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Galaxy S Plus, Desire S shipping, next-generation iPod: US Update
HP webOS 3.0 SDK beta released for Early Access developers
Next-generation iPods will be powered by your heartbeat?
HTC Desire S now in stock, ships SIM-free for £409.99
HTC Pyramid smiles for the camera [photo]
Samsung planning new Galaxy S Plus: ships with Android 2.3
Samsung Galaxy Tab WiFi, the Nokia E6 and the best Android apps of all time: Teatime Tech
Nokia E6 leaks out: All hail the new E72
Best iPhone apps: app of the day = Everyday
Asus Eee Pad Transformer: The first UK Honeycomb tablet

Galaxy S Plus, Desire S shipping, next-generation iPod: US Update

Posted: 30 Mar 2011 07:00 PM PDT

It's time for your mid-week technology fix, best known as the US Update. In today's news we start things off with a rumor on a new and improved Galaxy S smartphone, dubbed the Galaxy S Plus. We head over to Expansys and look at the availability of the SIM-free HTC Desire S and then look at the future of the iPod nano — will it be powered by our heart beat? This and more on today's US Update.

A new and improved Samsung Galaxy S is expected to launch late-April in Russia. According to Samsung Russia's Livejournal blog, the Korean giant is planning a Galaxy S Plus, model i9001. We've got a new photo of the HTC Pyramid, the GSM version of the HTC EVO 3D announced last week. We've also updated the specs and this looks like the next great Android flagship.

The HTC Desire S, the successor to HTC's best-selling Android smartphone, is now available in the UK, SIM-free from Expansys. Priced at £409.99, the Desire S is looking to be a solid buy for anyone in the mid-high range smartphone market. A report from 9to5Mac suggest the next-generation of iPods could be powered by our heartbeat. Based on a new breakthrough in microscopic body movement power, prototypes of a chip "thousands times more powerful" than current prototypes is expected. Will this chip make its way into Cupertino's camp?

Last on today's agenda is the release of HP's webOS 3.0 SDK for early access developers. As the first release specific for the HP TouchPad, the webOS 3.0 SDK is essential for tablet support. That wraps up the best tech news on the net. As always I'm Nick Marshall and I'll see you again tomorrow.

HP webOS 3.0 SDK beta released for Early Access developers

Posted: 30 Mar 2011 06:49 PM PDT

With HP's entry into the tablet market looming on the horizon, we couldn't help but take interest in an update to the status of webOS. Over on the HP webOS developer center, webOS 3.0 SDK beta is now available in 'Early Access' mode. There's a few hoops you'll need to go through to get your hands on the fresh new SDK, but we'll walk you through the steps.

If you are a webOS developer or plan to develop for webOS, it's time to join the webOS Developer Early Access Program. As the first release specific for the HP TouchPad, the webOS 3.0 SDK is essential for tablet support. First things first, go ahead and sign up as a webOS Developer or Community member here. Once you've signed up you'll need to access the forums at least once to activate your account. Now that you've taken care of the basics, you're final step will be sending an email to pdc@palm.com to request early access. With any luck you'll be up and running in no time.

If you still have questions HP has put together a quick little FAQ for the Early Access Program. In related HP news, the TouchPad is still listed with "availability Summer 2011".

Out Now | HP [via Engadget]

Next-generation iPods will be powered by your heartbeat?

Posted: 30 Mar 2011 06:32 PM PDT

While it's true Apple fan boys keep all of their products close to the heart, the next-generation iPods may take this mindset to a whole new level. According to a report published by The Telegraph yesterday, new chips that can generate power from microscopic body movement have experienced a breakthrough development. The new chip is "thousands times more powerful" than previous prototypes and may be headed to an iPod in your neck of the woods very soon.

Let's be clear, there have been no patents submitted by Apple regarding microscopic body movement powered PMPs. However, as 9to5Mac points out, Apple did file a patent for "Integrated touch sensor and solar assembly". Based on this well-known fact, a microscopic body movement powered solution seems right up their alley.

