Geek News: Latest Technology, Product Reviews, Gadgets and Tech Podcast News for Geeks



3M’s Personal Projectors at The Gadget Show

Posted by Andrew at 12:28 AM on April 17, 2012

3M LogoPowerpoint and data projectors have become synonymous with business presentations and I dread to think how many people I have bored over the years. As with almost any technology, the data projectors have got smaller and cheaper, but this was the first time I’d seen how small personal projectors had become. As you can see from the photograph, most would actually fit in a (large) pocket.

3M Pocket Projectors

3M have a range of seven projectors, of which four were on show at The Gadget Show. Unsurprisingly, the different models have different capabilities and there’s more product information here (not all the new models are on the site yet), but I was genuinely impressed by how good the pictures were. The NEC is not a darkened room and yet it was easy to see the presentation or film that was being projected.

As you’d expect the different models have different features; battery size, wireless connectivity, in-built memory and a new model, the MP220, runs Android (it’s the one on the left side of the photograph). I chat with Peter from 3M about the new additions to the range.

Sonos Streams at The Gadget Show

Posted by Andrew at 12:06 PM on April 14, 2012

Sonos Play 3 Sonos are well-known for their innovative audio products which integrate together to build highly controllable wireless hi-fi systems. Simplistically, you can start with one or two units and build-up over time until you can play music in any room in the house. The Sonos system can be controlled via smartphones and tablets with apps available for both iOS and Android devices.

I chat to Ian about Sonos’ latest developments including Spotify streaming, their entry-level unity the Play 3, and the larger Play 5.

Apps That Will Get You Ready for Diablo III

Posted by JenThorpe at 12:39 AM on March 28, 2012

Diablo III will be released on May 15, 2012. My friends and I simply cannot wait to start playing! If you weren’t lucky enough to get into the beta, then you will want to check out a few D3 related apps. These can help prepare you to start playing Diablo III the instant the servers go live.

Diablo III Lore is an app that is compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. It requires iOS 4.2 or later. I’ve heard a lot of people asking about how they can quickly learn more about the lore of the Diablo games so that they will understand who the some of the NPC’s are, and the stories behind some of the quests, in D3. This is the app for that. Scroll through, and read to your heart’s desire.

Diablo III Skill Calculator is an app that I found on Google Play. It is compatible with Android devices. In Diablo II, the way you chose skills, and built your character, was a very big deal. Once selected, you couldn’t change anything. In Diablo III, you are going to have more flexibility about changing your skills than you did in Diablo II. This app will show you the skills that each class can use. You can play around with them right now, and get familiar with how it works before release day.

Diablo 3 Handbook is another app I found on Google Play. It is compatible with Android devices. This app is a game guide for Diablo III. You get information about each class, about active and passive skills, items, followers, and the world itself. It also contains a skill calculator.

Countdown For Diablo is available through the iTunes store. It is compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. It requires iOS 3.0 or later. Are you dying to know exactly how many days, hours, minutes, and seconds are left before Diablo III is ready? This is the app for that. You can check it as often as you like. Is it ready yet? No? How about now? Still no? How about now?…

It is worth noting that none of these apps are made by Blizzard Entertainment, the company that makes the Diablo III game.

Play Store Rolling Out to the Google Toolbar

Posted by Alan Buckingham at 3:24 PM on March 26, 2012

A couple of weeks ago Google implemented a major change to their Android Market by renaming it the Google Play Store to reflect the fact that it’s now more than just apps, but also contains music, books, games, and video.  With this change Google apparently also plans to make the Play Store something that is bigger than just Android handsets and tablets by adding “Play” to the Google toolbar.

While access to the Android market has always been available from a computer – previously at market.android.com and now at play.google.com – bringing it into the Google toolbar makes it accessible to the millions of Google users who aren’t (yet) Android customers.  That means millions more potential customers for Google.

In the past, Google has rarely made changes to their toolbar, but recently they have begun to experiment more often with changing around both the look and order of it.  The “Play” option doesn’t appear to be available yet for all users so don’t panic if you don’t see it now, but keep an eye out over the next few days.  Google usually rolls out these kinds of changes over a few days.

