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The news has been out for sometime now that director Anees Bazmee's film Thank You will star Akshay Kumar and the pretty lass Sonam Kapoor. However, the latest update is that Bobby Deol has also been confirmed for a pivotal part in the film. Anees says, "Yes. In fact, we had confirmed Sonam and Akshay way back, but then, there is this really important and pivotal role which needed to be filled. And that's when we decided to have Bobby Deol play the said part." When quizzed for more details about Bobby's part in the film, Anees firmly states, "Right now, it's really early to go about talking about the character of any of the actors in the film. But, what I can say is that we will start shooting next month in Canada with Bobby playing a pivotal role in this romantic comedy." Guess till then it's a wait game till the characters are finally revealed.

Sajid Khan is dedicating his second directorial venture Housefull to the seven filmmakers who have inspired him the most. Says the excited director, "It came to me in a flash this week that there are many directors to whom I owe my career as a filmmaker. I short listed the seven directors who have made the maximum impact on me. And I'll be putting in a credit card thanking them in Housefull ." The lucky 7 are Manmohan Desai, Hrishikesh Mukherjee, K. Raghvendra Rao, K Bappaiah, Narendra Bedi, Prakash Mehra and Blake Edwards. Says the enthusiastic director, "These are the directors who have most inspired me, provoked me into becoming a movie director. I love masala movies. And these directors made the films I can never get tired of watching. I had dedicated my first film Heyy Babyy to all the girls who agreed to make guest appearances in the title song." Sajid is aware some names in his list of 7 would surprise people. "But I feel someone l

Yet another actor has joined the bandwagon of making films. Arshad Warsi, after being a part of the industry for close to a decade and a half, now has his first ever production - Hum Tum Aur Ghost - ready to hit the screens in a few hours from now. As the anxious producer-actor waits to gauge audience's reaction to his much romantic comedy with an element of 'ghost' thrown in, Arshad also maintains that 'for someone like him' in the film, Hum Tum Aur Ghost is quite expensive! In a free wheeling chat with Joginder Tuteja, Arshad talks about the making of the film, his differences with director Kabeer Kaushik and the no-compromise stance that he adopted when it came to the film's cost. So after the success of Ishqiya , has Arshad also become a '5 crore ka hero'? [Laughs] I hope so. Woh alag baat hai ki koyi de nahi raha hai ! On a serious note though, I never ask for an amount like that. Having said that, as per insiders and trade calcul

It's time for celebrations now! The music of Vijay's much-anticipated Sura, directed by S.P. Rajkumar, will be released on March 26. This is the first time Vijay and Tamannaah come together in lead roles. Produced by Sangili Murugan, Sura is Ilayathalapathi Vijay's 50th film. Tamannaah has reportedly upped the glamour in this typical and proper masala movie. Sources reveals that the actor will don the role of a fisherman in Sura which has music by Tollywood sensation Mani Sharma. The duo have worked together in Shahjahan, Youth, Pokkiri, Thirupachi and many more. Most of them were chart-busters, so let us hope Sura repeats the magic again.

Paiyya/ Paiya (Tamil), titled Awara in Telugu, is one of the most-anticipated summer releases of 2010. With almost all the songs topping the charts, director Lingusamy and music director Yuvanshankar Raja have now decided to add one more track to the album. This new track would be added in the movie and the new CD would be released simultaneously with the release of the film. Karthi has teamed up with the beautiful Tamannaah for the first time in their careers. Karthi goes from the uncouth rural youth to the utterly sophisticated software professional in this film. Besides directing the movie, Lingusamy, one of the successful film-makers of Tamil cinema, is also producing it. Dhayanidhi Alagiri's Cloud Nine Movies has acquired the release rights of the film recently. The film is simultaneously getting released in Telugu also.

