Mac aficionados that also enjoy a pack of Marlboros every now and then might want to keep their smoke as far away from their computer as possible for it appears Apple doesn’t take kindly to the habit. Yesterday, Consumerist ran a story about two customers that were denied warranty repairs to their MacBook and iMac by Apple (both had purchased extended AppleCare warranties) simply because the machines were exposed to second-hand smoke. Both appealed to the office of Steve Jobs to no avail. The strangest thing, however, is the explaination that one received from someone at Jobs’ office: the nicotine released from cigarettes is classified as a bio-hazard by the Operational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and as such, Apple employees are within their rights to refuse to work on a machine that has been in contact with the chemical. The only suggestion Apple offered was to take the computers to be fixed somewhere else on their dime. Obviously these two cases are an anomaly, but the question still remains: should Apple be able to walk away from its obligation as set out in the AppleCare agreement because of a little bit of smoke? Just to be clear, there is nothing in the AppleCare fine print that even comes close to singling out smoking as being prohibited.

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This is just too weird not to post. CNET UK has reported that the Internet has a weight, and by taking the sum total of all peripherals, computers, etc. you can actually formulate a number. So what do the intertubes weight? 498,438,559,990 kilograms to be exact. About 570,937,778 computers are connected to the Internet and are being estimated to weigh in at 22.83 billion kg, while 175,480,931 servers are said to weigh in at 1.75 billion kg. The reported weight also includes 6.075 million kg in iPhones, 6.8 million kg in BlackBerrys, and 87 million kg in cables. Somehow virus’ made the list with a weigh of 287,524 kg — huh? Now, we’re not sure how accurate their estimates are but they describe their report as both “precise” and “scientific.” We’ll let you guys scientifically hash out how precise the numbers are in the comments.

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After RIM’s release of the BlackBerry Pearl 8220 flip-phone it was hard to tell what direction the former candy bar style handset was headed, and rumors of the models demise began to circulate around intertubes. However, the rumors of its death were greatly exaggerated as an updated 3G Pearl has been whispered for months, and it looks like RIM has gone back to the Pearl’s form-factor roots with its latest spin on the classic, the BlackBerry Pearl 9100 — code name Striker or Stratus. The 9100 prototype in question is a GSM device with RIM’s now standard optical trackball, SureType keyboard, 3G, Wi-Fi, and BlackBerry OS 5.0; it also incorporates many of the stylistic changes of the BlackBerry Bold 9700. We’ll stay on top of this one and provide you more details as they become available, but for now there is a short teaser video from salomondrin.net all queued up for you after the bounce.

[Via CrackBerry]

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We can file this one under rumor of a rumor — you’ve been warned — so please, proceed with caution. DigiTimes is reporting that Apple’s yet to be announced tablet device will be delayed until the second half of 2010 due to a last minute design change, specifically, the use of a 9.7″ OLED LG display. The report goes onto say that the delay is a strategic move by Apple due to the current cost of the OLED panels, which currently wholesale for around $500 a pop. The price of LG’s panels are expected to drop significantly in late 2010 as they revamp their production line with newer equipment. The report is oozing with speculation on release dates, price, manufacturer, and potential future models, so we’ll let you check out the dirt for yourself.

[Via Gizmodo]

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For those of you who were completely underwhelmed by the realities of Project Dark and have a fear of post-paid contract rate plans, T-Mobile has something new for you. Say hello to “T-Mobile Complete.” T-Mobile Complete, and the accompanying “Complete Kits”, will come with the phone of your choice and, uh, well…that’s about it. No contracts, commitments, or legalities involved. Now, we know what you are thinking, why is this news? Well, T-Mobile has stated that the BlackBerry 8520 will be included in these plans as well, and for the first time in the States you can get yourself a BlackBerry device and not be locked into a contract. Sounds good to us. Details are still scarce on the exact pricing of the 8520 and the accompanying pre-paid plan, but we’ve heard that the kits will start at $59 with unlimited talk plans starting around $50/month. What do you guys think? Good idea? No details on the T-Mobile website just yet, but you can hit the jump to read about the release.

