It appears the current Asus Eee Laptop PC should be available with Windows XP within the next two weeks in the US. No date on UK availability yet though, although we’ll keep you informed once we hear something. Those wanting XP may be better to wait for the larger 8.9″ version though.
Skype have already updated their v2 Skype for Linux client. They have added uPNP support (allowing better connectivity options for those behind a NAT device), and fixed a couple of key bugs:
British Airways is planning to offer free WiFi in 25 Business Class Lounges across the UK, courtesy of BT OpenZone. 6 of these lounges are at the new Terminal 5 at Heathrow. This service starts on 1 April. Users will get directed to the BA website where they can activate their wireless devices and will then have access to BT OpenZone.
Story courtesy of StrategyEye [Via SMS Text News]
It appears the new 8.9″ Asus Eee PC may also be coming with a couple of additional goodies. Rumours are that it will come with a touchscreen. We mentioned the touchscreen before, and equally have discussed Asus’ statement saying they weren’t planning it. However, fresh rumours are saying it is likely, and the inclusion of GPS too is interesting. Whether any GPS / mapping software will also ship with the laptop is unknown, nor is it known if this new unit will also have Bluetooth, probably one of the other major hardware omissions so far in the range.
More news as and when we have it confirmed.
Goosync have added support for Tasks, on top of Contacts and the original Calendar functionality. In the same way as Contacts, the functionality is to sync from your SyncML device to the Goosync server only, as there is no API to allow them to directly sync your Tasks to the Google servers. However, it still allows Goosync to act as a Backup facility for your main data.
Y-Browser has been updated to v0.88. Y-Browser is a well respected third part File Manager for Symbian S60 devices. Even better, it is available already signed and ready for installation from the author’s website here. The main updates are:
3 have reduced the price of their PAYG USB Modems from £99.99 to £69.99. The data Addons price has stayed the same, but is already very competitive. Head over to 3’s website to order.
Earlier this year we mentioned that Google had released the Standby Screen Search capability for Symbian S60 devices. Now Google have announced the same facility for Windows Mobile devices. Similar to the S60 version, simply browse to mobile.google.com from your device to download the plugin.
In the last few weeks, there have been all sorts of agreements over various technologies on mobile devices, so we thought we would summarise them all…
It’s nice to see the main competitors supporting each other’s technology, and not limiting us users, and ensuring each technology has a future irrespective of your chosen mobile device.
Early this year we covered the first release of JoikuSoft, which allows your Symbian phone to act as a WiFi Access Point, allowing other devices to share the phone’s internet connection. Well, it’s been updated to v1.1 which includes a number of bug fixes, stability improvements, and the ability to change the name of the access point (although only in the format JoikuSpot_xxx).
However, within the next month or so, we should see a further update which adds WEP support into the software. Although WEP isn’t the latest greatest standard, it should be sufficient for a short term connection between your devices and your phone, and adds an important level of security to the current version.
Currently, HTTP and HTTPS should work (although HTTPS needs some configuring on the clients), but protocols like IMAP and FTP do not currently work, although the authors claim they will have a solution for those for the final release.
We’ll keep an eye on this software, and let you know how things progress.
Google have expanded their range of devices supported by dedicated Google Maps clients, and they now have a dedicate, native UIQ version, which is compatible with the Sony Ericsson phones with touch screens; P1, W960i, W950, M600, P990, and the Motorola Z8. Also compatible are the upcoming Sony Ericsson G700 and G900, as well as the Motorola Z10. It’s available now by pointing the browser on your UIQ phone to google.com/gmm and following the prompts.
The Getac PDA is a well specced Windows Mobile 5 device, which meets a whole range of ruggedised standards. With it’s built in GPS, it is more than suitable for whilst out walking, or even lending to the kids, and should survive whatever they can throw at it.
The features include:
| CPU | 400MHz Samsung S3C2440A |
| Memory | 64MB SDRAM |
| Storage | 2GB NAND Flash |
| Display |
Transflective 3.5″ QVGA TFT LCD, 262,144 color Touch screen Sunlight readable display |
| Communication Interface | Bluetooth Class 2 V2.0+EDR WLAN 802.11 b/g |
| I/O Port | DC in x 1 USB 1.1 x 1 Microphone x 1 Speaker x 1 Line out x 1 MMCX GPS Antenna Connector |
| Memory Card Reader | SD card reader |
| Power | AC adapter (10W, 100-240V, 50/60Hz) Li-Ion smart battery (2400mAh, over 8 hours battery life at room-temperature operation with default settings) |
| Dimension & Weight | 144.25 x 82.25 x 29.3 mm (5.68 x 3.24 x 1.15 in.), 300g (10.58 ounce) |
Tech Digest have reviewed (via a video review) the $78 Brando External DVD Drive, which Brando only claim that it works with Windows. As you’ll see from their review, it works fine with the Asus Eee PC running Linux, although they don’t mention whether or not the Writer features of the drive work.
According to Engadget, we should see a new firmware (v2.20) for the Sony PS3 before the end of the month. This will include support for the Blu-ray v2.0 spec, downloadable video content, ringtones, and interactive movie-based games. Resume Play will also be included, which means a Blu-ray disk can be restarted from where you were when it was stopped, even if the disk is removed. Also, DivX and WMV files larger than 2GB will be supported.
The Nokia Guide has published an interesting review, comparing the Nokia LD-4W external GPS with its predecessor, and with an N95 8Gb with built in GPS. Head over to read the review.
In case you missed it, a week or two back Skype released a major update to their Linux Skype client, with builds available for for Ubuntu, Debian Etch, Xandros, Fedora, OpenSUSE, Mandriva and Centros. As well as numerous bug fixed, the main new feature is the support for video calls, which brings the Linux version in line with the Windows and Mac versions.
Asus have stated that they believe the XP version of the Eee PC will outsell the current Linux version by 1.5 times, despite costing roughly twice as much. We’re not so sure, at that price (at least in the UK), they are competing against a whole range of conventional laptops which offer better screens (and higher screen resolution); it seems to us that one of the main driving factors of why they are selling is the price. No news on when the Windows XP version of the current device is due in the UK.
Story courtesy of Engadget.
TomTom have updated their software for the 520, 720 and 920 models, with the new version being v7.480. Along with a few bug fixes, it adds support for the new HD Traffic receiver addon. There are reports of some problems with voice recognition no longer working, but these problems seem to stem from an accidental beta release in the US only, and should not affect users who download the update after yesterday. Some items (custom voice, custom cursor) will need resetting, and it’s best to take a backup of the unit before applying the update.
Story courtesy of Pocket GPS World.
The UK SatMap Active 10 GPS device, which offers a whole range of OS maps (at additional charge) has just received a fairly major software update. The new version, v1.15 features the following updates:
“The new software also has a new power management system that significantly reduces
the overall power consumption of the Active 10, thereby improving battery
performance. It should also improve the GPS acquisition time and upgrade the signal
lock in difficult conditions such as under tree canopies.
The most obvious change is to the start-up operation: when switched on, the Active 10
(with no map card loaded), goes to the GPS status screen first. Yellow blocks appear on
the bar chart whilst the unit is picking up the satellites, which turn orange once they
have acquired the data from each one. Once a sufficient number of satellites have been
acquired, the unit locks on, and then automatically switches to the GPS Map screen.”
About the only thing missing from the SatMap website is information on how to obtain the new software…
As we (and others) predicted, the Apple Airport Express has been released, although it is not currently listed in the Apple UK Store. In the US, the price has remained the same as the elder unit, so we expect to see similar pricing when it does come to the UK.