IBLOG SPACE

Look, there's a better-than-average chance you're buying a 2011 Ford Fiesta simply because it's the rebirth of the Fiesta, but if you need a little encouragement, look no further. The aforesaid automaker has just confirmed that Sync AppLink will be coming first to next year's Fiesta, enabling drivers to access and control select Android and BlackBerry apps via in-car voice commands and control buttons. At least initially, Pandora, Stitcher and OpenBeak will be AppLink-capable, but we're pretty sure other app makers will be adding updates as the bandwagon swells. In fact, Ford's going to be encouraging such behavior with the creation of the Mobile Application Developer Network, and if all goes well, AppLink will be installed in every single 2011 Ford model with Sync built-in. Of course, only time will tell if our demands for an INXS Pandora playlist leads to one capped off by Baja Men, but hey, at least the concept is sound.

Looking for a landscape QWERTY slider that's 84 percent recyclable? Well, you've pretty much pigeonholed yourself into the Samsung Restore, Sprint's latest in a line of eco-friendly devices that kicked off in earnest with the Reclaim last year. Like the others, the Restore is a fairly basic device with a 2 megapixel camera, microSD expansion up to 32GB, stereo Bluetooth, and a pair of keypads for operation both in the closed and open positions -- needless to say, you won't find even a hint of a smartphone operating system here. It comes bundled with an Energy Star 2.0-compliant charger which, conveniently, sits in a 100 percent recyclable box without a user manual -- it's only available online so you can feel good about saving a tree or two (not to say you won't be able to master the phone on your own within an hour or two anyway). Look for it to launch "this Summer" in your choice of "Midnight" or "Limeade" for $50 on contract afte

Seagate have already dabbled their feet into the media distribution business recently, what with the FreeAgent Go HDD preloaded with Paramount content, but their streaming content ambitions continue with an incoming update to the FreeAgent Theater+ HD Media Player. Taking advantage of the set-top box’s ethernet port, the new firmware will allow for Netflix streaming and YouTube access, along with vTune and Mediafly support. The Theater+ can already be used with the new FreeAgent Go, with docking the HDD into the media player allowing you to watch the preloaded movies on your big-screen TV. Timescales for the release of the firmware are unclear, but it will be preloaded on new Theater+ units. The media player itself is priced at $129.99.

After a Toshiba exec confirmed last week that the company had plans to launch at least two iPad rivals this year, new rumors out of Taipei have tipped Compal and NVIDIA as the manufacturing and hardware heavyweights behind the upcoming tablets. According to DigiTimes, NVIDIA’s second-gen Tegra chipset – which is capable of Full HD 1080p video together with performance gaming – will be powering both Toshiba’s Android and Windows slates. As for Compal Electronics, they’re the OEM tipped to manufacture both products for Toshiba, with initial shipments expected to kick off in late 2010 or early 2010. DigiTimes also say that the dual-display model uses “Windows CE 7″, which we’re presuming is a typo and should say Windows 7; there’s speculation that Toshiba are developing hardware for Microsoft’s Courier platform, which is supposedly based on a heavily customized

Garmin makes a wealth of different GPS devices for all sorts of uses. Typically, most GPS devices have the same form factory with a square device made to be clipped to the windshield of the car. Garmin has unveiled its latest GPS device called the nuvi 3700 that take a new form factor that looks a lot like the iPhone. The device is 9mm thick making it the thinnest PND on the market. It offers navigation and data in portrait or landscape modes and has a touch screen with preloaded maps. The maps can be zoomed and controlled with gestures like pinch, press, and drag. The top-end model is the 3790T with 2D and 3D modes, screen lock, power button, and a pocketable form. The device uses a customizable wake up phrase to initiate voice-activated navigation. The device also supports traffic and my Trends and has a wealth of other features expected in a high-end PND. Pricing and availability are unknown.

When it comes to working for a notebook all the time many people end up wishing they had a larger screen, full size keyboards, and a different mouse. You can add these things to your notebook but removing them each time you need to take the notebook with you can be a pain. Docking stations for Windows machines are prolific, but MacBook users don’t have that many options. A new line of docks for MacBook notebooks have debuted called Henge Docks. The docks let you slip the MacBook into the dock on its side. Docks are made for black and white plastic MacBooks, 13-inch MacBook Pro unibody, 15-inch MacBook Pro, and 17-inch MacBook Pro models. Each dock offers USB, Ethernet, audio cable, and some versions have Firewire cables. The docs use the MacBook MagSafe Power adapter and Apple Mini DisplayPort or DVI adapters for video out. Docks start at $59.95 and are available now.

