Google and OpenSocial

When Google was asked during the press conference earlier today if they had invited Facebook into OpenSocial, the answer was “yes,” and then changed to “we can’t comment, followed by “we have reached out to virtually everyone in this space” (quotes are rough, I was taking notes but not recording). Whichever one is the correct answer, the clear indication was that Google was reaching out to Facebook to join the club.

Facebook, however, says they haven’t had the pleasure. When we asked them if they were planning on joining, Brandee Barker, Director of corporate ommunications at Facebook, responded:

Despite reports, Facebook has still not been briefed on OpenSocial. When we have had a chance to understand the technology, then Facebook will evaluate participation relative to the benefits to its 50 million users and 100,000 platform developers.

LG UP3

Meet LG's latest DAP, the UP3. That name gives a hint as to the device's objective to double-up as both a USB drive and MP3 player. Of course, the vast majority of all MP3 players already do this -- something apparently lost on LG's marketing department. The all metal UP3 shares the stylings of their FM37 touch-screen player and comes packing 1GB, 2GB, 4GB of storage; an FM radio; MP3, WMA, and OGG audio and ASF video support; and an itty bitty OLED display of unspecified dimensions supporting 65,000 colors. 4GB will cost you just ₩84,000 (about $92) whenever these pop for retail.

Nanotech drives

Wired has a write-up of a new storage technology developed at Arizona State University that could produce flash thumb drives capable of storing terabytes of data in the near future, that also happens to be cheaper and more energy efficient than flash memory. The new technology has been branded programmable metallization cell, and differs from present storage technologies in that it "creates nanowires from copper atoms the size of a virus to record binary ones and zeros." It all sounds very interesting -- if slightly too optimistic -- to us, and we'll get to find out relatively soon just how effective the new chips are: Arizona State's business arm has licensed the technology to three companies, which may be ready to sell a product containing the chips within 18 months. Watch this space.

iPhone .. no cash!!

Coincidence or not, Apple has stiffened up the requirements to pick up a new iPhone shortly after announcing that 250,000 or so of the 1.4 million it sold in Q4 went to unlockers. In an admittedly intriguing move, Apple has decided that it will "no longer accept cash for iPhone purchases," and moreover, each individual will only be allowed to buy two (on plastic, of course) in an effort to "stop people from reselling them." More specifically, spokeswoman Natalie Kerris stated that the company is "requiring a credit or debit card for payment to discourage unauthorized resellers," so don't even bother bringing the greenbacks if you're lookin' to grab an iPhone from Apple.

ikon PDA phone

Last we heard from Psion Teklogix, it was busy cranking out a handheld workhorse for those rough days in the field, but now the outfit is celebrating its 40th year in the biz by offering up the iKon. This PDA / smartphone features a 3.7-inch VGA display, an integrated camera, built-in GPS, GSM / GPRS / UMTS connectivity options, Bluetooth, WiFi, a barcode scanner and your choice of Windows Mobile 6 Classic / Professional or CE.net 5. Furthermore, this tough guy can withstand falls from five feet to polished concrete, and it'll also hold its own when faced with sandstorms and downpours. Sadly, Psion Teklogix isn't fessing up to what the iKon will cost, but you can certainly contact the firm directly when it goes on sale this December should you be interested.

Apple touch keyboard

Tactile feedback isn't exactly new to the mobile device arena, but Apple is apparently looking to add a bit of tactility to on-screen keyboards of the future. In a recent patent filing, the gurus in Cupertino have described four arrangements for accomplishing the aforementioned goal, some of which include adding dots / bars to keys and throwing an articulating frame underneath the panel to enable users to feel varying levels of resistance when mashing down. Per usual, we're left to imagine where such technology could eventually end up (tough job, we know), but considering that this is the third touchpad-related filing seen from Apple in the past 20 days, who knows what is (or isn't) brewing.

Plam treo 800w revealed...

