MWC 2011 - Today HTC announced its first tablet at MWC called "Flyer". It is a 7-inch tablet with a 1024 x 600 display running Android and maybe most notably with HTC Sense for Tablets. Many will know HTC Sense on HTC's range of mobile phones, a kind of overlay on the OS which includes a range of easy to use widgets and such. HTC Sense for Tablets is much of the same thing, but has been optimized for the larger screen.

Next up is HTC Scribe Technology which implemented a "scribble" feature which allows the user to jot down notes or mark certain sections in books or even on Facebook and other applications that they want to remember or to easily show to a friend. Using the included multi-function pen, you can select different pen thicknesses and colors and just start writing in many different areas. If you want to make changes, you can adjust the pen setting and use it as an eraser.

From the looks of things, you use the pen to tap in a certain area of the screen and it quickly snaps a screenshot and launches the "Scribble" application. Basically, it seems like you are editing a saved screenshot image in a very simple graphics editor. Then if you like you can share the Scribble image using a range of different methods.

MWC 2011 - The next product stop for Miss Scooter after checking out the 10.1-inch tablet from Samsung was the latest smartphone to be introduced by Samsung, the Galaxy S II (GT-I9100).

This is yet another Google Android device based on Gingerbread 2.3. Different from the first Galaxy S is the new and slightly larger 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus screen which has a better contrast ratio and .3-inch more of screen to enjoy. Other hardware specs to change is the inclusion of a dual-core 1GHz processor which is said to provide the key advantage of offering mobile download speeds of up to 21MBit/s compared to 7.2MBit/s on the original Galaxy.

On the back of the device is a very impressive 8 megapixel camera with a flash which provides video recording at 1080p as well as playback at 1080p. In the video above we get a demo of the Readers app where you can download over 2000 newspapers from around the world. You get full page views of each page and then you simply tap on a headline to read each story in its own view.

Qualcomm are riding the wave of smartphone and tablets by announcing a new quad core chip at the World Congress event, capable of running at 2.5GHz and is designed for next-gen tablets. The new chip will go head to head with NVIDIA's Tegra 3 system on a chip.

The new chip, APQ8064 has the same design as the APQ8060 but has ramped the speed up to 2.5GHz and doubles the processing cores to four. It is based on a 28nm design and is featured in a new family of upcoming Snapdragon chips based on the "Krait" codename. APQ8064 also includes a new quad core Adrenos 320 graphics processor with up to 15 times more performance than the current Adreno GPU that it will replace.

If the numbers are right, Qualcomm will have 12 times more performance while using 75-percent less power when compared to their current chips. Qualcomm's Luis Pinesa has said "We're excited about the new, innovative devices the APQ8064 will enable in the market, With its Wi-Fi integration and ability to seamlessly interface with Qualcomm's 3G and LTE modules, the APQ8064 will provide OEM's with a flexible, cost-efficient and fast time to market platform that can meet all of their design configuration needs for tablets and next generation computing and consumer electronic devices."

Valve's digital distribution platform, Steam, has been rumored to control between 50 and 70-percent of the entire downloadable PC games market. The digital distribution market on PC is said to be worth $4 billion USD.

Newell talked to Forbes as part of a company profile and said that Valve was "tremendously profitable", but would not give specific figures. Valve is a private company after all and does not release financial reports publicly either. Newell did say that Valve's 200 percent year-on-year growth and relatively small headcount of just 250 employees made the company more profitable than Google or Apple.

Forbes has also claimed through various sources that Valve are valued at between $2 billion and $4 billion USD with an estimated 2010 revenue in the 'high hundreds of millions'. Steam's on-going success could be that Steam publishers earn a gross margin of 70 percent, compared to that of retail that offer a meager 30 percent.

In the State of Solid State 2011 we predicted that Plextor would be the first to market with a Marvell 88SS9174 controlled SSD and what do you know, we were right. Plextor is claiming that the new M2 is now shipping in the US with speeds up to 480MB/s read and 330MB/s Write. This new controller is the final version of what we tested from ADATA several months ago, the difference being that the controller is now ready for retail.

