IBLOG SPACE

Didn’t get enough of ASUS’ O!Play HD2 mediaplayer, complete with its segment-leading USB 3.0 connectivity? ARM-loving Charbax has offered up a demo video of the O!Play HD2 in action from CeBIT 2010, and while the UI may not be the most inspiring we’ve ever seen, you can’t really knock the ports ASUS have squeezed in. As well as the USB 3.0 – which should be handy for hooking up high-speed external drives and playing back high-resolution content from them – there’s HDMI 1.3, composite and component video, together with both optical and coaxial digital audio outputs. There’s also eSATA and various memory card reader slots, together with a network port.

Samsung have confirmed that they’ll be among the rivals throwing their tablet hat into the ring and taking on Apple’s iPad this year. Criticising the iPad for its shortcomings in connectivity and processing power, Philip Newton, director of Samsung Australia’s IT division, said that any tablet that his company would produce would offer “PC grade” connections and grunt. Meanwhile Emmanuele Silanesu, national product and marketing manager, revealed that the unnamed tablet would see a release in the second half of 2010, and have a consumer focus. That would distinguish the upcoming slate from Samsung’s own Q1 UMPC, which Silanesu concedes “wasn’t an attractive device for consumers”. ”The Q1 was a very niche product for a vertical market, it wasn’t a consumer product” he told APC, “it was limited (in functionality), the price was relatively high.” “The smartphone will become a secondary device, like a smartphone now is and like the PDA was … But there is the ability for a slate-based pr

Looks like Apple are having accessory problems; having already warned customers that several iPad add-ons – including the iPad Keyboard Dock – wouldn’t ship until later in April, the Apple Store has been updated to reflect even longer delays. The iPad Keyboard Dock – along with the spare iPad power adapter – now won’t ship until sometime in May 2010. They’re not the only things to have slipped. When the iPad first went up for pre-order last week, the official iPad Case, iPad Dock and iPod Dock to VGA Adapter were all expected to ship in time for April 3rd deliveries of the tablet itself. Now Apple’s iPad Case – one of the more popular accessories, we’d expect – has slipped to mid-April 2010. The iPad itself is estimated to have seen 152,000 pre-orders by midnight on Sunday, and is being tentatively described as more popular than the original iPhone was. The WiFi-only model will ship in time for April 3rd, while the WiFi + 3G version – which has an integrated HSPA modem – will follo

Having been spotted in little more than sketch form back in January, we now have some firmer information on Cowon’s upcoming J3 media player. Set to launch this month, apparently, the Cowon J3 has a 3.3-inch AMOLED touchscreen running at 480 x 272, complete with up to 16GB of storage and Bluetooth connectivity. Three versions of the J3 will be available initially, with the PMP coming in 4GB, 8GB and 16GB SKUs. All will have an accelerometer for automatic screen-orientation flips, a TV output for displaying content on a bigger screen, and Cowon’s own JetEffects effects 3.0 technology for improving audio performance. Previous rumors suggested that the J3 would also get integrated WiFi, though there’s no mention of that which we can find. However, given the company’s well-respected audio quality, this could be a popular PMP among audiophiles assuming Cowon price it reasonably.

Details are scant on this one, but Samsung have announced that they will be launching their first commercial 3D phone sometime this month. The Samsung SCH-W960 has a 3.2-inch WQVGA AMOLED touchscreen and dual DMB TV tuners capable of receiving terrestrial and satellite signals. Most interesting, though, is the 3D functionality; the W960 can apparently convert regular 2D content into 3D. There’s also talk of a 3D TV channel specially for the SCH-W960. Other specifications include a 3-megapixel camera with Xenon flash, DNSe 2.0 and DivX support, along with HSDPA connectivity. So far it seems the Samsung SCH-W960 will be a Korea-only release, at least initially. We’re guessing that, depending on its success there, the company will consider launching the technology in North America and Europe, though likely in a device that lacks the digital TV tuners.

Being successful in digital photography isn’t just about which DSLR you spend your money on: it’s the memory card you put inside it, too. Over the past few weeks, we’ve been testing the latest high-capacity UDMA 6 capable CompactFlash cards in up to 64GB sizes from SanDisk, PhotoFast and Lexar, intended for the most demanding of professional photographers. We didn’t stop at spec-sheet theory, either; to get the most out of these high-speed cards, we put them through their paces with the Canon EOS 1D Mark IV and top-spec computers to gather the real world performance figures, including an unprecedented in-camera write speed pushing the limit to 58MB/s with the Mark IV. Read on to find out which card tops the chart, and how the newcomer PhotoFast G-Monster holds up against the market leaders. SanDisk Extreme Pro CompactFlash Cards Among the contestants, SanDisk is perhaps the most trusted brand in the hands of working professional photographers. With the Extreme Pro, the manufacturer rai

Despite the fact that the Windows Phone 7 Series has a bold new User Interface, and a brand new mobile Operating System outlook from the Redmond-based company, the big question on everyone’s mind is whether or not the platform will have an App Store competitor. Thanks to MIX10, we can finally say with absolute certainty that that’s exactly what Microsoft has planned, as they’ve officially named the Windows Phone Marketplace as the successor to the Windows Marketplace for Mobile. The Marketplace is being billed as the perfect place for you to find whatever it is you’re looking for. Whether to find a game, or to find something to spice up the life of your phone, the Marketplace will have it. It says that it’s a “smarter way” to find your apps, games, and music for your phone, thanks to the panoramic view that Windows Phone 7 Series is highlighting. You can also find featured items of the day. There’s also the ability to read reviews of the applications you want, as well as “try before y