Are we staring at the new Treo 800w? We obviously know what's up with the Centro and the 500 (namely the 500v), so the only missing ID in that lineup is the 800, successor to the 700-series flagship throne. Well, if this thing is the 800w we do kind of hope Palm tosses that fish back. Rearranging the WinMo buttons and giving the phone a more industrial, geeky look does not a greater Treo make, so unless this thing is like half as thin as current-gen devices (which it won't be, Palm seems pretty dogmatic about keeping its devices thick), it'll just be more of the same.

Motorized chairs?

Yes, it is possible for your lazy boss to intensify his slack. This automatic chair is on display at the Tokyo Motor Show 2007 under the "abnormal vehicle" classification. Who knew that Orca's could be so comfy and high tech? Details are nil at the moment so by all means, give us a clue if you know more dear readers. Another picture after the break.

Dell XPS 420

Sure, it's a bit short on surprises, thanks to a couple of detailed leaks in recent months, but the Dell XPS 420 is now prepped for your ordering pleasure on Dell's online store. Prices start at $1,499, which will get you a fairly specced system and a 20-inch LCD. Other perks in the base system include a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse, a 13-in-1 card reader, SideShow and an option for an "Xcelerator" to speed up video encoding, but on the traditional specs it's pretty firmly middle of the road: Vista Home Premium, 2GB of RAM, Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 processor and 256MB Radeon ATI HD 2600 XT for graphics. But hey, who needs muscle when you've got SideShow?

Philips medical tablet PC

Although the tablet form factor hasn't exactly taken the consumer market by storm, they're ideal for specialized applications like medicine, and Philips' Cliniscape "Mobile Clinical Assistant" is the latest device to target the hospitals. Designed by Intel's Digital Health Group, the Cliniscape features a 10.4-inch touch screen, a custom installation of Vista Business running on a Core Solo processor with 1GB of RAM, a 60GB disk, 802.11n, RFID and Bluetooth radios, barcode scanner, a 2 megapixel camera, 3.5-hour battery and a single USB port, all contained in a sealed "medical-grade" enclosure that can be wiped clean with disinfectant and withstand a 1 meter drop. When docked in the "grab-and-go" base station, the Cliniscape can be used as a desktop machine with three additional USB ports and an Ethernet jack. Philips says software vendors are working to optimize their patient-care apps for the MCA platform, and that the Cliniscape should be on sale in Spring 2008.

citizen and bluetooth watches

Truthfully, we've no idea whether Citizen really did replace its VIRT design team or if they all just had an epiphany, but whatever the case, the outfit's latest lineup of Bluetooth-enabled wristwatches actually look... marginally wearable. The i:Virt collection, which comes in four colors along with a metal-banded sibling, is capable of playing nice with your Bluetooth mobile, and moreover, they all boast a battery life of up to five days with BT turned on. Furthermore, the units are water-resistant and feature a color LCD, phone battery meter, caller ID, signal display, call history list and email viewer. Unfortunately, it seems as though the watches all sport the elusive "open price" for now, but feel free to take a closer look at the gang after the jump.

Nokia N81 update...

Nokia's N81 is now, at this very moment, "available globally" according to Nokia. Pre-tax, pre-subsidy €360 / $515 for the 2GB microSD model or €430 / $615 for that full 8GB of on-board flash experience. Since the revamped N-Gage platform isn't online yet, the N81 comes pre-loaded with three playable demos of FIFA 07, Asphalt 3: Street Rules, and Space Impact Light. Those same games will be available for free download-and-preview over HSDPA when the service goes live sometime "later in 2007." Still, while Nokia touts a global launch, the fact that this quad-band GSM phone only sports 2100MHz WCDMA will limit its effective use in North America -- even if it is FCC approved.

Ferro electric RAM?

If you've fantasized about how wonderful your life could be if the merits of DRAM, SRAM and Flash memory could all be mixed harmoniously into one "dream semiconductor," listen up. You may not be up to speed on all the advancements in ferroelectric materials, but we're pretty sure even the technological newbie could appreciate a new discovery by Korean researcher Dr. Shin Young-han. Reportedly, this fellow has "succeeded in figuring out the operational mechanism of ferroelectrics," which could potentially lead to FeRAM -- a technology that could "store data ten times faster than Flash memory and keep it for longer than ten years." Kudos to you, Dr. Shin, now let's get this stuff on the production line, shall we?

