Five things Sony needs to do save the PS3
Price cuts, exclusive games and a more integrated mobile strategy would help
Things are looking tough for Sony: redundancies, missed shipment targets and poor financial results. So what's a giant mega-corporation to do? Take advice from bloggers, of course...
1. Cut the price - now
And not just a measly amount either. We'd like to see £125 at least off the UK price. Ideally even more. That would give …
iPhone demand in the UK is 'soft', survey finds
Even die-hard fans may not convert
The UK's largest iPhone survey undertaken by iPhone blog iphonic.tv has found that while interest in Apple's upcoming mobile is very high, even Apple die-hards won't invest in the handset unless it is competitively priced and available on their network.
While 72 per cent of the 487 respondents (74 per cent of which already own …
Which games console is most web 2.0-friendly?
Surf's up for the Wii and the PS3
Both Wii and PS3 have web browsers, but it's fair to say that web surfing is a secondary feature for both. It's all about the games really, with a side-order of Blu-Ray goodness in PS3's case. However, Web 2.0 will be a factor in both - for example, Sony's upcoming Home virtual world, and Nintendo's connected News Channel and …
Why the PS3 might share the same fate as the PSP
Opinion Will the Wii beat the PS3 like the DS Lite trumped the PSP?
Especially with the recent indicators that the Wii is outselling the PS3, I'm beginning to think I'm seeing the PSP vs the DS again, but writ large.
On the one hand you've got the Wii, a game console with a unique control system. Its graphically superior Sony competitor, the PS3, is more expensive, pumps out better graphics and …
The Twitterati - ten Twitter spin offs and mash ups
Micro blogging mania starts here
1. Twitterrific
Mac OS X application that's sleek and minimal and lets you check on friends' posts ("tweets") and post your own, without cluttering your desktop.
2. Twitterlicious
Basically, Twitterrific but for Windows, offering the same blend of easy reading/updating for PC users.
3. Twittervision/Twittersearch
Two …
Ten jobs that robots are eyeing up
Sadly, not the England football manager...
Honda's Asimo robot is living the high life right now. Not only is he wowing the crowds at consumer technology shows, he's also the star of several Honda TV adverts.
But what if it all goes wrong? What if Honda dumps Asimo the way Sony ditched its QRIO humanoid robot when it decided to shift its R&D budget elsewhere? …
Ten things Sony execs may regret saying about the PS3
'It's probably too cheap'. Apparently
Sony's management aren't generally known for their passive attitudes and humble outlook. We've got a small sample of their finest public moments below.
Quotes collated by PS3 blog pspsps.tv.
Sony's Jack Tretton
10 "The first five million are going to buy it [the PS3], whatever it is, even [if] it didn't have games." Sony …
Ten battles the PS3 must fight to win the next-gen console war
It's the games, stupid
So, it's Friday and eager gamers are already out and about trying to pick up a PlayStation 3 - particularly after last night's one-shop only midnight launch.
Here in Europe, at least, Friday is the proper starting gun for the next-generation console war, since PS3, Wii and Xbox 360 will all be available to buy. Can Sony hang …
The top 25 UK web 2.0 start ups
Tech Digest Watch out Silicon Valley - the Brits are coming!
Web 2.0 isn't just about startups in California hoping to get bought by Google - even if it can sometimes seem that way. There's loads of sparky Web 2.0 startups here in the UK, even if they don't fall into a lazily-definable scene, trend, or movement.
With no agenda other than they're interesting, here's 25 UK-based startups …
Ten reasons why you should buy a PlayStation 3
Tech Digest £450 well spent?
Is that the wind of changed opinions blowing? Since last week's Games Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco, the buzz about Sony's PlayStation 3 has taken a turn for the better.
The keynote presentation from Sony's Phil Harrison had a lot to do with it: he announced two separate PS3 virtual worlds - Home and …
CES' top ten weirdest gadgets
Stair-climbing robots, singing Elvis busts, MP3 baby gyms - only in Vegas...
CES 2007 This year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas has been quiet, very quiet. However the absence of mega announcements from Microsoft, Sony et al has left space open for some of the smaller, quirkier manufacturers to grab their share of their limelight. Here then, much more fun than an LG Blu-ray/HD DVD player, are …
The Top 20 Weirdest gadgets of 2006
Robot guinea pigs, solar-powered insect theatres and more
It's been one of those years when technology came on in leaps and bounds. Around the world, thousands of pointy-headed scientists and product designers beavered away in high-security laboratories, investing time, money and effort to create... more silly USB gadgets.
