IBLOG SPACE

Looking for another reason to wear a Bluetooth headset all the time? Then you might want to consider admitting you have a problem, or you might want to get Motorola's new H17txt model, which can be paired with the company's new MotoSpeak text-to-speech application to read text messages aloud as they come in. That software is available for Android and BlackBerry initially, and will apparently even translate 150 different commonly used acronyms so things like l8r don't get read as l, eight, r. As for the headset itself, it's a fairly standard affair, with it boasting CrystalTalk noise-canceling technology, five hours of talk time and seven hours standby, and Bluetooth 2.1 compatibility. Still no indication of a price, but it should be available through Verizon starting today.

When dealing with Chinese products that have yet to cross the pond (and are unlikely ever to), you spend a lot of time looking at translated docs, trying to figure out what the hell it is exactly they're trying to pitch to you. For instance, the Qi U1000 that we caught wind of last September -- or its successor, the U2000, pictured above. Looks like a MID, acts like a smartphone, yet someone (or, more likely, something) insists on calling it a "Smartbook." What we do know is that it'll run you 2,680 Chinese yuan (roughly $390), and it sports Windows Mobile 6.5 OS, a 624MHz Marvell CPU, a 3.2 megapixel camera, and a whopping 5-inch touchscreen. What do you think: Can you handle this much phone?

I was at CTIA last week pitching various column ideas to SlashGear Editor Vincent Nguyen, and he shot them down, one by one. An analysis of the Kindle vs. iPad? No, SlashGear has covered that more than once, and we’ll all be writing hands-on reports next week. How the digital home environment has changed? New columnist Ben Bajarin just used that theme as his debut for SlashGear. How I lived on loaner laptops, cellphones and 3G modems last week when our town was out of power? Too close to Michael Gartenberg’s recent column ontraveling with just a cellphone. Apparently, the big stuff is covered. So instead, I’m going to try to provide a look into how one analyst covers a trade show: a tech travelogue, of sorts. CTIA Day -1: Arrive in Las Vegas a full day and a half early, as the day before the show is often full of trade shows and meetings. Not this year. I looked into moving to a later flight and spending another day with my family, but the flights were all overbooked. Discover that the

Palm’s attempt to turn webOS devices into financial security continues apace, with Verizon slashing prices of the Palm Pre Plus and Pixi Plus to $49.99 and $29.99 respectively. In addition, Verizon have also slashed away the subscription fee for Mobile Hotspot functionality, which turns the Pre Plus or the Pixi Plus into a MiFi-style 3G sharing hotspot for up to five WiFi clients. If owners have already signed up to the Mobile Hotspot package – which used to involve a $40 surcharge – then they’ll see that removed from their next monthly bill. The existing buy-one-get-one-free deals on both Pre Plus and Pixi Plus are also still in place, which adds up to a pretty strong push for the platform. Palm CEO Jon Rubinstein had previously criticized Verizon for a subpar launch of the two smartphone, and described efforts on the carrier’s part to promote the webOS handsets. These included improved training by Palm “brand ambassadors” so that Verizon sales staff would be in a better position t

There’s something about this Mad Catz Cyborg F.L.Y. 9 Wireless Flight Stick that makes us think the company’s designers looked to Megatron for their inspiration; still, that shouldn’t dissuade any gamers from taking a firm grasp. Compatible with the Xbox 360’s wireless system out of the box – and thus requiring no dongle – the F.L.Y. 9 has independent throttle and rudder controls together with various comfort adjustments. In fact, you can tweak the F.L.Y. 9’s handle length, handle rake angle and head angle, and the base can be adapted for desk use or – with the feet removed – lap use depending on where you do your gaming. Mad Catz reckon it’s one of the most personalizable flight stick controllers on the market, in fact. Of course, you pay for the privilege. When the Cyborg F.L.Y. 9 Wireless Flight Stick arrives in spring 2010 it’ll be priced at $99.99 (or £79.99/€89.99), twice what you’d pay for the company’s Cyborg X stick.