Personally I can't wait to get my hands on the new drive to see if it lives up to the hype we've been hearing since last June. The timing couldn't be better either since there is now a shortage of 3Xnm flash and many companies are moving their SandForce SF-1200 production to 25nm flash modules. The 25nm flash will work out really well for next generation SSDs but are causing headaches for unsuspecting owners who are finding their SF-1200 drives with 25nm flash to perform slower than the drives we've tested over the last year and two months. Look for a full story in the coming days as we are wrapping up putting the pieces together.

Plextor's New SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Drive Available Now

AMD are rumored to can the Athlon, Sempron and Phenom brand names in favour of its AMD Vision trademark. AMD are set to introduce their codenamed Llano and Zambezi microprocessors later this year but, will not introduce a brand-name for them. Instead, AMD will put them into different classes of Vision platforms.

Zambezi-based processed which are built on the Bulldozer micro-architecture will include four, six or eight cores will be branded under the FX-series and sold under AMD's Vision Black and AMD Vision Ultimate labels. Llano on the other hand will include two or four cores as well as sporting Radeon HD 6000 series graphics cores and will be known as A-series processors. These chips will be part of the AMD Vision Ultimate and AMD Vision Premium platforms.

The lower-end of the market will be given E-series units with single or dual cores and a basic Radeon HD 6000-series graphics code-named Zacate under an AMD Vision sticker. AMD slashing the Athlon, Phenom and Sempron range is not an easy thing but, it will eventually lead to a more simplified line up of CPU's. Having different classes will help the end user who is not necessarily 'tech-savvy' to differentiate between the AMD range of products.

Well folks, we are about 16 days into the TweakTown Aussie Flood Appeal and I thought it was time that I give you all an update on the donations we have received so far.

At this very moment, the donations total $4,655.17 AUD - yes, some of you donated odd amounts like $11 and $16, but thanks all the same for the extra. It all counts! We have converted to Australian Dollars since that is what will be given.

This means we are only a little short of our minimum of $5,000 USD and still a long way short of our target of $10,000 USD. The first end date for the appeal is Feb 26, 2011, but as mentioned in the original news post, we may extend up to March 31st in one week intervals if required.

While smartphones have taken over a lot of useful functions in our lives, it's no secret that most phone cameras stink. Unless you've got a steady hand and perfect lighting, getting a really good shot is nearly impossible without hours of setting tweaking. Samsung has heard the cries of blurrycam victims everywhere and are working on two new camera sensors that could let you say goodbye to your point and shoot forever.

The tech serving to help improve photo quality is back side illumination, which allows a ton more light to enter the sensor even in low light conditions. Generally, rule number one for better photos is get as much light as you can. Samsung's 8 megapixel sensor, labeled the S5K3H2, is capable of capturing 1080p video at 30 FPS, 720p video at 60 FPS, and VGA video at 120FPS. While VGA, or 640×480 resolution, may seem pointless in this setup Samsung's giving the ability to play back VGA video in slow motion for those truly epic YouTube fail videos. The big dog of the lineup is the 12 megapixel S5K3L1, which sports all of the above listed features but also includes pixel-correction to clean up photos and videos.

The timeframe for these sensors to hit manufacturer's hands for implementation is about six months, which means we'll probably be waiting until 2012 before we see these in any of our phones. If it works, point and shoot cameras may officially become a thing of the past.

Facebook and Google both had Twitter in their targets last year and even went as far to have talks with Twitter. Obviously all three companies have declined to comment on the news.

The meetings have let the flood gates open and rummaging through the wreckage is a golden nugget of info, Twitter was valued by Google and Facebook at between $8 billion and $10 billion. This is all according to sources quoted by The Wall Street Journal:

Executives at both Facebook Inc. and Google Inc., among other companies, have held low-level talks with those at Twitter Inc. in recent months to explore the prospect of an acquisition of the messaging service, according to people familiar with the matter. The talks have so far gone nowhere, these people say. But what's remarkable is the money that people familiar with the matter say frames the discussions with at least some potential suitors: an estimated valuation in the neighborhood of $8 billion to $10 billion. This for a company that, people familiar with the matter said, had 2010 revenue of $45 million-but lost money as it spent on hiring and data centers-and estimates its revenue this year at between $100 million and $110 million.

