It's all change for TomTom with this new model: instead of the tried-and-tested RDS-TMC system to provide traffic updates for main routes, a brand new set of online services now covers every road in a given country.

Using a dedicated SIM card, this new generation of sat nav systems can also search Google's list of addresses, provide weather updates and give you fuel prices for the nearest petrol stations.

Read our test of the TomTom Go 740 Live to see just how amazing these new online features are.

> Product Survey: GPS

First Samsung, now Dell: this morning we brought you news of a 23'' monitor from Samsung, the 2343BW, but Dell too has announced plans for a 2048 x 1152 pixel screen.

While the Korean manufacturer's very ergonomic offering seems aimed at office users seeking optimal comfort, American manufacturer Dell has a screen that is likely to impress those who care more about what's on their screen than where it is.

With a fast 2 ms response time, ghosting should be much lower than on the 5 ms Samsung model, making it much more suitable for gamers.

It's not just games fans that will be happy though: a HDMI input will allow digital video and home cinema enthusiasts to get the most out of all those extra pixels, while a wide color gamut should mean that imaginng professionals can be confident of getting accurate colors.

As if all of these features weren't impressive enough, Dell has also found room to build in a 2 Megapixel webcam at the top of the case.

These new 23'' 2048 x 1152 screens are still very new, and when we last looked, the Samsung model was only available from German stores.

For Dell, it seems that Canada is the first market to receive the SP2309, where it's on sale for 420 CAD (275 EUR / 340 USD / 230 GBP).

Several months ago, Sony revealed the launch dates for its PlayTV personal video recorder, a new accessory that promised to turn the PlayStation 3 into the ultimate home entertainment center.

With two built-in digital tuners, the new product should allow gamers to record one digital channel while watching another--or even record live TV during gameplay.

This pair of tuners was--apparently--to be compatible with both Standard Definition and High Definition free-to-air digital channels.

Unfortunately, however, some of the first users to get their hands on one discovered that the PlayTV isn't actually compatible with HD.

And, despite rumors circulating on the web suggesting that Sony was on the point of releasing a firmware update that would allow the PlayTV to access HD content, it seems that this product is just not HD-compatible--and it never will be.

The manufacturer plans to put in place a refund program for any disappointed customers who no longer find the PlayTV an attractive option.

This incident comes just a few weeks after a similar event in which Samsung was caught out including 'HD' in the model numbers of TVs that weren't actually HD.

Both show a worrying lack of communication inside these global companies.

We've argued for a long time that the sea of different standards and logos that adorn the packaging of today's gadgets is just too much for most consumers to take in, but it seems even the manufacturers themselves are getting a little lost ...

We've just had some great nexws: two new accessories are available for the Archos 5 and Archos 7 media players: a combined remote control and FM tuner.

The Archos 6 had to wait more than a year before the equivalent components came to market, but Archos has managed to speed things up a little this time round ...

The new in-line control gives access to the majority of the Archos 5/7's functions, as well as acting as an antenna for FM radio reception and a dictaphone.


The new accessory is available now.

> Test: Archos 5

A new breed of 23'' LCD monitors is on its way, sporting a high 2048 x 1152 pixel resolution at a very reasonable price.

This Samsung 2343BW, for instance, is available for around 250 euros (310 USD / 210 GBP) right now.

Its new high resolution, which gives as much screen real estate as two 1024 monitors pkaced side-by-side is designed to appeal to business users with a lot of information to display at once.

You can have a web browser open on one side of your screen, say, and a text document on the other--effectively bringing the functionality of dual-screen systems into just on epiece of hardware.

On the model in question, the TN panel promises a 5 ms response time and dark blacks with a dynamic contrast of 20 000:1.


It's a DVI and VGA port, but no HDMI.  Like all good hardware designed with professionals in mind, it's fulyl adjustable, with a sliding stand allowing it to sit at a comfortable height.

Public Opinion

A prototype version of the 2343BW was unveiled by Samsung at CeBIT last year, although back then the manufacturer said it had no plans for an immediate release and just wanted to guage the public reaction to their new offering.

It seems that the response was very favorable, because the screens are already rolling off the production line and are available for very reasonable prices in some German stores; a release elsewhere is likely to follow.

Too much choice?

We like this new screen, we really do: Samsung has created a reasonable prodcut and is selling it for a decent price.  Nothing to complain about there ...

What we don't like, though, is the seemingly endless multiplication of form factors for LCD monitors.

It's almost as if the manufacturers have taken a leaf out of the mobile phone companies' book: we're definitely heading for a market where there's way too much confusion ...