Modding Community Offers Bounty for Android Port in TouchPad

While the HP TouchPad suddenly became a hot commodity simply because of its very steep discount, the tablet still gets no love because people find its webOS software… well, let’s just say it’s not Android or iOS.
But because the tablet has an open architecture, modding communities are looking for ways to port Android into the TouchPad. So much so that they are beginning to offer bounties to developers who can make it happen.
HackNMod is offering up to $1,500, but it is broken down into several parts, making multiple developers grab a chance at a payout. For instance, the first to be able to get a “basic Android port” working on the TouchPad receives $400, if a team is able to get WiFi working gets $350, a working audio receives $300, and a multitouch functionality gets $100. Developers have to make sure their solutions should be easy enough for average users to install the ports on their own, not to mention provide photos and videos as evidence.
The program has a catch, however. HackNMod can only provide $450, leaving the rest of the bounty through sponsors. Interested parties, whether who want to throw in money or develop solutions to put Android into TouchPad, should check out the HackNMod link below for more information.
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Canon PowerShot SX150 IS Digital Camera

Canon has recently announced a new line of PowerShot digital cameras. One of them is the new Canon PowerShot SX150 IS Digital Camera. This may be considered as an ideal point and shoot for the casual digital camera user who might also be more budget conscious.
The Canon PowerShot SX150 IS is a 14.1MP point and shoot digital camera that comes with a wide range of useful features for taking great quality images. Aside from having a 14.1 megapixel CCD sensor, this camera also comes with Canon’s DIGIC 4 Image Processor. It is also equipped with a 28mm wide angles lens capable of 12x optical zoom. It can also record in 720p HD video with stereo sound. Other features include an improved Smart AUTO shooting modes and Intelligent IS for better image stabilization. A 3.0 LCD screen allows easy viewing and scrolling through the camera menu. The Canon PowerShot SX150 IS is expected to come out in September at a suggested retail price of US$250.
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Wooden Zoo Stand And Speaker

Apple iPhone accessories seem to compete with one another for attention. And it seems that the competition is fierce, with quite a lot of accessories now in the market for just about any function. But it is always the simple and the most functional that can get the most attention, if not for its uniqueness. Just taking a look at this unique Wooden Zoo Stand and Speaker and you would understand.
The Wooden Zoo Stand and Speaker is designed for the Apple iPhone. To put it simply, it is a whale-designed stand that comes with a built-in speaker. The whale’s mouth is just big enough to hold the iPhone in place. Its speaker can be attached with the iPhone via a 3.5mm jack. What makes it appealing aside from its unique design is that it is just small enough to bring around in one’s pocket, being a stand and a speaker in one. The Wooden Zoo Stand and Speaker for the iPhone is available at Korean Early Adopter shop for 38,4000 Won or around US$30.
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The FitDesk – Exercise While You Work

Busy working people may find it hard to provide some time for exercise on their daily time schedules. Even when some people get home, they might still find themselves doing some additional work. Adding the usual fitness regimen just wont do. But for those who really want to stay fit despite their busy schedules, the FitDesk may provide a suitable alternative.
The FitDesk is a special exercise bike that is fitted with a functional desk. People can then ride on the FitDesk and pedal on while doing some work at the same time. The makeshift desk on the FitDesk is ideal for placing a laptop, giving users the option to surf the Web or do work on some documents while pedaling on. The pedal resistance on the FitDesk can be adjusted to provide users with a more intense workout if needed. The FitDesk is available on its website for US$229.
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Looftlighter Flameless Firestarter

Starting fires, whether for barbecues or that fireplace, comes with considerable risk. If you are not too careful, you can get burned by the flames, especially if you use an open flame to start a fire. The Looftlighter offers a safer and flameless fire starter option for you.
The Looftlighter is a unique fire starter device that allows you to create a fire without using a lighter fluid or an open flame. The Looftlighter is like a large car cigarette lighter and a blower in one. When the Looftlighter is plugged in a power outlet, one end produces up to 1000 degree Fahrenheit heat via electricity and its own air flow at a touch of a button.
When its heating end is focused on logs at a fireplace or charcoal briquettes on a grill, the Looftlighter can start a fire going in as little as 15 to 30 seconds. It is a safer alternative as the heat is kept at a safe distance from your hands. The Looftlighter is available at ThinkGeek for US$80.
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Looftlighter Flameless Firestarter

Starting fires, whether for barbecues or that fireplace, comes with considerable risk. If you are not too careful, you can get burned by the flames, especially if you use an open flame to start a fire. The Looftlighter offers a safer and flameless fire starter option for you.
The Looftlighter is a unique fire starter device that allows you to create a fire without using a lighter fluid or an open flame. The Looftlighter is like a large car cigarette lighter and a blower in one. When the Looftlighter is plugged in a power outlet, one end produces up to 1000 degree Fahrenheit heat via electricity and its own air flow at a touch of a button.
When its heating end is focused on logs at a fireplace or charcoal briquettes on a grill, the Looftlighter can start a fire going in as little as 15 to 30 seconds. It is a safer alternative as the heat is kept at a safe distance from your hands. The Looftlighter is available at ThinkGeek for US$80.
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Walmart Sells Asus Eee Pad Transformer for $350

When Asus Eee Pad Transformer tablet was first unveiled, everybody thought it would be a serious competitor to the iPad with its IPS screen, low price, and very catchy name. But alas, that never happened, which is why Walmart is selling the tablet at a discounted price of $350, making it the cheapest Honeycomb tablet available.
The price slash applies to the entry-level 16GB WiFi-only model. It features a 10.1-inch IPS capacitive multitouch screen with 1,280 x 800 resolution, 1GHz Nvidia dual-core processor, dual cameras, and even voice commands.
UPDATE: As of this writing, Walmart ran out of Asus Eee Pad Transformer in stock (at least in its online store). It now sells the tablet for $398, like the Acer Iconia Tab A500 and the 8GB Toshiba Thrive.
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Report: Nintendo to Revamp 3D and Add Another Analog Stick

Despite its promising features, not to mention the hype it got when it was first launched, the Nintendo 3DS is not selling well. The higher-ups are allegedly not too pleased about it, which is why reports begin to circulate that Nintendo may bring out a new hardware revision of the 3DS that downplays its 3D powers.
According to French gaming site 01.net, Nintendo is having a hard time convincing customers that the 3D display is safe to use. The company has already stated that children under 6 should not use the handheld console with the 3D turned on. That statement definitely turned off the very young market.
Speaking of hardware updates, the company is also considering adding a piece of hardware in the Nintendo 3DS that they failed to foresee during its development: A second analog stick. Nintendo engineers, as well as a group of hand-picked developers, are said to be working on creating an inexpensive analog stick add-on that they hope would improve gameplay.
If these reports turn out to be true, expect a barrage of irate early buyers, as well as those who bought the Nintendo 3DS at the discounted price.
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Sprint to Get iPhone 5, Says Wall Street Journal

