In Depth: 6 of the best iPod headphones

Let's be honest. The earbuds Apple bundles with its iPod and iPhone range are horrible. Their sound quality is terrible, with weak bass and a tinny mid-section, they're uncomfortable in the ears and have abysmal sound isolation.

It's as if a decade's progress in audio design passed Apple by, leaving you with earbuds that would struggle to impress at the turn of the century, and certainly won't satisfy now.

If you've invested in an Apple audio device, it makes sense to spend a little more and get yourself a set of earbuds that do your music justice. And if that device is an iPhone, you could go for a set with inline controls.

In a nutshell, inline controls enable you to operate your iPhone from a unit mounted on the earbuds' cable. At the very least, you can pause your music and receive an incoming call at the push of a button, while an inline mic allows you to converse without removing your earbuds – much better than fishing around in your pocket for your phone.

Some headsets on test also offer volume controls, track skipping and VoiceOver support. In this group test, we take a look at six iPhone-compatible earbuds that cost under £120.

Are they comfortable to wear? Are they easy to use? Is the sound quality up to scratch? We pitch them against each other and see which set comes out on top.

The contenders

Klipsch Image S4i - £86

Radiopaq Custom Tuned Jazz - £50

Scosche IDR655m - £60

Sennheiser MM50iP - £40

Shure SE115M+ - £112

Ultimate Ears SuperFi 5vi - £60

Test One - Ease and comfort

How do they feel and are the controls in easy reach?

The optimal form factor for iPhone-compatible earbuds is a mic on one of the earbud cables, and therefore near the mouth, with the controls placed in easy reach where the lead splits in two, resting on your sternum when in use.

The Radiopaq and Scosche sets do just that, with the Ultimate Ears taking a similar approach but with much lower controls that hang near your navel. The others combine the mic and controls in a single unit. Shure and Sennheiser place it near the ear, which is fine for the mic but less accessible, and Klipsch fits it at the sternum, where this is reversed.

All the buds on test were at least reasonably comfortable, though the Scosches felt like they should go deeper into the ear. Most used rubber flanges for tips, but the Shure and Ultimate Ears sets also offered foam pads for better sound isolation.

Radiopaq's Custom Tuned Jazz earbuds felt a bit heavy, and some users found them difficult to keep in the ear.

Results

Test Two - Audio quality Does the sound quality meet with our expectations?

We found that inline controls can take a toll on sound quality, especially bass reproduction. The Scosche sounded the best, with a crisp, throbbing bottom end that was sorely lacking in some of the others. The Sennheisers had the strongest bass, but it tended to swamp the mix at times, and overall sound detail wasn't as good as the Sosches.

Indeed, the Scosche impressed across the board, with good range and clarity, and impressive detail and shape; a refreshingly lively sound. The Radiopaqs offered a crystal-clear top end, but the bass was so weak we had to switch to the biggest set of tips to stop it leaking. Perhaps surprisingly, the most expensive earbuds we tested had weakest audio performance.

Despite a good mix, the Shures are dull and lifeless. Ultimate Ears put in a good all-round performance without excelling in any particular area, and the Klipsch earbuds were great for definition and clarity, but the bass could be better.

Results

Test Three - Feature set

What other capabilities do the headsets offer?

Three of our earbud sets offer inline volume controls as well as a call receiver and mic, namely the Klipsch, Scosche and Shure units. Unfortunately, iPhone owners can only take advantage of this feature if they have a 3GS model (which is the latest release at the time of writing), though it works on some recent iPods too.

These same three earbud sets also offer VoiceOver compatibility. When listening to a VoiceOvercapable device such as the latest iPod shuffle or nano, you can have the name of the current track and its artist read out to you without interrupting your music. You can even navigate through your playlists from the inline controls.

All six sets of earbuds on test let you skip to the next or previous track using rapid taps on the main control button. The Radiopaq and Scosche earbuds use nylonbraided cables, which are less prone to tangling and very useful if you tend to carry them around in your pocket.

Results

Test Four - Accessories What do you get in the box, and is it worth the money?

The Radiopaq and Sennheiser sets are the least generous with accessories. Both offer three sizes of earbud tips, and nothing else. To be fair, they're also the two least expensive sets on test, but they could have at least thrown in a small carry case.

Talking of carry cases, the other four sets all include one. Shure gives you a zip-lock bag, which is solid and protective but quite bulky. The Klipsch and Scosche sets offer a velvet and sheepskin pouch respectively, and Ultimate Ears comes bundled with a tough plastic capsule to keep your cables from tangling.

The Klipsch, Ultimate Ears and Shure sets come with a handy cleaning tool and Klipsch and Scosche give you a clip to attach the cable to your clothes.

All six earbuds offer a range of tips so you can choose the pair that best suits your ears. And kudos to Ultimate Ears and Shure for giving a choice of foam and rubber tips.

Results

The Winner / Scosche IDR655m

It was a tough decision. No single set of earbuds stood out from the crowd as being without flaws. Scosche's IDR655m earbuds could have felt a touch more comfortable and its accessory range isn't great.

But overall, it's the best of the bunch, with excellently placed mic and controls, a beautifully lively sound and a comprehensive feature set, though you need an iPhone 3GS or a recent iPod to take advantage of some of those features.

The Sennheiser MM50iP set came a close second. Amazon is currently selling them for £40 – very good for a headset of this quality. As long as you don't mind one of the earbud leads being longer than the other so they sit side-saddle under your chin, they offer great value for money.

Overall results

Review: Samsung BD-C8500M Blu-ray player/Freeview HD recorder

There's no facility for 3D Blu-ray playback (for that consider this or Blu-ray recordings, but for anyone looking for an all-in-one solution, the BD-C8500 has little competition save its 250GB-endowed variant, the BD-C8200M, and Panasonic's DMR-XW380 DVD recorder or DMR-BW780/880 Blu-ray recorder.

Fitted with a 500GB hard disk and a single Freeview HD tuner, the BD-C8500 can pause and rewind live TV and record 120 hours of HD programmes.

Samsung's Internet@TV online video platform is also present, as is AllShare DLNA streaming from a PC or Mac on the same home network, playback of DivX HD (MKV) files, compatibility with Dolby TrueHD and DTS Master Audio, and a link to All Media Guide (AMG), which sees any audio CD inserted correctly named (and even ripped to the HDD).

On the rear of the unit is a HDMI output, Ethernet LAN (though the deck also has a Wi-Fi card built-in), RF in and out, component video, composite video, analogue audio out, digital optical audio out and two CAM slots for adding Top-Up TV viewing cards – now that's impressive.

Pictures from any Freeview channel are excellent. Standard definition channels are upscaled very well indeed, producing a clean picture with only a small dose of picture noise and jagged edges to get in the way of an otherwise enjoyable picture. Tune into one of the three Freeview HD channels and the results improve significantly, with recordings made on the hard disk exquisite and identical to the original broadcasts.

Activate the deck's Movie Frame 24Fs mode and Blu-ray playback is smooth and detailed, though this is a noisy machine; it starts-up quickly yet audibly shudders between chapters on a Blu-ray or DVD disc.

DivX HD files – whether played from a DVD-R, CD-R, via a PC using DLNA, or from a USB stick – are excellent, though there is the occasional scanning and jerkiness issue and there were significant lip-sync issue on some trailers we tried.

Although the interface contains moving thumbnails of recordings and video files, they only kick-in after you've viewed the file, which doesn't make much sense.

The EPG works quickly and presents information on all upcoming programmes very clearly, but it completely lacks real-world recording functionality. All you can do is record the programme you're watching, or set it to record for up to six hours (in 10-minute increments).

And armed with just a single Freeview tuner, you can't change channels if you've set something to record; Freeview+ this is not, and those after Freeview+HD should head for something like Digital Stream's DHR8203U.

If you want to inspect recordings, the main menu is where to aim for. Acting as the main interface's hub screen, here there are tabs along the bottom of a brushed aluminium wallpaper design for Recorded TV, Internet@TV, Videos, Music, Photos, Channels and Settings.

Above are dedicated shortcuts to Internet@TV's predefined highlights; Facebook, Picasa, a buggy Rovi TV listings, a slow and almost unusable Google Maps and a basic, unbranded version of YouTube.

Arguably of far more interest than any of these is Lovefilm, though a 'coming this May' message (this unit was reviewed in late July) does not bode well. Other 'apps' include a 'this day in history' bore-fest from the History Channel (where's the on-demand programmes?), a rather smart, if basic, USA Today interface, and a well designed Twitter reader.

Go the home screen and 'change device' and you can access a USB stick, a PC, or a Mac on the same network. From the there it's necessary to choose music, video or photo (can't the machine tell the difference?) before choosing a file.

This machine can play AVC HD, AVI, DivX, DivX HD MKV files, WMV and WMV HD (the latter with no audio), ASF, 3GP, VRO, MP4, MPG and MPEG video files. MP3 files are presented well with a wood effect wallpaper and a list of other music files (including MP3, WMA and ACC), though the first second or so of each track is inaudible. As well as playing a lot of file types, files can be copied between a CD/DVD, USB or a PC connected via DLNA to the HDD, and from the HDD to a USB stick.

Meanwhile, the partially glow-in-the-dark remote has too many dual function commands, though the buttons themselves are pleasingly large.

With such few recording functions, the giant-sized HDD of the BD-C8500M does lend it an air of 'World Cup cash-in' (theoretically all 64 games could have been recorded in HD), though elsewhere this is a generous, versatile and well thought-out machine.

We liked

Fitted with an easy to use interface, this is a versatile deck; as well as integrating well with external media, it seamlessly connects wirelessly to both Internet@TV content and to PCs and Macs on the same network.

With plenty to experiment with and some useful features (such as its twin CAM slots), Samsung hasn't ignored the box's core duties; picture quality impresses from all sources.

We disliked

The BD-C8500 isn't a Freeview+ HD recorder, which is a huge chance missed and severely restricts the usefulness of the HDD. An overly complex, cluttered remote is the price to pay for its multi-platform talents.

Final verdict

Despite its ability to record from Freeview HD, this box's huge HDD will likely be used just as much as a hub for your digital media, though its excellent Wi-Fi connection to both PC and Mac computers – along with its song indexing of CDs it rips to that HDD – means its usefulness is questionable unless you want to rip an entire CD collection.

Essentially a Blu-ray player with a separate Freeview HD tuner alongside, the BD-C8500M seems a way to get the latest tech into a living room in one box rather than the all-in-one HD player-cum-recorder it should be.

If you're after the last word Freeview HD recording, you'd better look elsewhere – or at least consider the smaller hard disk (and price) or the BD-C8200M.

Guide: How to use your iPod or iPhone as a hard drive

Even if you've got an iPhone, iPod touch or iPad, chances are that if you need to take files away with you, a USB stick will be your method of choice. But this needn't be the case – after all, your portable Apple device has a hard drive built into it.

However, using it as simple storage isn't intuitive at all. Anything you transfer to and from the device has to be done through iTunes, or in the case of images, iPhoto or Image Capture.

There's an easy way around this obstacle that doesn't involve jailbreaking. A little app called Phone Disk mounts the device on your desktop, meaning you can use it as you would a memory stick.

It will still appear in iTunes, as it normally would. All you need to do is install the lightweight application on any Mac where you want to use your iPhone, iPod or iPad in this way.

The best thing about Phone Disk is that it's free until 1 September 2010. You'll need to activate it using the registration code that's provided on the developer's website at www.macroplant.com/phonedisk.

Phone Disk unlocks other useful features on your Apple device too. It enables you to access the images you've taken using the built-in camera straight from Finder, meaning you can copy these to your Mac without using iPhoto or Image Capture. The Camera Roll is the only album you can currently access in this way, so albums that you've copied to your iPhone through iTunes or iPhoto are hidden away.

You can also copy images from your Mac to the Camera Roll on the device, to show off when you're out and about. We had some issues copying photos to the iPhone, but this was intermittent, so it may work fine for you.

Also, make sure you eject/unmount your iPhone/iPod before disconnecting it.

How to mount your iPod, iPhone or iPad like a USB drive

01. Note the number

Go to www.macroplant.com/phonedisk and start your download. Make a note of the registration code displayed on the homepage – you'll need to type it in manually later on. Then install Phone Disk. Its yellow icon should appear in your Applications folder.

02. Enter registration code

Double-click PhoneDisk. On the welcome screen, click Enter Registration Code. Now type in the code you wrote down earlier. Remember the dashes, and note that it's case-sensitive. Then click Unlock. You should see a message confirming that registration's been successful.

03. Menu bar icon

Phone Disk will now quit. Fire it up again by double-clicking its icon. If you'd like it to check for updates, click Check Automatically. On the welcome screen, uncheck the Show this menu when Phone Disk starts box and click Close Window. Note the icon in your menu bar.

04. Plug in your device

The icon will be grey if nothing's plugged in, but it'll turn yellow when you connect. Your iPod will appear on the Desktop. Double-click it to have a look inside. A lot of what you'll see shouldn't be touched, because they're files the device uses to work properly.

