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Another striking piece in a collection of inspired lighting accessories from Materialise, this Twister.mgx lamp, designed by Janne Kyttanen, adds a sculptural quality to lighting. Like other designs from Materialise, Twister incorporates a proprietary software and rapid prototyping technology, which essentially prints a designer's work in 3-D. The piece is available in versions for both table and standing floor lamps both 4.5" in diameter, each with a basic, stainless steel base and stand.
We checked out one of these bags in person over the weekend and came away pretty damn impressed. The North Face Base Camp Messenger Bag ($70-$90) comes in two sizes, with the large version being big enough to hold everything you could possibly need to bring with you on your daily outings. Both are made from a super durable synthetic material, come in four colors, and have tons of compartments and pockets.
With cool color-block style and endless versatility, the Yavapai travels well no matter where you're headed. Oversized, water-resistant #10 YKK® zipper on main zipper protects against zipper failure and slider damage Carry handle Dual mesh side water bottle pockets with reinforcement secure your hydration while you are on the go Front pocket with organizer Lets you integrate your own hydration bladder into the pack in a separate sleeve for hands-free drinking Laminated backpanel with breathable mesh and channels let air circulate between your back and the pack keeping you cooler Reflective hits for nighttime visibility Safe-T whistle on sternum strap for emergencies Stash pocket on pack front to keep small gear or personal items within reach Hipbelt tucks away for when not in use Utility pocket fits a laptop and hydration Average Weight: 2 lbs (900 g) Dimensions: 19" x 13" x 8" (48 cm x 34 cm x 20 cm) Fabric: 420D nylon, 840D nylon, Hypalon® Sizes: One size Volume: 1850 in3 (30 liters)
A cheap computer game does not always mean an old or boring game. If you have some patience and know where to look, you can find some newer releases on the cheap.
One way is to get on the mailing list of a computer game retailer. You will be sent game reviews, and notifications of new releases as well as coupons and special offers on purchases. When you visit the websites of computer game manufacturers and retailers, take a minute to sign up for their email mailing list. You may not be interested in some of it, especially since reviews are such a matter of personal opinion. However it might be worth it if they email you a coupon code or special deal on a new game.
If you don’t want to put up with all that email cluttering your inbox then be sure to check out the Sunday ads. That’s when most retail stores advertise their sales and you may luck out and see a game you have wanted to buy go on sale.
You might be able to buy the computer game cheaper online. The important thing to remember about shopping online is to always comparison shop and factor in your shipping costs. Also, do a quick search for a coupon code for the store you are shopping. You may be able to get a discount or free shipping.
If you are just looking for cheap computer games and don’t really care if it the latest game on the market then you might be just as happy buying previously released games. They are just as fun but are less expensive. This is true especially of sports games that have a new version released each year.
Some of the older games have gone on to be come classics. You can usually save money by ordering these online also.
Eventually after the hype of a new game has passed, the price will fall. The games are still great, but everyone is already looking for the next new game. That in a nutshell explains why it is possible you can buy some great cheap computer games if you just want to wait until they have been on the market awhile.
2.4-inch LCD display (320 x 240 resolution), slide-out QWERTY keyboard, Memory Stick PRO Duo slot
Stay in touch with all your IM and e-mail contacts without having to lug around a laptop with the lightweight, wireless Sony mylo Personal Communicator COM-1, which also offers multimedia playback and VOIP Internet telephony capabilities. The mylo COM-1 enables you to use Wi-Fi (802.11b) connections found in your home, on your school campus, and at a variety hotspot locations to send e-mail, chat across multiple IM conversations, and browse the Web. While it doesn't communicate via cellular networks, you can use the built-in Skype VOIP (voice over IP) software to make phone calls over the Internet via the integrated microphone or the included external mic. This model comes in black with a gray keyboard, but it also comes in white with an orange keyboard.
The mylo COM-1 has 1 GB of flash memory, a 2.4-inch LCD display with a 320 x 240-pixel resolution (QVGA), slide-out QWERTY keyboard that's easy to operate, an embedded microphone and speaker, Memory Stick slot (PRO Duo) slot, and USB 2.0 port for connectivity to your PC and for charging the battery. The lithium-ion rechargeable battery provides up to 3.5 hours of Internet calling talk time, up to 7 hours web browsing, and up to 45 hours of music playback.
The What's Up screen provides an at-a-glance overview of your circle of friends, showing who's available for IM or Voice calling, and it displays what music is currently being played. You can easily control music playback without sliding open the keyboard using the handy music keys next to the LCD (play/stop/rewind/forward ).
Communication and Connectivity Reach friends using three of the fastest-growing instant messaging services--Yahoo!, Google and Skype--and use the Info button on the mylo COM-1's face to switch among multiple IM conversations. And with the built-in Skype software, you can enjoy free Internet phone calls to and from any Skype-enabled device, anywhere in the world (or SkypeOut to any phone number for a nominal fee.
Sony has partnered with Google's GMail and Yahoo! to provide easy access to on-the-go email. The slide-out QWERTY keyboard means you can type without the hassle of the repeated key-presses you'd need on the number keypad of a typical mobile device. The mylo COM-1 also enables you to browse virtually any Web site (via the built-in Opera browser)--allowing you to scroll horizontally and vertically through the page, fit to the QVGA width of the screen, zoom in to display web pages at full resolution, or zoom out to fit pages to the width of the screen. Mylo communicator's Web browser renders full HTML--not truncated WAP pages like browsers found on many cell phones and portable internet devices.
There are millions of WiFi hotspots including over 15 million American homes, almost every university campus, plus shopping malls, coffee shops, fast food restaurants, hotels, airports and border-to-border coverage in a growing number of U.S. cities. Enter your current location and the mylo COM-1 will direct you to the nearest of over 20,000 free and pay public hotspots in the U.S.
Multimedia In addition to powerful communication features, the mylo COM-1 also provides a wide variety of digital audio, video, and photo playback. Offering compatibility with MP3, WMA (Secured and Un-Secured) and ATRAC formats, you'll be able to play music you've purchased from many online music stores. You'll also be able to watch MPEG4 video transferred to an optional Memory Stick Duo or saved to the 1 GB memory after processing on your PC using the optional Image Converter 2 software. You can also download and view hundreds of JPEG pictures from the Internet or from your digital camera. Transfer is easy using the supplied Mylo Image Transfer software, via drag and drop from your PC desktop, or onto saved to an optional Memory Stick Duo media card.
You can also connect to other nearby mylo COM-1 devices using a device-to-device ad-hoc network, enabling you to listen to streaming music and transfer data files wirelessly.
Note About Connectivity The mylo Personal Communicator COM-1 requires a compatible wireless LAN access point to use the interactive IM, email, and Web features. It generally requires no additional monthly service charges as long as you are connected to free access points found in homes, cafes, businesses, and campuses. However, some access points and features may rely on Internet services which may require a fee.
What's in the Box Sony mylo Personal Communicator COM-1 (black), stereo headphones, external microphone, carry case, USB 2.0 cable, printed operating instructions
Product Description The name mylo stands for ?my life online? and the communicator lets you use instant messaging, browse the Internet, listen to music, send emails and view photos concurrently. Small enough for a pocket or purse, the slim, oblong-shaped device features a 2.4 inch color LCD (measured diagonally) with a slide out QWERTY keyboard for comfortable and quick thumb typing. The device comes embedded with popular instant messaging services: the Google Talk instant messaging service, Skype and Yahoo! Messenger. These services are free and the product does not require initial computer setup or a monthly service contract. Mylo includes JiWire's hotspot directory listing more than 20,000 WiFi networks in the United States. so you can find a hotspot near you. The mylo personal communicator boots up in seconds and can scan for available wireless networks right away. The ?What's Up? screen serves as the hub, storing up to 90 of your friends' avatars so you can quickly see who's online. You can store up to nine online identities per person which allows you to first choose who you want to chat with then easily initiate conversations using your preferred application. The embedded HTML browser lets you quickly connect to full Web pages on the Internet. You can also send and receive text emails with web mail services like Yahoo! Mail and the Gmail web mail service. The communicator comes with Skype software built into it, allowing registered Skype users to make free Internet calls with the 113 million other Skype users worldwide. For a limited time, Skype is offering free SkypeOut calls from United States and Canada to most phone numbers in the United States or Canada. Mylo uses a lithium-ion battery that offers up to 45 hours of music playback, around seven hours of chatting and web surfing and more than three hours of continuous Skype talk time. It comes with a microphone, stereo headphones, a USB cable and a neoprene case.
Vodafone is gearing up to becoming a brand name in its own right in the consumer handset market, with the newly unveiled "Vodafone 710," the first Vodafone-only branded 3G consumer handset.
A sleek clamshell, the Vodafone 710, which is being manufactured by China-based Huawei Technologies, offers the latest 3G consumer services.
Huawei and Vodafone had signed a deal in February, under which the Chinese firm will supply Vodafone with 3G consumer handsets in 21 countries for five years.
Jens Schulte-Bockum, global director - terminals, Vodafone, said, "Today's announcement supports Vodafone's commitment to drive 3G penetration across our customer base, and the fact that Vodafone 710 will be available as prepay in many markets will help to achieve this. The arrival of Vodafone 710 illustrates how we are actively reducing costs and stimulating revenues by adding depth and choice to the range of 3G consumer devices for our customers."
The Vodafone 710 features easy access to core services, including Vodafone Radio DJ, Mobile TV, music downloads, video telephony, and Vodafone Live!. In addition, the handset includes an MP3 music player, a 1.3 mega pixels camera, and Bluetooth.
According to sources, the handsets will cost around 30 percent less than those manufactured by first-tier manufacturers including Nokia, Samsung, and Motorola.
The Vodafone 710 will be launched in the UK, Germany, Spain, Italy, Ireland, Greece, Netherlands, Romania, and Portugal, beginning October 2006.
