The hands-free law for all drivers wanting to use a mobile phone in the UK is coming up on its first anniversary, there is no better time to invest in a Bluetooth headset if you hoping to make that important call when out on the road.

Sony Ericsson thinks it has the answer with two new headsets. Sony Ericsson were the first company to use Bluetooth connectivity in mobile headsets and both the HBH-610 and the HBH-PV700 are Bluetooth2.0. Here we look at the HBH-610.

We found the plastic earpiece of the HBH-PV700 less comfortable than the traditional metal covered earpieces (as used on the Sony Ericsson HBH-610), but if white and lime green is more your thing, then this forthcoming unit may be more your cup of tea.

With a battery signal light and volume up down, the unit is much the same shape as the others in the Sony Ericsson stable, but lacks the new Digital Signal Processing innards found in the HBH-610 that brings the a promise of excellent clarity to both caller and recipient.

While the automatic volume adjustment and echo balancing that we liked about the HBH-P610 is missing, there are some extra usability features to make up for it.

Unlike the HBH-610, the PV700 can store 50 numbers in the headset and dial them by voice activation. It can answer/end calls this way too, as well as using an updated Fastport connection.

The only other difference is the battery life; while the talk time is only 90 minutes shorter than the PBH-610, the standby time is half the length - 150 hours.

Tags: Phones Phone accessories Headsets Sony Ericsson Bluetooth

Sony Ericsson HBH-PV700 headset originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Thu, 14 Dec 2006 00:10:00 +0000

Sony Ericsson thinks it has the answer with two new headsets. Sony Ericsson were the first company to use Bluetooth connectivity in mobile headsets and both the HBH-610 and the HBH-PV700 are Bluetooth2.0. Here we look at the HBH-610.

Using Digital Signal Processing, the HBH-610 is capable of some advanced sound balancing, bringing the a promise of excellent clarity to both caller and recipient.

The DSP monitors the volume on the headset and will automatically increase or decrease, should the background noise rise/fall, or the volume of the signal sent by the second party change.

This volume change is almost instant - taking less than a second per adjustment. The echo balancing is great, in car, the reverb and subliminal noise are dulled down, making for a far clearer signal.

In the office, the random shouting still comes through, but any regular background noise is detected and accounted for.

It's worth mentioning the office, as this is billed as a multi-purpose headset, for multiple environments. Ideal for wireless call handling, the device configures with compatible PCs, Voice over IP (VoIP) and PDAs as well as mobiles - including over 20 handsets from the Sony Ericsson range alone.

The colour is black and silver, but the covers are inter-changeable, should you wish to shell out for a colour more befitting you status, while the earpiece on the HBH-610 resembles a traditional in ear headphone, with a metal cover and removable foam cover.

The headset comes boxed with a mains charger and for those fearful of using it, a dangle strap.

Tags: Phones Phone accessories Headsets Sony Ericsson

Sony Ericsson HBH-610 Bluetooth headset originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Wed, 06 Dec 2006 00:03:00 +0000

The first instalment of the Sonic series on the Nintendo DS, and the fourth on Nintendo handhelds, might well be the best Sonic yet- regardless of console. We take a closer look.

Sure, the marriage of the MegaDrive software kings with arch rivals Nintendo was a big turning point in the battle for supremacy with Sony's PlayStation2, but despite some nice titles on the GameCube, the 3D Sonic Adventures felt a little too fast, a little too much on auto-control and lacked that hedgehog vibe. Well, Sonic Rush may be limited to largely two-dimensional platform scrolling, but it delivers in this version.

This is the best game I've seen on the DS since Mario 64, which itself was a port from the N64. To say that Sonic Rush is a 2D game would do it an injustice - Dr Eggman and his cronies all appear in 3D for the end of level boss fights.

Gamplay follows the tried and tested formula - collect the rings, scour levels for secret routes and vie for the chaos emeralds. Blaze, a new character, provides some feline sauciness, as well as a higher flight path and her own routes through the levels. As is the way with Sonic, the fingers work faster than the mind, but the classic moves like crouch, spin and bounce are all here. But that hasn't stopped the games developers adding some new moves too - power-up your boost to smash enemies and hop between rails in a skateboard style grind. All this is by-the-by really. What really shakes things up is the use of the dual screen.

As with Bomberman DS both screens are used during gameplay, to the same affect. No more boring map on the bottom screen. Sonic and Blaze are thrown from top to bottom screen during gameplay, giving more speed, but also the chance to keep an eye out for secrets as that much more of the game is in view. This overcomes the annoyance of the spring/enemy appearing out of the blue when Sonic is at the right hand of the screen and moving too fast to allow enemies to scroll into view.

Bonus levels are always a favourite and the halfpipe that Tails made famous on Sonic 2 is back as a post-boss victory treat. This uses top screen for view and the bottom screen for touch control. Sadly, this is the only element of touchable control on the game, but let's face it, can you really move the stylus fast enough to control this insane rodent?

With the news that MarioKart DS has driven 45% of its users onto the Nintendo Wi-Fi network, it is worth pointing out that Sonic Rush uses this too. Play multiplayer games over Wi-Fi, if you have dual cartridges, or take advantage of the bonus games, available as stand alone levels, where two users can play simultaneously on the same cartridge. You can't say fairer than that!

Tags: Gaming Nintendo DS Sega

Sonic Rush - Nintendo DS originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Sun, 04 Dec 2005 00:16:51 +0000

You may have loved the first person shooter Serious Sam, but will the second in the series do the same again? We get blasting and find out.

Coming straight out of Croatia, the follow up to Serious Sam is a cheeky little first person shooter featuring 12 levels of colourful blasting and standout comedy.

The main man is Serious Sam. Seriously? The guy is a joke. Luckily, all we have to look at is a hand and an enormous weapon. Some amusing one-line text messages populate the foot of the screen, giving a softer edge to what is plainly outright murder. Sets vary from Babylon to Mayan temples and in that respect, together with the uninteresting hero, SS2 evokes memories of Times Splitters 2.

Definitely worth a mention is the length of scenes - SS2 plays like Doom, but allows the user to march and kill for over 15 minutes without a break in the action. This helps build up a good sense of the geography in the distance, which is coupled well with the choreographed torrent of vile scum that need to be dispensed with.

Croteam, the games developer say SS2 "runs on the newly designed Serious 2 engine with graphics, environments and physics that are 100 times more complex than previous Serious Sam games".

While sound and scrolling sits well in single player mode, the multiplayer levels don't hold up so well. Frantic, yes, but the engine seems to stutter a little and this won't be a title that offers more in two-player mode than one, like fighters, racers, sports or more simplistic battles, like Bomberman.

In fact, the well defined style, colour and simplicity of the Bomberman sprites and packaging help lift the game for me. Serious Sam's uninteresting garb and surroundings do little to build a sense of stigma, and the missing franchise/movie/comic game tie-in really shows.

Tags: Gaming PS2 FPS Take-Two

Serious Sam 2 - Xbox originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Sat, 03 Dec 2005 11:39:46 +0000

The W900 is the 3G follow on to the hugely successful and popular W800 from Sony Ericsson, but do we really need it? We get listening to find out.

The W900 is billed as the latest and greatest in the 3G Walkman series. Spotted at the launch in October in black and in white, the latest news is that only the white version will be released in the UK. More of a concern is that the W900 will only be available in the UK via the Vodafone network for the first 3 months.

Even the early review models are all sim-locked to run on this network alone. Sure to be a disappointment for some, but the show must go on. Luckily, while we searched around our drawers for a Vodafone sim card, the music continued to play.