Palm Centro , what would you change?

Palm's Centro hasn't exactly lit the world on fire, but might it have if it were simply tweaked in a few key areas? As we've done a number of times before, we're presenting to you yet another Palm device that could probably use some refining, and we're curious to know what alterations you would've made if given the chance. It's been an interesting past couple of months for Palm, to say the very least, and while the firm's CEO has shockingly responded to an open letter, saddened us all by announcing yet another OS delay and inexplicably (okay, maybe not so much) nixed the Foleo during that period, it still found time to officially introduce the sub-$100 Centro at an admittedly underwhelming DigitalLife press conference.

We're not setting out to beat a proverbial dead horse or anything -- after all, you know precisely how we feel about the device -- but there's nothing like a healthy dose of criticism (or adoration, to be fair) from the masses. So, here's your chance to let loose and tell the rest of us Earthlings exactly how you would've re-engineered the Centro. Are those keys a tad too diminutive for your liking? Is the whole "Sprint-only" thing cramping your style? Or is Palm's latest darling exactly what your heart desired? Rant away.

Wimax officiall part of 3G

We remember when WiMAX was just a twinkle in a wireless engineer's eye, and now it's all ready for the big time, as the ITU officially approved the spec as part of the 3G standard today. That's doubly special since WiMAX is the first non-cellular tech to get approval as 3G, but with services like Sprint's Xohm blurring the line for consumers, we can see how it's easier to just lump it all together. Of course, Sprint confusingly says Xohm is "4G," but it looks like they may need to tone it down now that the ITU has spoken. Either way, the ITU's decisions usually get enacted by governments, which means carriers with 3G spectrum will soon be able to start building out WiMAX networs without additional regulations. It's so bittersweet when they grow up, isn't it?

Nokia N810

The Nokia N810 was launched this week, and among the main details, I've got a few more impressions for you. (What few impressions I could draw from the quirky device.)
• Screen is A+ in sharpness, color, brightness and res (800x480). It's not multitouch, though, and you'll need a stylus.
• The keyboard's clicks are a bit shallow and the space between each is not so well defined, but it is something you could get used to.
• The Linux apps were not readily available yet, and some.
• An app I missed in my video walkthrough is that Gizmo has video conferencing support using the front-mounted cam. (And there is no app for using it to take straight- up photos.)
• Would I buy it? I'm not sure I need it. But the dev community for Nokia tablets is pretty popular (although not as popular as s60) so I'm sure there are untold uses for many inside of this thing.
• When WiMax hits, an upgraded device like this could be very useful. Right now, it's a Wi-Fi or tethered over Bluetooth device.

The best home theatre display?

We're a bit short on reader-submitted questions on Ask Engadget this week -- speaking of, send your questions to ask at engadget dawt com and you've got a good shot at getting it some air time -- but it's alright 'cause we've got a question of our own:

A buddy of ours is setting up a home theater, and has decided to really go all out. Unfortunately for him, there's no clear choice between display technology. DLP claims this, plasma claims that, LCD claims another, and there's always some dang projector floating around promising the bliss of unlimited screen size. So, assuming price is no object -- in the sense that he's willing to really invest here, not that he just likes flinging his money around -- and our buddy is looking for the best possible quality in his 42-inch+ display that will be situated in a moderately sized, fairly glare-free living room, what would you pick for him?

Hopefully that's enough to go on, but if not you can always resort to calling the DLP kids cheapskates and making fun of the LCD fans' refresh rates.

PS3? PS2?

