Simon Barker
Simon Barker is the founder and editor of Zath who just so happens to be a big technology and gadget fan! If you'd like to follow and/or contact me on Twitter, please feel free to do so, I'm @SimonBarker.Here are all the Zath articles written by Simon Barker...
3rd Generation iPhone – Low Power Wireless 802.11n?
April 6, 2009
We recently reported about the new iPhone 3.0 software that Apple are planning to launch later in the year for existing iPhone/iPod Touch owners and also for a rumoured new 3rd generation iPhone, which from looking into the development specification of the iPhone 3.0 beta software, people are perhaps getting a sneak peek at what can be expected from the next iPhone product.
Wireless radio component specifications contained with the iPhone 3.0 beta software would indicate support for a new Wireless/Bluetooth chip model – the newer and faster Broadcom BCM4329 chip instead of the older BCM4325 found in the iPhone 3G. This would add support for the 802.11n standard and would mean there’d be several benefits to the 3rd generation iPhone.
Continue reading »LG Arena (KM900) Launch Event
April 6, 2009
During this past week on the 1st April, LG held another of their events similar to the previous LG Secret launch event and LG Renoir launch event, but these are no April Fools jokes! – These events give some of us bloggers the opportunity to get some hands-on time and experience of the their latest mobile phone handset which we’ve previously covered with our LG Arena (KM900) preview.
The new LG Arena compares favourably and builds upon the success of the LG Renoir (KC910) which was launched late last year – an interesting difference is that the LG Renoir has an 8 mega-pixel camera while the LG Arena only has a 5 mega-pixel camera – clearly LG are making some differentiation between handsets here. Presumably, the Renoir would be a better choice for someone wanting to take top quality photo and video capturing, while perhaps the Arena would be better as a general “multimedia consumption” mobile phone handset.
Continue reading »Windows Mobile iPhone Theme Update
April 4, 2009
A little while ago I wrote about the fact that you can get a Windows Mobile iPhone theme for your Microsoft-based smartphone, since then I’ve been running the updated version of this software on my HTC Tytn II and thought I’d let you know how I was finding it to use on a day-to-day basis.
First of all, I should say that the version I got was actually the updated Windows Mobile iPhone theme which meant that it also now has additional features which further improve upon the original version.
Continue reading »Conversation With A WoW Geek
March 27, 2009
Up until the last couple of months, I’d been playing World of Warcraft (WoW) for around 18 months, so by that point, it is quite easy to get yourself very immersed into the the concepts, phrases and overall language of this massive online game.
Remote Control Airwolf Helicopter
March 27, 2009
I was always a big fan of the Airwolf TV series as kid, one of my favourites in fact, that coupled with the fact I’ve always liked helicopters meant that as soon as I saw this remote controlled (R/C) Airwolf helicopter, I knew that I just have to get one for old time’s sake alone!
Luckily it actually turns out to be a pretty good R/C helicopter too with some appropriately advanced features…in terms of model helicopters anyway! – Somewhat appropraite when you consider that Airwolf was an advanced helicopter in the TV series!
Continue reading »3rd Generation iPhone Rumours – QWERTY Keyboard?
March 24, 2009
Last week we reported about the rumour that the next generation iPhone could feature an OLED screen and after that I thought we might not have to wait that long for more news (well rumour) and we haven’t!
Apparently somebody fairly high up at AT&T in America has made the following comments about the upcoming next generation iPhone – I wonder if these will turn out to be true?
What particularly interests me about these snippets of information is whether the new iPhone will actually compete with the high-end productivity devices (such as a Blackberry?), would Apple ever include a slide out QWERTY keyboard on an iPhone?
Continue reading »Free SIM Cards For Your Pay As You Go Mobile Phone
March 22, 2009
A few people have recently asked me about free SIM cards on Pay As You Go (PAYG) for mobile phones, so I thought I should perhaps provide a quick summary of the different options on offer.
Given the current economic climate, everyone is trying to save money wherever they can and I know from experience as when coming towards the end of my current mobile phone contract, I didn’t really want to commit to yet another 18 month contract, especially when I don’t use the included minutes and text messages that I’m paying for now.
Continue reading »3rd Generation iPhone to Feature OLED Screen?
March 20, 2009
With the recent announcement of the iPhone 3.0 software, many people are now starting to speculate as to whether the release of the next 3rd generation of iPhone will be coming sometime in 2009 to co-incide with this software update release much like the iPhone 3G did with the iPhone 2.0 software update.
Also given the upcoming release this year of the Palm Pre which could possibly be the iPhone’s strongest competitor to date, it would make sense for Apple to address this new threat to their dominance with not only a software update, but a new handset featuring improved hardware features.
Continue reading »Google Street View (UK) Goes Live
March 19, 2009
A couple of months ago in Jan 2009, we covered the fact Google Street View (UK) would be coming our way sometime this spring, well that day has arrived as Google updated their Google Maps online application with their ‘Street View’ functionality.
Google’s customised cars carrying specially mounted video cameras have been capturing footage from all over the UK while travelling 22,369 miles of UK streets and this footage has now been integrated into their popular online mapping service.
Continue reading »Lenovo Pocket Yoga Netbook Was Just A Concept!
March 17, 2009
Only yesterday we like so many people on the Internet were intrigued by this possible new ‘touchscreen netbook’, the Lenovo Pocket Yoga and how it might be appear to be a genuine rival to the Sony Vaio ‘P Series’ portable PC, but it now turns out that it was only a concept that Lenovo were working on.
Left 4 Dead Review (PC)
March 16, 2009
Left 4 Dead? – A first person shooter game that does just that, it leaves you for dead as you to play through a zombie apocalypse movie with your friends as one of four survivors! – Why hasn’t this been done before now?