Legendary cinematographer V.K. Murthy, best remembered for his work in Guru Dutt Films, received a standing ovation at the 56th National Film Awards ceremony on Friday when he was conferred the Dada Saheb Phalke Award for 2008 by President Pratibha Patil. Tamil ace director Bala received the Best Director's Award for his much-appreciated Naan Kadavul. The filmmaker said this was one of the happiest moments in his life since he was honoured by the first citizen of the country. "Getting selected for a National Award is not an ordinary thing. I feel honoured and it is time for me to ensure that I work hard in the future too," he added. Overall, Bollywood films ruled the 56th National award list, bagging as many as 13 awards in various categories. Fashion, Rock On!, Firaaq and Jodha Akbar won two awards each in various categories. A Wednesday, Roadside Romeo, Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!, Mumbai Meri Jaan and Thanks Maa won one each. Bengali film Antaheen won the best fe

The huge popularity of the iPhone and iPod models means that there are an enormous amount of accessories and items for the devices to extend their functionality. iHome is one of the more prolific makers of all sorts of speaker docks and other gear for the iPhone. The company has announced that it is now shipping its cool iA5 App-enhanced Alarm Clock Speaker System. The iA5 uses an app to turn the iPhone into an integral part of the alarm clock. The software portion turns the clock into an information hub. The app shows news that happened while you were asleep, offers many options for alarms, and records statistics about your sleep. The iA5 docks and charges your iPhone or iPod touch and has a backup power source for the clock in the event of a power outage that uses three AAA batteries. The clock measures 9.34″ W x 5.83″ H x 3.9″ D. Other features include a button to synchronize the clock time with the iPhone, local weather info, an adjustable snooze timer, and lots more. The clock is

Yesterday the big news was that Nintendo announced a new 3D portable console called the 3DS or 3DSi . Today more new details have emerged about the console over in Japan and we are even more excited that we were yesterday, and yesterday Chris wet his pants in excitement. The new deets on the machine come from Nikkei and make the 3D console sound even more interesting. Nikkei reports that the device will be the first of its kind. The thing will only be sold in Japan at first and that is pegged to happen later this year. Nintendo is said to be considering giving the 3DSi a joystick with force feedback and an accelerometer. Nintendo patented some 3D tech last year that is expected to make it into the console. The new 3D device will also have faster wireless connectivity and longer battery life claims Nikkei. The screen is said to be no larger than the XL’s 4.2-inches. The thing is still pegged to first surface at E3 and hit the US in the March 2011 time frame.

Lenovo has outed a couple new notebook lines for the user looking to get their hands on a new computer. The new Lenovo Edge 14 and 15 notebook lines are aimed at the small and medium business user, pack in some interesting features, and actually look good, which isn’t something Lenovo has been known for traditionally. The 14 and 15 lines start at $599 and offer the latest Intel Core i5 and i3 processors and can be had with Celeron CPUs as well. The screen used are HD resolution with LED backlighting and they have lots of connectivity options with HDMI out along with DVD burners. Optional features include 4G (presumably WiMax) 3G, and WiFi and both have spill resistant keyboards with multitouch touch pads. The machines are offered in heatwave red or midnight blacks finishes. The ThinkPad Edge machines are both available now through business partners and will hit Best Buy stores next month.

HP have updated their workstation range, and of the new tower, SFF and notebook models perhaps the most interesting is the HP EliteBook 8740w . Toting Intel’s latest Core i7 Extreme processors, up to 16GB of DDR3 memory and a 17-inch LED-backlit display running at either WXGA+ or WUXGA, the 8740w can be spec’d with either ATI FirePro M7820 1GB graphics, NVIDIA Quadro FX 3800M 1GB graphics or Quadro FX 2800M 1GB graphics. There’s also USB 3.0 connectivity, eSATA, VGA and DisplayPort, together with a DVD or Blu-ray burner, FireWire and a choice of up to 500GB HDD or 256GB SSD. WiFi a/b/g/n and Bluetooth 2.1 is standard, while Gobi 3G is optional, and prices kick off at $1,999. As for the desktop machines, HP have updated their Z200 SFF, Z400, Z600 and Z800 models with a range of Core i3, i5 and i7 CPUs, together with select models from Intel’s Xeon 3400 workstation processor range. The Z800 can be specified with up to 192GB of memory, dual-graphics and liquid cooling, while the Z600

