Nintendo to Announce 3DS Release in September

Nintendo will finally announce the release date and pricing of the 3DS handheld in September.
Recently Nintendo spoke with Bloomberg Japan and said that it plans to reveal the Nintendo 3DS launch date and pricing on September 26. This revelation will actually take place after Tokyo Game Show (TGS) which kicks off on September 16th and ends on the 19th, squashing any speculation of a TGS-based announcement.

Droid X Takes Pot Shot at iPhone 4 Case Situation

Pants optional.
Motorola has rolled out another Droid X ad poking fun at the Apple iPhone 4 "design compromised" antenna.
Like the last one, it's a full page ad for newspapers, but this time it's drawing attention to the fact that it doesn't require a case for the antenna to work at its best.

AT&T Will Be 'Premier Windows Phone 7 Carrier'

A spokesperson said that AT&T will be the premier carrier for Windows Phone 7.

Monday a spokesperson for AT&T said that the company will be the premier carrier for Windows Phone 7. Both Microsoft and AT&T haven't actually announced the supposed joint relationship. In fact, the spokesperson didn't even elaborate on timing, promotional plans, or "premier" features the phones would provide.

Apple Updates Mac Pro With Up to 12 CPU Cores

The Mac Pro has gotten some spendy hardware updates.

Apple today unveiled a new Mac Pro line with up to 12 processing cores and up to 50 percent greater performance than the previous generation, thanks to the use of Intel's quad-core and 6-core Xeon processors (up to 3.3GHz), all-new ATI graphics and the option for up to four 512GB solid state drives.

Toshiba Releases 2.5'' HDD with 7,200 RPM

Toshiba is launching three new 2.5-inch HDDs spinning at 7,200 RPM.

Monday Toshiba Storage Device Division revealed its new family of 7,200 RPM 2.5-inch SATA drives, optimized for "demanding performance, power consumption, and durability requirements." The new line also means that Toshiba has now caught up with HDD rival Samsung by launching a 640GB notebook drive spinning at 7,200 RPM--the latter company announced its SpinPoint MP4 back in April

AMOLED Shortage Causes HTC to Use Super LCD

Be careful of which screen you're getting when picking up an HTC Desire or Nexus One.

HTC is experiencing a shortage of supply of AMOLED displays, so rather than let that one part hold back its production of smartphones, the company is turning back to LCD technology.
HTC formally announced that it will be sourcing Super LCD display (SLCD) technology from Sony into a variety of phones including the HTC Desire and global Nexus One later this summer. HTC said that the SLCD display "offers an exceptional natural balanced colour, clear contrast, broad viewing angles and improved power efficiency," but we're not so sure how that stacks up against the gorgeous colors afforded by AMOLED's inherent characteristics.

Windows 7: Over 175 Million Licenses Served

rosoft's selling these faster than ever.

Along with the reveal of big revenues, Microsoft also announced that Windows 7 is selling quite well. Yes, the great sales of Windows 7 helps drive the revenue, so it should be no surprise that Microsoft have moved 175 million copies of the OS.

iPhone 4 Coming to T-Mobile This Week?

More talk of a T-Mobile iPhone 4 has surfaced, pinning the release date down to this week!

Last week we reported that an unnamed, "highly placed" source indicated that T-Mobile USA would receive the Apple iPhone 4 sometime this year. Negotiations between Apple and the wireless carrier were said to be in an advanced stage, with the likely of an agreement residing at 80-percent. Naturally both companies have not disclosed information regarding the relationship, or any possibility of one. There was also no indication of when the phone would arrive save for a general 2010 release schedule.

White iPhone 4 Delayed by Manufacturing Woes

White models of Apple’s new iPhone 4 have continued to be more challenging to manufacture than we originally expected, and as a result they will not be available until later this year. The availability of the more popular iPhone 4 black models is not affected.

Droid X Owners Consuming 5x as Much Data

What are you Droid X owners doing with your phones?

Verizon is rumored to be moving away from unlimited data plans and towards a tiered system, and with more and more customers purchasing smartphones, it's easy to see why.

