The Agere BluOnyx : The Mobile Content Server

As the title would suggest, this is the Agere BluOnyx, a mobile content server or mini little hard-drive, whichever one tickles your fancy. The BluOnyx has been designed especially for mobile phones but can also be used with your TV or PC. "Hard drive for a mobile phone?" you say. Don't worry, your not going to have to carry around the equivalent of a PC tower. It is actually pretty much the same size as a credit card and is ultra slim. Which means you can slot it right in there in your wallet alongside all the gift cards you collected over the Christmas period. Not too much hassle to carry around surely! and i use the word "carry" in the slightest sense.

It works by connecting to your phone, TV or PC via either Bluetooth, SD Card, USB or Wi-Fi and is simple enough to move content to and from. It does not have a screen but don't fear, this is a very clever piece of technology. You browse through what you have on it through your mobile phone, just the same as when you connect to your friends phones via Bluetooth and steal all their stuff. Taking your important work documents or your favourite music and films everywhere you go has never been so easy! Just like an Mp3 player, plug it in to the PC, drag your Billy Joel collection onto it, take it out, and away you go. With a capacity ranging from 1GB to 40GB, hell you can throw your favourite films in there, connect your BluOnyx to your phone and laugh away at the Borat movie during next weeks board meeting!

Depending on the size that you order, prices range from £50 to £130 with 1GB being the least and 40GB being the most. You also have a choice of colour, you can choose from black, white, blue, pink, green, grey or red and have the option on whether to have the BluOnyx logo put on it or not.

Click here to visit the Agere website

Samsung Break Own Mobile Phone Record

Yes, Samsung have done it again with their sliding phones. Their Samsung D900 phone previously held the title of "The worlds slimmest slider" but here they have outdone themselves by replacing the D900 with their new Ultra Edition 10.9. Why 10.9 you ask? Well its only 10.9 mm thick of course! Why else? This is 2mm slimmer than the D900 to save you taking out your measuring tape. Although this is a "new" version, there have been no technical changes, so you get nothing more for your money or nothing nothing less either for that matter. Which means you still get the excellent 3.2 mega pixel camera, TV-out, Mp3 player and video player, stereo Bluetooth etc.

I see this as a phone that's been on a diet, but it does look better than the D900. If you are looking to notch up your street cred points, to own the world's slimmest mobile slider cant be a bad thing surely. Thumbs up from me purely on that basis.

The Most Expensive Mouse In The World!

As this is the world's most expensive mouse, I'm not gonna hold back on blurting out the price. 18,600 Euros! or if you would prefer, £12,200! or if your American it'll leave you... 24 grand in debt!

The question i asked myself when stumbling across this is, Who the hell is thing marketed at? The Sultan of Brunei! or perhaps its sole purpose is to sit in the cabinet alongside the crown jewels. Whoever it is aimed at, one thing that is for sure is that their bank account has to be bursting at the seems! Why is it so expensive? This mouse can be transformed from being a 3 button wheel mouse (which is pretty much your regular mouse) into being a necklace that will fit right in at the Queen's annual Christmas party. By that i mean, "The Diamond Flower" as it has been named, is made from 18 carat white gold! and is set with 59 eye blinding diamonds. They ain't so small that you need a telescope to see them either. 58 are 2mm in diameter and 1 is 4mm in diameter. I do have to say, that for a mouse, it is kind of attractive.

Just incase your not into Dandelions or Buttercups or whatever flower it is supposed to be, Pat Says Now (company that make these) have given you another model to chose from. This one has been tagged with the name "The Scattered Diamond" it contains the same amount of diamonds and are the same size but they are, well, scattered!

So, if your loaded don't be a scrooge and surf the net in style with "The Diamond Flower" or "The Scattered Diamond" if you prefer, i mean after all you are rich! show it off! and if your a regular Joe Bloggs like me, stick to your £20 Logitech and save the bailiffs from giving you a visit!

Apple iPhone Could Be Hitting The UK Early

The stories going on about the Apple iPhone are constant at the moment and we are never deprived of hearing a story or two, but this one i was a little more interested in. The latest is, that some hyperactive little man who works for Apples online sales team in Cork, Ireland, just couldn't resist any more and decided to release an Apple email stating that the iPhone will be in Britain for October! We've always been led to believe that we would be meeting the iPhone face to face in the last part of the year. However whenever we are told "last part of the year", straight away we think Christmas do we not? I certainly did! If this latest story turns out to be true, then it looks like our 11/12 months of waiting to grab an iPhone has just been reduced to 9!

Just How Much Has Computer Technology Come Along?

Recently i have been pretty obsessed with the Sony PS3 and cant wait for it to hit the UK shores, as you may be able to tell if you happened to read my recent post on it. Today however i stumbled across a blog post on one of the PS3's great great great grandfathers ,the old BBC computer, and it got me thinking just how much computer technology has come along. It got me rather intrigued so i have decided to post a little time-line of some selected gaming consoles from over the years.

