Festival goers rejoice – no longer do you have to spend the first several hours of your week struggling to master the jigsaw that is tent-pitching!

Quechua are selling this cool tent that springs out of its carrying bag and pops up fully formed – 2 seconds is the claim and looking at the video I can believe it.

Now re-packing it… that’s another story! Still, it looks like a neat idea for the occasional camper.

More details (and cool videos) at Quechua.com

Sony are bringing back the “Walkman” brand quite aggressively with various new models at different price points and capabilities. Today we take a look at one of the entry level models, the Walkman B series.

Features and design

Specifications:

• Width (mm): 86
• Height (mm): 23.6
• Depth (mm): 14.5
• Battery life – continuous playback music (h): 18
• Charging time (full charge) (h): 1h 10 min
• Available sizes – 2GB and 4GB

The B series has a simple design, incorporating a 3 line display that shows current track information and allows navigation of the menus (just). Physical buttons are provided for recording, volume and track navigation – for anything more complex than that you’re into the control menus.

In common with most players you get functions to repeat the track or playlist as well as a shuffle option. An FM radio is included and you also get a recording function which can record both voice and radio content.

Voice recordings don’t need a separate microphone or specialised headphones; the device itself has a built in mic which seems to work well for recording simple memos.

There’s also a “zap” button which runs through your playlist, diving into the middle of each song to play you a few seconds of it before moving on to the next. A second press of the button starts playing the selected track properly. It’s a convenient way of navigating through an album or shuffled playlist without resorting to the sometimes fiddly display, but I could have done without the chirpy “Zappin’ in!” and “Zappin’ Out!” voice on each button press.

In use

In common with the X series walkman we previously looked at, connectivity is a breeze. The B series plugs directly into a USB port and is recognised by Windows as a music player. It synchronises with Windows media player if that’s what you want, or you can just treat it like a USB stick and drag MP3s directly onto it.

The compact dimensions of the player lead to a necessarily small screen, which in turn means navigating the menus can be fiddly. Everything is fairly logically laid out so there’s no problem finding anything but you’ll probably want to set up some playlists or browse your music via album/artist/genre as navigating a single folder with several hundred tracks in it takes some button pressing!

Sound quality

The B series is a budget model so the included headphones are fairly basic and you don’t get the electronic enhancements of the more expensive X series. That said, you do get a 5 band equalizer to tune the sound to your taste and with some decent earbuds it sounds fine.

Conclusion

At the £30-£40 price point Sony have some competition from other devices on features but the compact styling and ease of use of the B series makes it stand out.

Anybody who cycles a lot will have had the experience of a flat tyre – it’s inevitable given the condition of our roads and cycle paths. So after you’ve repaired the hole you could:

a) spend 10 minutes with a hand pump trying to put a decent amount of pressure back in the tyre, or

b) Use one of these handy CO2 inflators from Topeak to blast gas back into the tyre without the effort.

The cartridges are strictly single use but they should last forever in storage and it seems like a far simpler way of getting the job done to me.

Sony Ericsson launched their new Windows Mobile powered X2 smart phone at the London Design Museum this evening. It runs on Windows Mobile 6.5, has a 3.5” resistive touch screen and is available exclusively on Vodafone from the end of November.

SE have a range of home screens available preloaded on the phone as well as more that are downloadable. Take a look at the pictures above to see two of the panels and the panel picker. Panels range from the typical Windows Mobile look through to something that looks very much like Sim City complete with animated trains and boats. You can add widgets to these panels to further customise the phone to suit your personality.

The X2 has a side slide full QWERTY keyboard to compliment its touch screen and this will probably be the text input method of choice for most people as it feels very stable in use. Having said that if the handwriting recognition is up to the job that might be an even better option. A stylus is neatly stored in the body of the phone to help if you choose the handwriting route.

The screen is clear and bright with video looking quite impressive and I’m glad to see that a 3.5mm standard headphone socket is provided. The X2 has an optical mouse pad allowing you to move around the screen and select functions with ease. Sony Ericsson have made this even better by using icons in place of menu options where possible.

The 8.1 mega pixel camera has autofocus, geo tagging, image stabilisation, face detection, an LED flash and is capable of recording video as well. The X2 comes packaged with Windows Office Mobile and a TV Out cable for those emergency PowerPoint presentations or perhaps just for showing off your family videos.

The phone is aimed at both the business and consumer markets so it will be up against both the Blackberry and HTC phones. Time will tell if it has what it takes to compete with them. Vodafone are promising that the X2 will be available free on contract from the end of November.

We’ll post a review in a month or so once we’ve had a chance to use the phone day to day for a while.

Specifications

• 3.2” resistive touch screen. (WVGA) 800×400 Pixels, 65,536 colours.
• Dimensions: 110 x 54 x 16mm.
• Weight: 115g with the standard battery.
• Claimed: GSM: Up to 10 hrs, Standby time GSM: Up to 500 hrs.
• Claimed: UMTS: Up to 6hrs Standby time UMTS: Up to 640hrs.
• Claimed music listening time: Up to 20hrs
• Quad Band.
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth (A2DP) and USB.
• USB mass storage.
• 8.1 Mega Pixel camera, Auto Focus, Geo tagging, Image stabiliser, Send to web, Touch focus  and LED flash.
• Video WVGA 30fps
• Up to110MB internal memory.
• Memory card support: Micro SDHC™, up to 16GB of additional memory.
• A-GPS
• Microsoft Office mobile, PDF and text viewers.
• TV out via included cable.
• Standard 3.5mm headphone connection.

