IBLOG SPACE

Just gaze upon those curves up above and tell us what they remind you of. Yes indeed, the Nokia N98 -- which seemed so futuristic we were inclined to dismiss it as the product of a hyperactive imagination -- is today looking all too credible thanks to the obvious design similarities it shares with the officially released N8. Starting with the distinctive tapered edges with contrast coloring, moving through the black bezel-sporting display, and jotting down to the positions of the Nokia and N00 logos as well as the Options menu, the viewer can't help but be convinced that this February leak came with no small portion of truthiness to it. Now, we don't live anywhere near Espoo, so we can't tell you whether this was just a precursor to the N8, which lost its physical keyboard and N9x naming scheme to become the beastly media phone we know today. But wouldn't it be lovely to believe Nokia's working on all cylinders and planning to introduce a 4-inch QWERTY variant of i

Sony is one of the larger companies in the electronics world and it has close ties with other major tech firms like Intel and Google. These three firms are working together according to reports and the fruit of the labor will be thrust onto the market next month according to Bloomberg . Sony is said to have TVs hitting market next month that will have Intel chips inside and run Google software. The products will apparently come later in the month with a conference at Google HQ set for May 19 and 20 with the new sets expected to be talked about then. The sets will have internet connectivity to allow the user to surf the web and watch internet video right on their big screen. Logitech is also working with the firms for peripherals like keyboards for the new sets.

News of a new ASUS Eee PC netbook has emerged, the ASUS Eee PC 1218, though so far specifications are currently unknown. Previewed in the company’s new ASUSDESIGN site, the Eee PC 1218 has apparently already won a reddot 2010 design award and is a 12-inch ultraportable with a full aluminum chassis. All of the ports are on the back panel of the notebook – apparently something ASUS only managed by “uniquely” rearranging the interior layout. By squinting at the relatively low resolution image we can make out audio in/out, VGA, three USB and ethernet, as well as what could be an HDMI port. Open her up, and the Eee PC 1218 has a one-piece aluminum palm-rest and keyboard surround, together with a sliding cover for the webcam that “assures privacy”. No word on when the notebook might go on sale, however.

After the Nokia N8 ’s first – pretty appalling – preview we’ve been hoping for a second opinion on whether the eye-catching megapixel-toting smartphone really does spectacularly miss the mark. Happily Tweakers have filled that niche; the Netherlands site have put together a multi-page preview of the N8, and their conclusion is a more positive one than we’ve heard before. They’re not 100-percent convinced by Symbian^3 – to be honest, we’d be suspicious if they were – but they give it kudos for being open-source. It’s still described as feeling “old fashioned”, though an improvement on what you’d find on the Nokia N97, but the hardware gets two thumbs-up. Build quality – on what we’re presuming is another pre-production prototype – is very high, and sound quality better than what other smartphones manage, particularly when it comes to bass. Screen responsiveness is another area of improvement over early Nokia devices, and though they reckon it’s not quite on a par with the iPhone or H

Amazon have announced a new firmware build for their Kindle ereader , currently in private beta, which adds social network sharing, improved ebook organisation tools and more. Kindle Version 2.5 will be released for both the Kindle and larger Kindle DX models in late May 2010; one of the headline features is the ability to share book passages on Facebook and Twitter directly from the Kindle itself. There’s also a new Collections feature, which allows you to “organize your books and documents into one or more collections” and likely comes as a response to criticism that navigating page after page of on-device texts is a cumbersome way of managing content. It will also be possible to password protect the Kindle, together with seeing which passages in the current text you’re reading are being most highlighted by other Kindle users. Amazon are also boosting the number of fonts on offer, promising sharper clarity and two new larger sizes, along with adding the ability to “zoom into PDFs a

When we’re waiting with no small amount of eager anticipation for the first color E Ink based ebook readers to arrive on shelves, Bookeen’s decision to call its new range the Cybook Opus Color seems destined to confuse. The “color” part of the title refers to the new flourish of case finishes for the 5-inch ereader, not any exciting upgrade to its display technology. The new version comes in seven different colors in comparison to the initial model’s white: a choice of silver, yellow, red, black, pink, blue or orange. Happily it’s not just a cosmetic upgrade, either, with Bookeen saying the new Cybook Opus Color has new reading software – apparently called “Boo” – and a new lick of speed. In fact, they reckon it’ll power on instantly, which should make the reading experience a little more like opening up a paperback. Unchanged are the 800 x 600 monochrome display, accelerometer for automatic page rotation, and support for ePUB and PDF ebook file formats. The Opus Color comes with

