Tech
iPhone 3G PAYG
September 21, 2008
The iPhone 3G has now gone on sale on Pay As You Go (PAYG) in the UK on the O2 network, this is great news for those people who don’t like being tied to a long contract (18 months in the case of the iPhone 3G) and also for people like me who already have a contract, it opens up the market for more potential customers for the iPhone 3G and O2.
When the original iPhone was released last year, I have to admit that I wasn’t overly impressed by it due to some of its limitations - no 3G, no GPS, a poor camera, reports of poor signal reception due to the metal back on it. Sure it had a great innovative touchscreen interface, but like many things from Apple in my experience, you’re often better off not getting the first generation of a product as an updated model seems to come along quite quickly.
Continue reading »Funny TV Commercials for Microsoft?
September 18, 2008
Microsoft have recently released some new adverts in the form of some funny TV commercials featuring Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld. Now anyone would think they are really trying to capture the spirit of the Seinfeld show, they seem as though they are “ads about nothing”, even stranger given that Microsoft have historically done very little in terms of advertising, so actually spending money for very little is rather odd.
Microsoft are paying approximately $300 million for this funny TV commercial ad campaign (supposedly around $20million of that is going to Jerry Seinfeld himself), so they presumably hope that they will do something to hit back at the Apple ads over recent years that compare PC and Macs and the ‘trouncing’ they have received because of them.
Continue reading »Windows Mobile 6.1 – Orange Tytn II
September 14, 2008
Orange recently released their Windows Mobile 6.1 update for the Orange Tytn II which is available for you to download and install on your mobile phone.
Installing Windows Mobile 6.1 onto my Orange Tytn II was the first time that I’d actually attempted to update the operating system software installed on a mobile phone and as such I was a cautious about it - the last thing I wanted to do was screw up my mobile phone which was working perfectly well.
Windows Mobile 6.1 features the following upgrades and new features for your Windows-based smartphone:
Continue reading »Play TV Demo
September 13, 2008
I’ve just downloaded a demo of Play TV for the Playstation 3. The Play TV demo is a digital tuner for use with the PS3 and allows you to watch and record digital programmes onto your HDD, the same as Freeview recorders or Sky+.
The menu is very basic and easy to navigate around and the guide with all the TV listings was very easy to use as it’s no different from the ones I’ve used previously on Freeview and Sky.
The programmes that are the demo are obviously just demo channels that have already been pre-installed for users to get used to how Play TV works. You can record a programme with one push of the select button, which I found very useful also.
Continue reading »Solar Bonsai Tree USB Charger
September 11, 2008
How does a Solar Bonsai Tree USB charger work for you as a concept? Well at this stage that is all that it is, so you can’t buy one as yet and the fundamentals such as how much power it produces hasn’t been disclosed.
As somebody who keeps bonsai trees as a hobby, the potential to have an artificial solar bonsai tree sat on my desk charging my USB devices is an idea that really appeals to me!
Continue reading »Papershow Review
September 5, 2008
Papershow is a new presentation device that I’ve had the opportunity to preview and test out. Papershow is basically a package that comprises a bluetooth pen device and a USB memory stick/bluetooth dongle that pair together and work with a pad of ‘digital paper’ (paper with a grid on to enable the motion tracking) that’s included in the pack.
The idea is that Papershow substitutes for a whiteboard, flip chart or traditional minute taking, making it easy to convey ideas during the meeting, save the results and share them after the event. This functionality will be familiar to those who have electronic smartboards, but this new technology is much cheaper and can be used wherever you can take a laptop or have a computer/projector system provided at your meeting/conference venue.
Continue reading »Google Chrome Browser
September 4, 2008
I downloaded Google Chrome browser on launch day for XP/Vista (the only version available for the moment, although Mac and Linux versions are to follow) and the phrase “bare bones” just doesn’t quite say enough about this minimalist offering. Those used to IE7 won’t be too disturbed by the lack of a menu bar, although pressing the “Alt” key won’t do anything in Google Chrome. Oddly, the home button is not on-screen by default - You have to enable it in settings.
The only tinkering you’ll be doing is by clicking the spanner in the top right corner, which leads to a VERY basic config menu. With tabs such as “Minor Tweaks” and “Under The Hood”, it isn’t going to replace you installation of Firefox and it’s 214 plug-ins. I don’t think that’s what Chrome is about though, it’s designed as a solid cloud-computing platform, which it is.
Continue reading »Windows Mobile iPhone Theme
September 4, 2008
Have you seen the Windows Mobile iPhone themes that are out on the Internet? I have a Windows Mobile phone, however one of the things it lacks if the iPhone theme which is a very intuitive and cool looking user interface that Apple has come up with - it certainly is very different from your regular style of user interface that you get on most mobile phones.
In the year since it first appeared, it’s had a real influence on other how other manufacturers are developing their own interfaces, however I’ve yet to find one that truly rivals it.
Continue reading »LG KC910 Preview
September 3, 2008
The LG KC910 has been unveiled in a preview post over at the LG Blog – this mobile phone will be the successor to the LG Viewty which we reviewed here at Zath when it was launched in the run-up to last Christmas.
The LG KC910’s headline features will be its 8 Megapixel camera, 3” fully touchscreen 240×400 pixel display and three physical function buttons. Here’s a list of some of the specifications that we can expect to see from this new LG cameraphone:
Continue reading »Play TV (PS3)
August 31, 2008
Sony has recently announced a price and release date for ‘Play TV’.
Play TV is a digital receiver that enables you to watch Freeview through your PS3 and use it as a recorder as well. So you can watch one program and record another or record two programmes at once. All of your recordings will be saved on the PS3’s hard drive so you’ll be able to watch them back whenever you like.
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