The BenQ GP1 Micro LCD Projector

BenQ has unveiled a hugely impressive little projector that, despite being one of the smallest around, still manages to pack a very good range of decent features and capabilities into its petite little shell. In terms of size, it weight a rather pathetic 640g and will most definitely fit into the palm of your hand although we strongly suggest that you find somewhere else to rest it or you’re still going to get arm ache after watching an entire series of Prison Break or Heroes.

Boasting the capability to project images of up to 80” in size, the BenQ GP1 mini LED projector offers a 2W internal speaker and uses LED in place of the typical lamp arrangement. It runs directly from your media players and handheld devices with no need for a PC to be attached (hence the need for its own built in speaker). Auto play modes and auto keystone are joined by other useful features like wall colour correction (I think it corrects the colour of the display image rather than physically correcting the colour of your wall).

Standard inputs include USB, composite, and D-Sub and if you want to use your video capable iPod or iPhone then you can also get the optional docking station that will let you. It’s slated to hit the shelves next month over here and it’ll cost you just shy of £499 which really isn’t that bad when you compare it to the price of a decent size and decent quality plasma or LCD TV.

Gavin & Stacey on the Nokia 5800, now what’s occurring?

As a way of attracting people to purchase a new Vodafone contract the mobile phone network is currently offering a very unusual deal. Sing up with Vodafone select the Nokia 5800 and you will receive your new phone complete with Gavin & Stacey Series 2 all pre-loaded and ready to enjoy.

The new Nokia 5800 would be the perfect accompaniment for a day trip to Barry and Nessa would no doubt remark that the phone was very ‘tidy’. If you fancy getting your hands on the Nokia 5800 then it is a perfect time to do so, you can catch up on all the essential ‘Gavlar’ and ‘Smithlar’ action just prior to the launch of series 3.

Series three of Gavin & Stacey has been reported as the last so this new deal new Nokia 5800 deal with Vodafone could end up being a cult classic. What will be ‘occuring’ in the new and final series? Will Gav and Stace still be together? Will they be living in Wales or Essex? Will Nessa be the support act for U2 when they next go on a world tour or seeing George Clooney as a way of forgetting about Smithy? Will the lovely Bryn finally come out of the closet?

Of course Vodafone are aware the not everyone is a fan of Gavin & Stacey and clearly anyone who purchased a mobile phone contract with the Nokia 5800 on the basis of a series of Gavin & Stacey being available might be regarded somewhat of an anorak. So if you are not impressed with Gavin & Stacey then don’t worry Vodafone have something else that is bound to be a suitable alternative – they are also offering the new Nokia 5800 with Star Trek!

Could brainwaves do my work for me?

Well there is ‘now’t stranger than the truth’ or so they say. News reaches us from across the pond that a company called NeuroSky based in San Jose, California has developed technology that allows users to harness their brain power to operate simple machinery or computer games. The technology uses the electrical pulses that the neurons in the brain releases to send messages to operate the patented ‘ThinkGear’ interface which then controls the connected device.

Telekinesis has always been the stuff of science fiction, however it looks like science fiction has become science reality and the future could be using our thoughts to operate our cars, kitchen equipment, computers, in fact any device that is currently operated by touch could in fact use the new technology from NeuroSky to operate it. ThinkGear could provide untold opportunities to operate a range of machinery and in fact for those who suffer from a disability this could spell freedom as last from the problems of everyday life. Another proposed use of the new technology is to operate the sophisticated military aircraft but clearly this is way off in the future.

At the moment the new ThinkGear technology is being used to operate simple games, one in particular that levitates a ping-pong ball in a tube. The user wears the special headset and focuses their attention on the ball to levitate it, the more skilled a player gets the better the result. The new game called the StarWars Force Trainer is by Uncle Milton and is at the moment only available to purchase in America.

To be released very soon is the NeuroSky MindSet, this product again uses a headset which the makers claim can read the messages from your brain waves to send controlling messages to your PC. Of course if this was April 1st we would all be having a good laugh; however this appears to be factual and has even been reported in the Washington Post which is really quite scary and we can only assume gives some credence to this very strange story.