“Cheap” and “SSD” are not two words you generally hear in the same sentence, but Intel are hoping to change that – or at least head somewhere toward it – with their latest drive. The Intel X25-V Value SATA SSD comes in at roughly $125, significantly lower than the company have been charging for their previous solid-state drives, though as you might expect there are some compromises made to achieve that price-point. The biggest issue is capacity: the X25-M only packs 40GB of storage, which is low no matter whether you’re looking at netbooks or anything bigger. Intel are positioning it more as a dualboot drive, with the expectation that users will keep the SSD for the OS and core applications and then store their data on a larger HDD. In fact, they reckon if you did that – with Windows 7, Office and a game – you could see up to 43-percent faster overall system performance or an 86-percent improvement in gaming experience. The Intel X25-V Value SATA SSD is available now, priced at $125

With several Windows Mobile devices named in Apple’s patent suit against HTC , you’d be forgiven for expecting Microsoft to have a few words of quiet support for their hardware partners. However it seems Microsoft are quite looking forward to a general battle; speaking at an IP convention last week, Brad Smith, the company’s general counsel and senior vice president told amassed lawyers that ”the fact that there’s litigation in this area is not necessarily a bad thing.” It seems Microsoft are viewing the ongoing litigation as an opportunity to finally settle the pesky question of who owns what multitouch IP, and what other companies are allowed to do with the multi-finger technologies. To Smith’s mind, “the question of the day is, how will patent licensing work for the software and other information-technology layers that actually make up an increasingly large percentage of the value of a smartphone”; he went on to suggest that 5-10 percent of a smartphone’s cost could be royalty fee

Sony have outed a pair of new wireless headphones, the MDR-RF810RK and MDR-RF4000K, each a set of closed-cup cans intended for home entertainment use. Of the two, the Sony MDR-RF4000K are probably the more interesting; they use a dual-band digital RF transceiver with 30m range, and have a 40mm long-stroke diaphragm. They also fold flat for easy storage, and for docking into the combination case and recharging station. Battery life from the standard NiMH pack is up to 10hrs, though you can also use an AAA battery for 7hrs use. As for the Sony MDR-RF810RK headphones, they weigh a little less than their classier counterparts but don’t fold flat. They do get longer battery life, however; up to 13hrs with the NiMH pack or 28hrs with the AAA battery. Audio quality might not be as strong, however, since they use analog RF not digital.

It’s fair to say the early reviews of the ASUS Eee PC T101MT were disappointing, in no small part because it felt like we’d been waiting a whole long time for the company’s latest touchscreen convertible. According to netbooklive, however, we may all have spoken too soon: turns out that the hardware we’ve seen so far has been sprinkled with pre-production bugs; they’ve got a production-ready sample, and the end result is much more impressive. Video review after the cut Performance still isn’t going to blow anyone away; by the time ASUS load up all the various widgets, background apps and processes necessary to enable touch functionality, the T101MT is still sluggish, but it’s nowhere near as bad as the pre-production models were. The screen is also decent, proving more accurate to both finger and stylus use. In the end, it’s still very much a niche product, but one that now can at least be recommended to the tablet-faithful. Our inclination is still to wait and see how slate-only ta

Palm Pre not fast enough for you? The Pre Plus doubles the webOS smartphone’s RAM but leaves the processor (a 600MHz TI OMAP 3430 underclocked by Palm to 500MHz) unchanged; happily where Palm themselves seemingly fear to tread, owners themselves have no such qualms. A couple of mod-happy Pre owners have overclocked the smartphone to 800MHz, resulting in swifter performance and, surprisingly, no significant increase in power consumption. So far they’ve only had the chance to produce the webOS 1.3.5.1 code, not the newer 1.4 build, but it’s apparently as stable as any bleeding-edge alternative firmware ever is. While battery life isn’t battered, it seems the new code turns the Pre into quite the pocket-warmer: the advice is to put the smartphone into Airplane mode periodically to give it a break.

One of the side-effects of a big name launch such as the iPad’s on Friday is that it brings all the analysts out to make their sales predictions. We’ve already heard one guesstimate – 120,000 units on the first day alone – and now there’s more speculation from would-be analyst Daniel Tello who has been crunching unofficial Investor Village figures. He reckons Apple’s 25,000-per-hour sales maelstrom on Friday then tailed off to “just” 1,000-per-hour over Saturday and Sunday, culminating in 152,000 pre-orders by midnight Sunday. “With three weeks and two weekends left before they ship, I wouldn’t expect much more than half a million in pre-orders and reservations. My best guess, although very tentative given the early stage and few data we have so far, would be that they hit the 1 million unit milestone by the second week after it ships. But this is a very speculative guesstimate based on just a weekend of pre-orders” Daniel Tello Daniel’s figures aren’t just pie-in-the-sky however; he

Google's been iterating its Maps client for Android devices at a positively ridiculous pace lately, burning through versions 3.4 and 4.0 in a span of just a few days last month -- but hey, March is upon us, which apparently means it's time for another fresh cut. This time around we're looking at 4.1, though the mere 0.1 bump in the version number really doesn't do this thing justice -- they've redesigned the results screen, added a swipe gesture for moving between results, served up a new Latitude widget for the home screen, and brought in support for multiple Google accounts (for seeing different Buzz follows, for instance). The icing on the cake, though, is a new live wallpaper for Android 2.1 phones that's a live map of your location, which sounds absurdly awesome -- assuming it doesn't beat your battery to a bloody pulp with constant GPS access, of course. It's available now from the good ol' Market for devices running Android 1.6 and up, so if

