Google About To Launch TV Software

According to the Wall Street Journal, sources have revealed that Google is likely to soon introduce developers to their new Android-based software for TV.

It is believed that over 3,000 developers will attend Google’s annual I/O conference to be held in San Francisco on the 19th and 20th of this month. Google might introduce their new technology at the event, so that developers can start developing apps for Google’s TV platform.
Google’s new technology is meant to allow set-top boxes and new television sets to draw more content from the Internet.

Sony, Intel and Logitech are already believed to have shown an interest in Google’s offering, though nothing has been confirmed as yet. Even more rumours claim that Sony has already agreed to use Intel’s Atom chip in some of their future products in order to give them similar functionality to netbooks.

If developers take an interest in this platform, the market could soon be flooded with apps for TV, just as it is for smartphones. Hardware manufacturers will need to commit to the technology first, though.

Google is also conducting a limited search service with the Dish Network, according to some reports. This service will enable users to search for various TV programmes on the Internet.
If Google’s entry into the television market is successful, it will provide a lot of value-based content to viewers, while Google will drive more ad revenues via a whole new medium. It could also bring down the package prices of other cable providers, thus making it a win-win situation for both Google and the user.
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Sony Reveals God of War: Ghost of Sparta, PSP Exclusive

No doubt plotting to resuscitate its flagging portable powerhouse, Sony today revealed God of War: Ghost of Sparta is in the offing, another prequel in the company's myth-themed meat-tenderizing series exclusive to the PSP. The last one, God of War: Chains of Olympus, sold some 2.5 million copies. A sequel (or post-prequel prequel) was probably inevitable.

Where Chains of Olympus sets up just before the original God of War for the PlayStation 2, Ghost of Sparta slots in right after, "telling the story of Kratos' ascension to power as the God of War." The presser alludes to Kratos' nightmares, lost worlds, and answering "long-awaited questions about his dark past" (really, did we need to wait for the prequel to get these?). Kratos' trademark chain-slung Blades of Chaos are back, as are ye olde panoply of "mythological monsters," "legions of undead soldiers," and--wait for it--"amazingly dangerous and brutal landscapes." Amazingly!

You might find the tech specs more interesting. Sony promises the game will have "higher quality environments" and "give players a realistic feel that has never been seen before on the PSP or any other portable platform." SCEA PR manager Eric Levine adds "I can also tell you from first-hand experience that we are pushing the limits of what PSP can do with state-of-the-art visual technologies, higher resolution environments, and greater depths of scale."
Big words, and here's some big math to go with it: "25% more gameplay," which if memory serves means a couple extra hours of monster mangling (you can dash through Chains of Olympus in about five).

All I care about is that Ready at Dawn (the Chains of Olympus guys) are handling it. Chains of Olympus didn't knock my socks off, but it translated the God of War experience as well as anyone could to a single-analog-thumb-nub, tiny-screen interface.
Look for Ghost of Sparta later this year, and hands-on impressions at E3 2010 in June.

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Sony Ericsson W508 Walkman Review

The Sony Ericsson W508 Walkman is a stylish handset available in a flip design. It looks unique and stands out in the crowd. It is offered in different color options, such as Forest Green, Metal Grey, Poetic White, Midnight Summer, Radial Blue and Myterious Graffiti. The weight of the device is 3.5oz, while its dimensions are the following: 93.5mm x 50mm x 14mm in size.

The W508 comes with a Monochromatic OLED screen that offers the resolution of 240 x 320 pixels and displays up to 262k colors. The screen measures 2.2 inches.

The handset features a Walkman player system. There is also an integrated FM Radio with RDS, Mega-Bass with the help of which tunes can be boosted, Album Art, and TrackID. As for music formats, it is able to support AAC as well as MP3. The Sony Ericsson W508 offers 100 megabytes of internal memory. But if it is not enough for you, you can boost it with the Memory Stick Micro M2 up to 16 GB.

You can take pictures with a 3.2-megapixel camera that offers a 3.2x digital zoom. Among imaging features you can find Geo Tagging, Photo Fix, Picture Blogging as well as Photo Feeds.
Access to the internet can be done by means of Access NetFront, Web Feeds, WAP 2.0 as well as WAP 1.2.1. It is easy to connect to other compatible devices, as you are provided with a few options, such as USB Mass Storage, USB support and Bluetooth.

The Sony Ericsson W508 Walkman is a stylish handset which provides excellent built-in features.

