Just  a little while ago Apple issued a news release that they have filed a suit against HTC, alleging that the company is infringing on 20 patents, like iPhone’s user interface, underlying architecture, and hardware.  We just have to sit back, and wait for more details to unfold!

CUPERTINO, California—March 2, 2010—Apple® today filed a lawsuit against HTC for infringing on 20 Apple patents related to the iPhone’s user interface, underlying architecture and hardware. The lawsuit was filed concurrently with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) and in U.S. District Court in Delaware.

“We can sit by and watch competitors steal our patented inventions, or we can do something about it. We’ve decided to do something about it,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We think competition is healthy, but competitors should create their own original technology, not steal ours.”

Apple reinvented the mobile phone in 2007 with its revolutionary iPhone®, and did it again in 2008 with its pioneering App Store, which now offers more than 150,000 mobile applications in over 90 countries. Over 40 million iPhones have been sold worldwide.

Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Today, Apple continues to lead the industry in innovation with its award-winning computers, OS X operating system and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also spearheading the digital media revolution with its iPod portable music and video players and iTunes online store, and has entered the mobile phone market with its revolutionary iPhone.

Google is planning to unveil an all new social product Today at 10AM that will integrate with at least two existing Google products.  Some details emerged earlier today on the Wall Street Journal (“a new feature that makes it easier and faster for users of Gmail to view media and status updates”).  From the rumors that we have heard, this product will go far beyond a Gmail integration.  Sounds very exciting.

Will this be a Facebook rival?  We will have to wait and see for the complete announcement!

Finally a long awaited Apple iPad has been unveiled, but is it all it cracked out to be?  Well lets first take a quick look at what it has, and then we can look at what it lacks.  Then you cam make your own decision weather this device is for you or not.

• The device is half-inch thick and weighs at 1.5 pounds
• 9.7-inch capacitive touchscreen IPS LCD display
• Custom 1GHz Apple “A4″ chip
• 10-hour battery life and a month of standby
• Will come in flavors of 16, 32, and 64GB
• 30-pin Dock connector
• speaker
• microphone
• Bluetooth
• 802.11n WiFi
• 3G (optional) Service through ATT Wireless
• accelerometer and a compass

Just like iPhone and iTouch, the iPad is managed by iTunes.  As promissed, it can run (most) iPhone apps ether in pixel-for-pixel or or pixel-doubled fullscreen mode.  As mentioned above, 3G version of iPad will run on AT&T network, and can be had with one of the new data plans, 250MB for $14.99 or an unlimited plan for $29.99 a month (contract-free), so you can activate and cancel whenever you want.  There are no details on the international service just yet.

The iPad will come at different pricing, $499 for 16GB, 32GB for $599, and $699 64GB.  A 3G option will set you back another $130,  so the most expensive model (64GB / 3G) will cost you $829.  The WiFi-only model will ship in 60 days, and the 3G models will come in 90.

Now for things that everyone would have liked to see but are missing:

• There’s no multitasking.  this a a huge disappointment!
• No built in camera. Which means No video conferencing.
• iPhone OS 3.2 (why?)
• No Flash support! What aret hey thinking about???
• No memory slot for any kind of external expansion.

Well we gave you the details on what it has and what it lacks (some major lacking there), but at the end of the day it is up to you to decide whether this device is for you.  Let us know what you think.

Source:  GDGT, Engadget

According to the latest press release by Microsoft, you will be able to watch TV on Windows 7 PCs.  The details are not very clear on weather any special hardware like a tuner will be required, but when you upgrade to Mediaroom 2.0, Media Center will have access to all the content like HD and on-demand, which is very nice idea.  

For a complete list of details read the press release below.

Source: Microsoft

LAS VEGAS — Jan. 6, 2010 — With the announcement of Microsoft Mediaroom 2.0 today at the 2010 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Microsoft Corp. has shown the world the future of TV entertainment.

Subscription TV services, powered by Microsoft Mediaroom 2.0, will take viewers where they haven’t been before by extending TV experiences across multiple screens, including the PC, TV and mobile phone. The Mediaroom software supports whole-home digital video recording, on-demand capabilities, access to both operator-hosted content and Internet TV, and interactive applications. Mediaroom 2.0 combines client software with cloud-based services to provide viewers with access to a world of great content on the big flat screen in their living room, the PC in their office, and even the smartphone in their pocket.

The past few years have seen major innovations in the ways television content is distributed and consumed. Perhaps the biggest change is the widespread availability of mainstream television programming online. A growing number of consumers now use a PC as a secondary screen for watching TV, and in some cases a PC may be their only TV screen. In the process consumers are coming to expect more diverse access to their ever-growing collections of content. The Microsoft vision for the future of TV is taking advantage of this trend.

