Acer President and CEO Gianfranco Lanci has stepped down from his post at the computing firm after clashing with fellow members of the board over the direction the company was taking.

"Different views" caused the rift, with returned focus to PCs for the company now planned after increasing flirtations with the mobile and tablet markets.

Acer Chairman J.T. Wang will now take charge for an interim period.

"The personal computer remains the core of our business," said Wang. "We have built up a strong foundation and will continue to expand within, especially in the commercial PC segment.

"In addition, we are stepping into the new mobile device market, where we will invest cautiously and aim to become one of the leading players.

"In this new ICT industry Acer needs a period of time for adjustment. With the spirit of entrepreneurship, we will face new challenges and look to the future with confidence."

It's been a rough few months for Acer, who saw their share price drop by 25% since the end of last year, according to the Financial Times.

About one-third of small businesses say they would find life very difficult if they had to make do without their mobile apps, suggesting new technologies are becoming a vital business tool.

However a divide is emerging amongst small business owners, as an equally large section admitted not fully understanding what is meant by the term 'cloud computing'.

The survey, which questioned 2,246 US small business owners, or the employee responsible for IT, found that 41% now have a Facebook page, which is double that of last year's survey. The study, conducted by AT&T Small Business Technology, found that 72% of respondents use mobile apps to conduct business.

The most popular app was GPS or navigation, used by 49%, who said they liked them because it saves time and cuts cost. While 33% used cloud services, an equivalent number didn't know what the term means.

It's the cloud from now on, was the message from Leo Apotheker, who took over the reigns as CEO of HP this morning.

HP's cloud platform will be "a single open market that integrates consumer, enterprise and developer services - each of us with our own personal cloud, comprising our consumer and professional lives - always on, and always available, separate, secure and seamless."

To date HP is best known for selling printers and computers, but the company is now working on developing new internet-based services. This will include an app store for consumer as well as business clients - and especially the latter market remains far from saturated. HP's "personal cloud" would enable people to access work applications from their personal smartphones and communicate with co-workers and customers via social networks.

The TouchPad, set for a June launch, is part of this strategy. Apotheker was clear on the importance of software for HP's way forward. "The world is connected, people to people. People want information where and when they need it," Apotheker said. "We intend to be the platform for the cloud and connectivity."

While the printers and PCs are expected to remain the company's bread and butter for some time to come, it is interesting to see HP take this leap. The company will however need to prove itself against steep competition from the likes of Amazon and Salesforce. Emphasising the widespread offerings of the group, Apotheker said: "HP has a great strategy and we will be focusing on all of our lines of businesses including our PCs, including our server business, including our networking business and of course including of our software business."

The disaster in Japan is wreaking havoc with industrial manufacturing and supply, with reports from technology companies suggesting it will take months to get back on track.

Japan manufactures around 15% of the technology that goes into our gadgets, according to TechEye. While the bulk of tech gear is made elsewhere, Japanese suppliers have a dominant position making certain key, high-end parts, such as glass for flat panels. Japan also manufactures 60% of the world's silicon wafers, which make the base for semiconductor chips.

While the damages to the factories themselves may be less severe, there are major problems related to road and power infrastructure meaning factories may be closed for some time. This means prices for components such as flash memory, DRAM computer memory, microcontrollers, transistors and solar cell components have already increased in anticipation of a squeeze. LCD screens in particular are expected to be in for a shortage.

Pipeline
As the tech component pipeline is still being replenished following the slump in production caused by the recession, there is currently only about two weeks worth of excess built into the global supply chain. Because of this lag, the shortages won't be felt until the end of March or the start of April. But the consequences will linger for months afterwards, and the effects on pricing is already starting to be felt.

Components giant Texas Instruments has a large semiconductor chip manufacturing site in Miho, about 40 miles northwest of Tokyo, and the plant has suffered substantial damage. Production will not be reinstated until May at the earliest, the company said - full capacity is not expected until mid-July and full shipment capability not expected until September. And this is assuming no more problems arise and that the power grid surrounding the plant is not too damaged.