05. The portable hard drive

To use your iPod, iPhone or iPad as a portable disk, drag files and folders to it as you would with any other drive – just don't meddle with anything that's there already. Removing the device is simply a matter of dragging it to the Trash or pressing Command+Backspace.

06. View your photos

There's a folder on iPhones (but not iPads) called DCIM. Inside it, there's another called 100APPLE, which contains the images taken using the iPhone's camera. You can copy these across to your Mac without needing to use iPhoto or Image Capture.

07. Images from your Mac

Now find some photos on your Mac's hard drive, and copy them into the 100APPLE folder. They'll be renamed so that your device can display them correctly. These will then display in the Camera Roll on your iPhone, from where you can show them off out and about.

08. Launch at startup

To ensure you can always access your iPod, iPhone or iPad like a portable hard drive, set Phone Disk to load automatically when you start up your Mac. Click its icon in your menu bar, choose Preferences… and tick the Open Phone Disk when computer starts box.

Review: OCZ Onyx 32GB

When it comes to affordable SSDs, the latest fashion is towards the tiny. In that context, OCZ's new Onyx 32GB drive is as trendy as they come.

But is it so small that you'd have to be a style victim to buy it? Very probably, yes.

Fully formatted, you're left with 29.7GB of storage. That sounds like a reasonable result for a 32GB drive. At least, it does until you observe how much remains after a full install of Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit. You've left with 15.6GB to play with.

Even as a strictly boot-and-apps drive, that's barely enough to breathe. It's a shame, as by several metrics the Onyx has plenty going for it.

For starters, it's powered by an Indilinx controller. Not the familiar, well-regarded Barefoot, but rather the new Amigos controller designed for smaller, cheaper drives.

Thanks to the Amigos, the Onyx not only supports TRIM, but also cranks out reasonable results in the toughest of our synthetic performance tests – the 4K random read and write benchmarks, where it scores 16MB/s and 6MB/s respectively.

Squeaking ahead

The Onyx doesn't exactly blow the competition away in the realworld performance tests, but it does at least have the edge on its closest competitors, Kingston's 30GB SSDNow V Series and Intel's X25-V.

Ultimately, however, there's no getting away from storage capacity and the Onyx's lack thereof. Use this drive to boot your PC and you'll be constantly running out of space.

So, do yourself a favour and save up for something no smaller than Corsair's £150 Nova V64 64GB.

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Review: Sony Ericsson Zylo

Though Sony Ericsson has recently taken care of the more serious phone users with the Xperia X10, the X10 Mini, the X10 Mini Pro and the Vivaz Pro, those looking for a mid-range feature have been left out for a while.

In particular, there was obviously space for a media-capable feature phone, because that's what we've been delivered in the shape of the Sony Ericsson Zylo.

It's been a while since the Sony Ericsson Aino last brought media to the masses, and though the Zylo doesn't have all the fancy PS3 connectivity that made the Aino so unusual, it still has digital playback at its core.

This slider features support for numerous audio and video formats, including FLAC for high-quality playback. There's also social network integration built into the Home screen, so it's clear that the Zylo is being aimed at the digital hipster market.

The 2.6-inch Walkman phone features YouTube integration, a 3.2-megapixel camera and Sony's PlayNow download service. HSPA 3G mobile internet is present, though there's no Wi-Fi connectivity.

With the Walkman branding and lossless music playback, some have even been considering whether the Zylo could be the audiophile's dream phone.

A slightly more unusual audio feature is the ability to play songs in the background while on the phone. The intention here is so you can share your songs with your friends.

This seems like an awfully quaint way of trying to avoid people swapping music files – particularly when the phone features MMS, Bluetooth, email and mass storage capabilities via its miscroSD card slot.

More amusingly, the Zylo comes preloaded with 'sounds' that can be played in the background of calls instead of music, including ambient office noises and car sounds, should you ever need to pretend to be at work still, or or broken down by the side of the road.

Because Google Maps (with Latitude) and camera geotagging is supported, you might be led to believe that GPS in onboard, but you would look a fool. All location services rely on mobile triangulation alone.

With a built-in email client and revamped threaded SMS view, its clear that no one is being forgotten for features.

The Zylo is available in silver, black and pink, and sells from around £90 on Pay As You Go

Aesthetically, the Zylo is nothing unusual for Sony Ericsson. Our review unit came in a somewhat plain silver with blue highlights. The exact name of the finish is 'Chacha silver', but somehow this didn't make us feel any more excited about it.

Certainly, it's not ugly in any way, but that matt silver fascia and familiar button layout will give a lot of previous Sony Ericsson users a sense of déja vu.

The Zylo is thickest at the back, where you hold it in your palm. The sides then narrow as they get to the front, but it's a bit of a pointy and awkward shape. The rear face is slightly curved, but it makes little difference.

The phone is pretty chunky at 103 x 52 x 11.5mm, and it's easy to hold onto, but it definitely doesn't qualify as ergonomic, isn't particularly light at 115g.

When closed, the front of the phone is dominated by the 2.6-inch QVGA (240 x 320) screen. It's a lovely, vibrant screen with really appealing colours – not that we'd expect anything else from Sony.

Beneath the obligatory Walkman logo, we find two softkeys, a circular D-pad with a select/play/pause button in the centre. Left of that is the Call button, with the Terminate button on the right doubling up as the on/off switch.

At the bottom is a Cancel button for quick deletion, and a multi-function shortcut key, which is most useful for bringing up apps that are running in the background.

Sliding up, which has a nice firm motion, to reveal the keypad. It's nothing exotic – each key gives a terse little click, and is raised in the middle to aid touch-typing.

The shiny rim on the right edge of the Zylo houses a volume rocker and a button that doubles a shortcut to launch the Walkman app (it has the little 'W' logo on it) and as the camera shutter. These are both unnecessarily small.

They're not unusable by any means, but we see no reason they couldn't have been a little more finger-friendly.

Adorning the right edge of the phone is yet another Walkman logo and the lone, proprietary connector port for charging and connecting the supplied headphones. There's no 3.5mm jack here, so you're stuck with those in the box or you can buy another Sony Ericsson pair. We'll come back to that fact later.

The rear features the lens for the 3.2-megapixel camera, along with – yes – one more Walkman logo (seriously, it's like calling on a Formula 1 car).

Pop this back case off for access to the battery, SIM card slot and microSD card slot, with up to 16GB supported.

In the box, you get the Zylo, a mains charger and some earbud headphones. There's no USB cable supplied and no microSD card, so you initially have to make do with the 260MB of built-in memory. See the 'Media' section for more of our thoughts on Sony Ericsson's decision-making here.

The interface is a kind of progression of the Sony Ericsson phones you've previously come to know and love/replace (delete as applicable).

The most obvious change from older phones is the handy widgets on the Home screen. We think Facebook and Twitter are the only two likely to be used by 90 per cent of people, but there are others to explore.

On the Home screen are softkey links to the Media app and to a kind of web search widget, which is a nice touch. The D-pad offers shortcuts to writing a new message (by pressing left) and Contacts (by pressing down).

Pressing right is unassigned, so you can choose your pleasure. Pressing up takes you to interact with the widgets.

Hit the central select key to bring up the main menu, which features all the usual culprits – access to Messaging, Entertainment, Camera, Contacts and so on. Access to the Radio app is here, and not in the Media app, for some reason.

You can choose a few different themes, which change the style of icons as well as the background. You can also switch the menu from a grid view to rotating 3D view and other things that really aren't as practical.

Tapping the Shortcut key on the fascia brings up your configurable Shortcut list by default, unless you have apps running in the background (like the radio or your music), in which case it defaults to those.

Your recent events (messages, calls) can also be accessed from here, as can some internet functions, like Google search and your bookmarks.

There's not much in the way of revolution here, but it's easy to forget what a simple and effective system it is.

The last big interface addition is an accelerometer for viewing certain apps in landscape mode. It's a pretty fancy feature to have on a phone this price, and it does come across as shoehorned in, to be honest.

It doesn't work with all apps – only really those that can work mostly with the phone closed and just the fascia keys; the keypad doesn't rotate, after all.

There's nothing in the way of animation when you rotate, the app just appears the other way round. At first, it was really laggy, and we were ready to write it off. But it actually got quicker the more we used the phone, bizarrely.

The only apps it's really significant in are the browser, the Media app and YouTube, but it only really has any effect on the latter. It's nice being able to choose to view the video fullscreen in landscape, or have it smaller with other info on the page in portrait.

Don't get us wrong, we've no complaints about its inclusion, and hopefully Sony Ericsson will make more use of it as a feature in future phones, we just didn't feel the need to use it in the browser or Media app.

Sony Ericsson veterans will find the Zylo reassuringly familiar when it come to the contacts list.

You can access the contacts from either the main menu or by pressing down on the circular D-pad from the Home screen.

Despite the social networking widgets, there's no Facebook or Twitter (or anything else) integration in your actual contacts. When you add or edit a contact, the different information fields are presented in a handy tabbed format.

The first tab is phone numbers, with internet presence (email, website), address, settings (such as ringtone and picture) and a tab where you can add information like birthdays.

When viewing your contacts, you see the phone number of each person as you scroll to them, and you can then press left or right on the D-pad to access different contact information.

Hit the central select button to see all of their information, with the select button then becoming context sensitive for whichever contact method you've scrolled to – so when on a phone number it becomes 'Send Message'; when on an email address is becomes 'Send To'.

At no point does the central button feature the option to 'Call' – you can't just click through using the middle button to ring someone. You have to get to the number and then hit the Call button on the left of the fascia. It's not a problem, but it can be a bit counter-intuitive if you're new to Sony Ericsson's layout.

Call quality was disappointingly average. We weren't struggling to understand people or anything, but it didn't take much to drown people out. Voices weren't too distorted, but they simply lacked the high level of clarity we've come to expect from this type of phone.

We'd put the call quality about on par with the iPhone 3GS – an adequate communicator, but nothing impressive.

There is one silly little niggle: sliding the phone closed doesn't end your call. Come on, surely this is half the reason to own a slider – the satisfaction of shutting it it forcefully while slipping it back in your pocket.

As it is, you have to press the Terminate button. Don't forget that, in case you end up accidentally talking to someone's answer machine…

Again, Sony Ericsson has very firmly declined to reinvent the wheel, though we do see a little more invention and social networking coming into play.

Accessing the Messaging menu from the main menu produces the typical options for Write New, Conversations, Facebook, Messages, Email and Call Voicemail.

Conversations is a threaded view for your SMS chats. It's not as polished as some – the speech bubbles back and forth are told apart only by the direction of the points and that they're slightly different shades of blue – but works well enough to be our interface of choice for SMS.

The Facebook option simply takes you to the Messages tab in the standalone Facebook app. It's a somewhat handy shortcut, although we often struggled to get that tab to load.

There's no email notifications on the Home screen, like the ones you get on the Nokia C5, but setting up your email inbox literally couldn't be easier. Simply access the email wizard and, for many services (including Gmail), just type in your name, email address and password.

In 30 seconds, our messages were downloading and we were away. No elaborate setup screens, no online troubleshooting – just as email on a phone should be. Kudos, Sony Ericsson.

By default, there's no shortcut to your email, but pressing right from the Home screen is an unattached shortcut. Accessing it takes you to the main menu, where you can navigate and add whatever you like as the shortcut destination.

We promptly added our email inbox as the spare shortcut, bringing the phone right up to what to what we expect from an internet-connected device these days.

The email inbox isn't fancy, but it works well for the phone layout. New messages appear with a slightly bolder subject line, which isn't the easiest to pick out from the others but does the job.

You can arrange the messages in different orders, use the email addresses in various ways – all the usual email features. The software will pick out phone numbers, email addresses and web links from emails to offer you context-options for what to do with them.

As far as writing the actual messages go, the T9 layout suffices for short messages, but you won't be a power emailer. The keys on the numberpad have a nice click giving you feedback when you hit them, but we struggled with it.

The keys aren't very large, and we have man thumbs. Not giant, fat man thumbs, just normal-sized, but we still found ourselves mashing two buttons at once pretty often.

It's not even close to being a deal-breaker for messaging, but be warned if you're equally man-handed.

The Sony Ericsson Zylo is equipped with the standard NetFront browser for internet access. With 3G access but no Wi-Fi, the basic internet signal is fast enough, but not blazing.

When you first load the browser app, you're presented with a nice Sony Ericsson Green introduction screen, where you can choose to search via Google, enter a web address or use a pre-loaded bookmark.

If you use one of the two text boxes, previously entered addresses and searches will pop up, so you don't need to be in the Google box to access terms you've searched for before, for example. It's a good little timesaver.

The actual browser seems to be quick enough at loading and handling web pages, but tends to be a bit of a car crash when it comes to formatting. If you've ever wondered what TechRadar would be like if it were two inches wide and half a mile long, look no further.

Mobile sites are handled better, but still look a little off, and if they should accidentally lead you to the full version of the site at any point, then you'll be right back to scrollsville.