Most of prefer to keep our eyes on the TV when in couch potato mode -- which kind of makes the smooth glass interface of a touchscreen remote out of the question. But who knows? Maybe you're some sort of Alpha control freak who needs to be able control damn near every A/V and/or home automation devices in your stifling McMansion. In that case, you're in luck -- the Re IR dongle for iPhone / iPod touch is now available -- officially and internationally. The App is free but the hardware will cost you a cool $70 -- hit the source link to get started. PR after the break.

LG saw fit to launch a device for each of its CDMA friends: Sprint's Remarq (pictured left) and Verizon's Cosmos. Both of these sets are fairly low-end, but that won't stop them from likely garnering some support in the messaging segment. The LG Remarq is a small square QWERTY set with an eco-friendly bent, featuring an eco calculator app -- to keep track of how many trees you're saving -- a 1.3 megapixel camera, and access to webmail. The Remarq should ship May 9th for $free on a two-year plan after $19.99 instant and $50 mail-in rebates. The LG Cosmos which is headed for Verizon, also packs a 1.3 megapixel camera, a large slide out QWERTY keyboard, Bluetooth 2.1, and GPS support thrown in for good measure. The Cosmos hits stores tomorrow for $29.99 after rebate, new plan, and general goodwill from Verizon. We'll be grabbing a hands-on with LG's Martin Valdez just as soon as we possibly can.

While LG didn't storm to this year's CTIA with a hero device like some of the competition, they did arrive with something: the LG Cosmos. The Cosmos is a very simple sliding QWERTY messaging device built for the lower end market and lands at Verizon for $29.99 after rebates. The keyboard, arguably the most important feature here is really nice; tactile feedback when pounding out your missives is comfortable, key spacing is pretty much right on, and the balance with it open is also quite good. Sure, the display -- a 2-inch 320 x 240 -- is small, but still clear, and useful enough. Handset build quality is also pretty good and the slider feels solid. Takeaway here is if you're looking for an inexpensive messaging set on Verizon, the Cosmos might be worth taking a peek at.

Hear that, kids? Tony Melone -- Verizon Wireless' Senior VP and CTO -- confirmed to us during a one-on-one meeting after the company's CTIA roundtable discussion that every last one of its data-only LTE WWAN devices (aircards, MiFi-type products and USB data sticks, for example) would also support 3G. Not too surprising given the natural ties between the two technologies, but it's still refreshing to hear that every 4G data-only product that launches (at least initially) on VZW will also be able to hop onto the company's 3G network if you just so happen to break away from an LTE area. Can't say that for a smattering of existing WiMAX products. In related news, Tony also affirmed that Verizon would be "interested" in getting a smartphone on its LTE network that could double as a mobile hotspot, exactly how the Palm Pre Plus does now (but on 3G, obviously). As for pricing when it comes to LTE data rates? Tony wouldn't give us any indication of the carrie

Remember those LTE trials that Verizon Wireless started up in Boston and Seattle back in August of last year? Good news, mobile surfers -- the operator has today confirmed in a roundtable at CTIA that they're both nearing their end, giving us hope that they're gleaned the necessary information from them to start moving onto bigger and better things. Namely, more elaborate trials in more locales around the nation. As you might expect, Verizon Wireless is indeed gearing up to move into its next phase of commercial LTE testing, with Tony Melone (Senior VP / CTO) stating that 'friendly user trials' were slated to begin this summer. He declined to elaborate on the whos, whats and (most importantly) wheres, but there's no doubt that these are likely the last hurdles before we see its 4G network go live in "one third" of the country. We're told that those tests will be used to kick the tires on "commercial" gear, which is starkly different than th

