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Take a look at this dinky beauty - it's the jewel in Philips’ new range of portable DVD players – the DCP850.
Boasting an 8.5inch screen and iPod docking stations, the system has been designed to allow the iPod to lie flush. A handy swivel screen lets you view your movies from pretty much any angle and at just £199.
Four other players have also been unveiled, which you can read about by clicking on the Gizmodo website.
Good news for all you bloggers and website owners – the folks at MyCoolButton have developed a tool that – yep, you guessed it – lets you create your own clickable Internet buttons.
It’s quick to download and a doddle to use and lets you choose the colour, size, icon, style and font you want to apply to your website. Head over to www.mycoolbutton.com now and give it a go.
You’ll be able to enjoy your favourite YouTube video clips via Apple TV, after Steve Jobs announced a special browser will be included in the package from next month.
Apple TV’s first upgrade sees a custom YouTube browser bolted on – with content initially limited before being fully unleashed around September time.
The hardware has also been upgraded – with the box now gaining a 160GB hard drive – meaning you’ll be able to store around 200 hours of video on it or about 36,000 songs along with all your photos.
The new Apple TV will cost around £270 with the first incarnation – the 40GB model – sticking at the £200 price point. See www.apple.com/uk for more info.
Aussie geniuses SMS Technology have come up with the world’s smallest ever mobile phone – and crammed it into a watch!
The Bluetooth device – dubbed the M500 – boasts a 1.5inch screen, 128MB memory, MP3 and MP4 player.
You’ll get around 80 hours standby time from it, or just over 3 hours talk time and it works by holding it to your ear to hear the person on the end of the line.
It’s the ultimate boys toy for the James Bond fans among you – get one from here.
Think you’re well lard? Well try taking on one of these remote control Sumo wrestlers. Very big in Japan, but made in China, these miniature plastic action figures slug it out on a cardboard circle.
With just two controls, forwards and a reverse circling motion, there’s little room for tactics as they shuffle around on their low-tech wheels. They cost £20 but that’s without the ten batteries required. Take a look at them in action on our video above and if you really want to buy one, they’re available from iwoot now.
Hit the decks everyone – a music revolution’s in the mix and it starts with the Pioneer DVJ 1000.
Unlike regular decks, this stunning piece of kit not only acts as a standard CD player that lets you scratch and loop audio MP3 tracks, it also allows you to manipulate video tracks and clips while the audio is playing, so looping, scratching, hot cuing and pitch changing your tunes is simple.
We had a hands on demo with it in Rome and were amazed at how easy it was to get straight down to basic mixing.
Shadowrun is an intense first person shooter for the XBOX 360 that’ll have you hooked. Stunning graphics and sound make this a real must have and the game comes to life when you and 15 – yes 15 – of your mates play online together. It’s the first Microsoft game that’s playable across platforms – so Windows Vista users and XBOX 360 owners can compete with or against each other at the same time via their console or PC. Available on Friday priced £40 from www.game.co.uk - check out the trailer by clicking the link above.
Canon have launched their first ever AVCHD camcorder, the HR10. It features Advanced Video Codec High Definition – which is a new recording format that uses a variety of storage media such as recordable DVD discs, hard disc and flash memory cards.
It stores your footage in a more highly compressed format than HDV camcorders and gives you more filming time. It’s also faster to skip through your recordings compared with cameras that use MiniDV tapes because AVCHD doesn’t involved a fast forward or rewind operation.
The HR10 features a 10x optical zoom and will burn your captured moments straight to mini DVDs in 1080i quality for playback on AVCHD-friendly players such as the PlayStation 3. It’ll cost around £700 when it’s launched later this summer. See www.canon.co.uk for more details.
Intempo have unveiled these new IDS-03 speakers for your iPod in classic white, seductive black or metallic silver. Priced at £80, they provide a decent sound for your bedroom, kitchen or home office and come bundled with remote and interchangeable dock adapters. Check out www.intempo-digital.co.uk for more details.
Windows Live Hotmail and the British Library are creating an archive of the web’s best ever e-mails. It’ll be the first ever public record charting the nation’s e-mailing habits and they’re asking people to submit their favourite emails for consideration in the collection. Check out www.newhotmail.co.uk/emailbritain for full details.
This year marks the 30th anniversary of Star Wars, and what better way to celebrate than watching some of the classic films on this R2-D2 DVD projector. It tilts and can project images up to 80” wide on walls and also acts as a CD player or you can just hook your iPod up to the dock and enjoy your tunes through the on board speakers. But be warned, the price is pretty astronmical - it costs £2000! See www.mediaatlantic.com for more info.
