Power Mat - Review

Sick of trailing wires from your ten different chargers?

This technology has been around for years, indeed it's probably in your homes already. Your electric toothbrush and possible your kettle uses magnetic inductive charging which is the same tech found in the PowerMat.

Having the ability to charge 3-6 devices at the same time with only one plug socket being used has got to be the ultimate in clean living.

Above is the foldable travel mat, Power Mat USA seem to have cornered the market here, being able to charge most of the major mobile phone handsets, except Nokia and Sony-Ericcson, iPod, PSP, DS and your sat nav, it will even recharge AA+AAA batterys.

So will i be buying one?.... Yes, but not yet. The reason being?....

A; £60 for the home version £70 for the travel mat

and

B; Its not just a simple case of throwing your Blackberry and iPod on the mat, Everything needs adapting,

Weather it be a charging dock, a battery case or a power cube, ALL of which will cost you extra, and if i'm honest i can just tidy up after myself until the product improves and the price becomes more realistic.

Augmented ID - The future of social networking

Facial recognition for your phone

We've seen social networking evolve from Friendsreunited, YouTube, Myspace into Facebook then into Twitter, so what will the next big thing  be?.... A swedish company called The Astonishing Tribe think they have the answer.

The Astonishing Tribe (TAT) are using an algorithm created by Polar Rose (A photo tagging startup popular with Flicker and Facebook) in which it recognises signed up users by facial recognition via your mobile phone camera. The clever part of this software is it uses a 3-D model of your face to recognises you which isn't affected by low level light.

The software provides a video image of the person, or person's, you want to know more about, Just as if your taking a video clip, but that's when the software kicks in.

So for example your in a Bar or in the office with a different department, Just point your camera phone at the group of people, And the algorithm will recognise registered user's and provide a live 'halo' of personal information. Name, hot links to Facebook, Twitter and YouTube profiles, infact it can provide any information the user want's to be public thanks to the software having a widget which means you can intergrate it into any site.

Currently built around Google's Android OS, but with rumours Apple are trying to develop an app for its iPhone is extremely encouraging.

This for me, is the most exciting news on the mobile technology market to date.

NASA Levitate mice in Lab

NASA boffins have made mice weight-less using magnetic fields

Weight Loss experiments in animals has been done before with live frogs and grasshoppers, but never before with mice.

NASA started the project in their Jet Propulsion Lab as research into the long term effects of the lack of gravity on astronauts. Mice are biologically closer to humans which means NASA can study how to counteract bone loss.

Scientists working for NASA built a device with a superconducting magnet cooled to near absolute zero, and when a current is run through the solenoid it created a a magnetic field of 17 teslas. To give you some idea of  how powerful that is, its roughly ten thousand times as powerfull as a typical fridge magnet, or Ten million times that of the earth.

Yaunming Liu headed the team for the levitation device which distorts the electrons in water molecules to let the mice float for hours.

The three week old mouse weighing 10 grams floated for 4 hours and even managed to eat and drink whilst floating in the magnetic field.

From time to time the mouse kicked around trying to hold onto something, now and again it would catch the walls which would send it into a spin, the mouse appeared to be midly agitated and disorienated, although this didn't last long and the mouse adjusted.

The boffins also levitated water drops, which in a weird kind of way i would find more amazing than the mouse!

This will hopefully go a long way to helping health issue's astronauts have with bone and muscle loss, and blood flow in zero gravity.

I can see a larger device being built (if it hasn't already) to house an adult human. but supercooling a magnet that size to nearly -273C would be amazing!

Spotify for the iPhone

Millions of Songs, Whenever you want them.

Seems like the whole world has gone spotify crazy! Well now there's a mobile version and like most app's these days iPhone is the testing ground.

Spotify is a free service that allows you to play songs live and streaming to your desktop or laptop. Like LastFM.com it allows you to create playlists etc a really good usefull website. Unlike LastFM.com though Spotify plays a short advert every 6 songs or so, or for a small monthly fee you can listen ad free.

A nice touch for the iPhone is the ability to sync your playlists making them playable offline if your heading to the tube, or on an airplane.

Skipping tracks is easy and familiar and works the same way as cover flow.