Reduced output
Toshiba said shipments of NAND flash memory from its Japanese plant would be hit, and Panasonic has a LCD TV factory near the quake site. Hitachi has had to close at least one manufacturing plant as a consequence of infrastructure damage, which could affect the availability of displays for LG mobile phones and Nintendo DS handheld videogames. Samsung also expects output to be affected, but expects be able to partially compensate by utilising its South Korean plant.

Intel said in a statement on Monday that most of its materials can be sourced from other countries, and it does not expect to face shortages following the disaster; "Our supplier base is fairly diverse in Japan as well and most of the impact [from the quake] is being felt in the north-east of the country."

Mouse control is passé, let's face it, so it's good the alternative is waiting for us: eye control.

Swedish company Tobii Technology has developed a tracking technology that means the computer will be able to follow the movements of your eyes. Read to the bottom of the screen and the computer will automatically scroll up for you, or look at a point at the screen and it's like clicking a mouse.

A Lenovo laptop containing the technology is expected to be demonstrated at the CeBIT technology show in Germany on Tuesday.

The technology works by shining two invisible infrared lights at your eye, with two cameras looking for the "glints" off your eyeballs and reflections from the retinas. It will work even if you wear glasses, the company said, but needs to be calibrated for each individual.

For now we're looking at the technology as an addition to the mouse and keyboard, making the computer faster to use, but we're hopeful to be seeing blink-of-an-eye computing for the future. After all, eye-tracking devices for researchers and the disabled have been manufactured for years already, but haven't been cost effective for a general audience. This is now starting to change.

PLenty of new computing news on the way from Sony this morning, and first up is the UK launch of their VAIO L Series all-in-one touchscreen PCs.

24 inches in size, the full HD LED backlit display can recognise multi-touch gesture controls to flick through files and manipulate images, or can be used in a more traditional way with a mouse and keyboard.

Configurations can either house an i5 or i7 Intel core, while graphics processing is handled by a NVIDIA GeForce GT 540M. An optional Blu-ray drive is bolstered by S-Force Front Surround 3D, giving a more full bodied, cinematic sound during movie playback. 1 TB of storage comes as standard, with a HD Exmor-powered webcam.

Expect to see the L Series VAIO's on shelves by May.

It was never all that realistic to ask us to get up from behind our computers anyway, so at least there's an app that realises this. F.Lux software will change the light on your computer depending on the time of day, imitating natural daylight patterns.

Computer screens have a slightly blue tint, and while this is fine during the day, it can cause problems for those of us who keep tapping away into the night. What happens is this disrupts our production of melatonin, the hormone that regulates the sleep cycle, as the light-sensitive pineal gland near the centre of the brain responds to blue light by suppressing melatonin. This keeps us from getting a good night's sleep, or can even cause insomnia.

Enter F.Lux - the free software which will automatically adjust the light as they day wears on. Free to download here, the app will ask you where you live so it can calculate sunrise and sunset; alternatively you can enter a different time zone, handy if you're trying to adjust ahead of a long-haul flight.

The app will also enquire about the light in your room, be it tungsten, halogen, fluorescent or daylight. Based on the information, it adjusts the colour temperature of your screen to mimic the lighting in the room. So there you have it - your computer can now adjust to what goes on outside your window so you don't have to.
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Aimed primarily at the developing world, Vodafone have taken the wraps off a new keyboard PC that brings the internet to anyone with a TV and access to 2.5G or EDGE networks.

Called the Webbox, the device plugs into your TV via RCA connectors, while there's space for a Vodafone SIM card inside the keyboard itself.

As well as having a version of Opera's Mini 5.1 browser for surfing, it is also able to send SMS and email messages.

There's some pre-loaded games and apps, along with a photo gallery tool, media player and a built-in FM radio.

