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Gizmodo: Ford Sync is a new system developed by Ford and Microsoft that aims to fully integrate your MP3 player, cell phone and car computer with a speech recognition system.

You will be able to climb into your car and say, ‘Play artist Cliff Richard’, and the annoying old timer will start blaring out of your speakers.

It can even read out your text messages for you in an old-skool synthesised voice, which even understands lazy abbreviations like GR8.

Jump to see it in action on a video featuring the action movie guy voice over.

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The Register: Mobile calls are replacing fixed-line usage across Europe, according to a new report from Analysys, but people aren’t talking more, they’re just using fixed-lines less.

The change has been most stark in Finland, where 2006 saw another 10 per cent of calls migrate onto mobile networks; bringing the total to 74.6 per cent at the end of the year.

Even in Germany, where fixed-lines still dominate, 24.3 per cent of calls originate on a mobile handset: a rise of 6% during 2006, which increased voice use of mobiles by 23%.

The report comes from Analysys, consultants to the telecommunications and IT industries, and is entitled “The Acceleration of Fixed-Mobile Substitution in Western Europe: facts and figures”.

Analysys paint a picture of an exponential rise in the use of mobile phones country by country, as users in each become more comfortable with using their mobiles, and operators get more innovative with their pricing.

But despite this the authors don’t believe that users are making more calls, simply that they are moving away from using their fixed-lines and towards relying on their handsets.

True convergence should make the difference academic in the near future, but companies solely involved in fixed-telephony provision might like to see the writing on the wall

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Electronista: Sony has made a surprise expansion of its Xplod head units through the XAV-W1 in the States.

Marking two firsts at once, the W1 is both the first in-dash SACD player from Sony as well as the company’s first large visual jukebox for cars.

Owners with both the special disc format and a compatible audio system can listen to music in 5.1 surround; stereo is also available for regular CDs as well as MP3/WMA tracks.

The same optical drive includes DVD support for movies (including DVD-R discs) viewed on the built-in 7-inch touchscreen, complete with either Dolby or DTS sound with surround audio systems. Optionally, owners can also attach and control an iPod or add tuners for HD Radio and satellite radio.

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PCWorld: In Japan, Sony is now allowing pornography on Blu-ray, and they’ve confirmed that they’re even providing technical support to adult filmmakers.

Will this shift in policy also be reflected elsewhere?

It’s hard to say; Japan’s relationship to pornography, socially and legislatively, is different from other regions.

But it certainly might shake up a few arguments.

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BetaNews: The European Union and the United States have agreed on a common signal design for their respective satellite navigation systems, representatives said Monday.

The US’ GPS system has been operational for several years now, while the EU’s Galileo system is still in development.

By agreeing on a common signal design, it will pave the way for receivers to easily incorporate both navigation systems into a single design, resulting in better location-finding.

“We are pleased by the adoption of this key improvement to the common civil signal design,” U.S. State Department Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Reno Harnish said. “The U.S.-EU collaboration that produced this innovation and led to its joint adoption reflects the strong working relationships that we have developed on GPS and Galileo.”

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Telegraph.co.uk: Illegal music downloads hit record high

Illegal music downloads have reached an all time high just as the growth of online social networking has shifted the epicentre of the music industry away from the major record labels, according to a new study.

The 2007 Digital Media Survey, carried out by Entertainment Media Research in conjunction with media lawyers Olswang, revealed that the popularity of social networking websites such as MySpace and BeBo is helping to “democratise” the music industry as more young people discover new music online instead of via the radio or music television.

Of the 1,700 13-60 year-olds questioned, 86pc have used a social networking site this year, up from 74pc in 2006.

Four out of every ten social network users have music embedded in their personal profiles, rising to 65pc among teenagers.

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GPS Tracklog: just got an email saying that Magellan will announce a new line of handheld GPS units at the Outdoor Retailer trade show early next month. The wording makes it sound like they may be introducing a successor to their eXplorist ine. Magellan will introduce the units at Outdoor Retailer’s Open Air Demo on August 7 and 8.They also say they “will announce partnerships that will change the landscape of the handheld GPS category.” Marketing hyperbole? Probably, but time will tell.

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Electronista: Accessory maker iHome has developed the iH82, a new set of portable speakers for the iPod. Based on the existing iH80, the base of the unit is essentially the same, but with an entirely optional second speaker for louder, stereo sound. Crucially, the extra speaker does not require its own power supply; it instead takes its power from the dock speaker, which uses a wall adapter or eight C-cell batteries. The dock itself supports fourth- and fifth-generation iPods along with minis, nanos and shuffles. An infrared remote comes standard.

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NaviGadget: iBT-GPS Solar Bluetooth GPS Data Logger is a new product from Taiwanese Transystem Inc that should soon hit the shelves. iBT-GPS is a dual function device that can either record your trip info or act as a GPS receiver and pair via bluetooth with your handheld.Thanks to its tiny solar panel this bluetooth GPS receiver can last 35+ hours on a single charge and can record 50,000 waypoints in its 8MB internal memory. It can record travel data based on three modes: by time, by distance or by speed – and thanks to its smart auto sleep and wake up mode it can always stay in power on standby.

iBT-GPS also comes with software to easily download your tracking data to your PC and display them in Google Earth. The software can also translate the data into many standard formats such as NMEA-0183 GGA, GSA, GSV, RMC, VTG, GLL.

iBT-GPS uses the 32 channel MTK GPS chipset.

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Akihabaranews: Pantech just announced that the Cocoon will soon be available through the English operator O2!
In case you didn’t know, the Cocoon is an HSDPA Phone with an original external screen, more on the specifications right here:

- Network : GSM/GPRS/HSDPA (900/1800/1900/2100 Mhz)
- Dimensions: 95 * 49 * 21(mm)
- Internal Shared Memory :2GB + Micro SD
- LCD : 2.3” 260K TFT LCD (240*320 Pixels) (Sub : LED Display)
- Camera : 2M with AF (VGA for VT)
- Sound : 72 polyphonic, MP3 Ring Tone
- Connectivity : Bluetooth, USB
- Messaging : SMS/MMS/EMS/Email
- Speakerphone
- Video Telephony
- Micro SD Card Slot

To all our english readers…

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Slashgear: Plenty of you have at least one Transformer stashed away in your house somewhere. Wouldn’t it be cool to have one that turned into a PlayStation controller?

It would be if the controller actually worked. However, this High Score 100 (an Autobot if you were wondering) only turns into something that looks like a controller. It is made by Hasbro and is a part of the Real Gear Robots line of toys.

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Electronista: Google will soon automatically block illegally uploaded movies on YouTube in the near future, a member of the search engine firm’s legal team said on Friday.

In a courtroom defending itself against Viacom’s $1 billion lawsuit, the lawyer explained that Google and YouTube had developed a form of video fingerprinting that could automatically identify clips based on their similarity to a certain profile, screening illegally copied segments from reaching the site’s public pages.

The process takes a few minutes but would complete in time to have a meaningful impact on copyrighted works, Google claimed.

The technique should be ready by September and might play a decisive role in ending the Viacom suit, which alleges that YouTube has knowingly done little to pull down copyrighted TV shows and other segments as they appear.

Google and others have denied any wrongdoing and note that the current system makes it difficult to permanently remove clips, as new uploads of bootleg videos are likely to occur just as old ones are taken down. Neither Google nor Viacom has commented on the effect the auto-blocking system will have on the lawsuit.

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