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Sony Ericsson J312: Trendy and Compact

Although the Sony Ericsson J312 has a simple design, it looks really stylish. It is provided in two color options, i.e. Heaven Blue and Night Black. The handset is equipped with a navigation key that simplifies the usage of handset.

As for its screen, it measures 1,5 inches and offers up to 65K colors. It supports the resolution of 128 x 128 pixel resolutions. The cell phone has a good size, offering the following dimensions: 103mm x 45mm x 15mm. It is a lightweight handset, weighing 76g. The battery offers 9 hours of talk time as well as up to 450 hours of standby time.

The phone comes equipped with basic sound features, including radio search functions and FM stereo radio with RDS. You can also customize as well as personalize ringtones with the help of polyphonic ringtones. There are also the Vibrating Alert as well as Speakerphone tools. It is able to work on Dual-band network. As for its memory, the cell phone provides 4 megabytes.
Moreover, you can take advantage of fantastic organizer tools that include a Calculator, Alarm Clock with Radio, Calendar, Stop-watch, Clock and vibration alert.

The J132 offers Predictive text input and SMS. With the help of SMS you will be able to send messages to any contact. As for predictive text, it is handy as it is able to predict what a users is going to type. As for entertaining options, the handset includes games.
The Sony Ericsson J132 is a trendy cell phone created with simplicity in mind. It is a compact handset.

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Skype intros new mobile calling plans to 170 countries

Skype's VoIP calling service has been synonymous with free computer-to-computer calls for so long, it's easy to overlook the company's calling plans to landlines and mobile phones.
Those who do buy Skype Credit and use Skype plans to call phones rather than computers know that making calls to a mobile phone can easily cost 25 cents per minute. That's a steep fee compared to rates as low as 2 or 3 cents per minute to call a landline, depending on the country in question.

On Wednesday, Skype introduced what we consider a light version of its monthly unlimited subscription plans. The new plans will cost less than the current unlimited offerings, and will still ring both landlines and mobile phones for a flat fee. For subscribers, the new plans--which represent smaller chunks of calling minutes per month--could offer a better value on volume calls to mobile phones than the usual pay-as-you-go prices for those who don't need to talk for hours each month.

In addition, Skype is now offering its subscriptions for 170 countries rather than for 40; more than quadrupling the amount of lines a caller can reach.
The subscription details themselves get a little hairier at this stage. Skype is offering 60-, 120-, and 400-minute-per-month packages for 1-, 3-, and 12-month durations. Prices start at $1.09 per month for some countries. You can learn more about Skype's new subscription rates here. Skype's new plans are cross-platform and will work anywhere you use Skype.

Lest the traditional PC-to-PC users feel left out, Skype is also gearing up to release a new beta of its Windows software. Skype's vice president and general manager of global consumer products, Neil Stevens, told CNET in a briefing that next week's Skype beta will feature video conference calls for up to five callers. Right now video calling works between two people. We plan to test group video calling out for ourselves when the beta emerges on May 12 or May 13.

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HP's pink plaid Netbook, for the hipster near you?

We've never met a pink product we felt truly excited about, and we're not sure that will change today. Submitted for your approval: one of two new color schemes on the HP Mini 210.
While HP's newly announced lineup of laptops didn't have any new internal improvements to the Mini 210 line of Atom N450 Netbooks, there are two stark new colors--white crystal and preppy pink--added to what was a previously staid palette. It's been a trend lately to try to turn small devices like Netbooks into collectible design items, and HP's been at it before with the Studio Tord Boontje edition of the Mini 110.

The pink plaid design, like the Boontje white-on-white edition, is made using HP Imprint 3D, which produces a layered three-dimensional effect on the exterior. The plaid seems to float, stripe over stripe.

Otherwise, the specs are the same as the HP Mini 210 series we've already reviewed quite positively. Both colors will be available starting June 15, for $349. We shall see if the pink gambit ends up working for women, hipsters, preppies, or anyone else.

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Samsung and HTC to launch 4G (WiMAX) smartphones for Clearwire this year

While announcing its financial results for Q1 2010, as well as a “record breaking subscriber growth”, Clearwire has also mentioned that it plans to launch two 4G smartphones by the end of 2010.

The US WiMAX provider didn’t disclose too many details about the upcoming smartphones, but it did say that both will feature 3G and Wi-Fi in addition to 4G. Moreover, one of the handsets runs Android and will be made by Samsung, while the other one will be made by HTC.
The HTC device might be the EVO 4G, although Engadget has it that it’s actually a different handset that could run Windows Phone 7.

