Yesterday, at Google I/O, Google announced the latest extension of its empire, Google TV.

This technology could potentially revolutionize television, as it opens the door to many possibilities by  implementing the web into your TV screen with just a simple “Box.”

For a myriad of information on this new technology, make sure to stop by here.

Today, we are introduced to the latest device from RIM.  This new Blackberry device is a cross between the Storm and the Bold, as it contains all the main characteristics of the Bold while incorporating a touch screen.  In order to keep the device both aesthetically and functionally pleasant, the keyboard is hidden away behind the touch screen using a “slider” form factor.

More info will be posted as soon as it is available.

bbleaks.com via crackberry

Just as predicted, the kindle 2 (official name) will be available on February 24 for $359 and the leaked pictures were real. Some key specs of the new device: 25 percent thinner than the iPhone, 25 percent longer battery life than the original Kindle, 7 times more storage space, 20 percent faster page-turning, and most importantly: IT READS TO YOU. It’s got text-to-speech built-in for those of you to lazy to move your eyes. Oh, and another major design change, the next/previous page buttons are tiny and won’t accidentally be pushed, which was the worst feature of the original Kindle (the sides of the device were buttons). Will this new model sell out in one day just as the original did? Who knows, but the kindle 2 is pretty tempting.

via Gizmodo

Amazon will launch it’s new Kindle at 7:00 AM Pacific (10 EST) this morning during a press event. Pictures of the device leaked to the media this weekend, while BGR had pictures of the device months ago. According to sources, the device will cost $359 and be available on February 24. All will be known in just a few hours, when Jeff Bezos will undoubtedly make the announcement of the new device. Engadget and Gizmodo will both have live coverage from the event, so check both sites out for up-to-the-minute news.

IGN reports that the Nintendo DSi will greet US shores (officially) in early April, April 4th specifically. Reportedly bearing a $179.99 pricetag, the DSi has already been imported and, consequently, hacked like crazy, so the device shouldn’t be that new to people. As you may know, the DSi is the next generation DS, featuring a thinner form-factor, dual-cameras, and larger screens. Check back for more on this story, but an April launch would be great considering previous speculation thought a late 2009 launch would occur. We’ve got a DSi overview video on Youtube, and you can check it out below.Click here to view the embedded video.

Palm needed something amazing during its CES keynote today. Basically, today was Palm’s last chance to live. Guess what? Palm is going to live, and they are going to live well. The Palm pre not only is a great looking device, it has a touchscreen worthy of competing with the iPhone and it has a slide-down keyboard for great texting as well as navigation. But that’s just the hardware, the interface on this device is fantastic. With similar MultiTouch gestures as the iPhone–flicking, zooming, etc–the pre’s interface organizes all of your web information together without creating duplicate information. The pre also has Microsoft Exchange support for the corporate types. Getting into the device’s core applications, the Calendar and Contact applications are pretty slick. The Calendar literally crunches free time when displaying the day’s events so the actual events are displayed. The Contact application can gather information from all of your information sites on the web and organize them together. The Mail application is relatively normal, but the Messaging application is pretty great. One messaging application for all your instant messaging services as well as text messaging, so less applications to clutter your device. Another cool feature of the phone: along the bottom of the display, the operating system leaves room for notifications from any of your applications. So if you get a message or got an email, it’ll pop up on the bottom. Dealing with price and release date: both are unknown; however, we do have the first half of 2009 as a launch period and Sprint is the exclusive carrier (a downer if you were hoping to use the device unlocked on a GSM carrier), hopefully we’ll see a GSM version down the line. Overall, the pre is a pretty sweet looking device. Coming from the standpoint of an Apple fanboy and an iPhone user, this device is tempting. And if it’s tempting for the Apple fanboys around the world, then it will definitely sell a good amount of phones. Hopefully the device’s Sprint exclusivity won’t kill it though, because Sprint is definitely not the most popular carrier out there. So good job Palm, you’ve finally done something right (and well).

UPDATE – Palm has confirmed to Engadget that a GSM version of the phone is still in the works.

This year marks my third for attending the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada.  As a few of you might already know, my father is the almighty Yahya Ahdout, the owner and CEO of dreamGEAR, a video game/iPod accessory and speaker producer and distributor, and he is my ticket into this amazing show.  You can find his wonderful products at many places including your local Best Buy, Wal-Mart, and Blockbuster.  One of his latest items is the Warbeast Guitar Controller for all Guitar Hero, Rock Band, and Rock Revolution games on PS2/PS3. But, enough of that, lets get to the good stuff.  I will be at the show for its entirety, and I will constantly be blogging and posting every interesting thing that I find.  Like Engadget and Gizmodo, we will be posting about the biggest announcements by all the different companies, but I will also use my time to go around the smaller booths and post about the pretty cool things that everyone forgets about.  As I roam from hall to hall and booth to booth, I will be accompanied by a very good friend of mine, Michael York, who is getting his new blog off the floor, and will be working in compliance with us at blargKABOOM.

