New eBook store to be promoted by Toshiba

With the market for eBooks and eReaders growing at a rapid rate, it appears a good move by Toshiba to set up their own eBook site. New Toshiba machines will come with it preloaded along with a selection of free books. The site is at www.Toshibabookplace.com, and while it is not yet fully functional avid eBook readers may like to have a sniff around to get an idea of what is going to be on offer.

The services include; translation, font size adjustment, voice playback and full view or text only reading. This will surely not be the last eBook site launch and as sales of these books continue to pick up we will need to see whether the addition of the Toshiba service on it’s new computer gives it the edge needed to get the best market share or whether some other giant steps out of the shadows with their own site.

Cisco looks to corner iPad business users market

The Apple iPad has had a fairly strong grip on the tablet market until now, but the appearance of the Cisco Cius may be about to shake up the iPad world, at least for business users.

Yesterday was the first public appearance of the Cius, and first impressions are good; 7 inches in size, a battery which lasts for 8 hours, 2 built in cameras and video streaming capability. The networking company is really targeting this new tablet at business users who need to collaborate remotely using video conferences, cloud computing and rapidly shared information, rather than personal users looking for a leisure item.

Recent surveys show an ever growing number of remote workers, for whom communication and collaboration are imperative. The new tablet is set for an autumn launch and it will be interesting to see if the Cisco Cius manages to dominate this market and make at least some inroads in the leisure users market as well.

Acer launches new Predator gaming PC

A new PC from Acer designed to entice the hardcore gaming crowd has been launched and the aptly named addition to the Predator range is certainly not for the casual user.

The new Predator shares the admittedly garish case of its stable mates, complete with a hinged front panel that resembles an alien battle mask and covers the bright orange face plate in a more reserved black.

Inside an Intel quad core i7 processor running at 2.8GHz lurks and its partnership with 12GB of DDR3 RAM and an NVIDIA 470 GTX graphics card make it suitably powerful from a hardware perspective. Acer has even thought about a sensible upgrade route by using a motherboard that can house two additional graphics cards for some ultra expensive expansion.

Acer has confirmed that the Predator is going to launch in the UK and if its US price is anything to go by it may hit the market at about £1300, although with all of the various additional costs there is a likelihood that the final price point will be far higher.

The Acer Predator is not a subtle machine, but then it is aiming to please gamers who like to drool over modded cases and acres of RAM and in this respect it is bang on target. If you are not a fan of PC building then this pre-made gaming package represents a pretty compelling reason to buy straight from the shelf rather than getting into assembly.

Nexus One to ditch OLED in favour of Super TFT LCD

Rumours suggest that smartphone manufacturer HTC is going to stop using the famous OLED screens in both the Google Nexus One and Desire handsets from the beginning of August, choosing instead a Super TFT LCD (SLCD) display produced by Sony.

The 3.7 inch OLED touchscreen display that is shared by the Nexus One and Desire was a real selling point, but now Samsung, the supplier of the screens, has encountered issues with keeping up with the demand for the high end handsets. As a result, HTC has made an executive decision to go for a supplier and screen technology that will meet growing public interest in its Android-based mobiles.

The head of the US network provider Verizon broke the news about Samsung’s supply problems to Unwired View and although the OLED display has won praise from observers, it seems that the SLCD has a few tricks of its own. The resolution is said to be higher whilst it will be more energy efficient, although quite how this will be possible is a mystery at the moment as unlike OLED technology the SLCD will require a backlight.

Most current and future Nexus One and HTC Desire owners are unlikely to notice any marked difference if HTC does actually boot out the OLED screen in favour of an SLCD alternative. However, for those who do care about their gadget hardware, this could become fairly significant news and might have an impact on the appeal of the two smartphones, for better or worse.

15 Interesting Apple OS 4 Apps

When you talk about a gadget with some many great and innovative apps everyone is going to have their own favourite ones. Let me tell you about some of the more interesting ones out there;

1)    Hundred PushUps. If the thought of a six week work out program brings you out in a cold sweat you might want to avoid this one.

2)    Scrabble. Relive bygone Christmas mornings when your Uncle Mike made up words like “flamblastergation” just to beat a small child at a word game. The old scoundrel.

3)    Knot guide. Great for boy scouts, sailors and people who don’t like to leave loose ends lying around.  Comes with picture and video guides.

4)    AccuTerra. Over 220,000 miles of walks and trails are covered in this app. If your map reading skills are as good as mine then you can download the map you want get lost anyway and then stagger up to the first person you come across, wildly flashing your iPhone map in their face.

5)    Open Table. The easy way to make restaurant reservations through Apple OS 4 apps.

6)    Couch to 5k. How to turn from a couch potato into a lean running machine.

7)    Jamie Oliver. Yes, the cheeky fresh faced cook is on an iPhone near you.

8)    Pandora Radio. This iPhone app offers a huge variety of types of music and you can easily skip the ones you don’t like.

9)    Salesforce Mobile. You know you would really rather listen to the radio or learn a couple of new knot variations but you should just open one more opportunity and close a couple of negotiations first.

10) The Simpson Arcade. They are everywhere else so why not on the Apple OS 4 apps? I guarantee donuts and clowns.

11) Yoga Stretch. Find inner peace and keep fit at the same time.

12) 1 Password. How to keep all your passwords in one place.

13)  Lonely Planet Spanish Phrasebook. Quieres hablar con la gente durante tus viajes? Así de fácil.

14) Where. A great collection of ideas of where to go and what to do in different places.

15) PayPal. Now there is no excuse for not paying your debts.

iPhone-controlled hover drone gets UK launch date

A remote controlled drone that can be manipulated using either an iPhone or iPod Touch is being launched by aerial gadget firm Parrot, complete with augmented reality features and a high desirability factor.

