Finding an affordable compact camera with vertical controls can be a bit of a pain for the portrait snapper on a budget. Thankfully, Pentax has come to the rescue with its newly-announced Optio VS20.
The 16MP digital compact comes packing an extra shutter release button and a second zoom lever for vertical position shooting – plus a vertical position tripod mount and an accelerometer to reorient the 3in display.
For getting up close and personal, the Optio VS20 sports a 20x optical zoom lens with 28mm wide angle coverage, covering all the bases.

Fujifilm FinePix X10 – retro revival 
Fujifilm has been indulging a recent obsession with retro-ism. First there was the sublime Fujifilm X100 with its fixed 35mm-equivalent lens, and now we have this less niche but no less lovely X10.
Like its more serious X100 stablemate, the X10 is aesthetically stuck in the past. While the X100 is undeniably '50s, looking like a Leica M3 that's been assimilated by the Borg, the black paintwork on the Fujifilm X10 evokes later rangefinder cameras.

Today HP announced the release of the company's new Mini 1104 netbook for business professionals. The netbook features a 10-inch display, full-size keyboard, lightweight design, and HP claims that it can provide up to 9 hours of battery life (with the 6-cell battery) on a single charge. The notebook is equipped with an Intel dual-core processor, the Atom N2600 to be precise, for reduced power consumption.
The Mini 1104 has a few business and design features for professionals and road warriors. Like most netbooks, it features a lightweight chassis and weighs in at under three pounds; but it also has active hard drive protection to help keep the hard drive safe from drops and bumps. HP also included an embedded TPM security chip and Computrace Pro to help keep data safe while away from the office.

Will a new group help to spur the creation of more and better software applications for end users? Now less than two weeks old since its launch at CES, the new Application Developers Alliance (ADA) aims to promote "innovation and performance" by providing collaboration, education, cloud hosting, and other services to folks on both the consumer and business application sides in the fragmented field of software development.
Looking to recruit thousands of developers to its ranks, the ADA is offering free membership to all of those who sign up by January 31. As of January 11, the second day of CES, 600 developers had already hopped aboard.

The 4G trial run by Everything Everywhere and BT in Cornwall has been extended until next summer. The trial of next-generation Internet access is pointing the way to a potential future of wireless web connection in rural areas.
Everything Everywhere -- the network merging T-Mobile and Orange -- and BT Wholesale today have been running the trial in and around St Newlyn East in Cornwall since October last year.
The trial involves LTE, a technology that knocks current 3G speeds into a cocked hat. It's still only at the trial stages over here, but is becoming more common in the US, where high-end phones like the Nokia Lumia 900 are equipped with LTE.

NEWS
Apple sold more than twice as many iPads and iPhones from October to December than in the same quarter a year ago, helping drive a massive increase in profit.
The company sold more than 37 million iPhones and 15.4 million iPad tablets during the 14-week period ending 31 December, Apple said in its earnings release on Tuesday. It reported net profit of $13.06bn (£8.4bn) in the fiscal first quarter, up from $6bn the year before. Total revenue rose 73 percent to $46.4bn. By comparison, Google reported revenue of $10.58bn for the same quarter.

Android tablets and pesky passwords
I have an Archos tablet PC, which was set-up to access my Gmail account. However, I have changed my Gmail password on my laptop, which works fine, but I do not seem able to set it up to also receive them on the Archos. Whatever I do, I get either a message saying ‘user name or password is incorrect’.
D.J. Wilshire
You can’t easily delete or change Gmail account on an Android device without carrying out a full reset, which would result in all of your data being lost. To cut a long story short this is because Google developed Android, and you need an account to be able to access the Google Marketplace to download apps. However, there is a simple workaround and that’s to open a second Gmail account, using the new password. In theory you can then remove the old account, however, you may find that it deletes the messages and contacts associated with the existing account, so I would leave it alone.

A reader has formatting problems
My TV has a facility to accept a hard drive via a USB port. I connected one and formatted it using the TV as instructed. I now no longer need it on the TV and want to use it with my PC. The PC installs it and announces it is ‘Ready to use’, but doesn't allocate a drive letter. Although the drive appears in all the various lists and is reported to be working properly, I can find no way of accessing it to reformat it for the PC.

Using an iPad or other tablet computers can be bad for your shoulders as they encourage people to hunch over the screen, Harvard research suggests.
The millions of people who use the devices, hailed as a bridge between laptops and mobile phones, are also at risk of neck injuries, claims a new study.
Researchers found that the flexibility and convenience tablet computers are hailed for could actually be harming users, especially if held on their laps.

