Technofile: Anyone enjoying Pandora, the music discovery service that gives you recommendations based on what you are listening to, will be interested to hear that Napster is to launch a similar offering. This will look at your existing library and compile 50 recommended tracks and albums, as well as a daily 15-song playlist. Pandora is free but limited, while Napster has more tracks and has a fee. Also check out the excellent Last.FM, where you can benefit from the recommendations of fellow listeners.
Technofile's review of gadgets and technology this week:
Fujiamilo Fujitsu Siemens has launched three new Amilo consumer PC notebooks. The Amilo Si 1520 has a 12-inch display, the Amilo Pi 1536 a 15.4-inch screen and the Amilo Xi 1546 a 17-inch display. Typical of the spec, the 1520 version has Intel Centrino Duo mobile technology along with lots of other features. Retail prices should be € 1,150-€1,700.
Samsung has a new digital audio player that incorporates Bluetooth.
The SBH-300 doubles as a Bluetooth stereo headset, featuring MP3 playback, an FM tuner, voice recording, photo viewing and a 2GB built-in flash memory. Order it from next month.
Gamers will enjoy Toshiba's new laptop, the Satellite P105-S921. It comes with the new GeForce Go 7900 GS gaming chip and the Intel Core Duo T2400 (1.83Ghz) processor.
Longing for a desk to call home? You'll have to wait. Half of the European workforce will be mobile by 2007 according to researchers IDC. Currently the number is 40 per cent, but IDC predicts that PC notebook sales will grow by over 30 per cent annually to more than 48 million units by 2008.
You've probably come across the Dualit toaster, a fashion statement for kitchens. Well you can now buy a Dualit Digital Kitchen Radio in cast aluminium and polished chrome for a snip at €286. And it doesn't even do toast!
The Automower from Husqvarna (automower.co.uk) will cut your lawn without you. The advantage? Automatically guided, it'll negotiate trees and create small clippings that supposedly fall back on to the lawn to provide a natural source of compost. But at €2,150 it's a pricey way to do your lawn.
Bluetooth - the common wireless data standard inside the average mobile phone - is going to get better. Various standards bodies have agreed on a new version that will enable high-speed data transfer. The upshot will be high-quality video and audio applications for portable devices, multimedia projectors and television sets.
Far from becoming a global standard for watching movies on a portable device, Sony's Universal Media Disc, used in its PlayStation Portable handheld console, doesn't look long for this world. Despite being launched with great fanfare, Hollywood studio support for the format is declining - Paramount, Universal and Imagine have stopped releasing movies on UMD releases completely. With the world switching over to going totally digital - King Kong will soon be released as a digital download file, for instance - the days of physical formats seem numbered.
