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UK posts

Revo's retro-styled Heritage radio does DAB, WiFi and casual unboxings

by Darren Murph posted Nov 8th 2009 at 5:59AM

It's fair to say that Revo has never made a "normal" looking radio in its entire life, but hey -- that's a-okay with us. The outfit's latest, which is up for pre-order right now at £229.95 ($382), is easily one of the sleekest, most vintage-looking we've ever seen it produce. The aptly-named Heritage sports a wood and aluminum motif, room for your iPod or iPhone to dock, and support for DAB, FM and WiFi radio signals. There's also an OLED display to keep you informed, support for wireless music streaming from your Mac or PC, a 3-inch neodymium speaker driver, 7-watts of power, a 3.5 millimeter headphone connector and even an iPod video output. Heck, they even throw in a multi-country power adapter as a courtesy to you yearnin' Yanks. Go on and tap that via link if you're interested in an unboxing.

[Via Stuff]

China bans corporal punishment in internet rehab, UK and USA open up their own clinics

by Vladislav Savov posted Nov 5th 2009 at 5:28AM

China's, how to say this, unorthodox rehabilitation methods, which involve "beating and confinement" of internet addicts, have finally been fully outlawed. Following the death of one teenager due to the treatment he received at an addiction camp, the Chinese Health Ministry has come out with a statement to say corporal punishment and methods restricting personal freedom "are strictly forbidden." In the meantime, the UK and USA are playing catch-up by opening up their own computer addiction camps, which have been described as residential internet detox clinics. Their genius ploy to get you off the web juice has been to go cold turkey and teach people to do chores as a distraction (really, chores and boredom are the cure and not the disease?). The British version even has a 12-step program, but we advise doing what we all did -- if you find yourself spending most of your time on the internet, just become a full-time blogger.

Read - China bans tough treatment of young Web addicts
Read - Britain's first computer rehab clinic opens
Read - Clinic for internet addicts opens in US

Pavegen taps pedestrians for power in East London (video)

by Joseph L. Flatley posted Oct 29th 2009 at 1:41PM

When we were kids, we assumed that in the future everything would be powered by tiny nuclear fusion reactors: automobiles, toothbrushes, time machines (apparently we read a lot of sci-fi from the 1950s). The truth, as usual, is more mundane than all that: some of the more promising advances we've seen in green energy has been kinetic, taking the movement of automobiles or the tides and converting it into electricity. Pavegen, for example, can be set in public walkways to generate as much as 2.1 watts of electricity per hour from the footsteps of grizzled pedestrians. Using marine grade stainless steel and recycled materials, just five of these bad boys distributed over a well-worn sidewalk should be able to generate enough energy to keep a bus stop going all night. If not put into nearby lighting, the units are equipped with lithium polymer batteries for storage. Currently being tested in East London, look for them throughout the UK in 2010. Video after the break.

[Via Inhabitat]

Continue reading Pavegen taps pedestrians for power in East London (video)

HP Pavilion dv3 with multitouch screen spotted in the wild, we go hands-on

by Richard Lai posted Oct 27th 2009 at 7:28PM

Our curious British fingers managed to stumble upon a European HP Pavilion dv3 blessed with Windows 7 and multitouch on both the screen and the trackpad. The keyboard was great to type on with negligible flex, but the trackpad suffers from the same glossy issues on other recent HPs -- although it responded to our multitouch gestures better than the capacitive screen did. Our major annoyance came from the attempts to rotate pictures on the screen: we learned the hard way that the laptop (or Windows 7 itself) seemed to prefer more exaggerated rotation gestures than the MacBooks -- perhaps one would get used to it over time. The hinge is fairly solid, but we still preferred holding the screen while touching it. On a brighter note we totally dig the inclusion of an HDMI port and an eSATA port, plus you'll get up to seven hours of sweet battery juice from this 2.24kg (4.94 pounds) machine. Read on for our hands-on video and photo gallery.

Gallery: HP Pavilion dv3 with multitouch screen spotted in the wild, we go hands-on

Continue reading HP Pavilion dv3 with multitouch screen spotted in the wild, we go hands-on

Black Nintendo Wii bundle listed on Amazon UK for £164.99

by Ross Miller posted Oct 27th 2009 at 5:01AM

That black Nintendo Wii bundle Nintendo is gifting to Europe on November 6th has found itself home amongst the Amazon UK listings. Recommended price is £179.99 but the online retailer is knocking off eight percent to make it an event £164.99 -- that's about $269 to the US gamers who still don't have a shot at getting this. What makes it interesting is that the identical bundle in white doesn't have that £15 discount, but Amazon is sweetening the pot with the choice of two free titles, including FIFA10. Of course there's still the £142.99 white, non-bundled Wii for a lot less. Our money's still on the black bundle -- or it would be, at least, if Nintendo would give the US writers on staff, and the country at large, a stab at the new console color.

