Going into this years Mobile World Conference (MWC) the hottest topics of discussion were new Android phones and new mobile app stores to rival the Apple app store.

So far only the G1 has been available to test the potential of Google’s mobile phone operating system, Android. Although the G1 hardware has had mixed reviews the operating system itself has generally been praised. The market had poised itself for a whole mix of new Android phones to flood the market. So, what came out of Mobile World Congress this year? Answer, the HTC Magic. One phone – not the flood that was expected. It does look like a very nice phone, but then there is nothing else to directly compare it with.

The Apple App store for the iPhone and iPod Touch has been one of the biggest success stories in the past year. Other manufacturers want to get a piece of this very lucrative pie and ‘OnlyAndoid.com’ was launched late last year to support the Android operating system. The handset giant Nokia and Microsoft have now announced their own versions of app download markets for their own operating systems.

From May, Nokia will open up the ‘Ovi Store’ to offer apps and multimedia for their own range of phones. Microsoft will launch ‘Windows Marketplace’ later this year to support their range of ‘Windows Phones’.

Below are my top three phones to be announced at this years congress. All are high end phones that have the standards of wi-fi, 3G and GPS. These are the phones that I feel will make it big in 2009.

HTC Magic

The phone formally known as the G2 has now been renamed the Magic. This is a slimmer, cleaner version of the G1 and in my view a lot nicer. Gone is the slide out keyboard and this has made the device smaller and lighter. All the other specs are very similar to the G1 with the 3.2″ touchscreen providing the majority of the control for the device. The Android operating system has changed slightly to the ‘cupcake’ version to try and address some of the teething problems with the first version. The device will now also record video.

This device appears to be aimed at the group of people who didn’t like the form factor of the G1 and may like the new body of the Magic. Unfortunately the lack of device options that are on the market may still limit the spread of Android (although it didn’t seem to stop the iPhone!)

Sony Ericsson Idou

Sony have gone for the high end multimedia features for their latest phone. The Idou is packed with a 12.1 MP camera (seems a tad over the top for the size of the lens) and a 3.5″ 16 million color touchscreen (same size as the iPhone). What looks interesting with this phone is that will have a similar interface to what is currently used on the PS3 and PSP. I do like this interface, it is very clear and easy to use. Combined with a touchscreen, this is definitely an interface that could rival the iPhone.

The operating system looks to be a variant of the Symbian S60 so there should be plenty of apps available to compete with all the other app markets that are in development.

Samsung Omnia HD

Thanks to the iPhone, touchscreen phones are top of the pops when it comes to phone tech. To complete my trio of the best of MWC comes another touchscreen phone, the Samsung Omina HD. Yes the ‘HD’ gives away the Samsung’s killer feature – it can record 720p HD video at 24 fps. It comes with a 3.7″ AMOLED (active matrix organic light emitting diode) display that has the iPhone style capacitive touchscreen technology. This makes the screen very responsive and thanks to the OLED tech, it should look very impressive.

Like the Sony, this phone will use a version of the Symbian S60 operating system so can make use of the solid base of apps available on the market.

Now what could trump all of these phones is the rumour that Apple will be releasing a new iPhone this summer. As with all new Apple rumours, Apple are saying nothing and very little information can be found about what this new version would look like. I personally do not expect anything radical from Apple (there’s not that much wrong with the iPhone design). If Apple do release a new iPhone I would expect more memory (64GB), a weight reduction, color options, a better camera (with video) and some new OS options.

GadgetGeek – Tech Reviews, News, and Future Views

The Kindle 2 will have 2GB  of internal storage and can be easily expanded via the built in SD card slot. The onboard memory will allow around 1,500 books so more than enough for the average trip on the train.

The screen quality has been increased from 4 shades of grey to 16 shades to allow better reproductions of photos on the 6″ screen.

If your don’t feel like reading then use the ‘Read-to-Me’ function and the Kindle will read the book via the in-built speakers or through headphones.

I’ve been interested in getting an electronic book reader for a couple of years now. In the UK, we only have access to a couple of models including the Sony Reader. I would love to get my hands on a Kindle. The ability to download books and newspapers wherever I am is very appealing. The E-ink displays are very clear and easy to read.

The Kindle 2 should be available from 24th Feb for purchase via the Amazon.com website.

GadgetGeek – Tech Reviews, News, and Future Views

A few months ago while reading a tech magazine I read a short review of a phone application called JoikuSpot. It boasted that it could use a phones inbuilt Wi-Fi and internet access to create a local Wi-Fi network that any user could access. I am a big user of the internet away my home network and I  have several devices that have Wi-Fi but need a network to access the internet. This software looked to be just what I needed.

