IBLOG SPACE

Today Google has rebranded its massive set of markets into one: Google Play, “Pure Entertainment, Anywhere You want it to be.” This new market is taking the place of the Android Market, the Music store, Books, and Video stores as well. Google has taken this evolution of their market structure and put it at the forefront of not only their digital sales for each of these different medias, but for their cloud storage services as well. What you’ve got here is not just a store, but a place you can access your purchases at any time from whatever device you’ve got that can hook in. We’ve got Google Play Books, Google Play Movies, Google Play Music, and more. This store is set to work on both the mobile platform and in-browser for all devices able to run a web browser. This new market will be sent out to Android devices running Android 2.2 FroYo over the next few days and will be replacing the Android Market name in the Google sandbar soon as well. The biggest difference for most people here s

Maybe you’re doing some undercover work and need a clear shot through a windscreen or window. Maybe you just find glare and reflections really annoying. If only there was a way to take better photos on your smartphone and sidestep the problem! While there have been plenty of plethora of camera accessories available for the iPhone, particularly the iPhone 4S with its excellent camera, there hasn’t been one quite like this. Here’s a nifty little case plus camera that aims to reduce reflections. It’s compatible with the iPhone 4 and 4S, snapping on the back, with the camera overlaid on top of the iPhone’s existing lens. The idea is simple: the camera on the case uses a polarizing filter lens in order to reduce reflections off of non-metallic surfaces. That means clearer shots through windows, and as the example picture shows, windshields. It’s not the first time someone has come up with the idea of augmenting the iPhone’s camera, although this particular camera case combo is one of the mo

This week the folks at Imangi Studios have officially announced availability for their upcoming release of Temple Run for Android. This game has already seen massive success on the iOS platform for both of Apple’s hero devices, iPhone and iPad, and has been the Top Grossing App and Top Free App in the App Store back in January of this year – not an easy feat. There will be a FREE TO DOWNLOAD version of the app available for Android at the end of this month – March 27th to be exact, and the release will almost certainly break records if interest shown thus far is any indication. This release date appears to be set in stone more or less, with the co-founder of Imangi Studios letting loose the information complete with excited comments abound. This announcement is sure to thrill not only Android fans, but those iPad and iPhone fans that have been waiting to prove themselves against the whole mobile world, not just their Apple compatriots. As Keith Shepherd notes: “We are excited to finall

Things are in full swing at the Geneva Motor Show, and Harman have a little something they’d like to show you there. They’ve come up with a integrated and personalized dashboard system designed to sync with your existing smartphone, whether it be iOS, Android, or BlackBerry. The system works via NFC: when you enter your vehicle with your smartphone, the interface remembers settings from when you were last in the car, such as seat adjustments, volume preferences, and social network feeds. Settings are personalized to each driver, so if you share a vehicle with a partner you won’t find yourself having to readjust everything whenever you drive. The system also integrates with the navigation system, tweaking routes and gas station preferences as it learns more about your driving habits. Safety also seems to be a key feature – rather than swiping and taping away at your phone, motion gesture controls are employed instead, and the system can suggest you pull over for a rest if needed. Right

The high definition 2012 line of LED TVs from Samsung have been revealed, and everything from the massive 65-inch ES8000 all the way down to the 26-inch EH4000 are up for grabs throughout the year. With only 6 out of a vast list of new models being TBA for availability time, we’ve got so many features to look forward to with Smart TV integration with LED brightness that your head will spin. Prices on this giant line of televisions ranges from $329.99 all the way up to $5,099.99, and that again is for the 65-inch model without an availability estimation. Though features to vary by model, Samsung has presented an impressive lineup for these televisions for the 2012 season of Smart TV and LED technology integration. Starting with improved picture quality, these televisions will have both Micro Dimming Ultimate and Real Black Pro up their sleeves controlled with a handful of new control abilities. You’ll be able to use your new Smart Touch Remote, your Smart Wireless Keyboard, or voice and

