It's just a concept for now, thanks to Russian designer Mikhail Stawsky, who has also created a crank-ended handset. Twist the end until you've got enough juice to place a call on the glossy touchscreen phone, and develop a new OCD habit whilst at it. [Mikhail Stawsky via Yanko Design]

The iPhone screen is capacative, meaning that it requires your finger to complete a circuit in order to work. So, by sewing some conductive thread in small patches on the fingers of your gloves (a circle of about 1/4" or 6mm in diameter is recommended) and larger patches on the inside area of the fingertip, you should be able to use your touchscreen with an acceptable degree of accuracy.

Still, I have to imagine that this modification would be useless on anything other than tight-fitting gloves. The thick gloves that actually keep your hands warm would be far too bulky. [Instructables via Lifehacker]

With a 17.3-inch (1600x900) display, the 7lb system starts with a 2.1GHz Dual Core T4300, DVD burner, 320GB HDD, 4GB RAM, 512MB Radeon 4570 and a footprint that can support a slew of ports—two USBs, one USB/eSATA, HDMI, Display Port, VGA, and Firewire.

But you can scale the power all the way up to an i7.

The multitouch display (we're looking for confirmation on whether or not it's capacitive tech) supports the pre-installed Windows 7 along with Dell's own touch software.

The Studio 17 Touch is on sale now to ship this December. [Dell via Electronista]

I don't know what's funnier, that Apple has the balls to erect a billboard so large it's illegal, or that Apple has such pull—financial and political—that they can get away with it. Since 2007 the 13,750-square-foot billboard has been up in a Boston-based storage facility, and the state has argued that it should come down. Protected in part by Boston hizzoner Thomas M. Menino and others, the ad remains, but after a temporary permit ran out, its owners had to pay a $110,000 "settlement." Sounds like a fine to me. Either way, the mofo is still standing. [AppleInsider]

On what looks like the Japanese equivalent of Regis and Kelly, a TV presenter showing off a Sony Vaio L touchscreen Win 7 PC can't quite get it to work. It's not fully frozen—it's the IR touch interface that seems to be the problem. Whatever the case, you can see this poor bastard visibly mourning his own rapidly decreasing family honor. And as for Reeg-san and JKelly, I don't know what they're saying, but I am pretty sure I've heard it all before. [MacDailyNews via CrunchGear]

Wal-Mart is sticking it to Best Buy with their own army of overpriced teenage-son replacements. You pay anywhere from $99 to $339 for, as Reuters puts it, "basic television installation on the low end to setting up a home theater, wireless router network or a home office computer network" on the high end. So let me get this straight, somebody paying $600 for a 40" LCD TV is going to pay $100 for it to be setup? Better yet, someone paying $30 for a wireless router will pay 10 times that for some dude to come install it? I mean, I know we're a service economy, but this is ridiculous. [Reuters]

My favorite Canadian co-CEO, RIM's Mike Lazaridis, did a kind of evasion/denial response to questions about the gloriously hideous Bluetooth BlackBerry smartwatch, a kind of wristborne Foleo, if you will. He kinda just giggled and said that the accessories they release are generally accessories that keep the BlackBerry handset at the center. Clearly this would be different—and CrackBerry maintains that it still may come out, designed and built for BlackBerrys by a firm unaffiliated with RIM. Sounds like a recipe for awesome to me. [TechDigest]

Touch sensitive menu keys? Check.

And there's our pal Android, and a camera of indeterminable mega pixelage. [The Unlockr via BGR]

This video examines the benefits and limitations inherent in current mouse-based and window-oriented interfaces, the problems facing other potential solutions, and visualizes my proposal for a completely new way of interacting with desktop computers.

I recommend you watch the whole thing, because he makes some very good usability points—discussing the pros and cons of different UI approaches—before getting into his proposal—which looks beautiful and, more importantly, useful.

I like a lot of the things I see here. I like the way the applications are organized and accessed, combined a modal approach with a stream. I love how he solved the general menu vs application menu dilemma. What I don't like is the idea of having a control surface below the keyboard. I guess we are all used to it, through laptops and trackpads. And he is right that it may be a great way to transition to touch-interfaces for most users—because of that familiarity. However, I would like to see this implemented in a different form factor Both on the go—in the tablet—and in the desktop—in whatever new format the hardware manufacturers can come up with. [10/GUI via Unplggd]

The U505 has a 13.3-inch screen, while the M505 has a 14-inch screen. Both have Toshiba's touch UI, "Lifespace Bulletin Board" a dashboard for calendaring and to do lists and "Reeltime" a visual thumbnail browser that shows recently opened files.

Also, meta: Toshiba, your press site is terrible. I can't find shit in there and I had to research for a good chunk of time to figure out what's actually new about your new hardware. Come on. [Toshiba Hot Hardware via Engadget]

In time for Windows 7's launch, HP will release three new TouchSmart all-in-ones. The 20-inch TouchSmart 300 and the 23-inch TouchSmart 600 (check out Mark's full review) both have infrared multitouch displays. The TouchSmart family PC solution that has been so popular in kitchens and living rooms, now has a business friendly twin. Yes, even business owners need the 23-inch TouchSmart 9100 which is anticpated to be used in store fronts and retail locations.