Unless you've been in one of a few key test markets, you've been pretty much out of luck boosting your AT&T signal in the comfortable confines of your home since the 3G MicroCell first launched -- until now. Starting in the middle of next month in a deployment that spans "several" months, customers across the country should expect to see MicroCells pop up in their local stores. The device itself will run a one-time fee of $149.99 before a $100 mail-in rebate (when purchased with a "3G MicroCell calling plan," though we don't yet know what that constitutes). Separately, there'll be a $19.99 plan bolt-on that offers unlimited calling when connected to the device -- and anyone tacking on a new U-verse or DSL line of 1.5Mbps or higher will get another $50 rebate. It's not the end of AT&T's spectrum and backhaul concerns, we're sure, but it's a start. Update: We've just clarified -- the $19.99 bolt-on is the only one that's

Want some DivX-encoded 720p goodness on your fancy new superphone? Samsung will be the way to go, at least in the short term. The Korean company has announced that its Bada-infused Wave handset will be the first phone with certified support for DivX HD playback, with the freshly announced, Android-driven, Galaxy S following up at an unspecified point in time. Guess we're finally going to get the content to do justice to those spectacular Super AMOLED displays. Hit up Engadget Spanish for the full PR while we get to work on transcoding our entire DVD collection.

Look out folks, we're about to go LTE, and it's not from where you were expecting: MetroPCS is building out an LTE network in "various metropolitan markets," with Las Vegas due to go online first in the second half of 2010. Samsung will be doing the infrastructure work, and is running the presser here at CTIA, with a pretty impressive display of room-based LTE show of force. Samsung, as previously announced, will also be building the first 4G handset for the network, dubbed the SCH-r900, though they aren't sharing any other details about the device at this point. Samsung ran a quick demo of 4G performance using some laptops and a couple of racks of LTE parts (we'll have video up momentarily), and was also running some sort of LTE prototype (pictured above), though we don't know squat about it. PR is after the break. Update: There's video after the break! Witness those blazing 4G speeds for yourself, you'll be amazed and astonished. Or at least mild

You may or may not yet be aware of the Swype virtual keyboard (comes preloaded on the Cliq XT from Motorola), but you'll definitely be hearing about the T9 Trace from Nuance. This is because, although it's fundamentally the same thing as Swype (but from a different maker), the T9 Trace is on offer from the company behind the T9 predictive text dictionary that pretty much everyone from your 7-year old nephew to your octogenarian grandpa has used. The big idea here is that you trace out the word on your virtual keyboard without lifting your finger off, with short stops at each letter you want to add being taken for input. Once you get over the seemingly unintuitive idea of abandoning those woodpecker taps for the grace of tracing, it promises to be a real fun and rapid way to input text. Nuance has bundled the whole thing with error correction, word prediction and auto-completion, while supporting 70 languages. The company has yet to tell us when the T9 Trace will be showing up o

Rumors of a low-end BlackBerry Pearl 9100 have been swirling (or at least slightly agitating) as far back as November of last year, but it looks like we're now finally starting to get a clearer picture of some of the phone's actual specs. As we'd heard previously, this one comes equipped with a SureType keypad (no QWERTY version to be seen yet), and a trackpad instead of a trackball. According to Tech Digest, it will also boast 3G connectivity, along with a 3-megapixel camera, and a design that's said to be a "fair sight sleeker" than current BlackBerry Pearls. Still no indication of pricing or availability, unfortunately, but it seems like this one is getting about due for a release.