Finally, the things I will be bringing with myself on my journey:
Canon EOS 30D – To snap pictures of everything for all you guys to see!
Asus eee 901 – For blogging on the go while on the show floor.
Apple iPhone 3G – For constant tethering, and music on the go. As it is also of course my telephone.
MacBook Pro – Yes, mine is in fact the first generation model, but it will be my home-base for posting in the hotel room. 

And also, a little background for those of you who do not know what CES is; ah god im too lazy, just read about it on Wikipedia here!

Blockbuster is jumping on the set-top-box bandwagon. Yup, sounds crazy, movie rental store Blockbuster is releasing a set-top-box. Well, it’s true. Joining the likes of Apple TV, VUDU, Roku, and Xbox 360, Blockbuster is making a play at the digital downloads world. Blockbuster’s service, Blockbuster On-Demand (we know, very unique), offers rentals from $1.99 to $3.99 with varying viewing period limits. Right now, Blockbuster’s got an offer where for $99 you get 25 free-rentals and the MediaPoint box. No subscription required. That right there may be a key selling point considering that the economy’s so unstable and people might not want to waste money monthly on a movie service.

via Engadget

We aren’t big BlackBerry users here at blargKABOOM, being the Apple/iPhone fanboys we are; however, this month has been pretty exciting over at the BlackBerry camp so here’s the latest in BlackBerry news.

• the Bold launches on AT&T, finally: after seeing the Bold practically a year ago, the phone has finally launched on a major US carrier. AT&T users rejoice, the Bold is yours for a cool $299 with 2-year contract and $100 rebate. The phone has pretty much been branded, the greatest BlackBerry yet, and the combination of the screen, speed, and operating system give it that. This final product is definitely much improved from the version we previewed during this summer, so delaying it to keep out the kinks was definitely the smart move.
• the Storm’s Verizon launch date and price are still nowhere to be found: even though RIM and Verizon have been teasing us with press shots, manuals, simulators, and anything else they can delay us with, the launch date of the first ever touchscreen BlackBerry is still unknown. Vodafone, the phone’s European carrier, has supposedly been posting pre-order dates and launch dates, but nothing very concrete. Verizon, the US carrier, isn’t spilling on launch dates or pricing yet, even though they’ve had launch parties and released bundles of information about the phone.

You can check out our unboxing and hands-on video of the Nintendo DSi on our Youtube page and above. The device just came out in Japan last week and is selling like crazy. North American launch is expected mid/early next year and unless you can speak and read Japanese, count importing out: these puppies can’t switch languages. Once we figure out either how to hack it and switch the language or figure out what means what, we’ll get a true hands-on video with pictures up.

TiVo is easily the most popular DVR around the country and for those TiVo users with the TiVo HD, HD XL, and Series3 models, you are about to get a welcome addition to your TiVo: Netflix streaming. Similar to the current streaming offered by the Roku box and other services, the service offers Netflix subscribers “all you can eat” access to over 12,000 movies and TV shows streamed over the internet. The rollout of Netflix has already begun through a beta program, but the official rollout is planned for mid-December.

via the Crave blog

After months of delays and thousands of angry BlackBerry fans waiting for their new savior to launch, AT&T is about to finally release one of the most anticipated phones of the year, the BlackBerry Bold. Boy Genius Report has it on exclusive AT&T internal emails and official and good sources that October 27 is the launch date of the Bold. Of course, unless the phone is delayed for lack of quality again. However, if you can live without having the latest BlackBerry in your hands for about a month or two more, I would stick it out for the smaller, updated Curve 8900, codenamed Javelin. Probably launching late November, mid-December, the new Curve looks like a mini-Bold and includes the new user interface that makes the Bold famous. Looks like BlackBerry users have a decision to make, let us know what you want to get in the comments.

T-Mobile’s G1, the first Google Android-powered phone, is arriving for some lucky customers. Slated for an official launch Wednesday, the G1 has been selling extremely well in pre-orders and customers are slowly but surely starting to receive their Google powered wonders. Whether the phone and the platform itself will turn out to be a success, only time will tell, but if any of you out there have received your phone, tell us what you think in the comments.

The MacBook Pro’s update came first today, as Steve introduced them. Biggest updates to the Pro: the iMac-look with the glass and the black bezel covering the display, dual-graphics chips, and the new multi-touch giant button glass trackpad. The Pro is thinner than the current model, but heavier as well. Shockingly, only the 15″ MacBook Pro model was updated to the new model and the 17″ just received a slight component refresh. The new MacBook Pro is available today in two models, a base $1999 model including a 2.4Ghz processor, 2GB of DDR3 memory, 250GB of storage, and the dual Nvidia graphics cards. The better model is available for $2499 and has a 2.53Ghz processor (upgradable to 2.8Ghz for $300), 4GB of DDR3 memory, 320GB of storage, and new graphics cards.

