HTC's Android Interface Makes Us Temporarily Forget All About Palm Pre

Palm what? A better look at HTC's custom Android "Donut" build for Hero shows us just how buttery smooth and slick Android can be, and it's incredible.

The widgets have the tang of HTC—if you've used a Touch Diamond or Pro, they're familiar—but they seem to have a grace they don't on Windows Mobile. (Yeah, it's an emulator, but I'd bet—hope—that a lot of the speed translates to the handset as well, since Android is designed for this kind of customization by handset makers and carriers.)

HTC seems like the first to scratch the surface of what you can do with a custom Android build—which, I love the fact that every Android build is now named after fattening pastries—so maybe Android's time really is coming.

The ZuneX (RUMORED) vs. PSP 3000

The ZuneX

• 4-inch display at 640x363 resolution
• Custom Intel LV Atom DualCore 733MHz processor
• Custom Nvidia BLowFish chipset
• 128MB RAM
• 40 hour music, 14 hours of video, 9 hours of gaming and 6 hours of gaming with the wireless on
• 4 analog buttons, 2 shoulder buttons, an analog stick attachment
• 32GB flash storage
• Support for Bluetooth headphones
• SIM Card tray (it's a phone! Maybe!)
• Xbox Live Arcade Games
• ZuneX Originals
• OnLive Ready game streaming (now we're just getting a little ridiculous)
• WMV, H.264, MPEG-4 and DivX support

PSP 3000

Product Name	PSP® (PlayStation®Portable)
External dimensions	Approx. 169.4 x 18.6 71.4 mm / 6¾ x ¾ x 2¾ in (width x height x depth) (excludes largest projection)
Weight	Approx. 189g / 6.7oz (including battery pack)
CPU	PSP CPU (System clock frequency 1-333MHz)
Main Memory	64MB
Display	4.3 inches (16:9) full-transparent type, TFT drive, 480x272 pixel, Approximately 16,770,000 colors displayed
Sound	Built-in stereo speakers
Main input/output	Wireless LAN (IEEE 802.11b) (Wi-Fi) High Speed USB (USB2.0) (mini-B) Memory Stick PRO Duo™ Analog Video Out Microphone
Main connectors	DC IN 5V connector DC OUT connector Video out/headset connector USB connector Memory Stick Duo™ slot
Key/Switches	Directional buttons (up/down/right/left), Analog stick Action buttons (triangle, circle, cross, square) START button, SELECT button, PS button POWER/HOLD switch, WLAN switch Display button, Sound button, Volume (+/-) buttons
Power sources	Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery pack AC adaptor USB power supply
Internal disc drive	Read-only UMD™ drive
Supported profile	PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) Game UMD™ Video
Access control	Region code, parental control
Wireless communications	Infrastructure mode Ad hoc mode (connects up to 16 consoles)
Supplied accessories	AC adaptor Battery pack (1200mAh)

Shots of the Blackberry Storm 2

Toshiba's Dynabook SS RX2 with world's first 512GB SSD

With 512GB SSDs already announced it was just a matter of time until OEMs slapped that slim slab of solid state silicon into a laptop. Now our patience has paid off with Toshiba's 12.1-inch Dynabook SS RX2/WAJ; a world's first laptop to feature Toshiba's own 512GB SSD. Oh sure, ASUS announced its S121 with 512GB SSD back at CES but Toshiba's laptop is the first to actually ship. Remember, the Core 2 Duo SU9400-based SS RX2 is already the mother of ultra-portable badassery with a 12-hour battery stuffed into a slim 19.5 ~ 25.5mm sled weighing just 1.1-kg (less than 2.5-pounds). But with the SSD alone priced at about $1,500, well, you can guess how much the SS RX2 will cost configured (hint: over $4,000).

(Original Post: www.Engadget.com)

Sony posts $1b loss, first in 14 years

Here's the good news: Sony's ¥98.9b ($1.03b) loss is slightly less than the $1.1b the company told us it would lose in January. Sadly, all of the other news is bad, starting with the fact that the company just lost a freaking billion dollars, its first loss in 14 years, and it's predicting a similar $1.1b loss next year. Electronics sales were down 17 percent, the Sony-Ericsson phone partnership is struggling, and game division sales dropped 18 percent primarily due to Sony's continued reliance on falling PS2 sales. As for the PS3, it's actually a dim bright spot: hardware cost reductions and increased game sales slightly stemmed the tide, but Sony's still expecting the division to lose money in the coming year. Sony also says it has "extensive measures" in store to try and turn things around after that, so we're hoping Sir Howard's plans to embrace open formats and listen to consumers are kicking into gear, but we'll see.

Read « Sony financials [Warning: PDF]

Read « Reuters report

Read « MarketWatch

(Original Post: www.Engadget.com)