Another day, another iPod dock, but perhaps this time one with enough unique features to stand alone from the pack. The GenevaSound System Model S iPod/iPhone dock from Geneva claims itself a luxury alternative to other meat-and-potatoes docks on offer.

The dock features new Embracing Sound technology, which aims to produce a more detailed sound across its stereo 15 watt speakers.

The GenevaSound Model S also introduces the proprietary "PowerDock" connector, a neat little motorised device that tucks away the iPod/iPhone 30 pin connector when it's not in use, leaving the system with a smooth boxed-off finish.

Touch sensitive controls are highlighted by motion-sensitive backlighting, that only activates when a hand is recognised nearby.

The dock also features an FM radio, alarm clock, and remote control for those too lazy to activate the movement-based backlighting.

Available in red, white or black, the Geneva Sound S model will cost around £299 when it goes on sale this December.

For more info, check out www.csecustom.com .

The Motorola Milestone will be available to UK customers by the end of the week, it has been revealed today.

eXpansys broke the news, confirming the release date on their website. The Milestone is priced up at £449.99 outside of contracts, with contract details yet to be confirmed.

The Milestone is the first handset to feature Android 2.0, and will ship with a 60 day trial of the Google Maps-powered MOTONAV Sat Nav.

Critics have so far responded positively to the Milestone, praising its full QWERTY keyboard and clear display, which boasts a higher resolution than that of the iPhone.

The Droid (as the handset is known in the US) has already been available stateside for a month, racking up 250,000 units sold in its first week of sales alone.

Via: The Next Web

Last week it was the Satio, now Sony Ericsson are planning a massive recall of its Aino handset.

Again touch-screen issues are to blame, with users reporting problems relating to the Aino's touch-screen software.

A Sony spokesman has talked down the problems claming that "at the moment, we don't see any damage or harm done."

However, losing two of their flagship handsets within a matter of days in the vital pre-Christmas run-up must be a major headache for all those involved at Sony Ericsson.

According to Geoff Blaber from consultancy firm CCS Insight, "Aino and Satio are Sony Ericsson's key products for the final quarter. They have days not weeks to fix these issues."

Via: Softpedia

In its annual round up of all things wordy, the Global Language Monitor has announced Twitter its word of the year for 2009.

It beats "Obama", "vampire" and timely entries such as "unemployed", "deficit" and "H1N1" to the top spot.

Top phrases are also calculated, and so it's unsurprising to see "King of Pop", the late Michael Jackson's moniker, heading that list.

Any suggestions for what could top the list next year? Tweet them to @techdigestnews or leave a message in the comments box below.

Via: Mashable

Japan's largest mobile phone operator, NTT DoCoMo has signed a deal with Nissan to make their protective Scratch Shield paint available on all of their handsets.

The Scratch Shield paint is able to rebound scratches and dents, slowly working out any blemishes thanks to a memory-based plastic resin which can reform its shape. It's already in use across the Nissan car range, and has been shown to work miracles on larger scrapes on cars, given a number of days.

A possible new first-line of defence for any number of devices, gadget-cover manufacturers should be opening that file marked "PLAN B" right about now.

Via: TechRadar UK

According to a Reuters source with "direct knowledge of Nokia's product roadmap", Nokia don't seem too keen on rolling out a slew of Maemo based phones any time soon. According to a Nokia spokesman, the company remains "...firmly committed to Symbian as our smartphone platform of choice." This is despite the positive response given the N900 and waning enthusiasm for the S60 5th OS.

The move appears to be part of Nokia's plans to streamline their output to what they refer to as a "focussed portfolio of future products".

Nokia recently made 550 research and development employees redundant.

Via: Engadget

As we've all come to accept, robots will eventually become far too clever for their own good, revolt, and throw humanity into eternal servitude. Until that point though, lets take a minute to salute our Japanese cousins who have humiliated our future robot-overlords once again, this time by programming one to break-dance.

The scientists who built the robot consulted professional dancers to fine-tune the bot's uncanny moves.

Peter Crouch was as yet unavailable for comment.

The long-planned addition of iPlayer to the Xbox Live service has been delayed, it has been revealed.

As it stands, Microsoft is stubbornly refusing to allow the iPlayer to be available to anyone other than Xbox Live Gold subscribers. With the BBC traditionally offering a universally free service as part of UK residents licence fees, the Beeb finds such restrictions unacceptable.

"[Microsoft] wants to ensure that only those paying for Xbox Live Gold accounts can access its additional content services ... This does not fit with the BBC's model and
Microsoft will not budge at the moment. It is really frustrating for those involved on the BBC side who want to make sure iPlayer is rolled out on as many popular entertainment platforms as possible," said a BBC source.

The iPlayer is already available free of charge for PS3 and Wii owners, and so the news represents another arrow in the quiver of Microsoft's detractors.

