Messless charger allows clean, multi-device charging...

A new multi-device charger has recently been launched in the UK. Designed by Italian design house Italdesign Giugiaro, whose resume includes numerous exotic and concept cars, the Messless charger allows users to charge multiple portable electronic devices simultaneously. The universal charging station allows up to four gadgets to be charged on its docking stations, which also forego the use of wires, with just one main power wire required.

ASUS T91 to reach US July 15th...

ASUS on Thursday, via a Twitter update, announced to the world that its T91 netbook tablet will ship on July 15th in the US, adding that its numbers will be limited. Exactly how limited wasn't disclosed however, nor which models of the T91 would ship. It was recently revealed that at least three models of the 8.9-inch netbook tablet will make it to market.

Rockchip plans budget CPU for Android handsets...

Rockchip Electronics recently announced it is planning on releasing a new chip for use in mobile phones that would support Google's Android mobile operating system. At the same time, the company believes it could seriously undercut competing ARM-based chips used in other Android devices.

ASUS releases four notebooks in Italy...

Four new notebook PCs from ASUS have appeared in Italy, including the 15.6-inch K50AB and K50IJ, the 17.3-inch K70AB and ultrathin 15.6-inch U50VG, some of which were shown at CeBIT in Germany a few months back. The official release of the notebooks for Italy also revealed some further specs, including the K50AB's AMD Turion 2.3GHz CPU and 4GB of RAM. Graphics are handled by ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4570 that sports 512MB of dedicated memory, while users work on an LED-backlight, 1366x768 resolution LCD.

Bell makes BlackBerry Tour official...

Canadian wireless provider Bell on Friday announced it is now offering the 3G BlackBerry Tour handset in its lineup. The smartphone can access both local EVDO and global HSPA 3G networks. The handset otherwise sports a 3.2-megapixel camera and a 480x360 resolution screen, and the prerequisite QWERTY keyboard.

DataWind intros PocketSurfer3, UbiSurfer...

DataWind has announced details of three upcoming new portable devices capable of accessing the Internet, with its PocketSurfer3 and PocketSurfer3 Lite, which are follow-ups to the company's PocketSurfer2 device, and the UbiSurfer. All three include one year of Internet access, although it's limited to 30 hours per month. The new PocketSurfers sport a 5-inch, 640x240 resolution screen and are powered by Linux. Apart from Wi-Fi and GPRS network access, there is a GPS sensor built-in.

Crucial prepping fast notebook SSD line...

Crucial this afternoon said it should have a major update to its solid-state drive line later this month. The 2.5-inch M225 series will use more up to date multi-level cell (MLC) storage and a new memory controller that significantly improves speed. Estimates put the peak performance of the fastest, 256GB drive at 250MB per second for data reads and 200MB per second for writes.

Palm Pre sales still strong?...

Pacific Crest analyst James Faucette today said that Palm Pre sales are still healthy over a month after the phone launched. Referring to his own checks, he estimates that about 40,000 of the multi-touch phones are now shipping each week and that the numbers could hold through at least August. He also expects that sales could improve if Palm can improve its shipments to Best Buy and Radio Shack, which have had short supply ever since launch.

BenQ offers up MID S6 with Windows XP...

BenQ on Friday revealed that it was launching a version of its MID S6 with Windows XP in its native Taiwan. The Mobile Internet Device is being launched in tandem with Far EasTone and not only replaces BenQ's custom Linux interface with the Microsoft OS but takes advantage of the built-in 3G as well: besides mobile data beyond the built-in Wi-Fi, it also lands built-in VoIP. Hardware is slightly modernized with an 800MHz Atom Z500 and an 8GB SSD giving it better performance and storage for the more resource-heavy OS.

Palm Pre hacked to work on Verizon...

Nominally a Sprint exclusive, the Palm Pre has been successfully hacked to work with Verizon, one owner claims. In a demonstration video, the owner shows himself calling a Verizon number to authorize the device; visible in one corner of the Pre's screen is what appears to be the proper carrier identifier. The hack is said to be relatively complex, involving multiple steps, such as getting a recognized MEID number.

AT&T to get Sony Ericsson C905a July 19th?...

