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LG unveiled a line of LCD TVs making use of LED technology today, and hopes to ship as many as 5 million units next year. The conglomerate is also aiming to move up to 18 million LCD sets this year, and according to its CEO, internal targets are even higher. Achieving this aspiration would situate them as the world’s second-largest producer of LCD TVs, ahead of Sony and only topped by Samsung.

Although the faltering economy has heavily impacted the global electronics sector, flat screen TV makers have had it much easier than other industries. Both LG and Samsung are placing their chips on LED-backlit TVs being future profit drivers. Given the successful HDTV market and recent DTV transition, their projections are likely spot on – at least in the near-term. LG believes LED TVs represent 2.6% of the LCD set market as of this year, and could be attributed with 20% of the market next year and 40% in 2011.

DICE and EA's cartoon-style shooter Battlefield Heroes has finally launched after numerous delays and a lengthy closed beta period last year. The game is something of an experiment for the companies, given that it is offered completely for free, supported only through advertisements and micro-transactions for character customizations. It will be the first title in the Battlefield series to be released under this non-traditional business model.


The game features a built-in matchmaking system to ensure that players of equal skill are paired together for fair play. Users can use real-world currency to purchase virtual “Battlefunds” that can be redeemed for a variety of in-game items and bonuses, such as the ability to get “Valor Points” faster, new clothes and limited-edition items. You can learn more on Battlefield Heroes via the official website.

Late last year, it was revealed that Adobe would be pushing Flash 10 onto several new platforms. More specifically, they recently revealed that the technology would make its way over to Windows Mobile, Android, WebOS, and Symbian devices around October this year – albeit in beta form. That's closer to reality now, with announcements that HTC's new Android-based “Hero” phone will come stock with Flash installed and ready to go. This will give the phone the flexibility to use a much wider range of online services such as YouTube.

The version of Flash shipping with Android won't actually be fully Flash 10 compatible, using some older elements that are specific to Flash 9. However, it will be capable of on-the-fly updates, which will allow them to push out better functionality as it is developed. Sadly, this won’t be available for Android phones other than HTC’s Hero, but Adobe still claims that full Flash 10 support for the platform is on the way.

Microsoft has finally announced pricing for its upcoming Windows 7 operating system, and is offering some substantial savings for those willing to order an upgrade nearly four months before the software officially goes on sale. Starting tomorrow, customers in the US, Canada or Japan who already own a PC running XP or Vista will be able to pre-order the upgrade disc at around half the price that they’ll eventually sell for.

This means you can pre-order Windows 7 Home Premium for $49.99 or Windows 7 Professional for $99.99 – Windows 7 Ultimate is not part of this discount plan though. The pre-order deal will be accessible at store.microsoft.com and most major retailers through July 11 or “until a certain number of licenses is sold,” which supposedly adds up to about a year of Vista sales volume at retail.

Microsoft also confirmed that, starting tomorrow, anyone who buys a PC “from a participating OEM or retailer” with Windows Vista Home Premium, Business or Ultimate on it will all receive a free upgrade to the equivalent version of Windows 7. The Windows 7 Upgrade Option Program will be available until January 31, 2010 and is global. As noted, the upgrade plan depends on the manufacturer, but I’m guessing most will want to participate.

Special offers aside, prices for Windows 7 will be largely in line with those for Vista. Microsoft has set the upgrade and full price for Windows 7 Home Premium at $120 and $200, respectively; $200 and $300 for Windows 7 Professional; or $220 and $320 for Windows 7 Ultimate. That saves you $10 and $40 compared to the upgrade and full editions of Vista Home Premium, but prices remain the same for the latter two.

All in all, Microsoft is offering some pretty decent deals for anyone itching to upgrade immediately or buy a new PC, but somehow I believe many Vista users will be irked by the fact that they are getting the same upgrade prices as those still clinging to Windows XP.

In an effort to extend their reach and make their name better known, Sugar Labs, the developers of the open-source platform originally designed for the XO-1 laptop will soon make the software available in an entirely new format. Nicknamed “Sugar on a Stick,” the software package is being released for 1GB USB flash drives, so that any PC can turn into a fully-functional educational desktop.

The platform is specifically engineered to run smoothly even on aging or obsolete hardware, making it more accessible in locations where modern hardware is too expensive or altogether inaccessible. The developers at Sugar Labs are interested in getting feedback from people who use it, looking to help optimize the speed and smoothness of the environment, a key concern when trying to make it run on as many hardware platforms as possible. Interestingly, there are reports of the software running on other low-cost laptops like Intel's Classmate PC.

Based on Fedora, Sugar on a Stick comes well after Sugar Labs split off from OLPC, and represents a part of their effort to get computing into the hands of everyone in the world.

Following its release on Linux, OS X, and Apple TV platforms quite a while ago, Boxee has finally launched a public alpha of its software for Windows users. The media center program, based on the open source XBMC project, combines Internet media with personal content and includes features such as playlists, audio visualizations, slideshows, social networking and an expanding array of third-party plugins.