Although we have yet to read any actual news (not just rumors and speculations) about the iPhone 5, Wall Street Journal has reported that the next-gen Apple smartphone will appear on Sprint apart from AT&T and Verizon. Citing sources “familiar with the matter,” WSJ claims the iPhone 5 will be shipped on all carriers in mid-October.
Apart from the iPhone 5, WSJ’s source claims that Sprint will also be carrying the iPhone 4 as well, most probably with a discounted price. Enabling to offer the iPhone is a huge boost for Sprint, which is currently the third largest mobile carrier in the United States with 52 million subscribers. Its sales performance has not been impressive lately because it has not been able to sell the iPhone.
The newspaper also reveals what it knows about the iPhone 5, claiming that it will be thinner and lighter than the iPhone 4, but with an improved digital camera and a more sophisticated OS.
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Garmin Vector: Measuring Power Right in the Heel of Your Foot

Apart from distance and calories burned, cyclists nowadays are obsessed to know the amount of power they exert on every ride. Don’t worry, Garmin has a gadget for that.
The Garmin Vector is a lightweight power meter that is integrated on a pedal. Not only it can provide accurate and reliable power data, but it also measures the power balance of the cyclist’s right and left legs. The data will be sent to the Garmin Edge GPS or other compatible wireless receivers (as long as it is Garmin-made).
The Vector is portable, easy to use, and takes only minutes to install. It is a shame, however, that this device has a suggested price of $1,499. Garmin Vector is expected to be available in March 2012.
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Garmin Vector: Measuring Power Right in the Heel of Your Foot

Apart from distance and calories burned, cyclists nowadays are obsessed to know the amount of power they exert on every ride. Don’t worry, Garmin has a gadget for that.
The Garmin Vector is a lightweight power meter that is integrated on a pedal. Not only it can provide accurate and reliable power data, but it also measures the power balance of the cyclist’s right and left legs. The data will be sent to the Garmin Edge GPS or other compatible wireless receivers (as long as it is Garmin-made).
The Vector is portable, easy to use, and takes only minutes to install. It is a shame, however, that this device has a suggested price of $1,499. Garmin Vector is expected to be available in March 2012.
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Sony S1 to be Named “Sony Tablet S,” Available in September

As one company bids farewell to the tablet industry, another electronics giant is about to set foot to the Tablet Wars. After so many teasers, Sony has finally unveiled its first of two Android tablets.
The Sony Tablet S, which we previously refer to as the S1, is projected to be available in the market in the second week of September. It features a 9.4-inch screen with 1,280 x 768 resolution, 3-megapixel front-facing camera, 5-megapixel back-facing imager, a wireless keyboard and dock set-up, and micro-USB. The tablet is said to have the ability to “use all devices in the home” via its integrated IR blaster, and even the capability to “throw” media to DLNA-compatible hardware (even if it is not made by Sony).
In the software front, the Sony Tablet S runs on Android 3.1 with a potential to upgrade to Ice Cream Sandwich and is preinstalled with PlayStation Certified gaming apps, as well as Sony music, movie, and book services.
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Trek Light Cycle Push Bike – First Look

Tron has clearly has an influence on “geek culture”, and I don’t see why someone hasn’t made a push bike that looks like a Tron light cycle.

It appears that Trek designer Ryan Callahan has created a Tron scooter with the Trek Light Cycle Push Bike. Yes, that is its full name, as long and drawn out as it is. My Source does not have much information on this, but you will note the blue lights in between the wheels. I wonder if this is battery powered or if the wheels in motion power these lights. I don’t know if it has the feature, but I know that it does not have the ability to make a wall behind it as it rides. 

Just imagine a kid zooming around on this thing, pretending that he is Tron. You will note the grid terrain that this scooter has been placed upon. Too bad real sidewalks and streets are not as smooth. Yeah, I wonder how this Tron scooter can handle the real world. 

So far, there isn’t any word on when a little tyke can get one of these, but it will be on display at Trek World 2012. I think that is some sort of conference that uses the Trek logo in Tron font. Interesting.

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Samsung Gloria Tablet the Slide Out Keyboard – Quick Look

 

Great news for samsung lovers !!

Samsung recently claimed they has sold 1 million units products of Galaxy Tab tablet. Its a big achievement. After tasting success on market selling with its first tablet PC, Samsung has decided to release another one. This one’s can we called Samsung Gloria and sports a 10.1-inch touchscreen display.

Unlike Galaxy Tab, the Samsung Gloria is based on Windows 7 operating system. Though the core remains that of Windows 7, Samsung has tweaked interface to make it more appealing and useful.

Another interesting feature of this tablet is its physical slide-out keyboard which would make typing really amazing. So people who always complain about missing physical keyboard will have something to cheer for!

Other features include a 10-inch multi-touch display, WiFi, front facing camera, and rear facing camera.

It seems Samsung has a winner in Gloria, so hope Samsung doesn’t disappoint on other important features such as processor, memory, storage, etc.

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Android Takes 20% Smartphone Marketshare

Along with the growth of Indonesian mobile market, we started to collect few data that could probably help understand the mobile market better. We’ve written about the future of smartphones and feature phones here, but we haven’t exactly write about the numbers to support it. So here it goes.
Indonesia claimed 63 percent mobile internet adoption rate, a 158 percent monthly increase. This significant growth is mostly triggered by the availability of cheaper smartphone devices with standard features like web-browsing, Facebook, Twitter, chat, emails and cameras. Lots of cheap phones enter the rural mass-market with prices as low as $80 and ridiculously cheap data plans as low as $4 per month.
Barriers all gone.

All mobile phones in Indonesia 25% of 3,1 million is a Smartphone. Interestingly, 20% of them are Android. If you walk down the main streets of Indonesia’s big cities, you’ll see there’s a lot of billboards for Android devices from various manufacturers such as Samsung, LG, Sony Ericsson and even the local player Nexian. Along with its open-source nature, Android is taking new people from lower economy to experience smartphone supported by these manufacturers with their own market segments and economy classes.
In fact, Samung is enjoying the fast-growth of Android devices. “The growing adoption of smartphones in Indonesia in 2010 reached 65%. It is even higher than the growth of the global smartphone (60%)” said Budi Janto, Samsung Mobile Bussiness Director. In the Android phones Samsung mastering 78% all of them, and on the side of the tablet computer has a 60% market share in Indonesia.
And although BlackBerry is still arguably dominating the young modern market, Android can start gaining smartphone marketshare and iPhone can finally get their devices sold properly. There is 1 iPhone for every 12 BlackBerry devices in Indonesia, which is good compared to last year.
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Taking WebCam Photo on Crapto.com

Photo and Internet, these two things can be “the spell” for a service to be successful in getting many users. No all services do the same, but some services take this segment to get users and even to get devoted users, for example Flickr and Instagram.
There already exists local service in mobile application named Pikubo and now there is Crapto.com for those who like to take photo and spread it up to social media.
Crapto.com is a service that enables users to take photos using webcam then publish them into Crapto site or to some social media including Facebook and Twitter. The taken pictures published in Crapto can be given comments. Users can give comments to other users’ pictures.
The appearance of the site is quite interesting with modern design elements and fascinating details. For example, when we want to take photo using webcam, there will be a box, a camera box with quite good design.


