iRiver B100 wants you to 'touch the supreme sound', pedants grumble

It's been some time since we heard much from iRiver but the PMP maker is keeping busy with the snow-white B100. This capacitive touchscreen media player will offer up to 36 hours of music playback, or eight and a half hours of video watching. The 3.1-inch TFT screen has a resolution of 320 x 480, but it's backed up by a (relatively) long list of media codecs, including OGG, WAV, APE and ASF compatibility. If you're sick of limited playback options, you might want to consider downscaling those screen-size desires for improved format freedom. The PMP launches today, with prices starting at 11,800 yen (around $144) for the 4GB model, while the 8GB version will set you back 13,800 yen (around $168) at online Japanese retailer, Rakuten. The Google-translated PR awaits your quizzical looks below.

LuvPad WN701 is more rugged than its name

Mouse Computer Japan has just announced its brand new tablet. Set to run on Windows 7, the LuvPad WN701 will also feature an Atom Z650 processor, 2GB RAM, 32GB SSD storage, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, a 7-inch display with resolutions of up to 1024x768 pixels supported, and a really cool, rugged chassis. This means that the device that is girlishly named as the LuvPad WN701 can withstands drops from 0.7 meters as well as splashes of water, thanks to the IP44 splash-proof design. The LuvPad WN701 will be for sale in Japan for 49,000 Yen. It seems to be quite a pretty device for a Valentine's gift; if you're ready to wait for that long, not fearing outdating.

X-Gaming USB Joystick ODs gamers with 16 programmable buttons

The computer does, to some extent, eliminate the finer pleasures of gaming. Among these is the ergonomic beauty of the joystick. The X-Gaming USB Joystick brings back some of the old time gaming jazz with more to offer, to enhance every gamer's take on PC gaming. The Joystick comes with six exciting Midway Arcade Games such as Gaunlet, Smash TV, Rampage, Defender, Robotron 2084 and Joust. Additionally it also packs 16 programmable keys that offer the best control you can imagine. The X-Gaming USB Joystick is available for $100. Treat it as a mere consolation that beats the ultimate rendition through and through.

Rumored Nokia tablet’s images leaked; to sport 10-inch touchscreen

Nokia fans behold! We’ve stumbled across a leak that could have you jump out of your seats, if it isn’t a complete fake that is. With all of its peers including Samsung and LG wading into deeper waters and indulging in the tablet market, Nokia could indeed pretty much follow suit and this leak could simply be the evidence of that very fact! What we’ve got here seems to be a Nokia tablet that could show up in the fourth quarter of 2012 sporting Windows 8. Rumored to sport a dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor and a 10-inch touchscreen, this one’s supposed to be chiseled into being by Compal. From the shoddy image we got our hands on, this tablet seems to borrow design inspirations from the Lumia 800 and Lumia 900. But then again, just as we mentioned before, this could probably be phony.

Coby Starts Shipping of Cheap Android ICS Tablets

American low-end electronics maker Coby has begun shipping several of its Android ICS 4.0 tablets that were first introduced earlier this year at CES. They’re all packing the same basic specs, which we’ll get to in a moment, each and every one of them is running Ice Cream Sandwich out of the box – more than we can say for almost every new android device introduced this year. In total there are 6 to choose from range in size from 7-inch capacitive multitouch displays up to 10-inch in size with a resolution of 1280 x 800. Coby MID7042 – 7 inch, 800 x 480 pixel display Coby MID8042 – 8 inch, 800 x 600 pixel display Coby MID9042 – 9 inch, 1280 x 800 pixel display Coby MID9742 – 9.7 inch, 1024 x 768 pixel display Coby MID1042 – 10 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel display Coby MID10245 – 10 inch, 1280 x 800 pixel display All strange numbered names aside, let’s get into the good stuff: specs. All of the tablets mentioned above will be rocking a 1GHz ARM Cortex A8 processor, 1GB of RAM, 8GB of internal storage on the three largest models, 4GB on the 7-inch and 8-inch devices, MicroSD card expansion, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi, and a camera of unknown megapixels. The MID7042 is now available for $179, while the MID9742 retails for $279. The company is also expected to offer eight-, nine-, and 10-inch models later this spring. At present only the MID7042 and MID1042 are listed as “for sale” on Coby’s website. Though, they aren’t exactly the most responsive Android tablets on the market. But they’re some of the cheapest.

