IBLOG SPACE

You know what, we're not gonna make that joke. You can, but we'll just move right along to the meat of this story -- Nokia has listed a telescopic stylus for capacitive screens, the SU-36, which seems to have come out right alongside the N8 to serve as its Symbian^3 assistant. Compatible with the N8, X6, and any other phone with a proper touchscreen on it, this retractable accessory will substitute your fingers when they are either too cold or too imprecise to do the job themselves. It's not yet been priced or made available, but you'll be fine using that sausage stylus for another few weeks, won't ya?

Hey cats and kittens, here's an exciting little piece of news we wanted to share with you. Thanks to the love and support of our readers, our iPhone app has just crossed the million downloads mark in the App Store! That is, of course, just iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch users -- we're growing our numbers steadily across BlackBerry, webOS, and Android formats as well. And Speaking of Android, we've got a little update that's available right now in the Market which should fix those nasty force close issues some users were seeing. If you're still having issues, make sure you reach out to us -- we really love the feedback! We've also just issued a webOS update, so look for that on your Pre or Pixi. We have even more stuff in the pipeline as far as apps are concerned, including a major forthcoming iPhone update, as well as updates and tweaks for the other existing apps... and we're at work on a dedicated iPad application as we speak!

A number of Series 40 devices were branded with Nokia's "XpressMusic" label back in the day, so why not Xseries, too? Well, Nokia must be on the same page, because it has just announced the X2 candybar without a trace of smartphone DNA to its name after the X3 kicked things off a few months ago. The relatively low-end phone clocks in with a 5 megapixel cam with flash, 2.2-inch QVGA display, Ovi Store and Facebook support, dual loudspeakers, integrated FM radio, dedicated music keys, and microSD expansion up to 16GB (32GB would've been nice, but considering the scarcity and overwhelming price of said cards, it really doesn't matter too much in practice). The 13mm-thick piece is due before the end of June for €85 ($113), which is a heck of a value by our rough math.

Microsoft were upfront about their plans to launch their new Kin One and Kin Two featurephones not only on Verizon in the US but on Vodafone in Europe, but it looks like multiple other carriers are also in line for the QWERTY handsets. According to ROM-tinkerer Conflipper, and his excavations through system provisioning files pulled from an early Kin OS build, AT&T, T-Mobile, Fido and various European carriers are all listed. Provisioning files basically provide a shortcut to getting phones set up on new networks; they contain configurations for things like 3G APNs, service center numbers and similar. That way, when you slot your SIM into a Kin handset, it should be able to get online and let you take part in Microsoft’s “generation upload” as soon as possible.

Would-be JooJoo buyers in Europe can now order Fusion Garage’s web-slate, with the company’s online store being updated to offer international shipping. The tablet – which is priced at $499 in the US – comes in at £319 ($486) in the UK and €359 ($474) in mainland Europe. Meanwhile, according to the new Fusion Garage blog, sales have increased as the JooJoo proves it’s not vaporware, while the company accepts that they’ve handled some things poorly and promises a fast-approaching software update. “We are in the midst of bad joojoo for a very simple reason: We were aggressive in our product delivery commitments, decided to completely revise our UI as we were readying the product for release and our initial units shipped with software that proved to be problematic when put to the test in the real world.” Chandra Rathakrishnan, Fusion Garage The new software – which, it’s promised, will be released “shortly” – will apparently address most of the issues initial reviews picked up on. That

Garmin-Asus have announced their latest smartphone, the Garmin-Asus nuvifone A10, a new Android-based handset which is apparently optimized for pedestrian navigation. The A10 has a 3.2-inch HVGA touchscreen supporting multitouch, 5-megapixel camera, GPS and comes preloaded with mapping data and – optionally – cityXplorer guides to public transit systems. While the marketing for the A10 is being targeted at those traveling on foot, automobile users aren’t left behind either. In the box there’s a powered audio mount for the A10, with a loudspeaker for more audible voice navigation prompts. Meanwhile there’s also the usual bevy of Android apps together with Microsoft Exchange support and access to the Android Market. An accelerometer and 1500mAh battery round out the specs that Garmin-Asus are making public today; we still don’t know how much the phone will actually cost. Expect it to navigate onto the market in Europe and Asia-Pacific in mid-2010. Update: Garmin-ASUS have announced t