Yes, 2006 has been the year when gadgets got a bit ridiculous …
Samsung BD-P1000 Blu-ray Disc player
Review The first consumer Blu-ray machine lands in the UK
Around a decade ago I witnessed my first demo of a DVD player. I stupidly then proceeded to tell a room of fellow journos that it would never take off as a format until it was recordable. Well, as you can imagine, certain people have never let me forget that indiscretion. So when faced with the first sample of Blu-ray - the next …
'Bloggers do not have original thought between them'
Tech Digest Waterhouse takes a pop at 'Googlers' too
Oh how I love the Daily Mail. What a splendid newspaper. No, really. Its online offering is now very good to the point where a US-exiled liberal friend of mine confessed to me the other day that after the Gruniard, it is his first online stop for UK news.
If the Fleet St gossip is right too, the Mail's site is really starting …
Dr Who Tardis on eBay
Tech Digest And other assorted gadgets and goodies
From the makers of Tech Digest, Shiny Shiny, eBay blog Bayraider and the cool new blog for blokes Brandish.
Dr Who Tardis on eBay
Now here's a replica item I could happily mortgage my granny for. It's a replica police box made by a professional carpenter (i.e. it stands up straight and doesn't have nails poking out of the …
10 Ways to make yourself a YouTube Star
Fight strangers in the street, do weird things with animals...
Top 10s brought to you by Britain's leading gadgets blog Tech Digest and gadget review blog TechReviews
I'll spare you the blurb about YouTube being a revolution in online media, a truly democratised broadcasting platform, and the pinnacle of user-generated content. You know this, and if you didn't, 768 high-brow articles in …
Top 10 technoculture books for the beach
Tech Digest Much more fun than Wayne Rooney's bio anyhow...
From the UK's leading gadgets blog Tech Digest
Okay, maybe not the beach - if you're spending a couple of weeks sunning yourself abroad you might want a break from technology, even in paper form. But if you're on the lookout for some more weighty reading matter on where all this technology is leading (or just want to make your …
Ten gadgets to get you sacked
Tech Digest Vital ammunition for the office prankster
It's hot, your boss is evil, you never got that promised pay-rise. It's hot, your colleagues hate you, and you're fed up with sardine-like commuting. Oh, and did I mention it's really hot? What better time then to jack in your job to spend more time with your sofa, beer-fridge and television? But if you're going to go, do it …
Five bags CSI for video on demand
Geek TV ... and the best of the weekend's telly
Jane Hoskyn, TV Scoop
While Channel 4 is busy sending American TV execs Ferrero Rocher and M&S gift vouchers* in a bid to let them include Lost and Desperate Housewives in their telly-stroke-web simulcast, Five has nipped in to snatch video on demand (VOD) rights to CSI.
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CSI Miami and CSI New …
The Alienware Aurora ALX has arrived on Earth
Review The desktop that weighs more than a fridge
In a month when laptops outsold desktops for the first time, it's a brave move to launch a desktop that weighs more than your fridge.
The Alienware Aurora ALX is a no-compromises gaming PC which turns up in a box the size of a Marshall 4x12 with a box of accessories the size of a Marshall amp. Just in case I'm not being clear …
Top tat - the five worst World Cup gadgets
Tech Digest Just add that cross of St George
The World Cup - a great time for football, an even better time for flag sellers and for manufacturers of gadgets.
Englandusb_1
Yes, for the last couple of months, manufacturers big and small have been scouring the warehouse, looking for products they couldn't sell at Christmas, before repackaging them at a premium price, …
Be Unlimited 24Meg broadband review
Tech Digest Is it really that quick?
Viva
Veteran TechDigest readers may recall this news item about Be’s Unlimited 24mbps broadband – then as now the fastest available in the UK - back in August of last year.
Like a good little guinea pig I signed up in early Spetember as a regular subscriber – no special favours here (yet!) – and waited for activation.
And …
Review: Ion USB Turntable
Tech Digest Your vinyl collection goes digital
Review from Tech Digest. Also check out our World Cup blog Who Ate All The Bratwurst?
Goodpic The digital music revolution seems to have affected all age groups - with your nan being as likely to listen to her iPod while she's gardening as your annoying nephew is to be rocking his Walkman 'phone at the back of the bus.
A …
Sky vs Telewest HD showdown
Tech Digest TV, TV on the wall, who's the highest def of all?
Yesterday I took delivery of my Sky HD box and naturally spent the rest of the day watching Star Wars Revenge of the Sith (it is better in HD honest) and animals mauling each other on the National Geographic HD channel.
I am also lucky enough to have a Telewest TVDrive (its HD hard disk video recorder) in the home, so here are …
Five ways to watch the World Cup on the move
Tech Digest There's no escape this time...
The clock is ticking - not long until the big World Cup kick off. There's just one problem. To fit in over 60 matches in a one month period means a number of daytime kick offs, when most of us are stuck at work.
