Later today, Plastic Logic will be showing off its new e-newspaper reader (name, undecided) for the first time. The black and white, E Ink device features a wireless link to download content, room enough to store "hundreds of pages of newspapers, books, and documents," and a display more than twice the size of the wee Kindle while suffering just half the ugly. Better yet, the device is said to use "flexible, lightweight plastic" rather than glass resulting in a reader about one-third the thickness of the Kindle at about the same weight -- the reader itself though, looks rigid. Expected to go on sale during the first half of 2009 with more details, including which news organizations will feed information to the reader, promised for CES in January.

Ah, fiddlesticks! Here we were hoping that somehow ASUS could pack a 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270, 2GB of RAM, a 250GB hard drive and NVIDIA's GeForce 9300M GS into a netbook for under half a grand, but deep down, we knew it wasn't to be. Instead, this (very) well-spec'd N10 is ringing up at $849 over at J&R's website, but that also buys you a 10.2-inch LCD, 802.11a/b/g/n WiFi, a fingerprint reader, Windows Vista Business and a built-in webcam. Wondering when the charge will actually hit your card? "Coming Soon" is all we've got.

[Thanks, Rich]

RealNetworks, the company you love to hate, is back with a new product sure to capture the attention of Hollywood and its MPAA thugs. For $30, RealDVD plans to do what DVD Jon enabled years ago -- namely, making digital copies of your DVDs. Unlike Jon's illegal DRM stripping software, RealNetworks' approach lays on additional DRM allowing you to make a single copy, only, playable on the machine doing the rip -- up to five additional Windows PCs can be authorized at a cost of $20 per.

Real thinks that the use of the additional DRM coupled with Kaleidescape's legal victory -- a ruling that seemingly authorizes users to copy DVDs for their own personal use -- will help it escape the wrath of the MPAA. Not that RealNetworks has ever been afraid of a fight as demonstrated by its 2004 scuffle with Apple when it began offering software that allowed iPods to play Real's DRM'd content. Good thing too because we're pretty sure that shutting down the planned start of RealDVD's sales at the end of this month is the number one topic around the bunny-juice dispensers at the MPAA offices this morning.

[Via cnet]

Like a fiery car crash across the center divide, we just can't divert our attention from the antics of Gizmondo. Gizmondoforums, the self-described "home of the Gizmondo fanbase" (really, they have enough fans to create a base?) is carrying this quote from Rich Jenkins, who along with Carl Freer co-founded Media Power, the company now in charge of Gizmondo:

"We are excited about the potential of Android and have been working on an Android version of the Giz...Android would be a TERRIFIC addition to the Gizmondo and enable a TON of open source development."

Originally, the Gizmondo 2.0 gaming console was expected said to be WinCE 6-based and scheduled for an end of 2008 release. While this Android talk makes it all a bit more interesting, it certainly doesn't make it any more likely to happen.

Sony Corp just announced its new "Designed for Walkman" accessory program in a bid to boost third-party accessory development. Under the terms, any vendor that signs up gets full access to the specs for Sony's proprietary WM-PORT terminal... about 3.5 years too late. In return, licensees can prominently display this fancy, "Designed for Walkman" logo on their packaging and products as they grab for a slice of the meager accessory revenues made possible by the 4th place MP3 manufacturer owning just 2% market share. Hot Sony, hot.

Extra! Extra! Read all about it! (Sorry, but where else were we gonna use that line?) For those unaware, Esquire's October issue is on newsstands now, and for 100,000 99,999 lucky souls out there, they'll receive one with a flashing E Ink display. Just in case you aren't quite lucky enough to apprehend one of your own, however, The Dastardly Report's Ryan Joseph was kind enough to snap a few photographs and even host a video of the exclusive mag before tearing it down for hacking purposes. Head on past the break for the clip, and tap that read link to have a gander at the stills. Oh, and dart out right this instant to snag your own.

Not quite sure what happened of late, but extra long lasting batteries are all the rage now. With netbook manufacturers offering up extended cells left and right, it's only fair that Sharp toss out a Willcom D4 with a super longevous battery, too. The Willcom D4 Ver.L (L stands for Long, loony) reportedly arrives with a lovely CE-BL58 extended battery as a standard accessory, and while the resource-demanding Office application isn't included, that helps keep the price at ¥97,700 ($901). A fair trade for the hardcore traveler, we suppose.

[Via Pocketables]

Look, we know how hard it is to hold in a secret, so we can sympathize entirely with Fry's on this. While new Zunes and / or features are looking more and more likely for September 9th, said e-tailer has already let slip a few new crucial details about the forthcoming (er, already out) 120GB Zune. For instance, we're looking at a Buy from FM option that enables users to tag sweet jams on the radio for easy purchasing when they arrive back at their PC. Furthermore, we're seeing Device to Cloud, Channels and Games options, all of which are further explained in the links below. In related news, a shockingly blue 8GB flash Zune has also emerged on the very same website (as predicted). Which is awesome if you're really into blue.