Vodafone is also said to be in talks with several companies, including Chinese handset manufacturers, for making second-generation mobile handsets under its brand name.
Fossil, in partnership with Sony Ericsson, today introduced a new line of Bluetooth-enabled watches that deliver the time in a traditional analog format, but connects to a user’s mobile phone wirelessly to do a whole lot more digitally. Based on existing Fossil designs, the water resistant timepieces include a bright OLED display to allow people to view Caller ID and number information plus a vibrating alert for incoming calls or SMS/MMS messages. There's also an out of range warning where the watch vibrates after 10 meters.
The idea is it’s harder or impossible to a miss vibration on your wrist than the ringer or vibration of your phone when it is hidden away in your briefcase, coat, backpack, etc. and you can't hear it when walking down a city avenue, for example, according to to Fossil VP of Watch Technology Bill Geiser. "The rest is natural, people have been wearing watches for hundreds of years. That motion of just glancing at your wrist is something that is almost instinctive," he said to PDAStreet.
The digital display is almost hidden. It comes into play only when needed. If a caller's name is in the phone’s address book, you see the name, if not, you see the number.
One button push mutes the phone's ringer, while two button pushes rejects a call. The watch's lithium rechargeable battery is supposed to last for about 5-7 days.
Geiser emphasized the Bluetooth watch is about convenience. He added that Fossil is giving you an ability to stay connected in a discreet way. "Let's face it; cell phone use in public areas is under scrutiny these days. And people using cell phones in restaurants and movie theaters and so on, there's a social etiquette, stigma emerging around this," noted Geiser. "We give you the ability to always stay connected but do it in a very discreet and socially acceptable way."
Fossil has been pretty aggressive in developing watches that combine elements of fashion and technology over the years. While the now defunct (and bulky) Wrist PDA and still shipping Microsoft-based SPOT watches never delivered on their promise, Geiser said to PDAStreet the company learned a lot from these endeavors: How do integrate a lot of functionality into a small amount of space and that fashion trumps function. Also, those watches were all digitals, a problem for a watchmaker whose market is 98 percent analog timepieces.
To succeed Geiser told us Fossil decided the watches would have to look good, incorporating the current fashion elements, trends and designs. "There's no reason a technology watch needs to look like a technology watch," he said.
Also, it would have to be affordable and simple to use. Unlike the SPOT watch and Wrist PDA, which were complicated because they asked folks do to do much. And whatever function Fossil asked the new watches to perform, it would be okay for them to do less, but it must be relevant.
So instead of viewing the cell phone as a threat to watches, the way some do - as does camera (Nokia is now the leading camera vendor) and audio player makers – because all handsets feature a time function, Geiser says his company sees them as an opportunity, where a watch could simplify how people interact with their cell phones and smartphones.
What made this possible is the huge (40 percent in 2006, with estimates of 65 percent next year) growth in penetration of Bluetooth in the mobile handset market.
Late last year, Fossile entered into the partnership with Sony Ericsson to build the new watches and create the software that made the connectivity possible.
The watches work initially with Sony Ericsson phones. Geiser said to PDAStreet, however, that very quickly - over the next month or so - they would add support for the S60 platform, running onto of Symbian 7, 8 and 8.1. They are looking at the most recent version, 9, but a couple of security features have created some problems that they need to navigated around.
Fossil will continue to look at additional mobile handsets and platforms as well. "We'd like to move very aggressively at expanding the compatibility list. Things being the way they are that was a good place for us to start," Geiser explained.
The watch maker will market a Fossil-branded Bluetooth watch, the Caller ID FX6001 (black ionic plated stainless steel case and bracelet-style strap), for $250 to in late October. And there will be two AABACUS MobileWear versions as well, the AU6001 (stainless steel case and bracelet) and AU6002 (stainless steel case and black strap, for $200. These will be available in the U.S., UK and Germany through consumer electronic and wireless outlets in mid October- for example, CompUSA. In this country.
Sony Ericsson's edition of the Bluetooth watch, called the MBW-100, is stainless steel and it appears to add the ability to control the music player (play/pause and skip tracks) capabilities for its Walkman line of phones. It comes in silver and there will be a limited edition black version, both due to ship worldwide during the fourth quarter for about 300 Euros (around $382). MBW-100 weighs 6.61 ounces (187.5 grams).
Spam is a drain on our lives as it is prevalent on our computers at home and at work. The only time we get a spam free existence is when we're not at a computer. But are these spam free hours about to leave our lives for good? With the internet becoming increasingly used on mobile phones, there is an opportunity for the unethical spammer to aim his spam abuse in a different direction, and hence make our lives permanently polluted by spam.
This week sees much promotion of mobile phone internet technologies. A well known newspaper in the UK today sported an, admittedly heavy-handed, cover advert consisting of a full page (front and back) advertisement for Microsoft's Windows Mobile. Microsoft Windows Mobile is basically an operating system for your mobile. It allows you to edit and create Microsoft office documents, and send emails via Outlook, all on your mobile phone. This technology is excellent for modern day office workers that spend a lot of their time travelling to liaise with clients. It means that they can edit and make minor changes to documents and presentations that have been prepared for those important client meetings.
Also in the news this week, as covered by bigmouthmedia news (The .mobi land rush: a mobile web revolution?) has been the opening up of .mobi domains for registration by the public. .mobi domains have been around for a few months, but the domains were only available to businesses and resellers to register, but now anyone can register any .mobi domain that hasn’t already been taken. The expected "land rush" has seen a lot of media attention, and so will undoubtedly attract unethical spammers in their droves.
Spammers in the past have caused problems for mobile phone users with text message spam, but will the new technologies open up a new world of spam where spam technicians will combine the power of internet spam with mobile phone spam to come up with an even more annoying and potentially harming mobile internet spam? This mobile spam has worrying potential - unethical companies have already used technology to steal credit off a person's mobile phone by having them reply to a text message, or just by agreeing to have messages sent to them. With ever more powerful software available on mobile phones, it seems certain that the internet spammer will divert his attention to making similar phone credit, or personal information theft via the mobile phone.
These considerations are already being posed by the spammer - it's now just a matter of whether the spam companies can come up with good preventative measures to combat this problem before it starts. Until the world of spam has been crushed be sure you know exactly what you are doing before you allow access of a foreign body to your computer or phone!
When you are shopping for a camera it is often hard to decide which one is the best. You may resort to asking your friends to find out their experiences or maybe you go online and read some reviews. Oh yeah, and I’m sure you have gone to online stores and sorted the list of cameras by the “most popular” which could easily be skewed from a sale that they recently had.
It is tough to find the really nice cameras out there but maybe it isn’t quite as bad anymore. The Yahoo! Shopping Blog just released an article that gives you a list of the top 10 used cameras on Flickr:
1. Nikon D50 2. Nikon D70 3. Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT 4. Canon EOS 20D 5. Canon EOS 350D Digital 6. Nikon D70s 7. Cybershot 8. Canon Powershot S2 IS 9. Canon EOS Digital Rebel 10. Nikon D200
If you want to see a list of the top 100 cameras on Flickr that is updated weekly just visit this site. Looking through the list it almost makes you sick to see how many times Canon appears (I counted 46 out of the top 100).
Infatex.com is a full service marketing company which consults and implements search engine optimization campaigns for small businesses and large corporations. Based on its halo structure of analysis (CDP system) Infatex seeks to further increase client return on investment by refining the most important aspect of an optimization campaign- research and development and algorithm decoding.
“Without an effective way to analyze key aspect of a business- from competitors, to market niche, through profit and cost structure, an optimization campaign will be limited in its effectiveness, “says Idakov Infatex, Account Manager of Infatex.com. “If you skimp on your true understanding of how search engines rank websites in different genres and markets, you will also lose out on the lion’s share of traffic.”
Founded by Harvard University School of Management students, Infatex.com has continually and systematically developed techniques and strategies that have consistently given greater results at competitive prices for businesses across the world. For additional insight into company offerings, visit: http://www.Infatex.com.
"This is quite an honor," says Idakov. "We've worked hard researching and developing this product, and we are overwhelmed by how quickly it's been accepted as a huge benefit to website owners, and the marketing and advertising industries. Companies are already re-structuring their sales and marketing initiatives to be more effective, based on the information that Infatex Reports is providing them."
The PS3 was the centerpiece of Sony's E3 '06 press conference.
Hardware
Hardware specifications and tech demos dominated the E3 2005 show, but Sony revealed more crucial details about the new PlayStation 3 console at its E3 2006 press conference, including final launch information. Sony originally planned a spring 2006 release for the console, but Sony Computer Entertainment president Ken Kutaragi announced in March that the console will not ship until November due to delays in finalizing the Blu-ray copy-protection technology specifications.
Sony is now planning to give the PlayStation 3 a simultaneous worldwide launch. The new system will be available with two different hard-drive options in Japan, the United States, Europe, and Australia in November. The console will hit Japan first on November 11. The 20GB model will sell for 49,980 yen (about $429), roughly $85 lower than the 59,800 yen price Sony originally announced for the console at E3 2006. Sony will allow Japanese retailers name their own price for the 60GB version. The PlayStation 3 will launch in the United States, Europe, and Australia on November 17. The 20GB version will retail for $499 and the 60GB version will retail for $599 in the US, and 499 and 599 euros in Europe, respectively. advertisement
In an attempt to make inroads with the general consumer, Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo have all given much more attention to cosmetic considerations in this console generation. The new PlayStation 3 console has a simple design, resembling a minimalist stereo component. Early prototypes indicate that the new case will be available in three different colors--white, black, and silver--but initial US models will be black. Like the Xbox 360 and the Nintendo Wii, the PlayStation 3 will be able to stand vertically or sit horizontally on an AV rack. The curved console-top suggests that the PS3 will need to sit at the very top of your equipment stack if placed horizontally. The console will weigh in at a solid 11 pounds. In comparison, the relatively chunky Xbox weighs 8.5 pounds and the Xbox 360 weighs 7.7 pounds. The PS3 measures 12.8"(W) x 3.8"(H) x 10.8"(L), which is in line with the other consoles.