T-Mobile announces the availability of T-Mobile Complete, a pre-packaged no-annual contract solution that offers the value of a monthly plan and the first pay-in-advance BlackBerry smartphone from a national U.S. carrier.  With T-Mobile Complete, customers can choose from four handsets starting at $59.99, which includes first month free. Customers can also choose from a range of unlimited plans starting at $50 per month. T-Mobile Complete is currently available nationwide at Best Buy and at select Walmart locations.

T-Mobile Complete kits are the easiest way to give phones this holiday season. Just buy the kit, wrap it, give it as a gift, and the recipient can activate service from anywhere, anytime – and they get the first month free! One of the four devices available through T-Mobile Complete is the BlackBerry Curve 8520 smartphone, the first pay-in-advance BlackBerry smartphone available from a national carrier.  Smartphones will be a hot gift option this holiday season – in fact, T-Mobile expects smartphones to account for 40 percent of its sales in the fourth quarter of 2009.

T-Mobile Complete is just one great holiday gift option from T-Mobile.  With a wide array of devices this holiday season – including the broadest lineup of Android smartphones of any carrier in the U.S. – there’s something for every type of customer.

Please let me know if you have questions about this new offering from T-Mobile. For more information on holiday giving, we’re happy provide our guide on how to give smartphones as holiday gifts.

As the prophet Tim “The Tool Man” Taylor used to ask his audience, “what do we want?” More. Power. AMD has just released its dual-GPU ATI Radeon HD 5970 graphics card, and the specs are pretty ridiculous. Aside from having two GPUs capable of 4.64 teraflops of number-smashing goodness, the 5970 also comes standard with a 725 MHz engine processor (which can be overclocked), a 1 GHz memory clock, and 2 GB of GDDR5 RAM. Now, for those of you with 90-inches of screen real estate to fill, the 5970 can output in resolutions all the way up to 7,680 x 1,600. Direct X11, Open GL 3.2, and Open CL 1.0 compliance also made their way onto the stat sheet. Makes you want to fire up Mindsweeper and really put this puppy through its paces, doesn’t it? $599 is the number for this monster, if you haven’t fallen off your chair yet.

P.S. In addition to two DVI ports, the Radeon HD 5970 also includes a Mini DisplayPort

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Canadians that have long been jealous of their Southern neighbours ability to procure an Amazon Kindle need no longer feel hostile, for today Amazon announced it will ship the Kindle to its Canadian customers. To offer over 300,000 books and a wide assortment of international newspapers, a bunch of unique Canadian content has also been added with The Globe and Mail and The National Post having signed up to deliver their dailies to those that wish to subscribe (Canwest’s publications are said to be coming soon if they don’t get visited by the repo man first). The Kindle will set Canadians back $259 USD ($275 CDN) on Amazon’s American website.

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One of our connects just hit us up with some intriguing Apple information. According to them, what you see detailed above is a shot of Apple’s yearly Black Friday deals. It’s reported to be something Apple will email out shortly. This time around, it looks as if Apple will be offering up to 30% off on all iPods (Update: excluding iPhone and iPod shuffle, sorry), up to 25% off Macs, and up to 15% off all accessories as well as Apple software and hardware. The deal is only good for the day of November 27th and if that’s not good enough, “select” Apple stores will open at 6AM. This is unconfirmed but it doesn’t seem too unrealistic. Thoughts?

The BlackBerry 9700 isn’t the only announced handset that is being released today, and for those of you who prefer a phone with a bit more of that international appeal, may we present to you, the Nokia E72. Let’s recap some of the specs for those of you who may have forgotten: 10.2Mbps HSDPA, integrated compass, A-GPS, 3.5mm audio jack, S60 3rd Edition, improved email functionality, and a 5 megapixel auto-focus camera. The Nokia USA store and Amazon are still listing the E72 as “pre-order” but we are hoping to pick up a unit or 12 before the day is out. Anyone out there longing for this new Nokia handset, or have other recent devices stolen all your lust?