The new MacBook is the largest updated product at the event. The current entry-level MacBook is still around for $999 and available in white, but then say hello to the new MacBooks. Probably a better term would be 13″ MacBook Pro, because that is almost what the new MacBooks are. The MacBook has the same design as the new MacBook Pro’s and the only features the new MacBook Pro has over the regular MacBook is the Firewire port (which the MacBook drops), the higher speed graphics card, and the faster processor. Besides those key differences, they are almost the same computer. The base new MacBook retails for $1299 and includes a 2.0Ghz processor, 2GB of memory, and 160GB of storage. The better MacBook retails for $1599 and has a 2.4Ghz processor, 2GB of memory, and 250GB of storage.

Both notebook lines are available today online and should be in stores now.

“The spotlight turns to notebooks.”

With Apple’s notebook event starting in almost 10 hours, its only fitting that we roundup the most recent rumors and give you a spotlight of where to go for coverage.

COVERAGE:

As with normal Apple event coverage, check out Engadget and Live.Gizmodo for live up-to-the-second coverage. Besides those two live sources, MacRumors will be gathering news while it happens. blargKABOOM coverage will be intermittent and will be as up-to-date as possible. The event starts at 10:00am Pacific Time and will almost surely star Steve Jobs and a couple of new MacBooks.

RUMORS:

The rumor mill spins extra fast during the Apple event season and this notebook event produced tons of rumors.

The biggest rumors, and almost facts, are around updates to the MacBook and MacBook Pro line. Apparently, aluminum will be key to the new line and the new MacBook will ditch plastic for aluminum. Also rumored is that the MacBook Pro will feature a similar black bezel around the screen like the current iMac (see supposed leaked image above). Faster processors, more storage space, and normal hardware boosts are also expected. Also expected are new lower prices for the notebooks.

After the notebook line updates, what could the “One more thing…” be at this event?

A new Apple display that competes in the television market and includes a built-in hard drive is also rumored. Even if Apple ever produces this product, its highly doubtable that this event will be its launch.

Other rumors include a touch-screen based “iTablet,” a netbook/mini-notebook, and freshly redesigned cinema displays.

10:00am sharp, notebook event, Steve Jobs will be there, will you?

Nintendo announced a new addition to the DS line tonight with the DSi. Maintaining a similar design to the DS Lite, the DSi is much thinner because it is getting rid of the GBA slot and has 17% larger screens. Along with the larger screen size, a 3 megapixel camera is in the device and I’ll bet Nintendo has some fun ways to use that camera thought up. An audio player and a DSi shop are built-in as well. The DSi shop will use the Nintendo Points used for the Wii and will have downloadable content.  Japanese markets will see the DSi on November 1 and we shall have to wait until next year for a North American and European launch. The device sells for the equivalent of $180 and will be available in black and white.

via Kotaku

For the first review of the top secret “Apple Killer” as RIM has called it, it hasn’t scored to well. As we’ve known before, the Storm only has four physical buttons, but we didn’t know the screen is one giant button. We’ve learned from the video the device does have an accelerometer and the screen’s orientation will rotate with your rotation of the device, but the review also told us that the screen is just a giant button. You can select things by touching them, but for them to actually open, you need to push the actual screen and it will click. Also, scrolling is funny and is done by holding something and waiting for it to scroll. The review did mention that the keyboard is pretty good, however. We’ll see when the device actually comes out! A mid-November launch for Verizon seems pretty likely for know. The Storm’s part of the video starts at around 2 minutes and 55 seconds in.

via Boy Genius Report

Well the invitations have been sent, there is an Apple event on September 9th just as rumored. It looks like iPods will be the name of the game, considering there is always an iPod refresh around this time (and the invitation is definitely the iPod style.) Hoepfully, Steve will throw in some new notebooks in the “one more thing…” I guess we’ll all see soon. September 9th, 10:00 am, get ready.

Rumors have been spreading out around numerous websites that the iPhone 3G will get a (RED) makeover just in time for the holidays.  Could it also be joined by a 32GB upgrade for the iPhone 3G and a 64GB upgrade for the iPod Touch?

Photo Courtesy of http://www.macblogz.com

While configuring the HP Blackbird 002 on HP’s website, I noticed that the unreleased, unannounced NVIDIA GeForce 9800GT was an option in configuring the Blackbird 002.  The card supposedly has 512MB GDDR3 of SDRAM, but no other information about the card is listed.  Maybe it could just be a stupid mistake and the card is really the 9800 GTX? Is anyone brave enough to drop $2299 for one of these badboys to get more info on the card? 