LG unveils flexible plastic e-paper display, aims for European launch next month

LG has made no secret of its fondness for flexible e-paper, but those dreams became a reality today, with the announcement of a six-inch display that promises to "revolutionize the e-book market." The malleable plastic display sports a resolution of 1024 x 768 and can bend at an angle of up to 40 degrees. At just 0.7 millimeters thick, it's about one-third thinner than similarly-specced glass displays, and weighs in at 14 grams -- about half the weight of its glassy competition. LG also claims that the display is super durable, as evidenced by a series of successful drop tests from a height of 1.5 meters. The plan going forward is to supply the display to ODMs in China, in the hopes of bringing final products to Europe by "the beginning of next month." For more details, check out the full press release after the break.

The LG 55-inch OLED TV

Word's out that we may well be blessed by the coming of another television set in the larger size. The LG 55-inch OLED TV that made its appearance endearing at CES will be here in the flesh. Called the 55EM9600, the television set will be here before two months, if we are to go by this report. It seems that the TV will make an appearance at Cannes festival and this will also lead to its launch. The LG 55-inch OLED TV id touted as a flagship entry. At just 0.16 inches the screen will be a real blessing for space seekers. So May is the time for release we are looking at, at the astonishing price of $7900.

Next iPhone To Feature 3.5 Inch Display And 4G LTE

There have been a number of rumors over the last week that this years iPhone will come with a 4.6 inch display, the rumor originally came from Reuters, who had said that the sixth generation iPhone would launch in the second quarter of 2012. Well it looks like the report was nothing but a rumor, as we suspect, as there are now conflicting reports saying that this years iPhone will come with the same 3.5 inch display which is featured in the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S. The news comes from the guys over at iMore, who have also said that the new iPhone will come with a new smaller dock connector than they existing models and also 4G LTE. They are also saying that the device will launch in the fall, which sounds much more likely than the rumored second quarter launch date from Reuters. Apple launched the iPhone 4S in October of last year, so we can expect the new iPhone to launch around the same time this year and we suspect it will land in either September or October of 2012.

Harrods debuts technology department with a million dollar 152-inch Panasonic TV

Harrods, the upscale departmental store in the UK has launched a new technology department that is putting a 152” Panasonic television on sale. The TH-152UX1W model which was unveiled in CES 2010 weighs in at 600kg and is enhanced with the 4K2K technology which boasts of four times as many pixels as a conventional high definition TV set. This pretty much means that it is capable of creating a separate 3D image in HD resolution for each eye. To get a fair idea, you would get a single 152” TV set when you stack up nine 50” displays in three rows with a resolution of 4096 x 2160 resolution. What is the price on this massive TV? It is a whopping £600,000 (about $950,00). That is close to a million dollars and many notches above its original price of $670,000. But then again, Harrods is a niche store and affluent people go the extra mile only to make some heads turn. The new 20,000sqft tech department has opened on 16th March 2012 and offers a premium selection of consumer technology categories including home computing, audio-visual, photographic and mobile communication. A bespoke suite of aftercare services will also be offered to Harrods customers with a dedicated customer service bar in-store.

Gresso Regal Black phone adds up to the Avantgarde collection

Mobile phones are not just getting smarter, but also grander. And Gresso is all set to add to their Avantgarde collection of luxury smartphones, with the new Regal Black phone. Drawing inspiration from marine and speed themes, the deep black PVD-surface covered handset reminds you of a luxury vessel, and is created using titanium and tempered mineral glass as a one-piece detail. Exclusive tinting technology, especially engineered for the Regal series, gives the glass rich black color. The Gresso Regal Black's keypad has been made from special tempered steel. Limited to 333 pieces, the 121x46x12mm phone weighing 130 grams running on the Symbian S40 platform is priced at $5000. It will be available from April 2012.

Toshiba 13.3-inch AT330 Tablet Spotted with Android 4.0 and Built-in TV Tuner

Running on Ice Cream Sandwich with a built-in TV tuner with collapsible antenna, the new Toshiba AT330 tablet has just been revealed at Toshiba World in Germany and German technology site TechFokus was fast enough and first to uncover this monstrous 13.3 inch AT330 tablet. Powered by a Tegra 3 quad-core processor, the AT330 slate features a 5MP rear snapper, a 1.3MP front-facing shooter, and the tablet has a full-size SD card slot (not MicroSD). There’s also an HDMI port. There’s no word on what kind of resolution it’s got, but based on the video below, we suspect it has a 1920×1200 LCD panel. Flavored by Android 4.0/Ice Cream Sandwich, the new slate is also complete with an antennae that can be pulled out of the body. Unfortunately, that’s about all we know right now, but we’ll keep our ears to the ground for your knowing pleasure. Stay tuned. We’re still unknown, if it’s the same tablet which was leaked a few days ago. You can check out the tablet in action below in video after the break.

