IBLOG SPACE

What do you know, even professional coders like to develop things on the side. Opera's mobile dev team has been working on a "hobby project" to bring its browser to the Maemo-sporting Nokia N900 and N8x0 devices, and today sees the first fruit of that labor in the form of a "preview build" release. Fredrik Ohrn warns us that there might not ever be a final version, since this is being done just for fun -- and particularly in light of theMeeGo future that awaits the platform -- but for now it's yet another option for your versatile mini-computer. Click the source for the download.

Oh yeah, things just got real. Sharp has announced an industry first today, with its 720p-recordin' 3D camera module . Intended for mobile devices like smartphones and point-and-shoot digicams, this miniature wonder will be sampling in July and hitting mass production before the end of the year. Not much else is known about it at this point -- we can guess it'll cost a pretty penny when it debuts -- but Sharp has penned an effusive press release, which you may explore just past the break.

Turns out Google isn't the only one pushing further into the turn-by-turn market this week -- Microsoft came out swinging today with the announcement that full car navigation capability has been added to the latest version of its Bing app for Windows Mobile 6.x devices, too. It's got the usual array of route configuration options for avoiding traffic and tolls, alerts, direction lists, and voice prompts -- and Microsoft describes the audible directions as an "amazingly lifelike voice experience," so our expectations are set appropriately. Interestingly, the turn-by-turn capabilities of the new app aren't to Verizon subscribers for some ominous reason, but folks using a laundry list of devices on Sprint, T-Mobile, and AT&T can get all the capabilities by updating their already-installed Bing app or visiting Bing's site for the download.

T-Mobile and Garmin-Asus have just gotten down to the nitty gritty with us on the long anticipated Garminfone : the phone ships in June for $199 on a two year contract. Just to show they're serious, they also let us play with the phone, which is running a speedy, heavily custom Garmin UI on top of Android. Check out some hands-on shots below, and stand by for more coverage of the handset as we get to cuddle up with it during some long, geotagged walks on the beach.

We'll admit it, we really can't find anything straight-out "wrong" with the LG Ally . Maybe we could muster up a few matters of taste to gripe about, but it really does seem to be a pretty solid QWERTY Android slider. But unfortunately for LG, Verizon, and the good people at Stark Industries, we're having a lot of trouble stomaching this handset for the mere fact that we're up to our eyeballs in Android these days; nobody here has bothered to do anything different. When your only claims to fame are a few pixel tweaks on the home screen, categories in the app drawer, and an augmented reality Iron Man app, you're running the risk of... well, that's just it, you aren't running any risk at all. Sure, including a "limited edition" Iron Man comic with every phone sold is a nice touch, but it won't help you much in two years (or two months) when everybody you know has a better phone than you. At least LG managed to best the Droid's lands

A true iPhone KIRF running Windows XP may still be the stuff of dreams -- crazy, fevered dreams -- but it looks like we now have the next best thing: the iPhone-ish Shanshui P72. Boasting a 7-inch WVGA screen, this MID-sized device packs a 1.2GHz VIA C7-M processor, 1GB of RAM, 16GB or 32GB of storage, WiFi and 3G connectivity, built-in GPS, and no less than three USB ports, which will let you attach a keyboard and mouse for an authentic Windows XP experience. Sadly, there's no indication of pricing or availability,

The HTC EVO 4G has already turned up in Sprint's inventory , hit the FCC , and pushed away anything in its path, and it looks like it's now hit one more milestone on its way to availability: the all-important Sprint employee training program. While there's still no indication of an actual release date, the training materials do reveal a few new details, including the first real indication that customers who buy the phone will also have to sign up for special "plans designed for the HTC EVO 4G" -- details on those plans remain a mystery, unfortunately. The materials also seem to suggest that both Sprint Navigation and Google Navigation will be present on the device, that the hotspot feature will support WEP and WPA encryption, and that phone does indeed pack an FM radio. Hit up the source link below for a look at the rest of the materials.

We should know a whole lot more about this situation at an Iron Man 2-themed LG event taking place later today, but BGR appears to have scored full details on LG's upcoming Android-equipped Ally for Verizon along with a couple key dates. Most importantly, it sounds like the landscape QWERTY slider will be available in "all channels" (read: telesales and brick-and-mortar stores) on May 20, preceded by an online pre-order this Thursday, May 13. It's got Eclair, a 3.2 megapixel cam, 4GB microSD card in-box, and a Qualcomm MSM7627 core -- the same midrange silicon that powers the Moto Devour . Against the Droid , this bad boy appears to slot just underneath in the range, but a little choice never hurt anyone, did it?