[Via Engadget Mobile]

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When we first heard of Microsoft’s Project Natal, our immediate thoughts were about public availability. Sadly, it looks like this hot new hardware is going to marinate for another year before it becomes available to the public in November 2010. Microsoft’s plan is to release the camera unit, which registers body movement so that you are the controller, along with 14 games ready to go. The camera is rumored to cost somewhere between $50 to $80 (and it might actually include those 14 games for that price), which isn’t bad for what Microsoft is trying to accomplish — impulse buys. Why is it going to take so long to release a product that has already been demoed at E3? Well, the 14 compatible games are still being developed and Microsoft is trying to crank out 5 million camera units for launch. And just like refreshing gadgets with new color options, additional hardware and new ways to interface with games will keep the Xbox 360 from becoming outdated any time soon. Hit the jump for a demo ad.

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We know what you’re thinking, the DROID and CLIQ are just too cool, I need something more lame. Well, Motorola has got you covered. Say hello the the MOTO Klassic. This new hotness oddness lameness clamshell will only be available in Korea for the time being but the specs are pretty mind blowing: blazing 2G connectivity, a 5 megapixel camera, external touch screen, and (brace yourself) an “espresso color keypad.” Truth be told, we weren’t completely sold on this one until we read about the espresso colored keypad. So put down those wallets DROID fans, you might want to just wait and see if this hot little number is coming to the good old U.S.A.

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Rumors are flying around the intertubes that Best Buy Mobile and Walmart are willing and ready to sell you your new Motorola DROID a day early. Grab your keys, hop in your mom’s 1986 Honda Civic, and go get em’ tiger. If you manage to commandeer a DROID today be sure to stop back here and let us know where you’ve had success, and you can always link to some pictures of your new toy in the comments. Otherwise, if you’re in the market for a DROID, are you going to be hitting a Verizon Wireless store tomorrow instead of DROID-chasing today?

Thanks, Brezy!

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You already know we smashed this one, but in case you don’t…  Release date? Check. Spy shots? Yes please. Unboxing? Sure. Press release? Well, we figure we would let Verizon handle that one. Today, HTC and Verizon officially announced the November 6th launch of the DROID Eris on the “there’s a map for that” network. This handset has all the goodies: Wi-Fi, GPS, a 5 megapixel camera, 3.2″ touch screen display, and HTC’s Sense UI. The price tag is set at $99 on contract after a $100 mail-in rebate. We’ve given this puppy enough attention, but you can hit the press release for all the minutia.Read

Here’s what Big Red is working with: they’ve offered up a BOGO sale on all new BlackBerrys for the holiday buying season, and where some see a great deal, others see a great opportunity. Why not play a game of Flip My BlackBerry? Why not open a second line, get a brand new Tour or Storm 2, pay the cancellation fee on the new line of $175, and sell the device on eBay for $300 or more? Well it looks like Verizon has finally caught onto our the little game. A new connect has emerged with a few documents and it looks like starting on November 15th Verizon will be charging up to $350 as an early termination fee on “advanced devices.” This new “improved” fee does have a minute silver lining (if you can even say that): for every month of service completed, the $350 sum will decrease by $10. No word yet on what an “advanced device” constitutes but we can use our imaginations to figure it out. What do you think? Anyone considering abandoning plans to buy the DROID after hearing this news, or are you just going to get yours before November 15th? Or will you actually be an honest person and actually honor the contract you sign?

Thanks, GetOverIt7!

Are you one of those annoying people who constantly have a Bluetooth earpiece in your ear? Does it make you sad inside that the battery on your mobile device runs out so quickly? Well it looks like Texas Instrument may be looking to change things. TI recentley demoed its “Bluetooth low energy open standard” in Munich, and when they say “low powered” they mean low powered. The technology, based on the CC2540 single-mode system-on-chip, can operate a Bluetooth radio for “over a year” on a single button cell battery; similar to the ones used in watches and hearing aids. While TI insists this will open the doors for Bluetooth enabled kitchen tables, can-openers, and sofas, we’re more excited about the mobile implications. Would this low power option make you use Bluetooth more often?

