BMW planning Zhi Nuo Chinese sub-brand, may export models

Automakers continue to pour big money into the developing market that is China, and new sub-brands born of joint ventures with domestic partners crop up on what seems like a weekly basis. The latest. According to reports, BMW and its Chinese ally Brilliance are forming a new sub-brand called Zhi Nuo ("The Promise") that will likely rely on existing or older BMW products as a basis for new models. Previous reports had indicated that the sub-brand could build its offerings based on an older 3 Series model (presumably the E90 series), but newer rumors have the X1 crossover (shown) factoring in.

Autoblog , BMW planning Zhi Nuo Chinese sub-brand, may export models, BMW planning Zhi Nuo Chinese sub-brand, may export models

HTC One Hitting The Road April 11 To Give Consumers First-Hand Experiences

The HTC One certainly has had a rough time getting its official start, but both AT&T and Sprint are about to launch their own versions of the smartphone on their respective networks in the coming weeks. And to help ramp up its marketing efforts, HTC is announcing it's taking its HTC One on the road starting April 11 with its “HTC One Live Experience Tour.”. The Experience Tour will be making its way to 11 major markets across the U.S. including Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C.

Ubergizmo , HTC One Hitting The Road April 11 To Give Consumers First-Hand Experiences, HTC One Hitting The Road April 11 To Give Consumers First-Hand Experiences

Facebook Press Event: We'll Be Live!

We're going to be on the showfloor of the Facebook event soon thanks to an invitation in our email inbox that referred to a new home on Android, so here is a quick teaser of us on the bus heading towards the Facebook headquarters that is located in Menlo Park. Hopefully, the weather will let up pretty soon and the sun would emerge from behind the clouds to add some much needed cheer to the atmosphere, but do stay tuned to our live blog for all the nitty gritty details. Just what will be released or announced later this morning.

Ubergizmo , Facebook Press Event: We'll Be Live!, Facebook Press Event: We'll Be Live!

Toshiba BookPlace Mono Launched In Japan

Toshiba has just introduced a new e-book reader to the market, although they are targeting the Land of the Rising Sun this time around with the Toshiba BookPlace Mono. This will definitely cater for the budget-minded, as how expensive can a monochrome e-book reader cost to manufacture, anyways. The Toshiba BookPlace Mono is a wee bit smaller in terms of dimensions compared to its BookPlace DB50 reader, where it will sport a 6-inch E Ink display with 758 x 1,024 pixels resolution, chungging away to an 800MHz processor that is accompanied by 512MB RAM, Wi-Fi connectivity, 4GB of internal memory, a microSD memory card slot, and an USB port.

Ubergizmo , Toshiba BookPlace Mono Launched In Japan, Toshiba BookPlace Mono Launched In Japan

BBM Music Calls It A Day

I guess you can say that the world of consumer electronics, for all its glittery lights and fanfare, is a brutal one, where the law of the jungle certainly applies here with survival of the fittest being played out every single day. Take BlackBerry as a smartphone platform for example, it has been around for a fair number of years, and once looked to have achieved an unassailable lead for itself in the market, but along came the great market disruptor known as the Apple iPhone, and it has been downhill for BlackBerry ever since, as they now claw it out with Microsoft for a distant third spot in the mobile operating system market.

Ubergizmo , BBM Music Calls It A Day, BBM Music Calls It A Day

Seagate Does 4TB Hard Drive With Four 1TB Platters

In our culture and society these days, it seems that there is a growing obsession with being first. First in class, first on the grid, first in line to get the new iPhone…the list is practically endless when you think about it. Well, Seagate, a company that is well known in churning out storage solutions and manufactures hard drives as their bread and butter, has achieved another industry's first with their new 4TB hard drive. This 4TB hard drive might not seem like much at first, but the fact that it makes use of a quartet of 1TB platters makes it special.

Ubergizmo , Seagate Does 4TB Hard Drive With Four 1TB Platters, Seagate Does 4TB Hard Drive With Four 1TB Platters

Redesigned iPad 5 Rumored To Be Unveiled This Month

Apple has traditionally released a new iPad in March, like it did with iPad 2 and the iPad 3. The company deviated from its release cycle a bit late last year when it announced the slightly updated iPad 4. The latest rumors in circulation hint that iPad 5 will be announced later this month, and it will be completely redesigned. A new 9.7-inch iPad design will be welcomed, as it has been quite the same since the latest radical redesign, which was implemented on the iPad 2.
Multiple well connected sources are of the view that Apple has an event planned for the end of April. It will announce the redesigned iPad 5 at this event.

Ubergizmo , Redesigned iPad 5 Rumored To Be Unveiled This Month, Redesigned iPad 5 Rumored To Be Unveiled This Month

Keep your gadgets charged with NewTrent's Travelpak and Travelpak Plus

If you spend any time traveling, or even just have a long commute, you'll at some point find yourself needing a power boost for one of your gadgets.  NewTrent has two backup battery packs in their line of mobile accessories that can keep you powered until you reach your destination.  The Travelpak (NT400C) has a 4000mAh battery and two 1A USB ports, so you can charge two devices at once.  The Travelpak Plus (NT700C) has a 7000mAh battery.  It also has two USB ports, one 1A and a 2A port for charging power-hungry tablets.  Both have flip-down power plugs, so you don't have to keep up with a charging cable for the Travelpak.