HP completes the multitouch family with its smaller and more portable 12-inch HP Tx2 laptop. Like the original, it has a capacitive screen with a convertible hinge. You can use both a finger and a pen on the screen. HP is also experimenting with a non-convertible touchscreen laptop and will offer the HP dv3 with a touchscreen in select markets.

The biggest update to the all-in-ones and the Tx2 laptop is the interface. HP continues to put its TouchSmart user interface on top of Windows 7 and it is one of the best I have seen. The new stuff comes in the way of applications; there are now loads of new third party applications, including Hulu, Twitter and Netflix. The interface is as smooth as a baby's bottom and the main set of tiles fan across the screen and you can easily flick to toggle them. Again, check out the full review of the TouchSmart 600 to get a glimpse of how it really works. HP may just have a method to its touch madness. [HP]

HP Unveils New Multitouch PCs and Display
Company debuts its first fully interactive, 42-inch, high-definition digital signage touch display

PALO ALTO, Calif., Oct. 13, 2009 – Building upon its nearly 30-year history of touch innovation, HP today launched the next era of multitouch computing for consumers and businesses.

Among the new products, HP introduced three touch-enabled HP TouchSmart PCs and its first fully interactive, 42-inch diagonal, high-definition (HD) digital signage touch display, the HP LD4200tm.

"Since the launch of the first TouchSmart PC nearly three years ago, we've worked closely with a growing number of software companies and independent vendors to develop built-for-touch applications that give consumers and businesses rich interactive multimedia experiences," said James Mouton, senior vice president and general manager, Desktop Global Business Unit, Personal Systems Group, HP. "These collaborations have helped to make HP touch computing the most advanced touch experience in the market today."

New consumer HP TouchSmart PCs packed with exclusive touch applications
HP now offers a choice of 20- or 23-inch diagonal widescreen consumer HP TouchSmart PCs – the HP TouchSmart 300 and HP TouchSmart 600. Each features a sleek, award-winning design that integrates either a stunning HD-capable or HD widescreen display with a multitouch enabled screen.

Users can simply pinch, rotate, arc, flip, press or drag a finger across the screen of the PC to access information, entertainment and social networks in a natural, intuitive way. Though accompanied by a wireless keyboard and mouse, new 16:9 widescreen tiles make multimedia, social media and other applications a rich and engaging touch experience.

The new consumer HP TouchSmart PCs feature exclusive built-for-touch applications(1) including:
• Hulu Desktop to provide quick access to Hulu's vast library of hit TV shows, movies and video clips. Users can browse, search and watch their favorite comedies, dramas, sci-fi and web-original shows from nearly 200 leading content companies. Users with Hulu.com accounts also can access their queue, subscriptions and viewing history.
• A touch-enabled Netflix application delivers thousands of full-screen TV episodes and movies that are streamed from Netflix over the Internet. Using HP's signature fan view, Netflix members can instantly watch a move from their Instant Queue on the PC or remove a movie from their Queue via touch. Netflix members also can rent DVD and Blu-ray discs as well as edit and manage their Netflix accounts using the application. A two-week free Netflix trial is available to all TouchSmart users in the United States.
• Twitter, a free social networking and micro-blogging service, makes it easy to catch up with family, friends and colleagues with the touch of a finger.
• With Rhapsody as the engine, the new HP Music Store gives users streaming, on-demand access to 8 million songs delivered to the new TouchSmart PC. Customers who subscribe to Rhapsody can enjoy favorite artists, create playlists or just sit back and listen. Non-members can enjoy a free 14-day trial.
• Pandora Internet radio is now touch enabled for a free personalized music experience to find new music based on old and current favorites.
• TouchSmart RecipeBox lets aspiring chefs discover, explore and keep track of recipes saved from multiple websites and cook with a hands-free experience via voice commands.
• TouchSmart Live TV allows quick access for watching and recording live, local TV. Customers can set recordings in advance of their airing via an electronic programming guide.
• TouchSmart Canvas allows customers to organize their photos on a virtual canvas to quickly and easily create photo collages using touch to edit and rotate photos.
• TouchSmart Link allows the transfer of photos and images taken by a mobile device to the TouchSmart PC via Bluetooth® wireless technology.

Customers with previous TouchSmart PC models who upgrade to Windows 7 through the HP Windows 7 Upgrade Option Program will receive software with some of these new touch applications.

A new swivel stand and tilt webcam(1) increase users' ability to share and collaborate around the HP TouchSmart, which also can easily be wall mounted (with optional wall bracket accessory). All models meet ENERGY STAR® 5.0 requirements.