Not a fat lady singing, but a trip through a selection of real .wav tunes pre-loaded onto the phone. As with the W550, the W900 offers the user a choice at start-up - call or music only. Now I'm familiar with three handsets in the Walkman family, there are no big surprises here. The swivel open is the same as the W550, but the screen is larger and the rather odd handle that housed the antenna has been dispensed with. The exterior lacks the groovy metal speaker covers of the W550, but the contours of the phone are smooth and suit the white skin. Nevertheless, the speakers suffer as a result - the W900 has only one speaker, mounted on the back of the unit next to the camera.

The swivel flip opens the full 180 degrees, revealing a well-spaced keyboard, including a power button in the bottom right. This is a nice feature, preventing accidental in-pocket operation. The slide lock on the side helps too, there is a sensible navi-key as well, and all this helps build a "music player" identity about the phone. The headphones, with a lead mounted screen and roll control, fit very well in the ear. The soft rubber collars mean the earpieces fit very snuggly and seal out a lot of background noise.

Memory-wise there is 470 MB of available internal memory, with a Memory Stick Duo port. Sony Ericsson has some larger sticks due for imminent release. This will help with the music storage- MP3 and .wav files are loaded via through the air transfer, or via the included software. Annoyingly, there is no drag and drop functionality. Copying music via the built-in tool between internal memory and card is slow. To copy 100Mb of music you will need approximately 15-20 minutes, so be sure to write the content direct to your preferred location.

Two cameras, one front mounted VGA and one rear mounted 2 megapixel with flash, adorn the W900, but there is no lens cover, as with the K600i and as we were originally shown at a first look briefing we had. The sliding keylock on the side of the phone doubles as a flash activator. Not too much of a problem as the keypad is covered during image capture - cameras can only be operated when the phone is closed.

One nice addition would have been a 3.5mm jack, allowing replacement headphones and the ability to output music to another device.

The screen is nice, the resolution is 240x320 pixels (31x40 mm) and 262k colours. Shame that for a larger chassis than the W600, there is little else done with the extra space. The buttons have been spread out which helps, but the lack of speakers lends weight to the rumours that the W900 was not originally planned to be part of the Walkman family.

Tags: Phones Mobile phones 3G Sony Ericsson Rumours Digital cameras

Sony Ericsson W900 mobile phone originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Sat, 03 Dec 2005 00:04:26 +0000

KISS, having been bought out by Linksys owner Cisco, is starting to introduce more network friendly devices. It’s latest offering - the DP-558 starts to blur the lines between PVR, DVD and media bridge, but can the network company simply buy its way into the market? We take a closer look.

This personal video recorder combines an 80GB hard disc drive with a DVD-R drive. On closer inspection - the Kiss 558 is a mish-mash of technologies from a range of companies. Under the bonnet and you’ll find that the HDD hardware comes from Samsung and the DVD unit from Toshiba. Even the remote is made by someone else and luckily for Kiss its chosen the design house of Bang & Olufsen for this one.

By using established components and employing some stylish design input, KISS have turned out a sturdy DVD player with MP2/3/4, WMA, AC3 and OGG audio, DIVX, AVI and MPG4 video capabilities.

From an empty hard drive, this unit will record up to 120 hours of video as MPEG2. Not only are there a vast number of inputs and outputs supported, but also a 10/100 ethernet port. That means online connection and a PVR in the mould of a media centre, the next big thing to shake up UK living rooms.

While this unit is not a media centre per se, it is quite easy to plumb into your Windows driven home computer, or even your Apple Mac

The graphic interface and setup wizards simplify installation to your local network and the internet, but the 558 is a broadband device that requires an element of networking knowledge to make the best of it.

A good understanding of files, networks and a large appetite for media is required to fully exploit it, but for anyone willing to try it, this will at the very least, transfer recorded content from closed circuit broadcasts across satellite, terrestrial and analogue to the hard drive. With the ethernet connection comes a myriad of possibilities for digital content on the move, but also some unique built in services, served direct from the manufacturer.

Because the PVR runs from an ‘always on’ internet connection, you can access it from any Wi-Fi enabled location. The box can access the web at any time, but again, only if you have an always-on network (make sure you have secured your Wi-Fi network before you go out). An always-on connection supports the firmware and the electronic program guide, games and weather, accessible from your TV or from any internet connection.

Using what is essentially an inbuilt FTP, stored content can be viewed, removed, or added remotely. Pushing laziness to the limit, a configured Wi-Fi enabled device or mobile phone can access the on-board program guide online and timer record from the KISS schedule. Timeshift at home, record the telly when you're out. Fantastic!

But is it practical? The first problem encountered was that to run on my local network, I needed another ethernet cable, despite one coming in the box, although having a modem with one ethernet slot, and that leading to my Wi-Fi sender didn't help. Also, with the TV, set top box, modem, sender and a bleeping laptop, I was desperately short of plugs and creating a cat's cradle of wires across my living room.

The 558 has an inbuilt TV tuner, but requires two antenna cables, plus three scarts, if using a set top box or plumbing through another digital unit. No surprise then, that once plumbed in, moving or rewiring is a pain. Thanks to the setup wizard, the installation process is easy, if a little slow. The live web connection was detected as soon as the box was turned on, IP address noted and each method of connection, audio and video and TV display selected via a graphic interface. It isn’t the worst I’ve seen and is in keeping with the minimalist styling of remote and box exterior.

Now, global location is selected, HDD formatted (3 mins approx) and firmware downloaded. Ready to roll. Next stage is to tune the TV channels. For some reason, the PVR-STB-TV scart combo wouldn't detect any channels. Stripping the STB out of the equation (Nokia onDigital throwback, in need of a good rest) enabled me to pick up 3 channels, but a Freeview tuner is surely a must for UK versions of the DP-558’s descendents.

With a 1 min minimum and 1 day 1 min max recording time, this unit will lay down up to 120 hours of video in MPEG2 format. I managed to transfer a 2 min clip in MPEG2 format to my Acer tablet and play that back with VLC player, and also successfully connected the box with my Apple eMac - the ‘PC Link’ software is both PC and Mac compatible - but couldn't get a connection to the network. This probably says more about my networking capabilities than the software.

I haven't yet managed to sync my mobile phone to the EPG, but I have already surprised myself with the functionality and user friendliness.

Tags: Home Cinema DVD Kiss Technology

KISS Technologies DP-558 DVD Player originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Wed, 09 Nov 2005 11:31:18 +0000

Placed firmly in the musical youth market, the W550i is one of latest edition to the Sony Ericsson Walkman series - a tri-band GSM phone with music/Java/internet and email capability. As with the K750i/D750i, Sony Ericsson has again introduced a cluster of phones with a common theme and brand, using the same internal technology throughout. The good news is that Sony Ericsson get it right and have a selection of solid phones to suit the needs of media hungry consumers.

The two stand-out elements on first glance at the W550i are the speakers and the flip. Tired of clamshell designs, I found the spin refreshing, save that there is no lock at the 90 degree position, as with the W600. Also, it opens upside down. Did the designers consider pinning the top piece the other way around?

The aerial is hidden in the bar/handle is at the top of the unit and this stands the phone out from the others in the range like the K750.

The speakers are prominent on top and side, and this helps send out the "music on the move" message. Sound wise, there is no discernable difference on the inside than the K750. It uses the same sound processor and emits the same 40 tone polyphonic range.