There’s something about the Arduino that brings out the strangeness in people, and that’s pretty much the only way we disguise this stacked monster. Dubbed the Core3duino by its creator, John David, it takes and existing,dual-processor mod for the Arduino and adds in a third CPU. Not only that, you also get a full 60 I/O connectors. That sixty is made up of 24 digital I/O pins, 18 pwm pins and 18 analog inputs, along with six external interrupts. Even though you’ve already stacked two boards on top of the base Arduino, you can still add a further one (which will also plug into the base) such as a network shield or similar. As for why you might do it, there are plenty of advantages to having extra CPUs during testing. John David himself describes the extra security in terms of WAF: “While testing my larger bots, I always use 2 Arduinos to decode the drive and failsafe r/c channels separately. That way if something goes way wrong or the code doesn’t work as it should, you have a way

iPhone 3GS meets Windows Phone 7 meets blasphemy? If you like your iPhone just as God – or Steve Jobs – intended it then look away; tinkerer woocash-kun has come up with a new theme for his Apple smartphone that makes it look just like Microsoft’s upcoming platform. As well as the panel-based main menu there’s a second set of pages with WP7-style mini icons. He’s also created a lockscreen for the iPhone, also resembling Microsoft’s version, but so far the notifications bar along the bottom doesn’t work as it would on a real WP7 device. Unfortunately right now woocash-kun is revelling in his uniqueness by not releasing the theme publicly, so we’ll have to enjoy vicariously through the video below. Of course, it could all be a well-crafted fake, too (I’m sure Microsoft would love it to be, since the theme seems to run slicker on an Apple phone than on some prototype Windows Phone 7 series hardware we’re seen demonstrated so far).

Chalk this one down to uncorroborated rumor (and perhaps even a wretched April Fools joke) but notorious leak merchants Hardmac have been told that Apple Europe are currently undergoing an internal investigation that’s apparently “way beyond” the scope of previous audits. According to their anonymous source, Apple are looking through all records “as if they were aware of some information or details” and were trying to find proof to substantiate it. So far nobody bar the Apple investigators know what it is exactly that has prompted the audit, and it’s unlikely that any more information will emerge until the process has finished. Apple are notoriously secrecy-sensitive, and the company is known for disseminating fake information or differing copies of documents so that they can more easily identify the source of leaks.

If Google thought it would be easy to get home entertainment companies to sign up to their Google TV projectthen they should probably think again. Panasonic has become the latest company to turn their nose up at the idea of Android and Intel nesting in their HDTVs, claiming that the open-source OS’ processing demands would require too expensive a CPU to keep prices sufficiently low. The move follows Samsung’s lead, the company having announced last month that it would be continuing with its own internet and widget platform rather than adopting one of Google’s design. Panasonic will continue to use its own proprietary system, which allows for Netflix and YouTube access, together with basic internet-sourced information widgets, but which falls short of the full browser functionality that Google TV promises. Still, Google may also have plans to bypass HDTV manufacturers altogether and push a set-top box that would daisy-chain in-between existing cable or satellite boxes and televisions.

We weren’t entirely convinced by the O2 Joggler – a 7-inch touchscreen home tablet intended to pull together a family’s calendar together with offering internet radio and other functionality – when it launched for £149.99 ($228), and even after a price cut to £99.99($152) it still seemed on the expensive side. Now, though, O2 haveslashed the price in half, which means you can pick up the hackable slate for £49.99 ($76). That gets photo and video browsing, traffic and weather updates, news and local media playback, with internet connectivity via WiFi. The deal apparently ends on April 15th, and from today O2 will be offering a number of free apps from their Joggler app store (including Google Maps, YouTube, Google Calendar and more).

Let me just say right off the bat, that this is an April fool’s joke of a product. It is a cool joke though and I bet more than a few of you out there wish it were a real product. I loathe April 1 each year, always someone out to trick us geeky writer types and the trickery tends to last a week or more too. Basically, this faux product is a special dock that you can cram your iPhone into that makes it have larger screen like the iPad. I think you could probably do this with one of those gigantic magnifying pages grandma uses too. I bet you see this thing all around today with some folks thinking it’s the real deal, be sure you laugh and point the finger at them. Let this be a lesson, click every buy link on strange new product for the first week of April.