Some models of the HP TouchSmart 600 easily connect to gaming consoles, including Xbox, PlayStation and Wii, via HDMI or composite video ports.

World's first multitouch consumer notebooks now better than ever
For those whose active lives demand a device for note capture, entertainment, communication and robust computing that's easy to carry, the HP TouchSmart tx2 notebook PC delivers. The HP TouchSmart tx2 combines powerful computing with tablet PC capabilities and entertainment features in an attractive design light enough to go anywhere.

With multitouch support within HP MediaSmart, the HP TouchSmart tx2 is the first notebook PC for consumers that enables the use of two fingers to navigate HP's entertainment applications. The HP TouchSmart tx2 features most of the same touch applications as the HP TouchSmart PC as well as exclusive touch-enabled games and Corel® Painter Sketch Pad for creating digital art.

The HP TouchSmart tx2 weighs 4.65 pounds,(2) features a 12.1-inch diagonal WGXA HD HP LED widescreen integrated touch-screen convertible display, AMD Turion™ dual-core processors(3) and a glossy HP Imprint finish with titanium color "Reaction" pattern.

The convertible design with a twist hinge allows consumers to enjoy the HP TouchSmart tx2 in three modes: PC, display and tablet. With a rechargeable digital ink pen, users can turn the HP TouchSmart tx2 into a tablet PC to write, sketch, draw, take notes or graph right onto the screen – and then automatically convert handwriting into typed text.

Business HP TouchSmart drives new customer interactions, business models
The industry's only full-featured, all-in-one, multitouch-enabled business PC, the HP TouchSmart 9100 Business PC provides real-time information, videoconferencing capabilities(4) and multimedia features in a 23-inch diagonal full HD(5) widescreen display.

The HP business TouchSmart is enabling a more interactive, compelling customer experience at businesses such as bridal retailer Priscilla of Boston for luxury dress concierge service, St. Louis Oncology for medical filing, the NBA's Detroit Pistons for instant replays and food, and hotels such as Sheraton and Marriott to provide enhanced customer lobby experiences.

New business models are emerging with the HP TouchSmart 9100. Digital Aisle, an interactive shopper solutions company, is bringing "virtual sales assistants" to life using HP's interactive touch screens. The Digital Aisle's Virtual Bartender uses HP TouchSmart technology to help people plan parties, print and email recipes, and learn expert bartending tips. This interactive point-of-purchase tool has been deployed to independent and chain retailers across the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.

An array of new enhancements on the HP TouchSmart 9100 include:
• DVI output, enabling customers to connect to their full HD format displays and projectors
• Configure-to-order options designed to meet the needs of businesses, including a choice of genuine Microsoft Windows® 7 32-bit or 64-bit operating system,(6) processors, optical drives, hard drives, solid state drives, Kensington locks, HP Protect Tools and HP BIOS to enable USB ports and SATA device lock down, and retasking of button controls for custom kiosk configurations
• Optional wall mount adapter attaches the HP TouchSmart to a VESA wall mount or a VESA-compatible articulating arm
• U.S. Trade Agreements Act (TAA) compliant – HP TouchSmart 9100 configure-to-order units comply with TAA requirements(7)
• Premium performance with a powerful Intel® Core™2 Duo processor,(8) Genuine Windows 7 Professional, up to eight gigabytes (GB) of memory,(9) up to a 500 GB hard drive or an optional 64 GB solid state drive,(10) and a trial version of Microsoft® Office(11)
• NVIDIA GeForce G200 integrated graphics or upgrade to NVIDIA GeForce GT230 discrete graphics using the Mobile Express Module (MXM) graphics slot
• New standard onsite warranty providing next-day(12) business servicing
• FireWire® output for quick and easy transfer of digital files, photos and videos from a wide variety of IEEE94-compatible peripheral devices
• Optional wireless keyboard and mouse
• Optional Blu-ray combo optical(13) disk drive

The HP TouchSmart for business is a space- and energy-saving portal for businesses. Its ENERGY STAR qualified and EPEAT® Silver registered design uses 55 percent less metal and 37 percent less plastic than standard PCs and monitors. With the easy-to-use HP Power Manager tool, companies also can configure their individual PC power settings to save energy without interfering with the PC's ability to perform.

Businesses shine with HP's first fully interactive, 42-inch, HD digital signage display
The HP LD4200tm is a 42-inch diagonal, sleek black digital signage built to fit in trendy indoor environments, such as kiosks, retail, point of sale, shopping malls, travel terminals, hotel lobbies, recreational venues, universities, stock exchanges and hospitals.

It features infrared technology, which recognizes multitouch gestures for onscreen interaction in 1,920 x 1,080 full HD native resolution to provide stunning views of video, graphics or text in both bright and dim lighting. In addition, an ultra-wide 178 x 178 degree viewing angle enables observation from almost any angle and, unlike TV screens, the HP LD4200tm is built to run 24/7 with low power usage while maintaining longevity. It also comes with a standard three-year limited warranty.