AMD and Intel are the two big processor makers on the market. Intel has much more market share and tends to make the better performing, but more expensive CPUs. AMD makes CPUs that may give up performance to Intel, but cost much less to purchase. Many notebook makers are moving to AMD parts for some of the more budget-oriented machines. Acer is reportedly getting a new Aspire One 521 notebook ready for the market sporting an AMD V105 single core processor at 1.2GHz. The CPU in question is part of the AMD Nile line reports Liliputing and has 512KB of L2 cache. The machine will support DDR3 memory and only needs 9W of power at full tilt. The machine will reportedly have Radeon HD 4225 graphics and will use the M880G chipset. The machine will be the first ultraportable from Acer with an AMD CPU inside. There is no word on an expected launch date for the machine.

Corsair has been offering its line of Flash Survivor flash drives for a while now. The claim to fame for the series is a robust aluminum case that is water resistant and durable. The company has unveiled its latest model for the line called the Flash Survivor GTR. The new model can be had in 32GB and 64GB capacities. The drive promises to survive submersion in up to 200M of water. Corsair still builds the drive to resist shocks and repeated drops. The new GTR is speedy too with read speeds of up to 34MB/s and write speed of up to 28MB/s. Wear leveling technology is used to extend the life of the drive. Pricing and availability for the GTR drives is unknown.

We don’t have a ton of details, but a new and large 3D display has turned up in Japan at the Finetech Japan 2010 show. The big news for the display isn’t that it’s 70-inches, other 70-inch 3D displays have already been announced. The big news here is that the 70-inch screen needs no glasses to view 3D content. The display is said to use parallax barrier technology. This tech lets the viewer see 3D images by dividing the image into repeating segments that are integrated by the naked eye into 3D images. The parallax barrier is fixed to a commercial LCD display in a precision assembly process reports DigiTimes. This is good news; I still think 3D TV in homes won’t really catch on until you don’t need glasses.

When Apple announced the international launch of the iPad would be delayed, many cried foul. At the time Apple announced that the iPad would be delayed in shipping outside the US it only said demand was higher than expected. Bloomberg reports that new details that are surfacing point to the delay being because of supply issues. Specifically the yields on the 9.7-inch touchscreen are said to be poor. The screens are reportedly currently being sourced from LG Display Co, Samsung Electronics, and Seiko Epson Corp reports Bloomberg. Analyst Andres Rassweiler from iSuppli said in an interview with Bloomberg, “We understand that the yields on the display have been low and that they’re creating a production bottleneck. That they have been doing it for the iPhone for some time is great, but once you go to 9.7 inches, it is a much more complicated process.” Apple offered no official comment on the delay or screen shortage issue.

There are small form factor PCs and then there are really (really) small form factor PCs. VIA has definitely unveiled one of the latter class of machines today with its new ARTiGO A1100. The tiny PC has a chassis that fits into the sub-liter category. As you can see in the image above, the little machine is barely larger than your average mobile phone. Despite its small size, it crams in some nice hardware. The machine uses a 1.2GHz VIA Nano processor combined with a VIA VX855 media system processor. The PC measures in at 5.7″ x 3.9″ x 2″ and has a gob of connectivity on the rear of the computer. The machine has front and back panel IO ports along with HDMI and VGA out. A gigabit Ethernet port is integrated along with five USB ports, three audio jacks, and optional WiFi connectivity. The tiny little PC would make a mean HTPC at a retail price of only $243 with the fits ten buyers getting the machine for $199.

You might recall that last month we talked a bit about the new Acer 1825PTZ. The machine is a convertible ultraportable notebook with a touchscreen and some other cool features that is yet to be officially released. If you were intrigued by the convertible tablet machine, you can check out the unboxing of it over atNewGadgets.de. In case you missed the machine, the first time around the 1825PTZ has an 11.6-inch capacitive touchscreen, 1.3GHz Pentium SU4100 CPU and 3GB of RAM. It also boasts 250GB of storage and runs Windows 7 Home Premium. The machine is said to cost the equivalent of $942 here in the US, but we are hoping it’s cheaper than that when it finally lands here. At that price, I don’t see the machine doing that well in the market. Check out the unboxing video below.