BRITISH online ticketing giants Viagogo just got even bigger by launching on Facebook where they'll be able to access more than 24 million potential customers. That's great news for Viagogo users who should find it that much easier to buy and sell tickets for concerts and sports events all over Europe. Viagogo will join Microsoft, Amazon and Warner Bros and be able to tailor their services to meet the individual tastes of Facebook users. So when tickets for your favourite team or band are available, they'll automatically pop up in your Facebook account. For more about Viagogo click here
Give your Dad a steer in the right direction by getting him this Sony sat nav for Father’s Day. The NV-U82 isn’t the best navigation device on the market, but it does exactly what it says on the tin. It features a 4.8” colour touch screen and Sony’s Position Plus technology which ensures accurate and uninterrupted routing that’ll help your Pop get from A to B when GPS signals temporarily fail. It's pre-loaded with individual country maps that are stored on the internal 512mb flash memory. Get one from here priced at £224.
Sony have updated their best-selling Vaio range with the launch of the new FZ series. Featuring an Intel Core 2 Duo T7300 processor, a 200GB hard drive, Blu-Ray disc, wireless LAN, Bluetooth and bundled Adobe Photoshop software. If a notebook’s more you’re thing, then the N30 is worth a look – it too boasts an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, a 120GB hard drive and Windows Vista. Sharing content is made simple thanks to the SD card and Sony Memory Stick slot which makes transferring pictures and videos from digital cameras and camcorders easy. See www.sonystyle.co.uk for more info.
Check out this new Sony Walkman flash video player – but don’t hold your breath waiting for it to land on these shores any time soon.
The PMX-M70 boasts a 4.3inch screen, 480 x 272 pixel display and up to 8GB of flash memory or Memory Stick expansion. It runs MPEG-4s, plays back MP3s, WMAs and AAC tracks and record both audio and video. Available in China now, we’ll let you know if and if and when it drops in the UK.
In other Sony news, the electronics' giant is launching an 80GB PS3 in South Korea on June 16th. Sony claim they won’t be selling the new PS3 in any other territories, but we wouldn’t bet against seeing a price reduction for the 20GB and 60GB models in Europe and the US in the coming months once the upgraded version is available.
If you’re too cool for school then this is one gadget you’d do well to steer clear of. The USB mini fridge can only hold one can of your favourite brew and it takes 5 minutes to chill it! They’re on sale here for anyone with a bit of extra ice in their wallet…
XBOX owners with modded 360s have suffered a huge online blow this week – Microsoft have started banning them from their Live service.
Hardcore gamers mod computers and consoles to improve their performance, and, in some cases, gain a competitive advantage over regular users of the service.
We’re reliably informed that LG’s stunning Shine phone is set to get pretty in pink with a summer makeover. The new handset – which we’ve mocked up – will have the same features as the shiny silver model we exclusively featured back in January – so you’ll still get a 2 megapixel camera, brushed metal finish and the vanity mirror. Keep your eyes on www.lge.com for the latest updates.
If the Shine’s not bright enough for you, you could try Motorola’s new RAZR. The next generation version of the classic handset boasts 2GB of on-board memory that’ll hold around 1000 tunes and it’s two millimetres thinner than its predecessor. Hook up a Bluetooth headset and you can enjoy your MP3s wirelessly.
Still not sharp enough for you? Then try Nokia’s 6110 Navigator – it’s designed to get you round town quickly. HDSPA connectivity, a 2.2inch QVGA screen, 2 megapixel camera and microSD support are all included, and the 3.5 hour talktime is good.
Finally, Sony Ericsson’s T650i may not be the most attractive handset around, but its 3.2 megapixel camera is among the best around and the slimline size helps it fit cosily in your pocket. See www.carphonewarehouse.com
Driver 76 is the latest instalment in the fast-paced action driving game and features 27 new missions for you to plough through. You’re thrust into the 1970’s and each mission is divided into six parts – and in a similar way to Grand Theft Auto you can take on side jobs to earn cash to pimp your ride. The game works best in multiplayer mode and the destruction derby mode is ace. It’s one of the better releases on the PSP this year and is available from www.game.co.uk for £30. Check out some in-game footage by clicking the link above.
