June 2009 Archives

By Jay Garrett

Welcome to another round up of Gadgety News – so, what's kicked off over the last seven days?

Well in the world of mobile phones the HTC Hero went official and the HTC Firestone got leaked, iPhone gamers were given a bone to play with as well as a brand new spanky 3GS.

Tuesday saw the announcement that the UK is to host the world's biggest trial of electric and hybrid powered vehicles and somewhere in Surrey there's a robot working from the power of a rat's mind.

British Telecom have partned up with Cashbox, the ATM providers, to slip some more Wi-Fi into our zones, we've seen the smallest working electric drill as well as the cutest manga fembot make a cup of coffee all the way from grinding the beans to pouring the brew.

By Dan Owen

For a few years now, BBC2 have been targeting Thursday nights as a showcase for brand new, cult comedy. The "Thursdays After Funny" tagline may have been retired, but there's still 90-minutes of laughs to be had from 9pm every Thursdays. Or is there...?

The evening gets off to a shaky start with Comedy Central/BBC co-production KRÖD MÄNDOON AND THE FLAMING SWORD OF FIRE, a mediavel-fantasy spoof that doesn't really have the quality of scripts to match its impressive location shooting and a half-decent cast. Little Britain's Matt Lucas is the only actor who appears to be trying to tickle your funnybone, but he's so overexposed these days that his performance as villain Dongalor feels like a weak Little Britain skit. Sean Maguire is okay as the eponymous buff hero Kröd, but has yet to really make an impression; unlike male-fantasy box-ticker India de Beaufort, who's a vision to behold in her Xena-esque role of a promiscuous pagan warrior. It's just a shame this expensive-looking production didn't expend more effort ensuring the jokes were up to snuff. For a full review of episode 1 and 2, click here

By Jay Garrett

Welcome once more to my swift round-up of the weeks gadgety news.

Mobile phone news first: The N86 8meg is ready for preorder, The E72 is outed and Samsung’s Omnia Louvre is official. Also iPhone’s 3.0 is ready if you haven’t already done the do – this is the one with cut, copy and paste, MMS, Audio recording, etc.

VidZone hits PS3 so you can get your Kylie hit for free, Panasonic have a weird remote control concept that lies flaccid and gently breathes when not in use and when it feels a hand getting close it stiffens up and Olympus have released the retrotastic PEN E-P1 micro 4/3 camera.

By Erik Samdahl

Denzel Washington takes on Eddie Murphy this weekend, and it could be an interesting battle.

The Taking of Pelham 123, a remake, looks like it has potential to be pretty good. Directed by Tony Scott, who has teamed with Denzel on a variety of other projects including Deja Vu, Man on Fire and Crimson Tide, The Taking of Pelham 123 promises lots of visuals, grittiness and action. Unfortunately, the trailers have failed to establish this one as a must-see, and it’s unclear how much action will actually be in the picture.

By Jay Garrett

Welcome gadgety faithful!

I will not be mentioning the new iPhone 3GS or the hideous price of upgrading before your 3G contract ends – nor will I mention the way of getting Apple’s latest on a 1 month or 1 year deal.

I will however mention that Nintendo’s Wii has turned black.

It sounds like we might be seeing Asus’s Touchscreen EeeBoard within the next month or so and Averlogic have managed to send HDMI signals through power lines so that literally ‘plugging your tele in’ will have more meaning.

Heinz has devised a USB powered microwave for at-the-desk-snacking on their lovely beanz and you could soon be changing the colour of your mobile phone at the press of a button.

By Dan Owen

Someone at the BBC has decided that Michael McIntyre is "the next big thing" and, echoing Channel 4's treatment of Jimmy Carr and Russell Brand, are now trying to make the comedian a household name through pure ubiquity. After an impressive appearance on Live At The Apollo awhile back, he's now been given a very similar Saturday night series to headline, MICHAEL MCINTYRE'S COMEDY ROADSHOW...

Indeed, the similarities to Live At The Apollo are hard to ignore: it has the same set, for a start. The only notable differences are that each show comes from a different part of the country (hence the "roadshow" element), it crams twice the number of acts into its 45-minutes, and it commendably showcases new talent not just established names.

By Erik Samdahl

Who wants to get drunk while ruining your life in the land of the lost? I don’t. Of the three major releases this week, only The Hangover looks promising. Oh, and a limited-release film by some guy named Sam Mendes.

The Hangover stars Andy from “The Office” (no, sorry, the American version) along with that guy who’s rumored to play Green Lantern in a comedy where three buddies lose their friend – the bachelor at an upcoming wedding – in Vegas. Hilarity ensues, allegedly. The Hangover looks pretty good, but it also looks like something that could wait until DVD, too.

By Jay Garrett

Sorry – did you miss me?

I’ve been living the rock star life with the three R’s – Writing, Rehearsing, Recording with my new band Subset. We’re playing loadsa gigs around London so come and say hi! Back to the gadgety world – what’s been happening lately?

Well, the PSP Go is now official as is the vid downloads for the Go and PSP 3000, Amazon has leaked the Zune HD apps and link-up to Xbox, Nokias latest N97 has been released in the UK and the follow-up to the fantastic Left4Dead has been announced – The Parish.

Microsoft has been causing a buzz with their Wii baiting Natal system and the big M has also announced the release date for Windows 7.

In Canada a 4gig iPhone has been spotted and as the anticipation for this year’s WWDC heats up the banner has been being snapped at San Francisco's Moscone Center showing the legend: "One year later. Light-years ahead." - go and check out the iPhone rumour infographic.

By Erik Samdahl

For the first time in a month, three movies open head-to-head, though there is no question who the winner will be. Up, the latest Oscar-winning animated film from Disney-Pixar, opens to nearly unanimous praise from every critic, calling it “funny, emotional and entertaining.” I just made up that quote, but I’m sure someone has said it.

Up does, indeed, look like another winner from Pixar, and perhaps their most marketable in years. Both Ratatouille and Wall-E were amazing movies, but both targeted slightly older audiences; with Up, the movie looks to capture both young and old more evenly, as the kiddies get a good, old-fashioned adventure story with an evil villain, while the parents get what they always get from Pixar: a quality film.