While we're not going to complain about the launch of the cheaper 40GB PS3, we are still kind of miffed that it isn't backwards-compatible with our huge library of PS2 games -- especially since newer PS3s retain compatibility through software emulation and not specialized hardware like earlier models. Not to worry though, because Sony Computer Entertainment America CEO Jack "Daniels" Tretton is here to dazzle you with mathematics: according to Jackie, the consumer actually benefits from Sony's move to cut emulation, because now you have the opportunity to buy both a $399 PS3 and a $129 PS2, for a grand total of $528, which is -- wait for it -- less than the original 60GB PS3's price of $600! Of course, what Mr. T here is forgetting is that most people would prefer a single, $399 PS3 with backwards compatibility (and rumble, for good measure), but really, once you get spinning that fast it's awfully hard to stop.

blu-ray burner

Nah, Panasonic's LF-PB271JD couldn't hold a candle to Sony's BWU-200S in a runway competition, but when it comes to performance, we'd say the two are practically neck and neck. This unit fits snuggly within any Windows-based machine lookin' for a 5.25-inch optical drive, and it has no problems burning dual-layer BD-Rs at a furious (ahem) 4x pace. Additionally, you'll find a SATA interface along with backup software bundled in, and just in case you're not working exclusively with BD-R, it can also toast BD-RE at 2x, DVD±R at 16x, DVD±R DL at 8x, DVD-RW at 6x, CD-R at 40x and CD-RW at 24x. Of course, you'll be paying through the nose for the luxuries presented when it lands on November 10th, but the ¥55,000 ($468) asking price is still a good bit lower than what Sony's demanding.

iRobot's new machine

It looks like those that found iRobot's earlier Warrior robots a tad lacking could soon have some of their demands answered in the form of the new and improved Warrior X700, which the company recently took the wrap off. Weighing in at a hefty 250 pounds, this one promises to carry a 500 pound payload with ease, and lift upwards of 150 pounds with its robotic arm. Of course, with a name like "Warrior," it'll also be doing more than just carrying supplies, with it just as capable of firing a machine gun or some 40mm explosive rounds, the latter of which can be done at 16 rounds a second. The bot's apparently not ready to be put into service just yet, however, with it currently only able to muster up a top speed of ten miles per hour, although iRobot says it'll be able to do a four-minute mile by the time it ships out in the second half of next year.

185K for a cellphone?

If a burglar with exquisite taste somehow managed to snag a million dollar Goldvish, asking for just $185,000 for its safe return wouldn't be too far-fetched. Apparently, the mobile in question wasn't of the princely variety, as this particular thief managed to lower his asking price to a rock-bottom $200. The suspect, known initially through police paperwork as "Baby Boy," was lured into a trap after police tagged along for the exchange and arrested him at gunpoint. When Mr. Boy (later found to be Randy-Jay Adolphos Jones, which is only slightly better) was questioned, he just couldn't put a finger on why he blurted out the $185k figure versus something more reasonable, but hey, not everyone can be right on top of current market conditions, right?

circlelending becomes virgin money

Peer-to-peer lending service CircleLending has been taken under the wings of Richard Branson’s Virgin empire and rebranded as Virgin Money USA.
Virgin’s US investment firm recently bought a majority stake in the Waltham, Massachusetts company, which acts as an online middleman for friends and family who want to loan each other money. The exact amount of money invested by Virgin has not been disclosed.
Virgin Money USA differs from other online lending services, because it focuses on loans between people who are familiar with one another. Prosper, Lending Club, Kiva, and Zopa, on the other hand, facilitate loans between relative strangers.

ancestry.com buyout!

Spectrum Equity Investors has led a $300 million investment to acquire a majority interest in Provo Utah-based The Generations Network (the parent company of Ancestry.com, MyFamily.com and other sites) according to a source with knowledge of the deal.
The Generations Network competes with a number of new Internet startups that we’ve recently covered. Its Ancestry.com site competes with Geni and MyHeritage. MyFamily.com competes with Story Of My Life, Our Story and others.
Geni’s last round of financing valued the company at $100 million. But none of those competing sites, or even all of those sites aggregated, have caused any financial pain yet for The Generations Network. The company is pulling in $150 million or so in yearly revenue and is hugely profitable according to our source.
This is a liquidity event for many or most of TGN’s shareholders, although it is apparently not a complete buyout. Employees and possibly some outside shareholders still have equity in the entity, which is almost certainly preparing for an IPO or other larger liquidity event.
The most recent Comscore data says TGN had 8.2 million unique worldwide visitors in August. They’ve raised $95 million to date, although the last round of financing was closed in 2001.