Is it free?... Sadly no, it cost's £10 per month to be a Spotify Premium member and this gives you all the music you can listen too.

Will I be subscribing...? Erm... well no, I love spotify and LastFM.com, I love what they deliver love the ability to have your own personal radio to lose yourself in, but £10 a month doesn't seem a lot, add it to your monthly tariff and buying one or two apps a month ,and your creeping towards £50 a month which for me is a bit much, especially as you'll already have it synced with your iTunes. 

My advice wait for similar free apps. 

Windows 7 - Review

Is it better than Vista, and do we need a new version?

Microsoft releases always have massive hype, and Windows 7 is no different. As the biggest operating system in the world, pre Vista it was riddled with security issue's and over hungry processor needs.

Vista should have be a regain for Microsoft, most of the security problems were solved, and some nice little touches brought in, but still lacked something, something which is making Microsoft users turn to Apple.

So do we need another system to guide us through our day to day lives..... Well with the likes of Google and Apple coming to the table with their newest OS, It's clear Bill Gates is looking over his shoulder.

Why should we upgrade from Vista now?....

Superbar

The windows taskbar has had a makeover, Hover your mouse over the pinned applications and you can see what documents are open in each, and a right click on an icon lets you create a shortcut, or 'Jumplist'

Touchscreen

Microsoft have made no secret of the fact Windows 7 supports touchscreen monitors, and the icons clearly show that, big and finger friendly, this is a really good addition and will make smearing your screen while scrolling through your pictures a breeze!

Wallpaper 

Desktop widgets can now be put anywhere on your home page, and 7 comes pre-loaded with a stack of wallpapers or you can use your own.

Libaries

Essentially making OSD a lot easier. 7 prompts you to make centralised folders for everything, and even lets you preview your pictures within explorer windows.

Aero Panes

Aero Peek, allows you to see windows underneath over windows by making them transparent. Aero Snap, aligns, arranges and expands open windows to increase the working area. Aero Shake,  minimises all windows expect the one your working on, by quickly shaking the mouse.

Home Group

Networking made easy, It will detect other 7 users and lets you know if you want to add them to your home group.

For me, Windows 7 is all about the touch screen, it seems everything is going that way, I'll wait and see till Microsoft bring out the updates for it to see if its worth upgraded or time to jump ship!

FujiFilm Real 3D Camera - Review

Real 3D Technology - The future is here.

 

Its the one thing missing in todays market place, the ability to shoot 3D stills and video without having to borrow a camera the size of a battle ship from 20th Century Fox. The egg heads at FujiFilm have crafted this fantastic camera to save us all from looking at our favourate moments in flat 2D.

The Real 3D W1 (its full name) has two lenses that shoot at slightly different angles, very similar to the way your eyes work.

The camera's software then turns those seperate images into a 3D image which can be instantly viewed on the 8Inch screen at the back of the camera.

Another very clever touch, is the ability to shoot a close up and wide angle shot at the same time, due to the camera being able to use the lenses in other ways. No need for those awefull red and green glass either, when viewing the images on the camera, the screen is specifically designed to replay in 3D (stills and video)

Geek Bit

Number of Effective Pixels 10MP

CCD Sensor 1/2.3 Inch CCD x 2

Storage 42MB, Expandable SD, SDHC card

File Format 3D Movie-Avi, 2D Avi

You can also get  a digital frame which will let you clip and view your pictures in all their 3D glory, If you want the prints in 3D, just send them to FujiFilm and they'll do it for you!

 

Very little to complain about here, yes its not the sexiest of cameras, but your not going to buy it for that, your going to buy it for the amazing 3D image and video your going to be able to produce.

Soon to be on our shelves, and you'll have to wait out for prices.

 

Samsung i8910HD - Review

Hi-Def 8 MP marvel.

A High-Definition phone that records in 720p and has a 8MegaPixel camera, with an AMOLED (Active-Matrix Organic Light Emitting Diodes) screen....... Outside Japan? Surely not

Well here it is, Samsung's latest big hitter, and what a hit it has.  Lets start with the Hi-Def recording, an excellent alternative to the Flip Mino HD recording in 720p, with the ability to shoot at 120 frames per second for ultra slow motion video capture. The 8 MP camera is without doubt the best on the market for current smart phones. 