Time TO Facebook Up With Your INQ Mobile

Following on from last week’s post about how Facebook is, rather unsurprisingly, the UK’s most regularly visited website, we thought we’d look at ways you can interact with the social networking website. A lot of mobile phones are sold on the premise that you can use them to access your Facebook account but few offer the same kind of synchronous relationship as the latest INQ handsets that will synchronise between your mobile phone phonebook and your Facebook buddies list. Make a new friend on Facebook and they’re instantly added to your mobile contact list.

If you’re a Facebook freak that has to log on every day, and believe us you’re far from being alone on this one, and you spend hours and hours chatting to your friends, commenting on their walls, and reading their latest updates then get yourself an INQ mobile handset. One of the unusually great things about them is that we in the UK are actually ahead of the USA in this one too because they don’t have them yet.

Obviously, the INQ1 also has a 3.2 megapixel camera so that you can take pics of everything and wherever you are (as seems to be the Facebook way) and then instantly update your Facebook profile with your latest mugshot. The INQ1 is all about being sociable with Windows Live Messenger and even Skype calls that could massively reduce your phone bill and it has last.fm offering similar capabilities so that you can listen to your favourite tracks while you’re on the go.

The Wonderful World Of Home Automation

Home automation is something that really gets our tech sensors going. The concept of being able to call home from the office, just before you leave work, and have the bath filled to just the right level with water of the perfect temperature and even having a cup of coffee ready and waiting for you as soon as you walk through the door is the perfect use of tech and gadgets in our opinion. While iHouse pretty much rules the roost in the US there’s a number of companies that offer similar products over here on this side of the pond too.

Companies like Install Automation, that you might have seen on 5′s Gadget Show, you can automate just about everything from the turning on and off of lights to the rising of your plasma television when you’re ready to sit down and watch Emmerdale in glorious high definition. Sound servers, DVD servers, and media changers not only automate but share a whole variety of your media in all the rooms of the house giving you complete freedom. And then, the ultimate in home control, Telestial Controls (even the name makes it sound incredible).

A telestial interface acts as a sort of middleman between your mobile phone and all of the tech in your home. You can control the heating, the lighting, and even your alarm system and the cooker if you so desire through the power of SMS text message. You create your own user instructions and then text the house with instructions on what to do. No more arguing with the kids when you want them to put the washing on – the house will do it for you. No need to panic that you’ve left the cooker on when you go out – the house will check it’s turned off. You get our drift.

The Touchscreen Tap

Just when you thought that basically every household item that could be geeked up had been geeked up, they had to go and give the tech treatment to the common household tap didn’t they? I mean, seriously, is there really any reason to have a touch screen tap? No, we didn’t think so and yet, yes, we really do actually want one. The addition of facial recognition so that the water comes out at your ideal temperature just makes it even more appealing in our eyes. You can even access the Internet to check your email and manage your scheduler all from the comfort of your own… erm… bathroom.

The SmartFaucet (well of course it’s American, and for reference it’s from iHome should you want one) allows you to control the pressure of the water as well as the temperature and you can alter the personal settings so that whenever you use the tap it delivers water exactly how you want it. Hopefully, the facial recognition will still work when you’ve been out the night before, eyes are puffy, bags are bigger, and your hands are covering most of your face.

On the positive side, if you’ve got an especially compact bathroom it provides a really handy way of checking your emails and conducting business and stuff while you’re on the lav doing your other business. Oh, and it’s got a pretty little light that illuminates the water as it’s ejected (just in case you can’t find it without assistance presumably).

OnLive – The Virtual Future Of Gaming?

If you’re a bit of a 360 nut then you’ll have probably noticed that a lot of attention is being paid to DLC or Downloadable Content, especially by Microsoft but also by the major and not so major game developers of the world. What’s more, the Live platform at least is becoming better equipped to handle with this kind of gaming platform but OnLive offers a truly virtual console that takes this to the next step and could well represent the future of gaming and a major change in how things are done.

Essentially the whole thing (apart from a tiny little OnLive MicroConsole if you intend to play through your TV rather than your PC) is Internet based and this means that you could play your games from any Internet connected device; laptop, desktop, TV, you name it – if it’s online then it’s OnLive ready too. The Games On Demand service means that you can buy new games and then load and save those games directly over the Internet.

