IBLOG SPACE

WELL DONE ABBA , directed by Shyam Benegal and produced by Reliance Big Pictures, is all set to release on 26th March in 370 screens across 13 countries -- India, U.A.E., U.S., Canada, South Africa, Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia, Mauritius, Sri Lanka, Uganda, Kenya and Ghana. The star cast of the film, Boman Irani, Minissha Lamba and Sammir Dattani, will visit various cities across India to promote the film from 22nd March onwards, which includes Bangalore, Hyderabad, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Pune and Nagpur. Boman Irani, embodying his character of a driver in WELL DONE ABBA, will drive a contest winner from his house to meet Minissha Lamba and Sammir Dattani at each city.

Reliance Big Pictures is co-producing Kunal Kohli's BREAK KE BAAD, starring Imran Khan and Deepika Padukone. The movie is the first directorial venture of Danish Aslam, who was first assistant director to Kunal Kohli on films like THODA PYAAR THODA MAGIC and FANAA and Yahsraj Films' TA RA RUM PUM and SALAAM NAMASTE. The film has music by Vishal-Shekhar and lyrics by Prasoon Joshi. BREAK KE BAAD is a modern-day love story that tracks a couple after their break up. Sharmila Tagore plays a pivotal role in the film as a beautiful retired actress. The film also stars Shahana Goswami and Yudi of Channel V fame.

He has been the Khiladi, Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi and Sabse Bada Khiladi , but no one ever thought that he would also be the Sabse bada Tax Payer. Surprising as it may be Akshay Kumar edged past the other stars in Bollywood to become the highest tax payer for the financial year 2008-2009. Which is why The CBEC, Central Board Of Excise and Customs, has roped in Akshay Kumar to feature in a television commercial urging people to pay their taxes honestly and on time. Says the Additional Commissioner, Customs & Central Excise, CBEC, "In 2008-2009 Akshay Kumar emerged the highest Bollywood tax payer. We approached Mr.Kumar to feature in the advertisement since to us he was someone who could represent the message of paying one's taxes on time which is every citizen's duty. He has great appeal and being a superstar he can really help encourage people to pay taxes honestly." The ad is already out on TV channels for to everyone to see.

A large number of Lata Mangeshkar and Mohd Rafi's evergreen melodies from the 1950s will be used in the Bollywood-inspired play 'Kingdom Of Dreams' featuring Vivek Oberoi, Isha Sharwani and Gauhar Khan. It will be staged in May at the newly constructed theatre in Gurgaon near Delhi. Informs Javed Akhtar, "The first-half will have 11 evergreen melodies. The second-half will have 8-9 songs. We're still locking in on the final songs. There's dispute about some of the songs to be included." Javed has been on stage before. "I had seen a lot of theatre; I've written Kaifi Aur Main . But that is not pure theatre. And besides I've hardly used my own words in Kaifi Aur Main . I've either taken excerpts from Shaukat Azmi's book or interviews on video. 'Kingdom Of Dreams' is unlike anything done on stage in India. The kind of facilities I was provided was mind-numbing. I've seen the theatre in Gurgaon. India has never

After the uproarious welcome given by critics to Love Sex Aur Dhokha , its director Dibakar Banerjee is teaming up with his Oye Lucky Lucky Oye hero Abhay Deol all over again, this time for a political thriller. Says Dibakar, "It is a political thriller set in a state where a new government has been formed. It will again be in a new cinematic language. But it will be in the conventional format, not the digital format used in LSD. It's written by me and Urmi Juvekar who was my creative producer on LSD. She's one of the most politically savvy writers I know." The political thriller will be set in an imaginary state. Says Dibakar, "The state has just formed after clamoring for statehood for a long time and now poised to get big economic sanctions. Then a political assassination happens." Dibakar has decided to cast Abhay Deol in the political thriller. "Yes I want Abhay in the political thriller. But now because he has started his own p

Vivek Oberoi is pinning his hopes on PRINCE. It's a crucial release for just everyone associated with this big-budget film. It's a solo hero film and the general perception is, only Aamir, SRK, Akshay and Hrithik can pull off a solo hero fare. It's a crucial release for debutante director Kookie Gulati. His career depends on how this film fares. It's an acid test for producer Kumar Taurani, who has invested a really big figure [40 cr., is it?] on this film. Actually, people are wondering, would Vivek be able to pull off this 40 cr. gamble? "Yes, it's a gamble. But I have full faith in Kumar-ji [Taurani] and Kookie's abilities. They have made a fantastic film and I see no reason why this film wouldn't be lapped up in a big way. It's a paisa vasool entertainer, in my opinion," Vivek says. Not many are aware, Vivek underwent a 6-month training in stunts to get it right on the screen. "Let me assure you, you haven't seen somet

