My Best Toys

Says shattered screens due to “external force”

Following multiple reports of “exploding” iPhones and iPods across Europe, Apple has officially responded with comment about the instances.

No doubt spurred on by a French watchdog’s investigation, as well as EU interest in the matter, Apple has denied battery issues - something that’s been a problem for some Apple products in the past.

“To date, there are no confirmed battery overheating incidents for iPhone 3GS and the number of reports we are investigating is in the single digits”, Apple said in a statement.

“The iPhones with broken glass that we have analysed to date show that in all cases the glass cracked due to an external force that was applied to the iPhone”.

Further to the other reports we’ve brought you news of, Frank Benoiton of Acheres-la-Foret in France, has joined the list in reporting his wife’s iPhone’s screen cracking without warning last week.

Previous to this was Yassine Bouhadi, a 26-year-old security guard from Villevieille, near Nimes, who said: “I was texting my girlfriend like I do every day when the phone made a noise like ’schplok’. A little bit of screen hit me in the eye and I had to remove it with a tweezer”.

Prior to this Romain Kolega, a French teenager, was injured when his girlfriend’s iPhone “exploded into shards after beginning to ‘crackle and pop like a deep-fryer’”.

Other incidents encompass an iPod touch in Liverpool, an iPhone catching on fire in a car in Holland and a similar case with an iPod and a Saab motor in Sweden.

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Related links:

• News - Another exploding iPhone reported in France

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Audio iPods iPhones Apple

Apple comments on exploding iPhones originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Fri, 28 Aug 2009 17:22:34 +0100

Auto-rotating

Hercules has announced a new webcam, the Dualpix HD720p. As you might guess from the name, it’s high-definition, coming with a 1-megapixel CMOS sensor that can capture 1280×800 video at 30fps, and 5-megapixel phots using interpolation.

Usefully, it can spin on horizontal and vertical axes, and comes with a sensor and some motors that also allows it to track your face. At the start of a chat session it’ll auto-rotate and detect your position, putting you right in the middle of the frame.

It has a wide-angle lens with autofocus and 3x zoom, as well as a built-in microphone. It’s been tested with Windows Live Messenger, MSN Messenger, Skype, AOL Instant Messenger and Yahoo Messenger, and it’ll work on XP, Vista and Windows 7.

It costs $60, which is around ?37, and it’ll be available “starting in early September”.

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Related links:

• News - Hercules Dualpix Infinite webcam announced
• Link - Hercules Dualpix HD720p

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Hardware Webcams Hercules HD

Hercules Dualpix HD720p webcam annoucned originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Fri, 28 Aug 2009 17:15:24 +0100

Show your true character - all 1,400 of them

Who ever said ?talk is cheap’ must be spinning in their grave these days.

Talk is free and easy and these days if you’re not blogging, poking or tweeting, clearly you have nothing to say.

So now try woofing - that pesky character limit is flipped on its head with hugely entertaining results.

This is one spoof that has been fully embraced. A bit like Girls Aloud.

Whaddya mean they’re not a spoof??

www.woofertime.com

If you have a website that you want to tell us about email us via the feedback form.

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WebsiteOfTheDay Websites Software Online

WEBSITE OF THE DAY - Woofer originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Fri, 28 Aug 2009 00:00:00 +0100

New features for social networkers

Facebook 3.0 now available

Facebook and iPhone fans can now get the latest social networking app, after Apple has made the facebook 3.0 app available in the App Store around the globe.

The new update brings with it a wealth of new features including a grid view to better manage your social networking life, and the ability for iPhone 3GS users to upload video directly to the site.

Users will be able to get the new version from the iPhone or the App store within iTunes, however Apple has yet to update the cache making many people still see version 2.5.

A full feature list includes:

- See your upcoming Events and RSVP

- See your friends’ birthdays

- See Pages and post updates and photos to Pages you administer

- Write Notes and read your friends’ Notes

- Upload videos from an iPhone 3GS

- Upload photos to any album

- Complete photo management (create albums, delete albums, delete photos, delete photo tags)

- Change your Profile Picture

- Zoom into photos

- Like posts and photos

- See the same News Feed as the Facebook website

- Visit links in a built-in web browser

- See all of your friends’ friends and Pages

- See mutual friends

- Easily search for people and Pages

- Make friend requests

- Become a fan of Pages

- Quickly call or text your friends

- Create shortcuts to your favourite friends and Pages

- Friends sorted by first or last name according to your settings

- Chat friends sorted alphabetically

Have you downloaded it yet? Let us know what you think.