Here we go again, the iPad hasn’t even launched globally, and already speculation about the next version mounts. A new rumor floating around claims that Apple is looking to an OLED screen for the next generation iPad. I have a hard time buying this rumor. OLED screens that are small enough for smartphones aren’t so expensive right now. However, when you move into OLED screen sizes that will work for netbooks and the iPad or other tablets they get much more expensive. I don’t see in the next year that an OLED screen in the 10-inch size will be cheap enough to make it work for the iPad. The rumor comes from a source in the component industry according to DigiTimes. The second-generation device is said to be launching next year, but no specific date is offered. The source claims that OLED panel costs will drop by 2011 making them cost effective for devices like the iPad.

Nintendo are blaming rampant piracy for a 45-percent drop in European DS game sales, pointing to so-called “magicom” or “R4″ cartridges – which bypass copy protection and allow downloaded game ROMs to be played on the handheld – as the primary cause. The hacks have previously been a significant issue in Japan, but have more recently spread to Europe; Italy, Spain and France are particular hotspots, apparently. Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has already said that the company intends to ”enhance the ability to combat piracy in Europe through both legal and technological means”, predominantly through developing consoles that won’t play pirated titles, but it seems they’ll also have to challenge attitudes toward game ownership. ”Everybody is using [magicom],” one gamer is quoted as saying, “and I don’t feel like I am doing something particularly wrong.”

Sharp Japan has announced their latest range of HDTVs, the AQUOS DX3 series, with screen sizes ranging from 32- to 52-inches and each packing an integrated Blu-ray recorder. The Sharp AQUOS LC-52DX3, LC-46DX3 and LC-40DX2 all support Full HD 1080p resolution on screens measuring 52-, 46- and 40-inches respectively, together with 2m:1 contrast ratios, ethernet and BD-LIVE support. Meanwhile the AQUOS LC-32DX3 has a 1,366 x 768 720p HD display, but keeps the same 2m:1 contrast and network connectivity. It gets two HDMI ports – the larger models have three – together with analog RGB, VGA, USB and other video connections. The network hook-up can be used for streaming DLNA media around the home, and there’s also support for Japan’s various TV widget and internet streaming content services; we’re guessing Sharp would switch that to things like Netflix should they bring the new DX3 range to the US. A single dual-layer Blu-ray can record up to 36hrs of 1080p content, and there’s a simple EP

Lenovo has announced the newest entrants to its ThinkPad range, the L Series, and according to the company they’re the greenest notebooks on the market. Packing Intel Celeron, Core i3 and Core i5 processors together with either a 14-inch 16:9 display on the L412 or a 15-inch 16:9 display on the L512, the range kicks off at $649 but offers up to 8hrs of runtime. Graphics are either courtesy of Intel’s integrated chipset or an ATI Mobility Radeon chip, while there’s also optional 3G/4G wireless thanks to a universal Gobi 2000 module (supporting Sprint, AT&T and Verizon). Four USB 2.0 ports, a combo eSATA/USB, DisplayPort and VGA are standard, as is a multitouch-capable trackpad, and OS is Windows 7 with Lenovo’s own tweaks for speedier booting and shut-down. As for those earth-friendly claims, Lenovo say the new machines use up to 30-percent recycled content, such as old office water bottles, to make LCD covers, palm rests and other casing components. They’re also 40-percent more

One of the worst things about having all these USB drives, is the fact that you can easily forget what’s on one of them, thinking that it’s on another. It’s a terrible life to life, we tell you. So, what we want, is a USB drive that will tell us what’s on the memory stick well before we put it into our computer. Yeah, that’s the dream. And, thanks to Mac Funamizu, we’ve got a concept that works great for us. And yes, we can live vicariously through a concept. This concept, for example, is called USB Memory Stick #6, and we’re in love with it. As the title of the article suggests, the USB drive is made of glass, and the whole idea revolves around colored lights that are housed inside the body of the drive. As you put items on your USB stick, the lights would activate to tell you what’s on the drive. For example: blue lights for documents, pink lights for images, and green lights for movies. And, the more you put on your drive, the more the lights would populate through the glass body. A

It’s been hinted at before, and it’s one of the least surprising things to be rumored so far, but it’s still just a rumor right now, and it’s about the iPhone HD. Sure enough, the rumors aren’t going to slow down before that mysterious date in June, so you should probably buckle up. This time around, we’ve got word that Samsung has been ousted as the primary designer for the next generation iPhone’s processor, with the Cupertino-based company focused on implementing their own designs. Which should sound familiar, as the A4 processor inside the iPad comes from these same origins. The rumor breaks ground from an anonymous executive speaking to the Korea Times . According to the contact, Samsung’s designs will no longer be the focus of the new chips, as they have been in the iPhone 3GS and other previous models. Instead, Apple will focus on the design, while Samsung will continue to manufacture them. It’s not necessarily a bold move, but one that’s been expected. With Apple probably pushi

