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This ZTE C79 headset has one big thing going for it — the price. At $159, it will appeal to a buyer intested in a basic phone, but who still wants a few cool features. Here’s what we thought after taking it for a test run: there are no tricky settings or menus, everything from the contacts to the call log were easy to find and understand; the SMS was very standard and had all of the usual formats (abc, ABC, ͑ or Word, etc); the camera was decent, and had some nice features like zoom, brightness, and color themes (black &amp white and sepia). It packs some pretty good speakers and comes with a GPS feature where in case of an emergency, your phone can be located (unfortunately you can’t use it for directions). It also comes with a speaker phone and is stereo bluetooth capable.

By far the best feature turns out to the music management system which is as easy to use as the rest of the phone. Just drag and drop from your PC, and the external music keys make it a cinch. If you need more memory, there’s an expansion slot on the side.

What we didn’t like: the screen size and resolution was a little small and weak. Funny to scrimp here when they’ve built a solid phone with some surprisingly good features.

It’s only available on the carrier MetroPCS network so check to see the national coverage page first to see if they’re in your area.

Original post by Popgadget: Personal Tech for Women

The original Gears Of War game was a massive success for the Xbox 360 console and now the new instalment, Gears Of War 2 (GOͨ), looks like it may be even bigger, racking up sales of 2m in its first weekend. Not only does that make it one of the biggest ever openings on the console but it managed to smash the Xbox LIVE record for online activity too. More than 1.5 million people signed into Gears of War 2 during the weekend, racking up a total 15 million gameplay hours, setting a new record for concurrent LIVE players. “We were so excited to launch ‘Gears of War 2′ on the same day all around the world, something virtually unheard of in the games business,” said Cliff Bleszinski, design director at Epic Games. “We wanted our fans, no matter where they live, to have a shared experience on day one, and that’s exactly what’s happened.” The game picks up………with reluctant war hero, Marcus Fenix, 6 months after the original showdown with the Locusts and, you guessed it, the big bomb didn’t get them all. Time to go on a bug-hunt. The game comes with 48-hours of free Xbox LIVE Gold membership and an LIVE token to download the Flashback Map Pack for free. This consists of five popular maps from the original game: Canals, Gridlock, Mansion, Subway and Tyro Station, all tweaked with new HD graphics. With 6 weeks left to Christmas, GOͨ could be a very popular stocking filler indeed. Hint, hint.-Martin Lynch xbox games xbox 360 console

Original post by nafiz

Considering my workspace is aligned like something that resembles a motorway pile-up, the whole Feng Shui movement has passed me blissfully by. If, however, you think your life and home could do with some re-ordering of the universes’ energy, you might be interested in what appears to be [could be marketing hype though] the first Feng Shui Compass. Yes, I know some of you will be disappointed by not having some odd woman standing in your hallway feeling The Force and then charging you £200 for the pleasure of moving a plant pot 3-feet to the left, but at least with a compass you’ve got Feng Shui on tap 24/7.It even comes pre-set with a Quick Mode so you can get Shui-ing without reading the confounding manuals. Reassuringly, it’s not cheap, with a price tag of £262. Feng Off! I wouldn′t pay that much to find my way out of the desert, never mind around my own house.-Martin Lynch gadget home

Original post by nafiz

The company that kicked off the craze for cheap, idiot-proof and tiny camcorders has just gone one better by throwing in high-definition. Flip, the makers of the popular Flip Video Ultra and Flip Mino, has just unveiled the Flip MinoHD, which adds 720 HD shooting into the mix. The Kodak ZР, which we really liked, did this first but now the market leader in these devices has caught up and added a few extras to keep rivals chasing. Unlike its peers, the new MinoHD comes with 4GB of internal storage which is good for around 60 minutes of HD video and it looks smaller too. The lithium-ion battery is good for a claimed 2 hours and it costs - in the US for now - around £150, making it more expensive. Jump now for the features.Flip Mino HD •Sleek, pocket-sized camcorder shoots breathtaking HD video •Available in black or whatever you want •4GB of on-board memory records up to 60 minutes of video •Dimensions: 4″ x 2″ x 0.6″; weighs just 3.3 oz. •HD 720p resolution (1280 x 720) in16:9 cinematic widescreen •No glare display (1.5″) •Sealed, rechargeable lithium ion battery (up to 2 hours of battery life) •Flat back-panel with touch-sensitive buttons •Instant playback, pause, fast forward/rewind, and delete features •Connects to TV for instant viewing •New built-in FlipShare™ software works on any PC or Mac: •Save, organize, and edit videos with ease •Email videos and video greeting cards •Upload videos directly to AOL Video, MySpace, and YouTube •Capture HD snapshots from your videos •Create custom movies with your own music •Order DVDs and have them shipped anywhere in the world Suggested Retail Pricing: $229.99 Like its predecessors, the MinoHD is compatible with PCs and Macs and comes with all the software you need to get those embarrassing videos up on YouTube and MySpace in a heartbeat. UK shoppers may have to wait a couple of months since the regular standard-def Mino only arrived here last month. -Martin Lynch video camcorder HD

