Tag: video
Sony Ericsson C501 – SHINY VIDEO REVIEW
It’s easy to forget about the simple things in the handset world with a constant barrage of phones vying to be the smartest of all. Instead, Shiny Shiny‘s Zara took a look at the kind of model you can get free with a very modest contract – the Sony Ericsson C501. Come to think of it, you can pick it up for just under a ton.
Sony Ericsson
SHINY VIDEO: How to get all the music and software you want for free and legally
If you’re here, it’s because you’re a cheapskate. That’s the words of free software, services and music guru Duncan Geere and if you couldn’t make it to his talk at the Gadget Show Live, then get yourself a cup of tea, a pen and paper and learn how rule the IT world without paying a penny for the privilege.
VIDEO ANIMATION: Note Book – the hand drawn computer
This video/work of genius by Rotterdam based animator Evelien Lohbeck speaks for itself. I wouldn’t normally feature animation on Tech Digest but, then, animation is always titled “Note Book”. Enjoy.
(via Rubbishcorp)
HTC Magic Video: Hands on with the UK's second Android phone
I met up with Vodafone this morning to take a look at one of the hottest handsets of the summer, the HTC Magic known to some as the G2, known by all as the second Google Android phone available in the UK.
Straight up, it’s obvious that this handset is the looker of the two Android siblings at the moment. It may not be a particularly orginal form with the iPhone two years old now but I like the way they’ve taken “the chin” and turned it from a jutting Jimmy Hill to a more handsome Robert Redford. Take a look.
This missing flash will wind you up if the camera is the most important feature for you but otherwise there’s very little to complain about. It comes loaded with Android 1.5, aka Cupcake, meaning you can take video and upload straight to YouTube and Picasa, and there’s no longer the need for a hard keyboard. The virtual one seems certainly no worse than the iPhone’s.
The battery’s a slight improvement on the G1 with a 1340 mAh capacity which should see you out a a full day of heavy use before it’s time to plug in again.
A single small USB port at the bottom means you’ll have to use the in-box 3.5mm adaptor to fit your preferred headphones in, but it’s good to see they’ve had the issue in mind.
All in all, an A1 phone. Still time to get a fiver off the monthly tariff if you order today. £30 a month for 18 months grabs you a free handset, 600 mins and “unlimited” data and texts to the tune of 500MB per month and around 3,000 messages.
The handset is only available in white in the UK but that’s no bad thing until you dirty it up with your muddy paws.
HTC Magic spec sheet
Guitar Hero Smash Hits: Activision lays track down
Activision has given Guitar Hero addicts more ways to part with their cash by announcing more tracks for their June 16th release of Guitar Hero Smash Hits. The game, which sounds horribly like a teen magazine, sees the relaunch of a batch of songs from previous editions of Guitar Hero and this time it’s the turn of the second pack’s resurrection.
This list as follows is:
Avenged Sevenfold – “Beast And The Harlot”
Rage Against The Machine – “Killing In The Name”
Rush – “YYZ”
Lynyrd Skynyrd – “Free Bird”
Wolfmother – “Woman”
Foo Fighters – “Monkey Wrench”
Iron Maiden – “The Trooper”
Nirvana – “Heart-Shaped Box”
Lamb of God – “Laid To Rest”
The Police – “Message In A Bottle”
Danzig – “Mother”
Kansas – “Carry On Wayward Son”
Stone Temple Pilots – “Trippin’ On A Hole In A Paper Heart”
Warrant – “Cherry Pie”
Alice in Chains – “Them Bones”
Jane’s Addiction – “Stop!”
The Sword – “Freya”
Reverend Horton Heat – “Psychobilly Freakout”
Motley Crue- “Shout At The Devil”
Previously announced tunes:
Pantera – “Cowboys From Hell (Live)”
Franz Ferdinand – “Take Me Out”
Queens of the Stone Age – “No One Knows”
Joan Jett & the Blackhearts – “I Love Rock N’ Roll”
Incubus – “Stellar”
Boston – “More Than A Feeling”
White Zombie – “Thunder Kiss ’65”
Blue Oyster Cult – “Godzilla”
Helmet – “Unsung (Live)”
Queen – “Killer Queen”
The Exies – “Hey You”
Ozzy Osbourne – “Bark At The Moon”
Deep Purple – “Smoke On The Water”
The Donnas – “Take It Off”
Twisted Sister – “I Wanna Rock”
Poison – “Nothin But A Good Time”
Heart – “Barracuda”
DragonForce – “Through the Fire and Flames”
As usual there’s a frustrating mix of jaw droppers and those I couldn’t give a monkey’s about. “Killing in the Name” and “No One Know” are probably enough on their own for me to part with my cash but there’s still plenty of treats in the shape of “Smoke on the Water”, “Message in a Bottle” and all those others that I don’t know I know. Rock on.
