BBC Launches Mobile Version Website

Have you ever used your mobile phone to access websites? I do use it quite often and love it, although there are not many good mobile websites yet. But I believe the mobile world will definitely be the future of Internet sooner or later.

BBC.co.uk has just launched a new version of its website for mobile devices, including a new section for BBC Radio 1's Newsbeat with all the latest entertainment news and pictures.

The BBC's mobile website attracts 2.7 million unique users each month to its News, Sport and Weather content. It is currently the No.1 mobile site in the U.K.

Check out BBC.co.uk on your mobile devices or http://www.bbc.co.uk/mobile/web/index.shtml for more information.

The New High-end - Nokia N96

The Nokia N95's successor has gone official - the all new Nokia N96. Although the N95 is still powerful, the N96 has gone further by having 16GB internal storage in addition to a microSD slot. The 5 megapixel Carl Zeiss auto-focus camera is still on N96, but now it has two LED lights doing flash and video light separately.

The Nokia N96 has a 2.8" QVGA display with integrated DVB-H mobile TV tuner and 3.5mm headphone jack. Other features include Wi-Fi and A-GPS. It works on HSDPA, but unfortunately the first version only supports 900MHz and 2100MHz. It has 128MB RAM and 256MB system memory for operating system and dynamic user data. Battery life is up to 150 minutes talk time and up to 200 hours stand-by time.

It will be available from third quarter of 2008 for about 550 euro (US$870 or NZ$1,100).

Check out more Nokia N96 product images.

Sony Launches Cyber-shot W300 Compact Digital Camera with 13.6 Megapixel

Sony launches the Cyber-Shot DSC-W300 digital compact camera with 13.6 megapixel, 2.7" LCD screen, scratch-resistant titanium-coated body, HDTV output and all Sony's new intelligent technologies including the "Smile Shutter" and Dynamic Range Optimization.

The new DSC-W300 is expected to be the industry's most pocktable, high-resolution digital compact camera with high performance. The camera has ultra-high 13.6 megapixel CCD with a Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar 3x optical zoom lens, 2.7" LCD screen with 230k pixels and an eye-level viewfinder all in a compact size. I like the body - the premium look and ultra-hard titanium coating makes it highly-resistant to scratches and messy fingerprints.

The intelligent shooting features include Face Detection, Intelligent Scene Recognition Mode, 9-Point Auto Focus, Super SteadyShot optical image stabilization, Sony Double Anti-Blur Solution, Dynamic Range Optimization, Convenient Photo Modes and Burst Mode.

The Cyber-shot DSC-W300 and accessories will be available in May for about US$350 (NZ$430) in the US market. But I guess it may be around NZ$600 when it launches in the NZ market.

Check out more Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W300 product images.

Intel will Release Quad-Core CPUs for Laptops in Q3, 2008

Intel confirms that it will deliver quad-core chips for laptops later this year. The quad-core laptop CPUs are most likely for desktop replacement notebooks, will be based on the Core 2 Duo micro-architecture and will ship in Q3 of 2008. The new CPUs may use the new 45-nanometer technology.

The quad-core laptop CPU will be released after Intel's Centrino 2 platform, which will be launched in Q2, 2008. The Centrino 2 platform is code-named Montevina and is an upgrade to the current Centrino mobile platform with WiMax and Wi-Fi on a single chip.

The initial launched quad-core laptop chip won't be small. So it won't fit in super-slim laptops like MacBook Air, and will require more power than dual-core chips. The target will be mobile gamers and office workers who need heavy processing power. If you're hunting for a powerful desktop replacement laptop and don't mind to wait for 6 more months, then you may want to wait for the quad-core beasts.

Top 20" Wide-screen LCD - ASUS PW201

Looking for a new LCD monitor? If you have enough budget, a 24" model would be good to have. But if you don't want to spend $1,000+ on a monitor, then look at 20" models which have the best combination of performance and price at the moment. Among all those 20" LCDs on the market, the ASUS PW201 would be a good one to consider.

ASUS PW201 has good picture performance, smooth adjustments and selling for around NZ$725 (US$540). Its resolution is 1680x1050 and contrast ratio is 800:1. It also comes with a 1.3 megapixel camera and picture-in-picture function. Connectivity wise, it provides composite, S-Video, component inputs as well as DVI, earphone jack and USB ports for connecting your business and entertainment devices. Overall, the ASUS PW201 is a fine choice for work, play or both.

