I won’t deny it, I am a major fan of OLED related news. OLED is the next generation screen technology. In a few years time (hopefully!) we will be able to upgrade our current televisions and computer screens to OLED. The technology offers energy saving possibilities, much better contrast, and even sharper display features.

We haven’t seen much hardware utilizing this technology yet. Sony, at the forefront of OLED, announced they will be releasing a Walkman with OLED screen technology this month in Japan. The unit with a 3-inch screen and a resolution of 240 x 432 offers many features. It’s definitely not cheap, at 400 bucks for the 16 GIG version, and $500 for the 32 GIG version - but those prices should come down quickly.

Sadly us Europeans and Americans have to wait a little longer. The Japanese, as usual, get their hands on it first.

Read more about Sony’s OLED Walkman by clicking here.

We will be keeping a careful eye on OLED hardware. Besides Sony, Samsung and Sharp are also investing in OLED technology.

Post sponsored by : Bathroom Wall Sink

I’ve heard of people using their BlackBerry for twittering (the act of writing stuff on Twitter). Though I do kind of worry about the tiny keyboard, it might make typing A LOT slower. While there are Bluetooth keyboards available for the BlackBerry, it is extra baggage.

So how does a BlackBerry work?
The BlackBerry comes with a PC installation CD that allows you to configure your BlackBerry. Configuration options for email, phone, and sms are among the settings. To activate the settings on your BlackBerry you’ll have to connect it to your PC with a USB cable. Though this synchronization really is only necessary when new software for the BlackBerry becomes available.

The BlackBerry utilizes “push” technology, allowing for constant updating of your PDA. Data transmissions from and to the Blackberry are encrypted using triple DES.

The BlackBerry Bold 9000 comes with quad-band GSM and tri-band 3G connectivity, allowing you to connect from almost anywhere on Earth.

A pretty nifty tool to have!

1 x Wacom Tablet
1 x Printer
1 x Mouse and keyboard
1 x USB port to charge cell phone
1 x USB stick.

So I need 5 at least, and only have 4. The PC card adapter gives me some extra room for USB device connections. It solves the limited USB port problem on most laptops with very little effort.

And it’s next generation brother, the Playstation 3, is not happy. A study by the Nielsen Media Research group shows that the Sony Playstation 2 console got the most attention in 2008, with over 30 percent of gaming time spent on that machine. It easily beat it’s newer brother, the PS3, which could only generate a mere 7.7%. This puts it slightly ahead of the quite old GameCube.

Most people apparently feel that the price tag of the Playstation 3 is still too high, and the extra Blu-ray player that is integrated into the system doesn’t make up for it. Until Blu-ray discs become as cheap as DVDs are now people will be happy to keep playing on their “aged” Playstation 2 and view their movies on their trusted DVD players. A dilemma for Sony?

Top Console Usage (by percent of minutes played)
PlayStation 2 (30.2 percent)
Xbox 360 (18.3 percent)
Wii (13.5 percent)
Xbox (9.1 percent)
PlayStation 3 (7.7 percent)
GameCube (4.4 percent)
Other (16.9 percent)

Check out CNET for the full article.

Just like furniture, gadgets now need to complement the interior. Look at the exterior differences of televisions over the years for example - you can clearly see how important design has become. Even Cisco (well known for its networking equipment) feels the pressure to design more aesthetically pleasing hardware. Take a look at their Linksys Ultra Range router. Buyers associate poor design with poor performance. Bad design is no longer tolerated.

Fed up with ugly routers and clunky hard drives, a growing number of consumers are looking for well-designed gadgets that complement decor instead of cluttering desktops and clashing with furniture.

Many credit Apple’s (Nasdaq: AAPL) Latest News about Apple iPhone, with its strikingly simple forms, for raising the bar on expectations for good design in consumer electronics.

And while art and design professionals say that gadgets like mobile phones and personal computers are becoming increasingly well-designed, they also say many electronic products still need to work on their appearance.

Full article here.

Samsung opted for a rather unusual keyboard setup. Instead of the usual slide-out design, the Q1 Ultra has a split QWERTY keyboard, with each side of the unit housing 1 half of the keyboard.

Click here for more details on the Q1 Ultra.