Xbox 360's Comcast Xfinity TV app in beta testing

We're still waiting for the Comcast Xfinity TV app to appear on our Xbox 360 dashboards, but word is its beta tests have expanded to cover more Microsoft and Comcast employees, and it could launch as soon as the next week or so. In case you're wonder exactly what its capabilities will be when it will arrives, a post over at AVSForum points out a support page that's already live and details both the requirements for service and content available. Customers that have Xbox Live Gold and both internet and video services from Comcast will be able to log into the app with their ID and view video on-demand (no live TV) including free videos, national broadcasters and premium channels. That includes access to HBO Go (which will already have an app) and additional content from Max Go, as well as other premium stations -- basically the same lineup currently available on the Xfinity website. Also notable is confirmation that the cross-provider content search Microsoft is so proud of will apply here, and that any video viewed through the app won't count against those 250GB data caps Comcast has in place. Hit the link below for all the answers currently available, we'll wait until its actually launched to try out the promised Kinect voice and gesture control features.

BlackBerry Blade Concept Smartphone

At the moment Blackberry could do with all the help it can get, to pull itself out the declining sales trajectory its currently following. But designs such as the one created by Toronto based design studio Pixelcarve, detailing a new concept for a Blackberry Blade smartphone, might help RIM turn a corner if they are adopted. The Blackberry Blade concept design has a slight curved and the main touchscreen slides upward to reveal the familiar BlackBerry keyboard. In a similar style to slide out phones by Nokia in the early 90′s. But there are also fixed buttons beneath the touchscreen in addition to a trackpad.

Cooler Master Launches New Storm Sentinel Advance II Gaming Mouse

Most computer enthusiasts will be familiar with Cooler Master thanks their long history of designing cool gaming cases for computers and cooling devices. The company also has a line of accessories and peripherals including gaming mice and mouse pads. The company has announced its latest gaming mouse called the Sentinel Advance 2. The new mouse uses an advanced laser sensor is capable of over 8000 dpi sensitivity. That should be plenty for gamers that like high sensitivity when playing games. The mouse also has an ultralow liftoff distance to provide gamers the ability to perform actions very quickly. When mice are too slow, the cursor ends up flying around the screen. The mouse is 128 kB of onboard memory for storing profiles and customizable LED colors. It’s also a modular weight system and can be adjusted for DPI settings on the fly. Cooler Master also has an HD RX synthetic mesh mouse pad to go along with new mouse. Pricing and availability will vary depending on the country you live in for the mouse and the mouse pad.

LG Optimus LTE P936 Revealed

It looks like LG has another new LTE enabled smartphone in the works, the LG Optimus LTE P936, which has yet to be officially announced by LG, although the device has been previewed by the guys from GSM Dome. The LG Optimus LTE features a 4.5 inch HD display with a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels, the device also comes with a dual core 1.5GHz processor and an 8 megapixel camera. It looks like it will come with Android 2.3 Gingerbread, and you can see more photos and videos of the device over at GSM Dome.

A Giant Scientific Graphing Calculator, Built Out of Minecraft Blocks By a 16-Year-Old

This is extremely impressive. It can multiply, divide, trigonometrize, figure roots, graph quadratic functions, and everything else you always need to do when you're playing a video game. All the calculations are done by blocks.

Leica's M9-P to be offered in unicorn-guise, $31,770 and Japan-only

Currently drowning in more cash than sense? Do you also call the land of the rising sun home? Excellent, as we've found the perfect camera just for you: the elusive white variant of Leica's M9-P. Restricted to only 50 units, the unicorn shooter will go on sale come June for a cool 2,620,000 yen (or around $31,770) -- a hefty premium over the regular (read: black and chrome) permutations which cost $7,995. Granted those pedestrian versions don't come wielding an insane f/0.95 50mm lens out of the box. And if this ridiculous combo is priced out of your league, you could always go after its cheaper, yet also delectable white predecessor -- although we'll hazard you're going to need more than just luck finding it.