Social .Fm sign Microsoft deal

Social.FM (formerly Mercora) has released a new version of its social music service platform for Windows Mobile and announced a new distribution deal with Microsoft.
The new Social.FM features improved application screens, sliding menus with transition effects, and an new white and green color scheme that is claimed to be “extremely fun-to-use for Windows Mobile customers.”
Social.FM announced that starting immediately Microsoft will provide a free lifetime subscription to Social.FM for all Microsoft employees worldwide. Under the deal Social.FM has joined the Microsoft Mobile2Market Program which promotes “Designed for Windows Mobile” logo-certified applications for Windows Mobile-based Smartphones and Pocket PCs to mobile operators, e-tailers, retailers and consumers.
Social.FM will announce its first Symbian platform client at the Symbian SmartPhone Conference in London later this week.

HTC with google OS

Another day, another Gphone rumor. This go 'round, a UBS analyst is reportedly confirming that HTC "will ship about 50,000 cellphones running on a mobile operating system made by the Mountain View, California-based search giant by the end of this year." If you'll recall, this definitely isn't the first time we've heard these two names mentioned in the same sentence, but interestingly enough, analyst Benjamin Schachter actually suggested that the first batch wouldn't "be for sale" -- rather, they'd be used exclusively by developers "to understand how the software works." These reports also help substantiate the belief that Google will likely be focusing on software, and furthermore, Mr. Schachter insinuated that he wouldn't be too awfully shocked if another handset maker (such as LG, imagine that) also jumped in to provide hardware. Whatever the case, we'll be waiting in tense anticipation for a developer-led unboxing -- if this hubbub proves legitimate, of course.

iPhone hack

The industrious rebels of the iPhone Dev Team have joined in the iPhone unlock chess match today, with the release of AnySim 1.1, a free unlocking app that enables iPhones with both firmware version 1.02 and 1.1.1 to operate on any GSM network. The hack only works with "virgin" iPhones right now, and unlocking a 1.0.2 phone and updating to 1.1.1 will result in a bricked device, but the team says they'll be releasing a "revirginizer" for locked 1.1.1 phones soon. As always, hack at your own risk -- and don't expect future updates to go smoothly.

2007 OS war

2007 is definitely shaping up to be the year of the desktop OS: between Vista's much ballyhooed and better-late-than-never launch (and subsequently pending SP1 release), Apple's behind-schedule but super hyped release of Mac OS X Leopard, and unlikely upstart and fan fave Ubuntu's forthcoming Gutsy Gibbon launch. So, what's it gonna be?

Google maps on a symbian phone

The iPhone-less among us can still get some Google Maps love with the recent Google Maps Mobile release. The updated version for Symbian devices is faster and less prone to connectivity prompts than the previous, and some smartphone users even get GPS abilities with GMaps.

Ad ready post

Display ads have generally been the purview of larger brand name companies who can afford the cost of creating highly visual or dynamic ads. However, Aaron Finn and his team at AdReady want to bring banner advertising to even the little guys.
AdReady is an application for managing a display advertising campaign, from creating the ads all the way to managing and tracking their progress on three main ad networks: Google, RightMedia, Advertising.com. In exchange, AdReady takes a 20% cut of your ad budget. Aaron got the idea for the site while managing a $100 million a year in ad campaigns for Classmates.com.
While normal display advertisements can take a week or two to make and cost a couple grand, AdReady lets you pick a basic set of ads (skyscrapers, banners, etc) from their library and customize it to your specifications. Ads vary by customization, but often let you place your own message, images, or logo on the units. Some are even interactive, like car ads that let you change the color of the cars in the ads. It’s like a more practical version of the Flickr photo Ad Generator we covered back in January.
But not all ads are created equal. AdReady incorporate all the best practices for ad design as well as sort the wheat from the chaff by tracking and ranking the click through rate on each ad in their inventory as customers use them. Though I imagine an extreme reliance on the data will produce a lot of generic advertising. Although a lot of the ads are rather generic to begin with by the virtue that they have to be a one size fits all solution.

