iTunes 90 second song previews now available internationally

Apple launched 90 second song previews way back in December last year but to the chagrin of many users, it was only available in the United States. It was reported that Apple had to work hard with individual record labels just to introduce it here, so it took an even longer time to get it approved for international markets. Now, over half a year later, 90 second song previews are finally available internationally. Though it's still not available in every single country yet, it's slowly getting there.

Ubergizmo, iTunes 90 second song previews now available internationally

Apple has more cash than the federal government

If we consider the recent budget and bankruptcy debates of the U.S. government, this piece of news may not be that surprising, but it is a testament to the enormous stockpile of monetary resources Apple has at its disposal. According to Business Insider, the U.S. had an operating cash balance of $73.8 billion as of yesterday, while Apple's war chest including cash and marketable securities is at $76.2 billion.
“In other words, the world's largest tech company has more cash than the world's largest sovereign government,” Business Insider wrote.

2DayBlog.com, Apple has more cash than the federal government

Verizon's Motorola Droid 3 free at Let's Talk this week-end

Available at Verizon Wireless since July 7, the Motorola Droid 3 is sold by the carrier for $199.99 on contract. As always, some retailers – like Amazon and Wirefly – let you buy the handset for less. But the best deal now comes from LetsTalk, which is offering Moto‘s new Droid for free to anyone who signs up for a new 2-yr contract agreement with Verizon. The offer seems to be available only this week-end (thus until July 31). You can go here at LetsTalk to get the Droid 3 for free right now.

The Motorola Droid 3 is currently one of the best CDMA Android smartphones on the US market.

Unwired View, Verizon's Motorola Droid 3 free at Let's Talk this week-end

Lenovo ThinkPad tablet will be available on August 23, starting at $479

Lenovo announced two different Android-powered tablets a few days ago. The company targets the IdeaPad K1 at ‘consumers', and the ThinkPad more at businesses and professionals. We heard that the latter would become available in the US on August 2, however that has changed. A small delay is what's going on here, though nothing to get too upset with.
Lenovo now claims that the ThinkPad tablet will ship on August 23. The starting price is $479, which you can pay to get a 16 GB tablet sans the digitizer pen. If you want the pen, the same 16 GB tablet will cost you $509.

Unwired View, Lenovo ThinkPad tablet will be available on August 23, starting at $479

Brains-On: Wired.com Rides the Thought-Controlled Prius Bike

Toyota's answered a question no one ever thought to ask: What if the Prius were a bike. The answer suggests it wouldn't be as boring to ride as it is to drive. For one thing, the bike uses neurotransmitters to change gears. It looks a whole lot cooler than the car, too.

Now, the first question is “Toyota? Bikes? What?” The Japanese automaker is encouraging inventors and dreamers to tinker with its tech through the Prius Projects campaign.



Gadget Lab, Brains-On: Wired.com Rides the Thought-Controlled Prius Bike

MSI GE620DX gaming notebook does quad core with processor

It doesn't really matter just how many cores a particular processor has if the programmer or software developer does not take full advantage of all the cores in their program. Well, at least it is comforting to know that you have more than one core to call upon if the situation calls for it where the MSI GE620DX gaming notebook is concerned. This notebook will come with USB 3.0 connectivity for lighting fast data transfer, alongside a GeForce GT 555M graphics chipset with 2GB of display memory.

Ubergizmo

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digitalhouse, MSI GE620DX gaming notebook does quad core with processor

Sony introduces HD Series S-Frame, play Full HD movies in your picture frame

Sony recently introduced a trio of new digital photo frames, the HD Series S-Frame. Digital frames may have been that boring gift you bought for your mother on Mother's Day, which doesn't even get used, but this new fame is special. It not only lets consumers display their favorite photos, but also comes packed with 1920×1080 HD video playback.