After Nokia demonstrated the sort of photos its new 12-megapixel N8 smartphone could produce yesterday, they’ve followed up with a new demo that puts the 720p HD camcorder functionality to the test. The results are certainly better quality than you’d expect from most cellphones. As with the stills, the video was shot using an N8 running non-final firmware, and as such there are likely to be tweaks and changes before the handset goes on sale. Nokia also say they’ve done no enhancing or tweaking, though obviously they’ve edited the footage a little with titles and cuts. Photography certainly seems to be the N8’s strong point, with the 12-megapixel sensor paired with Carl Zeiss optics and a Xenon flash. The autofocus camera has an F.28 aperture and 5.4 focal length. It’s expected to go

Sony Japan have kicked off a teaser campaign for a “VAIO New Ultra Mobile” that’s apparently imminently ready for announcement. No details on the device itself are given, though there’s a cryptic paperclip included on the teaser banner that some are suggesting might be a reference to clipping papers in a tablet-style manner, or alternatively might represent some sort of multi-folding device. Back in March, Sony execs confirmed that they were looking into the development of segment-spanning devices similar to how the iPad has crossed device boundaries. The WSJ suggested that a hybrid netbook/ereader/PSP style device was in the works, along with a new gaming handheld collaboration with Sony Ericsson in which Sony themselves would have a greater hand. Of course, it could also be an updated VAIO P or similar netbook-sized notebook, using newer Intel chips. There’s even speculation that the venerable VAIO UX UMPC might be making a comeback.

Microsoft have announced that they’ve signed a patent agreement that will see Microsoft IP in use on HTC Android devices. The specific patents themselves are unnamed – Microsoft only confirm that the agreement “provides broad coverage” across their portfolio – but one assumption is that HTC are hoping to prevent further legal battles such as that currently ongoing with Apple. For instance, Altimeter Group analyst (and SlashGear columnist) Michael Gartenberg reckons that the agreement will redefine the notion of Android being a “free” platform, since device manufacturers will have to take care to protect themselves from litigation. Updated after the cut (and Update 2 with official Microsoft statement) “The net is a changed dynamic in the cost of what implementing and OS really is and handset vendors willingness to settle patent claims or go through the hassle of the courts” Michael Gartenberg, analyst, Altimeter Group Handset manufacturers, that is, or Google themselves; while the sea

So, if Apple isn’t buying ARM, where are they going to spend all that money? Apparently to “people familiar with the deal,” it looks like Apple has taken the steps necessary to buy chip maker Intrinsity. There had been grumblings about the acquisition earlier in the month, when Intrinsity employees changed over their LinkedIn employee status to reflect a more Cupertino-based company, and further supported by their website doing down. But, now if the New York Times is to be believed, the deal is done. Intrinsity might sound familiar, because it’s rumored to be the brain behind Apple’s A4 processor under the hood of their iPad. The chip itself is a modified version of the A8 core, and despite the fact it was originally meant to boast a speed of 650MHz, Intrinsity managed to eek out that 1GHz snappiness. There’s no confirmation that the company, in fact, had anything to do with that, but that’s where the rumors are all pointing, and perhaps Apple purchasing them sheds some (not confirmed

When the black Nintendo Wii was announced for Japan last year, it was one of the most hotly anticipated pieces of technology here in the States, at least for a few months. That probably wavered, a lot, when a month after that announcement, Nintendo came forward and revealed that the coveted piece of tech wouldn’t be coming to the United States. It only got worse when European “limited edition” models started showing up in Europe near the holiday season, but there was still no US launch date. Well, things may be changing for the better. Not that we don’t love our black Nintendo Wii accessories, we’d much prefer to have them match our console. So, if these latest rumors are true, consider us pleasantly surprised (and pleased). Those rumors consist of a bundled package: a Black Nintendo Wii with Wii Sports Resort that’s apparently headed to retail stores next month . May 9th, to be exact. And, for our Canadian readers: May 23rd for you. Good news, right? Well, don’t get too eager quite

Google’s one of those companies that, when they get on a roll, they don’t stop. Whether or not you consider Google Buzz a good starting point or not, they’re not slowing down with announcing new things. When Google TV was brought to our attention, we were curious as to see how Google’s Android mobile Operating System would do powering a TV’s features, along with set-top boxes. Well, we found out thanks to People of Lava a few weeks later, and while it looks great, we’re interested to see what a company like Samsung can do (consideringPanasonic is out) with the technology. At least, we can dream. An unnamed Samsung executive, speaking to the Korean Herald , confirmed that the company is indeed “looking into the feasibility” of an Android-based TV. We can’t be sure, but we’d be willing to bet that since Sony is amped on the possibilities, that Samsung feels like they shouldn’t miss out. Though, the curious part comes in the fact that Samsung unveiled Samsung Apps at this year’s CES, whic

