Microsoft readying a multi-touch Arc mouse?

A new product listing for what is being called the "Microsoft Arc Touch Mouse" has prompted speculation that the software giant may be whipping up a rival to Apple's Magic Mouse. The device is listed with the product code RVF-00003 and has an MSRP of around $70 (the same as Apple's device), according to Long Zheng of istartedsomething. Zheng also notes that Microsoft registered the domain "arctouchmouse.com" in March, which is currently redirecting to Bing – a common practice for the company's placeholder sites.

You may recall a project from late 2009 that Microsoft was calling Mouse 2.0. As part of that research, the company was working on designs for a prototype multitouch mouse – one of which is pictured above. That specific unit featured a curved design similar to the existing Arc models, and it used FTIR to track multiple contact points. There's no telling if this is what's coming to market, but any new multitouch peripheral from Microsoft could bring some attention to development for native Windows touch applications, and we can't complain about that.

HP Mini 110, 210 HD quietly upgraded with new Atom CPUs

HP has quietly updated a couple of its netbooks today, adding newer Intel Atom chips and more. Both the HP Mini 110 and Mini 210 HD have received the 1.66GHz Atom N455 and the 1.83GHz N475 as processor options. Interestingly, the Mini 110 seems to be equipped with 1GB of DDR2 system memory (you can swap it for a 2GB stick on your own) instead of taking advantage of the new Atom's DDR3 support, while the Mini HD 210 lists 1GB or 2GB of DDR3 RAM.

The Mini 110 starts at $280 and has a 10.1-inch 1024x600 LED-backlit display, 160GB or 250GB of storage, a webcam and mic, wireless n, optional mobile broadband, a three or six-cell battery, Windows XP SP3 or Windows 7 Starter. At a pricier $330 base, the Mini 210 HD adds a Broadcom Crystal HD accelerator, a 1366x768 display, an embedded GPS module with HP Navigator software, Windows 7 Home Premium 32-bit, and more colors.

Apple: iPhone 4 calculates bars wrong, fix on the way

Apple's iPhone 4 launch last month has been touted as the single most successful launch in the company's history, with 1.7 million units shipped in just three days. But beyond the numbers the release itself has been marred by a series of issues with the device's wireless reception, which can significantly degrade depending on how users hold the phone. Despite numerous reports, and videos demonstrating the problem, Apple has maintained that there is no problem.

In a series of informal email exchanges with customers, CEO Steve Jobs further exacerbated the matter by telling them to "Just avoid holding it that way" and asking a disgruntled iPhone 4 owner to calm down, claiming "It is just a phone. Not worth it." (Update: Apple denied the latter email was sent by Jobs, but it does seem to have originated from his account. BGR has the details.) Now, with a class action lawsuit pending, Apple has come forward with a formal statement. Their answer? It's not a hardware design issue, just a problem with the algorithm used to calculate bars of reception.

According to Apple, all phones suffer from a certain amount of signal loss when gripped in certain ways. The problem is some iPhones were displaying more bars than they should have, and in fact the attenuation users are seeing is likely because the signal strength in a given area isn't very strong to begin with. In essence the firmware "fix" they are promising will change the way bars are represented to report signal more accurately.

That, however, doesn't explain the related performance problems like dropped calls some users have encountered and how they seem to disappear when using a bumper case or by simply avoid touching the dead spot on its left bottom corner. It looks like we'll have to wait "a few weeks" to see if the update does anything more than just make the signal bars more accurate. Apple also said that customers can return undamaged iPhones within 30 days of purchase for a full refund.

Microsoft intros InstaLoad battery technology, forgoes polarity

Microsoft has announced a new battery technology called InstaLoad that lets users install batteries in any direction, without regard to polarity. "Never again will people have to squint to see battery installation diagrams - the device simply works regardless if the battery is installed positive-side-up or positive-side-down," the company said.

Along with making life easier to consumers, Redmond believes InstaLoad could be handy in many industries, including law enforcement, military, construction, outdoor sporting, and camping. The technology is compatible with popular off-the-shelf disposable and rechargeable batteries in sizes such as CR123, AA, AAA, C or D.

Microsoft is offering a royalty-free license program to suppliers and manufacturers of accessibility products for people with hearing, vision or learning disabilities. You can find more information on other licensing options in the press release. Third parties are supposedly "lining up to endorse the technology" for use in their own products.

Two such companies are Duracell and flashlight-maker AE Light. There's no information on when we'll see InstaLoad used in products by those companies – or any others for that matter.

