IBLOG SPACE

It’s close to two months since Vodafone UK told us that the Nokia N8 was “coming soon“, but there’s still no sign of an official launch date for the 12-megapixel smartphone. Now T-Mobile UK are getting into the act, with the N8 showing up on their own teaser page. As with Vodafone, there’s no solid date as to when we can expect the N8 to actually hit shelves, but you can register for more information as and when T-Mobile have it. Last we heard there was an August 25th release tipped, though we won’t believe anything until we hear it from Nokia themselves; there’s a lot riding on this handset and we reckon they’ll want to get it just right before pushing it out the door. More information on the N8in our hands-on report.

Microsoft’s list of confirmed Windows Phone 7 partners saw HP conspicuously absent, and now we know the reason why. In an interview with CNBC, HP Personal Systems Group VP Todd Bradley confirmed that the company intends to push ahead solely with webOS rather than develop handsets using Microsoft’s latest mobile platform. ”Our intent” Bradley explained, “is to focus those resources and really make webOS the best OS it can be.” Q: Can you make webOS successful with developers when you’re selling Windows Phone 7, maybe Android or Linux at the same time? A: We continue to be Microsoft’s biggest customer, and we continue to believe we will drive innovation with Microsoft. At the same time, I think it’s clear to say, that we’re very focused on the customer, and giving the customer the experience that’s important to them. We won’t do — will not do a Linux / Android phone. We won’t do a Microsoft phone. Q: So no Windows Phone 7? A: We will continue to more broadly deliver the webOS-based ph

Remember that $35 tablet unveiled earlier today in India? There weren’t a lot of details actually unveiled at the event where the tablet, or maybe even a pair of tablets, were shown off. And it left quite a few people (including us) very curious. And now we’ve got something very curious that has just landed in our laps. Dig in after the break to see what this tablet bears a striking resemblance to. According to the site ARMDevices , it looks like the $35 tablet is based off the design originally postulated by AllGo Embedded Systems. This company is actually established in Bangalore, India, and they showcased their very own $35 tablet at the Freescale Technology Forum in Orlando last month. The video you’ll see below is that tablet. So, how does that tablet break down in price? Something like this: 1. ARM9 processor: $5 2. Memory: $3 3. WiFi b/g: $4 4. Other components: $3 5. Battery: $5 6. 7-inch 800×480 resistive touchscreen: $15 7. Total: $35 As we said above, it’s a pretty interest

CTA and their video game accessories are no stranger to these parts. Truth be told, we generally show them off because of the over-the-top nature. There’s not many times you can say you’ve seen an inflatable race car that works with your Nintendo Wii, now is there? With the company revealing the Assault Rifle PlayStation 3 controller , they’re keeping up with their ridiculousness, but bringing it into the world of the hardcore gamer. The Assault Rifle controller will cost you a cool $65, and it’s due out some time in August. As you can tell from the description above, it’s meant for the PlayStation 3, and it even has all of the buttons you’ll find on a traditional SIXAXIS controller. The R1 shoulder button, usually the trigger in most First Person Shooter titles, has been appropriately mapped to the trigger on the fake assault rifle, hopefully making it so much easier for you to shoot your enemies. It works with titles like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 , but let’s face it: PlayStatio

We’re not sure if there’s still a huge market for flight simulators . It’s been awhile since we’ve even seen anything come on the radar about them. Sure, there are plenty of aircraft-based games, where you’ve got that fighter jet and you’re blowing things up, but that’s not a simulator. And, for the most part, you might not need these many buttons to shoot down the enemy. (At least, not in the game.) And, while $500 worth of simulating peripherals may seem like the right thing to do, it’s troubling when $500 doesn’t get you everything you need . How does it break down? Something like this: $200 for di-cast alloy rudder pedals, $149 back-lit information screen, and a $150 throttle, pitch and mixture system. All of that sounds all well and good, right? You’ve got everything. Oh, wait, you need a yoke. And a game to play it on. Then again, if you’re thinking about picking all of these up, then you probably (hopefully) already have a game to play it on. But, it might be kind of tough to do

You didn’t think Blu-ray would get left behind in the transition to new, upgraded things, did you? No? Good. Because Sony’s already hard at work on the next laser that’s going to make the future of Blu-ray (or maybe Violet-ray). Working in conjunction with the Tohoku University, the blue-violet laser is designed to fire ultra-fast bursts of remarkably thin light. Getting down into the details, the wavelength measures in at only 405 nanometers, which then pulsates for only 3 picoseconds. As for the light output of the new blue-violet laser, that would be over 100x that of a normal laser. The results would be something like 20x more capacity than the standard Blu-ray disc now. That equals to be about 50 movies on one disc . Right now, the laser is just in testing, and there’s no definitive word on when this will make it out into the real world.