Viewing the pictures, when gloating to your friends about the camera, will look amazing on the AMOLED screen, which again is easly the best screen by a clear mile of all the smart phones available today, boasting a 3.7inch screen it gives vivid colours and more importantly deep crisp blacks.

Geek Bit

Display 360x640 capacitive touch screen

Battery 13.5Hrs talk, 600hrs standby

Camera 8MP, autofocus, LED flash

Storage 8GB/16GB, MicroSD slot

Connectivity GPS, HSDPA, Bluetooth, USB, Wi-Fi

The touchscreen is really responsive too, much better than the N97, and on a par with the 3GS using the same capacitive (reacting to the electric fields from your fingers) technology.

However, Like all smart phones, the Samsung does have its faults. Email syncing is a massive let down, only working through third part applications.

The i8910HD has the same soulless home screen the 3GS has, with no live feeds that the N97 and Hero boast.

Like the N97 it really suffers with the lack of apps, but thats probably due to the fact Apple has them in abundance, And with no kinetic scrolling, makes going through the menu a choir. 

All in all a market leader in imagery terms, just let down by a clunky interface and lacking some of the handy widgets Nokia and HTC have focused on. Maybe if this used Android operating system rather than Symbian's S60 it would feel less like a Nokia and more like a piece of genius. That said an excellent bit of kit mainly aimed a the youtube uploaders.

Apple iPhone 3GS - Review

The Best phone ever made?...

Its very rare to see a mobile phone consume not only a market place but communities, workplaces and in some cases people lives. Apple sold 10 MILLION iPhones in 2008 alone. Yes there were things with the first gen iPhone people complained about, Bluetooth rescritions, poor camera, no video capability etc etc, but you still went out in your droves to purchase the mobile iTunes device. 

The hype pre-release of the 3GS was huge, with talk of the apps being accessed and operated at break neck speed. So has it lived up to the marketing..... Lets see;

Geek Bit

Display 320x480 capacitive touchscreen

Battery 12hrs talk/300hrs standby

Connectivity A-GPS, HSDPA, Bluetooth, WI-Fi

Camera 3MP Autofocus

Storage 16GB/32GB priced accordingly

A new 600Mhz processor and RAM that is double the 1st gen has a real impact on performance, and while the difference may be nano seconds at the moment, as apps get more complex, this will prove essential in the near future.  

Cut and paste and a landscape keyboard also makes it more communicative.

A new digital compass (magnetometer) works excellently with google maps and street view.

A new face, covered with an oil resistant 'one wipe' screen to increase scratch free, thumb print less life span. 

Voice control which you can access your favourate songs from is a very clever use of already existing software. 

Turn by turn sat nav is a real plus to this machine, as is the slightly improved battery life. Which smoothly links me to the things that quite literally want me to pull my own hair out and want to shout at the little Apple boffins who develop this in some air tight laboratory.

Why oh why is the camera only 3Megapixel's with no flash, and the VGA video is astonishingly poor compared to the N97 and the Samsung i8910HD (soon to be reviewed) 

The Battery life at first glance at my Geek Bit seems great, let me tell you though that if you have Wi-Fi scan on and are browsing the web it will demolish the battery before you know it, and dont even try it with the bluetooth switched on at the same time, But for some reason iPhone users are happy to charge they phone twice a day.

The home screen is no way near as personal as the N97 or the Hero's and again slight worries about build quality, in-particular the mute button and the speakers, which the 1st gen suffered with.

Dont get me wrong, the 3GS is a great phone, its probably just at the head of the smart-phone pack at the moment, but in my opinion thats only due to the apps and iTunes sync. These are two huge additions, yes the touch screen is fantastic, but you cant use it with gloves on, minor issue. The camera is pants, minor issue, video quality is about the same as filming your exciting moments with a mars bar, minor issue, Battery life is slightly better than the 1st Gen but no way near that of the other smart phones out there.

Can millions of people be wrong.... NO, This is a great bit of kit, the apps are simply fantastic, and everything online these days has an iPhone slant to it, but if your a fan of sheer pioneering technology rather than little fun applications look elsewhere.