Microsoft certainly set off a firestorm of controversy yesterday with the revelation that Windows Phone 7 Series won't have copy and paste, since it doesn't necessarily line up with what the company has said in private before -- and the issue seems to have gotten even more clouded as people have started hacking around the emulator. So let's set the record straight on what we were told, since it wasn't ambiguous in any way: Microsoft says leaving clipboard operations out was a conscious design decision based on user research showing that people don't actually use copy and paste very often, and that instead 7 Series features a systemwide data detection service which recognizes things like phone numbers and addresses so you can take action on them. Third-party apps can hook into this service, so that an email address can be routed to the email client of your choice, but there's no copy and paste functionality. We specifically asked about Office and OneNote, and we

So... look. Sometimes you find yourself in a Vegas club at 3AM, holding a Windows Phone 7 Series testing device loaded up with a working copy of The Harvest, and you shoot what might be world's shakiest video of the gameplay using a nearby Nexus One. It's practically a rite of passage in this town, right? Video after the break. Update: Also, sometimes you find yourself in a Vegas hotel the day after the Vegas club, nursing your brutal headache and desperately seeking a second opportunity to film that hot unreleased game with a better camera. Video of that is after the break, too.

Making the rounds, are we Google? Just over 24 hours after we saw an AT&T-friendly Nexus One go on sale, along come Sprint yelling "me too!" at the top of its lungs. Today marks the day that Google's first-ever smartphone now has at least a holding place on all four of the major US carriers, with T-Mobile nabbing it first and Verizon users still waiting for that vague "spring release." Unfortunately, Sprint's making us wait when it comes to finding out an exact price and release date, but at least we're assured that both are coming "soon."

There's hardly anything here that we didn't already know, but an unveiling date of "next week" sure catches our eye. A new report over at The Wall Street Journal confirms earlier details that were fed to us over Sprint's first-ever WiMAX smartphone, and now we're learning that the HTC Supersonic will be officially revealed to the world at CTIA next week. We've heard before that the carrier anticipates selling a 4G phone "this summer," but you can bet we'll be digging for a hard ship date and price tag when we hit the scene in Las Vegas in just five short days.

Even as the rise of free navigation apps gives most paid competitors pause (if not killing them outright), Navigon has managed to stay well ahead of the pack with a robust, oft-updated smartphone solution, despite charging over $80 for the privilege. But now, even that last bit can change. For $30, Navigon's MyRegion gives you its premium MobileNavigator software at around one-third the price, with the simple caveat that you only get maps for one-third of the US (East, West or Central) to go with it. Should you drive out of your designated zone, Navigon will generously allow you to buy another chunk a la carte for $15; and all of Navigon's other add-ons, including the new MyRoutes feature (customized route recommendations and alternate routes) are similarly available. It's not quite as delectable as gratis, but we have to admit a certain admiration for Navigon turning software investment into impulse buy. Oh, and speaking of impulsive: Navigon's offering MyRegion for t

Here's another thing the Desire has that the Nexus One doesn't: a second color option. We're told our Dutch buddies will soon be able to skip the default gunmetal paintjob that's shared by HTC's twin brothers and opt into the silvery casing you see above. The pictures are captioned with a note saying the silver Desire will be exclusive to BelCompany in the Netherlands, but we've found a few other retailers claiming their own exclusief. Either way, we still don't know how things will shake out elsewhere, but at least there won't be too long to wait. We've got video of the very slightly altered handset after the break.

Sure, we've been pushing Microsoft hard for Windows Phone 7 Series details like copy and paste (no) and multitasking (no), but we just realized that we've never actually seen a 7 Series device... make a phone call. A little running around later and we've got two demo handsets calling each other. We're told that the little white arrow on the call panel will eventually bring up options like conference calling, speakerphone, and mute, but it's not working yet -- and one of the phones seems to think it's running on Cingular, so either time travel is an unannounced feature of the OS or Microsoft still has some work to do. Video after the break. P.S. They're just demo SIMs, but we're sure the poor PR folks babysitting the devices would appreciate it if you didn't call the numbers, okay? Be nice.

Your hopes, dreams, and deepest desires for a keyboardless CLIQ have finally materialized today now that Motorola's CLIQ XT has reached T-Mobile shops across the country. Interestingly, yesterday's leaked documentation pegged the date, but not the price -- rather than the rumored $99.99, the XT will actually be going for $129.99 on a two-year contract. We guess that's still not bad for a bona fide myTouch 3G alternative with a 5 megapixel cam -- as long as you can get down with Blur, of course.

Also known as the Galaxy Portal in the UK, Samsung's i5700 is today officially entering the Eclair portion of its Android existence. We got a nice leak of the 2.1 ROM in February, whose small glitches will no doubt have been ironed out in this official release. You'll need to either hook up to the Samsung neural network using their proprietary PC Studio 7 software to leech the upgrade or just buy a new handset -- it all depends on the ratio between your disposable time and income. Guess this will make the Spica that little bit more seductive to Rogers customers, who only just got the option to own the handset last week. Full PR after the break.

