Rumor: Facebook phones are coming!!!

Technolog - Rumor: Facebook phones are coming!!!
By Wilson Rothman

"UPDATED - HTC is slated to unveil not one but two Facebook phones in February at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, according to City AM, a UK news site. They will be 'high-end smart phones,' running Android with Facebook 'branding and colors,' says the site. Their purpose will be to make life easier for Facebook addicts by featuring Facebook messages on the home screen, and integrating calling and e-mailing using Facebook friend info.

Let's see, an Android phone that features Facebook messages on the home screen, and uses Facebook to get friends' contact info? Isn't that, like, every Android phone? Truth is, Facebook's mobile strategy is so good these days, pretty much any phone in your pocket is a Facebook phone, even dumb ones. So what gives?

My guess would be that it's got to do with apps and games. Facebook is making bank hosting the masterworks of Zynga ('FarmVille,' 'CityVille') and Playdom ('Social City'), and is getting cozy with traditional publishers like EA and Popcap. Why let Apple and Google reap the mobile gaming spoils?

City AM's rationalization is a little more vague: 'Facebook has aggressively pushed mobile versions of its social network,' says the site, 'and industry insiders see this as an attempt to consolidate its position as the world’s leading social network.'

OK, so how much stock do we put in this rumor? On one hand, the most realistic Facebook phone rumors surround devices that would be released in Europe and Asia (but possibly not in the United States), and this does follow in the same groove. And HTC would be a great candidate for a Facebook vanity phone, especially based on the Android operating system, which they've worked intimately with since the beginning.

City AM's reporter may have reported on the existence of the second Google Nexus phone, as Mashable points out. But in this piece, he misidentifies HTC as the manufacturer of it. (Correct answer: Samsung.) So really, when it comes to credibility, they're kind of a mixed bag.

We've reached out to HTC and Facebook for comment, and have yet to hear back.

UPDATED at 3:39 p.m. ET: A Facebook spokesperson replied to our inquiry, sharing a tantalizing non-denial that sounds awfully familiar:

'Facebook is not building a mobile phone. As we've long said our mobile strategy is to enable people to not only have access, but also a great Facebook experience from any mobile phone they choose. We're working across the entire mobile industry with operators, hardware manufactures and app developers to bring Facebook to mobile phones in a variety of unique and exciting ways. Some of these include deep integrations of Facebook within the device, but are not 'a Facebook phone' as they sometimes are referred to by commenters.'

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Verizon offering AT&T iPhone trade-in program?

Technolog - Verizon offering AT&T iPhone trade-in program?: "Are you so unhappy with AT&T's iPhone service that you'd trade the phone into Verizon Wireless, get up to $360 in credit for it and buy a new iPhone 4 and sign up for a two-year contract with Verizon?

That's what Verizon is apparently offering, according to an e-mail shared by MacRumors.com.

Verizon is 'allowing some existing AT&T iPhone customers to trade-in their iPhone for credit when buying a new Verizon iPhone 4,' the site said:

We not sure if this will be offered to non-corporate accounts, but the trade-in price list is as follows:
iPhone 2G — 16GB: $60
iPhone 3G — 16GB: $105
iPhone 3Gs — 32GB: $160
iPhone 4 — 16GB: $280
iPhone 4 — 32GB: $360

We're waiting to hear from Verizon on whether this is true, and if it is, whether it applies to all customers, or just corporate types.

Again, the amounts represent a credit you'd get with Verizon, not actual cash for your iPhone.

It's hard to imagine anyone who now has the iPhone 4 with AT&T trading it in: Remember, earlier this year (knowing its exclusive run with the iPhone was ending) AT&T upped the early termination fee for the iPhone — and other smart phones — to a whopping $325 from $175.