“Our strategy with Mediaroom is to combine the power of client software and cloud-based services to greatly enhance the way consumers experience digital entertainment,” says Enrique Rodriguez, corporate vice president for the TV, Video and Music Business at Microsoft. “We want to make it easier for consumers to find and discover great content, to watch, listen and engage in new ways, and to do so anywhere and on any screen. Mediaroom 2.0 is a key milestone in our strategy, providing the software platform to power operators’ service clouds to reach more screens, and more people, with more content than ever before.”

While the original version of Mediaroom enabled services to be viewed on TV set-top boxes and on Xbox 360 game consoles, Mediaroom 2.0 alleviates the need for operators to deploy redundant systems, allowing them to expand the reach of their television service to include Windows 7-based PCs via Windows Media Center, Web browsers on both Macs and Windows-based PCs and, in the future, compatible smartphones. Mediaroom 2.0 also gives TV service operators the ability to reach beyond their managed IPTV networks, extending their television services to their unmanaged broadband networks. As a result, operators have the ability to offer content from a vast number of television and Internet sources, and deliver it to more viewers in more places than ever before.

All of this gives people more freedom in where and how they access their entertainment, while also providing a familiar, consistent experience. For example, subscribers could start watching a show on one screen and finish watching it on another. They could also build a video queue on a smartphone and watch the content later on a TV or PC. While traveling they could watch a recorded TV program on a smartphone and later watch an on-demand feature film in HD on a laptop all via Mediaroom 2.0 enabled TV services.

A really hyped Nexus One Smartphone (previously known as Google Phone) is finally launched. 

The phone is powered by Snapdragon processor and built by HTC.  The phone specs look very promising and the phone itself looks very sleek, but nothing ground breaking. 

Everyone expected this phone to be very sexy, but did Google Succeed?  Well The phone looks very sleek but the beauty is always in the eye of the beholder.  It sort of looks like a stretched version of Palm Pre with a trackball in the middle minus the keyboard.  The body of the handset is dark gray with lighter gray outer wrapper. 

The thickness of the phone is 11.5mm, and it measures at 59.8mm by 119mm.  In the front of the device there are four touch-sensitive buttons (back, menu, home, and search).  On the left side there are volume button, sleep / wake / power button on the top, and a 3.5mm headphone jack, and on the bottom there’s a micro-USB port.

On the back of the phone you will find the a 5 megapixel camera and LED flash, which we hear takes some very nice pictures. 

Nexus One will run on 1GHz Snapdragon CPU from Qualcomm.  As far as the internal memory, the phone has 512MB of both RAM and ROM.  The display is an AMOLED, 480 x 800 capacitive touch screen.  Some other features that the phone has are light sensor, proximity sensor, and accelerometer, and an HSPA-capable GSM radio (AT&T users will be out of luck), WiFi, and a microSD slot (which comes with a 4GB card, but is expandable to 32GB).

The pricing for Nexus One is set for $529.99 without contract, and $179 with a two-year agreement with T-Mobile.  Not really sure why Google decided to limit themselves to T-Mobile, but I guess future will show.

Source: Engadget

As a result, it features the same highly acclaimed speed and ease of use that have made wondertouch products so popular with more than 10,000 compositing artists around the world. In addition, pIAE provides access to the thousands of existing wondertouch emitters — downloadable presets designed to allow users to effortlessly create natural, high-quality effects such as smoke, fire, explosions, sparkles, fireworks and countless abstract effects — without ever leaving the After Effects environment.

ParticleIllusion for After Effects features include:

• The same emitter search engine found in wondertouch particleView
• Access to all top-level particle parameters, including size, life, number, velocity, etc. to further customize the particles for each project
• OpenGL-accelerated rendering
• Full support for HD content
• The ability to load most of the more than 2,800 existing particleIllusion emitters in After Effects, including the popular “Pro Emitters”

“particleIllusion for After Effects is the particles solution we’ve been waiting for,” said Ernest Chan, Post Production CG Supervisor at Nickelodeon Animation Studios. “We are huge fans of the incredible ease of use and high-quality output that wondertouch products have delivered for years. Now, we get all those benefits in a more streamlined workflow that maximizes our creativity while minimizing our support costs. particleIllusion for After Effects is the right product at just the right time.”

Artists using particleIllusion for After Effects can gain even greater control by using it in conjunction with particleIllusion 3.0. An excellent companion to pIAE, particleIllusion 3.0 grants access to all emitter settings and lower-level parameters such as color gradients, particle images, initial angle settings, and so on. Artists can also create new emitters and libraries, or move emitters between libraries using particleIllusion 3.0.

“particleIllusion 3.0 as a standalone application has earned its reputation by allowing customers to create stunning, natural effects that they would never have the time or resources to accomplish with other tools,” said Alan Lorence, creator of particleIllusion. “particleIllusion for After Effects further enhances artists’ creativity by offering convenient, intuitive access to our amazing preset library without having to leave the After Effects environment.”