The advent of smartphones for the masses has meant a significant number of people who previously wouldn't have required a data plan at all, are guzzling MBs thanks to data-intensive applications on their phones. Last month, Verizon's John Killian said things were expected to get even worse for wireless networks as new phones designed for 4G networks incorporate even more data-intensive apps, like video downloads.

Xbox 360 Profit Covered KIN's Failure

Microsoft lost at least $240 million on the Kin blunder.

Two weeks ago we reported that Microsoft sold 503 KIN (One and Two) messaging phones in less than two months before the company pulled the plug. Other reports indicated that the final number was less than 10,000, however consumers will likely not ever know the real figures, possibly to prevent further embarrassment on Microsoft's behalf.

Unboxing All the Halo: Reach Xbox 360 Editions

The next Legendary is supposed to be truly limited this time around.

Halo: Reach will be Bungie's grand finale to the series, at least as far as it is concerned. As in classic Halo fashion, there will be several SKUs for Halo: Reach buyers to choose from. There's the regular edition, the limited edition, and the crazy expensive Legendary edition.

Bungie says that this time around, the Legendary version will be truly limited in supply (in my neck of the woods, Legendary editions of Halo 3 were clearing out at under $20 a few months ago).

Microsoft Licenses ARM CPU Technology

Microsoft may create its own ARM-based chip.

Microsoft may follow in Apple's footsteps by designing its own ARM-based chips. The company said Friday in an official announcement that it has signed a new agreement to license ARM's technology. Now there's speculation that a Windows Phone tablet could be on the way, or that the Redmond company may incorporate ARM into the next Xbox.

Microsoft did not provide additional details on the agreement, merely stating that it delivers "multiple operating systems on the company's architecture, most notably Windows Embedded and Windows Phone." The company added that direct access to the technology provides the ability to enhance its research and development around ARM-based products.

Apple is the Leader in Admitting Software Bugs

Apple's grown a lot in the last year... in more areas than just product sales.

Apple is the new leader in reports of software holes and insecurities, according to security company Secunia.

To be fair, the Secunia's method tracks the number of publically reported security flaws, leaving Apple's taking the number one spot to be interpreted in different ways.

For one, Apple's reported flaws could mean that the company is more vigilant than others in reporting and fixing bugs in its software. Of course, the flipside to that is that Apple's software has to have those flaws in the first place, otherwise there'd be nothing to report on. Apple's security flaws don't come primarily from its OS X operating system, but rather mostly stem from software like Safari, QuickTime and iTunes.

Microsoft Releases New Security Essentials Beta

Microsoft has introduced the next version of Microsoft Security Essentials in a new beta.

Tuesday Microsoft's Brandon LeBlanc said that the company has released a beta of the next version of Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE). For the uninitiated, this is the company's "no-cost light weight anti-malware" service, providing genuine Windows users with in-house protection from viruses, spyware, and other malicious software.

Skype Multitasks on iPhone; Voice Plans Useless

You can finally ditch your voice plan, or at least downgrade it.

One of the most useful demonstrations about the iOS 4 is that it can multitask with VoIP applications such as Skype. As world travelers should know, Skype is essential to keeping in touch with those wherever you are, at the cheapest rates – as long as you have an internet connection.
With the option to purchase a virtual phone number complete with voicemail, you could actually scrap your landline in favor of using Skype. And now you can ditch your voiceplan too on your iPhone 3GS or 4.

Samsung's Epic 4G Shows Up in FCC Filing

Don't like the EVO 4G but eager to make use of Sprint's 4G network? Well, fear not, for Samsung will soon have another 4G smartphone for you to consider.

Spotted going through the FCC approval process is a Samsung handset believed to be the Epic 4G. Engadget reports that the documentation labels the device as the SPH-D700 "cellular/PCS CDMA/EvDO Phone with Bluetooth, WLAN, and WiMAX,"

Xbox 360 S 4GB, Kinect All Officially Priced, Dated

Get the Kinect bundled with the new Xbox 360 S 4GB and save $50.

It was only speculated before, but now we know the launch dates and prices for both the new Xbox 360 S 'Arcade' version as well as the Kinect bundle.
Microsoft today announced an all-in-one bundle with an all-new Xbox 360 4GB console, the Kinect sensor and “Kinect Adventures” packaged together for $299.99 (U.S. ERP).

