PlayStation 3 the key to Blu-ray format triumph - research

The PlayStation 3 looks set to drive Sony's Blu-ray high-definition format into pole position, according to research. Understanding & Solutions says it has identified a huge gap in the numbers of homes in Western Europe which have HD-ready screens and the number of those that have the means to play HD content or receive HD content. The research group predicts that by 2010, some 115m HD-ready screens will be installed in European homes, but only 17m homes will be located within reach of HD broadcast signals. ...more

VIA brands new chip line

VIA Technologies has unveiled the official brand names of the new family of x86 compatible processors based around its forthcoming `Esther` core. To no-one's real surprise, the names turn out to be the C7 series. Based on the C5J Esther core, the VIA C7 processor will target low power desktop PCs and consumer electronics items such as video recorders whilst the VIA C7-M processor will aim for the notebook and Tablet PCs. ...more

UK music lovers double downloads in 2006

When it comes to downloading music singles, 2006 was a good year for the UK with paid-for sales doubling. According to reported figures from the Official UK Charts Company (OCC), which supplies the stats for the UK music charts, 51.6 million downloads were purchased in 2006. ...more

iPod extra adds record, remote and radio

Griffin Technology has released a combined radio tuner, recorder and remote control for iPods. The sleek, aluminium casing of the iFM conceals an FM tuner that can also be used as an inline remote to access the iPod's main controls. It has a built-in microphone for voice recording but can also be used to record radio programmes to the iPod. ...more

Sun pushes Java further into the mobile space

Sun is focussing on wireless mobile computing in the latest announcements from the SunOne show in San Francisco. As part of the push for Java-based wireless computing, Sun has announced a new testing initiative: the Unified Wireless Java Application Testing Criteria. With other industry players, such as Motorola, Nokia, Siemens, and Sony Ericsson, Sun is aiming to accelerate the secure development of mobile applications. ...more