Magnavox Odyssey - 1972 - Worlds first video game console.

The Magnavox Odyssey was designed by Ralph Baer. It was powered by batteries! and had no sound, sounds like a blast eh?. A prototype known as the Brown Box was actually completed in 1968.

Atari 2600/VCS - 1977

The Atari 2600 was originally named the Atari VCS but was changed to the 2600 in 1982. This is the console that gave us classics such as Pac-Man and Space Invaders. With the Atari 2600 you got 2 joystick controllers, 2 paddle controllers and a cartridge game. Wow!

Sega Game-1000/ Mk II - 1984

The SG-1000 was Sega's first games console which was popular in Japan, Italy, Spain and Australia. Sega released an improved Mk II version shortly after which had a detachable keyboard and a better looking case, looking back now though you wonder just how much of an improvement they actually made.

Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) - 1985

The Nintendo Entertainment System was THE games console of its time selling 60 million consoles worldwide. This is when Super Mario and his mushroom friends came to life along with King Kong's cousin Donkey Kong and set the bar for competitors to follow.

Sega Master System - 1986

Ah, the Sega Master System, Alex The Kid! What a game, i absolutely loved that game! The Master System was to rival the NES and in the US it came off battered and bruised but here in the UK it was ultra popular. Definitive piece of technology in my mind, i loved it!

Sega Mega Drive - 1990

The Sega Mega Drive or Genesis as it was called in the US due to the suing culture they have in the states, had the same amount of power as the Amiga and Macintosh II home computers which at the time were the best hardware so you can just imagine how popular it was.

Super Nintendo - 1991

The arrival of the Super Nintendo started the war between Nintendo and Sega, if you think of what it is like between PlayStation and XBox today, times that by 50 and you'll see how fierce the competition was. We used to fight as kids over who would squish who between Sonic and Mario. (Sonic would win of course!)

Sony PlayStation, Sega Saturn - 1995

The year of the Sony PlayStation, this is when gaming went to the next level with its 32-bit console, 3D graphics and all new great game list. It soon became the worlds best selling console and was a very exciting time for game lovers. Can you imagine life without PlayStation? The Sega Saturn however didn't live up to its high expectations despite its two 32-bit CPU's and was a flop.

Nintendo 64 - 1996

Nintendo were expected to release a new console to match the PlayStation and the Sega Saturn and instead of matching the very popular PlayStation's 32-bit console they decided to up the stakes and release a 64-bit console. The N64 was far more popular than the Sega Saturn but was no match for the PlayStation.

Sega Dreamcast - 1999

After the disaster of the Saturn, Sega had to take it a step further and with the Dreamcast they certainly did. The console boasted a 128-bit processor, Internet browsing with a built in modem which led to Online Gaming with SegaNet. In its first year the Dreamcast did amazingly well however Sony had announced that the PS2 was going to be arriving soon. This proved to be the death of Sega. I can just imagine the guys at Sega standing in the factory listening to the news of the PS2's arrival while the funeral march plays on the loudspeaker. After being the big dogs of the gaming world for so long, Sega made there exit from the hardware business in 2001.

Sony PlayStation 2 - 2000

When the PS2 was released in the US it became the all time fasting selling games console, with the introduction of its DVD-Rom it gave consumers that little bit more. With its ability to play new better looking games, DVD movies and PlayStation 1 games AND make them look a little better, it was a breath of fresh air.

Xbox - 2001

This is where Microsoft finally got their feet running into the race to have the best console. With an 8GB hard disk and a Pentium III processor, the Xbox was a beast and was right up there with PlayStation. The Xbox's update, the Xbox 360 was released in 2005.

Nintendo Wii - 2006

Now Nintendo have been clever with their Wii console, when i look down this time-line i notice a pattern. All competitors tend to compete with each other by matching each other. When you already have Microsoft and Sony producing such mind blowing machines i cant see how you can fancy your chances much... So Nintendo make something that is totally different! simple. With its unique control system it gives a gaming experience that is brand new to everyone. You know the graphics aren't going to be as good before you play but you don't care because playing the console is different from anything else you've played before.

Sony PlayStation 3 - 2007

So we're back to the present after going back in time, if you have actually read the full post and made it to the end i salute you! and invite you to give your brain a rest and let you finish off by watching a video review on the Sony PlayStation 3.

LG Prada Phone: Worlds First Completely Touchscreen Mobile Phone

So the Apple iPhone isn't going to be the worlds first completely touch screen mobile phone. Yes LG and Prada have beaten them to it with their LG Prada Phone! and as the name would suggest, it is definitely a looker as you can see but I'll come back to that later.