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Had enough Android goodness yet? Good, neither have we. While we don’t have many new details on this one we do have an image — and isn’t an image worth 1,000 words after all? This HTC, Verizon branded, touch-screen Android handset has been brought to light (in a very low light setting) by a new connect. All they could provide (other than the pic) was that it was extremely fast, similar in size to Sprint’s Hero, and was sporting the luscious Sense UI.

Thanks, nmc1way!

T-Mobile UK has taken the Android love to the contract-deficient masses. The Huawei manufactured Pulse sports a 3.5″ touchscreen, 3G, WiFi, GPS, 3.2 megapixel camera, and 2G of memory — not bad for a prepaid ditty. The Pulse will set you back 176 quid across the pond, that’s about $292 for those of us still using the imperial system of measurement, and is on sale today. We love the idea of a fully featured handset on a pre-paid platform — we’re hoping the trend catches on.

[Via TalkAndroid]

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Remember when The Wall Street Journal said that Dell was working on an Android MID? Well it turns out that it was bang on as today images and a video of a prototype device known as the Streak emerged by way of everyone’s favorite Vietnamese mobile site. Running Android 2.0, the Streak boasts 3G and Wi-Fi connectivity, a 5″ WVGA multitouch capacitive display, 5 megapixel camera with dual-LED flash, Bluetooth, microSD and a 1300 mAh battery. Looking through all of the pictures, we couldn’t help notice what looks to be the spitting image of a front-facing camera for checking ones hair video calling, but then again it could just be the worst ambient light sensor ever. Enough talk. Hit the jump for a ton of pics and a video, because the Streak cries out to be seen.

Its been a while since Apple updated their consumer line of Macbooks and iMacs — don’t even get us started on the Mac Mini — so it comes as no surprise that when the store when down this morning there was some new hardware hiding behind the curtain. The updated Macbook now has a thinner form factor, familiar plastic body construction with cleaner beveled edges, multitouch trackpad, and will feature a 2.26 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor. The biggest performance increase would have to be in the graphics department, a NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics processor with 256MB of DDR2 SDRAM (shared) is now powering the 13.3″ screen. The revamped iMac will still have its svelte, familiar form but will now pack a 21.5-inch LED back lit display and sport a 3.01 or 3.33 GHz Intel C2D processor. Not fast enough for you? Upgrade to the 27-inch LED display and you can rock out with the quad-core Intel i5 running at 2.66 GHz or the i7 running at 2.8 GHz. The iMac will have 4 DIMM slots and support up to 16GB of memory. The Mini got a pathetic quick refresh in March but hasn’t seen any major form-factor or feature upgrades in recent year (yes, years). The new Mac Mini, gets the same neglect.  Although it does get the same 256MB 9400M NVIDIA chip as the new Macbook the thrills pretty much end there.  Upgraded hard drive storage and L2 cache just aren’t that exciting. Last, the best always comes last, the Mighty Magic Mouse. How about some gesture-based GUI navigation for your carpal tunnel? The Magic Mouse supports two fingered scrolling, swiping, and other advanced gestures all without the use of buttons.  Check  out the hotness!

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We know it’s coming — Verizon’s CEO is flashing it to random college students around NYC, RIM is updating BIS infrastructure, and there’s been a ton of release dates flying around. However, it now looks like Verizon Wireless’ web team is jumping on the Storm 2 bandwagon as well. Last night the Storm Part Deux made it’s debut on the VZW website — all 360 degrees of it. Take er’ for a spin, won’t you? Also, if you’re up for it, we’d love to know if you are an original Storm owner and are planning to get the new Storm2 over the BlackBerry Tour or Motorola Droid. Hit us up!

Thanks, Jason!

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To be perfectly honest we’re surprised it took this long. Reports are surfacing that Apple is now shipping a new bootrom with the iPhone 3GS that is resistant to the 24kpwn exploit used by the Dev-Team and others to jailbreak the iPhone. DevTeam member MuscleNerd confirms that the bootrom update, dubbed iBoot-359.3.2, would make jailbreaking new iPhone’s “impossible” for the time being. Man, does Apple hate when people muck with the iPhone or what! Your move Dev Team — and godspeed. Or maybe our ninja GeoHot can find a way around it? We’ll see!

