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They call it the iPhone 3G S for a reason. The S stands for speed, and everything on the new iPhone is up to 2X faster or more. This includes opening apps, surfing the Web, e-mails, and more. The iPhone 3G S supports 7.2 Mbps HSDPA, a network upgrade that will be coming to AT&T later this summer.The 16GB model will sell for $199 and the 32GB will cost $299. They come in black and white, and go on sale June 19. The existing iPhone gets a price drop to $99 today. Look out, everyone else.  

The new device features a 3-megapixel autofocus camera. You can also tap to focus on a specific object. The iPhone 3G S also has a an auto macro mode, so when you get close to an object the function will automatically kick in.

The new camera also captures video, and you can record 30 fps footage at VGA resolution. This could give the Flip a run for its money, although it’s not HD. Not only can you edit footage, you can put it up on MobileMe or YouTube or share via MMS (if the carrier supports it.) Apple predicts that the iPhone 3G S will be the most popular device for sharing video. And Apple will allow developers to tap into this feature, too.

voicecontrol1The new voice control feature looks pretty slick. Hold down the home button and a new interface pops up, complete with search terms floating by you can use. You can do voice dialing, as well as play songs by certain artists or tell your iPhone 3GS to start playing a playlist. You can even say play more songs like this, which taps into the iTunes Genius feature.

A new built-in compass and compass app is on board. You can go right into Google Maps and it will orient to the direction you’re facing. This is a great feature that will make it easy to get your bearings.

Another new feature is integrated Nike Plus functionality, so you can track your workouts and get your distance. On the business side is a new hardware encryption feature, which supports instantaneous remote wipe.

Battery life is now up to 9 hours of web surfing vs. 6 hours, and improvement across the board in other categories is promised, including video and music playback.

The current iPhone 3G will sell for just $99 (8GB version). That’s quite a drop, starting today.

Overall, the iPhone 3G S doesn’t look all that different, but it’s the new guts that will make people want it. I just hope AT&T can ramp up its network to support 7.2 Mbps data fast enough to keep up with this speed demon.

Source: Laptop MAG
Image: Copyright of Apple.com

Santa Clara, CA - Despite announcing last week that it is to cease production of its Rosedale 2 WiMax chip, Intel is investing $43 million in Japanese WiMax provider UQ Communications.

UQ Communications will use the funding to continue the nationwide expansion of its WiMax service in Japan, making a commitment to cover 90 percent of the country by 2012. The company recently launched a trial service in Tokyo’s 23 wards, Yokohama and Kawasaki, and the Tokyo International Airport. It will formally launch the service on July 1.

"Intel Capital’s investment in UQ Communications is one of our most significant commitments in developing the WiMax ecosystem around the globe," said Arvind Sodhani, president of Intel Capital and Intel executive vice president. "UQ’s WiMax deployment in Japan is a spectacular example of technology innovation being put to work."

Intel has been one of the world’s largest evangelists of WiMax, making a series of capital investments worldwide to promote the technology. However, on Friday, the company unexpectedly announced that it is to halt production of its Rosedale 2 WiMax chip, citing the global economic slowdown. However, it has assured users that it is not giving up on WiMax, and will focus on more recent chips instead.

Source: TG Daily

Some Info’s about the new PSP Go:

• 3.8-inch display (resolution is undisclosed)
• 43 percent lighter than the PSP-3000
• 16GB of Flash storage
• Bluetooth built-in; supports handset tethering and BT headsets
• No UMD drive
• Memory Stick Micro slot
• New Gran Turismo, Little Big Planet and new Metal Gear Solid (!) on the way
• Full PlayStation Network support (movie and TV rentals / purchases)
• Integration with PlayStation 3 (works the same as the PSP-3000 does)
• Sony views each of its products as "10-year lifecycle products," so the PSP "needs to live.

After two years of watching iPod sales pass it by, Microsoft has drawn a line in the sand and says it has a new Zune with hardware features to thwart the iPod touch, including a multi-touch display.

Instead of reserving its details for a full announcement, Microsoft on Tuesday night tipped its hand early and provided some preliminary but important details of the new player.

All but confirmed as early as April, the Zune HD will finally drop physical buttons in favor of a touchscreen display. Microsoft’s will be slightly lower-resolution than Apple’s — 480×272 instead of the iPod’s 480×320 — but, according to what was told to Engadget, will be slightly smaller than Apple’s at 3.3 inches diagonal and, in a more obvious break, will use OLED (organic light emitting diode) technology in place of LCD. The newer approach produces richer colors and, since it doesn’t need a backlight, produces true blacks while simultaneously consuming less battery life.