Of course, this is a rumor. A leak of a rumor. Or a rumor of a leak, however you want to think about it. But, according to those rumors, leaks, and whatever else, it looks like Intel is planning not only a 1.33GHz update to their Core i7 chips in the Summer, but also a bit more power later in the year. We’re always a fan of more power, especially if these leaks are anywhere near true. The low-voltage chips are featured in set-ups like the new MacBook Pro line-up, but they’re not quite at that 1.33GHz (which can be overclocked to 2.4GHz, if you’re into that kind of thing) level. But that’s not good enough for Intel, because they’ve apparently got an ultra low-voltage chip, the 680UM, ready to launch in the Fall. The chip would feature the same 18W thermal peak, but apparently it can be overclocked to 2.53GHz in Turbo Boost mode. Of course, this is just a rumor (if we haven’t said that enough), but there’s definitely something inside us that says this might turn out to be true. After al

Ah, wireless. We love it. Even the sound of it. It just makes us feel and warm and fuzzy inside. So, when we see something like this, where inductive charging is the norm, we can’t help but want one. Maybe even two. Then again, if we bought two of these, we’d need a reason for having 8 Wiimotes, and we can’t come up with anything right now. But, if you’re normal and have only four controllers, the PowerV Quad Charger is perfect for you. You’re basically looking at a stand, where four Wiimotes can be held when not in use, that allow for inductive charging through the Wiimotes cases. This means that you don’t need any extra wires hanging around, and that’s always a bonus. Additionally, you can put the Wiimotes down on the docks even if they have a silicone cover, or have a Wii Motion Plus add-on attached. It’ll just start charging. Even if the name isn’t the greatest, the PowerV Quad does look pretty neat, and it’s just as shiny as the Nintendo Wii itself, that’s for sure. Especially wi

We’re still reeling from the news that Palm has just been bought by HP. It’s a bold move by both companies, but one that we’re sure is going to take off well. HP wanted to clarify their position on the purchase, along with shine a light on a few of the reasons why they thought buying the house that built webOS would be a good idea. To do that, they had Todd Bradley of HP take the reigns of a live webcast and go over some of the major points, along with some of the finer details. You can find a Q&A session after the break, which does a good job of bringing it all together. Q. Android has a tremendous amount of momentum in the marketplace, why pick up webOS? A. The breadth of products represents an enormous opportunity. It’s an early market – we believe developer support for webOS will grow. We believe in choice, and we believe to remain a strategic partner with Microsoft. There’s a unique opportunity to create products with webOS. Q. What’s the timeline to evolve webOS to run on HP

Customizing your computer can be a costly thing. Anyone who does it knows that. And, if you’re a gamer, or someone who needs their computer to be the best on the planet , it can be downright ridiculous. Take, for example, the Sapphire Radeon HD 5970 TOXIC Edition, which is surely going to cost you somewhere in the ballpark of $700. But, at least it’s the fastest video card on planet Earth. So, you get what you pay for. The new Sapphire Radeon HD 5970 4G TOXIC Edition just sounds fast, doesn’t it? Well it should, because the clock speeds reach up to 900MHz at the core, and 4800MHz effective in the memory. That’s up from 725MHz and 4000MHz respectively, so quite a nice jump there. It also features 4GB of GDDR5 memory, which bests the standard HD 5970 by twice the speeds. But, knowing that they couldn’t leave well enough alone, Sapphire have also made improvements to the heatsink/fan, by making it more of a customized job brought to you lovingly by Arctic Cooling. The system features thr

There are a lot of applications available in the Apple iTunes App Store , so if you miss one or two there’s probably no reason to feel bad. Whether the personal assistant application Siri falls into that category is better suited as a personal question, but if you were to ask Apple, it seems that missing that particular application may have been the wrong move Why? They liked it enough to buy the company behind it. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Apple has gone through the process of acquiring the personal assistant application called Siri, which was made by the company of the same name. Siri itself is a personal assistant application at heart, but the contents of this particular application are quite robust. By utilizing a threaded message-like User Interface, you simply ask Siri something, like “Where Avatar is playing,” and the application will pull up relevant movie theaters, along with information how to purchase tickets from your phone. According to Robert Scoble