The speakers are good for voice too, perhaps better than playing the world (or night bus) your latest tracks, but some Mega Bass and stereo phones make the best of the MP3s and AAC files, which play back at CD quality. To be fair, it's hard to gauge the quality as all files are pushed to the phone, but the voice recorded files we extracted sounded pretty crisp on the PC.

The similarities internally with other Sony Ericsson devices end with the external design and functionality, which are unique to the W550i and even for the Nokia influenced user, easy to pick up.

Turn on the phone and you will be prompted with a phone or music only option - handy for airplanes, hospitals and so forth, as the send/recieve will cease although we bet trying to convince the airhostess won't be as easy.

Expect 510 minutes of talk time and a whopping 400 hours of standby in ideal circumstances.

For those gagging for stats. The phone is light, just 121 grams and despite the interchangable rear panel.

Aside from the upgradeable firmware and Java application potential, this phone is POP3 ready, enabling email from a third party email address. The WAP service is complemented by a fully compatible HTML browser. Hardware-wise, the camera is 1.3 mega pixel, flash and widescreen. Pics are taken via a unique button, but the phone needs to be closed. There is no optical zoom available on the camera, but the quality is high. The flash is bright enough to get a clear capture in a dark room. Video capture is easy with such a nice screen.

Other onboard amusements include a built in FM radio, complete with Radio Data Support (RDS) feeds, essentially a weather/news ticker over the radio screen, and some nice pre-packed games including Worms Fortress 3D and the classic Gauntlet.

The Sony Ericsson website currently features over 150 downloads for the W550i alone. One touch buttons and a slider hold lock are nice touches, and the phone is Bluetooth enabled.

News of the iTuneMyWalkman crack will no doubt be of interest to some potential punters, but the majority of transfer will be done via the included software. It's simple enough, PC-based and drag and drop, although a simple plug-and-play folder system is always my preference. The main problem for music fans is the lack of a removable storage card. The W500i is reliant on an average 256MB of onboard memory.

Tags: Phones Mobile phones Mobile phones Sony Ericsson

Sony Ericsson W550i mobile phone originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Tue, 08 Nov 2005 10:14:41 +0000

With the UK release of the Sony PSP delayed until September, Nintendo have the summer to assert their authority on the handheld market with the new DS console.

Reports from the Nintendo camp suggest they are well on the way to their target of 6 million units shipped by March 2006, but is the DS going to suffer at the hands of the competition as the Cube did against the more powerful Xbox and the more adult orientated PS2?

The construction of the DS looks a little suspect, but it's as robust as the Advance SP. In some ways, the PSP feels so precious to hold, and the open style leaves the screen more open to damage. It certainly feels heavier and the eject mechanism is more susceptible to breakage than the simple slots on the DS.

While it may not have the sleek feel of the PSP, it is very comfortable to use and more durable than one might think. We have had our sticky paws over both consoles and having witnessed a marketing assault at the new Star Wars movie, I gave six of the latest games a battering across 10 different DS units. Even with Joe public greedily clawing and dabbing at them, they were all functioning well, although the touch screens were a little greasy.

The retro feel of the DS is coupled by some forward thinking, both in the games, and in the console's design. The stylus, unusual to say the least, is more intuitive than one might think. The DS features two cartridge slots- one for the small DS games, the other for the larger Advance/Advance SP games. You choose which cart to read from at the start-up screen, which has a calendar, birthday recall, clock and access to the PictoChat and DS software download applications. The PSP pips the DS in the graphical stakes, partly due to the size of the screen, the power of the console, and the delivery, via Sony's proprietary disc. The DS does well in taking the games of the successful N64 (which gave the PS1 more of a run for its money than the Cube did the PS2) and adding the ability to display graphics in 3D via a new engine. Thus, the DS is the Advance SP, but with 3D elements. Nintendo bring all this, plus touch screen, local Wi-Fi multi-player gaming and sub-£30 games for just £120 more than the SP cost at launch- impressive.

Tags: Gaming Nintendo DS Gaming hardware Nintendo

Nintendo DS handheld games console originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Fri, 27 May 2005 11:46:04 +0100

If you haven't delved into video editing software before, Ulead and rival Pinnacle are the forerunners in the hobby market. They lack the editorial advances of the two leading online desktop editing tools, Final Cut Pro and Premier, but bring the domestic user the advanced capture options and some, less advanced, built in effects.
Ulead attempting to take the lead has released version 9 of its software package, but can the new version of their DV cam editing software for PC add new functionality we take a look and find out.

The Ulead package comprises two discs, with a short, straightforward installation process. The second disc contains bonus effects, some new to this version, which we'll discuss later.

For complete amateurs, Ulead essentially combs your DV tape and pulls the digital footage into a file on the desktop software that you can use for linear editing, lay a music track onto and spruce up with some after effects. The end result of an Ulead session can be an authored DVD, with title menu, chapters, visual effects (including flash animation), all tidied up and enhanced for playback. Version 9 is suitable for Windows machines running on 98, 2000, ME and XP.

Why use Ulead to import the footage? Well, to pull information from the source cam for editing, you'll need to search, mark and extract some or all of the footage. Ulead's version 9 software is great, in that it scans DV tapes at up to six times normal speed. Furthermore, much like an offline edit in conjunction with Final Cut, the software can automatically identify and extract scenes (on an offline edit, the editor will pull the time stamped clips from the original tapes, to create a copy of the online edit) without the manual searching and extraction. Once the footage has been turned to file(s) on the desktop, the user is free to mark and unmark scenes, removing content from the file and thus ‘subbing it down' (to use a newspaper term). Technically, this is not editing in the true sense- Final Cut and Premier enable an editor to split and join footage- where as Ulead is not as malleable.

With your source footage on file, a range of after effects are available through the software, many of which are new to version 9. These include masks and overlays, but are a little tacky for professional use, rather like the standard fonts and tricks in Adobe/Macromedia packages. What are worth mentioning are the helpful additions to series 9 that sharpen the quality of footage. A new ‘auto exposure' tool levels out light patches to account for blasts of light where the object was lit from behind. The ‘auto level' tool works in a similar fashion to add in some light in post-production. We found these far more useful than the fitting of slideshows to music, wacky tilts and pans and distortion of existing footage. A useful addition would be some colour level or correction. Adjusting the light is good, but without the colour filtering, limited.

Tags: Software PC software Video editing software Ulead Cameras Video And Editing

Ulead v9 Video Editing Software - PC originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Tue, 17 May 2005 10:44:47 +0100

Combination DVD and VHS players may seem a little 1980s, but don't let the yuppie passion for questionable combination products dissuade you entirely. Sure, when one half claps out, you might be left wishing you had separate units, but find a well made combo and you're onto a good thing.

Reasons to be cheerful; simplicity, space saving and one less remote control, to name but a few. Be wary though, the thought of turning your old original VHS to DVD, or storing rental copies to your hard drive and burning your own discs may ring up pound signs in your eyes, but not only is it illegal, it isn't possible with this kind of unit either.

Including a hard drive (HDD) in any AV product seems to be a natural progression. While Sky+ is the obvious example, other devices benefit heavily from that onboard storage and the promise of editing, without a string of devices or a desktop computer.

Sadly, DVD burners and VHS/DVD combo units seem unable to live up to customer expectations. Perhaps this is due in part to the piracy laws, but no doubt more to the abundance of cracking software available for computers and the appearance of affordable DVD-RW units for desktops, long before an affordable under TV solution hit the market.

The good news is that the DR-MV1S makes non-copyrighted material easy to dub from DVD to VHS, or vice versa. Almost any non-encrypted material can be burnt to either format, as anyone with a CD or DVD writer can accomplish via his or her PC.