Out of all the many video game companies out there, EA’s COO John Schappert is one of the most outspoken individuals you can find. Which, in cases like this, lead to some very interesting, and telling, scenarios. For example, while the Nintendo 3DS isn’t even out yet, there’s plenty of speculation about whether or not it’s going to be a success, or just disappear into the shadows of forgotten tech. If you ask EA’s COO, well, you’d get an answer. According to Schappert, who was speaking with Industry Gamers , the 3DS is not only “incredibly cool,” but also “magical.” He believes that the 3D technology, especially with the fact you don’t need to actually wear glasses to access the tech, is just about as good as it gets, especially considering the platform you’re playing it on. He goes on to add that the whole experience is amazing, and that he is happy that EA is part of the device’s existence. EA is bringing titles like The Sims , FIFA , and Madden to the platform, so it’s good to see

Unmanned aircraft are getting quite a bit of attention lately, but that’s not a bad thing. Even if they are, essentially, a pretty basic and straight forward, they’ve still got the potential to be some of the most advanced pieces of technology running around in the world at any given moment. Flying your robot around is great if you want it to listen to everything you say, but if you want it to start thinking for yourself, well, that’s when things get tricky. But that’s not stopping the Air Force from exploring their options, and obviously free-thinking drones are high on the priority list. One of the most crowded and intrinsically complicated places in the world of flight is the airport. Always busy, and always at the mercy of logistics, timing, and the ever-present entities within the Air Traffic Control towers, that’s why unmanned aircraft have not been allowed anywhere near them. With all of the information that needs to be processed — between ATC, pilots, ground crew, and the aircr

Apple’s iPad is moving off the store shelves. Both on the digital front, and in the brick-and-mortar locations all over the world. It’s a hot item. Even if you don’t like Apple or the iPad , there’s no denying that the public wants it. And, up until now, the magical and revolutionary tablet device from Cupertino has been free to fly off the shelves, with not a care in the world. But a new report from the Wall Street Journal says that sales would still be going strong, if not better, if it weren’t for the fact LG can’t keep up with production demand. Right now, the iPad’s sold 3.3 million units around the world. But, according to this new report, those numbers could have been even bigger, and the sales would still be rocketing forward if it weren’t for one big issue. LG, as it stands right now, is unable to keep up with the production of flat panel displays for Apple. As demand increases, LG Display Co. is struggling to produce enough units for everyone to enjoy the product. As a resul

Apple are offering a choice of difference iPhone 4 cases as part of their free program to address the so-called Antennagate issue, with a new app that’s fresh to the App Store designed to help you order your favorite. If you’re asking what’s the difference between the various options then you’ve come to the right place: check out our roundup of the seven different cases after the cut. Apple Bumper The Cupertino company’s own case for the iPhone 4 is more accurately a rubber band that fits around the outer edge and gives some degree of knock protection while leaving the front and rear of the smartphone open. Button and switch access is preserved, as is the headphone port and dock connector. Buying one yourself would normally cost $29. Belkin Shield Micra The Shield Micra is a thin, skin-like case that adds little bulk to the iPhone 4. It has cut-out holes for the controls, headphones socket and dock connector, together with the camera on the back. It would normally retail for $25.

This one's been kicking around the interwebs for a few weeks now, but it has managed to grow into something of a beast during that period. Frankly, we couldn't think of less fitting way to send the glorious Nexus One out than to completely deface it and ruin what Google has worked so hard to perfect. But regardless of what we think, that's exactly what has happened here. One rolle3k over at xda developers clearly has a masochistic gene or two planted inside of his skull, but at least his APK doesn't require your N1 to be rooted before providing you access to a TouchWiz user interface. Feel free to hit the source if you're up for seeing what you've been missing out on, but only if you literally cannot think of a single better thing to do with your time.

It may be America's first 4G smartphone, but if we had to guess, we'd surmise that not everyone sees it as perfect. Even if we (almost) did. HTC's EVO 4G was (and still is) a showstopper of epic proportions, boasting one of the largest screens in the smartphone universe and offering blistering speed under the hood. But with phone innovation happening faster than anyone could've ever imagined just a few years ago, we're sure that some ideas have been planted in your head since its launch earlier in the year. For those who've been toying with this here phone, we're keenly interested in learning how you'd change things if given the chance. Would you offer a 3G-only version for those uninterested in paying that extra $10 / month surcharge? Would you be a lot more satisfied with Android 2.2 loaded on? Toss it over to another carrier? Go on and get vocal in comments below, cool?

We had a feeling Apple wasn't done showing off the apparent reception woes of its competitors -- after all, the company already updated once this week with the Nokia N97 mini. Now it's going after Motorola's celebrity of the moment (and known iPhone 4 bully), the Droid X . You can see Cupertino's results in the video after the break, but unlike Apple's other videos, we can't seem to recreate this one as easily with our Droid Xs. But hey, it's not like anyone's gonna buy a big phone anyway, right?

Oh, sure -- you've got at least 893.1 options (at last count, anyway) when it comes to noise cancelling headphones for your iDevice, but do any of those plug directly into the dock connector instead of requiring a separate battery? Exactly. That's the claim to fame for Blackbox's i10 , a new set of earbuds that rely on power from your iPod or iPhone in order to achieve that active noise cancelling action that the youngsters are so crazy about these days. According to the company, these will filter out 92 percent of background noise using Phitek Systems' ANR technology, and the inline remote makes it easy to adjust volume and the like. They're available today for £79.99 ($123) over in the UK, but only heaven knows when they'll mosey over to North America.