If you're running an Android phone and you're lucky enough to be using 1.6 or above (our deepest apologies,CLIQ owners), we might recommend you pop open the Market and score the latest version of Google Maps that just launched today. What's new? It adds support for bicycle routing (something they've had on the desktop for a while now) and sharing of destinations via the usual array of mediums like email, Facebook, Twitter, and so on, but the most significant change might also be the smallest: the addition of a dedicated icon for Google Maps Navigation. The product is still in beta, but this seems like an early sign that it's starting to come of age -- and on a more practical level, this obviously makes it quite a bit easier to launch right into a route when you saddle up in the car. Anywho, Motorola, about that CLIQ update?

So word has it that O2's network's been a bit dodgy in some parts of the UK this evening. Did Gordon Brown's resignation cause such an outage? Did all the texts about David Cameron's shiny forehead lead to this network overload? We don't know, but our own phone's been running just fine all evening in Central London. Anyhow, let us know if you were affected -- just don't say it was Nick Clegg's fault. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in] Update: O2's released a statement about the regional outage: "We currently have a fault on our network which is affecting voice and data service across parts of the Midlands, South West and Northern Ireland. We are very sorry for the inconvenience. Our engineers are on site to fix the fault as soon as possible."

So we know the Pre Plus is hitting AT&T this coming Sunday -- but what about its little brother? We're hearing that AT&T has lined up the Pixi Plusfor a June 6 launch for $49.99 on contract after rebate, $100 less than it'll be charging for the Pre Plus -- in other words, you'll be able to get a Verizon Pre Plus or an AT&T Pixi Plus for the same price, and the latter won't include free mobile hotspot service. Voodoo math aside, we've got a few more goodies in here for you: the aging LG Vu will apparently be replaced on June 6 with a Vu Plus model for $149.99 on contract with rebate, Samsung will re-up the rugged Rugby with the Rugby II for $129.99, and Pantech's Pursuit swings in for $49.99. It all makes for an exciting June, does it not?

Fresh off NPD's latest Mobile Phone Track report claiming that Android has leapfrogged the iPhone in US sales, Apple is commenting on the numbers -- and as you might expect, they're not exactly taking a congratulatory tone with Google. Speaking to AllThingsD 's John Paczkowski, Cupertino had this to say: "This is a very limited report on 150,000 US consumers responding to an online survey and does not account for the more than 85 million iPhone and iPod touch customers worldwide. IDC figures show that iPhone has 16.1 percent of the smartphone market and growing, far outselling Android on a worldwide basis. We had a record quarter with iPhone sales growing by 131 percent and with our new iPhone OS 4.0 software coming this summer, we see no signs of the competition catching up anytime soon." The factual accuracy of Apple's words here can't really be disputed, but as Paczkowski notes, the context can: lumping the iPod touch into this equation isn't reall

AMD have outed their latest 2010 Mainstream and Ultrathin Notebook Platforms, together with their 2010 Desktop Platform , and the emphasis looks to be on multimedia strength. The new push brings AMD VISION system – first announced back in September 2009 – to the desktop, with both dual- and quad-core Athlon II CPUs for the mainstream and quad- and six-core Phenom II CPUs for enthusiasts. Meanwhile AMD reckons its new dual-core 23w Turion II Neo and Athlon II Neo, together with the Athlon II Neo chips will be storming the Ultrathin market, while there are twelve new Mainstream notebook CPUs for regular laptops. AMD say their notebook VISION platforms are delivering twice the graphics performance of an Intel system, and 50-percent better graphics with a discrete ATI GPU than on an Intel system with an NVIDIA GPU. That translates to 20-percent faster photo processing in Photoshop Elements 8 and 37-percent faster DVD transfers. The Ultrathin CPUs will support DDR3 and Direct X 10.1 s

A second iPhone HD fourth-generation handset has apparently escaped into the wild, this time in Vietnam, and we’re starting to wonder if Apple’s much-vaunted security are taking a nap. The 16GB iPhone HD was “found” by Taoviet and matches the previously leaked phone which is the subject of an ongoing legal inquiry. Update: New teardown photos added after the cut (including one showing an Apple branded CPU) The handset looks to be a little further down the line than that first leaked model, which lacked any sort of memory indication. However the absence of model number and FCC ID number – both of which are merely blanked out with XXX’s – suggest this is still all pre-production stuff we’re dealing with. We’ll have to see what Apple’s response is to this particular leak; last time the company was accused of being a little heavy-handed, but at this rate there won’t be much new for Steve Jobs to take on stage at WWDC 2010.