If you’re curious as to how companies all over the world are forging ahead in the endeavor to save our environment, here’s something to take note of. The Portuguese carrier TMN has decided to utilize one eco-friendly device with their latest plan: paper SIM cards. A small detail in some people’s eyes, but as the company points out, the SIM card (along with the card you punch it out of, and subsequently discard) is manufactured from petroleum-based plastics, and therefore something to consider. The wireless carrier has teamed up with international suppliers Incard and Toppan to distribute the recycled paper SIM cards, which are currently planned for other devices in the future, but is currently only available in Samsung’s eco-friendly Blue Earth handset. We told you about that handset over a year ago, and it still features the same solar panel on the back of the device, along with WiFi, GPS, and a 3.2MP camera on the back. It’s good to see companies think about the smallest of things wh

Tempted by the WePad after seeing the video demos of it earlier on today? Amazon Germany have leapt aboard the tablet bandwagon and have thrown up product pages for the 16GB and 32GB models, priced at the expected €449 ($598)and €569 ($757) respectively. Both use an Intel Atom N450 CPU with GMA 3150 graphics, an 11.6-inch touchscreen, WiFi and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR. The 32GB version also gets integrated 3G. There’s no sign of an expected ship date, but based on earlier information from Neofonie we’re expecting the two WePad models to be released in Germany in July. No word on when they might arrive elsewhere in Europe, or indeed if a US launch is planned.

We’ve seen pico-projectors with integrated low-power PCs before, but Chinavision’s CVOB-E72 goes one step further. As well as a VGA resolution projector, you also get a Linux-based OS with WiFi b/g, a battery apparently good for up to 2hrs runtime, and a wireless remote control with a full QWERTY keyboard. As well as playing videos, audio and images saved either to an SD card or a USB memory stick, you can plug in an analog A/V source such as a portable DVD player. Alternatively, thanks to the WiFi, you can go online and apparently play streaming internet video and radio, as well as access online photo galleries. Chinavision say you can access YouTube (suggesting Flash video support) and Flickr, and the price – $267.76 – is competitive even with a basic standalone pico-projector that lacks the onboard browsing functionality. In fact the only thing missing is full web browsing; that really would’ve been the icing on the cake.

Unsatisfied with the AMD hexacore offerings today from CyberPower and iBUYPOWER today, and want more choice? You’re a fussy swine, but because we love you nonetheless we’ll point you in the direction ofMaingear’s Vybe, latest gaming PC to get the Phenom II X6 as an option. Two versions of the Vybe – listed as limited edition – have been introduced, with prices starting at $999 for the Phenom II X6 1055T based model (paired with an ATI Radeon HD 5670 GPU, 4GB of DDR3 memory and 640GB HDD) and rising to $1,299 for the Phenom II X6 1090T version. The latter gets an ATI Radeon HD 5830 GPU and 6GB of DDR3 memory. Buy now, incidentally, and they’ll throw in a copy of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 , giving you something to actually do with your new PC. For more on the AMD hexacores, check out our review roundup from earlier today.

iBUYPOWER has joined CyberPower in updating their gaming desktop PC range with AMD’s new Phenom II X6 hexacore CPUs. The Chimera 2-Q, Gamer Fire and Gamer HAF models all can be specified with the new processor, and prices kick off at $999. Both the Phenom II X6 1055T and 1090T are on offer – the latter being standard fit on the Killer Chimera 2-Q, from $1,639 – paired with various single and dual graphics cards from ATI. As we saw from reviews earlier today, the new AMD hexacores may pale in comparison to Intel’s Core i7 hexacore when it comes to raw performance, but they’re also considerably cheaper meaning you get a decent overall system for a relatively wallet-friendly price. As well as gaming, iBUYPOWER reckon the updated PCs would be particularly well suited to multimedia editing; that’s because the six-core CPUs unsurprisingly handle multi-threaded apps particularly well. They’re all available to configure online now.