The Gadgeteer , Keep your gadgets charged with NewTrent's Travelpak and Travelpak Plus

See also:
techabout, Keep your gadgets charged with NewTrent's Travelpak and Travelpak Plus

Xbox 720 Will Apparently Be Similar To The PS4, According to Ubisoft Developer

While Sony's next-gen console, the PlayStation 4, has already been announced, many are waiting to see what Microsoft will do with their next-gen console, the rumored Xbox 720. Will it be able to outperform the PlayStation 4 in terms of hardware, and outclass it in terms of features. While we eagerly wait for Microsoft to make the official announcement, senior developer at Ubisoft, Yannis Wallat, was quoted as saying that the Xbox 720 is expected to be "similar to PS4" and will be "aligned with what Sony announced," indicating that perhaps the Xbox 720 could share similar features and maybe even some hardware as well.

Ubergizmo , Xbox 720 Will Apparently Be Similar To The PS4, According to Ubisoft Developer, Xbox 720 Will Apparently Be Similar To The PS4, According to Ubisoft Developer

Google Reportedly Has An Android Based Laptop In The Pipeline

Google has been trying hard to infiltrate the PC market but so far it has not achieved much success. It has gained much dominance in the smartphone and tablet arena thanks to its Android OS, but as far as its PC offerings are concerned, they're not gaining enough traction. Latest rumors suggest that Google may have an Android based laptop in the works which be released later this year. Android is an established platform with millions of loyal users around the world, it will be interesting to see how that converts in to consumers for Google's latest foray in the PC market.

Ubergizmo , Google Reportedly Has An Android Based Laptop In The Pipeline, Google Reportedly Has An Android Based Laptop In The Pipeline

Blackberry Will Continue Releasing Blackberry 7 Devices In Some Regions

With the launch of Blackberry 10 and its accompanying devices like the Z10, we would have thought that Blackberry would be pushing hard to ensure that it manages to cover as much ground as possible. However that does not seem to be the case and according to CEO Thorsten Heins in an interview with CBC, it has been revealed that Blackberry will continue releasing new Blackberry phones running on Blackberry 7, the company's older operating system.

Ubergizmo , Blackberry Will Continue Releasing Blackberry 7 Devices In Some Regions, Blackberry Will Continue Releasing Blackberry 7 Devices In Some Regions

2014 Chevy Silverado priced from *$24,585, V8 gets better economy than Ford EcoBoost V6

Chevrolet has thrown down the next hand in the pickup truck poker wars and revealed at least a couple of potential aces – depending on which numbers matter most to you. The 2014 2014 Silverado 1500 with its 5.3-liter EcoTec3 V8 gets 335 355 horsepower and 383 pound-feet of torque, is mated to a six-speed automatic, can tow 11,500 pounds with the optional Max Trailer Package and costs the same as the outgoing Silverado, $24,585 (*including $995 destination fee). Chevy says the Silverado also stands atop the fuel economy charts when comparing any competitor with a V8 engine – and some competitors with V6 engines.

Autoblog , 2014 Chevy Silverado priced from *$24,585, V8 gets better economy than Ford EcoBoost V6, 2014 Chevy Silverado priced from *$24,585, V8 gets better economy than Ford EcoBoost V6

Court Rules That Reselling MP3s Online Is Illegal

A Judge of the US District Court, Southern District of New York ruled that reselling MP3s online is illegal. It violates copyright. The ruling says that courts have consistently held that the unauthorized duplication of digital music files over the internet infringes a copyright owner's exclusive right to reproduce. It also mentions that courts have not previously addressed the situation where the digital music file is being transferred unauthorized, but only one file exists before and after the transfer, whether or not that constitutes reproduction with the meaning of the Copyright Act.

Ubergizmo , Court Rules That Reselling MP3s Online Is Illegal, Court Rules That Reselling MP3s Online Is Illegal

J.D. Power says drivers increasingly frustrated by low-rolling resistance and run-flat tires

Unless we're talking about tires used for specific conditions (snow, summer, off-road, etc.), we imagine most new car buyers don't think twice about the rubber on their ride. J.D. Power and Associates does, and it recently rated consumer satisfaction for the top tire brands in various vehicle segments, and it found that Michelin was consistently at or among the top-satisfying tire brands. As a part of this study, it also found some interesting data regarding two growing types of tires: run-flat and low-rolling resistance.

Autoblog , J.D. Power says drivers increasingly frustrated by low-rolling resistance and run-flat tires, J.D. Power says drivers increasingly frustrated by low-rolling resistance and run-flat tires

UAW membership up for third straight year

The Detroit News reports that the United Auto Workers union has seen membership increase for the third straight year. The organization is now 382,513 members strong, which marks a jump of about 1,800 over 2011. That doesn't include workers who are represented but don't have a contract with the union. "UAW membership continues on a steady path of recovery, even in the face of concerted attacks on workers and collective bargaining," UAW President Bob King said in a statement.

Even so, the union continues to struggle in its effort to garner the support of workers at manufacturing facilities owned by foreign automakers.

Autoblog , UAW membership up for third straight year, UAW membership up for third straight year

IBM Roadrunner Hits The End Of The Road

All good things must always come to an end, as nothing is permanent except death and some say, taxes. Well, IBM's Roadrunner, what was once the world's fastest supercomputer, has arrived at the end of its distinguished life, as it will be decommissioned Sunday. The IBM Roadrunner cost $121 million to build, and was tucked away at one of the nation's premier nuclear weapons research laboratories that was located in northern New Mexico. The simple reason given to the masses would be the scourge that affects us all – age.

Ubergizmo , IBM Roadrunner Hits The End Of The Road, IBM Roadrunner Hits The End Of The Road