Land Rover is the talking point of the North American International Auto Show, but not because of its impending sale. Instead, it was the LRX concept that was making everyone’s tongue wag as it shows that Land Rover has a very bright future no matter who Ford sells it to.

The LRX has bold styling that is not so far removed from the company’s current cars and proves that Land Rover is serious about adding a sixth model to its existing line-up of SUVs. Any production car derived from the LRX is likely to be smaller than a Freelander 2 and even more biased towards on-road driving.

Land Rover has not confirmed if a new model would be based on the existing Freelander platform as the company is keen to move in a cleaner, greener direction. Managing director Phil Popham says: “The LRX is purely a concept designed to help us develop our thinking as well as gauge customer reaction, but this feels like a hugely exciting direction to take.”

The LRX uses an American-spec version of the Td4 2.0-litre turbodiesel engine that has been converted so it can also run on bio-diesel. The revised engine produces just 120g/km of carbon dioxide emissions, while lightweight materials for the body also help keep down harmful emissions.

As you would expect of a Land Rover, the LRX has full-time four-wheel drive, but the LRX shows off some new technology. There is the Electric Rear Axle Drive (ERAD) that allows the LRX to move under electric power at very low speeds in rough conditions. However, the LRX is not a hybrid-powered car and the ERAD retains mechanical drive to all four wheels, only supplying extra power to the rear wheels when required.

Land Rover says ERAD can work at up to 20mph without the petrol engine cutting in, when the Integrated Starter-Generator (ISG) fires up the engine. The ISG also recoups energy to charge the LRX’s battery when the car is slowing or braking.

As well as this new technology, the LRX also has Land Rover’s Hill Descent Control and Terrain Response systems so that it lives up to the company’s reputation for making superb off-road vehicles. However, the Terrain Response now also comes with two new modes, which are Eco and Sports for optimised fuel economy or for keener on-road reactions respectively.

Land Rover won’t be drawn on when an LRX-derived production model is likely to make it to showrooms, saying that a decision can only be taken when the sale of the company has been finalised.

Mazda says there are more of its cars taking part in motorsport on any given weekend in the USA than any other make. This has been the inspiration for the Japanese firm to come up with its Furai road-racer supercar, which Mazda says bridges the gap between supercars and proper racing cars.

The basis of the Furai is a Courage chassis, which is used in Mazda-powered racers in the American Le Mans Series endurance events. Mounted in the middle of the car is a 450bhp rotary engine related to the one used in the RX-8. This engine is powerful enough to see the Furai hit 180mph and Mazda says it is the ideal test bed for its new ideas, such as the engine only using ethanol fuel.

Mazda has also spent a lot of time on the aerodynamics of the Furai, incorporating headlights to act as guide frames to reduce front end lift at high speeds. There’s also an under-car diffuser that helps draw cool air into the radiators and back out again.

The Furai has a proper two-seat  cabin - unlike the race car it’s based on - and Mazda says it has worked hard to make the interior as comfortable as possible. Access to the interior is through race-style gullwing doors that hinge at the top.

Mazda has no plans to ever turn the Furai into a production car. Instead, the Furai is a test bed for new ideas and fuel development with the firm’s partner BP.

Trust’s Universal Notebook Power Adapter is a very simple product: it replaces your notebook computer’s own power supply.

That’s handy for anyone who’s lost or broken the original adapter that came with the computer.

The main power brick has a switch to select the output voltage - this can be found on the underside of the computer, or on the original power adapter.

It also has two power inputs, using either a mains cable or the supplied car charger, so it’s even possible to charge the computer’s battery as you drive.

The kit includes plenty of plugs for all sorts of notebooks - we couldn’t find a recent notebook (made in the last five years) that it couldn’t fit. The adapter can also power a USB device at the same time - that means it’s possible to plug in an iPod (using the iPod’s own charging cable), a phone, a Sony PSP or any other device that charges over USB, and power that at the same time as the computer. There’s a list on the Trust website of notebooks and other products that the adapter supports.

This versatile power adapter does its job well and is capable of more than just charging a notebook. That means it’s an excellent alternative to your notebook manufacturer’s official replacement adapter.

The FBI is warning of a dramatic increase in the number of so-called ‘vishing’ attacks that entice mobile phone users into giving up personal banking details.