Just in case you weren’t aware, it’s almost June. And, other than iPhone’s getting released, that generally means that a huge trade show is going to take place. E3, the largest of video game-centric shows is about to kick off, and there’s going to be a few huge announcements in store for the event. One of them that might slip through the gate, though, and merely show it’s head afterward , is a rumored price drop for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 . According to a “senior global publishing source,” it looks like the two main video game consoles are all set for another price drop. It hasn’t been all that long since the last one, for both systems, but both of them are going to be featuring some new hardware, so perhaps dropping the price of the console, and maybe even bundling the new stuff with the old, wouldn’t be that bad of an idea at all. There is a chance though, amidst all the announcements for upcoming games, and handhelds, that there will be an announcement from corporate executi

Right now, Verizon Wireless says they have the best coverage out of any of the wireless carriers. Furthermore, they’d love to tell you, over and over again, that their 3G footprint is just about ridiculous, and that it has the largest coverage of any wireless carrier here in the States. So, when they start rolling out 4G, they plan on covering the same amount of space, and people, with their 4G network as well. Pretty impressive. So, the only way they can do that, is if they start testing. Verizon Wireless, back in April, took some time to test their LTE speeds in a small pizzeria shop in Boston, MA, and from what you can see in the video, the results are pretty good. Everybody seems to be generally blown away by how fast their connection is. And, while we would have loved to have seen the same results on an actual mobile device, we’ll have to be happy with the fact it’s on a laptop for now. While you watch, you’ll probably notice that some of the responses are pretty standard, if not

The PlayStation Move motion controller isn’t out yet, and you will have to keep waiting for a few months before you’ll get your hands on one, but if you were curious as to how much it might be going for when it does finally launch, here’s your first clue. It’s coming out of Canada, right from GameStop’s site, and it does a pretty good job of giving us an idea of what the future might hold. Unfortunately, it seems that someone at GameStop technical must have noticed the page’s existence, because as of this writing, the web page itself has been taken down. So, you won’t be able to head on over to the site and place your order. Though, as you can see from the screenshot, the Move will cost you a cool $59.99, but again, this would be Canadian pricing. So, whatever Sony will charge here in the States is still, technically, up for grabs. We’ll go ahead and say that we can see Sony charging the same amount here, though. After all, with the company saying that the PlayStation Move controller,

Sprint’s 4G endeavors are far from secret. They really do enjoy their big lead in the 4G race, and so far they don’t look like they’re slowing down any time soon. Their decision to go with WiMax may have not made everyone in the United States the happiest, and it may have even confused a few others, but for Sprint it made all the sense in the world. WiMax was a trusted way to get their 4G footprint implanted, and considering they wanted to be the first out the gate with any kind of 4G strength, they had to go with WiMax. But, that’s not stopping Dan Hesse from looking to the future, and other technologies. Sprint had an earning’s call today, and Dan Hesse, CEO of Sprint, fronted a question straight on about their decision to utilize WiMax, instead of Long-Term Evolution (LTE) technologies. And, just as we mentioned, it all boils down to the fact that Sprint wanted to be first. LTE was coming soon, and WiMax was out and about, solving their problem right then and there. Apparently, Spr

We really, really like the name 3DS . It’s got a ring to it, if you ask us. And, let’s face it: it gets right to the point. After all, we can pretty much assume that Nintendo will go ahead and place their new handheld gaming unit in the DS family, so why not just go straight for the jugular, and name it what we’ve all come to know and love? Apparently, Nintendo President Satoru Iwata doesn’t feel the same way we do. The Nintendo President took part in a Question & Answer session with investors recently, over there in Japan, and he managed to drop some very tasty tid-bits about the life of the upcoming 3D-based gaming handheld. Iwata noted that they did admit that the company will launch the handheld this term, but that the name of the device hasn’t been determined. He added that because it’s launching this year, that it won’t be long before we all do find out what it’ll be called, but that 3DS isn’t necessarily going to be the title. Of course, this could just mean that they haven

Having shaken things up nicely with a few tablet rumors, RIM are now prompting speculation regarding their plans for smaller touchscreen devices. According to Tested’s unnamed source, the company are preparing their third-generation Storm smartphone for release in Q3 or Q4 2010, complete with BlackBerry OS 6 and a refreshed SurePress touchscreen system described as “perfect”. That will, apparently, be followed by a Storm 4 in 2011. The BlackBerry Storm 3 is said to be focused on multimedia together with gaming. In fact, RIM are tipped to be working with EA on a mobile version of The Sims which would be pre-installed on the smartphone. As for the BlackBerry Storm 4, that’s rumored to have a focus on augmented reality with an accelerometer, magnetometer and updated GPS, along with a 5-megapixel digital camera. The source supposedly asked that the codename for the handset remain secret, but it’s based on the internal name that Tested are speculating about AR.