Recently, Microsoft unveiled a new mobile platform and two new devices built for it. It’s called Kin and it’s targeted at a younger demographic with a focus on social communication. It’s also been one of the most controversial releases I’ve ever seen. Many folks who’ve weighed in on the topic weren’t too impressed. They cite a lack of features ranging from a calendar to no support for third party applications, most notably games. I don’t share those views (although I do think it’s not a good idea for middle aged Microsoft executives to go with a shirt untucked and unshaven look while presenting) and I think Kin has a good chance of being successful in the marketplace. Here’s why. 1. The market is real. One of the classic mistakes people make when evaluating technology is to apply their own biases toward it. When products were designed and targeted to a mass, horizontal market, it was less likely to happen. As the mobile market continues to grow, we’ll see more and more specialized pro

Skype users can make voice and video calls if they want to and have the hardware needed. Those who like video calling with Skype, but want better image quality can now get a new Skype compatible webcam directly from the Skype Shop called the FREETALK Everyman HD webcam. The camera is cheap at $49.99 and supports 720p video resolution at 22 fps. The camera has a high performance lens, 24-bit color, and automatic exposure and white balance. The camera also features auto focus. The camera attaches to notebooks and displays using a universal clip. If you want to grab one of these cameras up, but sure you have an internet connection that is fast enough for HD video. You will need at least 1Mbps

Rumors and reports have been running rampant that the yields on Fermi GPUs from NVIDIA are bad. Some analysts have gone so far as to claim that the poor yields will cost NVIDIA market share. So far NVIDIA has been mum on the reports. NVIDIA has now come out and officially denied that yields are in the 20% and under range for the Fermi GPUs. The denial comes from the lips of NVIDIA’s Drew Henry, general manager for MCP business at NVIDIA. Henry also states in the interview with Digitimes that NVIDIA will offer GPUs with 512 cores in the future. There have been questions and speculation surrounding why big green has no 512 shader cards. Henry also states that more GeForce 400 cards will be added to the line over the next few months.

When it comes to cooling the CPU inside your computer, most machines use an old-fashioned fan and a heat sink. There are some enthusiasts that use large liquid cooling systems with huge copper water blocks and massive radiators with several fans but those systems are expensive and bulky. For the user who has a normal desktop and wants a compact liquid cooling system that is cheap and doesn’t take up lots of room inside our outside the case, CoolIT has a cool system called the ECO ALC. The ECO ALC is a self-contained liquid cooling system that has a small radiator and a fan. CoolIT has announced that the ECO ALC supports the new AMD Phenom II X6 6-core processor that launched this week. The cooling system can be purchased for $74.99 online at Newegg.com

It’s very rare to find a webcam today that is on eye level with the person using it. That means when you make video calls or have video chat session you end up looking up to the person or down on them depending on where the webcam is located. A new system called IRIS has been unveiled that is a monitor with a camera reflection system that lets users make eye contact. The system makes the image of the person look right at you rather than looking up or down at them. The IRIS system works with any web conference of video chat program. It will specifically work with Skype, Webex and others. The system is ideal for use in remote sales, healthcare, and education environment. The system is compatible with Windows and Apple computers. The IRIS system for Windows and prices for systems range from €1565,00 to €2325,00.

Yesterday I mentioned that Patriot had unveiled a new RAM kit it claimed to be the world’s fastest DDR3. Patriot has also announced a new line of USB 3.0 gear for computer users recently. The line includes the SuperSpeed USB 3.0 PCI-E adapter for desktop PCs that adds a pair of USB 3.0 ports to the computer with 5Gbps of data speed. Notebook users can also get a pair of USB 3.0 ports using the SuperSpeed USB 3.0 Express Card Adapter. If you have old 2.5-inch HDDs or SSDs lying around as I do, you may be looking for something to do with them. Patriot will soon have a new external enclosure called the Gauntlet SuperSpeed USB 3.0 enclosure that will turn those drives into external storage.

Samsung is big in the electronics and handset industries and makes lot of the hardware and components inside many of the devices on the market. Samsung has unveiled what it claims to be the industry’s first multi-chip package using PRAM chips for mobile phones. Samsung reports that it is set to start using the new chip in handsets later this quarter. The PRAM Samsung is using has 512 megabit Samsung PRAM in the MCP that is backwards compatible with 40nm-class NOR flash memory in hardware and software functionality. Samsung expects PRAM to gain significantly in share next year thanks to its improved performance compared to NOR memory. The reason is that PRAM stores memory using phase change characteristics of an alloy made of germanium, antimony, and titanium. This technology allows the PRAM memory three times faster data storage per word than NOR chips. PRAM memory is also non-volatile and its simple structure makes designing MCP chips for handsets faster and easier.

