Technology News

We have known for a while now that the Nokia N96 was coming, but we did not know the exact UK release date. Well now we do, the handset is due for UK release on October 1.

Nokia have kept the launch of this phone back, as they wanted to make sure that the N96 was up to scratch. Nokia are hoping that this mobile phone will become the next best selling phone since the iPhone from Apple, that’s going to be a tall order.

The advantage that the Nokia N96 has over the iPhone is the fact that it will be available on all the major UK phone networks. From 3, Orange, T-Mobile and Vodafone.

Some of the main features of the Nokia N96 are 16GB of external memory, a TV tuner as well as a 5 megapixel camera and 3G speeds.

You have to wonder if the Nokia N96 will be able to topple the iPhone, judging by some of the features of the phone; it does have a very good chance.

For all the Specs on the Nokia N96 visit: Phones Review

The Panasonic Viera PZ81 is to be the first TV with Freesat HD, making it a new hub for your hi-def home. The launch for Freesat is well underway, so it was not going to be long before it was incorporated into a TV.

As Panasonic are world leaders in TV’s it was obvious that they would produce the first TV with built-in Freesat.

Panasonic are calling the Viera PZ81 revolutionary and you have to agree with them. The Freesat tuner will allow you to watch HD programs from a brand new digital satellite TV service from the BBC and ITV.

The Panasonic PZ81 combines both style and performance, as you would expect from Panasonic the TV has some great features. The PZ81 is HD Ready with 1080p Resolution, 100Hz Intelligent Frame Creation gives you sharp and high quality pictures as well as a flicker free image.

For all the information on the Panasonic Viera PZ81, head over to Panasonic

Over the past few months we have heard all the rumors of the impending Final Fantasy VII announcement from Square-Enix. It seems that the ancient rumor of a remake for the PS3 has now resurfaced.

There has been a huge amount of news covering all the information about the game, but it seems that someone has looked at it from another perspective. PSX Extreme has been looking into all the different opinions as to whether there should be a remake, sequel or spin-off.

It is also rumoured that Final Fantasy VII-2 will be coming to the Xbox 360, so will not just be exclusive to the PS3. It seems for this game to prove popular; it is needed on both consoles.

Square-Enix has said that for the FFVII remake to prove popular, the entire original team needs to get back together. PSX Extreme does not believe that this is needed; they said that it was not needed for the prequel.

Do you think that Final Fantasy VII-2 remake is needed, also what is all the fuss anyway?

We learned earlier this year that Netflix was working with LG Electronics for their first direct-to-TV movie partnership, but it was a little short on details. Now we have some more details on their partnership product.

The LG Blu-Ray Box or LG BD300 Network Blu-ray disc player will allow Netflix members to stream movies to their TV; this will cost well under $500.

The Blu-Ray part won’t be part of the streaming, although Netflix movies will be streamed in standard definition. There is still one problem with this though and that is the 12,000 titles. These are not all movies many of them include TV episodes, out of a library of over 100,000 on DVD for those on the traditional Netflix service.

As a member of Netflix, you are able to use the service’s website in order to add movies and TV episodes to your queues.

This LG Electronics deal is non-exclusive; this means that LG will be able to add more services from Netflix competitors.

Source

We learned earlier this year that Netflix was working with LG Electronics for their first direct-to-TV movie partnership, but it was a little short on details. Now we have some more details on their partnership product.

The LG Blu-Ray Box or LG BD300 Network Blu-ray disc player will allow Netflix members to stream movies to their TV; this will cost well under $500.

The Blu-Ray part won’t be part of the streaming, although Netflix movies will be streamed in standard definition. There is still one problem with this though and that is the 12,000 titles. These are not all movies many of them include TV episodes, out of a library of over 100,000 on DVD for those on the traditional Netflix service.

As a member of Netflix, you are able to use the service’s website in order to add movies and TV episodes to your queues.