While the lack of 3G connectivity means it's going to be pretty slow for anything other than basic browsing, Vodafone hopes the straightforward device will give people in emerging markets the opportunity to get online in places where web connections are scarce.

The Webbox will be first available in South Africa from next week for around £50 and comes with a free 2GB SD card and data purchased on a pre-paid sim.

It's expected to reach other markets at some point in 2011, but there's currently no word on whether it's coming to the UK.

In a landmark moment for the mobile phone industry, the little screen of the smartphone has now overtaken the big screen of the PC. For the first time ever, the number of smartphones have surpassed PC sales, with a staggering 100.9 million smartphones shipped during the last quarter of 2010.

The trend is clear: we want to access the internet on the go. With smartphones such as the iPhone and BlackBerry providing increasingly better internet access, it seems we do not need to be asked twice to jump on this bandwagon. In 2010, 74.4% more smartphones were shipped than the year before, according to numbers from the International Data Corporation (IDC). In comparison, 92 million PC units were shipped in the fourth quarter, just 3% higher than the year before.

Dual approach
Better browsing capabilities, improved processing power and a seemingly endless stream of nifty features means mobile users are increasingly looking to upgrade. Soon we will have handsets with near field communication (NFC) chips, meaning our phones can be used to pay for things too - cue another upgrade.

While we will all be holding on to our PCs or Macs as well, these devices do not come with the same lure for constant upgrades. The computer will remain in the background as a trusty workhorse for when we need a bigger screen to look at something, or we want to perform a task that needs better processing power. Uploading photos will remain a job for the computer, as well as any sort of editing, design or significant word processing.

Tablet computers, such as the iPad, were counted in the mobile segment in the IDC study. The bigger screen means a tablet is a more serious threat to the PC, but still, it cannot beat a laptop as a serious work tool. While the trend towards mobile dominance is clear in terms of volumes, it seems unlikely that one mobile device will take over completely. The phone is too small to work on, while a tablet or mini-PC is too big to make calls with. We might be facing a Winnie the Pooh future, in other words: 'Yes please, both,' said the famous bear, and that sounds about right.

Android hot on the trail
Maintaining its spot as the top global vendor, the IDC study showed Nokia now has a third of the phone market, followed by Research in Motion with 16.1%. Apple has 15.7%, followed by Samsung and HTC respectively. Ramon Llamas, senior research analyst at IDC, said Samsung and HTC are likely to overtake the Symbian platform, due to their support for Android.

While Nokia and its Symbian-based phones remain on top for the moment, the competition is getting aggressive; Android smartphone sales rose by 7% last year, meaning it now has 28.7% of the market. Judging from the memo sent by new Nokia boss Stephen Elop yesterday, even he is concerned about the rapid slide in market share, describing the Symbian platform as 'burning'.

'[Android] has become the cornerstone for multiple vendors' smartphone strategies, and has quickly become a challenger to market leader Symbian. Although Symbian has the backing of market leader Nokia, Android has multiple vendors, including HTC, LG Electronics, Motorola, Samsung and a growing list of companies deploying Android on their devices,' says Llamas.

Name: System Mechanic 10 (iolo)

Type: PC tune-up software

Minimum Specs: Click here for recommended specs

Price: Free to try, download from CNet

Like a car racking up the miles or a guitar rocking through a tour, a well-loved, well-used computer needs a bit of TLC every now and again. For the experienced PC handy-man, grabbing all the necessary, individual programs needed to keep a machine running at its best is no big deal, with many capable software houses offering suitable applications free of charge. However for the casual user it's a bit daunting trying to find registry cleaners, defragging apps and program accelerators, let alone understanding the dense terminology surrounding them.

iolo's System Mechanic packages have been popular all-in-one PC clean up solutions since they first hit the market in 1998, and for the casual PC tinkerer, version 10 is arguably their most useful package yet.

