Mobile phones
Miniature line
Panasonic has unveiled the G51M, the latest handset in its miniature mobile phone series. One of the smallest and lightest phones available (it weighs 74g, with dimensions of 80x43x90mm), the G51M is a tri-band handset finished in brushed metallic silver. The phone also has a 4K-colour display, two built-in games and a selection of polyphonic ringtones. Other features include T9 text input, vibration alert and a melody ringtone composer. Battery life is rated at 2.5 to six hours talktime and around 200 hours standby. It is available now. www.panasonic.co.uk
3G
Speed surfing
Vodafone has won the race to become the first network to offer UK laptop owners web surfing at 3G speeds. Available from Vodafone's stores this week is the Mobile Connect 3G/GPRS data card, which fits into a PC's PCMCIA slot, enabling users to access the web at speeds of up to 384kbps. The card costs from £50 to 150 (excluding VAT), depending on the tariff. Payment plans depend on usage: £20 a month enables the owner to download up to 50MB of data, while £85 secures up to 1GB. However, Vodafone's 3G network coverage is limited to major cities. Should a user leave a 3G area, the card automatically diverts to a significantly slower GPRS connection. www.vodafone.co.uk
Camera phones
An end to the wait
Motorola's long-awaited V600 camera phone has finally reached UK stores. Available via Orange, O2 and T-Mobile, the clamshell handset features a VGA camera with a 4x digital zoom, video capture and playback and POP3 email compatibility. It also boasts Bluetooth, Java, MP3 and polyphonic ringtones, voice-activated dialling and an integrated speaker phone. It retails with a contract for between £150-£200. A limited edition of the phone features a cover by fashion designer Vivienne Westwood. It is selling for £300 via the designer's stores. www.motorola.co.uk
www.viviennewestwood.com
PDAs
Get connected
E-Ten has unveiled a pair of connected PDAs that use Microsoft's Windows Mobile 2003 platform. Available now from Peripheral Corner, the P300 and P700 are both tri-band, GPRS devices that offer standard Windows Mobile features such as Outlook, Pocket Word and Pocket Internet Explorer. The more expensive P700 (£461 without contract) sports a 3.5in screen, a 400MHz Intel PXA255 processor and integrated Bluetooth. The smaller and cheaper P300 (£351 without contract) has a 200MHz Arm 9 processor, a 2.8in display and integrated camera. www.peripheralcorner.co.uk
Software
PIN-pointer
Satellite navigation specialist Navman is to launch its first PDA with integrated GPS facilities. Due in early summer, the £500 PIN, which uses Microsoft's Windows Mobile Pocket PC 2003 operating system, features a GPS receiver that flips up from the back of the device. Using the integrated SmartST V2 software, the device can display 3D maps of 16 European countries on its 3.5in LCD screen. It also offers turn-by-turn voice instructions between stated destinations. The PIN runs on a 300MHz Intel PXA-256 processor, features 64MB RAM and has an expansion slot for SD, SD/IO and MMC cards. www.navman.com
Reach for the Skype
VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) software specialist Skype is offering consumers the chance to make free voice calls over wireless networks using Microsoft Windows Mobile Pocket PC 2003 PDAs. Users download its new internet telephone software, PocketSkype, from its website and transfer it to their handheld PC. They then use the PDA to make free, unlimited voice calls on the move using Wi-Fi hot spots or at home via their own wireless network. Calls can only be made to others using the Skype soft ware. The company claims its VoIP software for PCs has been downloaded more than 9.5m times since its launch last summer. www.skype.com
Internet
You've got Gmail
If you want to test Google's planned email service (Gmail), then try your luck registering on http://gmail.google.com, as the search company is signing a limited number of people as trialists. When it eventually goes public, its unprecedented attractions - a whole gigabyte of storage, strong anti-spam functions and, of course, sassy search capability - could make it the biggest instant success recorded by the web. Competitors such as Hotmail and Yahoo! may be forced to follow suit or see their businesses implode. By the time they get around to responding, we may already be saying "Gmail" and not "email".
Leeds plugged in
A new website, set up by a partnership including the local council, is providing a wide range of statistics on the city, including population structure, ethnicity, crime and health statistics. It maps data against Ordnance Survey maps, and is publicly available. However, a major use is in satisfying time-consuming requests from within the public sector, which were previously dealt with by a specialist team within the city council. The £4.6m geographical information system is based on a five-year deal Leeds signed with ESRI (UK), which is hosting the site. www.leeds-statistics.org
www.esriuk.com
Too good to be true
The Office of Fair Trading has found 176 UK websites making misleading claims - a total of at least 234 breaches of consumer protection laws. Nearly half the sites found in the sweep promote working-from-home schemes, with one boasting that users will earn £2,500 a month, but providing no details and only mobile phone numbers as contact details. The OFT says such offers usually hide high startup costs. The next most common category is the get-rich-quick scam, with one site offering £198,000 in 24 hours, followed by lottery and free prize claims. www.oft.gov.uk/News/Press%2Breleases/2004/61-04.htm
Stat of the week: Digital camera sales
Canon and Eastman Kodak last year gained sales in the competitive digital camera market but failed to displace Sony, according to a report from research firm IDC. Global shipments of digital cameras reached 47.9m units, up 71% from 28m the previous year.
