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Radio 2010-03-16

Dell Inspiron Mini 10
- 1GHz processor, 1GB RAM, 250GB hard drive
- Cute form factor, different colors
- 1024x600 pixel display
- Windows 7 Starter Edition (read more about it)
- 3 USB ports, SD card slot, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
- AED 1,299
Asus Garmin nüvifone M10
- Windows Mobile 6.5.3
- 3.5-inch WVGA display (800 x 480 pixels), resistive
- 600MHz processor
- 512MB RAM and micro SD card slot
- 5 megapixel camera (also records video)
- Includes stylus
- Garmin navigation built-in
- Comes with dash/windscreen holder with suction cup and car charger
- Available in UAE, local price not known at this time.
Logitech Speaker Lapdesk N700
- Nice cushioning bottm surface
- Hard plastic top surface
- Two “foldable laptop holders” that stops notebook to slide off towards you
- Plug in USB and cooling fan comes on and you have stereo speakers in the Lapdesk
- Takes power from computer so will take longer to charge it
- AED 379
Dark Void game
- PS3, Xbox 360, Windows
- You play Will, a pilot who’s flying Ava to some unknown destination and while passing through the Bermuda Triangle you crash and find yourselves in a parallel universe where “The Watchers”, a race of robots, have taken over. It will be your task to fight “The Watchers” through a series of levels on the ground and in the air.
- Cross between Indiana Jones, Rocketeer and Star Wars.
- Third person shooter (see the main character you play from behind) with fighting on the ground and in the air
- Aerial battles are pretty cool, smooth controls
- Ground battles are pretty repetitive and constricting (follow one prescribed path)
- Graphics are sound are good, some glitches but nothing major
- #radio
15 Mar 2010
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Radio 2010-03-09

Nokia X6: shuffle.to/nokiax6
- Comes with Music unlimited music downloads for 12 months
- 3.2 inch screen (360 x 640 pixels)
- 16GB internal storage (but no expansion)
- 5 megapixel camera, autofocus, flash
- Symbian OS
- Ovi Store (apps), Ovi Maps (free map app)
- FM radio
- Wi-Fi
- 3.5 mm audio jack
- video recording VGA 30fps
- Just launched, price AED 2,200
HTC Legend: shuffle.to/htclegend
- Successor to the very successful Hero (never released in our market)
- Updated HTC Sense interface, Friend Stream, Switch page like Expose in Mac OS X
- Android 2.1
- 3.2 inch screen (320 x 480 pixels)
- 600Mhz processor
- Aluminum “unibody” design
- MicroSD slot for expansion (up to 32GB) - 384MB internal
- 5 megapixel camera, autofocus, flash
- Wi-Fi
- Automatically lowers the ringer volume as soon as the phone is picked up; Mutes the ringer when the phone is flipped face down
- FM radio
- 3.5 mm audio jack
- Will launch “early Q2” 2010, price unknown
Sony Vaio X6: shuffle.to/sonyvaiox
- 2GHz Intel Atom processor
- 2GB RAM
- 128GB SSD
- 11.1 inch screen size (1366 x 768 pixels)
- Integrated Intel graphics
- about 1.3cm thin
- Bluetooth, Wi-Fi
- Windows 7
- Webcam
- Less than 1kg weight
- Starts at AED 4,500
- #radio
8 Mar 2010
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Radio 2010-02-23

Here are the things we talked about in this show. Nokia’s Comes With Music announcement. Some of the things announced at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. See all our posts from MWC.

G-Tech GDrive mini
- 500GB
- USB, Firewire (2 x 800) ports
- Rugged aluminum exterior
- Price around $160 (from US)
Logitech Performance Mouse MX
- “Darkfield” laser tracking (works even on glass)
- Unifying receiver (plugs in to USB port on computer), can have one at home, one at work. Or keep one in your notebook and connect to up to six devices as you move around.
- Rechargeable
- AED 495
Dexim P-Flip foldable iPhone dock
- Works as extended battery as well as dock
- Can keep the iPhone standing up vertically or laying on the side
- Charges iPhone to full status and then a bit more
- $55
Belkin HomeBase
- $170 (according to press release but $130 from Belkin.com online)
- Connect to your wired or wireless home network
- Four USB ports, attach anything and you can access what’s attached from any Mac or PC on the network
- Requires software to be installed on all client computers
- Printers, flash drives, hard drives, etc. can be connected
- #radio
22 Feb 2010
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Radio 2010-01-26

In this show we talk about Apple’s upcoming tablet, which is expected to be revealed at a Media event in the US on Jan 27. If you like to follow what’s happening live with a lot of Apple fans, join us.