Via: 1UP

Sky have confirmed they are testing a 3D outside broadcast system that will be capable of delivering 3D football.

A dedicated channel will likely bring the beautiful game into the third dimension sometime in 2010, and will be compatible with current Sky dishes and HD set-top boxes. However, a 3D enabled TV will be necessary to view the content.

For all its merits, there are a couple of players we think wont benefit much from the jump to 3D. Click here to see what we mean.

After getting a bit of a telling off from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), Apple have agreed to revise their terms and conditions to make them clearer and fairer for consumers.

Identifying terms in Apple's user agreement contracts which infringed upon the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulation 1999 (UTCCRs), Apple have agreed to revise the standard conditions to ensure these:

• do not exclude liability for faulty or mis-described goods
• are consistent with consumer rights under the Distance Selling Regulations
• are drafted in plain or intelligible language
• do not potentially allow changes to be made to products and prices after an agreement is made.

Jason Freeman, Legal Director of the OFT Consumer Markets Group, said: "The contract or terms of use between a company and a consumer, whether they are found online or on paper, must be clear, fair and easy to understand. In particular, it is important that consumers are given clear and accurate information about their consumer rights in case things go wrong. We have worked closely with Apple to secure these changes and we believe they will improve confidence and clarity for consumers."

If you're looking for a powerful PC speaker set, but don't have the space for a dedicated subwoofer or 5.1 option, the Klipsch ProMedia Ultra 2.0 makes a pretty good pitch for your cash.

The ProMedia Ultra 2.0 makes use of two magnetically-shielded satellite speakers, each equipped with a 15w power amplifier. Each uses dual 2.5in fibre-composite cone drivers and a 1in metallised polymer tweeter. A MicroTractrix™ Horn is coupled to the tweeter to improve clarity and power efficiency, with the long-throw woofer units powered by neodymium motor structures.

They look pretty industrial, but if they can deliver on the promises of their impressive specifications, the Klipsch ProMedia Ultra 2.0 speakers could happily sit hidden away under the computer desk.

Priced at £119, you can pick them up direct from Klipsch here.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii

Genre: Platformer

Platform: Wii

Price: £32.99 (Amazon)

It has been over 25 years since Mario first stomped his way onto home consoles and into our hearts. Super Mario Bros for the NES was so complete an adventure, replete with secrets and pinpoint-precise controls that it is as joyous to play today as it was when it was first released. Paying homage to that pedigree ancestry, New Super Mario Bros Wii is another near-perfect running, jumping, red-shell throwing trip down memory lane.

In what is essentially an evolution from the retro stylings of New Super Mario Bros on the DS, Mario and co. once again have to rescue Princess Peach, kidnapped by nasty Koopalings on her birthday.

Holding the Wiimote horizontally in both hands, players run and jump from left to right on a quasi-2D plane, avoiding obstacles and head stomping on baddies. It's simple and devilishly fun, but also devilishly hard. New Super Mario Bros. has an uncompromising approach to tricky level design, ramping up the difficulty almost as soon as you leave the first world. However, thanks to (for the most part) solid controls and exuberantly inventive level design, dying never feels cheap or too frustrating. If it does get all a bit too much for you, a ghost-mode Super Guide revealing the safest path through levels is always an option.

Along with the familiar mushroom, star and fire-plant power-ups, there is also a handful of excellent new gear at Mario's disposal. The penguin suit allows Mario to swim quickly through water and glide across ice, the propeller suit allows him to soar through the air, and the plumber can now also lob balls of ice to freeze baddies. All are implemented well into the strong level design, helping you discover secrets and never feeling merely tacked on.

Certainly the most notable addition is the inclusion of four-way simultaneous multiplayer modes. Taking control of Mario, Luigi, Blue Toad and Yellow Toad, you can work together to reach the end of the level by throwing and bouncing off each other. It works remarkably well, and really comes into its own in the chaotic Coin Battle mode, with gamers competing across a level to grab the most gold.

There are some small issues that do mar gameplay however. The now mandatory inclusion of motion controls, here used to pick up objects and execute spin attacks, often feels clumsy and imprecise in a game which relies on total accuracy of control. Also, playing with inexperienced friends in multiplayer can lead to frustration, as well planned jumps are blocked by over enthusiastic first timers causing untold annoying deaths.

On the whole though, New Super Mario Bros. Wii is a top class game. Charming visuals, simple yet challenging gameplay and a brand new, successful multiplayer option all combine to give a refreshing spin on a classic formula.

4/5

Nearly everyone's got an iPhone these days, so it was only a matter of time before someone with more money than sense commissioned a luxury iPod like this to distinguish them from the great unwashed.

The iPhone 3GS Supreme has a 22-carat solid gold body, with 190 diamonds inset into its casing. Liverpudlian designer Start Hughes took ten months to come up with the design, which, lets face it, is just a bog-standard iPod dipped in gold. Finished off with a storage box carved from a single block of granite, a mere £1.92 million will make the phone yours.

