Gadgets

Rival to the iPod

Philips has become the first mainstream consumer electronics manufacturer to announce it is to take on Apple, Creative Labs and Archos in the hard disk MP3 personal player market. It is currently beta-testing the HDD100, a 15GB player, with a view to launch in early summer.

Finished in glossy magnesium and hardened glass, the HDD100 is smaller than the iPod and its rivals. The unit plays back Windows Media Audio (WMA) files as well as MP3s, offers direct recording, so it can be used as a dictation machine, and comes with a USB 2.0 socket for quick transfer of tracks to and from a PC. The player's on-screen interface, which is uncannily reminiscent of the iPod, is controlled by a scrolling system.

Prices have yet to be fixed, but the HDD100 is expected to retail for around £350.

<A HREF="http://www.philips.co.uk"" TARGET="_NEW">www.philips.co.uk

Wi-Fi fuss-free

Brighthand has developed a neat way of adding Wi-Fi (802.11b) connectivity to your Palm PDA. It has unveiled a leather carrying-case that features an integrated Wi-Fi chip. The $170 WP802b connects to the Palm via its Hot Sync port to deliver data transfer at Ethernet speeds across up to 100 feet indoors.

As the WP802B sports its own rechargeable battery, it won't drain power from the Palm handheld. The product is expected to be available within the next three months.

<A HREF="http://www.brighthand.com"" TARGET="_NEW">www.brighthand.com

Internet

Browsers welcome

Apple and Opera have both announced new versions of their web browsers this week. Apple has released Safari Beta 2, free to download from its website. Safari offers a substantially faster browsing experience than Internet Explorer for the Mac, and now sports tabbed browsing and tighter integration with the Mac OS X address book.

Opera, meanwhile, has released new versions of its speedy browser: Opera 7.10 for Windows and Opera 7.10 for Linux Beta. They sport features which, says Opera, are entirely new to the web browser world. These include FastForward and Rewind buttons in the toolbar, which the company says will speed up browsing, and a Notes feature that allows you to associate notes with a particular web page. A full version of Opera, for Windows or Linux, costs $39 (for the ad-free version) - the beta is a free download.

<A HREF="http://www.apple.com/safari"

www.opera.com" TARGET="_NEW">www.apple.com/safari

www.opera.com

Gaming

Xbox slashed

Microsoft last week cut the price of its Xbox games console to "an estimated street price" of £129.99 in the UK. This is very low for a console that includes a hard drive.

Microsoft's Home and Entertainment division, which includes the Xbox and Microsoft's TV platform, made an operating loss of $348m in its last quarter. Traditionally, console manufacturers sell the hardware at or even below cost and make the money back on high-priced games. Microsoft is also hoping to make money on subscriptions to its broadband gaming service, Xbox Live, launched last month.

PS2 rejigged

Sony has revised the design of the market-leading PlayStation 2 games console for the Japanese market. The new version provides improvements in DVD playing, and is quieter, due to the improved cooling system. Sony has also removed the iLink (Firewire) communications port, due to lack of use. The new PS2 will be available in Japan from May 15 at 25,000 yen (£132).

Sony has not said whether it will be available in Europe or the US, but an announcement can be expected at the E3 games trade show, which opens in Las Vegas on May 13.

Video

Good definition

The world's first consumer-oriented digital camcorder that records and plays back high-definition images is on its way to the UK. JVC has announced that its GR-HD1 (to be known in the UK as the GY-HD10), which was launched in Japan in March, will be available here later in the year.

The bulky, yet massively specified, camcorder features a new 1/3 inch 1.18 megapixel progressive scan CCD, which records images of 720 lines on to a mini DV cassette. Using an external converter, the video can be converted to high-definition standard.

Other features include an optical 10x zoom lens, an integrated image stabiliser and the option of storing still images on a Secure Digital (SD) card.

As there are no high definition tube-based TV sets available in the UK, British users will only be able to see an increase in image resolution if the camcorder is connected to a Plasma or LCD screen or a projector.

<A HREF="http://www.jvc.co.uk"" TARGET="_NEW">www.jvc.co.uk

Privacy

Stupid awards

Campaign group Privacy International has given T-Mobile and Heathrow airport awards for over-the-top security. The German mobile network won the Most Annoyingly Stupid award for requiring buyers of pay-as-you-use mobiles to send two credit card bills before allowing credit card top-ups of more than £30 in 30 days. This exceeds the proof of identity required by some banks for opening internet-based accounts.

Heathrow won a runner-up award for confiscating a box of gunpowder tea - a variety of green tea - from a boarding passenger.

Only the box was taken: guards returned the tea, which gets its name from its resemblance to pellets of lead shot, in a plastic bag.

www.privacyinternational.org/ activities/stupidsecurity