Though it has a free trial period, to continue using System Mechanic 10 and its full list of features beyond the preview installation, you're going to have to purchase a license, priced at $39.99 (£25). It's a fair bit more than "free", as you'd enjoy if you're prepared to find alternatives offered without charge, but it's more than reasonable considering the license is good for unlimited installations with the Whole Home offer. In an age where many homes house numerous computers, it's good to see iolo moving away from the de rigueur three machine limit.

The look of System Mechanic 10 hasn't changed much from previous versions of the software. It's still a clean, red, white and blue interface that doesn't bog the user down with multiple menu levels. Instead you have a left pane that has drop down menus for the program's Dashboard, ActiveCare systems (which can be set to run independently in the background to optimise performance), internet security features, toolbox list and reports log. These are further broken down into additional tools controlled in the main pane, including Optimize Windows Startup, MemoryMechanic, NetBooster, RegistryCompactor, DriveAccelerator, SecurityOptimizer, Registry Backup, System Guard, PC Cleanup, and the ominous-sounding Incinerator.

Most of these tools are self-explanatory, but System Mechanic rightly assumes no prior knowledge of system maintenance, instead throwing up a little blurb for each function. You'll never be left in the dark as to why System Mechanic 10 is suggesting certain tune-ups, which is great news for those new to the game.

System Mechanic gets to work immediately after installation, offering a 2-minute quick system analysis, or a roughly-7-minute deep check. Our tired old system got given the works, and was awarded a "Critical Health" status. The program had found a whopping 162,394 misaligned files (250GB worth), 11 repairable security flaws, numerous hard drive errors, 288 registry issues, 1.72 GB of unnecessary system clutter and 5 time-wasting start-up programs. It was a comprehensive check, and System Mechanic happily dealt with all the problems in turn. The defragging element was particularly good; our test Vista desktop machine felt noticeably zippier afterwards, with windows and applications firing up far more responsively.

Special credit should be given to the new Program Accelerator feature which tidies up a previously unknown area of PC slowdown. Most defraggers work based on ageing principles, ordering file fragments spread out across your storage drive so that the mechanical disk doesn't have to jump around so much to access the information it needs quickly, which was fine back in the 90's when software was built up of single, large .exe files. However, these days a program is made up of so many multiple components that many defraggers fail to order the fragments efficiently, and over time, slowdown still occurs. System Mechanic 10 on the other hand is able to identify which components are related to each other, and group them together to improve performance. We found programs to be significantly more responsive once pushed through the Program Accelerator.

System Mechanic 10 also features an unobtrusive windows gadget that can be placed on your desktop, looking a little like a car's accelerometer. It monitors both PC health and security statuses, and opens up to an expanded view when clicked, offering a log of recent actions and quick access to Analyze Now and Repair All functions. Normally I'm not one for Windows gadgets as they tend to be a bit of a system drain, but this optional extra proved useful enough for me to keep it running most of the time.

Only two elements really disappointed in System Mechanic 10, and they were the CRUDD remover and the NetBooster internet speed optimiser. CRUDD (which stands for Commonly Redundant or Unnecessary Decelerators and Destabilizers) should remove bloat-ware and duplicate programs that usually come tucked away with software installations. We found however that it had a tendency to pick up on a few select apps that we chose to install and regularly used (like VLC player) rather than make any useful deletion suggestions. Perhaps that's because we've kept on top of the bloat-ware manually, but that's still no reason to suggest getting rid of useful programs. The NetBooster on the other hand made only marginal improvements to our connection speed, if at all.

The arguments against grabbing System Mechanic 10 are those faced similarly by the package's paid-for rivals: why splash the cash on this collection of tools when nearly all its features are available for free elsewhere? The answer is purely and simply convenience. System Mechanic 10 acts as an intuitive, clean hub from which to fine-tune your PC's performance. Its tools did a good job of tidying up our PC and gave it a noticeable speed boost, and it's hard to argue with the licensing pricing when you can use it on a virtually unlimited number of machines

5/5

Just as we were catching our breaths from ARM Holdings' CES fair announcement of a tie-up with Microsoft, the Cambridge semiconductor group smashed all expectations with a 73% increase in pre-tax profits, to £167.4 million, at its full-year results.