Finland makes broadband Internet access a legal right

Finland has become the first country in the world to grant citizens with the legal right to in-home broadband Internet. As of today, Finns have the right to access a 1Mb/s broadband connection, and the country plans to increase that to 100Mb/s by 2015. Talking to the BBC, Finland's communication minister Suvi Linden explained that the Internet isn't just an entertainment medium, but is also a crucial part of an informed society.

"Finland has worked hard to develop an information society and a couple of years ago we realised not everyone had access," she said. As much as 96% of the country's 5.2 million people are already online, leaving only about 4,000 homes that need to be connected in accordance with the new law. By comparison, the UK government aims to provide 99% of its population with 2Mb/s speeds by 2012 (up from 73%) – although there's no law.

In the US, the FCC is pushing for a similar standard with its National Broadband Plan. Like Finland, the agency believes the Internet is a valuable resource and US citizens should have cheap, speedy access. In fact, the FCC expects the Internet to displace phones, TV and other conventional communication technologies. It hopes broadband Internet will exist in 90% of US homes over the next decade, compared to around 65% currently.

Opera 10.60 gets official, brings more speed, security

Only two weeks after the beta release, Opera 10.60 is now available in its complete form, bringing more speed and more security, according to the browser's Norwegian developer. Opera Software says the latest revision is 50% quicker than 10.50 on "key" benchmarks, resulting in snappier performance on JavaScript-heavy sites like Gmail and Facebook.

Opera 10.60 also incorporates AVG anti-fraud and phishing protection to block malicious sites and keep users informed about potential malware and scams. Other improvements include search tweaks like the addition of Bing and a feature called search suggestions, support for WebM video as well as other HTML5 features, such as geolocation and Web app caching.

The interface has also received a facelift with an improved Menu button and the addition of large icon tabs. If you'd like to join the 120 million other folks using Opera (not all desktop users, mind you) swing by our download section and grab latest browser version: Windows, Mac OS X, Linux.

HP completes Palm acquisition, eyes webOS hardware

Hewlett-Packard announced today it has completed its acquisition of Palm at $5.70 a share, or about $1.2 billion. The world's largest PC maker now has a mobile operating system of its own and plans to use it in a wide variety of devices, continuing development of Palm's Pre smartphone line, but also starting work on new slate PCs and netbooks powered by webOS.

Palm's revamped mobile platform has received a lot of praise from reviewers for its intuitive interface and multi-tasking abilities. Unfortunately, a failed marketing strategy in conjunction with Sprint and the slow uptake from the developer community resulted in poor smartphone sales. With HP's full backing and global strengths, Palm's former chairman and CEO Jon Rubinstein is confident that webOS will be able to reach its full potential -- and I really hope it does.

Rubinstein will continue in charge of webOS software development and webOS based hardware products, reporting to HP's Personal Systems Group executive VP Todd Bradley. In the run up to Palm's acquisition, however, the company lost some of the talent behind its platform, including user interface wizard Matias Duarte, who joined Google's Android team as the new user experience director, and public relations VP Lynn Fox who jumped ship without a set destination.

Microsoft axes Kin phones, European launch cancelled

After an underwhelming launch response, Microsoft has essentially pulled the plug on its Kin phone project. The handsets began shipping only a few short weeks ago, and rumors last week suggested that only 500 devices were sold – yes, that's five hundred. According new reports, the folks who designed the Kin have been assimilated into the Windows Phone 7 team. Additionally, plans for a European release have been axed.

As for the US, Microsoft says it will continue to work with Verizon to sell existing phones. We're not sure whether that means production will continue for a while, or if they're just trying to move what's already in warehouses. For what it's worth, Verizon says the Kin "remains an important part" of its portfolio. That said, the carrier slashed prices by as much as 50% over the weekend, and that sure screams fire sale to us.

Even with the lower hardware prices, the Kin probably won't fly off shelves. Besides missing features, the biggest complaint we've heard is that the monthly fee is as high as more capable devices, such as the iPhone and Android-based smartphones, which also happen to be more appealing to the Kin's target demographic of teens and twenty-somethings.

MSI intros new Fuzion motherboards with Lucid Hydra chip

MSI has launched two new motherboards, the P55A Fuzion and 870A Fuzion, which come with the Lucid Hydra 200 chip. The Hydra technology is similar to CrossFire or SLI, except graphics cards from two different companies (i.e. Nvidia and ATI) can be linked together in a hybrid configuration. In other words, just about any two cards from either camp can be paired up to boost performance.

