Rob Nichols
Here are all the Zath articles written by Rob Nichols...
Here are all the Zath articles written by Rob Nichols...
ITV HD Channel Gets Sky HD & Virgin Media Release Date
March 16, 2010
This is big news for those of us who enjoy watching a lot of sport. Football in particular. It has been confirmed that ITV1 will at last be officially broadcast in HD as of this April 2010 for Sky HD and Virgin Media customers. It comes as no surprise seeing as the company have shared broadcasting rights in the UK for this Summer’s World Cup in South Africa.
ITV HD has been airing Freeview and Freesat for a while now, but from next month it will, for the first time, be a standalone channel. Obviously the major news though, is that Sky HD and Virgin Media V+ subscribers will now have access to the high definition channel.
Of course, ITV is more than just a sports channel. A lot more. Although many people may not enjoy all of the shows aired, it is clear that many of us do. Soaps such as Coronation Street and reality/talent shows such as Britain’s Got Talent keep millions pinned to their armchairs for hours upon end throughout the year. Other top shows include Law and Order: UK and Lewis which have become popular more recently.
Continue reading »Microsoft Courier – Digital Journal Tablet Device? (Rumour)
March 15, 2010
A while back we learned about an upcoming new device called the Microsoft Courier. Since then the announcement and impending release of the Apple iPad has somewhat stolen the spotlight, but now the dust has settled, rumours of the Courier have risen once more and from what i can gather so far, the device most certainly has potential.
Of course, nothing is set in stone, but Engadget ran a post featuring pictures and video’s of the potential features and user interface of the courier and claimed news arrived from, and i quote, ‘an extremely trusted source’.
So what’s it all about then? Well my initial impression tells me that you would be mistaken to perceive the device as an iPad competitor. Whilst the dual screens would make it an excellent ebook-reader, it seems it would have difficulty being an adequate portable media player or lightweight gaming option such as the iPad. It is in fact described as a ‘digital journal’, which sums it up quite nicely in my opinion.
Continue reading »Sony BRAVIA Monolithic Design Concept – Interview With Takuya Kawagoi
March 15, 2010
Recently here on Zath we’ve covered several new Sony BRAVIA home entertainment products that were unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2010, these included BRAVIA HDTVs, 3DTVs, Blu-Ray players, surround sound systems. All of these new products had a common theme in terms of their design, they all feature Sony’s latest Monolithic Design Concept that certainly makes them look appealing and stand out from the crowded market of home entertainments systems.
Here at Zath we’ve been lucky enough to interview the director of Sony Design Centre Europe (DCE); Takuya Kawagoi who has overseen the implementation of this new Monolithic Design Concept for these products.
Continue reading »Bundle Box Offers UK An Early iPad Release Date
March 14, 2010
Transatlantic shopping service Bundle Box have managed to secure a deal which will allow UK customers to get a fully legit Apple iPad before the official UK release date. Not only does it not cost any extra than it would if you waited for the official release, you actually save £30 on the predicted launch price due to the differences in retail price between the UK and USA.
So you may be thinking, well won’t I have to pay import duty? Won’t that make the savings pretty much negligible? Well actually, no. Thanks to a binding ruling by UK customs, there is a guaranteed 0% import cost.
So it all sounds pretty spectacular. Of course, there will be plenty of skeptics which will disregard the idea under the assumption there is a ‘catch’. As far as I can tell it is trustworthy and I can’t see why it wouldn’t be attractive to potential iPad buyers. In addition to the lower costs and early release, delivery is promised within 3 days of the US launch date. The pre-order of the Apple iPad in the US opened on Friday 12th March.
Continue reading »iBand d3o iPhone Protector Case
March 12, 2010
There are plenty of iPhone covers out on the market these days with it being such a popular smartphone and all, it only makes sense. But here’s another perhaps a more novel and better one, the iBand d3o iPhone Protector case.
So what makes this one so different to the others? I hear you ask. Well, here’s the answer. The case fits seamlessly around the edge of the iPhone or iPod Touch to create incredible impact protection, in fact 100% more protection than a standard plastic case.
It has all the usual cut outs so functionality is not restricted at all, and the soft(ish) nature of the material (d3o) creates massive shock absorbance meaning you can hurl it around till your heart’s content and it probably won’t break for at least twice as long as it would do in a normal case.
