Motorola Xoom returns to PC World UK, this time at £500, promises April 9th delivery

By Vlad Savov posted Mar 2nd 2011 12:38PM Maybe PC World is trying to sneak the bad news in under the cover of the iPad 2 launch, but it's returned Motorola's Xoom tablet to its pre-order systems with a far less pleasing price than before: ?500. It was ?450 yesterday, but our suspicions were raised by the impossibility of actually pre-ordering one, and sure enough, now that you're able to sign yourself up to be among the first in Europe to own a Xoom, it'll cost you a 50 note more. Launch is scheduled for the first week of April, we're told, and PC World has a tentative April 9th delivery date. Yours, if you want it, at the source link below.
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Barnes & Noble updates Nook Android app, promises a Honeycomb version this spring

On the heels of the announcement that it's grabbed 25 percent of the US e-reader market, Barnes & Noble has decided to give the world a heap of details on its Android developments. First up, we've got an updated Android app, and while it's not exactly a drastic upgrade, version 2.5 has been refreshed with a new library grid view (apparently optimized for 7-inch tablets), a book download progress bar, and a wish list feature. We told you they were rather minor updates, but our guess is that the Nook Honeycomb app that's being promised for some time this spring will be far more exciting. Yep, it's a lot of B&N Android, but while we're on the topic, we've got to admit we're wondering about the whereabouts of that Nook Color app store, which was announced back in October. Look not everyone has taken to rooting, okay? Alright, we've totally digressed -- hit the gallery below for some screens of the new app or the source link to try it out on your own.

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iGrow promises to regrow hair with lasers, accessorize any wardrobe

Apira Science Introduces the First Hands-Free, Laser Hair Rejuvenation System for Home-Use -- The iGrow

New Hair Care System Uses Clinically Proven Low Level Light Therapy to Rejuvenate and Revitalize Thinning Hair

NEWPORT BEACH, CA -- (Marketwire) -- 02/22/11 -- As the saying goes, you never get a second chance to make a first impression. First impressions are everything -- and hair is one of the first features that people notice on others. Looking your best can help you make a strong impact, and a full head of thick, lustrous hair can go a long way in helping to achieve that. Unfortunately, many people are not naturally blessed with enviable tresses -- genetics and environmental factors play a role, and, until now, the options available for remedying this situation were either less than effective or prohibitively expensive.

From Apira Science, one of the most respected clinical based laser hair restoration companies and maker of the highly successful Revage670?, comes the only hands-free, home-use hair rejuvenation device that is as powerful as clinical solutions. Available now, iGrow leverages a patent-pending combination of built-in laser and LED lights to enable both men and women concerned with hair loss or thinning hair to experience dramatic results. Within 12 weeks of using iGrow as directed, most consumers report that they experience the cessation of excess hair loss. The appearance of thicker, fuller, healthier hair is typical within 24 weeks.

In stark contrast to currently available solutions such as laser hair combs, iGrow addresses the limitations and inconsistencies of these products by incorporating the same scientifically proven, Harvard Medical School-documented low level laser therapy technology that is found in the Revage670. The Revage670 has been used by more than 500 doctors in over 25 countries worldwide to effectively rejuvenate shedding and thinning hair. With the new iGrow, consumers have access to the very same technology relied upon in so many doctor's offices and clinical settings -- now in the comfort of their own homes -- and at a fraction of the cost. Simple and convenient to use, the iGrow comfortably sits atop the user's head, providing continuous overall coverage and leaving them completely mobile and free to do other things while receiving treatment. The iGrow even allows for users to listen to music while their hair rejuvenates -- it features iPod/MP3 compatibility.

The iGrow features 51 light sources that include 21 laser diodes and 30 LED lights to provide full scalp coverage, while combs and other hand held devices only have 9-15 laser lights. The output from iGrow is equivalent to most in-office clinical hair lasers. Hundreds of clinical studies have shown the effectiveness of low level laser therapy (LLLT) on various conditions including hair loss, carpal tunnel syndrome and acne. "LLLT is an amazing, proven technology that can rejuvenate hair and even delay the onset of thinning hair," noted Nicholas Brox, CEO for Apira. "We have seen first-hand just how effective it is with our Revage670, and we are excited to make this same technology available to the home consumer."

Results from using iGrow are rapid and substantial. According to Lorrie Klein, MD, "The average patient using iGrow will first begin to see decreased hair loss in about six to eight weeks. Then, within a few short months, their hair should begin looking thicker, fuller and healthier. At about the nine month mark, they'll see the maximum result and then, with continued use of the iGrow, should be able to maintain those results."

Priced at $695, the iGrow is available now, and comes with a six month money back guarantee. To learn more about iGrow and how it can be purchased, please visit www.igrowlaser.com.