The final chapter of BioWare’s hit role-playing action series, Mass Effect 3, hits shelves today in the United States. While that game is available for PC, XBox 360, and PS3, there’s also an iOS game available for the iPhone and iPad, Mass Effect: Infiltrator, that serves as a side story and add-on to the Mass Effect universe. While the game isn’t directly connected by plot line or characters, EA have added a unique twist to the title: any intel that you find can be uploaded to their servers, which helps your chances surviving the final battle in Mass Effect 3. Completing the mobile game also gives you additional War Assets that can be used in ME3. Otherwise, Mass Effect: Infiltrator seems to focus more on action. You’ll find your character ducking behind cover and exchanging salvos with enemies using swipe and tap controls. Familiar enemies from the Mass Effect games also make an appearance, and there are several boss battles to get to grips with. Weapons and armor can also be upgrade

Verizon and several cable companies plans to pool spectrum for an huge push in LTE coverage have raised the ire of rivals, with T-Mobile USA, DIRECTV and others petitioning the FCC for full access to redacted evidence over concerns the move may be anti-competitive. In an open letter [pdf] submitted to the FCC, the ten groups take issue with Verizon, Comcast, Time Warner, Brighthouse and Cox asserting that access to full documentation isn’t in the public interest. Without that access, they suggest, “interested parties would be unfairly deprived of the information they need to produce a complete portrait of the impact this transaction will have on the public interest” and thus unable to advise the FCC. “As an institutional matter, the Commission cannot allow Verizon and the cable companies to make unilateral determinations that certain information is not relevant to the Commission’s public interest determination or is too sensitive to be sufficiently protected by Commission safeguards. A

Let’s face it, 1080p is old news. Need glasses for your 3D content? That’s so 2011. Toshiba showed off the ZL2 TV back in September, which had two attractive features under its belt. First, you don’t need glasses to enjoy the 3D image it can pump out; and second, it has a resoultion very close to 4K, what Toshiba are calling “Quad HD”, 3840 x 2160. Toshiba took to Twitter today to announce that the TV will be available for order from UK retailer John Lewis on March 12th. Not only that, there will be a demo unit available at the Oxford Street, London, John Lewis store if you want to go take a look at what glasses-free 3D content looks like, and if you want to torment yourself over a TV you’ll probably never be able to afford. The Toshiba ZL2 is a 55” set with a 3840 x 2160 resolution, featuring Toshba’s Resoultion+ upscaling technology so that your existing DVDs and Blu-rays look as good as possible on the display. Auto Calibration support also means that colour temperature, gamma, and

The lure of the iPad HD means almost a third of mobile web users fully intend to buy the third-gen Apple tablet, despite there being no confirmed specifications or pricing for the new slate, according to market researchers. 29-percent of those surveyed told mobile ad network inMobi they intended to grab the iPad 3/iPad HD when it launches, while 65-percent would also consider a cut-price iPad 2 instead if the numbers were right. Half of those surveyed said they’d willingly pay more than $500 for the iPad HD; currently, only the entry-level 16GB iPad 2 WiFi model sneaks in at under that price point. 44-percent of the 689 surveyed said they wouldn’t consider any other tablet brand than Apple; for the remainder, Samsung took a distant second place in slate appeal. The results echo SlashGear’s own research, where 16-percent of over 9,500 surveyed said they intend to buy the new iPad regardless of its price. A further 16-percent said they were only waiting on final details before pulling th

The LulzSec saga continues, although it may perhaps be at its end in this bizarre development that reads like something out of a movie. The shadowy organization has reportedly been brought down by the FBI, who have been working with LulzSec’s own leader, Hector Xavier Monsegur, otherwise known as “Sabu”, after the hacker agreed to cooperate having been arrested in mid-2011. Fox News reports that three suspects have been arrested, while two more have been charged with conspiracy. Those under suspicion hail from across the globe, with two men from Britain, two from Ireland, and one in Chicago. How exactly did this all come about? Hector Xavier Monsegur was secretly arrested by the FBI back in June, and has been a cooperating witness with them every since, feeding them information about LulzSec in order to bring them down from the inside. Monsegur, whose alias was “Sabu”, pleaded guilty to 12 counts of hacking charges on August 15th, with his exact records due to be unsealed today at the