With the PlayStation 3 only just landing on our shores, rumours have surfaced about plans for the next generation of the console already in the pipeline. Departing Chief Executive Officer of Sony Computer Entertainment and “Father of Playstation” Ken Kutaragi said: “I have the vision of PlayStation 4, 5 and 6” and said future generations of the console will be net-based. Perhaps we’ll all be purchasing our games online in the future via iTunes-style downloads? We can’t wait…
We’ve long been fans of iRiver’s products here on GadgiTs – they’re one of the few MP3 manufacturers who actually dare to be different with their designs.
The same is true for their accessories – and the Clix Cradle they’re launching in Korea next week shows why. Billed as an add on for the gorgeous Clix 2 PMP, this stunning speaker houses and charges the player all for a knock-down price of £16.
Sadly, there are no plans to bring it to the European market as yet, but there’s a chance some of the bigger online retailers may sell it here in the coming months if demand is strong enough. See www.iriver.eu.com for more info.
Rumours the XBOX 360 was going to get a Blu-Ray drive have been well and truly quashed.
It was always unlikely Microsoft – one of the key backers of HD DVD technology – would entertain the notion of offering consumers a Blu-Ray add-on but a statement made by Microsoft’s Head of Interactive Entertainment Business Peter Moore set the rumour mill running.
Moore told ITmedia that “the XBOX 360 has the flexibility to adapt to consumers’ needs, allowing Microsoft to add features as consumers demand them – as evidenced by the offering of the HD DVD player as an accessory.”
His comments sparked rumours of a possible Blu-Ray add on but a statement from Microsoft said “It is important to understand the context in which that sstatement was made. We firmly stand behind the HD DVD format as the best choice for consumers. Current reports indicating that Microsoft has a back up plan, which includes Blu-Ray support are incorrect. We’re fully committed to HD DVD an d have absolutely no plans to support other optical formats.”
That clears that up then…
Forget the Elite – this is the only XBOX 360 to get your hands on this summer.
To celebrate the launch of the Simpsons movie on 27 July, Microsoft have made 100 of these limited edition 360's to give away at a series of special events and promotions in the run up to the film’s release.
The spec is identical to the premium XBOX 360 – so the lucky winners will only get the 20GB version as opposed to the Elite’s beefed up 120GB hard drive, but for sheer novelty value it’ll make a great addition to your living room.
Here’s a sneak peak at the handset Motorola are pinning their hopes on to succeed the classic RAZR mobile.
The LAZR V9 is a polished flip phone that boasts not one but TWO QVGA screens – one on the inside and one on the outside.
It runs on a Linux-based operating system and has 512MM of internal memory, the now standard 2megapixel camera along with an LED flash, and microSD support.
With the limited appeal of the KRZR and SLVR handsets, Motorola look to have reverted to the styling and function set that brought them huge success with the RAZR – we’re expecting an official unveiling later this week.
A NEW British PC could change the way you look at the world—because it’s a telly as well. And it might give some of the high-end computer makers such as Sony and Apple a good old shake-up too. The Meivo TV is an HD-ready LCD telly with an on-board computer . . . and it comes
HERE’S a bright idea. The FlareSafe torch is a great travel companion for anyone on a budget trip, staying in cheap hotels around the world. It's a torch with in-built smoke detector and personal alarm. Water-resistant and shockproof, it will even float. It’s a real lifesaver at under £50, and a must for any backpacker. For more, click here
STONE me this new Creative Zen's tiny. But it's quite a high spec 1GB MP3 player. And it has the quality sound associated with this top brand. At £27.99, the Stone is just bigger than the new iPod Shuffle but half the price. The smooth, contoured design is available in six glossy colours (black, white, red, blue, pink and green). With the capacity to store up to 500 songs, it offers 10 hours of playing time. And you can personalise the Stone with a range of accessories including silicon skins in five matching colours, an armband, and even a keychain with a tiny carrying case. For more, click here
OK, so these aren't really gadgets, but the Censor Bar “specs” are the latest offering from stupididiotic.com, which does have some gizmos at their site. Admittedly they're pretty daft ones, including slippers with lights in the toe, for late-night trips to the bathroom—and the combined ipod/toilet roll holder. The glasses are available at £9.99 from play.com
LG have launched the sexiest portable media player of the summer. The FM37 is a customisable, intuitive touch screen is encased in a solid aluminium frame that also houses a mobile version of the XD technology found in the electronic giants’ TV displays. And at just 4cms wide by 5cms tall, it’s definitely a pocket-friendly device.