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10 Most Memorable Tech CEOs of the Digital Era

10 Most Memorable Tech CEOs of the Digital Era | News & Opinion | PCMag.com: "Chief Executive Officer is a title with significant cachet. As a CEO, you may as well be a modern day king of a commercial fiefdom. Your influence within your firm is unmatched, and your leadership determines the success or failure of everyone serving beneath you.

Through a complex series of cascading algorithms stuffed into an Excel spreadsheet, a few coin tosses, the heart of a Wookie, and the brain of a historian, I have determined what I consider the 10 most memorable CEOs of the digital era. With the PCMag audience in mind, favor was given to American CEOs of prominent high tech companies. As for the 'digital era,' well, that's a fuzzy term that essentially means post-WWII, computer-related companies.

You may not agree with the choices, but that won't stop you from engaging in frank, intelligent discussion with your fellow readers. I also encourage you to nominate your own Most Memorable CEOs in the comments below after you check out the slideshow.

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Mobile phones helping improve people's lives

This video (courtesy of MSNBC.com) shows some very cool ways that smartphones and apps are helping people improve their lives.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

iPad 2 expected to ship in April

Technolog - iPad 2 expected to ship in April: "Two days ago, our own Wilson Rothman gave you a rundown of what we know about the Apple iPad 2 —including details about the dual cameras, the body and SD card slot — and now we've got another tidbit to add to the pile: mass shipments of the highly anticipated device are scheduled in April.

The latest churn comes via Digitimes, which has passed on progress reports from its sources that claim Apple has increased the number of printed circuit board (PCB) suppliers for the iPad 2 to seven, from three. According to those sources, these manufacturers (Compeq Manufacturing, Gold Circuit Electronics (GCE), Meiko and Nan Ya PCB) of high-density interconnect (HDI) boards, which reduce the size and weight of the PCB, 'will begin shipments of any-layer HDI boards in small volumes between the end of February and early March prior to mass shipments in April.'

As Meiko explains it, the any-layer HDI technology 'yields finer circuit patterns, (B2it technology), producing boards that are even thinner and have other advanced techniques.'

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YouTube star is hetero bear wrestler on Google

Technolog - YouTube star is hetero bear wrestler on Google: "If you happened by Google’s top trends page Thursday night, you probably asked yourself, 'Who or what is Kevjumba and why is everybody asking whether he’s a heterosexual bear wrestler?'

Indeed. In yet another epic win for search engine gaming — and the secret powers of the mighty YouTube community — 'Is Kevjumba a heterosexual bear wrestler?' became the top Google search question.

Kevjumba for those of you who don’t live on YouTube — is a star on the video-sharing site, as well as a former 'Amazing Race' contestant. His real name is Kevin Wu and he recently ended a 2-month hiatus from his YouTube channel — which has more than a million subscribers — with a hilarity-packed 2:44 minute episode in which he shared what happened when he Googled himself.

Noting that Google auto-complete — which offers the most popular searches for the words you’ve already typed — suggested he finish his query 'Is Kevjumba' with 'gay?' the YouTube star charged his users help change that – to something funny.

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Motorola's First Android Tablet to Retail for $800

Motorola's First Android Tablet to Retail for $800 [REPORT] - Yahoo! News: "According to information leaked from an anonymous Verizon employee, Motorola's Xoom, a tablet running the long-anticipated Android Honeycomb, will sell for $800.

We got a good look at Xoom during CES this year. It is unique for several reasons.

First, it, along with the Droid Bionic and a lineup of other smartphones, is one of the first Verizon 4G LTE devices.

Second, the tablet is one of the first that will be running Honeycomb (Android 3.0), the tablet-specific fork of the Android mobile operating system. While we've seen Android tablets running version 1.6 and even 2.2 (Froyo), this will be the first instance of an intentional and elegant Android approach to the tablet form factor.

In addition to the new OS, Xoom features a 1080p screen resolution, front- and rear-facing cameras (2MP and 5MP, respectively), an HDMI output, and an accelerometer.