This LG Electronics deal is non-exclusive; this means that LG will be able to add more services from Netflix competitors.

Source

It is no secret that Dell wants to move into the personal media player business, this could be as early as September. Dell hopes that they will then be able to do battle with the likes of the Apple iPod. The Wall Street Journal newspaper cited many Dell officials by saying, Dell has been testing a digital music player and that it could go on sale as early as September.

Dell have a mountain to climb if they wish to topple iPods dominance in the media player market, many players from companies such as Microsoft and Sony have tried and failed.

The music player that Dell has been testing is said to have a small navigation screen, as well as basic button controls so that you can navigate through the music list.

The Wall Street Journal also reports that the Dell player will be able to connect online through a Wi-Fi connection. The price of the Player is likely to be in the region of $100, that around £50.

Let us hope that Dell do a better job that their last effort back in 2003. The DJ Ditty player was a huge disappointment, as it failed to impress the market.

Former national champion Hannes Grobler and co-driver Juan Mohr were convincing winners of the production vehicle category of the Sun City 400 on Saturday in their Sasol-supported Nissan Navara to give Nissan Motorsport its second successive victory in the event.

It was their first win together since teaming up at the start of the season and, while it was the veteran Grobler’s 24th victory in the past seven and a half seasons, it was Mohr’s first time on the top step of the podium in the production vehicle category of the Absa Off Road Car Championship.

Nissan also won the manufacturers’ team challenge for the day with the factory Nissan Navaras of Norwegian Ivar Tollefsen and Briton Quin Evans finishing fourth and reigning champion Duncan Vos and co-driver Ralph Pitchford coming in a creditable fifth after starting from the back of the field.

Grobler and Mohr enjoyed a trouble-free run in Saturday’s 380-km main event after winning Friday’s 70-km prologue, which determined the start order. Tollefsen and Evans started fifth and might well have secured a podium place had they not been slowed by three punctures.

Vos and Pitchford, winners of last year’s event, suffered the severe setback of a broken propshaft and then a front driveshaft failure on the prologue and were forced to start from 52nd position in the mixed field of production and special vehicles, 51 minutes behind Grobler and Mohr. They fought their way up to 22nd place in the combined field by the compulsory halfway stop at the designated service point at Sun City, recording the fastest time for the first 190-km loop despite stopping to replace a flat wheel. They were delayed by a further two punctures, but managed to cross the finish line at Sun City in 12th place overall and fifth in the production vehicle category.

On July 25th, Nissan South Africa has announced plans to export a race-tuned version of the Nissan Navara pick-up to Russia. Nissan will explore export potential to other global markets.

Source - Press Release

Honeywell Turbo Technologies, a technology leader in engine boosting and modern turbo technologies, estimates that the global turbocharger segment will grow from 30 percent of the overall automotive market to more than 38 percent by 2013 as automakers look to boost engines to help increase fuel efficiency and reduce emissions without hampering the fun-to-drive factor.

Ford is at the forefront of this spiking trend with its EcoBoost engine strategy, applying modern turbocharging and direct injection technologies to smaller displacement engines that offer improved fuel economy and fewer emissions, yet deliver performance feel of larger displacement engines.

What separates Ford from the automotive pack using turbo technology today: Ford will apply the technology in significantly higher volumes, featuring turbocharged EcoBoost I-4 and V-6 applications in half a million vehicles annually within the next five years – across multiple product lines globally.

Turbos are the secret behind the downsizing, allowing for smaller displacement without performance loss. Unlike a supercharger, today’s turbocharger uses the waste energy from the exhaust gas to drive the turbine – energy that would have otherwise been lost. The result is increased torque and better performance, without increasing engine displacement.

EcoBoost engines will be powered by turbochargers that leverage the latest advances in turbine design and materials. These aren’t the turbos of the 1980s that delivered great amounts of torque yet frequently were plagued by short time gaps between stepping on the pedal and feeling the power – turbo lag. They are smaller, spin faster, offer variable flow solutions and are fully interconnected with the engine management system for peak performance.

