Toshiba AC100 mobile internet device: first-look review

Monday, June 21st, 2010

Toshiba has just announced the AC100 mobile internet device, and we were fortunate enough to grab one for an extended test over this weekend. While Tosh’s implementation of Google Android is still in development – the AC100 will be released in August – the hardware is final and we were able to get a clear idea of what the AC100 would be like as a day-to-day companion.

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Toshiba Portégé R700: first-look review

Monday, June 21st, 2010

While the Toshiba Libretto W100 and AC100 are both radically different products to what has gone before, the R700 treads more established ground. This is the successor to Toshiba’s Portégé R600 and R500, both of which were targeted at top executives from generously endowed companies.

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How to install free country maps on your Nokia phone

Friday, June 18th, 2010

The current issue of PC Pro includes a road test of satnav devices – from a standalone device produced by TomTom to the freebies that come with new Nokia phones and Android mobiles. (If you’re based in the UK, you’ll be able to buy the issue until Wednesday 14 July.)

However, during our research for that feature we endured almost an hour of hitting brick walls when attempting to download maps directly to a Nokia phone. And that’s a real shame, as Nokia has one of the more interesting pieces of satnav software, and it generously provides free maps for every country we can think of.

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How much will an Apple iPhone 4 cost?

Friday, June 18th, 2010

While the iPhone 4 arrives in the UK next week, it’s not yet clear how much it will actually cost to get your hands on the shiny new Apple handset — and that’s not just because T-Mobile and 3 haven’t gotten around to releasing their prices yet.

The price plans that have been released — from O2, Orange and Vodafone — are rather convoluted, with mind-melting, eye-bleeding charts. O2’s announcement even lead to an email exchange between a bewildered Barry Collins and a losing-the-will-to-live myself, as we tried to understand whether they were or weren’t selling the iPhone at the same upfront cost regardless of contract length (they are, but it depends on how you look at it. We think. Maybe.) (more…)

An end to “unlimited” broadband ads, at last?

Thursday, June 17th, 2010

Breaking news: there’s been a freak breakout of common sense at the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). After years of letting broadband providers – both fixed and mobile – get away with using the term “unlimited” on ads for services that have data caps as ludicrously tight as 250MB, the ASA seems to have finally realised something’s not quite right.

“We’ve looked at a number of complaints about individual ads in the telecoms sector regarding access speeds and usage limits and found that applying a single policy to how telecoms providers advertise can pose significant challenges,” the ASA’s communications and policy manager, Lynsay Taffe, told New Media Age.

“It’s important that we look at this on a broader policy level with service providers, other regulators and consumer groups, rather than relying on individual ASA rulings that focus on a particular service on one platform. Therefore, the ASA has invited CAP [the Committee of Advertising Practice] and BCAP [the British Code of Advertising Practice] to review broadband speed and ‘unlimited’ use claims.”

Terrific. But instead of consulting the world and his wife and taking another six months to come up with a policy, why doesn’t the ASA just consult a dictionary and find out what the world “unlimited” means? And then make the advertisers stick to it.

Samsung Galaxy S i9000 review: first look

Wednesday, June 16th, 2010

Samsung’s first effort at producing an Android phone – the Galaxy – was a big disappointment, but since then things have been looking up for the electronics giant, smartphone wise. The Galaxy Portal moved things on and now we have the Galaxy S, which Samsung showcased at a star-studded launch event in London last night.

But while the paparazzi had eyes only for the stars, our attention was focussed entirely on the new phone – Samsung’s flagship Android handset. Our first impressions were very positive indeed.

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Ubuntu 10.04: a real money saver for small businesses

Wednesday, June 16th, 2010

I like Windows 7 – it’s stable, responsive and full of little details that make reverting to a Vista PC frustrating. However, it has one major flaw: its price. The OEM version of Windows 7 Home Premium costs around £80, and whilst it’s reasonable to expect that Dell and other system builders pay less than that, the fact is that part of the cost of your next new computer will be the Windows licence.

In the current climate, small businesses need to examine every cost. If you buy ten PCs to outfit an office, is there any way to reduce the cost by choosing an alternative to Windows? (more…)

New Apple Mac mini review: first look

Tuesday, June 15th, 2010

We’ve always been fans of Apple’s Mac mini, but it’s been looking a little long in the tooth of late, not having had any kind of major physical redesign since 2005. We thought Apple had completely forgotten about it, so it was with some surprise that we read the news that Apple had completely redesigned the chassis.

And, as is usually the case with Apple’s slick PR operation, it wasn’t long before we were invited down to Apple HQ in London’s West End, to take possession of a review sample. We haven’t yet had time to install our benchmarks on it and run exhaustive tests, but first impressions of the new design are good. (more…)

A tiny drive that holds billions of bits

Tuesday, June 15th, 2010

“Dude, someone’s snapped the end off your USB stick.” That’s what you’d probably say if you saw the new Lexar Echo ZE flash drive sitting on my desk.

Yet I can assure you, as one dude to another, that no one has. What you see above is the whole thing. Somehow, while I was briefly looking the other way, flash drives have become so compact that the entire device is now basically the size of the plug. (more…)

HTML5: will it kill Flash?

Tuesday, June 15th, 2010

It’s been well over 10 years since the last release of HTML so the excitement about HTML5 is understandable, but what should users expect?

Look on Wikipedia and the answer is revealed in the first paragraph in what amounts to a mission statement: “(HTML5) aims to reduce the need for proprietary plug-in-based rich internet application (RIA) technologies such as Adobe Flash and Microsoft Silverlight.” It’s a mission that others have played up, not least Steve Jobs in his recent attack on Flash.

But does HTML5 really pose a serious threat to Flash? (more…)