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In case you thought you were imagining things before, Bell Canada will definitely be adding the iPhone to its lineup following on the heels of the Palm Pre and BlackBerry Bold. Canada’s largest network has a splash page in place but no release dates have been leaked just yet. Where are our Canadian connects at? We’ll keep you updated as usual when there’s more to report.

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As of this week, it’s no longer business as usual for NVIDIA as the company has halted the production and development of its nForce line of chipsets until its legal issues with Intel are sorted out. Although the two companies have played well so far in Mac hardware, Intel brought a lawsuit against NVIDIA earlier this year to prevent it from making Intel-compatible chips. Not a very nice move from Intel, but NVIDIA has been making a pretty penny at Intel’s expense. We’re hoping this gets sorted soon because Apple’s use of Intel processors isn’t going to end any time soon, and it’s clear that the Mac line has done well with NVIDIA GPUs. Robert Sherbin of NVIDIA has this to say:

We firmly believe that this market has a long healthy life ahead. But because of Intel’s improper claims to customers and the market that we aren’t licensed to the new DMI bus and its unfair business tactics, it is effectively impossible for us to market chipsets for future CPUs. So, until we resolve this matter in court next year, we’ll postpone further chipset investments.

In the meantime, what’s a chipmaker who won’t be making chips supposed to do?

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Following a report pinning October as the likely month ASUS’ highly anticipated Eee Keyboard would finally reach market, it looks as though Asustek CEO Jerry Shen has finally confirmed what we’ve been waiting to hear. The almost-all-in-one Eee Keyboard we’ve had an unhealthy obsession with since January is finally set launch next month in Europe and North America. While pricing is still forthcoming, we’re still under the impression that a base price under $500 should become a reality. Spec highlights include:

• Self-contained PC / keyboard combo with integrated 5-inch touchscreen display
• OS: Windows XP Home Edition (though the one benefit of the delays may end up being Windows 7 at launch)
• 1.6GHz Intel Atom microprocessor
• 1GB of DDR2 DRAM
• 16GB or 32GB SSD
• Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n
• Bluetooth 2.0
• Ultra Wideband HDMI
• USB 2.0 x2, VGA, HDMI, headphone and mic ports
• Weight: 2 lbs

We’ll say it one last time: we need it.

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Having theoretically learned something from the N810 WiMAX Edition debacle, Nokia now seems to be letting the market dictate where wireless technology is headed as opposed to trying to cut competition off at the pass. The result: a focus on future-ready products as opposed to tablets no one wants with a broadband connectivity option no one has. This morning Nokia announced the successful trials and partner availability of its RD-3 internet modem. The RD-3 is a modem component that supports an array of GSM/EDGE, WCDMA/HSPA and of course LTE bands, making it an ideal development tool for network vendors, OEMs and operators. Nokia, paving the way for LTE development and adoption… We like it.

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A quick break from our regularly scheduled programming to bring our photogs in the audience some steamy gratuitous camera leak action. It looks as though Nikon’s dSLR and lens roadmap for the remainder of 2009 through the end of 2010 may have come to light and to say there are some juicy morsels lined up is a gross understatement. New bodies, 14 new lenses from Q3 2009 through Q3 2010, Full-HD video recording galore, a 30.2 megapixel beast likely in time for the 2010 holiday season… Suffice it to say this rumored roadmap is not lacking in the action category. In short, if this is the real deal — we likey. Hit the jump for the skinny and if anything manages to catch your eye, we highly recommend you start saving today.

August 4 introduction: (Apparently the end of July presentation is for compact cameras)

• Nikon D3000
• Nikon D300s with Full-HD movie 24 fps, improved AF, self timer + mirror-up, cf + sd-slot
• AF-S DX 17-65/3.2-4 G VR with 72(!) mm filter

October 15 presentation:

• Nikon D700x with 24.5 MP, Full-HD movie 24 fps, improved AF and self timer + mirror-up
• AF-S Nikkor 24-135mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR (The FX-dream-walk-around-lens?)
• AF-S Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II (What everybody waited for! 82 mm filter, 1530 g)
• AF-S Nikkor 35mm f/1.4G
• AF-S Nikkor 85mm f/1.4G (No VR?)

