Go Messenger is a new software add-on for Sony’s Playstation Portable (PSP) games console that allows users to communicate with each other in various ways: via video, voice and text chat or messaging.

The software itself is free, but a number of crucial elements need to be in place before you can make full use of what Go Messenger has to offer, namely a PSP, access to a wireless internet connection and – if you want to use the video and voice functions – Sony’s Go Cam PSP camera accessory with built-in microphone (sold separately for about £35).

You’ll also need to find some similarly equipped friends for PSP-to-PSP communication, though it is also possible to chat with users of BT’s PC-based Softfone VoIP software. Setup is somewhat fiddly. We had to update our PSP and download new software before we could even register. Even then we experienced some inexplicable network problems during the initial logon.

Once it’s up and running, though, Go Messenger works pretty well. The main interface is quick, logical and easy to use. It’s unlikely to be of much interest to anyone over 15, particularly the texting element, which is a drag on the Playstation’s software keyboard.

Apple to announce 3G iPhone on 9 June

Apple chief executive Steve Jobs will take the wraps off the much-hyped 3G iPhone during his keynote speech at the Worldwide Developers Conference on 9 June, according to Citi analysts.

The Apple conference, scheduled to take place in San Francisco June from 9 to 13 June, will witness the “first of an impressive wave of new products”, said Citi analysts Richard Gardner and Yeechang Lee.

Meanwhile in the UK, O2 and Carphone Warehouse have sold out of 8GB iPhones following recent price cuts.

Messages on the O2 and Carphone Warehouse websites reported ‘out of stock’ and ‘no longer available’ after last week’s £100 reductions.

The price cutting move is widely seen as an attempt to unload stock ahead of an announcement surrounding the next-generation iPhone.

While the iPhone is perhaps Apple’s highest profile device, it accounts for a relatively small proportion of the company’s revenues.

Apple shipped 1.7 million iPhones in the second quarter, bringing in $378m. Total revenues reached $7.51bn.

The company claimed that it is on track to sell 10 million iPhones this year.

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Pre-orders for Nintendo’s Wii Fit game are outstripping supply as major retailers report shortages ahead of next week’s launch.

Five of the UK’s biggest games retailers - Play.com, Amazon.co.uk, Game.co.uk, Shopto.net and Zavvi.co.uk - have all been forced to turn away customers looking to buy the game and its bundled Wii Balance Board.

“We are currently sold out on this item. All orders will be dispatched as soon as possible,” read the response at Play.com.

Nintendo is advising customers to “shop around” and claimed that it had warned retailers of potential shortages several weeks ago.

“All retailers in the UK and Ireland have been aware of their Wii Fit allocations for launch since early March and as such we would see any stopping of pre-orders a sensible precaution on their part to ensure all current orders are met,” Nintendo said in a statement released to games website GamesIndustry.biz.

“Many retailers are still accepting pre-orders and we would advise people to shop around to secure their copy.”

The Wii Fit and its Wii Balance Board, an accessory developed exclusively for the Nintendo console, will launch across Europe on 25 April priced at £69 in the UK.

A wireless webcam – or Wireless IP Camera, as Edimax rather geekily calls it – can come in handy in all sorts of ways.

One of the most common uses is for security – like a low-cost CCTV camera, it can be set up to monitor a particular location, and then use it to beam images back to the computer so that you can always see what’s going on. However, there are other way in which it may appeal to home users.

Many people have webcams attached to their computers, but a wireless camera such as this can be moved around more easily, so that you can place it anywhere in your home. You could, for instance, use it as a baby-monitor to keep an eye on a sleeping toddler while you work in another room.

You can also share the camera with other people on the home network, so that different people can watch the action on their own computers. So we can certainly see lots of potential uses for the Wireless IP Camera. Its 640×480 pixel resolution produced good quality images, and at around £50 it’s pretty good value too.
However, Edimax should have done a bit more work on the camera’s ease of use.

As it stands, it looks like it was designed for IT specialists who understand the intricate details of network settings, rather than ordinary home users who want a simple device that they can set up without too much trouble. The 40-page manual provided with the camera (as a PDF on disc, not printed) is full of complicated technical details that many people will find quite confusing.

In the end, we had to call the technical support people at Edimax to get the camera working properly with our notebook PC. We can give full marks to Edimax’s technical team for holding our hand as they walked us through the process (although as with all services, your experience may be different), but we can’t help thinking that the whole process could have been a lot more straightforward.

So while the Wireless IP Camera is potentially very useful, the installation process needs to be simplified if the company wants to reach home users as well as corporate IT departments.

There are quite a few digital photo frames about now that offer extra features in addition the basic display of photographs.

The 10.4in Genius DPF-A01 from Genius falls somewhere in the middle, and is finished with a rather large faux-mahogany bezel.

A quick peek around the back reveals a multi-format memory card reader, full-sized USB port for connecting a USB memory key, a mini-USB socket for connecting to a PC, and a speaker.