We tried to zoom out to see if that helped, but were told it wasn't possible with Smart-Fit turned on.
"But surely Smart-Fit is designed to help you avoid these formatting woes," you're no doubt thinking. We thought the same thing. Then we turned it off and suddenly everything worked so much better.

Formatting was still a little wonky, but at least things were in roughly the right order.

The internet widgets on the Home screen are fairly useful, with the Twitter and Facebook widgets both featuring a clever design that makes the most of their respective raison d'être.

The Facebook widget shows status updates from your friends, with profile pictures rotating round in a carousel as the updates roll in.

Twitter is simpler affair, showing one tweet at a time with the Twitterer's avatar. When we reviewed the Samsung Monte, we were unhappy that you couldn't see all of a tweet at one time.

The Zylo's widget is exactly what we would hope for in a Twitter tool. That it's on a feature phone, rather than a smartphone, is pretty good.

In both cases, selecting the widget and pressing the central select button will bring up an option to write your own status update/tweet, and the Facebook widget also then features a button to take you to your new notifications in the main app.

The Sony Ericsson Zylo's camera appears modest right from the outset. The 3.2-megapixel sensor is a big step back in terms of pixel count from the likes of Satio, or even the Aino.

However, the iPhone 4 has reminded everyone that it's more than just number of dots that makes a good phone camera, so we were still hopeful of some fine images from the Zylo.

There are a few options when taking pictures, like Panorama and Burst modes, not scene modes (like portrait, landscape, sports and so on), save for the solitary Night mode.

The white balance and metering can be adjusted, though we doubt you'll ever touch them, really. You can also add a few effects (Black & White, Negative and Sepia).

Video recording is available, along with the ability to upload to YouTube easily from the phone.

Video is output at 640 x 480 and 30 frames per second, and you have the option of recording in MPEG4 for PC playback, or lower quality for sending over MMS.

(Click here for full-res version)

LANDSCAPE: There's no detail in the trees, no detail in the grass and the greens are all washed out. Not an auspicious start

(Click here for full-res version)

NO DETAIL: This young bird was fluffy. Its wings had lots of texture. That's all gone

(Click here for full-res version)

CLOSE-UP: When it comes to the flower in the mid-ground, they're actually fairly sharp and colourful. Sadly, we were trying to take a picture of the big blurry one at the front

(Click here for full-res version)

COLOUR: You can barely see where one flower ends an another begins. In any case, even these colours are a bit flat – none of the vibrancy the real display had

Ultimately, we were very unimpressed with the camera's output. The video quality doesn't really acquit itself any better.

Very little in this scene has any definition, including the grass and trees. The 30fps recording gets the cyclists' motion fairly smoothly, but they all have a fuzzy trail of artefacts just behind them, which is a sign of the compression in the codec just not being able to keep with the movement.

It also seems to struggle to pick up much light. Any significant amount of shade causes all information to disappear, leaving just a murky blackness where there really should be some sort of detail.

Similarly, though it was overcast when we took the video, it wasn't as grey as the washed-out colours in the video might lead you to believe.

Proving that media is central to the Sony Ericsson Zylo, there's a softkey to the Media app from the Home screen. It brings up a scrolling interface that has clearly taken its cues from Sony's XMB, but doesn't use it outright, like the Aino.

From here, you can access photos, music, videos, games and even web feeds via RSS (which can be added from the browser). Each of them reveals more options when you go in, tying together some of the other apps on the phone.

For example, the photos menu includes options to browse your stored albums, as well as a link to the Photos tab in the Facebook app. The videos menu offers your stored videos as well as a link to the YouTube app.

All of the media playing options include a link to the PlayNow service, in case you're desperate to spend some money on new content.

Oddly, the music menu doesn't include a link to the TrackID song identification app. Seems like an obvious addition to us, but there you go.

For a handset that's focussed so heavily on media playback, we're just astonished at some of the short-sighted decisions made in the Sony Ericsson Zylo.

It really comes down to the phone's unique selling point: FLAC support, or the half-baked introduction of it, anyway.

FLAC stands for Free Lossless Audio Codec. It's an open source audio format capable of extremely high-quality sound reproduction.

Let's be clear: we're totally behind the introduction of higher-quality audio on mobiles in general, and that goes double when it's a phone with the Walkman brand behind it.

But you have to do it right. Lossless audio carries different requirements than what you usually stick in iTunes, but nobody seems to have told Sony Ericsson.

Lossless files tend to be at least ten times larger than their lossy version – we could be talking up to 100MB per song. This is fine – the phone supports microSD cards up to 16GB, so you can still fit a few albums on there. Except, of course, that none is supplied.

Okay, yes, in a mid-range handset we have no divine right to a large amount memory, but if you're going to make a big deal of playing lossless audio, it would be polite to include enough memory to hold more than two songs.

Which brings us neatly on to the lack of USB cable. Without this, how does Sony Ericsson expect us to get the songs onto the phone? Bluetooth? We tried that – it works, but it takes 10 minutes. Per song.

Maybe when we go out to buy our microSD cards, we're also expected to pick a card reader. Okay, fine – then don't hide the microSD card under the battery cover! Make it easy to get to, if we're supposed to have it in and out whenever we want to add songs.

Last in this rant is the proprietary headphone connector (and the supplied model), which is the most inexplicable part of it all.

"Best sound quality ever on a mobile phone" is what Sony Ericsson says about the inclusion of FLAC. We're inclined to believe them, but who could ever tell using the cheapo bundled earphones?

They're not the worst around, but without a 3.5mm jack, we're stuck with them, rather than much higher-quality cans for the higher-quality music we're playing.

Fortunately, we at TechRadar have a magical drawer full of every cable known to man. It's like the Room of Requirement in Harry Potter, provided your only requirements are obscure gadget connectors and strong Portuguese liquor.

From it, we fished out an adapter we had handy from an old Sony Ericsson Walkman phone that enabled you to plug 3.5mm headphones/speakers into the proprietary port. Just the sort of thing it might be nice to bundle in with your new phone that features super high-quality audio, eh?

Unfortunately, it turned out that our troubles with testing the quality of audio playback weren't finished yet. We loaded on our first FLAC tester song and hit play. We got only an error message.

This was a song converted from an Apple Lossless codec file, and it clocked in at 90MB. We figured that might be asking too much of the Zylo, so we instead ripped a CD with the FLAC settings set to make it the smallest file possible.

This time, we were getting 30-40MB per song, and these worked just fine. We then loaded on MP3 versions of the exact same songs, which were all 3-4MB each.

Honestly? Underwhelming. We think the FLAC file had slightly more clarity to both the bass and vocals, but in most songs we couldn't tell the difference.

We actually tried a blind listening test, and we really didn't know which was which, generally (we got some right, but then we did have a 50/50 chance). That didn't really change when used our special adapter to hook up to a nice set of speakers.

Audiophiles even more serious than us may pick out points that make it worthwhile for them, but for everyone else, we'd suggest that this isn't going to revolutionise the way you listen to music on your phone.

Our guess is that Sony Ericsson haven't improved on the audio decoding chip in any way, leaving high quality music to be squished and downgraded on its way out the earphone socket.

For most people, we think the ability to carry ten times as many songs is going to have more value than an almost imperceptible increase in audio quality.

The music player is okay to use, but we weren't blown away by it. Browsing your songs is easy enough, and you can access settings like the equaliser on the fly.

It worked, and is fairly intuitive, but it sets no new standards for music players on phones. Aside from FLAC, it also support MP3, AAC and WAV files.

The YouTube app is similarly easy to use. It's not great if you just want to hang out among the videos and watch nothing in particular – though there are options for Most Viewed, Top Rated and Most Recent – but if you're looking for something specific, you won't be disappointed.

You can send your own videos to YouTube straight from the video media menu. In both this case, and watching videos generally, the lack of Wi-Fi can be a bit of an issue.

Unless you've got very consistent 3G signal, you could find videos stuttering. Similarly, uploading videos has the potential to be a nightmare unless you're confident you've got a strong, steady 3G connection.

Video quality is boosted by the screen's lovely colours, but videos with any significant movement suffered from an awful lot of motion blur. Fine for the occasional YouTube jaunt, but this is definitely not a movie-watcher's phone.

You can load and watch movies in MPEG4, H.263 and H.264 formats.

The Radio app requires the included headphones to work, as is the norm. Hook them up and you can either scroll through the frequencies yourself, type in a specific frequency or use the 'Search' function.

At first, we thought the search didn't work because nothing happened for a few seconds, then it suddenly skipped forward and settled on a signal. Basically, it doesn't actually register that you've pressed the button, or tell you that it's searching, until it finds something.

It's fine once you realise that's how it works, but a little bit of UI feedback wouldn't go amiss. The clarity of the radio was good enough for a little bop along, but was no substitute for the built-in music player.

The TrackID function for identifying playing music and taking you to buy it, is built-in to the Radio app, so there's no more waiting for the DJ to tell you what song was. In theory.

In practice, it identified nothing for us. Even with the clearest radio signal we could find, we got total rejection.

We were very impressed with the general battery life of the Sony Ericsson Zylo. With fairly standard use, you could expect to get four days out of a single charge of the 1150mAh battery.

Start seriously Facebooking and YouTubing, and you can knock that down quite significantly, though. In fact, one of the potential problems we found with the phone is that it's awfully easy to accidentally leave it doing stuff over 3G without realising it.

There were times we picked it up after it had been asleep for a while, to find the browser running, with the status indicator ticking over, obviously trying to pick some sliver of HTML that would never arrive.

Not only is this crippling for battery life, it could be devastating to your phone bill, too. If you get the Zylo, do make sure you get a generous internet package.

Connectivity

As far as specs go, the Zylo is fairly ordinary. Bluetooth is present and handy for file transfers, and the proprietary port is capable of USB 2.0 connectivity. As we said, there's no USB cable provided, though.

Underneath the battery cover is the microSD card slot, which is also not supplied. Cards up to 16GB are supported.

The lack of Wi-Fi is always a shame in internet and media-focussed devices, but we can't grumble at this price. The 3G connectivity was generally fine for whatever we wanted to do but, as always with mobile broadband, your mileage may vary wildly.

Speaking of varying wildly, one foible we found with the Zylo was the signal bars. While we have no iPhone 4-style sudden drop to announce, we occasionally found they seemed to bear no particular relation to the actual signal available.

Sometimes the Zylo reported almost no signal or internet connection, but was actually fine when we opened the browser or Twitter widget. Once or twice, we found that it reported strong signal, but we struggled to get online, but that scenario happened far less.

We don't see it a major problem (it never really interfered with our use of the phone), but it struck us as an odd quirk.

Apps

The Sony Ericsson Zylo doesn't come with a huge volume of apps pre-loaded, but it does feature access to Sony' PlayNow service, which offers games, apps, music ringtones themes and more. Some you need to play for, some are free – it's all pretty standard for this kind of mid-range service.

When we were first browsing through the media menu, we noticed an apparently well-stocked games section, including Bejeweled Twist, but they all turned out to be demos, sadly.

We think Sony Ericsson's missed a trick here – a bunch of free games along with the Walkman functionality and YouTube integration would've made this phone a real media powerhouse.

The apps you'll use most often are likely to be YouTube and Facebook. We've already covered the former, so let's talk Facebook. You can access the app either from the Applications folder in the main menu, the Facebook option in the Messaging menu, or via the Home screen widget.

The widget is great, and it's not the only one. The Twitter widget is very nice, though it doesn't lead through to a dedicated app (not that you need one, really). Widgets are also available for MySpace, Song Genie and Walk Mate (which counts your steps, presumably using the built-in accelerometer).

It's great to be able to just flick between your different online presences so neatly on a phone this size. We were mightily impressed with their functionality.

Going into the Facebook app, you see tabs for News, Wall, Friends, Photos, Notifications and Messages. Going between them is pretty laggy, and the information can take a while to load, but it's all functional and works as you'd hope.

However, for all our polite golf-clapping over how well it works, the Zylo's Facebook app managed to royally anger us. In case you can't see what it say in our Facebook screenshot, our last status update was "Matthew Bolton used Facebook for Sony Ericsson on a W20i phone for the first time."

We didn't write that. That's not cool. In a time when Facebook is getting enough of an eyeballing over privacy concerns, either Sony Ericsson or Facebook has decided to share a piece of information about our life that we had no intention of telling anyone.

It might not seem like a big deal, and we concede that the information itself isn't that important – but that's our decision to make. We thought this sort of practice disappeared years ago.

Google Maps is available, with Latitude support, but, as we said before, there's no GPS, so accuracy is not its strongest suit. Most of the expected features are here though, and getting directions is spectacularly easy to sort out. It's shame we were rarely where the software thought we were.

To be fair, given enough time it can get quite close, but then tends to suddenly change its mind by a few hundred metres. Useful for reference, but no substitute for a proper GPS system.

There also a weather app, Music Quiz (using your music library), NeoReader for reading QR codes and Checkbook for recording expenses and so on. These are in addition to the usual suspects of Calendar, Tasks, Notes, Alarms, Stopwatch and Calculator.