Motorola also says the device 'delivers console-like gaming performance on its 1280×800 display, and features a built-in gyroscope, barometer, e-compass, accelerometer and adaptive lighting for new types of applications. It also features Google Maps 5.0 with 3D interaction and delivers access to over 3 million Google eBooks and thousands of apps from Android Market.'

The first 3G and Wi-Fi-enabled Xoom units should be available around the end of Q1 2011, and according to new reports from Android Central, the minimum advertised price for the units will start at $800 -- a hefty price tag compared to other gadget options currently on the market.

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Samsung Galaxy 4G Landing on T-Mobile

Samsung Galaxy 4G Landing on T-Mobile - Yahoo! News: "CES might be over, but the 4G phones keep trickling in. As a part of its aggressive 4G plans, T-Mobile announced that the Samsung Galaxy 4G will launch in the first half of 2011. But will it have the specs of the hot next-gen Galaxy phones? It doesn't seem like it.

Specs for the Samsung Galaxy 4G on T-Mobile aren't clear, but we do know that it will have a Super AMOLED display--not the newest Super AMOLED Plus display. At CES, Verizon unveiled an unnamed LTE phone with a 4.3-inch display as well as a phone on AT&T, the Infuse 4G, with a monstrous 4.5-inch display. According to Samsung, Super AMOLED Plus displays have an increased number of sub-pixels by 50 percent and perform even better in bright light than the first-gen Super AMOLED displays.

On the Samsung Mobile website, the company is trumpeting the arrival of 'something big' on Feb. 13, which coincidentally is the week of Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The rumor mill is buzzing about what sort of specs the next generation of Samsung Galaxy phones will boast. A dual-core processor, an 8-megapixel camera and built-in NFC support are just a few of the exciting features the next-gen phones could sport.

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HTC Thunderbolt on Verizon's 4G LTE

This awesome phone is the HTC Thunderbolt on Verizon—for all intents and purposes, this is the equivalent of the very popular Sprint EVO with its large touchscreen, 8 megapixel camera, and a 1.3 megapixel front-facing camera. NerdBoyTV likes this one...BIGTIME!

NOTE: This videoclip was taken by AndroidPolice at this year's 2011 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Video demo of VoiceAssist.com

Now THIS looks like a pretty useful service, especially for people like me who have long commutes. Just think of all the endless possibilities. I believe you can even post on Facebook or Twitter using this. Nice!

Nintendo 3DS is looking good

Here's a video review from MSNBC.com on the recently announced Nintendo 3DS (with 3D viewing). A little pricey at around $249, but my kids love their portable hand-held Nintendo gaming device. I think this looks like a winner!

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Why buying coffee with your iPhone matters

Why buying coffee with your iPhone matters - The Red Tape Chronicles - msnbc.com: "Cash, credit or gadget?

For years, payment geeks have promised that cell phones would soon replace the jingle of pocket change, ushering in a utopian world where consumers could buy candy bars from a vending machine with a phone call. Just dial a number on the machine, and -- BANG -- your Juicy Fruits or Fritos drop into the tray.

Those promises never materialized, but worse yet, the value proposition never materialized. More than one analyst has called mobile phone payments a solution in search of a problem. After all, when would dialing a phone number be easier than pulling out a piece of plastic?

All that may have changed this week, as Starbucks announced that it had begun accepting payments made with iPhones and BlackBerrys at most stores. A major retailer leaping into this world with both feet could send a 120-amp charge into electronic wallets -- particularly because the Starbucks 'Mobile Card' e-payments is fun, easy, relatively safe and gives consumers a reason to whip out their gadget instead of their wallet.

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How To Make Free Calls on Your iPod Touch

Brian Tong of CNET.com shows you how to make calls from your iPod Touch using WiFi. Just so you know, NerdBoyTV is trying this out too and if I can make it work effectively on both my iPod Touch AND laptop (using custom Skype phone number), I'll be doing a show about it ;-)

NerdBoyTV Cool Gadget: TDK Three-Speaker Boombox

Wow, what at terrific set of portable speakers in the Old School boombox style. I want one! Pricey, but looks pretty awesome!