Photos are transferred by dragging and dropping them in Windows (the frame appears as a disk when plugged into the PC) or can be copied to the frame directly from memory cards. The frame cleverly resizes them as it goes, to make the most of the 128MB of internal storage.

We were very impressed by the image quality despite the large display having a resolution of only 640×480 pixels, and it can be adjusted for various environments thanks to the flexible brightness control.

The frame offers three different views: full screen, a three-to-four-photo montage and a nine-photo grid for browsing. In terms of slideshow control you can adjust the timings but there’s no facility to change the type of transition between pictures.

This isn’t the only problem we encountered. First of all there’s no battery, so it needs to be connected to the mains when in use. There’s also no real interface through which to browse pictures, so everything is lumped into one display, which will be frustrating if you expected to be able to separate pictures into folders and then choose a specific collection to view.

The same goes for MP3 files, and while the frame claims to be able to play back video, we failed to get any of a number of AVI files we tested to work. Finally, in the absence of any controls on the frame itself you need to use the supplied remote control, which we found a bit unresponsive, to access everything.

The ‘extra features’ on offer with the A01 are a bit of a token effort, then, and those expecting a decent amount of control over video, audio or large collections of photos will feel let down. On the upside it looks great, has a very impressive display and is reasonably priced for its size.

If you’re in the market for a photo frame to leave in one place, use for its primary purpose and don’t expect to be fiddling with much, you’ll be very happy with the DPF-A01.

Medion isn’t nearly as well known for its satellite-navigation devices as it is for its cheap and capable PCs.

In the past it has produced some extremely impressive navigators, though.

The new P4425 has plenty of additional features alongside traditional satellite navigation.

It’s a slimline and compact device with external volume controls, a straightforward display for navigation and adjustment on the move and a range of customisable features.

The main mapping software is very clear, if a little bland, and allows you to choose between visual maps, turn-direction icons or a combination of both to help make sure you don’t miss vital turns.

There’s plenty of information available en route through the trip computer and a handy shortcut button on the main map display allows users to access any of six customisable features with a single button press, which is an excellent way to keep your favourite features close at hand.

Directions are clear enough, though new users might find it a bit fiddly to configure the exact layout and behaviour of the main mapping screen to work as you’d like, but once you get used to it it’s much better.

Where the P4425 really scores points is with the range of extra features it includes, such as the music player, video player, photo viewer, Bluetooth (for connecting to a mobile phone so you can use the P4425 for hands-free calls), an FM transmitter (to send directions or music to a car stereo), Berlitz travel guides and an alarm.

The only problem we can see with all this is that the supplied 2GB memory car d is almost full with maps so in order to play music or video you’ll need to buy a bigger card and reinstall the maps from the supplied discs.

Medion’s device isn’t quite as easy to use out of the box as those from rivals such as Tomtom, but the inclusion of full European maps, free traffic information and speed camera updates mean that the P4425 represents extremely good value. If you’re looking for these sorts of extras there are no competing devices that carry them all for as low a price.

One of the recent trends in notebook computers has been for manufacturers to distinguish their products not just through the specifications but through the design as well.

That’s led to all sorts of outlandish designs as well as tie-ins with car manufacturers to produce garishly coloured computers.

Fujitsu Siemens has largely stayed away from such frivolity, concerning itself with producing good computers at good prices. However, the Amilo Si 2636 represents a step in the direction of style – it’s moderately outlandish, if such a thing is possible.

In fact, it’s fairly normal in design except for the bright red metallic trim along both sides and the front. Other than that, and the fact that the bottom of the screen tapers inwards slightly on both sides for a pleasing curved effect, it’s pretty standard, with a gloss black cover and grey-black styling elsewhere.

The computer is loaded with Windows Vista Home Premium and uses an Intel Core 2 Duo T8100 processor, which runs at 2.1GHz. There is 2GB of memory and a 250GB hard disk.

The memory is a reasonable amount, although we’re starting to see computers with more, and the hard disk is more than adequate for almost all users. Likewise, the processor is impressively fast and shouldn’t be too slow for anyone.

One sticking point might be the graphics – while they are fine for most uses including video editing and DVD playback, this computer can’t really cope well with recent games or high in-game detail settings. However, it’s fair to say that notebooks of this kind and at this price aren’t designed for gaming in any case.

The screen measures only 13.3in across the diagonal, which is smaller than the 15in found on similar models. However, it’s hard to discern the difference and in fact the screen feels just as big as larger models when it’s in use.

While the screen is crisp and clear, the keyboard and mouse trackpad are merely adequate. The keys aren’t very deep, so heavy typists will find their fingers hurting after a while. The trackpad is a little small, and it’s circular rather than rectangular, which is a bit confusing at first. The curved buttons aren’t very well designed either.

The Amilo Si 2636 comes with Bluetooth and wireless networking capabilities as well as a wired network port, two USB ports and an eSata socket for connecting newer external hard disks.

The only video output, should you want to hook it up to a TV or monitor, is an HDMI port. That’s fine for those with high-definition TVs, but others will need an adapter to connect to a standard monitor, adding £10 or so. The smaller screen makes it easy to pick up and carry, and battery life is impressive.

