Photos: Yahoo Widgets invade Samsung TVs 
Along with 3D, you couldn't move for TVs using Yahoo Widgets at CES this year. As much as the lack of originality grinds our gears, we can't help but like the idea of pretty on-screen information.
Yahoo Widgets hit the big time a few years ago. Originally an application known as Konfabulator, it ran on Mac OS X, making use of its powerful graphics acceleration. A Windows version eventually appeared and in 2005 the company was sold to Yahoo, which made the whole lot free to download. Continue reading...
Ears-on with the AKG K 430 mini-headphones
Earphones you push down your ear canal are popular, but not for everyone. Neither, too, are full-size over-the-ear cans when it comes to use on the go. We've been listening to a great new set of little on-ear headphones from AKG -- the AKG K 430s.
These are a really dinky, foldable set of headphones that rest on the ear itself rather than around it -- ideal for tiny people, travellers, and tiny travellers. They seem well-constructed and very comfortable, with soft ear pads that don't induce an uncontrollable waterfall of bothersome sweat to cascade from your external auditory meatus. Continue reading...
2010 Toyota Prius: Faster, slipperier, more economical
Toyota has released some tasty new info on the US model of its third-generation Prius, which we'll see on UK shores this summer. Apparently, the new hybrid vehicle is faster, more economical and has more technology than its predecessors.
Although UK test figures are some way off, American stats say the car will return an impressive 50 highway miles per gallon -- up from 46mpg on the previous gen. This is due, in part, to the slightly re-engineered bodywork that reduces the Prius' drag coefficient to just 0.25. If this figure is correct, it means the Prius moves through the air with less resistance than even the fastest of sports cars. The Bugatti Veyron, for reference, has a drag coefficient of 0.36.
Continue reading...
Photos: Panasonic wants to kill your wires
It's the geek dilemma ne plus ultra: wires are indescribably messy and frustrating, but by far the best way of moving high-quality video and audio around. Panasonic thinks it's got a solution though, with a super new wireless HD standard that allows it to beam 1080p video from a media receiver to a beautiful, thin TV.
Last week, we took a brief look at the Panasonic Viera TC-P54Z1, the inch-thick TV that comes in just one size, 54 inches. Now it's time to create a nationwide flood of salivation with some beautiful pictures of the set-up. Continue reading...
Lego digital camera: Brick-built brilliance
Yes, we know Lego is, y'know, for kids, but even as adults we still get excited about it. Because it's awesome. So imagine our childish glee when we learnt that we no longer need to settle for knock-offs like the LaCie Brick Hard Drive, because Lego has teamed up with Digital Blue to launch its own range of gadgets.
Digital Blue also makes stuff like a Batsignal clock radio and assorted Disney tat. So far we've seen pictures of a Lego digital camera and walkie-talkie, but other gadgets are on the cards, such as MP3 players, video cameras, boomboxes and clock radios. Continue reading...
Concept cars go electric at Detroit auto show
A surprising number of electric concept cars were on display at the 2009 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, including cars from GM, Chrysler, Mercedes-Benz, Mini and Smart.
Some of these concept cars are currently on the road, being tested for eventual mass production. Continue reading...
RCA Small Wonder wandering to Europe
There's a plethora of camcorders that are easy on the pocket, both in terms of size and cost. RCA Small Wonder camcorders haven't been available over here, but we learnt at CES 2009 that's set to change.
RCA has possibly one of the biggest ranges of budget pocket shooters going: Flip has the Ultra and Mino, Kodak the Zi6 and new Zx1, Creative the Vado, and even '14 new camcorders at a time' Sony only has two, the Webbie PM1 and C1. The Webbies show that the major players are taking this market segment seriously, and although there's nothing definite yet, the word on the street is the Webbies will make an appearance this side of the Atlantic after all. Meanwhile, RCA has confirmed that the Small Wonders are heading for Europe in 2009. Continue reading...