Pricing and availability
• The HP TouchSmart 300 starts at $899 and is expected to be available Nov. 1.
• The HP TouchSmart 600 starts at $1,049 and is expected available Oct. 22.
• The HP TouchSmart tx2 starts at $799 and is expected to be available Oct. 22.
• The HP TouchSmart 9100 starts at $1,299 and is expected to be available in December.
• The HP LD4200tm 42-inch widescreen LCD monitor starts at $2,799 and is expected to be available in December.

However, the most notable feature compared to its competition —and one not necessarily new to the Vaio line—is that the PC portion of the system can be turned off, allowing you to only power the device solely as an LCD monitor (should you just want to play on your console or something). For those of us living in already tight quarters, knowing that your all-in-one can also be your TV (and not just for Sony's built-in DVR, Blu-ray player or, of course, straming Hulu) is extremely handy. [Sony via Engadget]

The "ultra-small color laser projector" allows for rotating, zooming and flicking through projected images with just a finger. It uses a new sensor that can determine the position of a finger along with the intensity of light on the projected area. Apparently not only is it capable of finger movement but it should be able to recognize gestures and hand waves. Hello, Minority Report!

It is only a prototype for now but Funai says it could commercialize the technology as early as 2010 and that it could be even cheaper than touchscreens. Well, call me a monkey's uncle! [Tech-On]

According to he manufacturer/designer—it looks like it's still a concept to me—the touchscreen hierarchical menu system will make it easier to setup and use than a normal AV receiver. I can see their point, but then... Wouldn't it be better to have no buttons or touchscreen at all in the receiver, and control it all from your iPhone, iPod touch, Zune HD, or whatever smartphone/tabletish device you choose? [Myphony]

The S10 has a 10-inch resistive, swivelling touchscreen (which means no multi-touch, sorry guys) and a full QWERTY keyboard that's only marginally awkward to type on (better than average for 10-inchers, but not as good as the HP Mini). It's available in a few configurations, having either the 1.33GHz or the 2.0GHz Atom, 1GB of memory, either a 60GB HDD or 32GB SSD and the usual smattering of wireless protocols (Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, 3G). Interestingly, Viliv claims 10 hours of battery life (or 7 for straight video) which is awfully impressive, especially seeing as how this is one thin netbook. We can't test it but we'll be sure to when it's released Stateside this November.

Yes, what you see in the gallery is a cable. In reality, the Panasonic Karma is an inflight entertainment system remote. One that kicks ass with a touchscreen, an embedded OS that looks very much like the iPhone's, a D-pad, and four game buttons. It will allow you to call, surf the web, send mail, and play games.

Dear Apple, if you don't want to do this, that's fine. Just allow a third party to do game button jackets, ok? Thanks. [Mary Kirby]

The new report gets more specific than previous rumors by breaking down which Taiwanese component manufacturers will handle production. They include current iPhone screen-maker, Wintek (display), and Dynapack (said to be gearing up to produce more than 300,000 batteries a month).

The supply chain is expected to start delivery to Apple in December.

Playing hypotheticals: Are you excited enough for a tablet that you'd pay that much money for no keyboard? [Taiwan Economic News via Tabletage via Engadget]

The hardware on the new mobile internet devices looks to have been redesigned from the Archos 5. It has the typical Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, and while the user manual mentions 3G (or SIM Kaart) the FCC didn't test it.

As for the OS, Android has to be it with all the rumors swirling and would make the devices a whole lot more exciting, but the one shot of the device powered on has an interesting UI. Looks like some sort of media bar type interface along the bottom. Is that an app drawer on the right?

I am trying real hard to get excited about this tablet especially without a price. Chances are it will get a tag north of $300 and in that case I am just not sure why you don't get a Android phone or a netbook and put Android on it yourself. [FCC via Engadget]

This little invite suggests the Android tablet will be announced on September 15th, although we've seen rumors of this come and go with no real announcement. But this rumor looks more likely; according to Pocketables, it'll have a 5-inch WVGA touchscreen capable of 720p playback (with HDMI output), 3.5G mobile internet, and up to 500GB HDD. We're hoping the touchscreen'll be capacitive rather than resistive like Archos's last MIDs.

And, because everybody has to have one, Archos has launched AppsLib, essentially a Android app sub-store for devices larger than smartphones (tablets, MIDs, netbooks, whatever). We'll see if others embrace Android for larger devices, especially with the Google Chrome OS looming on the horizon, but it's a nice idea that would actually make a lot of sense for Apple's rumored tablet, if it's on the same platform as the iPhone. We're pretty excited about this new crop of HD video-playing gadgets (like the Zune HD), and if this materializes it could be a really impressive next-gen PMP. [I4U]

The cameras have a 4.6x optical zoom, 720p-quality video recording, SDHC support, and have "Smart Gestures"—perform tasks by drawing on their touchscreens with your finger. The TL225 has a 3.5-inch (1,152k resolution) main screen; the TL220's display is 3-inch (230k).