Fujifiim Finepix Z33WP
- shuffle.to/fujifilmz33wp
- AED 749
- Weatherproof compact camera down to 3m
- 10-megapixels
- Only digital zoom3x optical zoom
- Video recording only 640x480
Moshi Cardette
- shuffle.to/moshicardette
- AED 140
- Combined USB hub and card reader
- Reads pretty much all types of flash memory cards
- USB 2.0 hub, 2 ports
- Stylish design
Gorillatorch
- shuffle.to/gorillatorch
- AED 210
- Powerful flashlight
- 3 AA batteries
- Flexible legs, wraps around almost anything
- Magnetic “feet”, can hang off of metal surfaces
Monster iCarPlay
- shuffle.to/monstericarplay
- AED 484
- Listen to your iPod or iPhone in your car’s FM radio
- Three-channel/station preset buttons
- Somewhat awkward controls
- AutoScan 3D
- Good sound, had better results with old Belkin but that doesn’t work with iPhone
I also have the Speck TuckPack sleeve with me in the studio ($40 US price, don’t have local retail price). Very stylish, soft computer compartment and one slim pocket for a piece of paper or something.
- #radio
25 Jan 2010
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Radio 2010-01-13

In the first gadget radio show of 2010 I talk about my experience at CES in Las Vegas last week. CES is an annual consumer electronics show, which is a crazy busy place. You can see all my CES posts here on the site, for something not covered there, a quick Google search will show you many photos, videos and more. Here are some of the things we talked about. I’ve tried to organize it under different headings. For most of these things there are not necessarily a direct link for a product page. 3D technology in TVs and on computers
- NVIDIA 3D Vision
- Fujifilm Finepix Real 3D W1 presents shoots 3D photos
Internet connected TV
- Skype
- Content from Internet
- More and more streaming, requires bandwidth we don’t really have yet
- Take TV with you wherever you are, mobile viewers in your home or on the go
- Wireless HDMI, 10Gbps bandwidth, stream uncompressed HD video data
Tablets
- Media/internet consumption devices
- Dell showed 5-inch tablet, Microsoft showed HP tablet
- About 10-inch screen, touch
- Wi-Fi, some have 3G
- Play HD video full 1080
- Listen to music
- Killer app: subscribe to and read periodicals (rumored about Apple Jan 27, buy all content from iTunes)
- NVIDIA Tegra 2, system on a chip, 9 individual processors that do different things, very economical with power (NVIDIA said one prototype 16hr HD video, 140hr music)
- Lenovo Ideapad U1, tablet and notebook in one
Ebook readers
- Plastic Logic QUE proReader, about A4 paper size, WiFi, 3G, $800, Barnes & Noble content partner
- Skiff, 1,600 x 1,200 resolution, issues of content
Connected cars
- NVIDIA working with Audi, all Audi in US by 2011/12 will run Tegra 2
- Microsoft’s SYNC in Ford, Lincoln, Mercury
- SYNC can read Tweets to you
Android coming of age
- HTC Nexus One
- Netbooks
- Tablets
- Microwave
Gesture controls
- Toshiba concept TV with gesture controls
- Microsoft Natale for XBox
AppStores
- Intel AppUp for Intel Netbooks and other devices
- Nokia Ovi store (now also for N900)
- #radio
12 Jan 2010
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Radio 2009-12-15