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Phones Mobile phone apps Facebook Facebook 3 Apple iTunes

Facebook 3.0 now available originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Thu, 27 Aug 2009 23:52:01 +0100

Either sign up for three years or prepare to get your wallet out

The Palm Pre has made it out of the US with the launch of the new smartphone in Canada as it starts it epic journey around the world.

Available exclusively on the Bell Mobility network users keen to get their hands on the phone will have to sign up for a massive 3 year contract and pay CA$200 (?112) for the privilege.

Those looking to evade the 3 year contract will have to part with CA$599.95 without a contract with a minimum 500 MB data plan at around CA$45 per month.

Meanwhile O2 in the UK is still keeping quiet as to when it expects to launch the Palm Pre in the UK.

Currently both Palm and O2 are sticking with the “before Christmas” mantra that we reported on in January.

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Phones Mobile phones Palm O2 Bell Mobility Pre

Palm Pre arrives in Canada, UK launch edges closer originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Thu, 27 Aug 2009 22:57:35 +0100

Catchup on last 7 days of TV from the Beeb

The BBC will begin beta testing on Freesat in September with a public launch currently being promised before Christmas.

According to Freesat, “the testing is presently taking place on the entire range of Freesat receivers with the appropriate software levels installed.”

The platform is the latest to be supported by the Beeb with Sony PlayStation users getting support from next month also.

Gamers who download the 3.0 firmware or buy a new PS3 Slim will get the ability to tune into selected programmes from the last seven days.

The BBC has yet to announce plans to allow viewers outside of the UK to watch the content.

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Home Cinema Freesat BBC iPlayer

Freesat to get BBC iPlayer before Christmas originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Thu, 27 Aug 2009 22:40:47 +0100

Accessorised for your viewing pleasure

Sony launched three additions to its Alpha range of DSLR cameras at an event in London today. Partnering the new a500 is the a550, snapped here.

It features an Exmor CMOS 14-megapixel sensor and is backed by Sony’s BIONZ processor, which Sony claims brings a couple of noteworthy features to the party.

Improved processing power means noise is apparently suppressed in the new ISO range up to 12,800, with the results at the highest sensitivities only carrying the sort of noise found at ISO 3200 on the older generation of cameras.

You’ll also get a couple of continuous shooting modes, at 5fps, or a speed-priority mode giving 7fps.

You’ll also get that neat new HDR shooting option, which snaps two images at different exposures and then merges them in-camera for an image with greater dynamic range.

Sony boast you can do this without a tripod thanks to the BIONZ power and Steady-Shot Inside offering. We tried it, and it does seem to work, but we’ll reserve judgement until we’ve done a full review.

This model has been tarted-up a little, seen here with the battery grip and screen protector, but otherwise it looks like its sister the a500.

Coming your way at the end of October, but until then, check out these snaps.

Related links:

• News - Sony Alpha 850, 550 and 500 DSLRs announced
• Link - Sony’s website
• Photos - Sony Alpha 500
• Photos - Sony Alpha 850

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Cameras DSLR cameras Digital cameras Sony 14 megapixels Sony Alpha 550 Sony Alpha 500

PHOTOS: Sony Alpha 550 originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Thu, 27 Aug 2009 21:47:46 +0100

Perfect if you are of the more wordy type

If your having trouble getting your point across on twitter in 140 characters or less then a new service has been launched to meet your verbose writing style.

Called Woofer, the spoof twitter micro-blogging website will offer its “wooferers” 1,400 characters instead of the paltry 140 to say the same thing just 10 times as long.

Just like the real twitter you can see the trending topics which are called “Popular woofs” and check out other woofer users.

Created purely for fun rather than having altruistic tendencies to take over the world, according to the chaps behind it you can woof it seems until you’re in the dog house.