It is easy to use the service, after registering, like other social media, you will go to your private profile. In the main page, you can see stream for other pictures taken by other users. If you want to go to photo facility, you can choose Snap Yours button, so you will be led to use your webcam to take photos. You can add category and explanation to your photos. However, when you register, you have to check the name availability and give your email address. You can not skip this process.
In this site, you may also browse other users’ profile, looks for most popular picture, your own gallery or photo collection. In the search column, you can search using certain keywords. You also can add categories and other info when saving photo.
Well, we can say that Crapto is social media with photo segment. Although other social media also give the similar facility, the snapping experience—taking photo right from the site can be the selling point from this service. There is a social feature from this site such as a feature to count how many view of the photo, favorite feature, and comment. Personally, I haven’t search for information whether there is any similar service like Crapto in Indonesia or world-wide. However, there are some services using webcam as the main device but different in other services.
According to the explanation on the site, the name Crapto is taken from internet term “To Crap” which means as an activity to spread out meaningless random words or pics across the Internet. It’s little bit weird, because crap may also mean “rubbish”. May be they want to emphasis that users can share any photo they took from webcam, important photos or the unimportant ones.
Looks like Crapto.com is a single developer project. Aidil Mulada who works as web consultant by his company Alegodesign, has developed Crapto by himself. I hardly found the other names or team who work on developing Crapto. However, Crapto also open for business, for example brand can use Crapto for event and users can selling product using this service.
“Photo and internet” strategy to get users becomes trend lately. Although, commonly it uses mobile devices such as mobile phone and tablet, we still have laptop and desktop computer, don’t we? Though, I have been a while I didn’t use my laptop, but talking about Indonesian people, Crapto still have a chance. Let’s see whether the webcam photo become the trend!
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PANDI and Devotion to Domain .id

News taken from CHIP Online stated that during the organization turnover of PANDI (Indonesian Internet Domain Caretaker), it changed the function from “registry” and “registar” in the same time, so there is only “registry” regulates and managed .id domain. “Registar” function that is to sell .id domain to costumers will be handled to each reseller who meet requirements, including foreign resellers.
The ownership of domains in Indonesia is not quite many. From 200 million domain names in internet, only 250 are registered in Indonesia. From that number, only 58 thousands use .id domain, or about only 23%. This is the fact stated by the new PANDI chairman, Andi Budimansyah. PANDI wants the increasing number of .id domain users from Indonesia.
It is not easy to get users’ interest in Indonesia to use .id in comparison to world-wide domains like .com, .net, or .org. There is also a trend to use domain as a part of the brand name or a word. PANDI realized that one of the reasons is the hard way to register .id domain. You should know the way around when you register .com domain, it needs not more than 5 minutes only.
One step that will be taken by PANDI, as stated in Tempo Interaktif, is the second level domain .my.id offering for free. Other than that, it is predicted that next year, PANDI has been able to offer any domain name including brand name, especially for corporation, with a premium price. The domain name .my.id is free and can be the point of interest for costumers, but for the future, we should learn how other nation love their own domain.
Based on my observation, there are some countries in which their people proud to use their own domain name such as Germany (.de), Canada (.ca) and Japan (.jp). What do they have? Their registry gives access to top level domain in each countries for personal, community, or cooperation needs. It means that we can get dailysocial.de, dailysocial.ca or dailysocial.jd if we live in one of the countries mentioned.
Why we finnaly end up with dailysocial.net? Not dailysocial.co.id? Well.. we can afford it, but to do so, we need SIUP or Company Certificate, NPWP (Tax Registeration), trademark (if any), and ID card of the registration caretakers; though the cost is not too high, for company who has already be corporation since the establishment, the process will be easier, but if it is not, the process to get local domain should wait the legalization process first. It takes much time.
In the past, people who want to get .id domain will get second level domain .web.id. For me, the name is not appealing. The name is not catchy and do not focus on .id as an identity. I want to give an extreme suggestion but look at three countries I mentioned before, why don’t we ask for .id domain for everyone? Just imagine the name dailysocial.id. It is more catchy than dailysocial.co.id or dailysocial.web.id, then we can feel the stronger identity of our nation. Based on my observation, there are some countries in which their people proud to use their own domain name
How about todays structure, for example go.id, ac.id, co.id? Do they need to change? If we learn from Singapore, this kind of transition is not a big problem. They were like us. They used second domain level like that, but recently more people use .sg domain. I think government offices and schools or universities still need to use those nomenclatures, but personal users or corporation will get privilege for the new scheme.
Thus, the process of getting .id should be easier because it has already through globally competent registrar or reseller. Anyone in the world can get this domain. May be it is better to have the regulation of local and foreign sales. The premium price will not be a big problem since it will be a new income for foreign exchange. In addition, .id is identically with “identity” that many people will be interested. However, I hope that more Indonesian will have this domain.
I think, the rest is about bureaucracy. How PANDI can work together with the Ministry of Communication and Technology so that this “precious idea” can be real. Why don’t we work together to introduce our .id domain to foreign people while we grow Indonesian people love to local domain? Let’s support the idea of PANDI’s new organizer!
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Event Report: Bancakan 9th Meetup