The 160 GB HDD will store between 36 and 214 hours of footage. There are four different modes, ranging between 1.6 and 10 Mbps. The live memory and twin tuners make simultaneous recording and viewing possible across channels.

While testing this unit, we ran some nice tape-to-tape recordings. Recording full length pieces from the DVD to VHS, or vice versa worked well too. The big downside is the usability outside dubbing full-length programs. There seems to be serious problem with the DVD authoring- each pause and change of VHS tape makes the DVD reset to the start of the disc, thus making a montage or compendium from VHS or DV cam is impossible, unless you connect another DVD or VHS into the JVC- thus rendering the combination pointless.

This is a shame, as there are lots of measures taken to aid the dubbing process, from progressive scan, freezeless editing, x 32 high speed dubbing and playlist based dubbing. Dubbing is a 3 stage process; a Time Base Corrector removes any jitter from the incoming analogue signal. The Frame Synchroniser corrects and crossover or deviant frames and the finally the MANRS process that employs selective noise reduction and looks at the algorithms of the moving pixels. All terribly complicated, but automatic.

Tags: Home Cinema DVD JVC

JVC DR-MX1SEK Combi originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Tue, 10 May 2005 00:00:25 +0100

Although still awaiting release in the UK, eager gamers are snapping up imported versions of the console from America and Japan. We give a Japanese version of the handheld console a first look.

The value pack we tested came with PSP, case, headphones, strap, USB charge lead, 32Mb card, mains charger with UK adaptor and a game of your choice. We opted for Ridge Racer and are glad we did.

There is no shortage of PSP links on the web, Ebay in particular, but be careful as many maybe fake, incur huge shipping charges or simply whizz you round an eternal hole of affiliate websites.

Dubious about buying a Japanese unit? First thing to say is that the manual for the PSP does not carry any instructions in English. Not a huge problem as it is fairly self-explanatory. The same controls and game style are carried over from the PS2, save for the select/cancel functionality swapping over, so ‘X’ and ‘O’ change roles (we understand that this will be different in the UK version). To allay your fears, all the menus on the unit are in English.

Well, the PSP really is a black beauty. Check out the pics for more detail. One particular favourite are the clear shoulder buttons. The PSP oozes class in style and shape alone, far surpassing the rather plasticy and cheap Nintendo DS. Below the D-pad is a really clever analogue stick, more like the cursor controller you’d find set into the keyboard on a laptop. Touch sensitive and ideal for games that require gentle adjustments.

Battery life was ok. From a full charge, we clocked just over 3 1/2 hours of use however this didn’t include using the wi-fi connection and the screen brightness and volume were both set very low. If you are using the speakers, this may shorten the battery life, but to be fair, with 3 hours battery life you’d need a long commute to work to drain this right down.

Sony has opted for an interesting format for games and movies and yet another format has been created. This time it’s the 1.8" optical ‘Universal Media Disc’ (UMD). It looks like a mini-cd, enclosed in a plastic case, a lot like an MD, but it holds up to 1.8GB per disc.

The UMDs top loads into a slot that ejects like an audio cassette or MiniDisc deck. The 32 MB memory card can be upgraded to a 1GB, worth doing as it will hold not just saved game progress, but all content you transfer from PC to your PSP.

Playing we found the screen perfect for Ridge Racer and because of the widescreen aspect very well suited to movies too. The 4.3 inch widescreen takes up almost the whole face.

You can convert any Mpeg-2 format DVD files to Mpeg-4 on your PC and move them across as long as you have a MemoryStick to match. We had a 100% success rate and its as easy as using a Portable Media Player- in effect, that’s what this device is, but with the most incredible games engine to boot.

The photo viewer seemed to struggle with any format type other than J-peg however while the music player accepts standard MP3 files, so no problem there. Sound is nice and crisp through speakers (two on the bottom edge) or the headphones (which the girlfriend insists are worn at all times)

Internet wise, Sony still has some catching up to do. The unit comes pre-loaded with an 11Mb per second IEEE 802.11b WiFi set up. This will allow multi-player wireless gameplay between PSPs.

Unfortunately, as this was an import we were unable to test this function out - a case of not yet knowing anyone else with a PSP.

Tags: Gaming PSP Gaming hardware Sony

Sony PSP handheld console - First Look originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Fri, 06 May 2005 00:00:01 +0100

Possibly the most interesting product so far from peripheral lead kings AverMedia, this nifty box will slip inside a cigarette box, yet has the power to pluck digital terrestrial TV from the air and display it on your Windows driven desktop or laptop PC.

Since the collapse of OnDigital, the number of TV owners making best use of free-to-air digital TV channels has surged, fuelling the initial drive to push users away from standard terrestrial telly. Depending on your antenna arrangements, the location of your house, and the position of the TV within it, (and any cars with pre-1986 engines driving by), you will either love this or hate it. Sure, the platform is narrow and the box needs a rather long list of system requirements, from Pentium 3 (for basic viewing), Pentium 4 (for time shift and MPEG2 recording) as well as Direct X support and an AC-97 compatible sound card, but at least it stretches beyond the confines of XP, although only to Win 2000.

Setup is easy, providing you have good signal strength even with the included equipment. If not, scanning for channels is a real pain, and if you cannot find a particular band (mux), you will be missing all the channels in that cluster. Providing you can find a channel, the time taken from driver installation to blissful viewing is less than 10 minutes. If you need it, there's an extra USB cable to plug in.

This beast requires raw power- a split USB cable even via USB 2.0! The USB cable does save the need for batteries or cables. Once powered up, an advanced PC will deliver full screen picture, with crisp sound. The DVB-T delivers the full functionality one would expect from a set top box- blue light, remote control, on screen 7-day programme guide and even all those digital radio stations. Because this box supports HDTV, an HD ready TV, notebook or monitor will deliver a very high quality picture.

The most advanced features of a set top box are here too. Timer recording is as with a video- you can even programme the box, then put the PC in sleep and still capture the broadcast. Recorded MPEG2 is smoothly played back from the HD, and live broadcast recorded/ paused, as with Tivo, Sky Plus. Be aware, you will need at least 256Mb RAM for this- twice the requirement for standard viewing. However since 1GB RAM is now the standard for the most demanding games, we'd expect the majority to have at least 512MB anyway.

Tags: Hardware TV tuners AverMedia CeBIT2005 Bluetooth

AverMedia DVB-T USB 2.0 originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Tue, 29 Mar 2005 06:40:05 +0100

JVC, having produced one of the first ever mini consumer DV cameras, may have become a relative stranger to the DV camcorder market but is hoping that its new model the JVC GRPD1EK will put it back in the frame.

Pitched between the domestic and professional market, the GR-PD1 looks and feels like a broadcast DV camera, but is light, quick to use and a lot cheaper than a Sony PD150/170 or Canon XL1. The GR-PD1 is more advanced than the standard domestic camcorder, and by a long chalk. This is a full progressive video camera, with a hybrid complementary primary filter, high definition optically stabilised zoom lens. The included software from JVC enables non-linear editing and DVD authoring. Buy this if you want to make 16:9 widescreen DVD movies, without transferring DV footage to film. It takes photos and acts as a web camera too.

The GR-PD1 records in MPEG2 to Mini DV, keeping the overall camera size to a minimum. Decked out in silver and black, it looks the part. A strong top handle makes one handed operation a breeze- its great for sweeping shots at hip level, and light enough to hold at odd angles- just 525g. JVC have clearly spent time and money on usability studies here.