Wireless Bluetooth Controllers
The PlayStation 3 controller Sony introduced at E3 last year resembled what can very easily be described as a "batarang," in reference to Batman's bat-shaped throwing weapon. At E3 2006, Sony revealed the new controller, which heavily resembles the traditional DualShock design. The L2 and R2 shoulder buttons located on the top of the controller have also been enlarged, with increased depth in stroke for more subtle game control. Sony has also enlarged the tilting angle of the analog joysticks to enable more delicate manipulation and a wider range of motion. Whereas the analog sticks on the DualShock controller for the PlayStation 2 had 8-bit sensitivity, the new controller will have 10-bit motion detection.
Sony revealed the PlayStation 3's new controller design at E3 '06.
The new controller has two analog sticks, the usual four-button complement on the right side, and four top-side trigger buttons. However, in Nintendo Wii fashion, the new PlayStation 3 controller will also have motion-sensing capabilities. Sony's Phil Harrison stated that the controller is capable of sensing motion in six degrees: up, down, left, right, forward, and backward. Even with the added functionality, the controller will weigh no more than the wired DualShock controller, according to Harrison. Dylan Jobe of Incognito Studios proceeded to demonstrate the controller's motion sensitivity in Warhawk, a jet-based fighter game. He tilted the controller to control the orientation of his aircraft. Tilting the controller upward caused the aircraft to point its nose in the air and shifting the sides of the controller up and down caused the aircraft to tilt in a similar manner. Additionally, the controller will no longer feature force-feedback vibration. Sony claims that the feedback vibration would interfere with games that use the motion sensor.
Like the Xbox 360 controller, the new PlayStation 3 controller will be wireless, but it will function via Bluetooth 2.0 EDR instead of 2.4GHz RF. Devices operating with Bluetooth generally have a range of 30 feet. Sony reports that the controller will have a 24-hour battery life, a figure that seems to be in line with other Bluetooth devices but far short of the 300-hour 2.4GHz models available for current consoles. Despite the decreased battery life, Bluetooth 2.0 EDR offers numerous features. Bluetooth 2.0 EDR can transmit data at rates of up to 3.0Mbps. Furthermore, by using Bluetooth, the PlayStation 3 may be capable of supporting other Bluetooth devices on the market, such as headsets, mice, and keyboards.
Also, you will be able to recharge the controller by connecting it to the PlayStation 3 with a USB cable. The controller will be functional while tethered to the system and will also be hot pluggable, which means you can plug and unplug controllers while the system is on.
The PlayStation Portable will be able to work with the new console. The PSP will be able to function as a remote control or as a sort of controller for the PlayStation 3. To demonstrate the possibilities of PSP-to-PS3 connectivity, Harrison showed off Formula 1, a PS3 racing game, which could output a video stream to the PSP that lets the player use the portable as a rearview mirror while playing the game on the PS3.
Media Mogul
The 2.5" portable hard drives supply the system with much-needed storage space for network downloads, applications, and home-server capabilities. Additionally, games will use the hard drive for game saves, and it will cache game files for decreased load times. During the Gran Turismo HD E3 2006 demonstration, Sony mentioned that load times would be reduced to two to three seconds. The game took around six to seven seconds to load during the E3 demo, but loading times will likely drop once developers have more time to optimize.
The 60GB PlayStation 3 has an enormous number of inputs and outputs, some wired, some not. The console features a front-slot-loading Blu-ray optical-disc drive, four USB ports, and a memory stick, as well as compact flash and SD readers to provide for an absurd level of media connectivity. The 20GB PlayStation 3, in comparison, has a much more limited feature set. It won't have memory stick, compact flash, or SD card ports. Upon closer inspection, Sony has cut specs for both systems since first announcing the console.
The PlayStation 3 will come in a handsome-looking Clear Black color.
Sony has flip-flopped on the HDMI connector issue over the past few months. The original PlayStation 3 specs released at E3 2005 showed a system with dual HDMI ports, but when Sony revealed the two PS3 models at E3 2006 only the 60GB version had HDMI. However, during a question and answer session follwing his Tokyo Game Show 2006 keynote address, Kutaragi revealed that the 20GB model would have an HDMI port.
Sony will equip each PlayStation 3 system with a Blu-ray optical-disc drive that can play games and movie discs. Each Blu-ray disc can hold up to 54GB worth of data, which should virtually guarantee that games won't be left wanting for extra media space. During his Game Developers Conference 2006 keynote address, Sony's Phil Harrison boasted that the storage capacity of a Blu-ray disc is large enough to hold localized content for all versions of a game, letting publishers ship one global disc instead of stamping out a new version for each language region. Games will be region-free, but movies will still have region locks preventing multiregion playback. However, according to Japanese IT Media, the Blu-ray spec now has North America, South America, and Asia (except for China) in region 1. If the spec doesn't change, that means your US PlayStation 3 should be able to play those Blu-ray Godzilla movies imported from Japan. The PlayStation 3 also comes with support for many of the older disc formats, including CR-ROM, CDR+W, DVD, DVD-ROM, DVD-R, and DVD+R. The system will also be backward compatible with PlayStation and PlayStation 2 games.
Sony's original specifications stated that the PlayStation 3 would come with three Ethernet ports, but the newly revealed specifications from E3 06 show that the system will arrive with only one Ethernet port. The 60GB version of the PlayStation 3 will also come with Wi-Fi built-in, but the 20GB version will only have the Ethernet port. We can't ignore the fact that the PS3 has all the tools to function as a personal video recorder and home-media server. The larger 60GB drive will likely prove much more useful than the 20GB drive if you wish to take advantage of the additional media functionality.
GTA may not be as securely locked into the PS3 as we thought. In an interview with TheStreet.com, Take-Two Interactive CEO Paul Eibeler tells the online publication that the home for the next Grand Theft Auto installment has yet to be determined.
Q: You and Sony have had an exclusive arrangement with the Grand Theft Auto titles. Are we going to see a similar arrangement on the next generation of consoles?
When we announced that back on Grand Theft Auto 3, Sony was a big, big factor in the business and was a great partner of ours. We have since brought that brand to the Xbox and the PC market. It's just a wait-and-see attitude that we take to the market. We study the market and see whether that exclusive nature is good for the company at that time or if it's something that we might not want to do.
Q: So, the decision hasn't been made yet?
We haven't announced anything yet. It's a good position to be in, because we have the world's biggest brand and we have the hardware companies asking us, and certainly they want that product on their system. We will be finalizing that decision as we study the market.
The Grand Theft Auto franchise is a monster series that has sold over 40 million units worldwide. The last three installments were locked in exclusive agreements to debut on Sony's Playstation 2, helping the company acheive a dominant position in the last video game wars. The titles were eventually released to Microsoft's Xbox and PC.
An exclusive deal with Sony on the PS3 to debut the next installment could be a major factor in next-generation console sales. Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo are all striking deals to have games appear only on their next-generation systems in order to secure games that can't be played on rival systems.
Stay tuned to PS3 Portal for more news on the next Gen GTA game as it develops.
Kingston Technology has introduced its 1GB microSD expansion memory cards that are perfect for users of both current and Gen-Next multi-function mobile phones that require additional memory to support advanced applications, including MP3 players, video, higher-resolution cameras, and mobile gaming.
Commenting on the new cards, Scott Chen, vice president - business development APAC, Kingston, said, "The microSD form factor is becoming increasingly popular as new mobile phone handsets reduce in size and increase in functionality. With new 1GB capacities, consumers can efficiently manage more - from address books, photos, and data files, to multiple ringtones, video, music, and beyond."
The 1GB microSD card joins the existing 512MB and 256MB cards, and packs with it a Secure Digital (SD) adapter for use as a full-sized SD card. The adapter has an in-built write-protect switch to protect against accidental data loss.
The new microSD memory card is ultra-portable and versatile; measures around 43 x 0.59 x 0.039 inches; weighs about 1.41g; and comes in capacities of 256MB, 512MB, and 1GB, together with a lifetime warranty.
The new card, like other Kingston products, will be available from AA Infoways, Avnet India, Ingram Micro, Kobian Electronics, and Transtek Infoways.
Nokia collaborates with Microsoft on Mobile Search
Nokia collaborates with Microsoft on Mobile Search Nokia has reached an agreement with Microsoft to integrate Live Search capabilities into its Mobile Search platform, thus enabling consumers access to Live Search directly from their Nokia Nseries smartphones and other compatible Nokia S60 devices.
Live Search will provide advanced web search results in 14 languages. Microsoft will provide advanced search results for web search, as well as information such as stock quotes, movie times, and common facts via Encarta Instant Answers.
The Mobile Search application is expected to be available in select markets in the standard sales packs of the Nokia N80 Internet Edition, Nokia N73 (pictured), Nokia N93, Nokia N70, Nokia N71, Nokia 6630, Nokia 6680, and Nokia 6681, it is also offered as a free download for select Nokia S60 devices.
With less than two months to go (barring any further delays) before the planned November launch of the PlayStation 3, Sony's online plans for the console are still largely up in the air. Thus it came as a bit of a surprise when in an interview for Japan's Famitsu magazine, the creator of the Gran Turismo series, Kazunori Yamauchi, gave a detailed look at how the latest GT game will make use of online features.
The latest installment in the Gran Turismo series will be called Gran Turismo: HD. Sony is really pushing the high resolution aspect of the PS3, so look for more titles to use the "HD" moniker. GT:HD will be released in two installments: the first will be "Classic" and will hit shelves in time for the PS3 launch. Coming later will be the "Premium" edition that will use more advanced graphics technology and be essentially a preview for the "proper" GT5, which is scheduled for release in 2008.