Adobe Lightroom 4 has been in beta since January, but the final version of the popular photo editing tool is now available for Mac OS and Windows. New users will be able to purchase a license for $149, down from the previous $299 for Lightroom 3. Anyone looking to upgrade will need to pay $79. One of the biggest new features of Lightroom 4 includes adjustment controls to maximize dynamic range from cameras, enabling users to get the best highlight and shadow details. Additional controls allow you to dynamically set exposure and contrast, as well as the usual features such as noise reduction and moire removal. Native video support also allows footage to be pulled from DSLRs and smartphones to be adjusted from within Lightroom itself. You’ll be able to trim and edit footage, as well as make similar image adjustments to your video. When you’re done, you can export as H.264, or publish straight to Facebook and Flickr. Lightroom 4 is available on Adobe’s online store right now. The full run

We’ve sent monkeys, humans, and even phones into space, so why not a space shuttle made out of Lego? That was what Raul Oiada and Steve Sammartino set out to do on December 31st 2011. They successfully launcheda Lego space shuttle with a budget of around $1,000. The launch took place in Germany, with the shuttle strapped to a 1,600g meteo balloon filled with helium. A GoPro Hero camera was used to capture the action, and Spot GPS used to track the progress. In the end, the shuttle made it up to 35,000m. To ensure that the Lego shuttle could survive the 200km/h winds, Raul and Sam had to superglue the model together. The pair note the cheap cost of putting the project together, noting that even ten years ago, the budget would have been around much greater. Steve Sammartino said: The rig was really cheap – less than $1,000. Which 10 years ago might have been$ 100,000 (Including GPS trackers, HD camera capable of surviving space conditions et al. Add to this that without the web (Skype, P

Sony has inadvertently found itself funding FreeAnons, after band Atari Teenage Riot agreed to one of its tracks being used in a PS Vita commercial but donated the fee to the Anonymous legal support group. Alex Empire of Atari Teenage Riot has some history with Sony – the company used a track of his without permission back in 1999 in a Handycam commercial – and so couldn’t resist suggesting track Black Flags when the Japanese company came looking for music for its new Vita advertising campaign. The song contains multiple references toAnonymous and has been used in several Occupy Wall Street (OWS) promotional videos. The end result is likely to be embarrassing to Sony, who would far have preferred attention on its advertising being focused on the PS Vita itself rather than hacktovist donations. Exactly how much Sony paid in licensing to Atari Teenage Riot is unclear. Sony PS Vita advert: “I cross checked they can’t stop the track from appearing in the OWS online clips of ATR/Anonymous e

Calling all cars, calling all cars! Be on the lookout for escaped penguin, swims at tremendous speed, considered armed and cute. A one-year-old Humboldt penguin has escaped from the Tokyo Sea Life Park. The young penguin went on the lamb recently and was spied swimming in the Kyu-Edo River headed towards Tokyo Bay. The penguin apparently escaped from the aquarium, which is harbor front, by climbing a wall. How exactly a flightless bird can make it over a wall is unknown. Perhaps he is a fan of Penguins of Madagascar and knows illegal ninja moves from the government. The aquarium operators didn’t know the penguin was missing until the director of a nearby zoo e-mail them a picture of the little guy frolicking in the water. Apparently, officials have tried to capture the penguin, but the penguin is able to swim at tremendous speeds and has thus far eluded captors. According to a park official, the aquarium is making great efforts to recapture the penguin. This particular penguin breed is

If you’re the sort who has thought winning the car of the year trophy in the automotive industry was nothing but a popularity contest, consider this. A panel of automotive journalists from 23 countries have named the Chevrolet Volt/Opel Ampera as the European Car of the Year. The irony is the Chevrolet Volt is so unpopular, production has been halted due to an oversupply on the market. General Motors suspended Volt production from March 19 to April 23 in the US. In February, the GM only sold 1023 Volts. The suspended production means that 1300 workers at the Detroit-Hamtramck plant will be temporarily laid off. The Volt landed 330 of the votes out of 1475 that were made. The second-place car was the Volkswagen Up! with 281, votes followed closely by the Ford Focus with 256 votes. The Volt is considered an extended range hybrid vehicle with the gasoline-powered generator to recharge the batteries for longer driving distance. The car has been the subject of intense scrutiny after fires d

