LinkedIn goes mobile with new WAP site

By

Stuart Dredge

on February 25, 2008 Comments (0)

There's been a lot of talk about mobile social networking in recent months, but it's mostly focused on the big consumer sites like Facebook, MySpace and Bebo. However, business-focused social network LinkedIn has just announced its move into mobile, with a new WAP site.

You can access it by pointing your mobile browser to m.linkedin.com and, yes, the site is in beta for now. It lets you search profiles, send invites, and burrow into your network of contacts from any internet-enabled phone, including the iPhone.

"Let's face it, every professional today is carrying a wireless device," says LinkedIn CEO Dan Nye. "Many of these professionals are on the move, attending conferences, sales meetings and client events. Making LinkedIn available on mobile devices responds to both these business realities." It'll be interesting to see how the company follows up this initial launch - for example, copying Facebook's dedicated BlackBerry application would seem to be a logical move.

Japanese engineers diss the MacBook Air

By

Stuart Dredge

on February 21, 2008 Comments (0)

POW! Apple's MacBook Air has a "perfect, sophisticated external appearance, but its insides are full of waste."

BLAM! Its structure is "hard to comprehend".

OOF! "I can't find anything that is technically superior. We can make the same computer at a lower cost."

These are the words of a bunch of Japanese engineers surveyed by Nikkei Publications, who've reached the utterly shocking conclusion that, gasp, the MacBook Air is more expensive than it needs to be. You don't say.

Next week, the engineers present their research into whether mammals in the Ursidae family exrete in forested areas.

(via Digital World Tokyo)

Yahoo oneConnect is excellent, but will Microsoft and Facebook derail it?

By

Stuart Dredge

on February 15, 2008 Comments (0)

While at Mobile World Congress, I grabbed a demo of oneConnect, Yahoo's innovative new mobile application that draws various social networks and instant messaging apps into one place, including Yahoo's services, but also MySpace, Facebook, Last.fm, LinkedIn, MSN Messenger and AIM.

It's expected to be included in Yahoo's Go 3.0 application by June this year. I was really impressed at how slick it is, and how neatly it presents the different information from all these different Web 2.0 feeds. There's a Pulse feature that lets you see people's profile updates and photo uploads too.

However, it seems the app could be derailed after a complaint from Microsoft, and concern from Facebook over how Yahoo is pulling in information from their services, and whether it's respecting people's privacy.

MWC 2008: Hands on with the Readius rollable e-ink phone

By

Stuart Dredge

on February 15, 2008 Comments (3)

It was at last year's 3GSM show in Barcelona that we first clapped eyes on Polymer Vision's Readius e-book display. The show's name may have changed to Mobile World Congress, but Polymer Vision was still there this year, showing the latest version of the device, which is now a fully-fledged mobile phone, as we recently reported.

Naturally, I nosed around the company's stand to find out more. According to Pieter van Lieshout, display R&D manager, what was on show this year is an almost-final version of the device, which is due to go on sale in the second half of 2008.

The screen is lovely, I have to say. It's five inches when unrolled, and QVGA resolution. The photo above gives you a sense of how it displays newspaper pictures and text, but my personal impression is that it's very comfortable for reading indeed.

WORLD EXCLUSIVE: First picture of the LG MusicStation Max music phone

By

Stuart Dredge

on February 13, 2008 Comments (3)

Remember the big news yesterday about LG's MusicStation Max handset, which they're working on with Omnifone? You know, the one that you buy, sign up to a monthly contract, and then get unlimited music downloads for the duration of your contract? Pretty cool, eh?

Omnifone has the handset at Mobile World Congress, and you can play with it, but they're not letting anyone photograph it. It's to build mystique, apparently. When I interviewed Omnifone's Rob Lewis, these were his exact words: "You can describe it. You can draw it..."

So I did. See above. It really is that minimalist, too. Check over the jump for another WORLD EXCLUSIVE picture of the handset, from my own fair hand.

LG says Chocolate / Shine successor coming in May, plus new Viewty

By

Stuart Dredge

on February 13, 2008 Comments (1)

Here's a nugget from my interview with LG's Jeremy Newing that I thought was worth spinning off as a separate story. It seems it'll only be a matter of months before LG releases the next phone in its Black Label series, following the Chocolate and Shine handsets (latter pictured).

"We have the third Black Label handset coming in May, which we can't tell you about just yet," he says. "And there'll be the successor to Viewty, obviously, which has exceeded our expectations so far."

Newing also said LG is keen to build on its momentum with the two previous Black Label handsets, with those who bought a Shine last year likely to be looking for an upgrade during the next six months. With that in mind, the third Black Label phone is guaranteed a keen reception.