I've personally been following the launch of AT&T's 3G MicroCell very, very closely; I moved last year into a box surrounded on three sides by foot-thick cement (not much of an exaggeration) in which only Verizon's and T-Mobile's signals were able to penetrate without assistance -- and in my position, it's a non-negotiable requirement that I be able to use devices from all four US nationals. Since the announcement a few weeks back that the MicroCell would be going national, I've been practically bombarding my Chicago-area stores with calls, looking for a hint of detail on when they might be available here; they've already launched in New York City, so AT&T clearly isn't concerned about using them in densely-packed urban areas. This weekend I called four stores, and here's what I got: Store 1: "We're supposed to have them in a couple of weeks." Store 2: "We'll have them on May 6." Store 3: "We have them in

With all the hype surrounding the next-gen iPhone , we can understand if your "iPhome 3G" feels a little, well, old hat. That's why we were as excited as you must be to see this iPhone 4 KIRF. Featuring a relatively svelte form factor, stereo speakers, USB port, a removable battery, and dual SIM card slot, the only real let down is the 3.2-inch screen. That, and we're sure that the UI will have a general, KIRFish nature that will appeal to very few of us.

Nokia's Ovi Store may still be seriously losing in the app war to Apple and Google, but something tells us Espoo's betting on its new Ovi App Wizard to help it gain some ground. Putting mobile software creation in the hands of the code-illiterate, the auto-generated application wizard lets anyone -- and we mean anyone -- turn any RSS or Atom feed out there into an app, and publish it to the Ovi Store. Surprisingly, it really is that simple. While we could have made a personal app with our Twitter and Facebook feed, we went ahead and finally made an Ovi Engadget app by simply going to oviappwizard.com and going through the four step process -- we put in all three RSS feeds, uploaded our logos, tweaked the colors and hit publish. According to Nokia it should only take 24 hours for the app to be approved -- yes, there's some sort of approval process -- but we're still waiting for our app to show up in the storefront so we can download it on our N97. There's the abilit

Nokia's N8 might not be for sale but it's certainly out in the internet wilds. A few, presumably pre-production, units have already made their way onto some Arabic sites for dissection and lustful right-to-left analysis. SaudiMac had the good fortune to see some early retail packaging with "N8-00 / 32GB" printed (and later Photoshopped out) directly on the box. While that could indicate the N8's support for 32GB microSD cards, we're guessing (hoping?) it's an unannounced model sporting 32GB of fixed internal flash memory to accompany the 16GB model already announced. We've also got a user from the ArabNokia forums demonstrating the removal of the N8's battery -- a simple operation requiring the removal of two screws to slide the battery out of the chassis' bottom similar to the HTC Legend. The whole procedure is so simple that we have to wonder why Nokia didn't take the industrial design a step further and make the standard 1,200mAh Noki

If there's one thing business types love more than their BlackBerry , it's their BMW -- or so we're told. It makes all sorts of sense, therefore, that the two companies would partner up to help the things they sell communicate with each other more effortlessly. Using Bluetooth MAP (Message Access Profile), BlackBerry devices can now beam emails and contacts over to BMW's iDrive dash system, where the driver can listen to his messages via a text-to-speech option or make calls using the car's speakerphone. The first supported handset is the newly minted Pearl 3G, and we're told this functionality will come as an integrated part of BlackBerry 6. To see how it works on a 335is, click past the break for the video.

There's precisely no way to know for sure, but it looks as if the perpetual mystery surrounding the Motorola Shadow may be nearing its end. Just as the weekend was getting kicked off in earnest, a new Moto handset managed to get its own stamp of approval from the fine folks at the Wi-Fi Alliance, and pictures of something that might be the Shadow appeared on laptopmemo. The MB810 is said to be equipped with both 802.11b/g/n as well as a cellular data connection, though it's impossible to tell from the paperwork whether it'll be outed in GSM or CDMA form. The leaked handset at laptopmemo is said to have a 4.3-inch capacitive touchscreen, an eight megapixel camera with HD video capability, and a slider QWERTY keyboard. Are they the same handset, and is any of this real? We should know whether or not this guy has slipped through the cracks under another moniker in due time, but if you're anything like us, "due time" won't ever come soon enough.

