IBLOG SPACE

Notion Ink has been promising us details on the content partnerships lined up for their Adam slate, and the first of those deals has just been made public. LongBox Digital will be providing their digital comic system for Adam, which will allow browsing their catalog – with a rather slick animated UI which you can see demonstrated after the cut – together with downloading direct to the tablet. There’ll also be generic LongBox Digital apps for Android and iOS devices such as the iPhone and iPad, so presumably you’ll be able to transfer purchased comics across platforms. v1.1 of the company’s PC and Mac app is being released this weekend. Perhaps we’re reading too much into the press copy, but it does say that LongBox Digital are the exclusive providers for “any other tablets or portable devices utilizing Notion Ink’s Genesis system over the next two years.” Considering there’s also been rumors of a Notion Ink smartphone and an “Eve” device, that potentially bodes well for smaller fo

Cricket Crosswave MiFi from Huawei technologies, is available today for pre-order, and it looks like it’s time to give Verizon a little run for their money. This device looks pretty slick and offers wireless 3G internet for up to four devices, 3-hour usable battery life, and up to 32 GB removable memory slot. Crosswave supports nearly all Wi-Fi devices including iPad, iTouch, and iPhone. So why pay $130 for the 3G iPad when you can get a Crosswave for $105? The site claims that you can also send and receive text messages. This seems like a wasted feature if people most likely to buy this device are already carrying a laptop, iPad, or some type of mobile device. It feels like Huawei created this feature just to say they did. What do you think?

As you know from my columns here, I’m a bit of an entertainment nut. Whether it’s video games or a set-top box, I’m always looking for the latest and greatest device to satiate my desire for high-quality content that’s available whenever I call upon it. That’s precisely why I’m so excited to get my hands on Google TV. The search giant’s platform strikes me as a product that does everything the Apple TV should have done. It allows me to search the Web, pull content from just about everywhere, and enjoy some of the apps that I currently use on my smartphone. It’s simply a full-featured product that I’m looking forward to using. But that doesn’t mean that the Logitech Revue, which was detailed earlier this week and will launch at the end of the month, is necessarily worth its $299 price tag. The set-top box looks nice and I would say without hesitation that it appeals to me more than the Apple TV. But I still won’t buy it. Google TV is a software platform that would work best as a feature

You know, the Chinese gadget market isn't just about tacky shanzhai or KIRF products -- look closer and ye shall find the odd pearl on the seabed. For instance, this Coolpad N930 Android phone doesn't look too shabby with its tough titanium body, ceramic buttons, and a 3.5-inch 480 x 800 ASV LCD capacitive touchscreen, not to mention the 1GHz CPU under the hood as well. The hold-back? You might need to take a leap of faith for this young cellphone brand's first take on Google's green bot, and this is Android 2.1 we're talking about here, although a 2.2 update will be available later. This is all the info available for now -- the rest will be unveiled at the P&T / Expo Comm China in Beijing next month, if you absolutely must get hold of this handset.

See, that wasn't so bad, was it? Would-be Captivate buyers are still waiting, but the slightly-delayed BlackBerryTorch is now shipping up on Rogers for CAD $199.99 ($194) on a three-year contract... all the way up to a rather mind-blowing CAD $609.99 ($592) contract-free. For that matter, opting for a two-year contract -- which is the longest you can get on AT&T, of course -- will mean you're shelling out CAD $499.99 ($485), which seems like a pretty tough pill to swallow considering the insanely non-linear decrease in subsidy. Doesn't seem like these guys are too close to contract and ETF reform, does it?

For some of us jaded and cynical gadget bloggers, getting a feature phone to review is somewhat painful. We grumble and roll our eyes, then put the box in a corner of the office for "later." See, feature phones are really just wannabe smartphones -- like a walled garden full of weeds and broken glass, most feature phones are crippled with restrictions and a crappy user experience. But somehow this time, when we finally opened the box, we discovered something different: a smartphone disguised as a feature phone. The Samsung Wave S8500 was announced with great fanfare at Mobile World Congress in February, and was (at the time) the first device to showcase the Bada mobile platform, the first to feature a Super AMOLED display, and the first to offer Bluetooth 3.0.

Who would've thought that a new Android device -- much less an HTC -- would get rooted? Quickly, no less? Okay, so this isn't the first piece of somewhat-obvious news we've had to report today, but it's newsworthy nonetheless: instructions are now online for obtaining root on your shiny new G2 , albeit temporarily. It seems that the current hack vanishes into thin air once you reboot... but you know how this goes: we're certain that we're just days (if not hours, or minutes) away from a permanent solution. In the meantime, you know, just don't reboot.

It's almost a given that HTC may have a little announcement for us next Monday, but chances are you'd like to let Windows Phone 7 settle in for a bit while you cling on to your trusty green bot. Assuming neither the Desire HD nor the troublesome Desire Z / G2 tickled your fancy, you now have two more options for consideration: a "phantom black" Legend and a "brilliant white" Desire (as seen a few weeks ago). Patrons in Europe should be seeing these new handsets starting this month, but here's a caveat: we're told that rather than going 100 percentSLCD for the Desire, it's actually a mix of both SLCD and AMOLED, so be sure to double-check with your store before handing over your hard-earned euros.

Alright, Boulder owners, heads up -- your upgrade has arrived. The rumored Casio G'zOne Ravine is now official for Verizon, offering a 3.2 megapixel camera with LED flash, noise cancellation, VZ Navigator support, and -- of course -- MIL-STD-810G compliance for resistance to "water, dust, shock, vibration, humidity, altitude, salt fog, solar radiation, and high and low temperatures." Salt fog can be brutal, can't it? It's also got push-to-talk capability over Verizon's EV-DO network, though we suspect that ain't a thing for most would-be Ravine buyers -- serious push-to-talkers have long since rallied around Sprint and Boost, both of whom offered their own ruggedized gear. We don't have a date just yet, but it'll be "coming soon" for $149.99 after $50 rebate on a two-year contract.

