Tech Junky

Google’s beloved Gmail has always been an attractive choice for third-party customizations. For people wanting to change the design, Gmail Redesigned skin has been a cool choice but now Google is officially looking after the interface customization part. You can now spice up your inbox with around 30 new themes.

To select a theme, click on the ‘Settings’ option and then go to the ‘Themes’ tab and choose a desired theme.

Let us know which theme you like the most through your comments.

HP’s Touchsmart TX2 is the first consumer-oriented convertible notebook to have multitouch technology incorporated into it’s display. The TX2 has a 12.1-inch screen that uses a capacitive touchpanel that can track two points simultaneously. It operates with fingers or a stylus, and has in it’s belly the Mediasmart 2.0 interface customized for the laptop.

The Mediasmart 2.0 software allows you to look at photos, watch movies, play music, listen to radio and watch TV on demand. You can carry out a variety of gestures on the TX2 including select, drag, pinch, double tap, rotate, zoom, flick and arc. Besides working with the MediaSmart software, the multitouch gestures will also work with a variety of Windows applications such as Microsoft Office, most internet browsers, and most photo applications.

Looking at the hardware specifications, the TX2 has in it’s core the 2.1GHz AMD Turion X2 processor, ATI Radeon HD 3200 Graphics, 500 GB HDD (5400 RPM), 8 GB RAM, 8x DVD burner, Bluetooth, integrated webcam, VGA out and a digital pen.

The HP Touchsmart TX2 notebook is now available for pre-order at $1150. It will begin shipping at the end of November.

Sony Ericsson is finally bringing out it’s long awaited Xperia X1 smartphone. Packing the new “Panels” interface, a full QWERTY keyboard, 3G data and 800×480 touchscreen in a full metal body, is the Xperia X1 poised to challenge the top smartphones?

Verdict: The Xperia X1 is kind of a mixed bag. For every good thing the phone does, there seems to be something detracting from it as well. From a hardware standpoint, this is a well built phone that feels extremely solid in the hand. But at the same time, it’s not exactly the lightest or slimmest phone available (even for a slider). The 528MHz Processor and 256MB RAM also give the X1 enough horsepower to run smoothly…most of the time.

To be blunt, the Xperia X1 isn’t quite up to snuff with the top smartphones in the market from an overall standpoint. Whether you’re talking about its $800 price tag, stylus-based resistive touchscreen or 3.2 MP camera, this is a phone that would have fared better amongst early adopters a year or two ago. This is not to say the Xperia X1 is a bad phone—on the contrary, it’s a very respectable piece of hardware. It’s just not good enough to justify the cost when better, cheaper phones are available.

Read the full review ..

Google has added support for video and voice capabilities for the chat function embedded in the Gmail interface. It’s a simple service and is easy to install and use and appears to be a very good addition to Gmail.

Unlike Skype’s paid service, Gmail Video and Voice cannot connect to the plain phone network. Some more optional features like a voice call recorder are also missing.

Gmail Video and Voice is a bit different from many current video chat products and uses a proprietary plug-in, not Flash. The small (2MB) download supports Firefox, IE, and Chrome on the PC, and Firefox on the Mac.

The existing Google Talk application which currently supports voice chat may get the video capability later.

Google has got the first release of its videophone pretty much right. It works, it’s easy, and if you’re a Gmail user, the service is right where you want it.

A great selling point for the Zune is it’s original arty designs. If you are one of those who were not satisfied with the designs so far, then there is something to look forward to. Microsoft is adding a whole new 46 sketches to the collection. Some of the new designs are awfully snazzy, and they’re all available on the Zune Originals site. During a press release, a reader over at Zunerama found a shot of what seems to be the Zune 120 in the same shade of blue as the flash-based blue Zunes. It would be better for Microsoft to add a little color to the big brother of the family, so it’s probably safe to expect a more official announcement soon.