Rob Kerr News Archive 
Reviews from Rob Kerr
-
A quick guide to Nvidia ION
What, why, who, how explained 29 June 2009 13:52 GMTWhat is it?
It is the coupling of the Nvidia GeForce 9400M graphics card with an Intel Atom processor, into one computer that brings, for the very first time, built in high definition video playback capabilities to new netbooks and nettops.
This combination... -
A quick guide to iPhone OS 3.0
What, why, who, how explained 18 June 2009 16:35 GMTWhat is it?
It is the long awaited major Apple software update to the iPhone and iPod touch that brings a host of new features and abilities that either haven't been seen, or weren’t available before to the Apple device users.
What are the variations... -
A quick guide to Google Wave
What, why, who, how explained 9 June 2009 16:40 GMTWhat is it?
It is the next possible stage in the evolution of email from Google, which has also been said to be the next biggest thing in an communication and collaboration tool for today and it runs from inside a web browser much like Gmail.... -
A quick guide to Nokia Ovi Store
What, why, who, how explained 1 June 2009 15:46 GMTWhat is it?
Ovi Store is the recently launched online application store from Nokia, containing content for use with their Symbian operating system based handsets.
This is the very latest in a line of online application repositories for a particular mobile... -
A quick guide to Windows 7 RC1
What, why, who, how explained 18 May 2009 14:49 GMTWhat is it?
Windows 7 RC1 is the free for use latest release candidate or beta version of the upcoming Microsoft desktop operating system, due for release later on this year.
This new software has been improved since the first beta edition came out in... -
A quick guide to Google’s 1.5 Cupcake update
What, why, who, how explained 14 May 2009 14:27 GMTWhat is it?
It’s the second version of the Google developed open source operating system for mobile phones. This new version was first seen in the second Android handset from HTC called the Magic, on the Vodafone network in the UK and Verizon in the USA. Soon after... -
A quick guide to Bluetooth 3.0
What, why, who, how explained 6 May 2009 14:07 GMTWhat is it?
It’s the recent release of the new version of the short range wireless technology Bluetooth, which is said to be on the cards to replace the current standard of the popular and widely used protocol for sending data.
The new iteration of the... -
A quick guide to UWB
What, why, who, how explained 28 April 2009 15:53 GMTWhat is it?
Standing for Ultra Wideband, it is a wireless technology used for the transfer of data over short distances in a similar way to Bluetooth. Unlike Bluetooth, the speeds in which the data is transferred can be far superior, with up to 100 times that of current... -
A quick guide to OLED
What, why, who, how explained 22 April 2009 10:18 GMTWhat is it?
Standing for Organic Light Emitting Diode, it's the basis of the next generation of display technology. It's soon to be seen in standard computer screens and domestic TVs and is already here in the likes of mobile phones, digital cameras and PDAs. -
A quick guide to ebook readers
What, why, who, how explained 14 April 2009 14:14 GMTWhat is it?
eBook reader, stands for electronic book reader. These are electronic devices with fairly simple screens for reading eBooks which are effectively just documents in known file formats for the eBook reader, such as pdf, text or other propriety bespoke formats.... -
A quick guide to nettops
What, why, who, how explained 8 April 2009 13:49 GMTWhat is it?
Nettop, stands for the word mishmash of interNET and deskTOP. These can be seen as the lite computer base station equivalent to the desktop computer, just as the netbook is the lite laptop or notebook.
They are traditionally low in power consumption,... -
A quick guide to Wireless USB
What, why, who, how explained 31 March 2009 15:48 GMTWhat is it?
Wireless USB is the next generation of wireless technology for connecting various devices to a computer wirelessly, which could very well be a challenger to Bluetooth in its usefulness and abilities.
Often referred to as WUSB, it’s... -
A quick guide to SATA 6Gbps
What, why, who, how explained 25 March 2009 14:56 GMTWhat is it?
SATA 6Gbps is the next generation of the Serial ATA connectors and its technology, used for connecting up the majority of the computer’s hard disk drives, optical drives and similar devices seen around today.