Apple's iPad outsold Hewlett-Packard's PCs in the final quarter of last year.
Tim Cook, chief executive of Apple, said the company had sold 15.43 million iPads in the final quarter of last year.
According to Gartner, HP sold 14.7 million PCs in the same period. Obviously, HP isn't the only computer manufacturer but the comparison shows how significant iPad sales have become.
Cook said: "There will come a day that the tablet market is larger than the PC market."

Asus customers who have found a GPS fault with their Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime tablet are to be offered a refund or an extension of the standard warranty from 12 months to 18 months, the company has confirmed.
The announcement highlights what has been a turbulent few months for the hybrid laptop / tablet, with users complaining about the device’s Wi-Fi and GPS functionality, leading to rumours that its UK launch would be delayed.
In a blog post, Asus said: "Any customers who have purchased a Transformer Prime TF201 and are dissatisfied with the performance of the GPS module are advised to return the unit to their point of purchase for a full refund as per standard consumer rights that apply in the UK."

Another year, another set of damn fine looking plasma TVs from Panasonic.
Key Features
*Latest NeoPlasma technology
*55in and 65in screen sizes
*active 3D playback
*2500Hz Subfield drive
Panasonic VT50 plasma TVs
While it might have been the Panasonic WT50 LED series that most caught our eye on Panasonic’s 2012 CES stand, it would be just plain wrong for us to have ignored Panasonic’s latest plasma TVs given the brand’s proven plasma track record. So we made sure we managed to spend plenty of time, too, with the VT50 series - 2012’s flagship Panasonic plasmas. And not surprisingly, we were glad we did.

HP’s dm1-3200sa is a decent enough ultraportable or high-end netbook let down by its somewhat discordant design and screen’s poor viewing angles. At its current price point of around £375, it’s worth spending a little more to get far superior alternatives.
Key Features
*11.6in 1366 x 768 glossy screen
*Dual-core AMD E350 CPU
*3GB RAM, 320 GB 5200rpm HDD
*Radeon HD 6310 integrated graphics

While it's certainly still not ready for a commercial release, Sony's CES glasses-free 3D screen is perhaps the best we've seen so far. And certainly better than Toshiba's incoming ZL2.
Key Features
*46in glasses-free 3D screen
*4k native resolution
Sony 46in glasses-free 3D TV
The most noticeable thing about 3D at the 2012 CES was its absence. Samsung hardly bothered with it at all, while for many other brands it only got secondary billing to their new Smart TV functionality. Only LG really went a bundle on it.

Renaissance Photography Prize 2012 - The Renaissance Photography Competition is now looking for entries.
A photography competition that has £8,000 in prizes up grabs and raises money for a good cause is now accepting entries.
The Renaissance Photography Prize 2012 is an international photography competition which raises money to support younger women with breast cancer. By entering, you get the chance to have your work judged by some of the top names in photography and be exhibited in the prestigious Mall Galleries in the heart of London.

See Who's Won A Vanguard Tripod This Week - Find out who's this week's winner in Vanguard's eight-week long photography competition.
alastairwilson
Another week of Vanguard's eight-week long photography competition series has come to a close and after some deliberation, the judge has made their final decision.
Low light was the theme for this competition and with over 200 entries, it wasn't easy to narrow down a shortlist and even harder to pick just one winner. But it was decided that alastairwilson's Camping with glaciers was most definitely a worthy winner.

BSkyB, Sky TV's parent company, has invested in tech startup Zeebox - and that means tablets are about to become more useful for Sky TV customers. The deal gives BSkyB exclusive rights to use Zeebox's technology in its own apps, starting with the Sky+ app for remote recording. The deal's an important one: Zeebox cites research that says almost one-third of British internet use happens while we're also watching TV, with more than half of viewers using laptops or tablets while watching programmes.

Having already attempted to take on the Android tablet market with the ViewSonic ViewPad 7 and ViewPad 7e, ViewSonic is back with a cut-price device.
The ViewSonic ViewPad 10e pairs what, at face value, appears to be an acceptable array of entry-level specs with a cheap and relatively cheerful shell to appeal to those not convinced by the iPad's much higher price tag.
Looking to steal a couple of market share percentage points from Apple, ViewSonic has forgone a number of core Android values when adopting Google's operating system for the ViewPad 10e, most fundamental of which is the overlooking of the now standard 10.1-inch display in favour of an iPad-mimicking 9.7-inch offering.

The Philips GoGear Connect 3 is the first Android media player: a Wi-Fi toting ‘pocket tablet’ running apps and a multitouch interface
The Philips GoGear Connect 3 is a portable mp3 player like nothing we’ve seen before. Why? Well, it sports Android 2.3 Gingerbread, which means alongside playing music and video it can access thousands of apps through the Android Market. Yes, we know what you’re thinking: it’s a bit like Android’s answer to the Apple iPod touch and is also set to go head-to head with the recently announced Sony Z Series Walkman with Android.