While most consumers have been lamenting the high price of hard drives after the floods in Thailand last year, lack of competition is always a cause for concern in the market. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission have taken steps to ensure that doesn’t happen with Western Digital’s recent acquisition of Hitachi. Western Digital purchased Hitachi for $4.5 billion last year, and in order for that acquisition to be finalized, the FTC are requiring that Western Digital sell off assets used to make its hard drives to Toshiba. Those assets will allow Toshiba to compete in the 3.5” desktop hard drive market, and prevent a duopoly with Western Digital and Seagate at the helm. The FTC ruled that the original terms of the acquisition were anti-competitive. The steps it has taken against Western Digital will ensure that Toshiba can provide competition, allowing them access to research and development employees, as well as the resources necessary to take Hitachi’s place in the market. Western Digital

The vast majority of PC users, even those who would consider themselves “technology professionals”, won’t ever require the kind of computing power that a workstation-class machine can provide. But for those that do, specifications are paramount, and HP aims to please with its updated Z420, Z620 and Z820 workstations. Upgrades to the previous Zx00 models include faster Xeon processors, expanded storage, a redesigned chassis for and (gasp) up to 512GB of system memory. You read that right: 512 gigabytes of RAM. Of course, this massive amount of memory is only available on the flagship Z820, utilizing two linked system motherboards and using sixteen individual 32GB DDR3 DIMMs. Other options for the outlandish machine include dual Intel Xeon E5 processor (16 processing cores total) up to 14 terabytes of traditional hard drive storage and Nvidia Quadro 6000m graphics. The Z820 will start at $2,299 and go way, way up. The middle of the range is occupied by the Z620, which keeps the industria

Verizon Wireless has a new service, which is intended to provide rural homes with wireless broadband. The service is pitched as an alternative to satellite Internet service or for homes don’t have access to DSL or other services. The new service is called HomeFusion, and it places an antenna inside what appears to be a 5-gallon bucket on the outside of the home to provide connectivity to the entire house. The external antenna cost $200 and installation work is free. The service starts at $60 a month and provides a mere 10 GB of data for the entire home. Verizon spins that 10 GB data allotment well enough noting that you could watch 10 hours of HD quality video or download the complete works of Shakespeare 2000 times with that much bandwidth. Anyone who enjoys Netflix or other streaming video services will blow through 10 GB in very short order on a single TV. Toss in some online gamers and what you have is a mix for huge overage fees. Perhaps the 5-gallon bucket over the top the antenn

Despite receiving generally favourable reviews, one problem that has consistently plagued the Nokia Lumia 800 is the poor battery life. Users have also reported charging issues in the past, unable to start the phone when battery life has been depleted. Nokia have rolled out two updates in the past to address these issues, and now a third has gone live in Singapore. WPCentral is reporting that the update with a version number of 12070 is currently being pushed to Lumia 800s in Singapore. The update supposedly brings better battery performance, with claims of “nearly tripled” battery life. The phone has also been tweaked to draw just 70mA of power during idle time. Other improvements are said to include refined screen brightness controls and adjusted white balance in the camera application. An issue relating to audio bass has also reportedly been rectified. Users on xda-developershave also uncovered references to new camera features, including a panarama mode, and a self timer, although

Google Wallet has some significant issues with security already this year. A potential hack was discovered in February that could have exposed credit cards. However, no evidence of credit card abuse or theft was noted. The security flaw was only exploitable on rooted Android devices. It seems Google is taking a different route with potential security flaws on rooted Android devices; it has decided to end support for rooted smartphones. When a user of a rooted Android device launches Google Wallet, they now get a greeting that says “Unsupported Device.” Some people won’t appreciate a ban on rooted devices, but lack of support for this software is one of the risks you run when you root your smartphone. If Google Wallet is used on rooted devices, there is a chance that a hacker can take advantage of the flaw and access credit cards tied to the account. Is anyone out there particularly upset that rather than plugging the potential security issue for smartphones that are rooted, Google simp

YouTube and Disney originally signed a deal back in November that would see the two working together, with Disney creating original short videos for the streaming website. That hasn’t come to pass yet, but part of the agreement looks to have included Disney offering up some of its existing content to watch for free. Over the past couple of days, Disney owned shows such as The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and Lizzie McGuire have started appearing on YouTube under the channel name Disney Shows. Currently there are 67 videos available to watch, with episodes from a variety of different shows. Neither company have made waves about the content being made available, and it’s unclear at this point if more is to follow. It’s not the first time that free, full-length content has been available to view on YouTube, but typically the range of material was lacking. Although children’s shows clearly won’t appeal to everyone, it’s an important move for Google to seize as much content as it can. The

