E FUN Nextbook Premium 8 does not do Honeycomb

E FUN joins the tablet fray with their latest addition to the Nextbook family, but one thing that we’re sore about is this – it does not run on the tablet optimized version of Google’s Android operating system, which is known as Honeycomb, but rather, will be running on the smartphone-centric Android 2.3 Gingerbread instead. Lest I fall into the temptation of pooh-poohing it before I continue with the rest of the specs, I’d better not judge this tablet by its operating system.

The Nextbook Premium 8 (as you already know by now, most devices that sport a number after the model name tend to depict the screen size, and the Nextbook Premium 8 adheres to this principle faithfully) will come with an 8″ color TFT capacitive multi touch screen which ought to be enough for the average user, but those who are used to higher resolution displays might probably see this as not good enough. Other hardware specifications are available after the jump.

Jabra Supreme Bluetooth Headset

I have reported on many Jabra products before, such as the EASYCALL.

One of the problems with reporting on Bluetooth headsets is that they are essentially all alike, but the SUPREME has more than one interesting function. It’s fling-boom arm serves to keep it compacted in storage, and also serves as its power on/off function as well.

The SUPREME also has a very soft cushion for the ear. It is pretty comfortable, but I will have to say that it will come off if you shake your head a lot.

It also features Active Noise Cancellation, which lives up to its promise of hearing someone very clearly. Other features include Wind-Noise Reduction Technology, which removes the gusty sounds of the wind noise in your Bluetooth conversation. It also has Noise Blackout 3.0, for “noise reduction technology”.

At first I found the SUPREME a little hard to use, as its design was very different from most Bluetooth headsets. There is a button on the flip-boom arm that allows the user to make Voice Guidance and Voice Control, which helped me out a lot.

Native Union Desert POP Phone

I have seen Native Union products at conferences before, and with the POP Phone, I got to give my kids (ages 8 and under) an education.

You see, any phone calls that my kids have made were on cell phones. They always had the opportunity to hold the entire phone in their hand, and never had to deal with the wide receiver or a windy little cord.

For those that miss those days of the receiver might want to look into the Native Union POP Phone, which plugs right into the headphone jack of most smartphones and creates an old school phone effect. This version that you see here is the Union Desert POP Phone, and the camouflage design is made to honor the men and women serving the United States military. In fact, a portion of all sales of this will go to the USO, the organization that has been entertaining the troops for a long time.

So if you really want this, you should able to get it on the Native Union web site for about $49.99 for a limited time. I’m not certain how long this deal will be on, but since Veteran’s Day is about a month away, it should be available by then.

Kanex AirBlue Portable Bluetooth Music Receiver

This little disc that you see here is the Kanex AirBlue, and it is very similar to the Orb Music Playerthat I covered a few days ago.

It its own words, the Kanex AirBlue is a portable Bluetooth-based music receiver that enables a user to wirelessly play, listen and control all favorite media from an iDevice, smartphone, or any Bluetooth compatible device.

I got to try it out, and it involves pairing a phone with the AirBlue disc and plugging it into the speakers. The range is about 33 feet away, and it works with the “high fidelity and premium sound” that it advertises.

I guess what makes the AirBlue work is that it is small, and it is small enough to fit in your pocket. It is also easy to charge as it attaches via USB, and for those who have a car stereo, this might be what you need.

I had to admit that I had some difficult pairing with it, and had to check out the FAQ section on the official site to get it right. After that, it played just fine.

You should be able to get the Kanex Airblue from the official site for about $49.00.

Farmville Movie Incoming, Toy Story Writers Attached

If you thought the era of astoundingly stupid movie deals based on video games with no plot, structure or characters had peaked with studios buying movie rights for Monopoly, The Sims and Battleship, rest assured there’s plenty where that came from. Farmville is apparently the newest IP to get the movie treatment without having so much as a line of dialogue.click here...

Pantech Link II Messaging Phone Heads to AT&T

Pantech and AT&T have teamed up to offer customers a new and very cheap messaging phone called the Pantech Link II. The new phone sells for only $9.99 with a new contract after the discounts. The device is thin with a profile 10.7mm thick.

