Dell’s Hybrid Tablet Coming Next Week [REPORT]

Dell Inspiron Duo, the hybrid tablet that flips open to become a netbook, is due for a launch next week, Cnet has learned from sources familiar with the matter. The Duo is a Windows 7 machine with a dual core Intel Atom CPU, a 10-inch touchscreen, and a full QWERTY keyboard that is revealed when you flip the lid open. Close it, and you have a device that looks and operates pretty much like a regular tablet. According to Cnet, the Inspiron Duo will be launched “early next week,” possibly on November 23. Check out a teaser trailer for Dell Inspiron Duo below. [via mashab...

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Posted in: Dell,Tech

Bit.ly Introduces Bundles: Multi-Link Sharing With One URL

Link-sharing service Bit.ly has just launched a new tool for people who really, really love sharing links. Bit.ly Bundles allow you to package multiple long links in a single shortened URL. This is a highly useful feature with an almost endless string of use cases. You can tweet a string of YouTube videos, e-mail all your Thanksgiving recipes, post a collection of study materials to Facebook — all with just one short URL.You can add multiple links to the Bit.ly entry field; just separate them with a space, then click “shorten” and “bundle” to quickly and simply create an all-in-one package of multiple links. Every link you add will include a rich media preview and Bit.ly’s valuable metrics; your bundle can also be customized with a title...

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Posted in: Bit.ly

Kinect for Xbox 360 Sells 1 Million Units in 10 Days

With any luck, the next house party you attend will feature Dance Central instead of the usual Rock Band fare. Microsoft has just announced it has sold more than 1 million units of Kinect for Xbox 360 worldwide in the first 10 days after the product’s launch. Additionally, Microsoft says it’s pacing to sell more than 5 million units by the end of the year. This news comes just a week after Sony visualized sales figures for its Kinect competitor, PlayStation 3 Move.When you consider that Kinect for Xbox 360 won’t even reach most of Asia until November 18 and Japan until November 20, the 1 million units in 10 days figure is even more impressive. Buoyed by positive reviews and a solid game lineup, Kinect for Xbox 360 is shaping up to be a big...

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Posted in: Kinect,Microsoft

Examining the Security Implications of Facebook Messages

Facebook has officially launched its new “modern messaging system,” and as Mashable’s walkthrough of the new features illustrated, there’s a lot to like about the company’s approach to unifying the social inbox. While Facebook should be applauded for some of the privacy settings built into its new messages system — for example, you can choose against receiving messages from people not on a trusted list — we can’t help but question some of its security implications. The biggest advantage of a system like the new Facebook messages, which involves the ability to aggregate and combine all of your communications channels in one place, also makes our security sense go a little haywire.  Facebook Is Now More of a TargetTo be clear, we’re...

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Posted in: Facebook

Google CEO: Android Is for Touch, Chrome OS Is for Keyboards

Google CEO Eric Schmidt has finally made it clear what differentiates Google’s Android OS from the soon-to-be-released Chrome OS: keyboards. That’s a rather simplified expression of the bigger picture, but ultimately, Google sees Chrome OS as the operating system for traditional computers, such as PCs, netbooks and laptops, which may include touch interfaces but always include keyboards; and the company sees Android as an operating system best suited to mobile devices, which may include keyboards but almost always include touch interfaces.During his talk at Web 2.0 Summit, Schmidt was asked by a member of the audience about Android’s perceived fragmentation. In addition, Schmidt was asked about where Chrome OS should be used vs. Android and...

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Posted in: Android,Google

Apple Announces Mac Pro Server, Kills Xserve

Apple made a number of announcements Friday pertaining to its server market strategy, the most significant of which is that Xserve, its rack-mountable server solution, will be phased out beginning January 31, 2011. At the same time, a new system was introduced to the Apple Store, called the Mac Pro Server. The server comes with an OS X Server unlimited license and is powered by an Intel 2.8GHz Quad-Core processor with 8GB of DDR3 memory. While the Mac Pro Server is on the lower end of the Mac Pro spectrum, it comes with substantially more horsepower than the Mac Mini Server. Nevertheless, given its form factor, it’s likely that the Mac Mini Server will become the primary focus of Apple’s server strategy. Since the Mac Pro Server is boxed...