The software is designed primarily for phones running the Symbian S60 3^rd Edition operating system, which are typically most Nokia and some Samsung phones. It is available as a free basic version (with some limitations) or $20 for the Premium fully featured license. Ideally you need an unlimited 3G internet access package for your phone (or at least a good high monthly GB usage to avoid big bills). The software can be downloaded from the site or a link sent directly to your phone to allow you to download it directly.

The installation process is painless and once you open the application you can enter the Settings option to configure your own Wi-Fi hot spot. You can change the name from the default ‘JoikuSpot’ and set up encryption via the inbuilt WEP protocol (a must to avoid passing strangers swiping your bandwidth).

Once configured simply Start the application and select your Internet connection option and after a few moments your phone will magically become a Wi-Fi hotspot. As you connect devices to the hotspot, the MAC code & device ID will appear on the phones screen identifying what device is connected so you can monitor for any unlawful access.  A status tab will allow you to monitor how long you are connected and the amount of data transferred.

I have so far used this with my macbook, windows laptop and my iPod Touch and all have connected without any issues and provided reliable, fast internet access. It has also proved useful to allow access to friends and family when travelling with multiple users all connecting and the software handling this without any issues.

The only downside I’ve found with the application is that it loves power. My battery life suffers terribly, with my Nokia N95 struggling to operate more than 90-120 minutes during high usage. Still, this is more than enough for accessing a few sites and keeping up to speed with the latest on Geekshow.us!

If you have the right kit and would like to try this you can find it here. I hope the developers are working on similar applications for other operating systems because this would be a neat feature for all phones to have.

GadgetGeek – Tech Reviews, News, and Future Views

When I first started watching Star Trek:The Next Generation in 1987 I was fascinated with the small handheld devices that the crew were using: PADDs (Personal Access Display Device). These allowed access to all the knowledge of the Federation and appeared to have virtual infinite abilities. I wanted one.

Along came 1989 and I made my first purchase of a device that kicked of my dream of owning my own PADD.

Sharp IQ-7000 (1989-1997)

Tech Specs: Screen: Mono 96×64, Memory: 16KB RAM

The Sharp IQ-7000 was essentially a glorified pocket calculator. What differentiated it from the pack was that it had a built in calendar for planning out your time and a contacts button to store al your phone numbers and addresses. It could take short notes and had all the normal calculator functions. The unique selling point what that it had a port to take custom application cards that converted a section of the device into a touch pad. These cards were bought as add ons and included cards that could manage your accounts, add a dictionary to your device or even boost the meagre memory up to 64KB (the first SD card?) This device kept my vision of the ultimate PADD open for a number of years until in 1997 when along came a device that was closer to my dream.

Psion Series 5 (1997 – 2001)

Tech Specs: O/S: Symbian EPOC, Screen: Mono 640×240, Memory: 4MB RAM + 6MB ROM, CPU: 32 bit ARM 7100 (18.432 Mhz)

This big selling point for me was that this device had a touch screen. I was one step closer to that PADD dream. This was a proper little computer that had most of the functionality of modern day devices. It accepted Compact Flash cards and hence you could build up the memory (I recall buying a 32 MB CF card for £80 ($120) and thought this was an amazing amount of memory). This device had a word processor, a spreadsheet app and even stored photos and took recordings. It’s database app was one I used a lot, filling it up with databases of Star Trek episodes and details of all my favorite films. I loaded it up with all my contacts, diary, personal data and databases and had access to them wherever I was. At the time this was all cutting edge stuff, and then along came a new kid on the block.

Casio Cassiopeia E-115 (2001 – 2003)

Tech Specs: O/S: Pocket PC 2000, Screen: Color 240×320, Memory: 32MB RAM +16 MB ROM, CPU: 64 bit NEC VR4122 (150 Mhz)

Now this was a proper little computer. It was even running a simple version of Windows. This device felt like my ultimate PADD. It was the right shape, it had a full color screen and no keyboard. Compared to the Psion it was ultra fast with a 150 Mhz processor and had no problems storing all the info I ever needed and was compatible with all my PC applications so a cinch to update and link to all my documents. It did play music and video, but that 32MB of RAM didn’t go very far (anyway the 5 GB iPod I got in 2001 sorted that need out). You now had the ability to install custom applications like simple games and apps that could simulate the night sky (cool!). The device was still a bit  bulky for carrying in your pocket and had terrible battery life (that big 3.8” TFT screen was cutting edge but power hungry). It took regular AA batteries and ate them like candy – very expensive. I needed something more fuel efficient.