NVIDIA haven’t been shy in fighting their chipset corner when it comes to Intel’s refusal to license the technology to support Nehalem-series processors in their range, and it seems they’re now stepping up the assault. Senior NVIDIA VP Daniel Vivoli has gone on record saying that entry-level consumers shouldn’t be “denied the ability” by Intel to use NVIDIA’s lower-range GPUs. Vivoli points to tasks like photo editing, especially new graphics-intensive tasks like face recognition to intelligently sort images, as common tasks that would benefit from a dedicated NVIDIA GPU. ”Those activities are much more efficient on a GPU and appeal to the mainstream user” he explains, “If you buy a low-end PC, you shouldn’t be denied the ability to do those things efficiently.” As well as critiquing Intel’s stance, Vivoli also takes the opportunity to play down the performance of Intel’s GPUs. ”It turns out most of the video on the Web runs on Flash,” the executive claims, “which runs way more effi

Of all the mobile device companies out there today, you could make a strong argument for calling Nokia the most misunderstood. Fresh to the table this morning comes the Nokia N8 – capably specified and distinctively “of” the company – a device that on the face of it should slot somewhere in among the Droid Incredible, iPhoneand Nexus One for lustworthiness. While the company press machine will happily tell you that more than 1.2bn people, worldwide, use Nokia devices every day – and Nokia enthusiasts can legitimately rival Apple fans for their rabid levels of devotion – there’s already a sense among many that the N8 is just the latest flawed icing on a misguided corporate cake. Where is Nokia going wrong? Now, I’m no Nokia expert; there are arch fans of the Finns out there – running sites like All About Symbian, for instance – who could run rings not just around me but about some of the company’s own staff when it comes to Nokia insight. Instead, I’m a step or three removed, not an exp

CyberPower has been making gaming rigs running from entry level to the high-end for a long time. The company has announced its new line of gaming rigs based on the new AMD Phenom II X6 6-core processor. The machines are available in several different price ranges. The X6 is paired with new AMD 890FX chipset mainboards. CyberPower puts the new Phenom II X6 into machines starting as low as $699. Top-of-the line machines will cost much more than that and include the Gamer Dragon CrossFire Ultimate and the Gamer Ultra CrossFireX Pro desktops. Buyers can choose to use mainboards from several vendors in their gaming rigs including boards from Asus, Gigabyte, and MSI. CyberPower will also overclock the 6-core CPU for buyers before it leaves the factory.

I am very glad to see technology coming to the market that allows 3D in the home without needing to wear glasses. I hope all the makers of 3D TVs that are looking to charge an extra $150 per pair or more for active glasses quickly sees their tech become obsolete next to displays that don’t need glasses. Toshiba Mobile Display has developed a new screen that is helping the screens needing glasses fall by the wayside. The new screen is a 21-inch autostereoscopic HD screen that needs no glasses of any kind to view 3D content. The screen uses an internal imaging system called a light field display to create a 3D image viewable from wide viewing angles without any glasses. The imaging system uses mulit-parallax design that uses motion parallax. The Toshiba tech allows the viewing of 3D without reducing the effective resolution of the 3D display by using low-temperature poly-silicon technology.

RAM doesn’t mean much to the masses as long as the computer has enough to run iTunes and Farmville at the same time. When it comes to gamers and enthusiasts though, the RAM in their machines is just as important as the CPU. Back in February Patriot unveiled a new enthusiast memory product called the Viper II Sector 5 kit. At the time the kit was able to run at 2250MHz. Patriot is back with a new Viper II Sector 5 offering that it claims to be the world’s fastest DDR3 memory with a clock speed of 2500MHz. The RAM kit is for Intel P55 platform boards and has timings of 9-11-9-27. Patriot uses hand-selected modules with aluminum heat spreaders to hit the high frequencies. Three kits will be offered in the series with the 2500MHz kit at the top. A 2400MHz kit will be offered with the same timings along with the 2133MHz with 9-9-9-27 timings. All of the kits include a pair of 2GB modules.