Multi-touch will indeed play a role, but Microsoft wasn’t keen to say what features would be enabled. It quickly shut down rumors that Windows Mobile might lie underneath and instead said it was using a very extensively modified version of Windows CE.

As suggested by the name, HD content will play an important part in the new Zune, though not as elaborately as alluded to in rumors. HD video will require a new dock and can’t be played on the Zune itself. Microsoft also claims a particular first in its use of HD Radio: the Zune HD will be one of the first handheld devices with an HD Radio tuner, which should support digitlal-quality broadcasts on sub-channels of the FM band.

In step with the new freedom afforded by a touch display, the new player will do more with its Wi-Fi than just download from the Zune Marketplace or "squirt" songs to fellow Zune owners. Microsoft says it has developed a customized version of Internet Explorer made just for the Zune HD that hinges on touch for navigation.

The Redmond, Washington-based electronics maker also revealed that it intends to push the Zune name far deeper into its line than before. At next week’s E3 gaming trade show, Microsoft intends to replace the Xbox Video Marketplace with a Zune-labeled service. Although it wouldn’t say so explicitly, Microsoft implied that movies and TV shows from the Xbox 360 may port over to the Zune, or vice versa. Microsoft wouldn’t elaborate on games, either, but did hint at touchscreen-aware games and similar apps.

Zune HD devices will ship in the fall to Canada, Europe and the US, but won’t completely oust the existing Zune lineup; it’s mostly the smaller flash players that will make their exit when the new hardware arrives, Zune’s general global marketing head Chris Stephenson told CNET. Capacities, prices and many of the other more concrete details weren’t provided, but the Zune HD will be the "definitive" Zune.

Whatever its ultimate place among Microsoft’s own line, the firm makes no bones about what the Zune HD’s role will be in the market: it’s "created to go head to head" with the iPod touch, Stephenson said. Where smaller competitors like iRiver and Samsung have had their own touchscreen devices for months or more, Microsoft has gone without its own in the roughly 1.5 years since the iPod touch first hit the market — a factor which has helped maintain over 70 percent market share in the US for iPods and a $100 million plunge in Zune revenue from late 2007 to late 2008.

Combined with a new anti-iPod ad campaign for the Zune Pass unlimited subscription music service, the Zune HD signals a renewed interest on the part of Microsoft, which has been making noise about touch computing in Windows 7 and Windows Mobile but, without even a single-touch Zune to its name, has almost exclusively been left by the wayside in the handheld device space.

Source: © AppleInsider

Toshiba’s Satellite Pro range is aimed at corporate users and is known for its no-nonsense design and resilient build quality. While the Satellite Pro L300-1FO won’t win any awards for style, it is nevertheless a powerful, usable and highly portable business laptop.

As with all but the HP in this group, the chassis weighs 2.6kg. Its 206-minute battery life betters both the Advent and HP, however, so you can easily keep working on the daily commute and also on longer journeys whenever necessary.

The staid design suits a mass corporate rollout, but lacks individual charm. The bulky chassis is incredibly resilient, so is sure to withstand the rigours of long-term use. Only the screen flexes slightly under pressure, but this is generally an intended feature to prevent against cracking.

Good usability

The large keyboard is quick to respond and provides strong usability. Its only flaw is a noticeable clicking sound as the keys are pressed, which may irritate speed-typists. Thankfully, the large mouse buttons don’t display such a fault.

The 15.4-inch screen is standard, but provides strong image quality. Its glossy Super-TFT coating increases reflections when used outdoors, but it is a bright and colourful panel, and is also suited to entertainment use.

This laptop uses a dual-core Pentium processor, but despite a faster 2.16GHz clock-speed, we found the Toshiba slightly slower to respond than the Celeron-powered HP Compaq Presario CQ60-214EM. It suits basic multi-tasking, however, and we had no trouble simultaneously running several business applications.

BENCHMARK MACHINE: Samsung Q45

Where the Toshiba compares unfavourably to its rivals is in its poor storage options. Although the 120GB hard drive provides ample space for basic use, it is bettered by most similar machines. The lack of flash card support is also frustrating.

Unlike the HP Compaq Presario CQ60-214EM and Advent 5712, there is also no integrated camera. This is a shame, as business users would surely get plenty of use from such a feature. Connectivity to external displays is also limited to analogue monitors and projectors only, as there is no HDMI or DVI digital ports.