google urchin v6

Rumors, rumors. Google is preparing to launch version 6 of Urchin this morning at the emetrics conference in Washington DC, according to multiple sources. This is the server side analytics product, not Urchin as a service, which is now called Google Analytics.
Recently, cries for an update, any update, to Urchin have reached a fever pitch. Google acquired Urchin in March 2005 and has regularly updated Google Analytics since relaunching it in November 2005. But the server side product has been stuck at v.5.7, and people have long since wondered if it was going to be simply discontinued.
If what we are hearing is correct, Google’s Brett Crosby will announce the product at 10:30 AM EST at the conference. No word on what updates are coming, but Urchin users will be happy just to know the product is still alive.
Look for an update on the Google Analytics blog.

iPhone report

While we've seen a variety of surveys pitting the iPhone against its most notable rivals, a recent study conducted by the NPD Group breaks down the numbers behind who left what phone (and what carrier) to acquire an iPhone. Not surprisingly, iPhone early adopters were "ten times more likely than other new phone buyers to have previously owned a Treo and three times more likely to have owned a T-Mobile branded phone, such as the popular Sidekick model." When it came to carriers, Alltel and T-Mobile were said to have lost the most customers to AT&T, as consumers who "switched carriers to buy an iPhone were three times more likely to switch from Alltel or T-Mobile than from other carriers." Notably, the lack of "corporate email support" was pinpointed as the main reason that many BlackBerry users didn't make the leap, but it did praise the iPhone for helping to "bridge the gap between consumer-focused feature phones and productivity-focused smartphones."

Nyko intercooler

Just in case your Wii has suddenly and unexpectedly become some sort of flamethrower in recent weeks, Nyko is introducing a cooling solution of its very own. Granted, we don't really expect that most Wii consoles will actually need this thing, but we're sure the "better safe than sorry" crowd will have a field day. Regardless, the clip-on device won't require any fancy modifications to operate, and while it will only run you $14.99, your money is probably better spent elsewhere

Oppo Super Five PMP Can Handle a Ton of Formats

In the case of this Oppo PMP, the moniker "Super" certainly applies. The Super Five can handle just about any format you can throw at it including: RM, RMVB, FLV, DAT, MPG, MPEG, AVI, 3GP in video and OGG, MP3, WMA and WAV and dual-APE, FLAC Lossless audio. Plus, photos in JPEG, BMP, GIF and PNG pose no problem for this little feature packed device. Speaking of small, all of that functionality is crammed into a credit card sized 2GB flash memory player that features a 3-inch color screen with QVGA resolution. Naturally, something this cool isn't going to be found anywhere outside of China, bu if you can make the trip it will only run you $120. Sounds like a steal, but fear not because Oppo has a reputation for delivering quality video at an affordable price.

16 gb iphone round the corner?

Someone claiming to be an AppleStore employee has taken these—obligatorily blurry—photos of an alleged Apple iPhone 16GB. You know our rule: never trust rumors. Check for yourself in the photo of the about screen, showing 14.4GB of available space:

Samsung hybrid camcorder

Samsung has unveiled a hybrid flash camcorder, the VM-DX10, at KES2007. As well as boasting a curvy bod, the camera has 4GB memory, 26 x zoom, a 2.7-inch touch-panel LCD screen, 3D Noise Reduction Filter technology, Hyper Image Stabilizer feature and quick start function. Available in black or white, it should be out in Korea next month for a maximum of $750 (700,000KRW.) [Aving] more »

NAB pleads for FCC delay

As the constant battle between the National Association of Broadcasters and nearly everyone else continues on over the potential XM / Sirius merger, the entity is now asking the FCC to put a stop on the 180-day clock for considering the junction. Reportedly, all the NAB wants is "time to go through documents it said it is getting through a Freedom of Information Request filed in March," and it seemingly feels that some of the articles it's still waiting for contain proof of "serious apparent wrongdoing by XM and Sirius executive and senior-level employees regarding the operation of FM modulators / translators and / or terrestrial repeaters." Of note, both of the aforementioned sat radio providers shot back by stating that the NAB's "allegations are unfounded and its recent filing is just an attempt to stall the process." From the outside looking in, we'd say that sounds just about right.