There’s something to be said about a tablet with netbook internals. And, while we wish they were good things, it generally isn’t. Take, for example, the HP Slate, which was just nabbed by the folks over at Connecti.ca . While they haven’t had it long enough to actually get a full review up, they’ve got plenty of pictures of their hands-on time with the tablet, plus a mini-review to satiate anyone actually interested in the tablet from HP. What’s their verdict? Meh. That’s right: meh . But, that may be what happens when you only show off your tablet in crazy promotional rendered videos. First and foremost, let it be known that they are first and foremost comparing this tablet to the iPad. There’s no way around that, we imagine, but we’re kind of shocked at how explicitly they compare the two tablets. Secondly, the HP Slate just doesn’t win . They do note that the Slate has some good points, such as USB ports, an HDMI dock, and it has a built-in camera. These are great features, but perh

Panasonic have announced pricing for their recently-launched LUMIX G2 and G10 digital cameras. Revealed last month, we now know that the LUMIX G2 – available in red, blue and black – will come in at $799.95, while the LUMIX G10 – in black only – will land at $599.95. As with the Panasonic G1, the DMC-G2 is a Micro Four Thirds camera. However it’s also the first such model to include a flip-out, articulated touchscreen preview display. The 3.0-inch 460,000-dot LCD can be used to set autofocus simply by tapping, as well as for other settings, while the camera itself can record 1280 x 720 HD videos in AVCHD Lite format. Meanwhile the Panasonic LUMIX DMC-G10 is intended as an entry-level Micro Four Thirds shooter with 720p HD video recording and an iA (Intelligent Auto) mode – with dedicated button – that automatically adjusts the settings to suit the current conditions. Both the LUMIX G2 and LUMIX G10 will come equipped with the LUMIX G VARIO 14-42mm/F3.5-5.6 ASPH/MEGA O.I.S. lens, an

It’s been a while since we’ve seen a new GPS geotagger from JOBO, and then along come two at once. The new JOBO photoGPS 2 and photoGPS 4 each slot into your digital camera’s hot-shoe and grab GPS coordinates every time you take a shot. That way you can browse your photos by the location at which they were taken, using apps like iPhoto. Compared to the previous photoGPS model, there’s twice the memory on the photoGPS 2 and four-times the amount on the photoGPS 4. That means enough space for up to 4,000 saved locations; when you then plug the unit into your computer the bundled software automatically converts raw latitude/longitude into country, city, street and nearest point of interest. A software update will see the original model get the same access to the boosted database of POIs, streets and other information. Accuracy is down to 12m, and JOBO reckon users will see two months of battery life from a single charge (assuming 100 shots per day). The photoGPS 2 and photoGPS 4 will

At the beginning of the year, Google called a group of reporters and analysts to Google HQ to announce a new phone, the Nexus One. A joint effort of HTC and Google, the N1 was a slim device, running a speedy Snapdragon processor and an AMOLED display. Running the latest version of Android, 2.1, it was state of the art, at least for January. The biggest problem of the Nexus One, in my opinion, is that it runs stock Android and while 2.1 was nice, it lacked so many things that vendors like HTC had brought to the market with their Sense UI built on top of Android. T-Mobile’s 3G network coverage also left much to be desired (there’s now an AT&T version of the N1 for sale as well.) Wouldn’t it be great if there were a version of the N1 that ran HTC Sense and perhaps was on the Verizon network as well. A super Droid if you will. Well, good things come to those who wait and over the last few days I’ve been testing the Droid Incredible by HTC, running on the Verizon network, and it deliver

I have seen a lot of home stereos that have a clear cover letting you see the CD or DVD spinning around inside it. This Sonic Emotional Pulse of Music concept takes that idea a bit further and exposes half the disk completely. I don’t think that this would ever pass safety inspectors in the US, I can see some kid touching the spinning CD and being cut. Still, the design is cool and each of the EQ round dots is actually a small speaker. As the music plays the speakers and blue EQ line would move around with the music. The remote for the device is touch sensitive and touch controls are on the base of the player for controlling playback. I like the design; I just don’t think it’s practical.