We're all in favor of any battery-less solution for our iPods. The real question now is whether or not they'll be able to harness this power to keep our iPhones running. Something tells me the advent of worldwide 4G networks will be quite the hurdle. For more on the new microscopic body movement chips we recommend you read on.

via The Telegraph

HTC Desire S now in stock, ships SIM-free for £409.99

Posted: 30 Mar 2011 06:17 PM PDT

The successor to HTC's best-selling Android smartphone is now available in the UK, SIM-free from Expansys. Priced at £409.99, the HTC Desire S is quite an attractive proposition. While it lacks the dual-core processing power of its competitors, it more than makes up in style. With a design carved from a single block of aluminum and an impressive spec sheet, we've been itching for a fix ever since our hands-on session at MWC.

Here's the scoop: The HTC Desire S is now in stock (28 units available) for £409.99. Your hard-earned coin lands you a SIM-free, unlocked next-generation Desire, a car charger valued at £9.99 and free shipping. Estimated delivery is set for three to four days, but if you can't wait there's an option for overnight. That'll set you back an additional £6.90 if you've got a need for speed.

For the upper-midrange of Android smartphones, the HTC Desire S looks to follow in the footsteps of its predecessor. There's a 1 GHz single-core second generation Snapdragon processor, 768 MB of RAM, 1.1 GB ROM, a 3.7-inch capacitive touch screen, 5-megapixel camera with autofocus / LED flash / 720p HD video recording, and most importantly Android 2.3.

A snappy smartphone running the latest Android build sans-contract that doesn't break the bank? Sign me up.

Out Now | Expansys | £409.99 [via unwired view]

HTC Pyramid smiles for the camera [photo]

Posted: 30 Mar 2011 06:01 PM PDT

Oh how we'd love to get our hands on the confirmed, yet still quite unofficial, HTC Pyramid. A sibling to the HTC EVO 3D recently announced, minus the 3D display of course, is always a friend of mine. Thanks to the folks over at xda-developers we are pleased to bring you the latest images of the next-generation HTC flagship for GSM operators.

Beyond the photo, the rumored specs for the HTC Pyramid remain spot on. There's a 1.2 GHz processor (odds favor dual-core), 4.3-inch display running at qHD resolution and 768MB of RAM. Since the Pyramid lacks dual cameras on the rear, there's a single 8-megapixel shooter in its place and a front-facing VGA camera for video calls. Connectivity options are expected to include 802.11 b/g/n and the phone should ship with Android 2.3.2 alongside HTC's latest Sense UI (version 3.0). Personally, I would prefer to have a vanilla Android 2.3.2 ROM, but this is the price to pay for such a remarkable spec sheet.

Word on the street is the HTC Pyramid will make its debut "in a few weeks". Although no concrete evidence exists to support these claims.

Coming Soon | HTC | TBD [via SlashPhone]

Samsung planning new Galaxy S Plus: ships with Android 2.3

Posted: 30 Mar 2011 05:50 PM PDT

Android updates are hard to come by these days. That is if you don't care to root your smartphone and install a vanilla kernel. For the Samsung Galaxy S fans in attendance, a new and improved version of your favorite smartphone, dubbed the Galaxy S Plus, is now rumored to debut this April in Russia. Oh yea, did we mention it ships with Android 2.3?

The Galaxy S line is the bread and butter of Samsung's smartphone offerings. We've seen what seems like a dozen different variants, four in the US alone, and most recent the Galaxy SL — a super LCD version with a 1 GHz OMAP processor. According to Samsung Russia's Livejournal blog, the Korean giant is planning a Galaxy S Plus, model i9001.

The Galaxy S Plus will keep the same styling as the original but under the hood you'll find a faster 1.4 GHz processor. A 4-inch Super AMOLED display, HD video recording, 8GB of internal memory, 1650 mAh battery and Android 2.3 round out the feature set. If the purported Galaxy S Plus does prove to be true it is expected to become available in late April in Russia for about 23,990 rubles (595.38 EUR).

via Samsung Hub

Samsung Galaxy Tab WiFi, the Nokia E6 and the best Android apps of all time: Teatime Tech

Posted: 30 Mar 2011 10:14 AM PDT

We’re well past the mid-point of the working week – in fact, by our watches, we make it Wednesday Going Home Time. To celebrate, we’re cracking open a bottle of vino and serving up a plate of all the afternoon’s big headlines right here for you in our teatime tech roundup. Tuck in!