Check it out for yourself here.

Update: It seems Dell has joined the party: Link

This is one marketing campaign that’s never been done before, and it could just be one of the most brilliant yet. Sprint is offering the first 1000 people that create a video with it’s new flagship device, the Samsung Instinct, $20. The rules are pretty simple: create a video with the new Samsung Instinct, upload it to YouTube, enter Sprint’s contest. The first 1000 entrants will get $20 from Sprint. The maker of the winning video will receive a $10,000 grand prize. The contest rules aren’t up yet, but the contest is set to start on June 30th. This seems like a pretty great idea coming from the Sprint camp, not only is it loads of practically free advertising, but it’s ridiculously smart too. Tons of people will probably buy the phone so they can try to win the $10,000 and too others this could be the clincher in deciding on buying the device. The Samsung Instinct, incase you’re wondering, is a touchscreen device (retailing at $129.99 after 2-year contract and $100 mail-in rebate) set to go head to head with the iPhone. Sprint already has a big internet advertising campaign pinning the Instinct against the current iPhone and showing off the Instinct’s speed and other features.

Sprint’s Samsung Instinct

Sad news BlackBerry fans: the BlackBerry Bold’s launch on AT&T has been delayed until August. AT&T and RIM need more time to deal with overheating and software issues with battery life, according to The Boy Genius Report. The BlackBerry Bold is still on target to launch on Canada’s Rogers Mobile shortly.

So, you can’t wait for Apple to release a touchscreen iMac, Cinema Display, or MacBook/MacBook Pro.  Well, a company by the name of Troll Touch has got your back.  They have incorporated touch-screens into basically every Apple computer/display/laptop, and they have made it available to the general public.  They also have a “slipCOVER” which requires no computer modifications at all, it is just a touchscreen panel that is placed over your display.  Oh yea, the cheapest kit starts at around $699.00, so if you have the cash, get it and tell us your thoughts.  

Go get it here.

Incase you didn’t know by now, Guitar Hero 4 is officially Guitar Hero World Tour and will have drum and microphone support. We’ve seen pictures of the drum set before, but IGN got a preview of the whole set. Besides the drums and a microphone, the guitar got some big changes. The overall guitar is physically larger to be more like a real guitar, and it features a touchpad on the neck. The pad, according to IGN, “allows you to alter notes during sustains by sliding up and down the strip… It can also be used for tapping to play notes.” The touchpad can be used for more when using the Music Creator. Besides the guitar, which after reading IGN’s preview sounds awesome, the drum set looks pretty cool, too. It, unlike Rock Band, features three main pads, two symbols, and a pedal. Also, IGN says the drums are quieter than Rock Band’s. Both the guitar and the drums are wireless, but the mic (very similar to Rock Band’s) is wired. Besides the gear, the game features loads of new features like more customization with characters, over 85 songs and more tracks downloadable, and the Music Creator which lets users create their own tracks (sorry, no vocals) and share them with other users. No specific price has been announced, but pricing will be “competitive”. GameStop, however, has released pricing for the game at $199 and given a launch date of October 27 of this year. Check out the gallery below for more pictures, and check out IGN for the full read.

It may not be technology ‘news’, but it does relate to technology and gadgets. After doing some searches on the ‘net, I recently came upon Test Freaks. The interesting fact about this site is that it doesn’t have one review, but it grabs tons of reviews from all over the web. It lets users see expert reviews and user reviews from all over. Besides that, it shows prices, similar products, user videos, pictures, etc. It’ll also find related blog posts and forums. The interface is pretty good too. Live search is provided so you won’t have to waste time going to a search page and the share features on the side offer great integration into Facebook, del.icio.us, Yahoo, and more. Test Freaks is currently in public beta, but looks like a great site. I can tell you right now, it’s useful when deciding to buy, or not to buy, something.

BoingBoing Gadgets (via Gizmodo)

Just twelve hours people, and then Steve will walk the stage of the Moscone Center and put the rumors to rest. TUAW (The Unofficial Apple Weblog) just received rumor tonight with some snippets of a webpage for the new Mac Fusion. Aimed toward the developer crowd (remember, it’s the Worldwide Developers Conference,) the pictures show off a Mac+PC+Linux logo which suggests that it will be able to run Linux as well. The tag line states “Leave Windows behind. Build your Apps for OS X.” This rumor could be true, considering this could be the upgrade to the long untouched Mac mini (which was rumored to be killed off, and then rumored to be getting a redesign). Of course, rumors sneaking out right before WWDC are unlikely, this one looks slightly legit. We’ll see tomorrow morning.