After months of waiting and speculation, the new iPhone 3G S was revelead during the annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) at San Francisco, California.  The “S” stands for speed. The new iPhone 3G S has over 100 new features which has pleased most of the avid iPhone fanatics. The new model has improved in speed and performace especially for gamers with updated 3D graphics that deliver an incredible gaming experience. It prides itself of being twice faster than the previous model and has a longer battery life.

One of the best improvements is the inclusion of a 3 megapixel autofocus camera. With a tap on the screen of the object you want taken, iPhone 3G S adjusts and focuses automatically. You can send your photos via email, MMS or post everything directly to the MobileMe Gallery. With the same 3 megapixel camera comes the ability to record video. You can record at 30-fps of VGA video which is perfect for posting on the web. Afterwards, you can trim the footage right on the iPhone and save it. You can post the video online via Mobile Me or even on YouTube.

Other noted features are the cut, copy and paste which has been in the wish list of every iPhone user. Voice Control has the ability to recognize the names in your Contacts and call them. Also, it can play the music on your iPod.  Just say it and it plays it.

The new iPhone 3G S will be available on June 19th in the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, and the UK in both black and white and will be priced at $199 for 16 GB models and $299 for 32 GB models

For more details on the new 3G S iPhone, visit the Apple website.

SOURCES: APPLE, USA TODAY, MACRUMORS

Nope. It is not natal as in embryo. It is pronounced “nuh-TALL” and it could be in your living rooms in the nearest future.

Microsoft has announced that it will go head-to-head with the Nintendo Wii with its Xbox without any controllers. Instead, it will use a camera to capture the movements of players in a 3-dimensional space. Your entire body becomes your controller. It aims to immerse the player inside the game. It’s a literal “Look Ma! No hands.” deal. Not only that. It recognizes faces and voice commands – technology that is already present today.

“Before, there was a barrier separating video-game players from everyone else. Now, with Natal, everyone can join in using the best controller ever invented: you.” said Don Mattrick, senior vice president for Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft.

The Microsoft Xbox Natal was demonstrated to an audience recently. During the demonstration, players interacted with a soccer/football game using their legs, hand and, practically, their entire body.

None other than acclaimed director Steven Spielberg was in attendance. He even mentioned that this new technology will reach a new audience who are afraid of holding a controller or a joystick.

Microsoft has not announced when the Xbox Natal will be available nor its pricing. However, much anticipation was generated and it seems that the console wars are not yet over.

SOURCES: CNN, INFORMATION WEEK, DEVIN’S ADVOCATE

Contrary to rumors, Microsoft’s highly anticipated Windows 7 Starter edition will not have a three application limit. This means that users can have more than three applications running at the same time. This is good news for netbook owners and potential users who would want Windows 7 for their new operatin system. Microsoft Windows 7 is being positioned as the next Windows operating system for netbooks following a re-surgence of Windows XP.

Here an announcement taken from the Windows 7 Team Blog:

“There of course will also be Windows 7 Starter edition, but based on the feedback we’ve received from partners and customers asking us to enable a richer small notebook PC experience with Windows 7 Starter, we’ve decided to make some changes compared to previous Starter editions. For the first time, we will be making Windows 7 Starter available worldwide on small notebook PCs. We are also going to enable Windows 7 Starter customers the ability to run as many applications simultaneously as they would like, instead of being constricted to the 3 application limit that the previous Starter editions included.”

But don’t expect the Microsoft Windows 7 to be too eye candy and ultra-powerful compared to its Windows Vista counterparts. Windows 7 Starter will not have the Vista Aero graphical user interface but will have the Microsoft Windows Basic theme similar to Microsoft Windows XP. Also missing are features such as DVD playback, multi-monitor support and personalization tools such as changing the desktop wallpaper, colors and sound themes.

According to Michael Cherry (analyst with Directions on Microsoft), “They’re really doing everything they can to remove any barrier to the OS, and by removing these barriers, they really are working to make as smooth a transition as possible into Windows 7.”

The new Microsoft Windows 7 is expected to be released in time for the 2009 holiday season.

SOURCES: ELECTRONISTA, ARSTECHNICA, COMPUTERWORLD

There has been rumors that Palm’s latest phone gadget called the Palm Pre can actually synchronize with iTunes. The treatment will be the same. The Palm Pre will be recognized a any iPod or iPhone gadget by iTune. Thus, linking the Palm Pre to iTunes and enabling it to receive music and videos. Unfortunately, should you have DRM-clasped music files, you cannot transfer these to the Palm Pre.