Sony Files for Steroscopic Multiplayer Patent

When you hear stereoscopic video you likely think of 3D. However, Sony may have plans to use stereoscopic video for something else entirely.

Split-screen gaming is always kind of a hassle. No matter how big your TV is things are always just kind of cramped when it's split down the middle. And don't even get us started on how distracting it can be to constantly be seeing what your friend is doing out of the corner of your eye. Aiming to take the split-screen out of multi-player gaming, Sony has filed a patent that uses stereoscopic video and glasses to show players different images on the same display.

Dell Introduces Precision Laptop With 32GB RAM

That's more RAM than all the computers in my home combined.

Do you have some serious business going on with your laptop? Is it more of a mobile workstation then a laptop? Then you probably need a good bit of memory. The problem with most mobile computers is that they can't take as much memory as desktop, but Dell has a solution for those who crave more RAM on the go.

Dell has announced the Precision M6500, which it calls the "world’s most powerful 17” mobile workstation." Helping it make that claim is that it will support up to 32 GB of system memory in the Dell Precision M6500. It also packs an Intel Core i7 Extreme Edition processor and Nvidia Quadro FX 3800M.

Those who don't need that sort of memory could also consider the M6500’s little brother, the Precision M4500, which is now available with 16GB of memory.

Such applications of mobile workstations with so much memory are in the oil and gas field, where they can review larger slices of the earth to find oil, enabling faster and more accurate drilling to find oil and gas reserves. Other applications may also involve CAD/CAM engineering as well as work with fluid dynamics.

Nokia, RIM, HTC, Samsung Return Fire on Apple

Oh, so that's what happens when you try to pass the buck on to your competitors.

Apple held a press conference on Friday morning to address the antenna issues some users have been having with the iPhone 4. In an effort to try and explain away the problem, Steve demonstrated that the same problem occurs when griping several other popular phones. Now, it wasn't the first time Steve pointed out that the antenna issue is not exclusive to the iPhone 4. However, it was the first time he showed few handsets to drive his point home.

Who Offers the Best Tech Support for Laptops?

You may not care so much about tech support for your desktop, but for a laptop it matters a bit more.

While many of you Tom's Hardware readers are usually savvy enough to troubleshoot problems on your own, even if it's store-bought computer, many consumers out there heavily factor into their purchases in the quality of tech support.

Apple, Google, and RIM All Tried to Buy Palm

HP may have won the bidding war, but who else was serious about acquiring Palm, and why?

HP announced its $1.2 billion acquisition of Palm at the end of April, but it wasn't until last week that all the i's had been dotted and the t's crossed. However, now that everything is all signed, sealed and finalized, we learn that Palm came close to belonging to several other companies, ones with far more experience in the smartphone business than HP.
When word first got out, HTC was the obvious buyer to most observers. Caught up in a patent suit with Apple, acquiring Palm's patent portfolio would have given HTC some serious courtroom ammo. However, that deal fell through and once it did, it was anyone's guess who would acquire Palm.

Google Maps Snaps Plane in LA Intersection

We've seen a lot of weird Street View photos, but it's not often Google Maps gets a look in satellite view.

We love the weird and whacky folk that appear on Google Street View. Between the guy with the horses head and the Stig, we can't decide who we love the most. However, the latest Google Maps image to catch our attention isn't a Street View photo. It's a regular, old Google Maps satellite photo. Regular except for the part where there appears to be a plane parked on the intersection between Rose Ave. and Lincoln Blvd in Los Angeles.

Acer to Launch 7- and 10-inch Tablets This Year

HP's Android tablet might be shelved for now, but Acer has plans to release two slates powered by the Google OS before the year is out.

Digitimes reports that Acer will launch 7- and 10-inch Android tablets later this year. Both will run Android 2.2 (or Froyo) and be ARM-based. With the advantage of Android 2.2's Flash support, Digitimes reports that these two devices will be multimedia tablets with entertainment capabilities and will debut in Q4. Acer is said to already be in talks with Far EasTone Telecommunications, which suggests the device will have 3G and, dare we hope, may be available subsidized from carriers?