LG Unveils New A540-T/D 3D Notebook Along with A540-P IPS 2D Model

Some folks out there who clearly believe in the future of 3D technology will definitely be thrilled to know that LG has just introduced A540-T/D 3D notebook and the 2D but AH-IPS equipped A540-P. The A540-T/D 3d and A540-P both Notebooks have followed the company’s A540 notebook, with the A540-H (introduced at CES). Though packing a 15.6-inch AH-IPS display, the A540-P Notebook doesn’t support 3D features 1080p Full HD resolution, and the Notebooks require a pair of stylish passive 3D glasses to gain that extra dimension. All models feature the same Intel Core i7 processor with GeForce Gt555M graphics and 4.1-channel audio. Also featuring aluminum bodies, black bezels, and black chiclet keyboards, the notebooks can also convert 2D content to 3D when users press a dedicated button. The new Notebooks will debut in Korea first and will be released worldwide sometime in the first quarter of this year. While the A540-H with glasses-free 3D is priced around 2.25m Korean won, or about $2,000, the A540-T/D 3D model is priced at 1.93m won, or $1,700, and the A540-P IPS model is priced at 1.7m won, or $1,500. Stay tuned, as we bring you more.

Acamar Transformer Windows Netbook Unveiled

Chinese company Acamar have this week unveiled their new Netbook, which has been designed to easily transform from a netbook into a tablet. Which is not radically new I agree, but the Acamar Transformer is equipped with just a 8.9 inch display. The Acamar Transfomer is equipped with a 1.6 GHz Intel Atom N450 single core processor, supported by 2GB of DDR3 memory. With storage provided by a 120 GB hard drive. The mini Acamar Transfomer Netbook will come preloaded with windows 7 and its 8.9 inch display sports a resolution of 1024 x 600 pixels. Other features on the device include 2 x USB 2.0 ports VGA, Ethernet, and connectivity provided by Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. When closed the Acamar Transfomer measures 10.2 x 5.7 x 1 inches and weighs 2.4 pounds, and is available to purchase for around $460.

Zync unveils budget-friendly Z990, says it's India's first ICS tablet

India's undoubtedly seen its fair share of cheap slabs, but if folks are willing to shell out a bit more than 2,000 or 2,900 rupees, they can end up snagging a better-specced piece of hardware. Priced at a modest 8,900 rupees (around $180), Zync's launching its Z990 7-inch slate, which claims to be the first to hit the Indian market with Android four-dot-oh on board. Alongside Big G's fresh treat are a TFT, 800 x 480 display, 1.2GHz CPU with 1GB of RAM, plus HDMI and microUSB ports. Naturally, and perhaps most importantly, the Z990 has the credentials to let you get all your favorite content via Google Play. Zync's got the tab up for grabs, and you can pop one in your cart now by heading over to the Letsbuy shop, linked down below to make it easier for you.

iMac 27-inch gets gilded and priced at $10k

As precious as it may seem to some, the iMac can always be given the literal touch of luxury that can spice it up. The original iMac aluminum gets gilded with gold and priced at an astronomical rate. What's more is that it keeps the consistency intact by adding a matching gold keyboard and track pad. It's all in good spirit you may say, but this is one device you really cannot afford to lose or misplace. I'd recommend a dedicated guard dog beside it whenever you leave it to charge. Needless to say, it will have the necessary security firmware and hardware installed.The 24 carat gold plating rises the price to $7500 to $10000.

Ulysse Nardin Chairman shows up in all avatars at BaselWorld 2012

The Ulysse Nardin smartphone, which was already unleashed some time back, had a couple of new variants in the BaselWorld 2012. This year at the event, Chief Operating Officer at SCI presented a custom-made Chairman to Chai Schnyder, the wife of late Ulysse Nardin CEO Rolf Schnyder. The one-of-a-kind creation pays tribute to the Year of the Dragon, the year in which Mrs Schnyder was born. The magnificent masterpiece crafted in stainless steel with red accents wears the brand’s distinctive mechanical watch rotor and each of the phones are numbered in limited edition plague. Five new iterations of the “Wave” Collection, showcasing Ulysse Nardin’s nautical heritage were also featured at the show. Each of these incorporate intricate wave designs that have been individually etched using a high accuracy laser and the collection utilizes the same materials used in production of Ulysse Nardin watch straps. A new model in the ultra-luxe Chairman Diamond Edition line with Full Pave Diamond and Black with Pave Diamond inlay was also unveiled at the show. This opulent creation is cast with 18 karat white gold with over 3,100 round brilliant cut hand-set diamonds worth over 20 carats. The sassy new black variant is touted as the most expensive model of the Chairman to date and has only 100 units available worldwide.

