mophie's Juice Pack Air: world's thinnest iPhone 3G battery / case

mophie's iPhone 3G Juice Pack received universal praise, and while the additional baggage bothered some, most users just appreciated being able to utilize 3G for more than 47 seconds without needing an AC outlet. Not one to rest on its laurels, the company has today introduced the new and improved version: Juice Pack Air. Contrary to popular belief, this actually isn't intended for Apple's MacBook Air (now there's an idea to capitalize on, mophie), but instead, it's the planet's thinnest external iPhone 3G battery / case. The device houses a rechargeable 1,200mAh battery that "virtually doubles the amount of time you have to rock, talk, surf, and send messages." Eager consumers can pre-order theirs now in black, purple or white, while patient souls can mellow out until they hit mophie's website and Apple stores everywhere this Spring. Full release is after the jump.
Mophie Unveils Juice Pack Air - The World's Thinnest 'Works with iPhone' External Battery/Protective Case

Ultra-thin, light-weight juice pack air virtually doubles iPhone 3G battery life and offers the full protection of a hard-shell case in a low-profile design

Los Angeles, CA – February 11th, 2009 – mStation | mophie announces juice pack air, the world's thinnest apple-certified external battery for iPhone 3G. The rechargeable 1200 mAH lithium polymer battery housed in an ultra-thin case virtually doubles the amount of time you have to rock, talk, surf, and send. Juice pack air will be available to consumers world-wide this spring at Apple stores and mophie.com for $79.95 in Black, White, and Purple. http://www.mophie.com/products/juice-pack-air

Juice pack air features an innovative "standby mode" that allows users to control when they want to take advantage of additional battery support versus simply using it as a protective case. The integrated 4 LED charge status indicates how much juice is remaining in the external battery. Unique pass-through design allows users to simultaneously charge their juice pack air and sync their iPhone 3G with iTunes with the included USB cable.

"The juice pack air is a simple yet elegant battery boosting solution for iPhone 3G power users" says Ross Howe, Sales and Product Development Director for mStation | mophie. "Advanced features like standby mode and ultra-thin design make juice pack air the ideal option for both extended battery support and protection."

Additional Battery Time Provided by juice pack air

Standby Time:	Up to 270 hours
Talk Time:	Up to 4.5 hours (3G) Up to 9 hours (2G)
Internet Use:	Up to 4.5 hours (3G) Up to 5.4 Hours (Wi-Fi)
Audio Playback:	Up to 20 hours
Video Playback:	Up to 6 hours

The mophie juice pack air will be available at Apple stores and mophie.com this spring with an MSRP of $79.95. For more information, please visit www.mophie.com

About mStation | mophie
mStation is consistently praised for its ability to create quality products with cool Industrial Design. mStation recently acquired mophie, an iPod accessory company with a wide array of award-winning cases. Their products can be found in Apple Stores and major retailers worldwide.

Jakks Pacific unveils EyeClops mini projector for the little ones

We see a ton of tiny little projectors these days around here. This one, by toymaker Jakks Pacific, is still pretty eye-catching, anyway. Expected to be on hand next week at the Toy Industry Association's annual International Toy Fair in New York, the EyeClops is obviously designed with children in mind, with a build similar to adult picos. We don't have full specs on this one yet, but it's capable of projecting a 70-inch images via its LED, and can be hooked up to all your child's favorite gadgets -- DVD players, digital cameras, and gaming consoles. The real kicker here is that the EyeClops is expected to sell for under $100 -- much less than most projectors for oldies.

i-mate's rumored "Hummer" rugged handset set to appear as 810-F?

It's been some time since we've seen anything new come out of i-mate, and while we glimpsed the 810-F as a rumor ages ago, we're enthusiastic that mayhaps i-mate's got a few tricks left up its sleeve. The i-mate 810-F apparently runs Windows Mobile 6.1, a 624MHz CPU, HSDPA, QVGA display, GPS, WiFi, Bluetooth, and a big 'ol QWERTY pad, all tacked together by a rubberized housing and some hex screws. Other notable features include a 2 megapixel camera for rugged shots, and 2.2GB of internal storage space. Warranty? It's lifelong, if it breaks they replace it. Not a bad outing i-mate and judging by the date on the pic above, I expect we'll be seeing you in Barcelona.