You've got two options; use your entire holiday allocation from 9 June, or find a way of catching the action at work …
Sky teams up with MediaFlo for mobile TV trial
Tech Digest HD on your phone? Don't rule it out
Just when you thought you knew all about mobile TV, along comes yet another platform. After DVB-H and DMB comes MediaFLO, an innovation from Qualcomm, the US company best known for making chips for 3G handsets. Yesterday it confirmed a deal with BSkyB to trial the system in the UK in the summer.
We caught up with MediaFLO …
Sky names HD launch day
But Telewest/NTL gets Lost and Desperate Housewives in high def
After months of speculation Sky has officially confirmed that its HD service will start broadcasting on Monday, 22 May. On that date the first of the 40,000 telly addicts who have signed up to the HD service will have their system installed.
Sky has also revealed what HD punters will be watching in the first week on its HD …
How to make your own World Cup single
Tech Digest Sod Embrace. Create your own terrace anthem
World Cup blog Who Ate All The Bratwurst explains how to have a footy hit in 10 easy steps:
1. Choose your song
Unless you are a musical genius, pick a 70s or 80s classic and rework it, a la Joe Fagin's That's Livin' Alright/That's England Alright. Something with an anthemic chorus goes down well, or something with adaptable …
May launch for Sky HD
£300 for the box and £10 a month to subscribe
HDTVUK - blogging in high def
Sky has announced a May launch for its HD service. Its rather rather annoying HD website not only has the details of pricing but also says that installations for the service will begin in May. It seems very unlikely that Sky would begin installations without having launched the service.
It seems …
BBC kicks off HD balls in May
Geek TV Plus the best of this weekend's telly
By Jane Hoskyn, TV Scoop
So, the BBC's first venture into the brave new world of HD TV will be balls. Football and tennis fans are to be the inaugural beneficiaries of high-definition pictures from the Beeb, with the World Cup and Wimbledon to be screened in HD.
What a missed opportunity. High-def will surely be wasted on …
World Cup live on your mobile
Plus drop dead gorgeous DAB radios and kids' MP3 players
Certified gadget obsessives Tech Digest and Shiny Shiny scour Gizmoville for the oddest digital goodies, TV Scoop features all that’s cool in British telly and Games Digest has all the latest gaming news.
World Cup live on your mobile
If this had been a week later, we'd have been thinking April Fools, but according to Mobile …
Telewest TVDrive HDTV-enabled PVR
Review HD and more from the cable co
Sky might be making all the noise about HDTV in the UK but, in classic tortoise versus hare scenario, its cable rival Telewest has got there first. Telewest's HDTV enabled hard disk based video recorder, the TVDrive, went on sale last week. It is available to four million homes with viewers signing up via Currys, Dixons or …
Not CeBIT
Tech Digest Sod the techie stuff - the iPod shower system is fun!
Not fussed about the CeBIT techfest? Well, here are some fluffy and friendly gadgets - courtesy of Shiny - that you may well not see in Hannover:
Fido Robot Luggage
Fido bag We've all experienced the joys of hauling luggage across busy streets/tube stations/airports. It's enough to put you off the whole holidaying experience …
Eurovision HDTV contest
Is it nul points for the UK?
HDTV has been creeping into Europe for a while and as we sit tight and anxiously wait for Sky, Telewest and the BBC to start rolling out our high definition signals some countries are already enjoying the delights of 720p and 1080i programming.
Germany is probably the furthest on in the development of HDTV helped along no doubt …
Multimedia arms race
Tech Digest Web browsing, email, TV tuners and more
Certified gadget obsessives Tech Digest and Shiny Shiny scour Gizmoville for the oddest digital goodies, TV Scoop features all that’s cool in British telly and Propellerhead answers your PC queries
Handheld consoles compete for multimedia dominance
Nintendo's DS handheld console is set, in coming months, to get a raft of add- …
Hands on with 3GSM's hottest mobiles
3GSM First look at Nokia's web phone, SE's new Walkman handset and LG's TV mobile
Certified gadget obsessives Tech Digest and Shiny Shiny scour Gizmoville for the oddest digital goodies, TV Scoop features all that’s cool in British telly and Propellerhead answers your PC queries.
Ok, so you've read the latest news on the technology and flicked through the new phone’s specifications, but what are they …
Sony's ambitious HD PC
Plus bionic ears
It is a real sign of the times that you get a press release about a new PC and its first sentence bangs on about HD. But then again, this is Sony, a company that is staking an awful lot on HD, so perhaps it shouldn't be too surprising. The PC in question is the latest in its series of high-end desktops, the £1300 VGC-R202. Sony …
No Sony PS3 in UK until 2007, says analyst
But Xbox 360 hard drives on the way
It's been a fairly tough start to the year for both Sony's PS3 and Microsoft's Xbox 360, but it looks like Sony's woe may be a touch worse.
