IBLOG SPACE

We said it was coming on June 6, and we weren't lying -- the Pixi Plus, that is, rife with GSM compatibility for AT&T 's airwaves. The Pre Plus is already available (with a free Touchstone thrown in, no less), but if you're looking for something a smidge smaller with a little less horsepower, you might be holding out for this one. For what it's worth, we're hearing that the Touchstone promotion won't apply to the new model -- largely because it'll sell for $100 less on contract, if we had to guess -- so be sure you come packing enough cash on the 6th if wireless charging is your secret, irrepressible passion.

When a carrier announces that it's adding BlackBerry devices and BES support to its lineup, very rarely does that mean a touchscreen BlackBerry -- but hey, crazier things have happened. China's CDMA-based giant,China Telecom, has announced a partnership with RIM to bring the Storm (the original 9530, as far as we can tell) into the mix in the second half of this month, available in some sixteen provinces for a yet-to-be-announced price. At any rate, it's fair to assume your privacy will be compromised at no additional charge.

The chances of this one ever making its way to these shores are about as slim as can be, but it looks like folks in Japan will soon be able to get their hands on NEC's new N-08B , which is part phone and part MID (but mostly MID). Relying on the venerable Windows CE operating system, this one packs a 4.6-inch, 854 x 480 display (non-touchscreen, it seems), along with a full QWERTY keyboard complete with a trackpoint-like pointer, WiFi and 3G connectivity, a micro SD card slot for expansion, a 3.1 megapixel camera, and a promised 350 minutes of talk time when used as a phone. Still no indication of a price, but this one will apparently be available on NTT DoCoMo in August.

The flow of film releases will get erratic and uneven in the forthcoming months. Generally, the number of releases shows an escalation from April onwards, to capitalize on the summer vacations in India, and the number of new films shows a further escalation in June, July and August. But this year will be an exception. RAAJNEETI and RAAVAN are the only two biggies confirmed for June, while I HATE LUV STORYS , LAMHAA, ONCE UPON A TIME IN MUMBAI and KAJRAARE are the talked-about films hitting the screens in July. Of course, expect a slew of low cost/medium range movies week after week in June and July, but there's also a strong possibility that a few weeks may pass off without any release at all. However, the shortage of new films will be felt in August. The number of new releases and also the footfalls at multiplexes will take a dip this month. Reason: The holy month of Ramzan will begin this month. Generally, film producers avoid releasing their films during this month

Reliance BIG Pictures and Rakesh Roshan's eagerly awaited KITES will release on 21st May in over 2,300 screens worldwide. Of these, over 1,800 screens are in India and over 500 screens overseas, making KITES the biggest ever Indian release till date globally. In its first phase, KITES will release in India, U.S., U.K., U.A.E., Australia, South Africa and 30 other countries on 21st May. In the second phase, it will release in additional 30 countries, which include various non-traditional markets.

Whenever a filmmaker wants fresh faces for his film, he conducts an audition to choose the talent that will fit the role. However, veteran filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt has certainly progressed with time. Bhatt has evidently gone online for the casting for his next film through the popular networking site Twitter. Tweets Bhatt, "Is someone out there waiting to become a star? Looking for three new faces for a brave new film of ours. A leading lady and two leading men." Further he ads, "Send details with a simple picture to maheshfilms@gmail.com " giving the authenticity to the campaign. So, all the interested candidates out there, you know what you need to do right away. This might be your lucky tweet.