Find more mobile news in our Mobile World Congress 2008 category

LG's MusicStation Max handset offers free unlimited music as part of your tariff

By

Stuart Dredge

on February 11, 2008 Comments (0)

LG has revealed that it'll be the first handset maker to launch a phone with Omnifone's new MusicStation Max service built in. What's that? It involves buying a phone on a monthly contract from an operator, with free, unlimited music downloads bundled into the tariff.

"The consumer buys a 20 or 30-euro price plan that might include, for example, 500 voice minutes, 600 texts and unlimited data," Omnifone CEO Rob Lewis told me. "But when they get their music phone out of the box, it also has the rights to unlimited free music downloads direct to the phone."

LG's first MusicStation Max handset will be released by June, and although the two companies aren't allowing any photography of the device, they are showing it off: basically, it's a 3G/HSDPA touchscreen iPhone-like handset, except with a slide-out keyboard.

MWC 2008: NVIDIA shows off iPhone-busting concept phone

By

Stuart Dredge

on February 11, 2008 Comments (27)

NVIDIA has a big stand at Mobile World Congress, including a concept handset showing off a user-interface powered by the company's new APX 2500 mobile CPU And I'm not getting over-excited when I say it looks awesome. Scrolling, zooming, transparent overlays, the works. Check the demo running on a big screen:

Don't worry, I've got a video of it actually running on the handset too, in a minute. NVIDIA whacked the handset together in a matter of weeks for this show, to unveil the new mobile CPU.

The UI is designed to show what'll be capable with the next generation of mobile handsets. "What this shows is the iPhone didn't go far enough," says NVIDIA's Oscar Clark.

Fancy a $6 million home cinema system?

By

Stuart Dredge

on February 8, 2008 Comments (3)

Look, there's no point me going into the details of this home cinema system created by a bloke called Jeremy Kipnis. I could tell you about the projector, the screen, the various video sources, speakers, amplifiers and comfy sofa that go into it.

But let's face it: the system costs $6 million, so you can't afford it. Neither can I. So realistically, all we want to do is look at the photo, and think nasty vengeful thoughts about the sort of people who can afford to have this kind of system in their living room. And indeed, who can afford a living room capable of housing this kind of system.

So let's do that. Cor, eh? Bastards...

(via Born Rich)

RIP Grange Hill: Here's 10 YouTube clips to say goodbye

By

Stuart Dredge

on February 7, 2008 Comments (1)

Those bastards at the BBC! They've cancelled Grange Hill! How could they? Even though nobody who's eagerly joining the 'Save Grange Hill' Facebook groups has actually watched it in the last, ooh, ten years.

Anyway, with those rose-tinted glasses firmly affixed, it's time for a trip down memory lane with ten of the best classic Grange Hill clips on YouTube. Starting with...

1. The classic opening credits and theme tune from its glory days. Sausage-tastic (above)

O2 unveils XDA Orbit 2 GPS smartphone

By

Stuart Dredge

on February 5, 2008 Comments (0)

O2 has taken the wrappers off its new XDA Orbit 2 smartphone, which runs Windows Mobile 6 and comes with built-in GPS and the CoPilot Live 7 satnav software preloaded.

It's also got a 2.8-inch touchscreen, 3G, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, and works with Microsoft's Direct Push Email technology for BlackBerry-esque email-bothering on the move. More consumer-friendly features include a three-megapixel camera, FM radio and MP3-playing capabilities.

What's more, O2 is promising up to 450 hours of standby time and up to seven hours of talktime for the device. The Orbit 2 is available now, with the price varying according to tariff. If you're a business user, you can opt for a CoPilot Live-free version, incidentally.

O2 website

PC World brings free laptop offer back from the dead

By

Stuart Dredge

on January 31, 2008 Comments (3)

Remember last July, when PC World offered customers a free laptop if they signed up to Orange broadband? And how the offer ended a month later after it was hugely popular? Well, PC World is at it again, except now it's 3's mobile broadband service that's footing the bill.

Here's the new deal: sign up to an 18-month subscription for 3's Mobile Broadband service, and you get £350 towards a new laptop chosen from a list of more than ten - some of which will be free when that discount is applied. The Mobile Broadband tariff is £35 a month, for which you get a 3GB download allowance.

However, it's worth doing some sums before deciding if this is really a good deal...

Canon impresses with today's announcement, the EOS 450D Digital SLR

By

Katherine Hannaford

on January 24, 2008 Comments (0)

I'm so thankful right now I didn't end up buying a 400D D-SLR from Canon when I was out in the States last week, as not only would my bank manager have a few choice words to say to me, but today they just announced the upgrade, the long-awaited 450D.

With a tidy 12.2-megapixels, this Digital SLR has an EOS Integrated Cleaning System, 3.0" LCD with Live View mode, a new 9-point AF system, plus a DIGIC III image processor and fully redesigned menu system. Could be dangerous.