Thought AT&T's Zero charger was going to cruise along with no competition? No sirree. Ventev has shown up here in Las Vegas to launch its (seemingly superior) competitor, the EcoCharge. Designed to (nearly) eliminate vampire power draw when no device is connected, this here charger one-ups those "other guys" by having room to invigorate a pair of mini-USB / micro-USB devices (one of those, plus a full-size USB at the top), and best of all, it won't take up 1.5, 2 or 2.5 slots on your power strip. The company claims that its approach to cutting down on vampire power drain -- the energy that's wasted when you leave a charger plugged in with no peripheral connected -- is better than other solutions out there, as a unit that completely kills the power when it's left alone requires an on / off switch or a "wake up" period before it storms into action. The EcoCharge continually pulls 0.025 watts, while Energy Star chargers can go up to 0.3 watts wh

We know which one we'd rather take -- but alas, we came packing the meager 4GB card in our personal phone as we sauntered up to SanDisk's booth at a CTIA press event this evening, not that juicy 32GB bad boy right above it. At the top there you can see the silicon that goes into each and every 32GB microSDHC to come out of the foundry, and it's pretty insane: 8 layers of 32nm 3-bit-per-cell memory. The SanDisk rep we spoke to said that other companies not capable of pulling off the 8 layer trick will be at a significant disadvantage, since they'll need to go with a higher density at the brutal cost of a lower yield rate -- and as we all know, a chunk of silicon that's failed QA is little more than a paperweight (and not a very effective one at that). We'll take three.

Here she is, folks -- Dell's first-ever Android device destined for a Stateside release, and AT&T's second overall handset (the first being the Backflip) with a Google-based operating system. At CTIA's MobileFocus event, we were able to brush up against a fully functional Aero (shown beside a Mini 3, just for your information), but we left without seeing the actual home screen. The closest we came to witnessing Android 1.5 boot up was the typical AT&T intro screen, and once that popped up, our presenter promptly popped the battery out in order to stop what would've otherwise been a truly momentous occasion. We begged and pleaded for a few interface shots, but Dell insisted that AT&T was holding an invisible gun to its head in order to keep the screen dimmed. We were told that the interface was still being tweaked, and the carrier simply wasn't ready for the world at large to take a peek. Outside of that, we learned that this will indeed be the planet'

It's totally unfair to Kyocera that we played with its new Zio M6000 mid-tier Android smartphone mere hours after our first look at the HTC EVO 4G, but while we were excited to see a cheaper phone with an 800 x 480 screen, the end result is pretty disappointing. The device crams that resolution into a 3.5-inch screen, which wouldn't be so bad if the capacitive touchscreen element wasn't so low-end. It seemed both unresponsive and lacking in accuracy -- at times we had trouble even dragging open the notification tray. We were told that we were looking at a prototype of the device, but the crumminess seemed pretty uniform across multiple Zios we tested. The device also seemed just generally sluggish -- we'd think the 600MHz Qualcomm processor could handle Android 1.6 just fine, but perhaps there's some optimization left to do. Kyocera told us that the phone is easily upgraded to 2.0 or 2.1, based on carrier wishes, and that they don't have any plans for skinning i

Sure, Verizon and AT&T shout at each other across our TV airwaves all the time, but how often do we get to see two exactly same phones running on both carriers? The Pre Plus and Pixi Plus have just such a distinction, and we stopped back by the Palm booth with our Verizon Pre Plus in hand just to prove to ourselves we weren't dreaming. Naturally we couldn't keep ourselves from a little browser battle (check out the video after the break, the winner may or may not surprise you!), and we even caught the two phones commiserating about that dismal plastic USB jack flap of infamy. Sure, we're longing for a new webOS device, and have a hard time thinking AT&T will reverse Palm's fortunes alone, but there's something special about this new era we're entering with the likes of Palm and Google where you can (almost) choose your device and then your carrier, not the other way around.