Since this is the last gadget show for 2009 (we’re taking a break for the holidays) we thought we’d pick a few gadgets each that we think are some of the greatest we came across this year. Some of them may not be the latest and greatest but we think they’re cool nonetheless. James’ gadget picks
Magnus’ gadget picks
Update: Some more links for things we talked about:
- Audacity: free and open source audio recorder/editor.
- Podmatic: publish your podcast (from free).
- M-Audio MicroTrack II: mobile audio recorder, about the size of an iPod classic.
- Belkin TuneTalk mic and speakers for iPod.
- Libsyn: publish your podcast (from $5 per month).
- Blogger.com: Free blogging service that can also be used for podcasting.
- LochalArchade.com: local blog and podcast about gaming.
- #radio
14 Dec 2009
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Radio 2009-11-17

Already last show James said we should talk about Windows 7 so we are. It’s pretty much impossible to talk about Windows 7 without avoiding Vista so we’ll see how that goes. We also looked at two mobile phones and a little unique device from Creative. Windows 7 (Home Basic AED429, Professional AED799, Home Premium AED499, Ultimate AED899)
- Windows XP (2001), Windows Vista (Jan 2007)
- Stated objective with Vista was improved security
- Vista issues: slow performance, incompatible with hardware, excessive security notifications)
- At the release of Windows 7, XP around 68% of market, Vista 22%
- Interface updates (Aero peek, Aero shake, Aero snaps, task bar)
- Improved device management (auto installation drivers, “Device and Printers”, etc)
- Improved security management (less annoying popups, UAC User Account Controls in Vista)
- Three important developments: better performance on lesser hardware (so far most netbooks have run Windows XP), more efficient at using power (longer battery life), and built-in multi-touch functionality.
- Stripped out Windows Calendar, Windows Mail, Windows Movie Maker, and Windows Photo Gallery, now part of free Live Essentials.
Nokia N900 (AED3000)
- 3.5-inch display, 800x480 pixels, more pixels than iPhone, packed tighter
- Processor: ARM Cortex-A8 600 MHz
- Graphics: PowerVR SGX with OpenGL ES 2.0 support
- 32GB internal storage (16 more with microSD card)
- Maemo operating system (based on Linux)
- 5 megapixel camera (autofocus, dual LED flash)
- Video up to 848 × 480 pixels and up to 25fps (640x480 30fps)
- Browser based on Mozilla (Supports Flash)
- Slide-out keyboard
- Included stylus
- Fast operations, great multitasking
- Maemo 5 better adjusted to touch input (with fingers)
- Very much mobile computer rather than smartphone
LG Chocolate(ED2699)
- 345 x 800 pixels, 4.01 inches
- 21:9 aspect ratio (cinema - 1:1 square, regular tv 4:3, HDTV 16:9)
- Internal 1.1 GB storage (microSD up to additional 32GB)
- Wi-Fi
- 5mp camera (autofocus, LED flash)
- Video record vga (640x480), 30fps
- Solid build feel, fast, gorgeous screen
- Size is awkward, fear of bending
Creative X-Fi Go (AED499 8GB, AED 599 16GB)
- Windows only
- Basically an external sound card
- Plugs into USB port, has 3.5mm port for headset and mic
- XFi (Xtreme Fidelity) - “Restores detail and expands music to surround sound”
- Suitable for notebooks and cheap desktops with cheap cards
- #radio
16 Nov 2009
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Radio 2009-11-03

Since this was the first show after du and Etisalat released the iPhone 3GS naturally we had to talk about that quite a bit. It was also (finally) the first show where James had an iPhone. Wonder what he’ll switch to now that he can’t ask about iPhone every show?