[Thanks, Ian]

Read - Black Wii bundle with Wii Sports Resort
Read - White Wii bundle with Wii Sports Resort and two free games

HP's Pavilion dv3 and dm1 wash ashore on European land

by Ross Miller posted Oct 26th 2009 at 10:04PM

As one of the last two Vista holdouts on HP's online laptop store (the other being HDX16), we were wondering what was going on with the Pavilion dv3. Well, it's still not stateside, but Germany and the UK can apparently pick up the Windows 7-equipped touchscreen dv3-2200 now for £799.99 / €899 (somewhere between $1,305 and $1,350, respectively, in comparable US currency), with difference of pricing based on the separate listings. Additionally, we spotted the 11.6-inch dm1-1000 -- which was also leaked alongside the dv3 -- with a 1.2GHz Celeron processor and that hot new OS from Redmond. We're sure it'll come to the US eventually, but for now we're just gonna have to wait ever, ever so patiently.

[Thanks, Adam and everyone]

Read - Official HP dm1-1000 page
Read - Official HP dv3-2200 page
Read - PC World UK listing for dv3

iPhone 3GS coming to Orange UK on November 10

by Vladislav Savov posted Oct 26th 2009 at 8:43AM

So you've been lusting after that spit-shined touchy-swipey device from Apple, huh? If you're in the UK, come November 10 you'll finally have a choice of iPhone provider (both for 3G and 3GS flavors), with The Guardian confirming the date as Orange's launch of the coveted handset. O2's exclusivity runs out on the ninth of that month, but we shouldn't be too quick to rejoice, as Orange will seek to "add value" rather than undercut O2's pricing. Independent retailers Carphone Warehouse and Phones4U are also expected to stock the iPhone on behalf of Orange, and lest we forget Vodafone will be joining in with its own offering in early 2010. The CEO of 3 has also indicated a strong desire to bring Cupertino's baby onboard, though that's unlikely to happen before the midpoint of next year. So it'll get cheaper, just very... very slowly.

Windows 7 breaks Amazon UK pre-order volume record, ousts Harry Potter

by Vladislav Savov posted Oct 21st 2009 at 8:24AM

Take it from us, your London-based sleuths, when anything sells faster than Harry Potter books or DVDs in the UK, it's scorching hot. Case in point is Microsoft's Vista successor, which has sold so well that it has beaten the Amazon UK pre-order record previously held by J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. In fact, Windows 7 was able to tally up more sales in the first 8 hours of pre-order availability than Vista was able to collect altogether. Now that's what we call an upgrade.

Geek Squad visa application approved, Best Buy opening stores in UK

by Tim Stevens posted Oct 21st 2009 at 7:28AM

We know you're worried about what could happen; we saw that Liam Neeson movie too, the one where the daughter goes abroad and gets kidnapped and only after killing 351 people does he get her back. Taking trips to Europe can be risky, but our Best Buy is old enough and responsible and can take care of itself, so we're okay with it taking a trip to the UK next year... even though we don't know exactly where it'll be landing. It's been talking about going for so long it'd be a shame to say no now. Yes, it'll be packing its blue shirts and yellow name tags so everyone will know what it is, and once it gets there sometime next year we're sure it'll call and tell us which franchise location will be first. So until then just try not to worry -- and maybe sign it up for some self defense classes or something.

[Thanks, Adam]

Nintendo shipping black Wii to Europe in limited edition bundle

by Darren Murph posted Oct 20th 2009 at 10:06AM

Why, Nintendo -- why? Americans have been buying your underpowered, kid-centric console faster than you can ship 'em here for years now, and yet you ignore our innermost desires to see a Wii in some color other than white. Have we not made ourselves clear? Are our voices going unheard? Clearly, you've an ear for those in Europe, as folks in the UK and Ireland will be able to procure a dark Wii starting on November 6th as part of a limited edition bundle that includes Wii Sports Resort and a Wii MotionPlus dongle. The rest of mainland Europe will see the same bundle on November 20th, and as if that wasn't enough, a black Classic Controller Pro and a slew of black Wii accessories will also accompany the package for those looking to stock up. Naturally, there's no mention of a price, but considering that you'll pay anything to join the still-limited black Wii party, it (likely) matters not.