Floating Touch Screen Technology from Sony Mobile Demonstrated

Sony Mobile has posted a video online showing the new floating touch screen technology on the SM Sola smartphone. The new technology allows you to hover over the screen to move a virtual mouse pointer around and when links (as an example) highlight, you can then tap the screen to click on it. The new technology allows you to interact with your smartphone up to 20mm away from the screen. Feature of the Sony Mobile Xperia Sola include a 3.7 inch reality display which runs with the BRAVIA engine that Sony is famous for. It does run Android 2.3 gingerbread and it will come with that OS installed although Sony has promised an update to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich although it will technically be close to an Android Jelly Bean launch which will make it about 18 months behind at launch with 2.3 originally being released in December 2010. The technology is still impressive. Take a look below to see a demonstration of what can be done with Floating Touch technology:

GeChic Releases Portable Monitor for Smartphones

With a great Smartphone, you can read a book, watch a movie or surf the internet. Well, barely, the screen is always too small. Until now. GeChic offers a 13.3 inch portable screen as an extension to your smartphone monitor. It is an 8mm thick device with a 1366 x 768 display. Though connecting it may pose a challenge but with practice, and a maze of connectors, adapters, batteries and cords, your GeChic monitor will be up in a jiff. The monitor can be powered either through your laptop’s USB port or an external battery pack. It also includes hookups for VGA and HDMI Video Connections via a proprietary 30-pin connector. Laptop users can also use the device through a Mini Display Port Accessory. If you have Apple’s Digital AV adapter or an MHL to HDMI solution, it can also be supported on your iPhone and most Android phones. It’s home produced video dubbed it as ”The best idea ever,” though installation is a bit of a challenge, it is indeed one of the best. GeChic’s monitor will be available in Newegg next month for $199.

Lenovo To Release First Windows 8 Tablet?

According to a recent report by The Verge, Lenovo is looking to be the first manufacturer to release a Windows 8 tablet later this year, and Lenovo apparently thinks Windows 8 will ship in October. We heard previously that Microsoft is expected to ship Windows 8 some time in the fall of 2012, and whilst Lenovo didn’t release any details about any of their Windows 8 tablets, they did show one off at CES, the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga which you can see below. Dell have also said previously that they expect to be one of the first manufacturers to release a Windows 8 tablet, and HP, Asus and Nokia are also rumored to be working on Windows 8 tablets. It will be interesting to see which company is the first to market with a Windows 8 tablet, and we suspect we will see more than one manufacturer releasing them at the same time.

Will the Samsung Galaxy S III be the first big player to get rid of buttons?

The idea of a device without the physical function key is quite a kick for a few major players in the smartphone rat race. Yet, we see some substantial delay in the whole process with nothing really happening on that front. Now we have Samsung Galaxy S III, in the horizon, and promising to land here with a body that needs no buttons. So are we looking at an Ice Cream Sandwich phone that does away with just about every physical button? The leaked image here stuns us, merely because of the date on the display. We’re referring to the allegedly leaked image here. There seems to be enough proof that it may be a forged one. The work of a smart hand at Photoshop. Or maybe we are looking at some attempt to represent and for some reasons unknown to us, violate the secrecy of Samsung and let us in on the date of the announcement of such a phone. Rumors, I tell you!

Sony Xperia Sola Android Smartphone Announced

Last month Sony filed a new trademark for the Sony Xperia Sola, and now we have some more details on the device, as Sony has just announced their latest Android smartphone. The Sony Xperia Sola features a 3.7 inch Reality Display with Sony’s Mobile BRAVIA Engine, and the handset is powered by Android 2.3 Gingerbread, although Sony has said it will get Android 4.0 ICS by the summer of 2012. Other specifications on the Sony Xperia Sola include a dual core 1GHz processor, plus XLOUD and 3D surround sound, and the handset will come with NFC and will also use Sony’s Smart Tag technology and the device will come with two NFC enabled Smart Tag’s. Sony didn’t give an exact release date, all we know is that the Xperia Sola will be available in the second quarter, which means before June, they also didn’t provide any pricing details. The Sony Xperia Sola will be available in three colors, white, black and red, and it looks like the device will be rolled out globally, as soon as we get some pricing details and an exact launch date we will let you guys know.