iPhone 3GS, around AED2500-2800
- www.apple.com/iphone
- Faster processor (412MHz->600MHz)
- More system memory (double)
- More storage (16 and 32GB)
- 3 megapixel camera with autofocus
- Records video (640x480 30fps)
- Compass
- 7.2Mbps 3G
Apple Airport Express, AED499
- www.apple.com/airportexpress/
- Wi-Fi for up to 10 users
- Plug in USB printer
- Stream from iTunes to stereo/speakers, AirTunes
- A must have for Mac users who travel a lot, share wired Ethernet in many hotels
- Can extend Wi-Fi network from Airport Extreme
- With Remote.app for iPhone/iPod touch you can control your music from anywhere on the same Wi-Fi network
Edifier if350 portable iPhone/iPod speakers, AED699
- www.edifier-international.com/
- Portable, runs without AC power
- Inserts for pretty much all iPods and iPhone
- Remote control, full of buttons, not that great
- FM radio
- Sound is good for portable speakers
- Sounds a bit “thin” to me, better after adjusting equalizer a bit
Wacom Bamboo, from about $100
- This was a last minute addition so I don’t have exact UAE price
- www.wacom.com
- Tablet for controlling OS or drawing/editing
- Use pen or fingers
- It automatically switches mode when pen moves away from tablet
- Multi-touch a la iPhone
We also talked about NDrive, an iPhone app for car navigation. It’s not available in the UAE iTunes App Store unfortunately. It’s $69.99.
- #radio
2 Nov 2009
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Radio 2009-10-20

Western Digital TV Live HD Media Center
- Similar to the LG portable hard drive we looked at last time.
- This one doesn’t have internal hard drive, you plug that in, chose any external .
- Interface is smoother and cooler looking. More responsive and better looking interface than the previous generation.
- It has networking (wired and wireless). You can search and watch Youtube, Flickr, and more and connect to networked drives or share folders.
- Full HD 1080p.
- Extended the types of media it supports compared to previous models.
LG GD910 Watch phone
- Think James Bond!
- A large wrist watch that is also a mobile phone
- Touch screen
- 128x160 pixel display, 1.43-inch
- Requires Bluetooth headset, no headphone jack
- 80MB memory
- 3G data connection
- Video calling
- MP3 player
- Speaker phone
- Voice recognition, text-to-speech
- Around AED4999
Blackberry Curve 8520
- Small, light and very slick looking
- EDGE (not 3G)
- 320x240 pixel display
- 2 megapixel camera (no flash)
- Trackball’s been replaced with optical trackpad
- Media play buttons on the outside (next, prev, play/pause)
- Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
- 3.5mm standard headphone jack
- If it’s anything like previous Curves, battery life is great
- Replaces Curve 8900 (had GPS, 3.2mp camera w autofocus, 480x360 pixel display, flash)
- #radio
19 Oct 2009
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Radio 2009-10-06

Tonight’s show is a mixed bag of tricks. We have an Alienware M15x gaming notebook, the Samsung ST550 digital camera with dual LCD displays, a portable home theater hard drive from LG, and a 7-inch internet and multimedia tablet from Archos.

Alienware M15x PC gaming notebook
- http://shuffle.to/alienwarem15x
- Especially designed and built for gaming, fast graphics, fast processor, fast memory
- 15-inch display, 1600x900 pixels (can get 1920x1080)
- 512MB NVIDIA GeForce GT240M graphics (can get 1GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX260M)
- Intel Core i7 1.6GHz (can get up to 2GHz)
- DDR3 1066/1333MHz RAM
- All different kind of storage options, hard drives, solid state drives, and optical drives
- Weight just over 4kg
- Price TBA ($1500 in US, with full/top specs about $5000)
- The M17x (about $3000) will launch in Middle East at GITEX, the M15x will arrive later in the year
LG Portable Theater HXF1
- No web link
- Small device containing 500GB hard drive
- Connect it to computer, copy movies, music and photos to it
- Then connect it to TV and using remote you play all that back
- You can do same with iPods but this is more compatible and larger storage space
- AED899
Archos 7 Internet Tablet
- http://shuffle.to/archos7
- 7-inch screen, 800x480 pixels
- Touch interface
- 320GB hard drive
- Linux OS
- Wi-Fi
- Multimedia and internet on the go
- US price $320
- UAE retail price AED2999
Samsung ST550 Dual LCD compact digital camera
- http://shuffle.to/samsungst550
- 12.2 megapixels
- Nice 24-124mm lens
- 1.5-inch display facing forward, can show cartoon face on it to distract young kids
- 3-inch touch display on the back
- Tap to focus like iPhone 3GS
- “Blink Detection Mode”, “Smile Mode” , “Beauty Shot” mode
- Video 1280x720p resolution at 30 frames per second in H.264 format
- AED1299
- #radio
5 Oct 2009

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