Pricing and Availability:

• Regular pricing for particleIllusion for After Effects is $299
• Existing particleIllusion 3.0 users can purchase particleIllusion for After Effects for $179
• particleIllusion for After Effects BUNDLED with particleIllusion 3.0 can be purchased for $579
• particleIllusion for After Effects BUNDLED with all 12 Pro Emitter libraries can be purchased for $499
• particleIllusion for After Effects BUNDLED with particleIllusion 3.0 AND all 12 Pro Emitter libraries can be purchased for $799

particleIllusion for After Effects is available immediately for Windows users, and will be available in Q1 2010 for Macintosh users. Visit http://www.wondertouch.com to order online or to find a reseller.

About wondertouch by GenArts:
wondertouch by GenArts is an award-winning software developer specializing in particle effects for the visual effects industry. The company’s flagship product particleIllusion, a sprite-based particle effects application, is designed to provide the most comprehensive effects creation tool and efficient workflow. Considered one of the most popular solutions for effects creation, particleIllusion is now used worldwide by creative professionals working in film post-production and pre-visualization, standard and HD video, commercial broadcast, motion graphics and game content creation.

Engadget (Official CES 2010 Blog)

SlashGear

CNET

Lots of new products are expected to be announced at the show, so stay tuned for more information and details.

Notion Ink has released some more information regarding their future upcoming tablet named Adam.  

Some of these specs are:

Company is now discussing a 3G testing with Indian and US services that are compatible with AT&T’s networks, and the planned release date is June 2010.  The release date is a little far away so that makes us somewhat unhappy, but I am sure that there will be other Pixel Qi devices on the market prior to June.  There are few great features that will be great in this tablet, but one big advantage that it may have if the roomer holds is its price tag.  The price is rumored to be aggressively low at just $321.  This may be hard to beat.  But we will have to wait and see the official release information. Source: SlashGear

We have put together a list of gadgets that we feel would make any gadget and electronics lover jump for joy once they open their present and receive one of these:

1.  Amazon Kindle – Is a leader in e-book market.  It is very simple to use, and yet has enough gadgets to tech to impress almost any gadget geek.  There is a physical keyboard for ease of typing, and you can even browse the web 9basic text browsing).  there is plenty of content that can be downloaded directly through Amazon, paid and free, and it does support PDF format so you can upload your own documents.  

2.  Barnes & Noble Nook – This is a new e-book reader that is trying to give a very tough competition to the above mentioned Amazon kindle.  Current you can only pre-order the Nook, but some of the lucky people may actually receive it before Christmas.  The biggest difference with this device is its dual-screen interface, open format support.  If you tend to find yourself at Barnes & Noble a little much this device maybe for you.  

3.  Archos 5 Internet Tablet - Archos 5 Internet Media Tablet is not just another media player and internet device, it is also a GPS navigation.  This is a perfect gift with many features in one great package for all those garget lovers. 

4.  Apple iPhone 3GS – If you know someone who has been on the market for an iPhone but has not gotten one just yet, and you would like to be the one who can make it happen, Apple offers gift cards specifically for the phone, which makes it a relatively painless process for the one that you would like to give this perfect gift for.

5.  Motorola Droid – This is another great gift for this holiday season.  The Droid has Android 2.0, a beautiful capacitive WVGA display, 5 megapixel cam with LED flash, and OMAP3 processor.  Perfect gift for those hat would like to jump on the Android bandwagon.

6.  Lenovo X200 Multitouch Tablet – There are plenty of touch screen laptops out there, but what sets all of them apart is the Lenovo’s X200t new 12.1-inch multitouch capacitive display, 1.4GHz Intel SU9400 Core 2 Duo and 2GB of RAM just a start.  Most of these specs can be upgraded.  Not to mention that this is a sexy little tablet.

7.  Apple 13-inch MacBook Pro – if you are a MAC lover or the person who you would like to get this gift for, you may want to look in to an all new aluminum MacBook Pro. it has a very solid construction, a  very nice screen, Core 2 Duo processor and NVIDIA 9400M graphics processor.  it will be able to handle almost anything you can throw at it.  You know you can run Windows on it as well right?

8.  Canon EOS 7D – Canon EOS 7D is a big brother of the T1i.  Not only is it a really nice DSLR camera with dual DIGIC IV processors, and 18 megapixel sensor, it is also a great video camera that can shoot 1080P.  It has a great low light performance, and it will not completely break your bank (well for some of you that is). 

9.  JVC HD Everio GZ-HM400- With a  capability of full HD recording, a 10.3 megapixel sensor, and 32GB internal storage with SD / SDHC expansion, makes this camcorder a great gift.  if you are in to sports and video shooting that requires high frame rate shooting, then 600fps, 300fps and 120fps slow motion capabilities will certainly get your heart racing.  

10.   Kodak’s Zi8 HD – Zi8 pocket camcorder boasts 1080p recording, in addition to face tracking, image stabilization, a 2.5-inch LCD display, and SD card slot. YouTube uploading, and Facebook support, too.  Its a great little gift and can be purchased for under $180.