Last Friday on August 19th 2011, startup and developer community in Yogyakarta, Bancakan 2.0 held the 9th meetup and Iftar dinner. The event ran well. Although the theme seems random, the speakers presented at the event are so interesting.
As reported in DailySocial several days ago, this event presented Anggit Tut Pinilih (MbakDiskon founder), Guntur Sarwohadi (Soybeansoft founder and CEO), also Saga Iqranegara and two other founders from JogjaHub, geek database in Yogyakarta.
The first speaker was Anggit. She explained about how MbakDiskon established and the concept which differentiates MbakDiskon with other daily deals, insight about local business in Yogyakarta, and some other unique ways to add the number of users of MbakDiskon.
This daily deals started with Anggit’s concern on online business, then she wanted to build a daily deals in Yogyakarta. As common, the target of daily deals target is to grab costumers, both merchants and users. What makes MbakDiskon different from other daily deals? It is about the quota for each deal. The development of business in Yogyakarta is quite rapid. There is new brand emerging every month. That makes daily deals service take a chance into the business.
The next speaker was Guntur Sarwohadi, SoybeanSoft founder and CEO, a company which is recently got investment from East Ventures. Guntur shared his experience on this investment process.
SoybeanSoft was established in 2007, which only developed flash game. Until now, it has produced 10 games in flash platform. The change occurred in January 2011, Guntur released a successful game named SkyFyrell as one of SoybeanSoft game in flash platform. After releasing the game, he wanted to change to mobile game and social market.
At the Bancakan first anniversary last February, Guntur met a guy from East Ventures. In March, he sent proposal and pitched to all East Venture investor. Then in April, SoybeanSoft got investment from East Ventures. In May, a social platform game, Hunter story started to develop and change the name into PT Sakti Osadha Yoga (SOY) for legal matter.
In this event, Guntur also gave some tips how to pitch in front of the investor. Some of them are the slides should be interesting, you should explain your startup in brief and close the presentation strongly. You can check this tips on this link.
The last speakers were two speakers from JogjaHub, Saga and Pranowo. They are co-founders of JogjaHub. Pranowo explained why they choose Yogyakarta to start JogjaHub in Yogyakarta. The reason is that Yogyakarta as a student city has a lot of geeks living in it. Unfortunately, their existence is still under recognition. Therefore, they created JogjaHub.
JogjaHub vision is to gather IT talents in Yogyakarta under the same umbrella for any IT community in Yogyakarta to build digital creative business in Yogyakarta. The advantage is to make wider link, to improve the knowledge, business access and capital, to get closer to all chances.
Saga also explained that one of web development studio in Bandung has contacted him to build BandungHub. If there are many similar requests from other cities, they may be will make NusantaraHub to gather all of them. Rizqi, one of the JogjaHub founder in question and answer session explained that they may make it like LinkedIn or Odesk.
As explained previously, this Bancakan meetup has a random topics, but all speakers do great presentations. The presentations can give solution and inspiration for Indonesian startups especially in Yogyakarta. Go Yogyakarta startups!
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There Will Be No Such Thing As A “SMARTPHONE”

That’s a harsh conclusion, I couldn’t agree more. But this conclusion is the result of my observation during my trip to several cities around the island, and it’s good to see how technology adopted in areas outside of the big cities.
You can see everyone’s using the so-called “smartphones” in big cities like Jakarta, Bandung and Jogjakarta and the rest of the smaller cities surrounding it are filled with the so-called “feature phones”. The smartphone category is filled with iPhone, Samsung/LG/Sony Ericsson Android-based phones and high-end Nokia while the feature phone category consists Nexian, Skybee, Huawei and other cheap devices.
So I tried really hard to make a sense of this separation, and I find it to be very shallow.

The current definition of smartphones according to Wikipedia : “… a high-end mobile phone. A smartphone combines the functions of a personal digital assistant (PDA) and a mobile phone. Today’s models typically also serve as portable media players and camera phones with high-resolution touchscreens, web browsers that can access and properly display standard web pages rather than only mobile-optimized sites, GPS navigation, Wi-Fi and mobile broadband access.”
While feature phone defined as : ” … is mobile phone that, like smartphones, combines the functions of a personal digital assistant (PDA) and a mobile phone. Today’s models typically also serve as portable media players and camera phones with touchscreen, GPS navigation, Wi-Fi and mobile broadband access. Feature phones is the term generally used to describe low-end devices, with smartphone used to describe high-end devices, though there is no official definition to distinguish the two categories.The term originally referred to mobile phones with more features than other contemporary “dumb” mobile phones”
Nowadays, the distinction between a smartphone and a feature phone is very vague. A smartphone like iPhone or Android can have features WIFI, Bluetooth, third-party apps, cameras, GPS, social networking apps etc. What about feature phones? Guess what, they have exactly the same features as smartphone! Only in a much cheaper (and most likely weaker) hardware.
Smartphones could cost you hundreds of dollars, most of them are more than $200 while most feature-phones are cheaper than $150. Is this a fair distinction for smartphones and feature phones? Of course not. That would be the differentiation between low-end and high-end phones, not smart vs feature phones.
The differentiation wouldn’t be on the features or software, but mainly going to be on the hardware. Since the 70s, people see the future in software and slowly leaving hardware development as the potentially high-margin business, but there’s a possibility that hardware is back on trend.
In the future, I think the thin line between smartphones and feature phones will slowly disappear. There will be no such thing as a smartphone. There will be just .. phones.
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Ideosource Snabs iOS Developer Company Touchten

Ideosource, an investment fund set up by former Plasa.com exec Andi S Boediman successfully snabs a new portfolio and this time is an iOS developer company called Touchten.
Touchten produces iOS apps and games, including popular games such as Sushi Chain, Castle Runner, War Mania and Free Kick Mania. Sushi Chain even made its way into the top 15 games on Japanese iTunes Store, an incredible achievement for Touchten. Beside games, Touchten also build iOS apps such as Health Myth, Kho Pinghoo among others.

Touchten was founded by Anton Soeharyo and was basically consisting his Indonesian friends while they were studying in Tokyo. The company has expanded since then, specializing for iOS devices and producing contents (games and apps) as well as growing the team.
Touchten is Ideosource’s second portfolio after they announce eEvent as their first company to incubate a few months ago. To be honest, Andi Boediman and partners are putting a big bet on the adoption of iOS devices in Indonesia with this investment. Of course from another angle, Touchten is definitely going to produce non-local contents, but in the long run they have to pay more attention to the local market.

HP Announces Fire Sale, Get HP TouchPad for $99

Just as HP announced they will no longer produce any of its webOS tablets and smartphones, they have decided to liquidate its remaining stock. HP has slashed the price of its 16GB TouchPad to a mere $99, while the 32GB version is being sold for $149.
So far, the discounted TouchPads are being offered in Canada and Australia, which was completely sold out as soon as the news spread. This has made the HP TouchPad one of the most short-lived and heavily-discounted gadgets in history. It would not take too long before the US, UK, EU, and other markets begin to line up in stores to get their own cheap tablet. However, do not expect all stores to sell the TouchPad at that low of a price, especially with all that has happened lately.
But is it worth to buy a TouchPad, even when discounted? Sure, you may no longer receive updates or technical support, but you still get a cheap tablet. Plus, there have been claims that some wise guys have been able to replace webOS into Android Honeycomb and it still works.
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SoftBank Unveils First Android Clamshell Phone with Hello Kitty

Japanese mobile carrier SoftBank unveils its 007SH KT cell phone. Do not be deceived by its typical clamshell design because it runs on Android, plus it has Hello Kitty written all over it.
The 007SH KT is based on a model the carrier introduced last May, the Sharp Aquos Phone The Hybrid 007SH. Apart from having a very long name, it is also the world’s first clamshell phone with Android (2.3). The Hello Kitty-fied version is very similar to the base model: a 3.4-inch LCD touchscreen with 854 x 480 resolution, 0.7-inch OLED sub-display, 16-megapixel CCD camera with 1,280 x 720 HD video recording capability, WiFi, Bluetooth, digital TV tuner, e-wallet function, and a waterproof body. It also has Hello Kitty-themed menus, screens, e-mail icons, calculator app, and alarm clock.
The SoftBank 007SH KT phone will be available in Japan next month.
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Sony Introduces World’s First Digital Binoculars

