In the earlier version of the PlayStation, there was just a single analog stick, but in the PS Vita you can find two analog sticks on its front, joined by a D-pad along with the standard PS button. On the top, it has the Left and Right shoulder triggers along with the Start and Select standard buttons. It has two touch-sensitive pads behind the device where you rest your fingers for support. It is quite similar to the track pad on your laptop and it is designed to function in a similar fashion. These pads work in combination with the controls of the PlayStation Vita which can be used to stroke and poke for additional controls when playing the game. The popularity of this new control all depends on how the game developers make use of it for the PS Vita.

I think one of the coolest things about the PS Vita is the cross platform play. You can start a game on your PS3, pause it, and pick up where you left off on your PS Vita. Multiplayer play will also enjoy full cross platform play.

Here is a list of the Specifications:

• CPUARM: Cortex – A9 core (4 core)
• GPUS: GX543MP4+
• External Dimensions: Approx. 182.0 x 18.6 x 83.5mm (width x height x depth)
• Screen: (Touch Screen) 5 inches (16:9), 960 x 544, Approx. 16 million colours, OLED multi touch screen (capacitive type)
• Rear Touch Pad: Multi touch pad (capacitive type)
• Cameras: front camera and rear camera
• Sound: Built-in stereo speakers and built-in microphone
• Sensors: Six-axis motion sensing system (three-axis gyroscope, three-axis accelerometer), three-axis electronic compass
• Location: Built-in GPS, Wi-Fi location service support
• Keys / Switches: Power button, directional buttons (up/down/right/left), action buttons (triangle, circle, cross, square), shoulder buttons (right/left), right stick, left stick, START button, SELECT button, volume buttons (+/-)
• Wireless Communications: Mobile network connectivity (3G), IEEE 802.11b/g/n (n = 1×1) (Wi-Fi) (infrastructure mode/ad-hoc mode) and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR (A2DP/AVRCP/HSP)

The PS Vita will be available from Incredible Connection on the launch date here in South Africa on the 22 February 2012 and will be selling for R 3 599.95 .

Some of the featured products on our demo sale

Acer Travelmate 5530G-65432MN Notebook – R3499.95 (Save R1500)

• AMD® AthlonTM 64 x2 Dual-Core processor 2.1 GHz
• ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3470 512MB
• Super multi DL DVD drive
• Memory card reader
• Bluetooth
• Acer fingerprint reader
• Crystal Eye webcam
• 6 Cell Li-ion batter

Apple Macbook 13″ – R9999.95 (Save R1000)

• Intel® Dual Core i5 processor 2.3 GHz
• 320GB HDD
• 4GB Ram
• HD Graphics
• SD Card reader

Nikon D3000 Digital Camera + 18 – 55mm Non VR Lens + 4GB SDHC Card – R2999.95 (Save R2000)

• 11 Point auto focus system with 3D-tracking
• Modify images without a computer

Demo units are items that have been on display as well as returned units. The units may not be in their original packaging and have been used for demonstration purposes. These units carry full manufacturers warranty.

The Looks

The Y570 is not an unattractive laptop, with some nice detailing on the cool metal and plastic shell, but in the world of slim notebooks this one is chunky. But then this IdeaPad was not designed with portability in mind, Lenovo are aiming this line of laptops squarely at your desk, looking to create a series of affordable desktop replacements.

The Guts

Now onto the hardware, which this machine has plenty of; the Y570 is a 15.3″ laptop with a somewhat meager 1366×768 glossy screen, but the rest of the hardware is top notch. This version (the hardware is configurable) has the new Intel sandy bridge chipset with a second gen core i7-2670QM processor at 2.2GHz, 4GB DDR3 1333MHz RAM. There is plenty of space with a 750GB HDD and a 32GB SSD which gives the laptop great boot times. For gaming and HD movies there is a fantastic (switchable) 1GB GDDR5 nVidia GT 555M graphics card that packs more than a fair wallop.

A BluRay drive, VGA + HDMI video output and some wonderfully punchy JBL speakers provide everything else for a great movie and gaming experience. For connectivity you have WiFi a/g/n, 1Gb ethernet, 4x USB with 2x USB 3.0 and a combo e-SATA/USB, and a multi-card reader. A nice chiclet keyboard and generous multitouch trackpad round out the hardware.