Now that the excitement of the EVO 4G announce has finally worn off, it's time to get down to more practical matters -- in a street fight, would the WiMAX-powered beast hold its own against an HD2 and a Desire , for example? We had all three in a room just now, and here's what we've got to say: It feels significantly beefier than the HD2, but in reality, it's not -- it's just a single millimeter thicker. The brushed metal back of the HD2 is a little sexier, but just by the tiniest of margins; it's hard to argue with soft touch and a kickstand, obviously. We would've never noticed this without the Desire next to it, but the EVO's text is pretty huge, a side effect of the fact that it's running the same resolution on a screen 0.6 inches larger. It's not annoying, really, but it struck us that they could've comfortably fit quite a bit more information on the screen without getting cramped. The Desire's display is more vibrant, too, but tha

Look away now, Droid owners, as Motorola's finally uploaded the Milestone's Android 2.1 firmware update to its servers. It's only officially sanctioned for users in Hong Kong and Macau for now, but judging by the inclusion of a Dutch language pack in the new firmware, it looks like it's the same stuff that will shortly be rolling out all across Europe as well. In addition to the funky live wallpapers, users will also get a new feature called Motorola Car Home -- a special interface for in-car usage -- along with some speed improvements. Now, we're not exactly sure what the rollout plan is for each nation, but Moto's Facebook page tells us we'll see an end to the Milestone's upgrade saga before March is through. The source contains a direct link to the fresh firmware file, and you can find a straightforward upgrade how-to at Android World below. We'll be right here for your upgrade stories.

Samsung dragged the Galaxy S out for us to gawk at this morning at CTIA and after the 30 minute video presentation, we were itching to actually check it out in our hands. Let's just get this out of the way right off: the 4-inch WVGA 800 X 480 Super Amoled display on the Galaxy S is nothing short of stunning. Put side by side with an iPhone under some very harsh lighting, the difference between them -- feel free to have a peek at the video after the break -- is pretty astounding. Everything is bright and crisp, text legible, and the colors are jaw-droppingly beautiful. Touchscreen performance? This is another standout on this Android 2.1 device and coupled with Samsung's 1GHz Application Processor, not only is it responsive but the UI is smooth and fast. The Galaxy S can shoot HD video at 720p using its 5 megapixel cam, plays it back with aplomb, and did we mention the display? The spec sheet lists this as triple-band HSPA device living in the 900 / 1800 / 1900 realm -- and whil

The simplicity of a white dress shirt crafted of pure cotton meets the gadget-cleansing power of microfiber in this "Wipe Shirt" from husband-and-wife design team FIFT. Because you've gotta wear something with that solar tie and swine-flu resistant suit, and you might as well fight smartphone cheek syndrome (and all other manner of glossy gadget smudging) while you're at it. Yours for ¥13,650 (or about $150) in either the microfiber cuff or shirttail variant, only from Japan.

We've been rumoring a WiMAX "HTC Supersonic" for a while now, and Sprint just dropped the hard news: the phone will be dubbed the HTC EVO 4G, will be released this Summer and it's easily the best specced phone we've ever witnessed. The hardware is of quite obvious HD2 descent, but with Android onboard and some nice aesthetic tweaks, the EVO 4G takes on a life of its own. The handset is centered around a 480 x 800 4.3-inch TFT LCD, with a Snapdragon QSD8650 1GHz processor under the hood (the CDMA version of the QSD8250 in the HD2 and Nexus One), and even a helpful 1GB of built-in memory and 512MB of RAM -- hello app storage! Even the battery is bigger than the HD2, and the camera is an 8 megapixel monstrosity with flash, that's capable of 720p video, and is augmented by a 1.3 megapixel front facing camera for good measure. The phone features HDMI out (though you'll need an adapter for turning it into a TV-familiar HDMI plug), 802.11b/g WiFi, and an 8GB micr

We knew it was coming, and now we have a concrete date. Starting this Thursday, March 25th, Verizon Wireless customers with one of nine select smartphones (Motorola Droid and Devour, HTC Droid Eris, various BlackBerrys) and data plan will be able to use Skype over the 3G network. As we heard before, Skype-to-Skype calls will not affect your VZW minutes, and now you've got the option to use the app for cheaper international dialing using the mobile app. Full list of compatible devices after the break, a list we're hoping gets expanded in the not-so-distant future.