These utilities are all somewhat cursory, but are easy enough to use. The calendar suffers from the same issue as the email inbox, where days with events on are bolded slightly to differentiate them. That just about worked for the email, but saunters into being obtuse when it comes to the calendar's smaller writing.

Oddly, the option to make a video call is tucked away down with these apps. With no front-facing camera, it's probably fair for it to be afterthought. Hey, we were surprised to find it at all.

Considering that the unique selling point of the Sony Ericsson Zylo is the FLAC music playback, you'd be forgiven for thinking that's the ultimate decider in how we view this phone.

That's not the case, though. With its handy social networking widgets, media focus and nice messaging features, it's a reminder of what a flexible operating system Sony Ericsson has on these phones.

We liked

The vibrant screen is lovely to use everyday, even it does struggle with video. Apps are presented brightly and text is clear.

Email was ridiculously easy to set up, and we like the new Conversation option for viewing messages.

More than anything, this is just an easy phone to use. Good media functions, background apps and the excellent widgets make this a phone that's great to live with in the online age.

We're also in support of the introduction of support for lossless music codecs, even if this implementation is clumsy.

We disliked

Well, you can maybe guess where this starts off. Proprietary headphone connector, no USB cable, no microSD card… we could forgive these sins if large music files weren't the marquee feature for the Zylo.

All that, and we were disappointed with the final sound quality anyway. It just feels like such a wasted opportunity.

The camera was also a low point of the phone. We just couldn't manage to take a single good photo. The 30fps VGA video sounds like it would have promise, but it just failed to pick up enough detail.

Verdict

When we first started exploring the Sony Ericsson Zylo, and realised the massive shortcomings of its FLAC support, we were expecting the theme of this review to be 'scathing'.

Ultimately, that's not the case. Disappointing though the lossless music situation may be, it still plays music – a whole bunch of audio file types, actually. It works, even if it wasn't thought through properly.

The rest of the phone is solid, and easy to use. The social networking widgets are excellent. We still say it's a little uncomfortable to use for a while, but you get used to its shape.

Most of all, the raft of features packed in here is hard to fault for the price. Anyone looking for a hardy internet and media-focussed phone will do well with the Zylo.

Audiophiles – we're afraid this isn't the phone you're looking for. Move along.

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Catch up: this week's most popular posts

This week saw Samsung take a swipe at the iPhone 4's reception problems with a new ad for the Galaxy S while Microsoft defended the price of Kinect – which some have been criticising as high.

We also posted our wishlist of 10 things Google should change for Android 3.0, and also in the Android world, HTC confirmed that the 2.2 Froyo upgrade is being rolled out to Desire owners.

Hot reviews included Motorola Milestone XT720, the Samsung Galaxy Apollo and our hands-on with the Apple Magic Trackpad.

Read on for this week's most popular stories on TechRadar…

Top five news stories

Samsung Galaxy S advert pokes fun at iPhone

The latest Samsung Galaxy S ad has taken a less than subtle, but very amusing, swipe at the Apple iPhone.

The advert for Samsung's well-received new smartphone features bars of network characters making up the Ls in the world Hello.

Microsoft defends Kinect pricing

Microsoft's Brett Siddons believes that Kinect for the Xbox 360 is very competitively priced, pointing out that you only need to buy one thing to get the complete experience.

Brits say no to paid-for web content

A major survey by KPMG has found that 81 per cent of UK web users would opt to go somewhere else rather than pay for content on the internet.

Firefox and Chrome are playing catch-up, says Internet Explorer team

If the impressive performance of the IE9 Platform Preview is down to hardware acceleration, how will IE compete with Firefox 4, which is already in beta and has its own GPU acceleration?

Quite happily, thanks, says Rob Mauceri, group program manager for IE, pointing out that the hardware acceleration in IE9 is a lot more comprehensive.

HTC Desire Android 2.2 update coming this weekend

HTC has just sent us a statement - Android 2.2 is coming to the HTC Desire from this weekend. Though don't get super-excited just yet - if you've got an operator-locked handset, you won't be getting it straight away.

Top five in-depth articles

Android 3.0: 10 things Google should change

The only phone currently running a non-hacked version of Google's latest OS incarnation is the Nexus One, with all the other Google-powered smartphone users of the world still anxiously scrolling up and down the 'About Phone' page waiting for an over-the-air upgrade to arrive.

But that won't stop us getting excited about Android 3.0, which Google is referring to as "Gingerbread". It's believed that the Android 3.0 release date will be in time for this year's autumn/winter smartphone collection.

Top 20 best free games you should play today

You need to break out your wallet if you want the latest big AAA shooter, but the free route is becoming increasingly interesting. Many older games are now opening out in search of a wider audience, and more and more companies are finding ways to profit from free releases.

For indie developers, it's the perfect way to make a name for themselves, either just for the glory or to build an audience for future games.

Hands on: BBC News app review

The Beeb has announced the free BBC News app for iPhone and iPad.

Those on other platforms shouldn't despair though - because of the corporation's commitment to universality, we suspect development for other platforms isn't far behind. Indeed, the BBC has confirmed that BlackBerry and Android applications are coming later in the year

100 best ever free PC system tools

There's a tool for just about anything you can think of in Windows. And if you look hard enough, you'll find a freebie is more than capable of doing the job you want – in some cases, free tools outclass their shareware or commercial rivals.

The trick is knowing what's out there and where to find it, which is where we come in. We've done the hard work for you, trawling the web for hundreds of free Windows tools and selecting the finest 100.

Android 2.2 release date: when will you get it?

If you're waiting impatiently for the Android 2.2 update to arrive on your mobile, then check this story, because we're keeping it up to date with all the latest Android 2.2 release dates.

Top five reviews

Motorola Milestone XT720 review

The Motorola Milestone XT720 is a versatile smartphone that puts Motorola right back at the top of the tree as far as features are concerned.

Samsung Galaxy Apollo review

The resurgent Samsung, fresh from the global success of its Galaxy S, is now scaling down its touchscreen ambitions for those who can't afford to top smartphones

Gigabyte X58A-UD3R Rev.2 review

Intel's LGA1366 socket is the highest performing PC platform, period. With boards costing over £200, it's also pretty pricey. But the recently revised Gigabyte X58A-UD3R is a bit of a bargain at just £159.

Hands on: Magic Trackpad review

The surface of the Magic Trackpad is glass, just like the MacBook Pro trackpad - but the surface area is 80 per cent larger than the trackpad on a MacBook Pro .

Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB SATA 6Gbps review

For ultimate performance, SSDs rule. But WD's Caviar Black combines huge capacity with reasonable performance at a very attractive price point.

Also reviewed this week:

Octava HDSA715 review

Pioneer VSX-920 review

Denon Cara S-5BD review

Asus K70IO-TY014V review

Lenovo ThinkPad Edge (Core i5 430M) review

Mesh Discovery Slim 15.6 review

Dell Inspiron 17R review

HP EliteBook 8440p review

Sony VAIO VPC-F12M0E/B review

Toshiba Satellite P500-1DZ review

Toshiba Portege R700 review

Eminent iTRIO EM7100 review

Crucial Ballistix DDR3 1600MHz 4GB review

ZTE F930 review

Samsung Galaxy Apollo i5800 review

Motorola Milestone XT720 review

Sapphire Pure Mini 785G review

Netgear ReadyNAS NVX Pioneer Edition review

Killer 2100 NIC review

JVC DLA-HD990 review

Microsoft Windows Live Sync review

Microsoft Windows Live Photo Gallery review

Microsoft Windows Live Mail review

Microsoft Windows Live Messenger review

Apple Safari 5 review

Quora review

Q Acoustics 2000 Series 5.1 review

Crystal Audio TX-T2-12 review

JooJoo review

Compro VideoMate S800F review

Sony Bravia KDL-40HX803 review

Samsung Windows Phone 7 phone outed as Cetus

Samsung is on a good run with phones at the moment and this is all down to the Android-toting Galaxy S.

The company will be hoping this form continues with its latest handset which has sneaked on to the web. It's packing Windows Phone 7, and it has been named Cetus.

Unless you are no au fait with the stars, Cetus is a constellation in the sky. It's also a Greek sea monster, but given that Samsung has some weird obsession with space we think it's named after the former.

Samsung specs

The handset has a 4-inch OLED screen, 5MP camera, front facing camera, GPS, Bluetooth and all the other gubbins you have come to expect from a smartphone.

There's not much word on what else we are to expect on the phone – other that it will probably be given the SGH-i917 tag in America. And as this is a leak, there is no UK release date or pricing available for the Samsung Cetus.

In Depth: 20 best laptops in the world today

Our continually updated list of all the best laptops available today.

Choosing which laptop is the best for you can be a tricky business, and the amount of choice can be overwhelming.

There's no shortage of cheap laptops out there to choose from, but with new models bring released and almost immediately replaced by manufacturers, the choice is no easy task.

The lure of netbooks and the rise of the mini laptop are also huge factors for those looking for a new notebook, but each has their downsides.

• 15 best netbooks in the world today

That's why we've proured over our huge database of laptop reviews and picked out the best notebooks money can buy. We've picked out five of the best cheap laptop computers in each of four categories - the sub £400 and sub £600 price ranges as well gaming laptops and lightweight notebooks.

We've also picked out the most important information from each laptop review to help you choose at a glance - just click through to the main review to read more.

Think about your needs and your most important factor, be it laptop battery life, and the features which aren't worth spending money on. The most important part is to be honest about what you need, and you could save a fortune on getting the best laptop for you.

Acer Aspire 1410-74G25n - £299

Acer's Aspire laptops represent the company's consumer range, and the Aspire 1410-74G25n is a CULV (Consumer Ultra Low Voltage) laptop that offers fantastic value for money.

Performance isn't this laptop's strong point, but it isn't meant to be – the laptop offers superb portability instead. At only 1.4kg, it's a pleasure to carry around. The small form factor makes it very easy to fit into almost any bag, but if you're after th slimmest machine possible, go for the Elonex Sliver instead.

The Aspire 1410-74G25n is put together well, and will provide good durability on the road. The shiny screen lid does quickly attract fingerprints and grime, but the mock brushed-aluminium palmrest inside doesn't, and looks and feels great.

The keyboard is very firm, but is also flat and therefore easy to get lost on when typing at speed. Unfortunately, the proximity of the touchpad to the keyboard makes it all too easy to brush against it while typing, causing irritating and erratic cursor behaviour.

The Aspire 1410-74G25n has the latest 802.11n high-speed wireless networking technology – making it well suited to connecting to a router or hotspot at home or in a cafe – and it's also the only laptop here to boast both VGA and HDMI out ports, offering good flexibility when connecting to external analogue and digital monitors.

The Acer Aspire 1410-74G25n sets a very high bar for the other laptops on test, and the excellent battery life will be a clincher for many buyers.

Read our full Acer Aspire 1410 review

Advent Modena - £339

Advent is PC World's in-house brand and comprises a range of affordable entry-level machines and the Advent Modena is a usable option for the first-time buyer and includes a bright and vibrant screen, but performance is poor.

The slim chassis carries the same basic design scheme we've come to expect from the Advent range, but its patterned glossy lid and matt-plastic interior create a nice contrast.

The plain black design is a little uninspiring, but doesn't detract too much from the sleek consumer styling.

At 2.5kg, the Advent Modena is easy to use around the home or on shorter journeys. With a depth of just 33mm, it slips easily into a carry case, so it's disappointing that the battery runs for just over two hours .

Surprisingly at such a low-price, high-speed wireless connectivity is provided by 802.11n Wi-Fi. An integrated camera is also in place, fitted above the screen, and lets you capture snapshots and even record video for easy online video messaging use.

Offering good usability, a great screen and ample storage at such a low price, the Advent Modena is sure to please first time buyers looking for an affordable and portable bargain.

Read our full Advent Modena review

Lenovo ThinkPad X100e - £355

Lenovo's ThinkPad range is known for offering arguably the best business laptops you can buy, but prices have traditionally been quite high. The ThinkPad X100e remedies this and brings effortlessly high-class corporate usability to the entry-level market.

The first thing you notice is how small the Lenovo ThinkPad X100e is. Weighing just 1.5kg, it easily fits into even the smallest luggage for regular travel use. The 226-minute battery life is bettered by the eMachines G525-902G16Mi but provides basic mobility.

Despite the low price, none of Lenovo's famed build quality has been lost. The matt plastics and rigid chassis provide ample resilience and will easily withstand the knocks of life on the move, while the plain black design is sleek and stylish.

ThinkPad keyboards are rarely bettered and the Lenovo ThinkPad X100e is no exception. Unusually for Lenovo it uses the isolated-key style – with each key cut through a hole in the chassis. The board is also spill-resistant and is both spacious and responsive, making it by far one of the best at this price point.

While its mixed levels of power and small size make it more akin to a netbook than a laptop, there's no denying the sheer quality of the ThinkPad X100e. By offering the key strengths of more expensive machines at a cheaper price, this is a truly great ultraportable for the price.

