GADGET UPDATE powered by Stuff: Folding laptops and expandable USBs

Next Big Thing – folding laptops

Er, don't all laptops already fold?
Alright clever clogs. Yes, of course all laptops fold – but what if they could do more than just open and close? This Fujitsu Lifebook X2 concept is all about the multi-fold. Read more...

Nokia’s Windows Phone 7 handsets leaked

Not psyched about Symbian Anna? Then perhaps this will arouse your interest. Nokia’s X7 (Anna’s first handset) and the N8, currently riding Symbian^3, will be the debut handsets for Windows Phone 7, rebranded as the W7 and W8. That’s the word from Russia’s Mobile-Review.com editor Eldar Murtazin. Is he right? We doubt Nokia would approach such as massive change in direction as switching to Windows Phone 7 without busting out some new hardware. Read more...

Alienware lifts the lid on M18x laptop spec

Alienware’s latest gaming notebook, the M18x, looks set to dominate the portable gaming market with an impressive spec list. A gargantuan 18.4in full HD screen should take care of even the most myopic gamer while an overclocked 4GHz Extreme i7 processor pairs with NVIDIA SLI or AMD CrossFireX graphics to render the latest games with barely a stutter. Oh and there’s the (quite frankly ridiculous) option to add 32GB of RAM. The 3D-ready HDMI port offers a nice bit of future-proofing, but with these specs we expect a battery life of around 10 minutes. No doubt it will come in at a wallet bleeding price, but on the plus side you can cancel your gym membership as lugging this behemoth around is a full body workout all on its own.

Next Big Thing – expandable USB sticks

You’ve heard of this cloud thing, no? Yes, but I’ve also had more phones than hot dinners, and now I’ve got a whole host of microSD cards cluttering up my desk. This clever concept aims to breathe new life in to these forgotten little keepers of memory by combining their power in to a single swappable USB flash drive. Read more...

Microsoft Streetside squares up to Google Streetview

Microsoft is taking its fight with Google out onto the streets. Your street to be exact – if you live in London (or Paris, Barcelona, New York, San Francisco, etc). Yesterday Navteq cars starting collecting 360 degree photos of London streets for Microsoft Streetside on Bing Maps, Redmond’s answer to Streetview on Google Maps. Read more...

Is Apple making its own console?

Mac users have long been ridiculed for their lack of gaming power, not in the least bit helped by failed ventures like the Apple Pippin. But with Steam for Mac becoming a reality last year, the taunting subsided and Apple’s recent hiring of Robert Saunders (formerly Nintendo UK’s head of PR) is another indication of a more gaming-centric focus by the computer company. Let’s just hope this latest hiring stirs up some creative winds and strengthens the contention of iDevices as viable portable gaming systems. Or does Apple have more serious console plans in the works? Would you buy an Apple iPlay?

LG releases Cinema 3D smart TVs

The gadget world has been awash with 3D tech being thrust upon us from all directions and LG is the latest company to do the thrusting. The new 2011 range of Cinema 3DTVs are the first flicker-free 3DTVs, according to the manufacturer. LG's LW450U, LW550T and LW650T all work with polarised glasses (the same kind you get at the cinema). Read more...

HTC unleashes Sensation with Sense UI 3.0

HTC's just unwrapped its latest smartphone – the Sensation. And while that name would probably sit more happily on a packet of handbag-sized tissues, the Sensation is actually a fairly muscular bit of gadget totty. Running Android 2.3.3 (the latest version of Gingerbread) at launch, it'll purr along on a dual-core 1.2GHz engine, backed up with 768MB of RAM. Fronted by a 540x960 piece of 4.3in Gorilla glass and backed by an 8MP dual-LED flash cam, it's wrapped in an aluminium unibody shell. HTC has also updated its Sense UI for the Sensation and added HTC Watch, a movie streaming service and app.