HP iPaq 2250 (2003 – 2005)

Tech Specs: O/S: Windows Mobile 2003, Screen: Color 240×320, Memory: 64MB RAM + 32 MB ROM, CPU: 32bit Intel XScale PXA255 (400 Mhz)

This was the evolutionary step up on the Cassiopeia. The basic design was very similar with a screen only slightly smaller at 3.5” but this device had been on a diet with the weight dropping from 255 g to 164 g. It also had a rechargeable battery to save my pennies and a much faster processor. The cost of memory was rapidly coming down in price and was now up to 512 MB SD cards for £80. I could now store some video files (mainly clips from Star Wars) and store lots and lots of databases. I liked this device a lot. It hit a lot of my PADD buttons and I carried it everywhere in my pocket where it competed for space with my phone (these had yet to shrink to the ultra tiny devices of today).

HP iPaq 2750 (2005 – 2007)

Tech Specs: O/S: Windows Mobile 2003 SE, Screen: Color 240×320, Memory: 128 MB + 128 MB ROM, CPU: 32bit Intel XScale PXA270 (625 Mhz)

In 2004-5 wi-fi was the big thing and home networks were springing up everywhere. My next device was a faster, slicker version of the previous iPaq. The big selling point was that it had wi-fi built in. It quickly connected to my wi-fi network and suddenly the whole of the internet was at my mobile fingertips. My mobile (cell) phone had already been doing this for a while over the WAP network (very slow, but it was still the internet). The iPaq gave a bigger cleaner internet experience with the big screen and ability to pick up email. Memory was now ultra cheap and I loaded it up with 4GB of flash memory and started to load full movies onto it (Star Wars being my first film). It even streamed video over the net and I remember getting live Shuttle footage from NASA TV showing the earth slowly rotating below. While surfing the net I found a piece of Windows CE software that created a Star Trek inspired interface. My gadget finally looked like a Star Trek PADD! I was now very close to my ultimate PADD.

Nokia N95 (2007 – 2008)

Tech Specs: O/S: Symbian OS 9.2 Series 60, Screen: Color 240×320, Memory: 8GB, CPU: 32bit Texas Instruments OMAP 2420 (332 Mhz)

Through 2006-7 the life of the Pocket PC was being overtaken by the increasing power of phone operating systems and software. My old Psion Series 5 operating system, Symbian had gone on steroids and had turned into Series 60. The Nokia N95 had a step down in processing power and flexibility from the iPaq, but gave me a camera, video, GPS, cool N-GAGE games and oh yeah, a phone! I also had the whole internet at my fingertips virtually anywhere (not just with a wi-fi signal). This was truly a gadget that I could carry anywhere, have access to the worlds knowledge and never get lost with. Was this my ultimate PADD?, No, I needed a touch screen.

iPod Touch / iPhone (2008 – )

Tech Specs: O/S: iPhone OS 2.2, Screen: Color 480×320, Memory: 32 GB, CPU: Samsung ARM (533 Mhz)

Now I have to admit, my iPhone is still in the shop. But with my iPod Touch and N95 I have full internet access on the move (courtesy of Joikuspot software). To me my iPod Touch is as close to my Ultimate PADD until they actually make one. It is portable, has a great touch screen and now with the Application store has been opened up to thousands of applications. Of course I had to search for a PADD application and my prayers were answered with ‘Tricorder’. I may not be able to shutdown a warp core with it, but I know feel like I’m on the Enterprise. Clearly the iPhone is closer to my goal and as soon as my contract runs out, a fresh one will more than likely be in my pocket.

Looking back at my Sharp IQ-7000 it’s hard to believe how much the portable orgainser has evolved. It was only 10 years from the Psion 5 to the iPhone and the technology advances were significant. What will the next ten years hold? Somehow I think my Star Trek PADD is still a few more years away.

GadgetGeek – Tech Reviews, News, and Future Views

Michelle Ryan (Bionic Woman) has been rumored to be the Doctor’s new companion. She has allegedly been in secret talks with the BBC and could be announced as taking the role very soon. Ryan, 24,  originally auditioned to replace Billy Piper in the role, but lost out to former companion, Freema Agyeman.

Ryan has worked with Steven Moffat before, starring as Katherine Reimer in the BBC mini series Jekyll. There have been previous rumors of Moffat bringing in actors he has worked with previously into Doctor Who, most notably Patterson Joseph and James Nesbitt, but we all know how those turned out. So this may end up being just another rumor, but an interesting one none the less.

She also starred in NBC’s Bionic Woman, a remake of the 1970s TV favourite, but audiences did not take to it and its run lasted for just eight episodes.