It’s clear that Samsung wants the YP-P2 to appeal to those who like the look and feel of the iPod Touch but can’t justify the expense.

Instead, the 2GB version of the P2 (it’s available in 4GB and 8GB versions as well) sells for £99, which is half the price of the entry-level Touch.

There’s no wireless network connectivity, but it is enabled for Bluetooth. The P2’s screen is half an inch smaller than the Touch’s, but it’s equally bright and sharp.

Although light at 86g, the P2 is solidly made thanks to its metal case. There are three buttons along its edges: a play/pause button on the left side and volume controls on the right which sit beneath the thumb and middle finger respectively, meaning operation is easy.

The P2’s touchscreen is responsive without being oversensitive – it’s clear that Samsung have thought about how to prevent accidental selections when using the screen. It’s difficult to accidentally press the buttons through your clothing when the hold switch isn’t activated, because you have to tap each menu item twice to confirm the selection.

One of the most exciting features of the P2 is its Bluetooth capability. We paired it with a set of wireless Bluetooth headphones (available for around £50). Within minutes we were enjoying the benefits of wireless listening, and we had no connection problems, unlike with many Bluetooth devices.

The P2’s Bluetooth facility can in theory be used to make and receive calls while your mobile phone is in a bag or pocket. However, we were unable to get this to work despite repeated attempts ending in repeated crashes.

Sound quality from the player is superb, provided you replace the supplied earphones with a better pair. High notes are crisp without sounding harsh and there is plenty of bass but it’s not overpowering.

The player supports MP3 and paid-for WMA files, but we would have liked to have seen the ability to play MPEG4 video, which can only be played if first converted using the supplied software. For video and as a Bluetooth device, it’s average, but the YP-P2 is a great music player.

Design

MacBook Air is nearly as thin as your index finger. Practically every detail that could be streamlined has been. Yet it still has a 13.3-inch widescreen LED display, full-size keyboard and large multi-touch trackpad. It’s incomparably portable without the usual ultraportable screen and keyboard compromises.

Features

The incredible thinness of MacBook Air is the result of numerous size- and weight-shaving innovations. From a slimmer hard drive to strategically hidden I/O ports to a lower-profile battery, everything has been considered and reconsidered with thinness in mind.

Wireless

MacBook Air is designed and engineered to take full advantage of the wireless world. A world in which 802.11n Wi-Fi is now so fast and so available, people are truly living untethered — buying music and TV shows online, downloading software, and sharing and storing files on the web.

Nintendo DS Lite is a lighter and brighter version of the highly successful Nintendo DS, which has sold more than 4 million units across Europe and 16 milllion units worldwide.

Nintendo’s latest console includes all the existing features of the Nintendo DS, yet includes a variety of distinctive changes which truly sets it apart from other handheld consoles. Nintendo DS Lite retains the advanced touch screen technology, allowing players to control the software with a stylus or even their finger, as well as dual screens, voice recognition and Wi-Fi capabilities of the Nintendo DS but is now both smaller and lighter. Weighing nearly 60g less than the original, it is just two thirds of the original size. The redesign isn’t only cosmetic though, the Nintendo DS Lite features adjustable screen brightness with four settings, a repositioned microphone for ease of use and a larger and more comfortable stylus. With its new design and unique features, this console is perfect for everyone regardless of age, gender and gaming skills.

Special features

• It’s less than two-thirds the size of the original Nintendo DS and more than 20 percent lighter.
• Its two bright screens can be adjusted to four levels to adapt to different lighting conditions and to extend battery power.
• The microphone sits in the center of the unit, and the LED lights are clearly visible whether the unit is open or closed.
• The stylus is 1 centimeter longer and 1 millimeter thicker than the stylus of the original, and slides into a side storage slot.
• The Start and Select buttons were repositioned for easier access.
• A removable cover keeps the Game Boy Advance cartridge slot clear from dust and debris when it’s not in use.

A USB adapter with a removable external aerial that’s ideal for desktop PCs

There are dozens of wireless network adapters on the market today, with more and more connecting to a computer’s USB socket.

This is certainly convenient, but if you use a desktop PC tucked under a table it can cause problems as the adapter and its aerial are often hidden behind the PC, obstructing the wireless signal.

Hawking’s HWUG1 adapter has a simple answer: it has an external aerial that can be turned around into the best position or even replaced with a larger one if needed.

The HWUG1 supports the older 802.11g wireless standard rather than the newer, faster 802.11n, but this is reasonable at its price. It works with Windows XP and Vista but like many manufacturers Hawking annoyingly insists on including its own program to manage wireless connections.

We think it’s simpler to just let Windows deal with networks, and in fact on our Windows Vista PC the Hawking program caused problems. After removing it the adapter worked well.

Otherwise the HWUG1 performed excellently. Notebook users may prefer a more compact adapter with a built-in aerial, but for desktop PC users this is a good buy.