AT&T stores to get Sony Ericsson C905a on the 19th The 8.1-megapixel Sony Ericsson C905a will soon become available at wireless provider AT&T, BGR recently reported. This would be the first 8.1-megapixel phone from AT&T, and the second expected appearance of the C905a in North America after a parallel T-Mobile leak. The leaked photo of the AT&T-branded handset reveals a front-facing camera as well, though whether it makes it to the production version is questionable; AT&T so far doesn't believe it can support two-way video calls.

MSI kicks off Classic series with 14-inch notebook...

Taiwanese PC maker MSI has introduced the 14-inch CR400 notebook, which is the first of a new Classic series of portable PCs that will also eventually include the 16-inch CX600 and CR600 along with the 17.3-inch CX700 and CR700. The series will be marked by high-end design and quality builds, MSI claims. The CR400 has a uni-body design with 45-degree angled edges and is coated in MSI's Color Film Print that reveals new patterns depending on the angle at which it's viewed.

Palm webOS 1.1 to bring huge Exchange boost, apps?...

A tip regarding Palm's future webOS 1.1 update hints that the smartphone OS is about to receive a significant upgrade, particularly for business users. The new firmware described by PreCentral should give the Pre and future Palm phones much requested Microsoft Exchange features such as support for company-initiated remote wipes, requiring a PIN to unlock the phone, forcing a certain complexity of PIN, and automatically locking the phone when it goes unused for a certain amount of time. All of the additions are considered essential for the phone, which has seen unusually high interest from corporate buyers and to compete against the iPhone in the workplace.

Rupert Murdoch: no plans for own e-book reader...

In a recent interview, Rupert Murdoch has denied rumors of News Corp. developing its own e-book reader. When prompted on the possibility of the development of such a device, the CEO responded to the Wall Street Journal by saying he "[doesn't] think that's likely" to occur in the near future. Murdoch did, however, expand on it, hinting News Corp. is involved in talks with hardware manufacturers on wireless readers for books, newspapers or magazines.

BlackBerry Onyx spotted with optical trackpad...

An image has surfaced today that appears to confirm plans to give the BlackBerry Onyx its recently rumored optical trackpad. The photo (pictured), which also shows the Curve 8520 on the right, supports notions that RIM is phasing out trackballs not just on entry-level phones like the 8520 but also high-end upgrades and likely all non-touch phones. Leaks have supported beliefs that the Onyx will replace the Bold for AT&T and other GSM carriers.

Google's Schmidt intially resisted Chrome OS...

Google CEO Eric Schmidt as part of his presentation at the Allen & Co. conference later on Thursday revealed that he had initially resisted both Chrome the web browser and eventually Chrome OS. In addition to discussing the possible conflict of interest with Apple after the unveiling of the full operating system, Schmidt told those gathered that he had originally wanted to avoid Chrome, and the OS as a result, after being soured by the early browser competition that eventually gave Microsoft's Internet Explorer the lead. It wasn't until company founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page showed a promising demo of Chrome that the chief executive eventually agreed to move ahead.

Sprint, Verizon to demand Wi-Fi on phones ...

Both Sprint and Verizon have said late Thursday that they're working to add Wi-Fi to their smartphones to address a significant gap in their networks. Talking to FierceWireless, Sprint business product marketing head Jeff Clemow says his carrier decided months ago to require that all its smartphones use Wi-Fi and will soon put the requirement into effect. As a consequence, a 2010 version of the BlackBerry Tour will add Wi-Fi to the existing EVDO Rev A-based 3G it depends on so far; it only ships without due to a need to get the Tour to stores.

Sony to update VAIO P with mark 2 model this fall...

Sony will update its VAIO P series netbook with the release of a second-generation model sometime this fall, most likely around October or November, the company recently revealed. The new model is expected to address the current version's slow boot times, which could range up to 90 seconds in the entry-level models. The news came from a Sony representative at a launch event for the VAIO NW notebook and VAIO W netbook.

Rogers offers subsidized HP Mini 110 with 3G...

Rogers today became the first Canadian cell carrier with a subsidized 3G netbook. Its version of the HP Mini 110 has a built-in 7.2Mbps HSPA modem that connects to the provider's network but is is otherwise close to the factory version of the regular netbook, which has the by now ubiquitous 1.6GHz Atom processor, 1GB of RAM, 160GB hard drive and Windows XP Home install common to most mini notebooks. No custom software has been added.

T-Mobile UK to get Hero as G2 Touch this month...

