Pogo brings TiVO-style recording to radio

Plus: HP desktops target gamers

Reg Kit Watch

MP3 Player

Fed up of missing The Archers omnibus edition? Well, maybe not, but whatever floats your boat on the airwaves, Pogo Products' Radio Your Way portable AM/FM device could be for you.

Not only is it a radio with ten station pre-sets, it's got a built-in recording facility backed by enough RAM (32MB) to store four hours' worth of programming. An SD/MMC card slot provides scope to increase the recording time. Line-in ports and a built-in microphone allow you to record from other sources.

It's also an MP3 player, so you can copy over songs from your PC via a USB connection. It plays WMA files too.

The device doesn't just grab what's currently being broadcast, but it can be set to record programmes at a specific time, TiVO-fashion. There's a built-in speaker, or you can listen using the bundled earbuds.

The Radio Your Way measures 5.5 x 9.8 x 1.8 cm (2.2 x 3.9 x 0.7in). It costs $149.99 direct from Pogo, which ships to the US and around the world.

Desktops

HP has introduced a family of Compaq PCs aimed at US gamers. The S4000NX line will feature a range of CPUs, all from Intel, some of which include quad-pumped 800MHz frontside bus models.

The S43000NX, for example, is based on a 2.4GHz P4 operating on a 200MHz FSB quad-pumped to an effective 800MHz, 512MB of DDR SDRAM, 120GB hard drive, and a combo DVD/CD-RW optical drive.

The machine ships with Intel's Extreme 2 graphics integrated on the motherboard, but hard core gamers will undoubtedly want to add in better graphics via the 8x AGP slot. The lack of a top-end card has, however, helped HP get the box's price down to $800.

More S4000NX-series machines will be rolled out during this and next month, HP said, offering a range of CPUs from a 2.4GHz Celeron up. All the PCs in the family are only available through retail channels. ®