Sunny Deol has is ready to embrace the changing scenario. Okay, let me explain. The actor, who has maintained a low profile all this while, has decided to turn aggressive… off screen, of course. More market-friendly and more media-friendly too. "Times have changed. It's important that the world knows what kind of work you do. It's all about making the right noise," Sunny confides. He's shooting non-stop with dad Dharmendra and bro Bobby for Sameer Karnik's YAMLA PAGLA DEEWANA in Punjab. "Gone are the days when people used to let the product do the talking. Earlier, in the 1970s and 1980s, my father and several of his contemporaries had multiple releases each year and most of them hit the bull's eye, without anyone devoting 20 days for promotional activities. Yet, those films drew audiences in hordes," Sunny reminisces. So why has he, all of a sudden, decided to follow Aamir, SRK and Akshay's footsteps? "The initial weekend

She is what Hot can be and she is what Cool aspires to be. She is one of the rare breed of actresses who has managed to hold her own without any Godfathers and the quintessential heavy-duty surnames! She is none other than today's birthday girl Kangna Ranaut, who has every reason to be on Cloud Nine as she has just been conferred with a National award for her stunning performance in the cult film Fashion while her upcoming film Kites has taken everyone's breath away even before its release! Being born in a family of a school teacher and a businessman as her parents, Kangna was always the 'Go-getter', who went onto do her schooling in Chandigarh, after which she shifted base Delhi to become a model. She also joined the Elite Modelling Agency situated in Delhi. Post that, as they say, there's no looking back. She went to be an integral part of films like Gangster , Life in a... Metro, Fashion, Raaz - The Mystery Continues … to name a few. If one has

Right on cue, just after the aptly-timed teaser poster, Motorola signs on just the right dotted lines to make its i1 push-to-talk Android handset official. Let's run through the specs quickly, shall we? A 3.1-inch HVGA (320 x 480) touchscren, 5 megapixel camera with LED flash and 4x zoom, WiFi, and microSD expansion -- no mention of the processor, so we'll have to find out on our own later. The OS version is 1.5 and, while there's oddly not a single mention in either the press release of fact sheet, given the official images and unofficial leaks, it's definitely got Motoblur. The browser of choice is Opera Mini 5 with support for Flash 8, and if you're worried about Mother Nature's wrath, the i1 meets Military 810F standards for handling averse weather conditions. iDEN lovers can pick up the call sometime this summer on Sprint, with price yet to be named. Update: Motorola's just sent word that the i1 does not have Motoblur, despite the presence of the tradit

Yes folks, it's finally really happened. Today Palm announced that its dynamic duo -- the Pre Plus and Pixi Plus -- will be making their way to AT&T's network "in the coming months." We won't bore you with too many details on the devices, since you can read our review of the non-Plus Sprint variations here and here, and the Verizon versions right here. What we will tell you is that at an undisclosed time, the Pre Plus and Pixi Plus can be yours for just $149.99 and a deep-discount $49.99 (with a $100 mail-in rebate and two-year contract), respectively. The Pre Plus will be similarly equipped to its Verizon counterpart (16GB of storage, GPS, WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1), and the Pixi should look awfully familiar as well (8GB storage, WiFi, GPS, Bluetooth 2.1), though AT&T will be offering a variation with a blue back plate (in addition to the standard black and other swappable covers). Both UMTS / HSDPA devices will support AT&T's new Address Book service a

The HTC Supersonic is one of those devices that’s been rumored about for awhile now, and even managed to get some random shaky-cam shots of it out into the wild at one point or another. And one of the main rumors swirling around about the device was that it was going to be officially announced by Sprint at this year’s CTIA conference. Sure enough, we’ve got the official word on the device, now officially known as the HTC EVO 4G . The HTC EVO 4G is definitely one of, if not the strongest Android-powered handset coming to the market. Despite strong competitors in the Nexus One, and the just-announced Samsung Galaxy S, the HTC manufactured EVO 4G has a leg up in a few key departments. Such as: the 4.3-inch 480×800 TFT LCD display; a Snapdragon QSD8650 1 GHz processor; 1GB of built-in storage along with 512MB of RAM. And while the EVO 4G is obviously based off the HTC HD2, the specs are still angling toward the EVO. The battery is bigger in the EVO 4G than in the HD2, and the camera has t

Looks like T-Mobile USA is ready to jump into the netbook game. Wireless carriers have been promoting laptops and netbooks for awhile now, all of which have their 3G connectivity bundled within, but T-Mobile has been slow to join the fray. That’s all changed with the official announcement today out of CTIA 2010, that the Dell Inspiron Mini 10 has been paired with the magenta’s 3G network. The Dell Inspiron Mini 10 offers up all the ease of use from other netbooks on the market, with the same small form factor and what not, and the only real difference is the 3G capabilities within its body. Specifications wise, here is what you’re looking at: 10.1-inch LED glossy WSGVA widescreen display; Intel Atom N450 processor (1.66 GHz; 512 KB L2 Cache); weighs only 3 pounds; 6-cell battery with up to 8 hours of Web surfing and up to 11 hours of standby. It’s also got Windows 7 Starter Edition, so don’t expect to customize your netbook experience much. And it’s running with Internet Explorer 8. La