Apart from a battery stuck on the back of the camera like an afterthought, the design is intuitive. A groundbreaking rotating handle allows the right handle and console to pitch 90 degrees for filming at odd angles. The button cluster moves with it, keeping recording/zoom and mode options buttons within easy reach. It also makes using the viewfinder a lot easier during extended periods.

The 3.5in LCD panel boats a 200k pixel resolution, with tilt and swivel and the 0.44in viewfinder 113k pixels, both in colour. The viewfinder is hampered a little by the battery, but the rotating grip, with easy access to the main controls, helps overcome this. The physical task of shooting with this camera is comfortable and above all, practical.

When not is use, the viewfinder slots itself into the camera rather neatly. A wide range of video recording and image adjustment keys are tucked in behind the LCD screen, together with a four-pin FireWire socket and serial component connector sockets. Strangely, the microphone is located on the middle top of the camera, pointing up, rather than on the front of the camera, pointing towards the subject. There is a mount at the front of the handle for an external microphone- a must- the on board microphone is hopeless. The handle also is removable, with option to hot shoe light or microphone in direct.

Transfer is easy, with full DV in and out ports, but there are a few gripes with the software. We couldn't get the captured footage out and into Final Cut and the JVC software is all new to us. The easy answer was to pop the DV tape into a back up camera and edit from there. Unfortunately, that defeats the object. Also, there is no streaming possible outside MS Windows.

The capture options are more advanced than a standard point-and-shoot, an adjustable 25 or 50 frames per second. This high quality consecutive capture ensures sharpness and a more impressive frame. What is more, the 1.18 megapixel chip offers three recording modes, at up to a max of 1280 x 659 pixels, supposedly with 16:9 ratio widescreen shooting. This is a key issue in the specs and worth fully investigating.

The camera is pitched as the best tool for producing DVD, with progressive scan and Hi resolution capture. Yet all this comes from a device with only one chip- (most of the competition is decked out with 3 CCD chips, such as the Sony TRV950). The colour definition in hi-res mode is excellent, far better than standard 16:9, and the progressive scan helps sharpen the overall image.

Indeed, the pixel count in the high-resolution mini DV is double that of standard DV shot in 16:9. The other two capture options are standard size 4:3 DV footage, which is fine, digital stills, and MPEG-1 recordings. Both these are adequately executed, but the strength of this camera-and the justification for the extra layout- are the widescreen and progressive scan options. Still images are captured to an extremely high standard, but we could only squeeze 8 jpegs onto the memory card. Still, nice to get a free MMC, even if it is only 8 MB. There are two modes for stills capture, standard and advanced, with resolution up to 800K.

Tags: Cameras Video And Editing Camcorders JVC Digital cameras

JVC GRPD1EK Mini DV Cam originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Mon, 28 Mar 2005 12:52:57 +0100

The STIKAX is a handheld device for mixing sound and images on a PC. One part hardware, one part software, the STIKAX package comprises a handheld device, desktop software and a sample loop CD. The aim of the product is to allow individual and groups of users to mix and share audio and video, edit and play it back, without using the keyboard. There are a number of interesting uses here. As with more traditional (and more technical, such as Cubase, Final Cut) editing programs, the user can drag, drop, clip and merge sound and image files via the see as it plays desktop software. The sample CD contains a range of styles, each loop being cleared for commercial use, but thanks to an intuitive file access interface, any files loaded to your PC can be pulled into the software. This includes any digital sound files captured via a USB mic or other source, although there is no capture source included in the pack.

The inclusion of the handset gives a software program a physical presence and aims to draw in the more tactile groovers out there, adding an element of desktop and CD mixing into the pot. With 8 buttons and some scroll controls on the handset, one can mix samples together freestyle, as with the sample pads on a professional sampling unit, such as the ever popular Akai MPC (for those less familiar with sound equipment, hip hop impresario Dr Dre produces most of his work with one of these all-in-one boxes), rather than creating a new sound via hardware such as the Roland series of synth/sample units. As well as freeing up the keyboard and appealing to the fingers, the long leaded handset can also aid performers mixing skits live, or running a video mix in conjunction with live music.

Just how easy is it to mix and create? Any budding Nathan Barley types out there will no doubt embrace the ergonomic handset, but if you have experience with editing software, you may find this a little staid. After all, learning the whys and wherefores of a new program relies on some reading, idea exchange and some trial and error. I found the handset merely added to the problem.

On the other hand, the software has been well put together. With five channels, its easy to layer a track together and although the included sample CD lacks the kudos of a ripped sample, there is no reason why the STIKAX shouldn't take your bedroom output all the way to the record
label's offices.

From a technical perspective, the platform is rather limited- you'll need Microsoft XP to run both the device (plug and play), and the software. Plus the device uses an LED light beam to trigger activity on the desktop, so if you have shoe horned XP onto an old machine, you may hit a few snags. Also, make sure you have a Pentium 4 with minimum 1.3GHz and 256Mb Ram.

From a marketing perspective, it's interesting to see how the brand association of Ministry of Sound is being used to push the technology of the creator, Interactive Ideas. In reverse, the use of associated ephemera to push the long running (and perhaps a little tired) south London nightclub and its well established publishing empire is a sign of the commercialisation of a once underground youth culture and node of production.

Tags: Audio MP3 players Stikax

Ministry of Sound STIKAX originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Wed, 16 Mar 2005 06:08:41 +0000

Unless you have delved into anime (or manga- as it is colloquially known, thanks to its most successful distributor to the UK), you may never have heard of Astro Boy, Ultraman or Akira. These fundamental successes have influenced comics, movies and pop-culture for generations. The Astro Boy story follows the popular futurist sci-fi theme of a robot replacement for human loss. As with Fritz Laing's Metropolis, its anime successor by the same name, and later Spielberg's controversial AI, the hero is a robotic replacement for a lost son, the only child of a well-meaning professor- his boy lost to him in a car crash. The professor creates a robot in his son's image, but something superhuman and super moral, as a response to the unjust world that took his son so early in life.

What drew an audience of all ages to Astro Boy in Japan, (perhaps less so in the west, although he has his imitations), was the mix of superhuman technology (flying boots, cannon arm) and the superhuman morality. Astro Boy was born with a pure soul, free from selfish thought, keeping him focused on the righteous mission that lay ahead. Back in 1951, when Tezuka's character made his debut, the date of Astro's birth, April 7 2003, was considered the distant future and no doubt a 3D action game a distant reality. How well then, does the world of Astro Boy transfer to the PS2, and how does the game impact on an audience new to this loveable robot boy?

Graphically, the game looks great. A faithful recreation of Metro City provides a linear playing area for the game's narrative- find the clue, complete the level by walking round the (often tiny) playing area and take to the skies for an impressive flying battle with the end of level boss. In addition to Metro City, play unfolds from Astro's home and the scenery changes from time to time; yet the proffered ten levels seem to be short on depth and the gameplay stifled.

The introduction of Astro's seven abilities is staggered over the 10 levels and complemented by the introduction of new characters- Zoran, Dr O'Shay, Atlas- if these hold a special place with you. The abilities are more interesting as these dominate the end battles; 1,000,000-horsepower Strength, X-Ray Vision, Ray Vision, Supersonic Hearing, the Power to Analyse, against the likes of Acheron and the Blue Knight.

Although there are 50 cards to collect, the game is so pre-determined, its hard to wander round Astro's world and get in deep- certainly this is no Zelda. Nonetheless, collecting the cards fill in some blanks regarding the story and its history, as well as adding an extra feather in the cap for a game that frankly, is all to easy for adults to complete.