TomTom have unveiled their new flagship PND, the TomTom GO LIVE 1000, and it’s the first from the company to pack a capacitive touchscreen and new, Webkit-based UI. The GO LIVE 1000 comes with a year’s subscription to TomTom’s LIVE services including HD Traffic – which can show congestion details on highways and smaller roads – via an integrated Vodafone connection, as well as TomTom’s IQ Routes for intelligent journey planning that takes into account historic traffic patterns. Keeping everything moving is a 500MHz ARM11 processor and 128MB of RAM, while there’s also 4GB of user-accessible storage. Battery life is estimated at around 3hrs of standalone use, though of course there’ll be a windscreen mount included too. According to TomTom, the LIVE system is available in 33 countries so far, while the integrated modem will mean the company can remotely update the GO LIVE 1000 with new services and firmware updates. No word on pricing at this stage, but it’s expected to arrive in Euro

So AMD’s new hexacore CPU range is official, it’s cheap (comparatively speaking), but is it any good? For that we turn to the bevy of launch-day reviews, and if you’re the sort of person who sneaks a look at the last page of a book because they simply have to know the outcome, here it is: for the money, the Phenom II X6 1090T processor is threatening to give Intel’s similarly priced chips something of a spanking. More after the cut. Understandably, the people who’ll see the best return on the X6 will be those running apps that take advantage of the multiple cores: video editing pros, multimedia tinkerers and anything with threaded-processing support. Still, not everyone should immediately plump for the X6; at least one reviewer suggests that gamers would generally get a better return if they spent the money on a Phenom II X4 chip instead and put the leftovers toward an SSD or new video cards. Compared to the Intel Core i7-980X, it’s understandably slower, but AMD’s chip is also stra

Intel’s new Atom N455 and N475 processors – which add support for DDR3 memory – may be imminently close to launch, but they’re not quite official yet; we’re guessing that’s why Toshiba Japan promptly yanked theproduct page for the new NB305-10F netbook. Pretty much the same machine as we’ve seen before (and reviewed back in its earlier N270 days), the only real difference with the NB305-10F is it gets an Atom N455 with 1GB of DDR3 RAM. Meanwhile Amazon Germany are listing two new versions of HP’s Mini 210, both with the Atom N455, in blackand in silver. According to the listings, the 10.1-inch machines will arrive in 3-4 weeks, have Intel GMA 3150 graphics, 1GB of RAM and a 250GB hard-drive, and be priced at €349 ($468).

The WePad’s track record for public demonstrations isn’t great: the first time around, the iPad alternative was found to be playing a video demo rather than actually responding to direct control, prompting Neofonie to wheel out a prototype just to prove that it actually works. Happily third time is the charm, with a new press event giving NetbookNews the chance to grab some hands-on time with a working WePad slate. Since the WePad is headed to Germany first (and this was a German presentation) the videos are, unsurprisingly, in German. Still, it’s enough to show that the Atom N450 based slate is reasonably slick in its responsiveness, the 11.6-inch touchscreen doesn’t look hugely unwieldy, and Neofonie’s custom UI looks pretty darn impressive. Last we heard, the WePad would drop in Germany for €449 from July, with a second €569 version bringing with it twice the storage (32GB rather than 16GB) and integrated 3G. No word on when we might see it spread into the rest of Europe or head

AMD have officially launched their new AMD Phenom II X6 processor, the hexacore chip we’ve heard rumors regarding for several months now, together with the new AMD 890FX chipset to go along with it. While the new CPUs aren’t quite fast enough to take the speed crown away from Intel’s Core i7 chips, AMD do hold the value card: the flagship AMD Phenom II X6 1090T Black Edition processor, for instance, is a 3.2GHz bargain at $285. As we heard before, the Phenom II X6 chips come with Turbo CORE support, AMD’s version of Intel Turbo Boost. Unlike the Intel system, Turbo CORE is less intelligent in how it overclocks the CPUs, but the end result is similar: an extra burst of speed when you most need it. The new processors are also backward-compatible with existing AM3 and AM2+ socket motherboards, making for reasonably straightforward upgrades. Alternatively, AMD reckon you can buy all the parts for a completely new, Phenom II X6 based PC for less than what you’d spend on Intel’s $999 hexa

TiVo have outed their latest peripheral for the newest TiVo Premiere, and if you’ve been regularly tripping over a stretch of ethernet cable running between your router and the DVR then the TiVo Wireless N Network Adaptershould save your knees. Backward compatible with WiFi b/g, the 802.11n adapter is all about speed: whether that be faster video-on-demand downloads, transferring HD files between multiple TiVo units, or speedier exporting to portable devices. Installation looks straightforward, though it’s not quite as plug-and-play as a regular USB WiFi adapter; instead it works more as an ethernet bridge, with two connections: one for power and the other plugging into the Premiere’s ethernet port. While it’s billed as a TiVo Premiere accessory it will in fact work with all TiVo DVRs bar the DIRECTV DVR with TiVo. The TiVo Wireless N Network Adapter is available to buy online from the company’s webstore now, priced at $89.99. It’s also expected to land in Best Buy stores later on t