Pricing hasn't been released, but the cameras are initially expected to launch in Singapore later this month, as ST500 and ST550. Apparently a Samsung presser in NY later today should reveal more details on U.S. availability. [CNet Asia]

Update: The prices are going to be $300 and $350 for the TL220 and TL225, respectively. Both launch in September.

The RX-5 is packing a 5MP Carl Zeiss camera, a full QWERTY in the style of the N97 or Sony's XPERIA series, and a bunch of other interesting features:

* Screen resolution of 800 by 480 pixels.

* Support for both chambers. * Support for both Chambers. The most advanced auto could count, flash, and a resolution of 2608 by 1966 pixels, about 5 megapixels The most advanced auto could count, flash, and a resolution of 2608 by 1966 pixels, about 5 megapixels

* FM transmitter and receiver * FM transmitter and receiver

* Accelerometer * Accelerometer

* WiFi b and g standards under * WiFi b and g standards under

* Internal Memory 128 megabytes DDR manufactured by Samsung * Internal Memory 128 megabytes DDR manufactured by Samsung

* Keyboard is similar to the N810, with a few extra keys * Keyboard is similar to the N810, with a few extra keys

* Chipset OMAP3 ARM Texas Instruments, with support for frequency scaling * Chipset OMAP3 ARM Texas Instruments, with support for frequency scaling

* Linux Operating System based on Maema 5 * Linux Operating System based on Maema 5

Looks interesting, but we're not sure it'll help drag Nokia out of their design rut. Frankly, we'd be a lot more excited about a revamped Symbian than another new slider, but we'll take what we can get. [Kaskus Forums via Engadget]

We don't know much about the feature, integrated into Audi's MMI navigation system, partly because the Google translation of the source comes up with hilarious gold like "The switch salad on the center console is passé." Is it ever!

The new models will be coming out in November, and it looks like the revamped MMI is focusing on a touchscreen interface to simplify the process of navigation. Hopefully that extends to the odd inclusion of handwriting recognition in a car. [German Car Blog]

The CR200 is available by itself for $350 and as part of the Sonos 250 Bundle for $1000. You save a little bit on the bundle since the ZonePlayer 120 and ZonePlayer 90 are $500 and $350, respectively. If you're not familiar with Sonos, it's basically a very fancy (and expandable) Airport Express-like unit to get music throughout your house. Our previous review of the last gen ZP80 was good, but the ZP90 and ZP120—this gen—are much better. They're both capable of streaming music either over your network, or wirelessly through a $100 ZoneBridge unit.

The main competitor to the Sonos controller isn't actually the last-generation Sonos controller, it's the free iPhone/iPod Touch app. With an iPod Touch coming in at $230 ($120 less than the CR200), using that to manage your music or internet radio and piping that through different rooms in your house seems like the natural (and cheaper) choice, seeing as the thing also doubles as an iPod Touch when not controlling your rig. Why would someone want to use the CR200? Because it's good.

Somehow Sonos managed to get the multitouch as responsive and as usable as the iPhone. Scrolling, flicking and even typing are taken directly from Apple's user interface designs, and thus, should be instantly familiar to just about everyone now. The screen is bright, and the blue theme throughout the controller is classy—unlike the blue iPhone app, which is just slightly tacky looking.

Click for gallery

But that's not why it's better. It's better because it's got a better user interface. You can arrange songs, adjust volume, configure zones, jump back into the Zones menu, adjust your queue, and do just about everything faster than you can on the iPhone app. Getting where you want to go takes fewer clicks. Sonos decided to put more effort into the CR200 (probably because it's not free in the app store) in order to drive sales of the controller, and it shows. It's not as if you can't do the same things on the iPhone app, you just can't do them as well or as fast.

The downside to the CR200 is that its battery doesn't last all that long, so you need to remember to dock it whenever you're done using it. You can leave it in your living room or your bedroom or wherever and it'll sync wirelessly to any ZonePlayers or ZoneBridges you have around your house. The range is fantastic, and has no problems penetrating three stories-worth of floors and walls to control music.

Basically, the CR200 controller is exactly what you'd expect from Sonos. The whole full-house music streaming still has that distinct taste of being futuristic, even though the prices are down to somewhat reasonable levels now. Given a few more years for prices to drop and for these things to be integrated at the builder and installer level for new homes, it'll become as ubiquitous as CAT5 wiring is now.

The Sonos CR200 is great at what it does and it's super easy to use, but it's still pretty damn pricey at $350. Sonos knows what kinda customers they're looking for: people with the extra money to outfit their house, Bill Gates style, with music in every room. No mere Airport Express would be enough for them, they want quality and they're not afraid to spend a little bit more for it. And that's the CR200. [Sonos]

Bright, very usable touchscreen

Better UI than the free iPhone/iPod Touch app

Good range, battery life

Costs $350

The ClearPad 3000 is Synaptics' new top-of-the-line capacitive touchscreen, designed for high-end phones, gaming systems (PSP GoFaster?) and other fancy mobile gear. It has 48 sensing channels, so it'll pick up 10 fingers at once, and it scales up to 8-inch screens with narrower borders than their current ClearPad 2000 touchscreens (which senses two fingers and is used in HTC's Android handsets like the G1, among other phones).

