HTC is soon to be ready with its follow-up to the recently launched Google Nexus One. The device, currently under wraps, is called Incredible (talk about lofty aspirations). HTC, which has in recent years grown to be recognized as one of the leading manufacturers of smartphones, will soon be launching the Incredible some time later this year.

This fact has apparently been confirmed by anonymous sources within the company, who also added that the phone would be lauched in partnership with Verizon, an American telecommunications giant. The turf war for the high-end segment will heat up once the Incredible hits the market. It’s also been reported that the Incredible will be powered by a 1 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, which has been described as being “extremely fast” (for a mobile, that is).
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Unfortunately, it’s not what you think. Reliance mobile subscribers can now browse through comic strips on their cellphones while on the move. Reliance Communications has tied up with Cartoon Network to launch Archies, Charlie Chaplin, Laurel & Hardy, Ben 10, Johny Bravo, Dexter’s Laboratory, and Powerpuff Girls for its subscribers at Rs 1 per day.

“With this, subscribers can now be transported to the imaginary world of comics at the mere press of a button, especially [sic] when they are on the move”, Krishna Durba, Head, Value Added Services, Reliance Communications, said. It was not immediately clear whether moving while reading a comic strip on your mobile would elicit more laughs as compared to standing still while doing so. Perhaps Reliance has been inspired by the recent Idea! campaign.
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Sony India today said it planned to boost its leadership status in the compact camera segment by taking its market share from 42% to 45% in the coming fiscal. The company, which at a Cyber-shot camera launch in Kochi, also said the new product was in sync with its global strategy of designing and creating innovative products that strengthened its brand identity.

The new camera for instance, is equipped with two new technologies — Sweep Panorama, which allows capturing ultra-wide pictures with a field view of up to 270 degrees, and High Definition Movie, which enables shooting high-resolution videos. “The introduction of Sweep Panorama and HD Movie technologies will ensure that a wider consumer audience would be able to experience Sony’s technologically superior products”, said Takakiyo Fujita, Sony India general manager of marketing.
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In what will come as a relief to lakhs of subscribers across Jammu & Kashmir, the central government has lifted the ban on prepaid mobile phones, a home ministry official said today. The ban was imposed last year after the government cited security reasons in the terror-riven state.

“We have asked for stringent identity checks of prepaid mobile subscribers, after which telecom operators can issue prepaid SIM cards”, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Source: IANS

Nokia India workers, on strike after 55 employees were suspended earlier this week, refused to end their agitation today despite being asked by the labour commissioner’s office to resume duty. “The strike started on Tuesday after the management suspended 35 employees. On Wednesday, another 20 employees were suspended”, an official of the Nokia India Employees Progressive Union told IANS.

Workers were expected to resume work today following a conciliatory meeting at the labour commissioner’s office the previous day. The labour commissioner had issued an advisory to the union to resume work and also directed the management to sort out the row by 25th Jan. M Shanmugam, general secretary of the Labour Progressive Front (LPF) — of which the Nokia union is an affiliate — had earlier told IANS that the issue had been sorted out. “Production will resume immediately”, he had said. LPF is the labour wing of the ruling DMK party.
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In a sign of increased hardening of its stance against Chinese censorship, Google has indefinitely postponed the planned launch of its Nexus One mobile phone in China amid a dispute with the government over internet censorship and e-mail hacking that the search giant says may force it to leave the country.