Mobile phone growth remains the key earnings driver for ARM, whose technology is present in the soaringly popular iPhone and iPad. With its technology present in 98% of the world's mobile phones, the group benefits greatly from the rapid rise in the the number of mobile handsets sold overall - but even more so because increasingly more of us are choosing to buy a top range phone such as an iPhone or a BlackBerry. With smartphone penetration now reaching 20% of the mobile market, this is just another planet aligning for ARM, as smarter phones means more chips per unit - and ARM gets paid per chip.

Windows-compatability
As announced at the CES fair, ARM technology will be compatible with the next version of Windows - at last overcoming a major hindrance for the group to break into the computing market. So when the Cambridge group announced its whopper performance in the year to December 2010, the market already had reasons to be excited and responded by pushing the stock to a decade high.

The last time things looked this good for ARM shareholders we were in the midst of the dot-com bubble, meaning a lot of the goodwill was hype. Without wanting to speculate whether ARM's shares have further to go, it is probably safe to say there is more solid progress backing up the cheers this time.

So how has ARM managed to put itself into such a sweetspot? Part of the answer is that ARM doesn't actually manufacture semiconductor chips, but merely designs them and licences out the designs to the device manufacturers. This emits the high-cost process of making the physical chips, and generates annual licence income from the customer. ARM also gets paid royalty income every time a device with its design is sold - meaning the group will continue to make cash for years to come even if it doesn't lift a finger.

While ARM is the undisputed king of the UK semiconductor industry, until now, the incompatibility with Windows has held back ARM in the computer market. This remains Intel's domain. ARM's chips are however less energy-demanding, which makes them cheaper and more efficient to use. This is how the group managed to get such a thorough foothold in the mobile phone industry, where low power consumption for a high battery life has been higher on the agenda. But with the advent of netbooks and tablet computers, this is increasingly a top concern also for PC makers - meaning this could be a golden opportunity for ARM.

Misguided takeover speculation
In its final results statement, the company was as per usual keen to point out that its reliance on the mobile phone industry is decreasing. 'ARM continues to sign licenses with influential market leaders in an increasingly digital world,' said chief executive officer Warren East. While consumer electronics and embedded devices remain the major earnings driver, the group said a significant number of new licenses were signed for other types of digital products, such as computing, digital TVs, microcontrollers, smartcard and solid-state drives.

2010 has been a year of recovery for ARM and the rest of the semiconductor industry. East's comments about expecting 2011 to return to 'more typical growth levels' have been echoed elsewhere in the industry. 77% of chief financial officers at leading US technology groups expect to see revenue growth this year, according to a report by BDO USA.

ARM's shares have been partially driven by takeover speculation, but this seems unlikely with much of ARM's strength coming from its position of independence. Apple and Intel are often listed as potential suitors, but ARM's products are widely used by their competitors who would not be keen to buy from a 'compromised' supplier. ARM president Tudor Brown told Reuters: 'All of our first-line customers are competitors with each other and we manage this sort of unholy alliance ... and we manage that through being independent and equal to them all.'

Like Street Fighter? Like DIY? Like Lenovo laptops? Then you're going to love this mad case mod from Dan Liou, which turns a netbook into a fully-functioning arcade machine.

Housing an arcade stick and appropriately chunky buttons, the control buttons fold away to reveal the Lenovo laptop's keyboard, while another sits below the screen, sliding out when you just cant bear to drop your dragon-punching defences.

We spoke to Dan about his creation, which remarkably took a mere ten days to put together!

Hit the video above to take a look.

Last week I had the chance to attend the HP Winter Summit in order to check out their latest collaborations with Beats by Dr. Dre and Rossignol. Check out the details on both collaborations below...along with some very cheesy press photos.

