Last week we told you that Acer would be joining the ranks of companies like Asus who wish to dominate the realm of super-small laptops. They hope to launch their 8 or 9-inch ultra portable by the end of the quarter, or the beginning of next at the latest. In response to Acer’s announcement, Gigabyte has released a statement saying that they too wish to compete in this market. Like Acer, they haven’t released a lot of information regarding their future ultra portable, though we do know it will be Intel-based and feature a 7 to 9-inch screen. (Read the full post about ‘Gigabyte announces Eee PC competitor’…)

If you had just three fewer hoops to jump through for HBO on Broadband, it’d be an amazing service. So, if you have Time Warner in Wisconsin, HBO on Demand and Roadrunner broadband (and Windows), you can download to your PC as much as you want from a catalog of 600 shows and movies they’ll throw up every month, plus there’s a live feed of HBO on the East Coast. Awesome right? But then we’ve got the DRM/studio content restrictions: No transfer to portable devices or burning, and content automatically withers off of your computer when it hits the expiration date in 4-12 weeks. Better than the iTunes timeframe nonetheless. And that whole Roadrunner requirement, it’s totally literal, as in you can only pick up new content while connected to Roadrunner. (Read the full post about ‘HBO on Broadband: All-You-Can-Eat Movie and TV Downloads [Hbo]’…)

newVideoPlayer(”airmultitouch.flv”, 475, 306,”"); We think this is pretty obvious, but AppleInsider says they’ve received info that the MacBook Pros will also be getting the MacBook Air’s multi-touch trackpad feature (which we got hands-on of here). The feature was supposed to be rolled out in another refresh for the MBP line around Macworld, but was delayed in order to get the Macbook Air out on time. There’s no good reason why the Pros won’t get a feature like this (or why Apple would make this exclusive to the Air), so we’re going to go ahead and say don’t buy a Macbook Pro until after the upcoming refresh. [Apple Insider] Tags: hdtv, TV, AAC, gadgets (Read the full post about ‘MacBook Pros Getting MacBook Air’s Multi-touch Trackpad [Laptops]’…)

The Samsung LNT5265F is the largest avaliable model from the Samsung 65F series, at a very large 52-inches. Other models in the 65F series are the 40-inch and 46-inch. If large and stylish is what you are going for, then the Samsung LNT5265F (LN-T5265F) should suit you very well. Style wise, it looks very smart and stylish with it’s thin black frame, with a cool blue light at the bottom center of the set. This light can be programmed to be on when the HDTV is on, on when in standby, or off all the time if you find it too distracting. Offering a full HD resolution of 1080p (1920 x 1080p) the Samsung LNT5265F LCD screen offers the highest HD format resolution avaliable for the very best in HD quality. (Read the full post about ‘Samsung LNT5265F’…)

Thrilling Monday morning news: Crappy phonemaker Kyocera is acquiring crappy phonemaker Sanyo’s mobile business for $3.7 billion. Kyocera will keep pumping out Sanyo-branded products, so Katana fans needn’t weep into the night. [Press Release]

Tags: plasma, gadgets, players, mobile devices

Willcom has released the X Plate cell phone that comes with W-OAM technology (Willcom-Optimized Adaptive Modulation) that enables a Japan-only handset to be used in China, Thailand or Taiwan as long as you have the proper PIM card. The X Plate offers on its platter (no pun intended) Internet browsing, Java and Flash support, and a 1.8″ display, all crammed into a body that measures 47.3mm x 11.5mm x 110mm while weighing 64 grams. Tags: speaker, DVD, home cinema, speakers (Read the full post about ‘Willcom X Plate Phone’…)

Our pals over at Tokyoflash have given us the scoop on their newest, ultra chic watch model. The new design, which will go by the Tibida moniker, boasts forty-two white LEDs in its display. Sure, it looks completely outrageous, but we have come to expect nothing less. Hit the gallery below to check out what KITT would look like if he was involved in a serious road traffic incident, written-off by the insurance company and then reincarnated into a time keeping device with supernatural quantities of cool.galleryPost(’toktibgi’, 3, ”); The name Tibida indicates the three modes the watch can be put in; time, binary and date. Yes, it displays binary—Woz would be proud. So, how does it work? (Read the full post about ‘Tokyoflash Tibida Brings Sexy and Geeky Together in Spectacular Fashion [Exclusive]’…)

Looks like Apple lovers are dime a dozen, and they would automatically defend to the death any negative press about their beloved company. For such dedication, Steve Jobs ought to reward these faithful fans (hopefully he doesn’t call them rude) with the iRing from Victor Solo. Currently a concept, this ring comes with a touch-sensitive band that controls media playback as well as volume. It will communicate with the iPhone/iPod using Bluetooth connectivity, but it makes me wonder how so many electronics and a battery can be stored in something so small.

(Read the full post about ‘iRing Concept’…)

Posted Jan 21st 2008 3:41AM by Evan BlassFiled under: Misc. GadgetsFujitsu Limited, which is known for many fine products from laptops to degaussers, is allegedly poised to spin off one business it is not so well known for, its semiconductor division. (Read the full post about ‘Fujitsu will spin off chip division, say reports’…)

Posted Jan 21st 2008 6:41AM by Thomas RickerFiled under: Portable VideoIt may be exceptionally easy to use, but rolling out Apple’s iTunes movie rental service to Europe will be no easy task. This according to a piece just published by the The New York Times. Despite known collectively as Europe, the EU’s 27 member countries remain a patchwork of convoluted regulatory fragments related to digital media. For example, in The Netherlands, it remains uniquely and ambiguously legal to download, but not upload, copyrighted material. Release schedules also vary widely across Europe — sometimes releasing the same day as in the US or months later. (Read the full post about ‘iTunes movie rentals in Europe on a slow boat to China’…)