Video review: LG GD910 watchphone
The LG GD910 goes on sale in the UK today. Here’s why I love it:
See also:
LG GD910 first impressions: pure gimmick, pure gadget joy
The government pretends to get tough on filesharing
Another morning, another unworkable scheme from the outgoing Labour administration. Lord Mandleson – surely Britain’s second-favourite favourite unelected ruler – has announced that the carefully considered Digital Britain report simply wasn’t tough enough on filesharers.
And so we’re back to a ‘three strikes and you’re out’ scenario where serial downloaders have their broadband connection terminated. Or, at least, we would be back there if it weren’t for the fact that the entire plan is completely unworkable, as has be proven in France, where a similar law was struck down by the Supreme Court.
Could free web movies destroy TV?
The success of the BBC iPlayer has inspired a raft of new video streaming services, offering free TV shows for anyone willing to sit through a few adverts.
This is a TV. Kind of.
MSN Video Player is offering classics from BBC Worldwide, such as Big Train and the Young Ones, along with unclassics from like How To Look Good Naked from independent powerhouse All3Media (to be fair, All3Media all supply the sublime Peep Show).
We’ll soon see the UK launch of the popular American streaming service Hulu (which has the backing of three of four of the big networks, and so shows great stuff like Family Guy). And the company that runs the digital terrestrial infrastructure has just announced it will be launching an on-demand video service built from technological leftovers from Kangaroo (which would have united BBC, Channel 4 and ITV content, if the pesky regulators hadn’t got in the way).
LG GD910: Pure gimmick, pure gadget joy
Yesterday I was lucky enough to receive a review sample of the LG GD910 Watch Phone from Orange.
LG Watchphone - Do I look like Dick Tracy or just a dick?
Lucky? Stop snickering. I honestly think I’m lucky, alright? Yes, the GD910 is a gimmick. But it’s a good gimmick – a gadget in its purest form: something I want but really don’t need.
But it’s not just the miniaturisation that appeals – in fact, I’ve always been cynical about watchphones (and I’ve seen a few of them). But the GD910 works beautifully – as a watch, as well as a phone. Yes, it’s chunky; but only G-Shock chunky. And with the Tokyo Flash-style theme (pictured), it could pass an an oversized fashion watch.
Until it starts ringing. Amazingly, it works as a phone, too – I’ve made a call out on the streets, without using the included (fugly) Bluetooth headset. So, just my wrist within 30cm of my mouth. The speaker is clear but not too loud, and – according to my gadget weary partner on the end of the line – microphone picks out my voice very clearly too.
Magazine circulations take a tumble, Stuff holds up
It’s ABC day, when the 6-monthly circulation figures for UK magazines (Jan-Jun 2009) are released. And the report makes pretty depressing reading.
Fact is, people are buying fewer magazines. Big sectors are down: women’s weeklies (-4.8%), men’s lifestyle (-4.7%), sport (-4.6%) and even TV listings (-5.4%). And when you strip out the freebies like Shortlist (up 0.9% to 510,720), things look even worse.
The men’s monthly lifestyle has been decimated. Even the closure of Maxim and Arena can’t stop the numbers looking horrible.
Stuff is down 4% year-on-year to 84,565. Given the recession (and the fact that we sell most mags around Christmas), it’s a pretty good result. Others in the men’s category haven’t fared so well: FHM down 16.2%, Loaded down 23.8%, even the previously solid GQ is down 7.7%.
And the men’s weeklies are in freefall – Nuts down 24.6% to 188,532 and Zoo down 31.2% ton a mere 111,012 (from over 200,000 in 2005). Given the costs of producing these mags, and the dearth of advertising, it could be curtains for one of them soon (No guesses which. Seems like the weekly phenomenom wasn’t so phenomenal after all.
Only Men’s Health and Men’s Fitness bucked the downward trend – in fact, Men’s Health has finally overtaken FHM and is now the UK’s best-selling men’s monthly. Congratulations to them – it’s a victory for great magazine making. And great abs.
Stuff redesign makes it onto The Guardian’s media blog
A long and pretty positive piece about our Stuff magazine redesign over on the Media Guardian’s Organ Grinder blog. My favourite part is about specs…
The cover promises Stuff will be “Making specs even more exciting”. The results of the smartphone feature are summarised in a spectrum-style “Supertest Specburst” reminiscent of the Captain Scarlet logo – innovative, and impressive eye candy, but perhaps slightly impractical given it needs a key at the side to decipher it.
Nicely put. Although I hope he did realise we had our tongues lodged in our cheeks when we said we were ‘making specs even more exciting’.
Stuff's Specburst - a visual toy
Or did we? I lose track of the depth of my own geekery sometimes. We love the Specburst at Stuff, but is meant to be a little bit challenging, a kind of visual toy for the readers to play with. I’m desperate to see it in animated, interactive form.