Read our full Lenovo ThinkPad X100e review

eMachines G525-902G16Mi - £397

While eMachines is not the best-known brand, it provides a good range of entry-level laptops ideal for those on a budget.The eMachines G525-902G16Miis a highly likeable big screen laptop, but is unfortunately flawed by limited power and features.

With its striking 17.3-inch screen, this is a great choice for viewing movies and photos. As well as its size, the screen on the eMachines G525-902G16Mi is far brighter and more vibrant than its rivals, making it comfortable to view in all conditions. We found the Super-TFT coating inevitably reflective, however.

Disappointingly, graphics performance is very low, with only the most basic multimedia use possible. The integrated Intel graphics card quickly struggles with demanding video editing tasks, but basic photo editing is possible.

Where the eMachines G525-902G16Mi truly stands out is its solid build quality and great usability. While the matt-black chassis and textured lid provide a conservative appearance, they also make the laptop very resilient, ensuring you can let the family loose on it without too much fear of damage.

In short, the eMachines G525-902G16Miis very much a mixed bag. While its stunning screen and great usability are easy to like, the limited power and features mean many users may quickly outgrow this machine as their skills develop, so be sure to consider your future needs before buying.

Read our full eMachines G525-902G16Mi review

Acer Aspire 5542-304G32Bn - £399

The Aspire 5542-304G32Bn is a budget machine that packs in some unexpected features at a low price point. One of the stand-out features is the inclusion of a Blu-ray drive, a rarity for laptops at this price.

While the 1366 x 768-pixel screen resolution is not enough to take full advantage of the high-definition visuals, images are still crisp and the 15.6-inch LED backlit Super-TFT display provides rich and vibrant colours.

Other features also impress, including the 5-in-1 memory card reader and four USB ports, letting you easily connect external storage and peripherals.

The 320GB hard drive is enough for storing a large number of songs and videos, while leaving space for essential applications.

The only downside is the gaps between each key, which lets in dirt and other debris. The touchpad is one of the largest in this group, although easy to brush while typing. Thankfully there's a button for disabling the pad when not needed.

Overall, the Aspire 5542-304G32Bn is a feature-packed and highly usable laptop that is only let down by limited power and portability.

Read our full Acer Aspire 5542 review

Samsung R530 - £389

Not only is the Samsung R530 a great looking laptop, it also boasts great usability, performance and portability - and all at a very competitive price.We very rarely see laptops that have exciting designs at this price point, but the Samsung took us by surprise with its moody red and black lid and mock brushed-aluminium palmrest – this is the sort of styling we would expect to see on a laptop costing significantly more.

Build quality is also decent and, although the chassis doesn't feel as substantial as the Acer Aspire 5732Z-443G32Mn, it's quite a bit lighter, making it a better travel companion.

Its battery life is also decent - at 244 minutes - and will keep you productive on the road for quite a while.

The keyboard is excellent, with the typing action proving surprisingly firm and the travel smooth. The touchpad is fast and responsive, and also features Samsung's now trademark lighting effects round the edge, which make it easy to use in low light conditions, such as the cabin on a plane.

The more we used the Samsung R530, the more we liked it. Performance is above average and the design and usability of the machine really endeared it to us.

If that wasn't enough, there's also decent portability chucked in for good measure, making this machine a good choice indeed.

Read our full Samsung R530 review

Dell Vostro V13 - £409

The Dell Vostro V13 us arguably the most handsome Dell has ever produced and what's more, you can buy it for under £500.

The Dell Vostro V13 feels great. It's eminently portable at 1.6kg, but the low weight, which edges it towards ultraportable territory, doesn't equate to a flimsy-feeling laptop. The back of the screen feels solid and shock-resistant, and the aluminium casing gives the Dell Vostro V13 a truly premium feel. We're also fans of the all-in-one case design, which looks both lovely and tidy.

The V13's portability isn't all encompassing, though. The battery is a clear weak point for anyone who spends a lot of time away from the mains, or would rather leave the charger behind. With the V13 loaded down by applications, it survived barely two hours on battery power alone; left with the screen on and nothing happening it managed four hours. Fairly respectable, but far short of what's frequently being achieved by cheaper netbooks.

But, performance issues aside, it's stunning to see such a good looking, well-made, cleverly designed laptop available for under £500. Indeed, if you have only the most basic computing needs, you could bag the lowest-end Dell Vostro V13 for a mere £359. Just don't forget to lie about how much it cost.

Read our full Dell Vostro V13 review

Lenovo ThinkPad Edge - £499

Lenovo's ThinkPad range has traditionally been aimed at the highend business market, but with a lower price and more accessible style, the Lenovo ThinkPad Edge now opens the brand to a wider market of consumers.

A choice of Intel and AMD processors are available, with the unit we tested being powered by a dual-core AMD chip. Performance of the LenovoThinkPad Edge is in line with the majority of CULV laptops on the market, suiting basic home and office use, but struggling with more demanding multi-tasking.

Graphics performance fares slightly better. The integrated ATI GPU delivers enough power for running complex multimedia presentations, as well as basic photo and video editing. Both VGA and HDMI ports are in place for connecting to larger screens at home or in the office.

The use of a glossy Super-TFT screen shows the consumer leanings of this laptop, as business machines traditionally use less reflective matt-finish panels. The 13.3-inch screen is suitably vibrant, with strong brightness levels, but is not quite as sharp as we would have liked.

By combining the quality and usability of more expensive models with the style and features of a consumer machine, the LenovoThinkPad Edge is another strong addition to the Lenovo range. The low-performance won't suit all needs, but this is a great machine for frequent travel use.

Read our full Lenovo ThinkPad Edge review

Acer Aspire Timeline 5810T - £560

Although the Acer 5810T boasts a large 15.6 inch screen, its light and thin build means that you won't be bogged down by this laptop when you're taking it out and about. The 5810T's body is an attractive metallic grey made out of plastic that while sturdy, is light enough to keep the weight of the laptop to around 2.4 kg.

The big feature of the 5810T is the large battery life. Acer is keen for this laptop to be used for 'all day computing'. Whilst it won't manage a whole day of heavy use away from a power supply, the 5810T can manage around seven hours – which is still a fantastic length for a laptop's battery life.

Video playback, both standard and high-definition was very good, with the images reproduced clearly on the decent screen. The 5810T comes with a HDMI output, so if you have a high-definition TV you can play your video files though that. Although this is hardly an essential feature, it's certainly a nice one to have, and adds to the overall value of the laptop.

Overall this is a nice, reasonably powerful laptop, whose light weight and large battery life means it is a great companion for working on in the great outdoors.

Read our full Acer Aspire Timeline 5810T review

Dell Inspiron 1564 - £587

Dell has had an impressive track record over the past year, delivering one stunning consumer laptop after another. The Dell Inspiron 1564 continues this run of success by implementing cutting-edge technology in this powerful and well-rounded machine.

Built around a processor from Intel's Core i3 range, the Dell Inspiron 1564 among the most powerful entry-level laptops we've seen to date. Effortlessly outperforming all but the similarly specified Samsung R580, multi-tasking with even more demanding software is possible.

Despite using an integrated GPU – a graphics technology traditionally associated with limited power – Intel's latest onboard chip provides surprisingly powerful 3D performance, allowing high-definition (HD) video and even less demanding games to run with little effort.

The stunning 15.6-inch screen adds to the multimedia usability on offer. It is a very bright panel, and delivers fantastic colour reproduction and sharp images, ensuring movies, photos and games are shown with impressive clarity and vibrancy. While some rivals provide high-speed wireless and fixed access, an older and slower technology is used here. Speeds will suit basic home use, but it is worth bearing in mind before buying.

More pleasingly, storage is excellent. The 500GB hard drive will hold all your family's data with ease. Comprehensive support for flash storage cards is also provided. Continuing Dell's recent run of success, the Dell Inspiron 1564 is an impressively powerful and portable machine. While its limited network connectivity is disappointing, it excels in all other areas, making it one of the best entry-level laptops we've seen this year.

Read our full Dell Inspiron 1564 review

MSI GX740 - £999

We're big fans of the MSI GX740. By making sensible and realistic cuts – think Core i5 instead of i7 processor, no Blu-ray drive, lack of full HD screen – MSI has managed to deliver a laptop that boasts serious graphical prowess at a very competitive price.

The GX740 also looks great, and we're told by MSI this is the last model to feature the famous style, with the inbound GT660 demonstrating the way of things to come, so if you like the design we'd suggest you get stuck in before it's too late.

The graphical power here is formidable, and the latest games run as smooth as you'd like with settings up high.MSI has been using this design to great effect for quite a few years, it's neither garish nor boring, and we'll be sad to see it go.The relatively low weight and form factor of the GX740 make it very easy to carry around, not something often said about gaming rigs.

The lack of a Full HD screen may bother some, and images may not be sharp enough for the hardcore. The laptop maybe easy to carry, but realistically you'll be sprinting between power points thanks to a truly shocking battery life.

However, the MSI GX740 is one of the best priced, best looking gaming notebooks around. There's plenty of power under the hood for the avid gamer, while the Intel Core i5 processor provides plenty of performance for your average consumer.

Read our full MSIGX740 review

Alienware M11x - £1,184

TheAlienware M11x was launched as the world's smallest gaming laptop,offering a unique blend of graphical power and portability. A dedicated Nvidia GeForce GT 335M graphics card has been used – featuring 1024MB of video memory – and proved stunningly powerful in our benchmark tests.

A 256GB Solid State Drive provides ample space for your content, as well as very fast access to your data. 802.11n Wi-Fi is included and connectivity is comprehensive with VGA, HDMI and a DisplayPort connection all in evidence.

Processing power is courtesy of a Consumer Ultra Low Voltage Intel chip, which is especially resource light on the machine's battery – resulting in an impressive 414 minutes of mobile use. The downside is that everyday performance isn't particularly fast.

However, we found the laptop a pleasure to use and certainly fast enough, and we had no issues multi-tasking with various applications.

We are seriously impressed by the Alienware M11x. Not only is it the first of its type, but it succeeds in combining great 3D performance with everyday portability and usability at a competitive price.

Read our full review of the Alienware M11x

Alienware M15x - £1,422

The Alienware M15x is another fantastic gaming system which boasts very strong graphics power, excellent styling and fast everyday performance - and offers it all at an affordable price.

This isn't a laptop you'll want to travel regularly with, however. It weighs a hefty 4.3kg and offers just 164 minutes of battery power with a 9-cell battery on board, and so is much better suited for use as a desktop replacement system.

The 15.6-inch screen features a 1600 x 900-pixel resolution. It is very sharp and provides vivid colours. It isn't the brightest panel we've seen, however, and a shiny Super-TFT coating has been used, creating noticeable reflections in bright light.

The M15x is one of the best gaming laptops we've seen. Its great design is perfectly complemented by decent performance and it's also very reasonably priced – not something we can say very often about gaming systems.

Read our full Alienware M15x review

Asus G73JH - £1,780

The Asus G73JH is an aggressively and uniquely styled machine that looks fantastic and boasts great performance for gamers. The laptop's striking design – with angular lines and tactile matt finish – is inspired by the F-117 Nighthawk Stealth Bomber, but there's more purpose to the design than looks alone

Where this machine justifies its price is in gaming performance. The DirectX 11-compatible ATi graphics card provides stunning 3D power for running the latest games and multimedia applications.

The 17.3-inch screen adds to its abilities. It's not the brightest panel around, but colour reproduction is excellent, with contrast especially impressing. Blu-ray movies – using the integrated Blu-ray drive – and games look great in particular.

We like the G73JH a lot. It's a great looking and uniquely designed machine that provides stunning performance, but for those who are watching the pennies at the moment – a lot of us – a similar experience – albeit with not quite as much style – can currently be found for cheaper elsewhere

Read our full Asus G73JH review

Rock Xtreme 790 - £1,990

UK-based Rock is well known for its high-performance gaming laptops and offers the latest components housed within generic chassis designs. The Rock Xtreme 790 brings Intel's Core i7 technology to the range and provides truly stunning levels of quad-core power.

Powered by an Intel Core i7 920 processor, performance goes beyond what you would expect from a laptop. Running at 2.66GHz, the CPU is backed by a staggering 6144MB of high-speed DDR3 memory and vastly outperforms every laptop that we've ever tested.

Graphics are provided by a top-of-the range Nvidia GPU for impressive gaming power. In a chassis this large, it is a shame that Rock hasn't used two cards in an SLI configuration, as the extra performance would have perfectly complimented the high-powered quad-core CPU.

The 17-inch Super-TFT screen has a 16:10 aspect ratio, rather than a 16:9 true widescreen design. Quality is excellent nevertheless, with sharp and vibrant images on offer. The panel is not as bright as we'd have liked, but it is still ideal for gaming and home entertainment use.

Overall, the Rock Xtreme 790 is a mixed bag. While performance is outstanding and is backed by strong usability and features, the lack of SLI-graphics is an odd omission considering the machine's size and price.

Read our full Rock Xtreme 790 review

Acer Aspire 1825 - £585

2010 is already proving to be the year of the tablet PC, with Apple's iPad leading the charge. The Acer Aspire 1825PTZ-413G25n is the latest such convertible, and while the bright and responsive touchscreen adds a fresh layer of usability, this hybrid is unlikely to tempt any iPad fans to convert.