Akihabara News, Sony introduces HD Series S-Frame, play Full HD movies in your picture frame

Verbatim releases colorful Store ‘n' Go portable hard drives

It seems like the hot weather puts everybody in the mood to release brightly colored products. Earlier today we had the Commuter Series from OtterBox, and now we've got some more colorful products to add to the mix. This time coming from Verbatim, the company has announced the release of its new Caribbean Blue and Hot Pink Store ‘n' Go portable hard drives. Designed for folks with an eye for eye-catching colors (after all, who wants yet another black portable hard drive?) these drives are aesthetically pleasing and functional at the same time.

Ubergizmo, Verbatim releases colorful Store ‘n' Go portable hard drives

Samsung Galaxy Ace Android 2.3 update now available on Three

UK network Three has just informed its users that a software update for the Samsung Galaxy Ace is available, with the network launching its version of the latest Android 2.3 upgrade for the nice little smartphone. We presume this'll be another KIES job, so if you're an Ace owner and you bought the phone through the Three network…. …plug it in and have a look.

Eurodroid, Samsung Galaxy Ace Android 2.3 update now available on Three

Canon PIXMA iP4920, MG5320 bring filters, ‘creativity', and many more to photo printing

All these while photo filters only apply on cameras and software on the computer, but now Canon is going to bring it to the next level. Got a camera but does not have any effect filters. Don't have a computer lying around, and want those photos printed out immediately. Not a problem.

2DayBlog.com, Canon PIXMA iP4920, MG5320 bring filters, ‘creativity', and many more to photo printing

BeoSound 5 Encore Plug and Play Digital Music System

BeoSound 5 Encore Table Mount - a wall mount is available. I am a big fan of Bang & Olufsen beautifully designed products despite their insane  price tags. B&O represents the haute couture of the consumer electronics industry, and you always need a brand like that to make your gadget dreams come true.

Ubergizmo, BeoSound 5 Encore Plug and Play Digital Music System

Splashtop XDisplay turns your iPad into an extra screen for your PC

Wish you had an extra monitor but don't feel like spending any extra money on getting one. If you have a computer running Windows 7, a WiFi connection and an iPad - you're in luck. Splashtop Inc. has just announced the release of its Splashtop XDisplay app for iPad that turns your iPad into your second monitor for your desktop or laptop computer.
While it's not the same as having a gorgeous 32″ monitor to match your primary display, most of the time the 9.7″ of the iPad should be good enough for most people.



Ubergizmo, Splashtop XDisplay turns your iPad into an extra screen for your PC

ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Android 3.2 Honeycomb tomorrow

While some people are more concerned about getting Netflix on their ASUS Eee Pad Transformer tablets, ASUS has some good news to make the wait more bearable. Not long after the company announced that it was testing out Android 3.2 Honeycomb on the tablet, ASUS has stated that it will be rolling out the update on 29th July which is less than 24 hours away. One of the key features the update will bring is the ability to stretch apps that aren't optimized for tablets to fill the screen of the tablet, thus increasing the usability of non-tablet apps on Android Honeycomb tablets.

Ubergizmo, ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Android 3.2 Honeycomb tomorrow

Facebook makes it easier to opt out of facial recognition photo tagging

Last year, Facebook launched a new feature for its photo-tagging service that was both praised and criticized. People who loved uploading photographs found joy in not having to manually tag all their friends each time they uploaded a new album, while there were people on the other end of the spectrum concerned about the facial recognition data that Facebook collected with the feature. There was a way to opt out of the service, but most people have been unaware about it or even how to disable it. Well it looks like Facebook has listened, and has made some changes to inform its users about the feature.

Ubergizmo, Facebook makes it easier to opt out of facial recognition photo tagging

Garmin Completes Acquisition of Navigon

GPS company Garmin has announced that it has completed its acquisition of rival company Navigon. No financial details were disclosed, but executives from both companies have nothing but words of excitement and anticipation, promising plenty of integration and new opportunities. It looks like the two companies have decided that it is better to merge in the industry that has become very challenging, as manufacturers of traditional GPS devices are up against GPS apps that come for free.
Since its establishment in 1989, Garmin has sold 85 million GPS-enabled devices, the most out of any navigation provider.