I honestly though we would be overrun with netbooks running Android at this point, but so far they are very few and far between. Acer is said to be getting a new netbook ready for the big time that will be a dual boot machine offering Android and Windows. The netbook is the Aspire One D260 and word is that the machine was tipped at the TimelineX launch. The machine is basically an upgrade to the Aspire One D250 last year that sported Android and Windows. Details on the machine weren’t offered, but it is easy enough to assume the machine will get the Atom CPU upgrade that most netbooks have received. A machine running Chrome is also said to be “likely” in Q3.

So much of what I enjoy in life is visual, I can’t imagine how difficult it would be if I didn’t have eyesight. The blind and visually impaired are able to read and function amazingly well, much better than some of the sighted people I know. A new breakthrough from North Carolina State Universitymay one day lead to full screen displays for the blind. As it is now many of the devices that blind users take advantage of for Braille reading has only one line. That is sort of like a computer display for those who can see that only lets you read one line at a time. The university has made a breakthrough with electroactive polymers that may allow the development of full screen displays with Braille for the blind and visually impaired. This tech would be fantastic for eReaders like the Kindle that have come under fire from groups that claim they are not accessible to the blind. Basically, the design is a concept at this point and would use a “hydraulic and latching mechanism” to allow the scre

My dad was 50 when he got his first computer. He must have called me 50 times when he was setting the thing up to tell me various parts wouldn’t work or fit. He couldn’t get online until I went to help him, turned out he had the Ethernet cable in the modem port. There are lots of people out there who need very simple devices that you can just plug in and they work. Cisco has a new wireless access point that promises to be one of these very easy to set up devices perfect for folks like my dad. The line is called Valet. Cisco promises that the Valet line makes setting up wireless networks at home easy for all users. To set the wireless network up the user takes the products and plugs them in. The router comes with an Easy Set Up key that you plug into a USB port on the computer. The key sets the notebook up correctly for accessing the wireless network. The Easy Setup Key is then used to get any other machines in the home online as well. The Valet line has three models including the Valet

We have talked about all sorts of concept devices and gadgets that turn up on Yanko Design. These Google Envelopes are possibly one of the most interesting concepts I have seen. It really looks like something Google would pull as an April Fool’s joke. Considering the day, if this were on Google I’d be calling BS. Since this is a design concept, I’ll let it slide. The idea is that the user can get an envelope with a map printed on the outside. The return address label is in a bubble at their start of a route traced on the map envelope. The destination is in the address bubble at the end of the route. Between the two is the route that the letter takes to get there. This is actually cool and I could see people really liking this, even if most of our communication is digital today. Basically, in the concept the user could write an email in Gmail and have it sent as a physical letter.

PeeWee has been hawking wares aimed at kids for a while now. The company has previously offered software for keeping kids safe online and a convertible tablet laptop called the PeeWee Pivot. The company is back now with another new laptop called the PeeWee Power Laptop. The machine is a laptop in name only, what we really have here is your basic netbook. The rig has a 10.1-inch LCD with a 1024 x 600 resolution, Windows XP, an Intel Atom N450 CPU, and Intel GMA3150 graphics. Storage is to a 160GB HDD. Power comes from a 6-cell battery and the machine has a 1.3MP camera, Ethernet, and WiFi. PeeWee loads the little machine with its safety and security software as well. The PeeWee Power netbook is available now for $499.99, which is too much cash for a netbook with its hardware I think.

Netbooks have been growing at a very fast pace over the last few years. The growth of the segment boomed last year with the economy doing so poorly and many consumers opted to buy the cheap netbooks rather than full notebooks. DigiTimes reports that HP and Dell are reducing the investment in their respective netbooks according to sources. These sources told DigiTimes that both the computer makers are reducing investment in the 10-inch netbook segment. HP is said to be considering taking things a step further and completely vacating the 10-inch netbook market and focusing on the 11.6-inch notebook market using AMD processors. The 10-inch netbook realm has become a commodity market for the most part with machines that are virtually identical and price is the only major differentiator between machines. DigiTimes reports that Acer, Asus, and Samsung are remaining active in the 10-inch netbook market.