In the Box:

• XPERIA™ X2
• Battery
• Battery Charger
• Stereo Portable Hands free MH500
• USB cable
• TV out cable
• 4GB SanDisk Micro SD memory card
• User guide

See the Sony Ericsson website for more details.

Here’s an interesting idea – rent a virtual desktop on the internet and use that instead of a PC. Nivio are selling exactly that – for under £10/month you get a Windows PC with MS Office. A range of other applications can be installed for a nominal monthly fee.

You can access your Nivio desktop from anywhere so if you’re travelling and have access to the internet you can still use all your installed applications and files.

As a replacement for a home PC it doesn’t make much sense, since you still need a PC to access the internet based PC. If you want a second or third machine though (for others in the house or just to separate tasks) it could be useful, since a cheap netbook can get you access to a range of applications you might not otherwise have.

If you want to avoid buying a PC entirely you can always get the “Companion” – a box that uses your own keyboard, screen and mouse to provide access to the Nivio desktop.

There’s a free demo available on the site so you can try before you buy.

Flat-pack tableware – useful for camping, not so much for your everyday evening meal. If you do like the outdoor life though, the Orikaso range of self-assembly bowls, mugs and plates should be on your shopping list.

The idea is simple but well executed – using pre-folded and cut plastic sheets you can carry around a set of eating and drinking accessories for next to no weight and because they fold flat you can tuck them into a corner of your rucksack and forget about them.

No need to worry about fragile plastic hinges either – you get a 10 year guarantee against failure. Prices seem to vary, so look on Amazon to see what they’re currently doing.

The Nokia N97 Mini has many of the features of the original  N97 including the slide-out Qwerty keyboard, 5 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss lens and built in GPS navigation.

On the down side the internal memory has been slashed from 32GB to a paltry 8GB which seems pretty mean with the current cost of memory.  You can add a further 16GB with a Micro SD card for a total of 24GB which still isn’t as much as an unexpanded N97.

Interestingly the mini is mere millimetres smaller than the original N97, has the same resolution resistive touch screen and is only £20 cheaper on the Nokia website.

Available free from Vodafone on pay monthly plans of £35 and over from the end of October.

The HTC Tattoo looks to be a very cool implementation of the Android operating system and available to order now.  Unfortunately the small 2.8” touch screen, 512mb internal memory, 3.2MP camera and missing flash are all disappointing on a newly released phone. I know there is a memory card slot but 512mb of built in memory just isn’t enough for a modern phone.

Available free from Vodafone on pay monthly tariffs of £25  and over from October.

Finally the Vodafone 360 Samsung H1 is available in black or silver for pre-order now and delivery in November. The H1 is being marketed too social networking types and offers a 3D interface showing the connections between your contacts by using their photos.

The H1 is compatible with the new Vodafone 360 service allowing you to backup and update your contacts, photos and emails on your 360 account.

Services such as Google Talk, Windows Live Messenger, Goole Mail and Facebook are catered for by the Samsung.

With its 3.5” OLED touch screen, 16GB of internal memory, 5MP camera, WiFi, HSPDA, Bluetooth, GPS and app downloads the H1 seems to be taking a well aimed pop at the iPhone. The big question is will it succeed where others have failed?

Available free from Vodafone on pay monthly plans of £35 and over from November.

Dutch company Lemnis Lighting have launched a light bulb based on LED technology. Available in screw or bayonet mounts, the E300 uses just 6 watts of power but has a comparable output to a conventional 60 watt bulb. It’s also dimmable, making it a perfect drop-in replacement for many lights around the home.

The good part is that Lemnis estimate a lifespan of around 25 years. The not so good part is the price, you’re looking at around £30 each (although hopefully that will come down in time)

You can get them now at Ryness.co.uk

[via Which news]

The LG 22” LU7000 released back in September has just arrived for review. We’ll take a good look at it and report back fully in a few weeks but in the meantime here are our first impressions of the TV.

The LG is quite a looker with a DVD player built into its sloping stand and a nifty pair of sliding doors for the DVD.  This makes a nice change from the more conventional slot loading mechanism and gives the LG a very sleek and stylish look.  Unfortunately it doesn’t share the gorgeous Borderless design of it’s larger siblings.

The LU7000 has a full set of inputs including a USB 2.0 port that can be used to display your digital camera pictures as well as play your MP3s.

Expect to pay around £300 for the 22” and a little less for the 19” version.

LU 7000:

• Built-in DVD player
• Invisible speakers, 10W
• 1386×768
• HD ready
• 2 x HDMI
• 2 x Scart (1 x Full)
• 1 x RF
• 1 x Composite
• 1 x component
• 1 x PC input Plug and Play
• Digital Audio Out
• SRS TruSurround XT
• Freeview
• USB 2.0 (JPEG/MP3 Playback)
• Energy Saving Recommended

Well known laptop bag manufacturer Skooba design have launched a novel new competition – they want to find the “Master of the digital universe”. In their words:

Skooba Design is searching for the person who exemplifies the gadget-crazy, wired-to-the-gills, power-hungry lifestyle.

The winner will get the chance to have Skooba create a personalised, one-of-a-kind laptop bag to their very own design.

Do you think you can compete with cool kids in Silicon Valley? Unusually for a US based company the competition is worldwide and open to all so if you can’t leave the house without your gadget belt then check out the competition homepage and get writing your story!