Sony Xperia Ion launched

 After years of creating phones under the Sony Ericsson brand, Sony has finally dropped the Ericsson from its name with the launch of its new Android powerhouse device – the Xperia ion. Unveiling the device at CES today, the phone is one of Sony’s most impressive creations to date. It will feature LTE connectivity – the first ever for a Sony phone.

The Xperia ion features a 4.6″ HD (1280 x 720) display (Reality Display with Mobile BRAVIA Engine), a dual-core 1.5GHz processor, a 12-megapixel rear camera with Sony Exmor R (featuring Fastest Capture which lets the phone take shots in just 1.5 seconds from standby and 1080p video recording capabilities), a front facing camera (capable of 720p video).

The phone also packs NFC capabilities, HD sharing via DLNA, HDMI, and BRAVIA Sync, and will come preloaded with Android 2.3 Gingerbread. However, an update for Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich is promised, and seeing how Sony has been doing pretty well with its updates, we’re pretty sure it’s a promise it’ll keep. The Xperia ion will be available exclusively in the US with AT&T this spring.

One Laptop Per Child XO 3.0 tablet to be showcased at CES 2012

[CES 2012] Remember back in 2009 One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) announced that it would be introducing a low-cost tablet, the XO 3.0? Well the tablet was supposed to go in production in 2010, and then was announced as delayed last year to get better screens, and we still didn’t get to see them. However, it looks like 2012 is going to be the year the tablets are finally complete.

OLPC has announced that the XO tablet will be shown off at CES next week and will go into production after it is unveiled. The tablet will feature Marvell’s Armada PXA618 SOC, 512MB of RAM, an 8″ PixelQi 1024 x 768 display (LCD option also available) and will run on Android or OLPC’s own Sugar operating system (a customized version of Linux).

The tablet will be priced at $100 to keep it affordable – but take not that regular consumers won’t be able to purchase the tablets individually, unless of course you’re the government of a developing country.

Toshiba to unveil world’s slimmest tablet at CES 2012

With the CES 2012 show in Las Vegas just around the corner, Toshiba is preparing the unveiling of the world’s slimmest 10-inch tablet. The thinnest and lightest in the world as claimed by the manufacturer, the tablet measures in at just 7.7mm “thick”. Also, the tablet packs Android 3.2, a Texas Instruments OMAP 4430 dual-core 1.2GHz chip, 1,280x800 resolution display, 1GB system memory, 32GB of flash memory storage, 7 hours of rated battery life, HDMI, USB 2.0, and microSD ports and seems to draw along the lines of the already available Toshiba Excite. Expected to be priced at approximately $800, Toshiba hasn’t confirmed the official price tag to be stuck on to this one when it surfaces in the United States for now.

Evergreen Palm sized Bluetooth keyboard with trackpad

There is nothing much to write about the Bluetooth keyboard except that it works with iOS devices (only keyboard) and Playstation 3. Not sure why anyone would want one, but if in case then this one sells for $25 in Japan and works on two x AAA batteries.

Toshiba promises world's thinnest and lightest 10.1-inch tablet and 13.3-inch Ultrabook, 55-inch QFHD TV, other wonderment for CES

It's dangerous to throw titles like "world's thinnest" and "world's lightest" around at events like CES -- what was a record breaker on Tuesday morning has a tendency to look a bit portly by Wednesday afternoon. But, never mind the caution, here comes Toshiba pledging both the thinnest and the lightest 10.1-inch tablet and 13.3-inch Ultrabook (though that latter one could just be referring to the Portege Z835 we've already reviewed). We'll have to wait a few days for any further details, though. The company is also promising to show off an OLED reference tablet with waterproof construction and wireless power plus a 55-inch QFHD television with glasses-free 3D. No world records there, but it should be quite a looker.

Ramnit worm steals 45,000 Facebook logins

Ramnit is a worm that is better known in financial industry circles, but just like how economic performance of any country will affect the lives of the everyday man on the street, so too, has the Ramnit work which has set its sights on Facebook accounts recently. According to some reports out there, a minimum of 45,000 accounts have already been compromised, and the total extent of the damage has yet to be calculated. Basically, if you happen to be on Facebook a whole lot, you might want to be more cautious about where your mouse cursor clicks. Seculert has been tracking the worm for some time already, touting that Ramnit has had its focus mainly on users in the UK and France, although everyone else around the world are not exempt from potential attacks. The motive behind Ramnit? Possibly to magnify the malware’s spread by sending links to friends and acquaintances of compromised accounts. Just be careful out there, and try to have different passwords for different accounts. Difficult and troublesome, yes, but it is a whole lot better than having your account(s) compromised.

Vertu Signature Dragon Collection celebrates Lunar New Year with three cell phones

Even before the Lunar New Year sets in, renowned brands are already celebrating by rolling out dragon-themed products to lure consumers. The latest to join the dragon-band is Vertu. They have launched three exclusive cell phones to commemorate the Year of the Dragon. Vertu Signature Dragon collection is offered in yellow gold with diamonds, stainless steel with emeralds and black stainless steel with rubies. The highlight of this collection is the ‘four-clawed dragon motif which was an emblem exclusively reserved for Chinese noblemen and senior officials’. The top of the line, yellow gold model is decked with 18ct yellow gold while the navigation button is set with a 0.33ct princess cut white diamond. At the rear, the dragon’s eyes blaze with two white diamonds. This dragon has already travelled to Switzerland to be honored with the 725 stamp in the Assay Office before settling on this Vertu. However we are disappointed with the fact that the price of the Vertu Signature Dragon gold diamond model is not known.

Lexus teases odd LF-LC 2+2 Hybrid Sport Coupe concept

Those wild and crazy guys over at Lexus are teasing a new hybrid sport coupe concept car that has a very strange design. I can see little bits of the LFA in the design. The profile of the car reminds me of theFisker Karma as well. Lexus is offering up no real detail and is taking the chance to say the car will be at the Detroit Auto Show.

The name of the car has hybrid in it, so the thing would have an electric motor or motors in there somewhere along with battery packs. I would assume that all the details on the concept would be coming at the Detroit show kicking off January 9.

The car isn’t going to be all about fuel economy either. Lexus does say that the hybrid drive will be for performance and fuel efficiency. Several sports cars are using hybrid systems today to supplement the combustion engine for greater performance. Electric motors provide lots of torque for their size.