Should this be the case, we can expect some lawyers throwing lawsuits at Palm Pre for violating their sole use of their intellectual property. This could be a treat against their iPods and iPhones because users can just purchase the music via iTunes and transfer them to their Palm Pres.

Let us just wait and see if this is true. But there is no denying the buzz the Palm Pre is creating especially with their WebOS operating system that is reported to be very stable.

SOURCES: Engadget

Dubbed as “a new category in flat panel TV design”, this unit is targetted for those who are photo enthusiasts and professionals who want to project their  photos in high-definition glory. Also, the JVC Xiview LT-42WX70 has a 52 picture-quality adjustment properties for tweaking both still and video images. A PC connector is also part of the input modes. It is ENERGY STAR 3.0 compliant and features different ways to connect your media such as three HDMI CEC terminals, D-Sub 15pin with component video, and an audio input jack. The unit comes with a remote control and has an intuitive menu design.

You can have the JVC Xiview LT-42WX70 and its 42-inch screen sweetness for $2399.95.

SOURCES: ENGADGET, POCKET-LINT, HIDDEN WIRES

Still hot on Lenovo news, Lenovo’s newest notebook could well be the first to have a NVIDIA Ion chipset. With NVIDIA’s ION graphics platform, users will enjoy brilliant 1080p high definition video with smooth playback. According to Rene Haas (General manager – Notebook GPUs, NVIDIA), “With enhanced graphics, the Lenovo IdeaPad S12 netbook is perfect for watching movies, playing popular games like Spore, flipping through vacation pictures or enhancing family videos.”

The Lenovo IdeaPad S12 is a 12-inch netbook with a 100-percent full-size keyboard, an apparent 1080p video playback (which is especially great for HD) and weighting at 3lbs. Other specifications include the following: WXGA (1,280 x 800) resolution LED-backlit panel, Intel’s 1.6GHz Atom CPU (the one big “ugh”), 1GB of DDR2 memory, 160/250/320GB HDD options, an optional 6-cell battery, Ethernet jack, WiFi, Bluetooth, three USB 2.0 sockets, an ExpressCard slot, a 4-in-1 card reader and VGA / HDMI outputs.

According to Dion Weisler (Vice president, Business Operations, Idea Product Group of Lenovo), “We’ve heard from consumers loud and clear about the need for affordable and extremely portable computing devices, and we’ve responded by introducing our third netbook with a completely new form factor, making mini-computing more usable and redefining value in today’s market. We are pioneering new territory in the developing netbook arena by being the first vendor to give customers high quality video and entertainment capabilities in a netbook with optional NVIDIA ION graphics.”

The  Lenovo IdeaPad S12 is shipped with Windows XP and will be available by June at a $449 value.

SOURCES: ENGADGET, CNET

Memorial Day is also somehow a “Lenovo Day” as Chinese PC maker Lenovo rolls out the IdeaPad U350. The Lenovo IdealPad U350 is a ultra-thin notebook that has a 16:9 aspect ratio, 13.3 inch LED, HD 1366 X 768 which is just perfect for watching movies and viewing websites. The HDMI connector allows you to fully enjoy watching movies or other multimedia in high definition.

With about 1-inch in thickness, the Lenovo IdeaPad has a Core 2 Solo, Pentium ULV or Celeron processors with up to 8GB of RAM and up to 500GB of storage. This ultra-thin notebook has a battery life of 10 hours with 8 cell battery pack and 5 hours with 4 cell battery pack. Connect wirelessly via Intel WiFi Link 5100 wireless b/g and Bluetooth. Standard specifications are Ethernet connections, 1.3 megapixel camera, Multi-card reader, Dolby Sound room via the 1.5 dual speakers and come with Windows Vista Home Basic or Home Premium.

A cool feature is the Ambient Light Sensor technology (taken from the IdeaCentre desktop line) which dajusts the screen’s brightness when in different lighting conditions for the best screen quality. Another is the VeriFace facial recognition technology which provides security via making your face as the password.

The Lenovo IdeaPad U350 will be priced between $700-$800.

SOURCES: ENGADGET, GIZMODO, CNET

Recently, the faculty has provided for free Apple iPhone 3Gs to the 550 students and staff of their School of Social Informatics. This will enable them to see if the students and staff are within the school premises and prevents them from cheating during roll calls thanks to the built-in GPS feature of the iPhone. This is made possible with a tie-up with iPhone provider Softbank Mobile Corp. as part of the companies project entitled “Mobile & Net Society Education and Training.” Aoyama Gakuin University pays of the basic charge and does not pass any extra financial stress to its students.

