Nokia colour
The latest incarnation of the Nokia Communicator mobile phone/PDA (personal digital assistant), the 9210, will reach stores this month.
To its predecessor's flip-open design and small Qwerty keyboard, the 9210, right, adds a colour screen and an enhanced user interface. It runs the Symbian Epoc operating system and features SyncML, which enables users to import a contacts directory and calendar data from other platforms and devices.
The 9210 also includes phone, fax, email, internet and Wap facilities and sports personal organiser features including a calendar, voice recorder and a contact management system. It comes with a 16MB memory card, has a talk time of up to 10 hours, and an operating time of 230 hours.
The phone is available via most major networks. However, from next month, Orange users will be able to take advantage of its compatibility with the faster High Speed Circuit Switch Data (HSCSD) network, which offers internet connection speeds of up to 43kbps, faster than standard GSM.
The 9210 should retail for around £400.
Casio wrist
Casio has unveiled a new version of its wristwatch digital camera and, unlike its predecessor, this model can take colour images. The WQV3D-8 can store up to 80 25,000 pixel colour images, which are then saved as JPEGs in its 1MB internal memory. Images are trans ferred to a PC, or to another wristwatch camera, via the watch's infrared system.
Users can review their shots (albeit in black and white) on the watch's small LCD monitor, and add 24 characters of text to accompany the images.
The model is scheduled to go on sale in the UK in September, priced at around £200.
Better stills
Sony claims it is taking the performance of its digital still cameras to new levels with its first 4.1 megapixel model - most previous high- end cameras captured 3.1-3.3 megapixel images.
Due on sale in October, the Cyber-shot DSC-S85 also boasts a Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar lens, 3x optical and 6x digital zooms and MPEG movie video image capture. Unlike many rivals, the DSC-S85 enables users to adjust key parameters manually, such as white balance and shutter speed. It will retail for around £900.
Sony is also hoping that its first desktop PC to reach the UK, the £2,000 PCV-LX1, which goes on sale this week, proves as popular as its Vaio range of laptops.
The model pairs a high level of specification (1 GHz Intel Pentium III processor, 128MB memory, 60 gigabyte hard disk) with an innovative dual hinge LCD screen that can be used vertically or horizontally. It also boasts a CD-RW/DVD drive. Connectors include two i.Link (1394) ports, a Memory Stick connector, a PC card slot, Ethernet network port, and multiple USB ports.
Sony has also introduced its first Vaio laptop to feature a 1 GHz mobile Intel Pentium III chip. The £3,300 PCG-FX209K has a 15inch SXGA+ resolution TFT colour screen, a 30GB hard drive and 128MB of memory. It is supplied with an built-in CD-RW/DVD drive.