Samsung have announced their latest Android smartphone, the Galaxy S, and it’s running Android 2.1. The Galaxy S GT-I9000 has a 4-inch Super AMOLED display running at WVGA 800 x 480 resolution, together with a 5-megapixel autofocus camera, 1GHz processor and the company’s own custom UI and “social hub” for integrating social networking functionality. There’s also A-GPS, Bluetooth 3.0, USB 2.0 and WiFi b/g/n, while onboard storage will be either 8GB or 16GB. That can be expanded courtesy of a microSD card slot happy with up to 32GB cards. Connectivity includes quadband GSM and triband (900/1900/2100) UMTS/HSPA.

Isabella Product’s Vizit cellular-enabled digital photo frame has gone up, and it’s also confirmed pricing for the required AT&T data plan. The 10.4-inch 800 x 600 touchscreen – available in silver or black – is priced at $279.99, while there will be two data plan options: a “basic” plan at $5.99 per month, or a “premium” plan at $79.99 per year. The basic plan gets you up to 100 photos per month delivered through AT&T’s data network (the Vizit uses GPRS rather than 3G), which can be sent to the frame either via email or from an MMS-capable cellphone. As for the premium plan, that gets you up to 1,450 photos per year (around 120 per month). It’s also possible to view locally-stored images on the Vizit display, as well as access Photobucket, Flickr and other galleries. Meanwhile viewers can respond to received photos directly from the frame itself, as well as forward them on to others. Frankly, we’re not sure the price is low enough for the target audience to stomach, but w

When is a digital photo frame not a digital photo frame? Why, when it’s a standalone social aggregator of course; that’s just what the Mojito promises, a 7-inch WVGA display with integrated WiFi b/g and a remote control, that can pull in various social networking feeds – such as Twitter, RSS and Facebook – together with photos, weather and more. The concept is that, rather than monopolise your computer display (or smartphone) with these sort of updates, you can relegate them to a dedicated screen. Setup and subscriptions are managed by a webform rather than having to scroll through login details with the basic remote, and once it’s all set up you can use that remote to share anything interesting you spot with your Mojito “LifeStream” or over Twitter, Facebook or email.

Bluetooth headsets are something that most of us need today with all the hands free laws on the books around the country. A new Bluetooth headset from Samsung has debuted called the Modus that can be used as a single ear headset for mobile calls or a stereo headset for music. The Modus has both mono and stereo features and has a removable ear hook. The Modus ships with different sizes of ear tips for a proper and precise fit. Multipoint tech used in the Modus allows it to pair with two mobile phones at once and the device supports audio streaming. Bluetooth 2.1+EDR is supported and the headset has dual mics for noise reduction. Samsung promises talk time of up to six hours and a standby time of up to 200 hours. When used for streaming music in stereo mode, the headset will mute the music when a call comes in.

We first caught wind of the Kempler & Strauss W PhoneWatch back in October. The firm behind the cool watch phone has announced a new and limited edition version of the device that will be gold at CTIA. The new golden version of the W PhoneWatch will be limited to only 1000 units made and will start shipping in Q3 2010. Other than the gold case, the W PhoneWatch is the same underneath. It still operates on GSM 850/900/1800/1900MHz networks and has a 1.5-inch TFT LCD. The tiny little screen is touch sensitive and the watch can play music files and has SMS messaging, call history, video playback, video recorder, camera, utilities, and games. Pricing on the limited edition watch is not offered and no pictures are available of the gold watch at this time.

Kyocera has pulled the wraps off a new Android device called the Zio M6000. It has been a long while since I saw any new devices from Kyocera and the company claims that the new M6000 adds a human touch to the smartphone market. The Zio device runs on the CDMA2000 1x EVDO rev A network and sports WiFi. The screen of the handset is 3.5-inches and is touch capable. A track ball for navigation also complements the touchscreen. Other features include a 3.2MP camera that can record video at 30fps and a media player. A full HTML browser is integrated along with Google Maps and widgets for Facebook, Twitter, and more. Internal memory for the M6000 is 256MB and an additional 32GB is supported via a microSD card slot. The handset measures 116 x 58.6 x 12.2mm and claims up to six hours of talk time and 18 days on standby. Pricing and availability are unknown at this time.

Pioneer has all sorts of electronic items from TVs to home theater gear. The company also makes a full range of gear for professional and amateur DJs. Pioneer’s latest offerings for the DJ crowd include the CDJ-350 digital media player and the DJM-350 2-channel mixer. The CDJ-350 lets the DJ create music with different format music files including MP3, AAC, WAV, and AIFF files. The files can be accessed from USB drives or CD discs that are burned. Pioneer rekordbox software is used with the device to categorize tracks by genre and beat position. An auto beat loop function is integrated including beat loop, loop divide, and hot loop. The Pioneer DJM-350 mixer has four different kinds of effects and an isolated 3-band EQ. A front USB port lets users record mixes onto flash drives to make a tape or listen on different devices. The four effects include filter to change the tone of tracks, crush for accenting sounds, jet applies the sound of a jet taking off, and gate alters track rhythms.