The 450D, which will go by the much-cooler US name of Digital Rebel XSi, is also packing 13 custom functions, and is able to shoot 3.5 frames per second. Anyone who's looking to upgrade will be pleased to know it's compatible with all the Canon EF and EF-S lenses, along with the EX-series Speedlites.

One point of contention between Canon fans will be the 'downgrade' to SD card memory from the original CF format. Let the arguments commence...

Expect the body to be priced at £599.99 and the body plus 18-55mm kit at £679.99 when it drops in March. US customers can pick up their alternatively named Digital Rebel XSi in April, for $799 and $899 respectively. Full specs list copied-and-pasted from the press release, for all photographic junkies looking for their EOS fix.

Hubless Harley Davidson will cost you $150,000

By

Stuart Dredge

on January 22, 2008 Comments (0)

Don't motorbikes need hubcaps? I always thought it was an important part of the equation. Seemingly not though: someone's put together a hubless Harley, although it took two years of research and development to do it.

The bike can reach speeds of 100mph, weighs around 700 pounds, and uses a 1969 Harley Davidson Pan Shovel 80ci engine. This means nothing to me, obviously, but it sounds very impressive.

It's the work of New Jersey firm Howards Killer Customs, and it cost a whopping $150,000 to make. Hopefully there some Hell's Angels out there rich enough to afford it, otherwise some businessman will buy it as part of their midlife crisis, and it'll end up gathering dust in a garage when they realise they're not the Easy Rider they thought they were.

(via Born Rich)

10 ways to become the ultimate fanboy / fangirl

By

Stuart Dredge

on January 21, 2008 Comments (1)

We love technology. You love technology. But do you really love it? Being a proper fanboy or fangirl is about more than trolling the internetweb finding people with an opposing view to flame. You've got to really go the extra mile, to prove you're a genuine fanatic. How? Here's some ideas...

1. Show up to every Steve Jobs keynote dressed in exactly the same clothes as him (note, this requires some early-morning stalking, a big credit-card limit, and fast transport).

2. No matter what the fancy-dress party theme is, even if it's pirates, or tarts'n'vicars, always dress up as Mario. Then come up with a plausible reason why.

3. Insist on only making love to a looped version of the Nokia Tune. You're allowed to switch to the polyphonic version when things get hot'n'nasty.

Opinion: 'Fess up, who bought Radiohead's 'In Rainbows' twice?

By

Stuart Dredge

on January 21, 2008 Comments (2)

This 'shunning physical CDs in order to distribute your album online for whatever price people want to pay' idea doesn't half do wonders for, er, your physical CD sales. Check Radiohead out: despite the innovative digital release of In Rainbows last year, when it was released on CD right at the end of 2007, it stormed to the top of the UK charts.

The same happened in the US, where in its first week on sale, the CD version of In Rainbows shifted 122,000 copies to top the chart there too. On one level, the news supports Radiohead's decision to release the album on CD for those people who couldn't buy the digital version.

But I'm wondering how many people bought both. I know I did, with the result that I ended up paying £15 for In Rainbows. Anecdotal evidence suggests there are plenty of other people who did the same thing too.

Rumour: Next-gen Asus Eee PC to be touchscreen

By

Stuart Dredge

on January 18, 2008 Comments (0)

It's all about MacBook Air for the geekarati this week, but Asus has a plan to win some attention back to its dinky Eee PC range. It seems the next-generation version of the laptop will have a touchscreen.

At least, that's what Digitimes is reporting, quoting unnamed sources at touch-panel and related component makers. Their story claims that the second-gen Eee PCs will have eight, nine and ten-inch screens, but it's the nine-inch version that'll be touchscreen.

Don't worry though, the touchscreen elements aren't expected to add more than $15 to the price of the final device. Throw in a built-in 3G card here in the UK, and it could be the perfect ultra-portable laptop...

(via Digitimes)

BBC still committed to dual HD DVD and Blu-ray releases

By

Stuart Dredge

on January 17, 2008 Comments (0)

The BBC has no plans to abandon HD DVD for its high-definition releases, despite the recent defection to Blu-ray of its distribution partner Warner Home Video. The Beeb says it'll continue its policy of supporting both formats, following its policy with series like Planet Earth and Galapagos.

However, that's not to say the policy won't change. TVShowsOnDVD.com asked the corporation whether it would be following Warner's lead and dumping HD DVD, and got a reply saying the BBC "will evaluate the marketplace before committing to one format".

The site says the BBC has four more releases planned this year for both Blu-ray and HD DVD, and claims it's actually sold MORE copies of Planet Earth on HD DVD than Blu-ray. I reckon the BBC won't pick one format until the last possible minute due to the corporation's public service traditions (and yes, I do know these releases come under its commercial activities).

(via TVShowsOnDVD)