Every time I go to the gym and see someone wearing headphones, it never ceases to amaze me that I can hear their music with them wearing earphones from 10 feet away. I can only imagine how loud that must be in their ears and how bad that must be for their hearing.

If you worry about your hearing or the hearing of your kid or another loved one that wears earphones a lot dB Logic has a new set of earphones that will be perfect for you. The earphones are called the EP-100 and are shipping now for about $30. The headphones have special SPL2 technology inside that protect the user from hearing damage associated with listening to music too loudly for a long time.

The circuits inside the headphones regulate the volume without causing distortion and other issues with the music. The technology needs no batteries either and is transparent to the user. The earphones come in silver, red, blue, pink, green, and orange colors and are available right now on Amazon and directly from the manufacturer.

Typically when I talk about Scythe we are looking at pics and specs on a new cooling solution for CPUs or video cards. Cooling isn't all Scythe has and the latest product to come for the company is a new line of power supplies. The line is all the same with the only difference being the power rating.

Scythe offers a 500W, 600W, and 700W version of the new Gouriki 3 PSU. They all share the same dual 12V rail as recommended by the Intel ATX 2.3 standard. The dual rails promise more stable power for computers. The PSUs also all measure in at 150 x 155 x 86mm and have a Scythe fan inside for cooling that is 140mm.

That fan has a special circuit that spins at only the speed needed to keep the PSU cool. The maximum speed is 1100rpm for the 500W offering, 1200rpm for the 600W, and 1450rpm for the 700W. The line is rated 80 Plus Bronze and has lots of protection built in for overvolt and more. Pricing and availability are unknown.

Fake guitarplayers everywhere are mourning today as Activision released that they are discontinuing their popular Guitar Hero franchise after a six year run. Slipping sales are the most likely culprit, with the latest release "Warriors of Rock" setting a new low in sales for the $2 billion gaming franchise.

While it may be the first game people think of when you're naming music-based video games, new competition from the likes of Rock Band and others have severely bitten into Guitar Hero's fanbase. Activision said in a statement that "due to continued declines in the music genre, the company will disband Activision Publishing's Guitar Hero business unit and discontinue development on its Guitar Hero game for 2011." Well, it's easy to make millions when you're the only game in town but when the competition comes you've got to step it up and Guitar Hero just wasn't able to do it. Reports are stating that Activision may continue to make new downloadable content available for current Guitar Hero games; although there is no timetable on how often or how long it will continue.

Thermaltake's Toughpower line of power supplies have been a big hit for high end PC owners. The folks at Thermaltake are looking to keep the momentum going as they release three new flavors of their Toughpower Grand line, complete with 80 Plus Gold certification for maximum efficiency.

The new Toughpower Grans PSUs will be available in 850W, 1050W and 1200W Models. Dual 12V rails provide most of the juice that your PC needs and an ultra durable 3 oz PCB design provides a solid base. A flower shaped 140mm fan keeps the unit cool and the FanDelayCool feature keeps the fan running for 15 to 30 seconds after shutdown for added cooling after long gaming or benching sessions. No prices or relase dates were released at this time.

Owners of PS3 consoles and PCs have been licking their chops to get their hands on the release of First Strike, the new downloadable content for Call of Duty: Black Ops since it was released for Xbox 360 owners. The folks at Sony have some news for the console side; a firm release date.

Black Ops fans with a PS3 will be able to get their hands on First Strike on March 3rd, which is around the end of the 30 day window that Microsoft owns for exclusive rights for the DLC. Berlin Wall, Discovery, Stadium, and Kowloon are the four new multiplayer maps that will be included as well as Ascension to continue the Zombies saga. The expansion will cost $15. No word on an arrival date for the PC as of yet.

Apple's iPad 2 has not even been announced yet and there's news floating out there of the iPad 3. Earlier today HP held an event in San Fransisco to until their latest bag of goodies based around the webOS software in which they acquired through the purchase of Palm last year. One of these devices is a tablet, called TouchPad. The TouchPad looks like an iPad, but is better specced. Some are already wondering if it's a possible "iPad-killer".

Daring Fireball's John Gruber has said "Summer feels like a long time away. If my theory is right, they're not only going to be months behind the iPad 2, but if they slip until late summer, they might bump up against the release of the iPad 3. And not only did they announce this with a distant ship date, they did it with no word on pricing."