Just when I thought, the Sony PSP was dead and gone, the electronics giant pulls out a new PSP value pack. This new value pack is interesting because it’s a new two-tone version in sky blue and marine blue. The backside is a darker blue; the buttons are darker blue while the face is a light blue. This isn’t the first two-tone PSP Sony has offered in Japan, there have been black and red, white and blue, and red and black versions in the past. The special colored version will be offered in limited quantities starting this Thursday and will sell for ¥17,800. Sony says that this version uses colors to remind users of blue sky and sea. The bundle includes a memory stick Pro duo 2 GB card, body colored pouch, and the battery. The special mobile doesn’t include any games. This particular PSP bundle pack carries part number PSPJ-30027. There is no indication that this bundle will be offered outside of Japan. I wonder when we will see the last of the PSPs now that the Vita is on the market. I g

As terrifying car concepts go, Bentley‘s new EXP 9 F SUV Design Concept will take some beating: from the peasant-snorting grille up front to the puckered tailpipes bringing up the rear, it’s a hymn to automotive excess. Revealed at the Geneva Motor Show, the EXP 9 F is described as a “potential” third model-line alongside Bentley’s Mulsanne and Continental ranges, with a 6.0 litre, twin turbocharged W12 engine and 8 speed transmission shunting power through all-wheel drive, while passengers are cosseted in leather and polished gunmetal. Oh, and there’s a big bird of prey, too. The falcon – which Bentley brought on stage as part of their concept demo – doesn’t actually come with the car, as that could prove something of a distraction if it burst out of the glove compartment. Instead, you get bespoke picnic hampers in the trunk, along with a pull-out awning and a pair of concealed umbrellas. Bentley EXP 9 F Design Concept: Since it’s a concept, Bentley hasn’t been able to resist spatteri

Nintendo has announced sales numbers for the 3DS in the United States in its first year. According to Nintendo, it sold 4.5 million units during the first year the 3DS was available in the states. That is almost twice as many than the number of Nintendo DS units were sold in the first year. Nintendo attributes much of the success of the 3DS to popular video games that launched throughout the first year the 3DS was offered. The video games included titles like Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Cart 7. Nintendo plans to sell a bunch of 3DS consoles this year as well building on the massive game library with titles like Resident Evil Revelations from CAPCOM, Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games published by SEGA, TEKKEN 3D Prime Edition from NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc., METAL GEAR SOLID Snake Eater 3D from Konami Digital Entertainment and the upcoming Kid Icarus: Uprising and Spirit Camera: The Cursed Memoir from Nintendo. Nintendo sold 2.3 million Nintendo DS consoles the f

Nokia World 2012 will see the company head back to Finland, with the show to take place on September 25 and 26 in Helsinki. Apparently confirmed by Nokia design chief Marko Ahtisaari, Reuters’ Tarmo Virki reports, the show will set the stage for the next phase in the company’s restructuring, after seeing market share and customer interest consumed by rivals like Apple and Samsung. Update: Nokia has confirmed the location and dates. Recent public showings by Nokia have been high-profile. Back at Nokia World 2011 late last year, the company finally unveiled its first Lumia Windows Phones, along with a range of Asha devices targeting “the next billion” users in developing markets. CEO Stephen Elop also promised to have the new devices on the market far faster than Nokia has previously managed. Meanwhile, at MWC 2012 last week, Nokia not only revealed new Windows Phone models – including its cheapest to-date, the Lumia 610 - but the fruits of five years of imaging research in the shape of

With iPad HD speculation pulling together ahead of Wednesday’s Apple event, rumors around the tipped “iPad mini” continue to fizz in the background ahead of the smaller slates expected Q3 2012 launch. Although talk of a 7.85-inch display has proliferated in recent months, Apple’s order book is supposedly for 7.1-inch panels according to VentureBeat‘s trusted sources, as the company “is particularly keen on taking back ground from the Kindle Fire.” Arguably a 7.1-inch tablet would make more sense for Apple than a near-8-inch model. The company’s existing iPad is already 9.7-inches, and a 7.1-inch version would slot neatly into the midpoint between it and the 3.5-inch iPod touch. According to previous leaks, LG Display and AU Optronics have been fingered to supply the LCD IPS screens, with Samsung left out of the party as Apple attempts to distance itself from the supplier. Apple’s attitude to a smaller tablet than the original iPad has been until now uninterested; Steve Jobs memorably d