Sony has recently announced that it is coming up with the worlds first digital binoculars. More specifically, it is the first digital binoculars that can record in the AVCHD 2.0 format. The new models, called the Sony DEV-3 and the DEV-5 are quite ideal not only for bird watching, but also for watching sports action, since it can record in full HD video and even in 3D stereoscopic video.
The Sony DEV-3 and the DEV-5 digital binoculars comes with a pair of matched precision G lens optics with the Sony Exmor R sensors and powerful BIONZ processors. The Sony DEV-3 provides a maximum optical magnification at 10x. The DEV-5 has settings of boosting magnification over 10x with its digital magnification range of 0.9x to 20x. Maximum optical magnification in 3D is 5.4x.
The new Sony digital binoculars also comes with electronic auto focus that allows them to focus cleanly on subjects even up to 2 inches away for capturing 2D images. A minimum distance of 32 inches is required for 3D recording. Both models also feature Optical Steady Shot for image stabilization, the system found in Sony Handycam and Cybershot cameras. The Sony DEV-5 comes with an on-board GPS receiver that automatically geo-tags photos and videos. The Sony DEV-3 and DEV-5 digital binoculars are expected to be out in the market sometime in November. It is expected to cost around US$1,400 and US$2,000, respectively.
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Hulu Ponders Its Next Move

The companies trying to sell Hulu LLC are beginning a big game of chess that could lead them to redefine the popular video service once again.
Initial bids are due by Wednesday, with suitors expected to submit proposals with wide price ranges based on what types of television shows Hulu would license, when those shows would become available on Hulu and how long the agreements would stretch, people familiar with the matter said.
Some bidders are likely to indicate a range of about $500 million to $2 billion, according to one of the people. Google Inc., Yahoo Inc., Amazon.com Inc. and DirecTV are among the companies expected to bid, other people said.
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Zynga Officially Snags EA’s Jeff Karp as Chief Marketing and Revenue Officer

Social games-maker Zynga has officially hired Jeff Karp as Chief Marketing and Revenue Officer to manage marketing and communications, international sales, and in-game revenue. Previously, Karp held multiple roles at Electronic Arts, including his most recent role as EVP at EA Play. Karp’s departure was reported earlier this month by Develop, a game design blog. Zynga has hired many other EA execs, including former COO John Schappert.
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Skype Pays Around $85 Million For GroupMe

Skype has agreed to acquire GroupMe, a company that has developed a way to for a group of people to send messages to each across various smartphone platforms. People familiar with the transaction say Skype will pay around $85 million for the company, founded at a TechCruch event in April 2010. Early investors include First Round Capital, Lerer Ventures and Betaworks; last fall Khosla Ventures won a bidding war for a $10 million funding round that valued the company around $35 million. Skype is in the process of being acquired by Microsoft.
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Best Buy Will Sell You HP’s TouchPad at Your Own Risk

Best Buy has resumed sales of the HP TouchPad after getting the message loud and clear that consumers believe the price is right, even if the tablet has been discontinued and its operating system is uncertain.
Over the weekend, HP marked down the 16GB version to $99 and the 32 GB version to $149, representing a price cut of $300 or more.
By Saturday morning, inventory on HP’s online store quickly ran out and other retailers were scrambling to keep up with terms of the fire sale.
Best Buy previously had declined to sell the devices, but by today, the big box retailer reversed that decision with a number of caveats.
“Due to HP’s decision to discontinue its TouchPad product, Best Buy® will now provide clearance pricing for all TouchPad 16GB and 32GB models (SKUs 2842056, 2842092) regardless of previously advertised prices or promotions,” according to Best Buy.
Best Buy has been the most transparent through this whole situation, providing updates on the TouchPad’s product page. Press representatives from HP and Palm did not reply immediately to emails for comment.
UPDATE: A Palm representative has gotten back to me with a number of updates, including comments about support for the platform going forward. “HP is fully committed to the ongoing support and service of customers who purchased webOS devices.”
Yesterday, customers, who bought the TouchPad at full price, were particularly peeved that the device and accessories they paid hundreds of dollars for were marked down so aggressively and discontinued only a couple of months later. Now HP appears to rectifying that, according to Best Buy. It will be give customers a full refund, or check for the difference in price that they paid and the clearance price.
It’s still unclear what kind of support customers will be able to receive from HP in the future, or whether the device will be limited to a Web browser or glorified picture viewer. While HP has been clear it is discontinuing hardware, it’s less certain what the future of the operating system is and whether there will be any new apps or cloud services.
In a statement, an HP spokesperson, said that all prices are final, but that “it will honor our product warranties and will continue to provide market leading support via services such as webOS Butler, our free setup support service available to all purchasers of HP webOS products for the first 90 days after purchase.”
In regards to future applications, it says there will be an over-the-air update that will add functionality, and that they plan to investigate the “best ways to leverage webOS software and grow the applications.”
Retailers are allowed to make their own decision on accepting returns from customers.
Here’s the conditions of sales as posted by Best Buy:

• Best Buy will not accept customer returns or exchanges on clearance-priced TouchPads bought through any Best Buy channel.


• Customers purchasing a TouchPad at clearance pricing will have a 1-year manufacturer’s warranty, fulfilled directly through HP, not Best Buy.


• Customers who purchased the 16GB or 32GB TouchPad after June 19 may come into the store to get either a full refund or a refund of the difference between the price they paid and the clearance price.


• Quantities are strictly limited. Limit 1 per customer. Best Buy cannot guarantee availability of inventory at this pricing at any particular Best Buy location or channel.

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Apps for Samsung Galaxy S2 (Top 10 Applications – Must Have)

1. Seesmic

I know your Smartphone already have apps to access the social networking site. But Seesmic is the best social networking client to manage your social networks in a simple app. You can see and update your Facebook, Twitter, Google Buzz and Salesforce Chatter accounts all at the same time. Not only updates, you can also share photos, videos and location using Lockerz, yFrog, TwitPic and YouTube.

2. Dropbox

Next thing you can do in your smartphone is the managing your cloud files from your phone. Dropbox app lets you bring all the photo, docs, and video anywhere. After installing dropbox, you can edit, download and upload new files to Dropbox server.

3. Advanced Task Killer

Samsung Galaxy has 1 GB RAM, but faster is always better. The Advanced Task killer provides you one click app kill process. This is similar like your Task Manager in your Windows where it is use to remove unwanted services. Many times the app behaves weirdly or you need to close app which is running in background and eat up your all batteries. Advanced Task killer kill that entire app on one click.

4. Evernote

Evernote lets you take notes, capture photos, create to-do lists, record void reminders and make these notes completely searchable, whether you’re at home or at work.

