The same day TomTom announced their new GO 720, they also unveiled the new TomTom GO 520, which is the successor of the older GO 510. GO 520 will only be available in Europe offering only local maps – depending on where you buy it from.

Here are the features of the new GO 520:

- 4.3 widescreen 16:9 format LCD (WQVGA: 480*272 pixels)
- CPU 400 MHz, 64MB RAM
- 512MB, 1GB (TomTom GO 520) or 2GB internal flash memory (TomTom GO 720)
- SD card socket
- High sensitivity GPS receiver
- Compatible with RDS-TMC traffic information receiver
- Integrated FM transmitter
- Bluetooth
- Battery lithium-polymer (5 hours operation)
- Optimised integrated microphone and speaker for high quality hands-free functionality
- Dimensions: 118 mm x 83 mm x 24 mm
- Weight: 220 grams
- GO 520 will also make speech recognition available in certain European countries allowing the – users to speak the address they want to go to instead of trying to typing it in.

NOTE: The US version of TomTom 720 does not seem to offer speech recognition.

Generation Phone gives us a video preview of the Sony Ericsson W610i, which features a 1.9-inch TFT screen, 2.0-megapixel camera, built-in FM tuner, Bluetooth w/A2DP, and a 25-hour battery life. Click below to see the video…

Read More →

Gadgets have become such a significant part of our lives, that risking possible injury, or even death, is seemingly worth the potential hazard to retrieve our valuable Blackberry or iPod, for example.

However, uncertainty enters the picture and sadly, this man suffered a dire fate after an attempt to save his cell phone from the depths of a sewer.  He drowned after wedging himself between a storm drain and got stuck.  Sewage water eventually swallowed him up before help could arrive.

As this story, and the untimely death of CNET editor James Kim reminds us, while gadgets have indeed become a part of us, they never surpass the irreplaceable value of human life.

Sony recently showcased a new type of flat screen display known as OLED. OLED stands for organic light-emitting diode. The technology has been around for years, being used in cell phones and mp3 players, and it uses an electroluminescent layer of organic substances such as polymers.

The really superb thing about OLED displays are their contrast, a ratio of 1,000,000:1 (not a typo). Many claim that the new 27 inch Sony display is ‘breathtakingly bright’. It’s other specs include full HD 1920×1080 resolution and a peak brightness of greater than 600cd/m² (really bright). Currently Sony hopes to introduce the OLED displays into the market in the near future but must first tangle with the issue of mass producing the product at prices that make economic sense to consumers.

Just in case you missed Walt Mossberg’s sitdown with Steve Jobs earlier today, but in the open Q&A his Jobsness was asked point blank about the openness of the iPhone, and whether users can expect their $600 cellphone to be able to add on third party apps. His reply?

"This is an important tradeoff between security and openness. We want both. … we’ll find a way to let 3rd parties write apps and still preserve security on the iPhone. But until we find that way we can’t compromise the security of the phone. … I’ve used 3rd party apps… the more you add, the more your phone crashes. No one’s perfect, and we’d sure like our phone not to crash once a day. If you can just be a little more patient with us I think everyone can get what they want."

You heard it folks, Apple’s working on allowing third party devs into the hallowed ground of the iPhone. One big issue (kind of) down, now we’ve just got to work on getting that thing a real keyboard and some 3G.