It wasn't supposed to exist. "The" Google Phone. Then we (and others) heard otherwise. And now, Google isn't just handing this "sexy beast" out to employees, they're going to sell it directly. Everything has changed. Here's what we know. • The Wall Street Journal says it's made by HTC and called the Nexus One. It'll be sold online, directly by Google. You'll have to get your own cell service (which suggests it's an unlocked device). Curiously, the...

Sometime back, we linked to several services and tools that let you transform decent people into mischievous wonders. The online tools allowed you to blacken anybody’s eye or add curly hair. Adding a long, witch-like nose or turning people into a Star Wars character is been made as easy as a pie, thanks to the internet and its marvels. Services like these keep popping up, each with its own star-factor. We’ve got two of these covered today. Funtastic...

We have mentioned about next generation Pinetrail based netbook solutions from Lenovo’s Ideapad FL5-B3 and Fujitsu’s Lifebook MH380 earlier, now seems that Acer has followed their steps to come out with its first Pinetrail netbook under its Aspire One family based on downloadable driver source from its official website. Named as Aspire One AO532H-xx, it will be powered by Intel Atom Pineview N450 processor targeted for thermally efficient mobile...

Previously we mentioned about Lenovo IdeaPad FL5-B3 as the first Intel Atom Pineview nettop, now seems that Fujitsu new netbook machine has been spotted at FCC filing, indicating that more and more Pineview Atom based netbook is on the way. Named as MH380 and M380, the netbook will be categorized under its famous LifeBook family suitable for general web surfing, office applications and other tasks. The new machine will be powered by Intel Atom...

 Intel Atom is getting good traction and is currently dominating nettop market with a series of processors under this family. In order to continue its momentum, the giant chipmaker is planning to launch its successor, codenamed as Pineview combining with its TigerPoint chipset offering two-chip solution for much effective board design with lower BOM (Bill of Material) cost. While most of us are still waiting for its availability targeted by...

The new Atom D410 and D510 processors were just given preliminary benchmarking tests, and the scores actually came out pretty disappointing. The older Nvidia Ion configuration actually beat the Pineview procs in most tests—not what we'd call encouraging. Of course you don't go for an Atom for muscle, and the Pineview processors do beat the Ion in power consumption and cost (the new guys are both under $100). But we expect performance to go...

When it comes to lightweight operating systems for a netbook or smartbook (which is basically a netbook that runs an ARM processor — expect to see them early next year), much of the recent buzz has centered around Google’s Chrome OS. However, if you have a netbook and you want to try something that has a lot of the Web-integration features that Chrome OS promises ASAP, check out Jolicloud. Jolicloud is a Linux-based OS designed specifically...

While Chrome OS has been getting the lion's share of netbook/smartbook buzz of late, Tariq Krim and company have been steadfastly plugging away at Jolicloud. Today, the Jolicloud pre-beta has been released and it's ready for the general public to install on their Windows netbooks. Jolicloud's Wubi-derived installer make the process dead-simple. Download the 600Mb .exe [or the torrent] from their website, launch it, and make your selections. Within...

 HP is launching a limited edition of its HP Envy 15 Laptop, the HP Envy 15 Beats. The HP Envy 15 Beats is a collaboration between HP and rapper Dr Dre, and it will feature a Beats sound system and a piano black high gloss finish, as well as a signature Beats design. “We found that most PCs downgrade sound to unacceptable levels and when you reduce it further to a limited platform, like an mp3, the music doesn’t stand a chance. If music...

  Just a few days ago we heard rumours about the imminent sale of Friendster, one of the first-generation social networks that originally kicked off the craze. Through self-reinvention the site has managed to stay relevant to a large audience in Asia, although its influence has notably diminished in the West over the years since its founding in 2002 and heydey in 2003-4. There aren’t too many details emerging yet, but Business Times is reporting...