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US Update: BlackBerry PlayBook, iTunes $10k giveaway, Motorola Atrix
Motorola Atrix launching on At&t March 1st, Orange UK next?
Download the ten billionth app: win $10k iTunes Gift Card
RIM announces BlackBerry PlayBook SDK beta, free PlayBook offer extended
Electric car challenge complete: London to Edinburgh
One million BlackBerry PlayBooks expected to ship in Q1 2011
Teatime Tech: T-Mobile data ruckus, dual core smartphones and The Social Network script shared online
Win a Sony iPod dock: How would you pimp your ride?
Cubeduel: Play top trumps with co-worker careers
Desktop speakers go clutter free with Sharp USB Mini Sound Bar

US Update: BlackBerry PlayBook, iTunes $10k giveaway, Motorola Atrix

Posted: 14 Jan 2011 07:00 PM PST

Kicking off your weekend right it's your morning dose of tech — the US Update. We've got the latest forecasts on the BlackBerry PlayBook Q1 2011 shipments, a story on an electric car traveling from London to Edinburgh, the Motorola Atrix Orange UK release date and more.

According to Quanta Computer, the Taiwan-based company responsible for manufacturing the BlackBerry PlayBook, production levels are expected to reach one million units in Q1 2010. This means the PlayBook could outsell the Motorola XOOM which is forecasts to ship 700,000 to 800,000 units during the same time.

The BBC's Brian Milligan took up a challenge to drive from London to Edinburgh in an electric car this week. The journey took him four days to complete, required nine charging stations and quite a bit of patience.

The BlackBerry PlayBook SDK beta is now available. Even better, RIM has confirmed they've extended their 'free BlackBerry PlayBook' offer until March 15, 2011, so if you're a developer hoping to explore the world of BlackBerry, now's the time.

The Mac App Store is rapidly approaching its ten billionth download. To celebrate the milestone, Apple is giving away a $10k iTunes gift card to the person who downloads the ten billionth app. You can entry up to 25 times per day and even free apps count so get going!

Last up this morning is the latest on the Motorola Atrix for Orange UK. A leaked document shows the handset will be launched on March 1st in the US for At&t customers. Previously we were told Q2 2011, with May being the likely date. Now that we know At&t will get the super-phone in March it looks like Orange UK might get the Atrix sooner than expected!

That wraps up things this fine morning from the states. Thanks for spending your morning with us as we break the headlines fresh off the press from our side of the world. Until Monday, this is Nick saying over and out.

Motorola Atrix launching on At&t March 1st, Orange UK next?

Posted: 14 Jan 2011 06:00 PM PST

The baddest Android handset on the planet, formally know as the Motorola Atrix, looks to be making an official debut in the US on At&t March 1st. According to a leaked memo obtained by AndroidCentral, the Tegra 2 dual-core super phone could be in At&t users' hands in less than two months time.

We confirmed Orange UK would also be launching the Atrix at CES, but a release date remained a mystery. According to a source at Mobiles.co.uk, a subsidiary of Carphone Warehouse, the Motorola Atrix will be available from "May 2011". This fits in nicely with Motorola's Q2 2011 promise, but knowing that At&t will have the phone March 1st begs the question — will Orange UK beat the May 2011 prediction?

For now we're following the story closely, hoping to provide some additional details and possibly an exact release date. Assuming At&t and Orange UK are both on equal terms with Motorola it would not be outside the realm of possibility that we could launches within weeks of each other. Anyone want to take a guess at the Orange UK Motorola Atrix release date?

via DialtoSave | AndroidCentral

Download the ten billionth app: win $10k iTunes Gift Card

Posted: 14 Jan 2011 05:00 PM PST

Apple is taking the old sharing is caring phrase to heart. The Cupertino crew is on the brink of hitting its ten billionth download for the Mac App Store — you know, the desktop version of its highly successful mobile store. Here's the good news: if your download is the ten billionth, you win a $10,000 iTunes gift card.

Here's what you need to know. The 10 Billion Apps Countdown Promotion is open to entrants who are 13 years or older at the time of entry and legal citizens of a participating country. There's no purchase necessary, so feel free to have a stab at some free apps to enter (or our list of paid apps). Before you go downloading the entire App Store, keep in mind that you are limited to 25 entries per per per day.

At the time of reporting the story, the App counter reads 9,775,031,175 and is currently going at a rate of about 1,000 apps every two seconds or a million apps every 33 minutes. If you are serious about winning this iTunes gift card we suggest forming a team adding a little math to your strategy.