Read - 8GB blue Zune, via zunerama
Read - New Zune details, part I
Read - New Zune details, part II

Well, not really -- the actual experiments that could result in potentially disastrous "micro black holes" won't happen for another month (and probably won't end anything except the lives of a few protons), but as rumored, CERN's flipping the switch on the four billion dollar Large Hadron Collider this Wednesday to test the superconducting magnets that control the proton beams. After a clockwise test, they'll send protons counter-clockwise, and after that -- smashy time. Of course, there are still paranoid lawsuits pending to shut all this down, and we wouldn't mind another rap video or two, but after two decades of work, it's probably time to boot this thing up, death threats or no. Let's make it a good last month of humanity, people.

So the good news here is that Best Buy's getting ready to open its arms to yet another HTC product that's impossible to find by wandering into the brick-and-mortar store of the US wireless carrier of your choice; the bad news, though, is that it doesn't seem to be the version we wanted. The Touch Diamond now has a Coming Soon page all its own on Best Buy's site, which is just fantastic considering that neither AT&T nor T-Mobile have yet bothered to pick it up -- but the problem is that the specifications make no mention of US 3G despite the fact that we know there's just such a version floating around. Our hope is that we've just caught the big box with its pants down (wouldn't be the first time) and they'll look into carrying the real deal by the time "coming soon" switches to "in stock," especially since they've given the Touch Dual the same courtesy.

[Thanks, Mark]

Like your laptops available in soft, colorful tones? Looking for something a bit entry level? Fujitsu may have just the thing for you. The company has just introduced its L1010 mid-priced laptop (in Asia, at least), and it looks like just the right thing if you're not trying to break the bank or win friends and influence others. The L1010 packs a Core 2 Duo CPU atop the PM45/GM45 Express Chipset, a 1280 x 800, 14.1-inch LCD display, an NVIDIA 9300M GS graphics card with 256MB of RAM, WiFi, a 1.3-megapixel webcam, and HDMI outs. The laptops come in white and pink gold, black, turquoise blue, pink and purple color configurations, though the press release somehow fails to make mention of RAM or hard drive options. Fujitsu is mum on price and release date, but we'd say not too expensive, and fairly soon.

[Via iTech News Net]

CEDIA 2008 was a whirlwind of new projectors, HDTVs and all sorts of other wares that home theater freaks just love. As always, we were here in the Mile High City covering every minute, but we completely understand if you missed anything. Just in case, we've compiled a summary of what all happened here in Denver, and make sure you head on past the break for the rest.

Hands-ons

Hands-on: Sony shows off prototype 400-disc Blu-ray Mega Changer
Hands-on with LG's BD300 Netflix / Blu-ray deck
Hands-on with the THX-certified QuietHome door
Hands-on with Niveus Media's Denali, Rainier and Cargo media wares
Hands-on with Sony's SXRD BRAVIA VPL-VW70 and VPL-HW10 projectors
Hands-on with Hitachi's 1.5-inch thick plasma prototype
Hands-on / a look within Pioneer's Elite BDP-09FD Blu-ray player
Hands-on with Toshiba's SRT REGZA HDTVs (and other old crap)
Eyes-on with Sony's BDP-S5000ES Blu-ray player

If you've been waiting to get your hands on the voluminous 120GB Zune, the wait appears to be coming to a close. According to an Amazon page that just went up, the player is in stock and available for your ordering pleasure right this second. And hey, check out those savings!

[Via Pocketables]

Archos fan-site Archos Lounge lived up to its name this week and threw down a 300,000 page review on the new Archos 5 Internet Media Tablet. We won't tear down the whole thing here, but the primary takeaway seems to be mixed. Apparently the new processor on board really souped up the thing, but Archos skimped on the software, shipping what basically amounts to a buggy beta. That's no small criticism for Archos from its number one fans, so let's hope the company gets its act together fast. The review is in French, but there's an unboxing vid after the break, in that universal language of nerdery.

Really people, enough is enough. Death threats? Seriously? According to a fresh report from the Telegraph, gurus working on the mysterious Large Hadron Collider are receiving all sorts of strange messages, e-mails and faxes as the go-live date (this Wednesday, supposedly) draws ever closer. For those curious about why some folks are up in arms over this thing, we'll simply point you to this very informational rap video; for those opposed to nerdy hip-hop, let's just say its primary goal is to "seek out new particles including the long-awaited Higgs boson responsible for making things weigh what they do and the possible source of gravity called dark matter." Somehow or another, the paranoid among us think that carrying out those tasks will rip the world wide open or leave you stuck in 1990 with nothing in your CD player but Ice Ice Baby. Okay, so maybe that last scenario is worth getting worked up about.

[Via TGDaily]