Palm centro review

Okay, now we know what you're thinking. Sure, we (lovingly) raked Palm over the coals in our open letter to the company, and yeah, we haven't been the sweetest of hearts to the crew from Sunnyvale (with good reason, of course). However, If you've paid attention to our past good-intentioned prodding, then you'll know that getting our hands on a new Palm device still gives some of us geeky chills.After seeing scores of "leaked" photos of the Centro, and hearing enough internet chatter about the device to make your brain vibrate like a tightly-wound piano string, actually getting our hands on the phone was honestly a bit of a surprise, both bad and good. We're going to break it down piece by piece and hopefully give you a rounded impression of the smartphone crown-chaser (or at least princess-in-waiting).

Clarion unveils...

Oh sure, we've seen plenty of flashy and sophisticated devices aimed at filling that gaping double-DIN hole in your dash, but how's about a device that 10-year old passengers and suckers for all-things-adorable would also dig? Enter Clarion's newest duo, which comes in either white (DUB275MP) or black (DUB275MPB; seen after the jump) and actually packs quite a nice feature set considering the lighthearted design. Aside from the CD drive, it also offers up a front-mounted USB port for loading up MP3 / WMA files, customizable accent lights, optional Bluetooth, AM / FM tuner, a 50-watt x 4 amplifier and a cutesy display to boot. Check 'em out later this month for ¥34,650 ($295) apiece.

Jailbreak

We haven't tried this ourselves, but word is iJailbreak, an iPod touch version of Jailbreak for Intel Macs, has been released for download. At this point it is only reported to work with Intel Macs. We are testing it out on our iPod touch right now, check back for updates. Hit the link to download it yourself, be sure to let us know how you get on. Update within.

Canadian iPhone delayed?

Mirroring the premature trademark dispute surrounding the launch of the Cisco iPhone in the US, Apple's Canadian launch of its respective iPhone could be delayed due to a trademark dispute with a product that shares the same name as Apple's gadget. Comwave Telecom in Toronto owns the trademark rights to the name "iPhone" in Canada for use on its VoIP products and services, and has filed a complaint with the Canadian Intellectual Property Office over Apple's application for the trademark rights of the name for its future Canadian version of the iPhone. Sounds like a case of how much Apple is willing to pay, or how long they're willing to delay.

Sony planning an A100 successor?

Unfortunately, details are still thin on this one, but apparently Sony is looking to introduce not one, but three new DSLRs next year. At a recent press event at Sonimagfoto in Barcelona, Spain, it was reported that the firm is hoping to crank out an all new flagship model, a true A100 successor and another flavor that's likely to hit at a lower price point than its higher-end Alpha siblings. Additionally, it's looking to increase its lens collection from around 24 to 40 within the next two years, many of which will be new designs from Carl Zeiss. Beyond that, we're simply left to speculate, so be our guests in comments, would ya?

Build your own UPS

Whether your end improvement is a functioning office, or a longer game of Unreal, uninterruptible power supplies are an essential part of keeping your kit up and running. In case you were wondering what goes on inside the little -- or, as the case may be, big -- boxes that sit next to power outlets, icrontic has a how-to for constructing your own UPS. If you're not up to the task of constructing your own, then there's also advice about which type of off-the-shelf UPS is for you. Now all you've got to worry about are other, human based, interruptions.