We have been hearing about CPU/GPU hybrids for a long time now. One of the parts that we have heard of before is the Llano from AMD. AMD has announced that it is set to start sampling the Llano to partners soon. The Llano was first added to AMD roadmaps for desktop and mobile machines last November and said at the time to be landing in 2011. AMD’s CEO gave a clearer indication when the processor would be available during an earnings call recently. Dirk Meyer said that volume production would start in the last half of 2010 and that initial samples are already heading to select customers. One of those customers is said to be Apple opening the door for Mac’s to possibly use AMD processors.

Samsung and other makers of NAND flash for storage devices are always looking to go to smaller build processes. The smaller the process the more memory they can produce and the lower prices can be. Samsung has announced that it is producing the first 20nm NAND flash memory in the industry. The new NAND uses MLC 32Gb tech and is built on the 20nm process. The NAND will be used in smartphones, memory cards, and other devices. Samsung claims the new 20nm NAND has 50% higher productivity than 30nm MLC NAND. The write performance of memory cards using the new NAND of 8GB and higher will be 30% faster than 30nm NAND memory cards with 20MB/s read and 10MB/s write. Samples of memory cards using the new NAND are shipping now and production will be expanded later this year.

In February, I mentioned that a school district in Pa had been accused of remotely activating the webcams on school issued laptops and taking pictures of students in their homes without the student or parents knowing it. More details have now surfaced in the case. According to school board president David Ebby, “a substantial amount” of photos of students at the school have been recovered. According to the attorney for student Blake Robbins, school officials had taken over 400 hundred screen shots and images of him alone. The attorney alleges that thousands of images have been taken with the knowledge or consent of the students in the district or their parents. The attorney is seeking a court order to investigate Carol Cafiero’s computer calling her a “voyeur” and believing that she has downloaded images of students to her computer. Cafiero is the district technology coordinator.

One of the biggest problems with home theaters for most of us is the gobs of wiring that is needed. The wires are especially challenging in large rooms or when you are wall mounting your HDTV. In these instances, the best way to connect your devices is via wireless tech. Eminent has unveiled a new system called the iTrio for wireless HDTV. The kit includes a wireless EM7100 iTrio HD sender that allows the user to place their Blu-ray player and wires away from the TV set and stream wirelessly. The system supports full 1080p resolution and has a pair of HDMI connectors allowing for two devices to be connected. That means you can connect your PS3 and HD cable box for instance. The system also has a SCART connector and includes the needed receiver that is placed near the TV. The system will ship on April 24 at an undisclosed price.

If you frequent YouTube or other video sites online there is a plethora of videos out there that are from action sports fans that video themselves doing stunts and tricks. I like the ones where some cocky person tries a trick only to wipe out and catch it on video. A new camera for this type of video fan has turned up called the X170 Action Camera. The camera is a rugged device that comes with mounting options that will allow the user to attach it to a helmet, goggle strap, handlebars, and other locations. The camera can record full motion 30 fps video in 720 x 480 resolution. It can also capture 5MP still shots and has a wireless remote with a range of 5 meters. A small 1.5-inch LCD screen is built in for watching recorded video. Storage is 32MB and the camera gets power from a pair of AA batteries. A SD card slot is built-in for memory expansion. The lens can also be rotated 300-degress to align the best shot for the mounting location.

Adobe have been taunting us with Flash Player and Adobe AIR for Android in various pre-release alphas – we even found one lurking, unadvertised, in the halls of Mobile World Congress back in February – for months now, so it’s exciting to finally hear that the two technologies are finallyhitting beta stage. For the moment, though, it’s a private beta and Adobe are obviously being cautious about how many people they invite in; there are separate sign-up forms for AIR and for Flash. Unfortunately that means there’s no public timescale for when developers might actually get their hands on one or both of the technologies, which could put a dampener on coding enthusiasm. We can’t help but think this is short-sighted of Adobe, who are facing significant, ongoing criticism with regards the absence of Flash support on the iPad. While that omission isn’t down to Adobe’s choice in the matter, it has had the knock-on effect of prompting digital content providers to look to more Apple-friendly te