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Posted in: Apple,Tech

BBC iPlayer App Arrives for BlackBerry

The BBC had made its iPlayer website accessible to BlackBerry users for quite some time, but now UK BlackBerry users have an official app that they can use to catch up on radio and television broadcasts while on the go. The BBC has offered official apps for Nokia’s Symbian platform and an iOS-optimized website since 2008. Earlier this year, the BBC also introduced a BlackBerry shortcut app for its mobile website. The iPlayer website is also unofficially supported on Android 2.2 using Flash 10.1. UK users can download BBC iPlayer for BlackBerry from the BlackBerry App World. The app is free and works on BlackBerry Storm 2, BlackBerry Bold 9700 and BlackBerry Torch 9800 smartphones. The app will work over 3G, but for optimum experience you’ll...

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Posted in: BBC,BLACKBERRY,Entertainment,Smartphone,Tech

Dell Inspiron Duo Gets an Official Teaser Video

If the first thing you say when you try to describe the concept of a tablet computer to someone is “it doesn’t have a keyboard”, you might want to reconsider that description. Dell’s Inspiron Duo is an upcoming tablet that has a full QWERTY keyboard, and Dell has released an official teaser video which makes this concept look really good. The trick is in Inspiron Duo’s flip lid, which places the touch screen on the outside when you close it. Flip it open, and you have a quite standard-looking netbook. Add to that a sexy JBL speaker dock, and you have a very interesting gadget that seems to bridge the gap between a netbook, tablet and a home entertainment device quite successfully. The device should be coming to the market before the end of...

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Posted in: Dell,Entertainment,Tech

China’s State-Owned Mobile Company Joins Linux Foundation

The world’s largest mobile enterprise has just joined the Linux Foundation as a Gold Member. The company in question is China Mobile, the largest and most valuable nationwide telecom enterprise in the world. With 570 million subscribers, it also has the largest user base of any such company. Linux is a collection of free and open-source software; Linux operating systems are the most popular FOSS OSes in the world. The goal of the Linux Foundation is to protect, standardize and promote the Linux platform by giving it the services and features to compete withproprietary software. In an announcement, Linux Foundation Executive Director Jim Zemlin said, “China Mobile’s decision to join The Linux Foundation and their commitment to Linux could...

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Posted in: Cisco,Google,HP,Linux,Smartphone

Here’s What Makes the Xbox Kinect Tick [PICS]

Today was the launch of the much-anticipated Xbox Kinect, Microsoft’s gesture-based, controller-free gaming system. The $150 device is filled with cameras and sensors that detect 3-D gestures and commands with surprising accuracy. What makes the Kinect really tick, though? What’s the magic behind the Kinect’s motion-sensing technology? What has Microsoft packed into its gaming device? Thanks to the people over at iFixit, we’ve got some answers. They’ve torn the Kinect apart (much like they did with the iPad), revealing the guts of the device. Here are some of the highlights: The device has two cameras and an infrared projector. The left camera is infrared (320×240) and the center camera is color (640×480). It utilizes Prime Sense technology...

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Posted in: Kinect,Tip,XBox 360

Google Instant Goes Mobile

A beta version of Google Instant is now available on many U.S. iPhone and Android mobile devices. According to the Google Blog, the Instant search option is presently on Android 2.2 devices, as well as iPhones and iPods running on iOS 4. As of right now, Google Instant is only available in English, although Google plans on adding more languages and bringing the service to other countries and devices. In order to test out Instant’s latest incarnation, one must tap the “turn on” link beneath the search box while visitingGoogle.com on a mobile device. Users are advised to wait for a bit and refresh the page if the “turn on” option isn’t immediately visible. Mobile Google Instant is similar to its desktop counterpart — it offers a list predicting...