5. Adobe Reader

The Best PDF client to read PDF documents. Adobe Reader provides high quality, fast PDF viewing and you can also share you document with your friends via email.

6. NetQin Antivirus

Virus are everywhere no matter how advanced is your pc or smartphone. Virus can found their space in your smartphone. Netqin is free antivirus tools to protect your smartphone with Viruses and Spyware. It uses minimum battery and alerts you when virus, malware or spyware is detected.

7. Ebay / Amazon.com

Do shopping directly from your smartphone. These app lets you search, shop, compare prices, read reviews and make purchase from Ebay and Amazon sites. Don’t worry All purchase made with these App are routed through secure servers.

8. Google Goggles

It is visual search app that let search things by taking a picture of real world. Goggles use image recognition technology to recognize objects and return relevant search results. Identifies products, famous landmarks, artwork and popular images found online. Goggles can translate words in different languages and also extract contact information from business cards.

9. Adobe Photoshop Express

You always want to edit photos from your smartphone after taking pics from 8MP Camera. Adobe Photoshop allows you to edit and share photos virtually anywhere. Just touch to crop, rotate, adjust color and add artistic effects.

10. Pulse News

A beautiful news reader that takes your favorite websites and transform them into a colorful and interactive mosaic. Save stories for reading later across all platforms or sync them with Instapaper, Read it Later and Evernote. You can also share stories with your Friends via Facebook, Twitter and email.
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peweUBL07 The Heat Two-Story Luxury Trailer

Living on a trailer no longer seems to be ordinary nowadays. There are now quite a number of specialty living trailers available that are designed for quite the lavish lifestyle that other people look for. It seems that for people with money, living luxuriously may even extend to trailer living. Just looking at The Heat Two-Story Luxury Trailer from Anderson Mobile Estates will explain everything.
The Heat is a luxurious two-story trailer that offers the amenities of luxury living even while out on the road. For those who might have gotten accustomed to luxury and a lavish lifestyle such as rock stars, actors and business moguls, living on a traveling trailer would be considered a downgrade. But with The Heat, this two-story luxury trailer can be more than enough to provide the living comforts for the rich while going on the road.
This luxury trailer does ooze with luxury. It comes with seven 3D plasma screens, two bathrooms, a full kitchen, satellite TV and some customizable living space. The second story space is collapsible and emerges from the first floor via hydraulics. It comes with its own collapsible furniture inside when the user requires some added 2nd story living space. The Heat Luxury Trailer is available for rent at Anderson Mobile Estates. It costs around US$8,750 a week or 35 grand a month to experience the luxurious trailer living it offers.
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Buy a Samsung 3D HDTV from Best Buy, Get Free Galaxy Tab 10.1!

This does not look good.
Starting on Sunday, Best Buy is giving away free Galaxy Tab 10.1’s for patrons who buy a top-tier Samsung 3D HDTV that costs $1,500 or $2,000. Buyers can choose either the 46-inch or 55-inch Samsung 3D HDTV. Both models feature LED backlighting, 240Hz motion, and 3D technology (obviously).
Although the promotion sounds like a smart deal, it actually paints a not-so-good picture about the current state of the Android tablet market. Truth of the matter is that many consumers are not buying Android tablets because the iPad is the only tablet they know. The TV-GalTab bundle would at least provide the tablet to a slightly different, a little richer, demographic.
Best Buy may have also realized that it is hard to sell non-iPad tablet, which is why its computer department has been display Android tablets alongside notebooks.
The promotion runs from August 21 through August 27.
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Logitech G300 Gaming Mouse is Ambidextrous and Very Customizable

Even the most casual online gamers know that the better mouse makes better players. Logitech has announced its newest G-series gaming mouse, the G300, that features nine customizable controls. This would give player a competitive edge because they no longer feel the need of using the keyboard at all, sinch everything rests on the G300 mouse.
It is also Logitech first gaming mouse that lacks thumb controls, making it ideal for both right- and left-handed gamers, thus enabling them to play with the same level of control. The device can even allow gamers to customize up to three different player profiles and seven different color options. For instance, you can set the color of the mouse to red for one control customization and green for another.
The G300 also features a 2500-DPI optical sensor that can track both slow and fast movements, as well as the ability to work well on different surfaces. It also comes with an optional drag-and-drop software that lets users set up the G300 mouse, as well as connect to other Logitech products such as the G-series keyboards and headsets.
The Logitech G300 gaming mouse will be available across the United States and Europe in September, with a suggested price of $39.99.
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Scosche BoomCan Portable Media Speaker

Portable speakers should provide good audio quality aside from being handy enough to bring along anywhere. But good portable speakers with good sound quality do not come quite as often as it seems. The new Scosche BoomCan might just be one of the exceptions.
The Scosche BoomCan is a portable media speaker that aims to provide good sound quality despite its small size. This diminutive yet attractive looking speaker comes with 35mm drivers to provide better overall sound quality and experience for those people who are always on the go. At just 2.5″ tall and 2″ wide, it can be used with any compatible smartphone tablet, laptop or any other device with a headphone jack. It also comes with its own lithium ion rechargeable batteries that is good for 7 hours of use per full charge. The Scosche BoomCan portable media speaker is available at Scosche for US$25.
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Garmin Edge 200: Cheap GPS for Cyclists

While there are GPS units in the market that cater to cyclists, most of them are pretty expensive. Garmin has just unveiled its Edge 200, a cheaper version of the Edge 500. It has similar features without the non-essential ones. For instance, the Edge 200 does not have a navigation function or the ability to gather data from power meters, heart rate monitors, and cadence sensors.
But what the Edge 200 can do, however, is to map the routes you have taken, let you download them through USB, and share them via Garmin Connect. It can also provide basic info like speed, distance, calories burn, and time, without having to connect another hardware. The Edge 200 can store up to 130 hours of biking memory, as well as having a 14-hour battery life.
The Garmin Edge 200 is expected to be available before September ends for $149.99.
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BlackBerry Music Service in the Works?