State of the art game servers help ensure that your connection is swift and your gaming always smooth and because it’s Internet based you only need an entry level PC to play some of the very latest games. Despite still being very much in its infancy the whole OnLive system actually has a decent take up from game developers already. 16 games including the likes of BioShock, Unreal Tournament, Fear 2, and H.A.W.X are already available as part of the BETA testing stage and that also indicates the major developers that are willing to give it a try – could the future of gaming be changing?

Ferrari Smashes World’s Highest Car Price Record

If you’re ever in need of an extortionately, albeit beautiful looking, car then there’s one company you can almost always rely on – Ferrari. While there new cars may seem high in price, they are decidedly modest in comparison to some of the auction prices that have been seen when older and infamous models and individual cars have come up for sale and been met with a bidding war. And, in a bid to show the world that not everybody has been adversely affected by the economic crisis with a Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa fetching a staggering £8m in a Maranello auction.

The new world record for the most expensive car ever bought beats the previous record of £5.6m paid for a Ferrari 250GT California by Chris Evans last year and it could be some time before this one is broken (cue a major auction some time this week where the price of a single car will be double this one – such are the perils of predicting anything by blog).

The 250 Testa Rossa has a massive history and there were only ever 22 made during the one year it was produced – 1957/1958. It was entered for three years in international championship races winning ten of them for its trouble. This unique combination of a winning history and such a small number of cars produced, as well as its striking beauty, is what has made the Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa so popular with car lovers around the world and what has bumped the price of this one up substantially.

Joggers music heaven, Sony Walkman NWZ-W202 wireless MP3 player

Just found a fabulous MP3 player for all you fitness fanatics, this smart little gadget will allow you to keep entertained whilst working out, and best of all there are no wires to get tangled, crossed or if you are on a running machine to trip you up. No need to get bored senseless running, cycling or working out at the gym, the Sony Walkman NWZ-W202 will provide you with great musical entertainment whilst you keep fit, walk or cycle to work, cut the grass, decorate or clean the house in fact any physical activity that requires hands free operation. The Sony Walkman NWZ-W202 is effectively a headset with the MP3 player attached to the ear pieces, but is small and unobtrusive.

The Sony Walkman NWZ-W202 is perfect for keeping you from going ga-ga when you are on the move. Lightweight, comfortable and compact the NWZ-W202 is so small and easy to store that when you are not using it won’t end up a jumbled spaghetti mess. The 2GB NWZ-W202 will store up to 500 music tracks and supports AAC, WMA and MP3. Music can be dragged and dropped to the file on the MP3 player using a PC. Changing tracks isn’t a problem as the Sony Walkman NWZ-W202 uses the latest Sony technology called ‘Zappin’, which provides the first few seconds of playback of music to allow for finding preferred tracks.

Once charge of the Sony Walkman NWZ-W202 will provide 12 hours of audio playback and this clever little unit also will allow for a fast charge of just 3 minutes that will give 90 minutes of playback times. The playback is of a good quality but don’t expect to be able to change the headset as it is a fixed unit. The Sony Walkman NWZ-W202 is priced at only £59 so it won’t exactly break the bank.

Harry Potter, the latest video game out soon

For all the Harry Potter fans the latest in a looooong line of films is due to be released this summer, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. The film was delayed for almost a year due to production issues, reportedly in part to the writers strike in the US which in turn delayed the release of the video game with the same name. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince video game will be launched across the world on 30th June, and as usual here in the UK we get last look when the film is released here on 3rd July.

The EA (Electronic Arts) video game and also the film will be based on the book title Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J. K. Rowling, in the book Voldemort is gaining more control over the Muggle and the world both outside and inside Hogwarts is becoming altogether more sinister. Dumbledore works hard to get Harry Potter ready for what he believes will be the final battle. The video game will feature a whole host of Harry Potter regular storyline features including of course the Quidditch game, there will also be wizard duels, potions, spells, flying and of course lots of opportunity to use Harry’s wand for more magic. The video game will be available in just about ever conceivable format including Windows PC, Mac, Sony PS3, PS2, PSP, Nintendo DS, Xbox 360 and Wii.

For all the Harry Potter anoraks out there that know their Gryffindor from their Slytherin, this video game is going to be a must have, for the rest of us mere mortals it is a fun video game with lots of exciting gameplay with really very good graphics.

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