Broadband
Sky TV on your PC
Sky is offering broadband internet users a taste of satellite TV on their PC with the launch of its SkyScape video portal. The service brings together content such as Sky News clips, which Sky has been streaming freely for a while, alongside premium footage such as Champions League and Premiership football highlights. Other paid-for content includes comedy clips from Paramount and short films from British directors. Sky is offering subscribers free access for a month, after which they'll pay £4 per month or £30 a year to access the service. Non-Sky subscribers pay £5 per month or £40 per year. More details from www.sky.com/skyscape.
Double for quids
BT will provide a 1 megabit per second (Mbps) ADSL broadband service from November 20, twice the speed of its current broadband service, for any BT phone-line user within 2.5 miles (4 km) of an ADSL-enabled exchange. This is less than the 3.4 mile (5.5 km) range of the 512 kilobit per second (kbps) service. BT Wholesale will charge internet service providers £23 a month per customer, £10 more than for 512 kbps, with £50 for a new connection and £35 for an upgrade. This follows trials which started on October 6.
AOL, which took part in BT's trials, will start offering 1Mbps across the country for £39.99 on November 20, but has not decided whether to charge for upgrades. BT's Openworld and broadband services will both offer 1Mbps. Freeserve says it is likely to offer a service, but will run tests until Christmas. BT ADSL availability:
www.bt.com/broadband
Hardware
Sony slims down
Sony is set to take on Casio and its best-selling super-slim Exilim digital camera with what it is billing as the thinnest five megapixel snapper. Expected to arrive in the UK in late spring, the CyberShot DSC-T1 packs a 2.5in LCD viewfinder and a Carl Zeiss lens with a 3x optical zoom into a frame just 0.8in thin and 2.4in tall. The camera also shoots moving images, can capture four high-speed burst shots in less than two seconds and saves images on to a Memory Stick Duo card. It is expected to retail for around £450. Also likely to arrive in spring is the replacement for the DSC-U20 and U30 mini budget digital cameras. The DSC-40 has a resolution of two megapixels, but is slightly smaller than predecessors. www.sony.co.uk
Media to book
Toshiba is to become the first manufacturer to offer a notebook PC running Microsoft's Media Center PC-operating system. Applications, which include TV tuner, personal video recorder with electronic programming guide, Windows Media audio and video playback, can be controlled via a remote control handset. The Satellite P20-504 features a 17in widescreen display, 3.2GHz Intel Pentium 4 processor, 512MB of DDR memory and an 80GB hard disk. It goes on sale next week for around £2,300. www.toshiba.co.uk
Toughbooks
Panasonic has unveiled the latest in its range of Toughbook range of computers - notebook PCs designed to withstand a knock. Both the CF-W2 and CF-T2 feature a semi-ruggedised construction including a high-impact absorbing outer frame and robust magnesium alloy finish. The hard drive is protected by a shock absorber, while the keyboard and touchpad are waterproof. The pair can apparently withstand a drop of around 30 metres. The W2 features a 900Mhz Intel Centrino processor with integrated Wi-Fi facilities, a 12.1in TFT screen, a 40GB hard disk and a battery life of up to seven hours. The T2 has a similar specification in a smaller and lighter frame. Both are on sale for around £1,500.
www.panasonic.co.uk
Mobile Phones
Clamshell to 3
Following the arrival of the Motorola A835 last week, 3 is continuing to expand its handset range with the launch of the NEC e616, due later next month. The e616 is a clamshell phone set to replace 3's original handset, the NEC e606. The new model is slightly smaller and lighter than its predecessor. It features two cameras to enable 3's signature video calling, GPS for location- based services and Java for downloading games and other content. Its 2.2in LCD screen sports 64K colours - the standard for high-end camera phones. It is the first NEC 3G phone with GPRS to enable users to access data content while outside 3's 3G network.
www.three.co.uk
The X factor
Sendo's long-promised smartphone, first mooted in summer 2001, will finally go on sale by the end of the year. The Sendo X was to become the first handset to use Microsoft's Smartphone operating system for mobiles (now known as Windows Mobile 2003). However, disagreements that have ended up in legal battles between Microsoft and Sendo now means it uses the rival Symbian 7 operating system. At 120g, it is a comparatively light, candy bar-style phone. Features include integrated video and still cameras, a RealOne audio player, Bluetooth, POP3 email and full internet access. Its TFT screen, which has a resolution of 176x220 and up to 64K colours, can be customised to give users access to favourite applications or websites.
www.sendo.co.uk
Mobile gaming
Cannon fodder
Last year, mobile developer Macrospace released a great turn-based title named Cannons, which took the gameplay of Worms but swapped invertebrates for tanks. Now, it has a multi- player version, Cannons Tournament, allowing up to four players to battle it out over 2.5G or 3G networks. Participants move their vehicles over a mountainous 2D landscape, using height and power controls to aim missiles at opponents. Simple but devilishly addictive - especially when up against opponents as far afield as Singapore and Israel. If you own a Nokia Java phone, download from www.macrospace.com. It's €4.95 a month to play over the air, but you get a complete single player version with your first instalment. Other handsets will be supported soon.
Stat of the week: Women and the net
52% of net users in the US are women. But in Europe the net is still male dominated. Sweden and the UK lead the way, with women forming 46 and 44% of the net population. But parity across Europe is not expected until 2010.