You might not care too much about the CLIQ XT now that Motorola's announced a whole slew of new Android-based models, but back off for a hot second, killer -- there are still plenty of devices out there in the field, and gosh darnit, they still deserve love. The promised Android 2.1 upgrade has yet to arrive, sadly, but T-Mobile and Moto are in the process of trialling a smaller version bump that includes a fresher version of Swype and promises to improve overall system performance, touch response, and stability. On the surface, it seems like Motorola would've been better off investing this time and energy into that long-overdue taste of Eclair... but hey, what do we know?

Looking for a new Android form factor on AT&T and don't mind a bit of BLUR? Motorola 's got you covered, with the mid-range Bravo, low-end Flipside and budget Flipout you see immediately above. We spotted the trio of Android 2.1 devices at CTIA 2010 and had to give them a try, and though none really impressed they've got some interesting designs. You won't hear us clapping for the $129 Bravo, as it's basically a pared-down Defy -- the same 3.7-inch WVGA slatephone, but with a fixed-focus three megapixel camera and without the ruggedized outsides. Meanwhile, surfers, skaters and virtual keyboard haters could possibly enjoy the $80 Flipout and $100 Flipside. The former's got the same sort of irresistible, pocketable style that made Nintendo's Game Boy Advance SP an instant hit half a decade back, arguably even more so than its inspiration, though as you'd imagine the 2.8-inch QVGA screen and other Charm features leave much to be desired. It's a pai

In the event Sonim's existing XP2 wasn't quite rugged enough for you... well, first of all, we're curious what exactly it is that you do for a living. Secondly, though, you might want to take a look at the just-announced XP1300 Core, allegedly the world's first GSM handset to receive an IP-68 rating for submersion to two meters of liquid for up to 30 minutes -- a feat Sonim calls "a breakthrough in waterproofing technology." It's got a media player, but that's just about the only creature comfort you're going to find on a phone whose death-proof shell is fashioned from a hardened rubber and fiberglass mix. Naturally, the 2-inch display uses Gorilla Glass... and realistically, the phone itself could probably be used by actual gorillas without missing a beat. It ships next month for $399 unsubsidized in your choice of black or yellow. Update: We just saw it for ourselves briefly at CTIA West, and the phone's durable all right -- Sonim brought a

Samsung had promised a US Cellular-branded version of its wildly ubiquitous Galaxy S line... and here it is. The so-called Mesmerize name fits in appropriately with some of its contemporaries -- Vibrant, Fascinate, Captivate -- and looks very much the same, too, featuring the usual 4-inch Super AMOLED display, 5 megapixel camera with 720p capture, 1GHz Hummingbird processor, and both WiFi and Bluetooth 3.0. Unfortunately, it'll be launching with Android 2.1, it seems, but a Froyo update is promised for "later this year." Look for it in stores on October 27 for $199 after an $80 mail-in rebate, followed by a couple other Android devices -- the LG Apex and Optimus -- in November and December, respectively.

EXPECTATIONS Fun. That's in one word to describe the expectation that one has from the music of Golmaal 3 . Films coming form the house of Rohit Shetty have time and again celebrated life and are aimed at youth. Whether it is Golmaal, Golmaal 2, All The Best or Sunday , music in each of these films has been vibrant with no single dull moment. This is what one expects from Golmaal 3 as well that has composer Pritam and lyricist Kumaar coming together. With the film being third in the series, one expects double the fun this time around, if not the triple. MUSIC  It's time for some ' Golmaal ' all over again as K.K., Anouska Manchanda and Monali Thakur come together for a high on energy title track. The beginning is exactly on the same line as what one would have expected here, which means that the sound of ' Golmaal Golmaal ' is heard all over again. The 'remix version' ensures though that there is a lot of spunk ready to be exploited on t

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Diwangi... is a stirring saga is one of a boy called Raj, who lives in your neighborhood. Raj is the son of a retired colonel. Raj, who studies in College, is a fun loving guy and loves his family dearly. He is a star player on his college's soccer team. Mehek is a childhood friend of Raj and the daughter of the Commissioner of Police. She loves Raj, but has never expressed her feelings to him. Priya also studies in the same college as Raj. She is a spoiled brat, who tends to play pranks with her few selected friends. She often humiliates other students and insults them in front of everyone. Raj comes in her path, she tries to lure him, but all her efforts go in vain. Her friends bet with Priya to subdue Raj. Irritated with Priya, Raj slaps her in front of the whole college. Everyone is shocked! But one slap changes her entire life and makes her fall in love with Raj. Priya's father K. N. Singh, a white collar underworld don, has only one dream and that is to

In a season of overblown action-comedies with superstars laying down the ground-rules for dynamic dada-giri on the large screen, it is refreshing and comforting to see an aging world-weary working-class hero who travels to work on a rickety scooter and tries to fulfil his nuclear family's dreams of a car. The journey from the two-wheeler to the four is what Do Dooni Chaar is about. It's a simple premise peppered and punctuated by scenes and dialogues straight out of a Punjabi middleclass household in Delhi where the two grownup kids dream of BMWs and IPL shares while the father tries to put together money for an Alto and chicken meals for his family. The film directed by debutant Habib Faizal, has a heart warming slice-of-life feel to it. Rishi Kapoor, playing a working-class loser for the first time in his career pitches in a near-flawless performance as a maths teacher whose students have gone on to own the best cars in the world while he, the gyan guru ,