We couldn't shake the feeling that the mysterious Samsung-branded Windows Phone 7 Series device being passed around at MIX10 this week was just a warmed-over i8910 HD, and it turns out there's a very good reason for that: Samsung says it is a warmed-over i8910 HD. Even crazier, TechRadar writes that its contact at Samsung basically pegged the stunt entirely on Microsoft, simply saying "they used the i8910 HD to demo Windows 7" and that "this demo was a one-off." The whole thing reeks of the original Zune, which began life as a Frankenstein'd Toshiba Gigabeat -- but we don't think this new trick is going to make it all the way to retail since the i8910 HD clocks in with 640 x 360 resolution (WP7S requires 800 x 480) and a processor that falls well short of the standard-issue 1GHz Snapdragon. At any rate, we're trying to get the straight dope on this from Microsoft now that Samsung's washed its hands of it and we'll update you when we'v

We've heard it all before, but it's always nice to get a modicum of legitimacy from a primary source. T-Mobile has now officially announced the release details for the HTC HD2 -- you know, that phone whose cool factor has dropped a few Mega Fonzies since we confirmed once and for all it wasn't getting a Windows Phone 7 upgrade. Look for it next Wednesday, March 24th, for just a penny under $200 on a two-year contract (and $450 without). Hey, at least this one's definitely got copy and paste, right?

Chatter over the Milestone's impending Android 2.1 update has reached a rolling boil in recent days, but it's actually the Milestone's American cousin that's getting the official coverage today. That's right: Verizon's just posted details on the Droid's upgrade to Google's latest and greatest cut, and you've got the expected host of goodies including the new 3D Gallery app, voice-to-text, news and weather widgets, pinch-to-zoom support, "improved" pattern lock, and -- get this -- live wallpapers, something we'd originally thought Motorola might leave out. It appears to lack the Nexus One's 3D app launcher (which we'd expected), but it's still pure gold for owners. Let us know when you've gotten it, eh?

Ready for another long, drawn-out copy and paste controversy to overtake your every waking moment for a year or two? Good: Microsoft just mentioned in a Q&A session here at MIX10 in no uncertain terms that clipboard operations won't be supported on Windows Phone 7 Series... so that's that. Kind of ironic considering that the WinMo of old has been enjoying the functionality since time immemorial, isn't it? Of course, anything is possible going forward -- they've said on several occasions in different talks and sessions this week that they're already looking at a number of enhancements that were scoped out of the initial release of the platform -- but for the phones you buy this holiday season, don't expect to be copying anything between apps. Update: We just super-double-ultra-plus-confirmed this with Microsoft -- Windows Phone 7 Series will not have copy and paste functionality. There is a data-detection service built into the text-handling API that will r

Motorola already said that its new CLIQ XT Android phone would be available sometime this month when it let us get our hands on the phone last week, but it unfortunately didn't get very specific about an actual date or a price. If this seemingly authentic slide obtained by TmoToday is any indication, however, it looks like the Blur-skinned handset will hit retail on March 17th (tomorrow), and run $99 on a two-year contract (or $199 for a year). That places it right in line with the current pricing of the original CLIQ, which would seem to be prime for a price drop if it's sticking around.

Microsoft's flavor of push notifications for Windows Phone 7 Series -- the so-called Microsoft Notification Service -- was just demoed using an MLS (Major League Soccer) app, and it fits in really well with the "Metro" UI motif. Notifications come in via an unobtrusive bar across the top of the display -- better than iPhone, and not unlike webOS -- and tapping them takes you into the app where you're presumably taken to a fuller view of the relevant information. The notifications are available regardless of whether the app is open, a model that mirrors Apple's and likely a heavy dose of foreshadowing that multitasking -- at least, multitasking as we know it -- won't be available. Check of pic of the notification bar after the break.

While we all wait patiently for Apple to concoct its own subscription-based, unlimited music streaming service (hello, Lala acquisition!), MOG is jumping on the opportunity right away. Er, almost right away. Down in Austin this week, the company announced that an iPhone and Android app would be out "in early Q2" in order to bring unlimited music streaming to both operating systems for $10 per month. We're told that a catalog of seven million songs will be available, but there's no way to know if 6.99 million are of the "no one cares" variety. At any rate, your monthly fee will also allow unlimited streaming from the desktop, but alas, you'll be left with nothing but hollow memories should you ever stop ponying up. In related news, Rhapsody has announced (video after the break) that offline playback support is coming to the iPhone, with the updated app expected to be passed along for Apple's confirmation "shortly." Granted, the Rhapsody to G

That's it folks -- the heat is on. Today Google's Nexus One has hit the virtual shelves equipped for 3G action on AT&T and Rogers networks... free of any contracts or nasty carrier locks. The device can be purchased from Google's phone store right now for $529, and if your pocketbook is hurting later today -- don't say we didn't warn you. This is the moment you've been waiting for, right? Full PR after the break.

When we last saw the AirStash , it was keeping its mystique about it and refusing to disclose any salient details beyond the fact that it'll function as a wireless SD/SDHC card reader. Today, the fog of war is lifted with the news that the AirStash is now officially on sale for $99.99, and will come with a battery good for five hours of continuous data streaming. Marketed primarily at iPhone OS devices, it creates a wireless network that allows any WiFi and browser-equipped computer to access the storage cards within it. The UI is built around HTML5 and recharging is done via a USB connection, which also turns the AirStash into a simple SDHC card adapter when plugged in. Check out our hands-on with it from CES over here and look for a full review coming up shortly. We do care so very deeply our portable storage.