The tablets will be separate to the e-ink ereader Acer introduced in May and the full-color, Qualcomm-powered Android reader it showed off last month at Computex.

Toshiba in Hot Water Over Free Laptops Offer

Toshiba's latest ad campaign has resulted in a lot of unhappy customers.

In an effort to capitalize off of the World Cup, Toshiba ran an advertising campaign offering customers in several European countries full rebates on purchases if their country won.
The deal was advertised in Spain, Germany, England, Portugal and Italy and offered customers purchasing Toshiba Core i5 laptops or Toshiba TVs a full refund if their country of origin was victorious. However, it seems Spanish customers are having trouble getting their money back and consumer association, Facua, is taking issue with how Toshiba organized the special offer.
Toshiba's promotional materials included fine print that directed customers to the Toshiba Website for full details. However, not all customers checked the site before buying and were surprised to learn that they're not eligible for a refund because they didn't register their product before June 17. Engadget cites Facua as saying such a huge condition to availing of the offer should not have been hidden away on the website, but clearly marked on the promotional materials. The group is arguing that because of this oversight, Toshiba should have to honor every single customer's rebate regardless.
While it's definitely an underhanded move on Toshiba's part, it's hard to believe people wouldn't look at the terms and conditions of a deal offering a free laptop or TV before jumping in with both feet.

Google Launches 'Google Fiber For Communities'

Google has launched a Website to keep Americans informed about its plans for fiber internet.

You might remember a few months back when communities across the country went nuts competing for Google's 1GB fiber internet; cities changed their name to Google and mayors swam with sharks.

Though it's been three months since these stunts were carried out, Google has yet to make a decision on what town will be part of the pilot program for it's project. Google says it won't name the winner (or winners!) at the end of the year.

However, the search giant isn't resting on its laurels until D-day. The company this week launched 'Google Fiber for Communities,' a Website designed to keep folks up to date on the project, educate people on the technology and thank them for all their efforts. It also provides tips on how you can help bring fiber Internet to your community.

In total, 1,100 communities and 200,000 individuals responded to Google's call for a test site for the project. Check out the video below to see some of their submissions and thank you messages from Google employees.

Windows Phone 7 Does Remote Erase, Location

Tuesday Microsoft unveiled the Windows Phone Live companion site for the upcoming Windows Phone 7 device. It will supposedly be a one-stop hub for everything the user needs, whether its to see published images, check email, exchange OneNote files, check their Windows Live calendar, and more. All files will be synchronized between the web, PC, and the handheld.

According to Microsoft's Aaron Woodman in the Windows Phone Blog, the site will also provide users with 25GB of SkyDrive cloud-based storage, and a Find My Phone service that will help owners manage their missing phone using map, ring, lock and erase capabilities. Both services will be provided to Windows Phone 7 users free of charge.

Microsoft Extends Windows XP Downgrade to 2020

Another decade of Windows XP -- who's excited?!

While the consumer and enthusiast are now happily moving to Windows 7, businesses are still chugging along on Windows XP. This would present a problem for businesses buying and installing new computers in the workplace if not for the Windows XP downgrade program available to OEM Windows 7 Professional and Ultimate SKUs.

Originally, these downgrade rights were to disappear once Microsoft ships the first Service Pack in 2011, but upon the release of the SP1 beta, Microsoft announced that it would extend the XP downgrade period through to January 2020 for the Professional and January 2015 for the Ultimate edition (dates according to Computerworld).

"This will help maintain consistency for downgrade rights throughout the Windows 7 lifecycle," wrote Microsoft spokesman Brandon LeBlanc, in an entry on the company blog. "As a result, the OEM versions of Windows 7 Professional and Windows 7 Ultimate will continue to include downgrade rights to the similar versions of Windows Vista or Windows XP Professional.  Going forward, businesses can continue to purchase new PCs and utilize end user downgrade rights to Windows XP or Windows Vista until they are ready to use Windows 7. Enabling such rights throughout the Windows 7 lifecycle will make it easier for customers as they plan deployments to Windows 7."