HP Opens Investigation into TouchPads that Shipped Running Android

We have talked at length about the HP TouchPad. I think we will all agree that the TouchPad was a miserable failure and there is no real future in the market for the OS on a tablet. Many people have been working to get Android up and running on the TouchPad. Yesterday, we talked about a new way to get Android on the TouchPad.

iPhone 4S UK Shipping Times Changed To 1-2 Weeks

Apple’s iPhone 4S went up for pre-order in the US and UK earlier today on Apple’s online store and at a number of the mobile networks here in the UK, and when the iPhone 4S was listed on the Apple website it had a shipping date of the 14th of October.

That date has now been changed on Apple’s website, and anyone ordering an iPhone 4S from now on will have to wait between one to two weeks to get their hands on the new iPhone 4S.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus To Cost 499 Euros

Samsung recently announced their latest Android tablet, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 plus, which is due to go on sale in Europe later this month, and now it looks like we may have some pricing details.

According to the guys over at Notebook Italia, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus will retail for 499 Euros, when it goes on sale in Italy in November, so we can expect similar pricing for the rest of Europe.

YouTube Movie Rentals Arrives In The UK

YouTube has today announced that their new movie rental service which arrived in the US in May and Canada last month has now arrived in the UK.

The new movie rental service brings with it a thousand full-length feature films from major Hollywood and British studios to the UK. All of which are now available to rent and stream from YouTube.

LG Optimus 3D receives 3D game converter

Going 3D (stereoscopic 3D, that is) seems to be the in thing these days – first we have 3D TVs to help usher in 3D movies to the living room, nearly every other movie that appears on the silver screen today also sports a 3D version in order to rake in more moolah, and even gaming has taken the 3D route – see the Nintendo 3DS as well as 3D-capable titles on a PC and the console platform? Heck, even stereoscopic 3D has arrived on the world of smartphones now, with the LG Optimus 3D being one of them.

I’ve tried out some native 3D games on the LG Optimus 3D recently, and they do look good although my eyes tend to get tired after a while since it requires no glasses to wear, and when you move the handset around during the more frantic moments of gameplay, the viewing angle gets skewed – which is why my eyes need to constantly readjust themselves. Definitely far different from viewing 3D photos on the smartphone, that works brilliantly, but for now we’re talking 3D games on the LG Optimus 3D. If you have some 2D games on it and wondered how it will work in 3D, LG has released a 3D Game Converter app.

Current Siri Assistant App Will Stop Working On October 15th

With the launch of the new iPhone 4S also came the confirmation of the new Siri Personal Assistantwhich is being included within Apple’s new iOS5. Apple removed the old Siri Assistant application for the iTunes App Store shortly after the announcement and has today revealed that the Siri application will stop functioning on October 15th.

People who have already downloaded and been using  the old Siri Assistant app, have been informed by the app it will stop performing voice-driven searches via a new message that appeared on the apps homescreen.

Corsair Unveils Trio Of New SandForce Equipped SSDs

Today Corsair has unveiled a trio of new high performance solid state drives (SSD) which it has added to its range. The three new drives are all equipped with SandForce SF-2280 SSD Processors and support for SATA 6Gbps and are backward compatibility with SATA II.

Samsung And Google Postpone Google Nexus Prime Launch

Earlier today we got to see our first photo and a video of the new Samsung Google Nexus Prime, or the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, which Samsung were expected to launch next week along with Google would be unveiling Android Ice Cream Sandwich.

Now it would appear that both Google and Samsung have decided to postpone the launch of the Samsung Google Nexus Prime, and they have released the following statement.

Three UK Announces iPhone 4S Pricing, Goes Up For Pre-order

The guys over at Three UK just dropped us an email to let us know that the iPhone 4S is now available to pre-order from their network on the UK, and it looks like the 16GB iPhone 4S is only available to pre-order in store, and the 32GB and 64GB models are available to pre-order from their websites.

Three only seem to be offering the iPhone 4S on a 24 month contract, with prices for the 32GB on their cheapest £30 a month plan starting at £219 and the 64GB model starting at £309 on their £30 a month 24 month plan.

HTC Sensation XL Hits The UK 24th October

It looks like we have a launch date and some pricing information for the HTC Sensation XL, it will go on sale in the UK on the 24th of October, and will be available SIM free for £486 including VAT.