As indicated by their names, one is for Intel's LGA1156 processors and the other supports Socket AM3 chips. Both have two PCIe x16 2.0 (full bandwidth) and PCIe x1 slots, four DIMM slots, six SATA 3Gb/s ports, two SATA 6Gb/s ports, six USB 2.0 ports, one USB 3.0 port, 7.1 channel audio, gigabit Ethernet, as well as MSI's "Military Class components" and OC Genie overclocking tool. It's worth noting that the 870A Fuzion can also unlock "unused" cores in AMD processors.

The new Fuzion boards should be available soon and are priced at a surprisingly reasonable $190 (Intel) and $160 (AMD), considering the Big Bang Fuzion's hefty $350 fee.

Art Lebedev shows off Optimus Popularis keyboard

Art Lebedev Studio garnered a lot of attention when their Optimus Maximus keyboard concept surfaced in 2005. The peripheral touted a full set of OLED keys that were 100% user-customizable and looked downright amazing. After three years in development and many, many delays to the point of actually being labeled as "vaporware," the Optimus Maximus keyboard finally began shipping in 2008 with an obscene price tag of around $1,500.

Needless to say, not too many were sold. Now the company is back with another concept keyboard -- one that is smaller, sleeker and promises to be less expensive compared to the original Optimus Maximus. The Optimus Popularis uses a "chicklet" style layout and thinner profile than its predecessor. It also drops the numeric keypad on the right, but when every key features a customizable LED display on top I guess that's less of a problem -- and it saves a lot of money.

The new Popularis keyboard will supposedly feature OLED screens that encompass the individual keys' entire physical real estate with a 64x64 pixels resolution, up from 48x48 on the Maximus. There's also a long widget display mounted between the function and number keys. Art Lebedev says it expect to ship the peripheral "at the end of this year/beginning of next year" for less than $1000. The company doesn't have a fantastic track record when it comes to meeting deadlines, so we wouldn't hold our breath on that release timeframe. As for the price, hopefully less than $1,000 doesn't mean $999.

Cisco reveals Android-based Cius tablet for business users

Most of the slate devices shown this year have been aimed at consumers, but Cisco has its sights set on the enterprise market. The company's business-oriented Cius tablet is designed to accompany corporate workers during those lonely nights on the road, boasting a "virtual desktop integration with anywhere, anytime access to the full range of Cisco collaboration and communication applications."

The Android-based 7-incher places a large emphasis on video conferencing features, including a front camera capable of capturing 720p video at 30 frames per second, along with a 5-megapixel camera on the rear for still images and streaming VGA quality video. There are also dual noise-cancelling microphones, as well as 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi and 3G connectivity, with 4G coming in the future.

Other ports include gigabit Ethernet and USB, while an accelerometer adjusts screen orientation and a detachable battery pledges eight hours of life under "normal usage." As noted, the Cius supports a wide range of Cisco tools, including Quad, Show and Share, WebEx Connect, WebEx Meeting center, Presence, TelePresence, AnyConnect VPN Security and more.

Customer trials of the Cisco Cius will begin this fall, with widespread availability expected in the first quarter of 2011.

MSI announces Wind U135DX netbook with Atom N455

MSI has announced the arrival of its new Wind U135DX netbook, which appears to recycle much of the Wind U135's external design, except for the "all new Color Film Print coating" and a 20% wider touchpad. Internally, the new unit supports DDR3 memory thanks to the use of Intel's 1.66GHz Atom N455 processor.

It also comes equipped with a 10-inch 1024x600 LED-backlit display, up to 2GB of RAM occupying a single memory slot, a 160GB hard drive, a 0.3-megapixel webcam, a three or six-cell battery, and Windows 7 Starter. I/O includes a 4-in-1 card reader (SD, MMC, MS, MS Pro), VGA-out, three USB 2.0 ports, Ethernet, 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, and audio jacks.

MSI says the Wind U135DX has a maximum battery life of around seven hours, and if you're not concerned about runtime, it features the company's TDE turbo drive overclocking technology.

Acer ships dual-core AMD Turion II ultraportable to the U.S.

Looking for an ultraportable system packing a bit more power than your average netbook but at an affordable price tag? The new Acer Aspire 1551 might be right up your alley. Externally, the laptop looks a lot like Acer's Intel-based 1810 Timeline, measuring 11.22 x 8.03 x 1.01 inches with an 11.6" screen, but inside there's a dual-core AMD Turion II K625 processor running at 1.5GHz, alongside 4GB of RAM and an M880G chipset with Radeon HD 4225 integrated graphics.