Today is a big day for Research In Motion. After officially announcingtwo new devices, they’ve gone ahead and revealed that their next major Operating System upgrade is coming soon. Perhaps not as soon as we’d like, but beggar’s can’t be choosers. After seeing the leaked images almost a week ago today, we were eagerly anticipating the announcement from Waterloo. RIM founder and co-CEO Mike Lazaridis managed to take some time out of his busy schedule today to talk to analysts, and go over some key information. While he had some brief nuggets of joy to talk about regarding BlackBerry’s AppWorld, the real gem of the showcase regarded BlackBerry 6. That’s what the company is calling their next OS iteration, and we like the sound of it. As the title suggests, BlackBerry 6 will be hitting the third calender quarter of this year, and it’s going to be optimized for both touchscreen and non-touchscreen devices. Additionally, that WebKit browser we saw in the leaked OS 6.0 images seems to be far

Distributor concerns and underwhelming specs meant we were slightly less than convinced by the Haleron iLet Mini HAL Android tablet, but Shanzai reckon that – in its new EKEN M001 form – the 7-inch slate actually has plenty to recommend it. A sub-$100 street price in China is no small part of that, of course, but apparently despite the 600MHz ARM9 processor and resistive display, it’s actually “very responsive” and in fact the best implementation of Android on this sort of device that they’ve seen. Unfortunately, while Haleron were claiming the MID would last for 16hrs, Shanzai have found it to be “pretty bad”. Unfortunately there’s no specific figures mentioned. You’re also using Android 1.6 than one of the more recent builds, and – because there’s a proprietary docking connector rather than a microUSB port – the only way to get data onto the tablet is either via SD card or through the WiFi connection. The deciding factor to a gadget like this is always going to be price; if an imp

Last week’s expansive leaks (and no shortage of rumor) gave us the opportunity to pick through the hard changes involved in the Apple iPhone HD; a display estimated at 960 x 640, a front-facing camera, talk even of the 1GHz Apple A4 CPU from the iPad. The question remains, though, will the iPhone HD be another game-changer or more of an incremental evolution? Right now, extra pixels and faster CPU aside, it looks more of the latter; the cynic might compare the iPhone HD with OS 4.0 to an ageing athlete, requiring the services of a bolted-on exoskeleton in order to keep up. The new software platform (which has likely saved a few surprises for the official fourth-gen hardware reveal later in the year) brings some much-anticipated features, but they feel a little clunky in their implementation. As I said in my recent iPad review, background notifications and multitasking will work, but they lack the purity found in earlier iterations of the platform. That’s important, because while not ev

How many Apple iPads are there out in the wild? According to Chitika Labs, Apple have broken the one million iPad sales mark, and – as of writing – have sold 32,866 iPads today alone. Their figures come from tracking the number of individual iPads out there which are surfing the internet and accessing some part of the Chitika advertising network. Given that iPad owners are often mobile, getting online via various different WiFi networks (at one point Chitika were suggesting they saw on average 2.73 different IP addresses per iPad), there’s a fair bit of wiggle room in the stats. It seems they work from a combination of IP and cookie tracking, though of course there’s no way to track those iPads bought as gifts and taken online yet, or those which only get used as ereaders or multimedia players. Chitika have declared California as the iPad state, with a whopping 19.12-percent of recorded sightings from there; New York and Texas lag behind in second and third place, with roughly 8-per

Intel have launched their latest Classmate PC design, the CTL 2go Convertible Classmate PC NL2, and to be honest we’re wondering why kids get to play with this and we don’t. Based on Intel’s Atom N450 1.66GHz processor, paired with 1GB of RAM and a choice of up to 32GB of flash or a 2.5-inch HDD, the NL2 gets a 10.1-inch 1024 x 600 resistive touchscreen, water-resistant keyboard and touchpad, and optional WiMAX, 3G or GPS. WiFi b/g/n and ethernet are standard, as are two USB 2.0 ports, dual audio jacks (for two children to share the same machine), an SD card slot and VGA output. There’s also an accelerometer to flip the display between portrait and landscape orientation automatically, something made easier thanks to the built-in retractable handle. Intel reckon you can drop the NL2 up to 70cm (for the flash model; 60cm for the HDD version) without damage, while they say the 4-cell battery is good for up to 4.8hrs and the 6-cell battery up to 8.5hrs. Options include a microbial keybo

It wasn’t so long ago that the PS3 went from the original “fat” console to the new slim version. The slim version took up less space, which was a good thing. Reports are coming in now that the PS3 is set to get another hardware update. Bit-tech reports that the PS3 is getting a new RSX graphics chip and RMA tweaks. The new graphics chip is a 45nm version using 15% less power and is less prone to overheat. Anyone that has ran an original PS3 inside a small entertainment center knows how hot the console can get. The machine will reportedly now get 128MB of XDR RAM in twin sticks rather than the four 64MB chips in the console today. A new cooling assembly is coming as well. Word is the new redesign might actually net Sony a profit.