Bad news if you’ve been avoiding iPad hype and holding out for a tablet based on NVIDIA’s second-gen Tegra chipset. We’ve just heard from a trusted source that all projects based on the new Tegra chip have been delayed, and that none are expected to arrive on the market before late August 2010. The issue – which is said to include a combination of hardware and software technical problems, as well as stability and Flash availability – will impact projects such as Notion Ink’s Adam, the ICD Ultra and Vega and a 7-inch Compal tablet that had been expected to arrive in early June 2010. According to our source, the newest Tegra has “some serious issues” when it comes to stability, and companies like Notion Ink and ICD are left waiting while NVIDIA attempt to address them. The Compal tablet – which is expected to be the first to market – is now pushed back to mid-September, while Notion Ink are apparently facing two months delay (they originally said they’d be launching in Q3 2010). As fo

To me spending $2,000 on a DSLR camera is a ton of cash and isn’t something I would consider doing. I couldn’t imagine spending 24,995 euro on a camera back, but I am far from the target market for the new Leaf Aptus-II 10R . This camera back is aimed at the photography pro looking for the best performance they can get at any price. The digital camera back uses an internal rotating sensor for medium or large format photographers needing to change orientation during shooting. The device is best suited to shooting product photos, architecture, landscape, and portraits according to the maker. The camera has a 56 megapixel sensor measuring 56×36mm and can capture the full width of medium format for landscape or portraits. The big feature of the camera is the ability to change from landscape to portrait orientation without shutting the camera off or removing it from the tripod. The ISO range is 80-800 and it can capture one frame per second. The back supports the Hasselblad V series except

NVIDIA has been touting the benefits of its Ion GPU in netbooks for a long time now. At this point I think that most of us understand how much better a notebook runs and how much more you can do with one if you are using a machine that has a GPU inside like Ion. NVIDIA has a new video that it has tossed up over on YouTube. The video shows some of the green geeks playing with a couple notebooks running IE9. IE9 is optimized from the ground up to take advantage of a GPU for making things faster and smoother. To illustrate the point in the video NVIDIA takes a pair of netbooks with one sporting next generation Ion and the other not. They run the machines side by side with IE9 installed and try to play a generic Asteroids style game. The non Ion machine lacks up and is slow while the Ion machine is fast and smooth. It’s a fairly impressive video.

I am sure that there are many people out there who wanted to wall mount a TV and didn’t realize that where they could actually mount the set really depending on where the wall studs happen to be. Most mounts have to be hooked to the wall studs or the TV might fall. The catch is that wall studs might not be exactly located where you need them to be. Sanus Systems has unveiled a pair of really cool new wall mounts for HDTVs that are freestanding and need no studs for mounting. The mounts have long legs that stand on the ground and the TV mounts to a standard looking mount on the top. One of the coolest features is that the mounts come with a panel in one of several colors that hides the wires and cables that run down the wall so you don’t need to poke wires inside the wall. The FS56 mount is good for 32″ to 56″ sets and the FS46 mount is good for sets up to 46″. The 56 version is $219.99 and the 46 is $189.99 making them surprisingly cheap as well.

It’s not just shoddy April Fools jokes that you can expect today; if you’re a PS3 owner, then turning on your console – assuming it’s one of the original models, rather than the newer slimline version – will leave you face to face with PS3 firmware v3.21 . Doing little more than stripping out the ability to install other OSes on the console, we’re hearing that PS3s all over are being presented with the (optional) update. Of course, while it’s certainly up to you whether you install it – giving up the chance to run Linux or turn a cluster of PS3s into your very own supercomputer in the process – you’ll be potentially crippling your multimedia experience if you say no. Consoles not running v3.21 won’t have access to the PlayStation Network, and Sony have also said that certain Blu ray content won’t work either. Despite the complaints, Sony have pushed ahead with their firmware plan – they call it a “security concern” though are yet to explain exactly what that means – leaving us with j

The iPad hadn’t even been officially announced last December, and the publishing houses were already using it as a stick with which to beat Amazon back into ebook negotiations. Now, according to the Wall Street Journal, Amazon has conceded to the so-called agency pricing model with publishers HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster. That will see the cost of most bestsellers rise to between $12.99 and $14.99. Amazon had previously insisted to its publisher partners that bestseller ebooks should be priced at a standard $9.99, despite the fact that it was actually Amazon taking up the pricing slack (since they were acting as both wholesaler and retailer). Publishers, however, felt that such a cost was too low, and could in fact reduce the perceived value not only of ebooks but of traditional hardbacks, which still often retail for in excess of $20. HarperCollins had threatened back in December 2009 to severely delay ebook publication unless Amazon conceded, following Simon & Schust

