Best of Tech.co.uk: w/e Friday 29 June 2007

It's no real surprise that the Apple iPhone has been completely dominating the news this past week. We suspect it's going to dominate at least for another seven days, too. But that doesn't mean there hasn't been some really interesting non-iPhone related stuff going on in the world of consumer tech.

Here's our weekly round-up of the week's best news stories:

Nintendo Wii sales cruise past 8 million
Nintendo has managed to flog over eight million Wiis in the seven months since the games console's worldwide launch. That astonishing figure places it within touching distance of the Microsoft Xbox 360, which has chalked up around 11 million sales since the end of 2005

Laser TVs to take on LCD and plasma rivals
Mitsubishi is to show off a new Laser TV at CES 2008. It means that 2008 could be the year that Laser TV technology - better, cheaper and lighter than current LCD and plasma screens - could at last make its way onto the shelves

PSP needs better games, says Sony boss
Games developers need to be more creative with games designed for the PSP in order to attract new gamers to use the portable console. That's according to Tony Buckley, game director at SCEE, who made the comments in a CVG interview

You are not a games addict
Playing World of Warcraft every night until 3am may not be the most sensible thing in the world - but it doesn't make you mental. Addiction experts have backed away from classifying video games as a mental illness

Sony PSP gets speed bump in firmware update
In a move that signals a possible revamped version of Sony's PlayStation Portable is imminent, the Japanese giant has admitted that the most recent firmware update allows its CPU to run 25 per cent faster

Mind-reading device moves real-world objects
If the boffins in white coats at Hitachi Japan have their way, old-fashioned point-and-click TV remote controls could soon be a thing of the past. They're developing an interface that can read our minds

Facebook users more likely to be middle-class
Facebook users are more likely to be middle-class, come from wealthier homes and have a college education than fans of MySpace. That's according to a six-month study of American teenagers using social networking websites

Pure Digital launches DAB download service
Imagination Technologies, the company behind Pure Digital, is to launch a music download service that will allow you to buy music you've just heard played straight from a DAB radio

Super-slim Seesaw Mobile Phone
It may look like just the latest super-skinny folding mobile phone, with a huge display and flush keypad. But this concept phones adds a novel twist - a seesaw hinge

Xbox 360 Elite set for UK debut in August?
Word on the internet is that Microsoft is readying itself to launch the revamped Xbox 360 Elite games console in the UK. If the rumours are to be believed, it's going to hit the UK and the rest of Europe on 24 August and will cost £300

MySpace to launch new YouTube rival site
MySpace is about to launch a full-frontal assault on the online video market. In a move to steal some of YouTube's market share, MySpace is relaunching its own video streaming service and giving it its own domain: myspacetv

BBC iPlayer to launch July 27 in UK
The BBC is to launch its new on-demand iPlayer on the 27 July. That's according to a statement released by the Beeb early this morning. The BBC iPlayer is a free catch-up service offering all BBC shows up to a week after transmission

Console War: Wii set for total PS3 domination
Nintendo looks like it's going to completely dominate the games console industry throughout the current generation. That's because games makers have decided to make the Nintendo Wii their number one priority, instead of the PS3