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According to Digitimes Research senior analyst Mingchi Kuo, Apple is already developing a smaller version of the iPad, reportedly anywhere from 5-to-7 inches, which it will launch in early 2011.

Kuo based his conclusion on talks "with upstream component sources," and he also concludes that the smaller iPad will sell for somewhere between $300 and $400.

The device will be targeted at at the "highly-portable mobile device market and consumers that focus mainly on reading and do not have a high demand for text input," meaning it will basically be an e-reader that additionally has all the other perks of an iPad.

When asked about the HP Slate, Kuo says it will not be any competition to the iPad, mainly due to its low battery life.

Sales of the Nintendo DS line, including the DS Lite, DSi, and DSi LL have combined to retake the top spot in the Japanese hardware market, closely followed by the PSP.

The DS series sold 41,219 units for the week ended April 4th, with the Sony PS3 close behind at 38,877 units sold.

The PSP-300 handheld, and the DS' biggest rival, sold 37,445 units, but when adding the minuscule sales of the PSPGo (1803 units), it outsold the PS3 and almost rivaled the DS.

According to an interview with Eurogamer, Ubisoft has said today that their "always on" DRM is here to stay and the developer will continue to "evolve and improve" it as gaming evolves.

"Most forthcoming Ubisoft PC titles will use our online services platform," said a spokesperson speaking about the DRM. "As with any online technology, we are constantly working to evolve and improve it."

The controversial DRM makes it so gamers must stay online at all times or not be able to play their games. If the Internet ever cuts out, or the Ubi servers go down, gamers are returned to the main menu, unable to play.

Kotaku has posted an accidentally leaked promotional page for the upcoming Gears of War 3 game for the Xbox 360 which shows that the game will hit retail shelves next April.

The ad says: "The epic story concludes April 2011".

The ad was supposed to have been revealed on Monday, when Epic Game's Cliff Bleszinski is expected to have an appearance on Jimmy Fallon's late night show.

There is little other information, but the new game is expected to include new features such as underwater combat.

Gears of War 2 was one of the platform's biggest selling games of all-time.

Creative has announced the launch of a few new media devices today, the Zen X-Fi Style and the Zen Style series.

"In line with the upcoming Pure Audio Campaign where Creative is set to deliver pure sounding high performance speakers and premium noise isolation earphones, we are pleased to unveil the ZEN X-Fi Style and the ZEN Style series - the embodiment of the purest-sounding music on-the-go experience on the market," says Joseph Liow, Vice President for Personal Digital Entertainment Products at Creative.


ZEN X-Fi Style:


* Bright 2.4-inch TFT display
* X-Fi technology for crystal clear music
* Video Out in X-Fi audio quality for watching movies on the TV
* Lossless audio support (FLAC)
* Up to 25 hours of audio playback, up to 5 hours video
* FM radio, alarm clock, calendar and voice recorder
* 8GB, 16GB & 32GB capacities
* Built-in speaker for music sharing
* Playback for downloaded RSS feeds
* Available in black and white for the 8GB, 16GB and 32GB models. Also available in red for the 8GB and 16GB models exclusively at www.creative.com/shop

Ankeena, the maker of server software that helps improve streaming of "multiple streams of simultaneous video over various network types," has been acquired by tech giant Juniper for just under $100 million.

The acquired company has claimed their streaming and data caching tech is "superior" to other current video delivery methods.

Ankeena makes software that runs on x86-based servers to improve performance of multiple streams of simultaneous video over various network types. The company claims its streaming and data caching technology is "superior" to other methods of video delivery.

"Juniper's acquisition of Ankeena reflects our commitment to transforming the experience and economics of networking — in this case by delivering an enhanced TV-like user experience of both fixed and mobile video traffic, while enabling crucial TCO reductions for operators," adds Manoj Leelanivas, head of the JUNOS (Juniper operating system) product efforts.

Infinity Ward has said today that it plans to release the Modern Warfare 2 DLC "Stimulus Package" for the PS3 and PC on May 4th, two months after its release on the Xbox 360.

Says IW community manager Robert Bowling via Tweet: "The Modern Warfare 2 Stimulus Package DLC will hit PS3 in North America on May 4th, everywhere else May 5th. PC gets it worldwide on May 4th."

Coinciding with the release, IW will "host a double XP event," allowing gamers to make double experience points while playing multiplayer.

The pack will cost $15 USD, just like it does for the 360, and will add 5 new maps.