Now that we have clarity with regard to a Windows Phone 7 update on the HD2 , let's move on to the next contentious platform: Nokia's N900 and MeeGo. As Nokia's only Cortex-A8 handset, there's plenty of hope that Nokia sees fit to upgrade the N900 to MeeGo once the unified Maemo and Moblin OS is ready for consumers. Hope all but crushed yesterday after CNET reported the following from an unnamed, but apparently official Nokia source: "Maemo on Nokia N900 is not upgradeable to MeeGo." We ran this past Ray Haddow, Senior Manager within Nokia Communications who took the quote back to the project team in Finland. According to Ray, the "the door is not closed" with regard to MeeGo on the N900 -- a final decision has not been made. This also echos the words of Valtteri Halla when he announced the MeeGo repository in early March. In response to questions at the time, this one-bodied half of the MeeGo Technical Steering Group had this to day: "N900 i

Tired of waiting for Verizon and dissatisfied with a series of recent buggy leaks, the fine folks at XDA Developers were determined to trade their Cupcake-laden Droid Eris for a more toothsome Eclair on their own terms. Yesterday evening, it seems they finally achieved their goal, though not without a caveat or three. If you're still running the stock Android 1.5, it's a simple matter of dropping a ZIP file onto your SD card and restarting your phone; if not, you're completely out of luck. Rooters warn that the hack won't work on phones that have already been flashed to that aforementioned Eris 2.1 leak, and that they haven't yet figured out a way to restore any non-1.5 phones back to factory default. If hacking isn't your daily bread, proceed with caution -- Sense UI may be fancy and all, but chaining your phone forevermore to an unsupported OS just ain't worth it. See what an Eris Eclair looks like after the break.

We've already seen Visa team up with DeviceFidelity to deliver NFC payments via microSD card, and it looks like they now have some company from First Data and Tyfone, who have just announced a partnership of their own to help bring the technology to the cellphone-toting masses. At the heart of their system is Tyfone's SideTap card made by NXP Semiconductors (pictured after the break), which is not only able to function as an actual memory card in addition to a NFC payment device, but should cost about the same as a regular memory card of the same capacity as well. Using a microSD card instead of a phone with built-in NFC technology also cuts out the need for carriers or phone manufacturers to be involved, which is apparently where First Data comes in, as it will responsible for bringing the cards to consumers (in addition to dealing with retailers, carriers and financial institutions). Complete details on a rollout still seem to be a bit up in the air, but the two companies ar

Model Pravesh Rana, who was the runner-up on Colors' 'Bigg Boss 3', is featuring on reality shows galore but says he is not inclined towards daily soaps at all. 'TV has given me whatever I have today. I am happy doing whatever I am doing but no daily soaps for me right now. Producers are making a major compromise on the quality of soaps these days, with most of them about depressing issues and that is something I am not okay with,' said Pravesh, who will be hosting the new children's dance reality show 'Chak Dhoom Dhoom' soon. The 26-year-old says that his life changed drastically after he participated in 'Bigg Boss 3' and that he even received film offers. 'I won Mr.India in 2008 and thought the world would come to know me. But nothing like that happened. It was only through 'Bigg Boss' that I won recognition. When I came out of the show, I got a lot of film offers, but none was from a good production house. I realise that one's

Heidi Klum and hubby Seal are set to renew their vows in a party with a unique dress theme-all the guests will dress as brides and grooms. And the supermodel and Project Runway host didn't give any explanation for the bizarre plan. "It's going to be all brides and all grooms. All of the women will be brides and all of the men will be grooms," Us magazine quoted Klum as telling E! News. "Just one day, I woke up and I was like, 'Oh, I know what I am going to do this year'...I like to have fun and I like to make it fun for my family and friends," she added. Klum, 36, wed Seal, 47, on May 10, 2005, and the couple have made a tradition of renewing their vows in a big way. In 2009, they threw a "white trash" renewal ceremony, in which Klum's hair was in cornrows, her singer husband sported a mullet, and the officiant was dressed as Elvis Presley.

The primary school for girls, which Angelina Jolie funded in Tangi, Afghanistan, is all set to open its doors to 800 students, according to a UNHCR statement. Jolie, the UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador, visited a refugee settlement in Afghanistan's eastern Nangarhar province and donated a whopping 75,000 dollars toward the school's construction. The facility features eight classrooms, a well and eight latrines, and is set to begin classes next Monday, when their school year begins. Although UNICEF built classrooms in the area accommodating 1300 students two years ago, many parents hesitated, for cultural reasons, to send their daughters to a school also used by boys. "I always had hopes and dreams of going to school. The hope to become a qualified teacher has revived in me," Us magazine quoted a 14-year-old girl named Laila, as expressing her excitement about the new school. Igbal Azizi, head of the region's provincial education, stressed the importance of Jolie's g

Supermodel and new mum Gisele Bundchen is such a fitness freak that she was kung fu kicking and doing yoga even two weeks before she went into labour. The Brazilian catwalk queen only gained 30 pounds (13.6 kilograms) during her pregnancy. And the stunner easily managed to lose her baby weight because she didn't over indulge or give up her fitness regime. "I did kung fu up until two weeks before Benjamin was born, and yoga three days a week," the Daily Star quoted her as telling the new issue of Vogue magazine. "And I think a lot of people get pregnant and decide they can turn into garbage disposals," she added. Bundchen and her American footballer husband Tom Brady welcomed their son in December (09).