HP Rossigonol Collaboration

The Rossignol collaboration see the launch of two limited edition notebooks - the HP Pavilion dv6 Rossignol edition. The notebooks design match the the Attraxion VIII Echo skis for women, and the Freeride S7 skis for men.

The HP Pavilion dv6 Rossignol edition offers up to 1TB hard drive and up to 8GB DDR3. The notebooks contain Intel processors up to Core i5, AMD Radeon graphics and DVD+ RW or a blue ray player. It's screen also boasts an LED bright view display at 15.6" with HD capabilities making it great for viewing content.

In addition it also features an HP True vision webcam and dual array digital microphones, three USB 2.0 slots, 1HMDI port, 1VGA port a 5 in one media reader, stereo headphone jack and microphone and Alec lansing speakers with Dolby advanced audio.

We were also interested to see that the notebooks come with Adobe Photoshop Elements and Adobe Premiere Elements preinstalled.

Jean-Pierre LeCalvez, vice-president, marketing, HP Personal Systems Group, EMEA explained the idea behind the collaboration stating:

Winter sports fans are looking for new ways to express their style and make a statement. Performance technology sits at the heart of the snow sports lifestyle, so it's logical to extend the Rossignol design ethos to the new HP Pavilion dv6 Rossignol edition

The Pavilion dv6 Rossignol edition notebooks will be available from mid January 2010 starting at €699.

HP Beats Collaboration

The HP Beats collaboration is focused around bringing great quality sound to your laptop.

According to the release

The HP ENVY14 Beats includes Beats Audio, a unique, high-performance technology developed by HP and Beats by Dr. Dre to provide the optimal sound experience - the way the artist intended it.

The specs we were given don't reveal exactly what Beats Audio is, but we assume it is probably some combination of a good sound card and speakers. When I was playing around with the computer it did sound great, it would just be nice to know why.

The laptop has a similar design to the older Apple MacBook's with its metal black finish and backlit keyboard. Like the Rossignol collaboration, the HP Beats edition also includes Adobe Photoshop Elements 8 and Adobe Premiere Elements 8 software for photo and video editing.

It also comes equipped with ATI Mobility Radeon HD(1) 5650 graphics card with 1GB of dedicated memory, a HP BrightView Infinity LED Display, HP TrueVision HD Webcam and the Beats Solo Headphones from Monster .

The HP ENVY 14 Beats Edition starts at $1149.99

Today Mozy, has announced Mozy 2.0 for Mac, a major upgrade to the company's subscription-based online backup service. The latest version of the of the software is designed to make it easier and faster for Mac users to run and monitor backups and restores for either business or personal data.

Mozy 2.0 will make it possible for Mac users to enjoy faster upload speeds generated by optimised bandwidth usage and faster file scanning as well as pre-transfer processes. In addition users can alsp set advanced rules to automatically include or exclude specific types of data.

Mozy 2.0 is available now in the USA and will roll out across Europe by the end of the year.

Microsoft are launching a new browser based version of their Games for Windows Marketplace.

Looking to directly take on Steam with Live integration, competitive score tracking, daily deals and Gamertag/Gamerscore compatibility with Xbox 360 accounts, it's Microsoft's most aggressive push into PC gaming territory for some time.

Microsoft's Brandon LeBlanc called the new Games for Windows Marketplace "an easy way for PC gamers to discover, buy, and download their favorite games.

"Anyone can browse the marketplace, but to buy and download all you need to do is sign in with your Windows Live ID. The Games for Windows Marketplace integrates with Xbox LIVE so if someone signs in with the same Windows Live ID they use for Xbox LIVE, the Games for Windows Marketplace will display their Gamerscore and Xbox LIVE avatar at the top right."

100 games are currently available through the service from the likes of 2K Games, Activision and Capcom among others.

Find out more by clicking here.

Earlier today we wrote about the Linx Commtiva N700, an affordable Android Froyo alternative.
Now Freerunner, the free public WiFi network has today announced a partnership with Phones 4u to give customers free WiFi forever on the Commtiva N700.

