Sky to phase out standard definition set top boxes

Subscription satellite television firm Sky is set to offer nothing but HD-ready set top boxes to all of its new customers in the near future according to reports.

Even if you do not choose to add in the extra monthly cost and receive the high definition channel package, Sky will provide you with the future-proof Sky+ HD set top box, that is not only ready for HD, but also for the 3D TV revolution.

Sky has made this announcement after the number of people subscribing to its HD service has exceeded 2 million for the first time. This is accompanied by nearly 10 million subscribers to its standard definition service.

By beginning to phase out its standard definition set top boxes, Sky will be preparing more of its customers for the growth of high definition television and will also make its 3D broadcasts available to customers who commit to new HDTV technology in the coming years.

Both new and existing Sky customers can get the Sky+ HD box right now and for newcomers the cost of the box and its installation can be waived in order to encourage wider uptake of the technology.

From now on the standard definition set top box will only be available to Sky customers who are looking to replace their existing SD box, or to those who want to create access points for their Sky service in multiple rooms in their homes.

Solar-powered iPhone and iPod rumoured

Apple could be in the process of developing the technology necessary to integrate solar panels into its portable electronic devices, leading some to claim that an eco-friendly iPhone is not too far away.

Apple has allegedly filed for patents which would cover solar technology being added to touch screen displays. This would allow the outer design of the iPhone to remain intact and unchanged by the new power source, but would boost its green credentials and keep it operational without the need for a recharge for much longer.

According to sources, Apple is looking into sandwiching a layer which would draw energy from sunlight in between the touch screen technology and the pixels of the display itself. This would make the solar panel completely invisible and would allow Apple to continue to create beautiful electronic devices without compromising their design.

Solar panel technology has been used to power electronic devices for years and other mobile phone manufacturers have already taken advantage of it as a secondary power source. The LG GD510 Pop, for example, was shown in all of its promotional material as coming with an interchangeable battery cover complete with a solar panel, although LG has since said that this accessory will not make it to market until later in the year.

Apple will be the first mobile manufacturer to attempt to disguise their solar panel, although some have predicted that it could compromise the responsiveness of the touch screen and others have said that the cost of the new technology could make it too expensive for general sale.

Motion-sensitive controller for PS3 imminent

Although speculation has been heating up for a while, it now appears that Sony is definitely gearing up for the launch of its first truly motion-sensitive controller for its PlayStation 3 console.

The first stirrings began back in August 2009 when Sony hinted that it was developing a control scheme that would rival the Wii’s remote and nunchuck setup. Since then Sony has been keeping quiet about the product, but a launch in the spring of 2010 has always been on the cards.

The latest development comes after Sony bought a domain name ‘playstationarc.com’, which has led many to claim that the motion controller will be named the ‘Arc’ when it finally arrives. Various code names have been attached to the project since its inception, with an EA exec accidentally revealing that he had heard it would be called the ‘Gem’.

Most industry observers expect that Sony will give the Arc, or whatever the name ultimately chosen may be, a full unveiling at the E3 gaming convention in June this year. As with the Wii Remote, it is likely to require a sensor that sits atop your television to detect motion, as well as using onboard accelerometers, which means that those who own both a Wii and a PS3 will be stacking up their sensor bars on top of the TV later in the year.

The PS3 motion controller is likely to be a direct rival to Microsoft’s Project Natal on the Xbox 360, which should also be arriving in the second half of 2010.

Self-selling intelligent box created

An artist has created an oddly compelling electronic work that basically begins a perpetual cycle on eBay in which it attempts to sell itself to the highest bidder over and over again.

On the outside the box is just that; a black, shiny cube with no notable features to speak of. It is undeniably minimalist and arty, but it is its internal workings that contain all of the clever gadgets and gizmos.

The box can connect to the internet via an Ethernet cable and a broadband connection and it will then automatically add itself as a listing on eBay. From then on it will check to see if it has been sold every 10 minutes.

If the box fails to sell in its allotted time, it will just create a new listing and try and sell itself again. If it is snapped up, then its current owner is required to post the box on to its new home, where of course it needs to get online and try and sell itself again.

This creation is certainly a fairly interesting idea and presumably tracking its movements around the globe will add more depth to the experiment. Whether anyone will actually purchase the box is another matter, but if word gets out it could sell for a high price on eBay.