Another unlimited mobile broadband plan bites the dust

Another unlimited mobile broadband plan bites the dust - Yahoo! News: "Now that Virgin Mobile has decided to start capping its once-unlimited 3G mobile broadband plan, there's only one national U.S. carrier left that's offering true, all-you-can-eat broadband data. For now.

Virgin Mobile's $40-a-month, unlimited 3G broadband plan instantly became one of the best deals in wireless when it was announced last August, especially given that you could use it with a $150 portable MiFi hotspot on a no-contract basis.

But now comes word from Wired's Gadget Lab that starting February 15, Virgin will begin throttling its 'Unlimited Broadband2Go' users if they bust over 5GB of data a month.

How much slower will your downloads be? Virgin Mobile isn't saying, but given that mobile 3G data can be poky even under the best of circumstances, don't expect to be streaming any Netflix videos once you get throttled. (Incidentally, Wired reports that Virgin will be keep using the 'Unlimited Broadband2Go' name, despite the new 5GB cap.)

So, given that Virgin Mobile's unlimited 3G broadband plan will, as of next month, become quite limited, U.S. road warriors will soon be left with precious few options — well, one option, really — when it comes to true all-you-can-eat mobile broadband data from a national carrier, and even this last remaining option is starting to look shaky.

(Note: Just to be clear, I'm referring to mobile broadband plans for USB modems and mobile hotspots, not smartphone plans — although more and more smartphone data plans are capped, too.)

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2011 CES Best Gadget — Motorola's Xoom Tablet

Courtesy of CNET

CNET's Brian Tong demos the recently crowned Best Gadget of the 2011 Consumer Electronic Show (CES) in Las Vegas — Motorola's Xoom Tablet.

Motorola Xoom tablet crowned best CES gadget

Motorola Xoom tablet crowned best CES gadget - Yahoo! News: "Motorola Mobility's Xoom tablet computer powered by new 'Honeycomb' software from Google was crowned the best gadget at the giant Consumer Electronics Show (CES) on Saturday.

Along with being declared the top creation at the dazzling gadget extravaganza, Xoom was also honored as the best of the scores of tablets introduced here as fresh competitors in a market dominated by Apple iPads.

Motorola also scored a victory with its Atrix smartphone designed to work with high-speed 4G wireless networks and which can be used in a dock to power a laptop.

Atrix won the top spot in a smartphone category at the official Best of CES awards.

'We took big risks and they paid off,' said Motorola Mobility chief software engineer Seang Chau. 'We didn't know if people would get it; but obviously they got it.'

US telecom maker Motorola Mobility jumped into the bustling tablet computer market Wednesday when chief executive Sanjay Jha unveiled Xoom at CES.

Motorola Mobility's hotly awaited tablet computer, the 'Xoom,' will be available in the first quarter of the year, Jha said.

With a 10.1-inch (25.6-centimeter) screen, the Xoom is about the same size as Apple's iPad, which hit stores in April and has other leading technology companies around the world scrambling to catch up.

Xoom will be a fierce competitor in the marketplace because Google built Honeycomb software specifically to power tablet computers, according to Jha.

'This is really the next generation of tablets,' Motorola Mobility device team head Alain Mutricy said as he held a Xoom in one hand at the awards ceremony.

'Our partnership with Google has been very intense and has enabled some great technology.'

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Have Your Computer Zoom for You

Courtesy of ABC News Video

Becky Worley of ABC News' "Good Stuff" demos the Lean & Zoom software that adjusts text size as you lean closer.

Snap Your Tablet Back Into a Laptop

Courtesy of ABC News Video

Becky Worley reports from this year's CES in Las Vegas and demos the Lenovo LePad, which easily changes from a tablet back into a laptop.

