Internet World 2008
Shock Gadgets will be attending Internet World 2008 in London next week.
The show features over 200 hours of seminars from companies ranging from Microsoft to the BBC to Royal Mail, and exhibitions from over 300 companies. All discussing the latest Internet technologies.
We’ll be sure to keep you posted on everything interesting that pops up, so watch this space.
Review: Nokia E90
The Nokia E90 communicator is the eleventh-generation Communicator phone, which are all essentially large high-spec mobile phones with wide screens and qwerty keyboards inside. Unlike the previous generations however, the E90 is on a par with competitors in the field, rather than lagging a few years behind.
Launched just over a year ago, the E90 features quad-band GSM, 2100 WCDMA, UMTS, WiFi b/g, 3.6Mbps HSDPA radios, Bluetooth 2.0, A2DP for bluetooth stereo audio, a 3.2 megapixel camera (with flash), a second VGA camera inside for video calling, GPS and Nokia Maps. Inside it has an ARM11-based TI OMAP2420 processor running at 330 MHz, 128 MB of RAM (80MB available), a 800×352 screen inside and 240×320 outside. It has a full-speed USB 2.0 connector for data transfer and an SD card slot, although it also came with a MicroSD adapter… Read more
Server Outage
Shock Gadgets has suffered a severe technical problem over the weekend. Our main server went down, along with all our current data and a lot of useful backups. We have rolled back to an old version of the site, and we will be posting as many salvaged articles as we can (thanks to Google’s cache and archive.org) and re-implementing the redesign from a few months ago. We thank you for your patience whilst we get up and running again.
New Shock Gadgets
ShockGadgets is undergoing some changes and will be moving to a new platform shortly. The look and feel of the site will be pretty much the same, and all the existing posts will be there, but there will be a totally new comments system for you to enjoy, as well as more advanced browsing, tagging and searching. We're still looking for more staff to join our team, and we have some real treats for you in terms of reviews coming up, including a laptop group test.
We don't plan for there to be any significant length of downtime, and we hope to get the new system up and running in the next week or two.
New iPods Released
There is no denying that the iPod is the most successful consumer entertainment gadget of all time. Providing an insurmountable benchmark in terms of design and technological achievement, it is always amazing to see Apple continue to improve and upgrade their range.
Today, Apple have shown off their new full suite of iPods, including the Shuffle, Nano, Classic and new ‘Touch’ which will be available this weekend; and have decreased some prices to coincide with this.
The iPod Shuffle has been refreshed with new colours, including pastel blue, green, lavender and 1GB (PRODUCT) RED edition which raises money for charity, as with the nano last year. Price stays at $79 though.
The all-new iPod nano is the same as the ‘fatty’ spied by Engadget over the past few weeks. With a bigger, brighter 2-inch 320×240 (QVGA) screen at 204ppi, video capability, an 'enhanced' UI, its own take on Cover Flow and three games, its battery has 24 hours of audio playback and 5 hours of video. The silver 4gb model is going for $149, and the more colourful 8gb for $199.
The real/main/original series of iPods has been given a real name as the iPod Classic. This new sixth-generaton version is mostly an upgrade on the previous 5.5th generation units, with a new all-metal shell and (FMJ) and improved interface, coming in two higher-capacity versions. The 80gb iPod Classic has 30 hours of audio, 6 hours of video and will retail at $249. The new 160gb version has 40 hours audio, 7 hours video for $349.
The long-awaited iPod Touch is the phone-less iPhone. Coming in at 8mm deep, this is significantly thinner than the iPhone. The Touch packs a 3.5-inch widescreen display, 22 hours audio, 5 hours video and the same multi-touch inferface with Cover Flow as the iPhone. It also has web capability through WiFi, through which you can even buy music on iTunes. Available in a few weeks, the 8gb will go for $299 and the 16gb for $399.
Apple also announced a partnership and 'feature' to be able to purchase a song playing or recently played in a Starbucks through WiFi on the Touch, and free WiFi access to the iTunes Music Store (to buy the song currently playing). Doesn't hurt I suppose.