The one slightly confusing thing about the box it the fact that the artist failed to include a Wi-Fi connection. This would have been a far more elegant solution than the Ethernet cable.

Tetris tops the mobile sales charts

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ever since becoming a legendary title on the original Nintendo Game Boy, Tetris has been a staple of pop culture and its popularity seems to be enduring. It has just reached a landmark in the mobile market, with 100 million users having paid for the Tetris app for their phones. This makes it the best selling mobile game ever released by quite a large margin.

EA Mobile and Blue Planet Software Inc. released the news at a press conference in Montreal and since the two firms hold exclusive rights to Tetris it is clear that the financial benefits have been significant.

Tetris has been available for mobile phones for 9 years now. Since its launch has been available to purchase and play on no less than 64,000 different phones. The iPhone’s App Store has seen the most recent success and surge of sales for the classic title.

Tetris was born in the mind of a Russian mathematician called Alexey Pajitnov in the mid-80s and it found worldwide fame in 1989 when Nintendo’s handheld Game Boy used it as a flagship title. Since then it has become a global phenomenon, selling millions of copies for every conceivable format and still out-selling recently released mobile titles ten to one.

If you have an iPhone and want to continue to enjoy the Tetris legacy then it is available from the App Store for £2.99. In all likelihood you will already have bought it for another phone in the past, but it is still able to eat into your spare time with its addictive gameplay on the latest platforms.

Fashion phone market joined by Versace

Although Prada has joined forces with LG in the past and Giorgio Armani has had its own stab at creating a mobile, Versace is one of the few international fashion houses that has not applied its aesthetic sensibilities to a phone. That is until now.

Versace has announced that it will soon be selling its own branded fashion phones after it committed to a global distribution and manufacturing deal with the ModeLabs Group.

You may not have heard of ModeLabs Group directly, but this is because it spends its time behind the scenes creating stylish handsets for the likes of Christian Dior and Tag Heuer. With several satisfied fashion clients on its books, it is no surprise that Versace has picked ModeLabs Group for what is apparently going to be a whole range of flawless looking mobile phones.

Versace has done nothing more than announce that it will be creating a line of fashion phones and technical specifications have yet to emerge. However, there is no doubt that the cost of the phones will be in line with the opulent heritage of the fashion brand.

Versace has said that it will begin selling the phones through its own shops as well as via select third party retailers from some time in the spring of this year. All this talk of fashion phones could make you wonder whether anything as banal as design is important in the software-driven smartphone market of today.

Sequel for DJ Hero announced

DJ Hero has only been with us for a few months and it seems that unlike the Guitar Hero franchise, it is a little more difficult to translate the vinyl-based rhythm game into significant sales. Publisher Activision was disappointed that pre-orders for DJ Hero were a little underwhelming and since its release it has sold solidly if not spectacularly, which might suggest that consumers are tiring of filling their living rooms with plastic peripherals.

Despite this, it seems that Activision is still supporting the DJ Hero brand and is in the process of developing a sequel, to be released in late 2010 or early 2011.

Bobby Kotick, who is Chief Executive at Activision, said in a recent interview that he is convinced by the DJ Hero idea and believes in both the game and the turntable controller which is necessary to play it. He also said that Activision would continue to back the franchise and confirmed that a new version would be launched at some point in the future.

As with the Guitar Hero franchise, DJ Hero used endorsement from major names in the music industry in order to promote itself. Old hands Jay-Z and Eminem laid their likenesses onto the first game and Activision is seeking out hot new dance floor maestros to add to its next title.

Producer and DJ David Guetta has said that he will be appearing in DJ Hero 2, which could mean that some exclusive mixes of his songs will appear, alongside some of his celebrity mates.

Sonos Iphone And Ipod App Review

The Sonos wireless music system is one our favourite gadgets at the moment but the one thing that puts many people off is the price. Well Sonos have designed a free app that works on either the Apple iphone or iPod touch, this eliminates the need for the Sonos controller which is quite expensive to buy.

We have been putting the app through its paces to see if it can measure up to stand alone controller available from Sonos.

Sonos iPhone App Review

Once you have located and installed the app you will have to set the app up to work with your system. Thankfully the process is amazingly simple, once you open the app for the first time you will be given two options. You can add it to your set up system or use the app to set up your system for the first time. Both options work equally well but I would suggest you set up the system using your pc and then add the app as this was quicker.