In the unlikely event that like Neo, you are the chosen one, go ahead and give us a shout. We'd love a snap of that $10,000 iTunes Gift card in hand. As a valued reader, you deserve to be rewarded. So what's the plan ladies and gents?

via Apple

RIM announces BlackBerry PlayBook SDK beta, free PlayBook offer extended

Posted: 14 Jan 2011 04:00 PM PST

Grabbing the bull by its horns, RIM launched the beta version of the BlackBerry WebWorks SDK for Tablet OS alongside new services and developer tools for BlackBerry smartphones. The news comes by way of the BlackBerry DEVCON Asia conference– does this mean PlayBook apps are next?

In a move skip past the current limitations of App Stores, RIM's BlackBerry PlayBook is based on robust web standards in addition to heavy collaboration with the "open source community". The BlackBerry WebWorks platform will help web and mobile developers leverage the SDK in combination with their web development tools of choice — ultimately leading to deeply integrated applications for the BlackBerry PlayBook.

We had our fair share of hands-on time with the BlackBerry PlayBook at CES and we can confirm how well web applications perform on the platform. Playing back 1080P HD video will simultaneously running a fullscreen Flash-based game is average task for this dual-core workhorse.

So anyone a developer out there and hoping to explore the potential of the WebWorks SDK on the BlackBerry PlayBook? How about a free BlackBerry PlayBook for your commitment to the SDK and the BlackBerry Tablet OS? RIM has confirmed that they'll be extending the 'free BlackBerry PlayBook' offer until March 15, 2011.

Starting today, web developers can download the BlackBerry WebWorks SDK for Tablets OS, build BlackBerry PlayBook applications and qualify for a free BlackBerry PlayBook. For more details about the offer including the Terms and Conditions visit
www.blackberry.com/developers/blackberryplaybookoffer.

So, we had our hands-on time with the BlackBerry PlayBook, we know it has the power and now we have the SDK to leverage that hardware with some incredible software. Anyone else interested in developing with the BlackBerry WebWorks SDK for Tablet OS?

Coming Soon | RIM | TBD

Electric car challenge complete: London to Edinburgh

Posted: 14 Jan 2011 03:00 PM PST

In a move to inspire British motorists to look into possibility of relying on an entirely electric car, the BBC's Brian Milligan took up a challenge to drive from London to Edinburgh this week. It's not quite as easy as one might think, in fact the rules of the challenge required that he only charge the car's battery at public points. After four long days and plenty of patience, the journey is complete.

Starting out at 9 o'clock on Monday morning with 485 miles separating London and Edinburgh, Brian Milligan began has journey. The use of an electric vehicle can prove quite tricky when it comes to longer-than-usual journeys; 485 miles certainly qualifies. Using all nine of the public charging posts, the experiment proved to be a success, but largely due to a bit of luck.

On the last leg of the trip, the vehicle was simply out of reach of arriving in Edinburgh, but a new charging station in Berwick-upon-Tweed saved the day. Literally installed just days before the trip, this station was all it took to make the trek a success.

There's certainly some limitation when it comes to an all electric vehicle if you plan on taking a road trip. At last week's CES convention we had a chance to take a look at the Ford Focus Electric, a pure battery power vehicle that hits a top speed of 84 mph. As we begin to explore the all electric possibilities for travel, the need for a second gas or hybrid vehicle will remain a necessity for many.

Anyone out there thinking of going with an all electric vehicle anytime soon? Could you carry out your day to day activities being locked down to a 50 mile radius? Sound off in the comments.

via BBC

One million BlackBerry PlayBooks expected to ship in Q1 2011

Posted: 14 Jan 2011 02:25 PM PST

There's certainly some high expectations for our favorite Canadian smartphone manufacturer this year. Launching the BlackBerry PlayBook this quarter, RIM will be embarking on an interesting journey when it enters a space largely dominated by Android and iOS devices. According to Quanta Computer, the Taiwan-based company responsible for manufacturing the PlayBook, production levels are expected to reach one million units in Q1 2010. Should the Motorola XOOM be worried?

Compared to the Motorola XOOM and the other Android 3.0 Honeycomb tablets on the horizon, the BlackBerry PlayBook is a very unique piece of hardware. Limited to multimedia and web browsing functions without the pairing of a BlackBerry smartphone, the device has uniquely identified itself in this world of tablets.

Earlier this week forecasts for Motorola XOOM shipments were said to be in the neighborhood of 700,000 to 800,000 units. If Quanta Computer is accurate in their production forecast, one million BlackBerry PlayBooks would be a very impressive feat. For now we know of at least two version of the PlayBook, a WiFi-only edition being released globally and a 4G version for Sprint in the US.