Codex Cube LCD Concept Watch

TokyoFlash has published another very unique concept watch on to its website called the Codex Cube. Which is equipped with three LCD screens showing what at first glance look like alien markings. The Codex Cube has been submitted by Firdaus (Malaysia) and Heather (USA), and to read the time on the watch you start in the top left for the hours and then drop down for the minutes, moving to the right for the seconds. Once you see how the current time is displayed everything drops into place and the once alien looking characters take on a more readable persona. The Codex Cubes designers explain a little about the unique watch face and its inspirations: “The display for this LCD watch concept, Codex Cube, was inspired by the Kisai 3D Unlimited display. By using triangular digits (originally developed for our previous Codex submission) instead of rectangular ones, we can display two digits on each “face”, allowing room for hours, minutes, and alas, the ever-changing seconds.” Unfortunately the Codex Cube watch is just a concept at the moment, but if you feel the design is something you would use. Jump over to the TokyoFlash website to place your vote an help the watch make the jump from concept to production.

Toshiba Regza HB2 LCD TV's to come with a Blu-Ray and HDD recorder

Toshiba has announced the Regza HB2 series of LCD TV's for Japan. To be made available in 32 and 40 inches they pack in dual digital tuners, one analog tuner, Blu-Ray recorder and a hard drive. You can record two channels simultaneously on the Blu-ray and hard drive. The 40 incher packs in a full HD panel whereas the 32 inch model comes with a 1,366×768 pixel panel. They will be made available in Japan from March 16 for 170,000 Yen ($1500) and 120,000 Yen ($1200) respectively.

Slanda Pen Always Remains Standing

If you are looking for something a little different in the way of a traditional writing instrument, to sign checks and do a little of the old school communication. The Slända pen which has been designed by Gustav Widström and Marcus Heneen might be worth a look. The pen has been named Slända after the Swedish name for dragonfly, and is a uniquely styled pen which has been designed to always be easily available to grab from your desktop. When the Slända pen is put down on a flat surface the pen will always sit-up at a 45 degree angle. The Slända pen will also never roll off your desk. Its designers Gustav Widström and Marcus Heneen explain: “Slända is an invitation and a reminder for people to investigate their beliefs, as they may not always be true. It’s named after a flying insect that has a unique ability to shift directions within a split second – just like your mind. But it can also hover without moving a millimetre, allowing it to focus despite turbulent surroundings. Our hope is that Slända will inspire you to investigate your world in ways that are new for you. It is our contribution to the magic and powerful world of thinking.” The Slända pen is available in a range of colours including black, orange, aquamarine and white and is now available to purchase for $30.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 11.6 will be announced tomorrow?

Samsung have had enough of the meanderings that the iPad's third rendition has evoked. They want out and that they may have with a vengeance. This can be a sharp, unexpected (almost) blow to the new Apple market that is at its pinnacle now. Pocket-Lint have picked some dope, hinting at the launch of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 11.6 at an event in Texas. With a screen resolution of up to 2560x1600 pixels, 2GHz dual-core processing, and Android Ice Cream Sandwich as the possible specs, the new tablet looks like more than just a worthy contender for the currently hot and happening iPad. Samsung have been busy, trivial as their efforts may be, with the launch of Angry Birds Space for their devices. Now we want some real dope that has any and everything to do with hardware please.

PSP arriving in Sky-Marine Blue

While Sony might be pushing its PlayStation Vita console at the moment, that doesn’t mean it has forgotten about its previous handheld console – the PlayStation Portable (PSP). The company has announced that it will be pushing out a brand new PSP-3000 in a new color combination – Sky-Marine Blue. Other than the new colors, it doesn’t look like it’s getting any new features but man, does it look good. For folks who don’t want to buy a Vita and want a PSP instead, this new color combination should be right up your alley. The Sky-Marine Blue PSP will be released in Japan on April 26th for 17,800 yen – about $218. No word on whether it’ll be available in the US, but it will be a limited edition device, so if you want one, make sure you pick it up ASAP.

