As Smartphones reach 50% of the population – do we need to redefine what they are?
Half of the population will be using their phones for more than texting and talking in 2010, suggest findings from mobile internet survey group Mediacells. They reckon 53% of us will be using apps, consuming media or doing other complicated stuff on our phones. Basically that means over half of us will be using smartphones.…
The USB Flower scents your office and runs off your computer
We're always up for weird USB gadgets, and this one is pretty out there. Not only is it a kooky shape - a flower, it also releases aromatherapy scents that waft gently from the head of the plastic flower and fill the immediate vicinity of your USB port with soothing odours. I suppose it does…
Hallmark create augmented reality greetings cards
If you thought Hallmark just did the cards with teddy bears on that you give to your gran, think again. The greetings card company have catapaulted themselves into the digital era with a new series of augmented reality greetings cards. Or greetings experiences rather. The virtual teddy bear can now hover above your gran's head…
Everything you need to know about Vevo – the most sucessful music service in the US
There's been a lot of noise in the US about a site called Vevo. After streaking ahead of MySpace Music in December 09, it's the biggest online music service in the USA, with some 35.4 million unique visitors. And it only launched on December 8th. Gulp. What is it? Why is it so successful? When's…
Scars on 45 – a band fan-funded through Slicethepie.com – makes it big in the States
As the internet sends old business models haywire, new ones pop up: sometimes they work and sometimes they don't. In the music industry one persistent model seems to be fan-financing and a UK band that started out on a fan-financing site seems set to make it big in the States. Newcomers Scars on 45 got…
When is bashing the screen of a phone against a pointed metal corner the right thing to do?
When is bashing the screen of a phone against a pointed metal corner the right thing to do? When you're the BBC technology correspondent and you're trying to break the world's most unbreakable phone. Billed as unbreakable by manufacturers Sonim, this little critter can be held 20ft underwater for up to 30 minutes or dropped…
iPhone comes to Vodafone: more minutes, but the 3G internet is capped
It's the iPhone !!! Yes, okay, you've heard of it. The iPhone has been around for a while so this ain't exactly ground-breaking, but the handset is now officially available on Vodafone as well as three other networks in Britain - O2, Tescos and Orange. Yes, it is exactly the same phone so the only…
Barcode reader makes diet app Quickka Calorie more fun and more accurate
We've covered a few iPhone apps that help you lose weight before, but this one is a little smarter than others. It aims to get between you and the chocolate gateau at the purchase point instead of later when it's sitting in your fridge, looking at you. App Quickka Calories incorporates a bar code reader…
Guardian iPhone app shifts 70k downloads in first month
Good news for British newspaper the Guardian whose foray into app territory seems to have paid off. In the month since releasing the Guardian iPhone app, it has been downloaded almost 70,000 times. Since it retails at £2.39, the 70,000 sales should have brought in approximately £167,000 for the newspaper. A bit of a win.…
Portable turntable from Crosley lets you mix on the move
A gadget that we didn't notice at CES - but should have cos it's really cool - is Crosley's portable turntable, letting you mix on the move. The Revolution runs on batteries, has a 3.5mm headphone jack and a USB out and is pretty small - well, we can't tell how small exactly, all we've…