In its defence, the character to environment interaction is good, both in the walking based stage play and end of level boss battles. The Havok2 physics engine, used in recent PC and Xbox titles, (Half-Life 2, Max Payne 2) serves the game well, aside from a few moments of dodgy camera angles.

The game is slick- it's the first time Japanese developers have used Havok2, and they use it well. The graphics and sound are great, taken direct from the animated series. Bold primary colours and crisp 3D rendering of Astro, his colleagues and the villains are sure to please young and old, although the difficult controls do not sit well with the straightforward approach to levels and the short-lived duration of the game as a whole. The flying elements require dual stick control, something frustratingly difficult to master, and once you get to grips with lasting the bosses from the air, expect to romp home, completing the game in approximately 5 hours.

Tags: Gaming PS2 Sega

Astro Boy - PS2 originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Fri, 11 Mar 2005 06:47:57 +0000

First thing to say is these are large! The packaging is 10.5 x 10.5 x 115.5cm in size, and the saber is approximately 110 cm in length. These Jedi weapons are heavy too- the hilt is made from solid metal and then packed with batteries.

From a series including Vader, Luke, Mace Windu and Anakin, the units we have on test are the Empire Strikes Back versions, as used in the ‘I am your father’ duel in Cloud City. Luke and Vader’s sabers are noticeably different, not just by the colour of the blade, but also in the faithfully represented details on the hilt. Vader’s features an extra finger guard near the top of the hilt; Luke’s the clip he uses to hang his saber from his Tatooine utility belt.

As well as being extremely faithful (and officially licensed) replicas in look, the weight (even without batteries) lends these light sabers an incredible feel. Unlike the Toys R Us equivalent, released a few years back, these are anything but plastic in look and feel (in fact it even says - this is not a toy on the box). While the latter featured semi-retracting blades, these remain in fixed position. This is the only fault we can find with these beauties and all that separates them from the real (unreal) thing! If I had to use a mock saber while filming (as the legend has it, the lights of the sabers were added in post production), they’d use these.

Unfortunately, the feel of an ancient Jedi weapon comes at a price (approx £99, or £189 for the pair of Luke & Vader), not just in initial costs, but also in batteries. In defence of Luke and Darth’s home made devices, (for that is the last hurdle in the Jedi accreditation), we used our review models incessantly, with no sign of battery depletion.

With the 6 x AA batteries inserted, the force flows out like the hyper drive of the Millennium Falcon. There are a range of sounds from turn on/turn off, idle, blade swing and that awesome clatter as the blade strikes another object. The heavy hilt is offset by a durable polycarbonate blade, with a little bit of give to allow for a few crushing blows, be it at Mos Eisley, your house, or in the office.

Built into the metal hilts are pre-programmed on-board multi-channel sound chips with digital sound effects taken from the movie. Although the sound chips are well housed, please bear in mind these replicas should be used responsibly- don’t poke at an angry Wookie, or leave with kids unattended.

Tags: Gadgets Toys IWOOT second life Star Wars

Force FX Star Wars Lightsabers originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Wed, 23 Feb 2005 06:41:53 +0000

Handfree doesn’t have to mean wearing one of those silly headsets. We look at Motorola’s answer to the problem - a Bluetooth wireless speaker. The bundle includes the speaker, lanyard, car charger and neoprene open fronted case, with clip. The unit features a grippy rubberised underside and shiny top. In keeping with Motorola’s range of headsets there is no display other than a flashing blue button.

A standard dial adjusts volume. Muting can be done with one button and all other operations via the other (see images). This can be confusing at times and a little like learning Morse code. There is a Motorola logo front and centre with a handy indicator and for those wanting a private conversation the addition to plug in the included earpiece. We recommend avoiding the non-hands free elements, especially while driving as it’s now UK law, so you might as well know how to use it without risking a fine.

The HF800 has a 10-metre connectivity range via Bluetooth 1.1, more than enough for car and office use. The one-watt speaker uses echo and noise reduction technology, but is at best a louder rendition of the built in speakerphones on our test phones.

Motorola users will benefit most, as this uses standard Motorola charger connection. There is a cigarette lighter charger included, but no mains plug in, leaving non- Motorola users at a disadvantage or the need to own a car.

During testing, a Motorola v500 faired as well as, but not noticeably better than, a Nokia 7610. Sound quality is no better than one would expect from the handset itself, but there are obvious advantages over a built in loudspeaker.

With a range of attachments, including a lanyard and rubberised cover with clip this is clearly aimed at drivers. We found the offside flip down sun visor in our Z4 the best place [you wish… - Ed]. As there is no fixed mounting, the speaker can slide and lurch around the dash when loose. However, even in a quiet office, callers reported a dull noise in the background on calls to both phones. While the sound of the engine covered the background noise generated by the speaker, the absence of a mains charger made the office life span short lived.

The HF800 also connects with PDAs and Pcs, although we can’t see much call for it, if you’ll pardon the pun.

Tags: Phones Phone accessories Headsets Motorola Bluetooth

Motorola HF800 Bluetooth Speaker originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Thu, 10 Feb 2005 06:56:26 +0000

Thanks to the ever popular direct sale policies of the likes of Apple, Dell and Tiny, buying online these days is easy, with a range of power and drive options available across the various screen (machine) sizes. Spotting the difference between models is not however.

All buyers receive a standard shell, but with the relevant hardware plugged in. Shoppers erring on the cheaper side will find some slots (like the card reader) empty, but the quality of finish and layout is pretty much standard across the board. Tough? Yes. Slim and lightweight? No. This is a twin-fanned beast weighing in at 3.6Kg - that’s four bags of sugar this is one heavy beast.

Undoubtedly made to order models offer a good saving (Tiny's range starting at sub £500, with DVD player and CDR/W drive), with a staggered range of laptops featuring ramped up hard drive, disc drive and processor options.

Of course there are hidden software costs. The XP installation is pre-loaded and aside from the recovery CD, programs are scant. I would expect more than a 60-day trial copy of Microsoft Works at the price. No wonder the bootleg software market is what it is today. Microsoft Works Version 7 seems terribly scant and the Cyberlink PowerDVD Software Suite is functional for movie playback but seems a little lonely in the extras department. At least the raw cost allows best buys, without the added peripherals, normally of an average quality and used as marketing filler to drive sales.

What remains is just the NB 64-3700+ E01315 as the proposition, although judging by the markings on the box or the laptop it could be any model as there seems to be no physical model number branding on the notebooks in Tiny's off the shelf range.

The home and power ranges look very similar externally, which is probably a good sign of build quality.

Here is what we know about our review model. Pre-loaded with Windows XP home 2002, this one comes with an update for the XP SP1 to bring it up to 2004 standard. Having to update is an added source of confusion for the less experienced user and a worry for those used to battling with Microsoft's patch solutions. The whole series come with an Athlon AMD Mobile Processor - this model came with a AMD Athlon Mobile 64 3400+ Processor, but our 'Power' laptop version has the beefed up 80GB Hard Disk, compared to the standard 40 GB on the £500 'Home' user model.

Packing 1024 MB, DDR RAM (2x 512MB), and our DVD rewritable 'ultra speed' drive seems a sensible ad on for memory transfer and back up purposes. Despite being in the 'Power' range, we have only three USB2.0 slots on this one, although even the budget option from the 'Home' range on website has four.