The New York Times : “The Apple iPad is basically a gigantic iPod Touch.” That’s one of the lines that stands out to us, mostly because we understand the sentiment, but we would honestly say that’s a bit short-sighted. Yes, it may have the same functionality, and sure, it doesn’t have the voice communication available that the iPhone does — but it’s more than that. NYT also goes onto say that, while the iPad may be great for consuming things, it’s not very good at creating things. In the end, they say that the iPad is a concept created by a bunch of perfectionists, but that it may not be for you. Unless you enjoy tablets, Apple, and perfectionists. All Things D : “…the iPad is an advance in making more sophisticated computing possible via a simple touch interface…” It’s a bit longer than the previous quote, but we imagine that’s exactly the general consensus the Apple tablet needs. Because, Walt Mossberg certainly has hit the nail on the head: the tablet is designed with the super Use

We are just days away from one of Apple’s biggest launches to date. Many would argue that the iPad has even managed to surpass the original iPhone, and perhaps some analyzed numbers would help that theory along. Whatever the case, the fabled tablet from the Cupertino-based company is almost here. People all over the United States have begun to receive their notifications in one fashion or another. Whether you have the tracking number on refresh in your browser, or you’ve been told that you need to visit your local Apple Store to retrieve your reserved gadget, each story has the same ending: This Saturday marks the day you can stop wondering what Apple’s tablet would be like, and finally get to play with it. But, what makes it tick? Why should you be interested in the tablet at all? Isn’t it just a big iPod Touch? We won’t dwell on the nay-sayers for this all-encompassing guide. Instead, we’ll take a look at what we know, and skip the heresy. After all, with less than a handful of days

Are you a gamer? Are you a gamer that loves to play First Person Shooters like Halo or Modern Warfare? If you are, then we can imagine that burning desire at the core of your self, that wishes you could play a game like that and experience, in some way, the sensation of being shot. Right? Of course you have. And, thanks to a roboticist from the University of Pennsylvania, you are one step closer. By proxy. Or, living vicariously through him, in any case. Saurabh Palan, a graduate student, has created a “Tactile Gaming Vest.” Basically, the vest contains solenoids, rumble-packs, and Peltier heating elements. What’s all that make? It makes a vest that, if you get shot from a weapon in an FPS, you get hit in the chest with one of those rumble-packs. The heating elements are actually in there to make it seem like you got hit with a laser. Running in between exposions? The rumble-packs can simulate that, too. Truth be told, this sounds like a great way to get immersed in the game, even more

MeeGo was announced a little over a month ago, and it looks like they are right on schedule. Today marks the official announcement that you can download a developer’s build of MeeGo for your Nokia N900 , if you are so inclined. Though, we wouldn’t feel right if we didn’t tell you (in fact, warn you) that this is an early, early view of the MeeGo platform. It’s intended for developer’s who want to see it before it reaches maturity, so to speak, and therefore in no way shape or form is it ready for mass consumption. The Nokia N900 isn’t the only device that’s getting the MeeGo love today, though. Those of you out there who have an Atom-powered notebook, or an Atom Moorestown MID, are also included in the developer download goodness. But, alas, this doesn’t include all the MeeGo goodness that we detailed earlier. In fact, word has it that if you flash it onto your N900, you’ll be met with a terminal console. Nevertheless, if this is something you want to do, you’ll be able to boot MeeGo

The Simmtronics Simmbook is one of those devices that needs to be in emerging markets. There is plenty of competition in markets like the United States, Japan, and Europe, so a netbook of this caliber just makes more sense where less money, means more of an opportunity. The Simmbook is being helped along by a partnership from its parent company, with IBM and Canonical, all in hopes to bring the little netbook to markets for less than its current $190 price tag. The Simmbook is going to be running Ubuntu Netbook Remix, along with IBM’s Client for Smart Work. That includes Lotus Symphony, along with various access points for cloud-based services. Digging deeper into the guts of the Simmbook, you’ll find an Atom N270 processor, 1GB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive, and a minimal 3-cell battery. It also has a standard 10-inch screen. If this sounds like something you’d be interested in (…), then you can pick up the Simmbook right now for only $190. A very low price tag, but as you can see, there

PQI has unveiled what it touts to be the first USB 3.0 2.5" portable hard drive in the world, known as the H566. This model is capable of hitting a theoretical bandwidth of 5Gbps/sec, which is roughly 10x that of what USB 2.0 offers, although real life performance won't be able to get anywhere near that figure for obvious reasons such as bottlenecks. It will come in a new metallic silver case, where you can choose from 320GB, 500GB and 640GB capacities. Each purchase will come with its own security software for better peace of mind where your data is concerned.