Copyright infringment

Sure, you may get yourself a ticket from local police if you roll around with that in-car stereo cranked, but at least you're not being sued for £200,000 ($407,680). Unfortunately for the Edinburgh-based Kwik-Fit automotive repair center, it actually is being taken to court for that astronomical amount by the Performing Rights Society, which "collects royalties for songwriters and performers." The PRS alleges that "Kwik-Fit mechanics routinely used personal radios while working at locales across the UK and that music, protected by copyright, could be heard by colleagues and customers." Astoundingly, Lord Emslie ruled that the case could actually be heard, so we guess we'll be relying exclusively on headphones from here on out.

XBOX 360 arcade

Although there's still no official word from Microsoft about the Xbox 360 Arcade, we've just received a second picture of a boxed unit sitting on the shelves of a retail store: this time in a Methuen, MA store, only miles away from the unit spotted in Haverhill. New details include a Harry Potter / Lego Star Wars back, along with details on included games -- we can make out Uno, Pac-Man, Luxor 2, and two other indistinguishable logos. The closeness of the two spottings indicates that this early leak is the fault of whoever put a pallet on a truck without marking it with the correct ship date. In that case, don't expect an early announcement from Microsoft.

Electric Band-Aids for Fast Relief

Our future cuts and scrapes could heal a lot faster if this HealFast electric Band-Aid concept ever enters the marketplace. Actually, HealFast is specifically designed for patients with diabetes in an attempt to address the chronic ulcers and pressure sores that they often experience. Once applied, an electric charge would generate a very weak field that prevents infection in the surrounding tissue. A far cry from those crappy Pokemon Band-Aids I use now

Fit-PC Sips on 5W of Power, Is Super Tiny

From CompuLab, the Fit-PC is a tiny, no frills Linux PC that uses a mere 5W of power to operate. That's one-fifth what some computers burn in standby. And the specs may be better than you'd expect. An AMD Geode processor runs at 500 MHz, supported by 256MB DDR memory (non-expandable), 40GB 2.5" hard drive and SXGA graphics controller. And none of that needs fans to cool. The inclusion of 2 USB ports mean that the Fit-PC will actually work with normal peripherals...though we're not certain how much power those ports will supply your devices.

At 5" long and only 1.5" thick, the Fit-PC will fit anywhere. And at $285, we think we're in eco-love. But what did ExtremeTech have to say about the function?

Sneaker Pimps Functional NES Footwear

Spotted at the Sneaker Pimps tour finale NY, these NES shoes are probably the greatest thing ever. We can only assume they play NES games, and if such is the case, we declare this footwear to have "won." Gizmodo will now give up its quest of searching for the ultimate gadget, and will return to its original mission: a blog focused on the teachings of the character Gizmo and his/her various hairstyles. Yes, it will be a step down for us all. We apologize for this shoe's awesomeness, but retro gaming footwear is a force that cannot be stopped

Apple Online Store Says Virus = Windows

How we nearly laughed our little lungs out when we read this one. If you go down to the Apple Online Store and search the term "virus," you will get one result; a smiley face, titled Windows, followed by the text; Why you'll love a Mac. View the latest TV ads to find out more. It is a bit unnecessary because everyone knows Windows is pants, but we understand a few Microsoft fanboys might be upset—so this PS image is for you:

Walmart RFID

Although Wal-Mart is traditionally viewed as a logistics leader and a pioneer in RFID adoption, only 975 of its stores currently utilize the technology. Frustrated by losing sales due to misplaced inventory, the firm is now dead set on rolling out RFID gear into every single North American store, and soon. When complete, over 4,000 locales will be fitted with the equipment, which could net Wally World over $287 million in extra sales by simply having the technology in place to quickly track down wares before a customer heads elsewhere. Of course, it seems but a matter of time before these tags actually make it beyond the crate and onto individual items / shelves, but hey, it's not like you actually expected Wal-Mart to turn away Big Brother, right?

Gridlock - The Knowledge Management Blog

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Check out this new blog.. http://arjunthomas.com ( Gridlock)

Gridlock :

"GridLock" is written by Arjun Thomas. This blog is a guide to various topics related to Knowledge Management, its technologies and practices, in an attempt to De-mystify it.