Gadget.com, Garmin Completes Acquisition of Navigon

Sprint Samsung Google Nexus S 4G now free with contract

We bring you great deals on smartphones almost every single day now, but this one is special. To those of you who like the operating system that your phone runs to be always the latest one. If you're an Android fan, the only way to ensure that is to buy one of Google's Nexus devices. The Nexus One is getting (more than) a bit old, so for now the only plausible option you're left with is the Samsung-made Google Nexus S.
And while the Nexus S was never the most expensive device around, we haven't ever seen it this cheap either. Caveats first. This is Sprint's Nexus S 4G we're talking about.


Unwired View, Sprint Samsung Google Nexus S 4G now free with contract

Vodafone 555 Blue is a prepaid Facebook phone

Vodafone has unveiled yet another Facebook-centric phone earlier today. And it's the one we've exclusively shown you back in June, which now has a name: Vodafone 555 Blue. Unlike previous efforts such as the INQ Cloud Touch, the HTC Salsa or HTC ChaCha though, this isn't a smartphone. It's an featurephone built by Alcatel, and it runs a proprietary Vodafone operating system that has been built from the ground up with Facebook integration in mind.

If all the other Facebook-oriented devices are interesting experiments, this will be the Facebook phone for the masses. At least if those masses use Vodafone.

Unwired View

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gadgeter, Vodafone 555 Blue is a prepaid Facebook phone

HTC Sensation root resources

We know a lot of you have been coming to our site, hoping to find out how to root the HTC Sensation.  HTC is still planning on rolling out an update to the Sensation which will unlock the phone's bootloader, but if you want to tinker with some of the things the development community has been playing around with, we're put together a little cheat sheet for you so that you don't have to spend too much of your time looking around for the right solution. Most current solutions only give you temporary root access on the HTC Sensation, but we guess that's better than nothing.

HTC Source, HTC Sensation root resources

Google silently updates the Android Market

In case you haven't noticed or received an update notification from Google yet - the Android Market app on your phone is due for an update. Google has silently pushed out an update for its app store that includes some significant changes. The bumping the app's version up to 3.0.27, the update gives the Market an interface overhaul, and makes new content available. Users can now purchase books and rent movies from the Android Market on their Android smartphones.

Ubergizmo, Google silently updates the Android Market

Fujifilm introduces a new FinePix with the S4000

Summer is not over yet and in some countries it did not even started yet. So don't worry you still have plenty of time to get one of these new Fujifilm FinePix S4000 Bridge for your vacation. Announced at around 30,000 and powered with only four AA batteries the FinePix S4000 comes with a 14Mpix CCD Sensor, and a stunning 30x optical zoom equivalent to a 24x720mm one.


Akihabara News

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trendygadgets, Fujifilm introduces a new FinePix with the S4000

Nissan and The New Motion team up for LEAF charging solutions

Looking to go green, and you want to start off with that vehicle in your garage. You surely would do well to check out our Nissan LEAF review if this particular model has stoked your interest. The Japanese automaker has teamed up with their zero-emissions mobility partner in the Netherlands known as The New Motion, where the latter has agreed to deliver charging solutions for owners of the electric-powered LEAF. To cut to the chase, The New Motion will install a Nissan-certified charging station at your home – if you are a LEAF owner, of course, for just €995 (that is $1,408 no thanks to the weak dollar), which is inclusive of VAT.

Ubergizmo, Nissan and The New Motion team up for LEAF charging solutions

Xperia X10 Android 2.3 update now live in Europe

In a shock case of everything going ABSOLUTELY ACCORDING TO SCHEDULE for once in the mobile OS update world, Sony Ericsson has started to launch the Android 2.3 update for the original X10 Android phone in Europe. Just like it said it would . Our attention was brought to the arrival of the Italian version of the update by Android World.it – and upon checking the Sony Ericsson update servers for the UK version of the code….