About Apira Science
Apira Science is an established leader and pioneer in low level laser therapy for hair loss and thinning hair. Its Revage670? system has earned numerous accolades from doctors and patients alike for its ability to stop the appearance of hair loss and promote thicker, fuller hair. Now, Apira is launching a consumer solution that leverages the Revage670 technology in a compact, hands-free system that will enable hair rejuvenation in the comfort of one's own home. The new iGrow at home laser is also iPod/MP3 compatible, further enhancing the appeal of this easy-to-use device. For additional information please visit www.apirascience.com.

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Imagination Technologies unveils Series 6 PowerVR GPUs -- promises desktop caliber graphics in mobile devices (update)

CHANGING THE GAME: ST-ERICSSON UNVEILS NOVATHOR™ FAMILY OF SMARTPHONE PLATFORMS COMBINING ITS MOST ADVANCED APPLICATION PROCESSORS WITH THE LATEST GENERATION OF MODEMS

February 15, 2011

Complete solutions bring unprecedented computing and graphics performance to smartphones and tablets, at lowest power consumption

Barcelona, February 15, 2011 – ST-Ericsson, a world leader in wireless platforms and semiconductors, is raising the bar for smartphone and tablet platform performance with its new Nova™ application processors, its new Thor™ advanced modems and its range of NovaThor™ complete integrated platform solutions.

"By offering the most advanced application processors combined with our latest generation of thin HSPA+ and LTE modems, ST-Ericsson is setting new performance standards for our industry." said Gilles Delfassy, president and CEO of ST-Ericsson. "Our approach will accelerate innovation in the smartphone and tablet markets enabling consumers to experience human-machine interfaces based on gesture, voice and image recognition, 3D cameras and life-like augmented reality."

ST-Ericsson's NovaThor platforms, based on a scalable architecture, combine application engines, modems and connectivity chipsets into fully-integrated and tested solutions, which device manufacturers can use to quickly roll out a new wave of advanced smartphones and tablets with trailblazing multimedia capabilities across all segments.

At the high end, the NovaThor platforms offer device makers the opportunity to bring leading-edge smartphones to market swiftly by combining ST-Ericsson's very latest modems and application processors. In the mainstream smartphone segment, manufacturers can benefit by using ST-Ericsson's highly-integrated platforms, in which modems and application processors are built into a single piece of silicon, to produce compact and affordable devices. The scalable architecture enables reuse of manufacturers' R&D investment across the entire range of their smartphone and tablet portfolios.

ST-Ericsson today announced three new application processors, the Nova A9600, A9540, A9500 together with two next generation modems the Thor M7400 and M7300 as well as two additions to its complete highly integrated smartphone platforms the NovaThor T5008 and U4500.

ST-Ericsson's new Nova A9600 brings over 200 percent more mobile computing performance compared to the U8500 platform. It features the industry's best and most efficient low-power implementation known today of a dual ARM® Cortex- A15 MPCore™ with each core running up to 2.5GHz thanks to very innovative power saving techniques to be disclosed later this year.

"As the selection of advanced smartphones and tablets increases we see the need for a wider range of performance points to be addressed," said Mike Inglis, EVP and general manager of the ARM Processor Division, "This announcement shows the performance that can be achieved by combining the Cortex-A15 processor with integrated LTE modems."
The Nova A9600 will be the first platform announced to incorporate Imagination Technologies next generation of graphics processors, codenamed Rogue, which will set a new performance bar for GPUs at mobile power consumption levels. The Nova A9600 will bring more than a 20-fold improvement in graphics performance compared with the U8500 platform.

"POWERVR Series6, codenamed 'Rogue', moves the goalposts in terms of graphics performance and efficiency at low power consumption for next generation mobile." said Hossein Yassaie, CEO of Imagination Technologies. "We are delighted to be working with ST-Ericsson on such a groundbreaking product."

The Nova A9600 will also be able to play full HD video at 120 frames per second, supporting professional camcorder-quality recording in 3D, as well as high definition videoconferencing and tele-presence.

ST-Ericsson also unveiled the Nova A9540, a dual-core ARM Cortex- A9-based processor, with each core operating at up to1.8 GHz, and the Nova A9500, a dual-core ARM Cortex- A9-based processor, running at 1.2 GHz. The Nova A9540 delivers a four times improvement in graphics performance compared with the current generation, while the A9500 delivers state-of-the-art graphic capabilities on mobile devices.

ST-Ericsson's new Thor modems, the Thor M7400 and the Thor M7300, support the latest LTE and HSPA+ dual carrier technologies, while preserving backward compatibility with existing 3G/2G networks, in a small and highly-integrated radio solution that supports up to eight LTE/WCDMA/GSM frequency bands. These modems enable the development of truly global smartphones, tablets and many other mobile broadband-enabled devices.