Sharp have outed a new, keyboard-free version of their NetWalker PC-Z1 MID, in the shape of the touchscreen-only NetWalker PC-T1. The Z1 was pretty much the epitome of a niche device, with its ultra-compact keyboard making it unsuitable for anything more than the occasional pecking out of emails; in its footsteps, the similarly 5-inch 1024 x 600 T1 gets an onscreen keyboard and handwriting recognition. Power is courtesy of Freescale’s i.MX515 processor, as on the Z1, and there’s both WiFi b/g and Bluetooth together with 8GB of onboard storage and a microSD card slot. OS is Ubuntu 9.04, and as well as the resistive touchscreen there’s an optical joystick. Ports include audio in/out, USB and miniUSB, and there’s also a mono speaker. Unfortunately battery life is only rated for up to 6hrs, which is on the low side for a daily companion device, and the price tag is likely to put many would-be buyers off too. Sharp expect the NetWalker PC-T1 to be priced at around 47,000 yen ($512) when

The open-source Pandora games handheld project continues, with the latest milestone on the way to actual, shipping products being two “mass production” units with painted cases. Posted by project member Craigix, while the first photo (there’s another after the cut) might not make it completely clear, the Pandora on the left has been finished in black and the model on the right is in grey. The first batch of mass production units began back in February, and the initial run has all been sold out. The Pandora hardware is capable of running Quake at 60fps and will be compatible with USB 3G modems for mobile network gaming. It has a WVGA display and boasts over 10hrs of battery life, all in something a little larger than a Nintendo DS. Unfortunately, the delivery schedule for the first 1,000 Pandora handhelds has been impacted by the recent flight meltdown, caused by the Iceland volcano. There’s no known timescale for their arrival. [via Twitter]

So you’ve read our Droid Incredible by HTC review, you’ve checked out the dedicated coverage on our sister-site Android Community, and now you want to pick up the Android smartphone yourself. Verizon have kicked off preorders for the Incredible, with the smartphone priced at $199.99 after an online discount. Preorders will be shipped for delivery on April 29th, in keeping with the carrier’s previous teaser. The phone has a 3.7-inch WVGA OLED touchscreen, 8-megapixel autofocus camera with dual-LED flash, Android 2.1 and HTC’s Sense UI enhancements, along with support for EVDO Rev.A, WiFi and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR. Plans, meanwhile, start from $39.99 per month for a basic voice package, but you’ll also need to add a mandatory data package. That starts at $29.99 for unlimited personal email and web, but if you want to use Exchange email – and we really do rate HTC’s Exchange integration – you’ll need to step up to the $44.99 unlimited plan.

The leaks, they keep coming. Boy Genius has some new images and details on BlackBerry OS 6.0 today, and while we've got our fair share of questions, there's no denying that what we're seeing looks like a substantial and much-needed improvement to the platform. First off, it appears that RIM's acquisition of Torch Mobile has paid off with a totally new WebKit-based browser, complete with tab switching, redesigned favorites, and pinch-to-zoom. About time, we'd say. Pinch-to-zoom and multitouch are also said said to be present system-wide, along with kinetic scrolling, and long-pressing on the screen brings up a new modal context menu. That's definitely intriguing. The media player, photo viewer, and messaging apps have all also been re-done, and we're told the new inbox offers Facebook, Twitter, and RSS integration. The best part? BGR says this is all due out in June / July, "100%." Now, here's the interesting parts. First, it's obvious that

Our colleagues at Engadget Chinese are on the ground at China Sourcing Fair 2010 in Hong Kong, and as you can imagine, they're finding a great many devices that exhibit "a really heavy cottage flavor" (or, as we say in the states, "really, really KIRFy"). The BestPower X200, which we first saw in an FCC filing in February, doesn't borrow its form factor from any current iPhone iteration -- oh, no, that would be too simple. This one looks back five years or so, when "iPod phones" were little more than a beautiful fanboy's dream. And if you are a time traveler from back in the day, when Lost was in its first season (and was almost enjoyable), this thing will surely inspire some gadget lust: dual SIM cards, quad-band GSM, 2.4-inch (1.3 million pixel) display, Bluetooth, FM Radio, MiniUSB, MicroSD, and a media player -- what's not to love? And all this can be yours this August for a mere $1,500 HKD (that's about $193 US dollars). Video af

Who says Bluetooth headsets aren't cool any more? Not Plantronics. Today, the California-based company released the Explorer 395 earpiece -- a $49.95 earpiece in both black and bronze flavors, and aimed at first-time Bluetooth users. How so? You get dedicated buttons for volume, power and phone call, which puts the confusing single-button-operated headsets to shame. Being a budget line, there's no fancy noise-cancellation technology offered here, although the 0.39-ounce weight and five-hour talk time (seven days of battery on standby) seem to give a good bang for the buck. Still, at the end of the day it's all about real-life appearance and audio quality, so we'll hold our judgement until we get a review unit later this week. Stay tuned.