First up, let’s talk mobile. Nokia may be moving to Windows Phone 7, but in the meantime, it’s still got some tasty Symbian hardware on the cards: a new Nokia E6 QWERTY emailer with a touchscreen has leaked out, and it looks like a veritable BlackBerry basher.

Over on the Google side of things meanwhile, we updated our best Android apps of all time Top 100 to factor in March’s additions – click and see what made the cut – while there’s word of two new tablets. Up first, we’ve got the WiFi only version of the 7-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab on sale at long last, while Asus surprised pundits by announcing a solid release date for the Eee Pad Transformer – and it’s next week!

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

Nokia E6 leaks out: All hail the new E72

Posted: 30 Mar 2011 09:51 AM PDT

For a company that’s abandoning Symbian, Nokia is certainly still putting some effort into new smarpthone hardware running the doomed operating system. Case in point: the Nokia E6, which has leaked out today in a flurry of photos and video. It’s a QWERTY keyboard touchscreen phone with a BlackBerry bent, and it looks like it could be the perfect replacement for your Nokia E72. Read on to meet it.

One eager forum poster has got it hands on what he claims is an unannounced Nokia E6 smartphone, and based on the design of it, we’re almost creation it’s authentic: the keys are straight off Nokia’s C3 and E5 phones, but that’s the newer Symbian 3 OS up top – running on a 640×480 touchscreen, we’re told. An eight megapixel camera resides around the back, which almost seems like overkill for a device of this type.

As ever, there’s no official word on when this Nokia E6 will be released, but don’t act surprised if Espoo pops up soon with something to say. In the meantime, check out the brief hands on video below.

Out TBC | £TBC | Nokia (Via nokiateca)

Best iPhone apps: app of the day = Everyday

Posted: 30 Mar 2011 08:02 AM PDT

Lots of the photography apps in our best iPhone apps library are very practical but today’s is not one of them. Everyday is inspired by Noah Kalina’s Everyday project where he has taken a picture of himself once a day, every day for the past 11 years. Everyday allows you to do the same thing with the goal of generating a video that will show how you change over time.

Everyday will remind you once a day to take a snap and provides you with a grid or overlay of the last snap you took to make sure you picture yourself in the same pose each day. You can also share your Everyday snaps via Facebook, Tumblr or Flickr. Everyday is a single purpose app but it’s fun to start stacking up the pictures. You can see a video of today’s best iPhone apps choice, Everyday, after the break…

Out now | £1.19 | iTunes

Asus Eee Pad Transformer: The first UK Honeycomb tablet

Posted: 30 Mar 2011 08:01 AM PDT

Well. This is a surprise. When we saw the Asus Eee Pad Transformer back at launch in January, we treated Asus’ Spring launch claims with mild scepticism. After all, remember what happened with the Asus Eee Keyboard? But it looks set to deliver on it, and not only that, actually become the first Honeycomb Android tablet to go on sale in the UK. Who would’ve thunk it?

Asus has announced that the 10.1-inch Android 3.0 fuelled tablet, which can be docked into a keyboard and folded shut, is going on sale in the UK on 6 April, for £379 body only, or £429 with the keyboard half included at PC World, Currys, Comet and Carphone Warehouse – and pre-orders open at midnight tonight. That’s quite a surprise given Asus has launched new product categories in the past not so much with a bang as a “What was that?”

Best Android apps of all time: Top 100

In fact, the only Honeycomb tablet that can beat it to market in the UK will be the Motorola Xoom, which Motorola worked closely with Google to construct, and even then there’s no exact date – it’s sometime during the next week, reportedly.

Kudos, Asus – now, will any of you being either side of the Eee Pad Transformer?

Out 6 April | £379 | Asus