Sony's BRAVIA KDL-46V5100 LCD HDTV goes on sale

Sony told us not to expect its newest BRAVIA V-, S-, and L-series HDTVs until this Spring, but apparently the 46-inch KDL-46V5100 is ready to roll. Available for ordering right now on the company's B2B website, the 52.6 pound set checks in with a 1080p panel, 120Hz Motionflow technology to remove judder, integrated stereo speakers, the BRAVIA Engine 2 and an NTSC / ATSC / ClearQAM TV tuner. Get yours on the way now for $1,899.99, and keep a close eye for availability on all of its siblings -- surely they aren't too far from the shipping dock, either.

Update: Whoa, Charlie! Sony pinged us to say that someone pulled the trigger a tad early, and that this set won't actually ship until early March. Hate to burst your bubble!

Mitsubishi temporarily suspends production of LaserVue HDTVs

We had heard that certain Mitsubishi representatives had been telling Diamond dealers that production had been suspended on the outfit's flagship LaserVue HDTV, and sure enough, the story is true. We have confirmed with Mitsubishi Digital Electronics America that the outfit has "temporarily suspended production of LaserVue televisions due to a problem with manufacturing equipment used to produce LaserVue TVs." We're also informed that "Mitsubishi Electric engineers are taking the necessary action to ensure that the company resumes production as quickly as possible, while maintaining the highest standards for product quality and reliability." So far as we know, this isn't a sign of sudden discontinuation, as Mitsu has affirmed that it's "expecting production to resume in early 2009." We'll update with more as we get it in.

Update: We asked a few followup questions, and we did find that Mitsu isn't anticipating any supply issues, which indicates the problem may be short lived (or at least it hopes so). As for an official comment on what went wrong? "LaserVue production was suspended due to a manufacturing equipment issue." That's all we've got

Twitter Won't Charge For Corporate Accounts

Twitter will not charge organizations for commercial accounts on the microblogging service. "Whatever we come up with, Twitter will remain free to use by everyone-individuals, companies, celebrities," wrote in a blog post yesterday Biz Stone, one of Twitter's co-founders.

Confusion sparked earlier this week around the web, as reports emerged that Twitter was identifying ways to charge for commercial accounts. But Twitter has "nothing to report just yet" on this topic, and Stone claims that they've just "been thinking out loud" lately.

Twitter has seen a massive spike in popularity over the last year and is now ranking at number 3 in Compete's list of social networks. According to Compete's measurements, Twitter climbed 19 spots last year and has now almost 6 million unique visitors monthly that visit the site around 54 million times during this time.

Twitter is now in the top 5 social networks list, after climbing 19 places in under a year.

However, Twitter's Biz Stone still leaves space for speculation. Although he says the microblogging service will remain free to use by everyone, Twitter is "thinking about adding value in places where we are already seeing traction, not imposing fees on existing services." So basically, all current services will remain free, but future corporate services might not.

Twitter and other social networks like Facebook are still due to come up with a viable business model. But so far, the companies' goal is to gain an even larger user base, which probably at some point will be used as a revenue source.

Southwest details in-flight WiFi plans, announces partnership with Yahoo!

Southwest got official with its WiFi plans late last month, but avid travelers who favor the only airline worth flying anymore (okay, Virgin America and JetBlue aren't bad either) were left wondering about most of the details. Today, the company has fired up a single Row 44-equipped flight, and it has announced plans to equip three more airplanes with in-flight WiFi by early next month. Furthermore, it has nailed down a partnership with Yahoo! in order to offer an in-flight homepage with "destination-relevant content." The service, which has yet to receive final FCC approval, will be tested over the next few months, and if all goes well, we're left to hope, pray and beg that the airline rolls it out fleet-wide. There's no mention of an actual price here, but it would totally rule if it bucked the trend and provided it to everyone for free. Right, everyone?

Modu showcases production phone and accessories

Thought you'd seen the last of Modu, did you? Well, you were dead wrong. Dov Moran and his team have been hard at work -- since we last chatted with them at Mobile World Congress in '08 -- finishing the modular device that was definitely one of the gems of the MWC show. As a recap, the Modu's charm and versatility lays in the fact that the handset proper (pictured left) can be moved from one Modu Jacket (right) to another depending on the type of functionality needed. The heart of the magic lies in the tiny and light -- lightest handset in the world we're told -- Modu phone unit, and while details are thin, we know it has been rebuilt to be tougher, memory has been upped to 2GB, and is running a new UI. Also launching are 4 jackets that Modu slips into: the night jacket, street-art jacket, classic, and express. Each jacket (priced from $25 up to $100) can add features the Modu itself doesn't have, like night imaging, stereo speakers, music functionality, gaming, or just about anything else you can dream up. Dov stands by his hopes to get this thing into peoples hands with 2 jackets for a cool $200, here's hoping they land here soon. Engadget Mobile has the gallery, so feel free to wander over to have a look-see.

