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Filed under: Displays, Laptops

We’re a bit miffed as to why Dell’s keeping its new One-Touch Privacy system exclusive to the Latitude E6400, but whatever the story is there, it’ll definitely keep straying eyes from seeing too much confidential information. Interestingly, this here filter isn’t hardware based; rather, it’s a software-driven application that “creates a pixel-based pattern on the screen, reducing the side viewing angles of people seated next to the user.” Dell assures us that it has “minimal impact on display brightness” and that it can be activated with a single touch key, but we’re still wondering how it landed on the seemingly sky-high $139 price. Talk about paying for the privilege.

[Via T3]

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Source: Darren Murph

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Filed under: Home Entertainment

Not content with sneaking a dedicated Blu-ray player into CEDIA, Cambridge Audio has just taken the plastic off of two new HiFi systems in Milan. The Sonata, aimed squarely at audio junkies, consists of a 2.1-channel DAB receiver (£299; $547), which offers 40-watts of amplification per channel and your choice of an upscaling 1080p DVD player or a Wolfson-DAC-loaded CD unit for another £179 ($327). The all-in-one Fusion (£300; $549) includes 30-watts per channel, an integrated CD player, DAB / FM tuner, USB port, an SD slot and a customized iPod dock (which is also bundled with the aforementioned Sonata). Both units are slated to hit the UK in silver and black, though the November-bound Fusion will get a jump on the Sonata, which hits in February 2009.

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Source: Darren Murph

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Filed under: Displays

We Americans have had the opportunity to pick up Sony’s Reader for what seems like eons, but you poor bookworms holed up in the UK have been neglected unjustly. No more, as Sony has just opened up the phone lines for folks eager to claim their spot in line the queue. No need in rehashing the specifications you already know — it’s still the same ole PRS-505, just way more expensive in US dollars.

[Via MobileRead, thanks Alex]

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Source: Darren Murph

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Filed under: Digital Cameras, Displays

Remember that Andrée Putman-designed digital photo frame that was showcased in the UK earlier this year? Even if not, Parrot would like to remind you of this apparently exquisite device, which features commonplace luxuries like a 7-inch 720 x 480 resolution display, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, an SD / MMC card slot, an undisclosed amount of internal memory and USB connectivity. Oh, and did we mention the $449.99 price? Yeah, there’s that, too. Heard enough, haven’t you? (Psst… it ships on July 28th in the US.)

[Via Digital Picture Frame Review]

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Source: Darren Murph

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var digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/apple/Apple_finally_takes_the_UK_out_to_the_movies’; Apple just announced that iTunes UK will finally make films available to British punters. Studios include 20th Century Fox, The Walt Disney Studios, Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros. Entertainment, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (MGM), Sony Pictures Television International and Lionsgate UK. At kickoff, about 700 films will be available to purchase or rent. Films cost £6.99 for purchased library titles and £10.99 for new releases. Rentals start at £2.49 for library titles and £3.49 for new releases — “HD” titles for £4.49 without with an Apple TV prerequisite, apparently.

Update: Nope, after digging around the store it’s clear that an Apple TV is still required for HD rentals. Picture proof after the break.

Update 2: The Canadian iTunes store is sporting films now as well. Come on Apple, Canada’s not worthy of a press release? What’s that aboot?

Update 3: Canadian press release now oot — 1,200 films (not 700 in UK) now available for rent or purchase.

[Thanks, Nate and Zayn K.]Continue reading Apple finally takes the UK out to the movies (Canada too)

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Source: Thomas Ricker

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Filed under: Cellphones

The headline kind of says it all, but if you weren’t already sure enough that the first gen iPhone’s stint in the UK was coming to a close, O2’s pushing to make things crystal clear. It’s hard to imagine both companies are going to just stop selling such a high profile device for too long, but clearly we’re all still in the dark as to when its 3G replacement will officially be out.

[Thanks, Keith]

Update: While European carriers are running out of stock left and right, it seems Apple Stores in the UK and elsewhere still have iPhones — for now.

Update 2: Okay, and now O2’s page is showing that the iPhone is once again available. Temporary glitch or preparatory? Beats us, but if you want a 16GB device, it’s apparently still up for grabs.

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Source: Ryan Block

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Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

We knew it was coming, and after waiting for quite some time for FreeSat to go from concept to reality, television viewers across the UK can finally indulge. If you’ll recall, a recent survey found that just 5-percent of Europe’s HDTV owners actually bothered to tune into HD programming, but now that number is likely to change. Effective today, 98-percent of the UK can fork out a one-time fee of £49 ($96) to £120 ($234) in order to acquire a FreeSat set-top-box, and after an £80 ($156) installation, users will have subscription-free access to BBC HD, ITV HD (coming soon), Channel 4’s digital service and around 70 other TV / radio channels. Better still, that number is slated to rise to 200 before the year’s end, and unsurprisingly, the launch is expected to boost available high-def offerings in the region. Anyone across the pond have their equipment set up already? How’s the service?

[Thanks, Ivan]

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Source: Darren Murph

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Filed under: Cellphones

If you thought sending a SMS in order to gain entry into a public bathroom was on the weird side, get a load of this. An outlandish campaign sparked up in the UK has been sending out weekly text messages to parents in order to remind them of the need to check for head lice on their youngsters. Cleverly coined Beat the Bugs, the program led to the discovery of six cases of lice, and when polling participants at the end of the term, the majority stated that they felt more aware about treatment / prevention and that they were now checking their kids’ heads at least once per week. We can hear it now: “C’mon Jimmy, time for me to look through your locks for any critters!” “Ah, bugger.”

[Via Switched, image courtesy of Interior Health]

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Source: Darren Murph

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