He does mention iPad 3 in that quote. But, Apple are also touted to release a "big fall surprise". This surprise could be different to the usual iPod/iTunes or MacBook line of products. Right now, if there is an iPad 3 on the horizon, it could mean the iPad 2 is more like the difference from an iPhone 3 to iPhone 3GS, with the iPad 3 being the massive leap (much higher resolution screen, etc).

I really liked the looks of the Dell Adamo notebook. The thing that most of us didn't like was that the notebook sold for about $2000 when it first launched over a year ago. The performance just didn't live up to that big price tag and you were mostly paying for the style of the rig. Over the last few months, Dell has been offering some impressive discounts on the Adamo.

The last discount I saw put the machine at $799, less than half what the notebook started out as. I was hoping that the price would be the new selling point, and it was - until supplies ran out. CNET reports that sources have told it Dell has discontinued the Adamo.

The price cuts were to clear inventory it seems. The Adamo name won't go into the night though. The same sources claim that the Adamo name will come back on a new notebook in the next six months. If Dell hopes to keep the name in our minds, it had better not take 6-months to get a new Adamo on the market.

The Intel Sandy Bridge processors have not been on the market long, but as rumors tend to do, a new one is already making the rounds that have another new CPU coming from Intel this year. The rumor centers on the new 22nm Ivy Bridge CPUs.

There aren't many details to go on here. DigiTimes cites the source of the rumor as the Chinese paper Commercial Times. The publication claims that the Ivy Bridge CPU will be launched in June at Computex Taipei. Whether or not that rumor will come true remains to be seen, but Intel could use some good press with the Sandy Bridge chipset issue hovering like a dark cloud.

AMD is also said to be spending the production of the Llano APU and the APUs are expected to ship in May to OEMs. The original date for the Llano shipments to start was Q3 2011.

Intel's woes with the Cougar Point Sandy Bridge chipset are well known at this point. The issue boils down to a flaw in the P67 chipset that will result in degraded IO performance over time. The flaw could eventually lead to failure of the SATA ports the chipset controls. Intel has previously told its partners to pull boards with affected chipsets from the market and to cease sales.

Intel has now offered up new detail on the issue with the 6 series chipset that will allow its partners to resume shipping systems that aren't affected by the issue. That means that the affected mainboards will ship only if the machines are configured in a manner that will not be affected by the chipset problem, meaning no drives connected to the SATA ports controlled by the P67 chipset. Intel says that this move was made at the request of its partners.

The big issue I see that that is that the initial configuration may not be using the affected SATA ports, but if the end-user isn't aware of the issue at purchase and wants to upgrade later the IO flaw in the P67 would be a problem. Intel notes that it is in manufacturing with a new version of the chipset that fixes the problem.

We just wanted to give everyone an update and reminder about the Dream System we're doing so we can help with the Flood Appeal after the devastating effects caused to parts of Australia.

It was always the plan to build the Dream System, put it through its paces to show you just what you can get, and for us to make sure everything was running swiftly.

Anyway, the main bits of the system are built; the WD 2TB drives aren't installed yet as they just arrived today and the Airflow isn't on the RAM. We won't actually install that and instead we'll just leave it in the packaging just so we have no issues with it falling off during transit or anything like that.

Sprint's not sitting on their laurels and letting Verizon and AT&T have all the fun releasing new products. Sprint's announcement of their "industry first" dual screen Android phone went down today. Say hello to the Kyocera Echo.

Obviously, the big feature is the dual 3.5-inch 480 x 800 resolution screens that can also function as a single 4.7-inch 960 x 800 display when the echo is unfolded. A 1 GHz Snapdragon second-gen processor will power this beast and it will run Android 2.2 at launch. Customized software takes advantage of the dual screen capability for things like email and messaging, while other outside apps will run in full display mode for now until developers are able to get their hands on a kit to tweak their software for the device.

Drawbacks include no 4G or WiMAX support as well as only a single 5mp camera, although the camera is 720p recording capable. No official street date was released, but the Echo will only be $199 after a $100 from Sprint. The bundle will even include an extra battery for those who need the extra juice. We'll see if this steals any eyes from those looking forward to the Inspire 4G or Verizon iPhone.