Samsung's tiny 120Mbps Wireless USB chipset ready for Q2 launch

Today things are a bit more clear as to why Intel abandoned its own Ultra Wide-Band efforts in favor of off-the-shelf solutions: Samsung just announced its ultra-fast Wireless USB chipset. Samsung's tiny 8 x 8-mm (0.31 x 0.31-inch) chip operates in the traditional 3.1 ~ 10.6GHz Certified Wireless USB space and delivers a relatively blistering 120Mbps data transfer rate (measured, not theoretical) compared to the 50Mbps achieved by current solutions -- that's a single ripped 700MB film transferred in about a minute from a range of about 3 meters. It also features 128-bit AES encryption and other security mechanisms meant to safeguard your data during transmission. The SystemOnChip design consumes 300mW of power and brings a built-in ARM core, UWB (ultra wide-band) physical layer, and memory controller while interfacing with SD cards, MMC, NAND, and USB 2.0 without any additional circuitry. In other words, expect to see Samsung's Wireless USB in digital cameras, MP3 player, speakers and more when these chips hit mass production in Q2.

It's worth noting that Samsung is a member of the Wireless USB Promoter Group that pushes the "Certified Wireless USB" standard. However, with Wireless USB start-up WiQuest out of the picture and zero references made to the standard or use of the group's logo, this might very well be a proprietary grab at the short-range wireless space that has received very little interest from vendors to date. We'll find out more more when Samsung presents its WUSB solution for the first time at Mobile World Congress next week.

Hands-on with Dell's Latitude XT2 tablet

Official word just arrived this morning of Dell's Latitude XT sucessor, the Latitude XT2, and Laptop Magazine's already spent some quality time with the tablet. They note the XT2's aesthetic similarity to the previous model, but point out a few standout upgrades, most notably the 12.1-inch LED backlit capacitive touch-screen, which they say is significantly brighter than the last iteration, and the up to 1.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo ULV SU9400 CPU (with a Montevina chipset). They also point out that the finger navigations are "smooth as butter" -- but hit the read link for full details and video of the tablet in action. The Latitude XT2 is going to have a starting price of $2,399.

iriver P20 PMP priced and dated in Japan

We're still no closer to understanding if iriver's P20 is destined for a US release, but at least the thing's about to ship in one corner of the globe. The company has decided on a February 27th release date in the wonderfully brilliant nation of Japan, where eager PMP shoppers will be able to exchange ¥39,800 ($436) for an 80GB model. For those who've forgotten the details, it sports a 4.1-inch OLED touchscreen (480 x 272), a built-in FM tuner, USB 2.0 connectivity, support for a litany of file formats, an optional card reader for extra expansion and a rechargeable battery good for at least nine hours of playback. Look on the bright side -- you've been itching for an excuse to visit Osaka, right?

[Via Slashgear]

Gallery: iriver P20 PMP priced and dated in Japan

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Intel demos first-ever 32nm processors

Intel had a little roadmap event today to shed some light on its massive $7b fab investment, and the focus was mostly on the upcoming transition to 32nm processors -- highlighted by the first-ever demo of a working 32nm Nehalem-based Westmere chip. It was just a demo, so there aren't any hard benchmarks available, but eventually the tech will show up in the Calpella platform's dual-core Clarkdale laptop processors that integrate two processor cores, a graphics core, and a memory controller all in a chip the size of one 45nm quad-core Clarksfield chip. (Yes, the codenames are confusing as hell.) Intel wouldn't lock down the schedule for any of this stuff, but when we asked them about the rumored Calpella delays we heard about this morning we were told that parts of the platform will definitely go into production sometime in 2009. Video, slides, and the full press release after the break.

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Intel Demonstrates First Working 32nm-based Microprocessor
in Both Mobile and Desktop Systems

Feb. 10, 2009 - At a media briefing in San Francisco today, Intel Corporation discussed new milestones for 32nm manufacturing and progress toward future products. Earlier that day, in Washington, DC, Intel President and CEO Paul Otellini disclosed that Intel is making the largest- ever investment in a single process technology in the United States to support upgrades to advanced manufacturing facilities in the country and the move to its next-generation, 32nm chip manufacturing technology. Intel is investing approximately $7 billion in 2009-10 on 32nm manufacturing technology, raising the total by the end of that timeframe to approximately $8 billion (for 32nm investment in the United States).