The HTC Sensation XL features a 4.7 inch multi-touch touchscreen Super LCD display with a resolution of 480 x 800 pixels, processing is provided by a single core 1.5GHz processor and it comes with Android plus HTC Sense.

Leaked Android Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0 Sceenshots

Further to the leak of the new Samsung Google Nexus Prime earlier today more screenshots of the new Google Android Ice Cream Sandwich have also been leaked.

Google’s major new Android update Ice Cream Sandwich will be launched on October 11th thanks to a slip-up by Google who published the date by mistake this morning and then removed it from the Android Developer YouTube channel. Feast your eyes on more screenshots after the jump.

SpyFinder Hidden Camera Detector (video)

If you are worried about being caught on tape by a concealed camera, a new device called the SpyFinder might be able to keep your save from prying eyes and keep you off scandalous movies.

The SpyFinder hidden camera detector is a small pocket device that you hold up to your eye and scan your surrounding, as you scan it will point out any hidden cameras that might be watching your every move. Watch the video after the jump to see it in action.

Zotac ZBOX nano VD01 Mini PC Launched

Zotac has unveiled a new addition to its range of mini PC systems with the launch of their new Zotac ZBOX nano VD01 system. The Zotac ZBOX nano VD01 is powered by a VIA’s Nano X2 dual-core processor clocked at 1.2GHz together with VIA’s VX900H chipset with Chrome9 graphics and ChromotionHD technology, which can be supported by filling 1 x DDR3-1066 SODIMM slot with memory.

CardFlick Sends Virtual Business Cards From Your iPhone

If you have ever needed to transfer your details to another person from your iPhone a new application has been developed to help you do it in a little more style.

CardFlick has been created to allow you to design and create a virtual business card which you can then use to swap contact details with other CardFlick users with a simply swipe. If you need to send details to a person without the CardFlick app you can simply email it to them.

Sony Looking To Buy Ericsson Out Of Joint Phone Venture

If has been reported today that Sony Corp is currently in talks with Ericsson to but their share of the mobile phone joint venture. After which Sony can then strengthen its mobile phone business and close the gap on its competitors.

Two industry sources told Reuters today that Sony and Telefon AB LM Ericsson have been talking for weeks about the future of the 50:50 joint venture because the companies must decide this month whether to renew their 10 year old partnership.

Flickr Windows Phone App Updated With Mango Support

Flickr has today rolled out a new version of its Windows Phone App which now has support for Windows Phone 7.5 Mango firmware together with some great new features.

Within the new Flickr app you are now provided with a built-in camera, composure grid and focus assist, and the application can upload images in the background. The new update also includes performance enhancements and stability tweaks to help make using the application even easier.

Samsung Google Nexus Prime (Galaxy Nexus) Photo And Video Leaked

Earlier we showed you a rendering of the new Samsung Google Nexus Prime, or Samsung Galaxy Nexus, and now it looks like we have our first actual photo, of Samsung and Google’s first Android Ice Cream Sandwich smartphone.

The photo below appeared on Gadget.ro, along with a video showing the Google Nexus Prime in action, but it looks like the video has now been pulled from the site.

Google eBookstore Opens In The UK (video)

Today Google’s eBookstore opened it doors for business in the UK after Google finished signing deals with major UK publishers including Hachette, Random House, Penguin and other publishers.Currently the digital ebook market is dominated by Amazon and B&N but now Google is looking to offer hundreds of thousands of titles for sale.

As in the US, Google eBookstore supports browsers,Android and Apple devices for buying and reading books. Together with E-reader devices, from manufacturers including Sony, Kobo and Elonex.

Corsair Unveils Hydro Series H40 and H70 CORE Self Contained CPU Liquid Coolers

If you are looking for a little extra cooling for your PC processor but don’t fancy getting involved with installing a fully blown liquid cooling system. You might be interested in the new Corsair Hydro Series H40 and H70 CORE liquid coolers which are both self contained units and making them much easier to install than a full liquid cooled system. They are also require zero maintenance which makes them great for hassle free cooling.

Samsung Google Nexus Prime (Samsung Galaxy Nexus), Will It Look Like This?