If you’re wondering why Panasonic has decided to skip all the fanfare regarding Google’s Android TV, it’s apparently because it thinks that the devices will require processing power that adds too much to the cost of the set. While it’s not explicitly mentioned what, the hardware that Panasonic is referring to is likely the Intel Atom chipsets that Sony has chosen for this program. Do you think that the price of the upcoming Google set top boxes will be more than you’re willing to pay, or are you willing to pay a premium (if there is one) in order to join in the party?

The latest projector from Canon would be the REALiS SX7 Mark II D, where it will sport DICOM Simulation Mode as well. This isn't meant for casual use, since it is more than capable of handling the medical-education field, where it can be used to view monochrome digital X-Rays, CAT Scans and MRI's with accurate color and precise detail. Of course, this is made possible thanks to Canon's advanced LCOS technology that is famous for producing film-like images and video. Specifications of the Canon REALiS SX7 Mark II D include native SXGA+ high resolution (1,400 x 1,050 pixels), 4,000 lumens of brightness, the capability of delivering images with exceptional color reproduction, fine lines and crisp small text. It won't come cheap though, as the Canon REALiS SX7 Mark II D Multimedia Projector will hit the market later this April for $7,799.

Calculators are supposed to be passe these days, but the Canon KS-120TKR calculator takes a different route since it comes with a USB Wireless Dongle that enables you to hook it up to a PC or Mac, doubling as an external numeric keypad. Guess this would come in handy for those who want to crunch numbers on their netbooks, as it will hit Japan sometime next month onwards. No idea on pricing, but those of us living Stateside might want to check out with Japanese import shops if you are interested.

Those whispers you might have heard of a Pro version of Samsung's delectable Galaxy S have just turned into a booming roar, thanks to Eldar Murtazin apparently confirming the existence and prospective arrival of the rumored handset. According to the legendarily loquacious mobile reviewer, Samsung will be strapping a QWERTY keyboard onto the already potent Galaxy S hardware and upping the pricing ante with an extra €50 (about $67) charge. He also manages to give us a June launch date, but pictures of this device are predictably not yet available. We'll just have to let our imagination do the work until Mr. Blurrycam gets on the case. Screenshot of the relevant tweet after the break. Update: HDblog.it has thrown up a pretty realistic (though fake) render of the rumored model, and if the real thing is anything like this, Sammy might have a contender on its hands. Now we sit and wait for June, eh?

Can't wait for Windows Phone 7 Series, but can't hack the emulator, either? Don't lose hope, Windows junkies -- you can still bring some semblance of WP7S order into your life with this Metro UI-inspired desktop HUD. Based on the open-source desktop customization platform Rainmeter, the "Omnimo UI" will overlay your desktop with a minimalist, tiled interface not unlike the one you've been drooling over for weeks, with live hooks into many useful services (including Gmail, iTunes, Steam, Twitter and SpeedFan) as well as the usual widgets and a host of program shortcuts. The best news of all? It's available now for all versions of Windows since XP, completely free of charge; simply follow the source links or flit over to Lifehacker , where good folks will teach you how it's done.

There's not much more than renders and / or polished photos to see at the moment, but this so-called Desk Phone Dock is slated to make its debut at the China Sourcing Fair next month, and it shouldn't have much trouble turning some heads among all the usual iPhone accessories. Complete details (including pricing and availability) will apparently have to wait until then, but the dock does promise to charge and sync your iPhone while it's in place, and it will function as a speakerphone as well if you don't feel like using the handset -- or simply as speaker for your iPhone, for that matter (that's a volume knob / mute button on top). Unfortunately, we won't be at the fair to check it out first hand, but we'll certainly be keeping a close watch on this one.