Below is a summary of the product roadmap news at the briefing in San Francisco:

First-ever demonstration of a working 32nm-based microprocessor:

• Intel is demonstrating the first 32nm working microprocessor in both mobile and desktop systems.
• Great 32nm process and product health are enabling Intel to accelerate 32nm product ramp
• Westmere mobile and desktop processor production in the fourth quarter of 2009
• 32nm enables increased performance and power flexibility
• Intel processors based on Westmere will ramp into mobile, desktop, and server segments over time, as the 32nm process ramps

For client, Westmere brings Nehalem through Intel's mainstream processor product line

• Increased performance, smaller processor core size
• New multi-chip package with graphics integrated in the processor
• Repartitioned system architecture, simplified motherboards
• Volume ramp; expect 32nm in server market in 2010

Westmere key features

• Intel® Turbo Boost technology
• Intel® Hyper-Threading technology (2 Cores, 4 threads)
• Integrated graphics, discrete/switchable graphics support
• 4MB cache, Integrated Memory Controller (IMC) – 2ch DDR3
• AES Instructions

The 32nm process with second-generation high-k + metal gate transistor era begins
Intel's strength as an integrated device manufacturer allows the company to continue to deliver new generations of advanced process technology on a 2-year cadence. Intel has developed a 32nm logic technology with industry-leading features:

• Second-generation high-k + metal gate transistors
• 32nm marks the first time Intel uses immersion lithography on critical layers
• 9 copper + low-k interconnect layers
• About 70 percent dimension scaling from 45nm generation
• Pb- and halogen-free packages

LG Arena KM900 hangs onto limelight, reveals multitouch capabilities

At this rate, LG isn't gonna have any secrets left about the Arena KM900 when it takes the stage for its Mobile World Congress press conference on Monday. The company's released a few more snippets via its Korean site, chief among them being multitouch capabilities for image and web page zooming. Other details include a dedicated multimedia chip and designations for each of the four sides of the interface's 3D cube: phone, widgets, shortcuts, and multimedia. One of our favorite lines, which is almost certainly made funnier by the machine translation, is that this UI is the culmination of 100 years of interface research. We'll have more on the KM900 -- assuming they don't reveal everything before then -- next week in Barcelona

Decades-Old NASA Concept Art Imagined Slightly More People Living On Space Stations By Now

In the 1970s, NASA conducted a number of summer studies to create artwork depicting the future of space colonies. At 10,000 people, these colonies housed slightly more people than the current three-person ISS crew.

That said, progress is being made. What, with six crew members scheduled for ISS duty in the near future, Earth will have literally doubled the population in orbit.

Google Earth 5.0 Beta Released, Looks Incredible

Acer Aspire One D150 with N270 previewed, now available for US pre-order

The 10.1-inch Acer Aspire One D150 has found its way onto Amazon and J&R's websites and is now available for pre-order in blue and black color options, respectively. This version's got the 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 processor and 6-cell battery, with no word on the 3-cell or 1.66GHz N280 variants. Asking price is three Benjamins and an Ulysses S. Grant, or $350 if you're not into presidential pricing nomenclature. Additionally, the fine folks at netbooknews.de that gave us unboxing photos this week have a video hands-on of the laptop. High expectations from the market leader apparently turned into low marks for the glossy display, small trackpad, and a keyboard that's "separated by universes" -- and not in a good way -- when compared to the Samsung NC10. Further testing is expected later this week, check out the video after the break.

Panasonic's HDC-HS300 HD camcorder reviewed, thoroughly enjoyed

Panasonic's HDC-HS300 was unleashed amidst a flurry of other camcorders at CES this year, but according to Trusted Reviews, it won't be hiding under the shadows of everyone else for long. Rather than bogging you down with details, we'll just get right to the punch -- critics didn't hesitate to suggest that this "could well be the best [consumer] camcorder released all year." The most important aspect (yes, we're talking about image quality) was said to be "nothing short of stunning in virtually all conditions," and low light performance was deemed "particularly amazing." There were plenty of outputs, a swank touchscreen LCD and a very impressive cross-shaped array of microphones that could record 5.1 audio. Add all that up, and you've got a real winner; in fact, these guys suggested that even Canon's stellar line of VIXIA camcorders should watch closely, 'cause the HS300 is stepping all up in that rarefied air.

Nokia launching a Symbian app store at MWC?

Because you're not cool unless you've got an app store, Nokia is reportedly set to join the ranks of Apple, Palm, BlackBerry, Samsung, and pretty much everyone in opening a software portal for its Symbian OS. According to Mobile-Review editor Eldar Murtazin, the Finnish phone maker's already got it running and is testing behind-the-scenes, with a formal announcement to come at the Mobile World Congress. While we'll have to wait until Barcelona to find out with some degree of certainty, at this point we'd be more surprised to see a company not open up an online app shop.