Besides the graphical improvements, the major news about GT:HD revolves around the online portion of the game. The game starts out with no cars or tracks loaded. Players can purchase cars for ¥50-100 (about $0.45 to $0.85) and courses for ¥200-500 ($1.70 to $4.30). Online race events are defined by the players themselves, and can be held at any time. Initially, over 750 cars and 50 tracks will be made available, with additional releases to come over time. There are also plans for "limited edition" car and track downloads, which will likely be priced higher.
GT:HD Premium will come with 30 cars and two courses built-in, with additional ones available for purchase online in the same fashion. Aside from the improved graphics, it will have additional features such as variable weather. The game itself will be more free-form than the Classic release, more of a driving simulator than a standard singleplayer game where you earn new content by completing various missions.
What will the public reaction be to a pay-as-you-go model for content? Some might argue that this has already been shown to be acceptable in the form of massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs), but monthly fees for those titles pay not only for new content but the vast array of servers required to support an online world with millions of users. Singleplayer games such as Oblivion have tried out this model in a limited fashion by offering extras (such as special horse armor) that are available only via purchased download. However, it remains to be seen whether gamers will embrace this idea when carried to the next level. A quick calculation shows that to purchase all 750 cars and 50 tracks would cost an astonishing $637, more than the price of the console itself!
So what's the reasoning behind the move to a pay-as-you go model? The same reason given for the ever-increasing inclusion of advertising in games: the runaway costs of game development. All those high-definition models and textures cost money to create, and companies are clearly looking for a way to increase revenue to match these costs. Will the future of gaming be pay-as-you-go? Depending on the success of GD:HD, it may well be.
Motorola takes cell phone impulse-shopping to new levels
If you've ever had the desire to upgrade your cell brick to a sleek, new pink RAZR at two in the morning, Motorola would like to have a word with you. The company has introduced vending machines in over 20 malls and airports around the country, with more likely to come. Called "INSTANTMOTO" machines, the massive vending machines will sell a wide range of cell phones and accessories to those with a bad case of upgrade-itis or who just need a phone in a pinch.
"This on-demand retail solution is an interesting approach to the many extensions of our retail strategy," said Motorola corporate VP of global retail Jason Few. INSTANTMOTO "is an opportunity to bring never-seen-before convenience to consumers."
Motorola will be selling popular models such as the RAZR and the Q smartphone via the vending machines as well as some of it's less-pricey mid-range models. The massive vending machines require a credit card for purchases, which are made using a touch screen. Once purchased, the phones can be quickly activated in most cases.
Cingular, T-Mobile, and Verizon are offering service plans in conjunction with the vending machines, but consumers can also purchase phones sans plan. Cingular and T-Mobile will be able to upgrade right after hitting the Motorola vend-a-phone by swapping out the SIM cards from their old phones. Verizon customers will need to call the carrier to have service switched manually, and those who want a new service plan will have to sign up online, negating part of the convenience factor.
If the pilot program is successful, Motorola will expand INSTANTMOTO's presence throughout the US and possibly overseas. With iPods and other digital music players already sold in vending machines, the concept of selling consumer electronics in this fashion is hardly novel. But if you've just arrived in town on a red-eye flight and you've lost your cell phone, INSTANTMOTO may be just what the doctor ordered.
SEO Philippines egroup Launches World SEO Championship
Search engine optimization contests give beginners and professionals alike the opportunity to test out their own strategies and display their search engine positioning talents.
A new search engine optimization (SEO) competition has begun, organized by SEO Philippines egroup over at Isulong SEOPH . The objective of the game is to rank highly for the search terms “Isulong SEOPH” without the quotation marks, in Google. The prize? PHP130,000 in total ( roughly USD2,500 ). The contest signals a new era where achieving first page rankings in search engines is vital to business success, and with website owners forking out thousands of dollars in order to achieve these rankings for competitive terms.
From Isulongseoph.com.ph, "This is a great challenge for all SEO beginners and experts. Not only It can prove your SEO ability in front of the world, but also you will get invaluable awards. For beginners, it is the best opportunity to learn the ultimate strategies from the live SEO event."
Currently there are over 976,000 results for the search term “Isulong SEOPH” in Google, and the competition is heating up. At first place is http://www.isulongseoph.com.p... . The search engine positions are quite volatile and change on a day to day basis.
"I think search engine contests are a great way for SEO professionals and newbies alike to test out their own strategies and to see what works and what doesn’t. It’s a great learning experience and its fun!," said Benj Arriola of Isulongseoph.com.ph.
TOKYO – The low-end version of Sony’s Playstation 3 will be offered at a lower price in Japan than was originally announced and will come with a high-definition multimedia interface in all territories, the company said Friday.
First marked at 59,800 yen, the low-end model will instead retail in Japan for 49,800 yen (approximately $410), a reduction of about 20 percent, Sony Computer Entertainment president Ken Kutaragi said in a keynote speech delivered at the Tokyo Game Show.
Moreover, he said, the less expensive models will now include HDMI output ports. HDMI’s “time has come earlier than expected,” Kutagari said, conceding that the high-definition output port was considered extravagant when first announced, but necessary now as the adoption rate of HDTVs continues to grow.
The changes come just months after Sony stunned the crowd at the E3 games expo in Los Angeles by announcing Playstation 3’s price at $500 and $600 in the United States, making it by far the most expensive game console of any major manufacturer. (In Japan, the high-end model is referred to as “open price,” meaning that retailers can set their own price points for the hardware. When asked by Wired News if he had any idea what pricing structure the retailers were contemplating, Kutaragi said that he did not.)
Sony has staunchly defended the pricing, arguing the features and performance justify the cost. Friday's price cut could be seen as a concession to critics as well as a recognition of competition with lower-priced rivals.
U.S. prices will remain the same, Sony Computer Entertainment America executives said Friday, but the addition of HDMI will include all territories. That could make the low-end model more desirable, despite the relatively high price. Kutaragi would not say how many of the 100,000 PS3 units that Sony will ship for the Japan launch will be in the cheaper, low-end configuration. But Kaz Hirai, SCEA's president, said that U.S. retailers were “predominantly” choosing to order the high-end units. He noted, however, that this may change with the addition of HDMI to the $500 model.
The announcements promise to sharpen already fierce competition among console makers for supremacy in next generation gaming market. Microsoft’s Xbox 360 is already on the market at $300 and $400. Nintendo’s Wii is expected to arrive Nov. 19 and will be priced at $250, making it the cheapest of three. Adding to the pressure on Sony, the Playstation 3 launch date was twice pushed back; it's now expected to become available Nov. 11 in Japan and Nov. 17 in the U.S., a year behind the Xbox.
The high-definition multimedia interface, or HDMI, connects compatible audio/video sources (digital game consoles, set-top boxes and DVD players to audio and video outputs), to a high definition TV set. Originally, only the high-end model (which also includes a larger hard drive, wireless functionality, and slots for flash memory cards) was slated to feature HDMI.
Also at the event, Phil Harrison, head of Sony’s worldwide development studios, confirmed that PlayStation 3 will be region-free for video games (but not DVD nor Blu-Ray movies). Kutaragi went a step further, intimating that downloadable game content could also be region-free. “In that case, there would be no physical barriers, only language barriers,” he noted cryptically.
Although Sony revealed that games from the previous two generations of PlayStation would be downloadable on PS3 and run through emulators, company representatives shied away from naming a list of titles. Hirai pointed out that the downloadable game lineup would be determined in large part by the sizes of the games, noting for example that a 9-gigabyte PlayStation 2 epic would be an unlikely choice.
Kutaragi mentioned in his speech that games from the Sega Genesis and TurboGrafx-16 classic consoles would also be downloadable and playable on PS3, a feature shared by Nintendo’s Wii console.
He also announced that PS3 owners will be able to use their new gaming consoles to participate in the Folding@Home distributed computing project, helping to simulate protein folding and contributing to research into diseases like Alzheimer’s and cancer.
SCEA representatives confirmed to Wired News that the Folding@Home would be available on the launch day of PS3.
The PlayStation 3 has been hit by delays to its launch
Electronics giant Sony could face its fiercest critics yet when it showcases the delayed PlayStation 3 (PS3) on home soil at the Tokyo Games Show (TGS).
The exhibition is the last major event in the gaming calendar before the PS3 goes on sale on 11 November.
The third incarnation of the popular games machine made its first TGS appearance last year.
Since then, Sony has delayed the launch, prompting a backlash from some parts of the gaming community.
Japan has been a loyal market of Sony, with nearly a quarter of the 100 million PlayStation 2 (PS2) consoles sold worldwide bought by Japanese gamers.
TGS will be the first time that gamers will be able to get their hands on the PS3 and a raft of playable titles.
Public show
TGS is the biggest dedicated gaming show in Japan, the second largest gaming market in the world after the US. It is now in its 10th year.
More than 140 companies are expected to attend the event in an attempt to grab a slice of an industry worth an annual $30bn globally.
E3
E3 showcase slims down
Until now, the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles has taken pride of place in the gaming calendar, with the big three console manufacturers - Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft - jostling for the hearts, minds and wallets of gamers.
Since the announcement that E3 will be downsized next year, the TGS has become even more important as an industry showcase.
Along with Sony, Microsoft will be at TGS pushing its Xbox 360 system.
However, Nintendo traditionally forgo TGS in favour of their own events.
The three-day show officially kicks off on Friday with a closed, press-only day.
Unlike many game shows the doors are then thrown open to the public for the weekend.
Big push
Sony is keen to make a big splash at this year's event. The company needs to persuade gamers that the delayed console is worth the wait, and the high price tag.
The budget version of the console will sell for 59800 yen in Japan and 499 euros in Europe.
Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 hit shelves last November
The PS3 was scheduled to launch in spring this year but a technical hitch with the console's Blu-ray drive meant the firm was forced to delay the release.