Australian singer Dannii Minogue's boyfriend Kris Smith has revealed that the X Factor judge thought he was gay when they first met. Ex-rugby league player Kris, 31, also told how he did not recognise Dannii, 38, when he chatted her up in a nightclub. "When I first started speaking to her, I had no idea who she was. It was only afterwards when a friend told me," the Daily Telegraph quoted the 6ft 4in Brit, as saying. "She was discussing with her friends if I was gay or not. Now we're together so I can prove a point - I'm not gay," he added. Kris and Dannii, who met in Ibiza in 2008, are expecting their first child in July. On being asked who will be the stricter parent, Kris said it would be Dannii. "It'll be Dan. I like to let kids be kids and cause as much mischief as I did," he said.

Romantic fantasy 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon' has been named the film of 2009 by filmgoers voting for the Fandango fan choice award at the upcoming ShoWest in Las Vegas. Imdb.com reports that the fan choice award was voted by nearly 50,000 moviegoers, who were asked on Fandango to select their favourite film of 2009. The sequel beat 'Avatar' and eight other movies to claim the top prize at the cinema owners event by garnering 66 percent of the vote. The award ceremony will take place Thursday at ShoWest's final night at Bally's Las Vegas.

Gwen Stefani and Megan Fox have made it to a new list of top Hollywood bodies. For Fitness Magazine's new Hollywood's Best Bodies issue, readers voted for the stars with the best abs, bottoms and style, reports The Daily Star. In the Best Celebrity Abs category, Gwen Stefani won 55 per cent of the votes, while Fox has the most coveted derriere, according to the survey. Jessica Biel claimed 54 per cent of the Best Workout Style vote.

This might sound a bit surprising. But, take heart and read it anyways because this piece of news is the latest gossip that is doing rounds in the inner circles of bollywood. Buzz is that that filmmaker Tanuja Chandra has got smitten by none other than bollywood hottie Rajeev Khandelwal. Such is her attraction for the hunk that she decided to cast him in her upcoming film at any cost. Rajeev, who was initially reluctant to join this project didn't think it right to offend Tanuja. The film has been titled WOH PYAR HI THA and will be produced by Maverick Productions. According to our source, "Tanuja is so smitten by Rajeev that she has cast him in her upcoming film. Rajeev is also finding this a great opportunity which might help him build bonds with Vidhu Vinod Chopra who is related closely to Tanuja Chandra. Since, Tanuja's film is multi hero project; Rajeev still signed it thinking that Tanuja might actually open more doors for him." After the success of his last fil

Apart from Hindi films, Anuj Saxena's Maverick Productions has made a very successful entry into regional cinema. Being a true maverick, Anuj has entered the regional films with Kannad, Malyalam and Guajarati films. Year 2009 saw two regional releases from Maverick's stable. HOUSEFUL in Kannada, directed by Hemanth Hegde and starring Diganth, Girija Oak, Vishakha Singh and Hemanth himself was released on 24th July 2009; HOUSEFUL had a successful run of 50 days at the box office. This was followed by GULUMAL in Malayalam directed by V. K. Prakash staring Mithra Kurian, Kunchacko Boban and Jayasuriya which released on the 4th of December 2009. GULUMAL proved to be a dark horse and is set to complete 100 days at the box office in April 2010.In fact it is one of the few films that was brought back to the theaters by public demand, a feat very few films can boast of. 2010 March will see Maverick enter another regional space by releasing its first Gujarati film NATHEEYO

Milap Zaveri is a young film maker who has either written the script or dialogues of films as diverse as MASTI, KAANTE, JHANKAAR BEATS, NAKSHA, HEYY BABYY, MUSAFIR and also HOUSEFULL. However, for his debut effort as a director, he chose to take an entirely different route. He roped in a fresh pair of Ritiesh Deshmukh and Jacqueline Fernandez, sprinkled the film with funny moments, romantic sequences and youthful songs, and aimed at coming up with a product that would be an ideal recipe of a romcom affair. Given the fact that JAANE KAHAN SE AAYI HAI is a love story at heart, one can well expect the young director to have got into a zone where he understands audience's pulse. "I have written quite a few comedies and thrillers in the past but there is something about a love story that always excited me. We worked hard on conceptualizing the film, getting the right script in place and executing it to the fullest. Now is the time for audience to provide their verdict", exclai

Ace cinematographer Pravin Bhatt will be completing his century with Vikram Bhatt's next horror flick SHAAPIT. SHAAPIT will mark his 100th achievement in Bollywood. Praveen Bhatt, father of director Vikram Bhatt, takes pride in completing his century with his son's movie. Praveen Bhatt has handled the cinematography for Vikram Bhatt's films like RAAZ, AAP MUJHE ACHCHE LAGNE LAGE, DEEWANE HUYE PAGAL, FOOTPATH, INTEHA, AITBAAR, ELAAN, JURM, ANKAHEE, RED, PHHIR and 1920. Pravin Bhatt has been in the industry for more than three decades. During these years he has done cinematography for movies like KHUDDAR, KAALIA, MASOOM, ASHIQUI, HUM HAIN RAAHI PYAR KE, DIL HAI KE MANTA NAHIN, RAAZ, KASOOR, GUMRAH, AGNIPATH and JOSHILAAY to name a few. We wish Pravin Bhatt continues giving us more hit movies in the coming years...