Xbox Live tallies 1 million Netflix Watch Instantly activations, 1.5 billion minutes served

Bad news first: there might be a bit more competition than you expected for that home theater giveaway. Good luck bringing down Netflix's shooting star though, as if last week's good news train wasn't enough comes news that over a million Xbox Live Gold members have already downloaded and activated the Watch Instantly app since its NXE debut last November. That's more than 10% of Netflix's just announced 9.4 million subscribers who've already watched over 1.5 billion minutes of TV and movies through their consoles. They're not the only ones happy, while streaming may be eating into DVD rentals, Xbox Live Marketplace rentals are up 174 percent year over year. The streaming library is up to 12,000 titles, with a "growing percentage" in high definition, for the rest of the celebratory details check the full PR after the break. Nothing left for us to say but congratulations and hey, if you get a minute, could you fix Nilay's HD streaming on the Xbox? Thanks.

For Release 12:01 a.m. PST
Feb. 5, 2009

One Million Xbox LIVE Members Download and Activate Netflix on Xbox360
1.5 billion minutes watched instantly by Xbox LIVE community.

REDMOND, Wash., and LOS GATOS, Calif. - Feb. 5, 2009 - Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: "MSFT") and Netflix Inc. (Nasdaq: "NFLX") today announced that 1 million Xbox LIVE Gold members have downloaded and activated the groundbreaking Xbox LIVE application from Netflix since the alliance launched last November. In less than three months the Xbox LIVE community has watched instantly 1.5 billion minutes of movies and TV episodes.
The Netflix application offers Xbox LIVE Gold members the ability to instantly watch movies and TV episodes from Netflix on a television via the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system. Xbox 360 is the only gaming and entertainment console that lets viewers instantly watch movies and TV episodes streamed from Netflix. Xbox LIVE Gold members who are also Netflix unlimited members can instantly watch movies and TV episodes streamed instantly from Netflix on Xbox LIVE for no additional fee.

"Adding Netflix to our ever-growing library of 30,000 movies and TV shows makes Xbox 360 the best value in home entertainment," said John Schappert, corporate vice president of Interactive Entertainment, LIVE, Software and Services Business at Microsoft. "With over 1 million activations and 1.5 billion minutes watched to date, Netflix is a great win for Xbox living rooms nationwide. These families are getting more entertainment from Xbox 360 than from any other device connected to their TVs."

"Netflix continues to provide its 9.4 million subscribers unprecedented convenience, selection and value," said Netflix Chief Marketing Officer Leslie Kilgore. "With more than 100,000 titles on DVD and 12,000 movies and TV episodes available to watch instantly, there's no better way to enjoy movies than Netflix. As these strong results on Xbox demonstrate, Xbox LIVE is a terrific way for Netflix members to enjoy watching movies instantly on their TVs."

In addition to Netflix in the United States, Xbox LIVE Video Marketplace offers over 17,000 pieces of standard and high-definition (HD) content to the Xbox LIVE community. From December 2008 to January 2009, Xbox LIVE Video Marketplace downloads have grown 174 percent year over year.

More than 12,000 movies and TV episodes are currently available to watch instantly from Netflix, with more on the way. A growing percentage of choices that are available to watch instantly are also available in HD.

The library of movies and TV episodes available to watch instantly from Netflix via Xbox 360 includes scores of Academy Award winners and nominees; a number of popular, currently running and classic TV episodes; more than 20 of the movies rated by the American Film Institute among the greatest ever; and access to the Starz Play service.

Mission One electric motorcycle boasts 150 MPH top speed, extreme price tag

The Mission One EV electric sports bike got a proper unveiling at this week's Technology, Entertainment, Design (TED) conference, and boy does this baby exude power. Mission Motors says the motorcycle's got an 150 MPH top speed and 100 foot-pounds of torque at any point between 0 and 6,500 RPM. That's a good deal faster than the Electric Motorsport GPR-S, which tops out at a now-paltry 100 MPH. The lithium-ion battery keeps it running for 150 miles, and charge time is targeted for under 2 Hours at 240V (8 Hours at 120V). Its stylish form factor comes from famed industrial designer Yves Behar. Yeah, we're excited, too, but here's the part where you flinch: the deathly silent super-scooter will first show up in 2010 with a 50-unit limited edition run costing $68,995 apiece. A more affordable model will be announced sometime this summer. If you've got a need for this much muted speed, be prepared to mortgage a house or two.