European gamers suffered further disappointment in September this year when the company said that the 17 November European release date was being pushed back to 2007.
Japanese and US gamers will still get their hands on the console in November.
In a bid to showcase the cutting edge processing and graphical power of the PS3, Sony has announced 27 playable PS3 titles for the TGS, with a further 35 shown on video.
Playable titles include Devil May Cry 4, Resistance: Fall of Man and Ridge Racer 7.
Some games will be updates of titles demonstrated earlier this year at E3.
Games showcase
Microsoft will also be present at TGS. The firm's Xbox 360 went on sale around the world last November and has become an instant success.
Microsoft has said it plans to ship 10 million consoles before the PS3 or Nintendo's latest console, the Wii, hit the shops.
But Microsoft has traditionally had difficulty cracking the loyal Japanese gaming market.
Nintendo Wii Nintendo traditionally shuns the Tokyo Games Show
When the 360 went on sale in the US and UK hardcore fans scrambled to get their hands on the console and it quickly sold out. But Japanese gamers were less enthusiastic. At the console's Tokyo launch one store official described customer reaction as "subdued."
Microsoft will have some of their top executives at TGS including Peter Moore, head of Microsoft's game business. They will push the 360 console to try to gain as much of a lead over Sony before November.
At a pre-TGS event in Tokyo, Microsoft said it would be releasing a HD-DVD player for the Xbox 360 on 17 November in Japan, priced 19,800 yen (£89).
The high definition player is a rival to the Blu-ray player inside the PS3.
The US software firm is also hosting its own event, X06, in Barcelona later in September.
The event will showcase some of the next generation games for the 360 console.
Demos and announcements from both events will be made available to users of the Xbox live online gaming service.
Wii launch
The other large console maker, Nintendo has a strong fan base in the country but the Japanese manufacturer tends to hold its own events in place of TGS.
Last week, Nintendo announced launch dates and prices for its Wii console at a series of worldwide press conferences.
The company said that the console would be available before Christmas this year and that four million consoles would be available at launch.
More than 20 games would also be available including The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.
Games developers will be showing other Wii titles at TGS, giving gamers the chance to play with the console's innovative controller.
Games on show for the Wii include Marvelous Interactive's latest instalment of the Harvest Moon series.
The Tokyo Game Show will take place from 22 to 24 September at Makuhari Messe conference centre in Chiba near Tokyo.
Microsoft to boost Xbox 360 high-definition video ability
Microsoft Corp. plans to give its Xbox 360 game console the ability to output high-definition video with better resolution than it currently does on televisions that support the capability.
The company was slated to the make the announcement today at the Tokyo Game Show. Microsoft also is using the show to demonstrate upcoming games for the Japanese market, where Xbox 360 sales have been slow.
The developments come as Microsoft prepares for the release of the rival Sony PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii later this year.
Microsoft says it will give existing Xbox 360s the capability for 1080p output through a free software update to be distributed online later this year. The numerical designation stands for 1,080 lines of vertical resolution. The Xbox 360 already offers high-definition output at the somewhat less-advanced 720p and 1080i resolutions.
Shane Kim, corporate vice president of Microsoft Game Studios, acknowledged that the number of people benefiting from the 1080p upgrade will probably be "a very small percentage." But he called it an example of Microsoft's ability to update the Xbox 360's capabilities after purchase.
The upgrade doesn't mean that the Xbox 360's built-in drive will be able to play movies in next-generation DVD formats. For that purpose, Microsoft is separately offering an external HD-DVD drive for the Xbox 360 for sale later this year. It will be released Nov. 22 in Japan at a price of 19,800 yen (about $168), the company said.
Microsoft will be announcing the release schedule and separate pricing for the HD-DVD drive in Europe and the United States soon, Kim said.
Sony has taken a different approach, building a next-generation Blu-ray Disc drive directly into the PlayStation 3. Versions of the Sony console are expected to sell for about $600 and $500, compared with $400 and $300 for the Xbox 360. The Wii, which comes with a unique motion-sensitive controller, will be priced at $250.
It's been what, 10 years since AMD's K5 desktop chip came onto the market? In all that time, Dell has turned up its nose at Intel's main rival in the consumer desktop game. Until today, that is. In addition to updating the Dimension E510 midtower to the Core 2 Duo-based Dimension E520, Dell also added Dimension E521 and Dimension C521 models to its mainstream consumer desktop family. The latter two are special because they come with AMD Sempron, Athlon 64, and dual-core Athlon 64 X2 processors in them.
The Dimension E521 is a standard midtower design (as is the E520); the C521 is a sort of small-form-factor wannabe that's a bit larger than Dell's XPS 210, also announced today. All three new systems come with Windows Media Center 2005 and a combination of optical drives, hard drives, and graphics cards that make them solid middle-of-the-road PCs. They all go on sale tomorrow, and prices for the Dimension E520 start at $719, the E521 starts at $329, and the C521 starts at $359.
Given the current state of the processor market, we're not surprised that Dell relegated AMD's chips to the budget end of the spectrum. The Dimension E520 and, as of today, the entire XPS line all have Intel Core 2 Duo chips in them (Pentium D is still an option if you must), giving them the performance edge. But AMD still has the advantage in performance and cost at the lower end of the CPU spectrum. If you're wondering why Dell finally decided to go with AMD after all this time, one theory we've heard is that Dell wasn't happy about Intel working with Apple, and thus crossed the AMD line. If that's true, we expect it's only part of the story. And regardless, the deal is done.
And if you're wondering what they look like, you can try Dell's online photo bank. We couldn't get the Dimension C521's link to work at the time of posting, but perhaps Dell will fix it soon.
Extreme sport. As he's jumping the skateboard ramp, everyone will notice this cool tee he's wearing. Featuring a "Tony Hawk" logo with puffed-ink accents at the chest. And a logo on the sleeve. Short sleeves. In red.
Skateboard in style wearing this awesome shirt! Featuring a short-sleeved crewneck tee with "Hawk Clothing" and a red and black hawk graphic on the chest. And "Tony Hawk" scribbled numerous times across the background. With long mock-layered sleeves in white. Fashioned from a durable cotton fabrication that can take plenty of wear and tear. Plus, a loose fit through the waist for ease of movement. Sure to be your favorite weekend look. In black/white.
The Inspiron e1505 is Dells 15.4" widescreen notebook featuring the impressive new Intel Core Duo CPU. A virtually identical Inspiron 6400 is available through their business site. Outside it looks just like the Inspiron 6000 it replaces, but the new hardware inside makes for impressive performance. In traditional Dell style, the E1505 is well rounded, quite customizable and available at a competitive price, but doesn't offer anything radical.
The E1505 reviewed here was configured as follows:
* Intel Core Duo Processor T2500 at 2.0 GHz per core. * 15.4" Ultrasharp SXGA+ display with TrueLife * 512MB DDR2 533MHz RAM in dual channel mode * Integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950 * 100GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive * 8X DVD +/- dual layer recorder * 53 watt-hour 6-cell battery
Build and Design
The Inspiron e1505 matches much of the Dell lineup clad in painted silver with white trim on top and a black underside. I'm not a fan of painted finishes because they seem more susceptible to chips and scratches. The color scheme is simple, but I'm not a huge fan of the white trim "bumpers."
The notebook is sturdy enough to feel comfortable lifting it by one corner. However, I would like better overall build quality. It is comparable to Sony and others but does not come near the solid (and expensive) IBM ThinkPad line. Just like my Inspiron 9300, there is a gap at the bottom of the LCD. This area also gets quite warm. It must be where the LCD backlight or inverter is. I wonder if the gap is purposeful to allow some heat to escape.
The back of the screen is plastic, but very sturdy and a hard push won't make ripples appear. The hinges seem sturdy and well damped. The screen latch is plastic. Some notebooks do away with latches entirely and use magnetic latching or nothing at all, which works surprisingly well.
Screen
I chose the highest screen option which is WSXGA+ (1680x1050) Ultrasharp with TrueLife (glossy). The Ultrasharp screen is listed at having significantly higher viewing angle, higher resolution, and slightly higher brightness. The wide viewing angle was my main interest. However, it seems about on par with most other mid- to high-end notebooks. It makes me think the lower screen options would be disappointing.
The screen is very sharp with nice saturated colors and high contrast. It is close, but not quite as bright as others I have reviewed. There is some light leakage near the bottom of the screen.
Screen shimmer / sparkle seen on the e1505 screen (view large image)
There is also a faint "texture" on the screen. Some call it a "shimmer" or "sparkle" noticeable in the light continuous tones when you move your head and change your viewpoint. It is not extreme, and most people probably would never notice it. However, if you are sensitive to such things, you might consider a different screen option. It is visible and exaggerated in the upper left of this photo.
Speakers
The speaker performance of the E1505 was actually a surprise. In the world of notebooks, they are quite excellent. Of course there is no bass but they seem to play low enough to make voices sound natural. They also play loud, for a notebook, without distortion. They point forward, and project the sound into a room so several people could easily watch a movie.
Processor and Performance / Benchmarks
There's no doubt about it, the Core Duo is fast. For example, CPU usage hovers around 10-15% while watching a DVD, and that's with the CPU automatically clocked down to 1GHz to save battery life!
While more and more software is being written to take advantage of multiple CPU cores, many common applications do not. However, even software that is not "multithreaded" will benefit in a multitasking environment. Tasks that previously all but locked up the computer until they completed now seem as though they aren't running at all! The overall responsiveness of the Dual Core machine is impressive. In some cases, the actual measured performance is also very notable.
My Photoshop tests reveal that the Core Duo is almost exactly TWICE as fast as a single core Pentium M of the same clock speed for common tasks photographers do. Video editing and other high end tasks display similar results.
Below is the popular Super Pi benchmark result for calculating Pi to 2 million digits. This program only uses ONE of the CPU cores, so I could do other tasks and barely affect the benchmark score.