Available in 1GB, 2GB and 4GB capacities, it’ll play back all the usual files including MP3s, MP4s and WMAs. The menu system is quite cumbersome to use, with far too many sub-menus for our liking, and the iPhone-esque touch screen system of using ‘gestures’ to control playback needs refining. There’s no FM radio, but you’ll get around 20 hours of battery life from a single charge.
Playback is of a good standard and although LG’s Media Centre software is clunky to use, dragging and dropping music files, videos and photos to the FM37 via Windows is easy. The 2GB version will set you back about £110, so though it’s lightweight in size, it’s heavy on the wallet. www.lge.co.uk
The HP Touchsmart IQ770 boasts a touch-sensitive display and includes 320GB worth of storage, nVidia graphics card, 2GB RAM, WiFi nd it’s loaded with Windows Vista.
Designed with style in mind, it’s easy to navigate round using your finger on the intuitive display though a bundled keyboard and mouse are included if you prefer. HP have made it fairly obvious that this is more of a communications centre than just a bog-standard PC - the SmartCentre lets you use Post-It notes that you can attach voice messages to so your family can be kept informed of various goings on. You can show off your photos, check the weather and customise the entire display without having to log into Vista.
Command and Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars is out on the XBOX 360 and the critically-acclaimed series just gets better and better. It’s March 2047 and a colossal nuclear explosion has kicked off the Third Tiberium War – you’re tasked with saving the earth from the evil Kane and Brotherhood of Nod’s assault on the Global Defense Initiative that’s protecting the Earth. Available from www.amazon.co.uk for £40 - click on the link above for a sneek peak at some of the in-game footage.
RIM have thrown us a curve ball with the surprise launch of a brand new Blackberry handset. The Curve is touted as a proper smartphone with full QWERTY style keyboard, ultra-bright screen, 2megapixel camera with 5x digital zoom and flash. It’s the best Blackberry yet and uses a microSD card for storage. Out now on the O2 network, prices depend on contract. See www.o2.co.uk for more details.
YOU'LL see Kodak's new all-in-one inkjet printers in PC World and Currys from next month. The camera giant claims you'll save up to 50 per cent on prints using their system, compared to other printers. The Kodak Easyshare 5300 and 5500 at £139 and £209 should print crisp, sharp documents and Kodak lab-quality photos at home. And the ink is priced at £6.99 for a cartridge of black ink and £9.99 for a five-ink colour cartridge. So Kodak claim for every £10 spent on colour ink and £7 spent on black ink, you can print up to twice the number of pages compared to other inkjet printers. If you use the Kodak Photo Value Pack, a 4 x 6-inch photo will cost as little as 7p per print. We can't wait to try one. Click here for more.
THE new Voyager C515SR from Evesham is a top-value laptop with Intel Centrino Duo Mobile and a three-hour battery life for just £669 (including VAT). A 1.8GHz processor lets you easily view more than one application at a time on the 15.4-inch WXGA widescreen. With good connectivity, you can easily take the office with you, if that’s what you really want. And there’s a three-year guarantee. Click here for more.
TOP gaming PRs Charlene Allen and Olly McGowan are climbing Mount Kilimanjaro later this year to raise cash for the Amani Children’s Home in Africa, which cares for over 210 street kids and AIDS orphans. The pair, who work for Indigo Pearl, will be battling against altitude sickness, rough terrain and temperatures as low as MINUS 20 on Africa's highest mountain to raise £3k for the charity. Any support you can give them is greatly appreciated. They’re all covering their own flight and accommodation costs so all money will go towards the charity. You can donate here
Roll out the red, white, blue, yellow, green and magnolia carpet! 
Ricky Gervais-style humour mashed up into that spectacular Dulux tower block ad has been voted the best commercial viral of the year.
Watch it!
The results of Germ 2 - the Channel 4 and BoreMe.com contest dubbed the viral Oscars - are just out after months of deliberation.
We brought you the shortlist a couple of months back.
BEST VIDEO:
'Cardboard cars' by Layefa Agwosi, Aimi Awang, Jihye Baek, Sally Barrett-Spring, Sarah Cupitt and Alice Dupre
BEST IMAGE:
BEST INTERACTIVE VIRAL
What do you reckon to the choices? Found any funnier? Made one? Let us know via the comments box...