Continue reading »Virgin Media TiVo-Based Set-Top Box Announced (UK)
March 11, 2010
Virgin seem to be dipping their toes into any puddle or pond they stumble upon these days such as offering Virgin Media Broadband internet provision and using Google Mail for those Virgin customers, and since their venture into the TV market has been somewhat of a success, it now seems as though they are going to expand it further by building their next set top box around the current TiVo system.
In essence, TiVo is a DVR (Digital Video Recorder), similar to the likes of Sky+ and Sky HD which is probably one of the most highly demanded product of it’s kind at this moment in time. But it is clear that with this move, Virgin look to tackle BSkyB head on with their own box.
So what is TiVo? Well for those of you who have Sky+, you will be familiar with such functions as creating what they call ‘series links’ to your favourite shows and saving the entire season to an internal storage device. TiVo is designed with a similar intention, allowing users to save their favourite shows for future viewing, but the other main feature is that it suggests TV shows and films that it think you should like based upon what you already like – it’s a great system to find new content that you’ll like.
Continue reading »OnLive Release Date & Price Announced
March 11, 2010
Remember the online gaming service we covered a few months ago called OnLive that moves your gaming to the cloud? Well it just got real. In case you missed it, OnLive aims to deliver over the air gaming to users in a similar way to general cloud computing.
Data and games are stored on OnLive servers and the images are beamed to gamers around the world who compete in an online environment. The Beta went up quite a while ago and it seems the waiting is almost at an end for US gamers, as the official OnLive launch date has been announced as 17th June 2010.
For $15 a month users will be able to access the OnLive community, however games themselves will cost that little bit extra which is a given considering developers are still going to want their money’s worth out of their games. However this does raise some concerns with potential gamers.
Continue reading »Google Street View Now Covers Whole Of UK (Almost)
March 10, 2010
Initially, Google Street View was fairly controversial with many people complaining about invasion of privacy and such issues. However, those concerns have not stopped Google from expanding the service, because as of tomorrow (11th March 2010), you lucky (or unlucky depending on which side of the fence you’re sat) people in the UK will have access to a total 96% of all roads, streets and avenues across the isles.
The infamous camera cars have been out and about over the last year busily snapping up everything from busy city streets to little lanes in the middle of God knows where, there’s even been some Google Path View images captured using specially equipped trikes.
In some parts, such as the village of Broughton, the journey of the car has been somewhat treacherous with outraged protesters lining the streets creating human blockades preventing the car from snapping their streets. None the less, Google got their way in the end and we’ll all be able to go spotting more strange Street View sights in the UK with all these new images.
Continue reading »Contour USB Diabetes Meter / Monitoring System
March 5, 2010
Diabetes affects hundreds of millions of people worldwide and is predicted by some to become one of, if not the biggest health issues of the 21st century. Up to now, many diabetics manage their blood glucose levels using some form of electronic reader.
They are then left up to their own devices to keep a note of any recurring trends which need to be addressed. This could mean that problems go unnoticed could cause further issues in the long term.
Thankfully, Bayer Diabetes Care have come up with a solution for simpler management of the condition. Their Contour USB Diabetes Meter accurately records up to 2000 readings of blood glucose levels and directly plugs into any PC via USB. It contains 500Mb of storage for all your personal diabetes records and information.
Continue reading »Porsche 918 Spyder Hybrid Concept Car
March 5, 2010
The world, as you probably know, has in recent years developed somewhat of an obsession with ‘going green’. Renewable energy sources, reducing packaging, but one of the most major breakthroughs in terms of being environmentally friendly must be the development of the hybrid car. A car that can happily switch between a roaring, gas guzzling petrol engine, and a silent (but deadly?) electric one.
Electric concept cars are all the rage now, many have tried their hand in this market, most notably Toyota with the Prius and Tesla with their prestigous Roadster. Now however, there is a new player. Porsche. Well known for their reasonably priced high performance sports cars and a spatter of other vehicles. Certainly, I would never have expected such a manufacturer to unveil not one, but three hybrids. But never fear, they still do the earth shattering speeds you may be used to.
Continue reading »