Photos: Brit travelling to Timbuktu in flying car
Two British adventurers are about to head off on a 3,600-mile maiden voyage that could well give new life to the phrase 'from here to Timbuktu'.
They'll be travelling alternately by land and sea in what they're calling the "world's first bio-fueled flying car" -- the Parajet Skycar, which is essentially a dune buggy with a fan motor and paragliding wing attached. Continue reading...
Photos: Delicious LG OLED screens to drool on
OLED continues to draw big crowds at CES, and we suspect the same will be true at IFA this year. It's not hard to see why. These paper thin TVs are beautiful. They have gloriously bright images with stunning colour and they make the MacBook Air look like a lard-arse.
We're pretty excited though, because the more companies that produce these screens, and they more they sell, the more likely we are to see sizes increase and prices drop. That said, OLED isn't without its problems. Lifetime, for example, is still quite short -- certainly nothing like the 60,000-odd hours you'd get with a small LCD. Continue reading...
Mew Mew Tower: iPhone gets greatest cat game ever
Build a tower of Japanese cats of varying sizes, while using the iPhone's accelerometer to ensure they don't topple to their demise. Game concepts don't come much simpler, more cute or more addictive.
Mew Mew Tower (iTunes link) from B3 United is the latest cat-themed game to hit the iTunes App Store, and for £1.19 it might well be the best quid you'll spend in January. We've been playing it for the last 24 hours, gleefully cheering as the ever-growing tower of cats miaow in delight as another chubby puss is piled on to the apex. Continue reading...
Panasonic's spring camcorders get three chips and long lenses
Before the world went high-def, Panasonic made a point of upgrading many of its camcorders to three-chip models. Now it's happening again, as Panasonic rolls out its 3MOS chipsets in its prosumer 2009 AVCHD camcorders. At 2 megapixels per chip, they're each reasonably high-resolution, as well.
You won't, however, see the likes of popular, older, budget three-chip models, such as the PV-GS320 -- at least not in the first half of the year. In fact, you won't see any tape- or DVD-based models at all from Panasonic, according to the company. Ever. Continue reading...
Photos: Sony's 2009 camcorder line-up
While Panasonic and Canon look like they're delivering a solid, if somewhat uninspiring, line of camcorders for the first half of the year, Sony emerged from CES with the most newsworthy set of models -- newsworthy for what the product line doesn't include, as well as what it does.
What's missing? MiniDV camcorders, for one. While last year's DCR-HC52 and HC62 remain on the market, Sony didn't announce anything relevant to MiniDV -- no consolidation of the existing models, as Canon did, or outright declaration of dropping models, as with Panasonic (if not publicly, then at least in conversation). Nor are there any DVD-based AVCHD camcorders for 2009. Those seem to have quietly slipped away from Canon and Panasonic as well. Continue reading...
Photos: Asus S121 brings sexy back -- again
When we first laid eyes on the Asus S101 netbook, we wept, such was its beauty. When we learned Asus was working on a slightly larger, 12.1-inch, ultraportable version, we began to well up yet again. We're sensitive types.
The S121 is adorned with the same glossy 'brown infusion finish' as its predecessor, and has the added bonus of a wrist rest swathed in genuine leather. The Swarovski crystals seen on the S101 make a reappearance too, except they're set into a redesigned hinge designed to look like a pair of gentleman's cuff links. Continue reading...
The (almost) ABC of CES 2009
What happens in Vegas doesn't stay in Vegas, at least when it comes to CES 2009. We've been bringing you all the news you need to hear as the world's technorati spent a wild week in Sin City. Now we've got our breath back, massaged our expense claims and nursed our hangovers, it's time to look back over what went down, with our (nearly) ABC of CES 2009.
A is for announcements. All the major manufacturers -- and lots of minor players -- showed up, with the launch of new products from Dick Tracy tech to tiny projectors to extreme memory cards to Sony's not-a-netbook to blinkin' mind control! Continue reading...