Sony makes some of the most popular HDTVs around. The company has announced its slick Bravia NX series sets with a cool design and very thin profiles. The sets are now up for pre-order on some models are set to ship in mid-May with others available now and backordered. Common features of the model range include six-degree tilt system to let you place the TV lower to the floor and still watch comfortable. The sets all use Edge LED backlight and the Bravia Engine 3 video processor for smooth video and quality images. The refresh rate for the range is 240Hz and the sets support internet video, widgets, USB input, and have energy saving features. Three NX800 series models are available now including the 46-inch KDL-46NX800, the 52-inch Bravia KDL-52NX800, and the 60-inch Bravia KDL-60NX800. The sets are also said to be 3D ready. Prices start at $2299 for the NX800 series. The 46-inch set will ship in mid-May, the 52-inch is backordered until March 30, and the 60-inch version is in stock.

I have talked about the cool Withings WiFi Connected Body Scale before. The scale is able to check your weight and BMI and can be set up to tweet he results or just send them to your PC or an available iPhone app. The cool Withings scale has been updated and can now interface with Microsoft HealthVault. That means that you can store your weight readings and BMI calculations in the Microsoft online health records database. This is an easy way to share your weights and weight loss progress with your doctor or other care provider. The scale uploads the readings and measurements directly to HealthVault and needs no interaction from the user to perform the upload. All the user needs to do is step and the scale and let it take its measurements. The Withings scale is available now for $159.

We have talked before about the Synology line of NAS devices. In fact, we have even reviewed one of the firms NAS devices in the past. The company makes a full line of storage devices ranging from pro level units to machines designed more of the home or small office users. Synology has announced its latest NAS server called the DiskStation DS410. The device is an affordable NAS solution designed to be used by the home or small office user. The device consumes low amounts of power needing only 56W when in use. It also features Wake on LAN/WAN and has scheduled on/off times. The NAS server supports both 2.5-inch and 3.5-inch HDDs and can support a total of 8TB of storage in its four drive bays. The machine uses a 1.06GHz processor and has 512MB of memory. Users can set the DS410 up to be used as a FTP server, web station, photo station, iTunes server, printer server and many more uses are supported. The DS410 is shipping now.

I spent my fair share of time running around digging holes in the yard as a kid searching for treasure. I never found anything. If you still like to hunt for treasure, geocaching might be appealing to you. Geocaching uses GPS coordinates to lead a searchers to a geocache, which is a box of stuff other searchers have left behind for the next person to find. Magellan is a big name in the GPS market and the firm has announced a new GPS device specifically for geocache hunters called the eXplorist GC . The device has a built-in database of the most popular geocache locations around the world. The eXplorist has special interfaces to make sorting the locations easy to do and promote a sense of community. The handset has logs and graphics like smiley faces and merit-based awards to show off. The device is powered by a pair of AA batteries and can run for 18 hours straight per set. It uses a SiRF starIII GPS chipset with 3-meter accuracy. The eXplorist GC will ship in April for $199.99.

MSI’s Wind12 U230 range are described by the company as netbooks, but with 12.1-inch displays we’d say they slot more into the consumer ULV segment; either way, one of the newer models, the U230-040. Based on a dual-core AMD Athlon Neo X2 processor, along with ATI Radeon HD 3200 graphics, MSI reckon it’s a step up from the regular Intel Atom based crowd. According to TestFreak’s benchmarks, that’s not entirely true. Booting into Windows 7 Home Premium takes over a minute and a half, and the system scores just 3.1 in the Windows Experience Index (held back by the GPU); still, they reckon the U230 can cope with more concurrent tasks than an Atom-based machine without slowing down. As with other AMD-based ultraportables we’ve seen, though, battery life seems to suffer; the U230 manages just four hours of light internet use. There are also some odd build issues, like a webcam that seems to have been installed pointing at too low an angle. Still, there’s more raw power there than Intel

We already knew Tokyoflash were segueing into Bluetooth peripherals – in fact they asked your opinion on what exactly they should make – and the first spoil of that endeavour have gone up for sale. The massively-named Tokyoflash Kisai Escape C Wireless Bluetooth Receiver is a bulbous Bluetooth pendant that works as both a hands-free kit for your cellphone and an A2DP streamer for listening to music. The various buttons – for call answering, volume, playback and track control – are all mixed into various Stargate -esque glyphs, and there’s also a watch function too. You’ll need to be able to decipher it, though, since Tokyflash are using their usual obscure code of different LEDs. Unlike earlier estimates, the Kisai Escape C actually comes in under budget. Having been told to expect a sticker price of $150 to $180, Tokyoflash are actually selling the Bluetooth pendant for $107.42, with a choice of various necklace styles from plain cords through braids and chains.