Well this is one lucky Tiffany here, but she's not alone. Wired UK was first to report that Samsung's been quietly dishing out free Galaxy S handsets (the European flavor) to a few lucky British Twitter users. How so? Oh, four of them just made a fuss about their iPhone 4s, and the fifth guy needed help to choose between the Desire, iPhone 4 and Galaxy S. Before you all start tweeting your way to a free Android phone, though, it looks like the Korean giant's only picking certain influencers for some cheap publicity -- turns out our Tiffany here works in Digital Marketing for Condé Nast, which is coincidentally Wired's parent company. Tut tut tut. The other tweeples all appear to be similarly involved in marketing or publishing, with the exception of one student. As if it hasn't already rubbed enough salt into Apple's wound, Samsung UK's also running new Galaxy S ads that take an indirect shot at the iPhone 4's antenna controversy with a clever bit of t

Impressed by Jeremy Innes-Hopkins' Nokia Kinetic concept the other day? Then take a good look at the image above. That's the actual prototype of the device, which unfortunately doesn't power on (or have anything to power on), but does look remarkably like the previous renders we've seen, and gives us a far better idea of the scale of the device. In case you missed it, the real hook of the concept is an electromagnet in the phone's base that allows it to stand up on cue, and be flipped down to dismiss an action (like an alarm or a video call). We also now know that Innes-Hopkins worked on the project at Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design in London under the tutelage of former Nokia Senior Designer Silas Grant, who was responsible for many of Nokia's premium phones like the 8800 Scirocco. Hit up the gallery below for a closer look. Update: Just to be clear. This is not an actual Nokia concept, but a project done by Innes-Hopkins for his final year

It's safe to say that General Motors is struggling for relevancy these days and, while the Chevy Volt could be a huge step into the modern era for the company, that still leaves every other car looking a bit -- traditional, technology-wise. OnStar is going to help, expanding its Volt-specific controls to the entire 2011 lineup of GM cars . When we saw OnStar's Volt app earlier this year we loved how it not only let you control recharging but also unlock the doors and monitor system specs from anywhere. While monitoring recharging status obviously won't be much good if you're rocking a good 'ol ICE vehicle, you will still be able to start the car remotely, unlock doors, and also monitor stats like tire pressure and oil level from your iPhone, BlackBerry, or Android handset, as demonstrated in a video after the break. Yes, you'll need to be an OnStar subscriber to use the app, with rates currently starting at a somewhat steep $18.95 per month. Now, if only there w

A rounded up view of his films - this is one expects from a superstar once he achieves a certain status in the industry. His opinion is being sought, his thoughts are being listened to, his view points considered and his suggestions acknowledged. Of course it is a different situation when an actor is just seeing a rise up the stairs. In fact most of the times, any expression of thoughts during the making of a film may well be considered as interference and dismissed pronto. However, success comes with its own perks (read: confidence and active involvement) and this is what Ranbir Kapoor truly enjoyed when the music of his next release Anjaana Anjaani was being written. "As is a known fact, after films like Wake Up Sid, Rocket Singh - Salesman of the Year and Raajneeti , the need of the hour for Ranbir is to fast work on a romantic musical outing. Yes, there has been a Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani that has kept his stocks moving in the world of romcom affairs, hence

Subhash K. Jha speaks with Lisa Ray about her health, career and life. Is your illness completely gone? How far are you back to your normal life? My disease, Multiple Myeloma, is in remission. We don't take the attitude that it is ever gone completely, but we monitor regularly and now I'm leading a particularly healthy life. However, that's why research is so important in the field of Multiple Myeloma- the next drug could be the one that saves my life. Someone told me, 'healing begins when you realise there's no cure'. I am not back to a normal life, but an extraordinary life because of the insights I've gotten and the changes I've made to my lifestyle. In a word: simplified. 'Healing begins when you realise there's no cure' The tenor of regular life beckons you, Lisa. Have you fully surrendered to it? I am engaging with the world, but with a different quality now. I do my best not to get stressed or ov

EXPECTATIONS It is ironical that despite the name Pritam attached to the soundtrack of Hello Darling , you play on the album with minimum expectations. There are couple of reasons for that. First and foremost it is not a quintessential romantic tale where one can expect the composer to come up with some of his best tunes. Secondly, the film has been in the making for quite some time now and due to the rapidly changing musical scene, one is apprehensive about what Hello Darling would have in the offing. Add to that the fact that it has been a while since one heard a popular soundtrack coming from the house of Subhash Ghai. Due to this, one doesn't get overtly excited to know what is in store from Hello Darling that has Shabbir Ahmed contributing with most number of songs (three) as a lyricist with Ashish Pandit and Kumaar coming up with a song apiece. MUSIC  It was four decades back when ' Aa Jaane Jaan ' was heard first in Inteqam . While there have