EcoBoost debuts on the Lincoln MKS with a twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V-6. This engine will deliver upwards of 340-plus lb.-ft. of torque across a wide engine range – 2,000 to 5,000 rpm – versus 270 to 310 lb.-ft. of torque for a conventional naturally aspirated 4.6-liter V-8 over the same speed range.

Source - Press Release

Nokia Growth Partners, a global private equity and venture capital management firm, today announced an additional commitment of USD 150 million from Nokia, increasing funds under management for direct investments to USD 250 million. Nokia began sponsoring funds and promoting venture investments in 1998 as a catalyst for innovation in the mobile industry. Nokia commitments to venture funding activities to date exceed USD 900 million.

Building on a track record of successful investments, Nokia Growth Partners, launched in 2004, will now establish direct operations in India and China and augment investment activity in the U.S. and Europe. With the additional investment announced today, Nokia Growth Partners will continue pursuing investments that are of strategic relevance to Nokia, and or complementary to their strategy.

In addition to its direct investment activities, Nokia Growth Partners will advise on Nokia’s other venture capital fund investments. Both of these activities focus on promising companies seeking change in the mobile landscape. Target investments include companies creating innovative mobile applications and services that encourage rapid adoption of mobile solutions, such as context and location based services, mobile payments, mobile advertising, music and entertainment and other mobile services and software.

“Over the past decade, Nokia has developed an innovative, systematic and sustainable private equity and venture capital strategy”, says Rick Simonson, Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer of Nokia. “Our funds are structured to reinforce the primary responsibility of any fund manager: to deliver superior return on investment. For the funds we invest in, the prospect of partnerships and insights that come from close alignment with Nokia set us apart from pure financial investors. This increase of our commitment to Nokia Growth Partners is aligned with our strategic focus on consumer Internet services, reflecting the increased role that Nokia Growth Partners will play in our future success.”

During the past year, Nokia has also developed close working relationships with selected venture funds in which it has invested, in addition to those investments under direct management. These include:
- BlueRun Ventures - early stage venture, global
- Founders Fund - early stage venture, U.S.
- Gobi Partners - early stage IT and digital media fund, China
- Magma Venture Partners - early stage semiconductor & communications fund, Israel
- Oak Hill Capital Partners - late stage, global private equity & buy-out firm, U.S.
- Technology Crossover Ventures - growth/late stage venture fund, U.S.

“Nokia has selected each of these funds based on a strong record of delivering superior returns to investors, demonstrated expertise in relevant markets for Nokia and a strong commitment to work closely with Nokia, to enhance the opportunities for success in the companies in which they invest,” said Paul Asel of Nokia Growth Partners.

“Today’s announcements underscore the success of Nokia Growth Partners,” concludes John Gardner of Nokia Growth Partners. “Nokia’s new commitments will more than double our capital under direct management, enabling us to scale globally and better support Nokia strategic interests at a critical time for the industry. Alignment with the global industry leader in mobile devices and a leading innovator in the convergence of mobility and the Internet is a clear advantage for the companies in which we invest.”

Source - Press Release

This is an overclocked 512MB Sonic version of the Palit GeForce 9800 GT. The new 9800 GT from NVIDIA is basically the old 8800 GT. The names changed but the product is the same.

The Palit GeForce 9800 GT has aftermarket cooling, out of the box overclock, a full version game and an excellent price. There isn’t much that’s not to like about the card.

Tweak Town have given this graphics card a hands-on review over 18 pages and in their final thoughts they said “Palits decision to come straight out of the gate with an overclocked model is good news as it helps compete against the HD 4850 at stock clocks a bit better. It is very often we see it right on the tail of the HD 4850, or even passing it.

Palit have done a good job with the 9800 GT and there’s no doubt it’s going to quickly become a popular card thanks to the aforementioned pros”.

Read the 18 page review or view other computer hardware news.