After research firm NPD reported yesterday that Android had overtaken Apple’s iPhone OS and clinched the second place spot in the US smartphone market, the Cupertino company’s PR team have come out fighting. According to Apple spokesperson Natalie Harrison, “This is a very limited report on 150,000 US consumers responding to an online survey and does not account for the more than 85 million iPhone and iPod touch customers worldwide.” “IDC figures show that iPhone has 16.1 percent of the smartphone market and growing,” Harrison continues, “far outselling Android on a worldwide basis. We had a record quarter with iPhone sales growing by 131 percent and with our new iPhone OS 4.0 software coming this summer, we see no signs of the competition catching up anytime soon.” NPD had concluded that Apple had 21-percent of the smartphone OS market share, while Android had edged ahead with 28-percent and RIM’s BlackBerry OS maintained the lead with 36-percent. Of course, as we mentioned yesterd

The HTC Smart has just dropped onto the SlashGear desk, and while this budget BREW handset may not have the same wow-factor as one of the company’s more recent Android smartphones like the Desire or Legend, it’s interesting simply for representing a push from the company into the mainstream. Qualcomm’s BREW OS keeps things ticking, but on top of that is the HTC Sense UI complete with Friend Stream social network integration. Check out our first-impressions after the cut. If you’re comparing the Smart to recent HTC devices, it’s most similar to the Tattoo, their entry-level Android handset. That includes a 2.8-inch resistive QVGA touchscreen and a compact body with a slightly soft-touch plastic chassis. It’s a reasonably handsome phone, though relatively nondescript. Under the display there are four buttons – call and end, the latter doubling as screen lock/power, together with a small contextual-menu key and a large back button that also opens up the main menu. On the side there

Kensington has lots of peripherals and accessories for computers in its line of gear. The latest device from Kensington is the Wireless Presenter Pro with Green Laser Pointer. The device was unveiled today and is up for pre-order on the Kensington website. The device sells for $79.99 and has a bright green laser pointer that works on all screen surfaces. It has a four-button design and uses 2.4GHz tech to provide a wireless range of up to 150 feet. The presenter is supported by PowerPoint and Keynote with no drivers needed for operation. The device ships with a USB receiver for connecting to the laptop and gets its power form a pair of AAA batteries. A carry case is included to store the presenter and the USB adapter when not in use. Kensington uses a green laser because they are claimed to be ten times more visible to the naked eye than red lasers

Last week Clearwire released its financials and among the bottom line tidbits was a statement about changing the agreement with Intel to let either party out of the deal with a 30-day notice. That change raised speculation that Clearwire might be considering a move to LTE. Clearwire CEO Bill Morrow has clarified the change in the agreement with Intel and says that Clearwire does not intend to move from WiMax to LTE until at least 2012. The company will continue to support WiMax until then. Morrow states that the change in the terms with Intel is simply to give the company more flexibility. Morrow told CNET, “No we haven’t exercised that right [ditching WiMax], and I don’t see the need for us to anytime soon. We won’t be deploying LTE anytime soon and definitely not before 2012. But it does give us greater flexibility.”

Eurotech has announced its latest product called the ZyWan G9 cellular router. The router is designed to offer 3G, CDMA, and GSM/GPRS cellular network connectivity and allows connectivity to Ethernet and 802.11 wireless networks in fixed applications. The mobile broadband connectivity is added to the G9 via a USB port that works with various networks. The device features an easy to use web GUI that can be accessed over-the-air for configuration. The device has multiple interfaces including four serial ports, dual Ethernet, and WiFi. The router also supports VPN, firewall, DHCP, DNS, and NAT routing. Optional GPS receiver functionality is available. The router is aimed at the mobile and filed worker environments among other uses.