(via Wired)
Kangaroo could be hopping Channel over to France
So, it looks as if the poor developers behind the Competition Commission scuppered Project Kangaroo will not have all their good work go to waste. No matter that the BBC et al couldn’t get the multi-channel video platform up and running in UK because Orange’s parent company, France Telecom, is looking to take it across the Channel.
A spokesperson for France Telecom said: “We are examining this company and we see of course that it could be interesting. Nothing has been decided but we can confirm we are examining it.”
It’d be a bit of a shame for the consumer to see what should have been our service disappear off elsewhere but, with a suspected £20m invested in the project in the first place, you can hardly blame them.
(via Brands Republic)
SHINY VIDEO REVIEW: LG Arena touchscreen mobile
This week is Lucy’s last week at Shiny. She’s moving on to pastures new and video production values high but that still doesn’t quite explain whoever it was that indulged her this nine minute review of the LG Arena.
In Lucy’s favour, it’s a darn good review of this premium touchscreen handset from Korea’s favourite brand and if you’re thinking of buying one then look no further than this most thorough piece of bloggo-jounalism. Take it a away Luce…
I’ve been lucky enough to be walking round with an Arena in my pocket (rather than just being pleased to see you) for the past few days and I’d have to agree with Ms Hedges that there’s plenty for LG to be pleased about.
The trouble is that they’re on the market for £35 per month on an 18 month contract which puts it in a very similar class to the recently reduced iPhone 3G that sits at the same cost but for six months longer. So, the question is, is the Arena as good?
For me, parts of the OS are a little over complicated with too many ways of performing the same operation and the touchscreen isn’t quite as good as the iPhone, although better than the Renoir.
What you do get that Apple doesn’t offer is 5-megapixel camera, video capture, Bluetooth and Dolby surround sound. The FM transmitter is also a nice touch and good dig at all iDevices at the same time, which has to use a variety of poor auxiliary gizmos to play wirelessly through your radio.
What you don’t get with the Arena, though, is the App Store which is probably the most important pull of the iPhone 3G. They’ve laid down a lot of useful bits and pieces but it’s not enough and, sadly, despite it being a very well manufactured handset, I can’t see the Arena really competing.
Having said that, there’s a Phones4U deal over here for £25 per month with 600 minutes and 3,000 texts. Now, for that kind of money, they could be in business.
LG Renoir review:
Leaked: Archos 2 and Archos 4 portable media players
If you’re a fan of Archos’ brand of MP3 and video players – and lots of people are – then you might be at least moderately excited by the news that some pictures of new models have just leaked. Well, if you call ‘being put up on Amazon‘ leaked.
The specs aren’t anything to run through the streets, naked and screaming, about. There’s 8GB capacity for the “2”, MicroSD slot and 1.8″ display. It’s only .35 inches thick, though, and costs a similarly miniscule $60. I’d imagine that’ll probably translate directly over to £50 to £60, especially as a 16GB version has hit Amazon DE for €68.
(via Engadget)
Chrome on Mac gets a step closer
Google’s Chrome browser doesn’t have a massive marketshare, but those who use it love it very dearly thanks to its great UI and blazing speed. At the moment it’s Windows-only, however recent videos posted by Google indicate that a Mac client is making good progress.
Chromium is the open source project that’s behind the Chrome browser. The latest iteration of the source code for OS X is making good progress, as you can see in the video below:
Unlike the last video of the software in action, now you can actually click on the screen, load websites, and follow links. Crazy, eh? Who on earth would want to do that? It’s still crashing a lot, but at least Google’s getting closer to a working OS X port.
(via Ars Technica)
VIDEO: See how fast SSDs can get
Most people know that the hard drive is one of the slowest bits in most modern computers, and we’re all eagerly anticipating the arrival of affordable, capacious SSD drives, but I hadn’t quite realized how fast these things were until I saw this video, from Samsung’s marketing team. Watch it above.
A set of 24 SSDs in RAID can open the entirety of Microsoft Office in half a second, the entire start menu (53 programs!) in 18 seconds, and can copy a DVD from place to place in less time than it takes to throw the aforementioned DVD out of the window. Best of all, the system can defrag in just three seconds. Impressive!
(via Gizmodo)
