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Apple has confirmed an event on Jan 27, inviting media and analysts to ‘come see our latest creation’, believed to be the iTablet.

Apple has invited journalists to a special event in San Francisco later this month, where it is widely expected to unveil the iTablet. Apple sent out the email invite today to select media and analysts, inviting them to "come see our latest creation".

The invite, which shows the Apple logo superimposed over a series of graffiti-style paint splatters, gives few clues as to what Apple will announce at the event. However, rumours and speculation have swirled for months that Apple is about to unveil a tablet-style computer.

The event, which will be held at the Yerba Buena Centre for the Arts in San Francisco, starts at 10am on January 27. Apple’s chief executive, Steve Jobs, is expected to take the stage to make the announcement in what will be his highest profile appearance since returning to work after a liver transplant last summer.

The so-called iTablet is expected to feature a 10in screen, with all the same features and functionality as Apple’s iPhone and iPod touch. Several websites have quoted sources close to the project as saying that the iTablet will also be used as a home entertainment hub for gaming, watching movies and listening to music.

via The Indo

Since the iPhone exploded on to the mobile scene two years ago, rivals have been scrambling to catch up. Now the one competitor we’ve all been waiting for has finally arrived: the Google phone. Or, more precisely, phones. Not content with its dominant position as the 800lb gorilla of the internet, Google has turned its hand to producing free software that can be used by any phone manufacturer to power touchscreen devices.

The software, dubbed Android, has been available internationally for more than a year in just a handful of mobiles. But the first Android phones to be sold by Irish networks have only just landed.

So let’s delve into some Androids to see what all the fuss is about.
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Sky has started rolling out its new electronic programme guide to all Sky+ HD customers with set top boxes manufactured by Amstrad. At the start of November, the satellite platform holder began implementing the new EPG for all subscribers with Samsung boxes.

The process has now shifted to Amstrad receivers, with Sky sending warning emails to all affected customers in advance of the rollout. A demo of the EPG is also available in Sky Anytime for any subscribers still waiting to receive it.

Some people may think that I am mad, I may even think it myself but I have uninstalled Ubuntu (Karmic Koala) and installed Windows Vista.

Why? Well I just got sick of Ubuntu not “remembering” settings I changed after a reboot, like the desktop effects. Also I installed XAMPP (LAMPP in Linux speak) and this also decided not to work. So enough was enough. I installed Vista.

Well thats the short version. I was going to put XP back on but I ran into “issues”. basically my pc has 2 partitions, and I wanted to keep the “second” one, my old D:\ as I had a lot of stuff on there, my iTunes folder being the most important. So I deleted the partition which contained the Ubuntu installation and created a new partition in its place for Windows. What the XP installation didnt tell me was that my old D:\ partition was now the Primary partition and what now contained my windows OS was the Logical or secondary partition.

I reinstalled XP twice and still was getting the same outcome. I decided to try Vista. Same thing happened again, but at least this time i noticed the Primary/Logical designations and realised that I would have to change the designations in order to boot my Windows.

Couldn’t change the designations. At least the Vista installation allowed my to copy my files to a number of USB memory sticks. SO then I deleted the old D:\, and created a new blank partition in its place. This left me with TWO primary partitions, so I installed Vista (again) on the smaller partition and everything went well.

Now I just have to turn off those annoying Vista warning popups

Ciara O’Brien from the Irish Times introduced us to the Seecode Vossor Phonebook (€139-€149)

Bluetooth car kits are a common sight, but if you would rather not drill holes in your shiny dashboard, try the Seecode Vossor Phonebook. The device looks (and actually is) a rear view mirror. The difference is that it has Bluetooth built in and a microphone and speaker for making calls. It will also store up to 600 numbers in its memory.

The device is simple enough to install yourself. You simply slot it over your existing car mirror, pair it with your phone and you are ready to go. A mini display in the centre of the mirror – almost invisible while it’s not in use – will light up when a call comes in to tell you who is demanding your attention. It has 10 hours of talk time and 500 hours of standby from a single charge and, if you need to charge it on the go, a portable in-car charger is included.

Link: http://www.seecode-europe.de/eng/

Finally I got the new Sky+HD EPG this morning. But I got no letter from Sky, just an email late yesterday evening.

Sorry for the shortness of this post, but I literally only found this out as I was running out the door to work this morning. I will complete a review and post some pics of it later on this evening.

Here is a photo of the new Sky Planner:

So far so good anyway, although I have found it to be a bit slow in places

Mobile operator Vodafone is to join O2 in selling the Apple iPhone in Ireland from 2010. Vodafone’s announcement sees the end of rival operator O2′s exclusive deal with Apple.

O2, which is owned by Telefonica of Spain, had won a two-year exclusivity period to sell the Apple iPhone back in 2007.

Meanwhile, both Vodafone and Orange will enter the iPhone market in Britain in the coming months. Orange – the British mobile phone division of France Telecom – yesterday said it would begin selling iPhones later this year.

Sky will next week start contacting Sky+ HD customers with set top boxes manufactured by Samsung about them getting the new electronic programme guide (EPG).

The new EPG started rolling out to Sky+ HD boxes on March 10, with receivers manufactured by Thomson first to get the update, followed by customers with boxes manufactured by Pace in April. Last month, the satellite platform holder said that “additional and planned development work” was taking place before it could send the new guide to customers with Samsung and Amstrad boxes.

A Sky spokesperson has said that the firm is now ready to start contacting 30,000 customers with Samsung boxes about them upgrading to the new EPG. “The EPG migration is still on track and we’re delighted with the feedback we’ve received from those with the new Sky+ HD guide, which now includes those customers with Thomson and Pace boxes,” he said.

“We thank all other customers for their patience while we roll out with controlled phasing to all other boxes. We will continue to contact customers with more information prior to migrating them to the new guide, including 30,000 customers with Samsung boxes just next week.”

via Digital Spy

Nokia has promised a PC-like experience on handset-sized devices with the onset of the new Nokia N900, which uses Maemo 5 Linux-based software.
Running on the new Maemo 5 software, the Nokia N900 empowers users to have dozens of application windows open and running simultaneously while taking full advantage of the cellular features, touch screen and QWERTY keyboard.

Designed for computer-grade performance in a compact size, Maemo complements Nokia’s other software platforms, such as Symbian, which powers Nokia’s smartphones. The Nokia N900 includes a powerful ARM Cortex-A8 processor, up to 1GB of application memory and OpenGL ES 2.0 graphics acceleration. It features a high-resolution WVGA touch screen and fast internet connectivity with 10/2 HSPA and WLAN. Thanks to the browser powered by Mozilla technology, websites look the way they would on any computer. Online videos and interactive applications are vivid with full Adobe Flash(TM) 9.4 support. Maemo software updates happen automatically over the internet.

via SiliconReplublic.com

Sony has unveiled a long-rumoured slim version of its PlayStation 3 console and cut prices on existing models that have been struggling for momentum in the marketplace. A PlayStation 3 console with ‘an extremely streamlined form factor’ and a 120 gigabyte hard drive will be released in September, according to the Japanese electronics giant. The consoles will be priced at $299 in the US, €299 in Europe, and 29,980 yen in Japan.

Sony cut $100 off the prices of PS3 consoles currently on the market to $299 for models with 80 gigabyte hard drives and $399 for those with 160 gigabyte hard drives. The slim PS3 is about two-thirds the size of existing models but has all the features of previous models, including Blu-ray high-definition disk players, according to Sony.

via RTÉ.