Technology round-up
Published: 06/03/2010 - Filed under: News »
Pentax K-x
Have you ever struggled to match your digital SLR camera to your favourite tie? Nightmare! Business Traveller feels your pain. However, breathe a sigh of relief because the struggle is over. Pentax’s K-x DSLR is now available in eight vivid new colours (adding to the four already available). The new colours are beige, chocolate, pink, green and soft brown, and metallic fuchsia, turquoise and dark grey. As for the camera itself, the lightweight K-x boasts 12.4 megapixels, mechanical image stabilisation, HD video and a monster ISO of 12,800, which basically means it’s incredibly sensitive to light. The standard kit comes with an 18-55mm lens.
PRICE £599.99
CONTACT pentax.co.uk
IDAPT Universal Desktop Charging System
IDAPT is the latest technology manufacturer to release a universal recharging platform, designed to sit on your desk and charge some of the more common electronic devices, such as iPods, mobile phones and portable games consoles. The IDAPT comes in two varieties, the i2 with two charging positions and the i3 with three. Unlike its rivals, however, the IDAPT does not work wirelessly. Instead of using wireless adaptors, the IDAPT works more logically, with interchangeable plugs for each device. The IDAPT comes with six interchangeable tips to start with, but a further 16 are available.
PRICE IDAPT i2 £20; i3 £30. Extra tips are £5.99 each.
CONTACT idaptweb.com
ARCHOS Vision A43VB
ARCHOS made its name by churning out portable media players of an impressive quality. While they’ve yet to become a household name, those in the know hold ARCHOS in high regard as a brand synonymous with impress geek-friendly features. The Vision A43VB is part of a raft of new releases from Archos, offering high quality video playback at a very competitive price. At £99.99, the A43VB is cheaper than an iPod Nano but has a larger 4.3 inch screen, 8GB of storage (expandable via a MicroSD slot), and most impressively a TV-out cable, so friends and colleagues alike can enjoy your extensive collection of Simpsons’ episodes.
PRICE £99.99
CONTACT archos.com
COMING SOON
HTC Desire - April
Google’s Android operating system continues its onward march, wrestling a greater share of the mobile market every day, it seems. In April, yet another Android-powered phone will hit the shelves in the form of the HTC Desire, continuing HTC’s love affair with the OS but in its latest version, 2.1. The Desire will also have a super-fast Snapdragon 1GHz processor from Qualcomm, a five megapixel camera, 512MB of memory and a MicroSD slot. The 3.7 inch screen will apparently have a anti-fingerprint coating for “improved smudge resistance”. The HTC Desire will debut in the UK on Orange, available on pay-monthly contracts.
PRICE Free on selected plans
CONTACT orange.co.uk
App of the week
Live Sky TV on Nokia
Nokia and Sky have announced “a landmark new application” which they say is set to revolutionise the viewing habits of Nokia phone owners. The Live Sky TV app, as its name suggest, will provide live Sky TV direct to a compatible Nokia handset, such as Sky Sports and Sky News. The app can be downloaded now for free from Nokia’s Ovi store. Sport will include all televised Barclays Premier League football matches. Also, if you’re out and about on business, and have Sky+ at home, you can set it to record remotely via the app. The first devices to be compatible with the app are the okia N97, Nokia N97 mini, Nokia 5800 XpressMusic and Nokia 5530. A version for the Nokia 5230 and X6 will follow shortly.
PRICE App free; Additional costs TBC
CONTACT nokia.com
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COMMENTS »
dante21 - 07/03/2010 07:03
Is there such thing as an international wireless internet card that you can use in any country?
AndrewGough - 08/03/2010 10:10
Hi Dante21,
That's an interesting question. If you're talking about wireless cards, then most modern laptops have wireless adaptors built in which can handle most wireless standards (i.e. a/b/g/n).
If you're talking about high-speed mobile broadband (e.g. 3G), then that really depends on A) whether the country you're in has a 3G network of its own; B) who you got your tongle from (Vodafone, O2 etc.) and C) whether it offers roaming. Vodafone for example lists roaming in 16 countries where they have agreements with the local 3G networks.
However, the only way I can think of that you could get "mobile" internet everywhere is via a satellite network, like satellite phones. There are a few services that offer this, but the adaptor needed is bulky and it's of course very expensive. The smallest I've seen is about the size of a briefcase.
Here's a good example of such a system: http://www.groundcontrol.com/BGAN.htm
I hope this answers your question.
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Accor launches anniversary loyalty offers 02/09/2010
Accor’s A Club loyalty scheme is celebrating its second anniversary, and to celebrate the hotel group is offering double miles, sign-up bonuses and the chance to win points worth €2,000 — full story »
Heathrow launches Travel Product Awards 02/09/2010
Heathrow airport has launched its annual awards celebrating the most popular travel accessories, and all those taking part in the voting stand the chance to win a selection of the winning products up to the value of £5,000 — full story »
Tried and tested: Tom's Kitchen at Somerset House 02/09/2010
Business Traveller samples the second of Michelin-starred chef Tom Aikens’ Tom’s Kitchen eateries, located within London's Somerset House — full story »
