See what I did with that title there? SILK is the super wideband audio technology that comes built in to the latest versions of Skype (Windows 4.1 / Mac 2.8) and offers much improved stereo audio call quality.
The Freetalk Everyman headset only costs around £19 ($30) and not only offers quality calls but comes with a converter plug that lets you listen to music on your portable music player as well as plug in to your PC via USB.
Apple is developing a “Consumer Abuse Detection System and Method” which could make it much more difficult for users to mistreat their gadgets (intentionally or otherwise) and then turn up at a store expecting free warranty repair or replacement.
If you’re in the market for some fairly inexpensive audio speakers for your laptop or portable music player, the IXOS Oyster Premium portable speakers may be what you’re looking for.
They can be powered either from a spare USB port, or using four triple-A batteries, and connect up to your equipment via standard 3.5mm audio jack.
Hot on the heels of Nikon’s new COOLPIX compacts comes Sony with two new Cyber-shot digital cameras.
Both TX1 and WX1 models offer 10.2 megapixels and Sony’s Exmor R CMOS sensor with BIONZ imaging processor — in English, that means that shooting should be more responsive with reduced noise, even in low light conditions.
We definitely like our Nikon dSLRs, such as the excellent D90, D80 and D40, but let’s not forget there’s an increasing range of compact digital cameras from Nikon, including the four COOLPIX model ranges just announced.
Detailed camera specs are pretty boring (but I’ll give you the links if you want to find out more), so here are the highlights.
Perhaps the most exciting in terms of possibilities is the COOLPIX S1000pj. Nikon claims it’s the first compact camera to feature a built-in projector that means you can share your images and videos wherever there’s a wall or screen handy.
Sony has announced two smaller versions of its portable eBook reader: the Reader Pocket Edition and the Reader Touch Edition.
The Reader Pocket (PRS-300) features a smaller 5-inch display and comes in a range of body colors. Because it’s smaller it can be used one-handed and is a little easier to carry around. Its onboard memory will store around 350 books and has a two-week battery life. It will retail for an impressive $199.
Sony has announced the latest instalment of its popular SingStar software for PS2 and PS3 consoles, with the addition of SingStar Queen.
Sony in London collaborated with the band to pack over 20 classic Queen songs into the package, including “We Are The Champions”, “Another One Bites The Dust”, “We Will Rock You”, “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “Under Pressure”.
As far as I’m concerned it’s always worth getting some Pioneer audio equipment into your car if you’re bothered about a decent sound, and the latest CD tuner (DEX-P99RS) looks as if it won’t disappoint.
I know, we’re all MP3 and iPods now, right? Don’t fret, you can still plug in all your external media players via USB, and if you’re playing lossless audio tracks then the direct-to-DSP connection means you’ll get much better audio quality.
I’m quite surprised that no-one has thought to develop a mobile phone with a basic dictionary and commands displayed in the Welsh language, but apparently UK mobile network Orange has declared a world first on this one.
In partnership with Samsung, those whose native tongue is Welsh will have access to the Samsung S5600 which has been programmed to include over 44,000 words. This will make it a lot easier to send predictive SMS text messages.
Available on both contract and pay-as-you-go from 1st September, the S5600 is a more affordable 2.8-inch touchscreen cellphone with a range of interesting features and widgets.
As the need for high speed, high capacity storage increases, Toshiba has claimed a world first with the introduction of its 64GB SDXC flash memory card.
Compliant with the newest SD Memory Standard, the cards guarantee fast write (35MB/s) and read (60MB/s) speeds — great for devices capturing high definition video and audio as well as a range of other gadgets.