From one shipping tablet to another, and to be fair this second beast is one we had our doubts would ever reach preorder customers. Fusion Garage’s JooJoo site has been quietly updated, ditching the previous “preorder” terminology and instead taking proper orders for the tablet formerly known as the CrunchPad. JooJoo had previously changed their expected shipping date to March 25th – Thursday this week, in fact – but given the legal cloud hovering around the project there was a great deal of skepticism as to whether the touchscreen slate would ever see the light of day. $499 gets you an Intel Atom processor, NVIDIA Ion graphics and a 12.1-inch capacitive multitouch display, along with a 4GB SSD, both WiFi b/g and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, and a front-facing camera. JooJoo recently updated their UI and confirmed full Flash 10.1 support for the tablet, which they reckon is capable of 1080p HD video (though given the display is 1,366 x 768 and there’s no HDMI port that seems a little wasted).

Won over by glowing reviews of the Viliv S10 Blade, and can’t wait for Best Buy to start offering the 10-inch convertible multitouch netbook? Dynamism have announced official pricing details for the Atom-based tablet, with presales expected to begin on March 25th. As we heard previously – and criticized at the time – prices kick off at $699 and then shoot skyward. $699 gets you the entry-level S10 with the 1.6GHz Atom CPU, 60GB hard-drive and Windows XP Home (which lacks software-level multitouch support); step up to $797 and you get a 32GB SSD and Windows 7 Home Premium, while $889 adds in an HSPA modem. If you want more storage, meanwhile, $857 gets you the same Atom Z530 CPU but a 64GB SSD, or $949 if you want the HSPA modem as well. Finally there are two top-spec S10 Blade models: $1,057 bags a 2.0GHz Intel Atom Z550 CPU and 64GB SSD, while $1,149 adds in the HSPA modem. Like we said, it’s all pretty expensive compared to other touchscreen netbooks we’ve seen. To sweeten the d

SanDisk have announced the first 32GB microSDHC card on the market, and if you’ve been weeping over your lack of cellphone storage then as long as you can muster up $199.99 (or £144.99 in the UK) you’ll be able to buy copious storage for your music and video. The SanDisk 32GB microSDHC will, of course, require a device which supports the microSDHC standard; best to check your user guide before you put down your cash. SanDisk reckon the only way they’ve been able to stuff so much flash into the new memory card is because it uses their third-gen 32nm X3 (3-bit-per-cell) technology. They’re also offering it to OEMs with the option to preload content, so we’re guessing we’ll see more T-Mobile HTC HD2 style offerings where feature films are already waiting on the memory card for you to enjoy on your new toy.

Nintendo Japan have quietly pushed out a press release that confirms the company will launch a 3D version of the Nintendo DS. The Nintendo 3DS – a name which could be changed before it makes its official debut – is set to launch at E3 2010 and go on sale sometime thereafter; most interestingly, it will require no special 3D glasses. The console will apparently replace the current DS series, but be backward compatible with titles from earlier handhelds including the DSi. No details into the 3D hardware have been given, but we’re guessing they’re looking at lenticular screen technology which uses tiny prisms to split the screen between your left and right eyes. On full-sized TVs lenticular 3D has been criticised for having a limited number of “sweet spots” from which the effect can be viewed, an issue that shouldn’t be so restrictive on the 3DS. It’s unclear why Nintendo are previewing the 3DS in this manner, ahead of E3 2010 which isn’t until June, and potentially undermining further

Well, it looks like the world is seriously at a strange tilt. We’re getting word that, as of today, Apple Stores are going to be able to start selling iPhones, free of contract, and at list price. That means $499 for 8GB, $599 for 16GB, and $699 for for 32GB. There’s rumors that this has something to do with the Palm Pre Plus and Pixi Plus showing up on AT&T’s network some time here in the next couple months, and the fact that AT&T now has a 3G-enabled Google Nexus One is nothing to scoff at either. Times, they-are-a-changin’, and it looks like Apple is definitely on that boat as well. As soon as we hear more, we’ll pass it along. If you’re out there, looking to purchase an iPhone free of contract, head on over to the Apple Store near you, and let us know how your trip turns out. If you get a phone, let us know! [Update:] We have just been informed that the iPhones are not unlocked, but rather just contract free. Meaning, just like any other phone from AT&T, you can now eit