Send Photos Directly From Your Camera

Courtesy of ABC News Video

The Eye-Fi card sends pics from your digital camera to other devices.

Cool Gadgets from CES (courtesy of MSNBC)

MSNBC reviews some of the cool gadgets at this year's 2011 Customer Electronics Shows (CES). There have been over 120,000 in attendance at this year's show. Watch the video below to see what gadgets were presented at this year's show.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Eye-Fi's CEO Jef Holove on Press:Here (video)

On Press:Here, EyeFi’s revolutionary memory card makes any camera WiFi enabled. The Press:Here panel talks to its CEO, Jef Holove. NerdBoyTV uses the Eye-Fi SD card and loves it!

Tablets crowd gadget show, chasing iPad's tail

Tablets crowd gadget show, chasing iPad's tail - Yahoo! News: "Big tablets and small tablets, white ones and black ones. Cheap ones and expensive ones. Brand names famous and obscure at the starting line of a race where the iPad is already a speeding dot near the horizon.

It's impossible to walk the floor at this year's International Consumer Electronics Show without stumbling across a multitude of keyboard-less touch-screen computers expected to hit the market in the coming months. With Apple estimated to have sold more than 13 million iPads last year alone, the competition is clearly for second place, but even that prize is worth pursuing.

Technology research firm Gartner Inc. expects that 55 million tablet computers will be shipped this year, most of them still iPads, but there will be room for rivals to vie for sales of the remaining 10 million to 15 million devices.

A bevy of consumer electronics makers, including major names such as Motorola Mobility Inc., Toshiba Corp. and Dell Inc., showed off their tablets in Las Vegas at CES, betting 2011 will be the year the gadgets finally take off.

Companies tried for years to popularize tablets, but the frenzy began only with the release of the iPad in April. Now companies whose names don't include the word 'Apple' are doing everything they can to differentiate themselves from the tablet front-runner.

They're adding bells and whistles the iPad doesn't yet have — such as front and back cameras for video chatting and picture taking and the ability to work over next-generation 4G data networks — in hopes of taking on the iPad, or at least carving out a niche.

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Verizon to carry iPhone

Verizon to carry iPhone: source - Yahoo! News: "Verizon Wireless will sell the iPhone, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing a person familiar with the matter.

There was no specific date for when Verizon would sell the phone in its stores, the paper reported on its website. The announcement will be made on Tuesday at an event in New York, WSJ said.

Verizon declined to comment. An Apple spokeswoman declined to comment.

Shares of Verizon rose 2.5 percent in after-hours trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Apple shares rose 0.6 percent in after-hours trading on the Nasdaq.

Verizon, Wireless, a joint venture between Verizon Communications and Vodafone Group Plc, delivered cryptic nontransferable invitations on Friday to an event to Tuesday's New York event.

The in-box invite to journalists was skimpy on details: 'Join us as we share the latest news from Verizon Wireless.'

AT&T Inc is currently the exclusive carrier of the iPhone.

On January 6, AT&T announced it will cut the price of its older iPhone model, the 3GS, to $49 from $99.

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CES: Samsung unveils 9 Series, a thin competitor to the MacBook Air

CES: Samsung unveils 9 Series, a thin competitor to the MacBook Air - CES 2011 CNET Blogs: "Samsung laptops have caught our eye for more than a year now, with an increasingly impressive design aesthetic and fairly good prices to boot. Today, its announcement of a thin, 13-inch laptop aimed squarely at the MacBook Air-loving crowd seems to indicate a direction in higher-end products, too, and we certainly can't complain.

The 9 Series comes with a second-generation Intel Core i5-2537M CPU, 4GB of DD43 RAM, and a 128GB solid-state drive, along with Windows 7 Professional. The design looks great so far: its metal finish has beautiful curved edges, and Samsung boasts it's the thinnest 13-inch laptop in existence. While specific dimensions weren't provided, it weighs 2.86 pounds. Despite its size, it also packs a 1.5-watt subwoofer and stereo speakers, too.

