfinished. The chip is not due to be available to anyone until September. Which means the stunning visuals shown at E3 could not have been created on one, casting doubt on the validity of Sony claims that the visuals were real PS3 in-game footage.
Burkett has commented that the visuals had been created on current nVidia hardware of roughly the same power as the RSX. That still casts some doubts on the PS3's barn-storming E3 presence, and particularly whether much of the footage (as it appeared to be) was done, at best, using the game engine to create cut-scenes, or whether it was really realtime, in-game footage.
Drooool...this looks pretty sweet. Tritton has released a new USB headphone set. What makes this one a little special compared to it's brethren is that it offers real 5.1 surround sound (none of that sneaky surround emulation stuff). Each pod has four speakers in it, a front speaker, centre speaker, rear speaker and subwoofer with vibration effect. The headphones come with an external 5.1 encoder and a mîcrophone, and so should be perfect for you counter-strike junkies wanting to hear baddies sneaking up on you. The set retails for $74 in the states: word on the UK release as soon as we get it.
via Everything USB
Well the wait is over, one of the most eagerly anticipated gadgets of 2005, Sony's NW-HD5 20 Gigabyte hard disk, has finally landed in the UK. On sale via Amazon for £183.96, which makes it just over £6 cheaper than its equivalent iPod, the player scores on both its size, it is smaller than its rivals and its superb battery life of thirty hour of MP3 playback.
It also has a few neat features such as the option of being able to see as a group the latest tracks/albums you ported to the player. It is available in silver, black and red. Look out for a review of the model early next week.
If you think that good old two channels stereo is as relevant to 2005 as cassette players, top Brit hi-fi company Arcam is hoping to prove you wrong. It has just taken the wraps off its new top-end £1200 FMJ CD36 player, which it claims sets a new benchmark in CD performance.
In typical Arcam style the player is stacked with top quality components including a stealth mat - which apparently reduce interaction, lowering noise floor and removing detail-masking hash and sibilance and Acousteel, which reduce vibration and resonance in the chassis and case.
You'll get chance to hear if it matches its billing when the player when it launches next month.
If like us you can't bothered to wait until September to get your mitts on a Sony PlayStation Portable and don't fancy bidding on eBay there is an alternative. UK gadget retailer Firebox seems to have scored a load of non-UK PSPs which it is selling on its site for £279.95.
For your money you get a value pack which not only includes the gizmo, but also a copy of Ridge Racer and 32MB Memory Stick Duo card.
Firebox obviously has a few PSPs in stock as it is promising a delivery time of 2-3 days. There are a host of other sites selling them for around £100 less and we'd be interested to hear if anyone has had good or bad experiences with them.
Buy from here
From: Google Drive to rival cloud storage from Dropbox, Apple iCloud