We have been hearing about it for quite a while now but RIM has yet to give a specific release date for the next major release of the BlackBerry PlayBook operating system. However, Engadget has now received some images that help clear the doubts.

According to these images, the OS 2.0 update is slated for release on February 21, just three days from now, at 4:01 a.m (in an unknown timezone). Read more »

After making PC gamers wait for nearly two years, the PC version of Alan Wake is finally here. You can now download the game exclusively from Steam right now for $29.99. For that price you get the game, Collector’s Edition DLC (free until February 23rd), developer commentary videos, illustrated PDF book, and the official soundtrack for the game.

The PC version of the game promises higher quality graphics compared to the Xbox 360 version, along with full support and optimization for a keyboard and mouse layout. The graphics settings are configurable, the game is optimized for quad-core CPUs and you can now even hide the HUD for a more immersive experience. It also works with AMD’s Eyefinity 3D 3-screen mode and Nvidia’s NVISION2 Stereoscopic 3D. Read more »

The perennial beta version of the Swype keyboard for Android has been updated to support the latest version of the operating system. The keyboard, as you may be aware, relies on swipes on the keys to enter words, along with traditional text input where you can just press individual keys. The new beta also offers the ability to install additional languages for tablets and accuracy improvements.

To test out the new beta, I installed it on my phone to see how well it works. Despite being a beta, the application was just as stable as it has ever been, with no real bugs or issues. However, there are some thing about the way the keypad works that still bugs me. Read more »

Last month when Acer released the Iconia Tab A200, they promised that it will get the Ice Cream Sandwich upgrade in February. And staying true to that promise, the ICS update has now started rolling out to the device.

In case you are not quite aware of the A200, it is Acer’s latest tablet and comes with a 10.1-inch, 1280 x 800 resolution display, Tegra 2 processor, 1GB RAM, 8/16GB internal memory, dual cameras, stereo speakers and a microSD card slot. It’s available for $329.99 and $349.99 for the 8GB and 16GB model respectively. Read more »

The Google+ app for iOS has always been (understandably) behind the curve compared to its Android counterpart, with some of the features appearing a bit later. The latest feature to trickle down from the Android app is Instant Upload.

As some of you may know, Instant Upload uploads the pictures you take with the camera on your phone and uploads it to a private folder in your Google+ account. It’s actually a neat way to back up your images on an Android phone but with Photo Stream in iCloud, iOS users might not be in any real need of this feature. Read more »

A bunch of new rumors have surfaced about the soon-to-be-launched iPad 3. First, iMore is reporting that the iPad 3 will launch on Wednesday, March 7, which is just three weeks from now, which was then confirmed by The Loop. They are also saying that the iPad 3 will have a 2,048 x 1,536 Retina display and a quad-core A6 processor. Lastly, they mentioned that it will also have 4G LTE connectivity, but they seemed less sure about this.

The Wall Street Journal has now come out and confirmed that last bit of information. According to their latest report, the iPad 3 will have 4G LTE connectivity on both Verizon and AT&T’s networks. Read more »

In recent times, Apple has often been blamed for the poor standards of employees working at Foxconn. It is also the only company being blamed for it, despite the fact that almost every major company out there, including the likes of Samsung, Nokia, Acer, ASUS, Amazon, Dell, Microsoft, Sony , Motorola and many others, also get their products manufactured at Foxconn.

Recently, Apple CEO Tim Cook sent a letter to the staff at Apple, stating that the company cares about every employee that works for it. But now to prove that those weren’t just empty words, Apple has now asked Fair Labor Association, to begin inspections at Foxconn. The FLA will conduct special voluntary audits of Apple’s final assembly suppliers, including Foxconn factories in Shenzhen and Chengdu, China. A team of labor rights experts have already begun the first inspections starting this Monday. Read more »

Twitter users using Windows Phone 7 devices have been waiting for this one for quite some time now and it has finally released. The Carbon app is now available on the Windows Marketplace and can be purchased for $1.99.