Clearwire, which is 51% owned by Sprint, also announced plans to extend 4G mobile broadband coverage in new US markets this year, including New York City, Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Boston, Denver, Minneapolis, Miami, Orlando, Tampa and Pittsburgh.

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Acer Unveils New Aspire Notebooks

Acer has refreshed its Aspire line of notebooks, with the company revealing a multimedia notebook, a notebook that can last up to 8 hours, as well as an LED-backlit model.

Acer Aspire 5741Acer's entry level Aspire, the 5741, features Intel Core I processors, has a high-resolution 15.6" widescreen display, and sports a mesh-patterned exterior that protects against smudges and scratches. It also featured a full-size Acer FineTip keyboard with numeric keypad and large keys for comfortable typing, along with a multi-gesture touchpad that lets you easily scroll, pinch, rotate and flip through web pages, files and images.

Chris Osborne, Senior Product Manager, Acer Computer Australia believes the entry level Aspire provides a lot of options with great value: "The Aspire 5741 makes the latest technology affordable to the masses, while making no compromise on value."The second notebook revealed by the company is the Aspire 5745G, a 15.6-inch LED-backlit notebook that offers a full selection of Intel's Core processor range and supports Intel Turbo Boost Technology on i5/i7 models.

The Aspire 5745G features a full-size keyboard with large keys for comfortable typing, while dedicated media keys give you total control over your entertainment. "Another special highlight is the multi-gesture touchpad that lets you easily scroll, pinch, rotate and flip through web pages, files and images," said Osborne.Osborne also said that the Aspire 5745G supports up to 16GB over 4 DIMM slots when paired with an Intel Core i7 Quad Core processor.

Acer has also unveiled the Timeline 5820T, a notebook that can last up to 8 hours. The 15.6-inch Timeline X 5820T is ideal for home- school- and office-based users on the move all day with demanding PC needs. It is less than 1-inch thin, is easy to carry, manoeuvre and store while you're on the go, but still features full-size notebook usability with an easy-to-read display, numeric keypad and an optical drive.

Finally, the company has announced two new multimedia centres that claim to deliver an ultimate high-definition personal-theatre experience. The Aspire 5943G offers a HD 720p experience, while the 8943G boasts an impressive FULL HD 1080p. In accompaniment is an optimized Acer CineSurround sound system with a subwoofer and five speakers built in, along with Dolby Home Theatre v3 for studio-quality sound.

Combined with a Blu-ray writer and a Digital TV tuner, both Aspires can record the latest HD content, giving you an all in one cinematic entertainment experience.With an Intel Core i7 processor and up to 16GB DDR3 memory, you'll have all the power you need to smoothly engage in multiple applications at the same time.

On top of that, ATI's flagship Radeon HD 5850 graphics controller supporting Microsoft DirectX 11 will immerse you in detailed gaming worlds and make your creative ideas spring to visual life. Additionally, expansive storage space with up to two 640 GB hard drives lets you keep everything you want, without worry.

Pricing are as follows:

The Aspire 5471: from $899

The Aspire 5745G: from $1399

The Timeline X 5820T: from $1,599

The Acer Aspire 5943G: from $2799

The Acer Aspire 8943G: from $2999

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Google Chrome 5.0.375.29 Beta

Google Chrome is a browser that combines a minimal design with sophisticated technology to make the web faster, safer, and easier.

One box for everything
Type in the address bar and get suggestions for both search and web pages.

Thumbnails of your top sites
Access your favorite pages instantly with lightning speed from any new tab.

Incognito mode
Don't want pages you visit to show up in your web history? Choose incognito mode for private browsing.

Safe browsing
Google Chrome warns you if you're about to visit a suspected phishing, malware or otherwise unsafe website.

The latest version includes the following changes:

Changes in Version 5.0.375.29 Beta
* HTML5 Features: Geolocation, App Cache, web sockets, file drag-and-drop.
* Integrated Flash Player Plugin
* V8 performance improvements
* Preferences synchronization
* NaCl behind a flag

DOWNLOAD NOW
http://www.google.com/chrome


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Obsessed Ringtone – Download Obsessed Ringtone – Mariah Carey

Obsessed Ringtone is one of the hottest ringtones in the world right now. Obsessed is the newest hit single by Mariah Carey and is the most popular track in America. Download Obsessed Ringtone for your phone now!