All New Sony Digital Photo Frames

Digital photo frame is a very popular product now. It's a perfect gift to anyone and also looks great when put in your own bedroom or living room. I have bought one for my mom last year as a Christmas gift and she liked it very much. At the moment, we have the choices from Philips and Samsung and some other brands. But Sony is releasing its digital photo frame products as well. Let's have a quick look at what Sony offers.

The upcoming Sony DPF-D70 digital photo frame has a 7" 800x480 resolution and 15:9 aspect ratio LCD screen. It comes with 256MB internal memory and supports most memory card formats. The price will be US$140 (NZ$175).

Apart from the basic model DPF-D70, Sony will also release two advanced models - the 7" DPF-V700 and 9" DPF-V900. Both models come with 512MB internal memory instead of 256MB and also have an HDMI output for viewing photos in high definition on an HDTV. The 7" V700 will cost US$190 (NZ$235) and the 9" V900 will be on sale at US$250 (NZ$310).

All the models will be available from April this year.

Two New Sony DSLRs - Alpha A300 & A350

Looking for a new DSLR camera? Of course, we can choose a Canon or Nikon. But don't forget Sony. I'm currently using a Sony Alpha A100 which works fine. While I'm looking at the replacement model A200, Sony has unveiled the new 10.2 megapixel Alpha A300 and 14.2 megapixel A350.

The A300 is an entry-level DSLR and has a nice price US$799.99 (NZ$988) for the A300K bundle, which comes with a 18-70mm zoom lens. The A300X bundle, which comes with 18-70mm standard zoom and 55-200mm telephoto lens will cost US$999.99 (NZ$1,235).

The Alpha A300 DSLR uses Sony's Bionz image-processing engine and the ISO is up to 3200. It also has a sensor-shifting image stabiliser - that makes very clear shots in low light. It equips with a tilting 2.7" LCD display and two levels of anti-dust protection for the CCD. The A300 has the Live Preview feature as well which is almost standard for any DSLRs this year.

The A350 has almost the same specs as the A300, but it has the resolution up to 14.2 megapixels. The A350K bundle with one 18-70mm lens costs US$899.99 (NZ$1,115) and A350X with two lenses will cost US$1,099.99 (NZ$1,360).

The A350 will be available in March this year and A300 would be coming in April.

Sony Ericsson + Windows Mobile = XPERIA X1

Sony Ericsson has announced a new Windows Mobile based smartphone - XPERIA X1. This will be the first Windows Mobile device from Sony Ericsson. It also means that four of the top five phone makers in the world now are producing Windows Mobile phones.

The new XPERIA brand will focus on multimedia and mobile web communication. The X1 looks very cool and has both QWERTY keyword and touch screen. Let's have a quick look at what it offers:

• Fully functional QWERTY keywobard
• Touch screen with finger touch navigation
• 3" wide WVGA TFT display (800 x 480)
  
• UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA/EDGE
• 3.2 megapixel camera
• aGPS
• Windows Mobile 6
• WiFi
• microSD

Is this the perfect smartphone to get? But it won't be available until the second half of 2008.

Top Digital Camera - Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H3

Looking for a digital camera that fits your pocket, fits your performance requirements and also fits your budget? Then the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H3 is definitely a good choice. The little brother of the Sony Cyber-shot H9 offers:

• 10x optical zoom (38-380mm)
  
• 8.1 megapixel (1/2.5" CCD)
  
• 2.5" LCD display
• BIONZ engine for wider dynamic range and face detection
• Double Anti-Blur (Super SteadyShot and High ISO) for blur free images
• HDTV video output

It's a direct competition to Panasonic TZ3 and Canon SX100IS. Overall, Sony has done a great job to pack a 10x zoom lens and 8 megapixels into a tiny body, but the image quality at higher ISOs is a lit lacking. The price of the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H3 is NZ$550 (US$299).

Check out more Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H3 photos.

2008 Cadillac CTS Wins 2007 Tech Car of the Year

CNET has given the 2007 Tech Car of the Year Award to the 2008 Cadillac CTS. The 2008 Lexus LS 600h was also a strong competitor. Although the Lexus has one over-the-top feature - self parking (yes, it can park by itself), the CTS wins with two features: the ability to pause live radio and a weather feed through its satellite radio. You can hit the pause button while listening to the live radio and the car will buffer the live radio to the hard drive for up to an hour, so you can pick up listening where you left off.

Both cars have an in-dash music server and live traffic reporting system. The music server of Cadillac CTS has a 40GB hard drive. So yo can rip your CDs onto the hard drive. If you're driving down the motorway and there is traffic jam ahead, the traffic system will let you know well ahead of time.

The starting price of the 2008 Cadillac CTS is US$33,490 (NZ$45,000).