HTC Hero - Review

The first 3GS's serious contender?

The very stylish and ergonomic phone is a serious contender for the smart phone top spot. A social junkies dream having the ability to group emails, txt's and facebook updates all in one place.

You'll also be taking sharper images than the Apple users, with a 5 megapixel camera (sadly no flash though)

The touchscreen is just as sharp as the 3GS that also uses a capacitive version (sensing the electric field from your fingers, as opposed to resistive which uses pressure like the N97) and supporting multi touch while browsing the web and supports flash when you want to watch YouTube.

Working on the fantastic Android operating system, comes complete with a digital compass for use with google maps, and comes complete with turn by turn at nav. The Hero. gives you the choice of seven different homescreens.

Geek Bit

Display 320x480 Touchscreen

Storage 512MB, MicroSD slot

Battery 7.8Hrs talk time, 440 Hrs Standby

Connectivity GPS, HSDPA, 3.5mm Jack, Bluetooth, USB, Wi-Fi

Camera 5Megapixel, Autofocus

The Hero has a teflon coated back panel which makes the phone feel really solid but thats where I have to sadly start talking about the niggles I have with this. If you paid attention to the geek bit above, you would have noticed the ridiculously small storage, 512MB, I have a kettle that can store more data. But wait you can increase this capacity by accessing the microsd slot, but you will have to remove the very nice teflon coated back plate to do so! This for me is a huge let down, You could live in hope that Android's market place will soon be full of fantastic apps, and be content with the decent camera and great battery life IF the phone didnt have less memory than a goldfish that had been struck on the head.

A nice phone, but if your like me and store films and music on your digital friend then this isn't for you, BUT if your addicted to twitter and facebook then this is the one for you.

New Sony PSP GO (N1000) - Review

The introduction of the next gen iPod's  and the DSI, Meant that almost everybody had stopped talking and even thinking about Sony's handheld..... Until now!

The first thing you notice is the slide out D-pad, which gives the face a cleaner more attractive appeal. Does this make the screen any bigger .. Sadly no, it has actually shrunk to 3.8inch. That's not the only thing to go, UMD drive has been taken out in favour of 16GB of storage and an expansion slot to allow for a further 8 GB.

The reason Sony decided to ditch the UMD was to promote the use of its online download store which it is hoping will rival the likes of Apples store. Being able to download games and other apps will be a piece of cake due to is wi-fi capability, but it doesn't stop there. The 'GO' lets you make skype calls, connect to other psp's for a head to head battle, and bluetooth allows headset's to be used for skype.

So anything else that's going to make you buy one straight away..? Well not really, no hardware tweeks to increase performance, screen res or battery life. That said it's a joy to access your games, music and films, so much so your Aunt Martha could do it.

Geek Bit

Processor 133MHz with 64MB RAM
Storage 16GB plus Memory Stick Micro (M2) up to 8GB
Battery 4-6Hours
Size 128x69x16.6mm
Screen 3.8 Inch, 480x272Pixels
Connectivity 801.11b Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, USB

 

Being released in the UK in Autumn is it going to be worth it? To be honest if your a die hard PSP fan and avid user, I would say wait. Main reason is your gonna have a ton of games and films that wont be compatable with the new one, and were still waiting on Sony's solution to this. A smaller screen and slightly fiddly shoulder buttons when the screen is up all need getting used too. That said the fact it stores everything on it so you dont have to carry extra discs etc, is a huge plus, and being able to download the newest game from the comfort of your own bedroom is very appealing. 

A good addition to the market, but its one that is so diluted with choice at the moment, they really have to produce something very special to boost its sales.

Wait to see what christmas rush (or not)  does to the price, then decide!

Nokia N97 - Review

A Fantastic phone for the right person!