Popular video rental company Netflix has announced today that they have signed agreements with Twentieth Century Fox and Universal, which means subscribers will have to wait 28 days to get new releases from the studios, similar to the deal signed with Warner a few months ago.

As part of the deal, Fox will give Netflix a streaming license for Fox TV shows, meaning there is a chance popular shows such as Family Guy will soon be available through Netflix's free "Watch Instantly" service.

Universal, for their part, said that as part of the deal Netflix would get "significantly" more units after the release delay, as well as more streaming movies.

Because of the deal, subscribers will have to wait an extra month for Avatar, the $2 billion blockbuster smash hit that has an April 22nd release date.

Hacker iH8sn0w has said today that he has already jailbroken the brand new iPhone 4.0 OS beta, posting the keys and claiming that he will be releasing the jailbreak in the near future.

Of course, being that the OS is still in beta, Apple will have ample time to patch the exploits before releasing the final product.

Here are the keys:

According to Justin Long, the "Mac" in Apple's popular Mac vs. PC commercials, the ad campaign may be close to its conclusion, ending one of the more effective ad series in history.

Long said that he heard from "PC" John Hodgman that Apple is planning to move on.

"You know, I think they might be done," said Long about the future of the campaign. "In fact, I heard from John, I think they're going to move on. I can't say definitively, which is sad, because not only am I going to miss doing them, but also working with John."

Although he seemed sure, Long would not guarantee the end of the campaign and could not provide any reasons why Apple would end it.

During the Apple press event today, CEO Steve Jobs says the company has sold 450,000 iPads, a strong figure for only 4 full days of sales.

Users have downloaded 3.5 million iPad apps, and downloaded 600,000 iBooks from the iBookstore.

Jobs also noted that the device is sold out at best Buy, and that the company plans to ramp up supply over the coming months.

The launch of the iPad was one of the biggest in Apple's history, with 300,000 units sold on the first day at an average price of over $500 USD.

Engadget has reported today that the Barnes & Noble Nook is set to go on sale at Best Buy brick-and-mortar stores starting April 18th.

The recently launched Apple iPad sells at Best Buy locations as well, and both devices directly compete in the e-reader market.

The iPad sells for $499 at its cheapest, while the Nook sells for $259.

Pic via the source:

Back in January, we reported that Canonical, the group behind Ubuntu Lucid releases, had made a deal with Yahoo to make Yahoo the default Firefox search engine instead of Google.

Today, Canonical has done an about-face, announcing they are switching back to Google with the release of Ubuntu 10.04.

Says Rick Spencer, of Canonical: "However, for the final release, we will use Google as the default provider. I have asked the Ubuntu Desktop team to change the default back to Google as soon as reasonably possible, but certainly by final freeze on April 15th. It was not our intention to “flap” between providers, but the underlying circumstances can change unpredictably. In this case, choosing Google will be familiar to everybody upgrading from 9.10 to 10.04 and the change will only be visible to those who have been part of the development cycle for 10.04."

Michael Geist has reported today that "the RCMP has arrested a Quebec man after a seizure uncovered hundreds of counterfeit video games. The RCMP release states that 'modifying a console and computer is considered an illegal act under Section 342.1 of the Criminal Code and is punishable by imprisonment for up to ten years.'"

At the end of March, the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) raided a home in Quebec, which eventually led to the "seizure of hundreds of counterfeit video games and the arrest of one suspect." 300 games were seized and "materials used to modify consoles and illegally reproduce video games" were also taken.

It is unclear what kind of mod chips were found, or for what system, but we will keep you updated.

Nokia has announced the launch of their Comes With Music service in China this week, offering a DRM-free subscription model for those with Nokia handsets.

At launch, the service will be supported on these phones: The Nokia X6 32GB and Nokia X6 16GB, Nokia 5230, Nokia 5330, Nokia 5800w, Nokia 6700s, Nokia E52 and Nokia E72i.

"It’s not an operator-based offering, it’s a retail-based offering. Consumers can walk into those 80,000 stores, buy the Nokia handset and activate Comes With Music," says Nokia’s director of global music Adam Mirabella, via Music Ally.

The company says the catalog will be 50 percent "local repertoire."

China is infamous for its high piracy rates, but Mirabella says going DRM-free, among other things, should win over some fans: "People will be getting all the metadata and album art, good clean files authorised by the music companies, the highest quality files and something that's virus-free. This marketplace is begging for a legal opportunity. The music companies, publishing companies and artists have not really been able to generate any revenue in this marketplace. They're all looking for somebody with a strong footprint and presence, to see if there’s something they can do to build the business back."