If you have a few hundred dollars to spare, you can hire a professional to do the job for you. But after you’ve spent a load of dough on the set itself, the prospect of spending more for calibration may not be appealing. Armed with a few facts, the right software, and a little time, you can handle the task yourself for just a few bucks.
What Every TV Owner Needs to Know

Sure, everyone knows how to plug in a TV and tap their way around a remote. But if you’re looking for a great home-entertainment experience, here a few important things to keep in mind.

PC World has the full article.

Overview of the Samsung SyncMaster 2253BW 22″.

I have been using Samsung monitors for the last 5 years, and am happy so far with what comes out of their factories. The LCD screen on my desk is a Samsung SyncMaster 226BW 22″ LCD Monitor, which is one step up from the 2253BW (in terms of date of release) that this post is about. Although price differences between the two varies from 50 bucks to virtually nothing, it is worth taking a look at the Samsung SyncMaster 2253BW 22″ LCD Monitor. Both screens offer a resolution of up to 1680 x 1050, which should be enough for most users. The horizontal viewing angle of the 226BW is 10 degrees larger compared to the 2253BW. Both offer a brightness of 300 cd/m?, 16.7 million colours, DVI, both weigh about the same. For some reason the 2253BW actually offers a better contrast ratio, 1:8000 with dynamic contrast. To be honest, I don’t really like the dynamic contrast - at least on televisions it’s clear when it’s enabled while moving from light scenes to dark scenes.

One thing that affects most LCD screens out there is backlight bleeding. You won’t notice it unless the screen is almost completely black, however it’s time engineers find a way to come up with a solution. Both screens are highly recommended, and the popularity of these monitors should speak for itself; these are good products. So do you have space on your desk?

Click here for technical specifications.

Overview of the :
WD Passport WDXMS2500 - Hard drive - 250 GB - external - 2.5" - Hi-Speed USB - 5400 rpm - buffer: 2 MB

Western Digital is without doubt one of the most respected hard drive manufacturers. Started in 1970, WD, as it’s widely known these days, has grown to a multi-billion dollar corporation with thousands of products.

At 250 GB, the WDXMS2500 offers plenty of space to backup your important files. I’m sure you’ve read the horror stories of people not properly backing up their files. Hardware failure can cost you a lot when your income is generated mainly from the stuff that’s on your hard drive! If hardware failure occurs you can quickly replace the hardware and transfer over your files from your external hard drive. With prices of external hard drives and other backup tools so low, there is NO excuse not to have your own backup system in place. Don’t take the risk, and spend that 100 bucks for a good external drive.

Some specifications:

Total storage space : 250 GB
Buffer : 2 MB (not that much, but reliability is more important than speed on backup drives)
Model size : 2.5 inch
rpm : 5400
Power source : USB
Colour : black

Average rating based on review sites : 7/10.

Ready to order?

CLICK HERE to check out the WDXMS2500 product page.

Overview of the Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300.

The Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300 processor is the entry level Quad processor with a front bus speed of 1333 mhz. With 6 MB of L2 cache speed isn’t a problem for this performance addicted piece of hardware. I still remember the days (not that long ago) when you had to pay double the price of what the Q9300 costs just to get a Quad core CPU. Intel has been revamping and updating their line of CPUs constantly over the last few years. They are slowly phasing out the FSB 1066 mhz family, and are already offering an amazing CPU with 1600 MHZ front bus speed (the QX9770)! You may think that the CPU speed of 2.5 ghz isn’t all that impressive, but wait till you see the overclocking capability of the Q9300. Nordichardware reported that they were able to overclock it to 3.7 ghz, a massive increase of almost 50%.

Compared to the older Q6600 (which sells for only a little less), you are getting a decent improvement in overall peformance on all levels. The only negative we noticed is when comparing this Quad CPU with a Duo Core during benchmark tests with such games as Quake 4. It is obvious that games (and many desktop applications) are still not optimized for use with a Quad processor. You could conclude that for the best performance in games released in 2007 and 2008 a good Duo core (the E8500 for example) will be more viable. Yet, to be ready for the future the Q9300 is a great investment.

Average rating based on review sites : 8/10.

You can purchase the Q9300 at trusted Amazon by clicking here. Or as second option, if you want a Duo Core - take a look at the E8500.