Parrot’s AR.Drone is going to hit the UK on the 18th of August this year, which is good news as it was only at the 2010 CES event a few months ago that Parrot showcased a prototype quadricopter that blew away many visitors to the conference.

The AR.Drone will be controllable from a distance of up to 50 metres and it takes full advantage of the iPhone’s integrated accelerometer to allow for natural controls which respond to tilting the smartphone.

The most exciting aspect of the AR.Drone’s functionality is its augmented reality software. Basically there are two cameras hidden in the ‘copter and live feeds of the video are fed back to the iPhone, complete with an overlaid assault course, thanks to some clever programming, turning it into the ultimate gaming experience.

The AR.Drone will communicate with the iPhone or iPod Touch using a Wi-Fi connection and the gadget will have transferrable shells which allow you to put on a bulkier, more protective layer whilst you get to grips with the controls and then give you the option to switch to a lighter, more aerodynamic option to speed things up when you are more of an expert.

Parrot says that it will sell the AR.Drone for around £300 when it launches in August and it is looking for developers to work on an Android version of the control app.

iPhone 4 arrives, display issues discovered

The first batch of iPhone 4 handsets have gone on sale in six countries around the world, including the UK, but already there are some reports that the much hyped Retina Display is not as perfect as Apple would have you believe.

A stream of rumours have been voiced online relating to the fact that many new iPhone 4 owners have seen a yellow tint on a particular area of the display, slightly spoiling the high resolution beauty of the screen.

There is no obvious technical reason as to why this yellowing is occurring, but there is a consensus that suggests the signal strength and the way in which the iPhone 4 is held could be having an impact on the bottom right hand corner of the display.

Apple has said that it is aware of the issue and is currently working on some software tweaks to sort it out. This could be good news as software problems can be quickly remedied, but if the glitch is integrated into the hardware of the screen itself, it could be more difficult to find a solution.

Tech site Engadget reported that an iPhone 4 it acquired at the Japanese launch had a yellowish strip running right across the bottom of the display, although in general this problem seems to be occurring in relatively small numbers.

The iPhone 4 is holding up well under initial scrutiny and huge queues of customers waited for hours and in some cases days, to get their hands on the next Apple smartphone.

TV broadcasts planned by mobile network providers

The ability to watch live television via your mobile phone could soon be a universally available feature as various UK network providers announce that they are testing out new technology.

In the UK, the relationship between live TV and the mobile phone has been rocky, with previous attempts to capture the public’s attention failing to make an impact. This is in opposition to various other nations, including South Korea, where mobile TV is far more widespread.

Reports now suggest that O2, Vodafone and Orange are all going to trial mobile TV technology in the Autumn of 2010. Rather than integrating digital tuners into existing handsets, the firms are going to make use of previously untapped regions of the 3G network spectrum.

Although all smartphones use 3G for mobile internet access, the providers are hoping that by harnessing a new part of the spectrum, they will not be impacting upon the standard mobile use of the majority of users whilst being able to offer high quality TV streams to some.

None of the networks has actually explained how the mobile TV service will operate and whether it will be compatible with current smartphones via a software update. There is also no news as to whether subscribers will need to pick inclusive mobile TV time in addition to minutes and texts when they sign up for a new deal, or whether it will be simply integrated into existing data usage tariffs without the need for change.

Violight kills gadget-infesting germs

Violight is a firm that produces products to kill germs using nothing but ultraviolet light. It has now produced its first contact-free cleansing product that is designed to give mobile phones and similarly shaped gadgets a good UV scrub down.

The Cell Phone Sanitizer will destroy 99 per cent of the bugs that lurk on the surface of your mobile phone, according to Violight. The whole process takes about five minutes and the device itself is a pleasingly shaped cylinder, which in marketing shots is shown holding onto an iPhone.

You might assume that this was an occasional use device, but Violight suggests that you might consider using it to store and display your mobile even when you are not cleaning it with UV light.

It also claims that some might be convinced that shelling out over £30 for the Cell Phone Sanitizer is a good idea if you’re looking for something meaningful in which to wrap your latest gadget-based gift in before you give it to friends or family.

Violight will be getting the Cell Phone Sanitizer to the market in the run up to Christmas, but it has already posted some videos on YouTube to explain the functionality.

The cleaning device has even been deemed newsworthy by certain networks, although for many, its arrival might herald the unpleasant realisation that a mobile phone or gadget is actually crawling with germs.

Violight says that in addition to slotting in your smartphone, you might consider giving your Bluetooth headset a clean.

Toshiba creates first dual screen, touch sensitive laptop

The Toshiba Libretto W100 is a unique arrival on the laptop market because it is the first device to feature two screens that are both fully touch sensitive.

The popularity of tablet computers, as manifest in Apple’s iPad, has doubtless fuelled the production of the W100, whilst Toshiba has retained several key laptop features, such as a clamshell design, thus making it something of a hybrid.

The W100 has Windows 7 preinstalled and it takes advantage of the native touchscreen support offered by Microsoft’s latest operating system in order to make menu navigation and general inputs feel intuitive and relatively natural compared to laptops with physical keypads.

The identical touchscreens measure seven inches across the diagonaland the whole thing is just three centimetres thick when you close it. Despite its small size you still get 2GB of RAM and a 62GB hard drive that is quiet, cool and energy efficient because it uses solid state technology.

The W100 has a one megapixel camera built into the frame and it can even shoot video clips in high definition. The battery life of 3.5 hours is adequate if a little underwhelming, although powering two independent displays is going to require quite a bit of juice.

As you might expect, the Libretto W100 has Wi-Fi connectivity built in, but it is also available with 3G network connectivity for mobile broadband access. This might be a good choice for those who do not want to sacrifice its single USB port to a mobile broadband USB modem.

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