That Luv Sinha is going to take B-town by a storm is not doubtful at all. Why? Because the music of his debut film Raj Kanwar's SADIYAAN is catching on already. Whoever is hearing it finds it melodious. So, that's one hurdle crossed, and a major one since the music of a film these days can make a film successful. Another big plus for Luv is that he will be working with three of the most famous and experienced actors - Hema Malini, Rekha, and Rishi Kapoor - no less. These actors are still much sought after - and BAGHBAN, KRISSH, LOVE AAJ KAL are proof enough! Now another big one for Luv - he is debuting with Raj Kanwar's film. The director has given some of the biggest hits in Bollywood, that too with biggies like Shah Rukh Khan, Akshay Kumar, Sunny Deol, and Salman Khan. Well, it was Kanwar's DEEWANA that was the first film that none other than Shah Rukh Khan signed in Bollywood! Now Luv is going to carry on his father Shatrughan Sinha's legacy in Bollywood and need

Twentieth Century Fox on Tuesday set Earth Day, April 22, for the DVD and Blu-ray release of "Avatar". But fans will have to wait until November for another disc with all the usual extras, and even longer for a 3-D version. Fox said it had chosen Earth Day as "Avatar's" U.S. and Canada home video release, because the film's theme matches the day's goal of environmental awareness. The April release will be in 2-D and is thought to be one of the first major movies put out in home video format without any of the special features that are normally included, such as deleted scenes, trailers and behind-the-scenes footage. The studio plans another home video release in November of the "Ultimate Edition" of "Avatar," and that will include extra features, said sources at Fox, a division of News Corp. A third version, in 3-D, will likely come out next year, they said. By then, more consumers are expected to have 3-D televisions in their homes.

Authorities on Tuesday released the 911 tape in actor Corey Haim's sudden death at age 38, as family gathered in his home town of Toronto for a private funeral service for the former teen movie star. Corey Feldman, who was Haim's co-star in 1980s movies "The Lost Boys" and "License to Drive," did not attend the funeral but released a statement remembering his friend, who died on March 10. In the 911 tape, Haim's mother, Judy, called paramedics from a Los Angeles apartment last week to report her son was not breathing and that he had been feeling ill. "He all of a sudden got out of bed," a distraught Judy Haim said in the tape. "He wanted to go to the bathroom and he fell on the floor and I put him on the bed and then that was it." Police have described Haim's death as an apparent prescription drug overdose, but an official cause of death still awaits toxicology results. Haim's family and friends held a private funeral service

Funny man-turned-director Sajid Khan doesn't mind the 'big mouth' tag. He is ready with his second film 'Housefull' and isn't really bothered about reviews as he believes people, not critics, decide a movie's fate. 'The fact is that critics don't have to tell me whether my film is good or not. It is the job of the audience and they would decide if 'Housefull' works for them,' Sajid told IANS. 'Also, one thing I can state on record is that critics may give a one-star or a five-star rating to 'Housefull', but in their hearts they would like the film for sure. The same holds good for audiences who will any way watch 'Housefull' multiple times regardless of the review ratings,' he said. 'Housefull' stars Akshay Kumar in the lead along with Riteish Deshmukh, Arjun Rampal, Deepika Padukone, Lara Dutta, Jiah Khan, Boman Irani, Chunky Pandey and Randhir Kapoor. Sajid is known for taking digs at actors and filmmaker

An Arizona judge sentenced rapper and actor DMX on Tuesday to six months in a Phoenix jail for violating his probation by regularly using drugs, court officials said. The rapper, whose real name is Earl Simmons, was also placed on 20 months probation by Maricopa County Court Commissioner Christine Mulleneaux. Simmons, 39, was arrested last week after authorities said he admitted to using cocaine and not complying with the terms of his treatment plan. He faced five counts of violating probation. The New York-born rapper, whose albums include "...And then There was X" and who starred in the movies "Romeo Must Die" and "Cradle 2 The Grave", has a long record of arrests on charges ranging from animal cruelty to reckless driving and weapons possession. During Tuesday's court hearing, the judge revealed that an offer had been made to treat Simmons by the Pasadena Recovery Center in California, which is featured in VH1's reality TV show "Celebrity Re

A Montreal man that police described as one of Canada's biggest movie pirates was sentenced to two and a half months in prison on Tuesday for distributing copies of films he secretly recorded in theaters. Geremi Adam, who had pleaded guilty, is the first Canadian to be sentenced to prison for a violating copyright laws that were tightened amid complaints from Hollywood that Canada had become a hotbed of movie piracy. The Quebec provincial court also ordered Adam to complete 100 hours of community service, and he was barred from entering a movie theater in Canada for two years and prohibited from having recording equipment outside of home or work. Police who arrested Adam for illegally copying and distributing two films via the Internet, said at the time the FBI considered him to be one of Canada's biggest movie pirates. The Canadian Association of Film Distributors and Exporters praised the sentence, saying piracy cost jobs in the movie production industry and related businesse