T-Mobile UK today confirmed through its Twitter feed that the HTC Hero will come to its network, rebadged as the G2 Touch. The carrier doesn't detail how if at all the phone will change from the reference version, but it does say the G2 Touch will ship in July and come for free with a £40 per month, 18-month contract. Orange UK has already said it would offer the phone this month for free on a two-year plan.

Google CEO will talk to Apple over Chrome OS conflict...

Google chief Eric Schmidt last evening said he would talk to Apple to determine whether or not he should recuse himself from the Mac maker's board of directors following the unveiling of Chrome OS. The executive told those at Allen & Co's technology conference that there is currently "no issue" with his remaining on the board but that he will ask Apple if it sees a conflict of interest to have another desktop operating system developer involved in its decisions. Apple itself hasn't commented on any possible change in relationship.

Intel in talks with Google to back Android MIDs?...

Intel today is now claimed to be in formal discussions with Google over backing Android for Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs). Although Intel has its own Moblin Linux platform, those firm making the handhelds in Taiwan say Intel wants to be the choice of hardware for any operating system, including Android. It believes creating a healthy hardware and software environment will help the wider industry, according to DigiTimes.

MS Silverlight 3 touts GPU use, smooth HD...

Microsoft tonight launched the public version of Silverlight 3, its animation and video plugin for the web. The rival to Flash is the company's first to use hardware graphics acceleration both for 3D and for offloading the work of decoding video from the main processor. Regardless of graphics power, the update is also the first to promise a near-seamless HD video experience: a "smooth streaming" technique that automatically lowers the bitrate to start playback immediately and quickly brings it back up to provide the maximum quality the connection allows.

New iXBrowser for Web to offer full HTML 4 support...

Newmium has announced yet another internet browser, the Newmium iXBrowser. The browser boasts compatibility with all versions of HTML 4 defined by the World Wide Web Consortium. Offering platform-independent compatibility with all versions of HTML 4 allows website developers to create more consistent cross-platform designs. The Newmium iXBrowser offers compatibility with various operating systems including Mac OS X, Linux, Windows, WinCE, and FreeBSD in 32-bit and 64-bit versions. Newmium claims that the browser not only maintains the same interface throughout each system, but will also display sites the same regardless of operating system.

Accelerometers becoming mainstream, driven by iPhone...

Over one-third of mobile phones are expected to integrate accelerometers by 2010, according to the research firm iSuppli. Widespread adoption of the Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) sensors is being driven by popular devices such as Apple's iPhone and the recently-launched Palm Pre. Although the trend continues to develop in the smartphone segment, the technology is also being used in simpler devices.

Windows 7 upgrade, Family Pack prices leak...

Corroborating earlier reports, an online retailer has already slipped pricing information for the Windows 7 Family Pack and Anytime Upgrade options, according to ZDNet. Although the existence of a Family Pack has been debated, Expercom listed the package with a product code, GFC-00236, and a price of $137. The pack includes three licenses for Windows 7 Home Premium.

Amazon may shrink publisher margins on e-books...

Amazon's price cut of its Kindle 2 e-book reader have prompted some in the publishing industry to worry that the online retailer, which is far and away the leading provider of e-books, may put pressure on them to drop the prices for electronic versions of their books for the device, according to a Bloomberg report. Amazon reportedly pays between $12 and $13 to publishers for Kindle editions of books that are on the New York Times bestseller list and sells them for about $10 to customers. Many publishing houses are concerned the giant online vendor will put price pressure on them in order to bump its own profit margins.

Sanyo intros DVR with slot-in hard drives...

Japan's Sanyo recently announced it would bring a DVR device to market that relies on slot-in hard drives that comply with the iVR (Information Versatile Disk) standard shared with Hitachi. The Repoch will include an integrated tuner for receiving digital terrestrial TV broadcasts to enable viewing recordings on analog broadcast-compatible TVs. This will allow users to keep their outdated analog TVs even though these broadcasts have been discontinued.

Getac intros lightweight rugged business notebook...

Getac on Thursday introduced the smallest and lightest addition to its lineup of rugged notebook PCs with the 13.3-inch 9213. It sports a magnesium alloy case and chassis, while the LCD display and hard drive are shock-mounted to prevent damage in the case of a drop or bump. Taking the resistance idea further is a spill-resistant keyboard, touchpad and remaining surfaces. The tough exterior houses an ultra-low voltage 1.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo CPU and 1GB of RAM that can be upgraded to 3GB.

Liquid Image intros snorkel mask camcorder...

