Product Central
Dispatches from the Reviews Editor's desk
Wednesday 21 November 2007, 1:43 PM
Amazon's Kindle lights no UK fires
Everybody seems to be talking about Amazon's new Kindle e-book reader just now, and if you're wondering why there's no coverage on ZDNet UK Reviews, it's because the device is not yet available for sale this side of the pond.
Now you could buy one from the US and ship it over here. However, since one of the Kindle's main attractions is the ability to download books and periodicals over a wireless connection, and since that wireless service is a US-only affair called 'Whispernet' that Amazon has built on top of the Sprint network, there seems little point.
If and when Amazon puts together a similar wireless service over here, and launches the Kindle (or a successor) in the UK, we'll review it. In the meantime, you can read the review of the US device on our sister site CNET.com.
Our view in a nutshell: Kindle is unlikely to light any fires in the e-book market.
Wednesday 21 November 2007, 11:56 AM
HP's Brobdingnagian printer
My colleague and fellow Dialogue Box presenter Rupert Goodwins draws my attention to a product we really must take a look at — if we can get it into the building.
Observe the HP Scitex TJ8300 printer pictured below. Looks like a regular desktop inkjet does it not?
However, when we superimpose a pair of normal (or relatively normal) people, it's clear that this is, in fact, no ordinary inkjet. The thing is 2 metres tall, and handles media up to 1.65m by 3.7m in size.
Large-format printers for billboards and other kinds of signage are nothing new, of course, but what's brilliant about the HP Scitex TJ8x00 series is how it looks just like a standard desktop inkjet — only much, much bigger. The display on the right-hand end of the picture above isn't a little preview screen, it's a proper desktop monitor! The ink tanks (it's a 6-colour piezoelectric inkjet) must be the size of dustbins...
Back in May, HP plastered Cannes with enormous Scitex-printed posters during the Film Festival. You can see one here:
Wednesday 14 November 2007, 2:51 PM
Guitar, tune thyself
Last year, Gibson released a digital version of its venerable Les Paul electric guitar (first produced in the 1950s) with an Ethernet connector as well as the standard quarter-inch jack plug. The digital electronics on the HD.6x-Pro support individual, clean, signals from each of the six strings, allowing these to be processed separately. I've yet to see a live band where the guitarist has a Marshall stack for each string, but if this stuff had been available 30 years ago, The Who's Pete Townsend would surely have gone for it.
Now Gibson's boffins have come up with something that might have more universal appeal. This is the self-tuning Les Paul, a.k.a the Gibson Robot Guitar. Now, most moderately competent guitarists can tune their instruments, but there are occasions when a bit of speedy help would come in handy — switching from standard tuning to an alternative such as 'dropped D', 'modal D' or the 'Keith Richards open G' being a prime example.
Enter the Robot, a key element of which is the gang of six revolutionary Powerhead Locking Tuners — machine heads equipped with tiny servo motors that automatically keep each string in tune. Signals from the specially modified Tune-Control Bridge go via a control CPU to a CPU in the guitar's neck, which in turn drives the clever machine heads. Not only can you quickly tune individual strings, but you can also switch between six alternative tunings at a twist of the Master Control Knob.
This is great when playing live, as you don't have to grab a different instrument just to do Brown Sugar (or whatever). And back home, the Robot tuning system will walk you through setting up the proper intonation on your guitar — that is, setting the bridge saddles so the instrument plays truly all the way up the neck (something most people require expensive professional help with).
If you feel like shelling out £1,400 on one of these blue sunburst axes when they go on sale on 7 December, get in fast. Each of the select squad of dealers will be limited to 10 guitars each.
Tuesday 30 October 2007, 9:54 AM
ThinkPad X60 rejuvenated!
My poor old 512MB ThinkPad X60, which had a happy early life running Windows XP but then suffered a crippling attack of Windows Vista, has now been restored — almost — to productive use thanks to a timely install of Ubuntu 7.10 (a.k.a. Gutsy Gibbon).
Vista really was too much for the X60: it took an age to boot, an age to launch applications — an age to do anything. And the integrated graphics couldn't handle Aero, so you couldn't even admire the pretty GUI while twiddling your thumbs (or gnashing your teeth). For the last few months, this otherwise fine piece of kit has been languishing in a corner, unused and almost forgotten.
ThinkPad X60 redux, thanks to the Gutsy Gibbon
Then along came Ubuntu 7.10 and the resultant 'Gibbonfest' at ZDNet Towers, so I decided to dig out the X60 and kill Vista once and for all. No dual-boot option here, just the full 'use entire disk' setting during the Ubuntu 7.10 install.
The main problem so far is the (Intel Pro/Wireless 3945) Wi-Fi, which is half-working: my router (a FRITZ!Box) and the X60 can see each other, but as far as loading web pages is concerned it's currently a non-starter. Similar problems are reported in the Ubuntu forums, and I'm sure there's a solution once I decipher the forum-speak.
More likely, I shall slip Gibbon-convert Rupert Goodwins a pint of amber nectar and secure his Wi-Fi-fixing services.
Otherwise, the X60 is now working a treat. If anything else crops up, I'll let you know.
Tuesday 2 October 2007, 8:42 AM
HTC Touches base
Back in June I went to the launch of HTC's Touch, a Windows Mobile 6 smartphone that some touted as an "iPhone killer", thanks to its (somewhat) iPhone-like TouchFLO interface.
HTC Touch: no keyboard and GPRS/EDGE only
Your correspondent wasn't fooled, of course, describing the Touch as "a moderately-featured Windows Mobile 6 device with a bit of touch-screen eye candy bolted on top"; I also bemoaned the lack of a keyboard and 3G/HSDPA connectivity — a view endorsed by the full review that followed.
Although predicting the appearance of 3G/HSDPA and a slide-out keyboard in the Touch range didn't require Nostradamus levels of prescience, it's gratifying to see that this has now happened, in the shape of the Touch Dual (see also our photo story).
HTC Touch Dual: mobile phone-style keypad and 3G/HSDPA connectivity
I'm looking forward to getting my hands on the new, improved Touch Dual. Hope it lasts longer than my original Touch...
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