Though still in its experimentatl stage, Aoyama Gakuin University hopes to bring this new method in full throttle by Autumn. To totally take advantage of the iPhone, the school plans to roll out test questions, homework submissions, viewing video courses, digital lectures and other university-related functions. It seems that Aoyama Gakuin University is pushing the iPhone and technology to its advantage.

Aoyama Gakuin University has taken this program so seriously that they even launched a program to design and develop original iPhone applications for the iPhone AppStore.

SOURCES: ENGADGET, MAINICHI DAILY NEWS, IBLAST, DVICE

In the immediate future, Asus will launch the Eee PC 1005HA. The newest Netbook from Asus sports a 160GB Hard drive (with 10GB complimentary online Eee Storage), a 10.1-inch LED-backlit display (1,024 x 600 resolution), 1GB of DDR2 RAM, VGA output, three USB 2.0 sockets, a 0.3 or 1.3 megapixel webcam,  Ethernet, 02.11n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1, a multicard reader and audio in / out. The Asus Eee PC 1005HA comes in two models which differ in processing power: model 1005HA-M with Intel Atom N270 or the model 1005-HA-H that comes with the Intel Atom N280. Both units come with Windows XP Home.

However, one of the intriguing parts of the Asus Eee PC 1005HA is the rumored removable battery that lasts for an astonishing 10.5 hours. Should this be true, the unit’s weight will slightly be heavier. However, this should be a small sacrifice to carry for a longer battery life. It remains to be seen.

The ASUS Eee PC 1005HA-M will go on sale for $405 while the Asus Eee PC 1005HA-H at $473.

Asus is aggressively sending out new models and campaigning heavily due to other companies such as HP and Acer that are jogging for position in the netbook industry.

SOURCES: SLASHGEAR, ENGADGET, FUDZILLA, NETBOOKCHOICE, ITPROPORTAL

In terms of connectivity there is Intel® Next-Gen Wireless-N or Intel® Pro/Wireless 3945ABG(802.11a/b/g) or 802.11bg supported by Hexa-band Antenna or Triple Hexa-band Antenna(Intel® Next-Gen Wireless-N Only); there is also Gigabit (PM) or 10/100 Ethernet (GM) LAN; Bluetooth 2.0 with EDR;  DVB-T Tuner or Hybrid TV Tuner w/Remote Controller.

To top it off, there is a 1.3 megapixel LG Smart Cam, and the laptop comes bundled with Genuine Windows® Vista® Home Premium, Genuine Windows® Vista® Home Basic, or Genuine Windows® Vista® Business.

Press release after the jump.

LG Electronics South Africa, a leader in consumer electronics and IT products, has introduced the LG S900 19.1-inch widescreen desktop replacement notebook computer which has been designed with computer aided design professionals and computer gamers in mind.

The brilliant silver 5.9kg LG S900 is a high performance desktop machine that offers portable convenience when required. The next-generation Intel Centrino Duo processor technology enables complex multi-tasking while delivering high quality video and audio with extraordinary performance and speed 20% improved from the previous Intel Centrino Duo processor. The LG S900 is available with up to Intel Core2 Duo Processor T7300, 2.0GHz featuring 4MB L2 Cache and 800MHz front side bus (FSB).

Thanks to the NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics processing unit the 19.1-inch widescreen 300nit bright display reduces fatigue and increases productivity by being able to display multiple task panes in a larger screen area and reproduces clear, bright and natural images. The NVIDIA GeForce 8600M delivers the best-in-class 3D graphics and video features while the Mobile Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100 architecture gives a high degree of realism to 3D graphics which is ideal for gamers and graphics professionals. The Intel Clear Video technology delivers sharp, brilliant picture quality and the ability to playback the most widely available high definition (HD) content which means that the LG S900 doubles as a multimedia entertainment centre.

The multimedia features of the LG S900 are enhanced with the inclusion of Dolby Home Theatre technology, a webcam and multi-card reader. Dolby Home Theatre technology delivers a cinema-like surround sound experience.

Further multimedia and productivity features include the built-in 1.3 megapixel LG Smart Cam which allows for video conference and web calls while the multi card reader and DVD Super Multi Dual Layer drive means that the LG S900 can easily read and write to multiple formats with minimal fuss quickly and easily.