Their other new touchscreen is the ClearPad 1000, a cheap capacitive designed to destroy crappy resistive touchscreens once and for all (read here for the difference between various kinds of touchscreens, though as a shorthand, phones with good touchscreens like the Pre, iPhone, Storm and G1 use capacitive). It only supports one finger, but it's supposed to be more accurate and work better with OLED screens.

Bottom line, touchscreens should get even better over the next year. [Synaptics]

There aren't any big changes on the software side (it's still running BlackBerry OS 5.1), although remember, this is a very early pre-release model. The OS looks pretty much exactly the same as the original Storm, at least at this point. That means it's still laggy (especially the accelerometer), a dealbreaker of a problem on the first Storm that hopefully will get ironed out before the Storm 2's release. Verizon has promised WiFi in its future smartphones, so with any luck that'll include the Storm 2.

In terms of hardware, the four classic BlackBerry buttons (call, end, back, and menu) are no longer separate buttons but part of the clickable screen's display. The screen itself has a lot less give to it than the original Storm, which the guy demonstrating it seems to appreciate, saying it's a much better typing experience (though probably not as good as a physical keyboard). The handset is slightly thinner and features darker metal, seeming classier overall.

What are we really hoping for in the new Storm? No more lagginess, a real browser based on WebKit, and a better app store would be a huge help in making the Storm 2 a step up. That stuff is all software stuff, so we'll hold off making any base judgments about the Storm 2 just yet. But we're keeping our fingers crossed that RIM has been listening to its customers. [CrackBerry]

Beyond the haptics, the MX-5000 is a fairly standard high-end universal remote, intended for system builders to pair with similarly high-end home media systems—not your 40-inch HDTV. This explains the unorthodox button choice and inclusion of Wi-Fi, which the remote uses to display all manner of information broadcast from your receiver. It also explains the price price—although there's no official figure, Crunchgear's inquiry was answered with an ominous "below $1500."

Even if most people could never dreaming of needing one of these, the concept is still exciting: having to looks at a remote every time you use it feels like a step back, so if URC can clear that hurdle, more power to them. [Crunchgear]

Price: $499

Verdict: Have you ever wanted to touch Windows XP? No? There's a pretty good reason for that—it's a really crummy touch experience, even with slightly larger-than-usual buttons. It's kind of like trying to poke poke poke around Windows Mobile 5 with a stylus—the onscreen keyboard's small keys gives us pretty horrific flashbacks. (This is at least partly because the T91 is running standard Windows XP Home, not Windows XP Tablet edition.) The "touch optimized" Internet Explorer is a joke. That's okay, Asus knows all of this too, so they've included their own custom interface that sits on top of XP called Touch Gate.

The UI is glossy and glowy and widgety—lighting effects, reflections and giant buttons abound. It can be impressively smooth in action, given how dinky the T91's guts are (1.33GHz Atom Z520). It has its own apps inside, like a flashy photo program, notepad for scribbling, and internet radio. There's widget desktop inside as well. You can move between the Touch Gate homescreen, widgets desktop and Windows XP by flicking left or right. It's confusing and annoying though—why can you only have five programs on the Touch Gate homescreen? To get to other apps, you have to move a slider sitting below to "unlock" the rest of the apps, which pop up in a semi-circle. From there, you can launch one, or trade out the apps that appear on your homescreen.

But let's just cut to it: I'm just not sure why anyone would want this, barring other third party apps you'd install that would unleash the potential of the tablet. (Which is perfectly adequate from a hardware standpoint—the touchscreen is pretty accurate with the stylus after calibration, though the LED-backlit screen suffers from the typical Asus dimness.) With the exception of being able to literally scribble notes and some whizbang photo flick gestures, there's nothing you can accomplish with Asus's custom widget OS overlay you couldn't do on a regular netbook with a regular Windows XP build. And a glorified app launcher for a handful of custom apps + a widget desktop that essentially exist just to lie on top of Windows XP to make touch actually usable aren't exactly compelling reasons to spring for a tablet, especially when more often than not, the experience simply frustrates because the software seems to misinterpret what you intended a tap to mean.

If there's a specific reason you want a Windows XP tablet with a crampy screen that doubles as decent last-gen netbook with a crampy screen, then for $500, the T91 might be your ticket. But if you're just aching for a cheap touchscreen tablet to dick around on the internet, you'd be better off waiting for the $300 CrunchPad. The T91 was much better as the glimmer of hope in our eye at CES.