Original post by nafiz

There are always dangers in modifying a console, not least of which is nuking your warranty, but now Microsoft has stepped up its campaign against modding by banning ‘a small percentage’ of Xbox 360 owners from its online service, Xbox LIVE. Didn’t it do this last year too? Microsoft has banned gamers that have modded their consoles to allow them to play pirated games - naughty, naughty. Speaking on his Major Nelson blog, Larry Hyrb, Xbox LIVE’s director of programming said: “I’ve gotten a few messages and seen some forum threads pop up on console bannings so I thought I’d post and let folks know what’s up. In our our continued effort to keep gameplay safe and secure for our community of more than 14 million members, Microsoft has taken action against a small percentage of Xbox 360 consoles that have been illegally modified in order to play pirated games. You should know that modifying your Xbox 360 console is also a violation of the Xbox LIVE terms of use, will void your warranty and result in a ban from Xbox LIVE.” A small percentage of 14 million LIVE gamers could be quite a few. Of course, some of those banned - and others in possession of modded Xboxs - feel hard done by and have complained but then if you can do the time…. To be fair, some gamers are reporting that their unmodified and perfectly legal Xbox 360s have been banned from LIVE too in the current purge so let’s hope Microsoft is quick to sort it out. -Martin Lynch xbox games xbox 360 console

Original post by nafiz

In the last couple of months, the first pico [very small] handheld projectors have been arriving in the UK and recently, Optoma announced one of the most anticipated ones, and not just because it’s the smallest. The Optoma Pico Pocket Projector is the first one to be based on Texas Instruments’ DLP projection technology - the market leading projection technology. Apple’s psyched too because on its Japanese site, we just caught glimpse of the wee projector and an iPod getting cosy. There, the projector will be sold complete with an iPhone/iPod kit and dock connector. We are waiting to see when it will pop up on Apple UK.The Optoma projector is due out here anytime now and will cost £249 - around £50 less than rivals - and, measuring 51 x 105 x 17mm and weighing 110g, it’s the world’s smallest and lightest. It uses a white LED light, boasts an impressive [for a tiny projector] contrast of 1000:1 and can throw up a 60in image with a resolution of 480 x 320 pixels. Looking forward to testing one out.-Martin Lynch [Engadget] apple projector ipod movies

Original post by nafiz

The BBC has been in touch with Gizmodo UK about a new TV show it’s putting together about technology and how it has affected our lives over the past four decades. The same people that brought us Edwardian Country House and Who Do You Think You Are are seeking a family to take part in a Back To The Future look at the impact of gadgets and consumer technology. They will be transported back to the 1970s to start and then fast-forwarded through the 1980s, 90s and up to the present. The series will start with the family in a typical 1970s house surrounded by only the consumer tech you could expect from that era. They say: “In the 1970s the family will experience life without the technology we’ve begun to take for granted; they’ll live a seventies life in a seventies house without Sky +, Facebook and the Wii. It’s a chance to see how we did homework without the Internet, how we socialised without mobile phones in an era where encyclopaedias and dial phones were the order of the day. As the family move through the 70s they’ll road test all the gadgets and appliances that would have been available during that decade, from 70’s telly, vinyl and games consoles to slide projectors and deep freezers. They’ll see firsthand how far technology has come and its impact on our family life. It’s a huge nostalgia trip for mum and dad and it’s a chance to see just which family member really is the most technologically savvy.” Seeing as we here at Gizmodo UK are known for loving our gadgets and tech to an obsessive degree, the Beeb thought Gizmodo readers might be hiding the perfect family for the series. Find out what they are looking for after the jump.This is what the Beeb want: Are you a home-owning family with at least three children between the ages of eight and eighteen? Are you keen to show your children how much life has changed since your childhood? Are you interested in modern history and how technology has transformed the family home? Or maybe you’re looking for a challenging but rewarding nostalgia trip? For more details on this exciting opportunity, please contact either Michael Fraser on 020 7241 9349, or Laura Jackson on 020 7241 9308 or email michael.fraser@walltowall.co.uk or laura.jackson@walltowall.co.uk Well, what are you waiting for? If you do get picked, let us know how you get on.-Martin Lynch technology tv bbc