*** Click Here & Sign Up to Download This Ringtone Now! ***

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Mariah Carey has released some awesome tracks lately, but Obsessed is definitely one of the best. Obsessed Ringtone is the top download in the world right now according to several mobile phone carriers and mobile content websites. The single is getting tons of radio airplay and is a top download on iTunes. The Obsessed music video has become popular on internet sites such as YouTube. The song is rising up music charts all over the world, including the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States and the Canadian Hot 100.

*** Click Here & Sign Up to Download Mariah Carey Ringtones ***

Obsessed is definitely one of the most awesome singles of the year so far. Mariah Carey Ringtones are some of the top ringtones around the world right now. If you’re interested in getting any Mariah Carey Ringtones for your cell phone, simply click on the link above. Then you will need to enter your phone number and the PIN number you will receive as a text message to confirm you want to download the hottest Mariah Carey Ringtones. If you’re looking for an awesome new ringtone for your phone, the Obsessed Ringtone is the perfect choice. Don’t wait – download the Obsessed Ringtone by Mariah Carey today.
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HP’s Lead Notebook Designer Unveils All New Pavilion, Envy Lineup

HP’s revamped its Pavilion line, moving entirely away from glossy plastic finishes in favor of a more premium metallic lineup. HP also introduced a pair of new Envy notebooks. We caught up with Stacy Wolff, HP’s director of notebook design to chat about the new look. He explained why HP decided to switch things up with its most popular notebook line.

For the past several years, HP has featured a range of designs imprinted in plastic. The imprint designs were an HP exclusive under a licensing agreement, but competitors soon followed the trend with their own similar designs. The metallic design sets the new Pavilion notebooks apart from other popular notebooks in the moderate price range found at retail.

The TouchSmart tm2 and the HP Mini netbooks will be the only HP mobile devices without the new metallic look. Even the affordable Compaq retail notebooks will be getting a faux metal treatment.

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LG GM310 Review

The LG GM310 is a slide cell phone that is focused on listening to music. The LG GM310 resembles the KF600 by its design. The GM310’s dimension is 104.7 mm x 51.9 mm x 13.9 mm. The weight of the device is 115 grams.

The screen of the GM310 is a bit larger than the KF600’s screen, i.e. 2.2-inches instead of 2 inches. The resolution is the same, QVGA (240 x 320 pixels). The color support is 262k colors. The screen is usable in direct sunlight and its quality of images stays the same as indoors.
The LG GM310 features touch sensitive keys. They make some problems as LG GM310’s controls are too sensitive that every time you open or close the mobile phone you can activate its functions that gets annoying.

The LG GM310 operates on 2G network and 3G network with HSDPA 900 / 2100.
The music player of the LG GM310 supports MP3, AAC+ and WMA music formats. The video player is able to play MP4, H.263 and H.264 formats of videos.There is also an FM radio in the LG GM310. But it disappoints because it doesn’t have RDS feature and doesn’t work when it is minimized.

The camera is 3.15 megapixels. Unfortunately, there is no auto focus and flash in the LG GM310’s camera. As a result, the quality of images is far from being ideal. The video reorder takes videos with the QVGA resolution. The video quality is good.
The internal memory of the GM310 compiles 12 MB. It can store 1000 entries of the phone book and 40 received, 40 dialed, and 40 missed calls. Nevertheless, the memory of the device can be enhanced up to 32GB with a microSD card.

A standard Li-Ion 900 mAh battery provides with 3 hours 30 minutes of 2G talk and up to 3 hours 30 minutes of 3G talk. The battery also offers up to 253 hours of stand-by mode for 2G network and up to 322 hours for 3G network.

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LG GW620 Android Smartphone

LG's affordable slide-out QWERTY phone with Android doesn't live up to its spec-sheet
Decent hardware QWERTY keyboard, Android OS, decent camera, value for money

Unsatisfactory display sunlight legibility, phone hanged on a few occasions, slightly laggy interface, call quality not up to the mark, resistive touch-screen not as responsive as capacitive ones on competitors, low battery life on heavy use

Google Android OS is picking up steam in the smartphone race. The fairly competent OS is tempting all major manufacturers to churn out Android-based smartphones of their own. While HTC has a few good phones in the Rs. 20k+ tier, Samsung is dominating the sub. Rs. 20k range with their Galaxy and Spica models. Joining this clan is LG's GW620. The USP of this product is its slide-out hardware QWERTY keyboard, which is not seen till date in any model in the under Rs. 20,000 range.