Once you have registered your tablet, it will automatically and seamlessly connect to the Freerunner network, becomes one more thing that make the Comtiva the more affordable choice.

There are currently over 1,000 Freerunner hotspots across the UK, a number that is sure to increase over the next few months as they are the UK's fastest growing free WiFi network.

ASUS have teamed up with Lamborghini to bring you their latest notebook.

The ASUS-Lamborghini Eee PC VX6 ultraportable 12.1" notebook, was co-designed by Lamborghini, inspired by the Murcielago LP640 Roadster. The notebook comes complete with dual core Intel Atom D525 processor, next generation NVIDIA Ion 2 graphics and NVIDIA Optimus technology to deliver quality graphics and audio. It also comes with a multitude of connectivity features including USB 3.0 and Express Gate.

To launch the notebook they have made this Fast and the furious style video to show off the design inspiration.

The ASUS-Lamborghini Eee PC VX6 is available for £499 inc VAT from retailers such as PC World.

Today the Samsung Galaxy Tab is officially launched across the UK. A few months ago we had a sneak peak at the device which you can check out here. We completely fell for device from its striking LCD display, built in camera, phone capabilities and the reader. Now with the device available in the UK, network providers have finally revealed their prices and we have gone through them all, in order to figure out who is offering the best value for money.

Three Mobile is offering the 1GHz, Android 2.2 powered tablet from as little as little as £99.99 to £349.99 depending on contract length and inclusive data. However, if you do pick up the device for £99.99, you will have to sign a 24 month contract and fork over £40 per month for 5GB.

Orange has followed Currys and Amazon in offering the Galaxy Tab for £529 on pay as you go. Orange's pay monthly contracts start from a £5 per month 1 month rolling contract with the tablet priced £529. They also offer a 1 year, £15 per month contract which will get you 1GB of anytime data and 1GB of quiet time (12am - 4pm) with the tablet priced at £499.

Vodafone similarly will be offering the Galaxy for £499 on a series of rolling monthly contracts that range from £3 to £25. For £3 you can pay £2 for 500MB per day. Or alternatively £10 will get you 1GB monthly usage, £15 3GB and and £25 for 5GB.

O2 is offering the least competitive deal pricing the Galaxy at £599 on its Pay & Go plan. This will get you 2GB free data for your first month after that it will cost you £10 for 1GB + Unlimited Wi-Fi or £15 for 2GB + Unlimited Wi-Fi.

Today Logitech announced the first solar powered keyboard - the Wireless Solar Keyboard K750.

This isn't your typical solar powered gadget though, the keyboard can be charged by indoor light and will stay charged for an impressive three months even if left in total darkness.

Unlike a lot of gadgets that run off solar power, it seems that Logitech has not skimped on the specs. Offering 2.4 GHz wireless connectivity, this keyboard should keep you up and going with virtually no delays or dropouts. It also includes 128-bit AES encryption to make sure whatever your typing doesn't end up in the wrong hands. We were also impressed that in order to further minimize it's footprint, the keyboard is made of PVC-free materials and comes in fully recyclable packaging.

The Logitech Wireless Solar Keyboard K750 is expected to be available in Europe in January for a suggested retail price of £69.99.

Crafted by Bang and Olufsen designer David Lewis comes this new mega-sized laptop from Asus, the NX90.

Boasting a massive 18.4inch high definition screen and mirror-like finish, it features a pair of huge speakers either side of the screen. On board are Intel Core i7 processors, 6Gb DDR3 RAM and USB 3 connectivity.

Storage space is a healthy 1.2 terabytes - which should be enough for your music and video collection!

Says designer David Lewis: "What we were going for was a piece of design and art that people could place in the centre of their home and take great joy in its appearance. To me, it's not just a machine, the objective was to create a style to challenge the way people regard notebooks".

Retailing for £2499, the Asus is available from a number of retailers including Harrods, Micro Anvinka and Selfridges.

See images below