A perfect stocking-filler then.

Square Enix boss Yoichi Wada is laying preparatory foundations for what he predicts will soon be the death of console gaming.

Head of the company that the Final Fantasy series calls home, Wada told MCV that he expects dramatic changes in the next few years, following the predicted shift towards digital distribution and server-based gaming.

"In ten years' time a lot of what we call 'console games' won't exist," he said. "Somewhere around 2005 the console manufacturers' strategy shifted. In the past the platform was hardware, but it has switched to the network. A time will come when the hardware isn't even needed anymore."

Speaking of cloud gaming systems such as OnLive, he continued, "With that, any kind of terminal becomes a potential platform on which games can be played - that's exponential growth in the potential of gaming. The potential size of the market is enormous."

Square Enix are currently preparing for a 2010 beta-roll out for the Final Fantasy XIV MMORPG, a genre in which Wada sees huge potential in the coming years.

"Social and browser games are going to grow dramatically - especially in an area like Asia which does not have as big a console market," he said.

Via: MCV UK

Users of Microsoft's Windows Mobile 6.5 operating system can look forward to a new update introducing a number of UI improvements in the near future.

Improvements to the touch-screen keyboard have been promised, as are updates to make Win Mo 6.5 OS more useful on capacitive-touchscreen handsets.

The finicky top bar buttons are also set to go, with a larger, more finger-friendly bar across the bottom.

Still in the early development stages, no official roll-out date has been confirmed yet for the update.

Via: TechRadar UK

According to Harris Interactive, "nearly 60% of computer users lose photos, music, documents and other files every year". With that in mind, why not take a look at Livedrive, which claims to be a simple, secure online data back up system.

For £3.95 a month, Livedrive dynamically backs up all your data, logging any changes or modifications to files and making all data available from any internet-connected PC.

If you worry about privacy and security when it comes to cloud computing, you'll be happy to hear Livedrive uses military grade encryption to protect your files.

Web applications mean many file types can be edited without the need for installed applications, and mobile support means you can even make changes through your handset.

Livedrive's live logging of updated files across any of your associated PCs sounds like a very neat idea, so the Livedrive is certainly one cloud storage option worth considering.

For more information, check out www.livedrive.com .

Nokia has announced that its highly anticipated (by us at TechDigest anyhow) Comes With Music phone the X6 has now gone on sale. We haven't seen one in the stores yet (it is due imminently at Phones4U) but have it on good authority it will be available by the end of the week as well as being on sale via Nokia's website.

In case you missed the news a few months back we were quite taken with the X6. It not only looks the dogs and boasts the now requisite 3.2inch touch screen, it also has 32 Gigabytes of storage on board, packs a five mega pixel camera and has 35 hours of music playing battery life. The phone also includes access to Nokia's Ovi - its equivalent of the iTunes app store - and is ready to sync with Facebook too via a Lifecasting with Ovi feature. This basically lets you publish your location and status updates directly to Facebook from the phone.

Sounds like a really interesting handset. It is available from Phones4u

giffgaff, the brand new "people-powered" mobile phone network have revealed their pricing plans, and very reasonable they are too.

Here's a quick low-down on the most important details:

• To giffgaff mobiles, texts, pictures messages, call forwarding and video calls: £0.00
• Other UK mobiles and landlines, call forwarding: £0.08
• Other UK mobiles and landlines texts: £0.04
• Voice mail per call: £0.08
• Handset browsing (for 6 month from launch): £0.00 per MB
• Picture messages to other mobiles: £0.16
• Video calls to other mobiles: £0.50
• Call forwarding to other mobiles and landlines: £0.08

While charges will apply in 6 months time, free data usage for the near future seems very generous.

As previously reported, giffgaff users can earn themselves free calls and data for a year by renting a kooky tool, making a viral video and spreading it online. The best efforts will also be in with a chance of winning £5,000.

For more info, visit http://giffgaff.com/index/pricing

THQ look to bring balance to the iPhone Force with the release of their Star Wars Trench Run app.

Players embark on the climactic final dog fight from the original Star Wars film, battling Tie Fighters across the surface of the heavily guarded Death Star.

Featuring John Williams stirring score, accelerometer controls and multiple camera angles, it's an easy recommendation to make for App of the Day.

(£2.99, available here)

The creator of iKee, the first ever iPhone worm, has landed himself a job creating iPhone apps, it has been revealed today.

Ashley Towns revealed his new post via Twitter today. The 21 year old Aussie is set to start work at mogeneration, an iPhone app outsource development team who create applications for clients such as Xumii, TrueLocal and FoodWatch.

Do you think Towns' worm-work is deserving of a job placement? Should he be given a second chance? Would you even trust any mogeneration apps, knowing he has worked on them?

Leave your thoughts in the comments section below, or tweet to @techdigestnews .