With the screen in a normal upright position, the Acer Aspire 1825PTZ is a typical compact laptop. With a weight of just 1.7kg and a thickness of 35mm, this is an ultraportable laptop that can easily be slipped into a bag.

The chassis itself is firm in all areas, which gives the Acer Aspire 1825PTZ a semi-rugged feel. This laptop likely wouldn't survive a tumble from a desktop, but it can bounce around inside a rucksack all day with little complaint.

3D performance is provided by an integrated Intel graphics card, which lacks its own dedicated video memory and so leeches from the main system memory instead.

As a result, graphical performance is very basic. Watching video and simple photo editing is no problem, but more complex multimedia jobs such as video editing and gaming are beyond the Acer Aspire 1825.

Read our full Acer Aspire 1825 review

MSI X600 - £594

The MSI X600-055UK is the second machine we've seen from MSI's ultra-slim X-series range, following on from the smaller X340.

With a 15.6-inch screen, this machine is a more rounded package, while still providing excellent mobility. The 15.6-inch screen features a glossy Super-TFT coating, which is reflective in direct sunlight.

You'll find a mid-range ATi Mobility Radeon HD 4330 graphics card supporting the display. It provides the MSI X600-055UK with enough performance to handle basic graphics tasks with ease and you'll even be able to play older games.

As with the smaller X340, this machine uses an Intel CULV (Consumer Ultra Low Voltage) processor, but this is the first system we've seen to feature a CULV Core 2 Duo chip.

Running at 1.6GHz, and backed by 4096MB of DDR2 memory, performance is akin to regular Core 2 Duo processors, proving easily able to carry out intensive tasks and run multiple programs smoothly. Battery life is also good, letting you work for 248 minutes.

Providing excellent performance in a large yet thin and light chassis, the MSI X600 offers a great compromise between size and power. As with much more expensive systems, you'll be able to work on the move without resorting to a smaller and slower form factor

Read our full MSI X600 review

Apple MacBook Air - £1,174

The MacBook Air is an enigma. Its key strength is its lightweight, ultra-thin design making it ideal for carrying around with you. Yet it makes significant sacrifices to achieve this degree of style and portability.

Despite an inevitable speed boost, the Air is still the slowest machine in the Mac range. The entry-level model, with a 120GB hard drive and 2GB of RAM, has a processor running at only 1.86GHz. The high-end version boasts a 128GB solid-state drive instead of a hard drive and a 2.13GHz processor.

A welcome price cut brings the 1.86GHz model down to £1,149 from £1,271, and the 2.13GHz Air reviewed here is now £1,349, down from £1,761.

Although Wi-Fi is still its main means of connecting to networks or the internet, you now get a USB Ethernet adaptor in the box, should you need a wired connection. Trading power for portability and connectivity for convenience means the MacBook Air will never be a machine for everyone, but improved specs at a lower price can only be welcomed.

In short this is a refreshing update for the Apple MacBook Air that just oozes style.

Read our full Apple MacBook Air review

Fujtsu Lifebook P770 - £1,378

The Fujitsu Lifebook P770 is one of the first laptops we've seen with this new technology and we eagerly tested it out to see what difference the new low-voltage Core i7 processor would make. With a weight of just 1.5kg, the Fujitsu Lifebook P770 is an ultraportable laptop that is almost as light as a netbook. It's just as compact too, with a 12.1-inch screen and a chassis that's only 30mm thick. The Fujtsu Lifebook P770 can be slipped into a bag or case and carried around all day without weighing you down.

Intel's new ULV Core i7 processor is a hybrid of the two, which offers buckets of power, but also vastly improved battery life.The Fujitsu Lifebook P770 is powered by this Core i7 620UM processor and the results are truly stunning.

This is easily one of the most powerful low-voltage chips currently available, comparable in performance to Intel's standard Core i3 and top-end Core 2 Duo chips, and we could comfortably multi-task with a number of resource-intensive applications thanks to the dual cores and 4096MB of speedy DDR3 memory.

This is easily one of the most powerful low-voltage chips currently available, comparable in performance to Intel's standard Core i3 and top-end Core 2 Duo chips, and we could comfortably multi-task with a number of resource-intensive applications thanks to the dual cores and 4096MB of speedy DDR3 memory.

Read the full Fujtsu Lifebook P770 review

Toshiba Portege R600-149 - £1,526

Toshiba's Portégé R600 range has been a favourite of ours for quite some time, thanks to its great usability and resilient, lightweight design. The Portégé R600-149 is the latest model and it's hard to imagine finding a better business machine at this price.

As soon as you pick it up you're struck by just how light it is. At just 820g it feels as if there is nothing inside this machine. With slightly slimmer dimensions than the equally small Fujitsu LifeBook P770, this is a machine built for frequent and comfortable mobile use.

Performance is more pleasing. While this is the only laptop to use Intel's older Core 2 Duo technology, rather than the latest Core i5 and i7 processors, there is ample power on offer for most business use. Only more complex multitasking shows the limits of the older CPU.

The screen is driven by an integrated Intel graphics card, so performance is in line with the Fujitsu LifeBook P770 and falls far behind the Lenovo ThinkPad T410s. Image quality is strong and while colour and contrast are slightly muted, this is a very comfortable screen to work with.

Unless you need the latest cutting-edge features or the longest battery life, this is a fantastic travel partner and we like it a lot.

Read our full Toshiba Portégé R600 review

Humax HDR-FOX T2 UK release date made official

Humax has announced the official launch date for its HDR-FOX T2 Freeview+ HD recorder, which comes with a 500GB hard drive.

Last time we told you about the FOX T2 we left you hanging with the rather vague date of 'end of July' for a release. Well it turns out that this isn't the case anymore, as the Fox T2 will hit shops mid August.

Free HD

Not only does the HDR-FOX T2 Freeview+ HD recorder come with a 500GB hard drive, it also boasts twin tuners, two USB ports and compatibility with MP3s and JPEGs, so you can listen to music and playback photos straight from the box.

• WIN! Two Humax HDR-FOX T2 Freeview+ HD PVRs to give away!

The biggest pull for most, though, will be the inclusion of Sky Player on the box. This means that you will be able to get a number of Sky channels for a monthly fee, without the need of a satellite dish.

So, that all important UK release date is 16 August. But Humax has told us that you may see the box in the shops from 14 August.

Price-wise, you are looking at £329.

Humax HDR-FOX T2 UK release date made official

Humax has announced the official launch date for its HDR-FOX T2 Freeview+ HD recorder, which comes with a 500GB hard drive.

Last time we told you about the FOX T2 we left you hanging with the rather vague date of 'end of July' for a release. Well it turns out that this isn't the case anymore, as the Fox T2 will hit shops mid August.

Free HD

Not only does the HDR-FOX T2 Freeview+ HD recorder come with a 500GB hard drive, it also boasts twin tuners, two USB ports and compatibility with MP3s and JPEGs, so you can listen to music and playback photos straight from the box.

• WIN! Two Humax HDR-FOX T2 Freeview+ HD PVRs to give away!

The biggest pull for most, though, will be the inclusion of Sky Player on the box. This means that you will be able to get a number of Sky channels for a monthly fee, without the need of a satellite dish.

So, that all important UK release date is 16 August. But Humax has told us that you may see the box in the shops from 14 August.

Price-wise, you are looking at £329.

O2: HTC Desire Android 2.2 update 'several weeks' away

O2 has told TechRadar that it will be 'several weeks' before HTC Desire owners on its network will get the Android 2.2 upgrade, with tests on a service provider specific version ongoing.

The eagerly awaited upgrade to the Android OS brings a host of new features and functionality, but its arrival for phones locked to networks will be weeks and not days away.

An O2 spokesman indicated to TechRadar that any update would be 'several weeks' away, although the network is well aware that Desire owners are champing at the bit for Android 2.2 - nicknamed FroYo.

ASAP

"We're working with HTC to bring the latest version of Android, 2.2 FroYo, to our HTC Desire customers as soon as possible," said the spokesman

"We expect this to take several weeks and we will update our customers once the new software is available."

The update follows HTC's revelation that people who own unlocked handsets will be able to get the Android 2.2 upgrade from this weekend.

T-Mobile has told TechRadar that it is expecting to upgrade its Desire customers in September, which tallies fairly closely to O2's timeline.

Apple iPad fridge magnet mount announced

A British design company has unveiled a novel iPad fridge magnet mount – putting your gadget at the centre of your kitchen.

The FridgePad from Woodford Design, is as you have probably gathered by now, an iPad mount that magnetically sticks your Apple tablet to your fridge.

"The FridgePad magnetically mounts your iPad to your kitchen fridge so it's at the heart of your home and in a perfect location for all the family to use," explains the company's release.

Clipped in

"The FridgePad can be used in landscape or portrait mode, allows the iPad to be simply clipped in and out for fast access and provides a great safe and secure place to store your iPad," it continues.

"The FridgePad is an accessory to make the iPad work better for you. This really is one of those products that once you have tried it you'll love it."

Woodford points out that the design offers replaceable corner clips – meaning you can change it for the iPad mark II or your Windows 7 tablet.

Oddly, TechRadar had called for a magnetic iPad fridge dock back at the beginning of June.

And it's certainly handy for those people who need to look up recipes but don't want their iPad sitting on their work surface.

The FridgePad has a UK release date of Autumn 2010 and will cost £49.

Wolfram Alpha Widgets announced

Wolfram has announced a beta release of Wolfram|Alpha widgets, bringing the computational engine to your Facebook or Twitter accounts.

The widgets offer the chance to build a mini-app on top of Wolfram Alpha queries – so you can do those oft-repeated computations more quickly.

The Wolfram Alpha widgets given as a examples include the 'essential kitchen unit converter' which, as you may expect deals with units and measures and a mathematical derivative solver.

Free mini-apps

"Wolfram Alpha Widgets are free, personalised mini-apps that leverage the depth and breadth of the Wolfram Alpha computational knowledge engine," explains Wolfram's release.

"Widgets can do almost anything, from calculating calories in a recipe to solving complex equations.

"If Wolfram Alpha can answer your query, you can use it to create a widget."

When you are done creating your widget you can then share it on Facebook, Twitter or via email.

You can check out the beta at http://developer.wolframalpha.com/widgets/ and even make your own.

TechRadar has already come up with an 'not a valid input, please try again' app with virtually no effort whatsoever.

T-Mobile: HTC Desire Android 2.2 update coming in September

T-Mobile has confirmed the release of Android 2.2 for its HTC Desire customers, telling TechRadar "we are aiming to roll out in September," adding that the network is unable to give a specific date at this stage.

HTC itself earlier today announced that the over-the-air rollout the Android 2.2 update to HTC Desire phones would begin this weekend for unlocked phones.

"Operator specific versions of the update are undergoing testing and we expect to make them available in several weeks' time," said HTC.

And T-Mobile seems to be first out the gate with confirmation that it'll be bringing it to its handsets.

New features

Android 2.2 - or Froyo to its friends - brings a host of new features and functionality, including making your mobile a WiFi hotspot and support for Flash.

The HTC Desire is one of the flagship Android devices, a close brother to Google's own Nexus One, and the latest firmware will be very much appreciated by owners of the handset.

Opinion: Social networks need more social, less network

Feeling lonely on the internet is an odd sensation, but a survey suggests it's a growing problem.

At the click of a mouse, you can connect with millions of people – and not just random members of the smelly flesh-army that is humanity, but people who share your interests, actually want to talk and may even type 'LOL' at your jokes.

It's just not the same, though. A whopping 60 per cent of tech-savvy people aged 18 to 35 are apparently complaining of often feeling lonely, as opposed to just 35 per cent of the traditionally isolated over-55s. This is the age group for whom services like Facebook have supposedly done wonders for staying in touch.

Obviously, all surveys of this ilk should be taken with a pinch of salt capable of melting a glacier, but this one wouldn't surprise me.

For starters, if you're feeling down, sometimes a social service is the last thing you want to be plugged into. Either you're one click away from seeing what a much better day everyone you know is having, whether they're splashing on the beach or preparing for a party you'd have been blissfully unaware of not having been invited to, or it's the interactive equivalent of a grey weekend in Norwich – everyone complaining of how much they're sitting around in the rain, breaking up with their former loved ones, drowning in a treacle sea of underpaid work and just generally having a lousy epoch.

Gaming separation

It's a wider issue than just Facebook, though. Take gaming. Back in the day, you had just one console and friends would come round to play things like Mario Kart with you on a split-screen display. People would get together for LAN parties and head to cybercafés.

Now, multiplayer gaming's primarily done online, with players sitting alone and communicating on headphones. Not only are we separated by distance, we're separated by our characters. Nobody ever called their friend 'Yoshi' during a Mario Kart race, but play something like World of Warcraft and if it's not a character name you go by, you simply become 'the tank' or 'the mage' – just one cog out of 25.