Round up

As far as software goes, you get Windows 7 home premium 64bit and a pile of bloatware you probably won’t pay too much attention too.

For R12999.95 you get a whole lot of machine, perhaps a bit too much, but if you’re not a frequent traveler the Y570 makes a great desktop alternative with a little portability.

Update: 2 Feb 2011

The new Nokia Lumia 800 is now available from Incredible Connection on Vodacom contract or prepaid:

Vodacom contract details:
R249 pm
On a Business 24 month contract
Once off SIM & Connection R202.00
*T’s&C’s apply. See below
Plus free* 100MB data for 24 months on contract

Prepaid price:
R5999.95

Watch the review below or visit Nokia.co.za/lumia for more info.

*Terms and conditions apply to all contract and prepaid offers. All contract deals are subject to signing a new 24-month or 36-month Vodacom contract and a once-off
SIM and connection fee of R202 on all new contracts, unless otherwise stipulated. Please visit www.vodacom.co.za for our full terms and conditions that always apply
or ask in store for a copy. Gift vouchers/cards are not included in prepaid deals. Gift vouchers/cards may not be redeemed for cash or as payment on installment. When
taking out a contract or making a prepaid purchase – please confi rm with salespersons. Vodacom reserves the right to alter or withdraw the deals advertised without
notice. E&OE (ERRORS AND OMISSIONS EXCEPTED).

The German car giants are touting the idea of the smart car where the car becomes a mobile communications centre, enabling drivers to access all modern media services at any given time. Uncoupling from the conventional vehicle development cycles is achieved on the one hand through secure and comfortable integration of the smartphone in the vehicle, and on the other hand through the use of a consistently Cloud-based solution. Mercedes-Benz customers consequently always have access to the latest applications for comprehensive connectivity in their automobiles.

But that’s not all the intelligent car does not simply communicates with the driver alone, but also with other transportation modes and the surrounding environment in order to be able to assess all relevant information for a trip and make practical use of it immediately.

The complete windshield becomes a brilliant head-up display; the dashboard, a display band. Digital information about the actual vehicle surroundings, points of interest, friends, pedestrians and other vehicles are all presented there.

With DICE Mercedes-Benz is giving drivers a peak in to the future of driving and even though we can’t expect to see the changes any time soon it’s still an amazing glimpse of what’s to come!

One thing that stands out about the all-in-one is its 1080p 2D / 3D display – a great option for those who want to use their all-in-one as a smaller home theater device. While we don’t have too much detail on the full specs,  we do know there’s an Intel Core i7 processor and a Radeon HD6730M graphics card with 1GB of dedicated video RAM. It also comes with a wireless mouse and keyboard.

The Series 9 display runs at 2,560 x 1,440, but doesn’t include the 3D features found in the all-in-one PC. The monitor is beautifully minimal, with controls built into the base of the monitor. With its slim aluminium build with glowing touch controls the monitor is definitely quite easy on the eyes.

The Series 9 Monitor is set to arrive in stores later this year – think March or April. No word on when it’s due in South Africa yet but keep checking the IC blog for updates.

The WB850F, WB150F, and ST200F devices feature Samsung’s innovative new SMART Wi-Fi technology that aims to change the way consumers take pictures, share and store them. The Samsung SMART range of cameras allows users to transfer images to their PC or laptop using the Auto Backup function – which means no more fussing with cables! Users also get integrated free storage space from Samsung’s AllShare Play and Microsoft Sky Drive so can store and access their photos anywhere. The Wi-Fi capability of the new Samsung SMART long-zoom cameras gives users the ability to share your photos with incredible ease. Using any Wi-Fi hotspot users can email photos or share them on social networks such as Facebook and Picasa or post videos to YouTube.

The WB850F also uses GPS features and Live Landmark to enhance the user’s journeys, enabling them to download maps and find out information on nearby locations with the touch of a button. The camera’s Digital Compass can also give users their location and tell them how far they are from certain locations, while the MapView function allows users to download maps and use their camera to help explore new cities.