Microsoft made this change to help ease confusion for businesses getting new PCs but aren't able to make the switch just yet. With the extension of the downgrade rights, Microsoft will still be able to sell a Windows license and businesses can still run Windows XP.

LeBlanc added, "Our business customers have told us that the removing end-user downgrade rights to Windows XP Professional could be confusing, given the rights change would be made for new PCs preinstalled with Windows 7 and managing a hybrid environment with PCs that have different end-user rights based on date of purchase would be challenging to track."

74% of Enterprise PCs Are Still Running Win XP

Microsoft recently announced that it had hit a huge milestone with Windows 7: they had sold 150 million copies. However, despite this success in the mainstream consumer market, the adoption rate among enterprise customers has been slow.

Microsoft this week revealed that the vast majority of businesses are still running on Microsoft's nine-year-old OS, Windows XP. Speaking yesterday at the Windows Partner Conference, Corporate Vice President of Windows, Tammi Reller, admitted that nearly three quarters (74 percent) of business PCs are still running XP. Reller also revealed that, at 4.4 years, the average age of a business PC is the highest it's ever been.

Though business adoption has been slow, things should look up soon if a recent study by Dimensional Research is to be believed. Back in April the firm conducted a survey of nearly 1,000 IT professionals and found worries about upgrading to Windows 7 had decreased while worries about maintaining Windows XP had increased.

The survey found that 87 percent of respondents planned to deploy Windows 7. This is compared to 47 percent who had plans to deploy Vista at a comparable point after its release. Further, 46 percent of the total surveyed revealed they had plans to migrate even before the release of SP1. Dimensional Research said that, while 25 percent of people expressed concerns about Windows 7 performance, this is down from 47 percent last year.

Although 60 percent of the respondents were worried about the cost and overhead of migrating to Windows 7, that figure was down from 72 percent last year. Similarly, 40 percent of the respondents said that they're worried about the hassles of maintaining Windows XP as it gets older. This figure is up from 28 percent last year.

Intel Says That Celeron Will Continue to Live On

Long live the Celeron!

Earlier on, we heard from Taiwanese sources that Intel will be phasing out the Celeron CPU brand sometime in 2011 as things move towards Sandy Bridge. No so, says Intel; the Celeron the will live on.

"The rumor is not true, Intel has no plan to phase out the Celeron brand in 2011. Intel Celeron processors continue to provide a low-cost computing solution for basic computing needs," wrote Barry Sum, an Intel spokesman in Hong Kong, in an e-mail response to questions from IDG.

X-bit labs still claims that it has seen roadmaps that show that the Celeron will not be moving to a Nehalem-based architecture, leaving some to wonder what will happen to the Celeron brand when the Core 2 family is no longer in production.

Right now, Intel scales its product offerings with the Atom, Celeron, Pentium, Core 2, and Core i brandings. While it may be a bit crowded now, the eventual drop of the Core 2 Duo products will give Intel a little more room to keep the Celeron in the lineup.

Stiletto Shoe Speakers Pump Out Six Watts

You can even make them play heel-clicking sounds, if that floats your boat.

The shoe speakers are a pair that are actually USB-powered speakers. Like most other speaker sets, they draw power from the nearest USB port, and receive audio through a 3.5mm jack. The speakers look like shoes well enough that it's a not a leap to consider wearing them (though you shouldn't), though we find it disgusting if you plan to take them off during work and place them on your desk.

These Stiletto Shoe Speakers are of course available in a variety of colors. Buyers can choose a red, pink, or black pair to suit their wardrobe—or desktop—fancy. The only problem? A relatively weak six-watt output, and a limited 200Hz to 5000Hz frequency range, not to mention the £25 ($37.50) price tag.

Intel May Soon Abandon Celeron Microprocessors

Those Celerons aren't going to be kept up in the technology line up.

Intel's Celeron brand was mocked for its vegetative name when the CPU launched, but eventually the last laugh belonged to the chip as it proved to be a formidable overclocker and value proposition as the Celeron 300A wrote itself into the history books.

The Celeron brand eventually made its way into notebooks as entry-level solutions for mainstream computers. Sadly, the Celeron never achieved any sort of cult status as an overclocker in the mobile space, but it's still been a nice little chip that got the job done for most casual computer users. But that time could be coming to an end.