Samsung and Google are expected to unveil the Samsung Google Nexus Prime, or the Samsung Galaxy Nexus at Samsung’s Mobile Unpacked event next week, where we are also expecting Google Android Ice Cream Sandwich to be unveiled.

Samsung has been teasing us with the design of the new Google Nexus Prime, and yesterday we got to hear some more Nexus Prime specifications, now we have a mock up design of the Samsung Nexus Prime, which is based on the Samsung video that we saw the other day.

MacBook Pro Parts Used To Create Tribute Portrait Of Steve Jobs

The creative team over at the Foundry, which is a research team at Mint Digital focused on exploring physical objects which connect to the web though digital technology. Have used a MacBook Pro and dismantled it to create this fantastic tribute portrait to Steve Jobs who died yesterday.

HTC Sensation XL In Action (Video)

Earlier today we heard about HTC’s latest Android smartphone, the new HTC Sensation XL, which is HTC’s second smartphone to come with Beats Audio, now we get a chance to have out first look at the HTC Sensation XL.

The guys over at Android Central have put together a video of the HTC Sensation XL in action, which you can see below, and we also get a good look at the latest version of HTC’s Sense user interface.

Nuance Buys Swype, The Virtual Keyboard Company For $100 Million (video)

Today it has been reported that Nuance is looking to acquire the virtual keyboard manufacturer and development company Swype for $100 million. Swype keyboards are a popular alternative to the standard keyboards on Android devices, and allows you to enter text quickly by using finger gestures. Watch a video after the jump to see it in action.

Death Star Interior Recreated Using 30,000 Lego Pieces

Using over 30,000 Lego pieces, Florida teacher Jay Hoff spent six months creating a 6 ft x 6 ft replica of the Death Star landing bay, used in a scene from “Return of the Jedi,”. In which the Emperor lands on the uncompleted Death Star to inspect Darth Vader’s progress.

Hoff even painted the floor of the Lego build to provide a more polished effect worthy of an Emperor’s visit.

Ice Cream Sandwich Launch Date Leaked By Google

If you have been patiently waiting for the launch of Google’s next major build of Android named Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS), you will be pleased to know your wait is nearly over.

This morning Google published the arrival date of Ice Cream Sandwich via the Android Developer YouTube channel, which was counting down the the launch date of the new Android system, October 11th. However after being discovered the live event channel has now been pulled, but not before a screenshot was taken by Tech Crunch.

Video: Hands-On With New York's On the Go Mobile Station, a 47-inch Touchscreen Subway Map

Yesterday, the MTA (the transit organization that covers New York City and its immediately surrounding area) unveiled the very first On the Go Travel Station, a 47-inch touchscreen installed in certain subway stations that provides to-the-minute updates on inevitable delays, as well as a subway map and a trip planner. I went down to the Bowling Green station to try out this first installation.

The Web's Best Tributes to Steve Jobs

An interesting gauge of a person's overall impact on our culture is now found immediately online, as the world learns together the news of that person's passing. By that measure, Steve Jobs has led a truly extraordinary life. But you didn't need us to tell you that.

Voice Control Is for Your Mom

Siri in Action Apple

Voice command has made huge strides in recent years, especially in the mobile space--Google has implemented voice search and some basic commands into Android, and now Apple has integrated Siri, a voice-command app, deeply into the guts of the iPhone.

Talking not just to, but with our computers has always been a tantalizing, futuristic idea--not least for its radical potential to make applications more fully accessible to the disabled.But as we were discussing voice control at PopSci HQ yesterday in light of Apple's news, we realized something interesting: while none of us younger tech types use today's voice control tech regularly, it seems as if our parents actually do use it, and often. Why is that?

iPhone 4S Goes Up For Pre Order On Vodafone UK

Apple’s fifth generation iPhone 4S has gone up for pre-order with Vodafone UK, and prices start at £359 for the 16GB iPhone 4S on Vodafone’s cheapest 24 month contract which costs £26 per month.

The 32GB iPhone 4S will set you back £439 on Vodafone’s cheapest contract and the 64GB iPhone 4S will let you back £519 on their cheapest contract which costs £26 a month.