Asus custom touch interface is flashy without bogging down system too much

Touch is accurate after calibration-provided you use the included stylus

It's half tablet, half last-gen netbook

Windows XP + touch is not the good kind of touch

In the age of 10-inch netbooks, the 8.9-inch screen is weenie-sized

The touchscreen is an oddly-sized 1.61- x 2.64-inch capacitive display, though the handset does have a few hardware buttons on the bottom and sides. It's got a 3MP camera with video recording that apparently does a passable but not thrilling job, a microSD slot (under the battery, grah) and Samsung's TouchWiz UI that brings a few widgets (Facebook, weather) to the party. It comes in two colors, "Fire" and "Ice," though "Ice" is black for some reason (dangerous!). It'll be available sometime in July for $150 on T-Mobile. [T-Mobile, image from MobileCrunch]

From the patent, we can see that the Zii is a wi-fi-equipped touchscreen media player, fitted with an "HD" camera, Bluetooth, and, well, that's about all we know. The presence of a developer version, called the Zii Egg, seems to promise some kind of app support, though it'd be a mistake to immediately jump to the conclusion that the Zii will therefore have an app store; it could just be a dev platform for third parties who could be developing stock apps for the device.

Oooooooor, as Engadget plausibly suggests, this could be a part of the first wave of Android PMPs, which would, like any Android phone, have root-access developer units. In that case, Creative has what could be an interesting product: a touchscreen, connected PMP with a decent camera and a worthwhile app store, making it a more direct competitor to the iPod Touch than we've ever seen before. For now, though, questions! Like what was up with the strange language in your "Zii Stemcell" announcement, and how closely are these two things connected? In due time, I guess. In due time. [FCC via Engadget]

Crave got a little hands-on with the svelte Atom-powered Archos9, and without even thinking about it, published their post calling it a fairly accurate capacitive touchscreen. That makes us happy: Tablets, especially a little guy like this 9-incher, need as accurate tracking as they can muster. Archos's previous "tablets," the Archos 5 and 7, used mushy resistive touchscreens that worked okay but are firmly last-gen right now, and we're excited to see a slick capacitive interface with the highly-touchable Windows 7 OS.

Yet in Archos's press release for the Archos9, they list the screen as resistive. Now we trust Crave, and we believe that they (like the rest of us) can tell the difference with each finger press. So what's the story here? Crave doesn't seem to have any idea; all the documentation says resistive, but it certainly didn't feel that way to them. This may seem like nitpicking, but it might be a dealbreaker for us. Handwriting recognition is far worse with resistive screens, they can only pick up one signal at a time (so multitouch is out), and the screens themselves are often much muddier or washed-out looking than capacitive.

So help us out, Archos. We want to like this thing, we really do, but we'd like to know what we're dealing with first. Anyway, full presser below. [Crave]

ARCHOS REDEFINES MOBILE COMPUTING WITH ITS TABLET PC

New Ultra-Thin and Ultra-Fast ARCHOS 9 PCtablet Delivers Full PC Computing, Video Conferencing and Access to Media on a Full Touch Screen Handheld Device.

DENVER, CO – July 2, 200Your browser may not support display of this image. 9 ARCHOS is leading the innovation charge in the MiniPC market with the introduction of the ARCHOS 9 PCtablet. This new PCtablet combines the performance of a high-end PC with breathtaking design, excellent ergonomics and an astonishing touch interface. It gives PC users an entirely new way to work, stay connected and enjoy the Web and digital media on an ultra-thin and extremely fast full touch-screen tablet.

The ARCHOS 9 PCtablet is the ultra portable PC; extremely thin, just 0.63", and ultra lightweight, less than 22.29 oz. The ARCHOS 9 pushes the boundaries of style and function.

With a full touch-sensitive 9" screen, users can enjoy a comfortable computing experience. The resistive screen allows emails and documents to be composed easily via a built-in virtual keyboard. The innovative optical trackball and buttons allows easy navigation on screen, and provides an uncompromised PC experience.

The ARCHOS 9 features the new Z515 Intel® processor, Microsoft Windows 7® Operating system and an integrated multimedia platform that uses WiFi 802.11b/g connection and Bluetooth 2.1 for extremely fast computing anywhere, anytime.

Additional software includes Microsoft Office®, Web TV & Radio, video conference, antivirus, parental control, photos and movies edition applications and more.

The ARCHOS 9 PCtablet will be available this fall, 2009.

The 6400 has a standard Bluetooth range and looks exactly like a Bluetooth headset from Jabra, whereas the 9400 looks like a receptionist's headset that you can take around your house at up to a 450-foot range.

They both have dual-microphones for noise cancelation and both have the touchscreen to quickly switch between a cellphone, VoIP or landline connections. Both will be available later in the year for $200 each. [Slashgear]

The thesis flags more or less every cosmetic and UI change in Snow Leopard as a move towards touch (and by extension, tablet) friendliness: the new Expose removes the keyboard and mouse from the equation, and empowers the big-buttoned dock; Stacks are now much more useful, negating the need to dive into Finder for many tasks; Quicktime controls (and editing) are poke-able; the tech behind the new (and oddly touted) Asian character input support could be extended to more drawing capabilities; and Safari 4's new Cover Flow integration is more useful as a touch interface than a traditional one.