Bigfoot Networks has been making network cards for a long time that promise to improve the gaming performance of computers used for online games. The company already offers NICs like the Xeno Killer Pro and Ultra . Bigfoot Networks has unveiled its latest Nic aimed at gamers today called the Killer 2100 . The Killer 2100 claims to be the world’s fastest online gaming network card. It uses Game Networking DNA technology that includes a dedicated network processor, Advanced Game Detect, Windows stack bypass, and Visual Bandwidth control features. These features claim to reduce stuttering, freezing, and other issues commonly associated with lag. The Killer 2100 can operate on 10/100/1000 Ethernet networks and uses the PCIe x1 slot. The network processor is 400MHz and the card has 128MB of RAM. It will work in machines running Windows 7, Vista, and XP SP2.

Nokia have announced a reshuffle of their organizational structure, and while it doesn’t – as speculation suggested – see Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo lose his CEO position, it does split the company’s phone business up into two hardware lines and a separate sales/marketing arm. For devices, Nokia will have a Mobile Solutions branch that deals with “high-end mobile computer and smartphone” style hardware, using both MeeGo and Symbian, together with a Mobile Phones branch that deals with mass-market Series 40 handsets. The two branches will have their own dedicated portfolio management, including product planning, R&D and dedicated software assets. According to Kallasvuo, while it might seem counter-intuitive to “simplify” structure by making more departments, the expectation is that it will actually see new hardware arrive on the market quicker, and generally make Nokia more responsive to market trends than it is now. Sluggishness and an apparent reluctance to turn away from pre-decide

There are lots of strange USB flash drives out there that are made to look like other things. I have seen drives that look like food and some of the coolest are the drives that look like characters from Star Wars. Tyme Machines has a line of Star Wars USB drives that are sculpted into characters from the movies and the company has just unveiled a new flash drive that is made in the visage of Ironman. The new Ironman flash drive is available in 4GB, 8GB, and 16GB capacities with pricing for the 4GB version at $34.99. The flash drive reminds me of that creepy Burger King mascot with the giant head. It looks a lot like the new Ironman commercials for Burger King to me. To plug the flash drive into your computer, you pop the head off the body and plug it in.

I have collected a large assortment of extra HDDs over the years. I don’t like throwing the things away because it seems like every time I trash a drive I end up needing it. I have some large drawers in my desk that I normally just toss the HDDs into and leave them until I need them. Considering that HDDs are ESD sensitive devices that is far from the best way to store them. NewerTech has a new device for storing HDDs called the StoraDrive stackable anti-static cases for 3.5″ HDDs. The cases come with two drawers that are anti-static and have a label on front for describing what is on the drive inside. The cases are made from injection molded ABS plastic and have non-skid rubber feet to keep them in place. Each of the cases measures 6.9″ x 4.6″ x 1″ and can hold any 3.5″ HDD. A pair of the cases sells for $9.99.

Kareena Kapoor's a jet setting star, though, a jet ski into the kool blue waters of Goa is something she'd not bargained for. For a crucial scene in 'Golmaal 3,' director Rohit Shetty wanted Bebo jet skiing in the Goa beach waters. However, KK would have none of it, as she was confessedly petrified of being in the sea all by herself on a jet ski, an act she'd never attempted before. Director Shetty assuaged her fears, and told her to get acclimatised to the sport, before she could attempt it onscreen. With the help of an instructor, and then largely on her own, Bebo was able to jet ski safely into the beach's aquamarine waters. What's better, she delivered a perfect 'take' for 'G3'… and did a few more to obviate any trouble due to technical hassles. Guess, Shetty's showering more praise now…

No more Patiala pegs. No more brooding over Bacardi. No more cheering over beer. His love for the tipple is a thing of the past, as per insiders. And word has it that Dharmendra, 74, has sworn off the liquor bit and has turned teetotaler with a vengeance. His swigs in the evenings are restricted to… lime juice! Reportedly, the recent health scare that the veteran suffered on the sets of 'Yamla Pagla Deewana,' made him spurn the boozing vice. This time, for good! Close pal Anil Sharma ('Hukumat', 'Apne') says in a news quote, "He still wants to work and has taken this step to keep his health in good shape. He's a very determined person and I don't see why he will go back on his word." Insiders assert that it was Hema Malini, and her two daughters Esha and Ahana, who coaxed Dharmendra to get rid off his unhealthy obsession. An elated Malini told the media, "It's true and that Dharamji doesn't drink anymore and he gave i

Rs.Three lakh. That, reportedly, was the fee doled out to Darsheel Safary, the highest paid child actor of B Town! Post his 2007 winner 'Taare Zameen Par,' Darsheel, 13, is expressly excited about 'Bumm Bumm Bole.' "I had a lot of fun shooting for it," reveals Darsheel in a media chat. "Earlier, it felt funny because we were talking to a green Chroma screen! But I started liking it later." Apart from the Priyadarshan flick, Darsheel is keenly looking forward to his Walt Disney movie 'Zokkomon'. "I'm playing a superhero and I'm called Zokkomon in the film," he says. "It's an action adventure film and I can't wait to see how it will come across on screen, because I had great fun shooting for it."