Obviously, there are exceptions to this rule. Rock Band is a great example of a game where people still get together to play, as are a number of Wii games. In general, though, as online games get more social, they're getting lonelier. Even lonelier than single-player games in many ways, thanks to providing a weak, unsatisfying experience rather than an alternative.

Social networking is increasingly following suit, with the sheer volume of content spewing out of the pipes. Recently, it's just mass shouting. Nobody really cares what your Spotify playlists are, any more than clicking a Facebook 'Like' button can replace actually telling someone that you liked something.

That's not to say that these things can't be useful in their own right – 'Like' buttons are fine for highlighting new content you might not otherwise have seen (seeing that someone's watching a new show is good for remembering that it's on), but it's not so much social as a replacement for it.

Meaningless sharing

The lack of effort means that people are sharing more, but also that it doesn't actually mean anything. It's the online equivalent of the ubiquitous 'Alright, mate?'

One of the most surprising things about all this social interaction is how little it focuses on actual real-world connections, especially given the sheer weight of information in the much-ballyhooed social graphs everyone wants to build up.

Take online dating for instance. Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg claims that by looking at online profiles, he can tell who's going to hook up with whom, which is a good trick. Yet still Facebook lacks any real service that skips the usual questionnaires and glorified personal adverts in favour of just looking at your data and interests and saying 'You, call You'.

Foursquare focuses on checking into places and sharing that information, but only as far as making up silly games about mayors and meeting up with existing friends, not trying expand your real-life social network by suggesting: 'Why not say hello to these people next time you're there.'

There are so many things that social networking could offer if it focused more on the social side: actually meeting people and doing things, instead of just building endless lists of friends you hardly see any more.

As it is, it's providing endless ways of keeping us trapped at our PCs, making sure that our music choices and profile pictures say what we want them to, and that no friends will mock us for having an overgrown Farmville. No wonder so many of us are feeling lost in the cloud.

HTC Desire Android 2.2 update coming this weekend

HTC has just sent us a statement - Android 2.2 is coming to the HTC Desire from this weekend.

Though don't get super-excited just yet - if you've got an operator-locked handset, you won't be getting it straight away.

Why? The update will only initially roll out to unlocked HTC Desire handsets. HTC says "operator specific versions of the update are undergoing testing and we expect to make them available in several weeks' time."

Humph. So unless you paid out for an unlocked Desire, you'll most likely be waiting around for a little while.

"The Android 2.2 (Froyo) update for HTC Desire will start rolling out across Europe this weekend," said HTC in its statement. "As well as including the complete set of Android 2.2 features, the update will contain a few special additions of our own through the latest iteration of HTC Sense."

"The update will provide 720p video capture, HTC's App Share widget, as well as our enhanced HTC Caller ID, and improved multi-language keyboard. Also, though the update, HTC Sync will allow HTC Desire users to sync their music with iTunes."

If you've got an HTC Desire, you'll be notified the over-the-air update is available to download when your phone automatically checks for software updates - again that will depend on your network.

As for the upgrade, HTC says the update won't delete any of your phone's content. Due to the size of the update, the manufactuer also advises using Wi-Fi to download it. You don't say.

Microsoft announces public Kinect shows

Microsoft is showing off its latest Xbox technology to the public with the Kinect Galleries in Covent Garden, London – offering consumers the chance to give the motion sensor gaming a try.

The Kinect Galleries will open from Saturday for a six-week period over summer, and people can book their own personal space through Facebok or by turning up on the day.

Kinect is the next big thing for the Xbox 360 using an advanced camera to do away with the controller, offering Wii-like family gaming without the peripherals.

Dance Revolution

The likes of Dance Revolution are likely to prove a huge hit with the female demographic, while men will be catered for with launch title Kinect Adventures and the promise of integration into more traditional gaming.

There are also participatory demos being done on stage of Kinect Galleries that will enable visitors to get a quick tutorial before humiliating themselves by being scored on their dancing to Lady Gaga.

For those not heading to Covent Garden, Microsoft has also announced a roadshow – with a nationwide tour taking in Alton Towers, London Zoo, the Thames Festival, Chessington and Clothes Show Live at NEC in Birmingham.

Showcase

"Demonstration staff will be on hand to showcase the latest Kinect for Xbox 360 games, both at the Kinect Galleries and on tour, thus giving visitors the chance to take adventure to the next level with Kinect Adventures!, test out their moves with Dance Central, take to the race track with Kinect Joyride or making friends with cute big-cat cubs through Kinectimals," said Microsoft.

"Visitors to the Kinect Tour will also be able to have their play session filmed with a 25 second video clip created which can be accessed later through www.kinect.me and shared with friends and family and across social networks."

Bookings for both the Covent Garden Kinect Galleries experience or the roadshow can be made at www.facebook.com/kinectforxbox360.

Apple iPhone 4 now available from T-Mobile and Three

T-Mobile and Three have finally started offering the iPhone 4, with a variety of price plans announced for the Apple handset.

The plans in T-Mobile's case are all 24-month contracts and range from £30 to £60 (as we told you earlier in the month), with the iPhone 4 16GB version offered for free on the most expensive tariff.

Speaking about the news, Lysa Hardy, vice president of T-Mobile Propositions, said: "Bringing iPhone 4 to our customers in the UK is a fantastic move for T-Mobile.

"With a range of value plans we're making iPhone 4 more accessible to even more customers in the UK."

Three's numbers

When it comes to Three, you will be able to get a free 16GB iPhone 4 on the £45 monthly contract. There are also £30 to £40 per month contracts available.

Obviously the 32GB is also available, but you will have to fork out more on the handset – ranging from £89 and £189.

Now that T-Mobile and Three have opened the iPhone 4 floodgates, the circle is now complete for those offering the handset, with the pair joining O2, Vodafone, Orange and Tesco Mobile as networks that are offering the phone in the UK.

Review: Dell Latitude E6510

With a range of rugged builds and heaps of features, Dell's Latitude series is geared towards mobile business users. The Latitude E6510 packs a huge amount of power and features into a reasonably solid chassis for excellent business performance.

Power is provided by a quad-core Intel Core i7 processor with great results. We saw no slow-down when multi-tasking with several resource-intensive applications, and our every action was met with a speedy response.

And this is despite a 32-bit version of Windows coming preinstalled, which doesn't take advantage of the 4096MB of DDR3 memory.

3D performance comes courtesy of an Nvidia Quadro NVS 3100M graphics card optimised for professional design work. While multimedia business applications run smoothly, there's not enough power for more recent games.

Stunning screen

Creative designers need a sharp screen and Dell has expertly delivered a 15.6-inch Full HD (1920x1080) display. Not only is it perfectly crisp, it's pleasingly bright for those lengthy work sessions. Photos and video look fantastic and it's a shame there's no Blu-ray drive for watching HD movies.

Usability is strong, with tapered keys filling out a well-sized backlit keyboard and an excellent touchpad with individual scrollbar sections for quick browsing of documents and web pages.

A pointing stick commonly found on business laptops is available as a touchpad alternative with its own set of dedicated mouse buttons.

The chassis isn't too heavy at 2.9kg and should comfortably fit in most briefcases. Overall, it's a well-built machine, although there is some flex around the speakers and the right side of the laptop.

We managed 195 minutes of use away from the mains which is commendable considering the power on offer.

Features are another strong point. PC Card and ExpressCard slots can be used to attach peripherals, along with four USB ports, one of which doubles as an eSATA port for speedy transfer with external hard drives.

External monitors can be hooked up via VGA or DisplayPort, while a Smart Card port boosts data security for businesses that support it. Our only complaint is the measly 250GB hard drive, although file transfer is fast at 7200rpm.

Dell has also included its basic Latitude ON operating system, which can be accessed using a quickstart button. This is designed for simple tasks, such as web browsing, and uses less power than the Windows OS.

We were highly impressed by the power, features and excellent display offered by the Dell Latitude E6510. Business users with the cash to spare really have no need to look any further.

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Weird Tech: Pop star rages at game from beyond the grave

PopCap Games makes lovably low-grade entertainment for the common man and woman that appears on many mobile and web platforms.

But the developer felt the full legal force of the Michael Jackson estate this week - which was officially Not Very Happy about a joke Jacko zombie that PopCap featured in its Plants vs Zombies game.

The "Dancing Zombie," complete with its early-80s Michael Jackson style sunken eyes and clothing, is but one of many comedy zombies that stumble around PopCap's PvZ universe, but Jacko's representatives did not see the funny side of things.

PopCap confirmed the removal of the Jackson-alike zombie to the MTV games blog, saying it had indeed received a complaint that the Dancing Zombie "too closely resembled" Michael Jackson. Maybe if Jacko wasn't actually fairly recently dead it might've been considered a bit less of a weird thing to have in your video game.

Objective emotionlessly achieved, my master

A robot built to do one very small, specific thing has met its objective. No other robots applauded this entirely expected outcome. The Cornell Ranger walking robot is a four-legged thing that looks like it's been crafted out of golf clubs by golfers, that was created solely to beat the robot walking distance record.

Which it did.

Ranger marched on for 14.3 miles, a task it achieved in ten hours and 40 minutes.

GO GO CORNELL RANGER: Each unit will come with a man to steer and a man to cheer

And it's big blue eyes aren't for seeing, or a joke - they're rubber bumpers in case Ranger has a fall. No serious medical use was even hinted at. It's just some men having a laugh with a budget.

iPhone SexyTime

Steve Jobs, look away now. According to reports online, Apple's new FaceTime video calling application could be about to open the real-time pornography floodgates on iPhone 4, thanks to the adult entertainment industry realising it's a totally super way of parting men from their cash in return for letting them engage with a top model for a few brief, unsatisfactory minutes.

NOT YOU: Put your mum on instead, mate

The Associated Press says ads in "five" US cities are trawling for women of ill-repute to work as FaceTime live chat operatives, coincidentally offering successful applicants a free iPhone 4.

At least they'll be able to put their mobile bill down as a legitimate work expense.

Transparent scheme

A major corporation has made a joke! The corporation in question is Mattel and its Hot Wheels toy brand offshoot, which has created this Wonder Woman Invisible Jet.

HOLY CON JOB: Great way to make your money disappear

Originally stuck up on the internet as an April Fool's joke, response from comic and toy nerds with way too much money to waste on rubbish was so high that Mattel decided to put the Invisible Jet into "production" so to speak.

It was selling the thing at the recent Comic-Con geek festival. It's one purchase that will definitely lose its value if the packaging is opened.

Review: Asus U53F Bamboo

Asus released its first bamboo laptop featuring a tough wood-based chassis back in 2008, and now it has given us a peek at its latest plant-based portable, the Asus U53F Bamboo.

The chassis is immediately striking with the entire lid and palmrest coated in bamboo. Not only does it look great with a natural, grainy appearance, but it's also pleasingly firm to protect the display. The chassis shows no flex at all under pressure and the wood covering reduces plastics usage by 20 per cent.

A weight approaching 3kg limits mobility, but the surprisingly thin chassis can be fitted into a briefcase if required.

The bamboo design even stretches to the touchpad, with the surface of the pad and the mouse buttons given the same textured finish. The pad is smooth, responsive and wide, and usability is further enhanced by an excellent isolation style keyboard with the keys pushed up through individual holes in the chassis.

The gaps between keys mean it's difficult to hit the wrong key by mistake, and we managed some impressive speeds when touch-typing. The separate numeric keypad is a little small, however – we would have preferred a keyboard that stretched the entire length of the chassis to give these keys some extra width.

The bright and colourful 15.6-inch widescreen display is a pleasure to watch movies on. This pre-production model sadly doesn't have a Full HD display to take full advantage of the built-in Blu-ray drive, but hopefully the final product will.

The screen is somewhat reflective thanks to the glossy Super-TFT coating, but it's not as noticeable at top brightness levels.

Core power

Our pre-production model came fitted with an Intel Core i5 520M processor, which provides more than enough power to comfortably multi-task with a number of resource-intensive applications. The final product will apparently offer a choice of Core i3, Core i5 or Core i7 CPUs, so performance should be assured.

Unfortunately, there's no dedicated graphics, just an integrated Intel GPU, but this may change in the final release.

Other features are standard for a machine like this, with VGA and HDMI connections for outputting to an external display, three USB ports for adding peripherals, and a memory card reader for backing up the 500GB hard drive.

Users can also boot up to a basic ExpressGate OS to browse the web or their photo library, which prolongs battery life.

We're looking forward to seeing the full release of the Asus U53F Bamboo, as this pre-production model is a slickly designed and solidly built home laptop.

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PlayStation 3 outsells Xbox 360 by 28%

Sony is celebrating today, with news that the PlayStation 3 is now outselling the Xbox 360 by 28 per cent, a complete turnaround from a year ago, when Microsoft's console was way out in lead.

Between June 2009 and 2010, Sony managed to sell 14.3 million PS3s, compared to 10.3 million Xbox 360s sold, according to official figures released by both companies.

The main reason for the role reversal seems to be Sony cutting the price of its console and also offering a slim version.