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Posted in: Google

Google Chrome Gets Its Own PDF Viewer

For Google Chrome users, viewing PDFs in the browser has been a collosal pain for lo these many moons. That’s why we are (and you should be) thrilled to learn that Google is rolling out a better way to look at PDFs in Chrome. For the time being, Chrome’s built-in PDF viewer will be available through the beta version only. If you’re using the non-beta version of Chrome, you can download the beta to get the PDF-related improvements. Googler John Abd-El-Malek wrote today on the Google Chrome blog, “To open a PDF document, you’d typically need to install additional software or browser plug-in in order to view it in a web browser. “With the integrated Chrome PDF viewer now available in Chrome’s beta, you can open a PDF document in Chrome without...

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Posted in: Google

Stan Schroeder About 2 days ago Stan Schroeder 3 Motorola Droid Pro Pre-Sale Starts November 9 [RUMOR]

An internal document from Verizon suggests that the Motorola Droid Pro will be available for pre-sale at Verizon on November 9 and will arrive in stores on November 18. The document calls the Droid Pro an “iconic device… Projected to be in high demand once officially announced, even before launch.” This is a bit confusing, as another similar document has surfaced that also mentions an “iconic device” without naming the Droid Pro. Could this other “iconic device” be the iPhone 4, which is rumored to be coming to Verizon soon, or does the second document refer to the Droid Pro, or possibly even a third device? We’ll have to wait a little longer to find out. [via Android Centr...

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Posted in: Motorola,Smartphone

Samsung Galaxy Tab Now Available in the UK

As previously announced, the Samsung Galaxy Tab is now available for purchase in the UK.The tablet is available at a variety of prices with various contracts attached, ranging from £99.99 and a £40 monthly plan with a two-year contract, to £499.99 and a £10 one-month Talk Mobile plan at the Carphone Warehouse.The Galaxy Tab should also be coming to the stores of the Dixons Store Group and T-Mobile, as well as other major UK mobile carriers today. [via mashab...

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Posted in: Samsung,Smartphone

“Def Jam Rapstar” Raises the Roof Just Short of Greatness [REVIEW]

SingStar or Guitar Hero for hip hop and rap is an obvious idea, but nobody’s done it right — or really at all — before today. Now PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii gamers have Def Jam Rapstar, an intriguing mash of hip hop sensibilities and social media savvy.Def Jam Rapstar is better than 2004’s Get On Da Mic (the only other release in the category) and leaves little to be desired for rap karaoke hosts and attendees. We’re just disappointed that the innovative social and community features that drew us to the game in the first place do more talking than walking.You can only sort of call this digital karaoke machine a game. The entire gaming experience is gambled on the online features, but they look...

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Posted in: Entertainment

5 Stylish iPhone Alarm Clock Apps to Wake You Up On Time

Although the iPhone’s alarm clock is functional, it has limited features. If you use your phone to wake up in the morning instead of a standalone device, then you’ll want to get the most out of it.There are a large number of alarm clock apps available in the App Store, but, almost unbelievably, not all of them work, and some of them are downright duds.We’ve tried and tested five great alarm clocks apps for the iPhone and iPod touch that can’t make getting out of bed any easier, but at least you’ll be woken in a way of your own choosing.1. Radio AlarmRadio Alarm may be at the higher end of the pricing scale, but it’s a good looking creation that packs in a lot of functionality — you really do get what you pay for (and then some!) with this...

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Posted in: Apple,Entertainment,Social Good

Alternative Search Engine Blekko Launches to Eliminate Spam in Search

Blekko’s alternative search engine — a $24 million venture-backed project that’s been three years in the making — is today launching its public beta. With the official rollout, Blekko is also releasing several new features designed for both mainstream and the site’s super users.As you may recall, Blekko is designed to eliminate spam search results, allowing users to search just a subset of the web through its proprietary slashtag technology.The most significant upgrade to Blekko’s search engine is the addition of slashtags that auto-fire for queries that fall into one of seven categories: health, colleges, autos, personal finance, lyrics, recipes and hotels. Every time a Blekko user’s query is determined to be in one of these...

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Posted in: Blekko,Entertainment