I'll add a few more to that: Finder's new preview functions reduce clicks, and Snow Leopard's general speediness and space-savings would suit the presumably scaled-back hardware of a tablet.

It's miles from conclusive, and CNET's certainty and enthusiasm are easy to mock, but I like this. Jesus sees Apple's tablet as a bigger, more powerful iPod Touch, running some variant of iPhone OS—an solid theory, since you could argue that iPhone OS is Apple's touch version of OS X—but I've previously fingered OS X as the device's software, based on Apple patents that describe Snow Leopard-esque interface modifications to accommodate finger input. On top of that, OS X is already a decent touch OS—Cover Flow is everywhere, and the dock is, well, big.

And at minimum this story gives us one more website to commiserate with when Apple finally announces their plans to never, ever make a tablet. Thanks! [CNET]

Billed as an "intelligent, multi-user Touchwall" the kit, made by Schematic, uses their previous multitouch panels to create a surface which can be used by multiple people.

It is being used for the first time at an advertising festival in Cannes, where it can recognize attendees by their RFID badges and offers them a personalized workspace wherever they happen to be standing. It also displays relevant info, such as 3D maps of where they need to go and features a built in social network element for users to leave each other messages.

But the special thing about the Touchwall is its multi-user capabilities where people can work side by side and even share information. [BoingBoingGadgets]

Like the G1, the i7500 is T-Mobile only for now, and the specs haven't changed from the first announcement. Having passed this hurdle, the i7500 will likely start production soon, though who knows when it'll actually show up in stores—Boy Genius suspects it might be this coming November. [Boy Genius Report]

The TouchMP isn't going to be mistaken for an iPhone anytime soon, but Memorex does a surprisingly good job keeping the onscreen interface simple, legible, and intuitive...The Memorex TouchMP is the first MP3 player we've seen that combines touch-screen technology, useful features, and an attractive design, for less than $100.

Basically, there are better values for touchscreenless MP3 players and the TouchMP isn't some magical perfect device, but it's the cheapest way out there (other than an import from OEM, probably) to get your touchscreen fix. [Memorex and CNET]

The video is eight minutes long, but absolutely worth the view since it's hard to describe what it does in words (even if the quality is really bad.)

Called Global Situational Awareness the system seamlessly puts together geographical information and schematics with material from countless sources in the battlefield: Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, AWACs, satellites, ground-level radar, reconnoissance units... anything that is connected to the battle grid will be mixed into one single tactical plan.

The result of this advanced information merging system—for a lack of a better term—is then shown in a touch display, which is used by the people in command to access all the information in a comprehensive way. To do it, the system has different applications that allow to show and mix this information with different levels of transparency, in 2D and 3D, all manipulated using gestures and simple icons.

The level of sophistication of this system—developed in three years by DRS technologies— is simply amazing, making current battlefield displays look like a Napoleonic Wars map with lead soldiers on top. This is like the crazy made-up stuff that you can see in series like 24 or Tom Clancy movies, but for real. [Defense Tech]

New features for Windows 7 include recognition of mathematical formulas and East Asian languages, as well as the addition of a soft keyboard with multitouch and a totally revamped method for correcting handwriting. Here's hoping we finally get a droolworthy, sleek, and most importantly, useful tablet to take advantage of the new features. [MSDN, thanks JagsLive]

Using a pseudo-calligraphy brush as a mouse, you can scribble all over the tablet all you want—but the teaching tools of the tablet won't recognize what you're writing unless it's in Korean. Hooray, I'm Chinese so I guess I'm off the hook. [Yanko Design]

In response to a line of questioning about problems with the Blackberry Storm, Lazardis noted that although the device was thoroughly tested before launch, there were some growing pains:

That's our first touch product, and you know nobody gets it perfect out the door. You know other companies were having problems with their first releases.

In that same statement, Lazardis hints that more touchscreen devices may be on the horizon—although he would not comment on future products (he also gives BlackBerry fans a reason to believe things will get better—in contrast to Co-CEO Jim Balsillie's belief that buggy smartphones are "the new reality"). As far the current product lineup is concerned, it's no surprise to find that Lazardis believes that they have distinct advantages when it comes to their full push technology and multitasking that doesn't waste battery life. They are also working to improve their browser to offer a broader web-browsing experience without compromising performance.

Check out Laptop Mag for the full interview. [Laptop Mag]

The Model S's touchscreen wasn't fully functional during the demo (the car's first with press), so internet browsing and presumably GPS weren't working. But we do know the touchscreen will control entertainment as well as navigation, and that it'll offer haptic feedback, probably rumbling a little bit when touched. The car should be priced around $50,000. [TechCrunch]