We just spent a few fleeting moments with AT&T's just-announced Pre Plus and Pixi Plus from Palm, and they're pretty much exactly what you'd expect: GSM remixes of the models available on Verizon (we weren't allowed to take a peek at the SIM slots, but rest assured, there's an AT&T carrier logo up there at the top left). Both devices seemed relatively zippy -- yes, even the Pixi -- though that can naturally change pretty quickly once you've got a few cards chugging away. We were delighted to see that Palm loaded our very own Engadget app on their demo devices -- a good way for booth stoppers-by to catch up on show news, eh? Check out the gallery below, and keep an eye out for more coverage throughout the day!

You know your mobile OS is going places when people start resurrecting their smartphone divisions just to throw out their own spin on it. Kyocera's approach with the new Zio M6000 has been to marry an 800 x 480 display to some rather middle of the road components and to sell that package at a significantly lower price point (between $169 and $216 unsubsidized) than most Android-infused communicators on the market. You know, for the people that like to have a handsome high-res phone, but don't need it to have the firepower to run Quake. It's still not a terrible slouch, coming with a 600MHz MSM7227 CPU from Qualcomm, 512MB of onboard app memory, and 3G, WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity. Look out for its US arrival in the second quarter of this year.

AT&T's teaser site for the Dell Aero has gone live and we can now fill in a few more gaps in our knowledge about this forthcoming handset. It's looking every bit the renamed Mini 3 we thought it was, so click here and here to get a closer look at the body of the device. The official web mouthpiece confirms a 3.5-inch screen with nHD resolution -- which may or may not signify the same 640 x 360 as on the Brazilian and Chinese versions -- and one definite point of departure, a 5 (rather than 3) megapixel camera on the back. Claimed to be the lightest Android smartphone yet, the Aero will also come with WiFi and GPS built in, though its biggest attraction will undoubtedly be the thoroughly tricked out Android UI, which promises Picasa, Flickr, Facebook, YouTube, and Twitpic integration right out of the box. Check out the gallery below for some hints of what that will look like.

Color us resolutely unsurprised at the news that devs are starting to abandon the Windows Mobile platform in favor of, well, longer-lived opportunities. Firefox's maker, Mozilla, has come out with a statement that it's ceasing development of its WinMo builds and -- perhaps more importantly -- it's also curtailing work on a Windows Phone 7 offering until Microsoft opens its new platform up to native apps. So basically, no Native Development Kit from Microsoft equals no Firefox for Windows Phone from Mozilla. The browser maker does express hope, however, that Microsoft will make it possible to deliver the popular IE alternative in the future, pointing out that the underlying Windows CE 6 architecture suits Firefox well and the company is "well positioned to have an awesome browser on Windows Phone 7." For now, the focus in Mozilla's mobile HQ remains on bringing out a great product on the less restrictive Android and MeeGo platforms.

We're shmoozing with Motorola's team and Mike Rowe -- yes, the Dirty Jobs guy, who's been fittingly selected as the rugged i1's spokesperson -- and we're starting to get our first fleeting moments with Motorola's first Android-powered iDEN handset in the flesh. Believe it or not, it might be the best-feeling Android phone from Motorola to date, besting the CLIQ XT and Droid with a tasteful mix of black chrome and rubber around the edges; if it weren't for the lack of bona fide 3G, we could realistically see putting this in our pockets over, say, a myTouch 3G, Hero, or Behold II. We've been able to confirm that they've basically taken the UI look and feel introduced by Blur and subtracted... well, the things that actually make it Blur, namely the integration with Blur servers that brings social service aggregation into the fold. Will it appeal to the iDEN demographic? Hard to say, but Mr. Rowe certainly seems amped on it.

