The game just got more complex
Sony has finally taken the wraps off its latest incarnation of the PlayStation - the PSX. More than just a gaming device, the PSX features an existing PS2 alongside a TV tuner, DVD player/recorder and 160 Gigabyte hard disk for storing video/audio content. The company hopes the PSX will appeal to mainstream consumer electronics buyers looking to replace their VCRs with DVD/hard disk recorders. Two versions go on sale in Japan in November. The standard PSX features a 160 Gigabyte hard disk and will retail for £430, while a deluxe machine with a 250 Gigabyte disk will be available for around £500.
Sony has also lined up a DVD recorder with a 160 Gigabyte hard drive for launch in November that will retail for about £550. Although the company hasn't yet confirmed a launch date for the PSX in other countries, it is widely expected to go on sale in the UK and US in the second quarter of 2004.
www.sony.co.uk
Cameras
Image conscious
Casio has significantly upped the ante in the Japanese camera phone market by introducing a handset that can take two megapixel images - the equivalent of many mid-range digital cameras. At the CEATEC exhibition in Chiba, Japan, it showed off the A5403CA clamshell phone, which also features high-end facilities such as auto-focus, a 10x digital zoom and a movie function. It goes on sale in Japan in December. The highest resolution camera phones on sale in the UK take VGA images, which are less than one megapixel.
At the same exhibition, Sony unveiled Mobile Movie, an application that will enable mobile phone owners to record TV programmes on to a Memory Stick storage card and later watch them on their mobile phone. Several makers have already shown phones compatible with the system and it is expected a version of Mobile Movie will be available to UK phone owners next year.
www.casio.co.uk
www.sony.co.uk
Mobile Phones
Juice on the go
Toshiba believes it has the answer for mobile phone users who are always running out of juice. It has unveiled the world's smallest direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) - which can be used to charge most portable devices without requiring mains power. Apparently, the palm-sized 100 x 60 x 30mm unit, which is small enough to fit in a trouser pocket or handbag, can fully charge a mobile phone six times before its power is spent. A similar product for laptops is due to launch next year, with the DMFC for mobiles set for a 2005 debut. www.toshiba.co.uk
Rugby highlights
If you cannot skive off work to watch the Rugby World Cup - which kicks off in Australia at 10am tomorrow morning - O2 is offering to stream half and full-time highlights to mobile phones through its O2 Active service. The coverage marks the launch of the company's new mobile video service that will also offer a range of news, comedy, fashion and "extreme" sports. You won't need an expensive 3G handset to watch the highlights, either, although you will need to subscribe to O2 Active and have a video-enabled mobile such as the Nokia 3650, Sony Ericsson P800 or O2's forthcoming XDA 2 palmtop. The service is free until January 31, although you will have to pay for the data transfer. Average length of the clips will be about 10 seconds.
Software
In touch with HQ
Now you can read Microsoft Word documents and Adobe PDFs on the screen of mobile phones without requiring a brand new smartphone. The Nokia Access Mobilizer is a new piece of corporate software that allows employees to read attachments and access corporate intranets while on the move. Even an old Wap phone will do as the software is designed to sense the display requirements of each individual mobile device and is able to reformat the content. Changes to the diary can be made and task lists altered without a return to the office. It could bring new levels of productivity to mobile workers or be an employee's worse nightmare. We can't quite decide.
Internet
Kitchen link
A new version of the Internet Fridge, a tall American-style cool-box that features a mini PC and 15in LCD screen and allows users to go online, is to launch in the UK early next year. The device's manufacturer, Korean company LG, has kept the basic design of the original model but updated its operating system from Windows 98 to XP. The other core enhancement is that the fridge's 15in LCD screen can now be removed from the main unit and used wirelessly. Via an 802.11b Wi-Fi connection, owners will be able to check email and surf the net on the screen anywhere in the home. The fridge can also be used to play MP3s, take pictures and videos and tune into TV programmes. www.lge.co.uk
Out of date
Blogging - setting up your own online journal - is supposed to be sweeping the internet world. But a survey by Perseus Development, has found that two thirds of all the blogs surveyed had not been updated in two months. The reason is that it is now so easy to set up a blog that people don't feel any commitment to continuing them. An estimated 1m blogs were one-day wonders with no postings on subsequent days. Blogs are also updated less frequently than supposed, according to Perseus. Active blogs are updated on average every 14 days. Fewer than 50,000 are updated daily. The total number of blogs in existence is reckoned to be over 4m.
Stat of the week: The worm that turned
Virus-spreading emails took off again last month. The Worm/Sobig.F soared to the top of the table despite a self-termination date of September 10. By then, it had done enough damage to claim 67.5% of all occurrences in the month.