Male users worried about overheating should be glad to hear that this range comes with twin fans, keeping you cool where it counts. Unfortunately, the fans aren’t evenly distributed, causing an unusual sensation in one thigh. The layout is comfortable to use- plenty of room around the foot of the keyboard, a good size touchpad and four accompanying buttons. The on/off and accompanying hotkeys are neat and compact, with a discreet set of lights on the left rim of the bottom piece. Shame about the open slots for memory card, USB, TV out, modem etc. Not only a harbour for dust, it spoils the line of the design. It is not ugly, but it is simple. As it is heavy too, it is more comfortable as a desk replacement than something anyone would want to lug around the world. The weight pays dividends when typing though. The keyboard feels sturdy, as does the area below that provides a comfortable resting spot for the wrists.

Tags: Hardware Laptops Tiny Intel

Tiny NB 64-3700+ E01315 laptop originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Wed, 09 Feb 2005 10:22:04 +0000

The IFP-990 is a 256Mb flash player and the most compact colour-screened player I've seen to date, weighing in at just 62g (w 64mm x l 51 mm x d 20mm) and roughly the length of an AA battery it’s small and compact, but does iriver’s IFP-900 live up to the phrase - nice things come in small packages? We take a look to find out.

The 900s are based on the successful iFP-500 series. The magnesium alloy really keeps the weight down. It’s light, handy, strong, and shiny. The brushed-metal look reinforces the wow factor of this mini-marvel, with nice touches such as the spring flip open USB cover, 5 way directional stick and headphones by Sennheiser.

Inno provides overall design, but it's the 1.2in LTPS (Low Temperature Poly Silicon) screen with 260k colours that really blows away the monochrome competition. Optimum battery usage gives max 40 hours, but screen use brings that down to a still impressive 30 hours.

The internal workings mimic the same sensible approach as the exterior. Quickly pressing the navi button once brings up the file tree menu (see image). Cue, skip and volume controlled with one touch. A full settings menu for display and EQ adjustments is accessed by pressing and holding the navi button. With mode selections for MP3 Playback, FM Radio, Voice and Line-in operation is via one of four touch sensitive buttons on the bottom edge of the player, reminiscent of Walkman buttons in those heady days of the 80s.

The FM Tuner is up to scratch, with nameable station presets, using the file manager software and standard direct recording to the flash memory. Thanks to an internal clock, the IFP-990 can be programmed to timer record from the radio. All recording is to MP3, be it voice, line in or direct from tuner.

Ever thought of saving to do lists as text files on your MP3 player? Well now, you can. It seems a bit of a do it because you can element, but nonetheless, with a picture viewer, and an alarm and timer record, iriver are steering towards a lifestyle device and mopping up that basic mobile phone life planning functionality at the same time.

While the picture viewer only displays bitmap images, it lends a degree of personalisation. One can assign a name to the device, and save an image to the desktop.

Tags: Audio MP3 players iRiver

iriver IFP-990 MP3 player originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Tue, 08 Feb 2005 14:07:53 +0000

What should you be looking for in the latest Bluetooth headset? We look at the Zen, a headset that hopes size doesn't matter, but will it by the time we're done with our tests?

The first thing you'll notice with the Zen is the large ear clip will draw unwarranted attention, as does the flashing single pale blue LED on the outside face of the headset. Despite these attention-seeking elements, the overall performance is good; its just it would have been nicer if the package was slightly smaller.

The body of the microphone hooks over the top of the ear, while an earpiece on an adjustable rubberized arm connects to the ear, via a clear rubber tip. The arm flips, giving the option to wear on either ear, but unless you have one big one (an ear that is), it's still hard to wear in comfort.

The tip itself is soft and friendly, and there are some replacements included, but the loose fitting ear clip does cause volume loss. Unless the tip is firmly driven into the ear, a great deal of the sound disappears into the ether and if you plan to wear this for sports, walking, or with sunglasses or spectacles, our advice would be to try before you buy.

The Zen performs far better on sound quality. The Canadian team behind Gennum's FrontWave technology have mastered the noise cancelling elements. There is little static interference to speak of, perhaps as the microphone is located behind the ear, in the main body of the device. The built in mic manages to increase the volume with very little distortion no matter what the environment.

The noise cancelling technology, what Gennum dub “Local Environment Audio Processing” (L-E-A-P), can also be use to increase direct conversation, without the phone. It filters the background noise, acting as an amplifier for local sound. A little odd perhaps, but could be handy for the hard of hearing in busy situations. Be aware that the feedback is worst when using this local microphone feature.

Battery life too is good. The lithium polymer battery gives six hours of talk time and over 50 hours of standby time. The charger plugs into a small jack on the headset, and comes with a series of adapters- handy for those on the international circuit.

The headset has simple controls-an on/off switch, call answer/mute button, and a volume control dial. There's also a button to control the level of noise reduction applied to the audio signal from the microphone. The voice dialling features on our two test phones, a Motorola V500 and a Nokia 7610, were both supported with this headset and installation was easy on both.

Tags: Phones Phone accessories Headsets Gennum Bluetooth

Zen Gennum Bluetooth headset originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Thu, 03 Feb 2005 06:18:54 +0000

Should you opt for a separate DVD player over a laptop? We got the LG DP8821 into the office to see if the portable DVD player still has a place in our gadget bag.

This 7in TFT portable DVD from LG looks, feels and sounds good. The exterior is topped with a lined, rubberised coating, giving a safe, grippy feel to the lid. The white rubber and the contoured battery nicely complement the silver finish. In short, you can see where the money has gone.

As the power source is always bulky on portables, the detachable battery shouldn't cause any surprises, but if you are new to portable DVD, expect a bulky clip-on battery to be the general standard. On average, the battery on the DP8821 is compact. Plus, by tilting the battery 45 degrees and texturising with some white sections, the battery looks smaller and minimises protrusion from the rear of the unit. With the battery removed, the player is aesthetically square and a lot lighter. Expect 3 hours DVD from a fully charged battery, so skip the quiet bits of Lord Of The Rings and almost any film should last as long as the power.

Pull open the lid and you'll feel the hidden fastening release. No need for a slider catch on the exterior here, adding to the smooth contours. The controls are split around the disc housing. Below the screen on the inside lid and on the front of the bottom piece, to be accessible when the device is shut. We are not sure what LG are thinking here. Unfortunately, those front buttons (skip/search/play/volume) are not backlight and a new viewer would be lost in the dark, with the light from the screen failing to reach these recesses. Presumably, these buttons are designed to allow sound-only use, with the lid shut. If so, it's a shame the one speaker is set under the screen and thus muffled with the lid closed.

Sound and picture quality score highly here. The 7in TFT is at the top of the lid, with thin frames and the 2channel speakers are discretely placed underneath. There is room for adjustment in picture, via optional colour and brightness control, subtitles, multi angle feature and graphic equaliser settings all controlled via an intuitive on screen display. Searching is slick with a 1000x high speed scan. It's a pleasure to use.

Tags: Home Cinema DVD LG

LG DP8821 7in Portable DVD Player originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Tue, 25 Jan 2005 06:24:27 +0000

The Logitech IO pen enables the user to write in ink on special paper, then pass information to a miniature camera attached to a pen. The pack comprises the pen, a well designed ergonomic desktop cradle, two electronic paper pads and MyScript Notes software to convert your handwritten words, shapes, tables, and charts into editable text and objects. The Write Sync technology allows direct transfer to Lotus Notes, Outlook, AOL, Hotmail and other email, calendar and word processing packages. Images and drawings can also be transferred in .bmp, .jpeg, .png, .tiff and .emf files.