Vivek Oberoi has proved to be a costly proposition for Ram Gopal Varma in more ways than he'd ever imagined. Even as he's finishing putting the final touches to 'Rakta Charita', RGV's realised that his Vivvy Boy flick has stonewalled his prospects in a rather lucrative quarter. The Bachchans. His earlier efforts 'Sarkar' and 'Sarkar Raj' with the Bachchans, notwithstanding, it has now come to light for Ramu, that he's almost persona non grata on Bachchan ground! Clearly, anyone's whose on pally terms with VO, professionally or personally, stands to lose faith in the celeb eyes of Ash, Abhy Boy and Bachchan Senior. And it'll be a loooooonnnng time before he gets to greenlight another Bachchan film. Guess, its 'Rann' out time for Ramu…

He was the quintessential "cool dude." Hip, hop, and certainly "happening", Aryan Vaid, catering management graduate and ex flight purser, winner of the 'Mr. India' contest and the first Indian to bag the 'Mr.International' title, is keen on sounding out a message, loud and clear. Pursue your vanity with caution. Famed for his hunky looks, the renowned model and telly star is paying a rather heavy price for being overly narcissistic. Presently, he's but a pale shadow of his former self. Vaid, 37, confesses that his condition has stemmed and deteriorated due to consuming hair loss pills and tiresome, two and a half hour workouts, which have come with a shocking payoff. Vaid, admits to having lost his virility! Says Vaid in a tabloid chat, "My testosterone levels have dipped drastically, a few weeks ago and are now hinging on the borderline. I used to hit the gym for a good two and half hours everyday, and get very tired, but I

The late Smita Patil's scion is generating quite a buzz in cinebiz. After kickstarting movies with Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Rohan Sippy, Prateik is all set to greenlight his first full fledged romantic flick helmed by Tigmanshu Dhulia. Currently canning the final schedules of 'Pan Singh Thomar' starring Irrfan Khan, director Dhulia aims to flag off shooting plans for the UTV produced flick once he's done with 'PST.' Centred around a village simpleton is set in Mumbai, Dhulia's flick will also be filmed in a few remote corners of India. Reportedly, Dhulia was on the look out for an "innocent looking boy" and Prateik seemed to fit the bill rather well. Incidentally, the female lead for the full scale romance has yet to be finalised…

Vidya Balan's love for reading has been well documented in periodicals. However, the actress who is known to pen her thoughts down, is also sharpening her lyrical skills. Says a close source, "Vidya has a poetic bent of mind. She feels that writing is an inborn talent. Vidya loves Urdu coz' she feels that it's a very sweet language. She also and admires the works of masters such as Amir Khushro and Mirza Ghalib." Reportedly, VB's been indulging her taste for Urdu couplets to a great extent, on the quiet. And has been charming close insiders with her facility as regards 'shers' and 'shayaris'. Closet poetess, anyone?

Karan Johar's 'My Name Is Khan' may have gladdened the hearts of cinegoers and industry folks, alike. A certain Raj Kumar Hirani, however, was seized with his premier share of worry, ever since he viewed the SRK flick. Reason: Rizwan Khan of 'MNIK' has gone to US and done all that… Munnabhai was slated to do in 'Munnabhai Chale Amrika!' Reportedly, writer Abhijat Joshi and Hirani have donned fresh thinking caps for the trilogy series of the cult 'Munnabhai' film, even as the much awaited and well delayed flick takes a while to shape up. Says Sanjay 'Munnabhai' Dutt in a tabloid interview, "There were similarities between 'MNIK' and part three of Hirani's 'Munnabhai' film. So, a major part is being rewritten coz' Raju (Hirani) knows what a huge responsibility is to direct the 'Munnabhai' film." Adds Dutt, "Earlier, we were supposed to start shooting the film by the end of this year.