PDA fans Argon-na love this great new bit of kit. The funky tri-band O2 XDA Argon is much more than your average moby. It comes with a two-megapixel camera with video capabilities and a great built-in MP3 player. The PDA is also equipped with WLAN and Bluetooth that lets you sync the device with car kits and compatible headsets. Its large 3.5-inch touch screen means there’s no need for a cumbersome keyboard and the unit is supported by Windows Mobile 5.0, so you’ll benefit from high-speed web access as well as Microsoft’s direct-push e-mail facility. All your familiar Office applications, like Word, Excel and PowerPoint are pre-installed too. Seamless synchronisation with Outlook and the option of including Co-Pilot Live sat- nav software in the bundle only add to its appeal. And with four hours’ talk time, it’s ideal for those who need to read documents and manage data quickly while on the move.
All this makes the Argon a more sophisticated device than GadgiTs’ favourite Blackberry Pearl. Price depends on contract, see www.o2.co.uk for more info.
Sony’s new HDR-CX6EK Handycam ticks all the right boxes. It records your footage in 1080i high definition straight to a memory stick. And because no tapes or discs are used, it’s the smallest and lightest camcorder in Sony’s range to date. The HDR’s Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T lens boasts a 10x optical zoom and will deliver some of the clearest video around.
The camera also doubles up as a still snapper delivering great pics thanks to a 6.1 megapixel lens. Out in July, the HDR-CX6EK should cost around £727.
Also out from Sony is the £800 HDR-SR5E, which offers 40GB disk capacities for up to 15 hours’ HD recording. See www.sony.co.uk for more info.
Toshiba make some of the finest notebooks around, and the Portg R400 is their best-looking release yet. This bright white beauty is the world’s first to be loaded with Windows Vista and includes the world’s first e-mail push service. Called Microsoft Active Notifications, the software automatically checks and downloads your e-mails – including attachments – even when the notebook is closed or Vista is in suspended mode. A neat secondary display on the front edge of the notebook alerts you to e-mail headers, notifications and calendar updates without having to open the notebook itself. The Portege R400 boasts the fastest HSDPA communication connection currently available and achieves this by using two 3G antennas to support the data stream. The 12.1 inch widescreen LCD display is sharp and EasyGuard technology will keep your files and documents protected from viruses. Available at electrical retailers now, prices start at £1400.
Spiderman 3 is out this weekend and the videogame lets fans of the web-slinger control Peter Parker’s original hero and his alter-ego Venom. For the first time ever, you get to control the black Spiderman who’s more powerful and agile than the red-suited version. The action is set in New York, and you’re free to choose your own gameplay experience by following either the movie-based or original storyline. A series of missions and performance rewards must be completed and obtained along the way as you battle a host of enemies including Sandman and the Green Goblin. Get a copy on all formats from here today and check out the footage from the Wii version of the game by clicking on the video above.
Navigation experts TomTom have unleashed their updated RIDER sat nav designed for bikers who need a helping hand finding their way round. Two types are available – a UK and Ireland model priced at £300 and a European version costing £400. New features include an improved easy-to-fit mount, a more responsive touch screen tailored for use with gloves and a Bluetooth headset. It offers noise cancellation so you can hear directions or make phone calls more clearly and the speaker is louder too - which resolves our main gripe with the original RIDER. It’s on sale now – see www.tomtom.com
Take a look at this in-game footage for the new Wario: Master of Disguise game for the DS Lite. The game involves Wario donning several disguises in order to swipe as much treasure and loot as he can carry. It’s a pretty standard 2D platform game but uses the DS control system well so you can access around a dozen different guises for Wario to wear. Use the stylus to control a magic wand and draw symbols around Wario to give him different powers – anything from the spacesuit-wearing Cosmic Wario to the dragon-like version of Nintendo’s favourite anti-hero are on offer. You’ll need to use them all to solve the variety of puzzles and challenges the game has on offer. Available from www.play.com now.
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Pioneer have launched a scheme aiming to make superstar DJs of the nation’s schoolkids.
The “Make me a DJ” initiative was launched by Radio One’s Spoony and gives pupils the chance to learn how to hone their skills on the decks.
The music curriculum will be brought to life with a host of fun tasks that meet Key Stage 3 & 4/S1-4 music criteria. Newly acquired skills can even contribute towards a Music GCSE qualification.
Pioneer’s DJS mixing software will allow its users to create mixes of their favourite tracks and pupils are encouraged to enter their work into three prize draws set to be held throughout the year – with the winner bagging a set of Pioneer headphones and DJ software.
One lucky school will win a visit from the Pioneer Pro DJ team and some top not DJ equipment. For more info on the scheme, click HERE.
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