The K625 CPU is part of AMD's new Nile platform, which is manufactured using 45nm process technology and has a fairly low 15W thermal envelope. Other specs include a 320GB hard drive, 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, three USB 2.0 ports, HDMI, multi-card reader, 1.3MP webcam, a 6-cell battery and Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit.

The Acer Aspire 1551 is available for $550 on Newegg. A lower-end model sporting a 1.3GHz AMD Athlon II Neo K325 processor, 3GB of memory and a 250GB hard drive is also available for $480.

Android 2.2 'Froyo' update officially hits Nexus One phones

Good news, Nexus One owners. Google is finally rolling out Android 2.2, codenamed Froyo, to your devices in an over-the-air update. The latest version of the mobile platform brings several performance improvements to the table, as well as new features like support for push notifications, better support for Microsoft's Exchange software, a streamlined Android Market interface, and the ability to turn your phone into a portable Wi-Fi hotspot that can be shared with up to 8 devices.

Android 2.2 also brings faster app-switching and support for Adobe Flash 10.1, allowing you phone's web browser to fully run websites that use Flash for navigation, games and video. In order to access the update, you will receive a message on your phone's notification bar. Just download the update, wait for it to install, and you should be all set. According to Google, the update will be rolling out gradually to all Nexus Ones during the week.

No specific date has been set for when other devices will get the final version of Android 2.2. The HTC Evo 4G, HTC Droid Incredible, and HTC Desire (non-US) should all be getting the update in the coming months, as well as the Motorola Droid and the upcoming Motorola Droid X. Both manufacturers use a custom version of the Andriod user interface with their devices, so it usually takes longer for users of these phones to receive the latest updates

The update will be compatible with most Android phones released in 2010. If you have an older Android smartphone, like the T-Mobile G1, don't expect to get Froyo, as its hardware is said to be too limited to provide full support.

Seagate debuts world's first 3TB external hard drive

Looking to meet and exceed users' ever evolving storage needs, Seagate has announced it now is shipping the industry's first 3TB external hard drive as part of their FreeAgent GoFlex Desk family. The drive is compatible with both Mac OS X and Windows systems, utilizing a work-around that allows it to overcome the 2.1TB partition limit on XP. Like other GoFlex products, it can be adapted to transfer data using USB 2.0, USB 3.0 or FireWire 800 interfaces.

The 3.5-inch, 3TB drive achieves its capacity boost without increasing areal density. It has five platters, each with 600GB -- that's one platter more than current 2TB drives. For those who like keeping track of such things, Seagate says this drive can store 120 high-definition movies, or 1,500 video games, thousands of photos or "countless" hours of digital music.

The new drive comes pre-loaded with automatic backup software as well as encryption programs to keep all your data nice and safe. Seagate is selling the 3TB FreeAgent GoFlex Desk today for $250 through its online store. Cables to add new interfaces vary from $20 to $50. The company is also readying an internal 3TB hard drive for release later this year.

Sony preps PS3 and PSP firmware updates

Sony has detailed a forthcoming PlayStation 3 firmware update that will add various new features, including PlayStation Plus, enhancements between your PlayStation Network and Facebook accounts, and more. In case you've missed earlier reports, PlayStation Plus is a new paid subscription service that provides access to exclusive extras, such as free games, betas, special themes, and access to Qore. The existing free online platform will remain unaffected.

Other key additions in firmware update 3.40 include a photo gallery that lets you upload, browse and comment on Facebook and Picasa Web Album pictures. There's also a video editor with the ability to upload clips to YouTube and Facebook, a one to five star rating system for PlayStation Store content, and power save setting to automatically turn off the PS3 after a set duration, the default of which will be two hours.

Sony will launch the next PSP firmware update (v6.30) at the same time as PS3 3.40, but a date hasn't been announced. While we're talking about the PSP, it's worth noting that Sony exec Scott Rohde has gone on the record to say the company has no plans for a 3D-capable portable console. Granted, it's a seemingly niche feature at the moment but do you think Sony will reconsider its stance if the Nintendo 3DS is successful?

Dead Rising 2 launch bumped to September 28

According to Eurogamer, Capcom has postponed the debut of the sequel to 2006's sandbox-style zombie slasher Dead Rising by one month. Dead Rising 2 is now due on September 28 in North America and October 1 in Europe for the PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 simultaneously. The developer hasn't provided any official reason for the delay, nor is there any information about whether it will affect the Xbox 360-exclusive "downloadable prologue" Case Zero.