A report from Reuters claims that Research In Motion is considering a possible BlackBerry-branded music service. According to “sources with knowledge” about the supposed plan, RIM is in negotiations with four largest record companies–namely Universal Music Group, Sony Music, Warner Music Group, and EMI Group–to create a music service that would “run on top of BlackBerry Messenger.” How that would work is anyone’s guess right now, but it sounds like a move to compete with the mobile media platform of Apple and Android. A spokesperson for RIM declines to comment.
Analysts say that while a music service would unlikely attract new users to BlackBerry, but it might keep existing BB customers interested. Reuters claims the service is expected to be unveiled by September 5.
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Snow Peak Titanium 350 Kanpai Bottle

For a busy office employee, it is always hard to enjoy that coffee time in one place. Most of the time, the coffee is enjoyed along the trip to the office. But it might easily also get cold along the way , the longer the office commute. Keeping that coffee deliciously hot can be possible with the Snow Peak Titanium 350 Kanpai Bottle.
The Snow Peak Titanium 350 Kanpai Bottle is a titanium double walled, vacuum sealed bottle that can help keep any drink either hot or cold. It comes with 3 different lids. One is a cold lid that comes with a gel pack that can be frozen cold in a refrigerator to help keep any beverage stored on the Kanpai Bottle cold. The insulated thermal lid is used to keep liquids hot. The tumbler lid can turn the Kanpai Bottle into a handy travel mug. This unique Titanium 350 Kanpai Bottle is available at Snow Peak for US$160.
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MSI has recently launched its new X460and X460DX slim notebooks

MSI has recently launched its new X460and X460DX slim notebooks. It is part of MSI’s X line of ultra-slim notebooks designed for professionals who look for more mobility in a computing device and yet not be left behind in terms of performance. The features of the MSI X460 and the X460DX aims to combine the best of both in a mobile notebook.
The MSI X460 and the X460DX features the Intel Core i7 processors and come with either the Integrated Intel GMA HD or NVIDIA GeForce GT540M video cards. These ultra-slim notebooks also feature the Intel Wireless Display which allows users to easily connect their laptops to any TV using a standard WiFi connection. Both of the models also feature the THX TruStudio Pro Technology for better and more enhanced sound quality output.
Other features of the MSI X460 and the X460DX Notebooks include a 14 inch display, 750GB HDD, 1.3MP integrated camera, 2 USB 3.0 ports and HDMI connectivity. This new MSI ultra slim mobile notebook weighs just 4.3 pounds and is now available for order at Amazon. Price starts at US$800.
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Razer Tiamat 7.1 Gaming Headset

Gamers can be quite choosy when it comes to their gaming gear. When it comes to sound quality, only the best headset will do for the most hardcore of gamers. And it seems that nothing can get any better in this case than having the new Razer Tiamat 7.1 Gaming Headset on that next round of video gaming glory.
Razer has just recently announced that it has come up with the Tiamat 7.1 Gaming Headset. What makes it special, you say? Well, Razer says that it is probably the world’s first 10-driver headset. Just imagine, having 5 different sound drivers discreetly fixed on each ear cup, and you will have for yourself a different gaming experience when it comes to sound. The drivers work together to provide gamers with a true surround sound experience. The Razer Tiamat 7.1 Surround Sound Gaming Headset is expected to be available sometime in the 4th quarter of this year. Expect it to be quite expensive as Razer estimates its retail cost at around US$180 a pair.
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Smart String Tape

Trying to measure objects is always something that many people do. People want to know how high the window might be from the floor, how tall that lampshade is or how wide your waist has become now. With all these things to measure here and there, this new Smart String Tape Measure may become quite a handy measuring tool.
The Smart String Tape Measure offers an easier way to measure just about anything. It is a unique tape measure that comes with a digital display and calculator. The measurement of the string stretched out from the device is displayed conveniently on the screen, doing away with reading measurements the wrong way. The string can then be used to measure curved and even uniquely shaped objects. This unique device can also store up to 3 measurements in its memory. It can then be recalled on the calculator to make easy conversions and calculations. The Smart String Tape Measure is available at ThinkGeek for US$12.
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Roger and Pre: Those Were the Days, McNamee (He Thought Palm Would Always Be

Given all that has happened to the once promising Palm mobile platform this week, via the strategery machinating of its current owner Hewlett-Packard, it is long past time for a good laugh.
Ergo, Silicon Valley venture capitalist and pundit Roger McNamee, who always provides.
(He’s shown in the above photo pointing out the most excellent lady feature — a mirror, cuz us gals like to take a gander at our lipstick now and again — of the Palm Pre).
Mirror notwithstanding, here is the spoof video done by McNamee and former Palm CEO Jon Rubinstein, which was shown before their introduction to the stage at the seventh D: All Things Digital conference in 2009.

In it, they are trying to figure out the right marketing message for the new Palm Pre, hindered only by McNamee’s penchant for telling tall tales about technology.
It is very, very funny and but a wee taste of a time of hope for the innovative mobile operating system. As everyone knows now, HP kicked Palm’s webOS to the curb earlier this week.
Along with the mock commercial — which remains better than Palm ever did seriously — is the full video of the interview the pair gave at D7 and also Rubinstein’s solo stage appearance at D@CES in early 2010, in which he talks about not using an Apple iPhone.
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BlackBerry Music: $5 a Month, 50 Songs

Five dollars a month. Fifty songs you can share with your friends. But only on your BlackBerry, and their BlackBerries.
That’s the basic pitch behind BBM Music, the new subscription service Research In Motion plans to roll out soon.
As previously reported, the BlackBerry-maker is in late-stage talks with the big music labels; music industry sources believe RIM is aiming for a beta launch in the U.S., Canada and the United Kingdom in early September. A RIM rep declined to comment.
Some other details:

• A full-fledged rollout is planned for the first three territories later this fall.


• RIM is negotiating global licenses with the music companies, and expects to launch in other territories in 2012; the big idea is to piggyback on the success of RIM’s BlackBerry Messenger service, which has more than 45 million users worldwide.


• Subscribers won’t be able to export their music to PCs or other hardware, with the exception of RIM’s much-maligned PlayBook tablet.


• Subscribers will be able to share songs with friends who are also BBM Music subscribers.

So why would anyone pay $5 a month to get 50 songs on their phone, when they can pay $10 a month and get an unlimited number of songs, that work on lots of different devices, from services like Rdio and Rhapsody?
Reasonable question! But RIM seems to be assuming that its subscribers won’t ask. Instead it is playing up the notion that BBM Music will be about “personalizing” your phone, in the same way that ringtones supposedly did a decade ago.
Ringtones, as you’ll recall, let buyers play a few seconds of a song, and sold for a couple bucks, while full songs from Apple’s iTunes went for 99 cents. And for a few years, the music companies and the wireless carriers sold lots and lots of ringtones. (Crazy Frog!)
As I wrote yesterday, I don’t think a mini-subscription service is a terrible idea.  Yes, standard subscription services offer much more bang for the buck, but they have yet to take the world by storm. And while people say they want unlimited music, they generally end up listening to a very small number of songs, over and over.
And if RIM can integrate billing through the carriers, so its users can sign up directly on their phones without having to take out a credit card, even better. This won’t save the company, but I don’t see how it hurts it.
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Early Adopters Peeved as Others Race to Buy the TouchPad at Bargain Prices