Lets start of with what the phone is actually capable of before it takes a walk down the catwalk. Of course it has its touch screen, which is the whole point in the phone and is of course its best feature, that goes without saying so lets see what it else it has. The rest of this supermodel phone beholds an Mp3 Player of course, a video player with video recordings at 30fps (pretty impressive), Macromedia Flash, Music multi-tasking, a 400x240 pixel widescreen, an external memory slot, USB and a 2 megapixel camera which is the same as the iPhones plus Bluetooth and tri-band etc. Sounds pretty impressive doesn't it? All those lovely features i reckon i would enjoy very much , however, this thing will cost me €600 and amongst those features i don't see Wi-Fi or 3G, which means no rampant Internet browsing! Big let down. Also as you can see in the picture, at the bottom there appears to be some buttons. Now i'll give them a bit room for an ON button but hey! theres a couple more down there i don't want to be pressing buttons on my "completely" touchscreen mobile phone. I want to be gliding and sliding my fingers over its sleek stylish body not poking it in the ribs, which brings me back to its looks.

With its 12mm deep body and its shiny black coat i say it is a beauty. So you may not get Wi-Fi or 3G for your €600 where the iPhone will and it may have a couple of buttons down the bottom there but if we were talking Prada handbags or Prada shoes here you wouldn't be saying no, and don't forget you still get great features plus that all important touch screen. I like it!

Sony PS3 In The UK For March!

I'm pretty sure all you computer lovers out there will be thinking the exact same thing as what i certainly am thinking... "About Time!". After what seems like an eternity of a delay it looks like the release date is actually going to be a little earlier than was first thought,YAY!, moving to March instead of April, yes it ain't much of an improvement but any improvement is good improvement right? It looks like Sony are going to release proper details of when we can get our gaming little fingers on one of these beasts next week, along with prices etc. I will tell you however that the 60GB model is looking like it is going to be around £420-£430. As for the 20GB model i cant tell you for sure but i am going to guess that it will be in the region of about £350, we'll find out how wrong i am next week. All that i have left to say to you is that, i recommend that come Spring, you don't spend to much cash on Easter eggs and all other sorts of weight gain treats and make sure you keep some pennies in the bank account to fund for one of these bad boys and i will post the proper details up next week as soon as they are released.

Skype Founders Start Internet TV Service Joost

The guys behind Skype are launching what they say is the worlds first broadcast quality online TV service. This new Online TV service has been unveiled under the name of Joost. Joost has been designed in order for broadcasters to get their programmes viewed in front of a global audience allowing viewers to see all kinds of television via Internet.

Chief executive, Frederik de Wahl claims that Joost provides a different experience from all other Internet TV companies. Here's what he had to say about Joost: "We are trying to replicate the complete television experience, it has full-screen, broadcast quality, you've got instant channel flipping, and interactivity - a viewer can come to us and get all their TV needs."

Joost is also going to be supported by advertising which will make it a free service and is currently undergoing trials, but i know what you really want to know, yes, your thinking "what can you actually watch on it". At the moment the line-up consists of sports, documentaries and music programming but Frederik de Wahl says that this is only trial programming and that when the full service is launched it will be much more impressive with a lot more content on offer.

Check out this video on how Joost will work: Joost Video

You can try Joost's trial version for yourself by going to Joost.com

WidgetStation : Is This The Ultimate Desk Clock?

The WidgetStation - The desk clock that is different from all others. You may be thinking, why is he writing about an alarm clock? Well this just isn't a clock, sure it will tell you the time and the date or whatever like any other clock, but, this little beauty can stream you anything from the weather report to whats happening in the stock market!

As you can see in the picture, it has 2 screens, one that is a monochrome screen for displaying the time and one that is colour that will show you "widgets" that give you the information you are looking for. Current widgets are weather reports, news headlines and Flickr streams but more are promised on launch, and! you can also share your own widgets with others online. With Wi-Fi or Ethernet hook-up, information is kept up to date and you can also listen to your favourite MP3's with the built in speaker!

Estimated price for this is expected to be around £150, which personally i can see dropping after the launch. The official launch date has not been made public yet but be sure to check back to find out.

Click here for the official WidgetStation site.

Gadgety Jag! New Jaguar C-XF

At this years Detroit Motor Show, Jaguar is going to display the new C-XF concept car and though its name alludes to the new XF saloon due out later in 2007, Jaguar claims that it is not a close representation of that car. This is the gadget-ridden new motor from our favourite big cat that definitely looks like an all round meaner creature. The XF will replace the Jaguar S-Type saloon, so the C-XF concept shares that car's four-door, rear-wheel drive layout, but in a contemporary shape that Jaguar says offers a glimpse into the future of its design direction. Once inside, fire up the 300 horsepower V8 and a blue Tron-esque light snakes its way from the centre console, around the cockpit and meets behind the back seat – infinitely cooler than those neons you find on the underside of a pimped up Honda Civic. In-car entertainment is also great!It holds a control screen that slides out when the driver’s moves his hand towards it. Coolest of all, it’s capable of showing two images at once; meaning whoever is riding can watch a DVD, while you check the sat-nav. The XF also boasts a 155MPH top speed but with all this stuff inside to play with, who the hell needs to drive anywhere just sit inside while parked in your drive and you'll have the time of your life! Starting prices are expected to be of £28 - £30,000.