Sprint is continuing to push ahead with their Android-powered handset revolution . This time around, they’ve got their hands on the world’s first Android-powered Push-to-Talk handset. It’s going to be utilizing Sprint’s Nextel Direct Connect network, so if you’re a fan of that kind of thing, this device should be right up your alley. Other than that, the features are just about as standard as they get. It’s got the 3.1-inch HVGA touchscreen display; the 5MP camera with flash; MicroSD card slot; WiFi; and EVDO Rev.A. It’s also got Bluetooth for all your handset-free talking, and Motorola has taken it upon themselves to pre-load the Opera Mobile Mini web browser, and the Swype keyboard. It’s got some means to protect itself from dust, drops, rain, and vibration, all up to par with military specifications. Unfortunately, Motorola is telling us that we’ll have to wait until summer for this thing to show up, but we don’t know how much it will be. With CTIA 2010 going on this week, we’re sur

We understand that some pieces of gadgetry out there cost a pretty penny, or two (or several thousand), but we have to admit that there should be some kind of limit on some of these things. Or, if not the limit on the prices themselves, than maybe just a limit on the craziness that some business people out there will go to to sell their tech. In the case of the Ulyse Nardin Chairman, a luxury phone beyond all luxury phones, you might want to sit down for this one. It’s a doozy. We’ve seen the Ulysse Nardin Charman luxury phone before, but something has changed since then. It’s running Android, Google’s mobile Operating System, and not Windows Mobile as originally conceived. But, before we go any further, let’s just add that we understand the concept behind the price for this device. After all, it does have a functional kinetic power system within the device. Basically, that means the device itself will generate electrical power, which can last up to 8 hours of talk time, and up to 30

This thing with Google keeps getting interesting, doesn’t it? It seems that Google has figured out a way to keep their presence in China, for at least a little bit longer. And, even more, they’ve officially stopped censoring search queries in the country. It’s a bold move from the Mountain View-based company, but one we figured was coming. First, it should be noted that Google is keeping its presence in China in the form of non-search related material, as well as keeping its sales and research operations in tact. All of this is coming from Google’s official blog, so, as the saying goes, straight from the horse’s mouth. Google is rerouting search queries through its Chinese language service in Hong Kong, which seems like a short-term fix, but a fix nonetheless. The company also noted that it is “too early to tell” whether or not the 600 employees in China will be let go, or able to keep their jobs as the future approaches.

Some days, we think that some of this stuff is being pulled from the latest science fiction movie. But then, thankfully, we’re reminded that this is just where science is taking us, and we are lucky enough to get gadgets like 3D printers out of it. We’ve witnessed 3D printers create things like rubber tires and a solid chassis , but what we’ve got next is, truth be told, pretty much mind boggling. At the University of Missouri, scientists utilizing the Organovo NovoGen printer have created the first “printed” human vein. Yes. A vein. This is leading up to getting rid of those artificial means that we implement in surgery at the moment, which can be more toxic to the body than helpful. As you can imagine, the printer its designed to create an entire portion of the body, which means that we don’t have to depend on a donor, or another part of your own body to get the job done anymore. The printer will, for all intents and purposes, create one for you . It does this by using the cells fro

If Toshiba’s new UX600 series HDTVs are slightly out of your price range, the company has a fair few other new models to choose from too. The G300, E200 and C100 are all standalone LCD HDTVs, while the CV100 LCD throws an integrated DVD player into the mixture. All four have similar “Horizon” stylings as the more expensive sets, but with sizes kicking off from 18.5-inches and prices from $249.99. The Toshiba G300 comes in 40-inch, 46-inch and 54.6-inch screen sizes and supports Full HD 1080p together with 120Hz for reduced motion blur. Meanwhile the E200 comes in 31.5-inch, 37.6-inch and 40-inch sizes and also has 1080p support, though drops the 120Hz; it does get four HDMI ports, though, plus a PC input. The Toshiba C100 and CV100 are basically the same TV set, with 720p HD support and 18.5-inch, 21.6-inch, 26-inch and 31.5-inch screen sizes, but the latter adds an integrated DVD player. All four ranges will go on sale this month, priced as below. G300 120Hz LCD TV 40G300, Sugges

Toshiba have announced a new LED HDTV, the UX600 series, complete with an included WiFi adapter in the box and the ability to access YouTube, VUDU, Pandora and various social networking services like Facebook and Twitter. Three models in the UX600 range will be available initially, the 40UX600, 46UX600 and 55UX600 sized at 40-inches, 46-inches and 55-inches respectively. All three will offer a 3,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, Full HD 1080p images and Toshiba’s ClearFrame 120Hz technology. They’ll also act as a digital photo frame, and have automatic brightness control based on ambient lighting. That’s despite measuring less than 2-inches thick. The three new Toshiba HDTVs will go on sale this month, priced at $1,399.99, $1,699.99 and $2,499.99 for the 40UX600, 46UX600 and 55UX600 respectively.