Has Dia Mirza's reported liaison with Arshad Warsi put the final nail in the marital coffin of the Warsis? Unfortunately, yeah, if close insiders can be believed. Of late, it's been a rocky road for Warsi and spouse Maria Goretti. And as the final straw, Arshad is reported to have quit his Yari Road residence in suburban Mumbai, and taken refuge in a separate flat in Andheri, suburban Mumbai, post a fiery squabble which spiralled all out of bounds! A close insider states, "The couple were not on good term because of Arshad's link up with Dia (Mirza). Now things have reached a point where the two cannot get along with each other. Arshad moved out of the house before leaving for Goa, where he was required to shoot for 'Golmaal 3'. Their two children are with Maria."

A cold war of sorts has been going on between producers and artistes in the Telugu film industry, the second largest in the country after Bollywood, over bringing down the production costs. The producers' council issued an ultimatum to artistes including actors, actresses, comedians and directors to cut down their remuneration by at least 30 per cent, failing which they would stop production of films for the next six months. However, there was not much response from leading artistes, though some of them have volunteered for a cut in their remuneration to bring down the production cost. The slump in the real estate market and political uncertainty due to the Telangana movement has compounded the problems of the film industry, which is dominated by a few influential families. For too long, stars have been dictating terms to the producers and influencing the dynamics of the movie market. The leading actors are demanding huge remuneration which is disproportionate to

Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra is working on one of his most ambitious projects 'Bhaag Milkha Bhaag' and says he wants to break linguistic barriers with the film on the greatest Indian athlete Milkha Singh so that the whole world will know his story. 'I want Milkha's story told in Hindi-Punjabi, to be dubbed in French, Polish, etc. This would be my most ambitious project striving to break linguistic barriers. Milkha's story has a universal resonance. It's an Indian story but very universal. We want Milkha Singh's story to go out to the world,' Director Mehra told IANS in an interview. 'The theme is - 'zindagi se bhago nahin, zindagi ke saath bhago' (don't run away from life, run with life). It's very relevant to today's life.' Mehra says he hasn't finalised any actor to play the role of the legendary runner who made history by coming fourth in the Rome Olympic Games in 1960. Excerpts from an interview: Q: What

Yeah debutant Punit Malhotra seems to be interested to give tribute to all those mushy romantic films especially those done by Karan Johar, Dharma Productions or Yash Raj Films… For, in his first directorial Punit brings out the ‘pyaar’ essence by portraying memorable dialogues from several films. Jaise ki… Two stills of his film ‘I Hate Luv Storys’ are making rounds in the web media. Both show Sonam Kapoor using dialogues from films like ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’ and ‘Maine Pyaar Kiya’. On the other hand, Imran Khan dons a bored look. Even the first promo is out, which carry the popular lines from ‘Mohabbatein’, where Shah Rukh says “Ek Ladki thi deewani si…” The stills have just tried to reflect the characters of the film, Jay and Simran, who have opposite opinion about love. While Simran loves the feeling of romance, Jay contradicts it. Now it is upon us to wait and see what story these two cook up in this film, which releases on July 2. Interestingly, the tw

Yesterday the 63rd Annual International Cannes Film Festival opened in France, where high profiled, international screen personalities had descended. Among them was our light-eyed diva and former Miss World Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. The actress had turned up in beautiful lavender flowing gown from Elie Saab and a stylized hairdo. Ash had been there to attend the opening night premiere of 'Robin Hood', directed by Ridley Scott. Besides, she is here to promote her forthcoming Mani Ratnam film ‘Raavan’. The first look of the film is reported to be unveiled at the Festival on May 17th. However the actress had not been accompanied by her hubby Abhishek, who was with her last year for the same festival. Instead Aishwarya was seen along with Eva Longoria Parker of ‘Desperate Housewives’ fame. In fact both are the brand ambassadors of L'Oreal. The brand is reported to be the official makeup artistes at the festival.

The fate of her Bollywood entry ‘Kites’ is yet to be decided but the Mexican bombshell is becoming the choice of many makers of the tinsel town. It’s been heard that Zoya Akhtar has managed to rope in Barbara Mori for her next film ‘Zindagi Milegi Na Dubara’ that will be shot entirely in Spain. The movie has Hrithik Roshan, Abhay Deol, Farhan Akhtar, Katrina Kaif and Kalki Koechlin in it. There’s a strong rumour that Hrithik was influential in making Zoya zero down on Barbara for the role which demanded a Spanish face. For the time being, Katrina and Kalki are playing the other two female leads for the film.