The latest installment is set five years after the events of the original title and follows a "more interesting" protagonist, Chuck Greene, as he hacks his way through hordes of infected souls in the Las Vegas-like Fortune City. Dead Rising 2's gameplay remains largely unchanged, but there are various enhancements, such as new weapons including a lawn mower, missions (sans photography elements), and the max onscreen zombie count has been increased from 800 to roughly 6,000.

iPhone 4 costs $188 in parts, 1.7 million units sold in 3 days

After tearing the iPhone 4 to bits, research outfit iSuppli estimates the handset's parts to cost about $188, or $187.51 to be precise. That figure is for the 16GB model and doesn't include costs associated with manufacturing, research and development, logistics or advertising. Unsurprisingly, the most expensive component in the new iPhone is its high-resolution "retina display," which runs about $28.50.

In all, the latest numbers are similar to what we've seen for previous iPhones, and iSuppli believes this is because Apple is targeting the same budget. The 3GS was estimated to cost $179 in materials, but considering features like the upgraded screen, the new A4 processor ($10.75), a gyroscope ($2.60) and other additions, the iPhone 4's extra $8.5 seems perfectly reasonable.

At retail, the iPhone 4 costs $199 (16GB) and $299 (32GB) when paired with a two-year data plan from AT&T, or $499 and $599 for unsubsidized units. Steve Jobs has called it the most successful product launch in Apple's history, with 1.7 million units shipped in three days. By comparison, the company sold 1 million 3GS' in the same timeframe.

Samsung Galaxy S to debut on all major U.S. carriers, Sprint's version gets WiMAX

Samsung is making sure you won't have to worry about switching wireless carriers to get your hands on its hot new Android handset, codenamed Galaxy S. The device is expected to debut on all major U.S. carriers sporting a high end feature set that includes a 4-inch AMOLED touch screen display, 1Ghz Cortex A8 Hummingbird processor, a 5-megapixel camera with LED flash and 720p video capture, 2GB of internal storage, Bluetooth, GPS and Wi-Fi.

Verizon's version will be called Samsung Fascinate. It will come with a 16GB microSD card included, 3G mobile hotspot functionality, and the carrier's usual slate of branded features such as VZ Navigator and V Cast Music. On T-Mobile's network the Galaxy S will be called Samsung Vibrant and includes a 2GB microSD card preloaded with the movie Avatar and The Sims 3. T-Mobile will start selling the Samsung Vibrant from July 21, for $199 with a two-year contract.

Over on AT&T the phone will be called Samsung Captivate, including 16GB of storage and various customized features such as AT&T Navigator and AT&T Address Book. Last but certainly not least, Sprint's version of the Galaxy S will pack a few extra surprises. Dubbed Epic 4G, the device will be able to hop on Sprint's WiMAX network for faster download speeds (where available), and adds a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, six-axis sensor as well as a front-facing camera.

The device will be Sprint's second WiMAX phone and is a great alternative to the HTC Evo 4G if you just can't get used to software based keypads. Common to all editions of Samsung's Galaxy S is version 2.1 of Google Android, with 2.2 "Froyo" upgrades expected to come at a later time.

Acer's Predator takes on high-end desktop gaming

While not meaning to take it to any extreme levels, Acer is updating its Predator desktop PC series aimed at gamers packing a lot of horsepower and the option to scale up graphics. For $2,000 you get a Core i7 930 processor, a 3-way SLI capable motherboard, 12GB of DDR3 RAM, a single GeForce GTX 470 graphics card, 1.5TB HDD and a radical chassis design with a mechanized front cover that hides a multi-card reader and various connectivity ports.

The way this system has been configured reminds me a bit of the Gateway FX gaming desktop we reviewed a couple of months back. The sheer amount of RAM is unnecessary, but nevertheless adds to the overall appeal for those easily mislead by spec figures. That's not to say the configuration is not well rounded though. The Predator cannot be configured to build, so the SLI capable motherboard is a worthwhile addition. Also the GeForce GTX 470 seems like the best choice to offer a multi-GPU upgrade option as we recently learned in our SLI vs. Crossfire shootout.

Like with the Gateway FX, Acer seems to be targeting the gamer that doesn't want to bother to build his own system, offering a good combination of components at an interesting price point. Unlike its exterior may lead you to believe, the Predator is not an extreme gaming PC, but it won't cost you like one either. Next time an SSD choice in place of that extra RAM could make for a nice option. The new Acer Predator is expected to become available from retailers immediately.