Although it is a bit unusual for a Twitter client to charge money for you to use it, this one promises to be well worth the price. Carbon makes great use of the Metro UI to create a visually brilliant interface. But it’s not just a pretty app and comes with all the important features built-in, such as multi-account support, Read Later, image upload, custom URL shortening, threaded direct messages and image & video previews. Read more »

If you thought the OS on the PlayStation Vita would be limited to that device, think again. It seems Sony is looking into porting the Vita OS onto smartphones and tablets. This OS has apparently been designed by Sony to be expandable and can be used for powering smartphones and tablets. They may not be in a hurry to port it over on to other platforms right now but it is certainly something they could do down the line.

Another thing of note is that Sony is also going to port smartphone apps over to the PSVita. Read more »

The highly popular Instagram app was recently updated and brought a handful of new features and changes. First of all is the new Lux effect, which brings out more detail in your images. It works a bit similar to the HDR function built-into the iPhone’s camera and brings out the details in the dark as well as light areas of the picture. This effect can then also be accompanied by a filter.

Other changes include the addition of a new filter called ‘Sierra’ and a redesigned interface that uses an updated header and menu buttons for a simpler and more refined look. Instagram has also added tappable notifications, where tapping on a notification will take you to the relevant image, comment or profile page in the app. Read more »

A few days ago, Apple officially said goodbye to the 13-inch white MacBook, which was so far available exclusively for educational institutions since it was discontinued for the general public last July. Now, they have announced a new cut-price version of the 13-inch MacBook Air, which will be sold for $999.

For that price you will get the hardware from the entry-level 11-inch model (which also costs $999), that is a 1.6GHz Intel Core i5 processor, 2GB of RAM and 64GB of internal memory (SSD). You will, however, get the same 13.3-inch, 1,440 x 900 resolution display from the standard 13-inch model. Read more »

The Eastman Kodak Company, better known simply as Kodak, has announced that they will not be making cameras anymore, bringing an era that lasted a 124 years to an end. The company responsible for the invention for the roll film, which played an instrumental role in movie making, is having a hard time financially and this latest decision is the result of that.

Kodak will now be expanding its current brand licensing program, and seek licensees for cameras. It will also continue with its online and retail-based photo printing, as well as desktop inkjet printing. Kodak also said that it will be honoring all the warranties as well as provide technical support and service to the cameras sold so far. Read more »

While demonstrating Windows on ARM (WOA), Microsoft also showcased the next version of its office suite, Office 15. This new version of Office will be fully compatible with WOA and come with Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote.

As you can see from the video below, Office 15 has a new flattened look, which is tune with the look of Windows 8. Office 15 will run in desktop mode on Windows 8, which is why the UI resembles apps like the new Explorer instead of the Metro apps. Read more »

The next generation iPad is nearing its launch and so the rumor mills are now in full force. What we have today, though, is not a rumor but a purported photograph of the aluminum shell of the next generation iPad (which I will refer to as the iPad 3 for now).

What you see above is the aforementioned photograph, with the iPad 3 shell on the right. The photograph was uncovered by RepairLabs, who noticed that the new shell has different mounts for the logic board, which suggests a redesigned logic board, most probably to accommodate a larger battery. They also said that the shell did not look noticeably thicker than the iPad 2′s, which is contrary to current rumors that suggested that the iPad 3 will be slightly thicker. Read more »

Following the launch of Chrome Beta for Android, Google has updated its desktop browser to v17 (17.0.963.46, to be precise). Among the new features over the previous stable version include the ability to prerender pages to speed up your browsing. Now, when you type a URL in the Omnibox, Chrome will automatically start prerendering the website it thinks you are mostly likely to open, which means when you hit Enter, chances are the page will open instantaneously.

Another new feature is the ability to check files to see if they’re malicious. When you download an executable file, such as .exe or .msi, Chrome will try to match the file with its online database to see if it is genuine. Read more »