“It is postponed”, Google Inc spokeswoman Marsha Wang said about the much-awaited launch. She said a launch ceremony planned for Wednesday was cancelled, but declined to give a reason for the decision, or to say when the launch might be rescheduled.
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Taiwanese computer vendor Acer is planning to introduce an Android-based smart phone by the end of the year to add to the ten phones based on Windows Mobile already in the works for 2009, reports Bloomberg. Acer’s head of mobile-phone products Aymar de Lencquesaing said that the world’s third largest computer maker had made no formal announcements around Android, though “it’s likely that we’ll have one in 2009.�
Source: Moco News
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Samsung has just announced their new 6, 7 and 8 LCD TV series with LED as well as non-LED LCD-TVs. Now we have gleaned the first info on the new 9 LED series. Besides the 6, 7 and 8 LCD TV series with the LED, the new high-end - and replacement for the A950 series - 9 series is on its way. At the moment we do not have the entire spec list but the 9 series will be launched in summer/autumn 2009 with the official name B9000.
Source: FlatPanelsHD
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Researchers at the Centre of Molecular Materials for Photonics and Electronics (CMMPE) (part of the Department’s Photonics Research Group at the University of Cambridge) are leading the way towards the development of extremely high colour resolution laser displays using liquid crystal laser technology. CMMPE has been performing extensive research into a new form of laser technology based on liquid crystals.
Source: OLED Display
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The Nokia 1100 was never an especially alluring device, even at its launch, but a select few versions of the simplistic cellphone are said to be changing hands for up to €25,000 ($32,328) among criminals. According to unconfirmed reports, the specific 1100’s each show a specific software flaw that, with the correct reprogramming, allows them to intercept the one-time passwords used to authorize online bank transactions.
Source: SlashGear
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PSP is slowly adopting more and more features of the PS3. With firmware update 5.50, PSP will add “Information Board” to the XMB (PS3 version pictured above). This feature will allow PSP owners to quickly access news bits from Sony about new additions to the PlayStation Store. In addition, the firmware update will allow users to create and access sub-folders on the Memory Stick for music, photos and videos. The internet browser will also feature a trial of Trend Micro’s “Kid’s Safety” service, so parents can finally put an end to their children’s insatiable appetite for PSP porn.
Source: Joystiq
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Although the all-electric Tata Indica on display at the SAE World Congress in Detroit this week is not the soon-to-be-released model, there’s a lot we can learn from the vehicle - and from TM4’s Eriz Azeroual - about how the technology will be implemented when the new model goes on sale in Norway either later this year or in early 2010 (yes, this is later than previously expected). Tata Motors showed off the Indica EV at the Bologna Motor Show in December, but the hatchback is making an appearance in Detroit because of the work that TM4, a subsidiary of Hydro Québec, did providing the permanent magnet motor and the inverter.
Source: Autobloggreen
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Computer engineers at Washington University in St. Louis are bringing the minimalist approach to medical care and computing by coupling USB-based ultrasound probe technology with a smartphone, enabling a compact, mobile computational platform and a medical imaging device that fits in the palm of a hand.
Source: Physorg
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Scientists at the Singapore-based Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN) have made an unprecedented breakthrough in transforming carbon dioxide, a common greenhouse gas, into methanol, a widely used form of industrial feedstock and clean-burning biofuel. Using “organocatalysts”, researchers activated carbon dioxide in a mild and non-toxic process to produce the more useful chemical compound.
Source: GizMag
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AU (KDDI) and Sharp will soon propose in Japan a new mobile phone featuring a solar panel embedded in its lid that recharges your phone on the go. Leaving your phone in direct sunlight for up to 10 minutes will give up to 1 minute of communication or 2hrs on standby. It’s also waterproof. Scheduled for a June release.

Music workstations have been around for many years, but we’re yet to see something as slick as this Vivace concept. Designed by Young-Shin Lee and Hae-Jin Jung, the Vivace is a clamshell touchscreen instrument and computer, which offers multi-function playback, recording and editing all in one device.
Source: SlashGear
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An Eagle company that made a robot baby dinosaur toy has closed, dismissed its workers and filed for liquidation of its assets under federal bankruptcy law. Ugobe Inc., the maker of Pleo, filed under Chapter 7 of the federal bankruptcy code Friday in Boise. Ugobe (as in “you go be�) moved to Eagle from Emeryville, Calif., earlier this year. Its chief executive officer, Caleb Chung, drew nationwide publicity for his dinosaur, which had characteristics of a household pet.
Source: Idaho Statesman
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Ah Italy. The home of the Colosseum, Ferrari, Pasta. But you can forget all that, I’ve come out to re-acquaint myself with an old skill – unicycle riding. Okay, it’s not quite a unicycle, rather it’s the With only two in existence I thought I’d check out my circus credentials and hop on one of the single-wheeled modes of transport. The beauty behind the Enicycle, though, is that it’s much easier to ride than a unicycle, thanks to a clever system of gyroscopes, embedded processors and a 1,000W hub motor. Video after the jump.
Source: FWD
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Leading automotive and energy companies have reached agreement on a common “plug” to recharge electric cars, a spokeswoman for German energy company RWE said Sunday. The three-point, 400-volt plug, which will allow electric cars to be recharged anywhere in a matter of minutes, is set to be unveiled Monday at the world’s biggest industrial technology fair in Hanover, northern Germany. “A car must be able to be recharged in Italy in exactly the same way as in Denmark, Germany or France,” an RWE spokeswoman, Caroline Reichert, was quoted as saying in an edition of Die Welt to appear Monday.
Source: Physorg
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For a little more than 100,000 Yen (€765), Kenwood proposed in Japan a pair of gorgeous glass speakers, the SP0001, with a not so impressive 10Wx2ch at 8? output power. I’m sure if you’re interested in their performance the may not be exactly what you’re looking. For a little extra, Kenwood also has a set of stands with white and blue LEDs giving your speakers the perfect touch to show off your wealth!
Source: Akihabara News