The new standard was first announced... -
A quick guide to USB 3.0
What, why, who, how explained 18 March 2009 15:23 GMTWhat is it?
USB 3.0 is the next generation of the Universal Serial Bus technology. It was first demonstrated at an Intel developers conference way back in September 2007, where its fast transfer speeds where first shown off to the public. News of this technology has... -
A quick guide to VoIP
What, why, who, how explained 10 March 2009 14:23 GMTWhat is it?
Standing for, Voice Over IP or Voice Over Internet Protocol – to be more specific. Essentially it’s a way of transmitting voice over the Internet to a similar, or an identical item on the receiving end.
This could be software or hardware capable... -
A quick guide to netbooks
What, why, who, how explained 3 March 2009 15:05 GMTWhat is it?
A netbook is a very portable, very lightweight, low cost, low powered and green alternative to a large laptop. The screen size is usually much smaller than its laptop counterpart, the onboard storage is also much smaller and the battery life is usually... -
A quick guide to SSDs
What, why, who, how explained 23 February 2009 17:43 GMTWhat is it?
Standing for solid state drive it's an alternative to the hard disk drives used for storage and is a favourite in the low cost netbooks that are seen around today from the likes of Asus.
SSDs traditionally have the type of onboard technology... -
A quick guide to GPS
What, why, who, how explained 17 February 2009 13:41 GMTWhat is it?
Standing for Global Positioning System, it is a radio based technology that measures the distance from a device with access to GPS onboard such as satellite navigation products (sat nav), then calculates that distance to the satellites in orbit sending... -
A quick guide to HomePlug
What, why, who, how explained 9 February 2009 13:26 GMTWhat is it?
HomePlug or PowerLine, depending on which vendor you speak to, is a technology and series of products that turns your home electrical circuit into a local area network or LAN.
These devices plug into a normal power socket on the wall, whilst... -
A quick guide to Android
What, why, who, how explained 5 February 2009 17:43 GMTWhat is it?
Android isn't an acronym of any sorts, it's the name for an open source operating system for mobile phones that is set to be the next big step in the evolution of the mobile phone platform. It was initially taken on board by Google and developed to the... -
A quick guide to video codecs
What, why, who, how explained 27 January 2009 17:24 GMTWhat is it?
Still standing for, COder / DECoder with the same functionality that we brought to you in last week's "A quick guide to audio codecs". Once again, it's the second part of the word that most people will be more familiar with, as that part is handled by the... -
A quick guide to audio codecs
What, why, who, how explained 20 January 2009 17:27 GMTWhat is it?
Standing for, COder / DECoder, although it's the second part of the word that most people are more familiar with, it's the part an MP3 player, iPod, mobile phone or computer handles whilst playing file-based music.
Without going really technical... -
A quick guide to Wi-Fi
What, why, who, how explained 13 January 2009 16:29 GMTWhat is it?
Standing for, well, nothing really. In the past, people have wrongly associated Wi-Fi with Wireless Fidelity. When in actual fact it's just a trade mark associated with its governing body over standards. The Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance (WECA)... -
A quick guide to mobile broadband
What, why, who, how explained 5 January 2009 10:00 GMTWhat is it?
Mobile broadband is a generic term used to describe fast internet access for devices such as a laptop, whilst on the move or just away from a fixed location. All the major networks: Vodafone, Orange, T-Mobile, 3 and O2 offer this as a service and various... -
A quick guide to HD
What, why, who, how explained 22 December 2008 15:48 GMTWhat is it?
Standing for "high definition" in this scenario, it means a better picture quality in either viewing or having images being digitally transmitted to a compatible screen. Most people associate HD with flat screen TVs, either LCD or plasmas, where there are...
PHONES
Nokia N900 mobile phone Will this revive Nokia's fortunes?
PHONES
PHOTOS: First ELSE hands-on Up close and personal
AUDIO
Vodafone Pocket-lint Gadget Awards date confirmed and tickets on sale Get your tickets today