Original post by nafiz

Panasonic is set to become a very, very large electronics company indeed following confirmation that it plans to takeover struggling Sanyo Electric in a deal suggested to be worth up to £5.5bn. The new Panasonic would become a £70bn giant. The deal, the biggest ever in the Japanese consumer technology sector, will give Panasonic access to two key technologies: batteries and solar panels. Sanyo is currently the leading global supplier of rechargeable batteries for mobile phones, cameras and other portable devices - earning Sanyo almost $4bn annually in revenues. Sanyo also makes nickel-metal hydride batteries for gas-electric hybrid cars for Ford and Honda and has a lithium-ion battery deal with Volkswagen. Panasonic works with Toyota and the deal would place Panasonic at the forefront of future car battery technology. Goldman Sachs, Daiwa Securities SMBC and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking currently hold a 70% stake in Sanyo, which they paid $2.5bn for back in 2006. Panasonic has yet to agree financial terms but if it goes ahead, it may spark other large consumer tech mergers in the cut-throat Japanese market.-Martin Lynch [Businessweek] technology merger consumer

Original post by nafiz

We ran a 007 Quantum Of Solace competition with Sony Pictures last week to celebrate the latest Bond movie release and to give one of you lucky Gizmodo readers the chance to win a fantastic home cinema set-up. It comprised a 40in BRAVIA W4500 TV, a BDP-𔖖 Blu-ray player, HT-I𔒜 BRAVIA Home Theatre system and the 2-disc Collector’s Edition of Casino Royale on Blu-ray Disc. There were also 3 runners up prizes of the Casino Royale movie on Blu-ray up for grabs too. We really wanted to keep these goodies for ourselves but, being the honest types that we are, we have picked the winners. There was a huge response to the competition so jump now to see who nabbed the Grand Prize and the runners up prizes. The winner of the Grand Prize was Nicky Fruin of London - well done. The 3 runners up were Hazell Evans [Wrexham], Diane Goulding [Lancashire] and Ross Gardiner [Hertfordshire]. Sony - not us - will be in touch with you all to finalise things. Again, congratulations to you lucky sods, and commiserations to everyone else. Us included.-Martin Lynch blu-ray bond movies

Original post by nafiz

Ṃ players are dime a dozen these days and you have to work pretty hard to make your offering stand out from the crowd. Creative crammed in a decent speaker on its tiny Zen Stone and now, a bunch of ex-iRiver employees think they have something completely different too with Mintpad. This little portable media player will do the usual music/video playback bit but also throws in the ability to create digital Post-It notes. The Mintpad’s screen acts like a tablet, letting you write notes or draw pictures with a stylus which you can then send over the Net via Wi-Fi. Pretty cool indeed. Of course, there has to be a hitch: you can only send the notes to other Mintpad owners. At 90g, it’s not exactly light for a portable player with a 3in screen but, it does come with a 1.3MP camera, voice recording, the aforementioned Wi-Fi for Internet surfing, 4GB of memory in-built and a microSD card slot for adding more. Music and video playback is rated at 30 hours and 5 hours, respectively. Out in Korea first, the Mintpad from Mintpass, costs £100.-Martin Lynch Ṃ gadget

Original post by nafiz

We’ve seen little R2-D2 co-opted for many different uses, including a home cinema entertainment bot but now, the tin can has gone to the fishes. Meet the R2-D2 Aquarium, which swaps out projectors and DVD players for a fish tank. Measuring 30(H) x 16(W) x 16(L) inches, the 1¾ gallon tank is topped by an animated dome which, despite being an aquarium still manages all the ‘bleeps’ and ‘whirrs’ of R2-D2, reacting to voice commands. LED lighting adds some colour to the proceedings, changing through different colour cycles that will probably keep you more amused than the little fishies. As a final touch [affront?], R2’s radar eye doubles as a periscope so that you can get a glimpse of your aquarium from the inside. We really could have done with one of these to drown Jar Jar Binks in. It costs around £83 here.-Martin Lynch [TFTS] news technology gadgets movies