Dagan Lynn is giving a tropical makeover to some of the classic Mediterranean dishes created by master French chef Alain Ducasse. Ducasse picked the 34-year-old to head the kitchen of miX on the beach, his first restaurant in the Caribbean at the W Retreat & Spa on the U.S. island of Vieques off Puerto Rico. Lynn's menu for the restaurant, which will open on March 25, combines Ducasse's high-style with everyday Caribbean ingredients such as mangoes and pineapples. The executive chef, who grew up on a farm in upstate New York, spoke to Reuters on cooking with tropical foods and working on the small island off the east coast of Puerto Rico. Q: How hard was it for you to blend the local Caribbean ingredients with Ducasse's Mediterranean-inspired style? A: "The Caribbean is very similar to the Mediterranean. They have similar ingredients. They are light fares. There are some products which I'm not familiar with. They have a wild basil that's grown here, which i

Popular legal thriller author John Grisham has broken his holdout against selling his books in an electronic format and will sell all of his 23 titles as e-books, his publisher said on Tuesday. The former lawyer, whose best sellers include "The Firm" and "A Time To Kill", had previously held off selling his books electronically, expressing concern that e-books would wipe out traditional book stores and make it harder for new writers to succeed. But beginning Tuesday, all Grisham's fiction and non-fiction books will be available through e-book retailers, publisher Random House said. As e-books have grown in popularity, some authors have been embroiled in royalty negotiations with publishers. Publishers in turn have had disagreements with e-book retailers such as Amazon.com about how to split e-book sales. Stuart Applebaum, a Random House spokesman, would not disclose the terms of the deal, but said "today was a watershed deal." The deal "is certai

Hollywood actress Catherine Zeta-Jones has expressed a desire for a remake of her first onscreen role with star husband Michael Douglas in 1989 black comedy 'War of the Roses'. The Welsh beauty admits she 'definitely' wants to star alongside the 'Wall Street' actor on the big screen even though she feels 'voyeuristic' watching real-life couples, like former spouses Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, play lovers in a film, reports contactmusic.com. Zeta-Jones, who's been married to Douglas since 2000, however insists the pair would make a perfect match for the thriller, about a couple in a vicious divorce battle. 'Sometimes I find it (couples starring together in films) really strange. I know that Nicole and Tom did it a few times...But I would like to remake 'War of the Roses' with my husband, where we try to kill each other,' she said.

Actress Brooke Shields has apparently angered her neighbours due to the renovation work at her New York home. The star has commissioned extensive changes to be made to her $5.6 million home in the city's West Village area, but builders are said to be making so much noise and mess, other residents are threatening to move out, reports femalefirst.co.uk. 'They start construction at 6 a.m. every morning, and people are outraged. This has been going on for months, and people in surrounding buildings are threatening their property managers that they'll move out if it doesn't stop,' said a neigbhour. The tenant added that complaints to construction workers have been dismissed. A group of residents reportedly confronted the renovation team but were told: 'If you have a problem, take it up with Brooke Shields.' The building management, which leases many local apartments, has refused to comment on the troubles reported by the residents. The neighbours have also compla

'Sex And The City' actress Kim Cattrall has refused to undergo cosmetic surgery, because she's scared her face will become unrecognisable if she goes under the knife. The 53-year-old has so far shunned medical treatment to alter her looks, and although she's not ruled out procedures in the future, Cattrall is wary about drastically changing her image, reports imdb.com. 'I don't think 'not for me', I just don't know yet. I think in some cases men and women are dipping - deep! But I don't think I'm ready for it,' she said. 'I think the greatest fear is that you look in the mirror and you don't see you. I like to look in the mirror and think I look good. I try and take care of myself, but I don't ever want to get to the point where I don't see myself, that would be really scary,' she added.

Cricket beckons… and few can resist the lure. Shah Rukh Khan's 'Kolkata Knight Riders'; Preity Zinta's 'Kings XI Punjab' and Shilpa Shetty's 'Rajasthan Royals', can look forward to a new IPL team owner. If all izz well… and the grapevine is to be believed, Sanjay Dutt is looking forward to owning a cricket team solo or with his close pals Ajay Devgn and Kajol. When bidding begins, Dutt's name is likely to show up alongside the coveted list of supernovas who are desirous of joining the IPL bandwagon. Dutt's the spirit, Sanjay.

Tch, tch, the stories around troublesome Shahid Kapoor never seem to abate. Reportedly, this time around, it's Sunny Singh, a small time star of Ahmed Khan's 'Paathshaala' who's at the grumbling end. Initial deal: Shasha was to enact a cameo in 'Paathshaala,' with Sunny being an integral part of the school centric flick. One day, it dawned on Shahid that his flick could well be another 'Taare Zameen Par'! Being Khan's close pal, Kapoor made all the right sounds. Net result: Sunny's role has been left bleeding on the editing table, while Shasha has gained prominence. No sunny deal, this.

Twentieth Century Fox hopes "Avatar" fans will take time off on Earth Day, April 22, to buy the DVD or Blu-ray disc for the blockbuster movie with a pro-environment message. The studio said on Tuesday it set Earth Day as "Avatar's" home video release date for the U.S. and Canada, because the film's themes match the day's goal of environmental awareness. "Avatar" has made a record-breaking $2.64 billion so far at worldwide box offices since its Dec. 18 release, with a large bulk of that coming from 3-D showings. But the "Avatar" home video will be in 2-D, said Fox, a division of News Corp. A 3-D version will likely come out next year, when more consumers are expected to have 3-D televisions in their homes. "Avatar," which won three Oscars, is about a soldier from an environmentally degraded Earth who is sent to infiltrate a tribe of humanoids aliens living atop a rich mineral deposit on the planet