First problem here is that the paper used has too few dots or points of reference and too often fails to identify. The paper selection includes standard notebooks, legal notepads, and Post-it notes, manufactured by widely recognized brands as 3M, Cambridge and Franklin Covey. Replacements need to be purchased and while there are various types (Filofax, post it note, notebook), each are infuriating to use. Essentially the paper formats the documents via tick boxes to denote format, page breaks and so forth. Putting pen to paper is the first hurdle.

The transfer of data is key when assessing a device of this type- it's simply easier with a PDA when the user can see the predicted text. While the pen can write on normal paper, the object is somewhat lost. The pen, while a lot thinner than the first version, is still rather bulky and lacks battery power and memory. It is odd that the device can store 40 pages of memory, but the battery won't last this long enough to write it. We found in tests that the battery peters out at about 25 electronic pages of handwritten text.

Each time a stored document is downloaded to the computer, the name attributed to the notebook file is assigned to a new .pen file. That is, if the ICR was working as you hammered out the capital letters on the notebook. Be prepared for blank, odd, or extremely long filenames; followed by some odd transposing of letters.

The .pen files are user friendly enough. As well as reading the text, the user can toy with fonts and convert to email, calendar and word files. You can convert the written text to Microsoft onenote 2003, Word XP 2003, MS Windows tablet PC Journal software. You'll also be able to convert to email for a whole host including, AOL mail, Eudora mail, Lotus Notes, Hotmail and Netscape, but check to see the detail.

Despite the range of software supported, you'll need Win 2000 or XP to use this device. There is nothing here for Mac users and no attempts made to widen the compatibility of the product. Considering the other options out there from digital voice recorders to Bluetooth, the IO2 seems to aim at a narrow margin. Thankfully, unlike the previous model, the IO2 has a USB charger, which should help to make the pen more user friendly and a great deal more portable.

Tags: Hardware Mice And Keyboards Logitech Dad USB gadgets

Logitech IO2 Digital Pen originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Wed, 19 Jan 2005 11:09:17 +0000

How the mighty have fallen. Once the choice of the caravanning community and the housebound, board games ruled the roost come holidays, Christmas or a rainy afternoon. However with the advent of the PC and then the console you're more likely to find kids up and down the country playing the latest incarnation of Need for Speed rather than Risk or Monopoly.

One company perhaps seeing the death of the board game, or maybe even the chance to educate the young on how we used to entertain ourselves, has released a collection of classic board games for the PlayStation2.

You can choose Snakes and Ladders, Dominoes, Battleships, Ludo and Dice for your £10. The graphics are nothing more than ordinary, but stand up to the job and are given a 3D feel.

As the target audience is at the youngest end of the demographic (4-8 years), the cutesy house and home location frames are a good idea, but poorly executed, such as the Battleships game set in the bathtub- reminiscent of the Micro Machines games of old.

The bad news is that the games are disappointing. Sure, they always were a little dull, but Snakes and Ladders just doesn't suit a computer game format. This is probably the worst of the pack, with atrocious camera angles complicating a simplistic format.
Dominoes, likewise, looks cutesy, but the markings on the backs of ladybird pieces are almost impossible to see clearly. The point of Dominoes here seems to be to look long and hard at ugly sprites and then count them.

Battleships is closer to the spirit of the original, but the fundamental flaw is that you don't receive a notification of sinking a ship. Perhaps the worst oversight in the entire package. The result is a mindless square-by-square bombing of the playing area, until you know each and every spot has been shelled. Oh dear. Ludo is the best of the bunch, with as close to the original concept as any of the games you'll find here.

The dice game seems to work well, graphics are clear, but it's too boring to sustain any attention. The benefit for Dad's out there is it's probably the most suitable of the selection for some impromptu gambling with chums. For the young ones, it should help with basic arithmetic.

Tags: Gaming PS2 Puzzle games Sony

Junior board games - PS2 originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Fri, 14 Jan 2005 07:57:30 +0000

Do we really want to be carrying around a PDA and a mobile phone? Of course not. We want a device that can be all singing and all dancing, all the time. For most, this means the Blackberry or the PalmOne Treo 600, however T-Mobile, not wanting its customers to lose out, has launched the MDA III.

The third in the series, the phone updates a number of elements missing from previous versions, as well as adopting RIM's push email technology to keep you informed with emails when out and about.

Aside from the option of using RIM's push email service, this Tri-Band PDA phone aims at the same office market as the O2's XDA, but boats a slide out full Qwerty keyboard. For PDA traditionalists there's a stylus as well and text entry options supported by the Windows OS.

Like the XDA, the MDA III supports all the usual connection options including WiFi, GPRS, GSM and Bluetooth capabilities.

Any users of PDAs such as the HP iPaq or Dell's Axim Series will be familiar with the MS Pocket software. Its easy to use and the calendar, Outlook, Word and Excel software easily talks to your desktop Microsoft PC via the included ActiveSync software. The slide down, almost touch sensitive keyboard remains hidden, but is ideal for SMS and email on the move.

Making calls is easy, via a graphical keypad represented on screen, easy to use with fingers or the side-mounted stylus however our suggestion is to use the included in-ear headset rather than putting the unit up to your head every time.

The handset feels comfortable, with a more complex button layout than the original MDA. The bottom of the unit is squared off, to house the keyboard, but the antenna is now internal, saving pocket space and improving the overall look.

Below the screen are four programmable keys, with call buttons and a navi key below. The right side of the unit has hotkeys for in-built digital camera, voice recorder and a volume slide control.

The block recogniser, freehand recogniser and on-screen keyboard mean there are almost too many ways to enter data. Oh, and don't forget the voice dialling too.
The main difference between the PDA MS Pocket software and the version used here is the Pocket Phone edition- this features added connectivity options, such as hyperlinks and pulling caller details from the phone book. While there is no card included, there is a slot for an MCC card.

Its worth mentioning here that the MDA3 is an ‘always on' device, so the charging dock is essential. Unfortunately, the charging cable plugs only to the dock, not the phone itself and this means you can't take the charger alone, without the dock. Expect 3-4 hours max talktime, 15 hours PDA time, 168 hours standby and 72 hours data retention time. A back up battery is in place for emergency and battery removal.

Tags: Phones Mobile phones Mobile phones T-Mobile Bluetooth

T-Mobile MDA III originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Thu, 06 Jan 2005 07:32:54 +0000

The main problem with gaming wheels is finding a solid surface to stick them on. With all the thrills and spills, yanking the whole unit into the air is often a problem.
While the suction cups offer one solution, it doesn't work as well as a clamp system. In an attempt to combat this problem, Logitech offers another solution: extendable wings for laptop use.

It may sound like a feminine hygene addition, but it works pretty well and we are surprised it's missed out the design additive on previous models.

The wheel is 10” in diameter, comprising an 8 way directional pad and 12 buttons. 2 wheel mounted paddle buttons act as gear shifters, or as R1 and R2 (shoulder) buttons. Two vibration motors are built into the wheel for realistic feedback.

A light on the unit shows the mode- you can switch between analogue and digital modes- and the sensitivity level, when manually adjusting the degree of sensitivity in the wheel.

The pedals have a nice rubberised texture, preventing slip and adding to the whole racing car feeling. Both units plug into the single controller port, for simple use and installation.

Tags: Gaming PS2 Gaming hardware Logitech

Logitech Rally Vibration Feedback Wheel and pedals for PS2 originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Wed, 05 Jan 2005 08:15:50 +0000