We’ve already seen plenty of Viliv’s S10 Blade convertible touchscreen netbook, criticized its pricing and watched it strut its stuff on video; all that’s left is the full review, and UMPC Portal have just that. They’ve been playing with the S10 Blade for a few weeks now, and come away mightily impressed. The S10 Blade gets credit for its solid build quality, sensible design and lengthy battery life. In fact, it’s capable of 7.5hrs runtime with the display at 70-percent brightness and WiFi switched on. There are also no moving parts, so it’s silent in running, and the 1.6GHz Atom processor delivers its usual performance: don’t expect 720p HD video or above, but for mainstream tasks the Windows 7 netbook is okay. Multitouch is deemed perhaps unnecessary for most likely users, and the 1.2kg weight could end up frustrating if you’re constantly using the S10 in tablet mode, but this could make an interesting – and non-iPad – match with Amazon’s upcoming Kindle for Tablets app. You’ll p

It’s been a while since we’ve heard from BlueAnt , but the Bluetooth headset company are back with latest headset. They reckon the BlueAnt T1 is not only rugged but provides the best wind noise reduction you’ll find on the market; that’s also paired with text-to-speech with voice control and A2DP compatibility for (mono) streaming of audio and GPS directions. The noise reduction is courtesy of BlueAnt’s Wind Armour Technology, and the company reckon it’ll allow for clear audio in up to 22mph wind. As for the ruggedness, that’s thanks to removable silicon covers that cushion the casing against knocks and bumps. The T1 can be paired with two devices simultaneously, thanks to Bluetooth Multipoint, and remains connected even during conversations so you can flip between two active calls on different handsets. Battery life is rated as up to six hours talktime or up to 120 hours standby, and the headset can store up to 2,000 address book entries. The BlueAnt T1 will go on sale in May, pri

To Hillcrest Labs, it must have all seemed so straightforward: take the core Mozilla browser engine, develop a custom UI that can be clearly seen at a distance, and optimize websites so that those people surfing the net via a PC or Mac hooked up to their TV will have a better browsing experience. The app in question, Kylo , in turn helps them push their Loop Pointer . Problem is, just like Boxee have discovered, content providers can get a bit sniffy when you’re making it easier to put their web-based media onto HDTVs. All of a sudden, Hillcrest are finding that Kylo has lost access to Hulu . It’s particularly odd timing, Hillcrest Labs reckon, because they tested Hulu compatibility before launching Kylo and it was working just fine. ”Prior to our formal launch,” company CEO Dan Simpkins says “Hulu videos would play within the Kylo browser. Like Internet Explorer, Firefox or Safari, the Kylo browser is simply a Web browser, it’s our sincere hope that Hulu isn’t restricting access.

Dell’s first Android smartphone in the US has been officially confirmed for AT&T, in the shape of the AT&T Dell Aero. Details about the smartphone are in short supply, with AT&T promising more information at this week’s CTIA Wireless 2010 event, but the handset is obviously a reworking of Dell’s existing Mini 3i. That presumably means a 3.5-inch 640 x 360 touchscreen and 3G connectivity. However, AT&T have confirmed that they – along with Dell – have worked to reskin the Aero’s UI, replacing the standard Android interface. So far we don’t know the extent of that customization, since Dell have only released a single image of the Aero, nor when we might be able to pick one up.

Palm and AT&T have announced that the Palm Pre Plus and Palm Pixi Plus will be launching on the AT&T network in the coming months. Priced at $149.99 for the Pre Plus and $49.99 for the Pixi Plus, the handsets will be functionally identical to their Verizon counterparts, aside from packing 850/1900 UMTS/HSDPA and quadband GSM/EDGE connectivity rather than EVDO Rev.A. That means the AT&T Palm Pre Plus will have WiFi b/g, Bluetooth 2.1 and GPS along with 16GB of storage, while the AT&T Palm Pixi Plus will have half that capacity, with 8GB of storage. Neither handset has a memory card slot, but both get Palm’s webOS Synergy system; the Pixi Plus will also get a special AT&T blue battery cover. No specific release dates at present, but AT&T will apparently be showing off the new smartphones at CTIA Wireless 2010 this coming week. Prices will be following a $100 mail-in rebate and subject to a new, two-year agreement.

Any iPhone user who has tried to watch video has probably wished that the iPhone had a stand to make watching more comfortable when sitting down. We have seen stands for the iPhone before like the MovieWedge that are designed to help the iPhone stand up for watching hands free. A new iPhone stand has turned up called the MoviePeg . The stand is very simple and appears to be a small chunk of foam with a cutout in the profile of the iPhone. You slip the thing onto your iPhone and it props it up. The MoviePeg can be positioned in multiple places to hold the iPhone in landscape and portrait modes. There are a number of colors available to suit your tastes and the thing is downright cheap. You can order your MoviePeg for £4.99 plus shipping.