Acer is getting ready to help celebrate the Olympic Games in London this summer with the unveiling of a special version of the Iconia Tab A510. The special version is called the Iconia Tab A510 Olympic Games edition. The special edition has the Acer and Olympic logos and will come in black or silver colors. The tablet also has a 15-hour battery life for all day use on the go. The tablet uses the Nvidia Tegra 3 quad core processor and the 15-hour battery has 9800 mAh of power. That quad core Tegra 3 processor also has a fifth companion core that handles low-power tasks like music playback and active standby tasks. The tablet runs Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and ships with mobile productivity apps installed including Acer Print for wireless printing, which is compatible with 87% of the brand-name printers on the market. Other productivity apps include Polaris Office, which is optimized for tablet use on the go. The tablet also features Dolby Mobile 3+ technology with 5.1 HD sound outp

Mobile payments are becoming a big deal in the online and mobile shopping realm. There are accessories for notebooks and some smartphones and tablets that allow you to swipe a credit card or use NFC technology for payments on the go. A new startup called Jumio has announced that it has raised $25 million in series B funding to develop its new technology and bring it to market, which complements its existing credit card reading tech. Last year, Jumio launched technology turns the web cam on your notebook or other device into a credit card reader called Netswipe. The company is back with new technology that is called Netverify, and it can read all sorts of ID documents. The new technology is designed to scan any ID simply by holding it in front of a web cam. The idea is that you could take a photo of your passport or drivers license, and fax or e-mail it to another recipient. I can see a potential use for this in online shopping as well. You could hold up your drivers license and enter y

Samsung continues its smartphone scheme of “a phone for every finger, fat or thin” with the Galaxy Pocket, a dinky device with a 2.8-inch QVGA screen and Android 2.3 Gingerbread. As the resolution and OS version suggest, the Galaxy Pocket falls at the budget end of the scale, running an 832MHz single-core processor and toting a mere 2-megapixel fixed-focus camera. There’s also WiFi b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0 and USB 2.0, along with 3GB of internal storage and a microSD card slot. a 3.5mm headphone socket and FM radio round out the main specs, together with 3.6Mbps-capable dualband UMTS/HSDPA and quadband GSM/EDGE. Samsung preloads its TouchWiz UI and Social Hub, and the ChatON multi-platform IM app is available for download from the company’s own Samsung Apps store. You also get the usual Gmail, YouTube, Google Maps and Android Market access. Really, though, it’s the size that makes the Galaxy Pocket anywhere near special: at 103.7 x 57.5 x 12 mm and 97g it’s the perfect smartphone for anyon

Acer has announced a new line of notebook computers called the V3 series that says are optimized for today’s digital needs. The line will include 14, 15.6, and 17.3-inch versions. That covers the most popular size notebooks around. The line will have a variety of options for processors and GPUs. Acer will utilize Intel Core family processors and Nvidia GeForce GT series GPUs. Some models are available with options that improve their entertainment capabilities. Specifically, the 17.3-inch model can be had with the Acer CineCrystal HD+ 1600×900 LED backlit display. It’s also fitted with Dolby Home Theater v4 sound and a Blu-ray disk drive. The machine has HDMI out for connecting to your big-screen. All V3 series notebooks have Wi-Fi and Gigabit Ethernet ports along with Acer Crystal Eye HD WebCams. The line also has memory card slots handling multiple formats, Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity, and USB 2.0/ 3.0 ports. Some of the USB ports also support the charging of connected devices when the