Instagram for Android Sign-up Now Available

Posted by Alan Buckingham at 4:47 PM on March 24, 2012

Android Logo

Instagram, the popular iPhone app that allows users to share photos, is finally coming to Android as you may have heard.  Today they made it feel a little more official by setting up a web page to allow people to sign up for information on the long-awaited app.  Instagram showed off their forthcoming Android app at SXSW in Austin, Texas recently and it made quite a splash.

Unfortunately the sign-up page doesn’t give any real information about the new app, but only provides a place for those who can’t wait to enter their email address and receive notifications.  Still, it is another step closer to making this all a reality.  While we don’t know an official launch date, it’s likely that it will be within the next few weeks.  You can sign up at instagr.am/android.

I Miss My iPhone

Posted by KL Tech Muse at 5:07 PM on March 19, 2012

Android Phone I have to admit after having an Android phone for about two months I miss my iPhone, maybe it because I just got the new iPad.  I have a Motorola Atrix 2. It isn’t that the Android phone is a bad phone, it is just unpolished. Maybe if I had a different phone or carrier I would have a different viewpoint. To me that’s part of the problem I don’t have the time or money to go out and try the different Android phones to find the one I think I’ll like. Then when you find the one you like you never know if it’s going to get the latest update or not. This depends on three different groups Google, the carriers and the manufacturers. Any one of those can stop an update in it’s track or delay it. With the iPhone everybody on the same version gets the update at the same time. I do admit that there are some Android phones that look pretty cool. The one I’ve been looking at lately is the Samsung Galaxy Note however I see that more as a mini tablet then a phone. I also hate the bloatware that the carriers put onto the android phones. This is one of the reasons I left Windows for Mac and now it’s back again. And yes I know there are ways to get rid of it but I shouldn’t have to. Also when something goes wrong on an Android a phone trying to find answer to the problem on Google is like finding a needle in haystack. Half the time you don’t know if the answer will work with your phone or not. Will it work only with a specific carrier or all carriers. Do you have to root the phone or not, something I could do but don’t want to.

There are things that I do like about the Android system. I  like the ability to change the wallpaper on your phone and also the way it allows you to organize your applications. Also the prices assuming you do a two-year contract are much nicer on my wallet than the iPhone. I do like the choices that Android gives you I just wish they were clearer and I didn’t feel like I was reading tea leaves. Based on how I’m feeling right now, a year from now when it’s time to buy a new phone I suspect I’ll be picking up the latest version of the iPhone, although I do wish it was bigger. How about you did you go from Android to iPhone or iPhone to Android are you happy with your choice or if you had to do it over again would you choose differently.

Out of the Shadow of the iPhone

Posted by Andrew at 4:42 AM on March 7, 2012

Samsung Galaxy BeamAt this time of year the technology circus does its tour of the world….CES in Las Vegas, MWC in Barcelona and CeBIT in Hanover, Germany. Interspersed are product launches by major companies like Apple.

When Apple and subsequently Microsoft decided to move away from the industry events and do their own mini-shows, many commentators noted that it was disappointing that the market leaders weren’t going to be attending and predicted the death of the big show. From all the evidence I see, it’s been the best thing that ever happened.

Take Mobile World Congress last week – it was a great show with Samsung, Nokia, HTC, RIM all putting out great phones and tablets. With the figures showing Android well ahead of iOS in the US new handset market and the absence of Apple at the show, it really felt like smartphones had come out from under the shadow of the iPhone. Companies were daring to innovate and be a bit different because the competition is no longer simply about being better than the iPhone, it’s about being better than Android competitors.

HTC’s One line-up might not be earth-shattering but there’s a progression from entry-level to top-end. Samsung continues to produce different sizes and integrate other technologies, such as pico projectors (Galaxy Beam), and Nokia supports its long-term plans in the Windows Phone market while still introducing a bonkers megapixel camera on the older line.

In comparison, Apple would have produced largely the same phone as the last one, only a bit faster, yet would have stolen all the headlines. Great products for sure, but Apple isn’t innovating, it’s perfecting.

The smartphone market is in rude health and it’s great to see genuine innovation and competition rather than the predictable progression of a near monopoly.