There's certainly no shortage of BlackBerry users out there in the world who would largely benefit from the BlackBerry PlayBook, but we must ask — do you think the PlayBook will outsell the Motorola XOOM in 2011? It looks like we are in for a very interesting first half of 2011, let the tablet wars begin.

via Cellular-News

Teatime Tech: T-Mobile data ruckus, dual core smartphones and The Social Network script shared online

Posted: 14 Jan 2011 09:57 AM PST

It’s time to clear out for the weekend, but before you do, grab some tech talk worth chatting about over a pint right here in our teatime tech roundup.

Let’s talk mobile first. We took a look at the T-Mobile furore caused by its data cap limits being slashed – then only for new customers. It’s a clear sign that we need more more transparency, and from every network.

We also asked you whether you wanted a dual core smartphone, a couple of which we saw at CES last week for the first time. Will all that processing power come at the cost of ludicrously short battery life?

Finally, The Social Network script has been shared online, in a somewhat ironic twist. Plan on acting it out? Tell us who’ll you play.

Still want more news? Bounce on over to the homepage and help yourself to it all as it breaks.

Win a Sony iPod dock: How would you pimp your ride?

Posted: 14 Jan 2011 09:49 AM PST

Competition alert! While we’re not done giving away a PlayStation Move, we’re now also offering two readers the chance to win a Sony iPod dock worth £200. Want to bag one? Tell us how you’d pimp out your ride with gadgets. Read on, it’ll make sense when you see the video…

Thanks to Sony, we’re giving away two RDP-X50iP iPod docks and three pairs of Active Series earphones. The newly launched dock is the perfect partner for your iPod: boasting a stylish design and stunning sound quality. In addition, when it comes to burning off your Christmas excesses, the Active Series earphones are specifically made for sports use.

For more information on Sony products, visit www.sony.co.uk

The Sony Audio team has been busy recently, building a tricked-out, pedal powered bike with extra Sony pizazz. Its Bassbike appeared on SB:TV alongside Flo Rida, Tinchy Stryder, B.O.B, Labrinth and Griminal. To win some new Sony products, have a look at the video below and tell us… How would you pimp your ride?

Would you put a Wall of Sound iPod dock on the back? A hottub on the spokes? Maybe all you need is a killer piece of bodywork and a swanky new paint job…

Tell us the gadgets and custom rig you’d set up on your push bike, with an unlimited budget, in the comments below: we’ll pick two winners and award them Sony RDP-X50iP iPod docks, while three runners up nab a set of headphones each. Just check the terms and conditions, and follow the entry steps below.

How to enter

Step 1

Tell us how you’d pimp your ride out – jot down your recipe for the best, most blinging ride out there. Or show us, if you like, and link to a video of your work.

Step 2

This bit is important, as your entry will only be valid if you follow the rules. So pay close attention peeps.

1. Write paste your plan into the comments section below, BUT DON'T POST IT JUST YET…
2. Before you post, make sure you sign in using your FACEBOOK login, THEN…
3. Hit the POST button and you're done!
4. Keep an eye on your Facebook message inbox – we'll be contacting you through it if you win.

While you're in the mood why not visit Electricpig on Facebook and hit the LIKE button.

Competition closing date: 15 February 2011
Any entries after the closing date are not valid.

Competition rules
Terms and conditions

Cubeduel: Play top trumps with co-worker careers

Posted: 14 Jan 2011 09:03 AM PST

Office slowing down for the last leg of Friday? Why not insult 50% of your co-workers by having a go at Cubeduel. Cubeduel uses your LinkedIn profile, and asks you to rate who you’d rather work with, in a sort of platonic but bitchier version of your face or mine. There’s no escaping it once someone in the office has started it either, as you can’t unlock your stats until you’ve chosen one person over another at least 20 times, and even after that it requires your co-workers to vote.

Free | CubeDuel

[via @busterbenson]

Desktop speakers go clutter free with Sharp USB Mini Sound Bar

Posted: 14 Jan 2011 08:07 AM PST

This neat sound bar from sharp is powered by USB so there’ll be minimal wiring, because it doesn’t need to be plugged into the mains. The Sharp CP-USB50 Mini Sound Bar Is a 2.1ch speaker system, which has a built in subwoofer and comes with a dinky carry case. It’s a snip at £40, and is good looking with it too.

Out now | £40 | Sharp

Made for Life

Friday, 14 January 2011