* Super Pi Run Alone: 1m 16s * Super Pi Run While watching DVD: 1m 16s
Notebook Time Dell Inspiron e1505 (2.0GHz Core Duo) 1m 16s Acer TravelMate 8204WLMi (2.0GHz Core Duo) 1m 15s Sony VAIO FS680 (1.86 GHz Pentium M) 1m 53s Lenovo ThinkPad T60 (2.0GHz Core Duo) 1m 18s IBM ThinkPad Z60m (2.0 GHz Pentium M) 1m 36s Fujitsu LifeBook N3510 (1.73 GHz Pentium M) 1m 48s Dell Inspiron 6000D (1.6 GHz Pentium M) 1m 52s Dell Inspiron 600M (1.6 GHz Pentium M) 2m 10s HP Pavilion dv4000 (1.86 GHz Pentium M) 1m 39s HP DV4170us (Pentium M 1.73 GHz) 1m 53s Sony VAIO S380 (1.86 GHz Pentium M) 1m 45s
The big 5400 RPM drive performs well, although a 7200 RPM drive would be even better and a worthwhile upgrade to keep up with the fast CPU and load programs faster. Below is the HDTune benchmark results for the e1505:
(view large image)
Even though it is not a gaming notebook, I wanted to see how the low cost integrated graphics Solution worked. The E1505 scored 569 in 3dMarks05.
Notebook 3DMark 05 Results Dell Inspiron e1505 (2.0GHz Core Duo, Intel integrated graphics) 569 3D Marks Lenovo ThinkPad Z60m (2.0GHz Pentium M, ATI X600 128MB) 1659 3DMarks ThinkPad T43 (1.86GHz, ATI X300 64MB graphics) 727 3DMarks Asus V6Va (2.13 GHz Pentium M, ATI Radeon Mobility x700 128 MB) 2530 3D Marks Quanta KN1 (1.86 GHz Pentium M, NVIDIA GeForce Go 6600 128mb) 2,486 3DMarks HP dv4000 (1.86GHz Pentium M, ATI X700 128MB) 2536 3D Marks Acer TravelMate 8204WLMi (2.0GHz Core Duo, ATI X1600 256MB) 4157 3DMarks
Noise:
The Dell E1505 is commendably quiet -- most of the time. Even while watching a DVD, the fan remained off. With a low power integrated video card, only one fan is needed to cool this machine. The hard drive makes a subdued, but noticeable hum.
Only under heavier tasks does the fan does come on. It has at least three speeds. The lowest is very quiet, and more of a pleasing low pitched hum than an annoying whine. Unfortunately, running benchmarks (which can cause sustained full processor usage, something most programs rarely do) will often cause the fan to quickly bypass first and kick into second and then third gear. It seems that when the fan starts, the CPU continues to warm for a few moments while the cooling begins to take effect, triggering a higher fan speed that is not really necessary. After a while it will slow back down and stay there. If the fan is already running at a lower speed when the benchmark starts, it usually won't speed up. After 10 minutes of simultaneous 3DMark05 and Super Pi, the fan did go from the lowest to the middle speed.
Heat:
After about two hours of DVD watching, both sides of the palm rest became warm, but not at all hot. The keyboard and area under the screen generated more heat. The underside of the notebook was also slightly warm at the front and warmer, but not hot at the rear. As with all notebooks, heat is more of an issue when used on an insulating/air-restrictin g lap. Running heavier tasks does not generate noticeably more heat. The computer will cool down almost as if it were off if allowed to sit idle for 15 minutes.
Battery:
With the smaller option 6 cell battery and a powerful new processor, I didn't have very high hopes for battery life. However, the Dell lasted longer than expected. At maximum brightness, it played a DVD for 2 hours and 30 minutes. Under normal light tasks, with WiFi on and almost maximum brightness, the battery lasted almost three hours. Dimming the screen all the way and shutting wireless off squeezed almost 4 hours of total battery life. I could burn the battery in about 90 minutes or less if I really tried. Gaming would likely burn it this fast.
The optional 9-cell battery, which is the same physical size as the 6-cell, should give about 50% more run time.
The battery charges fast for the first 80%. At nearly 1% per minute, you could get a significant boost on a one hour layover at the airport.
A bigger battery might be a better choice than two batteries. Lithium-Ion cells wear out even if you don't use them.
Keyboard and Touchpad:
Dell Inspiron keyboard and touchpad view (view large image)
The keyboard has good tactile feel and is very firm. There is almost no flex, except at the rear where the whole notebook casing flexes in when pushed hard.
The touchpad is slightly recessed so it's hard to accidentally touch. The two buttons feel pretty cheap, but respond well.
Ports:
The E1505 contains the standard array of newer, non-legacy ports. The four USB 2.0 ports are split between the rear and right side of the notebook, which is much better than all in one place. There is no old parallel printer port or serial ports. Sadly, the E1505 lacks the DVI port of its big brother, although the external VGA connection is capable of driving a big 24" LCD with 1920x1200 resolution.
Dell Inspiron e1505 left side view (view large image)
Right side view of e1505 (view large image)
Dell Inspiron e1505 back side view (view large image)
Dell Inspiron e1505 front side view (view large image)
Wireless:
The Dell wireless 1390 802.11g card picked up signals well and connected to a variety of local wireless networks. Yes, even in Fairbanks, Alaska we have hotspots.
Operating System and Software:
This was my first experience with Windows XP Media Center edition. As far as I can tell, everything is about the same as XP Home for most purposes. It has some enhanced features for managing digital media. Options I did not get are a remote control and a TV tuner.
Dell also includes "Media Direct" software that can be accessed without booting into windows. The advantage is very fast startup time if you don't need full-fledged windows.
On the desktop and system tray there is a fair amount of "annoyware" -- junk that many people won't use. Dell did install Google Desktop, which I find quite useful. It finds file on your computer far faster than a windows search does, and includes other useful features. One day, Google will rule the world.
Conclusion:
The Dell Inspiron e1505 is a fairly run-of-the mill notebook for a bargain price, but it offers a few surprises. The 2 GHz Core Duo CPU is rockin' fast. Even with this performance, battery life was impressive, and 5+ hours should be possible with the optional 9-cell battery. My only real gripe is with the screen. The slight shimmer, light leakage, and brightness that seems like it's turned down half a notch make it fall behind other notebooks. Still, the screen is better than most bargain notebooks, and better than anything from a few years ago. It's also very sharp and high resolution. This, along with the nice keyboard, makes for a positive ergonomic experience.
Pros:
* Top-Notch computing performance in non-3D applications * Awesome for multi-taskers * Very respectable battery life * Quiet under normal use * Mostly cool running * Good keyboard * Surprisingly good speakers
Cons:
* Build quality could be improved some. * Not available with high end graphics (yet?), must get spendier XPS line for that. * Best of three available screens is not that great. * No non-glossy option for high resolution or expanded viewing angle.
Pricing and Availability: The Dell Inspiron e1505 is available from Dell.com and price varies depending on configuration. You can also buy the Inspiron 6400 from the Dell business site which is virtually the same as the e1505.
GeoSafari Talking Globe Jr. guides young children on an exciting interactive learning adventure to introduce geography basics! Two game modes and variable subjects allow children to learn geography with spoken and visual clues, then immediately quiz each lesson...it's an effective teaching globe as well as a fun quiz machine! High-quality digital voice technology, sound, and music add entertainment and educational value.
Illustrated 12-inch globe has just the right amount of detail and color-coding to make it fun and easy for young children to read. One to three players.
Features : Adjustable volume, question repeat, and help button, as well as dazzling lights and sound effects to guide, reward, and excite!
Requires four C batteries (not included) or EI-8702 AC adapter (sold separately).
Award: Oppenheim Platinum Award Learning Magazine Teacher's Choice Parent's Choice Foundation Award
Smarter, stronger and more intuitive than ever, LEGO® MINDSTORMS™ NXT is a robotics toolset that provides endless opportunities for robotics enthusiasts and LEGO builders ages 10 and older to build and program robots that do what they want. A new “Quick Start” option makes it easy to successfully build and program a robot in 30 minutes.
All-New NXT Intelligent Brick - The “brain” of the robot, featuring powerful 32-bit microprocessor, more memory programming - 4 input ports / 3 output ports and 7 6-wire cords - Matrix display, real sound speaker - USB 2.0 and Bluetooth®
3 Interactive Servo Motors - Bring robotics creations to life - Built-in rotation sensor measures one degree steps for precise movement
Sensors - New Ultrasonic Sensor: the “eyes” of the robot measure distance, movements and detects objects - New Sound Sensor: the “ears” of the robot, allowing creations to react to sound commands and patterns, as well as recognize tones - Improved Touch Sensor: the “fingers” of the robots, reacting to touch or release - Improved Light Sensor: detects different colors and light intensity
All-New Programming Software - Easy-to-use PC and Mac compatible software interface, powered by LabVIEW from National Instruments - Intuitive, icon-based drag and drop environment for “building” programs - 18 robot challenges with step-by-step building instructions to acclimate beginners to the process of building and programming robots and inspire older users
LEGO Elements - Streamlined, highly versatile collection of 519 LEGO TECHNIC® elements for easy, more stable building with improved functionality and movement capabilities
MyLink Auto is a FREE, 400 page, seasonally inspired and Auto-like publication. It showcases high quality and innovative automotive designs, products, ideas and techniques. The readers discover not only a “back to basics” approach to car buying guide and car comparisons, but a more challenging one that serves to develop their talent and creativity as well. “How to” features encourage the reader to experiment with a variety of products.
MyLink Auto ( www.mylink.tblog.com ) understands the importance of supporting local car stores as well as on-line stores. By providing these retailers with a free, high quality publication, it is a powerful tool to grow their customer base and allows them to draw their customers inside where they can effectively showcase the products featured.