The home screen of the app gives you a number of options including music Library, playlists, radio (including internet radio), line in and settings. The most popular options will be your music library, radio and external services.

Your music library follows a similar format to your standard iTunes library. You can access your music from a range of options including artists, imported music, genres, albums, tracks and imported playlists. The system is very simple to navigate and actually easier to use than the dedicated Sonos controller because there are a lot less buttons to fiddle with. God bless touch screen!
The radio feature allows you to listen to a choice on over 25,000 radio stations from around the world. You can select different sources for different rooms, so you can be listening to the radio in one room while someone in the other room can listen to their mp3’s.

Sonos gives users the opportunity to access web based services like Napster, last.fm, Pandora, Rhapsody and SIRIUS satellite radio. Sonos have managed to swing a 30 day free trial for Napster so you can try it out, a lot of the other providers offer similar offers.
The system settings option allows you to change or add things to your system. For example you can switch music sources, make or add playlists, update your system or contact the help desk.

The best thing about having the app over the dedicated controller is that you can carry it around in your pocket and it is free. There really is no feasible reason to purchase the controller so long as you have an iphone or itouch.

Read our sonos 250 bundle review

Sonos 250 Bundle Wireless Music Review

These days people are seeking a lot from their gadgets, they are looking for integrated home entertainment gadgets including multi room sound systems. The goal is simple: have a system that can seamlessly deliver music from a variety of sources in multiple rooms around your home. Sounds very futuristic but is actually very achievable.

 

 

 

 

 

There are a number of manufactures that provide multi room systems and these include Sonos who have a range of products available for every room in the house. We have been testing the Sonos 250 bundle which includes the zp90 zone player, the zp120 zone player and controller.

These three products when combined with the Sonos zone bridge will connect to your wireless network to create a Sonos network around your house. The ZP90 is an unamplified unit that will connect to your existing home theatre; the Zp120 is an amplified unit that provides an output of 55w per channel so you can add a set of hefty speakers to it.

All of the equipment is robust, well designed and very pleasing on the eye. Sonos have gone with the classic white with all their products meaning it will fit in any modern home with ease. We love that the zone players all look similar, they even look cool when you are not using them.

The sound quality from both units was very clear and worked well at quiet and loud levels. We played around a lot with the remote and toggled music on and off in each room, we tried playing from different sources in each room and also ran them in sync. In all examples the system worked really well.

Setting up the system is very simple and can all be controlled from the supplied Sonos coloured controller. This thing is a real beauty and will provoke envy from any visitor to your home as it sits in its recharging cradle, more importantly it is extremely easy to use. You can easily search and select music independently for each room. Sonos include options to listen to internet radio stations including last.fm and Sirius and you can even use paid subscription services like Napster.

 

 

Another cool feature is that your player can automatically update your twitter account with what you are listening too. New features like this are being added all the time and you will be sure to get them because your Sonos system automatically updates meaning you will have an up to date system forever.

If you have the cash to spare we would highly recommend Sonos, alternatives include Logitech’s Squeeze box range.

We have also reviewed the Sonos iphone APP and Sonos S5, both of which are great products (the app is a free version of the Sonos controller featured in this review).

His and hers Wii Remotes arrive for Feb 14th but only in the US

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nintendo is planning to launch a new set of controllers for the Wii aimed at the Valentine’s Day market. The Wii remotes will be identical to the original design and are still compatible with the Wii Motion Plus add-on, but instead of the standard white they will be available in pretty pink and boyish blue.

The Wii is out selling all of its rivals and in the run up to Christmas 2009 it reached record figures. This latest release is just another example as to how Nintendo can take advantage of those occasions that are typically associated with present giving.

At the moment the new remotes are only planned for launch in the US in time for the most romantic day of the year and their price tag will be the equivalent of about £33, which brings them in line with the cost of the motion plus package that bundles Wii Sports Resort. Perhaps Nintendo doesn’t believe that those of us in the UK are romantic enough to merit inclusion in the launch.

The Wii shipped 3.81 million units in the last month of 2009, nearly three times the number of Xbox 360s sold by Microsoft in the same period. The PS3 also made some gains in the run up to Christmas, although with 1.36 million sold it was still nowhere near to catching up with Nintendo’s little white box.

If you want to brighten up your Wii Remotes but you cannot get your hands on an official multicoloured controller, there are many third party products, such as protective sleeves, which can coat any exiting Wii Remote with a splash of colour.

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