A week with the Nokia N97 and its mostly good. I'll start with where I came from to get to the 97.
I am a huge Nokia fan, every time i have strayed from the Finnish manufacturer, I have deeply regretted it for the next 18 months, till I could return with my tail between my legs begging for a free nokia on another 18 month contract!
I used to own the N95 8GB, again fantastic phone, at the time the only phone to own really. Great camera and functions, but all this was distroyed by the arrival of the iPhone. Ok back to the N97;

Unlocked to UK Networks
32GB as standard expandable to 48GB
5 MegaPixel camera with flash and Video
Built in GPS Nav
HSDPA and WLAN surfing
Slide out qwerty keyboard and touchscreen

What I'm Loving;
QWERTY keyboard - a fantastic feature
Camera! 5 megapixel with the now nokia standard Carl Zeiss lens
Super fast web browsing and easy connection to my WiFi at home.
Speakers that come in the box
On Screen Live Widgets

Why Why Why;

Touchscreen not quite as precise as iPhone 3GS or the HTC Hero

Lack of Apps

Ridiculously difficult to sync music and films from pc

Push email is hit and miss

Ok I'll break down the above.

The QWERTY Keyboard

A fantastic brilliant addition. For me being held hostage to a touch 

screen was something I didnt want to face, I have used the 3GS 

touch screen, and yes the upgraded machine has the ability to rotate to landscape keyboard to avoid sausage finger mis-spells, but not having the feel of a proper back lit button when typing emails, txt, URL's or even this blog meant the N97 was a must have. You dont even miss the predictive txt and when typing url's it feels more like a uber small notebook than a phone.

The camera. Using the same camera as the N95 8GB is a great choice, I would have thought Nokia would have upgraded this though due to Sony Ericsson's C905 8.1 MegaPixel camera and even Finland's very own branded Nokia N86 has 8 Megapixel but that said its a cracking camera, and fantastic video, good flash although it is an LED, so it could be better, but it is a great camera.

Surfing, Wether it be on Vodafone UK on your WLAN its incredible quick for a phone. I would actually go as far to say you could almost do away with your laptop or pc at home, due to its Adobe PDF reader and home office etc. really quick and ability to bookmark your most visited sites.

Nokia MD-8 Speakers come in the box along with the software and cables etc, really nice addition and great for long journeys or if you have a bit of down time in the office.

On Screen Live widgets, The phone (UK Version) comes pre-loaded with a whole host of actually quite good apps, which run live and update automatically; Facebook, Amazon, your favourate RSS feeds, your email, or you can download more specific ones if you want, I have my Gmail, Associated Press and BBC's RSS feeds for Technology, AND BBC iPlayer! This I think is probably the N97's best feature.

Things I hope with software updates get better.

The Touch Screen, It's not quite ... wait thats a lie, its no way near as sensitive as the 3GS or the Hero, that said if you've never played with your mates iPhone (and if you haven't you probably work in the only place on earth in which the iPhone hasn't infiltrated) then you'll never notice the little lag, or the fact on small links/icon's (on the net) are best touched when the text has been zoomed in, which unlike the 3GS is a basic double tap on the screen.

App's, iPhone's app store is generations ahead of Nokia's Ovi store. Even the Hero's app posibilities are much better. This I hope is going to get better, with Nokia appealing to developers in India to come up with more ingenious apps, that are so readily available to the iPhone users. The N97 has the ability to use motion  and touch just as the 3GS, it just developers need to work harder with the overly complicated operating system Nokia choose to use.

Nokia Music and Photos, Oh my god, I love technology and I understand you have to have to be patient some times, (I'm not one of these people who when their desktop freezes they keep smashing buttons till it rights itself!) But i have never wanted to see if my laptop bounced more than when i was trying to get all my mp3's and pictures from my Laptop to my phone via usb link. Absolutely rubbish, and again to refer to the 3GS a quick sync with iTunes and its all done. Again i'm hoping with a software update all this will get sorted out.

Email, Although the live email on your home screen is a god send for me, I was having massive problems sending (push) my emails, even with Nokia's own ovi account, I eventually got round this problem with downloading Google's gmail app, which isn't great but it does the job. That said you can quickly go to your email providers site and check that way, again hopefully with a software update it should be smoother.

Overall has my life been enhanced by the N97..... yes it has, its a fantastic device, and the fact I have downloaded tons from iPlayer etc is great, All my friends have iPhones, one or two have the 3GS, which is a great phone too, both the N97 and 3GS have google maps, Nokia maps with the free 6 month (UK) walk and drive option is great. Surfing is great with the keyboard camera is great, its just the app's that suck! But an awesome phone!

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