US-based Liquid Image is now selling its latest product, the UDCM310 underwater diving mask with a built-in photo and video camera, in Japan via retailer Hanwha. The device sports an integrated 5-megapixel camera module that can capture can capture both video and still images at 720x480 up to 33 feet deep. Power and shutter buttons are integrated into the frame of the camera, which turns off automatically if not recording after two minutes to conserve battery life.

Analyst report indicates resilient Apple, HP sales...

A semiconductor and IT hardware report, produced by Kaufman Bros., is said to indicate that major companies -- including Apple and HP -- will continue solid sales into July despite lower sales than anticipated, following the second quarter ending with growth of 5 to 10 percent quarter-over-quarter. The research group also suggests that notebook and PC sales will maintain strength despite declining stock prices, and continued concerns over unemployment and the economy. Semiconductor companies such as Skyworks, Cypress and Atmel are expected to ride out momentum built on smartphone sales throughout July.

ASUS UK reveals specs of Eee PC T101 tablet...

ASUS UK has confirmed final specs of the Eee PC T101H netbook tablet, first introduced at this year's CES show, according to a recent ASUSTablet report. The T101H is a larger version of the recently released T91, with a 10.1-inch screen instead of an 8.9-inch display and a corresponding increase in keyboard size as well. That screen will be LED-backlit and support multi-touch inputs, with ASUS promising it will be compatible with native touch support found in Windows 7.

Microsoft to launch Office web apps Monday?...

Microsoft's Monday event should mark a more formal debut for the company's Office Web suite, tipsters said on Thursday. Although announced nine months ago, the suite is now said by Neowin to be getting a demonstration. It's not known if Microsoft will commit to a public release at the gathering.

HTC to switch from proprietary jack to 3.5mm...

A Thursday MobileCrunch report has confirmed that smartphone maker HTC will switch from its proprietary ExtUSB format to the near industry-standard 3.5mm audio jack. The new jack will be included on handsets including and released after the Android-powered Hero, though some devices that have already been announced and due for a release after the Hero will retain the old, proprietary format.

Pre owners complain of lack of onscreen keys...

Palm Pre owners are ironically complaining that their smartphones don't have onscreen keyboards, a study by Strategy Analytics found today. Despite Palm having added the QWERTY keyboard in response to gripes about touch-only devices like the iPhone, many users want a software keyboard like Apple's, as Palm's design gives them no choice but to use the hardware solution. The opinion holds even for those who chose the Pre for the physical input, senior analyst Paul Brown says.

Orange confirms Toshiba TG01 exclusive in UK...

UK wireless provider Orange on Thursday officially confirmed at an expected event that it will be the exclusive provider of the Toshiba TG01 touchscreen smartphone. The 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon-powered device will ship to stores on Friday.

Sprint to hand network operations over to Ericsson...

Sprint has signed a deal to hand over daily network operations to Swedish firm Ericsson, according to an announcement. Set to last at least seven years, the agreement will see Ericsson manage services, provisioning and maintenance for CDMA, iDEN and wired connections. Although Sprint is expected to maintain full ownership and control of its network, and operate all aspects seen by customers, some 6,000 Sprint workers will find themselves under Ericsson's aegis in the third quarter of 2009.

Dell offers ready-to-ship PCs, custom-look Inspiron...

Dell this morning kicked off its first-ever offerings of fast-ship PCs. Offered under the FastTrack banner, the systems can't be customized but ship by the next business day, eliminating the delay of two weeks or more that often accompanies ordering a system from Dell. The approach is based on the popularity of Dell's custom-order configurations and should be continuously refreshed to mirror what customers actually want.

Sony VAIO P, Z to be offered with WiMAX in Japan...

Sony Japan has recently announced its VAIO P netbook will get a WiMAX option by month's end. Pre-orders will begin on July 27th, with the netbook shipping just three days later, on July 30th. The option will add the equivalent of $108 to the price of the VAIO P plus a monthly subscription fee for the service itself. The WiMAX module will allow users to access the Internet away from Wi-Fi at broadband speeds of about 12Mbps. The system in the US and Japan normally has built-in 3G.

Nikon roadmap leak claims D700x, more...