Photos: Toshiba creates leaning, mirrored TV
Yes, that's right folks, the headline is totally correct: Toshiba has created a prototype of a TV that no one in the entire universe would ever buy. Despite that, it certainly caught our eye as we wandered about the Tosh CES booth. And we think you'll see why.
Toshiba thinks this is the TV for you, because it doesn't require any expensive wall-mounting or that pesky Ikea furniture that takes a lifetime to assemble, and we can see their point. Instead, this TV just leans against your wall like an ASBO-scoffing youth outside an off-licence. Continue reading...
Polaroid PoGo Instant Digital Camera: Give it some stick
'Sharing' is an overused buzzword in the technology industry these days, but we have to admit there's a definite pleasure to be had from printing and handing round your photos. Polaroid may have ceased making film for its traditional instant camera, but isn't taking the advent of the digital age lying down: the Polaroid PoGo Instant Digital Camera takes a bow at CES 2009.
Sure, Tomy did get there first with the Xiao, but Tomy make toys and Polaroid make cameras. We got a sneak preview of the PoGo printer at last year's CES, where we were shown the ever-so-clever Zink technology. This replaces conventional ink with dye crystal-impregnated paper, bakes the image on to a print-out, and is dry to the touch within a minute. The original PoGo printer attached to camera or computer via USB, but now Polaroid has cut out the middleman with the PoGo camera. Continue reading...
Photos: Asus N20 12-inch touchscreen laptop
Remember the fantastic Asus M10 -- the 10-inch netbook that could run 3D games and high-definition video? Asus has been working on a successor, with a larger, touch-sensitive display.
The M20, as it is to be known, packs a 12-inch WXGA screen, which unlike most machines of its type, responds to touch inputs from a stylus or your own fingers. There's no multi-touch capability, so you can't do any fancy iPhone-style pinching or stroking, but the system does make it easier to scroll through documents, switch between applications and -- more importantly -- show off to others when you're on the train to work. Continue reading...
Sony Walkman NWZ-W202: Wireless workout
We Cravers are an athletic bunch. We're constantly jumping and running -- jumping to conclusions and running up bar tabs, that is. But even us gym-shy lazyboys are interested in Sony's Walkman NWZ-W202 cordless MP3 player.
It includes 13.5mm headphones and comes in the shape of two small bits that clip into the ear, and loop behind the neck. They connect via the magic of magnetism, as seen above. Continue reading...
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-G3: 4GB Wi-Fi wonder
We can't wait for Wi-Fi cameras. If you're anything like us, your USB ports get the most use from your camera. The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-G3, announced by Sony big chief Howard Stringer at CES 2009, is a big step along the road to cutting out the camera cables, as it features a baked-in Web browser.
Previous wireless snappers, such as the Nikon Coolpix S52c, were hamstrung by the fact that they struggled to connect to protected hotspots. The G3, meanwhile, has its own browser, which opens at the touch of the WLAN button and allows you to get at secure and fee-based hotspots as well as open access points. Sony's Easy Upload home page includes direct links to photo-sharing sites Photobucket, Shutterfly and Picasa, as well as YouTube and Dailymotion. It also connects without cables to Bravia TVs and Vaio laptops. Continue reading...
Samsung WB500: Wide-boy superzoom
Samsung has announced a superzoom compact camera that brings us the best of both worlds, in more ways than one: the 10-megapixel WB500. It's called the HZ10W over here in the States, where we got our sticky fingers on it at CES 2009.
First off, the WB500 is trumpeted by Samsung as the world's first model to combine 24mm wide angle with a 10x optical zoom. That means you can zoom in further, and zoom out wider, than any other compact. The 10x zoom puts the WB500 in the bottom end of the superzoom category, but it's way more pocketable than the average superzoom brick. So you get a versatile zoom and a compact package. Lovely. Continue reading...
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