Hey, remember how Microsoft released a very limited version of the Windows Phone 7 binaries for developers, and then it took about 34 seconds for someone to unlock them to open up all their hidden goodness? Well, MS has just the delivered an updated set of tools for developers to help them get a little closer to making millions on the Maketplace, and yet again it took no time at all for that release to be unlocked This time there are a few new goodies to take a look at and if you'd like to take a peek, and learn how to try them out for yourself, click on through.

Well now this is a bit of an odd story, but we've seen enough reports to think that it is fully legit. HTC Incredible owners in and around the great state of North Carolina, particularly those in north-central portion (the Triad) are reporting that their phones are rebooting all on their own with alarming regularity. Many have tried new phones, combinations of wireless settings, and other remediations only to find the problem still occurring just as frequently as before. Verizon Wireless is said to be aware of the issue and there has been talk that tower-switching in areas of low signal is to blame, but at this point it certainly sounds like anyone's guess. Have you been affected? Drop us a note in comments -- but try to keep the intra-college banter clean, yeah? Update : We're being told there are far more Duke and Tar Heel fans per capita in the Triangle area of NC than in the Triad, which is where this issue seems to be centered, meaning it's really the Demon Deaco

Twitter had committed to rolling its own client for Android not long ago -- and like clockwork, here it is. Looks like the OS integration goes pretty deep, too, with support for Éclair's Quick Contact bar and tweeting straight from the Gallery app; you've also got a timeline widget for your home screen, and you can even see your friends' latest tweets from your contact list and the Google Talk app. It sounds like Twitter worked pretty closely with Google to make this happen, contributing the code to Android's trunk for open sourcing in the near future -- and developers will even have access to a set of standard Twitter APIs for their own applications. The only downside appears to be that you need Android 2.1 to use it, but that's just an excuse to run out and upgrade to a sweet new phone, right?

Well, LG's Moorestown -based, Moblin-running GW990 may sadly be no more, but it looks like the company will be bringing another fairly impressive-looking handset to US shores: the Android-based LG Ally. According to Android Central , it will be landing on Verizon around the middle of May and, if it looks a tad familiar, it's because it's apparently simply a US version of the phone we've known alternately as the LU2300 or Aloha (though it does seem to have undergone a few design tweaks). Details are otherwise light, but it'll presumably pack the same 1GHz Snapdragon processor as the LU2300, along with a 3.5-inch AMOLED touchscreen, a sliding QWERTY keyboard, a 5-megapixel camera, and Android 2.1. Update: Android Central has tracked down an Iron Man 2-themed commercial on YouTube clearly suggesting the Ally is coming soon (if you recall, LG had a big tie-in with the original Iron Man, too). Viewers are encouraged to head over to lg.com/ally to check it out, but there

The CLIQ's keyboardless cousin is getting a software update as we speak -- but unfortunately, it's probably not quite what you were hoping for. In fact, the T-Mobile Community board post officially announcing the CLIQ XT upgrade had to specifically call out the fact that this isn't Android 2.1 , proof positive that there's a ton of interest in getting these things on something fresher than the 1.5 they launched on. Anyhow, the update still looks like a good one, promising to improve "overall phone performance" and tweak visual voicemail, Bluetooth, touchscreen accuracy, messaging, and camera issues. T-Mobile says you're welcome to wait for the on-screen notification, or you can manually check for the update in Settings and you should be able to pick it up. Good luck, folks.

Apple, love it or lump it, has seen some big numbers lately: one million App Store apps downloaded, ten billioniTunes, and now it looks like the company can claim to be the number one phone maker in the US. According to Forbes , Apple sold 8.8 million iPhones in the first quarter, as opposed to 8.5 million mobile devices sold by Motorola -- quite a slide when you figure that four years ago the company moved something like 46.1 million in Q1. If that ain't enough to give Motorola pause, industry analysts IDC have issued a report stating that, while the mobile phone industry continues to recover (growing almost 22 percent in Q1) Motorola has been knocked out of the top five worldwide mobile vendors by RIM. We guess the next question is, will Motorola's all-Android, all-the-time strategy be enough to bring it back into the big leagues?