Q1/2010:

• AF-S Nikkor 14-28mm f/3.5-4.5G ED
• AF-S Nikkor 120-450mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR II (Replacement for 80-400? 82 mm, 1480 g)

Q2/2010:

• Nikon D4 with 15.7 MP, improved 1 EV, Full HD-movie 30fps
• Nikon D400 with 13.8 MP, improved 1 EV, Full HD-movie 24fps

Q3/2010:

• AF-S Nikkor 300mm f/4G VR (On the waiting list for many!)
• AF-S Nikkor 400mm f/5.6G VR (Have been missing a long time!)
• AF-S Nikkor 70-240mm f/3.5-4.5G VR (The missing medium size telezoom!)
• AF-S Nikkor 105mm f/2G DC (A small surprise. No VR?)
• AF-S Nikkor 24-85mm f/4G VR
• AF-S DX Nikkor 60-95mm f/2G VR (The DX dream-telezoom!)
• AF-S DX Nikkor 17-60mm f/2.8G VR (Replacing 17-55 with addition of VR)
• Nikon Coolpix P1DX with DX 12.3 MP stabilised sensor, 28-85/3.5-5.6 zoom (comparable to FX, actually 18-56), 2.9 inch 920k-display, movable upwards for macro.

Q4/2010:

• Nikon D4X with 30.2 MP with 1 EV improved sensitivity

[Via Nikon Rumors]

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Considering how much Apple loves to tout the iPhone 3GS’ video capabilities in TV ads, this rumor makes plenty of sense. One of TC’s sources in Asia claims Apple has ordered a tremendous number of cameras — the kind that go into the iPhone — and that an order of this quantity can only mean one thing: iPods. If the cameras are really intended for iPods and the iPod touch gets video recording capabilities, low-end digital camera manufacturers and specialty companies like Flip might have a bumpy road ahead. Sure the photo/video quality in an “iPod touchS” wouldn’t be anywhere near comparable to a dedicated device but what does that matter? Novelty beats out quality all the time in this day and age.

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Aww, crap. Just when we thought we were finally going to be able to get our hands on the ASUS Eee Keyboard, an ASUS marketing executive had to go and ruin the fun. Apparently the Eee Keyboard will not be launching by the end of this month as expected, but sometime in August instead. The reason for the delay? ASUS has yet to fully work out how it is going to market the mind-numbingly cool computer, which is more or less a positive way to say that its scared that one wrong decision will jeopardize its potential for success. Regardless, we want 10 and we want them now.

[Via Pocket-Lint]

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Nokia and Intel announced a collaborative effort today that will empower the next generation of mobile devices — according to Nokia and Intel at least. Each company will brings its respective expertise to the table in an effort to develop devices that will combine Intel’s low-power mobile chipset architecture with Nokia’s wireless broadband connectivity technologies. The collaboration will focus on and accelerate development in several open source mobile Linux software projects, including Moblin and Maemo. Everything else aside, we were looking for a bit more substance from this release beyond typical vague PR speak but alas… Nokia and Intel have worked together for quite some time. They’re going to continue to work together. That is all.

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Taiwan-based chip manufacturer JMicron is reportedly preparing to make a splash next month at Computex 2009 when it debuts its latest breakthrough NAND flash controller. The JMF612, successor to the company’s JMF602 pictured above, represents one of several technological advancements that could combine to substantially reduce Solid State Drive (SSD) pricing in the near future. The JMF612 is designed for a new breed of SSD drives that will be smaller, faster and cheaper to manufacture. Combined with an inexpensive single-chip controller such as JMicron’s, SSDs should become much more accessible and affordable — with drive pricing possibly impacted as soon as this holiday season. What’s more, the blazing speed of the JMF612 may very well lead to the introduction of a 1TB SSD as the chip’s improved efficiency will allow for larger drive sizes. JMicron is expected to begin mass production of its new controller in July.

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