Thankfully, the balance is redressed slightly by a range of excellent proprietary software applications and a full suite of internet security tools. First-time users will certainly appreciate the extra usability and it adds to the value of this laptop.

While the limited storage and features of the Satellite Pro L300-1FO are unfortunate, its strength, battery and performance help it stand out, making it an excellent choice for both business and consumer users alike.

Source: © Tech Radar

The Triton 88 is Asus’ latest cooler, compatible with Intel Core i7 processors. It’s a high-end chiller, designed to take the latest chips to their air-cooled, overclocked peaks and it’s got a CPU support list about as long as Scan’s processor inventory.

To cope with the extra overclocking prowess of both the new Intel and AMD chips, though, Asus has gone for a typically huge design with twin cooling towers and a 120mm fan spinning away under a blue LED in between them.

So, it looks the part then, and performance too is right up there with the best. We tested it against a stock cooler and a low-end aftermarket option, which managed 67 and 58 degrees respectively under load.

The Triton 88 managed to drag that operating temperature down to 54 degrees. Unfortunately, OCZ has already beaten Asus to the i7 punch with its Gladiator cooler, which hits exactly the same temperature, but for less than half the price.

To compound this, the Triton is a bit of a fiddly beast to fit to an Intel board too. The large sets of aluminium fins hang over the corner screws, meaning you’ll need to use the packaged spanner to tighten things up. This in turn means that you’ve got no hope of fitting the cooler without totally removing the mobo from the chassis first.

The Gladiator also requires this – using the same backplate to screw in to – but you don’t need as much free space around the cooler to squeeze in the tiny spanner.

So, although the Triton is cool and blue, it’s far too pricey when you compare it to OCZ’s excellent chiller.

Buy from our affiliates: MicroDirect

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Apple aficionados turned their attention this week back to a rumored Apple iPod touch-like tablet device. Chatter about such a gadget has risen and fallen several times over the past few months, so what put it back on the front burner? It seems a recent Piper Jaffray report suggests Apple is working with suppliers to deliver such a large-screen touch tablet sometime in the first half of 2010. Meanwhile, netbooks continue to be all the rage on the PC side of the fence, though Mac netbook rumors have appeared to die down lately.

MSI’s X58 Pro is proof that, as predicted, the X58 chipset price drop continues unabated. Just a couple of months ago we were reviewing motherboards that cost over £300, now we’re getting ones that cost half that price.

By our, admittedly unique, calculations this time next year you’ll be able to pick one up and the retailer will give you £12.

MSI’s cheapo X58 Pro is virtually identical to the Gigabyte EX58-UD5, save a couple of features and a brown (ooh, retro!) printed circuit board. It comes in at £40 less than the Gigabyte option, but doesn’t tick quite as many of our boxes as that motherboard did.

• Read TechRadar’s Gigabyte EX58-UD5 review

As with all other motherboards these days, MSI has added a few extra bells and whistles to differentiate it from the crowd. There’s a bank of tiny switches, like light clickers from a doll’s house, that let you alter your CPU clock. It’s seriously retro, but strangely appealing at the same time.

In addition, MSI has lowered the temperatures on the motherboard by separating the cooling module for the chipset and MOSFETs. And there’s Active Phase Switching, which automatically reduces power based on system loading.

The motherboard stayed very cool when we were testing it, and it all seems to work. In addition MSI has included its GreenPower software, which lets you overclock and underclock every element of the board from within Windows.

The built-in sound is no great shakes, and doesn’t compare to the Gigabyte board’s in-built Dolby Home Theatre system. It also lacks Gigabyte’s handy LED numeric read-out, although the MSI board does include LEDs next to major components, so you can – somewhat depressingly – see which of your hugely expensive additions is failing.

In terms of performance though, the X58 Pro pretty much matches the Gigabyte option, ever so slightly beating it in memory throughput. It’s basically a question of whether or not you think the extra features of the Gigabyte board are worth stumping up £40 for, and we think that they are.

Of course, if the credit crunch is wearing out your wallet to the point at which it looks like something the Time Team would dig out of a muddy trench in Warwickshire, it might just be worth waiting for motherboard manufacturers to drop their iterations of the P55 chipset on us later this year. If they’re anything like last year’s P45 motherboards, you can expect the cheapest to come in at just over £100.

Unless, of course, you are actually building a retro-steampunk PC, in which case the X58 Pro’s brown printed circuit board is made of old school win.

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