The WB850F, WB150F and ST200F cameras make it easy to capture incredible detail through their zoom lenses. The WB850F features a 21x optical zoom, the WB150F features an 18x optical super zoom and the ST200F includes a 10x optical zoom lens. In order to capture the detail at its best the Samsung travel zoom models feature upwards of 12 Megapixel sensors – 16.2 Megapixels on the WB850F and 14.2 Megapixels on the WB150F. The WB850F also features pioneering BSI CMOS sensor technology to reduce image noise and distortion, even in low light conditions. This crystal-clear detail can then be experienced in all its clarity on the 3.0″ VGA AMOLED screen featured on both models.

When in speaker mode, the mRobo weighs in at 1.4KG, stands a little under eight inches tall, and boasts 2GB of internal memory. The mRobo Ultra Bass is basically a state-of-the-art portable speaker that doubles as a dancing robot. The battery powered mRobo allows users to upload about 500 songs into the device via a USB port and select which tracks to play using a provided remote. The music will play through an integrated speaker, with the ability to produce bass at 40Hz. Once the music begins playing, mRobo, which can listen to its own music, music from other devices, or music streamed via Bluetooth, will instantly transform, growing a head, legs and arms, and will groove through a series of pre-programmed dance moves to virtually any genre of music.

Its capacity to transform back into a speaker makes mRobo completely portable and ideal for the consumer on the go. It measures 4.3 inches (W) x 6.3 inches (L) x 7.9 inches (H). The battery operated mRobo uses software to analyze music for beats and rhythms to which it responds with corresponding moves.

Anyway, this phonecamera is still an interesting move for Polaroid. The camera part is a high quality 16MP point-n-shoot, with 3x optical zoom, 5x digital zoom. It shoots 720p video and has geotagging, anti-shake and face and smile detection rolled in too.

The rest of the hardware is pretty standard fare. A decent 800×400 3.2″ LCD touchscreen, 512MB RAM, 512MB builtin storage, microSD slot for upto 32GB of extra storage, Micro USB port and 2.5mm headphone jack. A Samsung 800Mhz CPU powers the Smart Camera, running an unspecified version of Android. For connectivity you have Bluetooth, WiFi and a micro SIM slot for GSM cellular data, so it really is a phone, or at least you can use it as one if you like.

Probably one of the biggest plus points for a camera running on Android is you get access to the Android Market, and a variety of apps to work with your photos. Don’t like what your camera came with? Download something different.

It’s a little heftier than what’s probably in your pocket now, and I’m not crazy about the textured faux leather plastic, but it’s got some nice metal touches and, overall, isn’t too bad looking. But you’ve got to ask yourself if you really have room in your saddle bags for another device, a device very much like the phone that already takes up most of the space?

G1 X’s 1.5-inch 14.3 megapixel CMOS sensor is what really makes it unique, offering a sensor size nearly as large as the APS-C found in larger mirror less models and many full-size DSLRs.  Ideal for photography enthusiasts looking for the highest image quality in a compact, point-and-shoot design, the Canon PowerShot G1 X camera features the largest sensor to date for a Canon point-and-shoot model.

The camera has a brand new, large 1.5-inch (18.7 x 14mm), 14.3-megapixel High-Sensitivity Canon CMOS sensor, delivering shallow depth of field, a wide dynamic range, an ISO range of up to 12800 and incredible light gathering ability helping to ensure brilliant images in even tough low-light conditions. Featuring a Canon lens with 4X Optical Zoom, an aperture of f/2.8 to f/16 along with wide-angle capabilities starting at 28mm, the PowerShot G1 X camera ensures that users will have the right optics for almost any situation.

Adding to the EOS-like feature set of this new model is 14-bit, RAW+JPEG shooting and compatibility with accessories such as Speedlite, Macro Twin Lite or the Macro Ring Light flashes. HDR Shooting has been included to ensure the best possible shot is captured as well. The PowerShot G1 X camera also shoots in Full HD 1080p video ensuring memorable moments are captured in the highest quality.

The Canon PowerShot G1 X camera has a large 3.0-inch vari-angle LCD with 922,000 dots of resolution. The inclusion of the Mode Dial on the top of the camera and the Front Dial helps provide more intuitive control of the camera.