Rumors of a touchscreen tablet from Apple are gaining momentum — again.

Three independent sources close to Apple told TechCrunch that a large-screen iPod Touch is slated for a Fall of 2009 release.

The device will feature a 7- or 9-inch screen, sources told TechCrunch. One of the sources even claims holding a prototype of the tablet.

The first rumor of a Mac tablet surfaced in July at MacDailyNews. But that rumor was slightly different: Rather than describing the rumored device as a larger iPod Touch, the source said the Mac tablet would have a MacBook screen, an optical drive and run a full version of Mac OS X. The source said this device would launch October. Clearly this was an inaccurate report.

Gartner analyst Ken Dulaney said a Mac touchscreen tablet would be a logical step, since all Apple would have to do is blow up the screen of an ipod Touch and slightly tweak the software.

As always, we should take rumors with a grain of salt. But this time around — with TechCrunch’s Michael Arrington citing three sources — the fabled device has more hope.

TechCrunch did not have details on pricing for the rumored device. But we estimate the device, if real, would cost around $700 to $800 — positioning it in between the low-end MacBook ($999) and the iPod Touch ($230).

Illustration of a fake, large-screen iphone: vernhart/Flickr

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Does the PS3 actually need a new remote control keyboard? Apparently that’s what Success HK thinks by rolling out its new 3-in-1 wireless keyboard controller that offers a more convenient way to find your way around playstation Home. This remote-sized 3-in-1 wireless keyboard remote will not only help out in your everyday Blu-ray disc action, you also get a slide-out keyboard accompanied by a pair of dual-analog sticks for supposedly easier navigation. $28 is the asking price as an inducement to move away from a wired USB keyboard tethered to your PS3.

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The human pedal power of six stationary bicycles has built up enough power in less than a month to light up the New Year’s Eve ‘2009′ sign tonight in New York’s Times Square.

According to Jenna Wortham over at the New York Times, battery maker Duracell built a ‘power lodge’ featuring bikes rigged by electrical generators. In the last few weeks, tourists have hopped on the bikes and used the considerable power of accumulative locomotion (with spinning wheels) to charge the main batteries providing the power for the sign.

It is estimated that it took 140,000 people more than 250 hours of pedaling to store up enough power to only last about fifteen minutes, immediately following the drop of the ball.

The large sign features 608 halogen bulbs that need 7.25 kilowatt-hours of electricity for full power.

Apparently, opening up free public access to the bikes led to some unusual results. A group of old ladies used the bikes as a public exercise space and spun away their remaining calories for 20 minutes every day.

The government of the city of New York is making a big deal about their local green initiatives and tried to shoehorn as much electricity savings into their New Year’s celebration as they could. According to Jenna, the famous lighted crystal ball, which is made out of 32,256 LEDs, consumes 20% less power than last year’s magic-hour ball.

Photo: Duracell/Stuart Ransom, NYT

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At CES 2008, then at CEATEC (Japan), we have seen some TVs that were very thin, but “thin” back then meant around 100mm. This year, LG will demonstrate its LH95, 25mm thin LCD TV that promises to be very impressive, if they got the overall design right. Keep an eye on Ubergizmo as we run around the show floor to post about the latest and greatest electronics.

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The fact that I can’t replace the battery on my iPhone has never been a problem for me. I’ve had pretty good luck with it, but I miss having the backup of an extra battery that I had with my old Treo. It’s one of those things that kind of sit in the back of my mind nagging me a bit.

Now, the Mophie Juice Pack can alleviate that nagging worry, but only if I’m willing to pay a hundred bucks.

The Mophie adds quite a bit of bulk to your iphone, but for those of us used to dealing with the Treo, it feels like old times.

When I used to be a real estate agent, I was on my phone all day long. There is no way the iPhone would have lasted me. I would have had to keep it plugged into my car the entire time I drove from listing to listing. Is that people are doing now?

If you’re willing to bulk up your phone a bit (it was never a problem for me because I keep my phone in my purse), then the serenity of have twice the battery time is worth the extra money.

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Intel recently unveiled a new chip in its Core 2 Quad family, but with reduced price-tag. As the latest quad core chip costs significantly less than traditional quad core processors, we’ll see many notebooks boasting power of four cores. Here’s the comparison based on pricing: the Q9000 processor is listed at $348, while the QX9300 mobile quad-core processor costs $1,038, and the Q9100 costs $851. The effect of reduced pricing is already seen. Just yesterday Acer came out with a media notebook based on the latest Intel Q9000 chip. The Acer 8930G starts at $1800 with extreme specification.
Getting back to Intel, the Q9000 processor runs at 2.53GHz and provides 6MB of cache.

Intel also released other mobile processors: the 2.93GHz Core 2 Duo T9800 ($530), 2.66GHz T9550 ($316), 2.66GHz P9600 ($348), and 2.53GHz P8700 ($241).
[Source]

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You’ve all seen some of these curious add-on “telephoto” lenses for iphone or other handsets, they look cool or weird, but in practice, they are clunky to use. The trick here is to use a magnetic base to snap and remove the lens quickly. It is simple, but it makes all the difference in the world. Now you just wave to worry about not losing the lens, or whether or not the adhesive from the base will leave a permanent trace on your phone. $16.99 at USB fever.

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Nokia’s QWERTY-equipped E63 handset hasn’t exactly been making itself shy since those first few spy shots turned up way back in October, but it’s been another matter getting some solid impressions of the device from folks that have actually spent some quality time with it. Thankfully, PhoneArena has now stepped in and provided one of their usually thorough reviews for those that still prefer a good ‘ol keypad. On the whole, while the site says it may not be the ideal choice for business folks or the more demanding users out there, they say that most everyone else will find plenty to like, with the phone boasting decent enough sound quality, a solid keypad, and an all-too-often overlooked 3.5mm jack, all in a sturdy and compact body. On the downside, the camera is apparently decidedly lackluster, and some of the function buttons could cause a bit of frustration, to name a few quibbles. Hit up the link below for the full rundown including, of course, plenty of pics (and even a 360 degree view).
[Source]

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If your USB gadgets have been stacking up, you might be getting to the point you need a USB hub.  At some point we all end up needing one.  It might even be that you still have room on your computer to plug in more USB gadgets, however, sometimes it’s just easier to have a hub on the top of your desk.  It means you don’t have to hunt around, sometimes at the back of the computer to find an available USB port to plug into.

Well this USB hub isn’t a novelty one that will show off your geeky side by being some Star Wars themed hub.  However, it’s small and has a convenient layout to make sure that your USB gadgets will be able to be powered up.  It comes with four USB ports and has a data transfer rate of up to 480 Mbps.    The small design of the USB hub would make it ideal for travel, you could always have one for your desktop PC as well as one to toss into your laptop bag.  Which would be easy to do since these are being sold for only $8 on Sourcing Map.

Source: TechChee

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Bill Nye’s paper recycling factory toy (right) looks like a promising way to teach kids environmental friendliness while they’re ripe and impressionable. The kit includes an assortment of colorful, plastic tools to mash, dye, hydrate and mold old paper into new stuff like notebooks and post cards. Potentially gives the word "greenwashing" new meaning, doesn’t it?

Product Page [via Boing Boing gadgets] 

Photo: Discover This

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