Eurodroid, Xperia X10 Android 2.3 update now live in Europe

Barnes & Noble to offer over 175 periodicals to NOOK for iPad customers

Barnes & Noble has just announced a treat for its NOOK for iPad users in the coming days. The world's largest bookseller has stated that iPad NOOK customers will be able to access one of the largest selections of digital periodicals including more than 175 full-color, interactive magazines and leading newspapers. NOOK Kids for iPad app users will be able to access over 550 interactive children's picture books through the newly updated app.

Ubergizmo, Barnes & Noble to offer over 175 periodicals to NOOK for iPad customers

Samsung releases Ultra-Speed Class10 SD cards, wants to break some record

Samsung has unveiled new SD cards line-up which is rated as class 10 - the highest speed category for SD cards at the moment. The full line-up, made up of 12 kinds of SD cards, include SD card for digital camera and micro SD card for mobile phone. Having a card this quick, allows reading/writing rates of 24MBps.

2DayBlog.com, Samsung releases Ultra-Speed Class10 SD cards, wants to break some record

More fake Apple Stores spotted by officials in China, two got shutdown

After American expat BirdAbroad made her local stores famous last week, local officials have since been combing through the city's 300-plus gadget shops on behalf of Apple China, and managed to dig up two more “Apple” stores. It's not exactly clear if these new offenders are at the same severity as the ones spotted by BirdAbroad, but the authorities have confirmed that none of the five stores are Apple Authorised Resellers, let alone having its permission to use its logo on their store front. Additionally, two out of the five stores have since been shut down due to unlicensed retail operation.

2DayBlog.com, More fake Apple Stores spotted by officials in China, two got shutdown

Abee Japan ACUBI A40 all aluminum standing PC Case looks like a PS2

Abee Japan has just announced a new slim form factor PC casing that will no doubt turn heads (assuming you get to bring it out of the house or you get people back to your home to check it out) with its sexy looks and sleek build. Called the ACUBI A40, this computer housing resembles a PlayStation 2 that's standing on its side. It stands 623mm tall, and supports Mini ITX motherboards and SFX PSUs only. Inside there's space for two 3.5″ HDDs, two 2.5″ ones and it comes with two USB 2.0 ports in the front for easy access. The ACUBI A40 will be available in Japan in the near future and will retail for about $435 (34,000 Yen).

Ubergizmo, Abee Japan ACUBI A40 all aluminum standing PC Case looks like a PS2

Apple Forcing E-Reader Apps to Remove Bookstores

For those who rely on the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch to purchase and read e-books outside Apple's own virtual bookstore, the means of acquiring virtual novels and magazines are about to get painful. On Monday Amazon's Kindle Team reported that it was forced to remove the “Kindle Store” link from within the Kindle app in order to comply with Apple's new policy changes. “We wanted to let you know that we've updated our Kindle app for iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch,” the Kindle team said.

2DayBlog.com, Apple Forcing E-Reader Apps to Remove Bookstores

Panasonic introduces two new All in One TV, BD and HDD wonders in Japan

Here you are the RB3 Series, Panasonic latest all in one TVs that comes for both model, the 37" and 32" with Skype Support, the usual Japanese VOD services, a 500GB HDD and a Blu-Ray recorder.


Akihabara News

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technologypulse, Panasonic introduces two new All in One TV, BD and HDD wonders in Japan

From Dust PC To Be Released In August

From Dust is an upcoming video game, designed by Eric Chahi and developed by Ubisoft Montpellier. This PC game will be launched on PC on Wednesday, August 17th, 2011. In this video game, players assume a god-like first-person perspective from which they manipulate an archipelago environment in an effort to save, and enlighten, a nomadic tribe. With a spherical cursor, players control certain types of matter, namely soil, lava, water, in real time.