Considering the almost complete absence of love in the commercial marketplace for Moorestown and Moblin -- and the fact that there's no sign of MeeGo building serious momentum just yet -- we're sure that Intel would've just loved for the drop-dead-sexy GW990 to serve as the platform's crown jewel for 2010. Unfortunately, that's not going to happen, because we've just been able to confirm that the 4.8-inch beast (and potential Dell Mini 5 foil) has been wiped off the product roadmap. Though we don't know exactly what happened, the fact that Moblin is effectively dead and MeeGo isn't ready for prime time might be part of LG's justification for killing it off; if you might recall, the GW990 was introduced before MeeGo was official, and the original plan was to have it on the market in the second half of this year. Then again, this might be just as well -- we weren't impressed by the fact that LG was positioning the phone as a closed device back at C

When we first got our paws on the Dell Aero it was missing Maps, and the Market, and all the other Google-branded apps that make Android as good as it is. Initial fears regarding their absence were assuaged by representatives indicating that all of Google's goodness would be available in the phone, and now it's confirmed: the Aero will include all of the Google Mobile Services, including the Market, Maps, Gmail, and search. That contrasts with other AT&T Android offerings, which are still bereft of Google Maps. So sad.

Has the Nokia N8 made a Symbian^3 believer out of you? If so, you'll be glad to know the beta tag has been peeled off the web application development tools for the platform, which -- according to Executive Director Lee Williams -- provide "an ideal entry point" for coders of all skill levels. This is because the primary languages spoken are HTML, CSS and JavaScript, familiar to almost anyone who's tried to create for the web, and with just a little extra JavaScript exercise, you're promised access to the phone's contacts, camera, accelerometer, and location. It sounds all kinds of refreshing, but the usefulness of this tool set and the entire environment will be determined by what people produce with it -- and to that end we've provided you with a link to the downloads page (Windows, Mac and Linux users are all being served) where you can get your Symbian dev career started in earnest.

Let's take a break from Apple and Adobe's back-and-forth, shall we? Instead, we'll let the latter company talk about its work with Google, specifically the Android platform. Flash-based CTO Kevin Lynch said today in a post, "We look forward to delivering Flash Player 10.1 for Android smartphones as a public preview at Google I/O in May, and then a general release in June." Good news, indeed, but with all this talk of Froyo having native Flash support, and this month's conference serving as the largest gathering of Android developers, we can't imagine a better platform (pun intended) for Andy Rubin and company to unveil its fragmentation-curbing Froyo update. Might Flash 10.1's May preview / June release schedule line up with the OS, as well? Just some fat-free food for thought.

The N900 already features one of the best pocket browsing experiences we've ever seen, but it looks to be getting a whole lot better today with the beta release of Firefox 1.1. Major new features include portrait browsing (awesome), form auto-complete, a context menu, volume key zoom, and -- this is pretty neat -- the capability to save pages straight to PDF, so it seems like the kind of thing you'll definitely want to download, even if it's not quite solid enough to earn gold build status. Oh, and if you don't have an N810 or N900 handy and you're amped to play around, you can download the little guy for Windows, Mac OS, or Linux, too.

HP announcing that it's going to buy Palm in a $1.2b all-cash transaction certainly took everyone by surprise, but in many ways the deal makes perfect sense. HP is a gigantic player in the tech industry but has no appreciable presence in rapidly-growing mobile space, and Palm -- well, you should know how we feel about Palm by now. Even still, we can't say we were expecting this one, and it looks like most of you weren't either -- HP only got two percent of the vote in our "who should buy Palm" poll, while Engadget (that's us!) got... fourteen percent. Oops. But now that we've had a day to wrap our heads around the news and think about what Palm and HP said to us last night and to analysts on the conference call announcing the deal, we think we've got a pretty good set of educated guesses on how things might shake out over the next few months