The Samsung 9 series isn't cheap at $1,599, scraping the top of the high-end. However, it's nice to see laptops aiming to get sexy again, a trend seemingly lacking at this year's CES. With heated competition from tablets and smartphones bearing eye-popping designs, we're surprised more laptop manufacturers aren't following suit, albeit perhaps with something a bit more affordable.

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Verizon reveals first '4G' tablet and phone

Verizon reveals first '4G' tablet and phone - Yahoo! News: "The first portable devices announced for Verizon Wireless' new, high-speed wireless data network are a smart phone and a tablet from Motorola, both designed to take advantage of network's speed with cameras for videoconferencing.

More devices for Verizon's '4G' network, which went live for laptop modems in December, are expected to be announced Thursday by the CEO of Verizon Communications Inc. at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

For the moment, Verizon has the fastest wireless network in the country, and it's hoping to capitalize on it by selling data-hungry tablets and smart phones. There are unconfirmed reports that Verizon will also get to sell version of the iPhone, breaking AT&T Inc.'s exclusive hold, but analysts don't expect Verizon to reveal one at the show.

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Always connected lifestyle on display at CES

Always connected lifestyle on display at CES - Yahoo! News: "Smarter devices, homes and cars for the always connected lifestyle are taking center stage as the annual Consumer Electronics Show kicks off here on Thursday.

Slick new smartphones, ultra-thin laptops, tablet computers to rival Apple's iPad and Web-connected and 3D television sets are expected to grab the most attention during the four-day event at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

But the show floor will also feature more smart home appliances such as ovens which can download recipes and vehicles which give drivers hands-free voice control access to their smartphone applications.

Technology titans such as Cisco, Intel, LG Electronics, Microsoft, Motorola, Panasonic, Samsung, Sony and Toshiba were among the firms offering a glimpse of their upcoming products to reporters here ahead of the official CES opening.

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Apple launches app store for Macs, a la iPhone

Apple launches app store for Macs, a la iPhone - Technology & science - Wireless - msnbc.com: "Apple Inc is launching an applications store for Mac computers, replicating a model that proved wildly popular on its iPhones.
Apple is hoping to capitalize on Macs' surging sales as it aims to change the way software is sold for its computers — centralizing distribution, simplifying discovery and leaving Apple as a gatekeeper of sorts.

The Mac App Store, similar to the iPhone App Store and linked to iTunes accounts, went live on Thursday offering more than 1,000 apps, or programs. The store is launching in 90 countries with paid and free apps in areas such as games, design and education.

Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of marketing, highlighted the ease of use of the store, which he said will be familiar to anyone who has bought iPhone apps."

Motorola Xoom Android tablet may be first iPad killer

Technolog - Motorola Xoom Android tablet may be first iPad killer: "Though there have been tablets running Android on the market since last year, the Motorola Xoom, debuted today at CES in Las Vegas for the very first time, represents the first real Android tablet sanctioned by Google, running an operating system designed explicitly for tablets. Forget the Samsung Galaxy Tab, forget it completely. This is Google's first attempt to take on the iPad, and it's a worthy one.

The device has a 10-inch widescreen display and is actually a hair thinner than an iPad: Xoom measures 12.9mm at the middle while the iPad measures 13.4 mm. It's a smooth black on black with a rubberized rear. It has two cameras, one in front for videoconferencing, one in back for shooting. Battery life is about 10 hours for video, which should put it in the same company as the iPad. Meanwhile, its 1280x800 display is 16:10, which means it uses almost the entire screen when playing a movie."

Microsoft TV may challenge Apple, Google

Technolog - Microsoft TV may challenge Apple, Google

By Suzanne Choney

With a big push on for "connected TVs" — those that can hitch you up to the Internet via your home TV for streaming movies, TV shows, music and photos — Microsoft is likely to jump into that arena with its own product to be unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show this week in Las Vegas.