TechFresh, From Dust PC To Be Released In August

LG Thrill 4G Pricing Unveiled

AT&T has unveiled the pricing of the new LG Thrill 4G. The network carrier will launch the LG Thrill 4G on August 7, 2011 for $99.99 with a new 2-year contract agreement. In case you didn't know, the LG Thrill 4G is AT&T's version of the LG Optimus 3D. Powered by the Google Android 2.2 Froyo OS (upgradeable to 2.3 Gingerbread), the handset features a 4.3-inch 3D display, a 1GHz dual-core processor, dual 5MP cameras with 3D video recording, and an 8GB of on-board memory.

TechFresh

See also:
maximum, LG Thrill 4G Pricing Unveiled

RIM cutting 2,000 jobs to cope with losses

Things aren't looking too good for Research In Motion (better known as RIM) as the company has announced that it plans to cut 2,000 jobs - almost a tenth of its workforce in order to cope with its current losses from slow sales and stolen market share. The downsizing will leave the company with about 17,000 employees left to “focus on areas that offer the highest growth opportunities.”. Seeing how the company has been faring recently in the smartphone market, you can't really blame it - RIM has predicted that sales this quarter may drop for the first time in nine years.

Ubergizmo

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digitalhouse, RIM cutting 2,000 jobs to cope with losses

HTC Bliss image leaks, may just depict a women-focused Android smartphone

Remember the HTC Bliss. It was supposed to be HTC's first Android-powered smartphone focused at women. In the meantime, we've also seen the Glamor, which may just be a lower-end offering in what is shaping up to be a range of HTC smartphones for women. If the Glamor looks like it's more for girls, the Bliss is the grown-up in the series, at least for now.

Unwired View, HTC Bliss image leaks, may just depict a women-focused Android smartphone

Natural Charles Charging Station Hutch from World Market

Cost Plus World Market sells a line of inexpensive, attractive home office furniture.  The Natural Charles Charging Station Hutch sits on top of the Charles Sawhorse desk to provide a place for charging your gadgets;  there's also a place for note cards or pens.  You apparently provide your own power strip, which will fit inside the hutch.

The Gadgeteer, Natural Charles Charging Station Hutch from World Market

Guitar Hero to be Resurrected and Retooled

Stop crying over the death of Guitar Hero because the iconic game is coming back. How. We are not sure if it will resurrect as a console title, but if we are to believe Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick, it could be anything but. According to him, the game is being reinvented for a modern and more demanding audience.

Gadget.com, Guitar Hero to be Resurrected and Retooled

Verizon Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 launch date: July 28?

While Verizon Wireless is already taking pre-orders for its Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 (which, as you may already know, comes with 4G LTE connectivity), the carrier didn't say when exactly the tablet would be available. Well, Droid-life has received a document that seems to confirm the Android Honeycomb's tablet's launch date: July 28 – meaning this Thursday. Apparently, only the metallic gray version will be available in all Verizon channels.

Unwired View, Verizon Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 launch date: July 28?

KDDI introduces an upgrade version of its REZGA Phone IS11T

KDDI has shown for the first time a working prototype of the Regza Phone IS11T Android smartphone. Based on the previous model released earlier this year, this phone, running Android 2.3.4, features an upgraded 1.4Ghz Snapdragon processor, 4-inch Full Wide VGA display and a slide-out, full qwerty keyboard.




Akihabara News, KDDI introduces an upgrade version of its REZGA Phone IS11T

Toyota's Prius Bike With Thought-Controlled Gear Shifters

The Prius PXP's sleek lines hide a futuristic secret. It turns out that somebody has. Toyota, in cahoots with Saatchi & Saatchi, Parlee Cycles and the boffins at Deeplocal, has come up with the PXP, or Prius Bike. The “Prius” part might be mere branding, but the bike itself is pretty damn awesome, right down to the thought-controlled gears. Yes, you read that right.


Gadget Lab

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maximum, Toyota's Prius Bike With Thought-Controlled Gear Shifters