Testing times

Although Microsoft is still in front when it comes to overall sales of the consoles, this lead has been trimmed significantly to just 3.6 million.

These are interesting times for the two gaming giants. Both are close to releasing motion-sensor gaming (PlayStation Move and Kinect) which should stretch out the life of the consoles and Microsoft has only just released its Slim version of the Xbox 360.

So it is not clear cut that Sony will actually ever overtake Microsoft in terms of console dominance - although it does have an extra card to play and that is 3D gaming.

It will be interesting to see what the next 12 months bring.

Review: Samsung Q330

Over the past few years Samsung has impressed us greatly, releasing a huge range of laptops that pack in the latest technology at truly affordable prices. The Q330 is its most high-powered ultraportable and continues Samsung's recent legacy in stunning style.

At 2kg this machine is built for life on the road. Measuring 32mm at its rear and tapering down to just 23mm at the front, the slim chassis is easy to hold and slips easily into hand luggage.

Running for 255 minutes on battery power, you can keep working for half a day on the move. While previous models in the Q-Series used glossy plastics throughout, the Q330 adds a brushed-metal interior for improved resilience.

The lid retains the use of glossy plastic, but feels far tougher than before, with the entire chassis feeling strong and looking fantastic.

Excellent keyboard

The keyboard uses the popular isolation style with each key cut through a hole in the chassis' top panel. The spacious design is a pleasure to use and all the keys respond well with a near-silent action – ditto the touchpad and mouse buttons.

The stunning 13.3-inch screen is one of the brightest panels we've seen on an ultraportable, offering vibrant colours and striking contrast. Our only complaint is that the screen only folds back 45 degrees from vertical, which can make it tricky to find the perfect viewing angle.

Using a high-powered Core i3 processor from Intel's latest entry-level range, this is one of the most powerful ultraportables we've seen. Backed by 3072MB of DDR3 memory, performance is stunning.

Graphics are less capable, but this is inevitable for such a slim and light laptop. Intel's cutting-edge GMA HD graphics card provides plenty of power for photo and video editing, however, and even a bit of light gaming.

An HDMI port lets you connect to your HDTV when back at home. Ample storage is provided by the 320GB hard drive. Unusually for such an affordable laptop at this size, a DVD rewriter is also in place for creating your own CDs and DVDs.

For transferring photos from your camera, an SD Card reader is fitted at the front of the chassis.

802.11n Wi-Fi lets you stay wirelessly connected at home or on the move at the fastest speeds possible. Fixed connectivity is provided by slower 10/100 Ethernet, but Bluetooth is in place for wirelessly sharing files with other devices.

Adding to its already impressive foundation of consumer machines, the improved performance, build quality and materials of the Q330 make it one of the best entry-level ultraportables you can currently buy. At this low price, it's a deal that's impossible to ignore.

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In Depth: How cheap technology is costing us dear

It's a great time to be a gadget geek. From wireless routers to Windows PCs, smartphones to sat navs, our technology has never been smarter - or cheaper.

The internet is a hardware heaven where you can pick up enormously powerful bits of kit for tiny amounts of money. It's just a shame about the whole economic damage, worker exploitation, environmental catastrophe side of things.

Cheap technology isn't as cheap as you might think. When something's designed to a particular price, compromises have to be made. Those compromises aren't just in the design, although of course you can't expect Porsche quality at Primark prices; they're in every part of the technology company's business from the factories it uses to the way it provides technical support. Typically, cheap technology means cutting every possible corner to make the price as low as possible.

What happens when you cut one corner too many? Let's ask Dell, the pioneer of ultra-cheap PCs, who managed to ship 11.8 million faulty - and potentially explosive - PCs between 2003 and 2005

The problem was with dodgy capacitors, manufactured from a stolen - and, it turned out, incorrect - formula. Writing in The Independent in 2003, Charles Arthur noted that Dell was aware of the compromised capacitors, and interviewed Dennis Zogbi of Paumanok Publications, who said: "People want Western quality and Chinese prices. Well, you can't have both."

Dell thought you could.

Dell's business was - and is - based on what the New York Times describes as "limiting its inventory and squeezing suppliers", but it's possible to squeeze too hard. Cheap technology is a balancing act between price and quality control, and it seems that Dell lost its balance: the NYT reports that Dell suffered far more from bad capacitors than its rivals.

Despite internal tests finding that Optiplex desktops might have a failure rate as high as 97%, Dell didn't want an enormous and enormously expensive product recall, so it had a brilliant idea: it would blame its customers for the faulty computers.

According to the NYT Dell told the University of Texas its computers were failing because staff were "making them perform difficult math calculations."

BAD CAPACITORS: This Dell customer's capacitors don't look too clever. In total, Dell shipped 11.8 million machines with capacitors likely to fail

Still, at least if your Optiplex exploded you'd be able to speak to somebody knowledgeable about it. Wouldn't you? Nope. Dell was one of the first tech firms to outsource its customer service and technical support to Bangalore, and while the results were so bad and unpopular that Dell very quickly reinstated US-based support for its lucrative corporate customers, the idea stuck. These days, cheap kit means outsourced or online-only, irritating and inadequate technical support. You get what you pay for.

Unemployment and unhappy workers

Decent wages, employee healthcare, pensions and other benefits aren't compatible with cheap kit.

Because of those costs, Western technology firms have been outsourcing assembly work since the 1980s. Incredibly, there are fewer people making computers in the US now than there were in the 1970s: writing in BusinessWeek, former Intel boss Andy Grove says: "manufacturing employment in the US computer industry is about 166,000, lower than it was before the first PC, the MITS Altair 2800, was assembled in 1975."

OUTSOURCED: There are fewer people employed making computers in the US today than there were when this was cutting-edge tech

People still make our gadgets, of course. They just don't do it in the West. From Xbox 360s to iPhone 4s, many of our devices are put together in China. China's biggest electronics subcontractor, Foxconn, has around 800,000 employees and adds 100,000 more every year; Grove says that Foxconn employs "more than the combined worldwide headcount of Apple, Dell, Microsoft, HP, Intel and Sony."

In total, an estimated 1.5 million people work in Asian assembly plants. For every Western employee a technology firm has, there are ten Asian assembly workers putting its products together - often on very low wages and in poor working conditions.

By outsourcing the assembly work, we're missing out on money that would otherwise be spent locally. With no factories here, there are no machines for local firms to service, no subcontractors providing key components, no armies of hungry workers for the local shops and take-aways to feed, no pay packets injecting cash into local businesses from cake shops to car dealers.

For now it's Foxconn's turn in the sun, but that won't last forever. The same things that eventually made the US too expensive for tech firms - rising wages, good working conditions and organised labour - are starting to happen in China, too.

After a wave of suicides led to unwelcome foreign attention, Foxconn massively increased employee wages; meanwhile, a wave of strikes in China is forcing other firms to pay more, too.

That's good and bad. It's good if you're getting a pay rise, but it's not so good if your employer decides to up sticks to somewhere cheaper. And there is always somewhere cheaper. Right now that's inland China, where living costs and therefore wage expectations are lower than in coastal regions, so firms are moving there.

In the longer term firms may leave China altogether and go where labour costs are lower: South America, perhaps, or Vietnam. They're already thinking about it.

Carcinogens, conflict and child labour

Tim Hunt is with Ethical Consumer magazine, which hopes to make us think again about cheap, disposable technology. As EC reports, the gadgets we dump often end up in places like Indonesia, where "those processing the waste are often overworked (up to 18 hours per day) and underpaid, and the use of child labour is common… often unprotected, workers use fire and mercuric acid baths to extract the precious metals. Burning releases dioxins - some of the most toxic compounds on Earth - while the acid residue contaminates drinking water."

"There are also problems around the mining of natural resources, from the Congo for instance," Hunt told TechRadar. "Here the trade in metals has been blamed for fuelling the conflict that has raged there for several years."

WASTED: Disposable technology doesn't always end up in recycling plants. E-Waste has become a global problem [image credit: CP on Flickr]

As technology becomes increasingly fashion-driven, this year's must-have gadget quickly becomes unwanted - and the move to mobile-based computing means things are speeding up. Where a PC has a useful lifespan of three to five years, we replace our mobiles every 18 months.

"It is clearly worse than it was 20 years ago because there is just more technology around and things are progressing so quickly," Hunt says. "If there is a closed loop where all products and materials are recycled then it shouldn't be a problem. Unfortunately, even with the new EU regulations, much of the waste finds its way into the landfills of poorer countries."

Greenpeace wants to see tech firms eradicate toxic chemicals altogether. "The issue of toxicity is overarching," it says. "Until the use of toxic substances is eliminated, it is impossible to secure 'safe' recycling."

Perhaps the Electronics Industry Code of Conduct will save the world. The work of the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition, the EICC is a code of practice for electronics companies that prohibits the use of child labour, illegal working practices, dumping poison into duck ponds and so on.

It's been around since 2004 and signatories include Dell, who Greenpeace is currently attacking for its use of toxic chemicals and Microsoft, whose KYE subcontractor has been accused of child labour. So that's working well.

"Images of electronic waste in the form of discarded computers and other 'electro-scrap' dumped in Asia, other social and labour issues as well as pressure from civil society, prompted the electronics sector to develop an Electronics Industry Code of Conduct," Greenpeace says.

"However, despite this Code, the hi-tech sector continues to produce ever shorter-life, often superfluous products with inherently hazardous materials. Why are hi-tech corporations, which profess to be responsible corporate citizens, allowing this to happen?"

It's a rhetorical question. "One answer is that CSR [Corporate Social Responsibility] initiatives, whether they involve Codes of Conduct or reporting guidelines, are voluntary," Greenpeace adds. "At best, CSR can be a way for the best companies to lead the way. At worst, CSR initiatives can even be a diversionary tactic, used by industry to pretend that they are taking action and to avoid regulation."

BAD GRADES: Ethical Consumer grades firms on their Corporate Social Responsibility pronouncements. It's not a great result for HTC

Economic realities

Those iPhones you see being assembled in Foxconn factories have an estimated profit margin of 60 per cent. Could Apple still make money without using Foxconn? Absolutely. Could it still make money if its kit was assembled in the US? Probably. Will it try? No chance.

Apple, like every other corporation, must give its shareholders the best return on their investment - and the best way to do that isn't to get your products made in your own country, or to work only with firms whose assembly plants are filled with joy and laughter.

"Most companies are taking some steps," Tim Hunt says, "but as they all strive to generate more profit by producing more and more goods at the lowest possible price, they are clearly going to come into conflict with labour and the environment."

Perhaps the answer is to embarrass them. When Greenpeace wanted to draw public attention to the tech industry's environmental record in 2006 it picked on Apple, which was actually one of the more environmentally friendly firms; nevertheless, the Green My Apple campaign used Apple's high profile to great effect and Apple made more improvements. Apple now mentions its products' green credentials in its marketing.

POOR FORM: It's no coincidence that the firms low on Greenpeace's green electronics meter tend to be makers of low-cost kit

Could the same trick work with corporate citizenship? Probably not, because the way our economy works - essentially, shares are owned by large pension funds whose managers are paid by performance and therefore don't really care about the longer term or the bigger picture - means firms' number one priority is short-term profit.

Then again, perhaps the problem isn't the companies. Maybe it's us. Those pension funds are our pension funds, and we're the people who choose to buy cheap kit. Apple is atypical: the profit margin on a laptop is around 2%, while the margin on a netbook is less than one per cent. The aggressive pricing that makes netbooks so attractive also means manufacturers can be left with a margin of just twenty cents.

That means our buying choices matter: if we buy entirely on price, choosing our kit on the basis of who offers the most bang for the least amount of bucks, then we're helping to perpetuate the system.

If we want companies to care about the bigger picture, we need to show them that we care about it, too.

Review: Intel X25-V 40GB SSD

Fancy Intel's second generation X25-V SSD tech at a third the price of its flagship 160GB? Yes please.

After all, Intel's current controller chipset technology is one of the few proven to maintain decent performance over time. In fact, our test X25-V drive has been knocking about PCF towers for some time.

But, courtesy of support for the Windows 7 TRIM command, not to mention a quick buff-and-format treatment prior to testing, it's not far off box-fresh performance. It still churns through the sequential read test at nearly 200MB/s, for instance.

Likewise, the 4k random read and write numbers are impressive for a budget drive, which bodes well for real-world workloads. Sequential write performance of less than 50MB/s is less competitive, but with fewer channels than a full-fat Intel drive, raw write throughput has never been the X25-V's strong point.

Value for money

No, the real problem for Intel's value-orientated 40GB drive is, well, value. It may be less than a third the cost of the 160GB Intel X25-M, but it's also much less than one-third the capacity when formatted.

What's more, despite the promising synthetic performance results, it's a bit of stinker in our application tests. It's the second slowest drive in both our file decompression and software installation benchmarks.

When you factor in everything including performance, price and capacity, our all-round index places it second from last. That doesn't quite tally with our experience of the X25-V, but it's hard to ignore such poor results.

It's actually our favourite of the sub-50GB drives. Still, Intel's third generation SSDs can't come too soon.

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