Actually, saying that this update happened "right on time" might be a bit of a stretch considering the wide variety of BlackBerrys across multiple carriers that have already been boosted to OS 5.0, but this does match up with previous rumors that we'd be seeing an upgrade for Verizon's Tour today, especially considering the announcement that users would have access to push-to-talk services this week. Indeed, Tour owners across the land are now being pushed BlackBerry OS 5.0.0.591 with improvements to Bluetooth, messaging, calling, and camera features, so even if you're not into PTT, it seems like a decent download, especially considering that it's painlessly available over the air.

Announced all the way back at CES 2010, Kodak’s latest point-and-shoot digital camera has finally gone up for sale. The Kodak Slice is a 14-megapixel compact, with an internal 5x optical zoom, image stabilization and a 3.5-inch 16:9 capacitive touchscreen on the back. As well as taking photos it can record 720p HD video at 30fps. As well as 2GB of onboard storage there’s a microSDHC card slot, though you’ll have to make do with USB 2.0 as there’s no HDMI or A/V connectivity. There’s both face and scene detection, and an automatic “Smart Shoot” mode which will pair those features with ISO and dynamic range balance for better shots. ISO settings from 64 to 3200 are possible. Finally you get a “Share” button which allows you to preselect which photos you want to upload to various different social networks – including Facebook, Flickr and YouTube – and have them automatically sent when you next plug the Slice into your computer. The Kodak Slice is available now, priced at $349.95.

Remember the Zune HD 64 spotted on the Microsoft’s site earlier this week? The company has just been in touch to let us know that it is indeed launching a 64GB version of the OLED touchscreen PMP, together with reducing the price of the existing 16GB and 32GB models. The new Zune HD 64 will arrive April 12th for $349.99. It will be available in Platinum, Black, Blue, Red, Green, Purple and Magenta, and otherwise have the same specifications of the current models. As for the Zune HD 16, that will be cut to $199.99, and the Zune HD 32 will be reduced to $269.99. So far there’s no sign of the new 64GB version on Microsoft’s Zune.net site, though it will apparently go up for sale at ZuneOriginals.com in mid-April. Meanwhile Microsoft are also promising more details over the next few days on the Zune HD 4.5 firmware also tipped earlier in the week. That’s expected to include the company’s Smart DJ feature together with Xvid and AVI video container support.

It’s been a while since we last heard about Ford’s plans for intelligent hybrid and electric-vehicle charging, but now the motoring giant has picked up Microsoft to help out. Microsoft Hohm sounds like it should be a Buddhist-themed April Fools prank, but it’s apparently a new energy monitoring system that will help balance load across the power grid and make for more efficient, cheaper recharges. There’s also a Windows Phone 7app – complete with a homescreen widget – planned, which could remotely inform you when your car is charging, what its battery status is and how long there is left until it’s completely topped up. The first vehicle expected to take advantage of Hohm is the Focus Electric, though that’s not expected until sometime in 2011. It will be followed by a plug-in hybrid and two further next-gen hybrids in 2012, as well as other existing Ford, Mercury and Lincoln models on sale and in the pipeline. Apparently recent research found that 42-percent of people said they pla

If ever you needed an example that 99-percent of what you read online is speculation, trying to gage iPad developer engagement is it. Within a space of hours, two reports have emerged suggesting that coders are both flocking to the iPad and losing interest in it. The Wall Street Journalreckons the Apple tablet “is boosting developer interest in Apple’s store because the device is set to expand the audience for apps and paves the way for developers to introduce new innovations” thanks to “key features that help play up apps, such as high-quality color touch-screens, accelerometers and relatively fast processors.” They point to Social Gaming Network, 90-percent of whose developers are busy with iPhone OS based apps. Meanwhile, Computerworld quotes Appcelerator, who have been running platform surveys with developers and who claim that interest in the iPad has waned. They say that, where 90-percent of developers questioned just prior to the iPad’s announcement said they were planning t