Asus Padfone Coming Next Month

One of the more interesting devices at this years Mobile World Congress was the Asus Padfone, which is basically three devices in one, a smartphone, a tablet, and a notebook. Asus has confirmed on Google+ that the Padfone will go on sale next month, and they also released some new photos of the device which you can see below. The main part of the Asus Padfone is the smartphone, this is the device which features the processor and powers the other devices, it comes with a 4.3 inch Super AMOLED qHD display with a resolution of 540 x 960 pixels, and it is powered by a 1.5GHz dual core Snapdragon S4 processor and also has an Adreno 225 GPU. The Asus Padfone features an 8 megapixel rear facing camera for photos and video and a front facing VGA camera for video chat, there is also HDMI, GPS, A-GPS and Bluetooth 4.0. The smartphone part can be docked with the tablet part, and then the tablet can be docked with a keyboard, in a similar way to Asus’s Transformer tablets. We should have some more information on pricing next month, and we suspect this is going to be a very popular gadget for Asus.

The Futuristic 3D Desktop

With so much focus on developing tablet PCs and other mobile devices today, it appears that other kinds of innovations on desktop computing are left ignored. Jinha Lee and Cati Boulanger, who formerly worked for Microsoft Applied Sciences, however, are introducing a new See-Through 3D Desktop that might revolutionalize desktop computingUsing a transparent OLED screen from Samsung, the duo has devised a prototype computer that reverses the traditional setup of desktop PCs. In their model, the keyboard is at the back of the see-through monitor, allowing users to type as well give 3D input to the screen in front. This three-dimensionality is made possible by cameras that sense depth, as well as track the user’s head movements. Thus, the computer is aware of the perspective of the user and is able to provide a genuine 3D view on the screen. This prototype, however, is far from being available to consumers as there are several issues that need to be settled. For instance, it appears uncomfortable for users to slip their hands under the screen to access the keyboard. Also, users who are unable to type without looking at the keys might have a hard time typing given that the screen could partially obscure the keyboard, even if it has a high opacity. Still, the See-Through 3D Desktop might inspire engineers to think out of the box and imagine new designs, rather than churn out models that are similar to each other.

Toshiba to sell world’s thinnest and slimmest tablet, the Excite 10 LE from March 6th onwards

With the unveiling of the iPad 3 just around the corner, Toshiba decided to get a head start and has decided to pull the veil off its Excite 10 LE tablet in a few days time, on the 6th of March. The Android powered tablet will be priced at $529 and comes with a 10.1-inch HD display with a Gorilla Glass. Packing a dual-core TI OMAP 4430 processor clocked at 1.2GHz, the Excite 10 LE also sports 16GB of internal storage, a microSD slot, a 5 megapixel camera on its back and a 2-megapixel front-facing camera. Using Android 3.2 Honeycomb, the tablet is upgradable to the upcoming 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and measures just 0.3 inches (7.7mm) while weighing 1.18 pounds (535g), making this tablet the slimmest and lightest from them all.

Ferrari F12 Berlinetta unveiled

Ferrari has finally unveiled its F12 Berlinetta automotive beauty which it claims to be the fastest road car ever. This has come just days before the start of the Geneva Motor show and it boasts of a top speed of 211mph, reaching 0-60mph in 3.1 seconds. The Italian automaker says this has been designed to deliver unsurpassed driving involvement whatever the road or track, “ and that its design is perfect concoction of uncompromising aerodynamics with harmonious proportions interpreting the typical elements of Ferrari’s front-engined V12 cars in an original and innovative way.

This one is actually a successor to their much-famed Ferrari 599 which has bagged a host of awards post its 2006 release. The initial 599 can reach 0-60mph in 3.7 seconds, reaching a top speed of 205mph. The F12 Berlinetta will be shown for the first time at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show but in the meanwhile check out the official video below.

Samsung to introduce gadgets with flexible OLED displays this year

Samsung has begun mass production of its flexible OLED displays for products which are due for release later this year. Tech pundits all around are also speculating that the initial implementations might include smartphone and tablets. Nobody knows how flexible the displays will be but it will be a matter of substrate selected, among other things. With bendable screen, both gadget makers and enthusiasts hope to see something that can function as a pull out which will offer a large viewing area as well as small gadget size. Then there are potential implementations in devices that have wraparound panels or touchscreens thus revamping the form factor of gadgets altogether. We have earlier seen a slightly curved screen which Samsung showed off on the Galaxy Nexus device with its slight bend on the lower part of the device. Samsung has been leading the industry when it comes to displays for it has earlier come up with the HD Super AMOLED on the Nexus and just recently, announced an AMOLED screen on the large version of its Galaxy Note.