PR Week: me and the new Stuff magazine
There’s a rather nice piece in the latest PR week – entitled ‘ Do not judge Stuff magazine by its cover’ – about Stuff in general and the redesign in particular (my last hurrah as editor-in-chief).
Big props to Gareth Davies at Edelman, Laura Macdonald at Skywrite and Paul Wooding at Weber Shandwick Technology, who all give glowing references.
I’m also please with the way the thorny issue of cover girls is dealt with. It’s never an easy one to explain:
Dunmore acknowledges the ‘babes’ element of Stuff could alienate women, who are just as interested in technology as men, and put them off the magazine.
But he points out there is no real alternative cover shot for Stuff. ‘If we pictured just a product, we’d end up pigeon-holed as a mobile phone magazine, or a MP3 magazine, or a computer magazine,’ he argues.
Having a girl on the front cover means Stuff is stocked next to magazines like GQ rather than niche technology magazines. ‘We have not found a better solution,’ he admits
I’ll return to the redesign in a later post. By which I mean… after I’ve slept.
Why I’m not quite leaving Stuff magazine
Tom Dunmore v Stephen Fry: now available for (legal) download
My gig at the iTunes Festival is now available for free download from iTunes. And when I say ‘my gig’, I of course mean my wet-palmed introduction and questioning of the legend that is Mr Stephen Fry.
Proof! Stephen Fry & me by Tui
Stephen Fry managed to ruffle a few feathers with his good-natured attack on the more draconian anti-piracy exploits of the music and movie industries. Admittedly it was a pretty soft target in front of an audience of 20somethings, but the sentiment seemed pretty spot-on to me.
Of course, the old charmer knew he’d get away with it. And despite his ingenuous aside to me as we left the stage (“Oh I do hope I haven’t upset our hosts”), he knew what he would cause a stir. But hey, that’s rock and roll (except in this case you can download it for free without upsetting The Man).
Anyway, Mr Fry’s meditation on copyright is well worth a listen. Just try to ignore my fear-induced glottic rictus. I don’t usually sound like a screaming teenager, I promise.
Download the Stephen Fry copyright podcast from iTunes
Me, Stephen Fry, and the scariest day of my life
Read Pirates don’t kill music – lawyers do
iPhone sex app leaves a nasty taste in my mouth
Appmania has made it to the London freesheets. Last night: an exposé of the app entrepreneurs in thelondonpaper. This morning: 10 Metro column inches dedicated to an iPhone app that purports to measure your sexual prowess.
Passion ‘works’ by monitoring motion and volume levels: simply ‘strap the phone to your arm and press stop when finished.’
All of which presumably means that a violent, noisy bout of onanism will see you rated as a Lothario. Well, I’m not dumb enough to pay the £3 to find out. But others may be less discerning.
There are some genuinely fascinating apps appearing for the iPhone, but the ubiquity of the handset means wading through increasing dross to find them.
And the App goldrush is only going to make things worse
Time for the avant-gadgeteers to switch to Android? Could be…
(At least the Guardian is on hand to explain that 90% of app makers don’t get paid.)
Why I’m not quite leaving Stuff magazine
Well, the news is out. On August 1, I step down as brand director and editor-in-chief of Stuff magazine.
I’ve worked on Stuff magazine (and Stuff.tv) for a decade, and as editor/editor-in-chief for 6 years. Leaving it is not an easy thing to do. Which is why I’ve decided to come back.
You see, although I’m setting up my own creative consultancy, Flying Leaf, one of my main clients is going to be Haymarket Media – and, in particular, Stuff. In fact, I’ll probably be doing more writing and testing than I’ve done for the past couple of years.
So why the move? Two reasons.
Firstly, I recently became a father and want to spend as much time as humanly possible with my new daughter. And yes, I’m well aware that this desire may wear off which is why…
Secondly, I want to establish my own creative business. I want to spend time doing what I love. And I love writing things and making things, I love learning to use new software, I love zooming to 800% on Photoshop and pushing individual pixels. I love working out how to communicate an idea, how to have fun with words, images, movies and animations.
So I’m going to pursue The Way of the Flying Leaf, alongside graphic guru Lise Meyrick and our many talented friends. At Flying leaf, we aim to make everything from books to websites, videos to packaging.
It’s going to be a fun ride… and one with regular injections of Stuff-induced gadget joy. I can’t wait.
PS Is mixing ‘ride’ and ‘injection’ metaphors distasteful during the Tour de France?
Update – 20th April: Well, 8 months in and Flying Leaf has produced 10 videos, 12 scripts, 4 websites (including our latest for hunkydory publishing), 2 rebrands and a bunch of promotional printed material. And i’m still writing for Stuff and getting to play with the iPad. It’s going good so far!