The spec sheet of this phone is appealing with Wi-fi, 3G (HSDPA) support, the 5 mega-pixel autofocus camera. But a good spec sheet doesn't necessarily translate into the phone being good as well, right? We put the GW620 through its paces to find out if its actually worth your time and money.

Design and Build If it were for looks, LG's GW620 would be rated as satisfactory. It's not jaw-dropping, nor is it super-sleek. The metallic border surrounding the phone and the grey-black color combo at the back adds some character to this otherwise typical-looking phone. The build quality is good; the phone feels fairly solid and should survive quite a few drops. The sliding mechanism is pretty smooth as well. The phone does feel a little bulky in the pocket because of its thickness. But the overall dimensions are acceptable -- at least it doesn't feel like a brick when placed to the ear!

The front is covered by a 3-inch touchscreen. Unlike most Android phones that have the finger-friendly capacitive screen, the GW620 rather implements the older resistive type. The picture quality is good and the maximum brightness is adequate. The touch response, to me, was a mixed bag. At first, it seems OK to use. The surface covering the screen isn't super-smooth, which obstructs finger-swiping maneuvers at times. One soon realizes the considerable difference between this and the capacitive screens on phones like the HTC Legend. You'll see how you have to press the screen a little harder to register an input on the GW620's resistive screen. On a capacitive screen though, touch input is smooth.

Bottom line: I didn't really walk away satisfied. Second, the readability of this display under bright sunlight is bad. I could barely make out what was on the screen when standing out on a sunny day. There are touch-sensitive buttons for Home and Back underneath the screen -- which are actually nice to operate. The Menu button at the center oddly, is a typical push-button. We have a microUSB slot (now found on most cell-phones) and volume control buttons to the left. A power/keylock button and 3.5mm headphone jack lies on top. The microSD card slot, a camera shutter key and a music-player shortcut button lie to the right. The camera sensor is paired with a single LED photo assist light at the back. There's also an ambient light and proximity sensor right next to the earpiece.

Coming to the slide-out QWERTY, the five-row keyboard has well-sized keys. Their tactility is pretty decent. With some practice, I was able to type at a decent pace. The hardware QWERTY is good for people who aren't still comfortable typing on a touchscreen.

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LG GS290 Cookie Fresh Preview

LG GS290 Cookie Fresh

The original LG Cookie sold like proverbial hotcakes and its freshly baked successor, the LG Cookie Fresh, could well do the same. Like its predecessor the LG Cookie Fresh is a basic touchscreen phone with a 3-inch display. Other features include an MP3 player and a 3.5mm headphone jack. You can expand the memory of the LG Cookie Fresh using a microSD card, making this a capable music phone and an alternative to a standalone music player.

Camerawise you only get 2-megapixels to play with, and no flash to boot. This is pretty low-spec in this day and age but worse when you consider that the original Cookie had a 3-megapixel camera. That said, it's not all about the megapixel count - we'll have to wait and see how the camera's optics hold up when we get our hands on test model.

We'll be reviewing the LG Cookie Fresh GS290 just as soon as possible, so sign up to receive an email the minute the review goes live.

LG GS290 Cookie Fresh Specification

Make
LG
GPRS
Model
GS290 Cookie Fresh

Operating System
Proprietary
Coverage (Band)
Quad

Dimensions
53 x 108 x 13 mm
Internal Memory32 MB
Weight
89 g

USB
Talk time
Up to 5 hours 30m

Standby time
Up to 390 hours

Push e-mail
TBC
Camera2.0MP
Bluetoothv2.1 with A2DP

MMS
Video Camera
E-mail
TBC
Audio PlayerAAC, WMA, MP3

Memory CardmicroSD
Video PlayerH.263, MP4

Video Calling
TBC
FM Radio
Browser
3.5mm Headphone Jack

Touchscreen

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LG Announces First Android Phone, the Ally

LG has announced--sort of--the Ally, the company's first Android-powered smartphone.
Rather than taking a more traditional route to unveiling a new cell phone, which would be staging a public event or dedicating a press release to the phone's specifications, the company has alluded to the Ally's existence in a company statement about an advertising tie-in to Iron Man 2, along with a movie-themed Web site for the device.

Customers buying an LG Ally on its release May 20, or an existing LG Chocolate Touch or LG enV Touch, will receive a special edition Iron Man 2 comic book created by Marvel.
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The Ally itself? It features an Iron Man 2 "augmented reality app," plus a slide-out QWERTY keyboard and a full touch screen front panel. Still no official word on specs.
The last time LG did something like this was with the middling Incite, which the company tied to the middling remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still.
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