Looking for a little more Lucky Goldstar to go with your eco-friendly leanings on Sprint than the Samsung Reclaim can offer? No problem -- look no further than the newly-announced LG Remarq, featuring a form factor decidedly similar to Sammy's entry without straying from the recycled casing and packaging that made the older device so easy for Mother Nature to get behind. It's got a 1.3 megapixel camera, stereo Bluetooth, IM capability, and microSD expansion up to 16GB to go along with a music player -- not mind-numbing specs by any stretch, but you'll only be paying a big, fat zero for it when it launches on May 9. Oh, and you'll be doing your little part to help the environment, too, which is really the only feature you should need to see on the spec sheet anyway -- right?

We've just received a veritable cornucopia of information around Samsung's supposed announcements out at CTIA this week -- and seeing how this is the biggest wireless show the US has to offer, you might imagine that the reveals are fairly US-focused while still hanging onto some global relevance. Here's what we know: The company's so-called "Smart Life" philosophy for smartphone design and differentiation -- something we've heard referred to as S Life in the past, including here at CTIA -- will be formally introduced. It won't so much be a product or a smartphone platform (as far as we can tell) so much as an overarching strategy. A 1GHz applications processor will be announced as the "new standard" in Sammy's premium smartphone segment for 2010; in all likelihood, this is the Cortex A8-based core announced in the middle of the last year. A huge content push will be announced (US market mercifully included) with full-length movies and sho

We heard from 9 to 5 Mac that Apple was due to begin selling a contract-free variant of the iPhone in the near future "at list price." And guess what happened when we inquired to an Apple store? That's right folks -- you can now pick one up for $499 (3G), $599, or $699 (3GS). We've confirmed this info at no less than five stores, so you should be hearing the same message at your local Appletorium. Given the current unfriendly climate between Apple and Google, this could be seen as nasty jab, though the devices are still carrier-locked to AT&T, so you're not being given much freedom... and it's certainly not much of a statement. In many parts of Europe (France and Poland, for example) you can pick up the carrier-unattached device (and we mean totally unlocked), but that doesn't appear to be the case here. Update: We're getting mixed reports on the unlock status of these phones. One store says yes to the unlock, while others are saying they're st

Of the world's largest phone manufacturers, perhaps none has taken a more twisted road to smartphone ubiquity than Sony Ericsson. It began its journey back in the pre-joint venture Ericsson days by throwing its weight behind Symbian , a smartphone platform that would ultimately become the world's most popular -- but it made a fatal error in supporting the doomed UIQ flavor that never saw even a fraction of the support its S60 cousin did. UIQ's untimely (but predicted) collapse last year left the company nearly rudderless and ill-equipped to deal with competitors like Nokia, HTC, and Apple, all of whom had long since embraced other platforms -- all with fighting chances of market dominance. Left without a platform to champion, Sony Ericsson would ultimately continue supporting Symbian through its involvement with the Symbian Foundation and phones like the Satio and Vivaz ... and it would ramp up support for Windows Mobile with the Xperia X1 and X2... and it would bring A

Kannada star Puneeth Rajkumar is all set to launch a book on his father and Dadasaheb Phalke award winner Dr. Rajkumar. On the birth anniversary of Dr. Rajakumar (April 24th) the cover page of the book will be released and the English version will be launched on November 1. 70% of the book will be pictorial and 30% will be write ups on my father Dr. Rajkumar, Puneeth

There's nothing that can rightly be called as a well deserved recognition for one who dedicated his life for cinema, to cinema and with cinema. But a Lifetime Achievement Award does come close to doing just that. The legendary Amitabh Bachchan was recently awarded yet another Lifetime Achievement Award at the 4th Asian Awards ceremony in Hong Kong. Speaking about the same on his blog, Bachchan says, "It just got over! The pride and passion and honour of a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 4th Asian Awards ceremony here at the Exhibition centre in Hong Kong." He continues, "To be honest, I had never expected it to be the way it was - the organization, the protocol, the discipline and the efficiency, all in place and all done with great aplomb and grandeur. There is nothing quite as satisfying as a system that works. And to come across a dictum on the city of my present habitat that proclaims 'Hong Kong - the city that works!' is no off the cuf