All around the country there are lots of businesses and consumers that use tape as a backup medium for important data. One of the most common tape backup devices is the sort that uses Imation magnetic tapes. Imation has unveiled a new magnetic tape cartridge that offers lots of storage space. The new Imation LTO Ultrium Generation 5 tape offers a native capacity of 1.5TB. When data is compressed on the tape, it can store up to 3TB of data. The new tape can write data at up to 280MB/sec and it supports data encryption. The new tape offers hardware-level encryption to protect sensitive information and is compatible with write once read many functionality. The tape uses TeraAngstron tech for a smooth surface resulting in less errors. The tape spool is three pieces to distribute stress more evenly over its surface.

One of the big issues for people used to working on a desktop when they travel with a notebook is that they typically lose screen space on the notebook. The more screen space you have, the more productive you can be. A company called MEDL Technology has unveiled a new portable LCD for notebook users on the go that uses LED backlighting. The screen is 13-inches wide and has a WXGA resolution. The device weighs 2.2 pounds and has internal rechargeable batteries for powering the device away from an outlet. The screen needs a single USB cable to connect and power the device and it works with Mac or Windows computers. The panel can also be connected to cameras, DVD players, iPhones, and other devices like the PS3 and Xbox. Pricing and availability are unknown.

Sony hasn’t historically been a company that offers computers that are stylish. Its machines are normally stodgy designs without much in the way of style. Sony has of late started to offer some wild colors on its machines that are very bright. Sony has unveiled a new line of notebooks called the VAIO E series of notebooks that include screen sizes of 14-inches and 17-inches. The 14-inch line is available with up to 1TB of storage and is made for on the go computing. The 17-inch size machines are aimed at media enthusiasts. Both screen sizes in the range offer the new 2010 line of Intel Core processors. The notebooks can be fitted with up to 4GB of RAM and ATI Mobility Radeon 5000 discrete graphics cards. Sony equips the machines with an eSATA/USB port. Sony uses an Intel Core i3-330M on the 14-inch VPCEA1S1E notebook along with a 500GB HDD and 4GB of RAM and graphics from an ATI HD 5145 GPU. The 17-inch VPCEC1S1E has a Core i5-430M, 4GB of RAM, 500GB HDD, and ATI HD5650 graphics and a

There are all sorts of strange controller accessories for the Wii. We have things like guns, NERF accessories, and the Wii Balance Board. You might recall that patent application that turned up in August 2009 for a football accessory for the Wii. The finished product has turned up now and it is made from material similar to NERF balls. The Wii remote snaps into the holder on the bottom of the ball and is hollow with a grip to let you grab hold of the controller. The thing should be a cool accessory for those who like to play Madden and other football games. The big difference between this football controller and the patent app drawing from last summer is that the finished product has no place for the Nunchuck to sit.

Active Media Products has a full line of storage devices and SSDs that use solid state storage. Some of the devices are flash drives and others are SSDs designed to be used inside computers. Active Media Products has unveiled a new flash drive that is designed to work on both eSATA and USB equipped machines. The new flash drive offers an eSATA connector on one end and a mini USB 2.0 port on the other. The flash drive looks virtually identical to the OCZ Throttle that we talked about way back in 2008. The drive can be connected to a computer with only the USB port. If the machine has an eSATA port, data transfer is much faster. When used as an eSATA drive the device has to be connected to a USB port for power. The mini USB port means when you use the drive with a USB port you need the included cable to use it. The drive will be offered in 16GB or 32GB with prices of $69.95 and $109.95 respectively.

Despite climbing megapixel counts, cameraphones still don’t seem to offer the same photographic performance as a dedicated point-and-shoot. Startup InVisage hope to change all that – and revolutionise the digicam market along the way – with their new QuantumFilm image sensor tech : they reckon it’s capable of 4x the sharpness of current cameraphone CMOS sensors, along with offering twice the dynamic range. If that doesn’t mean much to you, then how about a 12-megapixel iPhone camera in the same amount of space the current 3-megapixel sensor occupies. At the heart of the technology is InVisage’s new quantum dot material, which replaces the traditional CMOS sensor and is far more efficient at capturing light. A CMOS is only good for around 25-percent of the light that actually falls on it, whereas the QuantumFilm sensor can capture 90 to 95-percent of light. Because there’s more light, that means more details in the end-picture, and since the quantum dot material is more efficient it

Tempted by Viliv’s range of MIDs and convertible netbooks, but wary of ordering sight-unseen from importers online? That’s all set to change this week, with the announcement that select Vivlv's device will be showing up in Best Buy Mobile stores. The range will include the Viliv S5 and Viliv X70EX MIDs and the 7-inch S7 convertible touchscreen netbook. It’s a decent selection, and reviewers have generally been positive about the Viliv line-up. One of the more frequently repeated criticisms of tablet PCs, MIDs and UMPCs is that, since they never reached mainstream retail, would-be users never knew what they were missing out on. With prices kicking off at $549 for the S5 (the X70EX starts at $879 and the S7 at $579) it’s not going to be an impulse purchase, perhaps, but the touchscreen functionality might sway a few people who were previously considering a netbook.