The Qool SkyQube ² was apparently an idea ahead of its time. Four years ago, the small, rounded box promised to bridge the worlds of cheap VoIP telephony and pricy GSM roaming by automatically routing international calls through Skype, but after CES 2007, we never saw the device again. Until now, of course. Skype Journal reports that SkyQube has become the Navoto, and its original creator has built a firm called UGI Telecom to introduce it to market quite soon at an undisclosed price. Near as we can tell, the basic functionality is as complex as ever, requiring a SIM card swap and an always-on PC to do the heavy lifting, while the Navoto itself simply directs landline and 3G calls to SkypeOut. When that glorious day comes that all carriers let you do this on a smartphone, this device will quickly become obsolete, but for now we could see some falling for UGI's ludicrous infomercials (videos after the break) to avoid receiving a gigantic roaming bill. Hit our more coverage links f

What can we say about these two Motorola-borne Android devices? Not much, really, except from some brief and poorly machine-translated text from a Chinese forum that claims these are engineering prototypes and one might go by the code name ZN4... and that's about it. If you fancy what you see here, though, keep an eye out to the future, mmk?

Over the past few weeks, we've had a number of folks reach out and implore us to broadcast our standard RSS feed over our Twitter account the same way our colleagues at Engadget and Engadget HD do. Well, ask and ye shall receive: beginning today, we're doing exactly that -- so if you've been holding out on following@engadgetmobile because it's not giving you the steady stream of mobile news you so desperately crave, hold out no longer!

Microsoft has apparently revealed at a developer event in India that it intends to produce a "low-cost version" ofWindows Phone 7 primarily targeting emerging markets that would come after the initial volley of higher-end devices schedule to launch at the tail end of this year. Little else is known at this point, but Sudeep Bharati -- director of India's Visual Studio group -- has mentioned that it will have a smaller screen, suggesting that this might be one and the same as the HVGA spec Microsoft mentioned back at MIX a few weeks ago. He went on to say that they're currently in talks with manufacturers to get feedback on the lower-end version, so it sounds like this isn't quite solidified yet -- but considering that the first WinPho 7 devices promise to be pretty pricey, we wouldn't mind seeing these things materialize, "emerging market" or otherwise.

Four solid months after going into open beta, Palm's entirely web-based SDK for webOS -- the so-called AresSDK -- has reached version 1.0, bringing "lots and lots" of new features along for the ride. Biggies include UI-less components that add functionality to your application, in-line help, undo and copy / paste functionality (for the SDK, that is), and a plug-and-play multitouch-enabled Google Maps widget that you can drop into your own screens. Even if you don't own a Pre and have no intention of commercializing a webOS app, it sounds like a blast to screw around with -- and considering how important the third-party ecosystem is for Palm right now, we'd say that's a good thing. Interested parties can get set up with the gold build right now.

We've just gotten word from a trusted source that AT&T is currently signed up to get Sony Ericsson's Xperia X10 in fiscal week 30 of 2010, which represents the tail end of July and the beginning of August. Naturally, those plans can change -- AT&T has been known to drop Sony Ericssons from the lineup at the last minute, after all, and there's no way they could have that week 30 time frame locked in with certainty this far in advance -- but it seems at least plausible considering the fact that an 850 / 1900MHz 3G version of the device exists (we've tested it) and that AT&T's significantly ramping up its support for Android this year. Of course, the relevance of an Android 1.6-powered X10 in the third quarter is an open question, but sadly, it could very well be the top-of-the-line Android device in AT&T's roster even that far down the road. We'll see how this plays out.

In a communication with Phone Scoop , Adobe has tidied up the meaning of its CEO's words from a recent interview with Fox Business . In it, Shantanu Narayen repeatedly tells us to expect new Android, WebOS and BlackBerry devices with integrated Flash compatibility during the second half of 2010, but Adobe has now explained that he didn't mean that the Flash delivery schedule will be delayed, not at all. You see, Narayen was talking about hardware coming out in the second half, but Flash 10.1 itself will still be arriving "to first mobile platforms including Android ... before the end of the first half of 2010." Interesting that only Android is mentioned explicitly, but at least this provides some reassurance to any fretting Flash fans out there.