A roadmap of Nikon's plans for 2009 and 2010 has reportedly surfaced through a Czech forum and appears to provide detailed information for all of the company's DSLRs this year. New to the mix is a D700x; the full-frame pro camera would reportedly get the 24.5-megapixel sensor from the D3x but also HD video shooting at 24FPS as well as improvements to autofocusing, self-timed shots and the mirror-up mode. If true, the camera would be launched on October 15th with a host of new lenses, including an all-purpose 24-135mm f3.5-5.6 lens and a 70-200mm f2.8G example.

Economy stifling market for SSD notebooks...

The economic crunch is making a major impact on the viability of solid-state drives in notebooks, according to new research from iSuppli. As prices for the NAND flash memory that form the heart of these drives have in some cases more than doubled -- 128 percent for a 2GB chip -- the costs for the SSDs themselves have gone up proportionately, making it difficult or occasionally impossible to offer an SSD option in a given notebook. The jump is the result of a known shortage triggered by the economy, as companies producing memory deliberately cut production to raise prices and save money.

Best Buy, TiVo, to form product, tech alliance ...

Electronics retail chain Best Buy and digital video recorder maker TiVo on Thursday announced a partnership that will see Best Buy carry a specially developed TiVo set-top box that will let Best Buy advertise its products and services to TiVo subscribers, among other benefits. What TiVo execs are calling the biggest marketing move in the DVR company's history, will see Best Buy committing to a multi-year deal to advertise, promote and carry the TiVo devices, though no financial details have been released.

VIZIO cleared in patent case, free to ship TVs...

VIZIO this morning earned a reprieve from US Customs that cleared its current TV line of possible patent infringements that might have blocked their sale in the US. The government agency made the ruling four months after the US Patent and Trademark Office rejected a patent from Japanese company Funai, which had hoped to use the patent to block US-based VIZIO's sets from reaching stores. Funai is expected to appeal, though VIZIO equally expects to win.

LaCie intros LaCinema Rugged HD media drive...

LaCie on Wednesday announced the release of its LaCinema Rugged HD multimedia drive. An upgrade of the original, it can now play 1080p video through any TV with an HDMI port. The drive's 500GB capacity lets users store a large amount of both HD content as well as music and photos. Content is transferred onto the drive via a USB 2.0 connection from Windows and Mac OS X computers, with supported movie codecs that include H.264, MKV, MPEG-4 and WMV9.

Rogers debuts 50Mbps service, 802.11n modem [U]...

(Update with more info) Rogers today became the first cable provider in Canada to offer a full-spec DOCSIS 3.0 Internet service and rolled out a special new cable modem to match. The 50Mbps tier more than doubles the fastest service Rogers has had before and matches both the maximum speed of Comcast's service in the US as well as the pre-3.0 service offered by Videotron in Quebec. The company intends to charge $150 per month but with only a modest increase to the bandwidth cap, which climbs to 125GB. An initial rollout is due for mid-August in the greater Toronto area with other areas to come later.

Sony adds Netflix streaming to BRAVIA sets...

Sony today said its Internet-aware BRAVIA TVs now have access to Netflix. Both newer sets with support built-in, as well as older sets using the add-on Internet Video Link, can access (but not add to) the Watch Instantly queue and stream movies or TV shows directly to the set. Whether or not it's capable of HD footage isn't clear.

Google Chrome OS already spotted? [U]...

(Update: proven fake) Google's just-announced Chrome OS may have already been spotted courtesy of a leak from a staffer for a part supplier for Acer, which is already confirmed as one of those producing netbooks using the new platform. Installed on an older notebook to prove it doesn't require a new PC, the private beta is extremely minimal and has a Windows 7-like taskbar with a program launch menu and running apps showing on the bar as icons. A search field can be added to the bar.

Nokia makes rugged 3720 classic official...

Nokia today confirmed details of its first rugged phone in recent memory. The 3720 classic meets IP-54 levels of resistance to dust, shock and water splashes with both a hardened, sealed shell and a battery cover that's screwed on. Nokia sees it as an ideal phone for those who regularly go camping or visit the beach, and to match gives it a relatively long talk time (7 hours) and an LED flashlight.

Samsung ships 250GB 1.8-inch drive with USB...

Samsung on Thursday expanded what's possible with very small hard drives with an upgrade to the Spinpoint N line. The N3U first achieves a storage record with up to 250GB of space in a 1.8-inch disk, spreading the data across two platters. The capacity would give portable media players and netbooks the same capacity as a typical 2.5-inch notebook drive but in both a smaller form (smaller than a credit card) and while using 40 percent less power.