Vishing works in much the same way as phishing. An email or text message is sent to a user asking them to call the target bank to reactivate a credit or debit card.

“On calling the telephone number, the recipient is greeted with ‘Welcome to the bank of …’ and [is] requested to enter their card number in order to resolve a ‘pending security issue’,” the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center said in an alert.

The availability of increasingly popular VoIP equipment and open source call-centre software has prompted scammers to set up their own call centres, often employing staff who may be unaware that they are working for a criminal gang.

The FBI is advising users to look up their bank’s phone number and call them directly if they believe they have been a victim of a vishing attack.

Facebook could find its way onto hundreds of thousands of mobile phones, following rumours that Nokia is developing a social networking tool for its handsets.

A report from research firm paidContent suggests that Nokia is in negotiations to develop a mobile version of Facebook, mirroring the deal struck between YouTube and Apple which brought YouTube to the iPhone.

Nokia is also rumoured to be interested in acquiring a small stake in Facebook, after an unnamed Nokia executive revealed that “a partnership is in the works”.

As the world’s largest mobile phone manufacturer, Nokia’s 38 per cent global handset share might prove an irresistible proposition for Facebook. But any deal is likely to provoke outcries from privacy activists.

Facebook is facing questions from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), following complaints by a user who was unable to remove their profile even though the account had been terminated.

Facebook claims that it has no interest in using information from deactivated accounts, even though personal details remain on the company’s servers after deactivation of an account.

“We take the concerns of the ICO and our users’ privacy very seriously,” said a statement on the Facebook website.

“We are committed to working with the ICO to maintain a trusted environment for all Facebook users and to ensure compliance with UK law.”

Protect your PC from spyware, malware and other threats

Spyeraser is part of a collection of tools from software maker Uniblue.

As the name suggests, it scans the computer for spyware and can clean away any offending infection.

It’s quick to install and offers an immediate summary of the PC’s security level through a handy dial on the main interface.

From here you can choose to run a quick scan or a deep scan of the entire computer, targeting cookies, memory, registry keys and files.

When the scan is complete it shows a set of results and the user can choose to ignore, quarantine or remove the offending files - usefully, the recommended action is already selected each time.

You’ll find a summary of scan results, a scheduler, quarantine database and logs of previous scans, and it’s possible to add specific files to an list to be ignored by the scanner. You’ll also find options here to restore the computer to a previous state should you encounter problems after using the software. The most powerful part of the package, though, is the automated Live Guard area in which you can scan specific areas of the web browser and other programs.

Unfortunately it only works with Internet Explorer, which seems to be a bit of an oversight given the popularity of capable rivals such as Firefox. In truth it’s unlikely that most users will find the need to adjust the Live Guard settings, but more experienced operators will find a level of control here that allows for manual adjustment of the automatic protection if need be.

The settings menu has options to disable certain areas of the computer to help prevent spyware or other similar threats from making unauthorised changes.

Spyeraser scores points for speed and ease of use, and does offer an impressive degree of control over what parts of the computer are protected. Unfortunately we’re not completely convinced by its thoroughness: we saw that a couple of files that would typically be flagged by other similar tools weren’t noticed by this software, although it did pick up the more obvious (and more dangerous) threats.

Vista compatibility: Yes

Who wants to traipse off to the high street or spend ages uploading images to a website when it’s often easier and cheaper to print photos at home?

Epson is the brand of choice for many photo professionals, so is its latest portable printer, the top-of-the-range PM 290, pull off the same trick for the man in the street?

First impressions aren’t good: its boxy grey plastic housing suggests that the designers should have gone back to the drawing board, or at least had a spell in detention.

But it’s what’s inside that counts, and that is an inkjet printer with a great resolution of 5,760×1,440dpi that will in theory deliver much more detail than similarly priced dye-sublimation printers.

There is also a four-colour all-in-one cartridge - reminiscent of a video cassette - that slots easily into the base at the back so there’s no fiddling around with messy innards. Four colours also mean a wider and more subtle range of tones and impressively deep black shades alongside warm, well-saturated colour. More detailed prints don’t mean having to wait ages for delivery either: the PM 290 claims - and fulfilled - 37 seconds for a 6×4in photo print, the fastest we’ve experienced.