The Badshaah of Bollywood, SRK has this tremendous quality, the ability to be politically correct. Bollywood’s most desirable actor in the overseas market had recently said that ‘All Izz Well’ between him and Aamir. Plus the actor is sportingly taking Aamir’s comments on him and is glad to see that Aamir also has the same gesture. He shares, we have a warm relationship, I don’t think we have an issue based relationship. He concludes by saying,” in the words of Aamir Khan, “All Izz Well.” Well well, the audience might want to see the two Khans together on screen for a confirmation, as of now, SRK and Aamir are not enemies but understanding professionals.

The ‘Saawariya’ girl has become wiser. The tall and the lovely addition to the B-town attractive list our cute Sonam Kapoor doesn’t want to pose with Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone. Bollywood rumour mills is coming up with stories of Sonam refusing a film which might feature the ex flames Ranbir and Deepika. Sources reveal that Sonam this time has become wiser and will not be a part of a project where Ranbir runs away with all the limelight. The lass has learned a lesson from the ‘Saawariya’ debacle where she got sidelined and Ranbir walked away with all the attention. Well getting choosy is worthy sometimes…

The hot jodi of B-town Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor will turn loggerheads for reel life. After sharing screens together in 'Tashan' and 'Kurbaan', Saifeena will be back in the spy thriller ‘Agent Vinod’ – the second home production of Saif after ‘Love Aaj Kal’. Directed by Sriram Raghavan, the film is reported to be the remake of the 1977's film with the same title. In this one can see the dark side of Bebo, for she is said to be playing a negative character. At a press meet, Saif revealed his plans for ‘Agent Vinod’. He stated that the film is his ambitious project and it will be on floors by this month. They are planning to release the film in March next year, added Saif. Our birdies shared that ‘Agent Vinod’ will be shot in the locales of Delhi, Europe and Morocco while the pre-climax in Pakistan. Saif will be soon seen alongside actress Chitrangada Singh in a new commercial of Brooke Bond's Taj Mahal tea. The two had recently been in Agra

Following the protests by Tamil groups, Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai have dropped their plans to go to Sri Lanka for the IIFA awards in June. Tamil groups from around the world have been telling Big B family not to associate with the present Sri Lanka regime which is accused of worst human rights abuses. They say if a globally revered family like that of the Big B's show solidarity with the present Mahinda Rajpaksa regime then that would mean lending credibility to a regime which has destroyed Tamils ruthlessly and committed horrendous human rights violations. Abhishek and Aishwarya have said they will not be attending the Colombo event because of prior commitments at the Cannes Festival and other personal reasons. Mani Ratnam has already pulled out ‘Raavan’ from the IIFA event in Colombo. Amitabh Bachchan is yet to clear his stand on Tamil protests against his participation but he has dropped a hint skipping its press conference on Wednesday. Although there

While the debate over caste based census intensifies with most political parties favouring it Amitabh Bachchan has clearly said that if ever asked to mention his caste he would categorically say his caste is Indian irrespective of what the system decides. Big B has said in his blog that his father, Harivansh Rai Bachchan, a noted Hindi poet and literateur, never believed in caste system. "My Father never believed in caste and neither do any of us. He married a Sikh (Teji Bachchan), I married a Bengali (Jaya Bhaduri), my brother a Sindhi (Ramola), my daughter (Shweta) a Punjabi (Nikhil Nanda), my son (Abhishek) a Mangalorean (Aishwarya Rai)... in his autobiography he (Harivansh Rai) had expressed that future generations of his family should marry into different parts of the country. So far that tradition has been kept alive!!"

Kites’ English version will be premiered in New York on 16th of this month. The movie releases on 19th May worldwide The entire Roshan family will be present for the premier including the Mexican bombshell Barbara Mori who Hrithik proudly calls her as his family member. The film has been specially edited by Hollywood director Brett Ratner for its English version which is 90 minutes long. While the world waits for the 19th of this month when Hrithik will return to the big screen after a gap of two years, he was last seen with Aishwarya in Ashutosh Gowariker’s ‘Jodha Akbar’.

It has been a case of pure exhaustion… Veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah had been overdoing himself of late, working continuously. Latest reports have it that the actor was admitted to hospital in Bangalore. Sources claim that Shah was treated for dehydration and exhaustion. They further added to say that he is recovering well and will be discharged tomorrow. Naseeruddin Shah had been shooting in Virajpet (Madikeri) for Vishal Bharadwaj's ‘Saat Khoon Maaf’. From there he was brought to Manipal Hospital, Bangalore. The shooting team included Priyanka Chopra and John Abraham. Some sources say that Naseeruddin had been unwell for sometime, due to which the shooting was put on hold.