I’ve liked the Source game engine ever since I first played Half Life 2 and it’s good to see Valve continuing to develop it as they release more games using it such as the episodic updates to Half Life – but I also like that they are creating some very different types of games using it like Portal and now we’ve got another in the form of Left 4 Dead.
Continue reading »Beware Of The Monkeys…With Technology! (Sponsored Post)
March 15, 2009
Beware of the monkeys!
Watch out when you’re next at the safari park as the monkeys are learning fast what to do with our technology – in this case with all the bits of cars that they pull off as you drive through.
At this rate it won’t be long until they’ll be rising up and we’ll be facing a ‘Planet of the Apes’ situation…well maybe not just yet, but at least watch out for those dodgy monkey drivers out there cutting you up on the road!
Take a look at this video and see just what these little monkeys are up to!
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iPhone / iPod Backup Battery Recharger
March 12, 2009
Only recently have I truly seen the how useful something like the BluePack iPhone/iPod Backup Battery Recharger might be. I recently bought an iPhone 3G PAYG and have been enjoying all the Internet-based apps and media features that it has to offer, however the one thing that all these various uses do is certainly drain the battery much quicker than if you were using it as an ‘old-fashioned’ mobile in which you only made calls and sent text messages.
Apple have improved the battery usage in the updates that have been made to the iPhone since it was originally released last summer, however I can imagine there will certainly be situations (such as when you’re travelling) where you could easily drain the battery within the course of a day’s intensive usage and this is where this handy gadget could come in rather useful…
Continue reading »Make Your Own Music With Microsoft Songsmith!
March 10, 2009
Microsoft Songsmith has recently been released as a new piece of software from Microsoft’s research branch of software development, perhaps with a view to selling it in future, put simply it will create a musical jingle song based on somebody just singing some lyrics.
It apparently analyses the singing that you play to it and will then create a backing track of music to accompany it based upon various options that you select, such as the musical style, tempo etc.
Continue reading »Escape From City 17 (Half Life 2 Video)
March 7, 2009
Anyone who has played the Half Life games will know how they combine great gameplay with a good story narrative, particularly in Half Life 2 and the subsequent episodic installments we’ve got so far – with the in-game engine being used to great effect to create cut-scenes and create an immersive experience.
That being the case, the Half Life 2 has also spawned lots of mods that people have created using the game engine, even Valve have used it to create other games like Portal and Left 4 Dead, however now a clever bunch of film makers have used the Source engine to create their own low-budget Half Life series of videos.
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SteelSeries Professional Gaming Team Mouse Mats Announced
March 3, 2009
SteelSeries have been producing various ‘gaming gear’ for some time now (including the WoW keyboard and the WoW Mouse) and have recently announced that they are releasing some new high quality gaming surfaces (mouse pads) in conjunction with three of the best professional gaming teams in the world; Meet Your Makers, Fnatic and Made in Brazil who have collectively won over $650,000 in prize money in 2008 – these guys should know what makes a good gaming mouse pad!
These limited edition version of SteelSeries already renowned QcK+ gaming surfaces are super-sized, high quality cloth material mouse pads which now sport the cool looking designs of each professional gaming team.
Continue reading »Free T-Mobile SIM Card With 1000 Free Texts
March 2, 2009
In the past I’ve mentioned that you can get a free T-Mobile SIM card on Pay As You Go (PAYG), that way you are no longer tied to being on a contract paying a monthly line rental fee – I‘ve recently gone back onto PAYG myself and certainly for me I’m finding it the cheaper option as we’re all looking for ways to save money these days.
With that in mind, T-Mobile are currently running a special offer whereby you not only get a free T-Mobile SIM card, but you can also receive 1000 free texts as part of the deal – all you need to do is top-up your new SIM card by the 30th April 2009 and the 1000 free texts will then be added to your PAYG SIM card within 28 days.
Continue reading »Windows Vista Wallpaper Changer Review
February 26, 2009
Do you need a Windows Vista wallpaper changer? Up until the point at which I upgraded to Windows Vista and started using a second monitor around 18 months ago I could never be bothered with changing my desktop wallpapers and had probably used the same wallpaper for around 3 years.
However, once I upgraded my main monitor to a good quality widescreen version, I thought it would be a good opportunity to get some high quality wallpapers – I was pleased to find some great 1920×1080 widescreen wallpapers over at InterfaceLIFT – a site I highly recommend and has new wallpapers added on a daily basis! (If you’re a real fan of digital art, then take a look at our Digital Art Gallery? article)
Continue reading »Google Latitude – Share Your Live Location With Friends!
February 19, 2009
Google Maps have introduced another new feature to their popular mapping software/service called Google Latitude which utilises the GPS functionality of your mobile phone to display your current location to your friends on their mobile devices or on their computer.
On a technical level, I think this a really cool bit of technology that Google have built into their Google Maps software, but another part of me thinks it’s perhaps a little creepy – but given you have total control over whether people can see you or not, I suppose that does make up for it and puts your mind at rest on that point.
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Pleo ‘Robotic Dinosaur’ Review
February 19, 2009
You may remember that we’ve previously featured Pleo in which we explained that he’s an autonomous, newly hatched herbivore dinosaur called a Camarasaurus – essentially a robot dinosaur that will wander around exploring and reacting to its environment – it’s fair to say I was initally a little sceptical about Pleo the Robotic Dinosaur.
In the past I’ve had a play with some of the previous robotic dinosaurs that have been on the market, such as the RoboRaptor which to be honest has never really impressed me as anything other than a short-lived novelty which I certainly soon got bored with…the question is whether the same can be said about Pleo, I’m pleased to say that there’s certainly a lot more to Pleo as a robot dinosaur than previous attempts at bringing back these long dead creatures in a robotic form.
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