The still-new iPhone is having a massive $200 price drop to coincide with these releases, down to $299 for the 4gb and $399 for the 8gb.
Click on for images of the new range… Read more
Review: Mighty Mouse
Apple has never been big on two-buttoned mice. Ever since the Lisa in the 80s, they have always shipped a one - button mouse with their desktop computers. Apple admirers claimed it was for simplicities sake, and critics said it was because Macs were for idiots, and as such they could only use one-buttoned mice. However, Apple recently announced a new mouse. They jumped the gap and went straight from one button to four, surprising everyone.
The OoBE (or 'Out of Box Experience') is typical Apple - small, stylish and very nice. There's not really a lot to say about the packaging; it has some pictures of the mouse and an Apple logo on it, and thats it. Opening it up reveals the Mighty Mouse tucked away in a cardboard holder.
The Mighty Mouse utilizes USB 1.1 or 2.0, and has an 800dpi optical sensor (with a red LED underneath). However, there is a wireless version available which uses Bluetooth and has an invisible laser sensor instead (this review applies to both models since the wireless version is virtually identical)… Read more
312-Key Chromatone Keyboard
The Chromatone CT-312 is a Wholetone sythesiser with 312 keys, instead of the standard register of 88. These are not 312 separate pitches however, but uses the Uniform keyboard paradigm to replicate notes across the board. The advantage of this is not having to stretch awkwardly to reach a key, as it will be replicated in a slightly more convenient location. It was a layout developed by Paul von Janko in 1882, called the Janko Keyboard.
This helpful chart assists in the explanation of the layout, and I've included a decipher of it below.
The video after the break shows one gentleman showing his skills with 312 keys, performing the Super Mario Bros theme with bewildering ease. Last time I saw that being played was on an 11-string bass, so it evidently has some reputation amongst extreme musicians… Read more
Review: Nokia N800
The N800 is described by Nokia as an ‘Internet tablet’ - its a handheld touchscreen device capable of browsing the Internet through WiFi. Unusually for Nokia, it isn't a mobile phone, althought it is capable of making calls over the Internet.
The specs of the N800 include a TI CPU, two SD slots, 128 MB RAM, 256 MB flash storage, 4.1′ 800×480 touchscreen, WiFi, Bluetooth, 3.5mm headphone jack and mini-USB port. The device sports an integrated pop-out VGA webcam, a kickstand and a slot for the stylus. It also came with a 128mb miniSD card (and SD adapter), protective pouch, mains charger, USB data cable (not for recharging), spare stylus and earphones… Read more
Ultimate Gadget Recycling
Acorn Studios have created the ultimate accessory range from old computer media and peripherals. Floppy disks, keyboard keys, circuit boards and scratched CDs have been transformed into clocks, notepads, jewellery and other gifts. Check out this pair of cufflinks available for $14.95.
Click on for some more pictures… Read more
Staff Wanted
ShockGadgets has been pretty quiet for the past couple of months, mainly due to some of our staff being in-between real-world jobs. However, all is not lost. We are expecting to be able to reboot ShockGadgets and get back up to pretty much full speed in the next week or two, with quite a bit happening in the world of gadgets and a number of reviews being written. We're looking forward to being up and running again.
We are looking for a couple of Contributing Editors to work as part of our team. The job involves posting news and reviewing gadgets, and is possible to do on evenings/weekends. No specific experience is required, but you need to be able to prove you can write near-perfect English without plagiarising, and that you have a love of gadgets/computers. Please email jobs[at]shockgadgets[dot]com with your information and sample news/reviews, and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.
We're also exploring the idea of operating a gaming site separate to this one, so if anybody is interested in contributing to that, copy the above instructions. There would also be a couple of Editor positions available for those willing to proofread and perform administrative and managerial tasks. As I say, this is not a confirmed venture but a concept we're toying with.
Lastly, discussions about advertising on ShockGadgets have been floating around, so if any gadget-related companies (including computers and games) would like to purchase some ad space on this site, let us know at advertising[at]shockgadgets[dot]com.