[Via Engadget Spanish]

LG GD910 Watch Phone review

by Vladislav Savov posted Oct 16th 2009 at 12:24PM

You're not how much money you have in the bank, you're not the car you drive, you're not the contents of your wallet, you are not your freaking khakis – oh, who are we kidding, if you're reading a site such as this, you're all about your khakis. To sate that "look good, feel good" need in all of us, LG has brought out the ultimate in techie chic: a watchphone. This is not just any watchphone though, this is a £500 ($808) droplet of Orange-tinted exclusivity that straddles your wrist and demands onlookers' attention. Do the consumer in you a favor and come along past the break where we have the full scoop on the GD910.

Gallery: LG GD910 Watch Phone review

Continue reading LG GD910 Watch Phone review

BlackBerrys for coppers: UK law enforcement to smarten up in 2010

by Vladislav Savov posted Oct 16th 2009 at 9:01AM

Police men and women of Blighty are about to step into the 21st century, albeit a decade late, with a new weapon in the fight against boredom on the beat. The BBC reports that smartphones will become standard issue throughout the Queen's realm by March 2010, as a result of successful trials carried out in 30 constabularies through this year. Improved "operational efficiency" and reduced bureaucracy are argued as the key benefits, with a solid 30 minutes less time being spent in police stations each day. And we're absolutely positive that extra half hour will go toward increased "visibility in the community" and not checking out friends' Facebook status updates. No, really!

Read -- BBC report
Read -- Bedfordshire case study

Palm Pre now available on O2 UK

by Vladislav Savov posted Oct 16th 2009 at 3:43AM

And the Telefonica rollout of the GSM Pre continues. Starting today, those gorgeous people populating the sinking, but still glorious, isle of the United Kingdom can get their hands on a Palm Pre by hitting up their nearest O2 store. And by hitting up we mean becoming customers, not robbing the place. Anyway, the cheapest (or least expensive) 18-month tariff on which the Pre can be had for free is £44.05 ($71) per month, which throws in 1,200 free minutes and "unlimited" data and WiFi. That monthly price drops to £34.26 ($55) if you go for a two-year contract, but the bundled minutes are also fewer at 600. There's also an option to pay £96.89 ($157) for the handset upfront, which cuts the cost of the subsequent price plans, full details of which can be found at the read link.

[Thanks, Cuan B.]

Vodafone puts BlackBerry Storm2 up for 26 October preorder

by Thomas Ricker posted Oct 15th 2009 at 4:34AM

And it's out. The BlackBerry Storm2 just made its first official carrier appearance with Vodafone. The promising followup to the much maligned BlackBerry Storm will be free on pay-monthly contracts from £35 on up. Specs include a 3.25-inch 360 x 480 pixel capacitive SurePress (new and improved) touchscreen display, 802.11b/g WiFi and 2100MHz UMTS/HSPA data, 256MB of flash memory (double that of the original Storm), 2GB of onboard memory with microSDHC expansion, 3.5-mm standard headset jack, 3.2 megapixel camera with video recording, built-in GPS, Bluetooth 2.1, and 1400mAh battery giving about 6 hours of 3G talk. BlackBerry OS 5 too, of course, when it lands on October 15th in the UK, Ireland, Germany, The Netherlands, and Spain -- France, Italy, and South Africa in time for Christmas.

Update: Now on official RIM page too with a detailed comparison against the original Storm.

Gallery: Vodafone and RIM introduce the BlackBerry Storm2 Smartphone

[Thanks, James]

Read -- Press Release
Read -- Pre-order

Xbox 360 Dashboard Update... updates: Preview program reopened, Sky TV due Oct. 27

by Richard Lawler posted Oct 14th 2009 at 7:36PM

Just as it did earlier this year, Microsoft has opened the preview program to let the most hardcore of Xbox 360 owners poke around the updated dashboard -- presumably with access to all the 1080p instant-on streaming, Twitter, Facebook and Last.fm add-ons we've been expecting -- ahead of its official release in order to shake out any remaining bugs. While worldwide console owners should scrape together console IDs, make & model of your TV, router and more in hopes of receiving an invite next week, a little more concrete news is in order for the UK, with the console launch of Sky TV nailed down for October 27. You'll have to wait until then to find out exact pricing and channel line up availability, 'til then it's a matter of finding out who on your friends list is most suited for the inevitable football viewing party.

[Via Joystiq & NeoGAF]

Read - Xbox Live update Preview Program
Read - Xbox.com - Set a date for Sky Player!