Google and Apple already have a footprint in this effort, and hungry TV makers are pushing for it, too (with 3-D TVs, the failed wunderkind of last year's CES, not yet ready for prime time with consumers).

Microsoft plans to use a "stripped-down version of Windows tailored for set-top boxes and connected TVs," reports Brier Dudley of The Seattle Times. "The software is a version of its embedded device software, overlaid with the Windows Media Center interface, with media streaming and remote-control capabilities." (Msnbc.com is a joint venture of Microsoft and NBC Universal.)

Microsoft's connected TV boxes are expected to go for around $200 and be available later this year, according to the report, and "pose a serious challenge to the new Apple and Google TV devices, largely because the Windows boxes have a polished and familiar TV-program guide that makes it easy to blend and navigate both online and broadcast content."

Tablet market will see lots of road kill

Tablet market will see lots of road kill Therese Poletti's Tech Tales - MarketWatch: "Anyone heading to Las Vegas for the Consumer Electronics Show this week won’t be able to avoid the avalanche of examples of tech’s hot new thing, the tablet.

Analysts are predicting that at least 100 tablets will be introduced, just about a year after Apple Inc. (AAPL 328.75, -0.82, -0.25%) led the way when it unveiled the iPad on Jan. 27, 2010. The anticipation of Apple’s tablet even managed to cast a shadow over last year’s show.

So this year, the rest of the industry hopes to catch up with Apple’s iPad — the clear leader for now. Does anyone else have a chance?

The biggest loser at the hands of the tablet will initially be the netbook. Companies which placed big bets on the netbook could suffer if they are not able to garner more interest with their new tablets, especially if they adopt a similar lower-price, less functionality strategy. One reason netbooks are losing their popularity is because they do less than a laptop, but at prices that are getting closer to those of laptops."

Gadget show to bring fiercer competition to iPad

Gadget show to bring fiercer competition to iPad - Yahoo! News: "Apple Inc.'s popular iPad is getting its strongest competition thus far as consumer-electronics manufacturers unveil tablet computers with bigger screens, front-facing cameras for video chatting and more.

The iPad has been a smashing success since its April launch, leaving other companies to play catch-up in the suddenly hot market for the keyboardless, touch-screen devices. Rivals are making a bigger push at this week's International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, betting they can challenge Apple with such features as Android, the popular smart phone software Google Inc. developed to compete with the iPhone; high-definition touch screens and cameras for video chatting and taking photos.

The competition is going to be fierce. DisplaySearch analyst Richard Semenza estimated that a hundred different tablet models are in development, though not all of them will reach store shelves."

Apple's absence to be felt at CES gadget show

Apple's absence to be felt at CES gadget show - Yahoo! News: "What do you call it when you have 120,000 people and an elephant in the room?

The International Consumer Electronics Show, which kicks off this week in Las Vegas.

The elephant is Apple Inc. It won't be at the show this year, but its tablet computer, the iPad, is the most important new product for an industry that needs to once again excite consumers. Sales of the iPad have been strong since its April debut, and the whole industry is now trying to mimic Apple's success.

With the iPad, Apple single-handedly cracked the code for the tablet, a device that dozens of manufacturers have tried to take to the masses for two decades, with little success.

Apple itself doesn't do trade shows. When Apple has new products to reveal, such as iPads or iPhones, it stages its own events.

But nearly every other company in the industry will be there for CES, which runs Thursday to Sunday and is the largest trade show of any kind in the Americas. A good many of them will show off their tablets — computing slabs with touch-sensitive screens. Big names expected to do so include Motorola Inc. and Dell Inc.

DisplaySearch analyst Richard Semenza estimated that a hundred different tablet models are in development, though not all of them will reach store shelves.

Competing tablets will have a hard time catching up to Apple's lead, at least this year. Certainly, no one managed to do so last year, even though a lot of manufacturers, including Dell, brought out tablets. Samsung did have some success with its Galaxy Tab, but sales didn't come close to the iPad's.