Windows 7

This is the successor to Windows Vista which, as most people will agree, never lived up to all the hype. Microsoft look to be following the Apple philosophy of quick and simple for this new version of Windows. The boot up times are expected to be significantly quicker than previous versions (I hope they also address the deteriorating boot up times you get the older the installation and the more software you install). Both the UI and appearance have been slim-lined from previous versions with the Task Bar now taking on more of a MAC-OS inspired Dock feel. The software has been designed to run on a wide range of machines including cheap netbooks (Microsoft are desperate to get rid of XP and I guess this is their answer!)

The Beta is available now with the full software not expected until late 2009 or early 2010. Microsoft have announced this week that there will be unlimited downloads of the Beta software until January 24th, so go get yours now.

Palm Pre

I’ve never owned a Palm, but looking at the pictures and specs on this new one and I could be tempted. It comes with Palms first new O/S in years and looks very tasty. Its form factor is aimed directly at the iPhone and Blackberry designs with a 3.1” multi-touch screen AND a Blackberry style QWERTY keyboard. It has the standard smartphone 3G and GPS and also a 3MP camera and flash. The Pre uses the new Palm Synergy feature to bring your Outlook, Google, and Facebook calendars together for one logical view of your day. And if you have the same contacts in different places, Pre can link them together, making it easy to find the information you need.

No date yet on when this is expected on the market.

Sony X1000 Walkman

This is Sony’s latest Walkman and appears to be created as a direct competitor to the iPod Touch. It comes with a bright 3” multi-touch OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) screen. Which I suspect will become the standard with new screens over the next couple of years. It has Sony’s very good hardware noise reduction built into the device which will enhance the already excellent sound quality that Walkman’s have (in my view better than iPods). Sony Walkman’s have always had excellent battery life and I expect this one will beat the poor battery life of the iPod Touch, especially with that cool OLED screen. The first players will come in the 16 Gb and 32 GB sizes (sound familiar?)

Expect this in the shops sometime this summer.

Asus Eee Keyboard

Now this is different. Asus have gone and stuffed all the innards of a PC into a keyboard!

It has a large 5” touchscreen and full wi-fi capability. Just connect it to a monitor or your TV through its wireless HDMI (yes wireless HDMI – I like it). It runs Windows XP Home, includes a 1.6GHz Intel Atom microprocessor, 1Gb of DDR2 DRam and a choice of 16GB or 32GB solid state drives for storage. It doesn’t have a built in DVD player, but if you are only going to use it for the internet and email this would not be a big issue. I like this concept and hope that this works well and has good battery life. I could really see this as a nice addition to my living room.

Expect this around September this year.

If I end up getting any of this cool tech, I will of course give your a much more detailed review.

Handbrake is a free open-source video conversion tool available for Windows, MacOS X and Linux. I stumbled onto this piece of software only a few months ago and I have found it excellent at producing first rate compact versions of some of my DVDs.

It is specifically designed to create MPEG-4 versions on DVDs, but will also complete conversions between a limited set of video codecs (e.g. MPEG to AVI).

Using Handbrake couldn’t be simpler. Just insert your DVD and from the Handbrake main screen select the  VIDEO_TS folder of the DVD and Handbrake will scan for content and provide a list. The normal tricky part of trying to figure out what video and audio codec your device needs has been made easy by having a varied selection of devices to pick from. Selecting your device automatically sets up Handbrake for the optimum quality of video and audio for the output file. Hitting ‘Start’ kicks of the encoding and will dump the file to the place of your choice.

I’ve so far tried this on my iPod Touch and PSP and found that a 2 hour movie ends up around 1GB when encoded for my Touch. With 32GB to play with I’ve stuck several movies onto my iPod and have found them all very clear and easy to watch while sat on the train. I also have many more sat on my Mac and they still look pretty good on the full screen. Having a whole selection of films and TV shows on my Mac is great for traveling and also cuts down on battery consumption as there is no DVD drive to power.

Some of the devices included in the automatic settings include Apple TV, Xbox 360 and PS3, so you can also load these up for watching on your TV.

Buy an 8GB USB stick, load it up with 16 hrs of all your favorite movies and TV shows and you can watch them whenever you have access to a computer, PS3 or Xbox 360.

Please remember, using this software is for personal use only and not for selling on copies of all your DVDs!

Find the software here.

He is a relative unknown actor, although he has had several leading roles and starred in the BBC drama ‘The Ruby in the Smoke’ with the one and only Billie Piper (maybe she put in a good word). He will be the youngest actor to play the Doctor at 26 years old.