The latest release introduces a handful of surprises such as official MLB.tv support, offering full access to baseball games around the country within the Boxee interface, as well as other new and upcoming integration with Digg, Tumblr and Current. Boxee also received some UI tweaks here and there, along with generally improved streaming, M4A and M4V playback, lower CPU usage on Macs, and DVD playback optimization.

The release is a major milestone for Boxee, which will now be available to a much wider user base, as it pursues its goal of getting on-demand content out of the browser and into the living room. The company is planning to release its own dedicated set-top box eventually and hopes to license its media center app to third-party hardware, software and content providers as well. For now, those with Boxee accounts can grab the latest release here, while newcomers need to register at the Boxee website first.

From the outside, Apple’s iPhone 3G S seems nearly identical to the 3G model released last year, but it’s what’s on the inside that matters they say. Indeed the company claims their latest and greatest smartphone offers twice the performance of its predecessor, longer battery life, and an improved camera. But who and what is behind the device’s capabilities? Looking to answer that question, iSuppli has performed one of their accustomed teardown analyses, showing the source of components and estimating the manufacturing costs.


The market research firm estimates the new iPhone 3G S – or at least the 16GB model – has about $172.46 worth of materials and costs $6.50 to make. In total, that’s a little over $4 more than the previous iPhone at release last year and quite a bit more than the Palm Pre. Toshiba scored the biggest single design win in the 3G S, with its 16GB MLC NAND flash costing $24. The 3.5-inch display module was the second priciest component estimated at $19.25, while costs of the associated touch-screen display electronics followed in third at $16.

Samsung supplies the applications processor, priced at $14.46, and Infineon continues to supply its PMB8878 baseband chip for an estimated $13. Meanwhile, Broadcom replaced discreet Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chips from Marvell and CSR, respectively, with a $5.95 part that handles both features in addition to having a tiny FM radio receiver on board – even though the iPhone currently has no FM-receiving features. A complete breakdown of the iPhone's components can be found at iSuppli’s website.

Shortly after declaring bankruptcy, Psystar received an automatic stay on Apple's legal actions against them while they reorganized and worked out internal issues. Naturally, the Cupertino company wasn't content with this, claiming it was just a stall tactic to avoid legal proceedings, and filed a motion requesting that the stay be lifted. Turns out, after considering testimonies from both sides, the courts agree with Apple and gave them green light to move forward with their case.

That's very bad news for Psystar, who is obviously already on shaky financial ground. After suffering numerous setbacks in their legal fight against Apple, their only hope was to get Apple out of their hair long enough to prepare a stronger defense. At this point, it doesn't appear that they will be given that liberty. They can still file an appeal but, according to Ars, it seems more likely that Psystar will be unable to pay for its legal defense, and may end up settling the dispute before the matter goes to trial on November 9 as planned.

Psystar may be doomed, but the Mac clone market isn't done yet. There are numerous other Mac clone manufacturers seemingly flying under Apple's radar. One of them, Quo Computer, announced just about a month ago their intentions to open a retail store specializing in Mac clone hardware.

No doubt after taking down Psystar Apple will continue to attack these companies. Looking at the situation from a historical standpoint, one can't help but draw parallels to this modern-day scenario and the numerous legal battles that IBM fought when manufacturers began developing IBM PC clones – which spawned the modern desktop computer that is so ubiquitous today.

Western Digital already bumped its My Book Studio Edition II hard drive to 4TB earlier this month, and now the company is doing the same for its networked storage line. The My Book World Edition II NAS is based on two Caviar Green drives in 1TB or 2TB sizes, for a total of 2TB or 4TB respectively, which can be configured in a mirrored RAID 1 array for an extra level of protection or RAID 0 if capacity and speed over redundancy is required.


As one would expect, the drive attaches to home networks using a Gigabit Ethernet connection, and is compatible with both PC and Mac systems. Bundled with automatic backup software and streaming media utilities, the new and improved My Book World Edition II can act as an iTunes server or a DLNA-compatible device, streaming content to Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 consoles and some digital TVs. Users can also securely access their files from anywhere in the world using the free MioNet remote access service included.

It’s not as robust and feature-rich as the Synology Disk Station DS-409+ NAS, which we recently reviewed, but then again WD is targeting home users here rather than small-and-medium businesses. As such, it also comes with more affordable price tags of $400 for a 2TB version and $700 for the 4TB one.

In a rather unexpected move, ZeniMax Media, parent company of development studio and publisher Bethesda Softworks, announced today that it is purchasing the longstanding independent developer behind Doom and Quake. The acquisition joins together two of the most acclaimed game studios of all time, combining the first person shooter expertise of id Software with Bethesda’s proven track record in making great role playing titles like Fallout 3 the Elder Scrolls series.

In an interview with Kotaku, id co-founder John Carmack said no significant changes are being made to either company. The studio will continue to be run under the direction of Carmack and the company’s principal employees are all sticking around. Bethesda will publish all of id's games going forward, except for those already signed with third-parties, including the Activision-backed Wolfenstein and the EA Partners-planned Rage.