'For the next year or two, we expect there to be a lot of false starts, failed attempts, and disasters,' Richard Shim, another DisplaySearch analyst, said in a blog post.

Apple sold 7.4 million iPads through September, in the device's first six months on sale. That means they're already outselling Apple's Mac computers, but not iPods or iPhones.

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ViewSonic ViewPad 7

Courtesy of CNET — Video review of the new ViewSonic ViewPad 7.

RIM introduces BlackBerry PlayBook tablet

Courtesy of CNET – BlackBerry maker opens its annual developer conference in San Francisco by introducing its PlayBook, which it calls the first professional tablet.

Thank you for joining NerdBoyTV!

10 Must-Have Android Apps

10 Must-Have Android Apps | PCMag.com: "A few days ago, I was showing my girlfriend, an iPhone 4 owner, something on my Android-based Sprint Epic 4G. 'Wow,' she said, 'You have a lot of apps.' I responded casually, but with a certain about of nonchalant geek pride: 'Yes, yes I do.'

Indeed, my dogged pursuit of cool apps is a big reason why I sold my Palm Pre back to Sprint and switched to the Android platform a few months back. Although the number still can't quite match the abundance of Apple's App Store, the Android market is chock full of great applications. But with thousands to choose from, where do you start? Start with these 10 must-have Android apps and you can't go wrong. I promise.

Before we get to them, however, I have to mention a few of my favorite apps that I had to leave off the list. The most obvious omission is Angry Birds. It's a must-have download, to be sure, but at this point, I have to assume you have already heard of it. Everyone has, so there isn't much value in including it here. I also left out both the official Twitter client and TweetDeck. I'm a big Twitter user (@dancosta), but the truth is, most people probably don't need to Tweet from their phone. And those that do already know to download the client.

Likewise, I couldn't get the excellent Photoshop Express into this story. More and more people are using their phones as their primary point and shoot, but I don't think most people are up for in-phone editing just yet. If you're a power user, go for it, but this story is for the newbies. And if you're just starting to download Android apps, these are the first 10 you should get...in my humble opinion, anyway.

- Sent using Google Toolbar"

6 Predictions for Social Networks in 2011

6 Predictions for Social Networks in 2011: "The past year was an eventful one for the world of social networking. Facebook went on an acquisition spree. Twitter started growing up. And MySpace? Well it’s the same old story over there.

In 2010, we predicted that Facebook would conquer the web. We just didn’t know the social network would do it so convincingly. We’re not oracles, though, and we did miss on some of our acquisition picks. Well, time for round two.

Now that Facebook (Facebook) is clearly king, what is going to happen to the rest of the world’s social networks? What will happen to Bebo (Bebo)? What’s next for MySpace (MySpace)? And will Facebook finally hold that IPO?

Here are my predictions for what will happen in the world of social networking in 2011:

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Tablets galore on tap at major CES gadget fest

Tablets galore on tap at major CES gadget fest - Yahoo! News: "Tablet computers will lead a host of 'smart' gadgets in the Nevada desert this week at a Consumer Electronics Show (CES) spotlighting slick new devices on the horizon.

CES attendance in Las Vegas should top the 126,000 figure from the annual event last January and the roster of exhibitors has climbed 2,000 to 2,700.

Internet software will fuse with televisions, cars and even household appliances at CES, where an army of tablets will be unleashed to challenge Apple's winning iPads.

'Certainly the Number One trend will be tablets,' said NPD Group analyst Stephen Baker.

'I think every smartphone and PC (personal computer) company will either have one on their show floor; be showing them behind closed doors, or announcing things.'

CES organizers said that from 40 to 80 tablets could debut at the event that runs from Thursday through Sunday.

Apple sold more than eight million iPads since the California company introduced the tablets in April and year-end sales could surpass 10 million.

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