Acer has revealed its latest ultrabook, the Aspire Timeline Ultra M3, building on the Timeline Ultras of CES with dedicated NVIDIA GeForce GT640M graphics driving a 15-inch display. A choice of SSD-only or SSD/HDD hybrid – using the solid-state drive for speedier boot and resume times – storage is on offer, along with Intel Core processors and an integrated DVD drive. Battery life is up to eight hours, Acer says, though you also get a 1.5s resume from sleep and the promise of internet-connectivity within 2.5s. The chiclet keyboard is full-sized and even has space for a numeric keypad, while the ultrabook as a whole is clad in aluminum alloy. Whether consumers really need a DVD burner in their ultraportable notebook is still questionable, though being 20mm thick and still achieving that is admirable. Those without discrete graphics needs can pick from the Timeline Ultra 15- and 14-inch models revealed back in January, meanwhile. The Aspire Timeline Ultra M3 will be available worldwide b

Back when the first iPad launched, many people wanted a stylus. Ten One Design was one of the first to release a stylus that would work with the iPad touch screen. Ten One Design is back with another stylus for the next-generation iPad expected to be called the iPad HD. The new stylus is called the Blue Tiger Stylus and is hailed as the world’s first pressure-sensitive Bluetooth 4.0 stylus for the iPad. The pressure-sensitive design of the stylus will appeal greatly to artists and other people who like to doodle on the iPad. The company points out that Bluetooth 4.0 technology is fully supported by the CoreBluetooth framework inside iOS 5. The stylus won’t need to be paired with the iPhone or iPad, the Bluetooth 4.0 technology senses the stylus, and it starts to work. Ten One says that any application will be able to use Blue Tiger stylus. Developers wanting to take full advantage of the pressure-sensitive nature of the device can integrate free code into their apps that the design com

Google and Motorola Mobility have been ordered to hand over Android development information to Apple, with a Chicago judge apparently agreeing with the iPhone maker that roadmap details along with acquisition info is vital to Apple’s patent lawsuit. “Motorola shall be expected to obtain full and immediate compliance by Google with Apple’s liability discovery demands” US Circuit Judge Richard A. Posner ruled, Bloomberg reports, though Motorola has fired back with the argument that it has no control over Google’s disclosure. “Google’s employees and documents are not within the ‘possession, custody, or control’ of Motorola,” the company’s legal team said in a court filing, “and Motorola cannot force Google to produce documents or witnesses over Google’s objections.” Google, meanwhile, has declined to comment on the ruling. Exactly what information Apple is seeking is unclear at this stage, and it’s not specified as yet whether the Android roadmap details concern Google’s future plans for

Gigabyte doesn’t only have ultrabooks for CeBIT this week; the company also has a 15.6-inch gaming notebook, the Gigabyte P2542G, packing a quadcore Core i7 processor and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660M 2GB graphics. Following rival gaming machines in opting for an eye-catchingly bright casing, the yellow P2542G has a 1920 x 1080 Full HD LED-backlit display and Blu-ray drive, together with four dual-channel stereo speakers and two separate woofers. Gigabyte has split the air ducting for the CPU and GPU, giving the P2542G twin air vents and dual heat-sinks that, the company reckons, will keep things comfortably chilly even after a heavy gaming session. Still, we’d probably not leave it on our laps while hammering through levels. Storage is courtesy of either a 7,200rpm hard-drive or an SSD, while connectivity includes two USB 3.0 ports along with HDMI, though you also get a regular VGA output too. Obviously there’s the usual webcam, microphone and the like, studded around the display. Pricing a

Gigabyte has jumped aboard the ultrabook bandwagon, revealing a pair of the MacBook Air rivaling ultraportables, the U2442N and U2442V, packing Intel Core i5 and i7 processors. Revealed at CeBIT 2012 this week, the two models have 14-inch 1600 x 900 LED-backlit displays and NVIDIA GeForce GT 640M 2GB graphics, along with either SSD or HDD storage. The U2442N is the bruiser of the two, with a choice of Core i5 or i7 standard voltage processors for those looking to do serious work with their ultrabook. The U2442V, meanwhile, uses ULV (ultra-low voltage) versions of the Intel chips, for improved battery life, though Gigabyte isn’t saying exactly how long either machine will last on a single charge. Storage is either SSD or up to 750GB HDD, while connectivity includes dual-antenna WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, USB 3.0 and – optionally – a Thunderbolt port. The keyboard is backlit for easier low-light typing, and the notebooks measure between 18.5 and 20.5mm thick and weigh under 1.49kg. No word on