Not many are aware that Parmeet Sethi, the actor turned director of BADMAASH COMPANY , wrote its entire script with dialogues in six days flat. Yes, you read it right: Six days only. And the four characters in the film - Karan, Bulbul, Chandu and Zing - are known to Parmeet; they're based on real-life characters. Anushka Sharma, who has a lot of hopes pinning on BADMAASH COMPANY, feels that the film would connect big time with the youth of today, who resort to an easy route to attain name, fame and riches overnight. "That's what attracted me to the film. Honestly, I wasn't even aware that Parmeet had written the script and was supposed to direct it, since Adi [Aditya Chopra] just asked me to go through it. It was much later, when I read the script and expressed my eagerness to be a part of the film, that Adi revealed the director's identity," Anushka tells me. Parmeet reveals that he got tired of television and was keen on pursuing film direction. &

The one thing that you need to hand over to HOUSEFULL director Sajid Khan is his confidence. His new statement - "HOUSEFULL will be the biggest Hit of 2010" - has raised eyebrows, but knowing Sajid and his penchant for providing entertainment, the statement has only enhanced the curiosity for the film. "It's not over-confidence, mind you. I know that HOUSEFULL will work big time at the box-office. This one's purely for the entertainment-seeking audience," Sajid explains his stand, "The reason why 95% of films fail year after year is because we aren't providing the audience with what they want: Loads of entertainment. HOUSEFULL will do that. HOUSEFULL will bring HOUSE FULL boards back." Meanwhile, Akshay Kumar, the lead man of HOUSEFULL, is so gung ho about the film that he gifted a watch to Sajid, after the actor watched the final cut of the film. While on Akshay, there's talk that Sajid was instrumental in getting Akshay on bo

On Thursday night the ash that drifted from the erupting volcano in Iceland enveloping major parts of Europe and paralyzing air traffic all the way to India, played havoc with Katrina's travel plans. Katrina Kaif was to travel to London on Thursday night to be with her family. She found herself stranded at Mumbai's International Airport waiting for the flights to resume. Alas, that was not to be. And the bitterly disappointed actress finally returned home to Mumbai. Says Katrina, "It was a very important family function. And I had to attend. I never realized it'd be impossible to make it. When I reached the airport I came to know about what had happened. I was still not disheartened because I thought at the most, I'd be delayed. As I often am. When it comes to travel one learns to be patient at airports." Little did she realize that she would have to return home. Says Katrina, "Such things are bound to happen increasingly if we continue to abuse

Don't go by the on-screen image that she has gained ever since her debut film Nishabd released a few years back. If Jiah Khan, one of the leading ladies of soon-to-be-released Housefull is to be believed, she is quite an introvert and doesn't quite jump with joy when asked to wear revealing outfits. Not just that, she is candid enough to admit that though she would be seen in a two piece bikini in this Sajid Khan directed multi starrer, it isn't everyday in her personal life that she roams around in such an outfit even during a holiday. "Really, ever since the release of Nishabd , whenever people think of me, they believe that I would be quite comfortable wearing sexy clothes. The matter of the fact though is that this is completely untrue", states Jiah whose only other release after Nishabd has been Ghajini where she hadn't quite indulged in skin show. Still, even when it comes to the reel life, Jiah isn't quite comfortable exposing for ca

In Delhi, Vidya has been shooting outdoors on the streets from dawn till 10.30 pm. And she is exhausted. "There's no time to do anything. By the time we wrap up, all I want to do is crash out for the day. Sadly my sister stays in Gurgaon (on the outskirts of Delhi) and I haven't been able to meet her. She's a wife, mother and a jobholder. By the time she comes from work it's too late for us to meet up." This is Vidya's first opportunity to shoot a film in Delhi. "I love the wide open spaces the broad streets and the crowded lanes. Rani and I have been shooting outdoors. Since she's my favourite actress from the immediately-senior generation, I am happy to be sharing camera space with her."

"I have never been into good looking guys, I find that they carry too much baggage with them", exclaims the Sri Lankan doe eyed beauty Jacqueline Fernandes, in the latest edition of 'The Man'. In this issue, she explains lot of many untold facts about the 'Miss-Stery' called Jacqueline Fernandes! Talking about her favourite film, she says "I thought that Dev D was absolutely fabulous. It did so many things differently." She also confessed her state of mind as to how she reacted about the B.O. failure of her debut film Aladin , in which she was paired opposite Riteish Deshmukh. She also speaks about how she handled the 'so-called- affair' with her director Sujoy Ghosh and him 'gifting a car'. She also spills the beans about her type of man etc... etc... etc... Surely an interesting insight in Jacqueline's life!