Thought Microsoft had come up with Project Natal for Xbox 360 all by themselves? Not a chance; the company has pulled back the curtain and it turns out the 3D optical-tracking wizard is actually PrimeSense, whosePrimeSensor system the Xbox 360 engineering team adapted for Microsoft’s gaming needs. “The Reference Design generates realtime depth, color and audio data of the living room scene. It works in all room lighting conditions (whether in complete darkness or in a fully lit room). It does not require the user to wear or hold anything, does not require calibration and does not require computational resources from the host’s processor” PrimeSense Inside Project Natal – and the PrimeSensor reference design – is PrimeSense’s PS1080 SoC, with an integrated USB 2.0 controller, and takes infrared input from the standard CMOS sensor, together with audio, and processes it on-chip rather than relying on the console’s CPU. The image analysed is VGA 640 x 480 resolution at 60fps, and accordi

If you took your average kitchen timer with a rotary dial and combined it with a power strip, the Energy Lock is what you would end up with. The device is a power outlet with three plugs that you can plug your TV, computer, or anything else into. The plug rotates to allow you to set how long the device plugged in will get power. Once the timer runs down the device is automatically turned off. You can also give the thing a full twist and have constant power. The idea is pretty cool, but the issue I see is that most power outlets in my home are behind stuff. I wouldn’t be able to get to the thing to turn the timer. I think this would be interesting tech for a surge protector though.

I have never held my tongue on the state of the AT&T network when it comes to using my iPhone. My area has an atrocious number of dropped calls and 3G is very patchy and slow when it is available. Many AT&T users have the same issues as I with the network. With new rumors and grumblings this week of a Verizon version of the iPhone surfacing, many AT&T users stuck with the carrier for the iPhone alone are seeing new light at the end of the tunnel. AT&T is apparently aware of the fact that the state of its network has left many disgruntled iPhone users.

The group of DIY robot builders over at Cellbots decided that Android’s native voice recognition system was too good to be wasted on drunk-dialling your mother and searching for the latest sports scores, and so they added support for voice control to their ‘bot platform. Intended as a low-cost way to make a potentially autonomous robot, using an Android phone (in this case T-Mobile’s G1) as the brain, with the addition of voice recognition you can now tell the Cellbots robot exactly what you want it to do. Using an Arduino to bridge the motors and other hardware to the smartphone, the team only actually needed to add a single line of code to their software in order to take advantage of voice recognition. It’s not the speediest way to control your ‘bot – Google’s recognition system is off-device, so the phone has to send your command to the servers and wait to get the instructions back after they’ve been processed – but it’s more than a lot of other DIY robots can manage.

Data that you might have stored on your flash drive or external hard drive faces more threats than simply being lost. The drives are often subject to drops and water damage as we travel throughout the day. Silicon Power has unveiled a new rugged external HDD that promises to protect your data from abuse. The drive is called the Armor A70 and it is water resistant, impact resistant, dust proof, and vibration resistant. That means the drive can survive spills or being caught in the rain and will still operate if you drop it. The A70 connects to a PC via USB and comes in 250GB to 640GB capacities. The drive is IEC529 IPX7 compliant for water resistance and meets military standards of ruggedness. The drive promises a max transfer speed of 480Mbps and is compatible with Windows, Mac, and Linux machines.

There are lots of people out there who really want an iPhone but don’t want to be tied to the AT&T network for various reasons. For these users the only recourse is to get an iPhone and Jailbreak it to work on other carriers and to run non-approved software. Typically, to Jailbreak a device it has to be tethered to a computer. Earlier this week we spied the first video of a geek that has devised a way to Jailbreak the iPhone, iPod touch, and the coming iPad over the air without having to tether the device. Today another iPhone and iPod hacker has published a video of his own untethered Jailbreak solution and shows it running on the iPod touch. The whole process looks pretty darn simple to me. Check out the video below to see the hack in action.

Intel has unveiled a new Xeon processor series for mainstream servers and workstations that are based on the Nehalem chip design. With the introduction of the new Xeon 7500 processor line Intel has introduced new processors for laptops, desktops, and servers in the last 90 days bringing more power and energy efficiency to consumers around the world. The new 7500 series processors are expandable from two to 256 chips per server and have an average performance of three times that of the older Xeon 7400 series processors on common benchmarks. Intel claims that the performance and capabilities of the new 7500 chip can allow It managers to move as many as 20 older single-core servers to a single 4-chip server running the Xeon 7500 processors. Intel reports that it has integrated more than 20 new features in the 7500 series for reliability, availability, and serviceability. Intel also states that this is the first Xeon processor to use Machine Check Architecture (MCA) recovery. The feature w