The unit can be used as a standalone device - there is a USB port and slots at the front for common memory cards - or it can be used with the PC if you budget extra for a USB cable. Even better is the fact that it’s Bluetooth-equipped and has a tray for copying images to or from CD or DVD. With a bright and clear tilting 3in screen on which to review shots, the PM 290 shapes up as truly a complete printing package.

Home printing is usually more expensive than high street bulk printing, but if you opt for Epson’s 100-sheet photo pack the price per 6×4in copy is a very reasonable 20p. A carry handle and battery are available as extras.

The PM 290 offers the best marriage of speed and image quality on the market. It may appear expensive compared with the best of competing brands, but it is a knockout product for which it’s well worth digging deeper.

The Neuros OSD is a media streaming device that offers a range of ways to view, stream and distribute music and video around the home.

It device is designed to sit between a television and a source device such as a Sky or cable box, video recorder or Freeview box, using the two cables supplied. This allows it to act as a ‘pass-through’ so you can enjoy uninterrupted television when it’s not in use.

Click a button on the supplied remote control, though, and the OSD’s [www.neurostechnology.com] screen is overlaid onto the television picture. To view digital music, video or photos through the television you can connect a USB storage device or a memory card directly into the OSD’s sockets, or connect it to a wired network to stream directly from the computer’s hard disk.

Perhaps the most useful weapon in the OSD’s arsenal is its ability to record content either directly to a storage device or across the network to a hard disk. Innovatively, it allows the user to record directly in a format suitable for an iPod or Sony PSP, as well as being able to manually configure settings for other devices.

An IR Blaster is also included the box, which can be placed alongside the infra-red receiver on any device to allow the user to remotely change channels and control the source from the computer to help schedule recordings.

This is an impressive array of capabilities, the potential of which makes the OSD one of the most versatile media streamers yet released. Unfortunately it isn’t without its drawbacks.

Being open source, the Neuros is constantly being refined and improved with firmware updates and plug-ins to allow users to customise the interface or stream and view Youtube content on the fly, for instance. For this reason it’s difficult to judge the potential of the product but in its current guise we came across some fairly major problems, something particularly serious for the less tech-savvy consumer.

To begin with it’s not particularly easy to use, in large part down to the convoluted interface and an unresponsive remote control. We also had some issues when setting up the network access, although these were eventually cleared up, and we were disappointed by the lack of control the user has over media files during selection and playback.

Vista compatible: Yes

The eight-megapixel SX100 IS, with its 10x optical zoom, is a new class of camera for Canon. It contains a monster of a lens but is easier to use and more affordable than the typical long zoom model.

Cameras with this sort of lens length - equivalent to 36-360mm in 35mm terms - are susceptible to the effects of hand wobble when shooting at maximum zoom, so Canon has included image stabilisation to cut down on blurred shots, and the good news is that it works.

If you do want to hedge your bets by also using the flash, the fact that it’s of a pop-up version helps prevent red-eye, since the bulb is further from the lens.

Canon has also considered the ergonomics of the camera: there’s enough of it to get a good grip, and although the construction of the SX100 IS is mainly in plastic it feels reassuringly solid. The only signs of corner-cutting are the two non-rechargeable AA batteries that power the device and lasted us less than 100 shots - very disappointing.

With large and responsive buttons, the SX100 IS gets up and running in a couple of seconds, and though there’s no hotshoe for an additional flash or an optical viewfinder, Canon has provided a clear and fairly large 2.5in screen.

Settings are chosen using a four-way controller at the rear of the camera that can’t quite decide whether it’s a touch pad or a scroll wheel. As it’s easy for the thumb to slip between options, this makes for fiddly operation until you get used to its quirks.

Third grumble: there’s no doubting the larger zoom range is really handy for candid snaps and close-ups, but the fact that it’s unusable in video mode feels like a missed opportunity given the large audience of doting parents.

Still, images are what count, and the results from the SX100 IS were impressively sharp and colourful without looking unnatural. Low-light shots showed some noise, though results were better than from competing cameras even at the maximum setting of ISO1600. Overall this is a reliable budget option for those who want a large zoom but not the distracting range of manual controls that often come with that.