Check out T3's Apple iPhone 4S review for our run down of the best Apple iPhone 4S features, specs, some info on the iPhone 4S design and processor, and to find out if Siri really works
The world's handset manufacturers have also been playing a fierce game of catch up, releasing a raft of ever-improving
smartphones with faster processors and more features, all trying to steal a march over Apple and its seemingly unstoppable freight train of success.

The best games of 2012 are coming to steal you way from your mundane lives. Here's the PS3, Xbox 360, PC, Wii U, 3DS and Vita games you need to buy
Skyrim, Arkham City, Modern Warfare 3, the best games of 2011 are going to be a hard bunch to beat. But with the arrival of the PS Vita and the Nintendo Wii U joining the current console stalwarts, gamers will not be short changed in 2012.

BBC Worldwide is making its first excursion into the world of gaming with a brand-new Doctor Who game for PS3, PC and Sony's upcoming PS Vita
A new trailer has been unveiled for the upcoming Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock game which is coming out for PS3, Xbox 360 and the PlayStation Vita.
The new trailer shows actual gameplay for the game and it looks as if the developers have gone for a retro feel with the side-scrolling platform feel making a refreshing change and echoing that of the recent Tintin title.

In Monday's late-breaking tech news, a new camera sensor from Sony could mean thinner iPhones, while the Nokia Lumia 900 could be bound for the UK afterall
Nokia Lumia 900 coming to the UK in June
We're yet to hear anything official from Nokia on the matter, but it seems that the US-exclusive Lumia 900 Windows Phone device will be coming to the UK after all. The 4.3-inch Windows Phone Mango handset was debuted to great acclaim at CES earlier this month, but was announced as an AT&T-only phone. Carphone Warehouse has a holding page on its website saying it'll be arriving in June.

Samsung is to launch a white Samsung Galaxy Note device in the UK toady, Jan 23rd, with the lighter toned device to feature the same spec as its sibling
Samsung has revealed that it is to offer a newly hued rendition of its oversized smartphone come undersized tablet with a white Samsung Galaxy Note device to hit the UK today, January 23rd.
Officially unveiled last week, the white Samsung Galaxy Note will follow on from its standard black hued brethren landing with the same dual-core processor and 5.3inch display.

If your February wasn’t busy enough, the Fallout New Vegas Ultimate Edition will be out on February 7th in North America and February 10th in Europe. It will retail for $49.99 on PS3 and Xbox 360 with a PC version selling for $39.99.
The Ultimate Edition includes the Dead Money, Honest Hearts, Old World Blues, and Lonesome Road add-on packs as well as all of the addition seen in the new Courier’s Stash and Gun Runners Arsenal packs.

NIS America announced that Hyperdimension Neptunia mk2 will be out in North America on February 28th and Europe on February 24th for the Playstation 3.
If you are unfamiliar with the game, Hyperdimension Neptunia mk2 is the sequel to the popular RPG Hyperdimension Neptunia, in which you control personifications (humanoids) of videogame consoles with the objective of protecting the world of Gamindustri. In Hyperdimension Neptunia mk2, the four heroines are the younger sisters of the CPUs (Console Patron Units) from Hyperdimension Neptunia. Once again, fans can indulge in the mysteries and adventures found within Gamindustri!

Eyeglasses that overlay data and imagery onto the real world will unlock new kinds of mobile computing.
Eyeglasses that overlay data and imagery onto the real world will unlock new kinds of mobile computing.
The Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas isn't just a place to see new products from gadget giants like Samsung and Sony; it's also a place to see small companies with disruptive ideas that become big consumer technologies in the future.

Meet a cycling android, a remote-controlled orb, and other robotic curiosities from last week’s Consumer Electronics Show.
Murata Boy, made by Japanese electronics manufacturer muRata, was built to showcase the company’s sensors and other technologies.
The cycling robot stands 50 centimeters high and can stay balanced on the bike even when it’s stationary, thanks to the flywheel in its chest; input from gyroscopes and accelerometers provide it with a sense of balance.

It's likely to be way too expensive to become a home product in the short term, but as an exercise in the extent to which 4K screen resolutions can transform your viewing experience, Panasonic's 20in 4k monitor is a resounding success.
Key Features
20in LCD screen
4k resolution
IPS Alpha panel design
Panasonic 4k 20in LCD screen
Normally we’re not sceptical about 4k resolution in the slightest. We’ve seen enough of it in action both in commercial cinemas and in forward-thinking domestic gear demos to know that we can’t wait to get 4k installed in our living and home cinema rooms.