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Current advertisers include Honda, Toyota, Mitsubishi, Proton EON, Ford, Ferrari, Mercedez Benz and many more. Contracts for 2007 are currently being entertained. In order to preserve the quality of the publication, advertising space is limited and is provided on a first come, first serve basis.
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Tag: car buying guide lists new car prices, used car prices, car comparisons, car buying advice, car ratings, car values, auto leasing
Imagine a mobile phone that looks like a pocket-sized games console. Imaging adding a diary appointment to that phone and having it update a Web-accessible backup automatically. Now imagine that same phone with a built-in keyboard, Web browser, e-mail and instant messaging software, and a camera. You are imagining the Sidekick II, available exclusively from T-Mobile.
It's a weird looking device, with a feature set that has some obvious and annoying omissions. But the idea is strangely compelling despite that.
The Sidekick II is big for a phone. At 130 x 66 x 22mm it gives your average PDA a run for its money, and weighs more than most of those too, at 184g.
It has a huge screen (60mm wide and 40mm high), placed right in the centre of the hardware, flanked on left and right by banks of buttons, a roller and a navigation pad. You are meant to hold this thing in two hands lengthways like a games console, where the buttons fall easily under your thumbs.
Held in this way, you push the screen towards you at its top right corner with a forefinger, and it flips right round at considerable speed, revealing as it does the rubber keyboard it protects. The mechanism is smooth, surprising and satisfying to use.
On-board software includes a fair bit that is text-centric, including e-mail, SMS, note-taking and AOL Instant Messenger. There is also MMS software, a diary, to do list and contact book, Web browser and a game built in.
The camera takes images at resolutions up to 640 x 480, but not video. You can make voice calls, but we found holding the Sidekick II to our ear to do so felt a bit ridiculous. A mono earbud - there's no stereo output - and speakerphone are your alternatives. There is no Bluetooth support.
The Sidekick II supports Java and you can download games and other content, but there is only 16MB of built-in memory and no flash support, so don't expect to go mad with your downloads.
Probably the best thing about the Sidekick II is that you get an e-mail address with it and a chunk of password-protected Web space which provides access to all the data that the Sidekick II itself does.
You can add content to the device and it is immediately sent to the Web space, and that includes pictures taken with the built-in camera. Similarly, entering information in the Web space means it gets replicated on the Sidekick II. It is instant backup, and when we were testing the Sidekick II it worked perfectly.
The problem here is sharing information with your desktop address book. There's no direct support for PC synchronisation, so you have to import tab-delimited files via the Web space, which simply won't be practical for managing ever-changing diary and contact databases. Comparing prices of 'T-Mobile Sidekick II'
T-Mobile Sidekick II: £27.50 (T-Mobile)
T-Mobile Sidekick II: £27.50 (T-Mobile)
T-Mobile SDA II: £25.00 (T-Mobile)
view more price comparison results T-Mobile - Sidekick II features - Verdict
It all adds up to an interesting device. As far as it goes the Sidekick II performs its task well, unless you want to make voice calls or synchronise with a desktop computer, in which case it is only slightly less ergonomic to use than a chocolate teapot. And its lack of ability to play music will reduce its appeal to its young target market. It is clever, but it needs to shrink in size and grow in features to be a real success. T-Mobile - Sidekick II price
Buy T-Mobile Sidekick II securely online at a bargain price
The W600i Walkman phone with 3D gaming is not only sleek and stylish but highly functional. The phone includes Bluetooth wireless connectivity, EDGE capability, and is quad-band, allowing it to be used all over the world. And, with its 256 megabytes of internal memory, the W600i Walkman phone stores up to ten full length CDs or between 80 and 120 songs, depending on the compression rate.
The W600i Walkman phone handles multiple file formats, including MP3 and AAC, and comes packaged with Disc2Phone PC software that enables quick, convenient transfer of music onto the phone via a PC. Consumers can also easily browse, sort, find, transfer and delete music files. In addition, accessing music on the handset is quick and easy via dedicated music buttons that play, pause and stop music tracks.
With a unique music flight mode setting that turns off the mobile phone transmitter, consumers can listen to music anywhere - even on an airplane. The W600i Walkman phone will play music for up to 15 hours with the full function of the phone on, or up to 30 hours with the phone in music mode.
The W600i Walkman phone supports Bluetooth wireless functionality and easily connects to other Bluetooth enabled devices such as photo printers and headsets, and allows for peer-to-peer gaming. The device's USB 2.0 plug and play allows consumers to move images, music and video easily between a PC and the W600i Walkman phone.
The W600i Walkman phone has a 1.3-megapixel camera, video recorder, picture light and is as simple to use as a traditional digital camera.
In already distant November 2001, the company of Nokia announced its first Series 60 phone (now S60), which was called 7650. However from the very moment the first smartphones appeared in its product line, the company did not divide them into a separate class, but positioned as the most functional phones. Some functions and phone's capabilities were placed to the foreground, but not capabilities of the operating system (they actually were held back in order not to scare a customer away with difficult organization). That happened to Nokia 7650 and to other 26 smartphones produced in following years, and still the company revised its stand.
Which function do you think they emphasized mostly on when introducing Nokia 7610? According to the manufacturer and marketing specialists, this model equipped with MMS support and integrated camera was to establish a "new epoch" of mobile communication, when all users passed to MMS from SMS. Then operators dreamed of fantastic benefits, growth of ARPU, this belief was infinite. Be sure, "a large colour display" and "radically improved interface" were also stressed, however the company supposed that MMS was the key function. We all know that MMS didn't justify hopes. And here we won't discuss those various reasons.
And even despite the failure of MMS idea, this first smartphone should be rightfully considered one of the key models in the history of the company. Nokia 7650 looked very suitably in "Minority report" by Steven Spilberg, the action looked fascinating and futuristic. The movie premier fell on the 21 of June 2002 and exactly in five days the phone was put on the market. Also remember external Nokia's advertisement concerning the film. And thus the movie became some kind of an advertisement of Nokia 7650. Also the target group was selected just right - an image of a fantastic device from "the future" was projected on the phone, and its functionality was squared in the customer's eyes.
Why was a slider form-factor selected? The reason is not its fashion attractiveness, only later the company of Samsung will obtain such popularity for it. It happened so that for design moment the element base prevented from making a candybar with acceptable body height, which formed the main reason. And during the line and element base development, we can see the company's attempts to place all components in a standard candybar shape. Nokia has not recalled the slider form-factor till now, which proves the reasons why this body shape was selected for the first smartphone. Generally speaking, it is possible to call only two slider smartphones, which are Samsung D720 and Nokia 7650. Some less successful models were introduced after Nokia 7650; I mean they were not as significant as the first slider. And Nokia 6630 changed the situation. In fact, it was logical to suppose the company would release one more slider smartphone and now the design will be dictated by the form-factor popularity and a necessity to expand the product line. So we had to wait for four years before Nokia N80 was officially announced at the November Nokia Mobility Conference 2005 in Barcelona.
And now let us return to the past, exactly in September 2005. The first (computer-generated) photos were published at mobile-review.com. And since that the model has been actively discussed, though treated as some kind of a "dream phone". Not everybody believed it is real, especially that concerned specifications.
Just after the announcement discussions flared up at specialized forums and the majority of participants confirmed that would be a hit. And the model is truly the most functional for today considering paper specifications (the screen, Wi-Fi, UPnP support, 3MP camera). And now let us look at the device sensibly and estimate its potential and perspectives.
Well, what caused such a flurry, why so much attention is plaid to the model, let us list differences from other models (we consider direct and indirect rivals):
* The model distinguishes the slider form-factor; * That is the first time Nokia's phone is equipped with a 3MP camera, which explains this lion's share of attention. The user expects this camera feature better characteristics than in Nokia N90 at acceptable size and weight; * The best display among smartphones; * S60 version 3 FP1; * Wi-Fi support; * Support for quite new UPnP standard.
Will the model hit the sales? The answer is more yes than no. Unfortunately, we cannot give a single meaning conclusion yet due to raw samples of the N80 given for tests - we observed a body backlash, the software installed is S60 v3 without FP1, it is slow, serious problems with camera (including low photo quality), short battery life unstable Wi-Fi work and so on. And as soon as we get a commercial workable device we will publish a complete review with all points highlighted. However even now we can provide preliminary conclusions.
Take the phone in hands and admit the phone size is not big; the dimensions are quite acceptable if compared with smartphones. It is smaller than Nokia 6680. However it will look large if placed near a usual slider phone. The dimensions form 95.5x50x23.5 mm, and the body thickens to 26 mm around the camera module, which is quite a negative factor as a user has already got used to slim solutions. The general feeling of the phone is equal to Nokia 7650, which is bigger (114x56x26 mm). The weight is average for smartphones and reaches 134 g. This device is comfortable to carry almost in any way - you won't feel it in a pocket of your jacket, in a shirt pocket it will be noticeable and mainly due to its thickness it will be felt in jeans.
The design is rather strict, without excesses and simplicity is at the head (in a good sense of the word, the same that concerned plain design of Sony Ericsson t610/t630). Top and bottom ends are splay. This model has peculiar design, which can be called classical or business. However tastes differ and some people will be delighted, while someone may prefer round shape of Samsung D500/D600.
The top panel is made of silvery plastic with metallic border rounding the screen and the keys. The Metal pleasantly gleams in the sun, giving its origins away. Generally the body is reliable, the assembly is good with unnoticeable joints (however now we observed slight backlash of the body parts).
You can perform all actions with the phone, except only for entering text and phone number, without opening. A 5D navigational button, surrounded by a collection of two soft-keys and call accept and cancel buttons, is put under the screen. The bottom line represents a standard set of control elements and a media key button for fast access to the main functions.