A portable photo printer for affordable pictures

Fashioned into a shape that suggests a ghetto blaster for a toddler, HP’s miniature A626 printer shows that the company has cottoned onto the fact that design is as important as function nowadays.

That’s especially true if the printer is equipped with a carry handle meaning it might be seen out in public.

Equally attractive is the fact that the A626, unusually for a printer of its size, employs inkjet rather than dye-sublimation technology.

Whereas dye-sublimation printers typically have a maximum print resolution of 300dpi - usually considered as approaching photo quality - the A626 offers a whopping 4,800×1,200dpi.

Though this sounds like overkill when it only prints to 5in x7in paper, in real terms it means finer and more subtle detail than its rivals, at a price similar to them or cheaper, with an average cost per print of 21p. The A626 also uses HP’s Vivera inks (in the form of a three colour cartridge) as found in its more grown-up desktop printers.

The front of the printer flips open to reveal four separate card slots for camera memory cards, plus an additional USB port for direct connection should your card not be supported. And then there’s the A626’s large 4.8in pop-up screen, which perfect for reviewing the shots to be printed. Though it does operate as a standalone device, it can also be hooked up to your PC - but it’s up to the user to provide the USB cable in that case.

The screen is also touch-sensitive, with a plastic stylus provided for easy cropping of images, removal of red-eye and overall enhancement without having to fire up the computer. This cuts down on the number of distracting buttons and controls, giving the unit a minimalist appearance and making it easier to understand.

Given the amount of features it offers, and its funky styling, the A626’s asking price feels more than fair, and though it isn’t the fastest out of the blocks - delivering a print in 90 seconds that’s still a little moist to the touch - this printer is one of the more convincing standalone photo models out there.

Vista compatible: Yes

Go!Explore system includes 3D models of cities

Sony is to offer the GPS add-on for its PlayStation Portable gaming console to European users.

Set for release in early Spring, the Go!Explore system comprises an attachable GPS receiver and UMD disc containing the user’s chosen maps including 3D models of cities.

The system has separate modes based on whether the user is on foot or in a car. In pedestrian mode, users will be able to plot their way through cities in 3D thanks to the fully modelled maps contained on the UMD discs.

Users will also be able to download new maps and upgrades via Sony’s online PlayStation Network.

Go!Explore uses map data from TeleAtlas combined with navigation software from Nav N Go.

This addition marks part of Sony’s drive to make the PSP a multifunction portable device, as seen with the recent inclusion of Skype calling from the PSP.

Map packs will be available for most European countries in English, German, French, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian and Finnish versions.

The Go!Explore kit will be provided in three bundle options:

GPS receiver and UMD (including maps of the relevant country) for €119
GPS receiver, UMD, Car Adaptor and Car Mount for €149
PSP, GPS receiver, UMD, Car Adaptor and Car Mount for €299

New digicam ranges are significantly more versatile 

Canon has launched a range of new camcorders that make the most of high-definition (HD), widescreen TV and DVD technologies.

The DC300 and MD200 ranges both record straight to DVD and in 16:9 widescreen. The HV30 model can record HD footage.

The DC300 range comes with a high-capacity battery pack, which is said to extend recording time, and an SD card for saving still-life images.

The better-equipped DC330 has a 45x advanced zoom, and a DIGIC DV II processor, which is said to give true-to-life colours. The DC301 has the same features plus a 36x zoom.

The models in the MD200 series have a quick-start feature and an LCD video light for close-up filming in poorly lit areas. The MD235 has a 45x zoom and an ‘easy shooting mode’ for point and shoot recording. The MD205 has a 36x zoom.

The HV30 takes advantage of HD technology and claims to let people record in the same HD resolution as full HD televisions. It has a 2.7in multi-angle LCD screen, and a 10x optical zoom with an image stabiliser to keep shaking to a minimum.

The camera can record at 25 frames per second giving a cinema-like effect to footage. It has a high-capacity battery which is said to give around four hours of continuous shooting.

Finally Canon’s HF10 and HF100 are Flash memory-based models, which means that footage continues to be stored on the device even if the battery runs out.

The HF10 has the option of recording to its internal 16GB memory or an SD card, while the HF100 stores everything directly to its Flash storage. Both have 12x optical zoom and a 3.1-megapixel resolution on still images.

Pricing was not available but all models should be available from next month.