Industry speculation that Sony's projected release date for its PlayStation 3 console of "Spring 2006" was looking unlikely turned into open ridicule when a Sony source told a journalist …
CES 2006: top ten gadgets
The hottest Vegas showstoppers since Liberace
So the delegates have gone home, the halls are emptying and, yes, Gates (and Elvis) have left the building. The gadget fest that was the Consumer Electronics Show 2006 is now history. Yet before we bury it for good, here's our list of the ten best gadgets to emerge at the show (in no particular order)...
Hannspree LCD TVs …
Hands on with Samsung's HSDPA mobile
CES Top video streaming from the fastest phone in town
One of the most interesting exhibits in the whole of CES, from a UK perspective at least, is the HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Data Packet Access) mobile phone from Samsung. The SGH-ZX20 is a clamshell mobile that will be able to take advantage of the much faster data speeds (up to 3.6Mbps compared to 384kbps of 3G) of the new …
Another day, another gadget buffet
CES Cool VoIP and PSP apps and gadgets galore
Certified gadget obsessives Tech Digest and Shiny Shiny scour Gizmoville for the oddest digital goodies
TV to go on your PSP coming to UK
Sony’s CES presentation might have been high on gloss and short on content, but it did deliver some wonderful news for British PSP owners. Location Free TV – a very cool application for the …
CES 2006: the first gadgets land
Weird shades from Moto, high def cams and more
Certified gadget obsessives Tech Digest and Shiny Shiny scour Gizmoville for the oddest digital goodies.
CES 2006 Oddities
The New Year’s hangover has been and gone and Christmas is but a fading memory which means it is must be time for the traditional first week of January jaunt to Las Vegas for the CES show. The world’s …
Best gadgets of 2005
2005 in review We'll have five of each please
Certified gadget obsessives Tech Digest and Shiny Shiny scour Gizmoville for the oddest digital goodies, TV Scoop features all that’s cool in British telly and Propellerhead answers your PC queries.
Here's our top ten gadgets of 2005 - in no particular order:
Plantronics Pulsar 590a
Plantronics Pulsar 590a We have been …
PDA for your pet
and other high-tech shaggy dog stories
Certified gadget obsessives Tech Digest and Shiny Shiny scour Gizmoville for the oddest digital goodies, TV Scoop features all that’s cool in British telly and Propellerhead answers your PC queries
Petmaster
PDA for your pet
Being a pet owner can be trying; you have to remember to feed them, pet them, give them their meds, …
It's a dog's life on eBay
Dogs fight nanos and 360s for top eBay spot
Certified gadget obsessives Tech Digest and Shiny Shiny scour Gizmoville for the oddest digital goodies, TV Scoop features all that’s cool in British telly and Propellerhead answers your PC queries.
Sega iDog Bag
A dog is for life, not just for Christmas. With the exception of dogs that need a couple of batteries sticking up …
The 39 megapixel camera, iPod pants and more
Gadgets and eBay goodies from the Shiny crew
Certified gadget obsessives Tech Digest and Shiny Shiny scour Gizmoville for the oddest digital goodies, TV Scoop features all that’s cool in British telly and Propellerhead answers your PC queries.
39 megapixel camera back
It was only a couple of years ago we were getting excited over the arrival of a 1.3 megapixel digital …
Mobiles for dogs and other gadget goodies
The latest dispatch from Gizmoville
Certified gadget obsessives Tech Digest and Shiny Shiny scour Gizmoville for the oddest digital goodies, TV Scoop features all that’s cool in British telly and Propellerhead answers your PC queries.
Mobile phone for dogs
Petmobility's dog phones So Fido is getting a little too frisky with the bitches in another postcode and …
iPod shuffle voted top 'Chav Gadget'
PSP and nano are most wanted though...
Certified gadget obsessives Tech Digest and Shiny Shiny scour Gizmoville for the oddest digital goodies, TV Scoop features all that’s cool in British telly and Propellerhead answers your PC queries.
iPod shuffle is top Chav Gadget
Put on your Burberry scarf and switch on your iPod Shuffle. While the iPod nano may be the king …
Telewest goes live with HDTV
Lucky south Londoners go high def
Certified gadget obsessives Tech Digest and Shiny Shiny scour Gizmoville for the oddest digital goodies, TV Scoop has all the hottest cult TV news and HDTVUK has all the latest High Def stories.
Telewest has become the first British company to deliver a live HDTV (High Definition TV service) service. Starting from today it is …
No new N-Gages until 2007
The end for the phone/gaming console?
From the UK’s leading games blog - Games Digest, from the makers of Tech Digest and Shiny Shiny.
Nokia disN-gages
Nokia N-gage Antti Vasara, Nokia's VP for Corporate Strategy, says its short-term strategy doesn't include mobile gaming handsets. Until 2007, there'll be no new N-Gage, or any other mobile handset designed …