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Software Online Twitter Woofer

Woofer: When twitter’s 140 character isn’t enough originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Thu, 27 Aug 2009 21:43:56 +0100

Hands-on with the step-up model

Sony today announced three new models in their Alpha DSLR line-up. The lowest spec (if that’s a fair term) is the Alpha 500 and we were on-hand to grab some shots of the new model at a launch event in London.

Residing in a body almost identical to it’s sister model the 550, the hardware specs differ a little between the two and represent what Sony call “step-up models”.

The Sony Alpha 500 features an Exmor CMOS 12-megapixel sensor, backed by Sony’s BIONZ processor, which Sony claim adds several advantages to their new models.

First up there is an ISO range running up to 12,800, which Sony boasted only carries the sort of noise seen previously at ISO 3200, and a 4fps continuous shooting.

Then there is the HDR shooting option, that snaps off two images at different exposures and merges them in the camera for an image with greater dynamic range.

A great trick and in our play, it seemed to work pretty well. You can do it without a tripod too, but we’ll wait till we see full-resolution images before we get too excited about it.

The back features a 230k-dot articulating display and there is an HDMI output, although Sony hasn’t yet offered movie capture on their SLRs.

Yours from the end of October, until then, feast your eyes on these ‘ere snaps.

Related links:

• News - Sony Alpha 850, 550 and 500 DSLRs announced
• Link - Sony website
• Photos - Sony Alpha 550

Tags:
Cameras DSLR cameras Sony 12 megapixels Sony Alpha 500 Digital cameras Sony Alpha 550

PHOTOS: Sony Alpha 500 originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Thu, 27 Aug 2009 20:59:08 +0100

COMMENT: As Apple releases Snow Leopard the next name needs to say small, agile, but strokable

With the official launch of Apple’s latest Operating System on Friday, Apple is no doubt working on the next version of the OS already.

Chances are they’ve probably started fulfilling a roadmap laid out by CEO Steve Jobs to make sure that they are ready to wow you come 2011.

Based on previous release history, if Apple continues on their OS development process, there is no reason not to believe that the next OS X will not be delivered in two years time.

Since 2003 with the launch of Panther, we’ve had Tiger (2005), Leopard (2007) and of course Snow Leopard in 2009.

But what do you call it? Apple is fast running out of names of cats before they have to change tack.

So far we’ve had Hera, Kodiak, Cheetah, Puma, Jaguar, Panther, Tiger, Leopard, and then Snow Leopard most of which have come from the Panthera genus with the exception of the Cheetah to get all cat lady on you for a moment.

All that’s left of the Panthera genus is the Lion, however to us that suggests big, majestic, righteous and, well, lazy, an animal that makes you do the work while it sits in the sun. You don’t see lions getting excited at the zoo do you? It’s not a cool name for a product that expresses speed and agility.

Then there is the house cat. Yeah that brings up a whole stack of imagery that we don’t want either including lol cat and Top Cat. Who wants to be cute and fuffy? While Cougar, a member of the Felis genus, just sounds too much like a sports car or a mum on the prowl.

So in steps our friend the Bobcat from the Lynx genus, stage right.

While for most Americans it means an earth digger like JCB in the UK, it also fits in quite nicely with the premise that the OS is getting smaller, faster and more important for it to fit “strokable”, but still with a vicious edge that will bite your arm off given half the chance.

I mean look at them, they are lovely looking things that look adorable and I’m not even a cat person.

Touch or “strokability” will be key I believe in the next OS, whether the company launches a tablet or not. Apple has been educating computer users over the last few years to embrace touch.

For Apple it is all about educating the user through strokes on the trackpad to pressing an application icon to launch Expos? in Snow Leopard, you might not have realised it yet but Apple wants you to get touchy feely about computers.

It is easy to see why: they are cheaper to make, easier to design and overall more “lifestyle” in their approach.

As an aside, according to Wikipedia, Apple has registered “Lynx” and “Cougar” as trademarks, though these were allowed to lapse.

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Comment Software Mac software Apple

Will the next Apple OSX be called Bobcat? originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Thu, 27 Aug 2009 20:00:50 +0100