The Thor modems and Nova application processors will be offered as combined NovaThor solutions which match the most advanced application processors with the latest modem technologies. Finally ST-Ericsson introduced the NovaThor T5008 and U4500 platforms which combine application processor and modem in a single die delivering all the benefits of integration, including size, power and bill-of-material advantages.

Notes to Editors

The Nova A9600, built in 28nm, will deliver groundbreaking multimedia and graphics performance, featuring a dual-core ARM Cortex- A15-based processor running up to up to 2.5 GHz breaking the 20k DMIPS barrier, and a POWERVR Rogue GPU that delivers in excess of 210 GFLOPS. The graphics performance of the A9600 will exceed 350 million 'real' polygons per second and more than 5 gigapixels per second visible fill rate (which given POWERVR's deferred rendering architecture results in more than 13 gigapixels per second effective fill rate). Thanks to Rogue Nova will support all existing APIs such as OpenGL, OpenGL ES 2.0/1.1, OpenVG and OpenCL as well as the next generation of OpenGL ES, codenamed 'Halti' and Microsoft DirectX. The Nova A9600 is sampling in 2011.

The Nova A9540, built in 32nm, uses a dual-core Cortex-A9 running at up to 1.8 GHz and delivers graphics performance up to four times that of the U8500 and is sampling H2 2011.

The Nova A9500, built in 45 nm, uses a dual-core Cortex-A9 running at clock speeds of up to 1.2GHz, with Mali™ 400 improving graphics performance up to 20 percent, supporting full HD camcorder capabilities and up to 20 megapixel cameras. It is sampling and in design with ST-Ericsson customers today.

The Thor M7400 can connect to 2G, 3G, TD-SCDMA, HSPA, HSPA+ dual carrier and LTE FDD/TDD networks. It offers peak download speeds of up to 100Mbps in LTE networks. The Thor M7400 supports voice calls via fallback to circuit-switched networks and via the VoLTE (Voice over LTE) standard, it is sampling Q2 2011.

The Thor M7300 is a multimode HSPA+ modem supporting speeds of up to 84Mbps and is sampling Q2 2011.

The NovaThor U9500 is a complete platform combining Thor M5730 with A9500 and is sampling now.

The NovaThor T5008 platform combines a TD-HSPA+ modem with dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 and Mali 400 graphics. It supports full HD camcorder capabilities and up to 20 megapixel cameras and is sampling Q2 2011.

The NovaThor U4500 platform combines a powerful Cortex-A9 application processor with a HSPA+ modem. It supports DVD-quality camcorder capabilities and 8 megapixel cameras and samples in 1H 2011.

About ST-Ericsson
ST-Ericsson is a world leader in developing and delivering a complete portfolio of innovative mobile platforms and cutting-edge wireless semiconductor solutions across the broad spectrum of mobile technologies. The company is a leading supplier to the top handset manufacturers and ST-Ericsson's products and technologies enable more than half of all phones in use today. The company generated sales of about USD 2.3 billion in 2010. ST-Ericsson was established as a 50/50 joint venture by STMicroelectronics and Ericsson in February 2009, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.
www.stericsson.com
www.twitter.com/STEricssonForum
Nova, Thor and NovaThor are trademarked by ST-Ericsson.

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Skype hints at video calling for Android users on AT&T, promises improvements to Qik

By Donald Melanson posted Feb 17th 2011 4:23PM We haven't heard a ton out of Skype since its acquisition of Qik last month, but executives from the two companies have finally done a bit of talking at Mobile World Congress this week. As you might expect, any actual merger of the two applications is still a ways off, but Skype has revealed that it plans to share some of its technical expertise to improve the quality of Qik video calls on Sprint and T-Mobile devices, and Skype exec Rick Osterloh also said that we should "watch out for some announcements" when it comes to AT&T. Considering Skype for iPhone already does video calls on AT&T, we assume that means we should look for video calling to come to Android phones on the carrier as well. In the longer term, PC Magazine reports that the "new vision" for Skype and Qik involves Skype's video call technology being used alongside Qik's video mail, video sharing and live streaming abilities, although the companies aren't providing any timeline for when any of that might happen.
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Intel promises, teases MeeGo smartphone and tablet for MWC

Lookie here. Intel may have been the jilted bride left at the altar by Nokia, but it's not giving up on MeeGo just yet. The above poster has been hung up here in Barcelona, in the area us humble journalists still aren't in allowed yet, and shows a smartphone and tablet running Intel's Linux variant as their OS. There are plenty of details to pore over, such as the multiplicity of home screen items on the tablet that includes Big Buck Bunny -- a favorite for testing HD video playback -- in its top right corner; the handset, meanwhile, could very well be that Aava Mobile device we've been hearing about lately. MWC is opening its doors tomorrow, so even if Intel doesn't announce these devices in full, we'll snoop its booth out and find out for ourselves.