DigiTimes once again cites Intel's partners as telling it that the Celeron brand will be phased out in 2011. In its place, Intel will fill the gap with low-end Pentium and dual-core Atom offerings.

Intel denied that it would be phasing out the Celeron at all, but X-bit labs claimed that roadmaps it had seen showed that the Celeron wouldn't be receiving any upgrades to Clarkdale/Nehalem or Sandy Bridge cores. This could mean that once Intel phases out Core 2 technology, the Celerons will go with it.

iPhone 4 Cable Catches Fire, Burns Owner's Hand

Apple recently announced that the iPhone 4 is its hottest iPhone to date, selling faster than any other iteration of the phone. However, one AT&T customer recently discovered just how hot the phone really is when he burnt his hand on the bezel.

Boy Genius Report cites an AT&T insider who provided the following images along with a story of a user whose iPhone 4 caught fire. The incident appears to be either a problem with the USB port the device was plugged into, or the iPhone 4's dock connector port (an Apple Store confirmed that it was a result of "a defective USB port and not some sort of user error"). Judging from how melted the iPhone-end of the cable is, it looks as though the port on the phone was the problem.

Solar-Powered Plane Flies Even at Night

Next up: a round-the-world solar-powered plane.

Years of hard work and testing have finally paid off. The Solar Impulse, a plane powered solely by solar energy cells, successfully flew through day and night. It spent the early morning of July 7 slowly climbing to an altitude of 8,700 meters to charge its batteries. 4:40pm saw the Solar Impulse take a long controlled dive to 1.5km, then continued flying at through the night without depleting its power reserve.

3D Displays May Be Hazardous to Young Children

Could this be a problem with the 3DS?

3D is all the rage right now, with cinemas and home theatre equipment both beefing up with glasses-mandatory viewing. Even gaming on-the-go is heading that way too with Nintendo's upcoming 3DS handheld.

While 3D gives us a neat effect while watching Toy Story 3, taking the kids to see that one over and over again, and eventually when it's on Blu-ray Disc, isn't a good idea at all.

According researchers who have been examining 3D video for years, the exposing children under the age of seven could affect their vision in a bad way. You see, our 3D human vision relies on our two eyes sending an image to our brains, which then makes stereoscopic sense out of it. This gives us depth perception – something that our brains only fully develop by the time we hit six years old.

Some of us aren't able to fully develop stereoscopic vision due to malaise in children called strabismus, sometimes known as lazy eye. This condition is treatable by training the nervous system to 'learn' stereopsis.

More than 15 years ago, Sega was toying with a VR headset that would give the wearer 3D images near the eye; but following a test by the Stanford Research Institute (SRI) at Palo Alto California, Sega was warned that the peripheral should not be given to kids – a tough order given that the video game market at the time was catered to a younger audience. The project was ditched, and 3D VR headsets slowly disappeared from the market.

Now that 3D is back, bigger than ever, the risk is even greater for young viewers. Adults are believed to be mostly safe from 3D effects, though most will likely find that they reach a point of fatigue before long anyway.

Read more at Audioholics.

Make Firefox 4's Tab Bar Take Up Less Space

Chrome made a dent on the browser wars (aside from its touted page loading speed) because of its minimalist interface. Interface elements presented in a way that maximized screen real estate—especially moving the browser tabs to the window title.

You'd think that Mozilla would've come up with something similar for the Firefox 4 beta. Turns out that wasn't the case. Yes, the browser's title bar is now smaller, but the tabs are still below it. Luckily, the latest version of Mozilla's browser lets users work some CSS magic to push Firefox's tabs upwards. All it involves is adding the following code:

#appmenu-button-container{
position: fixed !important;
}

#navigator-toolbox[tabsontop="true"] #TabsToolbar{
padding-left: 80px !important;
margin-right: 105px !important;
padding-top: 2px !important;
}

#appmenu-button{
padding: 3px 5px 3px 5px !important;
height: 20px !important;
}

...to Firefox 4's userChrome.css file. Instructions on how to locate the file—and an important warning—are available on Gdgtry.