Original post by nafiz

Virgin Media has been banging on about its forthcoming 50Mbps broadband service since the end of last year and, while we still don′t know when it’s launching, the company has just released some shots of the modem you’ll be using to surf on the UK’s fastest broadband service. And isn′t it sweet? Looking like a cross between a PS3 and an InFocus projector, this is likely to be one of the very few modems that you won′t be hiding from visitors. The stylish curves are clad in the now unavoidable - yet still cool - glossy piano black finish. Underneath the gloss, the modem’s specs run like this: * EuroDOCSIS 3.0 / DOCSIS 3.0 Operation * EuroDOCSIS / DOCSIS 1.0 / 1.1 / 2.0 Compatible * Support for four channel bonding * Ethernet Interface (RJ-45) (10/100/1000 Mbps compatible) There seems to be just one Ethernet port on the back though [see photo below], which seems a little stingy but then I have no plans of sharing my 50Mbps connection with anyone. It’s been trialling in certain areas for the past year but a full rollout of the 50Mbps service is expected before the end of the year.-Martin Lynch [Trusted Reviews] online PC broadband internet

Original post by nafiz

Do you have trouble finding something worthwhile to watch? Then you′re not alone. According to a new survey commissioned by Microsoft’s Connected TV Business, over a quarter of TV viewers in the UK waste more than a week each year channel surfing. Digital TV viewers, on average, spend 2-3 hours watching telly each day but almost a quarter of that time is spent looking for something to watch. That’s around 3.5 hours a week and, consequently, over 7 days a year. The young’uns (aged 16-20) are the most prone to this type of surfing, with 1 in 5 spending up to a quarter of their time looking for stuff to watch while that figure is just 1 in 20 for the over 55s. You′d think then that they’d actually get to see everything they want to. Not so. Three quarters of digital viewers (73%) say they still miss programmes they would have liked to watch because they find it difficult or time consuming to find out what’s on. A further 1 in 8 (14%) claim they often stumble across a great programme or series only to find they have missed the start or earlier episodes. Assuming people aren’t stupid, what’s the problem? The survey posited that the key reason is an abundance of choice. Almost half of all digital viewers find the number of channels overwhelming and despite having upwards of 100 channels, 41% stick to a small group of them: 1 in 3 stick to the main five terrestrial channels (BBʟ, BBC 2, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5).-Martin Lynch TV life news

Original post by nafiz

We all know that the future of interaction with our PCs and consumer technology will involve gesture control but start-up Mgestyk Technologies claims to have cracked it now. What’s more, they claim their system uses nothing more than an ‘affordable 3D camera’ and its custom software to make playing games, opening applications and surfing the Web a mouse and keyboard-free experience. In the video you can see plenty of demonstrations of people doing all of the above but we’d be surprised if the reaction times of this system could in any way match those of a decent gaming mouse. That said, market watchers Gartner, have predicted [optimistically] that the mouse will be dead in just 3-to-5 years. However, the Mgestyk video is certainly fun to watch and the company promises - because it hasn’t launched anything yet - that the end result will cost the same as a high-end webcam. If you’re interested, you can sign up for the system here.-Martin Lynch [Source] PC software future

Original post by nafiz

Telling time is no longer as straightforward as it used to be and the forthcoming Fire Watch from Tokyoflash is a perfect example. LEDs are the order of the day and this one comes covered in them in different colours to make telling the time a challenge. It will also no doubt amaze your friends down the pub too. Touch the upper button on Fire and the watch explodes to life in a flashing frenzy, starting with a big ‘X′ pattern and then revealing the time. When we say ‘reveal′ though, what we really mean that the LEDS line up in order for you to figure out the time. Yellow LEDs are the hours 1-12, red LEDs indicate groups of 10 minutes and green LEDs indicate single minutes 1-9. I could explain the time reading method but life is too short and there’s a diagram below. Knock yourself out. It does look pretty damn cool though. Coming soon, it will cost around £85.-Martin Lynch [Geekalerts] gadget watch design

Original post by nafiz