Author: Stuart Dredge
Ofcom slaps O2's wrists for slow 3G rollout
O2 has been publicly criticised by telecoms regulator Ofcom for not rolling out its 3G network fast enough. According to Ofcom, O2’s 3G network currently only covers 75.69% of the UK population, when it was obliged to have reached the 80% mark by December.
Nokia N-Gage boss: "We're not scared of the PlayStation phone"
If you’re not aware that Nokia is relaunching the N-Gage, you should be. They’ve got it right this time, turning N-Gage into a platform that runs across (eventually) all of Nokia’s Nseries handsets. And better still, the company is coming out swinging against comparisons with Sony Ericsson’s rumoured PlayStation phone.
Opera signs Google for mobile search; kicks Yahoo to the kerb
Opera has announced that it’s making Google the default search engine for its Opera Mini and Opera Mobile browsers, incorporating its search box onto the start page for both browsers from next week.
Think Blu-ray players are too expensive? How about a $17k model?
Hopefully, Blu-ray players will continue to come down in price, even though rival format HD DVD has fallen out of contention. However, there’s always room at the top end of the market for super-expensive models for crazy rich people. To wit: Goldmund’s Eidos 20 BD.
Mobile gets cuddly with the concept Soft Phone
When Motorola first released the RAZR, there was much talk about its metallic-sheen and laser-etched keypad. But metal is SO 2005 when it comes to mobile handsets. The hot new thing in the mobile arena is electronic fabric. Well, it is if you ask designer Qian Jiang.
Put your hamster to work powering your gadgets
Hamster wheels, what are they good for? Absolutely nothing, apart from keeping you awake at night because they squeak even though you’ve hidden the hamster cage in the cupboard under the stairs under a blanket in an effort to get a good night’s sleep. They’re quite good for that.
Will the iPhone SDK let non-iTunes music stores onto Apple's handset?
As I write this, rumours are criss-crossing the internetweb about Apple’s iPhone SDK slipping from its planned February release date (for the record, many of them lead back to this Business Week story).
Man puts iPhone interface on lipstick-sized gadget. Why? Er…
No, I won’t be too cynical about this: the iStick is a concept product after all, so isn’t meant to conform to the standard ‘why would I buy this?’ test.
Scientists teach monkey to control robots. Humanity doomed.
Time to pack up your clothes and head for the nearest bunker. Crazed scientists have taught a monkey how to control a robot on the other side of the world through brain-power alone, thus setting us on an inescapable path to a Simian/Robot alliance that will wipe humans off the face of the Earth. Probably.
Guesss Whooo is the newest cool Facebook game?
Having torn myself away from Gridrunner++ on Facebook, here’s another game that takes less of a retro spin. It’s called Guesss Whooo, but no, it’s not a clone of the famous board game.