Carmack hopes the matchup will make business dealings easier for id Software. No financial details were revealed regarding the acquisition, but it is likely to be bigger than Bethesda's recent deals.

HP has unveiled a new business-focused netbook today, the Mini 5101, as well as a new member to its ProBook family of laptops launched earlier this year. The first is the successor to the Mini 2140, which is currently being phased out, and comes sporting some slightly bumped specs along with a 95-percent chiclet keyboard that is reportedly spill-resistant and a slick aluminum and magnesium housing.


The HP Mini 5101 has a 10.1-inch matte display that comes either in 1024 x 600 or 16:9 HD resolutions (1366 x 768). It is powered by a 1.66GHz N280 Atom processor, 1 or 2GB of 533MHz DDR2 memory, and will include a 160GB fast-performing 7,200RPM hard drive as standard with the unit. Additional storage options include 250GB and 320GB HDDs as well as 80GB and 128GB SSDs; and OS options include Windows XP Home, XP Pro, Vista Home Basic, Vista Business, or SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 11.

A 2-megapixel webcam is built-in along with three USB ports, Wi-Fi, VGA out, headphone jack, and an RJ45 port. There will also be 4-cell and 6-cell battery options, for up to 4.5 or 8 hours of use respectively, according to HP. The 5101 is reasonably lightweight at less than 3 pounds and will be available next month starting at $449.

As for the HP ProBook 4310s, it shares the same basic design and styling as current models in the series, but comes with a smaller 13.3-inch display. It is built around Intel Core 2 Duo processors up to 2.8GHz, and ships with up to 4GB memory, hard drive options up to 500GB, and the usual range of connectivity options. The ProBook 4310s should also arrive this July, with a starting price of $799.

Update: Sony launched its PS3 firmware 2.80 today. No major features but some bug fixes. If you would like to download this update please head here.

PlayStation 3 users everywhere, get ready for an update tomorrow following Sony's announcement of a new firmware for your console. Firmware version 2.80 brings with it a short list of improvements and fixes for the platform, along with an allegedly big new feature the company offered no details about.

This is the latest in a long series of firmware updates Sony has crafted for the PS3 since release, with the first updates happening more than two years ago shortly after it was launched. While each and every release may not be all that exciting, watching modern consoles evolve certainly is; with not only bugs being corrected but major features being added just by having it plugged in to the Internet.

One of the most prominent features highlighted on the new iPhone OS 3.0 was the availability of push notifications, which for now can work as a band-aid fix given the lack of true multi-tasking on the iPhone platform. AOL's Instant Messenger (AIM) is one of the first apps to take advantage of push notifications, allowing you to get a pop-up when someone sends you a message regardless of what app you are currently running.

If you don't happen to use AIM but want Messenger or ICQ support, Beejive is another paid iPhone app that has been updated to use push notifications and can support multiple IM networks. As mentioned before, this is only a workaround to the true limitation of no background app support on the iPhone, but in the context of instant messaging, it's almost all you need.

Ultimately Apple will have to cater to the growing masses of developers and consumers that want true multi-tasking on the iPhone. But until their next-generation platform gets here, you can expect to see many more apps taking advantage of push support in the weeks and months to come.

Hot on the heels of a major patent victory against Dish Network, TiVo is reportedly getting ready to expand by elbowing its way “onto every U.S. pay-television system.” According to a Bloomberg report, the company is currently in talks with Time Warner Cable and other providers to license its time-shifting technology for third-party hardware or software.

The DVR maker already has licensing agreements with Comcast, DirecTV and Cox cable. These range from the cable providers simply rebranding TiVo’s actual software for their own customers, to just a license agreement. Cox, for example, integrates TiVo features like Season Pass and WishList to its own set-top boxes. Nothing is final yet, but TiVo’s patents have withstood nearly every legal challenge EchoStar could throw at them, so it seems the company has some serious leverage here. We’ll have to wait and see where this goes.

With the notable exception of Apple’s iPhone and RIM’s BlackBerry, all major mobile platforms are set to receive Flash Player 10 support in October according to Adobe. During the company’s second-quarter earnings call on Friday, CEO Shantanu Narayen confirmed that a desktop-class implementation of the technology will debut in beta form for Windows Mobile, Android, WebOS, and Symbian devices later this year; with ARM, Broadcom, Intel, Nvidia, Qualcomm, and Texas Instruments currently optimizing the player for their products.

The functionality was actually demonstrated at Adobe’s MAX developer conference last year, and a fall launch was already promised back in February at the Mobile World Congress in Spain, but it’s good to know the company is still on track. Narayen also said that Adobe continues to “work with Apple” to develop Flash 10 for the iPhone. However, with the latest release of Safari bringing some HTML 5 support, Apple might be placing its bets on web standards for adding video streaming capabilities to the iPhone; all while keeping Flash-based games at bay in an effort to protect its App Store sales.