You may open the phone with one hand, and thus reveal the keypad. The movement is smooth, however automatic finishing is absent. Though the keys are located closely to each other, you will experience no problems with them. Also you won't press two buttons at the same time by pressing their joint, as the keys may not be pressed in this area at all. The area to press is smaller than the visible one. The keypad is convenient, it is not necessary to get accustomed or adapted to it. The only cavil that may rise is the key motion is less than one would like. The blue backlighting is well seen in the dark, it is automatically adjusted by the light sensor.
A CIF camera for videocalls found room under the screen. The back cover features the camera gap and the battery compartment, while on the top end an IrDA gap and a power button are placed.
A miniSD connector closed with a plastic cover is on the left facet. Gradually the company transfers all its products to this type of memory, rejecting MMCmobile. The maximally accessible capacity of miniSD card is 2 GB. In fact, no problems with buying the maximum volume card may appear by the release moment. For better vision of a memory card price below we provide current FOB prices of Taiwanese manufacturers (without shipment, customs and extra charge). By the way, wholesale price has been growing for the last half year due to high demand on this memory type, and the maximum capacity cards are in shortage:
Hot card change is realized; however all running applications close when opening the slot.
The right side features a camera button and a gap for one extra loudspeaker (though the volume is higher than average, still it is not enough for hearing the call signal in noisy conditions).
A strap hole is placed on the bottom (you can carry the phone on your neck) and a slim connector for a charger. And here is also a standard slot for synchronization of the headset connection. Let us consider it in details. The quality of mp3 playback and radio is equal to Nokia N70, no changed were carried out. To tell the truth, the package should include an adapter for you to connect your lively earphones. But the most interesting moment is connection to a computer via USB. Three regimes are available - you can set one in the settings or select at each connection.
* Mass storage - memory card is connected as a usual data carrier, no drivers are required; * PS Suite - standard mode; * Picture Bridge - direct access to printer, which supports this standard.
This function will become standard for all Nokia's smartphones.
For the moment, this screen is the best among all similar ones. It has the resolution of 352x416 pixels and shows about 252 K colours. Good view angles and colours are not inverted, even at the level grade you will make out the image, however some colours change. Good behavior in the sun, though the screen fades, information may be read without problems. Backlighting is 5 grade. In fact, the only disadvantage of the screen is small diagonal size - 34x41 mm (2.1"), and 2.2" is standard for non-touchscreen smartphones.
The phone's weak point is its BL-5B battery capacious of 820 mAh, it is the same as in Nokia N90. Even using mostly as a phone (40 minutes of talks in Moscow Megafon network, an hour of MP3 and 20 minutes of works with programs), you will hardly have the handset last even for a day. And let alone very fast battery exhaustion when using Wi-Fi. You should be ready to recharge the phone once a day, and the thriftiest ones will manage to prolong the battery life to two days. Wireless interfaces
Integrated Bluetooth modules have become a standard, and thus we can avoid speaking about it. Here it is 1.2 and the following profiles are supported: Basic Printing Profile, Generic Access Profile, Serial Port Profile, Dial-up Networking Profile, Headset Profile, Handsfree Profile, Generic Object Exchange Profile, Object Push Profile, File Transfer Profile, Basic Imaging Profile, SIM Access profile and Human Interface Device Profile. Several connections at the same time are supported. The main disadvantage is the absence of A2DP profile (Bluetooth stereo).
The handset supports Wi - Fi (IEEE 802.11 g). All security standards are supported (WEP, WPA, WPA 2), the settings are maximum, though convenience in connection and its simplicity is hard to compare with Zero Configuration in Windows mobile. That is the first mobile device, which supports Universal PnP (UPnP), the heir of the wire standard PnP. With its help and using Wi- Fi connection, you can transmit slides to the television set, and music - to the stereo system, photographs to the printer. To a certain degree UPnP resembles a superstructure above the infrastructure (above Wi- Fi as one of the versions) in the form of Bluetooth-like services, this is a program superstructure. Thus far the support of the standard is interesting from a theoretical point of view, the wide acceptance of this standard is a matter of future; however, even now the list of companies, which support the standard, it impressing. You can get acquainted with a complete specification of UPnP. Be sure to check a Home Media Server program included into the package. It allows connecting to a desktop PC via a home wireless network. Camera
As the camera objective is not closed with anything, you can easily mark it. Traditionally for Nokia's smartphones the camera settings are very rich. Several shooting modes are available in usual mode - Automatic, User, Portrait, Landscape, Sport, Night Landscape (no flash), Night Portrait (flash). White balance settings are AWB, Sunny, Cloudy, Incandescent, Fluorescent. An Exposure Value ranges from -2 to +2. Norma, Sepia, B&W, Negative are available color effects. Three grades are available for image sharpness - Hard, Normal, Soft. You can take a series of photos with the speed from 3 fps to one frame per 15 minutes; you can place the phone on its side and watch the things in the office, for instance. Timer values are 2, 10 or 20 seconds. And finally you cannot switch off the shutter sound.
Four resolutions are available:
Resolution:
* 3 М – Large (2048x1536 pixels) * 2 M – Med * 1.3 M – Small * 0.5 M – Email * 0.3 M – MMS
You can manually switch to macromode (the trigger is near the objective). Then it is possible to take pictures in a distance of 15-25 cm, and a special text shooting mode is available.
Many people laid great hopes on the camera and its quality. Actually, the nominal resolution of photographs grew, but the quality is inferior not only to Nokia N90, but also to Nokia N70 (color rendering, whitening of light regions). Let us hope that the developers simply did not have time to finish software for the new camera module. Any way you should not expect miracles from the camera - there is no auto-focus, flash is useless. The company deliberately avoids competition with another model of the series, which is not represented yet (supposedly N95). And the latter will gladden with the maximum camera capabilities.
(+) increase, 2048x1536, JPEG
(+) increase, 2048x1536, JPEG
(+) increase, 2048x1536, JPEG
(+) increase, 2048x1536, JPEG
(+) increase, 2048x1536, JPEG
(+) increase, 2048x1536, JPEG
(+) increase, 2048x1536, JPEG
(+) increase, 2048x1536, JPEG
(+) increase, 2048x1536, JPEG
(+) increase, 2048x1536, JPEG
(+) increase, 2048x1536, JPEG
(+) increase, 2048x1536, JPEG
(+) increase, 2048x1536, JPEG
(+) increase, 2048x1536, JPEG
(+) increase, 2048x1536, JPEG
(+) increase, 2048x1536, JPEG
Three resolutions for video can be set - High (MP4), Normal (3gpp), Low (3gpp). And still the quality significantly loses to Nokia N90. Video sample 1 (mp4, 667 KB)
Video sample 2 (mp4, 591 KB) Software
You can read a special review about the operating system on our site. We will return to this section in a complete version of the review (now necessary software is just absent, for instance, Quick Office and a new WEB-browser, and so on). Preliminary conclusions
At the current moment this is the most functional smartphone on the market. However, let us return to the list of innovations and dismantle what actually stands behind them.
* The 3MP camera without autofocus and with a useless flash. Not the best photo quality. Nominally the number of pixels grew, and extra macro mode is provided, which are advantages; * Wi-Fi and a new high resolution screen. That will be a standard for smartphones in 2006, however now that is an innovation; * UPnP, which is in the start of its route and now it is interesting from only theoretic point of view; * S60 of the third version. On the one hand these are new capabilities, on the other hand - still no workable third party programs for this operating system (all applications should be recompiled and signed). The situation will have improved only by the middle of 2006;
It turns out that very soon we will see Nokia's devices not inferior in capabilities. The situation with the software will make the most active customers postpone the purchase approximately for half a year, and then another model will become the leader. And any way we should wait for the final product to provide the final verdict. Nokia N80 is expected in sale in February for about 500-550 Euro.
Easy-to-use camera is small enough to take everywhere, but its images aren't quite as nice as we'd like.
The $500 Canon PowerShot SD500 Digital Elph is so small it fits easily in just about any pocket, leaving you no excuse for not having a camera handy when those once-in-a-lifetime baby/puppy/soccer shots happen. The resulting photos weren't our taste testers' favorites, but they should prove more than acceptable for all but the most demanding photographers.
Pick up the SD500, and it just feels substantial. It weighs only 6 ounces, but the metal body appears sturdy and well-made. Its dimensions are petite: 3.37-inches wide by 2.24-inches tall by 1.04 inches deep. Canon helps keep things small by using an SD Card to store photos (a 32-MB card is included). The unit's compactness is most notable when you compare it with other small cameras. For example, place Sony's comparable Cyber-shot DSC-W7 next to the Canon, and the Sony looks positively oversized.
When you power up the camera, its 3X optical lens opens and its sharp 2-inch LCD quickly springs to life. In addition to the LCD, the unit also includes an optical viewfinder--a nice touch that's often missing in cameras this size. Controls are logically placed, with power, shutter, and zoom mounted on top. The camera's mode dial gives you access to its various shooting modes: Automatic, Manual, Special Scene, Movie, and Playback. From within the manual mode you can set white balance, ISO sensitivity, and exposure compensation. The SD500's f/2.8 to f/13 aperture range is the widest I've seen on such a small camera, but you can't set the aperture or shutter speed manually.
Additional settings available within the manual mode include My Colors (which lets you swap colors within an image) and Digital Macro (for extreme close-ups). There are more tricks within the camera's Special Scene menu. Here you can pick from nine different modes: Portrait, Foliage, Snow, Beach, Fireworks, Underwater, Indoor, Kids and Pets, and Night Snapshot. (Note: I wouldn't recommend using the underwater setting without the optional underwater camera housing).
Navigating the camera's menus is fairly straightforward using the circular directional thumb pad, Function Setting button, Menu button, and Display button, but at first I couldn't figure out how to delete an image (it's a simple downward click on the multidirectional Function button). During my informal testing I found the camera a joy to use--the epitome of point-and-shoot simplicity. The SD500 is simple enough that you can hand it to someone else while you pose for a group shot, and be confident that they'll be able to figure it out.
You should net a fair number of photos from the camera between charges o