HP has slashed prices to clear hundreds of thousands of orphaned TouchPads from store shelves, following this week’s announcement that it would no longer make devices based on WebOS.
On Friday night, it was discovered by PreCentral.net that the 16GB version had been marked down to $99 and the 32 GB version was marked down to $149, representing a deep price cut of $300 or more.
By the morning, some bargain hunters had moved quickly to pick up the tablet at rock-bottom prices, while early adopters were left licking their full priced wounds.
The quick decision by HP to liquidate the TouchPad left retailers scrambling to decide whether to follow suit and discount the hardware or to pull it from store shelves. By early afternoon, HP listed the device as sold-out;  Best Buy had pulled it from its shelves and extended its return policy; and Amazon was still listing it at regular prices.
“I’m so BLISTERINGLY pissed about this … never .. NEVER will I buy anything HP again,” according to one comment on PreCentral.net, who said he paid 500 bucks plus tax on the first day the device came out.
Another comment on Amazon echoed the same opinion: “I will never purchase another HP hardware product again. I realize that will be rather easy as HP has said they would like to divest themselves of their consumer computer lines. I now own a $600 clock/picture viewer as I have no hope of seeing any meaningful apps or updates to apps I have purchased.”
Meanwhile, bargain hunters quickly made up their minds that a picture frame/e-reader/Web browser was a deal at $99, even if no new apps were coming for the device. They flocked to stores and visited e-tailers to buy up a device, much of which is unknown about the future of its operating system. Or who knows, maybe they’ll find a way to put Android on it?
“I actually will probably pick a couple up myself– I already wanted to get a second one for work, and at that price, there’s no excuse not to. Then I’ll grab another as a backup for when one of them dies…,” wrote one enthusiastic deal hunter.
But finding one might be the problem.
BestBuy.com is now redirecting you to its return and price match policy for the TouchPad, which kindly states that it is extending its 14-day return window for a complete refund for the device and accessories for 60 days. It adds that it is no longer honoring its price match policy (meaning that if you can find listed for $99, it will not cut you a check for the difference).
On HP’s own site, the 16GB version is listed as $99, but it is sold out. It is likely the device could make a reappearance there as retailers, including Best Buy, send back its units to HP. A selection of merchants on Amazon continue to sell the devices for $400 each or more, and even current bids on eBay, are exceeding the $99 price point. Office Depot has picked a completely path altogether and has marked down the devices — but not all the way. The smaller capacity version will cost you $130, while it’s larger sibling will set you back $150. However, when you try to add it to your cart, it suddenly becomes unavailable.
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Verizon Employees to Return to Work

About 45,000 Verizon Communications Inc. workers agreed to return to work Tuesday, under a previous contract, after striking to protest benefits cuts that the telecommunications giant sought to offset declining sales in its traditional wireline business.
The old contract will go back into effect Tuesday, while negotiators continue to work towards a new resolution, said Larry Cohen, president of the Communications Workers of America, which represents about 35,000 Verizon employees. He said workers were willing to return because the company seemed ready to negotiate.
“The strike was about the process. We are now convinced that a change to the process is possible,” Mr. Cohen said. “The risk of going back to work while negotiating this is worth it to us.” He said talks would resume late next week.
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Tabloid’s Pursuit of Missing Girl Led to Its Own Demise

LONDON—In April 2002, News Corp.’s News of the World tabloid scrambled at least eight reporters and photographers to an Epson ink-cartridge factory in Britain’s Midlands region, hoping to land a big scoop: Missing Milly Dowler Found Alive.
Improbably, the tabloid’s news desk had reason to believe the 13-year-old girl—whose disappearance was then a big story in Britain—had run away from home and gotten a job at the Epson factory. The reason: The paper had a voice-mail message, apparently intercepted from her phone, suggesting she worked there.
The tabloid’s hope was that, “When Milly Dowler clocked off work, we would be there outside the gates,” said one journalist involved in the three-day stakeout, which hasn’t previously been reported. “We could say, ‘There you are, Milly, the whole world has been looking for you.’ “
It turned out the girl wasn’t working at Epson. In September 2002, she was found murdered.
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Magnetic Switch Cover

The first thing that people do when entering their homes is to find their door keys to enter and switch on the light. It is the same way when going out of the house. How much more convenient if these two actions can be made even more efficient to avoid wasting time finding those keys. This unique Magnetic Switch Cover may just provide an interesting answer.
The Magnetic Switch cover is simply just a light switch cover that features a powerful magnet at the base. This magnet is able to hold a metal key chain, making it a more convenient place to put your key chain, making it easy to locate before going out of the home. The Magnetic Switch Cover is available atThe Fancy for US$25.
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Google+ Unveils Games to Limited Users

As expected, Google+ is taking another step in its quest to become the dominant and most relevant social networking site as it introduced Google+ Games to a limited number of users.
We all know that gaming is an important factor in Facebook’s popularity. It even has become a springboard of a game apps provider (Zynga) to become a major player in the social gaming industry. And as Zynga is about to take off as a public company, guess where it plans to provide games? You are right, on Google+, considering that Google has made an investment in Zynga.
But before you get excited about playing FamVille and CityVille on Google+, note that those two games will unlikely appear over there due to some form of exclusivity. At least G+ will have Zynga Poker, even new titles as well. Other games will also join in Google+ Games such as Angry Birds and Bejeweled Blitz.
To check if your G+ account has games in it, look for the Games button at the top of your stream, right beside the Circles button. It features the latest game updates from your circles, browse invites you have received, and look for games that people you know have played. It is also in the Games page where your game accomplishments appear, so you can post your high score and share it only to people who play games as well. These invites and accomplishments will not appear in the Stream, which has been a source of annoyance in Facebook.
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Sony Slashes Price Off Google TV-Integrated HDTVs

Like the Logitech Revue before them, Sony has decided to trim off the price of its Google TV-powered HDTVs, which debuted in October last year. Sony reiterates that the price cut is done not because of upcoming releases of better TV models, but that they just want to capture more market. In other words, “they were too expensive to begin with.”
According to Amazon, and confirmed by Sony, the price cuts range from 30% to 50% depending on the display size. The $1,400 46-inch model, for instance, is dropped to $961, while the 24-inch HDTV is slashed from $600 to $295. You can check out the source link to find out the rest of the new prices.
But will all the flak Google TV has been getting, is it really worth to buy one? TechCrunch thinks you should, especially the 24-inch model, because expect Google TV to get updates in the coming months.
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Grooveshark Appears on Boxee

Among various cloud-based music streaming services, Grooveshark is one of the most underrated. But now, the browser-based Grooveshark now appears on Boxee and it looks pretty different. Not only does the appearance of the Boxee version appears different from its online counterpart, but its subscription costs more at $9 monthly after a free trial. This is compared to the $6 monthly fee online, but users there can opt for a free, ad-riddled version. It is unclear whether subscribers of the online version would have to shell out extra for the sake of enjoying their music on Boxee.
The Boxee version of Grooveshark does not feature the iTunes-style interface, making way for a orangey version of Rdio. It also has tabs that choose between user-selected music, playlists, and popular music. Boxee users can still create and sort playlists with ease.
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