He was cast over Christmas and will begin filming for the fifth series of Doctor Who in the summer. David Tennant is filming four specials in 2009.

His first full episodes as the Doctor will not be until 2010. Will the transformation from David Tennant to Matt Smith take place this year ?

Just thought I might add a few pictures of Matthew Smith from The Ruby in the Smoke that I was able to find. -Ben

In the past couple of months Archos have released their 5 series of PMP’s (Portable Media Players). They are calling them ‘Internet Media Tablets’ due to their wi-fi integration and built in internet browser. They are marketing a few standard machines with storage ranging from 60 to 250GB. These all allow video, picture and music storage – all pretty standard stuff. What appeals in this new range is the 5g version. This is due out sometime in the next couple of months and integrates 3G (HSDPA) capability.  This is nothing new, but at present there are not a lot of portable devices out there (apart from phones) that have this built in. We are seeing a few netbooks starting to build this in and it is something that I expect all similar devices to have as standard in the next year or two. We are seeing most (if not all) mobile phone manufacturers selling internet SIM cards wrapped in a USB stick. While great for mobile computing, you do need a computer and it does stick out ready to be knocked off. The beauty of inbuilt 3G is that these machines have the SIM card slot hidden away inside and when you turn them on, you can be online straight away. The Archos5g is small and portable and allows quick portable access to all your media and the internet. It does suffer with only having 30 GB of storage, but if you only keep your favorite stuff on it, it should be more than enough.

GadgetGeek

Tech Reviews, News, and Future Views

Hi all. I’m a geek Chemical Engineer who lives in London, UK. Chemical Engineer you say, now what’s that? Well, for those who don’t know, Chemical Engineers design all the processes that in general make all the material ’stuff’ in the world – metals, plastic, gasoline, toothpaste, beer – you get the idea. For the last 17 years I’ve been working for one of the worlds biggest oil companies, designing and improving equipment to bring down the price of gasoline at the pump – clearly I’ve done a great job of this. I now build computer models of oil refineries to help decide which crude oil to run in a refinery. I have a bachelors degree in Chemical Engineering and many years of playing with as many gadgets and toys I can get my hands on. I had my first computer in 1981 (the classic Sinclair ZX81, which you US guys may never have heard off).  This had 1K of RAM (yes 1KB!, not 1MB) and loaded software through a tape deck. Over time I have graduated through many computers, games machines, mobile phones and MP3 players. I still own my first mobile (cell) phone from 1994 (the very one that Mulder & Scully used – the reason I had to have it), a Dell laptop from 1995 and the original iPod (before the world went mad for it). I don’t profess to be an expert in all things ‘tech’ but I have been playing with this stuff for years so hopefully have a good grounding. To get my current base tech level established – I use a MacBook Pro and an Acer Vista laptop, I have a Nokia N95 phone, an iPod Touch and a Zune. I also use a Nokia N800 for mobile web surfing and play most of my games on either my PC, PS3, Wii, DS or PSP.  My world of other gadgets I will keep secret for now and will share with you through my articles.

I’ve always had a avid interest in all things ‘tech’ and also in general science topics. I’m not a professional writer, but I have written many technical documents on the design and operation of oil refineries so it’s not a completely new world for me.

For my geek credentials – clearly I love all things gadget and tech. I’m also a big Star Wars fan (I have the full screenplay to Episode IV in my head and I own a storm trooper outfit – I know this may be a geek step to far!). I love Buffy & Angel (the reason I first got into the Geekshow.us world), I also like Star Trek (all versions), Dr Who, Torchwood, Stargate, Firefly – well pretty much anything sci-fi. My list of movies would be very long, but needless to say all and everything good. I read a few comics and love a good FPS on my PC.

My recent claim to fame is that I met James Marsters and had a brief chat about music and stardom. He kept the, mainly female, crowd very happy with his stories of Buffy and his first sexual encounters. I did attend the London Film & Comic con this year and got to meet Patrick Stewart, Claudia Black, Peter Davidson, Christopher Lloyd among many others. Great experience and it’s impossible to me in the presence of Patrick Stewart without feeling like you are meeting Jean Luc Picard.

I’ve been listening to the Geekshow.us podcasts since April 2006 and worked my way through all the Buffy and Angel episodes and GeekiNtertainment. The episodes of Geek By Night in the past year have been great and have made me want to listen to more audio dramas.

I’m looking forward to letting you all have my thoughts on all things tech. My articles will cover gadget reviews, cool technology, geeky computer stuff and my own take on the future of tech. I hope this will be of interest to you all, but please feel free to contact me on any topic and I’ll be happy to do my best to help you out.